#new japan road 2022

[arkus-rhapsode]

Gachi-Bachi: A Tale of Two Roads to Success (A Discussion)

Back again with another think piece on this blog. And while the last two came from an inspiration of topics that I had floating around in my head for awhile, this one came about from me scrolling on twitter (I'm not calling it X) recently and noticing the in real time evolution of two of the arguably biggest battle shonen releases of the 2020s. That would be Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi.

However, this isn't gonna be a simple compare and contrast of the series as works of fiction as I personally feel each one has different qualities that really distinguish them from each other in a way that doing a comparison wouldn't be too interesting. Rather what intrigues me is how they are a fascinating study in how series become big so to speak and despite the overlap in fans, there's actually some pretty key differences in their success stories that highlight greater things in the manga industry in particular. So let's ask ourselves: how did we get here, what role has fanbases played in it, what role has their respective magazines played in this, and just how truly successful are these series?

Background and Rise

Now for those who are just not initiated, I'll briefly explain the premise of these two series.

Gachiakuta by Kei Urana is a series set in a dark fantasy world where an orphan named Rudo is banished to the trash filled abyss after being framed for the murder of his adoptive father. In the Abyss Rudo discovers he has the power to use his magic gloves to turn objects into weapons, which he uses as a member of the Cleaners. He fights trash monsters and criminals in a journey to get back home and take revenge on the one who framed him.

Kagurabachi by Takeru Hokazono is an urban fantasy series set in contemporary Japan that deal with Chihiro, the son of a mystical blacksmith who had forged six magic swords. Chihiro's father is killed by a group of magical mobsters and his swords taken from him. Chihiro, armed with a secret seventh magic sword, will cut a blood path through Japan's criminal underbelly and take revenge on those responsible for his father's death.

I know Im grossly summarizing both works because I'm focusing not on the series themselves but rather the things surrounding each of them. So if you wish to know more, please check them out yourselves and see if you enjoy them. And just for transparency's sake, I have made multiple posts on this blog about Gachiakuta so I think its safe to say I enjoy it quite a bit. While my relationship with Kagurabachi is not that intimate as I actually don't read much Weekly Shonen Jump anymore, I did at least read the first volume just so I can say, I totally see why this got a following. Also just for clarity as I know the internet can flatten time in many instances, I want to point out that while I'd call these series contemporary, its worth noting that they're not exactly same time rising stars. Kagurabachi came out this year, in 2024, while Gachiakuta came out in 2022. A whooping two year lead. Hot did Kagurabachi get so hot? How?

Well if you're familiar with Kagurabachi in even a tertiary form you probably remember this meme.

This was a piece of promo art used by Jump along with a brief summary of the series before it was publishized. Now for a little context, at this time, two of Shonen Jump's biggest action staple series, My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, were in their twilight stages. And at the time the shonen jump magazine had an interesting assortment of genres probably more than the last two decades. However, while One Piece would still be evergreen and their were action series such as Sakamoto Days and Undead Unluck, there was a hunger for a new battle series. And not just a new battle series, a long term investment battle series.

So when the news came down that WSJ would be releasing a "urban fantasy revenge sword battle series" with an accompanying art that definitely would fit alongside the heroes of the 2000s like Ichigo Kurosaki or Death the Kid, there was a reasonable excitement. Course there was also a bit of an over enthusiasm. Now like I said in my 2000s anime nostalgia post, I don't think this definitively means anything deep that there are just people who got into anime around the 2000s who just enjoy that types of series they were introduced to and were excited for more of that. However, over enthusiasm on the internet, is always prime material for ribbing.

So a lot of people on Ani/manga twitter saw slews of people posting this, and I mean this with no disrespect, kinda bored looking guy drawing his sword and being excited for a series that hadn't come out. This lead to of course memes. Lots of memes.

That this was the best jump manga of all time before a single chapter came out. It even lead to a bunch of people redrawing this promo image several times with different characters each with the same kind of expression. Now of course, this did ignore the fact that there was at least a translated one-shot released by Hokazono that people could at least check out to see if they enjoy his work. As well as the fact this kinda happens everytime there's a new jump rotation. Its just kinda in fan nature to get hyped for something even if all they have is a simple description. But lots of memes tend to flatten out context.

And so it seemed like that was that, the set up for the ultimate punchline. People had some genuine excitement, a bunch of guys on twitter made a mountain of ironic excitement, and now all the series had to come out and not live up to that hype. But then Kagurabachi did come out and the chapter was good. Sure it wasn't change your life spectacular or anything, but for a first chapter of a brand new series, it did exactly what it needed to do: Clearly introduce the stakes of the world, who the main character is, what their motivation is, mixing in some action set pieces, and leaving a little room for intrigue to watch the series grow. It hit the emotional points it wanted and hit the action beats it wanted. The end. That wasn't bad at all. Quite the opposite.

So here we are, left with what was essentially a free marketing campaign for people who probably expected it to get the shonen jump axe like a lot of new action series tended to get and instead they got something pretty okay. If there was ever a group of people vindicated it was those guys excited for Kagurabachi for the start.

Yes I know, meme popularity can be dumb or annoying. And some super fans and hype beasts who want to be there on the ground floor can be kinda cringe, but there is no doubt this was one of the most successful social media campaigns ever for a series that actually was managing to justify it. And for the next few weeks it would keep going and irony was almost completely replaced with sincerity.

The fact this was actually getting Shueisha's social media to acknowledge twitter hashtags and release a promotional trailer for it in English was such a first. Even if you don't like Kagurabachi or are indifferent to it, there is no denying this was unique.

But I've spent all this time reminiscing about Kagurabachi's social media rise. What about Gachiakuta hmm?

Well Gachiakuta was a series made by Kei Urana who had served as an assistant to Atsushi Okubo on the Weekly Shonen Magazine series, Fire Force. Fire Force itself is an odd beast we don't have the time to fully get into, but it was pretty popular for a non jump series and featured Okubo, a creator who has possibly one of the most devout fanbases ever, striking it big with many people's formative anime, Soul Eater. Urana herself was a massive fan of the series and if you've read Gachiakuta you can see the inspiration. However, when it was time for Fire Force to come to a close, WSM had announced that a new series by Okubo's assistant would be starting just before its end. And people were excited right? Well not exactly. Cause you had to be looking in the right places to even notice this announcement.

At the time, WSM series were mostly readable on Azuki. However, there seemed to be a weirdly non commutable relationship with Azuki and WSM's publisher Kodansha. As such it was kinda a gamble if a new WSM series would even show up on Azuki let alone simelpubbed. So it seemed like whatever Gachiakuta was would be Japan exclusive. But as if by miracle, the translation group, Pair of 2+ came in and dropped an English version of the chapter on release. The first chapter of Gachiakuta was pretty strong though mostly for Urana's incredibly striking artstyle. Made even better by the fact that the world of Gachiakuta was a fantasy world. And not fantasy in the way a stereotypical isekai is borrowing from romanticized European fantasy. But rather this sorta grudge world that was capable of having what looked like modern convinces, but there was things like a mysterious trash pit, a bunch of soldiers who dressed in ostentatious uniforms and a ginormous and intimidating trash creature.

I know it might seem kinda like a broken record now, but a big thing in the 2010s era of action manga and anime was a move towards more grounded and contemporary setting with stories. Juxtaposing supernatural or spectacular elements with the modern day Japan structure and order. Plenty of series were popular with this such as My Hero, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, hell even Demon Slayer does the same though set in a turn of the century version of Japan. These certainly have an appeal and obviously they're not going anywhere, but there was a growing perception that fantasy worlds in manga were kinda fading. We weren't really getting a bunch of One Pieces. Were were getting stuff closer to Bleach. So of course, deny someone something long enough and they become enthusiastic for the tiniest taste of it.

So with all this, how was Gachiakuta's first few weeks. Well outside of some territory nods and the obvious "This manga is trash" jokes. It kinda stayed low key. With people relying on scan groups to handle it, there was really no guarantee of consistent momentum. Sometimes it'd take two weeks to get a chapter out in English while the Spanish versions were available. sometimes another scan group may come in a drop a chapter, making it harder to find the series in one place. However, all of this really did end up benefitting Gachiakuta. Because when you remove convenience you end up creating your strongest soldiers. If you were actively looking for Gachiakuta and not just waiting for an app update, that meant you were committed. And committed people had to use word of mouth to get this out there. If there was a moment of big promotion it would be when AniTuber Gigguk's Trash Taste podcast had well know Vtuber (Full disclaimer I know almost nothing about Vtubers or Hololive. I'm sorry in advance if I'm not going into greater detail on their significance) Mori Calliope discuss the Next Manga award winners and give Gachiakuta a shout out.

So, we had Bachibros and the twitter take over, while we had Gachibros and their slowly growing cult classic. Both methods ended up creating some real die hard fans, but the visibility and promotion of both series is very different. And ties into...

How Each Series Respective Company Has Handled Them

So before I start this section, I know I've made social media a big reference point for the success of these series. I want to make it clear that social media popularity isn't a full story. Something may be popular on twitter or YouTube but not necessarily be successful. I think social media can be a good barometer of the actual interest of a series, but not its end all be all for its results. And I think no series really knew this better than Hunters Guild: Red Hood.

For those unaware, Hunters Guild: Red Hood was a series that released in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2021 and was a big darling with Animanga twitter. Its art style, its premise on western fairytales, going for a more traditional dark fable vibe, and of course attractive characters. It was easily the series a bunch of people were calling the next big thing. And then it flopped. It was regularly last place in the popularity polls and its Japanese volume sales were really unimpressive. So it got axed by Jump.

To say this caused an outrage with people would be an understatement. This caused a trend of people really trying to find "the answer." Try and make this seemingly senseless action make sense. Well tragically if you are a manga industry watcher like me you know that this isn't actually all that unique.

For a lot of non Japanese fans, particularly Americans, we never had the accessibility of the Shonen Jump app or the Manga+ app in the 2000s-2010s. If you wanted manga, you were using MangaStream and MangaPanda which had focused on basically the biggest series in the industry. While countless series that have run in jump and other magazines have just been ended after 20 chapters. But that information wasn't available to us in real time the way it is now.

If you're around my age range and know about the shonen jump ranking system, you were probably introduced to the concept through the series Bakuman, manga about manga that was really the first popularized look at how the sausage was made in the Shuiesha offices. A big thing that was a point of tension was the rankings. If a series fell low consistently in the ranks of readership surveys filled up by the ones who purchased a copy of shonen jump and submitted it, then it would be cancelled by jump. Now its important to remember, Bakuman was a dramatized recreation of how Shueisha operated. Things were exaggerated in the name of making an entertaining and tension filled series. In reality, the ranking system is important, however the editorial department of Jump weights multiple factors when making this judgement: what is in the magazine at the time? Is something ending so we can risk having this run longer? Is there a new batch we want to role out soon so we need to free up space? How are the volume sales doing? And has this carved out a viable niche for itself?

While yes its a good rule of thumb to say something in last place is generally in danger for not maintaining interest to keep it around, its not a simple yes no.

Thanks to Shueisha's Shonen Jump App we now get everything as it comes out. We get the future best and the future failures and there really isn't a way to control it. So to see Red Hood a series with some very vocal fans, it was always at the whims of Japanese customers who seemed neither interested in voting for it over other series in the magazine or purchasing its volumes as they came out. It is a hard pill for people to swallow, to have something that they like, that they want to be invested in and tell its story to be cut short.

But I would say that in this day and age while it is hard to witness this, the benefits of the SJ app are phenomenal. The SJ app is a convent subscription service at a reasonable price that offers the first chapter of a series free as well as the latest three chapters free. So even if you want to not subscribe you can still keep up on an official platform. And Manga+ being similar and not region locked. Thanks to this any new series debuting in Shonen will have the eyes of the world audience on it. When there is a new batch of manga that enter the series, it feels like an event. It really is a high risk high reward situation-you run in WSJ and you have the opportunity for everyone even beyond Japan see your work simultaneously, however you will still have to fight and maintain interest and hype for your series on a weekly basis.

As previously stated, Kagurabachi absolutely benefitted from this. And while yes some it was ironic, the fact that the promise of a new battle series was going to be on everyone's screens and have the biggest reach to find an audience is good. Now of course, we have to remember that WSJ still doesn't let non Japanese voters participate in polls, so while you can find a foreign audience it might not be what gets people excited in Japan (Although there have been instances of foreign fans purchasing Japanese volumes). Well jump may have gone an extra mile with this one. Kagurabachi would actually really early into its run cycle be given a recommendation by Gege Akutani author of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Now for those who actually don't know, in Japan, some manga are printed and packaged with a recommendation band that acts as an extra form of promotion. Siting a famous or well liked author giving a series a recommendation and a little image of the series they worked and sometimes a quote.

Obviously getting an on the cover cosign is a bit more prestigious than say, going to your Barnes and Noble and an employee has written why you may enjoy this series. And not just any mangaka, Kagurabachi was getting props from one the biggest mangaka in the magazine with a pretty ravenous fanbase. But for me a big thing that got my attention that showed how much jump was investing was the previously mention Kagurabachi PV trailer. A simple YouTube animation to get people to check out the work, plenty of series get this. But Kagurabachi's was the first to have it in English. A Japanese company acknowledging the server of the global audience is huge and I'd say this already seemed like it was hyped up enough, but then you have an editor of Jump+ openly acknowledging the "#BachiFlex" in an official statement. There's no doubt there is a fanbase and Jump is absolutely aware of that fact. And of course you can't forget those color pages.

So that's how Kagurabachi was doing, how was Gachiakuta doing? Well first we need to talk about Weekly Shonen Magazine and get something out of the way, they do not have a ranking system like shonen jump. Weekly Shonen Magazine actually seems to operate more along the lines of volume sales. waiting for a manga to hit print and see that actual tangible interest of the people who buy it. Because of this, you can see that WSM has actually a much lower turn over rate than WSJ. And that when there is a new series its usually only one or two at a time in a year. So if the series hinges on sales, it should love having a massive reach?

Well sadly, WSM and Kodansha have been pretty poor when dealing with the global market. I mentioned earlier its relationship with Azuki getting official scans out but there was also the deals it had made with Crunchyroll to have a reader for their work. Both services were not the best received, so wouldn't it be nice if Kodansha had a web service like Jump? A simeulpub on the international market. Well enter K Manga and possibly one of the biggest fumbles ever.

I mentioned before that the SJ app was made with the mind as a subscription service, this was done with awareness of what western audience were willing to financially invest in. Well, Kodansha instead responded with a resigned version of their Magazine Pocket app that included a frankly confusing points and ticket system with just straight up micro-transactions. If you're keyed into the Webtoon scene you probably know this type of weird gamification of a service is done in Asia.

Im sure you've heard the famous quote about how piracy is a service problem and not a pricing problem. People would be perfectly happy to spend money on an official release if the way to access it was ultra convenient. And making Americans learn things like 24 hour tickets, and daily prizes, and just having you pay for each individual chapter. Its just really cumbersome and I'd rather get back to reading scans instead. Also to add some insult to injury it is region locked so even if you wanted to purchase this in countries like Europe, you can't.

I will at least say some positives, I think K manga has a much wider range of series available than the SJ or Manga+ apps. As it takes from Kodansha's many different manga magazines like Weekly Shonen Magazine, Weekly Young Magazine, Monthly Afternoon, Monthly Morning, Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, and Magazine Pocket originals. And Gachiakuta was part of the first few titles at launch and it was some good promotion as later that Fall, Kodansha USA would release the English print copies. But promotion through an app a lot of people weren't really happy with.

Speaking of the print side wasn't doing so hot either. As this may be a surprise to some, WSJ is rare in the fact that it makes manga a real center focus of why you should purchase the magazine, meanwhile many other mags use covergirls.

Look Im not gonna say Shueisha doesn't do this, their Weekly Young Jump covers are really raunchier than this with their cover girls. But yeah not exactly the most bright thing for a series when its being paired against glamor girls and quite literally pushed into a corner.

But it wasn't all bad as Urana would actually end up promoting the series through other means. As mentioned before, a pretty popular Vtuber had already devoted time to promote it of her own free will, Urana herself would even be commissioned to draw cover art for them. Urana would do the same for Jpop band cvlte. We'd even have Kodansha ambassador and professional skateboarder Yuto Horigome have Urana in for a session to talk about art and just recently, British rock band Bring Me The Horizon was promoting the series.

Now its my opinion that no series deserves success or deserves failure. It needs to stand on it own merits and the ones interested will come to it. However, I do find it interesting how Kodansha as a company has chosen to promote their work. Even when its going harder (especially post anime announcement) it feels weirdly word of mouth. Getting all these guys from different subgeneres to talk about it while internationally having such a mixed roll out. But maybe that close inter-personality is what makes the Gachiakuta rise story more unique. Sure it doesn't have the same all eyes on me as Kagurabachi has gotten, but in a way its kinda made this more intimate whether once again cultivating fans who are really really faithful to Gachiakuta's success. This comes to a head in the 101st chapter of Gachiakuta with a color page, Urana thanks her friends in it fitting several graffiti names of people who have supported her and the studio that will be making this a reality.

And hey, while I've definitely been critical of Kodansha, there's no denying that, but hey they agreed to give this series an anime so that must mean its a success. Right?

Success?

So I've been mostly talking about aspects of Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi's more social and industrial significance. How they became popular and how they're been treated by their respective companies. But what about results? Why bore you all with all this hot air when I can just give you cold hard facts? Well by sales-yeah Kagurabachi is a hit. Like there's no other interpretation. It is a hit. It debuted at number 4 on the manga sales chart, by two volume on the market it had hit 100K copies in circulation, and is receiving reprint after reprint.

Also this is a bit tacked on because this happened while I was editing, Kagurabachi just overwhelming won the Next Manga Awards print category. By a huge margin and being the second highest number of votes submitted for a series after Oshi no Ko. Like I don't really have much to say but like... Congrats to Takeru Hokazono. Like there's not denying this is a hit. Like I read the acceptance tweet, he knows. He knows people have been gasing him up as "the next big thing" like. I have nothing else to say this is a success.

The Kagurabachi train is a rolling and knowing how hotly people are anticipating it to fill the shoes of success like MHA or JJK, its showing the results to back up those expectations. In fact, this has actually been one of the few times I've seen a lot of anticipation for a series that doesn't have and anime and that anime is probably off for quite a bit. As of the time I'm writing this Kagurabachi sits at 46 chapters.

As for Gachiakuta this was actually the most surprising for me to actually see the Japanese sales figures.

So for all the anticipation its final result is... okay. Like yeah these sales are fine. There's no way it be in danger of being cancelled and like any business would look at this and say its steady. But that's kinda all it it, steady. I always kinda hate talking about sales that are kinda just doing okay. Cause no one ever wants to be told that its not exceeding expectations, but there's no like rubbernecker cratering that can be entertaining. Its doing just fine. And that's really all there is for a series that's manga only for now.

Obviously the anime is announced. Its coming and it will likely get a boost in audiences interested in it (Know if it doesn't get stuck on like Disney+ or Amazon), but that's kinda why I wanted to get this blog post out before hand. Cause I wanted to compare these series as manga. Now of course you have to remember these sales charts are accounting for Japanese sales on debut. So its likely that there is longer tails than we know of for each series. However, its kinda funny seeing Gachiakuta's figures and remember how it won a Next Manga Award in the category of "Global Special Prize." So its not too much of a stretch to say in Japan Gachiakuta is still pretty punk and underground and the value is definitely in that global market. Though I have to have a bit of laugh now a how much that's been a pretty hit or miss effort.

So Gachiakuta is a success story, but its that sort of "A first party Nintendo switch game sold over a million units" type of success. That's good, but its not like making those Mario numbers.

Conclusion

So I'm sure you're asking what was the point of all of this? Why did you spend so much time of comparing the rises of two shonen action series that outside of probably their hardcore cheering section don't really think about their success stories?

Well to me, I'm of the belief that the ultimate goal for a mangaka (And really any creative professional) at the end of the day is to be able to tell their story, entertain people, and make a comfortable living while doing so. The end goal may be the same for many, but the paths to how we get there can vary greatly. If you made it there by blockbuster success or by underground hit. And the fact that those paths can be so varied by factors ranging from independent social media movements and the actions of making a piece of media even available for an audience you want to reach.

When writing this piece, I really got the sense of just how much bigger manga in particular is effecting the more broader ani/manga subgenre. Its not just that thing where only the best of the best we're getting English translation posted on scan sites, we've reached a point where now a global audience can have a series in their reach. Yet their reach varies.

We still don't have the chance to submit surveys in jump and we still don't have physical volumes of manga printed around the same time so we can take into account global sales, but we can hashtag. We can share these on live streams. We can have our own grassroots efforts that are actually having something resembling an effects on the choices of Japan. All of this change in practically a decade.

Will Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi go onto to be pillers of the anime and manga community? Mmm maybe. Their fans are super passionate and the great thing about fans is even though they can be loud, they are the ones helping make new fans. They're the ones making the fan art and fan fictions and reddit posts. For all we know when they get anime they'll pop off harder than before. Or maybe they'll get a bunch of normies who don't get or like them and will tell you how its secretly never good.

Still its interesting to see how despite these two series having so much of the same ground, both of their roads were so different. And that maybe you can't control how things will turn out in the world of social media and corporate management. Sometimes all you can do is your best and stand on your own merits and the people will find you.

Whether they run for 200 chapters each or 700 chapters each or anything down the middle. Gachiakuta and Kagurabachi, here's to you're accomplishments now and here's to many more successful years down your respective roads.

Anyway folks that's my time. I hope you enjoyed this think piece. If you do please drop a like or reblog. It'll really tell me if you're interested in seeing more content like this. And maybe I can share more and more about this industry that I'm passionate about.

[808airsoftbros]

Along For The Ride (Nakamura Kazuha)

Author: Just a oneshot story from one of my Wattpad books. Also if you want to see more of my works check out my Masterlist.

Y/N's POV

Washing my brand-new 2022 Ford GT that I've recently picked up a couple of weeks ago, and I've already fallen in love with it as it was my dream car since childhood.

Even though I live in Japan and some car fanatics find it odd that I bought an American sports car instead of Japanese models like Nissan or Toyota.

But it's whatever, I've made some modifications to the exhaust pipes and added a spoiler making it look more badass.

While power washing the windshield I heard my phone ringing, quickly finishing up cleaning the windshield, I set aside the gun and looked at the screen to see my good friend Mina calling me.

"Yes, Minari?" I greeted as I continue washing my car.

"Hey, Y/N/N, you coming to the car show tonight?" She asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Well, thought I might want to tell you this, the famous rookie Idol and member of Le Sserafim is coming to the show!" She informed me and I raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you referring to?" I asked.

"Nakamura Kazuha," She answered and my eyes widened.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed and I heard her giggle over the phone.

"That's right~! Momo and Sana are coming along as well and since we're all Idols, could give you a chance to talk to her!" She replied and I sighed.

"U sure that's fine, Minari?" I asked.

"Of course, it's fine, you're our friend!" She assured.

"H-Haha, alright then, see you at the car show, Minari!" I said my goodbyes.

"Yeah, see ya there~!" She replied before hanging up.

Jeez, who knew my ult bias in Kpop would be there at a car show tonight...? That means that I have to make sure my GT is presentable at her best so I won't make myself look like a fool.

Anyway, I finish power washing my car, drying it using a microfiber cloth to remove any fingerprints and some water stains left from the hose.

After doing a final check on the bodywork, everything looked to be ready to go for the show, and I couldn't wait to see the look on Sana's face as she is not aware that I bought a Ford GT.

When it was around five in the afternoon, I take the car keys, open the door, hop inside the driver's seat, insert the keys into the ignition switch, and hear the magnificent sound of the engine starting.

Hearing the loud roar coming from the exhaust and engine running was like music to my ears even though it does piss off my neighbors but that's not important right now.

Taking off the parking brake, I roll down to the street and drive out of the neighborhood to the main road.

The drive was about fifteen minutes until I arrived at the big ass parking lot in the mall and seeing all the Nissan GTRs and Toyota Supras and all sorts of cars was a sight to see.

When I rolled in with my Ford GT, the photographers began taking pictures of my car from all angles and everyone was checking it out but I didn't mind.

Pulling in front of the girl's cars, they were all astonished except for Mina since she was there the day I picked it up.

"Oppa, is this your car?" Momo asked and I got out of the car.

"Yep," I answered and I locked the doors using the keys.

"Do you know how much that model cost nowadays?!" Sana asked and I nodded.

"What can I say? Running that online business really paid off," I answered.

"Wah, so trading stocks really does work..." Sana replied.

"If you have the right cards that is," I mentioned.

Discussing my work in the trade market, everyone else was preparing their cars for presentation, I heard a loud roaring of an engine and I turn around to see a Red 2017 Acura NSX pulling up into the parking lot.

Once the Acura NSX was parked, the doors opened revealing a man in formal attire and Nakamura Kazuha herself.

"Uhm, Minari, who is that guy?" I curiously asked.

"You've never heard of him? That is Jay Nam he's Kazuha's rich boyfriend, he runs a trading business like you do but he's a bit arrogant since he makes ten times the amount of money our band makes in a year." She explained.

"Jay Nam, huh? Damn, that is surely a nice ride," I replied.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you all for taking the time to come here and showing off your babies to everyone!" Jay thanked everyone.

With their arms locked to each other, I can't help but envy him as he's literally dating my dream girl and my ult bias.

"Now to start off, I can't help but admire all of your masterpieces that you've all brought here tonight! As you all may know, I am your host and founder of this event... Jay Nam!" He introduced himself and everyone cheered.

"But tonight! This isn't just going to be any other car show the likes you've ever seen, I will also be hosting races and a competition to see who's the best of the best!" He announced making everyone excited.

Damn, this Jay Nam guy really knows what gets us car fanatics siked and happy, maybe he isn't so bad after all...

"Wait a second...? A Ford GT? Now that is a first, although it is a nice-looking sports car but what's an American sports car doing all the way out here?" He asked.

Okay, I take back everything I just said about him... He really is arrogant like Minari warned...

"Ahem, getting to the point, who is excited about some races?!" Kazuha barged in and everyone cheered once more.

Seeing Jay glaring at her, Kazuha ignored him, and they stepped off the stage but I could actually hear them argue about something.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Do you have any idea this could hurt your image?!" Kazuha angrily asked.

"I should be asking you the same! How about you let me handle this and stay out of my way!" He angrily replied.

"Do they always argue like this?" I curiously asked and she nodded.

"Yep," She simply answered.

When they were finished arguing, Kazuha walked away from Jay making him deeply sigh and he slowly approached me.

"Are you the owner of this American trash?" He mockingly asked and I crossed my arms.

"Yes, why?" I asked in a monotone voice.

"Haha. Out of all the sports cars in the industry, you seriously went with a Ford GT?" He asked and I grinned.

"Don't be so smug, Jay, remember the Ford GT is the car that beat Ferrari in Le Mans," I mentioned and he chuckled.

"Oh, you poor thing, my Acura NSX can go a lot faster than any Ferrari not to mention Ford," He replied.

"You wanna bet on that?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm listening..." He said.

"How about this? If I beat you in a race, you have to get on your knees and admit that Ford is better than Acura in front of the whole crowd," I proposed and he chuckled.

"You've got some spirit, kid, I'll give you that... But if I win, you'll have to be my butler and I'll get to fuck my girlfriend along with your other girlfriends in front of you!" He explained and I grinned.

"It's a deal then," I agreed making everyone go woah.

Walking away from Jay without saying a word, I felt my arm being tugged and I turned around to see Kazuha with a worried look.

"Oh... Uhm, h-hey Kazuha," I nervously greeted.

"You're a fool, you know that?" She asked and I was lost for words.

"W-What?" I asked and she sighed.

"You really shouldn't have taken that deal with Jay, he's never once lost a race, and believe me there are others that tried and they lost. I've seen what happened to them and trust me... You don't want to be one of them." She warned and I nodded.

"Maybe so, but I'm not going to let an arrogant shithead like him beat me in a race, I've made my word Kazuha, and I'm certainly not going to back down now," I replied and she nodded.

"Fine, have it your way then," She said before walking away.

When the race track was all set, Jay and I pulled up behind the starting line, the grid girl stood between our cars and explained the rules and the entire track we must follow.

Holding the green flag high in the air, we started our engines, and the second she signals the start of the race, we sped off into the distance.

At first, Jay went in front of me, I shifted to the next gear increasing the power to the engine and I started to catch up.

When our cars met side by side, he glared at me for a second and put the pedal to the metal but I wasn't going to let him get away.

Shifting to the next gear, again increasing the power and speed, we drifted around the turns and I did them flawlessly as Jay did the same.

We were halfway toward the finish line and the race began to grow more intense as we kept increasing speed but I had to be careful to reduce RPM as I drift otherwise I'll spin out and crash.

But I can see Jay was starting to get a bit cocky with his drifting skills as he spun out at a turn because he was going too fast. Didn't Kazuha say he's one of the best drivers in the country?

Anyway, when we are approaching the finish line, we put in full power to the engines and shift the gears to the max.

Right when we crossed the finish line, it was pretty much at the same time causing everyone to gasp and we hit the brakes putting our cars at a halt.

We both get out of our vehicles with Jay giving me a deadly look claiming that he crossed the line first but I argued that I crossed it first and we argued for God knows how long until Kazuha and the others broke us up.

Waiting at the parking lot as the racing officials and the camera crew playback the footage determining who won the race and it's been nearly half an hour and felt like an eternity with the anxiety and pressure.

"We have a winner!" One of the crew announced.

"With just barely an inch to spare... The victor of this race goes to... Jang Y/N!" The crewmember announced and everyone clapped and cheered.

Left speechless that I'd actually defeated Jay Bitch in a race, he was left in utter humiliation and embarrassment, and based on the look on his face, he wasn't going to give up easily.

"This is bullshit! I want to watch that footage for myself!" Jay demanded.

"Sorry, Jay, but we've fully reviewed everything in the footage and we determined that Jang Y/N has won fair and square and you are just being a sore loser," He replied and he grabbed him by the collar.

"Nobody calls me a sore loser! Nobody!" Jay angrily said.

It didn't take long until the parking lot security stepped into the situation and forced Jay to let go of him but he somehow managed to push them all away.

Everyone backed away in fear, Jay goes into his car, takes out a metal baseball bat before going to my Ford GT and swinging the bat onto the windshield until it shattered into pieces.

Immediately, I stopped that maniac from causing more damage to my car by grabbing the bat and kicking him in the stomach.

Raising my fist, I punched him in the face as hard as I could causing him to lose his grip on the bat, and I got a hold of it before finishing him off by swinging at his head knocking him out cold.

"Go smoke a dick, Jay Bitch..." I said before spitting on his face and tossing the bat on the ground and Kazuha walked up to him.

"Consider me your ex-girlfriend, you were a great man, Jay, but now look at you..." Kazuha mentioned before sighing.

"How long have you two been dating?" I curiously asked.

"About a couple of years, he was once kind and caring toward others which is the reason why I fell for him that was until he started his online marketing business. He became greedy, selfish, and arrogant. I've been thinking about leaving him for a while now and I'm a fool for not doing so sooner." She explained.

After that whole fiasco was over, the tow truck came to tow my car to take it to the body shop to replace the broken windshield and I knew it wasn't gonna be cheap.

Leaving me with no ride to get back to my house, Mina drove me back to my house, she couldn't help but feel sorry but I assured her that it was fine since beating up Jay was a good enough compensation.

The next day, when it was morning, I finished showering, I was eating breakfast at my dining table until I heard the doorbell ringing.

Getting up from my chair, I walked up to the front door, looked through the peephole, and I was shocked to see Kazuha standing on my porch so I opened the door.

"How did you find me?" I asked and she smiled.

"I simply asked Mina-Unnie for your address just to deliver this," She answered before handing over an envelope and a signed album.

"What's all of this for?" I asked.

"For the damages to your car, should be more than enough to cover the bill and you can keep the rest and the album as an apology gift." She answered.

"A-Are you sure?" I nervously asked and she nodded.

"Yes, of course! Also, I never thought you had it in you... You're the first guy to ever publicly humiliate Jay. From what I heard, all of his buyers are calling off their contracts so it's only a matter of time before goes into bankruptcy." She explained.

"Looks like I've made history, the Ford GT not only beats Ferrari but also Acura, something to add to the books," I jokingly replied and she giggled.

"It would seem so, it was nice talking to you but I gotta go now, my manager is waiting for me in the car," She said and I nodded.

"Well, it was sweet meeting my ultimate bias, and thank you for the money," I thanked her and she smiled before waving goodbye.

Walking away to the SUV parked in front of my driveway, she gets inside the passenger seat and the SUV drives out of the neighborhood.

Going back inside my house, I take a looked at the signed album of all the members of Le Sserafim which made me smile as it was quite thoughtful of her.

Opening the envelope using the letter cutter, as expected, there was over five grand which made me choke as this was a fuck ton of money to give to some random fan like myself.

But there wasn't just money inside the envelope, there was a handwritten letter that obviously, Kazuha wrote herself, and I read it.

Hey Y/N,

I wrote this letter to formally apologize for my ex-boyfriend's actions of vandalizing your car over losing the race between the two of you last night. Inside this envelope should be at least five thousand US dollars and that should be more than enough to cover the replacement of your front windshield.

Oh, and one more thing... If you ever want someone to talk to... Call me (Insert Phone Number)

Sincerely, Nakamura Kazuha ;)

After finished reading her letter, I can't help but blush as Kazuha gave me her phone number, and I can already guess that Mina and her friends are going to relentlessly tease me.

But I know this for certain... This could lead to something more interesting...

[shopwitchvamp]

Ello!! Same person who was trying to emo-fiy his mom lmfao. (Just changed my username) but anyways, how exactly did this business start? It seems newer.

How new does it seem? I'm curious!

Witch Vamp has been solidly it's own thing since 2017, though it was originally "Witch Vampire" for a while and only on Etsy / at conventions. I think my first skirts hit the con scene in 2015, but at the time the vast majority of what I was doing was crocheted amigurumi plushies (which I'd been selling since 2008).

The most ancient of my skirts!

This is gonna be SO long sooo if you want a whole spiel, it's under the break-

How those first few skirts started was that a friend said, "Hey, I found this place called ArtsCow where you can get custom clothing printed! Wanna try making skirts?" And I was desperate for anything I could try selling that didn't involve me literally and actively breaking my body to produce it (I had multiple bouts of tendonitis in my wrist from crocheting a ridiculous amount to produce enough plushies for cons ✌️🥲), so I tried designing some patterns to put on skirts, zipper bags, lanyards, etc. After a time, skirts were doing really well in particular.

Between 2015-2018 there was a gradual shift from the focus of my time/work/con tables/etc going from plushies to clothing. By 2019 I gave up crocheting all together and had fully shifted my focus to Witch Vamp, and it's also when I set up my shopify so I could have a stand-alone site and start escaping Etsy.

Side note, 2018 and especially 2019 I was slowing down on cons a lot. I used to get sick all the time, be exhausted and miserable all the time, and generally had started feeling too old & weary to keep doing them at such a grueling pace. I also spent about 1/4 of each of those years having run off to Japan to do an English teaching/Japanese learning exchange program in a countryside town called Ojiya. Going into 2020 I thought I might be returning to Japan to teach full time and help the program director open an English school for adults in a nearby city.. But 2020 had a big surprise in store for us all, didn't it? As you can guess those plans got absolutely demolished. So 2020 hit and cons got cancelled, Japan plans got cancelled, thankfully I had already started up my shopify so I went fully online-only pretty quickly. Things started picking up quite a bit in 2021 & 2022, and in 2022 I left Fresh Hot Flavors (a group shop I was in with other artists, including the one that got a bunch of us ((as in me, FHF, Vetiverfox, and Maya Kern)) all started on this clothing journey) to only run Witch Vamp. Around the same time my partner quit his increasingly awful job and started helping me out with the shop instead. January 2023 is when we made the business part of our partnership official and Witch Vamp became Witch Vamp LLC. Up until then I'd been a sole proprietorship the whole time and doing all of everything myself. With my partner around to start taking on various tasks (like fulfilment and customer service emails) and with my clothing order schedule no longer being tied to FHF, things started to speed up a ton. This is when Witch Vamp fully coalesced into Witch Vamp as it is now, with the weekly restocks and more frequent new designs and preorders. If you consider the business as having started (in it's current state) as when the LLC was formed, then yeah it is pretty darn new! But depending on when you consider it starting it also goes wayyy back. It's been a long road, haha. PS: if you're interested in seeing old designs, plushies, and con tables from my past life, I made a big long post about it -here- :D

[bleachbleachbleach]

Our favorite free online film festival is BACK! It runs for the next two weeks and features *twenty three* films, which is tragically a lot more films than we'll have time for; we've watched every offering in past years, and have watched some real weird films, but also some true gems (and some that were both).

In the second half of June, the festival will transition its lineup to two dramas, one of which I'm pretty sure we commissioned in some past life, because the summary is, "A moving drama about a “tabi” (Japanese traditional socks) manufacturer’s rise to the challenge of developing running shoes."

Anyway, the four films I am personally most intrigued by, based on a quick scan:

Single8 (2023)

The year is 1978. Obsessed with Star Wars, a high-schooler called Hiroshi (UEMURA Yu) attempts to make his own sci-fi film featuring a big space ship. His film-loving friends also join him to begin building a fake space ship and shooting it with an 8mm camera. Eventually, they learn that a film is not only about the shooting but that the story and themes are important. Working hard, they write a script and show it to Natsumi, a girl in their class (TAKAISHI Akari). She agrees to appear in the film and they begin production!

School Meals Time Graduation (2022)

Japanese public schools provide lunch, and it is normal for teachers and students to eat together in the classroom. School meals are unique elements of Japanese culture and education. Popular menu items include “Napolitan” spaghetti flavored with ketchup and “koppe” bread. Amarida (ICHIHARA Hayato) is a middle school teacher who lives for these school meals. He is secretly competing with his student Kamino (SATO Taishi) who has been experimenting every day on the best way to make their lunches taste even better. One day, they are threatened by a decline in the flavor of school lunches when a new revamp that prioritizes healthiness is suggested. Amarida rises to the challenge of protecting the flavor of school meals!

My Broken Mariko (2022)

Tomoyo (NAGANO Mei), an office worker, learns from the television news that her best friend Mariko (NAO) had died falling from an apartment building. Tomoyo knew that Mariko had been terribly abused by her father since childhood. She steals her best friend’s bones away from the father and runs. Mariko had also been physically abused by her partner while she was alive—she constantly had her life ruined by men. As Tomoyo remembers her memories with Mariko, she heads towards the sea, where Mariko had always wanted to go. While on the road, Tomoyo meets Makio (KUBOTA Masataka) who she involves into her final journey with Mariko, as she carries her bones.

Japan Horror Film Competition (2022)

The Japan Horror Film Competition began in 2021 with the goal of discovering and supporting new talents in Japanese horror. The competition, which had an open submission and focused on the horror film genre, was the first of its kind in Japan and the inaugural edition received over 100 submissions. The Grand Prize winner was given the opportunity to direct a new full-length feature film in a commercial setting.

[black-arcana]

NIGHTWISH's TROY DONOCKLEY On Band's Touring Hiatus: 'We Were In Danger Of Burning Out'

In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, NIGHTWISH multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley spoke about the band's announcement that it would take a break from touring and not hit the road in support of the band's just-released studio album "Yesterwynde". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH>NET): "Well, I was part of the decision, as we all were. We weren't forced into the conclusion, but we were pointed in the direction of it quite early on, even before the pandemic. We realized that we were in danger of burning out of doing too much. So we made the decision, and this hiatus, this time off, is for all of us. It has no time limit. We have absolutely no plans at all for when we will bring the band out again to play live."

He continued: "At the moment, we're just trying to, I suppose, personally, for all of us, recapture our balance, recapture, I suppose, our sense of direction for the band. It hasn't been easy — there's been lots of personal problems — but I must stress that we're an unusual beast, NIGHTWISH, in that we actually love being with each other. It's a rare thing for bands. A lot of bands, they'll have separate dressing rooms and all that kind of nonsense, whereas we actually enjoy our own company. And we socially mix with each other even when we're not working. We have fun with each other. Last year, Emppu [Vuorinen, NIGHTWISH guitarist] and Tuomas [Holopainen, NIGHTWISH keyboardist] came over to Yorkshire [England] and we went metal detecting for a week, just for the fun of it. Yeah, that's what we do. And have massive fun doing it."

Circling back to NIGHTWISH's decision to not play any live shows for the foreseeable future, Troy said: "So, it's not terminal. It's an extended time off. But I can envisage some more live work probably in 2027, which is the 30th anniversary of the band. I should imagine we'll do something live to mark that. We might do that."

When Fragos noted that NIGHTWISH's long album-tour cycles must have become more emotionally demanding as Troy and his bandmates kept doing it year after year, Donockley said: "That's a major part of it, but when you take that with six people, all of them feeling the same way, and you take it out on tour for seven weeks, or you travel to South America, three weeks in South America, then you're in Japan, then you're in America for five weeks. And we've all got families — all of us have families. Floor [Jansen, NIGHTWISH singer] has two tiny children. It's gonna cause confusion, with the lifestyle."

"Yesterwynde" was made available on September 20 via Nuclear Blast. It marks NIGHTWISH's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

[thebroccolination]

Be My Favorite - Intro

WELCOME TO KEY’S SUMMER FIXATION SERIES. \:D/

Hello! I’m Key, and I’ll be your Be My Favorite historian and enthusiast.

I’ve been really excited for Be My Favorite ever since the series was first announced in December of 2021. The premise grabbed me right away since I’m a big fan of time loops (please watch Triage if you haven’t already, I’d say it’s the strongest BL series to date), and Krist’s one of my favorite actors, so it was an instant five stars of anticipation for me. Then in September of 2022, Gawin (another favorite of mine) was cast, and I had a dream casting I think I might have joked about once. (So I did this, you’re welcome.)

Whoever cast Gawin, I’ll send you a basket of whatever you love and aren’t allergic to.

THE CASTING HISTORY

Be My Favorite had a rocky road to casting.

From what I’ve been able to follow, it was initially meant to be a KristSingto comeback vehicle. (Their last BL together was the SOTUS Our Skyy episode in 2018.) However, in 2022, Krist tentatively told fans at a fan meeting that Singto’s schedule didn’t work out with filming. Seeing as GMMTV didn’t want Krist acting in BL series without his brand partner, I think they knew Singto wasn’t planning to renew his contract, so they cast Mike instead. Personally, I was excited to see Krist step outside his comfort zone with a different actor, and he’s close to Mike, so I figured it’d be a good match. I was also happy for Singto, because he’s wanted more independence in his career. He’s into photography and directing, he’s made his own studio, formed his own fan club in Japan, etc. (I think it’s likely he and Krist will work together again, though. They’re still very close, they play video games online with their friends from university fairly regularly, and Singto went out of his way to organize a KristSingto concert in December of 2022 through his Japanese fan club. KS used to hold their GMMTV-sponsored concerts there annually before the pandemic, so I think it was both a “final chapter” to one part of their lives and evidence that they can collaborate again if they want to.)

I didn’t have strong feelings about Mike’s casting. I haven’t seen him in much, but I liked him in the teaser, and he’s already close to Krist, so I was on board. After seeing Singto improve through his series with other actors (something he might have had to fight for, but that’s pure speculation), I was just excited for Krist to get the same opportunities.

And then…Gawin. [seventeen sparkle emojis]

As I said on Twitter the day Gawin’s casting was announced, “I could not be more pleased and delighted that I’ve built a reputation for myself that makes people think, ‘Krist and Gawin? QUICKLY, LIGHT THE FIRES AND TELL KEY,’” because I woke up to not one but three separate friends letting me know about it.

I went from excited to feral in the four seconds it took my brain to go from, “This can’t be real,” to, “Finally, bizarre breaking news that isn’t actively traumatizing.”

Truly, I have to hand it to Krist, because he's wanted this project to do well from the start, and he's stuck with it and worked hard on it through potentially three scene partners. And he really seems to have grown and learned from Gawin, so good on him.

THE WRITER/DIRECTOR

My one worry was that I haven’t enjoyed most of Jittirain’s adaptations.

But then I found out that the director, Waa, directed The Gifted and also has screenwriting experience. Krist has worked with Waa before and speaks highly of his process. There are a lot of scenes in the first episode of BMF that seem very clean and well edited, so I have hope.

On top of that, I’ve also seen fans mention that Be My Favorite is “inspired by” Jittirain’s novel, not adapted from it, which I think is a crucial distinction. (I don’t know the source for that, but I want it to be true, so I’ll believe it for now.)

Krist has said that they changed a lot from the novel, and based on what I know, the first episode has already departed quite a bit, so I have put my faith in Waa.

POSTPRODUCTION

For many reasons, some series just get the short stick with the amount of postproduction and budget they get. Some series are still filming as they start airing, some have budget cuts during production, etc.

Filming for Be My Favorite began on November 19th, 2022 and wrapped two months ago on March 24th. That same day, Waa shared on Twitter that he’d be starting work on intense editing right away. That was a great sign to me. With filming complete and two months of postproduction, he was almost certainly able to do a cleaner job than if he’d had to struggle under continued filming and simultaneous editing while the show was airing.

Also, BMF definitely seems to have money behind it. For example, this upgrade from the trailer to the first episode. In the trailer, as Kawi makes his first trip to the past, there's a bright, swirling glow around him.

When the episode aired, the effect looked a lot cleaner and had scenes from future episodes woven in.

Also, I loved this transition shot with the blurry background, and the dandelion seed floating across the screen was a cute detail, since that's the flower in the time loop globe.

Little things like like this tells me they’ve had the time to do this series well, and that there's a lot of love and effort going into it.

THE ACTING COACH

This February, the acting coach for BMF did an interview (1 & 2) that I really enjoyed. She said she’ll be sharing a video of their workshop now that the series is airing, so I’m keeping an eye out for that.

THE ACTORS

Like I said, I love both of them. I first watched SOTUS and the Kiss series in 2020, so I became a fan of both right around the same time.

In April of 2022, I made a top ten list of what I thought were the best acting performances up to that point. Krist was on it, and so was Gawin. I admire both of them a lot, and I think they’ve both improved tremendously over the years.

Krist, from what I can tell through interviews, leans toward method acting. For example, in the scene I included on my list above, Arthit was apparently meant to cry a few lines later on, but Krist lost it earlier than scripted because in order to channel the emotion he needed for the scene, he imagined how he’d feel when Singto followed through with a long-time dream of studying overseas. It ended up one of their strongest scenes together because it was genuine.

Meanwhile, Gawin was interviewed in November of 2022, and while I think the whole interview is a great read, I wanted to emphasize this part:

“When I prepare for a role, I really have to dig into the story of the script,” [Gawin] explains. “Sometimes they do the last scenes of the series on the first day of being on set. So, you have to be really prepared with the entire story. You’ve got to know the whole thing, what emotions that character went through, and the changes with that character.” 

I think part of what makes Krist and Gawin a good combination is that they’re strong actors with different energies who might just have different ways of preparing for a role. I’d love to hear both of them talk in more detail about their processes, but it seems to me like Krist looks inward for personal experiences to connect with the character, and Gawin creates the character he’s playing based on research.

Another interesting point is that In that same interview, Gawin says he thinks Saifa from Enchanté most resembles his personality (easygoing, music lover, etc.), but he got his start as Mork from the Kiss series (attitude issues, perfect sasspot, etc.). Meanwhile, Krist had an easy link to his first major role, Arthit, in that he’d also been head hazer in university. So Krist started his career able to access a common point with his character, so that might’ve influenced his approach to future roles. Whereas Gawin started off with a character completely unlike himself, so he started from a place of more emotional detachment and probably a more research-oriented approach.

Also, they just seem to have connected on a personal level.

Working with someone so different gives actors the opportunity to learn from each other. When interviewed, Gawin said he and Krist discovered they have a lot in common, and it seems like they bonded over music and spent a lot of time on set singing together. (Their harmonizing is genuinely beautiful.)

Krist’s OST for the series is one of my favorites and Gawin has a ballad coming up later in the series, but I hope they give them a duet at some point. (It’d be a huge missed opportunity if they don’t.)

CATS???

One of the sponsors for the series is fucking Wiskas.

This could just be because Krist is their brand ambassador. (The man has four cats. He has an army to feed.)

OR there is a feline presence in the show. If this is true, I will die, because Triage, series of my soul, also had cats in it.

Listen, I will send TWO baskets of whatever Waa likes if he's enabled me to make the "if I had a nickel for every time there have been cats in a Thai BL time loop series, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot but it's weird that it happened twice" joke.

CONCLUSION

Big fan! Love it all! (PLEASE CATS.)

I’ll leave this here as an introductory post, and I’ll make separate posts for my individual episode thoughts using #key watches bmf.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Hello, Anon, this is your OCDA™️. I’ve read your sentiments and as a bona fide Chinese person who had experienced discrimination IRL, perhaps I am qualified to put in my two cents about what you consider to be unchecked Sinophobia.

The way I think of it, Anon, is that Sinophobia is not a “doll hobby problem.” No, far from it. Sinophobia, just as racism, ableism, or discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity, is a much bigger, societal problem that touches on geopolitical and historical precedents. What we see here in the doll community is but a tiny sliver of it. According to the latest favourability scale of China completed by Morning Consult of 2022 (can be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Chinese_sentiment ), Sinophobia's existence and extent depend on where you live. While many of the developing countries in the world have a favourable view of China as a state and a people, the same cannot be said about the rest of the developed world. Just as you’ve pointed out, Japan and Korea, the other two main “doll countries” in Asia, happen to have the highest unfavourable opinion of China. It’s really no wonder that from the viewpoint of doll collectors (esp. Japanese doll collectors), Sinophobia is rampant and visible. (Not always true with resin dolls, apparently. Most Japanese and Korean collectors still collect Chinese dolls as far as I know.)

As an “oldie”, your OCDA had lived through the Tiananmen Square Incident, the poisoned Sanlu milk powder incident, SARS, Bird Flu, HK uprising and now COVID. I spent a good portion of that time outside of Asia, which afforded me a first-hand view on how a Chinese person is perceived during these episodes (no, not very well. Being spit on by a panhandler wasn’t something to boast about.) However, because I did spend quite a bit of time outside of Asia (hence the “diaspora” bit), it also afforded me a different perspective of why Chinese folks were disliked.

While developing countries are usually the recipient of Chinese largess from the Belt and Road Initiative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative ), the developed countries tend to see the Chinese as tourists and masters of mercantilism. With Japan and Korea as the closest travel destination, these two places see the unruliest behaviour from Chinese tourists most often. Sometimes, the anti-Japan sentiment (and to a lesser extent, anti-Korean) sentiment brewing inside China has been used as an excuse for bad behaviour while the Chinese are abroad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AFXvN4xrbM )

This is not confined in Asia, of course, with recent cases such as in England https://www.businessinsider.com/brendan-kavanagh-chinese-youtuber-pianist-demand-live-stream-face-police-2024-1#:~:text=A%20pianist's%20live%20stream%20went,right%20to%20stream%20in%20public and in NYC https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/10fwizj/chinese_tore_off_a_poster_with_lunar_new_year_in/ )

Sometimes even the news outlets had to fight for a straight face in light of the Chinese tourists’ antics (https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3244656/gondola-capsizes-after-tourists-refuse-stop-taking-selfies ) But “big fails” aside, the lack of respect usually exhibited by Chinese tourists is bad enough that places such as Kyoto are forced to protect themselves (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/08/kyoto-geisha-district-tourist-ban-gion ).

During the same period, the invasive mercantilism exhibited by cheap Chinese exports usually make their way to the news in a slightly more political angle. The European Commission is trying to fight the influx of government-subsidized, cheap EVs by enacting legislation (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-set-allow-possible-retroactive-tariffs-chinese-evs-2024-03-05/#:~:text=The%20Commission%20is%20carrying%20out,impose%20provisional%20duties%20in%20July. ) citing public safety (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13292973/China-paralyse-Britain-kill-hacking-electric-car-deadly-traffic-jams-EDWARD-LUCAS.html ) Very recently in the news, the American government is on its way to ban TikTok due to national security and digital safety reasons (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/why-has-the-us-passed-a-bill-to-ban-tiktok-and-whats-next ).

As the citizen of this or that country and where you currently reside, there is a lot to be said about Sinophobia: it’s historical, it’s cultural, it’s geopolitical, it’s financial, but most important of all, it’s complicated. What we end up seeing in the doll community is just a small glimpse into each individual collector’s personal take on things. Fewer doll collectors live in countries that have a statistically more favourable view of China. The bad behaviours from the tourists certainly do leave a bad taste in their wake, and what you end up with is the impression that there’s rampant Sinophobia. But the truth, well, it’s always a little bit more complicated than that.

~Anonymous

[save-the-data]

The Week that was (16/04 - 23/04/2024)

Master Lists: Japan | China | Korea | Taiwan | Thai | Vietnam

I’m bringing this back for the new year!! Self-explanatory, this is everything achieved in a week when it comes to episode GIF sets.

Completed Projects:

Tien Bromance (10/10)

City of the Stars (12/12)

Kiseki: Chapter 2 (6/6)

Japan GIF Master list

My Strawberry Film (7/8) - backlog

Living with Him (2/8) - on air

GARO: Versus Road (1/12) - backlog

Kamen Rider Decade (1/31) - backlog

Dele (2/8) - repost

China GIF Master list

White Cat Legend (16/36) - backlog

Guardian (34/40) - repost

Journey Across the Night (11/26) - repost

Ultimate Note (30/37) - repost

Untamed (24/50) - repost

Korea GIF Master list

A Killer Paradox (1/8) - backlog

The Devil Judge (4/16) - repost

Love is Like a Cat (4/10) - on air

Gray Shelter (4/5) - on air

The Uncanny Counter (3/16) - backlog

Bloodhounds (5/8) - backlog

Boyhood (1/10) - backlog

Taiwan GIF Master list

Unknown (10/12) - on air

HIStory3: Trapped (6/10) - repost

Thai GIF Master list

1000 Years Old (3/12) - backlog

Love Mechanics (9/10) - repost

Deep Night (7/8) - on air

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (5/6) - on air

Two Worlds (5/10) - on air

Dark Blue Kiss (2/12) - repost

2 Moons: The Ambassador (10/12) - repost

Memory in the Letter (3/6) - on air

We Are (3/12) - on air

Only Boo! (3/12) - on air

Between Us (2/16) - repost

Vietnam GIF Master list

Be Your Star (4/10) - on air

[lazzarella]

I started watching Asian BL series at the end of January this year, so I'm still pretty new to them, but I thought it would be fun to post my top 10 so far, and then check in every now and then to see how it changes! At this point I've watched around 38 series, not including specials, etc. (16 Thai; 11 Japanese; 10 South Korean and 1 Taiwanese)

Anyway, the current top 10:

1. My Personal Weatherman (2023, Japan)

I've watched this 5 or 6 times now! Miscommunication (or, even better, total lack of communication) is one of my biggest weaknesses! I live for it! I often hate when characters talk their feelings out too soon (or sometimes at all lmao), so this is like... perfect for me! And their dynamic was so delicious too

2. Moonlight Chicken (2023, Thailand)

This was my first BL and so it was also my introduction to EarthMix (who I'm now obsessed with). It's always nice to see adults falling in love, but I think the contrast with young love was really nice too! But I definitely preferred the JimWen plot. Earth did a great job of embodying a character ten years older than he is and Mix was great too and I love how everyone actually looks sweaty and it's just a really beautifully made series

3. KinnPorsche (2022, Thailand)

This was the first BL series I ever heard of, I think! But I couldn't figure out how to watch it in 2022 for some reason, so it took me a couple of years to get there lol I'm going to be honest, it's not what I was expecting at all! Everyone kept talking about how dark and fucked up it is, but it's so funny and goofy!!! Like, there are dark elements, but the delivery overall is very silly to me (in a good way), and it's honestly one of the funniest things I've seen in my life haha and the romance between Kinn and Porsche is everything, really

4. Cherry Magic (2023, Thailand)

I did watch the Japanese one first and adored it, but there's something about TayNew and what they bring to these characters and romance that really had me hooked. Plus I prefer Jinta to Tsuge XD but this is just such a sweet and heartwarming show ;__; I wish it hadn't had the copyright issues because it's kind of a PITA to rewatch

5. Boys Be Brave! (2024, South Korea)

Full disclosure: I didn't care for the side couple but I'm OBSESSED with Jinwoo and Kisub. They're both low key weirdos and there's nothing more I love than weirdos finding love in each other! Plus, they're opposites attract, another favourite of mine. It's a very cosy and comforting series

6. Old Fashion Cupcake (2022, Japan)

Hit me right in the rapidly approaching 40 feels! I just... It's just gorgeous. Just so lovely! The romance is beautiful and it looks beautiful and the acting is beautiful! BEAUTIFUL!

7. Cherry Magic (2020, Japan)

I've found that, while I gravitate overall to the Thai shows so far, the Japanese ones make me more emotional? Maybe it's because they do the ~I'm not worthy of love thing so well. But this was so sweet and special 

8. A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021, Thailand)

There were some aspects that bothered me that kept it from being perfect, but it's a lovely story and Earth and Mix really have something special together onscreen (well, I love their offscreen interactions too haha) And I love the setting! And knowing this was Mix's first acting gig???? Incredible!

9. Cupid's Last Wish (2022, Thailand)

Didn't care for the side story with the aunt and uncle, and it gets a bit wishy washy toward the end, but I LOVE road trip stories and I love body swap and I think the way it was done here was really good. The transitions between Jan and Mix playing Win were SO well done and Earth gets to play a slightly more lighthearted character and there's a lot of lovely scenery and some cute cows! Plus, Jan and Mix are both so cute when they eat lol

10. Manner of Death (2020, Thailand)

As a life long lover of mysteries, I didn’t feel the mystery plot was particularly strong, but this series is kind of batshit and I love it. Plus smalltown mysteries are my jam, strong or not! And it has the most unhinged proposal I've seen to date

Aaaaannd that's it for now! I can easily see Wandee Goodday making its way into this list when I do an update (probably even my top 5)

Oh, but for fun, my average ratings by country:

Japan: 8.2; Thailand: 8.3; South Korea: 8.6

Which is funny because the South Korean ones have, overall, been less enjoyable for me lol but I've seen fewer so I think that the few highly rated ones have bumped the rating up haha

[tomorrowxtogether]

You Can Count on TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Hueningkai

TXT's youngest opens up about relying on his bandmates, growing onstage, and more

Hueningkai’s advice to people looking to enjoy this time of year, when the world feels like it’s in full bloom, would be to stop and smell the roses — almost literally.

“You know, recently, the cherry blossoms started to fall as it’s gotten warmer,” Hueningkai tells Consequence, seated for a one-on-one interview in a hotel room in Osaka, Japan. “Walk along the street and watch the cherry blossoms flutter down and enjoy the view. It makes me feel sentimental and inspired.”

At 20 years old, Hueningkai is the youngest member of TOMORROW X TOGETHER — such tender thoughts about the beauty of nature aren’t always top of mind for people his age. Hueningkai, though, is not your average 20-year-old; he’s part of a group headlining Lollapalooza whose most recent project hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Speaking about achieving headliner status, he recalls being particularly excited to share the news with his immediate family, including his two sisters. “I’m so happy that I became a proud son for my family,” he says.

While he grew up a middle child, debuting in 2019 with TXT required a shift; suddenly, Hueningkai found himself the maknae, or the youngest in a group. “The other members are only children or the youngest in their family,” Hueningkai explains. “I couldn’t get used to it at first, but gradually it became more comfortable — and it was really nice that I could lean on and rely on the older members.”

Hueningkai spent almost three years as a trainee before the lineup for TXT was finalized. Being introduced to global audiences and setting off on a debut showcase at just 16 years old required the vocalist to mature faster than the average teenager. Present-day Hueningkai is thoughtful and professional, but also seems to have retained a youthful, curious approach to the world. Throughout our interview, he approaches each question intentionally and often replies with surprising levels of honesty.

Consider when he’s asked about the people outside the safety of the TXT membership with whom he feels most comfortable discussing struggles or more difficult periods of his life. “I barely have any,” he says simply. “If I talk to my family, I would only worry them; and if I talk to my friends, they wouldn’t relate to that stuff. So in the end, I only talk to the members.”

It’s true that Hueningkai’s profile has risen higher than many of his peers can relate to. Following 2022’s “ACT: LOVE SICK” tour, he’s noticed an uptick in the group’s public reception. “I don’t really go out much, but these days, when I do, I’ve been surprised that so many people have actually recognized me,” he explains. His eyebrows shoot up, disappearing under his hairline as he expresses his surprise. “Oh, we have gotten a little more famous!”

TXT are back on the road spending more in-person time with their fanbase, MOA, on their current “ACT: SWEET MIRAGE” trek (find tickets here). It’s an even grander adventure for the quintet, and Hueningkai feels he’s progressed a performer between the two tours. “I think I learned how to be more calm and move at a steady pace, and I think I gained more experience when it comes to being on stage,” he observes. “I think I know how to rise to the occasion a little more now.”

As someone who’s already experienced more at age 20 than many people will experience in a lifetime, Hueningkai has an impressive amount of clarity when it comes to his priorities. “I want to be a trustworthy person; someone that people can really rely on,” he says. “I want to be a person that people can feel comfortable being around.”

While it’s clear how dear his members are to him, the other piece of the TXT puzzle is undeniably MOA. Hueningkai describes the relationship between the group and their fans as almost cyclical: They energize and inspire each other. The fans provide the enthusiasm needed for the five young men to perform for nearly three hours, and, in return, TXT leave everything they have on the stage, for every audience on the tour.

And for Hueningkai, in the midst of a truly exciting life, it’s those moments that take on the most enchanted, almost supernatural, quality: “Magical things happen meeting MOA in person.”

[fallingsunflower]

Part 1/2 of my Harry's break post

This is kind of relevant to my next post so just take a read through if you want. Also this is just my opinion based on what Harry's said/what we've witnessed. Please don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just trying to make a point which will become clear in a little bit - I promise.

Also my timeline might not be exact so bear with me.

Imagine yourself in Harry's shoes:

At the age of 16, when you're still young and maturing, you audition for the X-Factor and make it through. You leave your seemingly ordinary life behind and pursue singing on the reality show. Long story short, you're thrown into a band with 4 other people and your popularity sky rockets. You never go home to your ordinary life.

From the time you're 16 until you're 21, you're on the road constantly. You record an album, go on a world tour, write and record another album while you're on tour, do promo when you get off tour, and repeat the cycle 4 or 5 more times.

You're now 22 years old and you finally got out of your contract. You immediately sign to a new record label and management with your friend, Jeff, who has been whispering in your ear for at least a couple of years now. You can finally begin your solo career.

It feels good to be on your own but you're a little more nervous than you thought you'd be. You spend a lot of time writing and re-writing music (making sure it's "perfect") and decide to take on your first acting role. It's probably a lot of stress. You sit by yourself at lunch on set. You go home and write. You're multitasking two completely different, and somewhat new, things.

Your first solo album comes out in May 2017. Your first movie comes out in July 2017. You haven't had much time to breathe between promo and planning your first solo tour but you're excited. Reception has been positive.

You open your first solo tour at age 23 in September 2017 to an audience of 3,188. Things are going well. You begin to write your second album and decide you don't want to play things as safe as the first album. You start working more with a team and building your brand. Your last concert is July 14, 2018.

Now you have a little time off but you decide to fill it up. You continue writing your second album and have plans for its release. You go to Japan for a little. You induct Stevie Nicks into the RRHOF. You host the Met. You go to the Gucci Cruise fashion show. You play dodgeball on the Late Late Show. You become the face of Gucci Memoire. Your off year really isn't an off year and before you know it, you're promoting your second album.

Fine Line is a whole other ballpark than your first album. You do way more promo, your fame and success as a solo artist rises dramatically, you're planning your second world tour, you have A LOT going on...and then Covid hits and everything halts. You don't know what to do. You huddle up at home - then with friends - for a bit and start to work on your third album because you can't sit still. You film a couple music videos. And then you decide you have time to take on 2 new acting roles.

Don't Worry Darling throws you into a circus you didn't think you were signing up for. Suddenly your face is plastered everywhere and people are more interested in your sex life (again - something you've been accustomed to since you were a teenager). You're on the verge of overexposure.

You go on to win your first Grammy and open up the show. You film My Policeman. You win a Brit award. And then FINALLY you are able to go on your much anticipated tour.

You're 27 when you finally start your second tour in the USA on September 4, 2021 to an audience of 13,413. It's just the USA for right now due to Covid's rules. You really want to tour though so you decide to go for it and you'll figure out the rest as it falls into place.

You tour Fine Line in the USA until November and then you begin promo for your third album, which comes out May 2022. It's not much of a break before the next leg of your tour which starts in June 2022.

From June 2022 - July 2023 you are touring pretty much nonstop. You also win a couple more Grammys and Brit Awards (as well as others). You're incredibly successful and busy. Your longest break is a little bit over month which is nothing compared to how long you've just been traveling. But you don't mind because you love it. You said yourself performing is your favorite thing to do.

But then it ends. Your busy streak comes to a close and your tour, perhaps one of the only places where you can just let lose and enjoy yourself completely, ends. Your last concert is when you're 29 to an audience of more than 100,000 I believe. You realize you've created a family and people really do love you.

I don't know what Harry has planned next but I think it's possible he doesn't have a concrete plan like he's had before, hence his emotional exit. Because at the end of the day, after EVERYTHING has finally come to an end, he's met with silence and it's probably 10x louder than anything he's ever felt before. It's something we can't quite comprehend.

[sweetbottletops]

Fic Roundup - 2022 Edition

My favorite fic for 2022. Rec for Arcane, Jujutsu Kaisen, with some Spy x Family and The Dragon Prince. Have you read any of these?

The Phantom Guardian by MissingN000 Jujutsu Kaisen (Gen Fic / multi-ship) – Found Family / Canon Diverging AU! *manga spoilers* Toji comes across a child named Maki he is convinced is the missing piece of his scattered memory. His life changes when he decides to take her in. He eventually finds himself smothered in found family. (in progress)

Love, Sex & Robots by AmberZ10 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Modern Scifi AU "In the two years she’d worked at Kiramman Enterprises, Vi had never seen anyone else go in or out of that door, had never caught a glimpse of what it concealed." You guessed it... She goes through the door. (in progress)

There is No Road Forward Without Pain and Struggle (but neither are we born only to suffer) Series by haline Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki, multi-ship) – Found Family / Canon Diverging AU! *manga spoilers* Massive multi-part series following Nobara and Maki through the series into eventual fixit territory. Yuki Tsukumo enthusiast friendly. (complete)

Make Me Feel Loved, Again by Writer_blues Spy x Family (Twilight/Yor) – Amnesia Twilight Twilight wakes up in the hospital with his memories set to Pre-Operation Strix times. As he's piecing his life and work back together he grows suspicious Past!Twilight might have blown his identity along the way with his cover family. (in progress)

I'll Find You When the Sun Goes Black by haline Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki, Maki & Mai) – Ghost Hunter AU Sister ghost hunter duo is assigned to investigate a cursed spirit incident in rural Japan. Gojo perhaps did not brief them fully for the job. (complete)

Arcane Sports AU Get an Entire Section

Run at the Cup by TheHomelyBadger Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Hockey AU Two longtime league rivals end up drafted into the same expansion club - the Zaun Sumprats. Their inaugural season documented by an upcoming Zaun filmmaker. (complete)

Is Love Just Violence by Chelsayyy182 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Kickboxing AU Zaun fighter needing to go the next step in her career hires a Piltover coach with an impeccable resume who wants a challenge. Everyone has trauma. (complete)

Save the Last Dance for Me by panglosian Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Dance Company AU Two dance worlds collide when a member of the prestigious Piltover School of Dance plays wingman and attends a life changing Lanes Academy showcase. (complete)

Honorable Mentions

Fic I found had an interesting concept, rare pair, or were long left abandoned, but I still want to remember.

Homeward Bound by seriousam Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Space Scifi AU Caitlyn is the aloof owner of a spaceship that plucks a prisoner off the surface of an unstable planet. She impulsively decides to have her as a guest onboard her ship as she digs deeper into her file. (complete)

Diplomatic Relations by ravensurana The Dragon Prince (Amaya/Janai) – Post-War Modern AU Rival generals find themselves dealing with being out of place in the new normal as the two governments prepare for a historic peace summit. (long incomplete)

Say It Softly by seunflwr Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara/Maki) – College Omegaverse AU Alpha Maki is ghosting her way through college while dealing with trauma from an accident that sets her apart from everyone and a family she can't conform to. Until she meets someone very loudly going through life on her own terms. (in progress)

Open My Heart and Let it Bleed Onto Yours by pearlgarner (KiWy) Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Undercover / Fake Girlfriend Canon Diverging AU Teen Vi turns herself in to spare everyone the consequences with only Grayson's visits and letters to Stillwater connecting her to the outside world. After helping Grayson over the years on smaller jobs she is introduced to a young officer with a dangerous theory about a case. Lots of trauma. (complete)

Wintery Arcane Fic Because I'm Feeling Festive Still

Wanted: A Girlfriend for Christmas by RedPanda92 Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Holiday party / Coffee shop AU Caitlyn's boss Marcus keeps scheduling her to work holidays every year and the only way to get out of it in order to visit her parents is to prove she has a significant other. 25 day countdown begins now. (complete)

Counting Down Til Christmas by loveshazel Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Hallmark Holiday AU A small town welcomes in a mysterious outsider who has opened up a bookstore and has ties to the past. (in progress) And They Folded Like Cardboard by SarcastCity Arcane (Vi/Cait) – Winter Olympics AU A Piltover biathlon and a Zaun slopestyle medal winners meet at the Olympic Village during the last night of the games. (complete)

[bl-bam-beyond]

BL- BOYS' LOVE:

Series: CANDY COLOR PARADOX/AMEIRO PARADOX (2022, JAPAN)

Kaburagi Motoharu (YAMANAKA JYUTARO) is handsome and seemingly knows it. Wanted by girls and boys alike. He has developed feelings for his new partner at work Onoe Satoshi (the adorable cute KIMURA KIETO)

When Onoe catches Kaburagi with a woman asking to come to his place. Onoe tells him to drop dead.

A confrontation of sorts right after has Kaburagi with a sudden kiss, catching Onoe off guard.

Once again Onoe tells Kaburagi to drop dead but later Kaburagi confesses to Onoe that he does like him.

What's next for these two work partners. The feelings are on both sides. Will the road to romance be easy?

[boltedgarlic]

taglist~

you’ll have to use the search function unfortunately :( i am no longer linking all my tags. if you’re on desktop, my theme should have a search bar!

dated by year

1980 | - | 1994 | - | 1997 | - | 1999 | - | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | - | 2039

dated by month

january | february | march | april | may | june | july | august | september | october | november | december

holidays/seasons

christmas | easter | fall | halloween | valentines day | winter

locations

australia | belarus | belgium | brazil | bulgaria | canada | china | france | georgia republic | greece | holland | india | ireland | italy | japan | medellín | netherlands | new zealand | palestine | peru | poland | spain | sweeden | switzerland | syria | russia | thailand | uk | ukraine | uae | usa

alabama / alaska / arkansas / california / connecticut / idaho / illinois / indiana / iowa / kansas / kentucky / louisiana / maryland / missouri / new mexico / new york / north carolina / ohio / oregon / pennsylvania / tennessee / texas / utah / west virgina / wisconsin

Chuck E Cheese | Dongdaemun Market | Hershey Park | Moody Gardens | NASA | Rocky Mountain National Park | Treasure Island Beach | Walmart

animals

anemone | birds | bees | bugs | bunnies | cats | chickens | cicadas | cows | crabs | deer | dogs | ducks | ferrets | fish | goats | goldfish | guinea pigs | horses | kittens | sheep | snakes | swans

pets

Abby | Augustine | Azuki | Bert | Bob | Mr. Boot | Bruce | Cupid | Donna | Dusty | Ellsie | Fiona | Fudge | Gizzy | Huckleberry | Itzl | Kiwi | Mattie | Mookie | Muffy | Newt | Noose | Ollie | Pepe | Mr. Punky | Ramses | Shika | Smokey | Tamako | Tucker | Xoco | Ziggy | Zoey

art/mediums

art car | ceramics | collage | crayons | crochet | drawings | food art | glass art | installation | knitting | miniatures | mural | oil pastels | origami | ornaments | paint | painting | paper crafts | patchwork | quilt | sculpture | tapestry | tiles | yarn

artists

Anne-Sophie Landou | Enrico Delponte | Jen | Keith Haring | Mark Schaer | Ryan Gander | Terry Ravan

Ween

colors

red | orange | yellow | green | blue | purple | pink | brown | black | gray | white | silver | gold | multicolor

food & drink

baking | batter | bento | birthday cake | bread | breakfast | cake | candy | cereal | cheese | coffee | cookies | cooking | curry | dessert | drinks | fake food | fruit | hot pot | ice cream | meat | onigiri | pancakes | pastries | pie | potluck | pumpkins | salad | sashimi | smores | soup | sushi | tea | torte | vegetables | wine

characters/licenses/media

animal crossing | anpanman | boognish | candy land | dora | doraemon | evangelion | garfield | giant microbes | hannah montana | hello kitty | hoops & yoyo | joe cool | miffy | moomin | moppy | muppets | nasa | powerpuff girls | sanrio | sesame street | snoopy | sonic (the hedgehog) | spongebob | texas chainsaw | universal studios japan | wallace and gromit | winne the pooh | yotsuba | yugioh

interior

apartment | attic | bar | basement | bathroom | bedroom | cabin | chandelier | dining room | dorm | foyer | hallway | home | hostel | hotel | kid’s room | kitchen | library | living room | mall | playroom | shelves | stairs | studio | unfurnished | window

bead curtains | beds | bookshelf | computer | crt monitor | chairs | curtains | desk | fishtank | fridge | furniture | kitchenware | lamp | laptop | lava lamp | salt lamp | sewing machine | stove | tablecloth | tables | tv | vase | whiteboard | wood paneling | wood stove

exterior/outside

backyard | balcony | beach | bridge | building | canal | car show | cemetery | chapel | chicken coop | church | city | clothesline | dam | fair | fence | ferris wheel | gate | highway | hills | house | iron gate | mailbox | neighborhood | park | patio | picnic tables | plants | pool | porch | road | street | tables | train | train station | tunnel | wind chimes | wreath | yard

clouds | creek | dirt | field | flowers | fog | forest | frost | garden | mountains | mushrooms | nest | night | lake | lawn | ocean | path | plants | rain | rainbow | sky | snow | snowman | sunset | topiary | trail | trees | waterfall | woods

miscellaneous tags

altar | angel | antlers | astrology | beekeeping | baby shower | bamboo | basket | bicycle | birthday | birthday cake | blankets | books | brick | bowling | camera | candles | chain | cherub | chess | clock | clothing | car | card game | cards | chess | cigarettes | collection | construction | decor | desk | dollhouse | dolls | dusty | figure | figurines | flowers | fortune telling | gift | globe | gloves | hay | installation | karaoke | kite | knife | knives | lace | landmark | lanterns | leak | lock | machinery | mannequins | market | moving | nursery | objects | orbs | party | pearls | people | piano | pillows | plane | playing cards | plush | polaroid | posters | preschool | pyrex | rail | remodel | religion | retail | roadtrip | school | school bus | sculpture | seashells | shoes | sign | silverware | smoke | spirits | suburbia | sunlight | stained glass | swords | tech | toys | trinkets | vehicle | vhs | video games | visual clutter | water | wedding | window

blur | edit | fisheye | flash | frame | glow | low quality | panorama | photo collage | text | timestamp | video | vignette | watermark

my tags

11:11 | baby tag | birthday tag | fav | grandmas house | magic tag | personal | thank you post

updated: 09/13/2024

[debbiechanclub]

Hit Me Like Bang (and Now I'm Never Looking Back), Part 2

A "Take My Hands, Wreck My Plans" fic

Pairings: David Finlay x OFC / past!Jay White x OFC Word Count: 11k Warnings: Language; alcohol use; radioactive levels of angst but also fluff; and a little smidge of smut so 18+

On the road to Dominion, Nellie's past and present converge to solidify the truth of what's been in front of her all along.

TMHWMP Timeline | Masterlist

Read it on AO3

A/N: Herein is the end of Nellie's story, and I am emotional :') Don't worry―there are more prequels forthcoming that will go more into her previous relationships and how she got here, but this is her happy ending.

One small note: there's quite a bit of flashback scenes in this chapter, and they're not in chronological order to each other, so pay attention to the dates. That said, this fic and Nellie truly are my baby, and thank you for coming on this two-plus-year journey with me. I hope you enjoy reading her story just as much as I've enjoyed creating it for you <3

tags: @aussiearrow @cowboyslariat @knifepervert @sldghmmr @cardblade @missbrownstone @meteora-fc @bec0m @thatgirlforever5 @rocca09 @aussiespam

Friday, April 14, 2023 Tokyo, Japan

It took about seven minutes bell-to-bell for Nellie to dispose of Mariah May in their title match at Korakuen Hall. She hadn’t even broken a sweat. But she’d anticipated short work. She’d already planned to make up for it in her backstage comments.

“Alright, I’ll make sure this is short and sweet just like that match,” she started as she stepped in front of the camera. “Do you see this title?” She held up the championship in her hand. “I have been the SWA World Champion since May fifth of last year. Twenty-twenty-two. That is three hundred and forty-five days, just twenty days short of an entire year. And no one here at World Wonder Ring Stardom seems to give a shit about it, or the verifiable fact that I am the only person in history to hold this title more than once!

“But here’s the thing: I know exactly why they don’t care. Because I’m a gaijin. Never mind that I’ve been dedicated to this company since twenty-eighteen; that I’ve lived in Japan for over three years, through a fucking pandemic; that I’ve learned the language. Apparently, none of that matters, because I’m still not from here. I’m still an outsider. And God forbid a gaijin become the face of Stardom, so what do they do? They hold me in place with this title that they clearly don’t give a shit about and allow me to defend it once a quarter. And Mariah May?” She scoffed. “Do you know how many times I’ve already beaten Mariah in title matches? Tonight makes three, and the other two were in her home country for the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship. So please, someone enlighten me: if Mariah May couldn’t get it done against me in her home country, why the fuck did anyone think she stood a chance against me here, in Korakuen of all places? I might be from Philly, but Tokyo is my home. Stardom is my home. The Stardom dojo beat me down, built me back up, and turned me into the joshi I am today, and in return I made history. And I refuse to be held in place any longer.

“Saya Kamitani. You’ve made history, too. We have history. Because see, everyone associates you with Hayashishita-san and me with Torrance—but you and I were partners first. We were Goddess of Stardom champions together. We’re both champions now. And at All Star Grand Queendom, I want you in a winner takes all match for my SWA World Championship, and your Wonder of Stardom Championship. And it’ll be a gaijin from Philadelphia who puts an end to your history-making reign.”

And with that she walked off camera, the gauntlet thrown.

* * * *

Sunday, October 30, 2022 Tokyo, Japan

Nellie was in good spirits. She was fresh off defending her SWA World Championship against Mayu Iwatani in New York City. Halloween was tomorrow, and David had come over for a horror movie marathon. He’d brought takeout from her favorite sushi place and a six-pack of Sapporo. She intended to tell him how she felt. And she couldn’t have been more nervous.

“Is everything alright?” he casually asked. “It seems like something’s on your mind.”

She brought her feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch and pulled her soft checkered fleece blanket over her lap. Of course he could tell something was on her mind—it was David. He paid attention. He was perceptive; emotionally mature. It was one of the many, many things that drew her to him, something that set him apart from most guys she’d been involved with in the past. And now, after her few days away, she knew for certain.

“Yeah… I, um,” she started. “I just guess I realized something when I was in New York.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Well,” she stalled, nervous. But there was no turning back now—and she didn’t want to. “I went out with a few people after the show, and… Kyle Fletcher kissed me. But all it did was make me realize that I have feelings for someone else.”

David wasn’t looking at her as she said it, queuing up the first movie on her TV. And Nellie quickly started to overthink, worried that maybe he’d focus on the fact that Kyle had kissed her and not what she was trying to tell him—

 But then the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Oh, yeah? Who’s the lucky guy?”

He glanced at her as he set down the remote. She pursed her lips at him. “Are you seriously gonna make me say it?”

“I kind of want you to, yeah.”

She bit back a grin. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she worried he could hear it. “Well… I don’t know how he feels, so I’m kind of nervous to.”

“Well, let me clear things up for you, then…” David said, and he pulled her in and kissed her. Nellie melted into him. His lips were soft, his kiss slow and sweet, and the way he cradled her head in his hands felt natural, as if they’d done this a thousand times before. And she already knew she wanted to do it a thousand times more.

He pulled back from her lips but still held her close. “I’ve been wanting to do that for the last three months,” he said.

 She grinned. “You have?”

“Yeah. And since we’re talking about it… I wasn’t sure how you felt. Sometimes it seemed like you were still hung up on Jay.”

Nellie sighed and leaned back into the couch. Admittedly, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Honestly, at the start of the summer, I was still hung up on him. And I think it was because I never got any definite closure when we broke up, and so when he showed up out of nowhere at Dontaku it did feel like there was still something there between us. And he made it seem like there was, too, which didn’t help at all. But then you came back for the G1, and we reconnected, and genuinely—you’ve put in more effort over the last three months than Jay ever put into our entire relationship. And that really put things into perspective for me. But then it was complicated, too, because I know how close you and Jay used to be, and sometimes I worried that getting involved with you after him would look… I don’t know… messy? As stupid as that sounds.”

“No, I get it,” David nodded. “No matter how you and Jay left things, there was a point in time when you cared about him, so of course you wouldn’t want to throw salt in a wound. I mean, there was a point in time when I cared about him, too; he was my best friend. But it’s not like you and Jay just broke up, and he and I aren’t as close as we used to be, either.” He reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear; Nellie’s skin tingled at his touch. “Besides… technically I went out with you first, anyway.”

She mirrored his grin. He wasn’t wrong about that, either. David had gone out with her first, on an awkward date back in 2017, the first time Nellie had ever set foot in Japan. Back before she’d met Zack, or Riley, or Kyle, or ever gotten involved with Jay—David had been first. But she hadn’t seen it then.

“Not technically—you did,” she confirmed. “And lately I’ve wondered how different things would be if I’d given you a chance back then.”

“Nah,” he returned with a shake of his head. “I was a clown back then; I don’t blame you for not giving me a chance. Plus, I’ve come to believe that everything meaningful happens when it’s supposed to.” He smiled to himself. “I was actually planning on telling you how I felt tonight. But you beat me to it.”

Nellie’s smile widened. “Oh yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah. So, I guess I owe Kyle Fletcher a beer for kissing you and helping you figure shit out.”

“Ha!” she laughed, and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, and she snuggled into him, moving the blanket so that he was underneath it, too. It felt right—a perfect fit. And as David pressed play on the first movie, Nellie knew in her heart that this was when it was all supposed to fall into place, and not a moment sooner.

* * * *

“God, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

Nellie smiled at David through her phone screen. It was only a few days ago that he’d left, and he’d only be gone a few days more, working Capital Collision in Washington, D.C., and then Collision in Philadelphia before flying right back to Tokyo—to her. But Nellie already felt the ache of his absence.

“You have no idea how bad I wish you were here right now.” She settled back into her bed pillows, getting comfortable. “I have some pent-up energy that could really use working out.”

David grinned, crooked and handsome. It didn’t help her situation. “I know you do. I just watched your backstage comments.”

She waited, expecting him to say something more, wanting him to. After all, his opinion was the one that mattered most to her. “And?” she impatiently pressed.

“And it took everything in me not to share the video wherever I could,” he said. “I’m proud of you, babe. You already deserved that match; I don’t see how they can’t give it to you now.”

The ache in Nellie’s core deepened. But so did the warmth in her heart. “Thanks, babe. I’m hoping it’ll be official by tomorrow, but… we’ll see.”

“Do you have a match tomorrow?”

She laughed shortly to herself; the expression on her face said it all. “Yeah… a best two out of three falls eight-woman tag match. Me, Tam, Poi, and Mina against Donna del Mondo. It’s the main event.”

“Shit,” David commented before she’d even finished. “That’s gonna be charged.”

“Tell me about it,” she lowly returned. And then, “Thekla thinks I should take the opportunity to leave Cosmic Angels.”

“I was just about to say. It’s the perfect opportunity, isn’t it?”

She drew in a hesitant breath. “Potentially? Actually, if the Cosmic Angels-Club Venus shit finally hits the fan like I expect it to, it probably will be the perfect opportunity. I could just say they’re too dysfunctional and walk out. That’s exactly how I left Queen’s Quest.”

“Then I say do it,” David returned. “You’d be better served somewhere other than Cosmic Angels, I know you would. You know you would.”

“I do know I would,” she agreed. “I’m just… I don’t know. Worried about hurting people’s feelings even though I know I shouldn’t be.”

“Torrance will be fine,” David dismissed; it went without saying that she meant her. “She has Mariah and Mina.”

“No shit,” Nellie breathed. “They’re three peas in a pod these days. Which doesn’t really surprise me… Torr and Mariah are basically the same person in slightly different fonts.” David laughed at that. “Well, it’s true!” she doubled down.

“No, it is,” he nodded. “But I could always just say you’re Bullet Club, too. I’m sure that would get the point across to Tam.”

A grin spread over Nellie’s face. It felt inevitable that she would be Bullet Club, and sooner rather than later. But he’d reminded her. “Speaking of Bullet Club, are you gonna tell me who Riley’s replacement is yet?”

He smirked and shook his head. “No. That’s privileged information.”

Her eyebrows arched. “And I’m not privileged to it? I’m your girlfriend!”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” he assured her. “Don’t worry—it’s someone you like. I can’t have anyone in Bullet Club who doesn’t get along with my girl.”

“Well, there’s some people you need to kick out, then,” she returned—just as she heard a knock-knock-knock on the front door of her apartment. She glanced toward the sound in confusion. David noticed.

“What?”

“Someone just knocked on my door.”

He looked confused then. “Isn’t it almost 10 p.m. there?” he asked. But Nellie was already pulling up the live feed from her video doorbell—and she saw a familiar figure.

“It’s Torr.” She sighed. Something told her she wasn’t just dropping by.

“I guess you should go, then,” David figured. Nellie’s brow furrowed.

“Probably. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize,” he gently said. “I should probably get going myself, and you two are overdue for a talk.”

“Yeah… because I don’t want to have it,” she muttered.

David smirked. “Go, babe. I’ll talk to you later.”

She pouted. “Okay. See you soon,” she returned—and before they disconnected, she almost said it. I love you. She knew she did. But she wanted the first time she told him to be in person.

She left her phone in her bedroom and padded down the hall to the front door. She unlocked and opened it just as Torrance was getting ready to knock again. She quickly put her hand down, almost as if she was surprised Nellie had answered.

“Hey.” Torrance took in her appearance—pajamas on, makeup off. Her brow furrowed. “You weren’t in bed, were you?”

“Well, technically,” Nellie returned. “But I was talking with David.”

Torrance’s frown deepened. “Oh. I’m sorry, I should have texted—”

“No, it’s fine,” Nellie dismissed, and she opened the door wider so she could come inside. Torrance hesitated for a beat before she crossed the threshold. It was odd. They both had keys to each other’s apartments; it used to be that Torrance would just let herself in without so much as a knock. But a lot had changed over the last three months.

“What’s up?” Nellie asked as she shut the door. She noticed that Torrance was dressed for a night out in a shiny pink miniskirt and white bustier tank top, her hair and makeup done to perfection. And again, Torrance hesitated.

“Um, well,” she started with a bit of a nervous laugh. “I actually came over here to ask if you wanted to come out with us, but—”

“Who’s ‘us’?”

Torrance bit her lip. “Me, Mariah, and Mina.”

Nellie couldn’t help her laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

Torrance’s expression turned stony. “No, actually, I’m not.”

“Torr,” Nellie breathed out. “Come on. I literally just beat Mariah in a title match and then talked shit about her, you really think either of us want to hang out with each other?”

“Well, Mariah’s willing to put that aside because she knows you’re my best friend,” Torrance returned. She looked down at her hands. “And I feel like we’ve barely seen each other since… well, since the Triangle Derby started.”

So, since Club Venus became a thing, Nellie wanted to say. But she figured it wouldn’t help. “Because we haven’t,” she regretfully returned. “But it’s not intentional. You’ve just been doing your thing with Mariah and Mina, and I’ve been doing mine with Tam and Poi. Or I was. And I know I sort of went off into my own little world when David came back, so…”

Torrance looked back up at her. “Yeah, so are you and him…?”

“Together? Officially?” Nellie finished. “Yeah, we are,” she confirmed, and the mood lightened a bit. Torrance smiled.

“Took long enough.”

Nellie breathed a laugh. “I know. But I think it happened right when it was supposed to.”

“No, I think so, too,” Torrance agreed. “He’s good for you, I can tell. You’ve carried yourself differently ever since he came back; more confident.”

“Thanks,” Nellie genuinely returned. She’d noticed that change in herself, too. David was good for her. He was good to her. And she wasn’t the only one who’d changed. “You’ve been more confident with Club Venus, too.”

Torrance looked down again, the corners of her mouth turned up, almost as if she was bashful to hear that Nellie had noticed. “Yeah, they’ve really helped me come into my own. Mina really pushes me. And I don’t know… it just feels like we’re all on equal footing.”

Nellie nodded in understanding. “Unlike when we were a tag team?”

Torrance frowned again. “I wasn’t trying to imply—”

“No, I get it,” Nellie assured her. And she did get it. After she and Torrance had won the 2021 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, throughout their entire reign as Goddess of Stardom Champions, people had said that Nellie carried Torrance. That Nellie was the better wrestler, that Torrance would never be champion without her. So, it was no wonder Torrance felt more confident with Mariah and Mina. People weren’t comparing her to them; instead, they were acknowledging how much she’d improved. And as much as Nellie didn’t care for Club Venus, she still wanted the best for Torrance.

“And for what it’s worth, I never felt like I was carrying our team,” she told her. “I should have told you that back then. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“No, I know you never felt that way,” Torrance returned, and nothing else needed to be said. She and Nellie understood each other. They always had.

“But… I guess I can’t persuade you to get dressed and come out with us?” she added.

Nellie shook her head. “Not a chance.”

Torrance nodded. “It was worth a shot.” She started for the door. “Well, sorry for interrupting your call with your man.” She stopped. “I didn’t interrupt… something, did I?”

Nellie let out a laugh. “No, it wasn’t one of those calls. He’ll be back Tuesday; I think I can manage ‘til then.”

“Tuesday?” Torrance noted. “Okay, I’ll be sure to steer clear of here that whole day.”

She let herself out, and Nellie told her to have a glass of water for every drink—she had to work tomorrow. And as Torrance waved goodbye and Nellie shut the door, she knew that neither of them were the same people anymore. They’d grown. Professionally, apart. But not in their hearts.

* * * *

Sunday, November 20, 2022 NJPW/Stardom Historic X-Over – Tokyo, Japan

If anyone was surprised at how well Cosmic Queendom and Aussie Open worked together in the ring, it wasn’t Nellie, Torrance, Kyle, or Mark. It felt like they’d been teaming together for years, and the deeper they got into the match against Los Ingobernables de Japon and Fukuoka Double Crazy, the more Nellie knew they were creating something special for fans of NJPW and Stardom alike. But it wasn’t all serious. Nellie couldn’t help but mess with Sanada and Naito a bit—a callback to her days in Suzuki-gun with Zack. In the end, it was Torrance who got the pin over Koguma after she and Nellie surprised Mark and Kyle by doing Coriolis. And when their arms were raised in victory, Nellie almost wished that she and Torrance had joined United Empire like they’d half-joked about a year ago.

Almost.

More members of United Empire greeted them as they returned backstage; Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, and Aaron Henare’s match against Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, and Great Muta was next. Mark and Kyle exchanged “Crowns Up” with all their teammates—and then Jeff looked expectantly at Nellie.

“Come on, you know you want to,” he tempted, wiggling his hands at her.

“Fine; but only for you,” she reluctantly gave in, and she made a crown with her hands and touched her fingers to his.

“I don’t know,” Jeff teased, his voice raising leadingly. “After seeing that Coriolis, I think there’s definitely a spot for Cosmic Queendom in the Empire.”

“Ha!” Torrance bluntly dismissed. Jeff pressed his mouth into a line.

“Okay, maybe just a spot for Nellie, then.”

“Yeah, how long have you two been planning that?” Mark asked, tactfully shifting the focus away from the ghost of Torrance and Will’s relationship. Thank God Will was elsewhere.

“Not long; we only just thought of trying it a few days ago,” Nellie said. “You’re not upset we did it?”

She looked hesitantly between Mark and Kyle, but they both quickly shook their heads. “Hell no, it was perfect,” Kyle assured, and Nellie smiled. They’d talked everything out that night he’d kissed her three weeks ago in New York City, and there wasn’t any awkwardness at all between them. They’d had a fling a year ago that just hadn’t panned out, and that was that. They were just friends. Easy.

“Well, thanks,” she said. “But Torr and I are kind of a package deal, so if she’s not in, I’m not, either. Sorry, Jeff.”

“A package deal?” O-Khan slyly asked. Torrance’s eyes widened.

“Not that kind of package deal!” she proclaimed. And then, more under her breath, “Not that anyone hasn’t asked me that before, but.”

Nellie whipped her head around at her. “Wait, what?”

“Yes, please share with the class,” Jeff eagerly added, propping his chin on his fist. But O-Khan’s entrance music started to play and inadvertently gave Torrance the perfect out from answering.

“Good luck!” she said, and the guys all groaned and booed after them as she and Nellie left. Nellie could tell by Torrance’s clipping pace that she was keyed up.

“You alright?”

“I need to get out of here and get a drink,” she returned. “How many more matches are there?”

“Um,” Nellie thought about it for a second. “Three, I think? But that reminds me—Gabe invited us out with the LA Dojo guys. I told him I wasn’t sure if you had anything in mind already and would let him know.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, it could be fun. Although that Clark guy seems like he might be trouble.”

“I don’t have anything in mind,” Torrance returned. “And honestly, I’m up for a bit of trouble.”

And that was how, later that night, they found themselves at a dive bar in Roppongi with Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors, and Alex Coughlin. There had been more people with them at the outset, but one by one they’d dropped off bar after bar and called it a night. But not Nellie and Torrance. They were both familiar with Gabe from his time as a Young Lion, although they hadn’t seen him in a year-and-a-half. As for Clark and Alex, the girls barely knew either of them—but the guys seemed very keen on changing that.

“How the hell is it we haven’t hung out before tonight?” Clark asked Nellie, turning toward her as they sat together at the bar. “I know you were around when I was here in twenty-nineteen.”

“Probably because I was around, but I wasn’t living here yet,” she explained. “I moved here in twenty-twenty, right before everything shut down.”

“Yeah, Nell and I were in that same shitty boat,” Gabe said. “At least you weren’t stuck quarantined in fucking dojo housing.”

She snorted through her nose. “No, I was just stuck quarantined with my ex.”

“No shit!” Clark exclaimed. “Who’s that?”

“Jesus, Clark, mind your business!” Alex shot, his New York accent becoming even more pronounced. Torrance chuckled beside him.

“It’s fine,” Nellie dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It was Zack. Sabre Jr.,” she added, as if there was another pro wrestler named Zack living in Japan.

“Oh shit, you were with ZSJ, weren’t you?” Clark realized. “Actually, now that you mention it, I remember working a RevPro show with you, him, and Suzuki a few years back. Both of y’all were there too,” he said to Alex and Gabe.

They both nodded. “Yeah, bruv, I know exactly what show you’re talking about,” Gabe confirmed. “And clearly Nellie has a thing for Brits, so we should switch spots.”

Clark flipped him off. “You want another drink?” he asked Nellie.

“Nah, I’ll get it,” Gabe said, already flagging down the bartender.

“How about I get us all the next round?” Alex interjected. “You two are embarrassing yourselves.”

Clark and Gabe both let Alex know exactly what they thought of that, and Nellie took the opportunity to slide off her barstool. “Well, while you guys figure it out, I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

“I’ll go with you,” Torrance said.

“It’s a one-stall bathroom,” Clark pointed out.

“Well, good thing I’m going just so we can talk about the three of you, then,” she sweetly returned, and Nellie laughed at the look on Clark’s face as they both walked away.

“Looks like you have your pick of Clark and Gabe tonight,” Torrance smirked once they were out of earshot. Nellie genially rolled her eyes.

“Come on… you know I’m not available.”

“Yeah, I know,” Torrance started—and Nellie could sense it coming.

“But?”

“But,” she went on. “As much as I want things to work out with you and David, you’ve already spent enough time waiting on guys, Nell. More than enough, more than you ever should have. I mean, speaking of Zack—he’s literally the only guy since I’ve known you who didn’t leave you in some sort of limbo.”

Nellie’s eyebrows arched. “Jesus, when you put it like that.” She tried the restroom door handle as they arrived, but it was occupied, and so they both leaned back against the wall on either side of the hall to wait.

“I’m just being honest,” Torrance returned.

“No, I know,” Nellie breathed; and, admittedly, Torrance did have a point.

David had left Japan less than a week after he and Nellie had finally told each other how they felt; and with no timetable for when he’d be back, they’d made the mutual decision not to put a label on anything. “That would make me no better than Jay, and I refuse to do that to you,” David had said. But it didn’t dishearten Nellie. Instead, it emboldened her. Because, to her, it confirmed that what she and David had wasn’t conditional. It was real.

“And I get what you’re saying, I do,” she told Torrance. “But it doesn’t feel like I’m in a limbo this time, Torr, and I can’t explain it other than to say I just have this deep-seated feeling in my soul that David and I have something real that’s worth waiting for. I mean, we’ve talked every single day since he left, and I sure as shit couldn’t say that about Jay when he was stuck in the States, and we were actually in a relationship.”

“I know,” Torrance nodded. “David’s a good guy, and I have a lot more faith in him than most, I do. But I’m just saying… I’ll still kick his ass if I have to.”

Nellie grinned. “I know you will. But I’m telling you you won’t.” The restroom door opened, and a woman smiled and bowed her head at them as she exited. “You go ahead,” Nellie offered Torrance.

“Okay, cool; turns out I do have to go,” she said, and she ducked inside and locked the door behind her as Nellie fished her phone out of her small crossbody bag. The clock widget on her home screen informed her it was after 10 a.m. on the East Coast of the U.S., but David was in Los Angeles filming an episode of NJPW Strong; ironically, he had an eight-man tag match against a team that included Jay and Riley. But she decided to text him, anyway. Even if he wasn’t up, he’d get back to her when he was.

She pulled up their text chain and smiled seeing their messages from just a few hours ago; he’d gotten up in the middle of the night to watch her and Torrance’s Historic X-Over match live. Torr and I are out with the LA Dojo guys, she wrote. I’m having fun, but it’s also just making me miss you.

She sent it off and switched over to Instagram, not expecting a reply. But then David’s name popped up on her screen.

Are you? They’re good guys, don’t let their antics fool you. And I miss you too, every day.

Butterflies. Meaningful ones.

They exchanged a few more texts before Torrance emerged from the bathroom, and Nellie told him she’d let him go to start his day. Okay, let me know when you make it back home, he wrote back. You know I’ll start to worry if I don’t hear from you.

I know, she returned, and she sent it off with a kissy face emoji. Because even though there wasn’t a label on her and David’s relationship, in every other way, every way that mattered, they were together.

* * * *

Sunday, April 23, 2023 Stardom All Star Grand Queendom – Yokohama, Japan

Doggedness and determination. That’s what Nellie was running on by the end of the winner takes all match against Saya Kamitani.

She’d been prepared, thoroughly. But as well as Nellie knew Saya, she wasn’t used to being opposite her, at least not one-on-one, and she realized early on that she couldn’t afford a single misstep. But the reverse was also true—and unlike Nellie, Saya had nothing to gain or prove. She’d surpassed the record set by Momo Watanabe for defenses of the Wonder of Stardom Championship, eclipsed Kairi by more than one hundred days to become the white belt’s second-longest reigning champion, her position as one of Stardom’s best and brightest secure. She had nothing to fight for outside maintaining the status quo.

But Nellie had everything to gain, everything to prove, everything to fight for. Despite being a long-tenured champion herself, despite being the older and more experienced wrestler of the two, she was decidedly the underdog. That was her motivation, her drive, her fire. And by the halfway point, there were more people cheering for Nellie in Saya’s hometown crowd than there had been at the opening bell. If she lost, at least she would have that.

But she won.

She knew she’d done it as soon as she hit her new finisher, a variation on a lifting reverse STO that she’d worked out with David and dubbed the Wit Hit. (“As in a cheesesteak wit onion, not as in like, a quick wit,” she’d explained. “Honestly, it works either way,” he’d smirked.) And when she hooked Saya’s leg and felt the referee count one, two, three, she knew she’d earned the crowd’s respect.

And she had Saya’s, too. All along.

As Nellie stood with tears in her eyes and the winner’s trophy in her hands, Saya fastened the Wonder of Stardom Championship around her waist. And after she raised her arm in victory, she pulled her into a hug and told her in Japanese, “You are always welcome in Queen’s Quest, Nellie-san.”

Nellie hadn’t expected it. It gave her even more to think about.

But she’d worry about that later. Right now, her priority was setting her intention as the new Wonder of Stardom Champion.

“What did I say?” she started as she stepped in front of the backstage camera; sweaty and worn, laden with gold. “I said I would end Saya Kamitani’s history-making reign, and that’s exactly what I did. And now a gaijin from Philadelphia is the 9th SWA World Champion and the 17th Wonder of Stardom Champion—and I intend to be a fighting champion.” She shook her head. “No more going five months without a defense. No more being placated and overlooked. Whoever wants a shot at either of my titles, just say the word. Kamitani-san had fifteen defenses of this championship? I want sixteen. Seventeen, eighteen, more. So whoever wants to try to take it from me, let Rossy know. He can’t ignore me now.”

She stopped to draw in a breath, collecting herself before she went on. “And now that I have proven just how un-ignorable I am, how much of an asset I am to this company, there’s another piece of business I need to address. For an entire week now people have been asking me nonstop backstage, online, stopping me out in the street—Who are you with, Nellie? Are you with Cosmic Angels or Club Venus? And frankly? The answer is neither.

“Tam and Poi, you welcomed me into Cosmic Angels without question. You gave me a place when I was suddenly without one, and I’ll never take that for granted. Torr and I won the Goddess titles with your backing, I won this SWA title for a history-making second time with your backing, the three of us nearly went the distance in the Triangle Derby. But despite all that success, we all knew I was something of a black sheep in your colorful, kawaii flock. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and what happened? I wore myself down to try to fit.” She shook her head again. “Not anymore. My edge is back—and with all due respect, I’ve outgrown Cosmic Angels. And with no due respect, I’m sure as shit not joining Club Venus.”

She adjusted the SWA title on her shoulder. She was exhausted, and it was getting heavier by the minute. “But even though I know at the end of the day I can only really rely on me, myself, and I, I’m not really into the whole lone wolf thing, either. I recognize that there’s strength in numbers, and I’ll be taking my time to consider my next move. But for now, I’m gonna go put all this down because it’s fucking heavy, and then I’m gonna crack open a Sapporo and celebrate the sweet, sweet return of Two-Belt Nell.”

* * * *

Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka, Japan

The Stardom bus arrived at the Fukuoka International Center fifteen minutes before bell time. They’d had a show earlier that afternoon in Shimonoseki, and with Stardom running a pay-per-view in Fukuoka tomorrow, they’d loaded up and made the hour-and-a-half trip down for the NJPW show there that evening. And as soon as she could, Nellie shot off the bus like a bullet.

David had been back in Japan for two weeks, but Nellie had only gotten to spend a handful of hours with him. He’d arrived in Tokyo only to turn around and leave for the Road to Dontaku tour, and their schedules had kept them apart in separate corners of the country. And because of that, Nellie still hadn’t said those three little-big words.

They’d been on the tip of her tongue the day he’d come back. She’d felt them in the way he’d touched her, looked at her, in every breath during that abbreviated time they’d spent together before he had to leave to get on the bus. But she hadn’t wanted to say it only for him to be physically absent again. If she was going to tell him she loved him, she needed to feel it, live in it for longer than just a few hours.

And tonight, the timing was finally right.

She made a beeline for his dressing room, pausing impatiently when she ran into Aussie Open, and they both hugged her and congratulated her on winning the Wonder of Stardom Championship before she took off again. She knocked on the door when she arrived, and David called for her to come in. Her heart melted at the sight of his smile.

“Finally,” he breathed, and then his lips were on hers. Hungry, eager, heated, as if it had been two months instead of just two weeks.

But then Nellie had a thought. “Are you sharing this room with Kenta?” she quickly asked. She hadn’t noticed any other luggage around, but she hadn’t really looked, either.

David shook his head, a smirk on his lips. “Not tonight. We have this all to ourselves.”

That was all the information she needed. She pushed him down onto a seat and straddled his lap, and then they were the only two people in the entire arena again. David ignited her entire being in a way that no one ever had, mind, body, soul—heart. And before they lost themselves in each other, she needed to tell him.

She pulled back and looked down at him. His eyes were dark and hooded, full of desire. “What?” he softly asked.

“I love you.”

Nellie knew he felt the same, she knew he did—but there was still that anxious knot in her gut. Until a smile spread over David’s face.

“I was wondering when you’d finally say it.”

She let go of the breath she’d been holding. “Are you serious right—”

He silenced her with a kiss, and she melted into him like she always did. She loved him; he loved her. It was undeniable.

He pulled back, their lips still close, noses brushing. “I love you, too. I have since the fall.”

Butterflies exploded in Nellie’s stomach. “You have?”

“Mhm,” he nodded. “I spent that entire tour last year falling in love with you, and when I left Japan, it felt like I’d left part of myself behind. And then the night of Historic X-Over, when you called me after you got home from being out with the LA Dojo guys… I knew.”

Nellie’s smile lit up her entire face, her entire being. “I was drunk when I called you that night,” she remembered.

“Yeah, I know you were,” David grinned. “Which reminds me, I have to tell Clark he can’t take my girlfriend out and ply her with alcohol anymore.”

She laughed. “But it would just be a little Bullet Club bonding,” she innocently returned. It made him arch a brow.

“You saying you’re Bullet Club? Is that what I’m hearing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know… that’s kind of up to you.”

He drew her closer on his lap. “It would be nice to have you out there with me when I win the title tonight…”

He trailed off and kissed her neck. She bit back a grin. “I don’t want to stir the pot just yet. I just won the Wonder of Stardom title; it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to ruffle any company feathers.”

David hummed against her skin. “Mm… yeah, you’re not ready. That’s not something someone in Bullet Club would say.”

Nellie playfully rolled her eyes. But he pulled her mouth against his again, and they let their bodies finish the conversation.

* * * *

Sunday, June 12, 2022 Osaka, Japan

For the longest time, this was all Nellie had wanted. To feel Jay again. To feel wanted by him again. And now that she’d finally gotten it, all she felt was uncertainty. Still.

She lay next to him in his hotel room, facing the other way, listening to him breathe. In and out, steady. Last night had been an intoxicating blur of adrenaline and emotion. She blamed Osaka, the romance of a different setting, the context of why they were there. Stardom and NJPW both had shows in the city; Jay had a match against Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Dominion that night. And last night, Nellie had felt like her body was a prize for Jay just as much as that title. Something for him to win, to take. Part of her regretted letting him have it. But another part of her still yearned to belong to him.

She felt him stir beside her, and then he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against his chest. She closed her eyes and folded into him.

“Mm,” he hummed. “I missed this.”

He pressed his lips against her neck, and Nellie let him. But she couldn’t keep from asking.

“Did you?”

“Of course,” he easily returned. Almost as if he’d expected her to question him, as if he’d had the answer at the ready that he knew she wanted to hear. But then his mouth was working down her body, his lips leaving a trail of goosebumps over her skin, until his head was between her legs and his tongue inside her. And she gave into him, writhing and arching her back, curling her fingers in his hair until she came undone. And all the while, she didn’t stop questioning.

He kissed his way back up to her lips, his naked body hovering over her. His cock pressed hard against her inner thigh. She wanted it. She hated that she did. But she wanted him.

“Let’s get in the shower,” he breathed. And she let him pull her from the bed and lead her into the shower where he had her again, her back pressed up against the wet tile, legs wrapped tight around his waist as her nails left tiny moon-shaped marks on his shoulders. Because even though Nellie knew it wouldn’t last, that Jay would just be gone again come tomorrow, she wanted to pretend he was hers for just a little while longer.

* * * *

Saturday, May 27, 2023 Stardom Flashing Champions – Tokyo, Japan

Two defenses in just over a month. Nellie had said she’d wanted to be a fighting champion, and her challengers had quickly formed a line.

Natsupoi had been first, eager and determined. Nellie bested her in a main event twenty-minute battle in Fukuoka the night after David won the NEVER Openweight Championship. Tonight, it was Unagi Sayaka, defeated in just over fifteen minutes. Nellie wasn’t surprised that her former teammates had been the first to step up. They wanted to defend the honor of Cosmic Angels in the wake of her departure, even if there wasn’t any bad blood. But their efforts had fallen short—and Nellie was still an island unto herself. She was biding her time, weighing her options between Donna del Mondo and Queen’s Quest. This time around, the ball was in her court; she wasn’t going to fumble it.

She returned to the locker room after making her backstage comments and automatically checked her phone. David was flying in tomorrow after being back in the States for the last three weeks and change, returning early to spend time with her before Dominion and the next Stardom tour. She smiled when she saw she had a text from him.

Two down, fourteen to go. Proud of you, babe. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

Tomorrow isn’t soon enough, she returned with a kissy face emoji.

But David wasn’t the only one who’d texted her. So had Clark.

Congrats, champ. We’re going out to celebrate, right?

Her brow furrowed. Who’s we? she sent back. She and Clark were friends, but he could get too friendly sometimes.

His response came quick. You, me, and your Stardom friends. The hot single ones.

She rolled her eyes, but her phone pinged again. He’d sent her the name of a bar in Roppongi; of course that was where he wanted to go. She pursed her lips as she wrote back.

My hot single friends might already have plans, she told him.

Alright but if Dave asks it was your idea for just the two of us to hang out, not mine, he returned.

Nellie breathed out. As irritated as she wanted to be, she had to give him that one. But she sent him an eye roll emoji and said, I’ll ask Torr and Thekla and let you know, and threw her phone in her bag to head to the shower.

* * * *

As it turned out, Nellie’s hot single friends did already have plans—to go to a different bar in Roppongi. But that worked just fine for Clark, and he told Nellie he’d meet them there. And honestly, she hoped he’d get there sooner rather than later, because the current company was a mixed bag, to say the least.

Thekla had come, along with Giulia and Mai Sakurai, the three of which were in a celebratory mood—they’d won the Artist of Stardom Championship from REStart that night. Torrance had also come; it was the first time she and Nellie had gone out together in months.

But she’d brought Club Venus with her.

“They’re really not that bad if you get to know them,” Thekla told Nellie over the music as they sat together in the booth; all the others were off dancing or getting drinks. It earned her a skeptical stare. “I know, I know,” she returned. “You’re Team Tam even if you’re not in Cosmic Angels anymore. But Torrance is your best friend, and Mariah is practically her clone. Her much taller British clone, but still.”

Nellie laughed, remembering how she’d told David almost the exact same thing. But then Thekla changed the subject.

“And speaking of you not being in Cosmic Angels anymore… when’re you gonna bite the bullet and join DDM?”

Nellie breathed out. She’d expected this to come up.

“It’s been over a month, Nell.”

“I’m aware,” she replied. “But Giulia doesn’t seem nearly as eager to have me in DDM as Utami does to have me back in Queen’s Quest.”

She sent Thekla a pointed look over her drink. Thekla’s eyebrows arched in understanding.

“Giulia is hard to read, I’ll give you that,” she admitted. “And I’ll be honest with you—you’d have to earn her trust because of how close you are with Tam. Which I mean, can you blame her? Tam shaved her head.”

“Okay, but she rocked that look, though,” Nellie pointed out.

Thekla grinned. “She did, but still. The good news is you’re already halfway there.”

“Am I?” she curiously asked.

“Yeah. Because Giulia trusts me and my judgment—and I want you in DDM, dammit.”

Nellie grinned. “And I appreciate that. And as soon as I make my decision, I’ll let you know.”

“Look who we found at the bar.”

They both looked up. Giulia and Mai had returned, and they had Clark with them.

“I wouldn’t expect you to find him anywhere else,” Nellie quipped.

He set a shot glass in front of her and Thekla each. “Here, I bought us all a round,” he said, and then, in a higher-pitched voice, “‘Oh, thank you, Clark, you’re so sweet and thoughtful and also incredibly handsome.’”

Thekla snorted. Nellie's expression was deadpan. “I already regret telling you where to meet us.”

“Scoot over,” he said with a nudge of her shoulder, and she and Thekla made room so he could sit down while Giulia and Mai did the same on the other side of the booth.

“What is this?” Nellie asked as she picked up the shot.

“Tequila,” Clark said. “I remember what you like.”

She ignored the comment and brought the liquor to her lips.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he quickly stopped her. “We gotta toast!” He raised his glass and looked expectantly around the table. The girls all obliged. “To the success of Donna del Mondo,” he started, “and the restoration of fucking Bullet Club.”

A smirk pulled at Nellie’s lips, and they all toasted and kicked back the tequila, some grimacing more than others as it went down. “Okay, that one was for you, but we're getting whiskey next round,” Clark winced.

“What, can’t handle it?” Nellie teased. “I remember Gabe shooting tequila just fine.”

“A-heh-heh-heh,” he screwed up his face and mock-laughed in return. “But speaking of Gabe—I heard you’re gonna be at Dominion?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion; that segue didn’t make any sense. What did Gabe have to do with Dominion?

But before she could ask, Thekla interjected, “Wait, what? Isn’t Dominion the same day as our Korakuen show?”

Nellie nodded. “It is. But I told Rossy I want to be in Osaka to support David at ringside and that if he really wants to elevate Stardom’s global profile, he needs to start putting me and my two titles on NJPW TV.”

Thekla’s eyebrows arched. “And he agreed to that?”

“Mhm,” Nellie proudly returned. “I think he admired my nerve.”

“Hell yeah,” Clark grinned. “I cannot wait to see the look on ELP’s face when you walk out there with us.”

She gave him another curious look. Us? As far as she knew, Clark wasn’t booked to be at Dominion. “Okay, is there something—”

“What the fuck is this twat doing here?”

Nellie whipped her head around. She saw Torrance first, her face flushed from dancing. And then she saw Dan Moloney.

“I know you’re not talking about me,” Clark returned.

“Well, I don’t see any other twats sat at this table.”

Nellie shot a tense look at Torrance, asking with her face what the hell Dan was doing there. He and Clark had just tried to murder each other in their Best of the Super Juniors tournament match three days ago; the last thing she wanted to do tonight was pull apart another United Empire-Bullet Club fight.

Clark stood from the booth, and Nellie almost grabbed the back of his shirt—but then he greeted Dan like they were best mates.

“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight, man. You should’ve said something.”

“Yeah, well, kind of a last-minute thing. This one invited me,” Dan said with a thumb at Torrance.

Nellie, meanwhile, was at a complete loss. “I’m sorry—what?”

“I don’t know—men,” Thekla shrugged. “They beat the shit out of each other once and suddenly they’re best friends.”

Clark sat back down next to Nellie while Mai made room for Torrance and Dan on the other side of the booth, and Torrance and Nellie’s gaze connected again. Torrance tapped her phone; and no sooner had she than Nellie felt hers vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and read the text.

We may have hooked up. Surprise?

Nellie widened her eyes at her friend. She just shrugged.

Surprised and not surprised, she wrote back. I guess bro code doesn’t count for shit in UE.

She waited for Torrance to see the response. Her phone lit up—and she scoffed before quickly typing back.

Whatever, I don’t care. Will had already moved on to another warm body before my side of the bed was even cold.

Nellie read the text and gave her a look that said, “You’re not wrong,” before sending a written reply.

Maybe Dan isn’t even in UE anymore. Him and Clark acting all buddy-buddy right now is suspicious AF.

Torrance’s eyes went wide, and she typed quickly back. Don’t even joke. I’m so done fucking with Bullet Club boys.

Nellie just laughed; she’d thought the same after she and Jay had broken up. And yet, here she was, just days away from declaring herself Bullet Club, too—something that only she, David, and Clark knew.

As far as she knew, anyway.

* * * *

Friday, November 4, 2022 Osaka, Japan

Tomorrow would be David’s last show in Japan until he didn’t know when. It sucked—it really sucked. He and Nellie had only realized their mutual desire for something more than just friendship five days ago. But Nellie didn’t want to focus on their painfully poor timing. As it worked out, their schedules had synced up to give them a full day off together in Osaka, and they’d taken full advantage.

They started off with getting breakfast at an American-style diner, splitting chocolate banana pancakes and a bacon and cheese omelet because neither of them could decide which sounded better. Then they’d gone on the famous Osaka costumed go-kart sightseeing tour that Nellie had always wanted to try but never had the chance; she’d dressed up as Yoshi, David as Pikachu. Afterward, they’d stopped at one of the city’s numerous food stalls for deep-fried chicken and sticky-sweet rice balls before heading back to David’s hotel room, where they’d fallen asleep watching TV together on the bed. It felt so natural, so comfortable, so uncomplicated sleeping in David’s arms.

But when they awoke, it only made it that much more difficult not to think about how their time together was dwindling all too quickly.

“I don’t want to leave you at all,” David said as they still lay together, his arm around her, her head on his chest. “But I also feel like I need the time away for myself to reset; go back to the fucking drawing board. My G1 was shit; I really wanted that TV Title… I don’t know. I need to figure out what I need to do to stop just spinning my wheels.”

“Your G1 wasn’t shit,” Nellie gently returned. “Will won your block with what? Eight points? And you and everyone else but Juice finished with six. Most people finished with six this year. And if it helps at all, that TV Title is ugly as shit.”

David let out a laugh. “You’re right about that. And yeah, at least I did beat Juice. But it’s just one disappointment after another, you know?”

“I do know. You know I do. And I think you’re right. I don’t want you to leave, either. But even more than that, I don’t want you to get burned out from frustration.” She lifted her head to look at him. “So, take some time to do what you need to do, and then come back to me.”

He gave her a soft smile. “I know this probably feels like an uncomfortably familiar situation. But I promise, Nell—I’m not Jay.”

She shook her head. “I know you’re not,” she said, and she kissed him. She’d meant it to be just one, short and sweet, assuring; but neither of them wanted to stop at just one. David rolled her underneath him, and her hand unintentionally slipped under his shirt. Nellie wanted him; she wanted to cross that line. But she knew all too well that sleeping with him now would only make his absence hurt that much more—

And then her phone started ringing.

He pulled back. “Is someone calling you?”

She sighed. “Guarantee it’s Torrance.” Sure enough, when she retrieved her phone from the nightstand, Torrance’s name was displayed on the screen. David just laughed.

Nellie answered the call, and she and Torrance talked for a few minutes, figuring out what the plans were for the evening (“The Aussies and Jeff and Francesco want to get dinner with us, but I don’t want to be around Will,” Torrance explained). When she hung up, she looked back at David. The previous tension still hung in the air between them.

“It’s probably for the best she interrupted,” he softly said. “I don’t want to do that just to turn around and leave for I don’t know how long.”

Nellie sighed again. “I know. But you know you saying that only makes me want it more, right?”

He grinned. “Maybe that’s the point,” he teased, and he kissed her again. Once, tender and meaningful.

They got up from the bed, and David walked her to the door and told her to let him know when she made it back to her hotel—she wanted to shower and change before dinner—and Nellie made her way to the elevators. She looked down at her phone as one arrived with a ding; but when the doors slid open, a stone dropped into her stomach.

Jay.

He looked like he’d just arrived, luggage in tow, sunglasses on. He pushed them on top of his head and grinned. The cat who caught the canary.

“Well, fancy meeting you here.”  

He stepped out of the elevator, but his suitcase blocked her way and the doors slid closed. Not that Nellie could move, anyway. It felt like her legs had suddenly turned to lead.

“Is Stardom in this hotel?” he asked. “I thought your show was in Nara tomorrow?”

She tried not to think about why he knew that as she answered. “It is, and we’re not. I’m here with David.”

It was more gratifying than she expected to say that to Jay’s face. And even though his face didn’t give much away, she could see it in his eyes. Resentment. But then he turned them down and nodded.

“Are you? That’s kind of surprising.”

Nellie’s brow hardened. “What’s so surprising about it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing—well. It’s just that when you started hanging out with him during the G1… I thought you were doing it just to get back at me.”

Anger bubbled up in Nellie’s chest. Shock, disbelief, to the point that she felt ill. She looked him dead in the eye. “If you think I would use someone like that, then you really don’t know me at all.”

She hit the down button again.

“Nell, come on,” Jay breathed. “What else was I supposed to think? When I got back to Japan it seemed like you wanted to fix things between us, and then next thing I knew, you were out getting drinks with my old best friend.”

“I did want to fix things!” she burst. “Against my own better judgment, I did! And what happened? You fucked me one last time—here, in Osaka, to pump yourself up for your World Title match—and then you disappeared again.”

His eyebrows arched. “Are you joking? I had other bookings; that was two weeks before Forbidden Door.”

The elevator arrived, but Nellie didn’t get on. “Okay, but you didn’t talk to me! You didn’t show me anything, Jay—nothing changed! And you know what David did? He showed me that he gave a shit about me.”

The elevator doors started to close, and Nellie caught them with her arm and stepped inside. She looked back at Jay. The resentment in his eyes had given way to something else. Guilt.

“Nell… I don’t want to leave it like this.”

She shook her head. “Now’s not the time,” she told him, and the elevator doors slid closed, putting a pause on the one conversation that she knew, eventually, she’d no longer be able to avoid.

* * * *

Friday, June 2, 2023 Tokyo, Japan

“You remember the last time we were in Osaka together?”

David asked the question as they finished packing. The big weekend had finally arrived. They were taking the bullet train down to Osaka tomorrow for Dominion on Sunday, and Nellie was buzzing with excitement.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about that,” she said as she zipped up her suitcase and moved it with some effort from her bed to the floor. “It’s crazy to think how much has changed since then.”

Everything had changed. Seven months ago, she and David had been reluctantly pulled apart from one another, both frustrated and floundering in their careers, nothing but uncertainty on the horizon. And now, they were both champions; David the leader of Bullet Club, Nellie on the verge of making her membership known to the world. It felt like they had the whole world ahead of them. And they were doing it together.

“I know,” David returned. “I’d never wanted to board a plane less in my life than I did after that show.”

“Even more than this last time you left?”

“Oh, for sure,” he answered, no hesitation. “Because when I leave now, I know exactly when I’m coming back. It was the not knowing back then that really made it hard.”

Nellie didn’t reply as she climbed onto her bed and settled against the pillows, her thoughts turning inward. After Dominion, David didn’t have any bookings until the G1, over a month away. And they hadn’t really discussed that—if he would extend his stay to spend some extra time with her before heading back home to Florida, if he would come back early before the tournament, if he’d even given it any thought at all. It didn’t worry her, per se; they’d both been busy. But now it was right there in front of her.

“Which, actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She looked back at him, pulled from her thoughts. “What is it?” she asked.

He settled next to her on the bed, and the atmosphere suddenly felt different. Not tense. But important. Nellie felt her heart pick up a beat.

“I know we’ve been moving kind of fast since I came back in March,” David began. “But truthfully—and I think you feel the same—I don’t see the point in waiting if we both know what we want. And so… I’ve decided that I want to move here, to Tokyo. And if you want, I’d like us to get a new place together.”

If Nellie had been buzzing before, she was positively vibrating now. “Are you being serious?”

He nodded. “Of course. I fucking hate every time I have to get on a plane and leave you again. I hate it. And this last time I was gone, I realized… it’s not just my career that’s here now. My life is, too.”

He looked her in the eyes, full of love and trust, and her heart grew wings. “I would love to get a new place together.”

David smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, and she kissed him. She couldn’t contain her excitement. “Babe! This is a big deal!”

“I know, but it’s what I want,” he reiterated. “And plus, this timing works out because I have a month-and-a-half off after Sunday, so that’ll give me a good amount of time to sort everything out and get my place in Florida packed up and shipped over here.”

“That’s a process,” she told him. “Trust me, I know from experience.”

“I know. But to be honest with you, I already started.”

Nellie smiled at him. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I had a feeling you’d say yes, so I figured I’d get a head start when I was home.”

“Oh, you had a feeling?”

“I did,” he grinned. “Come here.”

He pulled her into another kiss, and Nellie had never felt so much love, so much trust, so much understanding, so much faith that this was right. That everything she’d been through, that they’d been through, had purposefully brought them exactly to where they were now. And she couldn’t wait to find out what else they would build—together.

“I love you,” David said against her lips, and Nellie smiled.

“I love you, too.”

* * * *

Sunday, June 4, 2023 Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall – Osaka, Japan

Nellie had thought she was the only surprise David had in store that night. Boy, had she thought wrong.

The first surprise came after the IWGP Junior Tag Title match. Catch 2/2 had staved off Intergalactic Jetsetters only for Clark to come strutting down to the ring—with a gold cap on one of his teeth and a too-orange spray tan, God bless him—and at first, Nellie hadn’t understood. No one had; he was outnumbered, what was he going to do? But everyone got their answer when Dan Moloney, who had been at ringside for the match, unexpectedly attacked Francesco and TJP, officially turning on United Empire and joining Bullet Club. And Torrance had texted Nellie almost as soon as it had happened.

Nellie I swear to God if you knew about this and didn’t tell me.

Dude I had NO idea I swear, I’m just as shocked as you are, she’d quickly sent back. But as Dan and Clark had walked back up the ramp, the sight of them together made a little too much sense.

“They’re gonna bring out the absolute worst in each other,” she’d noted. David had just laughed.

And then, the match after the next, there was another surprise.

After Bishamon had defeated House of Torture and United Empire to win both the IWGP Tag Team and Strong Openweight Tag Team championships, Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd had shown up in Bullet Club shirts and put the boots to them, declaring their intent and establishing their allegiance in one fell swoop. It explained why Clark had brought up Dominion after Nellie had mentioned Gabe last week. She had to admit—she was impressed.

But now it was her turn to be the surprise.

She’d never felt more confident than she did now in her BC Decade t-shirt, cropped to show off her figure; although, she wore her Wonder of Stardom Championship around her waist and her SWA World Championship diagonally across her chest, so she was mostly gold. David had explicitly told her to show off. “You’ve earned that,” he’d told her. “We run this fucking place.”

Excited butterflies teemed in her stomach as they all stood at the ready at the Gorilla curtain. David smirked down at her.

“Last chance to back out.”

She grinned and shook her head. “Not a chance,” she told him, and sealed it with a kiss.

His entrance music started. Clark and Dan went out first, followed by Gabe and Alex. They stood on either side of the stage, and then David went up the steps, followed closely by Nellie, Gedo behind her. She could hear the surprise of the crowd when they saw her, feel it course through her body, energizing her. It was a familiar feeling, but renewed. Different. Deeper.

They walked down to the ring, and while David’s focus was zeroed in on El Phantasmo, ELP was looking at Nellie. Except it wasn’t ELP; not right then. Right then, it was Riley.

“Seriously?” he said down to her. “You never once came out here with Jay.”

Nellie didn’t hesitate. “Jay never asked,” she returned, and David slid into the ring and attacked him.

Twenty-six minutes later, he was victorious. And Nellie hadn’t gotten involved; none of the other members of Bullet Club had. David didn’t need their help; he didn’t need them to interfere. This was a different Bullet Club than what it had been under Jay, a return to the original. And when they all joined David in the ring and raised up the Too Sweet above ELP, Nellie had never felt more like she belonged. Not in Cosmic Angels, not in Queen’s Quest, not even in Suzuki-gun. This was her home, beside David—and it just so happened to be in Bullet Club.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 4.15

Holidays

Anime Day

Anniversary of Tarija (Bolivia)

AR-15 Day

Ariadne Asteroid Day

ASL Day (American Sign Language Day)

Banyan Tree Day (Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii)

Bija Mangala (Field Cultivation Festival)

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415 Day

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Great Stichwort

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Quantum Teleportation Day

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Tax Resistor's Day

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Tipsa Diena (Traditional start of plowing; Ancient Latvia)

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Food & Drink Celebrations

Fast Food Day

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National Glazed Spiral Ham Day

National Takeout Day (Canada)

3rd Monday in April

Boston Marathon Day [3rd Monday]

National Stress Awareness Day [3rd Monday]

Landing of the 33 Patriots Day observed (Uruguay) [3rd Monday]

Patriots' Day (Maine, Massachusetts, Wisconsin) [3rd Monday]

Sechseläuten ends (Six Ringing Festival; Zurich, Switzerland) [3rd Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 15 (3rd Week)

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week [thru 4.19]

Undergraduate Research Week [thru 4.19]

Week of the Young Child [thru 4.19]

Independence & Related Days

Independence Day Holiday (Israel)

Unitedlands (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Vishwamitra (f.k.a. Children’s Group; Declared; 2007) [unrecognized]

New Year’s Days

Day after Sidereal New Year (South and Southeast Asian) (a.k.a. …

Bengali New Year (India)

Bohag Bihu (Parts of India)

Himachl Day (Parts of India)

Lao New Yar (Laos)

Masadi (Parts of India)

Nababarsha (Parts of India)

New Year Holidays (Myanmar)

Sarhul (Parts of India)

Songkran (Thailand)

Water-Sprinkling Festival continues (Yunnan, China)

Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)

Festivals Beginning April 15, 2024

Boston Marathon (Boston, Massachusetts) [3rd Monday]

Coquina Beach Seafood & Music Festival (Coquina Beach, Florida) [thru 4.17]

Singing in the Sun (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) [thru 4.20]

TED Conference (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) [thru 4.19]

Feast Days

Abbo II of Metz (Christian; Saint)

Arshile Gorky (Artology)

Bananas with Everything Day (a.k.a. Banana Day; Pastafarian)

Basilissa and Anastasia (Christian; Martyrs)

Day of Tellus Mater (Pagan)

Elizabeth Catlett Mora (Artology)

Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)

Festival of Hero/Bast (Ancient Egypt)

Festival of Matsu/Mazu (Goddess of the Sea; Taoism)

Fordicidia (Old Roman Festival of Fertility to honor Ceres)

Henry James (Writerism)

Hippachus (Positivist; Saint)

Hunna (Christian; Saint)

Jeffrey Archer (Writerism)

Kanamara Matsuri (Iron Phallus Festival; Japan)

Leonardo da Vinci (Artology)

Munde (Christian; Saint)

Padarn (Christian; Saint)

Pammy (Muppetism)

Paternus of Avranches (Christian; Saint)

Peter Gonzales (Christian; Saint)

Ruadan of Lothra (Christian; Saint)

Rusalja (Celebration of River Spirts Rusalki of the Lemko People of Carpathia; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Tellus Mater (Old Roman Mother Earth Festival)

Vlad Tepes Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [14 of 53]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because the Titanic Sank and it’s also Tax Day.)

Premieres

The Adventures off Marco Polo (Film; 1938)

Aftermath, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1966)

The Art of Real Happiness, by Norman Vincent Peale (Book; 1950)

The Black Island, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1938) [Tintin #7]

Catalogue d’Oiseaux, by Olivier Messiaen (Pieno Pieces; 1959)

Colors (Film; 1988)

Dark Command (Film; 1940)

Donald’s Nephews (Disney Cartoon; 1938)

Don’t Speak, by No Doubt (Song; 1996)

84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff (Novel; 1970)

El Amor Bruno (Love, the Magician), by Manuel de Falla (Ballet; 1915)

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Film; 2022)

Fargo (TV Series; 2014)

The Fitzgeralds and The Kennedys, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Book; 1987)

Flashdance (Film; 1983)

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (Short Story; 1959)

Genghis Khan (Film; 1965)

Girls (TV Series; 2012)

The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (WB MM Cartoon; 1950)

The Little Goldfish (MGM Cartoon; 1939)

Little Red School Mouse (Noveltoons; 1949)

In Living Color (TV Series; 1990)

The Last Emperor (Film; 1988)

The Lumberjack (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; 1929)

The Moon and Sixpence, by W. Somerset Maugham (Novel; 1919)

Mouse Come Home (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1946)

Outer Banks (TV Series; 2020)

Outer Range (TV Series; 2022)

Rattus Norvegicus, by The Stranglers (Album; 1977)

Ride ‘Em Plowboy (Oswald the Luck Rabbit Disney Cartoon; 1928)

Rio (Animated Film; 2011)

Robinson Crusoe’s Broadcast (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

Rock & Rule (Animated Film; 1983)

Rock for Light, by The Bad Brains (Album; 1983)

Stage Fright (Film; 1950)

St. Matthew’s Passion, by Johann Sebastian Bach (Oratorio; 1729)

Think, recorded by Aretha Franklin (Song; 1968)

To the Finland Station, by Edmund Wilson (Novel; 1940)

The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois (Novel; 1947)

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, by Jerry Lee Lewis (Song; 1957)

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed (Memoir; 2012)

Today’s Name Days

Anastasia, Damian, Una (Austria)

Rastislav, Teodor (Croatia)

Anastázie (Czech Republic)

Olympia (Denmark)

Uljas, Uljo, Verner, Verni (Estonia)

Linda, Tuomi (Finland)

César, Paterne (France)

Anastasia, Damian, Una (Germany)

Leonidas (Greece)

Anasztázia, Tas (Hungary)

Anastasio, Annibale (Italy)

Aelita, Agita, Balvis, Gastons (Latvia)

Anastazijus, Liudvina, Modestas, Vaidotė, Vilnius (Lithuania)

Oda, Odd, Odin (Norway)

Anastazja, Bazyli, Leonid, Ludwina, Modest, Olimpia, Tytus, Wacław, Wacława, Wiktoryn, Wszegniew (Poland)

Aristarh, Pud, Trofim (Romania)

Fedor (Slovakia)

Telmo (Spain)

Oliver, Olivia (Sweden)

Mstyslav, Mstyslava (Ukraine)

Kenya, Octavia, Tavia, Tucker (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 106 of 2024; 260 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 16 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 7 (Ji-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 66 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 16 Cyan; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 2 April 2024

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 22 Archimedes (4th Month) [Varro]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 28 of 92)

Week: 3rd Week of April

Zodiac: Aries (Day 26 of 31)