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danwhobrowses · 3 years ago

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AEW - Best and Worst Booking Decisions from Double or Nothing 2020 to 2021

As I promised back in my WWE Post Reviewing the Booking of Mania 35-36 it is time for me to run down AEW's booking over the last year.

Double or Nothing 2020 was AEW's first PPV of the Empty Arena Era, which they pulled off with the inaugural TNT champion being Cody'd, Brian Cage's debut and murder of Darby Allin, Hikaru Shida began her mammoth title reign, Moxley and Brodie Lee put on a fantastic show with their short build and we finished off with the wacky Stadium Stampede. But since then, it's had some ups and downs.

As I said with the WWE one, these are my opinions: some of which will act within hindsight rather than within the moment.

There will also be spoilers from the Dynamite after DoN 2020 to the end of DoN 2021, you have been warned

May 2020 Best - FTR They told us one day they would wrestle the Bucks and the world shall rejoice, and after several teases on BTE following The Revival's release from the E, FTR arrived and the division got even more stacked because of it.

Worst - Mike Tyson loses to his shirt AEW did try with Tyson, pushing for some shared history with Jericho as they began to stand off with one another. But his struggle to cleanly tear off his shirt really made the confrontation awkward and it wouldn't go anywhere.

Best - Baker becomes the Roll Model Baker's injury was a huge blow given how she was finally getting over thanks to her heel turn and bloody battle with Shida. It would've very easily killed her momentum to be off TV, but AEW instead played into Baker's injury by making her flaunt her heelish hilarity, starting with her being a wheelchair-riding 'roll model', this would begin Baker's time entertaining in spite of injury.

Worst - Allie and QT begin What was this huh? Now Allie in a red dress was a sight to behold but the whole romance angle where a very married Allie had a brief period as a babyface and pairing with the also very married QT Marshall. We all knew it was gonna lead to Butcher and Blade jumping the Natural Nightmares, but it really overstayed its welcome.

Best - The TNT Open Challenge We will get more on this but Cody's win of the TNT title was met with concern given the monster push of Lance Archer - not to mention the dismal design of the championship itself. But Cody did his best to add prestige via the weekly Open Challenge, which would showcase a lot of talent in a similar way to Cena's US title Open Challenge.

June 2020 Best - Brodie goes on the Recruitment Prowl Being the leader of the Dark Order, Mr. Brodie Lee needed a new direction after being felled by Jon Moxley. What he decided was to add to his ranks; bringing in Dark Standout Alan Angels, enticing Colt Cabana and extending a hand to Anna Jay. These choices bolstered the Dark Order's ranks to last much longer, especially with their segments in BTE showing all their comedic flair.

Worst - Sammy Guevara eats his words The Speaking Out movement affected AEW just as it did most of wrestling, leading to the release of Jimmy Havoc. But Sammy Guevara also got done in by his egregiously vulgar comments he made regarding his attraction WWE's Sasha Banks in an old interview that had now surfaced. While this isn't a booking decision per se, it was the fault of AEW to have not caught this on their background check. Sammy would rightfully be suspended with a full apology, seminars taken and a direct conversation with Banks herself to make amends.

Best - Red Velvet stirs in Red Velvet would debut on Dark in June, showcasing talent which would later be enhanced and explored later in the year, adding Red Velvet did indeed bolster the women's division a bit more, showing AEW's dedication towards building new stars was still alive.

Best - Wardlow vs Luchasaurus rocks the house Lumberjack matches are more miss than hit, but the long-awaited match between Wardlow and Luchasaurus was a sleeper hit for the month. Big time spots of athletic hosses slapping meat and flipping feet continued to showcase Wardlow's dominance with a big win over the Dino-man, just a good wrestling match worth the wait.

July 2020

Best - Open Challenge Opens Doors Cody's open challenges started with the AEW roster, but they soon expanded to being for indy talent and cross-promotional challengers too: Enter Eddie Kingston. The Mad King made an instant impact in his hardcore challenge against Cody, which quickly earned him a contract with the company. Also among the challengers was Ricky Starks - who would also get a contract - and Warhorse, who had rallied the fans into giving him a shot - and AEW did play into his popularity, having an answer for a lot of Cody's offense until he hurt his leg for the finish. It was smart booking even if Cody was bound to win.

Worst - Cardona's time is Radio Silence You gotta feel bad for Matt Cardona, he has all the makings to be a great star, but he just suffers from either company disinterest, injury or poor timing. The latter was the case for his AEW time, since AEW were having to deal with WWE's COVID outbreak by extension of any partners, Cardona only had a rare appearance backing up Cody a few times and while he did find himself in Impact, it's sadly not as green as the other side.

Best - Sue is Over The Best Friends as babyfaces walk the line perfectly of being a group of goofball man-children but also legitimate and talented wrestlers. The cherry on the top though was the Friends' entrance to Fyter Fest in Trent's mom Sue's mini-van for their tag title match, immediately getting Sue over with fans. Sue would also be a cult figure for BTE in her skits with the Dark Order, being the only person ever to make Brodie Lee break character and corpse.

Worst - Cody cannot elevate Hager Cody's defenses led to Hager (and his wife) looking for a title match, the sale of it being a more legitimate bout with the weigh in and packages didn't pull off in the match though, being quite slow and simplistic. Hager still remains a wrestler who lacks any more potential than what he has now but knows the right people.

Best - Taz promos around Mox's COVID absence Due to the aforementioned outbreak, AEW were forced to reschedule their main event when Renee Young had contracted the virus, exposing their world champion Jon Moxley by extension. This meant that Brian Cage would have to wait longer for their match (though not as long as UK fans are waiting for AEW to come overseas), so AEW decided to let Taz carry them over this predicament, which he did marvelously by reviving his FTW title and handing it to Cage. It added some extra heat and something for Cage to carry around as if he had won the personal victory over Moxley already, and it would lead us into the following week's rescheduled Main Event at Fight for the Fallen.

August 2020 Best - Brodie Destroys Cody After a lot of defenses and Cody getting the 'finished product' TNT title, fans wondered how Cody's defense against Mr. Brodie Lee would go. And boy did we get a spectacle, the Exalted One demolished Cody, Anna Jay then choked out Brandi as the rest of the Dark Order held the Nightmare Family at bay, and we were left with the visual of Brodie on top and Cody and Brandi at their feet, covered in the shredded remains of the old TNT title that Cody had reigned with. It was great storytelling and a great way to elevate Brodie as well as finally putting the Dark Order over, the stable rode the highest they had been since their debut while Cody disappeared to film for the Go Big Show.

Worst - Bea and Sadie get released, Mel stays AEW did their best to keep as many people they could during the Pandemic, but due to the travel restrictions Bea Priestley was very much land locked and Sadie Gibbs was not getting a second chance at her botched debut. It was a shame because of how talented both women were, Bea especially since rumor has it she might be en route to the E. What was baffling was that Mel, of the failed Nightmare Collective, remains on AEW's payroll despite not having appeared for over a year, hard to add that up.

Best - Thunder Rosa makes her challenge Before the Forbidden Door, NWA opened their doors to AEW while the pandemic prevented them from filming shows. With champion Hikaru Shida lacking a built-up challenger, fans were interested in Thunder Rosa's intrigue about Shida's challenge, and would be pleased to see AEW roll with it too. Rosa and Shida made for a great cross-promotional feud which'd lead to a great match in the following month. To this very day, Thunder Rosa's appearance on AEW is one of the brand's most vital steps in terms of strengthening their women's division.

Worst - The Deadly Draw is on Youtube Speaking of the Women's Division, AEW had also decided to have an all-women's tournament called the Deadly Draw. 'Random' tag teams would be forged in a tag tournament that'd give women some time to show their stuff. Unfortunately, this would mostly be on Youtube - save for the Finals - and be dominated by Fans' disdain that Allie and Brandi were making the finals. The method of picking was not handled well since we didn't really get any mismatch teams aside from Nyla, and the amount of women we got were not all spectacular with Rache Chanel and the former Cameron being a part of it. While Ivelisse and Diamante would win too they only got some crappy medals, all of which leaves a bitter taste following Ivelisse's release.

Best - Deadly Draw gives us Conti, Diamante and Savoy That being said, the Deadly Draw had its saving graces. For one the use of Veda Scott on commentary, Madusa as the host and Shaul Guerrero as the announcer were nice touches, we also got to see Tay Conti, Diamante, Ivelisse and Nicole Savoy wrestle - the middle two win. Conti would turn out to be the most important of the lot with her team and friendship with Dark Order's Anna Jay, getting over because of their chemistry and making it to the semi-finals.

Worst - Conti to Dark Order doesn't develop Conti and Anna's friendship meant that soon after, Jay had extended an offer for her friend to join the stable. For weeks we saw Conti carry around this invitation but then: nothing. Conti never joined Dark Order and this didn't beget any friction between the friends either - in the end it became a missed opportunity as Conti dances on the edge of being supported by the Dark Order but not a part of the Dark Order.

Best - Jericho and Cassidy Debate With Mike Tyson unable to appear more to feud with Jericho, AEW slotted over-as-fuck Orange Cassidy to face Jericho. While Jericho got the win in the first match, we were graced with a fun 'debate' hosted by Schiavone and with a guest appearance of Eric Bischoff. Cassidy's monologue during the debate was great too.

Worst - Cassidy's first win over Jericho isn't as big as it should be Unfortunately, when Cassidy did get the win over Jericho was not as good as the first, getting clunky at times with some miscommunication and slow pacing. They would have their rubber match in the gimmicky Mimosa Mayhem which would also be a bit of a mixed bag.

Best - Hardy and the Mad King Squad Up Despite solid starts, Private Party, Lucha Bros and Butcher & the Blade had struggled a little to find success in AEW, but they would gain some benefit by associating with Matt Hardy and Eddie Kingston. Hardy worked well as a mentor to the similar styled tag team to his younger years, while Kingston's evil grin to the camera did signal that Kingston's new squad would be up to no good.

Best - Moxley and Allin make another classic Allin and Moxley somehow just click, they click so well that you could put them in a match every week and people wouldn't complain, hell there's fanart of Moxley essentially adopting Allin in the same vein as Shota 'Shooter' Umino. Anyway, Allin vs Moxley is always fantastic, and it made sense for the feud that was growing.

Best - You're Out of the Elite! Hangman's slow burn storytelling has been sublime, and it was at a new height when FTR started sniffing around Hangman like lions around a wounded gazelle. Feeding into Hangman's alcoholism - established since his inability to beat Jericho or PAC in his hunt to be world champion - FTR exposed doubt within Page that the Bucks were ousting him out and would soon turn on him. All of which were mind games to sow discontent between him and Omega in their bid for the tag titles. The cherry on the top came with Hangman's removal from the Elite, after a stellar feud in Revolution being brought up, Hangman impulsively screwed out the Bucks from getting another title match, after a dressing down and being kicked out of the group we pan to a shot of Hangman staring into a mirror cracked - perfect storytelling.

Best - MJF campaigns against Moxley MJF had been undefeated and fans have wondered when rather than if he would get his shot. And when he set his eyes on Moxley it is spectacular. The faux presidential campaign was right up MJF's alley as he looked to write out Moxley's go-to finish of the Paradigm Shift, this also had great easter eggs like MJF emulating Samoa Joe's shove on him to one of his entourage, as well as his lawyer Sterling being a good addition for the feud.

September 2020 Best - Allin/Starks, Johnson/Carter are bangers September came out with some very impressive matches, for Dynamite it was the culmination of Allin and Starks' feuding but on Dark we got unsigned Lee Johnson and Ben Carter blow the roof off, immediately both names were a topic of scouting and it remains a top level match.

Worst - Billy Mitchell's cameo Early into Miro's debut we got some vignettes of 'The Best Man' enjoying his other past-time as a gamer. While this wasn't the right way to go in hindsight, the cameo of Billy Mitchell - a controversial figure in Arcade Gaming - was quite out of place for AEW as well, many having to look up who the dude was anyway and why many gamers were disgruntled about it. 'Celebrity' Cameos can only really work if you know who they are.

Best - Kingston stories a weird finish into a Title Match It would've been a Worst moment on this list when Eddie Kingston lost a battle royale for a title shot by being pushed off the turnbuckle despite leaving to the apron via the middle rope. However, when winner Archer came down with COVID, AEW was put in a reverse Fyter Fest scenario, a champion but no opponent. This allowed Kingston an in to use the fact that he never technically went over the top rope to barter a title match, which he used to impressive effect.

Worst - Sydal Slips The Shooting Star Press is a difficult move to pull off, and dangerous to botch. It had also been the staple of Matt Sydal, who was the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale of All Out, but when he did his Shooting Star he slipped and faceplanted. While it's not a booking decision it is a sore spot, Sydal has partly recovered as a full time worker and a mini-feud with Nakazawa to save face on the botch, but he has only once tried the move again.

Best - Will Hobbs impresses When Sydal botched and hit the floor though, Will Hobbs was the one you saw roll over inconspicuously to check he wasn't hurt. The youngster had already been impressing on AEW Dark on a regular basis and his appearance alone in the Battle Royale was an encouraging sign. Hobbs would also put on a strong performance in that match, which would lean in on being more utilized on Dynamite, his momentum would also carry to Double or Nothing with another strong run in a Battle Royale mostly pitted against Christian Cage.

Worst - The Matt Hardy incident Perhaps the lowest point of All Out was the Broken Rules Match. Hardy and Sydal had overshot their spear spot from a forklift to a table and Hardy hit his head hard. Hardy wobbled with signs of concussion as the match to and fro'd about being called off, Hardy though was having none of it - since the stipulation would have him retire had he lost - he would continue for a scaffolding spot for the finish but it did put a lot of heat on Guevara and AEW for allowing the match to continue. Matt would make a recovery and have a cinematic match with Sammy to finish the tainted feud, but from there BROKEN Matt Hardy was seldom seen.

Best - Deeb arrives Serena Deeb is one of the most technically gifted women on wrestling. Someone so grossly underutilized by WWE that it's baffling that the best thing they would do with her on the main roster is shave her head for the admittedly great Straight Edge Society but then release her for not keeping up kayfabe in her personal life. This was the month though that the current NWA Women's Champion debuted on AEW Dark and would later get signed, Deeb adds veteran experience and technical mastery to AEW's women's roster and she is a cert to be AEW Women's Champion someday.

Worst - Fans fight Tooth and Nail but Swole/Baker doesn't deliver Despite Britt Baker's rise to superstardom, her return feud with Big Swole became a bit of a mishit. The build was fine with Swole often getting the better of the wheelchair-bound Baker, so for Baker's return AEW had set a cinematic match in her dentist's office. The match was placed on the Buy-In, which pissed a lot of fans off and had them strong-arm Khan into putting it as the opener, and it didn't pay off. The match was par at best, ending with Baker losing as well, while the quickly-put-together match of Private Party vs Silver & Reynolds shone brightly on the Buy In in the spot this match should've taken. Listening to fans is of course good but AEW had the hindsight to judge whether the match was worth it in the eyes of the fans and they picked wrong.

Best - Parking Lot Brawl But for every par match AEW has they always sneak in a blinder, and it was Best Friends' 5-Star Parking Lot Brawl against Santana & Ortiz that pulled it off. With Orange Cassidy coming out of the boot of the car, Santana & Ortiz's Dead Presidents' appearance and Sue getting a brand new minivan and flipping off the Inner Circle duo at the end, the match was a fantastic closer for the night.

October 2020 Best - Brandon Cutler gets the W Brandon Cutler had AEW's longest losing streak, and they loved to ham it up, except Peter Avalon also had AEW's longest losing streak too. They had tried working together but couldn't find the common ground, so when Avalon turned on Cutler we were set for one of these men to get the win. After two no contests due to double count outs and double disqualifications, Cutler and Avalon had a no rules rubber match on Dark and it was great. Cutler got his win in probably AEW Dark's best feud storytelling - though it probably should've been on Dynamite or even the Buy In of the PPV - giving a payoff years in the making.

Worst - Nyla/Shida II is built on Dark Hikaru Shida had gone through the majority of the Women's Roster, so with new manager Vickie Guerrero, Nyla Rose wanted her title back. The problem however was that all of Vickie's calling out of Shida after a Nyla squash was on Dark, so the match was poorly built. You feel bad for Tony Khan because he tried this so more eyes would go on Dark but it was also a reminder that title matches should be built on the Main Show.

Best - MJF and Jericho get musical MJF had decided once again to try and get in with the Inner Circle, only this time he was faring better thanks to his chemistry with Chris Jericho. What we got was Le Dinner Debonair, a pompous, broadway-esque musical scene that fit the larger than life and delusional heel aura of both men's ego. While some people called it 'too goofy', it was also named one of the best TV moments of the year.

Worst - Miro feuds over an Arcade Machine Fans wanted one thing from Miro: the beast, but AEW did not lead with that. Instead they had him feud with Best Friends because they were thrown into an Arcade Machine he was playing. While it's not the level of feuding over shampoo, it was still rather dumb and contrived given how the rest of this weak feud was telegraphed leading up to Kip and Penelope's wedding - despite Miro's attempts to subvert Wrestling Wedding Tropes.

Best - Leyla legitimately impresses In October, 'Legit' Leyla Hirsch came out of nowhere and made the best of her moment. A non-title debut against champion Hikaru Shida on Dark proved an extremely entertaining affair as Hirsch got to showcase her physicality, and then that was followed instantly by a NWA Women's Title shot against Deeb on Dynamite - which she also really impressed in. While it took a while for AEW to announce Leyla as a signing, it was a definite plus to see Olympic qualities in the Women's Division.

Worst - Jericho can't get Luther over When Jericho got a whole Dynamite to celebrate 30 years in the business he had a lot on his plate, several cameos from Slash and Hiroshi Tanahashi made it a special moment but the Main Event didn't work. Luther is sadly another one of those Brutus Beefcake cases of knowing the right people, and while Luther could probably go when he was younger, currently he isn't the best. People wondered if Jericho could carry Luther in his match with Chaos Project but unfortunately it didn't land, Luther after all has his place on the undercard throwing Serpentico around, he doesn't need any more than that.

Best - The Cleaner shows signs of returning After an Anniversary Show meant that Moxley had gone through another opponent in his mammoth title reign, AEW had set up a tournament to name the new Number 1 Contender. At this time as well FTR had already dealt with Hangman and Omega but their post-match embrace was not reciprocated by Omega, who had more or less washed his hands with his partner. The two were in different places, Page had descended further into the bottom of a drink without any of his friends while Kenny had become focused upon being a singles competitor again. Metaphorically winking to the hard cam, Omega would enter in an over the top fashion with cheerleaders of the Jacksonville Jaguars dancing with brooms to hark the slow arrival of the Cleaner. His disgruntled face after squashing Sonny Kiss was also meme quality.

Worst - Brodie's Reign is cut short Brodie Lee's TNT title reign was great, it had put the Dark Order on top and his segments on BTE were extremely entertaining too. An emphatic return of the dark haired Cody Rhodes did invite a rematch which would be a more brutal affair than Cody's prior squashing, but sadly Brodie would not retain. His reign only lasted a month and in hindsight that would be the only time Brodie held gold, while he stated he had no regrets on how short his reign was it was not great booking to put it immediately back on Cody as if Brodie only held it because Cody had another show to record.

Best - Dog Collar Match was great Result notwithstanding though, the Dog Collar match proved as brutal as it was entertaining. Another match that elevated the TNT title's prestige, Lee and Cody tore into each other in a match that could've easily screamed Vince Russo late-WCW failure. But the men pulled it off with their raw talent and nobody looked bad out of it.

November 2020 Best - Kenny vs Hangman I Since AEW's inception, Hangman Page has been on a slow course to squaring off against Kenny Omega. This came to a head in the finals of the No.1 Contendership Tournament, the confident Kenny vs the angsty Page proved an effective opener which further spiralled Hangman into depression while Kenny would return to the top of the card.

Worst - Hornswoggle in a nappy? The Inner Circle's Vegas skit was probably too much, it had some good moments like Hager and Wardlow continually staring at each other as they beat up people in the club, also the appearance of an Elvis Impersonator and Konnan. But the bit finished on a weird note trying to homage The Hangover by having WWE's former Hornswoggle appear in a baby's nappy, it was just weird no ways around it.

Best - Cargill and Top Flight make an impression November saw the debuts of new members of the Women's and Tag Division. The Martin brothers impressed as the new vibrant and athletic tag team, putting on a wild show against The Bucks. Jade Cargill would start AEW by confronting Cody with the tease of one Shaquille O'Neal, but the moment the camera panned to Cargill she had one word printed on her and it was 'Star'. While Top Flight are halved by injury, Cargill has continued to show her growth.

Worst - Shida vs Abadon has a short build When Abadon debuted on AEW Dark she put on an impressive match with then-not-champion Hikaru Shida, the story being that Shida was weirded out by the Living Dead Girl. Since then, Abadon had been undefeated in her sporadic appearances - partly delayed by injury - so she was put on a course to reignite this storyline with Shida. However, they didn't get enough time, only a couple segments of Shida trying to prove herself not scared and an AEW Dark segment when Abadon jumped Shida and hit a Cemetery Drive on her. A decent match would follow, but we could've done a lot more.

Best - Hobbs turns to FTW Will Hobbs had grown more and more impressive with each appearance, put over as well in promo by Jon Moxley too gave him a lot of credit. During Darby's feud with Team Taz, Hobbs had often come to make the save to prevent Darby from being injured, however he did have a habit of arriving a little late. This proved to be intentional when Hobbs turned heel, aligning with Team Taz to learn under the ECW Legend. While Hobbs has yet to taste gold, he has of recent found himself elevated by the feud with Christian Cage and should Brian Cage move away from Team Taz, he would clearly be the top choice to take the FTW belt from him.

Worst - Cody Hogan's his title loss When it was time for Cody to drop the TNT belt again, fans would hope that it would be a similar case of Cody putting someone over red hot like he did Brodie. However, instead Darby defeated Cody with a series of roll ups which Cody kicked out in 3.1, a very Hogan vs Warrior title change with Cody also having to keep the spotlight on him by handing the belt to Darby before Darby's moment was further interrupted by Team Taz's attack.

Best - Darby has gold At the very least, Darby being crowned TNT champion after finally beating Cody was a perfect narrative for the talented and albeit batshit crazy masochist Emo Skater Boy. Darby's reign would also be consistently good and maintain Allin's star aura against opponents of all shapes and sizes.

Best - PAC is BAC Due to COVID, several of AEW's international talents were land-locked and unable to appear, but when the UK's borders loosened slightly The Bastard PAC made an emphatic return to reestablish Death Triangle. This had also come off the heels of Eddie Kingston trying to sway Penta away from his brother and kick Fénix out of his group. PAC's mini-feud with Kingston would remind the world that AEW had some world class talent to put in against Kenny Omega as well as reminding the world that PAC is just amazing as a wrestler.

Best - Bunkhouse match blows the roof off Dustin Rhodes seems to have carved an interesting spot for himself as the 'Obscure Gimmick Match Master'. Currently teasing a Bullrope match with Nick Comoroto, he shone brightly in the culmination of the long-winded QT/Allie storyline which lead to a Bunkhouse Match against the Butcher and the Blade. It had old school qualities with amazing spots that continued a long chain of AEW pulling off impressive gimmick matches even if the feud wasn't as impressive itself.

Best - Mox and Kingston, Feud of the Year 2020 You know what was an impressive feud though? Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. Imagine winning feud of the year for something set up in September to November? And most of it was promo, but these were two of the best promo guys in the world, touching on their roots, their former friendship, the lengths either would go and all coming to a head in an I Quit Match. Kingston made you believe every word he said when he declared that he would never quit and he wouldn't stop until he was champion but come the match Moxley proved more resilient than words can be. Getting Feud of the Year is not bad going for what originally started as a one-off title match because Archer got COVID.

December 2020 Best - Brodie Lee Memorial Show Near the end of December the wrestling world was shocked by the death of Brodie Lee, the Exalted One was someone fans really wanted to see be a major world champion someday, but he had tragically succumbed to a Lung condition. At this time too AEW were promoting a 2-part special of New Year's Dash, but delayed the shows a week to put on a memorial show for Brodie. With matches picked by Brodie's eldest son, AEW did perhaps the perfect tribute show, with a perfect blend of clips and tributes paired with matches that honored the Big Rig. Brodie's influence was shown with Silver emulating Brodie's outfit, Eric Redbeard appearing, FTR renaming their Goodnight Express to the Big Rig, and the TNT title being handed to Brodie Lee Jr. - who became AEW's youngest signing - and a special t-shirt being the highest selling t-shirt of 2020, with proceeds going to Brodie's wife, Amanda. Brodie's influence still reigns in AEW as the Dark Order have become somewhat gatekeepers to the TNT title and the quote 'It's [day], and you know what that means' being frequently used or displayed via signs to start off an AEW show.

Worst - Ben Carter slips through their fingers Ben Carter had proven a sensational talent on his AEW showings, quickly having rose to having a match on Dynamite. However, AEW did not get his signature on the dotted line, and the E came a-callin'. The loss of the now-Nathan Frazer was a rough blow for AEW business since it showed that WWE could still outbid them if they wanted someone enough, and AEW made the mistake of not signing him before other companies started sniffing around.

Best - IT'S STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! The 'Winter is Coming' special had many big things happen, but one of the biggest of all was the return of Sting. Instantly Sting's T-Shirt sales broke records in AEW (until the Brodie shirt would break Sting's) as the WCW legend had made his return to TNT in a veil of snow staring down Darby Allin, nostalgia was high on this moment.

Worst - STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING does nothing for a month But. There was a problem with Sting's arrival on AEW, he wasn't exactly spry in his 60s and AEW were cautious in wanting him to come back into the ring despite being classed as an active talent. AEW did miss a mark by promoting Sting to just do the same interview over and over, more than once in fact, you gotta do something with Sting to get the fans excited.

Best - Taz chokes out Cody While feuding with Darby, Cody became involved when he dropped the TNT title to Darby and got attacked by Team Taz all the same. When this led to a verbose conflict between Cody and Taz over the legitimacy of the FTW championship, Cody made the mistake of turning his back on Taz after diminishing his philosophy because Taz's son Hook was training under his factory rather than his father. Jake the Snake did warn him not to turn your back on someone you respect, but maybe he should've warned him to not turn your back on a Human Suplex Machine, because Taz immediately put him in the Tazmission - to a huge pop from fans - choking out the younger Rhodes to further personalize their feud.

Worst - Dynamite Diamond Ring doesn't change MJF had used the Dynamite Diamond Ring sporadically as a weapon to cheat in matches, but it anything it was a glorified brass knuckles that had limited prestige. When AEW had the chance to give it new prestige by having it fought over a year after MJF won it, they decided to simply keep it on MJF's pinky finger. As a result we had a battle royale and a match that kinda went nowhere narratively, and AEW should've really just made the ring a one-off or given it to someone else to signify a young up-and-coming talent getting a rub.

Best - The Acclaimed prove they're not all talk Not to be outdone by Top Flight, who they seem destined to have an eternal rivalry with, The Acclaimed put on an impressive showing in their title match with the Bucks too. Max Caster's diss tracks continue to slowly win fans over but this was the moment the Acclaimed turned into a mainstay of AEW's tag division.

Worst - TNT ask for no more surprises While reported months later, fans were alerted that after Sting's debut, TNT had asked AEW to not do any more surprises. Business-wise it made sense since they wanted to promote any big moments on the show for a greater viewership, but Wrestling-wise eliminating the shock factor would be a detriment to the business as a whole. AEW have managed to work their way around such things by promoting 'mystery entrants' or debuting surprise characters between other promoted segments but it is still a questionable decision by TNT to request such a thing.

Best - This is Bear Country Next on the 'XX impress on Dark, get signed up' is the tag team of Bear Country. Different to Top Flight's flippy talent and the Acclaimed's knack for mind games and more technical wrestling was two big hoss men running roughshot War Machine-style, there's not much else you need to sell with that, Bear Country was just good stuff and provided another style AEW's tag division could use.

January 2021 Best - Negative One With Brodie Lee Jr. now signed to AEW, he started to make appearances as Dark Order's new leader 'Negative One'. And instantly, Brodie Jr had become an excellent presence. With great understanding of the business for such a young age, Negative One would delight audiences on Dark and Elevation be it on commentary or simply being the feral prince that often accompanied Preston Vance, Anna Jay and/or Tay Conti. The kid was having the time of his life too.

Worst - TNT title doesn't get revamped enough With the original finished product of the TNT title handed to Brodie Jr, there was an opening to make a new TNT title which learned from the criticisms that the original had. Unfortunately we did not have this, we mostly just got a Black strap. Granted COVID would've been a part of that but given how long Darby's reign was, we could've put work towards giving us a better looking TNT championship.

Best - Dark Order turn face, help the Hangman On BTE Dark Order found their feet with their flair for comedy, one of the segments that began this was Evil Uno's selling of Brodie's throwing of papers, the bit originated from Lee discovering that Hangman had once reached out to the Dark Order website sometime at the beginning of his depression spiral. Because of the rejection, the Dark Order had fostered an animosity against Page with frequent 'Fuck Hangman' chants, and yet Hangman would sporadically appear in their hangout, starting his own 'Fuck Hangman' chant when kicked out of the Elite in a brutal show of Page's self-loathing. From there though the Dark Order had softened to the Anxious Millennial Cowboy and after a face turn they had grown to become AEW's most popular faction and a much-needed friend for Page. While Hangman wouldn't officially join the Dark Order, it definitely proved to be an entertaining chapter in Page's story from an unlikely source.

Worst - Team Taz will jump Darby, but not Sting During their feud, Team Taz were seen to jump Darby Allin whenever they could, didn't matter if he had Cody or Moxley on his side they would still try to get the upper hand on the TNT champion. But now that Sting has arrived, Team Taz decided to stop doing that. As much as it was AEW protecting Sting from bumps, it really diminished Team Taz as well because five men that included Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs and Brian Cage were scurrying away from a lone 60 year old with a baseball bat.

Best - Bullet Club in AEW Tama Tonga might refute it, but the appearance of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in AEW was big, and their arrival to aid Kenny and then to two sweet him with the Bucks was an image definitely worthy of closing the night. From Gallows and Anderson's arrival to AEW led to Impact's doors being opened, which has recently led to Omega being the Belt Collector.

Worst - Callis' feud with the Bucks is gimmicky When Kenny won the AEW World Title at Winter is Coming, he had began a full on chaotic turn with Don Callis as his manager of sorts. The Young Bucks however were still firm babyfaces and were perturbed by Callis' actions that were ousting the Jackson brothers out of Kenny's social circles. Some bits were good, Callis really laying in thick the fact that he felt the Bucks had lost their edge, but the majority of it was a bit too much soap opera for my liking, the fake shiner was probably where it jumped the shark.

Best - Tay Conti shows her improvement against Deeb Tay Conti had grown a lot as a wrestler since her debut, and when set to challenge Serena Deeb for the NWA Women's Championship we had the story of 'Jack of All Trades vs Master of One'. Leaning more into her Judo and martial arts background, Tay Conti showed the wrestling world that she had arrived as a wrestler thanks to the AEW machine. WWE's loss had officially become AEW's gain as Tay Conti continues her rise to perhaps being one of the biggest female stars in the company.

Worst - Archer can't win a feud Having lost to Cody in May and then Moxley on the Anniversary episode, Archer was put in a no-win situation by feuding with Eddie Kingston. Now Kingston is great, but the problem was that both men desperately needed to win a feud for credibility, and Archer was the one who lost. Archer continues to be sold as a monster but also someone who will lose all his major feuds. Suffice to say, more can be done with the Murderhawk Monster.

Best - MJF sows seeds of discontent Having officially gotten in with the Inner Circle, MJF now had Chris Jericho's ear and he was ready to spread his poison. This started with the ousting of Sammy Guevara - Jericho's protege of sorts - before moving on to sowing tension between Jericho and Santana & Ortiz. This would be the beginnings of an excellent swerve by AEW, which we will get to later.

Worst - Santana and Ortiz aren't even the Inner Circle's tag team? Because of MJF's sowing though, we had a weird scenario where the Inner Circle were debating who was their official tag team? Debating between Jericho and MJF the singles competitors, Sammy and Hager the singles competitors or Santana & Ortiz the tag team. In this as well MJF and Jericho won, which was more sowing on MJF's part but it does still leave the worrying sense that AEW's tag division is perhaps too big as Tony Khan waits for the right moment to introduce a Trios title.

Best - Wardlow vs Hager was surprisingly good Another recurring narrative of MJF joining the Inner Circle was Jake Hager and Wardlow staring each other off whenever they could. In order to 'bury the hatchet', Hager challenged the War Dog to a match, and surprisingly this was Hager's best match in an AEW ring so far, big men slapping meat with the right conclusion of Wardlow winning.

Worst - The Waiting Room fades out While Britt Baker was injured but not Wheelchair bound she had started an interview show on Dark called 'The Waiting Room', it had a few flaws here and there but eventually it showed on Dynamite to decent effect. But after that it was gone, which is a shame because it could've easily been a longstanding segment for either of AEW's shows at the time to give some promo segments or interviews to AEW's talent.

Best - Private Party are leeched After working under the wing of 'Big Money' Matt Hardy, Private Party turned heel to compliment Hardy's newfound persona as the Company Leech. The heel turn has somewhat revitalized the once-promising tag team and proved they can play either side, it even got them an Impact Tag Title shot and an impressive match on the PPV.

Worst - Whatever Snoop Dogg was doing Snoop Dogg made an AEW appearance where he was insistent on doing a spot, but it didn't really work - much like it didn't really work when he tried it in WWE. Snoop as a guest wasn't the worst idea in the world and it is good that he's willing to bump on the show, but could does not always mean should.

Best - Jungle Boy and Dax put on a masterclass In the middle of FTR's midcard feud with Jurassic Express - the one that'd involve Marko Stunt being kidnapped - Dax Harwood and Jungle Boy crossed paths in an excellently technical match. The match received high praise that'd further put Jungle Boy over while also giving worthy praise for Harwood's wrestling ability.

Best - Jungle Boy gets some Baltimora While on the subject of Jungle Jack Perry, Tony Khan had decided that he had a library of songs he owned or could own and use as entrance themes for some of AEW's more earmarked talent. This would begin with Jungle Boy, who was given Baltimora's 'Tarzan Boy' per the suggestion of Joey Janela. Immediately Jungle Boy had something the fans could use to rally behind, a chantable song that embraced all that Jungle Boy's character was.

February 2021 Best - JD Drake makes an impression JD Drake does not look like AEW's typical wrestler, but that's the point. On his debut on Dark he surprised many with his great offense and agility, even able to pull off a moonsault. Quickly Drake was signed and becomes the odd one out but also the oft-ignored voice of common sense in the Wingmen faction of prettyboys. He's having a lot of fun with it too and has put on good matches, recently against Rocky Romero.

Worst - Women's Eliminator Tournament partly goes on Youtube The Women's Eliminator Tournament opened up the Women's Division in a big way, but COVID meant that not all of it could be filmed in Jacksonville. So like the Deadly Draw, the tournament had to spend some of its time on Youtube. Now I have no problem with Youtube being used, it's a wider medium that can be accessed at any time, but it did mimic the downsides of the Deadly Draw and alienate the TNT-only audience, especially since Dynamite rarely showed highlights of the tournament progress.

Best - Women's Eliminator Tournament exceeds expectations That is however, the only criticism with hindsight one can give the Eliminator Tournament. Because not only did it give us the return of Riho, Yuka Sakazaki, Ryo Mizunami, Emi Sakura and Aja Kong, but it also graced us with the talented debuts of Maki Itoh, VENY (aka Asuka, who also wore Hana Kimura's robe) and Mei Suruga. In addition Shida provided Japanese commentary for the Joshi matches sporting a strikingly beautiful white suit. The tournament did not have a bad match at all; with VENY vs Sakura, Suruga vs Sakazaki, Sakazaki vs Sakura (which had Sakura perform a fantastic entrance), Serena Deeb vs Riho, Leyla Hirsch vs Thunder Rosa, Riho vs Rosa, Baker vs Nyla, Conti vs Nyla and the finals were all great and unique matches. The non-tournament 6-woman joshi tag match was also excellent and so was the surprise winner of Ryo Mizunami and her title shot against Shida at Revolution.

Best - Moxley brings the IWGP US Championship Jon Moxley may've lost the AEW World Championship, he still had a title on hand he could use: the IWGP US Championship. While NJPW had intended to keep it mainly on NJPW Strong during COVID, New Japan also allowed Moxley to bring his title on rare occasions to AEW, later to the point where he could defend it. It was definite good business and the next thing is why it was such a big deal.

Best - THE FORBIDDEN DOOR OPENS! 'New Japan will not work with AEW' - that was what we were told in the early stages of AEW, but we held out hope. We got more hope when Harold Meij stepped down from NJPW but still the 'Forbidden Door' remained shut, all the way until Beach Break when a hooded figure came up to Jon Moxley, hit a GTS and revealed himself. KENTA, the holder of the IWGP US Championship Briefcase he won in the inaugural New Japan Cup USA tournament. The internet went wild, the forbidden door was open and there was no way fans will let it close again.

March 2021 Best - Sting debuts cinematically Team Taz's feud with Darby came to a head with a Tag Team Street Fight. It was Sting's first AEW match and fans were concerned on how many bumps he could take - memory of his 'career-ending' match with Rollins echoing in the mind. AEW though would not make that mistake, deciding to go cinematic to protect Sting and give him time to recover from any bumps caused - as well as win the match like one HHH refused to do - the match itself was fantastic with Team Taz and Darby fitting in a ton of extreme spots and Brian Cage just flexing all over the place.

Worst - Archer feuds(?) with Sting After said Street Fight though, Sting continued said momentum with: Interviews. Worse yet these interviews started being interrupted by Lance Archer, who wanted to take Sting's TV time from him. This amounted to nothing as well because after Sting put an endorsement on Archer, the Murderhawk Monster would decide not to fight for a spot and come in to save Sting and Darby from time to time. If we were gonna establish this alliance we could've done more with it, sadly AEW keep on following up Sting wrestling with a ton of Sting talking.

Best - The Pinnacle debut MJF's snaking in on the Inner Circle was paying off dividends, but after an unsuccessful challenge for the tag titles, the Inner Circle had announced a 'War Council' to discuss their future. It looked as though MJF was gonna completely oust out Jericho from his own group, but out came Sammy Guevara. Absent since leaving the group, Guevara had unraveled MJF, revealing that the Inner Circle was wise to MJF's plot all along: except they weren't. MJF had played 5 steps ahead of the Inner Circle, because he wasn't trying to steal his faction, he was setting up his own. FTR, Spears, Wardlow and MJF swarmed the Inner Circle for an epic debut which would be known as the Pinnacle.

Worst - Cody beats Penta despite a shoulder injury At this point fans were beginning to wonder how Cody Rhodes would write himself off of TV. His wife Brandi was halfway through pregnancy and the Rhodes had announced a Miz & Mrs-esque reality show too. So when Cody was kayfabing a shoulder injury and pitted against Penta El 0M, fans were hoping that this time Cody could not finagle his way into defeating a charismatic and popular member of the roster who could use the rub and has a history of kayfabe breaking arms, and yet he did. The feud set up ended up being a one-off that harmed Penta more than it did good, he had done the arm breaker but Cody just shrugged it off and won anyway. It was growing all too apparent that clean Cody losses will remain to be few and far between.

Best - Penta Says that Alex is a Great Hype Man There is one saving grace to the Penta/Cody mini feud though and it's that pseudo-Dark Order member, Spanish announcer and interviewer Alex Abrahantes had been paired with Penta as his translator/hype man. Sporting some Rollins-esque outfitting of gloves and jackets, Abrahantes added extra venom to his translations which of course gave Penta a lot more vibrance. Alex as well seems to be having a whale of a time doing so.

Worst - Team Taz Dissension starts, but will pause for 2 months In the aftermath of their Street Fight defeat, Cage had drawn the ire of his Team Taz comrades by showing Sting some respect. This led to some light tension between Cage and the rest of the team, especially Ricky Starks. While this could've worked towards a Cage face turn, the tension fizzled out, only reigniting recently.

Best - Jade, Velvet and Shaq impress at a Crossroads The special episode 'The Crossroads' had been set up to promote a mixed tag match which served as Jade Cargill and Shaq's AEW wrestling debut. Competing against Cody and Red Velvet, the match did put fan minds at ease by keeping Shaq's spots simple but classic, while Velvet and Cargill ran the show in the ring. Shaq took a table bump as well which was cool and the match started Jade's star-level momentum on a high.

Worst - Shaq just, disappears In the aftermath of the table spot Shaq was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance, but when we went backstage to get some comments from Shaq before being sent off we found that the ambulance was empty. A weird thing considering that in a few days Shaq would be back on TNT anyway like that had no continuity, it was a strange decision nonetheless.

Best - Exploding. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch! AEW and their penchant for gimmick matches is an interesting relationship, but the moment this match was announced it had garnered a lot of hype. I mean it's not every day you see an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, and Kenny and Mox had already tore into each other in Full Gear to the point where they legitimately broke state laws. The match was every bit as brutal as promised, homaging Onita many a time through Mox but also with the wired up baseball bat, 99% of the match was freaking awesome.

Worst - Fizzling. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch. Sadly, that 1% that wasn't would be the final visual of the PPV. Moxley is defeated and the whole ring is gonna blow, Kenny and co have scurried and Mox is handcuffed and KO'd in the middle of the ring. Disregarding the warnings of the Butcher, Blade and Bunny, Eddie Kingston rushes in to help his former friend, past enmity be damned, he cannot free Mox in time and in a narratively pivotal act of self-sacrifice drapes himself over Moxley to take the blow. And all we got was a fizzle, a few sparklers and fireworks would end the night unfulfilled, undoing all the good the match had delivered. It would be AEW's most unsatisfying moment caused by a botched ending that could never be undone.

Best - Mox and Kingston reunite to rule the promos Although they could not take back the botched finish, the storyline still allowed a new dynamic of Moxley and Kingston reuniting as chaotic street brothers eyeing up the Elite for a fight. One King of Promo would be enough but two was just fantastic, you could watch Kingston and Moxley bounce off of each other all day and still remain thoroughly entertained.

Worst - Kingston doesn't get a crack at Kenny It was however a shame that draping your body over your friend to protect him from an intended explosion was not enough to validate a feud between said person and the creator of the explosive device. Kingston looked all but set to try and avenge his friend by facing Kenny, but it would not turn out to be. The closest we got was a jump and a One Winged Angel, which is a shame because Kingston vs Kenny would've been fantastic - but alas, Mox and Kingston jumped over Kenny and just went for the tag teams instead.

Best - AEW support Cezar Bononi and his wife Cezar Bononi was doing fine as part of the Undercard faction of the Wingmen with Pretty Peter Avalon, Ryan Nemeth and JD Drake. Behind the curtain though Bononi's wife Camila was suffering from Leukemia and needed a Bone Marrow transplant, her sister was a match but she was in Brazil so they needed an emergency visa so to do the transplant on time. Thanks to the collective efforts of fans and the continued exposure AEW provided for Bononi, Camila's sister would make it in time and Camila herself got her transplant and seems to be doing well.

Worst - Big Money Matt loses his quarter, but it doesn't go anywhere In the conclusion of the chapter where Matt Hardy tried to leech his way into Hangman Page's profits, Hangman had defeated Hardy in a 'Big Money' match which meant that Page had won all of Hardy's money over the last quarter. This opened an avenue to see what Big Money Matt could be like with No Money, but it amounted to very little. In fact the worst we got from Matt was eating olives, a missed opportunity for sure, we could've even had Matt be hounded by loan sharks and debt collectors but alas, it didn't dent his money in the end, at the very least Hangman got his lawnmower.

Best - Elevation elevates Mizunami, Leyla and Limelight In March, AEW debuted a more canonized version of Dark called Elevation, which'd be used to show off a bit of the undercard and allow more opportunity to climb the rankings. In the first month of Elevation, we were graced with several good matches, usually including one of three Elevation Regulars. The Eliminator Tournament Winner Ryo Mizunami would go on a series of bouts with female talent such as Tesha Price and KiLynn King where she effortlessly fit into the role of AEW's women's division gatekeeper, meaning that whoever beat her would get a solid rub - and Abadon did. When Mizunami returned to Japan, one of the people she felled took over from her duties and that was Leyla Hirsch, Hirsch had teamed successfully with Mizunami a couple of times as well and has effectively used her spot to get some wins in. On the men's side, NJPW Strong regular Danny Limelight was given his namesake with some high profile matches including Jungle Boy, Frankie Kazarian and Dark Order's 10, not to mention Takeshita, Omega, Kingston and Moxley in later months, the Team Filthy member definitely taking the show's name to heart.

Best - Cassidy wonders where his mind is Not long after Jungle Boy had obtained Baltimora, plans had been made to give Orange Cassidy a new theme too. The pick was an inspired one with The Pixies' 'Where is My Mind?' - which many would be familiar with as the ending song to Fight Club - the song suited Cassidy really well, and after positive testing on Dark it was used for the next Dynamite to close off the night.

Best - Arcade Anarchy delivers in spite of a weak feud It should probably be a word of caution to not face the Best Friends in a gimmick match in AEW, because they hit a new gear whenever they do. The feud with Miro and Kip was poor, and fans were more than happy for it to end on the PPV when Miro got his win, but AEW insisted on one more match: Arcade Anarchy - agreed to by Kip. In spite of fears this match ruled: Trent's return with Sue was great, Kris Statlander's return was a huge surprise, it took all 3 Best Friends to keep Miro down and we finished the night with Where is My Mind playing us off. Despite the weak feud, AEW had finished strongly which made reheating Miro a lot easier.

Best - Tully Blanchard wrestles in 2021 The culmination of Jurassic Express vs FTR came in the Crossroads in a 6-Man tag match. Made extra bonkers because Tully Blanchard was FTR's third man in the match. They of course limited his spots and a Shawn Spears return would prove the difference, but it's an entertainingly ridiculous thing that Tully Blanchard both wrestled in 2021 and won: wrestling is just crazy.

Best - Final 4 of Casino Tag Royale put on a Show AEW have played around with the 'Casino' concept for a few stipulations; regular battle royale for men and women, ladder match, and then tag royale. This royale finished strongly though with the final 4; John Silver, Fénix, PAC and Jungle Boy. Four absolutely over stars brawling out in mini-matches that left fans salivating for more, after Silver and PAC were eliminated Fénix and JB put on an absolute treat of a finale, which ended with Fénix getting the win for Death Triangle to face the Bucks.

Best - Silver earns Sting's respect with a Dislocated Shoulder John Silver was voted by Dark Order to take Darby Allin's open challenge for the TNT title - offered because it was the anniversary of Brodie's debut. Silver vs Allin became a great match, made even more impressive since Silver dislocated his shoulder early in the match and kept going. While Silver couldn't bring the title home to the Dark Order, he got a show of respect from Sting - which in turn would lead to the Dark Order coming to Darby and Sting's aid at times.

Best - Maki Itoh breaks America Fans of TJPW or twitter's tdegifs were very familiar with the charismatic foul-mouthed hard-headed former idol Maki Itoh, and seeing her in the Women's Eliminator tournament paid dividends despite her first round elimination. Itoh's popularity skyrocketed, she had an It factor which pissed off Jim Cornette for extra adulation, and come Revolution's Buy-In, Maki Itoh had arrived in Jacksonville for one of the biggest pops of the night. Itoh proved charming and entertaining even though she was aligned with the heels, to the point where she even main evented the inaugural Elevation against Riho. Sadly Itoh would have to return to Japan and unsuccessfully challenge for Rika Tatsumi's TJPW Princess of Princess Championship (her tag partner/former longstanding rival/sauce boss/Pink Striker Miyu Yamashita would however win), have her twitter hacked and set up a new division of her faction 'Saitama Itoh Respect Army 2021' with Yuki Kamifuku and Marika Kobashi, but she had made her mark and then some, the world was a simp for Maki Itoh, and she allowed it because she needed the monies.

Best - Rosa/Baker break the ceiling Itoh vs Riho wasn't the only cross-promotional women's main event AEW gave us, because 2 days later on St. Patrick's Day Smash, Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa's unsanctioned match would deliver on one of the highest rated matches in modern women's wrestling. A bloody and fantastic affair instantly rose Baker and Rosa's stakes in a fitting end to their rivalry, but one that also didn't cost Baker any standing because it technically 'didn't count'. It remains to this day AEW's best match in the women's division.

April 2021 Best - Miro ditches Kip After months of hanging with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, Miro had become fed up with Superbad. The acceptance against his wishes to fight the Arcade Anarchy proved the last straw as Miro set his focus on capturing any and every title within his reach, with or without Kip. After a few weeks of not seeing Sabian, Miro attacked him, writing Sabian out of action with a legitimate wrist injury while Ford was dealing with an allergic reaction to her eyelashes, with Kip gone Miro could finally be who we were waiting for: at freaking last.

Worst - Interference finishes beget questions of Faction Bloat Although not as bad as WWE, many matches on AEW seemed to end one way or another with factions fighting one another, clean finish or not. This did of course grind on fans and cause questions to arise that perhaps there are too many factions in AEW, they have a point, though easily fixable without splitting any factions up.

Best - Bucks descend to heeldom Don Callis had been a thorn in the Bucks' side for a while, but his words had got in their head, they were indeed the most successful when they were cocky assholes. Although they did save Moxley from being swarmed one time, the six-man tag proved too much for them: they didn't want to see the feral Moxley take out their old and storied friend and so they chose Kenny over morality. No longer annoyed by Callis, the Bucks became absolute shiteating heels again, which benefits the climate of the tag division.

Best - Jade is elevated by being sought out While Jade Cargill would only sporadically appear for squashes, AEW have done well to slow burn her star power by having managers try to get her as a client. It's simple storytelling but effective, because people want Jade it means that Jade is desirable and that makes her more important as a talent.

Best - Baker DeManDs her title shot Because the Unsanctioned Match 'didn't count' Britt Baker had carried the acclaim of that match even in defeat. Baker had stopped dossing around too, legitimately rising up the ranks to the Number 1 spot like a looming shadow to have her crack at Shida's title. It could've been easy to give her a shot by virtue of her performance but AEW did it right - and gave Tay Conti her shot in the process - which made Baker much more valued in her title hunt.

Best - Cage upsets the Hangman At the Number 1 Spot, Hangman Page looked like he was on course to fight Kenny Omega, but when asked about this prospect Page dodged the subject entirely. The thought though would weigh on his mind in his match against Cage, where he was practically squashed in an upset fashion, it was a surprising plot twist and delays Page's clash with Kenny while also adds to Cage's reputation.

May 2021 Best - Varsity Blonds add some Hart The Varsity Blonds had done well considering that they started as being an undercard pair-up and grew into a talented young combo homaging Brian Pillman and Steve Austin's team of the Hollywood Blonds. But adding Nightmare Factory upstart Julia Hart just added the missing piece for the blonds, as a trio they look the part, and their rise feels earned as they put on a great showing against the Bucks.

Worst - QT loses to Cody after all that Cody's Ace Problem had transitioned to the point where QT Marshall was picked to turn on him next, collecting a small portion of the Nightmare Factory who felt that the students were secondary to Cody's ego. When it came to the exhibition Cody won by DQ, but got assaulted by the Factory, so when they had a proper match we had a choice: elevate this new faction or have their leader lose, guess which they chose? QT tapped out to the Figure Four and Cody prevailed.

Best - SCU put it on the line For several months, SCU had put a challenge on themselves that if they lost in tag competition (not singles or battle royales) they would split up. It had worked well because they were undefeated since, but being at the top of the rankings with a heel Young Bucks signalled the inevitable clash between the two teams. The question would be could the Bucks really end the team they welcomed to AEW on Day 1, their friends, the first World Tag Champions of their company, and the answer was yes. A bloodied affair of near falls and the Bucks hamming up any emotional bonds they once had led to a fantastic match that has put a tragic end to SCU.

Worst - SCU's embrace is cut short But immediately after that we cut to Mox and Eddie trashing their locker room. AEW would return to show SCU's final embrace but a 'previously on' is not as effective as seeing it when the wound is fresh, it was the end of a partnership that had spanned a decade, all the way back to Fortune, Bad Influence and then The Addiction, it deserved the time to linger.

Best - Blood and Guts! Last year it was planned that the Elite would face the Inner Circle in a WarGames-esque match called Blood and Guts. But COVID had prevented this, so we changed to Stadium Stampede. With the Inner Circle feuding with the newfly formed Pinnacle, AEW made the right call in bringing Blood and Guts back a year later to clash the two factions against one another. And it truly did live up to its names, a brutish match which cemented the Pinnacle as one of AEW's top factions.

Worst - Blood and Guts (nor Stadium Stampede II) doesn't finish the feud Big gimmick matches like these should be feud enders, but AEW wanted to put the two factions at odds again. With the threat of disbanding, the Inner Circle got a rematch for Double or Nothing for Stadium Stampede and while it wasn't bad fans did feel that the feud should've ended at Blood and Guts. In addition, Stadium Stampede wouldn't even finish their beef as they look to divide into 3 mini-feuds again.

Best - Miro crushes Darby Without Kip, Miro was a monster and he immediately went for gold. A perfect usurper for Darby Allin's TNT title reign, Miro destroyed the fearless and near-indestructible daredevil - who was protected from the squash because Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky had thrown him down some stairs last week - his look over to Sting as they both accepted that they were likely losing this match was a great moment between Miro's destructive force. And as TNT champion Miro is great, his thanking of God for various things are both charming and hilarious but he also manages to pair it with psychotic menace, long may the Best Man reign.

Worst - Cody's American Dream wins over Ogogo's valid points After submitting QT in his match, Cody's celebrations were cut off by Anthony Ogogo, the Olympic Bronze Medallist and former Boxer in QT's Factory, who KO'd Cody and covered him with the UK flag. A feud with Ogogo could've been the saving face moment for the Factory but instead Cody opted to zone in on the flag thing. Painting Ogogo as the 'Anti-American Foreign Heel' did not sit well for anyone who wasn't an uber-American 'Patriot' since the concept was heavily outdated, in addition Ogogo was making real valid points about why he disliked America: pointing out the gross flaws in the country's healthcare system and Cody would reply with how his pregnant wife and unborn daughter were black, choking up his words to garner sympathy. This all falls flat given how Ogogo is also black and never once implied that Cody was a racist. With the chance to put over the Factory with a charismatic young competitor, Cody instead decided to win without even using a finisher - because it was Memorial Day Weekend and America always wins, at this point the Factory remain pretty tainted now since Cody has beaten every member he's faced (and Dustin beat the other one). Saying things worked out on 'Focus Groups' didn't help Cody's defense as to why the feud went the way it did either, it was an outdated narrative with a result that all but screws over the Factory.

Best - The Forbidden Door opens again While none have risen the heights of KENTA's shocking arrival, the Forbidden Door did remain open for some more appearances from NJPW's personnel. Yuji Nagata made a big return to TNT to fight Moxley for the IWGP US Championship but also Ren Narita and Rocky Romero made appearances, the latter having a mini Roppongi Vice reunion with Trent. AEW had also extended the forbidden door to DDT with Konosuke Takeshita impressing on AEW's first house show and on Elevation, and recently a Joker Card appearance for Lio Rush.

Best - Shida gets recognized, and a revamped title After a year of holding the AEW Women's Championship Hikaru Shida had been the subject of criticism from neckbeards acting like she was the 'female Brock Lesnar'. Some were annoyed that Shida's title reign had lasted so long and were blind to the fact that this was clearly intended so Baker could win in front of a crowd. The Dynamite before Double or Nothing though AEW did right by recognizing Shida's work ethic and title reign and by presenting her with a new and larger Women's Championship. While people may complain that they could've unveiled this new title at the PPV I felt it was right to at least let Shida enter the PPV with this title considering how long she had held the Women's Division down. Some poor builds aside, Shida had carried the division with strong matches and worked behind the scenes as well for improving the division, as well as producing the Women's Eliminator Tournament. In this house we do not disrespect Hikaru Shida.

Best - Double or Nothing 2021 And we end on the crescendo, and what a crescendo. The full-time return of fans were graced with an excellently feel-good PPV - aside from Cody beating Ogogo - which had all the competitors perform at a high level. Starting hot, giving Jungle Boy a big unexpected win, Mark Henry debuting and topping it off with Stadium Stampede signed off a big and entertaining year for AEW and closing off with the returning crowd chanting Judas: masterful chef kiss level idea.

The aftermath of DoN while mentioned will probably not be touched on next year because damn were these posts long, but at the very least I did it for WWE and AEW as I said I would. Let's hope that both companies can rise to higher heights and avoid lower lows in the next year when we retread these ppvs again.

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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years ago

Text

i can hear the echoes of the past

written by: @havocsss and @hyuroiofficial

summary: Roy had lost - traded - his vision, in exchange for this monster to wear Hughes’ skin [an illustrated fic]

read on ao3

ship: hyuroi | rating: t | words: 3187 | tags: hyuroi, canon character death, blind!roy, homunculus!hughes, emotional manipulation, implied alcohol abuse, one-sided attraction

an: this is an illustrated fic on ao3. all the fantastic artwork has been created by the brilliant mind of @hyuroiofficial. you can find their tumblr post containing the artwork here

“Yo, Roy!”

Roy froze in place. His head whipped around of its own accord, trying to see where the voice was coming from, but it was a pointless search. His eyesight was gone and no matter how hard he willed himself to see, it would never happen.

But still… That jovial greeting. That voice… Roy knew it.

It was not the first time he thought he’d heard it. The voice was something that haunted his nearly every waking moment. With gritted teeth, Roy forced himself to continue forward.

It’s not real. Stop it! His brain shouted, but it did nothing to stop his mind from conjuring the sound of the late Maes Hughes. Roy would scream and yell until he went mad with it, trying to rid himself of such a cruel trick.

There were times when the deep reverberation of Hughes’ imagined voice echoing through the confines of his skull reassured Roy, pushed him forward and fueled him, but now Roy became completely unsettled by it. The uncomfortable feeling coiled inside of his gut, threatening to crawl up his spine and arrest his movements completely.

“Ignoring me? Well, that’s just rude,” Hughes scoffed playfully.

“Shut up,” Roy muttered through his teeth. Not real, not real, not real. It was a mantra that sounded in time with the loud patter of his footsteps.

His body was viciously jerked to the side. Vicious for Roy, because of his blindness. Being beyond the gate had seen to that. His cane dropped from his grasp in surprise, hitting the ground with a loud clatter. Instinctively he reached for his pocket to get his gloves, but a hand quickly batted it away.

Hughes tutted. “As if I didn’t expect a move like that,” he chuckled. “I’ve known you too long, Roy.”

This was not Maes Hughes. He was dead -

“Wh - What?” Roy gasped in pain as the grip on his arm grew stronger. There was something sharp on his bicep, threatening to cut through his clothes with a heavy stinging pressure. It might have already sliced through. If only I could see!

Jerking his arm free from the grasp, Roy stumbled as the arm pushed him forward. It left him off balance and unaware of what direction he was facing. From the smell of damp and food waste, they could be in an alleyway. However, without his sight and after being thrown so off kilter by the sudden supposed appearance of his very dead friend, Roy was unable to determine where the exit was. He cursed his lack of attention to his surroundings. He used to be a military man, his lack of sight leading to his early retirement. The military had no use for a dog that couldn’t see. But with Roy’s past military experience he shouldn’t have been reduced to such useless stature, regardless of who was in front of him and no matter how much they used to mean to Roy.

“Hey.” Roy could almost picture the grin on this person’s face. It was evident in their light, flirty tone.

“What do you want?” Roy growled. He wouldn’t have someone trying to cruelly trick him into thinking his best friend, his… They had been so much more than best friends at one point… The memories of what had been - what could have been if they’d only allowed it to blossom further - flooded Roy. It weaved through his ribs like ivy and strangled the oxygen from his lungs, leaving him suddenly breathless.

“It’s me, Hughes!”

Roy froze again, stricken with the pain that name gave him. He was foolish to think he could hear Hughes’ name without experiencing agony. No, keep it together!

“Just wanted to stop by and see how you’re doing.”

“Maes Hughes is dead,” Roy replied, forcing a deadly calm to take over his entire being. Just underneath the surface of his skin, anger was beginning to bubble. His fury was a fiery thing, like the flames of his alchemy, as it hotly licked through his veins. How dare this person try to impersonate Hughes -

Roy grunted as his back hit something solid and hard, the air temporarily knocked out of him with the shock of it. A hand gripped his hip, but not painfully, nearly gentle, yet in a mocking fashion. A thumb slipped underneath his suit jacket, caressing Roy’s skin softly through his white shirt. Roy shivered despite himself. The other hand tangled in Roy’s hair as he voiced a protest, only for it to be swallowed by wanton lips. Teeth nipped at Roy’s bottom lip and he groaned.

He knew that mouth. The kiss was all too reminiscent of something that had been precious to Roy, no matter how short lived that something had been.

“Now are you convinced?” Hughes murmured quietly. Roy shook as Hughes’ hand caressed the skin of his jaw, crawling slowly up to tangle in Roy’s hair. But… The nails were sharp. They dug into his scalp with a whisper - with a threat - of pain. Yet where Hughes’ touch had always been kind, this touch taunted him, bordering on cruelty. “Humans have been known to say they always remember a touch of a lover.”

Maes Hughes is dead. You were at his funeral.

Roy shoved the man off and away from him, wiping the back of his hand over his swollen lips. The teeth that had nipped at him had not been kind. In the spur of the moment, the remembrance of his past lover’s touch, Roy had been lost to it. Now, his lips stung.

“Wh… What are you?” Roy whispered. He cursed his inability to see. He needed to verify what was happening with his own eyes. Despite his distrust, hope was building in his chest, a fruitless thing. Feelings that had long lain dormant were beginning to rebloom, like a flower in spring.

“It’s me, Roy. It’s Maes.” Hughes pleaded all false promises.

Roy shook his head. “He’s dead. He died. I was at the funeral. I tried…” Bile stopped him from talking further, bitter and thick on his tongue. The guilt and the shame of what he’d done haunting him.

“I know you attempted the transmutation,” Hughes replied. Roy heard him step closer and his body tensed, every muscle pulled taunt with encroaching panic.

He had to attempt it, his grief had been too palatable, a world without Hughes too heavy a burden to bear. The loss of Hughes had consumed him, pushed him, and left Roy recollecting everything he’d learned on human transmutation years ago to finally put it into action.

“And I know it failed. Or could it be considered a failure, if I’m here now? Regardless, it’s all because of you, so thank you. And…” Roy knew that sickening smirk was back. “I thought I’d show you it was really me.” Hughes’ voice was low and soft, a nearly inaudible whisper that left Roy leaning nearer. Almost like it had been when they shared tangled limbs, lips, and breaths back in academy…

They’d never had much more than that, nothing more than youthful foolish passion. Or so Roy told himself. But it didn’t stop the feelings he held for Hughes from developing further. Nothing could stop that. Nothing could stop the way his heart beat hard against his ribcage every time Maes Hughes smiled at him or slung a muscular arm across Roy’s shoulder. Or when Hughes was so close Roy could smell the coffee on his breath. They were feelings Roy forced himself to swallow. They would not further his goal and would only torment him.

He was unsure if Hughes knew of his feelings for him and how deeply they were rooted. Obviously, Hughes had made his choice and he’d married Gracia. Roy respected that and would support his decision completely, because Hughes’ happiness was of the utmost importance. But it didn’t stop Roy from loving him, from aching and yearning alone at night, a once full bottle of whisky in his weakened grasp. Anything Roy could get, whether it was friendship or simply being an acquaintance due to their past, Roy would take, would eagerly devour. He was always thankful Hughes had decided to keep him in his life.

“I can’t trust that… Or you,” Roy admitted in a whisper.

“I know you can’t,” Hughes replied casually. It sounded like he shrugged. “But it was a nice way to try to convince you. Probably the best way, actually, seeing as you were about to set me alight.”

Roy’s blood ran cold at the reminder. That simmering anger was making itself known again, spilling forth into the forefront of his mind. It coursed through him quickly, almost leaving him breathless. A reminder that this can’t be real. Not in the way he wanted it to be. Not in the way his alcohol riddled brain dreamed of.

He’d never seen his failed transmutation. He couldn’t after what the gate took from him. Hawkeye had cleared it away for him. She told him what it was like and that grotesque image he’d created from her description would be burned into his mind for the rest of his days. Another horror added to the long list of those he’d cultivated already.

You tried the transmutation. Maes Hughes is dead.

“You’re not real,” Roy muttered, shaking his head, resolute in his denial. Hughes sighed heavily. “What have you done -?” Roy growled.

“Jeez, Roy. I haven’t done anything. It’s me. Hughes. Well,” he added the smug tone returning to the conversation. Roy’s nauseous stomach rolled with it. “Not exactly. And I prefer the name Lust now. It’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“What?” Roy paled.

“Yeah, I like it! Okay, maybe this will convince you. In the academy, we used to sneak away to the guard tower and kiss until we couldn’t breathe anymore.” His voice grew closer, like he was approaching slowly.

Or like a lion stalking its prey.

If it were possible, Roy paled further, suddenly cold. He remembered it clearly and always would, in the way the memories were just as much a blessing as a curse. The feel of Hughes’ calloused palms framing his face, the adrenaline that coursed through Roy’s veins at the thought of getting caught. They’d been young and reckless, eighteen, hidden away in the empty tower as moonlight painted their skin silver.

“Hughes was very aware of your feelings for him, but downplayed it. Then, he met and married his wife.” If Roy hadn’t been shaking, he would have smacked the smirk off this thing’s face. “He left you behind, choosing her over you. But he never forgot. He kept you in his life, kept you close, just to see if you’d ever snap. He knew you wanted to.” Hughes’ voice dropped low. Dangerously so. Roy’s breath hitched when he felt Hughes’ hot words ghost over the skin of his face. “He always admired your self control,” Hughes chuckled.

“That’s a lie. You’re not Hughes,” Roy whispered, sweat collecting anxiously at the nape of his neck. Hughes would never be so manipulative or callous towards him. Yet still it pained Roy to hear.

“In a way… No, I guess I’m not. But I’m so much better.” He said violently, the smirk reappearing in his tone.

“Lieutenant Colonel… Hughes?”

Roy stiffened. The voice came from behind him. It sounded so frightened, so shocked.

Edward and Alphonse.

Roy had been so distracted he hadn’t heard the boys approach.

“Hey, kids,” Hughes greeted.

“Wh…” The clank of metal shifting signalled Al’s armored steps. He stopped dead in his tracks a few feet away. Roy didn’t blame him. If Roy could see Hughes, he would have had the same reaction. But Roy had lost - traded - his vision, in exchange for this monster to wear Hughes’ skin.

“What are you?” Edward barked, immediately on the defensive.

“Ed?” Alphonse asked quietly. Surprise still laced his tone as he tried to recover from his shock.

“Look at his clothes, Al. And that tattoo. What are you doing?” Ed repeated, raising his voice to call over to Hughes.

“I think you can guess. I imagine you already know,” Hughes replied, his tone full of smug cruelty.

“Mustang, get away from him. Please!” Alphonse begged.

It made sense they’d connected the dots right away. Hughes must be wearing the homunculus’ style of clothing. And the tattoo… Roy’s stomach flipped, sickeningly. He swallowed hard against it. He hadn’t even thought about a damn tattoo.

“That’s not Lieutenant Colonel Hughes,” Edward snarled. “And how dare you use his face!”

Heavy footsteps rushed forwards, approaching at a rapid pace. Edward was charging, ready to fight, but Roy seized up with one thought alone inside his head. That can’t happen.

Roy reached out frantically, and miraculously, his arms snaked around Edward’s torso. He gripped hard, as if all their lives depend on it - and maybe they did. Roy stopped the teenager from getting any closer. A part of him, the largest part, had his instincts screaming at him to protect Edward. Without his sight Roy couldn’t fully assess the risk Hughes’ posed, but Roy deemed him dangerous enough. His heart wanted to believe Hughes would never harm Ed or him, however his head won out. And Roy may not be the boy’s commanding officer anymore, but he would still protect Edward as best he could.

A smaller, more vulnerable part of him, that swelled within the cavity of his chest and was ruled by the pulse of his heart, told Roy not to let anyone harm Hughes. It was Hughes’ voice he’d heard. It was Hughes’ touch that had graced Roy’s skin, regardless of the hint of cruelty that had been there… Roy recognised it and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt Hughes. Not after he’d just been returned to Roy. Losing Hughes a second time was a weight that Roy wasn’t sure he could carry.

Edward fought, and fought hard, swearing and pushing with his efforts to escape Roy’s grasp, but Roy’s grip was ironclad. He wouldn’t let go. He wouldn’t let Hughes’ hurt Edward and in turn, he wouldn’t let Ed hurt Hughes.

“Brother, calm down -!” Al peeped, metallic and echoing in his armored suit.

The thunder of two gunshots sounded. Roy’s body tensed, expecting a blow, but none came. Quick steps moved towards him, causing Roy to grip onto Edward tighter. Whatever new threat had arrived, Roy would do his best to protect the boys.

“I’ll be back to see you soon, Roy.” The emphasis Hughes made on his name caused Roy to shudder, a steady set of tremors travelling down his spine. Not in anticipation, but in fear. It was foreboding. So unlike the Maes Hughes he once knew.

In the group’s startled moment, Hughes took advantage and darted off. Roy, unable to watch him disappear, listened to the sound of his shoes dissipate down the alley until there was no sound at all. His heart sunk to the pit of his gut. The floor collapsing beneath his feet.

The following silence was all encompassing as Edward stopped struggling. The fight had gone from him so Roy loosened his grip. Roy’s knees shook and he felt himself falling steadily to the ground. He landed with a thud, but there was no pain. Only disbelief as it caused his limbs to shake. His palms were sweating against the legs of his slacks while gripping his thighs in an attempt to quell his trembles.

“That… That was... Lieutenant Colonel Hughes…” Alphonse whispered from behind him.

The sound of heavy footsteps approached, but Roy barely registered it, too lost in his clouded haze of sorrow and shock.

“Is… Is that how you really lost your eyesight?” Edward asked. Then his tone turned hard and unforgiving. “Is it?” he growled.

Roy didn’t reply, didn't need to, his sins so very apparent. Even if Hughes never held him again, never kissed Roy’s lips or professed his love again, Roy’s motivations behind his transmutation were simple. Roy just wanted to see his friend - the one that held his heart always - smile at him again. However, because of his efforts, he'd never see again.

“What did you do?” Edward shouted, suddenly very close to Roy’s face, breath hot and angry.

It was ironic, Roy thought, that Edward should face him with such fury - a fury Roy felt deserving of - for if anyone could understand Roy’s drive to see a loved one again, it would be Edward. But perhaps it was that understanding that left young Edward so shaken.

“Edward.” The bark was short and sharp, a warning. Roy would recognise it anywhere. The new voice explained the sudden gunshots perfectly. In the heat of the moment, and with the fear of Hughes’ warning, Roy forgot that had happened.

Suddenly, gentle hands were on him, guiding him to stand.

“On your feet, Mustang,” Hawkeye commanded. Her tone was soft so it didn’t jarr him too roughly back to reality. “Here,” Hawkeye murmured. The familiar shape of his cane was pressed into Roy’s shaking hands. He gripped it tightly, the certainty of it a reassuring thing even as his fingers quivered around it.

“Th - Thank you, Hawkeye.”

"What was that, Sir?" He wasn't her superior anymore, but old habits die hard, Roy supposed.

"It was him."

"Who?" Riza urged. She was on edge. Roy heard it in the swiftness of her question.

Roy paled, finally admitting it for the first time to himself. The reality of what he’d done - what he created - was crushing. "Maes Hughes."

No one spoke. Silence fell as Roy tried to get his breathing under control. The only sound in the small alley was the desperate gasps of his inhales and frantic wheeze of his exhales.

“All right, Sir,” Hawkeye agreed quietly, and he was grateful for her continued kindness and support despite his faults. She was his best friend and Roy owed her, for so many things, for not refuting him, for allowing him, no matter how false, the image of Maes Hughes he clung to. She grasped his arm carefully, tugging him forward, encouraging him to walk. “Let’s get back to the car.”

Roy knew from the tone of her voice she didn’t quite believe him, but she didn't argue. Not yet, and Roy didn’t blame her. Hell, he wouldn’t have believed it either, if it weren’t for the press of Hughes’ eager lips against his own and the deep rumble of Hughes’ voice through his chest. They were familiar things, even if now they haunted him and stained him with fear and uncertainty. Roy wasn’t ready to let the frightening comfort of their familiarity go yet. They branded him - consumed him - and he allowed it. Even as his common sense returned and his heart rate slowed, he was struggling to accept everything.

Roy was glad Hawkeye was giving him this small solace. For now, anyway. Because as Maes Hughes had spoken - threatened - he’d be back again soon.

And Roy would be waiting.

#hyuroi #hyuroi fic #hyuroi fanfic #hyuroiofficial #collab fic #emma writes #i can hear the echoes of the past

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o-daintyduck · 4 years ago

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I would make a Kylo Ren and TLJ Post on the same subject too where Rian Johnson had Rey and Ben grapple with the realities of the Galaxy and Ben's idea of starting over anew ("Let the past die. Kill it if you have to") which was flat out rejected by Rey (she left him crying on the floor you guys) But I don't have the analytical energy for Star Wars right now

“The closer rebel characters come to a definable ideology, the more likely they are to be written as villains. At the same time, the emotive aspects of rebellion - the heroism of the underdog, the thrill of fighting the power - are rendered safe for public consumption by taking out any explicit political ideology. … The effect of all this is to suggest that violence is somehow more sympathetic the less its perpetrators believe - that heroism decreases the more detailed your policy proposals get. If Luke Skywalker was fighting for galactic communism, or Daenerys intended to create a series of peasants’ councils to govern Westeros, or Harry Potter wanted to smash the Ministry of Magic and overturn wizard supremacy, we would have to confront serious and difficult questions about when political violence is appropriate, for whose benefit, and for what purposes. I don’t believe those are questions pop culture is incapable of asking. They are questions we do not want to ask.”

— Alister MacQuarrie, Outlaw Kings and Rebellion Chic (via secularbakedgoods)

#since they basically threw all that juicy potential to change what star wars means to people down the garbage chute and I'll never not be #mad about it #star wars #the last Jedi #Rian Johnson #Ben Solo #kylo Ren #Rey #the world is full of deadly monsters(aDE post tag)

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mca-attack21 · 5 years ago

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Riverdale: Deadly Definitions 5

AN: I don’t know how I feel about this part, but we will see. @l4life

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Tuesday started off as a good day. You woke up in the Andrews’ home to the smell of pancakes which brought both memories and a smile.

“Good Morning Y/n, I hope I didn’t wake you” Mr. Andrews said as you entered the kitchen.

“You didn’t, the smell of the best pancakes in Riverdale may have though” you laughed.

“So, tell me what you have been up to, I haven’t seen you around much lately.”

“Same old, same old. I go to school, go to the Drive-In, go to Pop’s, hang out with Jughead.” you answer, “Not much has really changed”.

“Have you put any more thought into what you want to do after High School?” he asked stacking pancakes on your plate.

“I don’t know. College would be nice, but it’ll depend on the whole money situation.”

“Well, it wouldn’t pay a lot, but with Archie doing football and music I could use some help in the office at the site. You’d organize paperwork, answer the phones, that kind of stuff. If you are interested” he offered.

“That sounds amazing Mr. Andrews” you chimed.

“You can walk over after school and I can give you rides afterwards. Where are you staying nowadays anyways?” he asked.

“Here and there. I don’t like to burden anyone for too long” you laughed.

You could tell that there was more he wanted to say on the subject, but he was interrupted by Archie who came clambering down the stairs.

“You guys started without me” he acted offended.

“Well maybe if it didn’t take you an hour and a half to do your hair.” you joked.

“What can I say, it’s both a blessing and a curse to look this good” Archie returned.

“Oh, how I have missed this” Mr. Andrews added.

The conversation continued with much laughter. Eventually, you and Archie had to go to school. You wished Archie luck with his conversation with the Sheriff, reminding him that he was doing the right thing. And then you went to join Jughead in Biology, where everything started to go down hill. That is when the Sheriff came in and Cheryl stood up admitting she was guilty.

Now to be fair, she didn’t admit in front of the class to what she was guilty. And it was very much in character for Cheryl to create drama. Still, it was an interesting turn of events to say the least. But the soon enough the whispers died down and the day went on as normal.

During lunch Veronica was appalled because her date from a few days ago, Chuck, posted a picture with a caption about a sticky maple. Within the hour everyone was slut-shaming her. So she and Betty did some digging, and this had happened to many girls at Riverdale High. It had something to do with a playbook and the football team. The were determined to get proof and revenge.

While they chased answers, you decided to tag along as Jughead went to interrogate Doiley and his scouts. This interrogation would give you both good news and bad news. The good news was that Doiley was the one who shot the gun, and the scouts witnessed that the bullet went into the target. The bad news is that they also saw Miss Grundy's car, which could incriminate Archie.

Speaking of Archie, he did tell the police. Well he told them that he was there, with Vegas… When this got back to his Dad, he was less than pleased as he had been told that Archie went camping with Jughead. Tired of the lies and attitude, Mr. Andrews decided to ground his son for two weeks. Archie groaned but accepted his fate, that is until Josie offered for him to come watch and learn from the Pussycats, this week only. So Archie did what he had done many times before and snuck out.

He was excited about his music. He was looking at a spot as captain of the football team. He had his friends back. Everything was going well for him. Too bad that in a town like Riverdale, nothing good can last.

Through working on the Blue and Gold with Jughead, Betty had come to find out about Archie and Miss Grundy. And because Betty is the way she is, she pulled Veronica into a full-on investigation. They found out that Miss Grundy didn’t exist before moving to Riverdale. Her real name was Jennifer Gibson. And she had a gun in her car. Betty decided to confront Archie with this information. Partially because she loved him and wanted to look out for him and partially because she was still hurt over the entire situation.

Jughead and you were doing an investigation of your own. The Drive-In was closing. And to say that Jughead was upset was an understatement. He had always considered the drive in like a second home. It had been bought by an anonymous bidder and would be demolished within the week. So you were trying to figure out who bought it in order to save it. But the mayor wouldn’t budge. So then it was about saying goodbye. It was your job to make the last showing the best showing, with American Graffiti.

You had a surprising turnout, the most tickets sold in one night since the opening. It was bittersweet. Afterwards, you and Jug looked around the office. The two of you had so many memories of working together in that room. It was the place he would crash when he and his Dad were fighting. And the place you would come when you needed to think. It was sad to say goodbye, but you had no choice. So the two of you packed your belongings and a few mementos before shutting and locking the door behind you for the last time.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Alice Cooper was striking again. She found Betty’s diary and because Betty is thorough, she found out everything about Archie and Miss Grundy. So she took it upon herself to drag Fred and her daughter to the school, where they interrupted Archie and Miss Grundy. Little did they know that Archie was just about to do the right thing and cut off all ties to his music teacher. But that didn’t matter now, Alice Cooper was involved. She threatened to go to the police. She had a personal vendetta against Archie Andrews and wanted her daughter to see once and for all what a monster the red headed kid really was. Fortunately, after being called out and blackmailed by Betty, she decided to drop it as long as Miss Grundy quit her job and left town by morning. Archie objected, but his Dad pulled him away.

Betty sent you a text explaining what happened and asking you to make sure Archie was okay. So for the second night in a row, you found yourself at the Andrews’ house. This time though you climbed a tree and snuck over to Archie’s room where you lightly tapped on his window.

“Archie” you whisper shouted tapping again. This time you saw movement. Archie came over to the window to see what the noise was. He was surprised to see you and had to fidget with the window for a moment before it opened.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he helped you into his room.

“Betty told me what happened and I wanted to make sure that you were okay” you answered.

“Honestly? I don’t know what I feel right now”

“I mean that’s understandable, you were ambushed.”

“Yeah, I wish Betty would have just let me handle it.”

“You know that she was just trying to look out for you”

“Yeah. But she doesn’t know when to stop.” Archie rolled his eyes, “The worst part is that if they were ten minutes later this entire thing would have been over.”

“What do you mean Arch?”

“The reason I was with Grundy tonight was to tell her that it was over. I was canceling our lessons and wasn’t going to see her anymore.” he answered, “now she is losing her job and having to leave Riverdale because of me”.

“It isn’t your fault Archie, and maybe it is for the best. She can get a fresh start and you can move on.” you try.

“But that is the thing Y/n. She was the only one who believed in me and my music. I needed her help with it. So now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Well, I can help you with your music. Believe it or not I know my way around a piano, plus I’ve written before,”

“Really? That would be great.”

“Fun fact, I too believe in you Archie Andrews. You deserve the world, and your music matters.”

“Thanks Y/n, that means a lot.”

“Is there anything else on your mind?” you ask not wanting to keep him up.

“No I think I good.” he answered.

“Well then I’m going to sneak out, we can talk about when to do music tomorrow. Keep your head up Archie, things will get better. Goodnight.” you say as you go towards the window.

“Goodnight Y/n” he called after you.

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dirtyretrowrites · 7 years ago

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The Solar Clan 1

Fandom: Mamamoo Pairing: Wheesa, Moonsun Rating: T (for now) Word Count: 877 Tags: Vampire AU, mafia AU, scifi, angst, sexual themes, dark themes, TW: blood, violence Summary: No one knew it at the time, but that was the beginning of the Solar Clan. The notorious Solar Clan led by Queen Yongsun, an all-female crime syndicate known for their particularly cunning and brutal methods of business. A/N: Now posted as a full chapter on AO3 and AFF.

It was human error to assume a wooden stake through the heart could kill a vampire.

Folktales of angry mobs wielding pitchforks and torches and wooden stakes, shouting profanities and ill wishes at the wretched monsters that lurked the black of night, riddled human storybooks with false moral superiority.

It wasn’t the creatures of the night who were the monsters, it was the humans. With their easily-impressionable, feeble minds, mortals eager to boast their self-proclaimed righteousness tainted the twilight with their hatred for any who were different.

A time came when those who were different struck back. Armed with sharp claws and sharper teeth, those who were different drew blood. Upon the morning glory of their bloodbath, those who were different retreated into caves and caverns, leaving only bloodless caracasses for the buzzards to pick at.

Over time, isolation influenced evolution. Those who were different, those who sought blood, had violence coerced into their genetics as they hunted live meals. Village elders of human communities taught the children never to wander beyond the swamps where bones bleached white by sunlight built great ivory castles among the marsh. The savages who lived there, they explained to the children, were called vampires.

To err was human—but it was the error of the vampire to allow a human into their heart. Wooden stakes didn’t kill vampires, human compassion did.

In a time where humans understood very little about the world around them, vampirekind evolved greatly. Human medicine was weak, their streets were rancid, and their minds were infantile. Religion and politics scandalized civilizations, hindering human progress.

In 541 AD, the first pandemic of plague swept through the Mediterranean basin, killing most of the civilized world. As humans perished, vampires fed off their decaying bodies—consuming rich, healthy blood was impossible due to the devastation of the living population. In its destructive wake, the lingering plague introduced neophyte immunity to vampiric genetics from their desperate survival tactics.

In the thirteenth century, the second pandemic of plague pillaged Europe so swiftly, it was remembered by history as The Black Death. Humans, still infantile in their progress through earth’s timeline, took to cloaking themselves in heavy, black gowns with thick gloves, spectacles, and a bird-like mask that stowed bundles of dried herbs. They called themselves plague doctors, and they visited the homes of the sick to splice the buboes of plague on their ill-stricken bodies. Their efforts were futile, for The Black Death had permeated every crevice of Europe. Death was unavoidable, inevitable. Too few humans remained to even bury their dead.

Again, human bodies adorned the streets for hungry vampires to feast off of. Some vampires were not as lucky as others—perhaps they were sired from a poor bloodline—and The Black Death claimed them too. For those who survived, the exposure bolstered their neophyte immunity, evolving their very genes to withstand the perils of humankind.

And for some humans, if they begged on their hands and knees with tears in their eyes and sorrow in their hearts, vampirekind would grant them a merciful death so they would not wither from The Black Death. One woman in particular, the daughter of a merchant and a woman of childbearing age, did not beg for death—she begged for life, to be undead, to carry the spite she nursed in her bosom since her birth into the afterlife.

No one knew it at the time, but that was the beginning of the Solar Clan. The notorious Solar Clan led by Queen Yongsun, an all-female crime syndicate known for their particularly cunning and brutal methods of business.

Queen Yongsun wasn’t always a queen. To be a queen meant to slay and to conquer. In a world dominated by men and kings, a woman had to be undeniably terrifying to steal the crown. Yongsun was out for blood.

In just short of a decade, Yongsun shook the vampire world by slaughtering the elder who sired her, claiming he was ‘too delicate of a man to carry out business.’ Murder of an elder was more than disrespectful, it was heinous. In a time when the Council of Elders ordered for a more civilized existence of vampirekind—hoping to permanently stow away memories of blatant savagery of decaying human bodies due to catastrophic thirst for blood in times of old—Yongsun rebelled in the worst way.

She was shunned by traditionalist vampires. A target on her back, she dodged attempts at her life for years. She fed for sustenance, and if her mortal victim was pretty, she’d turn them; promising her fledgling vampire childe the world, she fueled them with empty compliments and great sex—unbeknownst to them, she used them as pawns in the deadly game she played with the Council of Elders. Bloodlust consumed her just as rage did.

All empathy she felt as a human died the night she sliced the last remaining elder’s throat.

That was the night vampirekind saw a shift in power. Vampirekind was now a matriarchy led by the most gruesome, beautiful vampiress to have ever lived.

With Queen Yongsun, a new bloodline impervious to human illness began. A bloodline, the Solar Clan, cradling human civilization in its bloody hands. A bloodline so divine it was beyond human error, vampire error, all error…

Or so she thought.

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o-daintyduck · 3 years ago

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still, we were all

It was already blindingly obvious to me that he would be the last one out the gate on graduation day

- E higgins about, about Orion Lake in A Deadly Education: chapter 6.

Oh El, my girl...

#the signs were there ofc #smh #meanwhile i was all worried that El would be the one lol #the last graduate #a deadly education #spoilers #the world is full of deadly monsters(ade post tag)

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pendragonfics · 7 years ago

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About Me Or The Devil

My Soul’s Freezing: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Paring: Armitage Hux/Reader

Tags: female reader, reader is a princess, arranged marriage AU, married couple, sharing a bed, canon compliant, set after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Hux-centric, reader-centric, angst, canon-typical violence, fluff, uneasy allies

Summary: Reader is the illegitimate firstborn to a King, a false princess. Her father signs a treaty with the First Order, who in turn for peace for her home planet, offers a marriage between General Armitage Hux and Reader. Little do they know of her bloodlines, and of the General himself.

Armitage can't understand your silence, and you cannot bear to be near a man as feared and deadly as the leader of the First Order. Help from those around comes in handy.

Word Count: 3,519

Posting Date: 2016-11-31

Current Date: 2017-06-08

HUX

Life went on for Armitage from that day. He wasn't sure why he thought that thought, but it was in his mind, nonetheless. He donned his suit, left early in the morning, and continued his work as the finest General the First Order had seen in their current times. He spared a thought for his new wife, thinking of how she appeared in the bed as he crept from it before the wee hours; her hair a mess upon the pillow, eyes closed tight as if dreaming of her fears and other unpleasantness. She was yet to say a word to him, and Armitage did not mind. He only spoke to her because, well, they were married, and he needed to be places and do important things. If anything, he wished the whole affair could be forgotten, and then maybe after time, they would warm up to one another.

Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka milled around the vicinity, keeping an eye on all the workers that he could not see while back turned. He had given him a promotion, after Kylo Ren had throttled him, and now Mitaka was away from the likes of the Darth Vader's grandson, he seemed to be more at ease, and more dedicated to his work.

"I see you're the wedded man, now, General." The modulated voice spoke behind Armitage. Without needing to turn, he knew it to be Kylo Ren, Snoke's student himself. He was finally out of the medbay's infirmary, and gladly so. It was apparent he had began to, while on the better half of the mend, torment his nurses and doctors with Jedi mind tricks and taunting them with the force. He didn't like it when his people were demeaned. "Ah, and your ring? Shouldn't you be wearing it?"

"I am wearing it, Ren, you of all people should know jewellery is not regulation nor does fit over fitted gloves," He gritted. The force user nodded, and he added, "Besides, why do you care? Before you know it, Snoke might have found you a bride, or groom of your own," he taunted his counterpart.

Kylo Ren nodded. "I sense something at unrest with you, General. Be it that perhaps, your home life has come to frighten you into acting a way?" But the words he spoke were not taunts. They were as clear a day an observation, an invasion of Armitage's thoughts and feelings.

"Stop fishing in my mind," he growled.

"Stop projecting your insecurities," he retorted, as if they were not two grown men, wearing black and bickering upon a fighter ship within the depths of space. "We, General, have not much in common with one another, but if there is one thing I know better than the Force, it is that we both share difficult childhoods, and have bitter memories.

---

READER

It was four days after the wedding, and yet, you were to speak a word to your husband. Perhaps he preferred it that way; you weren't sure, and sure as the stars were not about to ask him. The betrayal of your bloodline, your father selling you like a mule to marry a pompous red-headed merciless man, your step-mother treating you like manure all of your life to be treated like one of her own, full-blooded daughters in the trade for peace. And the fact that, when you walked down the room four days ago, the General, Armitage Hux had looked almost human, seemed and sounded so until the spell had broken, and work needed to be completed.

In four days, you had lay by yourself on the farthest side of the bed, curled into your own body like a mite in a wall seeking warmth. You had prepared dinner, for yourself and your husband, to find he had already eaten out at the cafeteria in the base, woken early, too early to be awake to see him leave you a lukewarm half of the bed smelling of his cologne and the crisp scent of metal.

You had sat around in his living quarters, in varying states of boredom, hoping -- praying that you could find the courage to speak to him, like a human being should. Your voice was starting to go, having not be used as often as you had talked back on your home planet, accustoming itself to whispering to yourself for fear of being heard, murmuring lullabies when the bed was empty when you went to bed to lull yourself to rest.

There was one thing, that was good about being alone, especially being alone with a Datapad that your husband had allotted to you. It meant that with all the wild thoughts you were thinking, the untamable side of you that you'd thought been because of your bad bloodline, could come out into words. Into poetry.

"I see you found the Datapad I left for you," you jolted in the armchair, meeting the cold gaze of your husband, the General of the First Order. "I made sure it was offline, so you could not accidentally contact anyone of rank under my name, to cause trouble."

You nod. "Thank you," the words tumble out before you can catch them; they are the first words you had spoken to him. He is still for a moment, almost as if he is stunned that this is what your voice sounds like. Then, he straightens his coat, and moves toward the bedroom to change into after hours dress. "Did...did you have a good day?" you add.

Once more, his footsteps are halted. Turning, he looks to you where you are seated, and nodding, replies, "I suppose I did. Ren did not wreck any equipment," his words are factual, empty. Like food without nutrition, a body with no soul inside. "And the GT unit graduated to combat-ready troopers."

You nod. "But did you not...feel anything?" you ask him. "I mean, did you have a good day...did it feel like a good day?" I can see him hesitate, just ever so slightly before shaking his head, and marching off to change his clothes. It was almost like he was human, for a glimmer of a second, like he was something I could see anywhere, a face, and not a fascist fan of warfare, a general of the First Order. "...I wish I had someone to talk to," you mutter aloud.

---

HUX

He had never anticipated that the only man he could turn to about his home life problems was the man who had always seemed to be against him in all he wished to complete as general. Kylo Ren had always been a troubling figure, and always will be, seeing as his volatile nature had not decreased since his ass-kicking by the scavenger girl. But, when he was with a moment to spare, Armitage would find himself seeking words of wisdom from the man who had killed his own father, and abandoned his family and all he loved for a life serving Supreme Leader Snoke. How strange.

"She spoke to me yesterday," he muttered over his hot cup. It was rare that he had time for a cup Caf like a civilised human being, but here he was, standing with Kylo Ren like he had all the time in the world as their new base was being processed. "A handful of words. Wanted to know about my feelings."

Behind the mask, he made a noise. "Feelings? What useless things."

He made a humming nose, inhaling the fumes of the caffeine, the beautiful smell of productivity and rarely sourced beans. "I know. But when I answered, I don't think she liked what I said."

Kylo Ren shrugged, turning his back toward the officers in the area below where they stood on the bridge. "If I were you, I wouldn't care about what she liked. But, I'm not you, and you have to live the rest of your life with her, and you need to figure out what this young woman wants from you in order to live somewhat a little of the life you used to live." His voice is deep, but not threatening in the way he delivers the warning. It's almost like Kylo Ren is living through his actions; doing things he might have wished to do if he was not the student of Snoke. "You're not a bachelor anymore, General."

He nods. "Perhaps I need to talk to someone about...feelings...before I take it up with ________ Hux." He tips his cup back, draining the liquids into his system like fuel into a ship. It's then he wonders if the Captain has any time on her hands to talk with him.

---

READER

In the rooms, you turn the Datapad from you. It's almost like that piece of machinery is all you have now; ever since the pair of you shared words, there has been silence. It had seemed a bad idea to talk to your husband in the first place, but now it has been almost a week since, and there have been no more words spread since.

You had been raised to be a social creature, albeit, not the real deal that your sisters were, but being surrounded by one man, and a Datapad was no company for a Princess. And here you are; holed up like a hostage, wearing clothes that smelt odd, eating foods you hadn't before, sleeping beside a man who ignored you and screamed at all like he was the devil, or a demon, or even a monster, and where you were was his domain, his hell.

You mightn't have been the perfect princess by blood, or by training, but there was one thing you sure could do, and that was write. Even if it was terrible, it was out of your head; one less thought buzzing around like a mysterious bee's case solved. It wasn't long until your fingers were dancing over the Datapad's keypad like spiders with tap-dancing shoes, the words spelling poetry that had poisoned your mind to paralysis until that moment. You expelled the thoughts, all of the thoughts; the terror of your father abandoning you like he did, the marriage, the trauma of leaving your home planet for an indefinite (most likely for the rest of your life), being near the man who had ordered the death of people under the name of the First Order.

The door opened.

You slid the Datapad underneath a cushion beside you on the couch, turning to see your husband Armitage Hux entering the room. But it was not your husband who came forth; it was not a man you had met before. He was covered head to toe in black, robes and gloves, pants, boots, and the mask - he was Kylo Ren, grandson of the feared Darth Vader.

"Are you here to kill me?" you whisper. With every step he takes toward you, your blood chills, colder and colder until you're sure your heart will surely stop, and you shall be dead before he lands the force nor hand upon you.

He shakes his head. "I am here to speak."

---

HUX

Captain Phasma did not seem the type of person to have an office. She did not seem the kind of person to be interested in romance novels either, but Armitage knew his staff, and he knew them well, and with nearly little encouragement, he was sitting in her office, discussing his personal life over the three novels he had managed to procure in case of an emergency such as this.

"General," her voice modulator intoned.

"Captain," he replied.

She placed her hands upon the desk that separated the pair of them, glancing to the books he had found from a trader who printed copies of what was known as the underground market for love literature. "From your message, I hear it is because of your ability to be straightforward, and a great General that is straining your relationship with your new wife." She gets to the business quickly, leaning forward. "But what you haven't told me is that you haven't tried to ask her if she's okay. If she feels safe, if she needs anything."

He is silent for a moment. "...what?"

Phasma removes her helmet, and clears her voice. Without the modulator straining her words, she clarifies, pushing her ice blonde crop from her eyes, "Sir, I know you have had a troubled life, more than what most people do encounter, but know that she might have connections, complications, roots that tie her from your place here, and without nurture, she will be a shell."

He chuckles. "I didn't know you were such a woman of words, Captain."

She growls, placing her helmet back onto her shoulders. "I have to return to the HY unit before they begin to shoot each other on accident," she marches off, her great stride evident of her gruff retort. But inside, Armitage knows she's thankful for more reading material, and to help out above and beyond her grade.

---

READER

Kylo Ren sat beside you, but not half an hour later, he was making points to you which made clearer a sense than anything you had been able to find in your rational mind. If you had thought no more than a week ago you would be seated beside the most dangerous force user the galaxy had seen since the tyrannical reign of Darth Vader, and Darth Sidious themselves, and there was no killing involved of either party, you would have dismissed it as a daydream.

"...you mean, he's just under orders?" you summarise the modulated voice of the man beside you. "He's still a shitty person for doing evil stuff. Stars, that's the worse excuse anyone has ever tried to give me, and I've been lied to a lot." you huff, crossing your arms.

Kylo Ren shakes his head. "I thought you were a princess, _______, aren't princesses supposed to be docile creatures?"

You narrow your eyes. Was your mother docile?

He grunts. "I heard that. But you're right. She was always doing her best for all she could. Even if she couldn't save me...she never has stopped fighting for her causes." You wonder if there is remorse in his voice, but you remember who you're talking to. Kylo Ren probably has been programmed since a young age to not feel anything like that. "I'm still a man, you know. As is Armitage."

You nod. "Sorry."

He waves a gloved hand. "I shouldn't even be here, let alone talking to his wife, but you need to know that the only way to get through to Hux is through his heart, as cold as Hoth as it seems. He wasn't always the top dog he seems to be." You go to ask, but he waves you off. "Armitage was a bastard, whose father only kept alive due to the fact his stepmother, was infertile. Brendol Hux needed an heir, and an admiral in training, and subjected him to a life of training to be the machine he is today."

Your hands upon your lap grow cold -- your blood, your thoughts; it was almost like you. What was it with powerful men spreading their seed around like a devil-may-care gardener? You realise all too late that with these thoughts in your mind, the man before you has already read them.

"You're not a true princess," he stands, towering over you.

You snap up, whipped onto your feet, trying to match his height. "And you're an ass."

The door to the suite opens at that moment, and your blood runs cold. It's none other than your husband, Armitage Hux, and his pale face grows redder than his hair by the second.

---

HUX

"Ren, stay away from my wife," Armitage grits out, but he isn't sure why that's the first thing he really wanted to say. He had initially wanted to walk in and ask how her day was, unlike last time, and listen despite the fact he was a very busy man. Maybe, he would suggest he would cook, and they could watch something on the projector, like the pre-rebellion era times two generations ago.

But now, he's standing in the entrance to his rooms, and his wife has the murderous look upon her face like an angel of death, and Kylo Ren, of all people aboard the Finalizer, is before her. And if Armitage knows anything despite how to yell and boss people around, it's that Kylo Ren doesn't like being challenged by anything or anyone, especially princesses who are infuriated.

"I'm barely your wife, you don't get to say that," she whispers, but to him, her voice is like a sword of ice, slashing at his soul.

Kylo Ren strides toward him. "She is not a princess, _________ is a false idol, the firstborn of King Hyperion is nothing but a bastard. Like you, General." He spits out, rolling his shoulders as if testing his fury beneath his skin. "Supreme Leader Snoke must be informed at once that he has been tricked into a less than favourable girl and her tricky father."

Armitage cannot think; his thoughts are rushing too fast within his mind. But what he does know is that he cannot allow Kylo Ren to tell their mentor the news, and without another thought, grabs a hold of the man's arm.

"Let go of me -," He growls.

Armitage's brow furrows, anger resonating from with him. "She is no less a human being for being of an alternate birth to those who intended it," he hisses, "________ is not a woman for you to hurt, like all the women before; she is my wife, and whether she wishes it or not, I will protect her from the likes of you, and all of your ill intent to sabotage the both of our careers, Kylo Ren. You may be his student, but I am his General, and I have more than enough power to cause your life aboard this ship a living hell, force sensitive or no." From the corner of his eyes, he sees his wife, her swaying form still, her eyes watching his every breath. Before he can stall any longer, he adds, "If I catch you in my rooms one more occasion, ruining our private lives, I can assure you that you will be more alike your grandfather by losing a limb for every second you stay here."

Kylo Ren leaves at once.

"I'm sorry I have been a terrible -,"

He's interrupted by you, the voice he is still learning the sound of, the voice his heart flutters at like a little boy and his first love, the way like he knew every other person in the galaxy acted like when they were married to such a beauty. Arranged marriage was not a easy thing, and he knew that, Kriff, did he know that, but an arranged marriage, to the woman who stood before him, the beauty who had more power than anyone on board the ship simply by holding his heart - it made it all the more easier.

"I was afraid you would hurt me like you have hurt all those innocent people in the galaxies," you whisper. "Kylo Ren came in, and assured me otherwise of that, and from that terrifying speech, I seem to understand now that you don't hate me." Your voice is but an echo, but if he could, he would catch it and hear the reverberations of it for all eternity. "My blood, or otherwise."

He shakes his head. "I can't say I like my job, _______. I can't say I like myself, for what I do, and I surely cannot say that I am a man who knows what it is like to feel...but for you, I will not hurt anyone, not harm a soul, not even you."

You nod.

"Do you hate me, or do you fear I am the devil, _______?" He wonders.

You shake your head. "The latter, but if you can prove to me that you will not be the man who people cower from, at least to me...I can't promise it, but I will try to being to trust you." You vow. "At least I'm not married to Kylo Ren, or an old rich man who'd control my every thought." you chuckle, earning a small smile from Armitage.

"We're just two people who have similar stories, and are placed together," Armitage's voice is small, as he closes the distance between the both of you. "I think we should adopt a cat, and I shall cook, and you can do whatever you please, and we can try and look each other in the eye." He proposes.

"A cat would be lovely," you nod, raising your head, your lips but inches away from his own. It would be the second kiss you share with him, the first when you had only known his name, and professional identity. But now, you reach up, and connect, eyes closed, melding into one. Not a breath is shared for minutes, until he releases you to take a breath. "But taking this into the bedroom would be lovelier."

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#hux #general hux #armitage hux #brendol hux #armitage hux x reader #armitage hux/reader #hux x reader #star wars fanfic #star wars x reader #chaotic--lovely #pendragonfics

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