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bellatrixxue · 3 years

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Xue’s Supernatural Dare: Wendigo (S1 EP2)

Hello, everyone? How did everyone feel about the finale? Yes? Yes? Oh. Oh. Oh my. Oh, dear.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell that half-assed homophobic chicken-shit fuckbucket’s not gonna stop me, since I strapped myself onto this roller coaster already and I promised I’m not getting out until the ride’s over, so here we go, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Also, those who are in this roller coaster with me, ready? Tag list is: @fangirlxwritesx67 @amazingiam00 @kalliravenne @indecisive20something @2musiclover2 @impossibletosleepthrough @there-must-be-a-lock @wingedcatninja @arvit

Oh my gods this recap is so cheesy I actually can make a fondue out of it. 2000s, everybody!

A WHOLE MINUTE AND A HALF FOR THAT FONDUE

FUCKJUMPSCARETITLEFUCKYOU

So we’re starting the episode with the murder scene first, eh? Is that gonna be a trend?

Oh come on, Chads, you’re out in nature and you’re playing video games? Absorb the nature...before it absorbs you!

Waitwait. Holy shit is that...is that Cory Monteith? Oh, bless his soul...

If the wendigo eats his dick as he’s peeing I’m immediately giving Jensen Ackles $100. For no real reason, I just feel like giving him money for already carrying the show on his back.

I can’t tell if it did or not, so I’m not paying yet.

Aw, Sammy...

"I should have told you the truth.” *Vine voice* BUT YOU DIDN’T

FUCKYOUINTHEASSHOhnightmare. Nightmare. So did he visit her at her grave or not? I need answers.

A week? Goddamn. Poor thing. That man-eating tree’s fucking good at his job, man.

“There’s nothing there, it’s just...woods,” Sam, I don’t know if Jess’s death hit you hard or if you got into law school by eating some ancient dick and/or pussy instead of earning that high score fair and square, but the woods “in the middle of nowhere” (your words) are known to be one of the top places full of weird-ass creatures. Even kindergartners know that.

Ehehehehehehehehe he’s so smol next to his lil bro my lil shit

At least you’re coming up with decent covers this time. No Agent Mulder and Scully ruining things for you this time around.

“Bull” oop-

Oh Dean’s a smoooooooooth operator. Good going, buddy.

AND HE GOT A COPY OF THAT DOCUMENT TEAM DEAN TEAM DEAN

Oh that death really got to Sam. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be a trigger-happy psycho. Or eat the man-eating tree and become one himself.

Oh, Haley’s a cutie! Which one’s her brother? Cory? Discount Enrique Iglesias?

Do you have a card for EVERY profession, Dean? And how do I get them too?

That is a very pretty car. I bet they wasted half the budget on that thing.

Okay, sonny boy, little bro, Broseidon, calm down.

Ah, fuck, Haley and Broseidon is gonna go into the woods, that’s more heads to worry about.

How the fuck does Sam find information this fast? I’m impressed, I take five hours to get to one article for my research paper. Or maybe I’m just lazy. So he really earned his law school interview without having to eat dick and pussy, huh.

Every 23 years? What is this, Pennywise? Are we going to see the wendigo do his best Tim Curry do his best scary clown impression? Honk honk?

“Whatever that thing is, it can move.” And the sun rises on the East, Sammy. Why are you so smart and dumb at the same time? Is this his character trait? It might grow on me.

Ahhh, so Sam’s go-to move at interrogation is doing puppy dog eyes and sympathize with the person. He’d make a good lawyer, shame that man-eating tree.

Go Grandpa Exposition, go!

Go Grandpa Exposition, go, give us information and none at all!

OH GEEZ THAT SCAR. PENNYWISE WENDIGO IS VICIOUS.

Skinwalker, Back Dog...Ooh, those all sound cool! I hope we get to see them soon!

‘Corporeal’ doesn’t sound like a real word, but then again, English doesn’t sound like a real language. Sorry. Moving on.

Sam’s gonna eat the wendigo with that attitude, Jesus Christ.

AND HIS BROTHER, AT THIS RATE. If the real villain turns out to be inside Sam all along I’m gonna flip. Is that why women keep dying and burning on ceilings where he sleeps? Is he secretly Lucifer’s spawn or something?

“Oh sweetheart I don’t wear shorts”. They queer-coded him from the start and they tried to make you believe he was straight for fifteen seasons straight? And some people bought that?

Oh, crap, another crappy death treatment for Cory before he got into Glee...No, I wasn’t into Glee, I just watched a few episodes and I might hate Rachel Berry...And Lea Michele...ahem...

Dean is totally flirting with Roy shut upppppppp

OOP AND THERE ROY GOES OH THE SEXUAL TENSION IS HIGH IN THESE WOODS TODAY

“It’s probably the most honest I’ve been with a woman. Ever.” See. Bi. Bi bi bi.

So...why the coordinates, Daddy Negan? Is this a portal to Hell? A place where man-eating trees grow?

*carefully places death flag on Roy*

Ooooh the campsite is very...haunted house-y. You know what I’m saying?

That’s not Discount Enrique Iglesias, but Pennywise wendigo, yes? Those things can mimic human voices, right?

*Google searches*...There are so many versions of this tale I can’t even confirm or deny it. Dammit.

Maybe Pennywise wendigo just wants some snacks and a nice phone and GPS? Maybe he misses his family in uh, Canada or something?

Daddy Negan’s journal is a e s t h e t i q u e .

I’m so sorry, but the way Sammy smirks as he speaks with those dark, dark voids for eyes? My boy’s a demon. He’s a demon, I’m telling you.

At least Haley has some sense to her. *puts another death flag on Roy*

*PUTS YET ANOTHER DEATH FLAG ON ROY*

True, that. What the heck is Daddy Negan up to with all of this?

“Saving people, hunting things, the family business!” Okay, the way Dean said it gave me chills.

I can actually empathize with Sam here...As whiny and bitchy as he is, he has his reasons to be this way. I guess if I were in his shoes, I’d be less of a Dean and more of a Sam, too. We deal with our losses quite similarly.

Ah, the brotherly bonding moments like these little talks make the show worth it. It’s so heartwarming.

Pennywise wendigo! I didn’t miss you, why’re you here to burst my happy bubble?

I’m starting to see a slight parallel between Haley and Broseidon and Dean and Sammy. Hmm.

Nice meeting you, Roy. Zoop you go.

Haley and Broseidon are taking this rather well, I’m glad they do.

Okay, actual exposition time, thank you.

Whoa, Broseidon speaks! Donner Party! Please don’t remind me of that! Those poor people!

Hibernation and food storage. Delightful, just delightful.

TORCHING? *CALLS RAMMSTEIN*

Somehow, not being able to see the wendigo is scarier to me than what I will probably see itself. Limited budget horror can actually work well.

Oh, dear, Roy literally did a death drop. Badum tissssssssss.

FUCK IT TOOK DEAN THE ONLY CHARACTER I CARE ABOUImean I love you too, Sam! Come on, let’s find him before it’s too late!

A trail of M&Ms! Yes, Broseidon! And Hansel and Gretel refercalled it. Sammy, you and I share the same wavelength?

SHITSHITTHEYTRIPPEDANDFELLINTHEFUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Thank the gods the Pennywise wendigo kept them right there. Chances.

DISCOUNT ENRIQUE IGLESIAS IS STILL ALIVE GEEZ BUT ALSO PHEW

Ah, Dean Winchester, I love you so much that I can’t even begin to describe it.

Also how convenient that the flare guns are there. Deus ex machina!

Haley would bode well as a hunter, look at her courage, her will. There are more hunters around than Daddy Negan and the brothers, right?

Yeah, seeing the actual wendigo makes me less scared of it now. It’s unnerving, but still.

TEAM DEAN YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW

Graphics are...alright, but it’s the thought that counts!

Running with the grizzly bear story. Smart Broseidon. Ben. Sorry, you deserve to be called by your real name. I think with practice they could become good hunters, along with their Discount Enrique Iglesias brother! Is there a fanfiction for that? Can I write it now?

...

I AM WILLING TO DIE TO PROTECT DEAN WINCHESTER I

Haley’s a lesbian, that’s why she kissed him on the cheek only. Headcanoned. Also I have a crush on her, she’s really pretty? Like? Heart eyes???

Ah, the siblings parallels again. Let’s hope neither of the two brothers end up in the bed like that.

“Man, I hate camping.” Really. Really really. Really.

“I’m driving”

...

SAM WINCHESTER I’M SORRY I EVER SPOKE ILL OF YOU I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE TOO I PROMISE YOU I WILL

It’s just a sassy bisexual brother and his little snide bisexual brother on the road to kill evil creatures and find their father and I love this show? Help? Help???

I really, really see the charm of Supernatural now! I’m fully invested in both brothers and their story, and I’m cheering them both on! Let’s get Daddy Negan back and get rid of that man-eating tree once and for all!

Six stars out of five!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This dare is introducing me to a whole new world, and I really, really am glad I took that jump a few days ago, man!

Thank you everyone for reading my ramblings, and I’ll see you in the day after with the next review! Thank you for sticking with me! Buh-bye!

- Xue

#xue's supernatural dare #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #jensen ackles #sam winchester #jared paladecki #text #i had a really bad day today with my constant pain and aching from the chemo #but this really brought genuine smiles to my face!#what a good show #what a wonderful show #how the FUCK did they fuck it up later #well #i guess i'll find out when i get there lmao

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katehuntington · 4 years

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Title: Ride With Me (part twenty) Fandom: Supernatural Timeline: 2008 Pairing: Dean x Reader Word count: ±7600 words Summary series: Y/N is a talented horse rider who is on her way to become a professional. In order to convince her father that she deserves the loan needed to start her own farm, she goes to Arizona for six months, to intern at a ranch owned by Bobby and Ellen Singer. Her future is set out, but then she meets a handsome horseman, who goes by the name of Dean Winchester. A heartwarming series about a cowboy who falls for the girl, letting go of the past and the importance of family. Summary part twenty: It’s auction time! Two horses of the Gold Canyon Ranch are up for sale. Will they get the price they are hoping for? Warnings series: NSFW, 18+ only! Fluff, angst, eventually smut. Swearing, smoking, alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse. Mutual pining, heartbreak. Crying, nightmares, childhood trauma. Description of animal abuse, domestic violence, mentions of addiction. Financial problems, stress, mental breakdown. Description of blood and injury, hospital scenes, character death, grief. Music: Sold - John Michael Montgomery (Auction scene), Save A Horse - Big & Rich (Jo & Y/N dancing scene), Good Time - Alan Jackson (Dean & Y/N dancing scene), In Case You Didn’t Know - Brett Young (Final scene). Follow ‘Kate Huntington’s Ride With Me playlist’ on Spotify! Author’s note: Prepare for cuteness and a bit of angst! Thank you @kittenofdoomage, @manawhaat and @winchest09 for helping me. Also a special thanks to @jules-1999, who has offered me her knowledge about rodeo events like these.

Ride With Me Masterlist

“Sold! For 3750 dollars to number 48!”

The auctioneer slams the gavel down on the block, sealing the deal. A sigh of relief falls from Dean and Jo’s lips, who are leaning over the high fence at the auction pen. Almost four grand for an unbroken two year old Mustang is more than a fair price these days. The average numbers have been decent so far, especially considering the current economic depression that is weighing down on the country.

Benny leads the young horse out of the arena, him and Dean exchanging a nod, accompanied with a smile. The Gold Canyon Ranch crew is playing it cool, but all are well aware how desperately the cash is needed. It’s not something the whole circuit needs to know, however. Much like any business where money is involved, there are always those who are eager for an opportunity to profit off the loss of others. There are plenty of vultures circling the skies above their potential prey, waiting to take advantage. Dean will not let that happen.

A new horse is brought in and the auctioneer starts rambling again, announcing prices while assistants scan the crowd for bidders. It’s a vibrant ambience, most people here to make deals, others to have fun. Upbeat country music rallies on the buyers who watch one animal after another come into the pen, judging their conformation, gait and looks before they raise their sign into the air to announce their bid. The small indoor arena is more crowded than one would expect after the market collapsed earlier this year. He notices that Y/N is experiencing some difficulty getting through the mass of people, trying to push past people while transporting three huge burgers.

“Sorry, got held up, there was a line,” she excuses, handing the fast food to the wranglers. “You didn’t have to do that, Yank,” Dean returns, taking the large burger in his hand nonetheless. “Yes, I did. You haven’t eaten, yet. Dig in,” she returns. Grinning, he moves the welcoming food to his mouth to take a bite. Once again she surprises him with her care and observations. Nothing goes past her, especially when it comes to his well-being.

Y/N glances at the large display on the back wall where the sold horses are listed. She thought the biddings stalled just under 4000 dollars and the numbers on the screen confirm it. “The price for the Mustang wasn’t bad, was it?” “Not at all. Dad still has to pay ten percent commission, but he’s gonna be satisfied with almost three and a half grand,” Jo agrees. “If that Pinto sells for good money, you might wanna break it to him that you two are the new Sonny & Cher, before he catches you two lovebirds red-handed.” With his mouth full, Dean chuckles at the blonde Cowgirl’s remark, which she paired with a perked eyebrow. He lets his free hand slip around his girlfriend’s waist, gently pulling her closer. “I’ll tell him when we get back on Monday, promise,” he announces, more to Y/N than to Jo. “He’s too busy doin’ business now anyways.”

Y/N smiles at the assurance, leaning into him. She’s glad Dean is so comfortable with her by his side in the presence of others, but just as important, she’s glad Jo has realized Dean isn’t just fooling around. Her friend has always supported her, but it took her a second to believe her cousin’s intentions are, in fact, good. Her skepticism wasn’t random; she has seen plenty of tears fall for the ladykiller. But those days are in the past now. “What time is the second horse going up for auction?” Y/N wonders. Dean checks his watch and glances at the horse currently in the pen, who is carrying a tag with ‘204’ on it. “He’s number 211, so he should be up in twenty minutes or so.” “Think Benny will manage?” Jo checks. “Yeah, he has plenty of time to switch them. Let him make himself useful, he’s not riding any horses this weekend anyway,” the head wrangler grins.

The crew members finish their quick meal, the three of them now leaning over the fence while watching the exciting auction. The burgers are delicious, fresh off the grill from one of the many food stands, topped with cheddar and crispy bacon. Quality greasy event garbage, but Y/N wouldn’t want it any other way. Usually she tries to eat healthy, keep her body nourished for the hard physical labor she puts into her work. During shows, however, she always lets go. She knows that she can’t swallow a bite before her runs, not with the nerves always closing off her throat and having her stomach in knots. But staring down at the big, juicy burger in her hands, she just dives in; figures it’s better to stash up on carbs before her big day than to fall short.

Twenty minutes later, Benny leads the Pinto into the auction pen. The horse looks magnificent, his white patches washed clean and the fur that’s black shining under the limelight. His mane, detangled and brushed, cascades down his well formed neck, reaching his shoulders. The stallion is stunning, getting a reaction from the audience.

“Alright, y’all, this is quite the looker we got here. We present this two year old Pinto stallion, owned by the Gold Canyon Ranch. A tall fella which stands at sixteen hands, strong enough to carry a big Cowboy around the competition arena. Sired by Cash Button, well-known APHA champion producer. As you can see he’s haltered, but unbroken, so if you’re lookin’ for a fine show horse to start fresh with, this is the one for you.”

Dean is glad to hear that the auctioneer does a good job promoting their horses. The speaker can make or break an auction, so he’s thankful the organization hired a skilled one.

Somewhat nervous, Dean sets his jaw, the muscles flexing under his stubble as he takes in the traders on the bleachers. Jody managed to buy Sundance, despite the huge interest in the mare. She paid a whopping fifteen grand for the talented barrel racer, who stayed at the top of the rank and scored Jo the first win of the competition. Now that the Mustang switched owners for a reasonable price as well, a big stack of cash for the Pinto would really bring the ranch back in the clear… for now. Dean is aware that it will take more than one good day to nurse the company back to financial health again, but it would be a good start.

“Opening bid is 2500 dollars, so let’s get this bid started, people. 2500, 2500 for the gentleman on the front row. Can I get a 3000?”

The auctioneer begins his bid calling, the rhythmic repetition of numbers and words adding to the tensed atmosphere. It’s a fast chant that engages the crowd and brings a sense of urgency on the possible buyers. But no matter how hard the speaker tries, the biddings slow once they near three grand, nowhere near the number they hoped the stallion would sell for.

“Last chance to become the new owner of this stunning future prospect, folks. 3500 dollars now, will you give me 3750? Going once…”

“C’mon, c’mon,” Dean mutters, drumming his thumb on the wooden fence. Y/N watches the mass of people, but she can’t see any new signs popping up. It couldn’t possibly be that the Pinto will go for less than the Mustang, even though he’s worth more? “Did Bobby arrange a reserve?” she checks with Jo. Her friend shakes her head, glancing at her with worried eyes. Y/N now shifts her attention to her other side, taking in the head wrangler, noticing the frown edged on his forehead under the brim of his hat. He’s radiating tension, much like Jo, all three keeping their eyes on the $ 3500,- on the screen. It’s not enough, but it might be the amount they will have to settle for.

“Going twice…”

“Four thousand!” All three perk up, trying to make out where the bid originated from. The distinctive voice is easily recognizable though, the woman’s strong accent hard to miss; it’s Donna. “Four grand, ladies and gents! Do we have another bidder? 4250 dollars, 4250 anyone?”

Out of nowhere, another number is raised into the air, one of the assistants pointing at the bidder and shouting back a ‘yup!’ at the auctioneer.

“We’ve got 4250 dollars now, 4250. Can I get a 4500?” “Five!” Donna calls out. “Five grand! Do we have 5500?”

And there you have it, a bidding war. Dean exchanges a look with Jo, who smiles as the bids keep going back and forth like a tennis match, the stakes taken higher every time the ball is bounced back. Y/N watches in anticipation, getting more excited every time the amount that is about to be paid for the Pinto grows larger.

“Seven and a half grand. 7500,- dollars. Is bidder number 24 gonna raise? You tell me, young lady. For 7750 dollars this gorgeous stallion can be yours. What do you say? 7500 dollars, going once...”

The rancher with Minnesota roots seems to hesitate, discussing her next move with Jody, who’s seated next to her on the bleachers. After a few nerve-wrecking seconds, Donna keeps her sign down; they can’t go higher, but she took it high enough to make this a successful auction for Bobby Singer.

“Going twice… Sold! To lucky number 7 for 7500 dollars!”

The audience applauds the entertaining battle, Benny making a little fist, modestly celebrating the good sale as he walks the horse out of the pen. All the members of the Gold Canyon Ranch family know it; this is a much needed win.

Unable to contain her elation, Y/N reaches for Dean’s hand, entwining her fingers with his. It draws his attention and he glances aside at her, his green irises full of delight. The worry has dissolved from his eyes, the weariness gone for a moment. Today is a good day; they can let their guard down for a little while.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but with three horses sold and Jo winning the barrel race, I believe we have reason to celebrate!” Y/N says cheerily, looking between Dean and her best friend. “Hell to the yeah! I think I deserve a drink,” Jo agrees victoriously. “Come on then.” Y/N grips Dean’s hand tighter, nudging him to follow. “Let’s hit the bar.”

“Does everyone have a drink?” Y/N checks, looking around to make sure everyone has either a glass or a beer bottle in hand.

The Gold Canyon Ranch crew is standing around a barrel that serves as a high table, accompanied by Donna and Jody. A live band, consisting of a drummer, a banjo player and a singer who also plays an acoustic guitar, treats the attending guests to a great show. Strings of lightbulbs are connecting the steel frame that keeps the high tent up, its canvas lit with alternating colored spots. The bartenders have to kick it up a gear to keep up with the demand, people waiting to place their order on all sides of the horseshoe-shaped counter. Riders, trainers, horse owners and spectators are laughing, dancing and having a good old time. Nothing today would suspect that business isn’t as usual.

Dean enjoys the carefree feeling and raises his bottle, joined by his workers and his boss. Even the grumpy old man lifts his IPA into the air, a sparkle back in his uncle’s eyes that he hasn’t seen in a while. “Alright, y’all. Let’s congratulate Jody Mills here with the purchase of a future champion. Glad to do business with you as always,” he starts, giving the short haired ranch owner a nod, “and of course we raise our drinks to my Joanna for the win.” He throws his daughter a subtle but proud smile, before he turns to the rest of the crew. “Thank y’all for pitchin’ in and for all the hard work.” “To the Gold Canyon Ranch,” Benny adds, clinking his glass against those of his colleagues and friends, who repeat his words with a cheer.

Being on the opposite side of the table, Dean takes the opportunity to move his hand to the small of his girlfriend’s back, letting it rest on her hip, knowing Bobby won’t be able to spot it. He presses his fingertips into the denim, meeting her gaze as he takes a good swig of his drink.

It doesn’t take long before his uncle is dragged away from the fun by a horse trader, without a doubt stealing his time to negotiate about other horses Bobby plans to sell. As Dean predicted, he will be too busy mingling and so Y/N is delighted when her boyfriend leaves an affectionate kiss on her temple. She closes her eyes and smiles at the sweet gesture, counting her blessings. With every touch, every look, the nervousness dissolves a little further.

When she entered the tent earlier, she felt her heartbeat quicken and her mouth running dry. She’s well aware Dean is easy on the eyes, because she has caught herself getting lost in the image of him more times than she can count, but now it wasn’t just her who noticed his looks. The handsome cowboy made plenty of heads turn, a few women greeting him with a flirtatious ‘Hey, Dean’ as the group passed through the crowd to find a spot. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, her boyfriend’s reply to them stinging sharply in the pit of her stomach, even though he was only trying to be polite. It’s not just jealousy that has her lose grip. It’s worry, because she feels intimidated by all the girls that seem to throw themselves at the wrangler. They are all beautiful, stunning looking women, vibrant and confident. More beautiful than me, the insecure voice in the back of her mind once again reminds her.

He noticed the uneasiness, able to read her body language better each day, and he tried to reassure her the best he could with Bobby still being in their presence. Now that the owner of the Gold Canyon Ranch has moved away to do business, she’s glad Dean instantly rose to the occasion to pull her closer and let her know who he belongs to.

“Want another drink?” Dean asks, not just his girlfriend, but the other people in his company as well while he takes the ranch’s credit card from his wallet. Y/N notices the slight hint of hesitation in Jo’s expression before she answers, and she reckons it has something to do with the ridiculous prices on the venue, a beer being seven dollars. Four bucks might not sound like much, but when you start buying rounds, the money to be paid at the bar adds up. That card already got declined once today, and both she and Jo don’t want Dean to deal with the same embarrassment the youngest Singer had to go through at the show office earlier. “This round’s on me,” Y/N decides, digging up her own card from her back pocket. “You don’t have to do that,” he objects under his breath, trying not to let his pride slip through. “I’ll be glad to,” she counters quickly, not taking no for an answer, turning to the others. “Another beer? Jody? Donna? Glass of wine?” Eagerly, Jo and Benny look up, completely in sync with the two women who they share the table with, all nodding at the offer, all nodding at the offer.

“At least let me pick up the drinks then?” Dean offers before she gets up from her seat, not too keen of his girlfriend paying for him, but knowing that determined look in her eyes well enough to not go against her. She agrees on the compromise with a sigh and gives him her card. “Three beers, two white wines and a coke for me.” “No margarita?” he checks. “No, sticking to the one. I have a ride to win tomorrow,” she explains, adding a smug smile. Dean chuckles at that before he turns around, heading for the bar.

Y/N takes a second to watch him walk away, wondering if she did the right thing. She doesn’t want him or the ranch to pay now that she knows they are low on money while she has plenty, but Dean seemed bothered. She gets it, the man is supposed to pay for the drinks, but this is the twenty-first century; she is just as entitled to pick up the bill as he is.

“Y’know, you don’t have to keep savin’ us,” Jo comments, making sure that Donna and Jody, who are having a laugh with Benny, can’t pick up on the conversation. “It’s okay, Jo,” Y/N assures. “It’s the least I can do. I don’t mind at all.” “I know you don’t, but he might.” She nods at her cousin. “It’s a guy thing. My Dad’s the same way, you should have heard him when he found out you paid the fees because his card didn’t work. Old fashioned country boys seem to think the weight of the world is theirs to carry.” The intern sniggers, hiding her concern. “Well, those country boys need to learn that us girls can take on that weight just fine.”

She glances to the bar again, expecting her boyfriend to return with a tray of drinks, but when people move away and no longer obstruct her view, her breathing hitches. Y/N spots Dean casually leaning on the counter with his elbow, talking to a girl. The young woman is all smiles, raking her fingers through her wavy, blonde locks, the light above the bar shining down and highlighting the chemistry. She looks stunning; slim figure, long legs wrapped in torn jeans, exposing skin of her knees and thighs. When she leans forward while laughing at something he said, her cleavage is on display.

As the color drains from Y/N’s cheeks, Jo follows her friend’s fixated stare, her face falling when she notices the two by the bar. Dean doesn’t cross a line by any means, but it’s clear that the woman who took an interest in the head wrangler has every intention to persuade him. “Who is she? You know her?” Y/N asks, the questions rapid and laced with worry. “Yeah, that’s Jamie Sward,” Jo states. “Please tell me it’s not one of his exes?” She rips her eyes away from the painful sight, shielding her face in embarrassment. “‘Ex’ wouldn’t be the right word, but yeah, they did have an on and off thing in the past,” Jo admits carefully, not wanting to lie to her. “Sis, it’s fine. He’s an idiot, but he’s not that much of an idiot. They are probably just talking.” “Her breasts are hanging out of her shirt!” Y/N hisses frustrated, blood rushing to her face now, a contrast to her pale skin tone mere seconds ago.

“So…” Jamie says, taking a sip from her drink while looking over her glass at the handsome wrangler. “What are you up to these days? Still working at Gold Canyon?” “Yeah, kinda became furniture of the place. Don’t think I’ll ever leave to be honest,” he chuckles, watching the bartender preparing the drinks he ordered. “What about you?” “Oh y’know, worked a few bars in Phoenix to pay for college, sulked over the fact that you stopped calling me,” the beautiful blonde returns, the smirk that accompanies her perked eyebrow telling him that she’s not too broken up about it.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” he rubs the back of his neck, well aware that he ignored her messages the past month and a half. “Don’t sweat it. We weren’t dating. Just having fun, right?” Jamie shrugs casually, setting down her drink again. “Talking about fun, I have a room at Days Inn if you’re interested.”

The offer hangs in the air and it’s only now that Dean realizes he’s on thin ice here. When the blonde cowgirl approached him, somehow it didn’t dawn on him where the conversation was heading towards, simply because he’s not interested in her in the slightest. Ever since he met Y/N, he can’t bring himself to give a damn about any other woman, and Jamie is no exception.

“I’m uh - I’m gonna have to say ‘no’,” he says, almost apologetic, not wanting to hurt her feelings, because she is a sweet girl. “Doesn’t have anything to do with you. I met someone and things have been really great--” “Wait. Are you taken?” she interrupts, astonished. “Are you serious? You’re in a relationship?” He nods, unable to stop a beaming smirk from showing. “Yeah. She’s awesome. I don’t get why everyone acts so surprised, though.” “C’mon, Dean Winchester. With your reputation?” Jamie snorts. “But hey, no hard feelings. I’m happy for you.”

She means it, he can tell. He gives her an appreciative nod as the bartender sets the last two beers on the carton tray, which Dean picks up from the bar. “Right, I’m gonna get back to my girl. Good to see ya again, James,” he says before he leaves. “You too, Dean. Good luck tomorrow!” she says cheerily, giving him a little wave before she heads off herself.

With a content smile on his face, the head wrangler returns to the table. It’s only after he has given everyone else their drinks and sets down the Coca-Cola bottle in front of his girlfriend that he locks eyes with her and notices the stale, yet anxious look on her face. “What is it?” he wonders. “Jamie seemed awfully friendly,” she comments, fidgeting with the straw of her drink to have something to focus on.

Dean lifts his head slightly as his jaw lowers. He tries not to roll his eyes and pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek. Right, that conversation might have looked a little different from a distance than how it actually went. The penny drops and he turns to face Jo and shoots her a glare. The fact that Y/N has learned the name of the woman he’s been talking to gives away that his cousin apparently revealed more than he would have wanted. “Okay!” Jo takes her cue and clears her throat, deciding that this would be a good time to exit the conversation. “I’m gonna request some songs to dodge the awkwardness. Have fun, you two.” The ranch owner’s daughter quickly sneaks past Dean towards the dancefloor, heading to the stage. Before Dean speaks, he glances aside to make sure the others won’t pick up on their conversation. Deciding that he wants some more privacy, he takes Y/N’s hand and beckons her to come with him to an empty booth on the side.

“Y/N, listen. I don’t know what Jo said--” he starts, before she cuts him off. “- Jo has nothing to do with this. She was actually defending you. Don’t tell her I told you that.” Y/N sits down on the bench next to him, knowing that her best friend wouldn’t be happy with Dean knowing that she actually did something nice for him. God knows he will hold it against her. “Jamie and I were just talking. Yeah, we hung out a couple of times, but I don’t feel anything for her. Hey…” He takes her hand, squeezing it softly. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m serious about us before you start believing me, huh?”

He watches her take a breath, contemplating on what to say and on what to feel. Sure, a part of him gets it that she’s not a fan of the women who throw themselves at him. He didn’t like it one bit when Benny took an interest in her either, shutting that down immediately. Still, it hurts, because deep down he knows she assumes he will fall out of line. “I believe you, it’s just that…” She exhales, shaking her head while she doubts herself more by the second. “I don’t believe the girls who have their eye on you have only good intentions.” “You don’t have to worry about Jamie. She’s cool. And considering other flings and what not; it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what they want from me, because I know what I want for myself, and she’s sittin’ right beside me,” he tries to assure her, slipping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer. “You’re the only one I have eyes for, Yankee.”

She looks up from under her lashes, his soft voice slowly beginning to ease her anxious mind. Dean casting those negative thoughts away only does one thing, though; it makes room for a different kind of self loathing. “God, I’m such a bitch…” she says softly, rubbing her face with her free hand. “No, you’re not. Don’t say that,” he dismisses, not wanting her to be so hard on herself. “But I need you to trust me.”

Y/N eyes dart up to his, stunned, realizing that her behavior might have hurt him more than he’s letting on. He avoids her eyes, trying to mask the harm her actions did, but even in the dim light she can detect the damage. Of course she trusts him. She trusts him and Jo more than anyone on the ranch, yet it came across like she didn’t. Damn it, she could kick herself in the head right now. Jealousy isn’t a good look on her, neither is self-consciousness, but sometimes she can’t help but to feel intimidated and overwhelmed. He needs to know that it’s not his fault, though. “Dean, I do trust you,” she promises, lacing her fingers with his, hoping to sooth him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I didn’t.” He turns to look at her, allowing his thumb to rub over the smooth skin on the back of her hand. Despite her efforts, he can’t quite shake the feeling, but she doesn’t have to know that this bothers him more than it should. And so the corner of his mouth pulls up in a small smile as he looks deep into her eyes, and kisses her softly.

The intimate connection brings more peace than they both expect. They have that effect on each other, that instant calm washing over with a small touch or a sweet kiss. It’s during moments like these that the insecurities lose their proof, the sources that are the patronizing and condescending voices in their heads suddenly unreliable.

After a few peaceful seconds which silence his troubled mind, Dean moves his lips from hers, glad to see that the kiss worked the same wonders for Y/N. Her warm eyes look up at him when she leans into his chest. “So we’re okay?” she checks, needing that confirmation. “We’re okay,” he promises, leaving a kiss on her hair.

The music changes, the lead singer persuading the attending guests to move to the dancefloor. As people leave their seats and gather, Jo emerges again and grabs her beer from the barrel table, carefully testing the water before she approaches the couple. “Is the coast clear? I come in peace.” She holds up her hand innocently. “Everything’s good,” Dean states, not just aiming at the bond between him and his cousin. “In that case, can I steal your girlfriend?” Jo asks. “This is such a good song and I for one wanna dance!”

Y/N’s face lights up, fueled by the blonde cowgirl’s contagious smirk. Before she slides out of the booth, though, she shares a look with Dean. “Go, seriously. Have some fun,” he encourages. “You’re not coming?” she wonders. Dean scoffs. “Hell no!” “Oh, come on!” Y/N tries again. “It’s no use, Sis. Dean doesn’t dance. Not good for his John Wayne reputation,” Jo nags, taking her best friend’s hand to pull her to her feet. “Wranglers don’t dance. They ride,” Dean defends, aggrieved. “Alright, tough guy. You go stir in your own juices while you miss out on all the fun.” His cousin twirls around, dragging Y/N with her before she can change her mind.

The most horrible and yet catchy country song ever made sounds from the amplifiers, ‘Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy’ covered by the band that is rocking it out on stage. A fiddler clad in a charming saloon dress like the women used to wear in the old West has joined them, adding spice with the crisp sound of her instrument. Trying to get her best friend out of her funk, Jo pulls Y/N in the lines that have formed, without missing a beat getting into the choreographed series of steps that every cowgirl knows by heart. Laughing, Y/N joins her, getting the hang of the dance quickly.

Dean has stood up and joined Jody, Donna and Benny at the barrel table, nursing his drink as he watches his Yankee dance it out. He lets the tension flow out of his chest with a deep breath, the ache melting away with the sight of her. The colored lights flick over her features in the same rhythm of the music, her hat hanging between her shoulder blades by the stampede string. Forgetting the troubles for a moment, she copies Jo’s motion, who pretends to rope a lasso above her head as she makes a circle, while shouting out the words back to the lead singer when he points his microphone to the dancing crowd. It makes Dean chuckle.

“Well, that seems too jolly to miss out on,” Benny decides, holding out his elbow for Jody to hook her arm through. “Can I have this dance, darlin’?” “Benny Lafitte, always the charmer,” the woman with pixie hair comments, but takes his offer, leaving just Donna and Dean. They watch their friends, both with a pleased smile on their lips. It’s quiet for a while between old companions as they take in the carefree portrayal. It’s the head wrangler of the Gold Canyon Ranch who eventually breaks the silence. “Thanks for the save.” “What save?” Donna returns, pretending to be oblivious.

He can see by her mischievous smirk that she’s well aware what he’s talking about; her bid on the Pinto at the auction. Donna never intended to buy the two year old stallion. She and Jody spent fifteen grand only an hour prior to the sale, and especially during current times, Dean can’t picture the girls spending another 7500 dollars on a second horse. He knew the moment Donna raised that sign; she was doing them a favor and drove up the price. Dean throws her a knowing look, his eyebrow perked, triggering Donna to drop the act. “That Pinto is a hell of a good horse. Would’ve been a good buy,” she grins. “If only I had done the final bid.” Grinning, he takes a swig of his beer. He appreciates the help, knowing that the two female ranch owners will not spill the financial secret to anyone else in their circle. It’s safe with them, and he considers himself lucky to have friends like that. Everyone needs a hand sometimes, and he’s more than glad that Donna and Jody offered theirs in time of need.

“Anyhoo, I’m gonna join the girls for a dance off. You should join us for a change. I’ll bet your belle would love it,” the broad-smiling woman suggests. “She’s having plenty of fun without me,” he sniggers, watching her belt out the lyrics to the song with Jo. “Okeydokes. But you’re missin’ out, handsome.” Donna winks at him, heading to the dancefloor with a spring in her step.

Dean watches the cheery woman from Minnesota go, but his focus soon darts past her, immediately captured by the sight of Y/N. Damn, they could shut off the power and she would still light up the room. He can’t keep his eyes off her, the familiar swell of his heart once again taking up so much space that it’s hard to breathe. It’s not an unpleasant sensation, not anymore. It used to terrify him, feeling something so strong for a woman he’s known for such a short amount of time. But now when he feels it, it just strengthens his fondness and devotion for the girl who he wishes he had met years ago. Maybe he could have saved her the heartache that has her self-conscious about her place with Dean. Maybe his track record wouldn’t be so long that she would question him. He’s willing to do anything to make up for that time, though.

As Jo and Y/N dance in circles around each other, clapping their hands and laughing, her gaze meets Dean’s. She’s caught off guard by the adoration in his eyes, his smile so warm and affectionate, that she slows her step. The good-looking cowboy she gets to call hers just stands there by himself, adding action to his words. He’s watching her as if she’s the only girl at the party, like she’s the only girl in the world.

Y/N breaks away from her friends and steps towards him, swaying her hips a little more than she usually does. She shook the concern that weighed heavy on her earlier and got her footing back. A cheeky smile plays on her lips and her eyes sparkle, telling Dean instantly she’s up to no good. When she reaches her boyfriend, she takes his forearm between both hands and pulls at it. “Come dance.” “I don’t dance, Yankee,” he refuses, not budging. The music changes to a new song, triggering cheers to rise from the small crowd. The new rhythm has her eyes go wide, then pleading. “Oh, come on. This is a good song to move to!” Y/N begs, using all her strength to shift his tall form.

He stands his ground, surprised at her physical strength, but the stand off is as much for his own sake as for hers. If he lets her go, she’s gonna land flat on her ass, but Dean spares her the embarrassment. The cowboy sighs, not that fond of being at the center of attention anyway, not to mention on the dance floor in this big tent. But how the hell is he going to say ‘no’ to her? “One song,” he complies, strict on the conditions. She jumps into the air excitedly and the delight in her eyes is already worth it. He adjusts his grip and laces his finger through hers, walking towards the dancing group of people, their friends amongst him. Jo’s jaw drops to the floor when she notices Dean on her tail. “How the hell did you manage to drag his sorry ass over here?” She wiggles her eyebrows. “I can be quite persuasive.”

Her cowboy catches her by surprise when he tightens his hold on her hand, raising it and spinning her. When she comes full circle he pulls her in again, slipping his arm under hers and smoothly transitions into a two step. Completely flabbergasted, she grabs his shoulder and stares up at him with big eyes. Whoa, where the heck did that come from? “I thought you couldn’t dance!” she giggles, while he leads her across the dancefloor, not missing a step. “Never said that,” he smirks. “I just said I don’t dance.” “Well, you’re dancing now,” Y/N returns, delighted. He chuckles at that, looking deep into her eyes. “Only because the most beautiful girl at the party asked me.”

They nail the routine, even though they’ve never teamed up on the dancefloor before. It’s not a complicated choreography, a simple one-two mixed with some country swing, but apparently it looks impressive enough to earn a ‘yee-haw!’ from Benny. Y/N glances aside when the others rally them on, clapping in the rhythm of the song from the sideline, making room for the couple. Jo gives her two thumbs up, clearly entertained by the unexpected turn of events. She can’t stop her smile reaching from ear to ear when Dean twirls again, not missing the same expression on his face.

The fiddle and guitar work together in harmony, throwing in a variation during the bridge of the song. Having her a little closer than at arms length, his right hand on her higher back, his left hand holding hers out to the side, they continue to move from one end of the open space to the other swiftly. The cowboy is enjoying himself, even though he was being a grump about dancing earlier. How can he not, now that he’s a witness of the pure joy his girl is radiating?

The drummer finishes the song with a ruffle and the music dies down, the band receiving applause from the attending party-goers. Beaming, Y/N looks into Dean’s emerald green eyes, which sparkle every time the spotlight hits them. Dean was right; she’s having a blast, just like he predicted.

Not ready to admit that he doesn’t really want to stop dancing with Y/N, he glances at the musicians, waiting for the next song. He narrows his eyes confused when he spots Donna, who got the attention of the lead singer. The young man has crouched down at the edge of the stage, Donna whispering something in his ear. Dean can see him nod in agreement before he rights himself and grabs the mic stand. “Alright, y’all. I got a special request for a ballad just now. We’re gonna perform an original, so take your lady to the floor. Time to take things a lil’ slower.”

He puts away his electric guitar and picks up the acoustic one, plugging it in. A romantic tune coming from the speakers when he strums the strings. Questioning, Y/N glances up at her boyfriend, almost sheepishly. Dean agreed to one song, which had a totally different vibe to the music that was sounding right now. The wrangler has been nothing but wonderful and sweet with her, but she doesn’t expect him to openly show how much he cares about her, especially with Bobby still present in the tent.

But against the odds, Dean moves his extended hand that was still holding hers closer to his chest, letting it rest there. Gentle fingertips press into her skin as they sink to the small of her back, encouraging her to come close. He looks at her, the playfulness dying down and replaced with something deeper, something even more profound.

I can’t count the times I almost said what’s on my mind, but I didn’t. Just the other day, I wrote down all the things I’d say, but I couldn’t. Baby, I know that you’ve been wondering. So here goes nothing.

Comfortable in his arms, Y/N lays her head against his chest, the soft thump of his heart beat and the slow swaying motion calming every nerve that was ever there. She couldn’t feel safer, more sheltered than in this very moment. Right now, she’s the only girl in the world. She couldn’t care less that she’s in the limelight, that everyone is a witness of the bond between them that’s strengthening each day. In fact, she feels proud. Dean stepped on the dance floor, just for her. He is showing a side of him not many are familiar with, just for her. If this doesn’t prove that he’s her man, and no one else's, nothing will.

In case you didn’t know, baby, I’m crazy ‘bout you. And I would be lying if I said that I could live this life without you. Even though I don’t tell you all the time, you had my heart a long, long time ago. In case you didn’t know.

Careful not to stand on her feet and ruin the moment, Dean continues to slowly sway her from side to side. Softly pressing his cheek against her hair, he shuts his eyes for a second, storing the memory amongst the other precious recollections. God, this feels beyond amazing.

When he opens his eyes again, his gaze travels over the faces watching the pairs in front of the stage. Tensing slightly, he notices Bobby, who watches the two slow-dancing. His uncle shoots back a judgemental glare, seemingly not too pleased with the fact that there’s more going on between the supervisor and the intern than he originally thought. The head wrangler looks back guilty, grimacing awkwardly.

“What is it?” Y/N wonders, apparently feeling him stiffening. “I think we’ve been made,” Dean whispers in her ear, dipping down his head slightly. “Bobby?” she assumes, concerned. “What should we… Should we stop?” But Dean shakes his head, not caring about the ranch owner at this point. He’ll get over it, and if there was ever a right time to tell the old man, today, after the wins they so desperately needed, would be the day. “Keep dancing,” he whispers, pressing a soft kiss against her hair. Y/N eases, leaning into him again, the space between the two decreased to the minimum. A breath slips from her lips, the air warm against his chest, even through his shirt. He can smell her shampoo lingering in her locks, mixed with her scent that’s so unmistakably hers. Slowly but surely, everything about her is becoming familiar, yet there’s not a single aspect of the woman before him that he takes for granted.

The way you look tonight, that second glass of wine. That did it. There was somethin ‘bout that kiss. Girl you did me in. Got me thinking. I’m thinking. One of the things that I’ve been feeling, it’s time you hear ‘em.

Listening to the words, feeling the music reach his soul, he can’t help but to evaluate the thoughts that cross his mind and the emotions that leave him vulnerable. He knows he’s beyond falling in love at this point, but even if he could, he would never want to go back. Y/N is what he never knew he needed, yet it stuns him when that three word sentence settles on the tip of his tongue. He can’t tell her, though. Not yet. The way he’s holding her right now, how he softly leans into her, is the closest he can get to actually saying it out loud. God, he hopes she knows. Dean silently promises that one day he will tell her. One day.

The cowboy pulls back slightly, dipping his chin to establish eye contact again. The kindest smile awaits him, her beautiful orbs glazed over with emotion. She’s not sad, though, quite the opposite. She’s moved. No one has ever made her feel this whole. This is the true definition of happiness, being in his arms, him looking at her like he’s doing so now. Their noses brush when Dean leans in, then he moves his mouth to hers and captures her lips with his. The kiss is soft and slow, just like the music, just like the dance. But of all the intimate moments they shared so far, this has to be the greatest one yet. The thought swirled through her head before, but in this very moment, she is sure: she loves Dean. More than she ever thought she was capable of.

You’ve got all of me. I belong to you. Yeah, you’re my everything.

From a distance, the company of four watches the couple. The dim light coming from the strings of lightbulbs above the dancefloor falls over them like a soft blanket, the spots by the stage illuminating their silhouettes. The vision before them is the definition of romance, one that silences the normally so chatty personalities on the sideline.

Jody and Donna sigh collectively, swooning at the sight. “I can’t...” The blonde ranch owner swoons. “I can’t with these two.” “They are so good together,” Jody agrees, endeared. Jo nods, proud of her friend, and secretly also of her cousin. “Gotta say, never thought I’d see it happen. If he can settle down, there’s still hope for all of us.” “You guys can thank me with a beer,” Benny sniggers, his eyes not leaving the pair either.

His comment earns a look from the three women in his presence. The farrier is about to move a beer bottle to his mouth, but pauses the action when he feels their eyes burning in the side of his head, demanding an explanation. “Who do you think talked sense into the bastard and told him to get his act together, huh?” he brags, taking a sip of his drink. “Who do you think told him to never let go of that girl and that he better put a ring on her finger?” Jody says, earning impressed nods. “Who do you think requested this song?” Donna bounces back victoriously. “Well then,” Jo holds out her bottle, waiting for the others to join her in a toast. “To the matchmakers!”

Jody is the last one to raise her wine, her eyes not leaving the sight before them. “To love,” she adds. The four agree to that, clinking their glasses together. After all, it’s what life is all about. Friends, family and that one person you’re going to share the rest of your life with. They repeat her wise words with abandon. “To love!”

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to like or reblog my work, shoot me a message or buy me coffee (Link to Kofi in bio at the top of the page).

Read part twenty-one here

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wrestlingisfake · 4 years

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AEW Fake Rankings, 2/7/2020

Men’s singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley

Cody Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes

Darby Allin

Joey Janela

Men’s singles division - heels

Chris Jericho (men’s world champion)

PAC

MJF

Sammy Guevara

Kip Sabian

Unranked: Orange Cassidy, QT Marshall

I’d prefer to see more depth in this division, but I have to give AEW credit for building up the undercard guys. A year ago I think everyone was hoping they’d score a bunch of big names from WWE, so when they rolled out with the likes of Guevara, Allin, Janela, and Sabian, it was sort of like “uh, who?” But now I can’t imagine AEW without those guys--they’re far more over than similar WWE projects like Humberto Carillo and Shorty G.

Something to keep an eye on is who they groom to challenge for the world title at Double or Nothing II in May. I doubt the winner of Jericho vs. Moxley on February 29 is going to get an immediate rematch. Cody’s storyline prevents him from getting that shot, and it’d take a big push to get the other babyfaces ready for the role. MJF or PAC could easily be ready, but I think Jericho will still be champion and a heel vs. heel match would be rough. Kenny Omega is currently doing tag team stuff but they can always pull him back for a title match, although it feels too soon for that.

Men’s tag team division - babyfaces

Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (tag team champions)

SoCal Uncensored - Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky & Christopher Daniels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

Best Friends - Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta

Private Party - Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen

Jurassic Express - Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt

Men’s tag team division - heels

Proud-N-Powerful - Ortiz & Santana

Lucha Bros. - Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix

The Butcher & The Blade

The Hybrid 2 - Jack Evans & Angelico

There’s been a lot of speculation about Page turning on Omega to set up a singles match, although Page is so over with his “hold my beer” act that it’s hard to tell what the plan was and whether they’ll stick to it. Personally I’m thinking Omega and Page could face the Lucha Bros. on 2/29, and the blowoff to Page’s storyline will be a reconciliation with his buddies. But my instincts are based on WWE history, and AEW isn’t afraid to defy those expectations.

Women’s singles division - babyfaces

Riho (women’s world champion)

Hikaru Shida

Kris Statlander

Yuka Sakazaki

Big Swole

Women’s singles divison - heels

Nyla Rose

Britt Baker

Mel

Unranked: Brandi Rhodes

I don’t think there’s any denying that the AEW women’s division has been a massive disappointment. The joshi stars appear too infrequently, the in-ring quality hasn’t been quite up to the WWE/NXT standards, and the storylines have ranged from middling to...well, whatever it is Brandi has been doing for the past 10 months.

I’m not sure what they could have done differently, or what they can do going forward. The talent pool is what it is. They’re not going to get Tessa Blanchard, Kylie Rae, or anyone from WWE, so there’s no point wishing they would. If they go all-in on intergender matches, and introduce a mixed tag team title, then maybe more women would be featured, and wrestling key male talent would get them more over. But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to get approved.

No TV or PPV matches in 30 days: Alex Reynolds, Bea Priestly, Brandon Cutler, CIMA, Emi Sakura, Evil Uno, Jake Hager, Jimmy Havoc, John Silver, Leva Bates, Luther, Michael Nakazawa, Penelope Ford, Peter Avalon, Sadie Gibbs, Shanna, Shawn Spears, Sonny Kiss, Stu Grayson, The Bunny, Wardlow

This is a staggeringly long list of underutilized people for a company that just got started. Admittedly, a lot of them have been featured regularly on the YouTube show AEW Dark. TNT wants a second AEW series, so I would imagine a lot of the talent you see on Dark will end up appearing there. You have to have curtain jerkers and jobbers, obviously, but it’s okay to put them on Dynamite once in a while, so your primary audience doesn’t forget the exist.

Part-timers: Billy Gunn, Dallas Page

Inactive

Awesome Kong (storyline injury; filming GLOW)

Kong plays Tamme Dawson on GLOW, which is shooting it final season soon, so the company presumably knew months ago that they’d be writing her out of storylines for a while. So I don’t understand why they wrote her out so abruptly, following weeks of the Nightmare Collective farting around with no clear direction. If AEW has scrapped that whole fiasco, then I guess there’s no use in continuing to complain about it, but I’m still baffled about what they thought they were doing with all that.

#aew #fake rankings

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iamchikara · 5 years

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Results for Chikarasaurus Rex under the cut. As with yesterday’s results, only point gains will be recorded. Point totals will not be touched, as they are still in flux due to the Regency Furniture results fiasco. A full update to the point standings covering all three shows, as well as any others that happen in the interval (next one is in October so I really hope this isn’t dragged out for a month) will be done once those results are released.

Match #1: Singles Contest John Francis of Coronado vs. Jakob Hammermeier w/Der Wildebeest John Francis is starting to morph into this weird mish-mash of previous American-hero types, as he used the big boot and legdrop, several of John Cena’s moves, the Angle Slam, and the ankle lock. I’m not sure how to feel about that. Anyways, the ankle lock made Jakob submit. WINNER: John Francis of Coronado (1 point) Match #2: Tag Contest, Campeonatos de Parejas Defense #1 Travis Huckabee and Tony Deppen vs. Lucas Calhoun and Stray Kat First fall went to F.I.S.T. with a small package on Calhoun after a corner kick doubleteam...and then the second fall went to them as well, as Deppen hit a double stomp on Kat while Huckabee had her in the stretch muffler. For how long we had to wait for this first defense, F.I.S.T. taking it in two straight is a bit of a disappointment for me, though at the same time it also conveys the renewed dominance that F.I.S.T. has displayed lately. WINNERS: Travis Huckabee and Tony Deppen Match #3: Singles Contest Missile Assault Man vs. Kobald MAM got the win by submitting Kobald with the Sharpshooter, then was attacked by Hallowicked and Frightmare. Lucas Calhoun and Stray Kat came to MAM’s aid, with Calhoun telling MAM that he couldn’t fight the world alone before they shook hands. Trio #15? WINNER: Missile Assault Man (1 point) Match #4: Singles Contest Fire Ant vs. Cajun Crawdad Crawdad spent the entire match trying to blind Fire, but got put away with a brainbuster after Fire got sick of that. WINNER: Fire Ant (1 point) Match #5: Singles Contest BLANK vs. Penelope Ford This is prob’ly Ford’s last CHIKARA match, as she’s full time with AEW starting next month. Accordingly, BLANK ended his obsession with the Color Wheel. Post-match, he called out Still Life for King of Trios. Considering that we haven’t actually gotten much of a reason for the breakup of the Nouveau Aesthetic beyond BLANK’s obsession with Ford and Still Life having other things to do, it’s weird that we get to this point right now and not, say, at the Season finale or something. WINNER: BLANK (1 point) Match #6: Singles Contest, Grand Championship Defense #1 (as undisputed champion) Dasher Hatfield vs. Mick Moretti Lot of interesting notes described to me from commentary. Technically, this is Dasher’s eighth defense, though first as undisputed champion. Moretti’s facepaint resembled that of one of the Baseball Furies from The Warriors, with suggestions that he was using it to get under Dasher’s skin. Most harshly, Sidney Bakabella claimed that Dasher asked for the match to go on early so he could go home and be with his kids...even though Boomer’s match was on later. See? Toxic! Described as a hot back and forth match, and Dasher successfully retained. WINNER: Dasher Hatfield INTERMI...no, not quite, pre-taped interview from Ophidian hyping up Matt Makowski. Someone possibly jumped the gun with that, but considering how disruptive the Crucible’s been lately, it fit right in with their modus operandi. Then INTERMISSION. It’s time for the Crucible’s presence on this show, as the ropes are down and Ophidian brings out his entire cadre including their referee. Match #7: Crucible Exhibition #1 Matt Makowski vs... Thief Ant is out to answer the challenge, but is shut down fairly quickly and made to tap out with a cross armbreaker. WINNER: Matt Makowski (1 point...I guess? If our esteemed Director of Fun is legitimatizing this whole thing...) Match #8: Crucible Exhibition #2 Evan Matthew Demorest vs... Still Life answers this one, to a huge reaction from the crowd. Unfortunately for Still Life, they didn’t fare any better than Thief, and the match was stopped after they were knocked out with the Demoralizer (a variant of the Last Ride powerbomb). WINNER: Evan Matthew Demorest (1 point...I guess? It’s being treated as a legit part of the show...) Ophidian issues a third open challenge on the behalf of Tunku Amir... Match #9: Crucible Exhibition #3 Tunku Amir vs... ...which is answered by a voice in the crowd screaming “I WILL!” and Jawbreaker Josue/Joey, accompanied by Xavier Faraday and Josh Wells, appears. Joey scored what looks to be the first actual victory against the Crucible cadre, forcing Amir to submit, then racing out of the building with Wells and Faraday, leaving Ophidian to fume and berate Amir before leading his followers out. WINNER: Jawbreaker Josue/Joey (1 point...I guess? Didn’t go Ophidian’s way...) INTERMISSION AGAIN Mike Quackenbush is out to address the crowd. As he apparently suffered an injury at Earning The Lucha Libre Merit Badge, he’s withdrawing from his match on here, and has handpicked Hallowicked as Joey Janela’s opponent. Match #10: Singles Contest Hallowicked vs. Joey Janela In what’s prob’ly Janela’s last CHIKARA match as well (same situation as Ford), he scored the victory with a top rope elbow drop. I don’t get why that happened, but it did. Hopefully some kind of deal can be worked out with AEW, so that he can at least come back and not sit in the inactive part of the standings. WINNER: Joey Janela (1 point) Match #11: Trios Contest The Crucible (Lance Steel, The Whisper, and Devantes) vs. the Creatures of the Deep (Oceanea, Merlok, and Hermit Crab) Bouncing back from their utter humiliation earlier in the show, the Crucible returned to form here, as Devantes pinned Merlok after a TKO. Post-match, the Queen of the Deep was not happy in the slightest with her charges, berating and hitting the big fish in her fury, then told her subjects that they’d regret it if they kept losing. Oceanea, I love ya but they’ve been losing all along and you haven’t done a thing about it, what makes you think they’re going to take that threat seriously? WINNERS: The Crucible Match #12: Singles Contest Princess Kimberlee vs. Solo Darling Kim returned to CHIKARA in strong fashion, defeating Solo with the Alligator Clutch after a Ganso Bomb. Post-match, she shook Solo’s hand, then addressed everything that has been going on. (Below is the transcription, provided by Freakin’ Awesome Network forum lildude8218) "This is just Kimber Lee here for a minute. I need to get real with you guys. Everybody has a past. Every single person here. And in Pittsburgh mine hit me smack in the face. It's something I've ran from for SO LONG and so far even to the point where I gave up my crown to keep this hidden from you. I was a different person in the past, everything you heard it wasn't wrong. I did use Lance Steel as a stepping stool to get where I am. But here's the thing: in life we all do things we regret but it's what you do afterwards that defines who you are. And I am a different person now. So this crown jewel is going to do whatever it takes to make things right." Ophidian interrupts her. "I know how you can make peace with your past. You call yourself the Princess. The Crown Jewel. But you have no kingdom. You have no purpose. The way to make peace with Lance Steel and the Whisper is by becoming a resource of the Crucible." He tells the Whisper to get in the ring and pay his respect. He tells Kim to do the same. She does. "Your new purpose is to lead me and my team to victory at King of Trios. Leave!" So yes, the deep, dark secret that Princess Kimberlee has been harboring for years, the one that she left CHIKARA to protect, the one that she let herself be first blackmailed over and now outright conscripted, is that she was a jerk to Knight Eye 4 The Pirate Guy years ago. This is something that everyone paying attention to Wrestling is Fun! at the time already knew, that anyone not in the know could easily look up, and that I’ve never seen anything even remotely resembling an outcry over. The past is past. People change. We all know that. Dwelling on regrets and holding onto things long past their relevance isn’t healthy. Why Kim let herself be bothered by something like that this far into the future from it is...concerning. Perhaps she’s weaker-willed than we all thought. Who knows? WINNER: Princess Kimberlee (1 point) Match #13: Singles Contest Volgar w/Professor Hugo Nicodemus vs. Boomer Hatfield Boomer tried his best to fight back from the underdog position, even nearly surprising Volgar with a bulldog off the top, but Volgar scored the victory in the end. WINNER: Volgar (1 point) Match #14: Tag Contest Xyberhawx 2000 (Danjerhawk and Razerhawk) vs. Cornelius Crummels and Sonny DeFarge Danjer scored the win for his team with an O’Connor Roll pin on Crummels. Man, those legitimate businessmen can’t catch a break lately, can they? WINNERS: Xyberhawx 2000 (1 point) Match #15: MAIN EVENT, Singles Contest, JKI Finals Green Ant vs. Ophidian Green Ant attempted some psychological warfare by coming out with an Ophidian mask on over his own, but Ophidian wasn’t having any of it and bumrushed him (and even rolled out of the CHIKARA Special) before tapping him out. Post-match, the Crucible paid their respects to end the show. WINNER: Ophidian (1 point...JKI is one point per round adding up to the three)

#CHIKARA #Chikarasaurus Rex #Results

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probably-writing-x · 5 years

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The Unknown One (Vol.6)

~A Noah Centineo AU Series~

Tags: @imarypayne @sunshine112 @sleepwalkingdragon @supernatural-girl97 @vibhati123 @butithasntkilledyouyet @faefictions @carisi-sonny

Inspiration: The boy next door cliché always seemed to happen in movies. But when this boy moved in to the house beside yours, he seemed willing to discover more than you wanted him to know.

Warnings: In-detail depictions of death (car accident), language warnings

Notes: I figured it was time for a big ol' fluffy chapter so here you go loves!

The knock at the door was persistent, awaiting an opening.

"Alright, alright," You sigh, opening the door to reveal Noah on the other side, "Hey,"

"I'm sorry, I'm just about to leave for the game," He stops when he sees you smile, "I assume everything's okay?"

"Yeah, the money came through. We're good," You grin, brushing your hair behind your ear, "So I was just about to leave too,"

"Ooh she's coming to see her favourite player," Noah cheers, spinning in his place on your front step.

You laugh at his confidence and his silly nature.

"I'll decide who's the best player once you win," You raise a brow, jogging down the steps and down the path from your house.

Noah shrugs, catching up to you and instinctively lacing his hand with yours, "Well you already think we'll win so that's enough,"

The two of you opt to take the walk to school, chatting the whole way. Noah had an amazing ability to make conversation out of everything so there wasn't a moment of silence between you.

"Alright I need to leave you because, well, the team need their main man," He grins, leaning down to kiss you on the lips quickly, "I'll spot you in the crowd,"

"Break a leg," You smile, "Or don't, yeah, definitely don't do that,"

He laughs and you can feel it rumble in his chest before he walks away to where the team were already beginning to group up.

You grab yourself a drink and some food before taking your seat among the rest of the students that had come to support the soccer team.

The first half is successful, Noah manages to score twice much to the excitement of his coach who could be heard shouting praises about his latest prodigy.

At half time, you notice Noah look up into the crowd for you and the smile on his face melts you just a little. Okay, a lot. You pull out your phone to text Leo's friend's mum, just to make sure they were all okay because you couldn't help but think about it.

A message pops up on your screen from none other than Noah too.

'Who could you possibly be texting that's more important than watching me sit on a bench? ;)'

You look up to see his gaze completely intent on his screen.

'Hmm, I have a lot of contacts'

'Trying to get someone to scout me for professionals? Wow, you're so supportive!'

You laugh and go to respond when you notice that the second half is just beginning. Noah stuffs his phone back into his bag and starts to jog back onto the field.

It is then that one of the opposition calls out to him.

"Centineo!" He yells from his position on the other side of the pitch, "Might want to be careful with that psycho girlfriend of yours,"

You see Noah's face drop only slightly, remaining relatively composed with all things considered.

Until one of the other players comments.

"Yeah, didn't she like kill her parents or something?" The opposing captain laughs, earning some support from his team.

Your heart drops and for a moment you're certain it stops all together. And you can't deny that Noah's probably does the same. He turns to find your eyes among the crowd. That look was what made you feel the worst. It was a mixture of fear, concern, disappointment?

You had to get out, quickly. You grab your things and run out of there like the place was on fire. It felt like your face was.

Now would he realise why you hated people at this school? And, hell, in this town?

~~~

It had been a few days since you'd spoken to Noah. He knocked at your house when he got back from the game but you pretended to already be asleep. You'd driven to school five minutes early to avoid him seeing you in the mornings and you'd spent the majority of your time in the library so you didn't have to worry about seeing him in the corridors.

His final, and most effective, chance is to head to the old building where you'd taken him on his first day. He hadn't been there since that day because he liked the idea of you having a place that was yours. But, when his sports lesson had finished and he saw you, he had to take the opportunity.

"Am I too late for entry?" His voice cuts into your silence and you look over the side of the roof to see him stood at the bottom of the ladder.

His tall frame looks small down there as his eyes peer up at you intently.

You don't respond and he takes it as signal to come and join you.

"Hey stranger," He comments, sitting a safe distance away.

"You don't want to be seen with me," You mumble, trying with everything to not look at him.

"I do," He states simply, "Because I fairly certain what those boys said was completely fake,"

"It depends how you look at it," You admit, looking up at him.

For a moment, his confidence and certainty falters because, damn, what if those assholes were telling the truth?

"My parents died two years ago. In a car accident," You begin, "We were going to this outdoor cinema thing that we used to go to every year. And this drunk driver started driving the wrong way down the road, and they hit straight into us. Mum managed to get Leo out pretty quickly but my dad stayed to get me out. And he did. But, as he did, we didn't realise the engine was on fire,"

Noah shuffles a little closer and his eyes give you a comfort that his words couldn't.

"I was covered in cuts, burns, everything," You explain further, "And my mum was so cautious about helping me and Leo that she didn't care about herself. She was cut across her stomach and she lost so much blood that the doctors said there was no hope," You clench your jaw because it stops your lips from trembling.

"Holy shit," He mutters, because how could anyone be put through that at such a young age?

"So, yeah, if I hadn't have been there my parents would still be alive. Leo would have a mum and a dad, they'd be happy," You stop yourself from carrying on because the tears in your eyes were far too strong to be held back.

"Don't say that," Noah shakes his head, pulling you into his chest and letting you cry into him, "Those people, they're assholes! They have no idea about you,"

You don't respond but manage to pull yourself away from his chest to properly look at him.

"You're unknown to them. And that's why they act like they do, because they don't understand you. They don't want to and so they choose to make it up based on rumours they hear or expectations they have," He continues and it sounds like everything makes some strange sort of sense.

You nod and purse your lips together to stop yourself from crying anymore.

"Come on, let's go home," He smiles, his thumb brushing over your hand comfortingly.

The two of you walk to your car and climb in, waiting silently for Leo to get in too.

"Hey kiddo," Noah smiles when he sees him, "How's school been man?"

Leo goes on to ramble about everything that was happening at school for him, all of his friends and his subjects. He absolutely loved it.

"Are you staying for dinner tonight?" Leo asks hopefully as he jumps out of the car, letting Bolt out too who'd been picked up from his daycare.

"Oh I don't have to," Noah assures you.

"Come on, it's pizza night tonight," You grin, finding his hand and leading him to the house.

~~~

Noah spends the entire evening at your house. You put on a random film of Leo's choosing and eat enough pizza to last a lifetime, realising you hadn't felt this happy in a very long time.

"Hey, I should head home," Noah comments as you come down from saying goodnight to Leo.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you tomorrow?" You raise your brows, following him to the door.

"Of course," He smiles, turning round to press a soft kiss to your lips.

You wait at the door as you watch him go up to his house and try to get in. Of course, he still hadn't figured out how to work his key properly.

"Fuck," He mumbles, pressing his forehead against the wooden frame, "And nobody's in,"

You laugh and roll your eyes, "Stay here,"

"No, that's okay," He shakes his head, clearly not wanting to pressure you, "My parents will be back in.." He stops to check the time, "A while,"

"Noah, come on," You tilt your head to the side, "There's a perfectly good couch downstairs and it will be much more comfortable than that step,"

"Are you sure?" He asks, walking towards you anyway.

"Positive," You smile, wrapping an arm around him when he came back inside.

~~~

It is strange that morning when Leo wakes up to the sound of an alarm and not the sound of you already rushing around the house. He pads downstairs, still half asleep, as he's cautious of why he still can't hear anything of you. And why your bed was empty - not even slept in.

When he makes his way into the lounge, he welcomes the sight. You and Noah are both sound asleep on the couch. Noah's arm is wrapped around you and your hand and head rest on his chest thay rises and falls in rhythm with his deep breathing. Leo's never seen you look this peaceful. It takes him back to when he'd come downstairs to see his mum and dad who'd also fallen asleep on the couch with a film forgotten on the TV screen. And, for a moment, he doesn't miss them. Because his sister, in what felt like her first moment of peace in years, was doing a damn good job for both of them.

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speedsterimagines · 6 years

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LADYKILLR (PART 2)

A/N: I got really into this part, I don’t know why. Also the thought of Sonny having a tattoo? Ugh. Part three will be out sometime soon, not sure exactly when but I’ll update regularly.

Summary: Dating a detective certainly has it pros and cons, but when a disheveled criminal is looking to settle a score, he goes after what Detective Carisi loves the most… you.

Word Count: 1494

Warnings: Serial Killer, Murder Victims, Stab Wound, Blood, Violence

<< Part 1 >><<Part 3>><<Part 4>><<Continuous Version>>

Sonny had been sitting at his desk for what seemed like the past 72 hours which wasn’t too far from the actual time elapsed. His normally organized work space was scattered with evidence and photos along with old chinese take out and an ice cold cup of coffee. SVU had been knee deep in a serial killer case for almost a month now, but from the beginning it seemed as though they were fighting a losing battle.

Someone was loose in the streets of Manhattan brutally attacking and murdering women at random. None of the victims could be linked to each other in any way, not their jobs, neighborhoods, or friends. The only thing the women had in common was the way they were killed. Each victim was found in her own home, no sign of forced entry, as if they knew the killer or they were welcomed in with a single stab wound to abdomen.

A couple of weeks ago, they came across a lead that seemed promising. An elderly woman claimed that she saw a delivery man at her neighbor’s door the night of her murder. Even though she claimed he had a neck tattoo, her eye sight wasn’t what it used to be and there was no way of knowing what the tattoo was. There were thousands of delivery men with neck tattoos walking the streets of Manhattan, b t there were only a handful that had previous charges, including one man who was on parole.

Hector Beckett, 37 years old, was out on parole after being charged with battery and attempted rape and had been working as a delivery man for the last few months. And as the sole eye witness describes, on the left side of his neck in old-fashioned tattoo font was the word, LADYKILLR. When Sonny came across his name and put all the pieces together, he got the approval from Olivia and made the arrest. During his interrogation he informed Hector that there was a witness that put him at the scene and his violent criminal past wasn’t going to help the situation.

“You know, when I turned eighteen I told my ma I was gonna get a tattoo,” Sonny smirked from across the metal table. “You would’ve thought I said I was gonna have a limb cut off by the way she reacted. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t get it, those things are forever y’know? I wanted the name of my favorite scripture, Proverbs 16:9, in his mind a man plans his course,” Sonny paused for a moment putting emphasis into his words. “But the Lord directs his steps.”

Hector sat straight faced, not interested in the slightest by the detective’s small talk.

“Still would be a pretty good tattoo, come to think of it. But yours? Wow, LADYKILLR? It’s moving, truly touching. How did you choose that one?”

“What can I say? The ladies love me,” he sat back in his chair making himself comfortable.

“I’m sure you love them too,” Sonny spoke sarcastically as he opened up the folder on the table. “I bet you really loved them when you made your way into their homes and stabbed them to death.”

“You got an old lady, detective?” He laughed watching Sonny’s muscles tense at the thought of such an malicious person even thinking about the woman he loved. “Who am I kidding, you’re not really my type, but I know a handsome man when I see one. Maybe I’ll give her a visit when I get out of here.”

“Too bad you’re going to be here for a while,” Sonny stood up exiting the room before he lost control of his temper.

Olivia knew Hector wasn’t going to admit to anything and when he requested a lawyer, they were informed there simply wasn’t enough solid evidence to keep him, and within half and hour Hector Beckett walked out a free man.

Which put Sonny in his current situation now, sitting at his desk, looking over every last detail hoping something would stick out like a beacon that had previously gone unnoticed, hoping to find to anything that would incriminate Beckett. He was tired, he’d had a headache for the last three days, and truth be told, he just needed a break. And as if it was a sign from God, he’d received a text from his girlfriend saying she was stopping by the precinct for a visit. Sonny stared at the clock on the wall watching the hands move so slowly, for a moment he was convinced the battery must have been dead. Knowing that a watched pot never boils, he made his way to the break room and replaced his ice cold coffee with a fresh cup.

“What’s got you smilin’ Carisi?” Fin teased as he held out his mug for a refill.

“My girl’s stopping by,” Sonny grinned, proud to show you off. “And she’s bringing cookies.”

“Oh word, those one’s from the Christmas party?”

“Those would be the ones.”

“It’s about time we got some good news around here,” Fin’s eyes lit up like a child in a candy store.

Sonny put the coffee pot back and returned to his desk, starting the paperwork he’d been avoiding, hoping that busy work would make the time go by faster and it did. By time he’d put his signature on the last sheet, he checked his phone for the time, noticing that you were almost twenty five minutes late. He unlocked his phone and clicked your name to call you but it went to voicemail. He wasn’t sure if it was his own impatience or genuine worry, but he began typing out a message and stared at his phone waiting for a reply.

Are you on your way? Fin’s asked about the cookies twice already.

A few minutes passed, still no reply. Sonny was never the one to double text, he didn’t want to feel like he was bothering someone, but it had now been almost 40 minutes since your intended arrival.

You’re starting to make me nervous, do I need to come over?

When his phone finally vibrated, he practically knocked over his coffee cup reaching to grab it. His brows furrowed as he read the words displayed on his screen.

Sorry I’m L8, got 2 reschedule

He read your words a few more times and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. If his instinct was wrong, he was worrying about nothing. But it only took seconds to make up his mind and he wasn’t willing to risk your safety in any circumstance. He hurried towards Olivia’s office making sure to knock a couple times before letting himself in. His red scarf was already draped around his neck and he held his tan coat in his hands. Sonny prided himself in knowing you completely, so when he had a gut feeling that something was wrong he wasn’t willing to waste any time.

“Hey, Lieu, I need an hour.”

“Right now? We’re in the middle of an investigation, Carisi.” She looked up at him through the black reading glasses that were rested on the end of her nose. He was never the kind of person to leave work for a non-emergent reason which caught Olivia’s attention.

“I know, but it’s about- it’s a personal thing.” Sonny was flustered and it showed as he ran his fingers through his perfectly styled hair, not worried in the slightest if he messed it up.

“Anything I can help with?”

“I’m not sure, (Y/N) was supposed to stop by today, but she was running late so I texted her to see where she was.”

“Well, Carisi, that’s not exactly out of the ordinary,” she crossed her arms across her chest.

“I know, but this is.” He handed her his phone allowing her to read his text messages.

“She’s never used an abbreviation in her text messages in the entire time I’ve known her. I also tried calling her and it’s going straight to voicemail.”

If it was one thing Olivia prided herself in, it was trusting her detectives completely. So she handed back the phone and nodded, Sonny’s signal that he was free to go. “Call if you need anything,” she said before he all but ran towards the exit.

“Hey babe, it’s me again. You’re making me nervous please pick up the phone.”

He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket and made his way through the door, choosing to walk rather than drive. If somehow you were still on your way to the precinct, this is the route you would’ve chose and eventually he’d cross your path. With no luck, he’d made it to your building not seeing you once. The walk hallway towards your apartment felt longer than usual and instinctively he held a hand on his gun. He counted the golden numbers on the doors until he reached yours, noticing the door of 3G was slightly ajar.

He removed his gun from the holster, using it to open your door and scanned your apartment. Flowers and milk scattered were across the floor, signalling that his suspicions were right, and he held his gun at attention. Alone in the middle of the apartment, you were duct taped to a kitchen chair. The sweat had caused your hair to stick to your face along with your grey t-shirt. Standing out, was a large crimson stain on your abdomen, which trailed downwards and formed a small puddle by your foot. You looked up when you heard the footsteps walking through the door, finding Sonny with his gun pointed towards you.

You furiously shook your head, trying to signal to him that it wasn’t safe for him to enter as the intruder in your apartment had positioned himself beside the door. Not heeding your warning, he took another step forward before Hector Beckett quietly walked behind him.

“SONNY, BEHIND YOU,” you screamed as you saw the man launch towards your boyfriend. “SONNY!”

<< Part 1 >><<Part 3>><<Part 4>> <<Continuous Version>>

Request // All Dominick ‘Sonny’ Carisi Jr. Content // Masterlist

Tag List - @miraxo-xo-supernatrual @barisi-esq @super-calithehamm @nophunleague @bitch-queen-of-sass @just-call-me-bitch

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whatifitscool · 3 years

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PPV Impressions – AEW Full Gear 2020

By Timmy Daytona

Despite the continuing pandemic, All Elite Wrestling has achieved a level of consistency that competitors in the wrestling industry have struggled to match. In their final PPV event of the year – Full Gear – it featured a sizeable card featuring some possibly exciting match-ups. Did it help them go out with a bang?

World Title Eliminator Tournament Final: Kenny Omega vs Hangman Adam Page

Prior to the match starting, it’s worth noting that Omega’s entrances have gotten longer since his and Hangman’s tag team championship loss at the hands of FTR. His introduction to his ring entrance included these digs at Hangman:

“He has headlined more PPVs, scored more AEW singles wins, has a better AEW winning percentage and has 8 more years’ experience than Hangman Page.”

Kenny’s interviews before the tournament presented a version of himself that is laser-focused on returning to singles glory. To demonstrate this intent, see his squash of Sonny Kiss. All business, his attempts at sportsmanship after the match looked insincere and the flashes of arrogance on the way to the final may be teasing a heel turn at some stage.

Since their days in NJPW, the Elite have enjoyed success in their storylines of friendships disintegrating and they have not disappointed when incorporating that drama into their matches. Omega and Page’s tag team match against The Young Bucks at Revolution is still the top-rated match of 2020. Their chemistry shines whenever they face one another.

That chemistry was evident in this match which felt realistic in its depiction of a competitive match-up of two former partners who know each other’s arsenals so well. It was hard-hitting, they countered each other repeatedly throughout but towards the end, Page missed a Buckshot Lariat and was hit with two V-Triggers and a One-Winged Angel before succumbing to the 3-count. This was perhaps Page’s best singles performance in AEW’s young history. The man can go and because we haven’t seen the two former partners really explode since Page betrayed the Bucks and was kicked out of the Elite, there is a sense that there could be more confrontations down the road.

The camera lingered on Page’s lost and dazed expression following his defeat. Omega barely acknowledged him and did not wait for Page at the end of the match. And Page appeared later, watching from a distance following the Bucks’ match. These subtle but significant developments are as exciting as the matches themselves.

Orange Cassidy vs John “4” Silver

In the second match of the night, Orange Cassidy and John “4” Silver would settle their short feud. As number 4 in The Dark Order, you’d think that he’d just be a generic villain but it’s great that AEW remain committed to giving opportunities to wrestlers – who aren’t main draws – their moments to shine. Silver definitely did shine – the man is a beast. The way he manhandled Cassidy, unleashed those roundhouse kicks and how he powered out of a swinging DDT, Silver showed potential that he is quickly becoming a threat. Also, how great was it that he ripped out Cassidy’s pockets and put them in his mouth? His loss to Cassidy was never in question but AEW consistently teases that unexpected wins could happen at any time. The presentation of the product is that it is a place of elite wrestlers so hypothetically, anyone could win (see Private Party’s elimination of the Young Bucks).

TNT Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (C) vs Darby Allin

Darby Allin and Cody Rhodes battled for the TNT title and the honour of being the face of TNT. Including the latter brought even more focus on AEW’s intent to elevate the TNT title to a level of importance. The package for this match was brilliant. Cody exaggerated his “victories” over Allin, casting doubt on whether Allin could be the face of TNT. They tried to sell that Darby’s unconventional appearance is not suitable to be that face while Cody came across as someone believing too much in his own hype. He stated Darby could be the face of TNT but the silent shake of his head at the end of that sentence negated that sentiment. Awesome.

Cody hadn’t handily defeated Darby twice. So it was fitting for the championship to go to Allin. He’s the first wrestler to be portrayed as confounding Cody. Cody’s overconfidence and showboating tendencies were on full display. During his first run with the title, he was once the babyface but in a reversal of roles and in particular on this night, he had become the bully in an almost David vs Goliath encounter.

Some complaints were that Darby was shown to be too resilient and while he took a beating, he got a lot of his trademark offence in throughout the match. It was a great touch on Cody’s part to drop to a knee to present the title to Darby and later put it on his shoulder.

Whatever comes next, it is great that Cody went out on a high note and his hold on the TNT title is over. It will be exciting to see what comes next during Darby’s reign for AEW’s strong and diverse mid-card.

AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (C) vs Nyla Rose

Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida’s last championship meeting was a decent outing. There were reasonable expectations that they could deliver a solid match in this next instalment in their feud. The result was solid, if unspectacular. There was the avalanche Falcon Arrow but it didn’t pop as much as the sight of Shida V-Triggering Nyla into a casino chip back at Double or Nothing. Also, Nyla’s “claw” to the knee looked silly and unbelievable. This could be wrong but Nyla’s diving knee drop onto the back of Shida’s knee looked like it actually connected. Was this a botch? In a more obvious botch, Vickie Guerrero was seen visibly failing to catch Shida’s foot in her attempt to trip her up. The ending sequence also looked like both competitors were gassed. And were the cameras meant to show Nyla asking Vickie to slap her? Let’s hope this feud is over as the overall performances when these two meet are mixed.

AEW World Tag-Team Championship: FTR (C) vs The Young Bucks (Stipulation: If Bucks lose, they can never challenge for the tag team championship again)

With the stipulation in place, the result of this match was telegraphed well in advance. There was no doubt that the Bucks would walk away with the titles. Cody had already fallen on his own sword with his stipulation for the World Championship so AEW and The Elite couldn’t afford to put themselves in a similar situation for the Young Bucks. How could they demonstrate they are The Elite if most of them are ineligible to challenge for titles?

Though the result was predictable, arriving there was very fun to watch. In a love letter to tag team wrestling, both FTR and the Young Bucks brought out finishers from tag teams that have likely influenced both. Seeing FTR use Meeting in the Middle to the Bucks performing the Hardy Boyz Twist of Fate – Swanton Bomb finisher was just a sample of the awesomeness on display. Despite their high-flying tendencies, it was a simple Superkick from Matt’s injured leg that ended it. Fitting because that was the leg FTR attacked prior to the PPV but you knew it was going to factor some way into the match’s finish.

While the Young Bucks have looked better in other matches, they certainly put over FTR who looked great. Let’s see what happens next for FTR – some sites have suggested they could form a new iteration of the Four Horsemen stable but they will likely be challenging for the tag team titles again in the near future.

Elite Deletion – Matt Hardy vs Sammy Guevara

With good reason, many were probably worried as to what could happen in this match. From Hardy getting hit by the wrong prop chair to the near-tragedy suffered at All Out.

In this COVID-era, cinematic matches remain a viable alternative to a live match and with the seemingly cursed combination of Sammy Guevara and Matt Hardy, this pre-recorded match in a controlled environment was possibly the safest option to see them conclude their feud.

Some of it was genuinely fun to see. Sammy’s golf cart was crushed by Hardy’s monster truck. Sammy performed a moonsault off the top of one of the monster truck’s wheels. Fireworks were used. Calling on his past, Gangrel appeared in support of Sammy while the Hurricane appeared in support of Hardy. The Lake of Reincarnation allowed Helms to transform twice. A small touch that was nice to see was Sammy’s creative counter out of a Twist of Fate. It was mostly the level of bonkers befitting a Matt Hardy match.

Entertaining goofs included seeing the cameraman’s shadow as Sammy drove up the driveway, the skull on the Staff of Mephistopheles flew off when Matt swung it and the fireworks disrupted the audio feed preventing Matt’s voice from being recorded. If there were minor criticisms, the commentary fell flat in spots.

In terms of major criticisms of the match, there was the near replication of Matt and Sammy crashing through a table, instead busting Sammy’s head open in a reversal of their roles from All Out. Sammy then staggered trying to get to his feet, appearing punch-drunk. Up to this point, all that could be said is that Matt has always drawn on stories or situations from his personal life. The breakdown of his and Lita’s relationship and her cheating on him with Edge became a feud in WWE. So it stood to reason that he would draw on his history with Sammy including the dangerous botch at All Out.

But then it ended with a Con-Chair-To to Sammy’s head on the floor. While some could accept them recreating the All Out botch, this ending was likely what turned most people off. It was a horror movie ending that was so shocking that it really took viewers away from this cinematic match. It was so brutal, verging on snuff and it’s a wonder they chose to end it on this note.

While these attacks or finishers have been seen on other wrestling shows or in films like The Raid, it shouldn’t have to be part of AEW simply to elicit shock. And then it ended with fireworks and a shower of Alize. Talk about tonally jarring.

Le Champion Chris Jericho vs MJF (if MJF wins, he joins the Inner Circle)

After seeing the end of the Elite Deletion, a traditional match was a good call to move on to and Le Champion and MJF had a decent outing. Jericho received a hero’s welcome during his entrance, smiling while the crowd sang Judas acapella. It was so great seeing Jericho utilise the camera to flip off MJF. It was even better seeing the Jericho of old hit the Lionsault before yelling “come on, baby!” He even brought out the Frankensteiner. But in a battle of the heels, Jericho would be outdone in this capacity. MJF’s influences have seen him look like the dirtiest player in the game but he definitely called on Eddie Guerrero when he played dead towards the end ,before rolling up Jericho for the 3-count. Simple but effective storytelling. This match served its purpose and it will be fun to see how it all blows up. Please let there be a big hoss fight between Wardlow and Hager.

Or have Jericho reveal to MJF and Wardlow that while they’re part of the Inner Circle, there’s an Innermost Circle within it that they aren’t a part of.

I Quit Match for the AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (C) vs Eddie Kingston

“You’re gonna have to kill me! You better get ready to kill me! You better get ready! This is real! This is real!”

Eddie Kingston is still one of the best signings for AEW. He isn’t a ring technician but he’s as venomous as a freestyle rapper on the mic and harder hitting in the ring.

With that promo in particular, Eddie Kingston was at his most captivating. The barely contained rage as he said those words with Moxley behind him likely had many on the edges of their seats. Kingston sounds like he is one of the hardest bastards in the sport.

This was a stiff-looking match with plenty of the clubbing blows that Kingston makes look real. It had the violence that Moxley has loved to put on display since leaving WWE. They were both on the receiving end of attacks using barbwire. Schiavone even asked, “What the hell are we watching?”

This was not athletic or as protracted as the Lights Out Unsanctioned Match Moxley had against Omega at Full Gear last year. It certainly had less plunder. But this looked just as painful. The rubbing alcohol poured over the wounds Moxley incurred on the thumbtacks would have had many wincing, as if they felt the pain themselves.

You’ve also got to love Kingston’s defiance. Casually flipping Moxley off, he then had to endure being choked with barbwire before quitting. The measure of respect Moxley had at the end for Kingston was also believable. These two put on a brutal showing and tore the house down in a style that suited them both.

Did Moxley just tease Blood and Guts at the end?

It could be argued that this is the strongest main event Moxley’s had since Full Gear 2019. While his title match at Revolution was fun when he revealed that he wasn’t blind in one eye, his chemistry with Kingston and their physicality should be applauded. They seem convincing as brawlers and this was a great brawl.

Conclusion

This was yet another strong PPV card for AEW. While nothing screamed instant classic or was anywhere near the fun of Stadium Stampede, it’s the long-form storytelling that is the key strength to AEW’s dominance in professional wrestling. The seeds laid out for feuds-in-progress or setting things up for the future are as tantalising as the matches on display.

In terms of what they had, the opening bout, the tag team championship and the main event were easily the strongest matches on the card with Cody vs Darby III being the next best. Despite a weak Women’s World Championship match, everything else that could have been seen as filler either progressed or ended storylines appropriately.

AEW ends their 2020 PPV run on a high note. But the year isn’t over yet. As they’ve said in recent weeks, “Winter is coming”. Can’t wait to see what they do to close out the year.

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gamesngraps-blog · 5 years

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New Star Manager Review - Nintendo Switch By Sonny Garner

Nintendo Switch owning football fans rejoice, the mobile game you were all obsessed with is back and bigger & better than ever.

New Star Manager comes to you from New Star Games, the same team that gave the world New Star Soccer(You may have noticed a theme here) and is a football management game with a difference, Instead of picking your favourite Premier League team and spending millions on all of the worlds best players you take control of struggling New Star FC at the bottom of the football league and it’s your job to get them back to the top and you’re in charge of EVERYTHING, From hiring staff, buying players, upgrading the stadium and surrounding facilities to even making and scoring the teams goals.

The game play is pretty simple, you pick the formation you want to play, the players you want in the team, make sure they are full of energy(NRG drinks are back) and you’re good to go, matches play out like pretty much any other management game but the one major difference comes when your team has a chance to score. When you see words to the affect of “New Star Are On The Attack” you will be presented with the chance to control your players in an attempt to score a goal, you can control players runs, make manual passes in to space or if you want to keep it simple you can just sprint, pass and shoot, when you shoot a new screen will appear with the ball rolling across the screen and all you need to do is select where on the ball you want to strike and press the shoot button accordingly, it must be said, scoring a great team goal can be incredibly satisfying.

All of the players in NSM are made up, no licensed players or teams, although the team names are pretty close so at least you know who you’re playing against, for me this isn’t a problem but I think this might deter some football purists.

The overall presentation is pleasant enough although I’ve found the menus to be frustratingly clunky, even after 30+ hours spent with the game. The graphics during on the pitch moments are fine, I have noticed some slight frame rate dips but nothing too distracting.

Another slight niggle I have is with man management of your players, for me you need a large squad, at least big enough to rotate as players run out of energy quickly and in the early goings get injured easily due to the poor quality of the pitch and it can become quite the task to keep control of, players & staff get annoyed too easily, you don’t earn upgrade or meeting cards quick enough to resolve the issues & keep them happy and when they aren’t happy you can’t renew contracts which leads to people leaving which then leads to you spending the money you can’t earn quick enough to replace those that do leave instead of upgrading your facilities to make life easier.

Overall, New Star Manager is a fun if not slightly flawed upgrade to New Star Soccer and if you enjoyed that I’ve no doubt you will enjoy this too. The £14.99 price tag might put people off, for me it should probably be half that and people might be more inclined to stump up a little more money for a far more in depth and authentic experience in Football Manager 2019 Handheld. With that said, I have lost a lot of hours to NSM so far and will no doubt lose many more and it is a game I am happy to recommend, All I advise is that you go in to NSM with the mindset that this is a mobile game presented on a larger scale minus any micro-transactions.

Score - 3/5

Review code provided by New Star Games

New Star Manager is available now on the Nintendo eShop priced £14.99

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nyotasaimiri · 7 years

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Trouble on Muhlifain V, part 3

I’m leaving this one in spoiler tags because it ended up being quite long. Sorry about that. Like the usual boss fight, I just couldn’t find a good spot to break it into smaller posts.

She heard the shriek of the rocket a split second before it hit. The ground shook, stalactites plummeting down. Nyota braced herself, trying to stay out of sight. She could barely hear her own voice as she called orders to Hadley.

“Captain! I see four of them!” Hadley’s voice sounded strange and muffled to her damaged ears. “No, six! Bossman has a bazooka!”

“Had.” Nyota saw the gleam of red light and fired. The second rocket went far off target. Dark shapes moved across the snow. Another shot sent one sprawling and the rest scrambling for cover. Return fire forced Nyota to retreat to Hadley’s position. She dropped the rifle, pulling out her spear. “We can’t let them past.”

Hadley nodded, drawing her sword as the first ones got too close. “Yes, ma’am.”

The next ten seconds were blood, snow, and chaos. Bandit leapt at her—one strike. Whirl the spear, hurl poison into their ranks. Fall back. Snow filled her eyes. Shouts filled her ears. Smoke filled her nose. Blood stung her mouth. She felt Hadley at her back, felt the bandits retreat. Too far. Something was wrong.

“Bet you thought I had just one, ape!” Their leader’s laugh, the shriek of a rocket.

“Nyota!” Six shots, faster than anything. The rocket exploded in the air. The bandit screamed in fury.

“Lumen! Great timing,” Hadley called.

The medic dropped down beside them, reloading his revolver. “Thank me later,” he said. “He’s still armed.”

The leader threw the damaged launcher aside, pulling out a rifle. “Novakid!” he shouted. “Was that your friend we got? She dead yet?”

Lumen hissed, flickering like wildfire. “I’ll make you dance, partner.”

The bandits surged forward again. Nyota ducked one, kicked hard. She dropped his ally as he went down. Hadley darted right as one grabbed at her, slashed once. Lumen picked off the first as he went for his gun, then hit another in the wrist. The bandit dropped her sword, howling. Nyota’s spear silenced her. A bullet whizzed past the Apex’s head, scoring a thin line down her cheekbone. She ducked back, trying to find the shooter, but Lumen moved faster. He heard the shot, turned and fired. His last four bullets made sure the bandit leader wouldn’t point a gun at his captain again.

“Phew! Remind me never to make you mad,” Hadley laughed. “You’re a scary-good shot!”

Lumen sighed, the angry red glow fading from his brand. “It ain’t anythin’ special,” he muttered. “Ya took down yer man, I took down mine.”

Nyota looked up from counting the bandits. “Hold up, where’s the last—”

“Lumen!” Sonny shouted from the back of the cave. “Watch out!”

Lumen stumbled as a thrown knife clipped his neck, sending a short jet of plasma hissing into the freezing air. He whirled, one hand pressed to the wound to stop the leak, revolver pointed at the last bandit. Something clicked, metal on metal. He gave a short grunt of pain as the gun slipped from his fingers. The bandit grinned.

Nyota had never heard a Novakid scream before. Electricity coursed through him, making him flicker wildly as thin cracks ruptured the membrane, sealing a second later only to open somewhere else. Sound alone wasn’t enough for the sheer agony in his voice. She could feel it in her bones. The sound warped as his brand began to fracture under the strain, the dart clipped to it sending waves of energy along his body. Don’t think. She ran toward him, her dagger slicing the wire that connected the dart to the bandit’s rifle. The sparks singed her hands, but she didn’t notice. Lumen hit the ice with a dull groan, shuddering as the last of the electricity raked its fingers through him.

The bandit laughed. “That’s what you get! That’s what you get!” she crowed. “You kill our chief, I kill all of you! I know what happens when Novakid die!” She took aim at Nyota, who stood her ground. Lumen wouldn’t last another shot.

The shot never came. The bandit’s expression shifted briefly from malice to surprise as she slumped sideways into the snow. Hadley spat, flicking blood off her blade. “Careless scum. Captain! How’s our Nova?”

Heat rolled off the fallen Novakid as Nyota knelt beside him. Lumen had lost consciousness, his glow painfully bright and almost devoid of color. The gouge along his throat had sealed up, but even with the electricity gone, slender cracks still split across his body, scorching his shirt and scarring the ice. She had no idea what to do. Her classes at the Protectorate, her earlier lessons, those dealt with organic beings. How did you heal a person made of living light?

“He’s overloaded,” Sonny rasped. She was leaning heavily on the cave wall, her color and light dim. Her last few steps were more falling than walking as she joined Nyota beside her friend. A low static hum shook her voice; Nyota realized that the green Novakid was crying. “His body’s tryin’ t’vent it, but his brand can’t... He ain’t gonna last much longer like this,” she whispered. “Y’all should run. It’s gonna be a grand show. Like a sun—we go supernova when… when we die.”

“Hadley, Namina, take Geo and Arjun and get clear. Don’t argue. Go.” Nyota was grateful that she retained enough control to keep her voice from shaking. Lumen. Dying? No. There has to be something I can do… Overload. Too much energy. A crack scorched her knee. She ignored it. Too hot, like he’s feverish. Cool him down. Water. Lumen dislikes water. It makes them burn faster. Lose energy.

Nyota pulled her scarf off, wrapping it around her hands, then braced herself and picked him up. It burned, even through the thick fabric, far worse than Sonny had when Nyota carried her so many weeks ago. She could feel the burns forming, so hot they felt like ice, as she carried Lumen out to the snow.

“Captain, have ya gone mad? Where’re ya goin’?” Sonny called.

Even if the Apex had answered, no one would have heard her over the hiss of steam as she set Lumen down in the middle of a snowbank. The snow turned from solid to vapor almost instantly, burying the world in fog, but more tumbled down to fill the gap. She kept his head out of the snow. Normal metal became brittle when cooled too fast. She didn’t want to know what would happen to an already weakened brand.

Nyota gritted her teeth as heat and cold made her skin split. This was no time to let pain win. Occasionally, she almost heard something like whispering, but each time she tried to focus on it there was nothing but silence. Lumen trembled in her grasp, his light wavering. Steam stung her cheeks. She shook her hair over her face for what little protection it offered. Stars, please, let this work.

#starbound #novakid #story post #nyota saimiri #dang bandits #lumen #alice hadley #sonny #isobu luko #i hope this turned out right...#near death experiences are fun for nobody

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flauntpage · 5 years

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Nola, Bullpen Fail To Lock Down Series Sweep of Reds

The Phillies let an eminently winnable game get away from them this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in a 4-3 loss to the Reds. A quiet offense that produced only five hits, Aaron Nola, and a leaky bullpen all shared the blame as the Phillies failed to earn a series sweep. It was a bizarre game, one with lots to talk about, so let’s get into it with some observations.

Another Weird Start For Nola

Disappointing? Underwhelming? Fine? I don’t quite know how to best describe Aaron Nola’s day. He held the Reds to only one run through six innings, but ran into trouble in the seventh. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Nola allowed a single and a four-pitch walk before being pulled by Gabe Kapler after 104 pitches with a 3-1 lead. If we’re looking for someone to blame for what happened next, I guess Kapler is a candidate because he didn’t trust his best starter in the game’s most important moment, but I’ll defend the manager here. Nola has been far from a sure thing in 2019, and he looked flat in the seventh. Plus, Jose Alvarez had been awesome lately, allowing opposing batters to hit only .186 while pitching to a 0.75 ERA since May 9. He got a weak grounder off the bat of Nick Senzel that turned into an infield single and allowed a weakly hit floater that fell for a hit after that. It didn’t work out. Shit happens.

If we’re assigning blame, I’m more inclined to put it on Nola. I know it’s not his fault that Alvarez coughed up two hits or that Vince Velasquez allowed a go-ahead pissrod RBI single to Eugenio Suarez, but with a series sweep in reach, I would like to see the staff ace shut the door on that inning and not even give Kapler a decision to make. Instead, he walked Josh VanMeter, a guy hitting .226, on four pitches. Maybe I’m being a bit hard on Nola, but I expect more from him, and he still hasn’t recaptured his 2018 form 14 starts into this season.

Do The Hustle

Everybody knows that if you want to make it in Philadelphia, you’ve gotta hustle. You know, play with grit, heart, and determination. Just ask Angelo Cataldi, the self-proclaimed voice of the fan, who spent most of the past week raising hell over Jean Segura’s failure to do a burpee and a hard 90 to first base after falling in the batter’s box last Monday. That display of disrespect to the game, nay, to the game and its fans, according to Cataldi, was directly responsible for Andrew McCutchen’s ACL injury.

It finally seemed like we were ready to move on from such an inane debate, but then Rhys Hoskins stepped to the plate in the third inning and did something that will undoubtedly give Cataldi another week of running back the same nonsense. Hoskins hit what appeared to be an inning-ending pop out before the wind took it, resulting in a 2-1 Phillies lead.

A few things about this play:

Hoskins didn’t bust it down the line. Then again, everybody in the stadium thought it was going to be foul off the bat.

Bryce Harper, who made a terrific charge at the plate to score the second run, had to do so only because he didn’t run hard on contact. He admitted after the game that he got caught looking at the play.

Guarantee you Gabe Kapler immediately thought of Cataldi after this play and muttered to himself, “Jesus Christ. Here we go again.“

I just can’t bring myself to get that fired up when over a 162-game season these guys don’t go balls out on every single play, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who will be. I’m also sure Angelo will double down on his faux outrage and call for a Hoskins benching tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for that riveting soliloquy.

As for Hoskins, the expected batting average on a ball hit that distance, at that speed and angle is .010. Seriously, .010, and he got a hit and 2 RBI out of it. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.

Bryce’s Base Running

Harper had an adventure on the basepaths in this one. As noted above, he came around third base slowly before busting his ass to the plate to beat the throw on Hoskins’ two-run single:

Harper hustle.#VoteBryce: https://t.co/LNtBBqtZiZ pic.twitter.com/sKd2droObW

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 9, 2019

In the fifth inning, he didn’t hesitate to grab second base on Yasiel Puig’s throw to the plate. It was a textbook burst out of the box and turn around the first base bag. After a Jean Segura sac fly scored Cesar Hernandez and moved Harper to third, he then tried to steal home on Reds starter Sonny Gray. Curt Casali got the tag down this time and Hoskins missed out on an RBI opportunity.

Bryce Harper tried to steal home on the right-handed Sonny Gray.

It didn't work out well for Harper.pic.twitter.com/Lw0oFMC1UU

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) June 9, 2019

As it turns out, the Phillies could have used that run, and it was no doubt an ill-advised attempt given there were two strikes and Hoskins could’ve essentially killed Harper had he put the ball in play.

Here’s what Kapler said about the steal attempt after the game:

I spoke to Bryce about that. So, he has been very aggressive on the bases, as you guys have seen. He’s won some games for us with his aggressive base running, and he and I spoke about it. He understands that was a little overaggressive.

Keep in mind Hoskins entered play Sunday hitting only .216 since May 8 and didn’t exactly have good swings today. Dumb? Yeah, but I won’t completely kill him for it. Harper is going to make some questionable decisions, and he’s going to be overly aggressive at times, but I view that as a net positive and something that will more often than not give his team a jolt. It just didn’t work here.

It’s Better to Be Lucky Than Good Part 2

Just like the Phillies caught a break in the third, the Reds scratched across a run in the second thanks to some luck. With Derek Dietrich breaking for second base on a hit and run, Jose Iglesias hit a pop up with a 50.1 mph exit velocity to second base. Hernandez vacated his position to cover the second base bag, and the ball fell to the ground, allowing Dietrich to reach third with one out. It was only the ninth MLB hit this season in which a ball was batted in the air with a less than a 51 mph exit velocity. Jose Peraza would follow with a swinging bunt ground ball that had a sizzling 51.8 mph exit velocity to score Dietrich. What a weird sequence.

Cesar Hernandez Doing it Up Top

The Phillies are going to miss Andrew McCutchen in the leadoff spot, but it was a nice little Sunday afternoon for Cesar Hernandez. Two walks, two runs scored and a stolen base. Interestingly, those two walks were his first of the season in the leadoff spot. I had some concern about moving Hernandez out of the No. 6 spot where he’s hitting .307 with a .926 OPS this season, but he’s done a nice job up top. In 27 PAs, he’s posting an .833 OPS.

The post Nola, Bullpen Fail To Lock Down Series Sweep of Reds appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Nola, Bullpen Fail To Lock Down Series Sweep of Reds published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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iamchikara · 5 years

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Results for both stages of the YLC doubleheader under the cut.

FIRST STAGE Match #1: YLC Elimination Four-Way #1 Boomer Hatfield vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Jay Sorbet vs. Bla...uh... Blanche was recently injured and had to withdraw from this match, necessitating the drawing of names to replace. Human Tornado (that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while) was #1, of course he wasn’t in the building. Neither were Hurricane Helms (#2) or Roman Reigns (#4). #3 was Sonny DeFarge, but of course he had a match later. The fifth draw turned out to be the lucky one, as Lady Frost (who has been making the indie rounds lately and has some of the nicest ring gear I’ve seen in recent times) got the nod as the replacement. So let’s try this again! Match #1: YLC Elimination Four-Way #1 Boomer Hatfield vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Jay Sorbet vs. Lady Frost Jay Sorbet apparently sings “That’s a-Sorbet” before dropping an elbow. He’ll fit in just fine, I think. Moriarty, who wasn’t s’posed to be in this either (he replaced the previously announced Jaden Való) had quite the showcase, as he eliminated Sorbet and Frost within seconds of each other. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite able to get the job done, and Boomer utilized the Heidicanrana to win the match. Post-match, Scott Holladay tried to interview Boomer and ask about his recent family issues, leading to Dasher Hatfield crashing the interview and scolding Scott for not focusing on Boomer’s win. Boomer himself never got to say a word. WINNER: Boomer Hatfield Match #2: Trios Contest The Regime vs. Arm Wringer Amir, Enzuigiri Evan, and Headbutt Hari Juan Francisco de Coronado’s bad karma has been catching up to him lately. Last month, he was booted from Ecuador due to tax evasion, and this month, well... Apparently dude hasn’t been paying the Closers for their services too well, as, instead of following his instructions to maul the three new debuting masked guys, they decided to inform him of his delinquent payment status. They wanted their payment in full. Of course, it wasn’t provided, so they ordered their opponents out of the ring and proceeded to completely destroy JFDC instead. Always remember to pay your hired goons, people. NO CONTEST Match #3: YLC Elimination Four-Way #2 Frantik vs. Thief Ant vs. Air Wolf vs. Jaden Newman A sneaky pin by Thief surprised rival Frantik, sending him out of the match first. However, it was Newman who made his mark on the match, eliminating first tournament favorite Air Wolf and then Thief with a knockout elbow referred to as “First to Last” to punch his ticket to the semis. WINNER: Jaden Newman Match #4: Singles Contest Missile Assault Man (1 point) vs. Rory Gulak I’m told Missile didn’t have too much trouble with Rory and was able to secure his second point. WINNER: Missile Assault Man (2 points) INTERMISSION Match #5: Singles Match, Unsanctioned Chain Match Lucas Calhoun vs. Volgar As this has been deemed an unsanctioned match, unless I’m informed otherwise after this has been written/posted, Calhoun’s points are not on the line. Accordingly, there was no referee and no commentary, with those in attendance providing a ten count to answer to. (I really don’t think that last part is how a chain match actually works, but hey.) As expected, it was a big brawl, with Calhoun getting the win via the super Samoan drop after smashing a bottle over Volgar’s head. WINNER: Lucas Calhoun Match #6: YLC Elimination Four-Way #3 DL Hurst vs. Davienne vs. Cam Carter vs. Still Life Davienne was out first, tapping out to a submission from Hurst. Carter, another huge favorite in the tournament, eliminated Hurst next, but missed a 450 splash on Still Life and was rolled up for the shock elimination. Scott Holladay caught up to Still Life post-match, but they (Still Life uses they/them pronouns, guess art doesn’t have any kind of gender?) refused to answer Holladay’s question regarding BLANK having a new muse (alluding to BLANK’s recent obsession with Penelope Ford). WINNER: Still Life Match #7: YLC Elimination Four-Way #4 Allie Kat vs. Brayden Lee vs. Ricky South vs. Green Ant Green refused to give Kat belly scratches, but did scratch her behind the ear. South was more than willing to give belly scratches, though he gave Lee them instead. Kat, another big favorite, was eliminated first by Green, prompting the crowd to boo him pretty heavily. South impressed during the match, at one point hitting a double northern lights suplex on Lee and Green. It was Lee who pulled out the shock elimination midway through, sending Green out of the tournament after a sequence that saw him hit a modified Michinoku driver on Green, hurricanrana South off the top down onto him, then finish him off with a shooting star press. That sounds nuts, IMO. Unfortunately for Lee, he couldn’t keep that momentum going, and South finished him with a super piledriver. WINNER: Ricky South Match #8: MAIN EVENT Singles Contest Mark Angelosetti (1 point) vs. Chris Dickinson (1 point) These two came in hot and quickly threw down. Dickinson made a point of targeting Touchdown’s leg, and nearly got himself DQ’d for bullying Bryce Remsburg. (Yes, he’s been an utter idiot as DoF, but you just don’t bully referees.) Touchdown was able to hit the Flea Flicker to end it. WINNER: Mark Angelosetti (2 points), Chris Dickinson is out of the standings Post-match, Dasher and Boomer hit the ring, as Dasher had a third opponent “from the Dugout” already lined up for Touchdown on the second half. Bryce tried to mediate the mess he helped cause, but was figuratively steamrolled by Dasher and Touchdown agreed to the match anyway. SECOND STAGE Match #1: YLC Semifinal #1 Boomer Hatfield vs. Jaden Newman Utilizing the Heidicanrana once again, Boomer punched his ticket to the finals at Newman’s expense. WINNER: Boomer Hatfield Match #2: YLC Semifinal #2 Still Life vs. Ricky South South attempted to hit the super piledriver that got him to the semis, but Still Life reversed that in midair and turned it into a jackknife pin to end the match. WINNER: Still Life Match #3: Singles Contest, MAGIC MOVE (450 Splash) Cam Carter vs. Air Wolf While Carter pulled out the 450 again and thus scored the crowd something that was hopefully nice, Wolf was able to win the match with an arm capture brainbuster. Man, Carter just couldn’t catch a break. WINNER: Air Wolf (1 point) Match #4: Trios Contest The Colony (Fire, Worker, and Thief Ant) vs. the Creatures of the Deep (Hermit Crab, Cajun Crawdad, and Merlok) This was originally advertised as a tag contest. Guess the Queen thought the crustaceans would have issues and sent the big fish. At one point, Crawdad hung from the ceiling before launching himself down onto everyone, which sounds pretty nuts. Fire secured the win for his team, pinning Crawdad after the Beach Break. WINNERS: The Colony Match #5: Tag Contest Cornelius Crummels and Sonny DeFarge vs. F.I.S.T. (Travis Huckabee and Tony Deppen) (2 points) Deppen wanted to jump Crummels and DeFarge before the match even started, but Huckabee prevented him from doing so. Everyone shook hands and immediately doublecrossed each other, leading to something of a mirror match for a bit as both teams evidently read the same rudo playbook. As this match was rudo/rudo, the crowd ended up kicking up a “Let’s Go No One” chant instead of picking a side. Utilizing a double stomp/stretch muffler combination, F.I.S.T. picked up the win and their third point. WINNERS: Travis Huckabee and Tony Deppen (3 points) Match #6: Grand Championship Defense #5 Dasher Hatfield vs. Solo Darling Both competitors brought their best, both dishing it out and taking it. Solo even kicked out of a jackhammer after a double stomp...at 1. If that doesn’t prove she’s tough as all getout, I don’t think anything will. Dasher was finally able to put her down with an Oklahoma Stampede. WINNER: Dasher Hatfield Match #7: YLC Finals Still Life vs. Boomer Hatfield Boomer injured his knee early on, hampering his ability to get the job done. Still Life took full advantage of that, as well they should, and was able to get the victory and the cup via the Venus Fly Trap figure four. Post-match, Scott Holladay once again attempted to speak to Still Life, only for BLANK to appear. He addressed Penelope Ford, saying that she ruined his masterpiece last month, and he couldn’t unsee that no matter what he did. He then leaves. (I am not sure where this one’s going...) WINNER and YLC XV HOLDER: Still Life This year’s King of Trios is announced! It’s going to be on October 4-6 (good on them for moving it so that it didn’t clash with BOLA) and in Reading, PA. Tickets went on sale today. Match #8: MAIN EVENT Singles Contest Mark Angelosetti (2 points) vs... As Dasher said he had someone lined up “from the Dugout”, there’s only one person this could be, and it is indeed Icarus, who is going into the match with one point. Touchdown and Dasher’s hitman threw down, with Ick trying to get the killshot early with the Blu-Ray, only for Touchdown to kick out. The way this match sounded, it’s a wonder Touchdown wasn’t injured again during it. Unfortunately, Ick couldn’t finish the rightful Grand Champion off, and Touchdown punched his ticket to a showdown via an Oklahoma roll. Post-match, Ick went to pick up Touchdown, only for Dasher to intervene...and inform him that he had one job and he failed, before letting Ick pick up Touchdown and hit the Blu-Ray again. “Mark, earning three points does NOT make you a champ.” DoF Remsburg attempted to intervene as well and take back the title, but was again shut down. Touchdown attempted to plead with Dasher, only to be laid out with the title. “I worked too hard. It’s mine and I’m keeping it.” At this point, Bryce finally decided to try to curtail the mess he helped cause and give us what should’ve been done from the getgo: a proper match between Dasher and Touchdown, making a ladder match for April 5th to decide the undisputed Grand Champion. He also announced that as his final act as DoF, marking an end to his much-criticized tenure in the position. WINNER: Mark Angelosetti (3 points), Icarus is out of the standings

#CHIKARA #YLC XV #YLC '19 #Results

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dpinoycosmonaut · 6 years

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A MOST NOSTALGIC GATHERING

by Bert A. Ramirez / October 27, 2018

Some young people (the millennials in particular) may not be able to identify with the story I’m about to relate, but there’s unmistakably a link between this and the basketball they now know. This is because today’s game, not the least of which is the passion for it, emanated from the personalities we just linked with.

The history is unmistakable. Edgardo Roque, simply Ed to us and now 81 years old, Edgardo Ocampo, represented by his widow Lulu, and Renato “Sonny” Reyes Jr., represented by his widow Vida, are three of the perennial bulwarks of the Philippine national team that created the legend of the country as Asia’s No. 1 power before Mainland China decided to join the mainstream. Lest one forgets, no country outside America and Europe has to this day also duplicated the feat accomplished by the 1954 national squad that placed third in the Rio de Janeiro World Basketball Championship, whose leader, Carlos Loyzaga, started this affinity of mine for basketball and sports in general to make me carve a career as a journalist.

It was thus a full circle of sorts when we finally met up with our original idols, the Yco Painters, last October 27, for a gathering among former players of the legendary squad of the now-defunct Elizalde Group of Companies and its admirers, supporters and plain basketball buffs. The venue was the Yaku Restaurant at the SM Podium reportedly owned by the family of another Yco legend, Freddie Webb, who unfortunately couldn’t join the group because of an out-of-town commitment.

But Roque, Vida and Lulu were there, and so were Orlando Castelo, Arturo Valenzona and Ramon Belmonte Jr., three more of those ‘60s generation Painters, as well as latter-day Yco players Alexander Marquez and Ramoncito Bugia, who spanned the post-PBA generation and the next batch that ended with Alvin Patrimonio, Glenn Capacio and the late Jack Tanuan donning the red-and-white of the Yco squad coached by another Yco original, the now-departed Edgardo Gomez, to two final amateur titles before they formed the nucleus of the Purefoods Hotdogs that took the PBA by storm in 1988.

Get the drift? In all our affinities in the game and in sports, there’s always a link. The Yco Painters provided the country the talent to occupy a lofty place in the sport in Asian and international competitions, and we therefore rooted for the redshirts with a passion unequaled until we discovered the Boston Celtics. Our loyalty also stuck with the Purefoods ballclub that took over the Elizalde Group’s Tanduay franchise in the PBA, and the nucleus of that Hotdogs squad was provided by no less than the last generation of Yco players. If there’s any more perfect symmetry than this, I don’t know what it is.

We actually missed several guys we expected to come to this first meet-up among former Yco players and supporters alike (a monthly gathering among former Painters was actually initiated by the late former Yco star Elias Tolentino Jr. back in 2015, but Elias got afflicted with the Big C that eventually took his life prematurely a year ago). We missed as we said Freddie, as well as Bo Dones (who with Vida took the cudgels in organizing this activity), former Painter Felix Flores, basketball junkie Ariel Morales and Ignacio Dee, another history buff like me who used to discuss a supposed player rebellion that took place against then-Painters coach Caloy Loyzaga back in the ‘60s (we’ll later have more on this).

But we still had quite a representative and exciting group with Tessa Jazmines, the most passionate Yco and Celtics faithful this side of me, finding the time to come despite the traffic and her multifarious concerns both on the business and academic side (she used to manage her alma mater’s UP Maroons but is no less involved now), Lulu and Ed Ocampo’s daughter Katrina tagging along, Turo’s second-youngest kid also around and Ed’s driver also providing company.

The anecdotes and stories about the past naturally abounded, which is what such gatherings are supposed to produce, on top of the usual updates about one’s current state. Ed, for example, told us that he is still very much active at his age, working as a broker and apparently earning more than he ever did as a player, which did not pay one well considering players’ amateur status then and the fact that they were employed by the companies they played for, and were thus paid salaries for their office work, not for employing their tremendous athletic skills.

Ed confirmed the veracity of the player rebellion that the Painters then staged against Caloy, a story corroborated by Orly, who at 6-feet-3 was one of the Painters’ bonafide centers (he backed up Elias after Caloy retired early in 1964). That story about Caloy made me realize that my original idol also had feet of clay, although at this stage, I’m no longer the starry-eyed kid that I was before, and so can live with that reality. The unhappiness about Caloy as a coach mostly stemmed from his lack of compassion with his players, having been the greatest player of all and probably forgetting that he had to cut them some slack as they could not be as good as he was.

“He no longer had to teach us much as we already knew at our level what we were supposed to do,” Ed related. “All a coach needed to do at that level was to lead. Leadership from him was all that we were looking for.”

Orly also recalled an occasion when he was able to score with a right-handed layup against Mariwasa import Billy Robinson, despite the fact that Robinson was defending him on his right side. He was admonished by Caloy that he should have used his left hand, which had Orly flabbergasted as the ultimate goal - score - was achieved anyway.

“Mestizo kasi,” was all Ed could come up with as an explanation for Caloy’s condescending attitude towards his players in an allusion to Spanish mestizos’ perceived superiority complex vis-à-vis anyone.

Vida, in our own tete-a-tete, also confirmed to me a story I earlier heard about Sonny Reyes’ close call even before he passed away of a heart attack, his first and last, at the young age of 52 back on June 10, 1997. Vida told me their young daughter was then carried away by a strong current in a beach during an excursion in Iba, Zambales, where beaches have a unique sudden decline just a short stretch from the shore. Sonny, along with a colleague, tried to retrieve her, but after seeing that colleague engulfed by the tide himself, Sonny then tried to save his girl by himself, whereupon he was swallowed by the strong current and was brought underneath the waters. Helpless, Sonny’s entire life at that point flashed before him, a sign that he was about to meet his end. Fortunately for Sonny, a strong current that brought him and his daughter back to the shore saved them in the end, although that colleague of his was not as fortunate.

Vida recalled that Sonny suffered his fatal heart attack after a hectic day at the Elizalde offices, where he worked even after his playing career. At that time, he could hardly even take off his socks after coming from work, and Vida just came upon Sonny convulsing in the middle of the night, and even after doing everything necessary to save him, he was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Sonny was probably the best swingman in the game during his time, possessing not only excellent ballhandling skills but a deadly outside shot that would have come in handy had the three-pointer just existed then. He was a member of practically all national teams that were formed from 1963 to 1970, including the 6-feet-and-under World Championship in 1967 in Spain.

Lulu, Ed Ocampo’s widow, was unexpectedly lively. The wiry lady of the greatest defensive guard in local basketball history (remember, Ed used to limit the great Korean shotmaker Shin Dong-pa to 10 points below his average; Shin did get 12 points in the Koreans’ 83-80 loss to the Philippines in the ABC title game right in their homecourt in 1967) is now engaged in a bag-making business that benefits the underprivileged. He put me on the spot when she asked how I rated Ed compared to another two-sport great and former Yco teammate himself, Eduardo Pacheco, in the sports where they exceled in - football and basketball.

I told the group that Eddie Pacheco gets my nod in football as nobody then simply played the all-around game that Eddie did, but I did make Lulu smile when I said her husband definitely had the edge in basketball over his former teammate and alter ego.

“Akala ko sasabihin mo pang mas magaling sa basketball si Pacheco eh. Talagang magagalit na ako sa iyo pag ‘yun ang ginawa mo,” Lulu said in jest. As a compliment, I gave Lulu, whose grandson Jarvey by daughter Pinky and son-in-law and former basketeer Jayvee Gayoso is now the top football star at the Ateneo, a couple of copies of the pioneering football book I put together for the University of Asia and the Pacific two years ago.

Valenzona, who made it to the 1964 Yokohama Olympic eliminations where the country failed to make it to the Tokyo Olympics by a whisker, confirmed to me the story on his left foot’s amputation due to gangrene brought about by a diabetic condition he was initially not aware of. In his soft-spoken manner, Turo said he had scratched a wound he had in the foot, but it later turned into black that became gangrene even as he found out he already had diabetes. Fortunately, doctors at FEU where he starred in college worked on him and he now has a prosthetic foot to replace his original one.

Turo proudly says his children now based in the States are taking care of his medical requirements, a tribute itself to the great upbringing he gave them.

One largely unknown anecdote came up during the get-together, and this was about the fact that the Ysmael Steel Admirals, the Painters’ arch-rivals then (in fact, this was the version of the Crispa-Toyota feud before the PBA came), had locked up Reyes and Belmonte even before their collegiate career at UST could end, paying them a monthly salary (a rarity in those days as we said) even before they could wear the Admirals’ blackshirt. This was due to the fact that Fely Fajardo, the Ysmael Steel coach then, was also the duo’s coach in college. Belmonte, however, suffered a knee injury to derail that scheme, and the then-Painters mentor, the late Valentino “Tito” Eduque, came calling himself, convincing Belmonte to shift allegiance to Yco and getting Don Manolo Elizalde, the Yco owner and the conglomerate’s patriarch, to shoulder the surgical procedure that Belmonte needed at that point. Reyes, meanwhile, was also convinced to come to Yco when the salary he was getting from Ysmael Steel was matched by the Painters.

Many more stories that could form part of future columns were told, and they showed how human these boyhood heroes of mine actually were. As I look forward to the next get-together (could it be during Freddie Webb’s birthday on November 24?), I anticipate even more gratifying moments with these Painters and their admirers, and an even more nostalgic sharing of some of the great moments in local basketball and sports.

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thegloober · 6 years

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Yankees 3, Orioles 2: Hicks sends Yankees to the postseason with a walk-off double

Game 154: The Penultimate Home Game

Postseason bound! Saturday evening the Yankees officially clinched a spot in the 2018 postseason with a 3-2 walk-off win against the Orioles in eleven innings. The Blue Jays beat the Rays earlier in the day to help the Yankees out. At worst, the Yankees will be the second wildcard team. The magic number for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is now seven.

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

Lynn Grinds Through Five Innings Real Talk: Lance Lynn starts are just as painful as Sonny Gray stats, except Lynn is a tad better at getting outs. He labored through five innings against the Orioles — the 2018 Orioles — on Saturday and finished with two runs and nine baserunners allowed. Lynn also benefited from two runners being thrown out at the plate and another being caught stealing. So the O’s made a full inning’s worth of outs on the bases while Lynn was on the mound. Geez.

The Orioles scored their first run on a play that was equal parts bad, dumb, and weird. With runners on the corners and one out in the third, Cedric Mullins hit a weak tapper back out in front of the plate, and Lynn and Gary Sanchez did the “I got it you get it” thing. Sanchez picked it up, rushed the throw, and it sailed wide of first base. But! Gleyber Torres retrieved the ball in foul territory, threw home, and Steve Wilkerson was tagged out … by Lynn? By Lynn.

Huh. Sanchez committed a passed ball that put a runner on third with one out in the first place, then he threw wide of first for an error, and then he got caught watching the play and Lynn had to make the tag at the plate. Not your best inning, Gary. Anyway, a run scored on the play and the play at the plate was the second out. Lynn was able to get the third out and strand the tying run at second.

In the fifth, the Orioles scored in a more traditional way. Wilkerson doubled and Caleb Joseph singled to right, and Aaron Judge threw Wilkerson out at the plate. Poor guy was 0-for-2 going home on the afternoon. Two things about this play. One, Judge’s throw from right field was 96.9 mph, which is pretty nuts. I guess the wrist is feeling good. And two, replays showed Wilkerson never actually touched the plate. Sanchez blocked it with his foot. Cool.

Lynn’s final line: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K on 93 pitches. Five consecutive batters reached base against him in the fifth inning, yet Aaron Boone stuck with Lynn with the bases loaded and two outs, and he got the ground ball to third to escape the jam and keep the score tied 2-2. Lynn had eight swings and misses among his 93 pitches and three came in one at-bat, when Joseph swung and missed at the same inside two-seamer three times.

Was this Lynn’s last start of the year? He’s not going to be in the postseason rotation should the Yankees advance to the ALDS, so they may move him to the bullpen during the regular season’s final week in preparation for his postseason role. Normal rest would allow him to pitch Thursday, and then he could squeeze in one more tune-up outing Sunday. I guess we’ll see. Lynn was not all that good Saturday, but it could’ve been worse.

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

A Bit Of A Mess Against Hess The Yankees put eight men on base in five innings and still had a weak showing offensively against rookie righty David Hess, who went into Saturday’s start with a 5.22 ERA (5.68 FIP) and 19 homers allowed in 91.1 innings this year. Hess did not have a single 1-2-3 inning yet somehow the Yankees only had two runners in scoring position in his five innings. Miguel Andujar had a one-out double in the fourth and Andrew McCutchen and Judge drew back-to-back one-out walks in the fifth.

As you might imagine given Hess’ numbers and their offensive tendencies, the Yankees scored their two runs against him with the long ball. Aaron Hicks short-porched a solo shot in the third inning and, two batters later, Luke Voit went opposite field and nearly over the home bullpen. It was one of those home runs that makes you think Voit is no fluke. Driving a fastball to the opposite field side of dead center with 109 mph exit velocity like this ain’t easy:

The first three batters of the third inning had base hits for the Yankees. Hicks homered, Andujar singled, Voit homered. Voit’s home run was a solo shot because Andujar was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double. Replays made it look like Andujar thought the ball was clearly into the right-center field gap, but Adam Jones got to it quickly and made a good throw to second. By time Andujar picked up the pace, it was too late. Still love ya, Miggy.

Battle of the Bullpens Both clubs went to the bullpen after getting five innings of two-run ball from their starting pitcher. First out of the bullpen for the Yankees: Chad Green. He was able to pitch around a leadoff double and a two-out walk in the sixth inning. Closer-turned-seventh inning guy Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a scoreless seventh. His fastball velocity was way down (96.1 mph average and 98.3 mph max), though, after a month-long layoff, I’m sure he’s still rebuilding some arm strength. Hopefully he gets back into the triple digits next week.

The Orioles, meanwhile, went to Miguel Castro. He tossed a scoreless sixth and seventh innings even though the Yankees had a runner on third with one out in the seventh. Gleyber Torres doubled to left and moved up on a passed ball, then was cut down at the plate on the contact play on McCutchen’s grounder to third. I hate the contact play so much. I mean, I get it, force them to make the perfect play. That’s why teams do it. I just hate it. Especially with Judge due up. And, even if they intentionally walk Judge, you’ve still got still Didi Gregorius at the plate with runners on the corners. Bah.

How important was this game? Important enough that Dellin Betances got the call for the third straight day. First time all season he’s pitched back-to-back-to-back days. Relatively low pitch counts Thursday (16) and Friday (11) helped make it possible. Dellin struck out the side on 19 pitches. He extended his AL record to 44 straight appearances with at least one strikeout and is five games behind Chapman (2014 Reds) for the all-time record. Probably not enough time to get there this season. Oh well.

Anyway, right around the time Tanner Scott struck out Hicks to end the eighth inning, Ken Giles got Tommy Pham to hit a tapper back to the mound in Toronto to close out the Blue Jays’ win over the Rays. That knocked the Yankees’ magic number for a postseason spot down to one. A win Saturday and they’re in! Aaron Hicks, do the damn thing:

Unseen in that video is Hicks fouling a pitch directly into his left ankle two pitches prior to the walk-off double. It looked pretty brutal. He was in obvious pain and stayed on the ground for a while before successfully lobbying to stay in the game. Then, two pitches later, he doubled into the corner (on the fourth slider of the at-bat) to send the Yankees to the postseason. Gregorius set that up with a leadoff single. Hot damn that was fun.

Leftovers Man, what an escape job by Jonathan Holder in the tenth. He allowed a leadoff double and then a weird infield single where Voit got caught in no man’s land, and Holder couldn’t beat Jonathan Villar to the first base bag. A grounder right at Gregorius (infield in), an intentional walk to load the bases, a line drive at Voit, and a pop-up to Torres got Holder and the Yankees out of the inning. The O’s went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position on the evening.

The Yankees did a whole bunch of nothing against Baltimore’s bullpen. One hit in five innings before Didi and Hicks teamed up for the game-winner. In fact, after Voit’s home run in the third inning, 26 of the next 31 batters the Yankees sent to the plate made outs. This was the opposite of Friday’s game. Friday night neither team could find a reliever who could get outs. On Saturday, everyone got outs.

Speaking of the bullpen: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K combined from six relievers. Green, Chapman, Betances, Zach Britton, Holder, and Tommy Kahnle each threw a scoreless inning. Sonny Gray was warming up when Hicks walked it off in the 11th, so he was the next man in the game. Great work from the bullpen, especially Holder, who escaped that massive jam.

And finally, Hicks’ home run was his 26th home run of the season, extending his career high. It was also the 250th home run of the season for the Yankees, extending their franchise single-season record. Voit then hit their 251st homer of the year. Here are the six most homer happy teams in baseball history:

1997 Mariners: 264

2005 Rangers: 260

1996 Orioles: 257

2010 Blue Jays: 257

2016 Orioles: 253

2018 Yankees: 251 (and counting)

Can the Yankees hit 14 home run in their final eight regular season games to break the record? It’ll be tough since four of those eight games will be played in Tropicana Field, which isn’t exactly known for giving up home runs. A good five-homer game Sunday would really help the cause.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings Go to ESPN for the box score and updated standings, MLB for the video highlights, and FanGraphs for the postseason odds. Here’s our Bullpen Workload page and here’s the win probability graph:

Source: FanGraphs

Up Next The final home game of the 2018 regular season. Time flies, man. Veteran lefty J.A. Happ and veteran righty Alex Cobb are the scheduled starters for Sunday afternoon’s series finale. That’s a 1pm ET game.

Game 154: The Penultimate Home Game

Source: https://bloghyped.com/yankees-3-orioles-2-hicks-sends-yankees-to-the-postseason-with-a-walk-off-double/

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party-hard-or-die · 6 years

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Major League Baseball roundup: Smoak lifts Jays over Tigers

Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with his 11th homer of the season to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-3 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

Jun 30, 2018; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak (14) hits a walk off home run against Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who have won the first two games of the four-game series to extend the Tigers’ losing streak to 11 games.

Nicholas Castellanos hit a two-run homer for the Tigers and John Hicks had a solo shot.

Smoak’s second career walk-off homer came against Detroit reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1). Seunghwan Oh (4-2) pitched around a single in the top of the ninth to earn the win.

Reds 12, Brewers 3

Reliever Michael Lorenzen, used as a pinch hitter, swatted a grand slam to cap an eight-run seventh inning as host Cincinnati rallied to beat Milwaukee.

Lorenzen’s third home run of the season came against Jacob Barnes, the Brewers’ fourth pitcher of the day, and made a winner of Reds reliever Daniel Hernandez (3-0), who worked a scoreless seventh inning before Cincinnati’s offensive uprising.

Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out 12.

Red Sox 11, Yankees 0

Chris Sale fanned 11, allowed one hit in seven dominant innings and combined with two relievers on a two-hitter as Boston rolled at New York.

Rafael Devers set a career high with five hits and drove in four runs. He hit a grand slam in the first off Sonny Gray on a 1-2 curveball before adding three singles and a seventh-inning double.

Sale (8-4) allowed only a Giancarlo Stanton single with two outs in the first and two other baserunners. He reached 100 mph on his final strikeout of the game against rookie Gleyber Torres in the seventh.

A’s 7, Indians 2

Edwin Jackson recorded his 99th career win and continued his impressive run against Cleveland, pitching host Oakland to a sixth straight win.

Josh Phegley, Dustin Fowler and Matt Olson hit home runs, helping the A’s overcome a 2-0 deficit to record a second straight win in the three-game series.

Jackson (1-0) picked up his first win with his new team with 6 2/3 innings of two-hit, two-run pitching. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. The 34-year-old right-hander improved his career record against the Indians to 10-1,

Cubs 14, Twins 9

Jason Heyward had four hits and drove in two runs, and Albert Almora Jr. went 3-for-3 with two RBIs before departing with muscle cramps to lead Chicago past visiting Minnesota for a third straight victory.

It was the third four-hit game of the season for Heyward, all coming in June. Ben Zobrist added two hits and three RBIs and David Bote scored three runs for Chicago. The Cubs finished with 20 hits, 17 of which were singles to go along with three doubles.

Jun 30, 2018; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (19) is tagged out at third base by Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw (21) in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK

Joe Mauer drove in three runs for the Twins, who got a home run from Eddie Rosario.

Angels 6, Orioles 2

Albert Pujols and David Fletcher came up with key hits as Los Angeles scored five runs in the eighth inning to win at Baltimore.

The Orioles held a 2-1 lead before Pujols tied it off Mychal Givens (0-6) with a double to right-center. Two batters later, pinch hitter Chris Young reached on a fielder’s choice against lefty Tanner Scott that drove in the go-ahead run. Scott later hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch, forcing in a run, and Fletcher followed with a two-run double.

Justin Anderson (2-2) earned the victory with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, handing the Orioles a seventh straight loss.

Rays 5, Astros 2

Wilson Ramos recorded four RBIs in his first two at-bats, and Tampa Bay rode an ambush of Justin Verlander to a win over Houston in St. Petersburg, Fla.

One start after allowing season highs in hits and runs, Verlander (9-4) eclipsed those totals in a second consecutive subpar outing. Verlander worked five innings, a season-low total, and surrendered five runs on nine hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Ramos doubled with the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning, and he singled with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. Each time, he knocked in Kevin Kiermaier and Matt Duffy.

Marlins 5, Mets 2

JT Riddle’s tiebreaking RBI infield single capped a three-run sixth inning as Miami rallied for a win over visiting New York.

The Marlins have won the first two games of the three-game series to move percentage points ahead of the Mets for fourth place in the National League East. Miami had been in last place in the NL East every day since April 5.

The Mets, who opened the season 11-1, have lost three straight and finished 5-21 in June. They have the worst winning percentage in the NL.

Phillies 3, Nationals 2

Jorge Alfaro and Aaron Altherr delivered RBI doubles on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning for host Philadelphia, which survived the early loss of starting pitcher Vince Velasquez to edge Washington.

The Phillies have won three of their last four. The Nationals have lost four of their last five and six of their last eight.

In the second inning, Velasquez was hit on the right (pitching) arm by a comebacker off the bat of Adam Eaton. Remarkably, Velasquez raced over, picked up the ball with his left hand and threw out the speedy Eaton to end the inning and keep a runner from scoring from third. Velasquez exited the game due to a right arm contusion.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 1

Ian Desmond hit a home run and German Marquez gave up just two hits over eight innings as Colorado won at Los Angeles.

Marquez was the second consecutive Rockies starting pitcher to go eight innings against a Dodgers offense that set a franchise record with 55 home runs in June. Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson lasted eight innings in Friday night’s victory.

Slideshow (13 Images)

Marquez (6-8) yielded one run while striking out nine. He didn’t issue a walk. Adam Ottavino tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.

Braves 11, Cardinals 4

A grand slam by Nick Markakis highlighted a six-run, fifth-inning rally, and Atlanta coasted to a win at St. Louis.

Markakis went 2-for-3, scored twice and drove in five runs, the most important being his fourth career slam that came off St. Louis starter Luke Weaver (4-7). It was his ninth homer and first since June 5. The right fielder also doubled and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth as the Braves beat the Cardinals for the second straight day.

Max Fried (1-2) was the beneficiary of Atlanta’s 15-hit attack, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing four hits and three walks.

Rangers 13, White Sox 4

Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua homered, and Bartolo Colon picked up his 245th career win as host Texas knocked off Chicago.

Colon surrendered three runs on seven hits in a five-inning start. He struck out two and walked two for the Rangers, who have won three in a row and 11 of their past 13.

Texas pulled away with a seven-run eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Jurickson Profar and a two-run triple from Elvis Andrus. The Rangers, who also had a seven-run inning in their Friday win over the White Sox, have outscored Chicago 24-7 in the first two games of the series.

Mariners 6, Royals 4

Felix Hernandez allowed three runs in the first inning before blanking visiting Kansas City for the next four innings as Seattle won its season-high sixth game in a row.

Hernandez (8-6) allowed three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five.

Ryon Healy went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer for the Mariners, and Mitch Haniger added three hits.

Padres 4, Pirates 3

Wil Myers hit a solo homer and a two-run double, and Joey Lucchesi allowed one hit over five scoreless innings as San Diego defeated visiting Pittsburgh.

Lucchesi (4-3) picked up his first win since April 28. He was making his third start since missing 33 games with a glut strain. Working on a 90-pitch limit, the rookie allowed only a fourth-inning, leadoff single by David Freese and four walks with five strikeouts.

Brad Hand picked up his 23rd save by stranding the tying run at third with no outs after giving up two runs on three consecutive extra-base hits to open the ninth.

Giants 7, Diamondbacks 0

Brandon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen and Joe Panik homered, and San Francisco rookie Dereck Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings during a win over Arizona in Phoenix.

McCutchen and Buster Posey had three hits apiece, and Crawford, Pablo Sandoval and Panik had two RBIs apiece, helping the Giants win for the sixth time in seven games and the ninth time in 11.

Rodriguez (3-1) gave up six hits, struck out five and walked two in winning his second straight decision. The Giants posted their 10th shutout of the season, their second in four games.

—Field Level Media

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Major League Baseball roundup: Smoak lifts Jays over Tigers

Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with his 11th homer of the season to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-3 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who have won the first two games of the four-game series to extend the Tigers’ losing streak to 11 games.

Nicholas Castellanos hit a two-run homer for the Tigers and John Hicks had a solo shot.

Smoak’s second career walk-off homer came against Detroit reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1). Seunghwan Oh (4-2) pitched around a single in the top of the ninth to earn the win.

Reds 12, Brewers 3

Reliever Michael Lorenzen, used as a pinch hitter, swatted a grand slam to cap an eight-run seventh inning as host Cincinnati rallied to beat Milwaukee.

Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out 12.

Red Sox 11, Yankees 0

Chris Sale fanned 11, allowed one hit in seven dominant innings and combined with two relievers on a two-hitter as Boston rolled at New York.

Rafael Devers set a career high with five hits and drove in four runs. He hit a grand slam in the first off Sonny Gray on a 1-2 curveball before adding three singles and a seventh-inning double.

A’s 7, Indians 2

Edwin Jackson recorded his 99th career win and continued his impressive run against Cleveland, pitching host Oakland to a sixth straight win.

Josh Phegley, Dustin Fowler and Matt Olson hit home runs, helping the A’s overcome a 2-0 deficit to record a second straight win in the three-game series.

Cubs 14, Twins 9

Joe Mauer drove in three runs for the Twins, who got a home run from Eddie Rosario.

Angels 6, Orioles 2

Albert Pujols and David Fletcher came up with key hits as Los Angeles scored five runs in the eighth inning to win at Baltimore.

Justin Anderson (2-2) earned the victory with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, handing the Orioles a seventh straight loss.

Rays 5, Astros 2

Wilson Ramos recorded four RBIs in his first two at-bats, and Tampa Bay rode an ambush of Justin Verlander to a win over Houston in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Ramos doubled with the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning, and he singled with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. Each time, he knocked in Kevin Kiermaier and Matt Duffy.

Marlins 5, Mets 2

JT Riddle’s tiebreaking RBI infield single capped a three-run sixth inning as Miami rallied for a win over visiting New York.

The Mets, who opened the season 11-1, have lost three straight and finished 5-21 in June. They have the worst winning percentage in the NL.

Phillies 3, Nationals 2

The Phillies have won three of their last four. The Nationals have lost four of their last five and six of their last eight.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 1

Ian Desmond hit a home run and German Marquez gave up just two hits over eight innings as Colorado won at Los Angeles.

Slideshow (13 Images)

Marquez (6-8) yielded one run while striking out nine. He didn’t issue a walk. Adam Ottavino tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.

Braves 11, Cardinals 4

A grand slam by Nick Markakis highlighted a six-run, fifth-inning rally, and Atlanta coasted to a win at St. Louis.

Max Fried (1-2) was the beneficiary of Atlanta’s 15-hit attack, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing four hits and three walks.

Rangers 13, White Sox 4

Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua homered, and Bartolo Colon picked up his 245th career win as host Texas knocked off Chicago.

Colon surrendered three runs on seven hits in a five-inning start. He struck out two and walked two for the Rangers, who have won three in a row and 11 of their past 13.

Mariners 6, Royals 4

Felix Hernandez allowed three runs in the first inning before blanking visiting Kansas City for the next four innings as Seattle won its season-high sixth game in a row.

Hernandez (8-6) allowed three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five.

Ryon Healy went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer for the Mariners, and Mitch Haniger added three hits.

Padres 4, Pirates 3

Wil Myers hit a solo homer and a two-run double, and Joey Lucchesi allowed one hit over five scoreless innings as San Diego defeated visiting Pittsburgh.

Brad Hand picked up his 23rd save by stranding the tying run at third with no outs after giving up two runs on three consecutive extra-base hits to open the ninth.

Giants 7, Diamondbacks 0

Brandon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen and Joe Panik homered, and San Francisco rookie Dereck Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings during a win over Arizona in Phoenix.

McCutchen and Buster Posey had three hits apiece, and Crawford, Pablo Sandoval and Panik had two RBIs apiece, helping the Giants win for the sixth time in seven games and the ninth time in 11.

Rodriguez (3-1) gave up six hits, struck out five and walked two in winning his second straight decision. The Giants posted their 10th shutout of the season, their second in four games.

—Field Level Media

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