#she doesnt have standards and will continue to throw herself at him

[femboyishcharm]

i am once again begging astarion to quit successfully negging my poor tav

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Martial Arts.”

Had this lined up for today based on two requested ideas given to me by readers. I hope you like it and have a great day!

“I think you’re really going to like this.”

“So I assume it involves beating the ever-loving shit out of someone.” 

Adam grinned, “Exactly.”

Sunny cheered and Krill sighed, “Why do you two always insist on having the most violent pastimes.”

“I promise today is ALSO educational. Now stop being a stick in the mud. I am sure you will find use for yourself today.”

Krill sighed but allowed them to continue on. The Admiral was wearing a duffel bag over one shoulder, and the tennis shoes he was wearing, alone with the shots suggested that he intended to participate in some sort of physical activity. The same shades of blue light flickered over his prosthetic leg and those that licked over hers, and even from here, he could hear the soft whirring of the machine.

Sunny craned her neck at the city around them trying to figure out where they were being taken, and neither of them figured it out until the admiral cut right and shouldered open the door to a large building. 

Stepping inside they were greeted with a waft of warm, humid air. The ground under their feet was squishy, made of some sort of synthetic material, and all around the room humans in various stages of physical activity dominated the landscape.

The predominant sound was that of flesh impacting padded bags as humans -- both bare knuckled -- and wearing padded gloves punched and kicked and violently strove to beat the ever loving shit out of inanimate hanging objects. Krill wanted in surprise and -- what would have been horror if he wasn’t so used to being appalled-- as two humans sparred together in a ring lined with three large ropes.

They were padded, with gloves and face masks and helmets of some sort, but that gave them free reign to punch and kick each other silly, until one of the humans grabbed the other by the arm and flipped backwards throwing them both to the ground with a violent thud.

Across the room, humans wearing strange white uniforms tied with colorful belts moved in synchronization to the call of a master. He'd punch and then kick and then block venting air by way of shouts.

Sunny turned in a tight circle, her eyes wide as they fell on another padded platform, this time in an octagonal shape, and bounded by a chain link energy cage.

Inside two women were roused to blood, fighting with nothing but barely padded gloves and the clothes on their back.

One of the women managed to throw the other to the ground and for a second they were a mass of tangled limbs before she had her arms around the other’s neck squeezing tight. Krill stepped forward but a sharp tap on the arm of one woman to the other caused the winner to let go, and the fighters to return to their feet, one rubbing her soar neck..

“What is this place?” Sunny asked, in absolute awe

Adam grinned, “This, my fine friend is what humans call a dojo. Not exactly sure where the word comes from per say, but I am pretty sure it originated in asia more than two thousand years ago and basically means a location where people train in the art of hand to hand combat. 

Sunny turned her head again eyes wide as another two men grappled each other to the floor hands gripping onto each other’s uniforms tugging and pulling and trying to swipe with their feet.

“It all looks so… different.”

Adam nodded, “That's because it is. There are hundreds of different fighting systems developed by humanity over the years, sort of like how you have different spear stances in your culture fire versus water, accept these ones work on different principals.

He motioned to the square ring, “Boxing for instance focuses a lot of its attention on punches specifically. Historically the rules required that you couldn't use elbows knees or kicks, and your punches had to land above the belt, or at least that’s what I remember. He turned to point at the other side of the room where the men and women in white were still busy in their forms. Stuff like Karate Kung Fu and others are sort of more about forms and techniques. I would say that that sort of fighting is more of a philosophy or a way of life than anything, and very ancient.”

He then turned to look at the two men still wrestling on the floor, “Then there is Jiu Jitsu, a form of combat that relies on submission and grappling. USe the weakness of an enemies body against them, use their weight, use the weakness of their wrists and elbows and knees and neck. Jiu Jitsu is likely to always end up on the ground. It is similar to wrestling, though wrestling requires than you pin the other person’s shoulders to the ground.

Krill turned to look at Sunny’s face and would have rolled his eyes at the giddy expression she had if it weren't for his inability to actually roll his eyes.

“Why are there so many types?’

Adam paused tapping his chin, “Well, humanity has always been working to find a system that works best. In many cases it started with a philosophy of some kind. IN certain cases it was poise, or focus or any number of things. Monks dedicated their entire lives to the mastery and perfection of a single art of combat. In a way it was almost like meditation that could be used in times of need. Some martial arts required steal or quick movement which spawned stuff like Ninjitsu and still live son in spots like parkour despite it not being a combat sport.”

He lend them further into the room, “A lot of them spawned out of the fact that humans just love to fight, we love to see who is physically better. It made it’s way to the olympics, and then into popular culture. Wrestling, while a great athletic endeavor was just as much a theater production as it was anything else and requires an understanding between two parties to put on the most dramatic show possible.”

He walked over a few feet pausing before the octagon, “Then someone had the idea of what would happen if you put the different martial arts up against each other in a contest of who is better hence Mixed Martial Arts fought in an octagon just like this. At first practitioners of one discipline were pitted against each other to see who was better.” He rested his hand against one of the braces, “In the end it ended up weeding out a lot of the older forms of martial arts which were more a form of art than actual fighting. Philosophy wasn’t exactly helpful in the octagon, and many of the flashier forms, while they looked cool in practice turned out to be impractical in the ring.

He dropped his bag to the floor, reaching in to take out a pair of gloves, “The idea became that the more brutal straight to the point contact sports were most superior.”

Sunny crossed her arms, “So what is it, which martial art is more superior?”

Adam grinned, “That’s the catch… all of them are.”

“What do you mean.”

“All of them are assuming you put them together. Fighters that were well versed in multiple styles of fighting were the most victorious.” he fell into a standard human fighting posture feet shoulder width one foot before the other hands up and loose before his face neck down, “If you can punch like a boxer, Kick like a Muay Thai fighter, grapple like a Jiu Jitsu master and put all of it together, you may have more than a chance of winning.” he patted the side of the cage, “The general consensus is that the best kind of fighting is one that doesnt just take focus from one discipline, it is someone who can take the best things from all the disciplines and put them together all at once.”

Sunny looked on rather hungrily at the ring.

“Let’s do it.”

He grinned back, “I thought you might be interested.

Krill just shook his head and backed away, leave it to the drev and the human to find one of the most dangerous pastimes in the world. Who would have thought that philosophy could span a better way to kick the shit out of someone.

Kril Turned his head to look around the room and was surprised at all the thighs he saw. He may not have agreed with the martial arts necessarily, but there was something to be said about the variety, and the sort of human that came out of it. The men and women he could see practicing were, without a doubt some of the fittest humans he had ever laid eyes on, and he spent his time with a crew that wasn’t likely to shirt their physical health.

Men and women alike glistened with lean muscle sharp and prominent against their sweat glazed skin. Hands punched bags over and over and over again. In certain cases he watched as men and women kicked wooden poles repeatedly ramming their shins against the unforgiving surface their faces barely showing any hint of pain,

The feats of acrobatics which they managed, and the way they utilized their center of gravity was astonishing. He saw a five foot woman throw a two hundred pound man over her head simply by throwing herself to her back and kicking the other man over.

While weight and size seemed to matter to some degree there were a few humans here who didn’t seem to care.

Sunny and Adam were on the other side of the room Adam explaining the idea of kinetic linking to sunny, how by moving your body, you could force the power from your feet, all the way up through your legs hips and back and into a single punch making it more powerful.

Krill could see, on a physiological standpoint where that was true.

He even watched for a few sessions as Sunny and Adam went a few rounds Adam winning a surprising amount of times for someone who was so small, but often using the techniques that Krill was seeing around the room.

It was only after they had taken a break and were gearing up to go again that Krill noticed another human walk onto the floor. He was an older human, the pigment having faded from his hair long ago, bleaching him silver. Despite that, the man had the body of someone half his age, lean and sinuous, veins crawling up his arms like the vines of a tree.

Adam was just pulling on his gloves when the man stepped up.

“Excuse me, son.”

Adam lifted his head standing when the man approached, “Can I help you.”

The man set down his bag. Based on his voice, the man was clearly an older gentlemen though Krill had trouble guessing. Either way he had the opinion that this guy probably should take it easier than this palace suggested.

“I hate to ask, but My sparring partner is sick today, and I was wondering if you might consider a round or two. You look spry enough.”

Adam blinked in surprise but then shrugged, “Yeah sure I guess.” The way his ione eye traveled over the man suggested he was having the same thoughts as krill. He seemed like he was a bit too old to be doing something like this. Krill worried that he could potential break or tear something , but no one said a word as the man set down his bag and took a few minutes to stretch.

Krill was a bit more than surprised at the flexibility of the old man who managed a full split in both directions after warming up.

Adam seemed a little less sure of himself upon seeing that.

He definitely could not do that.

The old guy’s face was lined with delicate wrinkles through the skin, the body becoming less taught with age, but when the two of them hopped up into the ring, the older man seemed just as energetic as Adam, which seemed surprising.

No matter though, as old as he was, he would probably tire pretty easily.

“What do you say, no crotch shots and no eye gouging.” Adam announced and the old man agreed as they moved into position.

Krill and Sunny came to the side of the cage to watch as the two men squared off.

Adam kept his hands a bit relaxed, still guarded but not too concerned.

The older man didn’t keeping tight and low as they circled for a bit.

“You’ll want to keep up your guard, son.” The man chided, and adam smiled but pulled his hands in tighter.

Krill tapped his fingers.

Sunny smirked as if she knew something he didn’t

They exchanged a few blows, Adam going eas and the old guy, well being old and slow as Krill had expected. Adam’s guard began to drop again, and then all of a sudden out of absolutely nowhere there was a sharp blur of motion and a loud THWACK. 

Adam hit the ground hard dazed and confused as the old man stood over him.

Sunny ohhhhed in absolute glee.

Krill hissed in pain.

Adam had just been round kicked to the head.

“I told you to keep your guard up.” The old man said, reaching down a hand to help Adam to his feet, “probably also a good idea not to underestimate senior citizens.”

Adam rubbed his head, “Ok, ok I deserved that. Let's go another round.”

“You sure, you got your memory jogged kind of hard there.”

Adam shook himself and squared back up, his guard tight this time, “bring it on grandpa.”

The old man smiled and fell back into his stance. This time Adam was not smoking, and his expression was hard as he stared at the old man. Adam came forward with a jab which the man blocked and they exchanged a few punches catching each other only grazing blows as they hit. 

Adam got a kick to the upper leg,, the old man took a body shot that should have downed him, but by the staggering way Adam moved to the side suggested he had kicked something as hard as a brick wall.

The old man moved forward and the two of them were suddenly head to head, hands gripping shoulders, fingers digging into shirts, before any of them knew what happened Adam was thrown to the ground his wrist held tightly in the other man’s hands,

He tried to get up but the old man leaped down after him throwing his legs over Adams chest and positioning his elbow over his hips.

He arched his back subtly which had Adam tapping one of his legs frantically.

He let go and the two disengaged.

Sunny cheered.

Adam rubbed his elbow, “Armbar?”

The old man smiled, “I’m old boy, not an invalid.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, “I can see that. How about another round.”

With a teasing smile the old human winked a grey eye, “Only if you want to get beat again.”

Adam snorted, “yeah not so sure about that.” he squared up, “Besides, today’s early bird special is on a knuckle sandwich.”

The old man wiggled his head mockingly, “Oh a wise guy eh.”

Once Upon a time Krill would have assumed they were being aggressive in their words, but the cadence and the smiles on their faces assured him that, despite their actions, this was a friendly fight.

And how strange it was to see someone like the old man holding up so well against someone less than twice his age. By all rights Adam should have beaten him easily, but this old human despite his looks was more than what he appeared. Krill was going to have to do some more research on human aging processes, for there was something he felt he was missing.

The two had squared up again, dancing around in a circle as they came in repeatedly for attacks. Adam tried to get the upper hand with a sudden flurry of blows but the old man weathered it using precision to his advantage with precis body shots that had Adam packing off huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.

At some point Adam did something neither of them had ever see, grabbing the man under his arms and turning, flipping the man over the fulcrum of his hips and sending him flowing into the ground. Adam jumped after trying to claim full mount but the old man somehow flipped him to the side and reversed it catching Adam around the back of the neck with a forearm.

The flat of his forearm went across Adam’s throat, his legs wrapped around his middle, and his opposite hand grabbed onto his wrist. As he squeezed, he also elongated his body..

Krill stepped forward hand out afraid the man was going to pop his cervical spine apart until Adam tapped falling to the ground with a grunt.

“Ok ok, ONE more time.” Adam said wobbling to his feet

The old man followed after grinning, “Whatever you say.”

This last fight went much like the one before it. An exchange up top and a sudden move onto the ground, though this time the man trapped adam using his legs, thighs constricting around the side of his neck.

Adam was still breathing just fine, until his body slumped to the side.

Krill leaped forward in shock and confusion thinking that the man had somehow injured his neck, killed him. But almost as soon as the man let go Adam twitched and then sat up looking groggy.

“What the.”

“You were supposed to tap before passing out.”

Adam rubbed his head, “Was that a triangle choke… didn’t even feel like I was choking.”

Krill stormed forward, “What happened! Adam are you alright. Do I need to call the police.”

Adam waved him off, “It was a blood choke krill, he temporarily cut off blood supply to my brain, no big deal.”

“No big deal!” Krill shreakied, “How is it having blood in your brain NOT a big deal.’

Sunny cheered with glee behind Krill’s protests leaping up into the ring and towards the old man, “Can you teach me.”

The old man seemed surprised, but agreed and glanced oer at Adam, “Someone needs some extra lessons anyway.”

Adam snorted and rolled his eyes but otherwise took it with good humor.

Krill sat fuming in the corner.

Humans, frigging humans always finding ways to hurt themselves. Crushing each other’s windpipes and cutting off carotid arteries, and bending joints that weren't supposed to be bent, and all for what because it was FUN to look STRONGER. He couldn't believe this.

Stupid 

Stupid humans.

He was going to have to tell someone. He was going to have to rant.

He was…..

Probably going to write an academic paper, though he was going to be angry while doing it. 

[char-lotteral]

I agree with Kishimoto never trying to use the girls. The hate they get is not fair. I used to defend Sakura back in the days because I hoped kishi would do her justice. When shippuden started I WAS SO HAPPY because I thought this was the start of something great for Sakura and the girls but NOOOOO. Every time, Sasuke showed kishi turned her brainless. If you compare Naruto's actions and Sakura's actions to sasuke, you'd see they're completely different. What's up with that weird fake love confession scene 😭? It makes her look like she was manipulating Naru. JEEZ.

Also he literally had badass Tenten and Temari with cool useful abilities and he didn't use them ?! TF ?! Thank god for modern authors who treat their characters with respect :)

okay2 you know how i am with these longass rants so click readmore and brace yourselves

The way I see it, Sakura's character development in shippuden was always one step forward, two steps back. She gets this really badass scene (like her fight with Sasori and those cool ass medical skills) but is then regressed back into a pining girl in love every time Sauce is on screen or Kishi just throws her in the background YET AGAIN.

I love Sakura's abilities actually. Her brute strength, intelligence, vast knowledge and skill as a medic nin. But what I dislike about her character is how kishi handled her feelings for Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura's obsession with Sasuke was so???? huh??? it was so damn toxic and i never once understood why both Nardo and Sak were so obsessed with him. They were a team for one year???? I mean its great that they care about him alot but Sauce's feelings were kinda valid. His freakin clan died. Id go batshit crazy against my own village too. BUT BESIDES THAT. Both Nart and Sakura's Sasuke obsession was so annoying. 80% of shippuden was literally Keeping up with the Uchihas or Naruto yelling SASUKEH. BUT what irks me so much is the fandom's double standards with both Naruto and Sakura. "Oh Sakura shouldve gotten over her Sasuke obsession" but then turn around and call Naruto's obsession cute and gush about how he's so in love with him!!

Hot take but the only reason why sasunaru is "the most developed ship with the most chemistry" is because theyre both male characters.

I guarantee you if Naruto was a girl and SHE would be the one to have this unhealthy obsession who was chasing around Sasuke, the fandom would shit on Naruto just as much. And if Sasuke were a girl, Sauce would be sidelined like the rest of the female cast and Naruto would have another male character to have a "brotherly bond" with, because thats the only bond Kishimoto is actually good at developing. Yey for male characters having all the screentime and cool assets <333

And about that confession scene, I get her intentions. I really do. I understand that she did that in order to bring him home and that she cares about him but honey, w-why?? Why lie to him about your feelings?? Supposed he DID believe her, then what? then what kishi???? huh??? Some of her fans point the blame on Sai or whatever but I personally dont see why that scene was at all necessary. Maybe to establish Naruto's feelings for her wasnt all that serious? or his maturity? idk man. That scene was such a clusterfuck.

In the end her development in The Last and in Boruto was immaculate. She had one of the best glow ups in the old gen and ironically enough, her character wasn't butchered in Boruto. She got badass scenes she was cheated from in shippuden. I also love how she's finally getting the spotlight she deserves. Unlike the other konoha 12 :,)))

Okay onto the next female character that Kishi completely wasted. My baby. My light. 🙈 AAAHHH HINATAA.

I DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN OKAY2 DEEP BREATHS.

Let me just establish this real quick. Hinata's goal was to get stronger because of Naruto, her goal was never to be with Naruto. She wanted to become someone who is worthy enough to stand beside him, someone whom he can consider as an equal, as a partner. She NEVER once said "marrying Naruto-kun is my all time goal UwU" (if youre one of those weirdos who interpret her character that way, youre immediately invalid, go take a hike)

I personally dont have anything against their crushes but to the point of making their personalities revolve around these guys every time theyre onscreen is so fucking frustrating. And with the way he writes their dialogues is so.damn.cringey. Like that one scene in the war arc with Tsunade and Madara

"I mAy bE a WomAn but I aM nOt WeAAKKKK"

BAAHAHAAHHA WHAT?? Everyone else gets coolass monologues and one liners but thats the best you can come up with Kishi?????? Hilarious.

If im being honest. Hinata's character is actually kinda well written. Not well executed. Dear God no. But with the way he set her story, her personality, her chracterization. She's honestly one of the best written female characters on the show. IMO. By Kishi's standards of writing women ofc. She's hands down one of the most complex characters. Her shy personality wasnt out of the blue, it wasnt a cutesy waifu trait. Her abusive upbringing made her that way. Her trauma turned her that way. So yeah, sue her if she looked up to Naruto as an inspiration when everyone else in her family treated her like dust. Shit on her for having Naruto's love light in her dark when her own damn father wouldnt even look her in the eye and her entire clan shunned her because she was "weak." She doesnt owe her family shit so idgaf what they do with the Hyuga clan. Neji and Hanabi aren't included btw

Im not gonna deny that her role in the show was only as the love interest but tbh for a love interest, Im glad her character wasnt so one dimensional. It just pains me SO MUCHHH how fucking wasted she is. Every time she's with Naruto, they always make her into a damsel in distress. They always feel the need to turn Naruto into the heroic prince. How cute.

LIKE THAT ONE SCENE IN THE LAST WHERE SHE'S THROWN IN THE CAGE?? WHY??? LET NARUTO AND HINA FIGHT THAT FREAKING ALIEN GOD TOGETHER. QUIT WITH THE TOXIC MASCULINITY. WE GET IT. NARUTO'S STRONG. GOOD FOR HIM. NOW LETS SEE HINATA THROW HANDS AND PUT NARUTO IN THE CAGE GODAMMIT

Hnggggg dont get me started with her role in Boruto. She's as relevant as a damn houseplant in the manga. They made her into an invisible trophy wife and "the mc's mother" and we all KNOW what happens to the shounen mc's mother once mc is in need of character development :) Quit putting her in the background. Give us that scene where she won against Hanabi DESPITE being retired for years. Give us that scene where she trains Boruto. GIVE US ANY FIGHT SCENE OF HER WHERE HER POTENTIAL ISNT WASTED WTF?¿

Now if you say that Hinata didnt have development. YOURE INVALID. She came from an abusive household, the shyest girl in her class, her insecurities got in the way of her own confidence, had difficulty of standing up for herself now became a loving mother of two, has the guts to kick her husband out of the house(with whom she couldnt even keep eye contact with when she was a kid) became the strongest hyuga, most supportive wife and mother, and has given her kids the comforting childhood she never had as a kid.

She has one of the most beautiful stories in the show and if you think her personality is only Naruto-kun and big boobs, then im sorry that you cant appreciate such a heartwarming story.

And I agree, killing her would honestly make me feel more at ease than continue to see her suffer because of godawful misogynistic writers. But at least let her die in an epic fight. Please. PLEASEE. She got nerfed so bad, i feel a physical pain every time i think about it

Okay what else. I think Ino got pretty good development. Another wasted potential in shippuden but she's doing good for herself in Boruto. I dont know what Temari is up to. They basically made her into another classic angry mom who beats up her husband for comedy trope. Haha very funny and original! Im not sure with her career, im not that invested in the anime.

Tenten??

oh G O D Tenten. The dirtiest of all. Her jokes about her screentime is so mean and i hate that its true ahsjhs. She was the only female character in OG who's goal wanted to be as strong as Tsunade but what did Kishi do to her?? Sidelined. Forgotten. Irrelevant. Like every damn female on the show :D

Konan shouldnt have died. I blame plot armor. I know in my heart that Konan wouldve kicked Obito's ass if it weren't for Kishi's boomer mindset.

Tsunade had so much hype when she was introduced but died down in the war arc. Madara wiped the floor with the kages. Holy shit. Not only that, but yipee! Naruto is there to save the day AGAIN!!!!

AND UGHHHH If the female characters were given proper treatment then maybe MAYBE all the endgame couples wouldve made fucking sense????¿¿¿

I think that ends my rant. Im not sure how the female characters in Boruto are handled. Except maybe Sarada (she's pretty well executed in the manga imo). But arguably they are sooo much better handled in Boruto than how the old gen girls were. And thats because Kishi isnt anywhere near the new gen female cast. I cant formulate a solid opinion with the other new gen female cast since im not entirely invested in the anime. Not ashamed to admit that I only watch it for the sunshine moments and for Hinata :DD

[shinycorvidae]

Head Cannon Dump Part 4 of 6

The two Vs, NV/Vic/V Part 1: Physicality and Personality

-NV is Vic, my V, a nomad

-Hiro or SKV, her roommate, then friend, then lover, Street kid background (vaguely), hes @smilepal s

Basic/Physical:

She's 28, at game start

Half Cuban, half white and has lived in a desert for most of her life so she has warm brown tanned skin. Warm yellow/brown eyes which can look piercingly through you or soft and understanding depending on her mood.

Her hair is a blue color with a tinge of green. It was supposed to be a forest green but her sister grabbed the wrong bottle of perma-dye when they broke into the local ripperdoc's clinic to dye their hair.

Her lips are also permanently colored. She likens it to war paint but she doesn't want the hassle of applying it/worrying about it rubbing off.

Ex-nomad, sleeps like the dead anywhere because she's used to having people around to watch her back

Her bones crack like fucking glow sticks.

-Johnny: how are your bones in worse condition than mine were?? I was in my 30s?

-Vic *just finger guns*

Vic sleeps like an idiot, all contorted and sideways

-Hiro tries to push her back into a normal situation so she doesn’t wake up with her back hurting more than usual.

Has a snake tattoo snaking around her chest for Viper, got it with funds from the first mission with Jackie. She also has a devils head and Chippin' In lyrics on her back from her teen years.

V really didnt want to admit to Johnny that she was a samurai fan so she goes out of her way to not look at her back while hes in her head. "Who? Is that some bushido reenactment shit?"

This goes well until Johnny has control of her body and goes to the bathroom to check on her ribs, thinking he broke them.

-J: "I know, Vic."

-Nv: "What?"

-J: I know about your secret."

-Nv: "Ehehe secret? Wha-"

-J: "I SAW YOUR BACK V"

-Nv: "oh fu-"

-J: "BUSHIDO REENACTMENT MY ASS."

Pansexual.

She has a pair of mantis blades, which are basically a safety blanket for her, weapons that can't ever be taken away so she's never helpless. So when she's nervous/feeling helpless she runs her fingers over the seam of them.

They’re her weapon of last resort though so if you find her at home cleaning the blood off them, you know a mission went fucking sideways

They were her dad, Michael's, which he got from the army so they're military issue high end suckers. Also around 50 years old lmao.

They make Vik weep because finding replacement parts is impossible

V only smokes the occasional joint and gets drunk once in a blue moon. She's managed to avoid smoking completely and is pissed that Johnny tried to sabotage that.

“She gives him the occasional cigarettes "as a treat"

"Aww Johnny you were actually a decent human being, here have a cigarette"

"I'm not a fucking cat V"

"Just say thank you, Dickhead"

"Fuck off"

"Love you too"

Has a bullet wound scar on her thigh which is covered up with a simple black band tattoo. Her only other significant scars are some on her chest from a motorcycle crash as a 16 year old. She's always had decent access to a ripper doc so while she's been injured a lot, she doesn't have many scars

Personality:

V is a sweetheart. She honestly believes the best of everyone. She grew up in a nomad community where everyone worked together for the good of everyone, and kind of expects the same of everyone in night city.

She continues to trust people blindly, despite being burned a couple times. She has faith in herself to be able to fight her way out of a bad situation should she get backstabbed, so shed rather bet on people being generally good.

Life can be rough in the badlands. Resources are scarce. Vic learned how to conserve resources from a young age. Shes frugal with her money, hoards anything that might be useful, and is really into reusing/recycling things. Shes brought Hiro cyberware she pulled out of dead bodies and is generally handing with mechanical fixes.

This also applies to food. When youve had days were literally the only thing you had to eat that day were some dusty grasshoppers you managed to forage, your standards for food fall drastically.

This drives Hiro and Johnny nuts who often have to stop her from eating random/possibly poisoned food.

The fact that shes a blindly trusting person just amplifies this.

*V walking in with a plate of cookies*

"..whats that V?"

-Nv: "Oh hey, the neighbor gave me these cookies! Want some?"

*Johnny and Hiro who both know you shouldn't accept random food from strangers in Night City, immediately disposing of them.*

-Nv: "What a waste of food :("

-H: "HOW MANY DID YOU EAT?"

-J: "How did you live before us?!"

-H: "Jackie. It was definitely Jackie, the Saint."

-...Not very long later,

"we see you V, don't eat those out of the bin"

-Nv:" :("

She's very secure in her sexuality, a naturally attractive and sexual person. Her clan had very little sexual stigma at all, its hard to have any shame over sex when there's only tents without soundproof walls. Her whole clan was definitely also very into free love/poly/open relationships, to the point were most kids didn't know who their parents were and were raised communally. Having sex was just a platonic thing that just sort of happened.

-Nv: “It’s hard to get all embarrassed about privacy when you grew up in a place with only tent walls. It’s just sex.

-SKv: “V, you blush and get tongue-tied whenever the hot neighbor even vaguely looks your way.

-NV: “WELL I didn’t normally have to ASK for sex, it just kinda happened and flirting is HARD, AND YOU NIGHT CITY RESIDENTS ARE ALL SNEAKY ABOUT IT”

Shes used to having sex with her platonic friends, her first couple of one night stands in NC were just an absolute mess--then she tried to sleep with Jackie which went predictably well.

-NV: “Do you want to have sex?”

-Jackie: *Chokes on his tequila. “What?! I’m with Misty??”

-NV: “...and?”

-Jackie: “I mean...I mean you never gave any signs?!

-NV: “Signs??”

-Jackie: “Hermana, most people in NC don’t just sleep with their friends. I mean. They do. But they don’t. It’s complicated.”

-NV: “Obviously.”

Considering that, V is. HORRID. at flirting in Night City. She's never really had to do that kind of verbal dance before and a lot of come on/innuendo goes over her head. She also has zero body shame and often walks around their apartment naked and will change nonchalantly in public.

-Nv: *Noticing people staring at her at the club and going into work mode*

-Hiro: *Noticing Nv counting the exits*

"what's wrong?"

-Nv: "That man's staring at me. Maybe he's Arasaka."

-Hiro: "He's staring at your ass, V."

-Nv: "Oh."

Definitely has the occasional “why the fuck didn’t you just say so?!” moments with the boys

*Cue SKv trying to be seductive all day, dropping things and bending over to get them all slow, changing in the living room/working out shirtless, ect. Nv is appreciative but she doesn’t really do anything, and by the end of the day*

-SKv: “For the love of god JUST FUCK ME ALREADY”

-Nv: “What? Alright, geeze all you had to do was ask.”

As trusting as V is, she's an amazing soldier. Her ex military father has been training her to kill people and protect their clan since she was six. She killed her first human at 9 years old.

Due to this while she is a friendly, happy person when she's in a fight or during a mission, she becomes a cold and calculated person, all emotion wiping from her face. She makes quick, decisive decisions, cutting her enemies down at the knees before they have a chance to fight back.

She's a brutal shot with her sniper rifle, knows her way around precision rifle and is deadly with knives both as a close range and throwing weapon.

Vic has a tactical brain/training and is always planning. Its instinct by now. Planning the exits to a room, the quickest way to take down any possible assailants, an enemys open weak points. She takes pride in her skills as a soldier as she sees it as her way of protecting/providing for her family.

As outgoing a person she is she sometimes goes too far when in 'work mode' and needs Hiro to be her moral compass/pull her back.

Her ways of tackling missions is finding a snipers nest and waiting patiently until the perfect moment presents itself, no longer how long that takes. Plus a healthy dose of stealth and pinpoint accuracy.

It takes a lot to push her to revenge but if you threaten her family, she will pick you, your backup, adult (v doesnt touch kids.) family and resources apart methodically, patiently and brutally until your the last one standing. Then she will let you stew, waiting for her final shot. It could come immediately, a week later or even a month

[beesmygod]

this is what riverdale is about (part 4)

part 1

part 2

part 3

i’m back, to continue from where we left off. obnoxiously, i’m going to take a minute to plug my patreon, which is primarily for my webcomic but i also do movie reviews and talk about bad books i find so if you like these posts, you’ll probably like those as well. all i ask....is one dollar a month.

anyway fuck that let’s get back into this.

images are from the riverdale wiki

SEASON ONE (PART 2):

the last picture show: immediately this show reveals that our beloved jughead has been living in a nearly abandoned drive-in that he also works at. too bad for him, because it’s closing down. hilariously, literally nobody in his circle of friends cares and call his make-shift house a crack den. owned. its revealed an anonymous buyer purchased it from the town and the mayor decided to sell it to whoever.

archie brings flowers to his teacher-girlfriend’s recital and when he and grundy (and his dad) head to pop’s for a good ol malt or whatever, betty confronts him about his relationship. betty is hurt when he says grundy believed in him when no one else did and goes home with renewed purpose: take grundy down.

veronica’s mom is caught having a heated argument with a member of the southside serpents gang next to a dumpster by cheryl who, as she delights in misery and disaster, captures it all on camera. she shows veronica, who confronts her mother who brushes her off.

betty lures grundy into a fake interview for her school paper instead of going to the police. betty seems to be determining all of this based on the fact that she didnt have any social media until a year ago, which really makes me question betty’s journalistic bonefides. its framed like this means she didn’t exist before she got a twitter or whatever. its really weird. more relevant is that the only record of a geraldine grundy.....WAS AN OLD WOMAN WHO DIED 7 YEARS AGO!!!!! she takes this information to archie as well, who doesn’t care at all. he’s way too horny to care.

betty breaks into grundy’s vw bug and finds a gun and her real i.d. with her real name. archie is still too horny to care, even though betty (again, really overstepping her journalistic bounds) says that grundy might have killed jason (BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF A GUN BETTY!!! COME ON). archie finally asks grundy straight up what the fuck is going on and she cops to trying to escape from an abusive husband, hence the gun and fake names.

jughead finds out that archie’s dad’s construction company won the bid to destroy the drive-in. its a bad time to be jughead. he tries to ask archie’s dad not to tear down the drive-in. through this convo we learn that jughead’s dad was fired from andrews construction several years ago for theft. a scene after this reveals that veronica’s mom is facilitating the purchase of the drive-in with the mayor pn behalf of her incarcerated husband.

i’m so glad the wiki reminded me of this line, word for word: everyone (and i mean literally everyone in town) goes to the drive-in for one last hurrah, where the southside serpents are guffawing up a storm. veronica somehow silences them by saying “You know what happens to a snake when a Louboutin heel steps on it? Shut the hell up or you’ll find out.“ it sucks so bad. veronica then witnesses her mother having an encounter with the same gang member who she is revealed to be paying to drive down the value of the drive-in property so hiram lodge can buy it for cheap.

archie and grundy are caught in a passionate embrace after betty’s mom reads her diary and goes on the warpath, rightfully telling her to get the fuck out of town or she’ll reveal her to be a child molester. grundy agrees to leave and archie is heartbroken. the last show of geraldine this season is her ogling two teen boys. horrible. leave, woman.

jughead leaves his shitty home and on his way out is accosted by the same gang member who was talking to hermoine lodge and is revealed to be....JUGHEADS DAD!!!!!!!!!! whatever.

heart of darkness: the town is abuzz with jason’s upcoming funeral and the teens of riverdale are fighting over who gets to take the dead kids spot as captain of the football team in a really normal and not at all super ghoulish way. archie is working his heart out now that his favorite teacher/pedophile has fled town. he has his time wasted by a member of the pussycats, valerie, who nets him a meeting with a music songwriter who tells archie he doesn’t have time for his shit. its a weird and totally pointless scene in the long run. it doesnt matter because archie’s music thing never comes to anything. the guy tells archie later, when he returns with sheet music, that his songs suck shit and he hates his music and to get out of his office.

jason and polly’s (betty’s sister) relationship seems to be at the center of whatever happened to jason, so betty starts asking around town about her sister, by using dates as a cover to ask probing questions to members of the football team. she also tries asking her father, who explains that polly and jason had a fight, polly tried to kill herself and so was shipped off to a mental institution. learning about jason’s death fucked her up again so they shan’t be exposing her to more sordid info about the events. the only information they get is that jason was selling drugs to raise money to leave town.

betty and jughead trace this thread to find out why jason would want to leave town but veronica is already finding out firsthand after she is invited to the blossom mansion for the world’s worst sleepover before the memorial (cool timing): the blossoms are all insane. they make their money on maple syrup, using the funds to build riverdale as we know it. veronica and cheryl bond over their awful parents and versonic encourages cheryl to act out at jason’s memorial FOR SOME REASON. KNOWING FULL WELL WHO CHERYL IS.

demonstrating extremely normal judgement, betty and jughead plan to raid jason’s room during the memorial to find clues. cheryl goes full hamlet, throwing herself on the coffin and weeping during her eulogy. they use this as cover to sneak away and go commit the worst social faux-pax you truly can do. however, they are interrupted by cherly’s senile grandmother, nana rose, who mistakes her for polly and reveals polly and jason were engaged. 

betty takes this information to her father who reveals he already knows but forbid the arrangement because the blossoms and the coopers have been trying to kill each other for decades over the whole maple syrup empire thing. betty and jughead later suspect her dad broke into the sheriff's office to steal his files related to uhhh everything i guess; a hunch which turns out to be correct.

meanwhile veronica’s mom is sent a live snake by the serpent gang, calls big strong fred andrews to come save her and then asks him for a job.

faster pussycats! kill! kill!: first of all fuck, the name of this ep.

archie, for some reason because i guess he doesn’t know what embarrassment is, decides he’s going to play an original song he wrote for the school talent show. he immediately gets stage fright at the try-outs and wusses out. veronica goes behind his back to sign him up anyway. thanks, asshole!

valerie, from the last ep, quits the pussycats because josie is slightly more stressed than usual about uhhh the talent show. also because she has a crush on archie for some reason.

hermoine, while acting as fred andrews’ new secretary, realizes he’s fucking BROKE. why’d he hire her? who knows. too late now. she suggests firing some people (for example............her, maybe, fred) but fred cant bear it...and is hoping to be saved by the newest construction job he doesn’t know that hermoine is manipulating under the table. much like his son, fred is now too horny to care and they make out while veronica watches awkwardly.

the remaining pussycats try to figure out what to do about their missing member problem. josie’s mom helpfully lays out that they need a strong woman of color, but not one prettier or more talented than josie. enter...VERONICA!!! who is miffed because archie replaced her with valerie in the talent show duet. veronica is now scientifically less pretty and talented than josie by show standards, which just rules because i love thinking that there are teen power rankings in riverdale.

betty and jughead make their way to visit polly at The Sisters Of Quiet Mercy which is literally the best name for a goth cover band in the world. surprise! polly is pregnant with jason’s baby. polly reveals she and jason planned to run away together, but she was caught by her parents and sent away. she then awkwardly asks how jason is and someone has to break the news to her.

josie’s dad makes a brief appearance, which i absolutely do not remember at all. i thought he only showed up in season 3 which makes mayor mccoys character arc way more awkward. anyway, the mccoy family, the andrews and the lodges all have dinner together to discuss business and its awkward as all hell. no one at the table likes the andrews.

betty straight up asks her dad if he killed jason and her mom laughs her ass off at the idea of betty’s soft white suburban ham shank looking dad being able to kill a weed much less a human. keep that in mind.

veronica’s mom forges veronica signature on a form allowing andrews construction to move ahead with the job.

jughead and betty kiss after talking about how they arent their parents. keep that in mind. anyway, betty takes jughead to a car polly mentioned that full of EVIDENCE. they take picture of it and leave the car to go tell the sheriff because i guess suddenly no one has cellphones.  jughead and betty return with the sheriff later to find the car has been light up by an unknown person. almost immediately after, bughead tries to rescue polly at the institution only to find she’s already bailed. welp.

josie and valerie make up and all four pussycats perform. josie’s dad walks out on her performance? harsh. cool dad moves.

archie sings and the crowd loves it. who gives a shit.

a kid died, guys. come on.

[spnbaby-67]

Not how I wanted to tell you, I love you.

A/N: Just an idea that hit me late the other night, i know its corn and whatever but hey i’m trying.. I was in a car wreck last night first time ever since i’ve been driving, and I've been so upset, so i thought i’d finish this and post it. if it’s all wrong or doesnt make sense i’m sorry. I don’t have a beta and i use Grammerly a paid subscription to try and help me out. Seem to work for most part if i put my goals to high standard.. remember to please dont copy and paste on other sites, i’m doing my bet to get out of writers block so i can start on these new series and finish other ones. 

Pairing Jensen and reader, Jared Padalecki, 

Warnings; None, Jensen being goofy 

Y/N McKenzie had been on the set of Supernatural for six months, and in that six months, she had fallen hard for Jensen Ackles. Who wouldn't? Jensen was considered to be the definition of one-hot-son-of-a-bitchin' dude. He's sexy as hell, compassionate about things he got involved with, true to his fans, and loves anyone he got close to with all his heart. Jensen makes Y/N's heartache for him every day; the only thing is Jensen doesn't know this. She was scared to tell him because she didn't know how he would react, so she kept it to herself. Y/N was sitting at the picnic table outside their studio three days before Christmas hiatus when she felt a slight shift of someone sitting next to her. Jared Padalecki, who played Sam Winchester just finished his scenes for the day and decided to eat before he left. He saw Y/N sitting by herself playing with her food instead of eating it and wanted to know what was wrong. "So, a little birdie told me that you have no plans for Christmas." He gently tapped her side to get her attention with his elbow. Y/N had been leaning into the table, and her right arm bent so that her head rested on her hand. "Nope, I don't. My family doesn't care if I live or die, so why go home to that drama?" She said as she shrugged her shoulder, then continued to make fork rows in her mash potatoes. "Well, how about you come home to Texas with us? Gen and I would love to have you, and the kids would be happy to see you." He took a bite of his baked potato. She sat up straight, "I dunno Jared. I'm not really big on family get-togethers. Besides, I'll be fine up here. I have a few TV shows to catch up on." She stood up to get ready to go to her trailer, but Jared stopped her from leaving. "I'm telling you this because you're not going to stay here alone, and I won't have it. Even if I have to pack your bags for you, and carry you over my shoulders, I will." He said as he looked up at her with that damn puppy dog eyes he had mastered over the years. With a sigh, she agreed. "Fine, but the minute I feel I’m in the way, I'm leaving." Jared smiled at her, "You won't be disappointed Y/N, I promise!" He shouted in her direction after she was able to escape his hold. She just waved her hand back to him acknowledging him as she walked on to her trailer. "Great, now I have to find things to wear." She muttered under her breath. "Oompf." She said as she bumped into someone, not realizing it was Jensen until she looked up from her cell phone. "Hey beautiful, what's so important that you can’t look where you were going?" He asked her, seeing the slight blush on her face. "It's nothing really, just reading a text from my sister. H-how are you doing?" She swallowed hard, feeling her stomach flip from looking into his green eyes. "I'm good, just finished my last scenes and ready to get the heck out of dodge for a while. What about you?" He smiled, and her heart skipped thousands of beats. "Moose decided for me that I needed to be joining everyone down in Texas for Christmas hiatus. So, I am about to hit the mall. I have nothing but jeans and rock band t-shirts to wear." She giggled hearing her cell go off with another text from her sister taking away her smile. "There's nothing wrong with jeans and rock band t-shirts, I have quite a few myself, and sometimes that's all I want to wear. Especially, wearing Dean's flannels all the time, t-shirts are always welcomed." "Yeah, I can see that. If you’re not busy, you're welcome to join me." She secretly prayed to herself he would. "If you promise to tell me what your sister told you in that text to make you upset." She smiled at him, "Deal, meet me by my car in about ten?" He nodded his head to acknowledge her, gave a wink, then walked towards his trailer to get out of his Dean clothes and change into something more comfortable. Y/N went to her trailer and paced a bit; she couldn't believe that she was going to spend some time with Jensen. They never really had a moment together alone, because Jared was always there with them wherever they went. So this was going to be a treat for her. Jensen was leaning back on the hood of her car with his arms crossed over his chest, but that changed when he saw her walk out of her trailer. She stopped on the top step to throw her bag over her shoulder. Just as she did, the wind blew by her. Y/N's long brown hair fluttered to the side of her, making Jensen's heart stop. He uncrossed his arms and stood straight as he watched her walk towards him.  His heart pounded in beat with her walk. Jensen had always felt something for her, since the day she had joined the cast. But he never acted on it, for reasons he kept to himself. The chemistry between her character and Dean had made their friendship easy.  However, Jensen wasn't sure if she had felt the same way.  But seeing her confident and bold just now made his heart rethink his feelings to speak up, and see where it could go between them when the time was right. She stopped in front of him, "Hey, you ok?" "Yeeeah, I'm ok. Why wouldn't I be?" He walked over to the passenger side of her SUV. "I dunno, you just look distracted, that's all." "Nope, all good. Let's go have some fun." He raised his eyebrows at her, with a big goofy grin, tapped the rooftop of the SUV, then got into the vehicle. The ride to the mall was comfortable, it wasn't annoying or silenced. It was fun, and Jensen's company made Y/N's nerves go away. She loved how he would tap at the dashboard on a song he recognized, or point out certain things where they filmed before her arrival. They were having fun and driving to the mall didn't take such a long time as it usually would have. She parked the car and turned to look at him. "Are you sure you're ready to go in there? That place," she pointed in front of them. "That's packed with fans who will recognize you?" She chuckled. Jensen looked at her, then looked at the mall. With a wink, he pulled out one of his caps and put it on. "Now, I am ready." Y/N got out of the car laughing, "Jensen, they are going to eat you alive." He walked around to join her. "That's why I got you, my bodyguard." He smiled and took her hand as they walked towards the building. Walking, she tilted her head sideways a bit to look at him. "Well, you're in luck, Ackles. I happen to know a few moves that can get us out of a sticky situation if need be." "Alrighty then, let's do this." He held their hands up together in the air as if he was ready to conquer the world.

After a two and a half hour visit to the mall, Jensen was never so excited to see his trailer again. Once inside, he flopped down so hard on the couch that dust from under it puffed outwards. "Geez Jensen, do you ever clean up around here?" Y/N chuckled as she fanned the dust from her.

"Hey, I clean all the time, so don't go there." He pointed his finger at her making her laugh. Just as she sat down at the table just as Jared walked in, "Hey, where have you two been? I've been looking everywhere for you." He sat next to Jensen after helping himself to a beer from the fridge. "Dude!" Jensen slapped at Jared’s hand as he sat too close to him. "We were at the mall, Y/N needed clothes." He chuckled remembering what happened also. "What's so funny Ackles?" Y/N asked him as she went through her bag of clothes trying to hide the other items. He gave her a cheeky grin as he sat up straight, "Just remembering what else is in that bag." She rolled her eyes, "Don't you even say anything, your dead if you do Jay." If the look on her face at the time could kill, it would have. Jensen just cleared his throat and stood to get another beer. "Oh no, you can't do that to me," Jared spoke up. "What happened?” Jensen couldn't help but tell Jared. flashback After hitting a couple of shops Y/N found a few outfits she could take with her to Texas, thanks to Jensen's help. Ironically, there were only maybe two or three fans who had recognized them and they took the time to talk with them. Y/N then saw Victoria Secrets to the right of where they were standing, thinking that she could sneak off to get a few things without Jensen seeing, she started to walk over. But, to her surprise, Jensen caught up with her. "Hey, sneaking off without me huh?" His arm slightly brushed up against hers. She stopped walking to look at him, "I kind of need to go into a store that I don't think you need to follow." She stood there biting her bottom lip. "It's ok Y/N, I've been in every store this mall has, including Victoria Secrets." He grinned at her. "I'm afraid to ask why you been in Victoria secrets." She rolled her eyes and continued to walk in, then stopped, pointing her finger at him. "Don't you dare embarrass me, Ackles." "I wouldn't dream of it," he said with a raised eyebrows and a cheeky smile. They walked around a bit, and Y/N noticed Jensen wasn't with her. She closed her eyes a moment to stop a heat of embarrassment she knew was about to happen. "Y/N! Look!" Came Jensen from behind her. Nervously, she slowly turned around muttering, "Please don't, please don't." But that all changed when she saw him. "Jensen! Seriously? I told you don't embarrass me." She palmed her forehead, then dared to get closer to him. Jensen giggled and wondered how far he could take this with you, to get a rise out of you. When he saw her reaction which is what he was hoping for, he had to stifle back a laugh.  Jensen was holding up some vibrating edible undies, and you could hear the vibrator going off. "You know babe," He raised his voice a bit. "We could buy a pair or two, they would look amazing on you." He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he held them up. "You want to try them on?" She looked around to see people staring at her, she felt her face turn three shades of red. She felt the temperature in her body grow the more she looked at him. She wanted to slap him, to punch him, to do whatever she could to get him back, but all she did was go over to him, snatched the vibrating underwear out of his hands quickly and put them back down on the table. "You, Jensen Ackles, are a dead man, got it?" She gave him a look, then proceeded to the checkout. "Oh my god, I wished I could have been there to see your face Y/N." Jared was laughing so hard that he was doubled over holding his stomach. Y/N got up from the bench seat by the table, grabbed her bag in haste, then looked at them both. "I really hate you, both of you." She muttered as she left the trailer for hers.

Jensen got up from the couch and went to stop her, she was halfway to her trailer when he grabbed her by the elbow and turned her to face her. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, look at me." She refused to look him in the eyes, and kept her head down towards the ground. "Y/N, hey. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you, it was just all fun honestly." He touched the side of her cheek with the back of his hand. He was expecting to see an angry, red-faced Y/N, but what he saw was totally opposite. It was wet, and he knew she’d been crying, he felt guilty and wanted to apologize. 

Her heartbeat picked up when he did that, she felt all hot and bothered on the inside like someone had turned the heat up to 120 degrees. "You embarrassed me Jensen, I know you guys like to prank people. I get it, I really do. I know how you and Jared are, yeah it was funny. In the long run i’ll laugh about it. But at the time it was embarrassing when people were looking at me to see what i’d do. But ask yourself, would you have done that if you knew I loved you." She broke free from his hold and walked quickly away from him and to her trailer, leaving a stunned Jensen behind.

Current tags;

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[queen-ofthe-pumpkinpatch]

The Reluctant Countess: Chapter Five

Also available to read on Fictionpress under the same name. (There’s a link in my sidebar.)

Story Summary: When another plague outbreak arrives on the shores of the Black Sea in 1667, wealthy merchant’s daughter Rosalind is forced to flee her comfortable life for the relative safety of a remote village in the Carpathian Mountains. But she soon finds the humble village harbors a sinister secret and a haunted past.

A “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired vampire story, rated T for some violence. (The romance itself is going to be rated PG.)

Rosalind did not know what else to say to her aunt without contradicting her. They finished their gruel in prickly silence, broken only by the clink of their spoons. She could feel Ioana watching her with a frustrated intensity, but she chose not to acknowledge it. She could try to respect the superstitions of others, but she could not agree to live in fear and ignorance like her neighbors did.

           The world is much wider and greater than any of these people will ever know, Rosalind thought. Maybe if they traveled more than a few miles from home once in a while, or read a book other than the Bible, they would understand.

           As they washed up the dishes from their breakfast, they heard a voice outside that signified Faruk was also awake. Ioana drew aside the threadbare curtain. Faruk was on his prayer mat, presumably facing Mecca, and bowed in prayer.

           Rosalind could hear her aunt muttering something under her breath about “heathen worship” and “devilry,” but before Ioana could march over and interrupt Faruk’s invocations, Rosalind held her back by the elbow.

           “He’s saying his morning prayers, as we just did ourselves,” she pointed out quietly. “There’s no harm in it.”

           “I said he could stay in this house,” Ioana said in a clipped tone. “That doesn’t mean his foreign rituals are welcome.”

           Dear God, I hope Faruk cannot hear our conversation from here, Rosalind thought, groaning internally. The walls of this house were meager enough that it seemed likely.

           Rosalind could only speak a little Arabic that she had picked up from her tutors, but it was enough to understand the substance of Faruk’s prayers. If an appeal to reason and tolerance did not move her aunt, then perhaps an appeal to her familial duty would.

           “Aunt Ioana, it’s a prayer for the dead. He’s praying for my father’s soul; they were good friends. Please leave him be.”

           I know you aren’t as cold and hard as you pretend to be, Rosalind wished she could say, pleading instead with her eyes. Her aunt exhaled in a sharp gust, and as if expelling her annoyance in the same breath, her taut posture relaxed.

           “When he’s finished, tell him the stable needs cleaning,” Ioana said.

           “So what will you do now?”

           Faruk paused in his shoveling and looked back at Rosalind over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

           Rosalind shrugged, keeping her eyes fixed on the fresh straw she was strewing over the stable floors. “I mean, you’ve fulfilled the promise you made to my father, haven’t you? You’ve delivered me safely to my family. But I doubt you were planning on remaining here indefinitely. Your education and skillset aren’t exactly in high demand here.”

           “No, I suppose they are not,” he agreed with a wry smile.

           “So will you…will you be going back?” Rosalind could not keep her tone as nonchalant as she wanted.

           Faruk sighed heavily. “Constanta is not safe at present. The quarantine is likely still in effect. But you are right, I did not intend to live permanently in Vseník.”

           She bit her lip. She wanted to ask him, please don’t leave me alone here, you’re my only friend, but she knew how selfish a request it would be. He had a life of his own to lead, and he had no reason to sequester himself in some backward alpine village that did not welcome him.

           “Of course, it would be a waste if your vast knowledge and inquiring mind was trapped here, where they won’t be appreciated,” she said, forcing a smile. “Will you be going home to Istanbul, then?”

           He hesitated. “I will. But not yet. There is still a portion of my promise that I have yet to fulfill.”

           She looked at him inquiringly.

           “I told your father that I would see you well-married and settled before I moved on,” he admitted, his eyes crinkling at the corners as if anticipating her displeasure. “Since he was not able to discharge that paternal duty himself.”

           “Ah.” Rosalind felt her stomach sinking. “I’m sorry, Faruk. You might be waiting a long time.”

           She was not utterly opposed to matrimony, or even to the idea of a practical match. She had always assumed that someday she would need to choose someone level-headed, financially stable, and preferably from a good family. Her father had hoped their money, tainted though it was by trade, might even tempt a landowning family to make an offer.

           But he had always, always insisted they would find a husband Rosalind could respect, and even grow to care for.

           Passion is what drew your mother and I together, her father had told her when she turned sixteen. It wasn’t sensible and we were much too young, too poor. I don’t want that kind of uncertainty and danger for you. But I don’t want you trapped in a union that suffocates you, either. Your mind is too sharp to throw it away on some dull clod. We’ll find a happy medium, my girl, I know we will.

           At the time, that prospect had seemed realistic. Under the present circumstances, however…

           “Somehow I doubt there’s a suitable husband for me among the dozen or so bachelors in this village,” Rosalind said with a nervous laugh. “At least, by my father’s standards.”

            Faruk sighed, leaning on his shovel thoughtfully. “Perhaps we will both be pleasantly surprised.”

           After the stables were cleaned out and the horses fed, Rosalind was sent to the cistern in the town square to fetch water. It must have been a customary chore at this point in the morning, for there was already a long queue of women, young and old, with jugs and jars balanced on their hips or on top of their heads. There was much chattering and friendly gossip among those waiting their turn. But when Rosalind joined the line, the two women nearest ceased their spirited discussion and stole furtive glances at her.

           Rosalind stood tall and firm, refusing to blush or appear cowed. She would not be embarrassed by the rudeness of others.

           She had almost reached the front of the queue when a hush fell suddenly over the women. They all seemed to be looking at someone behind Rosalind. She did not seem remarkable to Rosalind—a woman of about thirty, auburn hair tucked back into a white kerchief, muscular arms from lifting and laboring. She wore a homespun gown and apron just like the other women here. So why did the crowd part at her arrival, and silently let her pass to the front of the line?

           It did not seem like they favored her out of respect, for the other women watched her with narrowed eyes. As the stranger passed, Rosalind saw a silver charm gleaming at her neck: a hand reaching out with pinky and thumb extended, an eye inscribed in its palm. It was a symbol to ward off the Evil Eye, which Rosalind had seen Jewish women wear back home.

           When the Jewish woman passed her again with a full jug of water, she briefly caught Rosalind’s gaze. She had largely ignored her rude Christian neighbors with placid defiance, but she paused for a moment at Rosalind. The expression in her hazel eyes was not one of curiosity, or even hostility, but seemed oddly like recognition and pity. Before Rosalind could unscramble her thoughts enough to speak to the woman, she shook her head once as if resigned, and continued on.

           What was that all about? Rosalind wondered. There was something unsettling about the interaction, as if the woman had known something she herself did not.

           One of the matrons in front of Rosalind bent toward her and whispered, “That’s Judith. She works for Him. Our Lord, I mean.”

           On her walk home, Rosalind tried to simply focus on not spilling her precariously full jug of water, but she could not shake the prickling feeling on the back of her neck. She did not believe in omens; she was a skeptic. She was inclined to search for natural and rational explanations before turning to superstition and magic. But the atmosphere of this village was so strange and disconcerting that her stomach twisted constantly with apprehension.

           Something was wrong here. And she almost dreaded finding out what.

              Exhausted by her chores that day, Rosalind fell asleep almost the moment her aunt blew out the feeble candle. But she did not find rest or oblivion.

           Her dreams were meandering and endless. She felt like she was falling backwards through a deep, narrow shaft in the earth, the sunlight up above fading to a tiny pinprick, nothing to catch her fall but empty space. And as she tumbled through that dark tunnel, the air grew colder until she lost all feeling in her fingers and toes. There was nothing but the dark and the cold and the smell of freshly-turned earth.

           Her dream-self screamed and screamed, but no sound escaped her dry throat.

           Waking was a sluggish, gradual process. First she became aware of how stiff and rigid she seemed to be lying. It felt as if her bed beneath her had been replaced with a slab of stone. The surface beneath her fingertips was damp and slick. The air smelled musty and stale. Rosalind was disoriented from her dreams, and before she dared open her eyes, she tried to sort through what was real and what was just a nightmare.

           It was all just in my head, she thought with a swell of relief. How ridiculous I was to be so terrified! But it felt so real at the time. When I open my eyes, I’ll be in the bedroom with my aunt and Faruk.

           Dim, flickering golden light met her eyes when she managed to wrench them open.

           She didn’t know this place.

           She was still in her fine linen nightdress, but someone had placed a woolen blanket over her. The hard, smooth surface under her turned out to be a stone dais; the flickering light came from the circle of half-melted candles around her. On either side of her were two stone sarcophagi topped with intricate marble effigies—on her right, a veiled noblewoman holding a rosary studded with glimmering rubies, and on her left, an armored knight clutching a sword in his only hand.

           On the clammy rock-hewn walls was a bas-relief carving of skeletons holding hands in a courtly dance. Beneath it, the admonition Memento Mori.

           Rosalind sat up slowly, trying to get her bearings. What am I doing here? Looking at the moisture on the rough walls, she wondered, Is this some kind of…tomb or catacomb underground?

           Before she could contemplate the potential horror of a premature burial, her roaming eyes were drawn to a dark corner. Someone was watching her in silence.

[kameliendame]

I never saw your review/opinion - what did you think about POB's Swan Lake (the live webcast last year with Amandine Albisson, Mathieu Ganio and François Alu)?

Ive received asks about this before, im just gonna copypaste my answers in this ask if you dont mind! its too much to rewrite everything again. Warning: its really long.

(1) YES I DID AND I LOVED IT! This is the best ballet Nureyev has produced, nothing like any of his other works. He kept it quite minimalistic not only with the choreography but also with the sets and costumes. I love the pastel theme in the first act and then the continuation of those colours in the third act but with darker hues like purple and magenta. It’s stunning. As for the dancing, it couldnt get any better. The corps de ballet danced SO WELL, they are all extremely neat and precise and i do not get why people said their technique arent up to standard at all. Highlights of the evening for me was the corps dancing in the first act, especially Gorse, Park, Bourdon and Visocchi as the four leading ladies, and Thibault and Hurel in the Neapolitan dance. They were on a completely other level. I get that there are young dancers with lots of potential in the company but they dont even come close to the artistry, stage presence and musicality of the more expierenced dancers. I was a bit underwhelmed by the pas de trois, (Louvet/O'Neill/Baulac) especially compared by the magic that Thibault and Hurel produced when they were on stage for a criminally short time. It wasnt bad but surrounding all the hype around these three i expected more of them. They werent particularly musical (but i blame the conductor for that, the tempo was too slow and didnt allow them to dance properly) or brought out anything out of the choreography, they just ticked all the technical boxes. It was quite bland if you ask me. If these people are supposed to be next in line to be étoile they have a LOT of work to do. Instead I was more impressed by dancers of the corps, Fanny Gorse and Aubane Philbert in particular were beautiful swans with gorgeous épaulement. Bourdon and Park danced with the authority of Odette and were overcast as Big Swans. Visocchi and Révillion were a dream pairing, Marque and Kirscher moved with stylish grace and looked like they could bend gravity at their will. Joannides was a very lively and vibrant Princess. I also liked Raveau and Colasante in the Spanish dance, they had fleshed out characters and real chemistry together. What an improvement since I last saw them together in Le Palais. Thats all I can think of right now! Yes I know I havent said anything about Ganio/Albisson/Alu, but I didnt quite know what to think of their performance so I’m gonna rewatch it today and see what I can make of it. I was left with mixed feelings and some thoughts that I cant exactly put to words so maybe watching it again will make things more clear for me.

(2) I agree with you on that, I had some doubts about her being chosen for the broadcast, but after rewatching it I have changed my mind. Although I do have some criticism about her performance. The problem with Albisson is that it takes her a very long time to get in character. It was the same with her Juliet and Giselle and now also with her Odette/Odile. When I saw her Juliet she didnt warm up to Ganio until the wedding scene, which is like halfway through the ballet already! Her Giselle performance went like that too, her first act was mediocre at best. This is a problem because ballets like these are about love at first sight, even if it is an artistic choice of her to be distant at first it doesnt make any sense because it clashes with the narrative. Her first act Odette was extremely cold, detached and absent overall, she looked awkward in the pas de deux, as if she didnt want to be there in the first place. It strangely reminded me of the pas de deux in the Firebird where Ivan Tsarevich catches the Firebird and she tries to get away. I did not feel like Odette was falling in love with Siegfried at all, not even gradually. There was zero chemistry between the two. I dont think she even looked him straight in the eye once during the pas de deux. But I must add that she was up to the task technically, aesthetically and musically. Albisson is a very musical dancer who actually listens to the music and follows it accordingly. She doesnt linger in her steps but reacts to any change in the music instantly. It was very nice to watch and the only good thing about her Act II performance. She might have been emotionally stunted at first but, when she does get in character, my god, what a stupendous dancer she is! She finally warmed up in the third act, when a deliciously evil Odile enters the scene, and immediately you know what shes after: Siegfrieds heart. Every moment, every tilt of the head was directed towards him. It resulted in an extremely engaging pas de deux where she finally acknowledges Ganio’s presence, none of which happed just one act before. She went for the stereotypical smirky-face, sharp and jerky movements Odile (which I absolutely hate) but for some reason it worked for her (and it didnt annoy me as it usually does). She was a bewitching Odile with an electrifying gaze piercing right through Siegfried but she used that gaze not only on him but also on the audience, as if she wanted to enchant every single person on stage and in the audience. What a magnificent performance. In the third act there was nothing left of the tepid Odette of Act II, she danced with more abandon and recklesness, completely throwing herself in Siegfrieds arms. It was a fitting reaction to his betrayal.

Some thoughts on Ganio: I have never liked him and everytime I see him dance I am more convinced that I do not like his dancing. So far ive seen his Desire, Romeo and now Siegfried, and there is literally no difference between the three. Zero. I have tried so many times to see what’s so special about him but I just cant. He is an extremely boring dancer who does not know how to portray a character that isnt a cutout cardboard of a princely figure. There is no nuance in his performance, nothing that makes you think the person on stage is an actual person with a motive. He just comes on stage, dances his variation and afterwards I dont even remember he was there. He’s like the male Svetlana Zakharova. Technically and physically gifted but has got nothing more to offer than that.

Thoughts on Alu: “Just because Im not cast as Siegfried doesnt mean I cant be the star of the show” was probably his main thought before he took on this role!!!!! The best Rothbart Ive ever seen! He made it look like he was the main character and siegfried and odette were mere pawns in his masterplan (whatever that was - killing siegfried maybe??) Here was a fleshed out character with a story to tell and motives to his actions, a true dancer-actor to the bone. Im sitting here still in awe of his magnificent jumps in the third act variation. He made Ganio look even more bleak and one dimensional in comparison. And not to mention he almost outdanced Ganio and Albisson with that variation and with the roaring bravos and applause he got afterwards I think many would agree with me.

[mammothstrengthx]

The Truth About Internet Judges

If you checked out the video you just saw Maryana Naumova, a 13 year old girl, bench 240lbs.  In other words, you just saw something AWESOME!  You just saw something that literally maybe a handful of girls her age could accomplish, and she is the only one I have ever seen on video.  This was done with the Flag Nor Fail crew taping at the 2013 Arnold Classic, in front of the entire fitness world.

So you would think this would be something to celebrate, and you would be right.  However, the problem is there is a growing faction in our society that just wants to shit on everything.  Whenever they see something awesome, something that defies their small way of thinking they have to talk shit about it more than likely to make themselves feel better about their own mediocrity.

Youtube is an awesome resource for sharing videos.  Be they videos of athletic accomplishments, or videos of cute kittens.  The problem is that for some reason, there is no IQ Test required to post a comment on a video.  And so every idiot thinks their opinion is equally as important as people that are actually knowledgeable about the subject matter.

Some of the Comments:

berserkir “Shes cheating.....she doesnt have to bring the bar as far down to touch her chest. If she did it flat back she would bench half that weight.”

 MusikAlltid “Sure it´s much but she´s only doing one. When training one should do 12x2.”

 EliQball “Yay she can lift some heavy weight. *clap clap* - But with that form all she's doing is 1x (barely) half rep and preparing herself for several herniated disks. No offence but she's doing more harm than good!”

Not surprisingly neither of those first two internet warriors have any videos of themselves doing anything awesome.  And then you get to EliQball, his youtube page suggests someone with a decent degree of fitness knowledge, and yet he accuses her of doing a HALF REP.  Yet again, do people even understand the English language.  I mean I know that texting shorthand has killed our ability to put together grammatically correct sentences, but still.  Words do in fact still mean something.  And when you say someone is cheating, and they aren't, you just look petty and ignorant.  Which is also what you look like when you see someone do a bench press that touches their sternum and is returned to lockout and you call it a half rep.  Just because she is physically able to get into a mechanically superior position to bench press does not make her a cheater.  That is similar to calling Shaquille O'Neil a cheater because he is taller than you and it is easier for him to dunk.

“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” -Aristotle-

You gotta ask yourself, what the hell are people thinking when they spew this nonsense?  Or are they just wanting to try to bring her back to the pack and continue to cater to the lowest common denominator.  I mean seriously, at the end of the day all you have done is criticize a 13 YEAR OLD GIRL!  Congratulations, I hope you feel better.

Here is a video Mike Wolfe of Exile Barbell posted.  It shows 18 yr old high school Senior Seth Hipply smoking 765 to a 1 board.  According to Mike he then came back and smoked 805.  And *GASP* he was wearing a bench shirt.  Regardless, that is AWESOME.  How many 18 yr old kids could even unrack 805lbs at arms length for more than 1 second without winding up in the ER?!  Why can't people just watch that video and just say "Good Job!"  What is so difficult about that.

But NO, Instead you get this...

Adam Sizemore Nice triple ply shirt. Raw vid would be impressive.

Cody Ballinger He's small though, I'd really be impressed if he was taller than 4"8 with longer arms.

David Deitering wow alot has changed since i competed of 4 inch bench WTF!

For some reason Adam Sizemore chose to ASSume that he was wearing a triple ply shirt since there is absolutely NO WAY to tell from a video.  Then he proceeds to point out that a Raw video would be more impressive.  In this case I am inclined to agree that an 800 lb raw bench would be more impressive.  But what does that have to do with this video?  Not much.  Again this is similar to suggesting that Tiger Woods' 300+ yard drives would be more impressive if he used a persimmon wood.  You know, since that is a "true test of blah blah blah..."  Then Cody Ballinger again ASSumes that Seth is short.  Yet again, this is impossible to tell with any level of accuracy from the video.  Doesn't stop him from throwing it out there.  Truth be told, Seth is 6' plus which is Officially NOT SHORT.  Then of course David Deitering chimes in with the prerequisite ROM and competitive standards critique.  He does realize this was a 1 board press in the gym and not at a competition right?  And as far as ROM goes yet again, what if he did have freakishly short arms.  What if he resembled T-Rex, it doesn't fucking matter.  That is how he is built.  Should he not use that to his advantage to be the best at his chosen sport?

You'll have to forgive me but this  latest rant is going to end in relatively the same way as the last few.  This really is a call to arms.  People need to stop bitching about stuff and start doing stuff.  These people are busting their asses, and doing awesome things.  If this offends you, then why not step away from the anonymity of the internet, and go out there and do something awesome yourself.  Why do you care what other people are doing?  Why would you ASSume they care about your opinion?  More importantly, why does other people's success bother you so much, unless it points out your own lack there of.  If that is the case, trying to bring people back to your level may be easier, but it doesn't solve the problem.

And trust me, if you are one of these ignorant Internet Judges, the problem isn't the people doing awesome things. the problem is YOU!

See additional information on: Mammoth Strength

[placetobenation]

October 30, 2017 From the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD Your hosts are Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Booker T

We get a highlight package from last week when Shane McMahon invaded RAW with the Smackdown Live roster as they took RAW #undersiege.

The live show starts with the RAW roster standing on the stage with GM Kurt Angle standing in the ring. Angle apologizes to his roster and says he put them in harms way last week. He then says this is the only time of the year when RAW and Smackdown Superstars compete but he is interrupted by the returning Stephanie McMahon. She welcomes the crowd then says on January 22nd it will be the 25th anniversary of RAW. She then brings up all that is happened and that she still backed him until he allowed her brother Shane to invade RAW. The crowd starts a “You still got it” chant then she starts screaming at Angle for being a failure and ruin what her father created in Monday Night RAW but will give him another shot when he is team Captain for the RAW Survivor Series team. She also expects victory and “total annihilation” or else there will be a new general manager. Another segment where Stephanie emasculates a talent. It was predictable the moment she came out and the promo itself was awful to be honest. It did set up Angle having to literally fight for his job at Survivor Series, which is fine and makes sense, but Stephanie’s was not good here at all.

Tonight, we will see Seth Rollins vs. Kane, Finn Balor vs. Cesaro, and Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

Backstage, Stephanie was getting into her limo as she told Angle to believe everything she just said and if not, just ask Mick Foley. She leaves then Miz arrives with the Miztourage as Bo Dallas has made his return. Miz thinks its unreal Angle was rewarded for being a bad general manager with being named captain of RAW’s Survivor Series Team. Angle has had enough and questions where he was at the end of the show last week when Smackdown took it over.  He then said Miz will defend his Intercontinental Title tonight. Miz then wants to know who he will be facing but Angle tells him he would have found out had her arrived on time.

Fox comes out wearing a captain’s hat. She tells Bayley that since she is the captain at the Survivor Series team, she doesnt have time for a match but has found a replacement, which is Nia Jax. This stuff with Alicia Fox is not getting over and its not hard to figure out why.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Bayley charges at Nia and gets scooped up but manages to slip off and hammer away. Nia sends Bayley outside then rolls her back in but gets dropkicked down. Bayley welcomes Nia back then we head to break. The match returns with Nia beating on Bayley as Fox watches from the stage. Nia uses the ropes for leverage as she stomps away but Bayley pushes her up then kicks her outside. Bayley flies out and hammers away then hits a stunner as Nia is hung up in the ropes as that gets two. Nia fights back then bowls over Bayley before putting her away with a leg drop (7:26) *1/2. After the match, Fox pretends she is a captain speaking through a plane PA system and informs Nia that she is her first pick for the RAW team.

Thoughts: A basic match to give Nia a win after returning from a few weeks off. It also set her up as part of the RAW Women’s team as there are still three other spots left.

Samoa Joe now comes back and walks past everyone then we head to commercial. After the break, Joe acknowledges his response and says some of us have missed him while the crowd starts chanting. Joe says its amusing because he has not missed any of us then asked who actually reached out to him and cared when he was away and that since no one did then he does not care about a single one of us. Joe then says he will use that disrespect as fuel to beat everyone. Apollo Crews then comes out with Titus O’Neill for his match.

Samoa Joe vs. Apollo Crews w/ Titus O’Neill 

Joe hammers away in the corner to start He follows with some knee strikes but Crews ducks under a swing and applies a side headlock. Joe regains control briefly until he runs into a dropkick. Crews lands some shots in the corner then tries for a suplex but fails and runs into a snap powerslam. Joe throws his gum at Titus then goes back to beating on Crews. He acts nonchalant and that allows Crews to hit a pair of enziguiris. Joe counters a spinning powerbomb with a side headlock then catches Crews with an uranage before the Coquina Clutch gets the win (3:38) *1/2. After the match, Joe taunts Titus, who takes off his coat. Joe pretends that he is leaving then locks Titus in the clutch as he was tending to Crews.

Thoughts: They gave Crews some offense here but Joe dominated for the most part. He also laid out Titus after the match to throw him back in the mix on RAW as a dominant force.

We find out that the 25th RAW Anniversary show will take place live from both the Manhattan Center and Hammerstein Ballroom with stars such as Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Miz (c) w/ The Miztourage vs. Matt Hardy

Matt lands a pair of quick rollups for nearfalls then Miz is able to slip away from a Twist of Fate attempt. The crowd chants for Matt as he gets Miz over for a backslide then he hammers away. Miz yanks Matt outside but misses a kick then regroups with the Miztourage while Matt slid back inside. We go to commercial and return with Matt still in control. He misses a charge then Miz places him up top but is knocked down. Miz is able to cut Matt down then takes him off with a neckbreaker as that gets two. Miz gets another two count with his backbreaker/neckbreaker combo then targets Matt’s throat. He stomps away and hits his corner clothesline but takes his time and is caught coming off of the top rope. Miz misses a corner charge as both men are down. Matt is up first and runs wild hitting all of his signature spots and sets up for the Twist of Fate but that is blocked so he comes back with the Side Effect for a nearfall. He heads up top for a moonsault and that gets two. Miz comes back with his It Kicks but Matt is able to hit the Twist of Fate as both men are down. Miz was able to roll out onto the apron then stuns Matt on the ropes before hitting the Skull Crushing Finale for the win (13:02) **1/2.

Thoughts: It started off really sloppy but got better down the stretch. The fans were invested into the match and really wanted to see Matt win.

We get a clip from earlier when Stephanie named Angle captain of the RAW Survivor Series team and threatened his job if he lost.

Angle is shown backstage texting on his phone when Alexa Bliss interrupts. She congratulates him on being captain of RAW and says that she can help him keep his job by improving the Women’s Division by getting rid of Mickie James and replacing her with anyone from the Mae Young Classic or by digging up Mae herself. Angle responds by asking Alexa where she was last week when Smackdown invaded as Mickie fought back. He then says that tonight she will not be able to run as she defends the Women’s Title in the main event. Alexa gets pissed and storms off.

An Asuka hype video airs. She will be wrestling after the break.

Asuka vs. Stacie Cullen

Asuak drops Cullen with a spinning back fist then stomps away. She lays into Cullen with knee strikes and continues to beat her down as Cole points out the fact she was undefeated in NXT as Asuka puts on the Asuka Lock for the win (1:38).

Thoughts: Its like they are pretending her first two matches never existed since Emma got released. This was how she should have debuted on the roster. It made her feel special and like an actual force.

Angle is once again texting in his office. He then becomes worried and pulls out a walkie talkie to alert everyone someone is hear and it turns out to be Daniel Bryan as we head to commercial.

After the break, Angle accuses Bryan of trying to finish the job that Shane started. Bryan assures Shane he had nothing to do with the attack and that he came here on his own accord. He also states he was blindsided by the attack but Angle wants him to stay locked in his office because the rest of the roster will eat him alive.

We get a video package to hype the Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar match at Survivor Series.

Bryan is in Angle’s office on the phone. He said it didnt go well with Angle and that he was more concerned with his safety than anything else. All of a sudden, the lights turn off then we go to commercial. The show returns with Bryan back on the phone with the lights still off. He is talking to someone and says he was fumbling around everywhere trying to get out and the door was locked and is pissed off. However, Kane grabs Bryan then we hear a sound of what was supposed to be Bryan going through the desk. This was way too hokey, even by pro wrestling standards. Bad acting from Bryan too. So far, the RAW vs. Smackdown build has been all over the place.

Finn Balor vs. Cesaro w/ Sheamus

Finn works a side headlock to start. Cesaro cheap shots after a break then continues to hammer away. Balor fights back as the announcers talk about Balor being a loner. Cesaro overpowers Balor and hits a few uppercuts but eats boot on a charge then is dumped outside. Balor takes Cesaro down with a baseball slide before connecting with a running soccer kick on the apron. Cesaro then manages to distract the ref as Sheamus grabs Balor’s leg then Cesaro knocks Balor off of the apron right before the break. The action returns with Balor taking Cesaro off of the top with an enziguiri after a reversal sequence. Sheamus provides another distraction then Cesaro gets a nearfall with a pop-up uppercut. Cesaro then hits a deadlift superplex for a two count then tries for a sharpshooter and eventually turns Balor over. Cesaro turns that into a crossface but Balor escapes then runs wild and sets up for the Coup de Grace but Sheamus gets up on the apron. Balor kicks Sheamus off then backdrops Cesaro outside before taking out both men with a tope con hilo. Back inside, Balor hits Cesaro with a double stomp to the back of the neck and gets the win (11:24) ***1/4.

Thoughts: Good match. Balor gets a much needed win after getting destroyed by Kane last week.

After the match, Balor heads up the ramp but Kane’s music hits and he comes out. Balor fires away but Kane boots him in the face then hits a tombstone on the ramp as Balor’s head was almost a foot off of the ground. The Shield’s music hits next as we go to break. Again, Balor picks up a key victory let is made to look like a goof afterwards by Kane. Why even bother at this point?

Kane vs. Seth Rollins w/ Dean Ambrose

Rollins hammers away to start. Kane gets knocked off of the apron but cuts off a dive attempt then takes control. We see Cesaro & Sheamus watching from ringside as Rollins fights back. Kane cuts off Rollins and hits a pair of running attacks in the corner before hitting a side slam for a nearfall. Rollins catches a charging Kane with a boot then an enziguiri. Rollins heads up top and hits a blockbuster for two. He flies out for a tope as Rollins is almost spiked on his head. Rollins hits Kane with a pair of springboard clotheslines then flies out to save Ambrose from The Bar but walks inside and is caught in a chokeslam as Kane picks up the win (5:41) *. After the match, Kane sets up for another chokeslam but Ambrose heads in for the Dirty Deeds. However, Kane pops up and The Bar beat on Ambrose. Kane hits Ambrose with a tombstone then Rollins lays on top of Ambrose but Kane picks him up for a tombstone too.

Thoughts: Kane is slow and old but tonight he got to get over at the expense of Balor, Rollins, and Ambrose. And for what? Its not like people were buying Kane as a threat when was on Smackdown and after feuding with Lesnar and Big Show you think people are going to buy him as a threat against Strowman? Constantly putting older talent over your younger talent will always keep the young talent down.

We see Bryan get loaded up on a stretcher and wheeled out of Angle’s office.

Miz & The Miztourage head into the locker room. However, there is a bad smell as someone left a garbage bag in there as Miz says its Braun Strowman and looked frightened. Axel assures him he is gone as they left him in the back of a garbage truck.

After the break, Miz walks into Kane. He asks him about tossing Strowman into the garbage truck as Kane reminds him that he helped him out along with The Bar. Kane then says if Strowman is back he will have to face him. Miz smiles and is glad they are on the same team but Kane gets the last laugh and says Miz is all by himself with this problem.

We get clips of Strowman getting tossed into the garbage truck.

Trick or Street Fight: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Rhyno & Heath Slater

Gallows & Anderson are dressed as Tex Ferguson & Chadd 2 Badd while Rhyno & Slater are dressed as Mr. & Mrs. Santa Clause. They have Halloween decorations all over the place and we get such hilarious spots as forced bobbing for apples and the jack-o-lantern double noggin-knocker. Gallows & Anderson beat on Slater for a bit but Anderson misses a corner attack then Rhyno no-sells a grave marker shot by Gallows and attacks him after a flash then smashes a pie in his face as Cole says “this is tremendous” in the least convincing way possible. Gallows & Anderson fight back then Anderson puts  a pumpkin over his head and comes off of the top but is caught and put through a table by Rhyno and that gets the win (4:52) -**

Thoughts: This was so bad it belonged on a 2000 WCW PPV. The crowd was dead (Let’s get real, this segment was for an audience of one and he owns the company) and after watching three of their favorites get squashed by Kane can you really blame them?

The Miz chats with The Bar and as them about Braun Strowman. They convince him Strowman would not be able to come back from that attack after one week. Miz is glad they are part of a strong team but The Bar tell him that he is alone.

Elias is in the ring for the Ballad of Jason Jordan. We are shown a video of him smashing his guitar over Jordan’s shoulder last week but Jordan interrupts and tosses Elias around. Elias bails then Jordan stomps on the guitar and tosses it up the aisle.

Miz & The Miztourage try to leave but Angle mandates them to stay.

Enzo Amore heads out to the ring, where Drew Gulak is standing. They both put down Angle for being an incompetent general manager. Gulak then does the SAWFT routine but spells the word correctly then gives a thumbs up as Enzo tells him never to do that again. Watching Gulak perform Enzo’s routine in perfect English was funny. Gulak is tremendous in this role.

Drew Gulak w/ Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto

They go back-and-forth to start but Kalisto takes him with a tornillo. Kalisto hits an enziguiri and spikes Gulak with a hurricarana before the Salida Del Sol gets the win (0:58). Enzo immediately runs in after the match and beats on Kalisto.

Thoughts: Gulak could not even get a minute with Kalisto. Anyway, looks like the Enzo vs. Kalisto feud will continue.

Miz is in the locker room and wants the Miztourage to get the car ready so they can leave as soon as the show ends.

RAW Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Mickie James

Mickie gets the best of Alexa to start then we head to break. The match returns with Alexa cranking the neck. Mickie fights back and we get a “CM Punk” chant. Mickie heads up top but Alexa flings her off then goes up herself only or Mickie to kick her off as Alexa falls to the apron then on the floor. She heads back inside where Mickie almost puts her away then sets up for a kick but Alexa bails. Mickie drags Alexa back inside and gets a few pinfall attempts but ends up getting punched in the face and that wins the match for Alexa (11:18) *1/2.

Thoughts: Boring, and a good chunk of this took place during the break. Their match at TLC was much better. Mickie losing to a punch signals that this feud is over now as another babyface looks incompetent after feuding with Alexa.

Miz & The Miztourage are rushing to leave the arena. They get into the limo but it slams on the breaks as there is a garbage truck blocking their path. The back opens and trash flows out then Strowman gets up as the camera zooms in at a horrified Miz. Strowman roars then chases after him when they fled the limo. Alexa is still posing in the ring as we see Miz & Axel on the stage. Strowman heads after Miz but Dallas & Axel attack from behind. Strowman shrugs them off then flings Miz into the screens and clears the announcers table. Strowman then tosses them all down the ramp and into the ring and beats the crap out of Axel as the crowd approves. Miz & Bo eventually crawl up the ramp and bail as Strowman carries Axel up the ramp then puts him through the announcers table. Strowman then rips off his shirt and roars as the show ends. This segment was ludicrous and the insulted the intelligence of anyone watching (I mean they even showed the highlight package from TLC in the show that you saw Strowman get tossed in a completely different garbage truck than what he popped out of tonight) but the fans love Strowman and love watching him destroy people even more so it worked. Strowman should be the focus of RAW. He has been able to remain bulletproof from this horrible storyline.

Final Thoughts: This was a show that makes you embarrassed to watch wrestling. If I was not recapping this show, I would have shut it off. The storylines were awful and the acting and scripting were on the same level. The overproducing in every segment is not going to make more people drawn to the product. Just concentrate on putting out a better wrestling product. If you want to capture the interest of lapsed fans or those vaguely interested in wrestling then you need to put wrestling-minded people in creative positions. If you want to continue with those who have minimal experience watching wrestling then you’ll end up with more shows like what we got tonight. No one wants to watch a terrible TV show with uninteresting characters, especially not one that lasts three hours long.

They have just two more RAWs before Survivor Series and the build has been poor. The news of Angle’s job being on the line is something but really, how many of these storylines do we need, especially after we just had Mick Foley get fired by Stephanie? The other title vs. title matches at the PPV are without fanfare and the Cruiserweight Division might get shut out of the card entirely.