#brianna winner

[sapphicstarwars]

The Sapphic Star Wars Rarepair Tournament is about to begin! We have compiled 100 wlw rarepairs (all with less than 50 fics on AO3), and will be running a series of polls until only one remains. The polls will open on the first day of Femslash February and run all month long. Additional info and the entire list of pairings can be found below (to be updated after each round) @swfandomevents

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Some ships may have more than 50 fics on AO3 now, but at the time of the original data pull (November 2023) they were below the threshold.

Threats of violence or jokes of killing characters mentioned in the polls will not be tolerated. Commenting or tagging polls with calls for harm will result in an immediate block.

Arguing over the sexuality of characters or how queer they are will also result in a block. This tournament is for fun, and is meant to highlight amazing rare pairs that don't get enough love. Canon or explicit confirmation that a character is sapphic does not make them an automatic winner or a better pair. Please vote based on what ships you are excited to see more of and be respectful.

The list below will be updated regularly as winners are decided.

ROUND ONE

Ahsoka Tano/Steela Gerrera vs Phasma/Nastia Unamo

Rae Sloane/Phasma vs Shara Bey/Jyn Erso

Mon Mothma/Hera Syndulla vs Enfys Nest/Leia Organa

Reva Sevander/Tala Durith vs Jordanna Sparkburn/Sylvestri Yarrow

Oola/Leia Organa vs Juhani/Belaya

Kleya Marki/Mon Mothma vs Vette/Jaesa Willsaam

Chelli Lona Aphra/Hera Syndulla vs Lana Beniko/Jaesa Willsaam

Leia Organa/Hera Syndulla vs Rook Kast/Bo-Katan Kryze

Mon Mothma/Tynnra Pamlo vs Elia Kane/Dedra Meero

Zorii Bliss/Bazine Netal vs Yana Ro/Kor Plouth

Visas Marr/The Jedi Exile vs Fennec Shand/Drash

Kleya Marki/Vel Sartha vs Ahsoka Tano/Shin Hati

Padmé Amidala/Dormé vs Mara Jade/Leia Organa

Fennec Shand/Koska Reeves vs Depa Billaba/Adi Gallia

Rae Sloane/Hera Syndulla vs Karé Kun/Jessika Pava

Jyn Erso/Ahsoka Tano vs Qi'ra/Amilyn Holdo

Latts Razzi/Asajj Ventress vs F!Revan/Meetra Surik

Bo-Katan Kryze/Padmé Amidala vs Rae Sloane/Adea Rite

Leia Organa/Evaan Verlaine vs Visas Marr/Brianna

Luminara Unduli/Asajj Ventress vs Ahsoka Tano/Reva Sevander

Visas Marr/Mira vs Juhani/Bastila Shan

Bo-Katan Kryze/Fennec Shand vs Depa Billaba/Shaak Ti

Fennec Shand/Garsa Fwip vs Yana Ro/Shea Ganandra

Jyn Erso/Mon Mothma vs Ahsoka Tano/Morgan Elsbeth

Bo-Katan Kryze/Sabine Wren vs Merrin/Trilla Suduri

Fennec Shand/The Armorer vs Juhani/F!Revan

Reva Sevander/Tala Durith vs Qi'ra/Enfys Nest

Ahsoka Tano/The Armorer vs Kleya Marki/Cinta Kaz

Shara Bey/Evaan Verlaine vs Zorii Bliss/Jannah

Rook Kast/Barriss Offee vs Rae Sloane/Karyn Faro

Bo-Katan Kryze/Ursa Wren vs Bix Caleen/Cinta Kaz

Zorii Bliss/Rey vs Qi'ra/Ahsoka Tano

Jyn Erso/Sabine Wren vs Leia Organa/Sana Starros

Padmé Amidala/Satine Kryze vs Qi'ra/Rey

Zeen Mrala/Lula Talisola vs Qi'ra/Sana Starros

Peet Deretalia/Jessika Pava vs Qi'ra/Leia Organa

ROUND TWO

37. Ahsoka Tano/Steela Gerrera vs Shara Bey/Jyn Erso 38. Chelli Lona Aphra/Sana Starros vs Mon Mothma/Hera Syndulla 39. Bazine Netal/Phasma vs Reva Sevander/Tala Durith 40. Bo-Katan Kryze/Koska Reeves vs Juhani/Belaya 41. Kleya Marki/Mon Mothma vs Enfys Nest/Ahsoka Tano 42. Chelli Lona Aphra/Hera Syndulla vs Padmé Amidala/Aayla Secura 43. Rook Kast/Bo-Katan Kryze vs Rae Sloane/Chelli Lona Aphra 44. Mon Mothma/Tynnra Pamlo vs Trilla Suduri/Merrin 45. Yana Ro/Kor Plouth vs Visas Marr/The Jedi Exile 46. Fennec Shand/Leia Organa vs Vel Sartha/Kleya Marki 47. Shaak Ti/Luminara Unduli vs Dormé/Padmé Amidala 48. Matthea Cathley/Oliviah Zeveron vs Koska Reeves/Fennec Shand 49. Jessika Pava/Karé Kun vs Bo-Katan Kryze/Breha Organa 50. Jyn Erso/Ahsoka Tano vs Rae Sloane/Elia Kane 51. Latts Razzi/Asajj Ventress vs Elia Kane/Koska Reeves 52. Bo-Katan Kryze/Padmé Amidala vs Reva Sevander/Trilla Suduri 53. Leia Organa/Evaan Verlaine vs Luminara Unduli/Asajj Ventress 54. Leia Organa/Sabine Wren vs Juhani/Bastila Shan 55. Kaydel Ko Connix/Jessika Pava vs Bo-Katan Kryze/Fennec Shand 56. Elia Kane/Karyn Faro vs Garsa Fwip/Fennec Shand 57. Ahsoka Tano/Morgan Elsbeth vs Ahsoka Tano/Trace Martez 58. Trilla Suduri/Merrin vs Padmé Amidala/Beru Whitesun 59. Juhani/Revan vs Mon Mothma/Breha Organa 60. Qi'ra/Enfys Nest vs Padmé Amidala/Mon Mothma 61. The Armorer/Ahsoka Tano vs Shara Bey/Evaan Verlaine 62. Padmé Amidala/Breha Organa vs Rae Sloane/Karyn Faro 63. Saché/Yané vs Bix Caleen/Cinta Kaz 64. Chelli Lona Aphra/Magna Tolvan vs Qi'ra/Ahsoka Tano 65. Leia Organa/Sana Starros vs Qi'ra/Jyn Erso 66. Padmé Amidala/Satine Kryze vs Kaydel Ko Connix/Paige Tico 67. Zeen Mrala/Lula Talisola vs Fennec Shand/Asajj Ventress 68. Peet Deretalia/Jessika Pava vs Merrin/Mosey Cimarron

ROUND THREE

69. Jyn Erso/Shara Bey vs Mon Mothma/Hera Syndulla 70. Captain Phasma/Bazine Netal vs Juhani/Belaya 71. Enfys Nest/Ahsoka Tano vs Chelli Lona Aphra/Hera Syndulla 72. Rae Sloane/Chelli Lona Aphra vs Mon Mothma/Tynnra Pamlo 73. The Jedi Exile/Visas Marr vs Leia Organa/Fennec Shand 74. Luminara Unduli/Shaak Ti vs Matthea Cathley/Oliviah Zeveron 75. Breha Organa/Bo-Katan Kryze vs Ahsoka Tano/Jyn Erso 76. Elia Kane/Koska Reeves vs Trilla Suduri/Reva Sevander 77. Asajj Ventress/Luminara Unduli vs Sabine Wren/Leia Organa 78. Kaydel Ko Connix/Jessika Pava vs Elia Kane/Karyn Faro 79. Morgan Elsbeth/Ahsoka Tano vs Padmé Amidala/Beru Whitesun 80. Juhani/Revan vs Qi'ra/Enfys Nest 81. The Armorer/Ahsoka Tano vs Rae Sloane/Karyn Faro 82. Bix Caleen/Cinta Kaz vs Qi'ra/Ahsoka Tano 83. Qi'ra/Jyn Erso vs Paige Tico/Kaydel Ko Connix 84. Asajj Ventress/Fennec Shand vs Peet Deretalia/Jessika Pava

ROUND FOUR

85. Jyn Erso/Shara Bey vs Captain Phasma/Bazine Netal 86. Ahsoka Tano/Enfys Nest vs Mon Mothma/Tynnra Pamlo 87. The Jedi Exile/Visas Marr vs Matthea Cathley/Oliviah Zeveron 88. Breha Organa/Bo-Katan Kryze vs Elia Kane/Koska Reeves 89. Asajj Ventress/Luminara Unduli vs Jessika Pava/Kaydel Ko Connix 90. Morgan Elsbeth/Ahsoka Tano vs Enfys Nest/Qi'ra 91. Karyn Faro/Rae Sloane vs Ahsoka Tano/Qi'ra 92. Paige Tico/Kaydel Ko Connix vs Peet Deretalia/Jessika Pava

ROUND FIVE

93. Enfys Nest/Ahsoka Tano vs Ahsoka Tano/Qi'ra 94. Jessika Pava/Kaydel Ko Connix vs Jessika Pava/Kaydel Ko Connix 95. Captain Phasma/Bazine Netal vs Morgan Elsbeth/Ahsoka Tano 96. The Jedi Exile/Visas Marr vs Breha Organa/Bo-Katan Kryze

ROUND SIX

97. Peet Deretalia/Jessika Pava vs The Jedi Exile/Visas Marr 98. Ahsoka Tano/Qi'ra vs Morgan Elsbeth/Ahsoka Tano

ROUND SEVEN

99. Match 97 Winner vs Match 98 Winner

[evolvingsidekick]

BD - winners where are they now (incomplete)

I think someone requested this somewhere

Most females and recent males because there are just too many to do rn

At companies:

Miriam Gittens (s2013): Gibney Company

Alyssa Allen (s2014): Ballets Jazz Montreal

Brianne Sellars (s2014): Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Ashley Green (s2015): Alvin Ailey American dance Theater

Payton Johnson (j2012, t2015, s2017): L.A. Dance Project

Vivian Ruiz (s2019): Ballet BC

Kelis Robinson (t2018, s2020): The Batsheva Dance Company; The Juilliard School

Kiarra Waidelich (m2016, j2018, t2020): Royal Flux Company

Quinn Starner (t2017): New York City Ballet Corps de Ballet

Emma Sutherland (j2014, t2016): MashUp Contemporary Dance Co.

Sarah Pippin (t2011): Ballet BC

Timmy Blankenship (s2017): Sydney Dance Company; choreographer

Brady Farrar (m2014, j2017, t2021): ABT Junior Company

Easton Magliarditi (t2020): Royal Flux Company

Graham Feeny (t2015): Artistic associate at Gibney Company

Logan Hernandez (t2015): Göteborgs Operans Danskompani

Zenon Zubyk (t2013): Nederlands Dans Theater

Jonathan Wade (j2011, s2016): Rambert Dance Company

Wyeth Walker (s2017): Rubberband Dance Company

Faculty/teacher/choreography:

Lucy Vallely (t2015, s2018): Broadway Dance Center, freelance choreographer

Jayci Kalb ( j2011, t2014, s2016): The Dance Centre; Radio City Clara 2010

Taylor Sieve (s2016): Jump Dance Convention

Jenna Johnson (s2012): DWTS pro, 24 Seven Dance Convention

Jazzmin James (t2012, s2015): faculty several intensives

Jaycee Wilkins (j2015): Club Dance Studio

Sophia Lucia (j2014): Dancelab OC

Brynn Rumfallo (m2014): Strive Dance Workshop (own project)

Talia Seitel (m2012): Project 21 (part-time)

Lex Ishimoto (t2014, s2016): Jump Dance Convention

at University/college:

Ellie Wagner (s2019): Ohio State University Dance Team

Ella Horan (s2021): USC Kaufman

Kayla Mak (m2014, s2021): The Juilliard School; Radio City Clara 2014, 2015

Brianna Keingatti (s2022): The Juilliard School

Julia Lowe (s2023): USC Kaufman

Ava Wagner (j2018): University of Minnesota Dance Team

Avery Gay (m2015, j2017): University of Arizona School of Dance

Leara Stanley (m2011): Duke University

Sam Fine (s2023): USC Kaufman; Young Arts 2022

Seth Gibson: The Juilliard School

Alex Shulman (s2022): New York University Tisch Dance

Joziah German (m2014, t2018, s2020): The Juilliard School

Joey Gertin (t2018): The Juilliard School

Professional dancer/choreographer:

Simrin Player (t2014, s2017): The Voice, Missy Elliot, Justin Bieber, RBD

Jaxon Williard (s2021): Rihanna, Madonna, Lil Nas X

D'Angelo Castro (j2012, t2016, s2019): DWTS troupe

Findlay Mcconnell (t2017, s2019): Tate McRace

Christian Smith (s2018): Tate McRae, NBC's Saved by the Bell

Keanu Uchida (s2014): Dancer the Musical; also a big advocate for protecting dancers and calling out inappropriate behaviour

Eric Schloesser (s2014): Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, J Balvin; choreographer, creative director, designer; Dana Foglia Dance Company

Other/a combo of things:

Bianca Melchior (s2011): actor, dancer, singer; Nick Jonas, Alessia Cara, own music; faculty at On The Floor dance competition

Tate McRae (m2013, j2015, t2018): singer/songwriter

Bostyn Brown (j2016, t2019): Professional assistant at DanceOne

Megan Goldstein (t2017); dancer, photographer

Christina Ricucci (t2013): actor, musician, dancer

Bella Klassen (j2017): The Space, vlogger

Kalani Hilliker (j2013): influencer, teaching at several places (Danceplex, MBA)

Elliana Walmsley (m2018): influencer, DWTS Junior, Radio City Clara 2019

Diana Pombo (m2016): singer/songwriter, dancer, actor; Young Arts voice 2023+2024

Morgan Higgins (t2016, s2018): dancer, aerialist

Zelig Williams (s2013):dancer/actor: MJ the Musical, Hamilton

Daniel Gaymon (s2011): dancer/actor; Broadway (Cats, The Lion King); Hamilton national tour, La La Land

Ricky Ubeda (t2011, s2012): choreographer, actor; Steven Spielberg's West Side Story

Michael Hall (s2015): Saturday Night Fever the Musical, tv dancer in Cairo, Egypt; teacher

Julian Elia (t2014): Steven Spielberg's Westside Story, working on the development of a new Broadway musical

Sage Rosen (t2016): influencer; DWTS Junior

Ryan Maw (j2015, t2017): choreographer, dancer, actor: High School Musical: The Musical - The Series

Holden Maples (j2016, t2019): dancer, teacher, choreographer

Competing/not graduated honorable mentions:

Cameron Voorhees (m2018, j2021, t2023): Evolve Dance Complex; starting career as a teacher/choreographer

Crystal Huang (m2019, j2021, t2023): The Rock Center for Dance, Bayer Ballet Academy; Prix De Lausanne 2024, Young Arts 2024, Radio City Clara 2021

Hailey Bills (m2017, t2022): Center Stage Performing Arts Studio, DWTS Junior

Brightyn Brems (m2017): DWTS Junior

Avery Hall (t2022): Danceology; Young Arts 2023

Savannah Kristich (t2021): The Rock Center For Dance; Twyla Now

Savannah Manzel (m2020): Larkin Dance Studio, Radio City Clara 2023

Kya Massimino (m2021): Radio City Clara 2023

Ian Stegeman (m2019, j2021, t2023): Woodbury Dance Center, Young Arts 2024

[cdyssey]

Tropes Draft #1: Apocalypse

Hi there! My friends @nakedmonkey, @smashingmagicklovely, @fat-fem-and-asian, and @harrietdyker played a game on Discord this week where we drafted a cast for a film based on common tropes in an apocalypse story, and now we're looking to settle a winner via poll! See short synopses of each movie under cut, but, of course, you're welcome just to vote based on vibes alone! At the end of the week, we'll reveal whose film was which.

[01.] sarah snook and ayo edebiri star in indie zombie drama ALL OF THE MEN ARE DEAD. snook plays alice, a world weary survivor trying to locate her younger sibling lachlan (liv hewson), who vanished after a fight. she rescues lost survivors brianna (ayo edebiri) and her younger sister lily (violet mcgraw), along with their dog tiger (DITTO THE DOG ! #1 on the call sheet) from a horde of zombies. In return, brianna says that she met lachlan a few weeks ago and directed them to the safe zone her mother zoya (sheryl lee ralph) leads before getting separated. she offers alice the same safety if they find their way back. despite her growing fondness for lily, alice can't shake a feeling of unease with her new companions. how does brianna know these lands so well? how did lily know alice's name? why did they leave the safe zone at all?

[02.] At Rainbow House, everyone is welcome and treated like family. At least, that’s what Eleanor Glass (Academy Award nominee Sigourney Weaver) and her wife Marcia (Academy Award winner Allison Janney) intended when they opened their LGBTQ youth center, which is under existential threat by the ominous corporation CTOA, headed by Maxwell Price (Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo). Now, in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, Eleanor and Marcia have made efforts to turn the center into a safe house for all those who lost everything. Alongside longtime program director Charlie (Academy Award winner Ian McKellen) and Eleanor’s street-smart protege Sunny (Emmy winner Zendaya), they work tirelessly to protect everyone - even as CTOA continues its efforts to dismantle the organization. But when Price and his daughter Ashlyn (Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega) show up seeking shelter, Eleanor and Marcia must choose between their commitment to welcoming everyone as equals and their fight with Maxwell Price. Sunny’s secret relationship with Ashlyn complicates matters further, not to mention the possibility that CTOA had more to do with this nuclear fallout than anyone could have expected. Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (Weaver), Everyone’s Inn is a bold tale about love, found family, and the secrets we keep.

[03.] The Letum Project: In a near distant future, the lethal Letum Virus that targets both the developmental and nervous systems simultaneously is turning victims into distorted, violent walking corpses, and is running rampant, dismantling societal infrastructures at a rapid pace and wreaking havoc on a global scale. A team of elite medical professionals, spearheaded by Dr. Freya Wright (Olivia Colman) and partner Dr. August Beck (Mads Mikkelsen), has been working tirelessly in an underground facility to find a cure for the past 10 months, but an unexpected death in the team brings into question what the motivation behind the project really is. Propelled by the mysterious and tragic death of her wife and fellow researcher, Allison Harris (Rebecca Hall), and the unexplained disappearance of friend and mentor, Dr. Amelia Bailey (Harriet Walker), Dr. Greta Harris (Dagmara Dominczyk) embarks on a rogue quest to find answers along with colleague and famed vascular neurologist, Gabrielle Gomez (Gina Torres). What they find above ground is a nightmarish scene; entire towns of infected people left to rot in now fenced zones, while survivors now live off of rationed food and essentials in a highly militarized state, the rich prioritized over the poor. But those aren’t the only truths Greta is forced to face. Allison and Gabrielle had been working alongside Amelia on a project they had kept from the rest of the team; a potential cure that might have been successful had Allison not found herself suddenly infected. Betrayed by the revelation, and now finding themselves hunted by Dr. Wright and Dr. Beck, Greta is left to wonder if there’s anyone left to trust. Aided only by sporadic morse code messages received through an old radio left to them by an anonymous source shortly before their escape from the facility, Greta and Gabrielle embark on a dangerous quest to find out.

[04.] Gödshead: A deadly virus has ravaged North America, leaving only sparse pockets of healthy populations behind in its wake: small towns and even smaller villages, family compounds, isolated homesteads surrounded by barbed wire fences. For years, former real estate agent Parker Kingston (Tawny Cypress) lived in such a protected home with her two daughters, the responsible Audrey (Jasmin Savoy-Brown) and the younger, far more rebellious Ryan (Amandla Stenberg), but the start of the film finds both Parker and Ryan reeling after a raider attack results in Audrey’s death and the sudden loss of their home. Grief-stricken, wounded, and utterly undone, mother and daughter must carry on anyway, taking sanctuary in a heavily walled village called Gödshead. Though their personal relationship is tumultuous, both Kingston women settle into something of a routine in the quaint village as they get to know its colorful denizens. They share a house with Dr. Hutchings (Paul Giamatti), a cantankerous but well-meaning history professor; Parker forges an intimate bond with Marnie Thompson (Samantha Sloyan), a kind if strangely fragile teacher who takes care of the village’s children while their parents work. They also get to know Mayor Willa Thompson (Frances McDormand), Marnie’s mother, whose stern but fair hand has ensured the village’s continued prosperity. But what exactly is the price of prosperity in an apocalypse? Parker and Ryan soon discover that there’s more to the village that lies beneath its seemingly peaceful surface—indeed that the trade-off for peace is a sacrifice that all citizens of Gödshead must be prepared to make. Winters are brutal in the mountains, and meat is scarce; there’s a lottery every winter in Gödshead, and everyone has a number.

[05.] The Sick: The zombie apocalypse did not end the world as we know it. Nobody knows how the infection works, who can pass it on and why, and what, exactly, it does to a person: they just know who is sick. They just know who to kill. When Claire (Romola Garai), an exhausted local news reporter, is assigned to report on Refuge, an organisation fighting to protect the hunted sick, she finds out her best friend, the good-hearted Raul (Diego Luna), has been a part of the organisation for months now, but she does not get to confront him about it before he strangely dies. Claire takes it upon herself to get his latest case, the young and funny Layla (Hunter Schafer) to safety in his honor. With the help of Raul’s boss, the eccentric Eddie (Ncuti Gatwa), they go on a cross-country journey towards the shelter built by Refuge. But on their way, Claire’s investigative tendencies can’t let go of the feeling that Eddie is hiding something, and Layla is getting sicker, worried for her companions’ safety around her. It’s a rest-stop encounter with Harper (Harriet Dyer) that gives Claire her answers and Layla the opportunity to protect her friends: a former colleague of Eddie, left to die by Eddie after getting infected, Harper, now part of a resistance organisation fighting for liberation of the sick, is out for revenge, but revenge is not as clear-cut a thing as people think. She tries to convince Layla to abandon Claire and Eddie’s shelter idea and join her, because Eddie can’t be trusted and Claire is too naive. And if Claire was not conflicted enough about the discovery, Raul’s cousin, the mysterious Mateo (Vico Ortiz), who blames Eddie for Raul’s death, is working with Harper, and tries to convince Claire to join the revolution, too, so she won’t die in it.

[auriel187]

The More Things Change. (S1 E9)

Word Count: 3479

Series Masterlist

A/N: If anyone doesn't like the fact that the oc is black, go away.

"We provide the colonists with all their finished manufactured goods. We deserve remuneration." Minkus says clearly.

"General Washington." Mr. Feeny turned over to Cory who was wearing a powdered wig.

"Fine. Keep your goods. Like we need your stinking British goods. We're American. We're independent. We'll get our goods from Japan." Cory raised his fist. I worry for him sometimes.

The class all laughed. I was drawing. I had drawn my friends in so many different ways. Shawn as an artist, Cory as a filmmaker. Shawn as a superhero, Cory as a mad scientist. Shawn as a photographer, Cory as a teacher. It was starting to garner some attention though, Cory kept trying to look over at my drawings. I had just started my sketch of Cory as a General. Shawn's gonna be a Sargent, I felt right in my bones.

"General, I'm dying for you to elaborate." Mr. Feeny deadpanned.

"What's the point, Mr. Feeny? We all know we kicked British butt." Cory threw his fist in the air.

"Winners and losers aside, General. If we do not understand history we are doomed to repeat its mistakes." Mr. Feeny explained. I often wonder how often things repeat themselves. Over the years, history seems like it was taking a step forward just to backtrack in a horrendous way.

"Oh, who cares about George Washington? Who cares about King George? Was every boring guy in history named George?" Cory exclaimed exasperatedly, before realizing what he said. "I meant every dead boring guy." He amended.

"Apparently, the past holds no fascination for you." Mr. Feeny stated, looking up at the boy.

"No. It's happened. It's done." I shifted in my seat. I understood both of their points of view but I didn't think anyone was thinking of the elephant in the room.

"It's history." Mr. Feeny said and I slowly lowered my head. Shawn kept looking over at me, either out of concern or curiosity.

"I'm saying. Perhaps we should study your history, Mr. Matthews." Our teacher said, looking at Cory expectantly.

"I have no history, Mr. Feeny. I'm eleven. I'm more interested in my future." Cory reasoned and I lowered my head even lower and continued sketching.

"Oh, well, then it might be more interesting for us to look into our futures to see if we can avoid our mistakes before they happen." Mr. Feeny explained as he stood up, then the classroom fell silent. I peered up slightly to see something that rarely ever happened. Shawn had his hand up. "Yes, Mr. Hunter?"

"Isn't that what we're doing anyways? Sunshine says that the things we learn in History are written by the people who want to control the world's precipitation." The blue eyed boy said calmly, causing everyone to look at him in shock. I didn't look at him like that though. I was just proud that he listened and understood what I had said while talking to Brianna.

"See! History is bogus! We're already working off of a faulty recipe, why not let us figure it out on our own?" Cory looked at our teacher. Mr. Feeny just smiled at Cory. Oh dear.

"Oh no, I smell an assignment." Shawn shrank in his seat.

"I swear, I didn't see it coming." Cory whined as he took his seat.

"The assignment for all of you is to create personal histories for yourselves as if you were returning for your 20th high school reunion." Mr. Feeny explained to the class and I looked at my drawings. I had no clue what I wanted to be.

"More like a preunion." Minkus said.

"Well said, Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny agreed. "You are the graduating class of the year 2000. What is your profession? Do you have children? Are those children tormenting their sixth-grade teacher?"

"Mr. Feeny, would it be oK if I brought my wife?" Minkus asked.

"Oh, come on, Minkus, what's going to marry you?" Shawn huffed out.

"Raven-Anniya!" Minkus sat up straighter. The class 'oohed'.

"No." I looked up from my drawing for a second.

"Oh please, you're smart enough to know I'm your only compatibility." Minkus tried to reason. Coercive of him but okay.

"Part of marriage has to be communication, consent and connectivity." I looked over at him with my 'logical face.' I've come to find that Minkus responds best to my logical face. "I've communicated my disinterest. I gave no consent and to be honest the only thing we got to connect is our above average intellect." I looked back at my sketchbook.

"You tell him, babe." Shawn ruffled my hair proudly.

"Then I'll bring my second wife." Minkus stated like it was simple.

"Cause the first wife worked out so well. What's marrying you this time?" Shawn asked, tossing a ball in the air.

"Topanga." Minkus bragged.

The class oohed again. She turned to him "Why, Stuart, I'm flattered that you would consider me as a potential life mate, but I'm not sure I even recognize the institution of marriage."

"Trust me, babe, I've seen the future... and it's me." Oh dear god!

"You're going to have HR on speed dial and a really good defence lawyer for each and every one of your misconduct allegations." I quipped, not looking up from my drawing.

+=+=+=+=+

I was still trying to think of what I wanted to be for the pre union. I kept drawing blanks, Shawn kept tossing things up but nothing really felt right. "Why not? You're already the smartest person I know."

"Puppy, I can't be a teacher! I can barely talk in school enough as it is." I shot it down.

"You can talk when you're passionate about something." He started playing with my hair.

"No I don't. I'm passionate about a lot of things, I just don't think most things out loud. When I do talk to the class, I just pretend I'm only talking to you and Cory.

"You pretend you're talking to me when you rip on Minkus and Topanga?" He spoke in disbelief. He was right.

"No...but I only say what no one else would say to them." Shawn moved to sit behind me as he tied up my hair. He had been working on doing twists in my hair. I'm not really sure why but he seemed really interested in styling my hair.

"I can't believe you." Cory took his seat, staring at Shawn and shaking his head. Larry took the seat next to him as he started eating his food.

"...What?"

"First you tell me you're going to show up as a tire salesman, and now you're braiding Raven-Anniya's hair?"

"That's what my dad does. And Sunshine's got great hair."

"So?" Cory looked at him like Shawn lost his mind.

"I know what to wear. I know how to use a pressure gauge. I can spot a retread from a mile away." Shawn turned my head to the side so he could do a crown hairstyle with the twists.

"Shawn, you're so boring." Cory shook his head in disappointment.

"And lazy." Shawn said proudly, starting to colour in the sketches I made earlier.

"How about you, Larry?" Cory asked the smaller boy seated across from me.

"I got an angle." He said ominously.

"Let's hear it." Cory encouraged, waving his hand.

"I'm going to be a sixth-grade teacher. Better yet, I'm going to be Feeny." Larry boasted. I rolled my eyes. He's not going to do well.

"Why?" Shawn asked.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of butt-kissing." Larry reasoned, and I must admit, he's not wrong.

"Wait a minute. Weren't we supposed to be what we wanted to be? I mean, you're going to grow up to be your dad... and you're going to grow up to be a Feeny clone. Am I the only one left here with some vision? Raven's probably just going to grow up to..." I knew where Cory was going with it. I was just glad he caught himself before he actually said it. Shawn quickly punched Cory in the arm.

"What are you going to go as?"

"Cory Matthews... center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies." I had to admit, that was probably the most hysterical thing I've ever heard in my life. Both Larry and Shawn seemed to agree, erupting in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "What are you laughing at?"

"You had 31 errors in Little League last season." Shawn explained, gasping for air.

"OK, so I didn't play up to my enormous potential. Come on, guys, let's be what we really want to be. Are we going to be men... or are we going to be men with boring jobs?"

"We're going to be men!" Larry exclaimed, and the boys started barking. Why were they barking? Suddenly Shawn went wide eyed and looked over at me.

"Sunshine, you can be Nina Simone!" The amount of things that shocked me with that statement was unbelievable.

"You know who Nina Simone is?" Shawn nodded quickly.

"She sings Black Bird! You could be her!" How did I forget Shawn's love for finding songs about black birds?

"I'm not following."

"You could be a famous person who calls attention to serious issues!" He looked at me with the biggest goofy grin on his face. He reached into his bag pulling out my superhero picture. "You could be a real life superhero, Sunshine."

+=+=+=+=+

Shawn and I played sandman in the park before he walked me home. I enjoyed the moments where we were just together and we didn't have to say anything, but the times we laugh and joke are my favourite. "So what are you doing for the Pre-Union?" I asked as Shawn carried me on his back. I kept tapping his shoulder so he'd avoid large cracks.

"I really don't know." He swung the door open, toeing off his shoes. I hopped off his back and put down our bags on the floor as I removed my shoes. "I was thinking of coming as a tire salesman."

We walked to the table and I gave him a plate of cookies. "I thought you said you were going to do something else." I started looking through old pictures until I saw one of my parents.

"Sunshine, are you..." He pulled my hand to see the picture. His eyes softened as he pulled me in for a hug. I'm pretty sure I was experiencing a breakdown because suddenly we were on the floor and Shawn's shirt was soaked from my tears. "I'm sorry, Raven." I don't know how long we stayed like this but he started to pull me back in my seat. "Here." He passed me a picture from a few years ago. I was smiling and dressed in my dance costume and my hair was in a low ponytail. This was before I put on the makeup.

"Thanks Shawnie." I smiled. He smiled back at me. "So...a tire salesman?"

"I think so, yeah." He shrugged. "I can see that in my future. Easy job, nice house...gorgeous wife." He lowered his head a bit when he said the last one. I started chuckling, planning on teasing him a bit.

"Who's gonna marry you?" I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.

"I don't know...I was thinking someone short, smart, witty, talented, know-it-all, bookish..."

"You know you just described Minkus right?" I started rocking on my chair.

"As I was saying, someone who makes me smile, who makes me feel like I'm more than just trailer trash..." the last one kinda made me sad. "Someone who tries to get me to do my homework with cake and who has the most amazing hair even though she doesn't let me see it in its natural state advocist artist." He finished and I laughed.

"The word is 'activist', Puppy, and I'd rather marry a garden gnome." I poked him in the forehead.

"You'd choose to marry Minkus over me?" He poked my forehead.

"No!" I cringed and began pushing my chair away. A devious smirk spread across his face.

"You said that the only way you could talk to people is if you imagine that you're talking to me and Cory..." I nodded slowly before he pulled my chair back. "Who're you going to imagine when you have to say I do?"

"I'm not going to marry you Puppy!"

"Please? I want to have a wife in the future."

"You do realize that this assignment has no real effects on our future, right?" I asked and he shrugged. Why do I even bother? Shawn got down on the floor and held up an old ring. "Where'd you get that?" I asked in awe and fear. It looked like a real stone encrusted in silver.

"My mom. She said she bought it with money from a dancing competition. I figured you'd like it." I smiled down at him.

"YOU STOLE A RING FROM YOUR MOM?!" I exclaimed. Shawn just laughed.

"Of course not. She was chucking a bunch of stuff and I asked if I could have this one. She said she didn't care." He explained. "I figured it'd be a great way to propose to my project wife."

"That's sweet, Pup." He smiled. "But I'm not marrying you for the project." He pouted but he smiled softly and slid the ring on my index finger. It was a bit loose but not enough to slide off my finger.

"I still think you should keep this." He stood back up and we continued working on our projects together.

+=+=+=+=+

I walked into class wearing a black turtleneck over my favourite blue bedazzled jacket. I held a magazine Shawn had made entitled "Modern Heroes" close to my chest and the glasses I wore on days I had tests.

"Ms. Archer, pleasure to see you after all these years." Mr. Feeny spoke jovially. I offered my hand for him to shake, something I rarely ever did because people's hands are disgusting

"Hello sir. It's been a while." I replied. I had rehearsed this last night so much that Tamara and Adam decided to play along.

"Yes, it has. How have things been? What have you been up to?" He asked.

I took a deep breath and said what I practiced with Cory. "I have spent the last ten years working with Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities to ensure that their voices are heard and not ignored by the public. As you know, the world has a tendency to put the voices of white males above everyone else's. I have worked tirelessly to fund searches for missing and murdered indigenous women. I have advocated my beliefs that those in non heterosexual relationships should be able to experience all of the same treatment of their heterosexual counterparts without discrimination and that more non straight, white, Christian narratives get told as regularly and freely through the media."

Mr. Feeny looked down with his brows raised. I'm not sure if he's impressed or not. "That's quite the portfolio, Ms. Archer."

"Thank you sir. Before I leave, would you be interested in signing my petitions?"

He smiled. "Of course. And what are we fighting for today?"

"I'm interested in composing a bill that prohibits the ability to inflate prices without ensuring that every citizen has equal or equitable access to basic human necessities such as food, housing, medicine and education." He signed that one with an agreeing nod.

"And the next one?" He asked, taking the second clipboard.

"That any and all prison inmates who have been wrongfully convicted, any family who's grieving the loss of a loved one due to police brutality, and any victim of violence (within proof and reason) will receive money from the untouched portion of American tax dollars." I stated.

"That's quite the mission. How do you think people are going to respond to that?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"Well, those who have something to gain from the victimization of these groups won't respond well. But they have to understand it's the system that made them victims, so it should be the system that should be charged." Mr. Feeny signed the next clipboard, not before adding a very large A to the top of my sheet.

"Bravo Ms. Archer. I'm excited to see what your future looks like." He smiled and turned away.

I was beaming, taking a seat by the door awaiting my boys. I was fiddling with the ring on my finger when Cory, dressed like a member of the Phillies, jogged into class. "Oh, Cornelius, you didn't." I cringed at him. "Why couldn't you choose to be a basketball player? You're good at basketball!" I whined.

"You think I'd end up over twelve feet tall?" He quipped back sarcastically and I had to concede because he was right. Allan was only about 5'10. Cory and I just sat and waited for Shawn as we read a Captain America comic. I really liked Bucky.

"Raven-Anniya? What's your obsession with Bucky Barnes?" Cory asked, seeing me completely skip over the scene where he dies.

"I just like him. He's one of my favourites." I answered and was about to continue reading when Shawn walked in.

"A tire salesman. I can't believe you came as a tire salesman."

"And muffler specialist."

"What's with the big gut?"

"My dad's fat, my uncle's fat, my grandpa's fat. Let's face it, Cor, I'm going to be fat."

Cory left Shawn and I to have a turn with Feeny. "So...look what I found." Shawn reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of us from many years ago. I remembered that day. When I was five, my mom and dad left for New York. I didn't really remember why but I did remember being sad because I was leaving my first friends from kindergarten. What I didn't remember until later, was that I not only used to live in Philadelphia but that I had met Shawn and Cory back when I pretended to be asleep at nap time.

+=+=+=+=+

1988

"Come on, Sweetie. You have to go inside." My dad was practically pushing me into the building. I was refusing to go back inside because of the day before. A girl had stuck a wad of gum in my hair and I was not interested in going back there.

"Hi Mr. Archer, Raven getting clingy?" My teacher asked and I glared at her. She made the executive decision to rip out my hair in order to get the gum. She then asked a kid to get her some scissors.

"She tried to cut me!" I pointed to her and her face went white. I wasn't the most articulate 4 year old. I also didn't understand the weight of an accusation like that but to be fair...you should never try to cut a child's hair to remove gum.

My teacher started laughing nervously. "What an active imagination your daughter has." She looked so uncomfortable.

I just looked at my dad and pointed to the small section of my hair that still had some remnants of the gum despite my best efforts to get it out. My mom said she'd cut it properly on the weekend. I guess she didn't tell my dad.

"Did you...try to cut her hair?" My dad asked, lifting me up.

"I was only trying to help. I suggested that I cut it out but she didn't want me to so I let it go." She said, almost pleading with my dad to believe her.

"But miss, you asked Cory to get you the scissors." A little boy stood at the door next to another curly haired boy.

When my dad put me down, the first boy walked up to me and looked in my hair. His friend looked up at my dad. "Use coke. It worked for me when my brother put gum in my hair." I remember my dad looking at these 2 boys then bursting out laughing.

"Okay, Ray. Daddy's gonna go now, but be good and make new friends." He pushed me into the boys before he pulled out his camera. I never understood why he walked around with it. "Now say CHEESE!"

+=+=+=+=+

Present day.

I looked at the Polaroid picture before turning it over. In my dad's handwriting. 'My baby's KG wedding.' I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Why do you have this?" Shawn peeked over my shoulder for a second.

"So I can show Feeny that we're married." He said before running to our teacher.

"SHAWN, NO!!!"

(A/N: Adding more backstory also Shawn being the chaotic child I believe him to be. Thanks for reading)

[pigtailpoll]

PIGTAIL POLL !! :D

currently running :

lily hoshikawa vs orange blossom

ICON BRACKET

miku hatsune vs usagi tsukino

ABOUT THA ICON BRACKET : tha eight most iconic pigtail characters ( decided both by iconicness and tha amount of submissions they received ) will compete in an adjacent bracket . tha winner will then face off against tha winner of tha main pigtail bracket . this is liek what they do in sports , where certain teams get to skip matches and go straight to tha finals . this way icons can be included but its more exciting ( and fair ) than watching them decimate their opponents each round before making it to tha finals anyways

entire 128 character bracket is too large to take a screenshot of but it looks liek this , and will ( obviously ) be done in sections . bracket list below tha readmore , straight down tha left side and then straight down tha right !! :D

LEFT SIDE

1 asa mitaka ( chainsaw man )

2 izumo kamiki ( ao no exorcist )

3 ashley spinelli ( reccess )

4 creepie ( growing up creepie )

5 bloody eye ( bloody mary )

6 boo ( monsters inc )

7 choso ( jjk )

8 muffet ( undertale )

9 sakura hanazono ( kaichou wa maid-sama )

10 mikan sakura ( gakuen alice )

11 shizuku mizutani ( my little monster )

12 retoree ( show by rock )

13 chiyo mihama ( azumanga diaoh )

14 maka albarn ( soul eater )

15 black rock shooter ( brs )

16 lyra ( pkmn )

17 jill ( drill dozer )

18 penny ( inspector gadget )

19 elizabeth midford ( kuroshitsuji )

20 anne halford ( sugar apple fairy tale )

21 lilie ( princess tutu )

22 jess ( badanamu )

23 yaya yuki ( shugo chara )

24 sana futaba ( magia record : pmm )

25 sana kurata ( kodomo no omocha )

26 makima kirameki ( re : creators )

27 cherry cookie ( cookie run )

28 twintelle ( ARMS )

29 bubbles utonium ( ppg )

30 yokune ruko ( UTAU )

31 entrapta ( she-ra and the pop )

32 ling xiaoyu ( tekken )

33 garu ( pucca )

34 sarasa watanabe ( kageki shoujo )

35 mio naganohara ( nichijou )

36 joon yorigami ( touhou )

37 eleanor miller ( alvin and the chipmunks )

38 gosalyn mallard ( darkwing duck )

39 mallow ( pkmn )

40 love momozono ( fresh precure )

41 nadeshiko kagamihara ( yuru camp )

42 angelica pickles ( rugrats )

43 gretchen grundler ( reccess )

44 lotta zehybe ( charlie and lola )

45 pinky cooper ( pinky and pepper forever )

46 brat plutonium ( ppg )

47 dynamo ( ppg )

48 jinmay ( super robot money team hyperforce go )

49 xinyan ( genshin impact )

50 miyuki hoshizora ( smile precure )

51 hu tao ( genshin impact )

52 sal fisher ( sally face )

53 natsuki mamiya ( gogo sentai boukenger )

54 dee dee ( dexter's laboratory )

55 princess morbucks ( ppg )

56 trixie carter ( american dragon jake long )

57 popuko ( pop team epic )

58 biscuit krueger ( hunter x hunter )

59 celestia ludenberg ( dangan ronpa )

60 kagami hiiragi ( lucky star )

61 juliet starling ( lollipop chainsaw )

62 ruru amour ( hug itto! precure )

63 aki narukami ( misao )

64 rabi en rose ( di gi charat )

RIGHT SIDE

65 brianna dulce ( rainbow high )

66 aria blaze ( mlp : equestria girls )

67 ame-chan ( needy girl overdose )

68 aoi kanzaki ( kimetsu no yaiba )

69 sylvia christel ( no more heroes )

70 ginger breadhouse ( ever after high )

71 kohane azusawa ( project sekai )

72 bronya zaychik ( honkai impact 3rd )

73 saki tenma ( project sekai )

74 riruka dokugamine ( bleach )

75 draculara ( monster high )

76 ichigo momomiya ( tokyo mew mew )

77 ann takamaki ( persona 5 )

78 yayoi takatsuki ( THE iDOLM@STER )

79 hana makihatayama ( ojamajo doremi )

80 nina sakura ( ultra maniac )

81 rise kujikawa ( persona 4 )

82 shushang ( honkai star rail )

83 mei kusakabe ( my neighbor totoro )

84 lily hoshikawa ( zombie land saga )

85 dj cookie ( cookie run )

86 pippi longstocking ( pippi longstocking )

87 pink ( mahou shoujo magical destroyers )

88 piper pinwheeler ( robots )

89 valerie amaranth ( magical warrior diamond heart )

90 twin turbo ( uma musume : pretty derby )

91 tart ( tokyo mew mew )

92 nagisa shiota ( assassination classroom )

93 drossel von flügel ( fireball )

94 najika kazami ( kitchen princess )

95 chinatsu kuramoto ( flying witch )

96 vendetta ( making friends )

97 sorano appare ( appare-ranman! )

98 sunny madison ( rainbow high )

99 jenny wakeman ( my life as a teenage robot )

100 barbara ( genshin impact )

101 nico yazawa ( love live! )

102 ichika usami ( kirakira precure a la mode )

103 ruli ( aikatsu planet!)

104 hay lin ( w.i.t.c.h )

105 teto kasane ( UTAU )

106 marnie ( pkmn )

107 robin ( f ) ( fire emblem awakening )

108 hikaru hoshina ( star twinkle precure )

109 hilda valentine goneril ( fire emblem : three houses )

110 falulu ( pripara )

111 kagura izumi ( ressha sentai toqger )

112 nico niiyama ( kiznaiver )

113 tsunade ( naruto )

114 lucia nanami ( mermaid melody pichi pichi pitch )

115 raki kiseki ( aikatsu on parade! )

116 ranmaru kirino ( inazuma eleven go! )

117 emiru aisaki ( hug itto! precure )

118 q84 ( hello charlotte )

119 nozomi tojo ( love live! )

120 klee ( genshin impact )

121 mimi valentine ( vtube )

122 gerti giggles ( spy kids )

123 kitty cheshire ( ever after high )

124 orange blossom ( strawberry shortcake )

125 miku imamura ( denji sentai megaranger )

126 agitha ( loz : twilight princess )

127 glenda ( petite princess yucie )

128 pepper ( pinky and pepper forever )

[amarimeta]

Girl Failures Bracket Overview

Round 1 (COMPLETED):

Brianna Hanson v Fleabag

Zelda Spellman v Ally McBeal

Melisandre v Shiv Roy

Kim Wexler v Selina Meyer

Blair Waldorf v Cersei Lannister

Luisa Alver v Lydia Rodarte-Quayle

Miriam Maisel v Nora Durst

Rebecca Welton v Sally Reed

Helly R. v Angela Martin

Lily Rhodes v Ava Daniels

Alexis Rose v Lindsay Bluth

Regina Mills v Madalena

Tahani Al-Jamil v Melanie Cavill

Alicent Hightower v Kara Danvers

Bree Van de Kamp v Jenny Schecter

Eleanor Shellstrop v Judy Hale

Winner's Bracket Round 1 (COMPLETED):

Fleabag v Zelda Spellman

Shiv Roy v Selina Meyer

Cersei Lannister v Luisa Alver

Helly R v Lily Rhodes

Midge Maisel v Rebecca Welton

Alexis Rose v Madalena

Tahani Al-Jamil v Alicent Hightower

Jenny Schecter v Eleanor Shellstrop

Loser's Bracket Round 1 (COMPLETED):

Brianna Hanson v Ally McBeal

Melisandre v Kim Wexler

Blair Waldorf v Lydia Rodarte-Quayle

Nora Durst v Sally Reed

Angela Martin v Ava Daniels

Lindsay Bluth v Regina Mills

Melanie Cavill v Kara Danvers

Bree Van de Kamp v Judy Hale

Winner's Bracket Round 2 (COMPLETED):

Fleabag v Shiv Roy

Cersei Lannister v Rebecca Welton

Helly R v Madalena

Tahani Al-Jamil v Eleanor Shellstrop

Loser's Bracket Round 2 (COMPLETED):

Brianna Hanson v Lily Rhodes

Kim Wexler v Alexis Rose

Blair Waldorf v Alicent Hightower

Nora Durst v Jenny Schecter

Ava Daniels v Zelda Spellman

Lindsay Bluth v Selina Meyer

Melanie Cavill v Luisa Alver

Judy Hale v Midge Maisel

Winner's Bracket Round 3 (COMPLETED):

Fleabag v Rebecca Welton

Madalena v Eleanor Shellstrop

Loser's Bracket Round 3 (COMPLETED):

Brianna Hanson v Kim Wexler

Alicent Hightower v Jenny Schecter

Zelda Spellman v Lindsay Bluth

Midge Maisel v Melanie Cavill

Loser's Bracket Round 4 (IN-PROGRESS):

Shiv Roy v Brianna Hanson

Cersei Lannister v Alicent Hightower

Helly R v Lindsay Bluth

Tahani Al-Jamil v Midge Maisel

Note: This is a double elimination bracket and a random number generator was used for seeding in the first round. All related posts will be tagged #girlfailurepoll so block if you so desire <3

[solarpunkmagazine]

2023 Art Contest Winners

Stoked to announce the winners of Solarpunk Magazine’s art contest! The contestants’ art pieces were judged by co-EICs Justine Norton-Kertson and Brianna Castagnozzi, creative director Hal Hefner, and artist Paul Lewin. Thank you to both our judges and our submitters for making the contest a success!

1. In first place is “Hand in Hand” by @fiovske:

2. Coming in second is “On Our Way” by H. Lee Messina:

3. Third is “Transported to a Solarpunk Future” by @/GOkapibara (Twitter):

Finally, a shout-out to an honorable mention, “Life in Beetopia” by Eugene Tizon:

Thank you again to those who had submitted their art. We urge all artists to submit their work during our open submissions calls available in detail on our website. A4-sized pieces may even be purchased as cover art!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🗞️📖 Bookish News - December Edition

🦇 Extra, extra. Read all about it! 📖 Good afternoon, bookish bats! A lot happened in the publishing industry last month, but here are a few highlights you may have missed!

Adaptations: 📖 Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms 🗞️ Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Piccolo 📖 Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 🗞️ Brianna Peppin's Briarcliff Prep 📖 Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben 🗞️ Geek Girl by Holly Smale 📖 Paddington (musical theater) 🗞️ The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 📖 My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows 🗞️ Heartstopper Season 3 📖 A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compestine 🗞️ My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak 📖 Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me 🗞️ They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera 📖 Pretty Little Liars: Summer School 🗞️ Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries

Cover Reveals: 📖 New Adventure in Space Opera by Jonathan Strahan 🗞️ Cally Fiedorek's Atta Boy has its cover 📖 Brandon Sanderson's The Sunlit Man - March 2024 🗞️ It's Elementary by Elise Bryant 📖 The Wilds by Sarah Pearse - July 16 🗞️ Nicola Yoon's first adult novel, One of Our Kind - June 11 📖 Sanctuary by Valentina Cano Repetto - April 2024 🗞️ Pretty by KB Brookins 📖 Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid - July 2024 🗞️ The Big Day by Aliya Ali-Afzal - June 6

Other News: 📖 Dhonielle Clayton is starting a new book packaging company, Electric Postcard Entertainment, focused on diverse reads 🗞️ Cassandra Clare's Kickstarter set a record for YA projects on the platform 📖 The winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards were announced 🗞️ Penguin Random House, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and other novelists are challenging Iowa's book banning law 📖 The Books Save Lives Act has been introduced by US Congress

[theultimatekotorcharacter]

The Unofficial Knights of the Old Republic Popularity Contest

Welcome to the Unofficial Knights of the Old Republic Fan Favorite Character Tournament!

This specific tournament is just covering the party members and player characters, however in the future might go through and do villains, fan favorite NPC’s, etc. Whoever wins will be crowned the tumblr crowds fan favorite! 

This is all organized and helmed by one person, myself, y’all can call me Captain (they/them pronouns for anyone wondering).

All matchups were randomly generated, as I felt doing the matchup’s myself would be waaay to biased. No matter what I did though there were going to be unfair matchups. Since a few of these characters are significantly more developed/significantly more popular than others. I would like to formally apologize to literally anyone going up against Revan, Canderous, HK-47, and Kreia, y’all got your work cut out for you.

There will be a wild card round pitting KOTOR 2’s HK-47, T3-M4, and Canderous/Mandalore against each other. As that was the only way I could get the brackets to be even. The winner of that round will go up against the winner of the KOTOR 2 bracket, and then the winner of that round will go up against the winner of the KOTOR 1 bracket.

Each round is going to last a week, as that is easier for me to manage at the moment. Though that is subject to change as the tournament continues.

Obligatory don’t take this too seriously. This is all something I whipped up for fun since I haven’t seen anyone else do a bracket with these guys yet. (and technically HK-47 is the “canonical” winner since he’s the one with the best character awards lol).

Matchups under the cut!

Round 1 Matchups for Knights of the Old Republic 1:

Matchup 1: Hk-47 Vs. Bastilla Shan | Winner: HK-47

Matchup 2: Mission Vao Vs. Jolee Bindo | Winner: Mission Vao

Matchup 3: Zaalbar Vs. Canderous Ordo | Winner: Canderous Ordo

Matchup 4: Juhani Vs. Carth Onasi | Winner: Junani

Round 1 Matchups for Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords:

Matchup 1: Visas Marr Vs. Bao-Dur | Winner: Visas Marr

Matchup 2: Atton Rand Vs. Brianna | Winner: Atton Rand

Matchup 3: The Jedi Exile Vs. Kreia | Winner: The Jedi Exile

Matchup 4: G0-T0 Vs. Mira | Winner: Mira

Round 1.5 Matchups for Knights of The Old Republic 1:

Matchup 1: Revan Vs. HK-47 | Winner: Revan

Matchup 2: T3-M4 Vs. Canderous Ordo | Winner: T3-M4

Round 1.5 Matchups for Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords:

Matchup 1: Hanharr Vs. Visas Marr | Winner: Visas Marr

Matchup 2: Mical Vs. The Jedi Exile | Winner: The Jedi Exile

Round 2 Matchups for Knights of The Old Republic 1:

Revan Vs. Mission Vao | Winner: Revan

T3-M4 Vs. Juhani | Winner: Juhani

Round 2 Matchups for Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords:

Visas Marr Vs. Atton Rand | Winner: Visas Marr

The Jedi Exile Vs. Mira | Winner: The Jedi Exile

Semifinal Matchups for Knights of The Old Republic 1:

Revan Vs. Juhani | Winner:

Semifinal Matchups for Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords:

Visas Marr Vs. The Jedi Exile | Winner:

Wildcard Round:

KOTOR 2 HK-47 Vs. KOTOR 2 T3-M4 Vs. Mandalore | Winner:

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

En nomine stade , et pele et spiritus mane.. garrincha

thank you nwsl, the college draft is one of the most financially and organizationally corrupt while perfectly legal actions in usa sports

totally criminal in nature and essense

ARTICLE

The NWSL is scrapping its collegiate draft because it's the only sports league out there with sense Story by Mike D. Sykes This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time. Folks, somebody has finally done it. There's a league out there who finally had enough courage to say, "You know what? We don't need a stinkin' draft!"

It's the NWSL.

The burgeoning soccer league unveiled its new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday morning, with changes that I'd argue make it the most pro-labor CBA in sports today. But the biggest change was this: Eliminating the collegiate draft.

Like most American sports, the NWSL brought in talent through a draft system. Like most other drafts, the selection order was based on team record at the end of the previous regular season. The worst teams pick first.

Now, players entering the NWSL will enter free agency immediately upon entering the league and pick their teams, as they should. This is how it's supposed to work, folks!

Look, I know you're probably bristling at what I'm saying here. We love our drafts. They're great theater! Leagues like the NFL, NBA and NHL essentially turn them into pageants for us all to consume and we eat it up.

From the countless super-early mock drafts to the scouting combines that can get creepy and uncomfortable to the ceaseless reporting on rookie workouts and team trade negotiations, we lap it all up.

All that aside, the NWSL had to do this. The league was losing out on talent to leagues worldwide that didn't have drafts. This and other pro-player provisions in the CBA should theoretically curtail that.

Plus, drafts are unfair to players. That's not how entering the workplace should be, right?

I could bore you here by discussing the free market principles drafts violate, but I won't.

Instead, imagine this: You graduate from college at the top of your class. You're on your way into the world and ready to go to the coolest company you've been looking at. It's located in a city you've dreamed of living in for a long time.

But, surprise! You get a phone call from another company. Definitely not a cool one. But they just drafted you. Get ready to learn not-cool-company, buddy. That's where you're headed. It's not over. On top of that, you have to talk about how it's a dream come true to work at this precious company you had no desire to work for yesterday.

I'm sure some of you will yell at me about how this impacts parity in sports and how bad teams will never be good again because all the good players will already go to the good teams. But that's not exactly true!

Different players have different desires. Some players will want to play for good teams, sure. But not every good team has enough playing time available for you.

For example, Brianna Pinto of the North Carolina Courage told Vanity Fair that she may not have gone to Gotham FC if she had the choice as a rookie because she didn't get enough playing time.

“Maybe there were other opportunities to get on the field right away,” she said. Those are the things incoming rookies will have to make decisions on and those decisions won't always lead to stacking the decks on a particular team.

Sometimes, it might! But, in the end, it's the player's choice. And that's what matters most. Shoutout to the NWSL for recognizing that.

The rest of the American sports leagues should pay attention. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/the-nwsl-is-scrapping-its-collegiate-draft-because-it-s-the-only-sports-league-out-there-with-sense/ar-AA1pfMuV?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=TBTS&cvid=05fe2e58b21d49bf9745baedd7c21591&ei=59

IN AMENDMENT collective bargaining agreement of the nwsl is arguably the most pro labor in usa sports, even over legendary baseball https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/national-womens-soccer-league-agreement-draft#:~:text=Under%20the%20new%20CBA%2C%20which,choose%20which%20team%20they%20join.

#rmsoccer

[kicksaddictny]

CAT Footwear Returns to Its Roots with Construction School Initiative // 2024

CAT Footwear, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) and the official footwear licensee of Caterpillar, is thrilled to announce the return of its highly anticipated "Back to Construction School" program for 2024. This initiative marks the second year of CAT Footwear's impactful partnership with Caterpillar Inc.’s ThinkBIG program, which is dedicated to celebrating and supporting students pursuing careers in the trades.

With a growing shortage of students entering construction careers, CAT Footwear’s collaboration with the ThinkBIG program is more vital than ever. “Our partnership with Caterpillar Inc.'s ThinkBIG program is essential to our mission of helping bridge the gap in the skilled trades workforce,” said Dit Vannouvong, Senior Director of Marketing at CAT Footwear. “Through this program, our teams are proud to uplift, inspire, and educate the next generation of students pursuing careers in skilled trades.”

Building on the success of last year’s program, CAT Footwear is shining a spotlight on five exceptional students from the ThinkBIG program to inspire others considering a career in the trades. In a new initiative for this year, CAT Footwear will be donating 5% of sales from every Colorado Equip boot sold on Catfootwear.com during August to the ThinkBIG Caterpillar Technician Academy, further supporting students entering the trades.

This year’s featured students include:

Aurelio Resa – Starting the ThinkBIG program this fall.

Cale Mouser – Winner of the SkillsUSA National Diesel Engine competition.

Justan Beach – Recent graduate of the ThinkBIG program with a 4.0 GPA.

Brianna Fizer – A second-year student in the ThinkBIG program.

Noah Aweau – Another second-year student in the ThinkBIG program.

These students have demonstrated excellence in their fields, and CAT Footwear is proud to amplify their stories on a national level through its social media channels. The goal is to provide real-life inspiration and visuals to other students considering a career in the trades.

Additionally, CAT Footwear will be hosting a Signing Day event with national retailer WSS on August 13th during the ThinkBIG student orientation at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA. This event will celebrate and honor first-year students from Holt, Quinn Peterson, and Hawthorne Cat Dealerships who have chosen to pursue careers in the skilled trades.

To learn more about CAT Footwear's "Back to Construction School" campaign, visit catfootwear.com and follow on Instagram: @catfootwear.

[abyyrosee]

Day one of intramuals was fun,because ate xyza was singing (raining in manila) it was so fun,and ate sophia was singing (party in the usa)it was the best cause ate sophia has really good voice and ate ching too, she was singing (come inside of my heart) and thats all,then the golden flames and lightning jamz was playing basketball then the golden flames was the winner and the mvp was timothy he was really good but lightning jamz lose but its okay respect your teams no matter what! Day two of intramuals was good too and i was really tired and the winner of the singles (badminton) was ehsan he was in the first place and the second place was sky then lastly hans was in the third place, im proud of them,keep the good work ehsan,sky and hans! Last day of intramuals was the best! first they were doing the candidates and all the candidates was lightning jamz and we are the winner im so proud of them! It was seth,ate venice,sean vincent,and brianna keep the good work guys, and lastly we did our cheerdance first was the golden flames then lightning jamz and teacher marriane was announcing the winner and then.................The winner of the intramuals 2023 is LIGHTNING JAMZZ!! The End.

[pigtailpoll]

BRACKET FINALLY DONE !!

bracket finally sorted , 128 characters ( out of over 500 submissions ) . i tried to make things as even as possible , but some pairings are a little lopsided because unfortunately things dont match up ideally liek that irl ^^;;

most ppl wanted to either include iconic characters or have them in an adjacent bracket . i agree that you cant have a pigtail poll and NOT include these icons , but i also agree that its not very exciting to have them in tha main race -- liek , you know theyre just gonna crush all tha little guys and make it to the end . so what we'll do is have tha eight most iconic pigtail wearers ( decided by highest number of submissions and also liek . generally popularity / we know theyre icons ) compete in their own bracket against eachother , and tha winner of THAT bracket will face off tha winner of tha main bracket in a final showdown . so basically this'll be liek what they do in real sports ( or so im told lol ) , where certain teams will get to skip some matches and move straight to tha finals

i cant zoom out far enough to take a screenshot of the bracket , it physically wont let me ( i used bracketfights dot com on desktop because it kept crashing on mobile ) . so i will put the pairings in order , going straight down the left side and then straight down the right side , in a bracket that looks like this ( ill purrobably edit this template with the names later but its almost 3 am and im dead tired , i just wanted to post tha update orz )

LEFT SIDE

RIGHT SIDE

1 asa mitaka ( chainsaw man ) 

2 izumo kamiki ( ao no exorcist ) 

3 ashley spinelli ( reccess )  

4 creepie ( growing up creepie ) 

5 bloody eye ( bloody mary ) 

6 boo ( monsters inc )

7 choso ( jjk ) 

8 muffet ( undertale ) 

9 sakura hanazono ( kaichou wa maid-sama ) 

10 mikan sakura ( gakuen alice ) 

11 shizuku mizutani ( my little monster ) 

12 retoree ( show by rock ) 

13 chiyo mihama ( azumanga diaoh )

14 maka albarn ( soul eater )

15 black rock shooter ( brs )

16 lyra ( pkmn ) 

17 jill ( drill dozer ) 

18 penny ( inspector gadget )

19 elizabeth midford ( kuroshitsuji ) 

20 anne halford ( sugar apple fairy tale ) 

21 lilie ( princess tutu ) 

22 jess ( badanamu ) 

23 yaya yuki ( shugo chara ) 

24 sana futaba ( magia record : pmm ) 

25 sana kurata ( kodomo no omocha ) 

26 makima kirameki ( re : creators ) 

27 cherry cookie ( cookie run ) 

28 twintelle ( ARMS ) 

29 bubbles utonium ( ppg ) 

30 yokune ruko ( UTAU ) 

31 entrapta ( she-ra and the pop ) 

32 ling xiaoyu ( tekken ) 

33 garu ( pucca )

34 sarasa watanabe ( kageki shoujo )  

35 mio naganohara ( nichijou ) 

36 joon yorigami ( touhou ) 

37 eleanor miller ( alvin and the chipmunks ) 

38 gosalyn mallard ( darkwing duck ) 

39 mallow ( pkmn ) 

40 love momozono ( fresh precure )

41 nadeshiko kagamihara ( yuru camp ) 

42 lotta zehybe ( charlie and lola ) 

43 gretchen grundler ( reccess ) 

44 angelica pickles ( rugrats ) 

45 pinky cooper ( pinky and pepper forever ) 

46 brat plutonium ( ppg ) 

47 dynamo ( ppg ) 

48 jinmay ( super robot money team hyperforce go ) 

49 xinyan ( genshin impact ) 

50 miyuki hoshizora ( smile precure ) 

51 hu tao ( genshin impact )

52 sal fisher ( sally face ) 

53 natsuki mamiya ( gogo sentai boukenger )

54 dee dee ( dexter's laboratory )  

55 princess morbucks ( ppg ) 

56 trixie carter ( american dragon jake long )   

57 popuko ( pop team epic ) 

58 biscuit krueger ( hunter x hunter ) 

59 celestia ludenberg ( dangan ronpa ) 

60 kagami hiiragi ( lucky star ) 

61 juliet starling ( lollipop chainsaw ) 

62 ruru amour ( hug itto! precure ) 

63 aki narukami ( misao ) 

64 rabi en rose ( di gi charat ) 

65 brianna dulce ( rainbow high )

66 aria blaze ( mlp : equestria girls )

67 ame-chan ( needy girl overdose )

68 aoi kanzaki ( kimetsu no yaiba )

69 sylvia christel ( no more heroes )

70 ginger breadhouse ( ever after high )

71 kohane azusawa ( project sekai )

72 bronya zaychik ( honkai impact 3rd )

73 saki tenma ( project sekai )

74 riruka dokugamine ( bleach )

75 draculara ( monster high )

76 ichigo momomiya ( tokyo mew mew )

77 ann takamaki ( persona 5 )

78 yayoi takatsuki ( THE iDOLM@STER )

79 hana makihatayama ( ojamajo doremi )

80 nina sakura ( ultra maniac )

81 rise kujikawa ( persona 4 )

82 shushang ( honkai star rail )

83 mei kusakabe ( my neighbor totoro )

84 lily hoshikawa ( zombie land saga )

85 dj cookie ( cookie run )

86 pippi longstocking ( pippi longstocking )

87 pink ( mahou shoujo magical destroyers )

88 piper pinwheeler ( robots )

89 valerie amaranth ( magical warrior diamond heart )

90 twin turbo ( uma musume : pretty derby )

91 tart ( tokyo mew mew )

92 nagisa shiota ( assassination classroom )

93 drossel von flügel ( fireball )

94 najika kazami ( kitchen princess )

95 chinatsu kuramoto ( flying witch )

96 vendetta ( making friends )

97 sorano appare ( appare-ranman! )

98 sunny madison ( rainbow high )

99 jenny wakeman ( my life as a teenage robot )

100 barbara ( genshin impact )

101 nico yazawa ( love live! )

102 ichika usami ( kirakira precure a la mode )

103 ruli ( aikatsu planet!)

104 hay lin ( w.i.t.c.h )

105 teto kasane ( UTAU )

106 marnie ( pkmn )

107 robin ( f ) ( fire emblem awakening )

108 hikaru hoshina ( star twinkle precure )

109 hilda valentine goneril ( fire emblem : three houses )

110 falulu ( pripara )

111 kagura izumi ( ressha sentai toqger )

112 nico niiyama ( kiznaiver )

113 tsunade ( naruto )

114 lucia nanami ( mermaid melody pichi pichi pitch )

115 raki kiseki ( aikatsu on parade! )

116 ranmaru kirino ( inazuma eleven go! )

117 emiru aisaki ( hug itto! precure )

118 q84 ( hello charlotte )

119 nozomi tojo ( love live! )

120 klee ( genshin impact )

121 mimi valentine ( vtube )

122 gerti giggles ( spy kids )

123 kitty cheshire ( ever after high )

124 orange blossom ( strawberry shortcake )

125 miku imamura ( denji sentai megaranger )

126 agitha ( loz : twilight princess )

127 glenda ( petite princess yucie )

128 pepper ( pinky and pepper forever )

[fentw]

SURVIVOR GUATEMALA - BRANTSTEELE EDITION

Link: https://brantsteele.com/survivor/11/r.php?c=ZsnpYY0X

Cindy Hall Winner Finalist 4 Votes To Win

Judd Sergeant 2nd Place Finalist 3 Votes To Win

Margaret Bobonich 3rd Place Juror 1 Vote

Danni Boatwright 4th Place Juror 2-2 Vote 1-1 Revote Tiebreaker

Brooke Struck 5th Place Juror 4-1 Vote

Amy O'Hara 6th Place Juror 3-2-1 Vote

Jonathan Libby 7th Place Juror 4-2-1 Vote

Jamie Newton 8th Place Juror 5-2-1 Vote

Gary Hogeboom 9th Place Juror 7-2 Vote

Morgan McDevitt 10th Place Pre-Juror 6-4 Vote

Jim Lynch 11th Place Pre-Juror 4-1 Vote

Blake Towsley 12th Place Pre-Juror 4-3 Vote

Rafe Judkins 13th Place Pre-Juror 5-1 Vote

Mia Galeotalanza 14th Place Pre-Juror Medevaced

Brandon Bellinger 15th Place Pre-Juror 6-2 Vote

Lydia Morales 16th Place Pre-Juror 5-2 Vote

Brian Corridan 17th Place Pre-Juror 4-4 Vote 3-3 Revote Rocks Drawn

Brianna Varela 18th Place Pre-Juror 5-4 Vote

DANNI WAS ROBBED!!

[steelcityreviews]

Director: Lucia Crespo and James Allen (The Plot Hole Company)

Playwright: James Allen

Performers: Devin France, Allison Dickey, Kyle Billie, Harry Chapman Darlington, Matt Moore, Stephanie Allen

Additional Artists: Brianna Seferiades (Costume Design), Kyle Billie (Sound Design)

It’s a big night at the failing comedy club The Chuckle Hut. Tom, the club owner, has been able to book famous hometown comedian Topher Michael Richards. But there is more to this night than just comedy. Tom has also organized an intervention for fellow comedian Dave whose drug use is spiraling out of control. Can this group of comedians work together to save the club and help their fellow comic? That's what this crude yet strangely endearing comedy brings to the Player's Guild in The Green Room. 

Winner of the FringeXchange Disability Justice Artist (to learn more visit: https://hftco.ca/apply-to-the-fringe/), the combination of writing and directing talents of James Allen and Lucia Crespo excel at showing the behind the scenes of life of aspiring comics. James' previous Digital Fringe submission, The Container, won the popular vote of the Audience Choice Award in 2021. This year, The Green Room is a strong contender for that same award and it definitely deserves it.

The show has some genuinely hilarious moments throughout with a standout performance from Matt Moore as eager, bumbling and preciously pathetic Barry who is willing to go the limit to get his 5 minutes of fame. He stands out against the other hardened, bitter comics who are more willing to buy each other off or steal each other's material than work collaboratively. Chaos eventually ensues, and the ending, while unexpected, is a triumph.

The pacing, dialogue, and comedic timing is incredibly strong and the cast is a delight to watch. Everyone plays off one another with a natural ease and the audience is receptive with loud, appreciative laughter. Crass humour isn’t for everyone but The Green Room’s crass has enormous heart at its core which helps make this one a must-see at this year’s Fringe. Don’t miss it!  

Director: Lucia Crespo and James Allen Playwright: James Allen

Performers: Devin France, Allison Dickey, Kyle Billie, Harry Chapman Darlington, Matt Moore, Stephanie Allen

Additional Artists: Brianna Seferiades (Costume Design), Kyle Billie (Sound Design)

Event Details

Price: $12

Venue: Player’s Guild of Hamilton, Queen St N

Genre: Theatre—Comedy, Theatre—Drama

Duration: 60 mins

Warnings: Sexual Content, Coarse Language, Other

Audience Suitability: 18+

For tickets, please visit: https://hftco.ca/events/the-green-room/

[angrywrasslenerd]

The Angry Wrasslin’ Nerd’s Wrassleviews: Aftermath 2023

Aftermath is traditionally the biggest show on the SWA calendar, the big "season finale" where everything comes together. Tournament winners challenge champions,  blood feuds culminate, hatchets are buried, and new chapters begin, both for wrestlers and for the promotion itself. This is the most exciting time of year to be an SWA fan.

At least, that's the idea. If you've been an SWA fan as long as I have, you start to notice that sometimes, Aftermath fucking sucks. Sometimes the challengers are unexciting, the matches are unsatisfying, and everything just feels like it's in a holding pattern waiting for the fresh blood that typically comes between Aftermath and Emergence. So, where did 2023's show land us? Was this an exciting climax to the year? Or a mammoth-sized turd in the punch bowl? Let's get right to it.

Connor Cipris, Lina, Shannon Fulmar, and Regina Ibanez vs. Aaron Wolff, Valkyrie Jameson, Brianna Dalton, and Raven Briars

I've said my piece a number of times about these pointless low-card tag clusterfucks. They don't move anything forward, and they're just there to get names on the card and fill out matches. The scale for them usually goes from "ASS" to "Meh".

That said, for what this was, it was decent enough. Lina and Valkyrie, in particular, were highlights of the match, and Lina continues to show off her now-legendary toughness every chance she gets. This woman does not wrestle like someone who wants to still be walking in 5 years, let alone wrestling, and fuck me if it isn't entertaining as hell. Every feat of strength Valkyrie could pull off, every crushing lariat or devastating slam, Lina got right back up and asked for more.  This feud has legs, and managed to drag what would otherwise be another dull tag clusterfuck right up into decent territory. If only they would get time for a singles match on a PPV. I seriously don't get what SWA management's deal is regarding Lina the last few years. 44 really isn't that old, and when she's still going at a level like this, why the ass aren't they featuring her more?

The rest of the match was... well, it was fine I guess. Everyone looked good, and nothing stood out as bad. But I was always just waiting for Lina and Valkyrie to get back in the ring. The BHB team emerged victorious when Connor and Shannon both locked in their big submission finishers on Aaron Wolff at the same time (which looked fuckin' vicious by the way), and that was that.

The Nerd's Rating: Watchable/10

El Rey Dorado, Fabio Silva, and Javier Valiente vs. Chad Jackson, El Halcon Loco Jr., and Kara Stern

I don't think Javier Valiente really fits in Los Diablos. Sure, he's a bit of a prankster, but he just doesn't have the kind of inherent shitheadedness that the rest of the faction does. Any time he was in the ring, this was almost a normal wrestling match, with a few shenanigans and pranks here and there. Comparing it to what was going on when El Rey Dorado or Fabio motherFUCKING Silva (who was back to the ring earlier than I expected goddammit) was in the ring reminded me why I used to fuckin' hate these guys so much. Referee misdirections, double-teaming, bullshit on the outside, this match was a greatest hits of Los Diablos' most hatable crap, right down to a completely needless beatdown on Chad Jackson after they'd already won, a beatdown that I note Javier didn't participate in. Don't be surprised if he drifts away from the faction in the coming months.

The Nerd's Rating: Ugh/10

Armel St. Martin and Hanami Watanabe vs. Jake Adair and Lexi Heart

This one should've been a banger. Hanami Watanabe and Lexi Heart's dislike for each other isn't fading at all with time, and they were quite eager to beat the shit out of each other here. Meanwhile, Armel St. Martin seemed motivated to take down Jake Adair after losing to him in the World Open, and Jake actually pulled some rarely-seen anger out of Armel. Jake was quick to tag in when Hanami was in the ring, but just as quick to tag out whenever Armel came after him, and that frustration on Armel's part boiled over into some of the nastiest strikes we've ever seen him throw. Meanwhile, Lexi steadily got tired of Jake's shit because she wanted to be the one fighting Hanami. This led to blind tags and argument on that side of the ring, which Armel and Hanami took advantage of to secure the win.

Jake's bullshit really weighed this match down. He can be a great wrestler when he puts his working boots on, and he's spent years trying to live down his 2018 Inside Wrasslin' "Most Hated Man in Wrestling" award, so you'd think he wouldn't stoop to this shit. Maybe he's afraid of Armel's vengeance after that roll-up win over him in the World Open, but c'mon man it's Aftermath. Get your shit together.

The Nerd's Rating: Disappointing/10

Jim Tarler and Tess Tarler vs. Tommy Powers and Olivia Powers

I'm usually one of the first to complain about nostalgia acts getting big PPV spots, but to be honest, this was actually pretty good. The Powers' had their game faces on, and were dead-set on trying to isolate the 65-year-old Jim Tarler, but he was having none of it. Both sides made frequent tags, and both sides worked together well, with frequent double-team maneuvers and last-moment pin breakups.

The Tarlers really impressed me in this match. Jim fought like hell, and if it weren't for his appearance, you'd be forgiven for mistaking him for a younger man. Tess coordinated well with her grandfather, pulling off matched moves with him, or doing the old signature spots that he can't do anymore. Which is good, because I don't know about you, but I don't fuckin' need to see a 65 year old man doing diving elbows and probably breaking something in my wrestling. Anyway, the Tarlers finally gave the crowd something to really get loud about, and the double Blast Bomb finish was exactly what we needed after a mostly unimpressive undercard.

After the bout was over, Tess grabbed a house mic and teased that she might come back at some point in the future. As I understand it, she's still considering contracts from multiple organizations, and has a busy schedule of matches for a variety of promotions in the coming months. I'll be watching with interest to see where she lands.

The Nerd's Rating: Palate-Cleansing/10

Matt de Leon vs. Aguijon Tachibana

Sometimes, all you need is some motherfucking lucha libre. The Tarlers' match aside, this show had been pretty tepid up to this point, and what we really needed was something to up the pace and really get us to care. Leave it to these two guys to deliver exactly that. The first ten minutes or so of this match were just pure lucha, with lightning-fast hold exchanges, technical pin attempts, and a good dose of high-flying as well. Though I guess the rest of the match was also pure lucha in its own way, as they got steadily more pissed off and brought out the heavy striking. This may have been a mistake on Matt's part, as Aguijon is a more adept kicker than him, and was quick to show this fact off with some absolutely blistering examples. Matt held his own, though, and actually pissed Aguijon off enough with his own kicks that Aguijon went and got a chair. Referee Nadine Mathis tried to talk Aguijon down, until Matt solved the issue by dropkicking the chair into Aguijon's face, where it then flew out of the ring.

Overall, Aguijon fought well, and surprisingly clean, sneaky little fucker that he is, other than the chair. However, Matt's momentum was just undeniable, and after 19 minutes of non-stop action, Aguijon simply didn't have an answer for Matt's Phoenix Splash.

Some of the miserable fuckers that like to clog up my social media feed will probably say that this being my MotN is more a comment on the quality of the overall show than the match itself, but honestly this would've been a pretty great match on any card, and past this point, it was all pedal to the metal anyway. Congratulations to the new Aftermath Champion; with a performance like that, it's richly deserved.

The Nerd's Rating: Fucking Perfection/10

Gold-Blooded vs. The Divine Imperium

I think this is the match that we'll remember as when the cracks started to show for The Divine Imperium. Don't get me wrong, it's not like their act is getting any less funny. But tonight they came as close as they ever have to losing the tag-team championships. Gold-Blooded are just too tight a team to be going up against them without cohesion, something that, as I've mentioned, The Divine Imperium are seriously lacking.

This match ultimately came in kind of a weird place, squished between two absolute killer singles matches. It wasn't bad, and was certainly better than the tepid undercard, but it suffered for being sandwiched between two matches that were far better. Once it was clear that they were actually under serious threat, Akiko and Mizuki did what disciples of Samael do best: They resorted to being absolute monsters. Of course, Cerise and Leticia being members of Los Diablos, they're no strangers to a good old fashioned street fight themselves. You can imagine how things went from there.

I'd say a good half of this match took place outside of the ring, and even when it was inside, things were in full-bore anything goes mode. Tables were broken, chairs were smashed over heads, turnbuckle pads were removed, kendo sticks were produced from somewhere, and while I don't speak Portuguese or Japanese, I'm pretty sure that whatever Leticia was screaming at the top of her lungs violated some kind of broadcast standard somewhere. Referee Nadine Mathis visibly gave up trying to keep any of this under control, and was just content to count the final fall. After all was said and done, The Divine Imperium squeaked one out here, but they clearly underestimated their opponents' capacity for violence, and were on the back foot for a decent portion of the proceedings.

The Nerd's Rating: Violentastic/10

Mieko Suzuyama vs. Gabriela Espinosa

These two are a known quantity at this point, with a number of matches against each other over the last several years. Familiarity can be a double-edged sword for a matchup; while two opponents who know each other well can build up a series of counter-plays that make for exciting matches, a matchup can also just get stale over time because we've seen all this shit before.

Thankfully, this was a different set of circumstances than we've ever seen before for these two women. Since the last time they locked up, Gabriela became Joshi Champion for the first time in her career, and she was as motivated as I've ever seen to hold onto her gold at any cost. Mieko, meanwhile, has been three years away from the title at this point, and it was clear that every day away from the title scene had been eating her up. The match we got from that peculiar alchemy was pure asskickery, only narrowly edged out in my consideration for Match of the Night by the Aftermath Championship match. And sure, Gabriela pulling out all the stops meant a bunch of sketchy rollups, feet on the ropes, all that shit, but when the intensity is this high, and when Mieko absolutely was not having that shit for even a second, and rewarded every shenanigan with pain, I can't be too mad about it (even if the amount of cheating bullshit is a decent part of why I didn't make this my MotN).

When her bag of tricks ran out, though, that's when Gabriela really kicked things into gear and this match got serious. Vicious kicks and chops flew back and forth wtih abandon. Gabriela was jumping off of every surface she could to add momentum to her attacks. Mieko pulled out her old Miracle Third finisher for a near-fall. Both women locked each other in signature holds and I swear I thought it was over a bunch of times. Finishers were countered. By the time Mieko finally managed to nail the Final Hidden Miracle to lift the Joshi Championship for the third time, I was exhausted just from watching.

The Nerd's Rating: Damn near perfect/10

Kazuo Saji vs. Ultimo Cielo

I had really high expectations going into this match. Ultimo Cielo has been steadily growing on me over the last year, producing some really excellent title defenses. Meanwhile, Kazuo Saji has never looked so focused in SWA. Kazuo had an absolutely incredible goddamn World Open this year, putting in tons of match time, giving amazing performances, and of course getting his first ever singles victory over Armel St. Martin. Given Cielo calling that he would be the first SWA Openweight Champion to ever defeat the winner of the World Open way back in February, not to mention putting his mask on the line, there was a real unstoppable force meets immovable object feeling about this matchup that was tantalizing to say the least.

Ultimo Cielo made a promise on that SWA TV back in February, saying that he would come into Aftermath alone, without any backup. What he never promised us, though, was how the shows leading up to this were going to go. In preview tags over the past couple weeks, Murderer's Row made sure to spend as much time as they could isolating Kazuo Saji and working over his leg. I guess Cielo got spooked after seeing Saji completely fucking obliterating people with the Chrome Splitter during the World Open. It barely seemed to matter, though, because Kazuo wasn't interested in trying out the Splitter in this match - he didn't attempt it once. Maybe he was wary of how effective it would be after all the legwork, or maybe he wanted to prove that he didn't need it. Either way, he ended up using just about every other aspect of his game to take the fight to the champion in a match that would've easily been one of my top matches of the night were it not for one teensy problem.

See, at about 23 minutes into the match, Kazuo Saji countered his way out of Ultimo Cielo's Angel Killer spinning tombstone piledriver. That must have panicked Cielo, because that's when everything went to hell. From that point on, a match that had been cleanly fought and really exciting became shenanigan city. Cielo did everything he could to keep referee Toby Russell distracted (not that distracting Toby is hard) so he could go for low blows and dirty pin attempts. When that didn't work, he threw Kazuo straight into Toby so that nobody with authority to stop the match would see him blast Kazuo full on in the jaw with a set of brass knuckles. To Kazuo's credit, he kicked out AGAIN after the brass knuckles shot, and even started to mount a comeback but he was unable to do anything about the second Angel Killer.

A match like this is really fucking frustrating. A complete turd of a match that stinks out the joint is one thing, but a titanic fucking miscarriage of justice like this is an entire other sack of shit. To think Cielo was winning me over with great performances as recently as Crescendo. Fuck this ending and fuck Ultimo Cielo for ruining what could have been one of the greatest matches of the year with his horsefuckery. Was it really worth it, Cielo? Throwing away any credibility you had with the fans just so you could say you're the first champ to turn back the World Open winner at Aftermath?

Fuck.

The Nerd's Rating: FUCK. MY. LIFE/10