#I made a quick promo to replace the old one

[buddiebeginz]

Guys don’t let spoilers for new eps rattle you. We’re closer to Buddie now than we have ever been. Just have to let the story play out.

Remember these things:

They’re not really pushing B/T in the press they’re doing for the show. Like sure they’ve talked about them but go read all the articles and watch the interviews T*mmy is being talked about more as a mentor figure for Buck and not a long term love interest.

The show has very deliberately connected Buck’s bi awakening including B/T to Eddie and compared T*mmy to Eddie.

They’ve literally with dialogue pointed out Buck wanted Eddie’s attention twice (once when Buck was talking to Maddie after the game and once when T*mmy says “my attention” a clear indication he knew Buck wanted Eddie’s attention).

They’ve full on paralleled B/T scenes and Buddie scenes (call Eddie/call T*mmy)

Buck was talking about how great Eddie is moments before T*mmy kissed him.

Eddie was the character they chose to have crash Buck’s first date with a guy. They chose to have it be where Eddie announces that Marisol is moving in and after the date was over and ended badly the main thing Buck focused on wasn’t T*mmy it was the fact he lied to Eddie.

They’ve made it a point to say in interviews that Buck isn’t going to be having any more one on one coming out scenes this season. Yet they had both of Buck’s important coming out scenes involve Eddie. Buck ends up coming out to Maddie because he’s talking about the date and how he’s upset he lied to Eddie. They also had some very deliberate dialogue when Maddie said “I just think maybe you’re not sure of your own feelings yet. And if there’s something you need to tell Eddie you will. In your own time.”

They devoted a whole intense scene to Buck coming out to Eddie including with a hug.

They keep promoting Buddie in interviews and the press and almost all of the promo videos and pics this season have included them. They’ve also had Ryan and Oliver front and center during the press early on and both seem excited about Buddie’s storyline together this season.

They’ve even made Maddie and Chim’s wedding about Buddie to a large degree. All the promos for it are 98% Buddie. They’re also wearing a couples costume, partying with drag queens, and being more physically close than we’ve ever seen them be. Remember this is also happening at an event we saw Buck invite T*mmy to and we know Eddie has a gf who should presumably be his +1.

Marisol has barely been in this season. We don’t really know her as a person or even her last name. We don’t even know how a relationship between her and Eddie functions because we’ve barely seen them together. The one ep Marisol was heavily featured in the show treated her more like a punchline than a fully fleshed out character and certainly not like a long term love interest to a main character.

They’ve already had Eddie talking about how he’s a nester this season. But they also had a very emotional scene where Chris talks about Shannon and how everyone leaves. Eddie having Marisol move in with him so quick (even if she did move back out) just proves he’s repeating old patterns. He’s looking to replace Shannon in his life and for Chris. Instead of looking at what he has and what he wants.

Also remember that Ryan was included with all the other cast members who play queer characters on that episode of Family Feud that’s likely to air during pride month.

I know a lot of people are nervous about what the show is going to do with Buddie but remember there is more incentive for them to make Buddie canon now than ever before. They’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback especially in the press from Buck’s bi storyline. Tim and Ryan and Oliver and the rest know how much people want to see Buddie happen and how much attention they will garner the show when it does. They’re in the perfect position to finally move these characters in that direction and I think they are slowly and steadily. We just have to be patient. We’re likely to have parts of the story suck as we get closer to Buddie but it will be worth it in the end.

[aoimesuzume]

Rules || Ask || Home

[abigailnussbaum]

The Watch 1x01 - 1x02

The first two episodes of BBC America’s The Watch aired this weekend, and I’ve seen basically zero discussion of them on my twitter and tumblr feeds. Which I assume is because most of the people I follow are Pratchett fans who have been horrified by the press releases and the trailer (or, for that matter, the lackluster reviews) and decided to write the show off before it even started airing. To be clear, this is an entirely reasonable approach, but there’s nothing else on right now and I was bored.

Quick verdict? It’s not dire, but also not so interesting that you’d feel compelled to keep going with it. In fact, my most powerful reaction after the first two episodes is puzzlement - I can’t understand who the intended audience for this show is. The thinking seems to have been “everyone will be interested in a brash, in your face, rudely comedic fantasy cop show!” And maybe that’s true, but The Watch isn’t particularly brash, in your face, or even that comedic, so what’s left are fans of the genre(s), who are reasonably spoiled for choice right now (the show The Watch most closely resembles is Carnival Row, which is not amazing but still has a greater depth of emotion and a more interesting world). Why anyone would go out of their way to watch a show that seems to be working so hard to stamp out anything original about itself is a question the creators don’t seem to have asked themselves.

More thoughts below the cut.

First, something positive: I quite like the look of the show. There was obviously a lot of pressure from previous adaptations, not to mention the famous illustrations associated with the books, to strike out in an original direction, and I think the show really found one. Instead of fantasized-medieval-through-Victorian, The Watch’s Ankh Morpork combines those period and genre elements with modern ones. So The Mended Drum is now a seedy nightclub with DJ lighting and an open mike stage, and the city’s walls are covered with graffiti tags. The more distinctive settings - the Patrician’s palace, the Unseen University library - are not as interesting, possibly because the budget wouldn’t stretch to make them look really spectacular. But the core approach of the series, that Ankh Morpork is an old but modern city where there are also a lot of fantasy elements, is a fun and refreshing one.

Second, despite all the prevarication and spin in the run-up to the show, this is a Pratchett adaptation. It isn’t merely “inspired by” Pratchett’s novels, as the show’s title screen insists. It isn’t taking Pratchett’s ideas and making its own things with them. I can only assume that these claims were made in response to the backlash against stuff like “Sybil Ramkin, young, hot vigilante”. But despite changes like that, this is actually a fairly straightforward adaptation of Guards! Guards!, which also incorporates elements from Night Watch, plus some rather deep cuts from the rest of the Discworld corpus (the second episode, for example, implies that the ultimate villains of the series are the Auditors of Reality). So yeah, The Watch doesn’t have the excuse of being its own thing. It is a Discworld adaptation, but a bad one, that fails to understand a lot of fundamental thing about the world and the characters.

Third, I think the thing that most strikes about the show is how low-energy it feels. Despite billing itself as something outrageous, and despite some work on the visual front (and in Richard Dormer’s Jack Sparrow-esque performance as Vimes), the show itself feels almost bland. You see this in particular when it comes to the humor. It’s not that The Watch isn’t trying to be funny. There are jokes, and a few of them - mostly the ones original to the series - are mildly amusing. But when it comes to Pratchett’s own humor, the show simply has the actors deliver the gags and references in the most low-key way, and unsurprisingly the result is that hardly any of it lands.

Now, to be fair, this has been a problem with Pratchett adaptations since the 90s. Most of Pratchett’s humor is based in what his third-person narrator tells us about the world, and is hard to convey in a dramatic presentation (Good Omens tried to solve this problem by putting a lot of Pratchett’s narration in its voiceover, with only limited success). But even the dialogue-based jokes are so arch and stagey, that to deliver them successfully would require committing to a lot of very specific, demanding choices from the actors and writers (off the top of my head, the only show that even comes close to that kind of humor is Brooklyn Nine-Nine). It would have to be a high-concept, meticulously executed sitcom, whereas most Pratchett adaptations have been fantasy dramas with jokes. 

So it’s not entirely The Watch’s fault that it isn’t managing to convey the zany energy of Pratchett’s novels, but at the same time, it also clearly isn’t trying to. Its attitude seems to be that simply the existence of things like troll cops or assassins’ guilds who leave a receipt are funny in their own right. And sure, even in a media landscape in which fantasy has been mainstreamed by Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings movies, and Game of Thrones, not a lot of fantasy settings have an orangutan librarian who only says “ook”. But what makes The Librarian funny isn’t that he’s a librarian who is an orangutan. It’s that he’s a librarian who is an orangutan who still behaves exactly like a librarian (while also doing ape things like swinging from the bookshelves and eating bananas), and that “ook” can convey almost any concept in existence. The Watch doesn’t seem to realize this. It seems to be assuming that just putting that stuff on screen, or parroting Pratchett’s lines, will be hilarious in and of itself, while leaving out a lot of the specificity of setting, character, and tone that made the books sing.

You see this also in how it handles its characters. Everyone fixated on Lady Sybil when the promos came out, because that’s the most egregious misreading of the original (and rooted in the most boring assumptions about what audiences want and will respond to). But it’s everywhere. Take Carrot, for example. In the books, Carrot is fascinating because he’s never entirely what you take him for. He’s innocent, but not naive. Principled, but not a zealot. A goody-two-shoes, but not a prig. He’s always a lot smarter than you think he is, and most importantly, he genuinely likes and is interested in people. 

The Watch delivers none of this, and instead makes Carrot your basic hothead rookie who just wants to take down bad guys and sees the more seasoned, cynical officers who keep trying to slow him down as hopelessly corrupted. There’s none of Carrot’s openness, or his genuine love of the city, in this character. Instead he’s sullen and judgmental. And look, we could have a long conversation about which one of these characters is more useful to us and our ongoing conversation about policing (as well as a much shorter conversation about which one of them is truer to the ideas Pratchett was trying to convey about policing). But what feels more important to me, when coming to evaluate a new series that is trying to make an argument for why you should keep watching it, is the simple fact that there are a million places where you could find a character like The Watch’s Carrot, and hardly anywhere where you could find one like Pratchett’s. 

Again and again, it feels as if, in the pursuit of what it thinks of as outrageous, risk-taking storytelling, The Watch jettisons the unique characters from the books and replaces them with ones that we’ve seen a million times before. Angua in the books is kind of neurotic, and extremely thoughtful about the way her condition can incline her to see other people as objects to be used and consumed (which Pratchett later develops into an aspect of his theme of monsters-as-aristocrats). In the show, she’s obsessed with how her lycanthropy makes her “the real monster”. Oh boy, I’ve never seen a werewolf worry about being a monster before! I’ve never seen a scene where they send their friends away just as they’re about to transform! This is cutting edge stuff, I tell you. And while we’re on the subject, it gives me no pleasure to report that Anna Chancellor as Patrician Vetinari is thoroughly meh, because no effort has been taken to convey the character’s intelligence, near-omniscience, and constant scheming. Vimes is intimidated by her because she’s his boss and she’s posh, not because of anything specific to her. She feels almost identical to a million other posh rulers whose job it is to infodump to and threaten scrappy, working class heroes.

Which brings me back to my original observation: that I do not get who this show is for. It’s not for Pratchett fans, because it deliberately drops a great deal of what made his writing and characters special in favor of the most generic, predictable choices. But I can’t help but feel that anyone who is into this sort of extremely familiar cop story will be put off by the dragons and the wizards and the orangutan librarian, not to mention Dormer’s gurning performance. The whole thing is almost fascinating to watch - a work that clearly believes itself to be boundary-pushing and different, when really it’s just dull but with dragons.

[sailtoafarawayland]

Self Promo Sunday

Today I’m sharing a complete story that I started a long time ago (back when Dark Swan was revealed, but we didn’t know anything about Dark Hook yet). I finished the third chapter just recently, and even though I have more popular stories, that chapter is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever written - so I really wanted to share it with everyone once again. 

Rated: Explicit  

Warnings: Heavy Angst, Suicidal Ideation 

A03 and FF

Darken the Horizon

Chapter One (2-3 at above links)

Killian holds his breath as he descends into the familiar space of his quarters aboard the Jolly Roger, uncertain of whether or not she will be waiting for him. He finds he is disappointed when memories of past deeds are the only thing that greets him. The scent of the cabin is comforting, notes of leather and wood layered upon years of parchment and books and ink. The atmosphere soothes him, his mind recalling memories he hadn't had much need to linger over lately—the raging sea as he clung to the helm, watching as the Dark Curse faded into nothingness only moments before it reached the stern of his ship, his haggard footsteps as he stumbled to his berth, dreams entangled with thoughts of how to get back to her.

To his Swan.

To his North.

When she startles him, he knows there are still lingering traces of joy in his gaze, his thoughts not having yet released their hold on the past—that moment when she drank the potion and remembered, when he knew all was not lost—Hook—and he'd never been happier to hear her say his name.

"It's not funny appearing like that."

There is a stirring of guilt in his gut. He should be wary, mistrustful, even, but Gods help him he is nothing but glad to see her, no matter the manner in which she arrived.

"Sorry."

The word sounds foreign falling from her tongue, and he realizes that she has yet to have formed regrets, or missteps. It must be freeing. He can remember a time when he was beyond those ordinary inconveniences, as well.

Bloody hell, being this close to her, he could see it again.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I know this has all been really confusing, and I haven't made it any easier. I wanted to apologize for overreacting last time. I know you're just trying to help, so I thought…we could just talk and have lunch, like old times."

He bites the inside of his lip, her words striking all the wrong chords. She sounds too much like Emma, but then again, not at all.

"I'd like nothing more, but this is hardly like old times."

It never will be, he realizes as he looks as her, the truth that had been lingering with him for days finally staking claim to his heart. He will never have his Emma back—the Emma who thought of others before herself, who taught him to love again. His heart clenched painfully, and he knew if he didn't let her go, it would shatter right there across the floor of his cabin. Instead, he would cling to the one piece of herself that she had left with him, the ability to love. He would love this new Emma, and perhaps together they could have an ending that he could live with, even if it wasn't happy, because as weak as he was, he couldn't live without some version of her. The decision is quick, and frighteningly easy to make, and he knows it's because he's been considering it for days, ever since that moment in the Dark One's house where she asked for his companionship.

He turns away from her then, dropping the bag of food on the table, and before he can turn back, everything changes. He feels the magic press against his skin, and when he looks down, he sees the familiar sight of a red checked tablecloth, the food arranged on delicate place settings. He waits for his heart to break, but it is curiously void of pain. He hears nothing behind him, but he is keenly aware that if he turns around, he will see her dressed as his old Emma—dressed as someone who is never coming back.

It was his last chance. He could look at her, drinking in the illusion as a marooned man would fresh water. It would reignite his hope, but with hope came misery and suffering, the long wait for a happy ending he would never get—because he was a villain, and villains don't get happy endings. They got the endings they deserved, and perhaps after hundreds of years bent on vengeance, the ending he deserved was by the Dark One's side. The irony of it all was fitting.

So he didn't turn around, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the corner of the red checked tablecloth.

"Don't." His voice was resolved, but lighter than it had been of late. "Let's leave memories of the past out of this."

The air in the cabin stirred, and he watched as the red checked cloth disappeared, leaving instead the knotted wood of his table, the food once again bagged.

He turned to her then, taking in the pale blonde hair smoothed tightly into an elegant bun, the curious tilt to her lips as she watched him. The dress he knew she was cloaked in only a moment before was thankfully gone, replaced with the severe black leather tunic she seemed to favor.

He didn't go looking for the pain in his heart, knowing that the burden had vanished with his new path laid out before him—standing before him. He took the few steps toward her that would close the distance between them, his hand reaching to take hers, studying his rings against the pale white of her skin.

"I have questions."

She didn't remove her hand from his, but her eyes shifted upward, meeting his, a moment of indecision reflected in their green depths.

"You don't want to know if I'm still the same Emma?"

"I already know that you're not. I don't care. I want to know why you're here, on my ship."

There was a long moment of silence, and he tightened his grip. Her eyes flashed with something he couldn't place, but he didn't ease up. If she wanted Hook, she was going to get all of him, Dark One or no, because Killian couldn't love this woman—but Hook could.

"I have a question for you, for once."

Her voice was frustratingly opaque, giving him no hint as to what type of answer she might expect.

"Do you love me?"

The Savior had loved the good in him, the long-forgotten morality of a young Lieutenant. She had stolen his heart and pulled him from the shadows. She had been his North, and therein lay the problem. His North was fluctuating, depending entirely on Emma, and now that she was gone, his North had changed.

The only thing left of it was the Dark One, and the one person she could love was the feral pirate, the man who plundered, schemed and ripped apart anything in his way. She was who he had left to him now, his new North, and so he would return to the shadows with her, and take love where he could.

"Aye."

"I need something that touched Rumplestiltskin when he was still a man. You knew him then. You can help me."

Hook didn't think anything of retrieving the cutlass from the shelf, it was what she needed. He held the blade against her cheek, a cold glimmer in the blue of his eyes as he spoke.

"I took this cutlass and put it to his head and taunted him. I'm assuming this will work, though he wasn't much of a man at that moment either, love."

It was surprising to him how quickly Killian slipped away, the guilt and sorrow lessening with each word that fell from his lips.

She raised an elegant hand, her wrist twisting before his eyes, and the cutlass disappeared in a cloud of grey smoke, his hand empty. He had the sudden urge to fill it, and so he did. His fingers found the pins in her hair easily enough, skillfully plucking them from her braids as she turned into him, her hands pressed into the edge of the table behind her, her eyes, dark and filled with desire, meeting his own.

She raised her hand again, and he was suddenly afraid that she would magic her hair into something he didn't want to see, something gold and beautiful, so he stopped her, his hook catching her wrist in midair and bringing it to his hip.

"Don't," he said firmly, tossing another pin to the ground. "If I'm going to have you—and I will. I want you just the way you are, no trickery."

He watched as her silver hair fell in waves around her shoulders, elegantly framing the smooth, pale expanse of her cheeks, her green eyes watching him like two moss-lined pools in the snow, ice gathering at their edges.

She was beautiful when she was undone.

He lingered for only a moment, wanting to feel something more than he wanted to memorize her, his lips finding hers with a brutality he had forgotten he possessed. She met him eagerly, her leg winding around his as she pressed fiercely into him, the leather they both wore an unwanted barrier.

She scratched her fingers roughly down the exposed skin of his chest before entwining them around his necklace, yanking his face to her neck. He nipped the sensitive skin at her throat roughly, the moan he drew from her lips making him throb painfully. He needed to be inside of her.

Something between a growl and a cry left his lips, and he found himself spinning her around forcefully, his left forearm pressing her roughly into the table, his hand moving to jerk her hips upward. He swore he could hear both of their hearts racing together, the air practically humming with unchecked need. Savoring the moment, the Dark One spread before him on the table, he set about solving the problem of that infuriating leather armor she chose to wear, his hook tearing down the back of her leather jacket before moving to her leggings. He didn't care if he damaged her—knowing that this Emma could handle those dangerous parts of him, the parts that took without caring.

Once he had her bared to him, her body shivering on the table, her breath coming in small, muted gasps, he moved his fingers to sweep against her center, the wet warmth of her calling out to him, begging for him to answer her need. He didn't bother with niceties, there would be more than enough time for that later—now, he simply needed to make her his, to claim her with all of the wild ferocity she had turned him back to.

The world around them seemed to still and shudder as he sheathed himself inside of her, their voices coming together in breathless abandon at the pure ecstasy of being joined. Before he had a chance to come back down from the moment, she was already pushing against him, her fingers digging into the tabletop as she strove toward him. He began to move then, long, punishing strokes that drove her body into the edge of the table—Hook falling from her lips over and over as he took her. Groaning wildly, he sought the tight bundle of nerves between her legs that he knew would be her undoing, sweeping his fingers roughly across it until she released, her muscles clenching around him.

In that moment, her nubile body writhing against him, pulling every last bit of his essence into her, he knew he was ruined.

Tagging: @justanother-unluckysoul @kmom0f4 @the-darkdragonfly @teamhook @zaharadessert @xarandomdreamx @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @tiganasummertree @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @alexa-fangirl-forever @alifeofdreams @superchocovian

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 15 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 Review (Jan 4th 2020)

New Japan Rambo  *1/2

BOSJ 27 vs. SJC 2020 IWGP Jr. Heavyweight No.1 Contenders Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo  ****

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny  ***1/2

IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship Right To Challenge Match: KENTA vs. Satoshi Kojima  ***1/2+

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan  ***1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay  ****3/4

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c/c) vs. Kota Ibushi  ****1/2

Photos.

So the first night of WK15 is in the history books, held in front of a socially distanced crowd of 12,689, which is an amazing number given the state of the world at present (I’m in the UK and we can’t even have two people in the same room, so near 13,000 seems mind-blowing!). This is the biggest crowd to have seen a wrestling show in Japan since last years Dome shows, and the biggest major wrestling show held anywhere since March of last year, so it’s quite the achievement. In quick results from a very fun show:

Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, BUSHI and Toru Yano (who never even made it to the ring) were the “winners” of the annual Rambo and will face each other in a 4-way to determine the KOPW champion on tomorrows show. The Rambo was as it always is, which is very forgettable, very long, and not especially very good. After a Japanese Don King (who sings!) introduced Riki Choshu (a guy who, in this very building in 1998, squashed FOUR guys in a row in his “retirement” match), and his young grandson, to the masses for a nice opening, BOSJ winner Hiromu Takahashi pinned everyone’s favourite/most hated douchebag heel, the 2020 Super J Cup winner El Phanatsmo, in 17:46, when he turned CRII into a Frankensteiner and cradle. This was an excellent match that was a great way to start the show. Hiromu essentially played crash pad to ELP’s highflying moves, and seemed to be saving himself for the Ishimori match tomorrow, which he earned with this win.

Next up, the GOD won the IWGP Tag Titles for what must be the 476th time. The match was very good (once it got going), but at 19:18, it felt very long, and the finish and result were lamentable; after a ref bump and prerequisite Jado interference spot, Tama nailed Taichi with his own Iron Fingers From Hell, which allowed Loa to hit Apeshit and win the belts. Honestly, I could have done without this title change. The Guerrillas with the belts just feels like I’ve been transported back in time three or four years, and the Dangerous Tekkers felt both fresh, and like they were just getting going as champions. Whatever. After a video taped Jon Moxley promo, KENTA defended the U.S. Title Right To Challenge Briefcase against the legend that is Satoshi Kojima, in a very good little match. Obviously, Koji was a late replacement for the broken orbital boned Juice Robinson, and honestly, with all due respect to Juice, this was a much better match for it. Even though no one feasibly bought him winning, Kojima was on fire here, showing the world that he does indeed “still have it”, and drove the action throughout. It wasn’t to be though as KENTA retained the briefcase after a Go 2 Sleep at the 14:12 mark. So KENTA will challenge Moxley in the U.S. at some point, which should be a fun match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated the returned-from-excursion Great-O-Khan in my least favourite match of the show. This was far from bad, but realistically, this was the match where I started to lag, as it just wasn’t all that interesting at times. The former Tomoyuki Oka has a very weird gimmick, and his offence is like something from a 1970s regional promotion in the U.S. He isn’t a bad worker, he’s very solid, but this wacky Mongolian gimmick, which I first clapped eyes on at a Rev Pro show what must have been 7 years ago now (it was three, but time has no meaning anymore), is going to need some serious revamping. Tanahashi was his usual great self here, carrying this beyond what it should by all rights have been, and had the babyface fire of a thousand babyfaces. After surviving O-Khan’s Claw based offensive manoeuvres, The Ace scored the win at 17:13 after hitting a High Fly Flow to the back, followed by one to the front, to get the winning three count.

From here the show picked up considerably. Okada sought revenge on former protege Will Ospreay, in a fantastic, dramatic outing, that would most likely have been a Tokyo Dome all-time-classic under regular conditions. This went 35:41, which sounds long, but felt half of that whilst watching. It told a great story, and the work from both guys was exceptional. This was less the inventive spot fest of their 2019 G1 classic, and instead was a stiff strike war. It was also the final point of Ospreay eschewing the Junior mantle, and becoming a full fledged heavyweight. Like most Okada matches, this really turned into something special in the last 10 minutes, after Ospreay hit a nasty Brainbuster through the timekeepers table, and stomped the bejesus out of Okada’s face, the newly crowned “Commonwealth Kingpin” escaped a Money Clip, hit Okada with a Tombstone, and his own Rainmaker for a great near fall. Okada dropkicked Will out of the air on a Super Oscutter attempt, which looked great, then turned a Storm Breaker attempt into a Fire Thunder Driver, and hit a stiff Rainmaker, for the first time in A YEAR, to score the win and seemingly awaken the Okada of old. Tremendous stuff here.

And the Double Title Main Event that followed had a lot to live up to, but was another excellent outing. Obviously, with the last few times these guys have squared off being borderline public executions, my heart was proverbially in my mouth on some of the spots here. With the notable exceptions of Ibushi taking a German Suplex on the ramp, which he of course landed square on top of his head for, an insane Frankensteiner off the apron, which saw Naito land very hard on the floor, Ibushi taking a reverse rana off the second rope, and both guys taking signature spots onto their heads, this was, on the whole, the “tamest” match these two have had against one another in maybe 5 or 6 years now. Ibushi hit Kamigoye for a great near fall, but misses a Phoenix Splash. Naito hits Destino, but Ibushi gets the shoulder up. Naito kicks out of another Kamigoye, then drops Ibushi on his head with Valentia, and goes for another Destino. Ibushi escapes and hits a wrist clutch V-Trigger, followed by a third, knee padless Kamigoye to FINALLY win the two top prizes in New Japan after 31:18 of great action. There was a really wacky bit, that only Ibushi could do, after the match, where he seemed to sell being in a “fugue state”, tried to pin Naito again after the match, and sold disbelief when Red Shoes explained to him that he’d won. Naito presented The Golden Star with both belts, then Ibushi’s opponent tomorrow, Jay White, came out in the post match, and cut a promo, promising Ibushi’s reign would only last 24 hours. Ibushi informed Jay that he is mistaken, and that Ibushi will indeed become a God. This was a show built around happy ending babyface wins (in the major bouts), and was a dose of positivity the world needs right now. Bring on Night 2 already.

NDT

[gdwessel]

The New Beginning in Hiroshima Night 2 - 2/11/2021; Recap Of KENTA On AEW Dynamite 2/10/2021

The second of two nights in Hiroshima took place earlier today, in what was a humdinger of a show, it turned out. You can see it now on NJPWWorld.

- 2/11/2021, Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall (NJPWWorld)

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI [SZKG] d. Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd (Sabre > Kidd, ZSJ Style Wristlock, 8:51)

Tomoaki Honma, SHO [CHAOS] & Master Wato d. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] (Wato > Kanemaru, La Carretera, 8:07)

Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo [Bullet Club] (Naito > Yujiro, Destino, 9:54)

Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano [CHAOS] DCO EVIL & Dick Togo [Bullet Club] (1:27)

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. EVIL [Bullet Club] (DQ, 5:41)

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] © d. Jay White, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club] (YOSHI-HASHI > Loa, Kinkoji, 27:01) - Goto/Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI succeed their 3rd defense

IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championships: Kota Ibushi ©© d. SANADA [Los Ingobernables] (Kamigoye, 27:51) - Ibushi succeeds his 2nd IWGP Heavyweight defense - Ibushi succeeds his 2nd IWGP Intercontinental defense

Ibushi and SANADA showed mad respect for one another post-main, and I swear there is a himbo unit coming with those two and SHO. Afterwards, Tetsuya Naito made his way to the ring, to challenge Ibushi, but ONLY for the IWGP Intercontinental belt. This would be the first time since Night 1 of WK14 that the IC title is defended on its own, if it happens, as Naito, whose relationship to that title can best be described as “complicated,” does not want to see the two belts actually unified, as Ibushi wishes. We don’t have the Castle Attack lineups yet, but something tells me we know the main event of that series.

The biggest surprise of the evening was seeing YOSHI-HASHI get the pin to retain the Comedy titles for CHAOS, denying GOD of being double champions. I mean, let’s face it, the belts are way below Jay White anyway, but it was a good angle with Ishii as his nemesis, and they’ll probably resume it for Castle Attack or the New Japan Cup coming up anyway. YOSHI-HASHI then challenged GOD for the Heavyweight tag belts, I would assume with Goto as his partner. This soft push of YOSHI-HASHI is one of the biggest, and oddly, most charming, booking turns since lockdown ended.

Okada/Yano v. EVIL/Togo went to a very quick double-countout between Okada and EVIL, with EVIL taunting Okada he can beat him anytime, so Okada called him on his shit and demanded a match right then. The bell rang, and Okada won by DQ when Dick Togo attacked him. This isn’t over yet etiher, see previous comments about Castle Attack and New Japan Cup.

The second and third matches were changed, likely to reflect Los Dos Peligroso’s challenge of Ishimori/Phantasmo from yesterday. At least Master Wato got a make-up win over Kanemaru out of it.

Last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite was the first official AEW TV programming since the co-promotion with NJPW began in earnest, and boy did it, as JIm Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur all mentioned NJPW 5 times within the first 60 seconds of the broadcast. Within 20 minutes, Jon Moxley cut a promo that recapped the IWGP US Heavyweight challenge feud between he and KENTA for the AEW audience who may not follow NJPW.

The main event, which was AEW World Champion Kenny Omega & KENTA v. Mox & Suzuki-gun alumni (who got namedropped in the match) Lance Archer in a Lights Out tag match, was a pretty fun watch, with some crazy spots in the Daily’s Place kitchen area, as well as a killer running double foot stomp to Moxley from the stage by KENTA. Omega got the win on Archer, hitting a One Winged Angel after assistance from “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (literally, they had to help Omega lift Archer up). As the cameras faded, KENTA continued to beat on Moxley.

No word on if there will be anything furthering this angle next week on Dynamite, however we do know that KENTA will be on NJPW Strong tomorrow to respond to Mox’s promo from last episode, as well as Young Lion excursionee Ren Narita returning to the program, so check that out.

The tour is over, and there’s a tour starting Sunday, but no lineups are out for that yet. The show will be from Tokyo Korakuen Hall, so I am guessing that’ll be on NJPWWorld. If you are jonesing for some puroresu before then, this coming morning at 2:30am EST / 1:30am CST, FITE TV will be showing Pro Wrestling NOAH’s big return show to Tokyo Nippon Budokan after being away for many years. The main event has relevance, as 58-year-old-with-replaced-knees Keiji Muto challenges Go Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight title. If Muto wins, he will become only the third man in history, behind Kensuke Sasaki and Yoshihiro Takayama, to have won the GHC, the IWGP Heavyweight title, and AJPW’s Triple Crown. That said, I think it would be a horrible idea booking-wise to do so, so despite being one of the biggest Keiji Muto marks ever, I’m hoping Shiozaki retains the title to continue his epic run. The show will run $20 on FITE.

[voidhunting]

You have to admit it's shitty Riot is doing something for K/DA again when others are waiting their turn and Ahri just got a legendary skin

      // yeah ok it might feel unfair. sure others are waiting. do the people who are hyped for something they’ve waited for 2 years deserve to be talked down and met with negativity? i don’t think so. i’ve seen a lot of events that weren’t my cup of tea or stuff i didn’t like, and i stayed positive and hyped it up with and for those who liked it. it didn’t cater to me but i was happy for those who were getting something because hey, it’s content! it’s new stuff! it’s something that keeps th community moving and alive! i’ve been in a community where the game was dead and archi dead with no new content whatsoever and let me tell you, it’s fucking sad and disappointing. so yeah, even if it’m not directly targeted by a new batch of skins, i’ll make the hype live because it’s nice to see new stuff, regardless of who it is for.       and before someone moans about ‘it’s the second event for k/da!!’, do i need to remind you how the first one went? they dropped the song out of the blue and got it with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. they had no teaser, barely any promo stuff aside of pbe screenshots of the skin, and they made merch in a rush and pieced together screenshots of the video, one ‘selfie’ in the metro and some stills taken from the video as well plus a short interview and put that on tiny page. the event was a first shot at something bigger according to them and clearly didn’t receive the attention they tried to give to true damage afterward and honestly, i’m glad they are coming back to it to give the group some attention like the community has been asking for (and kept the initial group intact because switching out a couple of them for others would have been shitty let’s be honest).       also yall are really quick to forget there is 16 different artists listed for the 6 songs of the album. that means potentially 11 more skins if you already count seraphine’s. k/da aren’t the only one to receive there. but hey, fuck riot for releasing content they worked hard on i guess. 

tl&dr: k you’re mad x isn’t getting content instead of ahri. we got it. does that mean those who want to enjoy what riot is releasing should be talked down for it and face a wall of negativity? i don’t think so. we don’t deserve that. i hate dwelling on the past and looking back to say it was better before, but i miss the old rpc who’d create verses of their muses to fit in that au even if it was ‘they replace kai’sa because she is useless’. it felt less demoralizing than the current perpetual bitterness and anger from nowadays.

[tippitv]

TippiTV recap: SPN 15.01 “Back and to the Future”

First a quick note on the format of this recap: I'm dealing with some neck/back/shoulder pain so I'm not going to make a bunch of captioned screen shots and diagrams and other visual aids like I usually do. That stuff, while hugely fun to do, is time-consuming even under ideal conditions. I will instead attempt to provide you with mental images of graphics I would have made.

Now, let's get on with things.

Welcome to the 15th and final season of Supernatural, everyone! If the show were a person we could give it a Quinceañera.

[Graphic: The Impala in a beautiful taffeta gown and tiara and like... satin mudflaps instead of gloves.]

It's been 5140 days since the show premiered. That's 123,360 hours. Our solar system travels around the center of the galaxy at 490,000 miles per hour. This means we have moved through 6.04464e10 miles of space since this show premiered. I don't even know what that means. Once numbers start getting letters in them, I'm lost. But it's got to be nearly as many miles as are on the Impala's odometer.

[graphic of our solar system and the Chevy Impala zooming through space together, perhaps in friendly competition]

The road so far: Man, I do not remember a lot of this. Relevant to this episode is God throwing a hissy fit, killing Jack, and releasing all the souls and/or demons from Hell.

Currently: Jack's eyeless corpse is lying around as corpses are wont to do. The surviving members of Team Free Will are fighting a lot of freshly risen dead bodies that were possessed by the released souls. If it were me just out of Hell, I wouldn't waste time in a rotted corpse. I'd just fuck off as quickly as possible and possess someone who's eating a deep-dish cheese pizza.

The risen dead are polite enough to mostly attack the Winchesters one or two at a time, so they get to grab Jack's corpse and run into a mausoleum for shelter. Okay I understand why the souls can't get through the iron doors but what's stopping the disembodied ones from just going through a window? Or through a stone wall, for that matter?

Sam asks Castiel if he can bring Jack back but he sounds like he already knows the answer. A mid-level angel without all his original powers isn't gonna be able to undo what God's done unless the plot requires it.

[Graphic of Sam's incredibly sad face as he says or thinks "maybe the plot will require it later?"]

Everyone tries to figure out what they're going to do next. Dean snarkily wonders if they're going to starve to death. I mean, no, because the ambulatory corpses will break in before long. Failing that, they'd die of thirst unless Castiel has like a TARDIS bladder that holds Dasani, and then they could eat Jack. Mmm nephilim jerky....

Proving my point for me, a resident of the mausoleum or perhaps a neighbor tries to bust through some of the loose stones just as Sam starts chipping away at them in search of an escape route. Castiel smashes its head with a big rock, causing the ghost to flee? I guess? Whatever it is looks like a glowy skeleton and ghosts usually look like their living selves for the most part.

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" Sam asks.

Ol' Eyeless Jack pops up and says in a friendly tone of voice, "Hello!" Nobody's super shocked by this turn of events.

[Graphic of Jo and Ellen saying "nobody stays dead on this show except us"]

It's just Jack's bod with a demon in it, though. Was he the one that looked like a glowy skeleton? Whatever. He happens upon some budget sunglasses on the floor nearby. No seriously they're sunglasses to save the budget because it wouldn't be cheap or timely to have to CGI empty eyes for the whole episode.

He introduces himself. "My name is Belvegar." The fuck? That sounds like a horrible portmanteau for shipping Mr. Belvedere with Garfield the cat.

[Graphic of Buckleming: "We'd write that!"]

I suppose I should check IMDB to see how that's spelled...

BELPHEGOR???

Oh okay apparently Belph is a prince of hell and "Lord of the Gap," which is like half a step up from being Lord of Old Navy. I'm looking this up on regular Wikipedia not Supernatural Wiki so the show didn't just make him up. It says here he seduces people by suggesting inventions that will make them wealthy. One time I came up with an idea for pills that would turn people's urine into toilet cleaner. I was going to call it Vita-Wiz. And that's why I've never been able to seduce anyone with my inventions.

Anyway Castiel shoves Belph up against a wall, as is customary on this show, and demands he leave Jack's bod. But Belph says he has some mojo that will get rid of all the hellish souls and demons currently trying to get into the mausoleum. Much like how Vita-Wiz gets rid of hard water stains and leaves your toilet with a minty fresh scent!

[Graphic: a colorfully jaunty ad for Vita-Wiz with Sam's endorsement a la the "Changing Channels" Herpexia ad. "I've got powerfully clean urine."]

Belph knows all about the Winchesters but is slightly surprised this latest fuckery is God's fault. He makes himself out to be a low-level demon so either he's lying or the show's not going with the prince of hell backstory. Judging by his delivery and mannerisms he thinks he's auditioning to be in Goodfellas: The High School Years.

[Graphic: High School Musical promo poster but make it mobster]

He goes on to say that, like the Winchesters, he wants all the souls back in Hell where they belong and he can get back to torturing them. "I like my job!" Unrelatable. He can't fix the main shitsplosion that's going on but says he can get them all out of the cemetery safely.

Using some "graveyard dirt" from the floor and angel blood from Convenienstiel, he works a little spell that turns all the risen dead back into just... dead. Unoccupied corpses litter the ground by the dozens. Man, what a mess. You know who isn't gonna like their job in the morning? The groundskeeper.

Also, that sure is a useful spell. I wonder if it will ever come up again...

"Where are all the ghosts?" Dean wonders.

Cut to two teenage girls somewhere else acting like teenage girls Dabb has seen in Troom Troom videos. One of the girls sees herself as a ghost in the mirror and claws her face clean off. Man, that ghost's wig is terrible. Is she Bloody Mary? I don't remember her wig being this bad. I can't believe they couldn't afford a better one even with the Budget Sunglasses.

Back to Three Men and a Belphy. Riding home in the Impala, Sam checks the news. So far, no mention of any kind of worldwide Ghostpocalypse. It seems like you're mostly safe in this universe as long as you don't live in middle America. Belph suggests they may be able to contain the ghosts before things get too out of hand and he just happens to know the right magic.

"Imagine a salt circle a mile wide," he says. Castiel points out that Harlan, Kansas is less than a mile from the cemetery so Dean hatches a plan to get everyone out so as to not trap them inside with the ghosts and demons. Is it gonna be a lame plan that would never work in reality?

But first they stop for a wrecked car on the side of the road. There's blood on the inside of the windshield but no body. "This look familiar to you?" Dean asks Sam. It looks like a lot of wrecks where someone got wanged on the head and wandered off in a daze, but they figure it's the Woman in White. "If she's back then they're all back," Dean goes on. "Every last one that we ever killed."

Okay shout out to everyone who answered my post where I asked if ghosts used to be obliterated rather than going to Hell. The consensus seems to be that the Winchesters didn't really know one way or the other early on and were guessing.

Cut to a woman running through a house with her young daughter in her arms. The aftermath of a destroyed birthday party can be seen. How late in the day were they throwing this kid's party?? To make a long story short, the ghost of John Wayne Gacy is chasing them. I'll just reiterate my hatred of this character, not because Gacy is a serial killer obv, but because it lacks internal logic! Why is he dressed like a clown?? He wasn't executed in his old clown outfit!

Suddenly it's daytime. It's like Bugs all over again. Sam, in a jacket with an FBI decal on it approaches what must be the dumbassiest dumbass sheriff in three states. He convinces the sheriff to evacuate the whole town because of a benzene leak and the sheriff just... takes his word for it. Like, he's never heard of a benzene pipeline in his hometown but doop de doop this handsome giraffe in a cheap jacket said to evacuate so it must be true!

Also why isn't the sheriff down at the cemetery?? Someone would've called that in by now! You know what I don't really care.

Meanwhile, Dean is in the car and tells Castiel to take Belph to go get supplies for the spell. Cas says he can't do it, he can't even bear to look at him. And Dean! Rolls! His! Eyes! Like, Jack's the closest thing Cas will probably ever have to a child. He was with Kelly through her pregnancy. It's only been like eight hours since the kid died horrifically. Don't roll your dang eyes!

Cas leaves and Dean puts the Equalizer gun in the glove compartment along with a copy of The Complete Works of Anton Chekhov.

Belph notices that everyone walking down the street is good-looking. Yeah, that's casting agencies for ya. He says back in his ancient penis-worshiping days, people were uglier. Belph appears to be an equal-opportunity ogler. He turns to Dean. "I mean look at you. You're gorgeous!"

[Graphic: Belphegor replacing his penis-shaped rock altar with that Skittles poster of Jensen Ackles.]

"So who was he anyway?" Belph asks, referring to his meatsuit. "He was our kid, kinda," Dean says. The show manages to resist making a Gay Dads joke that I feel like it would've given into in an earlier season. So, yay progress I guess?

Sam and Castiel split up to check every house for ghosts. That seems super time-consuming. How many Reapers are left besides Billie? I feel like they should get one on the horn unless they're all dead. Anyway, Cas's house is where the Troom Troom girls were killed. The ghost's wig looks even worse in daylight. Do they get their wigs from the Hobby Lobby doll crafting aisle or something?

Sam's house, meanwhile, is where John Wayne Ghosty went on a sartorially illogical rampage. Somehow the mother and daughter are still alive. Dumbass ghosts can't see behind a shelving unit, I guess. The instant Sam gets them safely down, Ass-Clown immediately slices him across the belly. Castiel shows up to blast the ghost with rock salt.

Meanwhile, Belph is fanboying over Dean's torturing skills. Gasp! The show remembered Dean was in Hell. It'd be nice if they were consistent about it but whatever. Belph casually mentions that all the doors in Hell opened and Dean realizes this means the cage, too.

[Graphic: That dancing gif of the actor who played Adam that says "Still in Hell" but now it says "Maybe not in Hell."]

Castiel heals Sam's wound and the fabric of his jacket! The mother and daughter are still standing there seeing all this. Cas is like, "Whatevs, I'm an angel of the Lord & Taylor." The mom is pretty flabbergasted, and even more so when Sam mentions the wound he sustained after shooting God. Castiel can't heal that one, though, because it's probably gonna be a recurring plot point judging by the flash of Evil Sam we see.

The sheriff is making a final sweep through town when he happens upon the Woman in White. The sun looks to be setting, which means it's probably been 16 hours since all the souls and demons escaped, but they're still basically within a mile of the cemetery? Even I, burdened with an easily exhausted flesh body with shitty joints could have gotten farther than that.

Anyway, Belph needs a fresh human heart for his spell so it's pretty handy of the sheriff to die! That way none of the mains need to do the morally objectionable thing of murdering someone.

Dean senses a sudden drop in temperature. "Winnie the Pooh, right now!"

WHAT THE FUUUUCK??

Hold on. I'm watching this at 1.2x speed. Let me rewatch it at 1x.

Okay he says "we need to move, right now."  My apologies to Mr. Pooh for thinking you could ever be a part of this.

[Graphic: Winnie the Pooh chipper as anything. "I CRAVE THE BLEAK ABIDING COMFORT OF DEATH AND HUNNY."]

At the same time, Sam and Castiel are walking the two survivors through town. The little girl pauses at a badly placed fish pond because she sees a woman in it. Is it Bloody Mary? What's she doing in a pond? Seriously though putting a pond right on the street corner is just asking for trouble even without spectral shenannigans. How many people have driven over the curb and right into that thing?

Okay I gotta stop getting hung up on landscaping issues. Even if they are HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE AND NONSENSICAL.

Dean is attacked by the Woman in White. Ass Clown goes after Sam and the others, and is soon joined by... a tall ghost and... Lizzie Borden? Sam accidentally shoots Cas full of rock salt when Lizzie vanishes, which is pretty funny although move ya pretty self out of the way, Cas. When she pops up behind him, she tries to choke him with the ax handle. It reminds me of that lesser known poem about Miss Borden.

Lizzie Borden had an ax Gave her mother 40 whacks Tried to choke the angel Cas 'Cause axing would've been too fast

In the ensuing fisticuffs, everyone has time to throw punches while Belph performs the spell. All he does is put the heart on a little pile of salt and chant some Latin. Is like the thing Ruby 1.0 did with that poor virgin girl's heart a million years ago?

Oh sweet Jeebus the sight of these ghosts chasing everyone on foot is... bad and funny. Y'all are ghosts! You can just blip in and out of wherever you want to go! One of the only upsides to being dead has got to be not having to do cardio anymore and here you are running the hundred yard dash like it's 6th grade PE class. They come screeching to a halt where the spell has created an invisible boundary. This might be worse than Hell.

[Graphic: Parisian street mimes trying to escape an invisible box]

But wait... Why wasn't Belphegor affected by this spell? Did he write in an exception clause? Or is it only for ghosts and not demons?

The Good Guys plus Belph bring the mom and daughter to the high school down the road where all the evacuees are sheltering. With no sheriff to coordinate things, isn't it all just gonna... fall to pieces now? How are they gonna convince everyone to stay away from their homes? What if someone needs their prescriptions? ("Oh no my Herpexia!") They can't get rid of the ghosts as long as Hell isn't in business anymore, right? This is a mess. Dean seems to know it.

Dang why are Castiel and Dean on such icy terms? Why do I not remember last season?

Now that they have a five second breather before the shit hits the fan, Dean wants to see Sam's godly bullet wound. It looks a little crusty but not too bad except... "There's no exit wound," Dean notes. He gives it a swipe with some alcohol which will surely kill whatever supernatural E. coli is in there.

"So when Chuck said this was the end I guess this is what he meant," Sam says. Yes being trapped in a high school with my neighbors seems like end times to me, too. Tonally, things seemed a lot more dire in All Hell Breaks Loose 2.

Dean's feeling a bit embittered about discovering they didn't have as much free will as they'd thought, that everything was part of Chuck's personal lab experiment. "What did it all mean?" he wonders. "It meant a lot," Sam says. "We still saved people."

But what even are people, man? I'm going to have an existential crisis and I can't drink as much as Dean because I have that "Asian flush" gene thing. One drink and I turn super red and hot and queasy and then I pass out.

Sam thinks God has fucked off to who knows where because he hasn't seen the promos for episode 2 yet. "He gets bored and starts another story." Ah yes like me and my WiPs. Relatable. Overall, Sam is feeling much more optimistic. "Once we win this, God is gone... and it's just us. We're free."

Dean catches his optimism cooties. "I like those odds," he says of fighting billions of evil souls. You know what that means? We got work to do. Quick intercut of Baby Winchesters with Middle-Aged Winchesters saying the same thing and closing the trunk of the Impala.

[Graphic: Impala with the solar system again. This time the Impala is pulling ahead. "ONE MORE TIME AROUND, SONS O' BITCHES"]

So there we are at the first episode of the final season. Reblog or reply with what you thought of the episode and thanks for reading!

One final note:

You can read more about my writing and general life situation and GoFundMe here: https://tippitv.tumblr.com/post/188224749207/supernatural-final-season-recaps-and-assorted

If you enjoyed the recap and are able, please visit my virtual tip jar: paypal.me/TippiBlevins or https://ko-fi.com/A4017DA

Henry Hound and I could use the financial help!

See you next week.

[nicolewoo]

Rope Break

Summary: When a ring rope breaks at the wrong time, Dustin sweeps in to save Fergal’s girl.

Pairing: Fergal Devitt X Reader

Warning: Broken bones.

A quick knock at the door alerted me that someone was there. “You're with me. Let's go.” Paul said. He sounded somewhere between angry and busy. Regardless of his mood, when Paul said Go... you go. I grabbed a tablet and followed him. As we walked, we were joined by William Regal and a couple of other people. Nobody was talking and I wondered if anyone knew what was happening.

We passed through the gorilla and straight onto the ramp. In front of me was the ring. The RAW ring. I'd been near and in the NXT ring plenty of times, but this was my first time seeing the RAW ring. The LED boards around the ring, the red on the ring-posts, Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman practicing some moves in the ring..... I was now working on the main show. Without realizing, I'd slowed down and gasped as the thought overcame me.

A gentle touch on my back shook me out of it, and I saw Dustin standing next to me. “C'mon.” He smiled at me. I hadn't realized we'd picked up Fergal's friend as we walked.

“It's a bit daunting,” I whispered to him, and he gave me a giant smile.

“You're in the big-time now.” He nodded his head to the ring, and I followed. “You've got this” he whispered.

Paul stopped a few feet from the ring, and the whole group stopped.

“Ok. We've gotta cut some promos for this match. Dustin, what do you have for me?” Paul asked.

Dustin was quick to start reeling off ideas he'd come up with for the promos, showing Paul and William sketches on his tablet. I was there to make sure the promos accurately reflected where creative was going to take Braun and Drew. Each person in the group weighed in as each promo was discussed. Everyone was engaged in deciding a proper background for Drew's promo when I heard the wrestlers pick up the pace in the ring. I was turning to see what was happening when I heard........ I wasn't sure at the time what it was. My mind processed that a ring rope went flying through the air and was headed directly at me.

Time slowed down as I saw the metal end of the rope coming at my face. Suddenly, I was grabbed, turned and tackled to the floor. I processed that my head hadn't hit the floor, but that relief was suddenly overwhelmed by a searing pain in my leg and a scream of someone on top of me. My pain was so intense I almost threw up. I still wasn't sure what had happened when William Regal leaned down beside me. He pulled the person off of me. It was then I registered that Dustin had tackled me. The pain.... I couldn't think straight. I couldn't figure out what was happening. The pain was too much.

“Y/N, stay still. Stay completely still.” William barked.

At the same time, I heard Paul yell, “Get medical here with 2 gurneys and some morphine STAT.” Then I heard his walkie talkie beep. He must have used it to call medical. “Call 911!” he barked to someone in our group.

“Dustin, don't move.” someone said. There were shouts and yells everywhere.

“Get Finn, NOW!” Paul yelled.

I tried to raise my head to look around, “No. No. No.” A hand brushed my hair while a hand on my shoulder  prevented me from sitting up.

“What........” I started, but I saw Drew's face hovering over me.

“Stay down, Y/N” He was using his calmest, most soothing voice and it actually helped. “Medical is on da way. Everything is going to be ok.” His eyes caught mine. “I promise. Jus' lay still.”

Braun's voice soothed Dustin next to me, “You're alright. Stay still.”

Drew reached to hold my hand, “Just squeeze if you need to. Keep your eyes on me.”

“What? What's happening?” I squeaked.

A quick jab in my arm alerted me that medical was there and I was getting medicated. Sweet relief flowed through my body. I was so disoriented and confused, but the morphine made me calm. Whatever was happening could wait, I thought as I started to get sleepy.

“I'm 'ere. I'm 'ere” Finn's voice was the last thing I heard. His eyes replaced Drew's and they were the last thing I saw before I slipped into unconsciousness.

When I opened my eyes, I didn't know where I was. Someone was holding my hand, and I heard Finn praying. I tried to talk, but my throat and mouth were completely dry. A weak grunt came out instead.

Fergal jerked up to lean over me. “I'm 'here. You're ok. I'm 'ere.” He placed his hand on my cheek and brushed it gently. I opened my mouth to talk again, but nothing came out. “'old on, love.” He reached to get some water. “'ere.” He held my head up a bit so I could reach the straw, and I took a little sip of water. “T'ere ya go. Jus' a little bit, babe.” He soothed me.

“What....” I tried to say happened, but only a croak came out.

“Let me get t'e nurse.” He cooed and walked away for a few seconds to call a nurse. He came back and kissed my forehead as a few medical professionals came in the room doting over me. One checked my vitals. Another held a paper in front of me and said, “Point to where your pain is.” I realized the paper had 1-10 written on it and was for me to point to where my pain was. I pointed at the 4. “Good. Good.” they said. Dr. Robinson and Dr. Dugas walked in with a doctor from the hospital.

They were quickly updated on my vitals and pain. Dr. Dugas smiled over and tapped my uninjured leg. “You ok?” he asked. I nodded. “I know you're disoriented. Give us a couple of minutes, and we'll tell you what happened.” I must have looked relieved, because he smiled at me. “You're going to be fine.” He said as much to Fergal as to me.

I looked to Fergal who looked completely downtrodden. He continued to brush my cheek softly. “Tá tú ceart go leor.” he purred to me. I didn't know what he meant, but I always loved when he spoke Irish to me. “You're ok. I'm here.” He kissed my forehead again. “I'm here.” (Tá tú ceart go leor = You're ok)

It only took a couple minutes for the hospital staff to leave the room. Dr. Robison, Dr. Dugas and Fergal were all that was left. I tried to talk again, but only managed to croak again. Dr. Robinson motioned for Fergal to hand him the water. “Gently now. Little sips,” he said as he moved the straw to my mouth.

“Wha...” I tested my voice. “What happened?” I finally asked.

Dr. Dugas was the first to answer, “You've got a broken leg, Y/N” he said calmly. I immediately tried to move my legs, but found one immobile.

Fergal spoke up, “You were ringside wit' your group, and one of t'e ring ropes broke. It went flyin' right at ya, but Dustin saved ya.” He held my hand up to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was flooded with the memories of this afternoon. “Dustin?” I asked.

“I'm here.” I heard from the bed next to me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“He's a fookin' hero.” Ferg said turning to grab Dustin's hand.

Dustin shyly answered, “I just did what came naturally.”

“You saved my love,” Fergal assured him. “I don't know what I woulda done....” his voice trailed off.

Dr. Robinson put a hand on Fergal's shoulder. “But it's fine now. They're both going to make a full recovery.” he said.

“Both?” I turned to look at Dustin, finding his arm immobilized in a sling.

“Just a few stitches.” He answered.

“A lot more t'an t'at.” Ferg said. “He saw t'e rope headed to ya, and he tackled ya to t'e ground. It took a huge chunk outta his shoulder blade.” My eyes widened.

“Thank you,” I grunted out as a stab of pain seared through my leg.

“There's a couple of people who want to see you if you're up for it.” Dr. Robinson said. I nodded yes, and he waved Braun and Drew into the room.

“There she is,” Braun said. “You ok?” he asked me.

“I don't know.” I squeaked as my pain spiked again. I squeezed Ferg's hand through the pain.

Dr. Robinson answered, “Yes, she'll make a full recovery. So will Dustin.”

“I feel.....” Drew started saying. “I'm so sorry.” He looked from Dustin to mé. “I was runnin dá ropes when it snapped.”

Fergal stood up and placed his hand on Drew's shoulder. “It wasn't your fault, mate. It just happened.”

Dr. Dugas interjected, “There was a faulty part. Paul is livid.”

“Me too!” Ferg said a bit too loud. I reached to grab his hand again.

“I'm ok.” I said to calm him. I could see anger in his eyes so I ran my fingers over his knuckles. “We're ok.”

“Yup.” Dustin said from his bed.

Drew came over to my bedside, “Don' worry, Finn. Paul's taking care of it. D'ere's a whole crew workin' on findin' out who's responsible.” He placed a hand on my arm. “I'm jus' so sorry.” He said to me.

“It's not your fault,” I soothed to Drew and saw a bit of relief on his face. “Or yours.” I said as I looked at Braun. “Regardless of who is to blame, it's done, and we will recover.”

Dr. Robinson chimed in. “Ok, that's enough. These 2 need their rest.” He turned to me, “You'll be released from the hospital today, but you aren't cleared to work yet. We're going to have to see how your pain is before we clear you.”

I nodded in agreement. “Can I go to the show tonight?” I asked. He looked unhappy so I added, “Maybe in the WWE suite?” I tried to smile charmingly.

“When you leave here, call me. We'll decide then.” He said making sure not to make any promises.

As they walked out, Fergal grunted unhappily. “Yer gonna be t'e death of me, woman. Why do ya wanna go to t'e arena?” He shook his head, but kissed my knuckles again.

“I want to see your match.” I responded.

I saw anger flare in his eyes, “You can watch from dá hotel.” He said emphatically as if I wasn't going to argue with him.

I looked past Fergal to Dustin when I realized he was silently chuckling behind me. He knew I wouldn't give in.

“I'm not going to be working... just watching.” I tried to appease Fergal. Dustin just shook his head.

“You'll be watchin' from t'e hotel WIT' ME!” Fergal half yelled.

“Oh NO NO NO NO NO!” I barked back. “You are NOT skipping a show because of my broken leg.”

Fergal stood up and started pacing with anger. “Don' ya understand love? Ya almost died. You've had surgery for a compound fracture. You need to rest.”

I started to argue when his words registered in my head. “A compound fracture?”

“Aye!” His accent was getting stronger the angrier he got. “This afternoon ya had a bone stickin' outta yur leg, and now you wanna go back to work tonight? Dis is where I'm puttin' my foot down. Yur going back to dá hotel to rest.”

Dustin interrupted in an apologetic tone, “Ferg, I need to rest too. I'll stay with her at the hotel while you wrestle.”

There was no way to pull Ferg out of his anger, but he did seem to consider Dustin's suggestion for a minute. “Aye. I can live wit' t'at.” he said finally. He paced for a few minutes glaring up at me and then at Dustin a few times. “But I'm comin' back as soon as mah match is done.” He barked again. When neither Dustin or I argued, he seemed to calm down a bit.

He wasn't mad at us. He was mad at the situation, and I knew if I continued to argue with him, I'd end up on the wrong side of his Irish temper. With the pain starting to grow stronger, I let it all drop. Fergal stayed with us for a while, occasionally taking calls from people at the arena. He assured them all that we were going to be ok. It was 4 pm before he finally went to the arena with kisses and promises that I'd call him if we needed them.

He stopped by Dustin's bed again and hugged the man softly, “I'll neva be able tá repay ya.”

Dustin just smiled and said, “Nothing to repay. You woulda done the same for me.” Still, I knew Fergal was going to do everything in his power to show his gratitude.

After Fergal was gone and Dustin called his wife, I let sleep take over me. The pain was getting progressively worse, and my only escape was sleep or more drugs. I opted for sleep.

What felt like a minute later, I heard someone calling my name; waking me from my dreams. “Y/N? Before your released, we need to make sure you can hold down food.” A rather stinky tray of hospital food was in front of me.

“Haven't I been through enough today?” I joked at the nurse, but he was NOT amused. Dustin's chuckled appeased me though.

I forced a few spoons of soup in my mouth and found it tasted much like it smelled. I figured the pre-packaged saltine crackers would be safe, and I quickly chowed down on them and the jello that was on the tray.... all under the scrutiny of the nurse. He didn't leave until he was sure I'd swallowed everything I ate.

Soon after, one of the WWE interns showed up to tell us he was our ride back to the hotel. After waiting to see if my food would stay down, the doctors finally started the process of releasing us. Started.... but it took forever. We made it back to the hotel shortly before RAW.

I was shocked at the sight of our hotel room. There were flowers everywhere, and a package of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups sitting on the coffee table for me with a sweet note from Fergal saying he'd be back as soon as he could. Next to the Reeses was a bag of Skittles with a note for Dustin.

“What's it say?” I asked after the intern helped me climb on the bed.

Dustin just chuckled. “It says don't worry about the sugar tonight. You earned these.” He finished reading and added, “these are my favorite.”

Once I was settled on the bed, and Dustin was lounging on the couch, the intern, Darryl, started doting over us. Did we need meds? Did we need food? Can he get us anything? I was about to tell him to go back to the arena until I realized he was probably under orders from Paul to stay with us.

“Food sounds good” I said to both Dustin and Darryl. They agreed. “Should we do room service or order delivery?” I continued.

Darryl spoke up, “I can get you anything you want.” He offered. “I have to go get your prescriptions anyway.”

“I think room service will be good enough,” I nodded at him. I didn't want him doing any more than he needed to. This certainly wasn't the norm for his job, but he was gracious enough not to complain.

Once he returned from the pharmacy though, I was in dire need of more pain meds. Dr. Dugas and Fergal were right to keep me from the arena tonight. The pain was too much. Darryl brought the pain meds to me along with the food that had just arrived.

The three of us sat eating and watching RAW while the meds made my head fuzzy. I must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing I knew, the tray of food was moved off the bed and I found Fergal sitting in the bed beside me.

“Luv,” He leaned over and kissed me. “How are ya feelin'?” he asked.

“Ugh!” was my only response. “You were right to keep me here.” I admitted.

“Ya had a big surgery today. T'ere's no shame in resting one night.” He said. “I t'ought you were gonna fight me harder t'an ya did.” He admitted. I could tell he was still angry, but he had calmed down a lot.

“Alright, now that you're here, I'm going to go back to my hotel room.” Dustin said.

“You don' have to go.” Fergal replied, but Dustin said he was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

Ferg stood and gave Dustin a hug, “Dude, if ya need anyt'ing....”

Dustin waved off the offer. “I'm good.” He came to give me a hug.

I held both his hands as he got ready to leave and looked him straight in the eye. “Thank you.”

I was rewarded with a big smile. “I'll see you tomorrow.” Dustin said.  

[shirohcsbecausewhythehellnot]

Nurse Shiro

Prompt: “hi there! your writing is so beautifully detailed and well written, it captivated me immediately! i was wondering if you could write something (head-cannons, one shot, whatever!) about how shiro would take care of his s/o that suddenly came down with a really bad cold/illness?? like, on queue dizziness, confusion, coughing, faintness, all that good stuff? cured with fluff. you can play with this however you want, i just really love your writing. thank you so much!<3″

Thank you so much for this sweet message! It really made my day when I checked my notifications! This blog is only three days old and I’m already getting messages like these! You guys are honestly the best!

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Pairing: Shiro x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,296

Warnings: Just some light swearing sprinkled here and there. Not much to shield the children from.

   You were tired and in pain. Your body was in that constant state of “sleepy, but not sleepy enough”. And your head was in so much pain that you wanted to sleep for the next ten thousand years. It was the type of headache that sent a sharp pain if you moved your head the wrong way, or laughed, or sneezed, or coughed. And there was a lot of the last two. It had been a day after you and the paladins came back from an ice planet where it was rumored to be a Galra hideout. After hours of searching in the cold, you found nothing and returned to the castle empty handed and with the worst fever ever. Shiro forced you to stay in bed until your temperature was back to normal. And because you couldn’t sleep, you were bored out of your god damn mind.

   The door to your bedroom opened and you looked over to see Shiro walk to you with a bowl and a damp towel in hand. You gently laid your head back down on your pillow and closed your eyes.

   “If that isn’t aspirin, I don’t want it.” Your voice was raspy and your throat was extremely sore. A cough escaped you and you let out a quiet ‘ow’ from the pain of both your throat and head. You heard Shiro chuckle lightly at your words as he removed the warm towel from your forehead and replaced it with a much cooler one. He removed the sweaty strands of hair from your face and tucked them behind your ear. You sighed in relief.

   “Unfortunately, no. They don’t have Earth aspirin in an Altean castle.” He replied, emphasis on ‘Earth’. “I have, however, come bearing soup.” You opened your eyes slightly and looked at him warily.

   “Who made the soup?” Shiro rolled his eyes.

   “It’s just soup. Do you honestly think I’m that bad of a cook?” You opened your mouth to mention how he once blew up an omelet (neither one of you entirely sure how that was physically possible) but decided against it and went for the more pressing matters.

   “Shiro, who made the soup?” You repeated. He sighed.

   “Hunk made the soup, okay? Better?”

   “Much.” You replied and quickly sat up, regretting it immediately due to a splitting headache that appeared from the quick movement. You felt a wave of dizziness wash over you but pushed through it and took the soup from Shiro’s hand. He handed you a tissue box and you took one gratefully. “Thanks, Nurse Shiro.” You said teasingly before you blew into the tissue. He smiled at you with pride.

   “You say that as if it were an insult. That is a compliment in the highest order. Nurses are our unspoken heroes.” You let out a quick laugh then a long, painful moan as another sharp pain ran through your head. Shiro sat down at the edge of your bed and gently rubbed your back. You took a spoonful of soup and sighed as the warmth spread through your body. You quickly finished the bowl and handed it to Shiro as you lied back down. Shiro picked up a dry towel and dabbed the sweat away from your neck. You looked up at him gratefully and mumbled out a quiet ‘thanks’.

   “Is there anything that you need?” He asked you softly as he ran his fingers through your hair.

   “Death and/or sleep.” You muttered. “Either one would be much appreciated.” You leaned into his comforting touch. Maybe sleep was an option after all. Your hopes and dreams shattered when you let out a giant sneeze and the force of that, plus the feeling of what could only be a bomb let loose inside your head woke you. Your head and eyes were throbbing and you let out a loud groan of pain and annoyance. Shiro bent down to give a little kiss on your nose and continued to stroke your hair.

   “I’m afraid giving you death is beyond my jurisdiction but I’ll gladly give you sleep. He nudged you a little to the side of the bed and laid down next to you.

   “What are you doing? You’re gonna get sick.” Shiro just chuckled. He rolled over to his side to face you and supported his body with his arm.

   “Well, then why don’t we speed up the process?” Before you could answer, Shiro bent his head down and kissed you deeply. You looked at him with wide eyes after he had detached his lips from yours.

   “You’re gonna regret that, you know?” You warned. He only smiled.

   “I’ll take my chances.” You rolled your eyes and snuggled into him with a sniff and he wrapped his arms around you. Sooner then you anticipated, you found yourself drifting away into sleep.

   Two days later, your headache had completely disappeared and your fever had gone down considerably. Shiro, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He had gotten your illness and it seemed to be worse for him than it was for you.

   “I told you you’d regret it.” You sighed as you dabbed the sweat off of him and laid and damp towel on his head. His eyes were closed as he let out a quick laugh and then winced as his headache reappeared.

   “The day I regret kissing you under any circumstance is the day I die.”

   “You probably will,” You replied teasingly. “or at least, prefer it.” A grin spread over Shiro’s face as he opened his eyes to look at you.

   “I can’t really deny that.” You hummed in amusement as you slowly propped him up to hand him some water. “What, no soup?” He teased. You rolled your eyes as he finished his glass in two gulps.

   “Don’t worry, you’ll get your soup. I’m just letting it simmer.” He handed you his empty glass with a confused expression.

   “You’re making the soup?”

   “Yes, Shiro. Because unlike you, I don’t start fires when I’m in the kitchen.”

   “It was one time.” He defended.

   “That I’m aware of.” You walked out of your shared room to return the glass and retrieve a bowl of soup. You headed back in to see him in the same position as you left him and gave him his bowl. He looked at you mischievously.

   “Feed it to me.”

   “You’re not a baby. You’re a big boy. Feed yourself.” You smiled back. He let out a little huff and put a spoonful in his mouth. His head snapped up and looked at you with a baffled expression on his face.

   “Where the hell did you get chicken?” He asked.

   “It’s not chicken. It’s some.. alien.. bird..thing…? I don’t really know. Ask Hunk, he’s the one who gave it to me. But I guess it tastes like chicken so good for you.” Shiro shrugged his shoulders in acceptance and continued eating. He quickly finished it and handed the empty bowl back to you with a grateful smile on his face.

   “Thanks, Y/N.” He said warmly. You smiled back.

   “Don’t worry about it. I owe you for taking care of me when I was sick anyway.” You bent down to kiss his cheek “And if I were to let my boyfriend die of a fever then that would make me the worst partner ever.” Shiro grinned at you.

   “Well, you’re doing a pretty good job at being the best partner ever.” You gently pushed him down into bed and tucked him in.

   “Damn right I am.” You gave his lips a light peck. “Now sleep.” Shiro let out a soft grunt and closed his eyes as you ran your fingers through his short hair. It wasn’t long before he fell into a deep slumber.

A/N: My second request is finally finished! Seriously though, to the person that requested this, you’re honestly so sweet! It makes me super happy to see messages like that. Thank you!

~🐼

(Also, again, I’m not really one for self-promo but it would be great if you guys liked and reblogged. You know, to just kinda spread it around. You don’t have to though!)

Masterlist

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 13x20

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

It is that time of the year where, as they say, the plot begins to thicken. Only three episodes left we are heading to the grand finale, so almost everything that happened in this week’s episode can be seen as a foretelling of what we can expect. Which unfortunately is neither rainbows or kittens, but when did this show ever? That being said it was a neat episode and for the first time since his comeback I had fun watching Gabriel. I liked what we learned about his past and how they moved his character forward. A quick update on all the feels, apocalypse world version. But in the end the most interesting part to me was what this episode told us about Sam and Dean’s current state and what it might mean for their future.

But as always, let’s have a closer look.

Wings & Things

Starting at the apocalypse world, where we learn that since the last time we saw them Jack made good on his promise and started to fight the angels. We already know that he is more powerful than an average angel, so it’s not surprising that so far he has been successful. Back in 13x02 we learned that Nephilim can become more powerful than their angelic parents, which in Jack’s case would be an archangel. So technically he could be powerful enough to beat Michael, but storywise it would be too easy. Besides as Mary reminded us Jack is currently almost too confident in his powers, a little reminder of season 12 where hubris was the downfall of the BMoL. Mary as well has learned her lesson the hard way and warns Jack that his recklessness is what will lead him to make mistakes.

Their whole relationship was portrayed as that of a mother and a son, and Mary later textually confirmed that by calling Jack “her boy” (while also reminding us that she saw Cas as her boy as well and still thinks he is dead). I really liked seeing them that way, because I think they give each other what they need. Jack is acting much more than a child than Sam and Dean. Because technically he still is, even if he doesn’t look like it. He needs guidance, he needs support and someone that loves him and cares about him. Kelly had been the empty space in his life, that neither Sam and Dean or Cas could fill. He looked up to them as role models, but Mary fills in a different role, that of a mother.

Mary on the other hand sees the other world as a place where she can redeem herself. The first step was to realize that not making the deal had horrible consequences in this world, that she was a victim as well, and that there was never really a right and a wrong choice. Now, just as Jack, she sees her purpose in trying to save this world. She knows that Jack needs her, as the mother he never had, while at the same he replaces the children she lost when she died. Mary’s relationship with her sons became so estranged because she felt unable to act like a mother to them. They no longer needed a mother, at least not in the way they remembered her. Mary had been taken away the chance to see her sons grow up and to raise them. But with Jack she has been given another chance.

The other interesting thing about this storyline was the return of Kevin. I already talked in my episode review on 13x18 about the different characters we met so far in the other world, and how much they changed or stayed the same without knowing the Winchesters. Both Bobby and Charlie are pretty much the same. Bobby is still a hunter because he always has been one. Charlie still fights the good fight, because she already did that (though in a different way) before the apocalypse happened. Kevin though is a different story. He is still the same kid who just wanted to go to school and was not ready for the supernatural to be a part of his life. But in our universe the Winchester take him in and that makes all the difference. Their relationship had never been easy, but in the end they became a family. They gave Kevin something to fight for, even though he had still lost his friends and (seemingly) his mother. In the apocalypse world Kevin became what he was meant to be in our world as well, an instrument of the angels. I don’t think that any of his actions in the other world were out of character. This is how Kevin would have reacted, all hope lost. And even then he decided not to wait for Bobby and the other survivors, to lessen the body count.

This draws a pretty good picture of the Michael we will be facing very soon. He doesn’t simply kill, he does it in the most sadistic way, with the only attempt to break Jack. Jack on the other hand proves to be a real Winchesters when he wonders what his purpose is if he can’t save everyone. Which is pretty close to Dean’s current state of mind.

Some other things:

- Mary mentions that with all the new people coming to their camp they will soon run out of supplies. This could lead to conflicts within the camp, but it also tells us that by beating Michael and the angels the job isn’t done. They have to rebuild their entire world.

- Mary tells Kevin that heaven is just full of memories, that none of it is real. This is a pretty stark contrast to the suicidal Mary we saw last season, who longed for her own heaven. It is also possible that the dream state we saw in 12x22 was her own heaven and that by letting go of it she left behind her desire to go there again as well.

- It is implied that Michael in the other world decides who goes to heaven and who doesn’t. Given that most angels in the other world fight down on earth it is possible only the bare minimum of angels and new souls stay in heaven, to keep everything running.

- There is probably a lot to say about the image of Jack’s wings protecting Mary and her unconscious body in his arms, which were all pretty biblical, so I let some other people talk about it.

Gods & Odds

As I said I liked Gabriel in this episode better than I did in 13x18. His scenes felt more lighthearted and closer to the character we saw in season 5, while at the same time the Winchesters had a chance to call him out on his past actions and to give the character another chance to change.

Gabriel, who has seen “Kill Bill” one too many times, is on a quest for revenge. After Asmodeus he tries to track down the norse Gods who once sold him to the evil colonel. Others have already pointed out that everyone seems to face their abusers this season. Cas had to face Naomi and Sam and Rowena have yet to face Lucifer (which given the promo will happen next episode). The question is how one deals with the trauma and the abuse they had to suffer through. Are you ever able to truly let go? Can you only rest if the one responsible for your pain got his/her punishment? In 13x12 Sam told Rowena that no matter how powerful she will be she won’t feel any less vulnerable and helpless facing Lucifer. And yet by the end of the episode he gave her the tools to her full power back, hoping she might be able to kill Lucifer.

Sam and Dean learned the hard way that revenge won’t make you feel better. There is no satisfaction in it, there is no healing of old wounds. And yet Sam bonds with Rowena, bonds with Gabriel, because they both have become victims the same way he did. He understands their need to do something, anything, to get some sort of control back. I do hope Sam and Rowena can end Lucifer, because I am beyond tired of his storyline, but chances are he lives at least long enough to meet his son. The real answer how to face their trauma however has already been given last week by Billie/Death: “Sometimes life is unfair and sometimes we lose things and sometimes we make mistakes. And some of these things can never be fixed no matter how powerful you become. Some things just are, and everyone has to live with that”. Let’s hope both Sam and Rowena have listened.

The reveal that Gabriel impersonated the real Loki did mostly fit with the theme of things looking like other things, or in this case two things who looked the same. And apparently demi-gods are powerful enough that they can transform vessel into their own doppelgängers? The more you know. Apart from that the real Loki had two narrative purposes. For one he told Dean that despite the fact that his father Odin despised him he still wants to revenge his father’s death, making it clear that Dean of all people would understand. There has been a big negative space all season long with mentions of fathers and more precise John, the same way season 11 had been build around Mary and her absence and we all know how that ended. I’m not sure how and in which way they could build in John, though I’m not a huge fan of the character and I rather they wouldn’t at all.

The other thing is what Loki told Gabriel: that he lived for pleasure and stood for nothing. It is the same thing that Sam and Dean accused him off, that when they needed him he ran away. Gabriel got his revenge, but it didn’t make him feel better, the way Dean knew it wouldn’t. But after he starts to wonder if there was some truth in Loki’s words, if it is finally time to give his life a meaningful purpose. This is what it looked like back in season 5, where Gabriel had seemingly sacrificed himself in order to stop the apocalypse. It is why I wasn’t very fond of bringing his character back, because it took away the meaning of this death, that had never been real in the first place. Gabriel is now on a journey we thought he had already been. It is a weird repeat of a story that had seem already finished, so I’m still a bit conflicted as to why they had to bring the character back in the first place.  

Let’s talk for a brief moment about the other scene I know everybody is already talking about. Gabriel talking about his time in Monte Carlo and of course the porn stars. We see two versions of this story, one with the porn starts, one without. It is possible Gabriel simply forget to mention them the first time and what we see then is how it happened. The other interpretation however is that the version without them is how Sam pictured the scene and the other version with the porn starts is how Dean imagined it (which would be a callback to 2x15, the first time we saw Gabriel, where we had the story told from two different perspectives as well). Say the porn star version is Dean’s imagination, then it features a male porn star. With dark hair, in an ascot. Flirting not with the flamboyant brother but rather with the manly bearded dude. I’m sorry but there is no heterosexual interpretation for this.

The for me most important scene however was the last scene. Sam calls out Dean for going alone after Loki, after he already left Sam behind to go with Ketch into the other world. Dean falls back to treating Sam like a child instead of his equal. With Lucifer free and a Michael from another world ready to conquer our world it seems like a second apocalypse is on the horizon. This brings back Dean’s worst memory: Sam’s death and his time in hell. Back then Dean could do nothing to prevent this as it was the only option to save the world. But he can’t get through it again so Dean is willing to rather give his own life than to let anyone he cares about die again.

In 12x23 Dean lost everything and there was nothing he could about it as well. Instead of waiting for another tragedy to happen it seems Dean now takes matters into his own hands. Just like Jack he feels like a failure if he can’t protect everyone.

The whole scene felt to me as if the show is starting to prepare us what will happen in the finale, which given all spoilers is very likely to be Michael!Dean. Dean acts reckless, he even says he doesn’t care about his own life, as long as his family is safe. He falls back into old destructive patterns, but so does Sam. His promise to die together is the same inability to let go of his brother that Dean shows. Dean can’t lose Sam so he rather dies instead to protect him; Sam can’t lose Dean so he rather dies with him. In the end though we will likely see a reverse “Swan Song”, with the brothers separated, and while not dead one of them will no longer be himself.

Until then though let’s hope next week gives us the ultimate power couple: Gabriel & Rowena! See you then.

[clubfluffer]

I have way too much time on my hands because I rewatched episode 14 of Are You Human Too and had a bunch of questions and thoughts re. Shin pop up in my head lol

In the flashback at the beginning Shin seems still innocent until he gets the double sucker punch of Young Hoon being hit for his actions and his mum being threatened again. Is his asshole character change however down to finding out his dad's death is suspicious though? It would seem it's the catalyst to his overly asshole behaviour, and around the time he kicks off his plan to escape.

When he hits Nam Shin with the bar thingy he looks to So Bong hoping to see her revulsion at NS's true face, but she's upset and worried for him. When mum comes she's upset too and he lashes out on NS. Maybe he feels that everyone is forgetting him again, like his mum forgot about him when making NS? Almost like a child saying, 'I'M here, why can't you see me???' I mean, he's an asshole but it does feel like he wants complete focus on him, and any attention to NS frustrates him. He wants his mum to feel the pain he has, especially since she's had a replacement all this time and he's had no one. He couldn't get close to YH too because of the pain he'd feel when YH would get punished because of him.

It also probably feels like by comparing him to Nam Shin they're effectively saying they don't like character and they're stifling him again, much like his granddad did when he was younger. The fact it's his mum and best friend? must make it even more upsetting. Shin knowing that his granddad knew about NS is definitely the final FINAL straw. It's the idea that the old man brought him to the house, made his mum grieve over his loss by creating something to replace him and then for the granddad to decide he wants the replacement, all while treating him like utter shit over the years, almost breaks him.

He's still in a lot of pain as well (HE WAS HIT BY A TRUCK FFS lol) and for all his casual indifference, it's probably messing with his brain. The stuff evil dude said has also affected him, making him paranoid that he isn't wanted or needed. Which leads me to the point of when he has the flashback to his mum coming in after he'd hit NS he remembers her looking at NS but she specifically looks at him first. His memory of things aren't quite as what happens?

His hatred for his granddad seems to have taken precedent over evil dude with him looking for the card, to do with his dad's death/suicide. Is he now basically gunning to bring his granddad down, and he sees NS as the perfect tool to do this? In that sense, I can see that he would know that his biggest challenge would be So Bong because she will try to stop him. He knows that YH and his mum won't to an extent because of their guilt. Ye Na will keep in line as well.

In regards to the actual date, all sorts get thrown up:

Shin knows NS knows something re the promise. Finding him at the house and he's paranoid again that NS is there to take over. He hates the family and house but he's feeling like NS is taking over. Which is why he mentions SB. If NS takes everything from him, he'll take what's important from NS. Goading him and while he doesn't expect it, NS takes the bait and is ready to threaten him back. I wonder if Shin isn't expecting it at all, and it's the first time someone has actually pushed back to him?

So Bong turns up and she's straight up smiling at NS, which Shin doesn't like. Makes him sick to see the emotion or jealous maybe about the happiness she shows Nam Shin? His questions to So Bong about being able to detect the diifference also highlights his interest, maybe in the sense that unlike everyone else she 'sees' Nam Shin and is that why he decides to hijack the date? When does he learn about it too, unless he follows them and she talk to Nam Shin about it.

How does the switch happen? We know it's after Nam Shin goes to get the napkins but when Shin comes in how the eff does he know So Bong is crying to wipe her tears straight away? I mean, he can put two and two together I guess, but that's very quick of him to realise why Nam Shin went to get the napkins.

I wonder how long the film is and how long they're sitting there before he starts crying? Does he have to be such a petty bitch lol? And what's the reason for it all?

I do think it's linked to the promo where he says 'I'll show granddad what's real and what's fake'. He's probably cottoned on to the battery (from Ye Na most likely 😒) and with the manual mode, he's got control of Nam Shin. I imagine he'll threaten So Bong with it in order to take granddad down. But again in the promo, YH says, 'Don't hurt people. If you do, I'm gone.' So clearly he's finally getting push back from those who care about him as well as So Bong saying, 'Imitate him all you want. You can never be like him.' I can imagine him getting more and more volatile as time goes on tbh.

I could be completely wrong on all of this however lol.

[schpiedehl]

Oak, Mandy Patinkin, & Racism in Regards to Great Comet

“So, it looks like my last rant-post Re: Oak and Great Comet was a bit premature, what with the news that Oak is being replaced 3 weeks early by Mandy Patinkin. I still hold that Oak was cast due to his immense talent but it seems The Shubert Organization not only wanted the sweet, sweet Hamilcash, but they also wanted it quick. As reported by Broadway Black, Oak is being replaced in an effort to drive up ticket sales. Ticket sales have been down since Josh Groban departed the show and it seems Oak is, at least in part, being blamed for this decrease in profitability. Josh Groban was a significant draw for Great Comet due to his large extant fanbase and their deep pockets. When you combine Groban’s departure with Great Comet’s utter evisceration on Tony night, it’s extremely understandable that the show would have some growing pains having little to nothing to do with Oak. Oak is an extremely talented actor but he is nowhere near the household name that Groban is and, furthermore, as Hamilton fans (for whom Oak might be a huge draw) skew young, interest does not necessarily equal ticket sales. This decrease in profitability was also somewhat manufactured by The Shubert Organization as tickets for Oak’s limited run were made available for half price. Oak was given a few short months to prepare for an emotionally and technically demanding role, had to learn a new instrument, was forced to delay his debut for as of yet undisclosed reasons, and then had his run cut short because he wasn’t making enough money. There was very little marketing concerning him in the role (promotion images were just released earlier this week, despite the fact he was cast in February; Ingrid’s promo images were up as soon as she was cast, even before she made her debut) and tickets were sold at a deep discount. Simply put, they set Oak up to fail and then - regardless of whether or not this was their intent - made a spectacle of replacing him. Some people want to debate whether or not this move was racist. And sure, I’m open for debate. But regardless of the motivation behind replacing a talented up-and-coming black man with an old guard white man, it reads as racist to anyone even slightly familiar with issues of race especially in regards to the entertainment industry. And I am certainly not the first person to have pointed this out. Oak’s friend, Rafael Casal, had a lot to say on the issue, as did fellow Hamilton actors Ariana DeBose and Samantha Marie Ware, among others. So let’s start on why this reads as racist, shall we? “Making room” Great Comet’s producer, Howard Kagan, noted that Oak had “graciously agreed to make room for Mandy.” First and foremost, let’s get this out of the way - this is spin, plain and simple. But let’s analyze that wording, shall we? “Make room” implies that there was no space for a man like Mandy Patinkin, that there was some sort of gap that needed to be filled. There was not. What is really happening here is a young black man is literally being ousted from his position and replaced by a well established white actor. Instead of “room” being made for talented actors of color in an overwhelmingly white industry, valuable roles are literally being taken right out from under them. Actors of color have to fight their way to the top only to, in this case, be LITERALLY told to move over and make room. This is even the line being touted by Great Comet’s PR. Oak is apparently free to come back if he pleases but this does not change the fact that he was literally pushed out of the spotlight to “make room” for Mandy Patinkin. I’ve seen people on Facebook and Twitter argue that Oak’s complicity in the deal, his “gracious agreement,” is a sign of his support of the decision to recast the role. This is, again, spin. No one wants to be replaced, no one wants to think that they are expendable. The position of actors of color in the industry is extremely precarious and this casting is further evidence of that. This is pure conjecture on my part but refusing to step aside was probably not an option for Oak and speaking out against it would likely lead to further hardship. As popular as his role in Hamilton was, Oak is not at a point in his career where he can do whatever he wants without some kind of ramification. To further muddy the waters, Oak has yet to make a statement and the statement put forth by Great Comet feels intended to speak for him. Oak “graciously agreed” and there is nothing more to say on the matter. He hasn’t even retweeted the article.

While the press statement is obviously not inherently or explicitly racist, it rings problematic in this context. People of color have been told constantly to “wait their turn” and that culture will make room for them, but here we have a black man who landed a leading role in an overwhelmingly white industry on his own merit and was still told it was not his turn. This is not, however, the only issue with the abrupt decision to recast the role of Pierre.

Diversity in Great Comet A huge selling point for Great Comet is it’s supposed color-conscious casting. While this ostensibly means that roles can be played by white actors or actors of color without regards to race, to quote Howard Sherman,  “ non-traditional (or color-blind or color-specific) casting is that it is not a ‘two-way street,’ ... goal is to create more opportunities for actors of color.” And previous to this, Great Comet served as a shining example for color-blind/color-conscious casting. Denee Benton, a black woman, plays Natasha, a Russian Aristocrat, and actors of color fill several principal and ensemble roles including Nick Choksi (Dolokhov), Amber Gray (Helene), Shoba Narayan (swing, Natasha understudy), Blaine Krauss (swing, Anatole understudy), Heath Saunders, Sumayya Ali, and Azudi Onyejekwe, just to name a few. The casting of Oak made perfect sense in a show which thrived off of diversity. Casting a white man as Pierre is not the problem. Casting an older man as Pierre is not the problem. Pierre, like all of the roles, is a character designed to be played by pretty much anyone, provided they have the pipes and can play a little accordion. Fans were always aware that Oak’s replacement might be a white man. That was fine. Breaking Oak’s contract and replacing him mid-run is not fine. It feels like a betrayal of one of the core concepts which made Great Comet great. How can a show which touts diversity almost to the point of bragging turn around and - pardon my French - fuck over a black artist? It’s not even as though Oak was performing poorly - his take on Pierre was incredibly well received by both fans and critics. But to the Shubert Organization, regardless of his talent and regardless of the color-conscious casting which helped forge the world of Comet, he was entirely expendable. And this is utterly unacceptable. I never once got the feeling that either Rachel or Dave were insincere in their vision of color-conscious casting but right now, it feels less like a legitimate drive for diversity and more like a Pokemon situation. Gotta catch ‘em all. I sincerely hope that this is not the case but it all leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Representation I’m not gonna say that Great Comet hasn’t fantastic in terms of representation, despite this current ENORMOUS MISSTEP, but the replacement of Oak beggars many hard questions in regards to the industry and representation. How secure are black men’s jobs on Broadway? How expendable are actors of color? Will the industry ever allow actors of color to be successful in diverse/non-POC stories? Will talented actors of color always be asked to “make room” for white actors? And what does this mean for aspiring actors of color? That last question is perhaps the most important. To quote Oak, himself, “[Representation is]  really up to those who put on shows, who are responsible for what goes out and what we see. As an actor, I can do as much as I can, but until I start producing shows myself, there’s only so much that I can do or say right now.” I’m sure Mandy will do great but today we have seen a show which was held up as a step in the right direction to achieving meaningful diversity on Broadway take a giant leap back. .

[aniallstory-blog]

Chapter Fourteen

After Niall went up to Manchester for the One Love concert, we headed back to London. Things felt a little hectic as I started trying to organize some kind of schedule of what needed to be done for the wedding and when each task needed to be completed and Niall was busy with more of his radio performances and album promo, but things were good. We came out of our rough patch stronger than before and the buzz of our upcoming wedding had us both on cloud nine. It was like we were in our honeymoon period all over again and I was over the moon.

Almost a week after we were back in London, I was editing a mock up of some potential invitations on a slow day at work when I got a text from Niall.

“Gonna be on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in a few minutes, tune in if you can. Think you'll like it xx”

My interest was successful piqued. Niall was on radio shows all the time and he knew that I listened whenever I could, but he rarely messaged me to remind me or make sure I would. Knowing the sunny weather would probably keep people outside for most of the day, I quickly opened a new tab on my laptop and found a live stream of BBC Radio 1.

It didn't take long for Niall to be on and when he was I quickly realized why he wanted me to listen. He was singing a cover of a Julia Michaels song I'd heard once or twice, but had put his own spin on it completely and the way he was singing it so passionately really made it sound like his own song. My heart felt so full as I listened to the lyrics and heard him singing about having issues, but having the kind of love to get through them. It felt like he was singing directly to me and I don’t think I took a breath for the whole three minutes and twenty-eight seconds the song lasted. 

When the final notes faded away I felt so completely overwhelmed with love for my fiance that it was almost enough to make me cry. He must’ve been working hard on this cover the whole time we were apart.

I quickly messaged him, telling him how proud I was of him and formed a little plan of my own to show Niall how much I cared.

-

I was home almost an hour before Niall that evening which gave me just enough time to put my plan into action. I took a quick shower so I could shave my legs and make sure I looked presentable before slipping into my outfit for the evening. I wore my best push up bra to make my boobs look a good few sizes bigger than they were and a thong that made my bum look irresistible covered by a silky gold robe that came just down to the top of my thigh. I tied it up in the front just enough to cover everything, but making sure it was open enough at the top to be a bit of a tease.

Just as I finished getting ready I heard the front door open so I fluffed up my hair a bit, took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

“Ava, are ya home?” I heard Niall shout as he walked into the living room.

I moved into the doorway and leaned against the door frame in what I hoped would be a sexy, confident manner despite my nerves.

“Yeah, Ni,” I smiled. “I'm right here.”

He turned to face me, his jaw dropping just slightly as soon as he saw what I was wearing.

“Wow, Ava,” He said after a few moments of ogling me. “Ya look amazin'.”

“You think so?” I teased. “In this old thing?”

Niall chuckled and moved across the room, putting his hands on my waist and pulling me towards him.

“You do and ya know it,” He smirked before pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “But to what do I owe the pleasure of comin' home to ya lookin' so good?”

“I just really liked that song you covered earlier,” I confessed, putting my arms over his shoulders to tease the hair on the back of his neck. “You do have issues, Ni, but I love you more because of them.”

Niall's shoulders shook as he laughed again, pulling my hips closer against his as I buried my face in his neck.

“So ya got the reasoning behind the song, did ya?” He asked as I nodded and kissed his neck softly. “Well you have issues too, Ava, but there'll never be anything we can't get past.”

I groaned into his skin before nipping gently at his earlobe.

“God, Ni. I've never been so turned on by the fact that we have flaws before.”

“Think yer probably more turned on by the fact that we're strong enough to get through all our problems.”

I rolled my eyes at his correction and pressed my lips against his. All the passion and love that had been bubbling inside of me since I heard his cover came pouring out into the kiss. He smiled against my lips, his grip on my hips tightening as I ran my fingers up through his soft hair. I felt him nip gently at my bottom lip and parted them just slightly so he could slide his tongue inside. I felt a wave of heat and want wash over me and quickly moved my hands down the front of his chest, over the striped white and grey shirt that his stylist had picked out for him that day. It was soft under my hands and fit him perfectly, clinging to his body and muscles in all the right places. 

It was a good shirt, but it was currently in my way so I moved my hands underneath it and lifted them slowly, pulling the shirt with them. Our lips stayed connected until the very last minute when they had to part so I could get Niall's shirt over his head. Once it was out of the way though I tried to reconnect them only to be stopped by Niall.

“Are we,” He swallowed hard, his face flushed from our rather intense kissing. “Are we doin' this here?”

He gestured to the living room and a smirk slid onto my face.

“Why not?” I shrugged, walking towards him and pushing his chest gently so he would move backwards. “We have a perfectly good couch right here.”

I pushed Niall until the back of his knees hit the couch and he fell gently back onto his bum. Without a moment of hesitation, I fell down to my knees and rubbed my hand over the bump that had formed in his pants.

“Jesus,” Niall hissed, his palms pressing hard into the couch.

I giggled at his response before slowly pulling down the zipper and popping the button.

“Hips up,” I demanded, tugging his pants and boxers down to his knees when he did as I asked. “Been thinking about this all day.”

Niall was already semi-hard so I pumped him a few times with my hand to get him nice and ready before slowly licking from the base to the tip. I heard the curse words fall from his mouth and I smiled as I took just the tip in my mouth, still using my hand to stroke him. After a few minutes of me teasing him, he groaned and pulled my hand away, gently pushing the back of my head down until my mouth was wrapped around his entire cock. I moaned at the action, turned on by Niall taking what he wanted, but also knowing the sensation that it would cause him. His hips jerked up slightly proving I was right.

“Sorry,” He gasped as I gagged slightly from the action, but I looked up at him as I bobbed up and down, almost letting him slide out of my mouth each time, in what I hoped would be a reassuring way. I loved it when he lost control a bit, when my actions drove him so wild he couldn't help himself, he needed more even if he knew he should show restraint. Every twitch of his hips, every time his hand gripped the back of my head a little tighter, every strangled moan that passed his lips. It all made my panties so damp that I was sure the expensive fabric was ruined by the time he stopped me.

“Shit, Ava,” He breathed out, pupils blown and hair wild. “Ya gotta stop or m'gonna come.”

I let him fall softly out of my mouth and went back to stroking him with my hand.

“That's okay, Ni,” I assured him. “Wanna make you feel good. If you wanna come in my mouth that's fine.”

“I-I don't,” He stuttered out as I moved the hand that wasn't stroking him to cup his balls. “Wanna come inside ya, want ya t’ride me.”

I smiled up at him, pleased with his suggestion and quickly stood up.

“I should take this off then, I suppose,” I said, playing with the tie on my robe.

Niall's hand quickly moved to replace mine that was previously stroking him as I slowly untied the robe and let it slide off my shoulders.

“How'd I get so lucky?” Niall muttered more to himself than to me.

I smiled, loving how worked up I had gotten him and turned around, deciding to give him a good show. I hooked a thumb into each side of my panties and then, painstakingly slowly, I slide them down my legs, bending at the waist to give Niall a great view of everything they had been hiding.

“Fuck, get over here now, love,” He insisted, though it came out as more of a whine than a demand. “Stop bein' such a tease.”

“I'm not being a tease,” I feigned innocence. “I can't ride you with my panties on, can I?”

I turned back to face him and quickly reached around behind my back to unhook my bra. Once it had fallen to the floor next to my panties, I moved back towards the couch. Taking in the sight in front of me, Niall stroking his impossibly hard cock just waiting for me to climb on top of him, I could feel the wetness on my thighs. I was dripping for him and suddenly desperate to have him inside me. 

Moving much quicker now, I straddled him, staying up high on my knees before reaching down and taking his cock from his hand. I carefully lowered myself just enough to rub the tip against my clit, earning a hiss from him and a moan from myself from the relief of finally getting some friction where I wanted it most.

I continued the action until I actually felt like I could possibly come just from that gentle touch, but Niall's hands moved to grip my hips rather roughly and I knew he'd had enough of my teasing. I put one hand on the couch behind Niall's shoulder to steady myself before lining him up properly and sinking down on to his cock. His head fell back against the couch as a moan fell from his mouth.

“Jesus, m'so deep,” He groaned as I closed my eyes and nodded my head.

I was so aroused and overwhelmed by the sensation that I wasn't even aware I started moving my hips until I felt Niall's hands slide around to my bum to help keep my rhythm steady.  I felt him stretch me every time I slid up and down his cock and heard the whimpers falling from my own lips every time he lifted me up just to let me fall back down. I needed my release and I could tell from the veins bulging in Niall's neck that he did too. I lowered my head down to kiss them gently as Niall's hands angled my hips forward, earning a shriek of pleasure from me. With the new angle my clit was rubbing against his pubic bone and tummy every time I settled in his lap and the added sensation was almost too much to handle.

“M'so close, Ni,” I breathed out, picking up my pace even more.

“Me too, love,” He assured me. “You first, come for me, Ava. Wanna feel you clenchin' around me. Wanna hear you scream.”

He thrust his hips up into my as I lowered myself down and I saw stars. My orgasm crashed into me hard and fast and I dug my fingers into the couch so hard I thought I might rip the fabric. Niall whispered words of encouragement in my ear the whole time as he continued thrusting up into me a few more times before his hips stalled and I felt him explode deep inside me.

I buried my face in his neck while I felt him pant through his orgasm, his grip slowly loosening on my bum as he came down. I placed gentle kisses against his skin, knowing I should get off of him and clean myself up, but suddenly I was feeling rather drained from my intense orgasm.

“Ya alright, love?” Niall asked me a few minutes later when I was still sitting on top of him despite his softening situation.

“Mhmm,” I mumbled, breathing in the scent of his sweat. “Just a little sleepy now, I came really hard.”

“Me too, darlin',” He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear before lifting my chin so I was looking at him. “Why don't you go clean yerself up and I'll look for the menu from that Chinese takeaway ya like and order us some dinner?”

I perked up slightly at the thought of one of my favourite meals and mustered up the energy to push myself off Niall. I gathered my robe and underwear off the floor and made it as far as the door before I had to lean on the frame for support. Niall looked at me with a questioning glance, his eyes full of concern and I offered him a reassuring smile.

“My legs are all trembly,” I explained. “You fucked me so good I can't even walk.”

Niall tossed his head back laughing, a proud grin on his face.

“Glad to hear it,” He smirked. “That's always the goal.”

I giggled at Niall's smug face before continuing my trip to the bedroom, hoping I'd have the strength to make it up the stairs.

[jokermatt]

Vworp! Vworp? Click-bait of course – we all know the Doctor Who experience will never end! Still though, in one corner of Cardiff Bay, it has.

The BBC’s Doctor Who Experience closed this weekend, ending the fourth permanent, but significant exhibition in the world’s longest running science fiction show’s history. A permanent exhibit to the corporation’s premier franchise that’s suddenly become a whole lot ephemeral. But just as its creation was made possible by the show’s huge resurgence in the middle of last decade, as much as the rise of ‘experience’ entertainment, its demise doesn’t signal the end of Doctor Who‘s so-far 54-year journey.

There’s no doubt that Doctor’s Who‘s lost some of the sheen it recovered 12 years ago, just as it waxed and waned over the 26 years of its original run. After its 2005 return, kids were talking about that weekend’s show on the bus to school on a Monday morning, for the first time in decades. Those kids of 9 or 10 are now 21 and 22. Times change, even for an ever-changing show like Doctor Who. Audiences change along with their Doctors. And so do Doctor Who exhibitions.

The Past

The first permanent exhibition to Doctor Who was set up at the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, the stately Longleat. Alongside the growing safari. It set the standard walk-through of costumes, props and exhibit cards that were as close to an immersion that young and old fans could get, whilst ocassionally hosting some events, like the 20th anniversary party in 1983. Longleat was big on those big anniversaries, running from 1973 until 2003, and was my first visit to a Whobition – a word I will never use again.

Like Behind the Sofa at London’s defunct Museum of Moving Image, which I visited during thatsame mid-1990s period, my strongest memories remain, in no particular order, Daleks and the blister packed Dapol models in the shop afterwards. Count them down: Seventh Doctor, Tetrap, Mel… It’s worth noting that my few brushes with Doctor Who as a child it bloody petrified me. Being scared is a great thing. My first memory – although it may appeal to some fans – is Colin Baker land-drowning at the cliffhanger of the penultimate episode of The Trial of  Time Lord. I grew up on the coast, but not near hand quick-hand-sand.

Along the South Coast, Brighton’s Palace Pier (the only one left, horizontal) hosted a small, but prestigious and official exhibition in 2005. The lean years of the show’s prolonged hiatus between 1989 and 2005 had been partially bridged by Longleat and the resurgent Blackpool exhibition. originally open as a permanent installation from 1974 to 1985, that Golden Mile exhibition folded in 1985 not for a regeneration but a “re-evalutation”, coincidentally during the show’s 18-month mid-80s hiatus. Its second life ran from 2004 to just before the show’s anniversary in 2009 – but I never made it to either incarnation.

Back to Dapol, the factory that gave us those distinctive 1980s action action figures, enabling children everywhere to recreate Time and the Rani,  hosted is own exhibition, Dapol Dr Who Experience, between 1994 and 2003 in Llangollen. I never made it to that either, although the figures persist.

In 2008, with the show at peak Tennant and its fourth television series since returning, a well put together show was hosted at Earls Court Exhibition Centre for just under a year. Never intended as permanent, coincidentally that ended in the year of Specials – a hiatus by any other name.

Then in 2011, London Olympia2 hosted the brand new Experience, a new interactive development of the old props and history format. It ran for one year, before relocating to Cardiff to replace the semi-permanent Doctor Who Exhibition Cardiff that at the capital’s Red Dragon Centre that ran between 2005 and 2011. The London Experience was a whole different level. While it ended with a comprehensive tour of props, costumes and merchandise, the main draw was the interactive storyline that dragged willing family groups through a ready-made storyline, combining pre-recorded film with the Doctor himself, animated sets, classic monsters and a ground-breaking 3d segment that recalled early IMAX trips to that new dimension.

Of course, it was all helped by marvelous zeitgeist. It opened in the prime of the new series’ first reboot, with the arrival of the Eleventh Doctor, tying directly into storylines set out by the show’s fifth series and picking up from the three-dimensional vortex promos that accompanied that new era. But as well-knitted into the fabric of the show as it was, enhancing the immersion, it was always going to be the dating element. As the ‘cracks in time’device that effectively brought us into the show collapsed into a tangle of on-screen plotting over inconsistently broadcast series, it became a piece of historical interest far more quickly than the old exhibits ever had. As with many of the new era exhibitions, items would arrive as series were made, disappearing as they were recalled. it was a natural rhythm, when the series ran consistently.

In summer 2012 the Experience opened in Cardiff Bay, in a new 3,000 sq m building at Porth Teigr, handily near to the BBC’s Roath Lock studios, where Doctor Who is produced, aiding the ins and outs of props. Expected to attract up to 250,000 visitors a year, it was hailed as a further coup for the Cardiff Bay development and a further boost for the clocal economy delivered by temporal rift. I visited that incarnation of the Experience once at its opening in London, then in Cardiff, accompanied by, after a rain-soaked run, a trip around the TARDIS studio itself.

And then last month I took a trip to Cardiff for one final, sign-off visit to the Experience.

The Present

With the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor, the dated crack in time plot was deemed just that bit too passé. That earlier trip had served up some nice moments in its guided urgency, not least a trip into the off-screen Dalek civil war which went just a little way to explain the quick repealling of the multi-coloured New Paradigm Daleks in the show. As of 2014, a new storyline written by Joe Lidster brought things up to the Twelfth Doctor, making use of some sets – anachronistically the early Eleventh Doctor TARDIS remained – and twisting the scripted journey, spattered with some great scripting, but lacking the buzz of the television linked original, into a new shape.

As fun as it was – if you ever think it isn’t amazing, picture that desolate ’90s hole when the show’s fire was tended by a mere few thousand fans – there remains something wonderfully BBC about it all. The concept, not as strong in the Capaldi era as the former Smith Experience, was a little tattered around the edges come the end, the staff almost imperceptibly haggard. Camera phones are forbidden on the journey, but there was surely a day when enforcing that rule fell into the concept.

the Experience should haev soared to the end, but that seldom happens in Who. Like the show itself, 12 years on from its glorious resurgence. A trail traipsing between Angels lacked bite, the visit to the underside of the TARDIS was missing some sparkle (really, because it recalls the awful Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS). There was nothing to match the Dalek fighting in the first, but the pepper pots gave it a go, as we sought suspiciously kryptonion shards that could sort the merry temporal mess out. Perhaps the highlight lay in the past. While the 3d finale wasn’t as captivating and centre-stage as the previous version, it ended on Totter’s Lane, where the story began. There it broke through into the exhibition, with the TARDIS set and production notes of 1963, brought to screen for the 50th anniversary with An Adventure in Time and Space.

As Steven Moffat always propounds, a little too much, Doctor Who‘s a show about change. And time for change it is. So the Experience ends with its second and final Doctor. Concept experiences remain strong, perhaps stronger now than when it opened – certainly in London. In Cardiff, although filled by the promotion surrounding its final summer, its shelf-life is apparent. A root around the Experience merchandise shop, highlighted it. Pride of place fell to the new Mr Men tie-in range, but everything else felt flat and familiar. It’s a luxury for the brand, where every T-shirt, DVD and mug once gleamed new.

The trick remains in the exhibition that follows the tour, wonderful, expansive and still continually updating, it’s a far cry from the crawl past zygons and krynoids at Longleat or through Cassandra on Brighton Pier. The fad for the Experience is likely to stick and develop. Doctor Who and BBC Worldwide will return to the theme. But as contrary and awkward as the show it celebrates, it’s the exhibition that retains the ageless class. And unlike the walkthrough, it’s a photographers’ dream. I’ll miss these unscripted trips tothe past. Until the next time. The next Experience.

The Gallery

Out of the Vault

Ring upgrade

Bakers hands

Angel Power

Mummy shake

Morbius claw

Cyber heads

Cyber legion

War Doctor TARDIS

Console

Clara memorial

Recreating The Leisure Hive

Sleepy

Hanging Silents

Mr Sweet

Classic Daleks

Classic Daleks

New Paradigm Daleks

Bloody Monks

New Mondas

Emperor Davros

New Davros

Season 18 Console

Facing the Raven

Special Weapons

Exterminate?

Blue cat future

Console

Blue doors

Console room mood

HDoctor Who Experience – hello Menoptera!ello Menoptera!

Invasion of Earth

The Beginning

The News 23 November 1963

Out of the Vault

Ring upgrade

Bakers hands

Angel Power

Mummy shake

Morbius claw

Cyber heads

Cyber legion

War Doctor TARDIS

Console

Clara memorial

Recreating The Leisure Hive

Sleepy

Hanging Silents

Mr Sweet

Classic Daleks

Classic Daleks

New Paradigm Daleks

Bloody Monks

New Mondas

Emperor Davros

New Davros

Season 18 Console

Facing the Raven

Special Weapons

Exterminate?

Blue cat future

Console

Blue doors

Console room mood

HDoctor Who Experience – hello Menoptera!ello Menoptera!

Invasion of Earth

The Beginning

The News 23 November 1963

Doctor Who: End of the Experience Vworp! Vworp? Click-bait of course - we all know the Doctor Who experience will never end! Still though, in one corner of Cardiff Bay, it has.

[thesinglesjukebox]

KATY PERRY FT. NICKI MINAJ - SWISH SWISH [3.36] *types "sports" and "feuds" into subhead, gets 100000000 pageviews*

Mo Kim: "Cartman is introduced to Katy Perry's songwriting staff, who turn out to be a group of manatees. The staff, who live in a large tank, pick up "idea balls" from a large pile of them, each of which has a different animal, quote from direct-to-DVD sleeper hit Bring It On 4: The Bringing On Of The It, or gentrified black slang term written on it, and deliver them, five at a time, to a machine that then forms a verse based on those ideas. Katy Perry refuses to sing if any idea ball is removed from their tank, making critique an unfeasible practice with her. Cartman secretly removes a ball from their tank, causing Katy Perry to stop working, and then convinces the Capitol Records president that she is spoiled and abusing the executives' generosity. Cartman convinces the president that they need to show them what is what. The president decides to pull the new Katy Perry album before its release. Cartman feels victorious, but Taylor Swift shows up, saying that she just convinced the president to tack a 2014 Nicki Minaj verse he found in his Recycle Bin onto the end and release the damn song anyway." [2]

Thomas Inskeep: If you thought "Look What You Made Me Do" was petty, you haven't heard nothin' yet. Clumsy lyrics, a bad early '90s house retread track, a guest verse so phoned-in that Minaj sounds bored doing it, and worst of all, Katy Perry herself, the saddest virus in pop music. Fortunately, it seems that pop fans have developed an immunity to her, based on the pathetic chart performance of her current album and its attendant singles. That sound you hear isn't a "swish," it's Perry's career circling the drain. [0]

Ryo Miyauchi: Genius insists with all its investigative power that this hater-pop is personal, but Katy Perry throws limp jabs that rings anonymous as the dance beat behind her. At least Duke Dumont's wheelhouse is more reliable to entertain. [5]

Crystal Leww: How is it that Duke Dumont is credited as a producer for basically taking Maya Jane Coles and Fatboy Slim production and then somehow making it bad? [1]

Katherine St Asaph: "Walking on Air" was the best track on Prism, and I'm still not sure how Maya Jane Coles isn't everywhere for how much she's influenced pop, so the synthesis was bound to be both good and ascribed to no one involved. "Things have changed from true believers of the music to a more commercialized version of what used to be," said Roland Clark about his infinitely sampled "I Get Deep," so I'm sure he's just thrilled about his words trickling up uncredited, via Fatboy Slim via Duke Dumont, to a Katy Perry song. (He's not disowning it, at least.) If you're very charitable you might see this as Duke Dumont trying, as all pop-house producers do, to prove he Knows His History, but perhaps not, given the aforementioned infinite samples and how Katy's team uses it as a reaction GIF. But at least it belongs in a house track -- unlike the hook (probably Starrah), which belongs in a track that draws out its menace, or the verses (probably Sarah Hudson; evidence), which belong in Pink's "Can't Take Me Home" and in the care of several more editors. (Editors one and two: "what the fuck?" Editor three: "And every bad lyric has nothing to do with basketball anyway. If you're going to keep glomming onto sports because they're now the monoculture that music is not, at least stick to the metaphor." Managing editor: "STOP BEING MUSIC GEEKY.") Everything suggests the kind of song that only coheres with the memes and fake context. Yet somehow it works: the unsweet tea to Meghan Trainor's Arnold Palmer of "Me Too," a machine that looks inexplicably polished. [7]

Madeleine Lee: Finally, a pop single with a house beat that I don't like! I mean, the beat is fine, but I can't enjoy it over the lyrics, which are supposed to be fierce but just sound silly in their mix of bizarre analogies (my personal favourite: "a tiger...don't need opinions from a shellfish") and parroted clapback phrases. Even the robo-voice sample is bad -- that long pause inserted before "what the fuck" is the sound of an air ball. [2]

Nortey Dowuona: A thin, slipping bassline over flat drums. Katy sings blandly. Nicki spits a sharp-toothed verse that is there and then gone. [5]

Frank Kogan: Swish kiss plish, wish the lyrics were different from this. Aside from them, the sound is weird and emphatic and grabby as if she were a Rick James protégé, and jolts me to happy attention. Of course Teena Marie, the Rick James protégé, would've run a thousand rings and wings and epicycles around this. But this track is great for using just a touch of Teena and then continuing to bear down on that little touch, getting all it can out of its little somersault. [8]

Maxwell Cavaseno: The "dance like dubstep" line by Nicki is the perfect thing to overstate as to why both artists have been failing to hit their marks. In Perry's case, there's been an insistent attempt to change what's working for her and mimic other people's successes when, considering how the personality-bleached "Rise" was a home run for her, that's the last thing she needed to do. And Minaj's verse-by-numbers, complete with unnecessary sung outro and dustbin bars, feels like someone who's been sleepwalking since 2012. It's a bitter irony: someone desperate to change who never needed to, and someone too stubborn to recognize how antiquated they've become. Plus, this bad Duke Dumont hijack of Maya Jane Coles doesn't even sound like anything plugged into what was hot at any particular time. From the melodies to the cloying attempt at a catchphrase, it feels so disconnected from any real attempt at a hit to the point you wonder why this was released as it was. Greater songs have been kept out of sight. [2]

Will Adams: In the aftermath of Perry's promo campaign for Witness, a fever dream of live streams and awkward celeb collabs in feeble support of Katy's Great Awokening, "Swish Swish" doesn't look so bad. On first glance it seemed as noxious as it read on paper: more references cherry picked from a position of privilege smooshed together with more reverse engineered memes, from Backpack Kid to the cameo sopped video. Yes, the song itself still isn't great. There's still too much reverb, and there's still some unfortunate scansion and even more unfortunate use of the English language. But the sonic references make a difference; Maya Jane Coles' continued influence on pop is a trend I warmly welcome, and if "I Get Deep" needed to get a reboot for the mid-late '10s, keeping it tied to its house roots is a thoughtful choice. "Swish Swish" is at its best when the excess surrounding it is ignored. [5]

Alfred Soto: Apparently this is an "anti-bullying" track! It's not my job to learn intentions, not when "Swish Swish" is a mishmash of incongruous and unhappily cobbled samples, strange vocal choices, and an inapposite Nicki Minaj cameo.  [2]

Alex Clifton: Look, I tried to give this a point for Nicki Minaj singing "I already despise you" in the sweetest way, but I can't do it. "Swish Swish" is the blandest Katy Perry song I've ever heard, which is really saying something. Much as I loathed "Bon Appetit," at least that had, er, memorable moments. Nothing here stands out, a sin for a diss track: the beat is half-assed, the insults are weak ("you're 'bout as cute as an old coupon expired" -- what on earth does that mean, Katy?), and the delivery is emotionless. A song about being the baddest bitch on the block who kills people needs swagger, which has never been Perry's strong point. Say what you will about Taylor Swift, but at least in "Look What You Made Me Do" she sounds icy and in charge. Perry doesn't even have that going for her. [0]

Stephen Eisermann: Nicki's verse is a blast -- quick-witted, fun, and catchy -- and deserving of a much better song. But here, it's just a silver lining on a dark ass cloud. Nothing about this song comes across as sincere -- where Taylor's vindictiveness comes from a place of actual anger, I just don't think Katy cares enough to fight with her. And that's totally fine, but there is no need to fake it! Also, the release of this song feels so weird considering she went on a reconciliation press tour earlier in this album cycle, no? [3]

Joshua Copperman: Swap the two artists around, replace the video with literally anything else, and it's much better - all the pieces are there, including the Duke Dumont-produced beat, but the "old coupon expired" lines aren't iconic; they're dumb. Same with the video, which tries to be a mess and succeeds too well. At least Nicki seems to know what is what. Katy, on the other hand, does not know what is what. She just uses dated memes in her already overblown video struts. What the heck? [5]

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