#(SHANES MON 'Not just 'those' ones')

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with DigiAdvs 02 [...and some O.C.s] (And...??)

KEN: How'd you get out in time?! (From "The {Digital} Void"'s EXPLOSION?!!) Inter-national O.C. Chosen Shane: Well, I ran, but. ... I, "got pulled" back into the "stream" just in time. So I watched from above, and - it basically imploded on itself, and dispersed into Digital data. SHANE: ... Whoever made those "capsules"... didn't want them to be found without a struggle. They were likely meant to be "kept" there indefinitely. And whoever "accessed" those capsules KNOWING the tech involved... KEN: ... They were fighting for release. Shane: Because they ruined the glass from the inside, THEN disrupted this... "plan". Ken: You believe it was a "plan"? Shane: Yeah. And whoever it "was" that made the "plan" could still be active. KEN: Currently, we had been fighting the "Dark" "Digital monsters". But they had all had their corrupted data "healed" as of over 10 years ago. They're ALL on our side now... SHANE: ... And they didn't know if they had a true "leader"? KEN: ... They're innocent. (Firmly!) I genuinely believe them to be. (The majority of them...) KEN: ("Angel" and "Akuma" may know something ELSE but... we'd have to ask them...) Shane: Because. Whoever originally "set up" that place... they definitely had "malicious intent". And... SHANE: I think they meant to do "something" with "the eight" beings "trapped" in there. Eventually... KEN: ... KEN: This is just a hypothetical question, but, that place you "visited"... does the name "Dark Area" mean anything to you? SHANE, HEARD IT FROM 'MON AT TIME: ... (How Do They KNOW--) SHANE: If I said it did? But I didn't find out until much later after the fact. (Half-lying) KEN: If those "eight" were being held in the "Dark Area"... and it was by our current possible "enemy", whom we know very little about... Shane: You all don't know much, huh?... KEN, CONTINUING: And the "intention" of that "enemy" being... for those "eight" to, perhaps, either, "fall under enemy control" or even "PERISH"... Shane: Depending on whatever was the "outcome" of "holding" them prisoner... KEN: Either way, those "eight" were likely being led straight to their eventual "DEATH"s... SHANE: (Flashbacking to the panels accessed) SHANE: ... The password to access the panels was "DEATH". (It Wasn't Very Creative.) And the code... (Was set to let the capsules run indefinitely.) KEN: I'd have to ask Koushiro-san again, but... KEN: I'm pretty sure... these signs are the "CLUE"... that the enemy involved could be CALLED... SHANE: SHANE & KEN, TOGETHER: "DEATHMON". KEN: "DEATHMON" was trying to "KILL" the "EIGHT" "CHOSEN" 'Children'. Shane: So the one who "broke out" from the INSIDE... SHANE & KEN: ... "Koushiro"

[takethemonetandletsgogh]

what i've been reading (august 2022)

disclaimer: I have been reading way too much. I work in the literary field so I have access to a lot of books and I don't know how to control myself.

books

Orphic Paris by Henri Cole: I have nothing good to say... sorry

Plainwater by Anne Carson: speechless. best read of the month. I devoured it in 2 days it was THAT good. Anne Carson never disappoints.

Crossing the Water by Sylvia Plath: amazing, beautiful, my favorite Plath collection so far it was just so so so good; I'm speechless.

Anthology of Palestinian Poetry: very interesting and so diverse collection of poetry from Arabic and Palestinian poets! Some were better than others but a great introductory read to delve into this field of poetry:)

The Essential June Jordan: this blew me away. one of the most impactful read of this year. I loved it so much I want to read it again and again and again.

Selected Poems by Paul Auster: a bit repetitive in the leitmotivs but it was really interesting. I need to read more of this author!!

The Albertine Workout by Anne Carson: great reflexion / poem on the character of Albertine in Proust’s Search for Lost Time. Would need to read it again after reading Proust to fully understand though.

Poems 1962—2012 by Louise Glück: a re-read. loved it even more than the first time. I can't express how much I love her poems.

The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig: such a compelling short story !! I couldn't put it down. highly recommend for a short read.

articles

“Anne Carson's Splintered Brilliance” by Charlotte Shane (2016) : “Anne Carson lives for the breaking up, the separation. She’s trafficked in fragmentation for a long time: Her career as a scholar of ancient works, which are often fragmentary or have no definite author, required becoming intimate with the incomplete, the impossibility of completion”

“The Handmaiden” and the Freedom Women Find Only with One Another by Jia Tolentino (2016)

On Rediscovering the Natural World Through Ovid by Nina MacLaughlin (2019) : “We grow close and closer, as with a friend, a love, the members of one’s family, so, too, a city block on the commute, the shifting light, the shape of the leaves on the Japanese maple around the corner. The tiny patch of lavender on a corner near my apartment that I see each early morning, a version of a friend. I am curious about it, interested in its presence and its growth: Who planted it, I wonder. Why’s it here?”

mangas & comics (I've been reading A LOT of those........)

Spy Family vol. 1 — 8 by Tatsuya Endo : I spent a whole 5 days selling them at the Paris Japan Expo back in July and they were so popular I decided to read them and I really liked it!! It was very funny and endearing. Very glad I stole magnets for my fridge at my job back in July.

Seuls vol. 1 — 13 by Fabien Vehlmann & Bruno Gazzotti : very interesting French comic I used to read when I was a child and recently discovered again!! Highly recommend. About children surviving some sort of 'apocalyspe' alone when every grown-ups have disappeared.

Le Bateau de Thésée vol. 1 — 10 by Toshiya Higashimoto : manga about a man trying to fix his family history that has been ruptured by a tragedy. Very reminiscent of Erased. I liked the world-building as time travels can be sometimes confusing. Not very convinced by the ending though. The main character is so prettily drawn!!!

Beauté vol. 1 — 3 by Hubert and Kerascoët : another French comic I used to read as a child (which I was probably too young to read...) and recently discovered again. This book is GORGEOUS (I love Kerascoët's artstyle<3) and asks some extremely interesting philosophical questions about beauty and politics.

Mon papa dessine des femmes nues by Philippe Dupuy : very heart-warming comic about art, fatherhood and sensibility. Dupuy's illustrations are mind-blowing and this feels like a true trip inside another world. Very interesting questions on culture and art in general, through the lens of children.

memoir research

"On Rediscovering the Natural World Through Ovid" by Nina MacLaughlin (2019)

“THE MYTH OF DAPHNE ON A COIN MINTED AT DAMASCUS.” by Gabriela Bijovsky (2003)

“ORACLE TREES IN THE ANCIENT HELLENIC WORLD.” by Luís Mendonça de Carvalho, Francisca Maria Fernandes and Hugh Bowden (2011)

“POETRY, METAMORPHOSIS, AND THE LAUREL: OVID, PETRARCH, AND SCEVE.” by JoAnn DellaNeva (1982)

“The Roots of ‘Daphne.’” by J. L. Lightfoot (2000)

“Ovid’s Metamorphic Bodies: Art, Gender, and Violence in the ‘Metamorphoses.’” by Charles Segal (1998)

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Superheroes with Secrets: Seen Through Different Eyes Part 2 (Fic part 118) (Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places.

please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @piratewithvigor

‘Giantess’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

Reference Posts: Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms

Kirby ‘The Blacklight Bandit’ Roussimoff

"Yeah." She murmurs, trying to keep composed as she listens to Helms.

"They're the softest I've ever kissed. I could kiss them every moment of my life and it wouldn't be long enough. Not nearly long enough. See your nose?"

"Yeah," Her voice wavers slightly as she struggles to keep composed.

"It's so damn cute. It scrunches when you're really concentrated. See your arms?"

"Uh huh."

"They're so damn strong. It amazes me every day just how much power is inside them. Inside all of you. You're strong in every way there is to be. But you don't have to flex every moment, so to speak. You don't have to be hard and tough. You can be soft. See your belly?"

Kirby nods, trying her hardest not to cry.

"Our baby's in there. You're creating a new life inside you. One that's never existed before. You're creating a miracle. This body is creating a miracle. This body is giving me a family. And I'll be damned if I stand here and listen to you talk down about the two greatest gifts I've ever been given."

Kirby can't hold back the tears anymore, she buries her face in her hands as she starts crying. He hugs her tightly from behind, leaning his forehead against her back.

"Shane, I love you so fucking much. I ... I feel so bad for talking about myself the way I do."

"Don't feel bad anymore. Just... be kind to yourself. You deserve so much love."

"I'll try my hardest, okay, every single day, I'll be as kind to myself as I can." She whispers, turning around in his arms to hold him close.

"Thank you, my love."

"Shane, you are the nicest man I've ever met, I love you so much."

"I love you too and I always will."

"I wanna hug you forever and I wanna sleep with you in my arms." She whispers against his neck.

"We can do that. Both those things."

"Alright, mon ange, we'll sleep, then tomorrow... we have work." She murmurs.

"That's right, we do. Getting almost used to all this time off."

"Then I have work on Tuesday, and then no plans on Wednesday, so we can just relax... or head to wherever the next show is." She whispers as she kisses his jawline and neck.

"Probably gonna be back on the road."

"Come here." She murmurs as she hoists him over her shoulder and carries him to the bed.

"There’s gonna be a point you shouldn't do this anymore." He laughs. "Once you get a baby bump, I'm gonna be a lot more strict about it."

"I'm gonna do this until you physically stop me, it's too easy to pick you up."

"Then I guess I gotta bulk up more." He chuckles.

Kirby drops him on the bed, "Shane, you're gonna have to bulk up a lot more, I can carry five hundred pounds."

"That doesn't mean you should while heavily pregnant. They recommend no more than a purse. Maybe a suitcase."

"Okay, my love, I'll listen to you."

"You should. That scene in Rocky two still terrifies me."

"I've never watched that movie." She admits sheepishly.

"Well, the jist is that Rocky, the boxer, retires after his first big fight, but he can't hold down a job after his wife gets pregnant, so he chooses to have a second big fight while his wife works part-time at a pet store. His heart isn't in the fight and she's lifting all these heavy bags and buckets of pet food all the time while super heavily pregnant. She ends up having the baby prematurely, but then she goes into a coma from blood loss. Rocky just kinda sits vigil over her for days, not knowing if she'll wake up. I just don't want that to happen. I want you to be awake when our baby comes. I don't want you in a coma."

"That's terrifying. I never wanna lift anything ever again." She whispers to herself.

"Now you see why I get so nervous every time you pick me up." He chuckles sheepishly.

Kirby climbs into the bed next to him, "yeah, jeez."

"I'll just focus on training so I can carry you one day."

Kirby snuggles up to Helms, kissing his neck softly and stroking his hair. He practically purrs as she strokes his hair. Kirby softly nips at his neck, before pulling Helms into a gentle kiss. He kisses her back happily, snuggling into her arms.

"I love you, Shane." She whispers against his lips.

"I love you too, Kirby. I always will."

Kirby settles down to sleep next to Helms, nuzzling against his neck and holding him close.

"Get some rest, mon chère."

Kirby nods sleepily, kissing his neck. He strokes her back slowly until she's soothed to sleep. She makes a small happy noise in her sleep. Helms is calmed by the noise. If she's happy, then there's less chance of nightmares. Kirby shifts her position slightly to keep Helms next to her, moving herself to make sure he can't move easily. He's effectively trapped in snuggle city. Kirby stays in that position for the rest of the night. Helms even gets the chance to sleep from how peaceful she is. A knocking at the door at 9 AM the next morning (Mon 17 Sep '01) wakes the couple.

"Morning, handsome." Kirby murmurs as she kisses his jawline.

"Morning, gorgeous." He mumbles, still mostly asleep.

"I'll get the door." She whispers as she goes to get up.

"Who The hell could be here so early?"

Kirby looks at the clock on the nightstand, "it's not that early, mon mari, it's nine am, could be anyone."

"Not double digits... too early..."

"Lazy bones." She jokes as she gets up.

"Title of my sex tape." He chuckles.

Kirby has to bite her lip to stifle her laughter.

"But really, who could need us this early?"

"Might be Vince just checking in, or Show." Kirby shrugs as she goes to answer the door. There's actually no one outside, just another gift, breakfast, a bag of McDonalds with a note from Rikishi.

"Did my newly-declared favourite relative give us breakfast?"

"So nice of Solo to get us breakfast." She murmurs as she brings Helms the bag.

"Probably an apology for breaking me in half yesterday."

"Probably." She nods as she hands him the bag of food.

"Gonna have to give him a hug or something."

"And risk him making your back go crack." She chuckles.

"A necessary risk."

"True, anyway mon ange, what's in the bag?"

"Two breakfast sandwiches and two smoothies."

"Okay, so he's actually been nice and let us stick to our diet." She murmurs.

"Cheers to being healthy."

"Cheers, mon mari."

Kirby's about half way through her drink when she has to cover her mouth, "babe, you don't mind if I burp, right?" She asks quietly.

"Better out than in, as Shrek says."

"Alright, cool." She murmurs before she let's out a 4 second long burp.

"Damn! That was impressive." He grins.

"Really?" She asks, blushing bright red,

"Absolutely."

"The longest I've ever burped was, nine seconds, I think." She admits sheepishly.

"I've got you beat by one, babe."

"Oh really?" She asks, cocking an eyebrow.

"Ten seconds, and I've got three witnesses."

"Still can't beat my dad's record though, damn dad was funny, anyway, uhm, grossest thing you can do? Can you burp the alphabet?" She chuckles.

"The alphabet is a bit out of my league."

"Well, what is the grossest thing you can do?"

"Gross to look at or actually gross?"

"Either."

"I can put my legs behind my head."

"Holy shit, that's cool." She murmurs.

"Yeah, but it looks damn weird when I'm naked."

"Shane." She whines, slapping his arm.

"What? It does." He laughs.

Kirby shakes her head, "uhm, grossest thing I can do is either the bending backwards thing, or popping my left shoulder out of place then back into place."

"Oof, that is gross."

"Which one's worse?" She questions teasingly, trying not to laugh.

"Probably the shoulder."

"You don't like the sound of bones popping out of their sockets?" She jokingly teases.

"Not even when it's the Thanksgiving turkey."

"That's another thing I haven't thought about in years." She murmurs.

"Frankly overrated."

"Haven't celebrated Thanksgiving in years, guess I'm gonna have to learn how to cook a turkey, even though I hate the stuff."

"Who says we need turkey? Nothing on Thanksgiving is actually that good."

"I much prefer duck, duck's nicer than turkey." She notes.

"Or chicken. I'd love to just get some good-ass Nashville hot chicken for every holiday."

"Never had that." She whispers, mostly to herself.

"Well, I mean, we're in Nashville. If you can handle spice, you'll have a great time with it. If you can't, you probably won't."

"Don't really like spicy food, unless it's katsu chicken curry."

"Probably wouldn't enjoy the hot chicken. It's fried chicken that was supposedly invented by a wife who caught her husband cheating, so she tried to kill him with how spicy the chicken was, but he ended up loving it instead."

"Jesus, why is American cooking so cutthroat?"

"Capitalism." He shrugs.

"I think I'll stick to my own cooking, sweet but simple things."

"The good stuff."

"Things I taught myself to make." She whispers to herself.

"Means you're self-sufficient."

"Had to be, still have to be, used to live alone before I knew you."

"Is that a Hallelujah reference?"

"Hoped you wouldn't notice." She murmurs as she blushes bright red.

"I'll catch every Shrek reference you drop, sweetheart."

"Oh really?" She questions teasingly.

"I've definitely seen it enough times."

"Like me with The Princess Bride."

"Exactly."

"I really really love you." She murmurs.

"I love you too, sweetheart. So damn much."

"God, just, come here you." She whispers as she pulls Helms into a heated kiss.

"Does loving my wife make me merit kisses?"

"I've been wanting to kiss you like that since I woke up." She admits softly.

"Nothing's ever stopping you, doll."

"You're so fucking handsome, and I just want to kiss you endlessly." She whispers as she kisses his jawline and neck.

"Then be my guest." He grins.

Kirby smirks as she kisses as much of his skin as possible, pulling Helms into a heated kiss and almost making them both fall off the bed in the process. He only catches himself at the very last second.

Kirby pulls away, "shit, fuck, sorry."

"It's chill. Not dead." He laughs.

"I got a little overexcited." She mumbles.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I promise."

"I know, I just, I'm sorry I almost made us fall off the bed."

"It happens on occasion when we get too frisky."

"How long do we have until we need to go to work?"

"Just about two hours."

"Alright, uhm, work clothes, specifically, what do I wear today?" She asks herself.

"Something comfy."

"Do you wanna choose what I wear, baby daddy?"

"Just wanna see you comfy and happy."

"Then, sweatpants, a comfy shirt and a hoodie?"

"Sounds good to me."

Kirby pulls Helms into a gentle kiss before she goes to get dressed. He follows her lead, pulling on his own clothes. Kirby sorts herself out and waits for Helms, softly humming to herself. He's not quite as put-together as her, but in his disarray with light scruff, he looks cuddly and huggable.

"Oh my cute baby daddy." She whispers to herself, not realising that Helms hears her.

"Cute, am I?" He chuckles.

Kirby blushes bright red and hides her face in her hands.

"Hell, I don't mind if you think I'm cute." He grins.

"You're super cute, and I love you a lot." She murmurs.

"I love you a lot too."

"C'mere ya scruffy little beast." She whispers as she pulls Helms into a gentle kiss.

He's soft kissing her back, melting against her. Kirby deepens the kiss, pushing Helms against the wall.

"Mm, and you call me the savage." He grins.

[staytiny-angel]

War of Hearts

Chapter One

Rating: Mature

Main Pairing: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch

Co-written with @riottbliss

Summary: Seth Rollins was once known as the Bad Boy Prince of MMA, now years after a career ending knee injury he's stepping into.the Octagon again not as a competitor but as his little sister's coach. Unfortunately for him the redhead across the cage from he and Paige is not only woman he'd just had a one night stand with but the younger sister and protege of the Finn Balor...the man that ended Seth's career.

Warnings: MMA style violence, Alcoholism, Implied Self-Harm (DM for details), Depression, Angst with a Happy Ending

Hunter Hearst Helmsley, or professionally known by Triple-H sighed with embarrassment, reading tweet after tweet from his youngest son Seth Rollins.

"What happened to him?" His best friend and practically brother Shawn Michaels asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Cody took him out of the press conference, Seth's hungover, blaming everyone but himself"

Shawn shook his head, "Kid is letting the hype go to his brain. He's all over TMZ, The Bad Boy Prince of MMA is what they call him"

"Seth is the best fighter in the world in his division. He's earned the cockiness but his lifestyle…." Hunter shook his head

Shawn made a disgusted sound. "Kid reminds me of me before I got my act together"

"Fatherhood is what made you get your act together. That won't work for Seth" Hunter clicked on a video of his drunken son yelling into a camera about Finn Balor that had gone viral last week.

"He talks so much shit about Balor being a low rent MacGregor, hell Seth acts more like Conor then Finn does."

Hunter sighed "He's turned this into a complete mess, I wouldn't be surprised if his team drops him."

"Hey, Dusty loved that kid, Dustin and Cody wouldn't release him until he stopped making them money"

Hunter nodded but looked nonetheless unthrilled.

"He keeps making excuses about everything. I'm this close to calling Steph"

Shawn nodded with agreement as the two entered Seth's penthouse, greeting a tired looking Cody Rhodes. "I can't do this anymore Hunter" he said in place of a normal greeting.

"You are not dropping him" Hunter said matter of factly.

"AEF is supposed to be for fighters that respect the sport, he fucks around and doesn't even show up to the gym" Cody said.

Hunter ignored him and went upstairs to where he could hear his youngest groaning in misery.

Hunter sighed as Seth looked up from the toilet he was practically hugging. "I'm twenty five, perfectly legal" he muttered, Hunter's gaze looking at the black and gold championship that laid discarded.

"While ago you would have treated that with respect" He said, Seth rolling his eyes. "Would you rather me puke on it? It's just a fucking belt' "

"Don't let anyone hear you say that" Hunter said lowly. "You're going to the weigh in today even if I have to drag you by your hair there myself"

"No the fuck I'm not, don't you see me dyin' here?" Seth whined "I'm going to fucking sleep"

"What the fuck happened to you?!" Hunter yells "Every since your Uncle Shane became your manager this is what you've turned into."

Seth looked unfazed. "Don't get angry because I'm better than you ever were" and shoved his father out of his way, flipping off Cody, and ignoring Shawn.

"What am I going to do with him?" Hunter sighed, exhausted.

"Knock his ass out?" Shawn suggested. "I'll take care of him" Cody rolled his eyes. "Britt and I will make sure he gets to the weigh in. I just need painkillers and food"

"I'm gonna go talk to Shane, I want to know what kind of garbage he's been filling my kid's head with" Hunter mutters

"I told you listening to Vince was a mistake." Shawn replies shaking his head "All of you let Vince snow you into thinking it was embarrassing that his mother managed him"

Hunter sighed. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to drag Steph back, Shane has a tight grip on him"

"Worry about that fuckface later" Shawn said. "Seth needs you, not him" Hunter nodded firmly, making his way downstairs to see Seth passed out on his couch, his dog Kevin and cat Daryl laying on him.

"This was our compromise" Cody explained. "I let him take a nap, he goes to the weigh in later"

"He isn't going to beat Balor in this condition. He doesn't spar anymore and his knee has been inflamed for weeks" Britt says quietly

"He shouldn't even be fighting. We told Shane but he says there's too much money at stake for Seth to pull out"

"Money money money"' Shawn mocked. "All he cares about is fucking printed paper"

Hunter ignored them and instead chose to brush back some of Seth's hair, his son unconsiously responding to it. "What did I do wrong raising him?" he asked. Hunter rolls his eyes at the look his older brother gave him "The truth" he says quietly

"No offense bro, but this family is a whole fucking lot to live up to and you weren't exactly shy about your expectations once Seth showed an aptitude for the sport. None of us were. I have to even ask myself, when was the last time any of us actually had a conversation with the kid that wasn't about fighting?"

"He's cracking underneath the pressure" Cody chimes in

"Yeah, he is and now Shane is filling his head with all these ideas about the image he should project" Shawn continues "Quiet guys who, play with their dogs and write poetry when their not in the Octagon don't sell tickets, but Bad Boys sure the fuck do."

*Later*

Seth scowled at his phone as Britt ushered him into the arena the weigh was taking place in. "I'm assuming you told the press he was gonna bail?" Cody growled at Shane who held his hands up. "They were gonna find out sooner or later" "Yeah yeah, no press is bad press" Seth said.

"Except the press says you're an asshole" Cody deadpanned. "Don't do anything stupid up there, or Mark is going to have a stroke" Seth didn't respond, instead heading up the stairs to the stage, where Balor had clearly made weight, despite being skinny. Seth took off his shirt per usual, standing on the scale.

"197 pounds" The announcer said, Seth smirking at Balor. The Irish man looked unfazed and rolled his eyes. Seth, in a act of annoyance, promptly flipped him off, hearing everyone in the crowd either laugh or groan

-Backstage -

"Gonna be fun beating your ass Balor, I promise not to hurt you too badly," Seth says cockily, slouching in a chair and putting his sunglasses back on.

"Oh, Rolly its almost time to give up your precious" Finn responds, "Clock is ticking boyo and your time is almost up"

"Mon roi, nous devons-oh shit" a pake woman walked up, speaking rapid French and stopping in her place when she saw Seth.

"Hey Seth" she said coldly.

"Vi" Seth responded, his attitude gone.

"He your king now?" "Surprised you even remember any French, from what I read, you've drank yourself through everything"

"It's what happens when you give your heart to someone and get it ripped in half, I wasn't enough for you, that's what you said right? I wasn't straight enough for you?! So you threw my ring in my face and left" Seth yelled "Cause Bisexual people, we're all cheaters didn't you know?"

At least according to Violet Gillath, wait I'm sorry Violet Balor now isn't it?."

"Stop it" Finn growled. "Before I knock your ass out now"

"Try it bitch" Seth snarled back.

Violet got between them and shoved Seth back. "Chaton, stop" she hissed.

Seth stumbled upon hearing his old nickname. "Why?" he choked out. "What did I do?"

Seth shook his head as if to shake his thoughts into place "Why Violet? Why did you leave me? You...you fucking broke me" he said in a small voice "I have the right to know why, just tell me. Why would you do that after everything. I was going to quit fighting for you because you didn't like seeing what it was turning me into. You get up on stage and you still sing my songs, but you said you hated me. I just wanna know."

Violet crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to be with you. You never signed anything so legally those songs are mine. I said what I meant, you weren't enough"

Seth looked like she had rebroken his heart.

Thankfully Britt walked in. "Hey, we gotta go"

Seth grabbed his title and held it to Finn. "This is mine. You can keep that bitch but you will never get this"

-Backstage-

"I've never known you to be biphobic, wanna explain to me why Rollins is convinced you are?" Finn said sitting down in his locker room with his wife a few minutes later.

"His uncle...manager, that bastard Shane got me my record deal in exchange for breaking Seth's heart" Violet told her husband "Seth hates fighting, he was going to quit and go on the road with me. He can't sing a note but he writes and plays guitar. We were going to be a duo. Shane was watching his cash cow walk out the door. So he threatened me and made an offer. Seth was the sweetest thing and he loved me and I broke his heart and let Shane turn him into that"

"If I could go back in time and slap him across the face I would but I can't" Violet said brokenly. "Shane has made it perfectly clear that if I ever tell him that he would ruin both our careers"

Finn hugged her to him. "I'm still gonna kick his ass" Violet slapped his arm. "Please try not to" Finn shrugged. "I'm undefeated"

"You know Seth is too. And the thing with being undefeated is that there's only one way down, being kicked off the mountain"

-Next Day-

Seth was throwing up again having had drank himself to sleep following his encounter with his ex.

Cody looked extremely tired and Britt concerned. "You have to fight in an hour!" Cody yelled out

"I don't fucking care." Seth yelled back "I don't even want to fucking fight." He muttered to himself, as he rubbed at his knee. "Come on fucking give already." He whispered to the inflamed appendage.

He knew what he was doing was dangerous but it was his only way out. If his knee would just give up the fucking ghost, he could quit this bullshit once and for all.

"Your sisters are out there tonight" Britt said, walking in, holding a brace.

"I really don't care" Seth growled, letting Britt put his knee in it.

"And your mom' Britt added. Seth took a breath when Britt touched his knee.

"Holy shit, it feels like its burning"

We're letting you go after tonight" Cody said angrily. "I don't care if you win or not, you've ruined All Elite Fighting's reputation"

"I don't care, I never wanted to be in your shitty gym anyway" Seth shrugged. "I'm going to get changed"

[gffa]

Scattered Star Wars Thoughts: - I’m about two thirds of the way through Empire’s End and I’m once again sad that we haven’t gotten anything like this in awhile--stuff happens in these books, the huge, big, galactic-level stuff happens!  The Battle of Jakku!  Rae Sloane vs Gallius Rax!  The bombing of the New Republic ceremony!  Mon Mothma’s struggles to keep the New Republic afloat and her political enemies trying to take her down! Sure, I love the books for the ragtag team I came to know and love, it’s still one of the top tier groups of new characters, but it’s also that stuff happens in this book, I get a good, strong look at the events that shape the galaxy in this era.  I suspect (even though I have no proof) that SW deliberately moved away from this kind of thing, because they were filling up the space too quickly, there soon wasn’t going to be much room left for any kind of big events, between this and Bloodline, especially if they ever wanted to set a show or movie in that era. I sometimes half-wonder if we’re heading for another reboot after awhile, because they’ll want to free up some space or if we’re just going to get more “away from the main action” stories.  Which I wouldn’t mind, if they were more like Spark of the Resistance because that was one of my favorite books of recent times, where it didn’t have to have a big impact, it could be a cute space adventure, but it was about characters I desperately wanted to have more interaction with. I guess that’s what was missing from Alphabet Squadron for me, that the new character stuff was SO GOOD, but Hera’s role really could have been filled by anyone.  Empire’s End is giving us Han and Leia and Mon character moments, but a lot of them don’t have to be about the big galactic stuff, they can be little mini-adventures set between the bigger ones. On the other hand, the comics seem to be filling that niche more than the novels, and the comics are so good that I’m kind of fine with the priority seeming to be on them--even if I don’t think that’s intentional.  (Or maybe it’s just me vastly preferring the comics over the novels, it seems like that’s where the good stuff is happening, imo.) Anyway. Empire’s End.  I really do love this trilogy in a way that, looking back, is a lot sharper than a lot of what I’ve been feeling re: current SW.  I wish Wendig would get another crack at writing SW, whether for these characters or someone else.  And that the Bens would come back and write more, too.  I was skimming over their From a Certain Point of View story and thinking about Join the Resistance! and I MISS THOSE STORIES. - I am doing pretty good at keeping up with my rewatch getting finished before the new season of TCW happens, I’m down to 1.8 episodes per day to reach my goal!  :D Between that and the way I’ve been booking it through other stuff (it’s been so cold out lately that I don’t go out much, so I have more time to watch stuff) that I’m already a quarter of the way through my 2020 Resolutions list! - I just saw Ryan Bergara, Shane Madej, and Steven Lim launched Watcher and have a handful of videos up, so I’ll have those to watch, I also have a bunch of shows (Barry and Patriot mostly) waiting in the wings for when I finish with TCW, and of course more of The Untamed, and, well, THANK GOD SW IS QUIET RIGHT NOW, because it’s getting to be a bit Much.  In a good way, but still!  /wanted to grump - I finished the current season of Grace & Frankie and I really liked the first 3-4 episodes, I got a bunch of IRL LOLs out of them, but about halfway through the season it lost steam for me and the ending just felt weird, like, “Why are we going down this same path again?  What was the point of that sub-plot?” and it just felt unfocused to me. I feel like, by this point, we’re six seasons in, Grace and Frankie lying about stuff from each other feels very, very retread, especially when Grace and Nick have talked about this before, that sometimes she has to choose him, not just Frankie all the time, and this storyline sort of ended up in a place that seemed to contradict that, and it does help to view this through the lens of Grace still has decades of lying and secrets as routine to recover from, she’s going to backslide, and I’m down for that, but I feel like this just didn’t quite acknowledge that it was part of a pattern she’s still working on, rather than ignoring that it comes with context of stuff that’s already happened in the show. I’m also losing my patience with a lot of the romantic partners drama on the show, like, I think they’ve been on a slow drive towards Coyote/Mallory for awhile and I hate it, I really don’t get any kind of spark between Frankie and Jack, Joan-Margaret and the guy she picked to marry didn’t have enough of a spark to make that storyline all that fun, Principal Dan being weird by the end was just *SIGH* (all the more so because I want Mallory to be with someone who Is Not Coyote).  I do very much still love Barry/Brianna, I feel like the show does better at Brianna Is An Onion You Have To Peel Her Back In Layers, so going over similar ground makes sense.  And I actually enjoyed Coyote/Jessica, they’re adorable, but it’s hard to get invested when I don’t think it’ll last.  I actually really enjoy Bud/Allison and their mutual failboating conversation about their first times was delightful to watch.  But I also sort of feel like I’m getting exhausted on Robert/Sol, it didn’t feel like there was any idea what to do with them this season, so they just sort of threw a bunch of things at the wall to see what would stick.  Robert being like, “NO THIS IS A BAD IDEA” while Sol and Allison researched Bud’s family history was hilarious, MORE LIKE THAT, less of them keeping secrets from each other like that entire local theater storyline.  Or even Sol’s health thing, which brought out different approaches to quality vs length of life at their age, that was a much more interesting story. I guess I wouldn’t mind retreading the same ground quite so much, if it felt like they were aware of it being part of a bigger whole, rather than just doing the same thing again, or if it felt like it was going somewhere (I think this is why I liked the Brianna/Barry stuff, it feels like it’s going somewhere), but that doesn’t mean the cast isn’t still delightful and the show isn’t still an absolute delight.  It never feels flat or like they’re Flanderizing the characters, the human moments are still there and very genuine.  (Grace and the other young wives was one of my favorite moments of the season!  It was such a lovely, warm, human resolution.)  The cast still delivers everything beautifully and they’re retreading these stories for a reason--though, I can’t lie, I’m curious to see what the final season has, in the way of a shake-up of the usual dynamics, as well as some more permanent resolution, one assumes. It still remains one of my favorite shows whenever it comes back! Scattered Star Wars Thoughts/2020 Resolutions Update: - Star Wars: The Clone Wars s3e02-20 Current total:  41/260 Scattered Everything Else Thoughts/ 2020 Resolutions Update: - Watchmen s01e01-09 - Bob’s Burgers s10e11 - The Good Place s04e11 - Grace & Frankie s06e01-13 Current total:  86/260 Star Wars Fic Recs 2020 Resolutions Update Current total written:  81/520

[oscopelabs]

Telling Lies In America 1985-1995: The Joe Eszterhas Era by Jessica Kiang

���Written by Joe Eszterhas” is a phrase that has not had much of a workout on US cinema screens in over twenty years—and it’s arguable whether the 1997, 19-screen nationwide release of certifiable shitshow Burn Hollywood Burn: An Alan Smithee Film exactly qualifies as “a workout.” But for those of us who had the parental training wheels come off our theatrical filmgoing in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, there were few individuals more central to our cinematic coming-of-age. And with perhaps the sole exception of Shane Black, a different animal in any case, none of the others—the Spielbergs, Camerons, Tarantinos—were exclusively screenwriters. For over a decade, the Hungarian-born, Hollywood-minted superstar writer of Basic Instinct bestrode the adult-oriented commercial screenwriting mainstream like a smirking colossus in a tight dress wearing no underwear. And given that Hollywood is primarily how the USA, the most loudly, proudly self-created of nations, expresses itself to itself and to the rest of the world, by the man’s own bombastic standards it’s only a slight exaggeration to suggest that America, between the years of 1985 and 1995, was written by Joe Eszterhas.

But for all the dominance he exerted, the rules he rewrote and the sheer money he made, examining Eszterhas’ heyday today feels like an act of paleontology, even for those of us who lived through it. 1992 is not so very distant; in a variety of ways it is still with us. It was the year Quentin Tarantino, whose latest film is in theaters right now, broke out with his first, Reservoir Dogs. It was the year the current loathsome, racist, tinpot President of the United States made a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, back when he was merely a loathsome, racist, tinpot property tycoon. It was the year that the number one box office spot was taken by Disney’s animated Aladdin, which felt close enough in time that the live-action remake which—and I’ve checked my notes on this, apparently was a thing that happened to us in 2019—felt entirely too soon.

But it was also the year of Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct, the sine qua non of Eszterhas-penned films. And if Sharon Stone’s lascivious leg-cross (Verhoeven’s invention, incidentally, not Eszterhas’) provided posterity with the most iconic upskirt of a blonde in a white dress since Marilyn Monroe’s encounter with a subway grate, that is largely all that remains to us of it today. Well, that and the instantly forgotten sequel (sans Eszterhasian involvement) that already seemed wildly anachronistic in 2006. The original film, its writer, the erotic thriller genre it exemplified, the dunderheaded sexual politics it upheld while attempting to subvert, the whole idea of a mainstream screenwriter having a brand at all (even one as loosely defined as “writer of films you don’t tell your parents you snuck into”), all seem like ancient relics. These are the artifacts not only of a bygone age but of an extinct genus, a whole evolutionary branch that was nipped in the bud so comprehensively that even now scientists might argue over how closely the skeletons of certain bird species resemble the bones of Basic Instinct.

This containment, however, is what makes looking back at the Eszterhas era so fascinating. His brief Hollywood hegemony is a microcosmic event in cinematic history, one with a beginning, middle, and an end (barring some late-breaking epilogue, or a post fade-to-black pan down to an ice pick under the bed). And it didn’t start with his first produced screenplay, for the leaden Sylvester Stallone truckers-union drama F.I.S.T. (Norman Jewison, 1978), although the glimmer of future feats of financial alchemy was already present in the reported $400,000 he received for the novelization. Dawn really broke for Eszterhas, as it did for three of the only other people who could legitimately be termed his peers as purveyors of massively popular, high-concept, low-brow ‘80s sensationalism (producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, director Adrian Lyne), with 1983’s Flashdance.

It was an improbable success, less a film than an aerobics video occasionally interrupted by some awkward sassy banter and Jennifer Beals’ popping-flashbulb smile. Its vanishingly thin story, which Eszterhas co-wrote, is of an 18-year-old welder in a steel mill, who moonlights as an exotic dancer while aspiring to become a ballerina—a logline that sounds like a hoot of derision even as an unadorned description—and is full of Eszterhasian hallmarks. There’s the high degree of preposterousness. There’s the gym scene, during which the ladies of the cast grimace and lift weights in full makeup, and while here the frictionless unreality of Lyne’s TV-commerical aesthetic makes the sequence abstract, the peculiar faith in the erotic potential of a workout would recur in the squash sequence in Jagged Edge (Richard Marqund, 1985) and the ludicrous gym date in Sliver (Phillip Noyce, 1993).

And Flashdance also prefigures almost the entire Eszterhas oeuvre in being a story that centers on a woman’s experience and that laudably—if here laughably—positions her career ambitions as at least equal to her romantic aspirations in the mechanism of the plot. But, as elsewhere, it’s a view of women constructed by a proudly unreconstructed man, directed and photographed by men. (Eszterhas’ hard-drinking, womanizing, hellraising, Hunter S. Thompson-of-the-movies persona is enjoyably self-mythologized in his memoir Hollywood Animal.) If anything, what comes across most strongly in Eszterhas’ conception of a “strong woman” is his bafflement when tasked with imagining what such a woman might have going on inside her brain. His filmography may be full of female-fronted titles, and may contain the most famous mons venus in film history, but most of Eszterhas’ work could not be more male gaze-y f it were written from the point of view of an actual phallus, like the closing chapter of his 2000 book American Rhapsody, which is narrated by Bill Clinton's penis, Willard (I am not making this up).

This powerfully eroticized dissociation, this sexualized incomprehension of women as people with interior lives, is the animating idea behind the most Eszterhasian of Eszterhas scripts. But it’s a blank space in which directors, and especially actresses, could sometimes find room to create for themselves. Sharon Stone is genuinely, in-on-the-joke fantastic in Basic Instinct—who else could have delivered “What are you going to do, charge me with smoking?” as if it were an unreturnable Wildean riposte? Costa-Gavras’ Music Box (1989) is by some distance the sturdiest and least dated of Eszterhas movies, a lot due to its comparative sexlessness, but also because of a great, warm, real performance from an Oscar-nominated Jessica Lange. Debra Winger just about wins out in her more thankless role in Costa-Gavras’ first Eszterhas collaboration, Betrayed (1988). And Glenn Close imbues the heroine of the superior thriller Jagged Edge with such shrewdness that it’s almost a liability to the believability of the central deception.

But live by the sword, die by the sword, and when the director/actress combo fails to operate in similar sympathy we get Stone horribly miscast as a… sexy wallflower?… in Sliver, or Linda Fiorentino visibly flailing as a… downtrodden femme fatale?… in Jade, or poor Elizabeth Berkley thrashing wildly about in the neon-lit swimming pool of kitsch that is Showgirls. In these failures, the writer’s almost panicky vision of women as vast, dangerous cognitive black holes is best revealed. But then, mistrust of the opposite sex is only one aspect of the wider mystery that underpins even Eszterhas’ outlier titles: his entire output is preoccupied with how little any of us can ever know anyone.

In Eszterhas’ semi-autobiographical Telling Lies In America (Guy Ferland, 1997), a teenage Hungarian immigrant (Brad Renfro) is dazzled by Kevin Bacon's smooth-talking DJ, but blindly unable to work out if he is friend or fiend. Music Box details a lawyer’s dawning disillusionment over her adored father's murderous past—eerily mirroring Eszterhas’ discovery of his own father’s collaboration with the Hungarian Nazi regime. Betrayed has Winger’s FBI agent falling for Tom Berenger’s farmer only to discover he is, in fact, the neo-Nazi she insisted to her bosses he was not, in similar vein to Jagged Edge, in which Close’s lawyer discovers that the lover she successfully defended actually dunnit after all.

Oftentimes, the credulity-stretching ambivalence of these characters is all that powers the suspense, as in the is-she-gonna-kill-him-or-is-she-just-orgasming moments in Basic Instinct. In the misbegotten Nowhere to Run (Robert Harmon, 1993) Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a ruthless ex-con turned valiant protector, his blockish inertia apparently meant to signal that inner ambiguity. More often, it leads to final-act fake-out twists so unmoored to anything like recognizable motivation that they become weirdly weightless, as in Sliver when Stone’s Carly does not know if she’s killed the right man until the final four seconds of the film, and where, had the coin-flip gone the other way, it would still be equally (un)believable.

If it’s part of the egotistical remit of the writer to believe they have an insight into human psychology, it’s remarkable how much of Eszterhas’ oeuvre pivots around how fundamentally unknowable people are to one another. And while that schtick, by which you can’t tell if someone cares for you or is simply a talented sociopathic mimic, resonated briefly at the exact moment when the grasping, solipsistic ‘80s were segueing into the untrustworthy, PR-managed ‘90s, it proved not to have much long-game sustain. Critics had always been sniffy about Eszterhas, who clearly mopped up his tears with massive wads of 100 dollar bills. But when audiences started staying away, like in the Showgirls and Jade-blighted annus horribilis of 1995, the inflationary bubble that allowed Eszterhas to command millions for two-page outlines scribbled, one suspects, on the back of strip club napkins, abruptly burst. The idea of screenwriter-as-auteur, or rather as reliable bellwether of commercial success, proved a fallacy, an expensive experiment that began and ended with Joe Eszterhas, its earliest progenitor, luckiest beneficiary, and biggest casualty.

Glossy, vacuous, adult-themed thrillers were not the only thing going on in Hollywood, and Eszterhas was not the only big-name screenwriter. Shane Black, writer of Lethal Weapon, also commanded astronomical sums for his early ‘90s scripts, but the key difference is that Black wrote in the register of the franchise-able action-spectacular blockbuster that would eventually trounce all others as the Hollywood model for the future. Black has gone on to become part of the Marvel machine as a writer and director, while aside from one Hungarian-language period film, Children of Glory (Krisztina Goda, 2006), Eszterhas’ contribution to the pop cultural landscape post-2000 has been in the form of self-aggrandizing memoirs, or highly public fallings-out with celebrities, like Mel Gibson, of a similarly corked vintage.

The tastemaker point of view has historically been to consider Eszterhas among the worst things that ever happened to Hollywood—so much so that disdain-dripping sarcasm seems to be the fallback for critics summarizing his impact. But while no one is going to make the case for the man’s filmography as some sort of artistic landmark, the Eszterhas era did represent one of the last gasps of a Hollywood that believed, however misguidedly, in personality over product, when the idiosyncrasies, idiocies and ideologies of a single person—a writer at that—could, with studio backing and a 1,500 theater release strategy, influence the cinematic development of an entire generation. That might not have seemed like a good thing but retrospect, like cocaine, is a helluva drug and in 2019, with blandly anonymous, market-tested content churned out by mega-corporations bi-weekly to siphon your hard-earneds away, the kind of salacious tackiness Eszterhas represented feels oddly adorable, even quaint. Now that singular talents—even the obnoxious and objectionable ones—who could make decent returns on mid-budget, adult-oriented mainstream fare, have been steamrollered by infantilizing, monolithic billion-dollar mega-franchises, it’s hard not to be a little nostalgic for the vanished hiccup of time when Hollywood briefly uncrossed its legs for Joe Eszterhas, and Joe Eszterhas told us all what he saw.

[ask-the-guiding-light-cast]

Okay then. There is one constant between the human world and the Pokemon world. Embarrassing moments from the parents. There are just times when a parent embarrasses their child so badly. So Shane, Espeon, Tessa, Galian, and Hakamo-o. Tell me the most embarrassing moment because of your parents. (I would include Silvally, but I don't think he could handle all of those. I do wonder what color he becomes though?)

“I wanted to buy a video game as a birthday gift for Nicky, but I was too shy to ask the people working at the story where I could find the game. So, my mom walks up to an employee and asks, ‘Hey, where I can find the Pokey-Man games? My son needs to buy one.’ Everyone in the store stared at me. I think a few were laughing.”

“Probably the time mom gave me a bath in public after a game of tag ended with me rolling around in a mud puddle.”

“We were at Crabrawler’s Café this one time. Mom and Dad were, um, flirting with each other… I think? In any case, Mom takes off Dad’s scarf, but in the process, the ‘mon bringing us our food slipped on the scarf. Dad ended up covered in smushed malasadas.”

“The real embarrassing part was that he just licked the food off himself.”

Gallian nods his agreement and adds, “Probably the time when, early on in the guild, Dad tried to get me a date with a lopunny… but didn’t realize he was talking to a girl.”

Hakamo-o scratches his head. “There were more than a few times that Mom hugged me in public and I, uh… got covered in her slime. The worst time was when Dad was around and started yelling at the other kids who were snickering.”

Silvally’s fire memories turn on, making him glow bright red.

[temporallycatered]

@grimmssnarl​ asked: Impidimp bound into the cafe. Where from? Who knew. It didn't matter. The rascals were causing a bit of a ruckus, playing games on and under the tables, moving chairs to stand up on shelves....

There was one just sitting casually at a stool before the main bar, flapping its mouth open and closed like a puppet as if it were ordering a drink, but the only sounds it made were something akin to "rababa wagagba bahbah."

One presence amid them was far less chaotic, strolling in to grab the rowdiest Impidimp with its hair, ensnaring them and dragging them away. Shane might've thought they'd heard the Grimmsnarl mutter "quiet"...

    Stunningly enough, Shane didn’t seem to mind the relative chaos that had filled their merry cafe.  There were plenty of rooms in the cosmically unbound building, and those customers that wished for a quiet dining experience could have that just as well without disruption from the Impidimp.

    The pokemon waitstaff took it in stride as well, a Hakamo-o carefully putting chairs back into place shortly after they are moved, a Noivern moving plates too and fro through the air, and a Zorua sitting at the main bar, seeming to be intently listening to the Impidimp’s sounds and nodding every so often.

    Shane’s attention was indeed grabbed by the possible words of the Grimmsnarl, eyes blinking for a moment before a pleasant smile settled over their face.  Between being severed from time and space, and running an ever expanding cafe/inn, a pokemon speaking a tongue Shane could understand was not out of the realm of possibility for them whatsoever.  So they chuckled, attention fully turned to the larger mon.

    “It’s no trouble.  A bit of chaos is good for the soul, I think.  But then again, so is a good meal.  Hungry?  I’d be happy to have something brought out for you and your merry band of troublemakers.”  They were careful to keep their cane away from small and potentially grabby hands, despite the passive demeanor.  They weren’t certain if mischief would spread to their things, after all.

[wolff06wolff-blog]

Educating Blunders You Do not Want To Make.

A mom of 2 and also enthusiastic health and fitness speaker, Lisa M. Wolfe had her first physical fitness post released in 2001. In the final edge there was an iron entrance much like the door the rangers entered from, yet as opposed to having a diamond in the middle, it had a photo of Earth. studiosante could be an excellent choice for strength athletes, especially those that dedicate severe gym time to the Olympic raises in particular. Pneuma: Breath of Life is an enthralling first person puzzler putting gamers' minds to the examination in an aesthetically stunning globe using the power of Unreal Engine 4. Pneuma supplies gamers with a feeling of admiration and an unrelenting resolution to solve every puzzle as well as development via a narrated tale of self-discovery, discovering the essential nature of being. Some individuals draw real motivation from the team environment of the social gym. Hi, I'm Nick Webster, and I'm below to answer the question the best ways to shoot a reduced power shot in soccer. Kite Power Solutions anticipates to open the UK's initial kite nuclear power plant in March 2017 at the Ministry of Protection's West Freugh website in Stranraer, Scotland. Or, if you need a stairway lift for only a brief amount of time, consider renting one. The sizzle of navy power is typically electrifying, however this moment I do not register the sensation. You should be physically near a health club to eliminate, however a fitness center could not remain in the most good of locations. In fact, it's nearly difficult to lift more than you prepared to in order to overtake an additional rival in points. This exercise devices is usually accompanied by a display screen that tracks the heart rate,. along with other info like the number of miles run or calories burned. Il est vrai que j' y consacre a peu prés 4 heures par semaine chez moi en musique et je peu vous alarming que je ne rate aucune séance tant je me sens bien après mon heure de power plate. There are various other basic functions of porch PL-P portable wheelchair lift are as follows. The Supreme Court already chose that concern too in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, in 2011. Both gyms have moved around the central city location of Sparkhill and also provide for a mainly Muslim customers. The Lumo Raise costs ₤ 80 in black, white as well as grey with black and silver magnets. Like many Canal & River Count on projects, the Anderton Boat Lift survived thanks to neighborhood volunteers, most of which are still entailed. Sarah Ridgard, nonetheless, confesses that she chose her university location at the LSE on the basis that the building had a paternoster - an ever-moving lift which passengers enter. The federal government recognizes the possible human expense of coal power stations shuttering, claiming plant closures could have a substantial influence on communities" as they utilized around 100-500 people directly. Your one-rep max, or 1RM, is the heaviest weight lots you could effectively raise as soon as with excellent strategy. Increase your hips by pushing your heels right into the sphere and also raise until your hips, heels and also shoulders develop a straight line. After years of lack of exercise, Carlos returned as the Black Space Ranger in order to help the Galaxy Rangers fight the Psycho Rangers. I haven't check out the key however I think the power communicates the exact same message that was in the key, from a various angle. To Billy went the Triceratops Power Coin, offering him the power of the Triceratops, and also control of the Triceratops Dinozord. Childhood obesity gets on the increase, as well as this is one reason gyms are ending up being so popular. Practising dead lifts, for example, will certainly assist you raise hefty things securely; performing core exercises will assist your stance as well as strengthen the muscles that sustain your lower back. We were controlled by Lothor right into striking the one force with the power to save this world. Turning up to the gym and putting even more weight on bench than you could raise appropriately and also struggling through one sloppy representative is a proven means to stagnate in your toughness objectives. Unexpectedly, from much up the lane, the audio of wheels grating on the snow, might be listened to simply. Only two mayors lifted their bans following the Villeneuve-Loubet judgment: the Socialist mayor of Oye-Plages near Calais and also the centrist mayor of Eze in the Alpes-Maritimes. Near the equivalence point, rather small increments (3 to 5 declines) will be made use of. Taking unmitigated coal power out of our power mix and changing it with cleaner innovation, such as gas, will significantly lower discharges from the UK's power usage," he stated. They typically aren't cheap yet they include that 'Olympic training area' really feel to any type of gym as well as are a whole lot simpler on the flooring if they need to be gone down. In simply 2 years, Vivint had placed solar panels on twenty two thousand houses, producing 274MW (5.6% of overall created in Nigeria), the dimension of a power station! However the national relationship with the gym might be concerning an end, inning accordance with brand-new main figures revealing a depression in the number of normal individuals after years of evidently relentless growth. There is a danger that Liverpool can be as well known for gymnastics as it is for football if they are effective. In Could, Engie's president, Isabelle Kocher, informed a French Us senate board the firm intended a progressive withdrawal from coal-fired power generation, which the share of coal in its power mix would be up to about 10% from 15% over the following couple of years. Every model or variation of staircase lift has their different functions as well as tools yet operations of all of them are very similar. In celestial spaces, regarding a quarter of a mile distance from the Megaship, the Pink and also Red Astro Rangers waiting for their Galaxy Gliders for the shuttle bus to appear. Additionally, allow's not forget that the Power Rangers are a team of young adults - and also most teens do not have bionic busts to fill those sizable metal cups. A variety of gyms now support 360-degree" tracking solutions that consider participants' exercise executed outside the health club, as well as their nutritional intake. At his one year Secondary school get-together, Conner is given the future by Broodwing where he, Ethan, and Kira meet up with the S.P.D. Rangers. When travelling from the main island (Fitness center Island) to the various other islands, boosting your stats will aid you to beat your adversaries. His professional swordfighting ability and also remarkable firepower make him among the Rangers most dangerous villains. When Master Vile turned around time and also returned the Rangers to youngsters, the Ape Power Coin was later damaged by Zedd and also Rita. Luckily, the spell is damaged and also he retrieves himself as he later on becomes the White Power Ranger. With that, the photo of Zordon, along with the columns, vanished, leaving the 6 Terran Rangers standing changed amongst the damages of the Command Facility. Joe relocated the fitness center in Santa Monica over to Venice in one more massive structure that he made manually and it was tri-level. In circumstances such as this one, we typically claim that we are preparing or looking into the most effective technique, however these rationalizations allow us to feel like we are moving on when we are just spinning our wheels. If, at the end of the year, the higher power does not want me to be champion with everything I have offered towards it, I will need to accept that. This paralyzed your interest and you gave up not since you should, but because you felt like it. Your emotions created you to turn a Phase 1 or Stage 2 failing into a Phase 3 failure. The practices of the Exodus from Egypt, which Jews, Christians, and also Muslims share in typical, talk about a dispute in between God's power and also the power of Pharaoh and also the formation of alternate power which was organized by Moses, Aaron, and their sis Miriam. Shane is slowly uncovering his natural management capabilities as a Power Ranger. Bonjour Nathalie, Je suis moi-même à la recherche d'un centre power plate sur Bruxelles. A morning yoga exercise session given by the health club authorities keeps you fresh all day.

[pokechars]

[EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL] Pokemon Anime Translation Glossaries (with trivia/beta stuff)

[Veeeery long post, but believe me, it's worth it]

Alternatively, just scroll to the download links and see the thing for yourself.

So, you are probably used to the fact that this blog is strictly themed, sharing pictures of various (but always official) representations of human characters from Pokemon series, especially the lesser-known or forgotten characters from the games.

This update, however, will be a bit out-of-theme, but still strictly Pokemon-centered. Lately, we’ve had much stuff revealed about Pokemon beta versions. We learned more about Pikachu’s origins and the manga about Satoshi Tajiri revealed some previously-unknown early Pokemon designs... Because of this (added with the fact that my blog has recently hit 300 followers), I think it is good time to publish something that has been in my files for years and which you surely have never seen and which may feature some (usually minor and trivia) facts that are not widely known to Pokemon fans.

These are two Translation Glossaries that were provided to the official translators of the Pokemon anime. I got that years ago from my friend, who was among the people working on the Polish dub of Pokemon DP anime series (not really sure what year was that, but if the file metadata is right, then it must have been 2008). He asked me to be quiet about that, but years have passed, I have pretty much lost contact with that guy (I’m not even sure if he’s still into Pokemon but I believe he’s “beyond repair” like me). I also doubt that he’s still involved in making of Polish anime dubs (same goes for the studio that he cooperated with), so I think I’m not getting anyone in trouble for that anymore (but I’ll keep his identity secret, just to stay on the safe side).

As I said earlier, these glossaries were provided to the anime dubbers, but judging from their content, I believe they originally served the game localizers and then were forwarded to anime translators and amended with some anime content (which is rather incomplete, as opposed to game content).

The files may be downloaded from here: Glossary “A”: [Download Link] Glossary “B”: [Download Link]

I know that all this stuff may seem fishy to you - some random guy from Tumblr jumps off with some “insider info” all of sudden. But believe me, even I don’t have THAT much free time to fabricate such extensive and detailed files. Also, the info contained in those files is rather unspectacular compared to what you usually see in various “fake leaks”. But it’s up to you, whether you deem these real or fake. I know I’m not shitting anyone.

So, as you can see, those are two .xls files with the names of various characters and aspects of Pokemon series, divided into many sections and sheets.

The first glossary (which I named “A”, but the actual name is “Master TV Glossary”) lists all possible names from the first three generations (a couple of last sheets, likely added later, have some Gen IV stuff too) translated into the European languages that the games are available in (German, French, Spanish, Italian), as well as Dutch, Portuguese and Greek (transcribed to Latin alphabet). It generally doesn't use Japanese names, except in few cases. There is also another version of that glossary (an exact copy, just with all that multilingual stuff replaced by draft Polish translations) but since it doesn’t feature any additional interesting info, I didn’t upload that.

In this glossary, we can find a bunch of interesting things. I'll list the ones that are less-known or completely unknown to facts (the list may be incomplete, so I encourage you to seek through these files, maybe you'll find something interesting):

Not much interesting or new stuff in the "Places" section, but some of the anime-only locations (especially the Hoenn ones, listed on the very bottom) sound strange or unidentifiable.

"People" section is where it gets interesting. First of all, among the Red/Green in-game trade mons, there is a "Bob", which replaces Terry from the final game. I guess they realized their mistake that "Bob" isn't the best name for a Nidorina? Or maybe it has something to do with the Nidoran trade, where the Nidorans had switched genders compared to the Japanese version?

Just below the names of the Red/Green (English Red/Blue) trademons, we find names of what seem to be Japanese Blue in-game trade Pokemon (never available in English, as the trademons in English Red/Blue are based off Japanese Red/Green and not JP Blue) among the RGB characters. These names are as follows: Michelle, Wagster, Swanny, Fluffy, Mymo, Jimbo, Jenny, Shane and Valerie. I have been able to identify Wagster as Poliwag, Mymo as Mr. Mime and Michelle as Haunter (since the French localization of that name plays on the word cauchemar "nightmare"). The rest are up to debate. Maybe we can work them out?

Among the anime characters, we find some characters whose names were never told on-screen (such as Dick and Phillip, who had the same names in Japanese version, or Lacy, confirmed also by closed captions). Furthermore, Dr. Proctor is known as "Doc" (his Japanese name). Also, the order of listing of late-Kanto characters is unchronological (may it have something to do with the fact that some episodes were aired out of order after the Porygon incident in Japan)?

There are three Kanto anime characters, whom I can't identify - Billy, Barry and Bobby. Note that those could be Pokemon nicknames, but I have no freaking idea who are those.

Among the Gold/Silver game characters, we find two mysterious names - Kaz and Audrey. Who are those? I've no idea. I haven't found any references to them in the game data. Some cut beta characters?

Some of the GSC Trainer Classes have different names than in the final game, e.g. Guard (Officer), Thinker (Sage).

Some of the regular Trainers had their names changed to fit in the limitations of the Game Boy screen. Those changes are indicated in the file. Notable examples include Kimono Girls, whose names were shortened. Sayo was originally Sayoko, Kuni was Kunimi and Zuki was Hizuki (note that they're still different from their Japanese names).

Speaking of Kimono Girls, this file list an additional Kimono Girl named Kyoko. Could she be intended to be the Eevee user?

The RS character listing notes Mr. Stone twice - first as Mr. Stone (as he's usually called in-game) and secondly as Stanwick Stone. This is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, the name "Stanwick" was actually used in Polish dub (I remember it), although as his last name (consequently, Steven Stone was named as Steven Stanwick in Polish). Secondly, in ORAS he was known as Joseph Stone, so I guess "Stanwick" counts as scrapped material. His first name is localized to all four game languages.

The “B” glossary (PKMN DP TV Glossary) lists names from Generation IV (Diamond and Pearl), only game stuff. Unlike the first glossary, it does include Japanese names. However, it doesn't have all those international translation, just preliminary Polish translation (I believe that the other version of this glossary, with all that multilingual stuff like the first one does also exist, but my friend never sent me that [or he never had that]).

This glossary is much less extensive, but it also have some interesting trivia stuff.

Japanese name etymologies for human characters and some locations are listed, although the fields mentioning them are hidden.

In a commentary (probably left by original Japanese creators, as they're written in rather bad English), Byron is referred to as "Peter's father". I guess Peter is an English name suggested for Roark by the Japanese creators, but they didn't use it in the end.

The "Goods" sheet is when the fun begins. We have the names of the Secret Base decorations there, with the Japanese names of certain dolls seemingly revealing the beta Japanese names for those Pokemon!

Glameow Doll is リズミィドール (Rhythmie Doll)

Buneary Doll is ミミットドール (Mimitto Doll)

Magnezone Doll is デカコイルドール (Dekacoil Doll)

Drifloon Doll is フーセンドール (Fuusen Doll)

Happiny Doll is コラッキードール (Kolucky Doll)

Pachirisu Doll is パチリッスドール (Pachirissu [with a doubled "s"] Doll). Compare these Japanese names to their final versions and see that they’re different! In all other places of the glossary, all Pokemon names are just normal.

So yeah, that's all interesting stuff that I found in these two glossaries. Perhaps there's something more that I didn't notice. I hope that you enjoyed all those little trivia bits contained in them, even though they may not be that spectacular. I especially loved the fact that JP Blue trademons did get English nicknames. I can only assure you that I really got those from my friend and never edited or changed anything in them. But I'm not really sure how can I prove that, you basically have to believe my words. And I hope that you do.

Uh... that's a long entry. I hope you don't regret reading it. Please reblog and spread the word about these glossaries. They are really valuable material, especially to those who collect little-known Pokemon trivia facts, so I hope this entry gets popular. That's it for now. I don't plan more of such unusual updates (unless I find something worth it) and now we'll be back to our usual updates, with Pokemon character pictures.

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with DigiAdvs 02 & O.C.s

DemiGoldVmon: D'you think Hikaru will like Daisuke's present?? (Fretting a Bit) DemiSilVmon, Not Quite Getting It Yet But: Sure she will, they're really close after all!!! DemiSilVmon: Besides, the present is (actually) cute! {can tell it's Hikaru relevant} DemiGoldVmon: I hope it'll be all right.. (Chibimon's worried too but is hanging with the rest...) DemiSilVmon: Let's just watch over her for now! DemiGoldVmon: .. Yeah, I'm kind of pooped after that battle! (Tired Whines but Then) It was cool at the end when "that boy" Hikaru knew and that other one showed up! What was its name again?? Something like "P"... "Pii-ka"?? DemiSilVmon: I was already Evolved so I was kind of really busy fighting!... But yeah, they helped! They made a really good team with Daisuke and Vmon too!! Especially when they Evolved! DemiGoldVmon, Nodding: Yeah, I want to thank those guys later!! It helped me out by the time I was joining in too, since I can't Evolve yet and there were so many Adult levels around!! DemiSilVmon, musing: Come to think of it, though, I didn't see them hanging around back with everyone else at the house. Maybe they went back home?... DemiGoldVmon, deflating: Maybe... O.C. Shane, Sighing as GoldVmon later joins Shane in Floating Endlessly in a Digital Void: (He had no idea Pika*** was camouflaging itself.) Shane: (And apparently I was not just "part Digital" but "DEAD" and when I "disappeared" {at the end} I was being dragged back into the Void {Death} again) Shane: (But I didn't KNOW IT At the Time) Shane: (I DID get to mess with Daisuke one more time at least by the end but I didn't get to See Hikaru...) Shane's Mon: (So, whoever did "this" to you essentially "killed you" for "some reason". Almost as if to "prevent" you from "being around"... {Hikaru}??) SHANE: (And now GoldVmon {Hikaru's 2nd 'Mon} is here.) Shane's Mon: (What are you going to Do?) SHANE: ... Shane: (In retrospect I'm not completely sure what I CAN do.) Shane's Mon: (Well, you Got Out of Here Before...) SHANE: Shane: (Are you Implying something?) Shane's Mon: (...You could try the same Again.) S H A N E:

[lexsaltjourney]

things with Interac have been awful. I'm so stressed out! They dont tell us anything! They dont tell us import info in a timely manner. They didnt even tell me that I was going to Toyama temporarily(they messed up somehow and charged me the full initial costs for my apt and gave me a fu 2 yrs contract so i didnt realize)! I had to notice the discrepancy between my charges and those of the other temp ppl and them saying only 2 ppl were permanently in Toyama and ask if i was temp too to be told. If i hadnt asked I WOULD HAVE HAD NO IDEA! They wait til the last min to tell us about meetings and stuff, hearing late Weds that we had to be downtown for a meeting Fri. I got an email early Thurs that I was going to schools Mon but it just had the school name and day I go, no times or what I should do. Ppl dont communicate with each other within the company. At the meeting Fri Shane(a high up branch staff member) didn't even know we wouldnt be doing a school intro day but jumping right in to teaching the kids. no one had received their SLP(scheduled lesson plan) and was asking what we were expected to do and he kept telling us we would find all that out when we meet the teachers and from the SLP. that level of misinformed and lack of info. after asking a bunch of questions at the Fri meeting Shane called me and told me im moving to Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture around the 23rd but they have no idea when i'll start at my schools!🙃🤬🤬🤬🤬 This is just a sample of all the shit going on. I'm so mad and anxious!!!!

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Superheroes with Secrets: Quotes on the Brain (Fic Part 188. Set in 2002)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places. Please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @tantamount-treason @piratewithvigor @thedollmaker16

Reference Posts: ‘Giantess’/‘Blacklight Bandit’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ’Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

"That's my plan."

"You green goofball, my love."

"I wear those names proudly."

She chuckles softly, moaning even softer. His tongue flicks over her quickly, teasing her clit.

"Oh mon amour."

"Love seeing you squirm…"

"I love it when you make me squirm."

"Could swear you taste even better when you squirm."

"Maybe I do, whose to say?"

"Just me." He winks.

"Exactly, mon mari, and the more you make me squirm, the closer I get to cumming." She purrs.

"My evil plan is working perfectly."

"Your plan wasn't evil, dastardly maybe, but not evil."

"I'll take dastardly."

"I love you, mon mari."

"I love you too."

"I'm so close, my love."

"Cum for me, sweetheart."

Kirby moans his name as she cums, breathing heavily as she comes down from the high. He licks her clean and dry, swallowing all her juices. She moves herself to lay down next to him, covering her face with her arms as she breathes deeply.

"How was that?"

"That… was amazing… so amazing."

"Tasted amazing."

"Thank you, mon mari." She whispers breathlessly.

"My pleasure."

"Your pleasure is pleasuring me?"

"It is."

"Is it cheesy that I like that?"

"Not at all."

"Well then, mon ange, I like being able to let you get off by getting me off."

"Well, you've definitely gotten me hard, but there's one last thing I'd like to do."

"I am all yours, my love, do with me what you want."

"I want to cum on you."

"Anywhere in particular or just all over?"

"Your chest is the main dream."

"I won't stop you, sexy beast."

He pushes up to his knees, straddling her hips as he begins stroking himself.

"I love you, mon ange, you look so sexy."

"Just wait until I cum over those pretty tits."

"You wanna cum on these?" Kirby teases, wiggling her chest slightly.

"God yes."

"You do realise that if you get me dirty I'm making you clean me up."

"Absolutely."

"Good man, mon ouragan d'amour, I love you so much."

"I love you too, my angel. More than anything."

"Am I crazy, my love? I stand next to a Hurricane and do not fear death, would that make me insane?"

"That depends, do you trust the Hurricane?"

"I'm married to the Hurricane, of course I trust him… wouldn't have let him get me pregnant if I didn't trust him."

"Then you have nothing to fear. In the eye of the storm, you're safe."

"I knew I wasn't crazy, it's the people who don't trust the Hurricane who are truly crazy."

"I protect my loved ones."

"Those who get on your bad side get hit with the force of the Hurricane."

"That's why they gotta stand back."

"Stand back, there's a very protective Daddy Hurricane coming through." She chuckles softly.

"Love just makes a hurricane stronger."

"Love, and working out so he can lift his pregnant giantess of a wife, and potentially overpower her if he needs to."

"Don't think I'd ever need to overpower you, but I think I could hold you back from pummelling someone if I had to."

"I don't mean it in just the stopping me from hurting someone way… you can take control during sex, you know I like that, it's a form of overpowering me."

"Guess you don't get to feel it often, having someone be stronger."

"Can't help being the biggest and strongest… I could choose to stop working out tomorrow onwards and still be one of the toughest in the company."

"That's a half-quote while I'm jacking off." He chuckles.

Kirby chuckles as she covers her face with her hands, "I'm sorry, mon mari. Couldn't resist the urge."

"Just means I get to sit here a little longer."

"You know what I'm like, I see the opportunity and I take it."

"Hell yeah you do."

"I think your mind went to sex again, didn't it?"

"Not many places for it to go right now."

"You wanna kiss me, hold me, squeeze me?" She teases.

"I wanna make you mine in every sense of the word."

"Me and you, mon mari, we can set the world on fire if we wanted."

"We could. Without a doubt."

"Have you shaved recently, my love, you don't look as scruffy as usual."

"Yeah, popped in quick while you were napping. Tidied up a bit."

"You look very handsome, although I do kinda miss the scruffy beard."

"Won't be more than a few days before I get scruffy again. And I left a little for you." He chuckles.

"Thank you, mon mari, my scruffy little superhero."

"That's me." He grins.

"You green goofball, who else could I possibly describe as my superhero, there's only one Hurricane, my love."

"Just me. Just your one Hurricane."

"My one and only, the father of my child and the only man I would kill for, or die for, either way, what bliss."

"And now the Addams family?" He teases.

"It's a good quote from an excellent movie, what can I say?" She smirks.

"Well, you can always moan for me."

"Teasing you feels better than moaning while you're jacking off, ya know, you're not putting you're dick in me so why would I moan?"

"Do you want me to fuck you on the floor?"

"No, I'd rather you get off by yourself, so I can continue teasing you."

"Whatever you want, hot stuff."

"Thank you, baby daddy."

"My pleasure."

Kirby moves herself slightly, ghosting her fingers over his abs and pecs. He flexes a little, showing off the definition he's been working so hard on.

"Sexy beast… all mine." She whispers, blushing a light pink.

"All yours."

"You gonna mark me, baby daddy?"

"Damn right I am."

"Cover me with your love."

He tips his head back with a groan as he cums all over her chest.

"Good man, my beloved." She purrs.

"God, you look gorgeous…"

"Do I, well, you've got to clean me up, so get to work, sexy beast."

He smirks and slides down her body before beginning to lick her clean.

"I love you so much, mon mari."

"I love you too."

She strokes his hair gently, whispering sweet nothings in French.

"Might want to get off the floor… can't feel good for your back."

"Shane, I am fine, I'll get up and go to bed if you want, but I am fine."

"Just making sure you're feeling okay." He assures.

"I'm good, your handsome face distracts me from most things, so I'm fine."

"You ol' sweet-talker." He chuckles.

"Perhaps you cold carry me to bed and we could snuggle?"

"Now that sounds very nice."

"I'll get up so it's easier for you to carry me."

"I appreciate it, sweetheart."

Kirby pulls Helms into a gentle kiss before getting to her feet and letting him pick her up. He carries her easily, quietly proud of his strength.

"I'm so proud of you, mon mari, you have made yourself so strong and it impresses me greatly." She whispers.

"It's what you asked of me." He smiles softly.

"You have done more than what I asked of you, mon mari, much more."

"You think so?"

"Yes, you amaze me with how strong you are, and you thrill me to no end with how loving can be towards me."

"I hope to always be loving towards you."

"Thank you for everything, my love, there's no one better than you for me, I hope you know how much I love you."

"I hope you know how much I love you too. With everything I am."

"You are mine and I am yours, forever and always, my hero, my baby daddy."

"Guess we'll never stop saying vows to each other, will we?" He chuckles.

"Nope," She chuckles, "but it does mean we'll always be able to say how much we love each other."

"I'm glad. I don't wanna stop."

"Good, because we never have to."

"Perfect. Just like my wife."

"You are perfect, mon mari, you are like the sun, I am just the moon reflecting your glow."

His cheeks go bright red, "now you're just being sweet."

"Sweet but true. I am your sidekick, the Robin to your Batman."

"If anything, I'm yours."

"You're the one that made me become the Blacklight Bandit, without the Hurricane, there would be no bandit, therefore I am your sidekick."

"Well, I guess that makes sense."

"Also, without the Hurricane, there would be no Lilith, if we hadn't met when we did, there's a possibility that she would not exist."

"Don't like thinking about that…"

"But it's true, if we weren't together, neither of us would be happy, would we?"

"I'd be living in a hotel, maybe having spent Christmas with the Hardys."

"And I would be working every single day, working myself to the bone and never letting anyone get close."

"In other words, miserable, the two of us."

"But because we are together, we live in bliss… sexy, sexy bliss."

"The sexiest bliss."

"Wedded sexy, superhero bliss." Kirby nods.

"With a perfect little baby on the way."

"Our little angel with a devilish name and her father's strength."

"Best of the three realms."

"I hope that Lilith wants to become a wrestler when she grows up. It would be amazing if we could train her."

"Even if she doesn't, we should. Make sure she can defend herself."

"Make sure our kids can all kick ass, no matter what they decide to do as a job."

"That and I'm concerned about her as a woman growing up in this world. Don't want her to be helpless."

"She won't be helpless, she'll never be out of our sight until she's a rebellious teen and then she'll know that if she doesn't want to be here she can stay with her uncles and aunts until she wants to come home, she will learn how to be strong from us."

"I hope so."

"All we have to do is teach her to talk and walk, and right from wrong and how to stay away from strangers and kick them in the gonads if they won't leave her alone. Parent stuff."

"Exactly. And how to drive."

"We should leave that stuff until she decides if she wants to drive, and if she does, then we have to see if she wants a motorcycle or a car."

"That's something I can't negotiate. Whether or not she wants to learn how to drive, I'm going to teach her. There's going to be some day where she may have to drive someone. An emergency or they're drunk or something or she has to escape a situation. I want her to know how to drive."

"Okay, but you must also teach her the dangers of driving impaired, like if she's drunk or tired or high, god forbid she gets high and drives, you make sure she stays away from the keys to any vehicle when impaired."

"I take road safety seriously, hon, you know that."

"I do know that, I'm just making sure that you know what I want Lilith to be aware of, and I love you, mon mari, I trust you to do what's right for her when the time comes, if she gets in trouble then we need to be there for her, as long as that trouble isn't her becoming a murderer by choice, I don't want her to choose the life of killing people instead of helping them."

"We'll raise her well."

"We won't do what our biological parents did, we'll do what my adoptive father did, which was provide the best life for me no matter how many questions people ask, or how much it costs."

"Exactly."

"It's weird to think about how small she is compared to me, I know I shouldn't really be comparing myself and her, because I'm a giant but she's so tiny."

"When you hold her, she'll seem even smaller."

"Our tiny little baby, our little bundle of joy."

"She'll be here by spring."

"She'll come into this world the same way she acts when she wants attention, kicking and probably screaming."

[jumpseatconfesions]

Jamaican Me Crazy Mon

Over 10 years ago, I began my own tradition to hit the beach with friends for Valentine’s Day. One day, my own personal tradition coincided with some of my airline friend’s annual trips to Jamaica and I have combined both ever since. Jamaican’s call us “Jamericans”. On my friend’s first trip to Jamaica, they went to Ocho Rios (which is a few hours drive from MBJ) and decided to stay one more night in Montego Bay due to the very long travel to the airport. It was then that they discovered a hidden gem of a resort called, Toby’s Resort. The following year I joined them for my very first time in Jamaica. It was such a quick trip, 24hrs but I wasn’t “big enough for Jamaica” (inside story) so I ended up extending my trip to 48hrs. Yes, I am one of THOSE people who will go on a quick trip just because I can. Toby’s Resort isn’t one of those popular all inclusive resorts lots of families and newly weds tend to book because of the popular beach themed ads on TV (yes, you know the ones). Never the less, boy was the experience such a pleasant one! The hospitality they give you is a very Southern Hospitality. Toby’s Resort is a family own resort passed down from generation to generation. You won’t find this on their website “about me” section but it was first owned by Grandma Chin who then passed it on to Henry “Junior” Chin. Mr.Chin was one of a kind and would make anyone and everyone feel like family. At a young age of 76 years old, he was fatally shot during a robbery while harvesting grass for his pet rabbits with two of his employees present even after he met the robber’s demands in march of 2016. Since then, the resort was passed down and currently owned by his son, Shane, who not only is carrying Junior’s legacy but pouring all of his heart and soul into Toby’s Resort. This resort is a Montego Bay’s best kept secret, located on 1 Kent Ave just a short cab ride from the airport and walking distance to the famous Montego Bay Strip. We have been staying at Toby’s for about 6 years now (7yrs for my friends), and tho we’ve tried staying at other hotels on the nights Toby’s is fully booked, we always ALWAYS find our way back to this beloved resort. It is very safe and cozy, but most of all, the experience doesn’t compare. I guess I should also mention that it’s VERY affordable if you’re on a budget, and walking distance to two local beaches, one which you have to pay for (tourist beach) and the other, a free public beach where on early mornings, you’re likely to find a group of local digging holes to do some stretching and enjoy the sunrise. Being so close to the strip of course, you’ll come across the locals trying to sell you hand made items and offer to braid your hair for one American dollar per braid. But you’ll also find local markets and restaurants that if you like local food, you’re for sure bound to enjoy. One of these markets is hidden through an alley, but if you want to know where, you’ll just have to go and experience it yourself. 😉 Here are some of my favorite photos from our time there and I am looking forward to our next trip to Jamaica in 2021 (fingers crossed). 

Now the guy you see below here is Kenny, he’s a bartender at Doc’s Cave Beach Hotel nearby, and a must-see on Saturdays from 6pm-7pm for the Free Rum Punch. It’s not just ANY rum punch, it’s Jamaican Rum Punch so go easy on them, and give your phone to your friend after 2 of these drinks so you don’t wind up drunk texting your ex. Speaking for a friend. 

Get the coconuts at Doc’s Cave Beach, collected by the locals, they’re $5 American dollars and trust me, you want to stay hydrated.

I should mention if you’re wanting to party at Margaritaville, it is also located just a short walk from our resort, but I don’t need to remind you to always use the buddy system no matter what country you’re in.

Back to Toby’s for the refreshing drinks by their bartender Mike, who’s been there as long as the furniture. Tell him the Flight Attendants say hi, he’ll know who we are. 

As usual, we end up bringing guest from Toby’s for the Rum Punch at Doc’s because well there’s Kenny, and he makes sure to bring local cooks so you can experience the famous Jamaican jerk chicken and rice. If you’re looking for a low key, fun authentic Jamaica experience and don’t want to venture too far (cabs get expensive yall), this place right here is where you’ll want to go. Plus he lets us play our own music so you end up having your own “private club” with 90′s hip hop if you want. If you go see him, tell him Dan and The Girls say hi and squeeze him real hard for me. From afar, you know, because of social distancing and all?

[kacebox]

Shipping Just Sucks For Me

I’m going to share with you all here on Tumblr a little bit of frustration I have when it comes to enjoying whatever fictional dramas I do.  Be they TV shows or some film franchise, it always seems to be the same.

I didn’t know the term “shipping” even existed until about Summer 2004 when I started frequenting some L Word message boards.  It was a bit of internet language I wasn’t familiar with.  From there I was introduced to concepts like ship names, names based on whatever pairings, romantically or otherwise from some show or movie.  I remember an early favorite of mine was a friendship based one from TLW called AlShaDane, based on a trio of friends, Alice Pieszecki, Shane MacCutcheon, and Dana Fairbanks.  There was Dana/Lara and when that fell through, there was Alice/Dana aka Danish.

For TLW, the big one and the one that still persists to something else I was introduced to in 2004, FanFic was TiBette, Bette/Tina.  That was the first truly fierce, “ride or die” ship fandom I can recall and it’s still rather fierce.

Eventually I learned what I could of the terminology so I could apply it to my own fandom.  The L Word aka TLW was important in teaching me a lot of stuff I wasn’t familiar with, but also teaching something else important and that’s shipping disappointment, also fandom disappointment.

TLW prepared me to deal with a lot of bullshit I’ve noticed when it comes to the fandoms I represent.  Dana Fairbanks was my favorite character.  She had the most intriguing story overall as it concerned the main characters.  Naturally, she’s the one the writers decided to kill off in Season 3 while she was already in the middle of a gripping enough storyline involving herself, Alice, and Lara.  I had also become a fan of the Shane/Carmen pairing and of course that died at the end of Season 3.

I remember writing the first (and only successful) fanfic based on the trauma that I and some other fans had dealt with as a result of that season.  I’ve tried here and there to write some stuff since, but I’m fucking horrible at writing.

By the time TLW ended in 2009, it felt like a mercy killing and it would be a while before I was able to watch anything though I should point out I did watch FlashForward for the freak show effect of the plot.

2013 was when I finally started opening back up to watching any shows again, starting with Agents of SHIELD and The Blacklist.  Eventually I would catch up on some other shows I eventually became interested.  In 2015, Supergirl would burst on the scene and that show quickly went from curiosity to my favorite show, the reason why episodic TV was worth it.  I became a big fan of the Danvers sisters and how they dealt with the growing pains of Kara growing into being a superhero and the support and love from Alex who had always been there for her since Kara showed up at the Danvers’ doorstep.

Unfortunately, Supergirl had to deal with CBS during Season 1, but thankfully the show as able to move over to the CW where I figured things might open up.  I admit, my initial reaction to Maggie showing up had me at “Huh?”  Then I remembered, it probably wasn’t likely Maggie was gonna show up on Gotham and date the future Batwoman who herself has yet to appear on that show.

Then Season 2 came along and Alex and Maggie started interacting.  There was an instant chemistry to it.  Sanvers wasn’t like Olicity where I figured “Yeah I like it, but understand Oliver’s got that “destined loner” thing going against him (see: MacCutcheon, Shane).  Like I said, TLW prepared me for this shit.

Sure there’s Barry/Iris, but that’s cheating as OF COURSE they’re supposed to be together.  Then Sanvers happened.  Cue the Sigma song with Rita Ora, “Coming Home” and that first kiss.  It was Dana/Lara all over again for me.  I remember how that one ended.  Again, that show prepared me.

Yet still, here we are in 2017 and this amazing story with an amazing pairing of characters featuring actors with chemistry and empathy for the situation their characters are in yet we’re on the verge of the oil slick into the ravine, assuming it’s not there already.

Disappointment is disappointment and sure a good fanfic doesn’t hurt when it comes to distractions, but that can only get so far.  Heck at one point last year I attempted (and failed) to write some story where not only were Jessica Jones and Felicity Smoak were a couple, but Supergirl and Quake were also one, because just the idea of that impossible pairing was too good to pass up without at least giving it a shot.

Again though, it’s fanfic.  Anything may go there, but the writers of the official stuff still helm the controls.  Creative and the network dictate what they can with the official narrative and there’s not much we can do about it.  Based on my avatar as of this writing, it’s apparent that I’m a big Holtzbert fan as well, based on Jillian Holtzmann and Erin Gilbert from Ghostbusters (2016), my favorite of the Gb films.  Sadly, I don’t think that will ever be successfully addressed either in a sequel that might not ever happen to the comic adaptation that currently gets to form the narrative, courtesy of IDW Publishing.

Which brings me back to Sanvers.  Here’s what the current state of Supergirl has done to me.  Keep in mind, this is still my favorite show, but I’ve gone from watching the show as it airs to DVR’ing it for later to delaying watching it and the other shows I’m into.  I’m currently 2 weeks behind and this Monday it might be 3.  I’m still keeping up thanks to social media, but it sure does make me feel apprehensive about hitting Play.

Everything is veering towards an inevitable breakup and I’m none too pleased about this.  I get that Floriana Lima, who plays Maggie is up for checking out some other gigs while she can and that’s fine.  I get that Creative is more interested in teasing the Supercorp (Kara/Lena) fans while shoehorning Karamel (Kara/Mon-El) in even when they’re not together.

Don’t get me wrong Karamelers, I’m not anti-Karamel necessarily.  I think they’re good together.  It’s just not something I feel strongly about either way.  I love that Team Karamel is ride or die for their favorite couple.  I dig that.  I also dig Team Supercorp and they’re undying faith in a concept no doubt feel should be given a chance.  I know that feeling well.  Unfortunately, I also know what it’s like to be disappointed at such a chance not being taken.

I don’t like feeling strongly about ships.  Again, I learned from TLW that’s a quick access point to resentment toward strangers trying to write their narrative.  With the exception of some likes or whatnot on social media I’ve tried keeping all this in check, but I admit it’s getting harder to do that.  There’s this level of bile building up, a level that I haven’t felt since Losing the Light on March 12, 2006.  Trust me when I say I was not particularly pleasant that night.

If/when the big Sanvers breakup happens on Sg, I’ll likely find out about it before I get around to watching it and it’s still gonna suck. 

These people have lives.

These people have jobs to do.

These people are just trying to tell some story the best they can.

That’s me trying to remind myself to be rational.  That’s me trying to remind myself that ultimately this is fictional bullshit that should have no effect on my or anyone else’s life.

Then I remember how wrong I am.  Then I remember the families who shared their stories about how the Danvers sisters dynamic was huge for them, especially those with a birthed child and one adopted.  Then I remember the past year of reading just how powerful Alex’s coming out and the relationship with Maggie became instrumental in their lives.  I remember thinking to myself “Wow” when it came to others struggling to come out and struggling with acceptance, struggling with all of these real life issues that Chyler Leigh has been able to provide her acting prowess to as Alex and how meaningful the Alex/Maggie relationship became.

This wasn’t just some TiBette shit where people simply loved the chemistry in everything Jennifer Beals (Bette) and Laurel Holloman (Tina) brought to the table in making the rollercoaster ride of that relationship work on screen.  It wasn’t just about how natural they made it look, how organic it came off as.  Sanvers wasn’t just some crazy idea worth checking.  We weren’t interested in being baited.  We weren’t interested in Sg Creative declaring, “hey let’s try a lesbian thing on here and see how it goes.”  As the SEC football fans and marketing puts it, “it just means more.”  We had no interest in Sanvers being some kind of exploitation project to attract the GLAAD viewers.  For many of us it became personal, deeply personal.  I have a bad feeling that once all this plays out the way it’s apparently going to, that by the time they’re able to resolve it, it’s going to be too late.  When fans declare that “Sanvers is my endgame,” they’re not fucking kidding.  Something to understand about LGBTQ viewers, myself representing the “B” side to that.  We don’t like being dicked around.  We don’t have time for it.  We don’t have to be baited and we’re not interested in being thrown a damn scrap here and there. 

Whether Sg Creative meant it, they tapped into something that’s become meaningful for many of us.  For me it’s idealism mixed with some realism, which I realize is a bit crazy as it comes to a show about a flying white lady alien who among her superpowers is being able to do all that fighting and not get a single run in those tights.

Alex/Maggie is getting into Dana Fairbanks territory.  It’s getting into Losing the Light territory.  As much as creative has a right to tell their stories as best they can, I and other Sanvers supporters have a right to not be happy about it and be rather vocal about it.

I won’t allow for any ship to be my endgame. I just won’t.  That said, even with the now apprehensive viewing, there’s going to be that disappointment.  The previous decade, TLW made me realize that I was more of a fan for what the show could be than what it was.  Supergirl with all those powers and abilities is going to wind up being the same.  That just sucks.

Sanvers matters.  Sanvers fans should also matter.