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linkspooky · 4 years

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Nanami and Nobara

Nobara has had her first encounter with Nanami as of chapter 100. Nanami has already acted as a mentor to Yuji, and a supervisor for Megumi, but his interaction with Nobara is especially telling because while Nanami is humble, restrained and cooperative like Megumi and has an incredibly strong since of conviction that bends his logic like Yuji, he’s almost nothing like Nobara. The differences between them inform us a lot about Nobara as a character, and also the mental anguish Nanami is going through this chapter.

1. Nanami and Gojou

As I stated in my previous meta on Nobara, of the three first years she’s the closest in attitude with Gojou. Yuji and Nobara are both highly independent individuals who always swing for the fences. However, it’s Nobara who shares Gojou’s extreme self interest, and focus on refining herself and her own strength above all else.

This is important because Nanami is introduced to us as an alternative to Gojou. While Gojou is an obvious oddball and eccentric who flaunts the fact that he can’t get along with other people while Nanami is a conformist. He’s reasonable and straight laced. Gojou’s someone with the power to completely overwrite the rules if he wants to, and while Nanami is strong in his own right he’s never going to be a powerhouse like Gojou hence why he fights for strict conformity instead.

If you were to summarize the difference in their world view, Gojou makes the rules, and Nanami follows the rules. Neither of these are absolute of course, Gojou as a person tends to be cooperative and use his powers mainly for the sake of others. What I’m expressing is an idea both of them have where they think the rules come from. Gojou’s set of rules he follows are internal. They come from inside of him. Nanami follows an external set of rules, he believes there exists an ideal of righteousness or an outside set of rules like right and wrong that everybody should conform to.

Gojou does things because he thinks he’s right, Nanami does things because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. Neither of them is right or wrong in their viewpoint, they just have different ways of seeing things.

Nanami holds himself to a very high standard of ideas like goodness and righteousness which is why he’s so strict on both himself and others. However key to this is Nanami isn’t a very self righteous person in himself. Gojou has a high opinion of himself, but low social skills, and low compliance with others. Nanami is his inversion, he has a low opinion of himself, but he’s geared much more to watching over and cooperating with others. Nanami even states that he personally dislikes Gojou and his methods of handling things, but goes out of his way to cooperate with him and not let his personal opinions interfere with his work. This difference between them can even show in their approach to teaching. Gojou is a hands on style teacher who tends to come up with creative ways to let his students learn and explain concepts, whereas Nanami just lectures Yuuji in the traditional way.

The key difference is that while Gojou is able to teach Jujutsu Sorcery much easier to Yuji, Nanami notices several things about Yuji as a person. Gojou’s so stuck in his own head, he’s a very impersonal person in general even though he does care in his own way, but for Nanami everything is personal.

Gojou is also the kind of teacher who will take the risk of deliberately throwing his students directly into danger because he’s so confident that things will always go his way, whereas Nanami tends to be more responsible and his reason for taking care of Yuji is because he treats him like the kid he is. Which is something Yuji actually needs because he’s reckless enough with his own life already.

While he’s strict and rigorous, he’s never cold or uncaring. Nanami cares a lot, too much, to the point that it’s a flaw. His strength is the degree to which he cares about others and doing the right thing, but his weakness is how far he falls when he falls short of that right thing.

We saw in the past he ran away from the world of shamens because the world wasn’t right the way he thought it ought to be. He couldn’t take the deaths of his friends so he ran away, but Nanami’s convictions are so strong he just can’t run away from his desire to help others.

Nanami is an oddity among the sorcery world not for being an eccentric but for being too normal. He’s too much of a functioning adult. He’s not insane enough like most shamans. That’s because Nanami’s number one priority is not strength, but rather connecting and cooperating with others hence why he’s so strong on conformism. He’s the ideal salaryman, everyone does their job and acts as small parts of the greater whole.

Nanami wants to help people, it’s something he can’t deny about himself down to the core of his being.

2. Nobara and Nanami

Nanami’s greatest desire is to connect to other people. Nobara’s greatest desire is to express herself. There’s nothing wrong with either of those ideas, they’re just different once again. There’s nothing inherently selfish about the idea of self-love, in fact it can lead to becoming the best version of yourself.

Nobara’s vision of what’s right also comes from herself. She uses internal motivations and her own perspective entirely to decide what is right or what is wrong. When Momo tries to argue Mai’s perspective of the world Nobara’s response is basically that she doesn’t care.

Nobara has a very strong and independent way of thinking. There are advantages to this, unlike Nanami who tends to get grinded down slowly, she’d probably never run away from the shaman world the way that Nanami did.

When the world around her doesn’t meet her standards, Nobara’s uch like Gojou fights back against it to change it. Nanami’s strategy is to keep his head down and follow the rules. When he knows the rules are inevitably rigged against him and he can only make wrong choices, he doesn’t choose, he tries to escape instead.

There’s a lot of strength in Nobara’s self expression, her decision to fight back for what she believes in no matter how she’s told otherwise. This doesn’t always lead to her acting selfishly, for instance she gets angry at the Kyoto kids because they all decide to listen to the higher ups orders to kill Yuji. She also notices the reason they can all agree to kill him so easily, is because they haven’t stopped to think of, or even met Yuji as a person. They’re being cooperative yes while Nobara is a highly uncooperative person, but they are also refusing to think for themselves.

So Nobara being motivated by an internal set of rules rather than an external set of rules doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a sense of write or wrong. Gojou is also highly motivated by what he thinks is right, but he still is more disgusted than anybody else at how easily Getou was able to decide that it was alright to wipe out the entire human race to get what he wanted.

The both of them are just self-directed. However, the problem is because they mainly see the world through their own perspective they tend to have blind spots. Which can lead to hypocrisy. When she kills someone who is a mixture of both a human and a curse, Nobara gets really irritated by the idea of someone else judging her (even though she judged others for the same exact thing).

That’s what happens when your viewpoint is only informed by yourself, you become near sighted. Nobara’s perspective is flawed. She tends to see things in a very Gojou-like way, which is that if she’s strong she should be able to accomplish what she wants. Her agency and ability to move come from this idea of strength. The bad side of this is sometimes Nobara leans hard into might makes right, like in the fight with Momo where she sort of refuses to listen to the other side of the conversation at all and instead replied with I’m strong so don’t tell me what to do.

Nobara’s absolute faith in her own strength cost her the advantage in the fight last chapter, but she still perceives the situation wrong. Remember, Nanami’s greatest strength isn’t his power as an individual, it’s his thoughtfulness and consideration for others.

However, between last chapter and this one Nanami is experiencing a clear mental breakdown. Nanami isn’t a character like Gojou who just completely destroys his opponents. He’s cold and clinical yes, but he never seems to relish violence or his own strength. Just compare the colored page and Nanami’s reflection of his friends in the past, with his cold ruthlessness this chapter. Chapter 100 has a melancholy tone after all, and there’s clearly something internal breaking in Nanami.

Nanami isn’t the punisher. He’s not the beat someone bloody for revenge until they’re begging for mercy type. Nanami is however, someone who is continually disappointed that the world around him isn’t as right as it should be. He even says so in his monologue, he’s not angry because he feels weak, he’s angry because the people around him think they can get away with anything they want just because they’re strong.

His beatdown of the enemy is excessive, and Nanami’s not entirely doing this for good, altruistic reasons. He’s angry at evil, and wants to make someone directly in front of him pay for it. However, this is extreme behavior for Nanami who is defined by his humanity, not his inhuman levels of strength like Gojou is. It’s a clear sign that he’s snapped and something is quickly going wrong.

As the reader we can be alarmed by this behavior. The enemy definitely needed to be taken out, but it’s unhealthy mentally for Nanami, especially as someone who prides himself on doing the right thing to start brutalizing people for rvenge. However, Nobara doesn’t see any of that. She only glimpses the surface of his behavior. She sees Nanami through her own perspective.

And because of that what she feels is not uneasiness for Nanami’s mental state, or even shock at his brutality, but rather awe at his strength. Her first thought is this is how a first grade sorcerer should be, someone completely relentless. While strength is important to being a sorcerer, she’s wrong because for characters like Nanami that’s not where their true strength lies.

Ironically the appearance of someone else to bulldoze throught the battlefield singlemindedly, forcing Nobara to play a supportive role already had the positive effect of foring Nobara to fight smarter and learn from the mistake she made just one chapter ago.

Which goes to show Nobara still has a healthy idea of what strength is that she needs to work through. Nanami is exactly the kind of character in the future who could help her bring balance, by showing her there’s a different way of seeing things outside of her own perspective.

#kento nanami #nobara kugisaki #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kiasen meta #jujutsu kaisen theory #jjk meta #jjk theory #meta

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danasmonster · 4 years

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Comparing the SKAM Remakes: SANA (Part I)

Sana (SKAM original)

Sana is constantly having to defend and explain herself to others - her friends, her family, strangers. We see this with Vilde when she says Sana can’t have sex, and Sana clarifies that by explaining that she can have sex, she just chooses not to. There is also the assumption that Sana isn’t interested in boys or that she can’t participate in russefeiring “because she’s not ‘allowed’ to drink alcohol.” We see it with her parents when she has to explain to her mom that not all aspects of Islam fit her, and with her brother when she references him discouraging her from wearing a hijab in order to fit in more and avoid stigma. And finally, she explains during her season that she has experienced watching her brother being spit on, being asked racist questions, and other rude or hateful acts because she and her family are Muslim.

The struggle to be both Norwegian and Muslim turns into a competition she gets lost in, and she ends up doing some very non-Muslim things like bully the Pepsi Max squad and lie in order to procure a russ bus. She also develops feelings for former Muslim and current atheist Yusef, which opens up an internal debate about the “Muslims only marry Muslims” rule.

With all of her bitchiness, her prickliness, her rudeness and her mistakes, I still absolutely adore Sana. She is strong, outspoken, and takes absolutely no shit from anyone. Her story is so incredibly relevant to the world as a whole because of the way a lot of people view Islam or other “restrictive” aspects/sects of Christianity or other religions. It is a reminder that ultimately we should strive to love and understand each other, whether you are a theist or an atheist, a Muslim or a Norwegian. All is love.

Everything I Love:

The opening scene with the contrast between Sana’s view from the bus with terrorist attacks and None of Dem by Robyn & Royksopp is so fun, & the look Sana gives the woman giving her a look over on the bus is pure Sana perfection

The scene when Elias called Sana a slave woman and all of his friends gave him a verbal beatdown

When we heard that Eskild was redecorating Noora’s room without her permission

The Hot in Here scene with all the Balloon Squad working out while the girl squad ogles them, and the way Sana visibly snaps herself out of her trance. Also the shot of them coming up the street with a bunch of balloons to meet the girls is iconic

The way Yousef comes over to talk to Sana while she is over in the corner being a grump on the bus - I knew there was a reason she and Isak became friends. They’re both grumpy pants.

When Sana catches Yousef dancing in her living room

The happy little look on her face when Yousef sends her a friend request on Facebook. She always smiles so freaking bright when she’s having fun with him

When Yousef showed off his carrot peeling skills

The way the Pepsi Max squad always has Pepsi

When Yousef took the rap for the vodka left out at Sana’s party, then Sana was hit with a metaphorical brick when Yousef told her he isn’t Muslim. You could see the shock on her face, and now she is conflicted because “Muslims only marry Muslims” and she clearly has already developed feelings for Yousef

When Sana and Noora drink coffee and bask in their solidarity that Vilde and Magnus are gross

When Sana and Yousef play basketball together and we see her smile - we have NEVER seen her smile like that. And then they have a heart to heart about their individual religious beliefs and it is PURE GOLD

“I just feel like Islam, or religion in general, creates a lot of anxiety in people . . . I personally feel like I’ve taken the best out of the religion and thrown away the rest. It’s like, compassion towards others, being grateful for what’s best, having compassion. That’s it. Don’t you think I can remember to be a good person without praying?” - Yousef

“For me, everything can be total chaos during the day, but the moment I start to pray, everything turns quiet and clear. Because even though there’s all this chaos, you’ll remember what really matters. It’s fine because everything has a bigger context and a meaning. Because every little part of the universe is so complex. Imagine that! Even the brain of a cockroach has greater meaning on earth. I just can’t believe all of that is a coincidence,” - Sana

Her chat with Elias was also fantastic

“What’s more important, saying you believe in Allah or behaving as though you believe in Allah?” - Elias

Watching everyone join in during “Imagine” definitely almost had me tearing up - another song added to my playlist. Honestly this scene was so sweet and touching and then everything just came crashing down. It was intense. And Sana’s face just looked freaking broken. Then when she overheard that her suspicions about being pushed out of the group because she’s Muslim were correct it was like an extra stab through the heart

The scene where she’s walking through the schoolyard was excellent - very reminiscent of Isak’s similar scene, and another way in which the two of them parallel one another

And this line is so, so true from Sana to Isak regarding why she never told Isak she knew Even before he met Isak

“I think Even should get to choose for himself how much he wants to share about his past. I mean, you might not want to share every thing about your past.”

When Sana and Jamilla have the conversation about all the different ways people fast, and Jamilla references her friend who won’t even swallow her own spit. So this friend goes around spitting all the time while she’s fasting. “She’s really confident about it, too.”

Both Sana’s expression of how she thinks the world views her and Isak’s response are very powerful

Sana: “Do you know what people think when they see me, when they see my hijab, which is the first thing they see? They think I’m wearing it because I’m forced to, not because I want to. And if I say it’s because I want to, then I’m just oppressed because I can’t have my own opinion. We talk about freedom of religion and all kinds of freedoms here in Norway, but being allowed to wear an extra piece of clothing, that’s wrong? Do you know what people do when they see Elias and I walking down the street? They spit at him because they think he’s oppressing me! He doesn’t even want me to wear the hijab because he doesn’t want me to get hate. Do you know how fucking tiring it is to walk out the door everyday knowing it’s yet another day where you have to prove to a whole country that you’re not oppressed . . . I’ve received so many dumb, racist questions in my life.”

Isak: “The dumb questions are so fucking important. People can’t stop asking the dumb questions because when they stop asking the dumb questions they start making up their own answers. And that’s dangerous. You just have to stop looking for racism in dumb questions. Even if they feel racist, it’s so fucking important to answer them.”

The Los Losers bus definitely had me tearing up

When Linn admitted to sending a used tampon to someone who flirted with the boy she liked

When we see Eskild picking up his guru mantle once more and he compares The Bible to Beyoncé . . . “The Bible says ‘The greatest of these is love’ or as Beyoncé would say ‘Love on top,’” while giving Sana advice

Noora’s face both when she saw William getting out of his car and when she got out of his after a four day sex and talk marathon

The conversation between Sana and her mom about why it is important for her to eventually marry someone who understands her beliefs and reminds her of them, not because she should be Muslim but because she chooses to be Muslim and she “would be very lonely if she were the only one in the relationship who believes.” So, whether or not she marries a nonbeliever or a non-Muslim is Sana’s choice, but there would be essential parts of Sana’s own wellbeing that would effected if she chose to go that route because her faith is an essential part of who she is.

The conversation with Noora was equally important. They may not necessarily be fated to be together, but there is a reason this person (Yousef) came into Sana’s life and avoiding him would be ignoring this sign from fate that this person is supposed to be a part of her life right now. Life is now.

When Yousef and Sana have yet another philosophical/religious discussion and Yousef proposes: “Maybe that’s why society needs religion. Democracy isn’t based on the idea that all people are different. It’s based on the idea that all people have equal worth. And that idea doesn’t exactly come from science. But I don’t think it helps to pretend there aren’t prejudices. What you have to do instead is show what Islam is.”

And The Finale!!!

When Vilde was putting on her makeup and listening to Pretty Hurts by Beyoncé, and everything else about her segment. I loved getting that glimpse into some of her life and mind for a little while. I’m still disappointed she never got to tell us her story during the original SKAM.

When Eva reminds Chris that he’s a fuckboy so they can never be together. Sure he’s momentarily disappointed and probably felt sad for a little bit, but he was really quick to move on to Emma - proving Eva was smarter than him and knew him better than he knew himself. Seriously though the scene where Penetrator Chris and Emma first see each other is fucking awesome

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the school nurse has a big white dildo on the desk next to her while she has her chat with Chris

When we see Even stressing over making Isak’s birthday perfect

The interaction between Eskild and Linn when Eskild tells Linn she has to wear a hijab to Sana’s party because Sana is Muslim was hilarious. And then he told her they are always going to be there for each other and it got me right in the feels

And then when Eskild was proposing he, Noor, and Linn could share everything together if William moved in . . . shampoo, and William, and dish soap . . .

Then Vilde to Chris; “You know why you’re my best friend? Because no matter how hard my day is, you always find a way to make me laugh. Sometimes it makes you feel better to pretend that you’re fine.”

And the final speech!!!!

“Dear Sana, This speech is for you. And you’re getting it because what you’re inviting us to today overthrows American presidents tomorrow. We live in a chaotic world where it is difficult to understand the rules. Because why are some people poor and other people rich? Why do some people have to be refugees while others are safe? And why is it that sometimes even though you try to do something good it’s still met with hate?

It’s not weird that people give up, that they stop believing the good. But thank you so much for not giving up, Sana. Because even though it sometimes feels like it no one is ever alone. Each and everyone of us is part of the big chaos. And what you do today has an effect tomorrow.

it can be hard to say exactly what kind of effect, and usually you can’t see how everything fits together. But the effects of your actions are always there, somewhere in the chaos. In 100 years we may have machines that can predict effects of every action but until then we can trust this: Fear spreads But… But, fortunately love does too.”

I’m going to go cry now.

#skam #sanaxyousef #sana #Muslim #islam #religion #atheism #islamophobia #russ

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radramblog · 3 years

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Pokemon Legendary Themes Ranked

I saw a video of a youtuber I like doing this tier list so I thought I’d get my own opinions in first so I’m not biased by theirs. This list is a little incomplete- there’s a few things I know are missing, most pointedly side game stuff, but I suppose they can’t win em all. Thus, here are my objectively factual opinions, no nostalgia bias here surely. Here’s a link to the list in case you want to do the same.

(Tiers are sorted in increasing quality right to left)

D Tier

Mewtwo (FRLG): Y’all know Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres also use this, right? It’s just a marginally more dramatic version of the regular wilds music, so it gets the fail from me.

Mew (Emerald): This is the same as the last one! Except it gets the edge because it is slightly higher pitched, and because it’s in a game where it’s not a remix of a song you’ve just heard dozens of times.

Mewtwo (XY): I just really dislike the soundfont XY uses for most of its themes. This sounds like a shitty youtube remix from the late 00s with like 300 views, and most of them are the same person who really likes the song for some reason. Am I just biased against the kanto wilds theme? Maybe.

Regis (Crown Tundra): Narrowly dodges being the worst Regis theme since the Platinum one exists (It’s not on this list though). I think a lot of the more recent versions of older themes suffer since they were designed with the lesser hardware in mind. It is a shame because I do really like some of the additions to the theme.

C Tier

Dynamax Legend (Crown Tundra): Mewtwo is already back for his last appearance on the list. It’s just a remix of the max raid theme, which I don’t really care for- especially after hearing it over and over and over again grinding Lairs for shinies.

Calyrex (Crown Tundra): This song being dramatic makes no sense in universe- the player knows this is the big legendary, but the character sure doesn’t- but it ultimately feels hollow. This is deliberate, since it’s actually just one half of another song.

Steeds (Crown Tundra): h o n s e theme is the other half of that song, and it’s the better half, but its still incomplete.

Aura Trio (X/Y) and Solgaleo/Lunala (S/M): These two get lumped together because I always get them conflated, which signifies to me that neither has made a strong impact. Listening to both again, I think I like the latter more, but it’s narrow.

Regis (ORAS): It’s just not the same without the horns. My gen 6 bias is showing, but I don’t really like the soundfont.

Deoxys (ORAS): similar to the Regis, this is held back by the soundfont (why the fuck is there an organ in this??) but also by the fact that at this point, the Deoxys theme just isn’t special anymore. And that’s kinda sad.

Calyrex 2 (Crown Tundra): The full version of this theme is much better, obviously, sounding suitably regal for the king of the tundra, but it overall lands at a meh. The percussion sounds like it’s trying to rip off the Weather Trio’s, which is a big no-no.

B Tier

Eternatus 1 (SwSh): We are now entering the songs I like zone. Eternatus 1 goes in a lot of different directions, and despite how 13-year-old me would balk at it I actually enjoy the dubsteppy bits of it. Sorry to disappoint you, you edgy fuck.

Ultra Beasts (SMUSUM): I don’t know why these are separated, they’re the same theme. I really like the UB theme, but the thing is it isn’t really a legendary theme- it had to be a bit less bombastic seeing as you can just encounter a bunch of these bad bois. And while it sounds suitably alien, I still think it doesn’t belong on this list.

Weather Trio (ORAS): Why is this listed as this, its just for Rayquaza. Extremely dramatic, but a retread of one of my S-tier picks (spoilers oops) and not different enough for the remaster to make it worth it.

Primals (ORAS): the same as the previous, but I do like this much better, what with the song “reverting” to the original every so often. This should probably be higher, but I don’t want to separate it from the “full” version.

Eternatus 2: It’s kind of a shame how little time you get to hear this, because it’s a big ol “you’re fucked” and that’s pretty great. There are bits of this that sound like they’re sampling Kirby Super Star, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Galar Birds (Crown Tundra): While I know everyone used to adore this one, I think the honeymoon phase is over for me at this point. I still like it, but at the end of the day it’s still a Kanto Wild remix.

Legendary (BWB2W2): This is really good! The way the tempo shifts around the song is a really nice touch, and that build section is excellent. Just a solid overall theme.

Tao Trio (BW): Reshiram and Zekrom’s themes are slightly different, but even Game Freak forgot that one. Kyurem’s is the same but where they have different SFX it just has dead air, which while fitting is a bit less good. I adore the beat this one has running, almost a throbbing bit going on there. Edit: Ok on relisten I’ve heard Kyurem’s a bit closer, and it’s a little different with some record skips, but they’re pretty unecessary imo.

Zacian/Zamazenta (SwSh): This is one I kinda wish was less dramatic, considering it’s not as oh shit as the situations their other themes have. I kinda hate the opening to this, but the rest of it makes up for it I suppose.

Eternatus 3: Yeah this is a Z/Z theme not an Eternatus theme let’s be real. A suitably triumphant third act to the climax of SwSh’s (lackluster) story. This is kinda just a banger, very much appropriate for the beatdown it accompanies.

Dialga/Palkia (DPPt): Closing the tier with a song that I actually love, but it’s occurred to me that it’s a little odd sitting next to some of these other ones. I mean, it’s mostly built around this very pretty little piano line, which makes it feel less weighty than the competition. It’s a classic, and hasn’t aged poorly or anything, but it’s less of a climax than I would expect. With that in mind, I shudder to think of what would happen to this in a potential remake.

A Tier

Mysterious Being (SwSh): This is getting carried here by that bass alone. The rest of it is ok I guess.

Arceus (DPPt): Ah, the track no one ever got to hear. I really love how sparse this is, being basically only percussion most of the way through. I think the Arceus event is something we should have actually gotten to experience, I’m pretty sure it would have blown little me’s mind.

Lugia (HGSS): HGSS, the games where every legendary got its own theme. Bring this back please, I’m begging here. I understand the reason this sounds the way it does is because it’s based on the Shadow Lugia theme from XD, but I haven’t played that one, so I can’t comment. I’m sure not complaining, though- considering Lugia’s other main appearance (in the movie, of course) I wasn’t expecting such a menacing theme.

Legendary (DPPt): For a “generic” theme (fucking Rotom gets this btw) this has a lot going for it. The animation that plays when you start a fight with this music is burned into my brain. It’s fast, it’s tense, and it sounds great.

Lake Trio (DPPt): Unlike Mysterious Being, while the bass slays here, it’s not alone carrying the song. This track was always my favourite out of Diamond and Pearl, and those games have a fucking great soundtrack, so.

Black/White Kyurem (B2W2): I really love that this is a remix of the (also very menacing) theme you hear when you boot the game up- you’ve heard a version of this while staring at the fucker, now here’s the real version for when you have to fight it. The references to the regular Tao Trio theme are well placed, but this more bombastic version sounds like Kyurem is here to fucking kill you, which to be fair, it kinda is.

Legendary Beasts (Crystal/HGSS): I’m lumping these together since, although HGSS gave each their own remix, they’re basically the same theme. This was the first Legendary music ever written for the series, and it still holds up really well. As for the HGSS remixes, I don’t think Entei’s slower rockier version works as well, but I really like the punchy percussion on Raikou’s version.

Regis (RSE): Hella bass and Hoenn Horns? What’s not to love? I do think the original version of this theme is by far the best one, being an ample payoff for the puzzle that was getting to it in the first place, and it makes hurling balls at the golem’s much more tolerable. I literally never caught Registeel as a kid so I could go back and listen to this whenever I wanted.

Tapus (SMUSUM): Again, why are these separated. Considering this game has literal aliens in it, the Tapu theme in SM is somehow the most messed up sounding one, but it works extremely well. The surprise vocalisations work really well with the… I’m hesitant to say tribal, but I don’t have another word for that vibe to be honest. It does feel like you’re doing a transgression with this song, which you are (why the fuck are you allowed to catch these things in universe lmao).

Ultra Necrozma (USUM): Probably the most climactic song in the entire franchise, and it makes sense- this isn’t just the climax of those games, but the finisher to the entire 3DS era of the series. The church organs, therefore, are pretty justified. This song sounds like a Big Deal, and the organ getting pretty jazzy when it gets to some of the less intense bits is a really nice little touch. And then the percussion picks up again and oh fuck here we goooooo. A fitting track for arguably one of the hardest fights in the entire franchise.

S Tier

Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma (USUM): Haha oops I like this one more than Ultra. I think it’s just the unstoppable percussion that opens this that does it. I don’t think anyone who went in blind saw this moment in the games coming, and the intensity reflects this- its like a prelude to Ultra but it doesn’t have as much of a low point, with the onslaught of noise fitting the sheer OH FUCK that is seeing everyone’s favourite bag-dodger getting bodyjacked out of nowhere.

Weather Trio (RSE): Anyone who understands my bias is gonna understand this one. It’s almost entirely carried by nostalgia, but I just love this fucking song. Compared to some of the other things on this list, it feels nearly minimalistic, seeing as it’s pretty much just the drums, horns, and that bell, but that’s all it needs. It’s the first song in the series for a proper legendary, and it suits that fact.

Deoxys (FRLG/E): By contrast, the Deoxys theme is pushing that GBA soundfont to its absolute limit. You can hear some of the best of both the FRLG and RSE soundtracks in this song, with the Kanto percussion and the Hoenn horns both doing their part, but whatever instruments the rest of this is going for are absolutely not slouching either. It’s somewhat telling that the best soundtracks for FRLG romhacks (e.g. Clover) sound more like this than like the other themes in the game.

Ho-Oh (HGSS): Oh fuck is that a koto I love kotos. By contrast with Lugia, Ho-oh is a more relaxed track that takes a lot from traditional Japanese instruments, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dramatic- far from it. The groove in this makes it sound like it comes from another series entirely, being so incredibly different from anything else the series had to offer at that point. That main riff is so fucking perfect, man.

Giratina (Platinum): I remember having my mind blown when I first heard this. Giratina went from the generic DP legendary music (which is obviously still good) to this chaotic energetic power play, and I was sold on Platinum immediately (like everything before XY, Platinum came out in Japan some months before in other countries, so I heard this well before the game dropped). This song has so many different lines, so many different builds, and yet none of them feel out of place. I almost feel like this song is what started me down the path that would lead to me being a prog fan. After the haunting ambience of the Distortion World, this sheer energy is such a shock to the system, and the climax of the song hits harder than any individual moment on any other song in the series. It’s my number 1 pick, and I love it to bits.

Thus, the full list is as follows. If you end up doing your own, link me up, I’d love to see how wrong you are your opinions.

#ramble #pokemon #music #lists #ill probably do this for other music in these games at some point

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

Text

Have you ever hugged someone for over a minute? Hm. I don’t think I have for that long, but maybe.

Would you ever get a tattoo on your collar bone? Nooo.

Would you take the 3 minute beatdown to be in a gang? Um, no... Do you check your texts right away when you receive them? Not always.

Has the last person you texted ever been mad at you before? Yes.

Have you ever searched for your house on Google Earth? Ha, yeah. I remember when that was the new thing the first thing a lot of people did was search their own house. Out of everything we could look at lol.

How old do you look? Early 20s.

Do you like movie nights? Yeah.

Is there a trampoline in your backyard? Nope.

Does the thought of having children scare you? I’m not having children.

Are you nice to everyone? I think so.

Would you rather date someone older than you or younger? Older. Not by a lot, though.

Are you excited for anything happening in the next week? No.

What will you be doing in the next 2 hours? I should try and attempt sleep.

Who did you talk to on the phone last? My mom.

Does it make you uncomfortable when you receive a compliment? It’s just awkward cause I’m awkward.

When you are home alone at night and hear strange noises, are you afraid someone is going to break in? Thankfully, I’m never home alone at night.

Do you wake up cranky? Sometimes. I’m typically just a zombie, though, until I’ve had coffee.

What is on your wrists right now? Nothing.

Are you a beach, country, or city person? Well, I live in the city but I love the beach.

Are you an official couple with the last person you kissed? Nope. Never was.

Looking back, did you ever think you would be where you are now? No.

Do you like someone? I’m not interested in anyone in the romantic sense, currently.

Are you happier now or three months ago? Wasn’t happy then or now.

What’s the greatest thing that happened to you today? Nothing has really happened so far, it’s only 5:45AM.

How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? Sigh.

Are you waiting for something? For the weather to finally feel like fall.

If you could change your eye color would you? Yeah. I wish I had blue or green eyes.

What was the weather like today? It’s supposed to be 93F today aka too hot. Sighhhh.

Do you think you’ll be married in ten years? Nope.

Does your ex still love/like you? Nope.

Are you stubborn? Ohh yes.

Do you tend to hold a grudge? No.

Where were you at 9am this morning? It hasn’t been 9AM, yet, but I know I’ll be right here in bed.

How has the week been? It’s just starting.

Did you go out or stay in last night? Stayed in of course. I don’t go out anymore, even pre-covid. It’s been a few years.

Something you do a lot? Worry.

How many states have you lived in? Just one.

Can you commit to one person? Yes.

Who was the last person to hold your hand? My doggo, ha.

How many chances do you tend to give people before enough is enough? I give out many chances. Do you think you and your best friend will be friends in 10 years? My mom has and always will be my best friend.

What do you miss most about your ex? He made me laugh like no other. He was just a fun guy to be around. That was also part of the issue, though. We could never have a serious conversation because he turned everything into a joke.

Are you attracted to the last person that kissed you? Not anymore.

What’s a fact about the last person you kissed? He’s into writing, photography, and drawing.

Something you really want right now? My back to stop hurting.

How long have you liked the person you like? I don’t like anyone in that way.

Does any part of your body hurt right now? Yes.

Did anyone see you kiss the last person you kissed? Probably.

Can you recall the last time you liked someone? Yeah, back in 2016.

Are you happy with the way things are going? No.

Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? Nope.

What plans do you have for tomorrow? Same stuff, different day.

Has a friendship ended recently that you wish hadn’t? Not recently, it’s been a few years now.

Have you ever given your ALL to someone who walked away? Yes.

Have you ever kissed the last person you texted? No.

Do you and your last ex hate each other? No.

When was the last time you were sick? I feel crappy in some way or another all the time, but as far as like a cold or something not since earlier this year.

Are you one of those people who are always cold? No, I’m always hot.

Do you tend to waste a lot of money? I can get carried away sometimes with stuff I don’t need, but this year I think I’ve been pretty good for the most part.

Have you ever regretted kissing someone? No.

When was the last time you got a haircut? Back in February.

Did you sing at all today? Not as of yet.

Would you rather be able to control the weather or control traffic? The weather, most definitely.

Do you own any articles of clothing with skulls on it? Yeah.

Are you faster at text messaging or typing on the computer? Typing on the computer.

If you won a trip to a nude beach would you go or give the trip away? Aw, it can’t be a regular beach? lol. I don’t care to see a bunch of people in the nude and I certainly wouldn’t be nude.

In your opinion which is the stronger emotion: love or hate? Both are very strong, intense emotions.

Tongue piercings - cute or trashy? Not my thing.

When it comes to jeans: skinny, flared or boot cut? Only skinny jeans.

Would you rather be a star ballerina or a star break dancer? Neither would be possible for me.

When it comes to Baseball would you rather be on the field or in the stands? Neither.

I’ve got to know, who do you prefer: Mario or Luigi? Luigi.

Have you ever changed clothes in a public area (not a dressing room)? Nooo.

How many months apart is your birthday from your best friends? Two months.

Yes or no: Techno music? No.

Yes or no: pigtails? Not for me.

They say diamonds are a girls best friend; what do you say? I mean, they’re beautiful but I’m not super into jewelry.

Has anybody ever told somebody one of your secrets? Yes.

Have you ever kissed anybody who had a mustache? No.

If you were famous do you think you could handle the popularity? Noooo. I never would want to be famous.

Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with a letter P? Nope.

Did you talk to one of your best friends today? What did you talk about? Not yet, but later on.

Do you get on better with funny or serious people? I like people who know when to be funny and when to be serious. <<<

Do you have mood swings around the time of the month? Yeah, I always did. I don’t have “the time of the month” anymore, but I’m moody all the time.

Have your friends met the last person you kissed? The friends I had at the time did, yeah.

What if you saw your best friend holding hands with your ex? My mom would never.

Your last relationship, who dumped who? He ended it.

How old were you when you had your first boyfriend/girlfriend? 16.

Is your hometown nice? No.

What if you got stuck in a lift with the last person who Facebook messaged you? I’d be freaking out cause claustrophobia, but at least I’d be with my aunt, who I’ve always been really close to.

When/where did your last hug take place? Here at home.

Do you consider yourself mature enough to make your own decisions? At 31 I should be, but I certainly have made a lot of bad ones...

Have your parents ever told you about their love lives, and any previous relationships they had before they met? My mom has told me about a high school boyfriend.

You get a text from someone saying that they want to hang out - who would you most like it to be from? I don’t have any friends, so.

Do you and your friends have any inside jokes? My family and I do.

Do you think someone has feelings for you? Are these feelings returned? At this time, no one likes me romantically and I don’t like anyone romantically.

What if the last person you texted were to ask you out? Uh, no they would never. The only people I text with are my parents and brother...

Do you believe in love at first sight? Explain. Nope. I just don’t see how you can love and have such strong, intense feelings for someone you haven’t met or just met. You don’t know them. You don’t know if you even vibe or connect. They may have the shittiest personality. You gotta get to know a person first and see if you have a connection.

Would you prefer to be somewhere else right now? If so, where? And why would you prefer to be there? No, I’m perfectly fine with being in bed right now.

When you listen to music, do you ever find that the songs affect your moods and change how you feel? Sometimes.

Can you remember what you dreamt about last night? No, but I know it was something super weird and random cause they always are.

What’s one thing about today that you didn’t like? It’s only 6 in the morning, too soon to say.

Who is the last person that you said i love you to, besides family members? There hasn’t been anyone other than my family.

Are you mad at anyone right now? No.

Is there one thing all of your ex’s had in common? Sense of humor.

What’s a compliment you receive often? I don’t receive compliments often.

Have you ever had a friend that got a bf/gf, and then completely ignored you? No.

Would you ever go back to any of your past relationships? No.

Who was the last person to comfort you when you were upset or crying? My mom. Do you prefer to text or talk on the phone? Texting over talking on the phone for sure, but I don’t text much either.

Do you know anyone that’s gotten an abortion before? Yes.

Do you think you could forgive someone for cheating on you? I don’t know.

Have you ever been arrested? No.

Who’s the last person that gave you roses? I haven’t received roses, but I’ve received flowers of a different variety by family for graduations, hospital stays, and birthdays.

Do you still talk to the first person you kissed? Nope. It’s been like 10 years. What if you had a baby with the last person you kissed? Nope.

Do you have a picture of you kissing someone? Yeah.

Who was the last person to comment one of your pictures? My aunt.

What’s a cuss word you use often? “Damn”, “shit”, “hell.” If I drop an F bomb then I’m really upset and in a bad mood.

Have you learned from your past mistakes? I keep making them.

Who’s the last guy you texted? My brother.

What about the last girl? My mom.

Who was the last person to make you cry? It was just out of frustration with stuff I’m dealing with.

Have you ever not been able to get someone out of your head? Yeah, for a long time. I wouldn’t think about my ex nearly as much, if at all, anymore if surveys didn’t keep bringing him up. I mean, I would randomly now and then, but surveys won’t let me go a day. Although, the thoughts don’t tend to last too long after the survey is over, so. They’re gone until the next batch f surveys, ha.

What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person? I admire people who are passionate about something. I love how animated people get when talking about something they love; their whole face lights up. I also really envy that quality.

When was your first real relationship? Technically, I’ve only had boyfriend and that was when I was 16. It had the title anyway, but it wasn’t what I’d consider to be a real relationship. It didn’t last long, like seriously it was 2 months, so it never got very serious at all. My heart wasn’t really in it either, I wasn’t ready. Then there’s the whole Joseph situation, which lasted 3 years and in a lot of ways is the closest thing I have to a relationship, even though it never was one. The feelings and intensity were definitely there for me. But honestly, I have yet to actually experience a real relationship.

Have you ever cried over an ex? Yeah, too many times.

Do you ever think about your ex and cry? Not anymore.

Is there anyone in your life who you won’t ever want to lose? I don’t want to lose any of my loved ones. Have you ever snuck out of your house? No, I was a good kid. <<< Ha, same. But also, I wouldn’t have had to anyway. I could have hung out, I just didn’t. I was such a homebody then, too. My social life came when I was 19 and into my early and mid 20s. Then I became a total hermit crab.

Have you ever snuck someone into your house? No.

Have you ever kissed someone of the same sex? No.

How many people have you kissed? Three.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done on a dare? I’m usually too much of a chicken shit to choose “dare”. Haha. <<< Hahaha. We’re so much alike.

Have you ever cussed someone out? Not to their face.

Have you ever cheated on someone? No. I was loyal even to Joseph, who I was never officially with, so I definitely would be to someone I was actually in a relationship with.

Have you ever had a friend-with-benefits? Yes. Have you ever spread a nasty rumor about someone? Nooo.

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? Yes. :/

Have you ever been physically abused? No.

What’s something you really regret saying to someone? There’s many things I wish I could take back.

Is there something really bad that you’ve done, that only YOU know about? I’m pretty boring, so I don’t think so..

Does it take a lot to make you feel guilty? No.

Have you ever broken a really important promise? Yes.

Have you ever gone out with a best friend’s ex? No.

Have you ever made out with someone who was just a friend? Yes.

Have you ever cheated on a test? No.

Have you ever told someone’s deep, dark secret? No.

Do you ever lie to make yourself sound better? Ha, based on my survey answers I clearly don’t. I’m open with ya’ll, and it’s not pretty.

Have you ever made up a false rumor to get back at someone? No.

Have you ever gotten in a fist fight? Nope.

Have you ever purposely hurt yourself? Yes.

Have you ever mooned/flashed someone? Nooo.

Have you ever caused someone major embarrassment? I feel like I’m just embarrassing.

Have you ever pushed someone into a pool? No.

Have you ever got in a fight with someone and never made up? Yes.

Have you ever farted and blamed it on someone else? Um, excuse me I don’t fart.

Have you ever copied someone else’s homework? No. I was the person people tried coming to so they could copy mine. I hated that.

Have you ever skipped school to do something more fun? I have for family vacations.

Have you ever skipped school to get out of a test? No. I wouldn’t have gotten out of it, I would have gotten a zero.

Have you ever kissed someone the same day you met them? No.

What’s under your bed? Nothing.

What’s on that way top shelf or in the very far back of your closet? Medical supplies.

Do you have a super-secret hiding place and what’s in it? Now why would I share that if I did?

Have you done something recently you hope no one finds out about? No.

What is your last thought before you fall asleep? My mind goes to some random places.

Have you ever you shop lifted? No.

#personal #text #survey #surveys #long survey

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doubletriplepowerbomb · 5 years

Text

Caveman part 3

Part 2

Okay hi. I know it’s been forever but I’ve written up to part 5 so I’ll be posting part 4, 5 and 6 during this week!!

Word count: +4600

Warnings: none, swears... the usual

Tags: @jenn0755 @zappyzoodle @disturbthepearls @lost-in-the-stories @lithesxx @racingandreigns @rocketgirl2410 @vebner37 @therianfurry46 @littlelunaticfringe @finnbalorlover21 @winged-time-criminal @mrsnegan25 @xfirespritex @wefunloveruniverse @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @scuzmunkie @buckyaboveall

Four days went by since the kiss. Baron hasn’t spoken to me since that night and Roman has only talked about tutoring. I shouldn’t be as upset about this as I am but I couldn't help it. I finally kissed the guy of my dreams and now he acts like nothing happened. I can’t even tell my best friend about it.

Baron came into study hall late that day. After weeks of him avoiding me, he scanned the room for an open seat and plopped down right next to me. “You look upset.” He asked quietly. He kept his head down and his eyes didn't meet mine at all. “Are you okay?” Although his words were caring, they seemed to bite me. I’m sure he really didn't care to ask me these questions but he did anyway.

“Not really, no.” I responded, keeping my words as soft as Baron’s were.

“Is it my fault?” He asked.

Here’s when I finally realized what was happening. Baron asked because he thought it was him that was making me upset. I couldn’t tell him the truth; that it was actually Roman that was making me feel this way. He’d never speak to me again. “Why’d you stop talking to me?” Was the only thing I thought to say. I really didn’t want to lose my best friend right now.

“Lindsey, you know how much I hate Roman,” I cut him off there. I didn't mean to, but I just did. Why the hell am I always defending Roman? I really need to stop that.

“Why should that matter? I’m your best friend and just because you don't like the guy I’m tutoring you feel the need to avoid me?” I snap. I really didn't mean to snap, but I couldn't help it.

“You aren’t just tutoring him, Lindsey. You know that it isn’t just tutoring. You’ve loved him since the 6th grade. You’re getting involved with him, there are rumors about you all around the school, you spend everyday with him in the library- I’m not the only one who notices that. You kissed him.” He kissed me. I wanted to correct him, but I knew better than to do that. “Don’t gimme that look, whatever, he kissed you. It doesn't matter. He’s bad news.”

“You know that’s all you ever say. He’s bad. How? What does he do?” I asked. I was starting to get annoyed and Baron was too. Our voices were way louder than they were at the beginning of this talk.

“Ms. Walsh, Mr. Corbin… please. If you two are going to speak so loud and disturb everyone else, please go outside.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Packer.” Baron apologized and walked out of the classroom, leaving in the center of staring students.

Fuck. “Sorry.” I apologized quickly after and ran out behind Baron. I kept my head down and hoped I wouldn’t make eye contact with any of them.

I followed Baron out to the courtyard. I expected him to stay inside but I guess he knew he was about to scream. The second he heard the door behind us close, he whipped around and began his rant. “He’s using you, Lindsey. He’s getting good grades and now he has a stupid little doll to play with too!” He spat.

Out of everything Baron has said to me, that was the worst. “Stupid little doll? You didn't just call me that, did you?” I really was expecting Baron to retract his previous statement. But not only did he stick with it, he ran with it.

“Yeah. A stupid little doll. Don’t look at me like you’re the victim, I know damn well why you’re actually upset. Don’t forget, Lindsey, I’ve been your friend for years and I know you!” His voice was now way above his normal volume, I was right about the courtyard thing.

“Oh yeah, and why am I upset?” I surpassed Baron in volume. He makes me so mad sometimes.

“You’re upset because Roman kissed you, he shoved his tongue down your throat and you got nothing out of it. I saw you in the car with your little dumbstruck look. You can’t act like you don’t care. Roman made you feel all special and now he’s doing what he does best, ripping hearts out! He made you think that he cares about you and now he’s proving that he doesn’t!”

I didn’t have a response, I just let him scream at me. Maybe Baron was right. Roman doesn’t care about me.

“And the worst part about all of this is that now I have to deal with your dumb ass. You’re all heart broken over a dumb jock, now I gotta clean it up. You’re such a stupid person and I really thought you were smarter than this! But you’re no better than those blond idiots in all those high school movies we used to watch!” I was done taking it. He was crossing the line now.

“Then fuck off! If you feel so burdened to deal with me, then leave me alone! I didn’t ask you for your advice, I didn't tell you to fuckin’ ask how I was, and I didn’t even bring this up. I asked why you started avoiding me and you blamed it on the kid I tutor! This is your fault! Not mine, Corbin!”

I couldn’t tell you where in my response my voice started to waver. Or where my eyes started to tear. But by the end, I was crying and I hated myself for it. Maybe this was all because I was gonna get my period. Maybe this was when I finally realized that I might lose my best friend. Or maybe I was crying because I already lost him.

I didn’t feel like Baron was right though. Usually, after we fight, either him or I feel awful and beg for forgiveness. I didn’t have the feeling of regret in my gut, I was mad and upset that Baron didn’t see Roman how I did. And look, I know what they all say, you’re best friends know you better than you do. And if they don’t like the guy, he’s no good. But this was different.

Baron noticed my tears but didn't let up. He kept screaming. About what exactly, I didn’t know. It just seemed that now he was yelling at me about everything that I’ve ever done that bothered him. I really didn’t think this verbal beatdown was gonna let up anytime soon, until I saw someone running towards us out of the corner of my eye. Teacher? I hope not. Security Guard? Not likely. Student? Definitely. But who? Roman? No way. Wait, that is Roman…

Where is she? I had finished the first half of my sandwich, something that I don’t usually do before Lindsey comes in. I knew she was here today. I checked my phone. No text. So I texted her and I figured I’d finish my first sandwich. If she didn’t come in or text back, I’d go look for her.

She still didn’t come in after I finished the rest of my first sandwich and there was no text so I walked out into the halls to find her. I walked in the opposite direction of the cafeteria and headed toward the language hall, her 5th period study hall was there.

From down the hall I saw a bunch of people looking into the courtyard and that’s when I saw it. I saw Baron first (the guy’s like 6 ‘5) but then I saw Lindsey standing right in front of him. They looked like they were just talking. I felt something stir in my gut as I got closer and saw what was actually happening. Baron stood towering over her and screaming his head off. Normally, if I saw something like this, I wouldn’t jump to do anything about it. But this time, I had to.

I picked up the pace and ran towards the door, that something I felt stirring in my gut earlier turned into blind rage and jealousy. I practically broke through the door that was standing in between Lindsey and I. When I heard Baron’s volume, I got even more angry. Nobody talks to her that way. I had the urge to protect her, she was so tiny and cute and sweet and so… mine. Baron was mistreating someone that was mine. I felt rage brewing inside me from my head to my toes. I wanted to kill him. Lindsey is mine and he can’t have her.

I felt Roman’s large hands grab my hips and pulled me forcefully towards his brick-wall like chest. He leaned down and asked if I was okay and I quickly whispered yes. He moved instantly, creating a barrier between me and Baron. “Fuck off, man! Haven’t you screamed at her enough?” He didn’t know I was crying yet.

Baron’s words stopped short when he saw Roman approaching but he didn’t lose any aggressiveness. “Roman, I swear if you know what’s good for you you’ll fuck off.” Baron growled.

In my personal opinion, the only person truly able to stand toe-to-toe with Roman, was Baron. Both in size and intimidation factor. Baron is actually a couple inches taller than Roman but because Roman plays football and lacrosse, he’s a little bigger. Roman is most likely heavier too and probably stronger. Baron is no string bean, but Roman holds most, if not all, of the current weight room lifting maxes so many people wouldn’t choose to go up against him. But Baron did and he didn’t look scared.

“I don’t care what’s good for me. You’re screaming at a sweet girl who probably didn’t do anything to deserve it. So it’s you who better fuck off, or you’re gonna be late for class.” Roman’s words were calm, a lot calmer than his first statement. With that, Roman turned to face me. “We got studying to do, Lindsey.” Between his words with Baron and his words with me, Roman’s tone changed from a deep growl to his low bass whisper.

I was really convinced Baron was gonna swing. And I mean, why wouldn’t you? Roman’s back was turned. It’s the perfect time to hit him. But Baron didn’t swing. He didn’t even raise his fist. He just huffed and walked back inside, adjusting his beanie before entering back into the halls.

Roman’s hands went instantly to my cheeks and he wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “Please don’t cry, sweetheart. I don’t like seeing you cry.” Roman removed his hands from my face and pulled me into his chest. His strong arms held me firmly in place and I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head. “Let’s go inside, yeah? We’re missing lunch.”

When we arrived at our usual spot in the library, there were almost no eyes on us. Thankfully, the show really began right at the beginning of 6th period so not too many people were able to stop and watch the scene unfold. Apparently, Roman was waiting in our usual spot and after eating his first sandwich, he began to wonder what the hell was taking me so long. He also informed me that he had a sub in math class today so he didn’t have anything to work on, so he wasn’t too nervous about how much time we’d have. But nevertheless, he wanted to find me so he began his journey through the halls while he scarfed down his second sandwich.

“I got really nervous when I saw him yelling at you. You’re really… little, you know that.” I smiled at his concern.

“Yes, Roman. I know how small I am.” At 5' 5”, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself short, but with Roman standing 8 inches above me at 6’ 3” and Baron standing a hell of a lot taller at 6’ 5”, I often get clumped into the “short” category.

“I just wish I got out there before he made you cry. I should’ve left right when I realized you were late, instead of eating my sandwich first.” Is he being protective? Does he feel guilty for not coming to save me earlier? “Are you sure you aren’t hurt? I didn’t really get to ask you back there.” Definitely being protective.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” was really all I managed to get out but my brain was pounding. Why did he feel the need to come out? Did he save me because he cared? Does he care about me? Well anyone would come out to save a friend. He called me sweetheart. Woah, I totally missed that one. I was aching to know why he even felt the need to come find me. So I figured, we have nothing to do today so why not ask… right now?

“Roman, not that I don’t appreciate you coming to get me… because I really do, but why did you?” He looked momentarily confused before answering.

“Well when I went to look for you I saw you and that gorilla in the courtyard. When I saw him standing there with you I got annoyed ‘cause he’s always causing problems. Then when I realized he was yelling at you, I knew I had to go get you.” Roman’s answer was simple but, of course, it didn’t satisfy me.

What was I expecting? ‘I came out to save you because I love you?’ C’mon Lindsey, get real.

I guess he noticed my facial expression. I still looked confused, I still felt confused. Roman looked confused too. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just really protective over you,” he mumbled. Protective as a friend or protective as more than that? “I just really hate when people are mean to you, I guess.”

“You say this like it’s happened before.” I said. I couldn’t say what was in my head. Roman did just admit to being protective and I wanted to know why.

“Well, yeah. When I got suspended.” Roman said easily. He seemed sure that I knew about that.

“What? What do you mean when you got suspended?”

“You didn’t hear? The kid I beat up was talking about you and I didn’t like it.” Throughout his sentence, Roman’s voice got quieter. His jaw clenched and he tensed up. It was as if he was remembering what the kid said and was getting angry all over again.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “What did he say?” I asked while my hand moved down his arm. I smiled to myself at the small small goosebumps my hand left behind.

“He was talking to me about how hot you were. He kept saying how hard he’d fuck you. He was talking about you like you were some kind of slut.” Roman’s voice remained a quiet growl as he told me what happened. After hearing the kid say how hard he’d fuck me for the fourth time, Roman had enough. Without warning, Roman punched the kid and they had a fist fight in the hallway. Over me.

I didn’t know what to say, but my mind was going wild. HE GOT INTO A FIST FIGHT OVER ME. Mutual acquaintances don’t get into fist fights for each other and ‘just friends’ don’t either. I waited a second before changing the subject, I needed to cool down. My mind was all over the place and I was freaking out, I hoped not in an obvious way. I wanted to know more about it, I wanted to ask him why he cared. But I knew I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to close off again, I just got him talking.

“Today though, when you turned your back to talk to me didn’t you know Baron was right there? What if he hit you?” I saw that Roman’s expression change slightly after I changed the topic. Was he disappointed?

“I did that because I knew he wanted to hit me. He wasn’t gonna to hit me if I stayed facing him, so I gave him a chance. I don’t know if Baron is miraculously strong or something but one hit probably wouldn't have done much, plus I was expecting to get hit so I figured it wouldn’t kill me.” Roman explained all this so easily. He is actually quite smart and if he thought about math with the same depth as a fist fight, he probably wouldn’t need me.

Although I changed the subject I was really having a hard time with what he had said earlier. So I continued to ask him questions and we kept our conversation casual as lunch came to an end.

I spent the rest of the day replaying Roman’s words over and over in my head. ‘I’m just really protective over you.’ ‘The kid I beat up was talking about you and I didn’t like it.’ I was really starting to convince myself that maybe he did actually like me. Maybe he even wanted me. But each and every time my mind went wild with it’s fantasies, Baron’s voice was there in my head to bring me back.

Ok. Deep breath, Roman. Figure out what you’re gonna say to her. I was beyond panicked on my way to her house today at lunch I told her too much. I admitted to her how protective I get over her. I didn’t want to. It was her eyes, I swear. Her stupid, sparkly eyes: they were staring into my soul and I couldn’t stop talking. She makes me crazy, but in a good way. She makes me crazy but I’d go crazier without her, ya know? What the hell am I saying? Nevermind, man. Think about what you’re gonna tell her.

“Lindsey, I’m not looking for anything serious right now.” No, that's terrible.

“You’re hot but I can’t have you attached to me.” Wow, douche.

“I like someone else…” What are you trying to do? Rip her heart out?

“Friends with benefits?” Nope.

“Lindsey, I am irrationally afraid of feeling anything, therefore I cannot form any type of relationship with any person. For the fear that I will feel is much stronger than any attraction I can ever have.” Nice, dude. Real broad and… subtle, even.

“Fuck!” Perfect. I’ll walk up to her front door, and yell fuck in her face.

I pulled into her driveway and I still had nothing. The worst part was that I didn’t even know what I wanted to say, let alone how I was gonna word it. Did I want her? Did I not? Maybe feelings wouldn’t be too bad. No. Hell no. Like Dad said, feelings are for little girls.

I took a deep breath before getting out of my car and I tried to clear my head before getting to her front door. You got this, just tell her and don’t lie.

She opened the door and I lost it. She looked up at my face and smiled before letting me in. Don’t look in her eyes. Her stupid, sparkly, perfect eyes. But it was too late, I looked at her face and got lost in her eyes and her smile.

Okay, this is okay. I like her face. Just tell her when the time is right.

“Oh fuck.” Oh god I hope he didn’t hear that. I opened the door and couldn’t stop myself from speaking out loud. He was wearing flannel pajama pants and a tight black tee shirt. I don’t know what it is, but I think guys always look so fucking hot in those pants. He had to have noticed I was checking him out.

But he didn’t. My eyes made their way up to his face and he looked pretty out of it. Maybe I shouldn’t bring up the kiss right away.

His eyes met mine and I felt my face heat up. “So what do you have for me today?” I asked, keeping my voice level, as I let him in. He looked possessed as he walked past me

I wish she was mine.

“Huh? Oh!” Roman snapped out of his little spell and put his backpack down to dig through it. “Functions and stuff… I think.”

Smooth. Fucking idiot.

Roman finally found his folder and sat in his usual seat at the table. I tried to calm down before sitting down next to him so we could start the problems and finish this as soon as possible.

Oh my god he smells so good.

We had been doing problems for about 30 minutes now and I was really fucking up a lot. Functions were so easy and I had already gotten 3 questions wrong.

This was the first time I’ve ever felt nervous while tutoring Roman. With every mistake I made, it felt like my face went up in flames. I was second guessing myself.

Roman was making me stupid.

RED ALERT: A boy is making you stupid. RED ALERT: you like a boy so much he’s making you dumb and nervous!

“... Then you subtract these and you get 18.”

“Lindsey, the answer key says 67.” Roman corrected. This was the fourth time tonight he’s corrected me and he still sounded shocked. I was shocked too.

“Oh, yeah. You’re supposed to add the two numbers, not subtract them. Sorry, I guess I’m just a little…” madly in love with you and obsessing over the fact that you kissed me “…distracted.”

“Fuck… I knew the kiss would make things weird.” Roman pushed his paper away and turned to face me. “Look, I know you already think I’m a douchebag and this is gonna make it worse but I can’t date anyone right now.” His eyes looked apologetic. Like he knew this was going to crush me. Or maybe it was crushing him. No, it definitely wasn’t crushing him.

oh.

“My dad said no distractions during football season. He’d kill me, Lindsey.” Roman inched closer to me.

I fell in love with how my name sounded coming from his lips. Fuck. Okay, Lindsay calm down. It’s gonna be okay. You knew this was gonna happen, he doesn’t want to be with you. I didn’t know what to say. I felt like an idiot.

You’ve been quiet for too long. Say something!

“Wait. Roman, slow down.” What are you about to say idiot? “I don’t want a relationship either.” Yes you do, stupid. Stop.

Roman’s eyes looked hopeful. “You don’t?”

No, Roman. I’m in love with you. “Yeah, I’m not looking for anything serious with anyone.”

She isn’t? Honestly I was hoping she’d press a little so I could give in. At least then I’d be able to tell myself I tried.

“What if we just had a casual thing? No Label. No obligation.” My voice got quieter and I placed my hand on her thigh. I wasn’t thinking, I had no clue what I was doing.

That’s a terrible idea dude. You, out of all people, are suggesting an open relationship. You’re the most jealous person ever.

I needed to stop but I couldn’t. Her eyes were begging me to continue.

I felt Roman’s large hand trail up my thigh. My heart rate picked up and butterflies began flying in my stomach. I hated when Roman made me feel like this, I’m completely defenseless.

Roman inched his way even closer to me. I felt hypnotized. “Like friends with benefits?” I whispered. This is gonna rip your heart out, Lindsey.

“Yeah.” I whispered back to her while I leaned in even more. Don’t do this to her. Don’t do this to yourself. I knew I needed to stop but I didn’t. I felt drawn to her. My brain didn’t work right when I was around her.

My eyes fluttered shut and I moved in to meet his lips. I involuntarily moaned into the kiss, his lips were warm and full like they were last time. But this time, for some reason, it was better. I missed his lips. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I was kissing him.

Roman responded to my moan by lifting me onto his lap. I have to admit I was quite impressed and turned on by how effortlessly he lifted me.

I felt him harden underneath me and I smiled against his lips. I moved my hands from his shoulders to free his hair from the perfect bun it was tied back in. Roman bucked his hips up as I laced my fingers through his thick black hair.

Everything about this kiss was different from the first one. This one wasn’t desperate or rushed, it was perfect. Or rather, it should’ve been perfect. The situation was far from perfect and I hated myself for allowing this. But I kissed him nonetheless. I couldn’t stop myself.

It was safe to say that we forgot about the math. Thank god my parents were away. Roman’s hands gripped my waist and he began moving my hips. I kept my hands in his hair and started moving my hips so he didn’t have to. Roman pulled away from my lips and moved to kiss my neck.

Holy shit. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Her hands felt so good in my hair. I instantly knew I would crave this every day. I just wish I told her how I felt. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so mad at myself for wanting her so bad.

Roman’s phone rang at 10:07, it was his father.

“Oh fuck.” Roman said as he pulled away. He set a distinct ringtone for his father and we had both recognized it.

We both knew that Roman was in trouble. He looked at me with fear in his eyes and I apologized profusely.

“Don’t apologize, Lindsey.” I said as a lifted her off me and gently placed her on her feet.

It’s me who should apologize.

“Hey Dad-” I could hear Roman’s father yelling at him through the phone. I couldn’t believe Roman didn’t look phased, I was terrified and he wasn’t even yelling at me.

“Yeah, I know I’m late but there was a tree down on Fern street so I had to go around.” I raised my eyebrows at him. He thought of that quickly.

I wonder how many times he’s needed to make up excuses because of girls. It’s pretty obvious that he’s done it before.

“Lindsey, I gotta go. My dad’s pissed if you couldn’t tell.” He said, throwing things into his backpack. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that he grabbed my shoulders, pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, and ran out the door.

I stood there in shock as I heard his car speed off into the night. I couldn’t believe I said okay. I couldn’t believe I told Roman I wasn’t looking for anything. I am madly in love with him. When he kissed me and I was so excited for something to come from it. I wanted to call him mine. I wanted to wear his jersey to football and lacrosse games, I wanted to go to prom with him, I wanted so many things and I just threw it all away for friends with benefits.

I can’t believe she just wanted to be friends with benefits. I can’t believe I told her I didn’t want to date her. God, why did I assume that she’d push me. I had played it over and over in my head, too. I’d tell her I couldn’t date anyone during football season and she’d give me that look and I’d fold. I’d tell her the truth, how I really felt. Then I would finally have her. But I fucked it up. I agreed to an open relationship. Why didn’t I just tell her? I wish I had the balls to stand up to my dad, but every time I have a chance I just… don’t take it.

part 4... coming later this week!

#roman reigns #roman reigns fanfiction #roman reigns fluff #roman reigns smut #roman reigns x oc #OC #highschool #au #Baron Corbin #angst #caveman #WWE

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crusherthedoctor · 6 years

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Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 6: KING ARTHUR & MERLINA

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a new mini-series of mine, in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, we’ll be fighting the knight while living life as we discuss the dark spirit of Sonic and the Black Knight, as well as the schemer behind the scenes: King Arthur & Merlina.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a peaceful kingdom was threatened by the rule of a corrupted king. A young wizard named Merlina valiantly defied this monarch, the famous King Arthur, and attempted to escape the clutches of his evil army, but alas, she was cornered like a poor little lamb. In desperation, she called upon a brave and noble hero to help save her kingdom.

She got a blue hedgehog instead.

He did it guys, he did the thing, we can all go home now.

Eager to fight the villain of the week, Sonic was instead put aside by Merlina, who explained to him that as long as King Arthur had the scabbard of Excalibur in his possession, he was basically Jesus and couldn't be wounded in any meaningful way. She also explained that the king was once a noble soul, until the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, lended Excalibur to him, presumably under the belief that granting an ambitious ruler immortality and the power to pluck monsters from the underworld couldn't possibly be a terrible idea.

It was.

Luckily for Sonic, Merlina guided him to a forest where a poorly guarded sword was held, the one weapon capable of dealing some real damage to the evil king. Sonic even got a chance to make it count when Arthur himself showed up right after, but since this was still early on in the game, he fucked up so badly that Arthur and the sword itself - yes, the sword itself - were both laughing at him for his incompetence.

By the way, I hope you like desaturated cutscenes.

Nonetheless, the sword - who went by the name of Caliburn - decided to give the cocky teenager a chance in spite of his own reservations, and granted him the honorable title of Knave the Hedgehog. Sonic took issue with this title, because he didn't want to be mistaken for a fancharacter (probably). As they discussed their next course of action, Merlina waxed nihilistic poetry about flowers for some strange reason.

Because that's how nature works, silly girl.

So after a trip to the Blacksmith to get Caliburn in tip-top shape for regicide, Sonic went off to seek out Nimue in order to get an idea of what to actually do. Upon visiting her, he was asked to locate and gather the sacred swords, though he was forced to detract from his mission for the sake of saving some helpless townspeople from a cruel dragon, because that's just the kind of guy that Sonic the Hedgehog is... Just as well then that it was part of Nimue's test all along! (Just as well also that King Arthur was presumably patient enough to wait for Sonic to pass his tests instead of using that time to destroy the kingdom.)

All the while, he confronted the Knights of the Round Table, who - being the king's most trusted and most capable soldiers - did nothing other than get their asses handed to them.

Pictured: Useless twats.

Until at last, when everything that had to be done was done, Sonic and Caliburn went to the Faraway Avalon, where King Arthur himself dwelled. The battle was intense to say the least, but with a little help from the sacred swords, the Blue Blur prevailed, and the corrupted monarch who plagued the kingdom... dissipated? Like the Knights of the Underworld before him...? Well at least they got Excalibur back.

Seeking to get to the bottom of this mystery, Sonic brought it to Merlina's attention, who revealed that the King Arthur the hedgehog slayed was a fake, and that there never was a true King Arthur to begin with, as he was an illusion created by Merlina's grandfather, the great Merlin himself.

She also revealed the slightly more important fact that she's an evil bitch who used Sonic for her own gain, and proceeded to use Excalibur to give the hero a very bad time.

Holding a sword like that with her hair so close? Bitch is mad.

After some reassurance that all was not in vain, Sonic convinced the Knights of the Round Table to stop kissing the now-deceased Arthur's feet and help him save the kingdom for real. Using their sacred swords, the Knights formed a powerful barrier around the kingdom's castle, and then immediately proceeded to go right back to being useless.

Just kidding. The barrier wasn't even strong enough to amount to much. That puts the Knights' usefulness points right back to zero.

“Why do people call this our last hurrah again...?”

When Sonic finally confronted Merlina in her domain, with the understandable query of why she was such a manipulative witch, she revealed that her motives are less “cackling rapscallion” and more “morally grey”. You see, with the supposed rift between Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and the eventual downfall of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in general, the kingdom was doomed to suffer an undesirable fate no matter what. Seeking to fix her late grandfather's mistakes, she wanted nothing more than to create a world that would never end, for ultimate peace and prosperity... as far as she knew.

Sonic had none of it and promptly called her out on her selfish desire, but the wizard proved too much for him to handle, as evidenced by the surprisingly savage beatdown that he received immediately after. Caliburn got broke in half for his troubles, and the Knights commanded the hedgehog to get the hell out of there, but Sonic remained stubborn, as he never backs down no matter the opponent. This eventually paid off for him, as his heroic nature inexplicably summoned the power that granted him a new form: the knight in shiny gold armor, Excalibur Sonic. This was fortunately just the right amount of power necessary to defeat Merlina's final form of King Arthur 2: This Time It's Personal.

Beaten, but not outright killed, the depowered Merlina was left a broken woman. But Sonic wasn't afraid to show a bit of compassion to the wizard, as he gave her the advice that while the world may not last forever, we must live our lives to the fullest, and make the time that we do have count.

"Well yeah, that’s easy for an iconic mascot like you to say. As soon as this game is over, my career is finished. Eat shit, rodent.”

Also, Sonic turns out to be the real King Arthur. Because self-inserts are canon. Credits!

The Design: King Arthur's design is a bit on the generic side for Sonic standards, but it's decent enough for the type of villain that he is. Though you do have to wonder how he can stand upright with those gigantic shoulder pads of his.

This photo was taken moments before his kneecaps crumbled into dust.

Meanwhile, Merlina heavily resembles Shahra from Black Knight’s predecessor, as befitting of her initial role as Shahra's replacement for Black Knight, as well as making her true role all the more surprising.

“Shahra? No. I'm my own original character... Backstabbhra.”

When the latter becomes the Dark Queen, she initially settles for turning purple and gaining some fashionable feathers, before unleashing her final form which basically amounts to a collection of blue and black tentacles.

Typical angsty teenage phase.

Arthur and Merlina's designs overall are... okay. Just okay.

The Personality: As someone who is more a force of nature than an actual character, King Arthur's personality amounts to saying a bunch of evil things and not much else. That's alright though, since Merlina is the true villain of this particular story, so it’s her personality that counts here.

But here's the problem... Merlina doesn't have much personality either. She spends the first half of the story taking the role of the typical assistant, and the second half whinging about how her kingdom will be ruined unless she does something about it. That is all you get with her. Yes, there is clearly meant to be more to her, as evidenced with her misguided beliefs and her relationship with her grandfather, but very little is actually done with those aspects beyond giving Sonic more things to lecture her and shout at her for.

The Execution: On paper, Merlina is a character who should be among the greatest of Sonic villains.

On paper.

But you see, while she is unique in the sense of being the rarity of a female villain AND an anti-villain in a Sonic game... there really isn't anything else going for her. Once you get past those two initial brownie points, you don't have much of real interest left. You may get a cool moment like the aforementioned beatdown of Sonic come the endgame, but you're given no reason to actually care about the person doing the deed, despite the game wanting you to do so.

“I've not been given any particular reason to do so, so no.”

There's a lot of telling with Merlina, rather than showing. She's presented as a well-intentioned extremist, but we're given no reason whatsoever to actually bother trying to see things her way, even if we would still ultimately acknowledge that what she's doing is wrong. Even Sonic himself doesn't bother considering her side of the story for a second, and while that is certainly in-character for the Blue Blur, it makes Merlina's anti-villain status - one of the very aspects that makes her unique among Sonic villains - fall flat all the more. Likewise, the only information we get about why the kingdom is destined to be doomed comes straight from Merlina's mouth, and that's it. We're never shown an example of what exactly she wants to prevent aside from vaguely alluded ruination, therefore we're given less reason to express actual interest in her motivation and goals.

Also, it must be stated: There wasn't nearly enough foreshadowing with her true intentions. Of course you don’t want to beat the player over the head to the point where they can see the twist coming from a mile away, but you still need a decent amount of build up to make a twist work, otherwise it practically comes out of nowhere. And since you don’t even need to count the hints with one hand in Merlina’s case, it does feel out of nowhere.

Overall, Merlina - and King Arthur, for that matter - are just kind of forgettable at the end of the day. Not terrible. Not outright bad. Just forgettable. And it's a huge shame, because Merlina COULD have been amazing. She had all the ingredients to stand out and be in the same tier as the likes of Eggman and Erazor. But she simply can't live up to the likes of them because there wasn't enough sufficient effort to make her truly blossom as the type of antagonist she was intended to be. There was something good going on with her, I can acknowledge and appreciate that there was something good going on with her... it just wasn't enough.

Which is kind of how I feel about Sonic and the Black Knight in general. It doesn’t do an awful lot with the things that it gets praised for. And the story as a whole - while serving as a great character analysis for Sonic himself - is just kind of boring for an actual narrative in a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

My favourite Sonic game is the one where Sonic made fun of attempted suicide.

Crusher Gives King Arthur & Merlina a: Thumbs Sideways!

#Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite?#Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #King Arthur #Merlina #Sonic and the Black Knight

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snkpolls · 7 years

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SnK Chapter 96 Poll Results

The chapter 96 poll closed with 1,469 responses. Thank you to everyone for participating. Let’s do this!

RATE THE CHAPTER (1,402 Responses)

There was an increase of strong NOPES with 6.5% rating this chapter a 1 verses .07% for chapter 95, but otherwise like last month, the majority gave the chapter a favorable rating.

With every chapter focusing on the Warriors, they steadily climb the list of some of the greatest characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. I love everyone in this manga, but the complexity, moral ambiguity, and tragedy of these three just continues to astound me. No matter how this manga concludes and no matter how imperfect AoT is as a whole, I applaud Isayama for writing some of the best antagonists I've ever seen.

Warriors background and sob story is always good to see. However, I do want a bit more progress in the story. I can wait a bit longer to see Paradis cast.

96 is probably the highlight of Marley focus so far, and is a well deserved title. It honestly never crossed my mind for some reason that we would see the opposite side of the attack on Paradis, and it did surprise me with how much of a rush and danger it was for RBA.

I liked the other chapters better since they weren't all about flashbacks; they had a nice mix between current and previous events

I don't really like the Marley chapters but this chapter has been amazing. Best chapter of this arc so far.

It has a huge emotional content but I feel like it had less substance than previous chapter. The insight on Annie is interesting though.

i think seeing the fall of wall maria from RBA's perspective was a very good (and heartbreaking) decision for yams to make, and a good way to segway into finally revealing what the SC are up to hopefully lol

It seems like Isayama has a thing for writing heartbreaking and sad chapters in August *sides eyeing to chapter 84* and btw, I'm still not over serumbowl. I don't even think I'llbe over that someday ;;-;;

It was really insightful to see more of RAB and actually see R&B relationship with Annie (I honestly thought Annie hated them and vice versa). We didn't see 3 monsters but 3 little kids, traumatized and forced to shed innocent blood

fuck this chapter, i dont even mind the marley chapters but this literally told us nothing interesting aside from royalty not being subjects of ymir

WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOUR THOUGHTS ON SEEING THE FALL OF WALL MARIA FROM THE WARRIOR PERSPECTIVE (1,425 Responses)

Some mixed reaction here. A slight majority (45%) loved it while 25% didn’t care or didn’t like the timing of it. 31.5% were lukewarm about the retelling of the fall of Wall Maria from the warrior perspective.

I suppose if we were going to answer various loose plot points, we might as well get them all out in a single chapter.

I think Isayama's starting to push it with the flashbacks. I'd be okay with like. Half the next chapter or less being flashbacks to the trainee days but I want the rest to be interesting present-day Marley content

This would all have been so much more compelling if it had been incorporated into the main narrative timeline. Yams seriously needs a better editor.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE CHAPTER? (1,343 Responses)

“So much Annie” and seeing both trios in the shelter together were the top moments. Bert making eye contact with EMA and loudly contradicting Annie about her ability to charm men followed at #3 and 4. But with a lot of options came a lot of opinions.

"I'm here to save humanity." Like. Holy shit.

"Reiner is dead. If you want Marcel, I'll become Marcel" That was epic

One True God, Reigner, preaching His Holy Word to other Warriors. For He is the true savior of humanity

Reiner finally winning against Annie in a foot race

series was really just a bunch of scared kids making it up as they go

The little RBA group hug awww

The survivor from Wall Maria telling RBA his story. When I realized that I had heard it word for word out of Bertolt's mouth, it was very chilling. And Annie, seeing her break down at Reiner was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series

The two times we saw EMA

When it was revealed the Tybur family knew something about the Reiss family, that they have made a "vow renouncing war." OK, something is up with the Tybur Family, and I want to know more!

Seeing RBA talk about their mission when the Coordinate was maybe 20 feet away from them tops was a weird mix of frustrating and hilarious.

Ma boi Bert is smooth af.

Damn, Dina really hustled to be the first Titan through the gate.

SADDEST MOMENT FROM THE CHAPTER? (1,339 Responses)

Rather than pick a single moment, nearly 38% of us selected the whole chapter as the saddest moment. As usual, any glimpse of the 104th makes people cheer. The moment of eye contact between Bert and EMA was #2.

Annie...everything about Annie in general.

Knowing that once Reiner got back to the Marley after they failed, he did listen to Annie's words when she beat him up because he did take all the blame himself

reiner saying he wants to be a "soldier" to "save the humanity"_ the poor young man really thought he was saving the "humanity" from the monsters/devils

The panels of Bastion looking over the wall were so sad imo. Knowing RBA's story makes this iconic moment so much more tragic and powerful, but in a different way than before.

The parallel made between EMA and BRA. It's so sad to see how similar there six kids are, and how differently their lives ended up.

The saddest moment was Reiner saying he will 'become' Marcel. That was Isayama tearing my heart out of my rib cage and beating it repeatedly.

Watching three broken children commit an atrocity that they couldn't fully understand the consequences of

when it was yet another flashback

MOST INTERESTING NEW DISCOVERY FROM THE CHAPTER? (1,326 Responses)

The majority selected how Reiner became Marcel as the most interesting discovery. Bloodline talk and and the origin of Bert’s cover story were close second and third.

All of the above

Everything.

how reigner got fukin ripped, brah

reiner is hot asf

Reiner was always ripped

the explanation for why reigner went from the weakling to a buff dude (LUMBERJACKING)

Knowing for certain that RBA and EMA were (at least for a while) in the same refugee camp. My babies <3

I dont care for the plot at this point honestly im just in it for annie i discovered i love her somehow more than i originally thought

The Tybur clan detaining the information about the vow of the King. That implies they were in contact with Kruger at some point.

DO YOU THINK RBA KILLED THE MAN FROM THE REMOTE VILLAGE? (1,347 Responses)

My poll co-creator was the one who suggested this question and once asked I couldn’t unsee it. Nearly half of respondents don’t think RBA killed that man, but clearly there’s room for doubt.

I'm torn on whether RBA killed the man from the village. The idea occurred to me when reading the chapter, and I could equally see them doing it but also not doing it. isayama why!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE BEATDOWN THAT ANNIE BROUGHT ON REINER? (1,360 Responses)

Honestly I wasn’t expecting this to be a landslide but here it is - 82% felt that Annie was ok in her beatdown of Reiner.

YEAH ANNIE, KICK HIS ASS!!!

I want more of cruel Annie

My feelings for Reiner is kinda messed up.. Annie did beat up Reuner pretty good

i was all for reiner rescuing annie and apologizing to her but seeing what she did to him this chapter. never mind. she can go f*** herself.

RATE EACH WARRIOR IN TERMS OF HOW THIS CHAPTER AFFECTED YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF THEM

As far as opinion changes go, 807 people view Annie more favorably after this chapter, 788 do so for Reiner, and 633 for Bert. On the other end of the spectrum, 140 view Annie less favorably. That number is 113 for Reiner, and 57 for Bert

I used to dislike Annie, but this chapter helped humanize her in my eyes.

I kind of despise reiner after this chapter, the only good thing about it was annie

Bless Annie, she not only saw through all the brain-washing that the Marley government had imposed on them all, but was oblivious to her own charms! But damn, the scene where Eren, Mikasa and Armin are reflected in the Colossal Titan's eyes? That had me in tears!

WHICH OF THE THREE ORIGINAL WARRIORS IS YOUR FAVORITE? (1,369 Responses)

When I asked this question, I mentioned Tumblr’s outpouring of love for Annie as my reason. Now I have data to back that up. While Reiner was the combined winner, favorite character does vary by platform. On Reddit, Reiner was the clear favorite with 55% of the vote. Tumblr selected Annie with 46%. Bert is viewed far more kindly of Tumblr than Reddit. The breakdown is below:

REDDIT’S FAVORITE WARRIOR

Reiner: 55%

Annie: 31%

Bert: 15%

TUMBLR‘S FAVORITE WARRIOR

Annie: 46%

Reiner: 32%

Bert: 23%.

Reiner best character. Reiner for Straw Hat. Reiner for king of Westeros. Reiner for everything. I uh... I like Reiner.

Bertolt is such a non-entity in the flashbacks.

I can't believe I didn't appreciate Annie as much as I do now before!!! It was great to see her again and I really look forward to seeing her more hopefully

WHICH OF THE THREE ORIGINAL WARRIORS IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE? (1,322 Responses)

No surprise here. Mah boy Bert continues to get the least love.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IN CHAPTER 97? (1,353 Responses)

88% of people think the perspective will stay with the Warriors and a slight majority believe the flashback will continue. The 12% who think we’ll have a perspective switch are probably being optimistic.

IF CHAPTER 97 IS SET IN PRESENT DAY MARLEY, WHAT DO YOU MOST WANT TO SEE (1,362 Responses)

The Tyber family festival and the identity of Amputee-kun are what we want next. Many people think they will happen at the same time.

The Tybur Family Festival will reveal Amputee-Kun

All of this. A dialogue-heavy chapter that takes place during the tyber family festival. Right before the end, Pieck looks at Amputee-kun in the distance and says "Yo Zeke, Reiner, ain't that Eren Yeager ?" and Zeke goes "That's exactly right".

Amputee guy goes home. It is a dark house. In the corner is armin praying to an annie shrine. Mikasa is next to him on a chair drinking tea as if nothing weird at all is happening.

I'd like to see sort of visual representation of the Warhammer titan

Levi

Main cast

Reiner visiting Bertolt's family/parents

THE FOUNDING TITAN APPEARS TO YOU IN A DREAM AND GRANTS YOU 3 WISHES FOR THE MANGA. YOUR CHOICES? (1,401 Responses)

I hope ya’ll know I can see who voted for more than three. Shame on you! Action for Annie and Mikasa top the wish list followed by “no more time skips”. There were plenty of write in votes asking for romance and canon ships and the resurrections of Ymir, Bert and Erwin. There were some rather creative options as well.

*virtually votes for Annie getting out the damn crystal three times* WE NEED SOME ANSWERS FROM HER DAMMIT!

Armin. Man-bun. Now.

Every character getting a satisfying and conclusive ending.

Explain PATHS without magic.

Honestly I wish Zackley's "art" was never a thing

Chapter once a week

Marcel's death. Again. Again

Titan shifters not having to die after 13 years, except for gaylord, he can die for all I care.

HANJI ZOE GET A BACKSTORY

one billion dollars and a mansion to live in. PLEASE

Let's talk about East Sea Clan now

Bring Bertoto Big-Boi Bertollini back to life

better pacing

Connie with luscious curls.

MORE ZEKE!!

HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST ON PARADIS? (1,420 Responses)

The number of people willing to sell their souls to see the original cast is up 10% over last month.

I understand people are frustrated because they miss the main cast, but Warriors are my favorite characters and I've wanted to see this since forever. We'll get back to the main cast eventually, just bear with it like we went along with chapters without the Warriors.

This is honestly all I've wanted to see from the beginning of the series. No matter what happens after, I'm really glad we got to see the other side of that fateful day. Also, I love how clear the parallels between the two trios were, because that's something I've found incredibly powerful in this series, but it's never really been this clear before. I find it tragically beautiful just how similar EMA and RAB are, and yet one trio has hope of a happy ending while the other's been doomed from the start.

Just when i was finally gettibg into Marley we switch to a flashback! Lol that's how it goes. It was a good chapter, finally covering something we've been going over on a fandom level since 2013. I'm glad we finally saw it. Bring back Annie 2k17!

On one hand, the Marley files is necessary, building up to the end of the series. But holy cow I miss our main crew on Paradis! Granted, the Paradis chapters have been well done, especially on expanding the Warrior's side as fellow humans trapped in some shitty circumstances.

I just want a glimpse of how the Walldians look like. Just one panel and I can rest in peace.

I've been selling my souls for the past six months to see main casts... I'm withered now.

WHICH CHARACTERS DO YOU GENERALLY ENJOY THE MOST (1,422 Responses)

Vets are up and the104th are down, but I suspect poll exposure is the reason for the change.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES (1,298 Responses)

Tumblr, sit down, we need to talk. I know you love your art and ships. And I do too! But can you spend three minutes taking the poll? The good folks at Reddit once again outnumber you 2-1.

Reddit: 869 (66.9%)

Tumblr: 419 (32.3%))

Discord: 84 (6.5%)

Twitter: 7 (0.5%)

IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THE NEW GUIDEBOOK YOU FOUND PARTICULARLY INTERESTING? (1,143 Responses)

yes, seeing Armin’s parents was awesome, but my poll co-creator’s obsession with Reiner Braun is #3 and that’s all I need! That, and eruri is canon.... again ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Seeing Armin’s parents: 49.2%

Isayama’s obsession with Reiner Braun: 38.5%

Poll creators obsession with Reiner Braun: 35.1%

Reiner’s unexplained weight loss: 23.8%

4 pages of insight into Levi's thoughts: 23.4%

Eruri being canon.... again: 22.2%

Annie’s hairstyle being designed after Avril Lavigne’s: 21.3%

The Colossal Titan was designed before Bertolt: 21.3%

Reiner being described as “the perfect man”: 20.6%

Annie’s name being a joke on the word “ani,” meaning “bro”: 18.3%

Marcel and Porco aren’t twins: 16.2%

The height/weight info on the warriors and cadets: 15.7%

Reiner’s genetic predisposition to be a muscular and sexy bara: 14.4%

Birthdays for characters we didn’t know before (Finally! Moblit!): 13.6%

Reiner having David Beckham’s eyes: 11.8%

Reiner having Matt Damon’s looks from Saving Private Ryan: 10.8%

It's ok, I too am obsessed with Reiner Braun (I would marry him)

Reiner is B U L K

isayama is evil

I fucking love Reiner Braun. That's all.

reiner needs to be protected

Reiner continues to be best boy

FINAL THOUGHTS?

This is a subset of the write in the comments we received. Thank you again for participating! See you next month!

EXTRA DANCC

This chapter was incredible and i cant wait until 97 comes out.

This chapter made me think a lot of Draco Malfoy. I mean the trio and him both were brainwashed and raised to think lies. They were just children caught up in situations they coulndt understand well. It made me feel very sad.

I wonder how the Tybur family knows about the First King's Will. Either he made the vow before traveling with the Eldians to Paradise, or the Tybur family infiltrated the Walls somehow.

Tyber family is being set up to be the "real" masterminds behind Marley's government.

Fuck you Isayama!! I hate you and I'll always will... except if you give Annie a happy ending I could rethink about it

It was really good but I would have liked just a little bit of present-day Marley as well

Again, the Tybur Family knows something about the Reiss family even though the rest of the world doesn't know what's going on within the Walled Society. Something is up with the Tybur Family, I tell you!!!

We need more Annie, Bertolt and Reiner. Also want so badly to see the main Paradis cast but enjoying so much this Marley arc so I'm very conflicted with myself on that and which side I'm now on (Warriors/Paradis)

It was lit

It was interesting to see these events unfold through the long-awaited perspective of Reiner, Bertholt and Annie. I liked how they showed those three kids having more humanity. Seeing Bertholt hesitate and Annie cry gave another dimension to their character.

I've said it before but the new shots of Bertholdt looming over the wall were so fucking incredible. When it gets animated, I hope this moment be silent, no bgm, nothing. It would make it more memorable.

The fact that this chapter is called "Door of Hope" may suggest that RBA's time having their worldview expanded will eventually lead to hope. Reiner may turn on Marley in the end, and Annie's character definitely isn't loyal to Marley. I don't think either would work for Paradis if they had a choice, but since Paradis *is* directly opposing Marley, I suspect we'll have a "enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation. For Annie at least. If Reiner switches, I think it'll be in some great final act. :'(

Im a wreck now!

As expected

Dank

I love how there are absolutely no black and white in this series

Reignar's motivation for joining the military was done really well, and I love how complicated of a situation he's been in...

I've been a fan of getting the Marley perspective and was really happy to see Annie again, but this chapter felt like it was more of everything we already knew. It didn't add emotional stakes, it didn't add to the plot, it contributed to the abysmal pacing. I realize that we can't fully judge the manga until it's complete but the fact is, this is a monthly manga, and Isayama should take that into consideration when pacing the story. Focusing entirely on a flashback this chapter felt like a really poor narrative decision, especially since while it gave us feelings it didn't add any the last chapter didn't also give us. I know Isayama is a master of the long game so maybe I'm wrong and this was an important chapter, but it certainly didn't feel like it. It feels like he's trying too hard to make us feel for the warriors, but the previous chapters already accomplished that.

I expect SC to come back in Chapter 99. With the festival upcoming, I expect two volumes of Warriors before returning to out niggas on Paradis. Also, it's Reigner, not Reiner.

This arc need to step up its pace. It's good that we had all this new info but the story is so slow!

I just want to see grown up Mikasa

Disappointing overall. Little useful new information. The part about stealing the backstory was interesting but not significant. No plot advancements, no new mysteries, no present day action, and we all guessed accurately how the wall fell from RBA's perspective. IMO a pointless chapter, and the Marley arc has dragged on for almost a year now (no problem with Marley focus, it's just been very slow). Could/should have been done differently (include Walldians learning about Marley along w/us readers, include Warriors other than Reiner)

Need less marley and warrior focus jesus fuck

Ballsy move by Isayama to continue with the Marley/Reiner stuff. It's not terrible but considering monthly release schedule it's getting tiresome and I think he's starting to lose some of the fanbase - and he'll continue to lose more with each Marley/Reiner chapter

I'm so done with Marley, wake me up when we get back to the main cast

Please just move the story forward, we don't need previous details spelled out, the audience is smart enough on their own, this all just feels like a gigantic stall.

Feels like Isayama is stalling for the big reveal of Paradis plot

RBA perspective is already overkilled its inviting irritation rather than sympathy

I feel like isayama doesn't care about the manga anymore and is just trying to wrap it up as quick as possible

ANNIE PLEASE COME BACK REEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Getting weary of the flashback. I don't mind seeing the Marley side of things, but pick up the pace.

very powerful chapter. That said, I hope that for the sake of the story's pacing in general, this is the last flashback we get for a while.

AoT is the best story I've ever read. But if there are more useless Marley chapters I might even stop reading monthly. That's how exasperated I am. Fuck i really do like RBA and flashback is nice but PLEASE LET ME SEE THE WALLDIANS COME ONNNNNNNNN!!!! Its been half a year already !!! I didnt see the main characters since i caught up with the manga wtf

Cool chapter in itself, not ok with the premise

I'm pretty sure Dina said fuck Bertolt because she was going after that slut sleeping with her husband

You know, after hatin' on the Marley POV for the past few chapter I actually am starting to feel that I'm succumbing to them, slowly but surely starting to enjoy them

The RBA hug was the sweetest thing.

would be interesting to see of armin -remembers- any of this

I finally fully enjoyed reading a chapter of this Marley arc, even if it's just a flashback... but i reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaalllly wish to come back to the original cast POV. I miss them, i wanna see them, i would sell my soul to see them. Also i think Isayama made a wrong choice doing this Marley arc now, after the timeskip, if he had done this before the fandom probably wouldn't react as the way they did (missing EMA and Veterans). I mean, after the longest time skip ever, after the most loved/hated arc with huge changes to some characters, Isayama just change the view to another characters not showing us anything of what happened. Also with this guidebook we could see that things have changed with the original cast, mainly the relationships that before were strong but at this moment we don't know fully (Like i seriously saw the EMA split apart reading this guidebook, a thing that i didn't wanted to happe, but at the same time i wanted because is interesting af. Or Levi miserable after Erwin death... I feel like Isayama will continue with this flashbacks to explain something like why Annie didn't killed Armin, and their thoughts on the Walldian, but i also feel like chapter 100 will split the fandom apart (again) (i mean we probably will get the main cast in this one, i hope)

I MISS MIKASA

Great develope of the warriors trio

EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

nice info & perspective in this chapter. but felt dragged..could've been expressed in less pages tbh.

The pacing of this whole arc has been poor. These backstories would have better served the story if they had peppered the narrative a little bit at a time over the course of the whole series, not as some last second infodump.

Only thing worse than present day Marley is flashback Marley

I DON'T WANT ANOTHER FLASHBACK JUST GET ME ON PARADIS AGAIN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

You have a beautiful smile, but not as beautiful as Dina's.

I need Reiner/Happiness to be canon like RIGHT NOW

wjat the fuck is dina d o i n g how did she just KNOW who carla was aksdadkjs

I wish bertholdt was not dead And that he has more development.

I never thought we'd actually get to see this part from the warrior's perspective, but I've always hoped we'd at least see it in a spin off or something, so I am pumped we actually got to see it in detail in canon

Thank god for Isayama, he's a blessed man to give us so many chapters with Warrior focus.

Man I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for each chapter, but I understand it's necessary for quality.

I wasn't really enjoying the flashbacks but I loved this one

I wish we would have had some bits from the breaching of the wall way earlier. I also wish the plot would advance a bit faster. I feel too many panels were spent on the flashback. For me the chapter was over too soon, but felt like I'd learned nothing new of importance :(

I understand the flashbacks are necessary, but I hope the story will eventually wrap those up to keep the story moving forward. Everything has been going by so slowly lately, but even so, I love this series to much to just leave, especially since we're already nearing the end. Keep it up, Isayama!

Because I see all the recent Annie content as the most obvious foreshadowing of her return to the plot, that begs a new question. In Stohess, she tried to run away, not take Eren, and just get back to her father. She crystallized with that stuff in mind, she seemed ready to abandon her mission, so when she inevitably wakes up will she still have that same mindset? I think this whole thing could set up an interesting change for her character. Whether she joins the Walldians or not, she finally gets a chance to break away from the flow and suffer or thrive based on the outcome of (probably) the only time she's allowed to choose something in her life.

Damn this is depressing as hell

Dina will never not freak me out. Also hooOOOOOO REINER'S MESSED UP HOOOOOOOO

I really do hope Isayama goes back to the paradis crew in a flashback to 4 years ago. A couple months from where chapter 90 left off & the entire volume covers 1 year of the Paradis crew in between the 4 year time skip

I feel like Isayama doesnt care much for Mikasa anymore. She has become a flat character and deserves more focus.

I didn't need an entire chapter dedicated to RBA's persepctive of the fall of wall maria to feel any more sympathy than I already do towards them.

I'm really tired of the Marley focus in the story.

Loved seeing how Annie really felt about the mission outside of the hometown and ideologies. Also heart breaking to see Reiner trying so hard to make the mission work only to end up losing the only other two who understood him best in the end.

I was hoping we would get the Tyber family's festival, and there Amputee-kun would reveal his identity. However, after seeing this chapter, I realized how important and interesting the Fall of Wall Maria is in the warriors' point of view. I'm glad we got this chapter.

1. Reiner is much more than a warrior or a replacement for Marcel. 2. Dina keeps being awesome even after her death. 3. Bertholdt already being in love with Annie is awesome. 4. We've been able to see Jean!!! 5. I don't want to say goodbye to Colt...

Isayama, give Erwin back 😌!

#snk poll #snk chapter 96 #snk 96 #snk chapter poll #snk poll results

180 notes · View notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

Inside the NCAAW: Can any team stop Sabrina Ionescu and Oregon this season?

It’s prediction season in college hoops: the time when pundits of all stripes, from fervent tweeters to studio show talking heads, are pressed into service to see the future based on how players, coaches and teams performed half a year prior. It would probably be as helpful — or perhaps more so — to burn some sage and summon latent spirits for supernatural insight on whether or not the UConn dynasty is actually in serious jeopardy, but instead we craft takes that may well be Freezing Cold™ within weeks. Thank goodness we writers are so persistently willing to hang ourselves out to dry. What would we all fight about otherwise?

Maybe we need to expand our pool of @ncaawbb experts if you will....... #tiredboss https://t.co/Z2TLp12r9h

— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) November 4, 2019

Last year, the four teams at the top of the preseason poll made it to the Final Four: Notre Dame, UConn, Oregon and Baylor — the latter of which emerged early in the season as a force to be reckoned with, and rode a wave of relentless beatdowns (the kind we’re most accustomed to seeing up in Storrs) to the 2019 title.

But the relative stasis at the top of the NCAAW over the 2018-2019 belied the league’s gradually increasing parity. Newly perennial contenders from the SEC and Pac-12 like Oregon, Mississippi State and South Carolina have joined the party that UConn and Tennessee (the latter unranked for the first time since 1976) helped start. The 2019 title game was won by one point; 2018’s by three — three that have already been etched into the sport’s history books. There is a real chance for programs that have only occasionally scraped the sport’s top tier (like Texas A&M and Oregon State) as well as stalwarts looking to recreate past glory (like Stanford and Maryland).

Most of 2019-2020’s breathless preseason coverage, though, has centered squarely on the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks have dominated national women’s college basketball news more or less since the Final Four thanks to generational talent (and presumed future New York Liberty guard) Sabrina Ionescu, who was compelled by goofy NCAA rules to announce whether or not she would enter the WNBA draft within 24 hours of losing to Baylor in the semifinal. Spoiler alert: she stayed at Oregon, as she announced in a Player’s Tribune missive, despite the fact that she would have likely been the no. 1 pick (an indictment of conditions in the WNBA if there ever was one).

Obviously, Ionescu’s decision to remain in Eugene alongside powerhouse forwards Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard (all three are ranked among ESPN’s top ten players nationally) is one based on manifesting what might feel like some overdue rings for the buzzy program. They’re in a great position to do just that with Hebard posting the highest field goal percentage among returning players, Ionescu poised to keep resetting her own triple-double record (she’s currently at 18, six more than the male record-holder), and a fanbase that is more than ready for a springtime trip to New Orleans.

But it’s a lot of pressure, even for someone as self-possessed as Ionescu. “She’s made us relevant in the national championship discussion,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves told SLAM. “Now we’re a national program. Obviously she has great teammates and everybody has helped, there’s no question about that. But she’s really been the face of that resurgence.”

And the Ducks will face considerable competition, even just within their own stacked conference. Stanford had a particularly strong recruiting class joining standouts Kiana Williams and DiJonai Carrington, Oregon State stars Destiny Slocum and Mikayla Pivec put on a show during the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments — and UCLA just came from giving UConn a run for their money in Sweet 16.

The reigning champs also seem highly unlikely to go down without a fight, having only lost Kalani Brown and Chloe Jackson off their remarkably deep roster. Sure, Lauren Cox — who barely escaped serious injury during Baylor’s championship game — is one of the best players in the country. But it was now-sophomore NaLyssa Smith who went 7 of 9 for 14 points in the title game, and Juicy Landrum and DiDi Richards whose six assists each kept the Notre Dame defense on its toes. The Lady Bears kicked off their 2019-2020 preseason with an absolutely brutal 149-32 win over Langston University, just in case anyone forgot what they’re capable of.

As always, the SEC looks to be an enormously fun battleground — this year with more young, raw talent than established stars. South Carolina has its highlight-prone recruiting class led by Zia Cooke and Aliyah Boston; Mississippi State is fielding a bevy of new bigs to try to fill their Teaira McCowan-sized hole and get the ring they’ve come so close to four years in a row; and Texas A&M will be the most fun team to watch in the country because Chennedy Carter is the most fun player to watch in the country, in this biased writer’s opinion. Her duel with Arike Ogunbowale and Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen was the kind of offensive performance that only sounds right as a myth. Arkansas is ranked for the first time in almost two decades on the strength of Chelse Dungee, whose MVP-worthy performance lifted the team to the SEC tournament finals.

.@RazorbackWBB's Chelsea Dungee dropped 31 in her #SECWBB Tournament debut ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/FmbTypU7k4

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 8, 2019

There’s Maryland, where Kaila Charles leads a core group of seniors looking to make a deep run in the tournament after a series of setbacks, and of course the NCAAW’s deepest conference, the ACC, which will look substantially different this year following the departure of some of its marquee seniors.

UConn remains UConn, overdue (on their timeline) for a title and with some uncharacteristically flashy players like Christyn Williams and Crystal Dangerfield more than capable of adding to Geno Auriemma’s era-defining run. An interesting aside: the shape of both UConn and South Carolina’s seasons will be shaped by the not-so-invisible hand of the NCAA, which has denied transfer waivers to both programs that would allow Evina Westbrook (who is coming from Tennessee) and Destiny Littleton (from Texas) to play immediately. Why anyone would be kept from playing a sport for free where they want to is the kind of proprietary secret the NCAA prefers not to discuss, but the programs in question aren’t keeping quiet about it.

“You don’t get to decide who’s a yes and who’s a no, because that leads to a lot of other questions that we can’t answer, and then it starts to lead to conspiracy theories. ‘Why does this kid get a yes and that kid get a no? Because they’re going to that school or because they’re involved in that sport,’” Auriemma told the Hartford Courant. “I don’t know that we want to be in the business of doing anything other than what’s in the best interest for the kid. Does it benefit the kid to sit out, especially when the coach and the athletic director at the school that they’re leaving go ‘I’ve got no problem with this?’”

Anyway, none of us really know anything about what will happen this season besides the fact that a healthy portion of it will be extremely entertaining. Here is a Twitter list of the top 25 programs with some good media follows (Swish Appeal, of course, should be your first stop), and a few good games to check out in a sea of soft early-season match-ups.

USA WNT exhibition match-ups at No. 6 Texas A&M (Nov. 7, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+) and No. 1 Oregon (Nov. 9, 7 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)

Two of the best college teams vs. the best in the world as they prepare for Tokyo — it’s a no brainer.

youtube

No. 8 South Carolina at No. 4 Maryland (Nov. 10, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

First ranked match-up of the season is between two teams with a ton to prove.

Tennessee at No. 16 Notre Dame (Nov. 11, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Could a Muffet McGraw-led team really have taken such a precipitous tumble in the few months since a near title run? Five just-graduated starters in the W say...yes, but ESPN is giving us the chance to see for ourselves.

0 notes

hillbillyisms-blog · 7 years

Note

'Alternate ending' If Mcgucket and his wife never divorced and remained together

In many worlds, Fiddleford never went back to California. In many worlds, his wife divorced him. In many worlds, his relationship with his son became strained. But in this world, things were different. In this world, he came to his senses before it was too late. In this world, he listened to his wife and son’s pleading for him to return home. In this world, he left the Society of the Blind Eye, the memory-erasing gun, and Gravity Falls behind him.

Fiddleford walked up to the door of his home with a suitcase in one hand and his banjo strapped to his back. His arm was still broken, so he intended on putting his suitcase down to open the door. As it turned out, he didn’t need to. The door swung open, and he was greeted with the sight of his wife. For a moment, she just stared at him, slight disbelief and worry present on her features.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaad!” Tate pushed past his mother and jump-hugged his father.

Fiddleford felt tears welling up in his eyes because it had been so long since he had hugged his son, and it had been over a year, and had he gotten a little bigger? And he wasn’t upset with him. He didn’t want to let go. His son gave him a hug-squeeze, then pulled away to look at him. “Gee, Dad, you look reeeeally old. And what happened to your arm? And why are your glasses broken?”

Fiddleford’s face turned red in mild embarrassment. He DID look like he had aged about twenty years since they had seen him last. He started to open his mouth to try and answer his son’s questions, even though, he really wasn’t sure how to begin. But then, he felt his wife’s hand on his shoulder.

He stood up straight and didn’t have time to say anything before his wife’s lips crashed against his own, and she pulled him in close. His eyes widened, then slowly closed. He relished in the taste of her lips, a taste he had forgotten, like hot peppers and sugar. She kissed him hard and determined, and he returned her kiss, soft and tender. She kissed him until they were both breathless and staring into each other’s eyes. It reminded him of when they confessed their love for each other for the first time.

“Ew, gross! Not in front of me!” Tate said, making a show of sticking out his tongue in distaste. He grabbed his dad’s hand, eager to pull him inside. “I got something to show you!”

Fiddleford smiled down at his son, then glanced back at his wife. He noticed she had picked up his suitcase to bring it inside. He shot an apologetic look in her direction, but she only smiled at him. Tate led him to his room. At least, Fiddleford thought it was Tate’s room. Maybe his memory was acting up again… But that twin bed could only be Tate’s, so…

“TA-DA!” Tate said, spreading his arms open wide.

“It’s… clean,” Fiddleford said, slowly, blinking.

“I did it all by myself!” Tate said, obviously proud.

“He sure did!” his mother shouted from somewhere else in the house.

Fiddleford smiled down at his son. “Good boy. I’m glad ya took care of things while I was gone. I’m proud of ya.” He pulled his son in for a hug.

Tate hugged him back. “I know you didn’t like tripping over my toys all the time, so I thought you’d be happy if I kept everything picked up for when you came home.”

His son still had a note of pride in his voice, but there was something else. Something Fiddleford couldn’t remember hearing in his son’s voice before. Something like guilt and uncertainty or… desperation? He wasn’t sure.

“I am happy,” Fiddleford told him. “But ya know what makes me happier than seein’ that ya cleaned your room?”

Tate paused a moment and looked thoughtful. “Uh, working on projects?”

Fiddleford gave pause a moment at that, then he shook his head. “No. It’s havin’ ya as my son.”

Tate gave him the biggest smile. It made his heart melt. Then, his son laughed.

“Dad, that’s really sappy.”

Fiddleford grinned. It seemed like it had been so long since he had been this happy. It was almost as if he had forgotten what it felt like. He spent the rest of his first night returning to his home catching up with his son and wife, putting away his things… Later, his wife and him got into a playful argument about who would cook dinner. It was almost like he had never left.

But only almost. That night after Tate went to bed, his wife and him retired to their bedroom. She rested one of her hands on his cheek and looked at him with a soft expression.

“You kept telling me you were okay,” she said, and she wouldn’t let him avert his eyes. “You weren’t okay, were you?”

Fiddleford felt his body tense despite his best efforts, and his fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to answer. He tried to answer but couldn’t.

His wife waited. Patient. She was a patient woman.

“Something terrible happened,” she said, after a moment. She stroked his cheek or maybe she was brushing away a tear. “You… don’t have to tell me. I wish you would. I wish… you had. You can talk to me. You can tell me anything. I’m your wife, Fiddleford. I love you.”

And he couldn’t stop himself. He put an arm around her and buried his face in her shoulder. He sobbed.

“I love ya, too.” He managed to choke it out as his body trembled, and his emotions overwhelmed him.

She held him until he had exhausted himself. She stroked his hair. It had turned all grey, and he had bald spots from when he… well, he had been pulling a lot of it out. But her fingers didn’t pause once as they went through his hair. He loved her so much, and he was certain he didn’t deserve her.

It would be the first of a number of nights where he would breakdown and need to be held by her. Sometimes, it wasn’t always prompted by their late-night talks. Sometimes, he woke up in the middle of the night screaming; though, he wouldn’t remember what he had been dreaming about. It had scared Tate a few times and had sent him rushing to their room. It was difficult. It was hard to explain. His wife made him see a doctor, and he didn’t argue.

It really wasn’t very long before he managed to admit to his wife and his wife alone everything that he knew and could remember. But it wasn’t very much. She tried to understand, and he appreciated her effort. She asked him once what happened between him and Stanford. He didn’t recognize the name, and he told her as much. She never brought it up again.

He took up a job as a mechanic. It was good work, kept him busy, and paid well enough to keep their heads above water. He still tinkered with his own inventions from time to time, but he never took anything past the prototype stage. He no longer had the confidence, the drive, or even the courage to build anything past that point, let alone actually use the things he invented.

He forgot things often. Little things usually… like where he had put his keys, what day it was. Once he forgot to turn the stove off. The fire department arrived just in time, and nobody was hurt. Sometimes, he would forget big things. Where he went to college, where his house was.

But his life was happier now. It wasn’t entirely stress-free, but it was easier. He got to raise his son. He was there for everything: to help chaperone his field trips, to take him fishing and camping, to help his Boy Scout Troop, to teach him everything he knew, to attend all of his graduations. And he got to remain by his wife’s side, through thick and thin. It was all he needed. It never occurred to him that anything might be missing.

One day, some thirty-odd years later, his wife would answer a knock at their door. On their doorstep was a broad-shouldered man with a strong jaw. And six fingers on each hand. His wife immediately decked him in the face.

Although, Fiddleford had always been of the opinion that anyone his wife greeted in such a manner probably deserved what was coming to him, he didn’t particularly relish in watching strangers suffer a no holds barred beatdown. Especially when said stranger didn’t seem to put up much of a fight. And even more so when the stranger claimed to know him and desperately wanted to speak with him.

It took a while for his wife to calm down, and she would eventually concede to let the stranger talk to him but only because it was what he wanted. Fiddleford brought the man inside and gave him an icepack. His wife even tried to give them some space, but Fiddleford had a strong feeling she was listening in on them.

“Thank you,” the stranger had said. He sounded so sincere and heartfelt. It almost sounded as if he was thanking him for more than just the icepack.

“My wife can really pack a wallop,” Fiddleford said, amiably. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t apologize,” the stranger said, quickly. “Please. You owe me nothing, and I… I owe you everything. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Fiddleford paused for only a second, but he wasn’t about to let the stranger launch into why he should be apologizing. Not without letting the stranger know.

“I’m afraid I don’t rightly know what you’re talkin’ about. I’m guessin’ we must know each other somehow, but I don’t remember,” Fiddleford told him. “I don’t remember a lot of things.” And he hoped that would stave off any offense.

He watched a range of emotions shift on the stranger’s face. Shock. Realization. Hurt. Regret. Defeat. It seemed strange how these words came to him so easily at the display on the stranger’s face. Surely, he was being a bit presumptuous. He didn’t know the stranger. Why would he be able to place the stranger’s emotions?

“I… see,” the stranger said, his voice quiet and his eyes downcast.

Fiddleford didn’t like to see people upset, and he tried to think of something to comfort the stranger. But his thoughts were interrupted when the stranger spoke again.

“Are you happy?”

Fiddleford didn’t have to think about the question. “Course I am. I mean, life ain’t real perfect-like. Really need to get around to gettin’ some spots in the roof fixed. But I’m as happy as I can be. Maybe as I’ll ever be.” Each year brought new challenges, but as long as Fiddleford had his family and friends, he knew he’d be okay. He glanced over at his wife and smiled. She shot him a somewhat nervous smile in return and pretended to busy herself by reading a magazine. She was holding it upside down. Fiddleford glanced back at the mysterious stranger. He found himself wishing he could remember who he was. Could he really be all that bad if he wanted to apologize to him and seem concerned with his happiness?

The stranger smiled at him, too; although, it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He stood and handed the icepack back to Fiddleford.

“That’s all I needed to know,” he said. “It was nice of you to welcome me into your home, but I should probably get going.”

The stranger sucked in a breath as if steeling himself. “You’re a good man, Fiddleford. If there’s one thing I want you to never forget, it’s that.”

He turned and was about to leave. Fiddleford couldn’t help himself. He got up and put a hand on the stranger’s shoulder. The stranger tensed upon contact, then seemed to relax.

“Hey, ya only just got here. That can’t be all, can it? So, I got me one heck of a bad memory, and I’m sure there’s some things I’d rather stay forgotten, but ya seem like a nice fella. Maybe ya should give me a chance to try and remember ya?”

The stranger didn’t turn, but he seemed to get tense again. And then, his wife spoke up, having set the magazine down.

“Wait, Fiddleford-”

“I’m sure ya were just bein’ protective, darlin’, but whatever he thinks he’s done or ya think he’s done, he seems awfully sorry, and I think we oughtta-” Fiddleford started, but his wife shook her head.

“No,” she said, suddenly, her tone becoming fierce.

Fiddleford was a little taken aback by her tone, and the fire in her eyes. The stranger, meanwhile, had gone very quiet.

“I don’t trust him,” his wife said.

The stranger flinched.

“Sweetheart-” Fiddleford began, but then he saw his wife’s expression soften.

“There was a time I thought you weren’t going to come back to me, and I didn’t know what to think or what to do. There were a few times I thought-” His wife drifted off, then shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter because you came back. You came home. But you weren’t the same anymore. When you left, you were bright and smiling and confident and so full of hope and energy. We told each other everything. But when you came back-” She looked at her husband, eyes welling with tears. “You were so broken-down, so defeated, and scared of the world. You kept things from me. And there were so many things you didn’t remember that sometimes it was frightening. I still don’t know what happened.”

The stranger put his hand to his face, covering his eyes.

His wife walked to him and reached for his hand, gently pulling him away from the stranger. Her gaze turned to the stranger and had become fierce again.

“All I know is that HE’S responsible. He was the one who dragged you away from us. And I let him. And I let you. Because he was your friend. Because you told me it was a great opportunity. And I trusted him because I trusted you.”

A fist at her side tightened. “But you don’t remember him anymore because he did something terrible to you. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

She didn’t seem ready to stop there, but then the stranger made a noise that sounded like a strangled sob. Her expression became less fierce.

“You should leave.” The venom in her tone was gone, but it seemed the anger had still not been quelled.

The stranger did not look at either of them as he started to move. Fiddleford felt torn. It was obvious his wife was speaking from the heart and that she desired to protect him. He would not discount her concerns, either. He generally trusted her sense of judgement, and if she thought the stranger was untrustworthy, he should absolutely take it into consideration. Especially since he didn’t remember the stranger. Especially if the stranger was involved in that unknown project that had once haunted him.

But it had been a little over thirty years now, hadn’t it? Things changed. People changed. And whatever had happened, it looked like the stranger hadn’t escaped unscathed, either. Fiddleford harbored a strong desire towards helping people. When he saw someone suffering, it wasn’t something he could just… let go.

“But-”

“No, she’s right,” the stranger said. “I hurt you, Fiddleford. I was so blinded by my own ambition that I dismissed your feelings and your concerns. There were so many times I put you in danger… I was a terrible friend, and I don’t blame you for forgetting me.”

He sighed. “It’s best if I stay forgotten. You deserve to be happy, and I won’t take that away from you by reminding you of all the horrible things that occurred all those years ago.”

Now, Fiddleford knew he couldn’t just let him leave. He glanced at his wife who still appeared anxious and angry, but there was something on her face that seemed contemplative. He threw his hands up in the air.

“Now, just hold on a cotton-pickin’ minute here, both of ya! I know I ain’t exactly the most stable, and I’m probably more sensitive than I oughtta be, but I ain’t made of glass!”

For a moment, the heaviness in the air had lightened at Fiddleford’s words. It was interesting watching how both his wife and the stranger glanced at each other with dubious expressions on their faces in regards to what he just said. Fiddleford put his hands on his hips.

“Well, I ain’t! And my forgettin’ days are over. I’ve learned my lesson. Forgettin’ almost ruined my life,” he said. “Ya know what makes me happy? What makes me happy is being surrounded by friends and family, and I say the more, the merrier!”

It was interesting again that his wife and the stranger glanced away from each other, and both bore expressions of reluctance.

“Now that ain’t mean I’m just gonna let ya in all at once. Way I see it, friendship has to be built, and trust needs to be earned. And I ain’t goin’ into this alone.” Fiddleford looked to his wife. “I know ya don’t trust him, and that’s why I think if I’m gonna give him a chance to start over new, we’re all goin’ to spend time together. That way ya can keep an eye on him.”

His eyes started to plead with her. “I mean, look at him, hon. I ain’t never seen a sorrier fella in all my life. Surely, ya can find it in your heart to give him a little chance? Just one?”

His wife glanced at the stranger, hesitating again. Then, she glanced back at her husband and the sad, pleading look on his face. She rubbed a hand over her face and sighed. “You know I have a hard time telling you no when you look at me like that.”

“I know,” Fiddleford said, managing a bit of a grin.

“But we’re going to have to lay down some ground rules.” Her eyes shot over to the stranger, and her expression hardened. “And he only gets this one chance. If he does you wrong again, I will bury him.”

“I really don’t know about all of this. You don’t have to go through the trouble, I-”

“Ya were my friend, weren’t ya?” Fiddleford asked, taking the stranger aback.

“I - yes.”

“Do ya still wanna be my friend?” Fiddleford asked.

The stranger stared at him, wide-eyed. “I don’t deserve-”

“I didn’t ask ya what ya deserve or don’t deserve. I’m askin’ ya do ya still wanna be my friend?”

“… More than anything.”

Fiddleford held out his hand. “Fiddleford McGucket.”

The stranger glanced at his hand a moment, then looked down at his own six-fingered hand, uncertain. Slowly, he reached over to grasp Fiddleford’s hand in his own.

“Stanford Pines.”

They shook hands. And one day, it would be as if they had never stopped being friends.

#fiddleford mcgucket #drabble #fanfiction #longer than i intended #this one could have ended badly too #considering fiddleford wouldn't have been there to build the shacktron for weirdmageddon #but i thought that since its possible the memory erasing gun could still have been obtained #that maybe there'd still be a chance #so kind of a fifty fifty type deal #and since i already wrote a sad one #i felt like writing a happier one

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avanneman · 5 years

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Robert Kagan writes an interesting essay, with some stretchers, and not a few omissions

In one way, Robert Kagan’s recent “long-form” (7,000 words) essay in the Washington Post, “The strongmen strike back”, is an honest, intelligent examination of the rise of illiberalism in the modern world, a phenomenon as incontestable as it is dispiriting. In another way, Bob’s latest and longest is a bit of a con job, and certainly not his first.

Bob, you may (or may not) remember, was a speechwriter for Secretary of State George Schultz during the Reagan Administration. In 1997, he joined with Alan Vanneman non-fave rave William Kristol to form the “Project for the New American Century”, which should have been more accurately called “Project for the New American Invasion of Iraq,” because that was its purpose. In January 2002, Bill n’ Bob joined forces to sell their dream with a pack of lies headed “What To Do About Iraq”, which included the following whoppers:

Reliable reports from defectors and former U.N. weapons inspectors have confirmed the existence of a terrorist training camp in Iraq, complete with a Boeing 707 for practicing hijackings, and filled with non-Iraqi radical Muslims. We know, too, that Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of September11, went out of his way to meet with an Iraqi intelligence official a few months before he flew a plane into the World Trade Center. As Leon Fuerth understates, "There may well have been interaction between Mr. Hussein's intelligence apparatus and various terrorist networks, including that of Osama bin Laden."

Well, I’ll do a little understating myself: any dish issuing from Bob’s kitchen should be consumed cum grano salis, if not a kilo.

Bob does some interesting, and not always inaccurate—though not always accurate, either—score settling from the early days of the Reagan Administration, pointing out that UN Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s famous essay “explaining” the different approaches the U.S. should pursue when dealing with right-wing authoritarian versus communist totalitarian dictatorships didn’t exactly hold up when examined in the cold light of experience. We didn’t have to prop up the right-wingers, turning a blind eye to their oppression. Instead, we could let them safely mutate into anti-communist democracies. And the communist dictatorships? Well, they could change too. And of course they did, to everyone’s amazement and joy.

As Bob “explains” it, getting rid of right-wing authoritarianism back in the days of Ronnie was pretty easy: “The Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, Haiti’s Jean-Claude Duvalier, Paraguay’s Alfredo Stroessner, and the South Korean military junta were all forced out by a Reagan administration that had quickly abandoned the Kirkpatrick doctrine.”

Well, that’s pretty wrong. If you want to be picky, Pinochet and Stroessner were still in power when Reagan left office, but, more importantly, all of these thugs were essentially forced from power by domestic developments. What Reagan himself deserves credit for is letting himself be talked out of continuing to support them, by people like Bob and Paul Wolfowitz (another non-fave rave, though I don’t seem to have gone after him in print very often), particularly Marcos, and particularly particularly the South African apartheid government, of which Bob amusingly and unsurprisingly omits all mention. Reagan, unlike William F. Buckley, to whom Mr. Kagan administers a particularly extended and accurate beatdown,1 was not a racist (probably), although the Reagan White House contained not a single black staffer (one had to be borrowed from Vice President Bush for a photo op). But while Reagan (probably) did not believe in segregation, he hated the Civil Rights Movement, and, most importantly, he luved segregationists, and he luved luved the South African apartheid government, insisting that they had “stood by us in all our wars,” a “perfect” lie, because entirely inaccurate, unusual even for Ronnie.

Okay, I digress. But Bob had it coming.

Still, Ronnie did preside, quite competently, with a significant assist from Margaret Thatcher, over the demise of the Soviet Union, one of the great events of world history, and no one can take that away from him. But, as Bob notes, sadly, the euphoria of those days now looks painfully innocent. The problem is, Bob never asks himself why. At least, not in public.

Instead, Bob portrays the rise of authoritarian nationalism around the globe as though it were a sudden infestation of motivelessly malignant mushrooms, springing up from the earth for no rhyme or reason. He never asks himself how the ideals of the global elite, which he, and I, share with almost equal conviction, led us to this—because, of course, he doesn’t want to believe that they did lead to this.

A few fellow globalists can help. Fareed Zakaria has a nice post focusing on “The two issues that undermined the E.U.”:

The first was — after the Soviet Union’s collapse — the rapid integration of many new countries that were far less economically and socially developed than the E.U.’s original members. Since 1995, it has expanded from 12 countries to 28. Originally focused on opening up markets, streamlining regulations and creating new growth opportunities, the E.U. soon became a “transfer union,” a vast scheme to redistribute funds from prosperous countries to emerging markets. Even in today’s strong economic environment, spending by the E.U. accounts for more than 3 percent of Hungary’s economy and almost 4 percent of Lithuania’s.

This gap between a rich and a poor Europe with open borders inevitably produced a migration crisis. As Matthias Matthijs pointed out in Foreign Affairs,2 from 2004 to 2014, about 2 million Poles migrated to Britain and Germany and about 2 million Romanians moved to Italy and Spain. These movements put massive strains on the safety nets of destination countries and stoked nationalism and nativism. The influx into Europe of more than 1 million refugees in 2015, mostly from the Middle East, must be placed in the context of these already sky-high migrant numbers. And as can be seen almost everywhere, from the United States to Austria, fears of immigration are the rocket fuel for right-wing nationalists, who discredit the political establishment that they deem responsible for unchecked flows.

The second challenge consuming the European Union has been its currency, the euro. Launched more with politics than economics in mind, the euro has embodied a deep structural flaw: It forces a unified monetary system on 19 countries that continue to have vastly different fiscal systems. So when a recession hits, countries do not have the ability to lower the value of their currency, nor do they get substantial additional resources from Brussels (as U.S. states do from Washington when they go into recession). The results, as could be seen for years after 2008, were economic stagnation and political revolt.

Economist Paul Krugman has repeatedly written that when the idea of the euro was first discussed, he argued (repeatedly) to European economists that it would be a disaster in case of a significant recession, only to be laughed at for his pains. A mere American wouldn’t/couldn’t understand these things. Although there were many factors at work, I believe that the European elite, fearful that the American behemoth would bestride the world now that the Soviet Union had collapsed, thought to invent/restore a fantasy Europe—a sort of cosmopolitan cross between the 18th century and the “belle epoch” preceding the First World War—that would be equal in size and superior in sophistication to the U.S. They forgot that the cosmopolitan Europe of their dreams existed only for the upper class. Only the rich could afford to travel, “everyone” spoke French (more or less), and everyone was welcome, more or less, because they spent cash rather than collecting unemployment insurance.

I ran a post several years ago on Paul’s complaint, “Paul and the Europeans”. Since that time, Krugman has continued to bemoan the fact that the E.C. leadership seems impervious to criticism. Their mistakes are correctable, but they just won’t correct them. In his article for Foreign Affairs, Matthias Matthijs argues that Germany needs to recognize and accept its role as “benign hegemon” for Europe, as the U.S. did for Western Europe during the Cold War. The only problem is, the U.S. only did so in response to the Soviet threat. It’s not very likely that Angela Merkel’s successor will be “more European” than she is.

Of course, when it comes to retrograde nationalism, we in the U.S. are as bad as Europe, if not worse, so what happened here, other than what supposedly “can’t happen here”?3 Bob makes no mention of the constant disastrous interventions by the U.S. in the Middle East, a few of which I discuss here, in particular how the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia after the first Gulf War led to the seminal 21st century event, the terrorist attack on 9/11, as convincingly argued by Christian Alfonsi in his important (and neglected) book Circle in the Sand. I summarized Alfonsi a decade ago in the following manner:

U.S. policy makers received frequent warnings that presence of a substantial number of U.S. troops could lead to disaster. During the leadup to the first Iraqi War, the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Charles Freeman, warned the administration that “It remains our judgment that Saudi and Arab political realities preclude a U.S. military presence in the Islamic holy land which appears to be open-ended or semi-permanent.” During the war itself, a report issued by a committee headed by Richard Clarke stated that “A permanent U.S. presence will provide a rationale for, and could become a target for, the terrorist threat that will outlive the war.” But the Saudi ruling class wanted us there, as did Israel, and the Israel lobby here in the U.S.

Bob says not a word about the endless U.S. interventions, hypocrisies, and disasters in the Middle East, about which I’ve ranted endlessly—for example, here and here—which have cost trillions of dollars, cost thousands of lives and disrupted millions, because he is complicit in them, and worked endlessly to make them happen. Over and over again, our activities have made things worse in the Middle East, not better, and have contributed to the flow of refugees to Europe, contributing to the destabilization of the West, damaging two cultures instead of just one. It was America’s “Military Intellectual Complex”, aka “Those Who Lunch at the Palm”, of whom Mr. Kagan is a lifetime member, who brought us all this, and who still dominate almost the entirety of the spectrum of “thoughtful opinion” allowed to find voice in the mainstream press. Anyone who dares to suggest that the second invasion of Iraq was anything other than an “honest mistake”, rather than a many-footed conspiracy to insert an American army in the Middle East for decades to come, is treated to another conspiracy, that of silence.4

The silence of the otherwise voluble Mr. Kagan on these issues is stunning, but he is in fact silent on many things—for example, the failure of the American elite to recognize, until it was too late, the possibility of catastrophic market failure in contemporary capitalism. Markets were supposed to be infallibly self-policing. Instead, Wall Street drove itself straight off a cliff. Worse, when the federal government intervened to save Wall Street from itself—and to save the entire world economy from Wall Street—this necessary action prompted an hysterical response from the populist right—the Rush Limbaugh, Drudge Report right—with which Bob and his fellow neocons had allied themselves back in the early days of their “war” against the Democratic Party in the days of Bill Clinton, an unholy alliance that I’ve repeatedly denounced, most recently in a piece declining to mourn the death of the Weekly Standard.

Bob, to his credit, parted ways with the Weekly Standard crowd during the Obama Administration, serving under Obama and defending the administration’s record against his former comrades in arms like William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer, who continued to pour vitriol on the administration at every opportunity. But Bob, while ceasing to sin, failed to offer confession for past errors. When Bob attacked the know-nothing populism of Donald Trump prior to his nomination, gadfly Fareed Zakaria remarked “Where were Republican moderates 20 years ago?”, skewering Bob in particular for his praise of everyone’s favorite Alaskan airhead, Sarah Palin: “I don’t take this elite foreign policy view that only this anointed class knows everything about the world,” said Bob. “I’m not generally impressed that they are better judges of American foreign policy experience than those who have Palin’s experience.”

To be fair, liberals did their own share of sinning during the Obama years, another topic about which I’ve raged on a number of occasions, most extensively here. Obama was too kind to the billionaires, and neglectful of the middle class. Liberal intellectuals in the U.S. have always wished that they could run things the way intellectuals do in Europe, not noticing that the U.S. and Europe are, like, different. During the Obama Administration, liberals finally achieved their dream of “universal” health care, refusing to realize that most Americans didn’t want it. They already had health care, through their employers or through Medicare, and they knew that extending it to “everyone” simply meant that they would pay higher taxes to provide health care to the poor, largely nonwhite, and they didn’t want to do that, because, yes, a significant portion of the white working class in the U.S. is at least mildly racist, something that liberals don’t want to admit is true.

In both Europe and the U.S., there was an irrational blowback against the kind of countercyclical spending necessary to prevent the world economy from dropping into full recession. In the U.S., it was enhanced by the Democratic Party’s determination to enact universal health care. They had the votes, but they didn’t have the country, as they found to their sorrow in 2010, when the Tea Party hysterics took control of the House of Representatives. The stunningly incompetent rollout of the Affordable Care Act following Obama’s re-election in 2012 only made things worse, leading to a second blowout in the 2014 midterms, leading to Republican control of both Houses of Congress.

Unfortunately, Obama’s elitist tendencies were not confined to health care. Like the European elite whose influence they envy, the liberal elite in the U.S. has made a cult of environmentalism, not caring the extent to which increasing the cost of energy, which is always the effect and often the explicit goal of environmental programs, reduces economic growth and lowers the standard of living of the working and middle classes. If you’re in the top 20 percent, as almost policy makers are, you don’t notice so much, and, besides, it increases the value of your vacation home. I unloaded, a lot, on the sins of liberalism in general, and liberal environmentalism in particular, in a recent post, so I’ll just quote a chunk of it here, updated with added bile for flavor:

Environmentalism is the opium of the upper-middle class, transporting them into a world where “science”—science itself!—proves that they should be in charge. There is no doubt that there is ample scientific evidence to prove that anthropogenic global warming is occurring, and that it will have detrimental effects in the future, but this evidence provides no real guidance as to what “must” be done, and, above all, no proof that the endlessly prophesied apocalypse is approaching. To fill this politically inconvenient void, liberals have concocted an incoherent and self-defeating laundry list of policy prescriptions based on sentimental nature worship that prioritizes the “interests” of favored biota such as salmon and timber wolves over anyone who isn’t a comfortable member of the upper middle class—for example, the decision of coastal liberals in both New York and California to ban fracking, eliminating the sort of blue-collar jobs that they supposedly love, while keeping the price of natural gas from falling even lower than it already has, which would lead to the more rapid replacement of coal-burning power plants than has taken place while also stimulating economic growth.

If environmentalists were really concerned about, you know, the environment, they would embrace fracking, and they would embrace nuclear power. And they would also embrace genetically modified organisms. The worst nightmare for environmentalists, of course, would be a low cost method for extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, meaning that we wouldn’t have to change our evil ways at all!

I am what European “thinkers” refer to with the utmost scorn of which they are capable (which is a lot), a “Thatcherite/Reaganite neoliberal”. I believe (correctly) that only capitalism can provide for everyone what it has provided for a very large percentage of the populations of Canada, the United States, western Europe, and Australia, a comfortable standard of living. However, I acknowledge that capitalism makes a much better “fit” with some cultures than others. It helps if you are Protestant or Confucian, and most countries are not. Free markets do not automatically function with the perfect efficiency that so many assumed back in the heady 1990s. Expanding the European Union did not mean that all of Europe would enjoy the “European miracle” that occurred in Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, when a largely working class population became largely middle class. Furthermore, sadly, the narrowing of economic inequality that occurred at the same time seems to have been a product of a variety of unique historical factors rather than “progress” pure and simple, meaning that explicit measures of economic redistribution are necessary, as I argue here.

There is no question but that the Digital Industrial Revolution is proving as disruptive as the earlier one driven by steam, boosting the incomes of literally billions of people around the world but also filling their lives with uncertainty and doubt. Authoritarian governments have arisen to fill the vacuum. Bob (remember him?) devotes the closing paragraphs of his essay to the particularly worrisome case of China, which is worrisome indeed. But, Bob, I don’t think “invasion” is the answer.

Afterwords Bob, of course, does not advocate invading China. But he, recycling his denunciation of the “Kirkpatrick doctrine”, warns that, in light of the ever-expanding techniques of social control provided by digital technology being exploited by both Russia and China, we should “reconsider the idea of supporting “friendly” dictatorships. Well, I didn’t know we were “supporting” them. We’re just not trying to overthrow them. And, in the past, Bob has been pretty impatient with anything less.

I’ve explained here (well, around paragraph 15 or so why I think trying to kick the ass of a country four times our size is a bad idea. I also think just harassing Russia and China is a bad idea as well. I remember that, back during the Cold War, splitting the Soviet bloc by befriending China, as Nixon and Kissinger did, worked out pretty well for us, so well, in fact, that while many presidential candidates promise to “get tough” with China, no president has been similarly inclined. Even Cap’n Bad Ass keeps losing his nerve, because every time he talks tough, the stock market goes down.

Like Bob, I believe in liberalism. But I believe that the policies he has advocated have been massively counter-productive, and that he has frequently been grossly disingenuous in his advocacy, making league with massively illiberal types such as Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, and various other assorted airheads and plug-uglies. Isn’t, you know, “truth” supposed to be something of a liberal value?

Many paleocons and other anti-Trumpers of various hues are asking themselves rather pathetically, “what would Bill Buckley do?” Kagan’s answer, hardly unjustified, is “try to prevent black people from voting.” My own take on Buckley’s racism is here ↩︎

This is an excellent article, examining the flaws of the EU in detail. ↩︎

Back in the thirties, Sinclair Lewis, then America’s most famous novelist, wrote “It Can’t Happen Here”, a not very good and not often read dystopia describing the rise of fascism in the U.S. ↩︎

In a followup to his essay, Bob answered selected questions posed by readers. None of the questions selected pertained to the long record of deceit and incompetence in the Middle East that Bob and his pals have compiled over the years. ↩︎

#Robert Kagan #neocons #liberalism #EU

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oracleadyton-blog · 7 years

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It’s time for another instalment of “Let’s give matches star ratings that are a tad too low because i’m spoiled and value, above all, emotional engagement” Takeover: Wargames edition.

Lars Sullivan defeated Kassius Ohno.

This felt like a TV match. A good one, just not really special. But Sullivan is a work in progress and needs short-yet-good matchups to improve. Go long and he’d be exposed i guess. It started as a classic beatdown by the big guy with some chance strikes by Hero. As he opposed more resistance than the usual, Lars went for a diving splash but Cassius evaded it, starting a comeback. Lots of elbows - that’s his gimmick, i guess - and Sullivan, for the first time on tv, suffers a pin attempt. He sold really well his frustration muttering angrily at Ohno. Back and forth, Freak Accident by Sullivan, 123. Good five minutes showing but he’s green. Really green. 2.25 starz.

Aleister Black defeated The Velveteen Dream.

Crowd was quite hot for this one. Dream wore the best leggings in history, with an NXT logo on his ass, a Say my name wrote above his crotch and portraits of both himself and Black on his thighs. So Rick Rude, much excitement, very Dream. Crowd chanted his name and in my opinion he was more over than Black.

They started with some good chain wrestling: Black has great ability and experience and it’s clearly leading but Dream is very good at keeping up. Aleister goes for a great standing crucifix and impressive strength by Dream who keeps him on his shoulders while twitching and selling. The story of this first section is that Black keeps outwrestling him but he’s always there. They taunt each other and Dream is somewhat surprised. Then he starts a comeback. In all of this i’m starting to feel that having Black’s character so detached hinders his ability to connect with the crowd. Until he addressed the audience in the later part of the match chants were almost exclusively for Dream. Anyway towards the end they start going back and forth exchanging finishers and kicking out until a Black Mass a bit from nowhere for the win. The finish was quite weird but that match had good heat. After the win Black sits in his pose at the center of the ring with Dream crawling at his side, wanting for more. Aleister says his name, crowds goes crazy. 3.5 starz.

Ember Moon defeated Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross, and Peyton Royce in a Fatal 4-Way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship.

Kairi’s got new music. The first one was similar to her Stardom theme while this one is more generic movie-like pirate deck chant. Peyton it’s without Billie Kay: they came out together but Billie pretty much told her You got this and sent her alone. Peyton sold well her initial uncertainty before buckling up and going in with confidence. Probably it’s a good idea to keep selling her as competent wrestler by herself, and she had a great showing in the match.

All four women are great at connecting with the crowd and started strong with great combinations. The match was too short, less then ten minutes, but packed with action and a good story; still it would have benefited from having a few minutes more. A good number of one-on-one teases of Ember vs Kairi, which is interesting. Peyton starts really strong, clearing the ring. Huge pop-up powerbomb by Ember on Cross on the outside. After five minutes they started exchanging finishers and big moves. Nikki reiterates on Moon with a swinging neckbreaker from the top rope. Diving elbow by Kairi con Nikki and Peyton but Moon saves, then she hits the Eclipse on both Peyton and Nikki for the win. Weirdly enough, i heard some boos. Not many, but still. 3.75 starz.

The match was really good but needed more time. Also i thought that Moon would have benefited more by winning the belt from a heel one on one, but they had Asuka coming out and physically handing the belt to her, so the passing of the torch happened and her reign starts with a good legitimization.

Andrade "Cien" Almas (with Zelina Vega) defeated Drew McIntyre (c) in a match for the NXT Championship.

Drew is so athletic. They start with a good back and forth but rapidly it becomes clear that McIntyre is too strong and quick for Almas. Zelina tries to interfere without much success. The beatdown went on until El Idolo hit a huge avalanche tornado (sorta) reverse DDT. They went outside and Almas hit a frankensteiner into the ringpost, then a cool moonsault to the outside. A quick back and forth, Future Shock out of nowhere for a close 2. In the end as Drew laid on the mat Almas went for the belt, distracting the referee. Zelina hit a spikerana, Almas rushed back to the ring and hit his hammerlock DDT for a really close 2 count. Huge Claymore from Drew and Almas sold it like he was shot. Then another weird ending: as the champion is setting up a second Claymore Almas is able to evading it and hitting a sudden avalanche DDT for the win. So he’s the new champion and is celebrating like it’s a big deal, because it is. Great. It was a good match but the lack of an emotional final sequence crippled it. 3.5 starz.

Apparently McIntyre got injured in the match and might need surgery. So this might be a good time for resting a bit and bring him up for the Rumble, maybe? Main really needs a good babyface they can trust, since the Roman Experiment probably won’t go anywhere for the fourth year in a row. Happy for Almas’ big push, he really needs it. The min event scene had quite a shake-up in the last months, wonder who’s next. Cole? Black? Who knows. Better stay TRANQUILO.

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) defeated The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) and Roderick Strong and Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young and Killian Dain) in a WarGames match.

Honestly without the roof the cages do seem a bit less intimidating. I was pleasantly surprised by how much more freedom of movement gives having two rings. Anyway the first three guys are Cole, Strong and Young. What a surprise. This section is a sort of showcase for Cole himself. The first team to enter is Undisputed Era, and after them the Authors of Pain. As they enter the violence ramps up quite a bit. Eric Young suffers a great babyface beatdown. Lots of power spots and the dynamic between AoP and Roderick Strong is very interesting. They are a team for tonight but aren’t coordinated enough to pull moves together but they check on each other, it’s believable.

Then it’s Sanity’s turn and OH BOY, true mayhem begins. Wolfe brings a police baton with him and clears one ring. Meanwhile Dain hasn’t entered yet. At one point he starts throwing weapons inside the ring, including tables, then enters locking up the cage behind him and swallows the key. From here on it’s spot after spot, with everyone shining and getting turns in doing cool things. Both Dain and Strong had great showings. Cole climbs the cage, Strong follows him and hit a huge superplex from the top of the cage. Luckily the other guys stop their fall. In the end is still up to the first three entrants. Strong goes down, Young grabs a chair and Cole hit a running knew through the chair on Young for the win. Again, quite sudden. Fun match. 4 starz.

So i’m not crazy for huge many people matches and Cole doesn’t really do anything for me but UE needed to win their first big one and it was the right call. In the end it was a really fun show, just the ending of most matches didn’t sit well with me.

#nxt #wwe nxt #wargames

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grapsandclaps · 7 years

Text

GRAPS AND CLAPS DOES ALLY PALLY PROGRESS

Hello again everyone and welcome to the story of Show 70 of the #100showyear which took me to the Christmas darting mecca of Alexandra Palace for Progress Wrestlings biggest show of the year - Chase The Sun.

But first of all it was the longer than usual travel down to the capital via trams, trains and tubes with the added entertainment of our group doing our best Pete Dunne impressions supposedly "Everything is mine" in a dour brummie accent.

Arriving in Wood Green before the 20 minute walk up Muswell Hill we took in a decent little pub called The Jolly Sailor or something to that effect and was greeted with very good beer prices for a London boozer - £3.60 for Coors, £4.10 for Wolf Rock and £4.60 for Blue Moon, the bar lady overheard of my liking for slices of orange in a pint of Blue Moon so out of kindness and service she sent her faithful bar assistant out to the local grocers for some oranges, low and behold a slice of orange ended up in my drink 😍.

Drinks done it was time to take the hike up to Ally Pally which on a nice day is a lovely walk to do with views of the London skyline to the left hand side of you which in the evening can be a fantastic sight to see. Arriving at Ally Pally it was time to find our seats which due to arriving an hour before the show started meant we were more to the back of row 11/12 with a central view, the set up was very much like the set up WCPW does with their seating in the aircraft hangar called Bowlers. Atmosphere wise it was much noisier than the previous years Brixton Academy show with it making it more accessible for people to mingle with their wrestling friends. The option to stand up at the back was there if you couldnt see anything from your seats which i took advantage of, but our Geoff stopped in his seat all night and seemed to like it there.

Pre show match was Chuck Mambo beating Spike Trivet in what i was told was a short affair but missable , because i had gone to get beer refreshments at the nearby bar before the main show had started.

Hop House Lager - £5, Fosters £4.80, Deuchars £4.50

Show started with a great video package to the familiar tune starter Started From The Bottom by Drake, and after the usual opening dialogue from Jim Smallman it was time to get on with the show with the visible ladders around the ring it was time to start with the Progress Tag Title Ladder Match with British Strong Style (Champions) vs CCK.

This was a fine opener with the early stages of the match based more around wrestling than using the ladders. Once the ladders came into play some cool offence was used including back suplexes on to the ladder, Kid Lykos being carried whilst on the ladder by Bate and Seven and then flung over the top rope to the Progress security below. The ending came when Brookes and Tyler Bate were fighting atop of the ladder with Bate being backbody dropped on to a raised ladder which was held on the ropes. With the prone Bate on the deck, Brooks climbed the ladder to grab the belts and your new champions - CCK to the satisfaction of the 2,500 strong crowd.

Next up it was a battle of Australia vs New Zealand with Womens Champion Toni Storm vs Dahlia Black. Again another good match here with both women having opportunities early on to take the upper hand, Toni Storm hit a piledriver on Black for a close 2 nearfall to the amazement of the crowd. The finish came when Black got crotched on the top rope and was prone to a nasty german suplex from the top by Toni who then proceeded to finish Black off with the match winning piledriver. After the match Jinny came in to attack Dahlia clamping Blacks previously injured leg in a chair and stamping on it, so it looks like it will be Dahlia vs Jinny for the near future leaving Toni Storm opponentless for the time being which is a bit strange.

Zack Sabre Jr was next for his mystery opponent challenge which was answered to a huge pop - i had goosebumps for this moment just wow by Marty Scurll returning for the first time since January where he was eliminated from the ThunderBastard Match but since being away from Progress has become a huge star thanks to his association with The Bullet Club - they are a huge cash cow. Anyways this match was another great match in the Sabre vs Scurll story lasting 20 minutes both guys going hold for hold knowing each and every step their opponent would make. Eventually Sabre Jr got the win with the bridging roll up for the 1-2-3, Scurll after the match then gave what looks like to be his farewell to Progress for good - make your own mind up on why, but Scurll is certainly someone who Progress could do with at the top end of the card once British Strong Style decamp to WWE.

Deathmatch time with perennial moaners about who is the rightful no.1 contender Jimmy Havoc vs Mark Haskins. I might be in the minority on my opinion here but even though it was a good match at times, i did feel the atmosphere went a bit flat here after following Sabre vs Scurll. It did have its moments with Haskins using The Death Valley Driver on Havoc off the stage through a table, many thumbtack spots and even Vicky Haskins getting involved passing a barb wire bat to Mark Haskins and then proceeding to walk off which was a bit head scratching, surely you stay there to help your husband lay the beatdown to Havoc. Havoc because of this took advantage winning with a barb wore assisted rainmaker for the win. Ok match but as explained bloody head scratching stuff with Vicky Haskins more the baddie in this piece than Mark Haskins. Seeing Ben and Chris at half time they uttered many a "Shit" "Crap" and "Fuck" about this match.

Back from half time it was time for a big announcement with Progress's big show in 2018 taking place at Wembley Arena, very ambitious as per ICW doing the Hydro. I think sleeping on my opinion from last night Progress will easily get 5/6k to the show but i am all of the worry that the boom of the UK scene can all come to a halt like that, hopefully it doesnt but with Progress they seem to have a great relationship with WWE at the moment so all looks rosy.

Three way Atlas action next with Champion Matt Riddle vs Walter vs Timothy Thatcher. Cracking hard hitting 3 way match with the basis of the action being Walter and Riddle hitting each other really hard with Thatcher playing the third wheel. There was one spot in this match which Progress have on their twitter timeline with a massive triple german suplex being performed - Riddle went flying nearly out of the ring, the finish came with Walter choking out Matt Riddle to get back his Atlas title which he lost in the States to Riddle. A new contender them came down to the ring to face off with Walter - it was ICW and WWE UK star Wolfgang to a decent ovation, dont get me wrong i think Wolfie is very good and provides a different challenge to the Atlas division but the WWE UK fingerprints were in the back of my head seeing this.

The 8 man no.1 contenders scramble match was next with Mark Andrews vs Damien Dunne vs Eddie Dennis vs Jack Sexsmith vs Strangler Davis vs James Drake vs Flash Morgan Webster vs Zack Gibson. Good action as you would expect with the 8 men involved, looking at the match beforehand i would have gone for a Morgan Webster or Zack Gibson win here with the probable Travis Banks win in the Main Event in hindsight but sadly i was wrong with regular no.1 contender Mark Andrews picking up the win here, don't get me wrong i think Andrews is fantastic to watch and is a great babyface but he is rivalling Mark Haskins for No.1 contender opportunities. After the match a shock heel turn here with Eddie Dennis turning in his FSU partner to the boos of the audience, i suppose FSU have done everything as a team in Progress and it brings a new side to Eddie that hasn't been seen in ages but so soon after The Riots split up this is now 2 long standing teams gone from the tag division.

Flash Morgan Webster i dont know where they go from here with him, another failed opportunity missed here for him.

Now The Main Event with Pete Dunne (Champion) facing Travis Banks for the Progress World Title. A very good main event here but one spot that did cheese me off a bit was a point where British Strong Style hit a Piledriver/Tyler Driver 97/Bitter End Trifecta and Travis kicked out at 2 which sounds as silly as it reads. That aside it was fantastic to see Travis Banks submit Pete Dunne to end the near year long reign of The Bruiserweight to a huge pop, this was the natural result that should have went down and it did. It now sets up fresh matches at the top of the card with Jimmy Havoc and Mark Andrews vs Banks but with Pete Dunne maybe gone for the moment it leaves a gap for a tosser at the top - maybe Webster/Brookes or TK Cooper when he returns but we will just have to wait and see.

Show done it was time to make the walk back down Muswell Hill to Wood Green and a stop off in the Wood Green Wetherspoons for some tea - Beef and ale pie for £6.99 and a pint for £2.18 all good quality fare. Sink it in £2.18 FOR A PINT IN LONDON!!!!

Overall a great show but with a couple of gripes as described above (The Progress Fan Forum Police Siren will be sounding haha!) but certainly betfer than Brixton last year. Was great to see a lot of the graps gang make the trip to Ally Pally and they were rewarded with a fantastic venue.

Next trip is to 53two in Manchester on Sunday for Futureshock Reloaded with the main evemt of Pete Dunne vs Soner Durson. #grapsandclaps

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