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msbigredmachine · 1 year ago

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M.K.A.M. (My Kinda Morning) - Roman Reigns/Plus Size OC)

Who says birthday sex has to end after the birthday? Roman/Plus Size OC

PAIRING: Tribal Chief!Roman Reigns x Plus Size OC

Warnings: SMUT all the way, lol

Word count: 4.6k

A/N: In honor of our Tribal Chief's 38th birthday and to celebrate his historic 1000-day title reign. Tumblr flagged my story so I had to upload it again🙄 Enjoy!

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Face Claim (Because Tumblr flagged it the last time)

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Birthdays occurred only once a year, so it was usually imperative that it was spent with the people you love. After nearly two months away from you, it was almost hard for Roman to believe that he was actually back in your arms and in your bed, and on his birthday no less. He wished he didn't have to leave you for such long periods of time, but you understood that it was the nature of the beast. You embraced this reality when you made the decision to start a relationship with not just a pro wrestler, but the champion and the face of the biggest wrestling company in the world. Still, he tried to compensate by putting pen to paper on a lighter travel schedule, as well as buying you a new dildo to keep you occupied in his absence. According to you, the dildo had gotten several workouts, and the daily, dirty text messages from him, outlining what he'd like to be doing to you, definitely helped too.

Yesterday was incredible. From the moment he called to inform you that his jet was en route to your city, you were completely beside yourself with the most erotic thoughts on exactly how you would celebrate his birthday. You weren't ashamed to admit that your hands had ventured between your thighs more than once during the day, barely paying attention to any of the meetings you were in, counting down the hours till you finally got to see him. When he showed up at your doorstep, you were naked and waiting. No surface in your loft was safe; the couch, the kitchen counter, your desk in your little office space, the stairs...you name it, Roman fucked you on top of it, only taking a break to eat some of the birthday cake you bought for him before carrying you up to your bedroom, where you spent the night licking buttercream frosting off your bodies and coaxing orgasm after orgasm out of each other.

It was just past six in the morning, meaning you still had some time before you had to get up for work. Through the white sheer curtains of your bedroom window, the beautiful red and orange sunrise kissed the rich melanin of your skin. As the Tribal Chief watched the colors adorn your sleeping face, he felt his heart swell with renewed love and lust for you. He lay behind you, with your body cocooned in his warm and solid frame. You fit together perfectly.

He rested his hand on your hip, admiring the streaks of wavy stretch marks there. His sexy little tiger. He definitely had you mewling and purring like one when he put it on you last night. Faint lines of cake frosting smudged your brown skin, and he swiped each one with his finger and put in his mouth. He then let his hand travel along your waist, awed by the mouthwatering curves that belonged to him. Then, he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you back into him with a sigh. You seemed to still be asleep, and he really wanted to wake you up.

So, he started rotating his hips, pressing his morning erection against your sumptuous backside, nestling the impressive length between your ass cheeks. His hand slid up to your breasts, cupping one gently. As his finger grazed your nipple, you finally stirred. Your body shifted, causing your backside to rub up on his dick, and he grinded against you more purposefully, closing his hand tighter around your breast as he kissed your neck.

"What are you doing?" you whispered, your voice throaty and scratchy from sleep.

Roman nuzzled your shoulder, pressing another kiss to your skin. "I've missed you so much, my love."

He had shown you just how much last night. For hours. Your Samoan stallion possessed the stamina of three stellar athletes and you loved it. But right now... "I've missed you too. But I need to be up for work soon," you reasoned. You rolled onto your belly, which put a bit of distance between you.

"Call in sick. It's still my birthday," he implored.

"You know I can't, babe," you murmured, resting your head atop your crossed forearms, facing him and shutting your eyes. Your thick, sumptuous butt curved enticingly in the air thanks to your new sleeping position, prompting Roman to reach out to massage one of your cheeks, groping and squeezing the supple flesh in his palm.

It didn't surprise you to feel your pussy immediately tingle from his caress. His hands on you never failed to set your pulse racing. But you needed your rest. He already had you up all damn night, rendering your throat hoarse and your limbs like spaghetti. In another attempt to deter him, you rolled onto your back, your breasts and your womanhood on display.

Big mistake.

The Tribal Chief's eyes lit up like Christmas trees. His big hand cupped your breast again, thumbing the puckered nipple, then doing the same with the other. His fingertips made a delicate trail down the plane of your stomach, which spasmed from his touch. His fingers skimmed over your sensitive pussy lips, which were still tender and puffy from last night. He started to stroke you and you tried to squeeze your legs together to stop him, but he wasn't having that shit.

"Open your legs," he growled.

"Babe, I'm sleepy," you whined with a frown on your face, "I won't get up on time if we do this."

"I told you to call in sick. I'll handle your boss. It's my birthday and I want my present. Now spread 'em."

Fuck, you couldn't resist when he got all bossy and domineering with you. Of course, you relented, your legs falling open like they always did. Why did he have to look at you like that? He was so damn fine and he knew that shit. All it took was one look into that smoldering gaze of his and you were putty in his hands.

Your breath caught as he rubbed you faster, his body shifting much closer to you, reoccupying your space. His big beautiful dick pressed your upper thigh, damn near pulsating against your skin. You couldn't help but stare at it. Long and thick, accompanied by a heavy set of balls that made you drool.

Hovering over you, Roman smirked at your famished expression, and moved his fingers in small circles, spreading your wetness all around your folds. Then, he slowly sank them into you, his groan harmonizing with yours. He could feel how swollen you were from the pounding you took, but you were so wet his fingers slid in effortlessly anyway, your slick, hot flesh enveloping the digits.

"Baby..." you gasped, arching into him.

Your little squirms of protest had dwindled, which was how he knew he was slowly breaking you down. He moved in for the kill.

"I can eat it if you want," he offered, intentionally licking his lips that were a hair's breadth away from yours, and suddenly you wanted that mouth on you more than anything in the world.

"Mmm, yes please."

Bullseye. Roman sat up and kneeled before you, spreading your legs far apart and inspecting you down there. "That's the definition of a pretty pussy right here. All beat up and swole. Did I pound you good last night, baby girl?" he asked.

God, his voice. Deep and dripping with arrogance and sex as he talked dirty to you. It made your knees weak and your pussy moisten. "Yes, Daddy, it was so good."

His thumb stroked your pussy lips, fascinated by how fat and wet they were. "Gotta taste this sweet cunt again before I give you this dick, right?"

Before you could open your mouth to reply, Roman descended on you, spreading his mouth over your core. You were wide awake now, your hand on the back of his head while he went to work. You still tasted like cake, making you that much sweeter for his palette. He drooled all over that pretty pussy, causing you to moan and whine for him. Roman slurped on you a little more before bringing his eyes up to meet yours with a lick of his lips. You were breathing deeply with your mouth parted and irises low and lustful.

"Roman..."

Ducking his head again, he feasted heartily on you, not stopping this time around. Delicious, wet ass pussy that belonged in his mouth day and night. His huge hands glided up your torso before cupping your breasts. His tweaking of your nipples caused a flood, making his mouth so watery that with each suck, his saliva made its way down to the crack of your ass. Roman's mouth was hard at work, tonguing you down and French-kissing your meaty outer lips.

You were grinding his face now, your hands grabbing everywhere, the sheets, his head, his shoulders. Your ass clenched and your hips bucked as pleasure lapped at you with the same devastating impact as his tongue.

"Unnnh fuck, I'm comin', Daddy I'm comin'!" you cried and moaned and writhed on the bed. This man was going to be the death of you. You stared at him wide-eyed before your eyes rolled back as something inside you unlocked. Your neighbors could probably hear your scream as you came in his mouth. You pushed at his head, your body craving relief but not getting it, his dark chuckle vibrating against your pussy as he refused to free you from his clutches.

Your moans and screams made his dick so hard. Roman shifted forwards to pin your thighs down to your chest, his tongue still moving like a hurricane. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but for him, you would do anything. In your spare time you would practice contorting your legs for minutes on end because you wanted to please him, because you deemed him worthy enough to step out of your comfort zone and take a little pain for. Besides, the pleasure you received in return was out of this world, so it was definitely worth it.

A weak gasp rumbled in your heaving chest as he started sucking on your clit, aiming to make you come once again. All you could hear were the wet, gushy sounds his mouth was making while eating you out, and it was enough to trigger you again. With your fingers digging into his hair, you welcomed your second orgasm of the morning with a pleasured moan. He ate you out so good your eyes fluttered shut from exhaustion.

"Nah, keep your eyes open, sweetheart. I'm 'bout to tear this pussy up...again," he warned.

You could only watch, prone and helpless, as Roman crawled on top of you and made himself comfortable between your legs. He ensured to put all his body weight on top of you, and the feel of his muscles against your belly, chest, and thighs had your stomach doing flips. The softness of his full lips against your collar bone, with a generous helping of tongue, the scruff of his facial hair tickling you, made you exhale shakily. As he brought his kisses upwards, you angled your head to meet his lips. Your tongues twined around the other's for a couple of seconds before your mouths sealed together in sensual, intimate kisses.

Roman shifted his body above you, his hand slipping back down between your thighs, two long, thick fingers teasing your folds before breaching inside. He cupped your entire mound in his palm, massaging, working you until you were squirming and moaning his name. To further torture you, he ducked his head down, generously swirling his tongue around each of your nipples before sucking them one by one between his lips. The Tribal Chief found your titties irresistible. He loved them; couldn't stop touching and playing with them. Grabbing them with both hands, he flicked his tongue over them, getting them nice and wet, switching between sucking your nipples with his mouth and plucking them with his fingers. You could feel your pussy tense from the pleasure surging through your body. But you didn't want Daddy to feel left out, so you reached for his dick and started stroking him. His deep moan in reaction made you feel on top of the world.

"Mmm, that's it, make Daddy rock-hard," he whispered, watching the way you stroked and squeezed and teased him. You loved the weight and feel of him in your hand. A seep of precum made the head slick and elicited another surge of wetness between your legs. You strengthened your stroking motions along his shaft, biting your lip when he thrust briefly against your hand. With a harsh moan, he managed to break free from your intoxicating touch so he could focus on giving you the dick he promised.

Rolling you onto your belly, he maneuvered behind you, pressed your chest and shoulders into the bed, and raised your ass in the air, your knees spread wide with your feet close together and tucked under him. Perfect. He palmed each of your rounded cheeks, molding the flesh greedily in his hands. His cock strained against your pussy, and involuntarily, you moved your hips, desperate for contact. He took his dick and lined it along your slit, spreading your wetness around as he slowly worked the bell-shaped head inside you. Your bodies trembled seemingly as one as he filled you to the hilt, savoring the quivering of your pussy around his length.

"Daddy..." you moaned.

"Shhh, I gotchu," he hushed you with a low chuckle, caressing your body, making you feel good. His hands stopped at your hips and he started to move in and out of you, stretching your opening, holding back on you just a bit. He bent close to your ear, his lips ghosting along your jawline. "Talk to me, baby girl. Tell me you want it."

"I want it. Fuck me, Daddy."

"I know you do. Shit, you stay so damn tight. Good god, babe."

His breathing sped up and his grip tightened on your hips, letting out a deep, visceral groan as he thrust a little faster inside you. You fought the urge to scream as he went deep, burying himself in you. "Fuck, Daddy, yeah!"

With his fingers digging into the meat of your hips, he drilled your pussy, hard, his balls slapping against your clit. As much as you whimpered and moaned, you remained on your knees and took every inch like a champ. You could feel the head of his cock meet the bottom of your pussy with every thrust. It was a shock to your system, how deep he was in you, yet you could still feel him trying to go deeper, straining to be closer to you. Your pussy gripped him again and again and you had to bite into the pillow to contain your loud moans, your hands fisting the satin sheets. The mix of his spit with your cum caused your pussy to make the wettest, filthiest sounds as he fucked you. Eager to hear more, Roman circled his hips, pushing his dick right up against your g-spot, slapping your ass in time with his grinding strokes. Another groan escaped him at the sight of his glistening cock, covered in your juices, sending shivers down his spine. One last flick of his hips finished you off. It was an experience watching you release all over his cock, your pussy squeezing around him, your booty cheeks quivering from how hard you were coming.

"Shit." Your mouth fell open, your beautiful face twisted in blissful agony as you struggled to catch your breath.

Smiling proudly at his handiwork, the Tribal Chief squeezed and smacked your backside one last time before lying down on his back. "C'mere. Put that pretty mouth on my cock."

Managing to unravel your body from the position he twisted you in, you moved over to him and grabbed up his throbbing shaft, spreading the cream you left all over the intimidating length. You released a wad of spit on the tip of his cock and used it to lather him up nice and good. You licked along the side of his dick before taking him halfway into your mouth. Your man tasted so good, his flesh hard and smooth against the flat of your tongue.

"Mmmmm. Nasty ass mouth taking all that big dick. So hot. Suck that shit, baby, taste your pussy on it," he goaded.

You moaned at his words with your mouth full of his cock. Such a nasty shit talker, and it never failed to get your pussy Ieaking. Your hands rested on his thighs now, only working your neck and your wet, juicy lips up and down his length. You moaned on him again and it delivered a vibrating sensation to his dick, causing it to harden even more in your mouth. Easing up on him, you traced circles around his head with your tongue, drawing out pleasured gasps from him as he watched your every move with blown pupils. You took note of every little sound and moan of pleasure he made during sex...It meant you were doing him right, and you were learning to be even better to please both you and your sexy man.

"This my dick, Daddy?" you asked him.

"Yes, baby girl, it is, it's all yours." Roman hummed with satisfaction. You looked so fucking hot, slobbering all over his dick and giving it your undivided attention. His muscled hips bucked upwards to thrust in and out of your mouth. Pulling off your bonnet, he grabbed your hair and held you down on his cock, fucking your mouth over and over, at one point pushing himself so far down your throat that you made a startled sound of protest and popped him out of your mouth to glare at him.

"Hey! You tryna make me gag?" you warned.

Roman merely shrugged. "Damn right. I ain't apologizing, neither. Don't stop. Keep sucking me off."

"Asshole. You lucky I love you." You shifted your focus to his balls and used your lips to tug and pull each one while stroking his flesh pole at the same time. You could hear his gasps, feel him fidgeting, his fingers in your scalp, thanks to your ministrations. You were driving him crazy and you both knew it.

"Fuck, shit, your mouth feels so good on me, girl...you gon' make me come...Damn..."

Roman grunted deep and his big hand yanked you by your neck, shoving his dick back in your mouth where it belonged. With a firm push of your head, you swallowed him up again with a moan. Done with the games, your head bobbed up and down, dragging your lips along his cock in a tight seal, pumping him in your fist, working him into a frenzy.

"Baby, baby," Roman called for you, his balls growing tighter and tighter. Heat bloomed in his belly and his toes twisted. His fingers trembled in your hair as he erupted in your inviting mouth, emptying inside you for the umpteenth time in several hours. You caught every drop of his warm seed without making a mess. Releasing him, you opened your mouth to show him his morning nut.

"Damn, you got all of it," he moaned, taking your chin in his hand and inspecting your mouth. "Good girl. Swallow it and let Daddy see."

Obediently, you swallowed down his load, opening your empty mouth again as proof. Roman growled and crashed your lips together, savoring the tastes of you and him on your tongues. "My baby is such a good girl. Lay back down for me."

"Yes, Daddy." His dazed expression had you giggling while you moved around the bed for him, wiping the excess spit from your mouth. As soon as you were on your back, he pushed your legs up and out of the way. Grabbing the base of his dick, he wasted little time entering you again, holding himself up so that he could drop all this dick down in your pussy. You stared up at him, your lips parted almost in shock; he was so hard and so deep. You looked from his dick to his face again in a euphoric daze. He was rock-hard and digging into your wetness, the lewd sounds echoing around the bedroom. You went to rub your clit but he smacked your hand away.

"Uh-uh, hands off my pussy. I warned you last night about touching this pussy without my consent." As punishment, he picked up the pace.

"Oh my god," you gasped.

His grin was wicked as he watched you push at his abs to no avail. "Haha, I ain't going nowhere, baby. Take this dick like you took it last night. I ain't pulling out neither, you know Daddy don't like to pull out. Now hold your legs up for me."

Before you knew it, you found yourself clasping your calves and rearing your legs further back, allowing him to have his wicked way with you. You were trapped beneath him with nowhere to run, just how he liked it. He rocked that big ol' dick into you, grinding his hips in the most artful way, his body rolling, ebbing, flowing, plunging, making you feel every inch and making you fall in love with him all over again.

And to think, people called missionary boring. The man you were fucking made sure no position was boring. Not many women were as lucky as you were, to have a passionate, attentive partner who knew exactly how to please you.

"You fuck me so good, baby," you praised him, your voice a high-pitched, breathless mewl. “Fuck, you’re making me so wet.”

"Uh huh, you’re making a mess on my cock. I love it. You know I love taking care of my girl and my pussy," he answered, leaning down for a tender kiss.

"You always take good care of me, Daddy. I love you so much."

"I love you too, my sweet girl." Your affirmations seemed to turn him into an animal, as his thrusts became harder, deeper, rougher, the big bed rocking from his forceful movements. He could see your grip on your legs slipping so he grabbed them for you, pinning them down to the bed by the back of your knees. Your toes curled in the air as he kept up his electrifying strokes. The heat you felt creeping up was so strong that you shut your eyes tightly in anticipation. A flood of warm liquid gushed out of you and all over his already creamy dick, making you both moan out loud. When he slipped out of you, you shivered, and then just about fainted when he crept downwards and put his mouth back over you.

"Unnnhhh shiiiit..." you breathed, as he slowly worked his tongue in and around that sweet spot he had since mastered, slurping up your cum juice. You squirmed and squealed helplessly, tears springing to your eyes as another delicious climax built up inside you. Your head fell back onto the bed, incapable of doing any other thing except moan and cry. Too spent to scream, you could only make strangled sobs as another orgasm wracked your body yet again.

When he glided his dick back inside your now sensitive cunt, you couldn't bring yourself to look at him. Roman groaned as you tightened around him, your walls suckling him inch by inch. Bracing himself up with his powerful arms, he nudged your legs up onto his broad shoulders, giving you the perfect view of your pussy taking all his big dick. You turned your head every which way, your weakened body bouncing from the moderate pace of his thrusts. Roman chuckled in amusement at your reaction, his deep, raspy laugh almost taunting.

"Aww, you don't wanna look at me, beautiful? Can't handle how good this dick is?" he teased, kissing away the tears on your cheeks before swiveling his hips around and around, burying himself inside you. "Mmm, you like this, don’t ya? I can tell you like it. You're squeezin' the shit outta my dick. Bet you're feeling real good right now..."

More than good. You were as wet as a waterfall and floating high as a kite right now. Your head arched back into the pillows as he kept putting that dick in your stomach, your voice now hoarse from all your moans and cries. Roman brought his face closer and reacquainted his tongue with yours, absorbing your moan as you tasted yourself in his mouth. In turn, you threaded your fingers through his hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Through the haze of passion, you honed in on the sounds of pleasure he was making, the relentless steadiness of his strokes, driving into you with enough momentum to sink you into the sheets.

"God, your pussy is incredible, baby," he murmured under his breath between heated kisses. "Goddamn...I'm 'bout to fill that pussy up, put a damn baby in you."

The waves of searing pleasure rolled outward from where your bodies connected. Roman felt the pull as his balls tightened, inducing him to fuck you harder, faster. You could feel it too, and you reached behind him to rake your nails down his lower back, desperate to end this before you lost control of all your senses and capacities. That small slice of pain was enough to push the Tribal Chief over the edge, your name grinding past his lips as he spasmed inside you. He forced himself as deep as he could down your pussy, emptying his cum in you. Your muscles clenched around him, milking every drop, pulse after pulse of almost painful pleasure mixing with the roaring in his ears. The twitching of his dick ignited another shockwave through your whole body, making you tremble one last time in his arms in a spine-tingling, bone-melting orgasm of your own.

When it was all over, you crawled away from him, lying spread-eagled, gasping for air, your hair a mess. He lay sprawled beside you, gently tracing the love marks he left on your backside and hips. You were too tired to even turn your head, so you missed the victorious smile on his face as he surveyed the 'damage' he caused.

"You good, baby?" he asked you, his fingers massaging your waist in small soothing circles.

There was a faraway look in your eyes. You felt woozy, your body weak and sore from pleasure. You did not mince your words when delivering your assessment. "You a damn demon."

The twinkle in his eye was just as devilish. "And you love it," he replied with a confident smile, "Am I right, sweetheart?"

Fuck. This man was indeed going to be the death of you. "You know you are," you said softly. Craning your head to check the time on your phone charging on the nightstand, you kissed your teeth tiredly. "I'm gonna be so late."

"I thought I said you should call in sick. Here, let me do it for you." He picked up his phone and searched for a contact. You spied the name he was calling and had to fight back a smile.

"I should never have given you my boss' number," you griped, albeit good-naturedly.

"Come on. He loves ya boy," he chortled. He was right, your boss George was a huge wrestling fan and worshipped the ground Roman walked on. You half-listened to their conversation, holding back a giggle at the serious professional tone your man was using. Severe food poisoning, he said grimly, that it did not look good, and he was taking you to the hospital shortly. He put his phone away with aplomb. "See? Done. I told you Daddy always takes care of his baby girl," he said proudly. "Now we can stay in bed all day and eat more cake, among...other things."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and you would have laughed if you weren't so exhausted. Thank God you didn't have to get up anymore. You allowed him to wrap his big arms around you, and you snuggled into him, letting him envelop you in the loving protective way he always did. A happy sigh left your lips as you felt his own press against your temple, whispering words of love to you, permitting you to fade back to sleep, completely and utterly satisfied.

THE END

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Thoughts? The Bloodline may be falling apart but our smut will never die, lol.

Please leave comments. I love comments!

Banner made by me. Roman gif by @harmshake. Credit to owners of the other pics and gifs.

#roman reigns #roman reigns fanfiction #the tribal chief #tribal chief #daddy #roman reigns smut #roman reigns imagines #roman reigns imagine #happy birthday roman #the bloodline #roman reigns x plus size reader #roman reigns x black reader

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wrestlingisfake · 1 month ago

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King of Pro Wrestling preview

Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Naito is defending the IWGP world heavyweight championship. Sabre scored a win over Naito in July, during the G1 Climax, before going on to win the whole tournament. Normally the G1 winner would receive a title match at the Tokyo Dome in January, but Zack has elected to skip the wait and do it now. He hopes to win the title and bring it to the London show on October 20. Zack is already scheduled to face SANADA at that show; if he's successful here, that will become his first title defense.

New Japan desperately needs to establish a wave of new stars, and at 37 years old, Sabre is not exactly the ideal candidate to lead the next generation. But at this point New Japan has booked themselves into a corner. Naito is 42 and looks increasingly worn down, Hiroshi Tanahashi is a spent force at 47, and everybody else at their level has signed with WWE or AEW. EVIL, Shingo Takagi, and Sanada didn't catch fire. The Reiwa Musketeers (Shota Umino, Ren Narita, and Yota Tsuji) are still years away from being allowed to grab the brass ring, with Yuya Uemura and Ryohei Oiwa bottlenecked in line behind them. So under the circumstances, Sabre is the best available option in 2024.

That doesn't make it a lock Sabre will win the big one here. When Kenny Omega won the G1 in 2016, I was certain he'd be coronated as the top champion right away, but it didn't end up happening for almost two years. I don't really think they should pull the rug out from Sabre, but they're not afraid to do it if they're not ready to put a new guy on top.

It's particularly hard to predict New Japan's future plans because we have no idea what the Tokyo Dome main event will end up being. Normally that match would be locked in by now, and this year we can't be certain either Naito or Sabre will make it to Wrestle Kingdom. I suspect there's a reason for that, but I can't figure out what it could be.

I haven't gotten much out of Naito's matches lately, so this will mainly depend on the drama of Sabre trying to beat a top guy who's always been a cut above him, to finally score the crowning achievement of his career. If he doesn't win, a lot of fans are going to be bitterly disappointed, and I don't think New Japan will have a contingency plan for that. So I'm pulling for him, but I've been burned too many times to count on a title change.

David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto - Finlay defended the IWGP global title against YOSHI-HASHI a couple of weeks ago, so now Yoshi's partner Goto wants a shot. These two were scheduled to meet on March 16 during the New Japan Cup, but Finlay had to withdraw due to a medical issue. When they finally squared off in August, Goto scored an upset victory. So Finlay is looking for some vengeance.

I'd love to tell you Goto has at least a shot of winning, but I can't convince myself of that. Finlay is just going to roll over this guy like he did Yoshi. These are placeholder matches against lower midcarders because Finaly has run out of guys that are worth beating. I'd like to think that after this match a young guy will step up to challenge him for the Tokyo Dome, but there aren't really that many young guys handy to fill that role. With that in mind, it's no wonder Finlay has--and will retain--the #2 heavyweight belt in the promotion.

DOUKI vs. SHO - Sho attacked Douki on September 29 and swiped the IWGP junior heavyweight title, so this is one of those matches where the champion intends to get his belt back by giving a title shot to the guy who stole it. I really don't need another run for Sho as the undeserving chickenshit heel champion. Douki should retain.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shota Umino & El Phantasmo vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru - This is billed as Tanahashi's 25th anniversary match, celebrating his in-ring debut in 1999. This is a trios match, and Tana is one of the NEVER trios champions, and Evil's team has been chasing that title for weeks. But for this match Tana is teaming with ELP and Shota instead of Toru Yano and Oleg Boltin, so the belts aren't at stake. I'm not sure what the point is, except that Shota finally convinced Phantasmo to stop thinking about joining Houe of Torture, and formally align with Hontai. An American booker would use this opportunity to fake us out and have ELP go ahead and double-cross the Hontai team to help Evil's team win. But I can't see New Japan doing that. More likely Yujiro or Nobu will simply lose the fall.

Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji vs. Ren Narita - Cobb's NJPW World television title is on the line, so this match has a 15-minute time limit. The first man to score a pin or submission on either opponent within the time limit will win the match and the title. On September 8, Cobb retained his belt against Tsuji in a time limit draw, and then Narita attacked both men to put himself in the title picture. I figure this is a way to move the title to Narita without cleanly beating either guy.

Shingo Takagi vs. Ryohei Oiwa - Takagi regained the NEVER title on September 29, and Oiwa stepped up to be the first challenger. I don't want to say it's too soon for Oiwa to get a push and/or a title run. But HENARE spent years trying to win the NEVER belt, and he finally won it from Shingo, only to lose it right back. If he's still just a good hand, I don't know why they'd strap a rocket to Oiwa's back. Something tells me this will be a straightforward win for Takagi, where the story for Oiwa will be how good he looked in defeat.

Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. Bad Luck Fale & Caveman Ugg - Haste and Nicholls are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag title. The STRONG tag title is not at stake; Haste and Nicholls are scheduled to defend that one on October 20. Fale was a key member of Bullet Club, but he hasn't done much in Japan lately as he's been focused on the Bullet Club subgroup, Rogue Army, over in NJPW's shows in Australia and New Zealand. Ugg is a caveman in said Rogue Army. I could see this going either way. World Tag League is coming up, but I can't really see how it'd make a difference which of these teams heads into that with the belts.

Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney vs. KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight - Knight pinned Moloney in a trios match on August 30, so now he gets a shot for the IWGP junior heavyweight tag title. This is the first time he's teamed with Kushida since June, and the first time the Intergalactic Jet Setters have challenged for the junior tag title since April. In two-on-two matchups, the Jet Setters are 2-1 against the champions, but they've never beaten Connors and Moloney when the gold is on the line. I've been ready for a junior tag title change for a while now, but I don't have much confidence it'll happen this time. The safe bet is for the champs to retain.

Mistico vs. Hiromu Takahashi - Mistico is the MLW middleweight champion and the CMLL historic middleweight champion, but neither of those titles is at stake here. I think the story here is that Hiromu just wants to wrestle him. It seems like a pretty huge match, so it's kind of weird it's just opening the show. Mistico probably needs to win, unless they're setting up a title match someplace.

#njpw #king of pro wrestling #tetsuya naito #zack sabre jr

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majesticwren · 8 months ago

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due to high demand - me. I'm high demand. this entire project is being written entirely for my pleasure, be warned I'm being extremely self-indulgent - I've decided to write a little prequel to the events that take place here. this is set in 2018 and is the beginning of Fletch x OFC. billy will have his own little prequel at some point. enjoy.

Trigger Warning/s: alcohol consumption, mention of addiction, mention of sex, mention of trauma, sexual harassment, swearing, OFC is her own trigger warning she is damaged goods and slightly toxic, kyle is a little baby, mark is being overprotective and extremely toxic sorry not sorry, angst, mainly friends to lovers/impossible relationship dynamics.

nuclear season: part I -> | part II -> | part III -> prequel: part II -> | part III -> | part IV -> Masterlist

January 2018

There was always something melancholically romantic about an empty venue after a show. Seeing a place that had been crowded, hot and loud for hours suddenly empty and silent had a particular bittersweet vibe to it.

Erika sat on one of the foldable chairs at ringside, one leg crossed over her knee, swinging her foot to the beat of the seconds, looking around as she waited. Trying to pass the time, she fiddled with a lock of her hair.

The lights of the venue were now all switched on, making the ring at the centre of the room look extremely surgical. A couple of RevPro workers were dismantling it, pulling the apron and starting to take down the ropes. Erika moved her attention to another person on the other side of the room who was folding up the chairs, ready to load them away.

Erika tapped her foot on the floor. It was sticky under the sole of her show because of the spilt over drinks. She took some time to count the abandoned plastic cups and forgotten items she could see all over the place, making it look like the crowd partied hard. Which wasn’t far from reality. They had a good crowd at the show that night and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves wrestlers and guests alike.

She was proud of many of the pictures she had taken. There was a content smile nested on her lips as she was aware she had probably made rent with that event.

There were many pros to working in wrestling. It was a career she hadn’t considered before, even though she had been around the scene for years since her brother was such a massive fan and had been wrestling already for over ten years. So, she had her fair bit of knowledge and was charmed by that world but had never thought it possible to make a career out of it.

Still, now she wasn’t entirely convinced her dream had come true. Somehow, she thought she didn’t deserve it and considered it a privilege. She had hurt and disappointed so many people before, too used to being a problematic teenager than this new responsible adult that Erika was convinced it was only a matter of time before she fell into her old habits again.

But, at the moment, she was enjoying doing what she was doing and paying her living doing liked most. Photography was her life. She loved taking pictures, framing moments and making them hers forever. Plus, her job was fun and granted her the possibility not only to travel and meet many people, but she got to do it all with her dear big brother.

The most important part of following that dream, though, was that it gave her the chance to leave Australia for good. She had followed Mark to the UK only for a few weeks now and yet she hadn’t missed home once. She was always convinced that remaining in Brisbane would have meant the withering of her. There was too much of her past there and she just knew she would have never escaped it.

But, no matter how far she travelled, there was a fear always hidden inside of her that painfully reminded her how easily she could have slipped and ruined her life again.

So easy. So tempting.

“Hey, there,”

She jumped, startled when she heard that voice so close. Erika gasped, placing a hand on her chest as her gaze distractedly lifted on the tall, slim boy approaching her.

“Sorry, mate, didn’t mean to scare ya,”

Erika focused her attention on Kyle and melted into a smile, shaking her head. “Please, don’t be sorry. I was miles away.”

He approached her with a soft smile crossing his fair features. He looked like an elf, with his sharp edges, high cheekbones and glimmering, light eyes. There was something about the boy she was attracted to like a magnet. She couldn’t explain it but she couldn’t take her attention off him either. Although she didn’t trust herself enough to let herself go in that feeling. She and boys weren’t a good match. Her past was full of bad decisions and she had no intention of making another one.

Especially with a pretty, sweet boy like Kyle seemed to be. Especially since he was so close to Mark not only as his colleague and team partner but being taken in like a little brother as well. She just couldn’t risk it.

“Can I sit?” He pointed at the chair to her side.

“Of course,” Erika nodded, trying to shake the cringe off herself. Her skin rippled in goosebumps only thinking about having him too close. She couldn’t think too clearly when he looked at her, which was just ridiculous.

He dropped his bag with his ring gear on the floor and fell heavily on the little chair distending his long legs. “So, what do you think about the show?”

“I think it was great!” Erika smiled, looking at him and damning herself for the excitement it gave her to share a moment alone with Kyle. She felt the butterflies in her stomach warming up. “That move you did,” she tried to regain focus, looking back on the ring, “off the top buckle? That was so good!”

“You think?” He wondered following her eyes to the ring. “I thought I landed badly and everyone noticed.”

“Well, if you did, I didn’t see it.” Erika didn’t mention how closely she was looking at his moves. She cleared her voice, lifting her professional camera. “I took a cool shot of your front flip mid-air, wanna see?”

“Hell yeah,” Kyle scooted closer, looking over her shoulder as she fiddled with her camera.

Erika tried her best to remain calm and not react to his closeness but it was hard. His scent was inebriating, he smelled of clean linen and lavender. It made her mouth water and her hands shake with the desire to push her face into his neck and inhale.

She shrugged off a shiver, concentrating on the dozens and dozens of pictures she was scrolling through and then smiled when she finally found the one, showing it to him from the small camera screen. “There it is. It will look a thousand times better once I develop it. But even like this, it looks pretty good.”

“Shit me,” Kyle attentively took her camera into his hands, handling it with care as he looked into the screen, examining the picture she took. “Is that how I look when I do it?”

Erika nodded. “Cool uh? You look very good.”

“Could I have a copy of the picture once you develop it?”

“Of course! I mean, I generally do give the guys I work for a hard copy and a file copy that I share with the wrestlers too. So, you’ll be good to go.”

“Can I have a look at the rest of the pictures?”

“Yes,” Erika cleared her voice, “I mean, I haven’t peaked through them so most of them will be off-focus or blurry but sure.”

As he pressed the little arrow button, starting to look at all the pictures she had taken of the evening, Erika slowly started to feel a warm feeling spread through her. She was suddenly fidgety, wondering what went on in his mind as he looked at what she could do. It was somehow intimate, showing to him. Erika’s pictures were used by companies and wrestlers alike on their socials, but no one knew it came from her, there. This felt like Kyle just had access to a very personal window of how she viewed the world.

“Wow, you are good at this,” Kyle smiled distractedly, still scrolling through her work. “These are so good.”

Erika blushed. And immediately froze, feeling panic settling in her nerves. She looked away, imposing herself to find some control over her emotions. She had never blushed before, not for a boy anyway.

“Thank you,” she pushed her hand out, hinting to him to give her back the camera. “It won’t take me long to get the pictures fixed up and printed, so you can see them once they are done.”

“Do you have a studio?” He wondered with interest stretching on the chairs by his side.

Erika shook her head. “I will in a few weeks. I am trying to get a lease on a tiny hole of an office from where I’ll be able to work. I am planning to have a proper dark room and maybe even a desk space to hire an assistant. But for now, I am doing it the old-fashioned way,”

“What’s that?”

“My laptop.” She explained shrugging, “It’s a bit of a hit or miss kind of job, sometimes it pays well, sometimes it doesn’t. But I think I can make it work better If I get access to an office space.”

“Like an investment.”

“Yes,” Erika smiled, appreciating his care to know details about her more than what she was supposed to. “Exactly that.”

“Are you coming out with us tonight?” He then wondered leaning his head to the side.

She felt his eyes on her and wanted to bask under his attention. She had never had a problem with that. Generally, she thrived when she was under the spotlight. She was a very confident young woman aware of her appearance. Maybe too much, sometimes. She had won many things, in the past, because of her pretty face. Especially hearts. She was used to having it her way, but when she decided she wanted someone there wasn’t escaping it. Except with Kyle felt different. She didn’t want to conquer him or win him over. She liked him. Not only his appearance, even though his large smile made her feel things she had never felt before. The real deal was the kindness of heart he had; he was so polite in the way he behaved, and he wore his heart on his sleeve and wasn’t apologetic about it.

Plus, he was spoiling her. Kyle made her feel seen and listened to in ways she wasn’t used to. Which said a lot about the relationships or situationships she had in the past.

And that was precisely why it was so dangerous to play with that fire and she did everything in her power to fight against it. She could see it would lead to ruin for all parties involved.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” She looked away, sadness settling in, aching in her chest.

She wanted to go. She wanted to spend some time socialising. She wanted to be around him. But precisely because he seemed to want her there, she was better off staying away from booze and pretty boys.

“What!? Really? There’s a darts tournament between the guys, sure you want to miss that? I mean not to brag, but I’d beat you at darts.” He winked.

Erika felt flushed. “I’d love that because I think I might be good a darts” she damned herself as soon as she said that, “But I have an early train in the morning. Can’t miss it.”

“Oh, I see. Well. that’s a shame,”

“Next time, maybe?”

“You are on.”

“Oi,” A deep, thunderous voice echoed through the empty venue. Both she and Kyle jumped on their seat, turning over to find Mark waiting. “Ready to go?”

Erika huffed, looking over at her brother studying them. He didn’t seem too happy and she knew why. So, even before he could say anything, she jumped up and grabbed her back and jacket, putting some distance with Kyle.

“What were you doing?” He wondered quietly once she was close.

Erika shrugged. “Nothing, we were waiting for you.”

Before he could say anything more, Kyle approached her side and the two exchanged a fist bump. Mark didn’t continue, but she could see the concern hiding in his gaze. And it hurt her.

Mark hid behind a smile as he welcomed the boy, “Hey, mate,” he was so affectionate to Kyle that it made her heartache. She was happy they met. Kyle was a good friend to her brother. But, again, that was yet another complication and another reason for her to stay as far from the Aussie as she could.

“I’m gonna head home,” she started, hinting at the door as she fixed her bag on her shoulder.

“Yeah?” Mark looked at her, “I thought you were coming to the pub?”

“Nah,” Erika shook her head. She wished she didn’t but her gaze wandered on Kyle briefly. “I am quite tired. I think it’s for the best.”

“Okay,” Mark pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead. “Grab a cab though. I don’t want you around the underground alone at this hour.”

“I’ll call one now. You boys go ahead and have fun. I’ll leave the light on in the hall for you when you come home.”

She watched them approaching the venue door. Mark pulled Kyle under his arm as they walked and they merged with some of the other wrestlers on the show that same night. A few of the boys waved goodbye at her before they left. Just then, she approached the bar counter, releasing a soft sigh.

“Hey,” she hinted at the barman cleaning up, “would you be so kind to call me a cab, mate?” She wasn’t even trying to hide her disappointment. Just thinking about all that she may be missing made her heartache. It felt like the more distance there was between her and Kyle, the more she hurt.

Pathetic. She had to snap out of that little crush and get over it. And fast.

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he stepped towards her, “can I get you a drink while you wait? On the house,” the boy winked at her. His flirtatious behaviour bounced right off her. His charm too, didn’t bother her.

“Nah, thank you, I am good.”

She could see the barman’s interest following her movements as he leaned on the counter in front of her. He was an attractive man, sure, and she had no doubt his pretty face and that little stunt of chatting up the ladies probably got him places before. She knew it all too well. She was it too. But even though she knew well how it worked and she felt like she should have been fluttered by his attention, maybe even intrigued, it just slid off her without making her feel a thing. If not slight discomfort.

Before he could say or ask something else, Kyle ran back in, approaching her. “Hey, Erika?”

“Yes?” She immediately turned towards him, not even noticing how much her heart and body moved for the Aussie. “What is it? You ok?”

“Yes, yeah,” he nodded, sliding a hand to the back of his neck. He was blushing so sweetly it made her think about strawberries. Though his eyes were bright and sharp as he looked at her. “I was wondering, could I have your number?”

Erika choked. She knew everything wrong with that. It was the same reason why she wasn’t allowing herself to go out. It was why she avoided being around the house alone with Fletch when Mark wasn’t around. It was why she had avoided being around him in general. Except when she didn’t and fell into whatever it was that attracted them like magnets.

It was stronger than her common sense, she was nodding even before she could think straight and kept being selfish as Kyle offered her his phone for her to type her number in.

He was smiling like an idiot. Or maybe it was her.

When he got his phone back, he held it like a trophy. “Thanks,”

“Don’t tell Mark,” She suggested, probably saying the first smart thing in a minute.

Kyle offered her the largest of smiles and then dashed off.

As he left, she felt all the warmth he brought with him leaving her body and making her feel empty.

“That little prick has balls,” the guy behind the bar chuckled.

Erika smiled, still looking at the door. “That he does.”

“So, how is it that a pretty girl like you is not going out celebrating with all those boys?”

Erika tapped her nails on the wood, starting to feel an itch under her skin. She wanted to be vague, she knew what was the polite, British way of just generally saying stuff without actually saying anything to strangers. But she was too tired for that too. Politeness hardly got her anywhere.

“Well, let me tell you,” She began, “Got a crush on that little prick,” she vaguely pointed at the door, “he is my brother’s best friend and I can’t afford to fuck that up so,” she huffed, “I am staying well clear and doing everything in my power to get over him.”

“But you just gave him your number.”

“Yes, I never said I was smart at it.”

The guy behind the bar smiled. “I’m Matt, by the way,”

“Erika,” she said as they shook hands.

“So, Erika,” he looked up at her, hitting her up with a gaze she was sure had conquered many hearts before, “Want some help forgetting about the little prick?”

The proper way was to politely decline, get a cab, go home and do her best to accept going to bed alone. That would have been the new adult, mature way to deal with the situation. She was well aware of what was expected of her. But still chose otherwise.

The comfort of her old ways, knowing exactly what would have happened and how she would have felt was much better than knowing how much she was going to be eaten up by regrets, alone, in her little room.

“What time do you get off?” She wondered melting into a smile.

She didn’t much care for the guy himself. But he offered a distraction and it seemed like a valid idea not to think about Kyle.

“Half an hour.”

She nodded and took a seat on one of the stools, “In that case, I’ll take that drink, thank you.”

February 2018

A few weeks later, Erika stood in the centre of the small room she could call an office.

The place was a little dishevelled. It was dark, cold and a little dump; the rent was overpriced, but it was hers. The walls could have done with a new touch of paint, and she was convinced the space would have looked much more welcoming and personal with pictures hanging up; the carpet seriously needed a deep cleaning, and the sad curtains by the windows needed to be retired, but she still looked at it with the most pride.

A smile crossed her lips, and her heart was leaping out of her chest as she toyed with the set of keys the agency gave her. She still didn’t feel secure enough to trust her dream coming true, but that was a pretty big step forward compared to where she had come from only six months before.

“Hey-o,” she recognised Kyle’s voice immediately as he chirped from the entrance door, “anybody in there? Erika?”

Her heart jumped out of her chest.

“Come on in!” She welcomed him, skipping back to the door where she found the Aussie. “What are you doing here?”

As soon as he saw her, he whipped out a massive smile and pulled, from behind his back, a big bunch of colourful flowers and a bottle of bubbles. “Well, I thought the situation required celebrating!” He offered her his presents.

Erika’s chest tightened as she took the flowers and brought them up so she could smell them. Then she took the bottle too, looking at it with interest. She melted into a sweet smile, immediately damning herself for what she was feeling.

Whatever tied her to Kyle only got stronger and deeper day by day. She tried to fight it. She tried to deflect and lie to herself, pretending that ignoring it all was enough to make it disappear. And yet, Kyle was constantly there to remind her how wrong she was.

She just needed to look at him to feel a magnetism pulling her towards him, making her hands tremble with the need to touch him. But it was a constant battle she fought, leaving her feeling cold and empty every time she denied herself her wish.

And yet, he kept coming. He kept being there, around her, everywhere, even when they were far from each other, she still felt him. Every day he made it a point to wish her good morning and good night. He’d ask her about her day and listen with interest to everything she had to say. He’d make her laugh. He’d give her compliments. He was just present in her life. How she wished she could say confidently they were only friends.

But friends didn’t desperately wish to kiss each other.

Thinking about that made her realise she was looking at his lips and she had to force herself off the thought.

“Thank you, Fletch, this is so sweet of you,” she looked up at him, leaning her head to the side, “I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Why did you think I asked you the address of this place?” He chuckled, “I wanted to make sure you welcomed this new chapter with the right energy.”

Erika smiled, absolutely smitten by him and his selfless, unashamed caring.

“Thank you,” before she could even think clearly and stop herself, she leaned in for a hug. Her intention was for it to be quick and polite. That was what friends did, wasn’t it? She couldn’t be further from the truth.

Kyle welcomed her with a soft hold and, by the time she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist and pressed her face into his chest, the world stopped spinning.

Erika tightened her hold around him, only for Kyle to do the same, taking the initiative to lean his chin on the top of her head, cradling her softly.

There was no salvation after that for her. Erika was toasted. Her heart was beating so fast inside her chest that she was sure he could feel it too. Her stomach twisted as warmth flooded through her, fuzzing her thoughts and waking up a hunger, a desire in her lower abdomen that would only hurt with every second she wouldn’t give into it.

“I wanted to be here for you, today,” he gave away, brushing a soft, intimate kiss on her temple.

Erika looked up at him and Kyle’s bright gaze fell into hers as he dived into her eyes. He was so close his scent was inebriating her senses. He looked so pretty she couldn’t take it.

“Did you come alone?”

Kyle nodded, “Your brother doesn’t even know I am here.”

Erika felt so dirty for lying to Mark.

They had kept a low profile, pretending nothing was going on and they hadn’t spent the past weeks texting. Sometimes they’d text from across the same room and Mark would take the piss out of Kyle for texting his “little lady”, not knowing she was the one receiving his interest. They made a little joke out of it, but Erika didn’t find it funny.

She hated shutting Mark out. He knew everything about her and could read her like a book. But he didn’t know that part. She was terrified of his reaction if he had known what was going on between her and Kyle, which was nothing. She lied to herself too, constantly. Even though the second she found herself around Kyle it was undeniable she was the most clueless of them all.

Erika gulped, looking down at Kyle’s lips again, unable not to, his mouth was so attractive to her. Especially when he was so close.

Kyle dared to cup her face in his palms. Erika sighed, closing her eyes and letting herself go in his soft hold. His hands were big and warm. And she was dying to feel them all over her.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered, so close to her face she tasted his breath on her tongue. A hot shiver crossed her. “I like you, Erika. Been liking you a while.”

“Kyle,” she tried to find some common sense, although only the idea of refusing him ripped her chest apart. “We can’t.”

“Why?”

“Mark,” she was still holding the flowers and the bottle of bubbly in her hands, and even though she was trying to fight for her life not to succumb to him, she didn’t even dare to move an inch away. “He’d never approve.”

“Leave him to me. I am sure if there’s someone he’d like to be with his sister, that would be me.”

“No, Kyle, it’s not you the one he wouldn’t approve of. It’s me. I am not good for you,”

“Let me decide that.”

“You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me,”

“Then tell me. I want to know you.”

Erika chuckled dryly, quickly dismissing him. He would have run away, as far as possible from her if he had known half of the things she did.

“I mean it,” he continued, “I want to know everything about you.”

“You make it so hard,” she whispered, moulding herself in his hold as Kyle softly caressed her jawline.

“I am not hearing a good reason to stop.” He leaned in, brushing his lips on her forehead, “Tell me no and I’ll fuck off. But if you want it too,” as he moved, hovering above her, Erika moved her head, raising her chin only so their lips would touch. “Then,” he continued, whispering so close to her mouth it gave her goosebumps.

Before he could continue, Erika took the worst decision of her life and, dropping the flowers on the floor, she grabbed him by his t-shirt and pulled him down in a kiss, desperately clinging onto him and releasing everything she had stopped herself from feeling for so long. Selfishly taking everything she wanted from him.

Kyle blindly closed the door behind him and then his arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him. His hands ran across her body, feeling her curves, grabbing on her clothes, only to pull her tighter against him.

Unapologetically, Kyle slipped a hand into her hair grabbing a handful and made her bend underneath him, deepening their kiss. As soon as their tongues crossed and his flavour exploded into her mouth, Erika released a soft moan, feeling her body waking up completely.

However, before she could slip into deeper waters of desire and future regrets, Erika gathered the strength to push him off herself.

“Kyle, please stop,” her breath was heavy as she kept her hand on his chest, not to keep him far from her but to feel him.

“Did I do something wrong?” He wondered, checking she was ok.

Erika shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. Because the only wrong she could identify in that entire situation was the distance between them.

She had a taste. She scratched the itch. That was going to be it. It was going to have to be enough.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. We can’t happen. Please,” her heart shattered into a million pieces seeing the look he gave her. “Please,” she whispered again, almost getting lost in his eyes.

Kyle accepted her choice and let her go, taking two steps back. He leaned picking up the flowers and passed them over to her, shrugging awkwardly. “Here, take them.”

She felt defeated as she accepted the flowers back. She couldn’t bear the idea of seeing him leave and didn’t want to accept them being done. It was supposed to be the way, just severing their little fling or whatever, but she was stupid and selfish.

“Do you want a little tour?” She wondered, hoping Kyle would indulge her.

He didn’t disappoint and melted into a gentle smile, nodding. “I’d love to.”

They held hands as she showed him around, telling him everything about how she envisioned her studio.

March 2018

Erika stood ringside, her trusted camera at hand as she watched the match through its lenses.

The crowd was hot tonight. They clapped and booed, chanted and roared and were generally super involved in the matches, which was something she always loved to see.

Erika moved around the ring, taking every occasion to grab a shot, just like she always did, capturing as much of the energy in the ring as she could.

The two boys going at it right now were new in the company, she never met them before, but that didn’t change a single thing in the way the crowd perceived them. The heel was doing his job, flipping everyone off at any given occasion only to get everyone’s boos up. And the other, being the good guy he was, was there to make him regret it every time.

How she loved wrestling. It was such a theatrical, highly athletic pantomime.

The match ended with the good guy pinning the heel. The crowd went wild. Erika too, smiled, as she kept taking her shots of the guy celebrating.

Then, as the guys cleared out and the announcer moved back to the ring, starting to explain the next match on the mic, Erika moved too towards the wrestlers’ entrance, readying her camera to capture Aussie Open’s entrance.

Of course, she was working for the wrestling company and her work needed to be equally good for all the participants in the events. But she couldn’t help herself from having favourites. The number of pictures she had taken of Kyle and her brother that she had never sold because they were candid shots of two guys and had nothing to do with wrestling was embarrassing. Especially of Kyle’s. She loved taking his pictures. But that was a secret, of course.

Still, she patiently waited there, camera at hand, kneeling to take a good shot of them coming out in their new shiny, matchy gear.

Aussie Open was announced and their music started as they rolled out, basking in the crowd's welcome.

Erika smiled behind the camera, taking her pictures as the two posed and then moved with them to the ring.

Mark and Kyle slipped through the ropes and circled the apron, looking into the room, and pointing at people in the crowd only to get a reaction. They were both talking some shit either to the crowd or to each other, fully committed to their role.

Then, as Kyle confidently strode by the corner she was hanging around, he broke character one moment to look down at her, offering her one of his sweet smiles. “Hey, baby,”

Erika took a picture of him, grabbing that moment for herself. He called her baby now. Not always, but when he did it made her feel warm all over. It was so hard for her not to reach out and touch him.

Mark approached Kyle and landed a heavy hand on his shoulder, bringing him to turn as the announcer presented their competitors. Erika moved around the ring again, towards the entrance, ready to go back to being a hundred per cent professional.

She kneeled by the crowd, exchanging a quick, polite smile with a couple of guys by her side who seemed to be enjoying the show just like everyone else. She leaned ready to take her shots.

And then Erika was stricken. Nothing could have prepared her for the frosty feeling taking over her as the heavy hand of a stranger landed on her ass, giving her an unrequired smack. She felt the stranger’s touch straight into her stomach and it made her twitch as his fingers dared to squeeze on her.

She turned quickly towards him and raised her camera, taking a shot of his face. She acted out of instinct, not thinking about the consequences. It was the only thing she could consciously think of doing. No words were coming out. Not even anger. Just pure, disgusted surprise.

“Hey,” he angrily confronted her, trying to grab her camera, “Cancel that, you bitch. I haven’t permitted you to take a picture of my face.”

She wanted to say she hadn’t permitted him to squeeze her ass either. It was on the tip of her tongue. And yet. Nothing came out.

Erika stepped away, hiding her camera behind her back, feeling something close to fear choke her as the guy stood up, ready to chase her. She truly thought he was going to hurt her.

“Hey, hey, you prick,” Kyle shouted, jumping off the ring, and intervening. By then, everyone’s attention was on what was happening there.

Mark followed Kyle as they both stepped in between Erika and the guy in the crowd, who was proud and drunk enough to face them, even when he was no match for either of the Aussies.

“I’ll break that hand of yours, you cunt,” Mark barked.

Kyle stepped in between them, shielding Erika with his body. “You ok?” He touched her face, looking down at her.

Erika didn’t refuse him. Her hands travelled to his wrists, as she moulded under his touch appreciating his closeness. “Yes,” she huffed, her eyes escaping Kyle’s as she looked back at her brother, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid. “I’m ok,” She then tapped on Mark’s shoulder, “Don’t bother,” she suggested, even though the guys seemed to be ecstatic to receive attention. “Mark? Please, leave it alone.”

“Maybe you should get her to wear something more covering. You can’t blame me.” The guy was drunk. He was mumbling his nonsense only looking for a fight and Erika hated that she didn’t want her brother to give it to him. “When they look like sluts, I say they look for it-”

There was no stopping Mark after that.

Before she could even think about trying and stop him from jumping to the guy’s throat, Kyle scooped her away, trapping her in between his arms, and protecting her. This time, she hid in between his arms, closing her eyes. She didn’t want to see what she had caused.

The crowd shouted so loudly it made her head hurt.

The announcer, from the ring called for security that came through to break the fight and to kick out the people who disturbed the show.

“I’m sorry,” she shook her head, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

Kyle shook his head, kissing her forehead tenderly. “Don’t you dare to apologise,” he chanted to her ear, “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Later on, that same evening the mood was off.

After the incident, going back to the regular flow of the show had been difficult. While Kyle and Mark were supposed the be heels and treated as such, the crowd started loving them after they displayed chivalry. Everyone kept asking her if she was ok from that point on. And she hated it. Erika just hid behind her camera the rest of the evening, pretending detached politeness, but didn’t ever move from ringside.

Now they were gathered for a drink and some late food at a local pub just around the corner from the venue where the show took place. Erika sat in her booth enjoying a plate of steaming hot chips as she watched Kyle play pool with two of the boys from the show.

When he smiled, she smiled too, wondering what had been said to make him laugh.

Mark heavily dropped himself next to her, placing his beer and a massive portion of nachos, blocking her view.

“Hey,” she welcomed him with a smile.

Mark was deadly serious. “I know something is happening between you and Kyle.”

“OK?” Erika frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t be vague with me, I’ve suspected it for a while. I see the way you two look at each other. And tonight, with the way he protected you-”

“Mark,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “You did the same thing.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me the way you two were hugging was nothing.”

She didn’t look at him. “It was just a hug.”

“I love you. I will always love you. You know that. And believe me, it hurts me to say this. I know I’m being an ass right now, but I want you to stay away from Kyle.”

Every word that came out of Mark’s mouth slashed through her like a knife. It was a painful reminder of everything she had been, everything she had done. Everything her brother had to fix for her. Not leaving any space for the person she was desperately trying to become.

“Why?” She challenged him, gulping down her pain, and looking straight into his eyes.

“You know why. I can’t stand the idea of watching you hurt him. Because you will. Maybe not willingly. But he doesn’t deserve it all the same.”

Erika's chest ached. She looked away, trying to hide away her pain. She wanted to shout and cry and kick, but couldn’t. Somehow, she trusted her brother more than how she trusted herself. It was easier to accept that he must have been right about her. It must be like he said. She wasn’t good for Kyle and would have never been good.

“I mean it, Erika. I’d break the world for you. But I’d do the same for Kyle.”

“You are breaking me right now,” she shook her head and then looked back at him, anger flooding through her gaze, lighting her up. “You think I haven’t tried to stay away? See? I knew you’d end up telling me this and I did. Stayed as far as I could. Pretty difficult to do when we live together, travel together and work together,” Erika shrugged. “But it is as you said. I obviously can’t offer anything better to someone than failure.”

“That’s not what I meant,”

“Don’t you dare try and justify your cruelty. You said it, loud and clear. I am not good enough for Kyle. Thank you, brother, for reminding me.”

She grabbed her stuff and got up, storming out.

Something stirred inside of her. It was an old, familiar feeling of how she was used to dealing with strong emotions from before. Part of her was trying so hard to be better. But she didn’t know how when even her brother, her only anchor in that world, didn’t believe in her.

Anger and pain were easy to suppress or ignore when she was self-destructing, taking everyone else down with her in the process.

#kyle fletcher #kyle fletcher smut #kyle fletcher x reader #kyle fletcher x ofc #aew fanfiction #kyle fletcher fanfic

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writerman · 1 year ago

Note

Are you still taking fic prompts? Because if you are then omg, Barduil first meeting for that 'stuck overnight in an IKEA' post... 'I was just there for a table, he was only there for the meatballs and... well... by the time we were all allowed to go the next morning I had my table, he'd had his meatballs and we both had a boyfriend... It was love at first Ypperlig...'

Hi, anon, did you know you sent me this request in 2021??

If you still follow me or ever followed me to begin with, I am so sorry.

Here is your IKEA Barduil prompt.

Happy NaNo!

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Fandom: The Hobbit

Ship: Bard x Thranduil (Barduil)

Word Count: 5,541

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Anyone travelling out there stay safe, the storm is supposed to be coming in thick and fast by this afternoon. Local authorities and the MET office have asked that if you can stay home please do!

On that note here is a little song for anyone taking on the blizzard today. Snow Bird by Ann-

Bard smacked the radio as fast as he could, numb fingers fumbling with the off switch while he kept his eyes on the road. The snow hadn’t hit blizzard levels yet but the sky above him hinted that it wouldn’t be long.

The snowfall the night before had blanketed the world in white that was already about a foot deep, but it hadn’t deterred many from leaving their homes. There were a few brave souls battling through the snow-covered sidewalks- no one had come to clear a path but no one appeared to care that much.

It was fine, it would be fine, he only had to run into IKEA for a replacement coffee table as Bain had body-slammed the other one and left it in two halves in the living room. Of course, it had been an accident and that was what Bard got for letting him watch the pro wrestling stuff on TV unattended.

Of course. An accident.

So, a replacement was needed and somehow the exact replica of it existed (imagine that!) within the blue and yellow labyrinth of IKEA, patiently waiting for the myriad of other shoppers to swoop in and collect it only to have their Christmas visitors exclaim that they too had the same table at home!

Thankfully, parking was easy. The place was practically deserted because everyone else had more sense than to drive out into an impending snowstorm to buy furniture!

Then again, everyone probably didn’t have a child like Bain to contend with. He was a good kid, just energetic and very impressionable at his age. It wasn’t as though something like this hadn’t happened before.

Why am I even out buying a table? The kids are with their mum this year. All I need is to rest a cup on it… Shaking the snow off himself at the entrance, Bard tried not to let his entire being sag at the thought of Christmas on his own and then he recalled why he had gotten out of the house in the first place.

It had been too quiet.

Amid his thoughts, someone brushed past him hurriedly sending him crashing into a metal basket of stuffed sharks. Before he can topple over into the pile of plush toys a strong hand wraps around his wrist and pulls him back to his feet.

“Sorry, so sorry, I didn’t mean to knock you over like that!” Apologies flew fast from the stranger’s mouth and Bard cleared his throat before smiling awkwardly trying to brush it off.

“It’s all right, I was in the way.” He mumbled this as he checked himself over, and as he glanced up to his would-be attacker and rescuer he felt his heart do an odd sort of little skip before resuming the staccato rhythm it had taken up in the moment of surprise.

“No, not at all.” The stranger’s voice seemed to have dropped an octave now his apologies had been done and dusted and he promptly released Bard’s wrist from his grip upon realising that he still held on to him. “I was not paying attention; you know this time of year leaves everyone… harried.” He trailed off as he said the last word and it looked as though he was unsure if he meant what he was saying.

“Honestly, I'm alright. Don’t worry about it.” Bard urged again, really he wanted some space between himself and the stranger because he was experiencing what could only be described as a sexual awakening but incredibly bisexually.

“If you’re sure you’re fine.” The stranger continued but when Bard nodded again they merely nodded back and turned neatly on their heel and hurried away with the same speed they had entered the store.

After that encounter Bard didn’t see them again, in fact, he saw very few people that didn’t work there. Most of them stood huddled around a work computer whispering urgently about the oncoming storm.

Likely wishing idiots like him would piss off home so they could head home too.

Yes, he felt awful that they had to be there, and he did honestly feel bad for going in but he really wanted to replace his table- he had time and nowhere else to be. Though, the employees didn’t seem to harbour any ill will towards him when he asked for help finding the section he needed.

Bard had spent a grand total of 20 minutes in the store by the time he reached the checkouts and as he approached one he realised there were no members of staff to be seen. Scratching his head in confusion, he looked about for any sign of the employees who assisted him earlier.

No one.

Someone at his side groaned.

“Just wonderful,” They griped shifting from one foot to another jostling whatever it was in their hands. “The snow has blocked the door; the employees are trying to figure out what they should do.”

Turning to look at the stranger, Bard comes face to face with the very man that had bowled him over in the entrance.

“Hello, again.” He shared the grim expression held by the stranger as he greeted him. His attention is then focused on the now shut off automatic doors. A few members of the staff were stood looking at the heavily falling snow, one of them jumping backwards as a sudden gust of wind rattled the doors and the lights flickered around them.

“You don’t suppose the restaurant is open, do you?” The stranger spoke again, and Bard glanced down at his flat pack table at his feet for a second before picking it up and turning to look up at the signposts that hung above them both.

“Let’s find out.” He tried for cheerful, it came out quiet and he cursed inwardly at how nervous he was around the man. The same man that had been so very sorry for knocking into a bunch of stuffed sharks not 20 minutes earlier.

“Yes, let’s. I’m Thranduil, by the way. And again, I am so very sorry for knocking you off your feet. Not how I like to introduce myself to people, hopefully you sustained no injury.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice and Bard felt the slightest blush warm his cheeks.

“No injury, fighting off sharks stuffed or otherwise is just days’ work for a dad with 3 rambunctious kids.” They head toward the restaurant and Thranduil offers a knowing nod, they had found some common ground.

“Oh, uh, I’m Bard. Nice to meet you… Thranduil, was it?” It was an unusual name, but honestly, so was Bard. Though, people didn’t tend to comment on it as much as he assumed people might about Thranduil’s.

“So, do you play music?” The question came right out of the left field and left Bard silent for a moment until he caught on and let out a loud laugh.

“Funny, not musically inclined at all, played the odd bit of guitar in university, you know how it goes.” He tried not to think about the cringe-worthy image of him sitting beneath a tree strumming the whole three cords he knew just humming songs uncaring that they didn’t match the chords.

“Yes, yes, we’ve all been there. The mortifying act of trying to reinvent yourself only to discover you don’t know how to begin remodelling your life aside from drastically changing your wardrobe only to never wear any of the ridiculous items ever again.” Thranduil gave a flourish of the hand before grimacing at the memory of it.

“Ah, the hubris of youth.” Bard sighed.

In a surprising turn of events, the restaurant was open and the few customers who still lingered, rather against their will, had made their own way over to buy coffee and pastries to wait out the storm until eventually, like animals, they could be released back into the wild again.

“Coffee?” Thranduil set his unpurchased item on the chair next to him before shrugging off his long coat from his incredibly tall form. He dressed any dad might, jeans, boots and a jumper and yet the clothes seemed to fit him better than they had any person Bard had ever encountered before.

Not that he was staring.

IKEA was certainly not the place to consider his wavering sexuality, no that was better suited to a queer coffee shop or whatever, he wasn’t sure. He had really had to think about this kind of thing before.

Not that he was expecting a full-blown love affair to come from their meeting. After they were set free they likely wouldn’t see one another ever again.

“I’m sorry that I asked such a complex question when I offered to buy you coffee, shall I rephrase it?” Once again, there was a touch of amusement in his voice as he spoke.

It took an embarrassing amount of time for Bard to realise he had just been standing silently looking at Thranduil for at least 2 minutes. No words uttered he had just stood there like an idiot letting his mind wander while Thranduil waited patiently for a response.

“Aha, sorry, yes coffee is fine.” He shoved his hand into his jeans pocket to fish for change, but Thranduil chided him with the click of his tongue and walked off without taking any of the money he had attempted to offer.

Bard took this chance to take off his own coat after sliding his unpaid for table down by the table and the restaurant wall.

How badly he wanted to put his hands over his face and scream into them. This had never happened to him before. He had never found another man attractive before. However, by the look of it, Thranduil was used to it as many of the other occupants actively and openly stared at him as he passed them by before their eyes snapped over to Bard with questions burning on the tips of their tongues.

Mortifying, mortifying, awful, terrible.

When Thranduil returned he placed both cups on the table before digging into his own pocket for the sugar packets and little pots of milk he had acquired on his way back to their table.

“Does that happen everywhere you go?” Bard motioned to the people still watching him though trying to pull it off that they were merely having a good old gander at the restaurant and out of the windows.

“Oh, I suppose. I think it’s my hair.” Thranduil seemed disinterested and concentrated on peeling back the foil from the tiny milk pots.

Yeah sure, not the fact you’re the most beautiful person to grace the earth.

Nope, he wasn’t going there, after all this, he was going to have to sit down with his brain and talk to it about inappropriate thoughts.

Should go well.

“You do have nice hair, I suppose it makes sense people will stare at you, and you’re b- big… uh, tall!” Bard pulled his own coffee cup towards him and tore open two of the sugar packets dumping them into his coffee without looking at Thranduil.

His face felt hot.

“I am very big, you’re correct.” No further context was given and Bard near choked on his first sip of coffee upon hearing the words uttered.

Is he flirting with me? Surely not.

Bard cannot even begin to formulate a response and as if the Gods smiled up on him, the squeal and hiss of the tannoy above interrupted their conversation.

Dear customers of the store, unfortunately, due to the weather conditions we have been required to close the store for the rest of the day. Due to the ongoing storm and its severity, for your safety we have been advised to have anyone in store remain until the worst has passed.

We understand that this is inconvenient and may cause some upset, if you have any questions our staff are on hand to assist.

We strongly suggest that you remain indoors and do not attempt to leave the store. IKEA are offering free food and hot beverages to all customers affected for the duration of your stay.

Again, we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you.

When the announcement ended Bard could hear the throng of people gathered in the restaurant begin to grumble, muttering under their breath that they had places to be. He had no sympathy for them coming out in a storm with the intention of running errands.

Sure, he had done the same and maybe Thranduil had done, too. But he had nowhere to be. When he looked back at Thranduil he noticed the man was simply continuing to drink his coffee with not a single worry plastered across his face.

“Nothing waiting for you back at home either, ay?” Bard gave an empathetic smile when Thranduil nodded and set down his cup, leaning back in his seat he gave a cursory look around the room before he spoke.

“I have two adult children, well, university age, they are with their respective partners this Christmas, and I pretended I had made plans so that they didn’t feel sorry for their dear old dad being alone on Christmas.” As casually as he had tried to make it sound, Thranduil did come across as sad as he explained himself.

“I only ventured out for something to do. I had already promised I wouldn’t work over Christmas so IKEA it is. You know the hub of all social interaction. Joking aside, some good has come of it, well, the snowed in part of my day isn’t the highlight but I do have good company at least.” Thranduil lets the silence linger, and Bard swallowed hard, it was hard to know if this man was in fact flirting with him even if he wasn’t the way he spoke was just so fucking…

Suggestive

“We’re in the same boat, I only came out to replace a coffee table and only because I’m home alone for Christmas too,” It was a stupid thing to do, his brain was already telling him he was going to crash and burn but still his mouth disregarded the warning.

“I know you probably have a ton of friends you could hang out with, but you know my door is open to you if you want to spend the day. I know we are practical strangers- ah, I don’t know why I’m doing this. Sorry.” Bard fumbled at the last moment and decided it was better to rescind the invitation to save his already shaky ego.

“Strangely, I have very few friends. Something about being intimidating and having a- now what did Tauriel call it, ah yes! I have a resting bitch face that seems to put people off from talking to me.” The delivery was dry and still Bard let out a surprised laugh which he quickly smothered by taking a long sip of his drink hyper aware that others were now looking over at him.

“Now that is a nice sound.” Thranduil was resting his chin in his hand, elbow planted firmly on the tabletop looking across at Bard with a gentle and sincere smile. “So, is my invitation still valid or are you going shy on me?” He arches a brow and Bard can’t look away from him, and he knows he’s beet red.

“A-are you really flirting with me?”

“I have been this entire time, thank you for noticing,” The confidence that oozed from Thranduil was almost unbearable in how damn hot it was. No hint of arrogance just sheer and open boldness.

“You left me quite lost for words when I first set eyes on you, or rather… when I full body smashed you into a cart of BLÅHAJ, butchering the pronunciation but you get the idea. Could scarcely even look at you, with your beautiful brown eyes and dark wavy hair. That and you said I had pretty hair and I was big- ah, tall.” The corners of his mouth quirked up in a smirk and Bard felt like sliding out of his seat onto the floor hoping it would open up and swallow him whole.

“W-well, my invitation still stands if you’re interested.” How he had managed to even get words out in a coherent manner was beyond his comprehension seeing as his brain was on fire and there didn’t appear to be any extinguishers wedged into the grey matter.

The lights above them began to flicker before going out, the power had cut out and the wind and snow battered the side of the building brutally the sound of metal creaking faintly around them.

“Fuck- it’s getting worse.” Bard was thankful for the distraction and directed his attention to the windows, the snow was swirling through the wild gales. It came down fast and heavy blotting out the world beyond the glass.

“Let’s move on, I want to sit on something more comfortable.” Thranduil didn’t wait for a response as he stood grabbing his coat and scarf and leaving behind the tiny pack of scented tea lights.

It wouldn’t make any sense for him to carry them around until he could actually purchase them, so Bard followed suit, picking up his coat and leaving the flatpack box still resting between the table and wall.

Like a lost puppy he followed Thranduil until he was at his side struggling to keep up with the long strides the blond made until he came to a stop in the department he had sought out. Bard watched as he wandered through the sofas until he found one that looked comfortable enough, he gently laid his coat over the back of it before flopping down onto the cushions and patting the space next to him.

With as much grace as he could manage, Bard wove between the other sofas and proceeded to sit next to Thranduil, taking care not to have any part of him against the other. However, this didn’t seem to be how things were supposed to go because Thranduil shuffled himself closer so their legs touched from thigh to calf.

“Oh, now this is nice. Do you suppose we will be stuck here all night?” Thranduil had no qualms about being pressed up beside Bard, meanwhile, Bard was trying to as covertly as possible hide his heart attack whilst wondering if he needed to have a conversation with himself about the sudden attraction he had to men.

Because it was sudden like he was smacked with a bisexual stick as soon as he entered the IKEA.

Was it a requirement to be in IKEA?

“I- hope not. I don’t think a big metal building with no power will be a very comfortable place to sleep.” The idea was unappealing, and Bard shuddered though it turned into a shiver as the cold air began to seep in, whatever warmth there had been, it seemed was no longer apparent and he could feel a headache coming on.

“I’ll keep you warm, don’t worry.” The words were whispered into his ear, he could feel Thranduil’s hot breath ghosting over the shell of his ear and the vibrations of his words jostled Bard’s already frayed nerves to near breaking point.

As luck would have it, a store employee was hunting down customers and handing out blankets still in their packaging.

“You two look cosy, but this should help, too.” She was young, early twenties if that. Her cheery demeanour didn’t quite fit the predicament they were in, but it was nice to see that a snowstorm wasn’t dampening her smile.

She didn’t stick around, she had a cart full of blankets she had to distribute, all the while wearing one as a cape as she went.

Bard wasted no time in pulling the soft grey blanket out of its packaging wrapping it around him to ward off the chill, he watched as Thranduil did the same and was genuinely grateful when Thranduil plastered himself against Bard’s side again.

Heat was heat, even if it was the body heat of a particularly amorous man who looked like an angel. When he thought about it, knowing someone harboured obvious affection for him was nice.

New, but nice.

Before he knew it, the girl from earlier was shaking them both awake holding a torch, the bright beam blasting against the floor so as to not blind the both of them in the now pitch-dark sofa department.

“If you’d both rather sleep in a bed I can take you over there now, come on. Everyone else is already over there and the more people in one space the warmer it will be. There’s a small generator nearby too, we have a kettle if you want tea or coffee.” The idea of a bed was delightful and both Thranduil both murmured their sleep thanks as they stood up from the sofa.

“I don’t know about you, but at my age sleeping on a sofa in the cold is not a kind way to treat the body. I ache in the most atrocious way.” Thranduil griped as he collected his coat and scarf, Bard gave him a consolatory pat on the arm hoping it came across as sympathetic in the dark.

“Right there with you,” Bard responded, his hand dropped to his side, fingers accidentally brushing Thranduil’s, who saw the chance to grasp his hand in his. The lack of light other than a torch beam a few steps ahead of them a perfect cover to hide any embarrassment at the gentle touch.

It was such a soft gesture, endearing and sincere. More than Bard had experienced since his divorce, while amicable, it didn’t hurt any less.

But this man was actively pursuing him, in his heart he knew this was moving fast but it didn’t mean he would wish for it to slow down. Of course, he was confused but the excitement was overriding his common sense a little bit, whatever would come of this he couldn’t tell but it was thrilling.

There were several people already bundled up in the show beds, shoes and boots neatly set on the floor beside their coats, some giggling at the absurdity of it all while others looked worried, if not a little scared.

The young girl led Bard and Thranduil to a king-size bed mentioning under her breath that ‘Blondie needed room for his legs’ before smiling at them both and wandering off to assist others with their queries.

Of course, she had assumed they were together. She’d found them bundled up asleep under blankets almost glued at the hip and he really didn’t want the ordeal of having to ask her for his own bed.

It was one night, one night, fully clothed and in a room full of other people, nothing would happen and they couldn’t talk privately with beds set out barely a metre apart. It wasn’t that he felt unsafe or that he thought Thranduil might do something untoward but sharing a bed with him even unromantically… platonically, was fast fast.

Speed of light fast, he didn’t know this man’s last name, where he lived, what kind of car he drove, his favourite food… all he knew was that they were similar in age and were basically alone.

I’m overthinking this. We’re just going to sleep; I was fine sleeping on a sofa right next to him. I was happy to have him hold my hand…

It wasn’t until Thranduil reached out and nudged him that he realised he was being spoken to and wasn’t listening to a word that was said. Sheepishly he looked to Thranduil in the meagre light of one singular lamp that was situated at the edge of the display beds and offered an apologetic smile.

“Would you like me to find somewhere else to sleep?” Serious tone, his face set with determination, but Bard wasn’t sure what it was Thranduil was hoping to achieve. If he was trying to make him feel more comfortable it was working but the idea of sleeping alone when he had the chance not to was what forced him to respond.

“No, you don’t need to do that.” Bard turns away from him to sit on the bed and slip off his boots, placing them under the bed along with his coat. He feels the bed behind him dip as Thranduil moves to do the same.

“Sleeping together and we haven’t even had a first date, how scandalous.” Thranduil teased, though he still had his back to Bard as he spoke. An older lady in the bed next to them let out a chuckle and it managed to put Bard at ease, he locked eyes with her, and she gave him a wink.

Standing up he threw the covers back on his side of the bed and climbed in, but he didn’t lie down, he didn’t want to really commit to sleep until Thranduil was also beside him and comfortable.

It didn’t make any difference if Thranduil slept before him or not and he couldn’t explain to himself mentally why he was waiting for the blond and yet he did.

Thranduil was having a whispered conversation with someone in the bed across from him, but the conversation ended when Bard put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently to get his attention.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, you cannot sleep without me already, hmm?” Another tease from him and even in the limited light Bard could see his triumphant smile.

When they both settled in bed, Bard was surprised to notice that Thranduil had not plastered himself against him but did welcome the space. Still, he wanted to speak to Thranduil before they tried to get some sleep.

Rolling onto his side he came face to face with him and he sighed before actively readying himself for what he was about to ask.

“Thran, can I call you Thran?” Stalling but when Thranduil nodded he continued, as his eyes adjusted to the dark he could see he held the other’s rapt attention. “How long have you been single?” He tried to whisper the question as quietly as he could and he knew Thranduil had heard it because he stiffened before rolling onto his back remaining silent for some time.

Eventually, he rolled back onto his side, his hand sliding over the space between them reaching for Bard’s hand.

“I know you’re worried about my intense interest in you, I understand it. You are right to be cautious, we know virtually nothing about one another.” His voice sounded so inviting even in a whisper, but his voice was so deep Bard had to move in closer just to hear him properly.

“This is a unique situation, I don’t think I’ve ever been snowed in in an IKEA before and I doubt I will again for the rest of my life, but this is advantageous a blessing in disguise. Would we have met if not for the snowstorm?”

We wouldn’t have met if Bain hadn’t decided to People’s Elbow the damn coffee table. But Bard didn’t say that Thranduil didn’t need to know that ancient re-runs of WWE were the cause of their meeting.

“The moment I realised I was interested in you I knew I couldn’t let you slip away. I was already so annoyed when I thought you’d already left. When you showed up at my side at the empty checkout I was beside myself. I wanted to make the time count, I made sure that we had a chance to talk again and when you so easily went along with it… I knew I had to trust my attraction to lead the way.” How earnest he was in admitting all of this, knowing how strange it was to feel as he did with so little provocation.

They both understood there needed to be far more put into whatever it was they were doing, this wasn’t going to be a fated lovers thing, even if that was how it felt right at that moment. In the morning they would part ways and it was up to them to work out how to deal with their strange evening and how far they were willing to go to make things work.

Even if Bard felt somewhat like a defeatist in thinking it would die out as soon as they stepped out of the store, he was willing to try. He was willing if Thranduil was, and it was apparent to him that Thranduil would put the effort in.

At least, he hoped he would. This gave Bard pause because he was just as eager to continue seeing Thranduil in any capacity. Would he regret it if he never spoke to him again?

This time he did not allow his brain to offer up an answer.

“Let’s talk about this in the morning, I don’t think I can keep whispering like this.” Bard gave Thranduil’s hand a squeeze and he smiled when it was returned.

Nothing else was said between them and it wasn’t long before Bard could hear Thranduil’s breathing slow signalling the man was already asleep.

In the morning, Bard woke with a start trying to work out where he was and who was lying in the bed next to him. The memories of the day before came flooding back and he covered his face with both hands sighing heavily.

Yesterday had been a lot.

Today would be more so.

It was then he realised the lights were now on. Power had been restored and people were getting out of their beds cheerily chattering away pulling on shoes and scouting the area for staff.

It wasn’t until they were alone that Thranduil opened his eyes, his hair was tousled from sleep, and when he mumbled a ‘good morning’ it was so deep it came out more like a rumble of thunder leaving Bard to scramble mentally to gather up his senses once again to return the greeting.

“You’re the last one up, sleepyhead.” Bard joked as he grabbed the blanket and threw back exposing Thranduil to the cold. In response to such callous behaviour, Thranduil groaned like he’d been stabbed before grabbing Bard by the front of his t-shirt pulling him down on top of him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I consider this repayment for such hideous behaviour after I kept you warm all night.”

“Excuse you, but I was the one that kept you warm all night, not the other way around.” In a bid to keep himself from short circuiting, he had to volley right off Thranduil’s words because if he allowed himself to think of the kiss for a mere second he would probably explode.

I cannot believe I was about to lose my mind over a peck on the cheek. Get yourself together, Bard, mate.

“Let’s not start discourse of who kept who warm, instead let’s get coffee and breakfast and get the fuck out of this place. I’ve had no phone service all this time and I am sure someone is going to report me missing if I do not get in touch with the outside world.

My company are going to assume I’ve died.” Business like but he was smiling, thoroughly pleased with himself for the cheek kiss, probably.

They were not released from the yellow and blue prison until lunchtime and by that time Bard was willing to dig the place out himself. He wanted a shower, clean clothes and his own comfortable sofa and TV.

The time to decompress was a necessity, he needed time to overthink every single interaction he’d had with Thranduil, from the moment they met to the very moment he handed over his contact number before rushing off to his own car while on a conference call with his children and vice president of his company all who sounded as though they were wailing into his ear with relief.

With his replacement table securely in the back seat, and after having the car running with the heat blasting for 15 minutes, Bard made his own way home.

His house was blessedly empty, upon his return home. It was the first time in years he was pleased to have only the sound of silence in every corner. In a matter of minutes, Bard had the thermostat cranked up, his coat off and boots kicked into the hallway.

He had an important meeting with the sofa he couldn’t miss and probably a fair few calls to make to confirm he was not dead, he was ok and ‘You wouldn’t believe what happened last night’.

As he unlocked his phone, the first message to come through was an unsaved number, opening it up he realised who it was from almost immediately.

I wanted so badly to kiss you properly this morning, but we have time for that. See you at Christmas. T x

#Bard the Bowman #Thranduil #The Hobbit #Prompt #Writing

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laresearchette · 3 months ago

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Thursday, August 08, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES: RUTHLESS (BET+) DYING FOR REVENGE (BritBox) TAKEN TOGETHER: WHO KILLED LYRIC AND ELIZABETH? (Crave) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT: MR. THROWBACK (TBD)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA CHANDU CHAMPION THE MALLORCA FILES (Season 3) NADIE NOS VA A EXTRAÑAR ONE FAST MOVE THE SHAKEDOWN

CRAVE TV TAKEN TOGETHER: WHO KILLED LYRIC AND ELIZABETH? (Episodes 1-3)

DISNEY + STAR ARE YOU SURE?! (Season 1, two-episode premiere)

NETFLIX CANADA KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE SHAHMARAN (Season 2) (TR) THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (Season 4)

ESPN THE OCHO!!!!! (TSN2) 1:00am: Freestyle Trampoline 1:30am: Axe & Knife Throwing 2:00am: 2023 World Jump Rope Championship 3:00am: Rubik’s Cube 4:00am: 2024 Teqball World Series 5:00am: Viii Sports National Championship 6:00am: Omegaball 7:00am: 2024 Pro Breaking Tour Invitational 7:30am: ZoneBall Clash 8:00am: 2022 Speed Chess Championship 8:30 am: UNAA 9:00am: Ultimate Tire Wrestling 9:30am: OneWheel World Championship 10:00am: Waiter and Waitress Competition 10:30am: Kickball Championship 11:30am: Carjitsu Championship 12:00pm: Beard and Mustache Competition 12:30pm: ProSayuita SUP Open 1:00pm: 2024 Pop-A-Shot National Championship 2:00pm: Battle of the Buoy 2 2:30pm: Microsoft Excel World Championship Finals 3:00pm: 2024 AWA Wiffle Ball All-Star Game 4:00pm: Roofball World Championship 4:30pm: 2024 Major League Paintball - Atlantic City Open 5:00pm: 2023 National Putting Tour Final 6:00pm: 2024 Adult Big Wheel Races 6:30pm: National Beach Tennis Invitational 7:00pm: USA Dodgeball All-Star Showcase 8:00pm: 2024 World Dog Surfing Championship 8:30pm: Slippery Stairs 9:30pm: 2024 Corgi Races 10:00pm: Major League Table Tennis Championship 11:00pm: FlingGolf All-Star Skills Championship

2024 SUMMER OLYMPICS (CBC) 4:00am: Athletics (SN) 4:50am: Olympic Morning (TSN/TSN4) 5:00am: Olympic Games (CBC) 7:00am: Morning (CBC) 7:30am: Canoe Sprint (CBC) 8:00am: Morning (CBC) 9:00am: Men’s Diving (CBC) 10:30am: Morning (CBC) 11:00am: Track Cycling (SN/TSN) 12:00pm: Olympic Daytime (CBC) 1:30pm: Athletics (CBC) 4:30pm: Prime (CBC/SN/TSN/TSN4) 7:00pm: Olympic Primetime (CBC) 12:00am: Late Primetime (CBC) 1:30am: Marathon Swimming (Friday)

NATIONAL BANK OPEN (SN Now) 11:00am: Women's Grandstand Coverage (SN Now) 11:00am: Men's Court Rogers Coverage (SN360) 12:30pm: Women's Day Session (SN1) 12:30pm: Men's Day Session (SN360) 7:00pm: Women's Evening Session (SN1) 7:00pm: Men's Evening Session

MLB BASEBALL (SN) 6:30pm: Orioles vs. Jays (SN Now) 7:00pm: Angels vs. Yankees

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN5) 7:30pm: Roughriders vs. Redblacks

THE SUMMIT AUSTRALIA (Discovery Channel Canada) 8:00pm: The group learns about a chaser racing to catch them, so will need to step it up a gear if they want to avoid their cash being stolen; a terrifying obstacle stands in their way and two of the biggest competitors go head to head.

THE GREAT POTTERY THROW DOWN (Makeful) 8:00pm: Four semifinalists brave the infamous toilet challenge; feeling the adrenalin rise as guest judge and prestige ceramic artist Lee Price offers up a bathroom-themed surprise second challenge.

LEAGUES CUP (TSN3) 8:30pm: TBD (TSN3) 10:30pm: TBD

LEGO MASTERS AUSTRALIA (Discovery Canada) 9:45pm: Explosion in Motion

#cdntv #cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #the summit australia #the great pottery throwdown #lego masters australia #the ocho #summer olympics #tennis #mlb baseball #cfl football #soccer

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tangleweave · 5 months ago

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@brooklynislandgirl (continued from xx)

For all his well-meaning, for all his kindly affect, and for all his efforts towards justice and peace… Spider-Man does have a curious sense of decorum when it comes to entering buildings. Even he would make a point of acknowledging it. Most other people would simply use the front door, or perhaps even call ahead to alert their friends that they're in the neighborhood and want to drop in. In the curious case of Beth Riley, the portfolio is expanded beyond the simple niceties of companionship and possibly mutual attraction and also includes medical assistance, ranging from first aid to critical care. Given what she has to offer, it would naturally behoove him to maintain goodwill with her in whatever way he might.

And so one would think that he would be courteous enough to reach out to her when he's on his way to her place. Even more so since tonight, there is no emergency, medical or otherwise, that requires her unique skill-set. All he wants is her ear. Her thoughtful counsel. Maybe he wants her to lend voice to his own convictions, which have spent the better part of the night being tested both from within and without. The rips and tears in his outfit likely speak to the trials he faced tonight.

It won't be the last costume he mends. And it's very far removed from the first.

He can hardly blame Beth for taking her time in considering her reply, and she's far more generous to him than he's a right to receive, considering he'd simply shown up in her window. Beth is kind and gracious to a fault, and he thinks the Admiral likely had very little to do with that. He wishes, not for the first time, that he could have met her brother. From what little she's been willing to share about him, he sounds like both an outright terror, and the perfect safeguard for her. Someone who recognized she was too good for this world and did his level best to shield her from the worst of it whenever he could.

He slips onto the bar stool and listens intently while Beth offers her reply. Speaks to her perspective of living in perpetual paradox. Varied and contradictory belief systems clashing against one another full-time, demanding wildly different behaviors of her in any given moment. He bobs his head. It's a familiar place she describes. He has a home there, too.

"I'll bet you could ask a bunch of folks out there, they'd say that being Spider-Man has got to be pretty awesome," he murmurs, as he clasps his hands about the coffee mug she's given him. "All that strength. All that acrobatic skill. He could do anything he wanted to. If I had all that ability, what would I do with it? Pro wrestling, maybe, or Cirque du Soleil. Perform, make tons of money, travel the world. Not be stuck in this dead-end job… not be lonely… not feel helpless."

He gives a listless shrug that probably looks more morose than it's actually meant to convey. "I could be doing all of that. Or none of that, and something else entirely. I don't have to do this. Superpowered people in costumes are a dime a dozen in New York. But then, so are jerks who're always looking to take by force what's not theirs."

He turns his head a little, as though glancing from his cup to Beth. "There's a long story behind it, but maybe you've heard of a guy who calls himself Carnage. He's… well, he's one seriously bad guy. Really messed up in the head. And he has super powers which just make it way easier for him to do what he wants. Which is to kill pretty much everyone. He's like if Charlie Manson was bulletproof and could turn his hands into knives."

He swipes a hand like he's brushing a dust bunny off her immaculate kitchen island. "Anyway, tonight was a big, long fight with him. Bunch of good people got hurt. I had the chance to take him down. Like, for good." He hesitates, tilting his head back contemplatively. "Why do they call it that? Is it good, when you take a life?"

Then he peers at her again. "I couldn't do it. Not even for this guy. I left him to the folks who'll lock him back up, with no guarantee that he won't escape again and start it all up again. And the people who wanted to know why I held back. Cops. Cloak and Dagger. Iron Fist. Wolverine. Ghost Rider -- Beth, I had Captain America telling me nobody would've blamed me if I'd taken him out. Do you know what that's like, having one of your superhero idols telling you, 'You could have sacrificed your principles and I wouldn't have looked at you any differently'?"

He sets his palms on the wood surface of the bar. "What am I supposed to do with that? I've never killed anyone. What would even give me the right? Do the rules change when it's someone bad enough?"

He lets out a sigh, not really expecting an answer from her immediately. For all he knows, she's only catching about half of what he's saying; he knows the mask occludes some of her ability to comprehend him. But it's not like Peter Parker could tell her about any of this while serving soup at the FEAST Center, now, is it?

"I keep thinking about that moment when Frodo says he wishes Bilbo had killed Gollum when he had the chance. And then Gandalf says, 'Many who live deserve death, and some who die deserve life. Can you give it to them?' And I know the answer for myself, anyway. I take a life, I can't ever give it back. That's not one of my superpowers. And life is precious. It's so fleeting and fragile. It's not mine to take away from someone. I already know what…"

He bites his tongue just in time. He already knows what his dearly departed uncle would say. He already knows what his heart tells him is right.

He already knows how it feels to watch in impotence as a life is stolen away.

"… I can respect myself." He says it tightly enough that it's evident he struggles to really believe it. "When I look in the mirror, I see someone who's driven to do the right thing. I just don't think I realized that so many of my peers figured 'right' to be a movable feast, depending on who it's getting served to. And I don't know if I can look at some of them the same way now."

#brooklynislandgirl #beth riley #muse: spidey #verse: rooftop silhouettes

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romiswired · 6 months ago

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Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Gabe Kidd (NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2024 - Tag 2)

What does it mean to be The King of Sports?

The worst part about New Japan Pro Wrestling is whenever they lose their identity and become a parody of themselves. Sadly, that has been happening for a long time now, and few are the moments where you can truly say "The King of Sports" lives up to its name. One of the main reasons this match hits as hard as it does remains in the fact this is one search for that invaluable identity New Japan has been building for 50 years, and while Gabe Kidd is not my cup of tea as a wrestler (his attitude is so Ospreay-coded) I absolutely LOVE him in this one and I love how he stands for the truth: The NEVER Openweight Title was a symbol of prestige in New Japan. Only the roughest motherfucker in the game was going to be NEVER champion because that title was built in the back of Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, Katsuyori Shibata, and Shingo Takagi.

Now the belt is turned into a joke, and why is that happening? Why is New Japan letting New Japan lose its identity? When Kidd screams "Fuck New Japan!" I choose to believe he means this weird, malformed version of the company he used to love. There's a sincerity in Kidd's words that can't be found in the entirety of modern-day NJPW and even reflects in the fact this hard-hitting classic is not even the Pre-Main Event in this show. How can a company be so into losing its identity when the motto of "King of Sports" was the only reason Western wrestlers went into the cerulean blue to master their craft? Kidd answers these questions by exposing the company and even exposing Takagi, who he's facing in this one.

Many people have said that in 2020-2021 NJPW the only thing deserving of such a prestigious and historic company was Shingo Takagi's NEVER title reign, and I stand by that too because the man was giving New Japan the soul they needed after trying to push too hard into wrestlers like Jay White and Kota Ibushi who, while good, had to stick to the typical 35-plus minute match that nobody cares to see the next day. This match goes for 20 minutes, but it reminds me of that New Japan I used to watch in 2015-2016. While it doesn't get remotely close to the classics this title has in its history, I'm happy to know there are wrestlers in NJPW who care about the honor of the philosophy they're representing.

Hiroshi Tanahashi's NJPW has to take that into consideration and see who they're pushing at the top of the card in comparison to who they should be pushing because let's be honest: In no world could either David Finlay or Nic Nemeth have Pre-Main Event spots over Gabe Kidd and Shingo Takagi after THIS match. It's not the best match you'll see in your life, but it's going to be the best match this new version of New Japan will offer in a long fucking time.

#njpw #new japan pro wrestling #wrestling dontaku #gabe kidd #shingo takagi

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celestial-thoughts · 1 year ago

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july 17, 2023 - weekly women’s pro wrestling news roundup: week of july 10-16, 2023

this week's news roundup includes:

News & results from last week’s editions of Monday Night Raw, NXT, and Friday Night SmackDown.

News & results from last week's editions of WWE Main Event and NXT Level Up.

News & results from last week’s editions of AEW Dynamite, AEW Rampage, AEW Collision, and AEW Battle of the Belts VII.

Other updates and news from last week.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated's weekly top 10 recap.

Things to look forward to in women’s wrestling this week!

spoilers below the cut for shows/events listed above!

Notable news & results from TV last week:

Monday Night Raw (7/10):

Zoey Stark defeated Becky Lynch. The match was back and forth, with both women nearly scoring pinfall wins several times. Eventually, Becky was distracted by Trish Stratus at ringside, and Zoey was able to roll Becky up for the 3 count. match length-10:30.

Shayna Baszler defeated Emma. Shayna did her signature stomp on Emma's arm, before forcing her to tap to the Kirifuda clutch. match length-1:30.

After the match, Ronda Rousey came to the ring. The two former friends faced off, before they began to brawl. Ronda managed to get the upper hand, locking in the armbar, but not getting Shayna to tap.

Backstage, Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green confronted WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, questioning why they were going to be ringside for their match. Raquel & Liv said that they wanted to scout the competition. The tag champs were then confronted by Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley, who stepped to Raquel and told her to stay out of her business.

Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance. Chelsea was able to roll Katana up with her feet on the ropes and Sonya on the outside giving her the assist for the pinfall win. match length-2:20.

NXT (7/11):

Cora Jade defeated Kelani Jordan. The finish saw Cora stop Kelani from attempting a springboard move by kicking the middle rope. Cora then followed up with the Death Rider for the win. match length-3:57.

After the match, Cora tried to attack Kelani with a kendo stick, but she was interrupted by Dana Brooke, who hit Cora with a series of dropkicks.

NXT Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton defeated Ivy Nile. Tiffany defeated Ivy after executing the Green Bay Plunge, before hitting the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pinfall win. match length-4:39.

Backstage, Blair Davenport was interviewed. She said that she enjoyed beating up Roxanne Perez and that she would do it again.

AEW Dynamite (7/12):

Women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament semifinal: Ruby Soho defeated Skye Blue. Ruby had the numbers advantage early in the match with Saraya and AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm in her corner, but the duo were ejected after interfering. Skye attempted the Code Blue but Ruby countered it. Ruby pinned Skye after hitting No Future. match length-8:47.

WWE Main Event (7/13):

Natalya defeated Xia Li. match length-5:19.

Indi Hartwell defeated Dana Brooke. match length-7:55.

Friday Night SmackDown (7/14):

Bayley defeated Zelina Vega. match length-2:02.

After the match, Shotzi appeared onscreen, and taunted Bayley while shaving her head.

Bianca Belair defeated Asuka by DQ; Asuka retained the WWE Women's Championship. Iyo was about to cash in her Money in the Bank contract, but Asuka hit Bayley in the face with the mist. match length-9:01.

NXT Level Up (7/14):

Valentina Feroz defeated Lola Vice. match length-4:59.

AEW Rampage (7/14):

Taya Valkyrie defeated. Izzy McQueen. match length-0:24.

After the match, Taya was confronted by Saraya and AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm. Taya challenged Toni to a title match at Battle of the Belts VII.

Women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament semifinal: Willow Nightingale defeated Athena. match length-10:36.

AEW Collision (7/15):

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament final: Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho. match length-9:08.

AEW Battle of the Belts VII (7/15):

Toni Storm defeated Taya Valkyrie to retain the AEW Women's World Championship. match length-11:16.

Other news & updates from last week:

On Monday, July 10, Nikki Cross announced on Twitter that she has officially graduated with her Master's in History from the University of Edinburgh.

On Thursday, July 13, Ariel Helwani tweeted that he was told Ronda Rousey is not considering returning to the UFC. The tweet comes after a rumor was started on Wednesday during media day for UFC Vegas 77.

On Saturday, July 15 at Impact Slammiversary, Trinity (fka Naomi) defeated Deonna Purrazzo to win the Impact Knockouts World Championship. This win marks Trinity's first time holding a singles title since 2017 when she was SmackDown Women's Champion.

On Sunday, July 16 on Twitter, Ring of Honor announced that Athena will defend the Ring of Honor Women's World Championship against Willow Nightingale this Friday at Death Before Dishonor.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated top 10 rankings recap:

Evaluation period: July 7-13, 2023. Published on July 14, 2023. Note: my recap of PWI's top 10 tag teams of the week will only cover the women's tag teams listed in the rankings for the week (PWI includes both men's and women's tag teams in their rankings). PWI lists their criteria for rankings as the following: championships held/defended, win-loss record, push, and technical ability.

PWI's Women's Wrestling top 10:

1: Tam Nakano (Stardom) 2: Giulia (Stardom, NJPW) 3: Alex Widsor (Freelancer) 4: Mirai (Stardom) 5: Tiffany Stratton (NXT) 6: Mizuki (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, DDT Pro Wrestling) 7: Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, DDT Pro Wrestling) 8: Vert Vixen (Freelancer) 9: Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling) 10: Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)

PWI's Tag Team Wrestling top 10:

3: Giulia, Mai Sakurai, & Thekla (Stardom) 5: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (WWE) 10: Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima (Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling)

Things to look forward to this week:

A reminder that the upcoming edition of Friday Night SmackDown on July 21 will air on FS1 instead of Fox due to coverage of the Fifa Women's World Cup.

Tonight, July 17 on Monday Night Raw, WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez put the gold on the line against number one contenders Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green.

Current Women's Champions in WWE & AEW:

WWE: - Women's World Championship: Rhea Ripley - WWE Women's Championship: Asuka - NXT Women's Championship: Tiffany Stratton - WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez - Ms. Money in the Bank: Iyo Sky

AEW: - AEW Women's World Championship: Toni Storm - TBS Championship: Kris Statlander

#weekly women's wrestling news roundup #celestial talks wrestling news #monday night raw #wwe nxt #wwe main event #friday night smackdown #nxt level up #aew dynamite #aew rampage #aew collision #aew battle of the belts #wwe #aew

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spicykaraage · 1 year ago

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Tenipuri Complete Character Profile - Jusaburou Mouri

[PROFILE]

Birthday: January 3rd (Capricorn)

Blood Type: B

Relatives: Father, Older Sister, Older Brother

Middle School: Shitenhoji Junior High School ➜ Rikkai University Junior High School (graduate)

High School: Rikkai University High School

Grade: First Year

Committee: Health Committee

Strong Subjects: Sleep Learning

U-17 Training Camp Position & Rank: First String | No.10

World Cup Team: U-17 World Cup Japanese Representatives

Favorite Motto: “The beauties of nature.”

Hobbies: Stamp rallies, observing plants (at his home garden [TP])

Favorite Color: Orange

Favorite Book: Travel magazines

Favorite Food: Oyakodon, vegetable tendon (tempura rice bowl) [23.5]

Preferred Type: A gentle girl

Ideal Date Spot: A relaxing hot spring trip

His Gift for a Special Person: “I’ll feed you my homemade veggie tendon!”

What He Wants Most Right Now: Frying pan ➜ Vegetable seeds [23.5]

Dislikes: Hot food (he has a sensitive tongue), hair dryers [TP]

Skills Outside of Tennis: Pro wrestling joint locking techniques, dislocating his joints at will [23.5], can get along with anyone [23.5]

Routine During the World Cup: Strolling around town with the other representatives

[DATA]

Height: 191.63cm

Weight: 83.02cm

Dominant Arm: Right

Vision: 2.0 Left & Right

Play Style: All-Rounder

Signature Moves: REM

Favorite Brands:

Racket: DUNLOP BIOMIMETIC M3.0

Shoes: DUNLOP Hybrid Pro II

Overall Rating: Speed: 5 / Power: 4 / Stamina: 4 / Mental: 4 / Technique: 6 / Total: 23

Kurobe Memo: “During the Niou and Atobe match, he was quite prideful about being a First Stringer and flaunted it to the middle schoolers. He’s still just a first year in high school, so it’ll be exciting to see how he improves. I wonder if he has the persistence for victory promoted by the ‘invincible teachings’ of Rikkai. Should he be paired with various players to learn the value of winning?”

[TRIVIA]

The Prince of Tennis II 10.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 09/04/2013

He is a former student of Shitenhoji Junior High. He had transferred to Rikkai while he was in middle school

He thinks of himself and Kaji as the “Curly Alliance”, albeit in secret since Kaji would get angry if he told him

He was randomly paired with Ochi by the coaches

He almost never attended his club activities while in middle school

He is from the Hyogo Prefecture and speaks in Banshu Dialect

The Prince of Tennis II 23.5 Fanbook | Publication Date: 05/02/2018

What’s in His Travel Bag: Hand-me-down clothes // He has an easygoing personality, so he often wears clothes given to him by the high school third years

While he was attending Rikkai in middle school, he would bring a sleeping bag to the tennis club room. He once tried sleeping overnight in it since he felt that going home would be too much of a hassle, but Sanada stopped him

The Prince of Tennis 20th Anniversary Book: Tenipuri Party | Publication Date: 08/02/2019

He and Ochi are nicknamed the “Twin Towers”

His ideal relationship is a sweet one, where he and his partner will flirt with each other all day and make each other feel excited

Despite barely attending his club activities at Rikkai, he attended them more at Shitenhoji. He still would only show up when he felt in the mood to, and once skipped with Hara to visit 551 Horai

The Prince of Tennis II Rikkai University Junior High School Tennis Club Guide: “STRENGTH” | 04/02/2021

He was significantly shorter when he was in middle school. Konomi states he may have grown taller from skipping his club activities and sleeping a lot

Konomi describes him as “Sleeping Jusaburou”

#tenipuri #tenirabi #profile #my post

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omegatheunknown · 1 year ago

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15 Questions For 15 Mutuals

Are you named after anyone?

No, but if i had been afab, I would've had to wear Jocasta, which is an impressively heavy mantle.

Do you have kids?

In this economy?

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Only at work.

When was the last time you cried?

Across the spiderverse got me a bit, but Saturday morning we watched one hunded and one dalmatians and thinking about the fellowship of the animals helping reunite the family really got to me.

What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

Energy, posture, vibe.

Eye color?

Sorta hazel.

What sports do you/have you played?

Played box lacrosse, basketball and tennis until I didn't want to be around the kids who played sports in high school. Which is lamentable, in retrospect.

Any special talent?

Mostly silly memory tricks. A few times I've managed to tell someone i've met for the second time, many years later, exactly when and where and who else was present/introducing us when we met one time before. So... trivia, I've got you covered -- Countries of the world? Stanley Cup Winners? Presidents? Every premise of every episode of TNG or the magic school bus? Usually able to remember things on the basis of remembering when and where I learned them. Have been accused of never forgetting anything ever, but that feels the opposite of true, though maybe I'm just more aware than is typical of everything I have forgotten, for some of the same reasons. Should also point out that I've gotten lost walking home a few different times in my life, so... we all have different talents.

Where were you born?

Calgary, AB

Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings mostly. Prefer comedies, at this point in my life.

Do you have any pets?

Sandwich is my partner's familiar, but she counts:

How tall are you?

About 184cm.

What are your hobbies?

TTRPGs, writing, reading, being terminally online, watching/arguing about pro wrestling, cooking/baking new things, sometimes i draw comics.

Favorite subject in school?

in senior year i was allowed to take a class called 'script writing' which was essentially spending an extra hour a day in the theatre department working on literally whatever and occasionally directing freshmen. led to hilarious days where i'd have theatre, film, scriptwriting, free block, lunch, then english lit. best university elective was probably either obituary writing or a film class based on the works of the coen brothers and jim jarmusch.

Dream job?

Talk show host. Roddenberry-esque creator of a thing people love enough to keep going well beyond my paltry limitations and see grow and invert and reinvent itself decades on.

I was tagged by @unbound-shade

I'm going tag, sans obligations, my 15 most recent mutuals. Which is to say, I don't know much about you even to know if you do these sorts of tumblr socializing games. Presumably most of you are mutuals because you like my smut blog but feel free to ignore me! @kittencrack @alexisairhead @cuckoosnestblog @strawbabiezs @witchybibabe @soft-greengoddess @submi55ive-kitten @vera-vondoom @eldritchhbagel @dolliespit @the-harpy-celaeno @sunniedayzxo @dinedwithwolves @420xbabydollx @ripescrumptiouspeach

#tag game

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iuminouscrown · 2 years ago

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サドンデス

Believability/第九話

冬

Sudden Death

Believability/Chapter Nine

Winter

Tsukasa: と、とにかく、気を取り直して。。。。。現状を整理しましょうか、先輩方

Tsukasa: I.. in any case, let’s regroup…… Shall we put our current situation in order, Senpai?

Tsukasa: 我らが抱えた問題は、ふたつ

Tsukasa: We have two problems.

Tsukasa: ひとつは、先ほど “Crazy:B” の皆さんと話したとおりーー

Tsukasa: As I said a moment ago, one deals with everyone in “Crazy:B”.....

Ritsu: この関西地域が、紛争状態に陥ってるって話だよねぇ。ESアイドルと地元のアイドルの間で溝が深まってて、対立してお互いに潰しあってる

Ritsu: You could say that this Kansai Region has fallen into a state of conflict. ES idols and local idols are antagonizing and destroying each other and the gap between us is getting wider.

Tsukasa: ええ。痛ましいことです。夢ノ咲では決闘ばかりしていた我らの場合、どの口で言うーーという感じですが

Tsukasa: Yes. It’s heartbreaking. In our case we’ve only had duels at Yumenosaki…. Or what to say… Feels something like that.

Ritsu: でも。いくらそんな現状を見過ごせなくても、俺たちには紛争に介入する方法がない

Ritsu: But we don’t have the means to intervene in these conflicts no matter how much we can’t overlook the current state of affairs.

Tsukasa: はい。。。。。。その、えぇっと、私からは言いつらいのですが

Tsukasa: Of course…… That… well, uhm… is difficult for me to say.

Arashi: というか、司ちゃん本人の口からは言えないわけだけど。アタシたち “Knights” は、"裏指令" によってライブ対決を禁じられてるわ

Arashi: Or rather, Tsukasa-chan isn’t able to say it from his own mouth but we “Knights” are prohibited from live showdowns due to our “hidden orders.”

Leo: あぁ、そっか。それぞれの "ユニット" のリーダーには、"指令" の他に "裏指令" が与えられてるんだったよな

Leo: Aah, I see. In addition to our “orders,” each “unit” leader was given “hidden orders” as well, right?

Ritsu: うん。あまけに、その "裏指令" の内容は言っちゃ駄目だしバレても駄目

Ritsu: Right. In addition, he’s not allowed to reveal the contents of those “hidden orders” and they’re not allowed to be leaked.

Leo: めんどくさっ

Leo: That sucks.

Leo: おれはもうリーダーじゃなくて良かった〜♪ 重たいだけの肩書きなんか要らんっ、煩わしいだけ！

Leo: I’m glad I’m not Leader anymore!~♪ I don’t need a title that carries that much weight. That’s just annoying!

Ritsu: とにかく。そんな "裏指令" のせいで、俺たちは俺たちの十八番である "デュエル" を封じられてる

Ritsu: Anyways, We’re forbidden from using our speciality*, “Duels,” because of such “hidden orders.”

Ritsu: 俺たちは "デュエル" に、つまりライブ対決に勝ちつづけることで成り上がってきたけど。今回は、その慣れ親しんだ戦法が使えないってこと

Ritsu: We rose up in the world by winning “duels,” or, basically, live showdowns. This time, that strategy we knew and loved can’t be used.

Ritsu: それだけで、だいぶ面倒な話だよねぇ。。。。。。気に食わないやつを "デュエル" で倒すのがいちばん手っ取り早いのに

Ritsu: That’s a huge drag by itself…… Especially considering that the quickest way to beat guys you can’t stand is with a “Duel.”

Arashi: あら、野蛮♪

Arashi: Ara, how savage! ♪

Ritsu: 。。。。。。問題なのは。この関西地域の現状を鑑みるに、そんな "裏指令" が俺たちにとっては致命的な足枷になるってこと

Ritsu: …… The problem is that, bearing in mind the current state of affairs in the Kansai region, those kinds of “hidden orders” will become fatal shackles on us.

Ritsu: 今、関西地域ではライブ対決が一種の流行（ブーム）になってる

Ritsu: Now, live showdowns are becoming a trend of some sort (a fad, basically) in the Kansai region.

Ritsu: 地元紙やネットで特集が組まれてるせいか、関西地域のファンも血気盛んなのか何なのかーーーけっこう注目してるみたい

Ritsu: Maybe it’s because the local newspapers and the internet are producing features about them, but I wonder if the fans in the Kansai region are also just hot-blooded. …. They seem to be paying close attention either way.

Ritsu: みんな、どの "ユニット" が対決に勝つかとか、競馬やプロレスみたい予想したりして盛り上がってる

Ritsu: “Guys, which “unit” will win the showdown?” Everyone is charged up making predictions like in horse racing and pro wrestling.

Ritsu: 紛争だ〜、ライブ対決だ〜、とか言っても実際に血が流れるわけでもないしねぇ。スポーツを観戦するみたいに、わりと無邪気に楽しんでる

Ritsu: “It’s conflict!~” “It’s a live showdown!~” But even when saying things like that, it doesn’t mean that blood will actually be spilled. They're enjoying something simple-minded like when watching sports.

Ritsu: そういう荒っぱいのは苦手、みたいなひとは他のもっとゆるい雰囲気の地域の予選会を見に行けばいいんだしね

Ritsu: That kind of crudeness is not my cup of tea. People like that should go see the preliminary rounds in other regions with a more lax atmosphere.

Ritsu: そのための補助金、旅費とかは申請すれば給付されるし

Ritsu: The subsidy states that travel expenses and the like will be reimbursed upon request.

Izumi: まぁ、俺たちアイドル以外はどの地域に移動しようが自由だしねぇ

Izumi: Well, excluding us idols, you have the freedom to move to whichever region you want.

Ritsu: うん。逆に噂を聞きつけて、血の気の多いファンが関西地域に集まってきてたりもするっぱい。関西地域では派手な戦いが見られるそ〜、って

Ritsu: Yeah. But I’m hearing rumors of the opposite that there are plenty of hot-blooded fans gathering in the Kansai region. “You can see flashy battles in the Kansai region!~,” is what they’re saying.

Arashi: ヤだわァ、みんな血の気が多すぎよねェ？

Arashi: No wayyy~. Everyone’s too hot-blooded, riight?~

Arashi: 。。。。。それもまた、どの口で言うのかって話だけど

Arashi: …… That depends on how you say it though.

Ritsu: 実際、"戦う集団" として名高い俺たち “Knights” の参戦は、ファンには強く望まれてるっぽいよ

Ritsu: Actually, taking part in this competition as “Knights,” who are famous as a “group who go to war,” seems to be strongly desired by fans.

Ritsu: とはいえ。俺たちはESビッグ3とか呼ばれてる強豪だし、特にESアイドルは “”Knights” と戦っても勝ち目がない" って思いこんでくれてる

Ritsu: Be that as it may, ES idols in particular are convinced that: “There is no chance of winning even if we wage war against “Knights”” since we’re part of the powerhouse referred to as the ES Big 3.

Leo: 眠れる獅子って感じだな〜。でも実際のところ、おれたちは逆にライブ対決には絶対に勝てない

Leo: I feel like a sleeping lion.~ But as a matter of fact, the opposite is true: we absolutely cannot win a live showdown.

Leo: ライブ対決を禁じる "裏指令" のせいで、勝負を挑まれた時点で負けたのと同じになるから

Leo: It’s the same as losing whenever we’re challenged to a match because of the “hidden orders” that prohibit live showdowns.

Tsukasa: ええ。仮に我らが "裏指令" を無視してLive対決をした場合、当然、普通に対決には勝利するでしょうけど

Tsukasa: Yes. For argument’s sake, in the case where we disregard the “hidden orders” and have live showdowns, naturally, we would win showdowns without any difficulty, however…

Tsukasa: その後、"裏指令" 違反として罰が与えられます

Tsukasa: After that, punishment will be given for violation of the “hidden orders.”

Izumi: ちなみに、興味なくてあんまり覚えてないけどさぁ？ "指令" の場合は罰金が取られるらしいけど、"裏指令" の場合は違反するとどうなるんだっけ？

Izumi: By the way, I don’t really remember much because it’s not very interesting?? In the case of our “orders,” it seems that we’ll receive a penalty, but regarding “hidden orders,” what will happen if we break them?

Tsukasa: 。。。。。。 "裏指令" を与えられた人間によって異なるようですが、基本的に "とても大事なものが奪われる" ことになっているようです

Tsukasa: …… It appears to differ depending on the person who was given the “hidden orders.” Basically, it seems to be: “something incredibly precious is taken away.”

Tsukasa: 私の場合は、まぁ、えぇっと。。。。。。詳しくは明かせませんが

Tsukasa: In my case, well, uuhhm……. I can’t reveal that in detail.

Tsukasa: Live対決に勝利することで得られる報酬と、とても釣りあうようなものではない重たい罰が与えられるようです Tsukasa: It seems like rewards attained by winning Live Showdowns and the heavy punishments given are not at all proportional.

Tsukasa: （小声）。。。。。。それでも万が一の場合は、私は

Tsukasa: (Whispering) …… But still, if worse comes to worst in my case, I…

Izumi: 何？ぶつぶつ独り言しないでよねぇっ、意見があるならハッキリ言う！

Izumi: What? Don’t mutter to yourself! If you have an opinion, say it clearly!

Leo: まぁまぁ。。。。。。 "裏指令" も内容がバレたら罰が与えられるって話だし、スオ〜もそのへんは詳しく言えないんだろ。なぁ？

Leo: Now, now…… It says that punishment will be given if the contents of the “hidden orders” are exposed. Suo~ isn’t able to talk about them at length either. Right?

Tsukasa: はぁ。。。。。。とにかく、そういうことですので、私たちは関西地域で流行しているLive対決が行えません Tsukasa: Haa……. Regardless, that’s why we can’t do the Live showdowns that are in vogue in the Kansai Region.

Leo: うん。自分から挑むのは論外だし、逆に余所の"ユニット" から勝負を挑まれるのもマズいんだよな

Leo: Yeah. It’s out of the question to challenge others ourselves. On the other hand, it’d be awful if we got challenged to a match by another “unit.”

Ritsu: そうそう。こっちは "裏指令" があるからライブ対決はできないんだけどーー対決を拒否した場合、手特ちの “SSL$” の半分を挑戦者に渡す義務がある

Ritsu: That’s right. We can’t have live showdowns because we have these “hidden orders.”--- We’d be obligated to give half of the unique “SSL$” to the challenger if we refused the showdown.

Ritsu: 不戦敗、ってことになるから

Ritsu: That means we lose by default.

*十八番: pronunciation: Ohako (meaning a box). Written as number 18 as an abbreviation for Kabuki Juuhachiban (歌舞伎十八番), or the 18 best kabuki plays. From the Ichikawa family of kabuki families who stored their scripts in a box.

#translations #sudden death #enstars #tsukasa suou #ritsu sakuma #arashi narukami #leo tsukinaga #izumi sena #sudden death believability chapter 9

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of-twilight-and-moonshadow · 2 years ago

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Wrestling Masterlist

Find your cup of tea- I got something for everyone~

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE Masterlist

All Elite Wrestling / AEW & New Japan Pro Wrestling / NJPW Masterlist

--------------

Dark Angel of the Bullet Club Masterlist

(will have a combination of WWE/AEW/NJPW with 2 OCs rotating in all)

Open interview post for Emery/Dark Angel (and Phoenix) of BC here

---------------

Where else can you find me?

A03 - Archive of Our Own

>>>> has Wrestling and Non-Wrestling

#masterlist #fanfiction #imagines #wwe #aew #njpw #original female characters #reader inserts #OC #Dark Angel of the Bullet Club series #world wrestling entertainment #all elite wrestling

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wrestlingisfake · 6 months ago

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Wrestling Dontaku night 2 preview

Jon Moxley vs. Ren Narita - This is Moxley's first defense of the IWGP world title, after winning it in the greatest city in the world, Chicago, Illinois. He wanted to give the first shot to his apprentice, Shota Umino, but Shota's archenemy Narita jumped ahead in line by attacking the champion. Whoever wins this match will defend the belt against Shota on May 11 in Ontario, California.

There's not much of a story to this match--Narita and the rest of House of Torture will pull the same shenanigans they always do, and it's just a matter of Mox being too big of a star to put up with that shit. We want to see him obliterate all of them, but it probably won't be that easy. The most interesting question would be if Moxley can get any allies to head off the House's intereference, but I've seen enough New Japan Pro Wrestling to safely assume that he won't have a plan, and he'll be lucky if one or two guys randomly give him a hand.

The bigger story is the metanarrative about whether Moxley should be New Japan's top champion in the first place. Mox is just now coming to Japan at the end of the tour, after having already given away his first title defense on AEW television. Yota Tsuji has already complained about this online, and I doubt he'll be the last. This is clearly an experiment for New Japan and we have no idea how long it'll last, or who is being positioned to end the experiment by beating Mox for the title.

I guess it's possible they're planning a shockingly huge push for Narita, as a dick heel who spoils Moxley's crowning achievement and goes on to have an obnoxiously long title reign. But I just don't see it. They pretty much painted themselves into a corner by teasing Mox vs. Shota, and that's the only option that's worth headlining the May 11 show. I think Moxley has to win here...and probably against Umino next week as well. Where will that leave the world title picture? Well, your guess is as good as mine...

Nic Nemeth vs. David Finlay - Nemeth won the IWGP global title from Finlay on February 23, so this is the rematch. Nemeth's AAA mega title is not on the line. Finlay's gripe lately is that he would have beat Nemeth if he hadn't been banged up that night, and he would have won the New Japan Cup tournament if the promotion hadn't forced him to withdraw due to a medical issue. Last night, Finlay defeated New Japan Cup winner Yota Tsuji last night, and now he has a chance to address the other chip on his shoulder.

This match was not advertised until the end of last night's show, when Finlay attacked the champion after his successful defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi. It's extremely unusual for New Japan to book a title bout on such short notice. My guess is that the original plan was to do the Tanahashi match and the Finlay angle on April 6, but Tanahashi's ankle injury messed up their timetable. Why they have to do this particular match right now, and not push it back to June, is unclear. I kind of get the feeling Nemeth might not be available after this show, so this is their only chance to have him put over Finlay. Then again, Nemeth talks about working for New Japan like it's a dream come true, so it's hard to believe he's not in it for the long haul.

Dontaku is closely tied to the history of Bullet Club--it's the even where the faction was introduced in 2013, and it's not unusual for its members to stand tall in a top match or two. For that reason alone, I think I have to go with Finlay to regain the global title. If so, only time will tell where that leaves Nemeth.

Shingo Takagi vs. Gabe Kidd - Takagi's NEVER title is on the line. After Shingo won the belt from EVIL last month, Kidd ran in to complain that the title had become a joke. I'm not sure how that would be Takagi's fault two minutes after he won the thing, but Kidd is a heel so he doesn't have to make sense when he's ranting and raving. Which is good for him, since he's very good at ranting, raving, and not making any sense. Anyway, we've got two mean guys that are going to clubber the shit out of each other.

I think it'd be kind of an upset for Kidd to win the title here. Even so, I'm inclined to pick him, just because he feels like a disruptor in a promotion that desperately needs to be shaken up. Gabe's beef with New Japan usually doesn't add up, so he doesn't work as a bad guy who has a valid point. But a bad guy who can't be reasoned with because he's fucking nuts is more valuable, anyway. I could easily see them disappointing me, but I'm predicting a title change.

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA & Chase Owens - Bishamon won the IWGP heavyweight title from Kenta and Chase back on April 6, so now the ex-champs get a rematch. The story, such that there is one, is that the challengers have beaten the champions on every event in this tour, although that's mainly because Bishamon have been teaming with Young Lions and old-timers. I expect the champs to retain so they can take their belts with them to the Australia tour later this month.

Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori & Gedo - Ishimori is stepping in as a last-minute replacement for David Finlay, after Finlay vs. Nemeth was added to the card. Naito's LIJ and Finlay's War Dogs have been feuding throughout the tour, with NOAH's Jake Lee helping out on the War Dogs side. I'm surprised Lee isn't in this match. As it is, without Finlay or Lee, the heel team is at a severe disadvantage. Naito's side should win handily.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Boltin Oleg vs. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku - Originally Tana was to team with Nic Nemeth against Taichi and SANADA, but now Nemeth has a title defense and Sanada was pulled from the tour for medical observation. Tana and Oleg are two of the NEVER trios champions, so I guess a win for Taichi and Taka could set up a title shot. But Taka is the weak link in this match, so I expect him to lose the fall.

Shota Umino & El Phantasmo & Hikuleo & El Desperado vs. EVIL & SHO & Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru - Shota is waiting to find out who will win tonight's main event and defend the world title against him next week. Despy, Sho, and Kanemaru are waiting for the Best of the Super Jr. tournament to start next week. Otherwise, not much is going on here. Shota's team should win.

Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita vs. Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman - Sabre and Cobb faced off last night for the TV title. I'm thinking Newman loses the fall, but I suppose Fujita could instead.

Great-O-Khan & Francesco Akira vs. Yuya Uemura & DOUKI - Khan lost the KOPW title to Uemura on April 27. I don't think it matters who wins here.

Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. Tiger Mask & Shoma Kato - This is scheduled for the pre-show. Haste and Nicholls are the STRONG tag team champions, but the title isn't at stake in this match. Kato was originally going to team with Boltin Oleg, who has since been moved higher up the card. Tiger is more experienced partner, but not much more likely to secure a victory. Should be easy work for Haste and Nicholls.

Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima vs Jet Wei & Naoki Sakurajima - Another pre-show match. This is one of those "frontier zone" matches they do to showcase Japanese indy wrestlers. Makabe and Murashima are representing New Japan, while the other team comes to us courtesy of Kyushu Pro-Wrestling. Wei is originally from Taiwan, where he competed for PUZZLE, so that's interesting. But I don't expect this match to give us much time to think about it. Makabe's team will probably win.

#njpw #wrestling dontaku #jon moxley #ren narita

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