#i also like drawing pac but its always so hit or miss for me to get his face right

[chamoemileclown]

they're snuggling C:

[solaneceae]

grief

a team bolas oneshot (read on ao3) written before green team was split between red and blue, so in this they all died. angst with a side of family comfort. tw: blood and gore, temporary character death, self-inflicted burns

Pac wakes with a deep ache inside his chest and at the back of his mind — like a fresh, open wound that’s still bleeding. He reaches out, for the comforting hum of his soulmate’s sleeping mind on the other side, and finds nothing.

He doesn’t understand. But he also does. He’s surprised he’s not immediately breaking down screaming, but maybe he’s been broken for a long time and just didn’t notice until now.

He finds Pierre and Bad, busying themselves at the anvils. And he asks.

(Nothing, he has nothing, Richas missing, Cellbit insane and on the hunt for him, Forever dead, Mike dead, Bagi dead, Felps still MIA.

Fit.

Fit’s gone. Fit has died hating him.)

“I see,” he says, numb and empty.

And he draws out his sword.

When Red Team wakes the next morning, some of them are still holding onto hope. Hope that it was all a lie, hope that Green would merely be dissolved, its members assigned to the two remaining teams.

Hope is a cruel, fickle thing. And it dwindles fast in the minds of team Bolas as the hours start to trickle by, with no sign of any green-tinted name popping up on the global chat. Even faster when Carré comes back from recon, reporting the disappearance of Green’s spawn barrier as well as their mission NPCs.

The silence within their cave is deafening, only broken by the sound of a hammer hitting red-hot metal over the anvil. Some of them just check their comms obsessively, fraying minds tethering between denial and a complete breakdown. 

Cellbit hasn’t moved an inch since he woke up, sitting up at the center of their shared nest with absolutely nothing in his icy, blue slitted eyes as they stare at his commlink. At the last messages he’d sent to Roier, still unanswered. (His husband is gone. His sister is gone. His best friend, his President is gone. He has nothing left, and his tongue tastes like unspilled blood.)

Phil is looming over a crafting table, mindlessly placing and removing materials with no rhyme or reason. (Étoiles is gone, his best friend and brother in arms, his devil-may-care attitude, his humor, his fearless smile. Fit’s gone, his shameless flirting and unwavering determination. Forever. Forever. Kristin is eerily silent.)

Jaiden sits in a faraway corner, sharpening her sword until the edge can slice the very empty space between atoms. (Roier taught her. He taught her so much. She would make him proud.)

Charlie is off near the ovens, baking bread after bread after bread in a compulsive act of self-soothing that doesn’t quite work. (He thinks of his bitch wife, and hopes he’ll be smart enough to stay asleep today.)

Baghera’s shaking, huddled close to her fellow avian and mentor as she watches him work without really processing it, the crow’s hand occasionally tapper on her arm to keep her from ripping her feathers off. (She thinks of her brother. Her stubborn, annoying baby brother and his cursed bleeding heart. His hair had been cut so short, she’d been wanting to take a moment to even it, maybe style it a little even. She thinks of Pierre, and feels hatred. She thinks of Badboy, and feels betrayal.)

Foolish straightens up, rolls his shoulder as he admires his handiwork. (He thinks of his adopted son, and remembers why Bad always told him not to get attached to mortals. But Foolish never listens, and never will, despite how much it hurts every single time.) “It’s ready,” he drones out, catching the attention of everyone present. Phil turns to him, expression set in stone and unreadable. “Let me see.”

Team Bolas congregates around their leader, slightly bowed in something like reverence as he walks past them towards the shark-totem. Foolish grins, mirthless and cold, as he hands him a metal stick. The head of it is adorned with a strange shape, still reddish from heat. “Good job,” the Angel of Death nods, eyes and hands stained black as a few stray plants and roots wither away under his feet. His flock shivers like a single entity, all of them fastening their masks over weary, tear-streaked faces. Foolish whistles, spinning the branding iron like a majorette would their stick. “Thanks, Crowfather sir! Wanna do the honours?” Foolish chirps.

Philza Minecraft nods, silently letting his robe fall off his shoulders, exposing his naked back. “Let’s do it quick,” he says, looking over each of his fledgelings, who bow their heads in unwavering loyalty. “Today, we don’t let them rest. Not for a second. Doesn’t matter how many times they kill us, we swarm them, again and again. We, teach them pain.” He feels the heat of the furnace on his back as he sits before it, Foolish humming a cheery tune as he pokes at the blazing inferno inside. “Baghera, how many chainsaws did you make?”

The duck tilts her head. He can see her red-tinted eyes through the mask, and they crinkle in vindictive joy. “More than enough,” she coos, and Jaiden bumps her mask against hers, hello, clean, flock, hello. Phil croons out a yesyes. “Good. Very good.” He beckons her over, runs his claws through her hair-feathers lovingly. “You’ve become stronger. I’m proud of you. All of you.”

“Thanks Dad,” the duck hybrid whispers, preening under the praise. “Get ready,” Foolish warns. Phil doesn’t wince, doesn’t brace himself. Doesn’t care. “Jaiden,” he says, and the conure chirps in acknowledgment. “Taunt them. Trick them. Use every dirty tactic you can think of, I don’t care, this is no longer a fight. It’s retribution. Carré,” he turns to the warrior in the cat onesie, “I trust you. Put the fear of you in their hearts.” Carré gives a salute, sword gleaming in the dim light of their den. “Charlie, Foolish, literally go apeshit. Now’s the time.” Foolish laughs, eager, and Charlie’s codified parts glitch in anticipation. “Cellbit.” and the detective perks up. Phil flashes him a cruel smile. “Do what you do best,” he declares, and the Brazilian looks like Christmas came early.

Then red-hot iron slams against the skin of his back, and Phil lets out a gasp as his flesh starts to sizzle and burn. His talons dig deep into his own thighs in an attempt to distract himself from the pain, and the air smells like cooking meat. Cellbit starts howling first, the last of his sanity breaking when the smell hits his nostrils even through the mask, pupils dilating — like a shark smelling blood. The rest of them soon join in, screeching and laughing, too loud, too high-pitched and broken. Then Foolish removes the iron, and Philza almost falls over under the mixture of pain and relief. The rest of the flock rush over to support him, glancing at the result of Foolish’s hard work with barely disguised awe.

Angry red lines, bloody and bubbling, form the simplified shape of a gas mask right between the mangled remains of his ebony wings. A symbol of loyalty, devotion, belonging. (Pack, flock, family, murder.) “How’s it look?” the crow wheezing out, somehow still mustering the strength to make a joke out of his own agony. Jaiden flashes him a thumbs up. “Nice.”

“I want to go next,” Baghera pipes up, wings twitching with anticipation. Foolish nods, letting the others help Philza wobble away to let him recover for a minute. “Alright. Get over here then, sister.”

(There is no coming back after this, they all know that. Those marks would be here to stay, because self-inflicted scars don’t get erased by respawn, as some of them had found out over time. They all count on it.)

***

The trip is like a blur, partly because of the pain making their vision go hazy and, partly because the sky is red red red and it makes their minds fuzzy and time all wibbly-wobbly.

Charlie remembers hot desert sun hitting his shoulders and colouring them an angry red, Carré taking off his hood to breathe properly. He remembers Foolish carrying them through a freezing river, ice-cold water a temporary balm against the fresh burns in the center of his chest. (He doesn’t regret it. The pain is worth it. And the code infection is so cold, cold cold, the blazing heat radiating from the brand mark is almost soothing in comparison.) He remembers Baghera, limping the whole way, yet refusing any help. Pushing herself further than she ever has to keep up with them. Refusing to be a burden, refusing to drag them down. “I’m fine,” she would say, brushing her feathers over the mark on her right hip. “I’m fine.”

The sky is red, everything is. The blood-fog rolls in, or maybe it’s the toxic gas disaster. They can’t tell, with the masks that keep them breathing and tinted lenses painting the landscape crimson. They press on, helping each other whenever one falls, because their armors might be shit still despite yesterday’s grind, and they might have nothing. But they have each other.

When they finally find Blue, it doesn’t quite feel like catharsis. Not yet. All seven of them loom over their location - Pierre, Bad, Tubbo. (A shame. A shame he was here. He’d tried, they all knew that. But it hadn’t been enough.) They can’t see Pac anywhere, but given the few death messages that popped into global chat earlier, Phil can take a guess at what happened. (Note to self: extend an invitation to the Brazilian later.) No words are exchanged (quiet, quiet, don’t get spotted), only quick glances and flexing talons and flashes of teeth hidden beneath rubber masks. The sun hits their backs (it hurts, for Phil and Cellbit, who has chosen to place his own brand in the small of his back. He’s forsaken armor for this, he wants to feel every slash and tear, he wants to feel something, anything), their shadow-cast silhouettes stark against the red skies.

(They are pack, scavengers. They are eager to sink their teeth into writhing flesh and sharpen their claws on picked-clean bones.)

Philza raises an arm when Bad spots them, immediately barking out orders at Pierre and Tubbo, who doesn’t look like much of a leader at the moment. (What a shame. He deserved better.) The flock tenses, talons and claws digging into loose dirt, eerie growling and giggling and Charlie’s eager ‘how about now? can we go, please, dad?’

The Angel of Death looks down as his children. He lets his arm fall, and six shadows take off and rush downhill in a cacophony of barks and howls and cackling, hyena-like laughter.

Cellbit can see nothing at all, blinded by burning demon blood in his eyes, in his mouth, in his hair and beard. His knife digs into something soft and warm, someone screams, doesn’t know who. Something trips him and his head hits the ground, stunning him, and a sword stabs him in the shoulder and he laughs, ripping it out to roll away, uncaring of the copious amount of blood he’s losing. He hears the revving of an engine nearby, and wipes the blue liquid out of his eyes just in time to see Baghera slice at Pierre with her chainsaw, severing bone and tendons from his left shoulder to his right hip. Blood and viscera fall out of the gaping wound as he chokes, impossibly blue eyes widening, and then his body falls and the chime of death-respawn rings out over the battlefield. One. 

“First kill!” Carré woops, blocking strike after strike from a hissing Bad. “My turn now,” he grins, feral and they all know he’s the only human here how could a human feel so much like them, and his legs do a thing none of them can comprehend but he’s behind the demon now, thrusting his blade forward and into a groove in the fiend’s diamond armor. Chime. Bad falls, dead before his body hits the ground. Two. The Argentinian Beast swipes to the side, ridding his blade of sickly blue liquid. His sleeve creeps back up his arm, revealing the bottom of their symbol. “Mejórate, noob.”

“Oh SHIT!” Jaiden cackles, busy carving out the inside of Tubbo’s ribcage like a halloween pumpkin. “Carré’s out for blood, we love to see it.”

“Where’s Pac?” Cellbit grumbles, teeth around someone’s liver. Foolish rushed back from respawn, waving at them cheerfully, and bodies an incoming Pierre to the ground to bash his head against a rock until his skull gives and splits in half like a watermelon. “Uuuuh, dunno! Why, wanna eat his other leg?”

“Maybe.”

“Be nice,” Baghera pouts, beak splattered in red as she discards her broken saw, only to summon a fresh one from her inventory. She looks down at it with motherly fondness. “He did kill Bad earlier. And he lost Mike, and my brother. I say we leave him be.”

“Mmmh. Careful, here comes BitchBoy.”

“Oh, hello,” the duck chirps, evading a strike from Bad’s scythe. “Did you miss me, Bébou?” she giggles, thrusting her saw forward and cutting through the demon’s armor like it’s butter. Bad lets out a frustrated what the FUDGE before the blades pierce through the enchantments and through his belly. Chime. “I don’t know if I missed you,” she hums, throws her machine away, summons a new one. “I’m still thinking about it.”

Jaiden howls at her, Foolish barks, and all of them devolve into throat-tearing screams as their clothes soak up all the red, red above, red below, red, red. Philza climbs up a tower and swoops in, deadly precise, skewers another Tubbo that just showed up. “You should really give it a rest, mate,” he hums without an ounce of aggressivity, sitting on the lad’s chest as he wheezes out his last breath. “You’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be.”

“Can’t—” the goat hybrid chokes, bloody foam bubbling out of his mouth as his lungs fill up with fluid. “I’m. Tina. Nikki, Missa.” The name makes Phil blink. “Can’t… abandon them.”

“Suit yourself,” the Crowfather shrugs, then plants his blade into his former protégé’s neck with nary a sound. Chime.

Chime. 

Chime. 

Chime. 

They don’t always win, far from it. Chime . But they don’t care, losing themselves in the cycle of fight-kill-die-respawn-run-fight. Chime. Even when their resources run out, when they have nothing left but their own hands to fight with, they still come, again and again, moved by the collective desire to make them pay. They get less and less kills, armors and weapons gone, their own bodies piling up in a grotesque display. Chime. Chime. Chime. Blue Team tries to run and hide, but Jaiden and Foolish sniff them out like a pair of bloodhounds, always on their tail as the rest of the flock follows. The hours trickle, too slow yet too fast, and Blue is now winning because they kill them a lot more often than Red kills them, but they don’t give a single shit about that stupid bar made up but a stupid eyeball thing that they are done entertaining because THEIR FUCKING FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE DEAD.

They rip, and tear, and bite when nothing else works anymore. Everything hurts, repeated respaws and the brand mark making their bodies stumble and fall and shake and seize against the cold dirt, making them easy targets. But they keep fighting.

Cellbit starts crying at some point, tears washing off the blood in twin lines on both his cheeks, and he repeats his husband’s nickname like some fucked up mantra as he stabs into Pierre’s chest over and over again, the engineer long dead. Yet he still keeps going, until Phil gently tears him away from the body to press his own bloody forehead against the Brazilian’s, letting him cling to his robes like the crow’s his last anchor to the mortal plane. Foolish and Jaiden come back, huffing, saying they’ve lost track of their target, and everyone stands still for a moment.

Phil’s commlink buzzes. He glances at it, spots something blue, turns it off. No more parlé, no more talks. “I think they’re done for today,” he sighs, helping Cellbit to his feet. “Let’s go back.”

“To the den?” Charlie asks, ripping off his mask to shake off stray pieces of viscera before putting it back on. His entire body is soaked in red, but Phil can spot some green beneath it. His code arm glitching erratically, but he barely seems to feel it. 

Philza nods. “To the nest.”

“Can we burn?” Baghera asks. Her voice is shot, just like after an intense session of karaoke. “I don’t wanna walk back. I wanna burn.”

“Me too,” Jaiden raises her hand, Charlie following suit. “Oooh, we should all do it,” the conure gasps, already piling up dead wood and whipping out her flint and steel. “It’s like a warpstone! But crispier.”

Maybe Phil should discourage that. But his bad knee hurts like a motherfucker, and what’s a little more agony after today. “Sure, fuck it.”

The pier lights up their surroundings as they dance their way into the flames, hot coal burning the soles of their feet. They briefly wonder if this is what witches did back in the day, before their last hearts are drained and they fall into the space-between-spaces, respawn mechanic spitting them out the other side and into the damp coolness of their cave-home-nest-den.

Their wounds are gone, as always. But not the brand, still pulsing with dull pain on each of their bodies. They all put ice on it, mechanically, minds already far away as their timer nears its end for the day.

None of them bother to clean up before it hits zero. The pack huddles into the nest together, blood-sticky and shaky and Cellbit is still sobbing, Jaiden’s arms around him while she croons and chirps, avian words eaten up by her own hiccuping sobs ( help, sad, sad, flock) , Charlie rubbing soothing circles into the cat hybrid’s back as he wails. Carré whispers praise and fighting tips to Baghera’s who’s only half-listening, wrapping up Dad’s sprained wing in a makeshift splint. Foolish sits close, humming absentmindedly as he finger-combs the knots and bits of flesh out of Jaiden’s long hair. “...You guys wanna move to Eggxile with me?” Charlie asks, drowsy and sluggish, Baghera’s hand-wing in his code-infected one. “When we go back. You can- you can take care of Flippa with me, if… you know. If this shit doesn’t work out.”

Jaiden laughs, wet and unstable. “I’d love that actually.”

“Your house has fumes in it,” Cellbit adds, so quiet it’s hard to make out. “I like that. It’s homey.”

“We can keep the masks there, it’s perfect,” Baghera approves, and Phil finds himself considering it because Charlie’s ramshackle house might be turning into code shit, but at least it’s far away, safe, away, away, and he doesn’t know if he can trust anyone outside his flock after this. Not stay on the wall, where everyone and their dog can show up unannounced. “Maybe,” he says.

Then their comms buzz, darkness claiming them quick.

[jasminewaliaposts-blog]

My Journey as a Maid of Honor

Since summer is approaching us, do you know what that means? Wedding Season. A whole a lot of spending your money on clothes that you will probably never wear again, OH and dealing with bridezillas.

Last year of November, my best friend surprised me and some of her other friends by popping the BIG QUESTION, “Will you be my Maid of Honor.” Obviously, I was going to say yes without realizing the amount of annoyance I was about to be faced with. With joy I accepted her box full of treats she gave as a present to me. In the box were pictures from our childhood, a PJ set, a wine bottle, a hand mirror, and a heart filled personalized card. In the card she wrote why she chose me to me the maid of honor, and the date of the wedding which was only revealed to me. Obviously, it was on the same weekend of my birthday. But oh well, it’s just a birthday, I guess…

Two weeks later, my other best friend announced that she would have her wedding 3 weeks before my other best friend (end of June), and my cousin announced that she would have her wedding the same weekend as well.

Tip: Breath and create a calendar with all the main events

So just in case you feel lost, let me draw this out for you. I am a Maid of Honor for a wedding taking place on July 20thand a bridesmaid for a wedding taking place on June 30thand on the same weekend my cousin is getting married.

Now the problem is not the actual weddings, is it the 10 events which happen leading up to the wedding. As well as the thousands of dollars that are spent on clothing, hair and makeup. Being Indian means, we have a lot of traditions and celebrations, which don’t get me wrong, are tons of fun. It involves a whole a lot of color, beautiful outfits, outrageous décor, a lot of dancing and BOOZE. The image below is an example of how décor typically looks like at an Indian wedding ceremony.

Tip: Always create a budget break-down for yourself in terms of how much you will end up spending for each event. This includes the cost of your outfit, makeup, bachelorette/bachelor party, gift(s) to the brides, etc.

As I am processing this, I just realized that I still have one more semester of school left, and this is where I start PANICKING. How am I going to handle school, whilst helping plan three important weddings? Plus, all these food festivals which I do not want to miss out on. Like how can anyone miss out on poutine festival or taco fest?

Anyways, in December my best friend approached me to ask me if I can plan the bachelorette and bridal shower for her. As a Maid of Honor, I had to say yes. Listen, I love my best friend and I would do anything for her, but this is a busy time for me since I am trying to manage school and work on all these wedding shenanigans.

To make things more complicated, she decided to invite her fiancé and his friends to the bachelorette party. So essentially it would be both a bachelorette and a bachelor party. For anyone who has ever experienced this, they would know how complicated things can get when you add a bunch of guys to the mix.

So, the first thing I did was reach out to my best friend’s sister, Bianca, and created a WhatsApp group with all the bridesmaids, and to inform them that the destination we have chosen is Vegas. Now come the outpouring suggestions and recommendations of where we should stay, and how much our budget should be blah blah.

So, complication #5393458 is that everyone in the group are of different age and have different things going on in their lives. Some were students, some are businesswomen, and some are married and have kids. So, their interests and budgets are entirely different from one another.

Some wanted to spend their money on a luxurious hotel, and some would rather spend their money at pool parties and clubs. Long story short, it took me about 3 months to decide on what hotel we should stay at. Once we finalized the hotel, I decided to get touch with the groom and his best man(s) who were planning the bachelor party and let’s just say they were not happy with the hotel we decided to stay at. At this point I told them I don’t really give a s*** about their opinion and we are going ahead with that hotel.

Tip: Create an excel sheet with a budget breakdown so people can see where their money will be going. For people who are on a tight budget, seeing a number visually will ease the process. Below is an example of how this can look like.

The next headache was coming up with an itinerary. This trip is supposed to be 3 nights and 4 days long (Friday- Monday). For Friday, the bride and groom decided that both the guys and girls should spend it together, GREAT! (rolling my eyes). Now this is where things get really COMPLICATED. I had booked all of the girls for an event where Calvin Harris was performing, and of course the best man(s) had to oppose to it, because the cost of them getting a booth there was “too expensive” (FYI: only $100 difference shared amongst 28 people). So anyways, they decided we should go to a “cheaper” event with a less interesting artist. Ok so they literally ruined our wonderful plan, but we were okay with that.

For that same day we had decided that we will get a private dining room for all the girls and guys as a surprise for both the groom and bride. At this point I had already booked a private chef, and here come along the groom’s men opposing to the idea once again. They wanted to do a $100 USD buffet. Why would anyone spend that much on a buffet? Once again, I agreed to it.

Now that the bachelorette party was somewhat coming together, it was time to plan the bridal shower. Let me tell you, this was not fun at all. The bride told us she wanted us to plan an Aladdin themed bridal shower, and once again she wanted us to surprise her so that meant we had to come up with the guest list, find a venue and a caterer, etc.

As I started planning this, I decided to use a technique I learnt when doing group work in the Master of Marketing program, and that is to DELEGATE! Instead of taking on all the responsibilities and trying to plan every single detail, I decided to come up with a list of duties and assign a task to all the bridesmaids.  I simply created a google doc and listed all the responsibilities and put a bunch of names down and shared it with everyone.

Tip: Create a Google Doc and share it with the people who will be participating in the planning process, like the one below.

The planning led all the way to April, which also meant exam time. Since there was only two weeks left till Vegas, this meant CRUNCH time.

Amidst all this, I had to deal with coordinating bridesmaid’s outfits. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TRYING TO GET 13 BRIDESMAIDS to send their correct measurements?! Anyways, once I got the measurements, I decided to order the outfits.

Tip: Ladies and Gents, whenever you are placing a bulk order for clothes, always make sure you get a sample outfit from the designer

The outfits were being made in India. It is a beautiful white skirt and crop top with gold embroidery. The cost of each outfit is $300 CAD, and each bridesmaid has to pay out of her pocket which made it more nerve wracking in terms of getting these outfits down to perfection.

Three weeks later, we received a box with all these outfits, and what happens? NONE OF THEM FIT. I called the designer and yelled at him for sending me the wrong sizes and since these are custom made, none of them are refundable nor returnable. I told the bridesmaids to re-measure themselves so I can find a seamstress to fix all of them, and turns out, they all measured themselves wrong.

Tip: Always find someone professional to get you measured

So, since it was their fault, I told them that it was their responsibility to get their own outfits fixed. Remember guys, always delegate.

Now its exam time, and I am both stressed and excited for Vegas (not really excited for my exams haha). After I finished my exams, it was crunch time for the trip, so this meant buying the decorations for our hotel and custom making our t-shirts and making any last-minute reservations. This also meant hitting the gym every single day in the hopes I would have a 6-pac for my trip.

Amidst all this chaos, I totally forgot to order outfits for my trip. So, I quickly went onto Fashion Nova, which is a famous online store for both men and women. I quickly placed an order in hopes I would get my order in time and hopefully all the outfits would fit. Fast forward a week later (I now only have 6 days left till my trip) I receive my order from Fashion Nova, AND EVERYTHING IS TOO SMALL on me. When I mean I started crying, I mean it! I called my best friend and started crying because nothing fit me and I had spent so much money on these outfits and none of it was refundable, oh and they also sent me 3 of the wrong outfits.

So, at this point my only option was to go to the mall and try to find 3 outfits for a night out, 2 for a pool party and at least 2 for a fancy dinner and lunch. So, I went to at least 3 malls, and FOUND NOTHING!

Did I mention how unnecessarily expensive stores are? I wasn’t going to spend $100 on just one dress. At this point I made a decision to go onto another online store called Pretty Little Thing. I decided to order 4 dresses, confident that they will all fit since I ordered from them before. Since I needed it expediated, I had to pay $20 USD for express shipping. 2 days later, I get my package, and as I’m furiously opening it, I try on my first out and guess what? The dresses are too big. At this point I was not even mad; I was just laughing at myself for even trying.

Tip: Never order dresses from any online shops until reading reviews on both Instagram and on Google. Try to find the exact outfit on the company’s Instagram page and see the reviews for that exact outfit. See what people say about the sizing and quality.

I come downstairs, and my mom asks me “how are the dresses?” I told her that I am just going to end up wearing my old dresses because this whole online ordering business is not working out for me. She took a look at the dresses and said that she can take me to a seamstress and just get them fixed. How genius is my mother… The same day I decide to visit my seamstress and she quotes me $50 just to get them fixed, without hesitation I gave it to her and told her I will pick them up the next day. Anyways, so that whole situation worked out somehow. I went to Post Canada to return all my Fashion Nova dresses. As we know I was already frustrated with their return policy, and then I was told I would have to pay $30 in return shipping, WHEN IT WAS NOT EVEN MY FAULT. I emailed Fashion Nova, and let’s just say I sent a very threatening message to them on both Facebook and email.

Tip: Always send customer service an email about your complaint/ experience. If you do not like their response via email, try contacting them on social media. These companies care about their reputation and the last thing they want is a bad review on their page.

Finally came the day to leave for VEGAS! Our flight departed at 9 p.m. from Toronto, so we decided to go to the airport to sit at the Air Canada Lounge to eat and drink. We then decided to stop by the duty free to pick up some alcohol since everyone who has been to Vegas knows how expensive food and alcohol can be there.

Tip: Never buy alcohol from Vegas, always get it from the airport when departing.

We all finally arrive and set-up our suite with decorations and gifts for all the bridesmaids. And let’s just say after that, the trip was a blur.

After recovering from the trip, now it was time to finalise everything for the bridal shower. This was a breeze since we hired people to decorate the venue and make all the deserts. Below is a picture of the beautiful Aladdin cake.

Today is May 26th, 2019, and within the next 3 weeks it is both my cousins and my other best friend’s bridal showers and bachelorette parties. (WISH ME LUCK)!

This story will be continued, if I make it out alive after this summer….

[channelingthesoul]

Channeling Robin Williams

10/18/2018

Bobby- Hi Robin how are you my friend a long time since I've talked to you what have you been up to anything new in the spirit world.

Robin- Oh hi Mr. K I'm doing quite well you know playing dead and causing lots of mischiefs hanging with my homies like Biggie and 2 Pac drinking a lot of gen and juice over here we don't have hangovers it's a really neat experience we really don't need food or drinks only if we want to you can jump into a humans body experience the feeling of being wasted . New things in the spirit world we are watching humans and nature watching all the mess these storms are causing with the hurricanes and with humans with this mass violence and the new leader of the united states I call him Mr. pumpkin head he's doing a good job but he's putting a lot of fear in others all the people that have been lied to for so long can't handle the truth about stuff and they don't like change people don't realize change is great and awakening will help them achieve new goals and make them healthy.

Bobby- That's great stuff to know.

Robin- I see you're doing a great job at this stuff keep it up don't worry relax and we will come through and talk with you.

Bobby- Thanks ill try I get where I don't know what to ask spirits.

Robin-Feel free to ask us anything we will try to give you the answers if not its ok if you don't get the answer you're looking for.

Bobby- Thanks for the advice, is there anything you would like to talk about?

Robin- I would love for you to ask me questions it makes it more fun and interesting.

Bobby- I'll try to ask questions. My wife she and I are big fans plus many others in the world you are truly missed would love to know what was your main mission here?

Robin- You probably know I was here to make people laugh and not fear life and enjoy every minute of life don't take things so serious we all need to live up more like right now with all the bullshit news and wars and shootings in the world everyone needs to get together and spread love and laughter it can heal any heal anything turn on a great tv show from the past where they had no violence great gags and jokes I use to love listening to old comedy albums and I would laugh for days from the jokes the comedians would tell and I would watch tv shows like Red Skelton George Burns and Bob Hope one of my favorite comedians was Jonathan Winters we would make those crazy sounds and voices he would make and his face impression I would go around my house as a child making faces my mother would always would be like I've raised a demon child somedays I would talk with the same voice for days on days.

Bobby- Yes we need to laugh more and stop worrying about money and stupid stuff like news and focus on living life to the fullest. I also love all those great comedians I love to listen to old radio programs from the 1930's and older music the soothes my soul listening to it I guess being an old soul those programs hits my soul.

Robin- Yes those are great also older radio shows helps the imagination and your third eye work its magic just like reading it helps the mind grow and the heart also the heart is a powerful thing we can use it to send others healing also.

Bobby- Yes when I meditate I always send out healing to all that's in need of love even if they don't feel it just to let them know someone does care for them even to the evil people in the world they need to be shown love and light maybe they will change their evil ways.

Robin- That's a great thing you do it really does help some may block the incoming energy that's being sent to them some people are scared to open up and let go of the past I use to be the same when I was alive held a lot in it's really bad to hold in feelings its best to let that shit out it eats you alive. I would joke around with people to show my emotions the most turn feelings into jokes you should let out some your feelings I notice you have a lot of stuff held in don't be afraid to let it out if you can't find anyone to share it write it down on a notepad then take the piece of paper and burn it or tear it up just picture it being fading away you don't need it in your life anymore or we spirits are here to listen also you have guides and angels to help also. Tell your wife Ka also she doesn't need let that shit build up also.

Bobby- Thank you for the information I will try to let some out and find out the other stuff that's built up within.

Robin- That's great.

Bobby- Gotta ask what are you up to on the other side any work you are doing there?

Robin- Now I visit and help others that are depressed I try to help them laugh I give them funny thoughts and I help them watch enjoy life and I help others with drug problems the world is full of harmful stuff now its killing people fast with poison people that are reading this stop mixing weird shit if you're gonna do drugs make sure it's safe something like pot have a beer not too many just maybe two the most. I also stay close to my family also and my celebrity friends some are lost and out of control my daughter she senses me around her I visit her in dreams a lot she wakes up laughing a lot I'll visit her in different forms sometimes I'll be a talking dog or some food in a dream be like a talking burger she wakes up laughing she's like dad I know that's you.

Bobby- That's great with the help you're doing to help others here yes true with all the drugs it's out of control all around the world.

That's great that you visit your family a lot and the way you show yourself to your daughter in dreams is funny I would probably wake up laughing my butt off telling my family I had a weird dream about a talking burger ... no more McDonald's for me. Gotta ask any of your children will do acting as you did?

Robin- Yes no Mcdonald's clown meat has a funny taste to it (He has a burger making clown shoe sounds.)

Now with the answer about my children, I believe my daughter will do some stuff, not like major things like I did she's more into music and art the girl can draw she loves to travel. I love them oh so dearly I'm always around them 24/7.

Bobby- That's funny with the burger. That's cool about your daughter I hope she can go places with her art I love to draw and paint it's so relaxing I need to start doing it again I do digital art a lot it's cheaper.

Robin- Yes you have some talent you should share with others more don't be afraid what others think it's yours you created it just like the spirit world you manifest anything you want with art it's the same thing. Also, you're funny also feel free to make others laugh.

Bobby- Thank you I'll put my stuff out there to show off and try to make others laugh.

Robin- Don't say try say I will. Also with your wife tell her to keep writing show others she could make a career out of writing just gotta stop what others will think also stop stressing about her job it's a place of stress each day she should have a good laugh before and after she goes in will make the day much much better . You do the same heck play some of my stuff it will help.

Bobby- Will do I'll tell her also I'll let her read our interview.

Robin- That's super great.

Bobby- Any more messages for your fans or family nothing else I can think of to ask you if I do have any more questions I'll call upon on you.

Robin- I would love to say you did a great job channeling myself keep up the good work and to my family and fans around the world remember I'm doing great here and I love and miss you all always know I'm always around I live within you all. Thank you for this chat Mr. K (He flys away in a giant egg like he did in the tv show Mork and Mindy.)

[wrestling-and-such]

My 10 Favourite Matches of 2019

Ok, so I was planning to release this days ago, but school caught up and now everyone is over 2019. But I’m still gonna finish this list anyway cause I said so. Shhhhh... let me have this...

So, I see a lot of people talking about the best wrestlers or best matches or best promotions of the 2010s. But I only just got back into wrestling in 2019, so I don’t feel as though I can talk about the entire decade. Instead, I decided to make a list of my favourite matches of just 2019. Now, these aren’t the BEST matches, these is my FAVOURITE matches, and thus subject to my own opinion. And obviously spoilers for each of the matches ahead. Got it? Good. 

Honourable Mentions: 

Grizzled Young Veterans vs Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) vs South Wales Subculture (NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff) 

The Women’s Wargames Match (NXT TakeOver: Wargames (2019))

A-Kid vs Will Ospreay (Triple W Total Rumble 9)

Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley (AEW All Out)

Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks (WWE Hell in a Cell (2019))

10: Jon Moxley vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Day 6 Jul 19th 2019)

I liked Dean Ambrose. I love Jon Moxley. So, what happens when you put one of the most legitimately badass wrestlers in the world today with perennial fellow badass, Tomohiro Ishii? A straight up brawl between two of the best brawlers in the business. Moxley was at his violent and unhinged finest, while also refining that brutality in a more serious and direct manner. We even got to see a more technical side of Moxley that we weren’t presented in WWE’s “sports entertainment” landscape. Also, ISHII DIVES OFF THE TOP ROPE THROUGH A TABLE, ISHII DOES NOT DO THAT GUYS, YOU JUST DO NOT SEE THAT, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT. Ishii is one of those wrestlers in NJPW that I instantly connected with, and he worked his ass off in this match, and basically the entire G1 Climax. And with a match like this, I would like to see him in more. Amazing.

9: PAC vs Ben-K (Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival (2019))

So, Disclaimer; I do not watch Dragon Gate. I’m sure I should, but I don’t. That being said, I absolutely loved this match. From what I’m told, there was another match at Kobe World that might have been better than this one. But if I’m being honest, it would have to be REALLY great to top this one. Ben-K, through just one match, became one of my favourite wrestlers today. Dragon Gate is a promotion primarily made up of Junior Heavyweights, so it’s somewhat strange to see a wrestler like Ben-K among their mix, as he’s primarily a power and ground based wrestler. Nonetheless, his style was completely in-sync with the high flying PAC. PAC is a sadistic son of a b%&* throughout the match, as usual. However, when he lost he made sure he put Ben-K over HARD, even risking his stable’s own credibility to do so. If you want a great underdog and redemption story, this is definitely one to watch.

8: The Revival vs Undisputed Era (O'Reilly & Fish) (NXT Tapings: Nov. 20, 2019)

Anyone who’s seen this match will know where I’m coming from. A sleeper hit on the road to Survivor Series, everyone who recognized the abilities of those involved knew something big was going to happen. Despite, traditionally being Heels, The Revival were the de facto Babyfaces in this match, with the single goal of showing the world why they were so big in NXT. And they did, in a showcase of Tag team wrestling at its finest. Matched up with the technical excellence of the Undisputed Era, this match produced GOLD. Its all the fixings of a great Revival match: blind tags, fluid tag team moves, climactic hot tags. All topped off with a surprising chemistry with the almost always excellent Undisputed Era. I love you Revival. Now please go somewhere else to do your thing. I would like to see it.

7: Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole (bay bay) (NXT TakeOver: New York)

This was the first NXT TakeOver show I had ever watched, as I had just missed the Phoenix show and hadn’t had the chance to watch it before the Wrestlemania weekend. That being said, what an introduction to TakeOvers this was. The entire New York card was probably my favourite WWE PPV of the year (save for one other NXT PPV mentioned) and this match was just delicious sugary icing on the cake. And I don’t even like icing that much. Johnny Gargano is by far one of the best Babyfaces in the world and draws sympathy like no other, most people recognize this. But what this match did differently than his other matches was introduce us to his uncanny ability to suspend you disbelief.  And Adam Cole was an integral foil for Johnny, even if it was never planned, as I don’t think Tommaso could have gotten this out of Johnny as he was only one man. But when the rest of the Undisputed Era came out to assist Cole, Johnny took down all of them, and you believed it possible. It wasn’t a cop out like we see so many times on the main roster and its main event scene. It was genuine, heartfelt, underdog resilience that we hoped, we knew, and we saw pay off in the end. 

6: WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match (WWE Elimination Chamber (2019))

I know, I know, many people prefer Kofi Kingston’s Wrestlemania triumph over “The New” Daniel Bryan. However, for personal preference, I enjoyed Kofi’s Elimination Chamber Showcase just a little bit more. Essentially, this is where KofiMania started. Kofi was an incidental figure in the match due to Mustafa Ali getting injured, but he nonetheless seized his opportunity and put it all on the line for one of the greatest matches of his life. This isn’t to say that the other members of the match didn’t play their part either; Daniel Bryan may have been more conniving than ever before, Samoa Joe was a literal machine during his time in the match, Jeff Hardy was at his high flying best, AJ Styles put his technical excellence on display once again, and Randy Orton actually felt threatening for once! However, this was Kofi’s night, and this is where it all began.

5: Rhea Ripley vs Shayna Baszler (NXT Tapings: Dec. 18, 2019)

As of this writing, Shayna Baszler is basically headed to the main roster, so it was almost a shoe-in that Rhea Ripley would be walking out of 2019 as the new NXT Women’s Champion. However, the skill and strength of this match was making you forget about that and question whether or not Rhea could actually get the job done. But she did! And it was great! Shayna’s new style lends itself as both punishing to her victims but also rewarding to those who know what they’re up against. And for a while, Rhea was especially rewarded for her close understanding of Shayna and her ability to read her out, as seen in her previous match with her a few months earlier and the Women’s Wargames Match. But when that ability was hindered by Shayna when she finally managed to injure Rhea’s arm, you were left on the edge of your seat the entire match worrying about the outcome. And that’s what a match is supposed to do, even if the outcome is somewhat predictable. Even still, sometimes its best to just give fans what they want, and that’s exactly what they did.

4: Tomohiro Ishii vs Shingo Takagi (NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Day 16 Aug 8th 2019)

I showed this match to a friend who had never watched pro wrestling in his life and had no interest in it. I still showed him this match and he actually had a lot of fun watching it. When you take two big beefy bois and have them run into each other for about 22 minutes, you get this wonderful match. The story of this match is a classic case of one-upmanship, with the two men battering each other while no-selling each others moves throughout much of this match. This is also helped by the fact that these they look like they’re actually hitting each other in the face. One of the hardest hitting matches of the year, this was the Japanese Strong Style at some of its finest with how stiff the strikes were. That’s not to say there wasn’t much technical work in this match either. Nonetheless, I still feel as though this explanation doesn’t do this match justice. It’s still available online, so just go watch it yourself right now. Please.

3: Candice LeRae vs Io Shirai (NXT TakeOver: Toronto (2019))

I’m gonna be honest, this match is kind of helped by the fact that this took place in my home country of Canada. Don’t care, this was a phenomenal match either way. Context: Io Shirai had just turned heel, and Candice LeRae had just been dropped onto her head. Onto a chair. Being honest, she’s probably taken worse bumps on the indies, but still bad though! So Candice wants revenge, and she’s given this match at TakeOver. And it is wrestling at its finest. The story is so simple; one wrestler hurts another wrestler and the two have a match because of it. And it’s made all the better thanks to that match being great. That night in Toronto, LeRae even got more sympathy behind her than Johnny Gargano, who, as noted earlier, is a sympathy magnet. And Io proved herself a heel not through necessarily nefarious means (though there was some of that), but by simply being a fantastic technical wrestler, revived with a new heel persona. Made all the better by a resilient babyface opponent who Io literally had to choke out in order to put away. Candice LeRae is a tough f*&#ing cupcake, dammit.

2: Walter vs Tyler Bate (NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff)

Another contender for one of the world’s best babyfaces, big strong boi Tyler Bate helped put on my favourite match at my favourite WWE PPV of the year, the ever so underrated NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff. Walter is one of my favourite wrestlers, and I’m saying that as a guy who probably likes spots a bit too much. His old school catch wrestling style stands out amongst his contemporaries, and know one understands the fundamentals better than him. But what really stood out in this match was actually when he was on the back foot, selling for Tyler in a way that suspended your disbelief. And when Tyler managed to actually LIFT Walter up you really felt as if this David would conquer his Goliath. And when he didn’t you felt genuinely heartbroken, but not cheated. And that’s the important distinction. Thank you boys.

1: Cody vs Dustin Rhodes (AEW Double or Nothing)

Ok, you guys knew this was gonna be here. It’s on most people's lists, but nonetheless, I just loved this match a lot. Even as a kid, I remember not thinking much of Cody Rhodes. Goldust was neat, if a little weird for me as a kid. Like many people, I expected this match to be good and very emotional, but not great. Then it happened, and I was blown away. The buckets of blood, sweat, and tears spilled in this match would in theory be enough to turn some more squeamish eyes away, but it was so powerful that I’m not sure that too many people could actually take their eyes off it. Dustin was there to prove that, even after all these years, this old gunslinger’s still got it, with a technical smoothness to rival even the younger guys on the AEW roster. Meanwhile, Cody proved a dastardly but nonetheless sympathetic, nay empathetic, heelish wrestler who was tortured by his own actions in trying to put down his older brother. Nothing I say could truly capture the beauty of this match, but the sheer fact that I found it beautiful is a large reason why I’ll continue to watch wrestling for a long time to come.