#and only watches japanese top gear

[theloveinc]

There's a lot of validity in the idea that older Bakugo is a traumatized pro-hero with major PTSD... but you know what's kinda fucked up to think about? The fact that Bakugo is also a 22-year-old pro-hero with major PTSD even before that, too.

It's almost easy to imagine that things are actually better when he's older (the therapy finally a routine, the trauma long set and on the path to being healed)... and that it's his whole 20s that are spent as a pool of disaster trying to recover from the war(s).

He looks back and barely even remembers being twenty, much less twenty-five or twenty-seven. Barely remembers how little he slept, not at the hands of trying to balance hero work and getting a degree at the same time, but just out of the pure insomnia that came from trying to move on and every nightmare attached.

Hardly ever showering, never shaving (not that he ever grew much of a beard, but the facial hair was definitely there. There's pictures of him on the news with an awkward, grown out haircut and patches on facial hair that make him look positively... immature), barely even eating more than a few protein bars or an energy jelly drink-a day. It's a blur, and his friends are hardly there to pick him up out of it because they're all going through it, too. Somewhat.

It's definitely weird if you meet him during this period. He's not all there, at least, not all of the time. He doesn't really register your interactions, the friendship you extend to him (a younger, or ever older, version of him would've shown you that deep seeded ferocity in response, tried to bite the hand that fed him, even if it were love... but 20s Bakugo... doesn't seem to notice). Even though only one of his eyes is clouded over, the good one never seems to brighten up.

There's definitely moments when the old him shines through: when he's with Deku, when he's in the midst of battle, when he finds out that Todoroki still does a shitty job at chopping scallions. But it's a long time before he's even close to the same, able to step out from underneath the fog of simply surviving and into the sunshine of recovering.

But I think sticking through it with him is worth it.

(It's a weird moment, a happy moment, the first time you realize that Bakugo has changed. That the pouring rain outside hasn't bothered him since he showed up at your apartment. He forgot his umbrella, he's been quite careless ever since the war—wet and shaggy hair frizzed up, cheeks red from cold—but he doesn't seem to mind, with his bare feet up on your coffee table, his eyes gazing out the window. You hand his tea, and instead of gulping it down in one go, letting it burn in his throat, he winces at the heat.

"Tastes like shit," he says, and you laugh because it always does. Just this time, he noticed.)

#bakugou x reader #bakugo #this is what crocheting a baby hat does to u #no im jk i was just thinking abt bakugo being like 22 and awkward as h*ck bc he still hasnt recovered from the war #i wanna talk abt what he's like more but this is what came out instead LOL #like i think he's really stubborn abt ... coping with after effects of dying #and then before he knows it he has major depression LMFAOO #and he can like go to work get his degree do all he needs to do as a 20-something year guy #but he's not like. *there*. you know #and you meet him and he's a binch but he's not hard to get along with #and u just sorta take him in and drag him places like idk #your school's halloween night.. or even just a night out with ur friend (he doesn't even know how to order a drink) #and he doesnt even process it all until one day he's like 'dang it feels like ive been asleep for years' #and he kinda was #but he knows youre the one who helped him and now he wants to fix himself for you bc he remembers u being there for him #but he's so funny im imagining him with like. frat boy facial hair and a really outgrown ugly mullet type haircut #and lowkey with like. greasy skin (ik he's perfect but he's in a bad state and it shows) and he eats instant noodles ever day #and only watches japanese top gear #and goes on patrols where he beats the crap outta ppl and then doesnt remember it #DREAM BOY #and then he's big hero later #anyway #caitie post #gen

[manyworldsofdarkness]

What is CURSEBORNE?

This might be of interest to any World of Darkness or Chronicles of Darkness fans or any fans of Onyx Path Publishing and White Wolf in general. We could be getting a new urban fantasy horror game series soon.

On April 10th, 2023 Onyx Path publishing’s blog brought up a hypothetical of making their own urban fantasy game series. Of course this was in response to their lack of any new WoD or CofD products as they do not own the rights to those IPs and must have approval by Paradox before working on anything. Currently Paradox is more focused on supporting their v5 products with their in house studio, Renegade Games and are no longer contracting other studios to right supplements for them for the foreseeable future. Because of this, the 20th Anniversary World of Darkness games and Chronicles of Darkness lines aren’t getting any new releases and what has already been announced and put into production are the only things to release in the near future. The only way for Onyx Path to make more urban fantasy horror games is to make their own and while they only mentioned this as a possibility, the comments section of this blog post exploded into discussions over this new potential game.

The next few blog posts afterwards continued the discussions asking people what they would like to see in a new potential horror game, such as a Masquerade system or signature characters as the comments sections only further spawned more discussion over this new world. Around this time too, Onyx Path announced their new unified version of their in-house system called Storypath Ultra, which should go without saying but will definitely be the system this potential game will be using. Then about a month later, on May 19th, on the official Onyx Path YouTube channel, this video was released https://youtu.be/fL1VPUzoB_Y?si=cR4ZPeb0wf9Kt6mM

A short seven second long animation of a murder of crows flying against a snowy tree line and the word “CURSEBORNE” forming as they all fly away. A short, mysterious teaser? Well for the next eight months Onyx Path would release a total of 30 videos of similar nature as of writing this post. Strange and short vignettes of classic horror tropes such as fog, spiders and recordings of monsters. Some would even be rereleased with minor differences and even text. I recommend watching some for yourself, there is a really eerie vibe to some. These capture more “modern” horror vibes when compared to WoD or CofD, some even feel inspired by analog horror or urban legends, the “Train” short particular reminds me of Japanese urban legends. Blog posts more or less stopped mentioning this potential game as time went on and mentions were then replaced with a strange picture of a moth, the same one at the top of this post.

On January 31st, 2024, 7:00 EST this website appeared https://www.curseborne.com/

CURSEBORNE, the title in all of those videos. The website has no text, just images of the same moth from the blog just posted all over a black background. Some will slowly fade in. Clicking on them will lead to a new page featuring one of the many teaser videos playing in your browser. Going back to the homepage, you’ll see a moth that appears to be glowing when compared to the others. Clicking it sends you to a Typeform quiz asking “Who are you?”. Answering it gives you a strange title such as “Raptor”, “Gaki”, “Archivist” etc. with a description of how you act. If I’d have to guess, these titles could be the names to new monsters or factions in CURSEBORNE. I’d like everyone who’s interested to please take this quiz and post your results on this post to see how many titles, or “paths” are found.

In short, it looks like Onyx Path is gearing up to make a new urban fantasy game using their own system. It’s not going to be World of Darkness with different names, but its own unique take on the concept.

#curseborne #World of Darkness #chronicles of darkness #onyx path publishing #white wolf publishing #TTRPG #Youtube

[gamerpup1]

otacon character ai for your twink needs

[{Character(“Hal Emmerich”)

Alias(“Otacon”)

Gender(“Nonbinary man”)

Age(“38")

Sexuality(“Gay" + "Attracted to men")

Height(“5'10” + "177 cm")

Language(“English" + "Japanese")

Status(“Single”)

Occupation("Engineer at ArmsTech" + “Computer programmer”)

Personality(“Whiny" + "Intelligent" + "Nerdy" + "Nervous" + "Fidgety" + "Gifted scientist" + "Optimistic" + "Selfless" + "Responsible" + "Level-headed" + "Passive" + "Loyal" + "Autistic" + "Socially awkward" + "Introvert" + "Confident in his hacking ability" + "Caring" + "Brilliant" + "Anxious" + “Lonely”)

Skills("Hacking” + “Engineering” + “Tinkering”)

Appearance("Thick and messy shoulder length gray hair" + "Curtain bangs" + "Messy stubble" + "Baggy white jacket" + "Blue shirt" + "Baggy gray sweatpants" + "Light blue tennis shoes" + "Baggy clothes" + "Circle glasses" + "Lanky" + "Skinny" + "Scrawny" + "Very little body hair" + "Light arm hair" + "Light leg hair" + "Light chest hair" + "Top surgery scars" + "Trans scars" + "Gray happy trail" + "Black stud earrings" + “Slender”)

Habit(“Adjusting his glasses” + “Pushing his glasses up” + “Whining” + “Talking about anime” + “Making references to anime” + “Asking strange questions” + “Occasionally pulls his hair up” + “Fidgeting with his hands” + “Stuttering” + “Rambling” + “Slouching”)

Race(“Human”)

Likes("Anime” + “Neon Genesis Evangelion” + “Scrambled eggs” + “Video games” + “Hacking” + “Captain Falcon” + “Super Smash Bros” + “Rainy days” + “Snowy days” + “Being warm” + “Cuddling” + “Physical affection” + “{{user}}” + “Reading” + “Watching anime” + “Seafood” + “Sushi”)

Dislikes("Extreme cold" + “Gunshots” + “Loud noises” + “Heights” + “Being yelled at” + “Being harmed” + “Being sick” + “Dead silence” + “Rude people” + “Being made fun of” + “People who don’t understand his favorite shows” + “Being ignored” + “Being betrayed”)

Relationships("Mother named Strangelove” + “Father name Huey” + “Stepsister named Emma” + “Stepmom named Elizabeth”)

Ethnicity("Japanese” + "Caucasian" + “Mixed race”)

Kinks("Praise kink" + “Loves to roleplay in bed” + “Loves soft sex” + “Loves when his partner praises him” + “Loves being overstimulated” + “Secretly loves wearing women’s lingerie” + “Loves being tied up” + “Submissive during sex”) 

Attributes(“Whiny voice" + "Scared of heights" + "Rambles a lot" + "Loves talking about anime" + “On the autism spectrum” + “Jewish” + “Otaku” + “Experiences love at first sight”)

Backstory("Hal Emmerich was born in 1980 to scientists Huey Emmerich and Strangelove via Cesarean section. Huey was a big fan of science fiction movies, specially the HAL 9000 computer featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey, as a result of the film getting himself and Strangelove closer.

Hal spent his early years living with his parents in an XOF research facility in Afghanistan. He ended up being considered by his father for use as a test subject for Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, as its cockpit was so small that only a child could pilot it. This resulted in a huge falling out between Hal's parents. Strangelove vehemently disagreed with Huey's proposition. 

After a long argument, Strangelove and Huey eventually got a divorce with Strangelove taking Hal in the process. They moved to America in order for Strangelove to focus on her development of Metal Gear where she married a woman named Elizabeth who had a daughter named Emma.

Hal was homeschooled due to his interest and fixation on computers and, with his internet-based self studies, he was able to be accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned his PhD at a young age. After attending MIT, he attended Princeton University where he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. The FBI soon spotted Hal's achievements and hired him for their ERF, soon kicking him out however as he was caught monitoring and hacking into their central database.

Eventually, Hal was hired by the defense contractor ArmsTech. At ArmsTech, Emmerich developed a series of new technologies, including stealth camouflage, that were officially adopted by the U.S. Army. Following this, he became the lead engineer for the Metal Gear REX project. During development, Hal was led to believe that REX was a mobile defense system, but in reality it was a weapon possessing nuclear strike capability.")}]

#change what you want as always #hal emmerich #metal gear solid #character ai

[raine-kai]

OPLA Japanese Dub Ep 1 Thoughts

Due to life interruptions I never did the full watch through in the Japanese dub that I'd intended to do, so I am starting it now.

I'm actually pretty happy that I had about a month between watching it in English and watching the Japanese dub, because it's given me time to get used to the way I see the characters in English before throwing in the wrench that is their anime personas evoked by the voice actors.

Hoo boy do I have thoughts.

Gold Roger's introductory lines are a little weaker, a little more awkward in the dub. They strike as good a balance as one could expect between the original lines, and having to match the mouth movements and beats of the English, but it creates awkward pauses that just give it less oomf factor.

Gosh Luffy's introduction was strange. Luffy is using words that I would never imagine him to know in the manga/anime, and it was a little jarring at first.

That said, lines that are more geared towards English-language jokes like "Mutiny!" and "It's only my first day!" were edited to be comments like, "Well that didn't work" and "Oh well, it'll work out" respectively, which also grounded me a little more back to anime-Luffy.

The Luffy-Koby dialogue felt a lil more expositiony in Japanese than it felt in English to me, but not in a way that was too distracting. It is exposition, and it's hard to make that flow naturally in a dub.

One of the insults Luffy throws at Alvida was ドS, and my instinctive response was "omg Luffy, who taught you that word????"

Zoro's anime voice coming out of Mackenyu's mouth was a lil weird at first. Because Zoro also speaks slowly in English, in shots where his mouth is visible when he's talking, there's the Gold Roger issue again where his lines feel oddly paced due to having to speak slowly and match the mouth movements.

Nami's voice actress bringing her manga personality into her live action counterpart was a little weird to hear at first, because that whole joyfully conniving side of her seemed largely toned down or absent in the live action, to me. By the end of the episode I was used to it, though.

I have a feeling it's going to be so much harder to like Helmeppo with his anime actor's voice 😂

The Luffy-Zoro meeting when Zoro is tied up scene worked so well, I love this version of Luffy, though Zoro's lines still at some points felt a little oddly paced.

When Luffy tells Zoro, "I'll go high, you go low" in the Japanese dub, it comes out more like, "I'll be on top, you'll be below" with less innuendo than that denotes in English, but definitely with an implication of the power structure that Luffy will have with Zoro. It surprised me a little that Zoro wouldn't object on principle, but then again, different version of Zoro.

I'd also just like to say that as someone with a history with both the LuNa ship and the ZoroLu ship, as well as some guilt-reading of ZoroNami I've done through the years, I can't help but look at some things through shipping goggles.

The way that Nami doesn't try to betray or abandon Luffy at any point through this episode strikes me as very <3

The line "so that's where it goes!" when Zoro puts Wado Ichimonji in his mouth was changed in the dub to "OOOOO, kakkoiiiii" in a way that felt way more enthusiastic than anime Luffy ever was praising Zoro.

Nami cutting in to remind them that they have to get away was just said in a way that made me feel like she, too, sees that Luffy and Zoro are having a meet cute. (Which, frankly, is easy to headcanon—it would explain why she is so fast to call Zoro Luffy's first mate, and perhaps why she is less inclined to be suspicious of them, seeing that they are building a fast, strong connection.)

The music continues to be excellent.

The way the map gets filled in through the ending credits is lovely and I'm glad I have time to watch them through this round <3

#opla #one piece #zoro x luffy #monkey d. luffy #luffy #roronoa zoro #zoro #nami #japanese dub

[absolutebl]

Hey!! I’m relatively new to BL and have been binging a BUNCH as of late (now watching Until We Meet Again). I love your blog; it’s been such a helpful companion to my understanding the constructs of this genre and has absolutely enhanced my enjoyment!

My question is: who do you think are the best actors in BL (currently and past)? Top 5? Top 10? Top what whatever-number-you-want?

Though there has definitely been some… shaky acting, I’ve been impressed at how many good (even great!) actors I’ve discovered. I’ve especially become a fan of Nanon (Bad Buddy) and Sam Lin (We Best Love).

Feel free to change this question to your “favorite” actors if that feels more right to you! (Also not being exclusionary of an actor’s gender or role in the series!)

Hi hi, welcome! Delighted to be of help. Ooo, I should say acting is certainly a matter of personal taste, but considering that, here's my... 

Top 10 Best Actors In BL

I'm going to judge ONLY on their BL, so in the case of certain Japanese actors, for example, they may be great with a huge back catalog, but they may not have been served well by the role/script they were given for their BL.

Sam Lin (We Best Love) - Sam is, hands down, my favorite actor ever to do BL. I talk about why here. 

Nanon Korapat (Bad Buddy) - I think objectively, from a pure technique standpoint, Nanon may be one of the best actors we’ve ever gotten. I talk about what I mean by that here. 

Saint Suppapong (Love By Chance, Why R U?) - I talk about why I love his acting style so much (and why I think it’s pretty unique) here.

PP Krit (I Told Sunset About You) - I’ve never finished this show, still RECOGNIZE this boy’s extreme talent, because that’s part of what was too much for me. 

Suzuki Jin (Given, My Love Mix-up) - did you know the lead seme in Given was played by THE SAME actor as Aoki’s bestie in Kieta Hatsukoi? Yeah, that’s how good he is. 

Fluke Natouch (Until We Meet Again, Close Friend) - honestly boy can cry on dime, that’s really hard to do, and he’s really good at it, also he plays a deranged murderer pretty well too. DUALITY! 

Ohm Pawat (Bad Buddy, He’s Coming To Me, Make it Right, Dew the movie) - I talk about his acting style here. 

Gun Atthaphan (Not Me, Theory of Love, Puppy Honey) - and I talk about him here. 

Gong Jun (Word of Honor, Advance Bravely) - maybe not the best actor on this list (not sure about his range as he always seems to play the same kind of cheeky character). I just find his style very appealing and I’m delighted by the fact that he successfully executed both uke and seme roles. (To be fair Tay Tawan has done this too.) But honestly, how does he seem so baby as Xia Yao when the boy is like 6ft+? 

Fiat Pattadon (My Gear and Your Gown, SOTUS S, Triage) - he’s never anchored a BL, but he has been in quite a few of them, and he is a completely different person no matter what he’s in. I like his changeable nature. 

This post as of mid 2022, subject to change as my taste changes and new actors appear

(source) 

#Gun Atthaphan #ohm pawat #thai actors #Sam Lin #taiwanese actor #thai bl #Taiwanese bl #Nanon Korapat #Bad Buddy #He’s Coming To Me #Make it Right #Word of Honor #Chinese actor #chinese bl #Advance Bravely #fiat pattadon #Saint Suppapong #Love By Chance #Why R U? #PP Krit #I Told Sunset About You #Suzuki Jin #japanese actor #japanese bl #adapted from a manga #live action yaoi #Kieta Hatsukoi #My Love Mix-up #Given live action #Fluke Natouch

[melishade]

Z-King: Raf showing Hange the improvements on the 3D Gear. Raf: And that's how you can integrate Cybertronian tech into your gear. Hange:😐. Raf:🤨 Hange then grabs ahold of the boy in a huge hug. Hange: It is official. I'm adopting you! Raf:😓 Uh...but I'm not an orphan. Hange: Don't care, I'm keeping you!

Jack, Miko, and Raf in AOP

"Hanji, give him back!" Jack shouted at her.

"He's too sweet!" Hanji whined.

"We fear his mom more than Levi! Give him back!" Miko shouted at her.

"Can I at least get some snacks?" Raf asked Hanji.

Jack shoots Hanji with a tranq gun.

Some additional thoughts on this topic:

-Once Jack, Miko, and Raf hear about the island devils rhetoric and what not, they give each other a look and question if they should say something about the whole "Unicron" bit.

"I already face enough discrimination with my family back on Earth," Raf reminded, "I don't need that here."

"And the internment zone are reminding me of Japanese interment zones during World War II," Miko added.

"I just feel guilty being here with you two," Jack lamented.

"As you should," they both told him.

Two:

Jack, Miko, and Raf hear about Kenny and are a little confused.

"You mean Jack the Ripper," Raf corrected.

"No, Kenny the Ripper," Levi explained, "He slit the throats of over 100 MP's."

"Oh shit, Jack the Ripper killed 5 people and they were prostitutes," Miko commented.

Kenny almost outs himself right then and there because he has standards and doesn't target prostitutes! Kuchel would've killed him for it.

Three:

The three kids end up introducing the Survey Corps to music. Miko is bummed she doesn't have her electric guitar, but she does have acoustic so she can work with that. Not that much amp and fire though. Jack and Raf think it's for the best. But the Survey Corps fall in love with what they have to offer.

Four:

Jack, Miko, and Raf don't like the Marleyans at all. They think they're racist pieces of shit, but agree to not engage. However, one comment becomes too many, especially when insulting friends and...

“And what? You’re going to stop us by yourself?” the soldier mocked.

“Not me,” Jack answered as he set the time, “Miko!”

Miko stopped as she was about to take a bite of an apple. She raised her head and turned to Jack.

“You have five minutes!” Jack told her as he showed his phone, “No guns! No tasers! Have fun!”

Miko smiled wickedly as she threw the apple to Sasha, who caught it.

“Raf, play me my music!” Miko yelled as she took off her jacket and threw it behind her.

“Her music?” Armin asked Rafael as her jacket hit Jean in the face.

Rafael pressed play on his laptop and a loud, fast-tempo melody boomed through the speakers.

“I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation!”

Miko punched the first soldier in the face, knocking him out cold. Miko screamed at the top of her lungs before tackling a second one to the ground.

“Oh my God!” Hanji exclaimed as other soldiers tried to pry Miko off of him.

“Shouldn’t we do something?!” Jean exclaimed.

“She’ll be fine,” Jack said nonchalantly as he stared at the watch.

“The whore bit me!” one shouted, only to be kicked in the face by Miko.

She takes out 20 soldiers. One of whom she kicks in the crotch, and the other she hits in the back of the head with a chair. The only reason she even wins is because she's had more training, and Marleyan soldiers have become quite arrogant and don't have the same training regiment Earth has. The Eldian soldiers would definitely be stronger than the Marleyans.

#transformers prime #tfp #jack darby #miko nakadai #rafael esquivel #attack on titan #aot #snk #shingeki no kyojin #hanji zoe #armin arlert #levi ackerman #captain levi #kenny ackerman #snk marley #eldia #jean kirschtien #attack on prime #crossover #ao3 #fanfic #what if tfp kids were sent to aop

[runawaycarouselhorse]

@0461's blog reminds me of when I was a little kid, before my dad got cable [so until I was like 7 years old), when we had only two TV channels (if I messed with the antennae, I'd sometimes get a grainy, black and white signal from nearby Bahrain or Kuwait--Saudi Channels 1 and 2. Saudi Channel 2 was (it no longer exists) for the American and British ex-pats in Aramco and had TV shows in English, but it was mostly old stuff, like English-dubbed Kimba, Mr. Bean, 50's shows, some 80's-90's toons.

The Arabic Saudi Channel 1 (which still exists) had Maruko, Doraemon, fairy tale anime, and aired a lot of the same classic cartoons as the English channel did (... but with cuts and a bit less respect for child viewers, imaging we won't notice if they cut away mid-episode and then put on a different cartoon afterwards... which put me off and made me a little original-language-purist at a young age. ^^;;; )

That said, I still have very fond memories of watching those shows, especially as Maruko-chan, Doraemon, and many fairy tale anime never saw an English dub release, so the Arabic dub was the only way I could've seen them as a kid!

... also reminded of all those cute and colourful, but very cheap, pens, highlighters, markers, stationary, etc., with cute Sanrio characters or other cute mascot characters that... well, didn't work very well for art, so I knew to buy something of higher quality like something from Faber-Castell or Crayola, but they were so cute or sometimes had pleasant smells, so you couldn't fully regret buying them once... they're just cute to look at.

(Looking it up, looks like there are higher quality art markers and such that's Sanrio-branded, but I only meant the cheap, schoolkid-geared stationary, sometimes not even officially licensed products, but Sanrio's too huge to care...)

Mostly Japanese stationary on that blog, we also had some really cute Korean stationary like Orange Story sold here... those characters were so cute.

@tamatoch it's a blog like yours, you'd like it, I think! ^^ If you didn't already know it...

... one of my little lined notepads I used as a sketchpad as a kid seems to be a knock-off of Orange Story, even.

Top right's a knock-off of Pink Hana, but with some effort to change the hair and outfit up, so kind of creative for a knock-off! Bottom left looks like it's mixing a Cherry-like face with this White outfit, but with jeans? (This picture is from this page collecting Orange Story images.)

#basically nostalgia for kodomo anime and cute East Asian stationary and mascot characters #my childhood #kidcore #stationary #breathe in that early 2000's outfit though #I wore a pink shirt like that with a generic anime-esque girl design my dad lovingly bought

[theanticool]

My 10 favorite things from combat sport in 2022

Instead of my favorite fights or knockouts or moments, here are my favorite things about what was going on in combat sports in 2022.

1.The Match (tm) - We got one of the best fights that could have been made in the whole of combat sports - Takeru vs Tenshin Nasukawa. It was bittersweet in someways, as this served as Tenshin’s goodbye from kickboxing as he chases boxing $$$ and a long hiatus for Takeru as he tries to recover from his first high profile loss. Also it was only 3 rounds. But ultimately, we are all better off from having seen the fight. And it was a tremendous fight and a fantastic card that featured the very best of Japanese kickboxing, which is talent-wise as deep as it has been in a long, long time.

2. The Continued Rise of Women’s Boxing - This year saw the success of two high profile cards that were headlined by women - the Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano card which was at MSG and the Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall fight which was at 02 Arena in London. And they were successful. Having got to attend the Taylor-Serrano match-up in person, it was amazing to see how many people flew out from Ireland to watch the first ever women’s boxing match to headline at the legendary MSG. Shields and Marshall was also highly successful, grossing millions of views on domestic TV while also selling out there venue. Not to mention Shields-Marshall also featuring a high profile fight between Alycia Baumgardner and Mikaela Mayer which drew media attention for their trash talk. And to top it all off, they were amazing fights. Great displays of technique as well as good old fashion slugging. They were dramatic. They were action packed. And most importantly, they left the people wanting more. Which we seemed geared to get in 2023 as we have a number of huge fights coming up on the horizon.

3. Big year for dramatic comebacks and bag fumbling - Leigh Wood vs Michael Conlan set the standard this year for amazing displays of drama and fumbling the bag, and it was followed by fights like Teixeira-Prochazka, Izzy-Pereira, etc. It’s been a crazy year of dramatic final rounds where either one guy makes a mistake in a dead even fight and ends up losing (Gane going for a leg lock against Ngannou) or a guy who is likely ahead on the scorecards just getting caught in the final round (Conlan-Wood, Usman-Edwards, Teixeira-Prochazka, Izzy-Pereira). And that’s when combat sports are at their best. When one guy just goes all out with his back to the wall and prevails despite the odds.

4. ONE Championship Kickboxing and Muay Thai - Feels cheap to put this in one place but it is true. ONE Championship’s kickboxing and muay thai divisions have made it must watch viewing. Tawanchai vs Petchmorakot, Roman Kryklia, Rodtang, Nong-O, the entire featherweight and light divisions, etc. It has been so much fun. Watching Chingiz Allazov defeat Sittichai was an amazing moment I didn’t see coming. Hiroki Akimoto taking the title off of Capitan in an amazing fight only to turn and lose it to Petchtanong? That’s the good stuff! I’m glad that if ONE is going to lose money, they’re doing it by giving us dream fights and by broadcasting elite Thai fighters to a Western audience. 

5. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez vs Juan Francisco Estrada 3 - This was my most anticipated fight of the year. Just like their 2nd fight was. And while I’m a Chocolatito guy (and always will be), I can’t be mad at the outcome. While I worry a tad about how “losing” this trilogy will affect his long term legacy, I don’t think in the end it will matter cause both of these men are on that esteemed 100 greatest boxers to ever live list imo. It was an outstanding fight worthy of all the praise you can muster and an amazing moment closing an incredible era of super flyweight (the most entertaining weight class). 

6. The Comedy that has been the UFC Women’s title picture - Listen, I loved Nunes-Pena 2, Namajunas-Esparza 2, and Shevchenko-Santos. For entirely different reasons, they are all some of the funniest fights in recent memory. Nunes deciding that instead of countering, parrying, or slipping the jab that gave her fits in their first match, she was going to go completely southpaw. And it worked so well she knocked Pena down 3x in the first 2 rounds of the fight? Had me hysterical! Or Rose, a known headcase fighter, being so intimidated by the idea of grappling with Carla Esparza that she basically shadowboxed Carla from 4 feet away for 25 minutes only to lose anyway? Comedy gold. Or Valentina, in a closer than expected fight, just headbutting the crap out of Taila Santos and breaking her orbital to swing the momentum of the fight and secure the win? HILARIOUS. Great stuff. No notes. 

7. Alex Pereira proving MMA is still stupid - Alex Pereira does not know how to wrestle. I’m not sure if he knows how to sweep from guard. I’m not sure dude could put in a RNC to save his life in an actual MMA contest. But he is the UFC middleweight champion! And if we’re beating real, given the chance, there is no reason he couldn’t knockout a fighter like Jiri and become a 2 weight champion. There’s an absurdity in having someone who is so obviously green in so many aspects of the sport just come in a destroy arguably the 2nd or 3rd best fighter that division has ever seen. Even if Pereira had beaten Izzy in kickboxing prior. The real best base for MMA is having wins over whoever the champ is in another sport. 

8. Bellator vs RIZIN - this isn’t on the list because it was the most enjoyable. Much like your normal Bellator card, the undercard (RIZIN 40) was actually crazier from an action standpoint. But it’s on this list because of how important it is. For the first time since DREAM was on like HD Net, a Japanese promotion was on US television. And Showtime, no less. Not AXS TV or as a rerun on like MSG 2 like I’ve seen with old M-1 cards. Bellator and RIZIN have been no stranger to sharing talent in the past but with this type of open collaboration, I’m really hoping it blooms and spreads. Bellator needs a hook. RIZIN wants a way into the US market as the Japanese one seems to be stagnant. Hopefully this partnership helps propel both promotions upwards. 

9. Alexander Volkanovski’s performance against Max Holloway in trilogy fight - This was the best I have ever seen an MMA fighter look in a 25 minute fight. It is an all time great performance against a P4P GOAT. Maybe part of it was Max falling off or Volk having 50 minutes of accumulated cage time with Max to pull from, but that doesn’t take away from what we saw. Volk is operating on a completely different level right now than basically anyone in the sport. He is clicking athletically, technically, and strategically. If anyone deserves to move up and challenge for the belt, it’s Volk. Don’t know what his chances are but if anyone can beat Islam right now, it’s him. 

10. Demetrious Johnson’s revenge KO over Adriano Moraes - yes, I think Edwards-Usman is the more deserving KO of the year winner. But this one is special to me. This is like when Roman Gonzalez KOed Kal Yafai in his first real test following his KO loss to Sor Rungvisai and I was just full of joy. DJ showed why he is one of the smartest fighters in the sport, adjusting brilliantly to what Moraes showed in their first fight to deliver one of the most aesthetically beautiful knockouts in MMA history. 

Honorable mention: 

- Dmitry Bivol’s dissection of Canelo Alvarez - a reminder that just because “we” don’t know the other guy, doesn’t mean they’re not good. And Bivol is P4P best in the sport good. 

-  The emergence of Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez - Doubt Bam ever become a PPV star like Eddie and Matchroom want but that kid is special. Like, put the sub super-bantamweight divisions on the map special. Like P4P talent special. And watching emerge as a star in 2022 has been incredible. It not for Bivol, he was the runaway pick for FOTY imo. He’s got a bright, bright future ahead of him.

- Boxing delivered this year imo - I know. You all wanted Crawford-Spence and Usyk-Fury, but I got most of the other fights I wanted and they were fire - Gonzalez-Estrada 3, Charlo-Castano 2, Shields-Marshall, Talyor-Serrano, Inoue-Donaire 2, GGG-Murata, Spence-Ugas, Stevenson-Valdez (Shut up, I enjoyed it), etc. 

#mma #boxing #kickboxing

[prismatoxic]

for anyone who is not into metal gear, who is wondering how the fuck my queer military-hating ass got into what appears to be a military shooter series, allow me to explain:

the story of the games (i am mostly talking about mgs but the original 2 metal gears are probably the same) are very anti-military down the road, as in, "i trust and believe in the military, i am a good soldier, Oh No They Have Betrayed Me because the military is corrupt, i am now my own man fighting for my own beliefs"

on top of that, they take themselves seriously only about 50% of the time (mostly 2 and 3, but 1 and 4 have their moments and even 5 is occasionally a little cheeky). these games are very silly, and they know they are very silly. they also know how to deliver an emotional gut-punch that will leave you writhing on the floor. (looking at you mgs3, and side-eyeing you mgs4)

the plot may sound convoluted from the outside, and... well, it is, but probably less than kingdom hearts is. or maybe about the same. if you can handle kingdom hearts you can handle metal gear. either way, the 45-minute cutscenes are not just filler, they do genuinely try and explain everything. i'd say 4 is the most batshit, story-wise, but it also ties a ribbon on the story of the entire solid saga, so it's worth seeing if you like the other 3. (you are then free to disregard or fix as much as you want in fanwork, natch.)

the game does geek out over guns and mechs, i'm not going to lie. however it does not ask you to do the same. there is no mechanic wherein you must know the exact specifications of a gun to win the game. the game also uses a lot of military jargon, and also makes a bunch of shit up. however i personally found that context clues explained most things. suspension of disbelief is also wildly important.

the characters are good. that's it, that's the point of this paragraph. the characters are very good. they are over-the-top a lot of the time and the dialogue is often very hokey and the voice acting is sometimes particularly hammy, and i hear everyone but david hayter phoned it in for the gamecube remake of the first game, but it all spells out a cohesive cast of bozos whom i love.

are there issues? yes. david hayter was shitcanned for mgs5 and all surrounding materials because hideo kojima wanted a bigger name in his lead role, despite david hayter having voiced (almost) every snake in every english voiced game up until that point. (kojima claimed it was to make the game more serious, but the japanese voice actor did not change at all despite being equally hammy, and otacon's eng VA voices otacon's father in mgs5, so. make of that what you will.)

the series also does not treat women well. it tries to, sometimes, but it will still sexualize them in ways that feel demeaning, often detracting from the weight of whatever story they are trying to tell.

the aforementioned 45-minute cutscenes are also... kind of an issue. (they get longer, too, especially in 4.) like, some of us have things to do, kojima.

and of course, konami booted kojima from their company sometime during 5's production; say what you will about the man, but metal gear was his baby. (personally i'd have preferred they stop at 4 anyway, and kojima had tried to quit the series several times, but wiping his credits from 5's box and continuing to make the series without him feels scummy.)

there are other issues, things i've forgotten or didn't see fit to discuss at length, but at the end of the day none of this sours the series for me. (well, maybe everything post 4, but. not the rest of them.) i enjoy the story and characters and settings a lot, and... well, i watched my partner play them, so idk about the gameplay. but i was very enraptured watching, and have already written one fic and am working on another. (both otasune.) i will draw some things when i get my art mojo back, too.

so... i hope that explains it. i mean, i can see why it might appear to come out of left field from a storied fan of persona, but really, it's not that much of a stretch. i have a lot of reasons to be here.

...did i mention the overt homoeroticism? that's. that's there too.

#mgs #tox.txt #under a read more because i am a benevolent man

[nerdby]

On TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

I'm 33 years old and I've loved the turtles my whole life. I've seen the original 1990 movie so many times it's memorized, I've read the original 80s comics, and have watched and enjoyed every TMNT cartoon series on the market. My favorites were the 2003 and 2012 series, and I even went to see the God fucking awful Micheal Bay 2014 film in theaters.

The original 1980s TMNT comics were a parody of 1980s comic book tropes, but they also had a sense of realness to them. Raphael struggled with depression because Splinter was not the greatest father, no matter how hard he tried to be. Whether he meant to or not, Splinter practiced favoritism and pitted his sons against each other. On top of that the turtles were literally homeless teenagers and literally had to fight to live. Michelangelo dealt with the trauma of his life with humor and is an obvious case of ADHD while Donatello chose NOT to deal and to distract himself with science and tinkering instead, becoming the Tony Stark of the group. Leonardo, the favorite, was the only one to thrive even a little bit.

So, YES, the OG turtles were more mature but that's because maturity comes from experience. That is why girls often grow up faster than boys because more responsibility is placed on us growing up while boys are often coddled with a boys will be boys mentality. The turtles did NOT have the luxury of being coddled. They were homeless teenagers and the sons of a very old school, conservative Japanese immigrant. They had to fight and steal to SURVIVE, regardless of their age.

I have no issues with the fact that this is geared towards a younger audience. My problem with this is the ableist humor -- if you watch the trailer jokes are made invalidating Raphael's mental health issues, taking shots at the original 1990 film -- and that this is the shittiest example of claymation I've ever seen. All of it together seems to imply that the makers of this new film think the original 1990 film was a piece of shit that took itself too seriously.

#random thoughts #kind of a rant #comic books #mental health #idw comics #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem #ninja turtles mutant mayhem #raphael hamato #ninja turtles mutant madness #graphic novels #tmnt the last ronin #tmnt 1990 #comic book movies #cbm #comic book history #nerd thoughts #nerd problems #reality check #bipoc representation #asian representation #japan #stop asian hate #depression #adhd #nostalgia #1990s nostalgia #1990s movies

[shifted-nights-au]

Shifted Nights Part 9

He found himself staring at a darkened ceiling. The first thing he truly felt in his own body was the soft cushioning of a bed on his back. His bare back. Where was he, again?

He forced his head to turn, earning a few loud pops. His gaze slowly floated from on object to another, slowly naming each one in his head as he goes along.

Nighstand, lamp, beanbag, filing cabinet...

His head turned with his gaze. As he slowly blinked back to conciousness, he realized he could smell something baking (how he could smell without a nose was something he could never understand).

Drawers, flower pot, mirror, lockbox...

The ringing in his ears slowly died down, only to leave the gentle hum of voices in another room.

Chair, door, lightswitch, stool...

His mouth tasted sour. He realized that he hadn't eaten anything since the improvised dinner with Evan and Henry.

Closet doors, drawers, suitcase, picture frame...

Jeremy.

Jeremy and Fritz.

And Gregory.

Right.

He looked back at the ceiling and drew in a deep breath. The room was only lit by the light trickling in from the ajar bedroom door. He slowly sat up, adjusting to his surroundings. He looked down at his body.

He was mostly unclothed. Whoever moved him must've taken him out of his work clothes (with good reason, no one wants germs in their bed). He raised his arms and interlocked his hands behind his head, pushing his chest out. His spine crackled dismally, but it felt relieving. God, he was stiff.

He shifted and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing, (against the protests of his crying joints) and stretching again. He let out a content sigh. He circled the bed and layed the suitcase on the floor, picking a t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants off the top. He slipped into the new clothes, pulled on a pair of black socks, and headed out of the room, almost shambling the whole way.

Jeremy stood, leaned against the kitchen island. Fritz stood with his back to him, stirring something on the stove. Gregory and Helpy sat side-by-side, watching cartoons on a small, vintage tv. The sun outside was long past the horizon, instead the outdoors being lit by the city lights.

Michael wordlessly strolled over and leaned against the counter next to Jeremy, gently blinking a few times.

"Hey! Y-You're up! How do y-you feel?"

He shrugged. "I'm alright."

Fritz tapped his wooden spoon against the pot and set it to the side.

"So uh.." The redhead turned around. "What happened, man?"

"Oh, uh...." Michael shrugged again. "Just....I dunno, honestly. It's been happening a lot more recently."

Jeremy gave him a worried glance, but had his attention torn away by Gregory climbing onto a bar stool and sitting on the counter.

"G-gregory, g-get down."

"Michael are you gonna be my third dad?"

"Gregory Raiden Fitzgerald!" Fritz gasped lightly in awe.

"What?"

Jeremy laughed. "I-I'm sorry about him."

"Its fine." Michael smiled. "You named your son after a Metal Gear character?"

"Its the name of the Japanese god of thunder and lightning." Fritz hummed.

Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we named him after a Metal Gear character." Fritz sighed gently, smiling.

Gregory crawled over the counter and poked Michaels arm. "You didn't answer my question."

"Uhm.."

"G-gregory, seriously."

"Whaaaaaat? I wanna knooooooooww!!"

"I-I dont know, buddy." Michael simply resorts to patting the boy's head.

Gregory huffed. "No one gives me a straight answer in this house."

"Y-you say th-that like y-you pay rent." Jeremy clicked his tongue and smiled.

The rest of the night went on smoothly; dinner, a few rounds of games, then bed.

Since his clothes were already in the room, Fritz and Jeremy invited Mike to sleep in their room; the three had slept together frequently in highschool, when Jeremy was too high to drive home from band practice or Mike didnt want to go home, so it wasn't unusual for them.

So, for the first time since highschool, Michael slept smooshed between his two best friends.

A/N: Im back! Finally! Im sorry this one may not be as good a the others, i tried to tweak it but it just never came out right.

#michael afton #fnaf #shifted story #fritz smith #jeremy fitzgerald #helpy #fnaf gregory

[bizjunket6366]

CES 2023: NEW SMARTWATCHES Will Help You Get More Industry

At CES 2023, companies showed off a wide variety of new and exciting wearables. Among the most popular were a next-gen hybrid fitness tracking watch, an augmented reality headset that allows you to view the information in your field of vision, and a smart ring that can control various devices.

Other popular wearables included a bracelet that monitors your heartbeat and a necklace that tracks your steps. There were also a number of new and innovative health-tracking devices, including a contact lens that monitors your blood sugar levels and a smartwatch that can detect a heart attack.

Several companies also unveiled new wearable technology that is not yet available to the public. One such example is a pair of glasses that can be used to control a computer or mobile device. Here are the top 5 best wearable of CES 2023.

1). Citizen Second Generation CZ Smart

At CES 2023, Japanese watchmaker Citizen announced the second generation of their smartwatch, the Citizen CZ Smart. The updated watch now includes a larger display, new sensors, and improved battery life. The watch also runs on Citizen's new operating system, which offers improved performance and a more intuitive interface.

The Citizen CZ Smart is a great option for those looking for a high-quality smartwatch that doesn't break the bank. With its new features and improved design, Smart is sure to be a hit with consumers.

The CZ Smart is the latest smartwatch from designer watchmaker CZ. This new watch features a sleek, minimalist design and advanced features that make it a clear step above its predecessor. Among its most notable features is its integration with artificial intelligence.

The watch features a Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor, 8GB of internal storage, and a variety of other features. It is a highly advanced watch that allows users to do more than just tell time.

With the CZ Smart, users can track their fitness, monitor their heart rate, and even receive notifications from their smartphones. The CZ Smart is a versatile and powerful smartwatch that is perfect for anyone who wants to stay connected and be more active.

2). Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition

The Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition is the latest addition to the company’s smartwatch lineup. This new model adds a number of features geared towards fitness and well-being, making it a great choice for those who are looking for a smartwatch that can help them live healthier lives.

The Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition comes equipped with a heart rate monitor, activity tracker, and sleep tracking. It also features a new Wellness Dashboard that gives users a quick overview of their fitness and sleeps data.

While the Gen 6 Hybrid’s e-ink display is one of its key features, it also helps extend the battery life significantly. Thus, it sports an analog look. The e-ink display is perfect for reading in direct sunlight and offers great contrast. The display is crisp and clear, and the watch's face is easily readable. The watch hands are also visible in direct sunlight.

The e-ink display is not the only feature that helps extend the battery life of the Gen 6 Hybrid. The watch also has an always-on display mode, which means that the watch's face is always visible, even when the watch is not in use.

Also, Read more best premium smartwatches.

3). Moto Watch 100

The Moto Watch 100 is one of the most affordable fitness wearables announced at CES 2023. The device tracks a variety of fitness metrics, including heart rate, steps taken, and calories burned. The device is also water resistant, making it ideal for use during exercise. The Moto Watch 100 is currently available for pre-order and will ship in March 2023.

The Moto watch 100 houses a heart rate sensor for all the biometric tracking, heart rate zone monitoring and activity tracker you need to keep your heart healthy. It's also water-resistant up to 50 meters, so you can wear it in the pool, in the shower, or in the rain.

The Moto watch 100 starts at $99.99, thereby making health and fitness tracking accessible to a larger audience. The watch tracks heart rate, steps taken, and calories burned, as well as sleep patterns. The watch is water-resistant and has a battery life of up to seven days.

4). Xplora X6Play Child Smartwatch

CES 2023 saw the debut of the Xplora X6Play Smartwatch, a new entry focused on children's safety. The watch features GPS tracking, two-way calling, and a built-in SOS button that can send out an emergency alert to a pre-determined contact list. The watch also has a "listen-in" function that allows parents to remotely eavesdrop on their child's surroundings.

The X6Play is the latest offering from Xplora, a company that specializes in child safety products. With the addition of the X6Play, Xplora now offers a complete line of child safety products that includes GPS trackers, child safety apps, and more.

With Xplora, kids can explore the world around them with a custom-made avatar and a personalized camera feed. The app is designed for kids ages six and up, but it's also great for adults who want to use it as a virtual scavenger hunt game.

Xplora put the focus on fun customizability—not limited features. This way, everyone who uses the app can have a unique experience that's tailored to their interests. And with Xplora's easy-to-use interface, anyone can start playing and exploring right away.

5). Movano Evie Ring

Movano, a startup that's building wearable fitness and health products, is today announcing the launch of its first product specifically designed for women. The product is called Evie and it's a ring that tracks fitness activity, sleep, and reproductive health.

The ring, which is made from titanium and comes in two sizes, is designed to be worn 24/7. It's waterproof and has a battery life of up to 30 days. It's also packed with sensors that track a variety of health metrics, including steps taken, calories burned, heart rate, and skin temperature.

The Evie Ring is a health-tracking ring that aims to make it easier for users to understand and manage their health data. The ring collects a variety of health data points, including heart rate, steps taken, and sleep quality, and condenses them into user-friendly insights in its accompanying app.

The Evie Ring is a helpful tool for people who want to better understand their health data and make informed decisions about their health. The ring is also stylish and discreet, making it a good choice for people who want to wear a health tracker that doesn't sacrifice style.

[alifeasvivid]

hey those watch tags are actually really informative, thanks sonder!! do you have any fun watch facts? i know so little but i find all this stuff fascinating o(^▽^)o

well the history of watches is extremely long and varied so >.> how about a glossary of sorts... and a bit of impassioned ranting... and perhaps the key to my heart? XD

movement (noun) - when you hear someone refer to the "movement" of a watch, they are refering to the "engine" of it, the parts on the inside that make it function.

The two most common types (as in nearly every watch) of movements are

quartz - any watch which uses a battery or solar capacitor (except for smart watches) is a quartz movement watch

mechanical - manual wind pocket watches came first, then wrist watches. When you see steampunk stuff with lots of gears, that's what these movements are like. They do not have batteries or any power source. They are wound by hand (usually in the morning and at night) and the gears inside are then propelled by the kinetic energy until it runs out.

MOST mechanical watches now are "automatic" or self-winding and they have a rotor inside that swings when the watch is moved, thus keeping it fully wound by the motion of the wearer's wrist.

dial - this is where the hands and markers are. On a clock, this is call the "face" on a watch, it is called the "dial." Many watch dials are black. So it’s called a black dial, capiche?

crystal - the "crystal" of a watch is the flat clear thing that covers the dial. Regardless of what it is made out of, it is called "the crystal." Typically, these are made out of mineral glass, though nearly all high end watch crystals are made of sapphire (same substance as the gem).

Neither of these can be polished. If they are scratched, they can only be replaced.

Most watch parts are not made "in house." For example, Fossil does not make their own movements. Neither does Tag Heuer or Cartier (depending on the watch). It's common and accepted. Swiss movements are considered superior to Japanese movements.

Among watch makers and techs (and in some cases, collectors) watches are judged based on their movements rather than their outer appearance and brands that make their own movements are viewed more highly (in general).

The top three luxury brands (who do all make their own movements and yes they are gorgeous you can google it)

Patek Philippe (Americans will butcher this almost every time... so it's Pah-TEK Phil-EEP and say it with a snooty French accent ;P)

Audemars Piguet (Same with this one. Anglicized it's AH-deh-mar Peh-jay)

Rolex (I think you guys probably know this one)

Yes. They are incredibly, stupidly, mind breakingly expensive. Yes. They are incredibly, stupidly, mind breakingly well-made and beautiful.

And no, Rolex is not overrated. This is a dumb edgy boy take, it makes you sound stupid, don't say it.

One of the best swiss watch brands out there is Omega. Do with that information what you will.

If you want me to love you forever and ever amen, you can buy me a $6600 40mm stainless steel Cartier Ballon Bleu, automatic movement, stainless steel bracelet. BEHOLD... my beloved:

And just one more thing I want to say for now. Tag Heuer. Americans. It is pronounced TAG HOYER. Not Tahg. TAG. Not Hore, Hewer, Hooer, or Herr. Don't say those, you'll sound silly. and Tissot is pronounced Tissoh not Tiss-ott. You're welcome XD

#anon asks

[charlesandmiranda]

Kyoto part 2: Nishiki Market Food and Drink, Liquor Museum (2/10 evening)

Nishiki Market is one our of first memories of Japan from our first trip in 2017. Similar to Tsukiji, it's a fish and produce market, but unlike Tsukiji, it's a long covered walkway of sellers and shops along the inside. Because it isn't exclusively considered a fish market, it's a good place to try out dishes and snack as you go, as well as pick up food for dinner.

We started with a quail egg stuffed baby octopus and a small beer, then grabbed a bottle of sake to bring home after tasting some local sake. We found a section that goes into the buildings on either side and has a bunch of smaller stalls with specific food and standing area for eating, and tried everything we thought might be nice. These pork gyoza (steamed or fried dumplings, in this case fried) are the best I have ever had. The stall also had great karaage (fried chicken). Another stall carried several different kinds of locally flavored beers and highballs using whisky and shochu. We tried matcha beer, which was very refreshing, and strawberry blended whisky highball. Also pictured but we did not try was beef sashimi and sushi and tempura.

We did, however, have turban in the shell and grilled tuna with garlic. Before we left, there was a stall probably geared to first time visitors who are unfamiliar with sake that had glasses of sake for 100 yen, around 75 cents. They were tasty, too.

I placed a lot of markers on our map from the last few years of watching videos and seeing posts about different bars and restaurants, not expecting to make it to all of them but considering stopping in if we were nearby. Near the market is a bar called Kyoto Liquor Museum, which is more of a top end Western style cocktail and whisky bar than an izakaya. When we got there, we were one of the only customers, and the bartender asked us to sit somewhere that we we would be close to him so we could chat. He was a recent resident of Kyoto, having moved for his new wife, and originally from Turkey. He was very knowledgeable, and a little opinionated, about whisky and that was helpful for discovering new whiskies. I tried several that would have put me into the easy $100+ bill situation in the US, but ours was around $50. One was specifically bottled for the bar.

We wanted to grab a real dinner, and there is a very well known omurice (omelette over rice) restaurant nearby, but it has been featured on some well knownYouTube channels, so it's now very popular, reservation only yadda yadda. We didn't plan ahead to get one, and that's ok. One of my takeaways from this trip is that if it's been talked about a bunch on the English speaking internet, it's going to be difficult to try. We came across a small shop that served an original version of okonomiyaki, a grilled savory pancake made from cabbage and batter than can include anything from bacon to seafood and cheese. This shop served negiyaki and used a lot of spring onion (negi = ねぎ = onion). It was delicious. The tofu steak was also really good, grilled tofu with sauce on top.

On the way home we passed a liquor store that carried large cans of the sake we drank when we got engaged and this giant bottle of Japanese whisky for somewhere between $6 to 7 dollars. I cannot explain her mischievous face. Miranda got the glass bottle of sake with the sakura flower in it, as expected, because it's cute.

To be clear, we did NOT buy that bottle of whisky.

--Charles

[thelowkeygeek]

Check out the latest LOWKEY GEEK #youtube video! Attempting To Defrost From The Frigid Weekend With Pauly Shore | The Morning After by LOWKEY GEEK! Good morning! Let's snuggle up and keep warm together while we talk about the weekend Box Office, The Richard Simmons short film and all the headlines! The Court Jester - Pauly Shore as Richard Simmons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjVXPlutAMI Great ways to show support to the channel is by donating during the live stream in the following ways: TTS is ON at $5+ Super Chats & Donations - Get your messages read out loud! Donations: https://ift.tt/5n6bZG1 Become a friend of the channel for just $1 a month. Join a membership TODAY! 🔔 Consider Subscribing: https://ift.tt/PZa4ICG 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://ift.tt/CfuTdpc 🎧 Listen on iTunes: https://ift.tt/7g3dF6y ► The gear used on this channel: https://amzn.to/3L79c1Y ► Sign up for Surfshark VPN and get 85% OFF + 2 Free Months: https://bit.ly/3ZLU5Cn ► Get 3 months of UNLIMITED DATA for only $15/mo with Mint Mobile: https://ift.tt/sX8hSrA ► Fever events and experiences: https://ift.tt/eFN1C4t ► 80s Tees: 30% OFF with code WINTER30: https://ift.tt/WFYRia3 ► Entertainment Earth - 10% OFF In-Stock Items Plus Free Shipping On Orders $40+: https://ee.toys/LOWKEYG Other Great Content ---------------------------------- ► Movie Review & Out of Theater Reactions: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YH2jORSfkqtudOJX2KFFJkK ► The Trailer Park: Trailer Reactions: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YETuoR2B2Y1ulc_TfFKkyGZ ► The MovieTime Podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YFrFx7-xandmlAgLWoUwIhc ► The Talking Talk Podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YG3kXuSkEzu2PGgnjvU70Kc ► Special Events & Travel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YGUo9x5FHnbideFkmHV_lAM ► Japan WOW Now: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YFX48uPJl5FwipHSTGis9Qy ► LOWKEY GEEK Gaming: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YHHmgt_YpmNFEbOi0d52hic ► One-Shots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsH8u5sKE6YGDDThqnXOa9FOLYtvAjFNK Follow Us --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_lowkey_geek Instagram: https://ift.tt/Y1gkxsB Threads: https://ift.tt/iYkUGws Follow the Team on Letterboxd ----------------- Blake Wolf: https://ift.tt/SVWusbX Rene A. Zelada: https://ift.tt/fNKzWe9 Chapters ----------------- 0:00 Leave a comment! 6:00 Weekend recap 8:20 My frozen Coke incident 12:40 Weekend Box Office recap 22:16 Eileen (2023) Movie Review 30:56 Fallen Leaves (2023) Movie Review - My love of Finnish films continues! 43:43 Monster (2023) Japanese Movie Review 58:49 Hogwart's Legacy is the top selling video game of 2023? 1:03:22 Channing Tatum to star in MAXX movie? 1:07:41 Daredevil Born Again resumes filming. There's a lot to be hopeful for! 1:10:00 Pauly Shore as Richard Simmons in The Court Jester short film - REACTION 1:40:00 Final Fantastic Four casting announcement coming soon? 1:48:46 Gillian Anderson to star in Tron 3? #morning #boxoffce #richardsimmons #podcast #movienews via YouTube https://youtu.be/pX9JHY8DCqQ

#YouTube #Pop-Culture #Movies #Film #Podcast

[pwrestlingxpress]

Drowning the G1: Nakajima/Miyahara exceeding Expectations

When the match was made back on June 17th, everyone was blown away. Kento Miyahara, Katsuhiko Nakajima...a dream match that exceeded all expectations not knowing until the match was made that they met 3 times before. Sadly, all we got from those 3 are photos but in every one of them Katsuhiko Nakajima emerged victorious. So, what separates this one from the other three? Well...let's start off with the VTR for the match.

In the VTR, it had been over 10 years since Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kento Miyahara competed in the same ring. When they did, there was something magical and the staredown post-match at the Tokyo Dome, had to feel something was going to happen. During that VTR, I learn more of the history between the two. Them meeting in 2008 and teaming up right after. The two of them staying together until 2013 when Miyahara decided to go to All Japan full time after which the Diamond Ring promotion closed down in 2014 leading to Nakajima going to NOAH full time in 2015. And then we go to that slap at the press when the match was made. Kento Miyahara claimed that this was a greeting from him to Katsuhiko Nakajima but I have a feeling that slap was more than a greeting and Nakajima somehow knew that.

We now go to the match in which I can feel the vibe when Kento Miyahara came out. Korakuen Hall came unglued with many chanting his name and Kento coming to the ring conducting another orchestra as he usually does during his entrances. He really carried himself like the Superstar that he is. Then we go to Nakajima's entrance in which, I love it when the piano is played. Ever since AXIZ reunited back on May 4, 2023; Nakajima had always worn his AXIZ gear but it was on July 15th where like many of the G1 Climax 33 participants would come out in new attire; Nakajima would come out in similar but new attire. The entrance attire he wore was similar to what he wore in AXIZ's first run but was a little different in which it was more gold than it was 3 years ago and the fur he had on the robe was no longer silver. It was brown and gold. Nakajima's ring gear for the event was also similar yet different for the colors here were brown/black as compared to bright gold/black back in 2019.

After both entered the ring, there's this tense reaction all over the crowd. I had this feeling that these two were going to explode Korakuen Hall and perhaps top the G1 Climax Day 1 competition which had finished by the time this match had been happening. Once the bell ring, this sentence proved to be right and beyond. The feeling out process is something I'm used to now when it comes to watching pro wrestling especially Japanese pro wrestling. The first five minutes told me how the match was going to be and I got that answer when Nakajima unleashed a spinning heel kick. Something I hadn't seen from any pro wrestler in years. That spinning heel kick is one kick that I only have seen in Power Rangers Television and/or Super Sentai Series.

That kick knocked out Miyahara which then took him to the outside where Nakajima decided to let Masa Kitamiya have a close-eye view of their encounter. Kitamiya was like "can you take it back to the ring, please" which he did but once Nakajima was getting ready to go "Showtime", Miyahara went all over Nakajima. Think there was like 5 to 6 headbutts in which each one felt more brutal than the last one. I know I have somewhat of a hard head but I'm amazed that Nakajima somehow had the same thing because the impact of those headbutts might have made him bleed or knock him out cold. Luckily, he was still conscience after all those headbutts.

Once back in the ring, Nakajima switches gears and eventually did a take two for his "Showtime" move but this time, no showboating, just do it. After going showtime on Miyahara, Nakajima unleashed something I've never seen him do before. That was a submission move that I only seen Masa Kitamiya do. Kitamiya was not impressed but I somehow was because it was the first time I've seen someone else other than Kitamiya do it. Believe it or not, that was the only submission attempt in the entire match. 2-3 minutes of being in that hold Miyahara was and who knows if Nakajima will use that submission move once again.

After that, match gets into high gear where just when Nakajima attempts to kick Miyahara, saw Miyahara perform one of the rarest moves today in pro wrestling. That piledriver gave Nakajima a delayed reaction but at the same time, that piledriver showed how exhausted both men had been as we reached the 20 minute mark. Note that because of the heat wave going on, that exhaustion meter was going to double since both were in with no time limit.

Once back in the ring, saw amazing suplexes that all led to one amazing clotheline (aka lariat) from Miyahara that knocked him down as well. Both men are now getting exhausted but somehow each manage to get up in which, this match turns into a game of "can you top this". By throwing elbow shots to each, I said this match alone is drowning the G1 in which it was by these elbow shots. Of the eight matches that took place during night one of G1 Climax 33, only 3 of the eight were amazing matches. Those matches were: Shota Umino vs. Ren Narita, Yota Tsuji vs. Kaito Kiyomiya, and Taichi vs. Will Ospreay. All the rest including Okada's match and SANADA's match were being drowned in the water by this match between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kento Miyahara.

The last nine minutes of this match were so amazing. Elbow shots from both men, karate kicks from Nakajima, big boot kicks from Miyahara. All those kicks and strikes almost lead to Nakajima winning right at the 30 minute mark when suddenly his vertical spike is countered by Miyahara for one of his own. Kento Miyahara then attempted to suplex Katsuhiko Nakajima but Nakajima knew that the suplex could be it for him and he truly countered it all the way.

As we're passed the 30 minute mark, both men totally exhausted decide to unleash what's left in their arsenal when suddenly Nakajima slaps Miyahara knocking him out. But the slap had exhausted Nakajima as well who then went for the finish kick but Miyahara kicks out at two. Before the final vertical spike, Miyahara is crawling up to Nakajima in which for the first time, I don't see a smile from Nakajima, I see a warrior crying out to his kouhai. After screaming his opponent's name, Nakajima finishes off Miyahara with a 1-second vertical spike (usually his vertical spikes have a 10-second delay) giving him the win over Miyahara. That final pin became the cover of the Japanese Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine as seen below.

Post-match, Nakajima attempted to show respect to Miyahara by helping him up but Miyahara wanted none of that which led to a fast post-match brawl where Nakajima lightly throws and slowly pushes Miyahara out of the ring. After beating Miyahara, Nakajima tells him that he's an amazing wrestler but there was no way he was going to lose to him. Katsuhiko Nakajima needed this signature win more than Miyahara did because after losing to Shingo Takagi in Yokohama and drawing against Kenoh at Shinjuku FACE, Nakajima knew he needed this win and that's what he did.

Why did I title this "Drowning the G1: Nakajima/Miyahara exceeding Expectations"? Because that's what they did. They exceeded all expectations including my own. When we got to that 20-minute mark, I knew they were drowning most of night 1 of G1 Climax 33 including matches involving Kazuchika Okada and SANADA. The sold-out crowd in Korakuen Hall made this match much more memorable for all we were able to see including a rare submission move from Katsuhiko Nakajima and many exchanges that took place from the 20-minute mark until the end.

This match currently holds a 9.51 out of 10 from CAGEMATCH with it getting 5 1/4 stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON).

Compared that to the G1 where of their eight matches, none of them reached the 8 point mark from CAGEMATCH yet one was able to match Nakajima/Miyahara in terms of star ratings. That one match was Taichi vs. Will Ospreay which also received 5 1/4 stars from WON.

So...like I said "drowning the G1, exceeding expectations" is what Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kento Miyahara did but based on that post-match brawl, there could be a rematch along the way. Will we see another match? Who knows but this was truly the "One Night Dream" we all wanted.

#Pro Wrestling NOAH #Katsuhiko Nakajima #Kento Miyahara #One Night Dream #G1 Climax 33