#him still cosplaying as indie... have to laugh

[shesnake]

wes anderson is basic bitch cinema

[palaceofpassion]

Question for all the arc sisters your thoughts on Pyrrha and may?

Rua's Answer

"I'm quite fond of both of them, they're both good girls, even if Pyrrha can be a bit..." Rua did a quick twirl of her finger near her ear, "sometimes. But that's all in good spirit, unless you truly get her mad, she's quite the warrior that one. As for May, I've always liked May, and I always thought she would end up with my brother. So I'm happy for them. Of course, I was rightfully disheartened at first, however I've learned to let go of my grievances."

Saphron's Answer

"They're good girls! I know they'll treat Jaune right, so long as he does the same. I'm just really happy that he was able to find someone you know? For the longest time I was worried that well..." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, letting the shaking in her hands die down, "That he'd never find someone. So I'm just happy."

Verdell

"They're both pretty great!" The hyperactive girl practically bounced on the balls of her feat, her long blonde hair swinging in it's ponytail confines. "Especially Pyrrha! Who knew that my brother had it in him! I'm super happy that he was able to honestly find someone for him! And two girls?! Really cute ones at that! Go Jaune!" Slowly she began to slow her rocking, "Really, really just happy for him."

Indy

"Oh! Oh like, it's really awesome yeah? They've both got great taste if you ask me! My brother is a ~catch~ Like he can do so many things! I always told him, if he didn't get into being a huntsman or it doesn't pan out, he can totes get into fashion or just making cosplay outfits! That reminds me! Pyrrha's into that too! And May was getting into it! It's a ton of fun to have others to do it with!" She pulled out a dress, though incomplete, "I wonder if I should have him look at this? He'd totally make it pop."

Lapis

The girl frowned, despite her black hair covering her sapphire eyes, it was obvious where her feelings stood on the matter. "Woe is me, such fiends would dare to steal my brother away!" She rose a single handle, "Hellish women, using their allure and charms to capture him in their vile webs. Nay! I shall free him from their treacherous claws before they wound him deeply." She grabbed a knife, stabbing it through an pear she was pealing.

Vione and Lotte

Vione's oversized sleeve pressed against her lips in a faux attempt to stifle her giggles. "Shishishi~ I'm surprised he found someone! I never thought he'd be able to pull it off! Two beauties at once even!" She turned away, keeping her sleeve up higher as she laughed again, "Though~ They're probably not good enough for him in the end I suppose! Betcha they can't even clean, what if he gets sick again!?" She shook her head letting out a deep sigh, "Our dearest and only brother is so hopeless after all..."

Lotte rolled her eyes, "Uh huh, and that's not at all because you're jealous right?"

Vione pulled back, her sleeve still pushed against her face, "Me jealous? Psh! Never!"

"Suuuuure sis, I bet you're frownin behind that aincha?"

"No."

Lotte smirked as she started approaching her sister, "Well, lemme see then!"

"Hey! You stay away!"

Again Lotte rolled her eyes, "Whatever, anyways they're pretty cool, for huntresses anyways. Never really been interested in that kind of thing, and I'm not a huge fan of them dragging my brother along. I'd rather he not relapse or somethin, seeing him sick was not fun."

"Right! Right there is that!"

Again Lotte rolled her eyes, "Stop being a brat."

"Boo!"

[borisbubbles]

25. PORTUGAL

Elisa - “Medo de sentir”

We’ve finally crossed over into the “I like this” territory :-) Let’s celebrate by booting another ballad ^_^

Song Analysis

This will be short and sweet though, since there isn’t much to say. “Medo de sentir” basically the Marie Myriam of its national final: It is a cromulent ballad that did nothing wrong and is solidly good, but not great in all the relevant areas (vocals, composition, staging). 

I mean,

Even so, Elisa gave me a few small nuggets that warmed me to her, serving DRAMAFACE in the FdC Semi

and LOOKS in the Finale: 

Peach puffy sleeves that rival Leonor Andrade’s legendary shoulder pads as a fashion statement <3 (honestly, this is pretty subdued for FdC fashion even? Hold on until I get talk about Felipe in the NF Corner) 

Honestly, you may wonder why I like this more than “Répondez-moi”, but I don’t really have a reason  - unless you’re willing to accept “Medo de sentir is underrated, is performed by a Weird Indie Girl and is from a criminally overlooked Eurovision country” as valid argumentations. Oh and while I only *very* mildly like Elisa, it is a decision I made myself, completely free of the social pressure I feel whenever Gjon, or heaven forbid, Roxen or Diodato, pop up. 

Furthermore, the fact that I still like Elisa even after she won her NF also speaks greatly in her favour. I’m not sure if you were aware of how good FdC was this year? Well, sit down because you are about to witness it!

NF Corner

Remember how old Eesti Laul’s neck was snapped and its corpse was urinated on by the shit Estonians? Remember how the quirky indie weirdo entries had to find a safe haven elsewhere in Europe? The Portugese hallmark traits of “Not Giving A Fuck”, “Doing Our Own Thing No Matter What” and “What Do You Mean This Isn’t A Vimeo Showreel?” allowed for Festival da Canção to absorb Eesti Laul’s broken spirit and channel it from every (Ley-La-)Ley-Line.

and since this is the first *GREAT* 2020 NF I am covering, I will do HONORABLE MENTIONS before I actually review my four choices :o

Dubio - “Ceguiera”: Hamburglar-looking goddess <3333

MEERA - “Copo de gin”: Pure EL-style EDM *and* it’s about drinking gin, needless to say this song is basically *my anthem*.  Jimmy P - “Abensonhado”: Rap rarely is my thing, let alone three minutes of it non-stop. Having said that, this is genuine and dramatic and Jimmy is flanked by a GOSPEL CHOIR (dressed in chasubles!!!) who support him in ENGLISH... I am not made of stone.  JJaZZ - “Agora”: Totally slept on this weird indie anthem, but then they showed up looking like this:

and yes, it was even funnier in motion (sadly gif’ing rights are reserved to the Elite 4 soz) Elisa Rodrigues - “Não voltes mais”: a jolly tropical ballad in a genre I recognize but cannot name (some sort of pimba fado jazz? Does this work?) and was incomprehensibly hated by the Portuguese? Will I ever understand how this country operates? Probably never. Kady - “Diz so”: another pimba fado jazz sort of thing? My friend André (who is from Brazil) tells me it’s actively parodying Brazillian counterculture and leftist stereotypes which is such a random quirk to put in a Portuguese music comp <3

And before we move on, I’ll chuck in a very speclal DISHONORABLE mention for our good friends Blasted Mechanism.😈 I actually forgot to do my jury duties for ESCUnited here, so I’ll just let James (the person with the best taste on our team, including yours truly) do it for me: 

Fucking *TRUTH*. “Rebellion’”s problem  has always been a lack of motherfucking balls. Sure, these middle-aged steampunkers attempt to implement a genre shift between indie rock and fucking ORCHESTRAL METAL/HIP HOP and make it so underwhelming and pathetic? People blame the live, and yes it was *bad* (forever cackling at “REBELGIUM” tho), but it was the studio that failed to deliver on the promises it made.  It always surprises me when people (Sean and Roy I AM coming for you) slam "Verona” for being a “fanwank” and then fall for a Rebellion which is basically a fanwank for heterosexual snobs. #ShotsFired. 

Now, as for the actual Boris faves, LET US START WITH A LIBERAL DOSE OF ASKEW CUBISM

Judas - “Cubismo Enviesado” 

VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?   

VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  

VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?   

VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  VÊS OU NÃO?  

 WHAT A FUCKING SPANDEX CATASTROPHE. “Cubismo enviesado” is a horrible song, the choreography looks like it had been conjured up during a particularly drunk night of bedroom karaoke and Judas can’t hold a tune for the life of him. The lyrics don’t even make sense in Portuguese <33333 It is an art school project gone disastrously wrong. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I AM OBSESSED.😍

Filipe Sambado - “Gerbera Amarelo do Sul”

That look

The regal panache

Those... leather shorts?

IT IS SO QUEER I LOVES IT. As with Cubismo, I am fucking OBSESSED. However, unlike Cubismo, “Gerbera amarela do sul” is *legitimately* great, lol. In addition to having a KICK-ASS fado rhythm and the off-the-charts visual components (the jewellery! the hats! the throne! the hand choreography!), the lyrics are highly intelligent poetry geared at dismantling upper class snobism.😍 Rare to find an entry that kicks ass on SO MANY levels. Even harder to see it lose to Elisa Myriam - but I’m not sad it lost because, you know, it would have befallen the same fate as a “Telemóveis”. At least his existence makes the memory-holing of Achille Lauro’s ICONIC Virgin Queen Cosplay so much easier to stomach. 

Throes & The Shine - “Movimiento”

I mean, entries that open like THIS: 

are instantly iconic, ngl. The best FdC entries offer a great triple of great looks, unplugged stubborn artistry and fun quirky rhythmes. Throes + The Shine pass this with flying colours and I mean, THOSE sunglasses alone yank up the laugh-out-laugh factor to astronomical levels. add in a hilarious choreography, sound effects that seemingly imitate duck mating noises and three very attractive men (in 2020! the concept!) and it’s an instant fave right there. 

AND THEN MADE THEIR ENTRY EVEN BETTER BY ADDING MIDNIGHT GOLD/JOWST EFFECTS TO THEIR STAGING. 😍😍😍😍

MANCHAS DE LAMA NA SUA PELE  

HEROES. 😍😍😍

and of course, this wouldn’t be a 2020 NF without an obvious runaway fave losing at the last minute: 

Bárbara Tinoco - “Passe-partout”

SHE IS TINY <3333:

She’s like a human bonsai... or a personal attack chincilla.

Okay, so Portugal were *THIS close* to out-France’ing the French with this sassy Zazballad, served with a generous dollop of parisian accordion and stank reaction shots.

Yet another entry that shamelessly uses an attractive man as a boytoy prop <333 For a brief moment, Bàrbara and Tiago establish themselves as a pair of lovestruck La La Land idiots, gearing themselves towards the EPIC moment where she will dump him... and then this happens before the first chorus:

Barbara opens up a can of dancer carbs and it completely fucks up her no-bullshit keto diet. 

Those dancers man. They aren’t a *bad* addition in itself, but if your thing is “romance ballad but *plot twist* it’s actually an end of romance ballad get lost loser” do not burn the clou within the first minute of the performance to a group of dancers who don’t even dance *along with the beat of your song*. UGH.

(and also, more devastatingly, the reduce tiaGOD’s airtime how dare they grrr)

Fortunately though, I have learned to appreciate the wrecktitude of it all because it caused one of the funniest downfall narratives in recent ESC history. The Portuguese were, of course, foaming at the mouth with all the decisions Bárbara had made (not even for the points I raised, necessarily?) and Bárbara was having none of it. It went kinda like this

Juries: EWWW DANCERS AND CHOREOGRAPHY YOU ARE RAPING YOUR OWN SONG YOU PHILISTINE WHORE. Bárbara: 

Juries: WOW WHAT *ARROGANCE*!! YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN BUT BOY DO WE HAVE NEWS FOR YOU :-) 

and lo hand behold, the finale rolls on and Tinoco’s dancers are still there, and are even *MORE* present than they were in the semi (but also in sync with the beat) and Bárbara gets promptly jurydunked into third place. 😍 Even though she has the *ONLY* song in FdC that could have qualified in its semifinal. 😍  A woman who stands three apples tall trolling an entire nation and juries because she knew she had gold in her hands and then getting rigged out of the easiest nf victory out of pure SPITE 😍  WHAT AN ARC. 😍

Portugal 2020 vs Portugal 2021

Elisa probably would not have qualified. I’m not sure how popular of an opinion this is, but I prefer the semifinal performance of “Medo de sentir” and that wasn’t the staging they were going for. Not many people seemed to care either way, and that’s usually the death sentence for Portugal. 

Elisa won’t be back for 2021 or whenever Eurovision is rebooted. :sigh: Fuck you, Coronavirus. 

Freaky! Friday! Factor!

See: NF Corner:

Score: 4 Senhits out of 5. 

[dulcetgames]

Hello~ I’m still vacillating between putting my girl Brynn with Tegan or Axel, so I’d finally like to settle that debate because I believe she’d suit them in different ways, and I love them both very much! (...)

So, Brynn is in the Fine Arts department for creative writing and poetry, and she loves to read and write (and watch movies and cartoons and anime within) the fantasy, or supernatural genres in either historical or modern settings. She loves listening to many types of music, though rock, alternative, classical and new age tend to inspire her writing the most so by default, that’s what she ends up listening to the most. Though she likes pop, j-pop, j-rock, metal, indie, game/movie/tv soundtracks, and musicals too, she’s always open to listening to new things! She also really enjoys photography and would love to travel the world one day, baking, cosplaying, playing story-driven RPGs or dance games, and binge-watching fiction shows but also things like Great British Bake-Off and other food shows.

As a person, she’s loyal, honest, patient, and pretty openly affectionate even to her friends, though she’ll be sure to tailor it to each individual comfort-level. (Quick hugs, long hugs, is not afraid to shout ‘I love you’ from across the hall.) She’s also very receptive to many types of humour and is steadfast and reliable in standing up for herself, her friends, and her own beliefs. Be aware SHE IS A CUDDLE MONSTER, she loves hugs. Though she is an ambivert and is just as happy to go out and party as she is to stay in and have a quiet evening with a book or have a junk food and movie or video game night she is just the happiest and most relaxed bean when she and her partner have time for a long cuddle session. Best way to recharge her batteries. If they happen to fall asleep like that, even better because these kids don’t get enough sleep!!

When she’s with someone she’ll go out of her way to try to spend extra time together whether it’s doing homework together, studying, or she’s working on her writing and is in her own little world while they’re doing something else. They all have busy lives so even if they’re not on a date or relaxing she’s happy just being in the same room as them and having them near. Brynn will also send them things that remind her of them or something to make them laugh or smile whether it’s a meme, a cute animal video, or something relevant to her partner’s interests that she think they’d like. She’ll also love to write heartfelt love-letters or cheesy-and-cute poetry for her significant other, but wouldn’t show them right away. Instead, she’d save them for a time when her partner is having a bad day or feeling down on themselves and give/send/or read it out loud to them as a pick-me-up and to remind them why she loves them. And then they can keep them for later to look back on when they need a reminder and she’s not readily available to give it to them. So for her primary love languages, if I had to pick two, would be quality time and words of affirmation. (I decided to leave physical touch off because she’s physically affectionate with her friends too if they let her, so that wouldn’t be something that you’d use to distinguish if she has romantic feelings for someone or not. Also she’s not a sexual person cause she’s hella ace.)

Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time for doing this, and reading through this long blurb whenever you get around to doing it. Keep being awesome!!

Submitted by @alnazxr​

Why?

Axel is all about loyalty and just like you, he’s all about having quality time with his s/o. He doesn’t care if it’s something fancy or you two just staying at the dorm watching a movie. As long he can spend time with you, that’s all it matters. 

Being always on the public’s eye, Axel can’t always grant you outdoors dates or lots of time with you because of his work. He doesn’t want his fans or media to attack you. However, he will always be there for you when you really need him, and won’t shy away from giving you his full attention. He knows exactly what to say to make you feel loved.

Also, between the two of us? You make his heart fluster whenever you create/send him something with him in mind. Seriously, forget the fancy stuff. Those are cool but the real feelings behind everything is what melts this reserved rockstar’s heart.

Alternates

Tegan: Being the cute dork we all love, Tegan will totally vibe with you. That is,after you two pass the awkward moment where Tegan will blush like mad whenever you decide to crush him on a hug and being all affectionate with him. There’s only so much his heart can handle each day.

Neha: Even if a couple of your interests don’t match, Neha and you could work very well too! Both teaching each other new things and broadening each other’s perspectives while embracing the similar tastes. Your affection may take her by surprise at first but, she can’t deny that she loves it, even if she tries to act normal.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 11/16 NXT 11/18 NXT UK 11/19 Smackdown 11/20 Survivor Series 11/22

Raw:

Appreciate Lana providing logic to the creation of this match.

“Is this a Disney movie” lmao.

Honestly Shayna works better as a henchman than as a final boss.

Love Lana’s theme btw.

rip Mandy.

Ugly kick by Asuka. Not a compliment.

hahaha Lana tagged herself into the match while Shayna had Asuka in the clutch. hahahahah.

“You suck, get out” rofl.

Asuka you’re trash for not saving Lana. Truly.

“I’m actually really proud of you, you showed a lot of courage tonight.” Nia is funny. A bitch and a bully, sure, but funny.

There’s number 9. rip.

First of all, Dana’s shaky interview was going really well, and I wish they had let her finish it cuz god knows she needs the practice.

Second, WHY IS MIA YIM ATTACKING DANA OF ALL PEOPLE?

I’m not sorry, I shamelessly love Bray and Alexa together, goodbye.

“Your word is... jackass” lmaooo why is he even doing a spelling bee to prep for this match.

rip Rambling Rabbit for the 38th time.

What makes him being killed so damn demented is not only the way he exhibits agony and suffering as he dies, but the way they STAND BY LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY. This is the definition of sociopathy.

“Bullseye!” “More like... Rabbit’s heart!” *continues laughing hysterically* jfc.

Really love how Alexa puts her hand beneath her chin and then waves. That goes along with her characteristics developed since the fairy gimmick in nxt back in 2014/2015, to the cosplaying mean girl in 2016/2017/2018, to the babyface in 2019/2020. Also adds another layer with her gloves. Love that.

Nikki’s wandering around looking for Alexa, when clearly she should be looking for the Firefly Funhouse. I suggest asking Seth or Randy.

“Friends never give up on each other,” they also don’t give each other ultimatums cuz that’s toxic af, but okay.

She keeps running her mouth about Fiend and I can already see Alexa demolishing her for it.

LOVE the cohesion in going from one segment to the other as Sarah runs around looking for an interview. Fitting since that’s obviously her job, but it went together smoothly. They really come off as tmz lol.

I appreciate how Miz doesn’t want to fuck with Bray cuz he knows Bray will just torment his family lol. I also appreciate his reasoning because he’s a true opportunist. he doesn’t want to exhaust himself with this match cuz he might cash in later.

Love Alexa’s remixed theme, it’s jarring af. Walking red flag btw.

Oh nooo Nikki what are you doinggg.

I’m not a fan of how Nikki sold this interaction. Didn’t feel natural at all.

OH SHIT the sound of that slap, oof.

Oh my god I love how Bray came out and glared at Nikki. FANTASTIC. Absolute gold. Then he just smiles at Alexa as she takes his arm to escort him to the ring.

And the way the camera focuses back on Miz and Morrison... Miz’s face... I can’t, this is tremendous tbh. What a great story to run throughout this week’s Raw.

lmfao the way Alexa stuck her head between the ropes to scare Morrison. Ugh this pairing is easily my favorite thing in wwe rn.

Interesting, so Bray protects her. A fair duo.

I will never not cringe at watching people pretend to break someone’s neck by twisting it to the side. If I was a wrestler, that’s a move I would NEVER allow to be done to me.

On the plus side, Alexa took out Morrison and he sold it really fucking well. On the negative, it seems that distracted Bray as he’s more concerned for her well being now.

Oh my god the way Alexa reappears from behind the barricade. Creepy as shit.

Love watching her “balance” on the barricade considering she was one hell of a gymnast in her day.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for watching Lacey progress in the ring, cuz I think her character work is just fantastic, but holy shit what a downgrade going from Mandy and Dana to Lacey and Peyton.

Why is she excited? Why is it exciting to fight Sasha? Maybe Asuka should’ve taken that match a bit more seriously, considering the outcome. But I’m jumping ahead of myself.

“No one is ready for Asuka,” except for Charlotte, Becky, Shayna, Alexa, Sasha...

I do appreciate how Lacey isn’t scared of anyone while Peyton is wary of literally everyone. That’s good. Nia has a point though, y’all could’ve used Mandy. I guess it doesn’t matter though, considering the outcome. Jumping ahead of myself again.

“Worst idea since Quibi” lmao shots fired.

*Bonus* Peyton/Lacey online exclusive: they vibe real well off script. Peyton made points saying she can’t wait to teach Lacey how to be on a team. That’s valid cuz Lacey is NOT much of a team player. Points to Lacey though, she’s funny as hell.

Highlight: Alexa Bliss

---

NXT:

Awesome hearing War Pigs during that Shotzi promo. Is that the official theme song for War Games? If so, baller to wwe for shelling that cash out.

I’m guessing Shotzi was fixing her tank? Was that the premise? Regardless, the setting was different and interesting.

I really like the fencing around nxt’s ringside. Fits with the grungy “indie” feel.

God I’m gonna have to watch Candice defeat Kayden and Kacy aren’t I?

Indi bought the Garganos a flat screen tv? :/ mk. What does she have to gain? Johnny was an AWFUL champion and Candice has never even held gold. What is she hoping to accomplish?

“Indi is gaining one of the best mentors in the nxt locker room” lmao WHAT.

omg Kacy and Kayden are so fucking entertaining, I feel like I say this every time I watch them. All tag teams need to TAKE. NOTES. Look at that cohesion and teamwork. Whew.

Hold on don’t try to retcon Tegan as leaving Candice’s side. I hate Tegan even more than I hate Candice, and she was a shite friend to Dakota by proxy of being a spineless dweeb, but do not try to paint Candice as the victim in her feud with Tegan.

I know nothing about the Dakota/Candice friendship but I’d go ahead and blame Dakota since she’s hella douchey lmao.

Imagine thinking Indi is an upgrade from Dakota. Commentary is super funny and distracting tonight lmao.

Was that not a flatliner? Sure looked like an intended flatliner.

So Kacy attempts to kill herself in the process of taking out Indi and none of the cameras caught it? :/ we still using interns looking for college credits in production? Is that what’s happening??

Vic is kind of an awful commentator in his actual calls. “Nice suplex, almost a brainbuster” better hope that was a brainbuster cuz if not, that was the saddest fucking suplex I’ve ever seen in my life.

So Kacy almost kills herself using offense against Indi and Indi was coherent first? Ugh anyway.

Why do we have to listen to Ember speak every week? What a terrible idea.

So now she’s gonna be nxt’s savior by getting rid of Dakota and Raquel? Oh for fuck’s sake.

Why does she have fucking soda tabs on her gear still.

Why is she teaming with Toni. I THOUGHT THEY WERE HEELS. Seriously, am I the dumb one? Am I the one who needs their hand held? Has Ember not been acting like a heel since she returned? Am I the only one confused about Toni’s alignment??

“We’ve fallen victim to the numbers game” WHEN have you fallen victim to the numbers game, Toni? WHO WROTE THIS.

I know nxt wants me to give a shit about Ember and Toni, but good luck making me care about anyone down there more than Dakota or Rhea.

I would really appreciate it if Dakota was moved up to the MR without actually showing any dissention from Raquel.

Dakota calls a lot of matches, I’ve noticed. Pro shit.

Toni’s German suplexes are amazing if she’s actually never hurt anyone, cuz MAN they look gnarly af.

Gorgeous tornado ddt by Ember. Nice speed, great handling by Raquel.

Don’t Dakota and Toni have quite the history? From UK?

Today in wrestling commentary: Vic cannot tell the difference between left and right.

Whoa I just noticed Dakota isn’t wearing her knee brace. That’s kind of monumental, right? Isn’t that a big deal? I feel like that’s a big deal.

Honestly I might like Toni more than Ember. She comes off as a lot more likable since her move to nxt.

Oh Christ I gotta see Candice again. 

Hi why isn’t this main eventing? Do Rhea fucking Ripley and Io fucking Shirai not deserve it?? For real???

Hate it when refs hold the title up crooked. Noob.

Holy shit Io’s speed is TOP. TIER. Whew.

And then slips on the turnbuckle, sad. Could’ve been worse, could’ve been a Shotzi wipeout (and that’s what I’m gonna call it from now on)

What Io has in speed, Rhea has in strength, these are the facts.

Why did Vic cut Beth off by saying exactly what she was in the middle of saying? Vic’s losing a lot of points tonight tbh.

oof gnarly German suplex off the second rope by Io.

Oh my, Rhea’s ear is covered in blood. Must have punctured her ear with an earring. Rough. I say this as someone who has her fair share of piercings: it BOGGLES MY MIND why any of these women wrestle with their piercings in lmao. No ma’am.

Brutal match, whew.

Rhea wiped her own blood on her face.

There are some aprons spots with Rhea obviously waiting around that needed some work.

Rhea can sell, certainly, but her screaming is way too dramatic at times. Most notably at wm in the empty arena, but this match is a close second. Almost borders on annoying.

Niiice Rhea adding a nice vortex spin on the tail end of her cloverleaf submission. Points. Keep that.

Oh that Riptide attempt countered into an armbar by Io. BEAUTIFUL.

I liked that. Io goes for the 619 in the middle rope, Rhea ducks. Io goes for the 619 on the lower rope, Rhea dodges. Io strikes her a couple times, Rhea falls to the opposite side of the ring and Io proceeds to hit the 619. Good stuff.

Lol Io’s smiling at Rhea kicking out of the missile dropkick.

Nice flip off of Rhea’s clothesline but I’m not a fan of Io landing her moonsault on her feet. That’s not really her M.O.

Fucking spiked Rhea with a ddt by countering the Riptide again. That’s a solid champion, has her opponent completely scouted.

Beautiful sunset flip powerbomb through the ropes with Rhea landing through a table. Would’ve been cool if Rhea had let go right away, though.

In kf, I give points to Rhea for dragging herself from the rubble just to eat a clean pin. Great match.

Highlight: Io vs Rhea

---

NXT UK:

Wow robbing me of KLR’s entrance. Guess Piper is officially the heel.

Quit calling her a “new” Piper Niven. A slight aggression is hardly “new”

BE CAREFUL WITH KLR’S SNAZZY COAT.

Y’all got tape out? Have we learned nothing from Bayley/Sasha hiac?

CHUCKED A FUCKING RING BELL INTO PIPER’S HEAD LMAO

Ugh headbutt that takes everyone out. Tsk.

Ric who? Charlotte’s dad??

Who do I gotta pay to see KLR vs Becky Lynch in an extreme match?!

KLR rolls away after that fisherman buster on the outside. Smart points.

Alright listen I’m on KLR’s side but WHY IS JINNY OUT HERE

Lol smacked Piper with a ‘no entry’ sign. Haha.

And Piper broke a sign over KLR’s head, followed by puns from the commentators.

rip random guitar.

Match doesn’t have any creative spots really, but they sure know how to utilize random objects.

BRO YOU CAN’T TAKE A STEEL PIPE TO HER KNEE ON CONCRETE, THAT’S HELLA RUDE. KLR lit a fire under Piper’s ass and Piper’s trying to retire her as thanks. Super, super rude.

Fuck her up fam, I don’t even feel bad.

??? Did KLR even land through the table or did she just land straight onto the fucking concrete? Jesus Christ man. No, she didn’t, she slid into the second table and just ate the floor. Oh my god. IS SHE OKAY??

Highlight: That vicious ending gained KLR a lot of respect in my eyes

---

Smackdown:

Imagine being surprised that Adam chose the longest reigning SD women’s champion as his team captain. Granted she’s probably despised by everyone, but she’s got the pedigree, come on now.

Look how good Bayley looks. Whew.

“You know what time it is? Bayley time.” she’s so annoying rofl.

Wow riveting stuff, I have zero comments about this 2 min match tbh.

Go stand in the ring with your damn captain, Bianca.

Lmao Bayley allergic to hugs now. Character progression.

It’s quite the team I’m ngl. I just wish we could’ve wrapped up this Sasha/Bayley shit like... months ago so we could enjoy captain Bayley for a bit longer. Gonna burn through this in one damn episode. It’s a bummer.

*Bonus* Nattie’s online exclusive: “I sailed through some rough waters [...] I’m smart, I’m sexy, I’m funny, I’m rich” She is funny, I will give her that.

We’re getting Asuka/Sasha face to face? For real? Okay.

Cute, Sasha’s smile toward Asuka actually looked genuine. I miss when Sasha seemed genuine. It’s like Bayley killed that part of her.

“Michael are you forgetting what time it is?” BAYLEY TI-- “It is boss time, baby!” welp my mistake.

I’ve played Asuka’s dialogue to Sasha 3x and I still have no idea what she was saying because of her ridiculous fucking dancing and animation. I’m tired. Bayley come take her title.

Omg now she’s doing “you can’t see me” SHE ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING I absolutely despise her being champion.

Actually she is ready for Asuka, and I’m gonna take great joy in watching her win this Sunday. Sasha is hella unlikeable until the moment that bell rings, then she’s a god. Is what it is.

Booo Sasha was actually doing good on the mic, how dare you ruin that, Carmella.

Asuka is awful. Even Becky and Ronda fought off common enemies once upon a time. Asuka helps legit N O B O D Y. Awful champion.

Highlight: Captain Bayley

---

Survivor Series:

Love Sasha’s gear.

Asuka kicked out at one, quick everyone cry about her selling. Oh wait she’s not Charlotte, my bad.

Beautiful attempt at an armbar by Sasha, whew.

Sasha is so good at this whole wrestling thing lol.

Nice pop up from that backstabber.

Right and in contrast, Asuka is an amazing striker.

Oh a codebreaker to Sasha as she dangles from the second rope. Gorgeous move.

Ahhhh the blue haired god got the job done. I knew she’d win but it’s so gratifying to see.

Not much to say about the match. The spots weren’t brutal or super creative/innovative, but it had GREAT back and forth and really showcased their chemistry in technical wrestling. Also might very well have been the best match they’ve had yet, seemed pretty short though. Still, an enjoyable watch. Good for Sasha.

Lol the disdain in Nia’s face as she looks at Lana.

Look, Bayley’s arm band says ‘captain’ so she’s the captain.

Love seeing how creative people get with their gear at Survivor Series, as opposed to just throwing a damn brand shirt on. Looking at you, 2016.

One thing I’ve learned about Bayley is if she calls you sister, she genuinely likes you behind the scenes. So glad to see Lacey is in her good graces.

Omg Lacey learned how to do a kip up, everybody clap.

Love how the light shines off of Nattie’s gear. Got rainbows popping.

Squatting while stalling a suplex, and synchronized kip ups. Bianca and Nattie are fun.

“Bayley and the great Becky Lynch,” Oh shit, peep that RESPECT we’re putting on her name now? She gets ‘the great’?? wwe finally seeing her on the same level as ‘the great’ Charlotte Flair??? I am shook. Good for her, fucking deserved (also poor Bayley rofl)

Lana tags herself in again lmao. Nia 5 seconds from killing her. Look, Lana tries. Let her try.

I can’t breathe. she been put in timeout.

(referring to a move by Peyton) “I give that a perfect 10“ PPPFFFFTTTT

What a bump by Bayley; a suplex off the top rope onto the entire roster on the outside, and what a great locker room leader to be checking on everyone IMMEDIATELY as if she didn’t just fucking take a massive bump. Also poor Lana standing over there watching the fun lol.

Now I already knew Peyton pinned Bayley cuz of the outrage by Bayley fans who deemed her “buried” afterward, but I think it was a poor decision to have Peyton get that pin. Peyton sucks, not sorry. Have Lacey get that pin before Peyton. Actually, have Lana get that pin before Peyton.

Not sure what Nattie was going for with that submission to Peyton, but she improvised real quick. So points.

Doesn’t Nattie usually wear wrist guards? Awkward seeing her without them.

Goes for a sharpshooter on a woman who’s not even active rn. I’m removing her points lmao.

I legit never get to see Bianca’s 450 splash and you know what? Fuck y’all.

Well Bianca’s a great partner to do a Spanish Fly with so, good on Lacey.

That’s an interesting elimination. Ruby would’ve pinned Shayna as she had rolled back and reversed the Clutch, but the ref was distracted by Nia. By the time he started counting, Ruby had passed out. Interesting.

Crucifix Bomb by Liv eliminates Lacey, fucking dope.

Having Bianca as the last survivor on her team is great for Bianca. This is a compliment from management.

BEAUTIFUL catch by Shayna into the Clutch. Wow that was nice.

Ah we redoing the spot from their Takeover match, IE my introduction to Bianca. Solid.

Oh this is good. Bianca passed out from the Clutch while on the ropes so Shayna was disqualified. Nia drug Bianca out of the ring to put her through the announce table and they started brawling until they were both counted out. 

Again, I knew Lana was the sole survivor but seeing it happen is fucking hilarious. Nice protection for Bianca though, and seeing Nia this pissed off is so cathartic.

Highlight: Bianca was the real standout imo

---

*Survivor Series shined the brightest as we had both a great technical match, and a fun, entertaining multiwoman match filled with shenanigans. If that’s a cop out, then I’ll give it to NXT this week. 

[sweetnestor]

crankgameplays livestream 4/2/17

just a tiny lil recap (6 pages on paper to be exact)

he doesn’t know what to do, still getting his shit together

“I just wanted to say sahh dude” (shoulda kept a ‘saahh dude’ tally tbh)

said he wasn’t feeling good, hes got tummy aches

didnt feel like recording, so he streamed instead

doesnt really want ppl donating to the channel, but he appreciated it

someone said they wanted more original songs from him and he was confused

he started playing overwatch

on the Hit it fergie video: now he really wants ppl to stop tweeting him about it, he did the video just to shut them up

ppl are spamming ‘soft and neat’ thanks for your contribution phandom

apparently hes horrible at overwatch

ppl want him to play ukelele but he aint got one, the one he had in the 12hr solo stream was kathryns apparently

he hardly plays overwatch and frequently gets killed

“I’m an overwatch king dude!! Saahh…”

tbh its much calmer than his videos,,,,, voice is much deeper,,,, more relaxed,,,, good for the soul

so many “sahh dude”s

he forgot to tweet out the stream link oops

hasnt watched the walking dead in a while, he fell behind

used to watch twd with his dad a lot

he also misses his parents a lot

he talks about how supportive they were in everything he did, they never said one negative thing

they would drive him 45min back and forth for gymnastics :’)

he also cried while writing out a long birthday message to his dad :’’’)

“balls balls balls balls” -in the midst of a battle or something

“how did i die?” -ethan, when he dies

Ethan, brian and G are doing a panel for indy popcon and hopefully a m&g

he likes that ppl feel welcome here in the community

“Ew gross girbeagly? Stupid…” idk the context i just wrote it down lmao

“You guys really dont have to donate!!!” x23442345

will probably make more battle cats videos

he misses maine

doesnt like pacific time bc its super hard to schedule things and videos

had a road trip to canada w his bro just before he moved to la

He’s not going to do another snapchat video

In a dry spell when it comes to games lately, hopefully it stops soon bc theres new games coming

Robin is watching apparently???

Ethan says pax south is much more chill than pax east

He regrets not taking the time to reupload all his videos from the old channel onto the new one

Theres apparently 700 privated videos on the old channel

Deciding what music to play in the background

“Big jazz boy, yeah thats what i am, you know it”

*burps into the mic*

He put on the flower crown “i am adorable” :’)

Says we should listen to the podcast “the comedy button”

He listens to a lot of podcasts actually

Ethan does not live with mark, and he doesnt film in his office

Fave thing abt maine is his friends :’)

Once he moved away he really started to appreciate the town he came from

Probably gonna keep the blue hair for the rest of 2017

He likes ppl cosplaying as him

Someone asked if hes dating kathryn and he said no

“I’ll tell her about that, she’ll laugh”

Dancing to the music (this happens throughout the stream)

Someone asked if he could help them name their puppy

“Omg i love puppies i hope you love her forever and give her treats tell her i said hi!!”

talked about his pupper cooper (rip) and that she was his best friend

he really wants a girl dog, but he knows hes too busy rn to take care of one

Had a slight allergy to dogs but it probably went away over time

he’s playing with a silver ball

If youre mean and bullying ppl then u dont belong in this community, be respectful!!

says the ball is somewhat like a stress ball

basically he constantly needs to be doing something with his hands due to adhd

He did not go to college, took a gap year,,,, then another one,,,, then la happened

Considered going to film school and if he had time he’d want to do a short film

He doesnt think he could have a job that isn’t creative

He’ll think about doing a tour of his place,,,, possibly,,,, one day

Fave 21p song,,,,,,, heavy dirty soul,,,,,,,, maaybbee

He’s a scorpio (i only put this bc for some reason i thought he was a libra)

Mixed feelings about the ‘dark side’ character thing: he doesn’t want to come off like he’s copying jack & robin, but he does like the communities ideas

wants to be more consistent with trash goblin podcast

Crankgameplays name origin: dad owned a company called ‘crank’ & ethan had a poster of it in his room and then he and andrew were deciding what to name the channel, eth saw the poster and then bam

thanked the ppl who donated to the channel (lots of name butchering)

And thats what you missed on glee

[serena-inverse]

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Darkside of Dimensions reaction

I will not call this a review- it’s more a KEYSLAM OF FEELINGS that I need to get off my fangirl chest while I’m still super hyped from the screening!

Cut for spoilers!

Okay so- first of all going to the screening was fun. As I’m waiting in the queue to get my ticket (while trying to discreetly look around and see if any YGO cosplayers came along) there’s a group of 3 teenage boys behind me and I catch some of their conversation.

“Dude- I can’t see the movie listed? Do you think they’re not showing it?”

“No man, it’s just too ‘indie’ so there not bothering to put it on the board. It’ll be on, trust me, I check before we came.”

At this point I’m internally going !!!! because maybe they’re going to see Yugi on the big screen too??? And then one of them adds really nervously-

“Oh man, what if they say we need like, a kid with us to go see it? What if we’re too old for a YGO cartoon?”

And I’m just smiling and trying not to laugh because you poor thing- I am 10 years older then you and going to see this movie by myself. You will be fine. I nearly said something but in the end decided against it because I didn’t want to embarrass them. XD

And then their was the lovely experience of buying my ticket! I was kinda internally bracing myself, paranoid that I was going to get ‘looks’ from the person on the desk? (ah social anxiety, always popping up right when I don’t want you). In fact I found myself talking to a girl about my age, who BEAMED when she heard what I was going to see, and gushed that she REALLY wanted to see it today too but she had to work! She even made a point of telling me that I should make sure to get my goody bag when I enter the film (I had no idea they were giving away freebies) and hoped I enjoyed myself!

So yes, that was lovely! (btw- in the end no YGO cosplayers were spotted- I was sad)

Now ONTO THE FILM ITSELF- my thoughts.

I LOVED the ‘going to school’ scene. The characterisations were so on point. Joey’s wild bike ride into school is exactly the sort of thing I could see him doing, and I loved how Tristan grabbed onto his bike at the last second and helped him turn it so they could JUST make it through the gates in time. Those two love to give each other a hard time but they are also just RIDICULOUSLY in-synch when it comes to the crunch.

Yugi still walking to school with Tea but now being shy about meeting her at his house was C-U-T-E.

Oh look at Bakura, still dealing with the fangirls.

That scene of the five friends talking about their dreams on the school roof was ADORABLE. I love how they’re all so supportive of each other. Bless these children.

Joey cannot be separated from his duel disk- god these kids are too cute.

‘I can’t believe you got it confiscated for polishing it during class’ ‘I don’t know- it took guts to do it during our maths final’ omg Joey you did not.

‘I know that guys been in our class all year- but what’s his name?’ Guys forget his name just look at his hair and you know he’s going to be a main character.

JOEY GOT HIS DUEL DISK BACK! *throws confetti*

Very sweet moment of Yugi missing Atem and supportive friends being considerate about it and telling him it’s okay. ;A;

JOEY LEAPING THE FREAKING BRIDGE TO HELP SOMEONE HE BARELY KNOWS FROM 5 BULLIES. THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS GOLDEN RETRIEVER. #EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND LIKE JOEY.

DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THE KAIBA CORB CONSTRUCTION SIGN HAD A CHIBI BLUE-EYES WEARING A LITTLE HARD HAT??

Oh look the kid with main-character hair can make people vanish and summon a freaky army of glowy eyed demon children.

Kaiba is just being so EXTRA throughout this whole movie and I LOVE IT.

Kaiba is battling Atem and I’m immediately calling that this is one of his holograms.

CALLED IT

‘Even his perfectly coifed hair- that was the hardest part’ *PRIDESHIPPING*

Okay but Kaiba crunching his water bottle and immediately demanding that the person who created it is to be fired because ‘no KC product should be so flimsy’ I just- SDFDSFDSDFS

Aww look, Joey’s letting Tristan fix his precious duel disk- he really does trust him.

DUKE. SHOWED. UP. \0/

NOW. WHERE. IS MAI?

.........The dog mascot turned out to be Joey doing a part time job. OF COURSE IT WAS. WHAT IS IT WITH THIS SERIES AND PUTTING JOEY IN A DOG SUIT?? (I cannot speak I keep referring to him as a golden retriever)

SETO HAS HIS BLUE EYES JET. *ticks that off on the YGO movie bingo card* Also Mokuba is adorable- have I mentioned this yet? Because he is.

...........Did Seto just get hit with magic strong enough to warp/destroy dimensions and just SHRUG IT OFF.

I’m dying- this is the most powerful magic in the world and Seto just swatted it away like BITCH DON’T TOUCH THIS. Diva’s face is priceless.

I mean I know his new super duel disk was supposed to be doing something too but...come on we all know it was all just Seto’s willpower/ego right? 

MORE DUELING.

.......Seto’s strategy seems to be SUMMON MORE DRAGONS.

Seriously how many OP’D versions of blue eyes does this man now have in his deck?

THE THOUGHT OF LOSING AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE ATEM AGAIN WAS ENOUGH TO LET HIM SUMMON A FREAKING GOD FROM THE OTHER SIDE. #HE HAS IT SO BAD #THIS MOVIE COULD BE A PRIDESHIPPING FIC

Lets give it up for Seto ‘I need alone time to deal with this puzzle so I’m gonna build a FREAKING SPACE STATION you can only reach by SPACE ELEVATOR’ Kaiba. #King of being EXTRA.

More mystical/tragic backstory stuff keeps being revealed about Diva and his sister/their family. I really wish I could say I cared but I...really didn’t? I felt so indifferent about Diva and his plight. I just wanted to get back to Yugi, the gang, and the Kaiba brothers.

BABY BAKURA IN A FLASHBACK NOTHING COULD BE BETTER THEN-

I TAKE IT BACK WE NOW HAVE BABY YAMI-BAKURA IN A FLASHBACK. THIS IS THE BEST LOOK AT THE TINY HOMICIDAL SOCIOPATH GO.

I just noticed Joey’s duel disk is SIGNED slay me.

Joey’s trapped in a memory world that’s disintegrating around him. I’m so betting that a ‘friendship’ memory turns out to be so strong it’s ‘unbreakable’ and saves him.

IT. WAS. A. MEMORY. OF. YUGI/ATEM.

I really wanted Yugi/Atem to like hold out a hand and pull Joey to safety though?? I mean the dramatic posing was ACE don’t get me wrong but I wanted hand holding.

Personally I read this scene as Atem taking advantage of the fact Joey was between the living and the dead (dying?) to reach out and give him a nudge in the right direction. It gave me so many feels but I REALLY WISH HE’D HELD OUT HIS HAND AND WE’D GOT TO SEE JOEY GRASPING IT AND ATEM PULLING HIM UP.

JOEY THANKED YUGI MY HEART

.........Did Kaiba just shoot down a jet WITH A PERSON INSIDE IT with his blue eyes???

I didn’t read that wrong right?? THERE WAS A PERSON IN THAT JET AND SETO BLEW IT UP. I DIDN’T SEE A PARACHUTE.

*squints* ...Did Seto set that jet up to crash just so he could shoot it down directly over his stadium with his dragon and show off how AWESOME his new system is?

................okay then I guess the movie is just glossing over that.

omg. Kaiba’s speech.

I can’t.

‘I’ve never settled fro mediocrity and neither should you’

‘this world is poorly designed. If someone from my company had made it I’d fire them’ I’M DYING

YUGI BEING A BAWSE DAYUM.

I just noticed all the kids in the crowd cosplaying as duel monsters. That’s adorable.

DUELING.

Kaiba and Yugi dueling yay!!

Seriously how many OP’d version of blue eyes does Kaiba have?

I LOVE THE NEW DARK MAGICIAN GIRLS.

‘You’re fighting me with fruit?’ (all the audience laughed)

‘....You really don’t like dragons do you?’ (more laughter)

I get the feeling the voice actors really enjoyed themselves making this movie XD

Yugi tries to gently show Kaiba (Kaiba who at my current count has: ripped up an ancient landmark, invented a new duelling system, kidnapped a teenager, held a tournament and built a SPACE STATION and millennium puzzle solving robot just to see Atem)  that, sorry buddy Atem is really-super gone.

Kaiba immediately REJECTS THIS. #he really REALLY has it bad.

MORE DUELING.

Diva + Ring = Much badness.

See I couldn’t see Atem coming back from the dead just for a rematch with Kaiba (sorry Kaiba) but ‘the world is ending’? Yeah, that seems serious enough.

‘I believe in ....the heart of the cards.’ MY HEART.

HE’S BACK!!!!!

..........He’s not going to say anything is he.

HE’S SERIOUSLY NOT GOING TO SAY A SINGLE THING??

I mean, I get it, this is all supposed to show that Yugi is now the main character and stands on his own but but but but BUT-!!!

AT LEAST LET THEM HIGH FIVE.

;A;

‘He’s fine, he wishes us will’ these hedgehog babies are so close they can communicate so much with just a nod #puzzleshipping

‘You had your bond with him, and I had mine’ #BACK TO PRIDESHIPPING

Everyone’s graduating and growing, yay!!

.........Except Kaiba. What is Kaiba doing?

omg.

Omg.

He is not.

He is NOT doing what I think he’s-

*INCOHERANT SCREAMING*

And those are my thoughts!

[zombiehighx23]

Uncanny X-Cast Script for Ep. 183

Brian: Welcome to Uncanny X-Cast, I’m your host Brian Perillo and with me as always is Rob Briscoe. The Uncanny X-Cast is brought you to by DCBS, where you can get all your books up to 75% and…

Rob: Do we still get codes?

Brian: Yeah. Haven’t you checked your inbox?

Rob: You’re telling me we haven’t recorded in almost two years, and they’re still giving us free books?

Brian: Yes.

Rob: Man I wish somebody told me there’s a lot I want to read.

Brian: *laughs* Okay…

Rob: What should I read?

Brian:*ticked off* How about you let me read the damn sponsorship or you won’t have any codes.

Rob: Doesn’t matter if you read it because we get them anyway.

Brian: *laughs* And you get 40% of trades. That’s dcbservice.com Briscoe it’s been a while how has it been?

Rob: Rough Brian. I got a son becoming a man, I’m still hung over from the derby party…

Brian: How was the Derby party?

*Rob goes on about the part for like 7 min*

Rob: I also seen some stuff but we’ll wait to on shelves now.

Brian: Okay do you have any voice mails for us?

*A voice mail from Rob from Katy plays. He’s talks about his life then ends the voice mail with the outgoing message still isn’t playing*

Brian: It’s always great to hear from Rob from Katy. Briscoe it’s been like what 4 years and you still haven’t fixed the voicemail.

Rob: Look nobody calls it, does it really matter anymore.

Brain:  *laughs* Okay just play the next one

*message from Maskedhero plays*

Rob: Man we’re old. Can you believe he has kids (or some other life changing event) now?

Brian: Yeah we come a far way. The other day…

*Brian goes on with a story about taking one of his kids to sports practice and in the car they ask some question like “what’s a dildo” or “what does it mean you call someone a douche bag.” Rob goes on about the first time he learned something crude.*

Brian: Okay you have anymore?

Rob: Yeah one more.

*a voicemail plays from someone in their baseball fantasy league. He talks smack on one of the guys. This leads to a 20 min. talk about baseball and the fantasy league, and probably something involving one of Brian’s kids being in little league*

Brain: Let’s get into on shelves now.

*no bumper plays*

Brian: Where’s bumper girl?

Rob: I have no idea where the file is.

Brian: You know Brisoce you have one job.

Rob: Yeah and I’m doing it by getting it wrong.

Brain: *laughs* Okay what do you got for me?

Rob: So I watched End Game.

*the guys talk about End Game. Rob has usual questions like can this character do this thing, is this character supposed to be anybody. Overall Rob likes the film but has some complaints. Brian is the opposite. Brian talks about lack of faith to the source, complains about Carol Danvers, and whatever the major gripe the internet will have. Rob will use film logic to explain why whatever was necessary, but then backs track and lets Brian win like always. The guys then do a quick Destiny Diary on how the X-Men will come in play. Brian says something like a certain percentage of people who were snapped get mutant powers because of radiation or something. Rob says because of the time travel in the film, it caused a butterfly effect which in turn made somebody in Hydra unleash something that activates the X gene.*

Brian: So Game of Thrones.

*They talk about Game of Thrones. Rob is an episode behind…or so he thinks. Brain talks about episode 3, and Rob goes wait what the fuck. Rob then says what he watch. Brian says you watched the wrong season. Rob says no..wait did I. Price is Right music plays. Rob comes back and says “So I just checked my HBO account, and you are right.” KAPOW!! They talk about Game of Thrones some more and how the next book will never come out. They make a bet. By the time the next child of theirs goes to High School the next book will be out. Brian says yes. Rob says no. Rob says this bet won’t matter because nobody will remember it. Brian says I’m sure somebody will. Rob says like who. Bechtel? He doesn’t listen anymore. Brian proceeds to say I’m sure Scott Bechtel probably has a spread sheet of all our bets, and how much you owe me. Rob drives the topic away from Brian so he doesn’t have to buy a Winter Solider Bust, or a Shazam collection for Brian by talking about my current relationship and how I’m dating another cosplayer. Rob and Brian then go on a tangent about cosplay, and how Brian never understood anime. Rob goes on to say he might want to try it, but nothing to crazy or long.*

Brain: Okay then. So Uncanny X-Men

*Brian says how he’s not loving it and how the X-books have fallen from grace, and are nothing like how when Claremont was on. Rob says this a breath of fresh air after the other books over the past few years.*

Brian: Age of X-Man

*both hate it. Brian goes on about how he hates all these characters, and the new young characters and how when Weezy and Claremount were on New Mutants that was what made those type of characters. Rob goes on how this whole concept in boring and we’ve seen it 8 times already in the course of the show. Things will go back to normal and a few characters will change with the new design they got in this*

Rob: I caught up on Saga.

Brain: Oh god here we go. Wasn’t that canceled?

Rob: What no.

Brian: I read it stopped.

Rob: No they took a year off.

Brian: Why, because they have no good ideas? It’s so uncreative. It reminds me of Peter David. All shock no story. Like Rob, if want good stories just look back to what Clairmount was doing. Look at Power Pack. And New Mutants. These writers today, they know nothing. Draw a boob and people will gather around it.

Rob: You sound like an old man.

Brain: Maybe I am, but the stuff today just isn’t good man. These aren’t stories, it’s trash. Not like what we got.

Rob: I guess.

*guys talk about Episode 9. Rob is excited for it, Brain is lukewarm. Has concern over how they’ll handle Carrie Fischer. He’ll complain about Rey, and then say was it necessary for Lando and the Emperor to come back. Brian and Rob then list a few other things they’ve read or watched*

Brain: Okay this is going on long. You have any news for me?

Rob: Did you hear Brian, Tim Taylor got death threats over an issue?

Brain: You mean Tom King?

Rob: Who did I say?

Brain: First off you said Tim Taylor you meant Tom Taylor. Second Tom Taylor wrote X-Men Red.

Rob: Oh

Brain: Kapow!!

Rob: Then what has Tom King done.

Brian: He writes Batman.

Rob: Ohhh. I like his stuff.

Brian: His Batman is alright. I mean it’s nothing like Denny O’Neil.

Rob: You liked Snyder.

Brian: Snyder was just ok. But even then did he really get the character. I mean, the Owls, and Joker will no face. It was all too edgy and not enough story.

Rob: I disagree but okay. Suicide Squad is getting a reboot.

Brian: Thank god. I love Margo Robbie but what the hell. Harley Quinn had no right being in that film. I wanted classic villains, not what we got. What a disaster.

Rob: I agree. New Mutants, is getting delayed again. Do you have any faith in this film?

Brian: I mean if they can make Deadpool good, then yes.

Rob: Did we talk about Deadpool 2 since we last recorded?

Brian: Yeah. I mean I think so,

Rob: Okay. But you’re crazy this film isn’t going to be anywhere as good as you think it will be.

Brain: I’m sure you’re right but it’s The New Mutants and you know how they have a special place in my heart. So I’m sure I’ll be walking out of there going that was decent.

Rob: Yeah I’m going to skip it. I’ll wait till it’s out on Prime or what not.

Brian: Got anything else.

Rob: Yeah I got this thing called comicsgate.

Brian: Oh boy.

Rob: Did you know, Mark Waid is getting sued.

Brain: Uh huh.

Rob: Crazy right…what did he do?

Brian: Laughs.

*Brian tries to dance around best explaining this topic*

Rob: Oh.

Brian: Let’s get into retros.

*Retros is the same. Rob didn’t read whatever book and him and Brian have to switch. They review the books, both liking it. At one point Rob talks about how he felt some girl up when he was reading this way back then*

Brian: Do you worry about that?

Rob: About what?

Brain: Our kids growing up and doing stupid things.

Rob: Indy’s not allowed to date till she’s 28 so we’re good.

*Brian goes on how Chris is like him and has different girls always calling him for “homework”*

Brian: Briscoe you got anything else.

Rob: Um not that I can think of. We’ll be back soon. We’ll try to make this quarterly or something.

*they won’t*

Brian: Until next time.

*Uncanny X-Cast Rap plays*

[wolfleblack]

On stage voice actor Troy Baker talks about how we all have our nerd, from those of us who love comics or Star Wars or movies to the people who are obsessed with engines or skiing or racing or anything else. Everyone, he says, is a nerd in their own way because being a nerd simply means being really obsessed with something, spending more and more time learning about it and enjoying it. And that’s the thing, isn’t it? Every person has that one thing they really love. Every person is a nerd. The only difference, muses Troy Baker, is that those of us at comic-con know we’re nerds and have embraced it.

The MCM show in Glasgow is the perfect example of this theory. It’s filled with people who passionately love comics, anime, movies, games and a bunch of other things, and all of them know they are nerds. They accept it. They are ahead of the curve. And so many of them are like me, not just in the sense that they share my passions but also in how they grew up in a time where reading comics or loving videogames or anything that wasn’t “normal” was viewed as something bad, a time when the label of nerd carried a lot of horrible stigmas with it. We were the outsiders, the forgotten, the picked on, just because of things we liked. But look how things have changed. Because of stuff like the Marvel Cinematic Universe people who had never read a comic are talking about Captain America or the Guardians of the Galaxy or Daredevil. There are still things that are generally seen with disdain, like anime, but by and large being a geek is…weirdly cool?  When you live in a world where people are happily going to the cinema to watch the Suicide Squad being a geek almost means less than it once did, and yet at the same time it means so much more now.

Being in a crowd at comic-con is a unique experience. The sheer amount of people coupled with the wide variety of costumes on display makes it both claustrophobic and exciting. I don’t think you can adequately do the experience justice when attempting to tell people why it’s worth attending a convention, especially if you happen to mention the often insanely long queues or the fact that wanting to look at some merchandise can become an epic quest where you have to battle a torrent of people jostling around. And don’t dare mention the absurdly inflated prices of food. Bloody hell. But that’s like saying you shouldn’t attend a concert because the hot dogs are pricey, it’s as hot as the sun and you keep getting bumped by strangers.

So why the hell should anyone go? Simple; the people. Sure, the guests are cool and there’s some sweet loot to be picked up and maybe some awesome comics to discover, but you can get all that loot and comics on the Internet and watch guest panels on Youtube where you at least have the option of lounging around in your boxers while munching a bag of Jelly Babies, something which I discovered MCM frowns upon in their live panels. No, you should come because of the people. An entire building full of fine folk who share your passions and nerdery, who are willing to spend time and money creating elaborate costumes for themselves and others to enjoy. Stop just about anyone and you can easily strike up a conversation. For someone like me who has social anxiety and kind of sucks at being a human being, in general, getting trapped in massive crowds sounds like a stupid idea, but in truth it’s one of the best places to push past anxiety because these wonderful, wonderful people are the least judgemental folk around. How could they be, when they’re dressed up as the Joker or as a Digimon character? It’s kind of hard to poke fun at someone for being anxious when you’re dressed up as Sailor Moon, after all. No, despite the crowds comic-con is a prime place to say, “today I’m going to push myself by trying to meet new people” and at the end of the day if it goes poorly you’ll probably never seen any of them ever again.

Of course, if you are after that sweet, sweet loot and view people as little more than walking nuisances then there’s plenty of things to get your hands on. This can vary from convention to convention, but there is usually something awesome to be found if you have a rake around, from commissioned artwork from a talented pool of artists to some sweet indie comics or custom-made props. This year at Glasgow I had to admit that I was a touch disappointed as comics and comic-related merchandise felt like it had taken a back seat to anime, but that’s a personal thing and comic-cons haven’t actually been about comics in quite a long time. They’re now a celebration of comics, games, movies, TV shows and yes, anime.

Events like this tend to attract guests who come to speak to audiences, as well as sign merchandise and get photos taken with fans provided they can pay. Troy Baker was the highlight guest for me, his voice, along with Nolan North, arguably being the dominant force in videogame voice acting, He took to the stage to deliver a near hour-long panel where he managed to answer just over six questions due to the fact that every answer would detour into an entertaining and thoughtful tangent. He was funny, sincere, informative and held the audience in the palm of his hand. Sadly my own interview with him was cancelled as all his interviews were shifted to the Sunday at the very last minute, but I’m attempting to talk to him via Email instead so with any luck a Q&A with the man himself will happen. Regardless, despite his own admittance that he found doing panels scary it was also clear that he was a natural at it.

But other guests lit up the event, too, such as Manu Bennet who played Crixus in Spartacus and is currently rocking it as Deathstroke over on the Arrow TV show. There was also and Bryce Papenbrook and Trina Nishimura from Attack on Titan whose panel had the crowd nearly constantly laughing as they regaled them with behind the scenes tales and answered questions.

Still, with absolutely no disrespect intended to any of the guests who came to Glasgow’s event it is fair to say that the London show continues to attract higher-profile stars. Hopefully, as the Glasgow comic-con continues to get larger MCM might be able to persuade some of those people to come up to bonny Scotland to entertain the legions of fans who reside here.

Both the Saturday and Sunday were rounded off with the official cosplay masquerade where those in costume could come up on stage to display their efforts, while judges carefully eyed them up to pick a winner. As much fun as it is discovering amazing cosplays while walking around it’s arguably even better to see them up on stage where coloured lighting makes them look even better. Entrants can also choose backing music, and will either have a variety of poses or even a whole act. One person came out as Captain Phasma, for example, before busting out some fancy dance moves. It’s the perfect way to end the convention.

It’s amazing to think that despite how many people attend the Glasgow ‘Con is still quite young, and the organizers are still fine-tuning everything. This year guest panels and the masquerade were held in a different part of the SECC building, freeing up space in the two main halls which, along with some general restructuring of the layout, gave people a lot more room to move around compared to two years ago when there were severe cases of traffic jams. The extra space wasn’t enough to cope with the onslaught of visitors, though, as legions of fans poured in to celebrate their geekdom. The paths may have been wider, but at the ‘Cons Saturday peak it was still hard to push through the throngs. If you’re taking little children it’s fair to say that while people will do their best to avoid bumping into them there’s inevitably going to be accidents.

So, if you have an interest in comics, anime, cosplaying or a bunch of other geeky things then is it worth going to a comic-con? Yup. The crowds may mean it’s not really your cup of tea, it certainly can be exhausting, but it’s worth going at least once just for the experience of being amidst thousands of passionate people who share your love of everything nerdy and awesome.

Before we wrap this up with a bunch of pictures, though, here’s some general advice for adding comic-con or any other similar convention.

– Start planning early. When it comes to travel costs and hotel rooms booking early often means getting them cheaper, and that means you’ll have more cash to spend on stuff at the convention! In short, if you want to attend a convention the earlier you decide to do it the better.

– Check the schedule. Convention’s will typically publish a schedule well in advance of the event that will tell you when certain guests will be speaking. Read it, pick what you don’t want to miss and then consider setting some alarms on your phone so that you don’t get carried away and completely miss seeing your favourite guest panel.

– Pack light. Pack smart. This one is obvious, but try to pack light. It’s tempting to take everything, especially if you’re like me and own a pile of camera gear, but you’re going to be walking all day and the crowds don’t mix well with chunky rucksacks. Take what you need.

– Take snacks and drinks. You’ll find plenty of food at conventions which makes it tempting to save some bag room by just grabbing stuff while you’re there, but frankly the price of food and drink at these events is absurd. Now, I generally champion supporting businesses where possible, but the huge inflation of prices makes eating at a convention very, very expensive. Take a few snacks with you, and pack some water to sip on the way round because the crowds tend to make the whole place kind of hot.

– But do check if bag searches will be in operation. To put it bluntly bag searches are about as effective as airport searches when it comes to catching potential threats, which is to say they aren’t. But still, buildings hosting conventions will often employ these to help people feel safer, which also means you might get any drinks and other things confiscated on the way in. Chec before you attend to see if these searches will be happening. I got caught out no long ago when I went to 4TG and bag searching was not stated anywhere on the event site. They took my bottle of Coke away. Damn you random security guard. Damn you.

– Take out money beforehand. Many sellers at a convention will take card payment these days, but many won’t and guests doing signings will typically want cash. While there are often ATMs at a convention the queues tend to be massive, so visit a bank or ATM before the event and stock up on pennies.

– Budget. Another good reason to take out some cash before the event is that it makes it easier to limit your spending. Cards are great, but let’s face it, it’s pretty easy to get carried away with spending. By picking a limit and then putting that amount of money in your bag or wallet or pocket it’s much easier to keep your spending in check as you can visibly see your funds dwindling.

– Shop around. It’s so tempting when you see something to immediately whip our your money and start flinging it at the seller, but show some patience and have a look around. Provided the item you’ve seen isn’t one of a kind or of a very limited stock it’ll still be there later on, and that gives you time to see if anybody else at the convention is selling it for a better price. You could also consider checking online. Now, I advocate buying from the sellers at the conventions where possible, even if the prices there are a bit higher than you’d pay online, but there are times when sellers massively mark up their prices so it might be an idea to head onto the Internet and see how much cheaper it might be. If the price difference is significant, then maybe you should wait until you get home to order it. If it’s not too bad, go ahead and support a local seller.

– Buy later. Again, it’s tempting to just grab stuff as soon as you see it, but keep in mind that you might still have hours and hours of convention time left where you have to carry that item with you. That’s extra weight while you walk. Provided it’s not a limited item or one of a kind consider going back to buy it later in the day. If you are worried about it disappearing ask the seller if they’d consider keeping it back for you. I’ve done this a few times when I’ve been buying unique things, sometimes agreeing to pay half the price as a deposit or even the full amount upfront. Many sellers are happy to do this for you. Try to get something written, though, so when you come back later you’ve got some physical proof just in case.

– Haggle. Many sellers are willing to haggle price with you if you try, but this is especially true of the various people selling their own comics. They’re quite willing to do you a deal for multiple issues in most cases, so it does no harm to haggle a little.

– Take photos, but ask first. Taking photos is pretty much expected at a convention, especially since there are so many awesome costumes on display, but the general rule, as you’ll see written on most convention’s guidelines, is to ask permission before taking a picture. For cosplayers this also gives them the chance to get into a pose. Of course general shots of crowds and queues are the exception since you can’t be expected to ask for permission from hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

– Battery power! Another obvious one, but make sure any tech you’re taking is fully charged. If you’re going to be using a phone to take pictures then consider investing in a power bank to take with you so that you don’t run out of juice. This is especially important if you need to be able to call a taxi or something after the event, although generally the building’s reception is happy to help.

– Brush up on the rules. If you intend on going in costume make sure you thoroughly read the rules and regulations surrounding prop weapons, as many things simply aren’t allowed.

– Just have fun, yeah? –

    Nerding It Up At MCM Glasgow Comic-Con 2017 (Plus A Guide To ‘Conning) On stage voice actor Troy Baker talks about how we all have our nerd, from those of us who love comics or Star Wars or movies to the people who are obsessed with engines or skiing or racing or anything else.

[mormonmovieguy]

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL- Mormon Movie Guy review

By Jonathan Decker (family therapist, film critic)

“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36)

Jonathan's note: this film has not aged well for me. This review, written in the fervor of having a new Indy movie, is more favorable than what I would write today. I think Harrison Ford is great in this, but almost everything else in the movie doesn't work for me now.  Rent Kingdom of the Crystal Skull here or buy the series on Bluray and DVD here.

Where do I start? For nearly twenty years, the original trilogy has stood alone, nearly perfect, and repeat viewings have cemented its virtues in the minds of nerds everywhere. For at least a decade, rumors of a fourth film have had fans salivating, anticipating, and hoping. This film had an uphill battle from the start: how do you measure up to ten years of rabid anticipation?

You can't. So here it is. The Bad News- this is the weakest film of the series.The Good News: it's still more fun than most movies you'll see this year.The Great News: Ladies and gentlemen, Harrison Ford has got his groove back!

That's right, having not had a hit since 2000's What Lies Beneath, the a**-kicking, wisecracking, scoundrel with a heart of gold that you grew up with is back in fine form. Gone is the grumpy old coot who has phoned in performances in roles not worthy of him. Back is the iconic actor who thrilled you as Han Solo, Indy, Jack Ryan, and Dr. Richard Kimble. Harrison Ford actually gives a hoot! Not only that, but dude has been working out! He's in better shape in his 60's than most of us are in our 20's and 30's, and his action work in this movie will make you a believer. In spite of whatever flaws the film may have, the triumphant return of the Harrison Ford you know and love is reason enough to see the movie.

I'll address right now the primary concern: lower your expectations. Deflate the hype and just enjoy the ride. See, the problem with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not that it's bad. In fact, it's quite good. But the series had (theoretically) ended on such a high note with Last Crusade, it's a bit disheartening to see the series finish with a very good movie instead of a great one. Unlike the excellent Rocky Balboa, which redeemed that franchise by rescuing it from the awful Rocky V, Indiana Jones was not a franchise in need of redemption. However, if you're Jonesin' for a good new Indy adventure, this'll meet your needs.

Some things that might be perceived as flaws in the film may actually just be departures from formula that I might appreciate more with repeat viewings. Specifically, the artifact in question is not a religious one, as in the previous films, and the narrative and tonal direction might be jarring to fans. In fact, the entire main plot is only so-so, and the climax, while visually stunning, seems out of place in an Indy film. It would fit just as well in National Treasure, The Mummy, or even The X-Files, and doesn't carry the emotional or visceral punch of its predecessors. Plus, the film drags in the middle and some of it just doesn't make sense (though the type of power the Russians are seeking, though seemingly far-fetched, is actually a power they really pursued).

So what does work? A lot, actually! First of all, the action is up to par, no small feat given Ford's age and the fact that he did much of his own stunt-work. There is a fistfight with a big Russian that hearkened back to the old days and made me very happy. And, as each Indy film reveals something new about the character, the portrayal of an older, wiser, and more kindly Indiana Jones (who still kicks butt) is fascinating. As is the removal of the character from the 1930's and relocating him to the 1950's. He emerges here as a truly American hero, and the provided backstory of his life in the years since we last saw him (after all, WWII happened in that time) is wonderful.

I enjoyed the Russian villains. Shia Labeuf does just fine, and his chemistry with Ford is amusing. One returning character is most welcome, giving the film the emotional boost it needs. The post-climatic finale is sweet and crowd-pleasing, and while a few jokes fall flat, a lot of them stick, and I found myself chuckling often and enjoying a sprinkling of belly laughs throughout.

The use of CGI is not distracting, as it is primarily limited to shots where miniatures, stop-motion animation, and matte paintings would have been used in the original trilogy. We still get great, real-life stunts and giant, constructed sets. The creepy-crawlers are up to par with the previous films (spiders, snakes, bugs, rats, bats...now what? You'll see!) Cate Blanchett is chewing scenery and fun as heck as a Russian villain.

Heads up: you do have to get into the mindset of enjoying over-the-top action for this. Like in Temple of Doom, where they jump out of a plane using a self-inflating river-raft as a parachute? Or Last Crusade, when the plane follows the car into a tunnel? Yeah, be prepared for some cheesy scenes that'll make you roll your eyes unless you've got a fun, go with the flow attitude.

But when all is said and done...it comes back to Ford. The man is Indiana Jones, and it's good to see him in the fedora and jacket, bullwhip in hand. The script may stumble a bit, the story-line may be a departure from formula, but with Spielberg and Ford at the helm (and clearly, for the first time in a long time, having fun!), the movie works. It has enough of the classic elements in place to qualify as an Indiana Jones film and earn its rightful place in the canon. *** (out of five). 

In 2000 I wrote and directed an Indy fan-film for our Latter-day Saint seminary called Indiana Jones and the Search for Eternal Joy. In this action flick Indy and Short Round learn about The Book of Mormon. Check out the trailer above and the full movie below. 

While in BYU’s Divine Comedy I played a sword-wielding Ute and “The Old Kicker” in Indiana Jones and the Helmet of Kishkumen. Check it out below!

This year I’m taking my kids to Salt Lake Comic Con as Indy. What do you think of my cosplay?