#guys I need this game so bad I need my girl Hornet to come back I miss her..........

[hall0wedwyrm]

nononononono they're not allowed to say Silksong got a rating in Australia and THEN announce an Indie World. this isn't okay. This is NOT OKAY.

edit: this aged like milk nevermind 🤡

[creativewritersposts]

crush - Lukas Reichel

summery; Lukas Reichel x f! reader. You visit your first hockey game and find your new hockey crush.

warning(s); maybe grammar errors, none

author's note; if you like it, I'm grateful for every request or reblog ♡

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

You love watching hockey. You really do. You just never saw a game live.

But the young girls screaming some young players names around you is annoying. It gives you a headache. Your temples hurt so bad, you can't even concentrate on the background music in the arena. Accidentally a loud groan comes out your mouth, you're too old for fangirling.

"Oh my gosh look at Cole!!", the girl behind shrieks. Pissed you turn around, giving her a death stare to calm down a little bit. You get that fans love their players but damn, you feel like you're stuck in a teenage concert. The girl shuts her mouth, you turn around with a sacrificed smile and look down the rink. Inhale the piece for one moment with your coke in the left hand. You are not a bitch but she screams for minutes now and the game didn't even start yet. You won tickets on the radio station and here we go;

Germany against the USA.

You don't have a favorite team so you decided to pay for a scarf with both flags.

"Lukas Reichel ahhh!", the young lady screams again behind you as the players come out of their cabinets. Like hornets all players skate through the ice, doing warm ups.

"Omg he's so hot!", her friend screams with her. The lights are getting brighter and you can see the players faces clearly. The seats are near the ice, you looked on your phone about the actual prices to sit here like you do before you went to the arena, you could never pay this on your own. You have to sell a kidney, it's really expensive. Some of the guys with the USA jerseys look familiar, you saw some from tiktok or television. But you never saw someone from the german team. One tall man stands on the rink, his back to you and doing skills with the puck. 'REICHEL', on it. You're so fascinated about what he does. It looks so easy. His hands, god damn what they could do with you.

Wait, what the hell are you thinking?

You borrow your eyebrows to a straight face, speechless about your own thoughts. Until he skates his body around. Your straight face turns into the mandible leading down. His brown eyes look into your soul, his facial expression totally focused looking over your shoulder. What an ignorant idiot!

"Ahhh he likes you! Tiffany gives him his number!", the two girls talk to each other and wink Reichel. He just smiles and skates away, short side eye to you.

For one moment you regret being alone here, you can't tell anyone what happened right now. Your shoulders are getting down, it's a depressing feeling. You never had this feeling before. Gosh, his smile. Such a stunning smile.

How can you dare to think you have a single chance as a fan? It's so unrealistic.

Lukas skates around with a teammate, talking about something. You bet about tactics, because he waves his hands hectically. The other one nods interested. They skate until their backs kiss the glasses before you.

His hair looks fluffy. But this man needs a haircut.

"What?!", Reichel turns around, his brown eyes meeting yours. You're confused.

"Huh?, is all your response. His beauty distracts you.

"I need a haircut?!", he asks what you thought. His teammate laughs his ass off, skating away.

"Uhm..i mean good luck", an angelic smile forms your lips. You're deeply sorry for him to speak out your mind before you talk. It's curious how he could hear this around all these noises.

"Thanks", he nods friendly, staring into your soul again and skates away, the lights get dark. The warm-up nears the end and you already miss it.

Such a tense situation with this hot guy. You never saw a man skating so attractive.

Stop, wrong thoughts again.

"Are you Lukas girlfriend?!", the young girl tipping on your shoulder. "No", you laugh and ignore the girls. The lights flicker to start the game, both teams standing next to each other to sing their hymns and you take pictures. After that the game starts and it's definitely a better game for the USA. The game ends 6:1 for them.

To see Lukas disappointed breaks your heart, you don't know him. How are these thoughts coming inside your head?

You walked outside, after one hour. Ready for waiting for the bus. "I know you", a tall man walking forward. You recognize his silhouette. The one and only Lukas Reichel.

"Yeah", you chuckle in creep. "Your haircut suits you. Don't worry", you try to apologize. "Honestly your face looks so gorgeous, i think i start to roat for the german team", your confidence comes back, hands around your waist. Talking before you think.

"Oh yeah you're the one!", his face looks surprised, reminding the girl in their fanbase.

"What are you doing here? I don't think you want to drive with the bus", you are interested. He's in jeans and a sweatshirt. "Our hotel is there, I'm just late for dinner", he points his finger one street away from your position.

"I would do anything for a pizza right now", you think out loud. The prices were horrible inside the arena so you didn't order anything.

"Why didn't you pay for food inside the arena?", he steps closer. You can smell his cologne. You want to hug him right now, avoiding his eye contact. "Not everyone is a millionaire", you mutter.

"You can hug me", he stays chill, drops the bag from his shoulder and hugs you shortly. "it's weird because i don't know you and i could be a crazy fan", you overthink the situation.

"Yeah you're a stalker", he gets sarcastic. You lovely hit his shoulder, "don't get sarcastic, Reichel".

Lukas defense with his hands, "I'm here because I wanted to give you this", he searches in his bag for a coke and gives it to you. "A coke?!", you're disappointed. "Yeah with my number on it", he stretches his neck, nervous. And he's right; with horrible handwriting are some numbers written down.

"That's it? Are you a playboy? No asking?", your voice is outraged.

"No-no-", he shakes his head, his hair is a mess and he looks tired.

"Oh yeah you're the one!", his face looks surprised, reminding the girl in their fanbase.

"I was in a hurry after the game and this was my first idea because you drank cola. It's not very romantic but I'm tired honestly", he blushes red.

"Maybe I'm texting you", you smile love drunk. You see his face and forget everything.

"I would love to grab some pizza with you but the team is waiting I'm sorry", he gets in hectic after watching on his clock.

"It's okay ", you scan is face like you need to copy every detail about his features.

Goddamn, he's your new crush and you need to know more about him. You're not the perfect model and never had the situation that a boy wants your number. You don't even know what Lukas Reichel wants from you when he could have anyone.

He waves and walks to the hotel after hugging you. When you sit in the bus you text him;

"hi, it's me"

"Wow. 5 minutes after our first date. Got a good impression"

"It was not a date"

"I invite you to our next game but please wear a german jersey. After Game pizza? Maybe we can get from crushes to lovers. I really like you. Please don't tell my coach".

How cheeky, Lukas Reichel.

But he got you.

[bugmomwrites]

Best Friends With Inosuke

A/N: I’m on a car ride and decided to work on some drafts. Typing this on my phone so I’m sorry if the formatting looks wonky.

These are GENDER NEUTRAL, and reader is very similar to Inosuke personality-wise.

I’m not too familiar with KnY yet but in this house we stan ManBoarPig so let’s gooooo

How y’all meet:

You chucklefucks meet in the woods near the butterfly estate when the gang is checking around for any potential threats.

Rumors have been going around about some suspicious humanoid making an appearance every now and then. Preparing for the worst, they decided to go investigate, and slice up some demons if need be.

They’re about to head back when they hear rustling from the trees above, and some screaming.

Cautiously, the three of them draw their blades and follow the noise. They end up below a wisteria tree, and see what looks like a person bouncing on the branch.

undefined

“Well, I don’t think it’s a demon”, Zenitsu mutters. No sooner does he say that does he hear the mystery person holler again, only this time it’s a full sentence.

“EAT MY ASS DEMONS!”

Yup- definitely not a demon.

Your head pops out, and you’re hanging upside down on a branch coming face to face with...a boar’s head?

You: 🙃

Inosuke: 👁👄👁

The trio is too stunned to do anything for several seconds before the branch snaps and you scream, falling on your back.

It hurts too much to move, so you just kinda lay there like a helpless turtle. Zenitsu is panicking, asking if you were okay, but you were just vibing on the forest floor.

Suddenly, you just start laughing at the events that just happened, trying to reassure the orange one that yes, you were fine, and falling out of trees was a pretty normal thing for you.

You catch your breath after a good chuckle, moving to sit up when your face contorts, wincing at the sharp pain that shoots through your spine.

Tanjiro’s brain immediately shifts into Mother Hen mode, and before you can protest you’re being hauled back to the estate with them.

You end up staying there for a while, and when you healed up a little bit more, you start training with the trio as a form of physical therapy.

Inosuke rarely tired out, and didn’t hold back, so you came to form a mutual respect with the feral boy. He was by far your favorite sparring partner, and a strong camaraderie was quickly forged between you two.

You eventually began tagging along for missions, and you loved how you could kick ass while still being your usual chaotic self.

The two of you were so much alike it was almost uncanny. You become a permanent member of their motley crew, and the rest is history.

Friendship:

All I can say is...poor Tanjiro. Boi will probably be gray by 20 at this rate.

Zenitsu is wary around just one of you guys at a time.

But as one unit? He’s fucking terrified.

As a result, he ends up your primary target for pranks and shenanigans.

You and Inosuke both share no more than half a braincell at any given moment.

When one has some crackpot scheme cooked up, the other only eggs them on to go through with it. Nobody is ever the “impulse control”

If you’ve never been subject to ✨peer pressure✨ are you really friends?

Bad ideas are the best stories, as you always said.

“I found a branch on the ground! Let’s go play hornet piñata!”

“Only if you remember to keep your eyes closed this time!”

Needless to say, you both ended up back at the butterfly estate to be patched up and they were not happy.

Sometimes, you guys play this game called “Hard Head”. It is exactly what it sounds like.

Spoiler alert: you guys run at each other from a distance and head butt each other as hard as you can.

The winner is the one who does the most damage/sends their opponent furthest away from the set area.

Comparing scars and bruises like badges of honor, exchanging stories and laughter? Hell yeah.

You guys were both stubborn and wild, so arguments are inevitable. Usually over stupid, childish things.

In times like these, violence usually was the answer (much to Tanjiro’s chagrin).

You guys would duke it out until one or both of you got tired, or simply forgot what you were upset about.

Because let’s face it, neither of you even really have the attention span or the patience to hold a grudge for very long.

If there’s anything else you guys have in common (besides exactly 1/2 a brain cell between you), it would most likely be your appetites.

It didn’t matter who cooked it or what was being served- if it was edible, you two were anything but picky.

You’re both messy and rambunctious at the table, and the rest of the gang has low key sorta given up on trying to get you guys to be civilized during meal time.

You know that thing where you take a magnifying glass and set ants on fire? You guys try to do that and the ONLY reason nothing ends in disaster is because neither of you can stop giggling long enough to hold it totally still.

It just starts smoking a bit and y’all...lose it. You’re like a couple of school girls.

Inosuke is your ride or die, and the two of you could easily form a very small gang with how close you are.

You guys have each other’s backs on the battlefield and off it. If one goes down, the other is up and ready to avenge, no matter how beaten down they may be. You’re the only ones allowed to beat each other up 😤👏

When Inosuke is out of commission, you’re right by his bedside, and the others have to practically drag you away so you can actually do things like eat, sleep, or use the bathroom.

Your company helps him get his fighting spirit back, and before you know it the Dumbass Duo is back in business.

You guys may be stupid, but even you understand that a bond like yours is hard to come by. You and Inosuke were both powerful and strong on your own, but both of you together? Definitely a force to be reckoned with.

[popculturebuffet]

Amphibia Reviewcaps: The Dinner/Battle of the Bands “It’s You”

Hello all you happy people! And i’m almost to the finish line.  6 months (subtracting the ones where there were no new episodes) worth of weekly coverage and with next week i’ll have completed my second full season of reivews of a show as they came out, and my first full season of amphibia. If you’d like to see season 1 it’s up high on my stretch goals at 45 with reviews of Disney movies based on shows (The Proud Family, Recess and Kim Possible), Gravity Falls and more along the way if your curious. Check it out HERE. I’m also doing exclusive reviews eveyr month now with the coasional one thrown in randomly so check that out. New period starts in a week so please join before then.

So naturally with the big finale and all the tensions in amphibia close to reaching a boil next week, this week’s a bit more low key. Still not unimportant, with some massively good character work and in fact The Dinner is easily one of my faviorites of the season, but still nothing to move the plot too far forward. Just some nice character stuff to help inch us towards the climax next week. The calm before my heart is stillbeatingly ripped out of my chest. Which I will grant the show, having my heart ripped out Mola Ram style by some combination of Brenda Song and Keith David is how I wanted to go, i’m just not ready yet. So while I steel myself for the utter heartbreak of next week, I have my throughts on this weeks episodes under the cut!

The Dinner: 

I did tip my hand a bit by saying this was one of my faviorties of the season.. and I stand by that. This one was excellent. It was rife with tension while still somehow being a fun breather episode before hell arrives. 

As the title suggest the Plantars are having Grime and Sasha over for a fancy dinner, followed by games and such. Only Annearcy are happy about this though, Marcy still not getting quite how bad Sasha has gotten during her stay here and Anne hoping she has changed.  The Plantars, Sprig in paticular, still resent them for the whole toad tower fiasco, which is fair. You don’t forget someone trying to murder you over night, let alone your whole town. Hop Pop is using Frobo as the Grill by the way which is just visually fucktacular I gotta admit. He does get some more use these episodes, being used as a Grill here and as the fog machine and Polly’ sminon next episode. Good work boy. That’s my robot frog soldier builder whatever you are. 

Sasha and Grime are likewise not enthused. Sasha isn’t because her friends expect her to “Ugh” change and grow and stuff and isn’t happy about it and is confident she can return to rulling over them once her plan is done. Dude.. that’s not how a healthy throuple works. Or a healthy anything. Grime is more worried about her blowing it with her anger and control issues, but feels. this is VITAL to convincing the plantars to trust them long enough for their plan to go off. He even demands she remove her sword and all her knives... and she has a lot of them. Evne in her boot “How do you even walk?” Good question grime. 

My answer?

So what follows is about 8 minutes of the most hilariously awkward dinner since that time Micheal Scott decided to have a dinner party even though his relationship was horribly crumbling, as everyone but Anne and Marcy shoves their foot in their mouth at some point or makes some sort of screw up. Oh and Polly I guess she’s more content to just watch the show. Seriously i’m not usually a fan of cringe comedy.. but the series makes it work here as our heroes attempt to interact with thier old eneimeis and vice versa. 

For starters we have our guests arrvial, where Grime and Sasha both look objectively terrifying before things cool down. Then we have dinner itself where both Hop Pop and Grime prove to be the racist kind of grandpa as Grime asks what frogs they subjigated to get these turnips and Hop Pop makes an awkward lightbulb joke about Toads that Grime finds hilarious but everyone else was rightfully afraid would get the old man gutted by the other more violent old man. I imagine this happened a lot on the Lost Light once Megatron took over co captiancy. You just don’t fight a guy for a good hundered years without being nervous he’s going to blast you to fucking pieces. 

Sprig dosen’t help before all this by taking a seat next to anne and marcy specifically to piss her off, and out of all of them is the most openly hostile to her. Given Anne’s his best friend and Sasha did a LOT of emotional damage to her.. yeah fair enough. 

Things only esclate when it comes to frog pictionary. Suprisingly Hop Pop gets Grime’s Drawins and Sasha gets his, with both her and sprig trading escalating barbs and her barely containing her rage when Anne calls her on it since unlike her, Sprig has a reason to still be upset with her. This reaches a breaking point when Sasha attempts things, trying to desperatly win her friends back with the old times now they have their ownt imes apart.. only for Sprig to accidnetlay mock Sasha’s near sucicide,s aying she “slipped”.. granted I do think he geninely just can’t forgive her.. but it’s very clear she did not.. she let herself go to save them, and he’s just as in denial about it as Sasha and just as much a dick about it. 

Sasha flips out at him, and gets penalized for talking which only pisses her off MORE and understandably so. Anne leaps to the plantar’s defense but honestly.. both sides are understandabliy angry here. The Plantars are right to still not trust her after everything especially since she hasn’t outright apologized to them and her and Grime’s general response to the incident is “One Time!”... which works for say, taking the last slice of pizza without asking or slamming their face in a car door, but not so much “Trying to murder all of you for personal and stupid reasons.”. But at the same time Sprig DID cross the line really bad when she saved his fucking life. It dosen’t automaitcally erase the bad things she did but it dosen’t give him lisence to mock her. WHile I get he’s 10 and dosen’t get it was part suicide, he still is blantaly ignoring her trying to do something selfless because he can’t admit there’s any good in Sasha. Sasha is not a GREAT person.. but there IS good in her. She just has to WANT to seek that out instead of her inherent seflishness and need for control and Anne and Marcy are absolutely right for trying to help her instead of just slamming the door in her face. 

But soon eveyroen gets distracted by the cake which floods the room with molten lava. Hop Pop assumes it was some sort of trick.. but hilariously turns out no, Grime really was trying to be nice. That’s just how this works and it’s delcious once it hardens.. assuming you survivie the hornets, with fighting them being the best part of it. And yes hornets shoot out of the cake. Are you suprised at this point? They also paralize grime leaving our heroes without the one person among them who knows what their doing. 

SO our heroines are forced to fight some hornets, with Sasha trying to take lead.. only for Anne to do so and succeed at it, figuring out that while weapons can’t pierce them their own stingers might and having Marcy use her crossbow to launch the stinger in grime at them, and then has Sasha distract the rest to take them out. 

So our heroines reconcile with Sasha admitting she might not want to change and Anne admitting that’s okay.. she just has to accept things have changed with THEM and that her friends HAVE. And genuinely or not Sasha agrees to that, while Grime is bummed he missed the party and the lava hardens into chocolate, with eveyrone enjoying some cake and dead insects. As you do

Final Thoughts on The Dinner: As I said, this is one of the best episodes of the season> The tension is paltable, and it dosen’t fully resolve it, rightly as we still have one final season to go for that. More than that.. it’s hilarious. All the jokes land, and there were far too many to get into here. 

Battle of the Bands:

Now this is a classic breather episode, our last chance to rest and get all slice of lifey before things go up in flames next week. 

With the town all nervous because of Sasha and Grime’s presence, Mayor Toadstool decides to spin the wheel of fun to decide on an activity. I can’t remember if this is a new thing or not but I loves it. It lands on Battle of the Bands so the girls decide to get their old band Sasha and the Sharks back together. As for the rest of the cast, Hop Pop and Sprig join a Jug band and Grime has his own musical domination to plot out, so that just leaves us with the thropule, Poly and Frobo for an episode. 

The group have fun... until Anne unveils her heartfelt song based on her time here. Well okay only Sasha isn’t having fun and quickly tries to take over, as you’d expect and Anne pushes back as you’d expect. Sasha takes her ball and goes home as.. you get it by now> The plot here is not very complex or unique.

But as with all the Sasha episodes this season including the last one, we get a deeper sense of her character. Here she outright admits she dosen’t know what to do when she’s not in control. She needs to be in charge of the situation. It also explains why unlike Marcy and Anne she didn’t change for the better: Her need for control shuts out any possiblity of self reflection and thus self improvment. Self Improvment, and I know this from experince, requires you to admit your flaws and face them. It’s something I can admit to struggling with as I fall back into old patterns often. Admitting flaws would be admitting a loss of Control and Sasha.. can’t. She honestly can’t. 

Of all people i’ts TOADIE who convinces her sometimes i’ts better to let someone else take the lead and that it’s better to support the ones you love than subjugate them. Granted Toadie himself is too far in the opposite direction, but he makes a valid point.. something I never thought i’d say. Sometimes you just have to let someone do what they want.. and watching her two girlfriends perform up on stage.

I also will say I love a good talent show, battle of the bands what have you episode. One of my faviorite movies, True Stories, climaxes in one. 

And yes that was John Goodman and yes he does indeed sing...

Seriously watch this movie. It’s fucking amazing. And yes that was the Talking Heads David Byrne, he wrote this movie and there’s two talking heads songs in it. Watch it. 

Point is we get a great one, paticuarlly chuck. 

He grows SINGIN tulips just a fun one.. but i’ts that finale with the girls that really makes it with Sasha realizing that them being HAPPY is better than her being in control..and they didn’t grow PAST HER or leave her behind just because they grew.. they simply should be free to be themselves. And that maybe trying to conquer a country just to do that ain’t right. IT’s really sweet

So she runs in to do the guitar solo, and its aweosme and they only don’t win because it turns out Grime is fucking MAJESTIC on a harp. But Sasha finally grows a bit admitting that having fun is what mattered... 

And it’s abotu to burst as Mayor Toadstool, in a show of how far he’s come, points out Anne is leaving soon and Anne gives a heartfelt goodbye to everyone.. that said.... someone clearly has other plans.. and for once i’ts NOT Sasha. 

There’s nothing but foreshadowing in that face. That’s a face that says “Uh.. about that”. And again SASHA is showing emotinal vunerablity and hapiness.. but it’s Marcy, whose pretty open emotiionally whose visably worried and clearly knows Andrias has other plans.. other plans he talked her into. Gratned he probably didn’t tell her said plans involve The Watcher with a Thousand Eyes, but she still KNOWS she’s plottingthings.. and know’s she’s about to betray the people closest to her. 

Before we move on though those outfits ar esharp. Just damn. Especially Sasha’s punk look. The songs this episode are also both excellent and I had no idea Brenda Song and Anna Akana could sking like that. God damn. 

So with Anne leaving for home she gets one last group photo. It’s majestic and we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: This one is pretty good. Not a lot to talk about outside of Sasha but a really fun episode that both moves her foward and moves us toward the finale. ANd it’s nice to see the three just happy together... before the hell that’s about to arrive. 

Next Week: War Were Declared, our heroes prepare to fight bravely against the hoard of toads... and both Sasha and Marcy come to the crossroads of destiny Tommorow ON This Blog:

So it’s up to Jean Grey and Emma Frost to go in and sort it out.. and then fight off the full might of an alien empire. No pressure. 

Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure

[runolllo-fanboygirl]

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

I'm going to start by clarifying that these are messages I got in response to my post here /// LINK /// After this, I'm not replying to messages about this kinda thing in a long time. Talking about sexualization and such other topics is important but I'm not in a state to be made the center of it. Please, don't come to my inbox asking for discourse, go and create your own posts if you want to raise awareness or vent.

And now to answer to these new asks:

FIRST OF ALL: while I love the way Murata draws men, robotic stuff, monsters... I actually HATE the way he draws ladies! I prefer their proportions in the OPM anime and games. Murata is literally SO BAD at drawing women compared to the level of expertise he has drawing men, and it's all ‘cos he keeps drawing ladies "the h0rny way". We all know this, let's move on.

"He's drawing all the monster girls sexualized" Did the fact that Manako's genre reveal deconstructs the trope "the default is male" totally go over your head? That Psykos's reveal as a woman running the whole MA was a big deal for this same reason as well? There are a bunch of female monsters… you just assume they're all male unless you see big b00bs and then complain about that very fact. They literally made a whole point about this specifically!

"He changed Mizuki's shorts to p4nties to please fanboys" I liked the shorts better too (just because I find her whole character design a bit more balanced that way) so that change bothered me as well, but the "p4nties" are actually standard athletic wear for competition. Shorts are not. Technically, she’s drawn more accurately now.

"Sports Bras don't work that way he just wants to draw b00bs" neither do the shirts and bodysuits the guys are wearing. You can see all their muscles and manb00bs and cr0tch lines, just as much as with Fubuki and Tatsu's hero outfits and Mizuki's top.

"But when the boys are drawn that way, it's not to please the ladies, it's male power fantasy" THERE IS NO HETEROSEXUAL MALE POWER FANTASY BULLSHIT THAT CAN POSSIBLY EXPLAIN THE WAY MURATA DRAWS GAROU, FLASH, SONIC, STINGER AND SOME OF THE OTHER GUYS. The fact is that the way he draws eye candy of them appeals to other collectives other than the cis het men and he knows exactly what he's doing. Period.

"He constantly draws sexualized art of Mizuki to please the fanboys" Why exaggerate so much? This is simply not true. She's a woman in athlete wear, most of the time she's either standing up talking or fighting, no weird angles or anything. There is like 1 sexy cover of her, the back cover with all the girls in bikinis and then that infamous watermelon sequence. That's all the sexualization you are talking about.

"Mizuki only gets so much screen time because of how much p0rn of her there is" oh yeah Mizuki got a grand total of, like, *drum roll* 1 chapter and a half dedicated to her! Wow! Which is NOTHING taking into consideration how dense Garou's arc is and the fact that they will need at least 2 seasons of the anime to finish it.

But think about this: OPM desperately needed more female presence, in special with the prospect of finishing Garou's arc in the anime. Making anime is hard and COSTLY. Most of the people who is going to watch the anime haven't read the manga and they'll be like "what the heck there are no female characters in this anime for like 3 seasons?" and there is no team that's going to risk it working with such prospects. We know why.

Of all the expansion that Garou's arc got in the manga adaptation (and later in the anime), one of the most sensible and balanced decisions was to add more ladies. They put all those monster ladies for season 2, and then for season 3 we get Manako and Mizuki having some strong presence, Shadow and Kamaitachi there a bit in the back too. It benefits the pace and balance of both the manga and the future season 3 so immensely because Fubuki, Tatsumaki and Psykos take a LOOONG while to be relevant during Garou's Arc… in special with all the filler the manga put in between (but all that filler is of the S-Class boys getting development and a reality check which is kinda important too lol).

Point is: the screentime Mizuki got was VERY necessary to balance things in between of all the relentless Garou fights and the boys being boys. Sure Mizuki is beautiful and sexy and all, but really EVERYONE was waiting for a new female character that was relevant, likeable, fun… and on top of everything, it's so rare to see a strong 2m tall girl in fiction in general, not even just anime. Everyone got instantly excited about her because she's exactly what we needed AND MORE. And sure, people draw p0rn of her like they do with most other popular characters, what did you expect.

"The ladies are always more sexualized-" YES, in the OPM manga, the ladies are a little more sexualized than the men –but not by much AND not during plot stuff. By that I mean that most of the so called "sexualizing the girls" happens in the covers, back covers and promotional art very exclusively, and not during the story itself. HOWEVER, a lot of the sexy men bits do happen during the story, curiously.

 In the anime though, there is almost zero ladies fanservice (which makes sense since there is almost no female presence in the first 2 seasons anyway). Yet it's full of naked dudes, sometimes for a good reason, but mostly just so we can look at them being sexy and silly.

 I personally don't care if the man candy and ladies fanservice is not perfectly even in Murata's manga adaptation, because there is enough of both in his work, as well as other official OPM stuff like the anime and games to bring a very nice balance in the s3xy department.

 "The way the women are dressed-" Most of the background ladies are wearing skirt uniforms and shit, but all the relevant ladies primarily dress in nothing you can call "sexualized" except for maybe Tatsumaki with her strong leg game. To recall:

 Lilly wears the same as the men of the Blizzard Group; Twin Tail just dresses like a jester; Mizuki is the first to show so much skin, but she's still wearing real standard competition wear for athletes. All the other sportwomen (Hornet and Swim) and martial artists (Shadow, Suiko, Lin Lin) wear standard clothes for their respective professions too. Sure we've seen Shadow wearing some, uh, ninja bikini thing under her ACTUAL work clothes, but for actual fights she's fully dressed and surprisingly not stuffed in a tiny nylon bodysuit that rips like stocking, like all the ninja men in the series do lmao.

Fubuki and Tatsumaki are, like, the only ones wearing dresses and they can because they use psychic powers anyway. Fubuki doesn't even show ANY skin, ever! She just happens to have big b00bs! Kamaitachi is the other one wearing a "skirt" but it's similar to what Japanese martial artists would wear, too.

So, again… all this sexualization we are talking about is not even happening anywhere except in Murata's covers and some promotional art. ONE is famous for treating ladies very fairly, even if Murata tries very hard to exploit the sexy out of every single of the ladies ONE creates. All these ladies have their own agenda and personality that have nothing to do with being pretty or f*ckable. In fact, in-universe, no one ever mentions if the heroines are beautiful or sexy and no one ever talks about liking them for those reasons (except for Lilly and Erika who are gay for Fubuki and Tatsumaki respectively, amazingly enough no hetero characters mention it). I think the first time we've ever seen a relevant character talking about dating another relevant character is when Suiryu told Saitama and Suiko to date (but Suiryu is the resident h0rny fuckboy of the series, if someone was going to say something so stupid for all the wrong reasons, it was going to be him).

For being an adult series, a seinen that parodies shonen tropes and all, OPM is seriously very tame in the sexy ladies department. For this series, the sexy is just a luxurious accessory, just one more little thing. It's always pretty weird when people get so angry and disappointed about a new sexy girl cover or a couple of compromising panels, like they don't know what to expect.

 "He only draws that way to please the h0rny fanboys" Murata IS a h0rny fanboy himself and draws shit that appeals to him as much as he feels he’s allowed to insert in the series. Please remember he's the insane fanboy that reached up to ONE to beg him to continue One Punch Man and offered to make a manga adaptation to promote OPM.

From the moment Murata started drawing OPM, the tone of the manga was set and never changed: lots of blood and guts, comical and non-comical nudity, irreverence, sexy angles, Genos ripping his shirts off, ninjas in body suits that rip like they are nylons… people in shirts, tanktops and dresses so tight you can see all their muscles, boobs and even belly buttons whether they are men or women or otherwise… h0rny chapter covers, stupidly h0rny monsters…

Just reading the manga to the point where Genos and Mosquito Girl first appear, you know what you are in for with OPM. I don't know what some fans are expecting to see in OPM next, but I'm going to take a wild guess here and say: you should expect more of the same.

 At the end of the day, the manga is Murata's work with ONE, and if he likes drawing h0rny ladies more than boys, that's how things are! This is just 2 guys with their passion project. I don't expect of them the same as if there was a bigger team with a big budget behind the series, like it happens with many games and shows. In this last case, I would be a lot stricter about all this, because with more resources you're expected to do better things.

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Reunion Job

leverage 3.02

Madavhi: All my work, erased, and I was only days away from cracking Manticore.

Nate: What's "Manticore"?

Madavhi: It's an electronic surveillance system. The Iranian government uses it to track protesters over cell phones, social networks, even e-mail.

Hardison: Yeah, hacker underground's flipping out about it. They use GPS to pinpoint a dissident, and then they swoop in and make the arrest.

Madavhi: The Internet made this protest possible, but now it's just a –

Nate: A liability? The government uses the people's weapon against them

- - - - -

Nate: "Cyrus"? It's "Mr. Madavhi." You can't get that attached.

Hardison: Fine. "Mr. Madavhi." He could go make a fortune working for Google or Microsoft. No, instead he risks his life fighting the bad guys. This is so our game.

Eliot (at the table behind them): He wasn't hit by the Vezarat. (comes around to sit with Hardison and Nate)

Nate: What, are you lurking?

Eliot: Yeah. I'm a lurker. It's my thing

- - - - -

eliot’s smile and raised eyebrows (x2) at hardison tho

+ he’s also wearing a red flannel with his leather jacket

- - - - -

Hardison: What's the Vezarat?

Eliot: That's the Iranian secret police. And trust me, if they wanted Cyrus, he wouldn't be sitting here talking to us.

Nate: But the Vezarat is still our logical target. So we should check our sources and see if there's a safe house in the area.

Hardison: So we're on this?

Nate: Yeah, well, we were always on this. I just wanted you to explain to me why. (gets up and heads for the Poker Room)

Hardison: You know how I feel about Mind games, Nate. Negatively. What are you looking at, lurker?

ELIOTS SMILE

- - - - -

Sophie: Eliot. Eliot, get rid of it. Ugh!

Eliot: (chuckling) I think he likes you.

Sophie (stands): You're gonna pay for this

eliot: mocks her

sophie: imma get back at you SO HARD and you’re never gonna see it coming

- - - - -

“That’s gonna cost ya” “I gotta dock ya”- hardison and eliot like a million times in this episode

- - - - -

Parker: At the East corner. (pushes vent out and enters the room) For a den of evil spies, this place smells delicious. Hardison, confiscate some pastries. (sits down at computer) Okay, no sign of Cyrus' hardware.

we love seeing parker in vents in her element + CONFISCATE PASTRIES FOR HER

- - - - -

Nate: Any of you ever trimmed a bonsai?

Eliot: Well, you know, I did. I was in Osaka, and I met this Japanese policewoman at a geisha bar....

- - - - -

Parker (to Sophie): Why is Eliot pouring your tea? Hmm? Did you brainwash him again?

Sophie: Mm, neurolinguistic programming. It's amazing what you can do with the power of suggestion. "Sugar." "Squeezed." a few strategic pats on the arm.

(Sophie pats Eliot on the arm and he pours her more tea, then realizes what Sophie has done)

Eliot: Damn it!

Sophie: You owe me for that roach business!

Eliot: Sophie, not again. (walks away)

okay but SHES DONE THIS TO HIM BEFORE LMFAO + a bonus parker and hardison laughing

also parker was eating a plate of pastries so that means thE BOYS GOT SOME FOR HER I LOVE IT

- - - - -

parker and hardison go into the office and be like 👀👀👀 wow he’s lonely

- - - - -

Eliot: Nobody else thinks it's weird that you can just buy anybody's yearbook online?

Hardison: You know, it's real cute, man, how you still believe in privacy

- - - - -

Nate: Here we go. Uh, Mrs. Zavransky, math teacher. Now, I bet if we turn to the cheerleaders... (turns page) Yes. Oh, Mandy. Mandy Babson.

Parker: What does the "DD" Mean?

Eliot: Yeah, right...

Nate: Seriously?

Hardison: Yeah, right. Two scoops of ice cream, just perfect.

she’s baby leave her alone

also bless hardison for not wanting to tarnish her

- - - - -

Parker: Aw, I feel bad for the nerd.

Eliot: Don't feel bad for this guy. Getting bullied in high school Is still no excuse for propping up dictators. He got bulled his whole high-school career. He's not criminal.

Sophie: Um...

Parker: Yeah, he is.

Sophie: Don't think about that.

Eliot: Not a bad criminal.

Hardison: Hey, what makes you think I got bullied in high school?

Eliot: Well, "A," You got a green hornet doll.

Hardison: Well, first of all, it's a limited-edition action figure. Second, it is green lantern. Educate yourself.

Eliot: Wow.

Hardison: Now pay attention. Get it right.

eliot “not a bad criminal” spencer knows that hardison is a good person with solid morals

also, eliot to some extent knows about hardison’s action figues which means that he has either seen them or hardison has told him specifically that he had them. this means that they have had, even if eliot seemed annoyed, some sort of conversations/hardison-talking-at-him-conversations and eliot LISTENED to a certain extend that he was able to recall this

- - - - -

Nate: Guys, wait, wait. Listen, listen. We got a locker combination, we have a teacher's name, and we have a crush. So, Duberman, he has made his old high school his Roman room.

Parker: Of course.

Nate: "Of course"? What's a Roman room? You have no idea, right? You know—

Parker: Nn.

Nate: You don't have any idea? It's a, it's a memory technique. Each of his passwords corresponds to an object in a space that he's intimately familiar with. In his case, the hallway of his old high school where he kept his locker. Now, if I were to make this bar my Roman room, everything I need to remember is right here. For instance, This, uh... My bank password would be "Balmoor." And my e- mail password would be Fitzy, here.

- - - - -

Parker: Hey. Nate just gave us his passwords.

Hardison: No, but I got all his passwords. You want to see his Netflix queue? He's got, like, every season of "Rockford files" every season of "Sex and the city," That show "Psych”.

chaotic children

- - - - -

Parker: You want to break into the high school? I could do that blindfolded. Yeah let's do it blindfolded.

HER HER HAVE FUN

- - - - -

Hardison: What do you know? Class of '85 has a reunion coming up in 8 months.

Nate: Hmm.

they all smile conspiratorially and eliot’s smile in specific gave me serotonin

- - - - -

(Parker sets up a video camera and walks past a board of photos)

Parker: So many awkward people in so many ugly outfits.

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Yeah, you're lucky you never went to high school. Nothing but heartbreak and homework.

[High School Gym]

Parker: Didn't you go to your prom?

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Uh...I was kind of busy.

[Flashback]

(a teenaged Hardison is sitting at a computer making a transfer from the Bank of Iceland)

Hardison: Looks like the Bank of Iceland's paying off Nana's medical bills. That's dope!

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Good times

- - - - -

Hardison: Besides, I'm sure you already had your high- school fun. Big man on campus. What, quarterback?

[Flashback]

Kid: Come on, Eliot. This is so lame. Quarterbacks do not take Home Ec.

Eliot: I got my reasons.

Kid: Phew! Let's get out of here.

Girl: Eliot, like this. (leans over Eliot, showing her cleavage) Knives are like people. It's all about the context.

[Exterior Dubertech]

Eliot: I had many interests

- - - - -

hardison getting too into the high school drama lmao

- - - - -

Hardison: Not exactly. (looking at information on monitors) She's a hired gun.

[Hallway]

Sophie: An assassin? Nikki’s an assassin?

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Yeah, I guess we weren't the only ones with the bright idea to pose as alumni. This chick's connected to wet work jobs All up and down the East coast. Russian mob, Italian mob. There's a New Zealand mob?

her name is miranda miles *squints at the file on hardison’s computer* bruh no way she’s only 25 ??? they even give her height and weight but I guess that’s how all wanted files go

also in one of the commentaries didn’t they say that she was married to that other assassin ???

- - - - -

(a piece of door falls in and the Vezarat leader looks in)

Vezarat Leader: The health inspector?

Eliot: I'm gonna have to dock you again

LMFAO

also he’s wearing a grey flannel under his jacket

- - - - -

(Eliot knees the leader in the face, then pulls him up and punches him in the head. He turns to duck a blow from the other man and hits him in the head with one of Duberman’s chess trophies)

Eliot: Checkmate.

(Eliot throws the trophy down on the man. Behind him the leader stands up and cracks his neck)

Eliot: Or not.

he did the lil flip thing with the trophy

- - - - -

(Sophie hits Nikki in the head with the extinguisher and takes off her shoes)

Sophie: I always hated cheerleaders.

(Nikki swings several times and Sophie blocks each blow with the extinguisher, hurting Nikki’s wrist)

Sophie: It's mean girls like you that always ruined high school for the rest of us!

Nikki: What the hell are you talking about?

(Nikki kicks but Sophie moves to one side. Nikki tries to punch but Sophie blocks with the extinguisher. Sophie dodges a kick and hits Nikki in the head, then pushes her down and runs away. Nikki grabs her gun and fires after Sophie, missing her)

Nikki: Damn it

- - - - -

Nikki: Now, why would I do that?

(Parker walks forward and tasers Nikki in the neck)

Nikki: Ohh!

Nate: That's why.

(Nikki falls to the ground, convulsing. Parker grabs her legs and starts to pull her away)

Parker: Catering, what a business

we love to see parker tasering people

- - - - -

on today’s edition of things that aren’t weapons that eliot uses as weapons, our guy literally used one of the goons’ bodies to hit another goon and send them both down

what a king

- - - - -

Mandy: Your votes are in for the king and queen of the reunion! And the lucky winner is, Grace Peltz and Drake McIntyre!

Schmitty: Mac attack! Yeah!

(the crowd escorts Nate and Sophie forward)

Nate: Uh, very funny, Hardison.

Hardison: Oh, you think I did this? Naw, man, I don't rig elections. I mean, I could, but...

Sophie: Parker, Was this you?

Parker: (hanging upside down) I didn't even know they had kings and queens in high school

- - - - -

Hardison (looks up): May I have this dance, miss?

(Parker lowers herself on her line and they begin dancing)

Parker: So this is what high school was like, huh?

Hardison: Ah...Pretty much.

Eliot: Hello?

[Exterior Dubertech]

(Eliot walks out of the building as Sloane gets to his feet)

Eliot: Everybody having a good time at the dance? Anybody wonder if Eliot made it out?

(Eliot punches Sloan, who falls back into the bushes)

Eliot: Does anybody wonder if Eliot's alive? Hello?!

[High School Gym]

(the two couples continue to dance as the music plays)

🥰 parker’s feet not touching the floor 🥰

also aww poor eliot someone care about him pls

[theclumsyxeno]

Cossacks and Mavericks: The "Key" to Friendship part 2

-Recap: The mysterious Dream Crystals have shown the way for the Cossacks and Mavericks, Nepal. However, someone wants to slow down them down.-

The Cossacks and Mavericks prepared to head out to Nepal.

“What do we do about the demon- where did it go?” Drill Man asked. Everyone turned to the bone cage, sure enough, Weindgo was gone. Wheel Gator began to snarl.

“Where did that cowardly wolf run to?” Wheel Gator growled. Flame Stag sighed.

“We’ll worry about that later, besides we got an even bigger enemy to fight.” Flame Stag reminded Wheel Gator. Wheel Gator rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Alice shook her head.

“We need to go to Nepal, if my hunch is correct, then we have no time to lose!” Alice urged. Pharaoh man nodded.

“Then we must head out right away.” Pharaoh Man agreed. With that, The Cossacks, Mavericks, and Alice headed out, with Elizabelle remaining behind at the Cossack Science kingdom.

“Be careful you guys!” Elizabelle called out as the group left.

In Hallow Heart’s lair, she used soul shard to watch the Cossacks and Mavericks on their journey. Blood Shard approached the demon queen. Hallow Heart took notice.

“Blood Shard, let our little game, begin~” Queen Hallow Heart smirked. Blood Shard nodded.

“It will be done.” Blood Shard bowed. She left the lair. Queen Hallow Heart smirked.

[‘Time to say goodbye’]

In the Siberian forest, at the Mongolia-Russia border, The group followed the glow of their weapons and crystals. Drill Man groaned heavily.

“How far along are we?” Drill Man complained. Bamboo Pandamonium turned to the impatient robot master.

“We are near the Mongolia-Russia border.” Bamboo Pandamonium answered. Drill Man groaned even louder. Ride Boarski felt his eye twitch.

“Snort! Quit your complaining Drill Man!” Ride Boarski cried. Skull Man facepalmed. Alice tried to keep her composure, she found herself biting her lip. She was about to say something, when suddenly..

“Help me! Help me!” A female voice called in the distance. Alice quickly noticed the Cossacks and Mavericks turning their attention to the distressed voice.

“Wait! We need to focus on-” The Cossacks and Mavericks rushed off to the voice, leaving Alice behind. “the task at hand…” Alice sighed in a defeated manner.

The Cossacks and Mavericks came upon a young female reploid running from strange winged horses with holes in their legs, and a group of demon wolves.

“Let’s go!” Pharaoh Man cried. The group raced to the strange horses, only for them to do something unexpected, They changed form, and looked just like the Cossacks and Mavericks.

“What in the world?” Shining Firefly questioned.

“DNA Ressurection is one thing, being able to change to look just like someone else, that’s new.” Metal Shark Player stated.

[‘Identical Reflection’]

“We can’t let them distract us! Overdrive Ostrich! Go help the girl!” Pharaoh Man commanded. His key began to glow brightly. Overdrive Ostrich Nodded and sped off. Leaving the others to deal with their copy-cats.

The young Reploid soon tripped and fell on the ground. She turned and saw the demon wolves prowling toward her.

“S-stay away, leave me alone!” She cried. Weindgo drew close, close to the reploid’s face. She clamped her eyes shut, feeling oily tears flow from her eyes.

“Your fear is delicious, hopefully, your soul tastes even better~” Weindgo jeered. He swung his claws at the reploid, only for a intense blur to come by and grab the reploid. The demon wolf snarled. Overdrive Ostrich stopped moving and turned to the Demon wolves, in his arms, the female reploid. Weindgo growled. “Damn you maverick! Stealing my meal!” Weindgo snarled. The female reploid opened her eyes, she looked up and saw Overdrive Ostrich, slight blush tinted her cheeks. Overdrive Ostrich set down the female reploid and stood in front of her. The Ostrich Maverick scowled.

“You have no right to harm innocents you bastard!” Overdrive Ostrich shouted. Weindgo growled harshly.

“I will let nothing, not even you come in between me, and what I earn!” Weindgo cried. Weindgo rushed Overdrive Ostrich. The Maverick’s key began to glow. Overdrive Ostrich unleashed a powerful burst of wind. Surprising him. Many of the Demon wolves were blown away. Wenidgo tried to cling to the ground, and tried to crawl, only to be eventually blown away. He howled as he was whisked away. Soon enough Overdrive Ostrich’s wind burst stopped. He looked down at his hands. The female reploid stood beside the ostrich maverick.

“That was amazing! How’d you do that?!” She asked. Overdrive Ostrich turned to the reploid.

“I-I don’t know.” Overdrive Ostrich replied. The female walked up to the front of Overdrive Ostrich and grabbed his hands, grabbing the bird Maverick’s attention.

“Where are my Manners? I’m Penny Wheatback.” Penny introduced.

“I’m Overdrive Ostrich.” Overdrive Ostrich replied. Penny blushed slightly, confusing Overdrive Ostrich. “You okay? You’re blushing a little.” Overdrive ostrich pointed out. Penny let got of Overdrive Ostrich’s hands and felt her face. She nervously smiled.

Later on, after defeating the Demon Wolves and Changelings. The group made their way through China. Alice had her arms crossed. ‘If they’re going to stop every time someone cries for help, we’ll never get to Nepal and Queen Hallow Heart!’ Alice thought to herself. She sighed. Snipe Anteator took notice of Alice. His key started to glow.

“Are you okay?” Snipe Anteator asked. Alice turned to the Anteater maverick. She faked a smile.

“I’m fine, just stressed out.” Alice partially lied.

Back at the Cossack Science Kingdom, Elizabelle sat outside in the garden, she tried to bury her worry, but it kept crawling back up.

“I hope they’re okay, It’s been a week,” Elizabelle stressed under her breath. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes. Elizabelle stepped backward nervously. The bushes contuined to rustle. Elizabelle didn’t waste one more second and ran to the back door. A sudden blur came from the bushes. Elizabelle made it to the back door, she, however, couldn’t open the door. She turned and saw something black rushing towards her. The fox looked around quickly and saw some metal. ‘It’ll have to do!’ She thought to herself. She suddenly got knocked down, back first onto the grass. She looked at her attacker, A large changeling with sharp fangs. She held back the changeling with her hands, its breath smelled like acid and decaying flesh. Elizabelle turned her head and her eyes turned aqua. She reached one hand out toward the metal. The changeling kept trying to bite her. The metal gained an aqua glow and rushed toward her. The metal took the shape of a dagger. Once it reached her hand, she stabbed The changeling in the neck, causing it to wail in pain and get off of her. The Changeling was bleeding green blood profusely. It kept trying to get the dagger out of its neck. With the opening, Elizabelle got up and ran to the door and got inside the Cossack Science Kingdom.

Soon enough, The Cossacks, Mavericks, and Alice finally made it to the Mountain, Ama Dablam in Nepal. The group headed up the Mountain. The group could be seen from the distance.

“Craw! Of all the things we’d have to trek, it had to be a mountain?!” Chill Penguin whined. Burn Rooster snarled slightly.

“Chaw! Shut up Chill Penguin!” Burn Rooster snapped. Chill Penguin growled. Storm Eagle sighed.

“Quiet down you too!” Storm Eagle exclaimed.

Later on, the group made it to the point where Hallow Heart’s Lair was. The group entered the lair. Gravity Beetle grew nervous.

“T-this place gives me the creeps.” Gravity Beetle whimpered. Boomer Kuwanger rested a hand on his older brother’s shoulder.

“Everything will be okay, brother.” Boomer Kuwnager assured. Gravity Beetle nodded. Without realizing it, Alice had gone down a different path from the Cossacks and Mavericks.

“I wondered when you’d show up, Princess Alice~” Hallow Heart sneered. The

“Show yourself, Queen Hallow Heart!” Alice cried.

“Right here~” Queen Hallow Heart whispered into Alice’s ear. Alice quickly turned around, only to impaled by a bladed staff. “Now, I’ll be taking the dream- where are they?!” Queen Hallow Heart cried. Alice weakly smirked, with blood seeping from her mouth.

“The Dream Crystals moved on.” Alice weakly stated. Soon Alice went limp. Queen Hallow Heart ripped her staff from Alice’s bloodied up body. Queen Hallow Heart soon left her throne area and looked over a ledge, down below was the Cossacks and Mavericks.

“So, you are the ones the Dream Crystals choose.” Hallow Heart snarled. The Cossacks and Mavericks turned to see Queen Hallow Heart. “Too bad you’ll never get a chance to use them!” Queen Hallow Heart exclaimed. She unleashed a blast of energy at the group, which hit them. Queen Hallow Heart laughed evilly. However, a bright glow soon followed. “What?!” Queen Hallow Heart cried. The Cossacks and Mavericks were shocked by the dream crystals. The crystals floated around them, shielding them in a white glow.

“The dream crystals were created to be used for peace. Each crystal has a connection.” A voice stated. The crystals leviatated to each robot.

“Pharaoh Man- Leadership

Bright Man- kindness

Dive Man- Endurance

Toad Man- Centeredness

Ring Man- Enthusiasm

Drill Man- Persistence

Dust Man- Understanding

Skull Man- hidden friendliness

Storm Eagle- Dutiful

Armored Armadillo- Loyalty

Boomer Kuwanger- Spontaneous

Sting Chameleon- Proactive

Spark Mandrill- Perceptive

Flame Mammoth- Bold

Chill Penguin- Independent

Launch Octopus- Debonair

Flame Stag- Confident

Morph Moth- Empathetic

Overdrive Ostrich- Capable

Wire Sponge- Ebullient

Wheel Gator-Dynamic

Bubble Crab- forthright

Crystal Snail- Passion

Magna Centipede- Disciplined

Blast Hornet- Daring

Blizzard Buffalo- Peaceful

Gravity Beetle- Youthful

Toxic Seahorse- Compassionate

Volt Catfish- Gentleness

Crush Crawfish- Reliable

Tunnel Rhino- Hardworking

Neon Tiger- Courageous

Magma Dragoon- Wisdom

Storm Owl- Dedicated

Web Spider- Patient

Cyber Peacock- Logical

Jet Stingray- Friendliness

Split Mushroom- Innocence

Slash Beast- fearlessness

Frost Walrus- Nobility

Spike Rosered- Romantic

Shining Firefly- Intelligence

Crescent Grizzly- Responsibility

Volt Kraken- Courteous

Tidal Whale- Inner Strength

Spiral Pegasus- righteousness

Dark Necrobat- Polished

Burn Dinorex- Philosophical

Blaze Heatnix- Energetic

Shield Sheldon- Protective

Commander Yammark- motherly

Rainy Turtloid- Faithful

Blizzard Wolfang- focused

Infinity Mijinion- Intuitive

Metal Shark Player- Genuine

Ground Scaravich- good-natured

Soldier Stonekong- Prudent

Splash Warfly- Skillfulness

Tornado Tonion- individualistic

Vanishing Gungaroo- tenacity

Flame Hyenard- openness

Ride Boarski- emotional

Snipe Anteator- helpfulness

Wind Crowrang- Honesty

Dark Mantis- Observant

Optic Sunflower- Flamboyancy

Gravity Antonion- personable

Bamboo Pandamonium- humble

Gigavolt Man-O-War- sensitive

Earthwork Trilobyte- resourceful

Avalanche Yeti- therapeutic

Burn Rooster- passionate”

The group ascended into the air and unleashed a burst of energy on Queen Hallow Heart. Blasting her, Blood Shard, the changelings and the other demons away into the distance. After that, a whiteout occurred…

When everyone finally came to, they were back in the Cossack Science Kingdom’s throne room.

“How did we, get here?” Storm Eagle asked. The doors to the throne room swung open, with Elizabelle on the other side.

“You guys are okay!” Elizabelle cried as she rushed into the room, with Macy-Mae and Penny in tow.

“Yeah of course we are!” Burn Rooster smirked. Penny rushed over and hugged Overdrive Ostrich. Elizabelle noticed the crystal keys around their necks, with small chains holding them in place.

“That’s new.” Elizabelle pointed out.

“The Crystals became, necklaces?” Drill Man wondered.

“Speaking of the crystals, where’s Alice?” Rainy Turtloid asked. Toad Man turned to the window. He gasped.

“The darkness has fully vanished.” Toad Man stated in a shocked manner. Pharaoh man looked down at his key.

“I think these keys choose us, for a reason.” Pharaoh Man suggested.

“To protect the world! Besides, Hallow Heart’s bound to return.” Blaze Heatnix answered.

“And We’ll be ready.” Optic Sunflower added.

The end.

@nitathebearybrawler

[hellomissmabel]

Incandescence - 1

MASTERLIST

Pairings: Professor!Tony x artist!reader (past relationship, mostly platonic), musician!Bucky x artist!reader (eventually)

Warnings: Mentions of cheating, kissing another guy, one-night-stand, Steve being a d*ck, Wanda being awful, the reader being a bit of a brat...

Word count: 4k

Summary: The London School of Performing Arts is nothing short of exclusive, students from all over the world battling for a spot at the prestigious college. Y/N is one of the privileged, with a rich family background. Yet her personal life is more tumultuous, past experiences making it difficult for her to feel that romantic connection again. But what if she can get some help from a more seasoned partner in crime, willing to teach her the ins and outs of the dating scene?

A/N: 3k followers celebration fic series! This series will be determined by YOUR votes, preferences and opinions. It’s also a test drive for a second endeavour much like this one. Stay tuned because more on that later!

Series masterlist can be found here

You found Wanda sitting on the kitchen counter, munching on some food she found in the fridge. It’s Wednesday which means she always raids your fridge before heading to class, seeing she’s got the entire morning off.

As you walk up to her and take some milk and cereal, you shoot her a confused look. “If you’re going to spend more time here than at your own place, I’m going to ask you to start paying rent, too,” you comment with a wink, pouring yourself a glass of orange juice next.

“Nah, just waiting for my brother to arrive so we can go to class together,” Wanda replies between two bites from her pastrami sandwich. “He’s been hanging out more with this girl he seems to really like. Don’t know her name but I’ve seen her. She’s pretty, think her name is Sumaya.”

With a sigh, you notice it’s your pastrami sandwich Wanda is eating and you tell her she owed you lunch, to which she giggles and hand you a ten dollar bill. “For being such a good friend,” she adds before her cheerful mood turns a little gloomier.

“What’s wrong, Wanda?,” you ask her while hoisting yourself up on the counter next to her.

The brunette puts the sandwich down on the plate to her left, exhaling loudly, dramatically even. “I’m not waiting for my brother at all. I just have nowhere to go… You see, I broke up with Steve.”

“You broke up with Steve?,” you mimic in a surprised squeak which only makes her cringe more.

“Yeah, I kissed this other guy at a party last night and Bucky witnessed it all. So I had only one option, to come clean to Steve or Bucky would’ve told him for me,” she confesses while the shame causes her breath to hitch in her throat.

Swallowing thickly, you take a sip from your OJ. “I’m sorry, Wanda. But it’s for the best.”

“Says the girl who cheated on her ex with her French professor,” your friend retaliates with a harsh voice, playing the blame game as she usually does when she’s trying to avoid taking responsibility for her actions.

“He doesn’t teach French, he teaches French art.” With a scoff you slide off the counter and gesture towards the door. “You can leave if that’s how you’re going to act. I wanna listen to you but not if you’re going to call me a cheater. It was Sam who cheated on me first and on a drunken night I ended up sleeping with a stranger, who later turned out to be my professor.”

Dropping her head while fidgeting with her hands in her lap, Wanda apologises quietly and your eyes soften at the girl. “Steve deserves better,” she mumbles under her breath. “I was thinking of breaking up with him anyway, and kissing another guy seemed like the perfect excuse to do so.”

“Oh honey,” you exhale deeply, softly shaking your head at the obvious errors in her decision making progress. “You wanna go out and have some iced latte at that coffee shop you like?,” you offer her in an attempt to lift her spirits.

Wanda nods and you say you’ll change into your clothes right after you’ve finished breakfast. While coating your cereal with the milk, Wanda’s phone chimes and she takes the phone call.

“Hi Pietro,” she greets him flatly, obviously not amused by the looks of it. “I’m at your apartment with Y/N. When are you coming home. You didn’t forget that you have to drive me to my dancing class this evening, right?”

Groaning and cursing, Wanda chastises her brother for being so forgetful. “I don’t have a car anymore, remember? I had to sell it to pay off my student loan from last year.”

It’s silent on the other end of the line when she continues. “No, Steve can’t drive me, we aren’t together anymore.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll ask Y/N. Have fun with your new girlfriend,” she sneers before hanging up promptly. Looking over at you with sad eyes, you already know what she’s going to ask you.

“I have class at four. I can pick you up after and drive you to the dance hall,” you eventually relent, knowing it’ll make her feel much better.

“You’re the best!,” she cheers while wrapping her arms around you, squeezing you tightly in her excitement. “The class is until nine, but you can study some more in the library or have a drink at the campus bar while you wait.”

“Don’t worry about me, I have to cover Pepper’s shift anyway.” You roll your eyes at Wanda who means well with her suggestions but forgets you have a job too. “I’ll be fine.”

You parked your car out front and after Wanda had waved goodbye, you decided to walk your way to work and get some fresh air. You loved your job at the campus newspaper and radio station, which is why you continue to tolerate Pepper’s whimsical nature. This was supposed to be your day off, but instead you ended up with the night shift at the radio station because Pepper wasn’t ‘feeling up to it’.

In reality, she just didn’t feel like broadcasting an interview with her ex Tony Stark. That’s why she dropped the ball in your camp, to test how much she’d have to push you before you’d finally confess what she’s known all along, that you and Tony had a one-night-stand.

About halfway you spot a familiar figure, his blond hair tucked underneath the cap of his hoodie. “Hi, Steve,” you say when he’s close enough to hear you. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m on my way to the gym,” he responds, gesturing towards his track pants and trainers. “Late night work-out.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with Wanda having her dancing class tonight?” You raise a suggestive eyebrow at Wanda’s ex, seeing right through his casual façade.

He shrugs, adjusting his gym bag around his shoulder. “Just wanna talk to her, that’s all.”

“She’s really sorry about what happened, Steve. But no need to stir up the hornet’s nest”, you advise him. “Just drop it. You’ll only end up more hurt.”

Steve’s baby blue eyes lock with yours. “Did she tell you what happened?,” he asks in a suspicious tone, his voice low and hoarse.

“Yeah, she did. She said she kissed another guy and that Bucky saw it happen,” you nod softly, convinced that this is the whole story.

He laughs bitterly, his shoulder bumping into yours as he walks past you. Struggling to keep up with his steady pace, you follow after him. “What really happened, Steve?,” you press insistently.

“Don’t you get it? She didn’t kiss some random guy in front of Bucky.” Steve stops in his tracks and turns to you, his pointer finger pressing into your shoulder as he emphasises his words. “Wanda kissed Bucky, Y/N. Your two best friends got shitfaced at one of his gigs and made out.”

You already felt sorry for Steve, but now you truly felt bad for him. “Oh,” is the only sound your lips can form as the truth settles in. Putting your own feelings aside for a minute, you envelope Steve in a quick but soft hug.

“I actually wanted to tell Wanda to go fuck herself, but that’s not gonna help me much,” Steve scoffs dryly once he takes a step back and break the embrace.

“No, it won’t help at all,” you agree with him, resting a hand on his chest and giving him a small yet sincere smile of comfort. “Just go home, Steve.”

“Nah, I need a drink.”

“Then let’s go get a drink,” you suggest in a kind voice, tugging him along by his arm. “I’ll call Pepper and tell her I’ve got a cold or something. But can we go get a drink somewhere off campus? Don’t want anyone to spot me.”

“Sure. There’s a nice bar about a five minute walk from campus. Let’s go.”

The bar Steve’s referring to is in fact a little jazz club, with live music every night. You slide into a booth and order a drink, a gin tonic for you and a beer for Steve. “So, you and Wanda have been dating for like… six months right? How come I don’t know much about you?”

“There isn’t much to know about me. I like to draw people. Wanda told me once you do commissioned portraits. That’s not really my thing, I’m not very keen on drawing people.”

Steve isn’t very forthcoming about his drawing skills, his insecure nature keeping his lips under lock and key, and eventually the two of you end up talking about yourself to avoid this encounter to become even more awkward than it already is. Steve inquires after your parents, and you tell him about  your father first, a renowned British pastry chef.

“My parents met in New York, but my father moved back to London after the divorce and took me with him. My mom on the other hand is French. She used to be a runway model but now works for Vogue, commuting between New York, London and Paris all the time. I barely see her.”

This seems to spike his interest. “A runway model?,” he gasps in disbelief, levelling you up as they always do when you mention something about your mother.

“Yeah, I know I don’t look like much, but I’m not lying when I say my mother used to be a model.”

“You’re very pretty,” Steve blurts out all of a sudden. You feel very uncomfortable about the compliment and stare into your glass in an attempt to avoid his curious gaze. “I’m sorry, that sounds… wrong,” he corrects himself, taking a large sip from his beer. “But I meant it. You’re a very beautiful woman, Y/N.”

“Thanks… I guess.”

You’ve never been very good at accepting compliments, especially because of your mother’s looks. You’re happy that you’ve inherited your father’s eyes, nose and general facial structure, your mother’s appearance way to sharp for your liking. But being an almost exact copy of your father also means you have his chunky calves and arms as well as his utterly annoying snort when he laughs too hard.

Steve on the other hand… Well, you don’t have to think twice to see what Wanda liked so much about him. You’d love nothing more but to study him in one of your classes and it’s very obvious you’re not entirely unaffected by his good looks.

“Are you and your mom close?,” Steve asks gingerly. “Or are you closer with your dad because she travels a lot?”

“It’s not as much because she’s abroad a lot, but more because she’s disappointed in me not being as gorgeous as she is,” you reply earnestly, gesturing at the waiter to get you another gin tonic. You’re going to need some more alcohol if the conversation is headed in that direction. “But at least she was proud of me when I told her I’d be going to study arts here in London.”

The waiter arrives with your drink and Steve insists on paying for it. You thank him and tell the blond he didn’t have to do it. “I shouldn’t have asked about your mother. It’s too personal a question and like you said, we barely know each other,” he responds, respecting your privacy and quickly changes up the subject.

Steve finishes his beer, chuckling when he notices you staring at his tattoo. His shirt has dropped a little lower so the words inked on his collarbone are slightly visible now, and you knit your brows together trying to figure out what they mean.

“Art is love and love is art. That’s what it says, but in ancient Greek. Got it after I broke up with my high school sweetheart.”

Sensing he isn’t very keen to talk more about it, you strike up a conversation about his main subjects. “You know, I’m an Arts student too. I love drawing intimate portraits, how about you? What’s your favourite course?”

“I’ve been looking for a new model for this one, particular course.” He blows out a sharp breath, carding his hands through his windswept hair. “It’s a course that requires the model to pose… in the nude.”

“I’m taking the same course,” you tell him a little more enthusiastic than you’d like. But you are in fact hyped to take this course because it’s definitely going to challenge your abilities. “Maybe we can help each other out.”

You were going to propose to find a model that both of you can draw, but instead Steve takes it the wrong way, thinking that you can pose naked for him and he can pose naked for you, so soon that angle dries up as well. “No, thanks. I’ll find my own model.”

“That’s okay, I’ll just ask Bucky then. He won’t mind.”

“How long have you and Bucky been friends?”

As soon as the questions slips past his lips, you know he’s just asking this in some masochistic attempt to ease his heartache, unwillingly contributing to the increase of yours. “About eight years.”

“When a friendship lasts for more than seven years, it’s going to last a lifetime,” Steve recites with a mocking laugh. “So how long have you been in love with him?”

“He’s my best friend,” you pipe up in a misguide attempt to sound appalled by his question, but soon you drop your head and stir defeatedly in your drink.

Steve snorts as he rolls his eyes at you. “That’s funny. I thought that your romantic partner should be like your best friend too.”

“You’ve read one too many women’s magazines, Steve,” you joke back with a wink, your tone a little heavier when you drop your head under Steve’s playfully scorning gaze. “I’ve been in love with him from the moment I saw him.”

Steve leans back in his seat and smiles down at you with a certain resentment to his laugh. “It’s a well-known secret that the elite on campus horde together and form one massive clique of handsome strangers that all seem to date one another,” he explains his odd reaction.

“Like you and Sam before you cheated on each other, or Natasha and Bucky before she dumped him for Clint, another one of those pretty boys. I have to admit I was very surprised when Wanda started talking to me. I mean, I’m a nobody, Y/N. My parents are poor and the only reason girls ever look my way is because apparently it’s somewhat attractive to be a loner.”

You couldn’t believe your ears, partially disgusted and partially flattered. “I really don’t get it. I’m even more a loner than you say you are.”

Steve nods his head with a lopsided grin. “Your parents are rich, so that makes you part of the elite. And don’t be daft, Y/N, you had Sam wrapped around your finger for a year. You also got that whole minimalistic Parisienne act going on, with your hair always in a bun, wearing simple dresses and flats in a neutral colour.”

“Well, if you don’t like the clothes I wear, then you can go fuck yourself.” You’ve lost all appetite for your drink and push it aside, getting up from your seat and putting your coat back on.

Steve is startled by your sudden angry outburst, but doesn’t intend to run after you once you leave. “Oh come on, Y/N, sit back down. I can’t believe you didn’t know. You drive all the guys crazy, you’re like forbidden fruit.”

“No I didn’t know. I don’t care for gossip. It’s stupid.” Groaning exasperatingly, you flip him a finger and storm off.

Getting into your car, you wait for Wanda’s class to finish in a dead silence, victim of your thoughts. When Wanda jumps into the passenger seat, ever her cheerful self, you have to grit her teeth not to tell her to shut up. After a while she’s done talking about the new routine and she switches it up to gushing about the hot new dance instructor, T’Challa.

“Will you just…,” you snap at her while your fingers tighten around the wheel. “Stop. Just stop.” Wanda grumbles in dismay but your comment seems to have its desired effect as her lips aren’t moving anymore. “Thank you. Now, I know you lied to me and I know you’re not going to come clean about it.”

“What do you mean?,” she stutters, feigning innocence. “I don’t know what you’re taking about, Y/N.”

“You kissed Bucky,” you say with a neutral expression that doesn’t betray just how much you’re boiling on the inside, shooting Wanda a deadpan look. “And you didn’t tell me. Why? Because you didn’t want to upset me? God, Wanda, you’ve done exactly that by not telling me in the first place!”

You raise your voice against your better judgment, your eyes boring into Wanda’s as you come to a stop in front of a red light. “Yes…,” she answers weakly, shrugging one shoulder as if she doesn’t really care. “And I know you fancy Bucky, so…”

You freeze immediately after she mentions Bucky’s name. “How…-“

“Do I know?,” she cuts you off with a roll of her eyes. Another car is honking its horn as the light has switched to green again, so you put your car in first gear and move on to Wanda’s dorm. “You’ve been pining after him for years, Y/N. You’re his biggest fan and you’re almost his manager with the way you’re organising his life.”

“I am not!,” you retaliate as you pull up in front of the door to Wanda’s dorm, your tone harder when you reach over her and push the door open. “I don’t wanna talk to you for a while, Wanda.”

Wanda looks at you as if you’re speaking gibberish. “Are you serious, Y/N?” When you don’t reply anymore and just stare straight ahead of you, she eventually leaves it at that and gets out of the car, slamming the door for added effect.

You sit in your car for a little while longer, until you’ve made sure Wanda has safely made it back to her dorm room, the light popping on when Wanda eventually arrives and you can go back to your place. But you don’t go back to your place, instead heading in a totally different direction and away from campus to the more extravagant side of London.

The light in his condo is still on, even though it’s almost midnight now. Ringing his doorbell, the uneasy feeling of a déjà vu creeping up on you. The dark-haired man opens the door after a second ring. “What are you doing here, Y/N?”

Walking past him and into the living room, you reach for the bottle of red wine on the kitchen counter. “I can pay a visit to an old friend, right?”

Tony follows right after you and sits down on the living room couch, bringing his glass of wine to his lips as you pour yourself a glass of your own before joining him. Lacing his arm around your shoulders, he smirks at you knowingly. “I am not an old friend, Y/N. I’m your professor.”

“And I’m your one-night-stand,” you add in a mock serious voice. “So in my book, that makes you an old friend.” Resting your head on his chest, you lean further into his body, together sipping red wine in a comfortable silence. Every now and then, Tony runs his fingers through your hair and hums a “you’re so beautiful”.

“I’ve had a very awful day,” you finally admit to Tony, swallowing the last of your wine and putting the glass back on the living room table.

“This morning Wanda told me she broke up with Steve, then as I’m dropping off Wanda, I run into him on my way to the radio station for the late night broadcast. But when I saw how distraught he was, I offered to get a drink instead. Then he said Wanda kisses Bucky and not some random stranger like she told me.”

“And now you feel hurt? Betrayed? Angry?,” Tony guesses while tenderly caressing your cheek when you look up at him. “It’s okay to tell me, Y/N.”

Smiling gratefully up at him, you turn your head and kiss the palm of his hand. “Steve called me a snob, Tony. Not in those exact same words, but… He said I’m forbidden fruit because I’m part of the elite at college and he’s not.”

“He’s got a point there, Y/N. Only a select few can count themselves lucky enough to get into the same Arts programme, and even fewer students finish their five year education. Many of our students are dependent on a scholarship or extra funding, simply because they’re talented yet poor.”

“I know, I know,” you reason with the professor as the corners of your lips curl into a sad smile. “But you know what the worst part is? Wanda is right! I’ve always liked Bucky, but he never… really understood how much he really meant to me.” A groan slips past your lips and you bury your face in Tony’s shirt. “I’ve lost my heart to a musician. I feel like such a groupie.”

“You’re not a groupie,” Tony chuckles with a laugh as he ruffles his fingertips through your hair, massaging your scalp so you can relax a little bit more after your eventful day. “So what do you suggest we do about it?”

“We?,” you laugh softly before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “What are you, Tony, a pimp?” Kissing him again very softly, slanting your plump lips over his chapped ones, you grin when he cups your face in both his hands and reciprocates the kiss.

“No, I am not your pimp,” he exhales shakily after he breaks the kiss and gets off the couch to get himself another glass. “I am your friend and I want to help you get together with the man you really love.”

“My friend with benefits?” Coming up behind Tony and wrapping your arms around his waist, you rest your cheek on his broad back and sigh exasperatingly. “He’s never going to look at me in that way, Tony.”

“How can you be so sure, Y/N? You are so beautiful.” He turns around and takes your hands in his, squeezing them gently. “And no, not with benefits. We have something familiar, Y/N, but it’s not going to last.”

In your reluctance to believe Tony, you pull your hands away and card them through your hair in frustration. “What do you suggest we do then?,” you fire his own question back at him. “If you’re so keen on helping me.”

From behind his glass of wine, the red liquid reflected in his amber eyes and giving them a darker and more mischievous tint of golden brown, Tony presents you with his plan. “I reviewed your transcript of records earlier this week. You’re taking the class “Study of human anatomy” that requires the model to pose nude, right?”

“I’ve already thought about that, Tony,” you breathe out with a desperate voice. “And even though he might agree to do it, he will just do it for the thrill and to please his best friend. It will not miraculously make him catch feelings for me.”

“Y/N…” Tony drags out your name in a low purr. “I am the king of seduction! I can teach you whatever you need to know to wrap Bucky around your pinkie finger. Trust me,” he says in an equally sultry tone, taking two long strides towards you to eliminate any distance between his chest and yours.

“Trust me when I say I’m not only a professor in French art, but also in the art of seduction.”

Up to you now! I think we can all agree on the fact she’s going to take Tony up on his offer. But what happens next? Cast your votes via these links on four different angles:

Our game plan: https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2010563x91B24482-51

Tony’s game plan: https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2010566xfcea44bd-51

Your thoughts on Bucky: https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2010569x68b84260-51

Your thoughts on the reader (note: you can vote twice here!): https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2010570x9b976ed3-51

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[bad-beats]

A Bowl of Bad Beets - Bad Beets Ch. 5 (12/16-1/5)

Ladies. Gentleman. Boy. Girls. Cats. Dogs. Degenerate Gamblers. Bookies. Welcome back to the Bad Beets Blog! I hope you had a fantastic holiday season and that your Sunday Scaries weren’t as bad as mine after my two-week absence from the office. This past month was full of NCAA bowl games, and bowl game szn and bad beet szn are basically synonymous. I already broke my New Year’s Resolution of having zero Bad Beets in 2020. Nonetheless, I am here to provide entertainment for all of you (albeit that it is in the form of my gambling misfortune). Let’s get after it.

12/17/19

League: NBA

Bet: Magic vs Jazz Under 209 (-110)

Units: 1.1 to win 1

Welcome back to another thrilling episode of “Life is too short to bet the under.” Thanks for being a recurring viewer. This is a classic NBA scenario: Magic down 1 with a minute left. Jazz score two buckets in a row. Magic play the fouling game to try to decrease the deficit. Jazz don’t miss free throws. 10 points scored in the final minute.

Bad Beet #1 just dips its feet in the water compared to the beets that are to come in the rest of this article.

12/18/19

League: NBA

Bet: Cavaliers -3 (-110)

Units: 2.2 to win 2

I will definitely take part of the blame for this beet. Why the hell I thought it was feasible that the Cavs could cover a 3-point spread at home is beyond me. The Cavaliers should never be favorites. Unfortunately, I didn’t listen to logic and took them -3 anyway. For most of the game, I was pretty proud of myself for this bet - I thought I had outsmarted Vegas. The Cavs were up double digits almost wire to wire. They took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. They were up 10 with 3:08 left in the game.

Enter “Scary Terry” Rozier. The guy couldn’t miss a three during the final 60 seconds. He channeled his inner Jimmer Fredette, pulling threes from 28+ feet.

Larry Nance Jr. missed a free throw with 31 seconds left with the Cavs up 5, and of course, Scary Terry drained a 28-footer just seconds later to cut the deficit to 2. Not to fear though, the Cavs got the ball back and were about to get fouled and head back to the line to try to cover again, right? WRONG! Colin Sexton dribbled the ball of his foot, turning the ball right back over to the Hornets. Scary Terry had a chance to win the game, but it rimmed in and out and the Cavs secured the rebound. With only a few seconds left, the Hornets didn’t foul, the Cavs didn’t get to shoot free throws, and they somehow didn’t cover the -3, and I couldn’t even escape with a push.

I forgot to mention that the Cavs had a 96% chance to cover with just three minutes left in the game according to The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ on Twitter). Bad Beet #2 of the week can be attributed to Scary Terry and the Lebron-less Cleveland Cavaliers.

12/19/19

League: NHL

Bet: Blackhawks vs Jets 1P over 1.5 (-150)

Units: 2.75 to win 1.85

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, there is little that is more exhilarating than betting first-period hockey totals. These bets can be instant wins if you take the over and the score is 1-1 after 2:33 seconds, or you can lose an under on a last-second goal 19:54 into the period. I love betting on the Blackhawks first-period overs this season because their defense ranks in the bottom third in goals allowed and they give up the most shots in the entire league at a whopping 35.95 per game. On the flip side of the puck, Patrick Kane can find the net faster than a fat kid can find a sleeve of Oreos.

The Hawks scored on the first shot of the game, 0:59 into the period. Alex Nylander beautifully put it home, and my bet was already halfway there with 95% of the time in the period remaining.

Someone please explain to me how the fuck one goal is scored on this first shot, and zero goals are scored on the following 28 shots. FUCK. Bad Beet #3 of the week. No words for this one.

12/21/19

League: NHL

Bet: Jets vs Wild 1P under 1.5 (Even)

Units: 0.8 to win 0.8

Remember how in the previous beet the Winnipeg Jets scored 0 goals off of 17 shots in the first period and screwed me out 1.85 units? These mother fuckers are the worst. In an uneventful first period against the Wild, they committed a penalty in a 0-0 game with just 6:30 remaining, proceeded to score a SHORTHANDED GOAL with 5 minutes left in the period, and for good measure scored with 6 seconds left to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Fuck me. The Jets are on my shitlist. Bad Beet #4 of the week would have been non-existent if the Wild keeper could have not sucked for just 6 seconds longer (P.S. The Jets would go on to win this game 6-0).

3/26/2003

This is the day that the “Catch me outside, how bout dat,” girl was born. Also known as Danielle Bregoli, or by her rap name “Bhad Bhabie,” she is the queen of producing some absolutely horrific music during her short rap career.

I think it would be more appropriate to call her “Bhad Bheets.” Sheesh.

12/23/19

League: NCAAF - Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

Bet: Live Bet - UCF vs Marshall over 73.5 (+155)

Units: 2.5 to win 3.85

I LOVE COLLEGE BOWL SEASON. I am a big proponent of these games: coaches are more inclined to go for it on 4th down, there are generally some crazy trick plays, and both teams have a similar chance to win the game. You all know how much I love betting the over, and for college bowl season, I bet the over 85% of the time (which doesn’t end up working out for me). However, on this game, I had such a good read on the over that I obviously took over 59.5 before the game started. UCF plays such with a rapid tempo, and I had a feeling this could turn into a shootout-esque game. Feeling greedy, I took the live bet over 73.5 (+155) sometime in the 2nd quarter. The score at halftime was 24-7. After a 39-point third quarter, I only needed 4 points in the last quarter of the game to hit my live bet. UCF kicked a field goal with 9:04 remaining in the game. I needed one singular point over the last 9 minutes of the game. Here are the final two drives...

Marshall went on a 12 play, 48-yard drive that stalled with a turnover on downs and ate up 4 minutes of clock. With UCF up 23, they weren’t using their usual fast-paced tempo to run their offense, which was unfortunate. However, they broke a 38-yard run with just over a minute left but got tackled at the Marshall 2-yard line. I was hoping they could just punch it in with a quick HB dive, which they attempted, and utterly failed, getting stuffed at the half-yard line. And that is how the game ended. 3 total points in the 4th, 73 overall and just a half-yard away from cashing this bet. Bad Beet #5 of the week gave me kidney stones.

1/1/2020

League: NCAAF - Sugar Bowl

Bet: Georgia vs Baylor over 42 (-120)

Units: 12 to win 10

I am not even going to go into how much this one hurt. I was having a rough New Year’s Day of gambling, so I decided I wanted to chase my losses (never a good idea, 10/10 would not recommend). I needed a bailout special just one day into the new year. I won’t go into a description of what happened in this bet because it will trigger me. I’ll just leave this here...

96% chance to cover the over 44 with 4:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter. 20 minutes of the game left, and I had the over 42, not even 44. I surmise that the cover % for the over 42 was closer to 98% at that point in the game. This beet motherfucked me. One of my worst of all time. #6 of the week and the first one of 2020. Definitely not a good omen for what is to come this gambling year.

1/3/2020

League: NCAAB

Bet: Illinois 1H +5.5 (-110)

Units: 2.2 to win 2

The Fighting Illini (my alma mater) basketball team has had a tail of two seasons. They have played like a top 25 team in the country at times, beating Michigan and annihilating Purdue at home, and also have choked away games at home to Miami and away at Maryland. This beet is unexplainable. Illinois hit a bucket with 0:34 left to decrease the deficit to just 5. MSU missed a layup with 27 seconds left and the Illini grabbed the board. There was no reason for MSU to even get another possession. With the shot clock turned off, Illinois could have held for the last shot of the half, and more importantly guaranteed a cover of the 5.5 point spread.

Just by reading the play-by-play, it looks like Trent Frazier committed the dumbest foul in the game with just one second left in the half, fouling a 3-point shooter as time expired. However, it was actually just the single worst call in basketball history (maybe an exaggeration, but my god was it a horrendous call). Take a look for yourself...

I hate how referees aren’t held accountable for their mistakes. The only job in the world where you can repeatedly mess up and have no repercussions. Going to be sending this ref a Venmo request for my 2.2 units back. Bad Beet #7 of the week was just plain assault.

1/2/2020

League: NBA

Bet: Heat 1H -3 (-110)

Units: 2.75 to win 2.5

The Miami Heat are 12-5-1 against the 1H spread at home this season. However, they could be 13-5 against the spread in the first half at home this season, if not for this horrible push. Miami was up 8 with the ball with 45 seconds left in the half. That’s all you need to know. They had no business not covering the 1H spread in this game.

The Raptors very eloquently executed the 2-for-1 situation at the end of the half, made a layup to shrink the deficit to 5, got a defensive board, and then OG Anunoby hit a buzzer-beater 3 to send the game to halftime with a 39-42 score. The Heat went scoreless over the last 2:14 of the half. Miserable push.

1/3/2020

League: NCAAF - Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Bet: Live Bet - Ohio vs Nevada over 53.5 (-115)

Units: 3.5 to win 3

With a crazy name like the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, obviously, something out of the ordinary was going to happen to my bet. Nevada was getting trounced by Ohio most of the game, but finally found some life in the 4th quarter, attempting to mount a furious comeback. They scored an early TD in the quarter, but botched the snap on the XP and could only come away with 6. They scored another TD soon after, which made the score 30-21.

*Insert inexplicably bad coaching decision #1*

The Nevada coach decided that he wanted to go for two points, down 9, to get that 2-point conversion out of the way. Literally every statistic screams to go for 1 in that scenario, make it an 8-point game to keep the deficit to only one score, and move on with the game. Obviously, Nevada didn’t successfully convert the 2-point try, so the score remained 30-21 with 8:49 remaining in the game. At this point in time, I only needed a FG to win my live bet of the over 53.5. Nevada stopped Ohio on their next drive, and got the ball down to 1st and goal with 4 minutes left, down by 2 scores.

*Insert inexplicably bad coaching decision #2*

Here is the play call on 1st and goal that the Nevada coach came up with...

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU RUNNING A DOUBLE REVERSE ON 1ST AND GOAL WITH YOUR TEAM DOWN TWO SCORES?!?! OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO TURN IT OVER. FUCK. YOU FUCKED MY BET.

Turns out this wasn’t the play that sent my bet to the grave, although I wish it was because how I actually ended up losing was far worse. After the fumble, Nevada used all 3 of their timeouts and stopped Ohio again. They got the ball back with 2:45. On the first play of their drive, a Nevada receiver broke free down the middle of the field for what would have surely been a touchdown. The only problem was that Carson Strong overthrew him by about 6 inches. Two plays later, Strong aired one out to their best receiver, Elijah Cooks, who hauled the ball in at the Ohio 8-yard line. Down 2 scores, Nevada needed both a TD and a field goal to win the game. After 3 straight incomplete passes, the field goal kicker trotted out to make it a one-score game with 1:54 remaining.

Wait...where was the field goal kicker?

*Insert inexplicably bad coaching decision #3*

YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS - THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR WHY THE COACH WENT FOR IT ON 4TH AND GOAL FROM THE 8 WITH NO TIMEOUTS AND DOWN TWO SCORES WITH 1:54 LEFT IN THE GAME IS THAT HE BET ON OHIO! NO OTHER EXPLANATION. I NEED AN INVESTIGATION YESTERDAY! FUCK! BAD BEET #8 WAS ONE OF THE WORST BEETS OF MY LIFE!

1/4/2020

League: NCAAF - Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Bet: Live Bet - Tulane vs Southern Miss over 49.5 (-115)

Units: 5.75 to win 5

Frankly, I am out of breath after describing that last beet. I placed this live bet early in the 3rd quarter. Tulane scored 24 unanswered in that quarter, leading 30-13 heading into the last 15 minutes of the game.

After a scoreless first 13 minutes of the 4th quarter, Southern Miss threw a pick in the endzone on 1st and goal. Icing on the shit cake. Bad Beet #9 committed necrophilia with the corpse that was left after Bad Beet #8.

Well, folks, I hope reading this blog was far less miserable than my gambling experiences have already been in 2020. Let’s recap:

Bad Beet Count: 9

Unit Swing: 36 to win 31.5 (67.5 unit swing)

Well, that’s all for this week folks. Please Like and Share on https://www.facebook.com/badbeetsblog/ to offset some of my gambling misery. See you next week!

[survivetashirojima]

Episode #7: “OF COURSE MY SEVEN ARE THE NON IMMUNE ONES THIS WEEK” - Pat

I think my game might be ruined. Do I keep Kevin? Kevin may keep me. I don't know what to do. I'm lost, confused, and throughly stressed out.

Oh boy oh boy it's getting spicy in Tashirojima boys, girls, and non-binary pals. So following the vote out of Timmy, who seemed extra salty about it, I was immediately added to an alliance of the minority to try to pull something together. Except...I haven't voted with these guys for a while now. And now they're trying to vote out KEVIN! Kevin has become the person I trust the most, we're always thinking the same way about the game, and even not about the game too. So absolutely no chance I write his name down. After this vote I'll be firmly entrenched in what is right now the majority alliance. Me, Kevin, Andrew, Ricky, Madeleine, and Jacob. With that, I think the best choice to vote for would be Pat. With this does come some risks. No one from that side will trust me anymore, which TBH is mostly fine. The only real loss is Joanna, I don't really vibe with Stephen or Madison at all gameplay wise. Also I have absolutely no connection with Jacob at all, so putting any sort of trust in him makes me a bit nervous. He's like Timmy, he's technically an ally but there's no chance he'll ever go to bat for me.

So Andrew won immunity, im annoyed jay knocked me out without even attacking properly. But now that means that Kevin is the only one of the enemy alliance that is not immune. So, naturally, its more than likely that its me or him tonight. Exciting, dramatic, fateful, all sorts of cool things. Lukas and Olivia are probably having host-fits over the drama. I’m fine if I go, I’d get it I haven’t played my best game, wasnt social enough although I will say one world screwed me over cause I’m not that good at the mass social game. However, I do think that if the 6 people outside of the alliance dont vote Kevin out, theyre playing a dangerous game: betting that they will be the only ones left when someone decides to flip. See ya on jury suckers.

my window on my car is frozen shut

Final 11 I’m safe (thank you Jacob!!) Pat called me fake, and I honestly wasn’t a fan of him before that, and I’m a petty bitch so I’m trying trying to get him out. I have a majority alliance. I’m shooting my shot! (Sorry bb)

Usually silence = get fucked but I just got added to an alliance with Pat, Joanna, Jay and Madison. Guess its abandon ship with the old alliance. Its okay tho, they don't talk to me much. Oof. Vote wise? no ideaaaaaaaaaaaa.

So there is a giant ass hornet loose in my house. It’s like a metaphor for tribal. Either it’s going to get you (you’ll get voted out) or you get it (the person you want out gets out)

This game has taken an unexpected turn I did not expect Brien to go home when he did. Also even though I didn’t vote for Timmy him going home was a huge surprise for me but it was the best of a bad situation because to me was not in my alliance because we respect each other but I don’t think we were exactly working together during this game but I don’t think we would’ve targeted each other. OF COURSE MY SEVEN ARE THE NON IMMUNE ONES THIS WEEK. Which fucking sucks. I’m sticking with Joanna and Jay at this point and hoping for the best. I love vi and Madison and Stephen as well. I’m just hoping we can all make top 6. And if we do at this point I think I would have a good chance of making it to ftc. I started this game laying low and building friendships and then decided which half I like more, pulled them all together and will hopefully take out madeliene Ricky Jacob and Andrew out

Well shit maybe I’m not going home. Madeleine just asked if I’d vote Pat with her. Thats a hard no, but I am worried that if she pitches it to anyone else in the sexy sox they might bite :/ also, so glad the most intense tribal of the season lands on my busiest day of the week

So I am immune again.....Timmy has died and I'm hoping it's because Madison was afraid of rocks and I spooked her a couple hours before the vote but also Vi might have voted with us? Somehow? Idk but to make a long story short it appears that it may be myself/Kevin/Ricky/Maddie/Jacob/Jay vs the other 5. But I'm worried Maddie will flip because Jacob walked in on her and Stephen on call saying that we are targeting him - which is true. I'm almost 100% sure Maddie has leaked the alliance to Stephen, but she has also leaked his alliance to us, so she is playing the middle HARD. I need to hope Maddie doesn't flip or else I think Kevin's ass may be grass because I managed to pull through on that last second immunity. I'm also a little worried about Jay's allegiance.....I think he trusts me but if Maddie leaked our original 5 to Stephen that did NOT include Jay then there's a chance that that got back to Jay. But Jay also leaked an alliance to me that he was a part of with Stephen? And also I guess Kevin was in an alliance with Stephen but kept voting against it so now Stephen is pissed. Anyway, knowing about Maddie's duplicity I decided to ask her how she would feel about voting someone else other than Stephen...I had to fake that I felt bad voting out Stephen (when I really don't) so Maddie could choose another name on her own, so we landed on her being comfortable voting out Pat. The rest of the alliance that now includes Jay seems to be fine with that too now. So hopefully it is Pat which would mean I solidified Maddie and Jay well enough to stay with us.

CASUALTIES:

CAST ASSESSMENTS:

PART 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIAbOfSZOBs&list=PLB-4yJ0EHce-bxHQVmQVdrV6tx36_6Jly&index=16

PART 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OV3k_o40lg&list=PLB-4yJ0EHce-bxHQVmQVdrV6tx36_6Jly&index=17

[sapphonics]

im really into the new marika hackman album so heres a post about which homestuck charaters fit my fave songs. thank u for ur time

boyfriend: any femslash pairing. this is one of those ‘jenny’ like songs where it pretty much fits every pairing, u just need a douchey guy character and every fandom has that. its a good song. im feeling porrim / aranea with cronus looking on (plus i feel like cronus liked aranea? am i imagining that)

Heaven knows we're meant to be But it's turned into a mess No one takes us seriously just because I wear a dress [Chorus 2] It's fine 'cause I am just a girl "It's just a dream" A woman really needs a man to make her scream... You came to me for entropy and I gave you all I had He makes a better man than me So I know he won't feel bad

gina’s world: aranea / meenah OR vrisrezi

Gina had a gun She shot the horizon and killed the sun We never liked the sky, Gina and I And when I find the words I’ll tell her you hate me and how it hurts And she’ll be at your house, with my tears in her mouth...

And it’s so hard to be good But it’s so good when it’s good

Gina’s on the news How did she get there? I’m so confused And I am at my house, with my tears in my mouth

my lover cindy: pale vriskan (not in a good way)

If I was a liar, I would call you my friend Let's hope the feeling's mutual in the end Symbiosis, can we keep it how it was? Now the levy is broken I want more [Chorus] 'Cause I'm a greedy pig I'm gonna get my fill I'm gonna keep my eyes on the prize And I'll suck you dry, I will...

But I'm a lousy lover, even if I try I can go for a couple of weeks and the feeling's calcified And it burns away my mind (I don't know why, I don't know why, but I like you)

violet: (this song is really gay. im not gonna link lyrics. its rosemary ((and also my ocs))

cigarette: THIS IS THE SONG THAT INSPIRED THIS POST. ITS VRISROSE

And I tried to hold my tongue But you, you yanked it from my grip Bathed it in petroleum, lit a cigarette and gave it a kiss

so long: vriskan post retcon. kanaya and vriska talking about their terrible pale relationship. BOTH R , STILL BITTER THO lmao kanayas like, have fun with terezi ur new palemate

Like the world that you feed you’re a lie [Verse 2] Do you prefer her blade? But you’d like to return to her soon ‘Cause she’s stroked your head Did she wear a fancy perfume? [Pre-Chorus] You can tell me I’m wrong all you like Yeah I was wrong to carry on so long [Chorus] I can tell you’re lying by your watery eyes I don’t need to listen to your alibies I know who you’re feeling and I don’t feel nice I’ll keep you in my bed tonight 

So now it’s all my fault And I pushed you into the roams ‘Cause I was so damn cold

i’d rather be with them: pre retcon rosemary where rose is struggling with grimdark remnants and also drinking, and they’re arguing and not in a great place. rose doesn’t want help cause shes self destructive and spiraling but kanaya wants to help her

Stale tongues, the words have gone And all we’ve left is smoky spirits and heavy lungs And I don’t want to talk it through But my head hurts and I hate you [Chorus 1] Don’t make me throw up I know that you will And wake up my mother and tell her I’m ill [Post-Chorus 1] It’s all coming out now, black, brown Wine and vile [Verse 2] Salty eyes, some frothy lips Your teeth are bent and champing at the fucking bit Leading on the window Will you point them and you let go [Chorus 2] You say: “look at the people Crawling like insects All over the pavements” [Post-Chorus 2] I’d rather be with them ‘Cause I just hate this room, it smells like you [Verse 3] Leave it all, I like this song When it ends, you really must be getting on And the needle clicks after I’m out And you look back and the door slams [Bridge] I’m so fucking heartless I can’t even cry I’ve opened my body: it’s hollow inside So ring up my parents And tell them I’m dead And say how you bite me: you fucked with my head [Outro] And I hate your head, and the clothes you wear And I just love your head, and the clothes you wear

majesty: aranea / meenah. araneas goin mad with power / potential for power

Oh, let’s go insane And if we don't come back Let’s do it again You hang afloat I’m gonna pin you down, make you beg for more [Verse 2] Hey, no good for lay If we have control, let’s lose it today Ooh, can’t play my game I’m gonna count to ten, I’m gonna jump in your brain [Verse 3] Gravity, peace has fallen hard for me And the cheeks are on the brack Worship me, I will be your majesty I’m a supreme mad-queen mad-locked-maniac

blahblahblah: damara (or Maybe dead aradia)

Ghost town, walking among the zombies Faced down, their eyes are never on me...

I could try to emulate the brain-dead But I get sick and tired of the radio Buzzing like a hornet in the playpen I’ll unplug, feel my head, feel alright [Verse 2] Goddamn, set yourself on fire Strong crowd to walk you to the fire Don’t be who you are, they’d rather see your riot Son, I don’t like my mind...

blah blah blah  

bonus song i dont really like but is v vrisrezi: good intentions

But up on my throne I killed my sister I’m so alone: I really, really miss her And all those times she watched me bleeding out Strapped on a tongue and gave a smile And told me I would be okay

I just need your good vibrations I've gotten so ill, and I’m still Rigor mortis, set the motion Bring me to life, I’m so tight

another bonus song im not that into but fits: time’s so reckless 

its kanrezi pre retcon where terezi is lying around depressed and having bad coping mechanisms and kanayas bitter that vriska loved terezi more and is kind of. Being A Jerk cause like, terezi killed vriska, even tho kanaya didnt want to talk to vriska any more they were both pretty like. obsessed w her. its kanrezi post vriska grieving together. ALSO THEY COUNT TO 8 IN THIS SONG. ITS GOOD.

Eyes roll up; you can’t even tell me my name “I’m your god”, you can’t even tell me the same You’re so feckless, I’m so sorry Time’s so reckless with our bodies...

There's no light to break this dawn We’ve been in the dark for a while Stuck between blankets and the piteous smiles And the world you know is gone I can be good if you want, I can be kind if you prefer (She can be good if you want) (vicki interruption: kanayas bitter about vriska and terezi) I will be kind if you prefer...

Call me heartless, side-girl complex We’re too honest, we’re too modest [Outro] You’re so feckless, I’m so sorry Time’s been reckless with your body

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/hornets-malik-feeling-monk-like-nba/

Hornets Malik feeling very Monk-like in NBA

Most basketball fans spend their whole lives dreaming of what it must be like to play in the NBA: the money, the fame, the girls, the cars, the clothes. Those guys seem to have it all. I imagine your rookie year in the NBA is a lot like your freshman in college. Everything to do, everything to see, all new experiences, and your whole career ahead of you. But, for one rookie, the NBA hasn’t lived up to the hype. In fact, Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk would describe life in the NBA so far as “boring.” “It’s boring,” said Monk. “Boring is good, though. You fly here, you get to the hotel, don’t do nothing until game time. I’m in my hotel room watching highlights, watching movies, stuff like that. It’s just boring.” But, Monk is looking forward to his first summer as an NBA player (and it’ll most likely be a long one for the Hornets). “But in the summertime it’s fun because you get to do other stuff and you got a little bit of money,” continued Monk. “You can vacation, go to places. In season is boring, but that’s good, so you won’t be out getting in trouble, club life, stuff like that.” Of course, a boring rookie year isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for a rookie with high expectations. With Monk doing nothing but watching film and playing basketball, he will have plenty of time to learn the Hornets system, adapt to an NBA-style of play, and improve his skill set. “When I’m comfortable in the system, I’m going to know when my shots are gonna come,” said Monk. “Get to my sports, how to play, I’m going to be fine. I just got to get the system down like the back of my hand, and I’ll be all right.” Monk has potential; he just needs to work for it. Even Head coach Steve Clifford has noticed things he didn’t see out of Monk in the past. “He has a good feel for the game, a high IQ,” said Clifford. “He passes the ball a lot better than I realized, and he has a lot more of a pick-and-roll game than I realized. His defense is already getting better. It’s more learning NBA coverages and schemes.” So, hey, maybe the NBA is boring, but, as Monk said, that’s not a terrible thing.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[benchgenderstudies]

Walking Dead Season 8: The Plot was Bitten and Infected:

:Why are Zombies the best strategists?

By Michael Bench

Welcome Back Walking Dead Fans and Actors, The Premier just aired and boy is my mute button finger tired. Plot Problem: Rick does not yet know his enemy. Really? What is so compelling of anything Negan has to say that shouldn't be interrupted by a bullet to the head? Nothing. Negan uses fear, character doubt, leverage and egoism. Negan did all but the can-can and still nobody shut him up;

He comes out. Rick and company were to wait for the first mid thought rumination when he's deep in ego and pop the whole lot off the stage. Instead, time ticked by and maybe Rick's rebuttal wasn't so good. His character is too whipped with vengeance to be for real.

The math is “intent divided by success and bodies”. The Walkers have zero intent and 4-5 meals this episode. Thats like 500 percent success. No fear of death, mind you. Ricks PSR  is 100% devoted and net 0 if Gabriel gets chomped or shot. Negan is at 60% committed; casualties of  the  -1 to -3 range and bad batting form. As the Kesha song goes , you built me up, you break me down, my heart it pounds .. with lethargy and tapping my wrist where my watch could be. Tick Tock, Tick Tock. “Hey, Do you know thats Negan? Shoot em already , Fish in the barrel for ***** sake!” This is where I break from liking Rick Grimes character despite Andrew Lincolns solid delivery.

Rick Grimes is only satistfied with matching Negan's repetoir. Do the producers really want to sack their main character by bad writing? When Maggie's tubes were all botched with pregnancy, The Saviors showed they had the strategy game well played. . Season 8 Episode one was an esteem affirmation, not a conspiracy;A wasted field trip. Make Negan feel loss?! Make him see the smoke on the horizon? WHY? WHY WHY?. Ricks group is trying to terrorize Negan devoid of sense. Its a different world out there. Enemy's kill each other. Egoists flatter each other with monologues.

Hasten back to Grimes Season5  “ We are the Dead” barn speech. The Dead don't seek revenge. They kill, nothing else. Notice also, the group only borrowed the Governors trick for emptying out the prison via zombie hoards. If they were launching flaming zombie clumps into third floor factory windows on a catapult, that would be new. Think NEW, Producers! Be new for the show, not for the comics. Be new for impressing the fans.. Not window dressing Negans villain status. We're not here to read the comic book. This was a weak episode delivered by good actors.

More math: AlexandraXL show up with surprise advantage to wait and let Negan give a sermon?The attack was telegraphed, How else do you waste so much ammo? INVADE.!!!

The role Carol, Darryl and Morgan played was fine. Michonne and Carl did fine too. It was the basics among the characters; a major backslide in skills. The group is stuck on basic bitch syndrome and came out with less. Never kick a hornets nest unless you plan to crush it entirely. I make no excuse of that proverb to harm hornets. On the other hand, Negan is a bug to crush without time for doormat arguments. Even if an all out war was sealed in the first episode, its not like 400 million people just vanished.  New vandals were ample. No I got a real problem with this episode. Three clans had their strength in numbers wasted for a standing barricade by which no traffic ever was going to pass. Negan pranced, Rick was still in a trance.and the walkers sought bright light. For brains the Walkers won this episode AMONG TWO LIVING GROUPS.

For whatever reason the Weinstein story broke in the season hiatus. Its very appropriate to address this here. Comicbook male characters seem to always have the last word. Negan's speechs, Rick's speeches, Governor Brian's speeches. Jabber, jabber , jabber. The girl walkers aren't falling for it.The problem is we have an antagonist of such low third world qualities for a villain that the viewers see a White Joseph Kony floated as an apocalyptic tyrant. When I say apocalyptic, I mean forecast.

Actresses like Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd are speaking out against Weinstein and the other predators in the entertainment media. Lately its been a misandryfest of affiliating males with rapists rather than the criminals these particular rapists and harassers are. Males know its a crime. Affiliate it sooner with a partisanism; “rape is the will of god types”. I'm not excluding males as a characteristic of the criminal but there are other matters like the genre they occur. Film, Music , Entertainment media has a problem with the type of males its writing devoid of realism for our times. Check out Poisons lyrics for “Fallen Angel”. The hair metal bands seem to give the sex for work media industry the nod for their decade.

For Walking Dead , we certainly have a male being forecasted as a loud mouth self entitling wife taker and trying to glide by the consent part. We're Americans, not Somalians or Ugandan militants. Its pretty low a character like Negan is given such a willful charisma with accessories of acquired “wives” by fearmongered proxy. Is Negans villain what the west produces?. Don't ignore the roles (Are  to be first world ) of criminal males are being written. I'm not excusing the independent crimes of males and females outside the entertainment industry either. Young people idolizing the villains of our time do not need to be turned third world on womens rights to have a witty sadist. At least videogames realize this or I've not encountered the Grand Theft Auto clone that includes rape.

Lets just remember Negan's privilege and his coordinated strength among his group are not separate. AlexandraXL don't yet understand their enemy is one guy supported by rank.  Ixnay on the oppressor is the only task. Promptly. Terrorizing Negans sense of comfort is something you do to a victim you intend to keep alive.

Grimes had better notice resources are likely getting thinner; His need of revenge is a weakness. How many other characters should have seen it? Carl did. We have a whole season to go and a whole season filmed. A retaliation is likely. The first episode of Walking Dead season 8 demands a written retaliation on producers and writers on behalf of the Alexandrans. Stop backstabbing the characters for monologues. Negan and his wiseguys should be pitching daisies right now.

Its a show about zombies that hasn't grown or been a substantial enough threat to not keep the writers from indulging about humans. .. as sapiens will be. Gods in their image blah blah. blah. Contrast Walking Dead with 2004's remake of Dawn of the Dead. A serious difference in Aggression, Reaction time and threat is surface.. Skip the comic book, AMC/Kirkman and  evolve these zombies into something worth fearing for a tv show. Walking Deads writers are making us too cozy with this prospect of the dead rising.  Costume and FX still top notch.// END

[captainjackssingalongblog]

And then you let me down. Unlike IMDb, I give this one a solid 6. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great. It’s a solid OK. There are a number of reasons for this, including but not limited to having something great and not using it to its fullest potential.

Always Watching is an adaptation of Internet creepmeister Slenderman. That has potential right? Except it’s an adaptation of Marble Hornets, which is an adaptation of Slenderman. This can be like playing a screenwriting version of Chinese Telephone.

Something that got garbled between scripts was the creep factor of Slendy himself, called the Operator in the Marble Hornets universe. Being that Slendy came to be in a photoplasty, his initial iteration doesn’t move--or at least his initial iteration doesn’t give us insight into how he moves. Sometimes not knowing is 12000 times more terrifying than knowing. Well, Always Watching imagines him as a sort of blip; that things that moves way faster than it should and when you’re not watching. Like a weeping angel. This is definitely creepy, but my qualm with it is that you bothered to put Doug Jones under that suit and failed to his potential range of motion. Jones has the ability to contort in ways many actors can’t and this can make watching him move absolutely terrifying. The Operator that we get, though, could’ve had anyone under that suit because he doesn’t really do much moving that we get to see. It’s not that their choice was a bad one. Like I said, it’s still a creepy method of locomoting. It was just disappointing knowing Doug Jones was under there and we didn’t get to really see him do his thing. I spent the whole moving waiting for Doug Jones to scare the crap out of me and it never really happened. He also goes from being freakishly tall and thin to only being Doug Jones tall and thin. Now don’t get me wrong, if you have to pick an actual human height to be eerie, Doug Jones is your guy, but the bizarre proportions of the original Slenderman could’ve been achieved. It’s not like he hasn’t done stilt work before. And it would’ve certainly added to the creepy factor.

So synopsis time! A cameraman meets a reporter at a New Years’ party. They hook up. I’m not sure why we needed this information. Somehow months later they end up working together at a news station. A new guy shows up and tells them they’re going to work on an otherwise lame story about home foreclosures when they discover a box of family videos tucked inside a crawl space in an eerily quickly abandoned home. New guy decides they’re going to use this to put a face on the housing crisis and show the lives of people affected by the constant string of foreclosures. Instead the cameraman finds fucking creepy shit on the tapes. The Operator--who never gets a name but has one in the credits--appears to have been stalking this family. In their fear they fled their home, leaving most of their possessions and also this box of creepy tapes behind. Once invested in these tapes, The Operator starts to fuck with the cameraman IRL and integrates himself into the lives of Reporter Girl and New Guy while he’s at it.

Like Marble Hornets, they opted to present Always Watching as a found footage piece, which can easily go horribly wrong. I don’t normally like found footage, but this one worked for me. Of course, they had to give Cameraman a creepy fixation with Reporter Girl to explain why he’s filming literally all the time even before finding a creepy mother fucker in his camera viewer. This creates some added character relationship issues during our adventure but more about that later. Unlike Marble Hornets, The Operator in Always Watching can only be seen in a camera viewer. In my opinion, this makes him creepier because whoever sees him in the camera can’t point him out to anyone without handing over the camera and losing sight of him. Also it makes them look crazy when they try to convince somewhere there’s a 6 foot guy in a suit with no face in their yard.

One thing I really appreciated about this movie was that there was a sense of the characters being genuinely scared. Something I miss in a lot of horror movies is what fear does to people in the dark. If something fucking creepy is going on, pretty much everything starts to scare you. If you’re afraid of the dark, every shadow is creepy, every unaccounted for sound scares the shit out of you. That happened in this movie. Cameraman is wandering around a dark garage and something falls, he freaks out. His power goes out, he starts talking himself through finding the breaker while reminding himself that he’s not going to die. I was really happy to see that.

[SPOILERS]

So now that Cameraman is fully terrified, he goes to Reporter Girl, who has now hooked up with New Guy, to inform them that the previous homeowner was not in fact crazy and that there really was a creepy mother fucker in his yard that has now started to live in Cameraman’s yard. Of course New Guy thinks this is a way to get back into Reporter Girl’s pants so he breaks into Cameraman’s house and discovers his stash of stalker videos. So this creates a whole new problem that’s only resolved when The Operator makes an appearance, as if to say “Hi guys, remember me! Oh, sorry, you wet yourself.” So they all crash at a hotel together, recording every moment so they can go back and look at it eventually I guess. The Operator brands them all without anyone noticing it until after the fact and New Guy gets some help from a friend at the FBI to track down the runaway homeowners. Then they road trip to Colorado with Cameraman’s dog to track down the owners and see how they escaped the clutches of creepy guy.

On the way, Reporter Girl wonders what would happen if they just turned all the cameras off. The answer is someone kills the dog. Slendy makes the statement that he will be watched creepily through video cameras. Dammit. More tension builds in the group, but they continue on their trek. They reach their destination and find a smouldering pile of nothing. And also a bunker. The bunker reveals video footage of Runaway Dad murdering his child and trying to kill his wife, who bashes him in the head and sets the house on fire. They track down Murder Mom at a local psych ward where she flips her shit because “fucking shit, you brought him back”. They then crash in a cabin, set up their cameras and try to decide what to do.

Clearly their only option is death or death. The Operator’s end game is to make everyone kill each other. The downside to this reveal is that it comes too late. The build up to this discovery doesn’t have the sense of impending doom you want to see in this kind of story. Up until we see Runaway Dad do the deed, The Operator could just get off freaking people out. We don’t find out that he’s more sinister than that until about 15 minutes from the end of the movie. If his end game had remained to drive his victims mad, I might’ve been more satisfied with it. Anyway, the Operator appears and Cameraman decides to take one for the team. Since Runaway Dad’s death seemed to end the Operator’s hold on the family, maybe offing himself will save his friends. He hangs himself amidst protest from Reporter Girl, but not from New Guy.

Apparently the Operator is able to take over dead bodies, so he takes over dead Camerman and beats New Guy to death. Then he beats Reporter Girl to death. Then he just sort of re-dies. Then we find out that the footage will probably re-release the Operator when someone new watches it. Yay! A Revolving door of death.

So aside from my disappointment with their use of Doug Jones, the acting was pretty ok. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t “sold my soul to SyFy years ago” either. It was solidly ok acting, especially for the genre. Unfortunately, lower budget horror movies have a tendancy to get stuck with shitty actors. This didn’t suffer from that. The camerawork worked for the found footage idea, but there were times I really hated the angles. Found footage also gets no score, which had its ups and downs. You didn’t know from the score when the Operator would make an appearance, but you did know based on the “distortion” his appearance caused in the camera. The upside to that was that you didn’t have a startle reflex based on the score, you had it because he fucking showed up. They didn’t trick you into being startled when he wasn’t actually making an appearance.