#shortest set ive done in a while | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wrestlezon · 2 years

Text

aew rampage 10/21/22 liveblog containment zone

laughing my ass off at excalibur's reference (the attempt of trademarking the word "edge" for video games) he is truly The Gamer's Commentator

the acclaimed vs varsity... guys. tony nese and josh(?) woods. i forgot their title

oh no! billy gunn is ousted from ringside by the ref. golly! im unfocused. sorry acclaimed im trying my best to pay attention to your match its been a while since ive seen daily's place wood's fireman's carry into knee move...? bowens on the offense! they win!

cock and ball destruction ........caster thats obscene. dont fuck the belt on live tv!

backstage with tony schiavone and jade cargill

oh no! penelope ford... injured and out... i heard them mention this earlier but still :( i wanted to watch her fight willow!! wahhhh man jade is super mad! golly i do hope she fights nyla rose i wanna see nyla rose !!!!

watching the show Actually Live for the first time in a while means i can actually keep up with liveblogging it lmao... i need these commercial breaks to put words together

backstage with eddie and ortiz and death triangle

omg lmao ortiz put together an intervention for eddie. "eddie youre out of control" the lucha bros are here with encouraging words and eddie is just like :/? omg pac setting up pac vs eddie??? lmao poor eddie tho ;o; hes so blindsided

hook vs ari devari

those are some crisp printed hundreds i wonder how much it is to get fake film prop money whoa hook's getting beaten up classic threatening chin grab. love to see it whoa another pin break. will they actually make hook lose (no, but theyre not making it look easy!) oh theres redrum lol

haha vsk trying to fan him awake with the money redrum 2!!!! nooo dont put the money in his mouth you dont know where those crisp bills have been

backstage with the firm! ethan page and stokely

theyre bullying matt hardy ............ is he trying to outcringe them "by the time im done, you wont want me on your team"

willow nightingale vs leila gray

yay willow i wish penelope were here but ok... fighting! tackle! big scoop! big slam! theyre giving willow a lot of lore on commentary. which is funny because i know so little about leila gray in comparison ringside shenanigans! this match seems slightly awkward in its flow and pacing...? maybe im just looking too hard. or maybe leila is new? i dont know much about her so thatd check out "she aint no baddie! im the baddie" is that what was said there lol weird... match... maybe that penelope ford thing was a real last minute development. did they do dark matches before this show

OH!!!!!! WILLOW HIRED!!! yay!!!! i just uh... wish it wasnt after such a... weird match... oh... jade hijacking willow's celebration... i mean.. i guess thats heel behavior omg nyla and crew stole her car lol jade cargill killing every security guard

video segment with 10 and rush (and orange cassidy!)

oh lol theyre playing this on tv? nice. it was really good. i do think its funny that all the good segments they put on social media that i end up watching they also play on tv. better not to waste good segments to be lost in the social media oh they cut out the tony khan part of it lol he made a promise he wouldnt become an onscreen character after all

backstage pre-match with 10 and rush and orange

orange why are you with mark henry-- lmao why ARE you getting between these two guys' conflict jose i recognize your threat to orange but. i think punk has the honor of the shortest title run. twice over (😭) lmao orange has his own branded microphone... please tell me this is going to be a recurring thing stealing mark henry's bit again!!

rush vs 10 vs orange cassidy

andrade seamlessly deleted from the storyline i have such bad memory i have to keep reminding myself. *touches the earth* there was a guy here, once. i do this for punk and the elite as well i hope the elite and omega come back soon... yay!!! the best friends are here too!!!!!! :)c i love getting glimpses of my favorite guys in the background. imagine if i got to saw them wrestle :OOOO (theres plenty of non-conspiracy reasons for them to not have bookings. i understand. also they DID just wrestle in a trios match) (but that wasnt about them! it was about oc and pac!) (ok enough of that, its time for the main event!!!) he kept those glasses on for longer than i thought aoughh!! rush throwing beverage around! sticky cable choking! hm. its ok. i like the lime color watching 10 and rush fight, it makes me think that maybe oc turning this into a threeway gives 10 an out to lose but not lose his mask to rush thats a very charitable interpretation of the situation though. he also could just be being a funny little rascal oof!! solid table... unbreaking... 10 is so beefy. beef guy. real ooo i love me a good spear oh! orange is back in the ring the old nelson into pockets bit wow what a smooth beach break lmao why is open in-ring meddling legal in a three way i seriously love danhausen's curse-into-dickpunch manuever very mp100 reigan hypnosis punch energy rush trying to mess with 10's mask! are they going to reveal 10's canonically pretty face no! it will not occur. orange wins!

10 standing in the ring looking at orange... 10 looking at rush... lmao orange looking at rush like hes a weirdo

aww sad in memoriam bit at the end :(

the fite feed kept going but is glitched frozen. im missing out on the best friends being in the ring "theyre probably hugging right now" my friend does nothing but directly wound me

#livezon

0 notes

the-galaxy-collector · 4 years

Text

heart/beats

Pairing: Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning(s): fluff, sick stiles, derek hale is bad at feelings

Summary: Stiles gets sick while the gang is away. Derek comes back to check on him.

A/N: I think as is becoming common for me in the Teen Wolf fandom, this just poured out of me with no prior warning and I regret nothing.

Stiles stood up, or he tried, before his body forced him to sit back down on the edge of his bed. He’d been trying to work up both the strength and the courage to take a shower for the past thirty minutes, but he was still here. In the exact same position. Trying not to puke all over his pajamas.

A very attractive look, if he did say so himself.

He closed his eyes and willed the room to stop spinning, but he knew it was pointless. He’d been sick for the last two days and whatever the hell this shit was, it didn't seem to be going anywhere.

Everyone was gone too, which made it worse. They were off saving the world from… something. He couldn’t remember now. Something way more important than Stiles, though. And he wasn’t bitter about it. He knew what they were doing was a big deal. It was just that right now he wanted chicken soup like his mom used to make and someone to tuck him back into bed.

After a shower, he reminded himself. The shower was still a must.

Stiles took a deep, steadying breath and forced himself up with shaky limbs. He held out his arms, forcing himself to remain balanced and upright, as he started to walk forward gingerly.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He yelped as his eyes popped back open at the noise. He didn’t know he wasn’t alone, and his heart was racing uncomfortably as he clutched his chest now over it.

“What the fuck am I doing?” He gulped. “What the fuck are you doing? Why are you here?”

“You’re sick,” Derek explained bluntly.

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Stiles bit back. “Go. I’m fine.”

“You definitely are not. We need to go to the hospital, Stiles.”

“We need to go to the hospital, Stiles,” he mocked in a high-pitched voice. “You sound like that, you know.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t need to go to the hospital, Derek. You guys are off, ya know, saving the world or whatever. And I’ll be fine. Just go help them.”

“They don’t need my help.”

“And neither do I,” Stiles insisted.

“Why are you like this?” he said, a smile in his voice. “You make me crazy. You know that, right?”

“No,” he replied sarcastically. “Really?”

When he went to roll his eyes at Derek’s stubborn nature, like he’d done a million and a half times, his head pulsed suddenly with a headache so severe it caused him to fall to his knees. Derek was by his side within seconds, his hands on either side of his face as he forced Stiles to look at him.

He pulled back his eyelids one at a time, and whatever he saw there made him hoist Stiles off the floor without a word, and carry him from the room. Stiles wanted to put up a fight, tell Derek to put him down, that he was going to be fine. It was just the flu or something non-lethal to teenagers, but pressed up against Derek’s chest like this was warm and comfortable and he found it very difficult to hold other thoughts in his brain right now.

Derek took him straight outside and propped him up in the front seat of his own car before buckling him in and rushing around to the driver’s side. He knew how much Derek hated the Jeep, which meant that he either was doing it for Stiles’ sake or because he had run all the way here without his own car because it wasn’t fast enough. Stiles wasn’t sure which one was sweeter.

“Stiles, I swear to God,” Derek growled, “if you die, I’m gonna kill you.”

Stiles snorted his laughter despite the pounding in his head, currently radiating out from behind his left eye.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Derek asked softly.

Too softly. Like he was actually worried. Which stressed out Stiles more than he thought it would. Or should.

Stiles shrugged his answer, and even that tiny movement sent a jolt of pain down his spine. But he wasn’t lying. He honestly couldn’t remember when he had put food in his mouth last, which was probably not great.

Derek growled again, and while it was affecting Stiles like it always did, the dull ache covering his entire body pushed any stupid, horny thoughts out of his brain.

At least for now.

He knew they’d be back, especially if Derek was going to stick around. Stiles sort of hated that. Especially since Derek could tell. Hiding things from werewolves, as he’d learned, was not possible. It wasn’t awkward at all.

Yep, he definitely hated that.

Derek continued to slam his foot and the gas pedal all the way to the floorboard as he drove, but it didn’t do any good. It never did. The Jeep was ancient, one of the things Stiles loved about it, and it wasn’t ever going to go faster than this. But Derek was wonderfully impatient, often with Stiles, or things that involved Stiles.

Another endearing quality that would normally make his heart all aflutter. But right now, he was in too much pain.

The sunlight streaming in was making his head hurt worse, though, so he laid it down on the console in between him and Derek and tried not to focus on the fact that the traditionally very grumpy man was rubbing Stiles’ leg absentmindedly as he made his way through the streets of Beacon Hills.

Derek had never been one to touch anyone for any reason, so clearly Stiles was dying. Or Derek thought he was. He couldn’t think of any other reason why he might be doing that, but again, he had no strength left to even ask.

Stiles didn’t think he was ready for the answer. Or, more appropriately, he knew he wasn’t ready for the brush off.

Stiles half expected Derek to pull straight into the emergency room bay where only the ambulances are supposed to go with the way he was acting, but he found a normal spot. And just like when they got into the car, he rushed around and helped Stiles out. Like being away from Stiles for even the shortest amount of time was too much for Derek to handle. Yeah, Stiles was dying and Derek felt bad for him. There were no other explanations.

He even tried to carry him bridal style again, but Stiles managed to put his foot down.

Well, not literally. But he made it clear that wasn’t happening in front of all these people.

He had some dignity left.

The harsh fluorescents assaulted his eyes worse than the sunlight, and he found, once again, that he needed to slam his eyes shut to keep from hurling all over himself. And Derek.

“Oh my God,” Melissa asked from somewhere nearby. “What happened?”

“Well, my idiot has been sick for the last two days and he didn’t call anyone and now I’m afraid he’s dehydrated and about to pass out.”

Melissa giggled at Derek’s assessment as she ushered them back to what Stiles was sure was a room, but all he could concentrate on was the fact that Derek had said my idiot. My idiot. Like Stiles belonged to him.

Not that Stiles would complain if that were true.

Derek put him down on the bed as soon as the door shut behind them and dimmed the lights, allowing Stiles to open his eyes again. Melissa was already rushing around getting things set up as Derek forced him to lay down. He hadn’t even stopped to put shoes on, so when he pulled the covers up to Stiles’ chin, he couldn’t really protest.

Too much anyway.

“Derek, stop,” he said, pushing his hands away. “I’m not an invalid.”

Derek rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair, pulling it up as close to the side of Stiles’ bed as he could get without actually being in the bed.

“All right, Stiles. You ready?”

He nodded as he felt the coolness from an alcohol prep pad next and then hissed loudly as the IV slid into his arm. No matter how many times he’d been forced to do this, it didn’t get easier. And it should be by now, he reasoned, since hanging out with werewolves had some disadvantages. Not many, but some. If you were unlucky enough to be the only human anyway.

Stiles didn’t miss the way that Derek flinched a little at his pain, though, causing his eyebrows to pull in the middle. He was getting more confused, and more concerned, by the second.

Something was definitely going on.

“Honey, I’m gonna take some blood, give you some fluids, and bring some food. Do you think you can eat?”

Stiles shrugged again, swallowing hard as his mouth filled with saliva. The thought of eating anything made his stomach do a flip, which probably wasn’t a good sign, but he could try. He certainly knew he should try.

“I can give you something to help you sleep, if you wanna do that instead, but we’re gonna have to wake you up in, like, an hour to try to get something in your stomach. Or I’m gonna have to feed you some Ensure.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose. “Like they give old people?”

Melissa nodded. “No. Just knock me out and then wake me up later. I promise I’ll try. But do not give me that shi… stuff.”

It didn’t matter how old he got, cussing in front of Melissa always felt wrong somehow. She just laughed quietly, though, and shook her head as she finished hooking him up to everything, forcing Derek to move only when it was absolutely necessary.

A couple minutes after she pushed something directly into his line, he started to feel sleepy. Like actually sleepy. Not this fitful mess he’d been enjoying for over 48 hours.

And he let his eyes close without a word.

He couldn’t be sure if it had been a few minutes or hours, but when he started to wake back up, he heard Derek’s soft voice beside him. He sounded like he might be talking to someone, but since Stiles’ eyelids were still way too heavy to open, he just listened.

As the grogginess slowly lifted, he noticed Derek was holding his hand. Actually holding his hand. In both of his. His head and, more importantly, his lips were resting next to Stiles’ skin. He could feel Derek’s breath.

Wait, am I dead?

“Does he know yet?” Melissa whispered.

“No,” Derek said, just as quiet.

“When are you gonna tell him?”

“Well, I came back to do that and he was about to pass out. I got distracted,” he explained, exasperation taking over momentarily. “But I guess I knew something was wrong.”

“Of course you did,” Melissa insisted. “He’s your mate.”

Mate?!

Okay, Stiles was definitely dead. Or dreaming. Hopefully dreaming. At least that way he could still wake up.

Melissa didn’t wait for Derek to respond before she asked another question. “Talk to Noah yet?”

“Yeah.”

Once again, Derek lapsed into silence. But it wasn’t long before Melissa got irritated with his lack of information on the topic.

“And?” she huffed.

“He told me he’d kill me if I hurt him.”

She laughed again, still as softly as before. Stiles could hear her walk back to the door, enjoying her little private joke.

“Well, you’re safe,” she said, pausing at the threshold. “We both know you’re not capable of that.”

“Mhmm,” he answered.

“Derek?”

“Yeah?” he asked, moving his head to the side.

And suddenly Stiles had a new thing he hated now. The way Derek sounded asking that one question. It was vulnerable, like Derek’s entire nervous system was on the outside. All exposed and raw. He wanted very much to get out of this bed and protect him, but that didn’t make any sense. Derek didn’t need to be protected. It was Derek.

“You’re gonna be great,” Melissa declared.

And then she left him with that, allowing the door to close behind her without waiting for him to argue.

After a few seconds, Derek cleared his throat. “How, uh, much of that did you hear?”

Stiles forced himself to remain as still and quiet as possible, not even allowing his breathing to pick up. He would give Derek an out.

“I can hear your heartbeat, Stiles,” Derek explained. “I know you’re awake.”

Stiles couldn’t help but smirk. It was his go-to response, sure, but it also seemed to fit the occasion.

“Mate, huh?”

Derek groaned loudly and Stiles opened his eyes slowly. “When did you plan on telling me, Sourwolf?”

[come join all the Teen Wolf fandom shenanigans over at the Beacon Hills Preserve Discord Server]

599 notes · View notes

histoireettralala · 4 years

Text

"It is impossible to maneuver worse than he has done”

Bagration had no news of the French advance on Vilna until after they had occupied the city. And as Jérôme remained inactive before him, he was furiously indignant when Barclay, who was also minister of war and therefore his superior, ordered him to retire on Drissa. The General hurled unjustifiable accusations against the Minister, and complained loudly to anyone who would listen. Yet, in obedience, he set out for the fortified camp along the shortest route, which led midway between Vilna and Minsk. But Davout had already crossed his projected line of march, and a brief skirmish with patrols of the I Corps caused the Russian commander to veer to his right in an attempt to gain Minsk ahead of the French. This time Davout outmarched his opponent. Entering the city on July 8, he prepared to defend it despite the fact that he had only a portion of his army corps and was inferior in numbers to the enemy.

Davout had executed the first part of the plan with clocklike precision. He had placed himself in a position between the two Russian armies and was ready for battle. But for the plan to succeed it was now necessary that the King of Westphalia execute his role in an energetic manner. The three army corps under Jérôme were to attack Bagration so as to harass his withdrawal and drive him into the waiting arms of Davout before Minsk. It was not a complicated maneuver requiring extraordinary tactical or strategical skills, nevertheless it did call for an energetic general with experience as an independent commander - the more so as communication between the armies was via the Emperor’s general headquarters. Jérôme not only lacked the necessary experience, he was also devoid of basic military knowledge. In justice it must be admitted that the King wanted to do what was necessary to win the campaign, the problem was that he had been miscast by his all-powerful brother. As King of Westphalia he could get into little trouble out of which Napoleon could not bail him out. On the battlefield, it was quite another story. Against a clever, experienced, and active commander such as Bagration, Napoleon should have sent a tried and proven professional military man. In the first place the troops under Jérôme were poorly organized, drilled, and equipped. The King was also completely lacking in all talents of this nature, and the efforts of his staff proved inadequate. In the second place his army was inadequately supplied, and even before it reached the Niemen was in bad shape. Plundering its way across Poland, discipline had broken down and food became scarce. Arriving late at its crossing point - Grodno - the army halted to rest and regroup. In this manner Jérôme fell five days behind schedule.

During the first week of July, while Davout was marching on Minsk and Bagration was organizing his retreat, Napoleon repeatedly urged his brother to attack the enemy before him with vigor. “My cousin,” he instructed Berthier on July 5, “write to the King of Westphalia... that it is impossible to maneuver worse than he has done. Tell him [also] that the fate of my maneuvers and the best occasion of the war have escaped by this single omission of the elementary principles of war.” When Jérôme attempted to justify his delays on grounds that the roads were bad, his troops exhausted, and the weather miserable, the Emperor retorted: “if your soldiers are unable to march, what about those of Bagration and Davout.” And the following day he ordered Berthier to write: “The two or three days which the troops of Your Majesty [Jérôme] have lost have perhaps saved Bagration.”

Disappointed in his younger brother’s handling of the army under his command, and fully aware of the unquestionable superiority of the talents of Davout, Napoleon issued the following order on July 6: “His Majesty orders that, in case of a reunion of the V, VII, and VIII army corps and the IV reserve cavalry corps with the corps commanded by the Prince of Eckmühl, command should be taken over by the Prince of Eckmühl as the senior general. The Emperor orders His Majesty the King of Westphalia to recognize the Prince of Eckmühl as supreme commander so long as the army corps remain united.” These orders were dispatched to Marshal Davout at once, but were not sent to the King of Westphalia. Davout was not to make them known until such time as the two armies were joined, and unity of command were necessary. Thus Jérôme continued to exercise supreme command over his three army corps after July 6.

Jérôme’s advance guard had not left Grodno until July 5, and only the following day was the entire right wing of the army at last on the march. On July 10 his most advanced units engaged the enemy’s rear guard, but because of their weakness they caused Bagration little damage or concern. Napoleon again criticized his brother severely for his lack of initiative and told him that he should have been with his advance columns and fallen on the enemy in force. The King finally arrived at Mir on July 12. But it was too late to force a decision before Minsk. While Davout was waiting in vain for Jérôme to force the enemy upon him, Bagration filed off to the south unmolested.

John G. Gallaher - The Iron Marshal, a Biography of Louis Nicolas Davout

(Jérôme Bonaparte)

#napoleonic #john g. gallaher #the iron marshal: a biography of louis nicolas davout #campaign of russia #louis nicolas davout #jérôme bonaparte #napoléon bonaparte #alternative title: big casting error

27 notes · View notes

jojounerd · 4 years

Text

obey me sinblings as volleyball players

i saw this and ive been sitting on the idea for like a while now so might as well get my thoughts out now. check out all of @obaby-obeyme‘s comics theyre so good snsnsfks

Lucifer (S)

perma stressed in practice, not only does he have to juggle his regular work, he has to wrangle all his brothers and keep the order to make sure that it goes smoothly. without everyone goofing off.

i mean,,, coordinating the attacks is a setter’s job. and they get to touch the ball a lot. do u think lucifer would take sets from anyone else? no i think not.

also a really strong server. loud, high velocity, and a nasty spin that makes it go straight to the ground.

ull never see this man dive after the ball hes the setter yknow so he trusts his team to bring the ball to him with a smooth pass.

ok wait maybe he might trust satan to handle attacks but not always.

there was a game where the opponents had super analyzed lucifer’s strategy and would keep shutting down his sets, while beel was doin p good he didn’t want to overexert him and he started rushing his sets

satan wasn’t having any of it and called lucifer out on it. said that they needed to switch it up.

and boy was the opponent in for a new kind of hell. when you put this boy on the offense-

he’s daring you to try and block him. but face it, you Can’t. this boy is a Monster.

Mammon (L)

uhhh was abt to put him as mb, and go on some spiel where lucifer sets to him a lot bcs mammon has the speed to keep up w his tosses

but thinking abt it more,,, having him as libero makes sense. bcs hes the shortest–*mcshot*

got the best fuggin control. those receives *chefs kiss* perfection. the arc, the parabola HGNNN.

has the speed and agility to go after really far out balls and save them with his leg/foot. has definitely jumped into the crowd/over a barrier for a receive multiple timess.

hes the guy who gets ragged on the most during practices (bcs lucifer wants perfect a-receives like wth lucifer you’ve got like 5 other receivers--) but he also hypes up everyone when team spirit’s are down during a game.

Leviathan (MB)

super analytical of his opponents, can quickly pinpoint weak spots in their defense.

doesn’t get fooled by time delay attacks or pipes.

hes more quiet and sometimes forgets to communicate when hes focusing really hard on the match.

he’s that kind of blocker who makes you feel like you can only spike a certain way in order to not get caught by the block

imagine you’re avoiding his block so you go for a cross court spike but you just spiked it right to mammon. oof.

but he does get p tilted when hes not performing at his best or when he gets tooled (his biggest pet peeve as a blocker because that’s not fair the blockers are there to stop the ball from crossing the net but no apparently you can also use the blockers as a way to score points thats plain unfair.) and can sometimes beat himself up p badly. his bros are there to snap him out of it and focus on the game.

Satan (MB)

during practice (and even during some games) he likes to experiment with different lineups and switch up player positions. as a result hes got p rounded out skills.

i mean,,, it just kinda makes sense. he seems like the kind of player who could easily deduce where the ball’s going to go. the one who times the three-man blocks.

bro he does not hold back at all when he spikes. even if he’ll be blocked. he will try to spike through. and the scary thing is,,, the more worked up he is, the harder his spikes get.

for the most part tho p solid all around, sometimes even sets (when lucifer’s in a bad spot see above)

that cheeky mb who’d make scathing remarks to the other team if they make rudimentary mistakes. things like calling their blocks a sieve stuff like that.

if u somehow manage to piss him off during a game good luck his spikes are now 10x harder rip to your arms.

Asmodeus (WS)

during practices hes the type of player who would do a spin and a twirl right before serving the ball. does it during practices, has done it during actual matches.

has a fanclub and they show up during practices and theyre so fuggin noisy--- but he revels in the attention

theres a certain flair and grace in his movements that you just cant help but get drawn in. but oop- dont get distracted bcs oop he was just a decoy and you just look like a fool now.

he doesn’t hit as hard when he spikes. but,,,BUT,,,he tools the blockers. he aims for the sides of their arms to get the ball sucked in or the edges of their fingers to get a wipe and it’s literally so fucking annoying ngghghrh

sometimes, when he’s doing two-man or three-man blocks, he knows he gets targeted as the shorter blocker, so he makes sure to switch with someone taller right at the last second.

also joins satan in playing mind games with the opposing blockers. he’ll act all charming and friendly at first, and then he’ll start roasting their form. but then other times he chats up the opposing players and tries to get their number.

Beelzebub (WS)

sometimes, when they go on runs, he breaks away from the group w belphie to go stop by somewhere to eat. now lucifer makes them run in the front of the group to keep an eye on them.

strong side hitter. that’s it. he’s their ace.

no block can stop him. lucifer’s strong, but beel has raw brute force thats just a bit stronger

good luck trying to. but you’re just gonna get your arm ripped off.

also a really strong server but doesn’t have as much control as lucifer does.

even in the back, his backrow spikes are still super fucking strong good luck to the opponents.

whenever hes up to serve, he reminds everyone to watch their heads. (mammon didn’t listen and went down one time during a practice game now he makes sure to steer clear of the ball’s path when beel’s up to serve.)

Belphegor (WS)

during practice, you’re hardly ever going to get him to do more than the bare minimum.

so you know kunimi from haikyuu? that’s exactly his playstyle.

minimal movement, no wasted energy. until the latter half of the game.

oh man, again? he’s going for a third spike a-fucking-gain?

lowkey makes you wanna drop the ball just so this dam rally ends quickly

also does a lot of cheeky dinks over blocks before slamming the ball down and catching the receiver offguard.

#ive played vball for 0.5 seconds #and ive watched+read haikyuu #so i know what im talking about jkjkjjk #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

48 notes · View notes

ty-talks-comics · 4 years

Text

Best of DC: Week of March 18th, 2020

Best of this Week: Robin 80th Anniversary

All of the Robins are awesome.

Every Bat-fan has their favorite as they usually define the era when they began their love of Batman and comics in general. Older fans love Dick Grayson for being the first and greatest Robin that helped make Batman brighter. Edgy 80s kids and teens both love and hate Jason Todd for being the bad boy that died. Younger fans love Tim Drake for being the one to carry the name in the later seasons of the animated series and being one of the best and smartest Robins. Girls get representation from the spunky Carrie Kelly and the awesome Stephanie Brown. No one like Damian. (I’m kidding, he’s super fun.)

There’s a Robin for everyone and this 100 Page Spectacular celebrates the long history of Batman’s greatest sidekicks (though misses a chance to give Carrie Kelly her own short story) and does an amazing job in displaying each characters personalities by some of the best people to have written them over the years. Because there are so many, I’m only going to talk about the ones I really enjoyed!

The first FOUR stories follow Dick Grayson and some of his best eras.

“A Little Nudge” is written by Marv Wolfman with pencils by Tom Grummett, two parts of the legendary team behind the best years of the New Titans (1989). This story follows Dick Grayson as Batman begins to nudge him in the direction of becoming his own man by being increasingly irritable to his protege. At this point in time, Dick was dealing with the stresses of outgrowing his childhood identity and Batman’s continuing overbearing nature. Where Bruce was all about being cold and methodical, Dick thought with his gut.

Grummett, Scott Hanna on inks and Adriano Lucas on colors illustrate Dick’s frustration through his increasingly sour facial expressions and sudden heroic actions. The costumes are as colorful as those old days with Dick wearing the bright yellow cape, bright red tunic and the elf shoes. In the middle of the dynamic duo’s fight with Natural History Museum thieves, Dick stops fighting when a child gets shot, against Bruce’s orders, and stays with him until the bad guys either get away or get taken down by Batman.

Later on, Dick tells Batman that he’s outgrown the Boy Wonder name and sets off to become his own man as Nightwing. Wolfman gives readers an excellent inner monologue from Bruce where he owns up to the fact that he was nudging Dick in that direction because he had just turned eighteen and Bruce believed in him. Batman always supports his kids, especially his first and it turns the story of separation into something heartwarming.

“Aftershocks” is a fun story by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel who worked on my favorite Nightwing series in the 1996 - 2005 era of the character. This wasn’t anything major, just Nightwing doing everything he could to save people after an earthquake causes massive damage to a suspended bridge in Bludhaven. This era of Nightwing was characterized by him mostly striking out on his own and becoming a Bludhaven police officer, being inspired by Jim Gordon.

Dick really came into his own and developed a rogues gallery to himself during this time, not to mention the sweet costume with the blue “wings” running down his arms into his fingers and those big, bulky gauntlets and boots. This era was the epitome of the 90s with big set piece moments, big muscles and Nightwing just being a nice and generally charming guy. After diving off of the bridge to attach a winch to a falling car, the woman inside asks to name her baby after him and he smiles and says, “Robin works, right?”

“The Lesson Plan” is a story from my favorite modern age creators in Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janin. The Grayson series took place shortly after Dick’s identity was exposed to the world during “Forever Evil” (2013) by the Crime Syndicate. At this time he was acting as a spy for an agency called Spyral while spying on them for Batman. I never think of Tom King as a comedy guy, but this story was almost gut bustingly hilarious. It was just a world trotting adventure where he teaches one of the students of St. Hadrian’s how to be a spy.

Truly this series was Dick at his most handsome, witty and skilled. He jumps out of a helicopter and grabs onto the cords of a cable car before rescuing a woman held hostage by terrorists on walruses. Dick, the student and the hostage ten fight off more terrorists in Tanzania, riding a bus headed for Los Angeles of all places before Dick finds himself in something Dejah Thoris would wear and having a night with the hostage who reveals herself to be a gorilla from Gorilla City. It’s absolutely absurd, but it is immensely fun and welcome since that whole series is well regarded by fans.

“More Time” by Judd Winick, Dustin Nguyen and John Kalisz is a far more somber tale about Jason Todd potentially a short time after the events of Under the Red Hood. Jason Todd was the second Robin and met his unfortunate end in the 1988 story, A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo. Jason eventually returned in the Batman: Under the Hood story where Winick and Doug Mahnke re-envisioned the former Robin as a violent vigilante Jason does have something of a strained relationship with Batman, but it wasn’t always that way as this story illustrates.

One thing that Dustin Nguyen has always been great at, it’s making kids super adorable and he does so in this story as it flips back and forth between the past and the present as Jason gives Bruce a birthday present in the form of his father’s watch, which Jason sought to fix. Nguyen and Kalisz characterize the past with Jason appearing as a happy, young kid under the dim lights of the Batcave and a twinkle in his eyes. He’s happy to have a home and a father to care for him so he wanted to do something nice for him.

Present Day Jason is characterized by dark backgrounds with bright oranges, smoke and heavy blacks for the shadows. Jason is far more tired, grizzled and angry, but he still finds the time to place the same gift box from all those years ago on the Batmobile for Bruce to find. At this point in time, they may have been at each other throats, but the love between them was still there, buried deep - culminating in two side by side panels of past and present Jason saying, “Happy Birthday, Bruce.”

“Boy Wonders” is a story about Tim Drake by James Tynion IV, Javier Fernandez and David Baron and sees Tim taking advice from all of his brothers. Next to Chuck Dixon and Geoff Johns, James Tynion IV has had one of the longest lasting impacts on the Tim Drake character throughout his run on Detective Comics by emphasizing the power of his mind in comparison to the other Robins and why he could ultimately be the successor to Batman above each of them or eke out a new life for himself.

While taking down the cast of The Warriors on a speeding train with Nightwing, Tim contemplates what his future will be. He looks to Dick as the one who did everything that he’s doing now and Dick tells him that as the smartest Robin, the best thing he could do is use that mind to bring up the next generation of heroes. Jason, the reason he’s even wearing the costume of Robin in the first place, tells him to take everything he’s learned from Batman to become BETTER than him. Arguably, it’s Damian that gives him the best advice by telling him that he’s the most capable of all of the Robins and that he should choose a path himself instead of relying on the advice of others.

Of course, this story takes place before the events of Detective Comics Rebirth where Tim does chart his own path in making Gotham safer with his Gotham Knights Protocol, but things don’t exactly turn out well for him. For all of the talk about how Tim is the smartest, he unfortunately could never get out of his own way long enough for things to go right...especially now that he’s going by “Drake” in that awful brown costume.

“Fitting In” is a Stephanie Brown story by Amy Wolfram, Damion Scott and Brad Anderson which sees Stephanie trying to live up to the standards of each of the boys that came before her. Stephanie was absolutely the shortest term Robin that Batman took on, as he only allowed her to take up the mantle in an attempt to get Tim back after his real father told him to hang up the cape after discovering his sons identity.

Even still, Stephanie did everything she could to earn Bruce’s respect and Wolfram plays on this and that past story by making it more about Tim than Steph. She has to train in the same costume that Tim did, but she proves more...voluptuous than Tim. Her costume bursts at the seams and Alfred designs the costume that she’s known for. She and Batman then get a call about fire at an amusement park and ride off to take down Firefly.

Unfortunately for her, she gets captured, but being the innovative girl that she is, she manages to free herself and take down Firefly at the same time. Damion Scott’s art is very well suited to the cartoonish action and paints her as a capable sidekick despite initially being a damsel in distress. I honestly wish her run as Robin would have been longer because she honestly fits well in the role as the bubbly Robin in contrast to the hell that Tim was going through at the time.

A point can be made that this story also had some needless sexualization, but given Bruce's lack of respect for Stephanie and him just wanting a replacement Tim at the time, this was well written from that perspective. He never cared for Stephanie and her time as Robin was mostly her trying to live up to Tim's standard which eventually left her to try too hard and "die" because of it. I’ll always take more Stephanie Brown as I can cause even now there’s not enough of her and I’m damn sure not reading Young Justice by Brian Michael Bendis.

“My Best Friend” is the one that makes me the most sad as it revolves around Jon Kent writing an essay on Damian as well...his best friend. I feel like the Super Sons series was also done a dity hand by BMB as he took Jon and aged him up for his Superman story when we could have gotten more fun stories between Damian and Jon. As far as homages to one of the better Rebirth series this one was just fun.

There’s not much to say other than Jon reminisces over a few of their adventures and tells readers about the side of Damian that we don’t often see because the Bat-boy is always a little bit too intense. Jon reminds us that they’ve fought for most of the time they’ve known each other, but when it comes to being heroes, Damian always had his back. It’s heartwarming. Of course there’s the continuity issue of them going to the same school in this story cause Jon was only ten at the time and Damian was thirteen, but honestly I only care about the friendship.

“Bat and Mouse” is a story by Robbie Thompson and Ramon Villalobos which sees Bruce and Damian having separate brooding inner monologues about how neither understands the other anymore and about how they want to open up to each other, but the distance between them has grown too wide. Admittedly, this is a much darker story in the respect that Batman and Robin haven’t really been the same since Damian started his new Titans team and started down a darker path that his father has yet to find out about.

Thompson captures this feeling that Damian is arrogant but scared. He feels like he’s outgrown what Batman has become because he’s willing to get rid of threats almost permanently through erasing their memories and villainous tendencies (see Teen Titans, 2018). At the same time, he’s afraid that maybe what he’s doing isn’t the right path and he so desperately wants to reach out to his father, but feels like he can’t.

Batman is the same way in that he loves his son more than anything and wants to regain the relationship that they had in the past, but doesn’t know how to say the words either. He knows that Damian is hiding something big, but he doesn’t want to accuse the boy and deepen the already cavernous rift. Even as they take down the robotic villain Quietus, they show signs of breaking through their equally cold exteriors, but fail to do so and I get the feeling this will all come to a head soon.

The Robins will always be some of my favorite characters in all of comics. Each of them have distinct personalities and quirks that set them apart from a lot of comic characters, especially when it comes to the trauma that they’ve faced alongside Batman. This special won’t be for everyone, just like each era of Robin isn’t for everyone, but overall, I really enjoyed it and the creators selected to honor these fantastic characters.

#robin #robin 80th anniversary #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #damian wayne #carrie kelly #dc comics #comic books #comic review

7 notes · View notes

mirkwoodshewolf · 5 years

Text

Looney toon love; Joe Mazzello x reader drabble

*Author’s note*

This is probably the shortest drabble of our baby Joey that I will ever write. Now in case the title doesn’t give you a clue, this was after watching some OLD OG Looney toons cartoons and everytime I watch a Pepe Le Pew cartoon I can’t help but imagine Joe literally acting like Le Pew before his gf/wifey just to be a goofball (or more of a goofball than he already is) but I hope you all enjoy this little drabble eitherway :)

No warnings just nothing but TEETH-ROTTING FLUFF of both lover boy Joey and domestic daddy!Joey.

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@ixchel-9275

@platawnic

@geek-and-proud

@queendeakyy

@coolcxt

____________________________________________________

It was like any other Saturday morning in the Mazzello household. (Y/n) had stepped outside to do some errands leaving the Mazzello men to their own devices. And like most boys (well we can consider Joe a man-child at this point) were watching old Looney toon cartoons.

Right now the cartoon that was playing was a Wild E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon. Wile E. Coyote once again tried to catch the roadrunner by setting up a trap with birdseed as a distraction on one end of the see-saw before sending down a heavy anvil on the other side sending the roadrunner up to him on the cliff.

But as we always know his plans backfire for as soon as the anvil went down, all it did was jump right back up and land right on Wile E’s head. Both Mazzello boys laughed and little five year old Joey Mazzello IV said.

“That silly coyote doesn’t know when to give up, does he daddy?”

“No he does not.” Said Joe. After a few more failed attempts the cartoon ended and soon a Pepe Le Pew cartoon came on, which got Joe all excited. “Oh yes! Now we’re getting to a good one.”

“But daddy these one’s always got kissing in it!” exclaimed little Joey.

“One day when you’re older, you’ll see that kissing isn’t so bad. As long as you ask for consent.”

“No way! Kissing is nasty, girls always got cooties!”

“Your mommy kisses you all the time, do you get cooties from her?” asked Joe as he looked down at his son judgingly.

“No she has mommy cooties, those are different.”

“Since when?”

“Since forever keep up with the times daddy!”

“Kids today. Always coming up with new words and things that make life so much more difficult.” Joe muttered as he playfully rolled his eyes.

Once the cartoon was done, Joe turned off the TV which made little Joey complain.

“No, no you mommy would kill me if she saw you just sitting around watching cartoons. Besides we promised we’d help clean up the house while she was gone this morning.”

“But work’s never fun!” whine Joey.

“I know little man, but hey first one to win gets to have a jumbo size ice cream Sunday for breakfast.” At hearing that, little Joey ran off to grab the cleaning supplies making Joe laugh and mutter, “Ahh works every time.”

As the two of them were going about dusting the main floor, little Joey soon got a mischievous idea. He slowly crept up towards his dad, very silent and sneaky before standing just behind him as his dad was dusting off the entertainment center. It was then the five year old cried out the famous roadrunner “BEEP-BEEP!” which scared the shit out of Joe.

Little Joey fell against the couch laughing his little butt off and that’s when Joe said.

“Ohh I see? Play your game that way huh? Well you know what the roadrunner gets?”

“To always escape from you. Beep-beep!” He then raced around the house with his dad chasing after him. But of course with real life, the way things in cartoons don’t play out here so when Joe managed to cut off little Joey’s escape route, he picked his son up, tossed him in the air before power-bombing him to the couch.

“Nope. They get a punishment from the tickle monster!” Joe then began to tickle his son which cause little Joey to squirm begging for his daddy to stop. It was at that time (y/n) came in carrying some groceries to hear her son laughing.

She set the groceries down and looked into the living room to see the love of her life playfully tickling their son on the couch.

“I thought you said you’d be cleaning the house by the time I got back?” she lectured. Hearing the sound of his wife’s voice, Joe’s head perked up and he quickly trudged towards her and dipped her making her exclaim out.

“Darling you have found me.” Joe spoke in probably the worst French accent she had ever heard. Joe gave her wet and frantic kisses all over her cheek before continuing, “Now that we are reunited, we shall never depart again. You are the peanut, I am the brittle and together, we make a concoction of love.” He kissed all over her face once more as she squirmed in his arms.

“Joey please!” she laughed as she tried to break free. “We’re you both watching Looney Toons again?” she managed to speak through her giggles as Joe kept giving her wet kisses all over her face before finally managing to push his face aside.

“So what if we were?” he spoke in his normal accent.

“You know how I feel about that show.”

“Oh c’mon it’s a classic! My brother and I watched all the time growing up and look how we turned out. It’s not gonna affect our little Joey bug.”

“Oh I’m not worried about little Joey watching it, I was referring to you. Especially when you watch Pepe Le Pew.”

“Now, now my darling you are just saying that. When deep down you know I am the world’s greatest lover!”

“Joe not in front of the boy.” She hissed lowly. Finally she managed to escape his grasp before finally going up to her son. “C’mon sweetie, why don’t you help mommy with the groceries? And get away from your silly father.”

“Yeah daddy’s always silly.”

“Moi? I can’t help it if I—as they say have fallen for you, no?” he spoke the last part in his French accent again which caused (y/n) to just laugh.

“You are so ridiculous Joseph Francis Mazzello III.”

“Ahh but you fell in love with me, didn’t you?”

“I suppose.” Joe hopped right onto his feet and kissed his wife on her lips. “C’mon. I’ll need both my boys to help me with the groceries.” As she carried her son into the kitchen, Joe merrily hopped behind her much like Pepe does after Penelope.

As the Mazzello’s were putting away the groceries, Joe noticed the patches of carrots and couldn’t help himself. He took one carrot out of the packet and went up to his wife as she was putting away the pop-tarts and cereal for their son.

“Ehhh, what’s up doc?” she turned around and playfully giggled seeing her husband munch on a carrot and do his best Bug Bunny impersonation.

“Not much, just watching my goofball of a husband getting distracted once more.”

“As I said before, I can’t help it. You’re beautiful…..” he pecked her lips before continuing out “Darlin.”

“What am I ever gonna do with you Joe?”

“Well you already married me, not much else you can do.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close. He then Eskimo kissed her before resuming helping her with the groceries.

After all the groceries were put aside, she decided that cleaning could be hold off at least for today since it was Saturday and Saturdays were meant for cartoons so she turned the TV back on and all three members of the household gathered around the couch for a long morning of Saturday cartoons.

As little Joey sat between his mom and dad Joe just couldn’t believe how lucky he was to not only get the girl of his dreams, but have the chance to become a father himself. Their son was like a gift from heaven, a gift from his late father and he wished that little Joey got the chance to meet his grandfather.

“You okay babe?” asked (y/n).

“Yeah just….thinking.”

“About?”

“How much I love you and our son.” She smiled and said.

“Well there is something you got that Le Pew never got.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

“His one true love.” She kissed Joey’s cheek and he grinned as he pulled his wife close and kissed the top of her head as the two turned their attention back to the TV.

#joe mazzello #joe mazzello imagine #joe mazzello imagines #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello drabble #joe mazzello fanfic #joe mazzello fanfiction #bohemian rhapsody #joe mazzello fluff

94 notes · View notes

chanbangblog · 5 years

Text

ive only felt religion when ive lied with you- 1

A/N: (smut, Chan x reader, Canon compliant, fan/idol)

The sun peeped in at you through the small slit in the curtains. Your eyes fluttered open and then closed again. You laid there in a beautiful mix of sleep and awake when suddenly you realized you were late for work. You sat up and became perplexed at your surroundings, this was definitely not your room.

Wait, where am I… you started to wonder.

You looked over to see Robyn lying next to you, still asleep looking quite peaceful and hugging her Chimmy plushie. Then you realized you weren’t at home, and this wasn’t just any day, this was the day you were going to meet Stray Kids.

Your heart began to speed up at your sudden realization. You looked around the room and empty cans of hard cider littered the bedside table. Last night’s pad Thai was sitting on the dresser, probably harboring god knows how many bacteria after sitting out at room temperature all night. You felt a tinge of nausea at the thought of it, or any food for that matter.

Oh god. Am I going to be able to eat today? I have to eat, I’ll never be able to stand in line and make it through the concert if I don’t eat. Let alone have the strength to survive MEETING THEM at hi-touch.

You pushed your hair behind your ears, closed your eyes and focused on your breathing.

Not today, anxiety. It’s too early for this bullshit.

Your therapist had taught you to talk to your anxiety like it was a person. Speaking of him, God bless that man for listening to you over the past several months preparing for this day. You had drilled him for an endless amount of coping mechanisms in order make sure that you, quite literally, didn’t faint when you met the nine boys who seemingly occupied your every thought.

You rolled out of bed as cautiously as you could, so you didn’t wake Robyn. You walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Your hair was stuck to the side of your head and you had sleep still in the corners of your eyes. You decided to take a shower and think about what to have for breakfast.

The hot water beat into your skin and steam began to fill the bathroom. You inhaled deeply. Trying to focus on the present and not psych yourself out about the night ahead.

You’re just giving them a high five. Hundreds of fans will get to do the same. They definitely won’t remember you, you’ll blend in with the millions of other girls who are desperately in love with them.

This thought calms you for a moment. Being rational in situations of stress wasn’t particularly your strong suit, so you were happy with this little victory.

When you got out of the shower you checked your phone. You had several notifications from Instagram from realstraykids. Hyunjin was posting selfies and talking about being excited for the concert tonight. Swiping through the pictures he took with other members, Chris got your attention. His hair was a golden blonde and was starting to grow so long, it looked like a borderline mullet with the way it was styled.

“Chris with a mullet steals my soul!!!!” you commented on the picture and then put your phone away.

You walked back into the room and Robyn was awake. You took one look at her and burst into the most high pitched squeal you could manage.

Well. Being calm was nice while it lasted.

“Good god, y/n. Are you gonna be like this all day?” Robyn asked, already looking done with your shit.

Robyn didn’t originally stan Stray Kids. You introduced them to her after you got the tickets. You had been to kpop concerts with her in the past so she seemed like the obvious choice to go with you. You had invited Robyn over a couple months ago and had a “hard intro to Stray Kids” Youtube watching session. Which had included videos like “stray kids on crack” and “a super shitty and unhelpful guide to stray kids.” She eventually chose two biases, Minho and Jisung. When she had told you later that night you were overjoyed because you had predicted who she would bias.

“NO WAY!!!!” you had screeched, “I texted my friend earlier and predicted you would bias them! Just so I could show you when I was right!”

What could you say, you love Robyn, but she has a certain type that always wrecks her. Pretty baby faces and strong vocals. You couldn’t blame her though, they were both an excellent choice.

You snapped back to the present.

“Uh no. I’m calm, I just, uh… yeah I’m gonna be like this all day.” You confessed.

Thank God I have a friend brave enough to put up with me.

The morning went by faster than you thought it would. You all ordered breakfast and spent the morning watching Jinyoung’s new kdrama. You wanted to get to the venue early-ish because even though you had good tickets, you were still GA and didn’t want to be shoved completely to the back of your section.

You had spent months picking the perfect outfit that you would feel confident in to meet them. It was May so you weren’t sure about the weather, but you decided to bank on it being hot outside. You chose a sleeveless shirt that was metallic gold, with a bow that tied around the front and buttoned down. You had also chosen a skort set that looked like a black mini-skirt but actually had shorts underneath and low-top combat boots to complete the look. You curled your hair and tried to give it as much volume as possible. Not that it would matter, you knew it would be matted to your head with sweat by the end of the concert. But hey, you gotta look good for the pics for the ‘gram, right?

You arrived at the venue and was baking outside under the morning sun, it was sweltering, you didn’t expect this for May. Your skin was baking under the late spring sun. You definitely had a sunburn and had only been in line for an hour.

Why on Earth did I wear a tank top...I’m not gonna be able to raise my arm to high five them without the smell knocking them down!

Suddenly an image of Jeongin falling backward at the smell of your body odor made you laugh out loud. You could see the headlines now, “kpop fangirl’s body odor causes singer to faint.” I mean, it would be hilarious, mortifying, but hilarious.

The concert was a blur, as always. You sang along to all the words you knew and your voice felt hoarse towards the end. You couldn’t believe how close you were to them. The venue was much smaller than you had anticipated. The light was shining off of them and their sweat made them glisten. You were so close you could see their muscles rippling under their denim when they danced.

Felix began talking to the fans about how much he loves us and wants to keep performing well for us. Felix and Changbin are my biases so I was completely engulfed in his cute Aussie accent being spoken 40 feet from me. It was almost too much. The members were fanned out across the stage while he talked and Chris drifted over to the side I was on. The girls and boys around me went wild trying to speak to him but he probably couldn’t hear them.

Rude. My baby Felix is having a moment and y’all are acting like idiots trying to talk over him.

Robyn elbowed me hard in the rib.

“Y/n,” she breathed, “Chris is staring in our direction.”

You looked over and locked eyes with him. You froze. You always thought you knew what you would do if you came face to face with one of your idols. But you were wrong. You didn’t feel the way you had predicted at all. You thought your knees would buckle. You thought you would scream or perhaps cry. But you didn’t. You couldn’t describe the feeling that came over you under his gaze. You couldn’t describe it other than feeling totally confident and empowered for the first time in a long time. You realized you needed to react before he looked away so you winked and attempted to look sexy. Then he raised an eyebrow at you, kept your gaze and went back to get in line for the next song.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT! WHY DID I WINK? WHO DOES THAT OH MY GOD.

You were going though it inside and Robyn could tell.

“Um, what was that?? Girl, you just had an interaction with him!” Robyn whispered in your ear.

You looked around and none of the concert-goers around you seemed to notice. No one was looking at you. You began to wonder if you imagined it. Your cheeks were burning a fiery red and your stomach felt like it was being assaulted with a swarm of butterflies.

How am I going to face him at hi-touch after that?? God y/n you were supposed to try to blend in.

You told your inner voice to fuck off, just like your therapist had taught you. But the rest of the concert, you couldn’t keep your eyes off Chris.

You were standing in line for hi-touch and your knees were buckling. You felt like your entire body was on edge and your insides were being electrocuted.

“You’re going to pass out if you keep holding your breath, y/n.” Robyn quietly reminded you. You suddenly realized you had been holding your breath.

“How did I get here? Maybe we should just run.” You said in a panicked voice.

Robyn looked you up and down like you had just spoken another language.

“Y/n, we’re not being marched to our deaths, we’re meeting this band that you have been obsessing over for months! Get it together! Breathe!” Robyn said while starting to shake you.

She’s right. What the hell is wrong with you. You paid so much money for these tickets and your bank account is still recovering. You’re doing this.

The line was starting to move faster than you would like. You got closer and closer to where you knew the boys were standing. You saw them in the distance and suddenly realized how tall they were in real life. You should’ve anticipated this since you already knew you were shorter than the shortest member.

They’re just people. They’re just boys. You talk to boys all the time.

You started to calm down. Until you locked eyes with Chris in the distance.

What was it about his gaze that made you take on a totally different attitude and mindset? Five seconds earlier you were contemplating running again. Now it felt like all of Earth’s gravity was holding you here in this one spot, like this was the only place you were ever supposed to be at this moment in time. You felt confident under his gaze, you felt bold.

You’re still not sure what possessed you, but you broke the gaze to start searching through your purse. You found a receipt and quickly ripped a small piece of the end. The line was moving and you were forced to walk while ransacking your purse. You finally found a pen. You tried to be as nonchalant as you could so you didn’t attract attention from other fans.

As sneakily as you could, you quickly scribbled: Kakao y/n0325.

Good god, why did I put their debut date in my name on there…I’m such a psycho. That’s so embarrassing.

But you didn’t have time to ponder on that because it was almost your turn. You didn’t have a plan. You didn’t know how you were going to get this to him without being noticed, but you did know that it felt right and you wanted to do it. Chris was the last member in the lineup.

Woojin was first. You had already planned out what you were going to say to each of them. You got up to him and his chocolate brown hair was gleaming in the fluorescence. Your hands met and you felt your mind go blank, he was smiling at you as you grappled with your words in your head.

“YOUR VOICE IS LIKE HONEY,” you blurted out, half-yelling at the poor man.

He just laughed and said thank you as you moved on.

Minho was looking at you smiling with his hand up. You didn’t struggle as long with finding words this time.

“I’m so proud of you, I love you to death,” You said as you passed by.

He laughed and said thank you in the cutest accent you’ve ever heard.

Changbin was next. Your bias, which made your thoughts become even more erratic than they had been before. You just started smiling uncontrollably and said “Hiiiiii, I love you Changbinnie” and he looked back at you fondly and said he loved you too.

You were face to face with Hyunjin before you realized it and my, was he good looking, it was like an angel was literally standing in front of you.

“You’re even cuter in person,” you said as fast as you could while touching hands with him. He just laughed and nodded in response.

You couldn’t think of anything else, your mind was at overload when you met Felix, Jisung, Jeongin and Seungmin. So you just told them you loved them as fast and as many times as you could.

When you got to Chris, you finally looked up at him and felt a shiver rip through your core. Your heart felt like it had dropped into your stomach. You felt like you were in an elevator that was falling down with reckless abandon. You raised your right hand up to give him a high five. Your hand was empty. But at the last second you switched and raised your left hand up as quickly as you could and the piece of paper was between your hands. You moved your hand slightly so he could feel it and finally spoke.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, but this just isn’t long enough.” You said with all the confidence you could muster.

His eyes sparked as he realized what you were doing. He moved his hand and quickly closed it and put it in his pocket.

“Oh yes, I agree,” he said, very coolly with that unmistakable smile that he always shows the world. The smile that you had become so fond of over the last several months. The smile that gave fans hope all around the world and now, at this moment, he was smiling because of you.

For the second time that night, Robyn looked at you in disbelief as you rounded the corner in the hall way exiting the venue.

“Y/n, you’re the smoothest human alive,” she said with a shocked expression on her face.

You suddenly busted into cackling laughter. It overwhelmed you and wracked your body. Bubbling up from your core. You couldn’t control it. You’re sure you were unnerving everyone near you with your maniacal laughter. Everyone knows, nothing comes good after maniacal laughter. You laughed until your abdominal muscles ached, and tears were spilling down your cheeks.

“That was the best time of my life,” you said in between bouts of laughter.

Robyn started laughing too and you two called a cab to head back to your hotel.

You tried not to dwell on your interaction with Chris. He had been nice and a bit flirty, but he was like that with all Stays. You had watched countless youtube compilations of your idols flirting with fans. It was normal. It was nothing special. That’s what you told yourself when you arrived back in your hotel room and your heart was still fluttering in your chest, refusing to return to its normal pace.

Hey, I’m going at my own pace, Chris would at least be proud of that.

You suddenly started laughing again at your own thoughts and told Robyn you were getting in the shower. She was probably very thankful for this, after the events of the day and the copious amounts of sweat you had shed. You turned on your slow kpop playlist and once again let the steam fill up the room while the water beat down on you. You put your head up against the tile wall of the shower and let the water envelop you.

I had an interaction with Chris. Fans have interactions with their idols all the time at concerts. He was very charismatic, you already knew that. Stop overthinking it and just be happy you made these memories with them, y/n.

Your heart rate began to slow and you focused on the water and the steady hum the shower made. Tomorrow you and Robyn were going into the city and it was going to be a good day. You were going to have a good day with your friend and recount concert memories. Life was good.

You stepped out of the shower and grabbed your phone to turn off the playlist. Butterfly by BTS was playing and you were about to sing along for a few words when you checked your notifications.

You had a few comments on your Instagram posts but your eyes glazed over when you saw what was next.

A notification from Kakao, a notification from none other than Christopher Bang himself.

#bang chan x reader #skz smut #skz fics #stray kids smut #stray kids fics #bang chan fic #bang chan smut

44 notes · View notes

bubblellop · 4 years

Note

26 for literally any of your characters, as many as you want just give me the goods

26: What is your favorite headcanon for your character?

My god ive already said so many of them im running out of the interesting ones, so pardon if i repeat myself lol. Anyway have a BUNCH of them. Have fun

Adalia:

Has set the forest on fire before, a lot of times actually, still does it.

First time she met Rhett and Olivers family, she just....decided to sit in the fireplace. Just, chill in the fire, in front of their family. A lot of explaining had to be done.

Never showered in her life.

Likes singing! Its a GREAT and healthy alternative to screaming and setting things on fire!

Canonly says fuck. This isnt a headcanon its just a fact-

Lilyana:

This one is already known, but Lily likes sleeping in the bath. She really likes the bathroom in fact, even tho for her it serves no purpose. Just a small water room, she loves it.

Once said fuck infront of Rhett, leaned next to him and said "Go on. No one will believe you."

Knows sign language.

Likes dissapearing every once in a while. As a treat. (This really stresses Adalia and Oliver tho Lily please :(((( dont do that, even if its for a couple hours) (also by disapearing i mean she just takes long walks unanounced like the rebel she is)

Oliver:

Stole a spoon once and felt really bad about it.

He plays the ukelele uwu

Has anxiety, things just stress him out alot sometimes, but he's gotten better at controlling it :)

As he knows Adalia and Lily's diet is...weird, he takes it as a challenge to make dishes they like AND is healthy for them!!! (If all fails tho, just give them hot sauce and ice cream am i right)

Him and Adalia have their own weird adventures sometimes!!! They come back home all scratched up and no one even questions it after a while. Their dinamic may not appear much but their both great together adfh

Rhett:

*swears in spanish* *swears in spanish* *swears in sp

The hoodie he wears is for comfort and emotional support :) even tho he will never admit to it but its okay hes a coward and a b-

Jams to old p!atd song along with Stef. Ah they both hate to admit they are scene kids at heart.....

Canonly punched Lilyana in the face. Man chapter 5 is wilding lol

Stephanie:

I like to think there are times she forgets to take off her glasses, hides it when shes with the others, and just be legally blind for an entire day.

"Sophie i cant read that" "oh well then you could just get your-" chokes Sophie with a pillow

When shes not with the twins, she spends time in a smoothie shop she likes :) the girl just tries to avoid going home huh

Is more of a bi mess if were being honest. She straight up looked at her two most bitter friends and went "hey how about i just try to flirt with them to see their reaction lol" but they both dont realize it/ignore it.

Has a shit ton of sketchbooks!!! If u dont know shes really into fashion and wants to persue that as a career :)

When shes bored with Sophie, she will try to annoy the hell outta her, shake her, hug her, play with her notes, moan and grunt, you name it.

This girl has so many talents such as piano, violin, ballet, art, singing, designing, writing and much more!!!

Ansskdks stef will paint rhetts nail black because emo rights skdkdksf

Sophie:

She and her older brother are really cool!!! They both just VIBE with eachother and id say they have the best sibling bond!!! I live for their foolery!!!

Very composed and serious, but when shes excited you WILL know, she acts like a child its adorableee.

Canonly the shortest, shes shapped like a friend and i wanna hug her okay-

She insisted on having a laboratory for her "research", so they just keep giving her the basement skddksc (both in the twins house and sophs home)

OH YOU DIDNT EXPECT T H E S E ONES HUH!

Liv:

She has a garden :) where may you ask? The entire forest is her garden if you think about it.

Liv is actually older than the twins. (I dont know why the idea seems cursed, shes too baby)

Literally has the best dinamics with everyone, shes just so nice and patient no one can hate her...

Skyle:

She hisses at humans, this is normal to the rest.

I like to think they all went and stole their clothes, and id say skyle just went to a costume shop and picked the coolest thing she saw (a pirate costume).

She sleeps in a tree branch

The strongest of the guardians, she likes training, she almost never has to fight anything tho, so she will go and find a bear or smth and just go feral ya know (there are no bears in that forest, sam probably summons a fake one so Skyle doesnt go mad)

Jamie:

Has read EVERY BOOK about bugs Samantha has.

Have i mentioned they loves bugs. They likes ladybugs the most.

"GUYSS IM ALMOST 10 I CAN HANDLE THIS" - them every time. Doing anything. The rest care alot about her okay.

If all the guardians (adalia, lily, liv, skyle, sam and themself if your wondering) were to be left alone, they would be most likely to survive, just sayin

Samantha:

Only lets Jamie in her library, the rest are allowed ONCE a week. Get out of her sight.

Goth

Very tall, pale and skinny, shes a vampire is2g-

May not show it but she doesnt like humans either, just finds them a bit gross. Doesnt say anything out of courtesy tho.

Doesnt like cutting her hair, she will SCREAM if you try to.

Aaaand im tired its 12 ive spent half an hour in this and im DEAD. God i hope at least 2 of them are interesting.

#ask #hawks-on-mars #the magical twins #tmt #i know ive said most of these already #but me tired ples.....#sorry akskd #i did have fun with this tho #and heyyy i included some for the guardians too :))))

2 notes · View notes

jane-runs-fast · 5 years

Photo

In this Tutorial, you will learn how to make your art blink using illustration software (that you should already be comfortable with) and free resources.

Overview:

This tutorial will go over how to make a simple gif in a (hopefully) understandable way.

We will be going over how to make eyelids in our illustration software, saving, uploading to free GIF making software, tweaking our gif, and finally saving the finished product.

1. Making Your Eyelids

We start our project in our illustration software- for this tutorial, I will be using Clip Studio, but any illustration software will work. Open the image you would like to turn into a gif.

I am using a flat image as my base image to keep things clean with this tutorial, but there is no rule against creating eyelids as you are creating your image.

For this GIF we will only be making two eyelid overlays. Two is the minimum amount of overlays for a smooth blinking transition. One set of closed eyelids is going to look cheap and unrealistic, but it is doable.

The more eyelid overlays you have the smoother and more natural the gif will look. you can't have too many overlays, but for your first time making a gif, I recommend sticking to two until you get the hang of things.

For these two eyelids make two layers over the base image layer, labeling them ‘lid_1′ and ‘lid_2′ as depicted below:

Once that is done using one of those layers to draw a set of eyelids at half-mast, doing your utmost to make the new lids look natural to the base image. It is okay if the overlayed lids are not perfect- while the gif is blinking you won't be able to notice small mistakes, but we still want the gif to look professional.

Repeat the process with the fully closed eyelids on the second lid layer.

When finished you should have three layers; A base image layer, a half-mast eyelid layer, and a closed lid layer.

GIF’s work and look best when cropped into a square, and since GIF’s are small and can't handle tons of detail it is a good idea to crop your image to focus closer on the face (since this is a blinking tutorial.)

Don't forget to add a new watermark to your base image!

2. Saving Your Images

Since free GIF making software has trouble handling .png images with clear backgrounds, we will need to save three variations of our image; the cropped base image, the half-mast lids overlaying the base image, and the closed lids overlaying the base image.

You can save in .JPG or .PNG, it doesn't really matter so long as the images do not have any ‘clear’ portions.

[Just to clear it up, it IS possible to create gifs using images with clear backgrounds: for example, the base image and the standalone eyelids saved as .png- but that requires better editing software than we will be using (like after effects, wondershare filmora, etc.)]

when you are finished your three saved images should look similar to these:

3. Turning Your Images to GIFS

Now that you have your images its time to move on to making the actual GIF!

There are several free gif making sites you can use, but for this tutorial we will be using EZGIFS.COM.

There is no downloading required, but like most free stuff EZGIFS is convenient but if you want to make GIF making a regular thing you are going to want to upgrade to legitimate editing software at some point.

Click on the bold EZGIFS.COM link ive shared above and you will be taken to a site that looks like the screenshot below.

You are going to want to make sure the ‘GIF Maker’ tab is highlighted before you get started. Locate the “Choose Files” button and click it.

Once you upload your images you will need to make a ‘copy’ of the ‘halfmast lid image and arrange the images in this order: Base image (open eyes), half-mast lid image, closed lid image, copy of half-mast lid image.

This is so we can better simulate blinking.

Now after you have your images in place you need to adjust the time they will be shown in the GIF.

You can do that by adjusting the numbers in the box under the images next to the words ‘Delay:’

You will want to have your base image have the longest delay, the closed lids will need to be the second longest delay, and then the half-mast images will be the shortest.

After you have everything in order (my delay numbers are in the image above, feel free to use them as a reference,) you are ready to go! Click the blue button labeled ‘Make a GIF!’ to see how your gif has turned out!

If your gif needs adjusting you can easily do that by scrolling back up to the delay times and then refreshing your GIF by pressing the ‘Make a GIF!’ button once more.

Now that you have made your GIF you are going to need to make sure it meets social media requirements, or else your GIF will just be a nice stationary image on your blog.

Directly below your shiny new gif, you will find the file size, width, and height of your GIF.

Most blog standards are 2 MiB MAX file size for your GIF, if your gif is above 2MiB then you will need to click on the “Optimize” button (the image with a cog and a broom, found directly below your new GIF.

This button will take you to a page where you may condense your GIF at the loss of some size or clarity, but it's necessary for your GIF to work, so it must be done.

Once your gif is the appropriate file size you need to check the length and width of your GIF. This is a bit more flexible because although 500px is the best size you can get away with larger GIF measurements if your file size is below 2 MiB.

Once all that fun stuff is done all you have left to do is click the ‘Save’ icon below the finished GIF, the ‘Save’ button has a black floppy disk on it and is in the same row as the resize and optimize buttons (you can see the save button in the screenshot above.)

Now you have saved your gif!

depending on what your last edit to your gif was the file name should look something like the image below, it will have the words ezgif in them (for those of you who have a massive amount of content in your downloads folder.)

Now your GIF can be uploaded for the world to see!

To upload your own GIF to Tumblr just upload it as you would a basic image.

Feel free to contact me for any questions, I hope this tutorial was easily understood and that it has opened up a new medium for my artistic peers!

#mm #mystic messenger #gif #gif making #gif making tutorial #tutorial #animating #gif tutorial

28 notes · View notes

myinconnelly1 · 5 years

Text

feeling kinda salty

feel free to ignore this if it’s not your thing, but i saw a post explaining how things worked in a hospital, and it made me salty. This is marked as 18+

So without further ado: What it’s like when your pregnant!

Unless you are tracking your cycle you probably don’t know when you conceived.

You don’t need to have full penetration to get pregnant.

Having an irregular cycle is probably the only reason that you didn’t notice you were late. (As a person who could set a clock to the minute based their cycle) You will probably at least suspect it with in the first 2 months.

There really aren’t any other symptoms until week 7-9 (aka 2-3 months)

Morning sickness can hit at any time. Literally any time of day, and day of the week, through your entire pregnancy.

You will have to pee a lot during the first couple month and toward the end. Usually not too bad in the middle.

you don’t normally start to ‘show’ until 5-6 months.

there is nothing that looks like a baby to see in an ultra sound before 12 weeks really. (just a tadpole)

You won’t hear the heart beat until 12 weeks via handheld Doppler.

That jelly stuff is either cold AF or kinda warm in that way that makes you want to pee yourself.

You might pee yourself. Especially if you are laughing really hard or you sneeze. There are exercises to help with this.

You may develop bruising around your eyes that looks like little speckles after you throw up. This is caused from the strain and lack of oxygen. Its really common.

Cream is not a guarantee that you will not get stretch marks.

Your belly button may not pop out like a timer.

You may not ever really look like your pregnant.

You will be tired as shit

Ultrasounds are not comfortable. there is a lot of pressure no matter what kind you have.

Everyone will start to irritate you.

Then you will cry for hating everyone. And then rage cry because no one gives af about you, only when you are finally gonna have that baby (even when you only 5mos pregnant.)

Your husband/SO may try to do everything that he can to be sympathetic or helpful; he may do nothing. Regardless of which it is, you will at some point be mad at him for what he is doing.

You will be ready for it to be over.

You will probably forget something from your hospital bag.

Having a c-section is not easier.

your water may not break.

you also may not notice that it has broken.

it is more likely that you will go to the hospital several times and not need to be there, than you are to be too late getting there.

there is no paper work to file out while you are trying to have your baby for insurance. normally you have filled it out months in advance.

There will be an IV. (and they hurt like a bitch)

There will be a lot of blood, from all kinds of places.

getting an epidural doesn’t hurt. (for me it was one of the only times i ever felt in control of my contractions.

Contractions hurt like FUCK (when they are being done right and when they are done wrong.)

You will need to drink a lot of water.

If you are have a c-section you will not ingest anything. And this will cause you to feel even more like shit.

if you need a c-section after you’ve started labor, they will make you drink this awful tasting drink (about a shot glass) it neutralizes your stomach acid, in case you vomit during surgery. 50/50 chance it makes you puke.

if you have an epidural you will still have minimal feeling. It’s like that state just after a limb falls asleep and starts to go numb. Kind of buzzy.

The Doctor won’t be there until you need to push. And if you have a midwife, they won’t be there at all unless there is a problem.

An OB will deliver you if you need a c-section.

Anesthesiologists are sweet AF and actually care if you are still in pain.

If you are already numb and need a c-section, they will pick you up and move you from your bed to an operating table. The nurses will tell you that you need to keep your eyes open. This is to keep you from getting motion sickness and projectile vomiting (whistles innocently) seriously don’t even blink.

Pushing a baby out is hard work. and can take a long time. I pushed unsuccessfully for 2 hours with first babe. and then half hour-45 min with second.

Those maternity nurses can be pretty fucking creative. (i played tug a war to try and push correctly)

There are a lot of people that come in and out of your room, between doctors, nurses, nurses in training. Dietitians, insurance workers. And half of them or more will touch you in some uncomfortable fashion.

there is no dignified way to go to the bathroom once you are hooked up to an IV.

Once your baby is born you will need to push more. Then they might need to do some stitch work. Then you will finally be alone for a little while. Maybe an hour. Then you will be moved to another room in another part of the hospital.

if you had a c-section, you will be moved from the Operation theater, to a recovery room. This is for a pretty short time, maybe 20-40 minutes. In which you are alone for a bit. Some times completely alone. (if this is the case, it is the shortest 20 minutes, followed by the longest 15 minutes of your life)

You might not be lactating yet. And therefore breast feeding will be next to impossible, as well as painful.

If you had a c-section, it’s like getting hit by a bus, and you won’t want to do anything for days. Including laying down on a full incline. (it’s like there are no muscles restrictions and all of your insides can just slosh where ever they want.)

You will probably look like hell. Especially if you have any kind of complications.

there will be lots of bleeding.

a nurse will come in an press on your stomach to help get the swelling back to where it should be. (this is possible the most painful thing in the entire process)

The first shower after the baby is born is the most amazing feeling in the world.

#myin rants #having babies #writing it right #stop fucking it up

3 notes · View notes

sshbpodcast · 2 years

Text

The following movie trailer blog post has been approved for Star Trek audiences (Part 1)

By Ames

Grab your theatre popcorn, silence your cell phone, and put your feet up on the headrest of the patron in front of you – it’s time to watch a whole bunch of movie trailers! Your hosts at A Star to Steer Her By just watched all the theatrical trailers for the thirteen Star Trek movies to date, and what a journey it was! Styles have changed over the years and the eponymous movie voice has gone a bit out of fashion, but one thing’s for certain: we’re gonna showcase the hell out of the special effects (in some cases, almost solely the special effects).

You can watch all the trailers along with us below and listen to our lens-flared discussion in this week's podcast episode here (discussion starts at 1:18:30). Which movies would we see based on their trailer alone? Which are straight-up lies about what kind of movie it’s selling? How many explosions can a two-minute video contain? Find out in theatres today!

youtube

Star Trek I: The Motion Picture

This trailer doesn’t age too well since the style of the 70s relied very heavily on narration, blandly summarizing the plot, and listing characters. It made us wonder: Is there even a good way to depict a film so long, slow-moving, cerebral, complex, and reliant on visuals in a trailer? Not this way, that’s for sure, and frankly, Orange Band Modern Trailers does a much better job.

youtube

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

This trailer does its main job extremely well: making you genuinely interested in Khan as a character, whether you remember him from the original series or whether he’s entirely new to you. The editing of this one succeeds greatly in conveying suspense and emotion, there’s much less depending on narration to hint at the story, and Kirk’s “KHAN!” at the end is *chef’s kiss*.

youtube

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

This one’s the shortest and maybe it needed more time to get it right. Since the last movie, we’ve somehow regressed to using some really bland narration to set the tone. The inclusion of the stealing of the Enterprise was a good idea, but this trailer commits a sin we can’t forgive: it gives away the climax at the end of the movie of the Enterprise getting destroyed. My God, Bones. What have we done? No, but really? What have we done?

youtube

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

We see the tone of this excellent film in all its glory: lightness and comedy throughout while still being some genuinely good science fiction. The whole cast is on full display, we see the jokes well integrated (well, mostly; some of it dances on the border of camp), and the time-traveling premise of the movie is succinctly and fabulously communicated. Our only major gripe might be that there STILL aren’t enough whales!

youtube

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

This might be a better trailer than this movie deserves. It starts off silly, but so does the movie. We appreciate the highlights from the rest of the cast rather than just Kirk and Spock, and we’re intrigued by who Sybok will end up being since we’re teased just enough by his character’s portrayal. Unlike something like The Voyage Home, however, the comedy is more unbalanced, which ultimately took some points off.

youtube

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Chills! From the explosion of Praxis at the beginning of the trailer onward, this one capitalized on conveying the incredibly topical political tension of the film throughout. Chang is perfectly over the top as any good Klingon should be. The conflicts all seem more intimate and personal even while the stakes are enormous – something virtually all Trek could use a good lesson in. This one goes on the Watch List.

youtube

Star Trek: Generations

Here’s what confuses us: when the major selling point of your movie is getting to see the return of Captain Kirk, why would he be so bland in your trailer? This trailer is about as convoluted as the movie it’s conveying, which is pretty fitting. Soren is far less intriguing as a character than good adversaries like Khan and Sybok. And we spoil the destruction of the ship AGAIN!

youtube

Star Trek: First Contact

This one is strikingly succinct in telling us everything we need for this movie: we’re going back in time to defeat the Borg. Easy peasy. The stakes are clearly high and the suspense builds and builds and builds. All the Picard moments are the Jean-Luc we know and love – calling Worf a coward and refusing to blow the ship: perfection. It’s all so entrancing that we must see what happens on the biggest screen you’ve got.

youtube

Star Trek: Insurrection

While this trailer does fairly clearly state the premise, what it fails to do is make us actually care. Picard’s at his usual level of excellence, which is to be expected, but we had trouble feeling invested in any of what we were being shown. Ru’afo is somehow just a blip, which is a disgrace to F. Murray Abraham. Like the movie itself, this trailer just seemed unfocused and unsure of its own morals.

youtube

Star Trek: Nemesis

Yikes. Way too much of the trailer got spent on this creepy eyeball gimmick that got old really damn fast. The role of B4, instead of being tantalizing, becomes frustrating if you assume you’ll see Lore in this movie, only to be let down on actual watch. All the Troi rape scenes knock it down some more pegs as well, and the rest is just an information overload that is, in a word, confusing. The Picard–Shinzon morph was cool though.

—

We're at our ten-video limit for this blog post, so take a quick intermission to stretch your legs, go to the concessions stand, maybe destroy Praxis a little. In Part 2 here, we'll be blasting off to the Kelvin universe for the remaining trailers and for our favorites and least favorites decisions! Get your tickets now!

#star trek #star trek movies #movie trailers #podcast #star trek podcast #the motion picture #the wrath of khan #the search for spock #the voyage home #the final frontier #the undiscovered country #generations #first contact #insurrection #nemesis #Youtube

0 notes

saints-row-2 · 7 years

Note

Hey so I know your ideal view of what a canon order of missions would be for SR2 but what about SR1? I like to roleplay games I'm super into like Saints Row and have been having trouble trying to piece together a mission order for it.

sorry this took me so long to answer i have been extremely ill

i dont have as clear a timeline for sr1, probably because ive played less of it (ive only played it through three times.. an amatuer) but heres my thoughts;

unlike sr2 i think all of the gang storylines in sr1 start at roughly the same time, because in a sense they started before Playa joined the gang, theyve been going on for … god knows how long.

anyway. theyve already been fighting the gangs, kinda, and theyve been around long enough to know their shit so i dont think you have that like, delay you have in sr2, where pierce or shaundi spend time researching. dex has all that shit on the carnales ready to go.

what is interesting about sr1 is that all the storylines are different lengths – vice kings is the longest and rollerz is the shortest. what also stands out is that each has a moment where missions happen in quick succession – the game sets its own pace at points. No Time to Mourn is implied to take place more or less right after Liberation and Burying the Evidence, which both happen in immediate succession, which cuts the Rollerz storyline down lengthwise significantly

ok so w/r/t pace: i think rollerz is very fast? sharp is on a time limit and the last couple of missions happen all at once so honestly i think that whole storyline is over and done with by the time the others are halfway through - can you imagine rollerz ending at the same time as best laid plans/pulling out? two of Playa’s friends gone at once… ruff….

vice kings keeps up a pretty quick pace (you know what johnny is like) but has a couple of hitches – i imagine johnny had to take a break after green with envy in order to recover, that delayed 3rd street vice kings.

los carnales is probably the slowest, which i put down to dex’s more thorough, methodical nature. most of his missions are planned out to a fair extent, with the exception of homeland security (which i would presume takes place right after the missing shipment) and what goes up which definitely takes place right after house call due to the urgency of the situation

so in a rough timeline id say rollerz is over and done with first, followed by VKs, and then los carnales. which kinda makes sense to me? los carnales is the oldest and most established gang in the city, and doesnt end up tearing itself apart the way the VKs do, or going on a revenge spree like Price does, as well as dex not having the same frantic desire for violence as johnny

and then you tack on the police/alderman storyline onto the end which i think probably is a couple of days, really? although i think theres a gap between battlefield promotion and stuffing the ballot, although not longer than a couple of days to a week

ive always been convinced that sr1 takes place in the spring but i think sr2 implies it takes place in the autumn? regardless, much like sr2, id say it takes place over about three months or so… i think sr1 never quite matches up the hectic pace of sr2 in some point? like sr2 has brotherhood and ronin that turn into these massive revenge plots and while sr1 does utilise revenge, its never until the very end of storylines as dramatic twists late in the day – theres more like.. build up?

this is such a long answer and i dont know if ive even actually answered your question im sorry hfjkg… anyway… so thats kind of my vision of it? rollerz ends around the same time as… i dont know… best laid plans or green with envy and meeting orjuela, then for king and country - all the kings men take place quickly and end somewhere around the same time as possession with intent… i dont think the los carnales storyline really kicks off until the last two

so thats. my two cents? i hope it makes sense.

#rants writes row #general meta #Anonymous #i havent discussed this as much so im interested to hear what other people think!

21 notes · View notes

arplis · 4 years

Text

Arplis - News: Good value, but not much more: A review of TAP Air Portugals A321LR in business class, Porto to Newark

TPG Rating

70 100

Pros

Fresh new cabin with comfy throne seat. Tasty food and drink.

Cons

Very poor ground experience and the service could have been more polished.

10 Ground Experience

25 Cabin + Seat

10 Amenities + IFE

14 Food + Beverage

11 Service

Since joining TPG at the start of the year, Ive been fortunate to do an eclectic mix of reviews. From my first time flying Virgin Atlantic to the shortest scheduled flight in the world, Ive had unique and unforgettable experiences. On a recent trip to the States for work, I was looking for an interesting route, aircraft or airline that I could take that had never been reviewed before. TAPs A321LR was exactly that: The more modern, technologically advanced and fuel-efficient version of the A321 I flew back from Amman, Jordan, earlier in the year. It was a no-brainer, it had yet to be reviewed, and it meant my inner AvGeek would get to fly a new aircraft and airline for the first time. But did my experience live up to the self-generated hype?

In This Post

Booking

Another reason that this was a great product to review is the fact that a one-way in business class from London Gatwick (LGW) to Newark (EWR) via Porto (OPO) was pricing at a very reasonable $965. If youre willing to spend the night in Porto which, by the way, I highly recommend you can even find fares as low as about $780 for a one-way ticket. Considering one-way flights between London and New York routinely sell for about $8,000, the stopover is well worth it if youre looking to fly in business class without breaking the bank. Round-trip tickets booked in a similar way also save significant amounts of money compared with the nonstop flights between the two hubs.

As TAP is part of Star Alliance, there are plenty of miles and points redemptions for this flight, too. TAPs own Miles&Go program was showing the one-way OPO to EWR ticket in business class at 145,000 miles and $72. Not cheap. Luckily, though, there are programs that will allow you to book for both fewer miles and less of a cash outlay.

For example,through Uniteds MileagePlus program, if you can find business saver availability, youll pay for 70,000 miles and $45. Another great option is Air Canadas Aeroplan program, where you could use 55,000 miles for a one-way ticket. You can earn both United and Aeroplan miles very easily, as Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio to United, and American Express Membership Rewards transfer at the same ratio to Aeroplan.

And, right now, TPG readers can get an exclusive 150% bonus on purchasing Lifemiles, another excellent option for booking Star Alliance flights.

Ground Experience

TPG Rating

10/20

CS-TXC

Tail

17:31

Departure

7h 45m

Duration

I was scheduled to fly from Gatwick at 1 p.m, land in Porto at 3:15 p.m. and depart for Newark at 4:55 p.m. With one hour and 45 mins to transfer, what could go wrong?

I arrived nice and early, as my business-class ticket gave me access to the No1 Lounge in Gatwicks South Terminal. There was not one single person in either the premium or economy lines at check-in, which meant the process was super quick. TAPs check-in area was in Zone E, next door to Turkish Airlines, which had about a dozen people waiting in line. I had my bag checked and boarding pass in hand in no time at all. No mention of delays was made to me, either.

Related reading:Comparing British Airways and Turkish Airlines Business Class between London Heathrow and Istanbul

Walking toward the escalators up to departures, I turned around to view an eerily quiet check-in area.

I breezed through the terminals priority security, again, thanks to my business-class ticket. The terminals lounges were on the upper level of departures, on the opposite side to where I came through security.

There was a small queue of people waiting to get into the lounge. When it was my turn, the staff member scanned my boarding pass and handed me a menu. Just like Heathrows No1 Lounge in Terminal 3, the menu was la carte. As always, I did a tour of the lounge to find the seat with the best view and I quickly found this spot. I also noticed that the departures board was suspiciously showing gate displayed at 1:10 p.m., which was after my flight was due to depart. It was just the start of my troubles.

Set up and ready for some work before my flight, I headed to the bar to order something to eat. What Id forgotten is that you could only order once from the menu and had to hand it in when ordering. Breakfast options before 11 a.m were poached egg (singular) and avocado muffin, classic sausage sub and toast and preserves. I was absolutely starving and love my eggs in the morning, so it was an easy decision to make.

I actually laughed out loud at the size of the portion that was plunked down in front of me.

The saving grace was that the yolk was perfectly runny.

Two bites later, I was done and still hungry. I then received a text from the airline. Thankfully, I speak Portuguese, so could see that my flight would now depart at 2:20 p.m., which would mean I would now land in Porto only 30 minutes before my flight to New York. The plot thickens.

As I had more time to kill, I went to see what other delights were on offer.

The lounge was quite busy, so a few of the options were pretty spare and could have done with being refilled.

I dont think anyone had done a quick clean and tidy of the food service areas for a while, either.

After being rather disappointed with the cold buffet, I got back to my seat to find my neighbor had left without ordering any food, so I smugly headed straight back to the bar to order a bacon roll from the all day favourites section of the menu. It was equally as disappointingly small as my egg and avocado but tasted good nonetheless. Other all-day options were a fish-finger wrap and beans on toast. No expense spared there.

In terms of beverages, there was a soft drink, water and juice refill station.

And a coffee machine. I say coffee because it was so bad I almost spat it back into my cup.

The lounge was fairly busy and has a nice variety of different seating areas.

Thats including a cozy TV area sectioned off from the noise of the main lounge area.

I headed to my gate, where boarding was supposed to start at 2 p.m.

The gate area was cramped, and the scene resembled something akin to boarding a Ryanair flight at Stansted (STN). I didnt see any power sockets, and there definitely wasnt enough seating. It didnt help that a Norwegian Dreamliner bound for LAX was boarding at the gate next door. TAPs lounge and boarding experience were distinctly average and certainly not what I would call premium.

Once we were on board, the pilot announced a slot delay due to weather in Porto, which meant we would land at around 5 p.m. Seconds later, I received another text from TAP advising me that I had been rebooked on the flight the following day. On arrival at Porto, there was a huge queue for TAP customer services, so I figured there had been many flight issues that day. I headed straight to the front to find out if I were in the right queue, and a member of the TAP team said she had been waiting for me and that transport and accommodation had already been arranged for myself and the other two business-class passengers from my flight who were also due to fly to Newark. This finally felt like the service that a business-class passenger should receive, as it meant that I didnt have to wait in the queue with over 100 irate Brazilians who had had their flight home canceled.

After an impromptu and fun-filled evening in Porto, a car picked me up from the hotel at 2 p.m. the next day, and I headed back to the airport with the hope that my ground experience would be distinctly better than the day before. Once again, there was nobody waiting in the check-in area for premium passengers.

After a slight technical issue with tagging my bag, I was on quickly on my way toward security, where there were two Fast Track lanes for premium passengers.

Unlike at Lisbon Airpot (LIS), there was no TAP Premium Lounge at Porto. Instead, there was a business-class lounge shared by seemingly every airline with business cabins that used the airport, as well as Priority Pass, Dragon Pass and Diners Club International cardholders. My expectations were low.

Entertainment-wise, there was a sparsely filled magazine and newspaper stand by the entrance.

There was also this phone charging stand, which at first I thought was a great addition, but maybe more so in the 2000s, when portable battery packs werent a thing. Still, it would be a lifesaver if you forgot your charger.

Aside from the main room, which was pretty clinical to start with, it reminded me of a dentists waiting room.

It was a bit nicer and brighter out on the terrace.

But the view was mainly only of the terminal with a bit of the runway in the distance.

The buffet area in the middle of the main room was on the small side.

Though they were cold, I liked the variety of Portuguese and Brazilian snacks and street food. Coxinha are my favourite!

I was less impressed by the tray of sad-looking sandwiches.

And the bowls of stale pastries.

On the plus side, drinks were aplenty.

Including a Nespresso coffee machine. A slight shame, though, as Portuguese coffee is some of the best Ive ever tasted!

There was a variety of local wines.

Some middle of the the road spirits, and other assorted drinks.

After stuffing my face with coxinha, I checked the departures board before 3:30 p.m. when I saw head to gate displayed next to my flight. I thought it was quite early but did what I was told and headed to the gate. As often is the case with European airports, there was a second security area to clear before passing through into the gates area. This process took around 20 minutes.

Once I got to the gate, there was yetanother security screening to clear before I could get on the plane. It was a rather slow and arduous process where I had to take everything out of my bag, remove my shoes and have a full pat-down by a rather stale-breathed guard. Good job I left the lounge on time.

The boarding area was really full.

There were a few charging points around the space. Most were poorly located, meaning passengers sat on the floor to charge their devices.

There was no premium seating area, merely a sign pointing right for premium boarding and left for everyone else.

A day later than scheduled and after a very subpar ground experience first at Gatwick then in Porto, I finally boarded the 2-month-old CS-TXC around 4:30 p.m.

An hour later, we departed slightly later than scheduled at 5:30 p.m.

Cabin and Seat

TPG Rating

25/30

22.3

Width

80in

Bed Length

Lavs

I had high expectations for what I would find inside the cabin, and for the most part these were met. The throne seat was in a class of its own. No neighbor, space galore and two greatly positioned windows all to myself.

The small, 16-seat business-class cabin comprised five rows. Odd rows were in a 2-2 configuration, and even rows were in the coveted 1-1 formation arguably one of the best in the sky.

Storage was significantly less in the 2-2 rows.

The cabin was cozy but doesnt feel cramped, considering it was only a narrow-body aircraft.

I did a quick inspection of the seat area and noticed a few sloppy cleaning oversights that could easily have been rectified with a bit of care and attention.

The footwell was actually quite dirty.

The seat controls were easily accessible. The seating positions were fixed, and there was no way of altering them to your own preference.

The footwell was spacious and didnt go too narrow at the end. Perfectly comfortable for me, but not sure it would be as good for those around 6 feet or taller.

There was a shoulder-level reading light and a hook for stowing headphones once in flight.

Then there was what Id call a cupboard rather than a storage compartment.

As well as a headphone hook, there was also a water bottle holder, great for when turbulence hit.

The safety cards and inflight magazines were stored in a small pouch on the other side of the seat next to the window.

Then there was final additional storage gadget in the form of a mesh on springs. Not really sure what it was for, but it was there if you needed it.

Nope, it was not a door. It was the meal tray. It slid out from next to the storage cupboard then flipped down at a 90-degree angle then rotated another 90 degrees into the right position for eating.

The tray table itself was definitely big enough.

There was a 90-degree swivel, but I think this was just part of the stowage process, as it didnt really make leaving the seat any easier.

My 13-inch laptop fit comfortably on the table with enough space for a drink. Or two.

But there was plenty of surface space either side of the side if you wanted to continue working in an office in the sky while dining.

The seat lowered nice and easy into a fully flat bed. The blanket was basic, but I liked the thickness and quality of the pillows. So much so that I asked for a second, which was brought to me with no problem.

There was nothing premium about the single lavatory in the business-class cabin. It was rather small.

And it didnt even have any special amenities.

Due to the narrowness of the plane, the bathroom was almost cut in half diagonally by the wall of the fuselage. It was definitely not the most comfortable of spaces.

Amenities and IFE

TPG Rating

10/15

101

Movies

Tailcam

Yes

Headphones

About 10 minutes before takeoff, I received the TAP-branded amenity kit by Portos very own Castelbel. From what I could gather, there were two or three different designs that were handed out at random to passengers.

Inside, there were all of the usual suspects: eye mask, lip balm, earplugs, pen, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, some body lotion and a pair of socks. Admittedly, the eye mask felt pretty cheap, but I liked the colorful on-brand design of the flight socks.

I was pretty impressed with the size of the inflight-entertainment screen. The picture was crystal-clear, and the tough screen very responsive.

I rarely pay attention during the safety video (naughty, I know) as there are usually far more interesting views to be had out of the window. But not with TAP. I was completely engaged by the airlines fresh, unique and emotive use of expats who have moved to Portugal and learned Portuguese to explain the safety briefing.

In total, there were 101 films, plenty by anyones standards. I liked that there was a selection of Brazilian and Portuguese films, too.

The earphones did not appear to be noise-canceling at all, despite being advertised so.

There was also a wine experience included in the entertainment section, which I thought was pretty cool. But when I asked the crew member serving me if all of the displayed wines were available, she didnt seem to know what I was talking about it. She then explained that there was only the selection of two red and two white wines that she had on the trolley.

The Wi-Fi was the biggest letdown. There were prices ranging from free for messaging to Total Wi-Fi for 24.99 euros, which would mean being connected for the entire flight or so I thought.

Once I had connected, it was immediately clear that it would only be for 200 MB of data. Needless to say, it was less than 30 minutes before I had run out.

Food and Beverage

TPG Rating

14/20

Meals

Yes

Champagne

Dine on Demand

The focus of this review the Porto-to Newark segment of this trip, but I had such a great food experience on the short flight from Gatwick to Porto that I thought it deserved a mention.

Drinks on that first flight were served pretty much as soon as the seat belt signs went off.

A full meal was served with sizable starter, delicious main course and dessert. The main course was a thick, juicy and perfectly cooked veal tenderloin. I would go as far as to say that it was the best intra-European business-class meal I have ever eaten.

Back to the main event, Porto to Newark. For some reason there was no preflight drink offered before takeoff. About 45 minutes after takeoff, the first drinks were served note the Coke Zero and gin and tonic theme. I rate airlines that serve full fat Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero. I wasnt a massive fan of the Sunbites, though.

Around half an hour after that, dinner was served. There was only one starter: codfish carpaccio with Algarve salad topped with a random sprinkle of olive shavings. The soup was not cream of pumpkin and beetroot mousse, as advertised on the menu, but it was delicious, nonetheless. I think this was the first time Id ever had my soup served from a Thermos, too. I was also asked at this point if Id like another drink.

The bread was really poor. If Id fed it to the ducks, it would have probably knocked one unconscious.

The main course, just as was the case on the Gatwick-to-Porto flight, was my favorite part. The heartier and more comforting the food, the bigger the thumbs up it usually gets, and this was definitely up there with one of my favorites. It was roast lamb in a crispy dough with pumpkin pure. As much as Ive pretty much cut out red meat from my diet, I couldnt resist the sound of this, and Im so glad I chose it.

Shortly after mains had been cleared, a selection of chocolate was offer to cleanse the palate before dessert.

I was given the choice of ice cream, cheese plate or fresh fruit. Naturally, I went for the cheese, which I was told was a strong local cheese, perfectly accompanied by a glass of Portos finest port.

The cheese was indeed strong.Very strong. That still didnt stop me from scraping every single bit out of the rind.

About 90 minutes before landing, I was offered the second meal service. This was no better or worse than the usual half a meal that is served on transatlantic flights before landing. It was a nice snack, but I was certainly still hungry afterward. And the bread? Probably another concussed duck. The presentation was nice, and the food itself was fresh and tasted good. It just wasnt enough to be called a meal.

Service

TPG Rating

11/15

Extra Pillows

Turndown Service

The service wasnt bad by any means, but it wasnt a particularly memorable experience. The one standout moment for me was that the ground staff at Porto were expecting me and had already arranged ground transportation and a hotel for my unexpected night in Porto. That did feel like business-class service. I thought it strange that there was no preflight drink served after boarding the A321LR to New York.

The crew made sure I had enough to drink and responded in under 30 seconds when I tested the call button, which is certainly commendable. The whole thing just lacked a certain personality not once was I called by my name, and neither did any of the crew try to establish any kind of rapport when I attempted jokes or small talk. That could simply be because Im not funny, but it definitely wasnt a language thing, as falo portugus.

Overall impression

This was by far and away the least premium-feeling premium flight experience I have had so far. But I would much rather have a long-haul flight in the comfort of a lie-flat, throne seat than in a cramped, upright economy. That being said, you really do get what you pay for. If you really want to fly business rather than economy to New York and back, then I would seriously consider this as an option. It can save almost 2,000 on the cost of a direct return flight from London to New York. The bed is flat, and the food is good, and these are probably two of the main differences between economy and business class. What TAP lacks is a real business-class ground experience and a little extra something from its staff. Fix those two things and this lesser-known route might a have a better chance against the competition.

All photos by the author.

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/good-value-but-not-much-more-a-review-of-tap-air-portugals-a321lr-in-business-class-porto-to-newark

0 notes

helliontwins · 4 years

Text

Fan Fic Writer tag game

I was Stole from @fuzipenguin

AO3 name: Verbophobic

Fandoms: Mostly transformers with others sprinkled in.

Number of fics: 53 posted to AO3. 111 on Ff.n and an innumerable count on google drive

Fic I spent the most time on: Not really sure. There’s a lot of fics ive done a lot of work on some i worked on for a month then stopped and picked up a year later. I’d most likely go with Plane Jane (Lost Boys David/Oc) as I will write a few chapters do major editing, post then wait a few months (or years) and continue.

Fic I spent the least time on: I think it would be Cruel Fate (Lucifer Cain/Oc ish) as it took on life of it’s own.

Longest fic: Forever Mine DISCONTINUED! (Transformers Ironhide/Oc) (75407 words) Discontinued cus im very very very slowly rewriting it.

Shortest fic: Blanket Monster (One Piece Marco/Ace) (257 words) Just a small one shot.

Most hits: How To Properly Eat Breakfast (One Piece Marco/Ace) 4430 hits. WHich is a surprise to me.

Most kudos: Same as the last at 425

Most comment threads: Lost in the Wilderness (Transformers - Prowl/Sideswipe and Jazz/Sunstreaker) At 30 threads!

Favourite fic I’ve written: I’ll give 5 like the person i took this from. No order: Never Kili Without Fili Nor Fili Without Kili (Hobbit- Kili, Fili {no ship}) Lost in the Wilderness (Transformers Prowl/Sideswipe and Jazz/Sunstreaker) Plain Jane (Lost Boys David/Oc) Flirting with Danger (Naruto Gaara/oc kinda ish) The Sound of Shattering Glass (One Piece Marco/Ace Character death)

Bonus Regretful Deals Sideswipe/Astrotrain, not posted!

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: *sighs* Ok… listen… rewrite nothing, expand on pretty much everything I’ve ever written because I can count the number of completed fics on one hand while WIPs… well, let’s just say it’s not pretty.

Share a bit of a WIP or a story idea you’re planning on: Posting below the cut. Sideswipe the Virgin Pulls confetti popper. The uh most simple explanation i have is, I ‘borrowed’ the plot from Jane the virgin. Jane goes in for a pap smear, the gyno is having a hard break up, mixed up rooms, and artificially inseminates Jane instead of a different room.

Tagging: Idk who writes things anymore D:

Entering the first exam room, First Aid skimmed the file on the door and glanced over the patient. Luckily, this folder had most of the correct papers filed within, enough that nothing struck him as odd, at least. Extracting a portion of the seeker’s spark went without a hitch, and First Aid instructed him to lay back and rest. He contained and secured the spark energy, then excused himself to bring it to the room listed in the file for the recipient.

This patient did give him pause as he confirmed the files. He thought it odd that a seeker was trying to spark up a grounder, especially such a large blue seeker with such a tiny red grounder. However, it wasn’t his place to say anything, and read enough of the first page of the grounder’s file to know that the transfer of energy would be a fair risk. There was a strong chance of reabsorption due to an unusual spark.

He greeted the grounder, setting the file aside, and got to work examining the small mech’s spark. He could see how there would be a risk as he took in the small size and low energy output of this spark. Carefully, he added the donor’s energy, as well as a concoction to promote acceptance without reabsorption. It seemed to take easily, despite the warnings in the file and his own observations, and he smiled warmly at his patient, hoping to ease some of the poor mech’s anxiety. “All done!” he chirped. He collected the containment unit and the patient file. “You’re free to leave as soon as you feel steady.”

Sideswipe was quite confused but very, very, pleased at the lack of pain. He wondered what they had done differently after all this time, but he felt good - better than he ever had after an adjustment - and that was all he cared about.

The next room First Aid visited however was not as happy with his work. The file told him that this spark needed a readjustment, even though to Aid it seemed perfectly aligned. The black and purple seeker was not happy with the pain, but assumed that it was normal for a first time sparking, especially an artificial sparking. Hopefully it would be worth the pain, and this time his spark wouldn’t absorb the energy.

First Aid sent all his patients home, happy that things had gone without a hitch in Ratchet’s absence. At the end of his shift as he sank into his chair to finish the reports he knew his mentor would ask for, he pulled the day’s files close to review them… and his spark sank.

#sideswipes journal #ooc: lamborghini #fanfic and writing stuff #mun day

0 notes

thesffcorner · 5 years

Text

February Wrap Up

Despite being the shortest month of the year, I read 7 books and 10 graphic novels, or 17 things in total. It was also another month where I read a lot of diverse genres: I read 10 contemporaries, 4 of which were thriller/mysteries, and 6 of which were romance; 4 sci-fi, 1 speculative historical romance, 1 fantasy romance and 1 historical fantasy. Instead of doing highest to lowest, since I have so many graphic novels and some are part of the same series, I decided to group them by the date read, so without further ado, let’s get into it.

Fence vol. 1-3 by C S Pacat and Joanna the Mad (3, 4, 3 stars)

I wanted to read this series for a while, and I finally binged it this February. Fence follows Nicholas, a young fencer with a complicated past and poor background who comes to Kings Row, a school with the fourth best fencing programs in the country. There, to his shock he finds Senji, a junior champion with Olympic aspirations; and the two can’t stand each-other.

This series is just a whole lot of fun. It’s written like a Western style sports anime/manga, and Joanna the Mad’s artstyle is very reminiscent of manga, with lots of action line, pretty boys and expressive, large eyes. The first volume is a fine set up of Nicholas’ first confrontation with Senj, and arriving at the school, while the second and third volume deal with the qualifications at the school for who will make the fencing team. As Nick is on an athletic scholarship, he has to qualify or he gets kicked out, but like many of these series go, he has some stiff competition, and develops friendships with said competition.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between all the characters, especially Senji and Nicholas, and if you’re a fan of sports anime, cute queer comics, or painfully slow-burn enemies to lovers stories, check this out.

Check, Please! Year 3 by Ngozi Ukazu (4 stars)

The first thing I read in February was the third volume of Check, Please! This was as cute as the previous 2 volumes, as it follows Bittie’s third year in college. What struck out to me upon rereading this specific year, is that it actually has way more angst and conflict than I remember it having; there’s a lot here about Bittie and Jack coming to terms with not just their long distance relationship, but also coming out and finding acceptance within the confines of a major sports league like the NHL. It also deals a lot with Bittie coming to terms with the hockey team changing as Ransom, Holster and Lardo graduate. Overall, a good continuation of the story.

Deadly Class vol 1-2 by Rick Remender and Wes Craig (3, 2, 2 stars)

Deadly Class is a series that if I had started reading when I was in late high school, early college, I know I would have loved. However now, as an adult, I find it grating, pretentious, and far too extreme for no real reason. The story aspects that I liked the most, I’ve also already seen or read in far better works; it doesn’t help that up to volume 3, there are only 2 characters left that I remotely care about, and one of them just got introduced in that volume.

The series follows a group of kids who go to an elite training school for assassins. We mostly follow Marcus, the son of a Nicaraguan expats, who ends up at the school after he meets Saya and a few of the other students during a stick up. Though the first volume started out promising, volumes 2 and 3 kept getting less and less good, and unless something drastically changes in my life, I can’t see myself continuing on with this series.

Contagion by Erin Bowman (3 stars)

This is a sci-fi book set in the near-distant future, and it follows the crew of Odyssey, a research vessel that is sent to Black Quarry to investigate a distress signal. Once there, the crew realizes that something bad has happened, as they find bodies and a potentially deadly thing haunting them; and the mysterious ‘young boy’ the engineer of Black Quarry warns them about is not making matters any easier.

This was a rather mediocre sci-fi, but I still enjoyed it. As it’s part of a duology I will definitely be finishing the story out, but as is it doesn’t do too much with this well-tread premise. Bowman does have a good grasp on action and suspense, but a lot of the character decisions in the novel were akin to ones characters in Blumhouse horrors make, and considering most of them are some form of scientists, that wasn’t an ideal route to take. Still if you enjoy stories about aliens, sentient viruses, isolated space incidents and horror, it’s worth checking out.

Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins (4 stars)

This is the first book in a series of contemporary romances, all centering around the fiction crown family of Scotland. In this first novel we follow Daisy, the younger sister of Eli, who gets engaged to Andrew, the Crown Prince of Scotland. After an incident in a parking lot with her ex, Daisy gets blackmailed into spending the summer in Scotland with her sister and fiance, and get acquainted with the royal family; cue shenanigans, romance and lots of sisterly yelling.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book; it was very funny and entertaining, and I haven’t related to a characters quite like I did to Daisy, since Princess Mia Thermopolis. While there are some tropes these stories tend to have, Hawkins manages to avoid a lot of the cliches, and she actually has some really good commentary on the economy of the royal family, the outdated and outright sexist traditions, the close-mindedness, and the prejudice that both sides are steeped in at the start. I found the romance very cute, the shenanigans were funny and entertaining, and I will definitely be reading the sequel.

Heart of Gold Part 1 by Eli and Viv (4 stars)

This is an webcomic that I stumbled onto by complete accident, but it blew me away. It follows Ionel, a concert pianist who is slowly losing his sight, and Kasper a priest with the power to heal people. Ionel moves to the small town and starts attending mass, in hopes that Kasper will heal him, but every time it gets close to, or his turn, Kasper refuses to help him. Through his attendance, the two become close, with Kasper seeming to have a crisis of faith, all while people from the town start dying; and they might be connected to Kasper.

This comic drew me in almost immediately. The art is absolutely beautiful, and it’s hard to believe that this is a free web comic. The story too is very mature and interesting; it deals a lot with religion, faith, and sacrifice, and the slow build of Isonel and Kaspar’s relationship feels very natural. I can’t wait for Act 2, and I’m really hoping the answers to what is happening in the town deliver on the build up we’ve gotten so far.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (3 stars)

I heard about this book a lot when it came out, and I decided to check it out, since it’s a mystery following a girl who wants to become an FBI agent, coming to Ellingham Academy, a Montessori type private school, to solve an old cold case; that of the founder, Albert Ellingham’s daughter’s kidnapping.

I won’t lie; this book did not live up to the hype for me, though it was entertaining. I have a much longer and more detailed review of why, but it mostly boiled down to a few things. First, I didn’t like that it ends of a cliffhanger, and we get no answers; this is a bit odd for a mystery, especially a series which has more than two books. Second, I thought the way the past and present mystery connected wasn’t very well done, and I kept losing interest in the past, because of the way the book was written. And finally, I found some of the writing dry and lacking in proper atmosphere.

However, I still enjoyed the story, and the main character of Steve, and I will probably read the sequel, since I still want to know what happens.

S.T.A.G.S. by M A Bennet (3 stars)

S.T.A.G.S. is a British thriller, set in Saint Aidan the Great’s School or STAGS, a private boarding school with a long tradition. When new student Greer gets invited to a weekend of huntin, shootin, fishin at the estate of the leader of the most popular clique in the school, Henry, she accepts, not knowing what waits for her; and what does is a nightmare that might turn deadly, where the hunting, shooting, and fishing, might be a little too real and dangerous.

I really enjoyed this thriller; I thought it was entertaining, fast paced and had a plot that kept me invested to the end. I also weirdly enjoyed the subtle romance between two of the characters, which isn’t often the case.

However, this book isn’t without it’s problems. The ending is a bit predictable, and having seen the Riot Club, I knew what I was getting into, in terms of what the weekend actually entailed. I also found that the book lacked a lot of tension, because we found out early on who lives through it. However, it was still enjoyable, and if you like these types of thrillers set in boarding schools or private estates, I think you will enjoy this one.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson (4 stars)

Like Prince Charming before, I was genuinely surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this book, because when I started it, I was really caught off guard by the humor. However, once I got used to it, this became one of the funniest things I read this month.

Undead Girl Gang is a horror/comedy that follows Mila, a Mexican-American teenager who practices Wicca. After her best friend Riley supposedly commits suicide, just a week after a double suicide of two of her other classmates, Mila decides to perform a spell and bring Riley back; but instead she brings all three of the girls back. The problem? They can’t stand each-other, and if they don’t want to be walking zombies, they need to stay within a 100 steps of Mila.

This book was hilarious and very dark. I really enjoyed all the relationships between the girls, and I found the look at grief very well done and moving. The ending was climactic, and the conclusions Mila comes to worked well for me; if you enjoyed the Craft, Mean Girls or Heathers, check this out, you will probably like it.

Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (5 stars)

This was by far my favorite thing I read this month. I struggled writing a review for it, because I just didn’t know how to talk about it without just relegating to spoilers and gushing about the characters and the puzzles. It’s a book that follows a group of thieves, who steal magical artifacts, each with their own motivations and goals. When they steal a magical Chinese compass, the discover that it leads them to a Horus Eye; an artifact so powerful it can show them the way to the fabled Fragment of Babel.

It’s the Mummy, mixed with National Treasure, mixed with Ocean’s 11. It’s fun heist story, set during the Exposition Universelle, and if you are like me at all and like any of these things, you will love this book.

Sleepless vol. 1 by Sarah Vaughan (4 stars)

This was probably my favorite of the graphic novels I read; it’s a fantasy that follows Poppy, the illegitimate daughter of a King, and a famous star reader. When her father the King dies, Poppy is forced to navigate court life, as his brother takes the throne, but things become increasingly hard as several assassination attempts are made, and her Sleepless protector Cyrenic starts drifting.

There’s just something about this series that ticks all my boxes. The art is absolutely gorgeous, the story is interesting and a bit different from the usual fantasy I read, and the Sleepless vow is a very unique type of magic. To top it off, I really like the two leads, Poppy and Cyrenic and I’m curious to see what turn the story will take after the ending we get in issue 6.

Motor Crush vol. 1 by Brenden Fletcher (3 stars)

I’ve been meaning to start this series for a while, and I finally did in February, and man was it a great time to do this, fresh after seeing Battle Angel Alita.

This follows Domino, a bike racer, who is trying to make it big and qualify for the world circuit. However, to survive she needs Crash, an illegal substance that is used to fuel the bikes in this universe, but she needs to inhale it. Through the first volume we find out a bit about her mysterious past, her ex-girlfriend Lola, and a man who seems to either want to help her or kill her; all while she races to win the qualifications and the Crash.

This series was a fun, fast paced ride, but it’s not without its problems. The art is beautiful, but the story needs some more polishing; there’s too many plot threads and not enough time to develop them. I can’t imagine how things will resolve in the next volume after that climax, but I will definitely be continuing it; the world was gripping enough to have me enjoy it, and Domino was a character I definitely rooted for.

Umbrella Academy vol. 1 by Gerard Way (3 stars)

Since the show is all anyone talks about, I decided to finally start this series and boy is it cooky. We follow the Umbrella Academy, a group of 7, who were adopted by a crazy millionaire savant Reginald Hargreeves, after being born in a spontaneous event all over the world where 48 mothers gave birth. Hargreeves trains the kids to stop the apocalypse, and now 10 years after his death brings 6 of the 7 back to his house, unaware that the apocalypse is here; and it’s a direct consequence of their reunification.

There is a lot of good and a lot of weird in this series. The characters have glimpses of interesting personalities and the idea of 7 kids being raised from birth to be superheroes by a man who is a British version of Ra’s al Ghul is interesting. But unfortunately the series doesn’t fully explore this, and the ending is really abrupt. The humor is quirky, and sometimes it works, but more often it makes the tone weirdly uneven, as we swing from graphic, albeit cartoon violence to slapstick. I think the show does a much better job with the tone, and while this first volume gets a lot right, it’s by no means perfect.

Sadie by Courtney Summers (4 stars)

This was by far the hardest book I’ve read in a long time. It’s a mystery that follows Sadie, a girl who disappears after her younger sister is brutally assaulted and murdered; and West McCray, a podcast host who is retracing her steps, trying to find her. It’s a book about grief, assault, pedophilia, violence and the lies we tell ourselves so we don’t have to think about what happens to girls in this world, and it’s dower, dreary and oh so real. It made me feel things I don’t normally do when I read, and if you can stomach the content, I recommend it. If you can, get the audiobook; it’s a full cast and the podcast bits are done like a real podcast, which makes the story feel that much more immersive.

The Disasters by M K England (5 stars)

I needed something light and fun after the last two things I read in February, and this was the perfect way to end my month. This was my favorite book I read so far, maybe even more than the Gilded Wolves. It’s a sci-fi that follows a group of 4 rejects from Space Academy who have to work together to survive a terrorist attack, and prevent another one from happening. It’s fast paced, incredibly entertaining, and I fell in love with all the characters.

I absolutely cannot wait for whatever else M K England publishes, and I loved this to pieces.

#february 2019 wrap up #2019 reading #february wrap up #moni talks #book review

0 notes