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ndl4l · 2 years ago

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State of grace, part one. this is not a good story. I mean it. You've been warned! this is messy but the events of this take place around 2020 when they all lived together.

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“You really don't have to do that.”

Sharky’s laugh echoes in the empty hallway, followed by heavy steps, and a second later, he appears in the kitchen. He finds AJ sitting on a barstool, his face glued to his phone.

“Found your food outside.” He greets him, making AJ smile. Sharky places the brown bag on the island but before AJ can take it, he grabs it again. "Be nice." He warns him and walks by the door to find her approaching.

"I can't walk around the house with shoes on!" She flashes him a quick smile as Sharky pulls her into the spacious kitchen. Her eyes travel everywhere around her. You can tell boys live here.

"Meet someone really quick." He tells his friend and AJ gives her a nod, unwrapping his burger.

"Hi." She shyly says, leaning on the counter close to where Sharky is sitting. AJ's trying not to look at her, but every time he does and Sharky catches him he chuckles, making y/n blush a little.

"Where's Niko and Kenny?"

They saw Chunks leaving as they were getting off the Uber. He said a quick hello, shook her hand, and disappeared saying he was late and his mother would kill him. It's her birthday, Sharky told her later. They're all having dinner together.

"Don't know and editing with George." AJ munches on a fry, suddenly feeling insecure eating in front of people. Well, her. “We have sodas and stuff in the fridge.”

She shakes her head, "I'm good." She would love a soda or some water, anything that will treat her dry throat but it would also make her wanna pee and she is not asking where the bathroom is at a boys' house!

“Well..get me a Mountain Dew?” AJ jokingly asks her, making Sharky tsk-tsked over his friend's boldness.

“Bro!"

"I'm sorry," he doesn't feel that bad over it, she is right next to the fridge! "I just have my food right here and I don't feel like getting up!"

"It's okay." She smiles at him, to show him she doesn't mind snooping around their fridge and walks to it.

“You’re closer, you know.” She tells Sharky as she passes right in front of him.

AJ raises his eyebrows at them. Like telling his friend, I'm sensing a vibe, but Sharky shakes his head as if saying it's not like that.

and it really isn't.

"I can see you.” She mumbles. Her head inside the fridge, her back turned to them but she can sense them talking. She can barely hear Sharky's giggles but she knows he's laughing.

Their fridge is horror. The main items stored there are takeaway boxes, sodas, and water. No real food in sight but she can count over 5 different brands of soda.

"What the.."

Niko enters the kitchen, a shovel in hand and plastic goggles on his head. He's wearing a white/blue onesie and Nike shoes. Surprisingly pulling it off.

“You’re all out.” She closes the fridge door and turns around again. Her eyes fall on Niko's tall frame and unique outfit. She stares at him, and him staring back.

“This is Y/n.” Sharky points one of his fingers at her. He then turns to look at AJ “She’s a friend.” AJ just laughs into his next bite, smirking at his friend. “Say hello Niko.”

Niko simply stares at her. His eyes bored into hers. He feels like he can't move them as if looking away will make her disappear and he doesn't want that.

"Niko!" AJ yells at him, snapping him out of his daydream. "Say hello to Sharky's friend." he teases Sharky back, earning an eye roll from him.

"Yes, hello." He steps closer, extending his hand for a handshake. Confused and with AJ's laugh in the background she takes his hand into hers. For a quick second and then Niko steps back again.

"Okay, if you excuse me now. I have to get back to this." He waves his shovel up and down and exits the room.

"He's just awkward, don't mind him," AJ tells her, still laughing with Niko.

This was the first time they ever saw each other. She used to watch him interview strangers on the street every so often on youtube but still hasn't spilled that secret to him. From that time, Niko could tell they'll be friends. It's just a feeling, he had told her when she asked him how he knew. She laughed at him. She laughed at how awkward he was then and how different things are now between them. When Sharky first brought her home, hoping to get the boys to hire her as a photographer he didn't know how much she would end up meaning to them and how close they'll get. On a Monday morning, a year and a few months into their friendship, Niko got that feeling.

It was the same Monday as the one before. And the one before that, and before that, and so on. He woke up, had leftovers from the night before as breakfast, and left the house to go film for the beta squad channel.

Two hours later, they were there, the filming running late ‘cause of the bickering and messing around that was happening. Just another normal day. And then it happened. For the first time in years, it happened.

He was scrolling through Instagram killing time when he saw the new photo dump she had posted. She was visiting home, for over two weeks now, and from the looks of it she was having the time of her life.

He stood up and walked to the other side of the room. The studio was too loud for anyone to hear him talking on the phone but he still needed his space. She didn’t pick up. He called again, and again and again.

“You’re really annoying you know.” She greets him when she finally answers the facetime.

“I called three times. What if I was dead by now?” He jokes, earning a scoff from her.

“Please! Nothing can kill Nikolas Omilanay.”

He smiles, thinking of many ways he could have been dead by now. He doesn’t mention them, he lets her have this one. “So how’s home? Bored yet?”

“A little. My grandma keeps asking me when I’m gonna get a real job and dad thinks I’m doing drugs again.” She laughs, making him laugh along.

“He still thinks that?” They laugh at the inside joke they created a while ago when her dad was in London and met Niko for the first time. He liked him until the drug jokes came up.

He knows she doesn't have the best relationship with her mother, so he doesn't mention anything about her. They catch up as if they haven't been texting nonstop since she left. A second of silence goes by and then she says, “why did you call? Are you terribly missing me or are you actually dying?”

He grins, not saying anything. He's terribly missing her but he doesn't say so.

“Well-”

Aj’s scream cuts him off. “Niko! Come on man!”

He sighs. “I have to go, we’re filming, and AJ's calling."

"Okay. It was nice hearing your awfully loud voice, Nikolas."

He smiles. "It was nice hearing your terrible, terrible voice too. Come back soon, yeah?"

"You're doing that creepy thing again," AJ tells him when he sits back in his chair. "You're smiling to yourself, man. Share the joke or stop it. It's disturbing."

It was quite disturbing.

Two days later, his phone starts ringing in the middle of the night. 4:30 a.m. Jesus.

"You better be dead." He says, his heart beating so fast, he thinks it might fall out of his chest.

Her loud laugh calms him down. "I know it's late."

"Late? No! Don't say that." He was more worried than angry when she woke him up. Who doesn't sleep at 4 a.m.?

"Can you pick me up from the airport tomorrow?"

"Oh, God." He lets his head fall back to the pillow, the phone still on his ear and a smile on his face. "You woke me up at 4 a.m. to ask me to pick you up? What is wrong with you?"

"You're sleeping during witch hour? When do you cast your spells?"

He laughs, "What a terrible joke that was."

"And yet, you still laughed."

"I did, yeah."

"So..are you? Picking me up tomorrow?" He doesn't know why she started whispering now but he doesn't question it. He whispers back, "of course I will."

"So what were you dreaming?" Her face is hidden under the blankets, the phone resting next to her on the pillow while Niko is on speaker.

"I was in the f.b.i. and we were searching for this ruthless murderer who killed his friend. Stabbed her fourteen times. Turns out, all this time, the murderer had been me." She laughs, making him laugh along. "The stabbed, dead friend is you, by the way."

"Yeah, I got that."

He can hear AJ playing on his computer. His voice gets loud now and then when he loses. He feels the need to go over there and talk to his friend. But he can't move.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"Oh, it's morning already over here." She lies.

"We're in the same time zone. It is exactly..4:35 in the morning."

"I'm rolling my eyes at you right now. Just so you know."

Around 5 a.m. the phone call ends and Niko is still in the same position. He can't move and he can't make that feeling go away. It's stored somewhere in his lower belly area and he doesn't like it one bit. He phones AJ, despite being two doors away.

"Are you not in your room?" It's the first thing AJ asks him.

"I don't feel well," Niko mutters and rolls to the side, facing the window. He forgot to close the blinds again and soon, he could be able to see the sun rising. There is no way he can go back to sleep now, so he might as well enjoy the sunrise.

"Are you sick?" AJ shuts his computer off and makes his way to Niko's side of the house.

"Maybe. I don't know." He mumbles. The phone call ends as the door to his room opens and AJ steps inside. He lays next to him facing the ceiling and sighs, "I had like two bottles of Mountain Dew and I can't sleep. My stomach is fucked up."

"Something's happening to me," Niko grumbles back. He lays back on his back, keeping his eyes closed.

AJ turns to look at him, "are you gonna throw up?" He stands up on the bed, looking down at him. "You don't look sick."

"My stomach hurts a little bit, or maybe my head, I don't know." He touches his head, his hand slowly falling to his face.

"Is that why you're awake?"

Niko mumbles on his palm, his voice is barely audible. “Y/n called. She woke me up.”

AJ laughs, loudly, almost waking the whole house up and sits back on the bed. He rests his head on his palm, looking at Niko's side profile. "You got bitten by a love bug, my friend."

“What?” Niko opens his eyes but keeps them on the ceiling, afraid to look at AJ and the smug smile on his lips.

“You’re in love, man." He pats him on the chest three times, "You’re not sick. I mean you are sick in the head but this isn’t it.”

Niko catching up on what AJ is saying and gets defensive. “I’m not in love with anyone.” He slaps his hand off his chest and sits up straight.

“Except Y/n.”

Niko rolls his eyes, “Stop it. I don’t allow myself to feel these emotions."

He couldn't allow himself to feel that way about her because he knew she wasn't. He would consider himself lucky if only she thought of Niko as someone worth loving. More than a friend. He was scared he waited too long to say something and now he'll forever be stuck in the friend zone. Stuck in that in-between place. Where you almost kiss on a night out, where you almost lean into each other when the movie gets too boring, and when you have two more shots of tequila you do normally, your lips find each other and it goes from there. He waited so long, being her friend started to make him feel less. Numb, like he was in pain sometimes. Like when he picked her up from the airport and she hugged him so tight, neither wanted to let go. Or the way she would talk nonstop about things while looking at him and not the road ahead of them. He had to stop himself from taking her face into his palms and yell at her to love him back, to reach into his brain and somehow read his thoughts and love him without him having to say it. Because he couldn't bear the thought of confessing these feelings to her and not having her reciprocate them back. Not only would she stop being around, but she would also stop being his friend. She would stop being there every time they were filming, laughing secretly behind the camera. She would stop being Sharky's friend, she would stop coming to the house and slowly they would drift apart. He didn't want to lose her, but he soon realized he couldn't keep living like that. He was miserable, only joking and smiling when she was around. So he made a plan. Α τhree steps plan to make her notice him. Number one was talking to Sharky. He knows Sharky doesn't like her like that. He recently got out of a relationship himself. But, since he was the one introducing them, since he was the one begging them to hire a photographer and basically pay her to hang around with them, he felt like he had to say something to him first. So he decided that the first person he would confess his feelings to would be Sharky. And he would do it tonight, minutes after Sharky had ended his twitch stream and he would be exhausted to tease him much.

Three knocks on his bedroom door later, Niko was seated in Sharkys room. He was still on his computer, lazily scrolling down on Twitter. Niko was playing with his hoodie strings, looking at him from the foot of the bed. This is Sharky. His old friend. It's fine.

"Just so you know, this started being weird and creepy the moment you sat there looking at me."

He rolls his eyes, deciding to say something. "I want to say something to you."

"Noooo" Sharky sarcastically replies, spinning his chair to the side to look at him.

"Yeah actually," this shouldn't have been so hard, but he can't get his words out. "this is about you. Well, not you but this is also about you. But not really. It's more about people you know. And people I know. Because, you know, I, myself, have made a few friends this past year. Years, really."

"So it's about those friends?"

"Yes and No."

"I don't get it."

Niko snaps his fingers. "I kinda hoped you would without me saying anything to you."

"Is this something bad about a person I know?"

Niko shakes his head no.

"Is someone dead?"

"Well, a lot of people have died recently but-"

"Dude!"

"Okay, here's the thing." three deep breaths. "I've recently been feeling weird and it came to my senses that I may have some unintentional feelings about this one person that we both know and I just wanted to see how would you feel about me having these feelings about a person you also know."

"What feelings?" Sharky asks, lost. Niko said so many words, it messed up his head.

"Romantic feelings one might say."

"You have feelings-”

"Romantic feelings,"

"right, romantic feelings about a person I know and you're asking me what you should do about it?"

"Well, no. I'm asking you how that makes you feel."

"That you have feelings for someone?"

Niko nods his head.

"Well, I don't know man. Good? I don't.." Sharky turns to his computer screen again. A second later he spins back around. “You’re not talking about my sisters, are you? I’ll kill you.”

Niko defensibly puts his hands up, “Isn’t your oldest sister like…underaged?”

Sharky nods, “Well yeah, but you confused me.”

His bedroom door snaps open and AJ walks inside, eating cereal out of the box. “Who’s in love with your sister?” He stands in the middle of the room, his attention on both of them.

“Niko.”

“I’m not!”

“You better not be!” Shark shakes his finger towards him as a warning.

“You’re in love with his sister too?” AJ laughs, devouring a handful of cereal.

“Who else are you in love with?”

“Y/n,” AJ says.

Sharky gasps, looking at Niko who pulls on his hoodie strings to close the hoodie around his face.

“Romantic feelings about a person we both know!”

“He said romantic feelings?” AJ takes a seat on the bed, next to Niko and smiles. “You’re so weird. Can’t you say in love or something?”

“I’m not in love with her.” Niko argues, “I barely know her.”

The plan didn’t work. Well, he never made an actual plan. After he told Sharky, he had to deal with his friends making fun of him and teasing him every time she was around. She would laugh, pretending not to understand the jokes. And then one day, she dropped the bomb on him.

“I actually have plans.” She politely declined Chunck's invitaton of them all going to dinner together after shooting all day. Niko knew she’s been living with her best friend for months now, not thinking much about it and thinking she is the one y/n made plans with, he kept scrolling down on his Instagram feed.

“Plans? You have other friends?” Sharky joked with her, touching his heart and pretending to be hurt by her words.

She slapped his hand away, “It’s..more of a date.”

AJ’s head snapped up so fast, he had to close his eyes for a second to prevent himself from fainting. “A date?”

All eyes were on Niko. He kept his head low, pretending his heart wasn’t ready to fall out of his chest. Of course, she has a date. Of course, she’s dating.

“Yeah..it’s..um..it’s not much. We met at this thing my friend dragged me last Saturday and he asked me out, so..why not?”

“Yeah,’ Sharky said, his eyes widening at Niko,” why not?”

“How do you know he’s not a murderer?” is the first thing Niko thought of saying to her. He wanted to sound casual like he was not dying on the inside looking at her smiling about her date with another man.

What the fuck? AJ mouthed at Niko, but he ignored him, too busy looking at her and rolling her eyes at his words.

“He’s not a murderer, Niko. He’s nice, I've seen him before. Plus, it’s not like we’re going to a remote place. Other people are gonna be there.”

“Where?”

“Cinema. We’re seeing a movie.”

AJ rolls his eyes at that, mimicking her voice. “We’re seeing a movie.” His expression turns serious again, “That’s the best he can do?”

“I don’t like dinner as a first date thing. It’s too intimate.”

They were packed up and ready to go separate ways, standing outside of the studio.

“I can drive you home.” Sharky offers her a ride, which she gladly accepts.

The whole ride Sharky was dying to tell her to ghost her date and go to dinner with them. Maybe date Niko, you know. But he didn’t say anything. He dropped her off, told her to have fun on her date with the fakest smile on his lips, and drove off. It was a good first date. Not the best, but she had fun. He was nice and he listened to her rumble about her life. He didn’t kiss her goodbye, which she hoped he didn’t. She stayed up all night, analyzing the date, his personality, and every small detail with her best friend, Faith. “I don’t think you’re feeling him much.” She told her.

She barely had an hour of sleep before Sharky showed up at her apartment door, knocking on the door like a maniac. “We’re going karting," he said the biggest smile on his face.

A couple of hours later, AJ was bragging about his win. “Unreal” he was calling himself, nonstop.

“Maybe don’t compliment yourself so much,” George told him as they were walking to the car. Niko had been distant all day, making her think something was up. He’s never that quiet. He hasn’t even teased AJ yet.

She decided to ride with George and Niko back.

“I’ll go with you too,” AJ claimed, and after making a speech about winning and deserving special treatment, he jumped on the passenger seat leaving Niko and Y/N squished in the back.

His leg has gone numb. He stopped breathing the moment she sat next to him and his heart hasn’t stopped beating that fast since she leaned into him. The car is small. Too small for Niko and his big body frame, too small for two people sitting in the back, and definitely too small for her to be laying in his lap. Is he complaining? Never. George makes a turn on her street and Niko, careful not to wake her, taps his shoulder.

“Go around again.”

“What?” George tosses him a quick look and turns ahead again.

“You’re crazy, we’ve already taken the long way home. I’m not going anywhere.” He almost feels bad for his friend. He almost turns around, but he’s been awake since 5 am. He’s tired and hungry and wants to go home finally.

“I’ll pay for the gas. I’ll buy you a new car! Just…don’t stop.”

With an eye roll and a few mumbles, you’re buying me a car all right, you better pay for gas next time, you owe me dinner, George drives past her house and they start doing circles again. Niko signs and lets his head fall back onto the headrest.

AJ grinning from ear to ear turned to look at Niko, “How long do you reckon we can go around in circles until she wakes up?”

He doesn’t know. He kind of hoped for forever but he can settle for another hour.

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OKAY! this isn't the best but i have to get over them meeting/becoming friends and all before the teasing and flirting begins! Thank you for reading! xx

#nikoomilana #niko omilana x reader #niko x reader #niko omilana #ndl #beta squad #youtube x reader #youtube au

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lxvebun · 2 years ago

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traces of my heart

synopsis: Genshin boys and their love confessions/ almost confessions

content: Kaeya/Childe/Zhongli x gender neutral reader. Fluff. Implied kissing. Slightly possessive Childe. You wear Childe's clothes. Bro, they are so deeply in love with you. Use of nickname darling, love. English is not my first language so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

♡navigation ♡genshin masterlist

Dark blogs, k!nk and ed blogs do not interact or lose all your 50/50s

Kaeya

Archons, you are the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Just looking at you feels like a privilege. Especially right now, with the stars reflecting in your eyes and the moonlight painting your skin. Kaeya took you out to Starsnatch cliff to show you the beautiful sight of the stars yet your beauty outshines the universe above you and instead of admiring the stars he's admiring you. h

He's glad you're oblivious to the love filled look he's giving you because if you were to turn towards him and let him get the best view of your beautiful face, his heart will not be able to handle it and he will lose any composure that's left.

"You're supposed to stare at the stars silly, not at me"

Spoke too soon. Maybe you do pay attention to the surroundings…or do you just pay more attention to him. That thought alone is making his head spin.

"Can you blame me? you shine a hundred times brighter than any star ever could."

He doesn't know where he got the courage to speak but he's glad he did because the little laugh you let out at his words is such a heavenly sound he wants to hear it everyday. He wants to make you laugh and happy everyday. The Archons know he’s been dreaming about being yours for forever now. Dreaming about being able to hold you, kiss you, wake up to you in the morning and cuddle together at night. Oh, the things he would do to be yours. Maybe today he finally gathers the courage to tell you that he's in love with you<3

Childe

He can feel his heart fluttering in his chest and a blush slowly creep down his cheeks. Archons, he prays you will admire the snowfall through the window long enough for him to collect his composure. The last thing he needs is to start stuttering over his words when you ask him if he’s okay. And all because of a coat, his thick winter coat that he let you borrow to withstand the freezing temperatures of Snezhnaya. It just looked so right on you, as if it belonged to you, as if he belonged to you. Archons, He wants to belong to you. To openly love you, dote on you, cherish you, and receive you and your love in return. To let everyone know that you're his and he's yours. Childe was so wrapped up in thoughts about you and him that he didn't realize you moved away from the window and towards him until you gently grabbed his hands and rubbed comforting circles into his skin with your thumb.

"Are you okay AJ? You’re never this quiet"

It takes everything in him to not just scoop you up into his arms and kiss you till his heart's content

"ye-yeah! Never better darling. Is the coat comfortable, do you need extra layers?" He sputtered out quickly, squeezing your hand and pulling you into a twirl in front of him.

"It’s okay, your coat is keeping me warm enough. it's very comfortable! it's so soft and cozy and it still smells like you.. I might have to steal this one from you >:)"

He’s positive you are trying to kill him. You already own his heart. There's no need to make it beat so quickly as well. Not to worry, Childe is nothing short of competitive.

"Wouldn’t have to steal it if you became mine, you know." He whispers. Leaning in close until the tips of your nose almost touch. Despite the confident and bold action, his heart is pounding against his chest and he has a hard time holding eye contact.

After receiving no response for you, the confidence slowly slips out of him. You’re too quiet. did he mess up? Awkwardly clearing his throat he tries to let go of your hands but you stop him. Tightening your grip on his hands and continuing with rubbing circles into his skin.

And in return, you’d become mine? You asked so quietly, finally breaking eye contact to look at your intertwined hands. Even being so close to you, he barely caught the words.

He can’t help letting out a relieved chuckle. Letting go of your hands and gently cupping your face, leading your eyes back on him. Once again, leaning in close. there’s barely any distance between you two now. You can feel the warmth of his breath hitting your skin, and is that his or your heart that's beating so quickly?

"I've always been yours, "he breathes and closes the distance.

Zhongli

Zhongli doesn’t think he's ever been so utterly consumed by something, let alone someone. You make his heart beat like it's never done before and for a second he thought something was wrong with his mortal form. the pounding in his chest, the fluttering in his stomach, the way the air catches in his throat when you make eye contact. Deep down inside of him, he knew from the moment he laid his eyes on you, that you were going to become a piece of his soul. All these thousands of years on earth, watching over his people, watching over couples in love, reading romance literature, watching romance plays, all of it couldn't have prepared him for how deliciously devouring love feels like.

Whenever you come over to drink tea, all he can think about is waking up every morning next to you. The warmth of the sun painting the room and your skin in a soft golden glow, holding close you in his arms, tracing your skin and gently memorizing every little detail, every mole, every scar. Reluctantly crawling out of your embrace to prepare a tea kettle with your favorite tea and pulling out your favorite tea cup that despite the chipped rim you always preferred drinking out of. Waking you up with soft kisses and seeing that gorgeous smile appear on your face, crawling back in bed with you, drinking tea, and stealing more little kisses from you-

"Zhongli!"

Your voice pulls him out of his thoughts. Archons, his head feels a little foggy from all the love-filled and flowery thoughts. Slowly coming back to his senses he can see the now cold cup of tea on the table, the uneaten cookies you baked for both of you, and looking up a little, the concerned look in your eyes as you examine his face. How rude of him, he thinks, spacing out in the middle of your conversation.

"My apologies y/n my mind went,, elsewhere for a second" He can tell from the frown on your face that his apology didn’t do much to get rid of your worries

"Are you sure you’re okay" you stand up from your place across from him and kneel next to his chair, placing the back of your hand gently against his forehead to feel his temperature. He feels warm, and not the usual warmth he radiates.

"You're a little warm. Are you feeling well do you need to lie down?"

Your face is inches from his now. You’re even more beautiful up close. Golden eyes trail over every little detail of your face. It was a miracle his pupils didn't turn into little hearts

No that's not necessary, but thank you, love. I don’t want to cut our time together short.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that! I'll just keep you company!" You happily exclaim as you fish a book out of your bag and head over to the couch, "you can lay your head on my lap, and I'll read to you"

Who is he to decline your kind offer? As he lays his head on your lap and you begin reading out of your book, your hand absentmindedly stroking through his hair, the thoughts about you and him, who you two could be, and what kind of life you two can build quickly flood back into his mind. He needs to find out how to reveal his love for you, he doesn’t think he can stay just friends any longer. But that's a problem for another day for now, he'll let himself indulge in the thoughts, the heavenly sound of your voice reading out loud, and the softness of your hand stroking through his hair.

Thank you for reading bunnies!<3

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #kaeya x reader #childe x reader #zhongli x reader #tartaglia x reader #kaeya x gender neutral reader #zhongli x gender neutral reader #childe x gender neutral reader #fluff

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inspector-montoya-fox · 3 years ago

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here’s why Dual Destinies doesn’t work in my opinion

If you tune in to Turnabout Podcast or frequent this blog, if you can even call it that, you might know that Dual Destinies is my least favourite Ace Attorney game. I bitch about it a lot but, just like with my coup de grâce here, I wanted to gather all my thoughts in a single post. Almost two years after my initial playthrough, I’ve started appreciating some aspects of the game like its outstanding soundtrack and art, but overall my opinion remains unchanged and actually worsens as I increasingly acquaint myself with the series and related works, such as Ghost Trick, which has no right being so amazing *long sentence*. The point is, DD feels like a rushed and messy game which doesn’t hold a candle to its peers. Let’s take a look:

(spoilers ahead!)

Phoenix Who? Dual Destinies marked the return of Phoenix Wright in the courtroom. Whether this was a good or bad decision, it can undoubtedly be traced to the mixed reaction Phoenix received in the previous installment, Apollo Justice. Thing is, DD Phoenix doesn’t resemble a single thing about the original Phoenix. I’m not some sacrilegious Phoenix Wright SiMp with a boner for the trilogy, but this is so inconsistent on so many levels. Let’s consider what Phoenix went through during the trilogy: he lost his mentor, had to defend Maya twice and almost lost, defended a homicidal maniac while being threatened with Maya’s abduction, saw ghosts, including his ex girlfriend who emotionally abused him, grieved over Edgeworth’s departure, more fucked up shit that went down in Bridge, survived multiple physical altercations and incidents like getting beat up by Redd White, zapped by Von Karma, falling from a bridge into a frozen river, and more. Despite all this, his PTSD is never explored. The man literally comes out from all of these situations unscathed, maintaining his anxious demeanor and not changing a single bit. Call it bad writing if you want, I just think that if overcoming all of these instances didn’t help him build an ounce of confidence, nothing would. But then, DD Phoenix returns after the events of AJ surprisingly bold. It’s inconsistent. Initially, I thought this new, “improved” Phoenix was a direct result of Shu Takumi leaving after writing AJ, but then I remembered the AJ Phoenix. That’s a whole other topic of discussion I’m not willing to write about for the sake of this post remaining consistent (unlike Phoenix), but my main question is: what happened to Phoenix? if he came out of the trilogy unchanged but after 7 years turned into a chilled bro with one of his eyes twitching, to just then channel an even more bizarre version of himself in DD, then what happened? It’s never explained. Can it be attributed to Iris, who is never seen after Bridge? Maya leaving? Or did losing his badge and adopting Trucy fuck him up so bad that his brain got fried, because that’s valid in a very American drama series kinda way, but it doesn’t explain at all how he just casually bounces back in DD. He doesn’t get his badge back officially until Reclaimed so it’s not that his return is justified. And no, I’m not accepting the oh it’s because of Athena’s arrival of course! excuse because that’s never explained in full either. If Phoenix’s transition from trilogy to AJ is weird, then his transition from AJ to DD is even weirder because we never get a reason behind his shift. We’ve witnessed him gain experience as an attorney without losing his true self in cases such as Recipe, during which he managed to outsmart Furio Tigre. In that episode, he evolved so much since the first game but was still the restless, uptight Phoenix we met back in the First Turnabout. So saying that he’s just experienced now doesn’t work either. I’ll just settle for an Avril Lavigne explanation at this point

“Apollo Justice 2: Dual Destinies”: circling back to Apollo Justice, Phoenix wasn’t the only inconsistency between the two games. There were a lot, actually. Firstly, the Mason System? What ever happened to that? AJ made such a big deal out of it, pigeonholed Phoenix into that storyline and then placed it as a centerpiece in the middle of Succession in a way with which you’d think it was here to stay. In fact, it could have been used to explain the shift in Phoenix’s personality. Imagine: Phoenix Wright’s comeback after the Mason System’s huge success. If they simply acknowledged the Mason System, not even incorporated it into the game, it could act as a reason to explain Phoenix’s newfound confidence. But instead it’s nowhere to be seen. Then we have, Phoenix being a horrible dad by hyping the fans who are into incest by never informing his own daughter and his protégé that they’re siblings. Where do we even start with this one? First of all, why? I want to know, it’s so annoying. @Capcom why? So that’s never addressed, the magician stuff all gets thrown out the window for an entire game, and as a result Trucy becomes... a nuisance? Can you imagine if they ever did that to Maya in Justice for All ? After spending a game as our trusty assistant, she’s now just there. Oh, but it was Trucy who took us to the Yōkai Parade in Nine Tails Vale, haha she’s such a quirky character <33 !! Yeah. Other stuff I can think of? Oh yeah, fucking Apollo Justice himself. Granted, he’s a main character in Dual Destinies despite his lacklustre role (and that says a lot), but again, such a missed opportunity for character development. He’s sandwiched between other characters such as Phoenix and Athena and unnecessary storylines (i’ll get to that in a bit) to the point where a lot of the choices in the narrative feel unsupported. Unlike Phoenix, he was always kinda annoyingly aggressive during trials, but his confidence boost between his own game and DD feels very unwarranted. If anything, Succession must have broke him, not made him bolder. Again, it feels inconsistent. What happened between the two games? Yeah, having the ceiling bash his head in was hilarious a great opportunity to explain why he turns into Shadow the Hedgehog in DD, but instead of that, he gets sidetracked after the second case and then just returns out of nowhere to be like I’m back, with a band-aid over my eye to show that I’ve been through a lot ! Sir, the victim in the fourth case is your childhood bestie - emote accordingly you piece of shit. Just... garbage, I can’t.

The Mistreatment of Athena Cykes: I’ve written this, which covers mostly everything I want to say, but... this was literally the absolute worst time to introduce a new protagonist. Even worse is the fact that she’s a playable female attorney, which we’ve never had before (apart from Mia) so her receiving the short end of the stick feels a bit coincidentally anti-feminist? idk I don’t want to be that bitch, but it sure as hell feels that way. I mean, add to that the atrocious outfit, that she specialises in emotions because she’s a girl and she’s always in her feelings UwU, and the fact that she can’t handle a single case on her own and needs papa Phoenix and step-bro Apollo to come to the rescue (I’m writing Pornhub titles now), and you’ve got yourself horrible writing for a female character. Why is she a damsel in distress? Why is she given 0 agency? She’s not allowed to handle a single case on her own and before we even know it, she’s suddenly turned into a plot device in Turnabout for Tomorrow and needs to be rescued once again. As much as I love her serendipity and can-do attitude, Athena shouldn’t have been introduced in DD. There were way too many unresolved plot holes from AJ to introduce a new main character, and she ultimately gets crushed under the weight of 130910293 other storylines. She and Apollo don’t share character development well because DD needs to develop one character at a time, apparently. And, as established above, the development is very shitty. Athena’s entire backstory depends on the mysterious new prosecutor’s fate, like we’ve never seen that before. Having the new attorney have a special connection with the prosecutor who is an antihero becomes very redundant the fifth time around, and then it happens again in SoJ, like ??? It’s really frustrating to think about the potential Athena had as a new face for the series. She reminds me a lot of Justine Courtney, another female character who is called upon from the team of writers only when the plot needs a device in order to move forward. Need a babysitter for Trucy in SoJ? Athena’s got your back! Need a central character to pin it all on in the final case as an obvious red herring? Justine Courtney’s on it fellas! *sigh*

Blackquill & Fulbright - The Ultimate Bromedy: Jesus. Before playing the game, if you told me Dual Destinies had a prisoner prosecutor and a secret agent detective, I’d probably not play it. Because it sounds like a work of surrealist fanfic. For me, these two concepts just say: ‘We’ve run out of ideas so let’s try something different, but we’re still gonna maintain the classic Ace Attorney tropes like the new attorney and prosecutor having a muddled past.’ Newsflash, group of writers I can only envision struggling around a big table with pencils in your mouths: it’s not who the prosecutor and detectives are, it’s the tropes you implement on them that make everything feel so damn repetitive. Beyond that, how does it even make sense for a prosecutor to be a prisoner? They briefly go on a tangent trying to explain it by saying oh it’s the Dark Age of the Law but by that point I had heard that phrase/excuse so many times that it just meant [blank]. Like literally [blank]. Blackquill is the unique prisoner-prosecutor because [blank]. Do you understand my frustration? I don’t think you do. I am a man who requires logic, explanations, fucking reason. Having the Dark Age of the Law be the equivalent of the Purge does not explain shit. Anything can go down - its a free-for-all ! Just like with every other issue I’ve outlined in this post, this could have been very easily fixed. Have Klavier be the prosecutor (for continuity purposes, not because he’s a good or well-written character or anything like that) and have Athena visit Blackquill in prison throughout the game because of the burden she feels after the details surrounding Metis’s murder fail to make sense as pointed out by Aura. That way, you’ve got a prosecutor who isn’t a literal prisoner, and a scapegoat for the final case. Blackquill’s entire shtick doesn’t make sense to me. Is he a prisoner, an emo, or a samurai? Why does he look like a skunk? Why does he pretend to be homicidal and violent until proven otherwise? To protect Athena? I think not. And then, his counterpart, Bobby Fulbright. Was this the writers’ effort to make fun of a foreigner’s view of an American? Because he’s the most stereotypical American thing I’ve seen since Redd White. The happy-go-lucky, can-do attitude drenched in red, white and blue, loud and aloof. It’s giving... I don’t even know what it’s giving. Fine, I’ll play along with the fact that you made the game’s detective the main villain (even though you already did the whole “unsuspecting character villain” thing with the main baddie in Investigations 2, two years prior). Fine. But at least make it good. At least execute it well. Similar to Blackquill, there’s a lot of questions surrounding Bobby. What’s with his design? What’s his motive? Why did he stick around after Metis’s death and literally forced himself into every possible Athena-related situation? Where’s Ema Skye? Did he eat her? What does he really look like? Is he a cyborg? How did he make that huge leap at the Space Centre? Perhaps the worst offense here is the final twist being that Fulbright is like this maniacal mastermind who can get away with everything because how?? Oh yeah ! He’s in control of his emotions ! ... I... I’m at a loss for words. You’re telling me the final piece of evidence to put Fulbright away is the fact that he couldn’t possibly feel happiness or anger or whatever the fuck when testifying ? That’s literally a textbook definition of a sociopath. A lot of stuff in the universe of Ace Attorney doesn’t make sense, but trying to make a gimmick out of literal psychology must be in the top 3 list. How did other twists work in the past? Well, Manfred Von Karma’s crime came to light by slowly unraveling bit by bit of the DL-6 incident as the final trial proceeding came to a close, and Matt Engarde’s twist took place mid-investigation for the sake of explaining it and establishing everything. Meanwhile, Dual Destinies waits until the very last minute to spring Bobby’s twist onto us and then... just goes with it? Like... please explain in a coherent way the what, the how, the when, and most importantly the why.

Cases that Make You Go Zzzz... Ok so I guess this is an area which can be the most subjective because of how people experience the cases, the order they played the games in, etc. I fully get it, a big part of why I dislike Stolen is because I played it outside, in the UK weather, at a bus stop. However, looking past sentiment, a lot of the DD cases suffer from lacklustre writing. Let’s take Monstrous, for example, which coincidentally is my least favourite case in the entire series (DGS is really trying it though). The villain is revealed in the opening cutscene and, mama, that was a choice. The characters are serving nothing. Phineas Filch and Jinx Tenma are so annoying, 0% helpful, no personality, no anything. In my first year of university I remember one of my creative writing tutors saying that if I’m bored to read my own work, then other people will most probably be bored too. I think the same applies here: would the writers ever want to speak to someone as dull and irritating as Filch and Jinx? I struggle to believe that. And yeah, we’ve had characters like these in the past, like Moe the clown, Ron Delite, hell even Lotta Hart could be grating at times. But other characters would balance them out, like Desirée, Gumshoe, dare I even say Regina motherfucking Berry. When all the characters in a case lack any personality, constantly scream out their lines, and fail to keep the player’s attention, it’s an issue. AA characters are usually allocated a single trait which can then be applied to their dialogue and reactions. April May is a sexy sweetheart with a barbaric side which only comes out when you anger her. Good. Lisa Basil might very well be a robot so you want to keep talking to her in order to find out. Better. The mysterious Adrian Andrews is keeping her darkest secrets hidden and knows all about the TV Studio drama but won’t tell. Excellent. Hugh O’Conner is 25 masquerading as 18. No, no no no, stop immediately. And it’s not just him. Aristotle Means is a Grecian statue, Solomon Starbuck suffers from depression, Bobby Fulrbight is constantly one-note. Juniper Woods... holy shit can I not stand her. Why did they even make an effort to push her into the forefront? So that Apollo’s already limited screen time is riddled with even more unresolved storylines, like an unnecessary love interest? Why was she a bitch at the academy and then, after everything is cleared up, goes back to her crocheting, Fairy Pokémon self? Almost all the characters are one-dimensional (with some notable exceptions like Norma DePlume and Myriam Scuttlebutt, to who I should recommend my chiropractor because they must be exhausted after carrying the episodes they’re in on their backs). They lack flavour, they fail to entice, they’re not memorable. And AA cases are character-driven, meaning absolutely no one would ever think oh boy, I can’t wait to play the next case so I can find out what the murder method is ! No one. The characters fail to support their own cases, which are already quite dull. The murders aren’t interesting, there’s no drive to solve them. The establishments/settings are too out-there, apart from academy because they’ve never done a school before but even that they managed to botch somehow. The trial proceedings are ok, I guess, because of shenanigans like propping Athena to look like Constance Courte, but meh. Perhaps the worst thing about the cases however, is the fact that the writers decided to remove the option to investigate every area. Why would you even think of doing that. In the trilogy, in cases which might not have been the best like Big Top or Stolen, there was always something to look forward to when you thought about Maya and Phoenix’s comments on irrelevant stuff in the background. The ladder vs stepladder debate, how Phoenix always curates the items, Charley the plant, Maya’s gluttony. These little details shaped the characters and the narrative in such a subtle way, and in the end we felt like we’ve known Maya since birth. In Dual Destinies, that doesn’t even exist. It could have been yet another easy solution to an issue such as Athena and Apollo not receiving enough character development.

DD’s Biggest Offense: It’s that there’s way too many stuff for it to handle. The game is literally trying to manage 329832 different stories all at once, in the span of 5 cases and one DLC case. Here’s a list: Phoenix returning as an attorney, Athena’s introduction, Apollo’s career, Apollo and Trucy being siblings, the Mason System, the Dark Age of the Law, Blackquil being a prisoner, how Athena and Blackquil know each other, the hostage take-over at the space centre, the Phantom, Edgeworth’s return, J*niper Woods’s crush on Apollo. It would be nonsensical to think that you could cover all of these to their full extent in a single game. It’s foolish, unrealistic. And, as a result, a lot of these storylines come out as half-baked. We never find out what the Dark Age of the Law is, how it came to be, why it’s here, how it affects cases, why is it important? It’s hyped up for 5 cases, the characters constantly reminding us that it’s around, but then... nothing happens. Nothing is explained, nothing comes of it. If Bobby is the game’s villain, who is completely unrelated to the Dark Age of the Law, then how does taking him down in the final act signal the end of this dark era? If it’s such an imminent threat that never affects us or gets resolved, why is it there? It’s just [blank], remember? The main cast doesn’t get enough time to shine or develop either. As established above, Phoenix, Apollo and Athena’s roles are shrouded in questions and plot holes. As a result, we don’t really care about these characters, and when the final case of the game rolls around and is like oh no, Athena is going to get sentenced to death if you don’t defend Blackquil properly! I was like ok I don’t really care babes, sorry. Looking back, defending Edgeworth, trying to save Maya from Shelly de Killer, finding out Godot was the culprit, Kay losing her memory; all of these moments were so gut-wrenching because the previous cases put in the work in order for the player to care for these characters. God forbid anyone touch a hair on Maya’s head because *growls*. But when I’ve seen Athena for like 2 seconds of gameplay and Trucy hasn’t been around for the entire game, the robot take-over feels so unreasonably dire, like so anti-climactic. Why should I care? You haven’t put in the work for me to care, why should I?

Closing Statement: There’s some stuff I’d like to mention before finalising my autopsy report of Dual Destinies. The 3D is absolutely abysmal and looks lazy. Yes this was 2013 DS era, but fuck do they look ugly. Couldn’t they have opted for cel-shaded Wind Waker-style graphics? Trying to emulate the original sprites in 3D form was a very bad move, it’s so distracting and takes away from the charm of the game. Secondly, my Turnabout Podcast co-host and soulmate has managed to convince me that Reclaimed is actually a decent case. It is a decent case. But it’s plagued by the game’s stink and the rest of the horrible decisions analysed above. As a solo outing, it’s really good. As a DLC to a bad game, it manages to outshine the rest while it sinks down with the ship. Monstrous feels like a crazy one-off adventure and that should have been the DLC, with a few added characters and some more pizzazz. As such, Academy could have been an establishing first case after the tutorial and Reclaimed could be DD’s crown jewel. So yeah. With that out of the way, this is it. I’ve spent my entire day writing this, I think this is everything I have major issues with. Recently, I’ve tried replaying Academy but I got easily bored so I stopped. I guess part of the reason I played it back when I did was either the fact that the pandemic had just started or because I was eager to see what happened next in the overall story. As bad as Apollo Justice was, a lot of its writing felt very much like Shu Takumi’s work, so I trusted it. It might not have been a game for me, but I do understand how people like it and I have fond memories of it. Dual Destinies on the other hand, doesn’t have that privilege.

#roll credits #Trace Memory or as you may know it: Another Code #lol #i'm a maniac #this is yet another achievement on this blog #if you can call it that #dual destinies #ace attorney #not sly cooper #i do like Athena i swear

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danwhobrowses · 3 years ago

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WWE Summerslam 2021 - Initial Reaction and Review

It's been a big week for wrestling in general, and now we have the Biggest Party of the Summer in the books, uncharacteristically airing on a Saturday.

It's been a while since I've run down a WWE PPV, time and apathy does have a bit to do with it, but since this is a big 4 and given what happened in Chicago there's definitely curiosity over how WWE would respond

Spoilers for Summerslam 2021 Below, I will be discussing the winners and moments so watch the PPV first

As usual I will indicate in the title who was the person I expected to win before the match started, but instead of Bold this time I'll put them in Italics with the whole match card being in bold

Kick-off

A long-ass kickoff was majority promo and interviews, not any contrarion drabble this time which was good. It was kinda sad to see Asuka on the packages but nowhere to be seen on the card.

I did like the sign guy of 'McAfee = Ratings' because he's kinda right, he has been great on commentary. I did not miss that dude in the Fiend Mask though, or the Lily Doll.

I will reiterate though that Sonya Deville is wasted right now, let her back in the goddamn ring, SD's Women's Division does need it and they make her look like a goof as Assistant GM.

Also apparently the Mysterios vs Usos aren't good enough for a promo package, not like it's a title match or anything... plus the disrespect still there, 'I wouldn't wanna work with my dad' they say like Rey isn't a multi time world champion with a huge wealth of experience.

The Miz and Morrison came in with a water truck to a mixed pop of cheers and boos, this moist gimmick ain't great but props for both guys being dedicated to it, it was short enough not to overstay its welcome too.

Ugh, Logan Paul is here...

Big E def. Baron Corbin (Pinfall via Big Ending) We had a new announcer from a Tiktok competition winner called Raine, and you know she was really good at it.

Corbin entered to boos hugging the MITB briefcase he stole, unable to afford entrance music it seems even though he's getting a PPV paycheck. To his credit he looks ultra disheveled, and when the ref had to pry the briefcase from him he looked super forlorn. I dunno why he's wrestling in a shirt though wouldn't that make it dirtier?

When the bell rings E does basically go right at Corbin, Corbin got a shoulder block in but then got caught in a belly to belly - despite protests - then a belly to backp. E missing the apron splash as Corbin senses a countout win, at 7 he leaves the ring to hit E against the ring post to try and eke out more time, demanding that the timekeeper keep the briefcase in his sights. E does return to the ring but his spear goes right is sidestepped into the ringpost, then thrown into them two more times, but only gets 2.

Corbin continues with some momentum with a sidewalk slam for 2, but his chokeslam is reversed into a rollup for 2 then a stretch muffler. He escapes and hits the Deep Six for 2, then 1.8, Corbin then stumbles to the briefcase, considering an exit before being hit with a lariat. E throws Corbin into the ring, but Corbin rolls right out, grabs the briefcase and tries to run around the ring only to be pounced into the barricade by Big E. The cat and mouse chase comes to an end, Corbin elbows E to get some room to roll to the other side of the ring but E catches him with that suicide spear he does, the briefcase is dropped and the straps are off: Big Ending for 3.

Shots of Logan Paul are hilariously met with huge boos as Big E finally reclaims his briefcase to a pop.

It was a nice little match, good palette cleanser and a nice and clean competition, Corbin had no chance in winning but it was a solid way to warm up the crowd for the main ppv.

Our final bit of the kick-off was discussing the UNI main event, though I feel like losing your job is a higher stake than winning your 17th world title. Also they had to force in the shucky ducky which was dumb.

Main Show

Raw Tag Team Championship: RK-Bro [Randy Orton & Riddle] def AJ Styles & Omos (c) [TITLE CHANGE] (Pinfall on Styles by Orton via RKO) Starting the night with some fun as Riddle comes out in a garish snake print outfit with a cerise pink lining, Orton didn't get the fashion memo thankfully but his hologram snake was cheesy. Riddle interacted with the crowd and had the multicoloured holo-doves while Orton mainly kept to himself. AJ and Omos came out together, though Omos had no theatrics, looking like a bouncer being invited to dinner still.

Orton and AJ started the match, Orton with the early advantage and tagging Riddle in for an assisted backflip for a 1 count, AJ rolls out the ring frustrated then tags in Omos, who just ragdolls Riddle; Shoulder Block, big clubbing blow then a delayed powerslam - an interesting glance over to Orton as well as they smile at each other, almost like Orton approved. Omos tries to deadlift Riddle with a wristlock but Riddle scrambles into a sleeper, but is flipped off then flattened in the corner. AJ tags in, platforming Omos for a Tornado DDT for 2, Riddle tries to fight out but runs into a backbreaker as AJ tells Orton 'you're next'.

During the rest hold, the crowd rallies Riddle back into the fight, AJ looks to have reclaimed an advantage and throws Riddle to his corner, but Riddle turns it into a dropkick on Omos, then dumps AJ out the ring. Riddle tries to tag Orton but AJ grabs him, enzugiri by Riddle allows Orton to make the hot tag. Clotheslines on AJ, a forearm to Omos - but it only stuns him, doesn't even fall to the floor, backdrop and another forearm to Omos that again fails to drop him. Clothesline to corner and a powerslam, this time Orton drops Omos out the ring by dropkicking the knees, draping DDT gets Orton feeling the RKO, but Omos drags AJ out the ring, then catches Riddle's dive to chokeslam him onto the apron. AJ stuns Orton with a jawbreaker on the ropes and gestures Omos to finish Riddle, but Riddle escapes the lawn dart and pushes Omos into the ring post. AJ though catches Riddle with his backflip reverse DDT on the outside, he misses the Phenomenal Forearm, but stands his ground against the RKO attempt, he rolls up for 2 and then lands into an RKO for 3.

It didn't last long but it was a fun opener, it was time for a title change and RK-Bro was a good choice. It's a shame Styles has to be the weak link but you can't be surprised that WWE continue to protect Omos.

Alexa Bliss (w/Lily) def. Eva Marie (w/ Doudrop) (Pinfall via DDT) The Lily hologram was fucking horrifying as Bliss carries the doll and puts it on the corner turnbuckle. Bliss weaves Eva effortlessly, she tries a waistlock but gets elbowed off. Eva gets a punch and a hair yank then...poses. She grabs Lily and starts slapping the doll, then slapping Alexa with the doll. Alexa then goes on the attack, clotheslines then a senton for 2, she puts Lily back as Eva argues with Doudrop. Alexa misses the Twisted Bliss and Eva gets 2 twice, a kick to the gut and a DDT finishes off Eva.

Post-match, Doudrop only looks smugly at Eva and grabs a microphone, announcing Eva as the loser, stealing her gown and walking away as Eva insists she made Doudrop.

This match didn't need to happen, in fact it could've just been a segment, but at least WWE were sensible in not having Eva Marie win against a former women's champion. They also didn't do any spooky shit and put the narrative mainly on Doudrop being free to hopefully be Piper Niven again, once again it didn't overstay its welcome.

Mario Lopez (who?) interviews RK-Bro on their title win, Orton cuts his normal promo but gets stumbled by trying to fit 'Bro' into his '3 most deadly letters in wrestling' catchphrase.

US Championship: Damian Priest def. Sheamus (c) [TITLE CHANGE] (Pinfall via Recknoning) Immediately after the interview Priest was already on the ramp, in blue gear with the USA and Puerto Rico flag on his tights, he did his archer pose to set off his tron. The Tron had a bit of an issue with Sheamus' opening, Sheamus wandered in with his face guard and coat. Sidebar, I still don't like the US Title design, it's better than the old one but not by much.

The two start by locking up, some solid chain wrestling shows that Sheamus has the power but Priest has the agility. After a pump kick, Priest hits a Falcon Arrow for 1, he has a bit of a nasty landing with his mid-rope flip senton out the ring, his heel clipped Sheamus' head but Priest's back had a hard landing on the floor, not easy to get distance when you step off the middle rope. Despite a flurry of kicks, Sheamus focuses on the back by throwing him into the ring post, belly to back and also an Irish Curse lead to a Camel Clutch, but Priest escapes that, Sheamus picks him up but Priest elbows out, so then he tries to powerbomb and Priest rana's out of that. Momentum is short though as Sheamus gets a powerslam for 2, a Dublin Smile and a Beats of the Bodhrán but he cuts the count short to slight the crowd's chant. His timewasting is punished by a Tornado DDT from Priest, they trade blows and a lariat floors Sheamus, a spinning leg lariat from the top rope only gets him 2.

Priest sets up the Reckoning, but is picked up for a rolling fireman's carry slam, Sheamus slowly climbs the turnbuckle, giving Priest time to look for a chokeslam, but Sheamus shimmies along the ropes and gets a massive rope-assisted jawbreaker, top turnbuckle clothesline and an Alabama Slam only gets 2. Sheamus angrily talks shit at Priest, Priest slaps him but Sheamus headbutts him back. He sets up the Brogue Kick but Priest gets the Big Boot and the South of Heaven, but it only gets 2. Priest tries the Reckoning but his back won't handle the weight, he tries a Disaster Kick but runs into a knee to the face, it's only a 2. After being furious with the ref Sheamus tries the Cloverleaf, but gets rolled up for 2, he catches Priest in a heel hook in the middle of the ring, with no ropes to reach, Priest reaches for the face guard, ripping it off of Sheamus. Madness in his eyes, Priest unloads on Sheamus' face, causing Sheamus to cover up and release the hold, a flapjack into the top turnbuckle stuns Sheamus for another spinning Leg Lariat and then a Recknoning for 3.

A nice technical match, had some creative spots in there and Priest winning was nice to see after the Miz/Morrison feud lasted forever. I do dislike that they said it was his first title 'in WWE' though, because he was NA Champion in NXT, which is still WWE Cole. I don't think I liked that the face guard is what undid Sheamus, the dude who likes to fight shouldn't really lose to insecurity. But third time's the charm with the Reckoning.

Afterwards we had a promo for NXT TakeOver. We got a backstage talk between Rey and Dom, Dom apologizing to Rey for the SD incident and Rey forgiving it immediately, noting to stay focused on the match right now.

SD Tag Championship: The Usos (c) def. The Mysterios (Pinfall on Rey by Jey via Splash) Immediately after the promo they left the curtain to their entrance, the yellow, white and pink was...a choice, kinda miss the comic book attires. The Usos came out with the Leis and their regular gear.

Rey and Jimmy started lightning quick, Rey setting up a 619 with a rana but Jimmy rolling out of the ring, eating a basement dropkick. Jey's intervening is stopped by Dom who drops him sluggishly into his brother before he's tagged in, Rey hits the baseball slide splash and Dom the crossbody. In the ring Dom's second crossbody gets 2, three amigos by Dom but he shifted Jimmy too close to Jey, who managed to tag a leg, meaning that Jey throws Dom off the turnbuckle when he tries a Frog Splash. Jey taunts Dom after hitting him into the ring post (who has had a lot of mileage already), gesturing him to try and tag his father before cinching a headlock, Dom tries to fight back but is thrown to the other corner, Jimmy is tagged in and they hit a Backbreaker/Ax Handle combo. Jimmy taunts Dom the same way, diving headbutt for 2, the Usos spend too much time taunting Dom in their corner as the younger Mysterio staggers the twins with elbows, his rush for his father is cut off by a very nonchalant uppercut by Jey (McAfee literally yelling HADOUKEN was amazing). Jey continues to posture after suplexes and more taunting, they look for the third suplex but Dom hooks his leg, reversing it into a twisting neckbeaker.

Rey gets the hot tag as Jey tags Jimmy, planting the Uso with a tornado DDT for 2. Seated Senton and a forearm to Jey on the Apron leads to Rey walking into a Superkick for 2. Both Usos stalk Rey, looking to do a pop-up Powerbomb, but Rey ranas Jimmy out the ring, Jey gets him with a superkick to the gut, then a superkick to counter Rey's springboard crossbody, he hits the Splash but it only gets 2. Jey looks frustrated and tags Jimmy to set up the double splash, but Dom cuts Jey off, he tries to suplex Jey onto the apron but Jey drops him with a front-facing suplex instead. The delay is sufficient though since Rey rolls away from Jimmy's splash, headscissors setup, 619 for a big pop, he goes for the Frog Splash but Jimmy gets the knees up. Superkick by Jimmy, tags in Jey, double Superkick, splash by Jey and 3.

*sigh* Can Rey stop being pinned? It's not like Dom doesn't know how to take a pin. It's, it's sucky really, I've said it enough times but Rey deserves more than this given his popularity and past title wins, WWE would not do this to the likes of Edge or Cena, Angle or Goldberg, hell they wouldn't even do this to Eddie and yet Rey gets this treatment as thanks for being full time. Granted, it took like 3 finishers to down him but come on, compare the light pop this match got when everyone knew the Usos were winning with the pop Rey's hot tag and his 619 got, he still has it and they won over the crowd, with more time and narrative to their match it could've been a classic. I'm just sick of seeing one of my faves lose so much you know, if the story is Dom's inexperience then surely he would be the reason for defeat, rather than Rey being ganged up on.

Tiffany Haddish (who??) interviews Priest on his title win, apparently Priest hates bullies and he's happy...not as cool as his NA title win in the hot tub though. Summerslam could've fit in a hot tub

Rick Boogs then shreds the guitar as he welcomes King Nakamura. McAfee is dancing like a goof again on the table and Nakamura's crown falls off, but he makes up for it by playing the IC title like a guitar with Pat. He's disappeared after the Belair/Sasha package though...kinda confusing why that was there.

SD Women's Championship: Bianca BelAir (c) vs Sasha Banks CANCELLED As Bianca enters with SD Women's Title prints on her gear, the announcer says that Sasha is unable to compete, so Carmella is fighting in her stead. A shame but obviously not intended.

Bianca BelAir (c) vs Carmella INTERRUPTED Props to McAfee for noting the collective disappointment. BelAir looks disappointed too and tells Carmella that she's gonna dish out her frustration on Carmella. The title is aloft but then

Becky Lynch is here

Cameras are not showing enough of her on her return as Bianca buzzes, the crowd is on their feet. Becky's got a thicker mane than I remember, maybe it's the curls, a new shirt of 'The Man's back in Vegas' is worn by Becky too as she soaks in her pop. When the cameras stop long enough to focus on Becky she is looking extra lean. She attacks Carmella and dumps her out of the ring, she tells Bianca she'll be right back and throws Carmella into the steps, before standing off with Bianca. She grabs a microphone and asks for a title match, BelAir mulls it, but eventually accepts.

Becky Lynch def. Bianca BelAir (c) [TITLE CHANGE] (Pinfall via Manhandle Slam) Both women are amped up, Lynch offers a handshake but the moment they touch, she socks Bianca, Manhandle Slam and 3. Becky celebrates as BelAir looks stunned and a little shafted, Becky does gesture no hard feelings but, BelAir does have hard feelings.

It's a big pop for Becky's return, though I would've rather seen you know, a match. I love Becky, she's been one of my favourite women's wrestlers in WWE before she was even The Man, and I am psyched she's back, but BelAir vs Becky could've been a good match. we didn't need the Carmella stuff either just have BelAir call an open challenge in Sasha's absence. Also as thin as the SD Women's Division was Becky probably would've fit more for the Raw Women's Title situation, since we last saw her vacating it and that shit's on heavy life support, plus I was kinda hoping that Bianca could beat Sasha but Sasha would win later down the line so we could build Liv Morgan for a title win, I guess October's draft could still open it up. But yeah, happy to see Becky back.

Wrestling Olympic Gold Medalists Tamyra Mensah-Stock and Gable Stevenson come out next, I know WWE have been hot on Gable but after the scripts' comments on Simone Biles it feels forced. Tamyra was at least happy to be here.

Extreme Rules promo is next.

Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal (Pinfall via Claymore) Jinder comes out first, Veer and Shanky only able to stand at the ramp and go to the back. Drew comes with his sword to summon...smoke? You can see how dull that sword is too.

Drew starts the match strong by throwing Jinder in the corner, kicks and chops followed by throws, he motions for Claymore but Jinder rolls out the ring, cutting him at the legs. Jinder's attempt to regain momentum is countered with a belly to belly, so next he tries to appeal to their past friendship but Drew isn't having it. He tries the Futureshock but Jinder kicks him in the face, stunning him for 2. Knee drops and knee chokes are followed by clubs to Drew's head and a choke, but Drew powers out and hits a Glasgow Kiss (which they called a Glaz-gao kiss, it's not that hard to say Glasgow), some more Belly to Bellies leads to a Futureshock and a kip up, 3, 2, 1, Claymore, 1, 2, 3.

McIntyre stepped over Jinder as he celebrated, Veer and Shanky tended to Jinder and then Drew grabbed his sword and started swinging...like the face he is trying to murder these dudes for tending to their boss.

Okay. Easy pop having squashed Jinder, did this need to be on PPV? Probably not, this and Bliss/Eva could've been done on Raw, rather than steal time from Usos/Mysterios and a potential Becky/BelAir banger. Nobody really got over or elevated with this.

Raw Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair def. Nikki A.S.H. (c) and Rhea Ripley [TITLE CHANGE] (Submission on Nikki by Charlotte via Figure Eight) Uncharacteristically, Nikki came out first to nothing, not a pop or a boo, it kinda sounded like fake crowd noises when we had one pop. Rhea got a mini pop next, but loud woos for Charlotte? Don't buy that especially given how she's meant to be the heel. She's in kinda Thanos gear too. The pops were louder for Rhea when her name was announced, Nikki's was mixed and Charlotte had some boos.

The bell rings as Charlotte shoves Nikki, telling her to get out the ring. Rhea shoves Charlotte but Nikki dumps Rhea out the ring, a Monkey Flip to Charlotte then a Rollup on Rhea for 1. Charlotte dumps Rhea as the two tussle, Nikki coming back to boot Charlotte off the apron as part of a bulldog on Rhea. Rhea keeps trying to keep a hold of Nikki but Nikki keeps rolling her up. Charlotte throws Nikki into Rhea like a spear then lariats Rhea and exploder's Nikki. Rhea and Charlotte trade advantages around the turnbuckle, Charlotte fights off a Nikki crossbody and powerslams Nikki onto Rhea, she tries the moonsault but Rhea gets her feet up, Nikki rolls her up but Rhea pulls her off, tries the Riptide but Nikki shifts her weight to splash her. Nikki headscissors Charlotte but is booted by Rhea, Charlotte then boots Rhea and taunts her, Rhea then starts finding energy, a Northern Lights for 1 but Charlotte then regains momentum, a huge big boot to dump Rhea out the ring, but Nikki then tornado DDTs Charlotte for 2. Basement Dropkick to Rhea gives Charlotte time to catch Nikki but Rhea german's them both, Missile Dropkick to Charlotte by Rhea only gets 2 as Charlotte flees to the outside. The two trade blows on the outside, to be flattened by Nikki's crossbody.

Pulling Charlotte in the ring, Charlotte resists the suplex, but Rhea comes in to double up on Charlotte, only for Charlotte to reverse it to a double DDT, Flair chops are suppressed but Charlotte still manages to fend off Nikki and Rhea, Corkscrew Moonsault on the outside takes the two out. She drags Rhea in but Rhea gets a boot, Nikki tries to roll up Rhea but only gets 2. Rhea's limping a bit but still kicks Nikki and cinches in her Inverted Cloverleaf, she dodges the Big Boot from Charlotte (perhaps inadvertently) and locks it into Charlotte, but she rolls through and gets the Figure 8, which is broken by Nikki's knee drop. Nikki hits a Purge but it's broken up by Rhea, she sets another Riptide but again Nikki counters this time with a Reverse Tornado DDT, dumping Rhea out the ring. Nikki sees Charlotte prone, setting up the Crossbody, but she misses, Charlotte locks the Figure 8 and taps.

Abrupt finish, it was a really well-worked match selling the chaos of the triple threat. But I never felt like Charlotte was in danger of losing, Nikki wasn't working because they rushed her new character without getting her over, so of course WWE were gonna fall back to ye olde Charlotte title win. The narrative didn't help either, she seemed like the babyface and again, didn't feel threatened, I never saw the opening for Charlotte to lose. In a vacuum it was a good match, as a whole though, since Rhea won the title at mania nobody's gotten over, they made an absolute hash of the Charlotte feud to the point where we didn't even feel invested in Rhea getting a win back, then we fast tracked a cash in. The only one who profited here was Charlotte, who got to add 2 more title reigns to her name on paper, had Becky came here to make it a 4-Way and won, it'd probably have been more hopeful because now, who is next? Asuka's AWOL, Shayna's buried, Alexa's on spooky shits, Rhea's broken, Nikki isn't getting over, who can Charlotte face at this point?

Edge def. Seth Rollins (Submission via Crossface) Dressed like some aristocrat, Seth entered first half smug half focused, it may've dragged on a bit long. Edge didn't come out to Metalingus, but instead he came out in the fires of the Brood, with the dark sunglasses, fire and the elevated platform to boot, but then Metalingus came out to give the people what they want.

The bell rings but there's a long pause to soak in the crowd investment. Edge has the early advantage with a swift punch, every time Seth tries to lock in on Edge he hits back, annoying Seth as he mulls outside the ring. He tries the Pedigree but is again dumped out the ring, this time Edge follows and throws him around the barriaces, Rollins returns to the ring but is knee'd out, but gets some advantage by dodging the Baseball Slide and driving Edge into ye olde Ring Post, then against the steps. Neckbreaker only gets 2 as he continues to focus on the neck with chokes, stomps and slingblades, another neckbreaker leads to another 2 as Seth taunts Edge about it.

A diving knee by Rollins gets 2 as Seth kicks around Edge, he tries another neckbreaker but Edge reverses into a backslide for 2, Flapjack and a tackle into the turnbuckle, Seth fends off Edge at the turnbuckle though and hits the Frog Splash for 2 but for the second time Edge rolls into the corner to avoid the stomp. Rollins pulls Edge to the turnbuckle, but Edge hits him with a top turnbuckle spinning neckbreaker, Flapjack onto the top rope, Edgecution for 2, Rollins stuns Edge by driving him into the Turnbuckle, but he misses his knee strike into an Head Yank for 2. Edge goes up top but Rollins turns it into his Superplex/Falcon Arrow combo for 2, he sets up the Stomp but misses, tries the Pedigree but Edge wriggles out, Glam Slam by Edge for 2, nice homage for Beth there. Seth gets back the momentum though, Jawbreaker on the ropes then a neckbreaker on the ropes, Edge dodges the stomp on the apron though and throws Seth into the ring post (not ye olde ringpost though it's a different one) and then a spear through the ropes into the outside. A bulldog into the apron LED only gets 2, but now Edge is setting up the spear, but Rollins counters into a Pedigree (Pat mustn't have watched Roman vs Seth before because he said he has never seen that counter) but it only gets 2.

Rollins climbs up top looking for the Phoenix Splash, he lands on his feet and rolls away but walks into a spear, 1, 2, No. Edge now looking for the Killswitch but Rollins clubs then kicks Edge in the back of the head, he tries the Stomp but Edge rolls and catches the boot, turning it into an Edgecator, Seth reaches for the ropes so Edge tries to pull him back, but in releasing the hold he gets rolled up for 2. Edge then tries the Crossface, rolling to the center of the ring, but Edge slams his head into the mat and reapplies it for the tapout.

A nicely worked match again that managed to showcase a lot of Edge's past bag of tricks. The second I was wrong about too, I expected Seth to get some momentum to try and challenge Roman like he had been teasing before this feud (on that note, where's Cesaro? Miss that dude), but it was definitely something for the fans to cheer about. The narrative of avoiding the Stomp was also good for the storytelling, Seth doesn't lose anything in defeat either, he's took 2 spears, 2 crossfaces, Edgecator and the Edgecution.

MITB 22 is announced on 4th July at the Allegiant Stadium, Vegas (the same venue as tonight). Expect there to be a Murica match in there. In addition attendance today is 51k. We scope back around to Miz and Morrison's kickoff thing, mostly getting a jobber entrance. The moist jokes were worst this time around as they marketed the 'Drip Stick 2000' which neither had. Who did have it? A very wet and long-haired Xavier Woods with a cocktail stick in their mouth and a 'New Day Order' shirt. Woods convinces the crowd to rally into shooting them with a water gun, though it didn't really get a pop in the act, dumb shit really but whatever Woods' new look is I dig it.

WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley (w/MVP) (c) def. Goldberg (via Ref Stoppage) Lashers out first...no sanctity it seems. He's walking into the ring with purpose, his pose has no pyro though, kinda a lukewarm smoke that'd make Revolution 2020's explosion smirk. Goldberg does his usual entrance, lots of quick camera switching again. Dude looks a bit top-heavy tbh, skipping those leg days. Lashley paces across Goldberg's periphery, it doesn't look like there'll be underestimation in this fight.

They lock up first, a bit of strength testing, Goldberg tanks a shoulder block, grounding Lashley with a flying shoulder block, then a body slam. Goldberg is keeping the advantage with corner attacks and clotheslines but Lashley clubs at the back. He sets up a Jackhammer for insult to injury, but Goldberg keeps his leg hooked, he tries to lift Lashley but can't follow through and gets hit with a flatliner. No sympathy from Lashley as he clubs at the back of the head before uncharacteristically going up top, which Goldberg punishes by throwing him down, Goldberg looks for the Spear but MVP yanks Lashley outside, only for Goldberg to spear him on the outside anyway.

Goldberg sets up a second spear, but as the ref focuses on Lashley rolling out the other side, MVP thwacks Goldberg's knee with his cane, distracting Goldberg long enough to be chop blocked. Chokeslam makes Lashley look for the Hurt Lock, but he can't connect the fingers, as Goldberg escapes though he gets chop blocked again, causing Goldberg to leave the ring. Lashley follows, lifting him up and charging him knee first into the ring post twice. Struggling to stand, the Ref throws the match.

The match is over but Lashley continues to attack the leg with a steel chair. Gage Goldberg attempts to jump but gets wrenched with a Hurt Lock. MVP tries to assure that Lashley wouldn't have known that he was attacking Goldberg's son but it means little, Goldberg insisting he's gonna kill Lashley, meaning this feud isn't over.

The heat was right, the delivery was wrong. We've seen people beat Goldberg clean, I don't see why Lashley, who has beaten people who have beaten Goldberg clean, couldn't do that himself? Needing MVP's help flattens the statement made.

Camera work got a bit wonky there when promoting the Main Event

Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) def. John Cena (Pinfall via Spear) Cena's the first to come out, sporting a Super Mario-esque shirt showing his 16 world title reigns, the reigns also shown on the tron, they actually mentioned Ric Flair this time. The Bronze Statue hologram for Roman is still tacky, but he comes out flanked with his cousins and Paul, smoke again instead of pyro - I wonder if they weren't allowed to pyro. Heyman whispers the Usos to leave Roman to walk the ramp. I spotted an 'Anyone but you Roman' sign in the crowd, before McAfee makes me smirk again by calling Roman an 'absolute stud'.

Roman's a little ginger about locking up with Cena, but is goaded into it, winning the shoulder block. A second lock up leads to a Cena roll up for 1, trying to call back to the go home smackdown, another schoolboy for 2 but Roman laughs it off. Roman doesn't lock up again, kicking and clubbing at Cena while mocking the crowd, a lariat is reversed into another rollup for 2 but gets him back with a reverse lariat (he used the back of his arm, like a chop lariat), a Suplex by Roman leads to a 2 count, then the rest hold. Cena tries to break but Roman smacks him, another suplex for 2 then he dumps Cena out the ring, Cena blocks the punch and tries to flurry back, but is whipped into the steel steps. After some posturing Roman smacks Cena headfirst into the steps again, then posing with the belt as he claims that the crowd needs him, he saunters to the ring but walks into another schoolboy for 2, leading to another punch.

Roman insists that Cena can't win like this, but in his gloating Cena almost lifts him for the AA, which Roman counters into a DDT for 2. Roman almost looks bored, telling the hard cam that he's not apologetic about hurting Cena, Cena once again tries the forearms but when he tries the flying shoulder block he runs into an uppercut. Roman mocks Cena for having only five moves, but again it's a rollup for 2, this time Roman counters with a sleeper, Cena tries to fight but Roman puts his body weight on him, he tries again and Roman uses his weight again, only this time Cena launches him into the corner and follows up with a clothesline. Then come the shoulder tackles, the twisting front drop, but as he tiredly goes for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle, Roman snaps in the Guillotine, Cena tries the Jackknife pin for 2, the hold is broken but this time it's a Superman Punch. Roman wastes too much time though and his spear is countered with a kick, this time the 5 Knuckle Shuffle hits, AA, 1, 2, No. Heyman's having heart palpitations ringside but Cena's locked in the STF, Roman makes the rope to break the hold and leaves the ring, but as Cena looks to follow he's hit by a Drive By.

Roman looks to put Cena away with a Spear on the outside, but Cena counters it with an AA through the Announcer's Table, he drags Roman back into the ring but only gets the 2. Cena goes up top, looking for a dropkick maybe, but he's caught into a powerbomb for 2. Roman seems to be prepping his Superman Punch, but Cena rolls for 2, picks up for the AA but can't lift him all the way, allowing Roman to hit the Superman Punch for another 2. Roman is getting irritated now, Cena's been in his head after all, he goes for the Spear but meets ye olde ring post. Cena pulls Roman up for the Avalanche AA, he lands it, 1, 2, No! Cena taunts Roman this time, quoting his entrance theme then mocking the Oooowaaah, the Spear is cut off though, instead they trade blows, one Superman Punch, two Superman Punch, Roman declares he is WWE and lands the Spear, 1, 2, 3.

Roman stands over the prone Cena, but then the noise is heard. Brock Lesnar is in the building, and he still has the hipster look. Cameras lose control again as Heyman finds a conflict in interest, dude is absolutely jacked though. He approaches Roman in a staredown, but Roman just leaves the ring to close the night. Apparently off-air Lesnar then attacked Cena.

You know what would've made this match better? If the conclusion wasn't so forgone after Smackdown. Did anyone actually think that WWE would let Roman quit? At least before Roman's career was at stake there was a 10% chance Cena could leave as the winner, which would've made the nearfalls much more believable.

As for Lesnar, well, Vince always wanted Roman/Brock to be the main level feud and he's always getting his way. It'll draw, but it only puts paper over the submarine window that is the problem.

Conclusion

A good PPV though. I don't think there was any match that was awful. And that's kinda saying something with Eva Marie involved. Some segments and matches were, legless perhaps, stuff you could've be done with or even just put on Raw which is a shame because that took time from matches, as I said I would've liked to actually see Becky and Bianca wrestle and the Mysterios get more time.

The returns were good, I suppose Chicago definitely had nothing to do with that. But I'm not gonna be sad about seeing Becky Lynch again.

My main problem is probably how despite the big card, there was no doubt, I mean I got all but a couple of matches right on this card and it was because the matches were all built so obviously, those two frankly I predicted because I expected a bit more swerve. Part of it could be the fatigue of all the good wrestling we've seen so far but compared to other PPVs where I've felt on the edge of my seat or shaking in my ribs I just felt cosy, like it was a casual watch.

It was certainly not bad, definitely a good outing with good wrestling, but there is room still to improve on the narrative, and camera work like seriously learn to linger, immediate snap cuts throw people off. New directions are ahead to fulfill that so hopefully WWE can find a course to get back on.

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lambchopviking · 8 years ago

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Could you give your thoughts or predictions for Money In The Bank?

i don’t know if you mean just the ladder matches or the whole card but i’ll do the whole card anyway, bold for who i’m thinking will win, italics for who i want to win

the hype bros. vs the colóns (predict: IF the hype bros. don’t win, zack turns on mojo)

the new day vs the usos

kevin owens vs aj styles vs (or) baron corbin vs sami zayn vs dolph ziggler vs (or) shinsuke nakamura (predict: aj still never got a single’s rematch for the wwe title, so there’s that. baron seems to be on the up and up on smackdown, but i’m not sure if his feud with sami is finished, he may not win if it isn’t. shinsuke is the ultimate wildcard in this match, it seems obvious for to win, but being as how he’s only debuted on the main roster recently and he had the momentum build going into this at the go-home show, i’m worried if it’s too obvious for him to win here.)

becky lynch vs. charlotte flair vs natalya vs tamina vs (or) carmella, (or) surprise 6th entrant

lana vs naomi (predict: if she wins, lana will get immediately cashed in on by the women’s mitb winner)

randy orton vs jinder mahal (predict: losing now makes jinder’s win in the first place a complete joke. he needs this win. the added momentum from winning in st. louis, randy’s hometown, and fulfilling on his promises to ‘embarrass’ the orton family name will be a good move for his future as a top player on smackdown.)

#Anonymous

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xxamorxexmortexx · 7 years ago

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Summerslam 2017

Alright, folks, we’re just a few hours away from Summerslam. So, let’s take this time to make our final predictions for tonight’s matches. Under the cut I’ve got my choices and my reasons for them. Read if you’d like, tell me who your choices are.

1.) Jason Jordan & The Hardy Boyz vs The Miz & the Miztourage

It’s kind of insulting to have the freaking Hardyz as the kickoff show. After all, their return was one of the biggest things in all of wrestling this year (and they had the match of the night at GBOF). But, I know that shit happens, and it wasn’t theirs or anyone’s fault that Scott Dawson was hurt and plans had to be changed. That being said, have the Hardyz clean house with this one, with perhaps Jordan getting the pin on the Miz to perhaps start an actual feud for the IC title and hopefully move a bit past this whole “Kurt Angle is my dad” thing.

2.) Akira Tozawa vs Neville

Neville has been a hell of a champion, but it is too soon to switch the title back over. Tozawa is great, over with the crowd, and has a good thing going with the Titus Worldwide brand. Let him run with it for a bit.

3.) The New Day vs. The Usos

Again, way too soon to change the titles back. But, all of these guys have great chemistry, so I expect that we’ll get a pretty solid match out of everyone here.

4.) Big Show vs. Big Cass

I wanted to go with Big Show here, because he is an adorable giant. Also because in traditional storytelling, a feud isn’t properly done until either the good guy finally triumphs or the bad guy banishes him forever. But this feud is grating on everyone’s nerves and needs to be done already. If they want to keep Big Cass looking like a threat, he needs to win. (Perhaps have Enzo turn heel against the Big Show to put the two back together? Their singles push happened way too soon and is killing both of them)

5.) Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Why are they fighting? Who knows. Anyway, Rusev here. I don’t have any specific reasons, other than I don’t care for Orton and Rusev needs to keep looking like a threat.

6.) John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

If Vince has his way, Cena will probably win, but if they don’t want to COMPLETELY kill Baron Corbin’s future, he needs to win this. And it needs to be angry and violent. He needs to destroy Cena. Otherwise, he’s more dead than the NEXUS

7.) Shaemus & Cesaro vs. Dean & Seth

Story logic dictates that Dean and Seth, having finally reunited, will win this one and become the new tag champs. A part of me wants to agree, but--and I’m so sorry!--they shouldn’t win this one. I’m glad they’re teaming, because they compliment each other very well in the ring, but if they were to win this, after being handed a title opportunity out of nowhere, then that would make their whole tag team division look terrible. Two men who couldn’t stand each other for three years suddenly get back together and dominate over every other team on the roster? Yeah... that would kill the division. Shaemus and Cesaro need to retain.

8.) Naomi vs Natalya

I’m split on this one. Both are great and both would be excellent champions, but there’s really been no story building for this match. Natalya has just kind of been there, not really an imposing threat, while Naomi has had to deal with Lana and Carmella. So, Naomi retains, and perhaps Carmella will cash in.

9.) Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

I personally don’t care for this one either way. Sasha will probably win, but I just want this three-way feud between Bliss, Banks, and Bayley to be done and for the focus to switch other women on the roster.

10.) Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

You don’t release the Demon King just to have him lose. C’mon!

11.) AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

The WWE seems to be putting everything they have on AJ right now. He’s a hot commodity, so I can see him winning this one. And they really need to stop hot-potatoing this belt. Should he lose, though, I can see them pushing AJ past this to the WWE Championship

12.) Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

I can see Jinder winning this one through some of his heel tactics (the Singh bros), and also because he hasn’t really run with the belt for that long just yet. However, Shinsuke is the better in-ring competitor, is more over with the fans, and could probably carry that belt into the next Wresltemania (where he will probably fight AJ Styles

13.) Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe. vs. Braun Strowman

Brock is on his way out of the company, so he’s not going to win. My heart says Roman, but my logic knows that the reaction would be dire. Which is a shame, because Roman is a really talented and hard worker who doesn’t catch a damn break from some of these people. I bolded two of them, because I can see it going to either of them. Vince loves his large, sweaty men, so I can easily see Braun being the monster champion for a while. However, it SHOULD go to Samoa Joe. He’s over with the fans despite being a heel, he’s one of the most athletic men on the roster, and his promo skills are amazing. He could very easily and believably carry the championship for quite some time.

Call me crazy, but I also picture the fatal fourway being interrupted by The Undertaker. If rumors are to be believed, he’s been spotted in NY, so I can see Roman losing because of him and leading to perhaps another feud between Undertaker and Roman. I mean, why the hell else would they keep bringing up their Wrestlemania match unless they were actively trying to get the crowd to hate Roman.

#wwe #summerslam #The Hardy Boyz #big cass #enzo amore #and many others #my predictions for the PPV tonight #can't wait to see how many of these i get

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beatiewolfe · 7 years ago

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Highsnobiety Feature Beatie Wolfe in 10 Ways Music Will Change in 2017

Awesome to be featured in Highsnobiety's '10 Music Trends That Will Be Huge in 2017' ... Read the full article via the link or with out the images below...

10 Music Trends That Will Be Huge in 2017

Now that we’re firmly within the new year, Paul Hanford gazes into his crystal ball and predicts the biggest music trends that will dominate 2017.

2016 frequently felt more like an extortionately long and brutal episode of Game of Thrones than a year in the 21st century. Twelve months ago, would any of us have actually believed a Twitter troll could become President of the USA, or that we’d be mourning the loss of so many musical icons?

Yet, in times of hardship, art gets to work and does what it’s supposed to: confound expectations, innovates and inspires.With that in mind, and with creativity and tech fusing more and more, 2017 could very well emerge as a golden era for music.

Here are 10 music trends that will blow up or continue to rise in the next twelve months:

Music Will Be Released in More and More Unconventional Ways

From Rihanna’s Anti to Beyonce’s Lemonade and all the way back to T.I.’s Us Or Else: Letter To The System, 2016 was all about the unexpected album drop. As the influence of established record companies and their big pre-release marketing campaigns continues to disintegrate, over the next twelve months the unexpected album drop will pale in comparison to the kind of immersive approaches re-shaping the very concept of what an album can be.

Take, for example, London-based Beatie Wolfe, who balances the timeless romantic song-craft of her music with distribution methods that have attracted a salivating tech community and resulted in her getting a TED platform and Wired column inches.

Already, she’s released a single as a musical jacket and an album as a series of digitally interactive cards, and, in 2017, she’ll be taking experiential-as-an-art-form further, collaborating with award winning Designers I/O (of MOMA and Tate Modern fame) and inventors Bell Labs to release her next song cycle.

Grime Will Cement Its Greencard

There was a time when UK hip-hop felt to the rest of the world like one of those nodding bulldogs people put in the backs of their cars: charming, but ultimately pointless.

Now, although Grime has taken the better part of this century to spread its wings abroad, the visa has finally come through. Mercury Prize winner Skepta is on Kanye’s speed-dial; Drake handpicked South London’s piano-playing rapper Dave for his latest mixtape; The New York Times treated Stormzy’s stateside appearances with awe and AJ Tracey is way up high in many 2017 ones-to-watch lists. Grime arrived stateside over the last couple of years, and this trend is set to continue.

Get Used to Hearing the Word “Experiential”

Let’s talk about adverts. Can you remember the last time on YouTube you actually thought, “I won’t press skip in five seconds because I really, really want to watch this ad?” Me neither.

Companies know we’ll use ad-blockers, remove cookies and do pretty much anything else to avoid our streaming pleasures being interrupted, so they’re having to work far more insidiously to grab our attention. All of this has lead to “experiential” becoming as big a buzzword as its more culturally-aligned sister, “immersive”. Basically, experiential advertising places the would-be consumer in an immersive, branded experience.

In 2016, Heineken released plans for a new campaign called “Takeover,” allowing wearers of customized Heineken wrist-bands to control the DJ’s music at festivals. Experiential pioneers like Red Bull have been fusing the lines between creative output and branded content for years, and in 2017 this will be the main battleground on which advertisers will fight for music fans’ attention.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Whether it’s PIL’s mantra, “anger is an energy!” or NWA rallying against the LAPD with “Fuck tha Police”, difficult political climates have always fueled rebellious creativity. Even prior to his election win, there was a surge of anti-Trump music in 2016, from YG’s “Fuck Donald Trump” to alt-lit god Dave Egger’s 30 Days, 30 Songs project.

With hairy has-beens Ted Nugent and Kid Rock the only musicians willing to play at Trump’s inauguration, his administration team are reportedly offering seven digit figures for more credible artists to play. As of now, nobody is up for it.

In 2017, be prepared for ubiquitous Trump slurs in your favorite artists’ releases.

Pop Stars Are Now Younger Than Windows 98

Pop has always been a youthful genre, but given that a member of The Lemon Twigs was younger than Windows 98 (just 14 years old!) when they started making their album, musical sophistication is arriving earlier and earlier. 18-year-old South London rapper Dave also attracted the attention of Drake last year, who remixed his “Wanna Know” track, and 17-year-old indie-electro musician Declan McKenna has been receiving accolades for his work, too.

In 2017, pop stars will make increasingly complex and interesting work at ever-younger ages.

The (Beginning of the) Death of Bro Culture

Could 2017 be the death knell of bro culture within EDM? In the traditionally male-dominated field, nine of Mixmag’s “Top Twenty Breakthrough DJs of 2016” were female, which signals a positive trend for 2017.

In the year that saw the passing of Bowie (the original androgynous rebel), we also witnessed the astronomic rise of Anohni; and with artists like Jana Hunter from LA’s atmospheric rock band Lower Dens describing themselves as “gender non-binary” and New York’s queer-core rockers PWR BTTM continuing to rise, we could be on the crest of a golden age of gender and sexual acceptance within music.

The Return of Bowie?

Picture the scene: you’re in the midst of Daft Punk’s set at, say, Coachella. Halfway through, like a resurrecting John Snow, David Bowie rises up on the stage. Before you can pinch yourself, he’s ripping into “Let’s Dance” with gallic robots grooving behind him.

Sounds crazy, right? Yet, ever since Tupac rose from the dead to duet with Snoop and Dre at Coachella in 2012, holograms have been hot, and as with VR, tech companies are channeling vast research into this area. Japan already has its own totally holographic pop-star, the “16-year-old” Hatsune Miku.

Bowie, always ahead of the times, appeared in hologram form at the AIR Gallery in West London over decade ago. We’re predicting he’ll be back in hologram form in 2017, along with – hopefully! – Prince, George Michael and Phife Dawg.

Drake Will Continue to Drake

One thing will not change in the coming year: Drake’s dominance. From his game-changing deal with Apple to his categorization of his forthcoming work, More Life, as a playlist rather than an album, Drake encompasses the streaming age like no other artist.

With over a billion plays of the Apple-financed “Hotline Bling” video, Drake could pretty much spend the next twelve months occasionally streaming the sound of himself breaking wind without doing any harm to his career whatsoever. 2017 will be another big year for the polarizing Canadian rapper.

Algorithms Will Be Everywhere

In November 2016, Google Play Music released a list of 10 acts “expected to be huge in 2017.” What made their poll different from the flurry of predictions from every tastemaker, style brand and music publication is the fact that it was constructed from a combination of streaming stats, YouTube subscribers, track performances and the instincts of some Google Play specialists.

Predictably for a list largely derived from algorithms, it took less risks than an Ed Sheeran chord change. However, in these uncertain political times, can we really blame Google Play Music for not venturing a bold, original opinion? In 2017, you can be sure the easy algorithm opt-out will prevail.

People Will buy Records and Listen to Cool Shit

In December 2016, for the first time, sales of vinyl in the UK outstripped download sales. This doesn’t mean that your average teen is walking around car boot sales foraging for Pink Floyd re-issues, though. Rather, it signals that vast numbers of people are streaming rather than buying.

Whatever crazy app war may kick off between Spotify and whoever else is vying for our streaming attention, boutique record labels such as Domino and Warp will continue to survive by running a tight ship and maintaining a carefully-crafted roster of artists. In 2017, the underground will continue to throw up fresh, out-of-nowhere sounds and new genres will rise and fall in the blink of a refresh button.

Words: Paul Hanford

#2017 #High Snobiety #Paul Hanford #Nokia Bell Labs #Design I/O #Music Trends #Highsnobiety #Raw Space

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