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imaginesforjohnnydepp · 5 years ago

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Violette pt 2

spring 2016

He dreamed about her again, just like last night and the night before. Johnny hadn’t seen Violette in eighteen years, and he thought it was very odd but was still very curious. Is she remarried with kids of her own? Is she still in the medical field? Johnny still had the note she left him along with her rings; they were tucked away in a box somewhere in a storage unit, he didn’t want to throw them away, so he took out a storage unit some years ago.

Why was he thinking about her now, of all times? He loved Violette once, of course he did, it was impossible when she made it so easy. She was gorgeous and funny and sweet and smart, a southern girl with a cute accent, and was a wonderful cook who loved him and supported him every early in his career. He thought back to their marriage, how wonderful it was for ten years before he fucked it up. He loves his kids and is grateful for Vanessa for giving him two kids who adore him, but Johnny hated what he did to Violette in the process.

He thought that if he ever had kids, Violette would be the mother. They tried for their own, and when that didn’t work, they considered adoption until his career took off and he was always away filming one movie or another, and then he met Vanessa at that party. Johnny remembered the look on Violette’s face when he told her that Vanessa was pregnant, he never forgot it. She tried to shrug it off, but as weeks passed and Vanessa’s stomach got bigger and bigger, he saw the toll it took on her, no matter how she tried to hide it: Violette began losing weight, she stopped eating (at least around him), she always looked tired no matter how early she went to bed. And the first time she met Vanessa.

The women were friendly with each other in the way that kids would be when introduced to each other in a play group by their parents for the first time. He thought everything was going well, Violette was talking about turning one of the spare rooms into a nursery, she bought stuffed animals and clothes and supplies, helped assemble the crib. Johnny saw her reaction in the marriage counselor’s office when the counselor said he had to cut off Vanessa and his child if they wanted the marriage to work; Violette never had a good poker face, and in another setting, he thought she would make a good actress with her ability to display her emotions on her face, how she always made him feel something, something he told her plenty of times. He didn’t think she’d actually leave.

Of course it was a possibility, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Violette leaving, but one day Johnny came home, all of her stuff was gone, and there were divorce papers, rings, and a letter in a manila envelope on the bed. It was a no-fault divorce, and all she asked for was a court order to take back her maiden name, and nothing more, even though she was entitled, and the judge told her she had to take it. The divorce took six months, and she would always transfer the money back every month since she already had a job waiting on her in Louisiana, and that was the last time he’d see or hear from her. It was seven in the morning, and he had a meeting with his lawyer Laura at ten so he decided to get ready, grabbing his phone off the charger and heading into the kitchen for breakfast. As he poured the milk into his bowl of Cheerios, his phone rang; who could be calling at this hour? “Good morning Laura.”

And Laura jumped right into it: “I did a Google search for your ex wife Violette Becnel and fortunately, I didn’t have to do too much digging. She is a pediatrician in New Orleans and she went on Facebook to defend you. I’m on her Facebook page right now if you want to hear what she said.” Johnny almost dropped the milk at the news. Why didn’t he think to do a Google search before? “Yeah, sure.” The thought of Violette out there rooting for him filled him with joy.

“The statement is pretty long so prepare yourself” My heart breaks at the news of the death of my former mother-in-law Betty Sue. She was a wonderful, kind, amazing woman, and I will miss her dearly, and I send my thoughts and condolences to the Depp family, and since I’m on the topic of Depp, I would like to make one thing clear. Johnny Depp and I were married for 10 wonderful years, and while no marriage is perfect, not once was he ever abusive towards me. I don’t believe he is capable of such a thing, and this version of him that is being portrayed in the media is not the Johnny I know. I wish him and his family the best in this trying and difficult time. His mom loved Violette, his entire family loved Violette, and they were just as upset about their divorce as he was. “Do you think she’d be willing to testify?” Johnny didn’t think she would come to defend him after he publicly humiliated her, but she was never the one to hold grudges.

“I can send her a message, but I don’t know how long it will take for her to respond.” He swallowed a bit of cereal before responding, “that’s fine. Thanks Laura-- wait! Do you think you can leave my number for her too? So she knows it’s legit?” And also because he wanted an excuse to talk to her. “Sure, if that’s what you want. See you later Johnny.” Johnny hoped that Violette answered Laura’s message, there was still a lot of things he wanted to tell her, things he had to tell her.

Violette

“Do you think you’ll have to testify?” Violette’s mother Claudia asked, cutting into her omelette. “If it comes that, then yeah, but I have a hard time believing Johnny could hurt someone like that.” After Violette wrote the post, she instantly had a barrage of comments, some calling her an abuse apologist, others saying she was bribed by Johnny with money, and others siding with her, and her messages were a mess. “None of this makes sense, there has to be somethin’ deeper going on,” her sister Angela. She woke up early this morning to do a little research; from what she saw, Amber was leaving him (after the death of Betty Sue), and if Johnny didn’t do what she wanted, she would publicly lie about him according to Doug’s article.

Violette then read an article that contained a statement by the police department, which completely contradicted the statement made by Amber’s team. Then Amber filed for divorce with no mention of spousal abuse; Violette knew Doug and she knew he wouldn’t lie about anything like this, and this was all she needed to know to see that Johnny was innocent. “I still can’t believe your fool ass stickin’ your neck out for him,” Angela grumbled. “Lawyers re probably gonna call on me anyway, so I might as well get it over with. Ain’t no way he touched her.” She saw the new set of pictures, “evidence” of the abuse but Violette didn’t see anything out of the ordinary except for a red mark on her lip, with no visible swelling or bruising.

“Johnny is innocent, and I know you know that.” Her mom and Angela both loved Johnny; her mom treated her like a son, always letting him sneak a piece of food during the holidays, and Angela just loved having a brother. “Please, I know you’re not happy about how our marriage ended, but none of that matters right now, that was years ago. What matters now is that he’s being accused of something he didn’t do,” Violette pleaded with her mom and sister. Surely they had to know that he was innocent, even if they weren’t exactly his biggest fans. “Well... it does sound out of character for him. And I read that woman was arrested for hitting her ex wife,” Angelea came to her decision.”

“If Johnny was really out here beatin’ up on women, I’m sure Betty Sue would smack him back to Kentucky,” Violette’s mother agreed. The family of three finished their meal, with Angela picking up the bill before going their own ways; Violette did her errands, going to the sore and doing laundry. It was a little after two when she finished, and she wanted to take a nap before she went to the hospital to check on the new baby tonight. Violette always loved seeing the new babies after they were born, loved seeing them grow into little beings with each check-up, and they always looked happy to see her. She was always a natural with kids and they seemed to gravitate towards her no matter where she was; Violette sometimes babysat the kids who lived in her building.

It was closest she got to motherhood. That and being aunt to Angela’s kids, her niece and nephew, but they were all grown up with lives of their own. Violette ironed her scrubs while she waited for her Facebook page to load; she wanted to leave a message on her book club’s wall about suggestions for their next read. Her last post had gone viral, and was still attracting attention and comments, all of them gone unanswered, and she was glad she never downloaded the app. Her messages were full, and at the top of the old messages, was a new one highlighted in blue by a woman named Laura Wasser; she clicked on it.

The message read: My name is Laura Wasser, I’m a lawyer representing Johnny Depp, and I was wondering if it would be okay to speak to you about a possible written testimony to be given to the court. Below are my cellphone number and email address, and Johnny’s phone number in case you have any questions. Feel free to reach me at any time.

There was an email address and two phone numbers, both with Los Angeles area codes. The name sounded familiar, so Violette clicked on Laura’s page; she really is a lawyer who lives in Los Angeles. She dialed one of the numbers, and the line rang three times before someone answered, a man’s voice. “Hello?” A voice she hadn’t heard in years.

“Johnny? Johnny is that you?” So maybe Laura is the real deal. “Violette? How are you?” To say she was freaking out would be an understatement. Eighteen years without speaking to her the ex husband who cheated on her, and how here she is, talking to him. “I should be the one asking you that. Are you okay? How are you holding up? How’s your family?” Words kept falling from her mouth and she couldn’t make herself shut up.

“Violette, Violette, calm down. Not everything’s fine but we’re managing. Let’s not talk about that right now. I... I had to talk to you.” He wanted to talk to her? “About what?” “Just to apologize... for everything.” “Really, that was a long time ago and... I’m past that now. There’s no need to apologize.”

This had to be some kind of dream, maybe she fell asleep at her desk in her office while doing paperwork, because there’s absolutely no way she’s speaking to her ex husband. Violette had to change the subject, and fast. “I got a message from your lawyer. She gave me your number, but I didn’t think it would actually be your number but I had to check.” “Listen, you don’t have to testify if you don’t feel comfortable with it--” “No, Johnny, I want to. I know you’re innocent and I’m so sorry you’re going through this.”

She really did feel bad for him, and to be going through this after his mom dies with the entire world thinking he’s some violent drunk who beats women. “None of this is your fault, it’s mine. I was so fucking stupid to think of starting something with her.” “It’s not your fault, and it’s not my fault. You were in love, and we’ve all done stupid things when we’re in love.” Violette winced as she automatically though of her former ex fiance Anthony. He had three kids with three different women, but she didn’t care because she was sure he was the one.

Her mom and Angela didn’t like him, and she turned into a different person completely, watching movies and shows she never liked, neglecting her collection of 19th century novels and changed her personality, all for a man who came up with excuses to get out of wedding planning. “Do you need testimonies from my mom and sister as well?” She knew her mother wouldn’t hesitate to defend him, even if they were mad at him. “I’ll check with Laura first but I want to ask you something.” “Sure, go ahead.”

“If it’s not too much trouble... I was wondering if you would... like to meet up?” This wasn’t something she was expecting. What would they even say to each other after all this time? Violette always wondered what she would do in the very unlikely case she’d run into Johnny, and after their divorce, she moved back home so there wouldn’t even be a chance of that ever happening. “I don’t even live in California, but sure, we could do that. If you want, you could come to New Orleans. I have an extra room in my apartment, and I don’t think anyone would bother you.” What in the fuck is she thinking?

What is she going to do, being in the same room with her ex husband? “Are you sure? I can get a hotel room or something. I don’t wanna put you out or anything.” “It’s no problem, really. I’ll be at work the whole day anyway.” Violette hadn’t lived with a man in years, and it would be quite an adjustment to live a man who saw her naked almost every day. “I’d like that. Thank you Violette.”

“No problem. Just let me know when you’re comin’ down.” “I will. Talk to you later?” She smiled as she unplugged her iron. “Talk to you later Johnny.” She hung up the phone and grabbed a hanger to hang up her clothes; she had an extra shirt in her car for when she got off. It was now fifteen minutes after and she wasn’t due until six, so she had enough time for a long nap.

Once in her room, Violette changed into a tank top and shorts and slipped under the covers. It was only as she drifted off that she remembered that she opened up her two-bedroom apartment to Johnny and that they’d be sharing the bathroom that was connected to her room.

@takemepedropascal

#johnny depp imagines #johnny depp imagine #johnny depp x oc

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nctzendreamz · 5 years ago

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HOMECOMING — PART lll

Prologue / Part l / Part ll / Part 3

Summary: The year is 3030, and the divide between the rich and poor couldn’t be greater. Wildwood University is the most prestigious school in the entire world, but it isn’t only because of the impeccable flying cars that can be seen best during the fuchsia lit nights, or the dexterous education everyone receives. It has secrets. A lot of secrets—the biggest being that Taeyong is going to kill you.

Genre: Gang!AU, Futuristic!AU, Dystopian!AU

Warnings: Vivid descriptions of violence, abuse, foul language, drug use, and murder.

“Y/N?”

Kun was always so gentle when he spoke to you compared to the rough and hard exterior he possessed. Ever since you were children, he was seen as the bad boy and everyone was scared of him. Everyone but you, and that’s why he fell for you so hard even in his adolescence years when he wasn’t supposed to know what love was—or care. On the days where he would come outside to play, covered in bruises, the others would run away claiming they didn’t want his bad luck, but you would run to him in your dazzling yellow dress that you refused to take off and hug him. You would remind him everyday that he was important and protected him from his bullies even at the age of five. You never treated him like the damaged flower he was. You instead watered him and continued to do so until he sprouted into a college boy and ruined it all.

“Hey.” Your eyes are looking down, trying to find comfort in the laces of your boots. The wood flooring was shining so brightly at you—it was newly polished after all, but the scent of this room is engraved into your entire existence. It’s him, and it’s making you feel sick. “Excuse me.” You manage to utter, never forgetting your manners. You don’t even want to brush against his strong shoulder or touch him. You’re weaving through and walking through the door as it fogs from the motion.

Taeyong watched this whole thing go down, and if he didn’t know for sure that Kun was your ex boyfriend, he knows now. The man was mimicking your previous actions—eyes locked on his striped socks. He’s taking deep breaths in and out.

“Um...I’m your roommate.” He places his hand out, but Kun doesn’t move. “Lee.” He introduces. Just when he thought his mission would be slight work, this had to come up. Taeyong wasn’t stupid. He knows that this Kun guy is going to be watching him like a hawk, as well as you, and they live together. What would he be doing while Taeyong was in class? He clearly wasn’t stupid either just from first glance, and mistrust was thick in the atmosphere of their dorm.

“Kun baby!”

The voice is booming and deep, but Taeyong doesn’t jump from it. He’s used to constant yelling and unnecessary cat calling. Indigo may have blinded your senses, but it enhanced your hearing. He heard them coming seconds before Kun did and he could tell it was more than whoever was screaming at such a peaceful hour—the afternoon.

Taeyong expects Kun to take a moment to open the door after what just transpired, but he doesn’t have to. Taeyong can’t take his eyes off of him. It’s the same tall and diesel boy that dropped you off this morning. Johnny, followed by six other boys, all in athletic clothing or school paraphernalia meaning they must have just got out of practice.

He was able to get into this room with his finger print? Fuck! It had to be because he was the president’s son. Which means you can do it too. He didn’t like the way he was being set up—I mean, isn’t that something he should’ve known?

“Turn around—oh.” Johnny’s mouth follows the pronunciation of his words before his lips go fish and makes a spitty noise at the sight of the lanky. Even with the little steps he takes he has some pep in his step. He seemingly knows who he is, and he’s proud of it. The other boys behind him don’t seem to be far off, but the way their faces look flushed indicate they possibly didn’t want to be here. They are probably tired, although Taeyong couldn’t understand how driving cars could make you this exhausted. “Hey roomie.”

He’s speaking to him, and Taeyong determines that keeping it cool was the best approach. He sadly envisions his own boys’ faces into their unmatching bodies as he knows this is the only way he won’t combust. He really hadn’t lived a life outside of his place of stay if it wasn’t a murder and he didn’t want it to show.

“What’s up.” He decides on, and they don’t speak to him again. They obviously think he’s irrelevant—some skinny kid who has books shoved up his ass at all times.

“Why the long face?” One of them steps up. He’s quite short, but his eyes read menace. They’re cat-like, and so is his approach. His right side is in synch as his foot and hand moves simultaneously to Kun’s shoulder.

“Y/N was just here.”

Kun trusts them. He trusts them heavily. He didn’t hesitate in the slightest to tell them the truth even while he was standing right there.

“I’ll leave.” He prompts, but Kun’s arm is stopping him—his grip extremely rough.

��No, stay.” The gentle tone he used with you has completely washed away, and if looks could kill, and Taeyong wasn’t the invincible bastard he was, he’d be dead. “She was in here with him.” Kun tells, looking at his friends for guidance. If Taeyong didn’t know any better, he would assume they were in a gang. The sight infront of him was all too familiar—the solid stares trying to get him to crumble without even having to touch him, the eerie silence that was filling the room.

But then it all stops. They’re laughing now minus Kun who only let out a little chuckle, with Johnny being the loudest.

“He didn’t even flinch.” The cat-eyed one speaks.

“There was nothing to be scared of.” Taeyong says with his chest secretly out. If this was their definition of intimidating, he couldn’t imagine how they would survive in NEO. Everyday you got cornered into giving something up. The question was how well could you defend yourself? “I’m Lee.” He finished coolly.

“Ten.” He responds, putting his fist out. Taeyong bumps it.

“Johnny.”

“Hendery.”

“I go by YangYang.”

“Xiaojun.”

“Sicheng.”

“And Lucas.” Lucas is a big man, just like Johnny. His hands are large as he moves to shake his hand and he seems the most tired—actually, now that he can take a closer look at him, he recognizes this look. This Lucas guy is high as a kite. He seemingly notices Taeyong’s observations and lets out a little chuckle followed by a deep cough. His finger rests on his lips as he purses them to shh. “Snitches get stitches.” He lets out.

He’s joking, but at the same time he’s not.

“Don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“I like him already.” He prompts, slapping him on the back with a loud slap. Taeyong winces from this.

Although Johnny was laughing the loudest when it came to their previous antics, anyone who had ever came across him knows he doesn’t play about his baby sister. He’s watching his brothers talk to this new kid, but he’s not listening. He’s instead looking all around the room trying to see if there’s anything abnormal. The main point of his arguments with you was that you were way too friendly with people who didn’t deserve it—you always tried to rush a process that would be much more easy to deal with had you gave them just a little more time to prove themselves.

He’s going to talk to you about this Lee, and he’s going to completely fry you for coming into his room so soon. You had known him for a measly three hours assuming that he was in your first class, and Johnny wouldn’t accept that. You could be so fucking naive sometimes, and it was him who always had to wipe your tears from your faults. The only one he couldn’t blame you for was your relationship with Kun.

“Well, Lee—we’re going to get out of your hair.” Johnny prompts, and although mentally all of his friends are questioning the sudden prompt to leave, they know better than to do it out loud.

“Oh...alright.” He says, but Johnny is a human lie detector. That tone is so fake and maybe this Lee is antisocial and doesn’t like to talk to this many people at the same time, but it was rare for a new student at Wildwood to not want to ride the crew. Everybody wanted to know them, and he wasn’t being cocky about it—it was just the facts.

The all step outside one by one, walking in a line of eight through the spreaded hallway.

“He’s a fucking weirdo.” Sicheng speaks as his hands in his pockets guide his legs to move forward. He’s also very high—probably more high than Lucas.

“Agreed.” Yangyang seethes. Recently he was trying his hardest to control it, but he was a smart mouthed little rascal, and anybody could get some.

“I wouldn’t say so.” The eight of them are out of the building and getting tingled by the stairs now as they return to the fresh air. The campus is what it always is—exciting and full of new adventure as the open space sets the scene perfectly. The baby blue sky adds onto its perfection, although they were all very accustomed to this. Outside of this dormitory is a statue of Lobos Smith. It’s a golden brown tint and it features him, as well as hovering light bulbs above his head. At night, water shoots from the bottom and the bulbs illuminate something beautiful—a combination of radiant colors that were created to inspire and soothe, as it reads on the plate. They all touch his enlarged hand as they pass by him.

Even when high, Lucas was still knowledgeable. “At the most I would give him emo, but weird? Didn’t get that vibe.”

Ten, Hendery, and Xiaojun seem to be neutral on this, always wanting to see more before they made such conclusions about people. They had met plenty of people on such a large campus that didn’t have the worst of the worst intentions for them, although it easily could’ve seemed that way on first glance.

“You’re not looking deep enough, Lucas. We talked about this.”

Kun wholeheartedly agreed with Johnny, Sicheng, and Yangyang. He was fully expecting to walk into his dorm room and be greeted by the typical Wildwood boy—either a rich dick, or a nerd, not that he believed this to be a negative adjective, that would stay out of his way and only ask did he want to hang out when he was extremely lonely and bored. Lee, on the other hand, seemed to be trying way too hard.

“But he barely spoke.” Ten speaks up now.

They’re walking past all of the different social groups as they continue their disagreement—the green grass providing means of peace between them. Regardless, they would never let things get out of control anyway. They were allowed to disagree, fight, they were even allowed to give a good punch sometimes too, but they would quickly be pulled apart. They were boys, and that’s what boys did.

The bench that is unofficially marked as theirs is open as it should be, and they take their normal positions. Half on the bench, and the other half sitting on the ground in front of them. Ten presses the button that was hovering beside him from the left, and an umbrella reveals itself to cover them from the yellow sun. It really was a beautiful day, but they had things to discuss and they weren’t asking for a tan.

“But notice how he said everything right.” Sicheng reveals. This seems to get his brothers thinking, and he can see their opinions changing just that quick. That was the effect he had on everyone. He was the quietest out of all of them unless they were together like this, and although Kun was labeled as the menace of the group, it was actually him. His thoughts could get absolutely deadly sometimes, and his facial expressions always read what he felt. His built figure didn’t help his case, but the ladies loved it. He never had a night where he couldn’t get someone in his bed.

“Exactly.” Kun finally speaks. “It was almost too perfect. And the way he reacted when Y/N ran out...it was almost as if he wasn’t that shocked.”

“You know how Y/N is.” Xiaojun says. Johnny immediately looks at him with sharp eyes from his spot on the grass. His legs—even through their long nature are tucked in his chest while his hands hold them in place. “Not saying that in a bad way, Johnny.” He hurries. “She just makes friends easily, and she can sometimes—

“Talk too much. I know.” Johnny finishes for him, eyes locking back to the ground now. The more and more they verbally observe this kid, the more eerie he feels about him. He usually didn’t mind when his boys talked about you either, as they never disrespected you. They just spoke facts, and regardless of how they felt about your decisions they would always protect you. “I’m sorry.” He says—and it’s not something he speaks often. “You said nothing wrong. I think we just need to eat.”

“Agreed.” They say in unison, Yangyang taking his phone out to hit up the campus delivery service, but haulting when he hears the same notification being recieved on all of their phones.

“Never mind.” Johnny sighs—him, as well as the rest of the boys rushing to get up and get on the move.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Johnny has friends? And why didn’t you tell me that Y/N has an ex boyfriend that is still madly in love with her? And that he is apart of Johnny’s friends. It’s your fucking job knit-wit.”

Taeyong is seething on the phone, although he does feel bad. Poor Jaemin didn’t have a clue as to why he was currently being scolded, as he did the research he was asked to do. Nothing more, nothing less. At this point he had been tuning the harsh words out—too high in this moment to give a fuck about anything his leader was saying.

“Look, I already told you what the deal is, hyung.”

Taeyong can picture him now, smoking his Indigo. The younger members seemingly preferred this method for whatever reason, and he finds himself to be correct when he can hear a cough erupting from the boy’s throat over the device.

That excuse is good enough for Taeyong, but he doesn’t want to stop this passion just yet. Even now he could tell his high was finally wearing off similar to how it did a few weeks back, and it’s scary, but it’s good. He’s feeling anger, nervousness, although he was sure the lather would wear off rather quickly. How would it feel to kill in such a state?

“Whatever.” He shooes. “Get Sooman on the phone please.”

“Sooman? You sure you don’t mean daddy?”

“Very fucking funny—put him on the phone.”

He sits on hold for about five minutes, and during that time he decides to finally lay down on his bed. He hadn’t had the opportunity to go shopping for something a little more his style, but then again was it even worth it? Once he killed you, he would be gone.

God, it’s so comfortable. The bed he was accustomed to was so hard and he would always wake up with back pain that would last for the majority of the day, although he would never really feel it. You didn’t feel much of anything in NEO. He could emphasize this fact all day long.

Around the room aren’t ripped and hole-punched walls. They’re clean and polished an angelic white color—clashing way too much with the seeming inside of him. He deserves this luxury, but at the same time he doesn’t, yet then again, that made him deserve it even more. Kun’s belongings are still ragged all over the room, but even with Taeyong’s clean freak nature he can’t freak out about it. He doesn’t care right now. He lifts his leg to observe his chosen clothing; all black just incase someone attempted to compliment him. He realizes while he sinks into the the bed that he hadn’t done this at all, even if he had only been here for less than a day. He takes a deep breath—the kind that rushes to your toes and comes back up your body with a magical touch. The kind where you feel every problem and obstacle in your life haulting even if for a short moment. A short moment it was indeed.

“Tell me everything.”

It’s Sooman, and all the stupid doodles he was currently having would have to be put to rest, at least for now.

Taeyong explains in detail everything that had went down in the past couple of hours—even him meeting Mackenzie.

“You can use her as a free kill if you want. If the urge is strong.”

“Oh, trust me when I say she’s already on my list.”

And then he continues. There’s actually only so much detail he can give considering he is only seeing black and white for now, but he describes you. He doesn’t know why or how, but he finds himself imagining you in a lot of different aspects. What would you be wearing tomorrow? Would you completely change and end up in sweatpants and a hoodie similar to your brother a few moments ago? Or did you dress like such a superstar all the time?

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“A pretty face only gets you so far.”

“But remember what I told you. She’s not just a face, boy. If she’s like anything I’ve experienced, she may rope you in without knowing. You won’t even see it coming. That girl is smart, and she’s something you’re not used to. Stay focused.” The man instructs, “Also, keep working on her. You also need to be gaining the trust of her family members as well.” He finished before hanging up.

Taeyong didn’t appreciate that exchange. He didn’t even get a chance to ask the real questions, obviously in a much more respectful way than he spoke to Jaemin. That was so unsual. He’s about to call back before he feels his phone vibrating in his hand. It’s Jaehyun, this time.

“He’s getting some right now.” Jaehyun confirms, his laugh erurupting from the predictable darkness of their side of town. He can picture the pretty boy now—perched up on his bunk as he always wanted the top anyway. He’s probably been having an amazing 48 hours all alone, free to blast as he pleased without interruption.

Taeyong doesn’t know why he didn’t put that together. As unfair as the rule was, it was a rule that stated only he—as he is the boss, could bring woman into the building. When it came to them and their rendezvous, it had to be in a dark corner, an alley, or if they got really lucky—the wife’s home while her husband was busting his ass to bring in some income, or for some members the husbands while the wife was begging the convience store to let her get dinner for the kids.

Good ole’ NEO.

“Fucking great.” Taeyong rolls over on his side, his black hair covering his eyes slightly. He doesn’t even try to move it away as he finds himself dozing off just a tad. He has never been this comfortable in his entire life.

“Tell me. I know you, brother. You need to get it out.”

“I don’t know. There’s just a lot of missing pieces of this puzzle that I don’t know. I’m sure Jaemin told you everything.”

“Mhm.” Jaehyun agrees, knowing his member would continue. He was always such a great listener, and he frequently had to deal with this. Never in such a setting, but even with his kills would Taeyong talk his head off about what he wanted to try next, and a lot of blabber. He listened because he cared about him.

“She has an ex boyfriend, and he doesn’t like me. They were all smiling and happy, but I could see how fake it was.”

“Well, you are trying to fuck, and then kill his love. And for the brother—his sister and his whole family.”

“But they don’t know that. They don’t know any of it.”

“Then they’re probably just being protective. I mean, how did you find out about the girl and Kun in the first place?”

“She was in my room.” He admits, silently slapping himself on the forehead. “And he’s my roommate. The shit was so dramatic, Jae. It looked like a soap-opera.

“I’m not saying don’t keep your eyes open. Trust me, me of all people would never be so stupid, but if you have your guard up openly, and so does he, how are you going to get close to them? Hm?” The indigo was talking, not Jaehyun. “I mean, you don’t have a choice but to switch it up.”

“You sound like me.” He chuckles.

Taeyong was the leader for many reasons, but truthfully more because he was incredibly scary. As he does a little crunch, he sees himself in the mirror and he doesn’t know the person he’s looking at. This isn’t the menacing, ruthless Taeyong that made his youngers practically pee their pants if they made a remote mistake. This was the boy that liked to explore, and he doesn’t like it. He feels sick, actually. He smile is wiped off, and he hits the bed again.

“Thanks for listening.”

“Of course.”

The hang up is quick from his side.

Taeyong needs to sleep. He needs to sleep a sleep better than any sleep he has ever experienced, and when he wakes up, he’ll have some of his real vision back.

“You’re home late, what happened?”

It’s your fathers voice, and as always it’s soft and comforting. Even at such a late hour. You always find it amusing that even when he should be sleeping, or perched up on his very expensive recliner channel surfing for sports, he’s instead in a suit ready for work. Usually you would make a joke about this, and he’s waiting for it—you can tell by the way his eyebrows that match yours are slightly raised; his mouth slightly agape in anticipation, but you’re not in the mood.

“Just an interesting day. That’s all dad I promise.”

“Well, my ears are open. I was about to respond to some emails, but you know I always have time for you sweetheart.”

Your father, as well as your brother were the two men who you could never doubt. They loved you, and they meant everything they said. Others couldn’t necessarily relate.

Your home hasn’t changed much since you were born. Well, at least design wise. Of course coming from a family who was the lead cause of the new world we lived in, you had all of the new gadgets and furniture. You were always the taste test for practically every invention after the dangerous trial and error was over.

Your tan colored ceilings were practically in the sky. And similar to Wildwood, the ceiling was open, although it was better worded see-through. You also had the option of closing it, and your father hits the switch as you follow behind him to go into his office. You only see half of the pink night being closed before the door is clearing.

His office was surprisingly simple considering all the resources he had access to. There were two family portraits that rested above his desk—one of the four of you, and one of all of the boys and men your father had in his life. “Uncles” you had never met. Johnny and his friends. The sight of Kun in the photo; his smile is bright and you can actually remember the day that photo was taken. He was so nervous about the whole ordeal. He couldn’t understand why he was chosen to be in such a photo with so many great men, as well as his knucklehead friends, but Johnny really wanted it. Those were his brothers, and your father had always been a believer of sticking together. He was a mentor to so many, and Johnny, Sicheng, Ten, Yangyang, Lucas, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Kun had all been friends since birth. Your father had practically raised them. It was actually quite a weird ordeal, but it made sense to you all. Fate worked in mysterious ways.

There’s a loveseat on the side of the semi-large room, and you sit on it. You expect him to sit in his leather chair, but he nudges you over with his knee. He puts an arm around your shoulder, and kisses your forehead as you move to his shoulder. This was him telling you to speak.

“I saw Kun today.” You mumble. You didn’t want to be having this conversation with your father. Especially about someone you know he saw as such an ideal man for you.

“How did that make you feel?”

“Bad.”

You know he’s trying to scrounge up his thoughts. You told your father everything, and every night you found yourself thinking about his reaction that night. Barely a reaction, at first.

An alarm is blaring at Taeyong. He doesn’t understand why, because quite frankly, he wasn’t planning on going to class today. He wasn’t here to be educated in the slightest, although he was very much so looking forward to his futuristic science class where he heard you did a lot of cool experiments in. He unconsciously takes a deep breath, and he smells something. It’s not strong, but he can smell it. It smelt of something sweet. Like vanilla or something if that nature.

The alarm is still blaring, and with closed eyes, he’s beating around trying to locate the button to turn it off.

“You have to speak.” A voice whispers from the other side of the room. Kun decided to sleep here last night—quite a surprise.

“Okay.” Taeyong speaks.

Snoozing. The robot woman follows

“You have to say ‘I’m awake’.”

“I’m awake.” Taeyong rips out, very done with this whole ordeal. He had never been more annoyed in his life. He’s also very shocked that Kun even cared enough to help him, but then again it was interrupting whatever he was doing.

He slowly rises off the bed, looking quickly to see if he has on any pants. He settled in boxers last night he notices, so he throws the sheets off of him before taking one last deep breath and wiping his face before opening his eyes. It’s like a flash of light does he see the same pastel and dirty vision just as he did when he tried this the first time. His pupils are moving from side to side, trying to see the splurts again. They’re evident and he can also see now very clearly that Kun has black hair just like him. He’s also shirtless as he’s on his phone most likely scrolling through nothing. Kun must have changed his sheets while he was in a deep slumber. It screamed money. It was a mixture of black, red, and blue; striped. They seemed to be comfortable enough.

“Goodmorning to you too.” Kun says, removing his eyes from his phone to Taeyong’s pitiful look. “I would’ve thought you’d look less tired considering how long you’ve been asleep.”

“How do you know how long I’ve been asleep? You were gone.”

“Look up.”

And he does. Above his head is a clock that reads the exact time he put his head down to rest, the time he actually fell asleep—5 minutes later, and how long he stayed that way.

“What the—

“You can turn it off. I mean, they’ll still know, but I won’t.” Kun points to his own clock that read he only got two hours of sleep before he shuts it off.

“Thanks.” Is all Taeyong can fathom. Usually more words would flow from his mouth, but Kun is a stranger. But usually that wouldn’t matter? He doesn’t like to be awkward like this. He doesn’t even know what he needs to take a shower here, but he’ll figure it out he assumes. There’s a machine in the large release area that gives you the option of what soap you want to use unless you have your own, in which Taeyong doesn’t. He decides on the Sea Breeze soap, as it seemed to fit the mood he was trying to set.

When he gets out, Kun is still in the room, but he’s clothed now. He’s once again dressed in some sweatpants, and a Wildwood shirt. He did change up his shoes though, switching his slides for sneakers.

“Don’t know if you care or not, but we have a race tonight.” He speaks up. “We’re going against our rival school—the jets. Big game and a good way to make friends.”

It was sly shade, but Taeyong catches it. That was his polite way of saying to get the hell away from you, but he was awake now. He should’ve said that when he was still drowsy because Taeyong was about to play him like a guitar. He’s throwing his book bag over his shoulder as he talks.

“Oh yeah I’ll definitely be there. Me and Y/N are going together.” He pretends to feel bad at the mention of you—giving his eyes the innocent and awkward stare, but he sees the way Kun practically blows up from your name coming out of his filthy mouth.

“Cool.” Is all Kun can gather. He’s throwing his own belongings in a duffel bag that resembles the one Taeyong put his weapons in, except he’s throwing shorts and extra jackets in there. He’s doing it quick and fast indicating that Taeyong already got under his skin and all he had to do was say your name. Maybe it would be easier to get him out of the picture than he originally thought.

Taeyong was secretly super excited about the race. He had never seen anything like what it was described to be, but most importantly it was a great opportunity to talk your pretty little head off and try to get more answers out of you. And let’s not forget the fuchsia nights. He was so ready for that.

When he left his dorm, it wasn’t exactly light, but it wasn’t dark either. After a long day of classes he didn’t care about, and classes you didn’t show up to, he had eaten a little meal from the cafe that he got very lost in before heading back to his dorm to change. Since he got a little of his colored vision back, he decided on a blank orange shirt that had to be curtesy of Mark. Mark really was an angel, yet, that made all of them be even more of a dick to him because he could be so soft sometimes. I mean, to Wildwood’s standard of soft he would be a hell raiser, but back home he was a sweet little thing. His pants stayed the same—black cargo looking pants with his signature boots.

The track was indescribable. I mean, the open space was so beautiful; the grass seemed to be the original green he expected even if it was dirty and blurry to him. He looks up for sky, but half is gray, and half is a darkened blue. Almost navy. The sound of engines going off and reviving is white noise for him because he had never heard this. There’s already a big crowd of students from both schools with their faces painted, some with shirts off, but all ready to cheer on their schoolmates. The track is basically a smaller NASCAR track—it’s too bad they got rid of that decades ago.

“Taeyong!” He knows this voice. It’s tiny and squeaky and annoying and as he looks in her direction he can’t deny he’s impressed. She really did change her look. Her hair was still raging white, but it was curly and she actually sported an outfit similar to yours yesterday. She was surrounded by boys just as you predicted, but they seemed to push him to the side.

“What’s up, Mackenzie.” He smiles, but it’s so fake. And the fact that she doesn’t see it just proves she’s a fucking blonde. “You seen Y/N?”

“I saw her earlier. She was here with Johnny and they were talking, but not for too long. Johnny practically ignores everyone on race days. Any distraction can make them lose and Johnny doesn’t like to lose.”

“You seem to know a lot about him.”

“We’re going to get married one day.” She dreams towards the sky.

“Right...” He whispers to himself, before turning around. As such awful story telling would do, you’re right there as he turns around. How long had you been standing there? God, he had to clutch his heart—something that he never had to do. Technically you just ran up on him and he didn’t hear you. He’s glad his boys didn’t witness that,

You look more beautiful than you did yesterday, not to say you didn’t look beautiful yesterday. You did change up your outfit a tad; a long sleeved v-neck crop top covering your chest, although he sees the cleavage. And you’re wearing high waisted mom jeans with some matching white sneaks on your feet. They’re giving you a little height. You have glasses on the top of your head, but he assumes you’re not in such a bad mood that you don’t want to see anything right now.

“Hey.” He smiles, and he doesn’t have to fake this one. It’s coming out naturally and it’s pissing him off. Yes, you were pretty, but you aren’t roping him in. He doesn’t feel things for people he only wants to hurt them.

“Hey.” You smile back, punching him in arm lightly. “I like your outfit. I was expecting you to be wearing all black again.”

“What? You thought I was some emo boy?”

“Well, I still think you are. I think you added a dash of color to impress me.”

Oh, you were good.

“Do you think you’re that special?” His tone is taunting, but not disrespectful.

“I know I am.” You turn around promptly, and he feels his feet running towards you to catch up.

It seems like you’re going to a more secluded area where there are less people who are prone to screaming and yelling inappropriate things to the opposing players. There’s a hologramed fence that seems to be where you’re headed, but you keep walking.

“Y/N you have to watch the race. Your brother is in it.”

“Oh, I’m watching the race.” He doesn’t even have to see you to know you’re smirking. It’s the sway in your hips. You’re walking to seemingly nothing, but as Wildwood does, there’s something hovering where you’re headed. It’s a button, but he doesn’t know what’s its for.

“You coming?” You tease.

“I—can I?”

You take his hand in yours—an unfamiliar feeling to him. Even so he doesn’t let go. You press the button and hologramed box is shielding the two of you before you’re shooting in the air.

“What the!” He screeches, unconsciously squeezing your hand too tight.

“Ow ow.” You laugh loudly. “Are you trying to break my hand?” He knows he hurt you, but even so you’re still laughing.

“I’m sorry. That just scared me.” He finds himself being shy now as the two of you are still holding hands. He slowly lets go, but not before caressing your mangled bones.

“It’s okay, newbie. When I was a little girl I almost had a panic attack the first time I did this.”

This, was the view. It was amazing, and it was secluded from the rattled teens and young adults who were passionate about their school. There were seats made for two, and Taeyong assumes that the box registers how many people it holds, and makes the seats according to that.

“There’s no one else that can do this, right?” He’s fascinated. You’re high up enough to where you can’t be seen unless someone was looking very hard, but at the same time you can see the track perfectly.

“Nope. Just my family.” You point to the other side of the track, and he can see another one hovering holding what seems to be a man and a woman—possibly some others behind him. Your father and mother although he can’t see their faces. “I’m a privileged girl.”

He’s trying to find something snarky to say back at you, but the confidence he had before is slipping away. He even finds himself shaking slightly, but he decides to just ignore it. “Nothing wrong with being that way.” He whispers. That’s all he can think of.

The two of you are sitting very close right now. He really had only known you for a measly 24 hours, but it felt like an eternity and he didn’t like that. He didn’t like the power you obviously held. And now you were scooting closer to him and his heart is slowly racing when that wasn’t supposed to be happening.

“How was your day today?” You question, but you’re not looking at him. Maybe he makes you nervous. You’re both watching as the cheerleaders are doing stunts to get the crowd pumped and the band is starting to warm up for the team. It almost seemed like football, but that was irrelevant these days.

He hadn’t had someone ask him that ever. It was so strange to him how every little thing you did was so original, even though back in the old days it was common curtesy. Back when the world wasn’t so split up.

“It was good.” Is all he can form. He relaxes back in the seemingly invisible chair, and it’s comfortable. “Finally made it to the cafe.”

“Do you always whisper when you talk.” You taunt him in his same tone.

You get a smile out of him. You were pretty funny. He could admit that.

There were a lot of things he could’ve said, but he remembers his orders “keep pushing it” or whatever Sooman said. He was trying so hard to keep his wall up, when his mission was to make you fall in love with him. He felt so guilty about it, but he didn’t have to. It was what he was instructed. “I’m just—you make me a little nervous.” He slips, knowing your heart beat is probably increasing.

“Me? Why?” And now your head is on his shoulder.

“Because you do things like that.” He speaks. He doesn’t know what to do with his body. Affection was something he had no idea how to handle or give back, and this was going to be his biggest weakness when it came to getting your head.

“My day wasn’t good.” You switch the subject, although your head stays in place. “Yesterday wasn’t good either.”

“Why?” He whispers. “Is it because of that Kun guy?”

“You catch on quickly.” You chuckle, making his shoulder vibrate. “But yeah. We have an interesting history. I was just so surprised to see him. It was so weird.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Taeyong needs to do something. He needs to touch you in a way that shows you he’s “interested”. He sees your hand dead on your lap, so he decides to interlock your fingers just as you did to him a few moments ago. He can’t lie—this feels nice. He knows it’s not supposed to, but no one else is here to tell on him. He could enjoy this, right?

“Nothing to say.” You mumble. “Just caught me off guard.”

There’s the wall. He was hoping you’d start venting, but he’s not surprised when you hault. I mean, the two of you had just met yesterday, although it wouldn’t seem like it based off your current position.

“I know we just met yesterday, but can we stay like this?” Your tone is hushed as you speak, and your voice is wavering just a tad. You probably feel stupid for even asking that.

“Of course we can.” He accepts, and he feels the way you lightly graze your thumb on his own at his acceptance. It relaxes him in an odd way, although it also triggered something weird in him. He had never felt it before, but he just assumes it’s the indigo shaking him up and begging him for more.

“Ladies and gentleman—introducing the one and only Wildwood Jaguars!” They’re running through the banner, funny enough the most non-futuristic thing here. The crowd is going wild and here you and Taeyong are, lost in your position.

Game on.

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years ago

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“A Damn Good PPV But....” The UFC 235 Preview

Joey

February 24th, 2019

The first PPV offering was a dud. A weak card on paper made weaker by Robert Whittaker's last minute pull out. This card is world's better although it doesn't come with some risks. It's got two title fights, a main card loaded with intriguing fights, an ESPN prelim slate filled with fights that wouldn't seem out of place as UFC Fight Night headliners, the WMMA fights are intriguing and relatively well put together as well plus you have some damn good busywork at 205 and 135 lbs. Unfortunately there are some bad vibes to be picked up on given some of the matchmaking. There's a good chance this card turns into a lecture on numbers not equating good fights. Ah well. Has a Jon Jones fight ever let ya down before? Let's do some numbers and the like!

Fights: 13

Debuts: Ben Askren

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Holly Holm vs Aspen Ladd CANCELLED/Song Yadong OUT, Cody Stamman IN vs Alejandro Perez/Thomas Almeida OUT, Frankie Saenz IN vs Marlon Vera, OSP out, Johnny Walker IN vs Misha Cirkunov)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 12 (Jon Jones, Robbie Lawler, Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Cody Garbrandt, Jeremy Stephens, Misha Cirkunov, Diego Sanchez, Mickey Gall, Tecia Torres, Diego Sanchez)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Tecia Torres)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 10 (Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Pedro Munhoz, Zhabit Magomedsharipov, Marlon Vera, Alejandro Perez, WEili Zhang, Frankie Saenz)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 21-8-1

Jon Jones- 1-0-1 Anthony Smith- 5-1 Tyron Woodley- 3-0 Kamaru Usman- 5-0 Ben Askren- 0-0 Robbie Lawler- 1-1 Weili Zhang- 2-0 Tecia Torres- 3-2 Cody Garbrandt- 0-2 Pedro Munhoz- 4-1

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Bantamweight- 3 (11) Welterweight- 3 (11) Light Heavyweight- 2 (8) Women’s Strawweight- 2 (6) Women's Bantamweight- 1 (1) Featherweight- 1 (7) Middleweight- 1 (5)

Lightweight- (12) Women’s Flyweight- (7) Heavyweight- (4) Flyweight- (4)

2019’s Records We Keepin Track Of:

Debuting Fighters (4-12): Ben Askren

Short Notice Fighters (3-5): Frankie Saenz, Cody Stamman, Johnny Walker

Second Fight (15-3): Hannah Cifers, Macy Chiasson

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (4-6): Robbie Lawler

Undefeated Fighters (4-8): Ben Askren, Edmen Shahbazyan, Macy Chiasson

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (1-2): Mickey Gall

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (5-5): Macy Chiasson

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- I wonder if this is the best card with the highest propensity of having a bad boring no good very bad main card. Every fight on UFC 235's main card (and half of the prelims really) are compelling as shit clashes with stories to be told. You have the closest thing to a Rocky story in Jon Jones' career; the ultra dominant champion who tends to lose focus at a moments notice vs the hard luck tough guy dragging himself up through the ranks. You have a dominant contender facing a dominant champion where they stylistically could cancel each other out en route to a potentially exciting fight. Ben Askren makes his debut against either a potentially cooked or a renaissance Robbie Lawler. Weili Zhang vs Tecia Torres is a great prospect vs established ace fight. Cody Garbrandt's potential renaissance is as compelling as any fight above it. Now for the cold water; there's a chance Jon Jones carries Anthony Smith out of pity a la Glover Teix or OSP. There's a REALLY good chance Woodley vs Usman is a fight contested entirely in the clinch against the fence as Usman crashes too hard whiffing on takedowns while Woodley is content to throw one punch every 30 seconds and clinch up. Askren vs Lawler could look a lot like Lawler's Strikeforce fights where the threat of the takedown turned him into a pensive weak pressure fighter. Tecia Torres is very hit or miss in terms of action and when she realizes she's outgunned, she shells up. The only fight I'd feel remotely comfortable in betting on action potential meeting action quality is Munhoz vs Garbrandt. Chances are this card could be QUITE disappointing for some folks.

2- How many MINUTES does Anthony Smith have to get Jon Jones' respect before Jones just decides "Okay there's nothing to be worried about here?"

3- SO I suppose if one is looking for a potential avenue for Anthony Smith, it's that he IS new in a few facets. For one, 30 year old Anthony Smith is Jon Jones' youngest opponent since a 26 year old Alexander Gustafsson back in 2013. Even if Daniel Cormier is an otherworldly athlete (seriously you don't reach the olympics without being a special athlete), you can't replicate youth and speed. Smith will at least bring those in bunches which....I mean I guess gives him something to hang his hat on. One could argue he's the best moving LHW Jones has faced when you consider that Gus looked very very shopworn in their fight. He's also very versatile offensively as every tool in his toolbox gets used and is used with a threat of finishing someone. Elbows, kicks, uppercuts, knees all backed by a decent enough grappling game (for 205 lbs) gives Smith an element of danger even if it's fleeting. He brings some of the tools Gustaffson often uses except whereas Gus is a touch and go type of striker, Smith is a high level fight finisher. It's just hard to believe anybody can really hurt Jon Jones plus we're talking about a guy in Smith who tires pretty easily if the pace isn't to his liking.

4- Maybe it's JUST me but I actually really like Smith getting the title fight, not just because he stalls for guys like Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker to get some more work in. It's one of those things I always found kind of endearing about flyweight or HW, the path to a title shot is always JUST a run away. Imagine being one of these guys at 155 lbs who can win three fights in a row and BARELY be scratching the top 15. Anthony Smith went from middling 185er to fighting the best fighter of my era and I think that's a cool story. It's always a bit of fun when we know the lamb to the slaughter personally.

5- I was really confident Kamaru Usman would beat Tyron Woodley (basically doing what Colby Covington tends to do but way better) but the closer I get to it, the more I think that's not gonna happen. Beating Woodley requires a commitment to touching him from a safety range or smothering him in close, stifling the power he can generate on the counter right. You also have to have a competent counter wrestling game. What Usman can do well is pressure, clinch when he's concerned or confused about what to do next, chain his wrestling together and if he can get somebody down, he tends to give them plenty of problems with his output. Also we've seen him throw consistent paprika for 25 long minutes so if this turns into one HIS kinda fights then I can see him overwhelming Woodley. The problem is I don't think Usman has the fight IQ to do that intelligently for 25 minutes and I wish I had seen him hit clean enough in the past to judge and gauge his recovery skills when he's in trouble. I'm not about to squish on this though.

6- Okay so what happens if Woodley wins and then Askren wins? Do we just cancel this stupid division once and for all?

7- Two fights against TJ DIllashaw exposed some of the flaws in Cody Garbrandt's game and his break from being TAM's defender against the Dillashaw/Cruz combo is a similar enough fighter to where a coin toss pick em isn't out of the question. At the very least, I think we can bet on Cody Garbrandt having a fun fight against a like minded opponent who will probably give him plenty of avenues to pop off offensively.

8- Could Johnny Walker leapfrog Thiago Santos in the LHW WAR rankings if he finishes Misha Cirkunov?

9- I kinda wonder if Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Jeremy Stephens could've been better suited for a main event overseas. I mean if it's Volkov vs Overeem or Stephens vs Zhabit in St. Petersburg which makes more sense?

10- Macy Chiasson looked like a redeemable prospect at 145 lbs, built like a big featherweight, showcasing some damn good pressure based striking, heavy on top, big with activity on the ground and blessed with submission chops. With the division seemingly on the rocks she's made the choice to drop DOWN to 135 lbs in what should be a pretty scary looking weigh in. Chiasson gets Gina Mazany who bounces between good enough and god awful depending on what day of the week it is. I'm excited to see Chiasson back in there, assuming of course she makes the weight.

11- MARLON VERA IS BACK! My favorite bantamweight!

12- If you allow your minds to dispel cynicism, there's a lot of fun to be had between Diego Sanchez and Mickey Gall. Both guys are probably going to do some wacky grappling, Diego is not likely to take a ton of damage and Mickey Gall's love of fighting stupid should give us a few occasional glimpses of wacky Diego Sanchez action.

#MMA #UFC #UFC 235 #Jones #Smith #Askren #Lawler #Woodley #Usman #Garbrandt #Munhoz

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critgemhero · 7 years ago

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Cobra Kai’s first two episodes

I just watched the first two free episodes of YouTube Red’s Cobra Kai series... and I have some major concerns. I need to see the whole show before I make my verdict. The show is either a brilliant character study that will end with an amazing payoff, or that payoff doesn't happen and it is ultimately an extremely dangerous piece of toxic media.

I hope for the former. My thesis on this below.

Johnny is a... really bad person. Like drenched in Toxic Masculinity that is ruining his life and ruined those around him when he was a teenager. He grew up with horrible parents with no love in them, and his Cobra Kai teacher inforced horrible expectations and ideologies on him that turned him into a bully and a misogynistic pig. Yes, he was forced to do the kick in the 80′s despite objecting, but he did so many terrible things to Joey and Ali that I don’t understand how people excuse it. He was a troubled kid, yes, but that isn't an excuse for a near murder and constant sexual harassment.

However, he is trying to make a positive change now! He is in a slump and wants to get out, and wants to be better than he was. He sees that being picked on is wrong because he KNOWS he was wrong when he learned the hard way as a kid. Sadly, he can only use the toxic tools he was given in life to make that change. He is embracing this toxicity that Cobra Kai gave him more than ever, but for shockingly GOOD intentions!

He clearly wants to help these kids and himself from being bullied and pushed around by a life that isn't fair. He isn't wrong about life not being fair, and that you need to have self-confidence and to defend yourself. To believe in yourself and to fight back against wrongdoings done to you. However, there is a hilarious and dangerous hypocrisy to his actions. He continues to insult, mock, and have an ignorant mindset about those who ARE being bullied.

His first line of dialogue was “great, more immigrants” when interacting with his future student because he is brown... yikes!!! He uses the slur “pussy” every chance he gets to insinuate weakness. He ignores actual medical problems his student has because somehow an inhaler makes you weak. He insults and makes fun of his student for pointing out that it’s not okay to genderize words as an insult. He belittles psychological counseling.

The show is blatantly making fun of basic human decency and is making fun of non-extremist political correctness. This is ironic considering his whole mission is to have those who are bullied to demand respect from others. He is a bully trying to teach those who are being bullied. The Alt-Right, Anti-feminist toxic YouTubers (which there are plenty) are eating Johnny up as a role model and see it as “refreshing” that Johnny is the hero here. They see themselves in Johnny and are REVELING in his newfound protagonist status. Johnny is the definition of toxic masculinity poisoning someone who is clearly trying to make a positive change in themselves and others, and people assume he is 100% right going about it in the way that he is. Why?

Because the show is framing him to be right about it. Framing him to be the hero by the end of this story. Yes, there is an obvious grey area trying to be made here, and I doubt the show is 100% defending Johnny, but context matters and the scenes where he is supposed to be the good guy, he is doing shitty things. Our protagonist is being praised for calling people pussies and being an overall racist, misogynistic asshole.

THIS. IS. NOT. OKAY.

But I may be speaking too soon, and I think there IS hope.

Because I think the show could do a 180!! If the show was smart, they wouldn't keep Johnny with this same attitude all the way to the end. The show could have his new and younger generation of bullied students teach HIM why they are being bullied for who they are. The pupil teaches as much as the master does. They can show him that there is strength in kindness, while still being strong in spirit and mind. He can teach them to fight back and defend themselves, but hopefully, they won’t turn into the bullies themselves. Hopefully, they can learn from each other.

Another reason I think the show will do this is its fantastic portrayal of the DOWNFALL of Daniel LaRusso.

Daniel, by all means, is also no longer a good person. He became selfish, greedy, and lost his ways with Miyagi’s teachings. He uses Karate as a CHEAP MARKETING TOOL for profit, and Johnny sees this and knows that is not okay. We see a man who was being bullied as a teen BECOME a snobby bully as an adult and refuse to recognize it because he was once the victim himself.

What I am trying to say is I hope that by showing Daniel as a changed man for the worse, that BOTH characters will evolve and learn from each other. That Johnny slowly but surely realizes one cannot and should not be a bully if he is to teach those who are bullied. That Daniel looks in the mirror and gets off his high horse, and see that people like Johnny CAN change and can have good in him. That the Alt-Right, misogynistic YouTubers will get slapped in the face by the end and maybe learn a lesson in all of this like Johnny does (or just whine and scream like they do about every little thing that doesn't go their way)

The show has a major opportunity here for growth and change to reflect modern society, while also holding some traditions that should stick around to heart, and I hope it takes it.

I will soon get a YouTube Red free trial and will have these answers soon.

#cobra kai #youtube #youtube red #the karate kid #toxic masculinity

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inazuma-eleven-translations · 7 years ago

Text

Inazuma All Stars TPK Character Original Album ‘Maji de Kansha’ Interview with Terasaki Yuka, Kitahara Sayaka + Ohara Takashi

Full Scans can be found here: http://inazuma.pmsinfirm.org/?p=284

Aoki Tamashii (Blue Spirit)

Matsukaze Tenma - Terasaki Yuka

Shindou Takuto - Saiga Mitsuki

Terasaki: Shindou-senpai is so cool!

Ohara: He is, isn’t he?

Terasaki: Since the key was a little low for me, I really had to try hard to sing the song. But Saiga-san is able to sing really low - as expected of her! I really love the lyrics, like ‘Hard work won’t let down down, so raise your face and keep marching forward!’.

Ohara: It really leaves you feeling refreshed.

Terasaki: Oh! And I was so happy that Shindou sang Tenma’s catchphrase ‘Nan toka naru sa!’ (Everything will work out somehow). Even if he’s never said the actual words, I like to think he’s gotten on board with Tenma’s way of thinking!

Ohara: Past Shindou certainly wasn’t a ‘nan toka naru sa’ kind of guy - that’s for sure.

Terasaki: Yeah, but I’m glad if he can think that sometimes it’s alright to think that way.

Ohara: I also liked ‘(this blue spirit in my chest) emits light and joins us to the next generation’.

Terasaki: Right now all of us are still first years.

Kitahara: Yeah, we don’t have junior kouhais yet. Actually, not a lot of time has passed yet (laughs).

Sayonara Kako no Ore (Goodbye, My Former Self)

Tsurugi Kyousuke - Ohara Takashi

Kariya Masaki - Tai Yuuki

Ohara: How should I put it - everyone has things they don’t want to remember. There’s plenty of times when even I’m just taking a shower at night and I suddenly remember something that happened in the past, like ‘Wahh!’.

Terasaki: While you’re completely naked? (laughs)

Ohara: (laughs) Well, of course my past is nowhere near as tough as Tsurugi’s but I definitely get the feeling ‘I don’t want to remember this…’

Terasaki: Both Tsurugi and Kariya were naughty.

Ohara: But Tsurugi destroyed the old club room! ‘Sometimes nightmares from the past flash before my eyes out of nowhere’ - things like that could actually be true.

Terasaki: But was Tsurugi really worse than Kariya? I mean, didn’t he start to bully Kirino despite not having any idea what was going on around him? That was really awful!

Ohara: He did, yeah. Although you can’t imagine it now. (laughs) At the time, he had to try and find the right place for himself.

Kitahara: Kariya is a lonely person!

Terasaki: By the way, ‘warm sun’ and ‘gentle breeze’ seem to refer to Coach Endou and Tenma.

Ashita no Hero (Tomorrow’s Hero)

Gouenji Shuuya - Nojima Hirofumi

Shindou Takuto - Saiga Mitsuki

Terasaki: It’s refreshing to hear those two say things like ‘It won’t end at (just) admiration’ and ‘I’ll become somebody who people will think of in that way’. I wonder who Gouenji-san looks up to? How about Endou-san? As for Shindou-senpai… It’s gotta be Endou-san, right? As an example of a Captain.

Ohara: So in the end, does everyone gather around Endou-san? (laughs)

Kitahara: Their voices really merged together, didn’t they. They were so connected - to the extent that you couldn’t hear two separate voices.

Ohara: Yeah, they really mixed well together!

Namida no Art~Nijiiro no Hana (The Art of Tears and Rainbow-Coloured Flowers)

Kirino Ranmaru - Kobayashi Yuu

Fei Rune - Kimura Akiko

Terasaki: What a gentle song. It’s a little sensual?

Ohara: It’s a little bit alluring.

Kitahara: It’s mature. Feels like you’d want to listen to it carefully by yourself.

Terasaki: Because those two have such sweet voices.

Ohara: This is Fei’s first song. I felt moved. Like - Oh! Fei is singing!

Terasaki: We’re looking forward to Fei’s secrets being revealed next year. After everything is made clear, I want to listen to the song once more.

Koi no Shuukuriimu (Choux Cream of Love)

Sorano Aoi - Kitahara Sayaka

Seto Midori - Mina

Yamana Akane - Yurin

Kitahara: The 3 managers got to sing and have fun together!

Ohara: How cute!

Terasaki: I wanna eat a choux cream!

Kitahara: I’m hungry now~

Terasaki: Hiroshi-san makes cute songs! (laughs) You can feel the girls’ love.

Kitahara: Yeah. ‘There’s no sell-by-date’ was kinda playful, and when you hear it, it makes you squee. It really felt like a song for Midori-san and Akane-san to sing.

Todoke! Yuujou no Eeru (Soar! Yell of Friendship!)

Ohara: The defenders who support everyone - it’s their song.

Terasaki: It’s very like first-yearish to wonder ‘Can I really make friends?’. Shinsuke, unlike Tenma, introduced himself without showing any nerves, but I wonder if he was nervous on the inside.

Ohara: I wonder if Kariya also worries about that sort of thing.

Terasaki: He has no naming sense! (laughs) Everyone laughed at him - that was funny. And yet, Tenma always immediately turns to Kariya when they need to name something. His naming sense is an art.

Ohara: People said to him, like ‘What on earth is with that name?’

Kitahara: Aoi-chan said, ‘No way, no way!’ and burst into laughter.

Terasaki: But middle school kids do that sort of stuff to each other (laughs).

Honoo no Puraido (Flaming Pride)

Gouenji Shuuya - Nojima Hirofumi

Someoka Ryuugo - Kase Yasuyuki

Fubuki Shirou - Miyano Mamoru

Terasaki: This song seems really difficult to sing! The key goes up and down and up and down. But I knew those 3 would be able to sing it.

Ohara: It sounds kind of nostalgic.

Terasaki: It sounds like a Johnny’s (a Japanese talent agency for boy bands) song from the 90s. I want the 3 of them to dance together, like a boyband. While Someoka would be clumsy, like - am I doing this right? - I’d want him to try his very best to dance.

Kitahara: Gouenji would dance smoothly and cool!

Terasaki: Fubuki-san does a lot of whirling turns during his special moves - he definitely seems like he’d be good at ballet. He has to wear white tights! Then, Someoka-san is hip-hop and Gouenji-san is jazz. Reggae would be cool for Someoka-san too!

Suki da kara! (Because I like you)

Endou Mamoru - Takeuchi Junko

Kidou Yuuto - Yoshino Hiroyuki

Ohara: I personally really like this song.

Terasaki: Kidou, who’s normally cool, exclaims ‘because I like you!’. If you just look at the title, it looks like a song by a girl.

Kitahara: I like that contrast.

Ohara: Some parts are a conversation. I liked Kidou-san’s ‘I decided to help you out’.

Terasaki: It feels like, he figured his role and happily accepted it. He wanted to play soccer with Endou-san and went through the trouble of transferring to Raimon to do that. Thanks to the unrivalled POWER OF LOVE! The song is over-flowing with Kidou-san’s thoughts.

Ohara: It’s seriously cool!

Mabushii Mirai Yeah!!! (Dazzling Future)

Endou Mamoru - Takeuchi Junko

Matsukaze Tenma - Terasaki Yuuka

Terasaki: ‘More than now!’ is repeated many times - it’s a really upbeat song. Both of these two feel that if you do loads of practice you’ll want to become even better. While we recorded, the length of the part ‘Spread your wings, towards a future too dazzling to be true’ really moved me. Holding the note with Junko-san was perfect.

Ohara + Kitahara: Ooh!

Terasaki: And Endou said Tenma’s ‘Nan toka naru!’. I was really happy about that!

Ohara: Tenma’s ‘Nan toka naru’ is gradually spreading. (laughs)

Maji de Kansha! (Seriously, Thank You So Much)

Endou Mamoru - Takeuchi Junko

Someoka Ryuugo - Kase Yasuyuki

Matsukaze Tenma - Terasaki Yuuka

Tsurugi Kyousuke - Ohara Takashi

Shindou Takuto - Saiga Mitsuki

Terasaki: I always loved this song as the theme song for Endou’s story, it’s really exciting.

Kitahara: I cry when I listen to this song.

Ohara: I cried when we recorded it. Together with T-Pistonz + KMC-san, everyone smiled brightly when we all listened to the song together. The power of this song is amazing!

Kitahara: Shindou-senpai’s rap was really cool. So was Someoka’s.

Terasaki: So was Tsurugi’s. Like ‘To the sky, outer space!’ and ‘Return the LOVE 100 times!’.

Ohara: It was actually difficult to rap as Tsurugi. I had to rerecord it many times. During one of those times, I tried it in the style of a hissatsuwazza and the director said that was interesting. Aside from the rap, I also did ‘Riiyo!’ and ‘Hey!’ in the style of a hissatsuwazza. I also used the way KMC-san raps as an example.

Terasaki: This rap really brings out everyone’s energy! ‘Days when you’re covered in mud - one day you’ll definitely play a useful role! You can’t buy these wonderful friends with money!’ Lyrics like that are so, so cool!

Ohara: I want to sing this at an event with everyone.

Kitahara: Yeah, me too!

#long post #animage #interview #terasaki yuuka #ohara takashi #kitahara sayaka #matsukaze tenma #sorano aoi #tsurugi kyousuke #kirino ranmaru #fei rune #gouenji shuuya #shindou takuto #endou mamoru #fubuki shirou #someoka ryuugo #kariya masaki

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sceawere · 7 years ago

Text

deeds | john shelby

continuation of the ‘these moments’ verse

“Don’t go tomorrow” you whispered into the darkness. It was late – early really. Tomorrow was today.

John tilted his head on the pillow, the streak of light peeking through the net curtains the only reason you could see the subtle shift in features.

“Don’t start” he whispered back, tired rather than scolding. He seemed to have a second thought as he rolled to wrap his arm over you but it didn’t melt the grip you felt in your chest.

“Johnny, please” you implored.

“I have to. It’ll be fine, you’re just working yourself up again” the rumble of his voice worked through you as he buried his nose into your hairline.

“You don’t have to, Johnny, you don’t!” You tilted your own head up and raised your voice a little at the grumble he gave “It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t. I have a bad feeling about this!”

He flopped back to where he’d started, hand bent behind his head to work the pillow for a second before he gave another sigh and sat up. He pushed his palm into his eye, wringing the socket until he stilled and settled. He let his arm drop to his lap, turning his head over his shoulder to where you were perched on your elbows.

“Tommy needs me” he replied, solemn.

“Tommy- “you exhaled a bitter breath, ordering your thoughts to form a convincing argument before realising you were too tired and whatever came from your mouth was what he was getting “you think Tommy sits up at night wondering how much he can do for us? Hmm? ‘Cos from where I’m sitting, it always seems to be you running to his beck and call”

“He’s the boss, that’s how it works”

“I thought he was your brother” you pushed the covers away with your feet, peddling them out of the way as you rounded your body and pulled your dressing gown around you a little too sternly “I thought this was a family”

“Alright, so this isn’t about tomorrow then? ‘Cos that makes more sense” he replied, watching you round the bed and head for the door “Where you going? I thought we- “

“I’m going to check on William”

“Leave him to sleep – eh, do you hear me?” he called after you as you ignored him and headed down the corridor. The groan and steps that followed gave you a little smile as you slipped into the boys’ room quietly, toeing over to crouch by the bed.

“He needs rest more than he needs you bothering him” John whispered from the doorway, settling his shoulder into the wood as he watched you.

“His fevers down” you shuffled the blankets away from his shoulders a little, peeking in with a squint in the low light “still spottier than a leopard though”

“Polly says- “

“I know what Polly says” you sighed, tucking your son back in. You pulled a face as he shuffled a little, pulling one hand free from where it had been lodged under the warmth of the pillow. You rolled your head slowly round to where John was smirking back.

“What the hell did you-?” you started.

“Stops ‘em scratching” he answered, as if it was completely obvious.

“He looks like a bloody seal” you nodded to the giant mittens that John had put on him, crudely wrapped with ribbons at the wrist “you couldn’t have at least found child sized ones?”

“No, the whole point is you put the cream on and then you- you know, it’s so they can’t get a good- “he motioned scratching with a fist at his arm and you rolled your eyes, moving up and over to him.

“You’re an idiot” you whispered, pushing his chest to move him out of the way of the closing door behind you.

“Yeah, well I’m the idiot who had to hold him bloody still all day, and give him all his baths and his medicine, and then I was the idiot who put him to bed, and the idiot- “

“Yes, point well made” you huffed, wearily descending the steps.

“I’m going tomorrow” he replied, tone firm.

You held your groan, and your words, and settled for a heavy sigh and a dropping head as you reached for a cup off the drying rack.

“You hear me?” he repeated in the same tone.

“Yes! I heard you!” you slammed the cups a little too hard on the counter, rolling back and forth on your toes on the cold tile.

“This pays for the new house” he continued, as you stared out at the chicken coop in the yard. The kids had gone a little haywire with the decorating and it almost glowed in the lamplight outside, fifteen shades of paint slapped in odd formations on the wood.

“I like this house” you murmured back. You felt the rush of air as he exhaled, sidling up to rest his forehead against the back of your head.

“You’ve been saying since Katie was born we need more space”

“They’ve never known no different though. And we-we’ve always been here…you know? Us? As an ‘us’. It’s this house. This shitty place on Watery Lane. The first place we lived together, next to the houses we grew up in. We’re not Tommy, John”

“What’s that mean?” he turned you in his arms, hooking his hands behind your hips.

“It means us in a big house – can you really picture that? You’re not the ‘Lord of the fucking Manor’ type, really, are you?” you smirked up to him, stifling a laugh as he rocked your body a little.

“Oi, missus. I think I’d make a great- “

“Seriously, though!” you cut him off before the serious streak of the conversation was lost and you had to start it over again some other time “we don’t need that life. We don’t really want that life. You, here, in this shitty place where our kids were born. I want that over everything, Johnny. Over everything. Please don’t risk it”

He swallowed, moving his eyes up and over to the window behind you. You settled back against the counter, waiting.

“They’ve made a state of that coop” you broke down laughing halfway through his reply, dropping your head to his chest “You and your bloody feelings, woman”

“Oi!” you lifted your head, nearly knocking his chin in your haste. He smiled down at you, squeezing your hips lightly.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve told Tommy, no more reckless shit. Family man, now, aren’t I?”

“Our oldest is making his way to ten and you’ve only just got that in your thick skull?” you deadpanned.

“Well, I only ever came school for you, didn’t I? So, it’s your fault if I’m not the smartest” he joked and you slapped a hand against his chest, smiling as he rocked back laughing.

“It’s not the type of job you think it is anyway, you get all worked up when- “

“When you say you’ve got to leave for a few days and you can’t tell me why? Yeah, big shock there, buddy!”

“I tell you about most of them” he defended himself, stepping back as you finally set about actually making the tea you’d come down for. He swiped a hand against your back as he caught you mimicking him and you kicked back behind you, not aiming and missing terribly. You heard the scrape of a chair, the clink of the biscuit tin lid.

“Besides, if I died and left you alone with the kids, you’d probably leave my body in the street as a lesson or something” he mumbled through whatever he’d picked out.

“Yeah, probably” you sighed, dropping down to his lap as you waited for the kettle to boil. He pulled the tin towards you, pointing to one of the ones at the edge.

“Them ones are good”

“They the ginger ones?”

“I think so”

“You think? You’ve just ate one”

He hummed and you fell into the quiet together, the gentle rolling and rumbling from the kettle filling the space.

“Joey’s scared of the chicken’s now, you know?” he mumbled and you scowled at him “he heard Will had ‘chickenpox’ and thought- “

“Oh, that’s not good”

“No” he agreed.

“We need to get that out of his head before it becomes a thing”

“Yep” he agreed.

You rocked one leg over the other, making your way through your biscuit.

“Joey’s had chickenpox anyway. Before we had- “you nodded up to the window, pushing the last section into your mouth.

“Yeah, but he were a baby and in his little kid brain, makes sense I s’pose” he wiped a tired hand over his face and you ran your eyes over him.

“You should go up and sleep, they need you on it tomorrow” you made to get up but he spiralled his arms around you, pulling you back against him.

“I don’t leave ‘til 10, I’ve got plenty of time”

The house settled around you, little creaks and groans.

“This new house, then?” you posed, waiting for his hum “where – and what- you thinking?”

“I’m glad you ask, missus” you rolled your eyes as he sat up straight again, jostling your side against the kitchen table as he reached across for a bundle of papers. He presented them before you and the blood drained from you.

“Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me you didn’t already-“

“It’s just the listing, don’t go off on one” he double tapped his finger on the sheet where it rested on the table but you held his gaze a moment longer, a warning look. You turned, resting an elbow on the table top as he tipped back and flicked a lamp on.

“This is up by Polly’s?” you noted.

“Yep, just opposite and down a few. Same as it was here. The kids’ll be able to see her garden from ours. We can watch ‘em walk over – not that we need to because it’s posh as anything up there”

You turned your head, smiling across at him.

“Are you serious?” he nodded back and you couldn’t help your excited little giggle. Your eyes poured over the listing again.

“I asked them to let me know if any of ‘em ever went up, put a hold on posting them publicly for a few days. They sent me this for first refusal, what do you think?” he asked.

“I think it has two bathrooms! And a giant fucking yard!” you lifted the paper, wrinkling the edge a little in your excited grip as you leant into him.

“It’s a garden, not a yard”

“Oh, sorry” you mocked apologised, smiling at each other.

“Enough bedrooms for the kids to pick their own” he nodded to the paper and you squeaked at the thought “More than enough for them to double up if we need it”

You shot down his little smirk, “don’t even think about it, mister!”

“Everyone else has a little sister – why shouldn’t Elsie?” he joked, dipping his head into your neck as you laughed, eyes stuck to the paper.

“Johnny…we can afford this?”

“Outright” he smiled proudly and you took a deep breath “I just want a bit spare so we can be comfortable about it. So, can I go tomorrow now please? Without you making a bloody face at me the whole time?”

You grumbled down at him as you dipped for a kiss and he wrapped you in tight again. You rested your head at his shoulder, eyes trailing over the listing once more.

“If you die, I’m still buying the place and then I’m burying you in the bloody garden and putting the chickens over you, you know that?”

“’s only fair” he replied, burying his nose into your hairline once more.

#peaky blinders fic #peaky blinders imagine #john shelby #|writing

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placetobenation · 4 years ago

Link

Goldberg is back.

Yes, it’s time for a major PPV with the Royal Rumble in three weeks and again we have a returning superstar from the past trying to worm his way into the main event. Goldberg returning on Legends Night, making the challenge for Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship makes little sense, as we’ll explain in our RAW recap later. Regardless of the storyline, the match on its face doesn’t make me want to invest in it. McIntyre’s been an awesome champion carrying the RAW brand week-in and week-out. Why on Earth would anyone believe that Goldberg, who hasn’t wrestled since losing to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36 in April of 2020, should be able to beat a guy on top of the chain who’s been out there wrestling on a consistent basis? Besides, didn’t Goldberg already call out Roman Reigns at the end of 2020 or are we just supposed to forget about that? And speaking of forgetting, why exactly do we get McIntyre going up against Randy Orton again this Monday night out of the blue? Is there something I’ve missed there? Having your top champion wrestle every week waters down how the effectiveness of the championship and the wrestler. It should be a big deal when the WWE Champion wrestles on the show, not just more of the same old thing. I’m not saying it should be months in between appearances like back in the days of Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan, but every Monday night for a month is a bit much.

Either way, that bit of business was the oddest thing to go down in what was a pretty eventful and productive week around the WWE.

Star of the Week

And still … #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/WuNF0Yu88M

— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) January 7, 2021

Finn Balor – Back from a broken jaw, The Prince delivers a main-event victory over Kyle O’Reilly to retain the NXT Championship, returning the jaw injury to his foe in the process. These two have put on back-to-back dynamite matches and here’s one who’s hoping there’s a third one to add to the trilogy down the road. He’ll need to stay on top of his came because here comes Karrion Kross and Scarlett back to take what they think is rightfully theirs.

RAW

RESULTS

The New Day defeated The Miz & John Morrison

AJ Styles defeated Elias

Non-Title WWE Women’s Championship Match: Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce defeated Charlotte Flair & Asuka

Non-Title United States Championship Match: Riddle defeated Bobby Lashley

Dana Brooke defeated Shayna Baszler

Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy

Non-Title RAW Tag Team Championship Match: Lucha House Party defeated The Hurt Business

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Keith Lee to retain title

Someone’s got upset fever in the WWE. Not one, not two, not three, but four upsets on the night. Amazingly enough too, they all made perfect sense!

"GET OUT NOW." Consider @MsCharlotteWWE furious…#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/NyRmekWGsv

— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2021

Charlotte Flair getting pinned by Lacey Evans after Papa Ric Flair takes his flirting with Evans to a nasty level and “inadvertently” trips his own daughter was a nice swerve. Maybe this wakes up Flair and turns her against Asuka and the true Queen persona returns after a few weeks of being nice.

Riddle over Lashley after seemingly tapping out makes him a US Title contender. That’s a good thing. He’s earned it.

Dana Brooke over Shayna Baszler. I’m good with that for a week. Brooke and Mandy Rose have been beat up so many times the past month, they deserve some positivity.

Lucha House Party wins again! Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are at odds. It’s a nice mix as we lead to the eventual Four Horseman-esque dumping of Alexander I think it’s coming post-Royal Rumble.

What a BATTLE! #WWETitle @DMcIntyreWWE @RealKeithLee

#WWERaw, 1/4/21 pic.twitter.com/IV2lqkwgPj

— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2021

Kudos to Keith Lee and Drew McIntyre! Those two put on quite a show as McIntyre defended his WWE Championship. Lee continues to keep himself in the main event mix with another quality showing.

Hope you enjoyed that @Goldberg, because it’s the only push you’re gonna get pic.twitter.com/VFUd150xoC

— Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) January 5, 2021

Now, to the elephant in the room. Goldberg. The whole premise of him coming down to berate McIntyre for tearing the legends down when he’s done nothing of the sort. He’s been as respectful as the day is long. I don’t think for a second that Goldberg will, or should be on McIntyre’s level. Here’s hoping Drew puts his “Dad” in his proper place. Plus, not for nothing, but what a shoddy way to end the night by dumping out at the end of RAW to see Modern Family on the USA Network before we see McIntyre pop right back up from the Goldberg push down that we saw later on social media. Sloppy TV production right there from the WWE who is usually really good at that part of the biz.

Heartthrob @AngelGarzaWwe was ready to party with @iamcardib on #WWERaw but instead ran into THE BOOGEYMAN! pic.twitter.com/oLQQM73Xgn

— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2021

Speaking of the legends, outside of the ridiculous H-Phone with Hulk Hogan to start the night, I thought it was pretty well done. Nothing crazy. Nothing hugely surprising. But they played the hits. Loved The Boogeyman being a shock to Angel Garza. Melina with the Lucha House Party was a nice touch. It’s too bad Mick Foley has to miss the night due to a COVID-19 positive test. Prayers out to Mick and the Foley family.

NOT AGAIN, RANDY!!!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/KVx5WbNIzH

— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2021

Otherwise, Jeff Hardy is one good sport for letting Randy Orton continue to stretch out his ears to no end. The New Day vs. The Miz and John Morrison was pretty good to kick-start the night. I’m expecting The Miz to turn on his buddy anytime now and blame him for the losses.

NXT

RESULTS

Karrion Kross defeated Damien Priest

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match: Santos Escobar defeated Gran Metalik

Last Woman Standing Match: Raquel Gonzalez defeated Rhea Ripley

Shotzi Blackheart & KUSHIDA defeated Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano

NXT Championship Match: Finn Balor defeated Kyle O’Reilly

New Year’s Evil was a home run folks!

It's only a matter of time before he gets back what's his. 𝑻𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑻𝒐𝒄𝒌. #WWENXT #NXTNYE @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/OORdOxs5d2

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 7, 2021

I’ll admit, Karrion Kross and Damien Priest was a little bit of a disappointment for me because I had such high expectations for it. It did what it needed to do though as Kross keeps his title aspirations alive to get back his NXT Championship from Finn Balor.

Santos Escobar continues to dazzle as the highlight of the cruiserweight division. While many can compete, there are few who can or will take him down. Gran Metalik tried but came up short.

.@RaquelWWE is the #LastWomanStanding. Words cannot even describe what we just witnessed. WOW.#NXTNYE @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/kn4eCTVbwo

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2021

Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley was a downright epic war. These two took their Last Woman Standing match all over the WWE Performance Center and even took it to another level with Ripley locking Dakota Kai in a locker to prevent further involvement. Gonzalez’ chokeslam of Ripley through the stage was impressive. I’ll have to say, I wonder where Ripley goes next as she hasn’t won “the big one” in almost a year since dropping the NXT Championship to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36. Gonzalez stardom continues to rise and now joins Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm at the top of the charts to take down NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai.

So many questions, so little answers. #NXTNYE @XiaWWE @Bigboawwe pic.twitter.com/cXbnetNiD1

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2021

Badass thy name is Xia Li. For the first time since their banishment, Li and Boa are back live and Xia showed she’s for real. She looks the part and has all the feels of a faction led by ???? We’ll continue to guess.

Shotzi Blackheart & KUSHIDA is an interesting combo to take on The Gargano Way duo of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. It was fun!

Does he have your attention now?

#AndStill #NXTNYE #NXTChampionship @FinnBalor pic.twitter.com/lMyzOltoXm

— WWE (@WWE) January 7, 2021

Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly II. Holy smokes! This was high drama to say the least. It was touch-and-go right until the end. Having Balor take aim at KOR’s jaw seemed right. Balor with a little color the hard-way proved how tough his one was. I like that they didn’t get lazy and make a Kross run-in mar the finish either. It let these two have the stage they so richly deserved.

ABOUT TIME. Per #WWENXT GM @RealKingRegal, the WOMEN'S #DustyCup is coming your way, soon! #WeAreNXT #NXTNYE pic.twitter.com/D7btsuCPso

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 7, 2021

Finally, I love that the women of NXT are getting a Dusty Rhodes Classic of their own. The NXT women’s division is top notch and there’s plenty of match-ups that could be made. Just like the men though, I hope they bring in some other indie teams to spice it up too.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E defeated Apollo Crews

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated The Street Profits to win the titles

Gauntlet Match – Rey Mysterio defeated Sami Zayn; Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Mysterio; Nakamura defeated King Corbin; Nakamura defeated Daniel Bryan; Adam Pearce defeated Nakamura to win a title shot against Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/WCsFNufQU4