Getting Ready to Rumble

[Fiori]

Cheetos? Check.

Pretzels? Check.

Several varieties of soda? Check.

Cheesy Nachos...

"HEY, no touchy!"

((Koa Tagaloa continued from Food for Thought))

Noah Tagaloa pulled his hand away, a guilty look in his eyes as he sucked his fingers clean. "Sorry bro! They looked too good to resist, y'know?"

His older brother squinted, before tearing open the packet of shredded cheese he was holding. "Yeah? Well they're gonna look even better after we've baked 'em!" replied Koa, pouring the chess over a baking tray full of nachos, making sure not a single inch was left uncovered. Was it too much? Maybe, screw it, he liked his nachos extra cheesy anyway.

The kitchen was a mess, the two brothers having spent the past hour or so making sure all the snacks were prepped for the afternoon's festivities. Mostly dry fingerfood, but he wanted to make sure there were a couple hot options as well - Hence the cheesy nachos, which he slid into the oven just above a tray's worth of spring rolls. 

"Aaaalrighty, that should only take five minute. Spring rolls oughta be ready by then too..." he continued, before whipping out his phone to check the time. "...and just in time for our first guests to arrive. Sweet!"

Man, was he excited. It was always fun watching wrasslin' with his buddies, but today was going to be special. Not only was it the Royal Rumble, but it was the Rumble that was gonna determine who was main eventing this year's Wrestlemania - His FIRST in-person Wrestlemania, taking place in Vegas itself!

A wide grin on his face, Koa made his way into the lounge to check the snack table, passing by his sister Luna on the way.

"Hey, uh... I know I already asked, but you definitely gonna be ok with all my friends coming over?"

"Mm-hmm" replied Luna, walking into the kitchen to grab a can of lemonade from the fridge. "Gonna just have my headphones in whilst I catch up on Delicious in Dungeon"

"Oh yeah? Been meaning to see that, it any good?"

"it's alright" she replied with a shrug, before making her way back upstairs.

"Cool..." added Koa, nodding his head and checking his phone again. 11:56. Guests should be arriving aaany second...

[EllisWilson]

((Wade Colter continued from I Have to Return Some Videotapes))

Wade lived in Meadowbrook, same as Koa, so he opted to walk there. It wasn’t really cold or anything, but he still wore sweats and a T-shirt, as well as a hoodie wrapped around his waist by the sleeves. He had a return trip to consider and the average WWE pay-per-view (Sorry, PreMiUm LIve EvEnT) tended to run long. He could say that about any big wrestling event honestly but that would be discounting the actual context of what he was doing here.

Anyway, his mom had offered to come pick him up after, but he said he was fine walking and hadn’t brought his phone with him anyway. Not one of his better choices but he was already walking up Koa’s driveway by the time he was considering it.

He shrugged off his backpack— one of those ones that functioned as a cooler. He said he would bring hot-dogs— and stepped up to the front door.

Wade rang the doorbell.

[Fiori]

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Koa's smiling visage on the other side.

"AAaaaaye, Wade!" he said, hand outstretched to offer a Predator-style manly handshake.

"Good to seeya, man! How're you holding up?"

[EllisWilson]

“Koa, my man.” Wade said. The predator handshake was reciprocated the second it was offered. The only thing stopping Wade from pulling the ‘You son of a bitch’ out was the fact that he’d met Koa’s mom before. She was nice to him. Not even remotely a bitch.

“I’m holding up good, man.” Wade answered, a grin on his own face. He held up his backpack. “I brought hot dogs.”

[EarthBound]

“WAAAAAAAIT! HOLD THE DOOOOOOOR!”

(Lopaka Akana continued from Tutoring W/Meghan Roberts)

Lopaka, like Wade, didn’t live particularly far from Koa. It wasn’t as close, so he had left a bit earlier to make it with plenty of time. He didn’t know why he came up with that idea, as he usually drives over, but he naturally assumed that the trip wasn’t going to take that long. But, here he is, it’s almost 12, and now he’s sprinting over to the door at 11:59- because he’s just so good at coming up with time management skills.

Lopaka’s bandana flapped in the wind as he did a strange run, trying to both get to the house as quickly as possible and keep himself from dropping the food all over the sidewalk. Being hidden by the food boxes was an Undertaker T-shirt, along with a pair of dark blue jeans.

He soon made it to Koa’s front doorstep, slightly hunching over so that he could catch his breath for a moment.

“I…have…donuts!” Lopaka rested the box on his knees to pump a fist upwards, a slight celebration.

[Survival Chances]

Alright... This seems to be the place.

(Thomas rides in on his bike from I Have to Return Some Videotapes
)

Thomas hopped off his bike, rolled it to a nearby tree, and chained it up. You never know. There could be a serial bike robber.

Thomas didn't really know wrestling, but he did know that many people he knew would be there. Since it was in the neighborhood, it would be a good way to hang out with his pals, eat some food (including some delicious pizza Thomas had brought), and learn about a pretty interesting sport.

So Thomas walked up to the house and saw one of his good buds Lapoka waving his fist in the air in some sort of triumph. Thomas smiled, and said, "What's going on?"

[Fiori]

"Aw sweet!" replied Koa, relieved to see Wade was in good spirits. He'd been a little worried for his friend after hearing about what happened with Horror Club.

He was about to step out of the way when he spotted another familiar face bounding towards them, smile growing wider at the sight of Lopaka. "Aaaye, good to see you can make it brother!"

A fist bump was offered, before finally stepping aside to let his friends in. He couldn't help but notice the sweet 'taker shirt Lopaka was sporting, Koa himself having opted for a Lucha Bros shirt to honor his boy Pentagon Jr. The Undertaker was always cool though... Well, almost always. Stupid politics, ruining everything...

Anyway, he was just about to close the door when his third guest of the evening arrived.

"Yo Thomas!" he called out, waving his fellow tabletop enthusiast inside. "Just getting started! Snack table is just over there, got some cheesy nachos and spring rolls on the go!"

Koa lingered by the open doorway for a little longer, juuust in case anyone else turned up...

[EllisWilson]

Wade was inside when he heard Lopaka running up. He didn’t stop moving inside, just turning around to greet him while keeping pace. No use crowding the door.

“Hey, Lopaka.” He said, pausing for a moment to consider if he needed help. The verdict was no as far as he could tell, but he is attention was drawn further by a voice he wasn’t expecting.

“Thomas? How are you man?”

Thomas liked wrestling? Wade wasn’t gonna complain about that, obviously, but you’d think he would have caught on to that fact.

[EarthBound]

“Couldn’t miss this for anything, bro!” Lopaka happily returned the fist bump to Koa, before shuffling inside and finding the snack table. His precious donuts were saved, and now sitting in an empty spot on the corner of the table.

He returned to the group, arms behind his head as he went to re-tie the salmon-colored bandana. There was one more person here, Thomas! He didn’t talk to Thomas that much, actually. Hey, that could change today!

“How’s it hangin’, dude?” Lopaka did a simple two-fingered salute to greet the newest guest after him. And, that would make four of them! Of course, he would’ve loved to see everyone here, but also he’s certain the place would get destroyed. That does not need to be hanging over his conscience.

[Survival Chances]

(OCC: Sorry for being so late! I thought it was somebodies else's turn, so that was my bad)

Thomas finally entered the house and looked around, seeing all the other people. He knew Wade (YEAH) quite well, definitely Koa (he had invited him), but not so much Lopoka. Oh well. This is the perfect place to hang out!

He waved to everybody, saying, "Yes, I have arrived!" A beat or two passed before Thomas added, "Oh yeah!" and brought out a small box saying, "I brought pizza!" Thomas smiled, opening the box, and showing a bunch of pizza rolls.

Was it a dumb joke? Yes. Was it a joke Thomas liked? Yes. Before long, he was greeting everyone individually, saying how he was doing well and excited to get this party started.

For Thomas, today was a good day to bond with a bunch of pals, and to him, that was the best thing in the world.

[Fiori]

((OOC: No worries my dude))

Alright, alright, alright... Looks like things were off to a good start!

Peeps were settling in, pleasantries getting exchanged and the snack table slowly filling up with goodies. There was a relieved look on Koa's face when Thomas revealed the pizza rolls - he was planning to order some family sized pizzas to share later that evening, for the post-rumble fallout party. Still, those rolls tasted damn good.

They still had a couple hours until the Rumble kicked off, so for now they were busy mingling. On his flatscreen TV he set up a little background noise; Specifically an automated Royal Rumble match in WWE 2K24, featuring a mixed roster of wrestling legends and random CAWs he downloaded. Right now Big Boss Man and Ned Flanders were working together to try and eliminate the Cookie Monster.

With the party well and truly started, it was about time he asked a very important question...

"So-" Koa began, cracking open a soda can as he settled into the couch. "-any predictions?"

[EllisWilson]

Hot dogs set aside, Wade had set himself… center… right…

He was on a couch, that’s all he could give you.

He’d been watching the TV when Koa spoke up. That was good because it meant Wade didn’t need to set the tone of conversation. It was a good ass question either way.

“Charlotte for the womens, Punk for the mens.” He said, raising a finger for each name. “I got a Bronson return for the rumble too, and…” He tapped his fingers on arm of the couch for a moment, tongue jammed behind his upper lip in thought. He gave up on thinking pretty quick.

“I got nothing else but Cody retaining.” He said, looking around at the others. “What about you guys?”

[EarthBound]

Lopaka had gotten a plate full of Thomas' pizza rolls (he already loves the dude because of this alone), pretzels, and he got the first selection of his donuts because, y'know, he BOUGHT them! He thought that was fair.

He flopped down on the left side of the couch, legs hanging off of the side as he began paying attention to the television. This was the second biggest night of the year for wrestling! How could you NOT be focused in all respects?

"Miz for the guys!" Lopaka called out as he began to swing his feet. "Katana for the girls. Dude, I am SO confident that I have it right this time. It's gonna happen!"

Really, Lopaka wasn't the one to mind predictions. As long as he got to spend time with his buddies, and got to watch his favorite fighters brawl it out, life was good!

[Survival Chances]

Thomas soon got settled in, cozying on the couch, watching as brawlers brawled each other on the screen. Thomas could almost hear his dad's voice right then.

In a real fight, there is no way any of these guys would win.

But Thomas didn't care. It was fun to watch along, and it was that when he soon realized Koa had asked for predictions. Wade and Lopoka immediately jumped out with their ideas, and Thomas felt he had to say something.

But Thomas had no idea regarding who he thought would win. Heck, he didn't even know any players past the two on screen! Hmm... I got it!

Thomas opened his mouth and made out with, "I think it will be that guy." Thomas pointed at the screen, pointing specifically at the guy with the tattoos, named Roman Reigns.

"Mark my words, that guy will win it all."

[Fiori]

"Huuuh, alright, alright... HMm" Koa responded, brow raised as Thomas pointed at the screen. He assumed Thomas was referring to Roman Reigns, who at that point was currently exchanging strikes with Frank "The Trash Man" Reynolds.

Koa also assumed that Thomas was aware this wasn't the actual Royal Rumble - it was a video game he set-up as background noise until the real deal started. He did... He DID realise that, right?

Yeeah nah, he probably did. Thomas was just a little quirky like that. Koa kinda loved that about him, made him a real blast to play DnD with.

As for Roman winning the Rumble? Plausible, sure, but not who Koa would go with. He was as big a stan for the Tribal Chief as you could get, but after several Mania main events in a row it was time for someone else to have their turn in the spotlight. 

That said, he could totally see Roman being one of the heavier hitters in this year's rumble. You always had that one guy who ends up scoring a ton of eliminations, a big monster who tosses out folk left right and centre, only to get knocked out right near the end. Heck, sometimes they won't even make it halfway through, like Brock at the 2020 rumble! But even if they don't make it to the finale, they'll be sure to take a ton of folk with them on the way out.

As for Miz and Katana? He had to respect Lopaka for going for a couple left-field choices, even if there was no way in hell Miz was gonna come close to winning the rumble. Much as they like to make you think the rumble is totally random, odds are the winner's gonna be whoever's the most popular, or whoever fits the story they're trying to tell for that Mania.

But then again, not always. Sometimes folk you'd never expect to make it far last all the way to the very end. Heck, sometimes they even then go on to win the whole damn thing! That's something he always dug about wrestling, you could never completely count anyone out. So sure, maybe it'll be the Miz who wins this year! Or LA Knight! Or one of the Usos! Or... Logan Paul? Oh god, no, anything but that!

Personally, when it came to Royal Rumble winners, Koa always preferred tweeners. He was never really big on pure babyface types - just didn't find 'em super engaging. Too boring. But neither was he keen on a pure heel winner either, just too much time spent getting invested in a match just to see the bad guy win. 

But tweeners - those who weren't quite goodies or baddies - THOSE made for fun winners. Especially when you have both a heel champion and a face champion for them to face off against at Mania. Someone you can root for, but had enough edge to make them cool.

With that in mind...

"Me? I gotta agree with Wade on this one, it's gotta be Punk man. It's about time he finally gets to main event Mania, y'know?"