#he was actually my first fave before kurt fun fact

[iiyarada]

I’ve had my thoughts on Rosemarine stashed away in my notes app for a while but I’m going to post them now because I think he’s really interesting!!

He’s seen as the superintendent of the school, so HE gets the final say in everything, when in reality, he’s basically used as a puppet for Auguste

In volume 11 it reveals that Auguste S/A’d Rosemarine when he was 15 as a way of “punishing” Rose for trying to manipulate him, when in reality all Rosemarine did was question Auguste on how to become superintendent and when Auguste refused to tell Rose, he decided to find out by himself since Auguste was no help.

This entire event was also used as a way to control Rosemarine, he could have the title of superintendent, but AUGUSTE would be the one pulling the strings, telling him what to do, how to act, etc etc and if Rosemarine disobeyed, Auguste wouldn’t hesitate to do what he had done before again

THIS is why Rosemarine never steps in when Gilbert is being mistreated, because Auguste told him not to

Even if he WANTED to step in, he was too afraid to do so out of his deep-rooted fear of Auguste and what he’s capable of.

BUT!!! When Serge disobeys Auguste it shocks him because he’s NEVER been able to find any amount of courage to stand up and flat out disobey Auguste’s orders

THIS is when Rosemarine begins to become his own person again and why he plays a pivotal role in Serge and Gilbert’s escape.

After Serge’s throwdown with Auguste, something happens (i forgor the specifics) but Auguste claims that Rosemarine is too weak to continue as superintendent and relieves him from the position in secret, giving Jules the title instead. This is the nail in the coffin for Rosemarine, he discovers the escape plan and has the decision to tell Auguste and Jules, OR to keep it a secret and he decides to do the latter because he is DONE with Auguste’s SHIT

BUT no one knows about Rosemarine’s private firing of superintendent so everyone still believes he holds the title, and on the night of the escape, when he shows up, everyone in on the plan believes the escape is ruined. One group completely ditches thinking theyre gonna be in trouble and over all everyone is like D:

BUT. Rosemarine DOESNT interfere negatively, instead, he gives Serge money for Paris and takes the fall for the pair as Jules watches menacingly from the shadows

He even tells Serge that the success of this escape means everything to him

FINALLY, after all these years of living in fear, he can do SOMETHING to make up for it because he DOES feel guilty for not stepping in, he DOES feel terrible about everything that he let happen because of his own fears but maybe, MAYBE some of that guilt can be quelled if this escape works, because for ONCE he went against Auguste’s wishes and made his own decision, thus killing his role of “the puppet”

[katyobsesses]

Katy!! if you want to, how about you rank glee competitions outfits (not necessarily new directions) <3

ooooo Myle!! This is a fun ask! Sorry I'm so late responding to it I've been away from my computer a lot this week and didn't have time to sit down and rank all of these!

I've put a little tier list thing together for the ND outfits here

and the reasoning and actual ranking is under the cut (worst to best) as well as some images of my fave Non ND competition outfits :)

S6 Sectionals/Regionals:

I hate it. I understand the reasoning for it but I hate it. Flashbacks to Secondary school. I know just how uncomfortable these would be, how they dance in them I have no idea. Like they look cute but NO. Just no. You're McKinley students now Warblers, learn to wear other clothes. You can dress how you want now. You could have honored Dalton by wearing navy and red and not blazers. Apparently I really hate this competition look... I thought S2 Regionals would be the losers but...

S2 Nationals:

I actually almost forgot this one! I hate it <3 the little flower at the bust for the girls, the empire waist, the white ties for the boys, it looks like they're wearing two tone shoes too 🤢 I just... no. Obviously they chose these before Kurt came back from the Warblers... huh maybe that's why most of the S2 looks are terrible. They didn't have Kurt there to guide them. Maybe the reason the only good look in S2 is the sectional's one is because Kurt maybe helped out with ideas before he transferred. Anyway I hate this look. It's boring while being way too busy, but also just black... idk i hate it.

S2 Regionals:

I love the original songs, Loser Like Me is Iconic, and sure these outfits are also Iconic but not in a good way! Those dresses are terrible, they look like bad bridesmaid dresses and they're both shiny and completely creased and the three quarter leggings are a choice. (I love the shoes though) Also the boys are litterally just wearing black, at least wear a matching tie!

S1 Sectionals:

The Only reason this is ranked higher than the S2 Regionals is the lack of leggings. it's just boring and also I hate the flats the girls are wearing and the way the belts sit just under the bust on the girls.

S1 Regionals:

Yes, this is Iconic, sure but... I've always hated it. ALL of the girls look pregnant, not just Quinn, the beehive hairdo is a Choice, and I'm not a fan of halternecks. Also the colour gold isn't the prettiest shade, and I hate the texture on the dresses. (that being said the dresses really remind me of this one I was givn from my cousin when she was clearing out her closet that I wore once for a New Years Eve party with friends in maybe my first year of uni in 2014 (or maybe the year before) except mine was black and strapless)

S5 Nationals:

Is there a reason for the pink flowers? or the pink in general? Like are they meant to symbolise something? The dresses are cute but I'm not the biggest halterneck fan and I think it annoys me where the belt lies on them because it looks like the dress is meant to be an empire waist and then it's cut awkwardly by a ribbon. It's a cute dress, why do that? I love the petticoats and the fullness of the skirt, and the shoes are cute. I don't like the boy's outfits. why are they keeping them buttoned the entire time? it makes the fit of them look awkward! the last time they wore white blazers (S3 secionals) they unbuttoned them as they danced and the lines looked better. I hate that I don't really like these outfits because I love the setlist so much and it makes me cry everytime.

S3 Sectionals:

Love it! The boys look interesting and dynamic for once, i love the tuxs(?) a lot and Quinn and Tina look so good 😍 I love thier skirts so much and their shoeessss! Kurt and Blaine were definately the ones to push for everyone wearing bowties.

S2 Sectionals:

again with the three quarter length leggings... and all of them are different lengths too, i mean i know it's 2010 but like... no! But i love this anyway. I love the ombre look and the shoes are adorable. I also really like the burgandy shirts the boys are wearing.

S4 Sectionals:

I love the dresses and the shoes and the boys outfits are nice with the blazers with gold piping but the girls dresses are just inferior versions of the S3 Regionals dresses, though i do prefer the wider band at the waist I miss the red petticoat and the neckline isn't as pretty or flattering as the S3 regionals dress.

S6 Invitationals:

I love these looks so much! Finally switching up the shirt colours for the boys again instead of them in just black or white! it's such a pretty blue too and the shades of the dresses and the shirt match! I love the lace on the girl's dresses (i just recently rewatched this episode and was mezmerised by the dresses) and the strappy heals are really cute.

S4 Regionals:

😍 the girl's dresses are so so so so soooooo pretty! I love the purple and the little belt and the fullness of the skirt and the neckline and the black petticoat anahsdkaghk. and the shoes are so cute too. Great look!

The boys however 😬 I don't like it. Why cardigans? They look like they're wearing school uniforms and ugly ones at that. The cardigans are baggy on all of them! I would have preferred maybe a simple black shirt rolled up the the elbows and purple tie combo, OR just a purple shirt with sleaves rolled to the elbows (kinda like S2 sectionals) also their ties are ever so slightly lighter than the girl's dresses and that is really annoying me.

S3 Regionals:

Yes. just YES. I love the fullness of the skirts, I love the red petticoats for some McKinley High spirit, I love the gold accents at the neckline and the belt and the headband, the girls also have these cute shoes too. And then there's the boys with their all black with gold accents! I love that too! I maybe would have had them wearing something red - maybe the shirts, maybe the bow ties, maybe the suspenders - but I still love the look!

S3 Nationals:

The t-strap shoes 😍 I love the cute sort of vintage style the girls have with the shoes and the hair! I would have maybe added a red lip on all of the girls to complete the look, like Rachel has and maybe had rachel have her hair up too, but I guess she's the lead soloist so it makes some sence to make her stand out a bit from the other girls. I alo love these dresses. I think my favourite dresses are the ones where they have really full skirts. The boys are cute and I like the matching pop of red in the ties but I maybe would have lost the vests, personally, and maybe they should be wearing bowties to match the little bow on the girl's dresses. hmm maybe all black with red bowties and a red belt/cumberbund as an inverted look of the girls and also maybe long sleaves rolled to the elbow.

Non ND competition outfits I love:

The Warblers!

Yes, their uniforms may uncomfortably remind me of my own School Uniform for Secondary (ours were red and black striped ties and solid black blazers with black skirts/trousers but close enough) but they are iconic 🥰

Harmony and whatever her Show Choir was called.

I love the boy's outfits with the untied bowties, but most of all I love the girl's dresses and the slicked back hair and red lips. I wish Harmony had been a sort of antagonist in S4 like it seemed they were alluding too with her line of "I'm only a Sophmore" I love her.

Vocal Adrenaline S2 Nationals

I think I just like it when the boys are wearing a coloured shirt, also these dresses are stunning and I remember wanting to find something like them for my Prom! (my Prom dress was kinda like these but long and one shoulder and not as poofy) - I also like the bohemian rhapsody look for the guys i just don't like the girl's dresses much

The Rainbow Connection dudes:

I hope they had more members than in this image... that is not a regulation team. BUT I love the fact that they look like butlers.

John Baptiste and his Show Choir:

Yes. the girls poofy dresses, the boys colourful suits, the costume change. just yes. these guys understand show choir. (however the turquoise of the girls dresses with the blue of the boys is annoying me)

S6 The Falconeers (or whatever)

I mean... they had falcons with them, plus cute turquoise dresses with sparkles, what's not to like!?

Vocal Adrenaline S6 Invitationals:

These guys went all out, I mean it's hideous but... wow

(that's all that's coming to my head in terms of Non ND outfits but a lot of the time they were better than NDs lol)

[rogueninja]

Okay so we all know who your top ships are... who are your unpopular ships? Or obscure ships? What characters from what series do you think about often in either good or bad ways? Who is a character that you hate that others love? If you could rewrite a story or part of a book, what would it be and what would you do differently?

Ok I am digging through my brain right now bc if I’m not able to hyperfixate on something then I tend to forget I even liked it. Ok buckle in bc this is gonna be long af. YOU ASKED FOR THIS, REG.

I’m putting a readmore so as not to torture my followers lol

Thinking about Veronica Mars. About Veronica/Logan. Do they have a ship name?? But I love that show and i was THERE for them. They were kind of a surprise ship for me, in that when they got together I was like, wait, WHAT? Like I was totally caught off guard. But there first kiss is, like, sooo romantic to me haha. It’s my fave scene in the show. But Logan is suck a prick sometimes. And they break up like every five minutes. And every season Logan gets accused of murder which of course he ends up not being the murderer. And they get back together eventually and I’m like really? But deep down I am rooting for them lol. I really enjoyed the new season of Veronica Mars that came out last year, actually. The ending made me SO SAD THO.

I also used to watch Supergirl and I thought Kara and Mon-El were adorable. He was very Carswell Thorne-esque, RH, I *think* you would like him. I never watched past season 3(?) though, and he shoots off into space and I never caught up so a few months ago I actually googled what happens and [spoiler] he ends up marrying someone else in the future or something so I was like, ok I’m not investing any more time in this show lol. (Also I had to google Mon-El’s name just now bc i forgot which is a bad look BUT I WAS REALLY RIDE OR DIE FOR THEM FOR A WHILE lol). Also I loved Martian Manhunter in this show, he was my favorite character. But the CGI for him was awful, omg. He had practical makeup at first, they should have just stuck with that.

Speaking of Martian Manhunter, I also used to watch Young Justice and loved Miss Martian/Superboy. Am I basic??? lol oop. But I love basic love stories. Anyway, I thought they were super cute. In season 3 though they’re kind of on the rocks. I haven’t watched season 4. I also loved Artemis/Wally West, but of course that had to end tragically.

Also, let’s talk about Nightcrawler. Allow me to set the scene. Little Kat is 13 and just rediscovered the cartoon she saw a few times as a kid called X-Men: Evolution. And thus, a weird obsession with the German, blue demon boy began. I loved Kurt Wagner. In the cartoon he starts a relationship with Amanda Sefton and I thought they were a-dor-a-ble. She accepted him for who he was, and they had a really nice healthy relationship. A lot of ppl shipped him with Kitty too which i am honestly all for idec I JUST WANT THE BLUE BOI TO BE HAPPY.

Can we talk about A:TLA too??? Like, obviously Zutara, amiright? Power couple. Like, Kataang is.. fine, but its probably my least favorite part about the ending, haha. Also, consider: Tokka. Toph is bae and can get anyone she wants, and she clearly had kind of a crush on Sokka and I think they could have been awesome. It actually kills me that they never say who Lin and Suyin’s father is in LoK. I had a whole theory that it was that kid The Duke from Jet’s band based on like 2 scenes from the series. There’s a tumblr post I made about it somewhere in the ether lol.

I also just remembered Tahnorra (Tahno/Korra) from Legend of Korra. It’s hard for me to explain this one. It’s a weird combination of being hyperfixated on the first season of the show when it came out, and I think I stumbled upon some fic or something???? And I thought Tahno was hot or something??? And FUN FACT, he was voice by Rami Malek BEFORE HE WAS COOL. So like before Rami really got big I knew who he was. He also basically played the Avatar in Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and I thought that connection was hilarious. It was kind of a problematic crack pairing but there was one author in particular whom i follow to this day hoping she’ll update her Tahnorra fics…. *sigh*

Okay one last ship…. I used to be ride or die for Outlaw Queen in Once Upon a Time (aka Regina/Robin Hood). Like, before TLC, I had a personal tumblr renaissance for that ship alone. My only existing published fanfic is for that ship. Taylor Swift’s 1989 came out that year and I related every dang song to that ship. I loved Regina so much and I just wanted her to be happy. That show is a dumpster fire, though, and spat all over my hopes and dreams. *sigh*

Also, lightning round for obscure pairings I ship and/or never talk about:

Frank Castle/Karen Page (The Punisher) ok this one isnt that obscure but I never talk about it… but the pining, oh god the pining

Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (GoT) THEIR 5 SECONDS TOGETHER ARE THE ONLY WORTHY PART OF SEASON 8. everything after that never happened

I already listed Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye (FMAB) as a top pairing previously but I feel the need to mention it again bc it was for real my OG OTP… LIKE U WANNA TALK ABOUT PINING…. *sobs*

Percy/Annabeth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) This used to be my fave book series and i loved how their relationship developed over the course of the books

Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) ok can we TALK ABOUT THIS??? They were both badass misfits and they were perfect for each other. But noooo JKR has to announce they marry some nobodies…. this is the only change the last movie did right

Midna/Link (Zelda: Twilight Princess) I honestly have no explanation for this lol

Qui-gon Jinn and Shmi (Star Wars) CAN U IMAGINE if anakin had a proper father figure and didnt have to abandon his mother to slavery

Obi-wan/Satine…. (Star Wars: The clone Wars) we know whats up

OK, to answer some of your other questions: character I hate that others love. HMMMM…….

This one seems too easy/obvious but Professor Snape? Like obviously there’s already a ton of discourse surrounding this but he was gross, mistreated his students for years, committed atrocities, couldn’t get over his high school crush, and we’re supposed to believe he’s a hero in the end and HARRY WOULD NAME HIS SON AFTER HIM….. uh no. “Always” is gross.

I’ve literally been wracking my brain for days and I can’t think of any more characters for this. OK I did some googling and I remembered some LOL.

Ross from friends…. I literally can’t stand him. He’s so entitled and just the worst. He tries to act like he’s the nice, sensitive guy, but really he is so full of himself. Joey on the other hand is portrayed as a womanizer but is actually super sweet and I love him

Archie from Riverdale… I have only seen the first 1.5 seasons ish but he is the worst…. we’re supposed to believe he’s some easygoing musically gifted football player but instead he manages to pull off being bland as heck and actually kind of a terrible garbage person

Nick from chilling adventures of Sabrina. I hate characters that are like hitting on the main character even though she has a bf and are like dark and broody and sexy blah blah blah…. I liked Harvey way better. I never finished season 2 tho

Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time? Idk she was fine she just got old after a while

If you could rewrite a story or part of a book, what would it be and what would you do differently?

HM. First, Harry would name his son Remus Rebeus Potter LOL. Ok but real talk there was a headcanon floating around forever ago that Harry should have become a professor at Hogwarts instead of an auror and I am 100% on board

Ok, ok….. what abouuuttt…… OK, is star wars when Han and Leia get together. I like them as a couple, but the entire first half of the movie Han is being such an ass. And when they kiss the first time, he’s being SOOO creepy. It’s like so quintessentially 80s romance. and HERE’S THE THING. They actually filmed (or maybe just wrote?) a version of that scene that WASNT CREEPY. And i’m like WHY DIDNT YOU USE THAT?!? So I like to pretend that’s the version that actually happened.

This part is way harder than the shipping portion. If I think of anything else i’l dm you. I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THIS NOVEL LENGTH POST OF ME RAMBLING ABOUT MY FIXATIONS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. If anyone actually read this far, you deserve a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket

[ziracona]

I got tagged by @trash-effect to list my five fave fictional guys. Tagging @theinkgirl @garbage-senpai @rabbit-exe @allexiaah @onefoxyfox

I have way too many faves so to be fair I’m just doing the first five faves to come to mind.

1. Nick Valentine, the goodest man I’ll ever meet

2. Lee Everett. Fun fact, I was not sad after season one. I went into mourning. The actual act of mourning, for like three days. The week before finals. He’s an incredible character.

(Shoutout to you too Kenny. You’re a lot more flawed but you always tried really hard to do the right thing for Clem and I respect that. You did good. You too Aj and Louis.)

3. Archer. I’m watching UBW with a friend again, and this show is important to me on a deeply personal level and I have so much respect for this poor tragic man.

4. I was going to say Quentin Smith, and then I was going to say Philip Ojomo, and then Jeff Johansen, but I really love like all the good DbD guys hnnnn so out of respect I’m just going to say Nightcrawler instead bc when I was a kid X-Men was my life and Kurt was my heart.

5. Markus and Norman bc I’m also replaying Heavy Rain, but I can’t pick between those two QD dudes

[myaekingheart]

1, 2, and 12!!

Bless you, Jessie 🙌💕 

Alright so since I reblogged like 20 ask memes, I’m just gonna go ahead and take the liberty of doing all of these numbers for every single one I’ve reblogged that’s applicable to give myself extra stuff to do xD

Fanfiction Asks! 

1. Do you read fic? Do you write fic?

I actually write fic WAY MORE than I read fic. I find that the issue I have when reading fic is that I get really giddy and inspired and then I lose my concentration on the story in front of me and my interests rather shift more towards the story in my own damn head. I really need to start reading more of other people’s work, though. I have a handful saved on AO3 that I just have not gotten around to, but I really should. I really have so many damn things I want to read, fanfiction and otherwise, but lack the motivation to sit down and actually read it. 

2. Favorite genre of fic?

I feel like it’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what kind of fic I’m drawn most towards, but I guess the best descriptor would be drama? I don’t know, I just really like stories that focus heavily on character development and interpersonal relationships (so bildungsroman lmfao), especially when there’s some imperfect romance and action/adventure involved. Both of my main fanfics, my Narnia series Temptation and The Scarecrow and the Bell, my Naruto fic, both are pretty much just that: heavy focus on character with imperfect romance and action/adventure. I just think it’s fun seeing characters, especially ones that have feelings for each other, in stressful and dangerous situations trying to work through them together and oftentimes disagree and have to figure out how to handle the disagreements, too. Or have personal stuff they’re dealing with on top of things. I don’t know, I just really love focusing on relationship dynamics and situations like that are a fun lens to look through. 

12. What turns you away the most from a fic?

Honestly, grammatical issues and whether or not the story feels believable. I guess I’m kind of picky when it comes to that stuff, but I’m also used to being critical of writing solely because I’m a creative writing major and a big part of this degree’s curriculum is workshopping peer writing. Grammatical issues in terms of a misplaced comma or something aren’t that big a deal, I’m not that stingy, but things like lacking paragraph breaks, or not knowing when to switch paragraphs, bug me as well as habitual misspellings of common words--the one that peeves me off the most is spelling “definitely” like “defiantly” or “definately” or any other misspelling under the sun. The idea of a story feeling believable might just be me being really picky but I’ve opened up fics sometimes where I could hardly get through the first paragraph because the story didn’t feel genuine to me. It’s kind of hard to explain, but I guess as someone who puts a ton of research into my own fanfics and also really tries to perfectly capture the tone of the source material, sometimes I’ll read stuff that just feels out of place and it really takes me out of the story and honestly makes me cringe. I feel like saying all of that makes me sound like some kind of asshole, though. I don’t know, I’m just so goddamn picky when it comes to what I’m reading and especially with fanfiction, since it’s a lot more organic and it doesn’t go through the same fine toothed editing process that professionally published works do (although I’ve picked up on some questionable stuff even in print books; one such thing was so minor, but it was a forgotten period at the end of a sentence and I kept laughing about it saying to myself “Someone missed a period!” You know, like an asshole.) 

Music Asks

1. your favorite album opener

Beartooth’s Greatness or Death off their most recent album, Disease. It just really sets the tone for the rest of the album and feels like such an appropriate intro overall. They have a playlist for the entire album on Youtube with the correct track listing so that was the first song off thei newest album that I had heard and it just felt like such a great and appropriate intro, it really got me into the vibe and energy of the rest of the album and I just...I love it a lot. The song, the album, the band in general. 

2. a song starting w/ the same first letter of your first name

Aurora Avenue by Defeat the Low. I’m a huge Nirvana fan, and the song is all about Kurt Cobain. The entire first verse was literally pulled straight from his infamous suicide note (”Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complainee.”) I stumbled upon this song by pure chance-- it was playing at the end of a video for a different song, which I think was actually a Beartooth one-- and it sounded interesting so I pulled it up and the minute I heard the first verse, I, who had read Kurt’s suicide note already, was like “WAIT A SECOND THIS SOUNDS REALLY FAMILIAR” but it didn’t hit me that that was what it was, and that the entire song was about Kurt, until later and it made me love it even more. 

12. a song you can scream all the words to

Hospital for Souls by Bring Me The Horizon. It’s an all-time fave, made even more so by the fact that it’s one of my top ship songs (for my Naruto ship, Kakashi Hatake x my OC Rei Natsuki, who I write the fanfic about, and even made an AMV for them with because I’M CRAZY). It also just hits really hard personally, especially the line “Have you ever put a blade to your wrists, or have you been skipping meals?” because it relates to my own mental health struggles. I’ve never had the right opportunity to actually scream all the words aloud along with the song, but I desperately need to find the right place to do it one of these days because I have a lot of feelings I need to get out that can only be done through that exact act and I need to do it in a way where I will not end up getting the cops called on me for being way too loud. I just need a soundproof room in general (not just for these purposes, but also because I’m a voice actress for an independent animated series called Space Hotel and I need someplace to record shit anyways.)

Soft and Ethereal Asks

1.secret garden or forest?

Secret garden! I love the idea of having someplace only I know guarded off by a wall with vines running up the side of it, the kind of place you enter through a wrought-iron gate, where flowers are growing through the cracks and there’s a bubbling fountain in the center you can sit by either on the edge or in the grass or on a dirty old cement bench from times before I was even a thought in my parent’s head, and just revel in the silence with a good book or a pencil and sketchbook and make flower crowns and daisy chains or have a little personal picnic laying out a checkered blanket and carrying everything in a big basket like strawberries and little sandwiches and homemade cookies and shit. I’m such a sap but I live for the idea of that gentle, pastel-tinted quiet afternoon. Pure solace. 

2.the stars or the moon?

The moon. I love stars to death, too, but there’s something about the moon that really hits me. Maybe it’s because it goes through phases but no matter what is still whole even when it appears not to be. Maybe it’s because it’s kind of comforting to look at. More than anything, though, it’s probably at least partially because one of my favorite films is Rise of the Guardians (and by extension, the book series it was based upon, The Guardians of Childhood) in which the moon is a major character, or at least The Man in the Moon. In the movie, he’s never seen or heard but he’s always there watching over the world. Jack Frost, the protagonist, doesn’t understand his purpose in this eternal life of his where no one can see him and no one believes in him, and constantly looks to the moon for answers but never hears any. The very first lines of the movie are even “Darkness. That’s the first thing I remember. It was dark and it was cold and I was scared. But then...then I saw the moon. It was so big and so bright. It seemed to chase the darkness away.” Not to get super religious here but in a way the whole moon thing even reminds me of Christianity a little bit, and I’m not really religious in the slightest (maybe spiritual, but not very religious) but this movie also came to me at a time when I was very at odds with the idea of God and faith and everything, and I felt like Jack Frost constantly questioning what the point of it all was and questioning whether something greater even existed and if so, then how could they let terrible things like this happen? Without any solid answer? I don’t know, I don’t want this to get into a debate about my own religious beliefs, but yeah. The moon and I have some history, so I’ll choose the moon over the stars. 

12.fiction or short stories?

Fiction. By nature of my degree, I have to read a lot of short stories for college and some of them are really enjoyable and interesting but then we get to the debate of genre fiction versus literary fiction, which I think is a stupid fucking debate and literary fiction needs to get off it’s damn high horse with it’s “holier than thou” complex or whatever. Or maybe it’s not the literary fiction itself so much as the people who praise it. Like yes, I get that literary fiction is contemporary fine art and nuanced and shit but sometimes I like stories about vampires and ninjas and teenagers with weird names and social anxiety. Literary fiction is fine and all, but let’s face it, genre fiction is way more fucking fun and that is why I chose “fiction” over “short stories.” 

65 Questions You Aren’t Used To

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

If I’m going to be brutally honest, sometimes. Hell, sometimes I even question my own existence but I guess that’s just the depersonalization aspect of anxiety talking. 

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

With 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, I’d say I’m at about a 3? I’m not as afraid of the dark as I used to be, but it’s situational. If I’m alone and it’s dark, then I get panicky because my awareness is impaired and I’m admittedly a very visual person so if I can’t see and I suspect there’s something going bump in the night, I’m going to freak out. Even hearing something, even when logically I know exactly what it is, freaks me out because I can’t know for sure unless I’m looking straight at it but if it’s dark, I can’t do that. I prefer to sleep when it’s like fully dark, though. I even used to wear a sleep mask to help with that and because the feeling of something soft over my eyes was comforting??? I don’t know, like I can sleep perfectly fine with the lights on, too, and sometimes if my anxiety is bad that’s what I’d prefer to make things easier on myself but for the most part, I guess it’s situational. I also feel like this is an appropriate place to say I have a duck nightlight in my bathroom, which doesn’t really have anything to do with being afraid of the dark so much as darkness in general but I also have a thing for rubber ducks so having a rubber duck nightlight is very on brand and I love it. 

12. Who told you they loved you last?

Probably my boyfriend. He’s the one whose always here anyways. If not him, then from my mother but I don’t particularly want to think about her right now because I’m kind of upset with her so we’re just going to go ahead and say my boyfriend. 

Sensory Asks

[sight]

1. favourite colour(s)?

Red is my top fave, and has been since I was three. I think it was when I got a red VW Beetle for my Barbie dolls that I really fell in love with the color. All the accessories that came with it were red plastic and looking at them just filled with me a lot of energy and joy, which I later realized I felt whenever looking at red in general. It also helps that I can now make the joke whenever I’m asked this question that I love red “like the blood of my enemies,” which is always fun. 

2. least favourite colour(s)?

I’m really not a fan of yellow, chartreuse, and tan/beige. I can handle yellow in certain instances like with sunflowers or lemons or sunshine related stuff, but I prefer gold over straight up yellow. I don’t dislike yellow nearly as much as tan/beige, though. That one I can also handle in certain instances but for the most part, it reminds me of a time I got sick as a kid so looking at it for too long brings back that nausea. Chartreuse is the end-all, be-all of the colors I’m not big on, though. It just...reminds me of snot. It feels really unappealing to look at for me, too. 

[smell]

12. favourite scent?

Clean laundry, hands down. I love nothing more than the smell of fresh laundry, like sometimes I’ll catch myself literally sitting at my laptop sniffing my shirt because I love the smell so much. It’s just so comforting, and I think that’s because it reminds me of this doll I’ve had literally since birth. I called her Baby Doll and she was just a basic baby doll with a plastic head and cloth body that my grandmother got from Avon and I was so damn attached to it as a kid. I brought Baby Doll everywhere with me, even in my backpack on my first day of preschool. I slept with her for way longer than I’d like to admit, too. But she smelled like fabric softener, and when I was a little kid and was having bad anxiety attacks (which I’ve been dealing with since I was three), I would hug her really close and the smell was just really comforting. So now I have to get it from my own laundry because I still own Baby Doll, but I’m a grown-ass adult and she’s very fragile now (and also currently in storage for safe-keeping). So yeah, clean laundry hands-down. 

Fashions Asks

1. What season has your favorite looks?

Fall! I’m such a sucker for big cozy sweaters and jeans. Back to school fashion lowkey excites me, too, and besides: I feel like it’s a lot easier to find appropriate outfits for my personal fashion sense that fit cooler weather than the seventh circle of hell 106-degree-heat-index I’m currently living in. I adore oversized sweaters, leggings, skinny jeans, combat boots, creepers, hoodies, layers, all that good stuff but you can’t do that when you feel like you’re dying of heat stroke even standing in front of the fridge butt naked. Not that I do that, but it’s hot enough here that I could if I wanted to. That’s not an issue in fall, though, which is super fucking nice. I just really love being cozy all the time always. 

2. Formal or casual?

Casual! As much as I love the look of formal clothes, I am chronically ill. I am anxious. I am depressed. I want to be comfortable all the damn time, and I just can’t be genuinely comfortable in formal clothes. For example, I attended my cousin’s wedding last spring and wore these really cute Mary Jane heels that I love. They fit my aesthetic and make my legs look great, too, if I say so myself. I was able to get through the ceremony with them on but after the fact, they started getting so damn uncomfortable that I went to the car and changed into my ratty five year old combat boots like a total punk because comfort. At least they still looked good with the dress I was wearing, though, so that’s a plus. 

12. What fashions do you hate?

Okay, I feel like a lot of people might get on my case about this but I really can’t stand Birkenstocks. They just...look like what your overbearing uncle would wear with socks to the summer barbecue to me. I don’t know, in certain cases they’re at least fitting for a certain look and I commend the people who can pull them off but as for me? I just can’t wrap my head around them. I dislike them even more than Crocs, which I am also not a fan of. But then again, like...I’m also not big on today’s fashion trends in general. There are some things I do like, like oversized t-shirts with leggings especially if they’re a band t-shirt, and those cute Japanese uniform style pleated skirts (I admittedly own one and I love it). The whole ethereal quirky pastel modern grunge e-girl shit, though, just doesn’t vibe much with me. My fashion sense is more on par with Luanna Perez’s alternative looks and the 2007-2012 era of the emo/scene style, as well as some pastel goth, genuine 90′s grunge, and kawaii/lolita inspired stuff. Like I will gladly tease the hell out of my hair, add in extensions and coontails and a little pink bow, and throw on a pink polka dot dress with fishnets and creepers or something. I don’t know, I just feel really disconnected from what’s considered trendy in today’s fashion sense. Maybe it’s because I tried so hard for so many years to fit what was in style despite it not feeling genuine to who I was personally, that now that I’ve finally mustered enough confidence to leave the house wearing what makes me happy even if it is unorthodox and alternative (like black lipstick!!!), I just can’t get on board with what everyone else is doing. Sure, I feel a little weird dressing like it’s ten years ago when everyone else is walking around wearing like those dinky crop tops that say “I have no tits” or have like applique roses on them or whatever and anything else that’s considered modern on-trend but like...in the wise words of Kurt Cobain, “I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I’m not.” I’m tired of trying to fit the status quo and doing what everyone else is doing. If I want coontails and snake bites in 2019, then goddammit I’m gonna go for it (though not gonna lie, the 20NINESCENE craze has me crying because I regret not having “the phase” in middle school that everyone else did so much sometimes that it’s physically painful so to think that there are still people out there rocking the thick side fringe and heavy eyeliner and the RAWR MEANS I LOVE YOU IN DINOSAUR shit makes me feel like maybe I’ve been given a second chance to be true to myself and become a part of a community that means something to me, rather than what I was actually doing in middle school being dragged through the mud trying to redeem myself of some sense of popularity because I was losing my best friend to the alpha female clique mentality and I was so damn unhappy, I legit had a breakdown in her pool about it once so you bet your ass I’m going to say screw it and do everything I wanted to back then now that I actually have the confidence and stopped caring what people thought about me.) 

[sage-nebula]

7, 8, 11, and 12?

7.) Have/Want any tattoos?

I currently have two. On the back of my right shoulder I have the Gerudo mark, and on the back of my left shoulder I have “Bad Wolf” in circular Gallifreyan. I kind of wish I didn’t have that one since I’m not as into Doctor Who anymore, but I still stand by what it means (that “you don’t just give up, you don’t just let things happen; you make a stand, you say no; you have the guts to do what’s right when everyone else just runs away”), and it does still look cool, so I don’t mind as much.

I do want more, though. I want to embellish the Gerudo symbol one to include the whole Triforce, as well as the Sheikan Eye of Truth and the Master Sword. The Gerudo symbol would end up in the Triforce of Power; the Sheikan Eye of Truth would go in the Triforce of Wisdom; and the Master Sword will go in the Triforce of Courage. I’m also thinking about having Din’s, Nayru’s, and Farore’s symbols drawn around the Triforce, but we’ll see.

I also plan to get the moon symbol from The Dragon Prince, drawn against a dark, starry sky, to represent the fact that I am naturally nocturnal and draw power from the moon, and that I should embrace and accept this part of myself rather than resenting and feeling embarrassed by it. I also want to get a nice arcanine tattoo at some point, as well as perhaps a cool charizard tattoo, but I don’t have those ones planned out as much.

All that said, tattoos are expensive (and rightfully so, given that someone is inking something permanently onto someone else’s body, so you want to make sure they’re paid well so it looks right), so it’ll be a while before all these plans come into fruition, haha.

8.) Have/Want any piercings?

My ears are pierced, and have been since I was a child. Even when I went years and years without wearing earrings, those piercings never closed. I don’t have any other piercings and I’m not really planning on getting any others, though I’m considering piercing the cartilage of my ear, as well as along the lobe. That said, I’ve got some clip-on earrings for those parts of my ears coming in the mail, so we’ll see how well those work (i.e., if they hurt too much to wear for long then I might as well suck it up and get the piercings lol, but if not then this can save me money and pain).

11.) Top 3 songs?

GOD, this is honestly the hardest question. I like so many songs and have such a broad taste in music that it’s incredibly hard for me to ever pick just one, or three, or even ten. But if I had to pick three that have had staying power with me for a long time . . .

“Canta Per Me” --- Ange Noir: This song is actually originally by Kajiura Yuki, but I prefer this cover by the band Ange Noir because of the percussion used in it. I’ve loved this song for years and listen to it all the way through (usually singing along) whenever it comes up on my iPod, never tiring of it. It’s so good, fam.

“Bring Me to Life” --- Evanescence: I don’t care how much mockery this earns me, because the honest truth is this: If it’s a version of “Bring Me to Life”, I’m going to like it. This has been true for every single of this song that Evanescence has released: The original Not For Your Ears version, the most well-known Fallen version, and the newest Synthesis version. If it’s “Bring Me to Life”, then I not only rock out to it, but because I know what the song is about, I find meaning in and really love the lyrics, too. This song has stayed with me since I was about thirteen. I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon.

“Ichirin no Hana” --- HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR: This is a song I’ve adored since high school, and even though I went a few years without listening to it, when I rediscovered it I was able to sing every single lyric on point. (I even sang it at karaoke when I went to Japan last summer!) This is the song that got me into HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, which was my favorite band for a while, and it still goes just as hard now as it did back then. Mmm, I love this song. 

Those songs mentioned, three songs that I’m really into right now are . . .

“Come As You Are” --- Nirvana: I’ll be honest: I used to dislike Nirvana on principle because they’re my older sister’s favorite band, and she and I have had a tumultuous relationship to say the least, and on top of that when I was younger I could never tell what Kurt was saying, which turned me off them as well. But I heard this song in Captain Marvel, and now that I’m older I really like the way it sounds. It’s a good song.

“Are You Happy Now?” --- Michelle Branch: I rediscovered this song recently, and I’m really happy I did, because I honestly forgot how hard this song went, and I spent too many years not enjoying it as much as I should have.

“Imperfection” --- Evanescence: I was not really a fan of either The Open Door or the self-titled Evanescence album, and so I thought I would only ever be a fan of their older work. But this new track from Synthesis? This track kicks ass. If they keep making music after this, I hope they continue with this new style. I really like it.

And top three four songs from my favorite band, 10 Years:

“Picture Perfect (In Your Eyes)”

“Seasons to Cycles”

“Running in Place”

“Phantoms”

I always have to put 10 Years in their own category, or else they dominate everything, haha.

12.) Top 3 movies?

And this one is hard for the opposite reason, haha. I don’t watch many movies. But if I had to pick . . .

How to Train Your Dragon 1 + 2: The first two HTTYD movies honestly tie as my favorite movie of all time because I can’t choose between them. I love them both equally, for different reasons. And I’m so glad that these were the only two made, and that an “ending” to the “trilogy” was never made that completely destroyed the messages of the movies that came before it. It’s really good that these movies exist as a perfect duology. I love them so much.

Mulan: For years I’ve been torn over what my favorite Disney movie is, because there are quite a few I love a lot, but I think I have to give it to Mulan, given that Mulan is the Disney movie I’ve seen so many times I can practically recite the entire script by heart, it never gets old, and I often turn it on when I need something comforting to watch that I don’t have to pay strict attention to. It probably helps that Mulan is the Disney hero(ine) most like me (honestly, we’re so alike it’s uncanny), but I just really love everything about this movie.

Spider-Man: Homecoming: And now for my favorite MCU movie. To be honest, Captain Marvel came close to unseating Spider-Man: Homecoming, but instead it just unseated Thor: Ragnarok to take spot #2, lol. Spider-Man: Homecoming is fun, heartwarming, and heartbreaking all in one movie. I love everything about Tom Holland’s performance as Peter Parker, the twists they put on the Spider-Man mythos, and especially Peter’s relationship with Tony Stark. This is the movie that made me say, “I love Spider-Man.” And while I do love Peter Parker, I specifically love this Peter Parker. I’ve never loved a version of Peter like I do this one. He’s my fave Spidey, hands down.

[simptasia]

I'd love to hear some of your Kurt Wagner headcanons! Maybe some involving his teen years? If not, any age is fine!

ooh, fun! and unless i’m asked otherwise, i always do movieverse, so teen years for kurt would be circus years! great, i was already thinking about that!

raised by romani circus fortune teller margali szardos, along with his two older siblings (her natural children from her late husband. whom kurt is named after btw) stefan and jimaine. 5 and 2 years older respectively

the outfit he wears for his acrobatics act looks like kurt’s iconic black & red leotard from the comics (jimaine aka daytripper gets a similar outfit except its white in the black parts and pink in the red parts)

The Incredible Nightcrawler & The Incomparable Daytripper are a double act, doing like… flips and magic and shit

he’s walked into on other circus folk doing sexual things to each other, like, a lot of times. it keeps happening. its how kurt figured out sex is a thing and it seems to look fun and a bit weird but fun?

massive growth spurt between the age of 15 to 16, like wow

his hair is naturally curly (like wavy fluffy curls when long) but jimaine straightened it for him and added the blue highlights. (she does the same thing to her own hair, and thats where kurt got the idea and asked)

the smile is so blinding that we overlook how kurt naturally goes into a pose. that boy’s a natural model. he’s posed for pictures before! which makes sense. tho i think most of his posters are drawn, there had to be have been some photo taking. that and he’s natural performer!

he’s really good at make-up because the make-up artists at the circus taught him their skills

branching off that, kurt has great artistic skill (his scars and clothing choices are a sign of that) and sketches/doodles a lot

he’s kept a journal since he was a small boy. it acts as an artbook more than a traditional journal because kurt uses drawings more than words. most notable examples are the designs for his enochian marks (margali could never have predicted that kurt drawing swirls was actually a plan) and a lovely head & shoulders sketch of ororo after they meet

being ace (specially bi ace, possibly bi demi) he doesn’t experience sexual attraction and it takes him a bit to realise other people do (observational skills) and he doesn’t have negative feelings about sex or sexuality. in fact, i’d describe him as fascinated/curious at most. he’s realised its a thing most people want, and probably not with him

so specifically he’s a sex positive/indifferent asexual

margali taught him english but he also picked up a lot from american TV, of which he’s a great fan. american pop culture in general is so cool to him

his teleportation power didn’t kick in until relatively late, like… late teens (as a defensive reflex to being threatened by somebody with a gun)

very chubby as a baby, gawky as fuck as a teen

crawled out of his crib at night as a baby lots of times… so margali started calling him… you know where this is going

(i’ve heard worse origins for a superhero name)

his first kiss wasn’t very good because it was from jimaine, so he pulled back suddenly in shock/horror and made her lip bleed (LEMME EXPLAIN, yes, i could have abandoned that weird incest shit from the comics all together but i decided to do something else with it for DRAMA. by something else i mean: KURT IS NOT OKAY WITH THIS AT ALL. basically i’ve gone with: stefan doesn’t love him enough and jimaine loves him too much. i allow fucked up shit for the angst okay, im a writer)

take comfort in the fact that whatever sad shit i thrown into kurt’s backstory, that he ends up happy with the x-men. i mean, not always, he has manic depression, but i mean he’s better! also for the most part i actually do imagine kurt had a good childhood. in my version of things, margali is a really good and protective mother

there’s just some… massive bumps along the way. i can’t resist!

like this one: almost lost his virginity to the ringmaster’s wife (the logic being “i should be grateful for the chance”) but was instantly put off and horrified when he realised she wanted to sleep with him on the basis of  wanting to fuck a freak… (i imagined this story after the realisation that in the x-men universe there’d be people who’d fetishize mutants, so i imagined a scenario wherein kurt encounters somebody like that. like, im not being needlessly cruel here, there are reasons for things)

loves 80s pop & techno and has quite a talent for break dancing

pre-america his fave food is chocolate

upon BAMFing for the first time he was understandably scared and confused, then realising he’d gone away a distance, he was EXHILARATED. i imagine that one’s powers unlocking for the first time causes an unbelievable energy burst, too 

kurt loved being in the circus because he loves to make people (the audience) happy, especially the children

BIG SOPPY HEART EYED ROMANTIC BOY LOVES ROMANCE NOVELS AND HAS 4 OR 5 OF THEM CRUMPLED UNDER HIS BED

he has this very idealised version of love & romance in his head due to growing up on and loving black & white 30s/40s movies

oh by the way accidently killed his brother stefan out of self defense

can’t forget that little chestnut

well, that’s a good amount there. 

thank you! hope you enjoyed

[placetobenation]

When Smackdown was in its heyday as a separate brand (the first time) I was its biggest fan. I loved the vibe, the workrate, the fist. Teddy Long making Holla Holla tag team matches. So in honour of #SD1000 I want to share a bunch of my favourite Smackdown matches with y’all. None of them happen to appear on WWE’s own 15 Greatest Smackdown Matches list – which are all really good as well, so think of this as a companion piece. You can never have enough Smackdown matches, I always say.

They aren’t in any order because don’t make me choose between my babies.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – WWE Championship, Loser Leaves Town Cage Match (August 28th, 2009)

Jeff and Punk had an amazing and personal feud, and it all culminated in this epic cage match. Both guys were battered and bruised from their TLC match at Summerslam just days beforehand, and they laid it all out one more time here. Lots of bombs and near misses, the crowd heat is off the charts, and I can still hear J.R. to this day pleading, “Just drop Jeff! Just drop and pay the price!” The finish is poetic, and the post match, heartbreaking.

Matt Hardy vs. MVP (July 6th, 2007)

There are approximately one billion awesome Matt Hardy TV matches to choose from, but this one is special, not just for kicking off the amazing Matt Hardy vs. MVP storyline, but for being an incredible wrestling match, in the purest sense. All three dudes (Matt, MVP, JBL on commentary) work completely out of their skin. In fact this may be the best announcing performance of JBL’s career. By the end what could have been a routine match up felt incredibly momentous. If you like your wrestling to resemble legitimate sports, this one is for you.

Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Championship Match (December 11th, 2003)

What a match-up. Brock was a beast at his bullying best, and Rey was for sure the Ultimate Underdog in this match. Brock was laughing uproariously at the very idea of Rey… until the match began and Rey started to literally run rings around him. Every time Brock caught and splatted him it looked like absolute death, and the hometown San Diego crowd was living and dying with every move. A great big vs. little clash.

Randy Orton vs. Cesaro (February 14th, 2014)

Orton was in the process of running the gauntlet of his Elimination Chamber opponents, making for a fun few weeks of matches, and this was the pick of the bunch. These are two of the smoothest workers ever, and both Cesaro and Orton seemed to relish the chance to let it all hang out with each other. Crazy cool stuff everywhere you look, and by the end Cesaro looked every bit the future star that he should have been.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (January 23rd, 2003)

This aired four days after Angle vs. Benoit at the Rumble, and is a FAR better match. On the list of Kurt Angle’s best opponents, Rey is #1. And #2, and probably all the way through #10 before you even get to Steve Austin. They had a great match every year that they were on the blue brand together, but this one is my fave. It is a hellacious sprint, fast paced and ridiculously cool. Rey is still inventing moves as he goes here, and Angle just spikes him on his head a bunch with suplexes. Spectacular stuff.

Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero (April 14th, 2005)

This aired a few weeks after Angle vs. Shawn at WrestleMania 21, and is a FAR better match. I’m just full of takes today. Eddie was another great Angle opponent when they were on, and here they get plenty of time and are definitely ON. Suplexes galore, loads of counters and cool stuff, crazy nearfalls, complete with some Lie, Cheat & Steal nonsense and a clever furthering of the ongoing Eddie and Rey angle. These two guys can just GO.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan (May 4th, 2012)

Coming off the back of their unbelievable 2/3 Falls match at Extreme Rules, where Bryan first attacked Sheamus’ arm, this is quite something. I’m not exaggerating when I say that literally every offensive move Bryan makes in this match – strikes, moves, holds, counters – is directed towards Sheamus’ injured arm. Every. Single. Move. Couple that with Sheamus’ world class selling and this is quite a gnarly match, kicking off a great run as the Smackdown ace for Sheamus.

Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio – WWE Tag Team Championship, 2/3 Falls Match (November 7th, 2002)

The Smackdown Six was my effin’ JAM and to me this is where it peaked. 2/3 Falls means two to three times the goodness, and this is chock full of all the good stuff – Angle/Benoit tension, Rey Jr. inventing wrestling, and workrate, workrate, workrate. These guys were cutting such a fast pace that they kept running into everyone at ringside – the referee, cameramen; the poor bystanders couldn’t follow the action quick enough to get out of the way! If you loved the No Mercy tag but haven’t seen this rematch, definitely check it out.

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre (February 11th, 2011)

This is the most unique match on the list. From bell to bell it lasts 1:56. Drew Mac spends half of that time on the floor cutting a promo. Essentially, this is a 1 minute match, and it’s also the world’s greatest 1 minute match. Good wrestling comes in many forms, and this is a perfect example of my long-held belief that there’s no such thing as a match being “too short” to be great.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry (January 20th, 2006)

Rey and Henry PERFECTED the cat-and-mouse match here on this day. Rey ran himself ragged trying to do anything he could to cut down the giant, and Mark Henry was a human brick wall. This thing proves that Mark Henry has been the business for a long time, and Rey just simply cannot be real. It also comes with a finish that is so awesome, it’s not just out of this world, it is out of this ENTIRE GALAXY.

John Cena vs. Big Show (February 27th, 2009)

You know those “Imagine if they booked Big Show this well ALL THE TIME??” moments we sometimes get? Add this to the list. He looks completely unstoppable, thanks to Cena putting in a vintage Cena vs. Monster performance. He gets annihilated, selling his entire ass off and well and truly earning every small glimmer of hope he gets. Wonderful pro wrestling.

The Shield & Wyatt Family vs. Punk, Rey, Usos & Rhodes Bros. (November 29th, 2013)

The Shield had many cool matches, but I chose this one because it was so different. It starts out as a standard tag team match vs. the Rhodes Bros., which was already over 20 minutes and freaking FANTASTIC when interference lead to making it a six-man tag with Punk, and after more great action yet more people running in lead to a full on 6 vs 6 match as well. Suddenly the ENTIRE second hour of Smackdown was taken up by this never ending tag match. And it completely ruled.

Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison – Intercontinental Championship Match (September 4th, 2009)

In the summer of 2009 there was a “New Smackdown Six” going nuts with awesome matches every week on Smackdown. Four months of workrate out the ears AND four months of steadily pushing Morrison up the card lead to this: a 25 minute, three segment, highspot extragavanza between the old master and the anointed prince. The spots are INSANE and never ending and the match just builds and builds until it reaches all the way to my heart. This is my favourite movez (with a Z) match of all time.

Christian vs. Randy Orton – World Championship Match (May 6th, 2011)

This is a big time fight with tremendous stakes, between Christian, who had just achieved the boyhood dream and was trying to keep the fairytale going, and multi-time champion Orton, trying to establish himself as the new ace of Smackdown. They start busting out their signature counters in this match, including a finish which would inform ensuing matches for months to come. Orton sells his own nearfall in this more than most wrestlers sell actual offense. A great first chapter in the quintessential ‘Smackdown workrate’ rivalry.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (June 23rd, 2005)

For me this is THE Eddie vs. Rey match. Yes, even above Halloween Havoc. This was right in the middle of their incredible 2005 storyline, and the heat and intensity in this is palpable. Even the referee feels it – look how jumpy he is in the early going. And then once it does get going, Eddie and Rey just go to work like only they can and this thing absolutely BANGS. Eddie beats the hell out of Rey, Rey beats the hell out of him right back, it’s a battle of wills of gargantuan proportions. And a true epic, right there on telly. I haven’t put this list in order, but with a gun to my head, this is the best wrestling match in Smackdown history.

I hope you’ve noticed, just like I did, that Rey Mysterio is in like half of these matches. There are so many more I could have chosen too, so shoutout to my man Rey Jr. for being so far and away Mr. Smackdown that I’m pretty sure daylight is second. He’s coming back to face Shinsuke Nakamura on SD1000 (praise be 2018), so with that and the rest of what should be a fun, nostalgic romp, I hope you all enjoy the show, and I hope you enjoyed this fun, nostalgic romp with me too.