MayBlade 2023 : Day 9 : Ice Cream
Max-centric | FFN Rating: K | FFN Link
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“Wait, what’s the Italian word for gelato, then?”
“Michael, gelato is an Italian word,” Emily groaned, looking at him like she couldn’t believe anybody could be so stupid. “What’s wrong with you?”
Eddy burst into laughter, causing several pedestrians to turn and stare. If one or two of them snapped a picture, he didn’t notice, too busy slapping Michael on the back as his teammate sputtered out a defense for himself.
Emily noticed and disguised her disapproval as an eye roll in Michael’s direction.
“Shut up, Eddy! Gelato’s a word back home, too.”
“Yeah,” Eddy said, laughing so hard there were tears forming in the corners of his eyes, “for Italian ice cream.”
“Idiot,” Emily added.
Max kind of wished he was sitting at their table, instead of a little ways down the sidewalk with his mom and Rick.
He glanced at the latter, eating his gelato without a care while another camera flashed in the distance. Max could see the headlines about the All Starz eating ice cream while poor Claude iced his injury now.
He sighed and seconds later the flutter of magazine pages signified his mother had noticed.
“What is it, Maxie?” she asked, pushing her sunglasses up onto her head. Her eyes scanned his face, then landed on his unfinished bowl of gelato. “Are you feeling all right?”
“He’s probably just missing his old Bladebreaker buddies,” Rick interjected brusquely. He didn’t even bother to look up from his cone, and that ruffled Max’s feathers almost as much as his words did. “Although Tyson’s last match was a trainwreck, so he should be glad he jumped ship when he did.”
Any thoughts Max had about grinning and bearing it went out the window with that last sentence.
“Don’t talk about Tyson like that!”
“What?” Rick snapped, finally locking his challenging gaze on Max. “It’s the truth. If you can’t handle it, that’s your problem.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, Rick?” Max met his gaze with a glare of his own. He wasn’t in the mood for Rick’s attitude and he wouldn’t tolerate a word against any of his friends. “Tyson’s a great beyblader. The fact that he lost a match, especially to an opponent as strong as Ray, doesn’t change that.”
“You’re just telling yourself that so you quit feeling like a loser for riding his coattails through the last two tournaments.” The look on Rick’s face proved he knew how much that would sting. And he still twisted the knife in more when he said, “Just count yourself lucky you blade with me now. If you’re a good little boy and win your battle against F-Dynasty, maybe I’ll even remind the press that you’re World Champion, too, when we take home the title. That’s more than your pal Tyson ever did for you.”
Max’s chair scraped against the concrete when he leapt to his feet. He could feel the rest of the All Starz watching curiously from the other table, no longer engrossed in whatever conversation they were having. Rick was smirking at him, silently daring him to retaliate. He balled his hands into fists.
“Max,” Judy warned gently, before redirecting her attention to Rick. “That was uncalled for.”
Rick shrugged and ate half his cone in one bite.
Max’s heart was beating too fast to sit back down and eat like nothing had happened. He pushed his chair in and turned to leave.
“Maxie—”
“I’m fine, Mom,” he answered, before she could even ask. “I’m gonna go for a walk.”
He left without waiting for her response, bobbing and weaving through groups of tourists to get as far away as possible. He remembered enough of Rome from the last time he and his friends were here to trust that he’d find his way back to the hotel when he needed to, so he didn’t bother paying attention to where he was going. Instead, he let himself get lost in the crowd and his thoughts.
Sometimes Max felt bad that he and Rick didn’t get along better. After all, the rest of the All Starz hated the fact that they’d come along to take the main two slots on the roster and weren’t shy about showing it. His mom thought they’d get over it eventually. She’d probably maintain that view unless something drastic happened, like Emily suddenly refusing to talk strategy with her.
Max suspected otherwise and had secretly hoped that he and Rick could come to an understanding, maybe even bond over their role as outsiders. Anything else would make for an agonizingly long tournament.
They weren’t off to a good start.
Rick knew how to push Max’s buttons from the moment they met and seemed to make it his personal goal to wipe the smile off of his face by any means necessary. The comments about Tyson were some of his lowest blows yet. Mostly because there was some truth to them.
Max would never admit it to anyone – though he’d danced around the subject with Ray, who he knew felt similarly – but all of the press surrounding Tyson and his two Championship wins got to him sometimes.
Tyson was one of his best friends. When they met, Max was new in town and hadn’t had close friends his own age since he’d moved to Japan. Tyson welcomed him into his circle with open arms, and soon they were traveling the world with a team that felt more and more like a family with each hurdle they overcame together.
They were young when they won the World Championships the first time. Too young to be concerned with what questions the press would ask them or how some fans might prefer one of them over the other. It was all about having fun and helping each other improve. The trophy and title weren’t as important as the fact that they earned it together.
When they were forced to split into two groups the following year, they were up to their necks in opponents trying to steal their bitbeasts. It was enough to make them feel like they were still in it as a team, until the dust settled and everyone started talking about how Tyson had single-handedly defeated one of the most ferocious bitbeasts of all time to claim his second title.
Suddenly, things began to feel different.
Max remembered seeing it on Ray and Kai’s faces, too. The thinly-veiled hurt as Tyson got all the attention for something they’d felt like they were working towards as a team.
None of them ever talked about it and they probably would have continued to sweep it under the rug if the BBA hadn’t announced a pairs format again.
The discussions of who would team up with Tyson to win his third consecutive World Championship victory – an unprecedented feat – were everywhere. Even Tyson joined in the speculation.
Part of Max would have loved nothing more than to battle by his side again. The BBA was even allowing alternates on the teams. With some imagination, it could feel like old times; the four of them taking on the world together. But there wasn’t enough imagination in the world to drown out the fact that he, Ray, and Kai were only considered good enough if they were by Tyson’s side.
Max could sense the moment when they all came to the same conclusion. He felt guilty.
Then his mom mailed him a plane ticket and he felt even guiltier.
Sometimes, he still felt guilty.
“Max?”
Max started. He’d wandered, without noticing, to the Trevi fountain. There were so many people in any direction he looked, that it took him a minute to find the person who’d called out to him.
“Ray!”
He navigated the crowd as quickly and carefully as he could to meet Ray at the bottom of the stairs. Then, as if they’d discussed it, they gravitated to a private corner where they had less of a chance of being spotted, and sat on the edge of the fountain. With a cool mist on his back and a friend by his side, Max’s spirits were lifting already.
“It’s good to see you, Max.” Ray was sitting sideways on the fountain so he could face Max and keep his hair from dragging in the water.
“You, too!” Max answered with a grin. Ex-teammates or not, Ray’s company was way better than Rick’s. “How have things been?”
He realized it was a loaded question when a shadow fell across Ray’s face.
“It’s been good.” There was some hesitation in his voice that Max was going to ignore, until he added, “Different than I thought.” He caught Max’s eyes and an understanding passed between them. There wasn’t any need for elaboration. Max would feel the same way in his place.
“Tyson wasn’t at the top of his game,” he said, almost apologetically.
“Not at all.” Ray’s voice was colored with obvious disappointment.
They paused to watch a cluster of teenagers take turns throwing coins back, over their heads, into the fountain. Max remembered doing the same thing when they visited Rome the first time. Tyson, fresh off of a win against Enrique, had joked that anyone who didn’t wish to win the World Championships would be off the team and they’d all laughed.
“That was bad luck about Claude,” Ray said, changing the subject. “I was surprised your home crowd was so quick to switch sides.”
Max sighed. “I wasn’t. Not with Rick’s attitude.” Not to mention that most of the polls his mom kept tucked in her briefcase showed that Michael was still the fan-favorite on their team. Rick’s popularity had already started to drop when he beat him; it had to be at rock bottom now.
“Rick seems like a tough person to have as a partner,” Ray observed. “What do the other All Starz think of him?”
“They like him even less than they like me, which is saying something. You’d think it would be a reason for Rick and I to get along, but he wants nothing to do with me,” Max answered with a shrug. “But it’s okay. I still feel like I made the right decision. It’s just not the start I was picturing.”
Ray nodded sympathetically. “I guess we’re on the same page, then.”
“Yeah. I guess I know why you were out walking all alone,” Max joked, earning a small smile from Ray.
“I needed some time to think,” he said, turning to look out over the water pensively. “Lee keeps saying I should be happy we won, but I never wanted to beat Tyson that way. I wouldn’t care if I lost if it meant I’d battled against the Tyson I remember.”
“I know what you mean. A battle like that against an opponent like Tyson hardly feels like it counts at all.” That wasn’t the type of fight either of them had struck out on their own for. “Do you think Tyson will be okay?”
Ray turned back to Max and raised his eyebrows. “You’re the optimist,” he said, with half a smile. “You tell me.”
Max considered everything he’d learned about Tyson in the few short years they’d been friends before answering, “He’ll be just fine. And I think we’ll both get the battles we’re hoping for in the end.”
Ray took a deep breath and turned his face into the breeze. “Thanks, Max. I think I needed to hear that.”
“Any time. We’re still friends.”
Whatever Ray’s response would have been was overtaken by a distant voice calling, “Oh, Ray, there you are!”
They both turned to see Mariah in the distance waving her arm above her head. The rest of the White Tigers were with her and the crowd was beginning to take notice. It was obvious which people were beyblade fans by how many heads turned to see who Mariah was waving to and then immediately began whispering and pointing. Their private corner was no longer private and the conversation would have to be over.
“I’d better get going.” Ray stood up and ignored the collective gasp that ran through the crowd when he turned to face Max. “It was good to see you, Max. Good luck in the next round. And with Rick – if anyone can get through to him, you can.”
“Thanks Ray, good luck to you, too.” Max stood up. He could hear several people wondering where his teammates were, and a few mentions of Rick with obvious distaste. “Say hi to the White Tigers for me.”
“I will. See you around.”
He watched as Ray cut a path through the crowd before turning and doing the same in the opposite direction. He wasn’t looking forward to another evening spent training with Rick and ignoring the glares from the others, but he felt lighter and ready to make the best of it after his chat with Ray.
On a whim, he changed his path and headed back the way he’d first came. If the All Starz were still there, there was no time like the present to start making peace with Rick. And if they weren’t, at least he could finish his gelato this time.
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Here’s the Cartoon Network schedule for Monday, November 1 to Sunday, November 7, 2010.
First off, let's talk how many shows there are on the schedule. 34 SHOWS are on the schedule. in 2023, CN only airs about 13 shows a week (not including ACME Night or Cartoonito, but definitely better than how it was back in 2021). But let's take into account that the schedule is broken down into 4 sections at this time:
Section 1: Weekday Morning Anime
This was where the anime (Bakugan, Beyblade, Pokemon) aired, might also include some action cartoons (Ben 10, Hero: 108, Hot Wheels) aired.
Section 2: Old Cartoons during Mid-morning/Early Afternoon
You'll probably remember in your youth, when you were "sick", These shows aired during that time, semi-recent cartoons that ended aired at the time (Lazlo, KND, Gym Partner, Chowder), some imports (JT, Garfield), and Tom and Jerry.
Section 3: After School Cartoons
I would consider 2pm the start of the After-School hours, although some schools don't let kids out until 3pm. Some imports (JT, League of Super Evil), some older, but beloved, toons (Billy & Mandy, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage), and the 6pm hour was a rotating slot (This month had live action shows at the 6pm slot) that would be followed by some primetime shows, or Garfield.
Section 4: Primetime
This was the gem for CN at the time. Mondays had the newest hits, notably Adventure Time and Regular Show, other new toons like MAD and the underrated short-lived Robotomy, Canadian toons like Johnny Test and Total Drama World Tour, and reruns of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays were the days that they aired Live Action shows, Tuesday was the more serious side (Tower Prep, made by Batman writer Paul Dini), while Wednesday had the more wacky side (as in it felt like TruTV's live action of the time) of Live Action Shows (Destroy Build Destroy, Dude, What Would Happen?, and Hole in the Wall, the one that had the families, not the FOX version). Listen, I know Live Action didn't belong on CN, but I was 5, so I remember them fondly.
Thursday was a repeat day for Monday, as they previously had a new Thursday night block before Mondays were the night. but Friday is where all the new Action shows aired. Shows like Generator Rex, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Star Wars: the Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan all aired on this night.
If you missed anything on Friday (besides Batman, but who didn't watch Brave and the Bold on Fridays), they all aired on Saturday Morning, in between anime like Pokemon, Beyblade, and Bakugan. Saturday also had a couple Pokemon episodes that led to a Pokemon Movie.
Speaking of Movies, Cartoon Network had them, Saturdays at 8pm is when the Flicks aired. This week, Flubber reran. (the movie with Robin Williams playing a Scientist who creates some Flying Rubber), that would later air next day at 7pm.
Also, yes, this was when back when CN had the 9pm hour. CN had that hour up until the next month. I really miss primetime CN, and how it was scheduled like this.
Here’s what was new that week:
League of Super Evil - Monday at 2:30p
Johnny Test - Monday at 7:30p
Adventure Time - Monday at 8p
Regular Show - Monday at 8:15p
MAD - Monday at 8:30p
Robotomy - Monday at 8:45p
Total Drama World Tour - Monday at 9p
Tower Prep - Tuesday at 8p
Hole in the Wall - Wednesday at 7:30p
Dude, What Would Happen? - Wednesday at 8p
Destroy Build Destroy - Wednesday at 8:30p
Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Friday at 7p
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien - Friday at 7:30p
Sym-Bionic Titan - Friday at 8p
Generator Rex - Friday at 8:30p
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Friday at 9p
The Super Hero Squad Show - Saturday at 6:30a
Beyblade: Metal Fusion - Saturday at 7:30a
Pokemon DP: Sinnoh League Victors - Saturday at 8a
Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Gundalian Invaders - Saturday at 10a
Run it Back (a show recapping a week in the NBA, not a really notable CN show) - Sunday at 8a
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