#ref was crunchy as hell

[freylaverse]

It’s Worf Wednesday!

[wraithdolll]

redid an old ref for an oc so i can update her art fight profile after so many years (old ref below the line for comparison lol)

[emordnilap-fr]

for the first time in history it's the tumblr version of an image that looks nicer than the discord version

[mr-jack-letterman]

AAAAAAND WERE BACK with more Subway to Stardew silliness NSNNDD.

Thank you to the folks over at @subwaytostardew for making this wonderful mod and letting me make silly art about it lol.

In any case time for some headcannon nonsense.

(click for better quality because Tumblr makes it crunchy)

If Stardew Valley were to have a box legendary I think it would be Cresselia. It's literally Lunar pokemon and represents the crescent moon so it being the patron legendary of Stardew Valley just makes a lot of sense to me. Also Cresselia is underrated NSNDN.

Maybe there would be a secret special encounter for Darkrai. (the other half of it and Cresselia's duo but is a mythical for some reason?)

Also the Lunar wing would be very neat item to have in-game ANSNDND.

If it were to exist within the mod I imagine the farmer would be like "oooo shiny feather. Maybe it's a pokemon feather? Emmet/Ingo would probably like it :D" so then they make it into a necklace, or maybe just give it to one of them outright without knowing what it is. So Emmet/Ingo sees it and just starts freaking the hell out cause their crush/friend just gave them a piece of a literal legendary pokemon meanwhile the farmer is just....clueless NSNDND.

Now onto some of the other characters.

As basically the resident nurse joy of Pelican Town I think Harvey would have some pokemon common in the medical field. Though, pokemon like Chansey and Audino don't really fit his whole "whiskey neat, coffee black, bed at three"/ref vibes so I thought Indeedee would be best NSNDNND.

I also decided to give some pokemon to the characters mentioned within my ask.

Willy is very fond of water types, clearly NSNS. Specifically fish pokemon like Lanturn, Seaking, Whiscash, Wishiwashi, or Dondozo. (Though his actual team probably has a good chunk of pokemon that are still water type just not fish lmao) The crowning jewel of his collection is a shiny Magikarp he fished up. Maybe one day it will evolve, but for now it just swims around the docks next to his house entertaining anyone that visits.

He also has a Bibarel. (which I imagine is the grown up version of that one Bidoof that snuck into Pelican Town) It acts more like an overgrown housecat than a battle ready pokemon but it is incredibly bulky so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯.

Morris also has a few pokemon of his own. Most of which he keeps at home. But his main two he's seen with is a Gimmighoul and a Gumshoos. (IDK he just has Gumshoos vibes to me NSNDNND) They run around Joja pickpocketing people's gold cause Morris is just a dick like that.

"It's Wizard time mother fucker, FIREBALL-"/ref

Wizard likes psychic types, but I like to think he also has a fondness for fairy types too. Also, most of em has at least one strong fire type move just so he has an excuse to yell "fireball" and blast something NSND. His Malamar is named Illithid (a wack squid monster guy from DnD lol)

Sandy likes rock types, given that she lives in a desert it's probably the only type of pokemon she sees on the daily lol. She also has a key stone on her earring. With how colorful a keystone is when compared to sand I think she would be the most likely to find one there. Idk exactly if she'd mega evolve an Aerodactyl or a Tyranitar, if any pokemon at all. But I think she'd carry it around regardless. It's pretty :]

Also she has a shiny Rockruff. I don't rly have an explanation for that one I think it just fits the vibe lol.

And now, shenanigans.

Emmet then proceeds to grab the child and just.... speed walk away HSBBDBDJJR.

That's all I have for now, I'll probably throw some other pokemon at the bachelorettes and other bachelors another time but this alone took a solid week due to finals 😭/lh

Time for me to go to bed lol, have a good one 👍

[stychu-stych]

Now… I have NO idea if people already asked, but I have been kinda like… looking thru your page in the past few days and I will say that your Narinder’s design looks SOOOO GOOD OH MY GOSH.

Like… okay. People already talked about this but I will emphasize on his NOSE. Like I don’t about tall but something about his nose is..l WLNWNEEM.

IT JUST FITS HIM SO WELL I AM DYING. I AM DEAD. I AM DEAD ROSE QUARTZ/ref to Steven Universe if you know it

Lamb should be very lucky that they got a guy like him.

And I am no joke, I feel like this would be SO creepy if someone told me my nose looked pretty but I swear to god it fits Narinder so well…:’)

Out of all the designs I saw from people, yours is SOOO good and I am already obsessed like hell. I love and love it. Please don’t stop🙏 my art skills could never

I could sit here for hours talking about this but I don’t want to bother you. And you most likely wont read this but still😭

And like, I am drawing fanart of cotl and well duhh of course the first characters I will draw is Lamb and Narinder. But Narinder’s design/face looks so off after seeing your beautiful crunchy art. So since this supposed to be an aaaassskk….

Could we POTENTIALLY KINDA use your way of drawing his face/his nose👉👈 (I feel so weird asking this😨)

New hyperfixarions do truly hurt one deeply</3….

ANYWAYS. Thank you for letting me ramble like this here, I hope you read this very long essay of mine. And if tou don’t, welp… I STILL HOPE YOU MAKE CONTENT.

TY! ✨✨✨ I love drawing noses! I love noses in general, they can be so unique and make faces look so outstanding. And oh, the Lamb feel so lucky, they fell only because of that nose for sure jdbdbd

About your question- I don't mind at all ✌️ thank you for asking. My designs are still fanarts, they're not my characters and I made Narinder this way just because I love sad, angry men with "I'm too old for this" look hdbdhshd I'm so happy that you like my arts and if my work inspires you in some way - go for it! And have fun with drawing

Also why so many people think I don't read their asks or posts where I'm tagged 😭 I read all of it and I'm so hyped everytime someone mentions me. Also I love seeing new asks, I always try to publish all of them, sometimes it can take me a long time when I want to draw something as an answer

[crocodilenjoyer]

portgas d rouge the woman you are

notes + pose ref for bottom right below!

i have hit her with the pasifika beam. she is tahitian now. rejoice.

dyes her hair but given she's on the move a lot she doesn't always have time (or care enough) to touch up her outgrown roots. between the seawater and the constant bleaching it's probably crunchy. what the hell is "toner" btw is that a music thing

her hibiscus is a tiare now 👍

ace got her build, her eyes, and her smile! not just her freckles. he gloats like her, too.

she had the mera mera before ace. she was a strong swimmer before she ate it, and she misses not feeling fatigued whenever she sticks her feet in the water.

her necklace is strung with boar teeth and tusks, shark teeth, and the few pearls she found herself. killed and probably ate the boar/sharks herself, and the scar on her midriff is a parting gift from the boar trying its damnedest to skewer her. roger was swooning when she told him.

her earrings are gifts: the pearls were collected by roger and made into jewelry by rayleigh. they are her boyfriengds

wears the same dogshit slippers she's had since she was in her late teens. they're being kept together through sheer willpower and tape. they're the only article of clothing that she somehow managed to not burn through when she was figuring out how to control her powers. that's like her sixth pareo.

also has a very large cowboy hat because she deserves it.

bounty hunter. her Thing with roger and rayleigh (and shakky, later on) was very much tom and jerry, despite knowingly and willingly splitting her single braincell with each of them. roger absolutely made fishing her out of the ocean a habit and she was only mad about it the first few times.

pose from adorkastock on deviantart

[akwolfgrl]

Part 16 LFT

“I'll think about it and give you my answer at dinner,” Nami said, reading over his proposal, popping a truffle into her mouth.

“Take your time Nami-swan~!” Sanji cooed happily.

“Mmm! What's these crunchy bits? They taste like minka,” She questioned before Sanji could leave.

“Oh thats candied Minka peel, I just take peels and pour boiling water on them and scuba the wax off frist,” Sanji loved to talk about cooking and was egar to exspiln the process of canding citrus peels. “Then I…”

“I don't need details,” Nami said, waving her hand dismissing him like the princess she should be.

“Of course Nami-swan, I would hate to bore you with all the details,” Sanji left and went to hunt down the Marimo for a fight after putting his sliver tray away.

Sanji lit a cigarette and found the green haired idiot napping in his smoking spot. He grinned and raised his leg above his head bringing down only to be stopped inches from Zoro's head by the back of a sword.

“Is that the best you got shit cook?” Zoro smirked at him, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Oh just making sure your lazy ass is awake,” Sanji retorted he could feel his adrilling began to race he removed his foot from the blade and swong it around to left side of Zoro's body aiming for his shoulder this time. Zoro rolled out of the way and up onto his feet his sword in front of him. “About damn time you got off your ass,”

“I was going easy on ya shit-cook since I know you don't train, I lift more than your scrawny ass weighs,” Zoro sneered, his eyes glittering with amusement.

“Fuck you cactus head! I don't need to train. I have to fight Luffy off, or else we would all starve!” Sanji kicked Zoro again, this time the moss dodged and swiped at him with his sword. Sanji bent backwards into a flip, using the momentum to kick up, catching Zoro under the chin. Zoro still managed to cut his cigarette before Sanji had flipped out of the way.

Sanji completed the flip landing back on his feet just in time to get hit with the back of Zoro's blade. He hissed at the pain, he would have a nice new bruise on his side, but no broken ribs.

They continued to trade blows and insults when Sanji saw his opening. He dropped to the deck and used his hands to hold him up as he swung his legs up and around knocking Zoro of his feet but not before Zoro manged to grab the sleve of his jack and pull him down on top of him. They ended up in a tangle of limbs and arms. Sanji wiggled his way up Zoro body and grinned down at him.

“Looks like I won this round,” Sanji pressed his lips to Zoros kissing the man senseless, Zoros arms come to rest on waist.

As they kissed Sanji began to grind on Zoros lap, rubbing his erection against zoro's muscular body, a good fight always left him horny. Why masterbate when he had this hunk of muscle to fuck instead?! The adrenaline still flooded his body, causing him to be more reckless, he didn't care that they were on the open deck where anyone and everyone could see them. He knew what he wanted and he wanted Zoro right here and now.

“What are you two doing?!” Nami bellowed as her fists knocked against both of their heads hard. “Get a room, you two! No fucking on the deck!”

Sanji broke apart form Zoro with a pout rubbing his head, forgetting for a second who hit him and about to yell before seeing his Nami-swan. He almost forgot that Nami’s hits were almost as bad as Zeff’s kicks. The only difference was Zeff's leg was wood so he may have an advantage in that area.

“Fine by me,” Zoro stood up and before Sanji could join him he found himself being hoisted up into the air, Zoro's strong arms tossing him over his broad shoulders, then he had the audacity to slap his ass with his other hand.

“Zoro!” Sanji was freaking out, what the hell did he think he was doing? Sanji could walk just fine on his two legs! Oh how he could feel how red his face was flushed with embarrassment and arousal. His cock still hard even after having his ass slaped, he refused to admit how much he liked it and wanted Zoro to do it again.

“You heard the lady, no fucking on the deck,” Sanji couldn't even kick Zoro for his sarcasm, without being dropped. Zoro carried him towards the boys’ bunk room. Sanji tried to wiggle out of the situation which only made his position worse. “Stop that before I drop you,” Zoro growled, slapping his ass again.

“Mmm!” A moan slipped from Sanjis lips much to his surprise. This was something new Sanji was finding out about himself. He didn't know how to feel about it.

[flaylore]

[TRANSCRIPT] THE ANXIETY OF HAPPINESS ROON

1:25 🪫: “I’m here. False alarm I guess… which is good.”

🪫: “Why are you scared of me? Don’t you trust me? What the fuck! Why are you scared of me? What the hell, you guys are so mean!”

2:10 💬: You scared us

🪫: “You scare me! Well, actually, I don’t know if there are many things that scare me.. sorta? Maybe?”

2:22 [It cuts to him inside the R-TRUS, the stream starts]

🪫: “Wait. Oh there we go! But I can’t hear the music? Hello, hello! For those of you wondering we were supposed to have Forest of Drizzling Drai- Drizzling Rain today. [he pauses] Hi, this is your pilot speaking Machina X Flayon, there you go. And! We were going to do this at the beginning right? But, timezones are a pain and I already moved it so I was like ‘Don’t worry Jurard we will just draw today’ the next time we’ll have it set. It happened for me with Octavio, Mr. Tavioli, and now Jurard thats kinda funny actually… very funny, extremely funny. Extremely. But!”

3:11 💬: The what?

🪫: “I have something to show you today, it’s very nice! Are you ready? It’ll be quick, yes, yeah a little treat. Okay wait. You have to promise not to look- wait I need a censor image, wait let me get it. Pfft why did I make this- this dumb machiroon photos, you guys look smarter than this.”

3:45 💬 Why are you censoring?

🪫: “Oh, cause of my fat tits. You know how it is. Okay! Okay, are you ready? It’s very cool. I swear.”

4:11 💬 Crunchy?

🪫: “Oh yeah… look, look who it is! Familiar, no? Very familiar even, very cute, yes. Look, see, it is you! And for some reason you like mimicking me so there’s that. But hey! When you mimic me then you can talk too see, so it’s kinda cute.. it’s kinda c- very cute! Ah- ah- ah- ah- Yes, I think this is what I wanted the ref sheet to look like, you can thank my mama for using with the Elysium printing technology. Very cute. Hopefully one day I can update that, this is way more the speed of what you guys look like, look! Cute no? Also, I had an alarm on. Right! Very cute, absolutely adorable even.. it is you! Do you like the Machiroon?”

5:19 💬: We mimic.

🪫: “Yeah just like how I mimic stuff, right? I do right?… Yeah, I mimic stuff all the time actually, what do you call it? Well, when it’s like with sound audio, I always mimic that.”

5:34 💬: My soul is healing.

🪫: “The squiggly the squiggly the squiggly. Very cute, right?”

5:42 💬: We have fang!

🪫: “Good! Good, this is a machiroon and [his eyes swirl but it’s different from last time in the canis minor video] I love you guys, I love you a lot. Okay, so thank you, thank you very much! Okay! Thank you. Thank you.”

5:58 🪫: giggles

[ the screen goes black and white and freezes while his eyes are still swirling, audios and visual both begin to glitch]

6:41 [ the screen clears again and it has a video camera effect applied, almost like a tape is being played, it fades in on what appears to be Flayon but he has stars in his eyes, he is also holding an Armored Machiroon ]

6:59 🪫MF: “So… these are supposed to be my fans? scoff Yeah whatever… I guess they’re cute. I told the Leader, you know, Altare, I don’t really do this whole thing, ‘guilds’… it’s stupid, so… but I guess… it won’t hurt like to have these guys along, what’s inside them anyway? soft chuckle Alright hold on, just this once okay? And don’t get too excited about it either! I am a genius after all so… know your place okay?”

8:00 [ unclips front piece of jacket covering mouth ]

🪫MF: “Hm, that’s not bad. Well, if you’re there fighting the corruption with me I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Stop looking at me with that stupid face! scoffs …Me? I- I never really had a family, I don’t care for it. Growing up it was sorta like… I just kept being called a genius all the time, it was exhausting you know? That’s all everyone sees. ‘Pilot this, pilot that!’ People want to… put these expectations on you, the thing is when you’re just seen as one thing you don’t get to be anything else. So, you should be grateful! This supposed great genius is envious of you.”

9:15 🪫MF: You’re ‘not like me’? Well that’s your loss but, on the bright side of things while I only have one path you have many, it’s something you don’t want to take for granted, okay? …hm? You good? Hello? Ohhh.”

9:51 [ a glitching noise plays along with ominous music, he chokes up a bit like something might be hurting him before continuing to talk like usual ]

10:02 💬: Are you okay?

🪫MF: “Of course I’m okay! Are you stupid? Why wouldn’t I be!? Hah. I don’t pilot the R-TRUS for nothing! Who the hell do think you are even? Look. I wasn’t being that nice earlier, I was just saying how it was.. how it is. So don’t get ahead of yourself.

10:30 💬: Chill I’m just worried

🪫MF: “And you think that means anything to me? Really? You can say nice things but people can lie about that too. Do you think that you can just come into my life and change things just because you say a nice thing? Where’s your proof that you’ll be different? And why should I give you anything? But, I guess… you guys are still here so, yeah. You can stick around… just make sure you’re going to be there at the debut, if not I won’t forgive you! Got it?! Okay, then, that’s how it’s going to be. Understood? Yeah, yeah.”

11:42 [ the screen turns black and white, his eyes swirl and he goes from smiling to frowning as it glitches ]

12:12 🔋: “…You, you piss me off. scoff Is that how people like you cope with things? ‘You only have one path?’ You have no idea what it’s like to be nothing, to have nothing. Expectations? You’re lucky to even have those. When no one expects anything of you, no one notices you, no one… loves you. And so, why does it have to be you? Why… you? Why… you?”

13:57 [ the screen glitches and turns black, it goes back to Flayon regularly talking like nothing happened while holding an unarmored machiroon ]

14:00 🪫: “Hello? Yo! You good? You guys like seeing yourselves that much huh? That’s kinda cute, I can vibe with that. Look, look! So cute, no? Very cute, very snug.

14:23 💬: Flay?

🪫: I am holding you, I am holding you! I am holding you!

💬: Where did you go’?

🪫: “HUH? Wait wait wait wait wait! Do you like being held by me that much that you lose track of where you are?”

14:42 Wow! Hahahah! [ he blushes and his eyes sparkle ] Wow! So cute, so cute! …but, this is a quick stream today, it’s nice right? I know it was only like two minutes but hey it still counts, right? So today I’ll be drawing with Mr. Jurard T. Rexford and you’ll be there… then tomorrow we’ll stream Forest of Drizzling Rain? …Hm?

15:16 💬: Two Minutes?

🪫: Yeah! What is it because I don’t do the 11 hour 13 Sentinels stream anymore? I want to do it again but it’d be a bit! Maybe I need to make sure I have time set for it? Yeah, yeah, yeah tomorrow don’t worry about it okay? and… I still have some more things coming for you guys uhh this- this week- the week after this week is over. Then hopefully things arrive there on time. If not then I’m gonna prepare other stuff too and I hope you guys enjoy that. Okay?”

15:52 “Since like… for me, like when I was younger [ his eyes start to swirl here and his tone changes ] I don’t remember people supporting me much or having any expectations so… it’s like, how do you say? It’s nice to be wanted, it’s very nice to be wanted so thank you very much for supporting me… okay? Alright. I’ll send you elsewhere now, okay? Nice short stream but.. maybe I should’ve named it something else, I think it says ‘meow the’ right? Isn’t it that cat? Wait wait wait, let me prepare this, stay in my arms for a bit though [ he puts a silly 3d roon picture on the screen that used to be the thumbnail of the video ] compare yourself, compare yourself before I go! Look, cute!

16:46 💬: The swirls.

🪫: “yeahh, very swirly, very swirly! Hm. [ he looks at the screen for a second ] Are you okay with being in this form by the way? Don’t want to be in your armor? You know, the stuff you use to protect you right… yeah

17:11 [ the screen glitches as he finishes up his sentence ] You don’t want to be in that? Hm, okay.

💬: The armor is cold

🪫: “Of course it is.”

17:23 💬: But you protect us

🪫: “Okay! Alright then… you guys protect me [ his eyes swirl again ] and I’ll protect you okay? Deal? You said you love me after all right? So, I’m going to love you a lot… just make sure no takebacksies alright? Cool, cool! [ Swirl eyes go away ] Okay, but I’ll probably send you elsewhere now, to probably Mr. Jurard T Rexford’s room. Short stream now it’s like five minutes right? But not bad! I’ll see you guys tomorrow too okay? Yummy!”

18:01 🪫: “Then I also think maybe… let’s see, well I- I made a personal goal for myself where I was like.. ‘cause I wanna learn so many things I’m gonna have to make it like once a week so once a week I try drawing, once a week Piano, once a week singing and that’s even if I stream it or not so we’ll see, we’ll see. Also thank you for the memberships, thank for the superchats, I’ll see you guys like in about 20 minutes? Then tomorrow, tomorrow yeah?”

18:33 💬: You do a lot for us I appreciate it.

🪫: Aw thank you, well I have more I want to give but it has to be ready, I have voice packs but they need to be like… I think I’ll give out 2? Just cause one is a certain way, the other one I want to make it like… is that Platonic? yeah yeah yeah, like that! Okay, alright good! Good good good (repeated many times), thank you!

18:58 🪫: You love me right? Good, [ eyes swirl briefly ] only me! Okay good. I told you I’d open up over time! Okay, flaybyebye, bye! Bye!

[junglefurytrash]

💜 "I chose to craft my own path. Will you follow me? For the cold is harsh, but my jam will forever be warm and pure." 💜

----

💜 " They were wrong to call you the moon. That is not who you truly are. No, you are the eclipse itself. You are the darkness, intimidating and powerful.. And you are the light, tender and beautiful. You were told you shall shine the brightest when there is no moonlight.. And so you become the light in turn, that guides the sea's waves in the shadows. ... I know I can likely never replace what you lost back then.. Your family, your Sea.. Your special pearl.. But I will give you all I can.. You, who are my Radiant Eclipse. " 💜

🖤 " . . . " " You.. Who are my Little Flower..- My Faithful Seamaiden. . Thank you. " 🖤

----

HELLO CRK TUMBLR, I BRING YOU A COOKIE WHO IS GAY AS HELL FOR A MERMAID/SIREN.

She probably deserves better explanation then that.

So this is Lavender Cookie! Originating from the Dark Cacao Kingdom, she is a Magic sword-wielder who is prioritised to go in the middle of a team.

Originally when she was a younger cookie, Lavender was a nurse and medical attendant of the kingdom, until one day she was approached by Affogato Cookie, enticing her to join his growing group of disciples so she could have access to better resources to better help people. She followed him, their regime, physically and metaphorically blinded from the truth until the plot of the game occurs, where Lavender realised that things were not as she was told as a disciple. With her opened eyes, Lavender Cookie removed her blindfold, and took up her Butterfly Blade in order to take true action to mend the world.

Said mending the world has meant going on adventures like helping Crunchy Chip with protecting the Soul Jams in Odyssey, seeking down the remaining Ancients.. And calming the wrath of an angry mermaid/siren met at sea. While originally Black Pearl was more than content to lure the land cookie to their grave (it isn't a captain but it would certainly make do), she found herself.. Intrigued by them, instead, and eventually enamoured, because "oh no oh fuck I accidentally fell in love with them instead of drowned them nO WAIT SHIT-"

Fortunately for her, Lavender is equally in love, and though neither side will admit it openly or make the first proper move (Lavender doesn't want to push boundaries and Black Pearl is scared of committment after Lord Oyster), everyone knows these two have a thing for one another. The Eclipse and her Flower just need to be brave enough to make the first official step, and maybe that will help them both heal from past hurts. We shall see. ;)

Bases/Reference Links: OG Lavender Cookie Base Sword Ref Costume Pose Ref

[leave-your-body]

2, 6, and 16 for the art asks!!!

HIIII FISH :)) :) :)))

2. 5 favs of yr work

ohhhh thats. thats such a tricky one cuz i almost never do full, finished pieces, its always just sketches..

if i had to choose, probably these.. but again i dont rly have a lot to choose from haha. the watercolour one is the first time i properly worked with it outside of school, for context. also idk why the hell the photo is so crunchy mb.AND! the green one had a ref from pinterest

+the fifth one is charlottes character sheet, which is probably the best thing ive ever made TBH.. but im not gonna reveal that yet ^_^

6. which artists inspire u rn?

HGHGHGH. ive never thought about this actually. i think inspiration doesnt really come from the art itself for me, but the artists attitude About art. anyone that fucks around and does whatever they want and really puts their genuine selves on the page is hella inspiring to me no matter what their art looks like, and it motivates me to do better

16. whats the most daunting part of yr process?

hmm. that awkward stage between having the composition and basic sketch laid out -> actually drawing is real stressful lmao.i never know what exactly to do... should i clean up the sketch? is it better to just redraw it completely? should this be cleaner? how do i even make it cleaner.... etc

ask game

[tytosaught]

Okay MAYBE- just maybe, the doa is growing on me.

(This is a redraw of one of the colored spreads from the cannibalism arc, but the ref i used is crunchy and blurry as hell)

[robsdoodlebook]

Finally got around to making some solid-ish refs of this dude! he’s basically one of the main antagonists to tippyverse/Where Do Toons Go When They Die? He’s satan’s first jester whose job was to erase things that were deemed unfit to exist but of course he went mad with that power and turned pretty evil when he decided to start erasing the court of Hell

He’s a nasty, slurpy man who crinkles and jingles everytime he moves sounding like a crunchy waterbottle with bells attached LOL

He’s also always giggling and sounds like he’s loopy 24/7

[closetofanxiety]

Show Review: Women’s Wrestling Revolution, “Identity Crisis”

It’s been like three months since I went to see wrestling in person, let’s see what happened:

Women’s Wrestling Revolution, “Identity Crisis”

Aurora Nightclub, Providence, Rogues Island

Crowd: 130, per Squared Circle Sirens

Show notes: I went with Mark and Mike, the first time the three of us had been to a show together since we saw Jushin Thunder Liger in August. It was cold, cold, cold. Luke Bryan (sp?) was in town playing at the hockey rink, so downtown was packed with fans of, I’m guessing here, country music. A lot of camo, anyway. Our normal dinner spot was jam packed, so we went to a Korean barbecue place down the street from the venue. Let me tell you: I love some dang ol’ Korean barbecue. The spicy chicken, the crunchy vegetables, the kimchi, the purple rice. Buddy, I am hungry just thinking about it. Anyway, the show.

Sea Stars (Delmi Exo & Ashley Vox) w/Jocelyn vs. Maria Manic and Penelope Ford

The Sea Stars are New England locals who I’ve seen a bunch of times, and I’m happy to report they’re coming along well. They’ve improved by leaps and bounds, although they’re still a little green. They have kind of a Chikara vibe, like they carry a trident around, and their manager/friend/whatever was dressed as Left Shark, essentially. Ford and Manic were doing the unapproachable stuck-up blonde thing, and the match had a lot of energy, but was pretty sloppy in some parts. Just like at Beyond shows, there’s no seating, but because all the wrestlers are women and wrestling fans seem like creeps, they were hyper vigilant about separating the crowd from the wrestlers when matches would spill out of the ring. I’ve never been shoved by so many men dressed like referees in my life. Sea Stars win with the Hart Attack. Rating: Two Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Willow Nightingale vs. Skylar

I hadn’t seen Willow Nightingale before, but she has kind of a LuFisto physique with a Solo Darling persona, although less hyper. Significantly less hyper; Solo Darling is really trowelling it on these days. Skylar is another local, familiar from Blitzkrieg Pro, and is also improving significantly but still green. This match was actually pretty dang good, with a lot of submission holds traded back and forth and some really impressive stuff from Nightingale, including a really nice Fisherman’s Suplex. Good match, but it was one of those face vs. face things that sucks some of the air out of the room. It’s OK to have a wrestler people hate! Rating: Two And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Sonya Strong vs. Vanity

This was a huge amount of fun. The women’s wrestling equivalent of a hoss fight. I hope that’s not taken in any way other than totally complimentary. It is what it is. Wrestling is about, among other things, bodies, and these athletes have bodies that might be described, in some circles, as thicc. They’re both tremendous wrestlers though, and Strong in particular is great at being the arrogant heel who hates the crowd. The goofy crowd responded to her heel behavior with adoring cheers, though, which is an epidemic at the indie level. I maintain that Matt Riddle is still working heel, it’s just indie fans are too good at outsmarting themselves to realize it. Anyway, Strong basically ran the show here, brutalizing Vanity for much of the match until a late, desperate rally that was ended by a nasty-looking Dragon Suplex. After the match, Strong had words for Veda Scott, who was doing commentary for the show. Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Karen Q vs. Tasha Steelz

Something of a mismatch, as Karen Q is significantly larger than Steelz, who was working heel but also the underdog. I had seen Karen Q wrestle before and was vaguely impressed, but she was fantastic in this match, just tremendous athleticism and, why not, I’ll say, “ring psychology.” She let Steelz stay in the match by selling like a fiend before finally wrapping things up with a Boston Crab. It helps that Q has fantastic new ring gear. That shouldn’t matter, but it does. Imagine Bruiser Brody in white trunks and normal boots. See? Rating: Three Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Davienne & Belmont w/Sammi Lane vs. The Twizted Sisterz (Thunder Rosa and Holidead)

The WWR (and maybe Rhode Island?) debut of the Sisterz, who have a terrible name but a a great Dia de los Muertos gimmick and work fantastically together, like an actual tag team is supposed to. Their opponents are locals and I can’t really figure them out. They have kind of a dominatrix gimmick (Belmont used to be “Mistress Belmont”) but kind of not? There’s something unsavory about them, anyway, and they’re really good at traditional heel stuff like cheating and being deeply annoying. Davienne screams in a way that’s like nails on a chalkboard. The Sisterz do most of the work in this match, which is fine, because they’re good wrestlers. Sammi Lane distracts the ref, enabling the cheap roll-up with a handful of tights, but the Sisterz get revenge by beating the hell out of Lane while Belmont and Davienne scamper back to the locker room. That’s classic wrestling storytelling, my friends. Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

INTERMISSION

Ring announcer Rich Palladino starts off the break by reminding us all not to grope the wrestlers. I don’t really mind these exhortations to behave like normal, non-criminal human beings, because let’s face it, there are at least a few wrestling fans who really need these guidelines to be explicit. I’m an unmarried dunce in my 30s who collects wrestling magazines and I’m Noel Coward compared to some of these guys. Just watching some of the interactions with the wrestlers at intermission (I always want to say “halftime”) was cringe-inducing. I was talking with two people and some guy who looked like a M.U.S.C.L.E. toy in a Bullet Club shirt was making a beeline for Sonya Strong and, instead of just stepping around us, stood at the edge of our three person huddle and kept saying, in a robotic monotone, “Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me” because we were in the direct path of Strong. We silently parted ways and watched him interact with Strong the way you or I might interact with a vending machine.

Speaking of creeps, I am one, although not quite as bad as M.U.S.C.L.E. guy, and my big goal for the evening was getting a mark picture with Su Yung, a wrestler I have wanted to see since 2015, and the reason I bought a ticket to the show in the first place. I thought I had glimpsed her before the show, in a Papa Hales T-shirt and with a bandanna over her face, talking to the bar staff, perhaps letting them know that, in a venue with both a Su Yung match and a bar, the two will inevitably collide. For most of the long (45 minutes) intermission, though, she was nowhere to be seen, and I was modestly bummed out. 

Then, just a few minutes before the end of intermission, she came out in full paint and Blood Bride garb, not to sell merch or pose for pictures, just to make a circuit of the room and creep people out. You know someone has something special when other wrestlers stop to take pictures of them. My pure beef heart went pitter-patter and I was stoked for the second half of the show. Speaking of which:

Gabi Castrovinci vs. Barbi Hayden

Castrovinci is no longer Raquel (let go from TNA) and Hayden is no longer blonde. Gabi was wearing the Shine tag team belt she currently holds with Santana Garrett, who is working for TNA now. Hayden looked better than I’ve ever seen her, really playing up the heelish tactics which, of course, made the goofy-ass crowd cheer for her. Hayden had to carry Castrovinci, who’s still pretty green, but is at least coming into her own. She won with kind of a sloppy cross armbreaker, and I thought the match was a bit lacking overall, but later on one of my friends said it had been his favorite of the night, so you know, de gustibus non est disputandum. Rating: Two Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Alexis Rose vs. Veda Scott

I am not hugely familiar with Alexis Rose, but she is one of the wrestlers who was in that (to date) one-off ITV World of Sport revival with Jim Ross, and she apparently trained in gymnastics, which I feel like is a vast pool of untapped potential for wrestling. She came out to a version of “Kiss From a Rose” and got the crowd singing along, but then Veda came out, and people in Providence love Veda. I don’t even mind that they cheer for the heel in her case, because her constant barrage of sarcasm and whiny protests to the referee are more like the stuff you get from a bratty kid sister. She is a lot of fun, is what I’m saying, and almost impossible to dislike. Wrestling-wise, this match was a bit spotty, maybe because the two were unfamiliar with each other. Both looked good in spots, but there was some awkwardness. Veda got the win and Rose got a “please come back” chant. Rating: Two And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Renee Michelle vs. Jordynne Grace

Another WWR debut, this time from Michelle, who has kind of a Hania-esque gimmick. Or maybe Hania has a Reneee Michelle-esque gimmick? I don’t know. No way to know. Only way to settle this is in the squared circle. But first! Jodynne Grace. At midnight on show night, she would turn 21. She’s really young and is already pretty dang impressive as a wrestler. Definitely capable of being in a Lady Hoss division with Sonya Strong, Vanity, and Karen Q. This looked to be a mismatch, because Michelle is much smaller, but got-dang, can she go in the ring. Really impressive array of offense from Michelle, based around the simple story of trying to chop down the bigger wrestler, who kept relying on her superior size. Grace won with a bear hug, which is normally a piss-poor submission hold, but in this case the size differential actually made it look impressive. After the match Penelope Ford brought Jordynne a birthday shot, which Jordynne drank and pronounced “disgusting.” Tip the bar staff, folks! Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Su Yung vs. Rachael Ellering

Su came out and sprayed a plume of red mist in the air. I got some on my hands and face. I was really happy about that. Much happier than I would be in practically any other context in which someone is spitting red food color on me. This match went like lots of Su Yung matches have gone since the dawn of her Blood Bride character, but that’s fine, because I love those matches: the other wrestler is a normal person and not entirely sure about how to engage Su, who is a crazy person and bumps like you’d expect a crazy person to bump. Lots of brawling, moving quickly onto the floor and then, naturally, to the bar, where Su’s matches tend to go. Ellering hit a nasty suplex on Su on the nightclub floor. I have to say, Ellering looked really good in this match. She’s been coming along very quickly since making her debut in Shine not long ago. This match was originally going to be Ellering vs. Tessa Blanchard, but the latter had to pull out to film that movie the Rock is doing about Paige. Fine with me, man, this was great. Once they got back into the ring, there was a lot of back and forth offense, with Ellering getting the upper hand but not being able to put Su away. Su mists the ref by mistake and Ellering hits her finisher for the win. I BOOED. It doesn’t really matter, though, Su’s matches aren’t about winning or losing, they’re about the amount of insane punishment Su can take. Su got a nice “Su! Su! Su!” chant afterwards. Rating: Four Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

After the show, we waited around a bit and Su came out late, taking pictures with basically everyone. I got my mark picture and bought a signed photo, because I SUPPORT THE BOYS. There was a Dylan Thomas quote on the photo, oddly. She gave me a Fest Wrestling pin. As we talked, the DJ was playing “Washington Bullets” by the Clash. I felt light-headed. She seemed very nice, although, you know, I haven’t really met any wrestlers who seemed horrible. Actually, wait, a guy who’s a regular at NEW shows was a complete asshole when I ran into him in December. If you see me at a show, ask me for the full story of bad manners.

We went back to get our car, but the garage was full of Luke Bryan (sp?) fans departing the concert, so we went back to the venue to have a beer. Su and the Twizted Sisters were in civilian clothes but still had the facepaint on and were dancing around to the DJ music waiting for promoter Drew Cordeiro to drive them to their hotel. I had an Abita, which is a solid beer. Everyone in Rhode Island drinks Narragansett, and folks, you can do better than that.