#I HAVE WANTED THIS SINCE MANIA 39 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

buttdawg · 10 months ago

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Dwayne

If you can believe Twitter, everyone hates The Rock now. Twitter renamed itself X eight months ago, but the URL is still "twitter.com", so you can't always trust what you hear there.

Still, the impression I get is that WWE fans are upset about this week's TV, where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returned and basically usurped Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania 40 match with Roman Reigns. I didn't see this happen, so I don't know the exact details, but the whole thing sounds like a rumor, because fans have been talking about Roman/Rock for years, and they've been talking about Cody/Roman II ever since their last match at WrestleMania 39. Now, it seems like the stars have finally aligned for both matches, so WWE has to pick one or the other.

Some guy on Twitter posted a picture of Rock and Roman staring each other down, and asked users to describe the image in three words. My caption is "business as usual".

WWE's always had trouble making big decisions. In the final years of my viewership, I quit watching Raw and Smackdown because the shows never seemed to matter. Much of the airtime was spent haggling over the PPV matches and speculating over who would fight who. So I just started watching the PPV's only, since those decisions would already be made. Then the James Khahshoggi murder happened, and WWE had to decide whether to go forward with the 2018 Crown Jewel show. It took them three weeks to figure it out, and then they just did the show anyway. I canceled my WWE Network subscription and never looked back. Those who stuck around got to see Crown Jewel 2018, which absolutely sucked, so WWE ended up pleasing no one.

After Vince McMahon stepped down in 2022, there was a renewed optimism about WWE's product, which was dampened by Vince's return in early 2023, but there still seemed to be an improvement in morale. There was a lot of frustration over Cody vs. Roman at Mania 39, because it seemed like Cody was due to "finish the story", but Roman defeated him to retain his title. But at least WWE made a decision. They didn't do some bullshit double-DQ, or a no-contest, or have Hulk Hogan come out to win the title in an impromptu match, or send Seth Rollins out to make it a three-way. They just had Roman beat Cody. The end. Cody will have to try again next time.

That might have been the wrong call, but at least WWE made a call and stuck with it. Roman's record-breaking title reign is kind of incredible for modern WWE. Back when I was watching, everyone knew WWE wanted to book Roman as a top guy, but they kept getting in their own way, spoiling all of his triumphs in a vain effort to set up some bigger triumph that they could never quite get right. Now that's he's finally been established, I can appreciate WWE's reluctance to change the status quo. Roman represents stability.

But now it's starting to look like WWE has the same problem in the opposite direction. One of these days, someone needs to upset Roman to win his title, but they can't seem to decide who that person is, or when it should happen, or how it should happen.

The way I remember it, Rock vs. Roman was something WWE wanted to do for a while now, and it seemed like WrestleMania 39 was a good time to go for it, except the Rock couldn't make it so they had to shelve those plans. So Cody got the spot instead, and fans really got behind that idea. Maybe he should have won the title then, but you could argue that it builds to an even bigger rematch at WrestleMania 40 this way. And that seemed to be the idea, since he won the Royal Rumble. Except this year the Rock seems to be available, so here we are.

The dilemma here is that fans had a whole year to get invested in Cody's quest for a rematch, while the Rock is this super-megastar who only comes around once in a great while. He's 51, so if they don't do this Rock/Roman thing soon, they may never make it happen. Cody will still be around for a while, but it strains credibility to have him chase Roman for three years. It also doesn't make much sense for him to just pass up a title shot at WrestleMania when he has first dibs on it.

Instead, Cody seems to be pivoting to a match with Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. This leads to speculation that he might win that match and try to unify the belts or something, but it says a lot that any of this is an option. Over the past twenty-two years, WWE has established two "brands" and two world titles. Sometimes they recombine them, only just just split them off again. These days there's even two nights of WrestleMania, so it shouldn't matter that Rock and Cody are kind of occupying the same spot. There's plenty of main event space for both of them.

And yet, the fans still appear unsatisfied. Cody was going after Roman specifically. He wanted his title. That was the way the story was presented, right until the Rock showed up and then Cody graciously stepped aside.

I think it's that stepping aside that ticks the fans off. It reminds me a lot of when Batista came back in 2014, and fans booed him out of the building because they wanted Daniel Bryan to win the title, not him. And WWE did the smart thing and worked Bryan into the match, but I'm not sure that would work here. In 2014, Batista won the Royal Rumble, and Bryan defeated Triple H to get into the main event. So they each had a claim to challenge for the title. But in 2024, Cody won the Royal Rumble, and he's the guy everyone wanted. What claim does the Rock have to any of this?

I mean, he's a big celebrity, sure, but there's a lot of fans who are too young to remember his heyday. They grew up with the Rock being this guy who comes out sometimes to beat up heels and lead the crowd in silly chants like "Kung Pao Bitch" or "Tofu Anus". Cody's actually on TV every week. I think WWE may have been so starstruck by the Rock that they failed to notice that their active roster has a greater rapport with the fans.

This could all work out in the end. I think the best bet would be to do some Double-Gold Double Dash thing like they did at WrestleKingdom in 2020. Do Rock/Roman and Cody/Seth at Night 1, and then do Cody/Roman in a unification match at Night 2. That ought to please everyone, and maybe WWE's going there, but they can't reveal i yet because the story just started.

But it says a lot to me that they invented all these extra shows and extra titles and extra events just to give themselves wiggle room, but it still feels like threading a needle every time. Everything has to be done a certain, exact way, or we have to scrap everything and wait another year to get it right.

Personally, I'd just have Cody beat Roman at Summerslam and get it over with. WrestleMania is overrated, and they run a dozen other PPV's with the same roster, so just do a big moment at one of them for a change. Not everything has to happen at WrestleMania.

#wwe #the rock #dwayne johnson #he probably regrets choosing this time to join tko #and to return to the ring #i don't know that anyone could have predicted all this #well maybe batista might have warned him about some of it

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marlasomething · 2 years ago

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(my) Mag a Week: Crumbling Concert

Hello there!

I am participating in the "a mag a day" idea by @a-mag-a-day which is BRILLIANT and I decided to do "statement a week", rolling dice with the characters and fears that were ftw that week in the episodes I have listened.

For today I rolled Archivist!Grifter's Bone (don't judge me, the dices SPOKE) and The Desolation (Eps. 39-43).

As usual, please do forgive my quick tipper and non-native speaker mistakes, Marla

Allons-y!

CW: Martin's mom A+ parenting, death and murder, corruption of the soul, Desolation Fear Domain, mentions of parental neglec and illness

Also on AO3!

Fellow musicians, dear fans, naïve newcomers…Welcome all to our first and last concert in the City of Lights!

We are Grifter’s Bone and we are very pleased indeed to be able to tell you the story of two lovers we have… observed very closely in recent times and how its downfall came to be.

The end is near, are you ready to face your fears?

Martin Blackwood had always lived in the shadow of his mother. Not because she was someone especially relevant and (or) remarkable in any aspect imaginable, but because she managed to control and manipulate him at her will with the sole power of verbal violence and their unbalanced interpersonal dynamics.

She constantly insisted she didn’t truly need him, corrupting his soul by making him feel extremely useful while blaming on him even the slightest of mishaps, magnifying them up to the point he began to question whether he had genuinely made an unwilling mistake or if part of him truly wanted to hurt his mother.

So he stayed, and stayed, trying to find a love that had never been there. Pretending comments about his body where just misguided worry, the ones about his lack of occupation a badly put critic on their country’s lack of jobs and the ones that were so bitterly yelled that some words were not even discernible…just due to her illness.

Because, apart from a terrible person, Martin Blackwood’s mother was physically sick. Some might argue (and not without reason) that it was partially her fault, since she had refused to go to a doctor for her entire adult life (likely the reason our hero had always walked with a discreet limp, since her mania had been forced since birth into her offspring). However, Martin would never see it that way (he’d rather have a nice lie), so he just worried more and more about her.

To receive nothing but harm, harm so intense he felt his own foundations burn to the ground (once or twice a bit more literally than he would have liked, but that’s a story for another day).

Before his nineteenth birthday, as much as his life was rather intolerable, that rather was still a major component of said definition (there were still some salvable elements in there). Then, thanks to the magic of self-discovering and externally-supplied testosterone, Martin started to look more and more like a paler, ever so slightly sickly (thanks to his absolutely lack of any money that didn’t go towards his mother’s well-being) version of his father. Alas, his mother became even more of a monster in whatever was referred to her only son.

It didn’t work as you might think, though, for this only made Martin tried harder with her; reaching the point to convince himself the one time he almost asphyxiated due to someone leaving a fire burning in the leaving room with the door opened just so the heavily poisonous smoke would reach the inside of his bedroom had been just a silly accident.

No matter how much he cried, how much everything inside him stop working properly due to the sheer disgust shown by her, no matter how much he took care of her for absolutely nothing but harmful comments…he forced himself to still believe, deep inside, she loved him just as much as he should…as he did.

Then, he met Jonny-boy.

He would have hated being called so, good thing he is pushing daisies now. Jonathan Sims was a journalist and editor who sort of hated open-mics and, still, got to go to one rather frequently due to his position on a quite poorly managed local paper.

The first step on the way my future career.

Now, Jon had also a lot of self-denial deep inside of him and toxic cicling behaviours he created for himself, but those are topics for another day. The point, though, in this story is how he managed to meet Martin in one of these open-mics and…almost murdered him.

His poetry was bad, his manners too distant yet too sweet for his taste and he managed to feel incompetent even in holding a meat fork. And Jon wasn’t one of those people who keep things for themselves. So he told Martin all of these opinions and more.

However, as the murderous desires decreased, they found each other enjoying their new-found friend companionship.

As time went by, their friendship evolve into something more, something they were almost ready to put a name to. Something that was healing both of them. Martin’s eyes now revealed that the building within them was starting to be rebuilt, the chaos far gone. There was no more destruction; just growth, just hope.

His mother, obviously, noticed how her fiery comments, how her smashing remarks left almost no mark on her son, on her caretaker, on her only connection to the Real World as her health state worsened and going out had become an impossible tact.

What’s more, Martin had started neglecting her. Only in very small, almost unnoticeable details but, compared to the perfectly arranged life he had always made for her, it was a rather huge change. Especially since now she had no option but to admit that Martin’s care was actually extremely valuable to her.

She might have survived all this, maybe even made it feasible for Martin to pay another person to take care of her partially without the not-so-silent-threat of trying to destroy them as people in the process.

Still, it was something her pride could simply not let go.

The next time she tried to throw down Martin, after he had decided to try and bake something for him and Jon with zero experience on the matter, he just smiled sadly and said he simply just hoped she would one day understand her hatred was a one-way street (not as he still believed, deep inside, their fraternal love was).

She could almost hear the lack of crumbling down inner-constructions. It made no sense! Martin was a weakling, not any different for what his father had been, and the later had lasted barely a decade living with her before he was nothing but human-shaped ashes.

Just as she had always wished that being to end.

Therefore, she decided that, if the insides of Martin Blackwood could not be broken, his outsides would.

That is why, one night Martin and Jon were dreaming with a world in which worms were even deadlier than in ours, holding so tight to each other that they had become one unique creature, she took a lighter with her and, thinking about how Martin was nothing but a burden thrown to her, she threw it switched on at the door and, against all laws of nature, it ignited the whole building.

When the fire finally died, there was only one survivor.

Martin Blackwood woke up to the ashes of who had been the love of his life (in every universe) and, just as far as he believed the entryway was, her mother’s corpse.

His skin was untouched and he began weeping tears so hot a sauna would be jealous. Those tears corroded his skin, leaving two perpendicular scars at each side of his face.

His mother had spent her entire existence trying to throw him down, to make him become nothing but the rubble of a person she reckoned shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

Now, she was gone and there was nothing for him but to prove his mother wrong, to deny in the biggest measure possible the uselessness she had always attributed him. And he knew the way to do it, appealing to a very special part of myself. The one only Jon had managed to temporarily shut down: he wasn’t the one to be broken anymore; he was the one to break everything.

And so it concludes the tale of how Martin Blackwood came to be feared as no-one since Saint Agnes had been. We would love to stay but, as you are well aware, we must go in the look of more stories to archive just to show to audiences as loyal and kind as you.

Now, remember, the lighters are at the entrance.

Make good use of them.

SUPPLEMENTAL. Stope hiding, for fucks shake! We have noticed you. Yes, you. The one currently listening to our lyrics and somehow being unaffected by them. None of us is certain of why that is but, mark our words: we will find whatever cursed book is helping you out and feed it to our audiences.

#a mag a day #a mag a week #mag horror #statement #original statement #au #the magnus archives #fanfic #tma #magnuspod #grifter's bone #martin blackwood #jonathan sims #jmart #martin blackwood's mother #fic #the desolation #mag

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blueskyerising · 2 years ago

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Fantasy Booking WrestleMania 39 & the 4/3/23 Monday Night RAW

Before we get to Part II of how I’d book the Fall of the Bloodline, I thought it’d be appropriate to touch over on how my version of WrestleMania 39 and the post-Mania Raw would go down like, since I only briefly mentioned the main event. It won’t be a complete wholesale change of the two nights, but the changes made will hopefully make sense.

A lot of the changes will be more evident on the post-Mania RAW, which notoriously got a 0.63 rating on Cagematch and was plagued by being changed wholesale by Vince McMahon. Again, my version of things

Night 1

- John Cena def. Austin Theory to win the US Championship: this result would set up something for Cena on the post-WM Raw (which I’ll discuss later) and push Theory into accepting the open challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship that I mentioned in Part I of the Fall of the Bloodline booking.

- Street Profits def. Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy, & Ricochet/Braun Strowman: basically plays out the same as it did in real life.

- Seth F. Rollins def. Logan Paul: ditto with this match, though Seth gets the win after he does the tree of woe Stomp.

- Damage CTRL def. Becky Lynch, Lita, & Trish Stratus: The heels win here largely due to Becky accidentally hitting Trish, leading to her getting pinned. No heel turn from Trish just yet.

- We get a backstage segment with the Usos and Paul Heyman. Jimmy and Jey want to take care of the Sami & KO “problem” on their own and refuse to let Heyman or Solo Sikoa accompany them for a match.

- Dominik Mysterio def. Rey Mysterio: I love the idea of Dom winning this match, just so he can have something to brag about over his dad. Some cheating and interference from Damian Priest is how that happens. Then, after the match, Dom & Priest look to continue beating down Rey, but Bad Bunny steps in to stop the attack.

- Rhea Ripley def. Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship: the actual match was one of my favorites of the weekend so it just pretty much stays as-is, untouched in the fantasy booking.

- Pat McAfee def. The Miz short and sweet. No changes.

- Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens def. The Usos to become the Undisputed Tag Team Champions: Again, this plays out the same way as it did in real life.

Night 2

- Brock Lesnar def. Omos: Remains the same.

- Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez win the Women’s Tag Team Showcase: Liv ends up getting the win after she counters an attempted Ronda Rousey armbar into a surprise crucifix pin.

- Backstage, Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman are with Solo Sikoa, having tasked him to accompany his Tribal Chief for the main event later. It’s briefly mentioned that the Usos haven’t arrived at the arena yet in the wake of their loss last night.

- Gunther def. Sheamus & Drew McIntyre to retain Intercontinental Championship: Another of my favorite matches in the actual WrestleMania 39, so you can’t really change things.

- Bianca Belair def. Asuka to retain Raw Women’s Championship: I was strongly tempted to change the result here, but the story about the young contortionist from Bianca’s entrance having lost her mother the day before would make things seem like bad optics if Bianca lost. That said, I’d still have Bianca win here, but in a way to help set up a rematch. She never hits the K.O.D. successfully on Asuka, and the win comes after Bianca reverses the Asuka Lock into a pinfall win.

- Instead of the whole Miz/Snoop Dogg/Shane McMahon fiasco. We instead get LA Knight appearing and talking about how he’s mad that WWE would dare have an LA WrestleMania without LA Knight. Bobby Lashley shows up and we get an impromptu match that Lashley wins.

- Finn Balor def. Edge in Hell in a Cell: It’s hard to book around an injury that happens during the match -- in this case, Finn Balor suffering a rather painful injury after a wrongly-placed ladder shot in the real match. That said, the finish here would see Damian Priest sneak in the cell as one of the “medics” as he helps Finn get the big victory.

- Cody Rhodes def. Roman Reigns: I went into great detail about how this match goes down in Part I of the Fall of the Bloodline booking, which you can read here.

RAW after WrestleMania (April 3rd)

Hour One

- The show opens with Triple H’s address, announcing that the WWE Draft will be coming next month. He then introduces the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes. The new champ cuts a promo about how he finished the story and how he wants to proudly represent WWE as its new top champion. That’s why he’s holding an open challenge tonight to see if anyone can beat him. It’s answered by Austin Theory and that’s your main event.

- Match 1: Asuka vs. Mia Yim: Just a fun opener match to re-establish Asuka as a threat after her Mania loss. She wins, but it’s not the end of her night yet...

- In the Bloodline’s locker room, we see Paul Heyman talking to the Usos and Solo Sikoa. This is where we first hear Roman Reigns has gone on a bit of a sabbatical and has essentially left Heyman in “charge”. Heyman says that while the weekend for the Bloodline was a nightmare, the Tribal Chief isn’t angry about it. He tells the Usos and Solo that they just need to take care of some things real soon.

- Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens bask in the celebrations of the RAW after Mania crowd cheering them on after their big championship win. Chad Gable & Otis interrupt, which Sami & KO see as a sign that they want a fight, so we get ourselves a match...

- Match 2: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Alpha Academy: Sami & KO get the victory in a great 10 minute match, as this and Asuka/Mia Yim take advantage of hour one of RAW being commercial free. During the match, we see the Usos watching from the crowd, clearly not done with Sami & KO just yet...

Hour Two

- New U.S. Champion John Cena enters the ring and discusses how he taught Austin Theory a little bit of respect at WrestleMania and that he’s ready to take on all comers as the U.S. Champ. Enter Bron Breakker, who accepts Cena’s challenge. It should be noted that Bron is showing some heel tendencies here, which will continue on NXT the next night, when he attacks Carmelo Hayes. As for Raw...

- Match 3: Bron Breakker def. John Cena to win the U.S. Championship: I know what you’re thinking. A sudden title change seems too abrupt, but newly-turned Bron taking the U.S. Title with a dominant showing, then parlaying that into continuing his feud with Carmelo Hayes before graduating to the main roster proper would make for fun stuff.

- Match 4: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Carmella & Chelsea Green: the first of four women’s tag team contenders qualifiers. Liv & Raquel win, setting up a match with the winner of one of the other two women’s tag matches on SmackDown.

- Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair addresses the crowd about her hard fought title retention at WrestleMania. She says she’s ready for a new challenge, but that’s when Asuka catches her by surprise and sprays her with the green mist! It’s clear that Asuka is far from done w/ Bianca and this leads to a rematch for the Raw Women’s Title at Backlash.

- Becky Lynch and Lita are being interviewed backstage as they try to brush over the little miscommunication between Becky and Trish Stratus at WrestleMania. They talk about how they’re ready to face whoever wins the women’s tag team contender’s tournament, as Trish just walks off without saying a word.

- Match 5: Damage CTRL vs. Shotzi & Natalya: The second of the four women’s tag team contenders matches. Dakota & IYO Sky win this one.

Hour Three

- Seth Rollins is out in the ring to celebrate his win over Logan Paul. He talks about how he’s the best wrestler there is and that Logan Paul now knows how it feels to be on the business end of a Stomp. That’s when he’s interrupted by Grayson Waller from NXT. Waller takes exceptions to Seth’s bragging and notes that Logan Paul was a personal friend of his. We get a tense staredown, but Waller backs off, stating that he’ll fight Rollins on his time. Seth ends the segment by getting the fans to serenade Waller with his favorite song in the entire world. Waller leaves in a huff, plugging his ears to drown out the fans singing Seth’s theme.

- Match 6: Damien Priest vs. Rey Mysterio: Rey wins with a 619, but after the match, Dominik Mysterio gets into Bad Bunny’s face at ringside, sparking an altercation. Judgment Day get the upperhand, as Priest chokeslams Bad Bunny through the announce table.

- It’s announced after this that at Backlash, Dominik & Priest will fight Rey Mysterio & Bad Bunny in a special tag team match.

- The whole Bobby Lashley/Bronson Reed/Mustafa Ali segment happens here, which leads us to...

- Match 7: Bobby Lashley vs. Mustafa Ali: Lashley wins this match, obviously. But after the match, Bronson Reed blindsides Lashley and beats him down for a bit before Lashley fights back. Bronson manages to avoid a Spear and cooly backs up the ramp, simply laughing and clearly not thinking much of his new foe.

- The Miz complains about how his weekend turned out at WrestleMania. He’s sick of the surprises, and that’s when he’s interrupted by a returning Randy Orton. He flattens Miz with an RKO.

- Main Event: Cody Rhodes def. Austin Theory to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Standard TV main event with Theory looking to make a name for himself after the biggest loss of his career at Mania night 1. Goes about 15-20 minutes (plus commercial break) w/ Cody retaining via Cross Rhodes. RAW concludes with Cody celebrating, as we can see Solo Sikoa watching the match backstage, flanked by Paul Heyman.

Conclusion

And that’s basically my version of WrestleMania 39 and the RAW After Mania to set up how things go down in the Fall of the Bloodline. Part II of that fantasy booking will be coming soon.

#WWE #Fantasy Booking #WrestleMania #Monday Night RAW #Cody Rhodes #John Cena #Seth Rollins

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anthonysstupiddailyblog · 2 years ago

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Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (334): Mon 13th Feb 2023

One more shift until I get three days off. I love this job but I don’t know if I could do this if it was a 9-5. I need a full three days to recover from the strain and boredom of backing hundreds if not thousands of items into boxes for 40 hours a week while shitty music is forced into my ear canals. If I only had two days to recover from this shit then I’d be in a bad mood all the time. Interestingly enough when I worked at TSB they surveyed us and asked whether we’d be interested in switching to a four day work week and I said absolutely fucking not. 10 hours (minus two 30 minute breaks) of standing in one spot and silently packing items into boxes I could definitely do but 10 hours (minus one hour lunch and two fifteen minute breaks) of talking to shitheads on the phone, go fuck your Dad! Even though it would be less work the type of work in the TSB job is WAY worse than in the factory (also those fifteen minute breaks felt more like fifteen second breaks). I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I left that shithole and frankly I’m not sure how I lasted six months there without ramming my head through a computer screen. Since I did a month of training, two weeks on holiday, a week off with COVID and ten days off the phones because their systems stopped working because the tech team are really incompetent, this means that I only really spent four months talking to dickheads on the phone but it was still way too much. I still regret not writing down the names and numbers of the arsehole callers I got so that when I go on trips away I could use public telephones to prank call them in the middle of the night to get back at them for talking to me like a piece of shit.

Six weeks until WrestleMania! Man I’m so fucking excited. For a while it seemed like I would never get there and now it’s so close. Next week I’ll go to the town and get my money changed over to dollars (or whatever currency Biden changes it to in the time between now and the trip. Hell the guy’s so senile he may pass a law ruling that people have to pay for stuff with underpants…although that would make buying underpants tricky). I might prepare for WrestleMania 39 by watching every single WrestleMania to get myself in the spirit of things. It also means that I’m going to have to start watching Raw and Smackdown again so that I’ll be up to speed on the storylines going into the show…urgh. I know that the Rumble and Mania still deliver but the stuff on Raw and Smackdown that isn’t Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn is just abysmal. Personally I think WWE are making a big mistake by going with Cody Rhodes being the guy to face Roman at Mania (unless he loses which he should in which case I’m fine with it). Rhodes did a good job last year of garnering fan support and establishing himself as a top babyface but it hasn’t been enough to warrant him being the one to dethrone Reigns. The person to take the belt off of Reigns should do so as the culmination of a lengthy storyline, not just because they won the Rumble. Sami Zayn is far and away the more logical choice to face Reigns at Mania, though I don’t think he should win either as it will be much more effective if they have him lose this year, have Reigns title run go over the 1000 day mark and then have Sami defeat him at Mania 40. Speaking of WWE pay per views I think next year I’m going to pull the trigger on the Royal Rumble too, although the location for the show hasn’t been decided yet. The great thing about my Mania trip is that i will be able to cross this item as well as visiting California and seeing the LA Lakers off my bucket list. Therefore I’m hoping that the Rumble will be located in a state that will allow me to cross off additional items. I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans so having the Rumble there would be handy. I also want to see Edgar Allan Poe’s grave and the house he lived in which are both in Baltimore so hopefully they might announce this as the site of the show.

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thewisemankey · 2 years ago

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OH BOY, AM I GONNA ENJOY THIS. *cracks fingers*

Who to make Champion: Really wish Shinsuke Nakamura was among the choices there because he should have been champ ages ago and/or right now. Same for Finn Balor. But going by the options, I'll say Cody Rhodes, since he SHOULD have won back at Mania 39.

Who to hire: They ALL should be hired, honestly. (Well, MJF maybe not so much.) Especially the ones who were previously fired. Throw in Kairi Sane while I'm at it. BUT out of the group I'm going with Kenny Omega, hands down. Only if he was allowed to do whatever he wants on the mic and in the ring, of course.

Who to fire: First off, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor should definitely NOT be in that group, what's the major malfunction with the person who originally made this? Second, Roman Reigns should be an option because the AntiChrist of Wrestling is already giving the company a slow, cancerous death and needs immediate removal like a tumor. Rants aside, I -want- to say Austin Theory because I don't see him as the bright star everyone makes him out to be, unless perhaps he shaved that ugly-ass mustache of his. HOWEVER, I'd be rid of Logan Paul. I've not forgotten that shitty stunt of his in Japan and I never will forgive him for that.

Okay followers and go

Seth Champion for sure

Omega

Paul

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labelma · 4 years ago

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39, 44, 63 please? ❤️

Thank you! ☺️

39: What’s an idea for a fic that you’re excited about, but haven’t had the chance to write yet?

So one thing you should know about me is I love listening to the podcast Stuff You Should Know and that I have my best fic ideas while hiking. So last October it was the first day of the year cool enough to go outside for long periods of time and I went on a lovely hike. I was listening to an SYSK podcast about bipolar disorder and I was thinking about how even though I don’t have bipolar disorder, I can relate to a lot of the symptoms because my migraines sometimes give me weird mood swings and I can’t always trust my own emotions because they might not be real, they could be a symptom of an oncoming migraine. Which got me thinking that just because Mickey doesn’t have Ian’s same disorder, he is still an empathetic person who most definitely relate’s to Ian in some ways. So I had this idea for a fic where Ian experiences a mixed episode, an episode with all the energy of mania, but all the emotions of a depressive episode which would be a new and stressful experience for him, and Mickey, his amazing husband helps him through it. Of course Ian rejects the help at first but eventually relents because he loves his husband so much, and realizes Mickey only wants to take care of him. But since I had this idea last October I CLEARLY have no idea how to actually write it. It’ll happen eventually though! It will!

44: What are some of your favorite tropes?

Y’all already know the answer to this, I absolutely lose my mind for “encounters with the ex” fics, as well as any fic written from an outsider perspective. I love these fics so much, they’re like crack to my little brain. And this is something that extends to every fandom I’ve ever been in, something about my main ship being perceived by others just scratches that itch so perfectly.

I also love mutual unrequited pining. It drives me crazy and I love it at the same time.

63: What canon Ian and Mickey moments (together or individually) do you think are under-explored?

Hmm I had to think about this one for a while. I think the fandom likes to kind of collectively ignore seasons 6-9 (except for you know, the good stuff like Ian becoming an EMT), but something about the fact that Ian and Mickey literally never stopped loving each other, even if they tried really hard to, and pushed their feelings down so deep they may have forgotten they were even there in the first place, just really gets to me. Like this is all something we know, but I think it’s a little under-explored how those feelings never disappeared. Ian and Mickey are each other’s one and only love, and I am OBSESSED with that. I have a gallavich playlist on Spotify with like 250 songs, and a good portion of them are there because they make me think of seasons 6-9 Ian and Mickey.

Also I’m not sure this is under-explored but I do like to talk about it; the fact that the reintroduction of Mickey back into Shameless gave Ian the most consistent story arc of any character on the show. With Mickey back in the picture, Ian’s story becomes about a boy learning to love, and let himself be loved even in the face of a pretty intense mental illness. We all know Shameless isn’t exactly known for its excellent story-telling, but I think it’s a little underrated just how amazing Ian and Mickey’s story is. Like it really is a great story, despite like, everything.

#gallavich #shameless #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #I love answering these

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untoldblisses · 3 years ago

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20 questions

I was tagged by the ever so lovely @sielustaja, thank you as always.

1. What do you prefer to be called namewise? Anika. This is my real name. Don’t try to track me down unless you wanna hold hands.

2. When is your birthday? October 29th

3. Where do you live? Germany

4. Three things you are doing right now? I’m just filling out this questionaire. I don’t like doing multiple things simultaneously.

5. Four fandoms that have peaked your interest? Supernatural, Hannibal, Doctor Who, Good Omens

6. How has the pandemic been treating you? Occasional feelings of loneliness and annoyance put aside, not too badly actually. No one I know personally had to be hospitalised, no deaths, my super secure job was never in danger, so I guess compared to a lot of other people I can count myself really lucky.

7. A song you can’t stop listening to right now? Yesterday morning while brushing my teeth I suddenly remembered the song “...but home is nowhere” by AFI which I probably hadn’t listened to in 10 years but have listened to about 25 times since.

8. Recommend a movie. Oh I don’t know. The Sound of Metal. Roma. The Florida Project. I haven’t really watched a lot of movies lately.

9. How old are you? 39, can you believe it? I personally can’t.

10. School, university, occupation, other? Public sector employee. Sitting at a desk all day. Boring.

11. Do you prefer heat or cold? I prefer a nice 24°C but if I had to choose between extreme heat or extreme cold, probably cold.

12. Name one fact others may not know about you. I honestly can’t think of anything interesting.

13. Are you shy? Hm. Sometimes. It very much depends on my mood or the mental state I’m in. As a child and teenager and way into my twenties I was very shy. These days I don’t really consider myself shy anymore. Quiet, sure. Socially awkward and insecure in some situations? Definitely. But shy, no, not really. However, sometimes I slip into a mindset where my “inner child” takes over and then I am convinced that I am shy and weird and unlikeable and as a result I then act as if I were shy, if that makes any sense? But when I am in a good mood or going through a more “manic” episode (it’s not really mania more like how a normal person feels I guess haha) then I’m not shy.

14. Preferred pronouns? She/her or they/them.

15. Biggest pet peeves? People walking really slowly in front of me in the middle of the sidewalk, strangers who don’t know about the concept of personal space, talking shit about/making fun of people behind their backs (even if it’s just strangers that will never know about it or even celebrities), people who think they are better than others

16. What is your favourite “dere” type? I have not the slightest idea what this means. I only know deer 🦌

17. Rate your life from 1-10. I’d say 7.

18. What’s your main blog? @speedingintonowhere

19. List your sideblogs and what they’re used for. Well, this is obviously a side blog though I wish it weren’t. Then there’s @iwanttogotoiceland where, you guessed it, I (very rarely these days) reblog pictures of Iceland. And then there’s @collectinglemons where I reblog some adult stuff that a) I don’t want to bother my regular followers with who definitely didn’t ask for that kind of content and b) I am afraid I might get flagged for. Eh. Feel free to follow me on there though if you like.

20. Is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends? Just let yourself be suprised :)))

Yeah, you know how I feel about tagging but anyway: @tenok @vintagedean @amill22 @musicheartbeat @cassandraleeds (feel free to ignore though 💙) and anyone who wants to do it (please tag me if you do)

#ask games

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vyther16 · 4 years ago

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dolls with diamonds stuffed inside

Chapter 1

whumptober 2020 theme 5: where do you think you’re going; prompt 3: rescue

Content warnings: mentions of past torture, noncholance towards character’s own possible death and probable incoming torture, threats of torture and death, self-depricating talk, emotional manipulation, Yan Bingyun is not in a good headspace for this

edits october 12 2020: all instances of daoren changed to the correct daren; Shen-xiaojie’s name corrected to her novel canon name

Glossary for ppl like my mum:

Ge-- older brother, informal.

Daren-- lord.

Gongzi-- young master, or a slightly more diminutive form of lord

xiaojie-- lady (lit. little big sister; used as lady in this context)

xiao-- little

This lifts nearly all dialogue from episode 38 and 39 of Joy of Life, found on youtube

—start—

Yan Bingyun blinks when the door opens, but doesn’t look up. Whoever it is, they’ll hurt him. He doesn’t much care for who it is. He tries to listen to the conversation they have, but the wounds from today’s first visitor have yet to stop bleeding. He’s tired. He isn’t going to get out. Listening for secrets that won’t be of use after an escape that won’t happen is pointless, so Yan Bingyun doesn’t bother to do so.

“Yan Bingyun,” the man who was speaking before says. Something waves in front of his face, but Yan Bingyun doesn’t open his eyes to see what it is. “I’m Fan Xian. You blocked me on my way to the capital,” the man adds. “Do you remember?”

Yan Bingyun opens his eyes, slowly. He remembers well enough to ascertain that the man before him is indeed Fan Xian, though how Fan Xian has come to be in BeiQi is unclear.

Then Fan Xian is pulling aside his robes, clucking his tongue at the gashes from earlier. “This wound is new,” Fan Xian says, “Just now?” he asks, and Yan Bingyun wants to talk back, but he’s tired.

Fan Xian brings up the war, brings up DaQing, thanks him for spying, and Yan Bingyun reminds himself why he’s doing this, why he’s allowing them to strip away his humanity little by little. Everything is for DaQing.

“I’m the envoy to take you home,” Fan Xian says. Yan Bingyun looks at him, sees an odd, almost earnest expression in his eyes, finds his own lips curving up into a bitter smile against his will.

“You serve BeiQi,” he says, a simple statement of fact, because that’s the most obvious answer. Fan Xian has been at the capital for such a short time, the only way he could have made it so high is if he betrayed their country, betrayed DaQing.

Fan Xian’s expression goes wide-eyed for a moment, like he can’t believe Yan Bingyun doesn’t believe him. “You think I’m lying?”

“You became an envoy in just a short time?” He braces himself for hurt.

“He is the real envoy of DaQing,” Shen W-Shen-xiaojie bursts out. “He’s here to save you!”

Yan Bingyun glances at her. “Why did he hold you hostage, if he’s the envoy?”

“Shen Zhong won’t release you,” Fan Xian says. Of course not. Yan Bingyun hasn’t given up the information Shen Zhong wants yet.

Yan Bingyun fails to see the logic in this so-called rescue, if Fan Xian really is the envoy. “So you came here by yourself. How could you find me so easily under Shen Zhong’s supervision?”

He knows he’s kept in some out of the way place, that the BeiQi emperor doesn’t even know where he is. If Fan Xian is the DaQing envoy, he shouldn’t have been able to find Yan Bingyun.

Fan Xian sounds so affronted when he protests this point. “Be careful of your words, I’m smarter than him!”

Yan Bingyun huffs out a laugh. He doubts that very much. “There are many spies from DaQing here. Pretend to rescue me, and gain my trust. By the time I feel safe and contact other spies, you will arrest us all,” he says. “Is this Shen Zhong’s plan?” It’s the most obvious trap, and Fan Xian has to know that it wouldn’t have worked. He will give points for creativity. It’s different from what he’s come to expect from Shen Zhong, but not different enough that he can’t recognize it for what it is: another one of the man’s twisted mind games.

“Damn it,” Fan Xian says, and then “Persecution mania.”

Yan Bingyun doesn’t know what that is. He says as much.

Fan Xian pulls out one of his hairpins and grabs at the chains around Yan Bingyun’s ankles. “I will tell you all about my promotion after we get out and go back.”

“If you didn’t lie,” Yan Bingyun says, not actually entertaining the thought, but wanting to see how well thought out Fan Xian’s trap really is, “you should tell me how we will get out. Shen Zhong won’t let me leave easily.” Not without the names Yan Bingyun refuses to give up. DaQing has worked too hard to get their spies into place for Yan Bingyun to break at the thought of a rescue that isn’t even real.

It seems Fan Xian has an answer prepared for even this question, though he heaves out a put-upon sigh to give it. “I have a subordinate named Wang Qinian.”

Yan Bingyun’s eyes snap to Fan Xian. “Wang Qinian? The counting clerk from the first ministry?” He’s with BeiQi now too? Yan Bingyun knows the man is easily tempted into doing things for money, but he’d never thought that Wang Qinian could be tempted to treason.

“He works for me now,” Fan Xian says, like Yan Bingyun hasn’t already figured it out. “I asked him to find help before I came here.”

Yan Bingyun wants to laugh. This whole sham is ridiculous. Where would Fan Xian find help in BeiQi to help break out an enemy spy if he isn’t also with BeiQi? He says as much to Fan Xian.

The other man just rolls his eyes, grabbing the shackle around Yan Bingyun’s wrist. “Now I know why they gave you such a heavy penalty,” he says, picking the lock on Yan Bingyun’s right wrist. “Xiao-Yan-gongzi, your personality is not adorable at all.” Yan Bingyun takes a deep breath so that he doesn’t wince when Fan Xian pushes at his wrist roughly. He hasn’t let himself think of the life he left behind in DaQing. He hasn’t thought about it since he crossed the border, really, despite how content he’d been with his lot then. He would give it all up again for DaQing. Everything is for DaQing.

“Be careful,” Shen W--xiaojie snaps, swiping at Fan Xian’s arm.

“Sorry,” Fan Xian says, not sounding sorry at all. “I forgot your wound.” He picks the last cuff, then adds, “also, I must take back my words. You’re adorable for someone,” as he stands up.

Yan Bingyun’s gaze flickers down. He wants, desperately, to be able to give Shen Wan’er what she deserves. He is not used to wanting things. Especially things he cannot have, things he does not deserve. Shen Wan’er deserves someone better than him, and he cannot betray DaQing for the younger sister of BeiQi’s imperial guard chief.

It’s easier to lie to her, to crush her hope and his along with it, than it is to entertain the thought of her leaving behind her brother and her country to come with him, because there is no way he could stay with her, no matter how much he wants it. DaQing comes before any personal desires. Everything is for DaQing.

“I’ve made it very clear. I got close to you before to get military intelligence through your connection to your brother.” That is not a lie, not really. He’d just managed to fall in love during the process. “I never had feelings for you.” That is a lie, but he’s never going to tell her that, nor anyone else. If he repeats it enough, he may even begin to believe it himself.

Yan Bingyun sees the momentary flash of heartbreak in her eyes before Shen W--Shen-xiaojie steadies herself with a deep breath. “Don’t talk too much,” she warns. “You’re weak now.”

She doesn’t believe him yet, but she needs to. Being close to him will result in scorn and suspicion and likely death for her. “I’ve been lying to you,” he repeats.

“I know,” she replies. “I wanted to hate you,” she adds, like it’s a shameful secret. “But when I saw you getting injured, it broke my heart.”

Yan Bingyun knows. The days when Shen Zhong would bring in his sister in the hopes of using her against Yan Bingyun had been the worst days, not because the physical pain was any worse, but because Shen Wan’er would beg for him to give up the names and for her brother to stop hurting him within the same breath. She would sob until she passed out, and Shen Zhong would blame it on him, as if Yan Bingyun had wanted her there in the first place.

“Stupid woman,” he says, because if he doesn’t he’ll say something he’ll regret, something that gives away how much lying he’s done to make her stop loving him, even when it doesn’t work, even when she insists on loving him still, on bringing him bandages and medicine for the wounds her brother inflicts every day, as if she could heal each broken bone and bloodied gash with love alone.

It doesn’t work even now, because Shen-xiaojie stands up and says she’ll get him some water and walks to the kitchen area of his prison. Yan Bingyun watches her go, but his eyes flick back to Fan Xian as he returns.

“She’s not stupid,” Fan Xian says, “she loves you too much,” and Yan Bingyun knows that, knows that she’s likely one of the smartest women he’s ever met, but that does not mean that she cannot be dumb in this regard, in loving a man who cannot love her back.

When Yan Bingyun doesn’t give him a response, Fan Xian flaps his hand dismissively and returns to the front space. Yan Bingyun stays where he is until Fan Xian comes back over. “Come sit at the table, you’ll be able to drink your water better there.”

Yan Bingyun forces himself to his feet, not letting any of the pain he feels show on his face. He forces his hands to be steady, forces his legs to move, and when he near-collapses at the table, he sits perfectly straight again, pretending for the sake of what little dignity he has left that he intended to sit right then instead of lowering himself down more easily. It’s odd, moving without the shackles at his wrists and ankles. He can feel their phantom weight, as ever-present as the fire in his chest and the ache in his back.

There’s a commotion outside, but then Shen W-xiaojie kneels next to him with a cup and an apology. “There’s no hot water in here,” she says, like Yan Bingyun didn’t already know that. “Just take it for now.”

Yan Bingyun doesn’t thank her, but he does take the water. Then he tries again to make her stop. “Your brother and I won’t stop until we kill each other,” he says. “If you let me go, have you considered the consequences?” He knows he’s arguing to be kept prisoner for longer, but Shen-xiaojie won’t be forced to choose between the man she loves, however misguided she may be in that love, and the man who raised her.

“If you kill my brother one day,” Shen-xiaojie says, “kill me as well.”

Yan Bingyun doesn’t have a chance to respond before Fan Xian butts in. “Shen-xiaojie did you such a big favor,” he says. I know, Yan Bingyun doesn’t say. I’m trying to save her. “Why must you be so heartless to her? And guys, can we discuss this after we get back to my place? There’s hot water.” he adds, like it’s a selling point.

The door slams open before either one of them can respond. Fan Xian shoots to his feet and Shen-xiaojie snatches up her knife to run over to him. Yan Bingyun doesn’t react as Shen Zhong walks into the room.

“Hold me,” Shen W-xiaojie says, pulling Fan Xian’s arm around herself and putting the knife into his hands. The blade is facing out, away from her neck as she starts what would be a very good act if Fan Xian were going along with it. “Ge! They won’t let me go unless they get out!”

Yan Bingyun looks away as Fan Xian puts the knife down.

Shen Zhong turns and shuts the door. He walks to the center of the room, silent. Dangerous. Yan Bingyun feels his heartbeat speed up, though he doesn’t let it show. Weakness will be exploited, and Fan Xian has already left him unbalanced, which was likely their plan all along.

“How silly you are,” Shen Zhong reprimands his sister. “They’re spies from the enemy state!” He points at Fan Xian for emphasis. Yan Bingyun swallows, looking away again. Maybe it will finally sink in. Maybe she’ll leave him behind.

“I…I was threatened,” she tries to protest, but it’s weak, and Shen Zhong easily plows over it.

“I’m not stupid!” he shouts. He looks at the floor for a minute, resettles himself, then looks back up at the three of them. “Fan-daren,” he says, calmer. “Well done!” He chuckles, a sound that has the hairs on the back of Yan Bingyun’s neck standing on edge.

Fan Xian grins. “You come in alone. Aren’t you worried about being threatened by me?”

Shen Zhong returns Fan Xian’s smirk. “I’ve placed an order. If you threaten them with me, arrows will fly in like clouds. I will be shot too.”

“Ge!” Shen-xiaojie protests.

Fan Xian laughs. It sounds forced. “Why, Shen-daren, you have to return Yan Bingyun to us sooner or later. Now I’ve found him. Why don’t you let me take him away?”

Shen Zhong purses his lips. “Alright. As long as he gives me the name list of the spies in Shangjing, I’ll let him go immediately.”

Fan Xian takes a deep breath in, looking over at Yan Bingyun. “Let’s tell him?” he asks, like he’s suggesting they have sweet buns with dinner. Yan Bingyun doesn’t even have it in him to be surprised at the betrayal. He’s tired.

He considers for a moment, realizes they’re going to hurt him no matter what he answers, and decides to have a last bit of fun before he can no longer think from pain.

“Alright,” he says. Fan Xian looks shocked.

Shen Zhong’s expectant look turns pleased and he sits down on the table in front of Yan Bingyun, an obvious power play.

Yan Bingyun tilts his head towards him. “All of those ministers of the Sixth Bureau are our spies in BeiQi. You kill them all, so you’re building a peace and ridding the state of evil.” He faces forward as Shen Zhong processes the blatant lie he’s just been told.

Yan Bingyun doesn’t react as Shen Zhong flips the tables except to smile, faintly.

“Listen!” Shen Zhong shouts at his sister. “Listen to what he’s saying!”

Shen-xiaojie looks down at the floor. “I was caught by them,” she says, but it’s clear she’s only saying it because she has nothing else she could say.

Yan Bingyun takes one last deep breath, not letting it shudder the way it wants to, and braces himself for pain.

Shen Zhong straightens his robe. “Fan-daren, you may go now,” he says, gesturing at the door.

Fan Xian points at Yan Bingyun. “I must take him with me,” he replies.

“Not now,” Shen Zhong returns.

“It isn’t a request,” Fan Xian says.

Shen Zhong cocks his head. “Then, none of you can go today. Guards!”

The door bursts open, the city guards filling into a loose semi-circle around them.

Fan Xian folds his hands behind his back. “If you do something to me here, aren’t you afraid it’ll cause a new national war?”

Shen Zhong takes a sword from the nearest guard and lays it against Fan Xian’s throat. “Who knows you’re here? Fan-daren disappeared. We searched for him, and finally found his body. I was upset, so I promised to find the murderer to avenge you.”

Shen-xiaojie hisses out “Hold me!” grabbing Fan Xian’s arm and putting the knife back into his hand. Yan Bingyun isn’t exactly sure what it is she’s trying to accomplish. From his face, it’s clear Fan Xian doesn’t either.

“Start,” Shen Zhong orders, but before the guards can make it a full step forward, there’s a shout for Shen-daren in the courtyard. A guard whispers something into Shen Zhong’s ear that makes his glare even worse.

Fan Xian smirks in return. “Guys, wait a moment. My helper is here now,” he says, handing Shen-xiaojie back her knife, heedless of Shen Zhong’s sword at his neck.

Yan Bingyun isn't sure who his helper could be, given that even Shen Zhong defers to this person at least partially.

He says as much, and Fan Xian smirks again. “I’m popular,” he snarks.

Yan Bingyun thinks, not for the first time, that if this rescue is truly real, it is the worst rescue that he could have imagined. He ignores Fan Xian quietly reassuring Shen-xiaojie, straining his ears to instead listen for Shen Zhong’s conversation with Fan Xian’s mysterious helper.

He doesn’t quite catch everything, but he hears “Saintess,” and knows that Fan Xian must be with BeiQi now, if only because there’s no way Haitang Duoduo would deign to help anyone from DaQing.

Saintess’s reply is just as garbled, but he catches “Let them.” He realizes that this is likely a test of Shen Zhong’s loyalty to the Empress Dowager.

Shen Zhong’s reply is still quiet, but he assumes it’s him refusing to let Yan Bingyun go.

Then Saintess says “His Majesty’s order.” Yan Bingyun already knows that it’s a bad idea to have said that. Shen Zhong serves the Empress Dowager, not the Emperor. Shen Zhong must reply, because Saintess raises her voice. “It’s the empress dowager’s order as well,” she calls.

There’s a pause, some more muffled words, and then Shen Zhong calls to let them go.

Fan Xian grins. “I told you I was here to rescue you,” he says, clapping his hands together like a child. “Let’s go, Saintess will have prepared a carriage for us.” He leans down in front of Yan Bingyun. “I saw you collapse into this spot earlier; don’t pretend like you can walk on your own. Now c’mon, up you go.” He grabs Yan Bingyun’s forearms, clasping tight enough to have leverage but loose enough that it doesn’t truly hurt, and pulls him to his feet. Yan Bingyun hides his wince. Weakness will be exploited, after all.

Fan Xian stops at the door, turning to look at Shen-xiaojie. “Thank you for your help today,” he calls, and the ghost of a smile flickers across her face.

Haitang Duoduo is leaning against a carriage when Yan Bingyun and Fan Xian leave the courtyard. “There’s space enough for three in there. I’ll take you to your hotel.”

Fan Xian nods. “Thank you,” he says as he helps Yan Bingyun climb into the carriage.

Yan Bingyun doesn’t let himself think about how this is the first time that he’s been outside of the confines of that house since he was captured. He doesn’t let himself believe that this is real. He can’t let his guard down, because letting his guard down means he’ll be hurt. Letting his guard down means he gets caught, and it means that BeiQi tries even harder to bleed information from him.

So he doesn’t let himself believe this is real, even as the sounds of city life wash through the thin carriage walls, even as Fan Xian leans against the side of the carriage, even as his chest burns and his limbs ache. He doesn’t let himself relax, doesn’t let himself lose his posture, because if he loses his posture, he admits that he’s safe, and he isn’t safe. He doubts he’ll ever be safe again.

—fin—

—author notes—

Yan Bingyun’s head was kind of hard to get into at first, but then I sat down and watched this scene, pausing every time the subtitles changed and writing down exactly what they said, and then writing Yan Bingyun’s internal dialogue about it, and it went much easier. By doing that, I wrote this entire thing in the span of one afternoon/evening. The only reason it took that long is because the pizza for dinner came halfway through and i decided pizza was more important than Yan Bingyun’s internal angst

chapter 2 will come out on the 7th, for and if ao3 gets its act together, this should be posted there too. The link will be in the reblog to my main.

Personal side note you can skip, but I edited this during my 2 ½ hour long government classes where my teacher lectures for over half the class about a subject that we already took both notes and a quiz over, so if I didn’t edit, I would have fallen asleep, and he already has his eye on me bc I don’t stand for the pledge of allegiance, so that just wasn’t happening. Also, I wrote this a literal month in advance, and it is the most edited piece of writing I have ever made in my entire life, including things that are worth large percentages of my grade.

reblogs>likes

#whumptober2020 #no. 5 #prompt 3 #rescue #Joy of Life #qing yu nian #yan bingyun #shen zhong #fan xian #shen-xiaojie #lady shen #fic #fanfiction #tw:#torture #self-deprication #emotional manipulation

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novantinuum · 4 years ago

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Writer tag game

Tagged by @parallelmarvel (OMG I looked at your AO3 and realized I see you in my comments all the time and you wrote the fic with all the letters sent to Greg’s parents and aUGH hello :O)

Author Name: Novantinuum

Fandom(s) you write for: Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Doctor Who, Tales of Arcadia

Where you post: AO3, crossposted to tumblr.

Most popular one-shot: Shattering Atlas. (SU corrupted Steven theory fic I posted back last October. Please heed those tags, ahah.)

Most popular multi-chapter: Hollowed Moon, by far. (Good lord I need to get back to that.) That fucker has over 2500 kudos, and I don’t know how, because it’s not even over 9K words. I blame September’s Spinel mania. XD

Favorite story you wrote: Oh god... in terms of writing? I’m still super fond of The Hybrid in the Hourglass. It’s a super niche ship fic for Doctor Who, so most followers here probably don’t have much interest, but I’m still super happy with a lot of the descriptive work in it.

Story you were nervous to post: Shattering Atlas, since it is incredibly dark, and I was unsure how that would be received by my audience.

Also, I was a little hesitant at posting another Doctor Who fic, Loving the Sunset, because it contained (albeit super wrapped up in metaphoric description) the first and at the moment only love making scene I’ve ever written.

How do you choose your titles? I either pick a meaningful word straight outta the text of the work, scour through song titles/lyrics, or cry for three hours as I string phrases together until I find something that sounds good. Titling is my least favorite part of writing stories. I am currently attempting to title something as we speak, and it’s not a fun time. Rip my brain.

How many of your stories are complete? 39 on my AO3. I have an additional 18 on my ancient ff.net account that are also complete. One of them is actually a 132K word longfic! (I, however, will not be crossposting those to AO3 because the writing is far below my current standards.)

In progress:

Crack the Paragon (my current SU longfic project)

Contact (multichap wherein Steven’s gem gets cracked, whoops.)

Hollowed Moon

Taste of Ordinary (an old SU WIP that only has one chapter out, but I’ve recently decided I want to pick it back up.)

Coming soon:

Uhhh, I have a ficlet with Garnet and Rose and an egg? I might post that tomorrow. Everything else is at various stages of progress, but definitely not far enough along to be claimed as coming “soon.” I work slow, unfortunately. The woes of mental illness.

Upcoming story you’re most excited to write: I will always be excited to make more progress on Crack the Paragon, because I desperately want to get to a number of scenes in the chapters to come.

Now if I can only... turn that excitement... into will to write... ;D;

Do you accept prompts? Not at the moment, no.

Top five favorite authors:

AbelQuartz writes the most immersive stuff and uwu ;w;

hueue’s (spooksier) AUs slap

infriga’s Aid To Navigation has me g l u e d to my screen

fanfoolishness writes consistently stunning stuff a a aaaa

loveluckylost writes the Best Lars, no question

Tagging: all y’all I cried about above, if you ever want a fun writing meme to do, @infriga, @abel-quartz, @fanfoolishness, @loveluckylost, @spooksier

#jen rambles #tag meme

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naivesilver · 4 years ago

Note

31, 56, 19, 78, 20, 16, 11, 12 , 10, 4, 1, 21, 36, 39. Sorry if this is too many 😅

Guys it’s NEVER too many you’re giving me the chance to talk nonstop about Sonic it’s the best thing that’s happened to me in days

also I had planned to answer them in the order you asked for but it was driving me crazy so I sorted them out thematically sorry alfhjkhljshja

I answered 1 here!

100 Sonic Questions

21.) Tell us a funny Sonic-related story.

This one comes from the depths of my very first months as a Sonic fan. Basically, I had watched Sonic X upon its first Italian release as a very very smol bean. By the time I got obsessed again in middle school, though, I had forgotten everything about it except a few shots from the Italian opening theme and ONE scene from a season three episode, where Sonic and Knuckles played chess on a spaceship and then Sonic began running around and fell into space.

The “friend” that had introduced me to the show again (not a nice person and source of about 25% of my trauma, I’m glad to say I haven’t seen her in years) didn’t believe me and accused me of lying. Repeatedly. Unkindly. For months. How could such a stupid scene be in such an amazing cartoon? I must be trying to fuck with her.

Fast forward to the end of the year. I’m minding my business and I see a Facebook message from this friend, and another, and another. I click on it wondering what she’d be going ham over, and BAM. This girl had been watching Sonic AMVs on Youtube and had caught a glimpse of that scene at the beginning of a video and was fucking losing it over the fact that WOW, I HAD BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH ALL ALONG?!

Now, you have to understand that I wasn’t the kind of kid that swore, back then. I had been brought up to think that swear words would send you to hell straight away. And while not a delicate little flower, I was much, much cuter and more proper than I am now because I couldn’t live out my butch dreams quite yet. But I needed to express all the frustration gathered in those months.

So please imagine this baby-faced, straight A student 13yo wait for her friend in front of their school and bellow at the top of her lungs “BITCH, WHAT DID I FUCKING TELL YOU?”

I still remember that scene fondly, though.

31.) Tell us a Sonic-related story that will give us feels.

Related to the experience I just mentioned, the problem I had in my first years in this fandom was that this person who had dragged me into it was obsessed with the thought that people would mock us for it. She said it was for kids, and when she got over it she gave me shit for clinging to my passion while she’d “grown up”, and she had me enjoy Sonic in secret and yelled at me for saying anything even vaguely related out loud where other people could hear us.

It got into my head so much that for a long long time I didn’t dare share anything Sonic-adjacent on any social media, long past when I’d broke away from her. I thought no one would ever take me seriously again. I felt ashamed a lot.

It got better, though. Slowly, I broke out of my shell and started interacting with this amazing fandom, and I found lots of people who didn’t give a damn about what the world thought of their passion. And I know tons of wonderful people outside the fandom, too, friends who encourage me to talk about Sonic even though they don’t know anything about it. Chats where any mention of Sonic has someone saying “wait we must tag naivesilver into this she’ll love it”. It’s - it warms my heart every day. Tumblr is a shithole, but it helped me in feeling free to do what I love in the fandom that I love most.

Thank you. To everyone that got me through that, thank you. You have no idea how helpful you’ve been to me.

19.) Favorite soundtrack

KNOCK KNOCK IT’S FUCKING KNUCKLES

youtube

20.) Least favorite soundtrack?

None I think???? There are some I don't listen to much, either because I haven't played the game or I just don't vibe with them, but there isn't any song that I particularly dislike. Almost all of them are genuine bops.

16.) (if you read fanfic) What are some fic tropes you love? Ones you hate?

FOUND FAMILY!!! Adoptive parents, siblings, friends taking care of each other, I want a shitton of fluff in my life. And kid!fic. I could read (and write!) kid!fic every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. That's why I enjoy Chaotix and Sonic Movie fics so much. Let's raise them boys well.

As for hating...I don't like high school AUs lmao I wrote one when I was younger but I never dared touch it again and I haven't read any Sonic one since 2014 at most. And most time travel fics. Sorry, Silver, I love you a fucking lot but time travel shenanigans are only funny in the two or three specific settings my mind lets me enjoy.

11.) Top five stages.

In no particular order:

-Press Garden (Mania)

-Casinopolis (Adventure)

-Casino Forest (Forces)

-Studiopolis (Mania)

Anddddd I haven't played much else so I'll have to get back to you on this ajshfkjfahlljha

12.) Worst five stages.

-IMPERIAL TOWER

-Jesus Christ I died 78 times in that stage alone

-I'm bad at being fast and not falling off stuff and it required me to do both at the same time

-Also the Shadow DLC levels. Fuck me up a bit more will you

56.) In your opinion, what’s the weirdest thing any character has ever said?

I'm a simple girl, I see this panel and I lose my shit

10.) What do you like best about your favorite animated adaptation?

I only finished my Sonic X rewatch yesterday and I’ve been meaning to make some final comments about it (tho it’d probably be me rambling at thin air bc I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t been already said over and over and over) but the most compelling thing for me is and always will be the music.

Don’t get me wrong, what I’ve seen of the OG Japanese version had wonderful, heartfelt music, but the upbeat themes I grew up with still have me vibing day in and day out. I can dance to the Italian opening sequence at any given moment - no, you know what, here it is. Watch it and feel the serotonin drip into your veins.

(Some people will come at me for this, but I didn’t watch this show in 2019-2020 to make an in-depth analysis about it. I did it to have a dance off while Knuckles beat up some robots.)

78.) Post a scene that always gives you feels.

Sonic 06:

youtube

13yo me about to see her first ship torn apart:

4.) The last Sonic game you played is now your life. How awesome is this adventure gonna be?

Sonic Adventure - which means it’s a pretty cool life, unless it runs like SA does on my laptop and it turns slow and glitchy and grinds on my nerves even more

36.) C’mon now. How many ships do you have? :P

A FUCKING LOT my main ones are silvaze, vecpio and sonadow but I have many medium or small ones that I enjoy finding content for, like tikaze or knouge

39.) Which game is your golden standard?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not the greatest game fan as in I’ve only been actively playing for the past 2/3 years. Before that it was just gameplays on Youtube, so you should not take my opinion into any account since it’s not very informed.

However there was something about Sonic and the Black Knight that just felt...new? Peculiar? I know jack shit about the technical side of gaming but I remember being extremely pumped every time I logged in to see more of it. I'd like to feel that again, when a new game drops.

#Anonymous #sonic #sonic the hedgehog

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closetofanxiety · 6 years ago

Text

Mania Madness: In Queens With Queens Quest

Wrestlemania was in New York this year (well, New Jersey, but you know what they mean), and since I live about two and a half hours away, I felt like I would be failing in my duties as a wrestling fan if I didn’t attend some of the related events. Make no mistake: I did not want to go to Wrestlemania itself, as the idea of sitting in a football stadium and squinting at a faraway shape that might be Buddy Murphy in the springtime chill is not high on my bucket list. But there were lots of other things to do, and I did very few of them! I did go to see the Stardom show in Queens and to WrestleCon in Manhattan, though, and herewith are my observations, jotted down for posterity and, hopefully, your amusement and/or edification:

FRIDAY

I think this is only the second time Stardom has run a show in the U.S., and it’s definitely the first time they’ve done it amidst the surge of popularity they’ve experienced in the GIF era. Although going to visit Hakujinjoe in Tokyo is a goal towards which I am even now socking away money, there’s no guarantee that I’ll ever actually get to see Stardom in Japan, and so this was the must-see event of the weekend for me.

This anticipation was accompanied by two apprehensions: First, my nature reluctance to drive in New York City, even in the outer boroughs. I live in the woods, and your city ways frighten and confuse me. Second, based on many of the US joshi fans I have encountered online, I worried this crowd would basically be a giant convention for creepers, perverts, rageaholic gatekeepers, scam artists peddling $300 autographed gravure DVDs, and people who seem to have only a dim understanding that the characters portrayed in the ring are not, in fact, identical with the women portraying them. Listen: I am not exactly Cary Grant when it comes to wit and charm, and just being an American who watches Japanese women’s wrestling puts me among a tiny percentage of hardcore nerds, so I hope this doesn’t come off as haughty. But there are good nerds, and then there are the nerds we encounter online way too often.

The first apprehension turned out to be baseless, as I got to Queens with plenty of time to spare and, like most joshi fans, headed over to the Rufus King Homestead on Jamaica Avenue for a tour of the mansion once owned by the fiery antislavery advocate and signatory to the Constitution. OK, so I was the only joshi fan who toured the Rufus King Homestead (in fact, I was the only person, period; Rufus does not get much love), but I still learned a lot. Rufus King used to loan money at exorbitant rates to local farmers who owned slaves, and when they couldn’t pay him back, he’d accept the enslaved people as collateral, only to immediatly free them. Rufus King, Loan Shark For Justice!

It turns out the second apprehension was also baseles, because the crowd turned out to be full of awesome people. Really friendly, outgoing, and super enthusiastic nerds, the best kind of nerd, really. The dominant attitude was not, “Oh you like Stardom? Name five of their faction drafts” but “I can’t believe we all get to see this awesome show together.” It was also, by a country mile, the most diverse indie wrestling crowd I’ve been part of, and about 35-40 percent of the people in attendance were women, which really made the whole experience better. I’m not saying everyone was awesome, but it was definitely a fun group of people to be part of for an afternoon. I am ashamed that I assumed it would be full of unbearable dweebs.

So, that out of the way, here’s the highlights of the show, in the time-honored spaghetti Western sytem of categorization:

THE GOOD

Momo Watanabe vs. Utami Hayashishita: Easily the match of the day, and one of the best matches I’ve seen all year. The Queen’s Quest teammates were batling for Momo’s Wonder of Stardom title, which she won from the departing Io Shirai last year. I don’t just like Momo, I identify with her image as the studious but introverted nerd kid who thinks hard work and playing by the rules is enough to guarantee success, only to be constantly frustrated as flashier peers take shortcuts to the top. The tension between these two has been building since Utami’s debut last year and subsequent mega-push as The Big Rookie and Utami All-the-Belts. Momo, who put in years of quiet, dedicated work as Io’s understudy, is in danger of being usurped as Queen’s Quest leader by the newcomer before her tenure has really even gotten under way. This is a great basis for a wrestling match, and these two, aware they were in front of their biggest audience outside of Japan not just in person but watching on Fite, rose to the occasion. I’m terrible at describing wrestling matches, but this was a nailbiter full of near-falls and what-will-it-take kickouts that felt earned rather than slathered on. It helped that the crowd was rabid, with Utami having a slight edge, WHICH ONLY SERVED TO MAKE ME CHEER LOUDER FOR MOMO. I honestly had no idea who was going to win: normally you’d know the champ would retain in an away match like this, but having their second most important belt change hands would also have been a great way to make a splash in their New York debut. In the end, though, Momo retained with her Peach Sunrise finisher and I LOST IT.

Stars vs. Oedo Tai: The villainous but lovable Oedo Tai were over like crazy with this crowd, and people went bananas when they came out to do their pre-match war dance. They could have basically just done that and most people would have been, but they had a fun elimination match with the Stars faction. A lot of zany action in this and a genuine surprise elimination of Kagetsu midway through. The only missing piece of the puzzle was Sumire Natsu, who didn’t come over with the company, possibly because she’s a freelancer. She made appearances at Tokyo BDSM clubs instead during Mania weekend, which is the most Sumire Natsu thing ever.

Yurie Kozakai doing the ring introductions: Stardom was really smart about the idea that they were giving fans in New York “a real Stardom show,” and having the promotion’s normal ring announcer introduce the wrestlers was a perfect touch.

Hana Kimura: The newest Stardom signing looked like a superstar and basked in the crowd’s adulation during a three-way tag match that also involved Konami and Bea Priestley (making her US debut?) and Britt Baker and Brittany Blake, who should have called themselves the Britt-ish. No? I’m - I’m [putting my finger to my ear, like I’m listening] I’m being told “No, they should not have called themselves that.” Anyway, the match was fun but insubstantial, but Hana’s charisma is off the charts.

THE BAD

IPW:UK ran a show at the venue (the NYC Arena, which is an arena only in the sense that a mid-sized nightclub is an arena) right before Stardom, using House of Glory’s ring (the compromises and arrangements of Mania Weekend!), and the bottom rope broke. The effort to fix the broken rope was mostly unsuccessful, and also delayed the opening of doors at the venue by nearly an hour, meaning 600 hearty nerds were standing in line in 39 degree weather, with sleet pelting us. The paperback I had brought to pass the time in line was USELESS. On the lemons-lemonade side of things, though, this did mean we were all in line when Stardom’s bus rolled up, and all the wrestlers disembarked to head inside. Big cheers from the crowd, which obviously delighted the wrestlers. “It’s gonna be awesome!” Hana yelled at us. It was! Once we got out of the sleet

The broken rope delay also meant they had to cut the already abbreviated (five matches) show short, and it showed. The first three matches were all obviously truncated, with the High Speed title match between Hazuki and Dust suffering the most for it. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, and I was impressed by Dust, who’s new to me, but it felt like they were just starting to get going when it ended. IPW:UK, YOU ARE NOW MY ENEMY. OR MAYBE HOUSE OF GLORY, I DON’T KNOW. SOMEONE.

THE UGLY

Maybe half the appeal of this thing was the promised meet and greet afterward, but the meet and greet was more chaotic and less organized than Kelley Square at rush hour (sorry, this is a Worcester reference, Worcester people will know this). Nobody seemed to know where to stand, lots of fans didn’t realize they had to buy little tickets before meeting the wrestlers, and as someone whose job sometimes involves putting up signs in medical buildings, the lack of even rudimentary paper signage was APPALLING. This did not stop me from getting nerdy fan pics with Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Momo Watanabe, Mayu Iwatani, and Konami. Hazuki left her table before I could get to her, and this failure will haunt the remainder of my days upon this earth. Possibly. The wrestlers all had pieces of paper with common American names written on them, so they’d know how to address the autographed pictures, which was sweet. Hana has great conversational English. There was no line when I went up to Konami, which is preposterous. Konami rules, fellow nerds. The whole thing was nice, and the language barrier prevented any of that thing where guys try to unburden their psyches onto female wrestlers in a bid to make some kind of emotional connection. JUST SMILE FOR THE CAMERA AND MOVE ALONG, PAL.

Also, apparently the Fite stream was choppy as hell and cut out completely right at the end of the Momo-Utami match, and only came back after it was over. Glad I went in person!

In part two, we’ll cover the gregarious Jesse Ventura, the surprising lack of merch slingers at WrestleCon, and the puzzling fame of that fan who had a cardboard sign saying “FACE FUCK ME FINN” at a Takeover a few years ago.

#Stardom #joshi puroresu #makin towns #Mania Weekend #show reviews

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transslyblue · 6 years ago

Note

Also "1-99"

(1) Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed?

Haha, closed. I don't like seeing the dark void that I call a closet

(2) Do You Have Freckles?

Yea, but you can't really see them unless you're close

(3) Can You Whistle?

Yes

(4) Last Song You Listened To.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical, the Tavern Song

(5) What Is Your Favourite Colour?

Blue, but I also like a variety of purples and greens

(6) Relationship Status.

Single and not looking

(7) What Is The Temperature Right Now?

69º F

(8) Did You Wake Up Cranky?

Yea, unless I wake up myself

(9) How Many Followers?

118, but I need to go through and block any bots. (;w;)

(10) Zodiac Sign.

Leo

(11) What Is Your Eye Colour?

Blue/green hazel. My eyes are multi-coloured so they have blue, green, and brown with a very grey look to them.

(12) Take A Vitamin Daily?

I forget daily

(13) Do You Sing In The Shower?

Yup!

(14) What Books Are You Reading?

I really want to get back to reading some more Lovecraft, but i don't have much time to read

(15) Grab The Book Nearest To You, Turn To Page 64, Give Me Line 14.

"Minutes before librarians ate him."

(16) Favourite Anime?

Uuuuhhhhhh, hm. I guess it'd have to be InuYasha, but I like a lot of anime

(17) Last Person You Cried In Front Of?

Err,,, it was a very close friend. Idk if they'd want me to say who they are tho

(18) Do You Collect Anything?

Rocks and those snowglobe musicboxes

(19) What Did You Have For Lunch?

Yogurt and a protein bar. Ik, ik real healthy and filling

(20) Do You Dance In The Car?

Depends on the song, but not really

(21) Favourite Animal?

Owls and cats

(22) Do You Watch The Olympics?

Not really, but when I do it's the diving Olympics

(23) What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed?

2am

(24) Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now?

I don't wear makeup. Though I have considered it

(25) Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean?

Either. Pool is safer though

(26) Favourite Tumblr Blog?

Oof, idk if I can pick just one, so imma name a few. @ohhimarx @mirosuikaaa @masochist-incarnate they're all really friendly and nice

(27) Bottled Water Or Tap Water?

Whichever is most convenient at the time

(28) What Makes You Happy?

The sound of rain, art, my friends talking to me, I have a list that I've posted, so I won't list out here

(29) Post A Gif Of What You’re Currently Feeling Right Now.

(30) Do You Study Better With Or Without Music?

Haha, I don't study;;;

(31) Dogs Or Cats?

Cats

(32) If You Were A Crayon What Colour Would You Be?

Blue-tiful lol, for real though probably bubble blue

(33) PlayStation Or Xbox.

Does Switch/ds count?

(34) Would You Swim In The Lake Or Ocean?

Idunknow

(35) Do You Believe In Magic?

Not really, but I won't bash on anyone who does

(36) What Colour Shirt Are You Wearing?

Black, but is a Link being a meme

(37) Can You Curl Your Tongue?

Yes

(38) Do You Save Money Or Spend It?

I save more then I spend.

(39) Is There Anything Pink Within 10 Feet Of You?

Yea, it's a pink pillow of Lion from Steven Universe and a music stand from when I was in middle school

(40) Do You Have Any Obsessions Right Now?

Kirby in general

(41) Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly?

Nope, but I have touched one before

(42) Are You Easily Influenced By Other People?

Yes and no. It really depends on how long I've been around them

(43) Do You Have Strange Dreams?

Omg yes! I remember a few and they were all lucid dreams! (I looked up the term from last time I answered this question)

(44) Do You Like Going On Airplanes?

Never been on one

(45) Name One Movie That Made You Cry.

Of Mice and Men

(46) Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds?

Both

(47) If I Handed You A Concert Ticket Right Now, Who Would You Want The Performer To Be?

Panic!At the Disco, Fallout Boy, or The Neighborhood

(48) Are You A Picky Eater?

Not really. There are some foods I refuse to eat, but otherwise I eat pretty much anything

(49) Are You A Heavy Sleeper?

Yes

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning?

Nope! I actually like thunder

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write?

I enjoy reading. As for writing, eh. I'll write out my ideas but I'mno good at fleshing them out to be interesting

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud?

Yes. But not too loud, just enough where I don't hear everyone around me

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents?

Carve pumpkins! I really am bad at wrapping presents

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up?

Hurts - Illuminated

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather)

Spring and dying from pollen

(56) What Are You Craving Right Now?

Idk, something salty tbh

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed.

(58) What Is Your Gender?

I'm a transgender male, so i use he/him pronouns.

(59) Coffee Or Tea?

Both, but I like tea more

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About?

I'm not in school anymore soooo no

(61) What Is Your Sexuality?

Idk. Questioning I guess

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning?

(63) Favourite Pokemon?

I already answered this one, so I'll say a new pokemon that I love. Rowlet!

(64) Favourite Social Media?

Bruh I am not a fan, but Tumblrs the one I'm on most.

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories?

Idk. I don't have an Instagram

(66) Do You Get Homesick?

Yes

(67) Are You A Virgin?

Yes, and I plan to stay that way for awhile

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now?

I use Suave, but I also use TeaTree when I get really bad dandruff

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free?

Depends on the place. But most likely I'd risk the motel.

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life?

My mom yes, my biological father... It's complicated

(71) Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters?

I don't really watch movies, so none

(72) Do You Miss Your Ex?

I don't have an ex

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now?

Be the person you needed when you were younger. I have no clue who said it, but I live by that

(74) What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest?

Eyes in general are great. Idk how anyone can not find something they like in any eye colour

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set?

YesYesYesYes

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate?

Nachos

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone?

Voez and Pokémon Go

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not?

Yes, because no oen deserves to die. I'd do my best to help any homeless person

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight?

Haha, not today. Yet

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network?

Not really

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People?

Yes!

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them.

I don't wear jewlery much. But I would like to get my ears pierced properly

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed?

Closed! I don't want people or my cat to walk in

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today?

I woke up, did laundry, answered these questions

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed?

Pajama pants and a t-shirt

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now.

I've got none. Unless you want me to name what body wash i use. :/

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person?

Night person

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc.

Phone: Voez, Pokémon Go

Switch: Legend of Zeld: Breath of the wild, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Kirby Star Allies, Mario Kart 8, PuyoPuyo Tetris, Bayonetta 1&2, Hyrule Warriors, Just Dance 2017, Super Mario Party, Let's Go Eevee, Mario Odyssey, Undertale, Shovel Knight, Pokémon quest, Mom Hid my Game, Deemo, Sonic Mania, Detention, The Coma, Cave Story

3DS: Kirby Clash Deluxe, Kirby Triple Deluxe, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, Kirby Planet Robobot, Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby Mass Attack, Kirbg Super Star Ultra, Kirby Squeak Squad, Pokémon Y, Pokémon Platinum, Pokémon Ultra Moon, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Pokémon Heartgold, Legend of Zelda Link Between Worlds, Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D, Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks, Super Smash Bros, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Wario Ware Gold, Super Princess Peach, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Cooking Mama, Cooking Mama 2, Sonic Colors

Gameboy Color: Pokemon Blue, Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening

This is over the course of many years

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened.

I had this dream where I was flying a red paper plane. It took forever to carry it up this tapestry, but i did it. When I finally took off this group of white paper planes were chasing me so I shook them off and landed, taking shelter in this museum. This museum held other people hiding and was actually an abandoned grocery store. Then I woke up.

I don't rememebr when this was, but I wrote it down. I have a few more if you're interested.

(90) Favourite Soda Drink?

Strawberry Ramuné

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite?

Rainstorms,

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More?

Jeans, since I can't wear sweatpants to work

(93) How Do You Look Right Now?

Uhhh, probably a slob since I've been in pajamas all day

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You.

Stuffed animals

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want?

Idk. Haven't really wanted one. Maybe a connect the dots one.

(96) Favourite YouTuber?

Idk. I watch Pyrocynical and Markiplier, but other than that I listen to music, watch speedpaints, and speed plays of various videogames

#ask #thanks for the ask!#ask meme #long post #airplanes #rainstorms #thunderstorms #legend of zelda #kirby #sonic #etc #wow this was a lot #also im really sorry #mobile was being dumb and i accidently delelted your last ask #;n;#also i want let you know im getting those canon characters done soon

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theliberaltony · 6 years ago

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

It’s as if we skipped right from 2018 to 2020. On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the first major Democratic candidate to formally dip a toe in the water of the 2020 presidential campaign, announcing the creation of an exploratory committee. Not everyone who creates an exploratory committee ends up becoming an official candidate, but Warren is very likely to. For all intents and purposes, she is now running for president.

Warren has experienced a swift rise, if not a meteoric one, to political stardom. A celebrated consumer advocate and law professor, she oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (better known as the post-financial crisis “bailout”) and shepherded the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during President Obama’s first term. In 2012, she ran for and won elected office for the first time, defeating Republican incumbent Scott Brown 54 percent to 46 percent in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts; she was re-elected by 24 points in 2018. Though not quite at the level of the current Beto-mania, she’s had her moments as a progressive folk hero — a viral video on fair taxation that helped clear the field for her first Senate campaign and Mitch McConnell’s swag-spawning complaint that “Nevertheless, she persisted” after she was cut off in the middle of a speech on the Senate floor.

But if you listen to conventional wisdom — and our favorite quasi-scientific tool, betting markets — Warren’s star has dimmed in recent months. President Trump’s repeated references to her as “Pocahontas” have kept alive a seven-year-old controversy over Warren’s claims that she has Native American ancestry, which potentially helped advance her career. Her release of a DNA test in October 2018 that she hoped would settle the matter was not well received. And in a party reportedly thirsty for a new generation of leadership, the 69-year-old Warren may have missed her window. For the first but certainly not the last time this year, let’s take a look at the case for and against the chances of a major 2020 Democratic candidate.

Ideologically, Warren is right where a Democratic primary candidate should want to be — it’s one of the strongest cards in her hand. According to FiveThirtyEight’s Trump Score, she votes with the president just 13.1 percent of the time, making her the third-most anti-Trump senator in the 115th Congress. Although she’s best known for her stands against income inequality and big banks, she is deeply liberal on both social and economic issues, according to an analysis of her votes and positions by OnTheIssues — although not quite as liberal as Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of Warren’s potential 2020 rivals.

Warren’s base is likely to overlap quite a bit with Sanders’s, the self-described democratic socialist who turned heads in the 2016 presidential primaries by winning 40 percent of Democratic delegates. Warren even seemed to make an explicit play for Sanders voters when she devoted a full minute (mid-personal bio, no less) of her four-and-a-half-minute announcement video to an economic-populist message. “America’s middle class is under attack. … Billionaires and big corporations decided they wanted more of the pie and they enlisted politicians to cut them a fatter slice.”

In fact, at least one poll suggests that Warren and Sanders (if he runs again in 2020) will be fighting over the same pool of voters. Back in April 2018, Suffolk University conducted a poll of two versions of the 2020 Democratic primary in New Hampshire: one without Warren and one with her. In the version without her, Sanders pulled 25 percent of the vote. In the version with her, he dropped to 13 percent; Warren got 26 percent. None of the other six candidates about whom the poll asked lost as much support as Sanders did with Warren in the field.

Sanders and Warren have something else in common: the support of small donors, or those who give $200 or less to a campaign. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, as of Nov. 1, small donors were behind 56 percent of all the money raised by Warren’s re-election campaign. The only 2018 Senate candidate whose fundraising was more reliant on small donors was Sanders himself.

Small donors gave big to Warren

The five 2018 U.S. Senate candidates who raised the largest share of their donations from small donors as of Nov. 1, 2018

Candidate Party State Share of Contributions From Small Donors Bernie Sanders I Vermont 77%

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Elizabeth Warren D Massachusetts 56

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Corey Stewart R Virginia 50

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Beto O’Rourke D Texas 46

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Geoff Diehl R Massachusetts 45

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Source: Federal Election Commission via Center for Responsive Politics

And in terms of raw dollar amounts, Warren raised $10 million more from small donors than Sanders did, even though neither one was facing a competitive race. Warren’s $19.4 million small-donor haul was second only to Beto O’Rourke’s among 2018 general-election candidates for Senate or House. Presidential campaigns are expensive affairs, and being a strong fundraiser — particularly among small donors, a well that is less likely to run dry — is a huge advantage. It can also signal high voter enthusiasm for a candidate.

Warren’s deep pockets may also be financing her apparent strategy of building up goodwill among state-level Democrats who will be instrumental in primary and caucus field organizing. According to the Washington Post, she directed at least $7.6 million to Democratic campaigns for offices like state treasurer and legislator in 2018 — more than any rumored 2020 contender not named Michael Bloomberg. As of mid-October, Warren had also made 172 post-primary congratulatory phone calls to Democratic candidates, blasted her email list on their behalf 180 times, shared policy documents with them 63 times, held 61 one-on-one meetings, hosted 41 fundraisers and shot 36 videos. That is how you develop a network.

Central to Warren’s grassroots networking strategy may be New Hampshire — less than an hour’s drive away from her home base and the second state in the country (after Iowa) to cast primary ballots. While she sent one staffer each to Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada for the 2018 election, two of her aides moved to New Hampshire despite it not hosting any particularly competitive major elections. (They assumed pretty major roles there, too — as the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s political director and communications director.)

The polls at this point aren’t very predictive, but if the primaries were held today, it looks like New Hampshire would be her strongest state. In the latest poll of the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary, 17 percent of Granite Staters said they would vote for Warren, putting her in third place — 2 points away from second.1 In Iowa — or at least in the three Iowa caucus polls taken since Nov. 6, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polls database — she averages 8 percent, putting her in fourth place. She fares the worst in national polls, averaging 5 percent in seven national 2020 Democratic primary polls2 conducted since Election Day.

Overall, Warren’s campaign looks like it could go either way. With some skill and luck, she could launch herself right into the thick of the nomination fight. But there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about Warren as well, starting with her stature among her own constituents. Just after Election Day, UMass Amherst released a poll of the 2020 Democratic primary in Massachusetts, and Warren garnered just 11 percent of the sample. That is not good in a state where her name recognition is already high and Democrats are as intimately familiar with her record as any 2020 voter is going to get: Most eventual nominees were already lapping the field in polls of their home states at this point in previous presidential election cycles.

Her 2018 re-election was also unimpressive in a state as blue as Massachusetts. Warren won, but only by 24 points in a state nearly 30 points more Democratic-leaning than the country as a whole.3 Add in the extremely favorable national environment to Democrats, and she “should” have won Massachusetts by more than 39 points.4 By this method, Warren had the weakest incumbency advantage across hundreds of Senate and House elections last year.

Elizabeth Warren was 2018′s weakest incumbent

The 10 Senate and House incumbents who underperformed by the most in the 2018 elections*

Incumbent Party State or District Expected Margin† Actual Margin Net Incumbency Advantage Elizabeth Warren D MA D+39 D+24 -15 Chris Collins R NY-27 R+13 R+0 -13 Sheldon Whitehouse D RI D+36 D+23 -12 Mia Love R UT-4 R+12 D+0 -12 David Cicilline D RI-1 D+45 D+34 -11 Bob Menendez D NJ D+22 D+11 -11 Jim Costa D CA-16 D+25 D+15 -10 Duncan Hunter R CA-50 R+14 R+3 -10 Steve King R IA-4 R+13 R+3 -10 Rob Woodall R GA-7 R+10 R+0 -10

*Excluding open-seat elections, elections that did not feature both a Republican and Democratic candidate, jungle primaries, elections with multiple incumbents and elections where the incumbent was an independent.

†Based on the state or district’s partisan lean, its elasticity and the national popular vote.

Source: ABC News

It’s unclear what’s cooling voters on Warren. The fallout from her DNA test just weeks before Election Day is a decent guess. But the controversy over her ancestry may also be a proxy for other, less socially acceptable reasons why people dislike her, such as her gender or age. “I don’t think America’s ready for another Hillary. It has to be someone young and dynamic,” one interviewee told Boston radio station WBUR-FM.

Warren has long polarized audiences and was never the world’s most beloved politician to begin with. That may be because she’s a woman with a confrontational style. It may be sexism mixed with other reasons. Whatever the cause(s), Warren isn’t in the best starting position as she enters the fray. But she’s not in the worst position either — she’ll likely find a receptive audience for her message in terms of policy and ideology. A well-run campaign would put her among the field’s top contenders. We’ll find out soon enough: Warren says she’ll announce for sure whether she’s running “early in the new year.”

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Nathaniel Rakich

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