#tramp stamps commentary

[firstclassrookie]

"Listen, the crop top is easier to move around in."

[abstractreign]

also heh. everyone's gettin' a body mod—

[harmonicabisexuals]

season 4 rewatch thoughts! overall, this season feels very dark, much darker in tone than s3. when I when I look at all the episodes next to each other, the only true “funny” episode is “small potatoes” (”sanguinarium” and “el mundo gira” are lighter in tone in some scenes but still overall pretty dark). this is probably in part due to darin morgan leaving the show, but I also think that the cancer arc looms large over the whole season, even in the episodes before “leonard betts” to some degree, especially since on rewatch I knew it was coming.

it’s also interesting to see how much more physical M/S are with each other this season, especially compared to s3-- so many little touches and 5(!) hugs when we only had two hugs in s2 (irresistible, anasazi) and one in s3 (paper clip). there are many metas that can be written about why but it’s interesting to observe the change. 

writing: morgan and wong’s episodes this season felt a little inexplicably off compared to their earlier work (except for “never again”), and I wonder if it was hard for them to find their groove again after the tone shift and sort of stabilization that happened in s3 while they were gone. vince gilligan was definitely my favorite writer this season, but i did actually really enjoy the chris carter/frank spotnitz writing team too-- the two-part myth arcs were more consistently good this season.

favorite episodes: paper hearts, leonard betts, never again, memento mori, tempus fugit/max, demons

71% worth rewatching (a little less than s3 at 75%)

episode opinion tags under the cut

Herrenvolk- some good moments but not really any resolution? not explained v well

Home- creepy af, but didn’t enjoy it as much on rewatch? felt a bit heavy handed

Teliko- not the best racial commentary lol but they were trying. M/S both look hot af tho

Unruhe- a minute Vince Gilligan slay

The Field Where I Died- a little too woo woo even for the x files lol, but some good moments! 

Sanguinarium- it’s okay. witchy! Mulder and Scully are hot af tho

Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man- CSM backstory, kind of feels like US History fanfic or a Forrest Gump parody?? Almost zero M/S

Tunguska- kind of action movie vibes? decent

Terma- same as prev, very Bourne identity vibes…the congressional hearing scene makes me screammm tho lol

Paper Hearts- so so good but so sad

El Mundo Gira- the aliens/illegal aliens metaphor was a lil convoluted, but decent overall

Leonard Betts- wild!! and really good!!

Never Again- get it* Scully!!! *tramp stamp and some dick

Memento Mori- nooooo  :(((((

Kaddish- better than expected!

Unrequited- boringgg

Tempus Fugit- pretty good! scully’s birthday scene was so sweet :))

Max- really good! chilling plane crash sequence and love the M/S scenes especially the keychain speech at the end

Synchrony- interesting sci-fi concept, Mulder has memorized Scully’s thesis :’)

Small Potatoes- really funny but the second hand embarrassment is STRONG

Zero Sum- killer bees! and no Scully :(

Elegy- that convo at the end…gonna lose it. otherwise a bit meh.

Demons- really good whodunnit, sad when u think about the *implications*

Gethsemane- ahhh that cliffhanger! very Plot heavy tho

[bllsbailey]

The Morning Briefing: Trump Triggering the Lefties Never Ceases to Amuse and Entertain

Top O' the Briefing

Happy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Lozerendus felt that nothing in this mad world could be put right without a functional rotary phone in every home. 

The Trump Train has been fueled by inevitability as it barrels towards the Republican nomination for a while now. It has only picked up steam since Trump's frozen Iowa cakewalk on Monday night. As frequent readers here know, I haven't always been thrilled about Trump being the 2024 nominee, despite having voted for him with great enthusiasm in the recent past.

Now that we're here, all I can do is lean in and hope for the least worst best. 

I've got a real future as an ambiguous motivational speaker. 

Conservatives shouldn't worship politicians. Unfortunately, that's become a problem in the Trump era. His hordes of Truth Social fanboys go to bed every night wearing MAGA jam-jams and hugging Trump pillows. That can be rather off-putting to the people who want to vote for him but aren't committed to getting a Trump tramp stamp if he becomes POTUS 47. 

Rather than fret about being trapped at an awkward barbecue with those dudes, I like to think about those who really, really don't like Trump instead. He's much easier to embrace as the eventual candidate when you take a look at the people whose agita meters get fried at the mere thought of Trump being on the ballot again. 

There are a couple of stories this week about Trump's ability to be the biggest monster ever under the beds of leftists the world over. 

The first is about the anti-freedom New World Order freakshow that masquerades as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland every year, which Athena wrote about for us: 

This year at Davos — where the globalist elite gathers to bask in its own superiority, indulge in the ultimate luxuries of privilege, and make plans for the rest of us — there's a big, orange poop in their punchbowl. And in their trembling apprehension of what President Trump's second term would mean for their gilded lifestyles, the world's ruling class is being remarkably candid. In a Friday commentary, Reuters's Peter Thal Larsen asserts that "the spectre of a second Trump administration will loom over many of the panels, bilateral discussions and drinks parties during the week." He points out that "Trump’s return could revive tensions with the European Union," which is true, before positing this howler: "undermining the Biden administration’s efforts to lead allies in taking a tougher stance towards China, the world’s second largest economy."

Biden is tough on China in the same way that I'm a sought-after prospect to play power forward in the NBA — it's not a thing that ever existed, or ever will exist. As my good friend Stephen Green is fond of saying: "Joe Biden is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese Communist Party." When Biden writes out "Xi Jinping" in longhand, he dots the i's with hearts. 

Davos is a gathering of wealthy tyrants who think that the "have nots" in the world have too much. Thanks to capitalism or inheritance, they got theirs and they want to make sure that the pie gets and remains very fixed. A bigger collection of people who should be smarter can't be found anywhere. These pinheads think that the world's ugliest trophy wife — John Kerry — is relevant. 

In triggering news closer to home, the poor dears at CNN and MSNBC went into full state-run media mode over Trump's win in Iowa. Matt covered this one: 

CNN started to cover Trump's speech, but Jake Tapper curiously cut away from the feed after Trump started talking about Joe Biden's border crisis. "We're going to seal up the border because right now we have an invasion," Trump began. "We have an invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming into our country. I can't imagine why they think that's a good—" And that's when Tapper started talking over him. "Donald Trump, declaring victory with a historically strong showing in the Iowa caucuses if these numbers hold. The biggest victory for a non-incumbent president in the modern era for this contest. A relatively subdued speech as these things go so far, although here he is, right now, under my voice. You can hear him repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric."

For those who don't have their MSM bias decoder rings handy, "anti-immigrant rhetoric" means "the truth about Biden's border fiasco." False narrative über alles, right Jakey? Tapper, by the way, is a hack's hack. Over the years, he's managed to convince a lot of center-right people that he's not a raging, bias-spewing lefty. 

Nah, he's awful. 

Matt goes onto describe Rachel Maddow's justification for carrying out DNC marching orders: 

"But there is a cost to us, as a news organization, of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. That is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are," she continued. You may pause for a moment to laugh. "And so, his remarks tonight will not air here live. We will monitor them and let you know about any news that he makes.”

Rachel Maddow would break out in hives if she ever uttered anything truthful on the air. She's made a career of spewing angsty lies while furrowing her brow, which her low-info fan base believes makes her trustworthy. 

Trump terrifies Tapper, Maddow, and their ilk so much that they're afraid to let their rabid leftist audiences hear him speak. What if some truth rubs off on one of them and they begin to be honest with themselves about the fact that there truly is a dangerous invasion in progress on our southern border? That. Cannot. Happen. 

The one issue that Trump consistently gets right more than any other Republican is the border. Too many Republicans in Washington tiptoe around it to avoid the kind of negative press Trump has gotten since his announcement speech in 2015. 

Donald Trump certainly brings a lot of baggage to this race, and it's understandable that some people have more than a little trepidation about voting for him. Let's hope those voters realize that the people Trump annoys the most are the ones that no freedom-loving person ever wants to be in power. 

Click the button below to get the Morning Briefing emailed to you every weekday. Have your coffee with me, people. It's free and it supports conservative media!  

The Mailbag of Magnificence contributions can be sent to morningbriefing@pjmedia.com.

[fairytalefem]

Analyzing Tramp Stamp's Lyrics and Reacting to Their Latest Statement (ft. An Original Song)

Go watch our latest video where we deep dive into the origins of Tramp Stamps and analyze their terrible lyrics 💕

[swampyswan]

Regarding that new Tramp Stamps band everyone has been ragging on and bullying off of social media...

Ignoring just how awful the members are (one of them voted for Trump and their entire brand relies heavily on very fluffy forms of feminism that may have been rebellious 10 years ago), I just want to say that aesthetically is where they really get me.

I listened to some of their music, and, on a technical level, it’s not bad. The quality of it is polished, and the singing is auto tuned to the same degree as plenty of other singers. It’s standard, if inmemorable.

I guess I would just argue that it’s the content of the music and the general vibe the band gives off. The lyrics of a lot of their songs feel very generic and uninspired, like it’s a checklist of phrases to say rather than heartfelt lyrics coming from a place of sincerity.

To compare, I would argue that Ashnikko’s song “Sk8er Boi” is similar to “Sex with Me” in that the message involves being with an unfulfilling man. But “Sk8er Boi” has more impact because of the story behind it and it being apparent that the singer is, at the very least, sympathetic to the story she’s telling, and the format of it being a rebuttal to Avril Lavigne’s song gives the vibe that Ashnikko wrote the lyrics with intention.

“Sex with Me”, by comparison, doesn’t feel genuine or like the singer actually is singing about something she’d do or something she even agrees with, it plays out more like she’s just imagining herself play a role of empowerment that she doesn’t truly fulfill. There’s no real details about any of the guys she’s slept with, not even any real specific complaints beyond rapey implications (such as hooking up with a guy who was drunk). Even the lyric about never sleeping with a straight white guy is strange considering that one of the members is married to a straight white guy. Like, a singer doesn’t HAVE to write a song that completely reflects their own life, but why sing about something so specific when the exact opposite applies to you? It’s the biggest tell that either she didn’t write the lyrics, or the lyrics were deliberately written for the audience to agree with something that she herself clearly doesn’t agree with. It’s just bizarre.

A lot of their songs are like this; they feel less inspired by their own personal lives and more like they were told what to sing to seem more pop punk. This would be fine if the lyrics to their songs were at least meaningful and clever (plenty of artists sing songs from others perspectives, or take on a persona to deliver meaningful commentary or comedy). But they aren’t.

I would make this argument about their aesthetic as a whole. All of the members of Tramp Stamps feel like they are wearing costumes as opposed to being their authentic selves. I saw one of the members out of costume in a recent picture and she looks ten times more comfortable than when her hair is dyed and she’s wearing fishnets.

This whole thing is just weird boys

[anony-mouse-writer]

yALL

I was trying to google the tramp stamps lyrics and I saw that they had a website and lemme tell you, it did not disappoint

so you admit they aren't for the punk kids. I feel like it actually makes more sense if you think of them as an average pop music fans idea of what early 2000s punk was

okay first of all, yall dont have a single actual story in any of your songs. they are all genericly vague af. id rather die literally has a list of common white boy names so it can be possibly relatable to as many ppl as possible

second of all, 'soul baring confession'. the irony of the soulless punk knockoff claiming this is going to kill me cuz I keep thinking about it and laughing at inopportune times

third, what social commentary? bitching about personal problems isnt social commentary. again, I feel like this band is just a pop fan's idea of what punk social commentary is

the person who wrote this is 100% the kind of guy who uses uncommon words like he swallowed a thesaurus and then smirks when you dont know what they mean as he condescendingly defines them to you

what fuxking music have you been listening to??

[mecasloth]

I bit the bullet and listened to the “We Got Drunk and Made This Ep”

A lot of the points I will list here was said on my twitch stream so if you watched that, you can skip! For the rest of you, it gets bad! 

1. Anger Issues - 4.5 Annoyingly bland. That’s the theme of this record in two words, but it’s like trying to find new words to describe a band you liked in middle school but don’t like now. This song suffers a lot from a framing issue, where I don’t know if the Tramp Stamps were intending this to be an anthem for people with Anger Issues just lashing out but that’s what they wrote. There’s no irony here, they just play it straight. 

2. Sex with Me - 2 This song, again if you don’t read it ironically because they don’t frame it like that, is just mean. Idk I could have a fairly protestant view of talking about sex outside of a relationship but unless prompted I try not to. And I kinda hope to god that this isn’t really so they didn’t blast a real dude’s stuff out to 310k people. Other than that it’s just, again, annoyingly bland musically. 

3. 1-800-Miss-Ur-Guts - 6.5  The best song from the EP. It sounds like something I would listen to in 8th grade and enjoy a bit. This has a problem with the rest of the music where it’s like, the first 30 seconds of the song is actually enjoyable but then it transitions into the rest of the song and it just sounds terrible. I am also a soft mark for slow songs. 

4. BFF - 4 Again, annoyingly bland. This time I really don’t have any extra commentary besides the animation in the video is very well done. And @primordialmeat pointed out that the guy in the video has a binder on. So, I mean, that’s cool. 

5. I’d Rather Die - 2  If PuKe & RaLLy didn’t exist this would be the worst song on the album by far. Just, again, such an unnecessarily mean song that I wouldn’t mind being mean if they at least made it ironic or did it in a fun way. Shit if the music was good I would still like it but it’s just, so bad. This song was the only one where I was like “this legit needs another pass in mixing” because I can barely hear the drums and the guitar is overpowering at points. 

6. PuKe & RaLLy - -3 (0 for the sake of the average afterwards) I don’t like party anthems and so it colors the rest of my enjoyment for this song. But that being said the lyrics are some of the worst in the album. I wish I had them on hand but I don’t wanna listen through it again. But a line I wrote down goes “the way we shake our assy” (to rhyme with lassy). If hell was real, this would be the song playing. 

Full EP Score (personally): 4. Bland, it has it’s moments of up and extreme downs Full EP Average: 3.17. 

Further thoughts below. 

So like, the Singer has a decent voice. If she just let the autotune go, it would come out way more as a riot grrrl song instead of this overproduced industry feel. Or if she’s married to the autotune, lean into it and just go hog wild. This half and half approach to the autotune is not doing her voice any favors. The drummer is also fine but feels like she’s getting stuck as the third woman between the singer and guitarist. Which... god the guitar at times is awful and at times brings down this record. The only part where I thought the guitar helped was in I think Anger Issues with the hook that plays throughout the song and it’s literally just the hook from Iron Man even more simplified. If they’re writing their own lyrics, they need to add some more irony into this and actually make the listener think of whether or not the narrator is in the right or wrong. I frankly don’t care if they’re an industry plant, or they don’t practice what they sing, or they’re old (which is kinda a shitty arguement to begin with) but like, I just wish their music sounded good and had it’s own flavor. It’s Girlboss Front Bottoms at this point. And do we really need another Front Bottoms clone? 

[massively-multiplayer-cereal]

I have no idea if you're still taking asks for the gender/sexuality/opinions character thing you reblogged a while back but if you are, could I request Sylvanas and/or Flynn and/or Wrathion? (I hope it's okay to excavate old posts! Either way I hope you have a good evening!)

i definitely still am, especially considering no one else sent an ask for it lmaoo ,,

also sorry this took until the next day! the post is very long ,, and you have a good day too ^-^

(also i LOVE when people excavate my posts because it means they liked my commentary on things enough to actually scroll through my whole blog so thank you for being an excavator XD)

anyways:

wrathion:

sexuality headcanon: Gay As Hell

gender headcanon: usually i see him as and write him as a cis male, but I mean.. trans male wrathion kinda hits different 👀

A ship I have with said character: WRANDUIN. W. R. A. N. D. U. I. N.

a brotp I have with said character: him and flynn just have this Vibe like they'd be really good friends if they met. i feel like they'd cause trouble together while anduin and shaw just sigh in the distance about their respective mischievous boyfriends. flynn x wrathion is mischief brotp.

a notp I have with said character: apparently some people ship him with alexstrazsa, so yeah alexstrazsa x wrathion is my notp for him. not that. never that. why?

a random headcanon: this makes no sense outside of my own brain but i like to think that wrathion somehow invented and/or popularized the use of the word 'gay' to mean homosexual on azeroth. it makes sense in my very specific au (that I haven't shared anywhere yet skdndsn), and doesn't work outside it, but hey, i like it lol

general opinion over said character: he is a little bastard and i love him so, so much. if anyone hurts him i will murder them with my bare hands. wrathion is the epitome of that 'i will now cause problems on purpose' meme. it is a wonderful day on azeroth and he is a horrible, horrible dragon.

flynn:

sexuality headcanon: he is the ULTIMATE bisexual disaster

gender headcanon: cis male

a ship i have with said character: FAIRSHAW. F. A. I. R. S. H. A. W.

a brotp i have with said character: flynn and taelia is the ultimate brotp ever, because they are just best friends with no romantic feelings whatsoever, and honestly it's SO refreshing to see a man and woman be super close friends in media without romantic hints. also i project my relationship with my (male) best friend onto them and my best friend is basically my brother so yeah. I love taelia and flynn just Being best friends.

a notp i have with said character: flynn x taelia romantically,, like,, i just.. mm it is very squicky for me.. I do Not Like. them romantically is just No Thank You. like morally there isn’t anything wrong with it but i just Do Not Enjoy romantic taelia x flynn. 

a random headcanon: he has the azerothian equivalent of a tramp stamp. it’s has two dolphins and an anchor. do not ask why i have this headcanon, because i have no idea why either ,,

general opinion over said character: i love flynn so much dude it's not even funny how much i love him. he is my emotional support imaginary himbo best friend.

sylvanas:

sexuality headcanon: lesbian because i project onto fictional characters i love too much

gender headcanon: similar to wrathion, usually i see her as and write her as a cis woman, but I mean.. trans woman sylvanas is really good ,,

a ship i have with said character: sylvaina, sort of? in canon, i have no actual sylvanas ships, but in aus i really really like sylvaina sjdbfdjsnnd

a brotp i have with said character: i feel like her and kael'thas would be crazy good friends if she had survived the purge of quel'thalas, so sylvanas x kael'thas brotp I guess XD

a notp I have with said character: sylvanduin. it is way too common (luckily, not on tumblr, but on other platforms,) for being a ship that under ANY circumstances would be insanely toxic. no matter what au it is, it's a ridiculous age gap to the point of being gross, and if someone ships it in canon, i hate it even more. sylvanduin is just so insanely toxic..

a random headcanon: she literally doesn’t even LIKE GUYS but she pretended to have the hots for nathanos to get him to do what she wanted him to. that's what you call an epic gamer move.

general opinion over said character: i actually like her even though a ton of people hate her. honestly, like, she was always kinda evil. there was always a lot of hints that she was bad, so that wasn't out of nowhere. but, also, blizz took it too far too quickly. personally, i think the undercity thing still should've happened just like it did, but she should've been more chill during the start of bfa. she should've been slowly ramping up in her intensity and brutality over the course of the war, and teldrassil's burning should've happened at the end of the first patch of bfa, when she was finally at 'her full evilness.' it's after teldrassil when the whole 'oh no baine in jail, chase away the evil lady' thing should've happened. WOWEE i went on a tangent, but tl;dr i love sylvanas even tho she’s really evil and think teldrassil should’ve happened later. also in the new cinematic sylvanas is HOT she has FANGS

[1-800-miss-ur-guts]

Wildly smart crazy irreverent, Nashville band tramp stamps are introducing an unfiltered new voice into today’s alternative scene. With a lyrical style that’s equal parts social commentary, candid confession, and honest storytelling, singer Marisa Maino, guitarist Caroline, and drummer Paige speak the truth on societal ills like white-boy privilege and fragile masculinity—all while revealing their warped sense of humor and untamed feminity. with its collision of dark pop and skater punk, tramp stamps’ sound fully reflects the raw emotion that fuels their songwriting. Marisa said once “All our songs start with us going on rants about stuff that pisses us off, shit we wish were different,stories that have happened to us involving fucked-up guys. It’s the kind of stuff women talk about all the time with their friends, but no one’s ever put it to this kind of music before.”

[frnkieroismydaddy]

I know that you can't accurately judge yourself but I don't think I've ever seen anyone less self aware

Whip-smart and wildly irreverent, Nashville-based band TRAMP STAMPS are introducing a fantastically unfiltered new voice into today’s pop landscape. With a lyrical style that’s equal parts social commentary, soul-baring confession, and brilliantly profane storytelling, singer Marisa Maino, guitarist Caroline Baker, and drummer Paige Blue speak the truth on societal ills like white-boy privilege and fragile masculinity—all while revealing their warped sense of humor and untamed joie de vivre. And with its high-energy collision of pop and skate-punk, TRAMP STAMPS’ sound fully reflects the raw catharsis that fuels their songwriting. “All our songs start with us going on rants about stuff that pisses us off, shit we wish were different, stories that have happened to us involving fucked-up guys,” says Maino. Adds Baker: “It’s the kind of stuff women talk about all the time with their friends, but no one’s ever put it to this kind of music before.”

This is horrendous and ignorant as all hell

[haikyuustuffs]

My episode 8 commentary:

NOT THE COFFEE!

Crispino= Incest.

SeungGil Lee is me

SeungGil Lee is also a parrot.

You're not her night in shining armor, you're her brother.

Seducing the Russian judges now becuase he's already got Viktor's ass.

Dads being proud of their son's "Agape"

He KiSsEd HiS SkAtE!!

"I'm not feeling agape at all. I'm just ANGRY"... same.

JJ needs to get punched.

Tramp stamp.... Hehe.

Why do they know these lyrics?

Don't... Don't kiss that ice.

JJ needs to get punched twice.

MAKKACHIN NO!

hhhhuuuUUUAAAAAHHH??

EDIT: this has been in my drafts since February when I binged YOI again on a Friday night.... This is honestly hilarious 😂

[asofterfan]

Idk if i understood right but um directors cut (commentary?? I forget and I'm on mobile akdkks) on... Whatsit called geez the one where Roman realises he's not sex repulsed in the most dramatic way possible (trust me to know the blurb not the title 😅) (side note can I get a happy birthday to me punkrent? Love ya ♥️)

Oh my goodness HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

And the fic you are referring to is “Stamp of Approval”. XP

I had always headcanoned that Roman had initially identified as ace before decided that demi fit better, and that when he did id as ace it was something people gave him shit for. And then I drew Logan’s tattoo reference. And I gave him a tramp stamp. And I was like, “Logan would be so shameless. He would not care about showing off his tatts” and then it kind of snowballed into “and THAT’S how Roman learns he’s not ace. Because of that goddamn sexy nerd”

It was nice to do a story that, while it still had it’s moments of angst, was mostly just over the top and ridiculous. It’s just two friends in a super awkward situation together and working through it and joking around afterward. 

Also I was super proud of my punny title >:3

[80srockher]

Yuri on Ice Re-Watch and Live Commentary, Episode 8: Yuri vs Yuri! The Horror!! Rostelecom Cup, Short Program

All rise for the Theme of King JJ.

Run, Yurio.

Don’t snitch, Mila!

Your enthusiasm is cute but don’t injure the getaway driver, Yurio.

Gramps and his classic car, lol.

Also, I love pirozhkis. Gramps and I should be friends.

I wonder if Yurio told his grandfather of his impromptu trip to Japan before he left or if he sprung it on him when he got back to Russia.  Makes me wonder Gramps did Yurio a solid by purchasing the ticket in his own name.  Though, we’ll probably never know.

I can’t recall if I’ve heard Victor referred to as Russia’s national hero before now.  Adds an extra element to Yakov’s ire at his decision to skip the GP, IMO.

Victor.  Wearing sunglasses indoors and drinking coffee. At night.  Indeed, a man for all seasons.

So.  Vitya is talking up Yuri to the press and Yurio does not appreciate the partiality. 

This is, of course, in reference to Yuri.  The urge to deflect is strong within Victor.

Good job!

I’ve seen various speculations as to why Victor wouldn’t – or couldn’t – answer the reporter’s query. In my opinion, I think it’s just a matter of him being tired of giving the same response over and over, e.g., the Grand Prix’s not over so I haven’t committed…hard pass to Yurio!  

Well, you did want his attention, Yurio.

Victor’s “Sure, kid,” grin in this cap is gr9.

Aww, poor shy bb.

Ugh.  Mickey.  Not a fan.

However, aren’t you four or so years older than Emil, Sarah?  Surely, there’s someone a bit more age-appropriate. 

Well, obviously Sarah is friendly with YOU, Yuri.  

I like Sarah a lot, actually.  The women in this show are awesomely written.

Goddamn, Seung-gil. It’s either you or the 18 year-old at this point.  Help a sister out.

So stoic in the aftermath of that sick burn, lol.

Repeat after me, Yurio: You. Don’t.  Own.  Victor.

Honestly, there needs to be some sort of collective intervention with regards to this concept.

OMG, yes, Ep. 8 gives us the treasure that is JJ.  Can’t wait.

Just…. WTF are you doing, Seung Gil?

Also, Russian TV is listing Victor as a headliner and he’s not even competing, lol.

Oh, my.  As a basic straight, I don’t feel quite comfortable tossing the term “Queen” around.  Seung Gil is steadily creeping into that category for me, though.

Wowsa, JJ is tall.

LOL, poor Emil.  He’s the youngest competitor and so wants to hang out with the cool kids.  

Meanwhile, I’m going to pretend what Mickey is doing to Sarah here is an in-universe Italian thing.  Until I can’t anymore, of course.

Well.  Now I can’t, anymore.  That was quick.

Then adopt a pet, Mickey. Sarah’s not your property.

Well, that’s a relief.

Chekov’s steamed buns makes its first appearance.

All of Russia WILL NOT be competing with me for your attention today, boo.

Guess who has your national hero by the balls neck, Russia?

And later on tonight Japan is going to lay siege to Russia.  From the Southern border.  If you catch my drift.  Hehe. Heh.

Ahem.

Yuri’s internal monologue before this scene exposes his fear of ultimately losing Victor if he doesn’t perform well, while Victor actually thinks the pressure has lessened for Yuri.  Ugh, two clueless ships bumbling around each other in the night.

LOL.  This is so dramatic.  Kid is still only 15.

Their (super cute) reaction is a little confusing seeing as how Victor was telling the press just yesterday about having choreographed Yurio’s SP. 

Yuri breaks 100 points, again.  Woot!  Guess who’s also not afraid to show his love to Russia?  Gosh, these two.

They can’t contain their happiness and want to share it with their pal, Yurio.

Of course, Yurio mistakes their support for pity.  Ever considered they might enjoy your sparkling personality?

Didn’t cap, because I didn’t care to, but I’m still not feeling Agape even now.   It may be technically difficult but it just looks... not junior-ish, exactly, but certainly not mature enough for the Senior division, IMO.

JJ’s personality is even more “sparkling” than Yurio’s, lol.

They had the nerve, the audacity, the unmitigated gall to make this song so damn catchy.  You dared to go there, creators, and you succeeded.

However, the tramp stamp is just unforgivable.

Trust, I am singing along in spirit.

You charismatic bastard.

I blame Chekhov.

Poor Yuri looks just about shell-shocked right here.  What to do?

If you’re Yuri, you make the selfless choice for the man you love.

Makkachin is, of course, Victor’s beloved, longtime companion.  However, this scene (and consecutive ones in ep. 9) helped to convince me of Victor’s lack of close connections with a lot of people.  There isn’t anyone he can call on to keep track of this dire situation while he’s working in another country?  No one else that understands how much that dog means to him to potentially travel to Japan to be with Makkachin if worse comes to worse? If either of the above were applicable, then I think Yuri would justifiably request that Victor stay with him.  However, he must be intimately aware of Victor’s circumstances: that he’s been more or less a loner for a fair amount of time, at least.

Well, this expression is heartbreaking.  The man’s best friend is facing death and there’s nothing he can do. 

Thankfully, Yakov makes a timely entrance.

Yeah, the two caps are way similar, but I only did it for the text.  Observe Yakov’s smug excitement at the prospect of Victor returning. Dude misses Victor, but he’s shit at showing it.

Yakov misses Victor and despite everything, Victor still trusts Yakov.  Damn messy Russians.

Poor Yurio and his “Da fuck? I have to share a coach with the piggy again?” face.  LOL.

Aww, that little Makkachin doodle is so mean!

That ep. 9 “reunion” will more than make up for it, though. ;)

[buttdawg]

New Beginning in Nashville: A Buttdawg Special Report

NJPW is in the middle of a U.S. tour, and it turned out that they were doing a show pretty close to where I live, right when I had scheduled some time off, so I figured “what the hell?” and bought a ticket.    Then I finally saw the lineup for the show and I was like “ehhhhh...”  But then it turned out to be really great!  

I guess two things got me on board with this show.    First, Wrestle Kingdom 14 hype was in full swing when I bought the ticket, so I wanted More of That.    Second, I watched a bunch of matches from the World Tag League a few months ago, and a big chunk of those shows were set in smaller, cozier venues with no English commentary.    Some of them didn’t even have Japanese commentary, and I’m pretty sure those were the ones where I could see basketball backboards in the background.    One was in Osaka-jo Hall, and I thought that was a big arena, but it turned out the show was in the “sub arena”, which sounds awesome.    So I imagined what it might be like to go to a show like that, and then I realized they’re doing them in America this month.  

This was in the War Memorial Auditorium, which I think holds like 2,000 people.    Low four digits, definitely.    Pretty sure the WWF used to run house shows here, because every time I think the words “War Memorial Auditorium” I hear it in Howard Finkel’s voice.  On the way down, I listened to this piece by Jim Valley about how the WWE is no longer turning a profit on their live events, for the first time ever.    He blames guys like Seth Rollins who complain about their fans instead of enticing them to buy tickets.   Would toay’s WWE even run a house show in a venue this small?   All I know is the WMA had 560 in attendance, and everyone seemed pretty happy to be there.   There’s a market for wrestling tickets.    New Japan didn’t fly all these guys out to Tennessee to break even.  

Anyway, I wasn’t too jazzed about the card, and for most of January I was starting to wonder if I’d let my enthusiasm get the better of me. but once I found the place and got my bearings, I was very pleased.  The WMA looks even smaller in person than it does on the website.    Imagine a high school gym with a stage and a balcony.   You walk into the theater and the ring is right in front of you.   The merch stand is to your right.    I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the house, unless you’re sitting behind a really tall guy or something.  

As for the card, the audience made it feel special.  They had this big monitor on the stage, and they opened with a video package about the tour, and everyone popped when they heard the announcer, even though he’s speaking Japanese.    He’s the guy you hear at the start of every show thought, so hearing his voice just makes the whole thing feel important.  

I wasn’t really prepared for that, I guess.  There were a lot of kids there, and I guess I was surprised that so many people from so many demographics would be this familiar with the product.   I’ve only been watching New Japan for about seven months, so the filthiest casual was probably me.    

Match 1: Alex Zayne & Misterioso d. Alex Coughlin & Ren Narita (9:46)

I have no idea who most of these guys are.    I’ve probably seen Coughlin before, but I spent the whole match thinking he was Karl Fredericks.    The crowd recognized Zayne and Misterioso, though, because they were behind those guys the whole match.     I started to think Zayne had family in the crowd, and he’s from Lexington, Kentucky, so it’s not impossible. 

Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI d. Karl Fredericks (8:48)

This was when the real Karl Fredericks came out.    The monitor on the stage displays the names of the participants throughout the match, but I couldn’t see it very well because of the glare from the lighting.   Crowd was behind Karl all the way, I guess because he’s been a Young Lion long enough that he’s due to start winning matches one of these days, but not tonight.   I mean, Yoshi’s in CHAOS, so he ought to be a face, right?  

Match 3: Colt Cabana & Toru Yano d. Clark Conners & TJP (13:22)

I’m not a huge fan of Colt and Yano, but they were the first guys I’d consider ““real”““ stars to come out.   TJP won the Cruiserweight Classic in WWE, but I had to keep reminding myself of that while the match went on.  

The comedy wrestling works a lot better live.   My favorite bit was when Colt brazenly stuck his hands in the air and challenged Conners to a test of strength spot.   “TEST OF STRENGTH” he said loud enough for everyone to hear him.    Then as soon as they got locked up Colt looked over his shoulder and said “Oh my God, he’s really strong!”

This was the only match I tried to take pictures for, because I wanted to capture Yano untying the turnbuckle pad.    I also managed to get this pic, of Young Lions putting it back together after the match was over.

Seriously, it takes like two guys to fix those things.   Yano’s a real jerk.  

Anyway, during this match, there was a kid further back in the balcony who was really rooting for TJP and Conners.    As the show continued, it became clear that this kid was in the tank for all the heels.   It took me a while to catch on to this, because sometimes I can’t tell if Yano’s a face or a hell.    But no, this kid was rooting for all the heels.    Not like in a smarky “the faces are jerks!” kind of way, either.   It’s like this kid just watched enough matches to objectively decide that guys like Lance Archer rules and Colt Cabana’s kind of a dick.    Same, kid.   Same.  

So during the match Yano and Colt are making Conners look like a real geek, to the point where it’s practically a face-in-peril situation (again, are we sure Yano and Colt aren’t evil?).    So this kid’s begging Conners to make the hot tag to TJP.   Then the other team makes a tag, and the kid goes “Not you!”   Priceless. 

Match 4: Jeff Cobb d. Satoshi Kojima (10:02)

This match kind of represents my flip-flopping towards the card.   They’re doing a tournament in the U.S., and they bring the worst two guys in CHAOS, nobody from LIJ, the only champions they booked were the shithole tag champions and they’re not even defending the belts... but they got Jeff Cobb, by gum.    It just felt very underwhelming, but once he came out, and I’m sitting there like fifty feet away from him, I’m like “Yeah, Jeff Cobb’s a cool guy.   This is great.”    Watching wrestling on TV has a way of raising your expectations to unrealistic levels, I guess.    Once you’re sitting there watching these guys in person, the equation changes.   

I wasn’t super-thrilled to see Cobb facing Kojima, since they had no issue, and Kojima jobbed all the way through the World Tag League, but by this point in the show I was just pleased to get to see Jeff Cobb strut his stuff.   This was how American wrestling used to work in the 80′s and 90′s, and it still does, I just had to get re-accustomed to it.   Everyone was hot for Kojima, either because he’s a legend or because he was wearing hot-orange ring gear to pander to the UT fans in the audience.   Well I went to UK so fuck you, Kojima, you deserved to lose to Cobb.   

And the match was very competitive, to the point where Cobb was all exhausted at the end, and Kojima went over to shake his hand after it was over, so a feel-good moment for the audience.   Nice.

Match 5: Lance Archer d. Yuji Nagata (11:16)

Never mind that shit, everybody dies!   Lance comes out and he was basically my favorite guy on this card.   Crowd was pretty into Lance too, so he takes the mic and says “Nashville, Tennessee!   Who wants a T-shirt!?”    crowd gets all excited, and then he just throws it.... onto the mat, and he goes “Nope!” and everyone is pissed!   Except me, Lance Archer fucking rules.  Also, Roots-for-Heels Kid probably didn’t mind, but we didn’t hear from that kid until the middle of the match, when Lance was basically mugging Blue Justice.     I salute Yuji Nagata for wearing Wildcat blue in a sea of orange bullshit, but as they say, everybody dies.

The crowd haaaates Lance, and he just milks it for all it’s worth.   The fans can’t help Yuji--his fate is sealed--so they make fun of Lance’s fashion sense.   They mock the red braid at the end of his mohawk, they make fun of his back tattoo, calling it a “tramp stamp”, and so on.    Lance just yells back at them.   “Shut up!” “Booooooooooo.”   Lance is the fucking man.   Even the ref was afraid of him, which makes Nagata look like a million bucks for even putting up a fight.      I wanted more Suzuki-gun guys at this show, but honestly, one was plenty.    Lance wins with the EBD claw, and that’s it.   

Match 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Yujiro Takahashi (10:38)

Yujiro doesn’t have Pieter with him, although no one seems concerned by this.  From what I can tell, they only bring out Pieter when Yujiro is booked for bigger venues.   That’s probably got more to do with Pieter’s contract than anything else, but I like to think all these smaller towns in Japan take one look at Bullet Club and go “Look, you’re not doing that stripper crap in our building.”  

Big response for Tanahashi.    They did the hockey chant for him and everything “Ta-na-ha-shi (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)”.   Nothing particularly notable about the match, but Hiroshi went around ringside hugging and taking photos with fans at ringside.  He’s a real class act. 

Match 7: Rocky Romero, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson d. Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) (13:52)

This was originally supposed to be an eight-man tag with Kota Ibushi on the face team and Jado on the Bullet Club side.   Turns out Kota came down with the flu, so they just scaled it back to a six-man.   I also read that Karl Fredericks got injured, so he’s off the tour too.   I guess that happened on this show, because he seemed fine Sunday night, and the announcement came out before the show on the 27th started.

Anyway, now I see the value in New Japan’s strategy of using multi-man tag matches for tours like these.   If someone has to pull out, they just shuffle around partners or scale back eight-mans to six-mans, and so on.   I guess if things really got bad, they could just do seven singles matches, so as long as they have fourteen healthy performers, they can manage.  

Roots-for-Heels Kid was in full-effect here.   Again, not really sure if the kid’s Bullet Club 4-life, or just hates Juice Robinson as much as I do, or maybe the kid takes pity on Chase Owens.   But that kid really wanted Bullet Club to win.   Too bad it wasn’t in the cards.

One moment that stuck out to me was when the faces were doing pretty well, and enough stuff was going on that I didn’t notice Jado whacking someone with the kendo stick until it had already happened.    They do that bit in every G.O.D. match.   Face is doing okay, he runs the ropes, and then whack, Jado hits him right as he bounces off the ropes near the G.O.D. corner.   I’ve watched enough Guerrilas of Destiny matches by now that it’s become predictable, even formulaic, but this time, I never saw it coming.   I think that’s because on video, they’ve got the camera man anticipating that spot.    The camera angles of the guy running the ropes practically warns you what’s about to happen.    When you see it live, you have to be your own cameraman, and figure out which parts of the ring to watch.   I was in the second row of the balcony, with a great view of the ring, but not of Jado.    I could see him, but not his lower body, to give you an idea.    By contrast, there were fans on the floor who were directly behind him the whole match, so they could see every move he made.   So it’s a completely different experience depending on where your seat is.   And that’s why they do the kendo stick spot in every match.

Anyway, big chunks of the match were brawls, and eventually FinnJuice and G.O.D. fought their way out of the theater, so it came down to Rocky and Chase wrapping up the match by themselves.   I wasn’t sure what to make of Rocky Romero wrestling, since I’ve only ever seen him doing commentary, or managing Roppongi 3K.    But it turns out he’s really good, so now I don’t understand why they keep him stuck behind a desk all the time.  Maybe he’s semi-retired or something?  

After the match, Rocky cuts the end-of-show promo, and explains that Kota couldn’t be here, so now it’s going to be Chase Owens vs. Rocky Romero in the Atlanta show.    Chase takes the mic and says “Maybe I don’t want to wait until Atlanta?   Who wants to see me and Rocky go here, tonight!”    The crowd is up for it, and then he shouts “Then buy another ticket!” and leaves in a huff.   Classic, total classic.   Rocky thanks everyone for supporting NJPW, the best wrestling in the world, and the crowd goes home happy. 

So yeah, good show all around, and they even had the whole thing done in two hours.    I had no idea what to expect, but if I’d known they would be finished by 7pm I might have just driven home that night instead of getting a hotel.    Well, I’ll keep that in mind for next year.

[stephanie-likes]

Supernatural 13.10 Wayward Sisters

Lol probably should’ve looked up this song and put it on my Wayward Daughters playlist for spnhiatuscreations. Didn’t. Should’ve tho.

Alex is my daughter, and I will kill to protect her... or avenge her.

Fuck this CW Drama Focus. Bullshit.

Super convenient plot device delivery service, or as they call it, an ambulance.

I will go down with this ship.

Is Sam starving himself? Is that why he got knocked out so easily? Dean probably has some weird parasite, and that’s why he got knocked out.

She could’ve stopped them right there.

Kaia isn’t offering to save the dudes who kidnapped her at gunpoint, she’s offering to follow Claire into the dark.

Do you think she performed the prescribed cavity search?

They seem quite susceptible to bullets in their squishy bits.

Higher ground, plus the monsters are being funneled right to them. That is a much better place to make a stand than the wide room with multiple ingresses where they eventually do, and yet they’re failing.

She could’ve tackled Claire. Both of them could’ve gotten out of the way. I’m just saying.

The clay King Kong was so disappointing.

They just left her body. We don’t know what kind of afterlife she’s suffering through.

Kaia is Claire’s Mary. Imagine the sad cupid watching what happened, confused that Kaia died when they worked so hard to get them together.

Oh. Haha. That was Donna ripping tape. It sounded like the noise Crow makes in the MST3K movie when they’re walking through all the interocitor parts to mimic the noise of electronic parts breaking as they’re stepped on. And I thought it was supposed to be Patience stepping on the glass.

Deleted Scenes:

They didn’t even include the cut porn line as a deleted scene. SMH.

With Commentary:

They waited so long to start talking I was moving the mouse to go back to the title screen because I thought I’d forgotten to click commentary.

I don’t think Kim Rhodes has been in a commentary before, and so far, not impressed. It’s been five minutes. Maybe I should give more time.

Wonder how sad Robert Berens was when this didn’t get picked up, because he’s real excited right now.

What would Supernatural be like from a woman’s perspective? We asked these three men...

Lol. You literally wrote in half the characters this season.

Have I mentioned how much I dislike back door pilots? Because I do.

They had the opportunity to say these were the monsters in purgatory, and they didn’t.

Anti-possession tramp stamps for all.

I appreciate what she brings to Jody, but I think Kim Rhodes would exhaust me if we met in real life.

Couldn’t have the women talk about porn. Had to be cut.

I always think, “I could listen to this at 2x, and no one would know but me.” But I never do it, because it feels like cheating, and I need to prove I’m willing to suffer for my pleasures.

They hired parkour experts to play the monsters.

She did great at knowing what the lens is?

Absolutely exhaust.

I mean...? I guess. Sounds fake, but okay.

Claire’s Dairy, but John’s Journal. Uhuh.

At least some people were excited by that reveal.