#kingdom mma

[ex0rin]

Frank Grillo in Kingdom (1/?)

[t3acupz]

Jay 🩶

[garc-i-a]

So Conflicted

Got to preface this with the fact my dad had me watching boxing and MMA growing up. So I love seeing someone get pummeled. It is enjoyable. 😬

In my pursuit of research for making another Ryan Guzman post, I watched an interview he did for The Boy Next Door. He talked about his MMA past and that he had actually auditioned for Kingdom. That is the sports drama that starred Nick Jonas on the now defunct Audience Network. I swear no one watched it. The show was alright.

Well Ryan actually auditioned for Nick’s part! The casting director said he didn’t look like a fighter so he was passed over. Ryan said he wanted his agent to show his old footage in the octagon. Feels like the casting director was implying Ryan was too pretty and put together to PLAY a fighter. When you judge a book by its cover.

What is ironic about the role is that Nick played as a closeted mma fighter. So if Ryan had gotten role, that would have been another gay character he would have played. Again this shows that he has no problem playing non straight roles.

The reason that I am conflicted as the title says is because I enjoy seeing Nick act. It is what he started out with before becoming a musician. And he’s entertaining to watch normally. But Nate was so closed off and quiet. I feel that if Ryan played him, the character would have been more expressive and the scenes have more liveliness.

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Stela of a Man.

Period: Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty

Date: ca. 2030–1981 B.C.

Place oforigin: Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Cemetery 100, Tomb TT 114, MMA excavations, 1926–27

Medium: Limestone, paint

[redtsundere-writes]

Jinx | Sukuna Ryomen

mmafigther!sukuna ryomen x femcoach!reader

Part 10. Doubt

Beginning. ← Previous | Next →

Synopsis: Sukuna is a world champion with anger issues. It's believed by many that he is untrainable. Yeah, you can't train him, but you can dominate him. Contents: Fighting. Sukuna being Sukuna. Female reader being dom. Jinx AU (the BL, not the character from lol) Warnings: Cursed words. Fighting. Sexual harassment. I only read it once, lmao Word count: 3656 words. A/N: Sorry for not posting this yesterday, my life has been a fucking mess lately, but that's what makes it fun, isn't it? I tried weed for the first time, it helps a lot.

Btw I made a PLAYLIST

Aoi Todo, the champions’ destroyer. In the beginning, he was just another boxer on the big MMA scene. One more rookie among the candidates desperate for a fight. No one seemed to be impressed by his skills until he stepped into the octagon for the first time. Overwhelming victory after victory, climbing steady until he reached the champion of his division, Toji Fushiguro, a feared opponent due to his great career in the UFC. For being 40 years old, he still moved as if his bones were made out of rubber.

The first fight for the title of the heavyweight division was on everyone's mouths, the stakes went through the roof. A complete rookie threatening one of the most talented champions in the industry to take his place. Aoi defeated him on his first attempt by unanimous decision. Toji took it personally so he asked for a rematch that same night and the rest is history.

“Aoi Todo is a strategist by nature, we must plan this fight carefully,” Gojo commented while reading a sports article about our future opponent that Yuuji had found on the internet.

The official Sukuna team was back in the meeting room to plan what we would do to defeat the threat that attempted against the kingdom of the king of the ring. Sukuna couldn't take his eyes off the screen that was playing the last fight Todo had against Toji, the one we watched in the penthouse a month ago.

While he couldn't take his eyes off his opponent, I couldn't stop looking at him. He looked very attractive when he was focused. His crossed arms, his slightly raised eyebrow and his penetrating eyes caught my attention every time. Sometimes I just wanted to come up behind him, hold him against my body and… “What the fuck am I thinking?” I scolded myself, forcing myself to snap back to reality.

I was trying my best to get rid of my feelings towards Sukuna. It was unprofessional, and it was obvious that it wasn’t going anywhere. He still doesn't give me any signs of romantic interest in me, he avoids me when we are in the penthouse sometimes, and he still has his “special sessions” with Shoko. I feel like a fool for getting my hopes up just because he makes me to live with him and gifted me pajamas. It didn't help that I found him attractive long before I met him in person. “Just ignore it and the feeling will go away on its own,” I thought.

“He is a boxer by specialty like Sukuna, it would be best to stay in that area. Gojo will be in charge of training this time,” Nanami wisely recommended, attracting me again to the conversation.

That was good news for me. I would still be in training, but I no longer had to be helicoptering all the time to get him to do floor exercises correctly. Plus, I could watch him train and make mental notes on how to improve my boxing skills for when I make my big comeback to the octagon. It was a unique opportunity to learn from one of the best boxers on the scene.

"That seems fine to me,” I nodded.

"He will not be an easy opponent," Yuuji commented. "Not everyone can send a legend to retirement.”

After the legendary 3 out of 3 fight, Toji Fushiguro officially announced his retirement to the press. He wasn't doing it for Aoi Todo, but because he is already over 40 years old and knows his own bodily limits. In addition, he wanted to give the spotlight to the next generation of fighters, especially his son, whom he will personally train from now on. Which means Megumi had to quit Team Black immediately to return to his father's gym. Yuuji was a bit sad because he won’t see him as often anymore, but they promised to talk to each other daily.

As we left the meeting room, we saw that almost all the members of Team Black were gathered by the entrance, watching as several delivery men left large packages at the lobby. All professionally packaged. Sukuna didn't pay any mind to them and went to train with Gojo so as not to waste time.

"What are they giving away or what?" I asked Yuuji.

"Today is the best day at the gym! Tomorrow is Sukuna's birthday,” he answered with a twinkle in his eye.

I already knew that. For a week I have been looking for the perfect birthday gift for him, but it was more complicated than I thought. When Sukuna wants something, he just buys it without paying attention to the price, an enviable custom. What can you give to someone who can pay for almost anything with their black card?

"Every year he receives hundreds of gifts from sponsors, important gyms and other athletes who want to work with him,” Yuuji explained to me.

When I used to be the champion, I also got gifts like that, but they were 10 or 20, not 80 boxes that you can turn into a tower if you stack them. Yuuji excitedly took my arm to approach the pile.

"But those gifts are for Sukuna, why are we standing in line?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sukuna never wants their gifts because he says it's a “waste” of space, so he give it to us," Yuuji explained with a smile.

Once the delivery men finished their work, everyone rushed over to the boxes to see what they had inside. Everyone opened the boxes and exchanged the loot depending on what it was. There were expensive sports clothes, top brand protein powders, energy drinks, cutting-edge electronics, flashy watches, leather wallets, etc. It looked like a crazy Black Friday sale.

"Nikes! Good thing I share shoe size with Sukuna," Yuuji commented as he opened a pair of red sneakers with his brother's initials engraved in gold on the heel.

I took one of the boxes that were at the bottom. It had the Adidas logo printed in black all over it. I opened it to take out a black t-shirt with “Ryomen” and the number 1 written on the back. It looked like an average soccer player's jersey. It was size L, so it was too baggy for me, but I could wear it as pajamas.

"What are you going to get him, Yuuji?" I asked him directly while hanging my shirt on my shoulder.

"A compression shirt like every year, Sukuna is a simple man," he answered without giving it much importance.

That was great advice. He always wears neutral-colored clothes, the penthouse has a minimalist style, and he sticks religiously to his routine. His only hobbies are swimming in his large pool and watching old movies at night. He doesn't go out with friends, eat sweets, nor go on dates. If Sukuna wasn't a talented fighter, he would be a very boring man.

Sukuna cornered Yuuji against the ring. His fists flew towards his face, sides, and abdomen. Yuuji raised his gloves towards his face to prevent him from knocking him out. He was among the other fighters who looked up to Sukuna as if he were the new messiah. His posture was perfect, his movements were balanced, and the power of his fists were impressive. My eyes analyzed the position of his feet, the distance between his torso and his fists and the slight curvature of his back.

Yuuji has a love-hate relationship when it comes to training with his brother. He likes training with him because that way they spend more time together, and he learns to fight better, while he hated it because Sukuna never holds back. He treats every training session as if it were a championship fight. Yuuji was hurting inside, but he was doing a good job of holding on. The older one focused on getting the knockout, so Yuuji put his guard up. Bad move. Sukuna changed his strategy mid-move and began to hit him at full power in the abdomen. His little brother doubled over in pain and fell against the floor.

"Son of a bitch, I can’t breathe," Yuuji murmured, taking off his helmet.

"Don't be a crybaby. C’mon, get up," Sukuna asked him, annoyed.

"The crybaby can't fight anymore," Gojo announced. Sukuna sighed exasperatedly.

"Fast. Someone get in the ring.,” the king ordered his subjects.

Since Megumi was not there to replace Yuuji as usual, the fighters looked at each other to see who would be brave enough to go up to face the monster. They all knew that they would face the same fate as Yuuji or worse. Since there were no volunteers, I decided to get into the ring.

"Really?" Sukuna asked me with an evil smile as I helped Yuuji take off his protective gear. He seemed to be in a good mood.

"I can learn a thing or two from you," I said as I put on the protective helmet.

"Aren't you going to hurt yourself?" He scoffed. He spoke as if we were in a showdown at an official weigh-in. Sukuna was trying to intimidate me, but I was going to erase his smile.

"My doctor said that my neck is completely healed, do you know what that means?" I asked him as I put on Yuuji's boxing gloves.

Sukuna and I approach the center to continue training. Sukuna started with a hook to the liver that I evaded with the body. Our feet moved simultaneously, making the canvas squeak.

"Are you going to leave?" He asked me before punching me in the face. I pulled up my gloves to avoid the impact.

"I already told Nanami, I'll leave after the fight and leave you in the hands of another coach," I told him before throwing a hook to his cheek. It didn't connect.

"Who gave you permission to leave?" Sukuna spat, approaching me suddenly.

"Myself," I backed away.

"What if I tripled your salary?" Sukuna hit me on the shoulder.

"It's not about money," I told him once to regain my balance. "I want to return to the octagon and get back my title."

"Are you going to fight or what?" Gojo scolded us with his arms crossed. We talked a lot and fought little.

Sukuna clicked his gloves and launched a killer combo at me. I barely evaded it and went ahead to close the distance, entering his territory abruptly. I threw the best punches I could, but it wasn't enough. I was so used to using my legs to win fights that I felt completely helpless if I could only use my fists. My hooks, jabs, and uppercuts were no match for Sukuna's powerful punches. They were direct and fast. With each blow, my resistance decreased. I could barely stand.

"Coach Gojo, it's time," Shoko asked out loud so we could both hear her. Gojo ended the fight. I was saved by the physiotherapist.

Sukuna pulled himself aside from my body to sigh heavily. I took off the helmet to lighten my body. He took off his gloves without looking at me, he was focused on his thoughts. Maybe processing the news I had given him.

"When I saw you in the ring after beating Naoya, I realized that I miss fighting a lot," I explained as I approached him shyly. What he was going to say next would only be for him. "I want to be like you," I whispered without looking at his face out of embarrassment.

Sukuna’s POV

It's been a couple of months since I've been living with Y/n, and I've learned a few things about her. She is direct, strong, knows what she wants, independent and... she is extremely cute without even trying. She walks around the house in giant shirts that look like short dresses, drags her slippers across the floor in the morning before drinking her coffee, and dances with her headphones on when she thinks no one is watching. How can a girl be so docile but so dangerous at the same time? She was like a cute kitten that can transform into a fierce cheetah in a second.

Little by little, my eyes have been drawn to her daily actions. How gently her hands move when putting on another fighter's boxing gloves, how his eyes move quickly when analyzing me from head to toe and how she pulls hair away from her face, tucking her unruly hair behind her ear. I would like to stop time, so I could admire her all as long as I wanted. I was starting to like her, but there was a problem…

"Do you think Choso and Y/n make a cute couple?" Yuuji asked me through the phone.

I removed the wet towel from my face to look at him through the camera with a frown. The hot water caressed my skin, the bubbles reflected my profile in a blurry way and the flame of the aromatic candle moved subtly. It was a great evening in the comfort of my tub, but Yuuji seemed to be in the mood to ruin it.

"What the hell is that question?" I scoffed.

"Do you want to know what Choso just told me?" Yuuji asked me while raising his eyebrows.

"Someday they are going to kill you for gossiping". I sighed in annoyance. My little brother is a good guy, but he often shares things that he shouldn’t. That's why I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself instead of telling him.

"It is not gossip, it called being informed," he defended himself. "But you really want to know this. Maybe your relationship with Choso will get better soon.”

Since we were kids, Choso and Yuuji have followed me like loyal soldiers. They accompanied me anywhere at any time, we were the powerful Ryomen trio for as long as I could remember... until that blonde bitch decided to ruin everything with her poisonous presence. Every time I think about what happened, my head hurts. I miss having Choso in my life, but I wasn't going to beg him to come back. It's not my fault he doesn’t want to believe the truth.

"Choso told me that Y/n would call him when she's the protector again. Basically she confessed to him!” Itadori exclaimed excitedly.

I closed my eyes and put the warm towel back on my face. I knew Y/n liked Choso since I saw it in her eyes when we were at the bar after my victory against Fushiguro, but I didn't see Choso as in love as he was with the unmentionable. Maybe it was because I was constantly seeing them, Choso tends to get nervous easily.

When Yuuji first told me, I didn't give a damn, but I overlooked one small detail. “…when I'm the protector again” What the fuck that’s supposed to mean? Did she perhaps believe she was a superhero, chosen by God or a WWE wrestler? I thought it was an weeb joke between them or something, but I was wrong.

"When I saw you in the ring after beating Naoya, I realized that I miss fighting a lot," Y/n approached me without looking at me, her eyes looking at the floor. It was strange to see her act so shy. "I want to be like you," she whispered so that only I could hear her.

My heart skipped a beat in confusion. I knew this would happen one day. She would be leaving soon. I didn't know whether to be offended or flattered by her words. Did she really have to tell me something as cheesy as that? She is the only coach capable enough to teach me how to do floor techniques, the only one who makes me give my 110%, the only one who pays attention to the details and makes sure I achieve perfection. I couldn't lose the only coach who tolerates my attitude.

But he knew he couldn't stop her. He is a free and wild soul, he will always do whatever he wants. There was nothing to fight if he had already made a decision,I knew it why she is similar to me in that aspect. She is a champion before being my coach. If the world doesn't move, she will move it.

"That's why I want to ask you to let me train with you," she bowed in respect. It was a sight worth capturing in my mind and admiring.

"I'm not going to be nice just because you're my coach," I warned her.

"I didn't expect you to be," she told me with a smile. Y/n looked relieved for some reason.

"We start tomorrow," I told him before leaving with Shoko to the therapy room. The last thing I saw when I looked back was her sweet smile that her lips let escape thinking I wasn’t looking.

The fucking alarm woke me up at 5 in the morning as always. I turned it off with a smack and sat on the edge of the bed to fully wake up. I checked my phone and the screen was flooded with happy birthday messages that people had sent me since midnight. I threw the phone on the other side of the bed to go get some breakfast.

The crash of a metal pot caught my attention. I peeked into the kitchen expecting to see the cook, instead I found Y/n in front of the stove wearing an oversized t-shirt with my last name on the back and her hair in a messy ponytail. My eyes couldn't help but roam the length of her legs. I knew she was wearing shorts, but the length of the shirt made it look like she wasn't. It was like she was my girlfriend wearing one of my t-shirts. My face flushed at the thought. “Shit, my last name looks great on her,” I thought.

"Good morning, birthday boy," she greeted me upon realizing my existence.

"And Mrs. Kim?" I asked her as I looked over to see what she was preparing, pretending that I hadn't spent a good time looking at her. On the stove there was an egg white omelet with spinach, the toaster had a couple of breads and in the blender a green juice.

"I told her to take the day off. I will be your cook today, that will be my birthday gift,” she responded with a smile.

"And this shirt?" I asked pinching the fabric.

"Adidas I sent it to you, but since you don't want it, I kept it,” she answered without further ado.

“Well, she looks better than me,” I thought, looking at her thighs when she wasn’t looking.

While we were having breakfast, the doorbell rang. Y/n went to see who it was, there were 4 delivery men ready to delivery more boxes full of gifts. By winning 2 consecutive championship fights, sponsor gifts tripled. Y/n watched open-mouthed as the gifts continued to accumulate at the entrance. All this was a nuisance.

“More garbage,” I huffed once the mailmen left. “Take care of this," I ordered Y/n before I left to get ready to go to the gym.

"Why me?” she wondered, offended.

"I don't have time to send everything to the gym," I answered without paying attention.

"But I'll be late for training!" She exclaimed annoyed.

"So what? We don’t need you much,” I answered with a mischievous smile, I knew that answer would upset her.

"Sukuna!" She squealed in annoyance once I locked myself in my room.

End of Sukuna’s POV

I made myself a cup of coffee to start opening the boxes and putting the gifts in plastic bags so it would be easier to transport to the gym. I sat on the floor to carefully dissect each box. Backpacks, accessories, and hundreds of special socks for athletes. I felt like a little girl opening presents on a crazy Christmas morning.

I opened a box that felt extremely light. Inside was a small red leather box with the Cartier brand engraved in gold. It seemed to be really expensive. Inside was a thin gold chain with a pendant with the initials “S R” engraved on it. Quickly notice that there was a note taped to the cover. This gift wasn't like the others, it gave off a more personal vibe. My curiosity got the best of me and I opened the note.

"Happy Birthday. I hope you take advantage of this.” -Yuki

"I'm leaving," Sukuna caught my attention.

"Wait!" I exclaimed before he opened the door. If this was a special gift for him, I'll have him wear it. "This bracelet will look great on you," I grabbed his left hand to put it on his veiny wrist.

"I don't like bracelets,” He released his hand from my grip and took it away.

I was going to tell him that it was from someone called Yuki, but when he grabbed my hand, my brain went blank. His large, veined hand held mine, so I wouldn't move it. His fingers brushed my skin and I could barely breathe. My heart was beating a mile an hour and I didn't know how to react.

"It looks better on you," he said before turning the chain so that he could see the initials on it. "Matches with your shirt," He winked at me and disappeared through the door.

He closed the door and left me with my mouth on the floor. Did I dream, imagine or wish it? Sukuna had bewitched me with a spell I didn't know existed. I looked at the thin gold chain decorating my wrist in disbelief. It jingled when I turned it to read and saw the engraving again that shone in the light. Sukuna, what does this mean? I don't want to get hurt again.

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[fang-revives]

Syb's Shibata Match Recs

Since there's renewed interest in The Wrestler because of his amazing match with Bryan Danielson, I thought now might be a great time to drop some match recs for him! All of these have links you can watch right now. I also recommend this article about his time on the Japanese Indies/MMA, this summary video of his return arc to NJPW, and this fanvid, which captures his vibe so well (cw: it includes the headbutt spots from Shibata vs. Okada).

Katsuyori Shibata & KENTA vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Go Shiozaki Of the "Takeover" matches where Shibata and KENTA tagged, this is the one I recommend most often! It's a gritty, hard hitting slugfest, with lots of crazy spots. And as a benefit you get to see two of the all-time greats, Misawa in his late prime and Shiozaki as he's starting to rise as NOAH's future ace. Both Shibata and KENTA are in peak form here.

Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Atsushi Sawada & Shinichi Suzukawa I feel like it's only fair to give some context on Shibata's MMA period. Here he is tagging in a "shoot style" wrestling match with one of the all time MMA greats, Sakuraba. I love this match because it feels like it encapsulates 2 things about Shibata: 1. he's a much better pro wrestler than he his MMA fighter. 2. he's (especially in this period) a loaded canon ready to fight at the drop of a hat. I love how excited he is in this. I hate that he jumps so hard he bonks himself immediately on the head. Dumbass (affectionate).

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura I watched quite a few matches from Shibata's "prodigal son returns" arc in NJPW, and this one was the standout to me. Maybe some of the Tanahashi matches are more narratively punchy, but this was my first exposure to Nakamura in peak form, and boy is that a powerful thing.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuchika Okada (! INJURY WARNING !) The fact that I'm recommending this match knowing what happened to Shibata after... okay, seriously, this is one of the greatest wrestling matches I have ever seen in my life. The intensity and the way the story builds up to it. God. It's tragic to a high degree that Shibata's best work ended up so fraught like this. I wish there were 0 unprotected headbutts in this match, because it would still be one of the best matches I've ever seen. If you can stomach the implications of this being the match that almost killed him (it took me a long time to watch it) -- it really is That Good.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita Shibata's comeback story really ended here, it feels like. After years of gruelling recovery while he trained the next generation at the LA Dojo, he was finally able to go in the ring at Wrestle Kingdom, against his protege Ren Narita (in identical dress!). Rumor has it that Shibata went off-script and personally pissed off NJPW by changing this from a grappling rules match to a regular wrestling match -- I dunno if that's true, but for sure The Wrestler was back after this match :)

There are other Shibata matches and moments I've known and loved, but this is a good summary of his back-catalogue. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Being in a relationship with Gaolang Wongsawat...

🥇It took Gaolang exactly 2.3 seconds of looking away from the King, when on a leisure trip through the kingdom - And King Rama was already chatting with some girl who seemed to be fangirling over him and how pretty he was.

🥇No doubt, a foreigner.

🥇This girl had a friend, who looked completely horrified at her friend's action, calling her rude and trying to drag her away (and failing), all while apologising profusely, to the point that she might drop to the floor and beg forgiveness.

🥇The duality of two friends.

🥇At least they didn't seem to have any kind of hostility... Unless you count the girl's thirstiness a hostility, in which case, he'll have to act.

🥇But King Rama seemed to be amused by their antics, and even looked at Gaolang and pointed out how they compliment each other in a similar way he and Saw Paing do.

🥇Gaolang cringed all the way across the globe.

🥇Worse - The fangirl proposed a double date, and although both you and Gaolang simultaneously yelled 'No!', the King agreed, for multiple reasons.

🥇One of them, the pretext that he wanted to show the two of you the Thai culture.

🥇The other... That Gaolang should go out and date more.

🥇Your friend agreed and said the same thing about you.

🥇You and Gaolang were silently sulking the entire time, completely unaware of what to even say. It wasn't that either of you was anti-social, but the situation as a whole was so rushed and uncomfortable, that all became a blur.

🥇Not that it was a problem for either the King or your friend who chatted up a storm.

🥇But then, something from the two's conversation catches the attention of the bodyguard, which although surprises him, also makes him smile.

"Y/N recognised him! She's obsessed with that MMA shit, of course she'd know the most famous karate fighter--"

"BOXING!" you corrected her harshly, only to realise you were in from of two strangers and you slapped a hand over your face in embarrassment and quickly apologised.

But your flustered and apologetic expression was so cute that Gaolang's heart melted and he started a conversation about your hobbies and what aspects of fighting sports do you like - Conversation that eclipsed the other two's easily, and made the time flash so fast that you didn't feel the hours passing by.

That night, you didn't sleep at the hotel, but at the King's palace, much to your dismay. You were pretty sure Rama and your friend had a hot night though, good for her.

You, however, didn't want to go sleep, so you wandered around the fantastic gardens - So many flowers, so many different trees, and the artisan fountain - Everything could be described with superlative words.

"Are you searching for my training spot?" the familiar voice of the boxer scared you half to death.

"G-Gaolang. Hi. Uh... N-No." you took a deep breath to get over your startling. "I... Didn't feel comfortable sleeping in a palace. It's beautiful and grand and all... But it's not for some ordinary person like me. And since this place has such a beautiful garden, I thought I'd explore and admire the place. It's not every day you get the opportunity to travel..." you found yourself letting out and amused breath. "Let alone being invited in a palace by the King himself... And meeting the Thai God of War himself."

"You flatter me." he muttered, seeing that you weren't being serious.

"Sorry, I don't want to make you uncomfortable... I mean, more than I did with this whole situation. I tried to stop her from approaching, but she's surprisingly much stronger than I gave her credit." he let out a small chuckle, guiding you forward.

"It's fine. I can show you around the garden if you want." of course, you agreed.

The first place he took you to was his training ground - It was mostly empty, save for a pole. He told you that he mostly comes here to meditate and clear his mind, and only occasionally works out here. He loves the nature and finds himself connected with it to the point of achieving a certain kind of peace that he can't find anywhere else.

Hearing that, you got excited, as you were the same - You always tried to find some time to take a walk through the forest around your home, or at least to the park - Though, going to the mountains or by the sea, in a place with as few people as possible, and just listening to the music of the world made you feel tranquil as nothing else.

The whole night, the two of you spent it on the grass, watching the stars and chatting about thing - Mainly, he'd tell you things about Thai culture, and in turn, you'd tell him of your own country. You haven't had such lovely company before, and it was surprising that you felt so at ease and comfortable with a complete stranger.

Though you must have nodded off a little at some point, he made sure your head was resting on his shoulder, and you were leaning on him comfortably.

The next day, though a bit tired, the two of you went to have some breakfast and a stroll through the city - Here and there, Gaolang would tell you little tid bits about every little store, and every random thing that he knows of decorations, statues and what not.

But as much as you enjoyed his company so much for days, you soon had to return to your home, which made your heart shatter. Though you were a bit homesick, you wanted to hangout with Gaolang more.

You thought this was the last time you'd see him - Only for him to ask for your phone number - It was a promise of reunion.

"Text me when you get home safe."

Your heart melted.

"Spending time with you was a great experience. I hope we'll see each other again."

Attached to that was a PDF with two plane tickets and two VIP tickets for the whole boxing championship WBC that was being held, coincidentally, in Bangkok.

🥇You were so excited that you could barely hold your excitement - You and your friend took a holiday from work and flew over... Though your friend would eventually remain with the King in the palace.

🥇Gaolang gave you the option of staying at his apartment for the duration of your stay, so that you wouldn't spend so much money on accommodation - All that while also apologising for sounding ungentlemanly - But you agreed, of course.

🥇No money wasted, and more, you get to spend day in and day out with your new favourite person? How could you refuse?

🥇He came to pick you and your friend from the airport, and first let your friend by the palace, then showed you his apartment, in this incredibly tall sky-scraper glass building.

"This -- This is beautiful! Did you get it like this, or did you decorate it yourself?" Gaolang smiled at you, seeing as you like his apartment. It was minimalistic, with soothing tones of white and light blue, but here and there, some Traditional Thai trinkets, statuettes and paintings were gracing the place.

"It's all my style. I had it done from the scratch." he informed, carrying your luggage in your room, watching from the corner of his eye as you danced around the place and admired every piece of decoration.

"You have fantastic taste. My home is a lot smaller than this, but it has similar colour scheme. Thought it's not white 'cause it gets dirty so easily and it turns yellow... I don't really have the time to clean everything every day. And instead of light blue, I have a specific shade of aquamarine." he could see how much you love your home by the way you talked about it. "Oh! Look at this - It's so beautiful... These colours are out of this world." Gaolang looked back to see what had captivated you so much - And it was a traditional painting of a peacock, that had gold used as paint for parts of the feathers.

"I have a peacock painting back home too. It's almost as big as the wall it's put on. But its colours are more... Watercolour based. They're very soft. But... This is the opposite, with bold, vivid colours, and it still maintains its beauty and grace."

"It represents beauty, wisdom, openness and purity in our culture. We generally value rich colours. The blue is a peacock's main colour - In Buddhism, it represents knowledge, as well as love, kindness and peace." Gaolang was happy to see someone genuinely interested in random tidbits - And he loves speaking of his country and culture more than anything in this world.

"Oh, really? Blue is my favourite colour. It feels so calm and peaceful. No wonder it has such lovely symbolism." he hummed in agreement. "Actually - I was wondering. Since you're so into symbolism, do the colours of your outfits when fighting mean something? I always see you in yellow and black and ---..." you suddenly stopped, slapping a hand over your mouth. "And I sound like a stalker fangirl again, please forgive me, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Don't worry, you're not. Nobody asked me that before - People usually don't care about things like that, they just focus on the fighting, and I can't blame them for that. That's why they go to a match, after all." he invited you to the living room and came over with a beautiful coffee set and poured so elegantly that it almost fascinated you. "Yellow is a colour that transforms Pride into wisdom and uniformity. It reminds me not to get vain, despite the power of my right fist with which the Gods have blessed me with. That's why I generally gave up on public sports and became King Rama's bodyguard." though you might not have noticed it yourself,

Gaolang saw the sparkles in your eyes, pure admiration, at the way he was speaking so humbly. He was gratified and honoured. "Black has more meanings. One of them is that it brings a certain power when contrasting the gold, and it's used to show the unmatched power of deities... But it is also used to transform hatred and ignorance into clarity and truth."

"I've never heard of these meanings for colours, I'm fascinated. I could listen to you speaking all day and not get tired." that smile of yours was so genuine and sweet, that it encouraged him to speak more - That is until a weird guy spidered his way for tens of floors... Outside... And he was glued to the window.

🥇Gaolang's day was ruined. He wanted to let that dumbass fall to his death... To end this idiocy forever...

🥇But ultimately, he got up and opened the window, allow the idiot to get inside... And screech his name so hard that he feared the glass might shatter... For the whole building. It also startled you enough to flinch - This weirdo, with his weirdo grin and excessively loud voice was challenging the Thai to a fight.

🥇The look on Gaolang's face screamed murder. It was actually hilarious to watch them interact - And now you realised what the King meant when he mentioned his friend and how different he was. This must be Saw Paing, the eternal rival... And pain in the ass.

🥇From that day forward, Saw Paing would appear randomly, out of nowhere, and end up trailing behind you and Gaolang like a lost puppy, much to the boxer's complete dismay.

🥇Even on a date, he can't get rid of this guy - He almost expected him to appear from inside the soup!

🥇You even spotted him barging into the bathroom while Gaolang was showering - That was uncanny to watch.

🥇That is how you ended up gathering the courage to come up with different excuses to drive him away, when you wanted to spend time with your favourite person.

🥇Gaolang is at the Palace. Gaolang is running an errand. Gaolang is doing groceries. Gaolang is taking piloting lessons. Gaolang is praying at the temple.

🥇Gaolang is balancing the TV antenna on top of the building to get some signal.

🥇No matter how ridiculous it was, it somehow made Saw Paing calm down immediately leave the apartment, much to your relief. And Gaolang's too, as he was hiding.

🥇You started teasing the poor man, but quickly stopped when you saw how miserable it made him.

🥇The King made fun of Gaolang for adopting a puppy with his new lover - It was a painful joke to hear.

"So... Not to sound shallow, but I always had this... Maybe not criticism, but maybe... Curiosity." you sit on a comfortable chair near the railing from where you were watching the Boxing finale with Gaolang. "I like watching public sports... But I don't like the restraints. I get why they're important, but I want to see something with no rules, just an all-in fight until someone gets knocked out. I first started watching Boxing with dad when I was little. It was really fascinating... Eventually, I started watching compilations on Youtube, and... Of course, Muhammad Ali is a God, even compared to people now. Actually - I'd have liked to see you fight him." you smiled at him - And he nodded.

"It would have been an honour to face the great Muhammad Ali in a boxing ring, I agree." he acknowledges the match up with a smile.

"So, in a real fight, where anything goes... Won't Boxing be at a slight disadvantage? So - I found out about Muay Thai. Punches, elbows, knees, feet - It looked like a style where anything went... But soon, I realised, that this style is focusing a lot of the kicks, and not enough on the punches, right? So, my idea was - What if you combine these two styles? Will you get the ultimate fighting style?" Gaolang looked at you in surprise. Though his thinking was slightly backwards, having started as a Muay Thai champion and only then focusing on Boxing, the main idea was the same.

"Was that how you found out about me?" you nodded.

"Sort of. It's not difficult to stumble upon the name of world-renowned champions in any kind of subject. The internet is filled with that. I didn't actively search you. Instead, I was looking up some details about the WBC streaming, and a picture of you came up - Gaolang Wongsawat, the Thai God of War - Or something like that. It got me curious if you had any experience in your own country's national sport." you explained lightly.

"And I did." he nodded.

"You must be a beast when it comes to real fighting, considering you've combined these two styles and perfected them. I'd love to watch you fight." Gaolang blushed slightly - He agreed with that notion - Real fighting, like a real warrior, as opposed to an entertainer for a TV-streamed public sport. He didn't look down on the UFC champions and what not... But the real deal fighting always happened in the underground.

"If the opportunity arises, I'll have you cheering for me."

🥇And he did, as soon as he entered in the Kengan Tournament.

🥇You'd cling to his arm the whole time, listening to his fighting commentary through every match - It was fascinating how much knowledge he had, even of styles that he wasn't into.

🥇But you weren't a newbie either, so you surprised him with your own trivia and proper knowledge, which impressed him.

🥇You'd massage his shoulders and neck before a fight, and though it flustered him a bit, feeling your hands touching and trailing against his bare skin, he ultimately appreciated it... And wanted more.

🥇You also helped him put on his boxing coat - And he realised that he wanted you there for him for every Boxing match he had.

🥇And bring him water.

🥇And literally just stay there and look up at him with that angelic face of yours, and encourage him, even though he didn't need it.

🥇His fight against Kaneda gave him a revelation, and a proper friendship with that guy, and he started hanging out with the two of you quite often.

🥇Would also often speak to you of Kaneda's wisdom and drive to become stronger, something that everyone should aspire to become.

🥇It was also a reminder for him not to step into the succumbing darkness of vanity in which he'd often find himself in, when he automatically underestimates his opponent and thinks him lesser.

🥇He got humbled quickly in his fight against the Fang though - It was, by far, the most fascinating match from the whole tournament to that point, and even though Gaolang lost, you were grateful to have been a witness to it.

🥇You comforted and congratulated him for his fight, and though he was ashamed for his loss... He was clearly pumped up and proud of himself - He had a completely positive outlook on the situation.

🥇Even though you were freaking out when you tried to massage his right hand and realised that he wasn't feeling it at all, and it was very much shattered.

🥇You were so visibly afraid that he wouldn't be able to fight as he wished anymore, that he used that limp hand of his to cup your face, and he pulled you into a sweet kiss, smiling so tenderly at you that you froze and got flustered.

🥇But then he placed his forehead against yours, holding your face dearly, and thanking you for caring so much about him, his well-being and his feelings.

🥇It was easier to get through all the difficult times, if you were there, by his side, holding his hand and smiling at him so lovingly.

🥇You were also there to calm his anger down after his fight and complete disappointment at Saw Paing's giving up discourse.

🥇How DARE he give up? Pathetic.

🥇You're there with him during the coup d'etat, and you're afraid because every enemy has weapons and wants to kill the weaponless fighters - But your fear is that Gaolang's hand might really be put out of function if he tries to fight.

🥇So when the spear-guy leapt forward to fight the Thai who was the self-appointed protector of you, Kaneda and Cosmo - You took advantage of the enemy's attention being set on the boxer and grabbed the spear's long, wood handle and hit it hard against your knee, breaking it and taking the blade-half into your hand, threatening the enemy with a smug expression on your face.

🥇The greatest challenge is met when you underestimate your opponent - Or if you don't even consider them an opponent to begin with.

🥇Thankfully, the Chairman's bodyguards and whatever other assassin bunch he had came by to defeat the other enemies, so Gaolang's right hand was saved!

🥇It was also then that you confessed to him that you actually did know some martial arts, more or less because you wanted to find a fun way to workout, and kick-boxing videos were super cool to follow - Especially with music blasting in your ears.

🥇Also, because you were so interested in different kinds of fighting styles that you studied techniques and tried to apply them in real world - Punches, kicks, jabs... Though there wasn't much you could do without a proper instructor and a poor victim to practice on.

🥇Impressed, Gaolang said he'd teach you, although he wouldn't actually do anything to hurt you - He knows his power, so not even as a joke would he tried to even throw a feint at you.

🥇You can practice on him all you want, he doesn't mind - In fact, he probably won't even feel your hits.

🥇He's incredibly encouraging of you, and he wants to help you have a healthy life style (even if you already have one) - By this point, you may or may not have moved in together already, so it's much easier to do things together, like going grocery shopping (and watching him haggle with the sellers) and even better - Watching him cook.

🥇If you thought he was beautiful fighting, he was even more beautiful doing domestic things, cooking being your favourite probably.

🥇He also randomly finds himself humming or singing under his breath... It's usually his national anthem, or traditional songs, but his voice is beautiful, so you don't mind - The mere fact that you can hear him sing is enough to make you happy.

🥇But when you go to karaoke together, his friends all groan when it's his turn and he sings the Anthem. Again. For the hundredth time.

🥇Moving in with Gaolang also means moving in with Saw Paing, unfortunately.

🥇Yes, he becomes a good friend of yours, and at least he actually agrees to properly fight you so you can train -

🥇But he ended up barging in on the two of you trying to get intimate. Multiple times.

🥇At this point, you're surprised the Burmese is still alive.

🥇You, yourself, ended up leaping on him and strangling him, more than one time, when he scared you after getting out of the bathroom, after having taken a bath and walking out in a bathrobe only.

🥇You asked Gaolang if Saw Paing was secretly a ninja, otherwise you can't explain how he ends up in your house like that.

🥇But when you actually do get to be intimate with Gaolang, everything is beyond perfect.

🥇He's the perfect man.

🥇Imagine - Dim lights and soothing fragrances from candles, soft, romantic songs playing in the background, flowers, a romantic dinner and sooo many compliments.

🥇Small, sweet kisses that gradually turn more passionate, lingering caresses, embraces, confessions and so much worship.

🥇Everything he does to you, and especially the closeness of your bodies flushed against each other, suffocates you with the most tender love there is.

🥇Your intimate nights together aren't often, as you're both very busy people, and usually, cuddling together until you fall asleep is the most satisfying way of ending a tiresome day.

🥇He's a fantastic listener and an even better advice-giver, so if you ever need to vent out or you have a problem, he'll hug you and say "We'll solve it together."

🥇He took you with him to the Kengan vs Purgatory tournament and had you watching from the fighter's room - But immediately regretted it when you had to witness the complete shit show that all the others made, 'trying' to choose who'd go first.

🥇It was you who looked at him and convinced him to go, sure that he'd win and boost the morale and confidence of your side.

🥇He put his forehead to his - Your special, intimate gesture - You needn't say anything, as it was the only 'I love you' you both needed.

🥇Through his whole fight he heard only his name being chanted by your sweet, angel voice... And shockingly enough, Saw Paing's gritting one also.

🥇What the hell possessed him to bring a large flag with his name printed on it, and just wag it around?! The fisherman also had a flag... What a shit show.

🥇Gaolang was happy.

🥇He was motivated even more to win, and he dominated the whole second half of his match, and when he delivered the finishing blow to his legendary opponent---

🥇He lost by ring-out.

🥇He wanted to bash his head against the nearest wall to the point he wouldn't wake up anymore from the shame and disappointment he was feeling.

🥇Not only once, but twice now, he lost in a Kengan match.

🥇This wasn't only a humbling experience, but a humiliating and soul-shattering one, to the point that not even your embrace or comforting could stop him from hiding his face by keeping a towel in his head.

🥇Even though Tokita and Kano praised him for being the true winner, it meant nothing.

"HA! ALL THAT FAME - AND FOR WHAT?! THAT GUY IS THE SHITTIEST FIGHTER I'VE EVER SEEN! THIS IS THE UNDERGROUND, NOT SOME WEAK-ASS TV SPORT! YOU'RE JUST A LITTLE BITCH!" though it was the side of Kengan that had to choose first who to send for the next match, a Purgatory jerk was already in the ring, shaming the poor boxer.

🥇In a split second, you were dressed in shorts and a crop top, your cute dress discarded on the ground, and the Kengan fighters watched in disbelief as you punched Lihito out of your way and nonchalantly walked towards the ring, all whilst putting on Gaolang's boxer coat.

🥇Your name being screamed with distress fell on deaf ears, as well as any mock or taunt from your cocky opponent.

🥇Gaolang stared with wide eyes and sheer horror at the fight happening before his eyes - But he also wondered, how the actual F U C K could you fight so well?!

🥇Never mind, he recognises some of that Burmese idiot's moves - God damn it, Yoroizuka Saw Paing, you're dead.

🥇He jolted to his feet immediately once he heard you speak in the ring, after you delivered your first countdown worthy punch.

"You dare tarnish Gaolang's legacy and speak ill of his strength, yet you were knocked to the ground by a woman who has nothing to do with fighting. If anything, you're, by far, Purgatory's biggest pathetic disappointment." since when were you so shady?! And what's with that harsh, cold glare?!

🥇You were the sweetest, softest, most tender angel - His beloved sweet girlfriend...

🥇Ngl he was kinda turned on, especially as you must have been truly angry that someone insulted him, to the point that you went headstrong into a fight like that. Reckless! As! Hell! But so hot.

🥇The whole place either remained breathless or erupted into loud cheer as you finished the match by delivering Gaolang's own Flash and uppercut the idiot right in the chin, knocking him out.

"You made fun of Gaolang and his right fist... Yet in the end... You were defeated by someone dressed as him, using his most famous move, performed with a right fist." you glared down at your fallen opponent, wiping the blood from your face with your forearm, making Gaolang's head spin. "If all Purgatory fighters are like you... No wonder you need to rely on ring-outs and countdowns. You're fucked." you scoffed, walking back to the Kengan fighters - With that cocky fighter smirk on your face.

You don't even get to hear those guys praising your clean win as you're pulled into a deep kiss by the Thai boxer who didn't want to let go of you.

"Don't do that again, please. You scared me into an early grave." your only flashed him that sweet, innocent smile of his.

Marry me.

---

Being in a relationship with Wakatsuki Takeshi... Being in a relationship with Yoroizuka Saw Paing... Being in a relationship with Kure Raian... Being in a relationship with Tokuno’o Tokumichi... Being in a relationship with Kano Agito... Being in a relationship with Gaolang Wongsawat... Being in a relationship with Gaoh Ryuki... Being in a relationship with Narushima Koga... Being in a relationship with Hatsumi Sen

[theanticool]

Royce Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba 1 - Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals

More throwbacks. This time, the longest fight in MMA history. The fight that would solidify Kazushi Sakuraba as the “Gracie Killer”.

Some context: Kazushi Sakuraba was a pro-wrestler for shoot-style promotion UWFi in the mid-90s. A standout amateur freestyle wrestler who placed top 4 in the All-Japan tournament in college, he took rather well to the shoot style of fighting that was taught in the UWFi’s gym, especially with the catch wrestling styles of Yoji Anjo and Billy Robinson.

With the promotion struggling, many UWFi (later Kingdom PW) wrestlers tried to grab attention by competing in MMA-style fights. This led to Sakuraba eventually competing in the UFC Japan heavyweight tournament (which he’d win). It didn’t save the promotion however and Sakuraba was kind of left in this new career come 1998. He joins Pride FC, a promotion made to promote a fight between his teacher Nobuhiko Takada and Rickson Gracie. Unlike his pro wrestling compatriots, Sakuaraba just keeps winning. Which is wild cause he’s often giving up 20-30lbs each fight. He rattles off 5 wins inside of Pride, submitting a number of BJJ black belts (unheard of at the time).

Eventually, Sakuraba is matched with Royler Gracie. The Gracie family is MMA royalty at this point. Royce has won 3 UFC tournaments. Rickson won two Vale Tudo Japan tournaments and the first ever Pride FC main event. The Gracies had not lost in decades of professional fighting. But then, Sakuraba manages to submit Royler via kimura. Drawing back to how Masahiko Kimura submitted Helio Gracie (Royler, Rickson, and Royce’s father).

The finish was controversial (Royler did not tap), so the Gracies decided to send Royce to defend their family honor in 2000 as part of the Pride FC Openweight Grand Prix. The Gracies ask for a bunch of rule changes - unlimited rounds, no ref stoppages, etc - for the Sakuraba match up. And that’s how we end up with a fight that is 90 minutes long.

[dootznbootz]

do you have a physical description of how penelope looks in your head??

lksjdf OH MY FUCKING GOD I ABSOLUTELY DO AND SHE'S HOT

Thank you for the ask, Niko!!!! :D

Thick straight black hair, no curls AT ALL. (Telemachus gets it all from Odysseus) And basically "Silver eyes" with larger pupils (being a naiad. (Odysseus is a very CLEAR "You're Athena's blorbo" but Penelope is sneaky with EVERYTHING she does. )

I have it where both Helen and Penelope have black hair and blue eyes (I don't want to spoil but it's very important in my fics) but that's where their physical similarities end. Helen's eyes will "strike you down. like her father's thunder" aka her eyes kind of stun you. honestly, if she were to close her eyes she'd be like any other human. still incredibly beautiful but not "bewitching" in "I can now think". Sometimes Helen will close her eyes if she realizes someone is kind of stunned to give them their "mind" back. Penelope's are silvery blue (Athena actually spoke to her before she spoke to Odysseus 😳 it was just by a few months though.) and Odysseus explains it where Helen's are about "force" in a way, as a child of Zeus. Penelope's "water you down" aka they expose you, erode you, like a river would. His eyes are stormy gray.

S-She…She splits his storms clouds 😭 and makes him "reveal himself"!!!!!!

So for the Spartan girls I have "sport talents" as:

Penelope: Swimming (duh), running, boxing (or ancient Greek Pankration!!! Look it up!!! it's neat!!!), She is VERY about swiftness and strategy. Hitting the "openings in armor" type of gal. Weakpoints.

Helen: Wrestling, Javelin, and Spear work all around. Girl is STRONG. She will FLATTEN you. Paris is LUCKY he had the power of god and anime on his side.

Clytemnestra: Chariot racing Horse girl, discus. She's very good with aim and direction...Foreshadowing with a certain axe OwO

And yes, all these girls constantly challenge each other. (Although probably gonna have Clytemnestra older. (my timeline was fixed with your idea, thehelplessmortals 😭))

Because Penelope is into boxing she has a bit of a crooked nose. While she's a naiad and can heal, her nose was one of the first BIG healing she did on herself. It's something she's a bit self-conscious about. (Odysseus broke Irus' fucking JAW in the Odyssey with one blow. I have it where these two were GOOD boxers.)

Because of that she's kind of built like a lightweight MMA Fighter. She's got broad shoulders basically no bust but... if you were to look at her you wouldn't think anything. She's quite short and "small" (the whole being born in a pond thing, one month early. goes with her duck myth) and while she's muscular it's one of those, "She has to flex to see it". (something she uses to her advantage) I like the thought of her being "sneaky" and "unassuming" in every possible way but then pulling the rug out from under you. >:D HOT GIRL SHIT.

With her being a Naiad she's quite pretty. She's like, an "average Naiad" though (she takes quite a bit after her dad). And ofc, she has the sharp teeth and pointed ears!

The thing is though, while in Sparta and other areas, Nymph/mortal marriages are common...Not so much on Ithaca. Nymphs are kind of reclusive there. So when she comes to Ithaca, she kind of intimidates others. :') And people don't know how to be around her for like, the first six months causing her to feel even lonelier than most who leave their homes to rule with their new spouse. (Menelaus has plenty of friends in Sparta for example) other than Odysseus, and her in-laws, who ofc dote on her and adore her. (Odysseus' parents were thankful he finally found someone he actually LIKES. even better that she's really cool.) Odysseus is trying SO hard to make her feel welcome by the whole kingdom though, introducing her to the Naiads there. (was a culture shift at first) but their subjects were...a bit SCARED of her. (also her being from another place.)

Rando: "My king…You know your wife…she uh… she eats raw fish. That she catches in her MOUTH" Odysseus: "And?? She's a better fisher than you ever were."

Rando: "Are you not afraid of your wife's sharp teeth?!" Odysseus: "Fear her grin?? I'm no fool or coward; it's my goal. Say shit like that again and I'll kill you"

That's like, the first 6 months though and their fears go away very quickly after as she does some things that help the island her "coming into her own" as queen :D

People start questioning things again when fertility becomes a possible issue :'( but OdyPen push through all their tough times 😤

[ex0rin]

Frank Grillo in Kingdom (4/?)

[t3acupz]

adrey | she/her | mostly hannibal

i ship hannigram & brownham & beasthawk

t3acupz on ao3 & x & discord

in this blog you will find:

jonathan tucker, hugh dancy, and mads mikkelsen

hannigram fanart and some of my own meh art lol (i’m trying to contribute to the fandom!)

edits that i did on my phone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

hannibal meta because that’s what i think about 24/7

kingdom (the mma show)

a lot of matthew brown ♥️

[randomisedgaming]

A list of of the Xbox 360 DLC still up to buy in the store! Along with all delisted DLC we are aware of.

With just over a week list we've put together a quick list of every game where the DLC is still up to buy in the UK store. They may be delisted in your region however. This list was made using the all search list, which is still up at present expect it to disappear on the 29th of July.

Link here: https://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Games/All?SortBy=Title&PageSize=90

Change the letters GB to the letters used for your region of the website North America is US for example.

All the games listed have at least one of their DLCs still up in the store, some DLC content may be delisted already and a few still show in the store and can't be purchased as we found out with the Map Pack for Ninety-Nine Nights II yesterday when we tried to buy it.

This is a full list and includes all games, some have the DLC on Xbox One / Series others do not. Some games like N+ and Lost Planet 2 have DLC on Xbox 360, but not in the Xbox One Store.

Some games like Fallout 2 and Star Wars The Force Unleashed have complete version. Others like Mass Effect, Borderlands 2 and Two Worlds have version with some of the DLC on disc, but not all.

I've tried to list free DLC and Compatibility Pack for games, but as I've done this in a hurry I haven't labeled them all. Hopefully I didn't miss any from the official marketplace webaite, but let me know if I did.

I've tried to list all games with their full name, but the shop's A-Z has some odd listings, something they list them by the word "the" but not others. Some games are just initials, some use the full name like Tony Clancy's etc.. others skip the author name and just use Splinter Cell.

Example Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes turns up in the C listing.

I've included a very rough list of delisted or unobtainable DLC at the bottom which is a work in progress. At some point in the future, I might try and turn this into a full list of games with DLCs.

All Xbox 360 Games With DLC in UK

0-9 Numbers

0 Day Attack On Earth

0D Beat Drop

3D Ultra Minigolf

A

A Kingdom For Keflings

A World Of Keflings

AFL Live

Alan Wake

Alice: Madness Returns

Alien Hominid HD

Alien Spidy

Alien: Isolation

Aliens Vs Predator

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Anarchy Reigns

Ancients Of Ooga

Arcana Heart 3

Arcania

Arkanoid Live!

Armored Core V (Has Compatibility Pack)

Armored Core: Verdict Day (Has Compatibility Pack)

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed Rogue

Assassin’s Creed IV

Assault On Dark Athena

Asura's Wrath

B

Band Of Bugs

Banjo Kazooie: N N B

Bastion

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: The Telltale Series

Battle Vs Chess

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 4

Battlefield Hardline

Battlestations Pacific

Battlestations: Midway

Beautiful Katamari

Bellator: MMA Onslaught

Binary Domain

Bioshock

Bioshock 2

Bioshock Infinite

Birds Of Steel

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend

Blazblue Continuum Shift (Has Compatibility Pack)

Blood Bowl

Blue Dragon

Bomberman Battlefest

Bomberman Live

Borderlands

Borderlands 2

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Brink

Brütal Legend

Bubble Bobble Neo!

Bulletstorm

Bulletwitch

The Bureau

Burnout Revenge

C

Command & Conquer 3

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3

Command & Conquer Kane's Wrath

Caladrius

Call Of Duty 2

Call Of Duty 3

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Call Of Duty: Black Ops II

Call Of Duty: Black Ops III

Call Of Duty: Ghosts

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare2

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare3

Call Of Duty World At War

Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood

Capcom Arcade Cabinet

Carcassonne

Carnival Games: In Action (Subtitled: Monkey See, Monkey Do In North America)

Cars 2: The Video Game

Castle Crashers

Castlestorm

Castlevania HD

Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows

Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows 2

Champion Jockey

Child Of Light

Choplifter HD

Civilization Revolution (Three DLCs are not available for purchase on Xbox One)

Conflict: Denied Ops

Costume Quest

Crackdown (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Crackdown 2 (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Crazy Machines Elements

Crimson Alliance

Crossboard 7

Crystal Quest

D

Dance Central

Dance Central 2

Dance Central 3

Dance Evolution

Dante's Inferno (Trials DLC Delisted)

Dark

Dark Souls

Dark Souls II (Has Compatibility Pack)

Dark Void

The Darkness

Darksiders II

Darkstalkers Resurrection

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3

Dead Island

Dead Island Riptide

Dead Or Alive 5

Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round

Dead Rising

Dead Rising 2

Dead Rising 2 Off The Record

Dead Space

Dead Space 2

Dead Space 3

Dead To Rights Retribution (DLC is free, but only in North America, delisted in Europe)

Deadfall Adventures

Deadliest Warrior

Deadliest Warrior: Legends

Deathspank: Thongs Of Virtue (Achievement DLC)

Defense Grid

Destiny

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls

Dirt 2

Dirt 3 (All bar Online Pass delisted, needed for online play and only sold in Xbox 360 Store)

Dirt Showdown

Dishonored

Disney Infinity 3.0

Disney Universe

DmC

Dark Messiah Might & Magic: Elements

Dogfight 1942

Dollar Dash

Domino Master

Doritos Crash Course

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Duke Nukem Forever

Dungeon Defenders

Dungeon Siege III

Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires (All Free)

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 (All Free)

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce

Dynasty Warriors 7

Dynasty Warriors 8

E

Earth Defense Force 2025

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (DLC not sold in Xbox One store)

Enemy Front

Enslaved

Escape Dead Island (All Free DLC)

Exit (All Free DLC)

Exit 2

F

F.E.A.R. 2

Fable Anniversary

Fable II

Fable III

Fable: The Journey

Fallout 3

Fallout: New Vegas

Fantastic Pets

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 4

Fight Night Champion

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Fist Of The North Star: Ken’s Rage

Fist Of The North Star: Ken’s Rage 2

Front Mission Evolved

Frontlines: Fuel Of War

Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight (Free Game With £40+ Worth Of DLC)

Fruit Ninja Kinect

Full House Poker

Funtown Mahjong

G

Guilty Gear Xx Accent Core Plus (Free DLC Upgrades Game To R Revision)

Game Of Thrones

Gears Of War

Gears Of War 2 (All Free)

Gears Of War 3

Gears Of War Judgement

Get Fit With Mel B

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime

Gin Rummy

Goat Simulator

Golf: Tee It Up!

Gotham City Impostors

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V

Grid Autosport

Gripshift

Gyromancer

H

Halo 3

Halo 4

Halo Wars

Halo Reach

Hard Corps: Uprising

Hell Yeah! Wrath Of The Dead Rabbit

Hitman: Absolution

How To Survive

Hydro Thunder

I

IL-2: Birds Of Prey

Ilomilo

Infinite Undiscovery (All Free)

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Iron Brigade

J

Joe Danger Special Edition

Joe Danger 2: The Movie

Just Cause 2

Just Dance 2014

Just Dance 2015

Just Dance 3

K

Kameo

Kane & Lynch 2

Kane And Lynch: Dead Men

Killer Is Dead (One DLC Smooth Operator Pack not sold on Xbox One)

Kinect Fun Labs (Air Band, Avatar Kinect, Battle Stuff, I Am Super!, Junk Fu, Kinect Rush: Snapshot, Musical Feet,

Mutation Station) (All Free) (Some Expansion Delisted)

Kinect Party - Base Game

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports: Season Two

Kinectimals

Kinect Joy Ride (All Free)

King’s Quest – Ch. 1

King's Quest

King Of Fighters XII, The

King Of Fighters XIII, The

Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends

L

L.A. Noire (Complete retail edition features all DLC and the PS3 exclusive case not sold on Xbox 360. It also restores the DLC quest back to their intended place in the story making for a far better version of the game, than the base one)

Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2

Lego Batman 2

Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham

Lego Marvel

Lego Movie Videogame

Lego Rock Band

Lego Star Wars II

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Lego Jurassic World

Lego Marvel's Avengers

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Life Is Strange Episode 1

Lightning Returns Final Fantasy Xiii

Lma Manager 2007

Lococycle (Free DLC Is Required To Play Game, So Download It)

Lode Runner

Lost Odyssey

Lost Planet 2 (One Pack Not Sold In Xbox One Store, Map Pack 1)

Lost Planet 3

Lumines Live! (Two free DLCs are only up for download on Xbox One)

M

Madballs Babo: Invasion

Mafia II

Magic 2015 (Free DLC Magic 2015—Garruk’s Revenge Must Search For As Game Is Delisted DLC isn't)

Marathon: Durandal

Mark Of The Ninja

Marvel Puzzle Quest

Mass Effect (Pinnacle Station DLC Only On Xbox 360)

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 3

Max Payne 3 (All Free Compatibility Packs Needed For Online)

Medal Of Honor

Medal Of Honor Warfighter

Mega Man 9

Mega Man 10

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Slug XX

Meteos Wars

Metro 2033

Metro: Last Light

Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

Might & Magic Clash Of Heroes (Achievements)

Mighty No. 9

Mindjack

Mirror's Edge

Monday Night Combat

Monopoly Plus

Moon Diver

Mortal Kombat [9] (Most DLC Is Delisted Only Compatibility Packs Remain Up, Must Use Search To Find)

Motionsports: Adrenaline

Motogp13

Mud

MX VS ATV Reflex

N

N+ (Still Up, DLC Is Only Up On 360 To Buy, One Is Free)

Naruto Storm R

Nat Geo Quiz! Wild Life

Naughty Bear Panic In Paradise

Need For Speed Most Wanted

Need For Speed Carbon

Need For Speed Rivals

Need For Speed Undercover

Nier

Ninety-Nine Nights II (3 DLC's The Map Pack Said It Is Delisted In The Uk When You Try To Buy It And Errors. Use Search To Find)

Ninja Blade (Free DLC, Use Search To Find)

Ninja Gaiden II

Ninja Gaiden 3

Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge

Novadrome

O

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Wizard's Tower DLC Errors When You Try To Buy On Xbox One)

Omerta - City Of Gangsters

Onechanbara

Orcs Must Die!

Outpost Kaloki X

P

PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

Painkiller Hell & Damnation

Payday 2

Peggle

Perfect Dark Zero

Photo Party (Free Game / App For Xbox Vision / Camera)

Pinball FX2

Plants VS Zombies Garden Warfare

Port Royale 3

Portal 2

Prey (All Free DLC)

Prince Of Persia (2008 Retail Title)

Prison Architect: Xbox 360 Edition

Project Sylpheed (Free DLC, New Missions)

Prototype 2

Puzzle Arcade

Puzzle Bobble Live!

Puzzle Quest

Q

Qix++

Quantum Conundrum

R

Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show (Warning Do Not Buy Ubisoft Season Pass As It Doesn't Work)

Race Pro

Rage

Raskulls

Red Dead Redemption

Red Faction: Armageddon

Red Faction: Battlegrounds

Red Faction: Guerrilla

Remember Me

Renegade Ops

Resident Evil 0

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City

Residen Evil Revelations

Residen Evil Revelations 2 (Digital Edition)

Ride To Hell: Retribution

Ridge Racer Unbounded

Rise Of The Tomb Raider

Risen 2: Dark Waters

Risen 3 Titan Lords

Rock Band

Rock Band 2

Rock Band 3

Rock Band Blitz

Rocksmith 2014 Edition

Rugby League Live 2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Rumble Roses XX

S

Sacred 2 Fallen Angel

Sacred 3

Sacred Citadel

Saints Row

Saints Row 2

Saints Row IV

Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell

Saints Row: The Third

Samurai Warriors 2 (Xtreme Legends Upgrade, Expensive DLC)

Sanctum 2

Scarygirl

Scene It? Box Office Smash! (DLC Is Called Award Winners)

Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster

Skate 3

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Sleeping Dogs

Small Arms

Sniper Elite 3 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Sniper Elite V2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Sniper Ghost Warrior

Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Soltrio Solitaire

Sonic & All-Stars Racing

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Generations

Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)

Sonic Unleashed

South Park The Stick Of Truth

Space Invaders Extreme

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene

Spelunky (Game Delisted DLC Still Up To Buy Two Items)

Spider-Man 3

Split/Second

Splosion Man

SSX

Stacking

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

State Of Decay

Steel Battalion Heavy Armor

Stranglehold

Strania

Street Fighter III: Online Edition

Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter X Tekken

Stuntman: Ignition

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

Supreme Commander 2

T

Tom Clancy's Endwar

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Test Drive Unlimited 2

Texas Hold'em

The Crew (Bonkers I Know As The Game Has Had It's Servers Turned Off, But You Can Buy The DLC For This Dead Game!)

The Evil Within

The First Templar

The Gunstringer (one Is Free Two Are Paid For)

The Last Remnant

The Maw

The Outfit (All Free Map Packs)

The Raven Episode 1

The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1

The Walking Dead: Season Two

The Wolf Among Us

Thief

Things On Wheels

Thrillville: Off The Rails

Ticket To Ride

Timeshift

TNT Racers

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider Underworld

Tomb Raider Anniversary

Tomb Raider Legend

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

Too Human (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Trials Fusion

Trials HD

Tropico 4

Tropico 5

Two Worlds II (One Of The DLCS Is Not In Game Of The Year Edition And Has To Be Bought "Defense")

U

Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon

V

Vampire Rain

Vanquish

Vigilante 8 Arcade

Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown

Viva Piñata

W

The Walking Dead

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Warriors Orochi 3

Watch Dogs

Way Of The Samurai 3

Worms

Worms 2: Armageddon

Worms: Ultimate Mayhem

Wreckateer

Wrecked Revenge Revisited

X

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Y

Yosumin! Live

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Decade Duels Plus

Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels

Z

Zombie Driver HD

# - Symbols

虫姫さまふたり / Mushihimesama-Hutari-Black-Lavel (Japanese Game, DLC Listed For UK Owner Who Had The Game)

Delisted Games With DLC

Ace Combat 6

Ace Combat: Assault Horizons

Airmech Arena

Angry Birds Trilogy

Army Of Two

Army Of Two The Devil’s Cartel

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Batman: Arkham Origins

Battlefield: Bad Company

Battlefield Bad Company 2

Chromehounds

Crysis 3

Eets: Chowdown

Fantasia: Music Evolved

Final Fantasy XI: Seekers Of Adoulin (Online Only)

Forza Horizon

Forza Horizon 2

Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 4

Grid 2

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Hellboy: The Science Of Evil (DLC Was Never Released, But Achievements For It Were Added)

Hunted Demon’s Forge (Pre-order DLC Only Never Sold)

Just Dance (Need To Research Which Others Had DLC Likely Most)

Kinect Nat Geo TV

Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning

Kinect Sparkler (Delisted Still In Store Won't Let You Buy It)

Kinect Star Wars (C-3P0 Background Dancing DLC Only Sold With R2d2 Xbox 360 Units.)

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle Of Doom

Kung Fu Strike

Lego Dimensions (Delisted, May Need The Lego Models To Obtain Some Of The DLC)

Lollipop Chainsaw (Pre-order DLC Only Never Sold)

Lord Of The Rings: Conquest

Magnacarta 2

Mercenaries 2

Minecraft: Story Mode

Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

Naruto Rise Of A Ninja

Need For Speed Shift

Need For Speed Shift 2

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Had Compatibility Pack)

Project Gotham Racing 3

Project Gotham Racing 4

Phantom Breaker:Battle Grounds

Pinball FX

Race Driver: Grid

Section 8

Skate 2

Skullgirls

Skydrift

Snoopy Flying Ace

Soulcalibur IV

Soulcalibur V

Syndicate (Limited Edition Version Had Gold Weapons And Scanner Never Sold)

Tales Of Vesperia

Tales From The Borderlands

Tekken 6 (Pre-order Only Content)

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X 2

Test Drive Unlimited

The Darkness II (Limited Edition DLC, never sold)

The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North (Weapon Included With Collector's Edition)

The Saboteur

Toy Soldiers

Toy Soldiers: Cold War

Trials Evolved

Undertow

World Of Tanks

Worms Revolution

Follow Randomised Gaming on Tumblr, YouTube, Twitch & Twitter for video gaming & video content! Buy us a tea on Ko-fi

[alexagirlie]

Saw some others doing this and looks like fun

Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Most of these are just in the bullet point /notes srages and only a couple are published but I'm counting them anyways XD

The Last Kingdom:

☆ MMA AU

☆ Bakery AU

☆ Monster they made me

☆ Taking Bebbanburg

☆ Stunt man Sihtric AU

☆ War of Hearts Series

☆ Danger Days Series

☆ Fuck Machine OT3

☆ Burnt Alive

☆ Music Festival Modern AU OT3

☆ Canon Era Prostitute Sihtric AU

☆ Necromancy AU

☆ January Omegaverse Challenge 2024

Dune:

☆ Ch 4 Magic AU aka We Daren't Go A-Hunting for Fear of Little Men

☆ Part 3 of A Night to remember

☆ Chapter 2 of Omega AU 1

☆ Ch 1 Omega AU 2

☆ Part 2 of the Paul/Duncan/Feyd omegaverse

☆ Part 3 of Close Your Eyes

☆ Moodboard Drabbleds: Sugar Daddy, Cyberpunk and Merpeople

☆ Part 2 of my Chani/Paul/Duncan AU

☆ Club Twink Paul AU

☆ Zombies AU

☆ Beautiful Boy AU

☆ Pirate/Lordling AU

☆ Harem/Concubine AU aka Fremen Duncan AU

☆ Reverse Little Mermaid AU

House of the Dragon:

☆ Another Life

☆ Ward

☆ Chiro!Aemond AU

☆ Jealousy AU

☆ Pegged Sequel

☆ Wolfgan

... there are so many here holy shit...

Okay so I'm not actually going to tag as many people as I have WIPs because I dont think I have that many writer friendos on here haha

No pressure tags: @whitedarkmoonflower @gemini-mama @mrsarnasdelicious @thelettersfromnoone @valeskafics @toms-cherry-trees @shadikaofdune @lord-aldhelm @nights-ofren @almostg @imnotoverlyobsessive @julyzaa @poetic-fiasco @the-common-cowgirl

and whoever else I have forgotten 😆

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Amulet with ankhs.

Period: Middle Kingdom; 12th-13th Dynasty

Date: ca. 1981–1640 B.C.

Place of origin: Egypt, Memphite Region, Lisht North (Tomb 954, Burial 954L, MMA excavations, 1921–22)

Medium: Quartz, gold

[apieters]

1000+ Posts!

I was going to make this my actual 1000th post, but the queue has a mind of its own. Oh well.

I decided, to celebrate my 1000th post, that I would draw a self-portrait of myself and my main OC’s, since I joined this site in order to post my personal art. I love these guys as only a creator can love their creations, and I wanted to symbolize how real they feel in my head in some fitting way. I don’t have anything fully written for these guys, but they each have fairly well-developed character biographies that I hope to bring to life in story form soon.

From left to right:

Peter the Marshal, my medieval fantasy character. I hope to write a fantasy story about him someday set in a land called Heimar, but I want to work on my writing skills before I attempt to do his story justice. If you want the story concept, though, it’s “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in Westeros.”

In case you’re wondering what I look like…now you know.

Chris Carnovo, my oldest OC. A swashbuckling tyrannosaur, Chris has finally found a home in my fanfiction/learn-to-write-a-story project, Swashbucklers of the Magic Kingdom. Chris is the fight choreographer behind all the Disney movies we know and love, but his fencing skills often come in useful whoever his friends find themselves in need—and in the wild world of the Magic Kingdom, many a Disney character finds themself in need of a good-hearted swordsman to help them out of some dastardly villain’s mess…

Leo King, an MMA fighter who loves his family and dreams of becoming “King of the Octagon.” His story concept is basically “Rocky with MMA and Anthropomorphic Animals.”

[velvetvexations]

If you're not big into martial arts, you might not have heard of sanda, originally created as CQC for Chinese soldiers. It's often decried by just about everyone as being, essentially...just MMA rather than having roots in traditional Chinese kung fu.

That's only half-accurate. I'll explain why, but I need to catch you up the nearly one hundred years before it's creation for context.

(CW for war crimes, brief mention of sexual assault, mention of Native American oppression, and political cartoons with a racist depictions of Asians - and as always, if someone knows better, please correct me)

The first thing you need to understand is the Century of Humiliation, a concept in Chinese historiography. The premise is that China was regularly fucked over from the 1840s to the 1940s when the communists took full control of the mainland. While this is a narrative heavily pushed by Chinese nationalism, it's not exactly wrong - they had it pretty bad, and thought not exclusively the fault of foreigners, a lot of it was, including the two Opium Wars where England and France wrecked China's shit for the right to keep the drug trade going. The Second Opium War is where the UK first got Kowloon, which would be followed later by the rest of what would become Hong Kong.

English Commerce

I tell you to immediately buy the gift here. We want you to poison yourself completely, because we need a lot of tea in order to digest our beefsteaks.

The Taiping Rebellion, from 1850 to 1864, is estimated to have cost up to about 30 million lives, compared to the American Civil War's 700 thousand. And let me tell you, it's crazy we don't talk more about the Taiping Rebellion, not only because of the devastation but because the rebels were a very strange branch of Chinese Christian that believed their leader to be the brother of Jesus Christ. Which...well, I guess that's also technically the West's fault, although Western Christians were heavily divided on how they felt about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and ultimately after some indecision and putting feelers out to the rebels, the West chose to back the Qing.

For the people who love the DDR because their enforcement of laws were not always necessarily the worst in the entire world for queer folk: the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was spectacularly feminist for it's time, way more than East Germany was pro-queer! Maybe consider switching over to Chinese Christofascism?

(I'm sorry, I'm going to be angry about that literally forever)

China would go on to badly lose the Sino-French War and Japanese-Sino War, the two together resulting in China losing suzerainty (essentially control of foreign affairs) over Vietnam and Korea, and a lot of their influence outside their own borders.

At this point, you can start to see how China was being treated by the West...and Imperial Japan, who, as we've discussed, were great big westaboos. Everyone wanted a piece, and it was a race to get the biggest. They didn't think in terms of what China wanted, they hardly considered themselves in opposition with China, but rather each other.

Putting His Foot Down Uncle Sam: Gentlemen, you may cut up this map as much as you like, but remember that I'm here to stay, and you can't cut me up into spheres of influence!

Needless to say, the Chinese were...not pleased with how things were going.

The traditional narrative is that the Qing's modernization efforts were, at best, a very mixed-success. There's been more questioning of that, though, since "modernization" is inherently kinna a Eurocentric term with arbitrary values. Just before the Japanese-Sino War, everyone was pretty certain "modernization" had gone great and they were going to crush Japan like ants. The Qing did face issues with corruption and firing shells that had their high-explosives siphoned to be sold off, but considering Russia has had to deal with essentially the same problem in Ukraine finding their reserve tanks to be hollow tin cans, I'd say that's fairly modern.

Social instability would continue to rapidly worsen after losing the First Sino-Japanese War, during which Japanese acts of brutality were enough, as I mentioned in my previous historical post, to elicit at least temporary scandal among the Western Powers Imperial Japan hoped so desperately to impress. Tensions were especially high with Christian missions, culminating in an incident in which two German missionaries were killed in an attempt to kill a third accused of rape. That led to Germany invading and taking away yet another piece of China's sovereign territory. Not helping things was that, because of special protections for the practice of Christianity forced on China by treaties from those prior conflicts, many bandits were "converting" or claiming to have done so in order to escape the law. And all of this is in the midst of serious natural disasters ruining lives and leaving people with nothing.

So that brings us to 1899, the main point of this post, and something you may have only heard of before in a throwaway line on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm talking about the Boxer Rebellion.

It was then that an escalating series of murders against Christians (missionaries and converts) and attacks on telegraph wires and railroads blossomed into something like but not quite a revolution, the most notable event being the Siege of Peking (Beijing), where over two thousand Christians and foreign civilians took refuge until the formation of the Eight-Nation Army, an alliance of Italy, Russia, the United States, the UK, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Japan, Germany, and France, invaded to rescue them.

You might assume that "Boxer" came from someone's name, or a major location, or something like that, right? The name actually conceals the reason I find the Boxer Rebellion so interesting, and why we're talking about it today. See, back then, kung fu was referred to as "Chinese boxing" in the West.

The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists were just one extralegal organization that flourished in late 1800s thanks to the Qing slowly losing their grip on governing even within some parts of their own territory. They weren't just anti-foreigners, they started out pissed at the Qing for the ongoing troubles, and fighting government control is where they got their start. Yet, they famously used the battle cry "support the Qing, destroy foreigners" - hey, wasn't this supposed to be a rebellion by an extralegal organization?

Ha - well - while she initially condemned them, Empress Dowager Cixi would later throw in with the Fists, at least partly because the prince stanned them so hard he met with her wearing one of their uniforms. This, it seemed, was a legitimate path to expelling all foreigners.

So, right now you're probably thinking back to where this post started. The natural conclusion at this point is that the Fists surely lost, but their martial arts were impressive, right? And then that became sanda?

Well.

No.

The movie Boxer Rebellion (1975) depicts martial artists jumping into crowds of armed soldiers and devastating them with the awesome power of kung fu. You might expect this to exaggeration typical of action movies, and it is, kinna. It's also only half of what the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists thought they were capable of.

The Fists believed their kung fu made them invulnerable to blades and bullets, including cannonballs. They thought they could fly. They thought ghost warriors would descend from the sky to help drive out foreign armies. Though they had some firearms, they were mostly armed with blades if anything at all. The Empress ordered the Qing military to assist them, but generals wisely chose to do the bare minimum or outright ignore the command entirely.

Even stranger was the legends that grew around the Red Lanterns. You can think of the Lanterns as a kinna women's auxiliary to the Fists, who spurned women lest they "pollute" their masculine magic kung fu and cause it to fail. The Lanterns were divided by age between Black Lanterns (older women), Blue Lanterns (middle-aged women), and most famously, the Red Lanterns, who were eleven to seventeen.

Like the Fists, Red Lanterns possessed magical powers. They could fly, but also, unlike the Fists, walk on water and stop guns, among other things. When Catholic women were accused of making that masculine kung fu magic fail by exposing themselves, the Fists resolved to wait for the Red Lanterns to arrive, since their magic would be immune to corrupting femininity.

I want to take a moment to say I know how all this sounds, and I've tried to keep my language serious at least in this section because I don't mean to paint the Fists as "stupid" for the things they believed. It's important to keep in mind the Fists were largely peasants driven by nationalistic fervor and desperation from how bad things had gotten thanks to foreigners, natural disasters, and the Qing's own corruption and internal failures. It's depressingly reminiscent of ghost shirts, which just ten years prior had failed to stop bullets during Wounded Knee. The population was despondent and angry, with little still left to lose. That led them to kill innocent people prior to dying themselves to an enemy they never had a chance against. People like Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, and others outright took the Fists' side at least in terms of "who started it".

More often than not, history is sad.

So the Boxers lost, badly. Empress Dowager Cixi was given a pass for siding with them because she was more useful on the throne than off it, but the Qing would fall about a decade later in the middle of trying once again to further "modernize". China fell a free-for-all between warlords, ultimately coming down to the Kuomintang's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. The two would (barely) work together to resist Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which quickly became part of World War II. Soon after they fell back into conflict, with the Kuomintang forced to retreat to Taiwan and still claims independence that the PRC still denies.

In Taiwan is the Republic of China Military Academy, which was known as the Whampoa Military Academy when it developed sanda in the mid-20s. It is, basically, MMA. Traditional martial artists certainly played a part in it's early history, but they were doing what Bruce Lee would fiercely advocate for decades later - "absorb what is useful, discard what is not". Foreign combat sports, like Muay Thai and (actual, Western) boxing were worked in as well. Like in MMA, a background in traditional martial arts can be helpful going in, but you're going to have to learn a lot more and probably unlearn several things as well. The biggest influence was actually the lei tai, raised platforms where Chinese brawlers engaged brutal and often fatal matches, sometimes with weapons even. Like, people had organs come out on the lei tai, it was nuts.

The reason MMA and sanda look so similar is that that's just what comprehensive and effective fighting looks like. It's the same reason England doesn't use gyroget ammo for their guns while Germany equips their soldiers with fully automatic crossbows. In video games, which I love with all my heart, fighting styles as diverse as sumo and capoeira are presented as more or less equally balanced, with different advantages and disadvantages. That's not how it works. We solved the optimal way to hold your arms and it's not like this.

You may have heard of Xu Xiaodong, a Chinese man trained in sanda who has a history of fighting and handedly winning against supposed masters of kung fu. The PRC hates him for that because, like with pseudoscientific traditional Chinese medicine, kung fu is a useful promoter of nationalism, and it's better at that if it keeps it's mystique as impenetrable as possible.

I would probably like a lot of modern Chinese martial arts movies if not knowing that they were bankrolled to be propaganda for the PRC, like the first Ip Man, which exists to further the myth of wing chun and remind everyone that Japan sucks for what happened during WWII. I don't think they're making many movies about the Boxer Rebellion.