#give me more Taven content

[paypay0315]

The Space Between (5)

Pairing: Eren Yeager/ Reader or Female OC!

Word Count: 1.8K

Series Summary: Harmony was a young girl who just lost her family, she was more of an open wound then most. When she catches the eye of the Eren Jeager her whole life changes and she doesn't realize she might be in love.

Contents for this Chapter: Nice eren, nice oc!, mean mikasa, friendship.

……

She didn't realize what she was missing out on until she met Eren. She was always the quiet one and she was always by her self when they were in training together. Ever since that day she has gotten a lot closer to some familiar people.

That day after Eren apologized to her she went back to the Tavern with him and sat down at the table he was at. She got to meet the lovely Armin Alert. The boy who always around Eren. She never thought it was weird she knew they were best friends. What weirded her out was how Armin would follow Eren pretty much everywhere. Including the bathroom. She always thought he had some attachment issues but she quickly found out that wasn't the case. He was just very fond of Eren and loved him a lot.

That day at the Taven they talked all night because Harmony was intrigued by Armins stories of the book he used to have of his parents, the stories of the things past the wall. He mentioned they saw the ocean and of course her eyes lit up at the name.

He told her about how the waves can drag you all the way out to the sea if you're not careful enough. How if you go far enough you will be able to catch fish and see some nice plants in the water as well. He told her that the water was always cold but if you stayed in it long enough it will be come the warmest thing you could touch.

You can clearly tell she enjoyed the stories because she wasn't paying attention to anything else beside that. But from the corner of her eye she could she Eren and he was kind of fidgety in his seat and she didn't miss how often he would turn to look at them and his eyebrows would furry. She wondered why he kept doing that. All she was doing was talking to Armin. Is he that attached to his friend that he can't go two minutes without attention? Very strange.

She also got to meet another one of Erens friends, now this one was very different from Armin. Mikasa Ackerman. Pretty much her biggest competition when they were training. It was always back and forth with those two. One day Mikasa will be at the top and the next day it was Harmony.

Harmony was never very fond of Mikasa and to be honest neither was she. But Harmony wanted to put that behind her because she wouldn't admit it but she only didn't like her because she was the only one who could beat her. Harmony realized how immature that was to think that way so she decided to actually talk to her but when she did it wasn't the best transaction.

Mikasa just looked at her, like really looked at her.

"So you're her friend now?" She questioned Eren.

"Mikasa, what's the problem?" Eren asked.

Mikasa didn't say anything to her or him she just sat there. Did she do something to make her angry? Harmony and Mikasa never physically did anything to each other they have barely even looked at each other so why was she acting this way?

And it doesn't stop there weeks on end she will see Mikasa giving her a side eye or stop talking once Harmony enters the room. Harmony tries to confront her about it but she doesn't know why she's so scared to do it. All she wants to know is why she hates her.

They don't argue or anything when it's just Harmony, Eren and her she doesn't even speak to her let alone acknowledge her existence. Eren starts to notice it too, it took him forever though.

When Harmony would always ask "is Mikasa okay?" he would always give a stern look of confusion. He didn't know what to say cause he didn't even notice she was acting weird.

That's the best part about Eren, he doesn't always know until way later and it's really funny when he starts to catch on. One day he just walks up to her randomly and says "Mikasa has been acting weird" and all she can do is pout and give him a sweet smile and reassuring him that he was the first person to figure it out.

Connie, and Jean werent that hard to become friends with either. They were actually really cool. She had only talk to them a few times before but now that her and Eren are friends they have come up to her more often about things.

Just the other day Connie had asked her if she wantedd to go shopping in the town she wanted to say no but she soon realized she needed more bread so she went with him. They spent the whole day laughing at how Connie kept mocking the workers. They soon got kicked out though and they didn't even get the bread she wanted, she was so upset because how was she ever gonna make her soup without it.

When she turned back around she saw Connie with the load of bread she was trying to buy before they got kicked out. He said it was an apology for making them get kicked out. And right after that they became the best of buds. Connie was the person she would go to, to laugh. He was always doing weird things out of no where and she just thought it was funny.

Now Jean is a different story. He does not miss the chance to throw his shot at her. He tries his best to slyly flirt with her but it back fires. It even went as far as him asking her out once. But it wasn't the way he always does it though. This time it was more sweet it actually made it seem like he cared about her, but of course she had to decline as much as she appreciates Jean and she wouldn't lie and say that man is not the hottest thing out in the sun but she just was not looking for a relationship like that right now.

She is only 15 and she has one goal. To be honest after that night she could not stop thinking about things like that, before she met Jean she never used to think like that but it did open her eyes to her future.

Opening questions like "What are you going to do with your life?" or "Are you even planning to get married or have kids?" Questions like that would pop up every now and then and she would try her best to suppress them because she is super young so why should she think about stuff like that?

But late at night she can't help but feel like she is missing something. Something deep down, she thinks it's the fact she doesn't have a titan head hung up in her wall. But it's so much more than that..... so much more.....

She was always close with Sasha, they were roommates for about 3 years. She pretty much knows Sashas life now. Sasha told her not to tell anyone and still to this day she hasn't slipped anything past her tongue. But she wouldn't lie and say it wasn't cute when Sasha would accidentally slip her country accent every now and then.

Sasha was basically her first friend. So their connection was a lot deeper than the others. She was always happy to see her around. She could say she loves Sasha but that would be too much for her to handle, she holds that thought in her head.

Sasha let it slip out once though, she didn't mean to. It was when they were having a nice lunch at the little river they have there. Sasha loves her food so when she saw Harmony made her favorite bread she almost about kissed her right there.

"I LOVE YOU!" was all Sasha said before Harmonys eyes went wide.

"Oh- i'm sorry was that too much?" Sasha asked.

Harmony just smiled at her, laughing at the over reaction she produced. Harmony never said it back but Sasha knows how she feels about her and their friendship.

Does she really have friends who love her?

......

"Mikasa what is your problem? Seriously? I don't understand why you're acting like this?" Eren almost yells.

Coming up to the door she slowly starts to walk up to it to not disturb the two. Curse her for being so nosey. She just wanted to ask Armin to go get breakfast.

"So are we going to ignore how rude she was to you? Eren she practically punched you over a thousand times for no reason" Mikasa spit.

Are they talking about her?

"She said she was sorry so I don't see why you still don't like her" Eren growled.

"She just- i just don't understand how you became her friend so fast after she did all that to you" She crosses her arms around her chest.

"Look..... not that it's any of your business but she has been through alot. She's been through what we have been through don't you see? She's has no one and she's totally alone and she needs someone."

Ouch. She doesn't why that hurt her but it did.

"She was their that day on the attack, and she lost her whole family. For years she was going through something and I didn't even notice it."

Harmony said any of this stuff out loud. She knows Eren is right but still why does it hurt when he says it.

She starts to feel angry….. no hurt. Hurt at Erens words, but why? Why does it hurt when he says it out loud. She thought she was done with feeling like this maybe she was suppressing thoughts feelings again.

“She’s all alone and she doesn’t have anyone”

Why is he saying it like that?

“She’s clearly sick in the head, you didn’t see her that day at the well”

That's enough of this. Her face becomes blank, lacking emotion.

"So that's it then" Harmony says entering the room.

Eren, Armin and Mikasa both turn to look at her. Erens eyes go wide at who he sees.

"So what, you thought you can fix me? Since i’m so ‘sick in the head’?” She says her voice dark and hollow.

"What- No Harmony that's not-" Eren tries to speak but he cant find the words.

"You know what..... screw you Eren. You think i need your pity? I don't!" She screams. And Mikasa steps in front of her Eren when Harmony takes a step forward.

Harmony quickly turns away and runs out the door.

"HARMONY WAIT-" She hears Eren scream.

How could she have been so stupid. Her making friends? She knew all of this was too good to be true. Eren doesn't really care about her, no one cares about her. Everyone that cares about her died.

Everyone ends up dying anyways so why would she makes friends in this cold, dark twisted world. You can't make friends here.

She thought she could be happy but she can’t, not in the world or the next. She was born in this world.

[atiny-piratequeen]

Against the Tide: First Voyage (Ch.1)

Pairing: Eventual Poly Ot8

Genre: Heavy Angst, Eventual Smut and Fluff mixed in

Rating: 18+

Tags: DemonPirate!Au, Supernatural, Eventual Poly Relarionship, Violence, Blood, Elemental Powers, Past and Modern Day AU, Mythical Creatures, Character Death

A/N: There could be tags added later, especially if there’s something I write that potentially triggers my readers. The last thing I want is for that to happen, so please don’t hesitate to give me feedback if there’s something I write here you’d like me to tag

Summary: Hongjoong is the leader of a notorious pirate crew. A run in with a demon leaves him with immortality and the ability to grant immortal life to those who form pacts with him. One day, a member of his crew angers a sea witch, and she decides to exact revenge on them by casting Hongjoong into a completely different part of the world and stealing his memories. The seven key members of his crew spend centuries looking for him, to no avail, and meet up in modern day Seoul to try and strategize how they can find their leader. Discouraged, with some close to giving up, they happen upon a man with a familiar smile and voice speaking on the street one day about a Long Journey. Now the seven of them must get Hongjoong to rember who he is before he slips through their fingers once again.

AO3 Link

Taglist

← Last Voyage   Next Voyage →

=Age 10=

“What in the blazes is that?”

He flinched, flailing his legs as he tried to get down from the man holding onto him by the back of his shirt. That earned him a sharp jab to his ribs, making him cough and sputter as he lowered his head, fear pulsing through his body. 

“He was hidden between some barrels in the hold, Captain. It looks like he was one of the port hands in the last town and he stowed away when no one was looking.” 

The figure across from him clicked their tongue, and he cowered as the sound of leather boots approached him, the wood of the deck creaking loud with every step. 

“Stowed away on my ship? Do you have a death wish, lad?” a voice growled at him and a hand reached out, lifting his face abruptly so he could look the Captain in their eyes. 

“A…woman…?”

The Captain’s eyes narrowed dangerously, one hand going to the blunderbuss pistol strapped to her thigh before she pressed it to the center of his head, lip curling up in dissatisfaction. 

“Aye, and you’re about to be at the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker, rat.” She hissed. He trembled, unable to move his head away from the firearm pressed against it. Panicked, his eyes looked around, finding other members of the crew were also women, some with shorter, choppier haircuts. Some of them sent him sympathetic looks, but none of them made any moves to stop their Captain. 

“I hope you’ve made peace with your family and your maker, lad. I don’t take kindly to people sneaking aboard my ship.”

“I d-don’t have a family…s-sir.” He quickly admitted, having a momentary battle on what to call the angered Captain. The finger that she had on the safety of the blunderbuss paused, and she put a hand on her hip, arching a brow at him. 

“I’m an orphan. I worked at port on the docks for as long as I can remember…I just wanted to see the world and do something more than be a poor orphan on the street, C-captain. P-please…please take me with you, I promise I’ll be useful!” He pleaded, brown eyes holding a flicker of hope and determination. The Captain’s brows went up in surprise, a small laugh leaving her throat. 

“Do you know what you’re saying? Me? Bring a child along? You wouldn’t last-”

“I’ll prove it to you! If I can make myself useful and survive, you make me a member of your crew!” 

The captain rolled her eyes and lowered the blunderbuss, putting it back in its holster and nodding for the man behind him to drop the child. He fell to the deck harder than expected, groaning in pain before looking up, looking at the Captain’s outstretched hand. 

“My name is Captain Jihyo. When we’re in port, you only call me Captain Hyo. If it gets out there are women aboard my ship, or that I’m a woman, our entire crew will be executed. Do you understand?” She snapped. The child grabbed her hand and nodded, pulling himself up with her help before he looked up, determination shining in his eyes. 

“My name is Kim Hongjoong. And I swear on my mother’s resting spirit, I’ll be a fine member of this crew.”

=Age 15=

“Must you always get yourself in trouble?” Jihyo grunted, dragging Hongjoong back into the tavern by his ear. He hissed, frowning as he looked up at his Captain. The woman had taken a liking to him in their years together and has quickly become a mother-like figure to him. 

Which…would explain the stern look and smack upside his head he received when Jihyo had pulled him into the room he was to stay in. 

“I told you not to go outside. I know this town well, I knew you’d pull this again-”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Captain! He was harassing that lass on the street, she clearly didn’t want any of his attention, so I…’helped out’.” He coughed at the end of his sentence, avoiding Jihyo’s sharp gaze. She stared at him for a long time before she sent him a smile, pressing their heads together and lowering her voice as she spoke. 

“I appreciate your respect for others, especially women, lad. But you still have to tread carefully. The last thing we need is a brawl breaking out because you’re on your justice kick.” She gently scolded, ruffling his hair before moving away from him. 

“You are a pirate. I would imagine you’d earn yourself a rather..unique name if you continued being so nice.” She waved her finger at him, heading towards the door. Hongjoong rolled his eyes half heartedly, but smiled nonetheless.

“If they remember me for being more than ‘just another pirate’, I’ll take it as a compliment.” He grinned before diving onto his bed, smiling contently. 

=Age 19=

“There are some odd jobs we can do while in port.” Jihyo informed them, standing at the ship’s bow with her arms crossed. She had already cut her hair before they neared the port, her eyes set on the approaching docs as they approached. Hongjoong was at her side, along with her First Mate, a quirky gentleman named Daniel.

“I’m sure they’d be happy to see you, Captain. This is your port town, afterall.” He teased. Jihyo hummed, tilting her chin up as they docked. The town was welcoming of pirates, but she still made sure to change their flag to the country’s colors, just as a precaution in the event of any naval officers also being in town. 

“We’ll be staying here for a few weeks, stock up and make sure not to do anything stupid.” She ordered as they lowered the anchor, sending Hongjoong a sharp look as he tried to tip toe out of her sight. 

“That means you, Mr. Kim Hongjoong.” 

“I have no idea what you mean, Captain Park Hyo.” 

Jihyo rolled her eyes and smiled, nodding for him and the rest of the crew to disperse and enjoy traveling in the port town. She and Daniel stayed behind. They watched the people mingling in the port with small, calm looks on their faces. 

The silence was broken by Jihyo’s coughing, her brows pulling up as she hacked violently. Daniel frowned, pulling her out of the view of the curious port hands before sitting her on the ship’s deck. Worry creased his brow as she continued coughing for a few minutes before letting out a shaky sound, sighing. 

“Captain-”

“Don’t say it.”

“Jihyo. You can’t keep pretending this isn’t getting worse.” He told her sternly, holding her shoulders. She looked up at him, her lips trembling before she shook her head, brushing her hands off on her trousers before she stood. 

“I know. That’s why we’re here. I heard a tip from the last town that we’d be able to find something here to prolong this…just bare with me.” She told him before she squared her shoulders, pulling her hat down to slightly obscure her eyes as she headed down towards the docks. Daniel sighed and nodded, following faithfully behind her. 

=3 Nights Later=

Jihyo smiled as their Quartermaster, Psy, poured her another glass of rum. They all drank merrily together, eating the meat and rice served at the tavern. 

Well, most of them.

Hongjoong sat at the end of the table, nursing a glass of water as he looked over some of the maps their Sailing Masters had gotten a hold of while in town. He surveyed the pages, muttering to himself about potential treasure. Jihyo glanced at him before smiling, taking another hearty swig. 

The sound of their merriment was interrupted by the door to the tavern being opened abruptly, a group of men dragging in bloodied figures. The tavern owner jolted from her spot behind the bar, eyes going wide as the men dropped their wounded on the taven floor. 

“What in the hell are you doing?! You’re going to ruin my floors!” She barked in disapproval, slamming down a mug on the bar, ignoring the way the brew inside sloshed out and spilled onto the counter. 

“Bite your tongue, woman! Can’t you see they’re bleeding out?!” One barked. The woman behind the counter, Momo, raising her brows in surprise at the rude tone. She grabbed a knife from her garterbelt beneath her skirt, stabbing the bar as she looked at them with an unamused expression.

“I don’t like your tone.”

“W-we’re sorry, Miss! Please, let us stay just a little longer! We’ll pay for any damages and all the rounds will be on us tonight!” One of the men quickly tried to remedy the escalating situation. The pirates and other patrons in the tavern cheered, going back to their own devices, while the other wounded men sent him a glare. 

“What? We have to decide what to do and we can’t leave them on the street!” He snapped. A blonde in their group shook his head. 

“I told you dense bastards, we shouldn’t have gone near that cove. Did you see what that wench did to John and Terry?!” He barked. The other three men looked down, clearly terrified as the two they’d brought in coughed weakly on the floor, the focus fading from their eyes. 

Hongjoong bit his lip, moving to pull his seat out when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned back to the table to find Jihyo had moved from her spot, now taking her place beside him. She sent him a firm glare, clearly having sobered up from the shock of the bloodied men. 

“Don’t you dare.” she growled, her voice lowered to mimic a man’s flawlessly.  Hongjoong shrunk down in his seat, mumbling. 

“I wasn’t-”

“Ay, was I born yesterday, lad? I know that look in your eyes. You’re troublesome need to help people all the time. Don’t you dare go to that cove. I don’t want to leave this port town knowing my son-” she paused. Hongjoong’s lips parted in shock and Jihyo cleared her throat, raising her voice to Momo.

“Momo! Another round of rum! Gimme the strongest you got!” She huffed, pivoting on her heel, leaving Hongjoong stunned in his chair. Jihyo sat down heavily in her original seat, avoiding eye contact with the teen as Daniel chuckled from beside her. 

Hongjoong felt his heart racing, his mind whirring as he ran the word through his head over and over again. 

Son…

A fond smile came to his face, and he momentarily forgot about the men behind him. Until a wary laugh came from the left. 

“At least we left that wench bleeding out. Tomorrow we’ll blast the damn cove shut. Send her straight to hell where her kind belongs.” He spat. The other men didn’t laugh along with him, but they seemed to be relieved that whatever it was that injured their own was in pain and soon to be trapped in the cove. 

Hongjoong’s gaze drifted back to the maps in front of him.

He can’t focus. 

=Midnight=

Hongjoong carefully removed his boots as he approached the cove, knowing he’d have to wade through knee-deep sea water in order to get inside. He rolled his trouser pants up, tucking his shirt into the waistband of them before he began his careful approach. There was a lantern in his hand, and he had to keep it high above his head to keep it from going out. 

When he reached the mouth of the cove, he bit his lip, looking from left to right. He didn’t see anything initially, so he steeled himself and pushed deeper, his feet lightly slapping against the wet stones of the cove. 

Then he heard it. The low, pained hiss. 

“G e t o u t.” 

“H-Hold, I’m not here to harm you, I only want to help-”

“Get. Out.”

Hongjoong bit back the urge to turn tail and run, turning to the sound of the voice, lifting the lantern. He saw a puddle of blood, his stomach churning as the light rose until he saw a raised stone, seeing a woman staring at him, her face and hands smeared in blood. Her hair fell in front of her face, her lip curled up into a snarl as she looked at him through the ink-colored locks. 

“You need help, you’re injured-”

“G E T O U T!” she screamed, and he was knocked off his feet in a harsh gust of wind. His lantern smashed to the ground, plunging the cove in darkness, with only the moonlight in the mouth to light anything. 

Hongjoong groaned, hissing when he felt the glass from the lantern cut into his palm as he pushed himself up. 

“L-lass, I don’t know what they’ve done to you or why, but I can’t leave you here hurt like this. Please, they won’t leave you alone. Those sailors intend on blowing this cove shut and leaving you here. You’ll die!” He pleaded into the darkness. There was a laugh, low and humorless.

Suddenly, lights appeared in the cove, in the form of balls of fire, each hovering in mid air around the woman. She stayed where she was, reviewing the brunette pirate with mild interest, though there was still pain in her features. 

“You…you must be a fool. Do you not know why they came? Do you know nothing of me?”

Hongjoong ignored the pain of his palm and shook his head, standing to his feet once more as he carefully approached her. He raised both of his hands when the woman’s eyes narrowed at him. 

“I am not from this port town. I am a pirate, we’ve only settled in port days ago. My name is Kim Hongjoong. Who are you, lass?” 

“I am Hyuna of Tortuga Bay. I am a demon.Those insolent fools came to take the ‘treasure’ of this cove, as fools tend to do. However-” She hissed, groaning as he breathing turned ragged again. She allowed Hongjoong to approach her closer, her hands twitching as he stopped in front of her. 

He looked at her face, hesitantly moving her sweat and blood-slick bangs out of her face. She was a beautiful woman with a porcelain complexion under the blood caked to her face. At this point, Hongjoong wasn’t sure if it was hers, or the blood of the sailor’s. 

“They said they left you wounded-” He stopped himself when he noticed the culprit of her agony. 

The glinting gold crucifix stabbed straight through her chest. His eyes grew, and he noticed the burns around the entrance of the wound and around her fingers, as if she had tried desperately tried to pull it out herself. 

“I…I can take it out.” He said suddenly, eyes transfixed on the crucifix. She stared at him carefully, a small glimmer of hope in her light eyes. The flames that illuminated the cove grew closer, and she looked up at him in interest. 

“You…said you were a pirate, correct? Why are you helping me? You know nothing of who I am and nothing of the rumored treasure, and yet you come to my aid? You could leave now. I can’t die, I’d be just like this for all eternity and you can take my treasure. Why are you trying to help me?” She inquired. Hongjoong shrugged one shoulder, running his uninjured hand through his bangs. 

“I don’t like seeing people being ganged up on. I won’t stand for men doing this to a woman, no matter what the reason.” He told her flatly, meeting her cautious gaze. 

“You can say my…my mother raised me well. I may be a pirate, but I was still raised with respect. Besides, if the puddle of blood I’m standing in is anything to go by, I probably wouldn’t make it out of the cove before you ended me if you wanted to, injured or not. Now…do you want me to take this out?” he questioned once more. 

Hyuna stared at him for a long moment before she closed her eyes, nodding. 

“This may hurt. I’m sorry.” He whispered, wrapping his fingers around the golden base. Hyuna’s brows twitched in pain and he could hear the sound of burning, so he yanked with all of his strength, pulling the crucifix out in one go. 

There was an unholy scream and Hongjoong dropped the crucifix in an instant, clamping his hands over his ears. The floating flames went out and Hongjoong frowned, trying to feel around in the darkness. 

“Lass? Hyuna? A-are you okay? Did I hurt you?” He called into the inky blackness. There was the sound of a giggle, gentle and feminine before the whole cove was illuminated. He looked up in awe, watching as the light illuminated from Hyuna’s body, different from the small, whisp-like plumes of fire from before. 

“I…I am free again.” She exhaled, holding her hand in front of her face, smiling wide as the burns healed themselves. Hongjoong watched the hole in her chest close and let out a relieved smile. 

“Good. You may want to leave, though. Those sailors intend on coming back tomorrow to blast the entrance closed.” He reminded her, moving to dust his hands off on his pants, but stopping when he remembered the blood running from his palm. 

“You…are unlike any man I have met in this realm. Come, since you’ve freed me, it’s only fair I give you a gift in return, yes?” She hummed, looking down at his hand. 

“You don’t have to-”

“You didn’t have to come here, Kim Hongjoong, the pirate.” She countered. He snapped his mouth shut, nodding in defeat. She did have a point. 

“I will give you the treasure many have come to this cove for. Eternal life, youth, and power beyond your wildest dreams.” She wiped at the blood on her cheek, reaching for his hand to lace their fingers together. 

Hongjoong felt a pulse course through him, and his eyes widened as his heartbeat increased. 

“What-”

“Kim Hongjoong, I will give you power. You will be like me, a demon. Upon forming blood pacts, you will also make those under you immortals. If the pact is strong, you will share your powers. Accept my gift, for I know you will use it well.” She muttered, her eyes glowing bright blue. Hongjoong gasped, feeling like his body was on fire, energy coursing through his veins. 

“HONGJOONG! GET AWAY FROM MY SON!” a voice caught Hyuna’s attention as a pirate ran full speed at her. She hummed and lifted her hand, a gust of wind lifting the woman effortlessly. She shook her head, sending a fond smile to her. 

“Ah, the mother he mentioned? I never imagined his mother would be a pirate disguising herself as a man. It makes sense, why he’s so unique.” she hummed before looking down at Hongjoong, noticing the faraway look in his eyes, his brow twitching in confusion. 

“What are you doing to him?! Let him go! Hongjoong! Hongjoong!!” Jihyo screamed, thrashing fruitlessly against the wind. Hyuna smiled in fond understanding and shook her head. 

“He has received my gift. He is immortal. Now, he must control his powers. Things tend to get…wild on the first night of the full moon after one becomes a demon. Now sit still. I will help him harness his powers here and now so that your crew won’t be ripped to shreds on the next full moon.” She instructed, watching as Hongjoong’s eyes went from brown to an electric blue, the overabundance of power coursing through him making small spider-web red veins appear on his face. 

His gaze snapped to Hyuna and she rolled her neck. 

“You and your demonic self must become one. Come, I will train you. Though I suggest we hurry, lest your mother have another child over there.” She informed, nodding at Jihyo’s direction. Hongjoong let out a low sound before darting to her full speed, a large blast of water shooting past him. 

Hyuna side stepped and smiled, watching Hongjoong’s face change, three marks appearing on his forehead, along with a bushy white tail. Fireballs rained down on her, all of which she knocked away without batting a lash. 

“Water, even my kitsune powers have went to you? Fascinating. More, show me more, Hongjoong.” She urged, skipping backwards as the ground beneath her feet shook. 

=3 Hours Later=

Hongjoong finally fell to his knees, panting as his eyes returned to their normal, welcoming brown color. Hyuna flicked her hand, bringing Jihyo closer to them, ignoring the way she immediately pulled her blunderbuss on her. 

“Hongjoong….” She trailed off, frowning as he passed out shortly after. 

“You…”

“I care not for your personal feelings, but I will explain myself. You are from this town, so you know of me. The ‘treasure’ of this cove is me. My blessing. My immortality. Men find out about demons that can grant them eternal youth and they hunt them down. I have killed most who have ventured here, and had you not have raised him the way you did, your son would have joined. But he is different. I can give him my ‘treasure’ with confidence that he wont abuse it and create a crew of immortal vagabonds. The powers are a little extra gift.” She winked and moved to walk past them. Jihyo watched her every move before she started coughing once more, brows pinched up as she observed the blood in her palm. 

“N-No…”

Hyuna stopped at her side, looking down at her in interest before she straightened her back, turning towards the mouth of the cove. 

“I suggest you form a pact with him. You don’t have much left, otherwise, pirate.” She informed her before she disappeared in a dazzling light. 

Jihyo wiped her mouth and grabbed Hongjoong’s arm, dragging him back out of the cove, sighing.

—-

“Captain, don’t you want Hongjoong to be here for this?” Psy inquired, pushing his glasses up as Jihyo gathered all of the crew-sans Hongjoong-on the deck of her ship. 

“No. I have something important to ask of all of you.” She told them, her voice solemn. They all perked, nodding as they watched her carefully. 

“My health…is dwindling. I doubt at this stage there is anything I can do. I know Psy and Daniel have no desire to be Captain when I’m gone, and that most of you have found Hongjoong to be reliable enough for the job. I have one order I want you all to take to the graves with you.” She told them, taking her hat off to rub her head before she set it back on. 

“Hongjoong was…he’s received a ‘gift’ and he’s not human anymore. The lad somehow impressed a demoness and she turned him into one of her own. He apparently can give this immortality to others,”

“Wait, so why won’t you just-”

“Because I refuse to take advantage of him. I want my son to give his powers to those he trusts wholeheartedly on his own, not have ties to us out of an obligation for us taking him in.” 

They all began protesting at once, but Jihyo slammed her heel against the deck, glaring at them all. 

“My orders, are for you to not accept any offers of immortality from Hongjoong. Even when he becomes captain. I am here now, and I’m giving the order here and now. Swear to me you won’t betray me. This is a dying woman’s wish.” she told them, leaving no room for argument. 

They all exchanged looks before small, reluctant smiles crossed their faces. One by one they all swore, patting their captain on the shoulder as they filtered back down to their quarters. Daniel and Psy stayed by her side, watching the waves of the ocean in silence as tears ran down her cheeks.—-

=x=

“Please!”

“No.”

“WHY?!” 

Jihyo sighed and looked up at Hongjoong from her bed, her face pale. Daniel was at her side, holding her hand as she coughed weakly. Her condition had gotten worse at an alarming rate and it became impossible for her to hide it. 

“P-Please…Please, I can save you. Please, why won’t you-”

“I said no, Hongjoong. Let me go. Let me rest. You’ll be a fine captain.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as he shook his head, his chest heaving. 

“Daniel! You can’t be okay with this! You love her! Tell her to let me help! Tell her to-”

“It’s already been decided.” Daniel cut him off, raising his head to look at him with bloodshot eyes. Hongjoong bit his lip, looking down with tears rolling down his cheeks. He shuffled to her other side, his shaking hand taking hers as he looked at her face. 

“Captain…M…Mom…please…”

“Just stay with me, Hongjoong. Stay with me and keep a smile on your face. You’re a different breed of pirate. I want you to make your own crew and change what it means to be a pirate for the world, okay? Until the last wind blows through these sails, please never stop being the center of the world.” She told him, reaching under her blankets to pass him a compass. 

“Let it always point you forward, my son.” She mused, cupping his cheek, crying with him as they continued sailing, the boat gently rocking the trio. 

= ~ =

The crew shed tears as Daniel set the last stone on top of the pile. Underneath, buried deep in the sand, laid the peaceful body of their captain. 

She had asked to be stripped of all materialistic items, jewels, gold, silver, and buried in the sand of an island she visited when she became a pirate. 

Remote, quiet, with the beautiful scent of island flora beckoning you in deeper. 

One by one, each crew member dropped a bloom on top of the stones, before heading back to the ship. Hongjoong lingered, the bloom in his trembling hand before he sighed and finally relented, setting it down on top of the pile. 

“Goodnight, Captain Jihyo…Sweet dreams, mother.” He whispered, turning and heading back with heavy footsteps. 

He stood on the bow, the wind carrying saltwater and the scent of island flora past his nose like a gentle caress. There was a flower tucked behind his ear as he stared down at the shore, eyes locked on the pile of beautiful rocks in the sand, topped with flowers and shells. The ship pulled away, and he bit back the need to sob as he watched the mound grow farther and farther away. An old voice called to him from behind, and he turned, noticing Psy standing behind him. 

“Captain? We have to keep moving.” his tone was gentle, a hand running through his balding head as he bowed his head in respect. Hongjoong lifted his chin, wiping his eyes with the back of his palms before he turned. 

Right. He was the Captain now.

“I’ll be right over. We have a long journey ahead of us.”

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Supercard preview

This is the big New Japan/Ring of Honor show at Madison Square Garden.  MSG has a special place in wrestling lore, and it’s primarily been WWE/WWF/WWWF/Capitol Wrestling turf since 1957.  The venue’s official promoter briefly dropped Capitol in 1959 (in favor of the team of Kola Kwariani, Pedro Martinez, and Jack Pfefer), but management ultimately reconciled with Vince McMahon, Sr. by December 1960.  There hasn’t been a non-WWE wrestling show in the Garden ever since...until now. 

You can watch it on traditional PPV or stream it with Fite or Honor Club, although I personally recommend streaming with NJPW World.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada - This is White’s first defense of the IWGP heavyweight championship, which is essentially the New Japan world title.  Okada won the 2019 New Japan Cup tournament to earn this title shot.

Years ago Okada’s manager Gedo plucked him from obscurity and managed him on a rapid rise to the top, in which Okada quickly captured his first IWGP heavyweight championship.  Okada’s last run with the title lasted 720 days, but that ended nearly a year ago with a loss to Kenny Omega.  Gedo lost confidence in Okada and helped White betray him, starting a bitter rivalry that saw White score a massive upset over Okada in the Tokyo Dome on January 4.  That win affirmed Gedo’s decision to switch horses.  Okada had to claw his way back into title contention by winning the New Japan Cup to prove Gedo wrong.

The wrinkle in this story is that Okada was originally supposed to challenge Kenny Omega, who was supposed to still be champion at this point.  But Omega’s departure in January necessitated a couple of impromptu title changes to move White into his position.  So in a sense, White was never meant to be champion this soon, which has made his meteoric rise to the top even more sensational.  As a result, Okada has a chance to regain his title and get revenge on White and Gedo in one fell swoop.

Okada is easily one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and he knows he has to prove it to a lot of Westerners seeing him for the first time here.  White was really not anyone’s first choice to headline this show, and I think he knows he has to prove he belongs at this level.  I think they can deliver.  I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

The finish could be interesting, because if the original plan was to end a lengthy Kenny Omega title reign, that may not fit well with the goal of pushing White as a sudden success.  If Okada wins, I think that suggests they’re more committed to their original long-term plan than White’s push.  If White retains, that suggests they’ve recently altered the plan, which could lead to other surprises this year.  There’s no way to be sure which will happen, which is great since it eliminates the usual aura of inevitability that Okada brings with him.  I cannot pick a winner here.

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll - Lethal is defending the ROH world championship.  This is a ladder match, so the title belt will be hung above the ring and ladders will be set up at ringside to climb up and get it; the only way to win is to be the first competitor to retrieve the belt.

Lethal has been champion for 280 days.  Taven has been feuding with him for months, claiming to be the “real” world champion based on his belief that he should have won the June 30 four-way match where Lethal captured the title.  Meanwhile, Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest tournament on November 4 to earn the right to challenge for the title; on March 13 he declared his intention to exercise that right at this show, against the winner of Lethal vs. Taven on March 15.  However that match ended in a 60-minute draw, so Lethal is still the champion but now Taven gets to be in the match as well.

Like most big three-way matches, there’s a sense that one participant is crammed in.  Lethal is there because he’s the established champion, Scurll is there because he’s arguably ROH’s hottest star (the only member of the Elite not to leave for AEW), and Taven is there because ROH wants to push him.  They may want Taven to win this match, but they don’t want it enough to take the risk of doing the match without Lethal and Scurll, which tells you they aren’t that serious about him, which undermines his credibility.  (See also: Flair, Charlotte.)  This is not to say Taven doesn’t deserve to be there (he finally impressed me in the time-limit draw), but if ROH really believed in him they wouldn’t be hedging their bets on him.

I expect a title change, but I’m not sure which challenger will end up with the belt.  This is probably going to be very pro-Scurll crowd, and the intrigue of putting the title on a guy everyone expects to go to AEW someday would enhance would should already be a big reaction.  On the other hand, a Taven victory sets up a Taven-Scurll program for a few months, and builds toward the long-term future after Scurll inevitably leaves.  (It’s also possible the crowd will turn out to be more into Taven than anyone might have expected a month ago.)  My gut says ROH should go with Scurll while they still have him, to get him as hot as possible before he puts someone over on his way out.  But I’m not super confident about that.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi - Ibushi pinned Naito on March 10 during the New Japan Cup tournament, so he’s getting a shot at Naito’s IWGP intercontinental championship.  These guys can really take it up to another gear, and this could easily be the match of the night, if not the whole Wrestlemania weekend.

Naito’s angle these days is that he has a love-hate relationship with the intercontinental title--it keeps coming back to him, even though he thinks it’s worthlesss--but he would like to become the first man to hold it simultaneously with the main heavyweght title, so he has to fight to keep it.  Ibushi, meanwhile, has finally signed a contract (dramatically choosing to stick with New Japan instead of departing for AEW), so his fans are hoping this will eliminate the “free agent” stigma that has kept him out of the booking at the top.  So while neither man necessarily needs this win, a loss would be a significant detour heading into the summer.

I would personally put Ibushi over, because a title run would mean a lot for him, and give Naito something to do (chasing Kota) besides feud with Suzuki-gun.  But I’m not so sure New Japan will go that way.  So it’s another pick-’em at the top of this card, which is pretty nice.

Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Sabre is defending the Revolution Pro Wrestling British heavyweight championship.  Rev Pro is a UK promotion that has a working relationship with New Japan, but this appears to be their only involvement with this show.  Tanahashi pinned Sabre to eliminate him in the New Japan Cup, and that would be enough to guarantee a New Japan title match all by itself, but in this case I think the main issue is Sabre’s wounded pride.

If I was Rev Pro, I’d want the prestige of a title change in the US, in the Garden, onto a living legend like Tanahashi.  Even better, It immediately sets up a rematch that would be a perfect main event for New Japan’s London show on August 31.  I’m just not seeing much upside to keeping the belt on Sabre right now, even though it’s at least doable.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. PCO & Brody King vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. EVIL & SANADA - The Guerillas of Destiny, Tama and Loa, are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship, and PCO and King are defending the ROH tag team championship.  This is a four-way match, so the first team to score a fall on any opposing team will win the match and both championships.

This match came about after GOD teamed with the Briscoes on February 22, and came to blows after losing the match.  The following night, GOD won the IWGP tag title from Evil/Sanada, and challenged the Briscoes (who then held the ROH tag title) to a title-for-title match.  The Briscoes accepted, but had already committed to defend their title in a match on March 15, against PCO and King, which they lost.  So then the match was billed as GOD vs. PCO/King, and then on March 25 it was officially changed to a four-way for no apparent reason.

This could get crazy.  The Briscoes and PCO/King had a wild and crazy fight last month, and they’ll be looking to top it here.  I think GOD will do their best to keep up with that level of violence.  I don’t know what to expect from Evil and  Sanada if this match breaks down, but they’re certainly not delicate flowers.  In theory you’d expect the New Japan side of things to rein in the chaos, but in practice I think it has to be a Pier 6 brawl to contrast with the more technical contests in the second half of the show.

I have absolutely no idea which of these teams can or should win, or how they’ll deal with either ROH or NJPW losing its tag belts for a few months, or when the double champions will drop one of the titles.  However, since I’m expecting Ospreay to win his double title match for New Japan, it stands to reason an ROH team would win this win this one to even it out a bit.  In that case, the Briscoes feel like the right team to bring home all the gold.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido - Ishimori is defending the IWGP junior heavyweight championship; the first participant to score a fall on either opponent will be the champion.  There is a decent chance that the champion coming out of this match will hold the title through this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and defend the championship against the tournament winner at Dominion.

This match came about because Ishimori issued an open challenge to the ROH roster, but CMLL’s Dragon Lee was the first to respond.  Since that technically meant there was still a spot for an ROH guy, Bandido was added to the match.  So it’s basically Ishimori against two luchadors, and we’ll just have to see if it they do a good lucha thing or if Ishimori can force them into his type of match.  I’m expecting Ishimori to retain, although I suppose there’s no pressing reason they can’t do a title change.

Juice Robinson vs. Bully Ray - Bully (better known as Bubba Ray Dudley in ECW and WWE)  issued an open challenge  on March 15 for someone to face him here in a “New York City street fight,” and Juice accepted on March 31.  Juice is the IWGP United States champion, but it’s not yet clear if the title will be on the line--New Japan typically doesn’t book title matches on the fly, but it’s in character for Bully to potentially goad Juice into making it a title match at the last minute.

There was speculation when this open challenge was announced that Bully’s opponent would be Flip Gordon (the man he’s been feuding with for the past year), as a way to bring Flip back after suffering a knee injury on January 13.  Flip was expected to be cleared in time for this show, and he was, but he reinjured the knee on March 24.  Juice appears to be a last-minute replacement, which would be weird since he should have been booked all along.  (What’s the point of having a US champion who doesn’t wrestle at your biggest US show?)

In his preview of this show for the Observer, Dave Meltzer suggested this match could turn into a multi-man tag team match.  If so, I’d expect Bully to seek backup from Shane Taylor and Silas Young, while Robinson would counter with his Lifeblood stablemates Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams.  Those four men will probably get involved no matter what, seeing as there’s no rule to prevent interference.

It would be a pretty big surprise if Bully were to pin Juice and therefore be in line for the US title.  For that reason I think Juice is the clear favorite to win.  That being said, Bully needs something to do until Flip Gordon is back, and Juice is working in both promotions, so I could see this becoming a prolonged feud.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein - Iwatani won ROH’s Women of Honor championship from Klein on February 10, and successfully defended it in a rematch on March 15, but Klein is challenging her a second time for some reason.  I think they’re trying to make it like Klein is a big deal and Iwatani’s wins have been huge upsets, but I barely know these women so none of that is very clear.  I’m assuming Iwatani retains again, hopefully to put an end to the feud.

Rush vs. Dalton Castle - Castle has been doing a “needs to get back on track” storyline, so he was at ringside to watch the Rush-Bandido match on March 15 with the intent of challenging the winner to wrestle him here.  I’m pretty sure the purpose of this is to feed a guy to Rush while also working Castle’s flamboyant entrance onto the show, so look for Rush to go over in little more than a squash.

Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb - Ospreay is the NEVER openweight champion, and Cobb is the ROH television champion; the winner will hold both titles.  This match came about after Ospreay pinned Cobb in a tag team match on February 22.  Both guys are great and I haven’t seen much of them against one another, so I’m looking forward to it.  The one big twist in this thing is that New Japan recently booked Taichi to pin Ospreay in a tag match, obviously to set up a future title match between them, which won’t make as much sense if Ospreay loses his belt before that happens.  So I think that telegraphs an Ospreay win here.  Which is fine with me, since I figured he should win to begin with.

30-man Honor Rumble - This is a pre-show match for everyone who didn’t make it onto the main card.  It’s a gauntlet battle royal, so instead of everybody starting the match at the same time, two men start and everyone else enters one-by-one in timed intervals.  The match cannot end until the last participant enters, but eliminations can occur at any time.  A participant is eliminated upon putting both feet on the floor outside the ring, if and only if they last exited the ring over the top rope.

I’ve never seen one of these in ROH, but I’ve seen New Japan’s version and it’s mainly a comedy match with spots built around guys who rarely interact being unfamiliar with one another’s shticks.  If you’re watching this to see, for example, Minoru Suzuki kicking ass in MSG (and I don’t even know if he’ll be there), you’re probably just going to get his entrance and then he scares Cheeseburger or Colt Cabana and then he’ll get eliminated inside of five minutes.  I don’t think anything is at stake for the winner to receive, and even if there was I’m not sure it would matter who wins.  I’ll just pick Jushin Thunder Liger to win, since I know he’s in it and he’s a cool old dude.

Kagetsu & Hazuki & Jenny Rose vs. Sumie Sakai & Hana Kimura & Stella Grey - This is a late addition to the card, which won’t air live but will be taped to air later.  Kagetsu and Hazuki are from a stable called Oedo Tai in STARDOM, and apparently they recently attacked Sakai and Kimura to set up this match.  The Oedo Tai team picked Rose to team with them here even though she regularly teams (teamed?) with Sakai in ROH.  Grey is apparently Sakai’s new protege so she rounds out the babyface side.  I barely follow any of this, so I think ROH could do a much better job at promoting their own women and their relationship with Stardom.  But I guess this match shows they’re at least trying.  I guess Sakai’s team wins, maybe?

[basementdwellercreaturefeature]

You know I can’t sleep if I am doing this kind of fantastic shit. Yes. Good. Feed me questions.

1. Anders and Morrigan are my spouses and I am happily married to both and no, I don’t know how that works.

2. Dorian is my prized son that can do no wrong. Solas is like, my estranged son that I call on birthdays and it’s awkward because I don’t approve of his life choices and he knows it but we pretend otherwise. Fenris is angsty boy son, Blackwall is burly son, Shale is spicy daughter. Ameridan is also a son but like, the one I didn’t know I had and he just showed up at my door and was like, “Hey.”

3. Anders and Morrigan, full stop. They’re my people and I will talk about them all day without fail. Also Dorian. We love mages. Oh, and Bethany. Mages.

4. I really do hate Solas most of the time. But damn, that writing though is so good how can you not enjoy the iams. Masterful. Jowan is not a favorite. Gamlen is also not a favorite. I struggle with liking Cullen but I am working on it. And fucking Bianca. No.

5., 6., 7., pass because I genuinely don’t have one, each run makes each feel different according to the RP.

8. If I say Anders do I sound like a broken record? Yeah? Well, fuck. Broken record it is. Anders. I love that dude. He is a treasure trove of quotable bullshit in DAA.

9. Dorian, so he’s always with me in some way or another. I refuse to not have his presence represented in every game. I imagine he would find it offensive though. “Really? A mabari of all things?”

10. Taven, man. RIP. My bro just wanted to launch his excursion to the Graves and check out some ruins.

11. You’re killing me with this. So many choices. The Emerald Graves (lol) are a happy place, the environments are impressive in DAI. But there’s something special about the Hanged Man (I know, it’s a glorified cardboard box with little texture and repeat NPCs) but I associate it with really good things.

12. I don’t have a singular favorite, there are different reasons for all of them. Morrigan and Anders, because I love them so their romances impact me. Blackwall really does have a killer great romance though. Good angst, good fluff, heartbreak and happiness abound. I love my fake-ass beard-stealing Warden warrior so much. Solas’ is pretty iconic but ouch. And Sera is... well, Sera makes me a gayer woman and it’s hard to not romance her every time because I love her so much.

13. Elf rogue is always fun, the combat is usually great and the associated lore with elves can be really immersive.

14. DAO is Shale, Morrigan and Leliana. Ladies club. DA2 is Fenris, Anders and Merrill because I love the chaos and negativity. DAI is Blackwall, Sera and Dorian because you cannot go wrong with those three. Sex jokes abound.

15. I have always loved Morrigan’s conversation with Flemeth about Kieran. That is my wife and my son and I am so proud of her growth as a mother and as a person and as a mage and an educator and I love her. Brings me to tears. Also pride cookies rooftop conversations.

16. Honestly, I don’t see enough content with Bull praising how healthy his romance is and how fun and charming and unique he is as a character. There’s a lot of him and Dorian or sexually leaning content (which is fine) but he’s also just a good boyfriend and friend. Best Boi.

17. I try to “craft” a game when I play, make a character and choices that are in line with an RP style. More fun that way.

18. I wish the rivalry/friend system was employed in all of them, I like it more than approval and disapproval. And I want to give my companions hugs at will. Come on, BioWare. Let me hug Varric without killing his best friend?

19. I don’t even use mounts, I like banter too much.

20. Insert dirty joke here about apostates.

21. I love mods but I like to keep things lore friendly and canon compliant for my own personal preference.

22. DAI, sadly. I didn’t get the full experience without the background.

23. This fucking pandemic.

24. I have read several of the books but not the comics, it’s a lot of content to cover.

Bonus. Look at my wife.

Dragon Age Asks (Random)

Which character(s) do you call “my husband/my wife/my love/etc.”?

Which character(s) do you call your children?

Which character(s) do you love undying?

Which character(s) do you hate?

Favorite DAO mission? Least favorite?

Favorite DA2 mission? Least favorite?

Favorite DAI mission? Least favorite?

Favorite DAA character?

What did you name your mabari(s)?

Favorite NPC?

Favorite Thedan location?

Favorite DA romance?

Favorite class/race combo?

Go-to adventuring group (for DAO, DAA, DA2, or DAI)?

Favorite line of dialogue? 

Most underappreciated/underestimated character?

Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

If you could change one thing in the games, what would it be?

Do you name your mounts in DAI (I know you can’t actually, but…)? If so, what? 

Speaking of mounts, which one is your favorite?

Do you use mods? 

Which game did you play first?

What got you into Dragon Age?

Have you read any of the comics/books?

[swedishgoaliemafia]

Welp. This happened.

Matt Taven/Beast Mortos

When the Beast Mortos gets a little agitated by his allies in the Undisputed Kingdom, there's only one man who can calm him down.

[wrestlingisfake]

Final Battle preview

Jay Lethal vs. Cody Rhodes - Lethal is defending the Ring of Honor world championship.  Cody is the current IWGP United States champion, but that title is not at stake.

Cody’s contract with ROH has reportedly expired, and it’s looking more and more like he will leave ROH altogether to participate in the new All Elite Wrestling venture.  So this is likely to be his final big ROH show, where he does the job to the champion on his way out.  Then again, there could be a swerve, where Cody and ROH secretly work out a short-term agreement and he wins the title to confuse fans who’ve been following that story.

Lethal is sort of ROH’s franchise guy, in the sense that he’s been a headliner during a period where all the other headliners have been leaving the company.  It’s a tough spot for him--he doesn’t give me that tippy-toppy guy feel, because I can’t shake the feeling that he’s only at that level because everyone better than him is gone.  Perhaps Cody can help by giving him the rub here, but he’s really the last star left to do that.  In 2019 Lethal is going to be king of a mountain that feels smaller than it did when he returned to ROH in 2011.

I think it’s at least possible that Cody could surprise us all with a title win.  But in the long run, the destination is Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven, and since Taven is doing the “real world champion” gimmick Lethal should be the actual champion headed into that feud.  So I’m picking Lethal to retain.

Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe - Kazarian and Sky (two thirds of SoCal Uncensored) are defending the ROH tag team championship in a three-way ladder match.  The title belts will be hung above the ring and the first team to retrieve them will be the winners and champions; ladders will be provided at ringside for the participants to use however they see fit.

Like Cody, the Young Bucks (Nick and Matt) are expected to be on their way out of ROH, and this match feels like their swan song.  In a story that hasn’t gotten as much attention, tough, SCU’s Kazarian and Christopher Daniels have also not re-signed with ROH, and they could be on their way out as well.  (I can’t find anything on Scorpio’s status.)  So aside from the fact these three teams have been feuding over the tag title for months, this may be the last chance to see any combination of them in the ring together.

ROH has generally protected the ladder match stip so that it feels more like a “this is the only way to settle it once and for all” deal, similar to cage matches and Texas death matches back in the old days.  Consequently, their ladder matches feel more climactic and important than those in other promotions, because you know the participants aren’t just going to rematch a month later.  So this is probably going to be a good time.  It may even be booked to close the show.

If I’m ROH, I want this match to put over the guys who are staying, and put them over hard.  The Bucks and SCU should be crumpled all over ringside while the Briscoes celebrate with the tag belts.  Kazarian and the Bucks should quickly vanish from television so the Briscoes can gloat about running them out of the company.  That’s how I’d do it, but ROH’s vision never seems to quite line up with mine...

Jeff Cobb vs. Adam Page - Cobb’s ROH television championship is on the line.  Page is--say it with me one more time--on his way out of the company with the rest of the Elite, so logically he should lose here.  These guys are both moving up the ladder quickly, so it ought to be fun to see them against one another.  But I would be very surprised if Page wins here.

Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon - This is an “I quit” match, so there is only one rule in effect--once the match starts, it cannot end until the referee hears one participant verbally submit by saying “I quit.”  (Actually, ROH kinda already killed this stipulation by running an “i quit” match this week that ended as a no-contest due to outside interference.  I guess we’re supposed to act like this is WWE and pretend the bullshit TV finish can’t happen on the PPV.)

Bully Ray (best known as Bubba Ray Dudley in ECW and WWE) debuted in ROH in 2017 as a babyface veteran.  He dramatically “retired” in 2018 and was appointed to an enforcer role, but then he turned heel and mouthed off about all the flippy young guys ruining wrestling.  This concept has long since been done to death by WCW and TNA, but that didn’t stop ROH from giving it a go with Flip as the quintessential flippy young guy.  Bully has been getting heat on Flip for months, notably including a recent bit where Bully gave Flip a caning but Flip kept getting back up for more.

Flip is arguably the hottest babyface in ROH, and he almost certainly will be if/when the Elite and SCU leave.  The problem is that he’s the kind of white-meat babyface (like Ricky Steamboat, Tommy Dreamer, Daniel Bryan, and Johnny Gargano) where it’s so easy to get heel heat at his expense that the bookers lose sight of when it’s time for him to shine.  The caning angle perfectly sets up this match to blow off the feud, but it’s so perfect that they’re probably wondering if they can do it again, but even better.  For Flip to get anything out of this, he needs to win the feud and move on--he can’t just keep playing the lovable midcard loser getting bullied by heels forever.

This is the right time and place for Flip to take everything Bully can dish out, never quit, and then rally back to expose Bully as a coward and a quitter.  We’ll have to wait and see if ROH can figure that out.

Christopher Daniels vs. Marty Scurll - Scurll earned the right to challenge the ROH world champion in a match where he pinned Daniels to win, and now he’s putting that title shot at stake here.  Daniels is doing an angle where SCU is trying not to get kicked out of the company, and his teammates have the tag title to protect them, but he needs his own insurance.  Of course, in real life Daniels has not signed a new contract and it’s looking like he and Kazarian actually plan to leave soon.

Scurll, like the rest of the Elite, is expected to be departing ROH, but not on the same timetable.  He signed a short-term extension to keep him around through April, evidently to guarantee his participation in the April 6 Madison Square Garden show.  No one else from the Elite has signed such an extension, and I have to think ROH offered Scurll something good enough to sorta kinda break ranks.  I would not be surprised if they promised him a run with the world title and maybe even the world title match at MSG.  It’s pure speculation, but it would make sense.

Even if Daniels is on his way out and even if Scurll is earmarked for a title run, that doesn’t mean Scurll has to win this particular match.  But the safe bet is to pick the guy who’s staying over the guy who seems to be leaving.  And until we know more, that suggests Scurll wins.

Dalton Castle vs. Matt Taven - Taven is doing the old “real world champion” gimmick with an unsanctioned title belt, and he’s “defending” it here in this match.

A year ago, Castle won the world title and looked to be on track to be in the title picture throughout the 2018.  But various injuries caught up to him and he had to drop the belt to Jay Lethal in June.  It’s still not clear if Castle is fully recovered, or if he’ll ever get back into contention for the title.  The outcome of this match may indicate if he’s being pushed back to the top or held back in a “struggle to get back to the top” storyline.

For a while, Taven was probably best known as that one guy from The Kingdom that isn’t Adam Cole or Mike Bennett/Kanellis.  Then he relaunched the stable, which felt a bit like Tully Blanchard trying to start his own Horsemen, but okay.  Then he lost his hair in the main event of CMLL’s anniversary show, which seems to have kicked off a renewed heel push for him.  With so many other guys leaving, Taven has a big opportunity to step up.  The outcome of this match may indicate if they’ll step him up sooner rather than later.

The fact Taven is putting his fake belt up for grabs before a program with the actual champion kind of telegraphs the finish.  I don’t seriously believe Castle is going to win Taven’s belt and feud with him over it in the undercard like Ted DiBiase’s million dollar championship.  The logical endgame for this gimmick is Taven challenging Lethal, so Taven needs this win to get there.

Sumie Sakai vs. Madison Rayne vs. Karen Q vs. Kelly Klein - Sakai is defending the Women of Honor championship in a four-way elimination match; the loser of each fall is eliminated from the match until the last participant left is the winner and champion.

I have to give ROH credit for establishing a women’s division, but they’ve got a long way to go to catch up with WWE, or even Impact.  I follow ROH pretty casually, but I can still work out all the major happenings with the men.  The women, however, feel like blank slates with no noticeable storylines or personas.  I kinda know Madison from Impact, and Sakai is clearly the aging veteran proving she’s still got it with a length title reign.  If the company is serious, they need to get to a point where I don’t have to ask who people like Karen Q and Kelly Klein are.  That may be difficult to do when they run like six big shows a year and maybe one women’s match on each of them.

At this point the safe bet is to pick Sakai.  She should put over the next big star for the division, but I don’t think ROH has any idea who that will be.

Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Jonathan Gresham - Gresham declared he wanted to prove he’s the best technical wrestler today, and Sabre answered he challenge.  It feels like ROH is trying to elevate Gresham, but that doesn’t necessarily go as far as putting him over a key New Japan guy.  This could become one of those deals where Gresham is feted merely for losing a well-fought battle.  For Sabre this is just one last stop before arguably the biggest match of his career at Wrestle Kingdom, so it’s hard to imagine him losing here.

Kenny King vs. Eli Isom - This is set to be the opening match.  Kenny is so ageless--and perennially working his way up from the bottom of the card--that I keep forgetting he was the guy from Tough Enough season 2, where they went to South Africa and everybody talked about how he got laid.  Good for you, Kenny!  Anyway, he’s 37 now and he’s still around.  I’ve never heard of Isom and I’m pretty sure he’s just a jobber at this point.  I’m going with King to win.