#she was such a lynch pin character in the second season of the series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deepdisireslonging · 6 years

Text

Family Found Part 28: Not a Total Loss

The Reader has to take a match into her own hands when one of her wrestlers is attacked backstage. With that against her, and the other events of Survivor Series not playing to her favor, how can she prove to Stephanie McMahon that she is still the best option for a General Manager?

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence, some Sheamus x Reader, uneven match descriptions, probably some typos (sorry, wrote this quick)

Word Count: 5430 (I am so so sorry. It’s a big PPV!)

Note: It’s Capstone season for me, so some of this is a bit more rushed than I would have liked. Still, it turned out pretty good, and I’m getting excited for some things to come. Also, I have Becky still competing because my invasion was different, and she would not have been hurt in mine. Please let me know what you have been liking or disliking about my series. The tag list is still open. Enjoy!

Part 1: Welcome to the Team

Part 27: Powerhouses

Survivor Series – November 18, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA

Before the show could even get started, there was one more fight that needed to come into being. It wasn’t your problem. The stars were part of William Regal and Drake Maverick’s crews, and part of it was up in the air until after Saturday’s NXT: War Games. The cruiserweight champion, Buddy Murphy was pleased to see Tommaso Ciampa retain the NXT championship. So, on Sunday they met each other in the ring as part of the pre-show. NXT versus 205 Live.

You were in the PPV booth with Renee, Shane, and the regulars watching the match and listening to the join commentary team make their usual commentary. Mario’s ‘Mama Mia’ never failed to make you smile. Though first, you had to flinch. Ciampa technically weighed less than Murphy, but only by three pounds. And his stringy form was making some problems for Murphy each time he tried to catch him. But when he did… there was nothing Ciampa could do. The cruiserweight wasn’t one of the highest flyers, but he was plenty. If Ciampa couldn’t get up, then he was repeatedly at risk of getting pinned. Luckily for him, he was a sly character. He didn’t have to get to his feet, all he had to do was roll out of the way of a landing and let gravity fight against Murphy for him.

This strategy won. Ciampa’s hand was eventually held high, and he even went as far as to put a weary boot on Murphy’s chest for the event.

***

The wrestlers were still leaving the ring when a techie came up to you at the booth. He whispered in your ear something that made you jump out of your chair and rush back stage.

When you arrived, the trainers were already taping up Dolph’s knee and shoulder. “What happened? Dolph, if this is some trick to get out of the match-“

“I was attacked from behind. I’ve been looking forward to this match and you know it! Why would I have myself attacked?” He tried to stand to say as much closer to your face, but his knee gave out. The trainer had him lay back on the concrete floor. He gave you a look and shook his head. Dolph noticed and sighed. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You couldn’t tell if he was apologizing for getting attacked, or for challenging Sheamus in the first place. You assumed the former. It wasn’t his fault. “It’s okay. I’ll think of something.” You turned and walked a few steps away. “Something.”

***

The pop for Breezango was incredible. Although Fandango wasn’t going to be competing, it was still good to see their team entrance. Arm sling and all. The reaction for R-Truth and Tye Dillinger was almost as good, but most of the energy went towards rapping along. Tyler and ‘Dango got into it too.

It was a fun match. Tye and ‘Dango stayed on the floor while Tyler and R-Truth performed acrobatics against one another. Impressed by R-Truth’s flexibility, Tyler tried to do a split.

Tried.

Thankfully, his own flexibility helped him spring into his own impressive stance. And the battle continued. There was a five-second dance break, and some fashion feux-pas tickets given out to some audience members on the front row, and to Tye. He didn’t take kindly to this and got up on the apron to argue it with Tyler, which gave R-Truth the opening he needed. He rolled the officer up and won the pin. Tye tossed his ticket in ‘Dango’s face and left with his partner having won the first score of the show for Smackdown.

***

Survivor Series officially started.

Sheamus made his entrance alone since Cesaro was going to go solo later. Backstage, you were in a rush and bumped into Shane coming back from the pre-announce table.

“What are you doing?” He motioned up and down to your hastily thrown-together gear. Technically it wasn’t really gear. Just some flexible skinny jeans and a black tank-top with the Raw logo on it.

You finished your hand tape. “What do you mean ‘what are you doing?’ Did you think I wouldn’t have a back-up plan?”

“You can’t just…”

“I know. Like you have never inserted yourself into a match. Or erroneously filled a team member spot or main evented or wore black and white stripes. Nah. Heaven forbid a manager get involved. Tonight, you guys are just going to have to deal.” You smirked and took a deep breath, squaring off to him. “A manager does what they have to, to keep the show going.”

Shane sputtered as you side stepped him to enter the arena.

Sheamus laughed as soon as your music hit. He leaned against a corner as you lifted a mic to your lips.

“Sorry, Sheamus. Dolph Ziggler won’t be able to fight you tonight. Oops,” you shrugged and continued down the ramp. “But what kind of manager would I be to deny the WWE Universe a unique match?” The mic bounced off floor and you entered the ring. The bell rang shortly after, and you began to circle one another.

Right out of the gate, Sheamus sling shot you into a corner and tried to take you out with a Brogue Kick. You dodged it easily, laughing. He smiled back and waited for you to take a turn attacking him. Before he could change his mind, you bounced off the bottom rope and swung a punch to his face, shaking your hand after the collision. He stumbled back, shock giving way to being impressed. There weren’t taking turns after that.

He caught your Seth-taught frog splash, and he was too big for you to Spear. You were to quick for him to trap in the ropes for chest slaps, and your self-preservation kept avoiding getting hit to hard. The ref was having more trouble getting you two to fight than the usual keeping wrestlers apart. You wanted to keep smiling at each other too much. After another evasion, you spun to sit on the ring post. When Sheamus turned to find you, you gave him a finger wave. Then you jumped, effectively catching him at the shoulders and dropping him to the canvas for the first attempted pin. It didn’t work, but that feeling of ‘almost’ was addicting.

You wore him down a few kicks at a time. Due to his tall figure and your lack of equal height, you aimed more at his thighs and stomach to cut him down to size. Occasionally you forgot to keep your arms up to block and took a punch to the head or shoulders that sent you spinning away. You had to avoid another Brogue Kick, wincing as his boot barley missed your face. With his knee still resting on the top rope, you scaled the turnbuckles and spun to give your punch more force. It hit Shamus square in the jaw and sent him to his back. One, two, three later, you won Raw’s first score of the evening. You had felt him tense at two and a half, but he didn’t go through with it. Something you confronted him about while the crowd cheered.

“Raw’s goin’ ta need the win. We’ve got the better teams.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” Hiding a true smile with a smug grin, you held out your hand for his. He took it and gave you the handshake. “Good luck with the rest of the show, Miss Manager.”

“The same to your team, Mr. Sheamus.”

***

The second match was the first of the one-on-one matches. Natalya and Becky Lynch took a second to observe each other after the bell rang. For Natalya, it was just another match. Another chance to show how she deserved to be the women’s champion, for Raw and for herself. Becky saw it a different way, and she had expressed as much with her Twitter account. Natalya was another example of a legacy winning over the individual hard work of a roster. Because of this, Becky started the match at the same intensity as she did with her last woman standing match with Charlotte. Fast and brutal.

Desperate to slow the match to a glacial pace so she could catch a breath, Natalya caught Becky up in a series of holds. With each, Becky scrambled to the ropes or was able to contort her way out. So, Natalya changed her game. She met Becky blow for blow, and kick for kick. Dragged her to the center of the ring for holds. And still, Becky fought her way out. If she couldn’t beat Natalya, then her victory over Charlotte was a fluke.

And that could not happen.

When Becky had repeatedly beaten Natalya down to the canvas, she finished her off with a Dis-arm-her. She left the ring holding her blue title high, even as the ref handed the red one back to Natalya still recovering.

***

The women of Raw squared off against the women of Smackdown. The blue brand ladies were running on a high note with their champion’s victory. Carmella was already bragging that she was going to challenge Becky next when she led her team of Charlotte, Sonya, Mandy, and Asuka to the next win. Ember rolled her eyes but kept that plan in mind. She turned to Nia, Sasha, Alicia, and Ruby for a few last words, then left the ring to give the first-round ladies their space.

Sonya and Ruby faced-off first. Sonya pointed back at Mandy. She had back-up from her own mini team is she needed it. Ruby was by herself in a team of people she had taken great pride in destroying. They met in a head-lock, with Ruby taking the opening advantage. They struggled back into the Raw corner, where Sasha tagged herself in and quickly flipped Sonya into the bank statement. The Smackdown team flooded the ring, dragging their teammate from the hold. The teams were forced away from each other by the ref, who noted the change of tags to Carmella and Alicia.

Each woman had a turn to shine. And when the moment was over and she began to dim, another tagged in and picked up where she left off. Alicia eliminated Mandy. Sonya eliminated Alicia. Ember and Asuka had a long engagement, but neither was able to eliminate the other. Nia tagged herself in and eliminated Asuka after a while that left her battered and bruised. Charlotte took that advantage and quickly rolled her into a Figure Eight, relying on her teammates to keep the others at bay. Ruby tried to sneak in to catch Charlotte off-guard but missed the tag that brought in Sonya, who eliminated her with a series of rough punches.

It was down to Ember and Sasha against the three remaining Smackdown women. Sasha leapt in and caught Sonya in another Bank Statement. This one was successful with the others engaged on the floor. Carmella was nowhere to be seen, leaving it to Charlotte to answer the empty tag. Outside on the floor, Ember was hunting for Carmella. She found her hiding behind a camera crew. Carmella screamed, making Charlotte turn from where she had Sasha ready for a pin. Sasha leapt up and rolled Charlotte onto her back, holding her down just long enough for the pin. They glared at each other. The Queen took her time leaving the ring, making sure Sasha was looking at her instead of watching her own back. Which is where Carmella entered with a superkick as soon as Sasha turned around.

Ember slid into the ring, eyes aglow with her victim in her sights. Carmella backed up into the ropes, ordering the ref to keep her back. She tried to escape to the floor, but Ember met her on whatever side she landed on. Carmella finally changed her tactic and fought back. She was captain. And she was going to make sure she was number one contender for her brand’s women championship. She tossed Ember around by her hair. Kept her on her knees. Spun her into corners so she could hit her fast in a place where she couldn’t get away. When it looked like Ember wasn’t going to make it, she turned to the crowd and started to gloat. By the time she had turned back, Ember was on the top turnbuckle. Carmella shrieked. It was cut short by the Total Eclipse and the following pin.

***

The coed teams of Jimmy and Naomi Uso, and Bayley and No Way Jose met in the ring next. The women said hello to one another, and the guys shook hands. Then the bell rang. The match had the same rules as the Mixed Match Challenge. Naomi and Bayley started first. They were cordial to each other but didn’t hold back. Naomi was almost pinned after a series of Bayley-to-bellies. After she kicked out, she rolled out of Bayley’s grasp and tagged in Jimmy. Jose danced in from the other side, hip bumping Bayley on his way by. Jimmy danced for a while with him. But when his back turned, Jimmy ran for the ropes, drop kicking Jose just as he came back around. Jose kicked out at two, making Jimmy tag in Naomi with a huff.

It continued like that. Each team trying their hardest to beat each other down. Tagging out when it was time to switch tactics. In the end, Bayley and Jose didn’t have nearly as much practice working together as the married couple. There were no hard feelings after the pin. Goodbyes were said in a similar way as to the greeting at the beginning of the match. And all four of the wrestlers walked out of the arena together.

***

Logic left the building. Sanity entered the arena. And then Braun Strowman and Dr. M. The doctor wore a blood red lab coat with a ripped blue pocket. A detail that did not go unnoticed by the opposing team. Before they could take the fight to him, Braun took it to them. He controlled most of the fight while Dr. M watched from the floor and kept an eye on their third member, Wolfe. For the longest time, it didn’t matter if Killian or Eric were in the ring. Braun was more powerful, and he only had minimal difficulty in powerslamming Killian. But when they finally cornered him and took turns tagging in, they were able to get him to his knees.

Wolfe cheered them on while Dr. M scaled the ring, holding out his hand for the tag. Braun roared and burst from the corner. He staggered to the center of the ring where Young stopped him with a pair of fists to his spine. He fell to one knee again, taking the blows while Dr. M called out words of encouragement. Words that were strange and twisted and made Young pause. It was enough. Braun broke forward and tagged in Dr. M. Young was caught in the kiss-n-twist and Braun kept Killian from interfering. Raw had another win, making it even against Smackdown.

***

The tie did not hold for very long. Shinsuke Nakamura and Seth had a match for the ages. United States champion versus the Intercontinental champion. The match was constantly moving, jaw dropping, and had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Even Corey was enjoying himself. Seth responded to Nakamura’s “come on!” with a shrug and a near-pedigree. His attempted frog-splash was diverted into a roll as he was thrown over Nakamura’s shoulder on the way down. They danced around the ring like the veterans they were, sometimes having to take a moment to smile in awe at their opponent.

Seth scooped Nakamura up in his northern lights suplexes, making the king of strong style wobble half-way to his feet, seconds away from falling to his knees. It was the opening he’d been waiting for. But on his way by, Nakamura ducked, and Seth tripped over his leg. Seth came back up, spinning around and ready for anything. Except a kinsha-sha. When Seth could blink without his vision blurring, he stared incredulous at his victorious opponent ascending the ramp.

***

The Prince of Phenomenal met the Demon King once again. But this time, as man versus man. Finn passed his Universal championship out of the ring, and AJ did the same with his WWE Heavyweight title. When the bell rang, AJ rushed Finn, catching him in a head lock and pushing him back into the ropes. Finn wrapped himself up in the ropes, hanging out there until the ref was able to get AJ to back off. Then it was his turn. With a series of rope bounces, he had AJ flipped onto the canvas, kicked to the face, and down for the first attempted pin. They rolled away from each other, the seriousness of their matches setting in. Raw was down a win. If Finn won, the men’s elimination team had a chance to win the who pay per view for the show. If AJ won, it wouldn’t matter.

This lit a fire in both of them, making them run and jump and crash into one another. When they weren’t leaping at each other from high, they were interfering with the ropes and making everyone watching flinch with the landings. AJ jumped up on the ropes to do a Phenomenal Forearm to Finn on the floor, but he spun out of the way, leaving AJ with nothing to do with his momentum but fall back into the ring. When he came back up, Finn was there was a kick to the face. The Universal champion scaled the turnbuckles and finished the match with a coup de grace. Raw still had a chance. And the two leaders gave one another a ‘too sweet’ after taking back their titles.

***

Before the men’s elimination match started, while the teams were still staring each other down, Dean and Jey stood across from each other. Dean’s fist let go into a Shaka that Jey mirrored. They shook their fists like they were tossing back a drink, then shared a smile. Kofi let them have their moment, but as captain, he scooted Jey over so he could stare Dean down.

The captains started the match. At the bell, Dean was already attacking Kofi’s head and shoulders with punches. Kofi was able to grab him around the waist and push his back into a corner but then needed to take a breather. He got it by placing his hand over Dean’s face and leaning ever so slightly. When Kofi had his rest, he stepped back, leaving Dean confused. But only for a second. Dean kept Kofi on the defense for most of the rest of their time in the ring. With a kick to the stomach, Kofi fell with a Dirty Deeds. Almost. At the last second, he kicked out and twisted Dean up for the pin.

Before the Raw captain could roll out of the ring in shock, Drew McIntyre was in the ring with a Claymore kick that eliminated Kofi. Cesaro stepped to him. The men were equal in strength and skill and height. Which made it hard for either to gain the advantage. When neither could even take the other down to a knee, they both backed off, tagging in different partners. Bobby Roode and Jey Uso entered the ring. Again, there was a match in skill. But Jey gained the upper hand and lucked out with a heavy drop-kick. Bobby Roode was eliminated.

Baron stepped in, angry that his team was falling apart so quickly. He ran at Jey, who dodged and sent the lone wolf out of the ring, who spun around the ring post and was back in the match in seconds. With a Deep Six, Jey Uso was taken out of the match. Elias and Drew rushed into the ring as Cesaro, Rusev, and Andrade came in to keep Baron from taking advantage of their downed teammate. Once he was safely out of the ring, everybody backed off. With the encouragement of the rest, Rusev entered the match. Baron narrowly avoided a Matcha Kick that would have made him vulnerable to a hold. Both Drew and Elias held out their palms for a tag. Baron growled and shied away. He should have been captain. If he had, they probably would have won the match by now. Another furious attack later, Rusev was eliminated.

Team Smackdown was livid. Baron wisely tagged in Drew when Cesaro entered. With a simple trip, Cesaro had Drew on his back and in perfect position for a spin. He let Drew go as Baron tried to interfere, slinging Drew into Raw’s corner where Baron could tag himself in. He was caught and spun too. Elias held his hands up in defense under Cesaro’s glare. Instead of interfering, he rolled Drew to the floor and pushed Baron further into the ring. Dizzy, Baron wasn’t able to fight back as well as he had before, and he was eliminated. Elias eased into the ring. He used Cesaro’s anger against him and continually beat him down to the canvas until he was able to roll him up for a fighting pin. Andrade rushed in just as Elias and Drew switched. No matter what they were going to do, he was a fresh man who had more energy than them combined. He eliminated Drew first, still reeling from Cesaro’s spinning. Then, avoiding Elias’s heavy hits and dangerous knees, Andrade was able to pin Elias.

Smackdown won Survivor Series with five matches to Raw’s four. Their first winning year.

***

Monday Night Raw – November 19, 2018

It was inevitable. Still, you flinched to hear Stephanie’s boots approaching. Hopefully, your plan was going to be enough to wow her and the disappointed universe.

“This is unacceptable,” she spat, “we are the leading show for the WWE, and we should have won. You-“

“Hey, take it easy. I think we did pretty well, all things considered. We only lost by one match, and I won mine. On the fly, might I add.” You sighed. “In the long run, we’ve still got the lead. Raw won the last two years, and this has been Smackdown’s first winning Survivor Series. We’ll get them next year. I don’t really know why you’re so upset. Everyone tried their hardest, and we put on some great matches. Not a single won was an easy win. In my eyes, we are still the leading show. Especially now that everyone will work that much harder to prove it again. Don’t worry.”

“But-“

“Stephanie.” You gave her a soft smile. “It’s okay. This is Monday Night Raw. We will excel like we’ve always done. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an announcement to make.” You headed for the door but turned and offered for her to go first. “Shall we?”

***

The women of Raw were already waiting in the ring when you and Stephanie arrived. Nervously, you spun the mic between your palms. “Well done, ladies. All of you. In my eyes, you were all a success in showing off the best female talent in the WWE. So, I think it’s time for a change. Another milestone. This Saturday at Starrcade, there is going to be a tag match. Four on four. The winners of that team will get first pick. ‘First pick of what’ you might ask. Well, the final product isn’t done yet, but Raw is going to have women’s tag team titles.”

The women gasped and hushed each other so you could continue.

“The winning team of Starrcade will get first pick of their teammate for the tournament to determine the first ever female tag team champions.” With a smile you let them flock you for hugs and thank you’s and handshakes. “Good luck everyone.”

You held the ropes open for your boss. She shook her head and met you on the apron. “And you were going to tell me… when?” Stephanie smirked. You were still in trouble, but not nearly as much as you had been.

In the ring, Ember picked up a mic before everyone could leave the ring. “Natalya, could you stay a minute?” She handed her mic to the champion, then went for another. “I’d like to have a word.”

“I’m all ears,” Natalya said brightly, motioning to her trademark cat-ear headband.

“You lost your match.”

She shifted the title uncomfortably on her shoulder. “So did a lot of people. Why? Do you think you could have done better?”

Ember cocked her head. “Maybe I do. I was the captain of the winning elimination team. And as such, I deserve a title shot. And I want it at Clash of Champions.”

Biting her lip and looking off into the crowd, Natalya scoffed. “What? Starrcade too soon for you?”

“No,” Ember sing-songed. “I’m going to be busy already. I’m going to be in that tag match. Making history. And then… I’m coming for your title.” She pouted mockingly. “That’s enough time for you to prepare. Get those last pictures and stuff, right? They’re all you’re gonna have of that title once I claim it.” She dragged a finger down the red and white, then across Natalya’s shoulder blades on her way around to the ropes. “Enjoy it while you can.”

***

Backstage, Sasha stopped in her tracks and rolled her eyes. She turned around to go the other way, but Bayley stopped her.

“Sixty seconds. That’s all I need. Hear me out.” She waited for Sasha, who crossed her arms with a sigh and set her gaze on her former best friend. “The world is changing. It’s getting bigger, and there are new opportunities. Like the new Raw women’s tag titles. We both know the group that’s going to do anything to get their grubby hands on them first. But what if they didn’t make it.”

Sasha squinted. Bayley’s time was almost up, but now she was listening.

“We are the best at what we do. But for the past several months we’ve turned it against one another. It’s weakened both of us. You don’t have to like me. I don’t have to like you.”

“We just have to work together,” she added.

Bayley grinned. “I’m glad we can agree on something.” After half a nervous breath, she held out her hand. Sasha took it and gave it one hard shake before continuing her way down the hall.

***

“I once held the whole world in my hands.” Dr. M peered out over his firefly followers with Braun standing right behind him. “I rose up and up and then fell into a pool that cleaned out the cobwebs in my mind. And I realized, the world I held was not rotten and in need of salvation by fire like I had originally thought. I realized it was just sick. In need of a doctor. It still needs salvation, make no mistake. Salvation from the depths the WWE has sunk to.”

Dr. M stroked at his beard, newly trimmed but still dark against the bright white lab coat. “This Saturday there is to be a match. Whoever comes out on the other side will be the number one contender for these badges of honor.” Behind him, Braun lifted the tag titles to show them off. “But there is another, more desperate matter at hand.” He breathed deep. “The sickness. The illness that has taken these athletes and lulled them into a false security. To heal anyone, I must first go to the one who was infected first.” Dr. M grinned. “Starrcade. Then… the purification begins.”

***

“Dean. Dean!” Seth jogged to catch up with Dean. “Where’ve you been all day?”

“Nowhere,” he mumbled. Dean shrugged Seth’s hand from his shoulder, but Seth grabbed at his forearm.

Seth shook his head. “No, no, no, no, no. Don’t avoid me.”

“I’m not going to talk to you about this.”

“I know, but Y/N is busy-“

“She’s in hot water because of me. I wasn’t going to talk to her either, brother.”

“No. Just listen.” Seth succeeded in getting Dean to face him. “It’s not your fault. There were four other guys in that match. And four other matches that could have ended differently. A whole mess of things that were out of your control.”

“Actually,” Baron stepped into the light, overshadowing Dean. “It was. You were the captain. There were four of us who could have started that match better. You got us off on the wrong start.” He leaned closer to Dean’s face as your cousin bit back a growl.

Seth stepped between them. “Hey. You didn’t do so hot yourself, mister lone wolf. You made sure the team lost when you wanted to do everything by yourself.”

“I eliminated more of Smackdown than anyone else. And who are you to get into this? One of those ‘other four matches’ was yours. And you lost it.”

“Shut up,” Seth and Dean chorused. Just Baron was about to bite something back, they froze at the sound of a guitar.

Elias walked up. “I have to agree… with Baron.” Everyone looked confused. Including Baron. “You also lost your match, Seth. You’re supposed to be ‘the man’ and this great pinnacle of wrestling skill. But you fell flat,” he said, twanging his guitar strings. “A champ is not a champ if he can’t win matches.”

Dean had to be the one to step between them. “You’re the one that got pinned, cockatoo.”

Seth pushed against his arm. “And I bet you think you’re the guy to step up, huh?”

He grinned. “If you think you can handle it after such a sweeping loss.”

“You’re on.”

Elias’s eyes raked over the title on Seth’s shoulder as he turned to leave. Baron gave one last hard look at Dean, then went his way too.

***

It didn’t take long for the Seth and Elias’s match to get nasty, even with Dean there to run interference from anybody who tried to get involved. Seth flattened himself against the barricade as Baron swept past. Baron moved to attack again, but Dean hit him from behind. Elias reached over the ropes and grabbed at Baron’s vest, effectively unbalancing him over the apron where both Seth and Dean could attack his rib cage. When Elias let go, Baron sagged to the ground where Dean could keep a close eye on him.

“Stop messing around and get in here,” Elias said, nodding towards the ring. He stepped to the center of the ring, ignoring Seth’s dramatic huffs.

They kept going. Elias was sure that the match with Nakamura would have exhausted Seth, but he was mistaken as to the amount. With a series of Northern Light suplexes, Coasts to Coasts, and a Curb Stomp, Seth retained his Intercontinental Championship.

Later that night, you announced that the four of them would have a match at Starrcade on Saturday.

***

“Congrats on your win tonight. To bad about your loss on Sunday.”

“Yeah, yeah” Seth chuckled, shifting his title on his shoulder. “I’ve already been over that tonight, and I’m not looking to do it again.”

“T’at’s too bad. So much for Monday Night Rollins. Guess that doesn’t extend to other nights of the week.”

Seth spun. “Really? That’s how you see it?”

“T’at’s how I see it.” Finn’s forehead creased as he watched the cogs turn in Seth’s head. “Watcha thinkin’ about there, Seth?”

The man chuckled. “You remember a couple weeks ago I said I would hold both titles by the end of the year? How would you like the chance to prove me wrong?”

Finn slowly grinned. “It’s one of my fav’rite things. Shall we set tha date for Clash of Champions?”

“Yes. Unless you lose your match to Drew tonight. And again, on Saturday. Then… I guess I’ll have to make the deal with him.” He gently patted Finn’s shoulder before walking off.

***

The main event was to determine if Drew McIntyre was going to have a title shot at Starrcade. But he had to beat Finn first. Which he did, carrying the rage and frustration over from losing in the elimination match. Finn’s high over beating AJ Styles again wasn’t enough to keep up with the Scotsman.

The combination of a Glasgow Kiss and a well-timed Claymore Kick wiped the champion out for the pin. And put at risk Finn’s title reign.

Part 29: A Dangerous Road

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Forever Tags: @blondekel77 @hallemichelles @laochbaineann @lavitabella87 @ramblingsofabourbondrinker @savmontreal @southsidebucky @tinyelfperson @zuni21798

WWE/Series Tags: @a-home-for-stray-stories @amballins-priestess @top-1-percent @mother-forker @neversatisfiedgirl @racheo91 @roman-reigns-princess @secretagentfangirl @thetherianthropydaily @wwe-smutfics @scuzmunkie @likeisaidwhatever @cait-kae @ramsaypants @sony-undead18 @brianaraydean @st4yingstrong @dopeybubbles @crystallizeme @jessica91073 @denise8691 @stalelight @kenyadakblalock @1dluver13xx @lauren-novak @lunatic-desert-child @littledeadrottinghood @livelifewondering

#Family Found Series #original wwe series #original storyline #cousin!dean ambrose #cousin!reader #general manager!reader #survivor series 2018 #wwe au #wwe parallel universe #monday night raw #smackdown live #it's nearly 1 in the morning #why do i do this to myself

7 notes · View notes

danmacrae · 7 years

Text

Silly 90s Intro Blab: A Thing To Skim Through On The Toilet

youtube

Hello! I’m semi-tolerable nuisance Dan MacRae! Why am I shouting at you? Not sure! Sorry, I’ll take it down a notch.

Instead of learning how to pleasure a woman or how to unlock the mysteries of grooming, I have devoted my life to TV nonsense. Blessed YouTube presence RwDt09 has been collecting these amazing compilations of era (and sometimes season) specific TV intros and they are my everything. Imagine having a child that didn’t suck? That’s the feeling RwDt09′s videos put in my heart.

I've been obsessively rewatching this collection of mostly forgotten early '90s TV intros. The bulk of these shows died a quick death and feel like the product of whatever drugs TV execs take. (Probably something snorted from one of those awesome McDonalds coffee straws they ditched in like 2002.) Because I'm a handsome pin-up hunk of the year, I wrote some dumb blurbs about the first few shows and have some stray thoughts on the rest. This appeals to no one but me AND I APOLOGIZE TO NO ONE!

In the immortal words of John Lennon, let’s get biz-zay!

DINOSAURS: I’m at a point in my life where I can acknowledge that Dinosaurs sucked. It’s incredibly freeing. Christ, this is like that stupid-ass Norman Lear show where dogs did social commentary BUT WITH HENSON PUPPETS! I hope Baby Sinclair was stomped to death and eaten as pudding before the extinction series finale. (Yes, that happened.) The intro isn’t bad, mind you. You get the lumbering theme song and Earl gets stuck in a door CUZ LAFFS! TIMES SURE HAVEN’T CHANGED HO HO HO! God I hate these fucking dinosaurs.

Intro MVP: It’s not a stellar pack, but we get a bit of Robbie Sinclair who census data has shown led to a variety of surprising sexual awakenings for youths at the time.

SCORCH: A 1300-year-old dragon named Scorch visits the 1990s on a budget that looks not far removed from Skank on The Ben Stiller Show. The song will make you want to barricade your sex organs from a world where you can bring children into a world with THAT CAWAZZZY SCORCH! The theme song really is a special brand of irritating and Scorch looks like a malformed Deviant Art dildo with a vaguely religious bent.

Intro MVP: Probably John O’Hurley for not actually appearing in the intro. (Even with O’Hurley’s weird résumé.)

FISH POLICE: Not to be confused with the (ARF! ARF! ARF!) Dog Police, Fish Police and Family Dog are shows I know almost exclusively from being mentioned as examples of the crappy post-Simpsons primetime animation gold rush. Fish Police actually looks good animation-wise, but it’s pretty clear you’re gonna be sledgehammered with endless “COULD YOU IMAGINE FISH DOING THESE OLD TROPES? DO WE NEED TO CALL A SEARCH PARTY FOR YOUR SIDES? ARE THEY SPLITTING ALREADY?” jokes. Congrats dipshits, you made a cinema-touched precursor to Frankie & George. You dummies. Also there’s the tone of casual racism UNDER THE SEA so do with that what you will. DID YOU SEE CHINATOWN? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT?

Intro MVP: Thank goodness they specified who John Ritter voices so we could all bask in Inspector Gil as a character name. Fuck you, Fish Police.

CAPITOL CRITTERS: Christ, this looks UNWATCHABLE. Like walk into oncoming traffic as an alternative unwatchable. Capitol Critters centers around an animated mouse named Max (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) witnesses his family being murdered in Nebraska and moves to D.C. and wait what the fuck is going on with those roaches? (Racism, mostly.) Who thought this was a good idea to invest time, money and animator joint damage in? Stephen Bochco, baby! I have a perverse curiosity to see an episode but after 90 seconds I know I'd be dying to eat a fucking gun instead of suffering through any more of Capitol Critters.

Intro MVP: Gotta be Bochco. Also, EAT SHIT BOCHCO!

And now a really tiny blab about the rest. Watch this clip package, ya goofs!

FAMILY DOG: Folks were fucking horny for Spielberg TV shit in the 90s, ditto Tim Burton too and that's how an Amazing Stories, uh, story was morphed into a shitball TV series that Brad Bird wanted no part of. Also, I have no idea how to explain things like the CBS StereoSound chyron to anyone born after Clinton left office.

THE CRITIC: Nice to see you, Jay Sherman! This is a lovely intro and you likely know that already. I've done a few rewatches of The Critic (not the web series season, though) and I say the show definitely holds up and is far from a duketastrophe. That said, some of the parody film clips that got raves at the time are kinda creaky in hindsight.

CHARLIE HOOVER: Can I say something? Fuck Sam Kinison. Hmm... That's a bit harsh. I guess I just don't get him on any level. The only thing he's done that I've ever found all that funny was when he said he wished Andrew Dice Clay die of stomach cancer from the inside out, like Bette Davis. Kinison's not my cup of tea is what I'm getting at. In Charlie Hoover (GET IT HURF HURF), Kinison is a foot high loudmouth in a long coat that's getting 40-year-old square Tim Matheson where he needs to be in life.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: Or... "Betty Spaghetti's Here Which Is All The Star Power You Need!"

HARDBALL: A League Of Their Own had a fun, feel good intro with all the corny touches of ol' timey baseball. Hardball tries to sell you on Joe Rogan: Baseball Fella and the vague scent of urinal troughs.

GOOD GRIEF: Howie Mandel golfs in a cemetery and it's not particularly clear if he's just fucking around on strangers graves for fun. (Alternate Theory: Those graves belong to the family from Bobby's World. All the Generics!)

THE FANELLI BOYS: If enjoy broad Italian-American stereotypes to the point of falling down laughing at the sight of a pizza box, you'll love The Fanelli Boys! Joe Pantoliano and Christopher Meloni both star.

SOMETHING WILDER: Something Wilder was the sort of show where I wished Gene Wilder well and still kept 5000 miles away from watching it. Also, Wilder's face on that house is CHILLING.

DUDLEY: Embrace the luxury hotel elevator elegance of Dudley! Does it feature Dudley Moore make a series of faces where he seems surprised by everything? You better believe it. This was also where Max Wright got work in-between taking abuse from a cat eating alien and Norm Macdonald.

CAROL & COMPANY: It's a bit Carol Takes On in the intro with Carol Burnett in assorted costumes and that's alright because everyone does the assorted costumes intro thing. Tickets to the show are blown across America and get in the hands of whatever Orphan Black Carol happens to be in the area.

THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: This is an extremely 90s sort of intro that feels like something more upscale soft rock stations did in TV ads at the time too. Richard Kind directs a bit of paper at someone midway through.

DREXELL'S CLASS: One of more storied entries in the Dabney Coleman being an asshole catalogue. The first intro features Dabney, ol' Drex himself, just hanging around in class being hot shit and occasionally mimicking a flying dinosaur. The second intro is a more traditional clip collection highlighted by a young Brittany Murphy (WHO WAS MURDERED! FACT! REMINDER!) and Coleman in a wild 8 ball jacket. Rembrandt off Sliders also makes an appearance.

TEECH: If this intro looks exactly like a sitcom where a Cool Black Music Instructor™ teaches Prep School bad boys in Bush Sr era America that's because it is exactly that sort of sitcom. Maggie Han deserves better.

THE ROYAL FAMILY: It seems extra cruel to take Redd Foxx's popcorn away considering he'd be dead before the fifth episode even aired. Della Reese is in this, die-hard Della fans.

ROC: This intro works perfectly. We get Charles S. Dutton, Ella Joyce and an easy to digest Jerry Lawson theme song. (En Vogue would do the theme later.) It’d be nice if they could get Edgar Allan Poe wagging a finger at seafood or something else in the background to push that Baltimore thing even more, but I still wish this intro from 25+ year old Fox comedy all the best in its future endeavours.

BREWSTER PLACE: Speaking of good intros, Brewster Place is a first rate brand of TV welcome. Brenda Pressley is the MVP of the intro over Oprah Winfrey which might explain why Brenda Pressley has been missing since 1992. (I know she’s on The Path. Just play along.)

SUNDAY BEST: The intro equivalent of getting someone to throw shit at a wall, we get an early 90s NBC grab bag of fuck it whatever shots of TVs and TV dinners with poor Carl Reiner trotted out partway through.

AMERICAN CHRONICLES: Mark Frost and David Lynch paired for a documentary series in the early ‘90s on Fox because Fox was like fucking UHF at the time. The industrial strength creepy opening doesn’t include any shots of narrator Richard Dreyfuss turning towards the camera and that’s a damn shame.

AMERICAN DETECTIVES: If you get horny for stressed out real-life detectives, this will send your undergarments to Mars! Lots of mustaches here. A whole Safeway bag’s worth. Some real rural gas station rock going on with that theme tune.

FBI: THE UNTOLD STORIES: The tone of this entire intro is: “Hey kid, wanna see a dead body? Or twenty?” Creepy music blasting over Jackie Kennedy on the back of JFK’s death limo and Wayne Williams heading to trial equals primetime party fun!

ENCOUNTERS: THE HIDDEN TRUTH: Suck it, Sightings! Encounters is leading a new dawn for crackpot horseshit to eat Bugles to! I appreciate the shameless X-Files knockoff intro thing Fox is doing (cuz it’s their show) that comes complete with head shop blanket alien head popping up midway through.

STEPHEN KING’S GOLDEN YEARS: Essentially Garth Marenghi's Darkplace with one hell of a music rights win tacked on.

TRIBECA: This opening reminds me an awful lot of terrible movies I was bullied into watching on VHS at a friend’s house.

WIOU: One thing I like in a TV intro is when something fun happens with the title onscreen. It’s a minor thing, but the way those WIOU letters turn into view? HOOCHIE MAMA! Eight is Enough’s Dick Van Patten does a fantastic job of conveying that being a weatherfellow is tough work.

GABRIEL’S FIRE: I will never for the life of me understand how the early ‘90s could not sustain a James Earl Jones fronted program titled Gabriel’s Fire. Those worlds are supposed to meld beautifully.

PROS & CONS: Gabriel’s Fire would morph into the more lighthearted Pros & Cons which symbolized its new form by laying it on thick with the Video Toaster touches. Instead of James Earl Jones peering at you from the darkness, this go-around it’s a lot of smiles and silly moments with Richard Crenna.

BURKE’S LAW: Hearing “it’s Burke’s Law” at the start of that intro is like when “Do you smell what The Rock’s cooking?” would play before Dwayne Johnson would wander down a ramp to kick Triple H in the stomach. In this case, it’s to get you fired up that Gene Barry’s back on television. This particular episode promises Dom DeLuise and Tawny Kitaen together at last!

MAX MONROE: LOOSE CANNON: If you only see one intro for a Shadoe Stevens vehicle that transitions from a Donut Hole shot to an extended leer at a lady’s bum, make it this one!

TEQUILA AND BONETTI: The creators of Tequila and Bonetti know that if you want folks to get on board for an L.A. dramedy about a New York cop and streetwise police partner dog, you should kick things off by trying to make you feel sorry for this asshole who “accidentally” murdered a kid. Seriously, that’s the route Tequila and Bonetti goes with this fucking insane opening that begins with newspaper headlines screaming “COP KILLS 12 YR OLD” while he cradles a black girl in her arms and then BOOM! we’re spun around to JACK SCALIA GRINNING AROUND WACKY LOS ANGELES AND ALL ITS CRAZY CHARACTERS LIKE A DOG THAT JUMPS THROUGH A FUCKING WINDOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE? THIS IS LIKE IF SOMEONE STROKED OFF THE HANNITY VIEWING AND KEPT WHAT WAS SPURTED OUT ONSCREEN! It’s just a really, really, really bad intro.

1 note · View note

thepeakmoment · 7 years

Text

More Peaks Returns

It appears to me that Lynch is inserting some heavy commentary about societal behavior, the most obvious being the “fix your hearts or die” assertion about Denise Bryson’s transition. Another clear instance is the decay of social norms exemplified by the elaborate unfolding drug storyline. Several characters are being depicted wheeling and using drugs, and Lynch-Frost are telling an updated version in P5 of the illicit activity, how it has already effected Shelly’s daughter and husband, a continuing cycle of abuse and dysfunction still playing out.

I also believe Sherrif Frank Truman is a personification of Lynch’s transcendental meditation wisdom. Harry Truman’s brother is an honest character and to be trusted absolutely as a transparent truth teller. His name is the very meaning of honest, open, direct — Frank. His earnestness is exemplified when Doris Truman shows up at station spouting domestic house anxieties while Truman remains sitting, saying nothing at all throughout. It reads like a subtle teaching of how not to respond to anxious energy, worry and dis-ease — do not engage with it. This is classic buddhism — how everything arises from conditions, has a presence in the moment, then decays when conditions change — thus, everything changes, no reason to get wrapped in unnecessary entanglements, including the wrath of someone overreacting to common occurrence. See impermanence.

A Twin Peaks Podcast: A Podcast About Twin Peaks and Deer Meadow Radio are two of the better podcasts on The Return worthy of listening.

Random

Richard Horne — is this the first clue from ?????’s prophetic clues, “Watch for Richard… and Lynda.”

Richard Horne passes bribe money in a pack of Morley cigarettes… the brand of choice for Cigarette Smoking Man.

Salesman asking Lucy at desk for Sheriff Truman, Lucy asks which one? An in-joke allusion to another Sheriff Truman duality, Harry-Frank.

There was a bonsai plant on side table next to Sam sitting on couch in P1, which was also featured in original series’ S2 Windom Earle arch.

Marjorie Green carries her dog, Armstrong, a small Mexican Chihuahua.

Here’s a good article on the absence of Badalamenti music thus far in The Return.

No white dot in Bob Cooper's pupil/eye — life-less .

End of P4 before Bang Bang Bar is blue rose scene… shot in blue tint

Owl cookie jar on counter behind Dougie Cooper during breakfast

A lot of Lynch visuals hearkens to Eraserhead, coming full circle in his cinematic journey of a master’s craft.

On Jun 4, 2017, at 9:59 AM, Dom wrote: I think I made a nice discovery which I posted on Reddit (Fred_Truax).

I cannot find Fred[undescore]Truax in any reddit search — author:Fred_Truax yields nothing. I’m not a Reddit reader, the whole thing is a fuck show of multi-threaded comments. It hurts my brain to go there. I can tolerate direct links, though.…

Reading Best Fan Theories at Indiewire, one theory suggests Wally Brando is really dead (source: Reddit /u/chblank), that “Lucy and Andy [are] in denial and shock … of losing her only son as a child.… Sheriff [Frank] Truman may have hired an actor to play their son — a role that fake Wally took literally, considering his “The Wild One” getup and bad “Godfather” impersonation. This could also explain why Wally Brando makes a point of telling his parents that they can convert his childhood bedroom into a study, as a way to help them move on and let go of the past.”

Same article posits that the headless body in the librarian’s apartment belongs to Major Briggs (source: Reddit /u/billy_yllib11). “Although the decapitated head belongs to the dead woman, there is a grotesquely contorted body detached underneath, one that comes from an unknown person. Later, we learn the forensics team has a match on the body, but they need military clearance to unlock its identity. Perhaps the kind of clearance that Major Briggs once had when he was working on top secret projects for the government? Of course, if the decapitated body does in fact belong to Major Briggs, it would also contextualize the appearance of his disembodied head, which floated in space at the beginning of [P3].” …But how does Dougie Cooper’s ring get in stomach?

I also noticed something strange about those two scenes:

In episode one when Sam leaves the Glass Box room the second time to go into the lobby to see Tracey (and the security guard is NOT there) he leaves the small black box of video cards on the step ladder near one of the cameras. The black box remains on the step ladder for the entire scene almost. The box disappears for a moment when they start to take off their clothes, then is back on the step ladder right before they are attacked.

However in episode 2 when Cooper enters the Glass Box and we think Sam is in the Lobby with Tracey, you can clearly see the black box of video cards and his pen on the side table next to the small couch he sits on.

Did Cooper enter this room at a different time they what it appears to be? Is Cooper in a second identical room? I just think its weird the black box is in two different locations in what appears to be the same time?

What do you guys think?

I’m beginning to understand these time shifts as backward dimension bleeding into forward dimension. BOB Cooper begins “‘yrev' very good to see you again old friend” to Gordon Cole when they first see each other again (P4). Relatedly, there’s fervent speculation that Sonny Jim blinks backwards while in back seat of car when Dougie Cooper notices Sonny and sheds a tear (P5).

Backward-forward are the two directions in which one can enter-exit the Black Lodge, shown to us in Classic Peaks and FWWM. Now we’re seeing vertical up-down direction to enter into-exit out of the Lodge, exhibited by the sudden vertical floor vibration as the Arm's doppelgänger appears and Cooper falls down through floor. Or Laura pulled up off the floor screaming into oblivion, as well as the ghostly pirate-like figure in a jail cell floating up into thin air.

Backwards is a reality dimension different from forward (as normal) dimension. P3 glitchy quick backward-forward movement when Cooper lands into hub in space and interacts with eyes sown shut woman, a reality between the two dimensions (?), existing on the threshold — Dweller on the Threshold?

This new movement is depicted in the opening title sequence when the wavy-flowing red curtains cross fade to chevron pattern panning across floor, seemingly tracking the camera in a circle. I love the new title sequence opening drone shot over the falls, hangs on waterfall from above, dissolves to a slight CU of waterfall spray, then segues to the rhythmic curtains — an abstract version of the classic series opening dissolves from the waterfalls to a flowing river.

I am also convinced that Laura is going to leave the Black Lodge somehow and venture into the real world.

On Jun 4, 2017, at 3:01 PM, Erik wrote: Dom, did you see the Tweet I sent your way? with the info that the Casino Cooper goes to in Vegas was actually filmed in Commerce, CA. (they have actual casinos there) about 35 miles from my house. judge for yourself...

<PHOTO>

Dudes, when we finally graduate from trekking back to Peaks (WA), we have to eat at The Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn. Can’t believe we overlooked this. We’ve done the original Mar-T Cafe (plus the deplorably named and renovated Twede’s) and Fall City Grill (Haps Diner), we gotta do the Roudhouse, regardless if it’s only the exterior.

It will be interesting to see if the green revolving doors that Cooper has trouble with are actually here as well. So I guess we know where you might stay next time you come out here to Pin Peaks Locations. I thought it would even be fun to get a room and watch the season finale there, then go down to the gaming floor and "Helllloooooo!"

As far as the actual plot...

I have come upon no clues or conclusions at all. It is very dense material. What little I have read online is complex and sometimes implausable, but who am I to say? I like the scene when Douggie is getting dressed and Sonny Boy … comes out and they make a lot of visual and action references to the Season 2 opening scene. What does it mean? No clue.

In P4 Cooper is Home — Dougie Cooper says aloud, “Home.” This is symbolized as a birthday with balloons in the kitchen behind him. Similar balloon shapes appear when he is dropped off at outside of work building, when Cooper mimics statue pointing gun. I’m thinking Dougie is the character Lynch-Frost are using to teach the viewer how to assimilate and understand the Twin Peaks world view. From Dougie's point of view, he seems to know little or nothing about the world. He’s in process of making sense of it, and now that he's starting from home, we should follow along and we'll learn together. As viewers, we’re putting some faith in the storyline will resolve eventually, even if only in part. During the following scene when Gordon meets Denise Bryson in her office, she says, "I trust you Gordon." We should trust Lynch.… But how does this all jive with ??????’s “You are far from home”?

Gonna review a bit and start my edible regimen, no cherry pie this week, coffee and donuts YES. Last time, I cracked a beer when it started, had a full bowl next to the food. I did not touch either of them for 2 hours straight. Completely forgot about them actually. Totally engaged. Only ate pie, donuts and coffee... I'll have messenger open at 5:30PM est standing by.

On Jun 7, 2017, at 4:38 PM, Dom wrote: So who do you think are Richard Horne's parents? Audrey and Cooper? Audrey and Jack? Ben and his wife? Jerry and some random chick?

Definitely not the son of Cooper and Audrey. Cooper’s been in the Lodge and he shot Audrey down at every turn before meeting Annie. The other possibilities are intriguing and any of them are plausible. Audrey and Jack — do you mean John Justice Wheeler? Richard Horne seems to be 25 years old and got hooked up with the wrong crowd, that’s easy to do these days. Ben and his wife? Maybe, they could have reconciled their stormy marriage. Ben does seem to have remained steadfast in earnest goodness since emerging from his civil war. Perhaps Richard Horne is Jerry's son that steals his father’s weed to sell. Or maybe Jerry is a big kahuna now in the drug trade? I doubt it. Regardless who the parents are, Richard is a Bobby Peru/Leo Johnson mutt that fits right into Lynch’s social commentary of prevalent drug use still running amok in the world.

Great to see Mike return too.

Would be cool if Mike and Bobby had a beer together at The Roadhouse, catch up a bit with each other — Bobby asking Mike, “Do you remember Laura Palmer?…” I wonder how Bobby will act around Shelly?

I also have another prediction;

The person Gordon wants to look at Cooper will be Diane play by Laura Dern. That's not much of a shock but...

Remember when Albert says he doesn't know where she lives, but knows where she drinks...

My prediction is that they will find Diane (Laura Dern) in that bar we went to in Los Angeles that night I arrived on my last visit. It has all of the nice woodwork and we had to walk down a flight of stairs to enter.

I have resisted right from the outset of Laura Dern cast as Diane. I don’t really want Diane’s identity to be revealed, would much rather have her remain anonymous on the other side of Cooper’s dictaphone. I know there’s speculation and makes sense that Diane will appear as Dern, but this way too obvious, especially after all Lynch has presented us thus far — even considering how close Dern is to Lynch. But still, I hope it isn’t so.…

I also find it weird that Agent Tammy Preston in episode 4 had to ask Albert who Phillip Jeffries is. She learned about his existence in the Secret history of Twin Peaks as she was the agent in charge of examining the dossier. She even added her own notes about him.

That is awesome about the Casino. Next time I come to Los Angeles, I am so game to go play some slots. HELLO O OOO OOOO!

#twin peaks #twin peaks: the return #commentary

1 note · View note