#Upcoming lee!jax

[backtothedrawingboard]

New Adventure! Pt 1

Caine cooked up a new adventure that has everyone on edge. Everyone except Jax, who finds the whole thing ridiculous.

Lee!Jax

CW: Tickle fic!

TW: None

The cast got up lazily in the morning. The adventure the day before was exhausting. It was essentially some wild goose chase for a non-existent amulet in a jungle. Caine thought it was clever, but the humans hated it.

But today, he's sure they'll enjoy the adventure.

Everyone settled around the stage as normal. Zooble tapped their foot in annoyance, ready to go ahead and leave. Even Jax looked a little tired as he yawned and stretched.

"Good morning, my scrumptious crumb cakes!" the overenthusiastic host shouted. "I have a special adventure for you all today! I'm sure it'll turn those frowns upside down!"

Bubbles floated up next to him. "Ooh! What is it today, boss? Something riveting, I'm sure!"

"It sure is, Bubbles! Today's adventure is: "Escape the Tickle Monster!" The words appeared above him in a cartoony font. The humans gaped a little. Zooble just flipped everyone off and turned around to leave.

"I'm out of here. Go do your weird adventure and leave me out of it," they grumbled.

Caine darted down with an outstretched hand. "Wait, Zooble! Don't you want to join just this once? It'll be fun, I swear!"

"Absolutely not. Bye." With that, the mismatched human hobbled off down a hallway to their room.

Caine blinked a few times before turning his attention to the rest of them. Ragatha, Pomni, and Gangle looked nervous. Even Kinger seemed more alert than normal. The only one looking unimpressed was Jax. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked up at Caine with an unamused frown.

"Seriously? The tickle monster? What're we, five?" the rabbit said sarcastically.

Caine crossed his arms in an upset fashion and spoke in a distressed tone. "Of course I don't think that! It's just to make all of you happy! And actually laugh for once!"

Bubbles spoke up. "Tickling is a great way to release stress and get a healthy dose of dopamine and serotonin."

"THANK you, Bubbles!" Caine yelled. Jax just rolled his eyes again. "The objective of this adventure is to avoid the tickle monster and find the exit of the labyrinth. If it catches you, you know what happens!"

Pomni started to speak. "W-wait. I don't know if this is such a good ide-" Before she could finish, everyone was shoved through a portal by Caine and appeared at the entrance to a maze.

"Good luck, everyone!" Caine yelled one last time. The portal closed. The humans all looked at each other in confusion and nervousness before Ragatha spoke up.

"Ok...I suppose we should all stick together. That way we all find the exit and make sure no one gets ambushed by the monster." Everyone nodded except Jax, who just waved a dismissive hand.

"Pfft. You guys do what you want. I don't need any of you to get out of here." With that, the rabbit confidently strided down to the left. Gangle and Pomni exchanged exasperated expressions before the rest of them headed to the right.

"Think he's gonna try to prank us?" Gangle asked nervously. The only thing keeping her together was her comedy mask; and even it wasn't fully working.

"I'm sure he'll try to lead the monster to us or pretend to be it or somethin'," Ragatha answered.

The maze was relatively peaceful. It was lit by the light of a full moon and the sounds of crickets gave it a lulling atmosphere. The four of them crept through the twists and turns warily, keeping their eyes and ears perked for any suspicious sound.

"Why is is so peaceful?" Pomni asked nervously.

"I don't know..." Ragatha started. "But it does seems too peacefu-" She was cut off by a shriek from Kinger and a yelp from Gangle.

"IT GOT ME! IT GOT ME!" The others whirled around to see him flailing madly. Jax's head popped out from behind him, his signature grin on his face.

"HA! Got ya!" He let go of a very disgruntled Kinger and stepped to the side with his arms crossed smugly.

"My comedy mask..." Gangle whimpered.

"JAX!" Ragatha cried. "You scared us! Especially Kinger! Just look at him!" Kinger was standing with a confused and alarmed look as he caught his breath.

"Pfft. He's fine. He'll just forget it in a couple minutes anyway," Jax said with a dismissive wave.

"It's still rude!" Ragatha and Jax fought loudly. The others stared.

"Um, guys? You're fighting awfully loud..." Gangle muttered, looking over her shoulder.

"Shut it, ribbons," the rabbit growled. "It was just a prank, idiot! And a tame one at that!"

"But you could have alerted the monster!" the doll yelled.

"What's that?" Kinger asked, facing away from them. The fight paused as everyone turned to face whatever he was looking at. The chess piece stared down at what appeared to be a puff ball on the ground. It was nothing special, just a little pink fluff about a foot in diameter. Jax scoffed.

"You stopped me from winning an argument for that?" he grumbled. Before anyone could answer, he marched over to the fluff ball. Pomni raised a finger anxiously.

"Um, maybe don't approach it?" she called.

"It's fine. It's just a ball of fuzz." As Jax reached down to pick it up, two big eyes opened and gazed up at him. He flinched and took a step back. "What the-?!"

"I think that's what we were supposed to be avoiding..." Gangle whimpered. The rabbit looked down at it...warily?

"Hmf. Maybe you're right."

Ragatha raised an eyebrow curiously. "Jax? Are you nervous?"

"What? No-" His sentence was cut off by a yell as the puff hopped on the top of his foot. "Wha- Get the %#?! off! OW!"

Everyone flinched at his loud yell. "W-what's wrong?" Gangle asked nervously.

The rabbit kicked his leg around angrily. "The little &@!$er bit me!" As he kicked, he stumbled back a bit towards an ominous cave. There was literally a sign above with the words "Ominous Cave." The fluff ball hopped off his foot and skittered away past the others into the depths of the labyrinth, leaving everyone utterly baffled.

"But if that wasn't the monster, then what..." Pomni started. They watched as Jax stood in front of the cave nervously, and gaped as a pair of claws grabbed him from behind and dragged him into the dark. The rabbit shrieked and flailed in terror before disappearing from view. The others stared in horror, the only sign of Jax being his terrified yelling.

Ragatha backed up quickly. "Ok. That's the monster. Let's go. NOW."

"B-but Jax..." Pomni objected.

"NO TIME." Everyone sprinted away from the cave, leaving Jax to his fate...

TO BE CONTINUED.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I like keeping things short and sweet, so I decided to break this into two parts. Keep your eyes out for part 2!

[ryukang1995]

I was bored, so I did a movie cast meme featuring characters present within my AU based on the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie.

The cast: - The hero - Liu Kang (Ludi Lin)

- The hero's love interest - Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee)

- The sidekick - Kung Lao (Max Huang)

- The sidekick's friend - Cole Young (Lewis Tan)

- The sidekick's second friend - Jax (Mehcad Brooks)

- The sidekick's love interest - Li Mei (no actress yet)

- The redeemer - Kuai Liang/Sub-Zero (Yoshi Sudarso)

- The redeemer's friend - Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada)

- The redeemer's love interest - Kitana (Adeline Rudolph)

- The hero's parents - Lee Kang and Lin Kang

- The hero's best friend - same as the sidekick

- The hero's superior - Raiden (Tadanobu Asano)

- The traitor - Kano (Josh Lawson)

- The traitor's friend - Kabal

- The traitor's second friend - nobody else (I can't really see anyone else befriending Kano)

- The one who dies first - Johnny Cage (Karl Urban)

- The villain - Shang Tsung (Chin Han)

- The villain's bodyguard - Goro

- The villain's henchmen - Bi Han/Noob Saibot (Joe Taslim), Mileena (Sisi Stringer), Syzoth/Reptile, and Reiko (Nathan Jones)

- The villain's love interest - Nitara (Mel Jarnson)

Author's notes:

- While Karl Urban is playing Johnny Cage in the upcoming sequel, I used the image of Simpy Cage aka his counterpart from the Legends animated movies. I'm not too excited for the sequel, one of the reasons why is because of a huge emphasis on Johnny Cage and what his role will be over arguably more important things like whether or not Liu Kang will be the hero and defeat Shang Tsung.

- Jade, Shao Kahn, Sindel, Quan Chi, Baraka and Jerrod have been cast for the upcoming sequel, but I did leave them out of this meme since I had nowhere to include them. I could have easily cast Jade as Kung Lao's love interest, and it's great if you ship them, though I kinda ship him with Li Mei more.

- The images for Li Mei and Reiko are from New MK1 since Li Mei is not in the film universe yet (and whether or not she will be depends on whether or not the film franchise keeps going), and the way Reiko was depicted in MK 2021 was really lame.

- Yoshi Sudarso isn't confirmed to be Kuai Liang/Sub-Zero in the sequel (at least, as far as I'm aware), but he is quite a fan favorite choice to play the character if he ever does appear in the film universe.

That's all for now.

[juarezesdeporte]

New Season of “UTEP Football with Dana Dimel” Radio Show Debuts Tuesday

EL PASO, Texas – The new season of “UTEP Football with Dana Dimel” Radio Show will debut on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at Hudson’s Grill (1170 Lee Trevino) from 5:30-6:30 p.m. airing on 600 AM ESPN, while fans can also listen on the UTEP Miners App

The long-running radio show will alternate between Hudson’s and the Moon Tower Sports Bar (3233 N. Mesa). Moon Tower will host the second show on Tuesday, Aug. 29 from 6-7 p.m.

Host “Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher is back for his 43rd season as UTEP’s play-by-play man. He and UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel will review the previous week’s contest and preview the upcoming games.

This season a pair of shows will air on Friday. The first will be on Oct. 6 at Hudson’s Grill from 5-6 p.m., while Moon Tower will host the Oct. 20 show from 5-6 p.m. One show will air on a Monday (Oct. 16 – 5-6 p.m.) at Moon Tower.

Dimel is looking to lead the Miners to their second bowl appearance in the past three years while also navigating a new-look Conference USA. UTEP is back as the longest tenured member in the league, with FIU, LA Tech, Middle Tennessee and WKU also returning. Jax State, Liberty, NM State and Sam Houston are all in their first year with the conference.

2023 UTEP FOOTBALL WITH DANA DIMEL RADIO SHOW

Tues., Aug. 22 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill, 1770 Lee Trevino

Tues., Aug. 29 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)          Moon Tower Sports Bar, 3233 North Mesa

Tues., Sept, 5 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)            Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Sept. 12 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Sept. 19 (4:30-5:30 p.m.)          Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Sept. 26 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)          Hudson’s Grill

Fri., Oct. 6 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)                Hudson’s Grill

Mon., Oct. 16 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)           Moon Tower Sports Bar

Fri., Oct. 20 (5:00-6:00 p.m.)              Moon Tower Sports Bar

Tues., Oct. 31 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Nov. 14 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Hudson’s Grill

Tues., Nov. 21 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)           Moon Tower Sports Bar

THE 2023 SEASON

The Miners kick off the new campaign at Jax State on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 3:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network. Fans can tune into 600 ESPN El Paso and hear the action from “The Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher and former UTEP WR Cole Freytag and Mando Medina reporting from the sidelines.

UTEP will open home action on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Tickets for the 80’s Night game are available at www.utepminers.com/tickets, by calling 915.747.UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu or by visiting the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office (500 W. University Ave., 79968

[hotdamnhunnam]

Frontier of Anarchy – Masterlist –

Pairings: Jax Teller x OC || Will Miller x OC

Rating: M (swearing, sexual content, violence)

Summary: Two brothers separated at birth… bound by one woman they both love to death. This SoA / Triple Frontier crossover series alternates between the Charming high school love story of Jax Teller and Aera Lee, and Aera’s encounter with a face all too familiar—Will Miller—years later in New York City. When Jax learns that he has a twin brother… he sets out across the country with no clue that he might find him in the arms of Jax’s ex-lover. The love that he never got over.

🎵 Fic Playlist 🎵

– Chapter List –

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

____________________

Teasers for upcoming chapters

Chapter 8 — Charming 1996 // New York 2014

Chapter 9 — Charming 1996 // New York 2014

____________________

Main Masterlist (for all of my other fics)

[gaymer-hag-stan]

I'm bored so I'm starting a Tumblr polling tournament to determine the ultimate fighting game character!

I chose eight trademark fighters from the eight most popular fighting game series.

Do note that these are not my personal favourite characters, just eight characters I think represent their respective franchises well enough so recurring characters who have appeared in most of their respective series' games were obviously favoured compared to more recent additions that may still be popular and well loved enough.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming polls to make sure you vote for your favourite and help them reach the finals!

A detailed list of all the participants:

Terry Bogard

Ryo Sakazaki

Athena Asamiya

King (The King of Fighters)

Yuri Sakazaki

Benimaru Nikaido

Ralf Jones

Clark Still

Scorpion

Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang)

Johnny Cage

Liu Kang

Sonya Blade

Paul Phoenix

Yoshimitsu (Tekken)

Heishiro Mitsurugi

Voldo

Raiden

Jax

Kung Lao

Nina Williams

Akira Yuki

Jacky Bryant

Pai Chan

Sarah Bryant

Lau Chan

Kage-Maru

Wolf Hawkfield

Jeffry McWild

Taki

Kasumi

Jann Lee

Leifang

Zack

Ryu Hayabusa

Tina Armstrong

Maxi

Ivy

Lei Wulong

Ayane

Bass Armstrong

Kilik

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Ling Xiaoyu

King II (Tekken)

Hwoarang

Chai Xianghua

Astaroth (The Original)

Ken Masters

Jin Kazama

Chun-Li

Sol Badguy

Ky Kiske

Chipp Zanuff

Axl Low

Zato-1

Potemkin

Millia Rage

May

Edmond Honda

Blanka

Zangief

Guile

Dhalsim

[kpopmultifan]

DSP Media’s (home of APRIL & KARD; former home of KARA, RAINBOW, & A-JAX) new boy group MIRAE has released the 2nd solo concept photos of Lee Junhyuk & Jang Yubin for their upcoming debut mini-album “KILLA” which is scheduled to be released on March 17th.

[whereisten]

The Wedding Singer - Part 3

The Wedding Singer (feat. Taeyong and Yuta)

Summary: You are an up-and-coming singer and songwriter who is thriving in the wedding singer business. When you find yourself singing for your former best friend Samantha Perez and not-so-former crush Yuta Nakamoto, shit really hits the fan. 

Genre: fluff, drama, romance

Multi-part Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Part 3

Word Count: 3.9k

It was nearing Christmas, which meant there was one week left until the wedding of the century. Samantha finalized the song selections with you. Johnny would be on guitar while Jungwoo would be on piano alongside the rest of the wedding band. Johnny was pretty jazzed because he would see Stella again, rise to the occasion, and ask her out. They met the night you performed at Holy Hell. It was all over for Johnny when Stella genuinely laughed at one of his dad jokes.

Everything seemed to be falling into place these days. Your career was on the rise. Record labels from all over the county wanted to sign you. You were a breakout YouTube star after Jungwoo uploaded your performance of Bad Boy. You were booked for even more weddings that you had to start turning people away.

And best of all, you had the most incredible man in your corner. In the span of months, Taeyong was your best friend and your biggest fan. He showered you with affection in every way that he could. And it seemed like he would never stop.

If only you could find a way to return the favor.

Taeyong was adamant that you did not have to give him anything. He told you that your presence was the present and you had to walk out of his office when he said that to you last week. He’d been spending too much time with Johnny.

You were babysitting Taeyong and Samantha’s little half-sister Sonya while they were away. Her mother was on a yoga treat with her friends. Samantha was doing a photo shoot in New York. She was doing a cover story for Elle Magazine for her success as a fitness model and a celebrity chef. Taeyong was in New York with his father. They were in negotiations to acquire a a very popular restaurant chain that they hoped to bring to Miami.

Yuta picked Sonya up to take her to school before you headed to RCA Records.

“y/n, is there anything you want for Christmas?” Sonya asked you as you tied her hair. She was about to leave for her last day of classes before Christmas break.

You thought about it. As cheesy as it sounded, you had everything you could ever need.

You checked your phone to see if you had any messages and smiled at your lock screen of Taeyong scrunching his nose.

“You’re pink,” Sonya giggled. She watched your reflection.

You shook your head. “Is the AC even on?”

The doorbell downstairs bellowed throughout the Lee estate.

“It must be your future brother-in-law,” you said to her.

Sonya ran out of her room and down the grand staircase of the mansion. She ran past the maid that was about to answer the door.

“YUTA!” Sonya squealed when she saw him at the door.

Yuta gave her a big bear hug.

He was in dark wash jeans and a white tee, looking well-rested. He looked better than you’d last seen him. He’d been up and down about the upcoming nuptials. As much as you wanted to tell him to not go through with the wedding, it wasn’t your place.

“Hey, Yuta,” you said, “How’s it going?”

“It’s going. How are you? Have you decided who you’re signing with yet?” He threw his car keys up and caught them quickly.

“Yuta, what time is it?” You asked.

He frowned as he looked at his Apple Watch. “7:35.”

“Right? I don’t talk about anything serious until after 9:30 so I won’t answer that.”

He laughed as he grabbed Sonya’s Elena of Avalor backpack. “Right. But you’re doing okay right?”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face. “Yeah, everything’s great.”

Yuta mustered his most winning smile as he tried to ignore his truth.

Taeyong and Samantha would be back in time for their friend Sooyoung’s wedding tonight. Because mega pop star Luna had scheduling conflicts and at Taeyong’s high recommendation, Sooyoung hired you a month back. Johnny would join you as a band member and as your singing partner.

;;

After you discussed the set list with Johnny for tonight, you walked back to your car and were surprised when a red tulip was propped on your windshield.

As a woman, you felt joy, confusion, and mostly, fear. This anonymous gift was not to be trusted.

You debated grabbing the tulip because it could’ve been laced with poison. Who would try to do such a thing to you?

Well, Samantha could be above murder.

But was she?

You decided to leave the tulip be so you can get home, grab some gloves, put the tulip in a ziploc bag, and take it to the police station.

It would be awkward to send Samantha to jail a week before her wedding.

You grabbed your keys from your handbag and got into your car.

Your phone rang. You relaxed once you saw who called.

“Hey,” you said, exhaling in relief.

“I guess you don’t like tulips?” Taeyong said, a lace of hurt in his voice.

“That was you?! I thought you were some creep trying to kill me.” Leave out the part where you were 98% sure it was stepsister.

“How would a tulip kill-You need to lay off the Lifetime movies, babe.”

You laughed as you got out of the car and took the tulip in your hands. “If it makes you feel better, it’s the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen. You took in its fresh scent and hummed. “It smells amazing.”

Taeyong was silent over the line.

“Taeyong?” You asked.

Nothing.

And he hung up when you checked.

You turned back to the driver’s seat and saw him before you with a huge bouquet of red tulips. His big brown eyes were warm and welcoming. You imagined he was beaming behind the bouquet.

You couldn’t wait to kiss him so you pressed yourself against him and the flowers. You pecked him on the lips and almost lost your balance. He steadied you. “Hi,” you said, flustered at being such a dork in front of him.

He wrapped his arms around you for a moment and pulled back. “Mind if I set these aside first?” He didn’t want your flowers to get ruined.

You pulled away from him so he could put the flowers on the driver’s seat.

“Hey, songbird,” he said as he opened his arms wide.

You jumped into his arms and squeezed him tightly.

He’d been gone for a week but you were very clingy.

“I missed you,” you said as you nuzzled into his neck. He smelled of lavender and fabric softener. You wanted to lie in bed with him and snuggle him like a pillow. You were sickening.

“I missed you more,” he said as he kissed the top of your head. “Are you free?”

“I’m free until the ceremony,” you said as you played with the buttons of his baby blue button-down.

“Great because I want to take you somewhere,” he said as he lifted your chin and kissed your lips.

;;

Taeyong took you a pottery painting place. It was called Stella’s. It was located a few blocks from Holy Hell Nightclub. He wanted to bring you here for a while now so you two could be alone in a quiet space and maybe get into a paint fight.

“It’s quiet. Must be a slow day,” you noted, in marvel of the shop. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of figurines to choose from. The paint selection almost brought you to tears.

Taeyong cleared his throat. “Actually, the place is ours for the afternoon.”

You put down a ceramic owl that was too cute for words. “What do you mean?”

“Stella’s parents own this spot and I asked her for a favor.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Are you mad?” Taeyong asked, worried.

You shook your head. “No...It’s just...You are...Too good to me sometimes.”

Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Taeyong was the poster child for the ideal boyfriend. It was amazing but sometimes you felt a little out of your league.

And the way that he endlessly spoiled you. You loved every bit of it but you wondered if you were too greedy. If you weren’t doing enough for him.

You worried that at some point, he would get bored with you.

And you knew you were wrong to think that.

Taeyong almost cried when you gave him a homemade minion sweater for him to take to New York.

He appreciated you for you. It wasn’t his fault that he was disgustingly wealthy.

You two had fun together. Most of the time, you two dated like a healthy functioning couple.

Movies. Supermarket trips. Playing with your two cats Kai and Jax at your place. Late night trips to the beach.

The best nights you had together were when you went to the movies and indulged on popcorn.

But then Taeyong would catch you by surprise. Like today.

You admitted to him, “Sometimes...I feel like I’m never going to be able to make you happy the way you do me. I don’t want to let you down.”

Taeyong moved closer to you. “You could never let me down, y/n.”

You held his hands. “I want to make you happy.”

He wrapped his arms around you. “You have no idea just how much better my life is with you in it.”

You nuzzled into his chest and felt the steady beat of his heart. You loved him.

Soon, you would tell him.

You two settled down and started painting. Taeyong picked out a horse figuring to paint all shades of pink for Sonya. You picked a slice of cake figurine for Taeyong for his sweet tooth.

“So when I got up on the stage, I almost fell on my face,” you said, remembering your junior year of high school. The first time you sang in public was at your school’s annual talent show.

“You were nervous,” Taeyong noted.

“I wanted the earth to swallow me whole,” you said, “If it weren’t for Johnny being beside me of the stage, I never would’ve given myself the chance.” Johnny was one of the reasons why you became a singer. He believed in you. He was your truest friend.

Taeyong added, “He’s a great friend to you. I’m happy you have such good people around you.”

You rolled your eyes to avoid blushing. “You are so...Sweet that I’m about to get a cavity. I saw a dentist around the corner. I gotta bounce and get that filling.”

Taeyong chuckled. “I’m stating facts, y/n. Most of my friends are in LA so seeing you two makes me miss that...”

What about Yuta, you wondered. But something inside you made you decide not to mention it.

“I’m sorry,” you replied, “Maybe we spend too much time together?”

Taeyong froze. “What?”

“Taeyong, your life is basically work, me, and accumulating the best plush Pokémon collection.”

Taeyong gaped. “I resent that. Your life is basically work, me, and accumulating the best Pokémon card collection.”

“To conclude, we’re both nerds that need to get out more,” you said.

“But I love spending time with you. You’re my best friend,” Taeyong admitted.

You grabbed your paintbrush full of dandelion yellow paint and painted his arm. “Shut up.”

Taeyong grabbed his brush full of rose pink paint and painted your nose. “Cringe brings out cringe, babe.”

You painted each other and tried to restrict the mess to your table so Stella wouldn’t blacklisted either of you.

Taeyong traced magenta onto your side bang. You laughed as you finished painting your cake slice.

He just watched you for a moment. The sparkle of mischief in your eye when you stared at each other. The wondrous song that was your laugh. The matching Spongebob friendship rings you bought.

“y/n,” he said slowly. The sound of your name on his mouth sounded so lovely.

“Yeah?” You asked, focused on painting a corner carefully but peeking at his soft expression.

“I-“ Taeyong began.

And then his phone rang. He glared at his phone. He sighed.

He answered his phone, “Can it wait?”

The person on the other line replied.

Taeyong’s eyes grew. “I see. We’ll discuss it on Monday, Doyoung. Okay, thanks.” He hung up.

“What’s up?” You asked. Taeyong’s demeanor was unreadable.

He debated telling you about his latest job opportunity but he wanted to make sure he had all of the details before he brought it up with you.

“Remember how I told you it’s been a dream of mine to start up my own cinema chain?”

He told you on your first “date”. “Yeah.”

“Well, Doyoung and I are planning to lay the groundwork for our own movie theater. We just spoke to our last investor and we got the green light.”

“Your own movie theater?” You gasped. “Tae, that’s incredible!” You squeezed his hand.

He smiled softly and it quickly faded. “The thing is...”

“It’s not in Miami,” you finished, already having a feeling with the way he reacted over the phone.

He shook his head. “It’s in LA.”

“Oh,” you said.

He watched you carefully. “I’m sorry, y/n. I didn’t anticipate our plans developing so quickly. I wasn’t sure if it would happen. I’m so happy here with you. I would never want you to think-“

“Honey, it’s your dream,” you started, “I want this for you.”

“But...would it be too much for me to ask you to come with me? If not, could you handle long distance?” He worried about stressing you out. He thought he had more time.

You thought about it. You had a lot of doors opened for you that you had to consider. “I’m not sure. It all depends on who I sign with.”

Taeyong nodded.

You continued, “Can you wait for me to join you?”

Taeyong was surprised. “What?”

“I want to go with you. I just need some time to get my affairs in order. End things with the agency. Move out of my apartment. Say goodbye.”

Taeyong broke out into a smile, his soulful brown eyes squinting from cheesing so hard. “Really?”

You giggled. “You looking for a roommate?”

Taeyong reached over and kissed you. It almost felt like he said “I love you”.

Honestly, he didn’t even have to say it. You just knew.

;;

Choi Sooyoung’s wedding was in Miami Beach at the Grand SeasideHotel. The ceremony took place at the beach and the festivities were in the hotel ballroom. You began your set with a father and daughter dance. Then, you continued with love songs for the couple and the standard party ones for the whole group in attendance to get on the dance floor. Your rendition of Cha Cha Slide was one no one would forget.

You looked radiant. You wore a silver dress that went down to your heels. The beads gave a subtle rainbow effect that you glowed onstage. You sang Adele’s “One and Only”. A lot of couples slow danced.

Taeyong danced with Sonya.

“Better than Adele, right Taeyong?!” She asked.

Taeyong laughed. “I believed you when you said it the first time.”

He remembered Sonya mentioned the wedding singer Samantha and Yuta hired. Yuta wasn’t the only one who raved. The minute Samantha found your YouTube channel, she started spamming Taeyong with your videos.

Your cover videos were of just your voice. You hid in the shadows to give some mystery.

Taeyong began falling in love right then and there.

And then when he saw you for the first time, it was really over for him.

Sonya ran off to find her sister and Yuta joined Taeyong to watch you belt it out.

“Hey, she’s unreal, isn’t she?” Yuta asked.

Taeyong replied. “She’s...There are no words.”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t signed with a label yet,” Yuta replied.

“Y/n is thinking of joining Epic,” Taeyong adds, “It’s funny, you know. I didn’t even think to invite someone from epic.”

Yuta blurted, “I’m guilty.”

“What?” Taeyong eyed him carefully.

“I invited the Epic Records exec.”

“Oh.” Taeyong is silent. How did Yuta think to invite your dream label and he didn’t?

It turned out that Yuta snuck a peak into your lyric journal that night at Starbucks when you excused yourself to go to the bathroom. He was curious to see what you’ve written. He did find a song about himself dated back 6 years ago. It was your catharsis for letting him go. But Yuta took a photo of the page and has read it over many times. He also found a page of your goals, which included possibly joining Epic Records one day. But Yuta would never admit that to Taeyong.

He wanted you to chase your dreams and achieve them. A phone call to his friends at Epic wasn’t a big deal to him. He wanted you two to be happy. He would simply hold onto the fact that at one point in time, you liked him.

“I have a friend at the label. You remember Kyla?” Yuta asked smoothly.

And with that, they resumed enjoying the party.

You performed “You’re The One That I Want” with Johnny, who went the extra mile and brought a leather jacket just for that song.

As you performed song after song, the buzz about you grew stronger and stronger, much to Samantha’s annoyance.

When you got a break, Taeyong led you to his table. He went to grab you some water and wedding cake. People passed you at the table, praising you and giving you their contact information because they wanted you at their next event.

When that was over, you took a deep breath and relaxed.

“You must be so happy.”

You froze at the sound of her serpentine voice. Samantha sat beside you.

You knew this wouldn’t go well.

“You have my half-brother wrapped around your little finger. It’s because of him, you’re on the verge of commercial success. You could have everything you want. Because of him.” She was very pointed when she said “because of him”. She wore a dark red party dress and her long nails matched. It was like she was out for blood. Yours, probably.

“Samantha,” you started.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re taking advantage of my brother.” She tapped her nails against her glass of champagne.

“Hold on just a second-“

“I wouldn’t put it past you since you never did quite get over your crush on Yuta.” Her hazel eyes turned into daggers.

You stayed silent. Waiting for her to finish her tirade before you ended her.

“I see the way you make those little first day freshman year eyes at him. It was cute, at first. Since he’s a major NBA player and one of the most influential men in the city. You were starstruck. After all, we went to high school with him. But it’s been months now. You’re dating Taeyong. He’s done nothing but shower you with the best. And what do you do? Look at my fiancé when Taeyong’s isn’t looking.”

“Are you finished?” You asked.

Samantha smirked. “For now.”

“I don’t know what gave you the impression that I was sweet on Yuta. I’ll admit seeing you two after seven years brought out old feelings. But they died when I met Taeyong. Ever since I met him, my life has been wonderful and adventurous and I feel like I’m on top of the world. Record deal or not. I’m happy where I am. Taeyong has done a lot for me and I’ll never let that go unappreciated. Is he helping me make my dreams come true? He always has. Since the first time he asked me to play something for him. Look, I haven’t told anyone this but I’ll let you be the first to hear it. I’m turning all of the labels down. Not to prove anything to you. But to prove to myself that I can make it without anyone’s help. So for you to say that I’m taking advantage of Taeyong? Well...you’re lucky to be Taeyong’s family.” Or else you wouldn’t have been courteous.

You got up from the table because you didn’t want to see Samantha’s stuck up face for at least an hour.

“Hey,” Taeyong said as he touched your arm. “Are you okay?” He noticed you looked flushed.

You nodded as you took the glass of water from Taeyong. You gulped most of it down. “My throat was getting dry but I’m good now!”

Taeyong grinned. “I can’t get enough of you, you know that? That cover of Cha Cha Slide is one for the history books.”

You rolled your eyes. “Put the cake down and dance with me.”

You two danced to Miracles Happen by Myra. Sooyoung was a big Princess Diaries fan. Taeyong spun you around and you tickled him when he least expected it. It was one of his weaknesses.

;;

Samantha didn’t realize Yuta heard what she accused you of.

“What is your problem?” Yuta asked.

“What do you mean?” Samantha snapped. “That little wedding singer has infiltrated our lives and I was just putting her in her place.”

Yuta groaned in frustration. “Leave y/n alone Sam.”

“Why are you so concerned about her? I’m trying to save my brother from getting his heart broken by that-“

Yuta dared her to finish that sentence. “I’m gonna stop you right there.”

“Why are you getting so defensive over her? Don’t tell me you still have a thing for her.” But she already knew that.

Yuta remained silent.

“Oh?” She exclaimed, egging him on.

Yuta gave her a pointed look. “Don’t give me that. It was never a secret and you knew it.”

Samantha seethed. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. She told me she loves Taeyong. And, in case you forgot, you’re marrying me. If you know what’s good for you.”

Reality sunk in even deeper for Yuta. He stormed off and hit up the open bar. He was mad he had to marry someone he didn’t love. And for what? Fame and success? An obligation to the Lees and Samantha’s biological father?

A small part of him hurt that the only girl he ever really liked was in love with someone else. That someone else being his best friend.

;;

You finished your set. You were going to meet Taeyong at the photo booth set up for the reception.

You both sat in the photobooth.

“What do you think? Duck faces?” Taeyong asked.

You knew the only answer was yes.

“Wait! I saw some more props closer to the entrance. I’ll be right back,” he said as he kissed your cheek and squeezed your cheeks. “You are so adorable. I think I can die and go to Heaven now.” He was definitely buzzed.

You laughed and then waited.

A few second later someone opened the curtain. You were shocked to see who it was.

“Yuta?” You asked him.

He was drunk out of his wits. His long hair was disheveled and at the sight of you, he ran his hands through it again.

He looked at you in adoration. “Hey.”

“Yuta, are you okay? I-“

Yuta moved in and the flashes could be heard. He kissed you sloppily. You could feel the vodka from his lips. Alarms were going off in your head. You panicked and pushed him away hard.

“Get off of me.” You said as you pushed past him out of the photobooth.

“Y/n, come back! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Yuta stayed in the photobooth, despondent.

;;

Neither you or Yuta realized that you left something very important behind at the photobooth.

But someone else did.

To Be Continued in Part 4

A/N: You thought I forgot. 😉 I had to revise one little detail in chapter 1. Y/N auditioned for Yuta and Samantha in September instead of April! Thanks for reading and especially thanks for waiting. 😭

[mjj-news]

MJJNews Provided By Anji~Justice240

MJJNEWS, PICKING -UP- WHERE WE LEFT OFF…  

In Loving Memory Of Michael Jackson 1958-2009

♥ You Know That L.O.V.E. Survives ♥ **  ♥ So We Can Rock Forever ♥  **

★January 2021★  

MJJNEWS, PICKING -UP- WHERE WE LEFT OFF…

MICHAEL JACKSON – 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

January 1, 2021

If someone had told you at the beginning of 2020 that the year was going to be spent mostly at home and online, you’d probably have laughed it off. However, in arguably the most challenging year of our lifetime, that’s exactly what happened. Thankfully, we’re fans of the King of Pop and that means that no matter where you are in the world, you’re part of an active community that engages fans and always finds ways to celebrate no matter how challenging.

So, before we turn the page to 2021, Here is MJVibe’s top picks for Michael Jackson 2020 – Year in Review!

Thriller appears in the Top 10 vinyl sales of the decade in the United States at number 6, having sold 334,000 copies between 2010 and 2019. In 2019 alone, 88,000 copies of Thriller on vinyl were sold across the U.S.

A pair of Louboutins designed exclusively for Michael to wear during ‘This Is It’ go on display in Paris France at the Palais de la Porte Dorée as part of an exhibition focusing on the world-famous designer Christian Louboutins. The sparkly shoes offer a subtle nod to Michael’s Triumph/Off The Wall look and were displayed as if Moonwalking.

- Bad in Wembley and Dangerous Live in Bucharest are once again made available for streaming on YouTube through Michael’s official channel in an effort to encourage the ‘stay home’ order given to countries around the world.

- After 11 years at the Lyric Theater, Thriller Live closes its doors for the final time. The show had been scheduled to complete on April 26th 2020 and leave the Lyric to find a new home. However, the UK-wide lock down as a result of the pandemic saw the show close earlier than planned.

- The MJ Estate donated $300,000 to Corona Virus relief efforts in Michael’s name. Broadway Cares, Three Square Food Bank (Southern Nevada’s largest hunger-relief organization) and MusicCares each received a $100,000 donation.

The Estate release ‘Heal The World 2020’, a new short film to accompany Michael’s 1992 hit of the same name. The film focused on the Covid-19 pandemic and was produced to unite Michael’s fans virtually during an almost global lock down.

In response to the release, fans ensured ‘Healtheworld2020’ trended two weekends consecutively. As of December 2020, the short film has 4.3 million views on YouTube.

View the video here!

- As a result of the pandemic, MJ The Musical’s debut is once again delayed to September 2021. Originally planned to open in Chicago in the Summer of 2019, the launch was cancelled with a plan to head straight to Broadway in early 2020. After three rescheduled dates, the decision was made to push to September 2021.

- Michael dominates Smooth Radio’s All-Time Top 500 Songs with the most entries by a solo artist. With 20 entries, Billie Jean and Man In The Mirror placed inside the Top 10, with George Michael being the only other artist to do so. Averaging four million listeners a week, Smooth Radio removed Michael from rotation in 2019, however, this poll as voted by the public, ensured Michael returned to the station’s regular playlist. #MUTEWHO?!

- HIStory turns 25 and while fans around the world mark the album’s monumental status and timeless appeal, the Estate chose to release apparel and a badge set, which mostly amounted to, what some fans considered an overpriced, bad quality, poorly designed, late delivered collection.

Judge for yourself, Ilia Mizani and Pez Jax sat down to review some of the products here.

- Marking the 25th Anniversary of the album, the HIStory teaser is added to YouTube where it has since been viewed 1.5 million times via Michael’s official channel.

- It’s been over 50 years since the Jackson 5 performed on the Ed Sullivan show. As part of a full library upload, the performances are restored and uploaded to YouTube for future generations to enjoy. You can watch the iconic performances here!

- Sixteen11 Media Group announces the release of a new book titled, ‘The Story of HIStory’ by Pez Jax. The book charts the creation and release of HIStory and marks 25 years of the album’s release. Including interviews with many people who worked on the album and short films, Jax called upon HIStory Statue sculptor Diana Walczak to help create the cover of the book. By the end of 2020, the book was released in special gold hardback and has been shipped to over 30 countries around the world. Several of Michael’s items from the era were placed on auction through Julien’s Auctions. Taking place from the 15th – 19th of June, listings included the three Olodum outfits worn by Michael in ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, the black trench coat from Stranger In Moscow and the handwritten lyrics to D.S.

- Author Damien Shields releases ‘The Genesis of Thriller’, a special audio documentary that takes listeners into the studio to discover how the world’s biggest-selling album was made. HIGHLY Recommended!

You can listen to this insightful audio documentary here!

- SiriusXM launches ‘The Michael Jackson Channel’, a radio station playing nothing but Michael Jackson music for a strictly limited time. The station also featured a special playlist titled ‘The Now More Than Ever King of Pop Playlist’.

- UK Nationwide Radio Station ‘Smooth Radio’ host their annual ‘Top 100’ poll to find out who the number one Icon is, according to listeners. With an overwhelming number of votes, Michael comes in at Number one.

- Following global demonstrations in relation to the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police, Spike Lee teamed up with the Estate to release a new version of ‘They Don’t Care About Us’ for 2020. Mixing together both the Brazilian and Prison versions of the short film, Lee also incorporated footage from demonstrations around the world, which once again proved just how timeless Michael’s music is when used as the backdrop to current affairs.

Watch it here!

- Chinese fans celebrate Michael’s 62nd Birthday with the unveiling of 10 statues across the country. Created by MJJCN, the statues were installed in prominent locations including Nanning and Beijing and serve as a wonderful dedication to Michael.

‘Loving Neverland’ is released on YouTube as a five-hour compilation of footage and information that details Michael’s life, challenges and career in great detail. Compiled by fans Nandita Raghav and Deboleena Aich, Loving Neverland serves as a powerful reminder to what Michael experienced for anyone looking to understand who he was. You can watch it here!

- Finally, and after many years of asking, the Estate decided to do something with Michael Jackson’s Ghosts, announcing it would be free to stream on YouTube from 29th October until the 1st of November. To mark the Halloween period, which Michael ultimately rules, the mini-movie was uploaded in better quality than the previous uploads.

- Walmart release a limited edition 2x colored vinyl of the Jackson 5 greatest hits album ‘The Ultimate Collection’. Available only in the U.S, the album was issued through Universal Music.

- In what’s almost yearly fashion, more of Michael’s personal items were placed up for auction including the 2006 Japan VMAs jacket that marked Michael’s first official red-carpet appearance since his 2005 trial.

Also on auction were platinum record awards, signed items, photographs, drawings and a glove.

- Cirque-Du-Soleil announced that despite being closed for most of 2020 due to the pandemic, Michael Jackson ONE is one of five Las Vegas residency shows to receive a contract extension. Originally signed as a 10-year with five years guaranteed at the Mandalay Bay, the show has been so popular that both Cirque and Mandalay want to keep it going past its 2023 end date. The new end date on the contract extension has not been announced.

- On November 16th, the legendary Bruce Swedien passed away. Having worked with Michael as Engineer on all his Epic solo albums up to Invincible, Swedien continued working in the industry up until his passing and became an inspiration to many upcoming producers and engineers. Rest in Peace Bruce!

- Michael once again topped Forbes list of the Highest-Paid Dead Celebrity. Coming in at number one with $48 million earned, he beat Dr Seuss who came in second position with $33 million. FYI, Elvis came in 5th.

- To cap off another year of insightful interviews and important documentation, the MJCast episode 126 was a special featuring TJ Jackson. TJ speaks about growing up a Jackson, working with Michael and how the last few years of negativity have affected his family. You can listen to this deeply personal episode here!

- On Christmas Eve it was announced that Neverland ranch had officially been sold. Purchased for just $22 million by Billionaire Ron Burkle, the final price was a huge reduction from the overzealous $100 million asking price when the property was first put onto the market. However, there is hope as Burkle was a former business associate and friend to Michael, so while it may not be a ‘Michael Jackson Memorial’, it will hopefully be treated with the respect and history it deserves.

As we begin 2021 with hope and optimism, it may take a while before we can all be back with our favorite MJ friends; throwing down dance moves on his birthday and lighting candles on his anniversary. However, with the 30th Anniversary of Dangerous and the 20th Anniversary of Invincible at the tail end of the year, it’s likely we can look forward to some exciting coverage from a variety of different places and hopefully some more chart-topping achievements throughout the year.

⭐༺★༻ ༺🖤༻ ༺★༻⭐

[gdwessel]

G1 Supercard - 4/6/2019; Wrestling Dontaku Tour: Featured Matches, Tanahashi & Tenzan Injured; Nagata/Kojima in Crockett Cup; This Week’s NJPW on AXS

Yes, hi, hello. It’s been a bit. After two twelve-hour drives, five wrestling shows (which is apparently NOT ENOUGH judging by how many shows some people attended, or WORKED, during Mania Weekend), and a brush with death (I’ll explain next time I record), I needed to recover a bit. I’m still kinda half-assing it now, since I won’t be going through the full lineups for Wrestling Dontaku in this post. But youse all can forgive me, right? Anyway, let’s start with the whole reason I went to NYC...

(And hey, you can also listen to me do a podblast on Pro Wrestling Only about the event!)

ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard - 4/6/2019, Madison Square Garden, NYC (NJPWWorld / PPV)

Honor Rumble: Kenny King d. Jushin Thunder Liger, Great Muta [Wrestle-1], TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia, Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], King Haku [Bullet Club], Cheeseburger, Minoru Suzuki [SZKG], Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Jonathan Gresham, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Colt Cabana, Delirious, Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Rocky Romero [CHAOS], PJ Black, Tracy Williams [Lifeblood], Brian Milonas, Chase Owens [Bullet Club], Will Ferrara, Ryusuke Taguchi, Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables], Rhett Titus, SHO [CHAOS], YOH [CHAOS], Shaheem Ali, LSG, BUSHI [Los Ingobernables], Beer City Brusier (42;21, OTTR)

NEVER Openweight Championship & ROH World Television Championship Title v. Title: Jeff Cobb [FREE] © d. Will Ospreay [CHAOS] © (Tour Of The Islands, 12:52) - Ospreay fails his 2nd defense - Cobb succeeds his 6th defense, and is the 24th NEVER Openweight Champion

Rush [Los Ingobernables] d. Dalton Castle (Skewer Dropkick, 0:15)

Women of Honor World Championship: Kelly Klein d. Mayu Iwatani [STARDOM] © (K Power, 10:38) - Iwatani fails her 3rd defense - Klein is the 4th champion

NYC Street Fight Open Challenge: Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Flip Gordon & Mark Haskins [Lifeblood] d. Bully Ray, Silas Young & Shane Taylor (Gordon > Bully, Four Flippy Splash, 15:01)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way Match: Dragon Lee [CMLL] d. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] © & Bandido [Lifeblood] (Lee > Bandido, Desnucadora, 8:54) - Ishimori fails his 3rd defense - Dragon Lee is the 84th champion

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team v. ROH World Tag Team Championships Title v. Title 4-Way Match: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club] © d. PCO & Brody King [Villain Enterprises] ©, EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] and Jay & Mark Briscoe (Loa > King, Super Powerbomb, 9:54) - Guerillas of Destiny succeed their 1st defense - PCO/King fail their first defense; Guerrilas of Destiny are the 54th ROH World Tag Team champions

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG] © d. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Jim Breaks Armbar, 15:14) - Sabre succeeds his ? defense

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi d. Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables] © (Kamigoye, 20:53) - Naito fails his 2nd defense - Ibushi is the 21st champion

ROH World Championship 3-Way Ladder Match: Matt Taven d. Jay Lethal © & Marty Scurll [Villain Enterprises] (29:35) - Lethal fails his 13th defense - Taven is the 21st champion

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. Jay White [Bullet Club] © (Rainmaker, 32:33) - White fails his 1st defense - Okada is the 69th champion

Hoo wee, a lot to unpack here. This actually ran longer than Wrestle Kingdom 13. And it did feel every bit of that towards the end, sitting in MSG, I have to say. But this was a great show, and for being the last show I saw this weekend, it was a great way to end my Mania Weekend.

Which isn’t to say there are some major questions here. Like, was this the right move to take titles off White and Naito? Both are VERY over in their respective roles, Naito the only NJPW wrestler to get pre-match chants, White clearly the most hated heel in NJPW, both in Japan AND America. While Ibushi in his first championship as a contracted wrestler offers fresh title matches, Okada retaking the belt does not. And they were in the midst of an angle whereby Naito wanted to win the IWGP Heavyweight title while still IC champion. So that was... a waste of time and energy? Neither of which says the matches were not good, because both of them were. Just not sure of the results.

Tanahashi got injured, maybe by that Jim Breaks Armbar? So he is out of the next tour. So is Hiroyoshi Tenzan, which, not sure how he got injured considering he didn’t work this show. Maybe it happened during the New Japan Cup tour, or whilst in training. 

The Guerrillas of Destiny are now double-champions, however their belts were stolen by Toru Yano at the conclusion of the match. Not that anyone in MSG actually noticed, because everyone’s attention was on the (what we now know to be worked) crowd invasion by fucking Enzo & Cass. I really don’t want to spend too much time on those two scumfucks. MSG let their feelings known in no uncertain terms, however. As did many of the wrestlers, like, true to form, Tama Tonga. This was a recurring theme, of Ring Of Honor really not reading the room, and having such shitty booking decisions. The Women of Honor match was patently Not Good, and a waste of Mayu Iwatani’s talents; this goes double for the Beautiful People appearing at the end, to absolute crickets in MSG. Kenny King robbing both Jushin Thunder Liger and the absolute surprise entrant THE GREAT MUTA (yes, I absolutely did lose my shit seeing him at this show, why do you ask?) of an MSG moment (Muta did spit red mist in King’s face tho). A streetfight clusterfuck that became a 6-man match to put over Herb Gordon. The way too long ladder match. ROH stinks, folks. Stop watching them. They are awful. The only thing  on their end that was remotely good was Rush destroying Dalton Castle, but Dalton is either turning heel or leaving the company, following his attacks on The Boys. But yeah, this show made it crystal clear that NJPW are way better off without fucking around with Sinclair Broadcasting Group, especially if they are going to hire scumbags like Enzo Amore.

Dragon Lee finally wins the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title! That was a bit of a shocker. So was Ospreay ending his Giant Killer push by losing the NEVER title to a much deserving Jeff Cobb. Real happy he finally has an NJPW title.

Long story short, I really did enjoy this show, but mostly by ignoring the ROH content. I also had a wonderful weekend, where I met quite a lot of people, both regular folk and wrestlers (ZSJ! Shibata! Chinsuke Nakamura! Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio!), saw friends and co-hosts, ate some great food, and saw some awesome wrestling. Including the RevPro show on Friday, which had a lot of NJPW guys, but I don’t have the energy to go over that now. And what’s passed, is past. Time to look into the future yo...

This Saturday (my 46th birthday!), we begin the cycle of shows leading in to Wrestling Dontaku, which will be a 2-day event once again. I don’t have the energy to enter in the full tour cards right now. I will get to that tomorrow/Friday when I do a new Upcoming Events post. But I can go over some of the feature matches...

On 4/20, we will have Sengoku Lord in Nagoya, at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Two title defenses on this show, as Kota Ibushi will make his first defense of the IWGP Intercontinental title against Zack Sabre Jr., who of course beat Ibushi during the New Japan Cup. Also on this show, Juice Robinson will defend the IWGP US belt against Bad Luck Fale.

Another title match takes place on 4/29, at the annual Wrestling Hi no Kuni  event in Kumamoto. Here, GOD will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team straps against the Most Violent Players, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano. The main event of this show is a special singles match between Hirooki Goto v. Jay White. Not sure why, but here we are. There will also be a special singles, non-title match (if Juice retains on 4/20) between Juice v. Chase Owens.

The first day of Wrestling Dontaku, on 5/3 in Fukuoka, has the first time the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title is a main event match for a megashow in... a long time. (Someone tweeted when the last time was, and I didn’t save it, and I can’t fathom looking right now.) Dragon Lee makes his 1st defense against the previous champion, Taiji Ishimori. That ought to be good. Also, Jeff Cobb makes his first defense of the NEVER Openweight title against Suzuki-gun’s Taichi. And only that belt.

The following day, on 5/4, sees Kazuchika Okada make his first defense of the IWGP Heavyweight title against LIJ’s SANADA. Those three have had great matches before, including the recent New Japan Cup Final. They are also advertising a special singles match between Tomohiro Ishii v. EVIL, as well as a tag match that sees Dragon Lee & Will Ospreay team v. Taiji Ishimori & an X wrestler. Not sure why they are going the X route when we all know it’s El Phantasmo. 

As I said above, I will list all cards tomorrow or Friday in an Upcoming Events post.

Meanwhile, the brackets have been announced for the 2019 Crockett Cup tag team tournament, taking place on 4/27/2019 at Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC. NJPW will be sending over the team of Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima to this event; one assumed it would have been TenKoji were Tenzan not injured. They will face the recently dethroned ROH World Tag Team champions PCO & Brody King in their matchup. Should Nagata/Kojima win, they will face the winners of The Briscoe Brothers v. The Rock’n’Roll Express. Yes, you read that right. Over in the other block, an ROH team of Herb Gordon & Bandido (poor Bandido) goes up against a CMLL tandem of Stuka Jr. & Guerrero Maya Jr., whilst the War Kings (Jax Dane & Crimson) face off against the winner of a Wild Card Battle Royale that will take place during this show. This event will also have an NWA World’s Heavyweight title defense by Nick Aldis v. Marty Scurll. 

Finally, NJPW on AXS has a 2-hour special this week, with matches from G1 Supercard just last weekend. The advertised matches are the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental matches. You can scroll above to see who is in those. Show starts at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT.

And that’s it. I’m still recovering, so off to bed with this old man. Tour starts Saturday. Happy to be back. Hope you enjoyed the G1 Supercard, and anything else you watched during Mania Weekend. Come back for the Road to Wrestling Dontaku!

[theonyxpath]

Let’s start serious and move towards our yearly Thanks blog at the end.

I’ve heard from a lot of you asking if the recent messages that White Wolf have posted on their social media are something that will be bad for Onyx Path. As of this writing, everything we’ve heard from over there is that it’s business as usual between our companies. We are still going to be sending projects over for approvals, they are still the ones who OK our pitches for new WW-IP projects, and we’re still running our successful Chicago By Night KS, the first licensed V5 TTRPG supplement.

So fear not, True Believers!

I mean, I just had to channel Stan Lee there, after last week’s MMN blog.

Which was, oddly enough, the least commented-on blog I think I’ve ever posted. Very strange, but I’m just assuming you were all in mourning for Stan, too.

In case you missed it last week, here is the lovely graphic our own Impish Ian Watson made to show what game lines are wholly Onyx Path‘s, the ones at the top, and which are licensed from whom:

I actually didn’t think we’d need it again so soon, but there does seem to be a fair bit of confusion out there, so feel free to point to this if you need to explain things to a friend.

And that’s one of the awesome Chicago By Night full-page pieces up there at the top, illustrated by the amazing Michael Gaydos. More Chicago Kickstarter news – we’re headed into the last week! – down below in The Blurbs!

    Trinity Continuum: Aeon art by Sam White

    A bit of related news:

One of the first times I ever heard of Matthew Dawkins, who is our Chicago By Night developer, was when he interviewed me for his YouTube channel a whole bunch of years ago. From then, his Gentlemam Gamer videos have taken deep dives into many of the White Wolf (and other) games, and were very helpful in explaining aspects of V5 during this last year.

Now, Matthew has agreed to create a series of Gentleman Gamer videos for our Onyx Path games starting with the pantheons in Scion 2nd Edition, and you’ll also be seeing Matthew in other ways too, as he helps ramp up our online gaming presence. More on that in the weeks to come!

BUT DON’T WORRY, his dulcet tones are still going to be appearing weekly on the Onyx Pathcast – which this coming Friday features Dixie interviewing Jacqueline “Jax” Bryk with a one-on-one covering not just her work with us, but throughout the TTRPG biz, and how she has become one of our industries leading lights for safe play game writing.

    Trinity Continuum: Aeon art by Marco Gozales

    And now, the thanks!

Let’s start with the newest member of our Monday Meeting team, Dixie Cochran:

I am thankful that the whole Onyx Path team gave me the opportunity to work on these books in a greater capacity this year. I am thankful that Eddy, Matthew, and Rich are always supportive and willing to answer my many questions, and that Rose Bailey recommended me for this job as she moved on to a new stage in her career. I am thankful for all of my amazing Chronicles of Darkness and Exalted developers, writers, and fans, who continue to do amazing work and be a wonderful community. I am also thankful for lovely editors and indexers, Word’s “track changes” function, and Oxford commas.

From the art and layout side of things, there are these points from Mirthful Mike Chaney, in no particular order he tells me:

Thankful our first Storypath IPs are really close to being done and ready to release.

Thankful our non WW stuff has been continually well received…

Thankful that Wraith 20 is almost done… and Scion…

Thankful my wife is still as into 40k as I am… now if I could only get her into D&D 5e.

Thankful that the midterms weren’t an utter shitshow.

Thankful that I still get to work with all of you and still get to make game books after all these years. 

Our marketing guru and developer/writer extraordinaire Monica Valentinelli shares these thoughts:

I’d like to thank fans for their continued support and enthusiasm. People are really excited for the games we make, and that’s the reason why I do what I do.

Here’s Eddy Webb, with his thanks:

I continue to be thankful for all of the fans of Realms of Pugmire.

I am thankful that Monarchies of Mau is shipping (and ahead of schedule!)

I am thankful to find so many people who are really excited about our upcoming Storypath games like Scion, Trinity Continuum, They Came From Beneath The Sea!, and Dystopia Rising: Evolution.

And I am thankful that there are still people who love and support Onyx Path Publishing.

Mighty Matt McElroy takes a long sip of coffee and sez:

I want thank everyone who has had the time and energy to introduce an Onyx Path game to someone new. Whether that is inviting someone to join your gaming group or running a demo at a convention, this past year has been an amazing opportunity to meet new gamers around the world.

Our behind-the-scenes keeper of the flame, LisaT has these thanks to share with all of you:

I am thankful again this year for the opportunity to work with so many talented and creative people. And this year I had the opportunity to meet a number of them face to face along with many fans of our products. I’m looking forward to meeting even more of you at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia in just a couple of weeks. So if you’re in town stop by and become part of what I’m thankful for for next year!

Impish Ian Watson, lord of Bloodlines modding, also does some other stuff he has thanks about:

I’m thankful that, after years toiling in the word mines, the Trinity Continuum and Æon are almost done, and we’ve done a significant chunk of the next two supplements, plus Aberrant. I can’t wait for people to see the fruits of our labours.

I’m thankful to Trinity‘s Kickstarter backers for having faith in us.

Let’s see what sort of thanks Mr. Dawkins has to share:

Yo Gentlemaniacs, it’s Thanksgiving night, and this is the happiest time of year for all the maniacs, brother! You know, me and all my little Gentsters, we got a lot of things to be thankful for. Number one: we’re thankful for being happy and very healthy. We’re thankful for having time to share with our loved ones. We’re also thankful that Gentlemania is still the strongest force in the universe. And after the turkey’s done, after the blessings are all done, I can tell you what the Gentleman is mostly happy about: it’s SURVIVOR SERIES TIME! And I’m thankful for my team of Gentlemaniacs!!

That, and Onyx Path are pretty cool.

Uhhhhh. He may be cracking under the pressure. Hard to say.

From me:

I sometimes sit at my desk, stunned by the realization that I still get to do this after all these years and I’m thankful for that – a lot! Thanks to our creative freelancers who continue to find delightful new ways to verbally and visually describe our game worlds, and our full-time folks who orchestrate all this rampant creativity into the formats and pages that we all love to read and play. Thanks to all of our associated partner companies that give us the reach to deliver and communicate this thing we do to all of you!

Which, of course, actually brings me to all of you and all of our community who have supported us through our growing pains, lo! these many years, and even through pains not of our choosing! Without this intricate eco-system that includes all of us and all of you, we just would not have been able to keep building all our game lines and worlds!

Thank you.

Many Worlds, One Path!

  BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Lo the darkness that lies like a pall over Chicago.

The V5 Chicago By Night Kickstarter has passed 200% funding and continues to knock through Stretch Goals like the El through a sleet storm! Congrats to the whole team and all our backers, as we continue to build the Chicago Folio with Cam, Anarchs, and Independent sections and the Let The Streets Run Red Chronicle Collection, as well as activate additional projects too!

We’d be thrilled if you’d give it a look here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/chicago-by-night-for-vampire-the-masquerade-5th-ed/description

And here is a Q&A Matthew and several of his writing team held on his Gentleman Gamer YouTube channel that goes into a lot of their thinking about Chicago By Night and then they answer questions from the chat: https://youtu.be/v8YbbzEPuiI

  Next up, we’re working on the Kickstarter for They Came From Beneath the Sea! (TCFBtS!), which has some very different additions to the Storypath mechanics we’ll be explaining during the KS.  They take an excellent 50’s action and investigation genre game and turn it to 11! Our current plan is to start on Dec 18th but run it extra long into January!

  ELECTRONIC GAMING:

      As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

And our latest, the dice for Werewolf: The Forsaken 2e:

  ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

  OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

And we’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

  Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

    DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday is a cornucopia of delicious choices!

Featuring: electronic wallpapers previously only available to Kickstarter backers for Changeling: The Dreaming 20th, W20 Shattered Dreams, V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary, Pugmire, Dark Eras, and Prince’s Gambit on DTRPG!

Followed up by Monarchies of Mau symbol t-shirts on our Red Bubble store, as a lead-in to next week and the release of Mau in PDF and PoD versions to the public!

  CONVENTIONS!

Rich, Lisa, Matt, Eddy, Dixie, Danielle, and other Onyx Path writers and developers will be at PAX Unplugged in Philly, November 30th – December 2nd running demos of Scion, Monarchies of Mau, Exalted, and more! http://unplugged.paxsite.com/

Start getting ready for our appearance at MidWinter this January in Milwaukee! So many demos, playtests, secret playtests, and Onyx Path Q&As you could plotz!

  And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

  Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

  Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

  Manuscript Approval:

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

  Editing:

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

  Post-Editing Development:

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

  In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – Sketches coming in, and they look good.

Geist 2e

The Realm – Fulls contracted. Talking to Gong and Gunship about availability during holidays.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Chicago By Night – KS moving along.

C20 Player’s Guide – Contracted.

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea! – Getting more KS art since we have a little time, gonna start on KS assets.

Lost 2e Jumpstart – Art contracted – sketches trickling in.

EX3 Lunars – KS art contracted.

Signs of Sorcery – Contracted – sketches trickling in.

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

M20: Gods and Monsters – With Josh, progressing.

Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats

  Proofing

Scion Hero – Pre XX errata fixes.

Scion Origin – Corrections are in.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded

CtL2 Jumpstart – Awaiting more corrections.

Trinity Core

Trinity Aeon

  At Press

Monarchies of Mau and Screen – And dice and buttons, all shipped to backers. Waiting for PoD proofs.

Wraith 20th – Fixing some issues with the front cover emboss. Everything else good to go though.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printing.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Lost 2e Screen – Printing.

Scion Screen – Printing.

Changeling: The Lost 2e – Printing.

Fetch Quest – Proof coming this week.

Exalted 3rd Novel – Out to backers, getting errata.

VtR Guide to the Night – Inputting errata and prepping for PoD.

PtC Tormented – I think we hit errata shutdown on Wednesday.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Thanksgiving! Not necessarily the “school” holiday of pilgrims and first winters and all that, but the holiday of togetherness and actually looking at how things are in your life and being glad (thankful) for the good parts and the parts that you learned from. And MST3K new season dropping on Turkey Day!

[biggoldbelt]

Taya Valkyrie Tweets To Announces First Match Post WWE NXT Release

Taya Valkyrie Tweets To Announces First Match Post WWE NXT Release

Taya Valkyrie (Frankie Monet in NXT) was just one of many who were cut in WWE’s most recent batch of releases. Many names including Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, and Scarlett Bordeaux are just a few who were let go. Now Valkyrie is focusing on the future and has just recently announced her first match post-NXT. Valkyrie took to Twitter to plug her upcoming match at Zickey Dices’s Outlandish…

[lgbtqreads]

can u give me a list of books coming out in 2018?

Certainly not a complete one, but here are a bunch, heavy on kidlit:

MG

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender

One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock 

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

YA

What if it’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Social Intercourse by Greg Howard

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

*Boomerang by Helene Dunbar

Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev Rosen

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli 

Nothing Happened by Molly Booth

Robot Army by Simon Curtis

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner

Love and Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves

Lizzie by Dawn Ius

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Ship It by Britta Lundin

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

Past Tense by Star Spider

The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst 

The True Queen by Sarah Fine

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

If Found, Return to Astropop by Lucas Hargis

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

The Tower by Cale Dietrich

All Out ed. by Saundra Mitchell

M/M Romance

Down by Contact by Santino Hassell

North Shore by Santino Hassell

The Ballad of Whiskey Jax by Avon Gale

Soul to Keep by Garrett Leigh

Cam Boy by Quinn Anderson

When It’s Time by Zane Riley (NA)

(You can find a bunch more here: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles?sort_by=field_title_ebook_date_value&sort_order=DESC)

F/F Romance

Twice in a Lifetime by Jodie Griffin

Falling Into Place by Sheryn Munir

The Music and the Mirror by Lola Keeley

(You can find a bunch more here: https://www.ylva-publishing.com/books/)

Polyam

Outside the Lines by Anna Zabo 

Of course, you can always check out upcoming books at queer presses, including those linked above, Dreamspinner, Less Than Three, Ninestar, etc.

[blueweave01]

Global Hair removal wax market booming—Projected to Reach worth USD 15.0 Billion in 2027

A study recently conducted by the strategic consulting and market research firm, BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the global Hair removal wax market was worth USD 7.45 billion in 2020 and is further projected to reach USD 15.0 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 10.8% during the forecast period (2021-2027). The global hair removal wax market has expanded significantly as a result of increasing disposable income and a shift in lifestyle of the consumers across the globe. Furthermore, effective delivery channels, growing demand for hair removal products from beauty salons and spas, and an improved standard of living are the major factors driving the growth of the global hair removal wax market. Also, the desire to look more attractive and beautiful, combined with increasing consciousness about personal care and hygiene are the additional factors boosting the market growth.

Hair removal wax is a depilatory product used for stripping unwanted hair from different areas of the body and face. With so many waxing products available in the market, industry players are striving to come up with innovative products that are less irritating, more effective, and organic. These constant innovations are expected to drive the growth of the global hair removal wax market.

Change in personal grooming trends accelerating the growth of the global hair removal market

Owing to the increasing trends in personal grooming, along with a massive up-gradation in lifestyle, the global hair removal market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. Global lifestyle trends, such as personal grooming and maintenance, have influenced customers all over the world to spend money on hair removal procedures at salons and spas, making spas and salons the primary drivers of this business. Consumers are shifting away from shaving creams and razors in favor of waxing items for a more effective and long-lasting experience. Furthermore, as grooming preferences shift, the industry is witnessing an increase in male customers seeking waxing services, which is also leading to market growth.

Increasing Demand for Pre-made Waxing Strips leading to market growth

Ready-to-use pre-made waxing strips are a depilatory technique in which wax is pre-pasted on strips, allowing one to avoid the hassle of melting and applying wax to remove hair. Pre-made wax strips are convenient for most parts of the body such as the legs, underarms, bikini area, or even the face. Such wax strips come in a variety of shapes and sizes, thus making them widely popular among the youth and aiding in market growth. Moreover, since these cold wax strips are so easy to use at home, they were in huge demand during the pandemic, when all spas and salons were closed.

The emerging trend of using wax for skin exfoliation is driving market growth

Hair removal wax helps to remove not only excess hair but also dead and dry skin cells, thereby, acting as an exfoliant and making the skin smoother. As a result of beauty trends like smooth, soft, and spotless skin promoted by social media and fashion magazines, waxes as exfoliants are becoming more popular worldwide. What’s more, as waxing becomes more mainstream, body-conscious men are also opting for such waxing services. Waxing exfoliates the skin to remove ingrown hairs and promotes cell regeneration. These benefits of waxing have contributed to an increase in the use of waxing products.

Impact of COVID-19

The global hair removal wax market is reacting positively to the pandemic. Hair removal wax manufacturers are scaling up their product lines and promoting them through eCommerce websites. However, the market is still facing a setback as a result of store closures, as the bulk of commercial goods are purchased offline.

Nevertheless, the hair removal wax market is prophesized to grow rapidly amid the COVID-19 pandemic, owing largely to the launch of at-home waxing kits that include all required waxing items as well as pre-made waxing strips. Since customers cannot visit a salon these days to satisfy their grooming needs, they are readily embracing these pre-made strips to groom themselves, resulting in huge demand for these items worldwide.

Global Hair removal market by Application

Based on application, the hair removal market can be divided into individual and commercial. Because of evolving fashion and grooming trends, there was a huge growth in the number of salons and spas prior to the pandemic, aiding in the massive development of the commercial segment, thereby making the commercial segment the largest. However, with the onset of the pandemic, the growth of the commercial sector has slowed down considerably while the individual segment has flourished due to innovations such as mini waxing kits and pre-made waxing strips. The consumers who have no time to visit salons for personal grooming readily have adopted such products. Moreover, due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, people who used to opt for salon services have also started switching to these pre-made strips, thus resulting in the growth of the individual segment.

Competitive landscape

The hair removal wax market has proved to be a lucrative market due to the recent beauty trends and up-gradation in lifestyle, thereby attracting many competitors. The major competitors in the global hair removal wax market are Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Coloris Cosmetics, FILO BIANCO S.r.l., GiGi, Harley Wax, Jax Wax Australia, Karaver, Kera-Ban Wax Products, Lee-Chem Laboratories, Marzena BodyCare, Inc., Parissa Laboratories Inc., PerronRigot, Reckitt Benckiser, Sally Hansen, Starpil Wax Co., Sue Ismiel and Daughters, The Darent Wax Company Ltd., Veet, and Xanitalia.

Don't miss the business opportunity of the global hair removal wax market. Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth.

The in-depth analysis of the report provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of the global hair removal wax market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends in the ­­­global hair removal wax market, along with industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyzes the growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics of the market.

About Us

Blue Weave Consulting provides all-inclusive Market Intelligence Solutions to businesses regarding various products and services online & offline. We offer comprehensive market research reports by analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to boost up the performance of your business solution. BWC has built its reputation from the scratches by delivering quality inputs and nourishing long-lasting relationships with its clients. We are one of the promising digital MI solutions companies providing agile assistance to make your business endeavors successful.

[livesets-dj-mixes-edm-podcasts]

Download Marc Volt - In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) for free now!

Artist: Marc Volt Show: Marc Volt – In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) Quality: 320 Kbps 48000 Khz Genre: House, Tech House Source: RSS

Discover more Marc Volt live sets & radioshows here | Listen or download more In The Box episodes HERE

Marc Volt – In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) Tracklist

To celebrate our upcoming EP, Curtiba is joining me this week on the IN THE BOX podcast. Enjoy!

Curtiba:

01. Diplo Wax Motif – Love To The World

02. Noizu – Summer 91

03. Dua Lipa – Electricity (MK Remix)

04. TCTS Boston Bun – Without You

05. FDTD – This Way

06. Marco Lys & lee Cabrera – Reap

07. Marc Volt, Curtiba – No Sleep

Marc Volt:

08. Curtiba, Marc Volt – Stay Here

09. Jax Jones – Feels

10. Wh0 – I’m Coming Home

11. Toscana – Pera Siempre (Extended Mix) [Terms & Conditions ]

12. DJ Dove ‘Wake Up’ (Original Mix) [Circus Recordings]

13. Piero Pirupa – Gimme Luv (Original Mix) [SOLA]

14. Joshwa ft. Camden Cox – Saving Time (Original Mix) [LOVEJUICE]

15. Ki Creighton & Makanan ‘Detroit Night Rituals’ (Original Mix) [Circus Recordings]

16. Bigstate – Classic (Extended Mix)

The podcast Marc Volt – In The Box is embedded on this page from an open RSS feed. All files, descriptions, artwork and other metadata from the RSS-feed is the property of the podcast owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by EDMliveset.com.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit & VK

[edmlivesets4u-blog]

Listen or download Marc Volt - In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) for free now!

Artist: Marc Volt Show: Marc Volt – In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) Quality: 320 Kbps 48000 Khz Genre: House, Tech House Source: RSS

Discover more Marc Volt live sets & radioshows here | Listen or download more In The Box episodes HERE

Marc Volt – In The Box 099 (Guestmix Curtiba) Tracklist

To celebrate our upcoming EP, Curtiba is joining me this week on the IN THE BOX podcast. Enjoy!

Curtiba:

01. Diplo Wax Motif – Love To The World

02. Noizu – Summer 91

03. Dua Lipa – Electricity (MK Remix)

04. TCTS Boston Bun – Without You

05. FDTD – This Way

06. Marco Lys & lee Cabrera – Reap

07. Marc Volt, Curtiba – No Sleep

Marc Volt:

08. Curtiba, Marc Volt – Stay Here

09. Jax Jones – Feels

10. Wh0 – I’m Coming Home

11. Toscana – Pera Siempre (Extended Mix) [Terms & Conditions ]

12. DJ Dove ‘Wake Up’ (Original Mix) [Circus Recordings]

13. Piero Pirupa – Gimme Luv (Original Mix) [SOLA]

14. Joshwa ft. Camden Cox – Saving Time (Original Mix) [LOVEJUICE]

15. Ki Creighton & Makanan ‘Detroit Night Rituals’ (Original Mix) [Circus Recordings]

16. Bigstate – Classic (Extended Mix)

The podcast Marc Volt – In The Box is embedded on this page from an open RSS feed. All files, descriptions, artwork and other metadata from the RSS-feed is the property of the podcast owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by EDMliveset.com.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit & VK

[kpopmultifan]

DSP Media’s (home of APRIL & KARD; former home of KARA, RAINBOW, & A-JAX) new boy group MIRAE has released a profile film of 2nd member Lee Junhyuk (an alum of PRODUCE X 101) ahead of their upcoming scheduled March debut.