#why was their build up between Kenny and Luke but no final fight between them— well. we do know why actually. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bi-bi-buckleydiaz · 3 years

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i think not | owen joyner

requested?; - yes! Owen Joyner x reader - their characters might not be love interests on the show (readers is possibly a new one for Luke/which causes a rift in Juke) but they are in real life and are trying to keep it on the down low especially during cast interviews and with fans.

word count; 2K

warnings; language, yelling but only like two sentences

a/n; I didn’t know how to end it so the ending kinda sucks sorry. also side note, the character the reader plays on jatp is a character I’m planning on writing an x reggie fic with so be on the lookout for that !

that close up tho

You didn’t mean for it to happen.

Not the, relationship, of course. You wanted that to happen. You’ve been wanting that to happen since you were an extra dancer on the first season of Julie and the Phantoms and danced right into Owen on accident during The Other Side of Hollywood. He was sweet about it, of course he was, asking if you were okay when he was the one that got barrelled into. The apology coffee date turned into a movie night at his apartment which then turned into weekly Friday night takeout dates which ultimately turned into Owen blurting out one night that he liked you and wanted to be your boyfriend.

You obviously said yes.

Which brings you to now, two years later filming season two of JatP, except this time you weren’t a dancer, but a recurring character - Delilah Alarie, a 17 year old girl who can hear ghosts, but can’t see them, and forms an unlikely relationship with everyone’s favorite bassist in a ghost band. This is where the problem comes in.

When you and Owen started dating back in 2019, you two decided to keep it on the DL because you both weren’t totally sure where it was going to go. At the time you were both so busy: Owen having his first acting job as an adult so he was getting used to the long hours, and you working what felt like 25/8 to get all the dance routines down pat. So you both just...didn’t tell anyone. That’s not to say people weren’t suspicious. Charlie was present at many movie nights and Tori liked to tease you about you how you’d spend your time between takes staring at the blond drummer and his fidgeting fingers.

Filming wrapped and you planned to announce your relationship at the wrap party, but a certain 19 year old thought it would be smart to get a little wasted and passed out before you could say “hey, we’re dating.” Then, you all went your separate ways and you and Owen didn’t see the need to inform everyone of the relationship, especially because you had to figure out the whole long-distance thing.

Then Covid hit. And there really wasn’t a need because you both were fighting so hard to not get insecure and worried about the hundreds of miles between you two. But you got through it. Between many facetime calls, a spontaneous trip to Hawaii, and one memorable meet up at a halfway point between your two states, you were finally back in each other's arms after the last three months apart. Of course, it was on set, where everyone thinks you’re just friends.

So yeah, there’s a problem. Because you didn’t mean for the secret dating to go on for so long. Life just, happened, and now you two are constantly sneaking around your fellow castmates and trading secret kisses in each other’s trailers and having little rendezvous meetings in the apartment building’s pool after your roommates have fallen asleep. You’re sure Savannah and Tori have heard you sneaking out a few times, but they wisely say nothing. Charlie sleeps like the dead so your certain Owen is in the clear.

It’s not like you two want to keep it a secret. Of course you want to tell your friends, it's just, since it’s gone on for so long you’re scared of what could happen. If they’ll get mad about the sneaking around and the lying.

But alas, you knew the day when the secret would slip out would come. And today just happened to be that day.

Your friends were already starting to get suspicious, you and Owen were starting to lose your subtlety with the sneaking around, and some fans don’t understand the term BOUNDARIES and caught you two outside the apartment building one day. You weren’t doing anything relationship-y, you two were just coming back from a short day on set because you both ended at the same time and were looking forward to some much needed alone time. But you both knew better than to hold hands or kiss in public, which you were glad for that rule when a few girls bombarded Owen when you both walked out of the parking garage to head inside. The girls posted about the interaction online and of course, assumptions were made about why you two were together. The cast brought it up, but you both shut it down. You really thought the secret would be exposed because someone would catch you two together...Owen is not good at keeping his hands to himself despite his own PDA rule.

But no, the secret came to a head because Owen is a big fat st0upid head and got jealous over his best friend.

It started as a normal day. You got up at the last possible minute, Savannah and Tori already eating breakfast in the kitchen, knowing better than to wake you up before your alarm. You ate, showered, changed into comfy clothes for the ride to work. Madi joined you and the other girls that day, now being a little older her dad trusted her to be alone with the older cast members and alone on set for a little while. You jammed out to Doja Cat and HSM because “range, Y/N, range.” Then you arrived on set to Kenny calling you and Madi over for an impromptu meeting before any of you could reach hair and makeup.

“Alright, now that the rest of you guys are here, I have an announcement to make.” You looked around to see that it was just the main four and you, and that’s when trepidation hit. The only scene you knew of today that involved you five was when the boys finally became visible to you, and you and Reggie share a moment. It’s a hug, much like the one Julie and Luke shared in the season one finale. But Kenny had come up to you a few days ago, suggesting adding a little something something. He told you he wasn’t sure yet, had to run it by a few execs, but that Jeremy was okay with it and he wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it too. You had said yes, after all Jeremy was the one married so you were really only worried about how he and Carolynn would feel about the kiss, you didn’t even think about Owen.

That was a mistake.

“So, I ran it by a few execs and of course, our own Delilah and Reggie, and have decided that after their big hug moment, a little kiss would really make the scene and ma -”

“Uh I think not.” It was muttered, but everyone heard it. And everyone froze, Kenny stopping mid sentence to look at the culprit. Owen was looking at his hands, completely oblivious to everyone staring at him. He didn’t even realize he’d said it aloud until Jeremy cut the tension with a little forced chuckle.

“C’mon Owen there’s enough of me to go around.” Everyone chuckled a bit, but Owen froze in his fidgeting, his face going firetruck red and eyes darting over to you.

“Shit. Fuck I said that aloud didn’t I?” He groaned, putting his face in his hands and, before you could stop yourself, you walked up to him.

“Hey. Hey c’mon.” You gently wrapped your hands around his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. “It’s okay.” You expected him to look stressed. Based on his tone of voice you were preparing for a minor panic attack. But when you saw his face, all you saw was anger. It shocked you, causing you to stumble back a bit.

“You knew about this?” And okay, yeah, you also expected a bit of that. But not to this caliber.

“Owen I -”

“No. No you knew and didn’t tell me? Didn’t think to mention that you’d be kissing one of my best friends? What the hell Y/N?” You flinched, not used to Owen being this angry and loud.

“Owen, buddy, hey. Let’s just -” Charlie started, trying to diffuse the situation having noticed you flinching.

“No! This isn’t a ‘calm down’ thing. This is a “my girlfriend lied to me” thing and I’m very upset about it!” And whoop...there it is.

“Owen...”

“God just, really Y/N?” Then he walks away, leaving you surrounded by your confused friends. It’s silent for a few seconds, everyone taking in what just happened.

“Um...I know this probably a really bad time to bring this up but uh...y’all owe me twenty bucks each,” Charlie said. Then everyone started talking at one. Kenny apologizing for not knowing, Madi berating Charlie for the bad timing, Charlie firing back that Owen is just being dramatic, and Jeremy consoling you with Kenny. His hand on your back jump starts you into action. You quickly excuse yourself to make your way to Owen’s trailer, knowing that’s probably where he stormed off too.

You don’t knock when you get there, just walk in, making sure to lock it behind you. Owen is there on the couch, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.

“Owen Joyner what the hell was that?” That’s not what you had wanted to say. You were going to be nice and ease into it. But he yelled first and now you're anxious and stressed and upset. He sighs heavily and looks up at you, eyes red and glassy with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry. I - Y/N I didn’t mean to freak. I realized halfway here that was not the way to go. I’m so -” You cut him off by pushing him back and crawling into his lap.

“It’s okay. It’s okay I should’ve - I shouldn’t’ve just yelled and I definitely should have told you when Kenny proposed the idea I just got so caught up in the fact it’d be my first on screen kiss and it’d be with a married man who’s in quite possibly the cutest relationship ever and I was worried about -”

“You’re rambling babe,” Owen says with a smile. It’s a soft thing, one that makes your insides all mushy and your heart starts beating a little faster. “It’s okay. I mean, I would’ve liked to have found out earlier and not in front of our friends - oh my God! I just completely exposed us didn’t I? Oh God!” He whimpers out a whine and leans his head forward onto your shoulder. You giggle at the blonde beneath you, running your hands through his hair as he pinches your sides for the laugh.

“Babe, I’m pretty sure they already knew.” Owen whips his head up at that, eyebrows furrowed.

“Charlie mentioned everyone owes him twenty so, i’m pretty sure they were betting on when we’d tell them.” Owen groans and grumbles at that, throwing his head back in a dramatic way to convey his fake frustration. He brings his head back center and smiles softly again at you.

“I will make sure to steal it from him tonight. That’s our money babe.” You giggle into the kiss he places onto your lips. You two sit there for a few more minutes, exchanging kisses and trading affirmations of love. After a final kiss, one that’s full of passion and heat, you decide to head back to set.

You walk into the stage with the studio hand-in-hand, smiles on your faces. Madi squeals when she sees you both, running over to hug you.

“Yay yay! I knew you’d work it out and now I have another couple to fangirl over. Yay!” You hug the small girl back before she bounces over to give Owen the same treatment.

“Congrats bro,” Charlie says with a smile, clapping a hand on Owen’s back and ruffling your hair up. Jeremy smiles at you two, hugging you both as well.

“Congrats you two, now can we get back to the meeting? You two dating is old news. Like, 2019 old. But congrats on finally announcing it!” You look at Kenny in shock for a second, before bursting out into laughter, everyone around you following suit. Owen squeezes your hand three times and you look back over at him. You both shoot each other a small smile.

It’s gonna be okay.

#owen joyner #owen patrick joyner #owen joyner imagine #owen joyner x reader #owen joyner fanfiction #owen joyner x y/n #owen patrick joyner imagine #owen patrick joyner x reader #owen patrick joyner x y/n #owen patrick joyner fanfiction #jatp #jatp fanfic #jatp fanfiction #jatp imagine #jatp x reader

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melismaticmadness · 3 years

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INTERVIEW

Request: “Something in the lines of reader playing reggies gf on the shows s2 and she becomes bffs with charlie but people keep shipping them. Something in like interview style or so....”

Description: FLUFF

1811 Words

Warnings: one curse word!

Charlie x Reader, Featuring Jeremy

Hope you like it!!

Press was always an exciting time as an actor, but even more so with this cast because of what happened before press events for season one. Their virtual press was great, but you can tell how excited they all were to experience it together this time around. Julie and the Phantoms was the best job I had gotten since moving out to LA. Honestly, it could be my big break. I was playing opposite Jeremy as his love interest, but our off-screen relationship was strictly platonic. Obviously, he and Carolynn are married and she is the sweetest. Jeremy is more of a mentor to me.

I sat in between Charlie and Jeremy for our first interview of the day when a production assistant came in and prepped us for the topics for this interview. Each interview has a slightly different focus, so it’s helpful that we know before we get started. The soft-spoken man raddled off some talking points: Charlie’s sleeves, Jeremy’s new character arc, my relationships/experience joining the cast, and then all of us would have time to add in stories of our choice if there was time. Easy. This cast makes it really easy to connect and bond. They are a family and I am so lucky to be a member of it now.

What I didn’t expect was to get so close to Charlie during rehearsals and filming in Vancouver. The two of us were instantly inseparable. He came to watch my film on set, I came to watch him. We rehearsed our lines together almost every night after long days, and Owen even considered me his other roommate because of all the nights I was asleep on their couch. Hanging out with Charlie felt like we had known each other our entire lives, but it had only been about a year.

Interviewer: “So, y/n, you seem really well connected to this cast, even though you’re sort of the new kid in the group. Would you mind telling me how you felt about joining this project?”

Y/N: “Oh I definitely felt welcomed right into the group. I remember my first night in Vancouver, Charlie came to check out my apartment, Owen came too, and I remember Charlie and I trying to prank Owen when he fell asleep on the couch but it was an epic fail. We had water and shaving cream all over the floor and ourselves, oh my god it was a mess, but that’s kinda the proof of how fast I became part of the group. Night one and they were already including me in their fun. The same goes with the girls, Jadah, Madi, Sav, Tori- we immediately were meeting for breakfast before filming together and having movie nights. It was the best welcome I could have imagined, knowing how close they all were from last season.”

Interviewer: “Jeremy, what was it like having this new energy come in, especially to shake things up for your character Reggie, who really was much of the comedic relief last season, but now has this mutually flirty relationship with y/n’s character?”

Jeremy: “Well, it was great having y/n come in and it allowed us all to explore Reggie outside of his quirky one-liners. It’s not that hard acting opposite, y/n, the talent they bring in was insane and we got along really well so it made it a lot of fun exploring Reggie as somewhat of a ‘ladies man’.”

Interviewer: “Yes it was fun getting to see more of who Reggie is, or was? Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen season one, Reggie is dead. All the boys are dead. Anyway, speaking of seeing more of something- Charlie, I noticed the sleeves on all your shirts this season were barely there. Is this a Charlie characteristic that just carried over to show off or was this specifically written for Luke?”

Charlie: “Oh gosh, haha. I think it’s a little bit of both. I definitely bring a lot of myself to Luke, but even in season one, Soyon, our amazing costume and wardrobe supervisor, was cutting the sleeves off Luke’s shirts. I think it played into his 1995 bad boy persona, and now it’s just him.”

Y/N: “and you just like showing off...hahaha!”

Charlie: “If you got it, flaunt it!” With that, all three of us and the interviewer were cracking up laughing and Charlie was flexing which kept us going a minute longer.

Interviewer: “AH,” they sighed, “Y/N, the internet is freaking out about you, truly, because of some photos of you with Mr. Gillespie over here. Let me read some things for you - ‘my heart is broken because I can’t have Charlie, but at least y/n can. I ship it,’ under an Instagram photo of you two the caption reads ‘ship it so hard it’s like the Titanic,’ which is my favorite. It’s too funny. So my question is, what is going on here? Is there a secret showmance that you’re hiding behind Reggie?”

Charlie and I are now laughing hysterically again. I don’t think the interviewer realizes how nervous our laughing sounds compared to before, but hopefully, it’s not noticeable to fans or the rest of the cast. I wasn’t expecting to get questions about Charlie and my relationship when I was supposed to be talking about my character, the whole experience, and all my scenes with Jeremy.

Y/N: “Oh no, no, no. We are friends! Nothing is going on,” I looked over at Charlie who had his eyes locked on me most admiringly. He was going to let me handle this however I wanted. “Charlie and I just happened to click right away during rehearsals and now I feel like he’s the older brother I never had!”

Charlie looked a little hurt at that ‘brother’ comment, but he jumped in to echo what I had said.

Charlie: “Ya know, the fans are so great. They love to keep up with our lives and find little hidden clues in the show about the backstory, and I think that’s just what happened with our friendship. We’re best friends, we have so many inside jokes, we hang out a LOT. But, Nah, nothing is going on here. It’s cute though that they ship us! Look out, Jere! I’m stealing your girl!.”

Interviewer: “You heard it here first everyone, Mr. Gillespie isn’t off the market! Thank you all for your time today. Everyone make sure to check out season two of Julie and the Phantoms, now on Netflix!”

*****************************

After a long first day of press, I was finally walking back into my hotel room in New York when my phone went off.

I tossed my stuff on the couch and plopped down to see what I had missed all day. Charlie had just texted me asking to meet him on the roof.

“The roof?!” I grunted, “How did he even get on the roof?” Back out the door, I followed signs to the roof. Swinging the door open once I got up there, my breath was taken away. New York City right at dusk, with the cool breeze hitting me, was so beautiful.

“Gillespie, are we allowed to be up here?”

“Kenny said we’re less likely to be followed or have our picture taken together if we were up here and came up separately. So, if we get in trouble, it’s on Kenny...”

“The view is amazing. Not surprised Kenny knew about it.” I said as I went to look out over the glass barrier at the edge of the building. We looked out in silence for a minute or so when I heard Charlie exhale.

“Y/n, what was that today?” he said running his hands through his hair.

“What was what today?”

“That whole ‘Charlie is my brother’ thing,” he made his voice go up in pitch to mimic my voice when he said it and I could tell it was bugging him, but I didn’t know why.

“I was caught off guard...I mean we’re friends.. but I figured no one would believe that if I didn’t squash the rumors right there. Sorry if it was like, emasculating, or made it seem like you don’t have any game, lol.” I playfully hip bumped him to get him to laugh a little and it worked but there was still something on his mind.

“Char, is your manager upset with what I said? I can fix it tomorrow, I’ll figure something out-” I said tilting my head in front of his so he was looking at me instead of the view.

“No, y/n, no, it’s okay..” he hesitated, “but is that really what’s going on?”

It felt like the wind was knocked out of me at that moment and all I could do was slide my back down the glass and sit on the roof. My head was in my hands and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing next.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry if I caught you off guard,” Charlie said squatting down to my level. “I just thought..maybe you felt something, anything, telling you this was more than a friend to friend relationship..” Now he was rubbing my back. Damn, this boy is my best friend.

“Charlie, I- I don’t want to lose my job. I love working with you and with everyone,” I took a deep breath, “but I can’t say I never thought about it. I have definitely thought about it.”

“Okay, so what are you thinking in that head of yours?”

“I’m thinking that I care about you and that I have for a while but didn’t want to admit it to myself until now,” looking up at Charlie I could tell he was fighting to hold back a smile.

“Kenny, won’t fire you. I talked to him in LA before we went up to Vancouver because I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me because of how I felt.”

“You told him in LA?! He’s probably been watching us and laughing at us for MONTHS. Oh my god.”

“No, it’s cool. He just warned me to make sure I wanted to be more than friends because he didn’t want to lose you.”

“Wow. Okay.” The weight I didn’t even know I was holding, had been lifted off my shoulders. “The fans really do know us better than we know ourselves.”

We both laughed and Charlie finally settled down right next to me.

“Look, I’m not saying we rush into anything. I knew I had to say something before the opportunity was gone. Now that the show’s out, you’re going to have guys banging down your door for a date.”

“I guess it’s a good thing the only guy I am looking for is you then, hmm?”

“Thank god for that interview…” Charlie said under his breath.

#charlie gillespie imagine #charles gillespie #charlie gillespie #julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #jatp #owen joyner #owen x reader #owen joyner imagine #owen joyner x y/n #owen patrick joyner #luke patterson #Jeremy Shada #Reggie Peters

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 4 years

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I Need to Talk About “Problematic Faves” within TWDG [2/?]

Backstories, the introduction of these characters and the importance of first impressions.

"Nice to meet’cha, I’ll be your disappointment for the evening.”

When I first started questioning why I like David as much as I do, I thought back to when we were first introduced to him in ep1.

He didn’t leave the best first impression since the first words out of his mouth are along the lines of “You’re a real piece of shit.” Plus he, y’know, punches the shit out of Javi for not being there when their dad died.

On one hand, fair enough to be distraught that your father just died and your brother was no where in sight... but, on the other hand, do you gotta get violent?

Maybe it’s just because I’m an only child so I don’t understand how the whole sibling thing works, but punching your brother and then tossing him a beer before saying “I love you” seems.... not good?

But, it’s also very telling in what David and Javier’s relationship is right from the start, and sets an idea for what’s to come throughout the rest of the season.

Say what you will about ANF: it’s a mess, it’s the worst season, whatever. But, when I tell you that it has one of the best openings to a game, I mean it.

Everything about it is damn near perfect. Not only does it start right at the beginning of the apocalypse, but it tells us so much about our main protagonist and his backstory, it establishes the strained relationship he has with his brother and the rest of his family, and it introduces us to the walkers in a different light.

I can’t watch the opening and NOT get chills every time little baby Mariana holds that cup in her hand and says, “Papi’s awake.”

When they go see that Javi and David’s father is up and about after dying, it’s just chaos from there and I love it.

Fight me all you want, but it’s an excellent start to the season.

Unfortunately, ANF couldn’t keep that momentum going, but that’s a whole other discussion for another day.

Back to David, something about the way he was initially presented stuck with me until we finally reunited with him at the end of ep2.

So I thought back to other character introductions, how their backstories came into place, and how it affected their endgame.

A character’s introduction is crucial when it comes to storytelling, whether its subtle or in your face. You don’t want to give too much away, but you want to give the viewer a taste of who this person is and what their importance is in this story in a more subtle but clever manner.

When introducing a character, you have the think about what their endgame is. How is this character going to change over the course of the story? How are the choices of this character going to affect our protagonist, the world around them, and the overall plot.

Knowing these things can help you to sprinkle in little details within their introduction that tie into their endgame.

When we first met Kenny back in s1, he was just this dude who wanted to get his wife and kid back to Florida, hop on a boat, and live the rest of the apocalypse with his family on the water.

He was nice and showed concern over how Lee was doing with Clementine. He has a character design that gives away parts of his past as a fisherman before he tells us anything about it, and his accent [+overall voice acting and dialogue] tell us a lot about his upbringing prior to the events of s1.

We only got that glimpse of what was to come of his character after the walkers attacked Hershel’s farm.

Shaun is stuck under the tractor with walkers pushing against the fence and Duck is grabbed. We as Lee are faced with the choice of who to help first: Shaun or Duck?

Regardless of our choice, Kenny obviously runs to save his son. He gets Duck out of harms way, but when Shaun begs for help, Kenny runs away, leaving him to be eaten by the walkers.

This portrays the possibility of Kenny being cowardly, selfish, or someone who freezes up in moments of danger and runs. It also sets up the guilt that lingers in his [and Duck’s] mind all the way through to ep3 and onward.

When you think about Kenny, without knowing what happens to him in ep3, and you have to take a guess about what tragedy could take place to further his development, as well as bring that guilt full circle, what would you say?

Easy. He loses his family. Of course he does. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it, but it makes sense that this would happen based on our first meeting with him at Hershel’s farm in conjunction with the themes of the game.

So what does this have to do with him being a “Problematic Fave?”

Uh, everything?

Ever heard of a “tragic backstory?” You don’t think such thing plays into why we loves characters like this?

Kenny the family man has a lovely wife and son. He does everything in his power to protect them, and it’s not enough. He was not enough to save his son, nor was he enough to save his wife.

He lost them both within seconds of each other, being a witness to Katjaa’s suicide and the agonizingly slow death of his son, and he had to keep going in order to survive, even though he had nothing left.

In the beginning, Kenny was a regular John Doe like the rest of us.

He had a job that kept him at sea a lot, he fell in love with a pretty vet and had a child with her. He thought this all would blow over and he could go back to Florida with his family and live peacefully.

Season 1 is Kenny’s tragic backstory.

We got to live this tragedy with him, so when s2 comes around and we’re given his second first introduction in the series, we already have all this knowledge of what has happened to him, what his relationship was to Lee and Clementine, and the assumption that he was already dead.

Season 2 was what cemented a lot of people’s love and hate for him.

I have a theory that those who hate Kenny tend forget that 1st episode back in s1, choosing to solely focus on the Kenny from the meat locker in ep2 and all the negative repercussions that stemmed for our choice there, while those who love Kenny tend to look further back and take everything into account when analyzing his character.

They sympathize with the man Kenny used to be, and are struck by this tragedy of who he became by the time s2 ended.

Kenny from ep1 of s1 is not the same person as the Kenny from s2 ep5, and his journey is not only compelling from a character development standpoint, but a huge factor in why he is the favorite character of so many. Few characters are built up and developed that way he is.

But can we say a lot of the same things about Kenny’s introduction in s2 that we can say about s1? Does it drop hints about what Kenny’s potential endgame could be?

Yes, but it’s not quite as effective as it could’ve been.

One of the first choices you make after meeting back with Kenny is whether or not you’ll sit with him at dinner.

It’s a non-assuming choice, one that shouldn’t warrant any big repercussions, right?

Except it’s the games way of presenting us with the choice of siding with Kenny under a more innocent pretense. It’s a taste of what’s to come.

Based on our previous knowledge of him, as well as his seemingly good nature [one that reminds us of the beginnings of s1], we watch the way he presents himself to Clementine and decide if we want to sit with this old, nostalgic connection, or the new connections.

Will you sit with Kenny, or will you sit with Luke and the cabin group?

Will you side Kenny, or not?

This is what led everyone to believe that the final showdown would be between Kenny and Luke, and they really dropped the ball on what they built up here when they decided to replace Luke with Jane.

Kenny’s part still holds fairly strong, but everything about it isn’t as well done as S1.

And because I know I’ll be asked: as for his introduction in S3..... I don’t consider Kenny or Jane characters as much as I’d say they’re obstacles the writers had to throw in to give the illusion that our choices actually affected Clementine significantly when they really didn’t.

He immediately dies in a car accident after being paralyzed and left to the walkers while Clementine runs away with a crying AJ. This does very little for the story of ANF other than to add fuel to Clementine’s own “tragic backstory.”

So I don’t count it here.

I want to talk about another great character introduction: Minerva.

Minerva is a special case compared to Kenny and other character introductions. We’re not plopped down in front of her like “Hi, I’m Clementine, nice to meet you, Minnie.”

We actually spend two whole episodes only hearing about her, building her character up slow and steady, until we finally meet face to face in ep3.

This complicates our first impressions of her, but only a bit.

The game pretty much tells us Minerva’s backstory:

From what we’re told, Minerva was a sweet, musical girl who didn’t even like killing walkers. She loved her brother and twin sister. She and Violet were in a romantic relationship, and Violet gives us plenty to chew on about how lovely her voice was and how she was such a good friend. Her and Sophie’s “deaths” left everyone at the school devastated to the point where they actually started using their graveyard again.

She almost seems too good to be true, don’t you think?

Then we find out she’s not dead.

It turns out, Marlon and Brody lied about the death of the twins to cover up the fact that Marlon traded them away to the delta in order to save themselves and the rest of Ericson. The truth only comes out after Brody confesses everything to Clementine before her death dealt by Marlon’s hand.

So not only are we told that Minerva was this wonderful person, but that she was traded away with her twin sister to a group of people who, based on our first impression of Abel, are a dangerous threat that’s back for more of them.

Your mind swarms with the worst possibilities of what those people could have done to them, and you even question whether or not they’re still alive.

Until we meet Lilly again and find out the truth: they turned them into soldiers, forcing them to fight in their war.

Keep in mind that this is all apart of Minerva’s “tragic backstory” and we haven’t even truly been introduced to her yet. This is everything that the first two episodes have built up.

We finally get our first glimpse of her in the trailer for ep3.

Everyone goes nuts.

Minerva was so hyped up. Everyone was talking about how good she looked and how they couldn’t wait to meet her and learn what happened from her perspective. Everyone theorized about her role in the next two episodes and how maybe we can enlist her help in getting our friends back and reuniting her with Tenn and-

Then we get actually meet her.

Turns out, she is none of the things the game told us she was.

Not anymore, at least.

She is not our friend or our ally and she is not going to help us get our friends back. She is fully brainwashed into the delta, and that’s the tragedy of Minerva’s first real introduction.

She is a betrayal of everything we’ve been told due to the crime Marlon made of trading her away. We will never get to meet this Minnie we heard so much about.

Instead, we get the husk that remains.

This husk is one of our antagonists for the rest of the game.

Knowing all of this, why do people still love her? Why are there fix-it fics and AUs where Minerva is “saved?”

Because we all wanted to meet the Minnie we heard so much about, but instead, we got Minerva, the brainwashed soldier from the Delta who, under Lilly’s fucked up rule, killed her own twin sister in order to prove her loyalty to the group.

We wanted Minerva to be on our side, to betray the delta for the school she once called home. But she didn’t.

Instead, she became our final antagonist of the whole series.

Minerva, like Kenny, is a tragedy and we like that.

I don’t mean that we like it as in “I’m so glad those horrible, traumatizing things happened to you!” but we like it in a way that it colors these characters gray.

Suddenly, their behaviors are not portrayed the way they are just because they’re the “antagonist,” but because they’re a complex, three dimensional character. The game didn’t hand them to us and say “They’re evil, that’s all you need to know.”

They took the time to flesh these two out in a clever way that got to us, either in a positive or negative light.

We are drawn to gray characters with interesting, albeit tragic, backstories that we can sympathize with.

But, when you consider that this IS the apocalypse, doesn’t everyone have one of these “tragic backstories” in this series? Just like how everyone is actually a “Problematic Fave?” Does this really play into why we like them when it’s not even something unique to their character?

That’s a good point, so in order for us to like a character like this, do they have to have an even more intense, tear-jerking past than the rest in order to stand out?

Well... no.

Nate’s the easy example for this one.

I honestly don’t know what this dude’s about, and I don’t know if I even care, but somehow Nate tends to end up on everyone’s “Favorite Characters from 400 Days” list.

Granted, he is a bit of a refreshing character to run into in this environment, what with him being so laid back, sarcastic, gross, and even sadistic in a way that’s mean to be comedic.

But what do we even know about him or where he came from?

Well, we know that he’s apart of the group that fan-favorite Eddie accidentally shot at, leading Nate to chase after him and Wyatt as a form of revenge. After that, he picked up Russell and headed back to a gas station where that old couple shot at them.

The old man reveals that Nate’s been there before and attacked, stating that he’s here to finish them off. Nate denies this, but asks if Russell and him should finish them off and take all their stuff.

From there, who the hell knows where this dude went.

But that’s all we got.

No “tragic backstory” from Nate, no implications of one, unless we missed the nonexistent detail that his previous group was his family or something. Even then, he doesn’t seem so concerned about the state of the world. He doesn’t have an issue picking up a random kid who could be dangerous. He was bored, after all.

Nate is a character whose backstory has nothing to do with why people love him. He’s an oddball out, in this case.

It’s a different story when talking about how he’s introduced, though. This is where he has most in common with Kenny, Minerva, and all the rest of these “Problematic Faves”: He has a great impression.

Well, assuming that you played Russell’s story before Wyatt’s, I suppose.

Nate’s likable, albeit insane, character isn’t dependent on who he was before or how he suffered. He’s a character who represents those in the world who thrive in times of disaster, choosing to take it as it comes, do whatever it takes to survive, and even get a sick thrill out of doing these problematic things. Odds are, life was boring before and now he truly gets to live. That’s all made clear in how he presents himself to Russell and the player.

And.... I guess it worked? He is the “Problematic Fave” of a handful of people int he community, after all.

Now that we’ve discussed three separate characters and their backstories, how they’re introduced, and how these two things affect their role within the story as well as our feelings towards them, I want to touch on one more thing before I go back to David.

What does all of this say about the people who throw this annoying phrase of “Your fave is problematic” at those of us who find these characters with great backstories compelling?

Do they not care or understand these backstories or what the introductions meant? Do they ignore them so that their perspective seems to be the correct answer? Are they so quick to judge based on the surface level that they don’t bother thinking twice about anything?

Do they feel that this character has wronged them, therefore they find they can’t bring themselves to tolerate them anymore?

Or are they just being a bag of dicks who don’t care about anything other than berating anyone who dares oppose them and their opinions?

Well, yes and no to all of these possibilities.

I’m sure there are people out there who don’t have a full grasp of what made Kenny the way he is in s2 because, well.... they’ve never lost a loved one. It’s easy to say “Get over it” to just about any troubling situation we’ve never found ourselves in. Even if we do feel for this character, sometimes it’s really only surface level because we don’t have a full comprehension of what they went through.

When I took acting back in high school, I had a teacher who could cry on the spot. We all assumed that he was just a good actor who could turn the tears on and off at any given moment, but then he explained how he did it.

He lost his father in a drunk driving accident the same day he gave his last performance on stage as a high school senior. Whenever he needed to cry for a scene, this 58-year-old man would think back to the last conversation he had with his father that morning, and then about the moment he learned his father had died.

Even in moments that didn’t require him to cry, but to develop a character and portray that convincingly, he pulled from that life experience. He also could sympathize with certain characters that we’d consider problematic while the rest of us were barely scratching the surface.

He told us we need to come to terms with any tragedy in our lives and use it not only to create characters of our own, but to understand the ones most wouldn’t give a second glance to, and help relate ourselves to the real people around us.

Since my high school days, I’ve experienced the loss of a longtime dog companion, and the alarming health decrease of two close family members. While I’ve never lost a child, a spouse, a parent, or a sibling, I find that a part of me can’t completely hate Kenny or even Minerva because I get it to an extent.

So it makes me wonder if those who look at these backstories and still brush them off do.

But, there’s another argument to be made here.

Maybe they do understand and that’s why they hate someone like Kenny.

They have lost a loved one before or experienced some sort of trauma. They know about the grief, guilt, and anger that it can lead to. But, they also know it’s not an excuse to be mean, cold, or abusive to loved one.

They know that such trauma can lead to lashing out, but the difference is between someone who knows what they’re doing is wrong, they need help, and they try to get it... and someone who using it to explain away why they’re broken and unfixable.

Some see Kenny as someone who can’t change, or won’t change. That’s how they’ve interpreted him based on their experiences as someone who’s lived through these things, or been around someone who has.

In their eyes, Kenny isn’t redeemable, “tragic backstory” or not.

What about those who felt wronged by a character?

I’ve come to the realization that this why I don’t like Minerva.

She wronged me in the way that I had to watch either Louis or Tenn die because she showed up on the bridge with the illusion that she would take her brother to a better place.

Louis, my favorite character across the entire series, and one that I’ve taken so much comfort in during the more recent darker moments of my life. Tenn, a character that I wanted to watch grow and become what characters like Ben or Sarah weren’t allowed to be come.

Because of Minerva, the only way for both Louis and Tenn to survive is if I let Louis get kidnapped, resulting in him becoming mute due to the delta cutting out his tongue, I have to break AJ’s heart by telling him that I don’t trust him, and I have to watch Violet be devoured alive by a horde of walkers.

I’m not willing to let Louis die, but I also don’t want him to lose his tongue, so in my route, I trust AJ to shoot Tenn and give Minerva what she wants.

And no matter what? Clementine gets bit because Minerva sliced her leg apart, leaving her slow and weaker when trying to get away. I firmly believe that if Minerva hadn’t done that, Clementine wouldn’t have been bitten for the sake of “parallel.”

It’s a situation that could’ve been avoided if Minerva hadn’t showed up, but her will to see and kill Tenn was strong enough for her

People who love Minerva might not see it that way, or if they do, they’re a lot more forgiving than I am.

Believe me when I tell you that I can see this being a reason for the hate towards any character like this.

Like Kenny. Lot’s of Kenny talk.

I know there are those out there who loved Kenny in s1, but by the time s2 ended, they couldn’t stand him because s2 wronged them in their portrayal of Kenny and what he had become. This wasn’t their Kenny.

To finish this segment off, allow me to answer that last question I posed: Are they just being a bag of dicks who don’t care about anything other than berating anyone who dares oppose them and their opinions?

Of course, then there are the children who like to fight. The answer for why these people hate such characters is because they think of themselves as... let’s say, Batman.

This community needs a hero to vanquish anyone who likes or enjoys these problematic characters and it’s a job only they can do! They’re the hero for sending that anon hate to your inbox!

This is an excuse to be a dick and we all know it.

So, what does all of this Kenny, Minerva, and Nate talk amount to?

It helped me in understanding a reason in why I like David so much.

I already knew that I enjoyed learning more about who he was prior to the outbreak, as well as having light shed on his and Javi’s relationship, but not in the way I initially thought.

You see, ANF is different in the way that it feeds backstory to the player- through flashbacks. At the beginning of each episode, we play as Javi in the past before the apocalypse happened.

From there, we get to see what David was like compared to what he is now, but they tell it to us through Javi’s point of view and we have to pick apart his character through that forced perspective.

From the flashbacks alone, as well as ep1′s beginning, I put together that:

David was a single father trying to raise two incredibly young children. We’re never told what happened to his first wife. I used to assume that they ended up divorced, but now I’m more on board with the idea that she’s actually dead and that’s why David has full custody of Gabe and Mariana.

Putting the pieces together now, it makes sense of why he married Kate when they’re clearly not compatible, and why he has these high expectations of her. David’s mother and father are still together, and with family being a big theme in ANF, it leads me to believe that David felt his children needed a mother figure in their lives in order for the family to be complete. He needed a wife.

While I think he did love Kate, and she obviously loved him enough to marry him in the first place, David didn’t love her the way he should have.

Kate tells us that their marriage was fucked up. We clearly see that given how she reacts when she sees David again, as well as when David himself confesses that things aren’t working out between them and that’s why he wants to go away.

They’re always arguing, he has those expectations of her as his wife and she’s fed up with it, and things are just.... not working. Of course they’re not.

He wanted a wife to make him feel more complete, as well as give his children that mother figure. He wasn’t out there trying to find the love of his life. For all we know, he already had that with his possibly dead first wife [note: shoot, add “possible dead wife” to the list of shit David’s got going in his backstory for future reference]. He thought that he could try and change Kate from who she is because he was desperate for this to work.

David and Kate should NOT have gotten married, but I can understand the stress David was under with having to raise two children as a single father while dealing with untreated trauma from being a soldier, his confidence in himself as a normal human-being deteriorating due to his “I’m a soldier and I can’t function here” mentality, working a shitty job while going back and forth on whether or not he should go sign up again, having a strained relationship with an irresponsible brother who lost his baseball career due to a gambling addiction yet still never being around when David needed him.

David marries Kate and things don’t fix themselves.

And then Javi does come around, and David doesn’t know how to act or what to say.

Then his father keeps from them that he has cancer and he’s not planning on getting treatments for it.

When his father loses his battle with cancer, everyone is there except Javier. David’s there holding his hand while his dying father asks for Javi.

I get why David’s upset that his father isn’t seeing him because he’s looking for Javi. Is it selfish to feel jealous or heartbroken when it’s your father that’s dying? Yeah, but it’s a realistic feeling. Most of us have felt some level of this but don’t want to admit it because we don’t want to see ourselves in a negative light. It’s easy to look at David and be like “What a selfish prick.”

But... why wasn’t Javi there? Everyone makes it clear that he should have been there, no excuse. Everyone was there for hours, for days but Javi was no where to be found. This plays beautifully into Javier’s character growth throughout the season, but what about David?

Compared to the “tragic backstories” of Kenny and Minerva, David’s seems... a little mundane, huh?

He has problems focused more in the real world rather than the apocalypse world.

Every bad thing we’ve ever learned about Kenny and Minerva happened after the walkers.

Plenty of people have served in the military and dealt with trauma rooted in their service.

Plenty have either been divorced or lost their spouse, were left as a single parent to raise the kids they love but are afraid they’ll fuck up if they do it alone. How about those who are apart of an unhappy marriage?

Nearly everyone has worked a job they hate and know the toll it can take on your mental health.

Left in the shadow of a more successful sibling, no matter how hard they try to be on that same level and earn that love, too.

A parent with cancer, or another life-threatening illness.

Feeling as though they can’t function because they’re not built to live in such a humanly “normal” world, eager to find where they belong and have a fulfilling purpose.

Everything David has going on prior to the apocalypse is real and relatable, and I like that this is the route they took with him. Rather than having him be like Kenny, who seemed to live happily with very little issue and only began to suffer when the apocalypse came, they took a route similar to Lee and Javier.

“Things weren’t great before.”

That being said, do any of these things justify David’s bad behavior towards Javi, Kate, Clementine, and everyone else? Does it justify the bad things he ends up doing during the events of ANF.

Hell no!

David can be a real prick and amazing backstory/introduction or not, I am not okay with that!

But look.

Listen.

ANF is such a mess. It’s a disaster.

It’s ‘s2 mess,’ but on crack.

I firmly believe that David is one of the better things to come out of it, except he got severely fucked over by just how terrible ANF’s writing could be.

They started off so good. David is established and he has some of the better character moments in the entire game, but it’s all buried underneath the bullshit.

They actually gave us David, who dealt with a lot of “normal” shit to try and find his place and be happy, made him have problems that we can see ourselves having and relate to, making us question ourselves, and then they gave him what he wanted.

David met up with Ava, he found Clint and Joan, and they created a community together where David got to be this leader with a purpose. He got what he wanted at the sacrifice of his children, wife, brother, and parents, something he didn’t even have a choice in.

They had all the right ideas...

I love the different take to David’s backstory. I love the way he was introduced in ANF. I love the way these things managed to weave themselves throughout ANF despite it being...... ugh.

People who hate David, like the one who listed all of those lovely attributes of his in the previous part, think he is nothing but a whiny, selfish, asshole because of the way he’s introduced and portrayed in flashbacks and... I disagree to a point.

He is an asshole a lot of the time, especially when you don’t side with him [heh, sound familiar] but that doesn’t mean he’s not a compelling, relatable character to study and infer about. And y’know what? I like that he’s not Mr. Nice Guy. Someone like him wouldn’t be. He is a person who can nice moments, and he has bad moments. It doesn’t excuse the shit he does, but it at least adds a depth to it that I appreciate.

I’m mature enough to recognize these his bad behaviors, acknowledge them, and infer more about his character without makes excuses and pretending that him having a tough time means it’s okay for him be that way.

I can see what they were going for as far as his endgame, but I’ll talk more about that later.

As for the conclusion of this long winded segment:

A character’s backstory, first impression, execution of developing these small seedling details into an overarching story plays an important role in the growing love of a character, problematic or not. Both love and hate can be stemmed from the maturity and knowledge of the viewer based on how relatable and sympathetic they find these ideas.

[Continued in 3/?]

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wrestlingisfake · 4 years

Text

Double or Nothing preview

Been a while, hasn’t it?

Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee - This will be Moxley’s second defense of the AEW men’s world championship since winning the title on February 29. Impressively, Mox is already the longest-reigning champion in AEW history, holding the title for an incredible 823 days over the past three months.

The story is fairly basic: on May 6 Lee sent his stable, the Dark Order, to dogpile Moxley before he demanded this match and walked off with the title belt. Lee has lots of backup, but Mox is too stubborn to back down.

Brodie Lee was formerly known as Luke Harper in WWE, where he was usually a member of Bray Wyatt’s cult, the Wyatt Family. After a 2018 biceps injury, he was used very sparingly, and requested his release in April 2019. WWE used him even more sparingly, but finally let him go in December. In January the Dark Order began teasing an unseen leader known as “the Exalted One,” who was finally revealed to be Lee once his WWE no-compete clause expired in March.

Lee played a cult member for almost all of his WWE run, but it seems like his strongest impression of how cult leaders act was not Bray Wyatt but WWE chairman Vince McMahon. Everyone at AEW seems to deny a direct parody--and for all I know it really isn’t intentional--but it’s not subtle how his on-screen behavior resembles accounts of Vince’s off-screen idiosyncrasies. Which adds an extra wrinkle to the story, given Moxley’s very public, very blistering criticism of McMahon when he left WWE last year.

AEW has claimed this show’s card is mostly what was planned before the pandemic forced them to move from Las Vegas to a closed set in Jacksonville. Even so, I feel like this would have been a very week title match on any of AEW’s previous pay-per-views, and it’s hard to believe they were really going to headline with this in the MGM Grand. My gut says that under normal circumstances this match would be given away on free TV. But these aren’t normal circumstances, so I guess you might as well do this now and save a bigger match for when fans are back.

I think there is zero chance of Lee actually winning the title, so the only question is how much Moxley will have to do to retain.

Chris Jericho & Jake Hager & Sammy Guevara & Ortiz & Santana vs. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page & Matt Hardy & Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson - This is being billed as a “stadium stampede” match. A ring will be set up in the middle of TIAA Bank Field, the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’m guessing the match will start in the ring, but the rules allow the wrestlers to fight anywhere in the stadium, so I’m not sure why it matters. The match cannot end by count-out or disqualification, and falls count anywhere.

This feud started in October when Jericho recruited Hager, Guevara, Ortiz, and Santana to form The Inner Circle, to help him oppose The Elite (Omega, the Young Bucks, Page, and Cody Rhodes). The two teams were set for a ten-man “war games” style cage match on March 25, but to give Nick Jackson paternity leave he was “injured” and Matt Hardy was announced as his replacement. The match was scrapped altogether in light of the coronavirus pandemic. On May 13, Jericho proposed issued a challenge to the Elite for this match. Since Cody is already booked on the card, Hardy is subbing for him this time instead of Nick.

Most of the people in this match have wrestled very sparingly since AEW started running closed-set shows on March 18, although the Inner Circle has been back at full strength since May 6. Part of the intrigue is that Page and the Bucks were off AEW television in over two months, so Jericho is suggesting that the Elite barely exists anymore. Ring rust will almost surely be a factor, as Matt Jackson hurt his ribs doing a spot in his big return on May 20. So even though this match features some of the best talent in the world, I could easily see it getting “bowling shoe ugly” very quickly.

It’s almost lost in the shuffle that this is Hardy’s first real big match since jumping from WWE to AEW and reviving his “Broken Matt Hardy” gimmick from Impact Wrestling. Hardy was originally in this to support his friends, but it became personal when Jericho “killed” his beloved quadcopter drone, Vanguard 1. It’s pretty clear AEW wants to build to a high-profile Hardy-Jericho match, but the coronavirus situation has probably screwed up their idea of when that can happen.

I’d like to see the Elite finally settle the score with the Inner Circle, but I can’t help but think this feud must continue, and putting the heels over is the easiest way to do that. However, I suppose the babyfaces could pin someone other than Jericho or Hager without really resolving the feud.

Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer - This is a tournament final to determine the first person to hold the new AEW TNT championship. Cody defeated Shawn Spears and Darby Allin to advance to this match. Archer defeated Colt Cabana and Dustin Rhodes. Mike Tyson will present the title belt to the winner for some reason.

TNT is the name of the channel that airs Dynamite in the US, so this is basically a modern take on the old television titles. In the days before pay-per-view specials, wrestling TV shows were designed to build to big matches at untelevised events, with the idea that you had to pay for a ticket to see the real big shows. In that business model, televised title bouts were somewhat rare, so a television championship would stand out for being regularly defended on TV. There’s a lot of nostalgia for the concept, but nobody’s really come up with a good way to make it work in the modern era. (Hell, I barely understood the point of the WCW TV title 30 years ago.) I know AEW management feels strongly about avoiding the stigma of a “midcard title,” so I’m curious to see what they come up with here.

Archer has been built up very well as the biggest and most monstrous of the big monster heels. He really needs to win his first big PPV match in the company to maintain his momentum. But at the same time, Archer’s manager Jake Roberts has been a huge dirtbag to Cody’s wife Brandi, so that really needs to be avenged. It’s really impressive how AEW can build these matches up with really simple things that defy one’s “this guy has to win” logic, which makes the match more exciting. My money’s on Archer, but I have to root for Cody.

Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida - Rose is making her second defense of the AEW women’s world championship. Shida earned this title shot by winning a four-way match on May 13.

This match feels a little cold to me, probably because both women were absent from TV for about a month. AEW’s women’s division has always struggled to be relevant but it’s been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Between travel bans and wrestlers electing to stay home, a huge chunk of the roster has been unavailable. Nevertheless, Rose still comes across as a big dominant juggernaut, and Shida still feels like the babyface they’ve been saving for a special occasion, so it’s like everything worked out in the end.

Shida makes sense as the next women’s champion, but it feels too early. Even though Nyla has held the title since February, her absence in April makes it feel like she hasn’t had enough time to really make it her own. I have to pick Rose to retain.

Casino Ladder Match - This is a nine-man match, where the winner will earn the right to challenge the AEW men’s world champion. Like any ladder match, an objective (a casino chip in this case) will be suspended above the ring, and ladders will be provided for the participants to use and climb; the first man to retrieve the objective wins the match. However, participants will enter the match gauntlet style, with two men starting and an additional man entering every 90 seconds. In theory, the match could end before everyone has entered, but I doubt it’ll come to that.

The plan a year ago was to make the “casino battle royale” an annual tradition at Double or Nothing, but I’m guessing that wasn’t feasible this year. Social distancing guidelines and battle royales (battles royale?) don’t go well together. Then again, neither do nine-person ladder matches, although it’s possible the gauntlet stip will help limit the action to two or three people in the ring at any given time.

Eight participants have been announced: Orange Cassidy, Colt Cabana, Darby Allin, Scorpio Sky, Frankie Kazarian, Kip Sabian, Luchasaurus, and (as a late substitution for Rey Fenix) Joey Janela. It looks like the ninth entrant won’t be revealed before the show, which is actually kind of exciting considering how many hot free agents are available at the moment. I’m not saying it will be one of the people WWE recently released, but it makes at least as much sense as using Billy Gunn or something.

I don’t have a strong sense of who should win, because the winner is probably just going to lose to Jon Moxley on a free TV match. I guess the question is, who would be the best opponent for Moxley in that situation? I’m leaning towards Darby Allin, but not much. If the mystery entrant is any good, though, that could change everything.

MJF vs. Jungle Boy - There’s not much of a story here. MJF was riding high after a big win over Cody Rhodes on February 29, but then he was out for about a month, presumably due to the pandemic. He claimed he was sidelined by a devastating hangnail, but I don’t know if I buy that. Upon his return, he was told he’d be facing Jungle Boy here, and he wasn’t happy. Since then, they’ve been kinda teasing Jungle Boy’s buddy Luchasaurus against MJF’s henchman Wardlow, so we’ll probably get more teases for that.

Listen, I’m not saying Jungle Boy is going to target the pinkie finger that had the hangnail. I’m definitely not saying Jungle Boy is going to bite MJF’s finger, or that MJF will sell it like he’s been shot. I’m just saying that would be a really good idea that would be worth the full price of the pay-per-view.

But I have a feeling MJF will win anyhow.

Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford - This was originally going to be Statlander against Britt Baker, but Baker suffered a knee injury on May 20. I’m becoming a big Baker fan (I mean, boo, she’s mean, but y’know), so it sucks that she’s sidelined. But it’s kinda cool that Ford gets to step up here. She seems talented, but she hasn’t been pushed too hard except as Kip Sabian’s girl. Then again, I like Statlander’s alien hijinx too. Can I just bet that all the wrestlers will have a good time?

Shawn Spears vs. Dustin Rhodes - The entire heel gimmick for Spears is that he hates Cody Rhodes, which isn’t so great since he only fights Cody once every few months. Anyway, he got eliminated in the TNT title tournament by Cody, and since then he’s been giving Dustin shit. When Dustin was eliminated from the tournament in a bloody match with Lance Archer, Cody teased throwing in the towel but didn’t. So Spears is trying to make big deal about Cody not rescuing Dustin, and Dustin being a washed-up has-been. I’m pretty sure Dustin is just going to beat his ass and that’ll be it.

Chuckie T & Trent Beretta vs. Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen - This is scheduled for the pre-show. The winning team will earn a shot at the AEW tag team championship. So I guess that means Kenny Omega and Hangman Page have to do the title match soon, which suggests Page can’t immediately go back to hiding in the woods. Maybe? I mean, good for Hangman staying at home. I’m just saying I don’t have a clue what’s going on in the tag team division. Anyway, Kassidy and Quen are cool and they’ll be big someday, but it’s pretty clear that AEW thinks “someday” is ways off. The Best Friends are the clear favorite to win, although an upset isn’t totally impossible.

#aew #double or nothing #jon moxley #brodie lee #cody rhodes #lance archer #the elite #the inner circle

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the-walking-memelords · 5 years

Text

Allegiances: Chapter 21

Series is rated M

Word Count: 5730

Clementine tries to find her way home on the twisting railway of her mind, but will she be able to find her way home or simply accept her fate and move on?

Read it on Ao3!

Read it on Wattpad!

Part of the journey is the end.

The blinding white-hot pain only lasted a moment before it faded away to a numb blackness. The young girl felt as if she was floating in the shadows that engulfed her. She was small, and light. Clem realized she was laying on something hard and cold as her senses slowly returned to her.

The golden sun’s rays stung the child’s eyes as she sat upright, the rumbling motion of the train below her made her unable to stand in her dazed state. A shiver ran through her as the thin sheer of her tights was the only thing between her skin and the rusted metal below her. The cool wind blew through the open doors of the boxcar, causing the loose blue ballcap to shift on her head and the skirt of her pale sundress flair out.

“Hi, Clementine.” A high-pitched voice she vaguely recognized called her name from behind her.

“Duck?” Clementine fought through her clouded vision to see the bright smile adorning the young boy’s face painted with freckles.

Something about this didn’t feel right. Why had they been left alone? The adults always had someone watching over them.

“Where is everyone? Lee?” Clem’s short twin ponytails tickled the back of her neck as they swayed in the breeze.

“Waiting.” He said with a shrug, walking closer to her and sitting just a few feet away.

“I’m going to see them soon.”

This doesn’t feel right.

“You can come too, y’know. I missed playing with you, and everyone else misses you too.” He smiled that familiar, goofy smile.

“What do you mean they missed me?” Weren’t they just all together? Listening to Chuck strum his guitar while they sat under the afternoon sun waiting for Lee and Kenny to fix up the train they now rode.

The train finally exited the forest, the wide-open field allowing her to view the distant shapes of tall buildings in the distance.

“Are we going to Savannah?”

“No… Somewhere else.” Duck moved to watch the fields as the wind caused waves to rustle through the tall weeds.

“Somewhere better.”

Clementine couldn’t quite get the clouds to clear from her head.

"I don't know if your parents will be there though. I think you were supposed to come on a later train."

"My parents are in Savannah." Clementine told him. She had to find them before it was too late.

"Oh, then I guess they probably won't be there."

A whistle sounded from the front of the train, the sound eliciting a smile from Duck.

"We're almost there."

Duck’s smile devolved into a hesitant smirk, to a lonesome frown as he sat on the edge of the car, letting his feet swing off the side. He looked longingly into the distance as he suddenly seemed lost in thought. Clementine called his name a few times before she recaptured his attention.

“What?” His head suddenly snapped up confused as if he had forgotten she was there.

“What are you thinking about?” Clem asked slightly worried as she sat next to him, the cold breeze sending a chill up her legs.

“All the stuff I left at home.” He said plainly. “If I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back I would’ve brought more toys.”

Clementine couldn't help but laugh a little, it just like him to obsess over such things.

“We had some toys at the motel.”

Sucks we had to leave them all behind.

Stupid bandits.

“I know we had a lot of crayons and stuff, but I left most of my toys in my dad’s truck when we ran out of gas.” Duck pouted with a huff.

“It’s more than that though. I miss TV, and video games, and my friends from school, and just… not having to feel like I have to grow up all the time.”

This demeanour was new from Duck, a stark contrast to the bright and bubbly nature he held firmly onto since the day they’d met on the farm. Clementine wasn’t sure how to respond. Supposedly nothing bothered him, like water off a duck’s back, but clearly this world could wear down the most cheerful of individuals.

“I guess we can’t really be kids anymore…” Clementine mumbled in a disheartened tone.

The world felt so big, and she felt so small.

“I think there’s still a chance.” His cheer was just starting to return.

“Just cuz we have to fight a lot now doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.”

“That’s dumb.” She retorted.

“If we don’t keep fighting the monsters will get us. Then we’ll be monsters too.”

We push on.

“I think there’s someplace out there where we don’t have to grow up.” He nudged her arm.

“The world is super huge. There’s gotta be at least one place. You just gotta find it.”

A second whistle sounded from the cab, the train lurching as it began to decelerate.

As the train pulled to a stop, Duck excitedly leapt from the boxcar, running to his parents as they pulled him into a tight hug. Katjaa kissed the top of his head and Kenny ruffled his son’s short hair.

The sight brought a smile to her face. A smile that dropped once she heard a familiar voice call her name.

“Hey there, Clem.”The man waved and stepped closer after he greeted his son.

“What are you doing back so soon?”

“Kenny!” Her grin returned as she sat back on the edge of the train to make the jump down easier.

There was something nostalgic about seeing him this way, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Don’t be so quick to hop off now, Clem.” The man was no longer smiling.

“Are you sure this is your stop?”

Clementine was confused about what he meant. Wasn’t this where she was meant to go?

"Tell me, Clementine." He spoke.

"What’re you looking for out here?"

It seemed like an odd question. Clementine has been trying to find the same place for as long as the dead have been walking.

"I want to go home."

"Take a good look, Clementine." Kenny gestured to the space around him.

"Are you sure this is your home?"

The lonesome station suddenly began to feel crowded. She couldn't see anyone new, but the presence was overwhelming. Their voices unheard but all pushing the same thought into her mind.

This isn't your stop.

"This is Georgia. I used to live here with my mom and dad, but..."

They're not here.

"Where are they?"

"I'll take you to them if that's really what you want, but if you want to go home, you're going to have to decide what home really means." Kenny’s words were hard for her to understand.

This should be it, shouldn’t it? The small girl looked around, finding no one else waiting to greet her. Not her parents, not Lee, no one.

"Don't worry, darlin', I know you'll find whatever you’re searchin’ for." He smiled.

“Someplace you get to be a kid for just a little bit longer.”

Get to be a kid?

Games and friends and staying up late telling stories and having fun. Would it be really something she would be able to find out there?

Clementine felt as if her feet were welded to the metal floor of the boxcar. Unable to step forward even if she wanted to.

"I used to think it was…" She began.

"But I don't think so anymore. There's something missing."

Clementine felt as if she still had a long way to go.

"This isn't my stop."

"Then I guess you still have more to see." He smiled as he took a step back.

"Come for a visit the next time you find yourself riding the train, okay?"

"Okay." Clementine barely had the chance to wave before the train whistled once more.

---

The train suddenly lurched forward, sending the small girl tumbling backwards into the car. Clementine rubbed the back of her head as she sat up, eyes shooting open as she was startled by a cold prick on the tip of her nose.

She pulled her light blue jacket tightly over her magenta t-shirt, fumbling the zipper with chilled hands. Snowflakes began to pour in from the open door, dancing through the air and lowering the visibility outside. The tall dark shapes of trees were barely visible in the sea of white.

“I hope that storm passes before we hit the station.” Said Luke as he sat next to an oil lamp, the flame turned up high.

“Hey, kid.”

Clementine couldn’t help but run over and hug the man, the quick embrace fighting off the cold of their surroundings.

“Didn’t think you missed me that much.” He laughed.

“I supposed you’re on your way home too?”

“Mmhmm.” She mumbled

“But I don’t really know where I’m going.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll know when you get there.”

“I know where I’m headed. I’m gonna go see my family again.”

“Like.. your parents?” The young girl asked, still unable to completely push her own parents out of her mind.

Did I make the right choice?

“I think you were supposed to come on a later train.”

What did that mean?

“Not entirely.” Luke stated.

“I mean, of course, I’m going to see them but I was talkin’ more along the lines of our group, y’know? Nick, Carlos, Alvin and Becs, all them.”

“I guess you guys really were like a family.” All of them were. Not just the ones who were related by blood, but in bond as well.

They certainly weren’t the most functional family, but they did their best to make it work. They cared for each other, tried to protect one another, that’s what really matters.

“Family is what you make of it, Clem.” He smiled.

“It’s all that matters when it comes down to it.”

“I guess we all have to make our own families now, since all the people we knew before are gone.” Clementine hated starting over, but this world wasn’t one where you often got what you wanted or wished for.

“We ain’t gonna let the lurkers stop us from enjoying life with the people we care about that’s for damn sure.” Luke beamed just as the first whistle blew.

Even amidst all of the chaos of the apocalypse, people still found a life worth living. They found love, and warmth, and home. Proving that those things did not die when the dead were given life. Communities and families and parents with children. It was all still possible.

“Alvin and Rebecca…” There was someone else…

“The baby… Rebecca’s baby…”

She had her baby. Clementine could remember it happening. The day after they escaped Carver’s camp she went into labour. Clementine could remember how light he was the first time she held him.

Her boy…

That baby boy…

“Alvin Junior.” Luke filled in the blank.

“That’s what Kenny named him, right? It’s what Rebecca would’ve wanted.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s still out there somewhere I guess.” Luke speculated.

“Maybe that’s what you’re searching for since you been taking care of him.”

“I have to find him.” Clementine said determinedly.

If there was even a chance he was out there she had to take it. She couldn’t just leave him after she promised to protect him.

“He’s a tough kid, Clem. Just like you.” The man smiled.

“You got nothin’ to worry about.”

We fight on.

The blizzard outside began to dissipate into a light snowfall, making their environment along the track finally visible. The sun climbed high into the sky, barely visible as a bright circle fighting to shine through the clouds. The field beyond was blanketed in a thick layer of pure white snow, the same also covering the trees that scattered sparsely in patches. What appeared to be a small town quickly came into view as the final whistle rang out and the train pulled slowly into the second station.

“Y’know Clementine, you’re part of our family too.” Luke smiled.

“Like the little sister I never had.”

Luke playfully pushed the brim of her hat down over her eyes as he jumped down onto the platform. Clementine giggled as she wavered on the boxcar’s edge.

“No pressure or nothin’.” Luke told her.

“But if you wanna come too, the offer is there.”

“Clementine?” Rebecca smiled warmly upon seeing the girl, her hand over Alvin’s as it was wrapped around her shoulder.

Clementine wanted to smile upon seeing them, but her heart wouldn’t allow it. Not with AJ still missing. The girl wasn’t even entirely sure what she could say to them. Wouldn’t they be angry?

“I’m sorry.” She choked out.

“I know I said I’d look out for AJ but… no. wait.”

Clementine kicked herself for giving up so soon.

“I’m still gonna find him. I promise.”

“We know you will.” Alvin smiled warmly.

“We’re so proud of you, Clem. You’ve made it so far.”

“You just need to push a little bit further, okay hun?” Rebecca walked up to the edge of tracks, taking Clementine’s chilled hand in hers and squeezing it tight.

“You’re gonna be okay, Clem. Don’t worry about any of us.”

“I promise I’ll see you again.” She swore.

“And when I come back, I’ll make sure AJ is safe.”

“We know you will.”

Clementine and Rebecca both took a few steps away from each other as the train began to leave the station. Clem watched them for as long as she could, waving all the way.

---

The sound of a deck of cards being shuffled is what made Clementine tear her eyes away from her friends in the distance.

“Care for a game?” Gabe said as he held out half of his deck.

“Sound’s like a good way to pass the time.” Clem sighed with a smile. Who knows where the train would take them this time.

“You remember how to play euchre?”

“Euchre’s dumb.” She smirked. An opinion she definitely didn't have because he always beat her at it.

“Fine then.” The boy resigned.

“Something simpler since you’re too afraid to challenge the master. How ‘bout ‘Twenty Questions?’”

“Deal.”

Clementine sat cross-legged with her back leaning against his. She shuffled her half of the deck as she tried to ignore the unknown familiarity hanging over her. She had enough confusion eating away at her mind as it was. She bit her lip as she tried to settle her unease and drew her first card.

She slid the two of clubs on her left towards him as an eight of clubs appeared at her right.

“If you could go back, would you have stayed with Lee and not looked for your parents?”

How did he even know about that? Did she ever tell him? Maybe, but she couldn't remember for certain.

“I…” She began.

“Yeah, of course. If I knew they were dead I wouldn’t have tried to find them, and Lee would still be alive.”

He said nothing in response, so Clem elected to flip another card and pass the resulting nine of diamonds his way, just managing to defeat his eight of spades.

“How did your mom die?”

She remembered Gabe mentioning her once briefly. Clem knew she had died before all of this, but not of the cause.

“She was in a car accident when Mari and I were small.” Gabe said sadly.

“We were on our way home from the movie theatre one night when some drunk guy missed the red and rammed right into her side.”

“You were there?”

“So was dad. He had a pretty bad concussion and Mariana got cut by a piece of glass, that’s where she got that scar on her eyebrow. I don’t think she really remembered it though.” He shrugged.

Clementine’s mind raced to a crash she was involved in. A memory that always caused the scar on her forehead to itch as a horrid and permanent reminder of her mistake that had proved fatal for someone so dear to her.

“Clem?” Gabe caught her attention.

“Hm?”

“Next card.” He said as he slid a seven of hearts her way.

She barely even glanced at the two of spades she passed to him knowing she’d already lost.

“Do you regret not saving Jane somehow?”

Just hearing that woman’s name sparked a bit of rage in her heart. She never gave a shit about AJ. Kenny was right about her. She never really gave a shit about anyone but herself, and eventually, it got her killed. She left her sister. She left AJ. Clementine figured it wouldn’t have been long before she left her as well. She left her once, she’d do it again.

“Jane got what was coming to her.” Clementine sneered.

“She made it impossible to trust her. Left AJ to die, then tried to kill Kenny and turn me against him. Her death was her own fault.”

Clementine triumphantly slid over her Jack of spades as she collected his three of hearts.

“Do you still trust your dad after everything he did?”

Gabe was silent for a moment, the only sound he made was a regretful sigh.

“Not completely, I think.” She felt him lean back a little more.

“Uncle Javi has been more of a dad to me since the muertos came. He kept us alive. And when dad came back all he did was fight Javi. He was different than I remembered, but somehow the same at the same time. Like, a part of him that had always been there took over and became who he was. I don’t think he’s a bad person. Just… lost.”

Clementine nodded as the first whistle cut through the air, signalling their upcoming approach. The roaring fields outside became scattered with buildings as they passed through a city. There were no sounds of cars nor and sights of other people, but nothing felt abandoned along this ride.

“Should we stop now?” She asked as she fumbled with her deck.

“Nah, we got time for a couple more rounds.” Gabe said with a slightly cheered tone as he flipped her a six of spades, trumping her four of hearts.

“What was it like out there all alone, after you lost AJ?”

Hell.

That was the first word that came to mind. Hell accompanied by utter loneliness and anxiety. Wandering without purpose, she had travelled along the backroads, sleeping amongst the trees in the rain, and taking what she needed from any unfortunate soul who crossed her path.

“It was the worst months of my life.” Clem told him as she bit her lip.

“Honestly it wasn’t even about the how of survival. I did awful shit to a lot of people out there, but it gave me what I needed and I didn’t care. It was the why of survival that got me. I had nothing. No one. I didn’t have a reason to keep fighting. I just did it. I fought and hoped I’d find a reason one day.”

And a reason is what she found. Clementine found real friends in Gabe and Javier. Part of her wished she didn’t have to leave them, but AJ was still out there somewhere and she couldn’t stop until she found him.

Clementine wore a slight grin as she passed him her queen of hearts, only to have it defeated by his ace of spades.

“Final question.” Gabe decided.

“Do you regret doing that to Lilly?”

Clementine froze not so much at the question, but the deadpanned way Gabe had said it. What had she done to Lilly? It’s been years since she’d seen her. That was a fact, wasn’t it? Lilly had been kicked out back in Macon, but for some reason, her memory of the woman felt… distorted.

Clementine tried to conjure a picture of Lilly’s face in her mind but the resulting image was unfamiliar. Her hair was short and choppy, her face was slightly slimmer, aged and marked with light scars. This image was more prominent in her memory than the woman she lived with at the motor inn. The image brought a pain in her chest like a knife being pushed directly into her heart.

He must have felt her tense up because he spoke again.

“You have to answer. Them’s the rules.” His tone still flat.

Clementine pushed Lilly’s face from her mind as she inhaled sharply. The rage in her heart provided the answer she sought.

“No.”

The second whistle sounded as the train began to slow to a halt.

“Gabriel!” An unfamiliar woman’s voice called the young teen.

The boy quickly hopped off to the ground below, embracing the woman before moving to Kate and another girl Clem recognized as his sister to pull into a hug as well.

Clementine stood soundly in the door as she watched him greet his family, wondering if she would find herself participation in a similar one when she finally reached her destination.

“You could stay too if you want.” The woman said.

“Mari told me about how you saved her and her family’s life.”

We look forward.

Yeah after I robbed her uncle and tried to steal their van.

Seeing Mariana and this woman next to each other it became apparent that this was their mother, the young girl being a spitting image of the older one. Her wavy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing her face with side-swept bangs. On her left cheek was a small brown birthmark which she also shared with her daughter.

“I wish I could, but I got my own kid to find.” Clementine smiled.

“This isn’t my stop.”

As the sun set over the horizon the final whistle rang out and the train pulled forward. Clementine watched the golden light paint the sky with oranges, pinks, and purples. The train continued on its way as the dark blue of the sky revealed millions of shimmering stars.

She untied the flannel from her waist and tucked it under her head as she laid down, letting the rumbling of the train lull her to sleep.

---

Clementine awoke to the sound of faint singing. The voice was low, like someone mumbling a tune to occupy their time.

“Sometimes I don’t know where this dirty road is takin’ me.”

“Sometimes I can’t even see the reason why.”

Clementine sat up with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and brushing her loose curls from her face.

Through the dim light of the early morning sun, she could see a familiar blond shift suddenly as if startled to see her awake.

“Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Marlon said as he continued to softly tap his foot along to the beat of the song.

“I couldn’t sleep myself, so I figured I’d just watch the sunrise.”

“So where are we going now?” Clementine was growing tired of riding this train.

“End of the line.” He chimed.

“Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth.”

Finally.

Clementine let out a sigh of relief. She finally felt as if she was on the correct path. Her relief was short-lived, however. The knot that had been forming in her stomach reached it’s tightest point as she sat across from him. His face was normal, but something about it was unsettling enough to send a chill up her spine.

Her gaze fell to her hands in her lap as Gabe’s words began to echo in her head mingling with the odd behaviour of her other friends.

There’s no way he could’ve known about Lilly.

A horrid realization caused her heart to beat rapidly as it dawned on her what all of these people had in common.

A flash image slashed across her vision for only a fraction of a second, yet it was enough to taint the person who sat before her with the reality of what had been her last memory of him.

Clementine saw blood. Blood cascading down his body gurgling from the deep slash in his throat. More droplets ran alongside his nose emanating from the wound in his forehead that finally took his life.

Took his life.

Clementine jumped back with a startled yelp, nearly tripping over her own feet as she backed away.

“What is it?” Marlon said without a hint of real question in his pale blue eyes.

Marlon’s mouth almost formed a bit of a smirk as he knew the last piece of the puzzle had finally clicked into place.

“You’re dead.” Clementine stammered.

“Lilly killed you. How are you here?”

“I’m here for the same reason you are.” He chuckled.

“I’m on my way home.”

“I thought you said we were going to Ericson’s.”

“Ericson’s has been more of a home to me in the last eight years than any of the shit I had before.” He turned back to face the sun rising through the trees.

“I’m going back to the way it used to be. Before everything fell apart. As a kid I was afraid I’d be stuck there forever, now I kinda hope it happens.”

Clementine’s heart turned heavy as she sank back to the ground. The first whistle sounded signalling their time was beginning to run short.

Time.

Just when the days began to have meaning once more Clementine had seemed to run out of them.

“Am I dead too?” The words came out in a croaked whisper.

She gripped her pant leg at the top of her left boot. The pain came to her in a hollow echo, as if right there but far away all at once.

“Dying, but not quite dead yet.” The boy explained.

“But don’t worry, you did good. You deserve the rest.”

Somehow her anxiety only grew.

“AJ… and Louis… I can’t just leave them!” Clementine wondered where she really was. Somehow, she didn’t feel like she was anywhere at all.

Just… gone.

“Don’t worry about them. You’ll see them again one day when it’s their turn to ride the train.” Somehow Marlon’s words did not comfort her at all.

“I don’t want to go yet.” Her voice began to break.

“I’m not ready.”

She thought she was before, but now it somehow became even harder to just let go.

“I don't think anyone’s ever ready.” He sighed.

Clementine absentmindedly pulled on one of the buttons on her denim jacket. Was this really the end? Was she just dreaming? No amount of self reasoning could stop her hands from trembling.

“Look, I know I never really made up for what I did to you and Brody, even if it’s possible to do, but I still want to help.” Marlon said as he looked her in the eyes.

“Come with me. Let me show you what Ericson’s used to be like in the beginning. No adults. No walkers. Just a place full of kids still getting to be kids. A place to really be free. You’ll get to meet all of our friends who already rode the train a long time ago. Somewhere to just sit, and stay, and rest. The others will arrive another day. We can wait for them there.”

Clementine’s mouth hung open as she tried to process what she was hearing. Did she even have a choice? There had to be another way. Maybe this place would be an ideal destination one day, but Clementine knew she wasn’t finished just yet.

Not yet.

Clem still had more to live for.

She fought so hard for her future she couldn’t rest without getting to live it.

“I’m sorry, Marlon.” Clementine said with a smile as she stood before him.

“But this is my stop.”

Never back.

Clementine’s feet moved with purpose into a sprint before she could be stopped, though she sensed no intent from the boy to do so. With one strong jump, she flew from the boxcar into the chilly morning air but with no wings to aid her she soon crashed into the earth.

The sound of the train rushing behind her lasted only a few more seconds before silence enveloped her surroundings. Nothing but the faint chirp of birds in the distance gave her any sign of company as she laid with her eyes shut. She circled her fingers in the dirt as she tried to find the strength to lift herself. Her leg ached numbly and her toes felt invisible as she finally succeeded in pushing herself onto her back.

---

To Clementine’s surprise, her back did not meet with the hard ground, but with a surface that was soft and springy. Clem opened her stinging eyes as she took in a deep lungful of dusty air as if she had been holding her breath forever. Her joints creaked along with the bed below her as she propped herself up on her elbows.

Her mouth and throat were dry as a desert, leaving her unable to form words. A water bottle placed on the wooden dresser quickly caught her attention as she snatched it, ripping off the lid and downing half of its contents before stopping to clamp a hand over her mouth, resisting the sudden urge to puke. She coughed on the water, muffling the noise with her mouth as she put away the bottle with a shaky hand.

“Clem?” A small yet groggy voice came from the other bunk.

She looked over to find AJ staring back at her, the boy wrapped in Louis’ jacket as the older boy still slept leaning against the wall.

“Hey… goofball…” Her voice came out scratchy and broken as she continued to suck in deep breaths.

AJ’s eyes shot open wide in disbelief before quickly filling with tears. He launched himself off of his bunk, scaring the absolute hell of out Louis, who rubbed his eyes and mumbled something to the effect of “What’s going on?” as he tried to recover from being still half asleep.

“You’re awake! You’ve been sleeping for so long we thought you might sleep forever!” The boy cried.

Clementine’s vision blurred with her own tears as she welcomed her boy with open arms, pulling him close and squeezing him tight.

“Clementine?” Louis gasped as he finally stood from the bed.

“Get over here you dork!” Clementine cried as she reached an arm out to her boyfriend.

Louis didn’t need to be told twice. Sitting on the edge of the bed he cupped her face in his hands as if needing to prove to himself that this was indeed reality. Brushing away her tears with his thumb, he crashed his mouth into hers in a sloppy, joyful kiss.

“You’re alive… You’re really alive.” Louis cried, tears sliding down his freckled cheeks.

“As if there was any doubt.” She joked.

“Clem, you’ve been out for like four days!” Louis said as he buried his face into her shoulder.

“There was doubt.”

I was out for that long?

The blissful moment ended far too soon as Clementine shifted her sitting position, causing severe pain to shoot up her left leg. She let out a yelp as her hands instinctively grabbed for her leg.

Or, what was left of it at least.

The space from just below her knee down was empty, with only a stump wrapped in bloody bandages where her leg should have been.

Clementine felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Her already dry throat seemed to close up even more, leaving her to just stare wide-eyes in shock with her mouth agape as the state of her own body.

Suddenly the memory of her time in James’ barn came back to her full force. All of that pain. Minerva… the bite… AJ taking matters into his own hands.

What was she going to do now? She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t fight. If anyone came back to hurt them she wouldn’t be able to even protect herself let alone the others. Maybe this was fate’s cruel idea to finally convince her to rest. To physically incapacitate her so that she would have no choice but to do so.

But she was alive.

I survived being bitten.

A feat she never thought possible.

I’m free.

“Please don’t be mad.” AJ whispered as he continued to cling to the sleeve of Clementine’s shirt.

“I didn’t want you to die. I know you told me to just leave you but I couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to lose you again.”

“Shh, AJ.” She smiled through the aching of her leg.

“You saved me. My brave little goofball.”

Clementine couldn’t hug her boys tight enough, and it was clear they felt the same about her.

“Clem…” Louis’ voice turned to concern as he saw her one hand never stop gripping her pant leg.

“Does it still hurt?”

“...A little.” She admitted. The pulsing pain enough to begin draining her of what little strength she had regained.

“I-I should go wake Ruby up she-”

“No.” Clementine stopped him, grabbing his sleeve as he tried to stand.

“Please, just… stay here… a little bit longer.”

“Okay.” Louis agreed, planting a soft kiss on her cheek as he wrapped his arms around the two of them once more.

None of them said anything for a long time. Just the warm embrace of a family reunited as the sun rose over the boarding school.

“I love you… I love you both.” The words fell past her lips on their own volition, but she had never meant them more.

“I love you back.” AJ said instantly.

“I… I love you too, Clementine.” Louis gave a breathy laugh.

“I’ve wanted to say that for a while now, and for a bit there I was scared I’d never get the chance.”

Louis grinned ear to ear, pressing his lips to her forehead gently before Clementine gripped the collar of his shirt, bringing his mouth to hers once again.

“Ick.” AJ groaned.

“I’m right here.”

“I think we get a pass.” Clem giggled at the child’s disgust.

“Fiine.”

Clementine ruffled the boy’s hair as she leaned her head on Louis’ shoulder. Was this what freedom felt like? Just… peace? It was a feeling that had become a long-forgotten concept to her.

This was it. Everything she had been fighting for. Everything her friends had died for.

Peace.

This is where she would stop. A place where she could finally breathe without the Delta’s collar threatening to choke her at every turn.

“I’m home.” A/N: Stay tuned for Allegiances: Epilogue to find out how Clementine’s story continues.

#my writing #allegiances #clouis #fanfic #twdg clementine

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yellowsugarwords · 7 years

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Walking Dead Game FanFiction - "Bleeding Out"

Title: Bleeding Out Characters: Clementine, Kenny, Luke Summary: When Clementine is shot, Kenny, Luke and the injured child are separated from the rest of the group. As Kenny tosses around blame, Luke makes a confession he never expected to admit. Author’s Note: I’ve been dealing with a lack of motivation recently thanks school so I apologize that this took a while + if it isn’t that good. Requested By: Crazy_Fangirls17 on Wattpad ———♥️♥️♥️———- It all had happened so fast.

The ski lodge had been chaos. The moment Carver had arrived and attempted to take control had instantly lead to destruction.

It had only been moments after Walter’s death that all havoc had broken loose. Plenty of members from the cabin group had managed to escape the grips of those attempting to hold them down. In the aftermath of Walter’s brains sprawled across the floor, the shock had riddled the limbs of many attempting to hold them back, allowing an easy chance to squirm away.

Somehow, in the midst of it all hoping to try to stop as much as possible, Carver had managed to aim a bullet perfectly into Clementine’s upper arm. It had managed to pierce perfectly through, leaving a clean hole through the purple fabric she adorned.

Only a moment later did the chaos resume and did more yelling and flailing emerge from the group. Carver was attempting to push Carlos off with the pressure he was supplying upon his shoulders. The rest of the group was starting to untie their hands and get out of the building before a herd arrived.

And, through his gun, Kenny could see Luke throw himself towards the child bleeding profusely on the floor.

For a moment the male’s heart calmed, the previous hatred he had felt towards the one who was a brick wall between him and Clementine now gradually beginning to fade. At the very least, while the tension they carried between the two of them remained, he cared enough about the child to put her first in a time of need. That, in itself, earned him some respect.

Well, it earned him respect in a guardian. Not as a person.

While attempting to get the whimpering child off of the floor, Luke glanced around to see who else from their group he may be able to recruit into sneaking out with him. His plan was nonexistent. There was too much panic to even begin putting one together.

In a matter of minutes Luke was out the door, the injured child wailing faintly in his arms. He made a beeline for the exit and burst outside, meeting up with Kenny almost instantly, already making his way forwards to help with the girl’s injuries. The thought had passed through the air of going inside to retrieve Carlos, but it was dashed hearing the resumed fighting, as well as watching walkers begin their trek up the hill due to the noise.

Instead, they ran.

“I got her.” Luke assured, adjusting his hold on the child when Kenny lunged to accept her. Luke pulled her head tighter into his chest. “Don’t worry Clem, we’ll get you out of here.”

Kenny hesitated, bitterness flashing across his face momentarily before surveying the scene. “This place is going to shit.” He grumbled in slight urgency. “We gotta get a move on.”

“We can’t get out of here without the others.”

“Do we have a choice?” Kenny spat back, his brows pressing together in irritation. It was as if he had rescued the child and yet refused to put her first in her moment of true peril. Hesitation - the waiting - is what would get her killed.

Luke clutched the child tighter in her chest, attempting to suppress the surfacing knowledge that he was right. As much as he hated, as much as the thought of abandonment made him sick, he knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he was the reason Clementine didn’t make it. They needed to get her wound treated and patched up and they needed to do it fast. Time was of the essence. Unfortunately, he knew this too well.

Reluctantly, without taking a moment to look back in fear of him anchoring Clementine’s safety further, he launched forwards, hot on Kenny’s tail. Hearing the gargles and groaning behind them only made her clutch the child tighter. While darting away, Luke could feel the child go cold limp in his arms, the jostling of their running paired with the amount of blood she was so rapidly losing probably wasn’t helping. While panic surged through him momentarily, he kept his head. All they needed to do was get her fixed up and find her some water. Then she would be fine.

They were the reason this happened. Their group was the reason Carver had even showed up in the first place. They were entirely to blame. They had locked her in the shed and almost got her killed due to their recklessness. Today, history seemed to repeat itself. Their lack of planning and timing had caused Carver to chase after them, to hold them hostage, to shoot her. The weight was heavy. He knew he wouldn’t be able to shake it anytime soon.

The sounds of heavy breathing and feet crunching against dirt floors calmed, and instead left the trio to speed walk down the dampened forest path. While not the best place to remain during such a time in the Earth’s state, it was better than nothing. They only needed some time to patch Clem up. Only then they could move again.

“Goddammit!” Kenny groaned through the silence, turning away. Luke set the child down against one of the rocks, attempting to find a clearing that was out of the brush enough to detect if any walkers lingered closer to their treatment center.

5 minutes. That was all they needed to get her patched up.

“This won’t take long. Once Clem is taken care of we can head back and help the others.”

Despite him attempting to reassure the male, he could still hear faint and irritated grumbling as Kenny paced back and forth against the narrow pathway. Luke assumed he was patrolling to make sure they were in the clear, but he could still clearly detect a kind of bitter anger lingering beneath his cold, albeit helpful, exterior.

Luke quickly worked up Clementine’s sleeve, better exposing the gash for him to see. It seemed as if the bullet had ripped clean through her arm. While grateful he didn’t need to dig a bullet out of the poor child’s body, it did mean she was prone to losing a lot of blood, plenty of which was already scattering her clothing.

“Kenny, do you have a cloth?”

“What?” The voice was sharp and salty.

“A cloth.” He emphasised once more. “I need to wrap this up and don’t think anything I have on me is thick enough.”

“You think I have something that is?” He was killing time that could have been used to helping the poor child. Why would he have offered to patch her up if he didn’t have the needed supplies? “I don’t have anything.”

Luke suppressed the urge to eye roll, mainly to stay calm to keep his bandaging the best he could possibly make it. “It was a question, not a demand. You don’t need to give me anything, I was only asking if you had something I could use.”

“No. I don’t.” He spat, turning his back to the male once more and staring in the opposite direction of the two.

Angrily, each muscle movement dripping in irritation, Luke ripped off some fabric from the bottom of his shirt, rolled down her sleeve again, and wrapped it several times over the gap. He removed an elastic he kept stuffed in one of his pockets, usually good for helping keep food fresh, and wrapped it around the child’s temporary bandage. “Not perfect, but it should subside it enough.” He mumbled to himself, brushing some hair out of the child’s pale face.

He could only pray she would wake up soon. Something about her, something about this child, was so different from others he had met along his journey. She had more strength and courage than so many adults, yet she remained kind and understanding despite it all. She wasn’t as terrified as Sarah, but not nearly as cold as Rebecca. She was a perfect balance of every characteristic. She was lovable, and she was only beginning to merge into their family.

That night at the kitchen table when Clementine had spoken about her past, about Lee, it had hit home for Luke. She needed to leave family behind exactly like he had. She needed to leave her past life in the dust in trying to survive. Yet the world was still so cruel to her.

On their walk to the ski lodge, being able to see her fight off walkers was impressive. She could hold her own, yet was pleased with others helping advance her skill set. She was kind, but she didn’t tolerate mistreatment. She had helped him with hesitation on the bridge. His safety was at the forefront of her concern. Yet, she was only a child. Clem was as determined as an adult, and still with the heart of an innocent schooler.

He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he didn’t offer her the same courtesy. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if after having his back, he didn’t have hers in return.

“Subside isn’t good enough.” The growl was low and faint, but purposely made loud enough for him to hear.

“What do you mean?” Luke finally quipped back, pushing himself to his feet and turning to face the older male, his back still facing the duo.

“I mean that if anything happens to that girl,” Kenny turned. “It’s on your head.”

Luke’s brows pressed, in confusion rather than irritation. “Not Carver’s?”

“You brought him here.” He spat. “You were the people who took your sweet ass time leaving wherever you decided to hunker down. Now my people are on the line as well as yours. And Clem,” A finger jetted out towards her, finally allowing him to be able to take in all of her stature. Her paleness, how frail she seemed, the lifelessness her muscles carried. His hand weakly drooped. “Clem doesn’t deserve to be the victim of your fuckin’ mistakes.”

“My mistakes?” He shot back, arms out at his side to display his disbelief. “It’s not on my shoulders alone that Clem got shot, okay? The team was who was slow and Carver is the one who shot her. Not me.” Kenny scoffed, but Luke continued before he could cut him off. “Don’t you blame this on me for a second.”

“Well I am!” Kenny cut in, his voice rising with a new flicker of anger adding to the growing flame. “If she dies because of you, I’m going to kill every single one of y'all!”

Closed eyes twitched.

“She’s not going to die!”

“How do you know that?”

A faint groan emerged from pale lips.

“I won’t let her!”

At this point they were yelling over each other, the hope to keep their voices down to avoid attention was long gone by now. The accusations were flying. The flame of hatred was engulfing everything in it’s path.

The lifeless child in the corner finally allowed her dulled, golden hues to force themselves open to digest the situation around her. Where was she? What had happened?

“How the fuck are you going to do that?”

Her brows were knitted tightly together, the puzzle pieces gradually falling into place once more.

“Because I love her!” He screamed, for a moment the notion of walkers lurking nearby absent from his train of thought. Nervously, as if attempting to figure out how to phrase his thoughts, he ran his hand through his hair and clutched it desperately. “You know, I never wanted to have a kid.” He shook his head. “Never. I hated the thought of having one. But now, God.” He shook his head turning away and taking a few steps away from him to gather back his dignity. “I feel like she’s mine.” There was a shaky pause. “I want to take care of her as if she is.”

“Where in the hell did this come from?” Kenny asked bitterly, his hands slapping onto his hips. “How long have you known her to feel as if you’re ready to take care of her?”

“Not long.” He started, now finding more fire fueling his glare. “But it doesn’t matter, alright? I care about her. She’s gone through hell and a half in this world and Lord help me if I can take some of the weight off of her shoulders.” He stood idle, waiting for a kind of reaction but dismissing it, allowing himself to speak again. “Maybe I haven’t known her for long, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the fact that she’s an amazing kid.”

Luke’s brows pressed together taking a single step closer. “Don’t you ever blame this on me. I would’ve taken that bullet before her in a heartbeat if I had the chance.”

Kenny remained silent, his gaze sour on the surface but laced with a kind of understanding if he dared to dive deeper into murky waters.

“I love her. Dear God I love that kid so damn much.” He sighed out, clasping some of his hair in his fist. “So you don’t need to worry about killing me if she dies. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself anyway.”

“Luke?”

The voice, the pain within it, made the two whip to face the child. She had begun to push herself up against the rock, her arms wavering under the weight she was attempting to put on them. Luke immediately leapt forwards, arms outstretched to coax her.

“Hey, hey, take it easy.” He hushed, taking her arms and lifting them into his palms, adjusting her himself. “Your arm is going to take a while to heal so just relax, okay? You’re fine.”

Kenny watched the two hesitantly, arms crossing over his chest. While still skeptical on the male’s qualifications when it came to taking care of Clementine, there wasn’t a lot of doubt in his mind, especially after his outburst, that he didn’t care for her.

“What happened?”

“That fuckface Carver shot you.” Kenny responded, snapping his hands to his hips feeling the rage soar through him at the replay in his head.

“So eloquently put.” Luke grumbled, standing and letting his hands wave weakly at his sides. “But the bullet isn’t in there. You just lost some blood. We’ll go find you some water and a place to sleep and you’ll be good as new soon.” He assured, his words directed at Clementine while glancing between the two of them.

Kenny watched him as he spoke, watching the way he nervously glanced down at the child, as if a part of him was still concerned for her wellbeing and safety, even once he was in the clear.

Somehow he found that interesting.

“If we wanna find some place decent find your crew we’d better get a move on.” Kenny retorted without much emotion. “Once it gets dark we’ll be swamped out here.”

“Good plan.”

Kenny’s left eye twitched, though from the distance and fixation on helping Clem adjust her bandages, Luke didn’t notice. With a twinge of salt, even slight jealousy, in his tone he continued. “You take care of Clem. I’ll walk ahead and make sure we don’t have to deal with trouble.”

“Got it.” After all of that, now that Clem was awake, neither of them seemed to have the energy to argue. They weren’t sure if she had captured any of their argument, and frankly she was so out of it they didn’t want to ask.

Luke knelt down and hoisted the child onto his back. She had weakly used her good arm to push herself forward and get herself comfortable, setting her head to rest against his left shoulder while her arms dropped lazily down his front. For an injured child, it was the perfect sleeping position.

Though, given Clem’s state, anything was the perfect sleeping position.

They walked in silence for a while, both of the men churning over what move to make next. What to say, how to react, what to take away from their night lost in the woods. Would there be tension and hate? Would it fade or remain? The questions and insincerity of their clashing groups was at an all time high. The tension filling the air between clashing egos was enough to suffocate.

But, through the silence, a voice only directed at Luke broke through.

“You love me.” She mumbled against his shoulder, humming weakly in response of his faint chuckle.

“Yeah Clem. I do.” He finally managed through the smile on his face, hearing the sleepily blissful way she had said it. For all he knew, she could have been so out of it she wouldn’t remember this entire exchange in a day or two. But that didn’t matter. “Now rest up, Clem. You need rest after today.”

With that, she did. But that night, as she drifted off, it was different than usual.

That night it was with a smile on her face and with the assurance lingering in her mind that she was loved. That feeling she would never forget. ———♥️♥️♥️———-

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wrestlingisfake · 7 years

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Wrestle Kingdom 11 preview

This is the 26th annual wrestling show on January 4th in the Tokyo Dome, and the 11th to be called Wrestle Kingdom. The show airs Wednesday evening at 5pm Japan time, so Americans get to pull an all-nighter Tuesday night and Europe will have to skip work Wednesday morning. Or you could just watch it on demand on njpwworld.com, whatever.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega - Okada is defending the IWGP heavyweight title, which is essentially the world championship of New Japan Pro Wrestling. To qualify for this match, Omega won the G1 Climax tournament, becoming the first non-Japanese man to ever do so.

It’s been a big year for Omega, who stepped out of the junior heavyweight division to help fill the void left when AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows went to WWE. In short order, Omega turfed out Styles, took over Bullet Club, and then beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant intercontinental title. He dropped the belt in a ladder match that really put over Michael Elgin, and then delivered a top-notch performance in the G1. Omega can’t replace any of the four guys who jumped to WWE, but he has unquestionably filled the role of “main event foreigner” left behind by Styles. He’s on the rise, and it’s probably time to pull the trigger.

Okada spent most of 2012-2015 under Tanahashi’s shadow, but this year there’s been a clear effort to establish him as THE guy while de-emphasizing Tana. It’s tough to say that has worked. There’s still a feeling that Okada is overpushed, especially when you look at how he dropped the title to Tetsuya Naito earlier this year and then quickly regained it in spite of Naito’s obvious popularity. With that in mind, it’s hard to say whether Okada will go over here, but it’s also hard to say if that’s because putting him over is such a great idea.

Since they’d been in separate weight classes, Omega and Okada hadn’t really crossed paths until this year, and they haven’t wrestled much beyond some tag matches here and there. So I’m hoping this match will feel fresh and innovative, and that it can hold my attention after five hours of the rest of the card.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Okada retains, but it would be the most boring thing they can do here. It would be a pretty big moment if Omega climbs all the way to the top of the mountain and captures the title at this, the biggest show in Japan. I don’t know what Omega as champion would mean, but I’ve seen plenty of Okada as champion and I know that doesn’t turn my crank. So even though Kenny is bound to be doing annoying “I am a smark nerd heel so I will heel on you now” stuff, I’ll be pulling for him.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Tanahashi is challenging for the IWGP intercontinental championship. He was supposed to feud with Omega for this title back in the summer, but an injury sidelined him and Michael Elgin took his place. Elgin won the belt and eventually lost it to Naito, and now Elgin’s the one who’s hurt. So I don’t know if this match is about Tana filling in for a planned Naito/Elgin match, or if it’s about finally getting back to that IC title shot he missed a few months ago.

This is far and away the clearest good guy vs. bad guy match on the card. Tanahashi a beloved hero to all, like WWE wishes John Cena was; Naito is a total jerkwad, the leader of the sinister Los Ingobernables de Japon. New Japan fans have started to like Naito as a “cool heel,” but I don’t know if that goes as far as turning against Tanahashi. This could end up having a Cena vs. CM Punk vibe to it.

The best move, I think, would be for Omega and Naito to both go over at this show, and spend 2017 building to a big showdown between them and their respective stables. (I guess one has to turn face, but I don’t care which.) I think most American promotions would jump at the chance to do that, but NJPW strikes me as being more conservative with their booking, and more protective of their franchise players. It would make a big statement to job Tanahashi and Okada on a January 4 show, but it’s not the kind of statement I’d expect. And since I’m expecting Omega to go over, I’ll predict they play it safe with Tanahashi here.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto - Shibata is the defending NEVER openweight champion. These two seem to always seem to be just a step below the real top guys, so you can think of this as the Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz of New Japan. They’re always fighting, except sometimes they’re on the same side, and neither of them ever gets ahead long enough to do anything more important. The main thing these guys have over Dolph and Miz is that they seem like genuine ass-kickers who will beat the fuck out of you, rather than two extras from an 80s movie about challenging the preppies in a sports thing.

I keep thinking they’re about to push Goto any day now, but they always seem to stop short of actually doing it. So, ennh, Shibata wins.

KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi - Kushida had just recaptured the IWGP junior heavyweight title when Takahashi made his high-profile return to New Japan and…uh, licked the belt, so now they gotta fight over it. Kushida’s a good dude but it’s pretty obvious he’s gotta lose here. New guy wins.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii - The Guerillas of Destiny (Tonga & Roa) are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship. GBH (Makabe/Honma) earned this title shot by winning the 2016 World Tag League tournament. Yano just sort of wandered back from Pro Wrestling NOAH to add himself to the match, naming Ishii as his partner.

I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen New Japan do a three-way match, so I don’t know if this is like WWE’s triple threat rules (anything goes, first to score a fall wins it all) or if it’s elimination style or gauntlet style or whatever. I have absolutely no idea why they’d add Yano/Ishii to this match except to book some wacky swerve, but that isn’t really New Japan’s style. Then again, it’s totally Yano’s style, so maybe. Certainly if Yano steals a win it sets up months of programs with the other two teams chasing them. So, uh, sure, Yano and Ishii win the titles.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole - O’Reilly just won the Ring of Honor world title from Cole at Final Battle, so this is the rematch. I haven’t been keeping up with ROH but I like that this is the continuation of a major program from ROH storylines, rather than just throwing two random guys out there for a midcard match. Like, the only things I even know about O’Reilly are a) he’s best friends with that hipster guy with the mouthpiece and b) he and Adam Cole want to murder each other. The last O’Reilly/Cole title match involved thumbtacks, I believe, so hopefully this will be similarly intense. I always root for the ROH title to change hands at the Tokyo Dome, but I don’t think they put the title on O’Reilly just to move it back after like a month. O’Reilly wins.

Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta - This is for the IWGP junior heavyweight tag team championship. Roppongi Vice (Romero & Baretta) issued the challenge for this match right after winning the Junior Tag League tournament, and the Young Bucks (Nick & Matt) accepted. I think this is about the 47th time these teams have faced each other for these titles, but I can’t remember the last time it was two-on-two. Usually junior tag title matches end up being clusterfucks with reDragon and Ricochet/Sydal in the mix.

I like RPG Vice because Rocky is a cool dude and Baretta is like his goofball friend that eats McGriddles from Japanese McDonald’s super-early in the morning. The Bucks are like that guy you know who thinks a joke stops being funny if you keep repeating it but then it turns around and becomes even funnier if you repeat it even more. I’ve seen enough Bucks matches to know how this one is gonna go. I’d like for Baretta and Romero to win, but the Bucks have become (for better or worse) a cornerstone of counter-WWE major league wrestling, so it’s like hoping Harlem Heat or the Steiners will beat Hall & Nash. The title stays with Bullet Club.

Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet & David Finlay vs. EVIL & SANADA & BUSHI vs. Bad Luck Fale & Hangman Page & Yuriko Takahashi vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Will Ospreay & Jado - Kojima’s team is defending the NEVER openweight six-man tag team championship. The other trios represent the three major stables in New Japan–Evil’s team is from Los Ingobernables de Japon, Fale’s team is from Bullet Club, and Yoshi’s team is from Chaos. (Jado is replacing Tomohiro Ishii, who was booked for this before being moved to the IWGP tag title match.)

This is a gauntlet match similar to WWE’s “tag team turmoil.” Two teams have a match, and whichever team wins advances to another match with the third team; whoever wins the second match goes on to a final match against the fourth team. The winners of the last match will get/keep the championship. The order of entry in this match hasn’t been announced, except that reportedly the defending champions will enter last, giving them an enormous advantage.

This trios title is kind of a hot potato in New Japan–I get the feeling they don’t like to hot-shot the IWGP championships, but with this one they feel more free to book some crowd-pleasing title changes. Kojima and Ricochet won the belts back in July with Matt Sydal, but when Sydal was busted for pot they had to vacate and re-capture the championship with David Finlay. In the process, Finlay got to suddenly step up from a curtain jerker “young boy” to a genuine undercard guy, so that’s kinda neat. But it’s been about six months with more or less the same team on top, so it’s probably time for a change.

Assuming we get a title change, the outcome may help indicate which stable will be dominant in 2017. I think there are big things coming for Yoshi and Ospreay, but if Chaos were slated to win I don’t think they’d have swapped Ishii for Jado. A Bullet Club win could reinforce the idea that Omega is rebuilding the faction, after a couple of years where everyone thought they had run their course. On the other hand, LIJ is in a position to possibly have all five members holding gold by the end of the night, which would indicate that they’re still the hot new thing and Bullet Club will have to fight to not be yesterday’s news. I’m liking that last scenario best, so I’ll go with LIJ.

Cody Rhodes vs. Juice Robinson - Cody recently left WWE to begin a whirlwind tour of many wrestling promotions. As of this show, he’ll be the first man to appear at WWE’s Wrestlemania, PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles, TNA’s Bound for Glory, ROH’s Final Battle, and Wrestle Kingdom in a single year. Juice, better known to NXT fans as CJ Parker, left WWE a couple of years ago and has been working his way up the card in New Japan. But he’s still little better than a prelim guy, and that makes him the kind of guy they’d feed to a debuting star.

Both guys have a lot to prove, so this should be interesting. For one thing, I’m curious to see if Juice’s act holds up when he’s in there with another white guy his size that’s a bigger name than he is. He stands out among New Japan midcarders, but against Cody he may look more like WWE dark match material. Cody, meanwhile, is just starting to turn heel as a member of Bullet Club, and it’s not clear what his “American Nightmare” character is going to be, or how it’ll stack up with gimmicks like Dashing Cody, Masked Cody, Mustache Cody, and Stardust.

It’s pretty obvious Cody wins here, but I’m more concerned with both guys showing something on this big of a stage. Can’t I just bet that all the horses have a good time?

New Japan Rumble - This is part of the pre-show. It’s a gauntlet match where wrestlers enter at one-minute intervals, similar to WWE’s Royal Rumble except that eliminations occur by pinfall or submission. This mainly exists to ensure everybody on the roster that isn’t otherwise booked (like Hiroyoshi Tenzan or Yoshitatsu) gets to be on the show, and usually there are some old-timers brought in for surprise appearances. One time Haku showed up.

One possible wrinkle that could make this interesting is the working relationship between New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH. There are a bunch of New Japan names (like the entire Suzukigun stable) that have been supplementing the NOAH roster for years, but with NOAH recently being sold it’s possible they’re all about to come back. Also, a lot of the usual NJPW/ROH names (reDragon, the Briscoes, Michael Elgin) are notably absent from the card, so they might pop in here. In any event, the outcome of the match probably won’t matter beyond whatever comedy spot they think of to blow it off.

Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger the Dark - Another pre-show match, to promote the new Tiger Mask W cartoon. New Japan has a guy wrestling as Tiger Mask IV in prelim matches, but W is a new iteration of the gimmick. Similarly, Dark is a modern take on Tiger Mask’s archenemy Black Tiger. Dave Meltzer believes Kota Ibushi will be playing W (he has before) and Ring of Honor’s ACH will be playing Tiger the Dark, but I assume NJPW isn’t terribly picky who they stick under the masks.

The last time I saw Ibushi wrestling in the Tiger Mask W gimmick, he had a much more realistic mask than previous Tiger Masks, which didn’t look easy to breathe through. That could affect match quality, but then again they might have tweaked the design a little for this show. I assume W has to win because he’s a superhero and stuff, but Dark looks pretty tough so ya never know.

#njpw #wrestle kingdom 11 #kazuchika okada #kenny omega

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