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1ddotdhq · 4 years

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🐕 Sun 25 Oct ‘20 🌶

Well it sure is SUNday isn’t it? We woke up to a hidden Reels from HSHQ (that has since been taken down) that showed a *golden* retriever swimming in the blue blue sea with Golden playing in the background. HSHQ has made a Habit (that they can’t break) of hiding media and random phrases in their source code, the most recent one in circulation being: “Jewel-coat migration headed to Eroda!” within the Eroda site’s code. Fans quickly speculated that the dog in the video might be @/goldenloutriever on instagram, but I have no clue what brought that on, because there is no indication on the dog’s instagram nor on HSHQ’s instagram that would lead me to that conclusion. The best I can give you is that Harry seems to have taken a page out of Eleanor’s book and really embraced the dog content - he knows what we like! And THEN HSHQ dropped the official teaser AND the drop date of the music video! It drops tomorrow, 10/26? WHAT TIME asked Twitter with a worldwide trend. HSHQ ignored us all. The teaser trailer shows Harry running in a dark tunnel, I’m assuming chasing the sun. I would say that this time, he looks VERY ready to run!

But Harry isn’t the only one with content to debut! LIAM put out his newest “show which has no name” on YouTube, and went live on instagram (wearing a headband that rival’s 2013!Louis’) right before the premiere! He went live with a young fan who ran a 1D fan instagram account and gave her some tickets, talked about not having seen the Golden music video, yet (me: YEAH NEITHER HAVE I UR NOT SPECIAL) and mentioned that Iron Man was his favorite avenger (“...after the sacrifices he made - for us all” hmmm, yup yup, totally, I remember that time Thanos came and made us disappear). He was also told by the chat to “Call Louis”, to which he promptly responded, “Louis was meant to call me a couple of days ago and he hasn’t yet...Louis where are you?? If you’re creeping around my Instagram live again, just. Give me a call”. Twitter then took it upon themselves to remind Louis and trended LOUIS CALL LIAM. Louis, always knowing what’s being said about him, took to twitter to say, “Answer your phone then dickhead @/LiamPayne”. Soooo...does this mean they’ve been playing phone tag?? Could timezone differences have anything to do with this? *Corneilus voice* whoooooo knooooowwwwssss….

And! In the roundup we got to hear a bit more about Cornelius! It started as an idea that he and Conor had “coming home after work one night” (if you’re counting - and I am - this is the second time he’s mentioned living with Conor) and that he thought it would be funny if there were a ghost haunting the place asking about the show. They tried out different names (first Peter), but settled on Cornelius as it tied back into an old 1D joke where Louis dared Niall to thank "Cornelius the Trombone player" but there never was a trombone player. So he was a ghost, Get It? Sigh, I love Liam’s sense of humor. In other round-up news, opener Carly Gibert will be zooming in from LA, though Tom Felton (“love ya, Big T!”) will be there live. He talked about how he’s known Tom for years, meeting at one of the HP premiers, though he wasn’t a big fan at the time, “I wasn't a massive fan then, it's just as I went along - you know how it goes - that I became a MASSIVE fan, but I already knew all of them". Okay, no need to rub it in Liam! But, speaking of fans, he thanked one on his live (twitter handle @/modeftziam), calling them “a good friend of mine”, and praising the awesome instagram filter that they made! He says that he sees their content on his timeline often, and loves it, and to go follow them. I ADORE (a door haha) how Liam treats his fans, it’s always so kind. Kinder, even, than he treats himself sometimes: he went in a bit on the behind the scenes video that Hugo put on their Instagram story about last month’s Esquire shoot, saying he was "super super hungover I’d partied all night the night before...you can see the drunkness on my face there". I mean, I hadn’t noticed it BEFORE he pointed it out, but, um...yeah he’s not wrong. I hope that, going forward, he treats himself more gently, because, as we all know HE’S GOLDEN TOO!

And was Louis done tweeting after he told Liam off? No! He wasn’t! He went on to answer a fan about a child who really liked Louis’ music. Louis told the fan, “This is a beautiful story. Send my love to your gorgeous little lad. You’re both welcome to any show. Would love to meet the little lad. You’re an incredible mother, keep your head up!” The fan he replied to was NOT the mother of the child, but instead a 17 year old who had translated the story, which she had explained, but he clearly missed. Who’s gonna take him up on the free ticket, d’you think? He also - once again - recommended the Red Hot Chili Peppers, once in a reply, and then went nah, I gotta put this on main, and posted a tweet with a link to the same liveshow, saying, “Anyone who’s missing live music. Watch this top to bottom...Incredible.” And he answered a question about the Social Dilemma, a documentary about the effects of social media, saying, “...Anyone who hasn’t seen it should watch it. Food for thought.”

Niall described his COVID experience as “a lot of finger pointing, ankle injuries, and naked Instagram”. This time, can we please trend #DONTstripitdownNiall? They chatted a bit about the song (“ a delicate song...about divorce”) and Niall’s involvement (“I wouldn’t have been upset if she’d had said no [to having him on the song”), and they urged young US voters to get out the vote! Which, yeah! Please! And Zayn joined in the fun, tweeting “@UFC mashallah Khabib 🙌🏽”. The word mashallah is an Arabic phrase that means “what God has willed” and expresses appreciation, joy, praise, or thankfulness. Khabib is a boxer who has just announced his retirement. So, in the way that we often thank the guys for their hard work, Zayn was just showing off his fandom appreciation! And, in Z’s extended universe Gigi also joined the Get Out Vote efforts by saying, “I voted absentee last week with my daughter next to me for an America I wanted her to see...”. Did it tell us anything about her daughter? Nope! Not even her name!

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daleisgreat · 3 years

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WrestleMania 36

Welcome to my annual WrestleMania-week entry where I recap the previous year’s WrestleMania (WM). Please indulge me for a bit, because the 2020 show had so many unprecedented circumstances going into it that it will require a bit of a prologue before I evaluate the card. For those that remember 2020’s installment of WWE’s biggest PPV of the year, it will be remembered as a WM like no other (hopefully!). For the better part of the latter half of WM history, the event has transpired in mammoth outdoor stadiums and/or sports arenas, oftentimes with inflated attendance numbers of well over 50,000. WWE would spare no expense with elaborate entrance stage sets, live band/artist performances, major celebrity/sports guests, etc. That all changed with 2020’s WrestleMania 36. WWE was set to roll forward with a pirate-themed WM, with countless pirate-themed ads, signage and a meticulous CG montage of WWE wrestlers decked out in pirate gear, and animated waves splashing against them while doing heroic sword-slashing poses to open the show. However, as we all know by now plans drastically altered, when with under a month before WM36’s original date of April 5th, the worldwide Co-Vid pandemic was declared on March 11th. This promptly shutdown a majority of travel and businesses internationally for the better part of the next two months before businesses and travel restrictions started to ease up, at least here in the United States. No one knew how long the shutdown was going to last, so WWE hastily taped the matches at their Performance Center training facilities, while rumored the tapings lasted up until the final hours before the lockdown went into effect in Florida.

This would mean for the first time in WM history, the even would be taped, and not on a short several hour delay ala Summerslam ‘92, but taped a couple weeks in advance! WWE officials allegedly were warning of severe consequences if spoilers leaked. Upon re-watching this WM36, it is still jaw-dropping to see the show associated with said large sports arenas and near six figures of fans was now emanating in front of ZERO fans in a small black-curtained off area of a training facility. Since the Network-era of WM PPVs in 2014, most of the events have went notoriously long around the six-to-seven hour mark when factoring in a two hour pre-show. While WWE was marketing yet another loaded 16-match card that would likely last that long, it seemed highly undesirable to force fans to watch that long of a show with zero fan atmosphere so WWE for the first time split WM into two nights on April 4th and 5th. On previous WM recaps here I advocated for two-night WMs because those one night marathons pushed alert limits to new levels, so I was relieved to hear WWE announce the two-night event. Keep in mind this was a few weeks into the pandemic, well before WWE started experimenting with NXT talent as fans for a couple months before eventually settling on the ubiquitous video walls of virtual fans at the Thunderdome that major WWE telecasts currently transpire in.

Usually the yearly WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is included with the BluRay as a bonus feature, but the 2020 ceremony that was slated to happen on WM36 weekend was postponed a year, and transpired earlier this week the same night with the 2021 inductees. Out of sheer habit and self-imposed obligation, I will give a quick breakdown of the 2020 half of the ceremony. It took place at the Thunderdome with Jerry Lawler back hosting, and in order to breeze through so many inductions there was no inductors, and some inductees like the Bellas were told they had a five minute time limit for their speeches. The 2020 Hall of Fame class is the nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman), British Bulldog, Jushin Thunder Liger, Nickie & Brie Bella, Justin Bradshaw Layfield, Warrior Award winner Titus ‘O Neil and representing the celebrity wing: William Shatner. Dave Batista was supposed to be inducted too, but he postponed his induction because of a scheduling conflict and wanted to accept in person. It was kind of odd seeing the Hall of Fame done with virtual fans, but WWE did their best with piping in artificial fan noise at appropriately timed references and jokes, and even fake chants when the hall of famers hit their catchphrases. A nice video recap aired for each inductee, and then most inductees gave roughly five minute speeches. JBL kicked off, and for a five minute speech he hit as many key highlights as he could in that short time allocated, and had a nice closing where he teased a heartfelt apology to locker room rivals. Some inductees like Shatner and Liger could not attend, but sent in brief, pre-recorded acceptance speeches. One inadvertent positive side effect was Liger’s speech was translated through subtitles, and there was no pauses to wait for the translator that would happen if it was done live. Shatner’s breezy speech took a fun jab at Lawler, and was to the point. Between each induction, brief backstage interviews were done with current WWE stars acknowledging how big a night this was for the legends and shared past stories and memories. Davey Boy Smith’s son, Harry, alongside Bulldog’s widow, Diana and Matilda’s granddaughter, Huffy, gave an affectionate induction to his father.

The “Legacy Wing” of the Hall of Fame occurred next, and the 2020 class was represented by Ray Stevens, Brickhouse Brown, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Baron Michele Leone and Gary Hart. A very deserving Titus ‘O Neil was recognized with the annual Warrior Award for his countless philanthropic efforts, and Titus gave an inspirational and heartwarming acceptance. The Bellas were expectedly on brand with their speeches, and each of the four nWo members shared some fun Monday Night Wars tales, except for Scott Hall who said only about 20 words. Hogan teased he never lost the nWo Title and that he would make a return to defend it. All told the 2020 portion of the ceremony was about an hour and a half, making it the shortest WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in quite some time! 2020 was undoubtedly a tough year on everyone. Come that WM36 weekend I, like many others, was in a rough place. Being a few weeks into the pandemic I had no idea what to make sense of on the news. I originally had a vacation planned for a week starting a few days before WM where I was going to be travelling out of town for a retro videogame convention I try and hit up most years, and it would have conveniently wrapped up shortly before WM started. As anticipated, the convention was cancelled, and in a crazy coincidence the day before I originally was planning to leave a water pipe burst in my home and my place had all kinds of water damage and furniture moved around for several days before it was all put back into place and cleaned up. Adding to the coincidental timing, night one of WM happened to be on my birthday, and this was early in the pandemic before masks were widely available and a lot of adherence to the lockdown and social distancing was being recommended and I felt gutted when family members wanted to celebrate and all I told them I felt safe doing was briefly visiting a few of them on my driveway. Needless to say, with all that going on my headspace had seen better days, and having WM36 to selfishly fall back on that weekend was a modicum of respite I desperately needed.

Thank you for indulging me with all that prefacing. With that all out of the way, it is time to move onward to looking at night one of WM36. Both nights of WM36 had a half hour kickoff show, with one match on each kickoff show that are included as BluRay bonuses. Night one saw Cesaro and Drew Gulak tear it up in a hard-hitting, five minute technical showcase with Cesaro getting the win with a momentous Airplane Spin. Stephanie McMahon gave a special introduction to the unique circumstances that were forced upon WM36 once the show officially began. I will give props to WWE for their contingency plan when their planned special artist to sing “America the Beautiful” could not make the event, and instead WWE went with a medley/montage of all past WM artists and bands like Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Boyz 2 Men, Ray Charles and many more singing the anthem that traditionally kicks off WM. From there, four-time Super Bowl winner and host of WM36, Rob Gronkowski welcomed everyone, and his real-life friend and WWE star, Mojo Rawley, joined him in the hosting balcony. The first official WM36 match was for the Women’s Tag Titles with Asuka & Kari Sayne defending against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross. I miss Kari Sayne, and am still in disbelief how WWE wrote her off TV a few months later via implied murder! Kari & Asuka’s foreign taunting and screaming helped fill the void of no crowd noise to an extent, but was not enough for them to retain after Alexa pinned Kari with her Twisted Bliss to win the gold for her and Nikki. Baron Corbin faced Elias who Baron thought would be unable to compete after recently tossing him off a balcony, but Elias made it in time to whack Baron with a guitar, and eventually Corbin’s jawjacking with the ref got the best of him as Elias capitalized with a roll-up for the win in this brief fan favorite arc of his character. Becky Lynch defended the RAW Women’s Title against Shayna Baszler next. Becky was near the end of her red-hot year+ long reign as champ here, but this bout had a peculiar build highlighted by Shayna bloodily biting Becky’s ear. This also-peculiar match saw Becky mostly taking a ground attack beating from Shayna until Becky pulled off a reverse pinning combination for the sudden win.

Sami Zayn defended his Intercontinental Title next against Daniel Bryan. Zayn was accompanied by Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura while Bryan was seconded by Drew Gulak. Interference from all three played a factor throughout this intense battle, with a distracted Bryan falling victim to Sami’s Haluva Kick for the victory. The Smackdown Tag Titles were on the line next in a triple threat ladder match, but with only one member from each team due to Miz being quarantined for Co-Vid symptoms. So that meant John Morrison defended the tag titles solo against Kofi Kingston of the New Day and Jimmy Uso. The three did not disappoint with many creative highspots and sequences, with a unique finish that saw all three unhook the tag titles at the same time and Morrison collapsing off the ladder with the titles after a tug-of-war battle with them to successfully retain the titles. Seth Rollins faced Kevin Owens next, and Owens continued his awesome tradition of paying homage to vintage WM posters, with a nod to WMIV’s poster design on his shirt. Rollins DQ’d himself early in the match after using the ring bell, but Owens goads Rollins into restarting the match with No DQ. This time Owens repeatedly hits Rollins with the bell to lay him out long enough for Owens to climb on top of the WM sign to deliver a Cannonball Splash through the announcer’s table in an eye-opening spot. Owens then dragged a lifeless Seth to the ring to execute a Stunner for the win. A WM host check-in with Mojo and Gronk was interrupted by Hardcore 24/7 champion, R-Truth, who was seeking refuge from all comers up in the host balcony, but instead fell to a gut-punch from Gronk, only to see Mojo sneak in a quick pin and run off from his hosting duties as the new 24/7 champ.

The Universal Title match was up next that was scheduled to have Bill Goldberg defend against Roman Reigns. Several days before the WM tapings however, Roman Reigns shocked everyone by legitimately pulling out of the match due to understandable Co-Vid concerns from having underlying health issues from being a two-time Leukemia survivor. With such short notice, WWE did not have time to build a storyline replacement for last minute substitute, Braun Strowman, and only briefly publicly declared the substitution during a rundown of all the matches the day before on Smackdown. The match was a quick smashmouth flurry of finishers, with Goldberg unable to pin Braun after four straight spears, and instead Braun achieving the pin and Universal title after unleashing four straight powerslams.

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The main event for night one of WM36 was the cinematic “Boneyard Match” between AJ Styles and The Undertaker. For those not keeping up with pandemic-era WWE, the first few PPVs of the pandemic saw the inclusion of one or two matches on each PPV shot in the form of a movie, often without commentary and instead ambient music in the background. I embedded the match above (or click or press here to check it out) for those who have not seen it, because if you are a lapsed fan and have not witnessed it yet, the match garnered surprise acclaim from both wrestling and non-wrestling fans. It saw AJ and ‘Taker duke it out in a dilapidated graveyard, complete with Eastwood-esque trash talk, mystical druids, old-school ‘Taker dark magic, Good Brothers, motorcyles and Metallica. It was freaking great, and a much needed distraction from the empty arena. The finish saw ‘Taker big boot AJ into an empty grave, and dump a truckload of dirt on him to gracefully exit the “Boneyard” on his motorcycle with Metallica singing him out. As of this writing, this was Undertaker’s last match, and going by his latest interviews it sounds like he is indeed hanging it up for good this time, especially after WWE threw him a “final farewell” retirement-esque ceremony on the character’s 30th anniversary several months later at Survivor Series. Still with me for night two coverage of WM36? Take a break, grab a Steve-weiser, and relax for my night two coverage! The kickoff match saw Liv Morgan usurp Natalya with a reverse roll-up after a solid back-and-forth match. Night two officially started with Rhea Ripley defending the NXT Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair. Sorry to report that I am not a big fan of either of these two, and this match did not sit well with me either as it was mostly Flair working over Rhea’s leg until she locked in the Figure-Eight for the tapout win. Charlotte’s NXT title run wound up being a disaster, and she did not put over anyone while she was champ there. Onto better things as Aleister Black and Bobby Lashley squared off next. I completely forgot Lashley was married to Lana at this point in his character, but that would change soon after this as Lana urged Lashley to switch up finishing moves on Black, which backfired and saw Aleister connect with his Black Mass finisher for the pin. Next up saw Dolph Ziggler face Otis in the apex of a meticulous storyline where Otis fell victim to Dolph’s treachery when trying to win the heart of Mandy Rose. Mandy’s former friend Sonya Deville was assisting Dolph throughout the match until Mandy ran out to take care of her, which set up Otis to hit his outrageous Caterpillar finish for the win, and the happy uniting with Rose which tried its darnd-est to be on the same level with Randy Savage and Elizabeth from WMVII.

The next match was Edge’s big return singles match against Randy Orton after coming back at the Royal Rumble a couple months earlier. The buildup to this bout was impressive too, with Edge, Orton and Beth Phoenix all having emotional and investing promos leading up to this. This was a Last Man Standing match that saw the two battle all over the Performance Center throughout the backstage area, offices, training facilities and parking areas before reaching its final act on top of a semi where the two traded finishing moves until Edge hit a con-chair-toe for the 10-count win. The match held up much better on second viewing, and is best to watch it on its own as it lasted nearly 40 minutes. Shortly after this, Mojo Rawley re-emerged into the ringside area fending off 24/7 Title pursuers. Gronk took this moment upon himself to leap onto the pile of wrestlers from the host balcony and pin Mojo to win the 24/7 Title, a belt he would hold for a couple months until shortly after un-retiring from football where a sneaky R-Truth would roll-up Gronk for the title in his yard while filming a Tik-Toc video….seriously. Titus ‘O Neil would shortly arrive later to wrap-up hosting duties for Gronk for the remainder of the show. The RAW Tag Titles were on the line next with the Street Profits defending against Angel Garza and Austin Theory, who was a last minute sub for an injured Andrade. This was a quick five minute recharge bout, with the four competitors all staying in third gear throughout it for a non-stop action affair. Angelo Dawkins pinned Theory after a surprise splash from Montez Ford. The Smackdown Women’s Title 5-Way Elimination match followed with Bayley defending against Lacey Evans, Sasha Banks, Tamina and Naomi. Sasha and Bayley team up for a lot of early success, until their teamwork fails and Sasha falls victim to Lacey’s Women’s Right leaving it down to Lacey and Bayley. Right when it looks like Lacey has Bayley’s number, Sasha returned with a Backstabber on Lacey, which allowed Bayley to follow that up by driving Lacey down to the mat for the win.

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The cinematic match of the second night was a “Firefly Funhouse” bout between “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and John Cena. I have no idea where to begin describing this one. Essentially, Bray Wyatt suffers from multiple-personality disorder, and in this match Cena journeys to Wyatt’s multi-dimensional funhouse. It is filled with decades of pro-wrestling references that sees Cena and Wyatt cut Saturday Night’s Main Event-era promos on each other, join the nWo and relive Cena’s debut against Kurt Angle. I swear I am up not making any of this up! Just check out the embed above or click or press here to see for yourself! This cinematic match did not quite measure up to the Boneyard match, but was still an entertaining spectacle to experience with the deluge of references and callbacks to wrestling history. Eventually “The Fiend” pinned Cena with his Mandible Claw (while Bray Wyatt counted the pin, just roll with it), and the live feed then cut to a confused Titus ‘O Neil proclaiming what we all were thinking “I have no idea what we just saw.” The main event of night two saw Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Title against Drew McIntyre. This was built up as Drew’s big redemption story after being fired from WWE several years earlier, and it taking him 16 years to win his first major championship. It was too bad it all played out in the empty performance center, but the duo made the best of it with another instant hard hitting affair similar to the Braun/Goldberg match. After a little bit of early brawling, Brock hit three F5s which Drew all kicked out of, and then Drew countered with three straight Claymore kicks to be crowned the WWE champion for the feel-good closing of the show. What aired on RAW the next night, but actually transpired about 20 minutes after the Brock match and is on here as a BluRay bonus feature is Drew coming back to the ring for a victory interview only to be interrupted and challenged for the title by Big Show. Drew accepts the challenge, and after taking a pounding from Big Show for several minutes, Drew recovers and fires back with a Claymore for his first successful title defense. Drew has went on to be “the guy” for RAW for the better part of the next year, and while it feels he has been fulfilling that role, it is impossible to tell without a live, paying, audience, and I am curious to see how Drew is received at WM37 this weekend against Lashley.

The WM35 BluRay had the 2019 Hall of Fame as a digital bonus feature, and on the disc it had the entirety of the next night’s RAW, and a couple segments from the next Smackdown. The WM36 BluRay went down a different road with its bonus features, and aside from the two bonus kickoff matches and the post-WM Drew/Big Show match, there is about two hours of accumulated interviews, promos and segments from the previous two months of RAW, Smackdown and NXT. I watched them all, and it was a nice refresher of all the rivalries, although awkward at the same time, because about half of the segments still have fans in the arena which felt weird to see again after so long with empty/virtual arenas. Some highlights include a couple vintage Paul Heyman hype promos, AJ Styles and the Goodbrothers messing with Undertaker, the awful Rhea Ripley/Charlotte Flair interactions from NXT and Randy Orton’s epic must-see promo on Beth Phoenix for why he attacked Edge. It would be unfair of me to give a traditional yay/nay grade to WrestleMania 36 due to how the event barely came together at the final hour in the early stages of the pandemic. Seeing a lot of these matches in the empty Performance Center simply feels weird, and proved constantly difficult to suspend disbelief and get into the pro-wrestling fan mindset during viewing. The two cinematic matches are what essentially helped get me back into “fan mode” and get invested in the unique nature of those two bouts, and if you have to watch two matches from this show, then those two are the way to go. The two “slobberknocker” world title brawls are also quick, intense matches that are worth checking out. Once again, I love the two-night concept as it serves as a perfect break point for watching at home, and I am thankful WWE is doing that again for this year’s WM. All things told, this will go down as a historical achievement that WWE managed to put this together, and probably worth one day going back to watching to see how far we have come from those early dark days of the pandemic before we knew what the next eventful year had in store for everyone.

Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

#Wrestling #Wrestlemania #WWE #john cena #drew mcintyre #Brock Lesnar #daniel bryan #rob gronkowski #goldberg #braun strowman #drew gulak #cesaro #becky lynch #shayna baszler

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buttdawg · 4 years

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New Beginning in Nashville: A Buttdawg Special Report

NJPW is in the middle of a U.S. tour, and it turned out that they were doing a show pretty close to where I live, right when I had scheduled some time off, so I figured “what the hell?” and bought a ticket. Then I finally saw the lineup for the show and I was like “ehhhhh...” But then it turned out to be really great!

I guess two things got me on board with this show. First, Wrestle Kingdom 14 hype was in full swing when I bought the ticket, so I wanted More of That. Second, I watched a bunch of matches from the World Tag League a few months ago, and a big chunk of those shows were set in smaller, cozier venues with no English commentary. Some of them didn’t even have Japanese commentary, and I’m pretty sure those were the ones where I could see basketball backboards in the background. One was in Osaka-jo Hall, and I thought that was a big arena, but it turned out the show was in the “sub arena”, which sounds awesome. So I imagined what it might be like to go to a show like that, and then I realized they’re doing them in America this month.

This was in the War Memorial Auditorium, which I think holds like 2,000 people. Low four digits, definitely. Pretty sure the WWF used to run house shows here, because every time I think the words “War Memorial Auditorium” I hear it in Howard Finkel’s voice. On the way down, I listened to this piece by Jim Valley about how the WWE is no longer turning a profit on their live events, for the first time ever. He blames guys like Seth Rollins who complain about their fans instead of enticing them to buy tickets. Would toay’s WWE even run a house show in a venue this small? All I know is the WMA had 560 in attendance, and everyone seemed pretty happy to be there. There’s a market for wrestling tickets. New Japan didn’t fly all these guys out to Tennessee to break even.

Anyway, I wasn’t too jazzed about the card, and for most of January I was starting to wonder if I’d let my enthusiasm get the better of me. but once I found the place and got my bearings, I was very pleased. The WMA looks even smaller in person than it does on the website. Imagine a high school gym with a stage and a balcony. You walk into the theater and the ring is right in front of you. The merch stand is to your right. I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the house, unless you’re sitting behind a really tall guy or something.

As for the card, the audience made it feel special. They had this big monitor on the stage, and they opened with a video package about the tour, and everyone popped when they heard the announcer, even though he’s speaking Japanese. He’s the guy you hear at the start of every show thought, so hearing his voice just makes the whole thing feel important.

I wasn’t really prepared for that, I guess. There were a lot of kids there, and I guess I was surprised that so many people from so many demographics would be this familiar with the product. I’ve only been watching New Japan for about seven months, so the filthiest casual was probably me.

Match 1: Alex Zayne & Misterioso d. Alex Coughlin & Ren Narita (9:46)

I have no idea who most of these guys are. I’ve probably seen Coughlin before, but I spent the whole match thinking he was Karl Fredericks. The crowd recognized Zayne and Misterioso, though, because they were behind those guys the whole match. I started to think Zayne had family in the crowd, and he’s from Lexington, Kentucky, so it’s not impossible.

Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI d. Karl Fredericks (8:48)

This was when the real Karl Fredericks came out. The monitor on the stage displays the names of the participants throughout the match, but I couldn’t see it very well because of the glare from the lighting. Crowd was behind Karl all the way, I guess because he’s been a Young Lion long enough that he’s due to start winning matches one of these days, but not tonight. I mean, Yoshi’s in CHAOS, so he ought to be a face, right?

Match 3: Colt Cabana & Toru Yano d. Clark Conners & TJP (13:22)

I’m not a huge fan of Colt and Yano, but they were the first guys I’d consider ““real”““ stars to come out. TJP won the Cruiserweight Classic in WWE, but I had to keep reminding myself of that while the match went on.

The comedy wrestling works a lot better live. My favorite bit was when Colt brazenly stuck his hands in the air and challenged Conners to a test of strength spot. “TEST OF STRENGTH” he said loud enough for everyone to hear him. Then as soon as they got locked up Colt looked over his shoulder and said “Oh my God, he’s really strong!”

This was the only match I tried to take pictures for, because I wanted to capture Yano untying the turnbuckle pad. I also managed to get this pic, of Young Lions putting it back together after the match was over.

Seriously, it takes like two guys to fix those things. Yano’s a real jerk.

Anyway, during this match, there was a kid further back in the balcony who was really rooting for TJP and Conners. As the show continued, it became clear that this kid was in the tank for all the heels. It took me a while to catch on to this, because sometimes I can’t tell if Yano’s a face or a hell. But no, this kid was rooting for all the heels. Not like in a smarky “the faces are jerks!” kind of way, either. It’s like this kid just watched enough matches to objectively decide that guys like Lance Archer rules and Colt Cabana’s kind of a dick. Same, kid. Same.

So during the match Yano and Colt are making Conners look like a real geek, to the point where it’s practically a face-in-peril situation (again, are we sure Yano and Colt aren’t evil?). So this kid’s begging Conners to make the hot tag to TJP. Then the other team makes a tag, and the kid goes “Not you!” Priceless.

Match 4: Jeff Cobb d. Satoshi Kojima (10:02)

This match kind of represents my flip-flopping towards the card. They’re doing a tournament in the U.S., and they bring the worst two guys in CHAOS, nobody from LIJ, the only champions they booked were the shithole tag champions and they’re not even defending the belts... but they got Jeff Cobb, by gum. It just felt very underwhelming, but once he came out, and I’m sitting there like fifty feet away from him, I’m like “Yeah, Jeff Cobb’s a cool guy. This is great.” Watching wrestling on TV has a way of raising your expectations to unrealistic levels, I guess. Once you’re sitting there watching these guys in person, the equation changes.

I wasn’t super-thrilled to see Cobb facing Kojima, since they had no issue, and Kojima jobbed all the way through the World Tag League, but by this point in the show I was just pleased to get to see Jeff Cobb strut his stuff. This was how American wrestling used to work in the 80′s and 90′s, and it still does, I just had to get re-accustomed to it. Everyone was hot for Kojima, either because he’s a legend or because he was wearing hot-orange ring gear to pander to the UT fans in the audience. Well I went to UK so fuck you, Kojima, you deserved to lose to Cobb.

And the match was very competitive, to the point where Cobb was all exhausted at the end, and Kojima went over to shake his hand after it was over, so a feel-good moment for the audience. Nice.

Match 5: Lance Archer d. Yuji Nagata (11:16)

Never mind that shit, everybody dies! Lance comes out and he was basically my favorite guy on this card. Crowd was pretty into Lance too, so he takes the mic and says “Nashville, Tennessee! Who wants a T-shirt!?” crowd gets all excited, and then he just throws it.... onto the mat, and he goes “Nope!” and everyone is pissed! Except me, Lance Archer fucking rules. Also, Roots-for-Heels Kid probably didn’t mind, but we didn’t hear from that kid until the middle of the match, when Lance was basically mugging Blue Justice. I salute Yuji Nagata for wearing Wildcat blue in a sea of orange bullshit, but as they say, everybody dies.

The crowd haaaates Lance, and he just milks it for all it’s worth. The fans can’t help Yuji--his fate is sealed--so they make fun of Lance’s fashion sense. They mock the red braid at the end of his mohawk, they make fun of his back tattoo, calling it a “tramp stamp”, and so on. Lance just yells back at them. “Shut up!” “Booooooooooo.” Lance is the fucking man. Even the ref was afraid of him, which makes Nagata look like a million bucks for even putting up a fight. I wanted more Suzuki-gun guys at this show, but honestly, one was plenty. Lance wins with the EBD claw, and that’s it.

Match 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Yujiro Takahashi (10:38)

Yujiro doesn’t have Pieter with him, although no one seems concerned by this. From what I can tell, they only bring out Pieter when Yujiro is booked for bigger venues. That’s probably got more to do with Pieter’s contract than anything else, but I like to think all these smaller towns in Japan take one look at Bullet Club and go “Look, you’re not doing that stripper crap in our building.”

Big response for Tanahashi. They did the hockey chant for him and everything “Ta-na-ha-shi (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)”. Nothing particularly notable about the match, but Hiroshi went around ringside hugging and taking photos with fans at ringside. He’s a real class act.

Match 7: Rocky Romero, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson d. Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) (13:52)

This was originally supposed to be an eight-man tag with Kota Ibushi on the face team and Jado on the Bullet Club side. Turns out Kota came down with the flu, so they just scaled it back to a six-man. I also read that Karl Fredericks got injured, so he’s off the tour too. I guess that happened on this show, because he seemed fine Sunday night, and the announcement came out before the show on the 27th started.

Anyway, now I see the value in New Japan’s strategy of using multi-man tag matches for tours like these. If someone has to pull out, they just shuffle around partners or scale back eight-mans to six-mans, and so on. I guess if things really got bad, they could just do seven singles matches, so as long as they have fourteen healthy performers, they can manage.

Roots-for-Heels Kid was in full-effect here. Again, not really sure if the kid’s Bullet Club 4-life, or just hates Juice Robinson as much as I do, or maybe the kid takes pity on Chase Owens. But that kid really wanted Bullet Club to win. Too bad it wasn’t in the cards.

One moment that stuck out to me was when the faces were doing pretty well, and enough stuff was going on that I didn’t notice Jado whacking someone with the kendo stick until it had already happened. They do that bit in every G.O.D. match. Face is doing okay, he runs the ropes, and then whack, Jado hits him right as he bounces off the ropes near the G.O.D. corner. I’ve watched enough Guerrilas of Destiny matches by now that it’s become predictable, even formulaic, but this time, I never saw it coming. I think that’s because on video, they’ve got the camera man anticipating that spot. The camera angles of the guy running the ropes practically warns you what’s about to happen. When you see it live, you have to be your own cameraman, and figure out which parts of the ring to watch. I was in the second row of the balcony, with a great view of the ring, but not of Jado. I could see him, but not his lower body, to give you an idea. By contrast, there were fans on the floor who were directly behind him the whole match, so they could see every move he made. So it’s a completely different experience depending on where your seat is. And that’s why they do the kendo stick spot in every match.

Anyway, big chunks of the match were brawls, and eventually FinnJuice and G.O.D. fought their way out of the theater, so it came down to Rocky and Chase wrapping up the match by themselves. I wasn’t sure what to make of Rocky Romero wrestling, since I’ve only ever seen him doing commentary, or managing Roppongi 3K. But it turns out he’s really good, so now I don’t understand why they keep him stuck behind a desk all the time. Maybe he’s semi-retired or something?

After the match, Rocky cuts the end-of-show promo, and explains that Kota couldn’t be here, so now it’s going to be Chase Owens vs. Rocky Romero in the Atlanta show. Chase takes the mic and says “Maybe I don’t want to wait until Atlanta? Who wants to see me and Rocky go here, tonight!” The crowd is up for it, and then he shouts “Then buy another ticket!” and leaves in a huff. Classic, total classic. Rocky thanks everyone for supporting NJPW, the best wrestling in the world, and the crowd goes home happy.

So yeah, good show all around, and they even had the whole thing done in two hours. I had no idea what to expect, but if I’d known they would be finished by 7pm I might have just driven home that night instead of getting a hotel. Well, I’ll keep that in mind for next year.

#njpw #new japan pro wrestling #new beginning usa #fuck you juice #worst tag champions ever

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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NXT Takeover Review Series: NXT Arrival

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special new series I’m starting, beginning with this review. NXT recently celebrated 5 years under its current format, having previously been utilized as a Tuesday evening TV show showcasing select FCW stars. In its past format, NXT saw the main roster debut of such stars as Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Ryback, AJ Lee, and Bray Wyatt. Since replacing FCW as the developmental territory of WWE, however, NXT has turned out a large amount of stars. A cursory look of both Raw and Smackdown’s rosters yields a great number of wrestlers who spent time in NXT. In addition, NXT has developed a reputation of being an attractive place for wrestlers to work, with a chance at making it to the main roster luring in such big indy names as ReDRagon, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Tommy End, and many others. And that’s just within the last year or so. NXT has truly come into its own since launching in 2012, and one can probably point to the launch of the WWE Network and subsequent live NXT Special just days after launching. Today, I’ll be going back and reviewing that very show, thus kicking off a series where I’ll be reviewing every NXT Takeover special ever done. So, without further ado, let’s get into the review!

We get a crazy little opening with the lights dimmed and mood music playing, as Triple H asks if we’re ready. He says “This is NXT,” and the show gets underway. We’re live from Full Sail University, and the fans are already hot for the show. Triple H says the next generation has arrived, as we get our opening video package. After that, it’s Sami Zayn out first for opening match. I gotta say, it’s jarring seeing him come out to something that’s not his current theme. We’re welcomed by our commentators for tonight, Byron Saxton, William Regal, and Tom Phillips with a goofy haircut. Out next is Cesaro, and we’ve got our opening match.

CESARO DEF. SAMI ZAYN BY PINFALL VIA NEUTRALIZER:

Great, great match. Cesaro was incredible as the powerhouse heel, and Sami Zayn played the role of the injured, yet determined underdog as good as anybody else. Just a fantastic match, and one where Zayn is just as well off by losing as he would by winning. **** 1/4.

Post-match, Cesaro exits the ring as Sami reflects on his loss. Halfway up the ramp, Cesaro stops, goes back into the ring, and approaches Zayn. They exchange glances for a bit, before Cesaro lifts Sami to his feet, and pulls him in for a hug. The two embrace in a show of respect, as the crowd gives their approval. Cesaro leaves, as the crowd give Sami a standing ovation and chants “Ole.” Excellent way to start off the show.

We get a vignette for future Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Mojo Rawley. Out comes CJ Parker, who has recently found success in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Juice Robinson. Out next is the Hype Man himself, as we get ready for our second match:

MOJO RAWLEY DEF. CJ PARKER BY PINFALL VIA HYPERDRIVE:

Too short to really amount to much. Rawley’s probably best in small doses, anyhow. Parker actually looked pretty decent as a heel. * 1/4.

We get a vignette for Emma, and I have no idea what her gimmick is. She dances? She’s weird? She plays with bubbles? Jesus, and people call Bayley a female Eugene. We get another vignette, this one for the NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension. Wow, those were the days. Out they come for an open challenge for their titles. Who should answer it but Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay. Too Cool! I’m a little saddened that they’re using “Turn it Up,” which I consider to be the inferior Too Cool theme, but what can you do? Also, Scotty 2 Hotty’s bald, which is also kind of a dampener. It’s just not the same without his McDonald’s fries-looking hair:

THE ASCENSION DEF. TOO COOL BY PINFALL VIA FALL OF MAN TO RETAIN THE NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS:

One-sided affair here, which basically served to showcase The Ascension. Not a lot to speak of, to be honest. * 1/4.

We see Paige backstage, before getting a vignette for here. Wow, to think this was only three years ago. How things have changed. She talks about being the opposite of the prototypical Diva, and what it means to be champion. I would make a joke about the Women’s Title Belt, but I’d like to think this blog is a little more dignified. We then see Ric Flair and Charlotte taking in the show from ringside, when out comes Stephanie McMahon. If a woman in WWE makes history and Stephanie McMahon isn’t there to attach herself to it, did it ever really happen? The fans chant “you still got it,” presumably towards her figure, and she proclaims she never lost it. Gag. She talks about how they’re making history by being part of the first live program on the WWE Network, and does the spiel of how she’s proud of the women’s division for showing women can do what men can do, but better. I’m all for feminism and everything, but I think it would be a little more meaningful if we got to hear Paige or Emma say this kind of thing. Oh, well. She introduces the two competitors as the next generation of WWE Divas, and Emma comes out to her awful, awful theme. She got this opportunity in a “dance battle,” which kind of reflects poorly on how the women are being regarded. William Regal is seen dancing to her music, and they mention she’s beaten two former Divas since becoming #1 Contender. To think she’d be released just 5 months later for stealing an IPad case. I mean, they brought her back, but she’s really done a whole lot of nothing the last three years. Out next is the champion, Paige. Stephanie shakes the hands of both competitors, as this match gets underway:

PAIGE DEF. EMMA BY SUBMISSION VIA SCORPION CROSSLOCK TO RETAIN THE NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP:

OK Women’s match that at least had the crowd’s attention the whole time. I personally found this to be largely dull, with Emma dominating a good portion of the match. There were some cool moments, such as Emma hitting a Powerbomb on Paige, or Paige breaking out the Scorpion Crosslock for the win, but it falls below most NXT Women’s Title match standards, and probably some of AJ Lee’s title matches on the main roster, as well. **.

Post-match, the two briefly hug it out, as Paige celebrates her successful title defense. We cut backstage to Adrian Neville preparing for the main event, a ladder match for the NXT Championship held by Bo Dallas. What a time that was. We get a video package around Neville, and I really have to commend them for going out of their way to introduce newer viewers to the stars of NXT, a must with the launch of the WWE Network. It’s no wonder NXT caught on the way it did after it was given a platform like this.

After a commercial for the NXT TV show, the camera cuts to Pat Patterson and Dusty Rhodes watching in the crowd. The “Somebody Call My Momma” music plays, as Xavier Woods comes out. That used to be his theme?! Out next is Tyler Breeze, as I guess we’re getting a cooldown match before the main event:

TYLER BREEZE VS. XAVIER WOODS WENT TO A NO CONTEST WHEN ALEXANDER RUSEV INTERFERED:

Well, so much for that. Rusev comes out, beats the shit out of both guys, and puts Woods in the Accolade, as Lana puts Rusev over. Her accent definitely improved over time. Rusev then gets on the mic and cuts a promo in Bulgarian and poses as his music hits.

We then see Bo Dallas backstage preparing for the main event. They play a video package for Dallas, and, say what you will about him, the man has a great sense of humor. I’ve even enjoyed seeing him as part of the Miztourage. Cut back to the audience as we see Larry Zbyszko and Steve Keirn watching from ringside. The star power’s sort of hitting a point of diminishing returns right now. We then get a video package for how the ladder match came to be, before cutting back to the ring, lights dimmed and ladders all over the place. Out comes Shawn Michaels, NXT Title belt in hand, as he heads to the ring. Michaels cuts a promo saying he’s proud to be here tonight, as the fans chant stuff like “one more match” and “H-B-Shizzle.” I don’t even know. Michaels finally has to ask them to stop, as he talks about his history with ladder matches, as he plugs his Mr. Wrestlemania DVD and talks about how he has to put his kids through college. Michaels finally gets serious, as he puts over both men in the main event, and says only one of them will walk out with the title and step into greatness. Adrian Neville’s music hits, and out comes the challenger to a nice ovation. Out next is Bo Dallas, as we get formal introductions. As the title is raised both men stare each other down, as our main event is underway:

ADRIAN NEVILLE DEF. BO DALLAS IN A LADDER MATCH TO WIN THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP:

Very fun, well-paced work between these two. I’ve never seen Bo work quite the way he did in this match, as he did everything he could to wear Neville down and stop him from getting to the title above the ring. This match didn’t really have a whole lot that you’ve never seen in a Ladder Match before, but it served as an entertaining, satisfying main event match. *** 1/2.

Post-match, Neville celebrates atop the ladder with the title, as steam comes down from the ceiling. He continues to celebrate, as John Cena is shown in the crowd, giving Neville a standing ovation. Arrival goes off the air, as the announcers tell us this is a new beginning for NXT.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I’m really not sure how to precisely describe this show. As someone who’s seen most of the Takeover specials over the last few years, this felt a bit different from how those feel. The pacing wasn’t all there. Not every match felt like it was one of consequence. Obviously, the talent pool shifted to one that featured more experienced wrestlers from across the world. As a first taste of NXT, however, this wasn’t all that bad. Both the opener and main event delivered in their own ways, and I would actually recommend going out of your way to watch the opener, by all means. Everything else in between ranges from passable to skippable. Overall, I’d give it a mild recommendation, with a strong suggestion to watch the opener, main event, and perhaps the Women’s match as well. Everything else is better off being passed over.

Well, that’s the first installment of what I hope will be a very rewarding series. In addition to reviewing more NXT specials, I’m also looking at a few other ideas for posts, so I’ll probably put something up within the next week or so detailing exactly what I intend to review over the next few months. Until then, stay tuned for more updates, and enjoy.

#nxt #wwe #2014

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empty-altars · 7 years

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10 songs on shuffle = 10 drabbles This is Prince and therefore is smut with feelings. It also alludes to Valentine’s Day because of reasons? But I forgot to explicitly say that’s when it’s happening whoops. Smutty bits under a cut because nsfw.

Previously: 1, 2, 3

4. One Kiss At A Time - Prince

Come and get your come on...

Zayn fiddles with the cuff of his jacket. He doesn't know what he's doing in a suit, standing on the porch of his own house, but Liam's text had been extremely specific both in requested wardrobe and the necessity of waiting until Liam was ready to let him in.

Finally, finally, Liam opens the front door and Zayn's mouth drops open a little. He can feel his temperature rise. Liam looks fucking edible, wrapped like a present in an impeccable suit of his own. Maybe after years together the sight of Liam all dressed up shouldn’t hit him like a punch in the gut, but it’s been so long since he’s seen it in person rather than photos.

“I take back every bad thought I had about being made to dress up,” Zayn says, letting Liam usher him into the house.

Liam laughs, eyes crinkling up in the way Zayn adores. “You look amazing,” he assures, groping Zayn’s ass a little as he pushes him toward the dining room.

“I don’t know what you have planned, but we could just skip straight to dessert?” Zayn suggests, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope,” Liam replies cheerily. “I worked hard on this and you’re going to appreciate it.”

Zayn pauses just inside the dining room, taking it all in. The lights are off and candles artistically placed throughout the room. Dinner is on the table, set for two, and it smells delicious. A vase of orchids is placed in the center and Zayn melts back against Liam's chest.

“You got me orchids.”

“You said no roses this year,” Liam murmurs, nuzzling the sensitive skin behind Zayn’s ear.

“I also said no elaborate gifts,” Zayn points out.

“S’not a gift,” Liam replies smugly. “It’s dinner.”

Zayn laughs. “Fine. Let’s eat.”

Liam insists on pulling Zayn’s chair out for him and placing a cloth napkin in his lap which makes Zayn amused and fond in equal measures. Apparently Liam is committed to giving Zayn a restaurant experience even though they can’t go out to one. It’s sweet and so very Liam and Zayn wants to give him the world.

“Okay, so, I hope this turned out well,” Liam says as he prepares Zayn's plate with what looks and smells like dal of some sort.

“Wait. Did you cook?” Zayn probably shouldn't sound so skeptical.

Liam can cook, kind of, but never anything with more than five ingredients. Zayn is usually the one who cooks for them. Honestly, they order in more than they probably should. He half expects Liam to get defensive of his skills, but instead he just looks nervous.

“Yeah. Um. I hope it tastes right?”

Zayn takes a bite and almost chokes in surprise as the familiar flavors burst over his tongue. “It tastes like me mum’s?”

Liam's relieved smile is wide and brilliant. “She walked me through it. Every step.”

“You called Mum to teach you how to cook for me.” Zayn is constantly surprised and gratified by all the tiny things Liam thinks to do for him.

“Video, yeah. I hate that thing with the oil and spices? Burned my wrist from the popping.” Liam pushes his lower lip into a pout and holds out his wrist like a war wound.

Zayn smothers a laugh and brings Liam’s wrist up to his lips for a gentle kiss. “Thank you. Your sacrifice is appreciated.”

“You laugh, but it was very stressful and complicated,” Liam says with exaggerated grievance.

“I know,” Zayn replies. He reaches out to cup Liam’s jaw and runs his thumb over Liam’s plush lower lip. “I really do appreciate it, love. This is amazing. You did so good.”

“Gonna send your mum some flowers. She was really patient with me.”

“Babe,” Zayn says after swallowing another surprisingly delicious mouthful. Even the rice is perfect and Liam always undercooks rice. “You send Mum flowers at least once a month.”

Liam shrugs. “She’s responsible for the existence of my favorite person. She deserves flowers. Besides, you send my mum flowers all the time too.”

Zayn grins. “For the same reason, yeah. And I gotta make sure I’m still her favorite.”

“Alright. Then we’re both as sappy as the other and you can’t make fun of me for it,” Liam states.

“K. Agreed,” Zayn replies with overwhelming fondness. Something about the candlelight and effort Liam has put into pleasing him has Zayn wanting to crawl into his lap and kiss him for hours. Which is not exactly a rare urge, to be completely honest.

Liam chatters idly about the weather and music, but keeps eyeing Zayn’s plate. The second it’s clean he licks his lips and leans forward, eyes hooded and dark. “Are you finished?”

Zayn swallows hard. “Yeah.”

In one swift motion, Liam pushes Zayn’s chair away from the table and gracefully slides to his knees between Zayn’s spread legs. He slides his palms up Zayn’s thighs to cup his hips through the thin slacks, thumbs pressing firmly into the muscle there. The smirk on his face is lethal.

“Just to take the edge off,” Liam explains in a husky voice, unzipping Zayn’s suit trousers and pulling out his half-hard dick.

All Zayn can do is watch Liam swallow him down, limbs gone heavy and useless. There’s something about being fully clothed otherwise that does it for him, reminds him of getting each other off quickly before the lads or security could catch them. All that shared experience has made Liam an expert at getting Zayn off in minutes if he wants to.

He appears to want to now if the dedication on display is any indication. Liam knows exactly where to flick his tongue, when to employ a steady rhythm and when to deepthroat him. Zayn lets his head fall back and his mouth drop open and allows Liam to drag him to the brink of orgasm before shoving him over.

Liam leans back on his heels and swipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He looks incredibly pleased with himself, but he has legitimate reason for smugness. Zayn is still struggling to regain control of his limbs. Clearly Liam notices because he scoops Zayn up in a bridal carry and heads for the bedroom.

“What the fuck,” Zayn yelps. “Put me down, Li!”

“Too late,” Liam announces, dropping Zayn unceremoniously to the mattress. “We’re already here.”

Zayn bats ineffectually at Liam’s chest, producing a low rumble of laughter from his partner. Zayn scowls up at him playfully and tugs on his tie, sending him sprawling across Zayn’s lower body. Liam grins and bites down on Zayn’s hip.

“Geroff me, you mad man!” Zayn yells, laughing.

Liam smiles slow and hungry up at him. “You sure? Most of my plans include being on you.”

Zayn’s breath catches in his throat as the air between them goes hot and electric. “And in me.”

“Mmm, that too,” Liam agrees. “Budge up. Need a little more room. Gonna unwrap you like a present.”

Zayn can’t help the tiny whimper that escapes his lips. He slides further up the bed as quickly as he can, rucking the blanket up a bit under him but he doesn’t care. He can’t care about anything when Liam is crawling after him, intense and single-minded.

Liam starts with his tie, sliding it undone and setting it aside before slipping Zayn’s jacket over his shoulders and down his arms. It gets tossed to the chair in the corner of the room before Liam begins slowly unbuttoning Zayn’s shirt, pressing hot open-mouthed kisses on every newly exposed bit of skin.

Time slows to a stop around them, leaving space for just the two of them to exist. It's often like this when they're together, especially if they’ve been apart, easy to get lost in the world they've created between them. They are a universe unto themselves.

Liam strips Zayn of his shirt and moves on to his trousers, giving his legs the same treatment his chest received. Due to the blowjob, Zayn isn’t desperate and demanding like he normally would be at this slow burn. Instead he lets it heat him up from the inside out, simmering under his skin in a kind of languid decadence. It feels amazing. Clearly this was Liam’s plan all along and Zayn has to give credit where credit is due.

“Flip over,” Liam orders softly, nudging Zayn’s hips until he obeys. He takes the abandoned tie and pulls it tight over Zayn’s eyes, securing it behind his head. “Okay?”

“Yes,” Zayn whispers fervently. “Yes, yes, yes.”

The silk isn’t quite wide enough to block out all light, but it is enough to restrict Zayn’s vision and allow him to focus purely on the physical sensations Liam is pulling from him. Liam nibbles at the nape of Zayn’s neck and begins dropping languid, open-mouthed kisses down his spine. The rapid succession of the heat of Liam’s mouth and the cool air once he moves on leave Zayn a shivering mess.

Liam pauses at the small of Zayn’s back, sucking at the sensitive nerves until Zayn is keening with it, begging for more. He can feel Liam’s grin against his skin before he moves on to where Zayn really wants him, pulling apart his cheeks and licking at the sensitive skin. Nothing wrecks Zayn so quickly as being eaten out and Liam knows it, knows how much more effective it is when he’s blindfolded and unable to focus on anything but the silken press of Liam’s tongue and the blaze of his own nerves.

“Please,” Zayn begs, squirming under Liam’s grip. “More.”

Zayn hears the familiar sound of lube being flicked open and then Liam’s finger presses into him smoothly. Tears gather at the corners of his eyes in relief and Zayn pushes back greedily. Liam smacks his ass in admonishment, but gives him another finger anyway.

“Be good,” Liam murmurs huskily. “Let me spoil you, baby.”

Zayn melts into the mattress, gives up his last tenuous grasp on control, and lets Liam move at his own maddening pace. There’s a plan set in his devious mind and nothing Zayn does is going to derail it. It’s better to give in and let Liam take him apart piece by piece.

By the time Liam finally slides into him, Zayn is a whimpering mess, open and desperate and weak from the onslaught of sensation. Liam sets up a slow, deep rhythm that catches Zayn’s prostate on every thrust and leaves him incapable of speech beyond needy moans and whimpers that he has no control over.

He loses the concept of time, floating in a haze of pleasure orchestrated by Liam, taking what he has been given as the gift it’s meant to be. Zayn’s whole body is awash with pleasure and when he comes it’s almost like an afterthought, like he’s been coming this whole time already and actual ejaculation is just one more sensation amongst many.

Liam thrusts a few more times before coming with a punched out moan. He collapses onto Zayn’s back, slick with sweat and breathing hard against Zayn’s neck. Zayn never wants to move again. He’s melded with the bed and Liam and he’s good here.

“Can you pull off the blindfold?” Zayn requests, voice hoarse and soft. “I can’t move my arms yet.”

“Yeah,” Liam chuckles, tugging the fabric from his eyes. “That good, huh?”

“Been awhile since it’s been like that,” Zayn admits. “You’re amazing.”

“You are,” Liam counteracts, peppering Zayn’s cheekbone with feather light kisses. “Thank you.”

Zayn snorts. “For what? You’re the one who made dinner and fucked my brains out my head. I didn’t get you anything because we weren’t going to this year.” He’s still a little put out by Liam being a sneaky little shit and getting around that ‘no gifts’ thing. But not very because he’s still essentially boneless.

“You’re gift enough,” Liam says lovingly.

“Gross,” Zayn shoots back. “But same, you know?”

Liam smothers a wide, eye-crinkling smile against Zayn’s shoulder. “Yeah, I know.”

#ziam #drabble #mine

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incorrectexoquotes · 7 years

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Hi I'm new to exo and there's so many members (not that I'm complaining) I was wondering if u can tell me about the personalities and distinct features to help me remember their names??? Thx~ Also I understand their used to be 12 members and if u can include the ex-members that would the dope~

IM LATE BUT BUCKLE UP BABE WE’RE IN FOR A RIDE THIS IS LONG

sehun: he is the baby of the group a very tall very handsome baby, noodly limbs but like….graceful noodle because he’s a great dancer so he’s like those dancing noodles in front of gas stations, he makes fun of everyone and probably roasts all of exo daily but he’s a big baby so he loves his boys a lot and probably cries while watching lilo and stitch because ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten, he has terrible selfie skills and has a thing for white girls (nothing wrong with liking white girls but he liked a kylie jenner thing once ??? i guess god doesn’t give with two hands?) , sometimes he looks mean as hell but remember he is just a big baby please handle with care

kai: his real name is jongin, he has beautiful tan skin and he is living proof that god really DOES give with two hands because he is both beautiful and also sweet as hell and also handsome and sarcastic funny??, during interviews he’s always staring intently at the person talking because he doesn’t want to miss a single word like what kind of Angel™?, his only flaw is that he doesn’t like wearing socks and he’d probably fall asleep in ur lap whenever possible at the most inopportune moments, he dances Great and the way he moves his body??? boy was born for the stage he draws your eyes immediately during performances, he has fluffy lips and fluffy hair and the deadliest Gaze when he looks straight into the camera, obsessed with dogs he has like 3 and he’d steal sehun’s dog vivi if he could lets be real maybe he’s just a bunch of dogs operating a human suit in order to take over the world? plausible theory, one time he had to be locked in a room by the staff so he’d stay and finish his vlive broadcast, all he does is laugh that cute dorky laugh (search it up because i’m literally sitting here typing this and hearing his laugh in my head it’s so distinct and memorable wow), he’s probably a goddamn hipster and into slam poetry…love it

D.O.: aka kyungsoo, literally good at EVERYTHING he does, dancing??? YES!!! singing??? a LEGEND! acting???? A KING OF KINGS WHERE THE OSCAR AT??!!!!, pretends he hates exo but he actually runs fyexo on the side, probably has his calendar filled out with the release dates of all of the other member’s solo stuff so he can listen/watch right away and then pretend like he didn’t because he cares more than anyone but he’s not about to show it, has pretty heart-shaped lips and big eyes and never dyes his hair a different color anymore it’s always black, recently got a terrible haircut that tested my love but then he showed his forehead and the world was good again, born january 12 1993 which is also the day zayn malik was born and i wholeheartedly believe there is a Reason for this, has the softest smoothest chocolaty velvet voice on earth and i could listen to him say baby girl and senorita for the rest of my life, BIG SMILE, people talk about satansoo and maybe he’s evil because he’s a capricorn and short as hell (therefore full of lots of inner anger) but i truly believe he’s just a small bean with a big smile and a bigger heart who’s kinda into platonic bdsm

chanyeol: oh boy where do we start, main rapper, a meme, got big ass eyes, a very tall baby but in the sense that he’s like 85% legs 20% ears and 50% In His Feelings At All Times, cries about everything, he’s allergic to dogs and cats but he Endures the pain just so he can hold his family dog like………that’s cute, he’s noodly and not even a graceful noodle just 85% noodle legs hurdling through life at too-fast speeds that his legs cannot keep up with but thankfully he is trying, HIS ARMS ARE SO THICK, he owns this one black sweatshirt and wears it all the damn time yet he’s owns a rolex who is he, like he literally wears the same outfit for days i bet he’s always skipping laundry day, he composes and writes music and plays like 10 instruments some of which include the guitar, piano, my heart, etc, awkward as hell, part of 92/beagle line and probably loud and giggly as hell too, a crier, his news anchor sister is really hot i stan his sister, DJs at exo concerts and let me tell u….boy knows how to Kick Ass, VOICE SO DEEP YOU’LL START RECITING POETRY FOR JONGIN’S SLAM POETRY SESSIONS

chen: real name is jongdae, smiles like :3, HIS VOCALS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD, his voice feels like taking 6 shots at once and you’re good until you stand up and everything hits you at once and you’re bouncing off the walls maybe possibly crying, small but full of roasts, looks like he gives the sweetest hug gentle and soft while he rubs your back, probably smells really nice, the whiniest voice ever, *jongdae voice* whyyyyyyyyy, *jongdae voice* [screaming], screams a lot, have you ever listened to jongdae’s solo “uprising” because he truly busted my fucking ears once and it was the best experience of my life, secretly aspires to be in a heavy metal band and was probably the sole reason why exo did a heavy metal version of mama during an awards show, he has a square jaw and curly lips and pretty eyelashes and he gives off this very serene vibe, part of 92/beagle line, I LOVE IT WHEN HE SMILES, honestly the sweetest boy, everyone calls him the mom of the group he’s literally the mom friend who doesn’t love the mom friend, ripped his pants during mama 2016 and kept his cool thru creating a skirt w his jacket on the spot, snarky as shit 10/10 would recommend, doesn’t have an instagram?? for why??

baekhyun: LOUD AS SHIT, a sweetheart, he has the prettiest hands, used to be cute and then decided to gym so now he’s cute but also hot, lotto baekhyun=hot pirate shirt baekhyun, he literally has an entire series where he plays league of legends with heechul and invites random people to play embarrassing games and scream with, jongdae was on one episode and they screamed together and it was beautiful exo’s harmonies are legendary, dance line passing, exo m passing, moodmaker which means he makes CORNY ASS JOKES AND I’M WHIPPED SO I LAUGH, connoisseur of stanning girl groups and always doing girl group dances, a focking dweeb, BIG RECTANGULAR SMILE ALL TEETH SHINY AS HELL CHIP SKYLARK WROTE MY SHINY TEETH AND ME ABOUT BAEKHYUN, probably thinks lightning mcqueen is cute and jongdae the type to agree, has a literal daddy kink and flaunts it on instagram.com, he is literally ALWAYS talking, not sure if he knows how to not talk, like you see the guy always talking in exo videos and he has a loud voice? that’s baekhyun (not the one screaming at extreme decibels but the guy sceaming at slightly lower than extreme decibels), highly endearing, baekhyun flirts with everyone trust me im an expert, does embarrassing things on purpose and then gets embarrassed two minutes later and repeats process every day, a Relatable Meme, 92/beagle line member #3

lay: real name is yixing, last Chinese member left, HARDWORKING, ANGEL, GOD SENT HIM TO US TO SHOW US THAT HUMANS CAN BE GOOD, a part of dance line and his dancing is so good to watch it’s sharp and precise and his hip thrusts *fans self while baekhyun fans himself on the other side of the world*, always looks like he’s spitting straight fire at awards show speeches, pointing up during speeches to show that exo is #1, soooo hardworking he’s made his own studio and released his own solo album and acts and does variety in china and travels back and forth between exo and solo activities and is always thinking about his exo boys while thinking of his fans (xingmis), KING, according to exo he has a thing for spreading their ass cheeks, calls it ‘refreshing’ but im pretty sure he just has a kink, has tired droopy looking eyes its cute, literal human incarnation of those “[takes a hit from bong] how do my feet smell if they don’t have a nose?”, super chill like he that dude who’d just sit through the end of the world and you’d be like….tru…and join him in Chill Bliss while the world falls apart around you

suho: aka Junmyeon (Joonmyun is another way to spell it), suho means “guardian angel” because he thinks he’s a guardian angel and PLOT TWIST HE IS!!! HE IS EXO’S ANGEL AND HE TAKES CARE OF THEM BY NAGGING AND LISTENNING AND BEING SWEET AND MAKING DAD JOKES, dad joke example #1: when someone asked him what park they should go to while they were in nyc and he said “linkin park” i kid u not i am not making this shit up, he’s very, very pretty like SOOOO HANDSOME kinda looks like the guy who’d be your suga daddy tbh, he is exo’s self-proclaimed funniest member and tbh he truly is the funniest member his dad jokes are out of this world exo can suck it, smol pal, he’s the leader of the group and the rest of exo like to roast him but tbh he’s the best leader and i will always have a soft spot for him ever since that time when krisgate happened and exo won for overdose and he went up on stage all alone to accept the award and the way he held it together so well for everyone, his band himself and the fans, was the most heartbreaking thing ever i love kim junmyeon he’s just a loving single dad trying to make it out there in this cruel worl

Xiumin: aka Minseok, he looks like a cute bun but he’s actually the oldest and is so beefed up he could probably beat u up and ur grandchildren’s children would feel it, LITERALLY SOOOOO HOT, he used to be really quiet during debut and he is still kinda quiet but he’s been working on it and doing much better and exo supports him thru it, honestly its the quiet ones u gotta watch for boy probably gathers all the tea on the rest of exo and spills it at isac when no one is watching, YALL SEEN THOSE PICS OF KANGAROOS, that’s minseok he’s cute like a kangaroo but he can also murder u with a pinky finger and u would probably thank him not gonna lie, he has pretty slanted eyes and he’s a really good dancer and he has a lovely voice AND HE CAN WRAP example #2 of god truly giving with two hands, he loves sports and back before luhangate he and luhan were literally inseparable #bffs4lyfe, the CUTEST SMILE IN EXISTENCE, WHEN HE SMILES WARS END, literally everyone is under this boy’s spell like minseok barely does variety he showed up on running man once for .02 seconds in a clip he wasnt even invited to the show and he trended for like a whole day, he ate mocha bread on xoxo and mocha bread sold out everywhere, he is literally the chuck norris of exo, he’s always trending for breathing it’s beautful and relatable me too south korea

ex members: so they were all apart of exo m (exo’s chinese subunit who promoted in china), exo m also includes xiumin, chen, and lay, the rest of the members above were in exo k, who mainly promoted in south korea

tao: aka zitao, A BABYYYYYYYYYYYYY, BABIER THAN SEHUN EVEN THO HE’S LIKE…KYUNGSOO’S AGE, he’s got a cat-like face, pretty tanned skin, and he was super tall, king of being a wushu master, basically he’s entirely capable of kicking ass wherever he goes but he’s scared of everything, couldn’t shower alone back in the old days, everyone loved taking caring of him, suho was literally his mother, he looked scary during debut era because of his emo hair, but he’s the biggest baby ever and he and sehun made up the raddest baby club ever, they rode around in expensive cars just to get food from the convenience store, dramatique as hell, i really really liked his rapping he had flow it was great also his iconic part in growl….binch, RED HAIR TAO………GODS GIFT, HIS MUSIC NOW IS LIKE…..culture shock he’s a smol baby but those mvs m’dude, i miss him

luhan: apparently hes a fkn freak have you heard his new songs, “put in work like the renaissance move that body like a gymnahst ask me what i want lalalalala blow me like a flute WOO OoooooOOOHOHHOOH show me what IT do oooohoooh” Lu by Luhan (2015), ok like he was literally so iconic???, cute face like honestly so gorgeous but he always had this obsession with being MANLY, he and his manly BRO MINSEOK would do BRO things like Coffee BRODATES and play soccer together and hang out under BROBRELLAS at isac, he’s good at acting and making it in a matt damon movie yes binch, i loved his voice it was sweet and harmonized so well with jongdae’s voice and yixing’s, he genuinely had the sweetest friendships with his bros, A LITERAL MEME RUNNING MAN LUHAN WAS ICONIC , he doesn’t know what he’s doing w his face and is constantly derping its beautiful, literally the original exo meme face tbh, white producer: luhan you’re the best! luhan: [hits the whip nervously], i miss him so much omg

kris: aka Kris Wu or Wu Yifan some say kevin was also a name…. a man of many names, luhan might have been the original exo meme face but kris was the original extra ass meme, obsessed with space and the biggest dork in the world (universe), his relationship with the boys was like….so beautiful….and its been nearly three years but it always warms my hort, a really good actor he’s making it big out there, SOME TIMES HE’D WEAR THE UGLIEST SHIT TO THE AIRPORT AND HONESTLY….IT WAS WILD HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE A FASHION ICON, HONESTLY kris in exo showtime was the most iconic thing i’ve ever seen, exo’s other dad or now it’s exo’s ex dad, probably shared dad jokes with suho when they’d have their dad meetings, he’s otherworldly hot and he has these piercing eyes and he went bald for like a month after leaving exo but now he’s making it big in a vin diesel movie with my girl deepika #bless, krisgate was literally the wildest thing he exposed sm and i still get war flashbacks about it, rip exo m(emories), i miss him too but they’re all doing good out there so its fine

#i have war flashbacks when i talk about ot12 #also this is extensive so i put it under the cut #why am i in my feelings today #Anonymous #this is obnoxiously long i just love me boys ksjdzhskjh #me: [thru tears] e-x-o we are one binhch #answered

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boys-with-no-control-rp · 7 years

Text

Stripper x Bartender || Celeste & Niall

Working as a bartender in one of the best strip clubs in London was fun. Niall enjoyed working during late hours and being a bartender in this place had its perks. He got to see strippers perform and since he happened to be single, it wasn’t wrong for him to stare at them. The only thing about his job was that he couldn’t drink alcohol himself which also made much sense. Whenever he had day offs, he went out with his friends Zayn and Liam for some drinks if they didn’t go to each other’s houses. They also played video games together and Zayn had a girlfriend while Liam had a fiancee which made Niall the only single out of them. His friends often made fun of him because of that. They had tried to find Niall a girl for some time but it none of them had worked out that well. Some dates had been disasters.

He was still quite new to be working in this club since it was popular and could get crowded almost every night. He had been so happy when he got to work in his favorite club in London and his friends came often to see him at work too. He made drinks, served them and flirted with his customers. He seemed to be happy all the time and charming as people enjoyed conversating with him. He also looked like an innocent puppy which he truly wasn’t though. He was a loud person and a party animal and had always been social.

He was in his mid 20′s and lived in a small flat which was enough for him. Most of his family lived back in Ireland but he had wanted to move from there because London had so many opportunities that he didn’t want to stay in his homeland. He had enjoyed his time here for a few years now and he wouldn’t change anything about it.

It was the perfect time to be at work and have a break. One of the best strippers called Celeste was having her show up next and Niall always tried to watch her show. It was the highlight of his night. He had to admit that he had a crush on the stripper like so many other people did. Like who wouldn’t have though? She was sexy after all and she turned Niall on so bad but Niall hadn’t ever gotten a chance to go talk to her. She was probably the only person that Niall had laid his eyes on. He wouldn’t mind to have her for himself even just for one night. He also knew it was pointless to think like that. She was a stripper. What chances did he have with her anyway?

He sighed loudly and drank some water as he waited for her perfomance and had a look around the club. There were a few stripper girls giving a lap dance to older men. Two were dancing on the pole. He’d like to get a lap dance from Celeste though. Somehow the other strippers weren’t that beautiful or hot, at least not in Niall’s opinion. They just...lacked something.

“Hello mate!” Niall was brought back from his thoughts by Zayn who was grinning at him. Zayn clearly would tease him again and try to match him with some random chick. He’s had enough with Niall being single.

“Well hi to you Zayn.” Niall mumbled and his black haired male friend immediately knew that something wasn’t okay with his friend.

“What is it Niall? Thinking about Celeste again? Can’t you find someone else to dream about for god’s sake?!?” Zayn asked dramatically. “The place is full of women who would love to have sex with you. I’m serious, you’re making a huge mistake for skipping everyone.”

Niall snorted at that. “I just see Celeste as more attractive than anyone else. I can’t imagine having sex with someone else now. It would feel like I’d be cheating.” He told Zayn didn’t look pleased at all. “You’re ridiculous.” Zayn groaned.

After a short moment Zayn happened to remember one thing he hadn’t informed about to Niall before. “Wait, strippers can have private shows. How about you have Celeste at your place for one time and then you’ll realize you she’s not the one you want. You know that having a stripper girlfriend would just make you jealous.”

Niall’s eyes widened at that and he spilled water from his mouth. “Now you tell me you little shit! I’m gonna ask her for a private show.” He said feeling better right away despite Zayn trying to say that Celeste wouldn’t be the one for him.

@0celestemarie0

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loveinthewriteway · 7 years

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#omg #this took me forever #i hope y'all enjoy! this definitely got me thinking more about this upcoming fic #ans #ans: sunshine #ans: zayn #woc fic #1dff #1d woc #zayn malik

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1ddotdhq · 4 years

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🧙‍♂️ Wed Sept 23 ‘20 🦁

Z3 Z3 Z3 Z3 Z3 HOLY SHIT Z3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I’m not certain about an album, but we’re definitely getting a single on Friday! I’m just keeping my hopes up! Um, okay. How do I start? So at 9:30 am EST (or 2:30 pm BST, depending on where in the world he is!) Zayn dropped a teaser trailer for a new song, with the caption #better, which is the name of the song! This follows last night's movement, where he changed his Spotify header, as well as his twitter icon. I’m gonna be honest here: when I saw his new twitter profile picture, I thought it was a picture of Liam and I was SO! CONFUSED! But it’s not! It’s Zayn pulling an angsty face that Liam often pulls in HIS modeling gigs, so it looks like they have a similar bag of tricks haha! ANYWAYS, the song will drop on Friday, 9/25!!! Place your bets: will the song or the baby drop first???

If THAT wasn’t enough Zayn movement, he posted a SPONSORED AD for the new Harry Potter game both on Instagram AND on twitter (both at 7 am EST), and then he did a taped ad for it, too! It...looks to be some wizarding version of Candy Crush, but you know nerd!Zayn and his Harry Potter tattoo - he only had good things to say about it: “[During quarantine] I’ve been doing...music, recording, painting, but my main pastimes has been playing games, and that’s how, like, I keep in touch with my friends...you get to choose which House you want to be put in. I picked Gryffindor...so yeah, it’s really cool.” He says he likes Gryffindor because he’s always been drawn to “the hero types”. Sounds like the start of a bad rom com, doesn’t it?

Anyways! Zayn’s not the only one that has spent his quarantine making music, painting, and gaming: LIAM went live at 8 am BST to do his promised zoom meetings with fans and announce that his rewatch show is on Saturday the 26th at 8 am BST. Oddly enough, Harry Potter (and the new game!) was a major talking point in this live. Before we get further into the discussion, the Intern would like to say that JKR is a massive TERF and I think we should be reading queer fantasy novels and uplifting the queer community rather than focusing on her worlds/making he more profit, but that discourse didn’t come up in Liam’s live, funnily enough! What did come up? Well...the online games did! Someone in the chat said: “What’s your Hogwarts House?” and Liam (love him lots) took that as an invitation to talk about the new Harry Potter games: “I’ve done a lot of those online...like, online Harry Potter games (so has Zayn!), and I always end up in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but no one wants to be in Hufflepuff...I want to be a lion”. And then - and I cannot make this up - he GROWLED. Those hero types, huh? Can’t do a thing about them! He also suggested that he do a Harry Potter watch along in his next live, and guys, it takes me long enough to get through his lives taking notes NOW, MY HANDS WILL NOT SURVIVE A TWO HOUR LIVE.

Other fun moments from the live show included his reveal (slip?) that he did not live with Maya! When asked what his morning routine was, he said it was “to get up in the biggest mood ever and then hope he has an hour to himself before he sees anyone”. But? That would almost CERTAINLY not be the case if you had a live in girlfriend! He also gave a brief reaction to Harry’s Calm story, and had a bant with Conor (his cameraman) about it (“Imagine you’re in the tour bus,” Conor said. “Shut UP! You’re RuInINg it for ME.”). Also, the chat told Liam to tell Niall to “strip that down”, to which Liam replied: “Niall’s been stripping it down a lot at the moment! he’s been stripping it down a lot! I’ve seen his Instagram stories, and I know it’s hot at the moment but the shirt has been off 24/7, which used to be my tactic.” Niall, even LIAM wants you to put a shirt on, buddy, so idk what to tell you. He also said, about Bear, that “he’s fantastic! [He’s] a sweet, lovely little boy, and I don’t know how that happened, given that he’s my son. Must get it from his mother ‘cuz it’s not from me!” He mentioned - again - doing a paint along with fans, as he’s ALSO been doing a lot of painting during quarantine. What do you think I would have to do for a joint Ziam paint along live? And he was unsure if “te amo” was a real thing in Spanish. Yes, Liam, it is, y te amo a ti también!!

And, if that were a normal day, that would be it! That’s more than enough after all, but NOPE! No rest for the wicked, I guess, so on we go:

Harry was seen shooting his music video in Italy in a white V-neck nightshirt that could be seen billowing in the wind as he ran dramatically. New pictures also show him in a long purple nightgown and a fedora, as well as driving a little speedboat (with a bright, Vespa blue interior) off of the Italian coast. As far as I can tell, his rings are not back (probably a smart choice, given the amount of handwashing he’s hopefully doing) but his pearl necklace is (love to see it!). In one of the boat pictures, he can be seen on his phone, either taking a picture or on a facetime call, but I, personally, hope he brings photographer!H back, too! Gotta tell you, and I know we said it for Watermelon Sugar, but I really hope this is a continuation of the Eroda universe - any comments @/visiteroda? Fan reports say that his Italian is very good, and that he’s kind. Nothing new there, but always great to hear it!

AND! In a ONE DEE DISCOURSE EXCLUSIVE: I can reveal ~exclusively~ that Nick Gordon, of yesterday’s clown car, has a TWIN BROTHER, named Nathan! Good bye Gretchen, Tina, and Eleanor and HELLO Nathan and Nick. Imagine the shenanigans that they can pull with THIS in their back pocket! The thing is - the more we learn about the situation, the less we seem to know - TMZ reports that Nick and Briana have had an on again off again relationship for the last ten years, but Nick Gordon has had a long term girlfriend for at least three of those ten years, until they broke it off last year! In fact, TMZ continued in a bemused tone, BRIANA has been seen with multiple men over the course of the last year. Guess they were VERY off, huh?

#zayn malik #liam payne #harry styles #briana #nick gordon #and the rest of the clown car #also louis' merch is restocked!!!#i gave in and bought some its soooo cool!!#my hogwarts house is Gryffindor #if that comes as a surprise to anyone #ERODA VERSE ERODA VERSE ERODA VERSE #song of the day!#all my heroes by bleachers

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aliyawyg20 · 4 years

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Dear dad,

Today is One Direction’s Ten Year Anniversary and I’m crying so much. I think about how we would’ve spent today reminiscing and listening to their music together somehow. I can’t listen to any of their music right now as it hurts too much. I think of how I wanted to bring you to Harry’s upcoming show so we could be fans together. I think of the night and day we met him in NYC back in 2012. It’s still the best day of my life. I think of your support and how I got to go to 5 of their shows -1 for every tour and 2 for the Take Me Home Tour. I think of my time at the FS with Zoë and Anamy and Caisey and how I came home with their movie productions notes and green room snacks. I think of all the dating rumors and how you supported my angst towards Taylor Swift (oops @ internalized misogyny). It’s weird to relate to these ultra mega superstar celebrities, the ones that take up the DVR storage that you refuse to delete because you know I’ll watch them when I come home. I relate to Louis and Harry as they have both lost parents and suddenly the veil of fame disappears and I understand that as humans, we all will face death one day. As a teenager who thought of their own death too often, I thank the boys for their music and keeping me happy about anything. Whether it was being in middle and high school and having a 1D backpack... and calendar... and Staples school supply line... and t-shirts, CDs, perfume, duct tape, a signed Louis doll, books, a bag from the official NY 1D store, 100+ magazines, headphones, toothbrush, bracelets, posters, and even a terrifying cut out, or simply being in the car blasting them through the aux with all the windows down and my head out the window, they gave me a lot, to say the least. It was Little Things playing for the first time in my first boarding school room where I melted and dissociated for the first time :’). It was a dormstaff saying they shot the Gotta Be You video at her school. It was every music video and tour video and interview and backstage clips and edits and AAoOD and award shows and talk shows and SNL and so much visual media consumed. Hours of listening to their music. Hours of my bedridden depression of 7 months being filled with fan theories just to give me something to care about. 9/10 years following this band, loving them every part of it. Crying in my mom’s arms after Zayn left. Crying the first time I heard Moments live at the Izod Center in 2012. Crying when I didn’t meet them. Crying when I listened to their new music. Crying when they disbanded. Crying today. Crying right now.

Dad, I saw you last night, or this morning. You were fully there, and Harry was, too. My English teacher was and so were Bella and Trey. But Harry talked to you and I said, “ Wait you can see him?” And Harry said, “of course!” as you two continued shmoozing. I was so happy he saw you. It meant you were really there. And he was, too. He had his mustache and all.

Dad, this was supposed to be our day to celebrate. My day to say thank you. To thank you for every time you supported me venturing out to the city to try to meet them. You always said that you followed the Grateful Dead around so you understood what it meant to me. You got how much it meant to me and fully supported that. That, itself, means the most to me. You really showed me what a passion for music and love for artists and love for me could look like. The way you unconditionally loved me. The way I unconditionally love you. Even when my love for One Direction got into some medical trouble... and messed with y’all’s marriage a little bit... and gave me a few breakdowns... unconditional.

I don’t have many pictures. I don’t have any of you and I related to the band. But I do have the memories. I could make so many puns because of their lyrics, but I won’t. This day was supposed to be our day. This day was supposed to be happy and full of “Omg! LOL” simple type of stuff. It was supposed to be happy. But I feel very alone in Colorado. I feel very much stranded from anywhere where these memories happened. The only ones in Colorado live through my phone in texts and calls. I delete all the calls in my history so it shows up just as yours as the most recent. I don’t want to lose you any more than I have and I grip to anything I’ve got. You’re really gone, Dad. And for a while it was just like Mom said, “he’s just away for a bit. He’s just not here right now.” But the permanence of it all is so disgusting. It’s humid and feels like molasses all over my body in 101° weather. Getting more and more used to this is sickening to me. Letting it settling isn’t heartbreaking. I hate everything people say about their grief. “It never stops hurting” or “time heals” or “it’ll hurt but differently”. You would never say such shite to me. I’m not sure what you would say. The first time I saw you cry was at your own mother’s funeral. It was surreal in that moment in the car. Maybe before was during an episode I had in middle school. After was when you said goodbye to me as I moved across the country away from you all to Boulder, Colorado. Then once again and again and again at most of our goodbyes here, but not this last one. You cried at Hutch dying. You grieved. You said there will never be a cat as good or fun or pure as him. Agreed. You cried at the gifts I gave you this Hannukah with pictures of him. And you know, you never tried to fix things like these other people try to do. You never try to tell me what the future will look like when I’m feeling the worst or most vulnerable. You would never say something as horribly shallow as “it gets better” or “stay strong.” Those are the phrases I would say on tumblr at 15 to my friends who were also self harming. What do those words carried when you yourself are saying them from pain? Nothing. But Dad, you never did that. Over time you learned to ask, “how can I/what can I do to help you?” and “what do you need?” You’d even pay for food to make sure I could eat while devastated over whatever it was that day. Always present. Never anywhere else but right here, right now. And that’s what I miss right now. It is hard to be both sad and hold myself through this sadness. It feels like too much for a one person team. You never let me be sad alone, even sometimes to my dismay. But never alone. I guess you knew that maybe time would heal things or one things would be better, but in the moments, you wouldn’t try to put a bandaid on my big wounds. You’d meet me at the same level of care that my level of pain was at. No one else does it like you do. I hope others will one day. I look for you every where. I’ll always look for you in the people I meet and the friends I keep and the loved ones I hold close. Your heart was my home. It was for so many years. It has grown to be my burial ground. It’s the pit in my stomach now and the way my teeth grind like they’re digging up the earth. It’s “how many times can I let people dig deeper into my wounds before I tell them to find somewhere else to go?” I wish for days less like today. Celebration, of course. But not like this. Not in a pandemic. I don’t even want to say the word anymore. You would cry when feelings came up. You would relax by the tv. I get so scared I’ll remember you incorrectly. I get so scared I’ll never talk to you the ways that I can. I get so scared because this is the truth now. This reality sucks. Sucks. One Direction can only bring so much out of me. The dark greens I see and the dark purpled muddily blending together in my body. I hope you’re having a good day, Dad. I hope the weather is nice and it’s not too hot. I hope the plants are getting watered and doing well. I you’re loving me and sending me messages.

I hope you come back soon. I hate that you won’t. “Live While We’re Young.” You know, that’s the sad thing with One Direction, too. They have a song for just about everything. I could do song association with just their music. I’m pretty tired now. I’ve been writing for 50 minutes. My little therapy session for today. I love you so much, Pops. I wish you were here, goddamn it. I’m here. And I love you forever. I love you forever. I love you forever.

“In the middle of the night when the wolves come out, they go straight for your heart, like a bullet in the dark. One by one, you try to take them down, they can run and hide, ain’t going down without a fight”

You always mentioned the Wolves song. I’ll replenish with a big golden sun. I remember bringing I Want To Write You A Song to 12th grade English class. Weird how I was allowed to do that. And the t shirt from the mall kiosk at Willowbrook that I still have. Aw man, dad. This is so sad and so fucked. Anyways it’s been almost an hour. I love you so much. I’ll talk about you soon and cry about you even more. I love you. Bye for now.

1:22-2:16pm July 23rd, 2020. Ten Years of One Direction

And I never made the video “I listened to every one direction song so you don’t have to 10 year anniversary video” smh

#where are you #7.23.20 #i hate this #today was so fucking hard

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njawaidofficial · 6 years

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Gigi And Zayn Were The Power Couple I Needed To See When I Was Growing Up

https://styleveryday.com/2018/03/15/gigi-and-zayn-were-the-power-couple-i-needed-to-see-when-i-was-growing-up/

Gigi And Zayn Were The Power Couple I Needed To See When I Was Growing Up

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid attend the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016, in New York City.

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

I was a little too excited when Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid first began dating, way, way back in 2015. That was the year Gigi’s modeling career exploded, as she showed up in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video. Zayn was in the process of launching his solo career after a dramatic break with One Direction. A romance between two beautiful, successful celebrities isn’t exactly earth-shaking news, and Zayn and Gigi didn’t do anything especially interesting together: They posed in fashion shoots, walked the red carpet together, wore a couples costume for Halloween, and, of course, documented all of it on Instagram.

But what did matter to me is what also fascinated me about them separately: They both have Muslim heritage and are outspoken about how their backgrounds have shaped them. And seeing this desi-Arab-Muslim power couple together, in the pages of the same magazines I had flipped through as a celebrity-obsessed, boy band–loving, Palestinian, Muslim, American teen — looking for Muslim and Arab faces, and finding none — felt like something I had been waiting a long time for.

This week, the couple announced their split after more than two years together, and the breakup was as relatively drama-free as their relationship appeared to be. Zayn described Gigi as an “incredible soul”; in her own statement, Gigi said she was “forever grateful for the love, time, and life lessons.” There was some minor drama over Zayn unfollowing Gigi and her mother, Yolanda Hadid, on Instagram — and the matter of a months-old tattoo of Gigi’s eyes across Zayn’s chest — but as far as celebrity breakups go, this seemed, at least publicly, to be pretty unremarkable.

I wasn’t really heartbroken over the breakup of Gigi and Zayn, the actual people, as much as I was at the end of the idea of their relationship.

I had been so wrapped up in Tuesday morning news that I was genuinely stunned when another editor at work asked if we’d be covering the story, which I’d heard nothing about. And then I was suddenly sad, and then I was mostly embarrassed about being a 31-year-old woman who was this sad about the end of a relationship I wasn’t even in. But I wasn’t really heartbroken over the breakup of Gigi and Zayn, the actual people, as much as I was at the end of the idea of their relationship, and what it had represented to me. They had been so unusual as a fantasy canvas to project the real Muslim romances I’d grown up watching onto: Zayn and Gigi were the couple that sat too close at Muslim Student Association meetings; they were the desi and Arab pair kept apart by cultural differences; the teenagers ducking into cars together when they’ve told their parents they’ve gone to the mosque. Their celebrity realities were miles away from any of ours, but they had backgrounds that made them blank slates for our versions of sweet, unremarkable, all-American stories.

Coverage of Gigi and Zayn, together or separately, meant seeing things like Eid al-Adha — a major Muslim holiday — casually mentioned in publications like People and E! Online after they marked it by taking a selfie with their mothers. Eid al-Adha was a regular part of the United States I grew up in, a day when my family spent time together, exchanged presents, bought new clothes, and ate way too much, and now, it’s also when we post smiling selfies to social media. To see these celebrities doing the same, and to see a note about the holiday in the media coverage of them — free of any offensive, hand-wringing debate over whether or not there are too many Muslims in the US — still feels remarkable.

Instagram: @yolanda

As a child and throughout my teens, I struggled to find myself reflected in the pop culture around me. Even though I was in elementary school, my dad would turn off my cartoons and watch coverage of the Gulf War with me, and the news seemed to be the only place where I would see Arabs and Muslims. Most of my favorite TV shows, like Full House, Rugrats, and later Dawson’s Creek and Friends, featured mainly white characters — which helped form the idea that uncomplicated lives were not written for people like me. I was so hungry for representation that when Aladdin came out in 1992, the movie — even as a racist mashup of generally Eastern cultures — was revolutionary for me. It was my first time seeing fun, popular characters even remotely representative of my family’s culture; I became so obsessed that I tried to convince my parents to rename me Yasmine.

But after Aladdin, it was a long, empty road for Muslim representation in the mainstream, especially after 9/11. And I just accepted that I would never fully relate to the white heroines in my favorite books — Little Women, the Sweet Valley High series, the Baby-Sitters Club series, The Princess Diaries. A few years ago, I spoke to one of my high school’s librarians and asked him why we never had many books by Arab or Muslim authors. He told me that we never asked for them. It was strange to think that the weight would have been placed on me — a child — to ask for stories that would speak to me. After all, how many white, Christian teenagers have to actually ask librarians for books written about characters who look like them? But everything around me taught me that stories about girls like me simply did not exist. An awkward, opinionated Muslim girl would not roam Bayside High’s halls, nor would she ever serve as Dawson Leary’s out-of-reach love interest.

Me dressed up for Eid, with my Jasmine doll on the table.

courtesy of Sara Yasin

That applied to the heartthrobs I fantasized about, too: I was obsessed with boy bands as a teen. While I was mostly loyal to NSYNC, I was easily wooed by any group of young men with coordinated outfits and dance moves. These young men I dreamed about were carefully constructed to cater to my desires as a teenage girl — and most of them were white. I fantasized about the Justin Timberlakes and Brian Littrells of the world, and would always attempt to stamp out the tiny voice that wondered how they might feel about a fan who was Muslim.

By the time One Direction had become the biggest boy band in the world, I felt too old to be obsessed with them in the same way. But I still found joy in listening to their songs, and it had a lot to do with Zayn. He wasn’t necessarily vocal about his Muslim and Pakistani roots while he was in One Direction, but I didn’t love the real Zayn so much as I loved what he could have been to me, back when I was a teenager: the halal crush that I could dream of introducing to my parents, that would have made me feel like my heritage and my world were as commonplace as anyone else’s. There was something incredible about seeing a Muslim man not only become famous but become a sex symbol — seeing a Muslim name like “Zayn Malik” on a thirsty, hot-pink poster sold to teenage girls, rather than on a terror alert.

While Gigi also has a Muslim father, what drew me to her is the fact that she’s Palestinian — and vocal about how proud she is of her background. I first came across her in 2014, when I noticed a photo shoot she did paying tribute to Anna Wintour’s first Vogue cover as editor-in-chief, in 1988, which featured Israeli model Michaela Bercu. Some wondered if Vogue was making a (quiet) political statement about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by featuring Gigi years later, especially since the photos came soon after the last deadly war in Gaza.

Vogue breezily referenced Gigi’s heritage, and in many ways, that’s Gigi’s approach too: She doesn’t explain or justify the fact that she’s Palestinian; it’s just a part of who she is. When she won Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” award last year, she referred to her father as a “refugee from Palestine” in her acceptance speech. Mohamed Hadid is vocal about the conflict, as well as his heritage. Both Gigi and her sister, Bella, also a model, have spoken about how their father’s background has shaped them, and last year, the sisters joined a protest against Trump’s controversial travel ban.

Gigi Hadid wears a keffiyeh-patterned jacket at a 2014 Chanel event in New York City.

Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images

You could argue that Gigi’s outspokenness is made much easier by the fact that, for the most part, she gets to decide when she wants to remind you that she’s a Palestinian — a luxury that her ex does not have. Zayn faced racism even in the days when he wasn’t as vocal about being Muslim or Pakistani, whether that was from anti-Muslim pundits like Debbie Schlussel warning that he was “pimping” Islam to young girls, or Bill Maher making a joke comparing him to one of the Boston marathon bombers.

Hadid has slammed anti-Muslim bigotry, but she has also made some big stumbles herself, like a video from 2017 showing her mocking Asians on her sister’s Instagram story. But even that is part of what’s so familiar about her to me; missteps like this were commonplace in my own Muslim community, where people had blinders on when it came to addressing inequalities that weren’t their own.

Of course, Gigi and Zayn’s ability to move with an ease that isn’t afforded to others with similar heritage is mostly a testament to the privilege that comes with fame, beauty, and wealth, rather than any huge symbol of progress. Desi-Arab-Muslim power couples aren’t going to unravel the prejudices that these groups have faced in the US — that will probably have a lot more to do with accepting that what it means to be an American is a diverse, ever-changing thing. Not long ago, I was waxing poetic about the Hadids while visiting a relative, and the significance of their visibility as Palestinian-Americans, and she sighed and asked when she would be accepted as an American as she is: a devout, hijab-wearing Muslim immigrant.

Gigi Hadid (center) with, from left, her sister Bella, mother Yolanda, father Mohamed, and his fiancé, Shiva Safai, at a party in Paris in 2016.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

I always say that I grew up in Disneyland Palestine: a suburban, North Carolina street dotted with relatives and other Palestinian immigrant families who came together to re-create a version of their homeland for their American children. Being Palestinian was about having way too many cousins, an infuriating surveillance network of nosy aunties, dancing to corny music videos that came on our Arabic satellite television stations, and, of course, eating typically Palestinian meals like musakhan — huge, soft wheels of bread doused in olive oil, topped with sumac, roasted pine nuts, fried onions, and chicken. For me, particularly as a child, my parents’ Palestinian heritage was about all of these things, just as much as it was about knowing our histories and, of course, understanding the conflict with Israel.

But in the US, being Palestinian is rarely viewed outside of the lense of that conflict. And while it is deeply intertwined with being a Palestinian, particularly in a situation that is ongoing and ever-deteriorating, viewing us through that alone has helped dehumanize us entirely. We can never just live, and that’s what the Hadids do: They’re public, Palestinian figures who lead splashy, “ordinary” Hollywood lives. And seeing a family with roots similar to my own become the fodder for ordinary, superficial celebrity gossip coverage — seeing their daughter, who just happens to be a supermodel, date a British and Pakistani boy, who just happens to be a pop star — was remarkable in its own completely unremarkable way. In a country where it’s a reasonable thing for a politician to suggest that Palestinians don’t even exist, that visibility matters.

While Gigi and Zayn’s split doesn’t make them less meaningful, in terms of what they represent, it does mean an end to a Hollywood romance that seemed to be written just for me. More than two years is a long time for celebrities, and of course, Just Like Us: They Grow Apart! I am still a little sad, but I’m realizing that there was a kind of joy in watching a romance — that just happened to involve two Muslim celebrities — blossom, and then fade out, like any other. ●

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