I finished Conviction and it wasn’t the worst show

okay i am so excited to get to plotting & interacting with all u cuties ! bare with me though , im also trying to study for a quiz i gotta take later tonight . anyways , i’m mia aka your resident masshole reporting for duty . i’m 20 years old ... will be 21 in june ( fingers crossed my Sad ass will be out of q*arentine by then ) . i go by she / her / dumb bitch pronouns & am very much so done talking about myself already . so lets get to my boy asher here who is ... how do you say ? a asshole ? a dirt bag ? a soft baby boi ? if you wanna plot & discord is easier for you shoot me a mssg @ 𝖒𝖌𝖐'𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔𝖗𝖊#9789 . lets goooo 💛

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒

full name: asher james bennett nickname: ash , aj birthday: march 25 , 1996 zodiac: aries hometown: madison , wisconsin ( click here to see his parents house / childhood home ) current residence: los angeles , california ( although he lives in the villa with everyone , before the year away he lived on his own & still owns the home , both because he loves the place and because it gives his family somewhere to go when they come out click here to see his house ) vehicle: 2017 jeep wrangler rubicon in black ( click here ) , 2019 maserati granturismo in red ( click here ) gender: cismale orientation: heterosexual , heteromantic relationship status: single ( it’s complicated ) family: tamara marie bennett-abbott ( mother ) , harrison charles bennett ( father , deceased ) , mason billings abbott ( stepfather ) , bradford sawyer abbott ( brother ) , stephanie anne bennett ( sister )  education: vocational highschool graduating from the culinary program , graduated ucla with a bachelor in management with a minor in food studies occupation: celebrity chef , tv personality  net worth: 19.7m height: 5′11″ weight: 161lbs tattoos: left arm ( x , x ) , right arm ( x , x  , plus the butterfly tattoo jack has ) , right hand ( x ) , right thigh ( x ) , left leg ( x ) criminal record: arrested ( x6 ) - simple assault ( x2 ) , assault and battery ( x1 ) ,  disorderly conduct ( x2 ) , criminal mischief ( x1 ) , criminal trespassing ( x2 ) , minor in possession of alcohol ( x2 ) , drug possession ( x1 ) drugs / alochol / smoking: yes , mostly marijuana though / yes / no moral alignment: chaotic neutral hogwarts house: slytherin theme song: righteous by juice wrld (  a look at his mental health and the way it he attempts to cope ) & i am by james arthur ( deep dives into his view on himself and how outside opinions of him have effected the way he sees himself ) & empty space by james arthur ( instead of being about a girl this really encapsulates how the loss of his father has affected his life ) traits: charismatic , well-intentioned , affectionate , loyal , jocular , reckless , immature , flippant , short-tempered label: politicians son , miscreant , fuck boy , broken bird , mr. misunderstood , mama’s boy , epicure hidden talents: drawing , singing , master at rubiks cube , skilled card counter ( blackjack )

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

asher was born just eleven months after his sister stephanie , to at the time lobbyist harrison bennett &  prosecutor tamara bennett . a menace as a child , he made dennis the menace look like a saint , basically . at first his parents hoped this was simply just a phase but as time went on it became very clear that  if it were a phase it was going on for much longer than his parents had hoped . his sister immediately taking on the spot of prodigal daughter , while asher took on the spot of black sheep of the family . this didn’t mean that his parents didn’t absolutely adore both of their children , because they did . both taking on daddy’s little girl & mama’s boy respectively , early on . 

around the time asher was seven both of his parents were up for office , his mother for district attorney & his father for u.s representative from wisconsin . the influx of cameras / eyes on the bennett family mixed with the level of stress both his parents were under completely put asher off from the world of politics . despite being in a family that had generational ties to politics on both sides . during a family appearance asher was captured on camera ( both video & photo ) putting up a piece sign behind his sisters head during a speech his father was giving . 

[ tw: death , suicide , loss of a parent ] when asher was twelve his father went on a boating trip with friend , call it a boys trip if you will . two days into the trip news broke of his father being in a major boating accident where harrison was the only one on the boat & was dead upon being found . it later was confirmed by the coroner that his death was likely a suicide .  the loss of harrison was hard on the entire family , it was easy to say it affected asher heavily having locked himself away in his bedroom for nearly a week only leaving his room to go to the bathroom & grab food that he’d return to his room to eat . later , when he returned to school he was suspended just in that school year three times . it was genuinely the beginning to the incredibly reckless version of asher , that we seen since .

despite his antics he played varsity football as a cornerback & varsity soccer as a midfielder . taking up sports at an early age , it was clear he was a born athlete who genuinely enjoyed a little competition . he also took an interest in culinary , he was very much so that kid standing on a step stool as he helped his parents in the kitchen . this interest turned into him attending a vocational / trade highschool instead of an ordinary public school , like he had in elementary & middle . 

when he was fifteen he started a youtube channel where he posted cook with me videos weekly & vlogged his experience within the culinary program at school .

during highschool his mom started getting serious with a professor at the local university . asher , of course , hated the idea of his mom replacing his dad and it took nearly two years & an engagement for him to actually sit down & listen to his mom about the situation . it wasn’t until then that he realized , mason , was supposed to replace his father ... it was simply his mom not allowing herself to get stuck in one place in life & fall into a spiral . once he actually heard her side he gave the guy a chance . turns out the two have alot in common & get along very well . he’ll never replace his father but he respects him none the less .

before he’d even graduated highschool , asher amassed over 1m subscribers , made appearances on the ellen degeneres show & rachel ray show . this was around the time he realized he wanted to turn his hobby into something more than that & hell he was good enough to do so . when graduation came , he’d already committed to attending ucla as a business major with a minor in food studies . 

soon after graduation he went on the show master chef , finishing as runner up , which was one hell of a feat given he’d been the youngest chef on the show . he enjoyed the experience & recognition the show gave him . 

while at ucla he continued to play football he was so good he was receiving national attention to the point where nfl scouts were looking at him . obviously he was still too young to go into the draft but they let him know , this was something that was more than on the table . it was definitely something he loved hearing but at the end of the day , the nfl was never really the goal for asher . so toward the end of his sophomore season when he was suspended for the rest of the season for getting arrested & charged with drug possession & criminal trespassing he took that as the excuse not to return the sport the following season .

this was not the first time ( we know it was not the last *wink wonk* ) asher was arrested . from the end of his middle school days throughout highschool he’d racked up four arrests . his first one taking place in eighth grade & the only reason the misdemeanor charges actually went through were because his mom asked for them to in hopes that it would scare asher from acting out in such a fashion ever again . unfortunately , his actions were rooted in much more than teen rebellion having never accepting or being able to cope with his father’s passing . the charges & arrests that would follow his mom was able to cover up & kind of bury them . that way word didn’t spread like wildfire about her reckless son .

not even a full year removed from football & he’d accepted a tv show offer from food network . a show called asher’s kitchen a primetime half-hour show where a new chef would come on each week if they beat asher in making a 3-course meal they win bragging rights & $20,000 , if they don’t they go home empty handed . despite the shows constant high ratings asher grew bored of the show & left after only two seasons . the network tried to replace him but quickly learned asher’s personality was what really carried the show .

in 2018 , he went on to open his first ever restaurant the smoking goat an american bistro with an upscale vibe in the heart of los angeles . the place is literally his baby & if you can’t find him you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll find him there . whether it’s catching up with regulars or big name celebrities coming through the doors , or throwing on a chef coat and cooking up some of his very own specials . 

around the time of his restaurant opening he started to let up on the youtube channel & it’s now been nearly two years since he’s uploaded & honestly has no intent on returning to the platform . in asher’s eyes , everything has a term limit & his youtube channels time was up .

𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗 / 𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐎 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

the timing of his amsterdam arrest was to say the least , horrific . not only was he in talks with several networks ( fox , cbs , netflix , etc ) to have his own daytime food-focused talk show but his mother was at the beginning stages of her 2020 presidential campaign , which she had since put a halt to and decided to continue on with her tenure as a u.s senator from wisconsin . with the headlines of his arrest spreading like wildfire , the internet resurfaced many of his earlier transgressions , the networks inevitably put a halt to going any further in negotiation & the political realm began to turn their attention to the kind of parent the senator was to have a son so ... out of control ? her opposition questioning how she could run a country if she couldn’t so much as raise a law abiding son .

upon his release from jail he took a jet straight home to wisconsin . with the realization of how much harm he’d done to the bennett reputation he made the personal promise to stay away from the media ( no social media , no tv , nothing ) & be the son the political world expected from a politician . his mother ( who is emulated mostly after laura baker from all american ) nearly begged him not to halt his life as a way of personal punishment for his actions . but after months back home & away from the limelight , asher could see the tides turning back in his moms favor & no big network offer ( and there were quite a few that came his way after the news of his arrest subsided ) could pull him back out into the forefront . 

instead opening his second restaurant bennett’s  , an upscale bar & grill in the capital city of wisconsin . he also began work on a cook book that’s kind of taken on a life of it’s own but he’s yet to be anywhere close to finishing that . 

he has inevitably decided to come back & reunite with the bling ring a year later after his family sat him down & kind of had an intervention with him over his persistence to punish himself . claiming they feel he’s matured & gotten a good grasp on himself & that they don’t think he’ll fall into his bad behaviors again . ( spoiler alert: they’re going to be very wrong about this ... just saying / he’s going to return with the intent of being a better guy , being on the “ right track “ but lets be real it’s going to quickly spiral out of control as per usual ) . 

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

as you can probably tell this boy is no good . he’s the guy your parents warn you about , i swear , he will get you into so much trouble & bask in the glory of being the one to give you such an adrenaline rush . he’s big on being here for a good time & not a long time . he just wants to have fun , at any cost . he’s extremely goofy , the kind of guy to whip out some mediocre wrestling moves on you for the sake of getting attention . he doesn’t take much seriously ... until he does ? what im saying is homeboy has one hell of a short temper and once he’s flipped his fuse , he basically blacks out . the reason for this is because no matter how happy & full of life he’d like to come off he has this deep well of anger that swells in him ever since he lost his dad . also a topic that can get him clenching his jaw , do not under any circumstances bring up harrison bennett . very much so a mama’s boy , though , catch him facetiming his mom once a day to tell her how much he loves her & see how she’s doing . he can come off very uncaring at times , it’s easy to say he’s probably one of the most misunderstood people around . he comes off like a douchebag , like someone who has little regard for others & don’t get me wrong he often is both of those things but he isn’t heartless ? when he has time to sit back and think about the damage he does ... it hits him like a mack truck & he goes into a pretty dark place of feeling like he’s a villain but he wants to be the hero of the story ? not very big on apologizing , verbally . if he says sorry you can bet a smug grin is following behind the words . instead he’s big on buying things & even cooking to show he’s sorry . probably not the best way to go about things but this is asher we’re talking about here . he is a flirt & will fuck anything . that’s all i have to say about that . onto his friends ? whew are his friends his world . he is a big proponent of bros before hoes & is an extremely loyal guy - to his friends . a true ride or die type a guy , he’d help he hide a dead body without any explanation at so what happened . a big move now ask questions later kinda dude .

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

BREATHE BY JAMES ARTHUR : he has a soft spot for her . he always has . she’s one of the only girls who doesn’t drool over him , they’ve never hooked up to any extent and that’s due in large part to her telling him from the beginning that the only way she’d give him a chance was if he straightened up his act & proved to her that he was worth her time . if there is a girl out there who can asher for the better , it’s her . but everytime she thinks she’s gotten him on the right path , she catches him either acting out or reverting to his fuck boy ways & getting with girl’s who he doesn’t have to put so much work into .

SAME SQUAD BY P-LO : let’s be real these three originated “saturdays are for the boys” . they’ve been boys for as long as they can remember . if you see one of them around you can rest assured the other two are in the vicinity . they’re the best of friends . they know everything there is to know about each other . all a bit reckless , but that’s what makes them such a fun trio . a very homiesexual bond takes place between these three & nothing & nobody could get between them .

CLOSE FRIENDS BY LIL BABY & GUNNA : they were once good friends , things spiraled past the point of their control , lines got blurred & then they were dating . the relationship as a whole was one no one thought would last . to give them credit things were good at first but after he cheated & she found out from a friend about it things started to go down hill . things only got worse when he was persistent in lying to her about the situation . she inevitably took him back & not too much later the arrest in amsterdam happened . before he was even released from jail , she was sent a video of him & one of his friends talking about sleeping with a prostitute . although it never happened the fact that was his intent was enough for her . his expectation was that because she forgave him before she’d wipe away the pain of him once again not having regard for their relationship & forgive him but she just couldn’t . when he came out to her forwarding the video to him , he decided to ignore the situation completely . the two have not had any contact for nearly a year & never really broke up or spoke about the situation . 

NO FRAUDS BY NICKI MINAJ & DRAKE & LIL WAYNE : the perfect ride or die squad . the media likes to say someone in the trio is dating at any point in time but , that’s just not the case . these three are always getting into something . the true depiction of always having your friends back . they will lie for each other , fight for each other , anything to prove their loyalty to each other .  

i also have some musing posts here , if you want to give that a look !

The Hounds, Chapter Two: The Demon’s Warning

Summary:  Seth is starting to really regret his decision of joining the Authority and it’s starting to get to him.  After, a “victory” win at Battleground, Seth gets a warning from the Devil’s Favorite Demon.

Chapter: 1

 ========================================================

 (Battleground, Locker Room)

Seth Rollins, was the World Heavyweight Champion, about to compete and come out on top thanks to his place with the Authority.  On his way to the ring, Seth ran in to the two people he so hoped to avoid, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.  Locking eyes with them, Seth could see the pain in their eyes, but something else was there as well, that he couldn't put his figure on.   Understanding?  Forgiveness? Seth actually hoped and prayed it was the last one.  Oh, how much he wanted to be back with his brothers, to be back with his family.

But he couldn’t.  As much as Seth wanted to go over to Roman and Dean, and ask them to forgive him for what he did.  He couldn’t.  He just couldn't do it, his pride wouldn't let him.   Not only that but the embarrassment, the shame and the dishonor, alone was enough to keep him at bay.  So, he had to watch at a “safe” distance, with the Authority.  No matter how much Seth wanted to cross that line and go over to his “brothers” and throw caution to the wind.  He knew he couldn't.

Trust was like mirror; you could fix it if it were broke, but you still saw the cracks in it.   That's what it would be like with him. If Seth ever swallowed his pride and asked them for forgiveness, and if they ever did take him back.  The once solid and unbreakable bond would still have a chink in the armor, all thanks to Seth. So, with one final and longing look back at the two, Seth Rollins went on his way to defend his title.

 =====================================================

 (Battleground)

Seth stood there holding the back of his head, the crowd booing as loudly as ever, the Referee's hand raising his own hand in the air, declaring him the winner of the match. It was an unsatisfactory victory though. It meant nothing to him. Seth had to catch himself, because he had almost smiled and looked around for Dean and Roman to celebrate the victory, but the Shield was no more.  He was on an island to himself and there was no one he could blame but himself.  He just hoped he could talk to Kane.  Seth made up his mind was going to   .   .   .

“What just happened here?”  Seth heard one of the commentators, Michael, he thought it was?  “Ladies and Gentlemen we apologize.  We seem to be having a power outage of some sort.  We have no lights at the moment.”

Uh, oh.  That wasn’t good.  Wait.  Kane’s not do back yet.  Hell, Seth called the guy earlier that day and Kane said that the doctors weren't going to let him out of the hospital until tomorrow.  So, what was going on then?  Roman and Dean wanting revenge?  The Wyatt Family trying to spook him and hand Bray the title? The Undertaker?

Oh, Seth so wished and prayed that it wasn’t the Undertaker.  ‘Taker might have lost a few steps over the years, but he still could give Seth a run for his money. That and (Seth would deny this all the way to his grave) there was just something about the Undertake that just   .   .   .   Unsettled him.  Just the sheer presence of the man, screamed “I’m in charge!”  Even the Authority, Seth realized, was wary around the Deadman. And for some odd reason, every time the Deadman was around, Seth felt like he just wanted to run.  Take the count out victory and run like hell.  He didn’t know why but that’s what everyone, (and Seth did mean everyone), felt like around the Deadman.

The lights somewhat came back on in the arena.  Seth would say somewhat because the lights still had a purple/black like tint to it, mixed with red and orange.  That wasn't good.   That could only mean one thing.  The Brothers of Destruction had return and they set their sights on Seth Rollins for revenge.  Seth frantically looked around the arena, the ring and even under the ring, knowing fully well that both Kane and the Undertaker, in past, had come up through the ring.

Nothing.  Nothing was there, but the lights were still out and the arena was still bathed in the red and orange and black lights.  What was going on?  Seth didn’t like this at all, but didn't dare go up the ramp encase he ran in to either Kane or the Undertaker.  Just as Seth was about to panic and plead to the Brothers of Destruction, a video started to play on the Titian Tron.

It was Seth, Roman, and Dean as the Shield, fist bumping each other in the center of the ring, looking proud and powerful.  The image change to the three of them again but in a different company, in the indie circuit, all three of them again, in the ring but high fiving each other in the center of the ring.  The image change again and this time, it was Seth stabbing his brothers in the back with the steal chair and joining the Authority.  Seth had to turn and peal his eyes away.  The pain, guilt and shame of what he did came rushing back to the top. Oh, how Seth wished he had never taken the deal.  How he so wished to be able to be back with his brothers.

Music hit the arena, the pipe organ, the electric guitar, and the vocals hit.  That was Kane's music.  Oh, sh*t!  Seth was in deep trouble and he had no one but himself to blame.  Snapping his head and whipping his body around to the ramp, expecting to see Kane come marching down with a pissed off look on his face.

Instead what Seth saw froze him to the very spot in the ring.  On the Titian Tron was Stephanie screaming on top of her lungs and rushing out for someone to come help her husband.   Triple H was laid out cold and bleeding from the head. The office looked as if a bomb had gone off. Posters, pictures frames, and awards litter the floor, the couch was flipped over and looked like someone had tried to destroy it.  Bookshelves toppled over, the desk looked as if someone had thrown it to the other side of the office.

The door looked as if it was barely hanging on to the one screw that refused to break off its hinge. But the one thing that scared Seth the most, there on the floor shattered beyond repair, was the case that at one point contained the mask of Kane.  Now it was gone.  Gone was the case that Authority displayed oh so proudly of having “control” over the Demon, was now shattered in to a million pieces.

Family Found Part 48: WrestleMania

The road is at an end. And for one wrestler, so is their career. But first, the rest of the roster get their chances to reach for glory. Titles are destined to change hands, but which ones?

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence, tiny Sheamus x reader fluff, angst

Word Count: 3830

Note: The ‘Monday’ chapter is also coming out this weekend too, so look for that. And then there will only be one more chapter that is guaranteed to rip your hearts out. Please let me know how you’ve been enjoying, or not, this series with comments, reblogs, or messages on/off anon. Thanks for sticking around this long!

Part 1: Welcome to the Team

Part 47: Resigning

WrestleMania – April 7, 2019 – Brooklyn, NY

“We have finally arrived at the end of the road. Tonight is WrestleMania!” The crowd was abuzz. Chants for favorites, and the usual random ones, sounded off every few minutes. Most of the seats were filled already because no one wanted to miss a second of the show of the year.

The announce team was preparing for interviews when Charly focused on listening closely to her headset. “Um, guys, we need to break to something going on backstage.”

Camera crew members hurried to catch up to the chaos erupting backstage. Tamina had caught Sarah Logan alone. Pinned into a corner, Sarah had nowhere to go and nothing to do except to receive the attack. Referees rushed onto the scene to break them apart. Just as Tamina was made to walk away, another fight broke out further down the hall.

This time it was Alicia Fox taking her skills to Liv Morgan, who was being held back by Ruby Riott. “Let me go,” Alicia shouted. “I’m not done with her! Viva la Alicia and Mickie!” She was still being dragged away when the cameras flipped back to the pre-show table.

Newly arrived, Bayley and Sasha Banks were snickering at the destruction. David Otunga was flabbergasted. “You don’t seem surprised to see all this. Care to explain?”

Sasha giggled and shared a look with her tag partner. “Of course we aren’t surprised. If anything, that was the plan. Our title match tonight is an open challenge. But we,” she motioned between herself and Bayley, “won’t know who it is until the bell rings. Anybody could challenge us up to that moment.”

“You see,” Bayley added, “it’s no secret that Sasha and I haven’t always gotten along. All this year we have done our best to rip each other to shreds to find out who is the better woman. We put that aside so we could win the first ever Raw Women’s Tag Team Championships, and we’re not letting them go until the rest of the locker room shows us what, or who, they’re willing to rip apart to take these from us.”

With a nod, Sasha agreed. Sorta. “Not that it’s going to happen tonight, or any time soon. If any of those ladies think they can take our championships away on the grandest stage of them all, they’ve got another thing coming.”

The champions left, leaving the announce team to hurry and get their pre-show opinions in order.

***

The first official match was the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. All of the participating wrestlers were in the ring, and at the bell, they each found an opponent. Several men flipped over the ropes, and a couple under them. It took about forty-five minutes to make it down to the final five. It was Mojo Rawley, EC3, Jeff Hardy, R-Truth, and Cesaro.

After a few more minutes, it was down to Mojo and Cesaro. The Swiss Cyborg was just going over the ropes when the missing wrestlers appeared from under the ring. The rough hype came to a standstill as he recognized his old partner and the man with the longest losing streak. Zack Ryder kept a close eye on him as Curt Hawkins followed him into the ring. It was two versus one, but Mojo succeeded in throwing both of them off. He tossed Hawkins through the ropes and set to tipping Ryder over the top. Struggling, Ryder was able to wriggle onto the apron.

Curt rolled backing into the ring, restarting the fight. It was Mojo who ended up going over the topes, but he took Ryder with him, despite Curt’s death-grip on his friend’s wrist. Mojo had a grip around Ryder’s waist. If Ryder fell, he fell. And Hawkins was the only lifeline. The duo started to slip backward, Hawkins’s grip failing. Zack smiled. “It’s all you, man.” Then he let go.

The bell rang. Rawley and Rider had been eliminated, and Curt Hawkins had won the battle royal. And, he had ended his streak.

***

Behind you on a screen, Ryder was celebrating with Hawkins in the ring. You were too busy arguing with a flurry of women to watch it. “Ladies, enough! There isn’t time to add another preshow match. As much as I hate that you are fighting backstage, I can’t give you a tornado tag match. Bayley and Sasha’s opponents will just have to bide their time and strike when they can. Whoever they are. Now please, I’ve got things to do.”

Begrudgingly, the women left your office. You were rubbing your temples when there was a hesitant knock at your door. “I thought I made myself clear- oh.” Large hands gripped your shoulders, working out the stressed kinks. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”

“Only if we get caught,” Sheamus chuckled. He succeeded in wrapping his arms around you before kissing the top of your head. It was enough to help you release a long, deep breath. Suddenly his touch was gone.

“Can I have a moment with my cousin?” Dean asked, calmly staring Sheamus down from the doorway. After your red-head gave you a reassuring pat between your shoulder blades, the men sidestepped each other.

Hey, Dean,” you whispered.

He stepped in rubbing the back of his head. “Hey, Ladybug. I know you’re busy, but I need to get something off my chest.”

“Go for it.” Easy to say. The tightness of your chest claimed otherwise.

He nodded. “I get it. I understand. And I’m sorry for the ride through hell to get there.” His hand shot up to stop you from putting yourself down again. “It was an impossible choice. Either Roman and I were going to lose Seth again, or I was going to have to give up… everything. I mean, we just got him back. And I just got you back… and there was nothing you could do.” Dean set his shoulders, but his eyes couldn’t meet yours. “I should have been willing to listen. Then maybe we could have found a way to avoid all this.”

You were on the verge of tears. He booped your nose, forcing you to smile. “Roman keeps telling me I have nothing to worry about.” You wiped away a tear. “And I have complete faith in both of you-“

“But?”

“But Brock is dangerous. Past the stupid stipulations. He’s… just about everybody ends up bloody or worse-“

“And I’m prepared for that.” He rested his hand lightly on your shoulder. “I’ve been preparing for a lot of things, actually.” His voice dropped out. Neither of you wanted to point out the two worst case scenarios again. “That was all I needed to say. Keep up the managing thing. You’re good at it… and I couldn’t be prouder of you.” He let you catch him in a tight hug, stroking the top of your head. Then he wrenched himself free and rushed out of your office.

***

The women’s battle royal was just as dramatic, if not more so, than the guys’. Of the final five, two women took the center of the ring. Zelina Vega, Asuka, and Nikki Cross huddled in corners, waiting to see what would happen. Natalya and Rhonda stared each other down. Not six months ago they were the best of friends, battling for the same goals but with handshakes after every altercation. Now they were cold. Unmoved by each other’s goals or aspirations.

They set to punches and head blows that rocked the ring. Unfortunately, in their haste and determination to eliminate one another, both women ended up landing on the apron after twisting over the ropes. Then the other three women sprang into action. It took all of them to launch the women off onto the floor. Thus, eliminating them both. Then Nikki and Asuka set on knocking each other out of the match. Zelina came bouncing off the ropes, succeeding in twisting Nikki over the top.

Now it was down to two. Zelina rushed not to lose her momentum. Bu Asuka wasn’t going to make it easy. Twice, three times one of them would stumble through the ropes. The Empress of tomorrow did everything she could to take the victory today. They both ended up on the apron. Taking a risk, Zelina jumped and grabbed hold of Asuka’s head, dropping with it. Asuka’s face bounced off the edge, and her body followed. Zelina fell back into the ring, running her hands through her hair. She’d won. After the referee raised her hand, she left the ring and stood by the trophy. Her trophy.

***

Roman marched down to the ring. He paced from ropes to rope like a caged lion, ignoring the continued mixed welcome from the crowd. When the lights finally dimmed for Dr. M’s entrance, he kneeled in one corner with his back against the turnbuckles. Dr. M grinned and eventually met him, standing toe to toe. Even though Roman towered over him, the trepidation in Roman’s eyes made the doctor smug. And gave him an edge.

Not waiting for the bell, Dr. M rushed forward. He caught Roman unawares, knocking him to the canvas. The rain of punches and kicks didn’t stop until Dr. M stepped back. He laughed. “You aren’t ready to defend yourself. How could you ever think you could keep me from healing the WWE? From healing Y/N?” His smile flickered away as Roman struggled to his feet.

They went at it again. Dr. M still had the upper hand, despite Roman’s mostly effective offense. His prior attacks had created several openings for future hits. Roman’s ribs and throat were easy targets. If he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t fight. And he wouldn’t win. But Dr. M had forgotten one very important thing.

No one messes with his family.

“You know, Roman,” Dr. M said into his ear while controlling him with a headlock, “Y/N really is such a perfect puppet for Hunter and Stephanie. Maybe they won’t mind if Sister Abigail borrows her vessel for a while, hmm. And why not bring Dean into the family too? I’d hate to break them apart again. Though I would have to break through their fevers by any means necessary.”

With a roar, Roman broke free and headbutted Dr. M. The man staggered back, fighting to shake free the blurriness in his vision. By the time it was back, so was Roman with a spear. Dr. M groaned and gasped as Roman walked away and gripped the top rope. The tape whined under his grip, and the referee took several steps back. Dr. M was eventually back on his feet. He dodged the first spear, but the second after Roman bounced off the far ropes. One, two, and three seconds later Dr. M was nowhere close to getting back up. Roman gave him an extra series of kicks to get him out of the ring, then swayed on his feet. He left the arena as the rest of WrestleMania started.

***

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, Elias.”

Inside the circle of light, Elias strummed his guitar. The crowd was deathly silent until he finished, then they started the ‘walk with Elias’ chant. He smiled at them. “It’s great to finally be recognized at the greatest concert of them all. Even if the arena is filled with disgusting rabble like you.” He waited for their shift in mood to die down a little before playing his song. It was dedicated to the dirt people of Brooklyn, punctuated with the occasional jab at Drew McIntyre. He was met with thunderous applause as he finished. “Finally. No interruptions.” He strummed to start another song, but he’d spoken too soon.

Soon enough, Drew was in the ring, dark and foreboding. He handed the Intercontinental title to the referee, glaring at Elias while the title match was announced.  Elias only let go of his guitar long enough to get rid of his mic and his scarves. Once the bell rang, the instrument whistled through the air, just barely missing Drew’s head. The champion slid out of the ring to quickly arm himself. Steel chairs, tables, and another guitar hidden in the bell box (after the first one was broken) came into play. The ring was littered with bamboo strips and fractured tables. Still, both men eluded the count.

A third guitar came out from under the ring. “How many guitars does Elias have?” Corey asked, flabbergasted. No matter how many more were hidden under the ring, it was the last one Elias needed. He scaled a turnbuckle and jumped. Drew turned just in time to catch the hit on his shoulder, collapsing as it splintered. Elias pinned him, even with chunks of wood jabbing into his own body. It had taken almost a year, but Elias was finally the Intercontinental champion once again.

***

It was time to see who won the backstage battle to face Bayley and Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Tag Titles. Renee had kept up with the results better than anyone else. “The last people we saw standing were Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan of the Riott Squad. Right before Roman’s match against Dr. M, they had gotten the jump on Natalya and Rhonda.”

Corey shrugged. “I don’t think any of us really thought that team was going to face the champions. They had quite a moment during the women’s battle royal. And it cost them.”

“But now it’s Boss and Hug time,” Cole said as the champions came down the ramp. The women waited patiently in the ring to see who their opponents were going to be. They bumped each other’s shoulders as the aforementioned team came out to the stage. Sarah and Liv cackled, proud of themselves for having won the moment. They were just about to take a step forward when they were hit from behind. Not waiting for them to get up, Alicia Fox and Mickie James rushed down the ramp. If they could make it to the ring and survive until the bell, the match was theirs. They made it, jumping and hugging one another while Sasha and Bayley stood back and golf-clapped.

The partying didn’t last long. It was time for the match. And it was a showstopper. Alicia and Mickie had years of experience on their side, years of being glossed over, years of waiting to step up only to be stepped over. Sasha and Bayley had the legacy NXT’s four horsewomen behind them and the rebuilt strength of their friendship. They had the championship buffer as well. That helped a lot when Mickie knocked Sasha out of the ring. She was willing to wait for the count, taking her time to roll around, but Alicia raced around the ring and shoved the champion back into the ring. Caught off-guard, Mickie was too busy mocking Bayley to sense the danger behind her.

Bayley ran across the ring to spear Alicia off the apron so Mickie could be pinned. Their titles retained, they stood together, ushering the new era of women’s wrestling.

***

The guys’ tag match didn’t go as smoothly for the champions. At first, it looked like they had everything under control. Rezar started the match against Sami Zayn. Behind him, Akam shouted what to do, and when to move away from the ropes when it looked like Kevin Owens was about to try something. Eventually, the tags switched and the process was the same. But as the match progressed, battle lines were drawn. Akam took a particularly teasing hit from Sami, who was good at dodging his grasp. Kevin was able to keep up with Rezar and keep him on his toes. The fight extended to ringside, and that’s when things got… broken.

No limbs, thankfully. But things definitely fell apart. Rezar was ringside meeting Owens blow for blow, toss for toss, and was mid-roar after throwing Owens into a barricade when Sami came running by. Akam was quick on his heels, but the champions zigged when they should have zagged. The two massive bodies colliding sent both men flying back the way they came. Sami and Kevin had recovered, and it took both to toss Akam back into the ring. With Rezar still reeling and unable to help, Sami made the pin. The victors met in the center of the ring, falling to their knees and accepting their new tag championship. They met again at the top of the massive ramp and held their titles high.

***

The last singles match of the night was for the Raw Women’s Championship between Ruby Riott and Alexa Bliss. As hostess, Alexa directed the biggest entrance of the night worthy of her talent, and arguably her ego. Ruby took a simpler entrance. Not that she needed anything bigger. Having the championship around her waist, and then on her shoulder, was stunning enough.

Alexa brought out all the stops. An unspoken goal had been for her team to hold all the Raw women’s titles. But with Mickie and Alicia coming up short, it was up to her to take up the slack. Ruby was similarly in mood. Her tag-mates had been denied their match. If she could retain, the Riott Squad had hope to rise again. Ruby accepted Alexa’s attack, then rerouted it for her own mission. A Twisted Bliss was narrowly avoided, and the stunned Alexa was easy to catch in a submission while Ruby caught her breath. Several more dives from the top ropes happened, but it was a Riot Kick to one of Alexa’s leaps that finished the match. Ruby retained, screaming into the night air with her title in her hands.

***

Now was the main event.

“This match is a Universal Championship triple-threat match set for one fall. The competitor who is pinned will have to leave the WWE forever.”

Dean nervously looked between Seth and Brock Lesnar. And the title. He bit back the urge to look towards the ramp as if you were there. Backstage, you were just as nervous. Roman was hovering by the tv too, but from a distance, so he could run to the ring as soon as the match was over. Sheamus stood right behind you, holding the hand you had resting on your shoulder.

At the bell, Seth and Dean instantly rushed to attack Lesnar in one swoop. He was laughing before they reached him. With his two large hands, he caught each around the throat. First, Lesnar tossed Seth one way and between the ropes. He threw Dean back towards the center of the ring, then caught him with the first suplex of the match. Seth pulled Dean to the floor and slid in, starting the attack he planned. His quick movements kept confusing the Beast. And they were wearing him down. A well-placed Frog-Splash caught Lesnar in the ribs, but he twisted Seth into a submission. Dean rushed back in to break it up before his brother had to tap out.

Seth remained huddled in the corner, nursing his arm while Dean and Lesnar faced off again. This time Dean was successful in dodging the harder blows and the attempted suplexes. He managed to drop him with a Dirty Deeds and instantly tried for a pin. Which instantly failed. Dean knew he couldn’t let up on the attack, but Lesnar’s low laugh was unnerving.

“I don’t care which one of you I pin,” he chuckled. “It’s all the same to me. No, what will matter after this match, is how your little cousin survives with me as champion.” They both rose to their feet, circling each other. “Maybe I do care. If my reign is going to be a bit more hands-on, I’d rather not have you in the way.” Behind them on the floor, Paul Heyman nodded, grinning ear to ear. Seth heard too and used the ropes to get back to his feet.

Lesnar was flanked on both sides. E wasn’t bothered by that until the timing of brothers kicked in. If he thought keeping up with Rollins or stomping down Ambrose was hard, it was nigh impossible to keep tabs on both. Dean was wildest of the two. The threat was enough to send him boarder-lining on several mistakes. Those close calls got him suplexed across the ring, several of which sent him hurtling to the floor. Still, it distracted the Beast enough from Seth’s darting attacks. Alone, the plan might have worked. With both of them working against Lesnar? It was becoming a sure match.

Then Lesnar fell out of the ring, just as Dean and Seth found themselves on opposite sides of it.

Backstage, you shook your head. “No.” You whispered. “Don’t do it guys.”

They looked at one another, and to where Brock was out of sight. Seth launched half a second before Dean did, catching him in the chest and taking him to the canvas. The referee was just swooping in to count when Seth jolted back. The price came to mind. And it was too high. With another shared look, they rolled through the ropes and set on bringing Lesnar back onto the canvas. With both of them then leaning on his chest, the referee kneeled to count. Dean backed away before he started, watching as all three seconds went by.

The screen erupted with the cheers of the crowd, but you were frozen. Sheamus shook your shoulders. “What’s wrong? They won.”

“If this had been the original contract, Dean would have just given up his career… of his own free will.”

Roman was already gone. You hurried out the door to follow him. By the time you made it to the ramp, Dean was already enveloped in a Roman-sized bear hug. You took over, hugging Dean with all your strength. Seth was still in the ring, showing off his retained Universal title at each ring post. Brock Lesnar and his advocate came up the ramp, both of them panting. Dean’s back was still turned to them. Unaware of the danger. You pushed him and Roman back and stood between them and the advancing party. Lensar paused, amused that you thought he’d give an effort now that he was done with the company. He was long gone by the time Seth caught up.

The brothers in arms shared a victory hug. One that you watched from a distance. You couldn’t hear what they were saying to one another, but that was okay. It wasn’t for you to hear. When the huddle broke, Dean caught you around the shoulders the same way Roman caught his, and they led you backstage.

Seth Rollins looked out over the crowd. A sold-out arena all shouting ‘slay the beast’. Because he had. With the biggest smile on his face in a long time, he lifted the red and gold belt above his head. It was theirs; he’d won it for them. And he’d defend it for them, no matter what it took.

Part 49: Wrapped Up

Series Masterlist 

Masterlist 

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HEADCANONS FOR JOSH AND DONNA'S WEDDING

Okay, so last night I was kinda freaking out about the whole moving-again thing, so extra thanks to everybody who liked my post and gave me that virtual “there, there,” because that did help. :D Today I have sorted some paperwork and eaten an egg sandwich and I’m feeling some better, so obviously it is time to get back to my favorite moving-procrastination activity: writing headcanons! 

Josh and Donna’s wedding is something I’ve never written because I’m kinda terrible at writing weddings and avoid it when I can. That said, I did do one pre-wedding fic, Personnel Matters.  that deals with the apportionment of maidly and manly wedding duties. I think it turned out pretty funny, but I will be ignoring it for the purposes of this headcanon. 

Once Josh and Donna get going on thewhole romance train, they move along at a reasonable clip. Notsuper-fast, they are trying to run a country after all, but once theyget things talked out in Hawaii, there's a certain feeling that theyknow the endgame that they are heading for. This is very helpful forJosh, especially, who freaks out over the engagement only about 60%as much as he might have otherwise (which is still a fair amount).They get engaged about six months into the Santos administration,once the first and second hundred days are behind them, then have thewedding six months later, just before things really rev up formidterms. Some might see that sort of political calculus asunromantic, but Donna and Josh have both lived their lives to therhythms of politics for many years and it never even occurs to eitherof them to do otherwise.

Donna hires a wedding planner to takecare of all the actual details. Given their respective positions andthe sort of people they'll be inviting, certain standards need to bemet and she is way too busy to do it herself, despite formidableorganizational skills. Between her salary, Josh's salary, and herparents wanting to chip in, they can afford to do things up properly.The whole “His and hers” matching Chiefs of Staff thing hasgotten a lot of traction in some of the news outlets, but they limitpress access to a few friendly reporters and one photography teamfrom Vanity Fair, who have been quite favorable to the newadministration and have earned Josh's grudging appreciation. There'snot quite as much protocol as at, say, Ellie Bartlet's wedding, butwith two presidents and a bunch of other VIPs attending, security isgoing to be tight. They settle on the Hay Adams Hotel in DC for bothceremony and reception, even though it invites teasing about neitherof them being able to get away from work (it's in eyesight of theWhite House!), because it's a gorgeous event space that understandshow to handle this sort of function.

The ceremony itself is a bit of acultural mix. Neither Josh nor Donna are particularly observant intheir religious lives, but both of them have deep cultural roots andfamilies they want to honor. Toby helps Josh create a beautifullylettered ketubah, and it turns out Margaret has a friend who doesmanuscript illumination in their spare time because of course shedoes. So that's taken care of, and the chuppah cannot be open to thesky because of security concerns but it's still gorgeous (thank you,wedding planner!) and decorated with many, many flowers. They smashthe glass as well, a specially-designed smashing-glass, much to thedelight of the youngest members of the crowd. Most of the rest of theceremony is pretty standard Midwestern Protestant, rings and a unitycandle and a big procession with the wedding march playing.

Toby's twins serving as ring-bearer andflower girl and Peter and Miranda as junior attendants becauseMiranda idolizes Donna and wasabsolutelydesperate to be in the wedding. Donna's sister is her maid of honorbecause friendship doesn't count as much as blood when it comes towho stands where on one's wedding day, but she gets Stephanie Gaulttoo, plus Annabeth and Margaret and CJ, once she works up the nerveto ask. Josh isn't sure he knows five guys who'll stand up for him,but he recruits Sam for his best man, of course, then gets Toby,Charlie, Danny Concannon and, because my poor little fanficcer'sbrain has it as quasi-canon that these guys are old friends, MattSkinner. (This was a huge thing in a lot of early-season fanfic I'veread, and I just sort of absorbed it as true despite a lack of realtextual evidence. I like it anyway!) Donna teases that if Josh gotWill Bailey as well, he could reenact the time when they all gotdrunk and threw snowballs at her apartment, but Josh points out boththat Will was merely substituting in for Sam anyway and that weddingparties have a strict one-congressman limit and he'd hate to jinxWill's run. Donna does allow that, Congressman limit or no, thatmight be entirely too many speechwriters for one wedding party as shedoes hope to have a chance to do things like dance and eat at thereception.

Josh'smom doesn't meet Donna's parents until just a few days before theceremony, but the two moms have been conversing by phone for monthsand they all get along like gangbusters. It is apparently very easyto bond over children who do not call or visit enough and who need tobe a lot more proactive on the whole grandchildren issue. Before theend of the wedding week, the Mosses are making plans to vacation inWest Palm Beach during the winter when nobody wants to be inWisconsin anyway. Donna's younger sister is more than happy to bepaired up with Sam during the wedding party activities, enough thatDonna has to warn her off with threats of brutal lawyer retaliationfrom Sam's fiance (who is in reality a sweetheart and slightlysocially awkward but Little Sis doesn't need to know that.) To staveoff any fights, she blithely foists her sister off onto Bram instead,who turns out to be a perfectly adequate substitute. There are many,many other Moss relatives as well, far more than Josh can keep trackof. It's a little weird when his side of the family has a photo withjust him, Donna, his mom and a couple of cousins, but then he and hismom both get folded into the dozens of people cramming together forthe Moss family photo and it's actually kind of nice.

AsDonna had feared, the reception involves a whole lot of speeches andtoasts. Turns out when you invite a president to your wedding youhave to let him speak, and when you invite two presidents they bothget to speak, and when two of your groomsmen have written speechesfor the president they are going to have surreptitious littleslapfights over grammar while one of them is trying to talk. By thetime all those speeches are done, Donna's sister is too intimidatedto speak at all, and has also finished a glass and a half ofchampagne. CJ gracefully steps in and delivers the maid of honortoast with all the poise of a press secretary and the wit of Josh'shonorary big sister, and the extemporaneous speech is probably thebest received of the whole night. After that, everybody finally getsto eat. 

The Secret Service will not allow the use of the rooftopbalcony for dancing, but from inside the ballroom they can still seethe White House in the distace, which is kind of nice, all thingsconsidered. It seems fitting. Josh and Donna disappear after a couplehours of dancing and the compulsory throwing-of-Donna's-accessories(she puts the garter around her ankle just before the toss and makesJosh take it off with his hands, thank you!), both of which arescored by Donna's speedy and highly competitive extended family. Theyhead off for a Hawaiian honeymoon to do all the stuff Donna pickedout of the guidebook on the first trip but they didn't have a chanceto do, while the rest of the guests close the place down, dancing andcelebrating till late. It's really quite something!

3- Interview with Pastor Bruce Arnold on Houselessness During Covid-19

Pastor Bruce believes that COVID-19 has “given steroids to the issue” of houselessness.  As community resources shut down there has been less access to food and water as well as internet access to find out “what is rumor and what is the truth”, electricity to recharge cell phones, and it is harder to access hygiene supplies and restroom facilities.  HomePDX has been tripling their efforts to help fill the gaps of other closed facilities. 

Pastor Bruce has been staying in a church and returning home only on weekends in order to be on the front lines helping the outdoor community. Something that personally impacts Pastor Bruce is being away from his family for long periods of time because of this. Pastor Bruce sees negative impacts due to COVID-19 as someone directly serving the houseless community. In our interview, he mentioned that the food pantry is no longer somewhere that houseless people can shop through, they have to point through a window at what they want now. Additionally, there is no more closet shopping for clothing items, it is something that has to be brought out to them. These things require more volunteers, as well as give houseless people less freedom of choice. Something that hasn’t changed due to COVID-19 is Sunday lunches, which happens to be outdoors.

Interview transcript:  Melody “What is your view on the topic we are talking about- on houselessness in Portland right now and especially since COVID-19 started?”

Bruce: “So COVID-19 has basically just been giving steroids to the problem...and...I mean we’ve had people living outdoors in Portland as long as we’ve had Portland. So it’s not a new problem, it’s not a unique problem. What happens is there’s this eb and flow based on policy of where people live, how visible they are, how concentrated they are. So, what happened with COVID, I actually, I kinda saw this coming way back in March of last year and I negotiated with this church that I’m in right now, First Christian Church, to lock down in the church if there was a lock down, so that I could be on the front lines helping our people instead of hiding away at my house. Thought it might be 4-6 weeks, I’m still here, go home once a week and see my family, but I’m basically living downtown, and part of what happened is other people closed their doors and went home. We suddenly had a population that had less access to food, almost no access to water at the beginning, no where to charge their phones or get on the internet and figure out what’s going on, what’s rumor and what’s truth. Fewer showers, all those other fun things. So we basically tripled what we were doing in the space of a week to try and fill some of those gaps.”

Stephanie: “What other groups are you working with on this issue?”

Bruce: “So...there’s a whole bunch of groups working downtown. Before COVID-19 I was told there’s 84 different groups that offer at least one meal a week in downtown Portland. So that’s what it takes to feed everyone who’s outdoors. I know that number has gone down, I don’t know entirely who’s still serving and who isn’t, but I work pretty closely with Clay Street Table. I have referral rights to Portland Rescue Mission. I’m on a first-name basis with the chaplain at the jail..and the chaplain at the police force, actually, so we’re partnering with a whole bunch of churches right now who are supplying us with resources and volunteers.”

Evan: “Yeah, so do you mind clarifying just a little bit what specifically you’re most involved in right now?”

Bruce: “Home PDX is chartered as a church, and I am officially a pastor. I don't usually throw that around unless I want to get inside a jail or a hospital. But we are first and foremost a community, and actually that's one of the things that COVID has really challenged because as we've stepped in to provide more services, people are starting to get confused as to whether we are a community, or a service provider and even in the midst of COVID, we are trying to concentrate on community. So I'm still walking around in the mornings on the streets with coffee, still walking into camps and seeing how people are doing and delivering food. Our biggest event is a Sunday lunch and because it's actually outdoors, we've never actually paused for COVID, we've kept delivering all the way through.”

Stephanie: “Which we at Outlandia miss doing”

Bruce: “Yeah, they’ve changed who is providing the meals, but we are still doing the meals”

Evan: “So working around COVID things, so you guys haven't had to pause your Sunday lunches, are there any specific events that you have had to cancel that come to mind?”

Bruce: “Not really, we have just had to reframe everything. So for example, we loved that people would come and walk through a clothing closet and shop for what they want, but we can't do that anymore, so we go outside, ask them what they need, go inside, grab a couple items, come outside, do you want one of these? It's a little more labor intensive but it's a lot less contact. We have a food pantry where people, again, get to pick what they want instead of just being thrown a box of whatever and instead of having them come indoors and do that, their looking through a window saying 'I want one of those, one of those, one of those'', we’ll pack the bag right there and hand it outside the door. So we are still doing services, even more service, but we are doing them differently. It slows things down, it takes more volunteers, but it still works.”

Melody: “I was going to ask, do you get any like funding from the state, or like private organizations?”

Bruce: “All of my funding is pretty much individuals, and churches, a couple organizations. We did get a COVID grant just to continue doing what we are doing”

Melody: “Was that federal or state?”

Bruce: “It was, I believe it was county. And Multnomah County also gave us one thousand masks to hand out.”

Stephanie: “So what are the issues that you are finding in some of the camps?”

Bruce: “Oh boy, thats so complicated right now. So early on in COVID the city made a promise to stop sweeping camps because they didn't want people to mix around and spread around and as a result, a whole bunch of tents showed up all over the place, especially downtown where we aren't used to seeing that many tents. So the big challenge now is, they are starting to sweep again, they are doing it very quietly, but how do we manage, I mean your question is talking about stakeholders, downtown businesses, the downtown church associations, hotels, restaurants, they've got a stake in what happens here, the county has a stake in what happens here, so the question is, how do we humanly let people live without letting them, sort of take over, and destroy the usability of the city. And what i'm finding is that there are a lot more tents in the city itself, there are a lot more camps showing up outside the downtown core, but i'm not sure, i'm not sure its a lot more people. It is some more people, but I think they are just more visible. Because they aren't getting chased as much, they don't have to hide as much, they are just much more visible.”

Stephanie: “So do you think they are congregating more?”

Bruce: “In the especially north town, like old town area, yes for sure. Out in the camps I think its about the same as it always has been. People do like to be in the camps where they can watch each others stuff and be a kind of pool of resources. The one change that i have noticed that i think is kind of interesting is just in the last couple of months, most of the camps have a car or two. They didn't use to ever have a car. And that I'm assuming is either newly outdoors, like just got kicked out of an apartment and drove and started camping, or in some cases it might be outdoor residents who have gotten a stimulus check and therefore gotten a vehicle.”

Stephanie: “I was thinking that maybe it was somebody that had lost their job, and then a couple months later lost their apartment, and then ended up outside in one of these community camps.”

Bruce: “My impressions is that is what it is. We are also seeing more RVs than ever before just parked on the side of the road in clusters.”

Stephanie: “So do you think that is because people have lost their jobs and income and in turn lost their homes? And they are turning to RVs?"

Bruce: “Yes. We’ve always had a certain number of RV campers, the city used to chase them around mercilessly, now they are allowing them to congregate in certain areas.”

Melody: “Have you noticed in those certain areas if there happens to be a trend about which areas they are allowing people to congregate at or is it kind of just random around the city? Is it in poorer parts of the city, wealthier parts of the city, that kind of thing.”

Bruce: “Its in areas where they’re not going to get chased out. So it’s not near a big store or a hotel or anything like that, its industrial areas, or abandoned areas. So one of them is on 33rd street for basically most of the mile south of marine drive, and there is nothing out there. One whole side of that street is just the airport property. So the city will come through about once a month and tag everything that is all broken down and unusable and will tow it away, but they aren't telling people to leave, they are just cleaning up after them to a certain degree.”

Stephanie: “Now, we as a group read an article about the Laurelhurst sweep in Street Routes. First of all, Ted Wheeler states that there were notifications put up two weeks in advance to the sweep. Have you seen notifications going up in any of the areas, warning them that it will be happening?”

Bruce: “So there is a statewide law that they have to give notice at least 72 hours before a sweep. So legally they are supposed to do that. It happens most of the time, not all of the time. What happens is they will put one up and they will immediately take a picture of it because within moments of their leaving, someone will tear it down. So you or I walking up to a camp seeing a notice is pretty rare. They do post it, they do let people know in the area that it has been posted. They will usually actually tell them “We will be here at 8 O’clock Monday morning”. They will tell them pretty specifically. Then when they show up its okay, its been posted, you've been warned, you have ten minutes to pack what you can pack, the rest of it is going in this dumpster here.”

Stephanie: "Another question, with the rapid response team that does come to clean, have you seen any altercations between the camps and rapid response? Or heard of any?"

Bruce: “I have not. So rapid response used to be the people who would do the sweeps. The cops would come through, get it started and then leave, then rapid response would do the sweep. The thing that has changed that i actually like is now rapid response is coming through and most of the time saying hey can we pick up the trash, tell us what's trash and we will take it away, they are not doing nearly as many sweeps. I actually talked to the guy that heads that whole bureau just last week actually, and he said they've gone from 15 sweeps a week to three. So rapid response has become better in terms of its worked together with the camps, let’s figure out where the trash is and we’ll take it away, but not let’s necessarily up end everybody and send them packing a couple blocks.”

Stephanie: "So in that article, it did state there are less sweeps, but there are also less garbage pick ups. Which is making the camps even more undesirable.”

Bruce: “That's true too. Yeah, so the reason we were talking to this last week was because we were trying to organize a thing where we are talking to people, we are getting into relationships, and they want to clean their camps up, so can we schedule a time for a garbage pick up? What rapid response is saying is right now is two to four days, we can't promise you a day. And what the camps are saying is you know, if we put garbage in a bag and put it at the curb, overnight that garbage is opened up and scrounged through and theres is garbage all over the place. So if you are saying two to four days, you are worthless. It's going to be a pile of trash, not a pile of garbage bags. And that's kind of what is happening and it does make the camps look really bad, the ones that are actually trying to clean themselves up, but rapid response isn't rapid anymore.

Bob’s Burgers Turns The Back Gas Burner Back On! The Simpsons continue drinking from the historical comedy well.

Fell behind on my Sunday Night animation coverage, mainly because of   wonky network scheduling. I have better working wi-fi now so I can actually watch the episode as they air if they ever air. 

////

Ah Sports, the great Schedule Cleaner that has a tendency to push out episodes into another slot on Fox’s Sunday Night. Which is why the Simpsons’ Treehouse ritual won’t be airing until November, and it’s little consistencies like these that help provide some stability and grounding in these shifting, tumultuous 2020 melting calendar dates.

First off, the promise of quality of this third episode of the season 11 is right in the title“Copa-Bob-Bana.” This is also the second episode in a row with an Opening Storefront gag seemingly tailor made to my interests with a Lou Reed Joke and the Drive-By Van gag being a  Talking Heads pun. Promising. When a Bob’s Burgers episode works it is one of the comfier offerings on the TV landscape. This episode follows the more successful formula of Bob & Linda (A)-Plot night out from the house and Belcher Children (B)-plot mild mannered, slightly gross mischief. 

Throwing Kevin Kline’s Fischoeder into the mix is also a highly potent element in a Bob’s Burgers episode. Pile in, Zach Galifinakis’s Felix Fischoeder along with Bill Hader’s Mickey, while also introducing  the most inconsequential  Fischoeder yet with a cousin voiced by David Wain that also looks like David Wain. The more characters the merrier as far as Bob’s Burgers is concerned and the show is doing a pretty fine job at fleshing out this world and maintaining working relationships with these big wigs, Bob’s Burgers is always kind to its regulars. Most importantly, the show realizes the importance of the Belchers getting the occasional small victory  with Bob earning a full month’s rent. Linda adds on a heart breaking aside about how a month’s rent is more than they ever make in a month that really drives home the working class spirit of this series. 

While the grossness and shabbiness of the Belcher children pool party has a tinge of the pathetic about it especially when it’s being filtered and judged through the higher status Chole Barbash (voiced by Brooklyn 99’s Stephanie Beatriz, who knew!), but they still have friends who indulge in their gross, shabbiness instead of making them feel bad about the nice pool that they lack. A surprising amount of pathos and depth from such a silly and simple premise. 

I am not convinced that the show has figured out a fully fleshed out compelling dynamic between Felix and Calvin other than that Felix is pathetic man child and Calvin is the son that mommy loved more. There are only so many more times that this can play out without it becoming completely stale, but Galifinaki’s skillful comedic acting chops prevent Felix from being straight up insufferable. Having Bob and Linda leave at the big climatic brotherly fight at the end of the episode is satisfying and not too tidy. Bob and Linda have boundaries and know that they have no place or justification to help these feuding rich assholes, whereas a lesser show may have had the Belchers involve themselves more in other people’s problems and play the role of faithful human carpet for their landlord. The episode also subverts the teased big musical number between Linda and Calvin by relegating it to the ending credits, but it’s a really great example of John Robert’s singing performance. Linda is hitting notes with a elegance and charm and bouncing off of Kevin Kline effortlessly and it makes me really sad that we’re not getting that Big Movie Musical anytime soon.

4 rusty bathtubs full of wet bread out of 5.

/////

When I first watched the far more messily titled episode 3 Season 32, “Now Museum, Now You Don’t” I straight up despised it. The second episode in a row that refuses to just be an episode of the Simpsons and instead another episode of historical comedy vignettes. This time based around Lisa being sick at home (with Covid?!) flipping through pages of a coffee table book on the history of Western Art.  Oh joy. There’s also, count em and weep, four different musical numbers. Even better. 

The Simpsons and the game of classical spot the reference art appreciation is a time honored tradition.  That said it is still truly jarring to watch an entire episode based around the show’s art department churning out postcards and merchandise for a Simpsons gift shop. This entire episode is an easy on the eyes visual delight that makes it pretty easy to turn your brain off and appreciate the visual overload. 

Quality visuals and art references alone cannot save the episode from itself, because this episode contains a few of the most stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks awful jokes the show has probably ever had that make Family Guy look as sophisticated and subtle as a New Yorker cartoon. Can anyone convince me that Family Guy hasn’t already had a joke involving Little Caesar being stabbed to death by the Noid? I didn’t think so. Another brutal cut-away gag comes in the form in the Marge Simpson styled as Frida Kahlo segment where she does the clunkiest, club footed walk to a cutaway joke involving Bernie Sanders as a baby condoning his “Bernie Bros..I mean Bernie Babies” about their violence and bullying of the other schoolyard children. Really tells you all that you need to know about the rich ivy-league educated white guys  that have always botched this kind of political commentary on the Simpsons, a show that is supposed to subversive and against the status quo. This kind of criticism against Bernie Sanders is not only horribly out of date, but are even more depressing given the reality of the current election. 

The other really groaner forced attempt at a joke happens when Homer Simpsons’ Diego Rivera hopes to get a writing job on Rick and Morty. A joke that basically murders the episode before a truly visually satisfying  over the credits gag of Moe walking through Van Gough paintings singing a song about the Gracie Films “Shushing Lady.” Now I know the show has played around with adding screams and sound effects to this production credit, but I don’t think I have ever witnessed such a meta moment around a production company logo, perhaps ever, and I must give the episode props for that. 

The important takeaway is that while plenty of people don’t care about the Simpsons and know that it has long since lost its luster over a decade ago, rewatching this episode really tempered down my vitriol and through the duration of the episode I found myself basically having a good time. The flat out bad moments of the forced jokes and lazy writing are now becoming far more pronounced and jarring as the series death marches on, but the visual language and expressiveness of the series this late in its run warrants a glance from anyone who likens themselves to an animation fan. I would still recommend that people skip the previous episode and try to give this one a chance. The possibility that this show will trigger a brain aneurysm with some of its choices is a very real, nearly unavoidable reality, but there are some larfs scattered in the ruins. 

Pass, but just barely, and I swear if the rest of the season continues down this streak of vignette driven episodes I will have to abandon this futile endeavor. 

Bonnie And Neil’s Beautiful New Showroom Is A Patterned Paradise

Bonnie And Neil’s Beautiful New Showroom Is A Patterned Paradise

Shopping

by Sally Tabart

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

Photo – Stephanie Rooney.

After starting their business from home ten years ago, this new Reservoir showroom and studio call in an exciting new era of expansion from Bonnie + Neil!

One of the most important (and impressive) elements of Bonnie + Neil’s business is that all their textiles and homewares are designed and hand screen printed in Melbourne. This is no mean feat! It’s this commitment to the quality and integrity of their products that sets their brand apart – and their new showroom invites customers into this process like never before.

Visitors will not only be able to see and touch products in real life before purchasing, but will also be able to watch the production process in real-time: from mixing colours, to screen printing and constructing. As we all try to become more discerning in the products we purchase, this level of transparency is something to celebrate.

We chatted with Bonnie Ashley, creative director of Bonnie + Neil, about this exciting new venture.

Congratulations on the showroom! How are you expecting this new space will change the Bonnie + Neil brand?

The beauty of having our showroom in the same space as our studio is that visitors can see our team hard at work.  Even though we communicate our “handmade in Melbourne” message as much as possible, most visitors are still surprised how hands on our production process is: from making screens and hand mixing ink colours, to our unique screen printing techniques, and then the process of drying and constructing individual pieces.

We really enjoy sharing “behind the scenes” with our partners and customers, so if you have the chance, please come visit us and ask questions!

Are there any special new things going on in the showroom you’re particularly excited for?

We’ve covered the entire floor in one of our new vinyl rug designs which (we think!) looks amazing. This is a functional demonstration of how versatile and customised this product can be.

I’ve also painted a huge mural of a palm and tree fern landscape that covers an entire wall. Painting is one of my passions and a design approach that we’ve been incorporating more often in our products, I’ve also completed a few large scale murals for various creative projects we’ve collaborated on.

What collections are in the showroom right now?

Banksia  is our seasonal release for Autumn/Winter 2020, and Bee x Bonnie and Neil which is our new diffusion range that includes new categories we haven’t explored before like bath mats, aprons and trays, as well some familiar product lines including tote bags, ceramics, cushions and throws.

The new Bonnie + Neil showroom is accessible by appointment from Monday – Thursday, and open on Fridays from 9am-2pm. The space opens this Friday, March 6th!

Bonnie + Neil Showroom and Studio 92 Plateau Road Reservoir, Victoria

Ask Meme

I was tagged the wonderful, amazing, and crazy talented @lechatrouge673! She writes so beautifully, and is perfectly sweet. Follow her for your own sake!

1) Name/nickname: Stephanie/Steph/Stephers

2) Gender: Female

3) Star sign: Pisces 

4) Height: 5′6″

5) Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

6) Favourite animal: I love owls.

7) Hours of sleep: I need all the sleep. I used to be a champion sleeper, but I have kids, so that doesn’t happen anymore. 8 hours is amazing, and I miss naps like you would not believe. 

8) Dogs or cats: Both! I have two of each. A Saint Bernard/Rottweiler mix (Avery) and a Chocolate lab (Princess Diamond Normandy Batman...yeah after we had kids). Our cats are grumpy and murderous. (Cygni and Ash)

9) Number of blankets: 1 thin blanket and a sheet in Spring/Summer because I live in the devil’s butt crack. Also, because I live in said crack, I don’t do well in the cold. During the Winter, I find as many blankets as I can without annoying my husband, and make the largest nest ever.. 

10) Dream trip: Greece, Ireland, Spain

11) Dream job: Photography.

12) Time: 7:12 MST

13) Birthday: March 4th

14) Favorite Bands: Pearl Jam, Lucero, The Avett Brothers

15) Favorite Solo Artists: Hozier, because his voice mmmmm (instant lady wood), Sam Hunt, Shakira, Regina Spektor.

16) Song Stuck In My Head: “You’re Welcome” Maui - Moana 

17) Last Movie I Watched: Despicable Me 

18) Last Show I Watched: The Big Bang Theory. I watch a lot of reruns when I need background noise.

19) When Did I Create My Blog: A year ago, probably a little more?

20) What Do I Post/Reblog: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, video games in general. Also a lot of stuff I think is funny, but probably isn’t.

21) Last Thing I Googled: I googled coffee images. I was considering replacing my icon, but I don’t know with what. (I am totally up for suggestions).

22) Other Blogs: No. I am an unorganized mess. I throw all of my stuff together. I need someone to organize my tumblr life. Especially since I started posting fics. 

23) Do I Get Asks: No. I don’t really put myself out there thought. Still getting used to the idea of having anything to ask about.  

24) Why I Choose My URL: Well, I really have to thank caffeine and wine for helping me power through my crazy life. 

25) Following: 93

26) Followers: 74

27) Lucky Number: 9. I even have 9 paper airplanes tattooed across my shoulder/back.

28) Favorite Instrument: I don’t play (used to when I was small) but I love the sound of violins and cellos

29) What Am I Wearing: Softball t-shirt and my hubby’s pajama pants. It’s my go to comfy clothes.

30) Favorite Food: Pizza and wings. 

31) Nationality: American

32) Favorite Song:  Currently? It is Cop Car or Speakers by Sam Hunt. Gives me all the feels.

33) Last Book Read: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer. I am a sucker for ya lit. I plan to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 

34) Top Three Fictional Universes I’d Like To Join: I’d love to live in Middle Earth! Hobbits, elves, the occasional dragon. I love The Lord of the Rings. I agree with Chat, and I would love it if Hogwarts was a real place. And the Mass Effect world, because I need that gorgeous pair of eyebrows and biotic booty in my life.

I am going to tag: @jawsandbones, @normandystarlight, @helluvawriter and @cdrkateshepard if you would like to play along. NO PRESSURE!

Competition

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word Count: 1229

Summary: Arm Wrestling and men. What a wonderful combination (NOT!). Jason Todd, your boyfriend believes he is the king of arm wrestling. And it’s true when he faces off everyone of his family members. But what happens when you join the mix?

A/N based off of @inkydandy ‘s BEAUTIFUL drawing! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy!

“HAHA! You lose again!”

“Not fair! You cheated!”

“Psh. I did no such thing. I’m just physically stronger than you.”

“What-ever, douchebag.” And with that Stephanie Brown flounced away from the table. Jason brushed off his shoulder and ran a hand through his hair.

“Anyone else want to challenge the arm wrestling king?! The game has just begun baby!” He laughed.

“Yeah! I want to!” Damian stepped up to the table.

“No no no. Not happening. Last time I hurt you…ugh. I can’t even say it. Last time I hurt you, I was forced to actually work with Replacement. Worst day of my life.” Jason crossed his arms.

“I HEARD THAT!” Tim shouted from the top level of the cave.

“That’s the point, butt-head.” Damian smirked.

“Hey, who are you calling a butt-head?!” Jason snarled.

“You, butt-head!” Damian pointed to Jason.

“Arm. Table. Now,” Jason pointed to the table he held the arm-wrestling matches on. He and Damian marched over to the table and prepared themselves for the match.

“Babs!” Jason called. Barbara sighed in exasperation and walked over to the table. She rested a hand over Damian’s and Jason’s joined hands.

“Ready. Set. Go.” She said flatly and lifted her hand. In no more than 5 seconds, Damian’s hand hit the table.

“Aw come on!” He whined.

“Told ya,” Jason scoffed.

“You suck,” Damian huffed and walked away from the table. Jason had to refrain himself from making a dirty joke, as Bruce was sitting at his computer a few feet away, and there was no way he was going to spend another whole day working with Tim.

“Anyone else?” Jason laughed.

“I will. Only because I want to wipe that smug grin off your stupid face.” Tim dropped down from the top level of the cave.

“I’ll have you know that Y/N thinks my face is hot,” Jason crossed his arms behind his head.

“She’s your girlfriend, she’s obligated to think that,” Tim rolled his eyes. Jason’s jaw dropped and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“You’re on. Let’s go.” Jason rested his elbow on the table.

It was at that moment that you entered the cave with Alfred.

“Thank you for the tea, Alfred. It was great!” You complimented the butler’s tea.

“Of course, Ms. Y/N. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he gave you a warm smile.

“HEY! You have been cheating!” You heard Tim’s voice shout.

“Oh no,” you looked in the direction you heard the yelling from.

“Oh no indeed. I believe this is my cue to leave. Good luck, Ms. Y/N.” and with that, Alfred stepped out of the doorway, letting the automatic door shut behind you. You started down the stairs, seeing Jason and Tim get closer with each step.

“I didn’t cheat!” Jason slammed his fist on the table. “I swear!”

“You’ve been using your strength from the Lazarus Pit!” Tim yelled.

“No! I mean I guess but, I CAN’T HELP THAT! It’s natural.” Jason said and leaned back in his chair.

“Alright alright. Tim, move out of the way, I’ll take on this cheater,” Dick walked out of the shadows and over to the table.

“Ohoho! Mr. Perfect wants to challenge the King? Alright, let’s do it, Grayson. Let’s see if you can beat me.” Jason watched as Dick sat down across from him.

When you reached the bottom of the staircase, you sighed.

“Jason, what are you doing now?” You called out. Jason, Tim, and Dick swiveled their heads in your direction.

“Come here, babe. Watch me beat Dick’s ass,” Jason beckoned you towards the table.

“Beat his ass? Why do you need a table? Oh god. Don’t tell me you’re going to throw the table,” you rushed over.

“No no, it’s an arm wrestling contest,” Jason laughed. You gaped at him, then facepalmed. He gave you a confused look.

“Of course. Arm wrestling. How did I not catch on?” You muttered. You looked up and smiled. “Carry on.”

“Get ready to be humiliated, Grayson,” Jason smirked as Dick set his elbow on the table and took Jason’s hand in his own. The competition hasn’t even begun and both men were already flexing.

You rolled your eyes and placed your hand over theirs. “Ready? Set…Go.”

And it begun. Both men furrowed their eyebrows as they tried to bring the other’s arm down on the table first. Your gaze made it’s way to Jason’s arm and you bit your lip.

The sweat combined with his flexing drove you crazy. “Arms. Arms. Aaaaarrrmmmmsss,” you thought to yourself with a smirk.

“Fuck!” Jason said as his arm was slowly being inched toward the table. Dick let out a strained laugh as he slowly pushed Jason’s arm down.

Suddenly, Jason felt a surge of adrenaline and fought against Dick and pushed his arm onto the table. Dick watched in horror as the back of his hand touched the table.

You let out stifled giggles as Dick covered his face in shame.

“Ha! Told you I’d beat you!” Jason stood up and gloated.

“Dick…you failed to avenge me…” Tim cried.

“I’m sorry!” Dick yelled dramatically. At this point, Bruce had turned around to see what the fuss was all about and a small smile played on his lips.

“Okay okay okay! Calm down! I’ll take you on, Jay,” you crossed your arms. Jason stopped gloating for a moment to give you a baffled look.

“What?” He asked.

“Sit down, baby boy, we’ll see who the champion of arm wrestling really is,” you took off your jacket and threw it at Tim’s face. Jason raised an eyebrow as you sat across from him. He had to admit that this side of you was pretty attractive.

Dick and Tim stood next to each other with giddy smiles like a couple of 7 year olds. Bruce waited to see what happened. You took Jason’s large hand in your own. It completely covered your hand, but you didn’t care.

“Are you sure about this?” Jason asked.

“Are you scared? Scared you’re gonna get your ass beat? Come on Jason, I know you’re not one to back away from a fight,” you taunted him. Jason narrowed his eyes at you and you returned the gesture.

Dick put his hand on both of yours, then said the magic words, “Ready? Set…Go!” He shouted. Jason didn’t use as much strength, but your arm was still being pushed toward the table.

All of sudden, you got up and leaned over the table toward Jason and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, catching him completely off guard.

You took this time to push his hand toward the table. The back of his hand hit the table softly. You pulled away and sat back down, letting go of his hand simultaneously. He stared at you in surprise. Dick and Tim held onto each other in shock. Even Bruce was bewildered. From where Damian was watching, he pumped his fist in victory.

“I win.” You smile at Jason. You stood up and grab your jacket from where Tim placed it and started walking to the stairs again. Jason watched every movement, then he stood up.

“You cheated! I demand a rematch!” He shouted.

“Anytime, Jay. Anytime,” you started up the stairs again. Jason followed after you, eager to regain his title as the king of arm wrestling.

@amazingpersona @jaosntodds @dc-hoe @crowbarcorps @blxkestnight @addicted-to-dc @avengerdragoness @crazymangaluv @tomboyliv @batarangtotheheart @keepjasontoddsafe @wynterrobin @chipsinabox @hellomgann1296 

Last night I went to the New York screening of the Sailor Moon R movie. No theaters were listed near me, and it seemed like subbed showings were extremely limited so I bought my ticket a month ago. The theater had us all wait outside, which was shitty because it was raining and my umbrella lost a fight with a gust of wind earlier in the day. And nobody would share their umbrella with me! Couldn’t they follow Shinozaki’s example? The first batch of people were given Sailor Moon “character” cards as an exclusive gift. They were in a black envelope and given at random, you could get any of the main five Sailor Soldiers. The entire time I was opening it I was just thinking, “PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE AMI”. Luck was on my side, and I got my girl Minako. Although I really wanted Mako-chan, but Minako was my second pick. 

The theater was just extraordinary. It was huge, and had such a classic feel to it. The place filled up quickly, and surprisingly.... the audience was pretty cool. I have my issues with the fandom (honestly, that’s not fair. I have an issue with anime fans in general) so I was a little worried, but everyone was great. The girls sitting next to me were super sweet, and we talked about our dislike for the Viz dub (sorry guys). There were also a lot of cute guys in the theater and I should’ve mingled but I was wet and deranged looking. 

So the movie started with... a very tedious introduction with some of the English cast. This had the audience groaning, and a bit confused, since this was suppose to be a showing of the Japanese version. The short film, Make Up! Sailor Soldiers starts playing, Stephanie Steh’s grating voice is heard, and the entire theater was a mix of confused and disappointed sounds. There was this super duper bad ass girl behind me (She had a t-shirt of a S&M Usagi standing on top of Tuxedo. Be still my heart) that immediately ran out of the theater to fix this. She came back, and apparently they were “working on it”. After sitting through the entire short film, people kept exiting the film, and rumors quickly spread that they couldn’t fix it, or that we could just see the 9 p.m. showing. My area of the theater was extremely pissed. I wasn’t exactly peppy, since I traveled all the way from Philly to see this movie. Plus I was wet and freezing cold. So I told my section “If the main feature plays in English, I’m going on”. Movie starts, and it’s dubbed. Simultaneously, a bunch of fans and I start marching out of the theater to raise hell. Right as I exited, a manager came running over “We’re fixing it! We’re fixing it!”. There was a short intermission, an apology, and everything started from the beginning in Japanese. Yaye. 

I’m wondering if Toei did the remastering themselves, because the video quality was excellent. There were a few times where the scenes looked... blurry, but overall it was fantastic quality. The sound was still a bit scratchy, but overall amazing. It was really exciting seeing Sailor Moon and the girls kicking ass on the big screen. I literally got goose bumps when she did her introduction speech! The audience really liked Tuxedo Mask for some reason. His two memorable scenes in the movie were accompanied with a roaring applause. I don’t get it. Call me bias, but I was never a big Tuxedo fan. This is a series about a bunch of kick ass girls fighting evil with awesome powers, and you’re cheering for the chump throwing roses?! They also laughed at some inappropriate scenes... like, really emotional scenes. The final scene with Fiore and Mamoru had me tearing up, and instead everyone was laughing. *sigh* 

Overall, it was an awesome experience. If you guys get a chance to see it, go for it! I really hope Viz pulls through and releases the other movies in theaters too (even if they’re vastly inferior). Also, if anybody wants to give/sell me their Sailor Jupiter character board, please message me... 

Ryder Indestructible Shoes Review

Three years ago, I published a review on bucketfeet slip on shoe, which was designed by Mr. Pheap Tarr. Now in 2020, I found an interesting sneaker that is known to be indestructible no matter what type of condition the sneaker is exposed to.

People have been wearing sneakers for so long because they are considered as one of the most comfortable shoes that have ever existed. People wear sneakers on a daily basis when they go to university, buy groceries, clubs, and bars or adventure trips. Sneakers are also called as trainers or running shoes. Running shoes come in a variety of shapes best suited to different running styles or abilities. Generally, they are divided by running or walking style: the majority are for heel-toe joggers/runners which are further subdivided into “neutral”, overpronation” and under pronation”. Sneakers are made up of complex structures of rubber with plastic/metal stiffeners to restrict foot movement. More advanced runners tend to wear flatter and flexible shoes which allow them to run more quickly with greater grip to the ground and maximum comfort.

Different brands manufacture a different range of sneakers. Some of them are specially designed for running purposes while others are designed for hiking purposes. The designs also vary and so the price. Good quality sneakers can be available for as low as $20 or for as high as $1000. The choice depends on the buyer whether he wants to spend little on daily wear shoes or a high amount of his income on shoes which he would eventually throw away in a year or two. Sneakers, like any other thing, also get worn out with the passage of time. The rubber of the sole loses its strength and starts becoming flattened which makes the shoes slippery or they get loose due to excessive use.

There are several things a person should keep in mind while buying shoes like a flexible sole is a must. Flexible means the ability to bend. Lots of people mix up the flexibility of the sole and the softness of the inner padding. Therefore, you should do the ‘bending’ test. If you bend the shoe (i.e. bend the heel and the toe area towards each other) and the soles take a V form, then the shoes have exemplary flexibility. Another thing you should keep in mind while buying sneakers is that the sole that comes in contact with the ground should not be flat and the sneakers should not be slippery at all otherwise they’ll not provide you a good grip on marble flooring and thus increases the risk of getting slipped.

Over the years, many brands have evolved which deals in high quality shoes. Some of the most popular ones which you already would be familiar with are Nike, Adidas, Air Jordan, Reebok, Converse, Asics, Puma and much more. These brands are the No. 1 choice for runners and athletes. But in recent years another sneakers company has evolved which has started manufacturing indestructible shoes which have grabbed the attention and are of high interest for users nowadays.

Assumptions with Indestructible Shoes

When the word indestructible is spoken, the first thing that comes into our mind is that the thing or product might be made of some solid material like steel and would have laminations of other materials as well which will be helping it to become indestructible. Also, you might assume that the product will be something with boring design, not so attractive outlook and will be tough to wear on casual days.

Ok, so let’s move forward and see how many of your assumptions are true. Here’s a mini-review of these immortal shoes.

Ryder Indestructible Shoes and xCiter Collection

Ryder indestructible shoes are perfect for intense outdoor activities like hiking to a rocky mountain top without the fear of your shoes getting ripped or for any mild walk to the garden just next to your home. These shoes are not any different from normal sneakers. They are not made up of steel or any other hard material but are made up of military-grade Kevlar.

What is Kevlar?

Kevlar is a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fiber, first developed by Stephanie Kwolek at Dupont in 1965. This high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. Typically, it is spun into ropes or fabric sheets that can be used to make bulletproof vests or indestructible shoes. Because of Kevlar’s high tensile strength-to-weight-ratio, it is five times stronger than steel. It is also used to make modern marching drumheads that withstand high impact. When used as a woven material, it is suitable for mooring lines and other underwater applications.

Due to the use of Kevlar, these indestructible shoes are resistant to flame and have a hard outer that makes them very tough to grind. These immortal shoes are perfect to be worn on construction sites where a person must deal with heavy materials or at the gym where a person lifts the weights so that your feet could be saved from any sort of mishaps.

Overall Appearance of the Ryder Shoe

You must be thinking that these shoes must look like a rigid shoe-shaped steel box having an intense dark color that could reflect its toughness, but this isn’t true. The overall appearance of this pair of shoes is not boring at all. They are tough enough to not be damaged by the grinder but are stylish enough to be worn on weekend parties. These shoes are also lightweight which gives instant comfort to users.

Upper Fabric

The upper part of these all-in-one safety shoes is made up of cotton fabric, a breathable fly mesh that prevents the feet from excess sweating and does not makes your feet feel like they are enclosed in a metallic container. The minor details of rubber sewed on the sides makes the shoes look more stylish and casual.

The upper toe is of military Kevlar that adds to the safety measure of the shoe. The steel toe cap is for the times when people see your feet as a run over for their shopping cart. It protects your foot against any severe conditions like accidentally dropping a heavy brick or a hammer.

A hammer test on indestructible sneakers. These shoes are comfortable and yet very durable. People call them: immortal shoes.

No-tie laces

Tying your shoes can sometimes seem like an annoyingly involving task when you’re in a hurry. To save your time and to bring you out from the discomfort of tying laces, the indestructible shoes feature no-tie laces which means no more loose laces, no more having to double knot or stopping to re-tie your laces in the middle of your game or hike.

Midsole

The midsole of these Ryder indestructible shoes is padded which enhances the durability and comfort of the shoes, helping to create a roomy toe box for all-day comfort. The steel palate in the midsole protects your feet from falling heavy objects. The material of the midsole is non-slippery and do not makes your feet slip out of the shoes.

Outsole

The outsole of these shoes is made up of military material and is resistant to flame and puncture. It is flexible in nature and can be twisted easily. Due to the flexibility, these shoes are the best choice to wear when on hiking because they will provide your feet extra grip.

The military-grade outsole gives this shoe its ultimate name of the indescribable sneakers.

Cost of indestructible shoes

After reading all the details and interesting features of these indestructible shoes above, you might be thinking that these would be the new Louboutin’s specially designed for people who work at construction sites or for hikers, but this is not the case. These shoes do not fall in the range of $450 to $6000. You can get your pair of indestructible shoes in less than $100 here. Or you can definitely find them on Amazon as well by clicking on the below image.

Buy on Amazon

xciter or ryder collection: Colors

The indestructible shoes come in two famous collections: the Xciter collection or the Ryder collections. Both of these come in different colors mainly grey, black, pink, and green. These shoes are bisexual which means they are not designed only for men; women can also wear them if needed.

Sizes

Like any normal sneakers, these shoes are also available in sizes ranging from Eu36 to Eu48 or US4 to US13 which makes it an easy fit for every foot size.

Thoughts and Recommendations

The basic purpose of any shoe is to give your feet comfort and protection. Every person needs a thing that has some unique features but still costs like other similar products. These indestructible shoes are lightweight and puncture resistant. They also have no-tie laces which prove to be a time-saver, are made up of breathable cotton fabric which provides good ventilation and air crossing to your feet while doing intense activities and are flexible as well.

These shoes offer more features and provide more protection than your casual branded sneakers, so investing in one of these pairs of shoes would not turn out to be a waste of money.

Remember, these shoes are indestructible but not waterproof. The upper part of the shoes is made up of mesh so, we would not recommend wearing these shoes in rain or for protection against water.

Where to Buy?

Where to buy a pair of indestructible shoes? This is the most important thing that needs to be highlighted. Well, most of the social media like Facebook or Instagram pages sell these shoes for more than $100 dollars, but you can buy these shoes from amazon for well below $100 or simply buy directly from the manufacturing company here.

Are indestructible shoes comfortable?

Yes, they are made of kevlar and flexible sole. These materials make the shoes not only durable but also very comfortable to the wearer.

What are indestructible shoes made of?

Indestructible shoes are made of military-grade kevlar. This gives a lightweight feel to the shoes.

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  The post Ryder Indestructible Shoes Review appeared first on Homelilys Decor.

Source: https://homelilys.com/review/indestructible-shoes/

You know Memphis is full of talented mixologists and full of ways to give back to the community…if you’re into either of those things, join Volunteer Odyssey on March 2 for their annual Mix-Odyssey cocktail tasting party! The party is at the Memphis Botanic Garden from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and tickets are $75. You need to get your tickets now before this event sells out. Here’s what you get with your ticket: Seven (7!!) cocktail samples hors d’oeuvres fortune telling for your volunteer future Kendra Scott jewelry pull the power to choose the winning cocktail And should you choose to spring for VIP, you’ll get ten cocktails. Here’s a list of who’s competing this year for Judge’s Pick favorites and People’s Choice awards: David Hacking from The Grey Canary Nick Lumpkin from Sweet Grass Next Door Lauren Scearce from Hog & Hominy Mitchell Marable from PO Press Ben Williams from Alchemy Stephanie Cook from the Beauty Shop Brad Pitts from the Germantown Performing Arts Center Read more about these cocktail virtuosos here. Mix-Odyssey is a cocktail-making contest where you can taste them all and vote for your favorites, all while you snack on appetizers and listen to sweet tunes.   Don’t forget, proceeds benefit Volunteer Odyssey: the folks behind our monthly “10 Ways To Love Memphis This Month” posts. I’ve been to Mix Odyssey the past few years and trust me; they know how to throw a party. For more info on Volunteer Odyssey’s mission to match up volunteers with organizations they’ll love, check out volunteerodyssey.com or follow them on Facebook or Twitter. mmm minty fresh Don’t forget to drink responsibly, and call a cab or get an Uber or Lyft. Go there: Mix-Odyssey 6 March 2, 2019 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Memphis Botanic Garden 21 and up Get your tickets here. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

http://ilovememphisblog.com/2019/02/drink-up-and-give-back-at-mix-odyssey-2019/

The tHOTlist #250 - 201

250)  Ted Bishop Nieves

The longtime club DJ keeps the beat alive with hit parties like Purgatory at Rockbar and Revolution at The Hangar. A favorite of the bear scene, Ted was crowned Mr. Fire Island Bear this June.

249)  Petti Cake

The funny musical queen and popular hostess of Icon’s Whip It Wednesdays is an Ultimate Drag Pageant All-Star, and an all around star on the rise.

248)  Ninth Avenue Saloon

A folksy, divey oasis in the middle of the trendy and sometimes plastic Hell’s Kitchen scene, the Saloon remains the spot to get away from the artifice and flirt with some Real Guy bartenders while hearing real songs on an actual jukebox. Bonus: the bewigged Door Ho Hannibal is one of the friendliest people in town.

247)  Stephanie Stone & Busted

Cherry Grove’s most surreal comedy queen Busted had another hit summer of Monday night shows at Cherry’s on the Bay, gracing her longtime fans with the same wig, beat and wrap dress we’ve come to know her for. Long time Lips queen Stephanie Stone, on the other hand, is as always the standard of drag fashion and poise. The two have long wanted to work together, and in autumn that finally happened with a Monday night disco bingo show at 3 Dollar Bill.

246)  James Wilson

The frontman of one of the city’s only queer country bands The Paisley Fields did quite a bit of recording and national touring with his outfit this year, while also playing local venues like Bowery Electric and the Queer Country Festival at DROM. An ivory tickler at Uncle Charlie’s, James bravely left his other longtime pianist gig at The Monster after their racist exchange over his friend Honey Davenport’s show poster was exposed.

245)  Maxxx Pleasure

This sexy, chic throwback performer who brings the Dapper to male drag won the Brooklyn Nightlife Award for Best Drag King this year, and has performed in several high profile gigs like Bushwig and Nightgowns.

244)  Hedda Lettuce

One of NYC’s true legacy queens is a somewhat reclusive figure outside of her tremendously successful Fire Island summer residencies (this year saw her back at Cherrys). But “off-season” you can catch her making hilarious barbs while screening Hollywood’s campy classics in movie theaters across town, and hosting sold out cabaret shows in various venues.

243)   Zalika Parsons

An epic mess queen that does not easily fit the mold of any existing drag template, Zalika will be a fall-on-her-face wrestling clown one minute and wrench the angst from you with a heartbreaking mix the next. One of the city’s busiest guest stars (and a GLAM-nominated comedy queen this year), you can find her paying monthly homage to pillars of queer history with her show “Legendary” at Bizarre while regularly performing for Polish The Queen at Stonewall.

242)  AndrogyNY

The sexy gogo boy and choreographer morphed into a more drag-centric performer in early 2018, making his unique style and high energy performances werk with guest spots and hosting gigs all over Manhattan. Currently, he’s bartending at Bedlam.

241)  Digna

After a long break from the scene, the foxy Filipino Fashionista returned to nightlife, hosting Friday nights at The Ritz.

240)  JD Samson

The musician, performance artist and former electroclasher with the band Le Tigre is today a popular underground DJ, best known in NYC for her monthly party PAT at Union Pool.

239)  Merlot

This model and club kid with a magically unique beauty produced nightlife’s most soulful single and most gorgeous accompanying video clip of the year, “Bad For You.”

238)  Izzy Uncut

The spirited and athletic queen has become a fixture of Shuga Cain and JanSport’s Wednesday night production at Pieces, and recently joined Jasmine Rice as co-hosts of a Friday happy hour show at Hardware.

237)  Sucia

The GLAM nominated, multi-talented newcomer who ignites the stage with fun energy hosted shows at Vodka Soda Bottoms Up and Boxers WH--and competed in Miss Barracuda--this year. She also wrote and starred in the short film Neon Boys, and lest we forget her cute engagement video with fiance Rob Panos went viral.

236)  Dorothy Bishop

The campy cabaret comedian is best known for her Dozen Divas revue--moved to the Triad Theatre since the sad closing of the Metropolitan Room--that lampoons (with deft verbal accuracy) our favorite ladies of song. This year she also became a regular presence at Club Cumming and took a fun role in the Icon Bar reading of Mother: A Drag Musical.

235)  Miss Ogeny

Taking her brilliant skills as a stage costumer and his passion for immersive theater to Dragtown, Miss Ogeney surfaced as one of Manhattan’s most off-kilter queens with a popular brunch at The Standard Hotel’s Narcbar in the East Village. She also recently became the Saturday night hostess at Atlas Social Club.

234)  Qualms Galore

After winning last year’s Mx. Nobody pageant and making her way to the finals of this year’s MR(S) BK, sexy and dramatic burlesque star Qualms found herself with a huge following in the queer scene and gigs aplenty in venues throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.

233)  Jolina Jasmine

A great beauty and fierce dancer throughout the Tri-State area, Miss Paradise 2016 Jolina is a welcomed addition to any show or party in New Jersey and New York. And let’s put this out in the universe: a weekly show starring Jolina and her hilarious friend / foil, Rhedd Rhumm, needs to happen!

232)   Ms. Ter

Brooklyn’s Bearded Emo Princess co-hosts the monthly “No Pressure” baby queen showcase at Bizarre with Juno Tempest, and is a regular co-star of galpal Shiny Penny’s monthly show at Macri Park as well as that venue’s monthly  Ghoul School” spoopfest.

231)  Lolita Golightly

The graceful, Italian-born veteran of the drag comic ballet dance company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (aka The Trocks) continually leaves the city on tour. But in 2018, she stuck around long enough to host a few Stonewall Invasions and score two coveted pageant crowns: Miss Industry and Miss Cherrys.

230)  Lilith LeFae

The West Village is still mourning the loss of #BlackFriday, the long-running show co-hosted by Lilith and Princess Bitch at the abruptly closed Boots & Saddle. But her Village fans can still see this fun and fierce queen on Fridays, now at Rockbar with Viva Vidalia. She’s also a regular host of DJ FenanDITO’s monthly EuroCheesefest Scandalo at Trophy Bar, and the Princess and Lilith experience lives on every two Sundays at Brooklyn’s Macri Park.

229)  Nicky Ottav

The world renown club kid, fashionista and performance artist had several Moments this year, with just two highlights being the launch of a line of jackets painted with scenes of iconic celebrity meltdowns and the reprisal his drag-meets-punk event the Bodega Ball.

228)  T-Boy

Manhattan’s coolest DJ was without a booth for too long after the abrupt closing of his home bar Boots & Saddle. But thankfully now there are a few places to find him: two Saturdays a month at Phoenix with Ari Kiki and Alotta McGriddles, and every Thursday at The Ritz with Morgan Royel.

227)  Flower Tortilla

The GLAM-nominated door goddess of Look Queen broke through in a big way this year, bringing a kind energy and killer singing chops to several city stages. Flower hosted bingo at The Albatross for several months, and starred in an original cabaret at The Duplex.

226)  Nedra Belle

Still soaring from her success as a contestant (both in and out of drag) on last year’s season of The Voice, Nedra’s on the road a lot and not performing too often in NYC. But when she’s here, you’re most likely to find her turning it Friday nights at Vodka Soda Bottoms Up.

225)  Pierretta Viktori

The non-binary Brooklyn Clown Queen has suddenly and rightfully become an essential designer for drag queens and other stage performers the world over. GLAM nominated for their fashions, they’ve dressed tons of NYC queens and Drag Race girls ranging from Peppermint to Sasha Velour to Asia O’Hara.

224)   Aaliyah Martinez

Born to be a pageant queen, this glamorous and charitable songbird hosted this year’s Miss Liberty Continental pageant while also presenting monthly benefit shows at Therapy Bar for Our Youth Diversity Scholarship, a Continental-approved charity. And most impressively, she was crowned via another major national pageant system, becoming this year’s Miss Gay United States.

223)  Viktor Devonne

One of New York and New Jersey burlesque’s essential ambassadors, Viktor’s troupe White Elephant remain the Avengers of the genre with a long-running weekly show at Rockbar, and now additionally a monthly presence at Bizarre Bushwick. Viktor also sat on the prestigious judge’s panel for the New Jersey Burlesque Festival back in March. [Photo: Grace Chu}

222)  Porsche

The Queen of a Thousand Voices has been a major draw among The Ice Palace’s entertainment offerings for many years now, and this summer was no different. Off season, she performed a few times at Stonewall.

221)  Pinwheel Pinwheel

Mx. Nobody 2018 is a truly, wonderfully bizarre drag queen and a much in-demand costume designer and makeup artist to boot.

220)  Ty’s

The small West Village neighborhood bar has been packing it in on weekends for decades now, drawing a traditionally older, laid back bearish crowd. We must again recommend the nights our favorite Bar Babe Julian is VJing--he throws back with some super-nostalgic deep cuts.

219)  Clarice DuBois

The Broadway-raised queen (and GLAM-nominated designer) does good on her pedigree as the hostess of Musical Mondays at Rockbar, not to mention a monthly show at Astoria’s Icon Bar. This year she was also a Miss Baraccuda contestant. 

218)  Shiny Penny

“Brooklyn’s Favorite Door Pixie” has joined the staff of Lips, while still turning it with Ruby Roo and Ragamuffin for Mondays on Mondays at Macri Park and hosting her own Saturday monthly there as well.

217)  Dan Jimenéz

Last year’s Mr. Fire Island Bear is now this year’s Mr. New York Unlimited Bear. Dan is the toast of BearTown, becoming one of the scene’s essential gogo dancers and the host of the monthly Rock The Rockbar, a rock music party at the titular venue.

216)  Jacqueline Dupree

Manhattan’s busiest karaoke queen (The Toolbox, Boxers HK, Suite Bar) from the legendary House of Dupree slays us with those diva pipes of hers, and gives us a blessed night of Just Jackie monthly at Stonewall.

215)  Queen Robert

Having blown the motherfucking roof off of 2018’s Halloween edition of the Lady Liberty showdown with a winning performance based on her spirit animal Kathy Bates’ role in Misery, FX Sorceress Robert reminded us why we call her Queen. And thanks to another recent pageant win, we can call her Mx. Mont Rose as well! Catch the film buff monthly at The Rosemont, screening movies and turning related numbers afterwards.

214)  Thorgy Thor

This Drag Race All-Star was edited into a toxically neurotic caricature for two seasons in a row, but still enjoys a large global fanbase. It’s to Thorgy’s great credit that she never strayed from her roots as a trailblazer of the Brooklyn scene for too long, returning several times to Metropolitan Bar during the airing of her season to host its viewing party and subsequent Alotta Stuff auctions. Brooklyn will always show love to their quirky, whip-smart Mama, and vice versa.

213)  DJ Reaubert

The disco and new wave DJ keeps our dancefloors refreshingly eclectic, with deep cuts and essential classics. Catch him spinning every Fridays at Narcbar and Saturdays at Metro, plus monthly Wednesdays at Nowhere Bar.

212)  Coco Taylor

A kindly and campy queen reminiscent of Broadway darling Sutton Lee Seymour, 2017′s Miss Rockbar winner Coco Taylor took her pageant duties very seriously, building an audience for her popular weekly show “Miss Rockbar Presents” and helping management to cultivate a roster of great house queens for other nights. She now hosts “Cuckoo for Coco” Tuesdays at Rockbar.

211)  The Brides of Burlesque

Bringing equal doses of intellect and poop jokes to the burlesque stage, married performers Faux Pas le Fae & Aurora North performed consistently throughout 2018--both as guest stars of various revues, and via their own monthly show at Bizarre and self-produced showcases at Coney Island USA.

210)  Magenta

This “Fashion Forward Ho” is a big draw in Brooklyn, and a popular edition to that borough’s ensemble shows like OOPS at The Rosemont. She’s also a frequent co-star of Merrie Cherry for her Macri Park monthly. And she loves berets! 

209)  Poppy

The dreamy, high-concept queen has turned out many of the most elaborate, narrative performances that the Lady Liberty seasonal drag competitions have ever seen, including her most recent take as the living embodiment of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  She hosts a monthly show at The West End.

208)   MiscAllaneous DomTop & Munroe Lilly

Nightlife’s most fetishistic performer MiscAllaneous keeps their clients as a dominatrix in ecstasy, and their audiences as a burlesquer (the monthly they host at Bizarre is called, aptly, Hardcore) somewhere between that and sweet agony. Their genderfucking sexy sis Munroe is one of the most booked burlesque acts in the biz, and rightly so.

207)  Nick Gaga

Serving the children of The Ritz their doses of jello shots and Lady Gaga pop-up numbers throughout the week, this Perfect Illusion of Ms. Germanotta is now the host of that bar’s Monday night festivities.

206)  Vic Sin

A GLAM-nominated burlesquer this year, Vic is the host of Bizarre’s popular monthly variety show “Sinner’s Kit Kat Cabaret” and a guest performer wherever a sexy, furry leg splitter in a corset is needed.

205)  Sapphira Cristal

Last year’s Fire island Entertainer of the Year kept busy mostly in her home city of Philadelphia, but still turned it out plenty here in the Tri State. She placed third in the much-watched Miss’d America pageant in Atlantic City, performed in City Winery’s first ever drag show, hosted a weekly at the Ice Palace, and had a great turn as part of the Mother: A Drag Musical reading at Icon Bar.

204)  Joseph Macchia

 A producer of cabaret benefits and events, Mr. Eagle 2018 Joseph Macchia spearheaded many parties at the Eagle NYC after his sash win. He currently manages that bar’s daily happy hour.

203)  Untitled Queen

Bringing artistic drama to the drag stage like no other, Brooklyn’s legendary Untitled has become increasingly more immersed in visual and performance art outside of the nightlife setting. But seeing her achingly intense numbers aglow with the glamour of Sasha Velour’s multimedia showscape Nightgowns--in the rare times those shows happen nowadays--is always a treat for the senses.

202)  Madame Vivien V

Many of us miss Madame’s pyrotechnics, spinning her flaming poi across the stages of rare venues that had permits for such fire play. But Viv is more than just a Human Torch... her outlandish beats and costumes gag us, her writhing numbers disturb us, and her Drag Race viewing party at Bizarre co-hosted by Vic Sin proved she was one of the most hysterically intelligent gals in the biz. These days she’s the house queen at the House of Yes, and hosts a monthly amateur drag competition there.

201)  Jessa Angel

This chic young hostess has been evoking classic Manhattan nightlife with her frequent events at the Museum of Sex, most recently via the weekly party Tropicunt.

 #200 - 151

LONDON | A year on, horrific Grenfell Tower fire haunts Britain

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LONDON | A year on, horrific Grenfell Tower fire haunts Britain

LONDON — In the shadow of London’s Grenfell Tower, the pain is as fresh as the newly laid flowers for the dead.

One year ago, the residential high-rise was destroyed by a fire that killed 72 people. It was the greatest loss of life in a fire on British soil since World War II, a horror that left the neighborhood and the country in shock.

On Thursday, survivors, bereaved families and people around Britain are marking the anniversary of a local tragedy that’s also a national shame — one for which blame still is being assigned and traded. Was Grenfell a tragic accident, the product of government cost-cutting and lax safety standards, or authorities’ disregard for people who lived in public housing?

“I don’t see this as a tragedy. I see it as an atrocity,” Hissam Choucair, who lost six members of his family in the fire, told a public inquiry last month.

For the somber anniversary rituals, survivors will gather near the base of the tower’s shell before a nationwide minute of silence at noon. There will be vigils and marches across Britain, while landmarks will be lit up in green, the color of remembrance adopted after the lethal fire.

“We want the nation to keep Grenfell in their consciousness,” said Yvette Williams of local campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell. “The anniversary is about love and support — the fight can start again on Friday and Saturday — and keeping that humanity going on that day.”

A year on, the west London neighborhood around Grenfell echoes with sounds of construction. The ruined tower, which stood for months like a black tombstone on the skyline, is covered in white sheeting. A green heart and the words “Grenfell forever in our hearts” are emblazoned at the top.

Notice boards and walls nearby carry hand-written tributes, expressions of sorrow and promises of resolve: “RIP to the fallen”; “I love my Uncle Ray”; “RIP Yas”; “We won’t fail!”

Flowers, candles, and well-worn teddy bears that were left in memory of the dead are tended by local volunteers. A note from Prime Minister Theresa May, attached to a wreath of white roses, promises: “They will never be forgotten.”

The fire broke out shortly before 1 a.m. on June 14, 2017 in the kitchen of Behailu Kebede’s fourth-floor apartment. Kebede woke the neighbors on his floor and called firefighters, who soon arrived.

High-rise apartment towers are supposed to be designed to stop apartment fires spreading. But within minutes, the flames had escaped Kebede’s apartment and raced up the outside of the 25-story tower like a lit fuse.

Many residents fled, but some on the upper floors observed official fire-safety advice and stayed put. The fire brigade changed the guidance at 2:47 a.m. By that time, the building’s only stairwell was smoke-filled and treacherous.

Several people died trying to get out. Others perished in their homes as they waited to be rescued, or died in neighbors’ apartments where they’d taken shelter. Three people were found dead outside, having fallen or jumped from the tower.

Rania Ibrahim, who died with her two young daughters on the 23rd floor, broadcast her final hours of fear and prayers on Facebook. Mohamed Amied Neda, 57, who had fled the Taliban in Afghanistan to build a life in Britain, left a voice message for his family: “Goodbye, we are leaving this world now, goodbye. I hope I haven’t disappointed you. Goodbye to all.”

By the time the sun rose, a building that could be seen for miles around was a blackened, smoking shell. Hundreds of people were homeless and dozens were dead, though the destruction from the heat had been so great it would be months before police were certain of how many: 70 died that night, plus a premature baby, Logan Gomes, who was stillborn later that day. Maria del Pilar Burton, a 74-year-old resident of the 19th floor, was hospitalized after the fire and died in January.

Local government workers, police and volunteers rushed to help, setting up temporary shelters and bringing clothes, food, money and help for the hundreds of people displaced from the tower and nearby buildings.

Grief was soon joined by anger — at local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea borough, which owned the building; at the tenant management organization than ran the tower; and at Britain’s Conservative government, seen as distant and uncaring.

Many residents said they had complained about safety and poor maintenance and were ignored because the tower was home to a largely immigrant and working-class population. A public-housing block in one of London’s richest boroughs, a stones’ throw from the pricey boutiques and elegant houses of Notting Hill, it came for many to symbolize a divided and broken Britain.

The anger is still visible on the walls around Grenfell. Mixed in with tributes to the dead are the words “TMO = terrorists” — a reference to the tenant management organization — and expletives directed at the prime minister.

May acknowledged this week that the government had been too slow to act. She vowed that survivors would get “the homes and support that they need and the truth and justice that they deserve.”

After the fire, the government immediately promised to re-house all those displaced within three weeks. But some residents spent months in hotels, and many are still in temporary accommodations. May said Wednesday that 183 of 203 affected families have accepted offers of new homes, though most have not yet moved in.

A judge-led public inquiry finally got underway last month. It will take 18 months and look at the fire’s causes, the response to it and Britain’s high-rise building regulations. But some survivors are critical because it won’t investigate wider issues around social housing and social policy.

Already, the testimony has been damning. A report by fire safety engineer Barbara Lane listed multiple safety failings, including the flammable aluminum-and polyethylene cladding installed on the tower’s facade during a recent renovation.

Stephanie Barwise, a lawyer for some of the survivors, said the cladding helped flames spread “more quickly than dropping a match into a barrel of petrol.”

The safety failures at Grenfell have national implications. More than 300 towers around Britain have similar combustible cladding. The government says it will spend 400 million pounds ($530 million) stripping the cladding from publicly owned high-rises.

Questions have also been raised about whether lives were lost because of the fire department’s “stay put” advice.

Police are considering corporate manslaughter charges in the blaze, but no one has been charged.

Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the disaster was likely the result of “a systems failure” rather than a single cause.

“It’s likely that there will not be a single guilty person or institution, but more a chain of events that together led to a catastrophic failure,” Travers said.

Even if the inquiry identifies causes and who deserves to be held accountable, the formal review is unlikely to end Britain’s soul-searching over a disaster with victims from 23 countries — taxi drivers and architects, a poet, an acclaimed young artist, retirees and children with bright futures.

“Ill fares the land that left these people to be so exposed to such trauma and such death,” Danny Friedman, a lawyer for some of the bereaved families and survivors, told the inquiry.

“In the end,” he said, “the Grenfell Tower fire is an example writ large of how inequalities of political, legal and economic power can kill people.”

__

By Associated Press

___

USA; Michael Moss Accidental Orchestra HELIX CD Release Show Friday, May 18th 7-10 PM Westbeth Community Room

CD Release Party for Michael Moss / Accidental Orchestra: HELIX Friday, May 18, 2018 7-10 PM Westbeth Community Room 155 Bank Street entrance (between West St. and Washington St.) New York, NY 10014 Tickets: $10 donation New CD

Michael Moss the Accidental Orchestra HELIX (4th Stream Records ERG 10013) Street Date: March 24, 2018 Jason Kao Hwang, Rosi Hertlein, Fung Chern Hwei (violins), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Lenny Mims and Carol Buck (cellos), Steve Swell (trombone), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Waldron Mahdi Ricks (trumpet), Richard Keene (oboe), Elliott Levin (flute, tenor saxophone), Ras Moshe Burnett (soprano and tenor saxophones), Michael Lytle (bass clarinet), and myself, Michael Moss (Bb clarinet), Steve Cohn (piano), Billy Stein (guitar), Rick Iannacone (ambient guitar), Larry Roland (string bass), Warren Smith (percussion, vibraphones), Badal Roy (tabla), Chuck Fertal (drums), and Michael Wimberly (djembe, African bells and percussion). Listen On Bandcamp  

Free Jazz Composer Michael Moss Debuts Two Major Compositions On His New Release HELIX. Multi-instrumentalist/composer Michael Moss, a veteran of New York’s free jazz scene, has assembled a brand-new band, the Accidental Orchestra, featuring 22 of the most exciting improvisers on the jazz scene today. His new CD HELIX is the premiere recording of a pair of his latest extended compositions. HELIX kicks off with “The Old One,” which gets its title from Einstein’s name for God. Moss describes this five-piece suite as “an initiation into sacred ground.” He views it as part of a musical tradition stretching from the earliest ritual over the dead to Bach’s Mass in B Minor, through Native American rites of passage into the spirit world, the Jewish mourner’s Kaddish, and Buddhist funeral rituals. Moss wrote "See Sharp or Be Flat/C# or Bb" while recovering from a fracture suffered in tripping over a curb. The composer brings a quirky sense of humor to the situation, right down to deciding to name his ensemble the Accidental Orchestra in memory of the incident. Moss aimed to let the band swing on this contrapuntal theme and variations mixing jazz, rhythm and blues, and the joy of dance. “Throughout I refer to Norwegian Wood (The Beatles), I Feel Good (James Brown), and Bags Groove (the Modern Jazz Quartet), but do not resort to familiar big band tropes,” Moss explains. “This is a type of string orchestra, but with lots of jazz musicians pushing the boundaries.” The Chicago-born, Madison, Wisconsin-educated Michael Moss has been an active member of the New York jazz scene for 50 years, earning recognition for his skill and imagination as a multi-reed player, and for the freshness and intensity of his writing. The self-described “farthest-out cat” was a mainstay of Manhattan’s famed loft jazz scene, playing with Sam Rivers, Dave Liebman, Paul Bley, Annette Peacock, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Richie Beirach and scores of others. He’s equally at home from a duo setting to an orchestra of 50-plus players. As a composer, Moss assigns time signatures to segments of his pieces, but the final form of any given composition depends entirely on the interaction of the musicians.  A sense of space marks much of his work.  Though, like most avant artists he shifts tempos frequently and sometimes drops the meter altogether, he and the group under his direction tend to listen more and play in the openings.  Though his music clearly arises from the jazz tradition, Moss draws heavily from disparate folk idioms.  American blues and Latin rhythmic influences are obvious in his work, but Israeli folk melodies (out of his own Jewish origins) or Tibetan chants (appropriated on a trip to India) are equally likely to emerge in his performances.  Listeners can’t help but be captivated by what they hear, as they accompany Moss and the Accidental Orchestra on this life-long journey. "Playing free, but still playing together--it's a question of moving forward by moving backwards and sideways at the same time," Moss says obliquely, and yet the music seems to do just this, and makes sense. Robert LaBrasca, Press Connection and Rolling Stone writer (1986). "Moss' music is conceptually complex and musically brilliant, reaching across ages, cultures and continents for rhythms, phrases, melodies, and harmonics to produce a sound which is fascinating yet unsettling because it is foreign but so familiar." Fred Waitzkin liner notes Michael Moss/Four Rivers Cross Current (1978). What The Press Is Saying About HELIX  "This is a stunning achievement – one that demands our attention." Grady Harp, Amazon, April 2, 2018   "This fantastic album gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from me, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.99." "The 20:37 “C# or Bb” is not only my choice from this album, it’s also my personal favorite improvised set (yet) in 2018!  All the players in the orchestra challenge the boundaries on this one, & I’ve no doubt that those of you who thrive on music that stimulates creativity (in many different directions at once) will be playing this one over & over & OVER again!" "The orchestra Michael assembled for this stunning trip is amazing in and of itself…over fifteen minutes of far-out fun for all." "If it’s etherspace you’re craving for in your listening adventures, you’ll find “Mind Of God” the perfect blend of cool and cacophonous." Rotcod Zzaj,Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion ReviewsFebruary 27, 2018   Michael Moss Uses Experimental Jazz To Bring Helix To Life "While there are swing elements and other traditional jazz elements, but the form here is completely experimental. This is jazz of big ideas. And probably not for beginning jazz fans. Still, there is an energy and perceptiveness that keeps audiences listening, and that might be the most important thing of all." "From folk melodies to Renaissance orchestras, to Latin, blues and more, Moss has a nearly encyclopedic array of musical influences. According to Moss, he wants to stretch America’s musical heritage into the future while acknowledging its past innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Scott Joplin. With “Helix” it sounds as though he is doing exactly that." "The album succeeds as an experimental album based on a theme – – listeners with traditional expectations of jazz will be surprised or disappointed. But putting traditional restraints on free-flowing experimental jazz is to miss the point of the form." Dodie Miller-Gould, lemonwire, February 15, 2018   "If Avant Garde, free-form jazz is your preference, you will enjoy listening to the outer limits of Dr. Michael Moss’s artistic creativity. Michael Moss is a 50-year veteran of the New York “free” jazz scene. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and a composer, Chicago-born. At times, this music reminds me of the Chicago Art Ensemble, except that this production features a twenty-two piece orchestra. The Moss production is all over the place, spewing energy and combining instruments and notes in a unique and often dissonant manner."  "I was particularly drawn to the final “SEE SHARP OR BE FLAT” composition that features a provocative violin solo with complimentary string ensemble support. This composition gives more opportunity for individual players to step forward and solo. I found the guitar solo to be outstanding with Warren Smith’s percussion bright and tasty beneath it."  "If you have a taste for a project that’s out-of-the-ordinary, the Accidental Orchestra will soothe your palate." Dee Dee McNeil,February 28, 2018 "It is a work to be heard without prejudices, reminiscent of certain episodes of the music of Anthony Braxton."  "There is everything from the more traditional jazz, with a swing of the rhythm section, to more material and abstract moments like in the long Inception, with instruments like the djembe or the tabla that give a sense of world, or the oboe of Richard Keene, with his nasal sound that stands out on the whole set." "Between moments more free and others more tied to the mainstream Moss demonstrates its music culture and the ability to consistently put together moments inspired by different historical periods." "A great record of this big band." Vittorio Lo Conte, Music Zoom, April, 2018   "The music and albums of this native of Chicago are always distinguished by their originality, and often the use of elements of various ethnic musical cultures."  "In general - an excellent album for advanced fans of jazz music and, probably, quite a complex work for neophytes." Leonid Auskern, Nestor Media, March, 2018   "Sun Ra-ish Swing" "The Accidental Orchestra is comprised of a “Who’s Who” of the New York Improvised Music Scene." "A dissonant, yet strangely colorful and delightful series of chords emerge with a startling intensity." “See Sharp or Be Flat”begins with a shout of joy. It’s a jazz expression of an acceptance of all the good and bad things life throws at us."  “Bridge”swings, walks, and flows like a rich liquid, as if it is urging you to follow its path."  "Moss cultivates an intricate musical garden, then allows it to run wild, knowing quite well the trajectories each living thing will take."  "A master of multiple reed instruments, and compositions . . . Moss knows how to handle himself. His musical inspirations are not limited by genre, culture, or historical period.  To transcend the constant danger of self indulgence and perform music that serves to communicate real ideas and real experiences in service of higher ideals is the sign of a master. Michael Moss and the Accidental Orchestra have accomplished this." Dawoud Kringle,DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY, March, 2018  

"MICHAEL MOSS/Helix:  The loft jazz mainstay puts together an Accidental Orchestra, in which the gang is all here, and sets out for places only hinted at in “Metal Machine Music’.  Using Einstein’s name for God as the jumping off point, I’ll bet this how things sound in heaven when Metatron dawdles over a second cup of coffee."

Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher, Midwest Record 

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