#c: riot fest

[lsdunesarchive]

Frank Iero of L.S. Dunes on their debut show at Riot Fest 2022 (Chicago, IL) on September 16, 2022 | 📸: Olivia Khiel for Atlas Artist Group

[phillyzinefest]

Philly Zine Fest vendors 2023 pt. 1

A.j. Michel Aaron Novik Addison Paige Illustrates Alex G Carol Illustrations Alex Moonsang Alex Smith/The Afterverse Angela Hsieh ANGST FACTORY Ash Anathema Audra Stang Bandaid Fingers Bemoodieart BLACK BUDGET COMIX Blake Wood BlurredPress Body Joke Boink Comix Bonk Brain Gramage Comix Bread Comics Brian McAnany Brianna Protesto and Marisa Watanabe Bryn Ziegler Budget Press Bum Lung C. Larsen/ Steve Theuston Cadavercandyart Caffeinated Giraffe Cameron Orr Can I Get Baloney Carmen Pizarro Caroline Cash CC Riot Enterprises cherrysodas Cindy Lozito Circle Puppy Comix Claire Deely Comics by Eva Corey Bechelli Cyborg Memoirs Dan Hill Destiny Hall-Harper Displaced Snail Divine Jones/ Divi_nation Dog Bowl Zine Club DoodleCat Creations Dox Thrash House Drawrenn Dre Grigoropol

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 3: Striking Beauty

Narrated by Qing Yumo.

Host: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Cloudcrest Design Fest, a live broadcast warm-up event for the summer festival!

Host: Every Cloudcrest citizen has a vote. Use it wisely to choose the outfit theme that you think best represents the city!

Host: Let's welcome Jiang Xitong, National Museum artifact restorer and descendant of the nation's first wardrobe advisor!

Host: Welcome her to talk about her design.

Jiang Xitong: Hello, everyone. My entry is a curve-bottomed robe in the ancient Cloud style.

Jiang Xitong: The summer festival is a serious event, and I've therefore done a lot of research for this design. First, the hairstyle...

Narrator: Xitong spends 20 minutes explaining the shapes, colors, and patterns of ancient robes, citing tons of sources.

Narrator: As I wait in my seat, I can't help but sneak in a yawn behind my sleeve.

Narrator: The young designer next to me has already dozed off.

Narrator: The children in the audience are getting restless, but their parents urge them to focus on the "lecture."

Narrator: The experts and the members of the Thousand Autumns Fashion Society seem mesmerized, though. Some are avidly taking notes.

Narrator: As for the general public, they may be impressed, but that doesn't stop them from scrolling on their phones.

Narrator: When Xitong finally finishes, her fan club gives a huge round of applause. The designer next to me is jolted awake by the ruckus.

Narrator: Maybe we should've made her speak last. It'd be a great closing act.

Narrator: That way, the people watching the live streams wouldn't miss a thing, even if they changed the channel halfway.

Narrator: Should've considered that.

Host: A great thank you to Xitong from the National Museum for her highly professional introduction!

Host: Next, we have Yumo, summer festival head designer, icon of the neo-Cloud-Empire style.

Host: And she also is the head of Publicity in the Culture Bureau.

Narrator: I get up from my seat.

Narrator: The silky, light mesh drapes flow as the wearer walks. The crystal bead chains on the cape add to the clean, ethereal vibe.

Narrator: I make my speech simple, calm, nonchalant. Victory means nothing to me.

Narrator: That's the attitude that a certain someone can't relate to.

Qing Yumo: Beauty must be appreciated with the eye and the heart. Rules and jargon are bland and shallow in the face of beauty.

Narrator: I finish my short speech and move to the side, letting my design take the spotlight.

Narrator: And when I think it's time, I exit the stage.

Narrator: That should be enough.

Narrator: Especially after Xitong's lengthy speech.

Narrator: The reporters are busy taking pictures. The headlines in tomorrow's newspapers will be a riot for sure.

Narrator: As expected, Xitong glares at me when I walk past.

Choose either "I think winning or losing matters a lot to you" or "I think you care about Xitong very much."

If "winning," ...

You: Are you sure you don't care about winning?

Narrator: I already said I didn't care. Just don't want the winning entry to be something that ruins the event's aesthetics.

If "care about Xitong," ...

You: You seem to care a lot about Xitong.

Narrator: I don't care about her. I just don't want her strict, outdated designs to represent my city.

--

Narrator: Loud cheers ring out in the crowd.

Fan A: Yumo is such a classy lady!

Fan B: I must study hard and pass the exam to work in the Culture Bureau!

Fan C: It's like I just saw an angel!

Fan Club: Yumo! Yumo! Yumo!

Narrator: I didn't rally my fans or anything for the event, unlike a certain someone. These fans came on their own accord.

Narrator: Now that Xitong and I had spoken, the judges and reporters seem less focused. Some even left to work on their pieces early.

Narrator: As the overseer of the event promotions, I still hang around and watch the other designers present their entries.

Narrator: Xitong has already left, probably to write another article to bash me.

Narrator: But designs speak louder than words.

Choose "And you said you didn't care at all..."

You: You sure sound like you care a lot...

Narrator: Hm, what did you say?

Choose either "It's nothing" or "What about the ones in the back?"

If "nothing," ...

You: Uh, nothing...

Narrator: I heard that.

Narrator: Think whatever you like. I'll just focus on the other designers and their, uh, mind-boggling entries.

If "others," ...

You: So, how did the other designers do?

Narrator: The others... their designs are beyond description.

--

Narrator: Some are newbies. Their craft and thought process are not yet sophisticated.

Narrator: Some are simply from clothing brands, here to do some promotion.

Narrator: The girl who fell asleep was in fact still a student in the design academy.

Narrator: She modeled her own T-shirt and skirt design. Even performed a dance onstage.

Narrator: We can't let these people win, or it'd be disastrous for the overall aesthetics of the festival.

Narrator: The citizens have two weeks to vote.

Narrator: Xitong posts multiple essays on authentic Cloud Empire aesthetics in various publications.

Narrator: Meanwhile, for me, life goes on. Drink tea, go to meetings, work overtime. Sometimes, I watch the news.

Narrator: No amount of uncertainty can disrupt my cultivated daily routine.

Narrator: The girls in my office, however, seem anxious. They aren't even in the mood to play chess during lunch anymore.

Colleague A: Aren't you anxious about the results of the voting at all?

Qing Yumo: There's nothing to worry about. Your turn to move.

Colleague A: Oh, I almost forgot...

Qing Yumo: If you can't concentrate on the match, we should leave it for today.

Qing Yumo: I'll just head out and see how the preparations of the festival are going.

Colleague A: Huh? But you already went in the morning.

Qing Yumo: The date of the opening ceremony is rapidly approaching. Doesn't hurt to check a few more times.

Colleague A: But the venue of the opening ceremony is on your left. You'll reach the voting venue for the contest by going right.

Qing Yumo: ...Oops, I'm a bit tired. It's been a busy week, you know.

Narrator: Either way, the voting for the Cloudcrest Design Fest closes a week later. As for the final result...

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

[gameforestdach]

Die Gaming-Welt ist voller Aufregung, da Riot Games Iso, den neuesten Duellanten in Valorant, in Episode 7 Akt 3 vorstellt. Dieser innovative Agent bringt eine frische Wendung in die Wettkampfarena und Spieler überall sind gespannt auf seine Fähigkeiten und deren Auswirkungen auf das Spielmeta. Die Ankunft von Iso Episode 7 Akt 3 markierte den Eintritt von Iso, einem Duellanten mit Fähigkeiten, die die Herangehensweise der Spieler an Valorant neu definieren könnten. Aber es geht nicht nur um Iso; dieses Update brachte auch bedeutende Veränderungen für Cypher und Raze und signalisierte das Ende des Nachtmarkts. Angesichts der dynamischen Natur von Valorant und der Einführung neuer Charaktere bleiben die Spieler ständig in Bewegung, um das sich entwickelnde Meta zu verstehen. Aufschlüsselung von Isos Fähigkeiten Notlösung (C) Notlösung, passend benannt, ermöglicht es Iso, eine unzerstörbare Wand aus prismatischer Energie zu erschaffen. Diese kugelsichere Barriere schützt nicht nur Iso, sondern sein gesamtes Team. Für 250 Punkte können Spieler pro Runde eine Ladung ausrüsten, die in einer Art und Weise abgefeuert wird, die an Harbors Flut erinnert. [Quelle] Untergriff (Q) Isos Untergriff dreht sich alles um den molekularen Bolzen. Einmal abgefeuert, verleiht er allen berührten Spielern einen temporären zerbrechlichen Status. Das Interessante daran? Dieser Bolzen kann durch feste Objekte, einschließlich Wände, hindurchgehen und seine Flugbahn ähnelt einer Omens Paranoia. Für 200 Punkte können Spieler bis zu zwei Ladungen pro Runde anhäufen. Diese Fähigkeit verstärkt die Teamdynamik, indem es Verbündeten erleichtert, Schaden zuzufügen und Orte zu sichern. [Quelle] Doppelschlag (E) – Isos Signaturfähigkeit Doppelschlag ist Isos Markenzeichen. Einmal aktiviert, starten die Spieler einen Fokus-Timer. Nach dessen Abschluss tritt Iso in einen Flow-Zustand ein, in dem das Besiegen von Gegnern oder sogar deren Verletzung eine Energiekugel hervorbringt. Das Besondere an dieser Kugel? Ein Schuss darauf gewährt ein Schild, das Schaden aus jeder Quelle abwehren kann. Diese Fähigkeit ist ein Spielwechsler, besonders in 1v2 Duellen, wo das schützende Schild Treffer von mächtigen Waffen oder Fähigkeiten negieren kann. Sie hat einen Preis von 150 Punkten und pro Runde eine einzige Ladung. [Quelle] Tötungsvertrag (X) – Isos ultimative Fähigkeit Isos Meisterstück, der Tötungsvertrag, ermöglicht es ihm, einen Gegner in eine andere Dimension zu transportieren für ein 1v1 Duell. Die Einsätze sind hoch – nur der Sieger kehrt zur ursprünglichen Karte zurück, aber mit voller Gesundheit. Mit 7 Ultimativen Punkten zur Aktivierung hat diese Fähigkeit die Spieler fasziniert, wobei Vergleiche mit dem Ultimativen von League of Legends' Mordekaiser gezogen werden. Ein weiterer interessanter Aspekt ist sein Wirkungsbereich, der auf der Karte vor der Aktivierung sichtbar ist. Darüber hinaus kann er sogar Yorus Klon oder einen Sova, der sein Ultimatives verwendet, hineinziehen. [Quelle] Iso jenseits der Fähigkeiten Das Wesen von Iso Iso geht es nicht nur um seine Fähigkeiten; er hat eine Geschichte und eine Persönlichkeit. Als 24. Agent von Valorant dargestellt, hat dieser chinesische Problembeheber sich bereits einen Namen gemacht. Viele sehen in ihm einen tödlichen Assassinen, wie von den Kingdom-Söldnern in seinem Enthüllungstrailer dargestellt. [Quelle] Spielerperspektiven und Reaktionen Nicht alle Reaktionen auf Iso waren positiv. Forbes beleuchtete die Frustration einiger Spieler bezüglich der Spielimplikationen von Iso. Obwohl er als Teamspieler dargestellt wurde, drehen sich viele von Isos Fähigkeiten darum, seine Abschüsse zu sichern. Das Doppelschlag Schild, insbesondere, war ein Streitpunkt. Ein Kopfschuss auf Iso nach der Aktivierung kann vergeblich sein, was zu Spielerfrust führt. Zusätzlich wird Isos Tötungsvertrag in bestimmten Kartenszenarien als überproportional mächtig wahrgenommen. [Quelle] Fazit Die Aufnahme von Iso in Valorant

hat zweifellos für Aufregung gesorgt, wobei die Gaming-Community über seine Fähigkeiten gespalten ist. Wie bei jeder Veränderung in einem Spiel wird die Zeit zeigen, wie Iso sich in das übergeordnete Meta einfügt und ob Anpassungen vorgenommen werden müssen. Aber eins ist sicher, Iso ist gekommen, um zu bleiben, und Spieler werden lernen müssen, mit ihm umzugehen oder ihm entgegenzutreten.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Riot Fest 2023: 9/15-9/17

The Cure's Robert Smith

BY JORDAN MAINZER

So was this the biggest Riot Fest yet? Maybe in terms of headliners, but the festival still felt like the type to bring together bands new and old, paying just as much mind to presenting up-and-coming artists with a punk rock ethos as the legends who spearheaded those scenes to begin with. Here were our favorite sets.

Quasi's Sam Coomes

Quasi

The amount of sound that Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss got out of keyboard (plus affects), drums, and vocals was mesmerizing. Quasi, 10 albums deep, certainly showcased their latest opus, Breaking the Balls of History (Sub Pop), nailing the tempo changes of "Nowheresville" and warbling harmonics of "Riots & Jokes". But they also reminded you why they've been such a consistent force since the early 90's. Those unfamiliar with the band watched as Coomes unceasingly made his keyboard sound like a guitar on the clattering "The Rhino", or like a Peanuts-style barroom jaunt on "Unto Itself". Weiss, meanwhile, ever the impressive multi-tasker (watching her, you gain an appreciation for the difficulty of playing drums and harmonizing), rhythmically swung on the soulful "Back In Your Tree" and pummeled "Last Long Laugh". And yes, "Doomscrollers" was awesome.

Quasi's Janet Weiss

Yard Act's James Smith

Yard Act

Seeing a talk-singing band at a festival has its risks. What if the sound mix is off and the band overshadows the singer? And what if that singer is someone like Yard Act's James Smith, who delivers such beautifully acerbic words you don't want to miss? Not to worry at Riot Fest. You could hear him perfectly, his lyrical dexterousness and emcee-like flow shining on tracks like set opener "Rich" and "The Trapper's Pelts". But the band itself also provided breaks for Smith, embarking on extended jams during "Land of the Blind" and a full-blown disco breakdown on their latest single, "The Trench Coat Museum". Overall, what separates Yard Act from so many of their peers in the UK post-punk scene is a unique mix of cynicism and humanity, tightly wound compositions and inescapable boogie-downs. "The future is terrifying," remarked Smith before performing "100% Endurance", imploring the crowd to live in the moment. What normally might be forced seemed all the more genuine coming from him. Or, as the band might say, "It's hippy bullshit, but it's true."

Yard Act's Sam Shipstone

Screaming Females (from left to right: Marissa Paternoster, Jarrett Dougherty, Mike Abbate)

Screaming Females

With a mere 40 minutes to play, New Jersey heroes Screaming Females managed to fit in some of their hookiest songs with enough room to breathe in between them. The set contained plenty of intro jams, Marissa Paternoster's relentless shredding, Mike Abbate's brawny basslines, and Jarrett Dougherty's rich snares, from "Brass Bell" to "Wishing Well". And the band serenaded us with side 1 track 1 of their finest, Albini-produced hour, Ugly's "It All Means Nothing", sounding as crispy as ever.

The Breeders' Kim Deal and Josephine Wiggs

The Breeders

I find that the quality of experience of full album plays at a concert or festival are dependent on a few factors: whether the band are good instrumentalists, whether the songs are as effectively sequenced as a live set as they are a studio album, and the rarity of the material itself, in the band's recent history or as a past full album play. For The Breeders this year, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. While I would have pined at the opportunity to see them blast through Pod, you cannot deny the anthemic quality and musical significance of Last Splash, cementing the band in indie rock history and introducing to the world the quick learning of Kim Deal's sister Kelley. And to me, it doesn't matter that I saw the band perform Last Splash twice for the album's 20th anniversary back in 2013. It will never get old to hear Kim bark "Check / check / check / One, two" into a harmonica mic, anticipating Jim Macpherson's introductory click-clack and Josephine Wiggs' all-timer of a sinewy bass line. Throughout their set, The Breeders demonstrated what I believe they've always done best, even better than the Pixies or Nirvana, creating an interplay between the gentle and the raw and the distorted. Oh, and they did have time for a few more at the end, including "Iris". Here's to the Pod 40th anniversary set at Riot Fest 2030.

Turnstile's Brendan Yates

Turnstile

Talk about dynamics! If most hardcore bands rely on intense cacophony, the Baltimore band's crossover appeal comes in the form of not even their hooks but their melodies. In between ferocious versions of "MYSTERY", "BLACKOUT", and other game changers from Turnstile's breakout record GLOW ON, they traded fist-pumps for dance-offs, drum solos, ballads ("ALIEN LOVE CALL"), and moments of ambience and quiet. At the center of it all is lead vocalist Brendan Yates and his unique timbre, at once forceful and gorgeous on back catalog highlights like "Real Thing". Turnstile is one of a kind; when they thank you for letting them be themselves, it's not just a sly Sly reference. They mean it.

Turnstile touring member Meg Mills (left) and bassist "Freaky" Franz Lyons (right)

From left to right: Foo Fighters' Rami Jaffee, Dave Grohl, Josh Freese

Foo Fighters

In previewing Dave Grohl and company's headlining set, I suggested folks "catch Foo Fighters performing songs from their best album since The Colour and the Shape." Taking the stage after Turnstile ended, they shockingly proceeded to play absolutely nothing from But Here We Are. Okay, according to setlist.fm, both "Rescued" and "Glass" were on the setlist, but not performed. Grohl, perhaps taking a page from his one-time mop-topped bandmate, is the ultimate showman, preferring to elongate songs from silence to build to climax (opener "All My Life", church-organ-hue-to-full-band "Times Like These"), tell stories (the one you've heard about 13-year-old Grohl going to see Naked Raygun and Rights of the Accused at the Cubby Bear with his cousin), and launch into a medley of covers when introducing his band ("Sabotage", "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Whip It", an impressively loud version of Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs"). Yes, some of the spontaneous moments were probably gimmicks. Even though the camera panned to fans in Metallica and Black Sabbath t-shirts when Grohl stuffed riffs from "Enter Sandman" and "Paranoid" in "No Son of Mine", as if he was doing the covers for the people in the t-shirts, past and future setlists show evidence of the same exact shtick. But when a crowd member shouted out a request for Wasting Light deep cut "White Limo"--not done consistently for at least the past couple album cycles--the band, including new drummer Josh Freese, absolutely nailed it. Grohl is also, thankfully, self-aware, noting before playing the maudlin "My Hero" that, "The good thing about a Foo Fighters show is if you don't know the song, just look at the minivan driver next to you. They'll know what to do." Yet, his unavoidable role as leader of the band for the common person doesn't prevent him from being earnest. The set's best moment came when the band played There Is Nothing Left To Lose's "Aurora", the first song Grohl wrote with the late Taylor Hawkins, the drummer's favorite Foo Fighters song. It ascended to a guttural scream, a quick moment of catharsis before some true professionals went back to work.

Jehnny Beth

Jehnny Beth

The Savages frontwoman seems to be just getting started as a solo artist. After releasing the underrated To Love Is To Live in 2020 and a collaboration with Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie in 2021, Beth gave Riot Fest a collection of heady, yet horny industrial tunes. Her presence captivated onlookers above the skittering beat and deep bass of "Heroine" and the propulsive techno of "We Will Sin Together". She entered the crowd multiple times throughout the set, establishing a warm camaraderie much different than the pure intensity of Savages. And her voice, as ever, was on point, rising above backing tracks and her band (including guitarist/keyboardist Johnny Hostile) with her belt and quintessential yelps. And if Foo Fighters gave us a taste of NIN the night prior, Beth performed her cover of "Closer" in its entirety, a song whose salacious subject matter fits right in with Beth's ethos. To get a taste of what she and her band sounded like (including two new songs played at Riot Fest), check out the just released LIVE EP (20L07 Music).

Viagra Boys

Viagra Boys

The self-described "Sweden's third worst band" essentially distilled all of the best moments from their show at The Salt Shed earlier this year into a tight 45 minutes of bangers. They started off with mostly highlights from their most recent album Cave World, the stars of the show as usual mostly shirtless singer Sebastian Murphy, guitarist-saxophonist Oscar Carls (donning a white shirt with the word "GOGO" in bold black print), and Tor Sjödén's breakneck timekeeping. As the set went on, even if you were familiar with their routine as I was, it never got old, from the disco breakdown of "Ain't Nice" to Carls' bleating intro to "ADD" and gyrations during "Research Chemicals". Perhaps new this time was Murphy's push-ups during "Sports", noises dripping like molasses out of his mouth and into the microphone on the floor. If a full concert reveals Viagra Boys in all of their fascinating contradictions, a festival exemplifies their id, a group of stellar musicians at their most absurdly sleazy and stunningly surreal.

Viagra Boys' Sebastian Murphy

PUP

PUP

Talk about a victory lap: Saturday at Riot Fest marked a year and a half since PUP's most recent studio full-length, THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND (Rise), as well as their last show for a while as they take a touring break. It was also a good summation of a moment in time for the band. They were capable of displaying the cleaner sound and hooks of their more recent material, like the 60's pop harmonies of "Totally Fine". But they also resembled the band who can reliably rip your ass with the one-two life-affirming punch of "If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will" and "DVP", and who can casually return back to their roots on a rare song played from their self-titled, "Reservoir". They're still the best Toronto rave-uppers this side of METZ.

From left to right: (PUP's Stefan Babcock & Nestor Chumak)

Crowd at PUP

Death Cab For Cutie

If I'm going by the same three rules I laid out when covering The Breeders, then Death Cab For Cutie performing Transatlanticism in full covers rules one (capable instrumentalists) and sort-of three (rarity of material). They don't often play many of the Transatlanticism deep cuts on a regular basis, which made hearing the album in full at golden hour worthwhile for diehards. But there was sort of a reason "Death of an Interior Decorator" didn't intoxicate the same way "The Sound of Settling" did, the latter with a wordless chorus unfamiliar crowd members learned on the spot. Death Cab didn't meet rule two: The band's breakout album is top-heavy and slow-paced, not nearly as fun of a live experience as Last Splash or The Postal Service's Give Up. At the same time, in a vacuum, each song performance contained its own thrills, whether the guitar distortion and crescendos of "The New Year" and the album's title track, the squeaky chair sway of "Lightness", or the driving keyboards of "We Looked Like Giants". Especially as compared to Death Cab's later material, though, the band here was less riotous, more contemplative.

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

As they walked out to Peggy Lee's "Smile", I couldn't help but think that Queens of the Stone Age was, as recently as early this year, one of the less likely bands to emerge under the lights at Riot Fest. Since 2017's Villains, Josh Homme had kicked a photographer in the face during a concert and faced a deserved public chiding, been embroiled in a bitter divorce with ex-wife Brody Dalle, and been diagnosed with and successfully fought cancer. It's understandable that he wasn't even sure he wanted to record the band's latest album In Times New Roman... (Matador) given the ups and downs, but it came out, and here was the band. The record is pretty much what you'd expect, with the band's quintessentially swaggering riffs and thudding beats, Homme's spooky, warbling falsetto, goofy portmanteaus, and lyrical head-scratchers. (See: "Voyeurism-jism may cause blurry visions on opener "Obscenery".) During their sub-headlining set, QOTSA performed the appropriate tracks from their new record. Fatalistic worldview be damned, "Negative Space" sported siren-like guitars to match its buzzing rhythm section. Instead of "Paper Machete", whose titular object is certainly a metaphor for the purportedly "all bark, no bite" Dalle, the band opted for "Emotion Sickness". Homme repeated the refrain, "Baby don't care for me," referring to his divorce but in a large festival setting ambiguous enough to conjure a singalong from anyone who has ever been a part of a decaying relationship. And then there was the slow funk psychedelia of "Carnavoyeur", on which Homme sings, "Accept, enjoy the view / When there's nothing I can do / I smile," maybe the reason they walked out to Peggy Lee, continuing to bare their teeth when life tries to get them down.

Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton

Mr. Bungle

Given that Faith No More and Mr. Bungle cancelled tour dates in 2021 due to Mike Patton's health--including that year's Riot Fest--Saturday night's Mr. Bungle set felt like a triumph. Walking out to an atonal version of Richard Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30", the all-star lineup of a pig-tailed Patton, guitarists Trey Spruance and Scott Ian, bassist Trevor Dunn, and drummer Dave Lombardo went on to slay nonstop. Immediately notable, of course, was Patton's shapeshifting voice, emulating a digeridoo at one moment and forcibly chanting the next, screeching at warped speed in between. Though they played mostly from their excellent 2020 album The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo (Ipecac), it wouldn't have been a Mr. Bungle set without covers, from the fitting (Slayer's "Hell Awaits", Sepultura's "Territory"), to the unexpectedly beautiful (10cc's "I'm Not in Love", Spandau Ballet's "True"), to the nonsensical (the Pepto Bismol jingle). For the fans that had waited all day to get front row or even the casual listener, it was a performance well worth the wait.

Mr. Bungle's Trevor Dunn

Mr. Bungle's Scott Ian

From left to right: Thursday's Tucker Rule, Geoff Rickly, Tim Payne

Thursday

With weather delaying the gate opening until just before 2 PM and all sets scheduled before then cancelled, perennial Riot Festers and New Jersey heroes Thursday played an abridged set that was the first of the day for many. Since they started right at 2, the crowd was, at first, very sparse. Geoff Rickly decided to give people time to filter in, the band starting with a slow song, cheekily, "Running From The Rain". From there, it was like the Thursday CliffsNotes: "Signals Over the Air", "Cross Out The Eyes", "Understanding in a Car Crash", the works. Ever the appreciative and charismatic frontperson, Rickly shouted out the cancelled bands, mentioned that none other than Gorilla Biscuits were going to let them do a song were they themselves cancelled, and called touring with headliners The Cure 20 years ago "one of the best experiences of our lives." By the time they finished with "War All The Time", the title track of an album celebrating its own two decades, the crowd was, thankfully, Thursday-sized.

Ride

Ride

"This is a song from Nowhere not about death," is how Ride vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Gardener introduced "Taste". It made me think: Even if you do pay attention to this band's lyrics, their songs have an inherently uplifting sound, and especially live. From the get-go, the legendary in-and-out Hammond organ riff from "Leave Them All Behind", the band enveloped the crowd in a tornado of noise, whether on melodic later material like "Future Love" and "Lannoy Point" or the stunning "Vapour Trail", which saw Andy Bell capture the spirit of the song's violin with his guitar. They closed with "Seagull", whose opening bass riff inspired various crowd members to bounce up and down, including yours truly, even after standing in line for three hours on day three of a massive festival.

Ride's Mark Gardener

Ride's Andy Bell

Gorilla Biscuits

Gorilla Biscuits

During their set at Riot Fest, someone turned to me and mentioned they saw Gorilla Biscuits at Metro in the early 90s as a teenager. The person next to him replied, "I learned about them like I learned about all music: Tony Hawk Pro Skater." Such is the life of a classic hardcore band playing at a punk festival in 2023. Leave it to the New Yorkers to break the rules of full album plays, though. Though a horn section came out to call them on to the stage, just like "New Direction" opens, they interrupted their play-through of Start Today with a few songs from their self-titled debut as well as a cover of "Minor Threat". Anthony Civarelli was in top form, launching himself into the crowd from the start, never stopping in his communal energy.

Gorilla Biscuits' Anthony Civarelli

The Mars Volta

When you're a band whose best songs are double digit-minutes long, curating a one-hour set must be difficult. Thankfully, The Mars Volta can cram a wide array of ideas, genres, and tempos in just one song. "L'Via L'Viaquez" was chock full of retro metal guitar solos and salsa breakdowns, Cedric Bixler-Zavala wailing with the best of them. They even managed to sandwich a snippet of Can's "Vitamin C" into the beloved "Cicatriz ESP", contemporary prog rock legends paying homage to their krautrock forebears. Bonus points for Bixler-Zavala pausing to name his top 3 Chicago punk bands: The Vindictives, Trenchmouth, and 90 Day Men.

The Cure's Reeves Gabrels and Robert Smith

The Cure

Seeing The Cure live is one of those transcendent experiences like watching Nine Inch Nails close out last year's Riot Fest. I caught people weeping in the front row during "Pictures of You". The drawn-out instrumental intro to "Fascination Street" garnered just as much fanfare as "Push", "In Between Days", and "Just Like Heaven". Even an overplayed, cheesy song like "Friday I'm In Love" sounded longing and wistful. The band members' age may increase, but they sound exactly the same as when I saw them last decade, presumably as beautiful as ever. The three unreleased songs they've played, slow burns "Alone", the epic "Endsong", and ballad "And Nothing Is Forever", have become staples of their setlists since debuting last year. I knew The Cure's set would be a highlight, if not the highlight of the festival. What I didn't expect was for it to cause me to anxiously await the release of their first new album since 2008.

The Cure's Roger O'Donnell

The Cure

[mxbitters]

SHUT UP THIS IS THE SEXIEST LINEUP I HAVE EVER SEEN

[theswarmanthology]

Allie, 27, Orange County, CA

"I have never been normal about this band and I never will be. I started listening to them at 12.5 years old and they’ve been my favorite band ever since. I’ve been in multiple different fan communities over the years, but I’m most active on Tumblr."

Fast Facts: How long have you been a fan?: 9+ years Did you get to see MCR live before this tour?: Yes, I saw them before the breakup in 2013 How many shows on this tour did you attend in total?: 2-4 Favorite album: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love Show experience out of 10: 10 Did you cry at your show?: I'm still crying right now

Which date of the tour did you attend? 10/12/22, Night 2 at the Forum

When did you get your tickets for your show? Was it a struggle, or were they easy to grab? It was a STRUGGLE. When they first came out in January 2020 I ended up only getting tickets to Riot Fest. Eventually I got tickets to their last Forum show on 10/17 as well once that was announced. My other shows I got last minute tickets for!

Did you attend with anyone else? I went to this night with my friend Manda (@anothersuperstition), we also went to the rest of the Forum dates! I brought my partner to the last one as well.

What did you wear? I wore the Kerin Cunningham Mad Gear shirt, shorts with fishnet tights, and platform Docs, plus red eyeshadow and black lipstick.

Where were your seats? Floor seats, section C! (Manda got guest listed this date, and she was kind enough to invite me along as her plus one!)

What was your favorite song(s) from the setlist they played at your show? Desert Song.

What song were you most hoping to hear? Did you get to hear it? Jetset Life for Revenge night, and no :(

What was your favorite moment from the show? Desert Song encore! Holy shit, I cried so hard.

What was the most unexpected moment from the show? Desert Song encore, again

Many fans describe seeing MCR live as feeling like coming home. Did you experience anything like that at your show? I felt like Gerard held my little face between his hands and made me whole again.

If you could change one thing about your show experience, what would it be? Longer set list! And I would have grabbed some water beforehand.

Has your perspective or opinion about the band changed since seeing them on this tour? If so, in what way? Yes, I feel like I gained a deeper understanding of not just the band, but the community of the band.

What advice would you give to people seeing My Chemical Romance in the future? Get there early, pit is worth it, get water before the bars close, leave a water in your car for yourself after, and if you’re not gonna lose your mind to the deep cuts don’t even bother going.

Thanks, Allie! Their Tumblr handle is @transmascfrankiero.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

AIGHT Y’ALL I wasn’t tagged but I’m doing this anyways because f u c k  i t

It's the year 2021 and you're obsessed with The Karate Kid. How are you feeling?

Deadasss weird as fuck, my dude. Like...out of all the things I could’ve predicted happening in our lord’s year 2021, it definitely was NOT getting hyperfixated on a hammy gay ship with a punk and a nerd from a goddamn karate soap opera. And yet...here we are??? I will never understand hyperfixations, my guy. But I’ve met a lot of really cool people in this fandom, so I can’t really complain.

Did you grow up with TKK or are you new to the series?

I have never seen a single Karate Kid movie in my entire life. When I was a kid, it looked kinda dumb so I never got into it XD But then I saw my roommate watching Cobra Kai on Youtube Red one day (he has every streaming service known to man) and I was hooked. And...here I am!

We gotta do the basics. Favorite character:  

Literally EVERYONE except for Kreese, Yasmine, Kyler, and Tory, sorry stans

Okay but if we gotta pick, Johnny Lawrence is my Problematic Fave. Also I love my boy Daniel, he’s trying his best!!! And Amanda LaRusso, we stan a queen!!!

Among the kids, definitely Miguel, with Demetri as a close second. I also love Sam, Aisha, Moon, and Hawk (pre- and post-Bastardization Arc, anyways XD)!

Favorite ship:  

Take a look at my username and take a WILD FUCKING GUESS lmao Yes it’s Eli/Demetri because DUH, every interaction they have is so fucking gay and Eli fucking saved him!!! And came back to him!!! And betrayed the world’s most terrifying dojo with a WAR CRIMINAL SENSEI all for Demetri!!! And how Demetri was willing to forgive him for everything at the drop of a hat because he always had faith there was still good in his best friend??? That’s TRUE LOVE motherfuckers. Please let them kiss in Season 4. I will sell you all of my limbs. Sam/Miguel is a close second because they’re cute as shit and it’s just so lovely to see two people so unapologetically smitten with each other. They are in LOVE, and I will RIOT if they break up again!!! Keep Sam and Miguel together 2k21!!!

Underrated character:

SAMANTHA LARUSSO!!! The amount of hate my girl gets for acting like a normal teenager and fucking up occasionally JUST like the rest of the cast makes me want to start punching things. She cares SO MUCH about her friends!!! And she loves the shit out of Miguel!!! She hasn’t always been the best friend but you know what??? Neither has Hawk, and we still forgave his ass!!! Also LET HER BE FEMININE but also kick utter ass, my god!!! Femininity should not be synonymous with being weak, y’all! ALSO DEMETRI, like yes, he likes to complain and occasionally run his mouth, but guess what else he likes to do??? Never give up on the love of his life his best friend Eli Moskowitz and refuse to lose faith in him no matter how much of a little shit he’s become, and I for one think that’s very badass of him. Also the way he takes care of Eli pre-Cobra Kai in his own snarky bastard way makes me absolutely Weak and needs more appreciation. Like the dude has charisma and COULD have probably made other friends and left Eli behind if he wanted, but did he??? No, he wants the weepy loser with the lip scar in the polo shirts and dorky sweaters and will protect him as much as his wimpy ass is able!!!

Underrated ship (don’t say therapy, lol):  

Among the adults, Daniel/Amanda!!! Like maybe I just don’t watch that much tv, but it seems kinda rare to me to see a happily married hetero couple, and it’s just nice to see a married couple who genuinely love each other and where there’s not like...lingering resentment or some shit. I feel like this ship gets overshadowed by Lawrusso a lot (which like--okay, fair!!! Daniel and Johnny do have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, and the gay undertones are undeniable, so I get it), and it makes me kinda sad. I do love Lawrusso, but I don’t like when Amanda has to get her heart broke for it to happen, you feel? Among the kids, honestly YasMoon. Like I really love the idea of Yasmine trying to better herself because of Moon’s influence on her and because Moon like...inspires her to be a better person, I guess? With their pretty strong friendship, it just makes more sense to me for Yasmine to get a redemption arc through Moon than through Demetri. ALSO girls DO often pull the whole “mean girl” shtick to cover up being closeted lesbians, and Moon IS canonically bi, so it could work!!! I just think this one could be a really interesting Friends to Lovers take, and could make a really nice coming-out arc for Yas. And MoonPiper too, honestly!!! Like they only got 5 seconds of screentime so I understand WHY it’s underrated, but I still love what we DID get and loved that there was a canon gay ship (even if only for 1 scene lmao). I’m really excited to potentially see more of them in Season 4!!! Please, I’m begging!!!

Wax On, Wax Off or Sweep the Leg?

Sweep the Leg because it will always be deeply hilarious to me how Demetri took note of the first move Eli ever used on him and spent presumably weeks perfecting it OUT OF SPITE just to get him back with it at the soccer game MONTHS later. Just goes to show how OBSESSED Demetri is with Eli and their little karate rivalry which is just NOT straight, I’m sorry

Which of Daniel’s dumb little outfits is your favorite?

There’s something so funny about this pretentious little fuck walking around in fancy suits once he becomes a #SuccessfulBusinessman, and still occasionally trying to do karate in a full-ass suit (take THAT, Tom Cole’s boba!!!) I’m also a big fan of how he looks in his gi with his little headband. Still killing that look as a 40-50-something!!!

Character from the films you most want to return, who’s not Terry Silver:

Tbh I have still never seen a single Karate Kid movie (they took them off of Netflix, RIP), so...I don’t really care if they bring anyone else back??? I’m invested in the characters we already have in the show, I don’t need some rando from the movies to make a cameo to have a good time XD The only character I really wanted them to bring back was Ali, and they already did, so like...I’m good??? That’s all I really needed, I can die in peace now XD

Scene that lives in your head rent-free:

Basically any fluffy Elimetri scene, but 5 in particular: ~Miguel first meeting Eli and Demetri at the lunch table, and Eli looking at Demetri like he hung every goddamn star in the sky ~Demetri going off at a terrifying, “unhinged” karate sensei on the first day of Cobra Kai because he made fun of Eli’s lip and Demetri is not about that shit ~ELI STEALING DEMETRI’S NACHO AND SMIRKING AT HIM, LIKE EXCUSE ME SIR PLEASE BE A LITTLE LESS HOMOSEXUAL IN FRONT OF YOUR GIRLFRIEND ~Eli yanking Demetri onstage during Valley Fest to hold a board, and Demetri being visibly like...extremely turned on when Eli breaks said board ~ELI SAVING DEMETRI DURING THE CHRISTMAS FIGHT, ELI APOLOGIZING, DEMETRI AND ELI KICKING COBRA ASS TOGETHER AKSBDCUWYVCBU

Will Anthony LaRusso ever be relevant?

I hope not! He’s kind of a funny meme character to pop up now and again but I don’t think he deserves a serious plotline when there are so many more interesting characters to follow.

You live in The Valley and are forced into the karate gang war. Which dojo do you join?

Miyagi-Do because Cobra Kai would eat me alive. Also I’d probably straight up get stuck and die in that cement mixer, if I even made it that far XD Besides, being salty that your friend who you have a crush on likes martial arts better than you and starting martial arts to impress them but also being too lazy to join anything TOO intense is a Big Mood and I am certainly not speaking from personal experience here, no sirree

What’s your training montage song?

"Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna for a weight-training and bicep-flexing montage, “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons for a more intense punching-and-kicking-shit montage. I don’t know why this is, I just feel it in my heart.

It’s the crossover event of the century! Which TV show are you combining with Cobra Kai for an hour-long Saturday night special?

*Briefly panics because I don’t actually watch that much TV and most of the stuff I do watch is fantasy/sci fi shit that absolutely would not work for a CK crossover*

Hmmmm okay but ACTUALLY

You know what would be fucking funny as hell would be an It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover. Allow me to elaborate: ~The Gang goes to LA on vacation during the height of the Karate Dojo Wars. They literally can get barely anything done without all these goddamn karate-fighting teenagers getting in the way. ~They are all very annoyed by this. Even the most obscure of tourist attractions is eventually intercepted by karate fights. ~Mac tries to join Cobra Kai because he sees all this karate fighting on, and wants to unquestionably prove both his badassery and masculinity. Both Johnny and Kreese are like “Wtf are you doing here? Aren’t you like 30?” ~Mac gets a planet-sized crush on Johnny after all of 5 minutes and endlessly gushes to the gang about him. The gang mercilessly roast him about this and about how much of a pathetic loser with his life together in no way whatsoever Johnny sounds like. They proceed to have exactly 0 self awareness about this. ~The Waitress is in town visiting family or something, and Charlie is stalking her, as per usual. However, every time he’s about to go up and talk to her, a pack of battling Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais throwing punches and kicks everywhere blocks his path. One times, Mac is among one of these packs and Charlie is like “???? He didn’t get kicked out of that teen karate dojo yet???” ~Seeing how much the Kids These Days seem to like fighting, Charlie drops by a local high school to try and sell Fight Milk to the kids doing karate. Only Kyler and Brucks buy into it, and subsequently get the entire West Valley High wrestling team sick. Charlie is inevitably arrested, as Counselor Blatt thinks he’s selling the kids drugs. ~Dennis makes a plan to have sex with every hot chick he can in Los Angeles. He meets Ali on a dating app post-divorce, and inevitably tries to bang her. It doesn’t work. ~Frank crashes the rental car, and inevitably the gang ends up at one of Daniel’s dealerships. Dee quickly takes a liking to Daniel and is like “Watch, assholes--Imma homewreck this guy’s marriage.” She starts frequenting the dealerships to attempt to flirt with Daniel, until one day she walks in on him having sex with Johnny in a back room and she’s like “Is that the guy from Mac’s goddamn dojo?!?!” ~Dennis, of course, tries to sleep with Amanda. Amanda is not having it, and rebukes him in the most snarky, Amanda-esque way possible. Dennis is just like “Oh not AGAIN--the women in this goddamn diva city have too high of standards!” ~Later on, the gang is at the beach and Dennis spots the blonde lady he went out on an ill-fate date with, and decides to give it another shot--that is, until he sees her go up and kiss another woman and he’s like “IS THAT THE LADY FROM THE CAR DEALERSHIP??? STUPID-KARATE-KICK-COMMERCIAL’S WIFE?!? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.” ~Dee complains to Dennis about her lack of luck getting laid, and Dennis is just like “Oh come ON, is everyone in Los Angeles gay???” Smash cut to Hawk and Demetri having sex, Moon and Piper making out, Bert and Nate holding hands, Chris and Mitch doing oral, and Amanda, Ali, and Carmen having a threesome. ~Frank tries to scam Kreese into buying cheaply-made karate equipment for his dojo. The gang ends up having to leave LA because Kreese is quite literally plotting all of their murders.

For tagging, uuuuhhhhhh @jackonthelongwalk @soe-leo @max-eagle-fang @cc-tinslebee @backawayfromthegay @asphodel-storm do the thing, if y’all haven’t yet!

[lsdunesarchive]

Anthony Green of L.S. Dunes on their debut show at Riot Fest 2022 (Chicago, IL) on September 16, 2022 | 📸: Olivia Khiel for Atlas Artist Group

[ext1nctanimals]

Bisexuals should not bring their straight partners to pride.

there r a lot of reasons this is dumb as hell and lucky for u i just clocked out and have nothing to do so i’m gonna go into all of them <3 

if you actually went outside you would realize that it is completely inappropriate to assume someone’s gender or sexuality ever but especially at pride.  you could look any perceived masc/femme couple and not realize that one or both are trans, one or both are bi, one or both are poly, not realize that you’re misgendering one or both, literally so many things could go wrong.  the second part of this is that it’s actually not your business.  i like don’t think cishet people should be taking over the mic but what does it matter if they’re in attendance ?  pride parades are open to the public so they’re not gonna like take your spot and prevent you from attending and pride festivals are mostly financial so like cishets buying tickets are giving money to queer folks anyway.  literally what do you think you’re gonna do lol go up to people and demand cishet verification?  and if someone is cishet….what’s ur next move lol….call the police and ignore the entire purpose and cultural history of pride?  ask them to leave?  pitch a fit ? like .

this is a hot and controversial take but pride has basically devolved from a protest into a party and the parades and festivals in most western countries now are so deeply entrenched in rainbow capitalism they do little to uplift the majority of the queer community. a few select people benefit financially from pride. it’s mostly a festival, which is fine—there’s nothing wrong with queer joy! but to act like it’s addressing the systems which oppress most lgbtq+ folks is like…..just Wrong.  pride was initially a riot fighting police brutality, and now it’s morphed into one big assimilation fest, and since that’s what it’s become, then like, you cannot invade it because it’s already been corrupted from its root values 

subpoint if ur mad that pride is now a capitalist heteropatriarchal-adjacent party that doesn’t actually fight to better the lived experiences of lgbtq+ people then that’s valid, but that’s not bi people’s fault for bringing their cishet partners to a parade lol that’s capitalism and upper class white gays (and bisexuals) selling out, and corporations co-opting a movement for profit.  

bisexuals can do whatever they want because they’re still bi regardless of who they’ve been in relationships with/are in relationships with.  if you’re conditionalizing it by requiring someone to count as bisexual based on sexual experiences with people of the same gender you’re a) upholding the false belief that binary sex is a biological reality which is transphobic and b) upholding patriarchal beliefs that sex is defined in any specific way, typically penetration, which is sexist and oftentimes lesbophobic and c) making something that is none of your business into your business.  i mean literally what the fuck do you think you’re gonna do lol go up to every perceived cishet person at pride and demand that they list their sexual history?  demand that they provide verifiable proof of having been in a relationship with the same gender?  that’s beyond rude and also not something that normal people do, i’m sorry

people of every sexuality and gender background bring guests to pride.  people bring their cishet parents, their cishet friends, their cishet partners, their cishet coworkers, etc. because pride can be a daunting thing sometimes, and it’s easier to go with people you know ?? also in my experience cell service always sucks so it’s easier and safer to go in groups.  are you gonna approach every group of people and demand that whoever is queer raise their hands and everyone else go home ? didn’t think so ! 

mostly i’m tired of these bullshit exclusionary beliefs, and i’m tired of lgbtq+ people trying to police the identities of other lgbtq+ people like that’s not upholding respectability politics that actively reinforce our own oppression.  it doesn’t matter if bi people bring cishet partners to pride, the parade isn’t even like a real movement anymore and if you actually cared about improving the quality of life for queer folks you’d donate to the marsha p johnson institute instead of being a little bitch in my inbox.  cheers 

[bizships]

My Fic achievements for 2019

What did I accomplish in 2019? Meme found in many places.

Number of fics written & finished in 2019: 15 Amount of fests/exchanges successfully participated in: 6 (Mirror March, Merry Month of Cohen, July Photo fic fest, Fictober, October Hurt Comfort Fest, 25 Days of Voyager 2019) Amount of different fandoms: 1 Number of fics by fandom: Star Trek Voyager-15 Most Popular Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay Total Word Count: 151,812

Fics : STAR TREK: VOYAGER You are Here Under The Authority of Me | Warship!Janeway/Warship!Chakotay | Explicit | 3052 words | For Mirror March Now that she's found herself in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Warship Voyager negotiates with her new First Officer.

The Times They Are A Changin' | Janeway/Chakotay| Mature | 50774 words | This was started in Nov, 2018, but finished by April 2019. The majority of it was written in 2019 Fifteen years after Voyager's return from the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay is certain the timeline is incorrect. He's determined to find a way to go back in time to fix what he thinks is wrong and hopefully get Voyager home earlier. (Completely new plot to replace Endgame, not a re-write of the episode)

That's No Way To Say Goodbye | Janeway/Chakotay | Teen | 3620 words | for Merry Month of Cohen Tom Paris works with the Janeway and Chakotay on a medical mystery, but then tragedy strikes.

Come Healing | Janeway/Chakotay | Explicit | 14061 words | for Merry Month of Cohen In this AU of Basics, Seska and Culluh kept the Captain aboard the ship when they left everyone else on Hanon IV. This is the aftermath from Chakotay's POV. (Trigger Warning=rape recovery)

The Explorer | Janeway/Chakotay, Charlie, The Doctor | G | 1624 words | for July Photo Prompt Fest, In the Come Healing Universe Toddlers do what toddlers do ...

Feeling Good | Janeway/Chakotay | G | 4074 words | for July Photo Prompt Fest Kathryn Janeway attends a ball celebrating the 25th anniversary of Voyager's Homecoming.

25 Years Earlier... | Janeway/Chakotay | Explicit | 8420 words | for July Photo Prompt Fest Just how did Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay end up married. Prequel/Sequel to Feeling Good.

Almost Home | Chakotay/Janeway, Charlie, Gretchen Janeway | G | 3573 words | In the 'Come Healing' universe Voyager has established contact with Starfleet and Charlie meets his Grandmother.

The Face Of The Enemy | Janeway/Chakotay| Teen | 1803 words | In The 'Come Healing' Universe Episode coda to Nemesis. Chakotay is finding it difficult to process what happened with the Vori and the parallels with his own history.

Lesson Learned | Janeway/Chakotay | Teen | 3260 words | October Trek Hurt/Comfort Fic Fest After an alien attack Chakotay is seriously injured.

Fictober 2019 for JC fans | Janeway/Chakotay, Voyager crew | Teen | 23649 words | for fictober 2019 Short stories for each of the Fictober prompts. All stories will be JC and canon-compliant, with a hell of a lot of blatant subtext. You know, like Seasons 1-4. ;)

Restless Night | Chakotay, Tom Paris | G | 769 words | in the 'Come Healing' Universe Chakotay and Tom watch over their loved ones after they're rescued from the Borg ship.

Long Lost Family | Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay, OC | G | 4292 words | for 25 Days of Voyager A woman's search for her adoptive parents reaches a surprising conclusion.

On A Quiet Christmas Morn | Janeway/Chakotay, Charlie, Gretchen Janeway, Phoebe Janeway | Teen | 2002 words | for 25 Days of Voyager, in the 'Come Healing' Universe Voyager is home for Christmas

On This Merry Christmas Night | Janeway/Chakotay | Teen | 3493 words | for 25 days of Voyager Kathryn takes a walk on Christmas Eve, Eve that changes her life.

Reflections: Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? Definitely more, since I'm coming off a 15 year dry spell. I'm loving that Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay have really sparked my muse. I've never been this prolific a writer! I'm loving every moment of it!

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? I tend to not skip around my fandoms, so I prety much stayed with my predictable J/C and Voyager.

What's your own favorite story of the year? Oh man... For me it's a cin toss between The Times They Are A Changing (Who knew I had an epic in me??!!) and Come Healing. Come Healing has spawned a whole new world for me.

Did you take any writing risks this year? So many. I posted Times as a WIP, unfinished. I'd never done that before and the fact that I stuck with the story, as long as it was, and it didn't 'get away from me' is a miracle. I'm currently in the middle of a WIP that I really need to get back to. (Before my reading audience starts to riot. LOL)

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? Last year my Word count goal was 100K and I wrote over 150K, so this year, I'm sticking with the 100K, with an eye for that 150K again. My goal is to finish a lot of the WIPS (non-posted) that I have started and just stay as prolific as I was last year. Fingers crossed I can keep up the pace!

My best story of this year: Best story this year? I think Come Healing. It's one that even I like to re-read a lot. LOL

My most popular story of this year: I'm going to say Times They Are A Changing, but I wonder if that's because it was posted as I went, so each chapter got reactions. It certainly has the most comments over all.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I think I'm going to say The Face Of The Enemy. Folks, I think, tend to stay away from these stories because of the 'kid', but, the story is ultimately about Chakotay's reaction to the Vori, it's parallels to the Maquis and Cardassian fight and the fact that his son is half Cardassian.

Most fun story to write: The Explorer. The whole 'toss the POV' moment at the beginning was a lot of fun to write. As was that whole entire scene with them demoting each other as they spoke.

Story with the single sexiest moment: 25 Years Earlier. I'm rather proud of the sex scene. Even though I forgot to describe Chakotay taking his pants off and now that's all I SEE when I read the damned thing. LOL

Most "holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: You Are Here Under The Authority of Me. Living Witness Janeway forcing Living Witness Chakotay into a Vulcan mating/bonding ritual, complete with proximity bracelets. Much pain if he tries to run away from her. Muhahaha. (I loved this universe, I need to go back and play in it.)

Hardest story to write: Come Healing. It's hard subject matter, and I ran into stubborn muse meets deadline issues and literally had panic attacks. But, the finished story is so, so worth it!

Biggest disappointment: I've got a lot of stories started that I've promised. One is a Western that I really really wanted to have done by now. It's not.

Most unintentionally telling story: You Are Here Under The Authority of Me. Haha, wait... ;) It tells you that I am a devious, devious, author.

Did you reach last year's goal? Reached it and sailed past! My goal was 100K words. I ultimately wrote 151K. Go me!!

[skautism]

Bat, broomstick, and howel

Bat: If you could transform into any kind of animal, what animal would you be?

a cat !!

Broomstick: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

mmmm I wanna c riot fest (if it was HAPPENING)

Howel: Your favorite kind of dog?

m not a dog person 2bh, can I go w frank ieros dogs

[migleefulmoments]

lmao Abby is losing her shit because Darren is gonna be singing White Christmas with Lea on her new Christmas album. Apparently that song is "sacred" and can only be sang by Darren and Chris. She seriously needs to get a grip.

Anonymous said: "I can be upset, I think it is a complete slap in the face. there are like 3000 christmas songs, there are THREE that are sacred.   And yes, D should have sad no." Oh look Abby doesn't approve of something Darren is doing AGAIN. Seriously she claims to be his biggest fan but yet complains about everything he does.

Man, I didn’t see this coming. I’m amazed at how deeply emotional they are about a scripted, tv-show couple and a really old song! I might understand  if Abby was a lesbian teenager and this was 2011. It was empowering for gay, lesbian and bisexual kids and young adults to turn on network tv and see people that looked liked them. But times they have a changed. Klaine and Brittana pushed boundaries, but in 2019 there are LGBTQ characters on many shows, Netflix has LGBTQ programing and Ryan Murphy continues to create shows that specifically tell LGBTQ stories-ie Pose and he has created LGBTQ characters for all of his shows because that’s life. He’s continues to normalize LGBTQ characters on his shows: 911 has a main character who is a married lesbian, The Politician has gay characters and its been reported that Rock Hudson will be a character in Hollywood. 

So here we are in 2019 and Abby is devastated that the sacred White Christmas will be covered by Darren and Lea on her new Christmas album. First off, why is the song sacred? Abby mentioned the “Bryant Park riot”-a riot we know never happened. The people “holding the fandom together” were not in the cc fandom when Chris and Darren filmed in Bryant Park. Their “memories” of that day have all been created by watching a few moments of the 11-hour day. I’ve come to realize that the cc theory is built on slowed-down gifs and screenshots. Reality looks nothing like cc so they manipulate the facts to fit their needs. It’s a powerful method because it is so easy to con people into believing inane facts. I am sure that Abby and Flowers and Cassie and Leka fully believe everything they hold near and dear about CrissColfer.  It’s all a lie but they fully believe they are throwing out tried-and-true proven facts. Abby in particular is really baffled why we can’t see what she see. The difference between them and us is that we don’t listen with our eyes. We don’t get information about Darren and Mia by piecing together gifs. That’s it-gifs and screenshots from videos! Can you imagine if a lawyer a police officer  used a gif as evidence? 

Nobody set out to con the tinhatters into believing a fantasy that doesn’t exits-in fact, nobody is conning the fandom-they are conning themselves. They don’t look at the  evidence and form an opinion- they literally create the evidence. Zoom in a photo until you can crop out what you need or clip 1-2 seconds from a longer video, slow it down, add some text and suddenly *BAM* you have proof! Proof with all the drama and emotion to make it feel so much more important than it was. 

How the shit hit the fan:

Leka:

jaci3

I will definitely be purchasing this album! So much talent! Cynthia!! Darren!! Jonathan and Lea!!

notes-from-nowhere

I’m going to take this as a good news👍🏻

ajw720

But no, no, no no. Do not get me wrong, I am thrilled D is on the album, but no, no, no, not a K/laine song. Why?  There are so many Christmas songs out in the world and they chose a K/laine song?  

I have no interest, it can never live up.

I hate 2019.

DRAMA MUCH?

Thanks, but it’s a hard pass for me.

ajw720

I actually have tears in my eyes. This feels like a complete slap in the face. Sorry, but it is and it should not have been this song and I don’t care what you believe, Those songs are sacred to the K/laine fandom whether you think he is married to her or with C or something completely different.  

How many Christmas songs are there to choose from? If she wanted WC, she could have sang it with someone else.

With you @cassie1022 hard pass.  It may seem silly to be this upset about something, but this actually makes me angry.  I feel like K/laine fans are being discarded. That is his LEGACY, something he should be proud of, through that character and that pairing, he and C made a difference, and I do not understand why it needs to constantly be chipped away.  

I have to say the thing that strikes me the most is how obtuse she is about what Glee was the end. It was a mess. I loved Glee but most of the fun by the end was the amazing fanfiction, Fanon Klaine and fandom itself. It was fun to get the song sneak peeks and BTS photos and videos. It was amazing to be a part of a fandom of people who loved what I did. It is amazing to be part of the Chris and Darren stanclub.  But Glee...it was a disaster. .

Leka proves some context for “White Christmas is Sacred” and notice how how many are gifs: 

leka-1998

Excuse you.

WC is so much more than just a song.

(She does know this is a scripted moment right? Darren didn’t actually travel to NYC from Lima with Chris’s dad and someone told him when to skate, what to say, what to sing.). 

“It’s been a whirlwind, but amazing. We got to film at the ice skating rink in Bryant Park, which was just incredible. It was one of the best filming experiences I’ve ever had.”

- Ch/ris Col/fer

(Yes, Darren laid down on the carpet and took a picture of Chris which was  about the most cc thing that happened in 11 hours)

(I have no doubt that these three gifs were created from 1 or 2 seconds of real-time video. These images created the false impression that they spent the day together, gleefully skating and being intimate. Not too long ago, I read a cc post that claimed “Darren spent the day taking care of Chris”.  No, not true- see the videos below for a more realistic representation of the day). )  

#truly this really upsets me

(I guess she is reminding us of how much they mean to the world- eye roll.)  

I tried finding a long video on YouTube-ideally much of the day or even just big chucks of the day but *surprise* nobody bothered to upload that snooze fest. If the day was actually the cc riot the posse believes it was, there would be an 11-hour complication video.

I did find some video that accurately represents what I remember. Basically just imagine 11 hours of the following: 

Chris was pretty shaky when they started skating but by the time they filmed, he was much better. I cannot imagine being on skates for 11- shaky- hours.

Chris skating alone, trying to get more comfortable with skating before filming.

That’s it! That s the totality of what is posted on YouTube from the “Riot”.

The conversation continues; 

Anonymous asked:

White Christmas is literally one of the most cliché christmas songs. The album is just Lea's favorites. Darren has sung White Christmas before and he sounded amazing so it's only natural she would invite him to sing it with her. I get the a lot of things can be frustrating, but good god you all being THIS upset about it is the reason why everyone mock our fandom. It's not even baby it's could outside. At least we know for sure chris is going to be mentioned at some point during the promo.

ajw720 answered: (in victim mode)

Why do you care if I am this upset?  Seriously, let them mock me, they have blogs dedicated to hating me and posts multiple times a day.  I am over it, they are the ones with the sad lives who actually give me power.  

(Nope, not dedicated to “hating you”, I simply debunk your “facts” and “proof” beaus they are not evidence of CrissColfer; Yes, this is unfortunately a negative side effect to disproving your lies- you don’t care if the attention is negative or positive- you just like the attention. But pointing out the lies and misinformation is more important to me ) 

I can be upset, I think it is a complete slap in the face. there are like 3000 christmas songs, there are THREE that are sacred.   And yes, D should have sad no.  We sit here and swallow everything, including having “D” himself mock and yell at our fandom on SM.  And I virtually defend everything he does, probably to a fault, including holding out that person as his wife. This was easily avoidable.

(well at least you acknowledge that Darren calls out your fandom for their bad behavior on social media. Now would be a good time to really analyze why you think that is. Really sit down and think about why Darren would mock your fandom without a gif or a screenshot to zoom in on. What would drive him to be angry at a ccer?) . 

Sorry, not sorry, don’t like, post on your own blog and stop reading mine if you don’t like the way i represent. Happy to pace the torch. 

(Wow she is happy to pass the torch? Right. ) 

notes-from-nowhere

(Notes comes in and tries to soothe Abby’s fragile nerves).

So, I feel the need to say something. I’m not that much upset for the song mostly because I think it may be the song D picked out if those presented to him so I don’t fully like the idea but it could have been worse. At least all of the involved knows the meaning of the song.

What bothers me though is this kind of attitude, anon. This urgency to come here and to tell to another person what/how/when she should feel about something. Trying to put a weight on it or to dismissed the rightfulness of her feelings.

If this is how she (and everyone else) feels about this, she has the right and the freedom to say it out loud without having to face someone else’s judgement because maybe she has another opinion.

(and the anon has the right to say what she feels-see how that works?)

There are different ways to approach a person to communicate so please next time, think better.

ajw720

Thank you @notes-from-nowhere, hard to believe, the above was at least more respectful than this anon:

This is why I left the fucking fanbase. I still very much agree with the same views and ideas that all of you have, but jesus christ, it’s a SONG. Calm down. I’m just happy whenever D does something that doesn’t envolve PBB. Getting so upset because D is singing a song that he sang with C. Maybe he’s doing it because it reminds him of the Bryant Park shoot? Maybe? Good god, everything is the apocalypse to you guys. Leaving was the best thing I’ve ever done.

I want to remind everyone, I am the one, with a handful of people, keeping this fandom alive and supporting D&C daily,. And just like i can praise them, i can tell them when they hurt me.  This hurt. Maybe I am being overly dramatic and if this was isolated, i would say yes. This is not isolated, it is a continued effort to erase K/laine and CC.  As has been pointed out, not only did they offend K/laine fans in general, it is a knock at our fandom who still to this day celebrate the skating riot.

(Oh lord, she reminds us she is the HBIC, sacrificing everything to keep the fandom together. I love that she believes this is “supporting D&C daily”. Nobody needs to be told the suck everyday.  She support them and so she can criticize them but nonnie cannot criticize her. That makes perfect sense) 

Again literally THOUSANDS of songs to choose from.  Not even sure why L would EVER want to compete with C, but in this case, the fault doesn’t lie with her.  D should have said no.  

(I don’t think Lea is too worried about putting up her vocal chops against Chris’.  The both have great voices)

I am not going to say anything else and just accept that yet another of D’s 2019 projects is something i won’t ever see or hear.  

(once again it’s all about her and her hurt feelings. But this response is at least rationale-if you don’t like the project- skip it. It isn’t Darren’s responsibly to provide 100% Abby approved content)   

I really hope things are going to change, I really, really do.

(But they aren’t..they really aren’t.  This is Darren’s life and I know it’s super stressful because you are trying to hard to make his life work with yours and it just won't You both have very conflicting and opposing goals for Darren’s life. Here’s a protip: Go on a gif-free and zoomed-photo-free diet for a few months. Analyze the information at face value. Learn what PR really means and see how things look.If for no other reason than your own sanity. Stop trying to shove the square peg in the round hole 

#please do not send any more asks on this topic

#i am very upset

ajw720

My feelings aside, WHY in the world would LM EVER want to compete with this? Sorry, but it won’t be half as good. Stupid move and that is trying to remove my bias.

(Her thought processes never ceases to amaze me. Abby and Trump- they start criticizing and they just can’t stop. Lea gets to make her own decisions about what songs she sings, who she’s competitive with, whether she wants to take a chance and put herself out there or not. It just isn’t anyone else’s business. Chris has a beautiful voice but Lea has a stunning voice-she isn’t worried. This is right up there with her criticisms of TSG’s air conditioning, drink names, theme nights and every comment she’s made about a bar she will never go to. 

[coolkidstable]

🌠

i already said this in the chat but like, everything in my life? i mean anytime we’re both awake and not working we basically don’t go an hour without talking so IT’S TRUE

1) you

2) can

3) gay

jk jk okay the real list under a READ MORE as promised:

1) taking back sunday. duh. hello. is this even a question. i did know they existed before i knew you but it doesn’t feel like it! adam and john are literally your dads, not even a joke when i say that. it’s just cold hard facts. and you’ve gotten me obsessed with them too because, let’s face it, they’re iconic and every song they’ve ever made is a masterpiece. you also literally know more about them than they do which is so iconic of you. they’re great to meme about too. and i know how much their shows mean to you and it’s been way too long since you’ve had a good one. you’ve also made so many great friends through them and connected with more (me 🌚) bc of them so like.. the power. i really really cannot wait for riot fest and toronto and especially boston!!! 

2) woho! more specifically how you literally know more about it than i know about like, anything in life, and how much it means to you. i love how you approach life with a mindset of taking no shit from anyone, and this really shines when you’re reminding people (including me!) that supporting women at least as much as men is not just Cool and Extra Woke but Important and Yes It’s A Requirement. this applies to men’s hockey too, but you have such a deep understanding of the way the game works and literally just reading one text from you about kacey or danton or whoever making a great play makes me instantly feel like i’m talking to the smartest person i know. 

3) your writing!!!! your fics are always so detailed and watching you work through them feels exactly like watching kacey play defense. and your ideas are always the coolest, especially two of the current ones and you know which ones i mean. reading examples while you were writing it was literally the coolest experience, and obviously it was an elite fic on top of that. and as much as we joke about your tenses, i had a lot of fun betaing!! also just talking about writing in general though, because sharing it is really the most fun part. YES THIS MEANS ESSAYS. i know my responses are usually just dog stickers or “wig” but reading them is like watching an episode of stranger things, ya know? just take in the genius and watch it all unfold 😎

bonus: 

HE COOKIN.GIF

we irritating

being pests in general

the menzingers, camp cope, cayetana, the wonder years, straylight run, having once resented dan soupy campbell for stealing bruins legend gregory campbell’s nickname, crowdsurfing, diy music in general

the fact that we literally live the same lives and share a brain

mean lesbian danton heinen collective

taco bell and (therese voice) mcdo’s

the songs casey, gates, after the party, death wolf, beat up car, tidal wave, flicker fade, my blue heaven, a decade under the influence, i just want to sell out my funeral, bus ticket, south philly, the opener, night shift, the tension and the terror, and killer (palehound)

carlo and bellamy... also danton

the word e-girl

g*rard/b*rt

....and more obviously, k*reinen, n*lazz, matt/anders, t**/g***, carlo/cl*fton, s********, and perhaps most of all, ******/*****

meghan being god herself

being clowns

that lesbian masterdoc

the depths of the internet where all the most iconic br*ins pics can be found

the winter classic peaky blinders outfits for some reason? it’s probably the poster jokes 

new york, chicago, philly, very lowkey texas 

on that note: philly cheesesteaks but especially philly tacos

the c*bs

br*zzo

a lesson in bjorkisms which is funny bc IT’S MY OWN FIC AND I WROTE IT BEFORE I KNEW YOU

.............br*ck/p*tey

did you know that even with seatbelts 70% of people die in car crashes just thought that was interesting

you’re like 1000000 times more perceptive than literally anyone else i’ve ever met, which is to say you read people really well (both before and after getting to know them) and like i’m sure you know more about me than i do and it’s really cool?? idk how you do that but wig. this also applies to the br*ins

being an expert on travel (also like... traveling for shows in general + buses)

i could literally still come up with more but like..... IT’S 2:30 AM I HAVE TO WORK TOMORROW

so to end: being one of the best possible friends i could ever ask for and i’m really really grateful that i get to know you 💗

[hazyheel]

Wrestlemania 35 Review

The pre-show started with the Cruiserweight Championship, Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese, and the two started out fast and violently. Murphy got split open somewhere around his eye early on in the match, after he slipped off the turnbuckle. The two exchanged heavy strikes in the match, and Nese seemed to have the advantage for much of the match. At one point, Nese hit a springboard moonsault to Murphy, who was hanging between the ropes. Nese even hit a reverse rana to Murphy, and Murphy really landed right on his head. The two again began to exchange combinations of strikes, each countering the final hit into a combo of their own. Nese even hit a package piledriver for a near fall, and then a 450 splash for a near fall. Nese went for the running Knese, but Murphy intercepted with a bicycle knee and Murphy’s Law, but Nese got his foot on the ropes. Murphy went for the running knese as well, but Nese got the interception with a superkick, before hitting a german suplex into the corner, and then the running Knese for a big win.

Grade: B+. Really good way to open up the show. I was shocked at how much offense Nese scored, almost a burial of Murphy, but I think that it will play into the story. I was pleasantly surprised to see Nese win the match, I really wasn’t sure if it would play out well, but it looked super good and by the end of the match, it felt like Nese’s time. Congratulations to him, I look forward to his title reign.

It didn’t take long for them to jump into the women’s battle royal. No Lacy Evans, so I was automatically wrong about this match. Asuka had a staredown with Nikki Cross, reminiscent of their feud in NXT a few years ago. Ember Moon hit a cool looking eclipse over the top rope to eliminate Naomi, and must’ve hit 3 before getting eliminated. For some reason, Sarah Logan and Lana hugged, before the rest of the riot squad destroyed Lana. The Riott Squad completely destroyed their opponents throughout the match, until Dana Brooke eliminated both Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. Final four were Asuka, Sonya Deville and Sarah Logan, but Carmella was on the outside hiding on the outside. Deville, Asuka and Logan had an awesome sequence together, and Logan eliminated both of them, only for Carmella to come in. The two fought, and Logan even held on to the middle rope to stay in, until Carmella got the win with a superkick. 

Grade: A-, because I like to be positive. I am not normally a fan of battle royals, but this one was really good. There were a lot of interweaving stories, everyone got time to shine, and it told a fun tale. Lots of creative eliminations, and really non stop action. They really stole the pre-show today. 

Next up was the Raw Tag Team Championship match, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder vs. The Revival. Dawson and Hawkins started the match out, but it seemed like the challengers were pretty outclassed. Ryder was beaten down for most of the math, with the Revival destroying any limb they could get their hands on. Hawkins eventually got the hot tog, and absolutely lit up the champions. Ryder went for a suplex to Wilder out of the ring, but both men ended up tumbling out of the ring. There was then a flurry of offense on the outside, with Hawkins nailing a spear on Wilder, and then getting hit with a nasty brainbuster from Dawson. Dawson dragged him back into the ring, and Hawkins looked to be out. Dawson tried to bring him up for some sort of move, but Hawkins got a rollup for a shocking win.

Grade: B+. Another really good match. Started out slow, but it really picked up by the end of the match, with a flurry of offense during his hot tag. All hope seemed lost when the Revival nailed their big moves on the outside, but Hawkins finally pulled off a win. It was a good payoff to such a long story, and I was into it. So happy for Hawkins to pull it off, and to win a belt at the same time is just a cherry on top.

Then right into the Andre the Giant memorial Battle Royal. Che and Jost made their entrance, looking absolutely lost being in the ring with these guys. The two comedians immediately hid underneath the ring. A fun elimination from Andrade, as he monkey flipped Kalisto over the top rope. Luke Harper tried to vertical suplex Ali out of the ring, but Braun hit a big boot to eliminate them both. Ali took a terrible bump as a result. In the final three, Jost and Che actually got in the ring, and Jost attempted to get Braun to talk to a therapist, but Braun, of course, beat up the therapist. Che tried to run, but Braun got in a punch to take him out. He then threw Jost a a pile of superstars on the outside.

Grade: C-. When all was said and done, this was a silly comedy match, and it was actually pretty fun and funny. Just some stupid action, Jost and Che were funny in their attempts to eliminate Braun, and considering that Che and Jost didn’t actually get eliminations, nor did they really fight anyone, it went better than these types of matches normally go. Celebrity stuff is always iffy, but this went well.

Before anything started, Alexa Bliss came out for a promo. She said that she was going to give herself a Wrestlemania moment, and she snapped her fingers and Hulk Hogan came out. He cut the stereotypical Hogan promo. Then they posed together. Kinda cute. But then Paul Heyman marched out to the ring, and cut a promo in the ring. He said that Lesnar would not be leaving for Las Vegas right after the match is over.

So, we opened the main card with Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the universal Championship. Lesnar had a special entrance video, where a sword destroyed Lesnar’s beast skull. Lesnar started the match with a stiff knee to the stomach. beating him down outside, and hitting the F5 quickly. Lesnar threw him around ringside, over the announce table and into a commentator. The match officially began, and Seth was drilled with several german suplexes. Seth shoved the Lesnar into the ref, and then nailed a low blow. He was then able to hit the curb stomp three times, and got the win.

Grade: D+. The beatdown was fun, but there wasn’t much to this match. Rollins hitting the low blow felt odd from an underdog babyface. It was an exciting moment, but I bet these two could’ve had a great match. It’s also odd that this match came on first. It just felt like an odd victory to open the show. Although, I am pretty happy about the outcome.

Next up was Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles. It didn’t take long for Orton to start cheating, hitting a thumb to the eye early on. Orton just kept trying to hit the RKO, but Styles wiggled out of it each time. At one point, AJ faked going for a phenomenal forearm and orton went for the RKO, obviously missed and Styles nailed a 450 splash. AJ was desperate in his attempts to avoid the RKO, but did take one after a rollup, for a near fall. AJ hit a big phenomenal forearm to the outside. He then hit a Phenomenal Forearm in the ring for the win.

Grade: B. Not as fast of a match as I thought it would be, but still pretty good. They worked together quite well, and the story of AJ desperately attempting to avoid the RKO was good, and it made the near fall even more convincing. Shocked to see that Styles went over, but still happy to see one of my favorites go over. I hope these guys wrestle again, because I think they can do better.

Lacy Evans did a catwalk. Then there was the Smackdown tag team Championship match, Usos vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev vs. The Bar. The action was very fast, with a flurry of offense from everyone and many quick tags. Cesaro had a huge swing on Ricochet for about a minute before locking in the sharpshooter, before an Uso broke them up. Rusev and Nakamura actually did really well as a tag team, better than I thought they would, putting together some hard hitting striking combinations.  There was then a huge ass tower of doom, but Ricochet flipped out of it. Ricochet went up for the 630 senton on Sheamus, with Black covering him, but everyone broke it up. There was a big finisher fest, with Ricochet selling a brogue kick like he was shot. The usos then hit sheamus with three superkicks and a double splash for the win.

Grade: B+. A lot faster than I assumed it would be. This match really reminded me how good the bar, Nakamura and Rusev all are. They have been in some less than flattering matches lately, but this one was really good. Everyone got in tag moves, showing that all of these teams will work well in the tag division. I am bummed that Black and Ricochet didn’t win, but hopefully they can go on to feud with the Usos sooner rather than later.

Next match was Miz vs. Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Shane started out by running away, but quickly got the advantage via cheap shots. At one point, Shane was going to elbow Miz through an announce table, but his dad (yay) got in the way. Shane and Mr. Miz squared off in the ring, with Shane utterly destroying Mr. Miz, only for the Miz to run in and take down shane. They began to brawl through the crowd, near the LED pillars, and into the stands. They even started destroyed the announce tables in the crowds, and Miz hit him so hard with a moniter that he fell over a railing and about a 6 foot fall. Miz then hit the Skull Crushing Finale on a platform for the cameras, for a near fall. They battled even higher, with Miz superplexing shane through a platform, and it completely caved it in. Shane was able to get the arm over Miz for the win.

Grade: B+. A wild, brawl, with some big spots, and every bit of soap opera crap. That superplex will be shown in video packages for years to come. It was good clean fun, and although I wasn’t too pleased with Miz losing, but given the spot, it was just a coincidence that Shane got the pin. It wasn’t too serious, nor did I think it would be. If they had more weapon spots, then maybe this would’ve been higher. But still, I thought it was really good.

Into the Women’s Tag Team Championship match, the Boss N’ Hug Connection took on the Divas of Doom, The IIconics and Nia Jax and Tamina.  The IIconics quickly established that they would only tag in if they were in the advantage. Pheonix and Natalya hit a hart attack on Billie Cay for a near fall. Jax and Tamina were taken out pretty early, only to come back in and absolutely destroy the IIconics. Banks and Bayley were lying in the corners, and Jax and Tamina went up for splashes, but Phoenix took Jax out. Bayley nailed an elbow drop to Natalya, followed by a splash from Banks for a near fall. Phoenix nailed Bayley with a super glam slam, but the IIconics threw her out of the ring and made the pin to win the belts.

Grade: D. Decent action, but it was a little short for the speed of it all. I think that they definitely should have gone with a standard tag match if Bayley and Sasha were gonna get pinned anyway. The super Glam Slam was a memorable moment, and I think it was in character for the IIconics to steal the pin. Maybe I am just upset that Bayley and Sasha lost the belts without having a real classic match for the belts. Maybe they will get them back in the future, but the IIconics will probably make for some very entertaining TV in the next few weeks.

And for the WWE championship, Kofi Kingston took on Daniel Bryan. The crowd was fully behind Kingston right from the beginning of the match. Bryan did what he could to keep the match on the mat, but he was also able to go at a fast pace with Kingston. Bryan attempted to work over Kingston’s leg. At one point, Kofi went for a springboard splash to the outside, but Bryan dodged it and sent him careening into the table. Kofi went for several double stomps throughout the match, but Bryan had it scouted at one point, picked him out of the air, and locked in a lion tamer. At one point, Kingston Nailed the SOS, only for Bryan to counter it into a Lebell Lock, raining down elbows into the ribs. Eventually, Bryan just kept kicking Kingston in the chest and sides, until Kingston screamed at him telling him to keep hitting him, and the two dueled with kicks until Kingston hit an inverted suplex for a near fall. Kingston then followed Bryan to the outside, but Rowan got in his way. Kingston hit Rowan with a trouble in paradise, and then Big E and Xavier Woods nailed him with the midnight hour. Back in the ring, there was a great near fall as Kofi was hit with the running knee. In his frustration, Bryan stomped on Kingstons face and head, before locking in the lebell lock once again. Kofi fought out of it, and returned the favor with stomps as the crowd cheered along. Kofi then hit the Trouble in Paradise for the win, finally gaining the WWE Championship after 11 years. After the match, Kofi celebrated with his kids and even a new shirt.

Grade: A. This match was absolutely awesome. The suspense was awesome, the selling from everyone was great, and Daniel Bryan’s work as a despicable heel made the match so much more fun. It felt like Kofi wouldn’t win due to how Bryan kept countering everything kofi threw at him at first. Kofi played a great underdog, and even the knew day on the outside kept the crowd hyped up. Kofi totally deserved this win, and I think he will be a fantastic WWE Champion. I can’t wait.

Backstage, Alexa Bliss talked to Colin Jost and Michael Che backstage, with some trainers. Bliss said that Strowman is a nice guy. They all argued, before Bliss said they were in good hands, before Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were revealed as their doctors.

Next was Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe. They started out quick, with Joe beating his ass quickly. Mysterio did hit the 619, but Joe quickly choked him out for the win. Not gonna grade this one.

Then it was Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. The two squared up in the beginning of the match, before absolutely destroying each other with punches. McIntyre had most of Roman’s moves scouted, such as countering the drive by with a vertical suplex. Throughout the match, McIntyre got into Reigns’ head by telling him that he broke the Shield, and destroyed his brothers. That only fired up Roman. He then unleashed a fury of great offense, followed by several superman punches and then a spear for the win.

Grade: B-. Good match, but not nearly enough time. They could’ve put on a classic together, but since the story was Roman as an underdog, he couldn’t get in as much offense. But I think that these guys could do a lot better, and I am bummed that they didn’t get time to really put on an awesome match.

Then, Elias had his concert. First playing drums on the tron, then piano on the tron, then the guitar in the ring. He was his own band. What a fun little segment. He was about to start his full song, but he was interrupted by some older baseball footage. Cena then came out in his old Thuganomic persona. He even had a huge scowl on his face. He announced that he was about to turn heel, and that Elias’ music sucks more than his own movies. There was too much to talk about in this “promo,” but he hit the five knuckle shuffle and hit the FU and left.

Grade: C. What the flying fuck was that? I think it was good, but I really don’t know. I’ll call it down the middle, because it was funny, but probably a burial of Elias. I don’t know, I just don’t know.

Into the No Holds Barred Match of the night, Batista vs. Triple H. Batista entered with an enterage of bodyguards in a nice van, while Trips entered on a Mad Max type car. Shawn Michaels was on commentary, which I assumed would factor into things. Two went at each other with absolute fury, it was a visceral match, very much like a street fight. It wasn’t long before Trips began choking Batista with a chain, also whipping him. He then stretched Batista’s fingers with pliers, and even pinned him down with a chair and ripped out his nose ring. It was disgusting, I don’t know how they did it. Batista attempted several times to put Trips through a table, but it did not work. They continued to beat each other down with weapons and stiff shots. Batista went to batista bomb Trips through an announce table, but Trips back body dropped him instead, but the table didn’t break. What is with these tables? Trips then hit a huge running spear through another announce table, which thankfully broke. Trips finally got a sledgehammer from under the ring, but as he went to attack Batista, Batista speared him for a near fall. Batista then brought Trips up for a batista bomb for another good near fall. As Batista went for a superplex onto the steel steps in the ring, but Trips countered with a powerbomb onto the stairs, and then the pedigree for a near fall. Eventually, Flair came out to give Trips a sledgehammer, then distracting Batista so that Trips gets a sledge shot and another pedigree for the win.

Grade: B-. Shockingly decent. I flip flopped on this match a lot in the build up, thinking it could suck or be great. It was actually good, but really nothing more. The weapon shots were stiff, and it had a very ruthless aggression feel. Very fun, and I am not very shocked with the outcome. I thought Batista would win, but I understand if Trips doesn’t want to retire yet. Pretty good match, nothing more.

Now, Kurt Angle’s farewell match, against Baron Corbin. For some reason, they kept saying that Corbin was “Wrestlemania’s favorite son.” I don’t know why that is, but it is certainly incorrect. The two had a pretty decent match, and Corbin sold pretty well for angle. Corbin hit a big deep six for a near fall. Angle hit the angle slam for a near fall, but then he took the straps down and locked in the ankle lock for a submission sequence. Angle even went for a moonsault, but he missed, allowing Corbin to hit the end of days for the win. The crowd was piiiiiiiiissed. But Corbin quickly left the ring, and Angle cut a goodbye promo, asking them to play his music one last time, the crowd chanted you suck, and people cried. They even cut to a sign that said you never sucked, and I teared up.

Grade: B. The match wasn’t good, but with respect to angle, and the emotion of his retirement, I will cut it some slack. Corbin sold a lot, and made Kurt look good. And although I was shocked at the outcome, it was the right call. Corbin gets a huge boost from that. But anyway, thank you Kurt, we will never forget you. You suck will never mean the same thing again thanks to you.

And we moved swiftly into the intercontinental title match, Bobby Lashley against the Demon Finn Balor. Lashley came out with weird, yellow contacts in. But of the two entrances, Balor’s was definitely better. He was on a huge pillar surrounded in smoke, with body paint that resembled a pharaoh, I think. The bell rang, and Balor started off in a much more aggressive manor than he normally does. However, Lashley quickly fought back, hitting huge suplexes and lariats. Lio Rush was super scared the entire time, running away from Balor at any point. Lashley even hit a spear through the ropes, followed by another in the ring for a near fall. Balor even hit a huge powerbomb, followed by the Coup de Gras for the win.

Grade: B+. Short but sweet. I never thought that I would give this match a good grade, but this match made me realize what makes a good, or great match: back and forth. WWE matches are often very one sided, but this had swinging momentum, and that is what made it so good. So these guys can put on a good match, they just aren’t often given the chance to. I really liked this match, and I wish they would do more like it. Good stuff to both of these guys.

They had a bit of a dance break with R-Truth and Carmella. Good times, they are funny.

And in the main event, possibly the most important Wrestlemania main event ever, Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair fought for the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championships. Charlotte arrived in the arena via helicopter, with people rolling out the red carpet for her. Rousey had live music for her entrance, smiling at the Joan Jet and the Blackhearts, but turning all business when she stormed down the ramp. Becky didn’t get anything special, but the fan support for her was huge. Rousey wasn’t holding anything back in this match, delivering the stiffest kicks I have ever seen from a man or woman in all of wrestling. Lynch and Flair exchanged very stiff strikes in the middle of the ring, each going for the other’s submission. Flair and Lynch tried to powerbomb Rousey out of the ring, but she latched on a (bad looking) armbar on Flair between the ropes. Becky then nailed a basement dropkick to Rousey, still hanging, sending her tumbling to the floor. Charlotte went for a moonsault early on, only for Lynch to reverse it into a disarmer, only for Rousey to break it up quickly. Rousey attempted a double armbar, but Lynch and Flair worked together hitting three double powerbombs before Rousey fell. At one point, Lynch loced in the disarmer through the ropes, before Flair broke it up. Flair then hit a huge avalanche spanish fly on Lynch for a near fall. Rousey’s leg was absolutely destroyed throughout the match, with Flair even locking in the figure four on the ringpost for a time. Flair almost locked in the figure 8, but Lynch broke it up with a flying senton. Becky then introduced a table, but Rousey flipped it, saying “tables are for bitches.” Charlotte nailed a double spear for a pair of near falls. Flair then set up a table in the corner, attempting to double spear the opponents through it, but they countered with a flip into the table. In the finish, Rousey attempted to hit Lynch with the pipers pit, but Lynch countered into a crucifix cover, for the win. The pin was iffy, but no big deal.

Grade: A-. Non stop action once again. These women went at it as fast as they could, and it was really great. This was not one of those triple threat matches where people were constantly resting on the outside. They were always in the ring, with hard hitting sequences and awesome moves. I thought the finish was a bit anticlimactic, but considering how the show went so far overtime, I am not surprised that this is what they went with. They really did do great in the main event, and I am happy to see Becky with the belts that she so rightfully deserves.

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Cruiserweight Championship; women’s battle royal; raw tag team championship; Styles vs. Orton; smackdown tag team championship; falls count anywhere; WWE Championship; Intercontinental Championship; Women’s Championship

Cons: Men’s battle royal; Universal championship match; Women’s tag team championship; Cena promo (i think); matches were very short

[mxbitters]

if just.  once in my life.  if i could go to riot fest ONCE.  i could die fucking happy 2020 with m c fucking r would be cool but like not even just them riot fest has the best fucking lineups and i think i’d probably implode with the lineup.  then again the only music fest experience i has is with warped tour so i dont know how they do like.  set times.  damn whenever the day comes i DO go to riot fest i really hope it’s not a “Good Morning This Is The Lineup” type deal because fuuuuck that