#more like vertebreak my back

[i-should-have-studied]

All the General Character lists

zoloje yay

Urochordata

Exclusively marine and cosmopolitan, found in all seas at all depths.

Mostly sedentary, some free-swimming.

Simple (solitary), aggregated in groups or composite (colonial)

Size (0.25-250mm), shape, and color variable.

Adult body degenerate, sac-like, unsegmented, without paired appendages and usually without tail.

Notochord present only in larval tail, hence "urochordata".

Respiration through test and gill-slits

Mostly hermaphrodite. Fertilization cross and external.

Development indirect including a free-swimming tailed larva with basic chordate characters. Metamorphosis retrogressive.

Asexual reproduction by budding common.

Cephalochordata

Marine, widely distributed in shallow waters

Mostly sedentary and buried with only anterior body end, projecting above bottom sand.

Body small, 5 to 8 cm long, slender, fish-like, metameric and transparent.

Head lacking. Body has trunk and tail.

Paired appendages lacking. Median fins present.

Exoskeleton absent. Epidermis single-layered.

Notochord rod-like, persistent, extending from rostrum to tail, hence the name Cephalochordata.

Sexes separate. Gonads numerous and metamerically repeated. Gonoducts lacking. No asexual reproduction.

Fertilization external in sea water.

Development indirect, including a free-swimming larva.

Cyclostomata

Body elongated, eel-like.

Median fins with cartilaginous fin rays, but no paired appendages. Tail diphycercal.

Skin soft, smooth containing unicellular mucous glands but no scales.

Trunk and tail muscles segmented into myotomes separated by myocommata.

Endoskeleton fibrous and cartilaginous. Notochord persists throughout life. Imperfect neural arches over notochord represent rudimentary vertebrae.

Jaws absent in group Agnatha

Mouth ventral, suctorial and circular, hence "cyclostomata".

Dorsal nerve cord with differentiated brain. 8-10 pairs of cranial nerves.

Sexes separate or united. Gonad single, large, without gonoduct.

Fertilization external. Development direct or with a prolonged larval stage.

Chordata

Aquatic, aerial or terrestrial. All free-living with no fully parasitic forms.

Body small to large, bilaterally symmetrical and metamerically segmented.

A postanal tail usually projects beyond the anus at some stage and may or may not persist in the adult.

Exoskeleton often present; well developed in most vertebrates.

Bodywall triploblastic with 3 germinal layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.

A skeleton rod, the notochord, present at some stage in life.

A cartilaginous or bony, living and jointed endoskeleton present in the majority of members.

Pharyngeal gill slits present at some stage; may or may not be functional.

Digestive system complete with digestive glands.

Sexes separate with rare exceptions.

Pisces

Aquatic, marine, or freshwater, herbivorous or carnivorous, cold-blooded, oviparous or ovoviviparous vertebrates.

Body usually spindle-shaped, streamlines and differentiated into head, trunk and tail. A neck is absent.

Locomotion by paired pectoral and pelvic fins along with median dorsal and caudal, supported by true dermal fin rays. Muscular tail used in propulsion.

Exoskeleton of dermal scales, denticles, or bony plates covering body surface.

Endoskeleton cartilaginous or bony. Jaws are hinged. Notochord more or less replaced by true vertebrae.

Respiration by gills. Gill-slits 5-7 pairs, naked or covered by operculum.

Heart 2 chambered, 1 auricle and 1 ventricle. Venous or single circuit. Sinus venosus and renal and portal systems present.

Kidneys mesonephric. Excretion ureotelic.

Brain with usual 5 parts. 10 pairs of cranial nerves.

Sexes separate. Gonads typically paired. Gonoducts open into cloaca or independently.

Amphibia

Aquatic or semiaquatic (freshwater), air and water breathing, carnivorous, cold-blooded, oviparous, tetrapod vertebrates.

Head distinct, trunk elongated. Neck and tail maybe present or absent.

Limbs usually 2 pairs (tetrapod), some limbless. Toes 4-5 (pentadactyl) or less. Paired fins absent. Median fins, if present, without fin rays.

Skin soft, moist, glandular. Pigment cells (chromatophores) present.

Exoskeleton absent. Digits clawless. Some with concealed dermal scales.

Endoskeleton mostly bony. Notochord does not persist. Skull with 2 occipital condyles.

Respiration by lungs, skin and mouth lining. Larvae with external gills which may persist in some aquatic adults.

Heart 3-chambered, 2 auricles and 1 ventricle. Sinus venosus present. Aortic arches 1-3 pairs. Renal and hepatic portal systems well developed.

Brain poorly developed. Cranial nerves 10 pairs.

Sexes separate. Male without copulatory organ. Gonoducts open into cloaca. Fertilization mostly external. Females mostly oviparous.

Development indirect.

Reptilia

Predominantly terrestrial, creeping or burrowing, mostly carnivorous, air-breathing, cold-blooded, oviparous, and tetrapodal vertebrates.

Body bilaterally symmetrical and divisible into 4 regions: head, neck, trunk, and tail.

Limbs 2 pairs, pentadactyl. Digits provided with horny claws. However, limbs absent in a few lizards and all snakes.

Exoskeleton of horny epidermal scales, shields, plates, and scutes.

Skin dry, cornified and devoid of glands.

Endoskeleton bony. Skull with one occipital condyle (monocondylar). A characteristic t-shaped interclavicle present.

Heart usually 3 chambered/partially 4 chambered, 4 chambered in crocodiles. Sinus venosus reduced. 2 systematic arches present. RBC oval and nucleated. Cold-blooded.

Respiration by lungs throughout life.

Brain with better development of cerebrum than in Amphibia. Cranial nerves 12 pairs.

Sexes separate. male usually with muscular copulatory organ.

Parental care usually absent.

Aves

Feather-clad, air-breathing, warm-blooded, oviparous, bipedal, flying vertebrates.

Limbs are two paired. Forelimbs are modified as wings for flying. Hindlimbs are large and variously adapted for walking, running, scratching, perching, food capture, swimming, or wading.

Pectoral muscles of flight are well developed.

Endoskeleton fully ossified, light but strong and without epiphyes. Long bones pneumatic or hollow and have no marrow. Usually, there is a fusion of bones.

Heart completely 4 chambered. There is neither sinus venosus nor truncus arteriosus. Only right aortic arch persists in adult. Renal portal system vestigial. RBCs nucleated.

Birds are the first vertebrates to have warm blood. Body temp. is regulated.

Respiration by compact, spongy, non-distensible lungs continuous with thin-walled air-sacs.

Brain large but smooth. Cerebrum, cerebellum, and optic loves greatly developed. Cranial nerves 12 pairs.

Sexes separate. Sexual dimorphism often well marked.

Parental care well marked.

Mammalia

Hair-clad, terrestrial, air-breathing, mostly warm-blooded, viviparous, tetrapod vertebrates.

Body distinctly divisible into head, neck, trunk, and tail.

Respiration always by lungs (pulmonary). Glottis protected by a fleshy and cartilaginous epiglottis. Larynx contains vocal cords.

Heart 4 chambered with double circulation. Only the left aortic arch present. Renal portal system absent. RBCs small, circular, and non-nucleated. Body temperature regulated.

Brain highly evolved. Both cerebrum and cerebellum large and convoluted. Optic lobes small and 4 in number. Corpus callosum present connecting both cerebral hemispheres. Cranial nerves 12 pairs.

Sexes separate. Sexual dimorphism generally well marked. Male has an erectile copulatory organ or penis. Testes commonly found in a bag or scrotum outside the abdomen. Eggs are small, with little yolk and no shell.

Fertilization internal, preceded by copulation.

After birth, young nourished by milk secreted from mammary glands of mother.

Parental care well-developed reaching its climax in humans.

Mammals show greatest intelligence among all animals.

[lunarfeat21]

I HAVE ARRI-

*Instantly crashes down onto the floor*

OPINIONS ON THE RID2015 DECEPTICONS, INCLUDING THE INSECTICONS, NOW. Oki goodbye :]

*Runs away like a gremlin*

*waves* Come back at any time!!!

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Alright peeps [cracks fingers and knuckles], my overview opinions on Rid2015 ‘Cons:

Love each of their wacky designs, whether animal like or not (vehicons and insecticons included!). There’s a variety among them: bipedal, quarpedal, or to straight up slither like a snake. That right there is diversity! Plus we got some badass femmes!

Whether they be flyers, crawlers, grounders, or troublesome cyclones. Some have fire power, toxins, sub sonics, hypnotics, strength, etc.,

Each has their own way of speaking: rough, noir-like, gamer lingo, militia, posh, normal, or nonsense. More colorful than TF:Prime’s Decepticons (sorry tfp, my beloved), marking them more distinguishable. So much going on that I love about them!

When I checked out to remember their debut, they made me feel in a certain way, some made me laugh, others made me awe-strucked, and a few made me chill to the core when looking back to a particular episode. (Simacore, why the fuck did you (allegedly) murdered your minicons to make essentially zombie clone versions? Yo Steeljaw, why did you slaughter that Sharkticon if the rumors are true? Then where’s the evidence?)

What I don’t like, however, that when I go to tfwiki, didn’t have a list for one-time rogue Decepticons (like Zizza, Hammerstrike, Flich, Vertebreak, etc.) or Starscream’s henchmen on the Decepticon section (though I’m puzzled about RoughEdge and Nightra, but that’s another time).

Not to mention that weird amardillo commando Stockade, I don't really see why he had any substance to the show, yet again some episodes are side quests (like s2 & 3 in Prime). I genuinely don't like him at all...

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That’s my opinion on Rid2015 Decepticons, and I hope I did justice to this!

 (After this, I’ll group the Decepticons based on personalities and that’s gonna be fun!)

[anosci]

(362-377 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26])

names and thoughts below cut

362/ Patricia Taxxon - TECHDOG 3 (2023) jotting down thoughts as we go like t1 oh… lyrics. oh… beauty. t4 bringing hella beats t5!! glass! t6 groovin :') t7 oh cmon why are these so good t11 is an otherworldly finale. like god damn i love the grooves in here in particular!

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363/ heRobust - Vertebreaker (2017) yeah its hard but im still not used to herobust doing wob? "Heavy Meddle" scratches that beat itch a bit tho, with that back forth beat "Status Busted" would be my fav song if not for the. yknow. yeah.

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364/ Patricia Taxxon - TECHDOG 4 (2023) lush and melodic. drifts. feels freeing. t3 rough start but i think this would be astoundingly good zone out headphone music t4 headfog max. a fav. t6 boid :) another fav t8 bt-esque :O t10 is a MASSIVE ending holy sht

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365/ Persian Empire - Kaya EP (2017) crispy beats. rotary organs. vibes :)

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366/ Patricia Taxxon - TECHDOG 5 (2023) this one's the secret "scary times" release and its damn good at it. wall to wall dour. some specific thoughts: t2 sentinel :O t5 man. this is a weird and cool vibe (beat) t7 is a bad dream. intense. t9 a small light in the dark. standout.

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367/ Patricia Taxxon - TECHDOG 6 (2023) i regret to announce my opinion that i think these tracks are too long. i love these soundscapes but not for 10 minutes a piece. that said, favs: t6, t8, t10. t11 astounding. cinematic even. this couldve been the end i think.

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368/ Patricia Taxxon - TECHDOG 7 (2023) it's the "feel nothing" lp, but like. "depression state" nothing. it does a good job but i have mixed feelings about it. EXCEPT track 9 has such an insanely specific feel id describe as "child alone in a room and doesnt know why". respect.

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369/ Lila Tirando a Violeta & Sin Maldita - Accela (2023) has an insano in the braino soundscape(o) "Talking Trees" wouldve rearranged my dna if i heard it in 2012.

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370/ VA - WILDCHIP != WIN (2017) mix bag etc well…hm. wildchip doesnt really grab me as strongly i guess? idk. that said, "Throwback Days" holy shit that's smoov. love the way the FM wobs are incorporated here

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371/ Space Dimension Controller - Na Púcaí (2023) chill timbre tech no(?) good nighttime music "Multiples Of None" in particular is sticking with me

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372/ Lee Gamble - Models (2023) slowchill for chill day B) haunting more in timbre than tonality. sounds like ancient RNN generated vocals, some of this. cool effect "XIth c. Spray" prolly my fav here!

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373/ VA - Nanosweep 32 (2023) a nice lil bout of dance floor nano sweeping. "Insufficient all" has an interesting flow. not chill but not intense? "vapor trail" amalgam vibe

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374/ VA - Metal 5 (2017) eh. predisposition bias tho. enjoying the FM metal appearing in "Mechanical Wolf" "Running down the Hill" is my fav but absolutely not metal at all. "Hornet" is my fav that is also metal

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375/ Alva Noto - HYbr:ID II (2023) understood as soundtracks to sodium lights. "Elastic 1" hit good w/ those chord stabs "Elastic 2" hits harder. some sort of bubbling intensity. "Field 1" low key banger with that beat

--- November ---

376/ VA - SPC Echoes 2 (2017) mix bag etc. much love for the rez in "dazzling!" "bed bed" is funny bc i'd consider it a morning sunshine title. ig thats still bed! "aurora surrealis" funnest snes-pusher. "Alternate Timeline" amazing soundscape! overall fav

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[blueikeproductions]

So I’ve also seen some brief discussion on if RiD15 should return in some capacity. For the most part, people say no because the show told its story and it doesn’t have much else to really offer, but that characters like Strongarm, Fixit and Thunderhoof should totally come back in other media.

RiD15 is one of my personal favorite series and while I generally agree it doesn’t NEED to return, I do think there’s enough mileage to do more with it in comic form. One thing that comes to mind are adaptions of Titans Return and Power of the Primes, as Combiner Force was clearly a reaction to Combiner Wars. These plots would see Steeljaw’s Pack (which now includes Vertebreak, Simacore, and Springload for story purposes) having discovered Doradus does indeed exist, and it was an Ancient Titan that crash landed on Earth, but its Titan Master had perished in the crash. This entices Steeljaw to become the Titan’s new Master with Vertebreak’s help and use Doradus as the new capital of his Decepticon homeworld.

The second plot involves Steeljaw, like Megatron before him, attempting to acquire the power of a Prime when the Bee Team and the Clays uncover a peculiar Cybertronian relic Fixit can’t identify. When it’s discovered the relic is part of a Prime, Steeljaw steals it and grafts it on himself in an effort to become the new Prime for his homeworld scheme, jokingly referring to the Primes’ shady past anyway.

Some scattered episodic stories that come to mind is expanding more on the Clays, where the mom drops by for a visit, but so do the Decepticons, and it’s up to the Autobots to keep a sense of normalcy while she’s visiting… until it’s revealed Mrs. Clay is actually an agent of Unit E like Fowler and has Been looking for the Decepticons attacking the base. Sending in a team of her own, made up of toy only Autobots who are also part of Unit E. Another episodic story involves Bee reuniting with his old friend Dealer, but Strongarm suspects something is up when Bee and Dealer’s old Cryo-Condor Decepticon “foe” DoubleDealer appears, which unearths a secret of Dealer’s.

If these are not applicable, then jump to two main arcs intended to close out the series proper. First, the Star Seekers (the intended later arc villains for Prime until that was dropped) come to Earth to settle a score with Team Prime, but has to contend with the close enough Team Bee instead. This conflict results in the Autobots being exposed to the city, where like Animated, are generally regarded as heroes. This comes crashing down in the final arc, where Steeljaw resurfaces, and in a loose adaption of Megatron’s Master Plan, uses his silver tongue to manipulate his way into finally controlling the planet and labeling the Autobots as frauds and villains. When the ruse is dropped, and Steeljaw enslaves the humans to convert the planet into a Decepticon home world, a small resistance with the Bee Team and Mrs. Clay’s unit sees one final clash against Ultra Bee and the surprise combiner SteelReign (as Steeljaw had managed a long game scheme to both get his Pack back AND the Enigma of Combination as his final trump card).

Steeljaw is captured and the Autobots’ mission is seemingly over until one final The Adventure Continues! tease occurs with the Bee Team charging off to face Earth bound threats like MECH, VENOM and other Decepticons like Ratbat who have stakes in the left over Great War tech on the planet….!

[stuntiteachers]

Masterpost of all the Post-series conclusions to Stuntiteacher AU stories

Mun: Here you go everyone! All the conclusions to stories I’ve had in my head these past few months, I hope you enjoy them for as long as it took me to write them all. I think I’ll probably draw some of these for my own enjoyment, as well as in general stuff regarding my favorite designs and what not. Like previously stated, I’m not done with this blog yet, this is more a precaution and just an in general “open endings to the stories”. I know some of these things are things people wanted to know about!

Post-Stuntiteachers AU

Please note that Cybertron and Earth are treated as two continents on the same planet in this AU.

Bee Team and Steeljaw travelled back to Cybertron to confront the corrupted high council. Very similar to in canon events, Cyberwarp managed to be a reckoning force that took Cyclonus down. The five were sentenced to prison, with Cyberwarp being in a separate jail and with a lessened punishment for her actions.

The new council is set up, with Windblade having to leave her teaching position in Earth until Cybertron elects their new council properly. Steeljaw, having the most authority regarding Decepticon affairs at that point, becomes an ambassador for Decepticons both in jail and out (until Soundwave and/or Starscream come out of their comas). He chooses to return to Earth to be with his own allies but keeps communications open and active with the Autobots to keep his post (he wants to make a change happen, and this is his best opportunity). Bee and his team return to their true home in Earth and resume their teaching/police jobs.

But you’re all here for the shipping side of things, so here we go on post-series fates.

Bee and Steeljaw awkwardly become friends through the Autobot/Decepticon alliance. At first it was still just strictly work related meetings but over time Steeljaw would just pull stuff to get his attention. Nothing past platonic, but an interesting development to both of their characters. Bee becomes more aware of what life is like for the Decepticons and becomes more sympathetic, while Steeljaw learns from Bee how to be a better person and strengthen his own existing relationships with his teammates and partner. After a while, they decide to make life easier for them work wise and do video chats every now and then (in private locations cause you don’t need cops finding out where your hideouts are).

Sideswipe and Strongarm both come out and confess their affections to Windblade when she returns back to Earth, and awkwardly ask which one of them she would consider dating if interested. Windblade takes a day to think, and decides if it was alright with them, she’d like to date them both. The three of them are very happy together, even if Strongarm and Sideswipe still squabble like children every now and then.

Grimlock and Drift remain good friends after Drift confides in Grim how he’s not particularly interested in romantic affairs (Grim is totally understanding about it and started asking before giving Drift big hugs). Drift even assists Grimlock in attempting to try asking Bumblebee out. Bee, although extremely flustered and nervous at the advance, accepts.

Slipstream and Jetstorm grow up with their ambitions of wanting to be police rookies and maybe one day becoming private investigators. They both suspect they’ll end up chasing down Airazor and Divebomb one day, as the two are trying to become bounty hunters like their dad. But until then, in their teen years, the four of them became close friends, and try double dating for a while, much to their fathers’ hesitation (“I’m not becoming an in-law to HIM no matter what”).

Fixit becomes an official un-official addition to the Clay family, moving in with Denny and Russell. He’s extremely happy every time he’s referred to as family although he lacks a proper connection to them in terms of title (“This is Fixit! He’s family!” “So what, your uncle or?” “He’s family!”). Fixit is also on great terms with Russell’s mother, funny enough, they bonded quickly.  When they got to college, Russell and Hank, who recently transitioned, became roommates.

They’ve never been mentioned in this AU, but Optimus and Ratchet got married and went on a month long honeymoon vacation when everything was over that marked the start of their retirement until they were ever needed again. I don’t make the rules…except I do, and these grandpas need a break.

A number of the captured Decepticons were given revised trials and changed sentences after Steeljaw became a temporary part of the council. The more violent and likely to cause harm cons stayed, but ones with less malicious motivations were granted pardons under the guise of “being a part of the mind control plot from the previous council”, thanks to Steeljaw’s manipulation. This allowed him to free his previous pack team of Thunderhoof, Quillfire, Underbite and Clampdown as well as some cons like Fracture, reuniting them with their families and loved ones. In addition to this, Decepticons were given more rights in their government, granting them more job opportunities, resources to shelters for the homeless cons, and marriage and adoption rights (proper official ones instead of the shady ones they got away with for years).

After they awoke from their respective comas (a few days apart ironically), Starscream and Soundwave were told of what the High Council was trying to do in terms of trying to summon Megatron. After a very one sided conversation between the two former commanders, they both understood exactly what it meant when Megatron left them both behind, Soundwave facing the grim acceptance at last and Starscream slowly but surely taking a step forward to his own mental recovery by not pursuing his abuser for a satisfaction he might not even get. Once hearing about how there was elections for a new high council, Starscream went to run for an official position promoting rights for the Decepticons while also bringing Cybertron to equal footing in terms of alliances (essentially taking over Steeljaw’s temporary position), while Soundwave, true to his nature, worked by his side if only to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble and was actually following through with what he was saying. The two do well to mark a significant change in the Cybertronian government system, and although neither knows this, Megatron is extremely proud of the two of them.

Steeljaw and Thunderhoof finally got a proper sit down talk about their relationship, thanks to Bee’s side assistance with helping Steeljaw understand Thunderhoof’s side of things. They decided to separate for a while, just to give each other a healthy amount of distance and time to figure out where to go from there. Six months or so later, they started meeting up again as friends and within a year start dating again, far happier than they were before.

Quillfire and Springload started doing the odd travel expedition together once Back and Forth became teenagers and could be left alone with the house for a few days without too much chaos. During one of which, they found an undiscovered ancient civilization, which to Springload’s mind was his long lost Doradus, much to both of their pure joy and happiness. The archaeological find gave the family enough financial stability that Quillfire didn’t have to always steal for Springload’s medication, and Springload was given enough credibility that he was hired to work with other history seekers professionally. Springload thanked Quillfire for all his support when they brought their kids back to see “Doradus”, and proposed to him (Much to Back’s excitement and Forth’s bemoaning about going to a wedding).

Underbite and Scowl do pretty awesome together. After being together for five years, they end up adopting a baby from Shadow Raker and raise him together (they choose to never get married out of personal preference). They raise a little one named Stomper, affectionately called Stompy, who’s as destructive and excited as his dads are. They love their little one, with Scowl acting as a stay-at home dad for the first few years before switching with Underbite. Scowl genuinely loves giving his son a chance to be whoever he wants to be in life, a choice he didn’t get to have growing up. Thunderhoof and Clampdown also have a tenancy to visit specifically to see the kid, both having a weakness for little Stomper, melting their hearts every time. It’s legitimately the only time where no death threats are made by Thunderhoof.

Clampdown is still as sneaky and information filled as ever. Never really locked down to one place, he’s just doing his own thing, gaining few friends and more people wanting his head. He’s honestly fine with it though. He’s looking out for himself in the best way he can, and he knows when life gets too hard he can always crash at one of his few friends’ places for some kindness and positivity.  

Crazybolt and Slicedice, after being together for twenty five years, immediately got married when the law was passed. Slicedice bawled he was so happy, which made Crazybolt tear up, which made their employees wanna gag over how sickeningly love dovey it all was. They invited practically every con they knew, it was a fun time all around.  

Vertebreak and Nightstrike pretty much never changed their ways. Kept being the murdering duo they were, only now they changed workshops every now and again. In addition, Wingcode started joining them upon finding out about her brother’s way of avoiding capture (“My boyfriend destroys the bodies for me”), much to both of their displeasure because, oh man, is she prideful. Not to mention acutely aware of everything they do, so they got interrupted a lot any time they wanted to be romantic.

Glowstrike, Scorponok and Saberhorn’s business got officially recognized and they started allowing Autobots and non-Cybertronian raised humans into the neighborhoods they owned. Media broadcasted this as a kind gesture ushering in a new era of peace and unity between factions, but really they stopped caring, money is money. Their relationship was good and functional until Glowstrike ended up collapsing one day, much to her partners’ immense fear and concern. After taking her to a hospital (a good proper one, thank you new laws) they found out she was pregnant with twins and that it will take a lot of her if she keeps them. This lead to a conversation the three weren’t expecting to have, with Scorponok worried for Glowstrike’s well being, Saberhorn worried about parenthood and Glowstrike worried about how this’ll change things for them. All of course, boiling down to the question of “do they keep the kids or not”. It took them a week after finding out about it to decide to keep the kids, under Glowstrike’s request to have a quick group marriage before they’re born and before she starts showing (because she refused to get in a wedding dress for that and she’d be damned if she couldn’t have a nice dress for her day).  They had two healthy little girls named Lightbreak (taking after Saberhorn) and Firestrike (taking after Scorponok), and Glowstrike (although grateful her daughters were born) had her husbands’ take care of the babies the most in the first week, wanting to isolate herself for a while after the whole ordeal before going into her full motherly duties.  

Nightra and Scatterspike are happily in love. Neither rushing things too much, but just enjoying each other’s company to the fullest. It was very hard for her to say goodbye, but eventually Scatterspike did move out of the Scavenger residence in an effort to live with her girlfriend and pursue work in construction. She still tags along for the big scavenging trips in the winter though. Nightra keeps her work as being a thief, although she admittedly enjoys the pay she gets from the cops for tipping them off to some really nasty criminals she works with.

Paralon eventually gets gently rejected by Dragstrip after trying a proper confession (Dragstrip mostly was just wincing cause he’s pretty bad at reading these things in general), but wasn’t too worse for wear. He’s still got his ambitions to make a name for himself, so he started experimenting with his talents by trying a lot of different jobs. He hasn’t found anything in particular to pursue yet, but he’s hopeful.

Thermidor and Clawtrap are still as bickery as ever, and after Scatterspike and Paralon moved out, it got worse for a while. Being alone with each other for so long made them remember how much the other irked them, at least with the whole group they could avoid each other. It took a while, but eventually some of the other cons got fed up and forced them into a couples therapy-like session with Kickback (who considers himself pretty neutral with all relationship-like shenanigans he seems to get wrapped into). After answering in stubborn and snarky attitudes for majority of the questions, Kickback managed to sneak some truth serum (courtesy of Scatterspike and her experimental syringes) into their drinks, and they started spilling what they actually loved about each other. It was messy and embarrassing as heck, but it worked out in the end, and they could actually admit out loud that were dating.

The Corvicons are doing pretty alright for themselves. Filch has been doing really well gathering her shiny things to sell, but she’s also made formidable improvement with her customer service, becoming a favorite of frequent customers. Boostwing one day comes home with the proud statement of having successfully asked out his shiny friend from the scrapyard he visits (it was Kickback), and that motivated Jacknab to properly pursue Razorhorn (“He’s shiny to me! He’s really stupid shiny!”). Pilfer is perfectly content staying single for a while longer, amused by his brothers’ antics in courting.

Through a lot of emotional comfort and confiding between themselves, Shadelock and Roughedge started dating, Roughedge gladly being Shadelock’s shoulder to lean on on the hard days and Shadelock giving Roughedge all the love he deserves. Wildbreak cried when Roughedge told him, while Dragstrip just sighed heavily over his stupid partner being stupid.

After being worn down, Motormaster eventually accepted trying to fix things with Shadow Raker. At least that’s what it seemed, but Motormaster actually had a plan of faking it until he could reach a point where he could destroy Shadow Raker’s heart like he did to him all those years ago. Slashmark and Heatseeker avidly mention how stupid that plan was, holy shit, what a STUPID PLAN, but Motormaster is honestly king of stupid ideas so he goes to that dinner date an hour later than he should’ve been, watching Shadow Raker wait in the cold the whole time. Thing is, as the date goes on (and on, because Shadow Raker refuses to let the night end yet) both of them start picking up on facts from the other regarding that “betrayal” that separated them. After going to the warehouse in question, both tried to recount the whole event in detail and after a while, they figure out what actually happened was one of their mutual enemies set it up so while Motormaster got arrested, Shadow Raker would come out of hiding to save him and would lead to setting them both up for an assassination attempt, but there was miscommunication and Shadow Raker didn’t find out about the arrest until much, MUCH later, when the damage had been done. Motormaster lost it when he figured it out, and after smashing some things in the warehouse to vent his rage, started hardcore crying cause all these years he’s been hurting over hating someone he loved for something that wasn’t even either of their faults. Shadow Raker laughed through his own tears, cause he almost forgot how emotional his partner could get. They embraced and Motormaster really couldn’t understand how Shadow Raker could wait for so long for him, and he replied saying Motormaster was worth it, he was always worth it. They got back together, and in a little less than a year got engaged like they wanted to be since the war days ended.

As a result of the reunion, Motormaster told his team he was aware of their relationships (“Very, VERY aware”) and that they have his permission to be open about it and that he’ll stop wearing his own copies of their rings out of possession (Shadow Raker side commented it was to wear his own ring to which he was promptly cut off by an embarrassed Motormaster). The other Stunticons were ecstatic about not having to hide or lie or be apart anymore and they all went out to celebrate and as a result came out to their fellow cons. There was a lot of cheers/groans from the cons that had bets going on about them.

Heatseeker and Slashmark didn’t change too much in terms of their relationship, although parties and gatherings were a lot healthier for Slashmark, not having to bite his tongue or drown his sorrows in alcohol. And Heatseeker was more than happy to have his favorite person next to him. The group still continued to be pretend teachers to new generations of cons, however Heatseeker and Slashmark actually found that they really enjoyed being teachers and started going an extra mile with their jobs with some extracurriculars for the students that wanted them. In addition, with the new laws in place Heatseeker found himself motivated to making sure his students wouldn’t suffer in their youth like he once had, and any time he noticed one of them not having a consistent lunch or new bruises, he’d pull them aside and ask them what was up, and if it was bad, let them know about soup kitchens and shelters for the nights it gets too hard. In addition, if he knows their parent personally he’ll make sure to make their life hell cause “c’mon, is this how you want to go down in their life? As the asshole they want dead?”. Slashmark and Heatseeker also decide to show sympathy to their teammates and gave them their extra mattress in return for a week off of their after hour crime jobs. They used that week to have a trip to Cybertron, just the two of them and their homeland’s sights. They got married a few months after Dragstrip and Wildbreak did.

Wildbreak and Dragstrip actually managed to end up having some good luck for once. Their jobs ended up getting them more money; their quick work and (in Wildbreak’s case) good attitude got the attention of some of their employers and they got raises. They managed to get enough to move out of their shitty apartment building and into a better one without roaches or awful landlords, with a similarly small apartment, but now with a decent bed. They still aren’t overly fond with their teaching jobs, but they aren’t quitting those. They do, however, get into some new weekend jobs through their hobbies. Dragstrip got to test out new race cars thanks to Kickback, Crazybolt and Slicedice’s jobs, while Wildbreak would volunteer at Shadow Raker’s foster care to take care of the younger kids. It was weird at first, having separate jobs, but both enjoyed it enough to make it work out, still happy to come home to each other. After many years of consideration and consulting others on it, Dragstrip did eventually go to Vertebreak for top surgery, Wildbreak by his side as long as he could. His dysphoria was still present, but Dragstrip did find it worked out well for him, occasionally patting his chest every now and then in pride (Motormaster continued to provide his own advice out of mutual experience). He also stopped smoking since he had to two weeks prior to the surgery anyway (and Wildbreak never was fond of it, he noted). Wildbreak was actually the one to properly propose; nothing fancy or public, just the two of them having a simple candlelit dinner in their little apartment, with Wildbreak proceeding to list off all the things they’ve done in the years they’ve been together and how he hopes they’ll still have plenty of new adventures to come together. It was beautifully cheesy, cause Dragstrip actually wanted to propose to him the same gosh darn night and they both just kind of collapsed on each other laughing and crying over how stupid they were but if that wasn’t them, who knows what is. Their wedding was sweet and simple, and after of few months of being newlyweds, they started talking about potentially adopting a kid.

Thanks for reading everything up to now! I hope you’ve enjoyed :D

[hcstealth]

Back In Action

Introduction Sonic Mania! What's Up With Me HCGE Status Other Projects Closing

Introduction

Wow, it's been a while since I've done this! I've got a lot to talk about today, so hang in there...

Sonic Mania!

It's been a crazy ride, and the response has just been fantastic! I'm glad that so many people like this game so much! If it has to be said, I certainly would like to do another if the opportunity arises :P

There's some standard stuff.. although I worked on this game for Sega, that doesn't mean they're involved with or endorse anything else I do, anything I say or do here is something I'm saying or doing personally and not Sega, blah blah blah

It's out there, too - people have opened it up and had a look inside already. NDA is a thing so I can't get super-specific on some things, but I would like to talk a bit about some stuff people have already found

First up is the "Egg Janken" boss. Two words, probably confused by the lack of spaces in any filenames. Without getting too detailed, it was one of a number of concepts we had very early-on, and as things do, its design, function, and place in the game sort of evolved over the course of nailing down the project design. Its name "Janken" is indeed as some know, the name of the Japanese form of "Rock Paper Scissors", which is the game it plays with you to determine who gets hurt. Some people have commented that "you always get hit", but actually the object was meant to be placed higher than in any demonstration to-date. Specifically, around 16 pixels higher than the most recent video demonstration as of this writing. It's also been speculated that the pattern is random, but this is only true on the final hit as a "panic" maneuver - the patterns for the first two hits are indeed very predictable (although different from each other). As I've mentioned in an interview somewhere, the very first level we created was actually an early version of Studiopolis Zone Act 2, which is what we initially showed to Sega, and how some of its elements ended up in the reveal trailer. I implemented this boss for demonstration in that act - the first boss ever implemented in this game. Not bad for just-then learning to use a new version of the engine, eh? :P

Next, there are the "SP500" printer objects, fictional upgraded relatives of the Sega SP400 "plotter printer" for early SC computers. Incidentally, I also implemented one of those - the ink-using version. That version, in particular, has some additional functionality that I don't think anyone has worked out yet.. It's a little complicated, but I'll tell you this - it involves another one of the tile planes. To a lesser degree, there's also the "Acetone" object which I don't think anyone has connected with this group..

Also in a recent interview, I mentioned that the functionality of some bosses had evolved throughout development. It's a bit of a tricky setup, but you might just be able to find an earlier incarnation of one of them that didn't quite pan out. You've already found the original arena!

Well, I've had my fun.. anything else remains a mystery :P

At least until, I dunno, a week from next Tuesday? Maybe not.. could be confusing

What's Up With Me

Life-wise, the biggest thing is that my wife and I are preparing to move- We've bought a house! It's well-known that we currently live in LA. The new house is in Riverside, but that's still relatively close. We're set to move in by Oct31, so we'll still be dealing with a bit of prep-work until then, and then the actual move. There's also my elderly mother-in-law who will be staying with us, so we'll be handling her transition as well. If anyone wants to help us furnish the place and/or ensure our stability, I'll be talking about that in a follow-up post :P

Otherwise, now that Sonic Mania has been released, I can start looking into my own projects again. I already have, actually!

HCGE Status

When I put it aside for Sonic Mania, I was in the middle of a big restructuring of the file system that had a few perks - it's more modular, more-easily rearranged, more things can be integrated into the editing interface as it evolves, and more things can be tracked and named with the "alias" system. I'm not sure if I've actually mentioned this before, but the structure of the data files is pretty far along. I was hoping to finish that up before making another release, but I might go a slightly different route

The new, more versatile editors I showed off a while back are already much better than the original fixed-size ones integrated directly into the game window, but are lacking polish. I could probably tidy them up for release quicker than I could do anything else, so I may attempt that first just to get the ball rolling with improvements

As previously mentioned, I'll be moving relatively soon, so my other platforms are already packed away and therefore I can not test updated builds for release. If I'm able to release anything before that time, it will be Win/Lin/Mac, and other platforms will follow after I've settled in. For all I know, it'll take that long to prepare a decent set of release builds anyway...

I've added a few other new features as well, but I won't talk much about them right now (maybe you can pick a few out in upcoming videos). I can say, though, that I think people will be very pleased for them to finally be included. I just need to solidify how these features are manipulated by the end-user...

Beyond that, I still plan to develop tutorial text/video and more examples once a few of the usage overhauls are complete. Most of what you would learn now will still be carried over, though, and I will be providing support to help anyone eager enough get started right away. There's just no sense in postponing those things to create tutorials when, after they're complete, the presentation will be off anyway

Meanwhile, there are still plans to complete Fantastic Franklin, though this will happen a bit later. If you remember hearing of "Vertebreaker"/"SpineLash"/"Bone Rattle", there were some unfortunate circumstances that caused us to have to put the game on hold, though the core team still wants to complete it. For now, we've re-grouped on a new title that I personally think is going to be pretty fun. It's currently in very early development and using a lot of placeholder material, but I'll let you peek at it just so you can see some progress-

Other Projects

Certain "fan projects" and the like are still under consideration. My previous post discussed the status of Sonic Megamix. This is still the case - I would still like to clean up the existing game for presentation and complete and release my engine restructure for the SegaCD/MegaCD's SUB-CPU if time and ability permit. Again, though, because of my upcoming move, my hardware is already packed away and I will not have access to it until after we're settled in at our new house. I will probably push for some kind of HCGE release first anyway, but I do intend to push this toward completion over time

Closing

That was quite an info-dump! You might have noticed that this post has an index of links at the top. I've been sectioning off my longer posts in hopes of making them easier to take in, so I figured the index should help even more if anyone wanted to break it up or was looking for specific information. I'll probably be doing that from now on when I have so much to say at once

Anyway, thanks for reading!

[neoraven]

NWA TNA Episodes 2+3, June 2002

Here are my thoughts on the next two weekly PPV episodes of NWA:TNA.

this move won two titles

There's a lengthy recap package of last week's major stuff. Sign spotted- "Heyo I’m Drunko 4:20". Same. Don West is wearing the same Hawaiian shirt as they are not hiding that this is the same taping as last "week". A TNA chant overcomes the announcers until Jarrett kicks us off.

Challenge Match Jeff Jarrett vs Scott Hall w/ Jackie Fargo and Toby Keith

At least some Total Nonstop Action starts in the ring. It's a little blatant that Jarrett, the evil heel, is still playing the hero face role. But whatever. Scott Hall is still trying decently hard here. Southern wrestling crowds, god bless 'em, pop pretty huge when Hall reverses a sleeper into a sleeper. The announcers are selling the exchange of punches at the 5 minute mark like it's trading headbutts at minute 29 of a G1 climax match. K-Krush saves Jarrett from The Edge (not U2), and all hell breaks loose at ringside, including a camera man getting run over by Brian Christopher. Eventually Toby Keith low blows Double J before he can pull off The Stroke (phrasing) and the ref doesn't care.

Scott Hall via Angry American in 7 minutes. *1/2

Cheex w/ The Brown Eyed Girl vs Frank Parker

Cheex' gimmick is weighing over 400 pounds. The announcers tell us about Hall/Christopher vs Jarrett/K-Krush next week, and Alicia returns to ringside to get a wad of money from ring announcer Jeremy Borash for some reason. They also put over next week's tag team title tournament during the finish. This is not good.

Cheex via gravity in 2 minutes.  1/4*

Grudge Match K-Krush vs Brian Christopher w/ Hermie Sadler and Sterling Marlin (NASCAR)

K-Krush does not rap to the ring. I'm ready for Ed Ferrara to leave the announce booth. They're giving us a match worthy of 2001 Sunday Night Heat. The NASCAR fellas crotch poor K-Krush with the middle rope to set up the Hip Hop Drop.  More faces cheating like heels via celebrities.

Brian Christopher via Hip Hop Drop in 5 minutes. *1/2

Announcers again put over the tag match next week, making the previous bits seem even more meaningless. Well, speaking of important things, time for the Lingerie Battle Royal for the title of Miss TNA. The women are all wearing odd scrubs/pajamas over their lingerie. Sign spotted "NWA Nonstop Whoop Ass"

Lingerie Battle Royal

Forgive me for not catching every move and elimination in order. The announcers are saying too many awful things for me to keep up with. Francine gets triple teamed fairly early and dumped leading to Ed Ferrara abandoning the announcer booth to console her. She starts whipping him with his own belt while the cameramen and announcers ignore the rest of the battle royal in the ring. Taylor Vaughn takes it, Francine strips and whips her anyways.

Taylor Vaughn in 5 minutes. ZERO.

Goldylocks is backstage with Apolo. Bobcat and David Young interrupt her chat and argue until Goldylocks 'cuts' the segment.

Apolo vs David Young w/ Bobcat

Apolo's music sounds like generic Carlos Santana, and David Young's is Motley Crue knockoff. Bobcat distracts David Young by flirting with every official at ringside. David Young hits his spinebuster finisher, but takes too long talking to Bobcat before missing a moonsault and falling to Apolo.

Apolo in 5 minutes via F5/stunner. *1/2

These matches are all kind of short, forgettable nothing affairs. I'm still on board for the X Title thing later, but this is very dire. Speaking of dire, Joel Gertner is in the ring talking about the Rainbow Express and homosexuality.

Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs The Dupps w/ Fluff Dupp - buuuuut The Dupps refruse to come out, lamenting wrestling hippies and "left-wingers", a frantic official convinces Chris Harris and James Storm to team up and run out.

Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Chris Harris and James Storm (Not America's Most Wanted)

What a start to the best tag team storyline I can remember for the length of the TNA Asylum years. After some back and forth, Lenny takes control and tags via kiss to Bruce. They keep control beating up Storm with a couple more kiss tags. Chris Harris is able to get his own clever cheating on to break up Lenny's "Tiger Tamer" submission. After a couple traded roll ups for 2, Harris is able to win yet another 5 minute match.

Harris and Storm in 5 minutes via Miscommunication Rollup. **

Ricky The Dragon introduces the champ, Ken Shamrock. The Sinister Minister finally interrupts a really boring promo asking all the "crackers in Huntsville Alabama to shut up" and introduces his Disciples of the New Church. Malice eventually ends up getting Shamrock with the chokeslam, holding on to the choke part until officials swarm the ring. We finally get to hear the New Church theme song, which is really great. At some point I'm going to add a theme song power ranking to these reviews. X Division time.

Double Elimination Round Robin for the X Division Title AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn vs Low Ki vs Psichosis

AJ comes out to a very bad Born in the USA rip-off. It's some kind of Round Robin / double elimination format, and AJ and Psichosis start us off. Styles survives the Guillotine Leg Drop and then quickly hits the Styles Clash for the first fall in about 2 minutes. Lowki speeds into the ring. AJ takes him out in about 3 minutes flat. Jerry Lynn speeds in, pouncing on AJ Styles and hitting a Cradle Piledriver in about 10 seconds. Psichosis enters the ring with a dropkick on poor Jerry Lynn's head. Jerry ends a fun sprint with the cradle piledriver in about 3 minutes. Psichosis is now eliminated. Low Ki and Jerry Lynn start going at it. Don West is calling this the greatest show on earth every other move. Low Ki reverses the cradle piledriver into an armbar, but still gets a gut wrench power bomb. After 4 minutes, Jerry reverses Low Ki's muscle buster finisher into a sick DDT, and cradle piledrives him away. AJ is in the ring, and we're down to two. Styles has to get two falls on Lynn to capture the title and end the match. The young gun is throwing everything at Jerry and getting 2 counts. The Styles Clash finally gets Lynn away after another 4 minutes. Ricky Steamboat rolls in the ring as the final fall begins. They tease a couple double knockout spots before brawling to the outside, including Styles hitting a moonsault reverse DDT from the apron. AJ Styles wriggles out of a spinning vertebreaker, then Lynn hits some kind of powerbomb facebuster for 2. AJ gets out of the cradle piledriver, and survives a brainbuster by Lynn. The last fall is really benefitting from some time to breathe after the early blitz.  Lynn's superplex only gets 2, frustrating the veteran. Lynn goes back up top but AJ is able to fight him off and hit the Spiral Tap, which is odd to see as a higher-tier finisher than the Clash, and it beats Lynn after 10 minutes.

AJ Styles finally eliminates Jerry Lynn via Spiral Tap after 27 minutes to become the new and first X Division champion. ****1/4  Easily the best match in the short history of TNA, and worthy of the double taping main event.

The crowd goes wild, pyro, terrible Born in the USA theme blares, Ricky raises both of their hands. Tenay puts over all the tag team action and Shamrock vs Malice next week at ringside.

EPISODE 3

I lied, we are not actually at the TNA Asylum yet. We are live from the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville for a one night tag team tournament though to crown the tag champions.

Tag Tournament Match Cowboy James Storm and Chris Harris vs The Johnsons w/ Mortimer Plumtree

The announcers put over that the future America's Most Wanted was a last-minute addition last week. We are blessed with a Mortimer Plumtree promo on the way to the ring. Sign spotted: LET'S GO DICK. Also, the announcers are now calling him "Wildcat" Chris Harris. The Johnsons look infinitely better here than their first match. However, the Johnsons suffer a flash pin after the future AMW hits a good crossbody/dropkick combo move in 5 minutes. **  The Johnsons beat up their nerd manager when he tries to spank them after the match.

Scott Hall comes out to a live mic wearing an elementary school t-shirt. Jeff Jarrett interrupts with the zinger "Hey yo my ass!" The NWA President gets sweaty and yells at Jarrett; this heel vs authority storyline never makes sense. K Krush attacks Hall during the confusion unsuccessfully. Goldylocks is with a bloodied Chris Harris in the back.

David Jobber vs Monty Brown

The poor jobber in the ring doesn't get an entrance and also gets a last name drowned out by Monty Brown's entrance as we are introduced to The Alpha Male. He runs through a few impressive power moves in 2 minutes and ends with a fallaway powerbomb. 1/2*

Goldylocks is looking for Jim Miller backstage. The Hot Shots have no idea. Puppet the Psycho Dwarf is angry and not leaving tonight until he makes a midget bleed.

Tag Tournament Match Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Buff Bagwell and Apolo

The surprise no one ever wanted: Buff Bagwell. Alicia comes down during the match to get some cash from Ed Ferrara. The Stuff botches a cross body out of the ring awkwardly after a few minutes of boring action. Apolo and Buff hit their finishers, but the latter walks into a superkick that ends it in 7 minutes. *1/2 I think this means there's a rematch from last week for the tag titles. Apolo seemingly abandons Buff after the match, then he whines about being called Marcus since Buff has ruined his career.

Ken Shamrock comes out with a mic and the belt. He gets heavy WHAT chants as he goes over all the challengers he's already concerned with for his title, including the new Monty Brown. Thankfully, the lights cut him off and the Sinister Minister appears in section C3. The lights come back on showing Malice standing over a writhing in pain Ken Shamrock.

Goldylocks is backstage talking to NWA officials and Jerry Lynn about the tag situation, but he shoos them away.

Midget Showcase Match Puppet vs Stone

Sign spotted: Midgets scare me. Puppet issues an open challenge answered by vanilla dork Stone who slowly gets in the ring and takes a few weapons shots. Puppet wins with a TKO on a trash can after 3 minutes, then attacks the ref, the announcer, and Stone some more. Don West offers a high five and gets kendo sticked in the face. *

Francine vs Miss TNA Taylor Vaughn

Francine starts belt whipping Taylor immediately until the ref pulls it away. Taylor steals the belt from the ref and then whips Francine to the ground until the ref tries to take it back, then whips him too. The ref throws out the match before it starts. Zero.

Hermie Sadler comes out for another nothing segment until K-Krush interrupts in a hilarious t-shirt with a huge airbrushed image of his face.  He talks smack until Hermie walks away and unleashes a spear on the entrance ramp. They get pulled apart and K-Krush challenges for next week.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match Ken Shamrock (champ) vs Malice

A very sweaty Ken Shamrock saunters to the ring and Malice takes control stomping and beating immediately as the announcers put over that Shamrock is not at 100%. After a slow round of ringside brawling, Shamrock hits his signature moves ending with the belly to belly to pin Malice in 6 minutes and keep the title.

NWA X Division Championship Match AJ Styles (champ) vs David Young w/ Bobcat

Not sure why David Young deserves a title match after losing last week, but oh well. The Bobcat thing is still going on. AJ Styles hits some great stuff, and Young even does a nice middle rope moonsault to the outside that gets a 2 count in the ring. There's another good exploder suplex into the corner for 2. Young mostly keeps control despite some flurries from AJ. After going back and forth, Young spikes a great twisting spinebuster for only two. AJ rebounds from Young's finisher and ends up winning with a second rope Styles Clash in 9 minutes. **1/2. Pretty solid match, but it felt like AJ was in too much trouble in his first defense over a mostly jobber. David Young and Bobcat have more drama in the ring as the latter celebrates the loss.

Gertner and the Rainbow Express celebrate being the Tag Team champs in the back since all the teams are injured.

NWA Tag Team Championship Match The Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles

Borash announces they must have opponents.  Jerry Lynn spends a lot of time getting worked over by Rainbow Express while AJ sells his immediately previous title defense. The cradle piledriver gets reversed thanks to Gertner, and at long last, AJ Styles gets the hot tag and starts to go wild. Everything breaks down and Lynn hits the cradle piledriver inside and then takes the other tag member outside. AJ Styles hits Spiral Tap as Gertner trips over himself trying to break up the pinfall and they win in 11 minutes. *** Very solid match, setting up a cool simple story and putting AJ Styles even further over as a star and double champ.

Main Event Tag Match Jeff Jarrett and K Krush vs Scott Hall and Brian Christopher

We start almost immediately with a crowd brawl. Hall and Jarrett trade punches in the TNA Girls' Dancer Cages. They eventually circle back to ringside and Hall throws Jarrett across the announcer table. Christopher misses a Hip Hop Drop and after Hall and Jarrett finally return to ringside, it slowly settles back into a tag match. The bad guys isolate Hall for a really long beatdown segment. After an agonizing 10 count, Christopher gets tied up with the ref in the corner and misses a Hall tag attempt. Hall makes it back at long last and Brian pulls his hand and decks Hall. He still cleans house, including a ref bump, as it degrades into a 1v3. He drops K Krush with an Outsider's Edge, but Jarrett gets saved and goes right into the Stroke, plus a Brian leg drop for good measure. Jarrett pins at 12 minutes. *1/4. The turn was good and somewhat saved the idiotic middle of the match, but it still went on way too long.

The bad guys celebrate, with Jeff getting real "You ain't worth a shit!" He takes the dumb trophy from the opening and cracks it over Scott Hall as his stealth face turn continues. Double J continues talking about whooping the whole Titans offensive line as they sell Hall's injuries on a stretcher, with an elbow drop out of the ring added on. He exits after pushing Hall's stretcher off the entrance ramp just for good measure.

[indubtrinate-blog]

Fucking. Incredible. I’m at a loss for words on how to actually go into this......Watch for yourself if you want but I just don’t think anyone will top this set ever. He’s literally the god of this genre and nobody can say otherwise period. Perfect perfect perfect set. His visuals are everything to me. They put the crowd control on 1000000% i feel like. Lost Lands crowds are so so good. Pure fans X’s fans are the best people ever and they show OUT. everytime. So many things I love about edm festival crowds. I love the flag & totem kids. On every drop they go so hard it gives me chills to see I lovvvee ittttt. I love seeing the different country flags going crazy his fans come from everywhere and are LOYAL!!! and for good reason. its a fucking family. Even the rail kids at LL are amazing just soo happy having the best time. Ok. Back to the set, 

Tracklist: 2:22 - Excision - Vault 5:18 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Hoods Up ft. Messinian 6:10 - Excision and Datsik - Swagga (Point.Blank Remix) 6:48 - Riot Ten - Railbreaker ft. Rico Act 7:54 - He$h - Mike Tyson 8:17 - Dion Timmer - Berzerk ft. MagMag 9:24 - Bommer and Crowell - Yasuo (Ivory Remix) w/ DJ Fresh and Diplo ft. Dominique Young Unique - Earthquake 10:23 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Final Boss 11:41 - Ghost Town DJ's - My Boo (Excision and Dion Timmer Remix) 13:04 - Jauz and Ghastly - Ghosts N' Sharks 14:15 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Mirror 15:15 - Dirtyphonics - Boombox 15:58 - Excision - Codename X (Virtual Riot Remix) 17:01 - Minesweepa - Burning For U (Carbin Remix) 18:03 - LUMBERJVCK ft. wehavetojump - No Sleep Tonight (Carbin Remix) 18:30 - EH!DE and Midnight Tyrannosaurus - Planet Purge Pt. 2 (Spag Heddy Remix) 19:21 - EH!DE and Midnight Tyrannosaurus - Planet Purge Pt. 2 (Original Mix) 19:46 - Whyel - Bleed No More 20:40 - Trampa and Trollphace - Headbang Gang 21:43 - Aazar and Kovalenco Gennadi ft. Lil Jon - 2 Lit 22:46 - BadKlaat - Just Blaze It 23:33 - Adventure Club and Dion Timmer ft. Kai - Need Your Heart 2.0. 24:40 - Excision ft. MaDi - With You (Sullivan King Remix) 26:02 - Ivory - Pulse Rate 26:26 - MONXX and Walter Wilde - The Wonky Song (Excision and Dion Timmer VIP) 27:20 - Trampa - Runners w/ Mastodon - Casket 27:59 - Excision - Neck Brace (AFK Remix) 29:29 - Pegboard Nerds and NGHTMRE ft. Krewella - Superstar (Chime Remix) 30:07 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Africa (12th Planet and Antiserum) 31:50 - Spag Heddy and Tisoki - Jok 33:04 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Her (Wooli Remix) 34:45 - SQUNTO - Sayim (MONXX Remix) 35:58 - Excision - Tonight 37:41 - Jackal ft. Jammin - Gunshot (AFK Remix) 38:45 - Flux Pavillion - Let's Get It 39:48 - Zomboy and 12th Planet - Dead Presidents ft. Jay Fresh 40:24 - Dirty Audio and Rickyxsan - Gettin' That (Spag Heddy Bootleg) 41:10 - Zomboy - Invaders (Spag Heddy Remix) 41:41 - Brass Knuckles - Bad Habits (Excision and Dion Timmer Remix) 42:19 - Protohype and Dack Janiels - Savage 42:57 - Eliminate - Final Warning 43:50 - Bro Safari - Reality ft. Sarah Hudson (Dion Timmer Remix) 45:06 - Bassnectar and Levitate ft. Macnta - Level Up 45:57 - Band of Horses - The Funeral (Excision Remix) 47:39 - Slips and Slurs x Mihka! - WiFi Tears 48:43 - Slander and YOOKiE ft. Zach Sorgen - One Life (YOOKiE Remix) 49:59 - Excision and Downlink - Robo Kitty 50:50 - Ivory - Conflict 51:29 - Downlink - Mosh Pit 52:03 - Excision and Space Laces - Throwin' Elbows 53:37 - Wavedash - Bang 54:29 - TYNAN ft. Sam King - Doppelganger 55:34 - Excision - Rumble 57:53 - Rusko and Dangerous and Simskai and Fraksure - Walalangleng 59:10 - Datsik - Sensei 1:00:38 - Slander and Stoltenhoff - We Out 1:01:16 - Eliminate - Snake Bite VIP 1:02:06 - Flux Pavillion and NGHTMRE - Feel Your Love ft. Jamie Lewis 1:02:57 - Dillon Francis and NGHTMRE - Need You (ShockOne Remix) 1:03:35 - Excision ft. Sam King - G Shit (BadKlatt Remix) 1:04:26 - Spag Heddy - Samir (Not Alone! Remix) 1:04:53 - Trampa - Rocket Fuel 1:06:08 - Riot Ten ft. Milano the Don - Headbusta 1:07:13 - Ivory and MONXX - Last Chance 1:08:09 - Chime - Wait For Me 1:09:26 - Tisoki - Time Travel 1:10:15 - MUST DIE! and Habstrakt - Eden 1:10:45 - Stabby - Emperor 1:11:32 - Flux Pavillion and Snails - Cannonball FROM THIS POINT SHIT GETS FUCKING WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1:12:23 - Point.Blank - ID 1:13:15 - Bro Safari and Dion Timmer - Proper 1:14:14 - He$h - Bout My Guap 1:14:54 - Zomboy ft. Bok Nero - Rotten 1:16:30 - DISKORD and JVST SAY YES - Be Alone 1:17:28 - YULTRON - Stronger [1:18:28 - Downlink - Louder 1:19:15 - KAYZO and Riot - Wake Up 1:20:04 - Franky Nuts - Let's Get It 1:21:20 - Spag Heddy and EH!DE - Selecta PERFECTTTTT] 1:21:59 - Whyel - Revolt 1:22:55 - Funtcase ft. Merky Ace - 4 Barz of Fury (Barely Alive Remix) 1:23:27 - ID - ID 1:24:05 - heRobust - Vertebreaker w/ WTF!? and Dead Prez - It's Bigger Than Hip Hop UK 1:24:42 - heRobust - Vertebreaker (Cosma Remix) 1:25:08 - Excision - Generator (Eliminate Remix) 1:27:10 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Final Boss (Wavedash Remix) 1:28:02 - SVDDEN DEATH - Deceiver 1:28:57 - 4B and Aazar - Pop Dat 1:29:24 - DMVU - Bloccd 1:30:03 - XaeboR - Defiant (favorite drop in set so fucking evil he uses those visuals for evil riddim only i love it soo much) 1:30:31 - G-Eazy ft. Bebe Rexha - Me, Myself, and I (Pegboard Nerds Remix) 1:31:05 - Fed Up ft. Brukot - Up D Ladda 1:31:44 - Dion Timmer - Tell You Why 1:33:02 - Excision and Dion Timmer - Home 1:35:08 - Excision ft. Akylla - Drowning 1:37:00 - Excision - Fall 1:38:10 - Downlink and Vaski - Rekt 1:38:55 - Excision - Switch 1:40:24 - Excision - The Paradox (Cookie Monsta and FuntCase Remix) 1:42:10 - Excision - Virus (Dubloadz Remix) 1:43:00 - Downlink - Absolute Fire 1:44:26 - jPhelpz 1:44:54 - Ivory ft. Virus Syndicate - 93 Style 1:45:32 - SVDDEN DEATH - Spelljam 1:46:06 - Excision and Datsik and Dion Timmer - Harambe 1:48:32 - Excision, Downlink, and Space Laces - Destroid 1. Raise Your Fist 1:50:20 - Excision - Headbanga w/ Trampa classic. as fuck. - Rise Up 1:51:44 - GTA ft. Sam Bruno - Red Lips (Skrillex Remix) 1:52:23 - Alesso ft. Tove Lo - Heroes (Grandtheft Remix) w/ Phiso - One More Time 1:53:55 - Excision and Space Laces - Throwin' Elbows (Getter and Virtual Riot Remix) 1:56:58 - Excision and The Frim - X Up ft. MC Messinian 1:58:40 - Excision - Rave Thing 1:59:03 - Excision - Codename X 1:59:57 - Metallica - Sad But True 2:00:26 - Excision - Intro Mashup (DESTROID) 2:01:15 - Excision and Space Laces - Destroid 7. Bounce (VIP)

ALL OF MY FAVORITE DROPS ARE IN BOLD!!! AMAZING SET!! 

After the 1 hour mark everything its just EVIL land. Best transitions, visuals, and overall performance I’ve ever seen. KILLS ME I wasn't there for this in person but it all made up for it attending in 2018. And wow i’ll never forget it. 

Datsik is cancelled for life consider him lucky to be part of something like this before he was gone. What a shame and waste of fucking potential! Man. .  like really................... smfh that’s all I have to say on That.

Anyway.

bless up.. x up 

[swafirepronews]

1st Annual Stable Wars: Team International victorious!

Today, the 1st annual Stable Wars event was held. The premise: 8 teams compete in 8 man, single elimination tag team tournament. The members of the last team standing each receive a championship title match of their choosing.

The finals of the tournament saw Team International of Kofi Kingston, Juice Robinson, Will Ospreay, and Bryan Danielson defeat The Bullet Club of Tama Tonga, Prince Devitt, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. What title matches did Team International request? Here’s what happened post match:

Announcer 1: “Team International have done it! They overcame the Business Men! They overcame Sabre Gun! And now they’ve overcome The Bullet Club! This is the biggest night in the history of the team - dating back 15 years! Let’s go to the ring!”

Interviewer: “Team International, congratulations on this huge victory! This marks the very first tournament victory in Team International’s 15 year history. Kofi, as the captain, that’s gotta feel pretty good.”

Kofi (out of breath): “Yeah. Yeah it does feel great. But I can’t take credit for it all. My teammates- my teammates are why we’re here. Juice, Will, Bryan. I love these guys. I’ve never been a part of a team like this. I’m very fortunate.”

Interviewer: “Bryan Danielson, you scored the final victory here tonight with an armbar submission over Luke Gallows. As the rookie of the team, how does it feel?”

Danielson: “It’s unreal. I’ve had a lot to prove here in the SWA, and this was another step in proving what I can do. I got beat last night by Shane Helms and the Vertebreaker. I was feeling it today, but I dug down deep and managed to catch Gallows with an armbar. It was tap or snap from there.”

Interviewer: “Absolutely. Well, fans. It’s time to get the answer to the question on everyone’s mind. Which championships are these men going to set their sights on? Gentlemen, I hate to put you on the spot, but the world wants to know your decisions. Juice, let’s hear from you first.”

Juice: “I think everybody already knows. I came to the SWA with one goal in mind for this first season - to win the goddamned Brazilian Heritage Title! Kenny Shamrock, I may be coming back from a concussion, and you may be the baddest son of a bitch around, but I’ll be damned if I don’t put my crosshairs right on you and that title. I may be banged up, Taz might have choked me out to the verge of unconsciousness earlier tonight, I may have gotten my block knocked off by Dada 5000 last month, but now, the Juice is loose and he’s coming your gold, baby!”

Interviewer: “There you have it! Juice going for Ken Shamrock’s Brazilian Heritage Title! Will Ospreay, your decision, sir?”

Ospreay: “Like Juice said, I think everyone knows my decision. I’m the most exciting and innovative Light Heavyweight in the world today, but I haven’t even had a shot at the Light Heavyweight title? It’s time to fix that. I’m challenging the winner of Christian vs. Devitt next Thursday for the Light Heavyweight title!”

Interviewer: “Ospreay looking for Light Heavyweight Gold! Magnificent! Kofi - Team Captain - tell us your decision.”

Kofi: “Well everybody knows I don’t have much time left in my career. I’m practically on the verge of being a FirePro dad right along with Bryan’s older brother. The way I see it - it’s now or never. Kenny Omega! I want you! In this ring! For the World Heavyweight Championship!”

Interviewer: “Wow! Kofi laying it all out there! He wants to attain that lifelong dream of becoming the World Heavyweight Champion! And now, finally, last but not least, the man that scored the deciding fall in this tournament, the young man from Aberdeen, WA, the younger brother of FirePro legend, Braxton Danielson, the rookie that shocked the world today, Bryan Danielson - what Title will you be challenging for?”

Danielson: “So I’ve been competing in the Light Heavyweight division since I’ve been here. It’s been hit or miss. I feel like I’ve been treading water. I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I’m only 23 years old. Captain, I don’t mean any disrespect, but...I’m challenging for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP!”

Interviewer: “Whoa-hoh! There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! All of the decisions have been made! Our matchmakers will be hard at work scheduling these title matches. One more round of applause for TEAM INTERNATIONAL!!!”

Announcer 1: “Oh my God! Danielson is gonna challenge...Kenny Omega?!”

Announcer 2: “And take a look at Kofi Kingston! He can’t hide how pissed off he is! This was supposed to be his big moment. His big announcement of his World Title challenge, and this young kid pulls the rug from underneath him! Totally steals his thunder!”

Announcer 1: “You don’t think that this is a tad disrespectful? Danielson knows how much the World title means to Kofi. He’s basically overstepping his team captain by making this challenge. I think we all assumed he’d be challenging for the Light Heavyweight title.”

Announcer 2: “Well it looks like you all assumed wrong. Bryan Danielson can challenge whoever the hell he pleases. If it wasn’t for Bryan, they wouldn’t be standing in the winners circle to begin with.”

Announcer 1: “I wouldn’t go that far. He may have pulled off the final victory in the tournament, but you don’t win a tournament of this caliber without everyone pulling their weight. But I’m still in shock! Bryan Danielson, a year 1 Light Heavyweight rookie, challenging Kenny Omega for the World Heavyweight Championship! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Announcer 2: “And after Shibata gets done with Omega, IF Omega is still champion, Danielson will be waiting to pick up the scraps. I love it!”

Catch the full Stable Wars tournament, streaming now: https://www.twitch.tv/swafireprolive

[devils-gatemedia]

One of the problems being a music fan living in the far South West is that there are so few live music venues, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Kobra And The Lotus playing an independent pub venue not that far up the road, in the backwater town of Bridgwater, Somerset. It is such a shame more pub owners dont see the benefit of providing decent live music venues, with a powerful sound system and flexible lighting rig, but thank goodness the Cobblestones landlord has that foresight (and provides a damn good range of beer too!)

Proving how a local venue benefits the local music scene were first act (and judging by their relationship with the crowd, house band) Pretty Little Enemy. It’s almost impossible to not like a band with such a great name, but P.L.E. provide the image and music to turn that like to love. Vocalist Louise Body is the consummate rock chick. The bottle of tequila by the mic stand, the latex skirt, metal effect bra, and punk attitude, all catch your eye before the band kick into the first song. Ably backed by some shredding and riffing from the equally visually striking guitarist Georgia Bell, bear-like bassist Jason Coles, and drummer Ben Dean, their brief time on stage is a delight. Body puts the already enthusiastic crowd on “tit watch” as her stage attire does its best to leave her exposed, and there is even a small but enthusiastic mosh pit (a first for me for an opening band in this size venue!) To make a mark in this business you need a U.S.P. and Pretty Little Enemy have several. Check out their cleverly titled EP “Bitch PLEase”, and in particular “Vertebreak”, which shows their potential and vitality at its finest. 

Brutai take a more cerebral approach to their music. We were treated to depths of complex keyboards, twin guitars, and thought provoking song craft. The Londoners, nominated for ‘Best New Band’ at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, showed us why they are being talked about in some impressive circles. Vocalist Felix Lawrie switches impressively between a soft, tuneful style and a deep, growling metal roar. Lead guitarist Henry Ryan lays down layer after layer of complex guitar sounds and blends them with the works of keyboard player Alex Lorimer. The animation comes courtesy of dreadlocked bassist Christian Sturgess, and backing it all with some technically impressive drum patterns is Mathieu Bauer. This end of the spectrum isn’t usually my cup of tea to listen to, so it’s a real compliment to say I thoroughly enjoyed their set, and the range of songs they gave us. Set opener “Deep”, the soundstage of “Relapse” and the complex crescendo of “The Border” were my highlights of the set, and their 2016 album “Born” is definitely worth giving some ear time, if the idea of a young pretender to the prog/metal ranks appeals. 

Before the show, I was part of a conversation with Kobra And The Lotus bassist Brad Kennedy, where he was talking about how they have played venues from 30 to 30,000 and try to treat them all the same. A laudable aim, but can a band really do that? Well, in the case of Kobra and the Lotus, they sure can! The Cobblestones is tiny, basically a skittle alley with speakers and lights, but the band hit the stage with the attitude of a festival headliner, and earned huge respect from me in the process. “Hello, Bridgewater”may never carry the weight of “Good Evening, Budokan”, or “Scream for me, Knebworth” but for one night it really did! This is a band loving what they do, and making sure they send the crowd, however big, home having seen a show. 

Kobra Paige brings a more mature attitude to the business than her predecessor in P.L.E., with a kettle of hot water as refreshment and vocal support, rather than a bottle of tequila, and a stage costume that’s going nowhere she doesn’t want it to. She is just as energetic though, leaping, posing, preening, and leading the band with huge energy and commitment. The band behind her make the most of every inch of the tiny stage, and are as tight as any four musicians have a right to be. Opening with three songs from new album “Prevail I”; the massive, anthemic “Gotham”, pure head banger “TriggerPulse”, and “Specimen X”. Kobra’s voice is sublime, and Marcus Lee drives the sound from the back, with huge presence, my other half’s commenting that he looked like Khal Drogo! We leave the new album for some older material that shows just how underrated Kobra and her team are. Delights such as the almost Nightwishy “Soldier”, a snippet of Led Zep’s “Immigrant Song”, “You Don’t Know”, and “Prevail”, with its twin guitar attack, pepper the set, and the energy levels don’t drop for a second. 

As leaving the stage involves walking through the crowd and out of the venue via the smoking area, Kobra announces that rather than play the game of waiting to be called back for an encore they will just keep going, so the band don’t even get a break before hitting the encores. Final song “50 Shades of Evil”, with its frantic guitar from Jasio Kulakowski and insane drumming from Lee, raises the energy level even higher, and is probably the best showcase of Kobra’s soaring vocals in the entire set.  

I hope I get to see Kobra And The Lotus on a bigger stage sometime soon to see how their infectious energy and musical ability translate, but for a little pub in a sleepy backwater, known more for the Morrison’s delivery hub than heavy metal and flying hair, this was a cracking night out. 

Review and Images: Rob Wilkins

  Review: Kobra And The Lotus – Bridgwater One of the problems being a music fan living in the far South West is that there are so few live music venues, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Kobra And The Lotus playing an independent pub venue not that far up the road, in the backwater town of Bridgwater, Somerset.