#which sucks because as I said I do actually like Nia even though I might be coming across as a hater

[theater-for-jocks]

AH FUCK I STARTED DOING THIS AND ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED A NOTIF SO NOW I GOTTA START OOOOOOVERRRRR

anyway. Mister chel and I made predictions on the overall outcome of each match, as well as some more minor predictions on what factors might affect said outcomes. We got 4/7 overall outcomes right, which I’d say is pretty good, but even the ones we got wrong were ones that I had fun being wrong about! (Really good narrative stuff!!!) I really enjoyed it lmao, even when I was mourning Damian Priest’s championship run 😭😭😭😭 ANYWAY!

Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Prediction: Liv retains (to my misfortune) with likely interference from Dom and/or Finn (we assumed Dom in Rhea’s favor, Finn in Liv’s)

Result: SHE SURE DOES (to my misfortune), thank you Dirty Dom Mysterio…

Thoughts: OHHHH MAN. I wasn’t able to watch everything because Rhea’s shoulder injury was actively worrying me, but man that was SUCH a match to start off with! We were (if you couldn’t tell from above) genuinely shocked by Dom turning on Rhea, though mister chel pointed out that she started grinning on her way out on RAW after Dom chewed her out so maybe that’s on us lmao. As soon as the match ended we went WELL SHIT DAMIAN SURE ISN’T WINNING

Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

Prediction: Breakker wins, no other shenanigans

Results: Breakker wins, no other shenanigans

Thoughts: honestly not much thought to have there! I enjoyed it but it was the lowest-stakes easiest-call match; Sami’s had the title for a bit and they wanna make Bron Breakker out to be a massive threat (and I think he had a 144% chance of winning anyway), so there you go! I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner to be honest, as much as I love Sami Zayn.

US Championship: Logan Paul (boooo) vs. LA Knight (YEAH)

Predictions: LA Knight survives brass knuckles, the prime hummer, and the most frustrating heel energy to finally get the belt away from this guy.

Results: Significantly more Machine Gun Kelly. Slightly less prime hummer. Same amount of GETTING THE BELT AWAY FROM THIS FUCKING GUY

Thoughts: I FUCKING HATE LOGAN PAUL. I’m sorry like on some level I know it’s him doing his job but it’s not just that he’s a heel it’s that he sucks as a person. But also taking it back solely to wrestling that was his THIRD FUCKING TITLE DEFENSE. Counting house shows? THIRD FUCKING TITLE DEFENSE. To compare: Cody Rhodes has had the belt for less time and has defended it on television four times as of summerslam, with house show defenses taking that number up to like TWENTY. The belt was just SITTING THERE and Logan Paul kept acting like this made him a good fucking champion???? My god. Smackdown’s been kinda struggling lately and while it’s not just because of this this is SERIOUSLY gonna help. Anyway LA Knight has undeniable kavorka or whatever it was he said and the more he gets to promo the better. I cannot stop imitating the YEAH.

Women’s Championship (god these belts need different names): Bayley vs. Nia Jax (and the ever looming threat of Tiffany Stratton)

Predictions: Bayley retains, Tiffy cashes in and wins (a la Damian Priest’s cash-in on Drew McIntyre). This is the one we were probably MOST iffy on, but concluded that it was Tiffy Time and that she was less likely to cash in on Nia, and that they wouldn’t do ANOTHER cash-in triple threat

Results: Nia Jax wins, in spite of an attempted? mid-match Tiffy cash-in (more on that later)

Thoughts: I love women. Ahem. Anyway. This was VERY fun. We’re currently wondering if Tiffy ACTUALLY intended to cash in or just wanted to distract Bayley, and both are incredibly fun options! I love watching Nia Jax fight, I’m in love with her. Ahem. Anyway. VERY much looking forward to the inevitable Tiffy-Nia feud.

Pause for more thoughts: can we get a women’s mid-card title or two? There are a lot of good talents that just aren’t at World Championship status yet for me (ex. Jade Cargill, Chelsea Green in the exact opposite way somehow,) that I would LOVE to see climb up the hierarchy in the way the men’s mid-cards allow for. I love women. Sorry.

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre feat. the most fashionable guest ref on the planet

Predictions: Punk wins, Drew seethes, Seth Freakin Rollins wears something absolutely outrageous

Results: Drew wins b/c Punk lets his emotions get the better of him, Seth Freakin Rollins wears an outfit that makes me so confused I yell about it on my private Twitter account

Thoughts: WHY ARE THE POCKETS OUTLINED. Anyway. I PERRRRSONALLY didn’t have super strong vibes prediction-wise—I think I mainly went for Punk because Drew fuming is always funny and he’s very good at it—but I like the way this played out! I saw the bracelet was a fan creation and it’s really nice to see something like that play such a pivotal role in a match. EXTREMELY good narrative. Well done!!!

World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest vs. Gunther

Predictions: Damian FINALLY gets a clean win 🥺…until we saw the first match. We never officially updated our prediction but we just Knew.

Results: Gunther wins, Damian falls victim to the same strats that (as much as he hated it) kept him with the belt (FINN BALORRRRRRRR)

Thoughts: I LOVE Damian Priest I’m SO SAD. Unsurprised but SAD. To be completely real with you I was fully expecting the Judgement Day Betrayal stuff to stay with Rhea’s match but I was pleasantly surprised (while grieving), especially cause it was done in SUCH a sneaky way. Face turn for Damian (and Rhea) here we come!!!! If you couldn’t tell this was the match I was most saddened by the outcome of and the worst part is it makes such good narrative sense. God I love wrestling.

More thoughts: I wrote this before watching the documentary and I must say apparently Damian Priest is just my fave now.

(Note from like a week later: really? That’s what did it? The whole fucking post didn’t clue you in?)

Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa: Bloodline Rules!

Predictions: Cody retains with some help from Roman, even after dealing with the other Bloodline members. Honestly we concluded this even without the Bloodline Rules but that just cemented it more. Especially when it turned out to be the last match.

Results: pretty much exactly that, with surprise appearances by KO and Randy Orton!

Thoughts: MAN I LOVE WRESTLING. To me this is a perfect example of how predictable isn’t always bad: this was SO much fun to watch, even though we figured out the outcome long beforehand! (Also really bummed by Jacob Fatu’s actual injury :( he’s so much fun to watch and has some of the best facial acting in WWE.) It’s nice that Roman’s help is clearly a “we have the same enemy for now” deal and not a full-on alliance or face turn, too!

More thoughts: honestly I’m hoping that this lets Cody and the Bloodline have separate storylines going forward, or at least until Roman gets them all back in line! I think it’d probably aid the Smackdown struggles a bit. Maybe Cody can finally get actual vengeance on The Rock for getting on the board of directors and trying to make wrestlemania 40 all about him. (Actually don’t do this yet, Mister Chel has a better idea.)

Watched summerslam over the weekend (first PLE I got to watch while it aired!) and while I am saving my bigger thoughts for the side blog I keep saying im gonna make, for now I offer you

THANK FUCKING GOD

[owl-with-a-pen]

This is a prompt for @cyclone-rachel who gave me an idea for one of the possible fears Brainy could have faced that would have certainly held a lot more weight in the narrative. Namely, his fear that they couldn’t save Kara in time. 

Thanks for the prompt, Rachel, I hope you like it!

“Everyone strap in for turbulence.”

Brainy left Kelly for his own seat feeling somewhat reassured, although that still did not deter the steady onset of nerves continuing to bud inside his chest.

Just last year, emotions such as these could have been very easily compartmentalised, and though he could still manage such tasks by honing his full concentration, it didn’t escape him how every negative emotion fought that much harder to remain at the forefront of his mind.

Fear had never perturbed him quite like it did now. In the Legion, Brainy had met many a terrifying foe, and had even run into creatures that had fed on one’s basest fears. He had always been used as the voice of reason during those instances - relied upon by his team due to his twelfth level intellect, of course, but also because he had always appeared far more impassive against adversaries of that nature. Indeed, he had quickly become the first line of defence for his fellow Legionnaires when faced with scenarios that involved emotional manipulation.

Brainy hadn’t minded, and at the time he hadn’t considered just how such events might have affected him in the long term. How much grief or torment he’d bottled deep inside without even realising the impact it might have had on his psyche.

Instead, he had felt only satisfaction that he was relied upon to deter such emotional conflicts, even if – in the past – he had at times been the instigator of similar arguments simply by stating fact over softening strategies that more empathetic members of the team may have used in his steed.

It had never been his intention, of course, but now he was beginning to understand the importance of cushioning techniques when it came to dealing with emotional unbalance. Kelly had certainly used them by assuring him he would likely not need to use her coping methods during this mission. Logically, however, Brainy knew that it was only a matter of time before the Phantom Zone affected them all in one way or another.

Brainy shook his head, easing himself back into his chair. He tried to settle his nerves by doing as J’onn had instructed. He snapped the belt over his lap, perusing the control panel before him as he glanced up at the screen mapping out their progress so far, the Q waves that projected continuously from the Phantom, far across the rocky and ancient terrain ahead of them.

Then, something flashed.

A white hot light impeded his vision for barely a moment, but it was enough for him to turn away, blinking against the unexpected hindrance. Harsher turbulence followed soon after, causing Brainy to sprawl awkwardly towards the control panel, holding himself upright. He squeezed his eyes shut, fractals of light still swimming in the darkness, before he looked up again, focusing on the screen’s readings. Such a violent strike against the ship’s defences could have easily created a number of problems, scenarios of which were already whirring at a dizzying pace through Brainy’s mind.

What he found on those screens was far worse than anything he could have calculated.

The Phantom was still present and accounted for, the feedback from the cells confirmed as much. And yet… something was wrong. So very, very wrong.

The Phantom’s Q-wave activity had all but evaporated.

Brainy frowned, reaching for the foreign make-up of J’onn’s controls, quickly mastering the Martian design as he linked with the ship’s mainframe. Perhaps the knock to the ship had caused a communication error with the Phantom’s psionic feedback.

But, after only a few seconds within the ship’s network, Brainy was able to determine that the connection was still well intact. In fact, there were no underlying errors presenting themselves anywhere within the ship. Instead, it appeared that the Q waves had simply vanished.

Which could only mean one thing.

“No, nononono,” Brainy muttered to himself, pressing aggressively at the panel. “This can’t be right. This-” He pushed back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “The Phantom. It lost Supergirl’s scent.”

Brainy only realised he’d announced that to the room when he heard uneasy murmurs begin to circulate behind him. Quick to abandon J’onn’s safety measures, his friends moved from their designated seats, swarming around Brainy’s screen.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked tightly. Brainy envisioned she was stood closest to him, an assumption that was quickly verified when her hand clenched around the back of his chair. “How is that possible?”

“It’s not,” Lena said darkly. “The Phantom’s a superpowered bloodhound, it wouldn’t give up- not unless…”

“Unless…” Brainy echoed, his throat closing up before he could say anything else. His vision was already spiralling. Vertigo swept over him as he drank in every implication of Lena’s unfinished sentence.

“Unless what?” Alex demanded.

“What’s going on?” Nia asked.

Even with everyone thinking the same question, Brainy couldn’t bring himself to say the answer out loud. Instead, he watched abjectly as the symbol of El Mayarah extinguished from the screen, taking with it the inkling of hope he had been holding onto from the moment Kara had been lost to the Phantom Zone portal.

He shook his head, driving his hands back over the controls. “No,” he said forcefully. “It could be a false reading, we should- we should keep going.” His eyes cut across the co-ordinates the screen was displaying in the absence of Supergirl’s insignia - the last known location of Kara Zor-El.

They were close, so close that the Phantom’s Q-waves weren’t necessary to put together the unaccounted distance. The ship was already scanning the area below, picking up on signs of life… signs of…

Of a body. Humanoid. Kryptonian.

With an internal temperature of…

No.

“She’s…”

Brainy’s chest stuttered, catching harshly as the beacon of light that had paved the path for his whole life suddenly went out.

“I can drop the sun bomb,” Lena said frantically, her voice barely passing through the static ringing loudly in his ears. “Maybe that’ll give her the strength she needs to…”

But, Brainy could only stare at the screen. Kara’s internal body temperature wasn’t just low… it was ice cold. And, as the ship’s calculations manifested for everyone to see, something inside of Brainy’s chest caved in on itself.

Kara wasn’t just dead. She’d been dead for… for…

For weeks.

Brainy couldn’t breathe.

He’d been using Kara’s inspiration, her passion and her optimism even in the darkest tunnels as his anchor. All this time. He’d used hope, her hope in an effort to bring her home unscathed. Because no other option would have sufficed; she had to be okay.

Because, if she was gone… then he was surely the cause.

If not for him, she would have never ended up in the Phantom Zone to begin with. If he hadn’t bottled Leviathan, if he hadn’t lied to them all, none of this would be happening.

Brainy’s vision blurred, washing away the readings as tears flooded to the surface. All of this… all of this had been for nought. All those weeks they had spent hoping, and for what? For what?

There had never been a reason to hope at all. They had been kidding themselves, all of them, to assume Kara would have survived entry into the Phantom Zone. That she hadn’t been cast there from a portal miles in the sky, falling at terminal velocity, unable to fly to safety. With no yellow sun, she had been without power, without protection. Something as simple as a broken bone would have been a death sentence in a hellscape like the Phantom Zone.

Brainy’s lips were numb. A crushing weight felt as though it was overpowering his lungs, sucking the air from within. His head throbbed with sudden pressure, a motley of untameable thoughts clawing viciously for freedom.

Something burned deep inside his chest, a pain so profound that he thought he was going to be sick. Was this what heartbreak felt like…? As though your heart was actually breaking? Snapping in two with the fragility of glass?

Brainy gasped out, clawing at his centre as he finally managed to rake in a single breath. It felt like swallowing a mouthful of razor blades, tearing at his innards as it sought passage through his lungs.

The pressure in his head mounted even further, clamouring loudly in his ears. His tears felt like acid in his eyes, but he couldn’t make them fall. Instead, he remained blind to the world. Blind to everything.

And yet, something still pressed him far at the back of his mind.

A tiny voice whispering that it couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be real.

…Was it?

Was it real?

Where was his focus? Brainy struggled through another breath, trying desperately to blink away his tears. The pain ate at him, so poignant he could barely function, but he was meant to… to focus, yes? That had been the point. To… to compartmentalise. To…

To focus on what was real.

But it felt real. The despondency that welled inside his chest, the fire in his head, scorching him every time he imagined Kara, lifeless and alone on the cold terrain below. He felt it, all of it, and he couldn’t bear it.

“Why should you have to?”

Brainy’s head jerked up instinctively, glancing about himself as he sniffed hard, turning in his chair.

His friends were no longer present, but he was not alone.

Humanoid forms took residency at the centre of the ship’s control room. They stood stolidly, arms clasped in front of them, heads bowed low.

Among the static shapes, whispers began to permeate.

Brainy blinked quickly, wiping at his face as he forced himself from his chair, grabbing its back when his legs threatened to buckle. He weighed himself against it, heart thundering in his head, but it was not enough to drown out the voices suddenly invading his mind, breaking free from the boxes he’d built a long time ago.

They shouldn’t be… they couldn’t…

“Excessive emotional turmoil,” the same voice as before said, dripping with fake pity. “It’s truly remarkable what it can set loose.”

Brainy felt ill. “No. No, you can’t—you can’t!” His voice rang out around him, falling on deaf ears.

The voices only seemed to revel in his anguish. Brainy groaned out, clenching his hands around his head, curling in on himself as the whispers intensified.

He caught words within the ocean of sound, enticing murmurs, urging him to come forward, to step into the space still reserved for him. Even after all this time.

Alongside the insistent encouragement of his peers, the shapes in front of him began to take form. Some were green, most of them were green, but one stood out amongst the crowd. A blue skinned woman with red hair grinned wickedly at him, raising her hand in a partial salute.

Indigo?

Brainy’s eyes glanced desperately at the Coluans stood before him.

His blood, stretching back generations. His clan.

His ancestral memory come to life.

A strangled sound caught in Brainy’s throat as their voices pitched inside his mind. He couldn’t- he couldn’t pack them away. No box could patch the hole that had torn through his internal storage. His emotions were frenzied, wild and chaotic and he was… he could not tame them.

“What’s the matter, Querl?” Indigo asked playfully. “Cat got your tongue?”

Brainy shuddered involuntarily when he saw the claws that manifested along Indigo’s fingers. She grinned, snapping them aggressively towards him.

“That’s enough.”

Brainy already felt so drained, the new voice was nearly too much for him to bear. It was only a small comfort that the other whispers stilled at its presence, petering out to an almost manageable hum.

With everything so muddled already, Brainy hadn’t recognised her at first. He chastised himself immediately. How foolish of him not to assume that she would be here, somehow. The voice of reason that he had clung onto for so long, that he had followed blindly and passionately, because he’d believed that if he did… she might one day love him.

But, her eyes were just as cold as they always had been.

Brainiac 4 materialised at the centre of the room, batting Indigo aside as though she were nothing but a child. Indigo’s image shimmered as a result, but Brainy hardly paid it mind. The only person he could focus his energy on was the most dangerous in the room.

A woman he had once called mother.

He didn’t want to say that word again, and yet with all the hopelessness inside his heart, the emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole, he couldn’t help but cling to the image of Brainiac 4 as she walked towards him, reaching out her hand.

When her cold fingers brushed across his cheek, Brainy’s lips trembled, and the tears in his eyes finally began to fall.

Brainiac 4 reviewed his reaction inquisitively, her brow raised in question. “My boy,” she said, tucking her hand beneath his chin, enough to tip his watery gaze towards hers. “Why don’t you give up on these silly little pretences? Doesn’t it hurt to hold onto all of this pain?”

Join us.

The whisper that broke through what little resolve he had left sounded far more like Indigo’s than any other. It thrilled through his nerves, whispering scintillating invitations into his mind.

Brainy flinched from his mother’s hand, fingers clenching tightly against his palms.

She was right. It did hurt. Every fibre of his being ached with it. He wanted to let it out, wanted to discard it as Lena had taught him. Throw every feeling out into the open with a vicious cry. He wanted to collapse into a ball and never, ever come out.

But, he could do none of those things. Instead, he had to live with the guilt that ate into his heart, the heartbreak that would surely never heal. He had to stand there knowing what he had done, what he was responsible for.

That he would never, ever see her smile again.

The death of the future as he knew it. The death of Supergirl.

His family.

Brainy stirred at that thought. After all, who were his family?

He tore his gaze from his mother’s, long enough to turn about the room, seeking out the spaces that had been left blank. He hardly remembered who had been stood there before his ancestors had actualised. If he focused hard enough, he thought, perhaps, he could see echoes of people occupying that same space, but he saw no faces. Remembered no names.

Not real.

He couldn’t see them, and if he couldn’t see them then he most certainly could not touch them. Could not hear or smell them.

That decided it, then. It was simple, nearly too simple.

Whoever had existed before - they had been the lies. Echoes of another life, one that had never meant to be his. After all, his ancestors reached far beyond the five senses. They were an innate part of his very makeup as a Coluan. As a Brainiac.

And they had always been real.

Brainy’s chest spasmed as a sob nearly wracked him, more tears welling in his eyes. And… and he didn’t want to feel this way. It was nonsensical, to dwell on dreams, on nightmares. They only sought to make him weak. And a Brainiac was never weak.

His mother’s hands were solid when they took his shoulders, leaching the heat from his skin.

Her lips quirked with satisfaction. “You see it, don’t you? This simulation you have created for yourself is a destined failure. It is time to put your uninhibited mind to good use.” Her nails bit sharply into his flesh. “Join us. As you were destined to.”

Brainy nodded mutely. After all, why should he feel pain? What was the use of this frivolous emotion? What was the point in any of the good if it only meant feeling all this bad?

It would only weigh him down, which would not do. Indeed, he had a legacy to uphold.

Brainy’s eyes fluttered shut, finally letting the last of his mental barriers slip away with one long, cleansing exhale. The voices wasted no time, rushing in like an aggressive wave, swallowing him whole in seconds.

When Brainy opened his eyes, he felt no pain. No heartbreak.

Instead, he absconded from the needless weight of his emotional baggage, stepping forward into his mother’s waiting arms.

[daikenkki]

MrDonald09: Since Series 22, what new change has annoyed you the MOST??

tttedrawings: Fantasy sequences and the intro/life lessons outro, they just make the episodes shorter, and most of the time aren't really needed at all.

MrDonald09: Ah yes unfortunately you can only have 4 options on Twitter polls, I’m sure the list would be huge if you could have more.

MasonDey1: To me the whole concept of the Steam Team is just pointless.

MrDonald09: Yeah it limits the characters that are used most of the time.

PSideplates: I voted for bouncing since it's closest to the general "kids show" tone that BWBA takes on. It really is like watching a show you put on for your 3 year old so you can leave the room in peace. It hurts to watch. If we were getting the Brenner era where the engines bounced, had ugly details, went worldwide, and got Nia and Rebecca, I'd be miffed but accept it. But BWBA just claims to be TTTE and acts like a generic preschool show. And I don't wanna be in a position where I'm an adult watching a preschool show.

MrDonald09: Agreed. I feel proud to be a fan when I watch classic era and Brenner era, but if it was like BWBA throughout the whole show I can tell you I would not be supporting it now.

TCKRangeltoon: I blame Chuggington.

PSideplates: I don't. Chuggington ended before they came up with BWBA. If anything, Chuggington made the market for train toys/shows competitive which forced HiT to make good Thomas products, well toys anyway.

ronniethe14xx: Honestly, disagree with the point it's the most general kids show tone. Travelling seems to be the new hip and cool thing to do in kids shows, I'd argue that makes it slightly worse then the bouncing because it's clear Thomas only jumped on that trend to be "hip".

JovanniChavez11: Faster pace and Thomas losing his identity. I don’t mind Thomas going on a trip but that wasn’t the way to handle it.

MrDonald09: Yes. IMO it should have stopped after the BWBA special, I think it should have only been a special.

Bostonthomasfan: Don’t really mind the bouncing but it can be over done at times. For around the world? I wish there were more episodes on Sodor and less around the world. Like 18-8 would be good.

MikeArc31375512: The bouncing. Loathe it with a passion.

ThomasTVNostal1: The thing I hate is constant arguing over opinions.Some people have been told to fuck themselves for disliking an episode of BWBA that the majority of the fandom likes and vice versa. This is unacceptable. As a fandom, we're a team and we help each other out.

ChillerB3: The forced feminism with Nia, Rebecca and the newer Steam Team really rubbed me the wrong way, more than hyper bouncing and worldwide shit did.

MrDonald09: Same, especially how the majority of the audience really doesn’t care about that, having more females, great! but don’t mess with many people’s childhood to make SJWs and toxic feminists happy cuz I guarantee you the people who wanted this change probably don’t even like the show.

ryanburges4472: I didn't read properly and the real thing since Series 22 that has annoyed me the most is the bouncing. I've been more bothered about the steam team without Henry (Just Henry). I'm happy with Edward sleeping at Wellsworth.

MrDonald09: Yeah, I completely agree honestly i’m not mad that Edward isn’t in the Steam Team anymore. It's Henry that annoys me the most.

ryanburges4472: I know! Gordon and James sleeping at Tidmouth without Henry. Edward is best at Wellsworth because he has a branch line which stars from Wellsworth.

CoolCar161: Henry and Edward stopped appearing as much anyway. They haven’t been good characters since series 4, even in the Brenner era they had little to no appearances due to writer's block. Rivets is a nice little detail that makes them seem more real, Thomas always wanted to see the world and the bouncing is hardly that bad.

TheBlueE21: Thomas' world tour. It's so inconsistent. Doesn't tie into the movie that hyped it up, never explains why or for how long Thomas is in each country, 1 ep he's in China, then Brazil etc then Sodor eps act as though he never left due to always being there. Plus most sets aren't great.

halfbakedhex8: For the record, I voted the 'rivets' option because the inclusion of the new detailing runs so counter to what the show is now, that trying to inflict reality onto the now-very-unreal engines feels very confused as to what the show is trying to achieve.

BluebellThEngin: The "bouncing" doesn't bother me much at first, but as time went on, it starts to get a little out of control and it kinda bugs me. I don't have a problem with the added details like the rivets, but they do look a little too big. Shrink them in size and they'll be okay. I'm mixed on Thomas travelling around the world if I'm being honest. The new Steam Team is what bugs me the most out of all of these options. I never liked it to begin with (minus my child self). It makes the other characters look useless. What I love about the Classic Series is we got lots of stories about almost each and every single one of them it makes the series interesting. But with the Steam Team, not only does it focus on the main characters so much, but it also brings them out of character. Especially if it's for the sake of the plots.

fan_ttte: The New Steam Team with Nia and Rebecca is what I don’t like most. I don’t mind the bouncing or rivets, Thomas going worldwide is okay. I don't know, I just feel like it would’ve been better if Nia and Rebecca did join, but also keep the others, for some interesting interactions and episodes.

islandofodor: If Thomas hadn’t gone worldwide, we’d probably still be in the Brenner era. Granted, it’d still be a slight step down but the international episodes barely take advantage of the different setting and opt to use generic plotlines that we’ve already seen on Sodor.

thesaddletank18: Bouncing, rivets and worldwide idea are bad but the new Steam Team is just....why was this done to the show?

Jacob34335638: I liked the new details, I’m mixed on the New Steam Team, and Thomas travelling the world. But the bouncing is what pisses me off the most, it literally makes the show look like Chuggington. The bouncing was at it’s worst in Journey Beyond Sodor and Thomas’ Magical Birthday Wishes.

TWR_Douglas_10: ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!!!

DFox1203: Is everything an option?

TheWinnerGuyCJP: Voted worldwide cuz it makes Thomas completely out of character.

SoupyGunzilla: I think a lot of the stories suffer from the shorter time. A lot of them could be better if they had more time.

kofi_milky: The bouncing, more sing alongs, replacing Edward and Henry with Nia and Rebecca. Even Thomas going worldwide. When the Rev. W. Awdry said "Here is your friend Thomas the Tank Engine. He wanted to come out of his station yard and see the world", the world that's he meant is Sodor.

sodordaily: Choosing New Steam Team because I miss the old SO MUCH!

peter_sam_no4: I think for me the bouncing as it’s so unrealistic . A 1 ton lump of metal can not swing all over the place like it has no weight.

Growlithemaste1: I hate the bouncing the most, but the rest are all useless too.

sixteen_dnw: Worst is the New Steam Team, then worldwide, then rivets, and then bouncing. TBH it doesn’t bother me too much.

BearsFlush: It annoys me that Thomas travels the world, as they remove chapters that might be focus on Sodor, and the locations and some engines are not represented correctly on the railroad.

VacentTest: I’m fine with the New Steam Team changing Edward and Henry out for Nia and Rebecca, I’ve always supported it in the beginning because increased feminism is good. Thomas going worldwide, that didn’t annoy me cause I was interested in that, the rivets is minor and nothing to worry about. But the bouncing, annoyed me the most at first but I’m used to it.

SnatchyBoi: The bouncing and the New Steam Team.

GWREngine: The New Steam Team is the most annoying change. It feels like Mattel doesn't care how special Edward, Henry, and Toby are. Plus we don't need to have more than 1 female main character. Emily being the only girl used to make her special. With Nia and Rebecca around, she isn't special anymore.

TurnTable2002: Chris Renshaw's music really annoys me.

MichaelfromNZ1: Bouncing, worldwide and New Steam Team. They represent how far Thomas has fallen since Mattel fully took over.

ArmchairRailway: New Steam Team.

TI4MGP: This is probably the hardest time I’ve had deciding on one of your polls lol. I went with the Steam Team though, but bouncing comes in a REALLY REALLY close second. The other two are less but equal with each other.

jack_bench: TBH, I'm fine with all of them? But I chose bouncing because the rivets are neat, world-tour - while it makes no sense - has a valuable goal (and is kinda fun), and the Steam Team really needed more female representation which we got with two positive role models in Nia and Rebecca. Bouncing is unnecessary, but not horrendous.

Holycro1Michael: Everything!

JosefSnowBall: Rivets was something I actually liked seeing on some engines. Bouncing is something I’m OK with, it’s kind of grown on me. New Steam Team sucks because it gets rid of the 2 best engines, Edward and Henry, and Thomas worldwide sounded like a bad idea to begin with.

TheThomasFan: Probably Thomas going worldwide . The animation is shit and it’s all just recoloured.

TheUnluckyTug: The new Steam Team. I think I'd be a little more accepting of BWBA if Edward and Henry weren't so transparently and obviously thrown to the side and treated as if they don't exist. It was like the biggest "fuck you" to fans ever.

MrDonald09: Yeah, not to mention Nia and Rebecca have such generic personalities they can barely hold a unique episode nowadays. I can understand Edward staying at Wellsworth but they did Henry DIRTY by slapping him at Vicarstown so he can focus on his Mainland duties yet not do any episode focused on this new job.

SteamEn83954980: Ok so ignoring Emily, it was a perfect 1-7 number of characters and now it's just 1, 18, 22, 4, 5, 6 and 12. Like I know it's minor but that fact gets under my skin.

DBlue02: I voted for the bouncing, but yeah, I kinda have to agree with Simon Martin’s opinion on the Steam Team concept, it’s long since overstayed its welcome. I’d prefer a nice balance of the main and side characters getting their share of the spotlight, like in the classic seasons.

TFan512: What if Edward, Henry, Nia and Rebecca were all part of the main cast.

[head-and-heart]

I absolutely love S5 so far (Eliza is killing it!) But I'm really apprehensive about B/echo. They need to break up but I don't want the reason for their breakup to be cuz E/cho does something bad or cuz she lets him go. I want Bellamy to legitimately choose Clarke because his love for her is that great. I don't want it to feel like she's 2nd choice for Bellamy. Idk if this will happen though cuz I have a feeling Echo is going to walk away 1st. This love triangle sucks. How do u want them to end?

Okay, I actually really love this ask because it forced me to think more deeply about B.echo’s relationship and the trajectory that the writers could potentially be taking them on. 

Over the past few weeks I have been pretty vocal about how I am not a fan of B.echo’s relationship and I don’t really understand the purpose of why it needs to be romantic at all, but I’m going to play devil’s advocate here because you prompted me to think of one scenario that I would actually be pretty okay with - if executed properly, of course.

So here it is: My Ideal Version Of The B.echo Breakup

To start of this post, I want to just say that my current theory for Season 5 is that it is about all of our characters learning to find a balance between who they became during the six year time jump and who they have to be now that they are on the ground again (and - by extension - who they used to be pre-Praimfaya). 

For instance, Clarke has become more heart due to her relationship to Madi and - therefore - her character arc will likely be similar to Bellamy’s S1-S4 arc where she has to learn how to reign in her more impulsive instincts to protect her (like Bellamy did with Octavia) to find a balance between who she is now and the more head-based leader she used to be. 

But the same thing is going to be happening with some other characters on the show; namely, the one’s I want to talk about in this post are Bellamy and Echo.

We know that Bellamy and Echo have changed in the time that they spent up in space. We can tell from how they interact now (and it’s also why so many people feel disconnected from those characters right now). But I don’t think that these weird disconnected “six years have passed” versions of themselves are going to hold for much longer. The cracks are going to start to show - and probably in the next episode.

But first let’s talk about Echo.

Before going up to the Ark, Echo had never truly experienced peace time before. She was a royal guard, a spy, constantly being forced to do Nia’s dirty work and bending to her every whim (and then, eventually, to Roan). With this in mind, it’s not hard to believe that Echo probably never really had the opportunity to consider the kind of person she would be if she wasn’t working for someone else. Her role was to spy, to pretend to be someone else. But who is Echo when she’s not trying to “echo” someone else?

I’m not even sure that Echo, herself, knew when she set off in that rocket at the end of 4x13. 

Who is Echo when there is no one to fight or oppose? I’m sure this is a question she asked herself countless times during the years up in space. For the first time in forever, Echo has time forcing her to address the person that she has become and the person that she wants to be. 

I think that, deep down, Echo has always just wanted to be wanted and validated and accepted. Her most defining characteristic throughout the series has been her loyalty to the higher-ups in her life. She did everything for their satisfaction, their approval. But Nia never appreciated it and neither did Roan. He banished her, discarded her, just like Octavia does in 4x11.

And who came and picked her up, told her she was worth something, that she was strong? Bellamy Blake. Even despite all the times that she had betrayed him.

I think that moment, when he convinced her not to kill herself - that she was needed - was not only a defining moment for Echo herself, but for her relationship to Bellamy. Following that moment, I think Echo - who was directionless without a leader - turned to Bellamy to throw her loyalty behind. With Echo, her actions have never really been about what she believes in, but about what the leader she follows believes in. 

And what does Bellamy believe in? Honour, loyalty, compassion, empathy, trust. 

She wanted to become worthy of Bellamy, just like she wanted to become worthy of Nia and of Roan. So she spent every day up in those six years trying to change, trying to become that person who is compassionate and empathetic and trustworthy and solid and after such a long time trying to live up to a certain image, it only makes sense that she would become it eventually.

Echo became what she believes is the “ideal” version of herself: the version of herself that exists in a world without conflict, a world in which she is surrounded by people who all care very much about each other (and, eventually, her too). 

But that was space, that was peacetime. In those six years, Echo never had to think about who she is when there is someone new to fight, and there are people she cares about to defend. 

The summary for 5x07, “Acceptable Losses”, hints at Echo doing something that places her relationship to Raven at stake. I have a feeling that in Echo’s mission as a spy - the very same role she carried out for Nia and Roan - Echo is going to find herself being tempted to revert back to her old methods. 

Will she resist it? I’m sure she will. But I also think we wouldn’t get an episode summary of that nature if Echo doesn’t give in to her instincts. The extent to which she does? Well, that’s the question. But, as they say, old habits die hard, and I think Echo’s demons are going to act as a rude awakening for her this season now that she actually has something to lose.

And this isn’t me hating on Echo as a character. I think that, whatever it is that she does that threatens her relationship to Raven so much will - naturally - be framed as the same morally ambiguous situation that we always get on this show. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to cause friction between Echo and the rest of spacekru in the meantime.

Whatever it is that happens in 5x07, I think it will be what ultimately acts as a catalyst to destabilizing both Echo, herself, as well as her relationship to Bellamy. It might cause Bellamy to feel wary of her, start to wonder whether she has really changed as much as he thought she did back up on the Ark. He’ll probably be taken aback, maybe even feel betrayed. And, as for Echo, I think she’ll be facing an internal struggle with herself, trying to figure out how to balance her instincts with Echo the spy - the one who betrayed Bellamy so many times - with Echo the person, the one who found a family up in space. 

I don’t know who will decide to step away - if Echo will because she feels the need to separate herself to sort through her own issues, or if Bellamy will because he needs time to reflect on this new version of Echo that exists in wartime (and himself, of course) that he hasn’t met before. Ideally, they will mutually decide to take a break to reflect on themselves and their relationship to each other. Not ending on bad terms, but separating (at least temporarily) to figure out some personal shit.

But that is Echo. Let’s talk about the Bellamy side of things.

We know that Bellamy has spent the six years up in space trying to live up to Clarke’s words to him and become a more “head”-based leader in her absence. I’m sure he struggled with this for awhile, struggled not to give in to his emotions and his guilt and his anger (towards Echo). But, Bellamy’s journey up on the Ark was about him becoming a more objective, less emotional, holistic leader. 

Season 1 through Season 4 Bellamy might have held a grudge against Echo in those entire six years up in space. But Bellamy had taken Clarke’s words to heart (ha) about learning to let go of those more harmful emotions and taking on a more pragmatic approach to leadership. And that transition involved forgiving Echo. If he could let go of his anger towards her, then he could finally free himself to make the final step into his role as the head-based leader he believed Clarke wanted him to become. In forgiving Echo, he also made it possible to forgive himself and find peace in all of the the things he had to during his time on the Ground. 

In a way, Bellamy’s relationship to Echo is a symbolic representation of the final piece falling into place in his transition from “the heart” to “the head”. He has finally learned how to see the bigger picture, how to forgive not only Echo but also himself for all of the atrocities they committed on the Ground. 

Bellamy was able to become the head-driven leader that Clarke wanted him to be up on the Ark, but the Ark is not the ground, and I think in the episodes to come his new approach to leading is going to be tested. Something is going to make him snap, and I have a feeling that - just like with Echo - some of the instincts of the old Bellamy are going to seep back in. 

His old emotional and impulsive and reckless approach to functioning pre-Praimfaya didn’t work - it’s true. But neither did Clarke’s cold and detached “big picture” way of leading. And I think Bellamy’s going to find, for all he has tried to be that person who leads using his head first, it’s not a perfect solution, and he’s going to need to learn to balance the “heart” and the “head” now that it actually matters. 

Peace time was the warm-up. Earth is the test. 

So what does this mean for B.echo?

Well, like I said, I think they’re going to take some sort of break (most likely following 5x07) in which they will both embark on their own respective character arcs. 

Echo’s story will be about her learning to find a balance between the spy/ruthless warrior she used to be and the more peaceful and caring version of herself that she discovered on the Ark. It’s important for her to embark on this journey without being romantically attached to Bellamy because in all the seasons we have known her, Echo has always been dependent on other characters. I believe the main purpose of her journey this season will be Echo learning, for herself (without Bellamy there guiding her), who she is and who she wants to be. It’s about her becoming independent and making choices about who she is for herself and no one else for the first time, possibly ever.

Bellamy, as I said, will be embarking on a separate journey where he’s going to learn that the hollistic head-based leader he became on the Ark isn’t going to work for him on the ground and he will have to find a more balanced head/heart way of leading. For real, this time. During this time, the latter half of the season, I suspect Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship will become more of a focus as they both find a way to balance their old selves with their new selves - together. 

Over the course of the season, I think that, at first, these new version of each other may seem unfamiliar to Bellamy and Echo, but they will eventually come to understand and accept each other. Not for the versions of themselves that could only truly exist up in space, but for who they are now that they are on the ground.

My greatest hope for that whole plotline this season is that we get a moment of reconciliation near the end where Bellamy and Echo have a chance to reflect on their relationship and how they somewhat idealized each other on the Ark.

Echo idealized Bellamy because he was the first person who didn’t abandon her and take her for granted (like Roan and Nia did) and that idealization eventually turned into romantic affection. Her relationship and loyalty to Bellamy awakened something inside of Echo - this more caring and compassionate version of herself - that she needed to recognize, but now she needs to figure out who she is on her own. And, in a way, Bellamy forgiving Echo and starting to care for her was symbolic of him being able to forgive and care for himself in a way that his self-loathing never allowed him to do before. 

Bellamy and Echo’s relationship served a purpose up in space.They needed each other for a transitory period in their lives - to come to terms with who they are and who they need to be - but their arrival back on Earth ushers in a new transitory period (one that, unfortunately for their relationship, requires that they move in separate directions). 

This being verbalized would mark the beginning of a new kind of relationship where they accept each other for their true selves, acknowledging what they used to have, but also recognizing that the versions of who they are on the Ground don’t fit together in the same way. Their new relationship - while they may still care for each other - is of a different nature, no longer romantic.

I feel that handling the break-up in this way will treat Echo and Bellamy’s respective character arc’s with the attention and care that they deserve and also potentially make up for some of the discrepancies between their relationship pre-time jump and post-time jump (assuming they communicate/verbalize these concepts well). 

If we get to actually see Echo forced to face her old way of doing things with her new way of doing things, it creates an opportunity for the audience to witness her develop for real (rather than being told through exposition how she has changed) which might actually give the writers a hope in hell at getting us to care about her. And, likewise, this character arc for Bellamy of balancing the head and the heart would ensure that we also get to see him embark on that journey rather than just accepting he’s become the perfectly balanced leader Clarke wanted him to be over the six years that we missed. 

In this sense, B.echo’s relationship would not detract from either character’s arc this season but actually propel them (which, imo, is the only acceptable reason to introduce a relationship to us in this way). 

It also takes away the messiness and subtly misogynistic approach of Bellamy having to “choose” Echo or Clarke (like in a classic love triangle) if they acknowledge that Echo and Bellamy were good for the versions of each other they inevitably became up in space, but that they no longer fit together on the Ground (whereas that is always where Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship has thrived).

I know there is this fear in fandom that Clarke will come off as being a rebound or the “second choice” and, as much as we may want Bellarke, we don’t want it to be cheap. I do think, however, that if they end Echo and Bellamy’s relationship in the way that I described (with their development this season making them no longer romantically compatible, whereas it will reawaken the connection Bellamy and Clarke used to have) it won’t come off that way.

In this way, Bellamy “chooses” Clarke (so to speak), not because he is spiraling after his breakup with Echo, but because he loves her and because she fits with this version of himself on the ground in ways that Echo no longer does. And it would affirm that without screwing over Echo OR B.echo in the process.

I still don’t think Bellamy and Echo’s relationship necessarily had to be romantic for them to develop this way, but if this is the direction the writers choose to go with B.echo I’d be happy (and I’d understand their narrative choices this season a lot better). 

Anyway, that’s my extremely long-winded way of describing the ideal way in which Echo and Bellamy break-up. I think if the writers go this route, it will fix a lot of my issues with Season 5 thus far and will remove any potential disservice to B.echo, Bellarke, or Bellamy and Echo as characters. 

I don’t know if they’ll manage to pull it off quite as well as I have described, but I have hope. I want to reserve judgement until I watch the next few episodes and can better determine if this is what they are trying to do with that relationship this season. It’s why I haven’t responded to many of my negative/ranting B.echo asks. I want to give the writers the chance to set up their story before I criticize the follow-through. 

[jwgammuto]

Raw Recap 2/11/19

Forgive me, lil Golden Fleece diapered Baby Jesus, for what I say. The go home Raw for Elimination Chamber is over and I have some things to say. Here’s The Good, The Bad, and the WTF: #FTR Edition.

The Good: It happened. It actually happened. Dash and Dawson are the Raw tag team champions and there’s a small chance the division might not be embarrassing for a few months. What an amazing match between these guys and Power and Glorious. Credit to Roode and Gable. I never liked the gimmick but they really gelled as a team while they had the titles. This was a match worthy of a PPV and almost made me forget about what i had watched from 8-1015. #TopGuys are back and this fan couldn’t be happier.

Rollins and Heyman square off on the mic. Paul always makes for a good segment but Seth really shines here as well. This was significantly better than if Lesnar had actually been there. The weird moment with Ambrose being a babyface again was unnecessary but who knows what the hell he’s doing since he’s leaving the company shortly. I will say this, I don’t want a cluster of run ins helping Rollins win. Let Seth win clean at Mania. Please.

Kevin Owens blasting the product and telling us he’ll be back in a month. Then throwing a gutter ball. A welcome addition to either show but Raw needs him. Too many heels on Smackdown.

Ruby Riott vs Nikki Cross. It wasn’t anything special but they did book this right. Ruby looked like a viable and vicious contender who can win without the Riott Squad. I hope she is allowed to have a great match with ArmbarCity Sunday.

The Bad: The crowd. Hot crowds make for better shows. It’s irrefutable. It’s why it’s so damn important to kick off the show well so the ticket holders are engaged from the jump. Grand Rapids, Michigan, you failed us. Granted they watched a lot of trash that we’re about to get into, but they could have done something. It felt like everyone was tweeting about the badness rather than watching it.

Dean Ambrose vs EC3. It took exactly two weeks for them to make EC3 irrelevant. Now he’s 1-1 against the same dude, who coincidentally also has no creative direction, and he STILL hasn’t said a word. Can it be salvaged? Sure. Turn him heel. Will they? Of course not.

Triple threat ladies tag match to determine EC order. Hey look. Another potential tease for a Bayley/Banks split. I think I’ll wet my pants. Two straight weeks, Banks has left Bayley on an island to defend herself alone due to “injury”. While Bayley has made the best of this and looked pretty damn good and capable in the ring, it has this feel as though it’s going to be another long dragged out “will they/won’t they fight” program that never pays off. Ugh. Also, I want Nia and Tamina to lose at EC as much as I wanted the Revival to win the titles. I guess that means they’re doing their job. Logan and Morgan don’t get enough credit for their ring work because they’re always losing but watch them. Not bad stuff by any means.

The WTF: Balor Club, Beardy Ryback, and Our Aging Olympic Hero vs Black Chris Masters, 1/3 of 3MB, and the current champion of cheap heat, Baron Corbin. Remember when Vince, Steph, and Trips told us we were in charge and we’d be getting fresh matchups and better programming? Pepperidge Farm remembers. The roster is crowded. I get it. But all 6 of these guys have nothing to do of interest so they’re stuck in a cycle of fighting each other and it’s just awful now. And worse, the IC title is starting to have that US title stench of uselessness. Has Lashley defended it yet? He will Sunday....finally. McIntyre is rapidly losing momentum and assuming Rollins wins the title in April, they better have Drew first in line or he may have to actually reform 3MB. This match was a cluster and had to be restarted. Everything about it was sub par. Nobody looked great. Even Balor eventually winning was meh. Although he did jump halfway across the ring for The Coup de Gras. That’s always fun.

Elias vs Guadalajara with party llama in tow. A disturbing recent trend is the company forcing turns and reactions rather than allowing them to happen organically. Elias can be a great heel just by cutting promos. He’s done it before. The interruptions are part of his Schtick and that’s fine, to a degree. It’s starting to get overdone and it’s hurting his character. Everything feels forced. Side note: Kalisto can actually play guitar and that was fun.

Vincent. Kennedy. McMahon. Clearly I’m not the only one watching Raw Replays from the Attitude Era in the evenings. The beauty of Becky Lynch’s rise in popularity was the fact that it was pretty organic. Similar to how Steve Austin did it. That’s where the parallels should have stopped though. It sure feels like they are doing much more to mold old Stone Cold roles into Lynch and I’m not loving it. The entire apology segment was weird but felt predictable right? She would opt for defiance and the HHH and Steph would make her life miserable until her peak triumph against insurmountable odds at Mania. Instead, they had Lynch apologize, albeit reluctantly. *Scratching head*. “That’s it?” Becky exclaims. Enter Vince, who still believes he’s the Mr McMahon of 1999. He suspends Lynch (which we all know won’t keep her off TV) and inserts his shiny new corporate puppet, Charlotte Flair, into the match. There’s a million reasons to hate this and none of them are because Charlotte doesn’t belong. Flair is perfectly capable of being a top heel without being a corporate stooge. Save that shit for Rollins/Orton/Corbin. A lot of people don’t like the idea of a triple threat at Mania for the Raw women’s title. I really don’t mind it, but this is a lazy and garbage way to set it up. For starters, it’s been done. Flair is the Heel Rock and Lynch is Austin. Oh yeah, and there’s the actual champion, who is becoming an after thought in this mess. Another concern is the Smackdown Women’s title. Who the hell is going to face Asuka at Mania? Mandy f**king Rose? She’s the only female heel with even close to enough heat on the show. This is a complete cluster and I have to believe there are differences in opinion at Titan Tower on how this should have been booked. Save us, HHH. Please.

This show was a general disaster and following a trend of piss poor go home Raw show for big events. I have tix for the go home Raw for Wrestlemania and based on this trend, I might be really drunk by 915. They really sucked me back in with the Revival’s win and then pooped in my cereal with that last segment. 2 Belt Whips because #TopGuys.

[writerchic16]

Raven’s Home, “Leave It to Nia” Chapter 4

Summary: Someone has a psychic cold, and it’s not Booker or Raven. Of course it happens at the worst possible time - while Raven and Chelsea are in the middle of the biggest fight they’ve ever had.

Full Story Here

She didn't expect much from this talk. Honestly, she was just as mystified as the kids when it came to her and Raven's animosity. Raven always had a lot of energy, with a non-existent filter, so Chelsea developed a thick skin over the years. Recently though...the comments became bitter, mean-spirited, which was so not Raven. Deep down Chelsea was more concerned than angry. But since Raven insulted her on a daily basis lately, she felt less inclined to reach out.

The kids gave her an excuse to start the conversation. Maybe if Chelsea got Raven to open up about what was bothering her, they could resolve their issues...because Chelsea had no idea what their issues were. Sure, Raven was the breadwinner, but Chelsea always contributed enough savings to at least cover half the rent. A minimum-wage job would barely replace the amount she already paid, so why waste the energy? Why shouldn't she take the extra time to plan her and Levi's future? She thought Raven understood her need to recuperate after her nightmarish divorce.

Raven's problem went much deeper than Chelsea's current state of unemployment. Chelsea was determined to figure it out, especially after talking with Nia. (Funny, usually parents helped their kids through a crisis, not the other way around). Moving out on a sour note could ruin a twenty-year friendship. While Chelsea still might decide to leave, she needed to make things right first.

As soon as Raven shut the door behind them, Chelsea said, "Rae, the kids know that Levi and I might move out. Our fighting really upset them. It upset me too."

"Yeah, same here," Raven confessed. She wandered around the rooftop as she spoke, not quite meeting Chelsea's eye. "Booker didn't need a ride to school. He wanted to talk to me about...everything. It made me realize how much the kids would be affected if our home life changed again so soon after the divorce." She hugged her arms around herself and stared down at the floor. "I don't really want you to leave. It just popped into my head. Sometimes I blurt stuff out, and I don't have time to think if it's a good idea or not."

"So you're...taking it back?" Chelsea asked because she honestly wasn't sure. Raven had a way of apologizing without actually apologizing.

Though she still crossed her arms, Raven finally made eye contact. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Chels. Our fight got way out of hand."

"Yeah, it did, and I'm sorry too. But I don't understand why it did," Chelsea confessed. "Rae, it's not just the kids who are worried about you. I am too, and I didn't mean it as an insult yesterday when I said you were 'miserable.' Okay, yeah, maybe I should've used a nicer word, but you've...you've lost something. You don't enjoy anything anymore and you won't go after your dream, even though you've had ten thousand dollars sitting in the bank for months."

Raven let out a deep breath. "It's true. I haven't been happy, and I took it out on you because I wanted you to be miserable with me. I get that you're struggling too, but I always saw you doing things and going places...like Vegas...so it just made me..."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, a little bit," Raven answered. "You don't know what you're doing either, but you don't let it bother you. I wanted it to bother you."

Chelsea's eyes widened. How did Raven, her best friend, not notice her inner turmoil? They lived together and saw each other every day. Raven should have seen through Chelsea's fake smiles and forced optimism. "You really think it doesn't bother me?" she asked, incredulous. "Rae, it's killing me. Maybe I was selfish for not taking the first minimum-wage job I could find. But I couldn't go from where I was, to a crappy job that would barely cover the bills. I've been holding out for a job I could turn into a second career. So, maybe I should have communicated that better, and I should have told you that the trip to Vegas was for business. But you always snapped at me when I brought it up so..."

"Wait, wait...I'm supposed to believe that you went to Vegas on business? What, you want to resurrect your dance career and become a showgirl?"

Unable to help it, Chelsea rolled her eyes. "See? You didn't even let me finish my sentence, or hear anything else I said." Raven closed her mouth and, with an over-dramatic flourish, indicated for Chelsea to continue. "Thank you," Chelsea retorted. "I went to Vegas for a trade show. I've gone before, remember? When I invented the Shmop, and then for other products I added to the line. I went again this year because I wanted some inspiration. I thought maybe if I was in that atmosphere, a light bulb would go off and I'd come up with the next...light bulb. Needless to say it did not happen."

Raven stayed quiet for a minute, sympathy in her expression. "And here I was, feeling jealous that you once had a Shmop empire. When I was driving around today, I kept wishing I had your...well, your vision. Your ability to see the big picture and know what will work in the long run. I'm too scared to move forward, because I can't see the second step after the first one. What if everything I try, fails? What if I have to accept that I've failed before I've even begun?" She paused, holding back tears and staring at the floor again. "Chels, I'm so scared. All the time. I'm miserable because I'm scared of not being good enough."

Chelsea's reply was to wrap her best friend in a tight hug. They sat on a bench, both crying silently and leaning on each other. "I think we needed this," Chelsea said, trying to make it a joke. "We needed a good cry. Life sucks."

"Yeah, but you know what? Hearing you admit it makes me feel a little better."

[wrestlinghasmelike-blog]

Monday Night Raw Review: June 25th, 2018

Hey gang, it’s Monday again. I hope everyone had a great day/weekend. Today I got up really early and took my dog out and then watched the season 2 finale of Westworld (which got me FUUUCKED up, but that’s another story lol). 

Based on what my twitter timeline told me about tonight, it might be an interesting show? I’m feeling a little uninspired tonight about the show, personally, but hopefully, the show will prove me wrong.

Let me know what you thought of the show! Was it terrible, or did you like it this week? What was your favorite match? I’d love to hear from you, about anything! Thanks for tuning in and reading and sharing. I’m super close to 100 followers (like 5 away I think!) 

Sweaty Kurt Angle and Baron Corbin opened up the show tonight, only to be interrupted by Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, who have sort of an interesting feud brewing. They both believe that they have the tools to beat Lesnar, but apparently, there won’t be a match at Extreme Rules anymore to determine Brock’s new competitor because of his “contract”.

Basically what this means is that Brock didn’t want to wrestle and give his title up, so he called Vince and Vince said ok. Ugh.

I think this is the main reason Raw, and WWE for that matter, has been faltering for the past couple months. There’s no Universal title on the show, which means that no stories can be written around it, and new feuds can’t be built. It sucks, and it’s really starting to affect my watching, as well.

The Revival vs. Lashley/Reigns

This is a rematch from last week. Why do we need to see this again?

The Revival need to prove that they are still relevant, and it’s unfortunate that separate injuries have kept them at bay, and they haven’t really been given a chance to be on TV since their return. This was never a team I saw much of, their NXT days were during the time where I wasn’t watching, but from what I can tell about them today, they hit their peak back in NXT.

This match is just a chance for Bobby and Roman to show off their egos, which Bobby needs, at least. Bobby’s feud with Sami ended at MITB 2 weeks ago, and pushing him into a match with Roman, or Brock, could give Bobby the spotlight he needs. He’s a big guy, always has been, and he needs to be showcased as one.

This match had no momentum going into it, and while the crowd loves to boo Roman whenever they can, they are dead silent otherwise. It’s gone on too long, and either team needs to bring something different to get the show rolling. 

The Revival won with a roll-up on Roman? A little unbelievable? Roman losing on a small package is just hard to fathom, especially against a small guy like Dash Wilder, but at least the match is over. Next, please.

Curtis Axel vs. Woken!Matt Hardy

Ok, wait, why is this a great storyline now? Oh yea, because it’s actually interesting and funny and the superstars are selling it really well. 

But this match is over in a heartbeat before I can say anything else. 

Matt has been putting in time at the gym. He looks great right now. That’s it.

AoP vs. Local Talent

This is not a match AoP needs. Put them in contention for the title, not this.

We haven’t seen this team since their debut after Mania and I’m really wondering why! They were so dominating in NXT, and they’ve fallen short on Raw. I’m trying to remember if one of them was injured in their time off, but I can’t find anything that says so. 

Titus Worldwide came out, too. Does anyone care?

FINN MAKING FUN OF BARON OOOH

...but I’m not a fan of that tag match. I know Finn is just going to lose again anyway, right? 

Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya

In a super long segment before this match took place, Alexa and her friend Mickie James went off about Alexa not getting respect and thanking god for Ronda’s suspension. There was a long video package during this promo that took me out of the program, and it was basically just Alexa and Mickie picking on the crowd. Whatever.

Natalya came out with Nia and the match started.

A lot of weird moves and botches from Alexa. She did that standing double monkey flip over Nattie, and her knees are supposed to hit Nattie in the belly, but Alexa’s knees were nowhere near her belly at all!

Natalya was really putting on a clinic, debuting all of her best moves and ultimately, getting herself a win over the undeserved champ. 

Put Nattie back in the title race. 

6-Woman Tag- Riott Squad vs. Banks/Moon/Bayley

Ooh boy, are we actually getting the feud people have been asking for?

Last week, things between Bayley and Sasha finally exploded the way everyone had been hoping for, and this week, Kurt Angle says they have one more chance to get on the same page. 

Sasha does the Meteora too much. That’s my first thought.

Ember Moon is fantastic in the ring. God I love her so much. 

Personally, I’m tired of seeing the Riott Squad. All three women need to wrestle in singles matches more. The singles matches that they do always end with the other members of the team charging in and either distract the ref or attack the other woman in the match. It’s so played out, it’s tiring! It’s a trope that’s been played out too much.

Banks took the loss for her team, and Bayley straight up attacked her and threw her around the ring. The crowd loves it! Personally, I do, too! I feel like Bayley is always too much, but a heel Bayley is just what her character needs to find her way back to the top of the division. I think this has been a long time coming from Bayley. She had to endure years of being the weakest of the four horsewomen and being second best, and now she’s ready to show what she’s got!

The ONLY thing that ruined that moment was when her music played her out. It’s too preppy and happy for her recent actions.

No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

I don’t care. I just don’t. And WWE is not doing a good job of getting me to care.

Strowman/Owens vs. Balor/Corbin

Well, after losing last week, Braun was tired of teaming with Finn and has decided to team with Kevin Owens tonight. 

As I’ve probably mentioned a lot over the past few weeks, I love Kevin Owens right now. His unofficial feud with Braun is hilarious, and Kevin sells it so well.

And in typical fashion, I am in tears while Finn makes his entrance. Maybe I should make a post about him soon. It’d probably be long as hell.

FINN ALSO LOOKS SO TAN?!?

I am also really loving Corbin’s new look. His hair needed to go so badly, and the suits that he wears are really doing better things for his character. I don’t love the fact that he’s basically corporate Kane, but it’s fine for now. 

Kevin tagging in Braun was so good. He just smacked him in the chest and ran. It was such a cartoon moment and I loved it.

Finn is finally being allowed in this match after Baron decides that he’s had enough. Kevin steals the momentum away from Finn and keeps him in a fierce chin lock. 

Braun just literally squished Finn in a corner and Finn just melted out of the ring. My god.

This match kind of exploded as Finn and Corbin couldn’t get along. They ended up fighting all the way up the ramp and got disqualified. I mean, at least Finn didn’t take the pin. I just wish they’d let him win a match for once.

Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler for the IC Title

After suffering a hard loss last week to Ziggler after a distraction from Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins is looking to win back his title from Dolph.

I personally love this new angle. Dolph has been out of it for a while now, and the IC title scene is a great place for him to stay. Remember that feud he had with Miz about a year and a half ago? That was the greatest thing ever for Ziggler and Miz. 

This current storyline is rumored to lead to a huge battle between Drew and Dolph, which is set to skyrocket Drew to a top position. It’s mostly because Vince loves Drew, but it’s also because Drew is a massive star now, and he belongs at the top. I’d love to see a program with him and Kevin, or him and Braun, or Roman, or even Finn. 

Rollins seems to be controlling most of the match so far, but how long will it take for Dolph to fight back?

Not long it seems as Seth focuses on Drew for too long, allowing Dolph to get up tackle Seth. This is where Dolph’s collegiate-style will come into play as he finds a way to tucker out Seth Rollins.

This is exactly the kind of pace Ziggler likes. He keeps his opponents on the ground and wears them out with a headlock or a chinlock.

MICHAEL COLE JUST SAID THAT ROLLINS AND FINN ARE THE TWO OF THE BEST IN SHAPE WRESTLERS ON THE ROSTER WHO CAN HOLD A MATCH AND WHO HAVE BEEN PUTTING IN THE MOST WORK THANKS COLE YOU DID GOOD

Anytime Seth looks like he’s favoring a leg, I get super nervous. An injured Seth would not be good for business right now. I know he’s probably just selling it, but stilllll you guyssss

Rollins just reversed a whip on Dolph and he launched him into the turnbuckle, blasting Dolph into the corner. For a moment, it looked like Seth finally found his footing, but Dolph sent him over the top rope and crashing to the floor, hurting Seth’s wrist on the impact.

The match gets more aggressive as it continues, and the crowd is doing their signature “this is awesome” chant, which is something that Dolph hasn’t heard about his matches in probably a long ass time. 

Seth was about to win the match, an incredible match by thE WAY, and Drew came back and pulled the ref out to stop the count. Dolph will retain because of the DQ. Dammmnnnnn

...Roman made his way down to stop the attack on Seth. Are we getting Drew and Roman?? I’m here for it. It better not be a tag match next week, though.

I feel like the last half of the show went by really fast. I guess I’m kind of thankful for that, considering there were a lot of filler moments and matches during the show. I was fine with Raw tonight, no strong feelings either way. I don’t know if I had a favorite match honestly. Did you? Let me know!

Tune in for more!

Casey

[monsteramongmen-tamer]

#57: “Is that my shirt?”  -Finn Balor.

Thank you to @kaitlynwwefan for this request! I hope you like it!! :)

Tagging: @reigns420, @littleprincess1621, @m-a-t-91, @luckygillblog, @finnbalorsbabygirl, @unabashedwwesmut, @blackwidow2721, @devitts-girl

One word the people of RAW would describe you as: independent.

You liked to do things on your own. You would do your own makeup, fix your own costumes, even travel alone sometimes. You didn’t come here to make friends.

Some of the girls had tried being friendly to you, but you must have come off as weird or unwelcoming or something, because they had only tried it the one time.

It would be nice to be friends with the girls, but you just had nothing in common with them. You enjoyed hanging out with the guys more. It was more comfortable. But of course, people took that a different way.

There were always rumors going around the locker room. Once you heard one about yourself, sleeping your way through the guy's locker room, since you’re not friends with any of the girls. I mean it made sense where it was coming from, but you knew the truth. You weren’t sleeping with anyone.

One night after a show, Braun and Bray asked if you wanted to go out with them. Just to go have a drink and unwind after the busy week. You decided to go. These guys were super nice to you, and didn’t treat you like you were some weirdo.

It was nothing special. They chose a bar where it was quiet, which was nice.

They paid for your drinks, when you told them they didn’t have to.

After being a few drinks in, Braun asks you, “So can I ask you something? Why don’t you hang out with the other girls on the roster?”

“I don’t know. I am so much different than them, I must have scared them off.” You laughed.

Bray chipped in, “Well, you aren’t that scary. I mean it might seem so since you’re hanging out with us, but I definitely don’t get that vibe from you.”

“Really. Because I would love to have some friends backstage, you know, some of the girls. I don’t know. I can give it another shot. I mean hanging out with you guys is awesome, but you know…” You laughed. You weren’t really sure why you said that last part, you didn’t know where it was going or how to finish it.

Maybe you were just too weird to have any friends at all.

The next time you went to work, you were going to make an effort.

You were at catering and sat down at the girls table with Alexa and Nia. They seemed like cool girls.

“Hey, mind if I sit with you guys?” You asked.

“Sure! You can sit here, Mike is sitting over there.” Alexa pointed.

They were actually very nice and held a conversation with you. Mike wasn’t too bad either. He was trying really hard to be funny.

Nia actually ended up inviting you out to dinner with them and a couple more people from work. You agreed to go.

It was just a casual place, like a pub. You dressed in jeans and a tshirt with a cardigan over it.

There were quite a few people there. It was a little nerve wracking.

You were sitting at one of the booths with Nia and Alexa just chit chatting and they starting asking you some personal questions.

Nia asked first, “So we have told you about ourselves, I think it is your turn to talk about yourself. Are you seeing anyone?”

That made you blush a bit, “No, I’m not. It has actually been awhile since I’ve dated, because of work. Is that bad?”

“Not at all. Been there, done that. So then do you have any love interests?” Nia continued to ask.

“I mean, maybe a small crush, but nothing serious, ya know.” You said, blushing even harder.

“OOhhhhh really? Spill. Who is it? Someone at work?” Alexa asked.

You sighed, “Yes. If you must know, we do work with him. But I’m not telling you who!”

They scanned around the room and guessed a couple names, but they were wrong.

You spaced off and were staring at the one you were talking about.

Not being able to tell anyone you had a crush on the one and only Finn Balor was terrible, but also a blessing.

Alexa and Nia were in their own conversation when you saw Finn walk in and grab a drink. He was talking with Seth and Roman.

Alexa looked at you then tried to follow who you were looking at.

“OMG!” She said.

You focused back onto what she was saying, not realizing what was happening.

“Finn, really? That’s your guy?” Alexa asked.

Your eyes got wide, “What?! Uh, no. Why would you say that?”

“Liar.” Nia said, with a smirk on her face.

“I totally saw you staring at him. So is it him?” Alexa asked.

You looked to the ground for a moment.

“Maybe...BUT you can’t say anything, okay? I mean, he’s Finn Balor. He’s basically perfect and WAY out of my league.” You said.

“Okay fine. But you should go up and talk to him.” Nia said.

“No way. I have drank way too much to do that. I will make a fool of myself.” You said.

Not even a second later, Nia calls Finn over to your table.

Shit.

“Hello ladies. What can I do for ya?” He asked.

“Oh nothing, just wanted to see how you were.” Alexa asked.

“Just fine. Busy as usual. How about you guys? How have ya been?” He asked.

You could help but smile listening to his Irish accent. You could listen to him talk all day.

“Just fine.” Nia said.

“Great. Being a champion is pretty exhausting.” Alexa teased.

Finn then looked over at you for your answered, but you didn’t know what to say.

“I’m g-good too.” You finally got out.

He could tell something was up, but went with it.

Finn then excused himself to go see his friends.

“You guys suck.” You said, taking a sip of your drink.

Alexa laughed, “That was so cute though. You were so nervous and now your face is as red as a tomato.”

You quickly brought your hands to your face. It was super warm. From all the embarrassment.

“Thanks guys, this is all your fault.” You said, laughing a bit.

Finally they dropped the topic of men and you talked about normal things.

When 1am came around, you decided to go back to your hotel room.

You got back and immediately got ready for bed.  You showered and put on a t-shirt and sweatpants.

Right before you went to go lay down, there was a soft knock at the door.

Who could that be? No one could see you like this!

You looked through the peep hole and couldn’t believe it.

“Hey, what’s up?” You asked.

It was Finn, still dressed up from earlier.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you got here okay.” He said, acting nervous.

“Yeah, I made it okay. The uber knew right where to go.” You said,

It was awkward.

“Could I come in for a minute?” He asked.

You opened the door and he walked in and closed it.

“So I have a question for ya” Finn asked.

“Sure.” You said.

“At the place tonight, ya seemed kinda, I don’t know, nervous. Like when I came ova to the table. I just wanted to see if you were alright.” He said.

Oh my god. He noticed. Fuck.

“Um, no. I wasn’t nervous.” You said, beginning to feel that way again.

“Ya sure? Because you’re starting to do it again.” Finn said.

“Okay, look. I was a little nervous. The girls were asking me if I liked anyone and your name came up. Then when they called you over, I was just super awkward. I didn’t know they were going to put me in that position. There, better?” You finally got out, looking to the floor.

“Hmm, ya like me huh? I would have neva guessed.” He said.

“Really?” You asked.

“Oh, no. I could totally tell.” He said, smiling.

You rolled your eyes, “Well thanks for that, I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.”

“It should make you feel better, because I kinda like ya too.” He said.

Your jaw dropped. What did he just say?

“No you don’t. You’re just messing with me.” You said.

Finn put his hands up, “No, I’m really not. Ya are kind of mysterious, and I like that.”

“I would have never guessed. I didn’t think you knew I existed.” You said.

Finn was silent for a second, but his eyes never left yours.

He walked over to you, grabbed your face, and placed a gentle kiss to your lips.

“Do ya believe me now?” He asked, still holding your face.

You couldn’t speak, so you just nodded.

Finn then looked down, “Is that my shirt?”

Unsure of what he was talking about, you looked down. Sure enough, you were wearing a demon Finn shirt.

“Oh, well I guess I am. This is my favorite t-shirt.” You said.

“Maybe we’ll havta get ya some more.” He winked at you.

You spent the next couple hours just talking. It was nice.

But you accidentally fell asleep, and when you woke up, you were laying next to a sleeping Finn, who had his arms around you.

You never imagined something like this would ever happen to you, and here it was. You were going to take advantage of this.

[paniccord-ff]

31. Part 4

Staring out of the window, I have never felt so at peace in my life. I just need my daughter here with me and then everything will be fine, I miss her little stank ass a lot but I don’t have long left till I am back in LA, get to see my little trouble soon. Miami has been great, I am so glad Rylee bought me here, I didn’t even think of it. I was going to take Rylee away but after the tour which is next year, luckily my baby is coming with me. I need to contact Mark, I want to push my girl into being something so much better. She needs to be a model, I think I am going to get Mark to call her himself because if I say it then she will be like no, I did it for her. She is beautiful, she deserves to be walking those catwalks. I need to do a lot actually, I need a break already. I am already on a break but I need a longer one “I don’t know if it is a good thing that your bodybuilder baby mother is messaging me?” Rylee said as she walked into the living area “erm, what you mean?” I said all confused “well I mean she sent me when Royalty got her nails done but she sent me a video now, I then text her saying aww thank you. She messaged me back saying it’s ok, Roro adores you. I mean she is being too nice?” Nia is being too nice “I don’t trust her” I openly said, Rylee sat next to me staring at her phone.

I can’t help but touch Rylee’ legs “shouldn’t you be getting dressed? We finna be late” she is sat here with a towel around her body “unless we fucking again?” Rylee smiled putting her hand up “well, I have another surprise for you” my eyes widened “oh really? Tell me more?” I said intrigued to know “so I know I just called Nia a bodybuilder but, she came through” Rylee grinned at me “so you know you will be overseas, I mean we both will be. I convinced her to let us take Royalty with us for a few weeks” my mouth fell open “no way! She would never” I spat in shock “she said she don’t mind it, she knows that her daughter will be in good hands but why didn’t she let you do this before? But surprise baby, you get to have Roro. She said seeing as you will be her future step mom and all that” I don’t know if to be angry or happy “I mean thank you babe, that is awesome news but she never trusted my mom. She thinks my mom lets Royalty be on a tour bus full of weed. I think Nia knows you won’t allow it, I feel a little emotional you know” Rylee cooed “just I thought I would never get this, to do this” rubbing my eyes “you deserve a blessing, so your tour is about to be so much fun” nodding my head, shifting in the couch. Laying my head on Rylee’ thighs “not now baby, I do need to get ready. Just know, I always got your best interest in mind baby. Always thinking to make things good for you” she touched my head, I am choked up by this.

I don’t know why I am feeling emotional, I need to suck this shit up now “why are you sniffling, are you crying” Rylee’ hand touched my forehead “talk to me baby, what is wrong?” flicking the tear away “I just feel sad as fuck” moving my head off Rylee’ thighs “why? I am here” I feel so stupid “just I could have lost you, I could have lost everything. I just think back to how I was without you, how Royalty barely loved me. I just feel bad for not loving her like I did and how I treated girls, when I found out I had a daughter I was so angry like why it had to be a girl. My mom snapped at me and said god got you back for acting the way you do, she’s precious. I never saw that but I do now, girls are precious as fuck and I just feel like I fucked up so much. I never could be bothered with court, it was all for show because deep down I cried to know she was a girl. To know I fucked a hoe and gave birth to a girl, she would just end up like her. It seems crazy that a girl that came into my life showed me this. Showed me the light, if I wanted to be a dick and not spoke to you that day I would have lost my soul mate. No other girl has ever cared for me the way you do, pure heart, pure love. Makes me cry to feel it” Rylee placed her hand on my shoulder “you have not failed or fucked up, Royalty is young. She doesn’t know anything yet, you changed it” looking at Rylee sitting back on the couch “because of you” I retorted “and? Does it matter, don’t feel bad for that. You love her now, and you hung around with the wrong crowd. You attracted trashy girls and I honestly didn’t want to be one but I went with the flow, love bought me here. Outside looking in Chris, you were a dick and I didn’t want to touch it but I am glad I did. Stop thinking so shit of yourself, you are a great father, husband, son. You have a beautiful heart, you just needed some guiding and I am always going to do you right” Rylee wrapped her arms around my head “you going to stop thinking shit about yourself?” I shrugged “you being stupid then because you overthinking” maybe I am, but shit makes me think how shit I was as a person that Nia didn’t even want me to have Roro alone.

Because of Rylee’ lateness we have a slight delay on boarding the jet, this is not good because I have a concert in Cleveland today. Stood with my hands in my pockets, I feel a little better but Rylee is right. I am just overthinking and need to look to the future, I have had an awesome time in Miami so let me stop “Tall Latte for Breezy” the barista said, smiling at her taking the Latte from her “oh shit” she said in shock, smiling at her as I walked away “no pictures, sorry” Joe said, Rylee looks so boujee with her shades on and pink slides, she got her Tom Ford bag close, she doesn’t let go of that bag “here” placing the Latte down on the table “can I have my change” she held her hand out, chuckling at her and digging into my pocket “I hope you bought Joe something” she said, Joe sat down and placed the bottle of water down. Placing the change on the table “you been legit about this paying thing” laughing at her taking her change “well, this was on me babe. Not every time I can spoil you, did you have a good time?” she asked “yeah, it was perfect. It’s really made me love you even more, I don’t know if that is possible to love someone more than I do? I think I might be crazy in love now” Rylee waved me off “stop it” I am feeling so clingy to Rylee now.

I should have got myself some water, I am actually thirsty “I need to get some clothes, what am I going to wear?” Rylee placed her Latte down “I can get your clothes out here or you can wait for about a week and a half and we in LA? You can wear my things? We can go straight up to LA and pick your stuff and ring up? We can go New Jersey and get things from your parents, decide baby and I will make it happen” Rylee smiled at me “I will wait, I will make it happen somehow. Thank you though, you know Chris. For Christmas, do you have Royalty on the day?” I paused thinking “erm on Christmas eve I do, why?” I keep forgetting that Christmas is coming up “what are you doing for it? I do want to go New Jersey as my family are coming together for this” I don’t want Rylee to go “but I only have like five days off before I go overseas, why can’t your family come to LA? I don’t know, I would love to have you with me Rylee” Rylee cooed at me “don’t give me that face, I just need to figure it out. You have to share me babe” shaking my head “stop it now, you know you do. We will spend the day together” shaking my head still “staying with me” I said as Joe chuckled at me “let her her go Negro” hitting his shoulder “leave my baby boy alone” Rylee spoke up.

I shouldn’t be surprised but then again I am because we have been hanging around in this airport for far too long, they was bound to find out we was here. Tightening my grip on Rylee’ hand as the paparazzi came at us, there is so many here and I don’t know why there is so many “Breezy, did you have a good time away?” I don’t think Joe is about to handle this on his own at all “where your girl engagement ring at? Rylee, you both about to split” seeing the guy is from TMZ, I hate them so much “Chris, we all heard the Instagram live. Did you both do a sex tape?” I couldn’t help but smile “then why you think we splitting? Dumbass” I couldn’t help it, Joe pushed him away “people said you were crying, is this right?” shaking my head “your mom made me cry nigga, fuck you” we finally made through security to get checked in “you seem really upset about this!” he shouted, I guess that is the main thing everyone will be speaking about now.

Rylee needs to not touch my crotch with her feet, she always does it “I swear you said you was sore but you are doing this?” she shrugged with a smile on her face “I like feeling your bulge though, because your dick is soft and just resting. You have a big dick and it just feels nice to touch” grabbing her foot “stop it” stretching her leg out “you can rest your feet but not rubbing my dick like that” my phone started ringing at the side of me “he is predictable” my manager calling like he does to chase me down on where I am at, answering the call “before you say anything or complain I am on the jet” I said before he said anything “I am glad to hear, no more crying though?” disconnecting the call, this is so annoying “why do people keep saying I was crying! I was just moaning, fuck my life” I am about to snap, Rylee giggled “come to think of it, you were going off on that moaning. You are my bitch, I did listen and I got turned on again by it” I don’t need Rylee laughing at me, pointing my camera at her. She put a middle finger up at me “I don’t have any make up on so don’t” posting the picture on Instagram, tagging Rylee in the picture ‘Stank’ pressing send.

“I think you need to look at your comments” Rylee said with a smirk, looking at my lock screen “this stank made you cry, wow Rylee!, wow. You’re the last person to be saying that” crossing my arms pouting “but I told you not too, I actually don’t look that bad” this is not fair that everyone is saying I cried “you really don’t like it? Christopher, stop it. You had the time of your life and you were just so overwhelmed with emotions, I am sorry” looking out of the jet window, I don’t wish to speak to her “Chrissy baby, oh baby. Please look at me” Rylee moved her feet away from my lap “baby daddy, talk to me” feeling Rylee sit on my lap “beautiful, look at me” not even moving my eyes away from the jet window “Christopher!” Rylee wrapped her arms around my head “talk to me” feeling Rylee lick my cheek “talk to me!” she moved her face so she got in my eye-view “Christopher Maurice Brown, talk to me” she started kissing my lips “if you love me you will speak to me” side eyeing Rylee, looking at her in annoyance “you take it back?” I said “yes daddy” I couldn’t help but smile “you lucky I love you and we on this jet, I would have pinned you to the bed and fucked you from behind” Rylee bit her bottom lip and moaned out “I’m wet” she said against my lips “don’t tempt me” kissing her lips “but no, we about to land soon” Rylee hugged me close “I love you noodle arms” smiling wide “I love you too shawty” holding Rylee close.

[adambstingus]

WeWork Is Launching a Grade School for Budding Entrepreneurs

WeWork says its mission is to help people do what they love. Now the office-sharing giant is testing that ethos on a smaller clientele: kindergartners.

The $20 billion startup, built on a vast network of hip co-working spaces where entrepreneurs and freelancers rent desks, is making its move into children’s education, launching a private elementary school for “conscious entrepreneurship” inside a New York City WeWork next fall. A pilot program of seven students, including one of the five young children of WeWork Cos. founders Adam and Rebekah Neumann, is under way.

“In my book, there’s no reason why children in elementary schools can’t be launching their own businesses,” Rebekah Neumann said in an interview. She thinks kids should develop their passions and act on them early, instead of waiting to grow up to be “disruptive,” as the entrepreneurial set puts it.

Adam and Rebekah Neumann

Photographer: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

The students—this pilot crop is five to eight years old—spend one day at a 60-acre farm and the rest of the week in a classroom near the company’s Manhattan headquarters, where they get lessons in business from both employees and entrepreneur-customers of WeWork. Neumann, who attended the elite New York City prep school Horace Mann and Cornell University, studying Buddhism and business, said she’s “rethinking the whole idea of what an education means” but is “non-compromising” on academic standards. The students will have to meet or exceed all of the state’s benchmarks for subjects such as math and reading.

At the farm, which the Neumanns bought last year, “if they are learning math, they are not just sitting in a classroom learning about numbers. They are also using numbers to run their farm stand, they’re reading about natural cycles of plant life,” she said. “It’s a very hands-on approach to learning.”

WeWork’s education ambitions are the latest offshoot of the rapidly growing company’s “We” brand, which promotes a seamless integration of meaningful work and a purpose-driven existence—make a life, not just a living, the motto goes. Last year, the company unveiled “co-living” residences under WeLive, furnished apartments in buildings with shared amenities, planned events and communal spaces (here’s what that’s like). Last month came Rise by We—a facility that features gym equipment, co-ed saunas and yoga classes that connect “wellness” and spirituality with entrepreneurism—and a coding boot camp. It is a brand, atop a real estate leasing company, that some critics say is overvalued. 

With their foray into schooling, the Neumanns join a growing list of entrepreneurial billionaires trying to reshape American education with their influence and investments. Facebook’s Mark  Zuckerberg, along with other tech entrepreneurs, for example, are investing in public, charter and private schools that use technology to foster personalized education. While there’s broad agreement that the nation’s education system has its failings, the solutions are especially fraught because the beneficiaries, or guinea pigs, are children.

Here and below, renderings of the planned school by the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). 

Source: WeWork

The kids have already gotten lessons from the Neumanns’ employees in creating a brand and using effective sales techniques, and from Adam Neumann on supply and demand. Mentorships with WeWork customer-entrepreneurs are available. “Basically, anything they might want to learn, we have people in the field that can teach it,” Rebekah Neumann said. When one of their students, an eight-year-old girl named Nia, made T-shirts to sell at the farm stand the kids run, “we noticed she has a strong aptitude and passion for design,” Neumann said. She is securing an apprenticeship with fashion designers who rent space from WeWork.

The hands-on, project-based learning, encouraging children to ask questions and take ownership of their education, sounds like what “progressive pedagogy has been teaching for 100 years,” said Samuel Abrams, the director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

But WeWork’s “very instrumental approach” to learning, “essentially encouraging kids to monetize their ideas, at that age, is damaging,” Abrams said. “You’re sucking the joy out of education at a time when kids should just be thinking about things like how plants grow and why there are so many species.”

Neumann argues it’s conventional education that is “squashing out the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that’s intrinsic to all young children.” Then, after college, she said, “somehow we’re asking them to be disruptive and recover that spirit.”

The Neumanns, who founded WeWork in 2010 with the chief creative officer, Miguel McKelvey, started out renting sleek office space to nomadic workers and entrepreneurs. There’s beer on tap, micro-roasted coffee, and aphorisms on the walls about working hard. But Adam, WeWork’s CEO, has said he wants the company to be the architect of entire neighborhoods.

A former officer in the Israeli Navy who as a child lived for a time on a kibbutz (McKelvey grew up in a commune), the 38-year-old is after a kind of entrepreneurial utopia, or a “capitalist kibbutz,” in his words. He has even branded his customers—now about 150,000 of them in 52 cities around the globe—the WeGeneration, a collaborative group that “cares about the world, actually wants to do cool things, and loves working,” as he told Fast Company last year. 

Rebekah, a co-founder and the company’s chief brand officer, launched the pilot in September with guidance from a family friend, Lois Weisswasser, a former principal of P.S. 41, one of the city’s top public schools. For now, she has just two full-time teachers, one from the high-performing P.S. 234 and one from P.S. 77, a gifted-and-talented school. The first WeWork school probably will be built inside the headquarters and be accessible through a separate entrance. WeWork has enlisted the innovative Danish architecture firm of Bjarke Ingels, which has designed a building at the World Trade Center campus and a flood prevention plan for New York City.

Source: WeWork

Neumann plans to have about 65 students next fall—with about 10 each in a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old class, and 15 each grouped as kindergarten/first grade, second/third grade, and fourth grade—and then go straight through 12th grade. Her grand vision for the project, which is called (wait for it) WeGrow, is to open schools in WeWorks around the world, move into higher and continuing education, and perhaps expand the business to training other teachers in WeWork’s pedagogy. WeGrow talks about educating people “from birth to death.”

It isn’t clear yet how all this will be funded, though the funds may come directly from the Neumanns. The company is still working on tuition and hopes to make the school “accessible” to a broad swath of parents through a sliding scale based on income, a spokesman said. Private school tuition in New York City can soar past $30,000 a year. WeWork hasn’t decided whether the school should be a nonprofit, either.

Source: WeWork

A certified yoga teacher and former actress, Neumann sometimes teaches a yoga or drama class herself in the pilot program. The kids learn to cook and do mindfulness and meditation exercises.  Neumann sees the job as “raising conscious global citizens” who “understand what their superpowers are … and use these talents and gifts to help each other and help the world.”

And if entrepreneurial parents need to travel for several months? Take the whole family along, Neumann said, looking ahead to her international vision. There, as in New York, the kids will be just a staircase away.

In her own family, she said, “there are no lines” between work and life or home and office. “My kids are in the office. I’m doing what I love, he’s doing what he loves, they are observing that, and they are doing what they love.”

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/wework-is-launching-a-grade-school-for-budding-entrepreneurs/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/182120739002

[owl-with-a-pen]

Episode three was just... no comment.

What did you think?

me through the entirety of Lex’s trial: 

6x02 episode spoilers under the cut! (warning: I may have written a short essay)

In all honesty, I’m a bit comme ci, comme ça about the episode. There were parts I liked and parts I didn’t like (as there always are) but to begin lemme focus on Brainy and Nia because, duh, you should expect this from me by this point.

Brainy is an endlessly fascinating character to study and I think a large part of that comes from what Jesse manages to bring to the role. In this episode, it’s clear that Brainy has put a lot of effort into pushing aside his emotions. We see a little bit of that charm back in the way that he deals with the vampire-not-vampire character at the beginning of the episode with the whole ‘pun not intended’ part, and I loved seeing him in action again, using his very unique and incredibly fun to watch fighting style to disarm his opponent. But, I think it’s clear that in this instance, it’s more for show than anything else. The whole episode, Brainy is incredibly reserved, even when he’s talking to Nia. There’s a firmness in the way he deals with the situation and it goes to show just how focused he is on getting Kara back.

This doesn’t surprise me, to be fair. Brainy clearly blames himself for what happened to Kara and I think he’s trying to hide that guilt, hide everything he’s feeling just so he can operate and fix things. I loved seeing Brainy create a simulation for Nia and how confident he was in her ability. He knew with all certainty that she was capable enough to get Kara back, to use her powers to their fullest extent, and although the way he spoke to her felt rather pragmatic, it made sense for him in that moment. Also, there was so much care behind the intensity of those words that Nia definitely picked up on. I also just love seeing the two of them training together again! Also, Nia mentioning how without her mother or Maeve, she felt she couldn’t gain the full scope of her powers was very interesting. It makes me wonder if there might be a possible return of Maeve in the future? 

I think what further adds to Brainy’s mentality is that at the end of the episode when he sees Lex on the news, he breaks his keyboard without even thinking. I’m a big fan of seeing Brainy using his strength - and just seeing him snap in general - so that ticked a big box for me. I’m hoping that this means we’ll actually get a character arc for him that focuses on what removing his inhibitors really did. Brainy was essentially thrown into the deep end with his emotions and had to immediately bottle them all away to work for Lex. He doesn’t just harbour hatred for Lex, he blames Lex for everything, and seeing him get free after everything he did, everything Brainy helped him achieve, is that emotional trigger that finally causes Brainy’s standoffish attitude to fall apart. It’s enough that he loses his composure to the extent that he breaks the first thing he can grab hold of. There’s a lot to unpack here and I swear to god I will be having words with the writers if that isn’t explored in more detail. 

(I, however, will explore this in more detail in my writing, I can guarantee you that!)

There was a direct parallel between Alex and Brainy’s anger which I liked, and I of course loved that Kelly was there for Alex. Do I wish we’d had a tender scene between Nia and Brainy? Of course. Do I understand why it wasn’t appropriate for the scene? Yes. Does that make it suck any less we didn’t get to see it? Lol, of course not. But Brainy said it himself, after all, now wasn’t the time to focus on anything other than training - which is why seeing Lex later on hit him so hard. 

Speaking of Lex. The trial. The trial. The trial. I somewhat feel like the way Lex got off free was a poke at the American political system and quite possibly Trump which, y’know, appreciate the jab, but it still felt rather off. As I said in my fun little meme, I don’t really know much about court cases so I’m not gonna dwell on what did and didn’t make sense, but I have a sneaking suspicion Lillian was the mastermind behind Lex getting out as easily as he did. It’s all about image, right? And Lex certainly turned the tables of the trial to gain some sympathy... even though it was totally undeserved and oh my god could he have been any more of a sexist asshole??

Lena making her testimony was very interesting. I liked the back and forth between her and Lex, as always their dynamic is very fun to watch. However, what really got me was that Lena still had the gall to try and explain herself for Non Nocere, how it was never meant to be mind control, how Lex took her design, blah blah blah. But, she used it for mind control at the DEO. And, also, regardless of what you’re using it for, changing a person’s emotions is still mind. control. Plain and simple. Her motive was selfish, and I’d thought that she had begun to understand that from her previous conversation with Brainy in 6x01, but I guess we’re just gonna casually forget about that.. again..? I wanted an organic way for Lena to come to terms with what she’d done and actively strive to do better because of it, but now I worry her thoughts on the matter will be dismissed for more Drama. Which. Well. Doesn’t sit right with me. 

I loved seeing J’onn referencing his daughters again and relating that to his care for Kara. I also loved seeing J’onn and Nia amplify their powers by working together against the Phantoms. If you’ve read some of my Past, Present, Future fic you’ve probably noticed that I use that dynamic a lot. So, seeing it on screen was super cool!

As for the Phantoms, I like their character design, although the Phantom Zone itself feels rather... flat... at the moment. Am I surprised that the mysterious Kryptonian was Kara’s dad? No. No I am not. Did I kinda wish it would be someone else from the House of El? Yes, yes I did. A lot of Kara’s trauma was rooted in the fact that she lost her planet and her parents, and although getting her mother back was very sweet, now having her father conveniently return in the Phantom Zone felt a bit... I don’t know, exactly. I guess it just felt a little forced. Regardless, there’s a lot of potential to see the pair team up to try and get out of the Phantom Zone, and I’m hoping the Phantom Zone will feel a bit more... daunting than it does now... the more we see of it. 

Another thing I wished we’d seen was Nia and William actually working together. Andrea putting them together for Lex’s trial sounded like a good opportunity to get some proper interaction between the two and maybe also give William a bit more weight in the storyline, but he still feels like a bit of a blank slate where character is concerned. I feel like they missed out on a good opportunity there by just... skipping over it. I’m sure there’ll be time for that later, but still, a William and Nia work dynamic sounds like it’d be fun to see, especially while Kara is MIA. 

So, I’ve almost definitely missed stuff out here, I’ve only watched the episode through once and it was totally during my work hours so I’ll certainly need to do a re-watch to catch everything, but that is my brief(ish) essay on what I did and didn’t like about the episode. 

All in all, I’d say I enjoyed it in the sense that it was entertaining and we got to see some character progression that I’m eager to have explored, but I do also think it was lacking in many elements as well. 

Thanks for sticking around with me to the end of this jumbled ramble of stuff if you made it this far. And thank you for the question! x

[samanthasroberts]

WeWork Is Launching a Grade School for Budding Entrepreneurs

WeWork says its mission is to help people do what they love. Now the office-sharing giant is testing that ethos on a smaller clientele: kindergartners.

The $20 billion startup, built on a vast network of hip co-working spaces where entrepreneurs and freelancers rent desks, is making its move into children’s education, launching a private elementary school for “conscious entrepreneurship” inside a New York City WeWork next fall. A pilot program of seven students, including one of the five young children of WeWork Cos. founders Adam and Rebekah Neumann, is under way.

“In my book, there’s no reason why children in elementary schools can’t be launching their own businesses,” Rebekah Neumann said in an interview. She thinks kids should develop their passions and act on them early, instead of waiting to grow up to be “disruptive,” as the entrepreneurial set puts it.

Adam and Rebekah Neumann

Photographer: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

The students—this pilot crop is five to eight years old—spend one day at a 60-acre farm and the rest of the week in a classroom near the company’s Manhattan headquarters, where they get lessons in business from both employees and entrepreneur-customers of WeWork. Neumann, who attended the elite New York City prep school Horace Mann and Cornell University, studying Buddhism and business, said she’s “rethinking the whole idea of what an education means” but is “non-compromising” on academic standards. The students will have to meet or exceed all of the state’s benchmarks for subjects such as math and reading.

At the farm, which the Neumanns bought last year, “if they are learning math, they are not just sitting in a classroom learning about numbers. They are also using numbers to run their farm stand, they’re reading about natural cycles of plant life,” she said. “It’s a very hands-on approach to learning.”

WeWork’s education ambitions are the latest offshoot of the rapidly growing company’s “We” brand, which promotes a seamless integration of meaningful work and a purpose-driven existence—make a life, not just a living, the motto goes. Last year, the company unveiled “co-living” residences under WeLive, furnished apartments in buildings with shared amenities, planned events and communal spaces (here’s what that’s like). Last month came Rise by We—a facility that features gym equipment, co-ed saunas and yoga classes that connect “wellness” and spirituality with entrepreneurism—and a coding boot camp. It is a brand, atop a real estate leasing company, that some critics say is overvalued. 

With their foray into schooling, the Neumanns join a growing list of entrepreneurial billionaires trying to reshape American education with their influence and investments. Facebook’s Mark  Zuckerberg, along with other tech entrepreneurs, for example, are investing in public, charter and private schools that use technology to foster personalized education. While there’s broad agreement that the nation’s education system has its failings, the solutions are especially fraught because the beneficiaries, or guinea pigs, are children.

Here and below, renderings of the planned school by the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). 

Source: WeWork

The kids have already gotten lessons from the Neumanns’ employees in creating a brand and using effective sales techniques, and from Adam Neumann on supply and demand. Mentorships with WeWork customer-entrepreneurs are available. “Basically, anything they might want to learn, we have people in the field that can teach it,” Rebekah Neumann said. When one of their students, an eight-year-old girl named Nia, made T-shirts to sell at the farm stand the kids run, “we noticed she has a strong aptitude and passion for design,” Neumann said. She is securing an apprenticeship with fashion designers who rent space from WeWork.

The hands-on, project-based learning, encouraging children to ask questions and take ownership of their education, sounds like what “progressive pedagogy has been teaching for 100 years,” said Samuel Abrams, the director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

But WeWork’s “very instrumental approach” to learning, “essentially encouraging kids to monetize their ideas, at that age, is damaging,” Abrams said. “You’re sucking the joy out of education at a time when kids should just be thinking about things like how plants grow and why there are so many species.”

Neumann argues it’s conventional education that is “squashing out the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that’s intrinsic to all young children.” Then, after college, she said, “somehow we’re asking them to be disruptive and recover that spirit.”

The Neumanns, who founded WeWork in 2010 with the chief creative officer, Miguel McKelvey, started out renting sleek office space to nomadic workers and entrepreneurs. There’s beer on tap, micro-roasted coffee, and aphorisms on the walls about working hard. But Adam, WeWork’s CEO, has said he wants the company to be the architect of entire neighborhoods.

A former officer in the Israeli Navy who as a child lived for a time on a kibbutz (McKelvey grew up in a commune), the 38-year-old is after a kind of entrepreneurial utopia, or a “capitalist kibbutz,” in his words. He has even branded his customers—now about 150,000 of them in 52 cities around the globe—the WeGeneration, a collaborative group that “cares about the world, actually wants to do cool things, and loves working,” as he told Fast Company last year. 

Rebekah, a co-founder and the company’s chief brand officer, launched the pilot in September with guidance from a family friend, Lois Weisswasser, a former principal of P.S. 41, one of the city’s top public schools. For now, she has just two full-time teachers, one from the high-performing P.S. 234 and one from P.S. 77, a gifted-and-talented school. The first WeWork school probably will be built inside the headquarters and be accessible through a separate entrance. WeWork has enlisted the innovative Danish architecture firm of Bjarke Ingels, which has designed a building at the World Trade Center campus and a flood prevention plan for New York City.

Source: WeWork

Neumann plans to have about 65 students next fall—with about 10 each in a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old class, and 15 each grouped as kindergarten/first grade, second/third grade, and fourth grade—and then go straight through 12th grade. Her grand vision for the project, which is called (wait for it) WeGrow, is to open schools in WeWorks around the world, move into higher and continuing education, and perhaps expand the business to training other teachers in WeWork’s pedagogy. WeGrow talks about educating people “from birth to death.”

It isn’t clear yet how all this will be funded, though the funds may come directly from the Neumanns. The company is still working on tuition and hopes to make the school “accessible” to a broad swath of parents through a sliding scale based on income, a spokesman said. Private school tuition in New York City can soar past $30,000 a year. WeWork hasn’t decided whether the school should be a nonprofit, either.

Source: WeWork

A certified yoga teacher and former actress, Neumann sometimes teaches a yoga or drama class herself in the pilot program. The kids learn to cook and do mindfulness and meditation exercises.  Neumann sees the job as “raising conscious global citizens” who “understand what their superpowers are … and use these talents and gifts to help each other and help the world.”

And if entrepreneurial parents need to travel for several months? Take the whole family along, Neumann said, looking ahead to her international vision. There, as in New York, the kids will be just a staircase away.

In her own family, she said, “there are no lines” between work and life or home and office. “My kids are in the office. I’m doing what I love, he’s doing what he loves, they are observing that, and they are doing what they love.”

Source: http://allofbeer.com/wework-is-launching-a-grade-school-for-budding-entrepreneurs/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/01/18/wework-is-launching-a-grade-school-for-budding-entrepreneurs/

[allofbeercom]

WeWork Is Launching a Grade School for Budding Entrepreneurs

WeWork says its mission is to help people do what they love. Now the office-sharing giant is testing that ethos on a smaller clientele: kindergartners.

The $20 billion startup, built on a vast network of hip co-working spaces where entrepreneurs and freelancers rent desks, is making its move into children’s education, launching a private elementary school for “conscious entrepreneurship” inside a New York City WeWork next fall. A pilot program of seven students, including one of the five young children of WeWork Cos. founders Adam and Rebekah Neumann, is under way.

“In my book, there’s no reason why children in elementary schools can’t be launching their own businesses,” Rebekah Neumann said in an interview. She thinks kids should develop their passions and act on them early, instead of waiting to grow up to be “disruptive,” as the entrepreneurial set puts it.

Adam and Rebekah Neumann

Photographer: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

The students—this pilot crop is five to eight years old—spend one day at a 60-acre farm and the rest of the week in a classroom near the company’s Manhattan headquarters, where they get lessons in business from both employees and entrepreneur-customers of WeWork. Neumann, who attended the elite New York City prep school Horace Mann and Cornell University, studying Buddhism and business, said she’s “rethinking the whole idea of what an education means” but is “non-compromising” on academic standards. The students will have to meet or exceed all of the state’s benchmarks for subjects such as math and reading.

At the farm, which the Neumanns bought last year, “if they are learning math, they are not just sitting in a classroom learning about numbers. They are also using numbers to run their farm stand, they’re reading about natural cycles of plant life,” she said. “It’s a very hands-on approach to learning.”

WeWork’s education ambitions are the latest offshoot of the rapidly growing company’s “We” brand, which promotes a seamless integration of meaningful work and a purpose-driven existence—make a life, not just a living, the motto goes. Last year, the company unveiled “co-living” residences under WeLive, furnished apartments in buildings with shared amenities, planned events and communal spaces (here’s what that’s like). Last month came Rise by We—a facility that features gym equipment, co-ed saunas and yoga classes that connect “wellness” and spirituality with entrepreneurism—and a coding boot camp. It is a brand, atop a real estate leasing company, that some critics say is overvalued. 

With their foray into schooling, the Neumanns join a growing list of entrepreneurial billionaires trying to reshape American education with their influence and investments. Facebook’s Mark  Zuckerberg, along with other tech entrepreneurs, for example, are investing in public, charter and private schools that use technology to foster personalized education. While there’s broad agreement that the nation’s education system has its failings, the solutions are especially fraught because the beneficiaries, or guinea pigs, are children.

Here and below, renderings of the planned school by the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). 

Source: WeWork

The kids have already gotten lessons from the Neumanns’ employees in creating a brand and using effective sales techniques, and from Adam Neumann on supply and demand. Mentorships with WeWork customer-entrepreneurs are available. “Basically, anything they might want to learn, we have people in the field that can teach it,” Rebekah Neumann said. When one of their students, an eight-year-old girl named Nia, made T-shirts to sell at the farm stand the kids run, “we noticed she has a strong aptitude and passion for design,” Neumann said. She is securing an apprenticeship with fashion designers who rent space from WeWork.

The hands-on, project-based learning, encouraging children to ask questions and take ownership of their education, sounds like what “progressive pedagogy has been teaching for 100 years,” said Samuel Abrams, the director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

But WeWork’s “very instrumental approach” to learning, “essentially encouraging kids to monetize their ideas, at that age, is damaging,” Abrams said. “You’re sucking the joy out of education at a time when kids should just be thinking about things like how plants grow and why there are so many species.”

Neumann argues it’s conventional education that is “squashing out the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that’s intrinsic to all young children.” Then, after college, she said, “somehow we’re asking them to be disruptive and recover that spirit.”

The Neumanns, who founded WeWork in 2010 with the chief creative officer, Miguel McKelvey, started out renting sleek office space to nomadic workers and entrepreneurs. There’s beer on tap, micro-roasted coffee, and aphorisms on the walls about working hard. But Adam, WeWork’s CEO, has said he wants the company to be the architect of entire neighborhoods.

A former officer in the Israeli Navy who as a child lived for a time on a kibbutz (McKelvey grew up in a commune), the 38-year-old is after a kind of entrepreneurial utopia, or a “capitalist kibbutz,” in his words. He has even branded his customers—now about 150,000 of them in 52 cities around the globe—the WeGeneration, a collaborative group that “cares about the world, actually wants to do cool things, and loves working,” as he told Fast Company last year. 

Rebekah, a co-founder and the company’s chief brand officer, launched the pilot in September with guidance from a family friend, Lois Weisswasser, a former principal of P.S. 41, one of the city’s top public schools. For now, she has just two full-time teachers, one from the high-performing P.S. 234 and one from P.S. 77, a gifted-and-talented school. The first WeWork school probably will be built inside the headquarters and be accessible through a separate entrance. WeWork has enlisted the innovative Danish architecture firm of Bjarke Ingels, which has designed a building at the World Trade Center campus and a flood prevention plan for New York City.

Source: WeWork

Neumann plans to have about 65 students next fall—with about 10 each in a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old class, and 15 each grouped as kindergarten/first grade, second/third grade, and fourth grade—and then go straight through 12th grade. Her grand vision for the project, which is called (wait for it) WeGrow, is to open schools in WeWorks around the world, move into higher and continuing education, and perhaps expand the business to training other teachers in WeWork’s pedagogy. WeGrow talks about educating people “from birth to death.”

It isn’t clear yet how all this will be funded, though the funds may come directly from the Neumanns. The company is still working on tuition and hopes to make the school “accessible” to a broad swath of parents through a sliding scale based on income, a spokesman said. Private school tuition in New York City can soar past $30,000 a year. WeWork hasn’t decided whether the school should be a nonprofit, either.

Source: WeWork

A certified yoga teacher and former actress, Neumann sometimes teaches a yoga or drama class herself in the pilot program. The kids learn to cook and do mindfulness and meditation exercises.  Neumann sees the job as “raising conscious global citizens” who “understand what their superpowers are … and use these talents and gifts to help each other and help the world.”

And if entrepreneurial parents need to travel for several months? Take the whole family along, Neumann said, looking ahead to her international vision. There, as in New York, the kids will be just a staircase away.

In her own family, she said, “there are no lines” between work and life or home and office. “My kids are in the office. I’m doing what I love, he’s doing what he loves, they are observing that, and they are doing what they love.”

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/wework-is-launching-a-grade-school-for-budding-entrepreneurs/

[w0ssa]

Wrestlemania 33

Hello I'm some 15 year old idiot here to give his opinion on what may end up being one of the most important nights in wrestling history. Let's start with a quick look at the pre show. I thought the match between Neville and Aries was really really fucking good, which made up for the kinda disappointing Baron vs Dean. Neville keeping the belt is the best thing for it I think, he should hold that belt for absolute years to be honest. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was won by Mojo Rawly........I'm just gonna say BRAUN FUCKING STROWMAN and leave it at that. Now as for the main card I think the wrestling was incredible due in large part to the opening match of Shane vs AJ Styles. I should just say now I'm a massive AJ fan I think that man can do no wrong but even without hailing everything he does as proof god is real it's obvious he had a great match, especially after factoring Shane into the equation. Don't get me wrong Shane's no Ellsworth but he's no Kurt Angle, never the less he wrested very well in this match. I like that he didn't jump off anything huge in an attempt to kill himself but instead actually properly wrestled, he performed well and sold pretty damn good (although kicking out of a Styles Clash isn't great) and putting over AJ and allowing him his first Mania win is of course a great thing and I seriously believe AJ should main event next year. Moving on the the 4-way elimination match for the RAW Women's Championship, it was pretty good. As I've said the show was full of great wrestling and that's regardless of gender. The women did a really good job in telling stories and making everyone seem good. For example, Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte having to team up to get rid of Nia, it made Nia look like an absolute beast kept her looking strong despite going out early which is always gonna be worst for you. It came down to Charlotte vs Bayley which I like as it displayed how Bayley could win on her own and showed how good she was to a more casual audience who at this point probably saw her as kinda weak. The outcome was good with Bayley keeping the belt, hopefully this shows a good, long, legitimising run with the title for her and deservedly so. Now for the RAW Tag Team Title triple threat (fatal 4-way) ladder match. Overall, DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE! Nah but really the wrestling was good the surprise was brilliant and then Jeff half killed himself. Who can complain? Now if you ask me the John Cena and Nikki Bella vs The Miz and Maryse was the biggest missed opportunity of the night. If team Miz had won it really would've cemented them as the power couple of the WWE at least until Cena comes back from doing films and TV probably around Summer Slam. Plus you could've used this momentum to push him either back into the IC Title picture or up into the main even scene. The proposal at the end was pretty adorable though I can't lie. But the match at least felt important and I really enjoyed the build up to it with the fake Total Bella episodes being a highlight maybe even of the WWE Year so far as far as promos are concerned. Now my most hyped match of the night Jericho vs Owens (should I mention I'm just doing these as I think of them?). Hands down the best built match of the night with the Festival of Friendship and the list being absolutely amazing. Of course it was going to be a sound wrestling match it's Chris "Best Jackets Ever" Jericho vs Kevin "Fuck You And Your Friendship" Owens. But the chemistry these two have is great and I really hope this isn't the last time we see this match. A highlight for me was Owens putting the walls on Jericho which just made him seem like an even bigger dick and if you ask me he's the best true heel in wresting right now. The right person won allowing Owens to keep some momentum despite Goldberg happening plus I think he can really elevate the belt like Cena did in 2015. Now the SmackDown Women's Championship six pack challenge. It was pretty good I think, Naomi won because of course what else would be the right option she's talented and can really go with the best of them. I just hope her and Alexa don't become the Sasha and Charlotte of SmackDown and she gets a nice long title run to Summer Slam or maybe even further. I don't have a huge amount to say about this match so I just wanna say the SmackDown need to do something anything about there tag team situation, RAW has made a good start with the Hardy Boys but still those belts mean nothing right now. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt next then. It was okay I guess. It sucks that Bray had to loose I was hoping they'd really get behind him on this title run and he could really establish himself as a strong main event star because he's a talented working and in a see of "I'm here because I wanna be the best" wrestlers it's nice to have somebody who's motivation is "I'm gonna fuck up all of your shit". Hopefully he wins it back in the rematch I think that'd be pretty good. Lesnar vs Dadberg now and OH MY GOD I BLINKED AND DIDNT MISS THE WHOLE MATCH WHAT?!?!?!?!?!???????!!!!?!???!?!? No but to be fair it was entertaining to see two giant ass guys kick the ever loving shit out of each other for a couple minutes and in that respect it was kinda an oddity on the card. It was now technical masterpiece but I think it was just as enjoyable. Brock winning has come about 4 months to late but hey at least we got it and Lesnar is a champ and he always adds some legitimacy to a belt because of his whole UFC eating everybody thing. Match of the night for me was Seth vs HHH. It was great from a wrestling stand point and from a storyline one to, Seth being a former protected heel now forced to be an underdog face because of his injured knee was a great change in dynamic for his character and he sold the shit out of it to. Triple H's maker vs destroyer angel going in was good to, his entrance was fucking ridiculous so I enjoyed it but Seth's. Oh baby Seth's. With the gold and the fire and the everything it was spectacular. The match itself was really good, the unsanctioned stipulation wasn't used all to often, unlike HHH and HBK's beautiful match of the same kind, but when it was it was effective with Steph going through a table and Seth's leg in the steal chair. I really liked how Seth used all his former finishers and signatures before getting to the pedigree kinda showing how he's changed from the architect to the king slayer. Him finishing it with the pedigree was a beautiful touch and the perfect ending. Now, Undertaker. Roman won and I don't know how to feel about it, well I do because I'm really pissed off about it but the bit I'm unsure about the ending. Is Taker just gonna go now? I only ask this because I think the man is so committed to kayfabe he wouldn't want a retirement ceremony he'd just disappear. So no more Taker? It's hard to picture Mania without the dead man. I don't like that Roman won without turning heel, it's done nothing for his character if anything the fans hate him more now for not turning heel and he didn't need the rub from retiring Taker if that's what he's done. If you want my opinion it should've been Balor to do it, and I'm not 100% sure if I'd want Balor to win that match. The Undertaker has done an unbelievable amount for the business and for every wrestling fan. Thank you, Taker. Oh, and as all his Mania matches Taker put on a master class in blending character work and great wrestling. That was Wrestlemania 33. Thanks for reading if you have, please tell me if this is shit or not I really don't know but I kinda enjoyed it so. If I missed a match tell me to I might have missed one. Thanks and stuff!

[junker-town]

What we learned from No Mercy 2017: Vince McMahon’s big guy fetish faltered at the wrong time

Years of memes wasted on a goofy decision.

No Mercy was great! Mostly. The parts that were supposed to be great were not necessarily great, but the parts people weren’t enthused about were all on point, so it evened out. Well, not completely evened. Enzo Amore can fall down a well and bring the Cruiserweight Championship with him, but we’ll get to that in due time.

Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship against Jason Jordan

Miz had a little help retaining the Intercontinental strap against the up-and-coming Jason Jordan, but it should be pointed out that, in true Miz fashion, he isn’t actually responsible for the shenanigans that caused Jordan to lose in the end. Jordan attacked Bo Dallas outside of the ring, and later, Dallas tried to interfere in the match itself at a crucial moment. Jordan took care of Dallas instead of ignoring him, opening the door for Miz to attack Jordan from behind.

What we learned: Yes, Miz got an assist, but in a way where he can blame Jordan for creating an opportunity for Miz to capitalize on. He’ll be stretching the truth instead of lying, and while it might not seem all that different, that’s an important distinction when it comes to heeling. Miz will truly believe he’s in the right, and he has just enough video evidence to back up his case.

Meanwhile, someone teach Jason Jordan how to read a crowd, because they loved Miz and were not at all there for Jordan’s post-match promo saying Miz sucks. Maybe just skip that one next time the crowd is going wild for a Miz win, guys. Kudos to Corey Graves for trying to say the crowd’s “Who’s your daddy?” chants were about Miz’s unborn child, though, and not Jason Jordan’s soap opera story line with long-lost father, Kurt Angle.

Finn Balor, man, defeated Bray Wyatt, god

So I called out something in the preview, about how Bray was just expecting us to forget that he constantly says a god resides within him and boosts his powers so that he and Finn Balor could have a “man vs. man” match. Wouldn’t you know it, Bray attacked Balor from behind and was like “ha ha ha, you seem to have forgotten that I constantly say a god resides within me and boosts my powers and it allowed me to book this totally unfair match with you and this time you aren’t even wearing your body paint.” Finn won despite the sneak attack and unfair nature of the match, by the way, and without even stopping in the back for a few brush strokes first.

What we learned: As with every Bray Wyatt plan ever, in the end, he lost because whatever god is inhabiting him is one of those JRPG gods who just thinks they’re omnipotent but actually forgot a whole bunch of key details that could (and eventually do) lead to their demise. “Incompetent” and “omnipotent” have most of the same letters, you know.

Or, as Brandon Stroud so eloquently put it months ago in one of wrestling’s most evergreen tweets:

Every single Bray Wyatt angle http://pic.twitter.com/hTdJ5I2VZl

— Brandon Stroud (@MrBrandonStroud) May 30, 2017

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins retain the RAW Tag Team Championships against Sheamus and Cesaro

It’s a shame the feud between these two is likely at its end, because good lord do they work well together. And all the credit in the world goes to Cesaro, who had his teeth either knocked out of him or further into him, for continuing to wrestle a completely baller match after said teeth went askew.

Who is next up for Ambrose and Rollins? I don’t know, but at some point, we need The Revival healthy so they can come for these titles.

What we learned: Ambrose and Rollins are able to hide any flaws the two might have in their game by tagging together, and it’s art. Sheamus and Cesaro need to stay buddies even if they end up stopping chasing the tag titles and go after singles championships, because their friendship is too beautiful to break up. FRIENDSHIP-BASED TAG TEAM WRESTLING FOREVER, THE FANS ARE THE REAL WINNERS WHEN FRIENDSHIP IS INVOLVED.

Alexa Bliss pinned Bayley and defeated Emma, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax to retain the RAW Women’s Championship

You might be upset that Alexa Bliss didn’t lose her title to Sasha or Bayley or Nia or even Emma, but it’s okay. The match was great, with tons of interaction among the five women, and logical storytelling with alliances forming and breaking and everyone realizing Nia Jax needed to be unconscious if anyone besides her was going to be productive for more than 10 seconds at a time. Plus, Alexa is going to end up facing Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship, and her getting wrecked by the Empress of Tomorrow makes a lot more sense than having Nia suffer that fate.

What we learned: Well, I kind of already told you that above, but that’s fine because now I’ll share with you what I would have done with this match and subsequent followup.

Emma has experience with Asuka from their shared NXT days, and all of it is terrifying and likely still gives Emma nightmares. Emma winning would have been wonderful as then Asuka would have showed up to lay claim to the belt, which should have led to a month of Emma hiding backstage wherever she could, and Asuka just stalking Emma around the arena for entire shows like she’s Nemesis from the Resident Evil video games.

tl;dr

I mean if you don't want Asuka to burst through a wall to chase and attack Emma I'm not sure what we're doing here

— Marc Normandin (@Marc_Normandin) September 25, 2017

Roman Reigns defeated John Cena and is officially the biggest dog in the yard

This match was real good, and while it seems like the ending came out of nowhere, with Cena getting speared once in the ring and going down, it really did not. Reigns beat Cena’s ass for most of the match, and all Cena really got in on him was a few of his signature powered up spots: the second rope Attitude Adjustment and double AA didn’t take Reigns down, because Cena didn’t lay any groundwork. He was goofing and laughing and smiling throughout the match, but that was all Cena putting on a brave face and assuming he would win this thing in the end even as he struggled to put the same kind of hurting on Roman that Reigns was putting on Cena.

When Reigns did kick out of everything Cena had to offer, John looked exasperated, the smiles vanished, and he stared at Reigns while making some pretty clear “I don’t understand how you’re doing this right now” faces. Reigns had hit Cena with everything except his major moves — aside from the first spear that put Cena through an announce table — but then rattled off a Superman Punch and a spear to get that 1-2-3 and Cena’s respect.

What we learned: Was it the greatest match either has ever been in? Not even close. But it was far more fitting of a showdown than what we got when Cena had the torch passed to him by the Rock at either once in a lifetime match. Plus, it’s fun to see Cena get Cena’d, even if he didn’t really get Cena’d. And on a night where the announce team was letting us know his next pay-per-view would tie him for the most all-time, too.

Enzo Amore won the Cruiserweight Championship from Neville and it was dumb

I try not to harp on booking decisions too much, as playing wait-and-see often solves many issues you can dream up at the moment a supposed mistake was made. However, Enzo Amore winning the Cruiserweight Championship was a bad idea that happened in a bad match and just makes the entire cruiserweight division look bad.

Enzo is not a good wrestler. He’s good at being thrown around and ragdolled, and it helps that people want to see him get thrown around, but he never should have beaten Neville, even with a distraction. There were other wrestlers they could have done this with, or they could have not done it at all and simply had Cedric Alexander feud with Neville, which is some take my money stuff. Instead, we get the thing we knew was going to happen happen, and no one is happy.

Maybe his reign will be brief and we can move on, but considering all of the talent WWE fails to utilize within their cruiserweight division, handing the championship to the worst wrestler of the bunch is just weird. It should say a lot that I would have been fine with Lana defeating Naomi via shenanigans to heel it up as SmackDown Women’s Champ but have zero interest or justification at the ready for Enzo.

Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal Championship against Braun Strowman

What the hell, guys? Vince McMahon has long been OBSESSED with size, pushing huge dudes even if they didn’t have any other discernible talent outside of said hugeness. Braun Strowman is massive: he’s 6-foot-8, 385 pounds, and more agile than either of those numbers would lead you to believe. He’s charismatic, the crowd loves him, and Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar’s manager, has been putting him over as bigger and stronger than his client, and maybe even the second-coming of Lesnar that we never thought we’d see, for weeks.

The result in their showdown, which came after a SummerSlam in which Strowman singlehandedly took Lesnar out of the proceedings for most of the match and then made him look like a nerd on television for weeks before this match? Lesnar winning after exactly one finisher, and actually out of nowhere, not in the way people will say Reigns beat Cena out of nowhere.

Vince had a chance to propel a huge human being to the next level, one who could be the focal point of the company for years to come, who already has a major following and fans dying to cheer for him despite his being a heel for so much of his run on the main roster. And, inexplicably, McMahon decided to go with Lesnar, who shows up on television every now and again, is nearly 40 years old, and is as known for vanishing on WWE for months at a time as he is for being the company’s final boss.

Imagine if Vince had halted Stone Cold’s push back in the day by having him tap out to Bret Hart instead of passing out at WrestleMania? That’s not to say Strowman is going to grow up to be Austin, but man, if anyone in the company now has a shot at being the guy, it’s him, and the reliably-obsessed-with-size-over-all Vince McMahon somehow wasn’t so reliable on that note this time.

[overly dramatic lengthy sigh]

What we learned: Brock vs. Roman II is definitely happening at WrestleMania 34, and no one is going to beat either of them until then, will they?

[thoseguysontheradio]

MT: WWE Monday Night RAW (4/3/17) Review!

We’re bringing you a new series called, “Matt Talk”, where Matt reviews Pro Wrestling! We hope you enjoy it!

The RAW after Wrestlemania is always looked at a sequel, in a way, to the Wrestlemania that proceeded it. We look at the stories and feuds that may have ended the night before, and even some that may have started. At this Wrestlemania, we saw legends being born, and some, riding off into the night. But did the RAW after Wrestlemania deliver? Read on to find out!

First off, before we get to the match break down, let's discuss a force that isn't always talked about when people talk about Pro Wrestling; The crowd. This crowd was filled with just as much energy as the one the night before, but is this a bad thing? Usually, I love when the crowds are on fire, because they paid for that ticket, and they should be allowed to say whatever they want, within reason. Most of tonight was in reason, but even as someone who is a big critic when it comes to Roman Reigns, I couldn't get behind the crowd saying "F--- you, Roman!", or referring to the Big Dog as an "A--hole!", I laughed at the audacity of it, but as it persisted, it slowly sunk in that many in this crowd had no regard for anyone other than themselves.

However, this is nothing compared to the crowd chanting "Beach Ball Mania" during the Cruiserweight Match between Neville and Mustafa Ali. Say what you want about the Cruiserweight division as a whole, but those two men are breaking their bodies for us, the viewers. Voice your displeasure in any way you wish, but you're definitely going to get an earful from me if you try and put yourself over while anyone is leaving their blood, sweat, and tears in that ring.

This crowd wasn't all bad, though. Not only was chanting "Delete" at the Hardyz a SPLENDID way to make kayfabe a bit more BROKEN, but I am always a fan of smark crowds showing those that don't know much about NXT on how to chant (or boo) newer superstars. You could definitely see this during The Revival's debut, and in this case, it did add something positive to the moment.

And now, let's look at the match/promo break down:

Roman Reigns Promo

Reigns' promo was short, sweet, and to the point. While I would have preferred that he was a bit more animated while he was taking in all of the jeers from the live crowd, I do have to say, the look on his face said it all.

"It's my yard, now." -Roman Reigns, 2017

If only this could signal a heel turn. I can't tell the future, but I'm going to sit back and say that he doesn't officially turn heel, and still fights heels on a regular basis.

The Club vs The Hardy Boyz

I wish I could say this showing from The Hardyz were as WONDERFUL as they were at Wrestlemania, but sadly, normal matches aren't always their specialty. In no way was this match bad, but its standard WWE RAW tag team fare. The Hardyz wrestled in WWE for a long time, so it makes sense that they are accostumed to their style, but matches like this can be many things, but entertaining usually isn't one of them. Thankfully for WWE, this was The Hardy Boyz, who have not stepped into a WWE ring for years, so the crowd was on fire. The Hardyz ended up picking up the win to retain their WWE RAW Tag Team Titles. Matt Hardyz's hair has still not recovered from being BROKEN. We will update you on any further changes.

Neville vs Mustafa Ali

Before the match began, Neville bored the crowd with a promo that actually wasn't all that boring, but was definitely not what the crowd was looking for. You would think smarks would generally cheer a heel, but he beat Austin Aries at Wrestlemania. For those who are not aware, Aries has worked in both TNA's "Impact" and WWE's "NXT". Both shows are usually filmed in Florida. Wrestlemania and this RAW were both in Florida. You're going to get hate if you're named, "Neville." Might need to switch your name back to Adrian, Cruiser King.

This match went on for a lot longer than I thought it was going to. Even if you have been following 205 Live, I think many would feel the same. I won't say that Ali hasn't been making an impact, but they have been struggling to give him a real character, and will occasionally throw him out to fight whoever the want, heel or face. While I have been saying a lot about the RAW crowd, I will give them this. It is hard for the crowd to really connect with Ali in a match that, for some people both in the crowd and watching throughout the world, felt like a throwaway match. If Ali had given a promo of his own, I think the crowd would have been into the match before he did the Springboard Spanish Fly.

Neville ended up picking up the win by teasing the Red Arrow, but thankfully, put a stop to it and, as a good heel should, did not give the fans what they wanted. Instead, he took advantage of Ali missing the 450, and used "The Rings of Saturn" to make him tap out. Unsure why they did this, because Neville looked strong coming out of the Aries win on Sunday, but they be setting up something else for Neville's future.

Mr. McMahon announces new RAW GM

This crowd is merciless. They want blood. And Vince McMahon was your Grandpa saying, "Hey! Stop that." I truly do not know if he was in character when he berated the crowd for cheering on footage of Stephanie McMahon being put through a table, but one thing everyone watching knows; He did not know what to say when the crowd chanted, "Roman sucks." The look on his face said a thousand words, and one of them was, "Well, s---."

McMahon announced the GM was "Someone who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend." Everyone had thought it was Kurt Angle, until Teddy Long came out and pulled an R-Truth. The joke is fun, but was unpleasant for reasons I'm not going to get into in this review. McMahon revealed that Kurt Angle was the new RAW GM, and the crowd chanted, "You suck!" Man, the more things change.

New Day vs The Revival

This started off with New Day giving one of their recently lackluster promos, where they try and use vague vulgarity to try and appear funny. Boy, do I miss the days of when the New Day was time travelling. No, really, I do.

Now, onto the match many of us have been waiting for. This match wasn't much to write home about, but was definitely a preview of what is to come. The Revival looked strong against the New Day, but not just with a win over the longest reigning tag team champs, but with a strong showing throughout the match. It seems like WWE really believes in these two, and they definitely made an impact in this matchup.

Kurt Angle meets Enzo and Cass

This was a delight. Even if you were looking to skip this RAW entirely, look into Angle interacting with New York's Hawdest.

Bayley, Sasha Banks, & Dana Brooke vs Emma, Nia Jax, and Charlotte

The pairing of Dana Brooke with these two so soon is a clear sign that WWE hasn't learned how awkward the transition from heel to face can be, and how there is no reason for these three to want to work together. Far too often are we to try to use fancanon to ask, "I guess one of the higher ups made this match?", because its a bit of a jump to assume that Angle immediately came in and made this match.

Emma redebuted with her "Dark Emma" persona, and everything was better. It would be beneficial to move her to Smackdown during the "Superstar Shakeup", because of the abundance of female heels on RAW, but turning Dana Brooke may have evened the numbers just a bit. However, Sasha turning may shift the numbers in a way, but that's for another day.

The match was your standard tag team match, but it clearly showed off who would be feuding in the near future. We all knew Brooke would be going up against Charlotte, but it seems like Emma may be gunning for the RAW Women's Championship, and that may end up throwing some shade on Bayley's sunny parade.

One strange thing to note, though, is that Sasha got the win off Charlotte. I was thinking that they would be throwing Emma in Bayley's direction, but Sasha getting a win off of a former RAW Women's Champion? Are they trying to make her strong for a heel turn on the champ?

The post match-up scuffle was very interesting, as it seems like we're gearing up for Charlotte vs Nia Jax, which will prove to pit two power houses in the Women's Division into a feud that will be remembered for years to come.

Storytime with Paul Heyman

We got a look into Paul Heyman's child rearing tactics when we hear the bedtime stories he tells his children. One, specifically, is where a superhero named Goldberg got his "a$$" kicked by "The Beast." The crowd enjoyed this story, and started to cheer, "Thank you, Brock!"

Heyman then teased Rollins vs Lesnar, which didn't seem to excite the crowd. The idea of Lesnar vs Matt Hardy caused the crowd to chant, "Si! Si! Si!" The lackluster reaction for Rollins vs Lesnar can only be matched by their reaction for the idea that Lesnar vs Jeff Hardy. Although, that was nothing compared to the air being sucked out of the crowd by Heyman calling out Roman Reigns. The crowd began to chant, "We want Balor!"

Heyman trailed on before Bruan Strowman surprised people around the world by making his way to the ring and calling out Brock Lesnar. He shoved Lesnar, which caused a massive stare down. Brock laid the title on the floor, and gestured for Braun to come and get it.  

Braun, playing more of a "chicken s---" heel, instead of the monster he usually is, ran away. Its a bit sad, because while Lesnar has MMA experience, it is still strange to see Braun running away from a fight, again.

Jericho Interview ft. Owens & Joe

Jericho could be asleep, and would still be brimming with charisma. He played the crowd, and had them in the palm of his hand. I don't know if this beatdown is their way of sending him off for his newest tour with Fozzy, but if so, then he will be missed.

Cesaro and Sheamus vs Enzo and Cass

Excellent. I could just stop there, but it wouldn't do this match justice. At first, I thought this was going to be your typical RAW rematch, but I was wrong. Once this match picked up, I knew we were going to be in for a classic. This was better than their Wrestlemania match. Now, don't get me wrong, it was a multi man ladder match, and those can be hard to work, but there was something special about this match. A certain je ne sais quoi. The only problem I have with it is that it was so good. Yes, I know, I know. I shouldn't complain when its the reason why I loved it, but I just have to say that we shouldn't be having these kinds of matches on free TV. These men put their bodies on the line (more so than usual) during the ladder match, and here they are doing it again, the night after Wrestlemania? I think when it comes to free TV, some of the Superstars on the roster need to slow down the pace. I know these two teams have fought a lot, so you needed something different, but I worry about nagging injuries, which could not only hurt the Superstars, but heavily alter storylines.

I am not sure how to react Cesaro and Sheamus getting a chance to go against the Hardy Boyz for the RAW Tag Team Championships, but I'll say that it would be better to see them get booed against a crowd favorite, than to put Enzo and Cass in that position.

Sami Zayn vs Jinder Mahal

This was just a match that was set up to give Sami Zayn a win, and that's nice, but we definitely need him to have some direction. I hope this Superstar Shakeup can do that for him. Same for Mahal. He was entertaining in 3MB, and it looked like he was going to be fun as this "guru" type character, but it looks like Rusev's injury may have derailed that.

Rollins & Balor vs Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe

I don't think anyone was shocked to see Finn Balor appear in front of this crowd, but no one cared about how easy it was to see him coming. Balor is back. And the match... It was a match. Other than Balor standing tall, there really isn't much to talk about.

Thanks for reading, and keep on reading the site for our WWE Smackdown LIVE and 205 Live reviews!