#and then Rei. just being a happy Dino

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Nu carnival pet names you call each other

Yakumo

He calls you love. It's simple and sweet and he blushes every time he uses the pet name.

He adores being called dear because that's what his grandparents call each other and to him it's a term so filled with love and affection. He's happy with any nickname you want to call him though as long as it doesn't remind him of snakes.

Edmond

He calls you dear. He sometimes thinks about calling you sappy names but then gets too embarrassed and doesn't. He may call you my dearest or dearest one if he's getting emotional. He's trying.

Call him your night and shining armor and he gets all flustered. If you try to call him anything too sweet or sappy he will make you stop because he gets too embarrassed easily.

Olivine

He calls you sunshine! He thought about calling you angel but it didn't feel quite right to him, so he stuck with sunshine.

You call him father in public, but in private you call him any sweet mushy nickname you can think of. Fluffy, teddy bear, pound cake, literally anything and he's smiling like a fool.

Quincy

He calls you little one or he'll name you after a forest animal you are like. If your shy he might call you mouse, or if you're cuddly he may call you bear, something like that.

You call him potato when he's being lazy and sweet potato when he's being cute. You call him sweet potato a lot more often. He does think the nicknames you give him are cute and he never complains. Even if others think they're stupid names he thinks they are cute when you say it.

Kuya

He calls you bunny. Yes it started as a teasing insult but the name was too cute to stop calling you it.

He laughs when you call him villain affectionately. He actually does enjoy when you call him flower names like lavender or wisteria. He says the nicknames are stupid but will also pout if you stop calling him them.

Blade

He calls you darling. If you ask him why his answer is “darling is darling! It's perfect right?” With a giant smile. You can't say no to that.

His face lights up every time you call him cutie, cutie pie, or sweet pea. He likes the cuter nicknames rather than romantic or cool ones.

Garu

He calls you ham bone. What? Nicknames are supposed to be of something you like right? A little confused but he's got the spirit.

You call him puppy or sometimes pumpkin. It's cute and you think it fits him. He's just happy you're giving him fun names.

Karu

He calls you slave #2 in the beginning but eventually calls you mine or puppy as your permanent nicknames. He started calling you puppy because that's what he heard you call Garu and thought it was something you were supposed to call people you like.

You call him your big bad wolf. He doesn't understand the reference but is gives him an ego boost every time you say it.

Dante

He calls you starlight. He may be the sun lord but you are his light in the darkness. He only ever calls you this in private though because he doesn't like to make his relationships public. He may also call you beloved but that's less fun.

In public you call him my sun lord, it's subtle enough for him to pick up on it but not others. In private you call him your oasis. He loves when you make him feel like home.

Rei

He calls you masterpiece. He thinks your flaws are what makes you perfect so you are a true masterpiece to him.

It doesn't matter what you call him he's just going to roll his eyes and scoff. He does smile the moment you turn away though. Whenever you try a new nickname he'll ask why you picked it. No matter the answer he will never tell you if he likes any of the names or not.

Eiden

He calls you babe mostly. He likes changing his pet names for you but almost always defaults to babe. He likes the casual feel of it.

You kind of just match what he calls you on that day. Like if he calls you honey you call him sweetie. Sometimes he'll make dumb names just to see what you'll match with. “Right egg muffin?” “Sure thing dino nugget.”. None of the clan members know what your talking about most of the time.

Aster

He calls you cupid because before you he only saw people as food or something to be exploited. A love god must have been involved to make him fall for you. He prefers to call you by your name though because cupid is a silly name but he can't think of anything that fits better. Maybe treasure?

You call him your partner in crime because a couple that commits atrocities together stays together. You called him your sugar daddy once and he got so mad.

Morvay

He calls you hot stuff or sexy. Yeah not the most original but he always wants you to know he thinks you're hot. Hey at least it gets the point across.

You call him your hunky incubus as a joke but he loves it. Really he loves anything you call him because he's so used to Aster calling him stupid incubus all the time.

[honeybeekao]

hi dino!! i hope you've been having a good day!!

tell me some stuff about madara if you get a chance :o i wanna know more about him!! thankies <3

EEE HI LEO!!!! thank you so much i'm having a pretty good day! drawing a certain little guy we all love and IM SO HAPPY WITH THE OUTFIT DETAILS i never draw intricate things bc im lazy BUT IT'S WORKING!

madara...mmama madara mikejima....him

i'm not sure what things you know but that probably doesnt matter this is my chance to madara essay <333

okayokay so he grew up in the unfortunate environment of His Family Are Deep Followers To The Shinkai Cult. but his first instinct when he saw the boy everyone called a god was to befriend him. he was like "that kid is Absolutely lonely and needs a friend" and he tried!! this was a part of the reason his family labelled him a problem child. (if anything he wasnt a problem child at all, just bad parents.)

befriending kanata meant also testing if him being a god was really true. madara's younger sister being very sick lead him to promising her he could help her, and in turn when he couldn't she became angry with him. that was i Think the first failure (he 100% thinks in terms of failures. even one is irredeemable to him and he believes he's a monster for every mistake he makes)

so because he couldn't cure her, his last option was to make a wish to kanata to cure her—which didn't work, because kanata isn't a god and wields no mystical powers despite what he and everyone believes.

so that was when madara learned that everything with gods and magic were lies, false creations that people turned to for support when the real world was too scary for them. and he made it his goal to try and pull kanata out of that whole situation, along with maintaining a difficult friendship. (kanata's family And his family didn't want madara around him because they knew he was trying to take their "god" away from them.)

madara used to sneak in toys and books to kanata since he wasnt given any, but he usually had to take them apart in order to not get caught. and he would put them back together so they always looked like patchwork (this is told in chapter 2 of Myriad of Colors and Flowers)

despite his best efforts– he did all he could to try and save kanata, but because of how severe everything was it wasn't enough. anytime he became distant due to his family or his own choices at self preservation, kanata's loneliness became worse (knowing what lonely is when you have no one is so much different than when you do. knowing what not being lonely is like makes the feeling even more prevalent.)

so one of madara's main goals is to completely sabotage and destroy the remains of the religion they were born into. he often swears to never become like his parents, regarding them as "true evil", but he also doesn't resonate with being called a hero due to failing to save the people he loves. (he also calls himself selfish and says everything he does is for his own gain, which.. there is no way that's true, he doesnt want his efforts that fail to be failures To his loved ones. if they were efforts set only for himself, then if they don't go right it technically isn't him failing others. he needs therapy! and i'm sure this way of thinking doesnt stop him from being guilty anyway so really, just admit you care man we know you do)

his mama persona is so.. wanting to help out everyone as if a mother would, reasons being he didn't have that experience with his own mother and it's also a way to punish himself? because he can't Truly be that figure for anyone. it's like taking on a role you wanna be so badly even though you know it isn't feasible... he Knows it'll hurt when he can't live up to it! ugh i think he's doing the best he can and deserves the world

during the war (he was in his 2nd year) he was Constantly overseas. this was because he had influence at the school, along with rei who Also had major influence. (student council president and being a well known idol) and eichi needed them out of the way to orchestrate plans. dude they were like 17 and fixing international problems at different schools And doing idol work?? i'd die idk how they did it

rei also taught madara a lot with everything they needed to know to fix problems, make agreements, falsify passports, other illegal ways to get things done im sure. ritsu was supposed to be rei's successor but he was too sick to, so madara was his next choice. learned to pull strings from the best of the best!! madara is insane and he can and will do anything for the sake of a task, to help/protect the people he loves, etc.

rapid fire facts that are on the wiki but i'm saying because OUGH

he's so multi-skilled??? this man can do so Much. he can play piano, cello, and violin. can play in like every sport. is well practiced in FIGHTING. knows multiple languages fluently, english being one of them. and i'm gonna need him to stop being so hard on himself. cmon, you are literally not a monster i dont know how else to tell you this!

he doesnt let people get Too close to him because he doesnt want them to get hurt. he thinks everything he does is akin to destroying. he is incredibly affectionate and has no idea what personal space is. he lies for fun (part of his persona.) would, maybe has killed for people he cares about (he's definitely gotten in so many fights there's no way he hasnt. he is a revenge boy first and foremost) he hates religion because of his past with it, and he despises the idea of ignorance. he goes on monologues about humanity and how ignorance Will be its downfall. he doesn't like being compared to other things and has this thing where he hates being asked to do things that Anyone could.. he wants to be important, he is SO important. i adore him

if i got anything wrong feel free to throw a dart at me i know absolutely nothing about anything! i hope this was good :] thank you leo!!!

[my-brothers-corrupted]

Dear Madeleine, Em, Ghost, Tristan, Noah, Crystal, Dino, Arthyr, Cookie, Jamie, Ari, Luigi, Carpe, Mae, Tiri, Leo, Rose, Nikki, JJ, Pat, and all my silent, secret readers...

I hope you know that I have no irritation for anyone who only read part-way through this story. Not only is it wildly, ridiculously long, spanning years and hundreds of thousands of words, but I struggled through many parts of this last section, and I think there was more than one time where my mental health, my situation, and my fear of ending this story that I love so much all impacted the quality of the writing.

That being said, I can tell you now: you all hold a special place in my little writer heart for seeing this through to the end with me.

I could not have finished it without you. Your quiet support, your input, your passion, your encouragement, your art, your writing. You are my co-authors. Some of you have been here since the very fucking beginning, which blows me away. It's unbelievable. I don't know how to tell you how glad I am that we have shared this.

For anyone who has read this story at all over the years, even if you did not, for any reason, make it to the end, your help is no less appreciated and I still remember so many of you (Rei, Pixie, Cael, June, Catherine, Darki, Villains, Holly, BP, Amy, Autumn, and too many more for me to even start listing without being scared of leaving you out). You might be surprised how many of you I still associate with specific asks, comments, and art pieces. Thank you.

Our characters fought for themselves and for each other. For their kids and their loved ones. For freedom and joy and the hope that they had to hold on to with blood-stained and tired hands. But there were so many times when your words and your presence and your genuine care and belief in them was the only thing they were clinging to that I can very safely tell you, my friends: they were also fighting for you. To prove to someone who believed in them all along that yes, yes, YES - I will be happy and well again one day.

I am thinking in particular of Tristan's art piece where Marvin cries "are you happy to see me like this?" as he begins to be forced into the character of Blue. It was the very first chapter, some 800,000 words and a couple of years ago. He was in a lot of pain then. He lost himself. And now, he has found him again.

I hope now, that as you look at our dear characters, you can safely say that yes, you are, in fact, happy to see them like this.

Perhaps this last little thank you note to you is too serious, as there were a lot of times we were just having fun and some of those times are still my very favorites. But I do hope that, going forward, there might be a couple lessons you can take from these characters we shared: to know that you are worthy of love, not abuse, no matter what you have done, to fight for your own happiness even when it feels impossible, and to recognize that there is always hope for a better future.

You are very deserving of that love, that happiness, and that future.

Thank you for everything - for every time you lifted me up, for every time you showed compassion and encouragement to the very idea of someone in need of your help, for every second that you spent speaking to, depicting, or just reading about our characters. Thank you for writing this story with me.

[danwhobrowses]

AEW Double of Nothing 2020 - My Thoughts

Well that was a long night, it’s tough watching USA PPVs in the UK. But Double or Nothing is in the books and since I have free time I thought I’d talk about some stuff I liked and disliked I’ll have to note, I’m not a sole AEW fan, I like stuff from WWE, NJPW, Stardom, TJPW and DDT Pro too, dabbling in ROH, Impact and NWA from time to time and reminiscing fondly over the time Lucha Underground was great. But I say this because I don’t want people quickly pointing fingers at me accusing me of being a stan for AEW or WWE just because I like or dislike something they disagree with, I’m not playing bias I am literally working on impulse and sleep deprivation

Spoilers for AEW Double or Nothing 2020 obviously, watch, enjoy, look at some gifs maybe and come back here

The Buy-In:

Private Party vs Best Friends (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Tag Team Championship) Winner: Best Friends via Pinfall (Strong Zero to Marq Quen)

For a pre-show match it was fine, the Buy-In stream did start way too early and streaming and audio issues would plague both Fite and BR Live streams throughout. As for the match, it was a tad sloppy at times but it is worth reminding people that PP haven’t been wrestling in a while. And they weren’t terrible botches, just a few overexersions, people can’t be as crisp as Rey Fénix every match, especially since there’s more margin of error the more people involved in the spot there is. The match was very back and forth at times, and the highlight has to be the G9, PP (and Big Swole) had been wearing SG armbands in honor of Shad Gaspard, who tragically died in Venice Beach due to a rip current submerging him, I had been a big fan of Cryme Tyme (and PS4′s God of War which he did motion capture of Kratos for) when they were in WWE, so the nice homage of using their finisher was a nice touch. As for the result I didn’t mind either way, I had backed PP due to their ongoing BTE feud with Hangman Page, but the Best Friends have definitely been consistent enough to challenge and possibly even win the titles, it would be sensible for them to win it too since they have lingering feuds with TH2, Death Triangle, The Superbad Death Squad and Butcher and Blade.

Main Card:

Intermission build for Casino Ladder Match

It was mostly people explaining how and why they were gonna win, but I did have to make a separate mention for Jimmy Havoc, dressed to fucking drip. Man looks like a bond villain.

Casino Ladder Match (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Championship at Fyter Fest) Winner: Brian Cage An early point I wanna make, I think AEW are spying on me because I had much earlier thought up a similar idea of a ‘Bargaining Chip’ to work as a guaranteed contendership boon. If Tony Khan wants to pick my brain all he has to do is call, I still think all non-title ‘Double or Nothing’ matches should be worth 2 wins/losses in the spirit of the PPV name. I also didn’t mind the giant chip, would’ve been silly if it was regular sized. AEW has a winner with this format I think, the battle royale format was good for introducing a group of new faces, but in a more condensed format the Casino rules for a Ladder match work two ways, the early people have less opposition to win while the last people are fresh, the red ladders were a bit much for my tastes though. As for the match, it was still a bit messy but there were 9 people plus interferences to deal with, also since Fénix was pulled from the match we have to give benefit of the doubt in terms of the match narrative changing. It was an odd choice picking both members of SCU to start but we may be setting up Superbad Death Squad vs SCU tensions as well, adding Darby in the halfway mark was a good burst of energy but you really do wince with the stuff Darby ragdolls through. OC was his usual hilarious self, the low-effort reach attempts, the brief pause with Cabana. The frenetic energy of Janela resumed the pace from the comedy segment until the super heavyweights came in; I did find that Luchasaurus did prioritize a fight over the match itself, but it worked for his heavyweight mentality and after being undone by Allin’s sunset bomb, gave us the space for the final entrant. Brian Cage, I love that man he is just nonsense talented, his moveset is unique and malleable and his power is insane. What a way to debut as well, completely ripped apart a ladder, murdered Allin with a ‘F-5000′ (Props to Excalibur as always) and was running roughshot - aside from OC, who almost hilariously piggybacked a win - until most of the competitors basically flattened him under a bunch of miscellaneous objects and a giant poker chip. This gave Luchasaurus some time to have some fun as the ‘Big Man’ too, really did enjoy the Marko mini-ladder and OC channeling the Hurricane with the chokeslam attempt, I do appreciate that Best Friends and Jurassic Express still have that rivalry, also Janela’s running DVD to OC on top of the pile of miscellaneous objects was a great spot, but it was all leading up to Cage bursting out and squaring off with the Dino, more of this! There was a bit of wobbly knees but the powerbomb on the ladder with gnarly, and we are due a hoss match for Luchasaurus since his feuds with Wardlow and the Butcher fell through due to COVID. But this was Cage’s time, I thought Allin was gonna sneak it for a moment but then I remembered that Cage winning was much more story-based. The ladder spot was brutal and a bit too much for the finish but the result I am still quite happy with. Before Fénix was pulled I backed him to win because I felt that the world title picture needed some speed after the methodical match with Hager, but Cage does have the speed and the power to put on a good show, he’s a proven world champion at Impact and he has been on AEW’s radar for a long time, injury keeping him out.As much as one can complain that this was just a gratuitous spot fest there was storyline; the faction conflicts of SCU, Superbad Death Squad, Best Friends and Jurassic Express was apparent but the main story by the end was the story of Allin and Tazz, Tazz was angered by Darby’s hostile response to his offer of managing him after his loss to Cody, so he’s taken Cage under his wing to enact some payback. It’s a solid looking pairing too, using the legends as managers is something AEW does well and using Tazz as Cage’s manager with his promo skills and their physical similarities is an interesting combination.

Jungle Boy vs MJF Winner: MJF via Pinfall (Modified European Clutch) This was one of my favourite wrestling matches on the card. The back and forth between MJF and Jungle Boy had some great athleticism and technical wrestling. This can easily be a top tier feud between the two later down the line, they are like two sides of a coin. The match had great storytelling in the fact that MJF worked Jungle Boy’s arm, which allowed him to escape situations like the crossface and hold on to the final pinfall, MJF was pulling great heel works and trickery while trying to work Jungle Boy into the Salt of the Earth finisher, the knee injury fakeout was great. But Jungle Boy also rallied with the babyface resilience, the explosive anger in the face of MJF’s undermining and proved his strength. I appreciated the finish as well, MJF won clean but Jungle Boy looked excellent, and it avoided Wardlow ex Machina. MJF continues to look more and more like world champion material and I can see him stealing it from Moxley.

TNT Presentation with Mike Tyson

Okay, I don’t like the belt. I’m sorry, I know it’s unfinished due to COVID so there’s room for improvement but it just looks too simple on the main plate. It seems like every other belt AEW releases is a bit lacking. The World and Tag titles are sublime but the Women’s title is far too small and the TNT title just lacks detail, it’s also hard to not think it looks like the WWE Raw Tag Titles mixed with the 24/7 title, I have never been a big fan of plastering the name in BIG DISTRACTING LETTERS in the middle. Granted, I get why silver was used for a midcard belt, and not every title can be Big Gold, Winged Eagle, NXT UK,  IWGP or the ROH world title, but it could’ve taken more inspiration from the IC white strap, NXT NA title, AWA Southern Heavyweight or even the NJPW US title if you’re so adamant about the bright red strap. Frankly I was just disappointed that AEW presented such a weak design.

TNT Championship Tournament Final Winner: Cody via Pinfall (2 Consecutive Cross Rhodes) The finals for the match started off impressively, Archer looking like a total monster even bringing in some poor sod to decimate in front of an entertained Tyson before striking early with his finisher on Cody. Cody fought from under Archer’s offence to get some licks into his core. Sadly not all the cuts to Tyson were great, the one that’ll dominate media being the one where he was caught yawning. Before smarks jump at it, people are allowed to yawn, it’s not always a sign of boredom, given that Tyson is 53, has been hitting the gym hard and it was past 10pm, every other time they went to him he looked like he was loving the match, especially Archer’s heel intensity. The match didn’t have enough of Arn and Jake for my liking, given what was hinted at during Dynamite, I didn’t mind them being ejected especially since Arn was playing dirty too. Cody did pull out some storied offence with the Stringer Splash and Dustin’s Final Reckoning, but the ending kinda felt like the wrong result. After Jake was scared away by a Ripped Tyson from bringing his snake to the ring, Archer just became undone by Cody wriggling out of the Black Out and nailing two Cross Rhodes (third of the match) for the W. It was a bit iffy, I mean Cody has used the double Cross Rhodes to win a few matches already, so it felt like for me if Cody was to win then he’d need to pull off something extra. One Cross Rhodes made Archer kick out at one after all. Many people will use this as ‘Cody is an EVP of course he books himself as champion’ trying to liken him to Triple H or Jeff Jarrett, but while I disagreed with the result, I don’t think it’s bad that Cody wins a midcard title. He is never going to win the world title, he’s been a consistently great babyface for the company too and put MJF and Jericho over, as a wrestler you can’t have Cody not win a title ever. But that being said, I think defeat did hurt Archer, he was so in control of the match and just came undone right at the end, there was a heavy contrast to the Archer that started the match and the Archer that finished. It doesn’t mean he’s lost his aura completely, but winning the title would’ve done him more favours than it would have done Cody at this current time.

Intermission: Britt Baker Injury Update To prelude the Ford/Statlander match, there was a small bit explaining the nature of Britt Baker’s injury. It was kinda decent to still sell Britt’s gimmick by the doctor admitting that she’s being a handful, but the 6-8 week time frame is a shame, that’s only competing though, it’ll be interesting what they do with her on next Dynamite, she may get herself an enforcer too (Nyla could work, or Sadie Gibbs since she’s due a re-debut).

Penelope Ford vs Kris Statlander Winner: Kris Statlander via Pinfall (Big Bang Theory) While Penelope only had brief involvement in the Casino Ladder Match (she did have a weird space of just standing there for a bit as OC started to use 0.5% of his full power), hers and Kip’s entrance did put a smile as Kip sold the ladder match hard, as did Kris’ booping to the crowd and the joyous reactions of Nakazawa, Austin Gunn and Suge D/Pineapple Pete from it. The match itself was okay, this stage felt like a palate cleanser if anything. Ford and Kris did work pretty well, there was a nervy suicide dive where Kris’ head almost went into the barricade but we also got some great strikes, a good hurricanrana from Ford and a solid end as Kip tried to break the pin using his crutches. Ford has been lowkey great for the women’s division, her surprise win over Riho is proof of that, but Statlander was due a win. I felt like against Britt she was due a loss but now it feels like we can expand on that feud a bit, it’s good signs from AEW’s weak spot and it just needs a bit more faces - which of course is limited by COVID but I do really miss seeing Bea, Allie, Swole (who almost every heel in the crowd seemed to wanna rile up), Anna Jay, Shanna, Riho, Emi Sakura (who streamed her reactions of the show) and personal favourite Yuka Sakazaki in the ring, as well as hoping for returns from Ivelisse, Jamie Hayter, Sadie Gibbs and Awesome Kong for the Women’s Division, also maybe bring Vickie into the fold as a manager, she was a presence in the crowd.

Dustin Rhodes vs Shawn Spears Winner: Dustin Rhodes via Pinfall (Final Reckoning) Sadly this was the weakest match on the card. Started pretty well though, Spears was heeling it up a la Booker T in KOTR when Angle wasn’t cleared to compete and still demanded that they be counted out. There was also the HBK Montreal music fake-out which was pretty good, but he did wait a bit long to pull off the smile. Brandi halted the count allowing for Dustin to pull a sneak which was made great by the camera movement but from there it started to devolve into a weak spot. Comedy matches are fine, but times and place work for it, and Shawn Spears’ continued pursuit against Cody should not have been a comedy match in my opinion. I never dig the strip bit as well, there’s only so much you can suspend disbelief and Shawn being stripped to his boxers that have Tully Blanchard’s face on them is over that line.  If Dustin was to win then I wished it wasn’t this way, sadly Spears has been hit with a revolving door of gimmicks, the Chairman was good but lacked intensity, the needing a partner looked to be going somewhere until COVID limited his options (and sank Brandon’s push) and this new anti-Cody gimmick has suddenly became a joke, it’s not a good spot for him especially when he had a pretty good match with Cody in the TNT tournament. We know through MJF that he can do comedy, but the key to comedy is timing and Shawn’s character should’ve been looking towards him contending for Cody’s newfound TNT title rather than being humiliated ass-cheeks out on TV...at least Peyton has something to giggle about at home though. Pre-Match Tribute to Hana Kimura (1997-2020)

I was glad that AEW took a moment to tribute Hana’s death. After the homage to Shad in the Buy-In I was hoping that they would reference her before the women’s title match and my hopes were realised. Reading the headline of her death yesterday morning put a horrid pit in my stomach, I had always felt that Hana was one of the most talented women in Stardom, as ‘Dark Hana’ in Oedo Tai, ‘Rave Hana’ when feuding with Kagetsu, ‘Death-Hana’ when teaming with Yama and of course as the TCS leader, I easily saw her in a few years time being the face of the company, her faction was on a high, she partook in Stardom’s first ever Tokyo Dome match at Wrestle Kingdom, she had wrestled in guest entires for DDT Pro and ROH, and I also hoped to see her in an AEW ring one day (Brandi had Stardom ties after all). Her dedication to the business was palpable as she even went into a reality show to try and get more eyes on wrestling, and yet cyberbulling drove her to feel so sub-human that she likely took her own life. It was a horrible, horrible thing to read about, and I really wanted to vent this out yesterday but didn’t due to the fact that I didn’t tribute Shad’s death and didn’t want it to appear that I only cared about Hana’s death. Shad’s death was sad of course, he nobly prioritised the rescue of his son and sadly time was not on his side against the elements, it’s obviously terrible that he died and the world is poorer for his loss as well, but Hana’s death hit me harder for different reasons. For one, she was 22, 5 years younger than me, her career was bright and her smile wide, and yet anonymous sadsacks were able to torment her enough for no reason other than so they could bring a young woman down to make themselves feel better, as a person who underwent a lot of bullying at a young age - I was forced to eat dirt once in primary school - this did hit hard for me, because despite both deaths being tragic: Shad died because of the elements nobody can control, Hana died because of people, sad, despicable people and even though I never knew Hana or would’ve even been able to reach her, it sucks feeling that there was nothing we could do to help her. In conclusion, bullying sucks, and Excalibur put it aptly as many others have, it doesn’t cost a thing to be kind and if you’re struggling there’s people who’ll be there for you.

AEW Women’s Championship (No DQ or Count-Out) Nyla Rose (c) vs Hikaru Shida Winner: Hikaru Shida via Pinfall (’Three Count’ Knee Strike) Perhaps one of the best women’s matches AEW have put on, I was very looking forward to this matchup. I am not one of those people who disliked Rose winning the title, she (yes she, grow up) was a good, dominant heel and I bloody love that jumping knee strike. But I also love Shida, she’s been a consistent force in AEW, being a part of most of the Women’s Division’s best matches, also she as a person is very likeable. I have to add a note that while I’m not too familiar with Final Fantasy (Tumblr seems to think I am mind you), I did like the small Tifa Lockhart cosplay in Shida’s attire. In general the fancy entrances and attires were sadly limited by COVID, but when you did see them it did make it a little special because of its rarity. The No DQ stip was a good one, I did worry it would lead to Shida’s downfall but the storytelling revolving around Shida’s tenacity, Nyla’s brutality and the coveting of the kendo stick all really meshed together well. There were some solid spots and some proper brutal strikes. I appreciated the attention to the fact that Nyla’s arm and Shida’s leg were weakened and that came into play as they landed their big moves to a near fall. The finale though was good, following a beautiful sequence of an Avalanche Falcon Arrow and the weak-legged ‘Three Count’ at two, Shida’s resiliency proved too much for the native beast as she laid her out with a Kendo stick to the head and one more ‘Three Count’ for the eventual namesake. While Nyla’s reign was long, COVID did sadly prevent her from defending much and that was a shame, her only real defense being against Statlander, but it was the right call to pull the trigger on Shida. Like Asuka in WWE, she has been a consistent fan favourite with star aura, being No DQ also aided Nyla in saving face; Shida only won due to her Kendo strikes and out-of-ring spots, so it made her strong that it took that stipulation to bring her to her limit. I do welcome the type of storylines they’ll have to build opponents for Shida too, with Britt in recovery it gives her time before they can renew hostilities, which grants a platform for other heels to develop and challenge. Also do appreciate that the top titles were carded back-to-back, speaking of which...

AEW World Heavyweight Championship Jon Moxley (c) vs “The Exalted One” Mr. Brodie Lee Winner: Jon Moxley via KO by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) While the build to Moxley and Brodie started abrupt, one had to appreciate jumping at this matchup sooner rather than later. Both men were lacking a strong feud to go with since the Inner Circle were still involved with The Elite and SCU were being preoccupied with the TNT title. The Dark Order had gained a resurgence with the mystery of the Exalted One, and with some impressive squashes by Brodie and Preston Vance impressing as his new protegee ‘10′, things were looking decent for the faction, but this still remained a risky angle. For Brodie this would be a make or break moment for his character, he had already gotten some disdain as people compared his gimmick to a Vince McMahon caricature and questions rose on whether he was ready for this spot, if he wasn’t then the Dark Order would’ve fell to square one. But that didn’t happen. From the moment Brodie came out with his horde he exuded a brilliant amount of heel smugness, feeling as if being champion was already a certainty (I do also love how previously he had a minion carry the belt for him like a boxing entourage), the mind games already on display before the bell even rang. Moxley also looked raring to go, his usual swaying self with a bit of purpose and a lovely gold sprayed jacket as he strided to the ring, separated by a row of security to sell the animosity between the villain and the antihero. The match was very strong, a really enjoyable world title match that meshed the brawling styles of both men, the advantage going to and fro as Brodie used his power to gain advantage while Moxley used his unconventional assault - even grabbing Lee’s beard for a headbutt - and the outside of the ring with a lovely Paradigm Shift through the ramp that brought some believable (in the context of the spot) colour to Brodie’s face. The finish increased the pace in brilliant fashion as Brodie shockingly kicked out of the Paradigm Shift at one, from there Moxley looked desperately to put Brodie away before he could rally, hammering at the head wound before cleverly bringing Brodie down with a Rear Naked Choke. I was surprised a lot of people didn’t like that finish, it kept Brodie strong that he didn’t tap out and a rear naked choke is a great finish, it has legitimacy since it ends many UFC fights, it was smart as well because Brodie was bleeding, so on top of blood loss making him light-headed Moxley cut off his blood flow to his head to knock him out. You also have to appreciate this incorporation to Moxley’s moveset, adding submission means there’s a new way he can win and it comes from the MMA background of Hager, like the Gotch Piledriver adopted from Minoru Suzuki (and I have to say Kaze ni Nare whenever I see him do it), seeing Moxley adapt his moveset is a nice little tidbit that helps Moxley feel more studied in his experiences. Also side bar, god bless Leva Bates. In the past two matches she kept in-character and rescued a laptop from destruction. Her wrestling does need a bit of fine tuning but her character work is undeniably great. Overall, like Jungle Boy vs MJF, it did help the match not to have interference, it was two people decking each other to see who’s best and Moxley proved himself more ferocious. Brodie showed himself as a main event quality wrestler who looked good with the title on, pushing through assault multiple times to only be eked into defeat (unlike Archer). Hopefully his story furthers in either respecting that even he must strengthen or lashing out because of his weakness.

Stadium Stampede Match Winner: The Elite, ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page via Pinfall (One-Winged Angel on Sammy Guevara) Well, that was surely something. Not to be outdone by MITB, the storied rivalry of The fractured Elite, Hangman and Matt Hardy against the Inner Circle went hilariously wild and creative with the Stadium Stampede and I loved every single second of it. I’ll try to remember everything in the match to praise so here goes; the Inner Circle’s entrance like an NFL team was great fun, would’ve liked them to jump out of a paper symbol of the Inner Circle but it didn’t take away from the entertainment value. The Elite started without Hangman as they charged at the IC to meet in the middle, some fighting in the ring and some out. Hangman won the entrance game though by ominously strolling on horseback as Sammy Guevara quickly read between the lines and bolted, only to have shaken off Hangman to return for a missed shooting star press on Matt and then a very nearly uncaught one out of the ring too. Not to be outdone, Matt Jackson - broken ribs and all - pulled off a crisp moonsault off the goal post of the stadium while the Bucks tussled with ‘Le Sex Gods’, Santana and Ortiz tussled with Omega and Hardy and Hager went to search for Hangman, who had since dismounted after locating the lobby bar. Kenny had a rough double powerbomb table spot which was quickly cut to replay in order to mask either Santana and/or Ortiz losing his footing on the table and fell off it, but the cut allowed that moment to be skipped as the tag team focused on Hardy. Broken Brilliance would ensue as the team would try to drown Matt in a swimming pool(!?) that happened to be a pool of reincarnation, surfacing Team Extreme ‘Classic Matt’ and then ‘V1 Matt’ with graphics of ‘MATTer of Fact’ that Santana and Ortiz hilariously acknowledged with confusion, all the while an underwater cam would film Matt still happily doing his Team Extreme/V1 hand gestures while drowning. Damascus resurfaced from the pool to deal with the duo, sending both through a table, immobilizing Ortiz by ringing a bell with his head inside and taping him to a ‘chair of wheels’ and then getting his own back by locking Santana in an ice box. I will have to say, while this was great fun with Matt, I do worry a little for Santana and Ortiz. The former LAX were one of the best tag teams in the world leaving Impact and I had hoped they’d take the tag titles in this feud, but they’ve been kept from it like the Bucks have, between the Lucha Bros, SCU, Best Friends and rumours of FTR, the pool does have a lot of strong teams and it’s easy to get lost in the fold. But back to the action, Hager finds Hangman enjoying a whiskey, after a brief ceasefire to drink the bar brawl hits the right notes of great western tropes, including cue stick strikes, Hager dragging Hangman across the bar stand and table spots. Hager looked really strong here, taking on Page and the arriving Omega before being sent wobbly by multiple bottles of bubbly to the head, followed by a V-Trigger and a Buckshot Lariat over the bar as Kenny platformed for Page’s flip, a nice resolution as the tag team get on the same page, sharing a whiskey and a milk. Stories returned to the stadium as the Bucks and Jericho had their own mixture of creative spots and comedy; Matt did a ‘100 yard’ chain of Northern Lights Suplexes onto Guevara while Jericho demanded a VAR replay on a 2 count from Aubrey Edwards (I love how involved Aubrey gets as well), Le Champion also sent Nick through a Jaguars jaguar head’s mouth and did a Judas Effect on the team mascot while Matt was penalized after his touchdown dance referencing Alan Wright, leading to the ref being Superkicked. The Bucks then were able to isolate Jericho and lay him out with Nick doing a bonkers splash through a table starting from the steps of the stadium all the way down to the field, added insult to injury following as Hangman drove over Jericho with a chalk liner But the star of the match had to be Guevara. That kid is a literal star, his expressions and delusion is so on point as well, Spanish gods bless him and his 1000+ lives. After recovering from the 100 yard suplex run, he collapsed onto sprinklers which turned on, his mindset loopy as he started celebrating thinking he won, his face slowly dropping perfectly as the return of the Golf Kart gave him flashbacks of a past death of his in the Tag Street Fight on a previous Dynamite. Sammy was a little wiser and faster though, escaping into the seats out of the Kart’s reach, he slowly ended up being cornered by Matt and Kenny as the Bucks and Hangman watched below, Guevara fended off Matt, but was distracted by Vanguard-1′s reincarnation, NEO-1, for Kenny to daze him. The finish coming as Kenny One-Winged Angel’d Sammy off the ramp to a crash mat below at an incredible height, Aubrey needing to climb a ladder to count the win. Afterwards, the Elite celebrated with Matt and Hangman, hinting that Hangman has reconciled with the Elite as graphics appeared again on the stadium, closing out the PPV. Fantastically bonkers match, but once again this match had a great story in the terms of how the Inner Circle lost. For weeks, the IC ended consecutive Dynamites with the advantage due to their masterful use of the numbers game, but in the Stadium Stampede they are defeated because they split ranks, together they were strong but alone they were broken down, it’s only when the likes of Hager, Jericho and Guevara were isolated did the Inner Circle begin to lose the tide. There was also the recurring elements of the Icebox, Matt’s Broken character, Nick’s prior injury by the IC, Kenny bringing the broom and Hangman’s Cowboy Shit and strained relationship with Kenny and the Bucks, not to mention the many deaths and PTSD of Sammy Guevara. Say what you will about the Elite favouring spots, but you cannot deny that even in this Inner Circle feud, they have made stars out of Guevara and Hangman, it isn’t just self-indulgence. I will say though, I was surprised not to see FTR make a jump, we already had the IC and Elite have graphics on the Stadium so I hoped that the final one would be FTR, but maybe they’re saving it, after all, Blood and Guts is still waiting to be used.

Final Thoughts Outside of the matches itself it was unique that foley crowd sounds were added in to add to immersion, if it weren’t the Empty Arena era of course it would be a down but under the circumstances it made the PPV feel bigger having at least some white noise. The roster as a crowd continues to be good as we saw various personnel react but not steal any spotlight. We do have to appreciate that AEW acknowledges some shortcomings such as the TNT title’s unfinished model and the injuries to Fénix and Baker. Production issues should not have persisted as long as they have, and while it may not all be AEW’s fault due to COVID and the alternate streaming services they must be aware that this will continue to be treated as a blemish, unfortunately whatever AEW does will be compared to WWE - like the Women’s and TNT title have or the respective pushes to select wrestlers. While the current wrestlers are doing well and Dark is providing a platform for local talent - some like Jay, Suge D, Vance and Angels capturing the eye of AEW - it’s worth not forgetting the roster still there; Janela, Kiss, Swole, Avalon, Leva, and practically anyone in the crowd of shows should be able to compete right? All of personnel are tested for COVID so I do appreciate the attention to safety but from a fan’s perspective you do hope that talent get proper exposure. I will also say that I think we’re reaching a threshold of ‘Legends managers’ for the singles men’s roster, we’re fine for now but you don’t want to overdo it. But, overall Double or Nothing was a solid and enjoyable show, had some fun moments and strong matches. While I found the Archer finish and the Spears match disagreeable, it wasn’t too much of a down to ruin the show, the highs still outweighed the lows and there was still a good amount of variety, decent pacing due to good card positioning and nothing overstayed its welcome. We’ve got intriguing directions now too as we build to Fyter Fest; a feud between Moxley and Cage, Cody and the TNT title, fallout for Brodie and Archer’s losses, Best Friends in the tag title hunt, Britt Baker on promo and new champion Shida waiting for us in anticipation of the next show.

[madegeeky]

Tagged by @mere-vanilla for a “get to know you better” meme! 

Top Three Ships: 1) I think anyone who has been following me for a while knows how into the Rose/Doctor I am. I think I differ from most people in that the draw of DW was always Rose and the Doctor was a secondary character. Rose is one of my favorite characters and I want her happy, which involves the Doctor. 2) John/Sherlock from BBC’s Sherlock. The show is a fucking mess and I’m so over Moffat but I think that Freeman and Cumberbatch had ridiculously good chemistry so I mostly ignore the entire show and just go with fanfic. Sidenote, I’m so glad I missed its heyday on tumblr; it sounded like a horror show. 3) These are ones that I keep coming back to but only for short bursts, never for long like DW and Sherlock, so it’s impossible to pick one over the other. So, here’s a list with no explanation; feel free to ask if you’re curious though. Carlos/Cecil from Welcome to Night Vale. Eddie/Venom from Venom. Aziraphale/Crowley from Good Omens (TV). Finn/Poe and/or Finn/Poe/Rey from The Force Awakens, fuck the other movies. 

Last Movie: I think Jurassic Park? Mars loves it and so when I get tired of other stuff, that’s generally my go-to movie. (I wish I could show her Lost World, there are so many more dinos, but it’s also significantly more violent and bloody.) 

Lipstick or Chapstick: At home? @sailorzeo makes the most amazing lip balms and I refuse to use anything else. (Sailor Jupiter’s my personal favorite.) Outside? Lipstick. Bright pinks and reds, both of which are often tinted with purple. Still trying to find my favorite brand.

Watching: Mythbusters. I wanted something at least vaguely educational but that wasn’t a kids show to watch with Mars so here we are. I’d honestly forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

Last Song: I’m actually going to say what song I’m currently obsessed with instead. The Mystic by Adam Jensen. It’s one of my favorite song tropes: a song that makes you tap your foot to the beat but is about something really horrible (drug addiction and suicide). It also has the line “Life begins at the intersection” which I’ve been obsessed with.

Reading: Mostly fanfics. At the moment, Doctor Who (Rose/Doctor of course). I generally need to be in a good mental place to try to read a new story and I’m not quite there right now (getting better though). The last one I listened to was Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks, narrated by Jack Black which was a fucking trip and I recommend for people who play the game (being into Minecraft books in general not reguired). If you haven’t played Minecraft and decide to read it, please let me know what you think, I’d be fascinated to hear. If we count story driven podcasts I’m on my billionth relisten of The Adventure Zone which still has some of the best plot and character work I’ve seen in media in the past 10 years. 

Playing: Does modding the fuck out of Skyrim count as playing? XD Other than that, I’m always playing Love Nikki, a mobile fashion game that if you’ve been following me for a while you’ve seen pictures and rants about. 

Other people I’d love to see do this: @thoughtfulfangirling @rhiorhino @thelearningcatnaps @lemedy @amberlilly @thepreciousthing

These are all people I talk to somewhat regularly but if you’d like to start a conversation with me, feel free to answer this and tag me. I’m always up to making new friends!

[elddansurin]

New Vegas: a story in pictures pt 5

Welcome back for another chapter in the tale of my friend and yours, Mr. Bones. Last time we met, Bones had a surprisingly pleasant-ish visit to the town of Novac, and he got a hit put out on him by those legion boys. Where will the road take him next?

Part 1 || Part 4 || Part 6

---

Feeling mostly confident and only a little shaken from his encounter with a band of legionary assassins, Bones runs off the adrenaline by tangoing with a swarm of ants.

The next leg of his journey is quiet and lonesome, just the way he likes it. On his way down to Boulder City, he comes across a billboard that in no way foreshadows where his life is about take him.

Definitely not anything to make a mental note of.

Bones soon finds himself staring down on the fucked-to-death remains of what was once Boulder City. He bonks a couple scorpions on his way down, then immediately finds himself in another testy situation.

Bones has no time and even less respect for uniformed authority figures.

And two brothers are reunited once again.

Another NCR goon stops Bones on his way into the barricaded town, warning him of some hostage situation or something to that extent. Admittedly, Bones wasn’t paying too much attention. However, he can’t help but notice the absolute fuckton of soldiers and khans hunkered down in the wreckage. Both sides are ready to open fire at a moment’s notice.

Following the line of khans brings Bones face to face with a familiar... face.

But before Bones can roll out the royal beatdown, the two find some common ground.

Bones decides against turning Jessup’s face inside out. No, he’ll save that energy for the guy who really deserves it. Instead, he is somehow talked into toning down the whole “impending shootout” situation outside. Thankfully, Bones knows that money talks.

A bit of a bribe is all it takes for the whole situation to wind down. The NCR walks away with the hostages alive, and the khans get to go home in one piece. Everyone’s happy, and Bones is more hungry for revenge than ever.

Against all odds, Bones is making friends.

He’s learned much in such a short time. Including how to blast the absolute fuck out of anyone who gets into swinging distance.

And so, once again, Bones is Vegas-bound.

Until he is distracted by another brightly colored billboard.

The Repconn HQ provides a fun and educational experience. In fact, there’s even a guided tour. And Bones, being the model citizen that he is, would never dream of sticking his nose where it ought not to be.

And he’d never assume someone else’s identity to get himself into off-limits territory.

But that stolen pass key only gets him so far. Suddenly, the third floor is all flashing lights and alarms. The sentry robots roll onto the scene, and Bones realizes it’s time to get serious.

Maybe a little too serious.

But the med-x does its job, and Bones soaks up automatic fire like a sponge, swinging all the while.

Neither man nor machine can stand in his way.

Seeing all he needed to see, Bones skitters back on track toward New Vegas. By now, he’s feeling a little jittery. The siren song of med-x is already calling, and he’s fresh out. He starts to get mean.

With his newfound powers, Bones sends his short-sighted enemies flying. What started as an ambush attack quickly turns into Bones grinding the fiends into meaty paste.

He’s getting close. He can almost smell the acrid stink of that cock and his tacky suit. But he’s also tired and in full, balls-out withdrawal. A safe place to sleep for the night is definitely in the cards.

The El Rey motel isn’t quite as inviting as the Dino Deelight, but Bones is able to break his way into a room. However, another squatter has already beat him to the punch. The squatter is then beaten (to death) by a punch (from Bones’s fists).

Turns out, good things come to those who indulge in their violent impulses.

And so we say good night once more to our pal Bones. Tune in next time as Bones gets heartily distracted in good ol’ Freeside. Innocent blood may or may not be spilled, and friends may or may not be made.

TO BE CONTINUED?????

[kathillards]

rangerstop day two

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE MEGAFORCE RANGERS SHOUTED US OUT AT THEIR PANEL AZIM TOLD EVERYONE ABOUT A GROUP OF FRIENDS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WHO MET BECAUSE OF POWER RANGERS AND POINTED AT US AND THE MEGAFORCE RANGERS ALL CHEERED AND TOLD US TO STAND UP OH MY GOD

uhhh sorry how do i move on from that how do i even think about anything else. the panel room was CROWDED people were FILMING kat and tabby had gone up to ask questions (which were HUGE hits) and come back and sat down AND THEN AZIM SAID THAT in the middle of a question about. i dont even fucking remember. something about what great community values power rangers has or something? and i guess we were related to power rangers being a community or whatever but bitch. BITCH. he said it and like pointed at us and they all started clapping (this sounds fake as hell i know BUT THERES VIDEO PROOF SOMEWHERE???) and everyone turned to look at us and we were like hi and then like two minutes later azim went “oh wait i have to make a correction, its not a group of girls its three girls and one guy because i think abigail isnt here? right?” and we were like ya so uh moral of the story... azim rizk i would murder ten hundred men for you

ok other things happened too, this will probably not be in chronological order bc i cant think right now 

- mike ginn stopped when he saw me and looked for tabby who was hiding behind me when she saw him and he looked around for tabby and did his pointing thing again and it was so cuuute

- kat was talking to christina about how we avoided the cast all day yesterday and she was like “yes but i saw you anyway ;) and i was wondering when you’d come over to say hi!” shes so CUTE and then they talked about her rescue puppy and she was so happy to talk about her puppy

- ciara and christina made ben sign the art presents he gave them, ciara did it first and christina was like OMG WHY DIDNT YOU AUTOGRAPH MINE and made him sign hers too

- christina and i did a WHOLE photoshoot we did a normal pic then a silly pic but then she didnt like so we did a kissy face pic and she was like “oh i think i did a duck face” and im like thats ok so did i AND OUR PICS ARE SO CUTE AND SHE HUGGED ME SO TIGHT I. WOULD. DIE. FOR. YOU. CHRISTINA. MASTERSON.

- selwyn called tabby his girlfriend when i showed up without her he was like “wheres my girlfriend” bc he remembered us from last night and then she came over and he was like THERE YOU ARE and gave her a free selfie (and signed her space dvd with “tj is the real leader of in space” but refused to X out andros’ face bc that was mean) and he covered up najee’s face on her kevin t-shirt and then was upset bc it looked like he was touching her chest and tracy lynn laughed at him over it AND THEN HE TOLD US TO COME TO THE TGIF IN THE HOTEL AFTERWARDS BC THE RANGERS WERE GONNA GO THERE AND GET DRUNK AND HE INVITED US TO HAVE DRINKS W/ HIM but we stood him up because... we are tired... he was like “yeah we have this stupid vip dinner but like we’re gonna try to leave early and just go get fucking smashed” and we were like ur so valid selwyn. i love you.

- kat showed azim my tweets defending megaforce and he had to put the phone down to run his hands through his hair and be like “wow that was such a specific takedown” and kat was like “yeah she just says this shit all the time bc shes seen megaforce five hundred times” and he was like “she was so detailed though she didnt just say ‘you suck’ she put THOUGHT into her takedowns” 

- (later when he signed my super megaforce green print he called me “my sista in social media smackdown!!!” complete with that many exclamation points)

- brennan said “i like your hat” to ben five times and he also signed tabby’s as well with his three catchphrases (she asked for him to write “awesome!” and he was like “i had more lines than that....”) he also told us he and the dino charge team were invited back for a dc/nsteel teamup but they kept cancelling them bc of budget reasons till it was just him and yoshi and he was finally like “i told them to just bring yoshi back because like thats his brother” and i was like “but then they didnt even INTERACT” and he was like “i KNOW”

- tabby’s tracy story: she asked tracy if it was uncomfortable fighting in crop tops and short skirts and tracy said “it wasnt uncomfortable but it was hard to not show everything” and she was like “idk why a power ranger would dress like that” and tabby told her ashley should have her own fashion line of athletic wear for fighter girls and tracy was like YES and tabby said she should have been leader of turbo bc she was into cars and tracy said that when they told her that ashley was gonna have a car plot she was like “ew no i dont want to touch greasy car oils” but that she was happy that ashley got to challenge herself

- kat was standing around azim the entire morning and he was introducing her to everyone who came up to him like she was his handler and at one point accidentally implied that she was his girlfriend and kat was like no im not and he was like “oh whoops it did kinda sound like that...” and his actual handler was like “why did u correct him” and kat was like “NO I LOVE HIS GIRLFRIEND” 

- when i was taking my pics w/ the megaforce cast and andrew was the sweetest angel and he kept making poses over my shoulder while i giggled and then he asked me for a hug and KISSED MY CHEEK and hugged me so tight and was like “love you guys” I WOULD DIE FOR YOU ANDREW GRAY

- john mark is literally the funniest person alive and he was constantly going around the megaforce booth when we were there like (to ben when he was giving art to ciara and christina) “WHERES MINE” and to me when i was having them sign my megaforce prints “WHERES MINE” hes so funny and i love himmm

- ciara was signing my prints but she got distracted when we asked about her dogs and she stopped and opened her phone and started showing us pics and videos and she was soo happy to talk about her dogs too and then we took our pic and checked it to make sure it looked good and tabby was like “you look gorgeous” and she was like “we BOTH look gorgeous” i cannot believe. AND THEN she threw in a group photo for FREE and we all got in there

- kat was telling us and azim about some douchebag vendor who was like hitting on her and inviting her to an afterparty and was like “are you over 21″ when she was just trying to look at his spd toys and azim was literally “which guy. where. where is he.” HE WAS GONNA KILL THAT GUY FOR KAT HE LOVES HER

- we somehow got on the subject of azim SHAVING HIS BEAUTIFUL BEARD and he was like “oh well we went to the make a wish foundation to meet kids and the beard scares them so i had to shave” and i was like “thats racist” and he was like nooo but u could tell his mind was blown and i was like “cameron didnt shave” and he was like “well cameron is white” and i was like SO YOU ADMIT ITS RACIST and he laughed also im correct

- related but michael copon came over to jessica rey’s table while we were there and she was like “hi michael these are my FRIENDS” and they were talking about how they’re cousins and they’re both half filipino and tabby was like “why didnt they give you any scenes together in the teamup!” and jessica was like “because i was with erin!” and michael was like “because they couldnt have two filipinos together in one scene” power rangers got WOKE man

- kat to andrew: i have a huge troy plushie!

andrew: oh my dogs would rip that up immediately

kat:

andrew: do your dogs not rip things up

kat: i dont... i wouldnt let them...touch my troy plushies...

(we love you andrew. he doesnt even know hes at a con. hes just here to chill.)

- someone at the panel asked a stupid question about “if you could cameo in any other season which season would you pick” like they dont get asked this all the fucking time and the rangers were like hmm like beast morphers or dino charge and then andrew, my husband my light my life, was like “fuck power rangers, i wanna go to the dc universe” (he didnt cuss obviously) but like... king. legend supporting legends. AND THEN CHRISTINA WAS LIKE “oh mood i wanna be in the pokemon universe” and john mark was like “as what” and she was like “i dont know i didnt watch it” QUEEN OF POKEMON she kins jigglypuff

- tabby was at ann marie crouch’s booth and telling her how she loved that princess shayla was the wild force team’s mom and she was like aww yeah i felt such a maternal instinct even though that was before i had my actual child!! shes so cute!! shes so pretty!!

- jessica rey is literally SO WONDERFUL AND FUN TO TALK TO we went to hang out bc tabby wanted her wild force dvd signed and she was just telling us her stories of hanging out w/ the other boys and how she went to drink w/ azim just to keep him company (bc peter and yoshi were there and they were like “we dont drink” nerds) so cuuute and then she had that pic of her and peter and yoshi and they’re making stupid faces and she’s smiling like an angel and she’s like THEY DIDNT TELL ME IT WASNT A SERIOUS PHOTO and i asked her jokingly how much for it and she was like take it its $30 and i was like pls charge me more have my money take my soul

- tabby and kat were at the megaforce booths and jessica rey came over and was like “excuse me what are you guys doing with MY GIRLS” and john mark was like “uh they’re OUR GIRLS” and then cameron pulled jessica over and was like “actually this is MY babe” and then she tried to leave bc she was in the way of ppl in line and azim stopped her and was like “no no stay you’re part of our FAMILY”and uh basically the power rangers family is the cutest family in the whole world thank you good night

- taylor swift wrote gorgeous about andrew gray

[callunavulgari]

Year-In-Fic | 2018

How many fics did you write this year? What was your total wordcount? This year I wrote... 12 fics. Bit of a letdown, really, but I mean. I didn’t write much. I wrote what I did whenever a plot bunny really seized hold of me, but I didn’t go out of my way to write this year. Which is sad. But I mean, shit happens. 55,519 words, which isn’t completely terrible for 12 fics. It helps that a couple of them were in the 8-9k range.

Fic Roundup!

Everybody’s Looking For Something | Stranger Things | Steve/Billy | 4,790 words | On the third weekend of May during their last year at Hawkins High, Steve Harrington throws a party.Billy crashes it.

taste you on my tongue | Stranger Things | Steve/Billy | 2,290 words | “You’ve never felt pleasure like it, Steve,” an old girlfriend had told him once, her eyes bright with memory. Steve shrugged. “No vampires here, though.”

Home | Star Wars | Reylo | 1,670 words | “Rey,” he says into the quiet. “Just drive.”

hits like a drum | Stargate Atlantis | Mcshep | 3,507 words | “Believe it or not, having something with sharp teeth breathing down your neck is not actually conducive to one’s thought process.” John barks out a loud, abrupt noise that might be laughter, his breath tickling the hairs at the base of Rodney’s neck. “I’d have thought it would be good motivation.”

feed the hunger | Stranger Things | Steve/Billy | 1,792 words | “Thought you wanted to fuck me, Hargrove,” Steve whispers, and presses a sweet kiss to the hinge of Billy’s jaw. “Now’s your chance.”

Apotheosis | Marvel - INFINITY WAR | Thor/Loki, Steve/Pepper/Tony | 4,450 words | Grief, a story told in three parts.

and i’m always tired, but never of you | The Bright Sessions | Sam/Damien/Mark | 10,405 words | Sam runs into Damien at the grocery store two years later. It changes everything.

tides will bring me back to you | Kingdom Hearts | Axel/Roxas | 7,383 words | When Axel was sixteen, he did something stupid. 

Smallest Light | Stranger Things | Gen, El & Will | 5,165 words | In the summer of 1986, Will’s mom marries Jim Hopper. OR, Will and El learn how to be real people again together.

i don’t want to rest in peace, we can haunt each other’s dreams | EOS 10 | Ryan/Akmazian | 1,520 words |  In the dream, Ryan wakes up and Akmazian is there.

Looking For Atlantis | SGA | Mcshep | 4,632 words | Hey Rodney, the postcard reads. Go see a movie.

keep your heart open (i’ll keep mine open too) | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 7,915 words | “Did you even like me before you found out I was your soulmate?” Billy murmurs as he kisses a line down Steve’s throat.

Best story I wrote this year: and i’m always tired, but never of you. It was that one fic that I wrote because I just couldn’t stand the idea of Mark, Sam, and Damien not having a happy ending. Because I realized there was no poly fic for them on ao3 and I thought that was a travesty. So I wrote 10k in like two days and it’s soft and sweet and the happy ending that I wanted to see, so I freaking wrote it.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. Honestly?  Home. It’s only 1600 words, and it’s Reylo, which I wasn’t even feeling that much this year, but it’s just the story that I set out to write. The night that I wrote it I’d had the shittiest day at work and came home wanting to write about someone being angry and sad and driving really fast. Originally I think I’d been planning on the story being Harringrove, but modern day Skywalkers just kind of spilled out of me.

Okay, NOW your most popular story. feed the hunger, my harringrove fic that I wanted to write the entire time I was in South Carolina, where Steve is a little bit messy and he and Billy fuck around for a bit and catch feelings comes in first with 339 kudos and 2731 hits, but taste you on my tongue, my harringrove vampire au technically beats it in the bookmarks department. Story of mine most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Yeah, probably Home. I’m always a little bummed when the stories that I like the most don’t get much attention, but well, I mean. It’s a modern day Reylo fic that I wrote a while after The Last Jedi craze settled down, so it’s whatever. 

Most fun story to write: Definitely and i’m always tired, but never of you. It was so much fun to write and was so freaking easy too. Every line flowed smoothly. Even the editing didn’t trip me up much. 

Story that could have been better? hits like a drum was the wraith!John AU that I had such a hard time with last year. It was supposed to be at least another 5 or 6k and feature John coming to Rodney’s rescue and becoming slowly integrated into Atlantis. It was supposed to work it’s way into something smart and plotty, and yes, eventually Rodney would have gotten to smooch the wraith. But I hit a snag and never really recovered, so I just cleaned it up and posted it as is.

Story I wrote to fix things: Technically Apotheosis, and i’m always tired, but never of you, and i don’t want to rest in peace, we can haunt each other’s dreams were all written as fix-it fics in their own way. Apotheosis was my way of dealing with Infinity War and featured Thor, Steve, and Tony dreaming about people they lost. Bright Sessions domestic poly fic was written because I wanted Damien to have some semblance of happy ending, preferably with Mark, and that last one with the super long title was written because I was trying to cope with EOS 10. Technically it wasn’t a fix-it because nothing was really fixed, but it helped fix me.

Longest completed fic this year: and i’m always tired, but never of you. Just over 10k, it’s definitely my longest this year.

Fandom you enjoyed writing for most this year: I wrote a decent chunk of Stranger Things this year and had fun with all of them, but I still think the most fun I had was with the Bright Sessions fic.

Favorite character you wrote this year: I actually really liked writing Will and El in Smallest Light. I got kind of stuck halfway into that fic, so it wasn’t always the smoothest, but Will and El were both very strange and good to write.

Most memorable comment this year: So, keep your heart open (i’ll keep mine open too) was my entry for the harringrove secret santa and I recently got a comment from my giftee that was just, the best thing to wake up to ever. I haven’t gotten the chance to reply yet, mostly because I have been ridiculously busy, but it was such a long, thorough comment and I’m just so glad they appreciated it.

Additionally, the same fic also produced a comment that started with “My Sterek bitch!!” and it just fucking tickled the hell out of me.

Fics you wanted to write but didn’t: I think I’m going to have to give up on writing the Sabriel AU. I mean, unless the Episode 9 comes out and blows me out of the water, I’m not hopeful. The Last Jedi jossed too much, even in an AU, and it made things a little complicated to move forward. I still need to finish that fic where John dies and Rodney ends up raising his daughter, and the Enjolras/Grantaire fic, and the giant Dishonored fic that I still desperately want to write. The bodyswapping Reylo, the girl Cisco AU, the Sterek Bioshock Infinite AU, the dozens of other Sterek fics that I started two or three years ago and never finished, including the Carmilla AU.

More recently, I’ve got a Castlevania OT3 fic that I’ve been working on and a different flavor of Harringrove soulmate AU that wasn’t angsty enough to be my entry for the secret santa. I have the giant canon-divergent Bright Sessions AU where years after the series ends, Mark ends up running into Damien again in a small town in the middle of nowhere only to realize that he has a daughter, a farm, a life, and is just so drawn to it that he keeps coming back. I have the Wolf 359 post-canon fic where everyone has feelings and found family is a general theme and maybe Eiffel smooches an AI. I also have the smuttier Wolf 359 fic that’s been lurking in the back of my head for months where Eiffel and Kepler er, basically eiffel tower Jacobi. 

Oh, and I have the Reylo fic where Rey (and Ben, through the bond) sit through General Organa’s funeral and keep coming back to each other afterwards. And shit, I also started that Final Fantasy 15 fic where Dino and Noctis do the nasty.

Oddest story: Probably hits like a drum. I know Atlantis fics are weird, but John as a wraith is something that I hadn’t seen before. Hardest story to do: I think the only finished fic that gave me any resistance was Smallest Light, which probably wouldn’t have ever been finished if I didn’t go back and fill in the gaps with El’s part. Easiest story to write? I mean, most of these were easy. See, when you only write when you really feel the pull of something, it all comes easy. The Bright Sessions poly fic was the easiest, but all of the Harringrove ones were easy too.

Most mining of your own history in one story: Weirdly enough, tides will bring me back to you. Yeah, the story about the man-eating merman. The graffiti on the side of Axel’s building was a guy who tagged all over our neighborhood. The mermaid statue was my grandmother’s. Axel’s cat is basically my cat, but she’s been cleverly disguised because I called her gray once in the story. And like, that’s kind of it? I mean, the cove is something I came up with, but it’s heavily based on the years I spent at the beach. 

Themes, or absence thereof: Atmosphere, mostly. Want. Need. Daddy issues and forever kind of loves. Soft. Where did you publish/archive your stories? Ao3, as per usual. Story I haven’t yet written, but intend to: I want to write a few things in the new year, but mostly I want to write that Dishonored fic and a couple original stories that have been percolating in my brain for a year or two.

Sexiest moment (excerpt): “Damien,” Mark breathes against his lips, and pulls back to suck a bruise into the side of Damien’s neck.

“Please,” Damien is saying, high and needy, and doesn’t know what he’s asking for, just knows that he’s desperate to have it. He slides his fingers into Mark’s hair and gives it an insistent tug, mouthing sloppily at the corner of his jaw. He spreads his thighs wider. “Please, please, please.”

“Yes,” Mark hisses, and hauls him in for a deeper kiss, yanking Damien into him until they’re so close that Damien can feel him everywhere. Mark presses against him, the weight of him settling between Damien’s spread thighs. He gives Damien a hot look and rocks their hips together. Damien makes another tiny noise, his head tilted back, mouth open. It’s probably an embarrassing sound. Mark gets his teeth on his throat, and Damien stops caring.

From very far away, he becomes aware of a door opening somewhere, but it’s so far down on his current list of priorities that he doesn’t even register why this could be a problem until he hears Sam’s voice. Damien swallows around a gasp, his glassy eyes refocusing. She’s standing about a foot or so away in the open doorway, a startled flush on her cheeks, her hair windswept. There’s a package in her arms. She arches an eyebrow in Mark’s direction.

Mark, who still hasn’t pulled away from Damien, whose teeth are still working another mark into the fragile skin at the join of his shoulder and throat. Damien swallows hard and has to close his eyes and fight down a whimper when Mark, still distracted, grinds their hips together.

“Slow, huh, Mark?” Sam asks, setting the package and her keys down on the table next to her.

Mark winces at her voice and pulls back ever so slightly, just enough to free up his mouth, not enough to drag them away from the heat of each other’s bodies. He doesn’t seem surprised enough. Doesn’t even seem to care that his girlfriend just caught them necking in her apartment. He just grins at her, helpless and a little flushed, his lips red and wet, and says, “Sorry, Sam.”

.

Ryan bites down on a smile, and takes another daring step forward. “Do you have standards?”

Akmazian blinks, then groans, slumping back against the desk. He looks at Ryan, and while there’s a hint of good humor, there’s also something else. Resignation, maybe. Disappointment. He laughs it off, flicking his cloak to the side, a sardonic little grin on his face, but it’s there.

“You know me, darlin’,” he says, and it sounds like a joke, but it rings true. Ryan does know him. He knows Akmazian - knows that he’s good down to the heavy muscle of his heart, knows that he’s been dealt a shitty hand in life and that he’d live that shit all over again to have the world know the truth.

Ryan knows him. Maybe that’s why he does it.

Akmazian makes a lovely, startled little noise in the back of his throat when Ryan takes both hands and draws Akmazian down to meet him, his fingers sliding into the spaces where his jaw’s gone slack. He strokes there, hesitantly, with his thumbs, and when he tugs Akmazian forward those last few inches, he is utterly sure of what he wants.

Akmazian’s lips are dry and a little chapped, but they’re plush and part easily around a groan when Ryan takes the kiss deeper, makes it a little wetter, a little more wanting. The room is quiet around them, this little echoing piece of space that is theirs alone. He can hear his own breathing, soft but steady, and Akmazian’s over that, just a little uneven. He lets out a quiet groan as his entire body relaxes into the kiss, slumping forward into Akmazian’s arms, pressing closer until they’re both half on, half off of the desk. He kisses slow and deep and a little bit sloppy, until his lips feel bruised and wet. His eyes drift closed and when Akmazian lets out a soft murmur, Ryan tips his head back to make room for Akmazian’s mouth on his throat.

He can be greedy for this, Ryan thinks as Akmazian leaves a trail of kisses up the length of his throat. He’s allowed to want this.

When he pulls back, Akmazian is looking at him with faint wonder. His hand reaches out to touch the curve of Ryan’s cheek.

“Darlin’,” he breathes, and swallows hard around the words that might have come next.

Crackiest moment (excerpt): He makes it to the last showing of Aquaman twenty minutes late, which fortunately for him means that after collecting his popcorn and slushie from the surly looking teenager manning the concession stand, he walks into the theater just as the movie is starting.

It isn’t a full theater by any means. A group college students take up a couple of the middle rows, only recognizable by their colorful array of hairstyles and the semi-permanent air of exhaustion that lingers around them like some kind of miasma. There’s an older gentlemen near the back noisily slurping a fountain drink who looks as if he hasn’t been out of the house since the 90’s. And then there’s a couple kids who look about twelve snickering and throwing popcorn at each other in the top most row.

Rodney chooses one of the first rows he sees, not necessarily because he’s enamored with the idea of being so close to the screen, but because he doesn’t want to be anywhere near the crossfire when those kids realize that there are other targets in the theater besides their friends. With a heavy sigh, he collapses onto an off-colored seat cushion that he thinks may have been mauve in a former life. The whole thing creaks alarmingly under him, and he spends a good thirty seconds arranging himself so that the arms aren’t pinching uncomfortably at his waistband.

The movie isn’t horrible, much to his surprise. It’s not great, but it’s moderately engaging, and has two relatively attractive human beings gracing the screen ninety percent of the time. It’s engaging enough that he barely notices when the twelve year olds incite a some kind of farting competition amongst themselves that a couple of the college kids decide that it’s in their best interest to escalate. He’s still half asleep in his popcorn, but staring mindlessly into a bright rectangle helps.

Maybe half an hour into the movie he notices someone slinking into the theater out of the corner of his eye, but is too invested in licking the salt and butter off of his fingers to really notice. If they want to movie hop, then whatever. Props to them. He does notice at least a little bit when they take the seat directly behind him.

Then the guy starts kicking the back of his chair.

It isn’t a constant thing. The first kick Rodney writes off as an accident. Everyone does it at some point, especially with seats as small as these. He’s probably just rearranging, and then he’ll lay off. The second and the third time? Okay, whatever. Annoying, but ultimately not worth starting something over.But the guy just keeps doing it. Every five to ten minutes, like clockwork, just as the action is starting to ramp up on screen, his knees will dig into the back of Rodney’s chair. Or his heels will scrabble against the arm rests, like he’s trying to put his feet up on Rodney’s chair. And okay, nobody has ever called Rodney patient. Nobody ever will call Rodney patient. The very idea is laughable.

He’s grinding his teeth, this close to snapping, when he hears the guy lean forward in his seat, close enough that Rodney can feel his breath on the back of his neck. The guy breathes a little loudly for a moment, and then he says, “That guy kind of looks like Ronon, don’t you think?”

Favorite dialogue (excerpt): In the dream, Loki smiles at him. They’re on Asgard, in what were once Loki’s quarters. His body reclines loosely across a chaise that he had favored, one knee hooked over the arm. As Thor watches, he stretches - a languid, rippling motion that seems to start from his toes and end in his shoulders.

“Brother,” he says in welcome, his face open and content.

“You mean to torture me,” Thor says dully, licking his chapped lips.

Loki’s face crumples, the beatific smile going dim. The sunlight coming in through the windows behind him is all Asgard, golden and warm. If he touched Loki now, he thinks he would feel an echo of that warmth, the heat of it having seeped into Loki’s shoulders and back.

At last, Loki says, “You torture yourself, Thor.”

“Only because you are not here to do it for me,” Thor replies, taking a step forward as if pulled in by some great, magnetic force.

Loki sighs, his dangling leg swinging in idle irritation. “Perhaps I am here, truly. Would it be so hard to imagine that a piece of me lives on within you?”

“No,” Thor whispers, and feels a tear drip down his cheek. “It would not. I have always held you here, in my heart.”

Loki looks at him, all the mirth gone from his face. “You cradled my body when I was gone. You pulled me close and waited for that explosion. You were to die, with me. With our people. You meant to. The last of the Aesir.”

Thor reaches the chaise, and sinks to his knees before him. Loki touches him gently, cool fingertips tracing his face from temple to jaw.

“Tell me, brother,” Loki asks him softly. “When you woke, did it pain you? Did you look for me? For my corpse?”

“Yes,” Thor tells him. He had woken disoriented, surrounded by strangers, the memory of rage lighting him up from the inside out, the ghost of Loki’s touch still against him. He’d thought of vengeance, of a burial that he would never have, and he had hurt. He’d gone chasing after death, and hoped it would take him.

He’d told the rabbit that he had nothing left to lose. It turned out that he was wrong. There was always more left to lose.He chokes on a sob, and Loki shushes him.

“You will do this, brother. I know you will.” The corners of Loki’s lips quirk upwards into an impossible smile. Perfect in its replication. “You and Stark, your Avengers. You will beat Thanos.”

Loki’s smile goes sadder, and he touches Thor the way that Thor used to touch him, a hand reaching out to clasp the hinge of Thor's jaw, thumb stroking his cheek. “You don’t know how to lose, Thor. You never did.”

“And if I can’t bring you back?”

Loki shrugs. “Then you dream of me. Whenever you think to miss me.”

Thor chokes on a watery laugh. “I will always be dreaming of you, then.”

One last touch. A kiss, light as a feather, first to his brow and then to his lips. A tear slips from Loki’s chin and lands on Thor’s cheek. Loki is still smiling, his eyes wet. “Then, I will welcome your company.”

Favorite lines (excerpt):

Damien is wearing dark jeans, and though there are holes at the knees, they seem to be of the ‘artfully distressed’ sort rather than the too-lazy-to-patch-up variety. He’s got a decent jacket hugging his shoulders, and under that, she’s pretty sure she spies a Nirvana shirt. His shaggy hair is pulled back into a half-assed bun and there’s a day or two worth of stubble clinging to his jaw, but he looks okay. Good. A little too grunge to be on this side of the millenium, and hopelessly confused by the third bag of chicken nuggets he’s picked up, but good.

She bites her lip, and considers her options.

Two years ago, she’d be hightailing it out of this grocery store as quickly as possible, packing Mark into the nearest suitcase, and skipping town to go find backup. But for some reason, she doesn’t think that Damien’s followed them here. More likely, is that they accidentally followed him here.

Before she has the chance to second-guess herself, Sam takes a deep breath and strides firmly into the aisle, shopping basket swaying at her side. She comes to a stop right beside him, and for a moment, he doesn’t seem to notice her. He’s squinting at the nutrition facts on another bag of chicken nuggets. There's ramen and a pack of energy drinks in his basket.

“Those probably aren’t great for you,” she tells him, wrinkling her nose.

“Did I ask you?” Damien sing-songs, still not looking away from the nuggets. He hmphs at it, and muses, possibly to himself, “A hundred and seventy calories for five pieces. Not bad.”

“Yeah, but how much of that is actually chicken?”

Damien blinks, and tears his eyes away from the bag. He looks up at her, his face stuck in an expression that seems to be at least two-thirds disdain, the rest of it being absolute incredulity, as if he’s appalled that some stranger in the grocery store is insisting on lecturing him about his taste in chicken nuggets - which, fair. Because Sam’s looking for it, she can pinpoint the exact moment that he places her, his eyes going ever so slightly wider. He blinks and shuffles backwards half a step, and then the surprise is gone, leaving behind a smooth mask of general douchebaggery. She remembers that mask - the slimy smirk and the too-cool-for-you-slouch.

He leans against the freezer door, and regards her coolly.

Apathetic. Smooth. Unphased.

Yeah, right.

“Saaaaaaam,” he drawls, eying her up and down. One sharp eyebrow quirks upwards, his gaze lingering on the Care Bear t-shirt that she’d thrown on over the tattered, holey tanktop she’d worn to bed the night before. The t-shirt is just as old and worn as the tank top is, and she immediately has to struggle against the urge to check herself for pizza stains. After all, it’s not like the shirt was exactly clean when she’d grabbed it out of the laundry pile. It was just the best looking of the bunch.

She wasn’t actually supposed to run into people that she knew at the freaking grocery store. And definitely not on laundry day. That was just rude.

The smirk ticks ever higher. Damien nods at her shirt. “Cute.”

Sam flexes her fingers, and wonders with an idle sort of curiosity if it would be worth the pain to punch him again. No. Fuck that. Two can play at this game.

“I thought so,” she says with an indifferent shrug and a chipper little smile.

(or)

Do you miss him, she thinks, and has to bite down hard on her lip to keep the question from slipping out. God, how stupid. He’s all pathetic and droopy now, of course he misses Mark. He takes a deep breath, and she watches him pull himself back together. It’s not a very convincing charade, but she lets him have it.

“Anyway,” he says brightly, and pushes off of the freezer. “Things to do, puppies to terrorize, you know the deal.”

He looks at her with that same careful consideration she’d given him a moment ago, and makes his face do something that she thinks is supposed to be an amiable smile. It mostly just looks like he’s trying too hard.

He holds out his hand. “Sam.”

Reluctantly, she takes it. His hand is chilly and a little damp, but he has a surprisingly strong grip. “Damien.”

The grin that he flashes her is still just this side of wrong, too showy, not enough mean.

“It’s been real, but I gotta go.” Damien hesitates, and just when she thinks he’s gonna let it go, he leans in and brushes a careful kiss to her cheek. His lips are warm. They linger for a moment over the swell of her cheekbone, and she wonders why that is. If it’s because of Mark, or her, or the sheer unexpected delight of human contact. When he pulls back, there’s a flush of red across his cheeks, and an unsure, painfully earnest smile on his lips.

His voice is soft, tellingly so when he murmurs, “Give Mark my love, okay?”

Sam swallows, her heart thundering in her chest. And, because she’s still caught off guard, she smiles back, and says, “Okay.”

(or)

“I swear to god, Ben-”

Ben sighs heavily, laying an arm down on the rest between them. He turns to her, and for the first time all day, he really looks. Her hair is frizzing where its come loose from her bun, and there’s engine oil beneath her fingernails. Her dress, modest enough when standing, is riding up her thighs, the cut scandalously short for a funeral. He would bet money that she didn’t pick it out herself.

Her eyes scald him - all the anger and accusation that he’s been avoiding for the last few years narrowed down to a single point. Her brow is pulled tight into a frown and she- she’s itching for this. He knows she is, because even if he hasn’t seen her in six years, Ben grew up alongside of her. He’d been there for her early years, when just keeping her from running was hard enough.

He’d chased her across state lines, kept her from hopping busses, dragged her kicking and screaming to return every stolen car.

He knew the fire in her. He had it, too.

And he knew that it was burning.

“Rey,” he says into the quiet. “Just drive.”

She bares her teeth again, lip curled into an effortless, vicious snarl. Her eyes narrow. Around them, the car hums with power. It sounds as angry as she does.

“You’ll regret that,” she warns, and when he says nothing, she makes a quiet irritated noise and slams the car into reverse, peeling explosively out of the lot. Dust clouds the road behind them. He can smell the burning rubber.

Fic goals: I did absolutely none of the goals I set last year. Nothing novel length, nothing original, very few original characters, and I almost made it to 60k, but not quite. My only goal for next year is to write something that’s all mine. That’s it, Heather. Write a story, make it yours.

[secrets-ofthe-mind]

My Loves in Fiction and Fanfiction

Hey everyone! I think this is the first actual original post that I’ve written on here, everything else is just the wonderful work of many talented others that bring me small joys here and there. It dawned on me that while this is a Zutara tumblr first and foremost, I do have several other pairings mixed in with the bunch. So I figured I lost out my favorite pairings in 24 years of books/tv shows/ movie love:

1) Zuko and Katara:

Obviously they are my OTP, and will always be in endgame in my heart. I could talk days about them, and the works of @theadamantdaughter, @beanaroony, and the rest of the glorious posse of creative masters that have blessed our lives with their works of Zutara, and will in a later post. But they are what brought me to tumblr, and they are the reason I remain. Fire and Water, Earth and Air, Sword and Fan forever.

2. Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Ann Hart

Surprising fact, I love Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was a favorite of mine when I was little, and the Darker Shade of Green series by UnromanticPoetrss on fanfic.com is one of the most spectacular reimaginings of a series that I’ve ever read, and reinstigated my love for them. I loved the campiness of it all when I was a kid, and the darker AUs and reimaginings in Archive of Our omIwn and fanfiction.com brings it all together. In keeping with Power Ranger couples I also enjoy Wes and Jen from Time Force, Trent and Kira from Dino Thunder, and the Jack/Sky friendship in SPD is wonderful, especially with Sky’s story arc. And Magna Defender just looks badass!

3. Shiro and Princess Allura

Only just finished season 3 of Voltron Legendary Defender, and what can I say I’m hooked on these two. Klance and Piro have my respect and at times my adulation, but Shallura has my love!

4. Bruce Wayne and Princess Diana (Wonder Woman)

Justice League the Animated series is by far the best cartoon adaption of a comic book series ever done. Period. And the thing that holds it together is amazing storytelling and writing, the juxtaposition of Superman and Batman with their developing friendship and differing thoughts on justice, the hints of romance (ugh angst is my shit) between Bruce and Diana, and the real pull and feel of the other characters, ie Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. But Bruce and Diana take the cake for being the best part!

5. Wolverine and Storm/Jean Grey

I enjoy the tension that existed between Logan and Jean in the Fox cartoon and it’s comics, but when I think about character developments, X-Men Schism, and underlying insecurities, I just love Logan and Ororo. His abrasiveness and snark match perfectly with her command and collection, and makes for wonderful interactions. Also Kurt would be the greatest best man ever! Also Logan as a father figure to younger female teammates is one of my favorite parts of his character. His a rough dude, but he loves Laura, Jubilee, and Kitty, and would straight mess up anyone who would think of doing them harm, while also letting them fight their own battles :)

6. Rey and Kylo Ren

I see a lot of redemption arc qualities in this pairing that could be similar to Zutara, really I’m just a sucker for a strong female character who can see past the villainy or flaws in another and bring them to the light, and kick their ass when they act up. It goes both ways, make and female, but I think it’s very powerful. Cliche, yes. Wonderful, yes.

7. Master Chief and Cortana

Halo 4 was amazing because it focused on the relationship between Cortana and Chief and the lengths he’ll go to in order to try and save her, and the sacrifice she makes for him. Their ending scene together in heartbreaking, and though Guardians left a lot to be desired, I do hope they find a way to bridge the human AI gap. Once again a female who can bring emotion, strength, and perspective to a grizzled and war hardened veteran. It’s applicable in my life and that’s why I love it so.

And many others...

Jon Snow and Daenerys

Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister

Eragon and Arya

Piper and the Lone Survivor

Rapunzel and Eugene

Geralt and Yennifer

Bellamy and Clarke

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy

The list goes on and on, and well touch on all of them in time.

With that, goodnight, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

[scifi4wifi]

Cosplay is as much a part of San Diego Comic-Con as, well.. comic books. The annual “celebration of the popular arts” attracts nearly a quarter of a million people both inside the convention center and in the surrounding “Gaslamp” district. Quite a few brave the summer heat and put on costumes inspired by their favorite fandom. Marvel and DC superheroes rub elbows with video game icons and television characters. And, then there are the mashups, genderbent and just plain unique creations from the wearer’s imagination.

This year, it seemed like there were fewer cosplayers, but that may be mistaken. Deadpool was still very popular with various incarnations strolling about, but there were noticeably fewer Joker and Harley Quinn impressions. While the variations on that theme have often been clever and very well done over the years, it often felt as if one could not go 50 feet without running into a green-haired maniac and his domino-clad squeeze.

While other outlets and channels may be content to focus on the professionals and the obvious eye candy for their coverage, this article is going to take a look at the individuals who stood out for being different. The broadening of pop culture characters has allowed more people to find an impression that appeals to them. Moana, Black Panther and Steven Universe, for example have shown that representation matters – and it is being embraced.

And, for folks who could not necessarily get around the convention under their own power, many cleverly incorporated their transport into their cosplay with fun and fantastic results.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is still a popular source of inspiration. It has only grown since The Force Awakens was released. The principle characters have gotten older (haven’t we all) and a more diverse group of heroes has joined the cause. In 2016, hundreds of little girls, and their older sisters, dressed as Rey as they swarmed through the exhibit halls alongside pint-sized Luke Skywalker Jedis. Now, a fan doesn’t have to look like “generic cantina alien #3” to be recognized as a character. Finn, Rose and Poe inspire a new generation just as Han, Luke and Leia did. And speaking of the original heroes, “mature” fans don’t have to try to look like the 20-something incarnation, but can successfully pull off their appearance in the later films.

Generals Leia and Han

Dr. Aphra, Admiral Holdo and General Leia on Endor

Rey

Rebel pilots

Lando meets Finn

Star Trek

There was a noticeable lack of Klingons, but they may have been cloaked and were missed. DS9, TOS and the earlier movies had their fans, however. If there were Star Trek: Discovery impressions, this writer missed them.

Star Fleet – boldly going in red shirts.

Captain Kirk and a Yeoman

  Heroes and Villains

Once again, superheroes dominated the floor with Black Panther being a particularly popular source of inspiration.

Even Ms. Marvel needs her coffee

Guardians and others

The Wasp – not life size

Everyone’s favorite green archer.

The Game Master and guard

Mystique mid-transformation

Starfire – no spray tan needed

Shuri takes over for T’Challa

Agent Peggy Carter

Squirrel Girl

Wakandans bringing in EriK Killmonger

A member of Wakanda’s Jabari tribe

Nick Fury

Disney

With nearly 90 years of entertainment, it’s not a surprise that The Mouse would inspire its own set of fans separate from Marvel and Lucasfilm. A number of Disney princesses were out and about, as were those inspired by theme park rides and, of course, the heroes and villains of all ages.

Maui and Moana.

The Incredible family that fights together, stays together.

Princess Kida from Atlantis

Edna Mode and Jack-Jack

Moana

The Mad Hatter and a very well-done ride

Cruella has given up on Dalmatians as she’s heard that Wookies are larger..

It’s a jolly holiday with Bert and Mary

Ursula is not collecting any souls at this time.

From Tower of Terror.. Checking Out?

Vanellope von Schweetz and her racer

Other Films

Of course, there is more to cinema than just Disney properties – even if it does feel that way sometimes. Some fans went for the true classics, including Mad Max, Yellow Submarine, Beetlejuice and Judge Dredd.

Old school Mad Max and Warrior Woman

Yes, Lilu has her multipass

Tintin’s off on another adventure

Blue Meanie

Ah! Ah! Ah! Don’t say the “B-word”

Tank Girl

They are the law!

Astrid without her dragon

Ready to hit Fury Road

It’s a big Steven Universe

The animated show has proven to be very popular with multiple impressions of Steven and his friends out and about. The number of those inspired – both young and young at heart earns them a separate recognition.

Steven Universe – and he knows how to play that.

Steven Universe, Mario and friends.

Rose Quartz and Garnet

Other Television

Game of Thrones, Handmaids Tale, Dragon Ball Z and other shows proved fertile ground for friends and families alike.

A rolling Iron Throne

These “Handmaids” were very popular.

April O’Neil lands an exclusive with the Turtles and Shredder.

Pop Culture

It is a “celebration of the popular arts”, after all.

Dragon Ball Z – Beerus, Zeno, Future Zeno and Whis from Dragon Ball Z Super

Bruce Lee: Enter the Dragon to the con.

Iron Maiden’s Eddie as the Trooper

A happy Bob Ross

Team Fortress

After buying tickets to Comic-Con, they are likely to be two broke girls.

Porco Rosso ready to take to the air.

Marvelous Mashups

And when you want to be just a little more different and have some fun…

Corporate Galactus is ready start a hostile takeover of the planet.

Thor Dinosaur… Why not? Thor’s been a frog before. Oh, wait. Dino Thor. Gah.

Dapper Deadpool

Warriors of the Empire of the Rising Sun – and steampunk friend

Wonder Woman/Leia – either way, this princess does not need saving.

We hope you enjoyed our selection of photographs from San Diego Comic-Con 2018. If you see yourself in one of the pictures, claim your cred!

-30-

  Innovative and Inclusive: San Diego Comic-Con Cosplay Cosplay is as much a part of San Diego Comic-Con as, well.. comic books. The annual "celebration of the popular arts" attracts nearly a quarter of a million people both inside the convention center and in the surrounding "Gaslamp" district.

[arrozaurus]

 thing sw tlj spoilers ahead!

i want to talk a little bit about my impression on the last jedi movie which it’s been: pretty much positive! although i’m disappointed on some things

yoda!!!!! makes a cameo as a ghost making pranks like the old shit asshole he is and i was so HAPPY i literally cried in that scene he was even a goddamn muppet no cgi anywhere. just a green plastic goblin with an arm up his butt being the hideputa we all know and love. it was great and i didnt expect that

lots of references to the old movies, like the fight between luke and ben, luke just FADING AWAY without literally any reason (we talk about that later), yoda again, the old resistance base, help me obi juan whoever the fuck you are you’re my only hoe hologram.

i loved the alien puffins’ design but i didn’t particularly liked how they were used (oh boi they are practically minions all over AGAIN)

the scene of holdo going into hyper jump with the big ship and crashing into the snoke’s ship, breaking it in half instantly, was breath-taking. all the cinema went absolutely quiet for those seconds. it was indescriptible.

i really thought leia, our fucking mother of us all, was gouing to die in that scene and i was so UPSET for a little moment but then she used the force (!!!!!!!!!) in the last moment and saved herself. and seriously OH MY GOD QUEEN WHAT THE HELL YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING

the part of finn and rose tico was a tiny bit useless i guess? in terms of plot. because it’s true that they start to just. running in circles and the romance was kind of forced too? (but anyway i’m not a shippy person). i guess it was to show some of the universe, to talk about the topic of war and picking sides, how it’s profitable and who profits from it/who suffers from it. also not everything you do in life is of some use, sometimes acts are pointless for the original objective, but it can help us to discover new solutions for other things as well.

they killed luke out of spite. i don’t know it was completely unnecessary in my opinion, very unjustified. i’m 90% sure he will start pranking our friend kylo gram as a ghost but man he can do that without dying.

the relationship of ben and rey is heavily toxic and i don’t know how people can remotely ship that. like ren literally uses abusive tactics to keep rey close to him, telling her she doesn’t matter to anyone except him, her believing he can change and being hurt by him in the act (he also never changes and is unwilling to change)... i dunno know guys but that doesn’t look very romantic...

however, having that kind of relationship represented as something bad doesn’t disgust me, i enjoyed it.

poor alien nuns that have to clean everything up after rey’s messes. the scene where A FUCKING BOULDER just smashes against their wheelbarrow at INCREDIBLE HIGH SPEED, running over everything in the process.

i was at first suspicious of holdo YEAH IM SO SORRY SWEETIE SO SORRY I DOUBTED YOU YOU DID AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU

the part where luke does mundane things like milking those DINO SEALS it was weird

the art department did absolutely great with the animal designs im seriously in love with the camels and the crystal lynxes. super nice and pure 10/10

the characters are all completely loveable (except you hux you are annoying)

that moment when ren totally fools snoke and KILLS HIM IN HALF with  the sabre and then starts fighing against the guardians with rey filled my with hope and pride but i didn’t realize that if kylo had changed his mind for good in that scene we wouldn’t have a baddie anymore. soon he showed he was still EVIL and jesus fucking christ what a snotty kid honestly die already bitch

idk what this snoke guy was about tbh, he looks clever and mysterious it’s a shame he died that sadly but his death scene was brilliant

I CANT BELIEVE THEY KILLED PHASMA?????????????? T is for Treason boii

the movie was long but not boring i can assure you that

conclusion: i loved it despite its flaws (i’m not going to watch it again though)