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secretsofdbz · 11 months

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Oh hi there, it's been a minute!

Sooo NYCC panel happened, and Dragon Ball Magic/Daima is real!

Under the read more for the links, images, and some of my thoughts, analysis, etc...

First, the name: Daima 大魔 can be translated as big magic, large sorcery, big magic trick...And that 魔 symbol should look familiar to you guys, because it's the same MA from Piccolo DAIMAo, from MA Jr., from MAkkankosappo, from MAsenko, and from MAjin (magic people/population). It's the same word used for magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and hocus pocus style stuff. So... with or without demon connotation, just supernatural magic stuff :p

Then the continuity. When does this happen? There's no DBS refs at all in it, so there's speculation about it happening before DBS (but after the Buu saga since the Buu events are the origin of the story it seems). However... Kibito and Shin are defused. Did they defuse because of the wish? Or is it happening sometime after they get defused in DBS (different versions depending on manga or anime).

We don't know. I would say: we don't care. "Canon" is a lie. Official content (games, anime, manga, movies, tv specials, one shots, promo material, etc..) tend to steal from each other and reuse whatever is interesting for the following stories. Content is recycled and reused and readapted to fit whatever narrative of the current story beat (or arc/saga if we're generous) and that's it.

Oh btw you can watch it online, since Toei put it out!

youtube

Anyway let's get back to the plot:

Pretty sure these guys are Bibidi-Babidi related, and they hold a grudge against the gang because of the Buu situation (this is what they're watching).

They make a wish to make everyone young, and there's no transformations (!) so.. Goku has to use the PowerPole.

There's also a message from Toriyama himself, delivered by Iyoku:

Hello. I’m Akira Toriyama. I’m currently working on a new Dragon Ball. The Title is “Dragon Ball DAIMA”. Due to a conspiracy, Goku and his friends are turned small. In order to fix things, they’ll head off to a new world! It’s a grand adventure with intense action in an unknown and mysterious world. Since Goku has to make up for his petite size, he uses his Nyoibo to fight, something not seen in a long time. I came up with the story and settings, as well as a lot of the designs. I’m actually putting a lot more into this than usual! Things will unfold that close in on the mysteries of the Dragon Ball world. Hope you enjoy these different-from-usual battles that are cute and powerful!! — AKIRA TORIYAMA

He's far more involved in this than he ever was in DBS, sooooo.. !! Who knows. It's going to be similar to his modern style though, like Dragon Quest or SandLand.

Everyone's designs look amazing!

Look at Trunks and Goten! They will never age, they get CTRL-Z lol Same for Marron actually, she got back to being her Buu saga toddler self :o (note how Trunks is back at being purple, and not Blunks anymore...)

Anywaaaay!

The animation looks STUNNING. However! Goku's hair looks very stiff :(

Other than that, the series started production right when Dragon Quest Dai ended: that's what the animators are transitioning from.

And some new and old names!!

https://x.com/ag_sanda1/status/1712564193344311549?s=20

Nakatsuru at the character design and corrections, Aya Komaki and Yoshitaka Yashima in the direction roles. Art direction is Takahashi Kurahashi (big background artist, did Yo SonGoku a while ago), and some GOATED names for the animation: Chikashi Kubota, Naohiro Shintani, Yuya Takahashi, Takeo Ide, and Miyako Tsuji. Kubota is the guy who did the 2D section of the intro for DBSSH btw. Kubota My beloved.

Anime AJAY did a whole thread about the production info he has so go check it out.

Kid versions of everyone look super cute, but there was no Gohan on sight. It has to take place "after the Buu saga", but considering the designs, I do think this is kinda meant to be before Pan and Bra were born.

Also I smell Demon lore.

Much interest on my end because it looks amazing even if it's not the serious type of story I usually enjoy. But it looks so good!

Also yeah, DBS Broly and DBSSH is "let's reuse the OG Broly Trilogy", so this is let's reuse/repurpose GT?

Prolly.

#dragon ball daima #dragon ball #dragon ball news #dragon ball magic

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s0ckh3adstudios · 3 years

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They’re fresh! They’re dead! They’re ghost kids ruling over a forest! It’s the Haunted Hats Subcon Squad! Woo!

Redrawn refs ready for 2022 babbyyy. Do reblog and show, introduce more ppl to the squad and the AU >:3

Look down here for info, music ideas, and idk stuff. I’m mostly copy pasting stuff from old posts and google docs, but I’m editing some stuff.

THE HERO

She believes she’s a hero, anyway. The princess of Subcon Kingdom, Hero is a ghost with a temper who doesn’t appreciate trespassers in her forest kingdom! Do that crime, you gotta do some time.

When Beta enters Subcon Kingdom, Mu forces her to sign a contract to agree that she’ll help out with chores and other tasks around the forest as punishment for trespassing into the forest and causing a bit of damage by accident. Hero is doing her best to make Subcon Kingdom a better place (though is failing) and now Beta needs to help. Unfortunately, she should have read the fine print of that contract, because now she lost ownership of her soul for awhile. Peck.

Music (underlined words have links to music):

So, Hero’s got several different motifs to go by, but with the role she’s in she only needs like a couple songs so let’s go in order.

1: Snatcher’s Contractual Obligations! This counts yes it does. When you meet Hero, it goes similar to how you meet Mu in the game. You see her, you start going in her direction to follow her, then suddenly you get into her version of Snatcher’s purple vine area as she says “HEY I SAW YOU STALKING ME YKNOW”. Hers wouldn’t sound as intense? Because she’s not necessarily trying to be evil? It might sound a little condescending, she means business. You trespassed into her forest which is a crime, now you’ve gotta make up for it.

I feel like with that song... I first thought hers could be made with A New Friend In Mafia Town, but after thinking about it, I honestly think with Snatcher’s Contractual Obligations it would work better with the tune of Judge, Jury, and Executioner. I was thinking about this earlier and I honestly think this song could be really cool, even if the song isn’t used often.

2: Okay, so remember So, What’s The Plan? HERO COULD GET HER OWN SPOOKIFIED VERSION OF THIS WHEN SHE’S MAKING YOU SIGN CONTRACTS AND TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO… That’d be cool. I guess it could keep the tune it already has but just sound spookier for Subcon?? idk man.

3: Let’s talk about the theme of Subcon Forest itself! Sure it could be the same but I think it’d be fun if it had more Mu motifs since she’s (1) the main leader of Subcon and (2) the one who actually has lived there all her life. I think it could have several different motifs, BUT THE MAIN ONE WOULD DEFINITELY BE Judge, Jury, And Executioner . Judge, Jury and Executioner my beloved… It’s one of my top favourite AHIT songs, if you didn’t know. Anywho yeah the HH Subcon Kingdom theme would def still contain some of it’s og themes, but also Mu ones.…honestly, no no, it would also include themes relating to the other ghosts :0 some Her Spaceship motifs for Collector and Hoarder, and… idk, something for Haunter. Timmy doesn’t have music.

4: Oh, It’s You! Oh yeah. Maybe Hero’s would be a lil more triumphant, a little royal since she’s acting as the “Queen/Princess” of Subcon? Not sure which of her songs would fit best with it.. But I’d be interested in hearing something like it. Maybe A New Friend In Mafia Town since that’s her most chill theme, with hints of like Judge, Jury, Executioner in there.

5: NOW FOR HERO’S BOSS FIGHT. Mu literally has 3 separate battle themes, mix one or all of them into Your Contract Has Expired and you’re good. Probably Segment 2, it’s the best. I guess some segment 3 could be in there but like... that one is more like for Hat Kid having the rush and triumph and almost saving the world. Ofc the battle theme could also have all her other themes thrown around in there too.

THE HAUNTER

The spooky, coat wearing spirit who haunts the abandoned manor within Subcon Kingdom! It’s said that he took it over shortly after he got here and turned it into the most haunted building in the land, with over a hundred rooms and maze-like corridors. It’s also said you can hear the rave music from the ghost parties that go on in there from miles away. He’s not exactly the most intimidating ghost, but he tries to be!

You don’t get to fight this ghost, nope! He’s just not into that kind of activity. Instead, he gives you the challenge of getting through his haunted manor in order to get a Time Piece reward! Not only that, but there may or may not be a couple more hidden rewards within the many halls and rooms of the manor. More Time Pieces? Stickers? Remixes? Dyes? They’re all hidden somewhere! But the place is a maze of rooms, how are you supposed to find anything in there, especially your way out?

Music (underlined words have links to music):

just KIDDING I GUESS I CAN’T REALLY DO THAT THERE IS NO MUSIC RELATED TO HIIIIMM…

Well, he can have an Oh, It’s You ofc. Again, really not sure about his motifs.

Maybe since he was cut co-op he has some similar motifs to Coco and Hoarder? Ooh, that’d make sense... the three other ghosts having similar motifs. Maybe stuff like the title screen. Oh, and also Tim’s unused theme. Honestly? Something like that could be fun with an Oh, It’s You. Would make sense since he’s Tim’s kid.

The only other theme Haunter would have is for his haunted manor. Basically how it works is you have to go through it to get a Time Piece from Haunter if you manage to get out of the maze of a haunted house. Inside are lots of rooms, puzzles, parkour, etc. It’s bigger on the inside. You can find stickers in there, yarn, more time pieces, coins, secrets ;).

So the mansion theme would be of similar instrument and vibe to the usual theme for Vanessa’s manor, but not AS creepy, yknow? A little fun spooky? Mysterious? What’s around that next corner? What’s in the next room? What’s gonna pop out next? Maybe a song similar to that of Gloucester Carousel from Mad Rat Dead. Not AS upbeat, way more spooky and curious, but it has that goofy vibe as if this is a game.

THE COLLECTOR AND THE HOARDER

This hat-wearing ghost may just be the smuggest ghost of them all! What’s her and Hoarder’s goal? To collect! Collect what? ...Well, everything! Originally, it was just Time Pieces, but their ghostly corruption and boring afterlife led them to want so much more!

As her name suggests, she collects things! She enlists in Beta to help her collect Time Pieces, much to the kid’s dismay. You do end up fighting her to get all the Time Pieces back for yourself, and Collector has all the different hat abilities. Yes, EVEN Time-Stop. She’s a tough foe. When she’s not being smug and laid-back evil, she can be devastating to your HP.

The Collector’s ghostly little sister and helper, the Hoarder, is a shy spirit who doesn’t do as much collecting as her sister. She does more of the organizing. Everything has to be in its place! Her presence in Subcon Kingdom isn’t as well known as the other ruler ghosts, and her existence is often forgotten as a whole. But, don’t be fooled! She can be just as smug and frustrated as her sister!

After finishing up the tasks with Collector, Beta goes into Collector and Hoarder’s abandoned spaceship hide-out to retrieve the Time Pieces that have been put there. Just when you think Hoarder isn’t gonna be a threat to you, just wait! She’s the obstacle you’ve got to watch out for in that hide-out. She’s doing some organizing and cleaning as usual, and you have to sneak past in order to get to the room the Time Pieces are being kept in. In order to distract her, you’ll have to use the brewing hat to knock down items from shelves so Hoarder will be focused on fixing and putting the item back for a few seconds. If you’re spotted however, you have to hide quickly, or else Hoarder will call Collector back to the hide-out for her to give you a game-over.

Music (underlined words have links to music):

Honestly? They have more of the Vanessa’s manor activity than Haunter does. So, for these two, they love to collect things, especially time pieces. So you have to go collect that stuff for them. Now, you wanna go and get that stuff back in the end.

C and H live in their crashed spaceship which they use as a house. It’s full to the brim with shelves of collected items, and you have to sneak through it and get all your belongings while heading to the room full of Time Pieces. (There’s actually two variations of Time Pieces so Beta knows which are hers.) But as you’re sneaking through their hide out while Collector is away, Hoarder is there to guard their treasure. So you have to be careful for her to not see you. If she does, Hoarder will call Collector, and they’ll both give you a game over. Which nobody wants. So you’ll have to distract her by making sounds in different spots to distract her, sneak around, etc.

SO. SO. Since this is in their spaceship. Maybe the music there would be like… Her Spaceship sounding creepy and sounding like the manor music? :0 Oh that would be so cool.

They both have an Oh, It’s You! of course. They’d probably share one, but that’s... boring. Idk. Collector’s would be smugger, Hoarder’s would be softer. Probably would have elements from Peace and Tranquility, maybe the menu theme. Coco and Hoarder have a lot of motifs to choose from as the protagonists of AHIT algkjkglh.

Then there IS boss fight with Collector, and she has access to all the hats so that also makes her tough. Again, lots of motifs for what her song could be. Of course it would also sound like Your Contract Has Expired, but there’s a lot of Hat Kid themes. Maybe hers would have the Segment 3 from You Are All Bad Guys mixed with her other themes like the spaceship theme, menu theme.

#ahit #a hat in time #ahit au #a hat in time au #ahit haunted hats au #ahit hat kid #ahit bow kid #ahit timmy #ahit mu #ahit mustache girl #ahit the hero #ahit the haunter #ahit the collector #ahit the hoarder

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waterlily707 · 3 years

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Hey, I was the anon who asked the three questions including the pocket riding one, sorry about not following the rules 😓 and thanks for humoring me. I got too excited and keyboard smashed 😅

I know there’s been a person (people?) sending you moth pictures and I remembered these two videos I saw a few MOnTHS ago so I thought I’d share. (Also I’m not saying that to make you try and post this, I just thought it was cool and maybe you could use stills as refs if you want 😃)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnn9CfsYJqc

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JQL25_hoQ1k

Also also your line in that post about having wings ripped off has me 😳😬👀 worried^tm. Secret of the wings is my favorite tinkerbell movie and Lord Milori’s story has me crying. I don’t (read: really) want to know what happens with torn off wings in your au. I shall keep an eye open for any and all future moth boi facts.

Just. Thank you for blessing my eyes with these wonderful images and world snippets ☺️❤️

Aww thank you so much!! :D I did enjoy these videos very much, it's so cool to see how the fluffs take flight :)

ALSO YES THE TINKER BELL MOVIES OUSHFIUAHI

*happiness*

Can we all take a moment to appreciate our very first ice fairy lesbian.

There's an old tinker bell book series called Disney Fairies. That included multiple poc and a dissabled character named Rani.

So you could imagine my dissapointment when the movies came out and my beloved poc faries were no where to be seen I highly encourage taking a look at those characters they we're my EVERYTHING growing up.

There's a book in which one of Tinker bell's friends Rani, sacrificed her wings to save her friends, and subsequently became handicapped as she could no longer fly like the rest of everyone else. The book about her is one I read A LOT and was a good lesson about Ableism, and how we should always respect, listen, and include people who can't keep up with us and who struggle in everyday life because of their disability.

LONG STORY SHORT RANI IS BEAUTIFUL, MY AESTHETIC, AND DESERVES LOVE AND HAPPINESS

Rani also tries to make friends with these mermaids, but they're a buncha bitches, I swear to God I'm Finna swing at these hoes if I ever find them.

Anyway, I'm sorry this de evolved in a Rani appreciation post.

I highly encourage finding this book it's really nice, and the illustrations are GODTIER like my entire fantasy aesthetic is based on these books.

((Also don't worry :) the trauma will come in the future))

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birdkujapropaganda · 3 years

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my completely biased and official rating of every keyblade ever:

Kingdom Key: absolute classic. excellent design for the like, mascot keyblade. very simple, vaguely key shaped. i hate the mouse head though it's so stupid and makes no sense. and i hate mickey. 9/10 minus a point for the weird mickey keychain

Oathkeeper: wonderful. amazing. never boring. excellent design love the heart and wings and all the significance. and that the keychain is kairi's charm? terrific. 10/10

Oblivion: brilliant. awesome. phenomenal. again excellent design the wings and chains and purple crystal are absolutely perfect. love the crown keychain. 10/10

Ultima Weapon 1: literally just a sword with some filigree on it. nice. too much yellow and i don't like the weird cyan gradient on the guard. 7/10

Kingdom Key D: d for disgusting. i don't have any other comments i just hate it. 2/10

Keyblade of Hearts: yeah that sure is an anti-keyblade. love the simplicity and the heart in the negative space of the teeth. and that it doesn't have a keychain, that fueled a lot of theories for 12yo me 8/10

Lady Luck: i think i don't like this one bc to get it u need to use a white trinity but you can't do that until near the end and i have way cooler blades to use. the design is pretty ok, don't really get the card keychain tho. 5/10

Olympia: oh the sight of this one makes me irritated because the kh1 strategy guide uses this in one of the pictures for the fight against possessed riku. it did not help me win. and i hate short keyblades. love the clouds and columns though 7/10

Jungle King: kinda ugly but i appreciate that it looks kinda handmade. also like the butterfly keychain bc it doesn't look like it fits but it Does. also the first good alternate blade u get in the game so. 8/10

Three Wishes: not bad but it doesn't stick out to me either. also doesn't scream agrabah to me but also it does? 6/10

Pumpkinhead: NICE. very long and very cool. the teeth looks like bat wings and a pumpkin so very epic. 9/10

Wishing Star: so pointless i already have pumpkinhead. also short. cute design though i like the gears. 5/10

Crab Claw: i never used this one because it stuck out so ugly in Halloween Town </3 i love blue and crabs though so 8/10

Fairy Harp: I HATE YOU DIE. short and stupid. does NOT remind me of neverland at all. 1/10

Divine Rose: pretty nice but short and lategame. always thought its existence was kinda weird?? like thanks belle but why. i have oblivion. 7/10

Spellbinder: for some reason i really don't like it. i like blue and the circles are neat. the handle looks really painful though. 4/10

Metal Chocobo: kinda ugly lol. love the holes and chocobo keychain. 8/10

Lionheart: oh i am so biased by recoded. absolutely excellent keyblade. design's kind of weird tho where are those lions going. 9/10

Diamond Dust: so i was really confused because i thought this was khux-only or maybe bbs keyblade but apparently it's kh1 final mix only. you know what i got as a reward for fighting the ice titan? sephiroth. you know what i got for fighting sephiroth? NOTHING. it was my favorite khux blade though so grrrr 7/10

One-Winged Angel: grr bark bark final mix again fuck you. kinda weird design though like what is the teeth? a meteor? should've been a wing. nice guard though there's not enough hand room. excellent keychain obviously. 8/10

Ultima Weapon 2: very similar to the first but blue and symmetrical. very good learn from your mistakes. 9/10

Way to Dawn: YEAAAHHHHHHH BOY HERE IT IS PERFECT EXCELLENT GREAT DESIGN WONDERFUL LORE. HAS WINGS. THE EVOLUTION FROM SOUL EATER. THE LACK OF THORNS ON THE HEART. 10/10

Destiny's Embrace: very cute!! my favorite part is the name. i wish it wasn't so like. stereotypically girly though. like you look at the destiny trio's keyblades and can immediately pick out which one is The Girl's. 9/10

Star Seeker: i wanna hate it because it's mickey's/yen sid's but honestly it's so nice. the stars and moons and comets and gradients and colors... wonderful 9/10

Rumbling Rose: oof. weird and ugly and gross. keychain looks like a ladybug from far away. 3/10

Hero's Crest: bring the clouds back. i don't really get the design but i like columns. 5/10

Monochrome: super cute!! i don't like Timeless River but this fits it so well and has cute hit effect. 8/10

Mysterious Abyss: i always get this one way late in the game so it's always pretty pointless oops lol. also the design doesn't really say atlantica?? 3/10

Follow the Wind: another weird miss but i like this one more. nice wheel shaped guard, and that the keychain is a cursed coin. 6/10

Wishing Lamp: now THIS is the agrabah keyblade. very nice and elegant. looks like the palace! 7/10

Decisive Pumpkin: THIS ONE 😭😭 it's so ugly but it's so strong so i have to use it but it's so ugly. it does look like jack's idea of christmas so points i guess 😭 4/10

Circle of Life: also pretty ugly. and short. sorry simba. 3/10

Sweet Memories: shrek voice it doesn't even have attack. i don't like winnie the pooh so that's definitely influencing me. makes cute noises iirc and looks pretty cute. 4/10

Photon Debugger: this one should look pretty cool but my brain is saying it's bad. i think the giant red ball by the teeth are throwing me off. love the neon blue tho 5/10

Gull Wing: why the weird space in the name. anyway. i really want to love this keyblade bc i love X2 but it's really bad. i'm so sorry YRP kh did you so wrong. excellent keychain choice though. 2/10

Guardian's Soul: MUCH better thank you. auron my beloved <3 the lines are very appealing and i like how simple it appears. also looks like auron's swords. 8/10

Sleeping Lion: wayyy better than lionheart. looks kinda like a gunblade! again though what are those lions doing. 8/10

Fenrir: my car key got in a fight. 1/10

Bond of Flame: looks like a bad first draft of axel's keyblade. either the teeth or the guard should look like a chakram, pick one. love it though. 7/10

Two Become One: MY BELOVED <3 excellent design, so so so roxas i think he should use it. very excellent i love the little twist at the top. checkered handle is a little weird. 10/10

Fatal Crest: lol i was so mad when i first saw this because it looked like one of my oc's keyblades. i like it now though, it's a dragon!! pretty neat bro 8/10

Winner's Proof: oh this one is so cute. if it wasn't a reward it would be really weird and bad. surprisingly elegant! and there's even 13 mushrooms on it! 9/10

(shoutout to portadorx on deviantart for the 358 keyblade refs)

Missing Ache: YOU. interesting design, though it says roxas more than ventus to me. great first alt keyblade. 7/10

Ominous Blight: very edgy names in this game <3 looks like guardian's soul, which is interesting. i don't like yellow but it works bc blight 6/10

Abaddon Plasma: what a cool fucking name. so many yellow keyblades. but very cool looking i love roxas' aesthetic 8/10

Pain of Solitude: this is just pink missing ache. 8/10

Sign of Innocence: SO COOL. idk what's going on in most of these blades but i love it. 9/10

Crown of Guilt: come on. it doesn't look like a crown. big disappointment. very cool though 6/10

Abyssal Tide: so cool!! i love blue and fighting in midair <3 the teeth kinda looks like waves 8/10

Leviathan: weirdly furry looking. very cool guard 6/10

True Light's Flight: looks like two become one if it was only one. the top kinda looks like the nobody sigil 9/10

Rejection of Fate: SPEAR. epic name too, but i think it should swap names with true light's flight. very cool but i don't remember seeing it in name. kinda awkward bc it looks like it should be a spear 7/10

Midnight Roar: sooo cool. the orange handle pops without looking wrong... nice. also the teeth kinda look like a bat. 9/10

Glimpse of Darkness: ugly. weirdly bulky and hollow. short. 3/10

Total Eclipse: weirdly bumpy sword. i like how the orange looks like it glows. 5/10

Silent Dirge: GoD but purple. 2/10

Lunar Eclipse: TE but purple. 4/10

Darker than Dark: Hello 😳TLF but purple 10/10

Astral Blast: Abyssal Tide but yellow. interesting choice, but kinda clashes with the blue accents 7/10

Maverick Flare: Ominous Blight but red... excellent. very nice. 8/10

Twilight Blaze: Abaddon Plasma but red... also excellent. very epic. 9/10

Omega Weapon: props for not looking like any of the ultima weapons. very interesting and spiky but i kinda don't like it. 6/10

Aubade: kinda weird. "draws forth its wielder's personality"... ok. looks light elemented. 7/10

Wooden Stick: lol 10/10

Umbrella: not what i would've chosen but lol 10/10

Zero/One: WONDERFUL, EXCELLENT, AMAZING. i can't really explain why i love this one so much it's just very good. 10/10

Earthshaker: very solid design. not much to say it's just nice. love the colored guard. 7/10

Ends of the Earth: love that it is so clearly an earthshake upgrade. makes u realize how incomplete the first one is. 9/10

Dreadgnaw: kinda silly looking lol those are teeth. love the red bit in the center. looks very similar to earthshaker in a good way. 8/10

Chaos Ripper: looks like EotE but in a bad way. i don't like the weird teeth. it's also almost impractically long but i'm here for that. ALSO THE EYE. NICE. 7/10

Rainfell: oooo i love this it's so simple but so nice. very elegant 9/10

Stormfall: less nice. looks like a rainfell upgrade though. also kinda looks like master's defender which makes sense but i don't like it. 6/10

Brightcrest: GORGEOUS. PERFECT AND WONDERFUL. SO PRETTY. i wish it was kairi's. kinda looks to ornamental for aqua? but good for her. 10/10

Wayward Wind: none of ventus' blades look very ventusy to me. this one looks like an extra training one they had sitting around. cool shape though 5/10

Frolic Flame: NICE. looks like lea's frisbees! i like fire and fire designs so but it's a little awkward looking 8/10

Lost Memory: ok so first off WINGS. EXCELLENT. love that the only color is the heart. very cool and epic but i don't understand why it doesn't have a reverse grip handle. or the pointy bit at the tip. but still 10/10

Void Gear: hiii vanitas :) so anyway in my totally unbiased opinion this is the best keyblade ever obviously. love the gears and red accents and it's just super cool. the eyes and chains... vanitas character development keyblade when <3 10/10

Void Gear (White?): still very cool, love the simple contrast going on. 10/10

No Name: i didn't know this one was also called no name which is kinda lame. but i love the keyblade it's very cool. super glowy and i love the time design. 9/10

Crown Unlimit: I almost really like this one. very neat design, love the crowns and twists and glow. 7/10

Master's Defender: literally so plain and boring. i don't care if that's the point give it some frills. nice design though :/ 7/10

Broken Xblade: love the broken bits and the weird rust color. wish one of the kingdom keys was more broken and i think the top bit should be broken too. 7/10

Wooden Keyblade: sobbing and crying and tears. this is literally so cute and good and i love that it looks like Ends of the earth. or the kingdom key i guess. 10/10

Treasure Trove: i never expect to like this one but it's actually pretty nice :) wish the gems looked like they were spilling from the top and not leaking from the bottom. 8/10

Stroke of Midnight: also surprisingly nice! the guard kinda looks like a pumpkin which is cute. just a very cute design. 8/10

Fairy Stars: rad as hell. absolutely love this design very appealing. like how point the stars are. 9/10

Victory Line: i hate this one. maybe bc i don't like the world. kinda ugly and the teeth look awkward. 3/10

Mark of a Hero: ok we brought the clouds back but the weirdly buff trophy arm fucks this up. the blade is also just kind of a column, nothing going on there. 4/10

Hyperdrive: super cute!! love how the blade looks like laser fire and engine streams. the teeth are weird again though, and the handle looks like a bee 8/10

Pixie Petal: SO much better than fairy harp. this one is very cute and these teeth actually fit with the rest of the design. kinda short though >:/ 7/10

Sweetstack: oh this is so cute. a bunch of ice cream scoops!! why are the teeth oranges and what are some of those flavors. why are cones on the guard soft serve. 8/10

Ultima Weapon bbs: NICE. A SWORD WITH SOME FILIGREE BUT ALL IN BLUE. LOVE the wayfinders on it, very good for them. wish it wasn't just blue since it seems so aqua-centric but it looks nice soo 10/10

Skull Noise: LITERALLY SO PERFECT. THAT'S SO TWEWY. INCREDIBLE. the headphones and mr mew keychain... wonderful. only thing is that the name is kinda weird. like it makes sense but sounds weird. 10/10

Guardian Bell: i like it more than i think i would. elegant looking, and i love the gargoyles on it. hate the sentient gargoyles tho. 8/10

Dual Disk: VERY cool! looks like it has a reverse grip. the teeth are really cool and i love the bright blue. 9/10

Ferris Gear: eh. pretty cute but i think my pinocchio bias is acting up. the gears are nice, reminds me of wishing star. 5/10

Knockout Punch: SO COOL. really love the spikiness and colors and that the guard looks like the monkey. unfortunately for it, i don't like monkey. 8/10

All for One: the design's nice and it matches the world... but eh. 5/10

Counterpoint: so fun!! the violin guard is great, and the blade looks so cool. the teeth are a little awkward looking, it goes up too much. 9/10

Divewing: RAD!. just a sword with a heart on it and i love it. just so fucking cool. and the guard looks like a wing so 10/10

Sweet Dreams: so cute :) in love with the meow wow on top, but the teeth go up too much again. and i think there should be some komory wings on it. 7/10

Ultima Weapon DDD: NICE. almost identical to the kh1 blade, but blue and BETTER. the wings above the guard and the crown coming out of dream eater sigil... brilliant. 10/10

Unbound: not a hit 💔 just kinda weird and unfinished looking? and the lime green bit is off-putting. the hear at the top is nice. 2/10

End of Pain: ok mood shift hello. looks like it should be one of terra's evil blades. at first i was thrown off but looking closer it's so cool. the wings and eye at the top... the horns above the guard... the butterfly and gazing eye (buttereye) keychain... magnificent. the blade reminds me of x2 dark knight paine's sword. 10/10

Ocean Rage: looks pretty cool at first but the monstro mouth guard is literally horrifying i don't want to look at it anymore 1/10

YMX's keyblade: apparently has no name and is different than the one in bbs. nothing new really to say since it looks pretty similar but the goat head on top is super interesting. how much did No Name (luxu) influence young xehanort... 9/10

Mirage Split: absolutely perfect. i can't think of anything that isn't positive to say. the stained glass, the heart by the teeth, the thin lines, the gradient, wings, pointy, the keychain, literally all perfect. 10/10

Nightmare's End: also utterly perfect. i don't like yellow but it works here and looks great. the cyan gradient is startling but matches MS so i love it. all the colors in the stained glass are wonderful. 10/10

Starlight+: a little guady. but i love how the stars look like comets. the twisted blade looks neat too, but what's the point of the pointy bit on top. 7/10

Treasure Trove+: love that it looks golden and gem encrusted. very rich looking, but the cart is still leaking gems. 8/10

Lady Luck+: NOW the card thing makes more sense, i love how its incorporated throughout the design. more more interesting than the original. 9/10

Three Wishes+: looks like fire?? which is way cooler but why??? i like it more but where's the agrabah. 8/10

Olympia+: CLOUDS. like that zeus is in the clouds, but they took my columns. and the cyan handles are really weird. 7/10

Divine Rose+: excellent. what it should've been all along. the iridescenty guard is suuuper pretty and all the leaves and vines are great. 10/10

Moogle o' Glory: a lot happening here but i love smacking shit with a moogle head. there's so much happening and i don't really get it. 7/10

Fairy Stars+: i didn't know it could get better, the teeth is super cool looking but i wish the twisty blade was more visible. 9/10

Sleeping Lion+: love that it turns that metallic light blue color, very pretty. and the handle looks more like the gunblade! very nice looking and i used it a lot but the top is very weird. 9/10

Counterpoint+: let's take all the fun and exciting bits from the original and crANK IT UP TO ELEVEN. wait. stop. go back it's too much. very pretty still i love colors. 8/10

Fenrir+: my car key recovered from that fight. looks wayyy cooler and looks like ff7. hate the cyan glow though it feels weird. 6/10

Darkgnaw+: took me forever to find an image bc i keep calling it dreadgnaw. much cooler than the original, it looks like it's gonna bite you. the purple is also very nice. 9/10

Missing Ache+: POINTY. super cool but how does ventus twirl it around without poking himself. the colors are fun and it looks rad. 10/10

Diamond Dust+: i used this one the most <3 very pretty i love shades of blue and purple :) looks kinda icy but the top is weirdly flat. 9/10

Bad Guy Breaker: there's so much happening calm down 😭kinda nice but there's a lot to look at. also this world irritated me. 4/10

Gula's Keyblade: #leopardus4ever. as you can see, this keyblade is perfection. fun and spiky and lightningy. i think the whole blade should be lightning tho. 10/10

Aced's Keyblade: do any of these have names. anyway what a dreadgnaw ripoff 🙄 it suits him but guess what. i don't like him. 5/10

Ira's Keyblade: i don't like ira either but his blade is fucking great. love the teeth so much, and the colors. very pretty and cool 8/10

Invi's Keyblade: absolutely gorgeous. i love the flowing lines and little vines. love the colors and also it's super long. 9/10

Ava's Keyblade: girl this hurts to look at on a white background. very pretty though, i love how wispy and cloud-like it is. looks delicate which is great considering she'll kick anyone's ass. 8/10

No Name: unfortunately, this is absolutely wicked. look at it. it's wonderful. the goat head looks so much cooler than the other animal heads somehow, and i love the hollow center of the blade. and the teeth look like a claw, a little. just so fucking cool but i hate everyone who uses this. 10/10

Shooting Star: super pretty, i love how this one flows. i wish the blade went down to wrap around the guard though, instead of cutting off. 8/10

Hero's Origin: they took away my clouds again. i like that half of it is just. zeus. the lightning bolts are cool, but the handle and guard don't really match. 6/10

Favorite Deputy: you are not my favorite deputy fuck you. i don't like toy story but i do like cactuses. 3/10

Ever After: this one's nice :) the guard is super pretty, but i wish there was more going on with the blade. 7/10

Happy Gear: this one's kinda ugly but i like it soo. the energy canister guard is cute. 7/10

Crystal Snow: i hate it so much. it's boring and the keychain is olaf and i don't like frozen. 1/10

Hunny Spout: pretty cute :) the honey jars remind me of sweetstack. i like the wooden handle. 7/10

Wheel of Fate: cool as hell that's my boat. love that the blade looks like a mast that's so cool. wish it wasn't so gray though. 8/10

Nano Gear: ah, here's the color. i like everything except how the nanobots look at the top. it's just kinda gross. 7/10

Grand Chef: oh this is so cute. but why is remy the teeth. poor rat :( but it looks very nice i like how the Tower goes into the guard 8/10

Classic Tone: fuckyoufuckyoufuc. i hate this one. pretty ugly and i don't like it. 2/10

Starlight: SO GOOD. very simple but i like that. looks mysteriously similar to the kingdom key? i love it but it needs a little more going on. 9/10

Ultima Weapon 3: LOOK AT IT. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE THEY CAN'T MAKE A BETTER ULTIMA WEAPON. the silver and red look so good and it's spiky and cool. and the red is glittery!!! why? i don't care it's phenomenal. the spiky heart teeth. that it looks like it's moving. i wish i could break my rating scale. 10/10

Braveheart: riku kingdomhearts stole my fucking car key. we've all heard the complaints i'm not repeating them 1/10

Star Cluster: it's really nice >:( mickey switch with riku pleaase. the star theme is really cute and the colors are nice but why does it look so similar to the kingdom key. 8/10

Flame Liberator: i don't like the name but ok i guess. the keyblade is so fucking cool though. it's what bond of flame wanted to be. i love fire and it looks like it moves so hell yeah. 9/10

Xblade: still can't decide if i like this or not. How do you hold it comfortably. Love the glistening spiky bits. 8/10

#that's all of them holy shit #you are required to read this #might make another list with all of them in order if i feel insane enough #kingdom hearts #pere's bullshit #kh #keyblades

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cloudsrust · 4 years

Photo

“I don’t need sleep, Blossom. It disappoints me.” Finally finished a ref for them-..I had in mind some stuff and expressions but- I’m lazy and bad with references ohoh;; Anyway-.. their name is Blair Novelle, a writer came to the Habitat to exchange their noisy and stressful city life with a quiet place where they could write in peace and build up their confidence again. Forgot to had two things to the ref so here we go;; To make them happy: They first need to be taken out of their “coffee/sleep deprived state”. Can be done in two ways: 1)After “taking their quest”, go to the lounge during morning time and Jim will hand you a coffee. Bring it to them and they’ll be instantly refreshed and approchable. 2)Punch them two times with the boxing glove, this will knock them out for the whole day. The next day they’ll be back up and refreshed, even though with a bit of a migraine, and approchable. You then need to help them find their missing pen, so that they can get back to work on their newly found inspiration. All you have to do is show them the pocket mirror, revealing the lost item caught among their hair. If not made happy: Their head will be a spilling coffee mug during the finale. I also- wrote some of their possible reactions to some of the objects and a description of them under the cuts- wanted to include the paintings but it would have been way too long;;;

So-.. short description of them: -Always in search of inspiration- so they’re always seen with their notebook. Their pen however keeps getting lost, often among their hair, leading them into a panicked search. -They’re a heavy coffee addict, practically unapproachable when “caffeine sober” (First Image). They won’t react to any object when in this state. -They absolutely despise sleeping. Even Habit gave up trying to make them follow the Habit curfew. -Their hearing is extremely sensible and because of that they grew deeply interested in sounds. - Camera shy and quite akward with others. Manages to interact “normally” only with other artists (Mirphy, Dallas, Randy, ...). -Passionate about occult and other mythical creatures, some believe they themself aren’t an ordinary human. -Only able to smell strong scents- like coffe,, or Randy. -Scared of children. Objects reactions: (Megaphone) “PLEASE DO NOT- My sensible hearing is the only good sense I have left,,”

(Punch) (When sleep deprived) “EHH?? Wait-.. WAIT THIS COULD W O R K-.. go on Flower, HIT AGAIN!” (When awake) “I already know how to describe pain- No need for THAT.”

(Kiss) “AH?? WAIT- I recognize these careless yet delicate aster lips.. is this a kiss from uhh.. J-Jerafina I believe? Her voice always… slobbers when telling her name-,,” (Yes) “Oh dear- should I just accept such an unusual delivery, fall for a sweet yet overdone enchantment.. No- no, no- oh, I believe you’re mistaken: I cannot be the right recipient for such a gift. I’m afraid you must keep going with your kiss delivery quest, my dear accidental cupid. �� But thank you for the taste of such inspiration.” (Gives back the kiss) (No) “So-.. it must be from you? Oh- You lil’ tulip, you shouldn’t waste such precious gifts on a tired writer. Other residents are deeply more in need of a lil’ kiss than me- who knows, maybe someone awaiting at the top of his crystal tower to help them break their melancholic curse… oh how bitterly romantic.” (Gives back the kiss) (When Coffee deprived) ”N o .” (Jimothan’s photo) “Ugh- him. He banned me from the lounge. Well- I can still enter the place luckily .. I just can’t order my beloved bitter bean elixir- my adored C O F F E E! ...Just because I consumed their entire stock in one sitting- what a cruel torture, it is not my fault they aren’t equipped for over a mere sixty cups a day. ..Eh? What do you mean “How am I still alive?”

(Randy’s photo) “Truly a peculiar soul, but all artists are eccentric in their own way I believe. He takes inspiration from smells the same way I do with sounds- quite interesting if I must say. Just- do not enter his room: if I could sense something with my busted nose in there, I believe you’d completely lose your sense of smell by entering.”

(Dallas’s photo) “A fool in love- I keep telling him that sometimes art isn’t enough to get one’s admiration, at least not a passion driven one, but he is persistent in his methods. I’m no romance writer but I know words play a good role in this kind of things… and he isn’t the best at it- he still tries.”

(Tiff’s photo) “Ah- such a marvellous voice complementing such a laid back beauty, one of the few reasons I still frequent the lounge. Her versatile singing blesses my ears each time- a shame it’s wasted on such low tier songs,, she doesn’t seem excited about it either. Poor thing.” And... that’s all :,>

#smile for me #smile for me game #s4m #s4m oc #smile for me oc #yep-.. I love this sleep deprived mess :>#myart

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seokiloquy · 4 years

Text

Bludger - Karasuno

AU: Harry Potter - Quidditch

Requested

(despite it being a Karasuno one-shot, it leans toward Sawamura because he’s the captain)

Word Count: 1.8K

You’d have to admit to yourself eventually. These students were as reckless as hell.

“I’m sorry (L/N). I understand that this must be a bit frustrating to watch,” the one with slick-haired bangs, Ennoshita, sighed next to you, watching his team fly through the air in staggered movements.

The boys screamed as they raced through the air, chasing and being chased by various flying balls and players alike. You groaned, watching the small red-head get smashed in the face by a bludger and quickly fall into the ground below him.

“I wouldn’t mind so much if I wasn’t the student nurse. But because I’m here it means I have to take care of all of you,” you grumbled and turned to the boy on the field. “Hinata are you alright?”

The boy jumped up from the grass field and waved excitedly in your direction. His nose was bleeding.

“For the love of God, Hinata get over here!”

As you iced the boy’s nose he talked happily as if nothing was bothering him, though his voice did come out a bit nasally because of his nose being covered.

“Uh, (L/N)?” Sawamura poked his head into the changing room where medical supplies were held. “Classes are going to start again soon, where should we put all the equipment?”

Taking off the ice from Hinata’s face you checked if the bleeding stopped and pointed to the door in the corner of the room. “It’s all from the storage closet, everything goes in there.”

Sawamura smiled and left the room. His immediate yelling told you that the team was being just as chaotic even with their missing fireball of a fifth year.

Hinata rattled on as his group brought in all the supplies, “What’s your favourite subject? I like Defence Against the Dark Arts.”

“I’ve always been a fan of herbology and potions, they work together and are needed for medicine.”

“That’s cool. I’ve never been good at those. I always need help from the seventh years.”

You ruffled the boy’s hair, making him smile at the tingling feeling at his roots. “Well, if you need any help, feel free to ask.”

Hinata jumped from his seat on the bench, narrowly missing the opportunity to head but you in the nose, and rushed out the door to help grab equipment. “Kageyama! (L/N) is going to help us with our classes!”

“Wait!”

“Ha, good luck with that. They’re helpless,” the towering blond grinned slyly, clearing enjoying your sudden distress.

You fisted the robe that draped on your sides, “Shut it, Big Ben.”

“Hinata, wait, no!”

Tsukishima openly laughed at the sight of Hinata’s face covered in soot, eyes and teeth being the only thing visible through the ashy chemicals. Nishinoya and Tanaka joined in with the hysterics. Sugawara, prepared as always, along with the help of Shimizu ran over ready to clean the poor boy’s face. Asahi, Yachi, and Yamauchi shuddered and whined, shaking as they feared any injury to befall their friend. The quiet sixth years chuckled but continued with their own studying.

Sawamura sighed as he leaned against the window sill, watching as you held Kageyama back from pouncing on his teammate yelling at him to smarten up.

“Idiot you didn’t do any better! Look at the mess you made!” You screamed, gripping the back of the tall quidditch player’s black jacket.

Sawamura breathed heavily into the raised collar of his school’s uniform, “Hey, clean up and go to bed!”

It didn’t take long for his team to follow the orders laid out for them. It left you with free hands and a slowly dissipating headache though, standing in the centre of the room wearing your unique robes given to you by the school you were all in.

“I’m sorry that our stay here is going to be a bit chaotic.”

You sighed, “Sawamura, don’t apologize. I’m sure the other schools are just as hectic and that my schoolmates are having similar troubles.”

“Are you sure? Also, I keep telling you, call me Daichi.”

“Ya positive. I don’t know you well enough to call you Daichi. How are practices going?”

You and Sawamura followed behind the group, out of the now clean room, toward the cabins where they have been staying. The hallways of your school towered above your heads, covered with moving paintings that waved at your group as you walked by.

“Practices are fine, coach Ukai and professor Takeda are having fun but get annoyed with us sometimes. The tournament is probably getting to them.”

“I can understand why. I’ve had to help patch up way more than a few injuries over the last couple of weeks.”

In Karasuno's assigned cabin, Ukai and Takeda were talking across a chalkboard that was set up in the lobby of their temporary home. The Karasuno team immediately sat around the board. Sawamura stayed by your side for a moment.

“You have a match in the morning, right?”

Sawamura smiled, “Yes, against Wakutani. We’re probably getting a rundown of the team now.”

“Just, try not to let anyone get injured alright? I have enough work on my hands.”

Your school was large, massive in size, and known for its constant participation and hosting of the annual quidditch tournaments every year. But the number of students on the school grounds was abysmal in comparison to its size. So it opened up. Many quidditch fields filled the open space behind the school, accompanied by large stands for viewers. Your school became the main gathering ground for highschool quidditch games and tournaments. And it's students became the help.

Karasuno, dressed in their flying gear and carrying various different kinds of brooms walked to their side of the field ready to start warming up. Sawamura left their sides to go speak with the ref and the other captain to determine beginning plays and positions.

Nishinoya, despite his small stature, was the keeper of the team and a good one at that. While Azumane played as the team’s seeker, Hinata easily wanted to take his spot the following year, despite it already being decided that Tanaka would inherit the position. Hinata, Tanaka, and Kageyama were the team’s chasers. Although, Kageyama could play anywhere. And Tsukishima and Sawamura were the team’s beaters, working to protect their teammates. Although, more often than not, Tsukishima would rather let the bludgers swing into the sides of his fellow fifth years.

You sat on the side of the grass field, centred between the two team benches, watching and waiting for any injury.

The game had started quickly with the points quickly going up. Players swung around quickly making them incredibly hard to watch in the sunlight and make sure they weren’t getting hurt. You were sure Hinata had a nosebleed but refused to get swapped out. It wasn’t until a collision happened and someone began to fall that there was something to worry about.

Swinging your wand out from your robes, you caught the player mid-air, slowing their fall until they were gently rested on the grass.

The game had stopped and you rushed onto the field. Sawamura was wincing as he tried to push himself up, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. His teammates started to crowd around.

“No, no, no. Stay down, you oaf. Open your mouth, let me see.”

Following your orders, Sawamura opened up to show you a missing tooth and blood-covered tongue.

Tanaka pleaded at the injured man’s side, “Daichi I’m so sorry. It’s my fault, I should’ve taken that hit from the bludger.”

“Shut up Tanaka, it’s fine. I’m alright.”

“Don’t make me laugh, you might have a concussion, so we are going to go give you a check-up.”

The game went on, Ennoshita taking on the role that Sawamura left behind. You gave him a nod as you led Yachi and the injured man to the infirmary.

You couldn’t tell what had progressed in the game after you left, but you were certain that Ennoshita was a bit stressed. Okay, maybe a bit more than stressed, but you were sure that the trustworthy sixth year would be fine until the end of the game.

Once you got the bleeding to stop and put some ice on his cheek you got him on his feet to check for a concussion. After a few straight walking lines and balance tests, you were sure the beater was safe to rest for a bit.

“How are you feeling?”

He groaned.

“Perfect then.”

Ukai came to visit at that moment, “The game’s still going, you okay there?”

You interjected, “There’s no worry of a concussion but it would be best for him to rest a bit. We’ll Give him a painkiller and some skele-gro once he feels better.”

Ukai nodded, “Okay come back when you feel better and be ready for the next game.”

Sawamura only chuckled and gave his coach a tired acknowledgement before lying down.

As Sawamura snored into the pillow you and Shimizu had a nice conversation about classes, future plans, and laughing about funny moments revolving around the Karasuno boys team. Yachi, typically quiet and shy, spoke more clearly and openly as you waited, her voice still wavering from nerves though.

After a near hour, Sawamura stretched up from his spot on the bed. Despite still being a bit tired, he was more eager to get back to the game at hand. He was forced to wait as you gave him a painkiller for his cheek and the bone growing potion to bring his lost tooth back to its former glory. The bruise didn’t go away and would be there for a while.

Once you get there though, Dachi decided to just watch as his teammates completed the game without him, a smile growing on his face.

It was when the game finished and everyone on Karasuno’s team collected the praises given to them by their Coaches that Sawamura decided to make his appearance. Tanaka started crying again, Nishinoya and Hinata were not far behind, jumping on your shoulders and thanking you for healing their beloved captain. Yachi, despite having been with you the entire time and knowing there had been nothing wrong, joined in as well.

“Let me go please.”

“But (L/N) you saved our captain from a cruel death!”

“Why in the world would you think he was going to die?”

“Daichi is going to die?”

Takeda fumbled over his words, trying to cool down the energetic group and hand out their bottles at the same time. It failed, as always, but it wouldn’t stop him from trying.

Tanaka buried his head into the crook of your shoulder, making it seem as though you had dowsed your shoulder in water. Nishinoya who was clinging onto your other arm did the same.

“Don’t you all have another match to fret about?”

“(L/N)’s right, you know,” Ukai said. “Next is AobaJousai.”

This has the potential for a part two but meh. - Bacon

Posted: 03/07/2020

#Haikyuu x reader #karasuno #karasuno x reader #Haikyuu #x reader #oneshot #oneshots #haikyuu oneshots #haikyuu reader insert #reader insert #aus #haikyuu aus #fluff #haikyu #anime x reader #anime #manga x reader #manga

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sassaetcie · 4 years

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The Molten Charcoal - Chapter 4 - Silver x Idia Fanfiction

Yeah I may have... forgotten I was publishing this on tumblr... I apologize krkrkr.

I shouldn't have said "yes" that easily. I'm just so weak after a certain time outside... Like it must be a downgrade or something... Sure I don't want to hurt Ortho but... If I end doing shit in front of Silver, I will ashame everone (once again lol), right? I can't tell anymore if it was a safe bet or not... No, it never has been a "safe" bet because I'm playing with humans www. They aren't as easily predictable as AI if they aren't shaking in fear... if they "aren't shaking in fear". Shut the fuck. Shut the fuck up, Idia. No, I should talk like this, right? This is the way I get to the top in videogames, after all... No, shut the fuck. The only reason you get this high... Is it because of "this"? Or "that"? Or both? Or neither, in the end? Nothing "has" to make sense, after all... If everything had to make sense, they would be true. I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE TRUE. EVERYTHING IS THEIR FAULT. EVERYTHING IS THEIR FAULT. THEY'RE THE ONES BEING WRONG, OR BEING A DIFFERENT KIND OF WRONG. If I'm doing everything "wrong" because everyone keeps thinking like them, then there's a possibility that I'm actualy the only one being right, right? (That's a Higurashi curse-like thinking but that's not exactly what I mean...) Everyone is a fucking weirdo here, so why am I the one considered even stranger? That must mean "something else". Or does that doesn't mean anything? Why am I even thinking about all this crap? That's because of them. I shouldn't think about all this... But if I don't, I'm going to disappoint Ortho because I'm going to be stupid and not trying enough... That's because of them. Because they wanted me so bad to be their heir. "A meeting is funny as long as you can play with the people". Why did you want me to play like you? I shouldn't have been here watching every adult whispering. I shouldn't have been here, hearing all these bad things. I shouldn't have been here. But my hair cannot betray you, right? I cannot hide. I cannot run. I cannot speak. Even if this adult smiles, he will stabs the other. Even if this one threatens to stab, it will be "only" a joke. Will it be? Which of them was joking? Which of them IS joking? Why did you show me this? Why did you show me so many people, as if they were your playthings? You really enjoyed inviting every last of them knowing they would insult you, and making them fear for one day to be fighting each other under your blackmailing, right? You even expected me to be abducted, huh? You didn't give a shit when I was abducted by this smiling couple. They really looked nice. I can't tell if they looked nicer than you. How many days did I spend here? They were still nice when they were with me. They kept on smiling. They lied. They lied again. Do I have to become an adult like this? I hate this. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. WHY DO YOU EXIST. WHY DO I HAVE TO BECOME LIKE THIS TO SURVIVE? I DON'T WANT TO. I'm tired... Why did they keep on smiling to me even when I told them I knew I had been abducted? Did they really not want to worry me because they didn't bear me a grudge for one of the things you had done to them? I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I can't understand, Ortho. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, you did so much for me and I'm just lost between all of these things... And I was released and I didn't die, right... Right... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ortho. I shouldn't... What should I think? I was almost murdered, right? But I didn't die. Even when another two brothers, two agressive brothers I definitely chose to escape from, caught me and threatened me to death with knives... I didn't die. I knew they were dangerous, right? Or did I want to believe they were not since the smiling couple was a bunch of bastard NPC? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I don't want to apologize outside of this... This will be useless, right? Ortho, you're always trying to help me but you were the one killed, right? I barely woke you up... did I? Or are you another type of fake as well? Who are you, "Ortho"? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't want to doubt you. I don't want to doubt Ortho. If he's the true Ortho, everything's alright. If he is my creation, everything's alright as well. Your skin is alive. Your voice is there. Haha... I should make a Frankenstein's ref here. I feel a bit better but I need to vent... I'll just play a bit.

Thanks [x], WyverneCastel was there and at least my day wasn't an absolute hell (lol). At first the game was total shit since there were a lot of servers crash on this new game, I honestly thought we would just leave and go back to TESO or something casual, since I've already rushed Dragon Nest's new events and the others, lol. We have been able to play but in the end the game was worthless, lmao. It wasn't original, had nothing to be "interesting". Maybe it was "fun" but I don't really care about it anymore... At least, WyverneCastel was funny. They even asked me if I was alright??? I thought they were joking or begging me to buy them something in another game, but it seemed not? I thought it would be good to test out if they were a true friend or not and huh... I was terrified at first. I thought the whole room was dragging itself into flames and that heat was going to consume me. Either I would burn out or burn the whole world down like I was probably expected to do. So... I've spoken to them, for once. They appeared to be really understanding, somehow. I thought I might get banned or blacklisted for saying out loud that I was gay but oh, I guess our gamers's mindset wasn't that shitty for once. He wasn't surprised that much, so I can't tell if he was really serious about anything but... He told me that of course if the one I loved rejected me because I love him instead of "her", then I should just forget about him because he would be just another bastard I shouldn't pine on... Sure enough, but if love was that easily curable, I wouldn't be on the verge of grieving, nah, crying with all my might just because I "have" a date with the one I love, even though it really doesn't make any sense. Of course I shouldn't be ashamed of being in love with him, and I'm not ashamed of being gay, fuck off. I barely told him that I was in love with a prince-type... Was it wrong? I mean, I have to stay honest or I'll just be the shy-neet everyone likes for no specific reason but pity... And if I can be different than them, it would be for the best as well... If they want to make fun of me for this, I will just hack them and teach them a little something, still lurking in my own den. Or in the worst case, I would have changed my pseudo... WyverneCastel did not mock me, and maybe never ... even fathomed mocking me. That's probably just a dumb thought but I feel like they are just curious and benevolent (I guess they're the depressed mysterious dude character)? Nonetheless, I don't want to be naive and crushed, but even more I don't want to get closer to the Flame Crown. I don't even want to write down their names. They don't deserve it, right? WyverneCastel, WyverneCastel, WyverneCastel. Let's scribble down more about them.

They... told me I would find my prince if I wanted that much to be with one, and yet feared that much being with them. I guess he would be the kind to speak of "trials", "fate" and "forgiveness". A hopeless optimist, an eternal philanthropist (and not the Izaya kind, huh). I should tell him someday that I'm happy to have him as a friend. He probably already knows about it... right? Maybe I'll just make myself a stupid lad by telling him this... But does he want me to tell him this, too? Perhaps he wishes for a single word as an "hope"? He knew of my school as a "miracle", too. He even asked me if my "beloved" was Epel Felmier... I mean, I could have, perhaps? He's way too cute for me, he almost looks like a child (not a girl since just thinking about it would bring a curse upon me lmao, no honestly, even if I don't like him, that would be disrespectful.), I can't. And we also talked about how frightening he was whenever he snapped... Definitely not for me, and he looks fake too... Like all of Pomefiore, except creepHunt, to be fair. They are just so superficial and shiny... It looks like they want to walk on water and leaped out of it to sit on sunny clouds. I would offer my flames to them if I could... I just told WyverneCastel my love was another student, and not a Pomefiore one. Of course, he could have heard of the school because of its reputation and Pomefiore because Vil is in it... But I'm pretty sure he is a student now, since he already told me he was a guy (wouldn't have assume his gender if he didn't tell me). Well! I assumed he was a student because of the ominous silence following my answer before he started rambling again. His Internet couldn't have crashed since I still could hear his mic buzzing, and so neither was the mic off. He simply, didn't make a sound. For a few seconds. And if he had been surprised about my choice not "being Epel", then he would have surprised before, and not lolling as he was, probably. I didn't tell him but he probably wants me to ask him about this someday too. I guess... I didn't have the time to question him since some scams invaded our serv and began behaving as if they were girls with their girly characters in-game... Of course they were asking for money for IRL meetings and all that stuff so I just hacked them... It took a few minutes, but I couldn't afford to lose hours with WyverneCastel trying to ignore them when they were making a ruckus and... using hyper sexualized women characters? Like wtf, are we still in the past, dudes? They're just hurting everyone by doing this, and the LGBTQIA+ community doesn't needs some dumbfucked lads who would just serve as scapegoats for people hating on trans people and women... So fucking tiresome. I just wanted to talk about my prince and bad-written NPCs barged in. In the end, he just told me everything would be alright as long as I was staying true to my self and that I wouldn't find any semi-perfect prince if I didn't... I guess he meant that it would be easier to find one if I was faking but that the prince would indeed be ideal if everything was a lie, but then the whole prince, castle and white horse would be stuck together around me, and there would be no way of separating them... And the other way around, probably. I should take a walk and sleep, now... Or try to sleep, at least.

[Started Recording at : 9:45 am : Fourth? Day]

The coliseum was blessed by hollowness. Void and vacuity, though fake vacuity in the end, facing the sweet void, twirled among the stairs yet engraved by humans centuries ago. The eerie, airy presents were not made to hold any perfume neither scent. Only one or two students jumped from seat to seat to leave but nothing behind them. All of the ancient chairs were on their own, now. And thus, the presence among them refrained from gamboling as well, and went back to another void. They were, after all, no exception.

-Hmm, it seems the coliseum is empty today. I guess sometimes pups do behave as good boys. Well, if they study in the meantime, that is.

The wind was cut at some point, even if it was authorized to come in this area. He should not be that greedy, probably. No storm, no tempest, no breeze was to interrupt an exam day in the coliseum. Sunshine could not disappear yet, but someday quiet shadows would run accross the dirt field. Stones bedecked by seals and symbols did not need all of this light.

-Pups! Come here. Let us make teams and start the exam right in time.

Each student throngs on the still ground.

-Hm, everyone is here. Good boys. Diamond Cater, Hunt Rook, please make a first team. Mhh... Well, Shroud Idia... What is it, Clover Trey?

-I don't mean to interrupt you at all, sir and I'm sorry if I do. I would like to know if it were possible to be with Shroud? His performances may end up bad if he was with someone he doesn't know, and he may also have panic attack and it would mess up everything.

-This is quite an harsh way of saying things, Clover Trey. I would like Shroud Idia to overcome his fears, but let us be benevolent for this test only. He barely shows up, after all. But next time will be a random pairing, remember this. And this will only works if Shroud Idia agrees with you, Clover Trey. What of it, Shroud Idia?

-I-i-i-i-I... huh... wh-why not... after all...

-Thanks, Crewel sir, thanks Shroud.

The seats were still empty, and were meant to stay away from a temporary crowd. The sun was already too much of a witness, in the end. How much would he suck away all of the water in the flames heir? Perhaps it would first attack his surroundings. He was not alone. There was even a possibility he would get away with a tiny drop in his hands. A drop shining by reflecting.

-Diamond Cater, Hunt Rook, get yourselves ready. Shroud Idia, Clover Trey, stand in front of them. We will start the exam. Let us see who can stand until the end.

The two semi-teams came forth. None of them were fully a team, indeed. Diamond and Hunt smiled to a certain percent, and Clover and Shroud stressing to another. Was it the higher the better, or the lower the better? Several words were muttered by Idia, and Trey barely reacted. Were Rook and Cater deserving of a victory, now?

-Lets us begin, puppies.

-Damoiseau orné de diamants, may you use your unique magic to ease our hunt?

-Suuure~ I planned on doing it from the moment we were facing Shroud anyway~ He fears crowd so let's have fun, Shrouuud~! I'll take a selfie with you if you lose eheh!

-Hey, Shroud you... Hey, why are you hiding behind my back?! Jeez... it was to be expected, I guess. Fine, let's go, Cater! I won't abandon Shroud the way you don't care about Hunt!

-"Split Card"! Let's go, myselves~ Let's pin cutie Trey to the ground and force him to give up!

-Oh, oh, so you think something as simple will work on me, Cater?! Your "selves" won't move anymore if I can strike them all in one single shot... "Doodle Suit"!

-HEHHHHHH?! DID YOU JUST REWRITE MYSELVES?!

-OH YES I DID!

-N-nevermind! It won't be enough to defeat me... as if my unique magic was the only thing that was... shining withing myself! Take thiiiiiiiiiiiis!

A fireball flew across the area, flickering of mad sparkles. Yet, it was alone, as blinding as it could be. No other fires hid themselves. The light went forward, running through the usual sea-like Cater toward the forever lake-like Trey. Cater's "selves" were still, and would not move as long as Trey was not overdoing himself. Basically, Cater "should" have aimed to reduce his focus and magic slots. If Trey could have defend himself twice, then he should have throw several fireballs, as long as they were more than two. Yet he did not. No matter how Trey was stretching his neck and all body as one, there was but one fireball coming his way.

-That won't do it, Cater! I will bring you down... and I will take care of Hunt!

-Heeh~ Could that mean you can't take both of us down? You're really tired, huuh~! I will make you fall asleep and you'll have some sweets dreams, Treyyyyyy~!

They both brung their hands on their foreheads and wiped some sweat, almost in the same fashion as well. There was a possibility they were both lying. Yet, if Cater has used his unique magic and was still forced to maintain it because of Trey's unique magic coercing them into a motionless army... The fireball burst into numerous drops and shone into multiple drips full of infinite colors, filled with Trey's own magic and shades.

-Don't even think your fire magic will be enough to defeat me.

-Then I'll use some tree one... Just kidding! I knew I wouldn't defeat you, but we already won, right, Rook~?

-Damoiseauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Rook Hunt had disappeared from Trey sight for a long time for obvious reasons, but so had Idia.

-I... don't see Le Roi des Ombres behind Le Chevalier des Roses! Quelle est cette diablerie!

-EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!

-Hehehehehehehheheheheheheheheehehehehe... NEVER UNDERESTIMATE ME AGAIN, FUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!

A single ray came behind a still Cater's copy, bouncing between all of the numerous fake selves toward the usual fake one and its superficial yet earnest one, drenching the losing liars with a superficial water worthy of them.

-Huh... we...

-Clover Trey and Shroud Idias team won. A brilliant strategy, I reckon.

-Wait, what do you mean by strategy??? Shroud and Trey had...

-Yeah, I had planned this since the very beginning ufufufufufufuu... From the very moment you thought I was simply muttering to myself, Trey was listening to me and ready to follow my strategy!

-Uwaaa~ Idia Shroud is actually so cooool~ Can I have a selfie with you to apologize~?

-No w-w-w-w-w-way! You hypocrite...

-That aside, I must apologize for judging you, Roi des Ombres. You really do show a beautiful intellect and scheming.

-T-That's okay... Just let me go away, please...

The wind finally thronged in the no-more private area. The void would likely move as well. Among all the droplets, their status was but one, and only one. They were the one hindering the sun fostering reflection. They were the one hiding music. The child of the void's hair waltzed dazzlingly under the bright sun overflowing. His fingers tried to force the hair down in the hood, but only some of his skin obeyed in the end. He coerced his feet protected from the atmosphere by boots to move on, and more especially, back. But the crown of flames rushed forward, gleaming in front of him again.

-How beautiful, Roi des Ombres! Why would you want to hide such brightness...

-Oh, Cater, Hunt, look out, Vil came to cheer you up!

-EHHHHH?

-Oh~?

The flames followed the kid which they were yet meant to fuse with someday. They had no choice once no more could play with them... No sand was brought to their eyes, though. All elements were not helping him, after all. He had disappeared. Only clouds were playing with the sunshine.

-Eeeh, Treyyy~ Vil wasn't there, are you sure your eyesight is good even with your glasses on~...

-I'm sorry! I thought I saw him... Oh, Shroud has left.

-Chevalier des Roses, you are but quite the bad comedian. On a side note, what a great strategy, oh my!

-Rook, what the...

-Le Roi des Ombres sure has thought a lot upon this fight, hasn't he? The fact he asked you transform Damoiseau's copies into motionless mirrors to make his own shot bounce in it... Splendide! It was really splendide!

-Haha, thanks, Hunt. He really thinks a lot... He just needs some time to open up to people. Let's be nice to him.

-You three! Move away, pups! The next team has to fight!

-O-oh, yes, sorry, Crewel sir.

[Ended Recording at : 10:30 am : Fourth? Day]

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fanfiction #twst #twst fanfic #idia x silver

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wrestling0neshots · 4 years

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Anything To Save You - Undertaker

How much would you risk for the one you love?

This was written for Hollyemberbvbarmy on AO3 Originally posted on Archive Of Our Own

-----------------------------

"I don't want you out there tonight. I don't trust them to play by the rules" You sigh, but nod anyway. You want to go out for the match, that's what normally happens, but if he says it's too risky you'll trust his judgement. Being the wife of the Undertaker comes with it's problems, the main one being targeted by his opponents in order to make him vulnerable. Recently you've spent most of his match time in the locker room, the current recurring opponents often not following the rules.

Particularly Randy Orton. You're usually not one to point fingers, but recently he's been calling on current tag team partner Chris Jericho whenever he's not had the upper hand, and that's why you understand not going out for the supposed one vs one Undertaker vs Randy Orton. And with Kane not being here tonight you want to stay out of the way.

Well. If stay out of the way means you're willing to march down there at a seconds notice that’s what will happen.

"I'll see you after the match" he embraces you quickly before turning on his heel and leaving. You smile to yourself, taking a seat and readying yourself for the match.

You had seen the look on Randy's face as he walked down the ramp, and you had tried not to march down there the second you saw the cogs turning in his head.

Sure enough he was pulling out all the stops, using multiple tricks when the ref wasn't looking, even blatantly attacking the ref so he could get at Undertaker with a steel chair. And yet somehow your husband still stood.

It was when the ref was `accidentally` hit for a second time and Chris Jericho was seen storming towards the ring that you decided you'd had enough.

For you the beating felt like an eternity, no one wants to watch their husband get reduced to nothing on live television. It's nothing less than torture, and for you to sit and do nothing goes against everything you know.

Being a runner you have gotten down to the ring in record time, the match now over due to disqualification of Randy, but the beatdown still goes on. You slide into the ring, both men noticing.

Chris gives a nod in the direction of Randy, who stops the attack. "How loyal. Come to save your beloved despite him telling you not to" you stand tall as Randy stalks toward you. "He told you we wouldn't play by the rules and here you are"

He circles you, getting closer and closer each time. "I'm not one to sit and watch" you state haphazardly. You feel him stop behind you, his gaze piercing the back of your skull. "No, instead you're out here watching instead. With no power to help"

Chris stands to a side and you see Taker. Barely conscious against the ring post. "You came down here with no plan, no way of beating either of us. And why?? For this thing you call love?"

"I would rather do anything than watch you two continue, knowing he has no way to protect himself" "Well you'll do a good job at making things for Undertaker worse"

You feel like the air around you has been removed, constricted by Randy, by the Viper. You can't breathe. It is now you realise you should have stayed in the locker room.

They don't want to simply beat him physically. They want to beat him mentally.

The next few moments are silent, and still. Time seems to have stopped completely as the weight of what you have done by being out here settling in.

Suddenly Chris lunges at you, and your body turns to run. Unfortunately it picked the wrong option out of fight or flight, and ran straight into a very painful move from the viper.

You screw your eyes shut tightly, blocking out as much light as you can. The ringing in your ears barely drowning out the shouts from above. You want to curl up but your body screams at you to stay still, to ride it out for just a few moments more. You open your eyes the tiniest bit, the world blurred.

You make out two figures, one suddenly dropping to the mat beside you. The shake causes you grimace, the soreness already kicking in. You turn your head, blinking a couple times before you realise it's Chris on the mat. He rolls out of the ring before you have a chance to take in what state he's in.

Looking back up you see a worried Taker staring down at you, knelt over your body. You force yourself up to a leaning position, the ringing finally gone. In its place is the cheers from those watching.

"I told you to stay in the locker room" he says. You look away. "I know, but I couldn't stay there any longer. It was torture" Your reply is quiet, and you wonder if he heard you. It's hard enough to hear without a microphone, let alone when the other person is whispering.

He doesn't respond, not even with a sigh. He simply stands, offering you a hand up. You take it, a small smile gracing your lips.

"You got lucky that time. I have a feeling you were going to end up in the Walls of Jericho" 'Takers face is troubled, the thought of what could have happened evidently crossing his mind. "Well I'm glad you didn't let that happen, I'm bad enough as it is" you brush his hair from his face, gently cupping his cheek with the palm of your hand. Reassuring him you're at least okay.

"You know" he begins, leaning in. "I think it's time I taught you a move or two. Then I won't feel the need to have you stay in the locker room" "You know" you reply "I think you're right" the faintest of smiles appears on his lips, not wanting to break facade and all. You smirk, allowing him to guide you to the ropes, down the stairs and up the ramp.

"I think before we do anything else I need to go get some ice for my back" you state as you exit the view of the cameras. "I think that's a good idea. Thankfully we're not due to make an appearance anywhere until next week. So let's make the most of it, get you back on track training started"

"Sounds like a plan. Now. About that ice" you grin. He places a kiss on your forehead.

"Yep. Let's go"

#wwe fic #the undertaker #fanfiction #cute #wwe #oneshot #kane #randy orton #chris jericho #request #undertaker #married #husband and wife #saving

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the-christian-walk · 3 years

Text

OUR AMAZING LORD (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to [email protected] In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

Romans 11:33a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

For three chapters of his letter to the Romans, chapters 9 through most of chapter 11, we find Paul focused on the new covenant God established through His Son Jesus, the new covenant that had been foretold by the Old Testament prophets and the prediction of a coming Messiah. Therefore, Jesus’ entry onto the world scene should have been of no surprise and it should have been anticipated and accepted by the Jews but it wasn’t, at least not by a majority. Instead, Jesus was rejected and as a result, many of God’s beloved Israelites were forfeiting their chance for eternal life. This was very troubling to Paul and as he wrote to the Romans, hoping a large number of his Jewish readers would change their minds and receive Jesus as Savior.

Offsetting this concern was the joy Paul found in the number of Gentiles (non-Jews) who willingly and gladly accepted Jesus as Savior, gaining a special relationship with God that was out of reach before as the old covenant was strictly between God and the Israelite people. Now, through Jesus, salvation was open to anyone who would simply place their belief in Him as Savior. It was a rich blessing and gift to the Gentile people.

Indeed, this offering of a new covenant revealed the amazing nature of God, a God who loved all people so much that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son to bring the opportunity of salvation to everyone. And as we look at the final verses of Romans 11, we are going to see Paul continue to unveil additional amazing qualities of God, qualities that we will highlight over the next five days. Today, we look at these words from the first half of verse 33:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

True wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are found in no worldly source. Not in any worldly person or any worldly book written by a worldly person. Not anywhere in the world because the riches of wisdom and knowledge are found in God and God alone.

Need a wise statement to confirm this and reveal God’s desire when it comes to understanding?

Consider this from Proverbs, the book of the Bible known as a book of wisdom:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes.” Proverbs 3:5-7

Trust in the Lord and in Him alone. He is the only legitimate source of wisdom and knowledge, and He reveals that wisdom and knowledge to us through the scriptures, the very living Word of the Lord.

Want wisdom?

Read your Bible and pray over the words you read, asking the Lord to reveal His wisdom and knowledge to you. Trust me when I say that you will never be left void when you do. God will always deliver.

Think you’ll ever reach perfect wisdom and knowledge?

Think again because you could invest your entire lifetime to the study of the Bible and still only hold a fraction for the wisdom and knowledge of God. This is what makes daily study of the scriptures so exciting. You always come away with something new and fresh from our amazing Lord.

My prayer today is that you use whatever resources that are available, to include this Christian blog, to gain greater wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from God who holds all these in such deep quantity that the well of living water filled with His Word will never run dry.

Such are the depths of the riches and knowledge of our amazing Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to [email protected]

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criminalnourished · 7 years

Text

Midnight Shenanigans

~ A Shayne Topp Imagine/Fluff ~

A/N: Look, I don’t write, I was going to make a short parody, but it kept getting longer and longer and I actually kinda liked how it turned out, so I thought I’d share it. It’s super long, so if you get through it, I applaud you!

Warnings: Fluff. Like, a lot of it. (also, alcohol? like, having a drink)

Words: way too many, I like my epithets.

Enjoy!

Winter Games.

The event of the season.

And it was going to be extra special this year. Why? Because you get to go!

As one of the newly established head writers and producer, you would be reffing this year’s Games, along with Sunny, Joe and Matt and you were hardly able to contain your excitement.

The venue was the same as the previous years’ one – Big Bear.

The evening before, you were starting the slow process of packing when it hit you.

You were a part of the Smosh family and have even been in the background of a few videos, though you were more of a ‘behind the scenes’ kind of person, so this was going to be a big step. This would’ve been your first on-screen appearance that included talking. Oh geez. Your stomach churned. Oh holy geez. Mostly unscripted. Unscripted. I literally work with scripts, how in God’s name am I going to pull this off?, you thought to yourself.

Thankfully, you were taken out of your trance with a noise. That familiar iPhone ringtone we all know and never change. Standing up, crossing a mountain of bags, you reached for your phone and looked at the caller ID. Shayne. You smiled briefly before picking up. That guy always knew how to make you smile.

‘Hello?’ you said, going back to the suitcase. However, being the clumsy potato that you were, you caught your leg on a plastic bag, managing to lose your balance and fall directly on your bum, with a noisy *thud*. A loud laugh escaped the phone.

‘I get that it’s part of your “brand” to just barely be capable of walking, but please try not to die, we prefer our writers alive’ Shayne joked.

‘Ha-ha’ you said sarcastically, picking yourself up from the floor. ‘Thanks, I appreciate it. Now that you’ve told me, I am sure to stop tripping and falling over’ you joked back.

‘Perfect! Don’t say that I never did anything for you!’

‘I shall remember this piece of advice till the day I die, which will inevitably be by slipping on a banana peel or tripping over my own two feet while carrying coffee.’ He laughed.

You started organizing your clothes into neat piles on your bed.

‘And your tombstone will say “Here lies our beloved (Y/N), who forgot to follow the Great Shayne’s advice.”’ You giggled, folding a shirt into your suitcase.

‘So anyways, what are you up to?’ he asked.

‘I just started packing’ you replied.

‘Oooh, right on time! It’s only…’ he stopped, presumably looking for the exact time. ’11:43pm!’

‘Hey, I only need about an hour, I have plenty of time. Have you already packed?’

‘Yup! All done, ready to go!’

You scoffed. ‘You must’ve forgotten something.’

‘I pretty sure I haven’t. Triple-checked.’

Another scoff from you.

‘And hey, if you “only need an hour”’ he mocked, ‘that’s great, you have enough time to get food with me!’

‘Oh, Shayne, it’s almost midnight, I don’t know, and-‘ you trailed off.

‘And?’

‘And… I don’t know, we need to be up in 5 to 6 hours?’

‘That’s a terrible excuse. You’re living on your own, you make your own rules and then break them, because rules are meant to be broken, dammit!’ he said, overly enthusiastic.

You kept folding clothes into your suitcase, silently. You wanted to go, really, it seemed so fun and like the epitome of ‘living’, from what you’ve seen in those typical young adult movies. Fun, you thought, not a good enough argument. All of a sudden, your stomach grumbled. Now that’s a good argument.

‘And also, I’m kinda maybe possibly in front of your building…’ Shayne added.

You dropped the dress you were neatly trying to fold.

‘You’re what?’

‘An evolved monkey’, he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

‘No, gah! Why are you-? How did you-?’ You tried to formulate a question but failed miserably. ‘Wait, let me buzz you in.’

‘No, no, I’ve got a better idea – you come with me. I’m already here and you already said that an hour is plenty of time for packing. Plus, I can help you with that later. So…. whaddaya say?’

You approached the window looking towards the building entrance, in disbelief, but sure enough, there he was, one hand in his pocket, pacing.

‘Alright’, you sighed, ‘give me three minutes to get down there.’

‘If you don’t make it, food’s on you. And your time… starts… now! Three minutes, go!’

You threw on the first shirt you saw – a baggy gray tee with the NASA logo on it, which was way too big, pairing it with boyfriend jeans.

Forty-five seconds to go.

You grabbed your little leather backpack, along with your phone, keys and wallet, stuffing them inside violently.

Twenty-seven seconds left.

You slammed the door, locking it quickly and sprinted down the stairs, skipping over multiple steps and almost dying thrice.

As you opened the big entrance gate to the building, you heard a beep. Shayne’s phone went off, signaling your three minutes had been over.

When you looked ahead, Shayne was peering back, a Cheshire cat-sized smile was plastered across his face.

‘No!’ you yelled, while bending over, resting your hands on your knees, trying to catch a breath. ‘Nonononono, I made it, I- I… I got out of the building!’

‘Nope! Doesn’t count! Looks like I’ll be enjoying some… whatever our food of choice turns out to be.’ Shayne said smugly, putting his hands behind his head.

When you finally got your air back, you stepped towards him, holding your side. You were really out of shape.

‘But I did it, the deal was to get down here in 3 minutes!’

You approached him, slouching. He threw an arm around you, as a way of greeting you and, well, because you looked like you were barely standing. This will have proven true merely moments later, when you shifted all of your weight off of your feet, forehead pressed against his clavicle.

‘Ah, yes, but you did not stop the alarm! That’s the unspoken rule of race-bets, always stop the clock!’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone, while patting the back of your head.

‘Fiiiine’, you let out a slow sigh, still in the same place. Maybe you were exhausted after a long day at work, maybe this three-minute workout from hell got to you or maybe this scenario felt pleasant, but you didn’t move. And neither did he. You just stood there, for a good while, taking it all in. You didn’t remember how long, but at some point he stopped patting your head and just rested his chin on the top, his arms around you. It was… nice. Man, male colognes are the best, you thought to yourself.

However, this suddenly made you feel extremely aware of the close proximity in which you were, making your cheeks a few dozen shades more red. You shifted a bit and Shayne, understanding the signal, let you go, scratching his head. You couldn’t help but think you’d seen a bit of red tint in his cheeks, only for a mere second, however, as it faded away quite quickly.

‘Um… so, since midnight snackage’s on you, it’s only fair that you get to pick the place.’

‘Hmmm… the closest ‘eat-now-regret-later’ place is McDonald’s. Does that work?’

‘Ughhh, fine’, he fake-complained, ‘No, yeah, sure! That’s a few streets down, though, might be a bit of a walk’ said Shayne.

‘Or we could take my car?’

‘Nooo, come on, look at this weather’ he said whinny, pointed to the sky. It was rather beautiful. The sky was completely clear, there were a few stars visible. The air was way too warm, considering it was technically winter, a light breeze was blowing. ‘It’d be a shame if we didn’t take advantage of this, doncha think? And if you get tired… I don’t know, I’ll just carry you or something, we’ll figure it out!’

‘Why don’t we go to the drive-through, get our food, drive up to the hills and eat there? We can go for a walk and have a vehicle at our disposal, if we happen to need it! Boom, compromise!’

‘Deal!’ said Shayne, giggling slightly. You stepped towards your Mini Cooper.

‘I mean, hey, I know you’re in shape, but I feel like I could collapse any moment now’ you informed him. He chuckled, already seated in the passenger seat, seat belt on.

‘Ho, boy! Food – here we come!’

About 7 minutes later, you entered a McDonald’s drive-through, ordered way too much food, and soon enough, you were on your way for the hills.

‘Yo, drive-throughs’, said Shayne, with a mouthful of fries, ‘might be the best thing we ever came up with. No human interaction, you don’t even need to leave your car!’

‘Definitely. I’d say it’s up there with fire and the computer’ you replied.

You talked the whole ride, finding yourselves in sporadic fits of laughter. After 10ish minutes of traffic-free driving, you were there. Shayne insisted he should carry all the food, you knew that any attempt at arguing would be in vain. A short walk later, a small bench graced you with its presence and you decided to occupy it, the food bags taking most of the space.

‘Woah’, you exclaimed, trying to squeeze the BigMac™ into your mouth, ‘in the two years that I’ve lived in LA, I’ve never been here at night. It’s so peaceful and beautiful.’

‘Right? And the best part?’ he said inquisitively, looking at you, ‘The view!’ He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, with a rather constipated facial expression, barely holding in the giggles. You laughed and shook your head.

You sat there for moments? Minutes? Hours? Who knows how long, talking about… nothing yet everything, really, while eating you food as slowly as possible, and almost choking a couple of times due to excessive laughter. When you finished your meal, you felt 500lbs heavier and completely incapable of moving. Shayne removed the scrunched up wrappers and scooted a bit closer. You held your stomach and let out a long grunt, reminiscent of vocal fry.

‘I think… I think I’m just gonna stay here… live my life on this bench, y’know, become an urban myth’ you said, curling up into fetal position.

‘”The girl on bench” ’ he said, in an overly dramatic tone, patting your back, ‘some say you can still hear a faint rumble of her stomach trying to digest the ton of food she consumed on that faithful night.’ You giggled.

‘Why, oh why, cruel world must it taste so good but hurt so badly?!’ he yelled to the sky, his voice shaky.

‘Shayne! It’s midnight, keep it down’ you tried to stop laughing and act serious, but failed.

‘Whyyyy?!’ he cried, falling onto his knees in front of the bench. Your stomach started aching, this time from laughter. You stood up and approached him, with the intention of helping him get up, extending your arm, however, when he grabbed it, you wobbled in the air and ended up landing on top of him.

Good job, wow, you’ve really outdone yourself this time! you thought, while hoping for the ground to swallow you.

‘Oh my gosh’, you said, completely flustered, not looking at him. You turned your head to glance at him, noticing that his face was way closer than you initially calculated. ‘I- I- I am so sorry, that was so… Oh gosh, I’m sorry, are you okay?’ you rushed to get up. Shayne just looked at you, laughing, with an amused look on his face. He was going to make a joke, but upon seeing how utterly distressed you looked, he decided against it.

‘Of course I am, I’m great, couldn’t be better’ he stood up, holding his side, ‘minus the fractured rib you might’ve caused me, but hey, I’ll live!’

‘Hey, no, don’t’ worry, really, it’s all good!’ said Shayne, putting a hand on your scapula. A short period of silence followed. ‘Hey, wanna go pack?’

‘Oh, sure, but I can do it, really, I’d hate to keep you up, but thanks for-‘

‘Nooo, you’re not keeping me up’ he exclaimed, ‘I dragged you out, so I need to redeem myself!’

You sighed.

‘Okay, fine. But my apartment ‘s a mess, don’t say I didn’t warn you!’

Your face was still a bright shade of red, the embarrassment unbearable. You hugged yourself, as if you were cold, and kept murmuring many I’m sorry-s along the way to the car.

During the ride, the constantly opened window helped you calm down and your skin tone to go back to normal.

Much to your surprise, the mess you had left at your place before was still there. :(

‘Woah, was there a nuclear explosion here?’ Shayne asked, evidently trying to push your buttons.

‘Actually, yes, that’s very insensitive of you. How dare you bring that up?’ you played along, while taking two clean glasses from the cupboard. ‘Want some gin?’

‘Woah, hey, heyhey, I don’t know if… I..’ Shayne stuttered, evidently taken aback by this suggestion. ‘I had no idea you drank.’

‘Well… I’m full of surprises’ you said, with an over exaggerated wink. The corner of Shayne’s mouth twitched. ‘And besides, I just do it occasionally.’ He nodded. ‘So, do you want some?’

‘I… uh… sure!’ he replied, still a bit confounded.

You poured the liquid into the glasses and added two ice cubes. Taking both glasses, you approached Shayne, who was looking at the clothes you already packed and handed him the glass.

‘Y’know, I’m pretty sure you don’t really need a cocktail dress… and I’d say that’s more than enough T-Shirts for a week and a half’ he stated, taking the glass from your hand.

‘Yes I do! T-Shirts are comfortable and great for layering and that’s how you combat the cold, you layer and-‘

‘But you don’t layer T-Shirts on top of T-Shits!’

‘But- yeah, you’re right, I mostly sleep in T-Shirts’, Shayne turned his head towards you, ‘What? They’re comfy so I bring extra, in case some get dirty or sweaty, y’know.’ You took a swig of your drink, almost downing it all at once, stumbling a bit.

‘Woah, easy there, you don’t want to be hung-over for the trip’, said Shayne, steadying you.

‘Nah, don’t worry about it, it’s just gin…’

‘Okay, well, you need to pack!’

‘You said you’d help!’

‘I will! You need a supervisor, to maximize efficiency.’

‘So you’ll just sit and tell me what to do?’

‘No, don’t be silly… I might stand up eventually’, replied Shayne, evidently proud of his comeback, which earned him a disapproving headshake.

‘Oh really?’ you said, grabbing your bras and underwear from a drawer.

It was Shayne’s turn to change into a tomato, clearing his throat, trying to look anywhere else, scratching the back of his neck and basically doing every other tick in the book signaling he was uncomfortable.

You grinned mischievously, realizing what you’d done and quickly put it all away into the suitcase.

‘You can look now’, you said.

‘Oh, hah, psh, no, I- I wasn’t, I-‘ he tried to come across as calm, cool and collected, but ended up looking even more awkward. You awed and kept packing, moving on to sweaters.

You kept packing and at some point, the gin started kicking in, making you extremely sleepy. Surely enough, the process took more than an hour, even with Shayne’s eventual help. You collapsed onto your bed, headfirst, and he lied next to you, on his back.

‘This was exhausting’, you exclaimed.

‘Nah, I’d say it was fun!’ he replied. You rolled over so that you were also lying on your back.

‘Thanks for helping, I would’ve probably fallen asleep had you not been here’, you said, turning your head to look at him.

‘See?’ he beamed, ‘I told you!’ he chuckled.

This was the first time you got to look at him so closely – the laugh lines and those baby blues, the slight beard he was trying to cultivate, his radiant smile… You caught yourself staring and only then did you realize how close you actually were, which in turn made you blush profusely. He kept smiling, but his gaze trailed down your face and focusing on your lips, for a split second only. You batted your eyelashes, not knowing what to do. Sh-Should I do anything? you thought. This will just make things awkward, probably. Oh goodness I messed up again, what am I supposed to do, I-

At this point you could feel his breath on your nose. He moved his hand to brush off some of your hair. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife, which made you panic even more. I gotta move, you thought, this will be way too weird in the long run, I should probably just cough or something or-

And then it happened. He moved just slightly towards you, closing the tiny gap that remained between the two of you. Your mind, while racing up until that point, was completely blank – no worry, no panic, just bliss. The kiss was shorter than you would’ve hoped for, yet still sweet, making you smile like a mad man, which in turn made his lips curve into a grin, as well.

Shayne was gently caressing your cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by you initiating another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate than expected. He put one hand on the back of your neck and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer, while you held onto his shirt and neck. A few minutes later, you broke apart, neither of you able to stop smiling. You laid there for a few minutes, intertwined, without saying a word.

After some time, you tried to move, but Shayne’s embrace wouldn’t let you.

‘Shayne’, you called out. No response.

You looked up and saw him pretending to be asleep.

‘Shayne’, you repeated. No response. You tried wiggling out of his grip, but couldn’t. He started laughing, eyes still firmly shut.

You placed a kiss on his clavicle, which instantly made him open his eyes and look at you.

‘Wanna watch a movie?’ you asked.

‘Depends on what you got’, Shayne said, seemingly loosening his grip.

‘I’ve got whatever you want’, you beamed. ‘Well, I don’t, but the torrents do!’

‘”Space Jam” it is, woo!’ he exclaimed, throwing his arm in the air. You laughed and mimicked his ‘woo’.

‘Okay, I’ll go set it up, you refill our glasses and get the popcorn ready, there’s some in the cabinet.’

A few minutes later, everything was in order and you were huddled up on the sofa. The movie started playing and you immediately started commentating out loud, laughing. Neither of you said anything about what had happened, which was bound to backfire, but at the moment it seemed fine.

The file you had illegally downloaded was buffering quite a bit and you were really tired… I’ll close my eyes just for a few seconds, you thought.

And lo and behold, you fell asleep. As soon as he noticed, Shayne spent a few moments looking at you, wondering whether he should carry you to your bed or leave you be. He ended up choosing the latter, as your bed still contained the residue of a nuclear explosion that took place earlier. He tried to move, in search of a blanket, however, you fell asleep on him and he just didn’t have the heat to move you. Instead, he threw an arm around you and you got even comfier. Shayne lost track of time – for a certain period, he was just observing your serene expression, but he ended up falling asleep next to you.

Feedback is highly appreciated, hit up my inbox or leave a comment or sth, thanks. :3

#oh gosh what have i done #im sorry #smosh #shayne topp #shayne topp imagine #shayne topp x reader #smosh shayne #fluff #feedback #smosh squad

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avanneman · 5 years

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The New York Times, more sinned against than sinning. Or not.

The New York Times has caught a lot of grief for its “1619 Project”, which claims to explain all of American history in terms of slavery. And much of it is justified. Damon Linker, writing in The Week, gives a reasonable overview: “The New York Times surrenders to the left on race”, Damon offers praise where praise is due:

Now, there is a lot to admire in the paper's presentation of the 1619 Project — searing photographs, illuminating quotations from archival material, samples of poetry and fiction giving powerful voice to the black experience, and gripping journalistic summaries of scholarly histories. Much of it is wrenching, moving, and infuriating. The country's treatment of the slaves and their descendants through the century following emancipation and, in some respects, on down to the present was and is appalling — and the story of how it happened, and keeps happening, is extremely important for understanding the United States. Bringing this story to a wide audience is a worthwhile public service.

But there is a whopping downside as well:

Throughout the issue of the NYTM, headlines make, with just slight variations, the same rhetorical move over and over again: "Here is something unpleasant, unjust, or even downright evil about life in the present-day United States. Bet you didn't realize that slavery is ultimately to blame." Lack of universal access to health care? High rates of sugar consumption? Callous treatment of incarcerated prisoners? White recording artists "stealing" black music? Harsh labor practices? That's right — all of it, and far more, follows from slavery.

In fact, I found the packaging so off-putting—so portentous, condescending, and cheesy—“Everything you learned about slavery in school is wrong!”—as if we were all a nation of Homer Simpsons stretched out in our lazee-boys before our beloved wide screens shoveling honey-glazed pork rinds into our gaping Caucasian maws with both hands for fourteen hours a day—all of us who don’t work for the New York Times, that is—that at first I skipped the whole goddamn thing, only to go back and discover the same mixed bag that Damon described.

Many of the articles were good, but, shockingly—so shocking, in fact, that Timesfolk may not even believe me—I knew a lot of it already. When I was a boy, which was waaayyy back in the fifties, I read Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery, a book about slavery written by someone who’d actually been a slave, inspired to do so after first reading a “Classic Comic Book” version of Washington’s story. Later, in the tenth grade, I stumbled across Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, just sitting there on the library shelf, where any dumb ass could pick it up. (I thought it might be like H. G. Wells. As it turned out, it was even better!)

And what about James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time”? How about The Autobiography of Malcolm X? Or Soul on Ice? These were all works that received immense publicity decades ago—before, I suspect, many Timesfolk were even born. And what about “today”? I remember several decades ago a black woman telling me she thought interracial couples were crazy to expose themselves to the sort of hatred they received from both blacks and whites. Today, interracial marriage is (almost) passé. Recently, the Times own Thomas Edsall published a long piece examining the impressive gains in both education and income levels for some (but not all) blacks. But the 1619 Project isn’t interested in “good news.” Over a century ago, House Speaker Thomas Reed congratulated Theodore Roosevelt on this “original discovery of the Ten Commandments.” One could offer similar praise to the New York Times.

I was intrigued in particular by the “Everything you learned about slavery in school is wrong!” pitch. Well, if so, New York Times, tell me, what are our kids learning, not 60 years ago, when I went to school, but today? Nikita Stewart fills us in: ‘We are committing educational malpractice’: Why slavery is mistaught — and worse — in American schools.

Nikita begins her piece by quoting a text book written in 1863 (not a misprint) in the South. Guess what? It’s totally racist! Totally! Who could have imagined? Also guess what? Things haven’t changed that much! How do we know? Nikita tells us so.

Stewart follows the pattern used in many of the pieces, taking an egregious example from the past and then “explaining” that things haven’t changed much. For the meat of her article, she relies almost entirely on a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that has done good work in the past but now is largely a solution (and a very well funded one, at that) in search of a problem. Of course the SPLC is going to find that America’s school books don’t adequately teach the role of slavery in American history. How could they not?

Part of the problem, Stewart says, is this: “Unlike math and reading, states are not required to meet academic content standards for teaching social studies and United States history.” She’s presumably referring to the “Common Core” standards, but states are not “required” to meet them, and in fact the whole “standards” movement, pushed by the Obama administration back in the day, has since fallen into considerable confusion, in conjunction with the entire Trumpian revolt against “experts”.

Speaking of her own schooling, Stewart tells us, “I was lucky; my Advanced Placement United States history teacher regularly engaged my nearly all-white class in debate, and there was a clear focus on learning about slavery beyond [Harriet] Tubman, Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass, the people I saw hanging on the bulletin board during Black History Month.” How does she know she was “lucky”? Doesn’t she “mean” “My own experience was contrary to my thesis and therefore it must be exceptional”?

Instead of selectively quoting a handful of “experts” she chose to tell her what she wanted to hear, why didn’t Stewart do some actual leg work, or chair work, by reviewing the textbooks used in, say, California, Texas, New York, and Florida, the four largest states, containing about one third of the entire U.S. population, and including two states from the Confederacy? Isn’t that what the “1619 Project” is supposed to be about?

Because we most definitely need to examine the way the history of slavery and the Civil War is taught and understood in today’s USA. Nothing is more obvious than that leading figures, or “would be” figures, in the Trump Administration, starting most obviously with Donald Trump himself, and including former chief of staff/four-star Marine General John Kelly and dumped (dumped and disgraced) putative Federal Reserve Board appointee Stephen Moore, all cling to the absurd and disgusting notion that the North was the “bad guy” in the Civil War. As Moore “explained”, “The Civil War was about the South having its own rights”—you know, the right to enslave and oppress millions of human beings.

But it isn’t only the Trumpians who still maintain a soft spot—and a grossly meretricious soft spot it is—for the “Lost Cause”. Poor David French, who gets it from both the left (for being a conservative and, worse, an evangelical Christian) and the right (for being insufficiently bad ass), is going to get a little for me. There’s good Dave, as in this excellent article in which he both describes his laudable efforts to prevent the muzzling of “wicked” Christian groups on campus and denounces proposals on the right to restrict the First Amendment rights of those on the left (largely “the media” and “Big Tech”):

Never in my life have I seen such victimhood on the right. Never in my life have I seen conservatives more eager to rationalize passivity and seek the aid of politicians to make their lives easier. They look to politicians — even incompetent, depraved politicians — and cry out, “Protect us!”

Admirable words. But here are some not so admirable, in an unfortunate piece with the unfortunate title “Don’t Tear Down the Confederate Battle Flag”.1 After launching into a scarcely objective account of the South’s motivation for succession—scarcely better than Moore’s—French falls into total small-boy, flag-waving, saber-waving mode:

Those men [the southern armies] fought against a larger, better-supplied force, yet — under some of history’s more brilliant military commanders — were arguably a few better-timed attacks away from prevailing in America’s deadliest conflict.

So yay Team Dixie, right? If only “we” had won. Then slavery forever! Is that what French dreams of? That southerners could continue to exercise their “right” to whip millions of black men, rape millions of black women, and sell their children for profit? If only those few attacks had been better timed! Damn it!

Couldn’t the Germans say the same thing about World War II? If only we had won. Then the Master Race forever!

These “brave men” at whose shrine French worships, wantonly murdered all black Union troops they captured, in utter violation of the most basic “laws” of war. When Robert E. Lee (French’s “gallant” hero, of course) marched into Maryland and Pennsylvania, he captured black American citizens and impressed them into slavery, sent them south to labor in defense of their own oppression. Mr. French fancies himself a Christian. But sometimes, it seems, Christians forget.

Afterwords It’s “interesting” that both Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist and Supreme Court Justice Antonine Scalia felt somehow compelled to parade their opposition to Brown v. Board of Education, Scalia “explaining” that liking the sort of judicial thinking that produced Brown because it produced Brown was like liking Hitler because he developed the Volkswagen—which by the way is entirely untrue,2 but whatever, Brown equals Hitler, got it?

French says “battle flag” because as a true southerner he knows that the familiar “stars and bars” was not the flag of the Confederacy. ↩︎

The Volkswagen was largely designed by an Austro-Hungarian designer named Béla Barényi in the mid-twenties and then “modified”, sans credit to Barényi, by Ferdinand Porsche a few years later. Hitler planned to put the car into production as a "people's car" but, unsurprisingly, the cars that were built were all for military use. After the war, an enterprising British major thought the bombed out VW factory could be repaired and used to create jobs for workers in a shattered Germany. ↩︎

#new york times #1619 Project #David French #Nikita Stewart

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pwchronicle · 5 years

Text

Impact Wrestling TV Taping Report May 3rd in Philadelphia, PA

I decided to see Impact Wrestling (the former Total Nonstop Action) live and in person Friday night for the first time in years, giving them a shot based on a lot of the talent they’ve been building around. My live TNA experiences have consisted of a big house show in the summer of 2006 in what was then the New Alhambra Arena, Lockdown 2009, and Bound For Glory 2011. Those last two were in the Liacouras Center, and I only attended those because my Up North Radio colleagues decided to make a thing of it, so I was with plenty of friends. Friday was the first of two nights at the 2300 Arena to tape matches for TV. Doors opened around 7 PM when they were supposed to open at 6. There were a couple meet & greets (Madison Rayne, LAX and Konnan), but no merchandise in sight. The ring announcer was also unseen, just a voice booming within the building. They also brought out risers for the first time in forever to set up across from the hard camera. Not a full crowd, but it was a good size, and they were loud throughout most of the night.

I should note that I barely follow Impact and watch it even less, so apologies if I don’t know the names of every move.

Josh Mathews and Don Callis came out after previously being out to check on things. I recognized two of the four refs as Brandon Tolle (EVOLVE) and Kris Levin (GCW and Chikara). The first two matches were taped for Xplosion.

1. The Rascalz (Wentz & Trey) beat oVe (Jake & Dave Crist) when Dave was pinned after a meteora from Trey [Miguel] and a swanton from [Zachary] Wentz. A considerably hotter opener for a TV taping than the dark matches I’ve seen before ROH TV tapings. A lot of fun fast-paced action between four guys that know each other very well, beginning with the Rascalz hitting dives onto the Crists.

- They always played music in between the matches, and the invisible ring announcer would always talk to hype up the crowd before a match started.

2. Cousin Jake beat Wrecking Ball Legursky with a sidewalk slam. I know Jake better as out-of-focus Bruiser Brody on Viceland, and I thought he looked solid. Legursky was an Earthquake-type without being as heavy-set. This went longer than I thought it would.

- Matches for Impact started here, with several women coming out for a battle royal, some of them at the end likely to be highlighted on the actual show.

3. Glenn Gilbertti won a Knockouts Battle Royal over Tessa Blanchard, Madison Rayne, Jordynne Grace, Scarlett Bordeaux, Kiera Hogan, Alisha Edwards, Solo Darling, Tasha Steelz, Ashley Vox, and Karissa Rivera. Gilbertti was the last wrestler out, and he talked down to the ten women as the crowd chanted at him to shut the fuck up. No language warnings given to the crowd before hand. The bell rang, the ten women put the boots to him, and he slid out and joined in on commentary for the rest of it. The four freelance wrestlers (including Chikara regulars Darling and Vox) were all eliminated first and waited around ringside in heaps. Then Blanchard lifted up Edwards above her head, and the four eliminated women conveniently grouped up together to catch her on the floor for her elimination. It took two women to eliminate Grace. Taya Valkyrie ran out to beat up Rayne on the floor, then tossed her back in the ring so that she could be properly eliminated. Down to three, they all hit big moves on one another. Hogan eliminated Bordeaux with a clothesline. Hogan and Blanchard fought on the apron, with Blanchard eliminating her to seemingly win the match. Then Gilbertti slid back into the ring, clotheslined Blanchard, and tossed her over the top to actually win. Big heat for this finish as Blanchard angrily went after Gilbertii to the back.

4. Rosemary beat Su Yung in a Demon Collar Match with an F-5. Solid brawl between these two scary women, chained together by their necks. They both blew mist into the air before getting started. Rosemary was able to fight out of Yung’s mandible claw move. Rosemary also dodged Yung’s red mist. The detached from Yung’s collar, but it didn’t matter so much at this point. Yung was hit by Rosemary’s green mist as she came off the top, then Rosemary hit her with a spear and her finisher to win it. Rosemary then put her chained collar on Yung and grabbed a tight hold of the chain, hauling Yung on her back like a bounty hunter bringing in an outlaw. The fans got behind this and were high on both women, especially Rosemary.

5. Mad Man Fulton (w/ Sami Callihan) beat Randy Shawn with a tilt-a-whirl into End of Days. Total squash match. Fulton came to the ring with Callihan riding on his shoulders. Fulton hit his smaller opponent with three chokeslams before finishing him off, then continued attacking him afterward until Callihan pulled him off.

6. Killer Kross beat Eddie Edwards with a backdrop driver. Hard-fought match between these two, with Edwards still coming off as a strong wrestler underneath his brawly-brawl-brawl gimmick. The end came when Edwards got a hold of his kendo stick (Kenny?) that Kross had stolen from him, but whiffed on his attempt on hitting Kross with it.

- Kross put down Edwards with a head kick after picking up the win, and then he zip-tied Edwards to the middle rope. He put on gloves and looked to hit Edwards with the stick, and Edwards was ready for it. Instead, Kross paused before striking him and broke the stick in half, much to Edwards’ dismay. Kross laid the two halves of the stick and his gloves in front of a distraught Edwards and bowed to him, then scared off the ref (Tolle) with the broken stick and left with it, leaving Edwards to be freed by the ref.

7. Rich Swann beat Michael Elgin via disqualification. Swann is the Impact X-Division Champion, and I assume this match was non-title, and... hoo boy. Swann has had his personal issues that seem to have mellowed, and I’ve mellowed my attitude towards him too. The reputation Elgin has garnered still bothers me, and I was pretty bothered that Impact decided to bring him in. This exact match happening a year and a half ago would have been my ground zero for disdain. So I was already uneasy with it. Oh, and I should also mention at this half-way point of the show that there were a couple of drunks standing behind my seat, shouting really dumb stuff at the top of their lungs (especially during the women’s matches). So my general uneasiness with the match coupled with two assholes drilling their bullshit into my head led me to getting up for a snack break and hanging back. For what it’s worth, this match received maybe the hottest reactions up to this point. They were given a lot of time and did a lot of big moves for believable nearfalls. The end came when both were on the floor, and Elgin powerbombed Swann into the ringpost. The ref (Levin) warned Elgin to get back inside, and Elgin shoved him to the ground. He gave Swann another powerbomb into the ring post, and the ref called for the bell.

- Elgin looked to finish off Swann in the ring with an Elgin Bomb when Willie Mack ran in to make the save. After taking Elgin down, Johnny Impact ran in and laid out Mack. The two babyfaces down, Johnny and Elgin acknowledged one another before Johnny returned to the back. This led into intermission. Still no merchandise available. These were the only appearances of Johnny Impact and Willie Mack during the night.

8. Sami Callihan beat Fallah Bahh (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) with a slingshot piledriver and his feet on the ropes during the pin. A longer match than I thought it would be. I saw how beloved Bahh was in his native WrestlePro over WrestleMania Week, and he was pretty popular here, so I guess he’s doing well in Impact. Since Bahh wrestles barefoot, Callihan focused some offense on his feet, including biting them. Late in the match, Bahh was going for a Banzai Drop in the corner when Dave Crist distracted the ref and Jake Crist knocked Bahh out of the corner. Bordeaux stood up to them, avoided getting a superkick from one of them, and then dove onto both of them off the apron. Then he opened the ropes so that Bahh could take them out with a tope. The match still continued a little longer before this. Better than expected.

- By this point, I realized that if I can just stand in the spot behind my seat where the drunks were standing, the drunks wouldn’t return. This pretty much worked.

9. Taya Valkyrie beat Madison Rayne to retain the Impact Knockouts Championship with a Glam Slam. The crowd was largely cold to this match, leading Tara to shout out to us, “Are you not entertained?” Taya worked Rayne over a lot, Rayne got some hope spots, and then Taya avoided Rayne’s finisher by holding onto the ref.

- As Valkyrie celebrated afterward, out came Rosemary. She was still leading around Su Yung on a chain like a leash, fastened the chain to the ring post so that Yung couldn’t escape, and put her focus on Taya, intimating that she’s coming for her title. Taya backed off and left. Rosemary got a great reception from the crowd during all of this.

10. LAX (Santana & Ortiz w/ Konnan) beat The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) to retain the Impact World Tag Team Championships after they hit Alexander with a double-team flipping facebuster move. Online advertising I saw said it would be LAX vs. Swann & Mack, and while I wouldn’t have been balked at that match, I thought this match happening instead was a very pleasant surprise, and I wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t seem to last very long, but they packed a lot of double-team action into it, ending when they were able to isolate Alexander. All four guys were over, as was Konnan, who was basically a non-factor in the match.

11. Glenn Gilbertti vs. Ashley Vox went to a presumed No Contest. Gilbertti still had massive heat with the crowd from earlier in the night. He took a mic and said this was a public exhibition. After Vox made her entrance (big night for her!), Gilbertti asked for her name and how long she has been wrestling. She said four years. Gilbertti asked if she was dating any of the guys in the back, thinking that would be the only reason she would be here. The match started with Gilbertti taking a cheap shot and taking Vox down with a side headlock, still holding onto the mic to talk to the crowd. I always think back to Jerry Lawler doing this a few times in the mid 90s. He let up on the headlock and began cutting a promo to the hard cam on Scarlett Bordeaux, when Vox surprised him with a schoolgirl rollup for a nearfall. Gilbertti hit her with his Chart Buster finisher, but pulled her up from the pin. He looked to hit it a second time when Tessa Blanchard ran out, causing Gilbertti to quickly bail. Blanchard had the refs check on Vox.

12. Dez won an X-Division 4-Way over Petey Williams, Ace Austin, and Rohit Raju (w/ Gama Singh) when he pinned Raju following a running backflip kick. Singh came out first, talking briefly about the “EWC Arena,” bringing up names like Eddie Guerrero, Tommy Dreamer, and Rob Van Dam, and how his boys, the Desi Hit Squad, could have taken them all on. He introduced Raju, then Williams, Austin, and Dez[mond Xavier] each came out to strong reactions, with Wentz and Trey giving last minute support to Dez before heading to the back. More fun, fast-paced action, with Austin getting the biggest showcase of the four of them... until Williams took him out with a Canadian Destroyer. Williams went to hit Dez with one, but Raju stopped it with a doublestomp off the top to Williams’ back. The finish came up quickly after this. Dez and Williams shook hands afterward.

13. Rob Van Dam beat Tommy Dreamer with a Five Star Frog Splash. The return of RVD to Impact has led to the return of RVD’s dumb music from his band. RVD largely looks the same, just slightly older in the face. ECW nostalgia still runs wild, especially for what I assume were a lot of fans that have rarely or never been to this building. The crowd couldn’t believe their luck, as they were immensely hot for both guys as they did very little to start. The action picked up when Dreamer took RVD to the floor and spit water at him. A chair was introduced, leading to a lot of their greatest hits. Dreamer was able to hit RVD with a piledriver, and RVD was able to sell it by bouncing off the ring upon impact. When RVD hit his frog splash, he was able to get an impressive amount of distance on it.

- The two of them showed respect to one another after the match, but then The North ran back out and attacked them. RVD and Dreamer were able to fight off Page and Alexander, but then Moose ran out for the man advantage. Then the arena went dark to everyone’s delight, and sure enough Sabu appeared when the lights came back on, accompanied by Melissa Coates as his genie valet and a few chairs. She handed chairs to Sabu as he threw them at Page and Alexander’s heads to take him out, then he threw a chair to RVD so that he could hit Moose with a Van Daminator. The three ECW originals and Coates posed in the ring together, and then at the top of the entrance ramp, to close the show and send the crowd home happy.

Overall, I thought this was a show of peaks and valleys, and peaks within valleys, so I was left mostly cold to this show. A number of wrestlers on the card I enjoyed, interspersed with some I don’t and some segments that didn’t click for me. Some of the matches I liked the most I hoped would go longer, while a match I wasn’t looking forward to received a lot of time and is likely a TV main event. It’s nice seeing Rosemary and some of the other women getting a big showcase, and I’m hoping the angle with Gilbertti will have a nice payoff. I’ve had my fill of ECW nostalgia after my friend’s documentary was released. Surprisingly little of Johnny Impact here, and maybe not so surprisingly, nothing from the (likely very busy) Lucha Brothers. I only felt like going to the Friday taping, with no intention for the Saturday taping.

They announced that they will be back on June 8 with an Impact Plus special, with Great Muta the focus of the advertising. Based on who else I hear will show up (Lucha Brothers hopefully?), I might give them a shot. Otherwise, my live wrestling schedule for the summer so far is very eclectic.

#impact wrestling #Wrestling #WWE #TNA #TNA Impact #MLW

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seenashwrite · 7 years

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“Sweetheart,” Dean said, looking right into her eyes, “I think you should...”

Careful! How you finish that line is gonna make-or-break how well you’ve captured Dean Winchester in that fic you’re working on. Why, you may ask? Keep reading. And to you who are familiar with this topic...

NOTE: Any subsequent “add-ons” via others sharing their thoughts on the topic which resulted in other posts will be linked at the bottom!

Abstract

Persistent usage in fandom writings ascribing one Dean Winchester a mannerism that relates to interactions with those he is romantically involved - specifically, the substitution of their name with “sweetheart” - is shown via evidence-based research to be in conflict with this fictional character’s established persona and speech patterns thus far.

Data

For your quick ref convenience, “sweethearts” meant in the traditional sense of the word have a ❤️ by the episode title. Let us begin. The facts are these:

SEASON ONE

1.02 Wendigo

[TO FEMALE CHARACTER] Well, sweetheart, I don’t do shorts.

1.16 Shadow

[DEAN looks at MEG, who smiles at him] Oh, sweetheart—you’re dumber than you look…

Later–>

MEG: You know, that shotgun’s not gonna do much good. DEAN: Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. The shotgun’s not for the demon.

SEASON TWO

2.06 No Exit

[TO JO] Sweetheart, this ain’t gender studies. Women can do the job fine. Amateurs can’t.

SEASON THREE

(The writers’ room got a real hard-on for it this season)

3.04 Sin City

[TO FEMALE CHARACTER] You know, you’re piling it pretty high there, sweetheart. I’m not sure I’m buying.

3.06 Red Sky at Morning

[TO BELA] Well, sweetheart, I don’t need your kind of help.

3.07 Fresh Blood

[TO FEMALE CHARACTER] Well, I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but your blood’s never pumping again.

3.11 Mystery Spot

[TO FEMALE SERVER] ‘Scuse me, sweetheart? Can I get sausage instead of bacon?

3.12 Jus in Bello

[TO BELA] Oh, I’ll find you, sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track…

3.15 Time Is on My Side

[TO BELA] Sweetheart, we are weeks past help.

SEASON FOUR

4.01 Lazarus Rising ❤️

[DEAN approaches the IMPALA, runs a hand along it] Hey, sweetheart, did you miss me?

SEASON FIVE

5.09 The Real Ghostbusters

[FEMALE CHARACTER walks into the room nervously] I don’t wanna do this.

[DEAN leans around the corner] I’m right here sweetheart, I’ve got your back. Trust me, this is going to work. [he then pulls back so he can’t be seen grimacing]

5.11 Sam, Interrupted

[FEMALE CHARACTER walks in their direction]

[DEAN spots her] Oh, no, no, no. Not today, sweetheart. Come on, keep walking…

5.12 Swap Meat

FEMALE SERVER: Here you go, guys.

DEAN: You know, do me a favor, sweetheart. Would you bring me a cheeseburger with extra bacon? And fry an egg on top of it, would you?

SEASON SEVEN

7.17 The Born-Again Identity

MEG: That hurts my feelings. I’ve been good to you, Dean.

DEAN: No, you’ve been good to you, sweetheart.

SEASON EIGHT

8.08 Hunteri Heroici

FEMALE CAREGIVER: You’re not supposed to be here.

DEAN: Well, trust me, sweetheart, you got bigger fish.

SEASON TEN

10.02 Reichenbach

[FEMALE DANCER is disgusted; she moves to leave] And we’re done.

[DEAN grabs at her] Hey, hey, hey. Song’s not over, sweetheart.

SEASON TWELVE

12.17 The British Invasion ❤️

[DEAN looks down sight of newly-returned Colt] Welcome back, sweetheart.

SEASON THIRTEEN

13.16 - Scoobynatural ❤️

[DEAN prepares to swing sledgehammer at enchanted TV] Sorry, sweetheart.

SEASON FIFTEEN

15.10 - The Heroes' Journey ❤️

[DEAN grabs the grenade launcher] Hey, sweetheart.

Analysis

Of 15 seasons and 320 total episodes aired as of this writing, "sweetheart" appears in [*adult] Dean's dialogue 20 times in 19 episodes. So, 19 is 5.9375% of 320. That's not even one quarter.

He just doesn’t use the word often, folks.

[Note: to get a precise percentage of its appearance in his actual dialogue, you’d need to count every single word the man has spoken - I’d think taking out “a”, “and”, “the”, and “I” would be acceptable - and good luck, there. I ain’t your girl. Another possibility would be to compare “sweetheart” to other nicknames he’s given people - again, knock yourself out. This is just to illustrate its appearances across seasons. A tangential comparison? Take your number of fics involving Dean - i.e., your # of episodes - count the “sweethearts”, and do your percentage.]

Of the 20 usages, 4 are of a clearly affectionate nature: once to Baby the Impala, once to the Colt, once to the enchanted television, once to the grenade launcher.

The remaining uses - all directed at female characters - are of a false comfort, patronizing, and/or manipulative nature, because a portion of Dean’s persona is that of an irredeemable asshole. The character is greater than the sum of his parts, true - but that is an undeniable part.

Thus, this does not seem to be a substitute name Dean Winchester bestows upon persons of a beloved nature. It is scantly, possibly endearing - albeit patronizing - when he’s used it as a substitute name for waitresses.

Visual Aids

[Note: Someone jokingly asked for a pie chart last time - ‘cause hello, what’s a Dean topic without PIE! - and I did them and they were silly. Here’s the replacement, which IMO is an improvement and completely scientifically accurate, I’m sure you’ll agree]

Wrap Up

Could there be any exceptions?

Sure. If he's Demon!Dean and it's not romantic and is a pure smutty hate f*ck - in that instance, the data would most assuredly support the author’s choice.

Also supportable would be complete off-the-rails AU fics [as in: Dean's not a hunter, he's a mechanic from Regular Town, USA] because in those cases, no one expects him to be canon-friendly.

Here, have a cheat sheet:

And what’s my personal opinion?

Dean doesn’t call people of significance by that endearment in a heartfelt manner, reserving it solely for inanimate objects (Baby, the Colt, the TV, and the grenade launcher), because they pose no threat of rejecting him. So... maybe it actually does mean something loving and sentimental to him. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t used it on someone he’s crazy about.... has he met that person yet? Again, maybe. Are the writers doing this purposefully? Is Jensen maybe slipping a handful of ‘em in, as well? Ya got me.

In any event, there’s the obvious: They’re all objects to him, useful for specific tasks regarding things he needs/wants - food, beer, sex, baiting a ghost, mindless entertainment - or they’re an adversary who is standing between him and something he needs/wants. Either way, all ultimately disposable. That ain’t sweet, nor does it have heart.

Bottom line

If you are professing that your story is canon?

Stop. Having. Dean. Call. You. Sweetheart.

You, your O.C., the friend you're writing into a fic so they can get boned by Dean, any other character you're having Dean bang-a-rang... if they don't go VROOOOM or go BOOM or go ZOOM, it's an inappropriate nickname.

Hypothesis on overall reception by SPN fanfiction authors, specifically those writing Dean in sexual/romantic encounters?

Utter rejection.

* Final Note: there is Teenage Dean usage of a snot-faced “sweetheart” that further supports the hypothesis, however it has been excluded due to age - as the topic is Dean in romantic/sexual fanfics - and due to the fact this was already a slam-dunk case.

Astute data-crunching followers have also pointed out the use of “sweetheart” by one John Winchester in a patronizing manner towards a female vampire.

The original data crunch - linked at top - also noted the use of an affectionate “sweetheart” by one Mary Winchester, which was directed towards Baby.

Sam is not covered here because I don’t care about him.

I’m kidding. To not care would be something, and I nothing Sam.

I’m kidding.

See? He gets me.

(Sources: Available SPN Wiki transcripts)

ETA: More sweetheart talk via “Dear Nash” HERE and HERE

ETA #2 [Feb. 2018]: Nash’s breakdown of how to assess & choose a NON-sweetheart endearment specifically for “Dean In Love” situations is HERE

* Up to date as of July 2020 *

#supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #dean winchester #canon fodder #let me call you sweetheart #if Dean calls you sweetheart it is an insult #he does not call people he likes or loves sweetheart #just car and gun #even if the trend breaks once it will not be of statistical significance at this point #accept reality #or don't we're talking about fanfic here #I'm just sayin'#sorry not sorry #blah-blah-biscuits #Dean Meets Data #Nash Rants

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verbballetstaipei-blog · 7 years

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Day 1555555- Time Travel☸️ *Warning, this is a long post, as it was a very long day. But it is my last post, so enjoy!

Wowwww. I know time travel technically doesn’t exist but boy do I feel like Verb Ballets has accomplished it today. 28 hours ago, on Monday morning, we left our hotel in Taipei, and now we’re all finally home on a Monday evening! My body is so confused right now but hey, we made it! Most of us tried to stay up really late on our last night in Taipei to help us sleep on the plane the next day and flip our 12 hour time difference. I only slept for 2 hours so I think I was pretty successful–I’ve been tired all day! I got up at 5:45am, threw on my comfy flying clothes and set out for one last morning walk around the hotel. I grabbed coffee from 7/11 and sipped it while walking around Peace Park. I’m going to miss that enchanting place. The group met at 6:45am to say goodbye to Ming and Ping (they woke up so early to bid us farewell–so thoughtful!) and taxi to the airport. On our way out, we enjoyed the beautifully gloomy vistas of the industrially advanced city and surrounding picturesque mountains. Taipei sure does know how to look pretty. At the luggage checkpoint, I confirmed that the reason I had so much difficulty cramming everything into my suitcases was because I literally had too much stuff. My bag was several kilograms over the maximum, which meant that Michael and Kelly were each the lucky foster parents of a bag of Kate souvenirs. AKA their suitcases got even heavier thanks to me😬 Have I mentioned that I love both Michael and Kelly? Thanks guys for saving me and all of my stuff! We made it through security mostly successfully (Kelly had to get her play sand she bought as a gift tested for illegal substances😧) and then we all went our separate ways to wait out the few hours before the flight took off. Unlike US airports, which are essentially expensive shopping malls, the strong sense of cultural pride is evident in Taiwanese airports, which I found out have mini history and art exhibitions in addition to shops and restaurants. I actually learned quite a bit about the various aboriginal groups in Taiwan while waiting for the plane. What a great use of airport waiting time! Another great use of waiting in an airpot time? Food! I went out in search of something savory and vegetarian for under $200 NTD (because that’s all I had left!) and had some trouble. Adorable pastries were everywhere, but I needed something of substance. The only option I could find was lasagna, so I decided to have my first ever breakfast lasagna. Unlike in the states, there was no to-go option (even though it was from a kiosk style cafe) so I had to wait 10 minutes. I had time to kill, so Lieneke and I sat down and chatted about growing up and learning more about yourself traveling and other philosophical things. It was quite the fulfilling pre-lasagna discussion🙃 The food came in a very hot casserole dish, so I let it cool down a bit. I was joking with Lieneke that it was my first meal in Taiwan served with a fork, and that it would have been difficult to eat lasagna with chopsticks. I had only finished about 2 bites when Lieneke said “Oh my gosh! They texted us to hurry back. They must have started boarding early!!” I didn’t want to leave my beautiful breakfast lasagna that I had spent my last NTDs on and waited a whole 10 minutes for, but I didn’t want to miss my flight back to America! I told Lieneke to run ahead and that I would be right there. I ran over to the lady at the kiosk and if she had a paper plate. She said she didn’t because they didn’t have a to-go option (us Americans and our obsession with eating food on the go). Losing hope, I started looking around but didn’t see any other cafes that had to-go options either. Then I saw paper cups behind the counter. “Could I use a cup?” I asked. The lady looked at me like I was seriously crazy as I scraped the lasagna from the casserole dish into the paper cup, repeatedly burning myself in the process. Then I took off running. Right as I was about to get to the gate, I saw Lieneke running towards me. For a split second I thought she was going to say that the plane left, but then I saw her smile. “Everyone is still there, they just told us to hurry back so that the group could move to a sitting area closer to the gate,” she said. We both broke down laughing with the ridiculousness of the situation–having lasagna for breakfast in Taiwan then Olympic sprinting through the airport with it sloppily shoved in a cup. The best part? I ended up having to eat the cup lasagna with chopsticks because I couldn’t find a plastic fork. That had to be one of the funniest breakfasts of my life! Also one of the most accomplished…I finished the whole veggie lasagna with chopsticks! Then came the longggg flight. Ugh. Verb Ballets had survived Taiwan successfully, but as soon as the plan crossed to international waters fecal matter started hitting the fan quickly (if ya know what I’m sayin’). Poor Stephaen spent the majority of the flight throwing up into shoddily designed puke bags that often did not do their job holding puke. So we all donated our blankets to the cause of containing said puke. That poor guy felt terrible the whole trip. Christina also had to deal with a minor cross-contamination flair-up with her egg allergy. Though it was a “minor” reaction (someone must have touched an egg then touched her food, so she didn’t actually eat egg) she was still doubled over in discomfort for the majority of our travels. The flight didn’t have working outlets or internet again, customs didn’t open for a half hour until after we landed, and the aircraft only had one working door to deplane, so we got to sit in our seats for a longgg time after landing from our delightful flight feeling especially wonderful😖 When we finally got off, we had to cross back through a passport checkpoint, customs, baggage claim, and security again before getting to our next gate en route to Denver. Needless to say, our suffering company members really had to dig deep to stand in the endless lines with all of their luggage. Lieneke was trying to be helpful and carry some of Stephaen’s things, but then she also felt dizzy and had to lie down. For those of you who know Lieneke, this lady has amazon strength so if she’s lying down you know she’s really not doing well. However, we all eventually got to the gate and had several hours to recuperate before our next flight. Unfortunately, Nathanael then realized that someone had gotten ahold of his credit card information while we were overseas, so he had to deal with all of that fun stuff during the layover. Wooo man! Verb Ballets was on a serious struggle bus! I felt slightly guilty that I wasn’t dealing with severe physical discomfort or financial distress, so I did my best to help those who were suffering however I could. Once everyone was relatively stable in a recovery position balled up or lying down, I decided to take an airport walk to relieve my swollen tight muscles. During my stroll, I discovered that the San Francisco airport has a yoga room free for all to use! I felt much better after stretching and rolling out in the yoga room. Every airport should jump on that yoga room bandwagon. Our next 2 flights went more smoothly. We had a fairly quick turnaround from Denver to Cleveland, and luckily no new problems arose. I slept through most of those flights, which will probably complicate my jet lag recovery later, but I was happy to sleep. I was exhausted! By a minor miracle, we all made it back to Cleveland conscious and upright (in a precarious mental state, but that’s beside the point😜) with all of our luggage. If it weren’t for some serious teamwork and a lot of nice flight attendants, we might have never made it back to the beloved “Mistake on the Lake” that we call home. Delirious but happy, we bused back to Verb so we could drive back to our respective apartments. I blasted out of the parking lot in hopes of making it to Whole Foods before they closed at 10. I had been craving a big crunchy salad with cottage cheese for weeks! And my apartment was foodless! Some very kind employees took pity on me and let me scurry to the salad bar at 10:01. Thank you so much Whole Foods on Cedar! You made a happy ending to a very very very long day (a 29+ hour day to be precise!). My big suitcase filled with dirty laundry was so heavy I could’t even get it up the stairs, so I decided to throw a bunch of laundry in the washer before even making it up to my apartment (my machines are in the basement). I can’t explain how excited I am to have clean laundry! I currently have a washed face, an empty bladder, and I am enjoying a crunchy Whole Foods salad. Life is great🤗. You really notice the little things after traveling for hours on end. It was a challenging day, but I’ll take that in exchange for a truly amazing tour. Thanks to everyone who followed me along on Verb’s travels! We all feel deeply humbled to have had this experience, and want to thank everyone who made it possible. Cleveland Foundation–You rock (even more than the Rock Hall…shhh!). None of this would have been possible without you. All donors who contributed–thank you thank you thank you! BodyEDT–well you know we are obsessed with you and absolutely can’t wait to have you come to our neck of the globe starting next week. Your company’s futuristic vision and generous heart inspired us the whole trip. I am so looking forward to performing with you again in a few short weeks at Cleveland Public Theater! On that note, the travel blog ends here. Time for me to return to real life of dancing all day and teaching all night! If you have enjoyed learning more about Verb and Body EDT, I recommend that you follow our Facebook pages to keep tabs on our future adventures. -Verb’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/verbballets/?ref=br_rs -And BodyEDT’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/BodyEDT/ If you ever have to the chance to go to Taipei, definitely do it! It is a marvelous place with some even more fabulous people. I will leave you with a list of things I will miss from Taiwan, and also a list of things I look forward to having again back home. Xièxiè, zàijiàn! 💖Kate Things I’ll miss about Taiwan:

-Chopsticks -Cute dogs and their even cuter haircuts -The happy, clean, efficient MRT and its calming music -Cartoons for everything -Guavas guavas everywhere -All dem oolong teas! -The young people–they’re so enthusiastic yet well behaved (I feel like an old lady saying that but it’s true guys!) -The hardworking and respectful culture. No room for “too cool for school” here -The emphasis on collectivism and benefitting the community over the individual -Bowing my head (I do get how that physically manifests respect) -Peace signin’ it up in pictures -Street dancing -The wide variety and accessibility of fake meats -Having time to explore and stumble across new adventures -All of their exciting new flavors (taro mung bean pastry anyone?) -Affordable yet nutritious food -The endlessly generous, hardworking, and affectionate Taiwanese people Things I’m looking forward to in America:

-Consistent toilet paper and sitting toilets (squatty potties can get increasingly complicated if anything is going on beyond your basic pee) -Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt -Fresh veggies that I can clean and eat raw and crunchayyy! Nommm (their veggies were deliciously prepared but often with lotso oil) -Being in the same time zone as my friends and family -Literacy -Having the ability to express myself articulately and not feeling guilty for my horrifically pronounced Mandarin -A diverse looking poppulation -Peanut butter -My back massage chair -My bed -Seeing everyone I’ve missed! Kate Over and Out👋

#verbballetstaipei home

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