Blake Trask

He's back to Plague now for... reasons.

Played my first year and had a grand ol' time naming all of my events pretentious things to play with the idea I was one-upping SPW (who promptly had much better shows than me, but nyeh to them). I had a thought and maybe in the long term this might cause issues with population, but have you considered making the generic training schools and dojos eventually have a hard close date? I feel like at a certain 'critical mass', if you like, when the game world has managed to create enough of its own facilities, the preexisting ones might start to overclog the population. Of course, you will have done much more testing on this than my idle speculation, but could be worth thinking about. Interesting things that arose: my user character suffered the first injury in pro wrestling history, and one of my workers died in a freak accident. Gutted, especially as I had earmarked him as possibly being a star for us. Definitely one of the most talented guys to show so far.

Really, really enjoyed that piece there. Brilliant for character. Great stuff!

Returning back behind the curtain, I splashed my face with some water and tried to break through the frustration that I could feel pressing onto me. Call it tiredness, or maybe trying too hard, but it got at me that Sally and I had done better earlier in the night than when we were really giving it our all. The main event was what would live longer in the memory than a miscellaneous match earlier in the night with one person wearing a mask. And fine it wasn’t terrible or anything but it just. Ugh. It just wasn’t as good. I had to be projecting a ‘don’t talk to me’ sort of vibe because Raj and Abbi both stayed in conversation over the opposite side of the ‘locker room’. They might have waved, I wasn’t paying attention, pulling up a chair and grabbing a towel. I was midway through throwing it over my head before I changed my mind. That was just sulking. Okay. The match wasn’t exactly to plan. So what? People had come back a week after our first show and paid for the privilege. We’d drawn, two weeks running. It wasn’t as if anyone was watching and handing out grades and star ratings. Once we got ourselves established, that would be the time to worry about main events underdelivering. I let out a long breath and felt some tension leave along with it. Footsteps drew my attention, and I looked up to see Viv and Sally walk in from ringside. Viv was beaming, and Sally looked tired, but happy. Sally held out a fist for her to bump, and Viv met it, before laughing and playfully pushing Sally away as she clapped a hand around her shoulders. Sally caught my eye and gave me a wink as Viv ran over to Raj and Abbi; looked as if the two of them had made up. Another weight off my shoulders, didn’t need my best friend and my sister winding each other up. On to next week.

<p>What a main event!</p><p> </p><p> That was another good show. Liked the Flores piece.</p>

Presentation probably comes into it a bit, too. You might have the commentators or ring announcer put a big emphasis on the main event, talk through 'lesser' matches a lot, put them forward as not having much gravitas. Others might put other matches in as important, give each contest time and respect. I think some of the %s might be a little more gamey than realistic but heyo they all have pros and cons as a playstyle.

ngl I actually do enjoy how you've put a level of thought into the why of them working each other over and over and having that feed into the angles.

I'm amused by Americana just going 'You guys are completely nuts! I'm outta here!' because of their apparent love for wrestling each other CONSTANTLY.

Dang, love that.

<p>god, what a jackass XD</p><p> </p><p> Good scene.</p>

What is the industry like? I've not started RTGing yet but I do have a 0/0/0/0 going and I have been getting 40-60 fans with 0 pop.

Lucha de apuestas! Woohoo! Hype increases. Good show.

I was just messing with paint.net and screenshots and dipping back and forth between saved game and database to try and get this information, you're a lifesaver! Great stuff.

This fellow is untrustworthy.

LoW, baby!

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Regis" data-cite="Regis" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48692" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I now have the worst idea for a feud ever.<p> </p><p> Lobo Blanco keeps arranging for ref bumps in TVJ's matches and keeps inserting hiself to cost him matches. Eventually TVJ gets his hands on him, and Lobo bumps the ref, makes himself the ref in his own match, and disqualifies TVJ for laying hands on him. Then TVJ finally gets his hands on Lobo Blanco... in a FANS COUNT THE PINFALL MATCH!</p><p> </p><p> Do not do this.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It is a tragedy that the diary has now ended, as this would have been the greatest thing ever.</p><p> </p><p> From a certain point of view.</p>

Ah yes well you see *runs away* (I forgot. However, thank you for pointing it out, as I'll write something to accommodate the WWA now). And hahaha, I miss writing the Eddboy. Gratified someone remembers that old thing! Thea's certainly on the radar, the barrier is pricing...

Deacon giving me some Luthor Harkon vibes!

Can that Weasel! Good show. I like the presentation and it was a strong opening. It's really steeped in that 20s feel, huh?

I know performer is separate from the character and all, but it's kind of amusing to have Romaro be henpecked by his onscreen girlfriend when he's gay. Interesting seeing Honeyman/Huniet actually get a character beyond dude who does a wrestle. He's so slimy. Blegh.

<div style="text-align:center;"><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Lionesses of Wrestling II: Cubs</strong></span></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Saturday, week 2 January 2020</p><p> Gloucester Street Youth Centre</p><p> Attendance: 63</p><p> Not broadcast</p><p> Commentary: None</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>The show is opened by Ellen Ward, who has a microphone and a bad attitude. She expresses her frustration at the idea of tonight being another tournament, especially given that it will crown the LoW British champion. She literally just proved that she’s the best on the roster, she should be getting awarded the title by default. Ward finishes with a blunt warning: anyone in her path is going to get a knee to the face. - <strong>D-</strong></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Rajni Smith is in our first contest again. This time she faces Sally-as-Shinobi, who is allegedly legally distinct from Ronin because...she has a long bandanna whereas Ronin’s attire was plain? Ah forget it. Rajni continues to wander off script mid-match, resulting in a kind of amusing whiff as Shinobi tries for a clumsy springboard press while Rajni’s on the opposite side of the ring mocking the crowd. Rajni takes control and after an awkward scoop slam, manages to land her leg drop for the win. - <strong>F</strong><br /> <br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><ul><li>Abbi Archer comes to the ring for a promo. She’s a bit shy and it shows, causing her to falter a few times when delivering dialogue. Still, she’s heartfelt as she thanks the crowd for their support and trust in her so far, and promises that she will continue to do her very best, tonight and every night to come. - <strong>E-</strong><br /> <br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><ul><li>Moonlighting as the fairly badass looking masked Assassin (who is allegedly legally distinct from Shinobi because she’s not asian), Ellen Ward takes on Sakuyama. This one is actually pretty good by the slowly-establishing standard of LoW as the pair get to grips with a passable chain grappling match. Assassin pulls ahead as she traps Sakuyama in the ropes and tees off, eventually catching a warning from the referee. The reprieve is just enough for Sakuyama, and as Assassin advances once more, she eats a boot to the face. Sakuyama frees herself, runs wild, and hits the Kagawa Driver 20. - <strong>E-</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>An aquamarine aggressor is our latest new face, an Abbi Archer-sized figure introduced as the Blue Ranger. There’s a slight delay before Ellen Ward emerges from the back, almost as if she had just been wrestling a moment before… nah. True to her word, Ward is exceedingly angry, taking it to the Ranger hammer and tongs, dragging her outside of the ring, bouncing her head off the apron, and whipping her into the ring post. She sets up for a piledriver onto the floor, but Ranger counters with a painful looking back body drop. Ward escapes the ten count, barely, and the two brawl around the ring before Ward scores with a kick combo, creating space—then smashes the glittering magician knee directly into Ranger’s face. - <strong>E-</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Ward stalks to the back <em>extremely</em> quickly… and a moment later, out comes Cap’n Swann alongside a tricorn-wearing, parrot-wielding, eye-patched fellow pirate, Bosun Bakshi. The two of them exchange nautical puns for a few minutes, clearly enjoying themselves, and Swann hypes up Bakshi as her ‘trusted lieutenant, matey’. - <strong>E+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Bakshi entrusts Swann with the (stuffed) parrot as Abbi Archer comes out for the contest and it’s actually Rajni—sorry, Bakshi’s—best match so far? If she’d had more than one match. Which she hasn’t. Obviously. The two of them just click together in the ring, giving us a short-but-sweet contest with piratical antics aplenty. Swann attempts to toss Bakshi the parrot while the referee’s back is turned, but Archer bats it out of the air (evincing a cry of “POLLY! NOOO!” from Swann). As Bakshi stares after Polly in disbelief, Archer creeps up behind and swaps the eyepatch from one eye to the other, blinding her, and then scores her leaping cutter to collect the win. - <strong>F+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>The first semi-final sees Ellen Ward versus Rajni Smith. Smith talks a whole lot of smack, trying to get into Ward’s head and succeeding, managing to bait her into a succession of rash attacks, matador style. However, the strategy can’t work forever, and after Ward kicks furiously out of a roll-up attempt, she goes completely nuts with strikes, brutalising Smith. She goes to tee up her knee, but then changes her mind on the run up, hitting a soccer kick and then locking in a crucifix armbar, screaming “A! AND! E!” Rajni taps out swiftly. - <strong>F+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Not content with merely securing the submission, Ward watches Rajni writhe in pain on the mat for a moment, then drags her to her feet, punches her in the gut, and hits the glittering magician to leave her lying. - <strong>E+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Sakuyama vs. Abbi Archer rounds up the semis. It’s a decently competitive match that’s fought completely cleanly. Sakuyama is technically superior, but Archer does a great job of firing up the crowd on her behalf, using some of her speed and agility to wriggle clear of suplex attempts and holds. Unfortunately, Sakuyama has already worn her down, and she isn’t fast enough to successfully land the cutter, her attempt getting evaded. Crashing to the mat, Archer is easy prey for a Kagawa Driver 20. - <strong>F+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>After the pinfall, Sakuyama allows Archer a moment to recover and then extends a hand to help her up. Archer looks at it, then accepts, and the fans give them some love as they shake hands. Archer’s eyes widen—she pulls Sakuyama aside—Ward’s attempted kick to the back of the head goes wild! Ellen promptly rounds on Archer, decking her with a punch, but is dragged off by Sakuyama. The referee intercedes, pushing them both apart, and Ward’s ambush has been thwarted! - <strong>E</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Two weeks running, Sakuyama vs. Ellen Ward, two weeks running, this probably falls short of what the two of them would want to deliver. The breakneck pace is a little too much for both of them, and there isn’t enough psychology or enough experience to create the pedal-to-the-metal vibe that both competitors clearly want. It’s not awful by any means, an entertaining brawl mixed in with some good mat work, including a good sequence as Sakuyama repeatedly evades the crucifix armbar, but as the twosome most serious about wrestling, this isn’t quite there. Finally, Ward thinks she has enough separation for the glittering magician, but Sakuyama blocks it, counters with a fisherman, and then rounds off with a Kagawa Driver for the three count! Sakuyama is the first LoW British champion! - <strong>F+</strong><br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> SHOW RATING: <strong>E-</strong></p>

<p><em>the plot thickens again</em></p><p> </p><p> That 8. Brutal.</p><p> </p><p> Then again, 78 promo!</p><p> </p><p> I don't care what the crowd thought, I liked Amo del Gato doing his thing!</p><p> </p><p> Luchadoras are really interesting right now too.</p><p> </p><p> And the main event was excellent stuff, really riveting.</p>

Hiya, Adam posted an update yesterday: Anything further will no doubt be in the pinned Status Update thread. Edit: TRIPLE COMBO.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Croquemitaine" data-cite="Croquemitaine" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="49019" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It's a great read!<p> </p><p> Much as I enjoy fancy presentation in diaries, having this one be barebones kind of fits the narrative so I don't mind at all.</p><p> </p><p> Maybe just drop an extra line-break between segments.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'll see how things look to my eye next show with another break.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Willsky" data-cite="Willsky" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="49019" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>This is really great. The personalities of the characters shines through so well in your writing and I can't wait to see how the girls get on!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Thanks! Trying to keep that at the forefront.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Phantom Stranger" data-cite="Phantom Stranger" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="49019" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I hear there was a lot of good stuff in Dangerous' book.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Good egg, that Horatio. Any surprise that young british wrestling fans would want to read his material?</p>

Saturday wk 2, January I was running down the card one last time with Nicky, a friend of ours who’d volunteered to help out, when raised voices reached us from across the modestly-sized area we used as our ‘locker room’. I glanced over, and my stomach instantly sank. Vivienne was squaring up to Sally, face red and her hands bunched into fists. Sally wore a slightly-incredulous smile, her hands on her hips. Even from over here, the height difference was stark. Muttering an apology to Nicky, I leapt to my feet and rushed over to them just as Viv really shouted. “Leave off me!” she cried, voice rising unevenly, wobbling in a way I knew signalled incoming waterworks. “Y-you’re not funny!” “No but you’re hilarious,” said Sally, her sing-song tone making my skin crawl. Behind the two, Abbi was looking on, paralysed, while Rajni had a panicked half-grin. Raj noticed me coming, and tipped her head towards Sally. Great. Viv opened her mouth, no doubt to start shrieking, and I stepped between them both. “That’s enough.” “S-she was making fun of me!” Viv burst out. “She needs to learn to take a joke,” Sally shot back. If Rajni hadn’t already clued me in, then that would have clinched it. “Hey Sal, quick word?” I didn’t wait for an answer, just grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away from the group and into the kitchenette bordering the room. It wasn’t completely private but that was sort of the point, I wanted the others to hear. She shook me off as we entered, shooting me an irritated look. That sparked my frustration further. She was the one I was supposed to be able to count on! “What the bloody hell are you playing at?” I snapped. “I was joking around, like. Just a bit of banter.” “You’re being a dickhead.” She blinked a couple of times. “She’s way too sensitive—” “She’s sixteen!” I barked across her. She faltered. “Remember what it was like when people took the piss out of us in secondary?” “Well… yeah.” “That’s you right now. You’re being the bullying pr**ks.” Sally didn’t seem to know how to take that. “It was—look wrestlers wind each other up, don’t they? We’ve both read Dangerous’s book, and Chord’s, and Strong—” “Yeah and they were grown-arse men and it was the 70s and 80s. Want to go back to starting fights at football grounds, too?” She muttered something about me taking this too seriously. I didn’t catch the exact words. “No. I’m taking us being wrestlers seriously. Viv is working her socks off reffing all these matches and she wants us to succeed. Do you want to kill wrestling for her? You want us to have to find someone else to ref?” “I… no. I guess.” “Then stop. Being. A. Dick. Head.” “...Right.” She sloped out. I glared a hole in her back. “You better say sorry!” I called after her. Being the boss sucked.