#but NO! raleigh is respectful. he pushes back on her opinion but also thanks her for being honest and acknowledges that she may be right

[canonfanon]

Rewatching Pacific Rim right now, and there's this tiny moment between Mako and Raleigh that I really love

Toward the beginning of the movie, before any of the main action, Mako is showing Raleigh around the shatterdome, introducing him to the newly-renovated Gipsy Danger

Directly after this, Mako shows Raleigh to his quarters and the two of them have this conversation:

They talk a little more, Mako reveals her amazing simulator score, but also confirms that she is not one of the pilot candidates. They then discuss Raleigh's abilities. He asks Mako for her opinion - she thinks he is skilled but too unpredictable and reckless. She ends with this:

Raleigh thanks Mako for her honestly and says she may be right. Then goes on to say this:

And the tiny detail in this scene that drives me crazy is right here

He says when. Not if, when. Mako has just explicitly confirmed that Marshal Pentecost is not considering her for Jaeger pilot. It has already been established at this point that there are only 4 Jaegers left anyway, and that the program is nearing its end, one way or another. In all likelihood, they have very little time left until the end of the whole damn world. Hell, Mako herself just criticized Raleigh, and he could very well wish to get back at her for that, were he a different person. AND YET, despite all of that, he says when. Raleigh has faith in Mako from the very, very beginning, before they even drift together, before he even sees her fight.

And that drives me crazy! I love their relationship so much

#pacific rim #pacrim #mako mori #raleigh becket #raleigh x mako #maleigh #sorry for the low quality screengrabs they're just straight screenshots I didn't do anything special #i love this movie #i know i am obsessed with newt and hermann but I do wish there was also more mako and raleigh fan stuff out there #ALSO raleigh is so repectful of Mako through the whole damn movie #like for real #I feel like most other movies would have the male protag be an asshole here #a woman he doesnt know very well just flat out stated that he's not the right person for the job #he could very easily do the wounded pride thing here and be a complete dick to her #i feel like most movies would go that route and the audience would be expected to find it understandable/justified #but NO! raleigh is respectful. he pushes back on her opinion but also thanks her for being honest and acknowledges that she may be right #i love del toro for that and I love these two so much

[splashmommy]

Ronda Helped Me

Guys, I just ran two miles in the freezing fucking cold. Full disclosure, I speed walked them. Also it was only one mile, I just checked my pedometer because I have major OCD and can’t stand being inaccurate. So here’s the accurate story, I spent the last three solid hours of this afternoon laying on my couch eating pretzels, chugging coffee, and slowly crawling to the end of Christine (a Stephen King book which I’m ashamed to admit has taken me almost two months to finish. Sorry, there was just a lot of football and mechanics to push through in the beginning before the love triangle kicked in). Believe you me, I did not want to get off that couch. I could have continued sitting there in my five year old christmas jammy pants for, at the very least, another eight hours, and I would have, had it not been for Ronda Rousey.

Y’all. I watched wrestling again last night for the first time in a long time. Let me set the scene for you. I had just gotten home from a long day of work and I wanted nothing more than to microwave a Kashi meal and dive deep into The Tank (this is what I call Shark Tank) to see what disparaging things Mr. Wonderful had to say about Barbara or the retail industry as a whole while I dug deeply into some Chimichurri Quinoa. I had yet to change and unwind fully from my work day when my life partner, Craig, dropped the bomb. He told me that the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view that had been blaring from the living room was about to close out with a Women’s Main Event Royal Rumble. Wait, hold the fuck on, you mean the ladies are closing the show? HEADLINING AN EVENT?!

Then he told me that there were rumors that Ronda Rousey might surprise debut during the match.

Fuck. And yes.

So I sat my ass down, right there, on our grey cat scratched couch and proceeded to fall deep, deep into the world of, what we now call the WWE Women’s Division. Now full disclosure again on me here, I’m not what you would call a “lifelong wrestling fan”. I have dipped my toe in and out of the ring over the last decade since falling in love with a massive self-proclaimed monday night rasslin’ nut (Craig’s still got it!). I’ve been to Monday Night Raw two or three times. I attended Wrestlemania in Atlanta in 2011 (although honestly I slept through some of it because, again full disclosure, it was kind of a weird time for me). My husband and I once yelled “BAZINGA!” while waving a hot yellow hand made sign that said “BAZINGA!” at Daniel Bryan while we jumped up and down over a fence in the backlot of a Raleigh arena. He was getting inside his truck to leave, he did a little chuckle and an eye roll when he saw us before pulling out of the parking lot. It was pretty neat. We have since referred to this moment as “The time we bazinga’d Daniel Bryan.” We are still very proud. 

Now that I think of it, there was also this brief period in the late nineties where I got really into The Wolf Pack. I had a crush on a new kid in my sixth grade class at church named Jonathan who talked a lot about the NWO. I tentatively watched a couple of matches with my big bro, initially just so I could understand my crush a little better and have something in common to talk about if I ever got the courage to speak to him. I kept watching it after I was over him though, because there was something silly and really cathartic that I liked about watching magnetic people beating the fake crap out of eachother. I also liked recreating the moves on my older brother.

At this point I feel like I need to mention that the WWF Superstars performance of “If You Only Knew” from the 1987 Slammy Awards is my favorite thing on the internet. I literally dare everyone to try to watch it without getting up off the couch to side step shuffle.

So you could say I’m a casual, medium-rare-to-medium wrestling fan. My interest has waned in the past due to personal issues I have with bad storylines, uninteresting characters, negative stereotypes, and just the over-all regressive awfulness that’s been associated with the empire Vince McMahon built. However as I’m not an expert in the field, I’m going to kick my soapbox to the side and let you guys form your own opinions of the franchise/network that is Wrestling Entertainment. I’m just here to say that once that Royal Rumble match started, my ass was glued to that couch for fifty-seven solid minutes. Guys, I had to pee. I wanted that hot Kashi when I sat down but once the match set in and that buzzer started sounding I was hooked like an addict. 

It was more than just the lure of landing a possible crossover Superstar like Ronda Rousey, although yes that was a major pull. The thing that had me transfixed was the women duking it out on screen. They looked real. There was diversity in their style, shapes, sizes, personalities, presence, moves, motivation, and attitudes. They were kicking eachothers asses, but that wasn’t the thing that was surprising me. What really got me giddy was hearing the announcers commenting on their individual training, hobbies, stats, and accomplishments as wrestlers and people. It felt like I was watching the cast of GLOW acting out a live in ring performance, as if the Royal Rumble had somehow morphed into a real life extension of my favorite Netflix show. Y’all before I get on my feminist soapbox here, which yes admittedly I’m already standing on, can I just say one word that might make everyone understand where I’m coming from? Here goes,

Divas.

Jesus, without going into the full history let me just say that the WWE’s decision to evolve what was referred to as the Divas Division into the WWE Women’s Championship, thus rebranding “Divas” as “Women Superstars/ Superstars” is phenomenal. I mean, is the term “Superstar” phenomenal? No not really, it’s super corny. But that’s what they call the guys, so at least it’s equal. That’s what I dig. Equality. Equal playing ground for badass, ripped AF, war-painted, teeth baring, rage-fueled, gladiatrices who don’t give a fuck about spray tans. That’s what I mostly saw, and loved on my TV screen two nights ago.

I thought I had had my fill. My just desserts. I was nibbling on a secret stash of maple fudge couch-side at this point to celebrate. I thought it was all over. I got up, went into the kitchen, searched the freezer, only to figure out that I was totally out of Kashi Chimichurri Quinoa (BUMMER), and was about to ransack the cupboards when I heard Craig yell, “ABB GET IN HERE SOMETHING’S HAPPENING!”

So I ran. As I was crossing over from kitchen to living room I heard it. ���I don’t give a damn ‘bout my reputation…” I was air guitaring now. “Never been afraid of any deviation” full on running in place. “A girl can do what she wants to do and that’s what I’m gonna do,” at this point I did my famous mid-air spin kick and which shook our living room furniture so hard that Craig yelled at me and told me I needed to calm down. “An’ I don’t give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation!”

No. No. No. No. FUCK ME!

Dude. Y’all. Guys. I LOVE RONDA ROUSEY. I’M IN LOVE WITH RONDA ROUSEY AND I DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

Seriously though folks, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion after running/dancing/karate-chopping my couch and cats in excitement over this empowering series of events. First off, we have this whimsical beast named Asuka win the whole thing, we all think it’s over, then wham-bam-thank-you-MISTRESS we get a surprise pop-in from the Queen Boss herself, former everything weight champion, Ronda Rousey. I ran in place for the entire segment. I shook the furniture. I ignored Craig’s pleading. Naturally I spent the following morning reading the entire Rousey wikipedia and her full Reddit AMA. Naturally I am obsessed, inspired, and stoked that my interest in a fandom that I’ve been hot and cold is officially rekindled. Oh it’s more than just rekindled- it’s ON FIRE!

I was on the WWE website looking up tour dates first thing this morning. I ordered an officially licensed “Hot Ronda” ladies tee shirt off the WWE website.You can check my search history. Wait. No, don’t check my search history (at least give me like five seconds before you check it). I considered watching The Expendable 3 and Furious 7. Seven. Just to catch a glimpse of my muscle-bound muse. I already mentioned my soap box earlier, so I’m not gonna spend any more time than I need to up here. I do need to say though, that after reading up on Ronda Rousey’s life it’s safe to say that she’s tough as nails and authentic as fuck. She’s lived through shit, pushed past difficulty, and carved a place for herself in the universe with her own two, very powerful hands. She’s also beautiful and I want to smell her hair. In a respectful way.

Thinking about Ronda Rousey, reading about Ronda Rousey, and getting jazzed on life in general as a result is what got my ass up off the couch today. Sometimes I think about the main girl from the third Child’s Play movie doing push ups during that military camp scene when I need yoga motivation, today it was pure Women’s Division. Pure Rousey. I’m glad I got out there and hit the pavement today. I’m glad Ronda’s back and I’m beyond ecstatic to see where this new era of women’s professional wrestling entertainment will lead. Wait, we haven’t even talked about the fact that there’s an actual steampunk women’s wrestler currently on the roster. Her name is Becky Lynch, she travels through time, I just checked. While checking, I noted that the term “diva” was still in use on the official WWE website. Guys, I realize that not everything can or will change all at once. I’m just grateful that we’re moving full speed ahead and with Ronda Rousey on our side.

#ronda rousey #wwe #royal rumble #women's wrestling #girl power

[isnappedmypencil]

Reading Tag

I was tagged to do this by @neoncathedrals and I’m so happy about it! Thank you!

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Hmm. Well, that would be the first book I got after I lost a bunch of my books got lost, so that would have to be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Current: “Stiger: Tales of the Seventh, Part One” by Marc Alan Edelheit. The interesting thing about this is that I got this book for free by the author himself at SuperCon in Raleigh this month. He was handing them out. He signed it and even wrote my name in it. Isn’t that awesome? Last: “Boy Robot” by Simon Curtis. Before coming across this gem at my library, I was unaware that Simon Curtis had written a book. I’ve always been a big fan of his music and I checked this out from my library with no hesitation. Next: The next book I want to read is “Six of Crows” because so many people have been talking about how good it was and how interesting the characters are. I need to get my hands on it.

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

Sorry to be cliché here, but Twilight. I just couldn’t stand it. I read up until the end of Eclipse and couldn’t read the next book. The writing bothered me, the characters were boring and stupid, and side characters had way more interesting back stories than the one I was reading. I mean Jasper was turned into a vampire to lead an army of the undead in a series of territory wars in Mexico. I would have read the shit out of that! But, noo! I had to read about Bella who doesn’t know how to identity an abusive relationship and Edward, the textbook example of a stalker, who decided that going to high school was a smart way to spend eternity. Ugh.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

The Mortal Instruments series. I keep looking at it on the shelves and almost getting it, but I just keep finding a way to convince myself that I’ll do it later.

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

I’m not really saving any book for retirement.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

Wait until the end. I like to earn my endings. I learned my lesson in my early days.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

They are definitely interesting and very important. I like reading about the people who helped make the books I like possible. They are all wonderful for it.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

After a long time, I decided to pick Kody from “Infinity” of the Chronicles of Nick by Sherilyn Kenyon. I do like Kody and she was important to the series, but if i could switch with her just for a bit so I could hang around Nick and Caleb (Sarcastic Sass and Sassy Sarcasm respectively), I would.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Yes! The Junie B. Jones books! Not only are they a staple of my earliest elementary school years, they are the first books that made me want to read the whole series. It was the first full series I ever read.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

At first I thought that my answer to Question 2 was the only fit for this, but then I remembered one other way. I don’t know if this counts as interesting, but it definitely caught me off guard and I thought it was strange. So, in eleventh grade I had this English teacher who knew I was gonna be a bit of trouble from day one. I had tuned out her “First Day Speech” by accident and was staring off into space. When I came back, everyone was starting at me and the teacher said that she had never seen anyone make a face like that in her class ever. To this day, I still have no clue what face I was making. Anyway, I was averaging a C in her class and she wasn’t too happy about it. I love English classes. I love reading and writing and doing essays. But I am bad at paying attention and I forget things easily. And I procrastinate. Like Hell. So, I wasn’t her favorite student and she was often very short with me. At the end of the year I had run to her classroom to see what my finals grade had been. When I got there she was packing up. She saw me in the doorway, looked me over (the panting, messy, wide-eyed, twitching spectacle that I was), raised an eyebrow, pulled something out of her bag, and held it toward me. It was a book. “Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori, Book One” by Lian Hearn. Apparently, she saw this book somewhere, thought that I would like it, and BOUGHT it for me. Pristine condition and all. Then she turned, called my finals score over her shoulder flippantly, and dismissed me. I really love this book. (TL;DR: I got an awesome book about a young Japanese assassin from a teacher that didn’t really like me, but apparently watched me enough to know my tastes.)

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Well, I did once lend my friend my copy of “Magic Street” by Orson Scott Card because she is an overachieving, overworked AP student and the only child of a single mother who pushed her too hard and I thought she would like it and be able to sit and read it and maybe chill for a bit. I never got it back, though.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

I carried my copy of the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow everywhere I went for a long time, especially when I went to UNCG, because I was rancid piece of Hamiltrash and wanted to take any chance I got to bring up Hamilton to strangers and talk about interesting things that I found in the biography.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

Not really. Actually, it was middle school where I started reading Shakespeare and didn’t like it and then in high school I had an English teacher (not the one from Question 10) who actually went in and explained things and made me realise how funny and interesting Shakespeare actually was. Now I love reading his plays.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Aside from bookmarks or unexpected porn, I’ve never found anything strange in a book.

15. Used or brand new?

I don’t mind used books. They’re cheaper, sometimes free. I also love new books. I don’t really have a preference.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

Confession time: I have never actually read a Stephen King book. So, yeah, I don’t have an opinion.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

I honestly can’t say I have. See, I don’t trust movie adaptations anymore, so I tend to stay away from them. Sometimes I’ll see a movie that I didn’t know was based off of a book, read the book, and still like the book better. So, no.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

The Percy Jackson books! Jack-in-the-Box Jesus Christ! Okay, I love the Percy Jackson series. Love it with all my heart. And the Heroes of Olympus books, too. So, those movies make me so angry. If that was how they were going to treat the story, they should have never made those movies in the fucking first place.

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Damn. I was totally going to say “Fifty Shades of Chicken”. Unless you count some manga, I can’t think of any books that made me hungry.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Gotta say my friends. They know what I like or what I might like and I’ve found many great books through them. Also, some of my old teachers that I still talk to.

Okay, time to tag this thing. @alextriestowritestuff @byjillianmaria @quilowrites @acfawkes @december-soulstice @christinawritesfiction @boothewriter @malloryblaise

And anyone else who wants to do this, I’d love to see them!

(Since I don’t have a laptop, things aren’t bold and I can’t seem to find out how to make them bold. So, sorry about that.)

#tag game #writers #writing #writblr