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andrewmoocow · 7 months

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Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 5: Be Prepared (originally posted on September 25, 2023)

AN: We only have one chapter to go before the big halfway point, and I got quite a few things planned for it. We'll be getting the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, the beginning of the end of the Rutile Rebels, the true nature of Prince Nosiop's plans for the universe, and many more. Tensions will run high as the story reaches the second half, and the endgame will be the most epic that Alternate Future has seen yet. Now without further ado, let's get things started.

Synopsis: Black Rutile and her subordinates find themselves caught in a scheme by the insidious heir to Serpentes's throne to conquer the universe, and Black Rutile is all too eager to get in on the plan for the sake of revenge.

Cast:

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Doc, Navy, Army, Leggy

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Gina Torres as Andesine

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Kimberly Brooks as Dalmatian Jasper

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xenotime

Barbara Dunkelman as Amber

Kristen Schaal as Howlite

Idina Menzel as Amazonite

Halsey as Tanzanite

Mia Barron as Apatite

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Keith David as Pyth

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundrr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Zach Callison as Steven

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Matthew Moy as Lars

Julissa Aguirre as Lady Imagineer

John Mulaney as Flipso

Prince Nosiop Jormagundr wasn't always the way he was today. When he was a young snake, Nosiop was a prince with big dreams for the future of his race. However, not everyone was willing to listen to him because he was so young, but he didn't let that deter him. One year, during the 419,982nd annual Contest of Champions, Nosiop tried once again to plead his case to his father.

"Conquering the Ood? Surely you jest, my boy!" King Cobralan objected to what his son had just said as the two slithered through the castle halls. "You know we'd be no match for their psychic abilities! It would be utterly stupid!"

"But please, Father, our lives could be so much easier with a hivemind serving us!" Nosiop stated, but his father still wouldn't listen. "In fact, tons of races and planets would be of great use to our people, like the Shamoians, the Mooninites, and the Watchdogs. Maybe we could even abduct ourselves a few Gems!"

"Enough, my son." Cobralan urged his future successor. "I can see you have big ideas, but unfortunately, they don't align with our culture. Now, I'm going to speak with the Universal Lords for a bit. You go off and have fun at the Contest with your mother and your baby sister." He then began to slither away. "I'll see you again soon."

Although Cobralan left the conversation with a smile, Nosiop wasn't as happy as his father. "He just doesn't get it!" Nosiop grumbled angrily. "We could be perfect conquerors, just the two of us ruling the universe as father and son!"

"It truly is a shame that your father wouldn't give you the time of day," Pyth said as he appeared behind Nosiop. "My father was like that too when I was your age. Unlike yours, however, he didn't live long enough to see things my way."

"Are you suggesting I kill my father?" Nosiop asked curiously, causing Pyth to laugh at the idea.

"No, my boy, I'm way past killing parents!" Pyth chuckled loudly. "What do you think I am, Uncle Claudius?!" After another round of laughter, Pyth decided to get serious as he put a hand on the young prince's shoulder. "Come with me, child. There are many things I wish to teach you."

Nosiop obediently followed the royal family's grand vizier down the hallways and into a hidden room within the castle walls. As loyal as he was to his father, the prince of the Slytherophidians often believed that Pyth was more of a dad to him because of how much they agreed with each other on certain topics, chief among them being what should the future holds for their race.

"Let's hear it for the Andesine Armada, the new and improved rebellion against the Crystal Gems!" Andesine cried as her new subordinates chanted her name to celebrate her and Cinnabar's victory against Rigby Starglow and Captain Gearfeet. "Today is a most momentous occasion in our time together. With Black Rutile no longer fit to lead our cabal of insurgents against the tyranny of the Crystal Gems, I have proven myself more than worthy of replacing her and instating myself as a gentle guiding hand in our grand mission." The Armada all cheered in excitement. "Under my leadership, not only shall we finally put the Crystal Gems out of their misery, but Black Rutile will soon be next!" Her new subordinates cheered again. "And furthermore, with the Diamonds temporarily out of commission, this shall be an ample opportunity for us to race back to Homeworld when no one's looking and seize power for ourselves!"

"But what if Black Rutile hears us?" Holly Blue asked nervously while looking left and right.

"Stuff and nonsense, we're behind closed doors here." Aquamarine snidely declared. "There's no way she can find us." Just then, the doors to the Andesine Armada's quarters opened behind Aquamarine, and in came Black Rutile with Nosiop and Pyth, much to the other Gems' shock as they tried silently begging her to shut up. "Of course, that is if she hasn't been brainwashed by Steven right about now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" Black Rutile abruptly interrupted Aquamarine's bravado, sending chills down her spine as she turned to face her former master. "So, this is what you've all been doing, huh?"

"Uh, my Rutile, this isn't what it looks like!" Cinnabar awkwardly apologized to her old mentor. "Andesine and I were just playing a little game of follow the leader!"

"A likely story." Black Rutile replied while pulling out her bowie knife. "Tell me more about this Andesine Armada you've all been bragging about."

"Should you tell her, or should I?" Tanzanite asked Amazonite.

"No, I value my life too much to even talk to her right now," Amazonite replied fearfully, casting an illusion to hide herself from Black Rutile.

"Now, everyone, let's just calm down here and talk things out." Amber tried to ease the tension, but Black Rutile quickly shoved her out of the way to confront Cinnabar and Andesine.

"I'm going to assume this was all your idea, Andesine." Black Rutile said to her old friend. "After all, your name is literally in the team name!"

"No, it wasn't, it was Kyanite's idea!" Andesine tried to shift the blame onto someone else.

"Hey, I've only been here a few minutes!" Kyanite cried. "What's going on?!"

"Please forgive us, Black Rutile, but we simply believe you can no longer lead us into battle." Cinnabar firmly stated. "Your exile to Earth has turned you soft and pathetic, and you are perfectly aware of it yet never once bothered to fix it!"

"I did!" Black Rutile exclaimed. "I tried allying with a Steven from another universe where I'm the good guy, I struck a bargain with an extra-dimensional jester, and I even used the Internet to turn humanity against the Crystal Gems!"

"But that's the thing, dearie," Pyrite stated while filing her nails. "You failed at every single one of those." She added while poking Black Rutile in the chest with her nail filer. "For all your planning and thinking you're one step ahead of everybody, you fail to realize that you're just as flawed as the rest of us."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile said before turning the knife into her massive sword. "How's this for flawed?!" With a mighty swing, Cinnabar and Andesine were sliced in two and poofed, to the horror of the other Gems around them.

"Boss, no!" Bloodstone yelled in horror as she raced to scoop up Cinnabar's inactive gem while Howlite did the same to her superior's.

"Now then, anyone else care to join them?" Black Rutile smirked while menacingly pointing her sword at the surviving resistance members. Although they were more willing to speak up to their fallen superior, this ragtag band of Gems had every right to keep their mouths shut until one of them spoke up.

"All hail Black Rutile!" Eyeball chanted vigorously. "All hail Black Rutile! Come on, guys!"

"All hail Black Rutile! All hail Black Rutile!" the other members of the newly rechristened Rutile Rebels joined Eyeball in cheering for their new leader.

"Now that's more like it!" Black Rutile laughed evilly while sneering at Cinnabar and Andesine's followers mourning the loss of their leaders. "Now that I've reinstated myself as your fearless leader, allow me to introduce a new acquaintance I've made in my time here." She motioned for Nosiop to step forward. "This is Prince Nosiop of the Jormagundr royal family, and much like me, he also desires a new era for his people."

"Yes indeed, I now present to you a grand idea for the Slytherophidian race," Nosiop stated. "With all of you at my side, we can overthrow my good-for-nothing father and instill myself as not just the new ruler of his empire but as the most powerful Universal Lord there is."

"Are you crazy?!" Holly Blue yelled. "You'd be a fool to challenge a Universal Lord, especially if it's your father, Nosiop!"

"My father is yesterday's message, a clapped-out and distracted regime." Nosiop began singing to the Gem rebels. "Whose failings undoubtedly presage the need for a different dream. Yes, serpentine times are a-changing, meaning you must do so too. My vision is clear and wide-ranging and even encompasses you."

"So, prepare for the coup of the century. Prepare for the murkiest scam." Black Rutile also began singing, and far more intensely than Nosiop, as if she was using the song to air out her insecurities. "Meticulous planning and tenacity spanning centuries of denial is simply why I'll be empress! Undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionary I am! Yes, my gem and ambitions are bared. Be prepared!"

"Yeah, be prepared, we'll be prepared!" Zoisite exclaimed. "Uh, for what?"

"For the death of my father and the beginning of a new era for Serpentes!" Nosiop loudly announced.

"What do we do, make him sick?" Dalmatian Jasper asked before Pyth coiled his tail around her neck.

"No, you fool, we're going to kill him." Pyth proclaimed.

"And Steven, too." Black Rutile added sinisterly before DJ was dropped to the ground.

"Splendid idea!" Xenotime cheered. "Who needs either of them?!"

"Idiots, there will still be someone to rule!" Nosiop yelled. "Together, Black Rutile and I shall conquer the universe together using the power of the Lapidarist, who has the power to reset all Gems to their basic functions!"

"Wait, really?" Emerald asked nervously, not having a clue as to what Nosiop was talking about.

"Yes, you would all be rejuvenated on a massive scale, so to speak." Nosiop grinned with a hiss. "With her powers, I shall have myself an unstoppable army to overthrow my family and conquer all that I see! Now, who's with me?!"

Despite the dire circumstances this would place not just them but all Gemkind in by wiping everything that made them the Gems they are today, the Rutile Rebels had no choice but to agree out of fear for their lives. However, some were still nervous about how Black Rutile would play a part in this, especially after how she heartlessly poofed two of her most loyal subordinates. "All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop! All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop!"

"So, prepare for a glorious future!" Black Rutile announced as the Rutile Rebels chanted, 'Be prepared!'. "Be prepared for a universal golden age!"

"And like any other who'd murder their father!" Eyeball laughed before Aquamarine pulled her fusion partner aside.

"If we don't spread rumors, she'll feed us and groom us!" Aquamarine stated.

"When we've got friends in high places, we hold all the aces!" the Rutile Rebels and a few snake guards chanted harmoniously.

"So don't try and rattle my scales." Nosiop snidely added.

"Oh, imagine if anyone dared!" the chorus cried out. "BE PREPARED!"

"So prepare for the coup of the century!" Nosiop and Black Rutile sang together. "Be prepared for the murkiest scam!"

"Meticulous planning, tenacity planning!" Nosiop proclaimed.

"Centuries of denial is simply why we'll!" Black Rutile added.

"Rule supreme undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionaries we are!" the villainous duo declared. "Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared; be prepared!"

"Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Holly Blue, and Cat's Eye, who have all loyally followed their leader despite everything that's happened, sang together.

"Be prepared!" the newly-formed union of the Rutile Rebels and Nosiop's followers announced, sealing their alliance with a shared evil laugh.

"Pleasure to be working alongside you, partner." Black Rutile said as she and Nosiop shook hands.

"The pleasure's all mine, partner." Nosiop hissed while covertly crossing two scaly fingers behind his back, which implied he desires to stab Black Rutile in the back when she least expected it.

"And that's the whole story of how we got here," Ronaldo said to Peedee elsewhere in the Ouraborium. "Though I'm pretty sure I didn't need to tell you all that since you did hitch a ride with us."

"You are definitely right on that one," Peedee answered.

"So why did you do it?" Steven asked. "What would Mr. Fryman say?"

"He said I should keep an eye on him no matter what," Peedee replied firmly. "And if that means hitching a ride with you guys on a spaceship heading for an alien planet in another galaxy, then I'll do it, no problemo. Plus, it would be nice to participate in one of your big adventures, Steven."

"It's nice to have you join in, too, Peedee," Steven said to his old friend with a hand on his shoulder. "But be warned, this planet is insanely deadly. You might be forced to fight for your life in a gladiatorial death match where you might die if you aren't careful!"

"Luckily, you got your big brother to protect you!" Ronaldo exclaimed excitedly while raising his sword.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Peedee dryly remarked, recalling Ronaldo's cowardice in his fight against the Decimator.

"Yeah, ditto." The three boys heard the voice of none other than Lars say as he walked up behind them. "Hey Steven, long time no see. Sorry we had to meet again like this."

"Lars, did they capture you too?!" Steven exclaimed at the undead human before him. "Oh no, where are the Off-Colors? Are they in trouble?!"

"Don't worry, they're fine," Lars assured Steven. "They're just stuck in a cell somewhere since none of them can fight per se. They only want me since I can't really die." Before Lars can continue, he suddenly noticed Ronaldo and Peedee standing behind Steven. "Wait, Ronaldo?! How and when did you and Peedee get here?!"

"We followed Steven here!" Ronaldo answered, smiling. "I was vindicated upon learning that the snake people, I mean, Slytherophidians, were real all along, like many of my theories, and I came along to gather as much info as I could about their people so I could spread them to the humans!"

"And I came along to keep Ronaldo from accidentally killing himself," Peedee added. "So, how's your space adventures been going?"

"That's actually a funny story. The Off-Colors and I were journeying to Wasprus when we got abducted." Lars revealed to the two humans. "Once their guards noticed that I'm basically invincible after experimenting on me, they said they wanted to keep me here forever so I'll keep fighting for as long as the universe lives."

An intercom crackled to life as if the Slytherophidians heard Lars' explanation. "For our next fight, we shall be pitting the one and only Lars of the Stars against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer!" the voice of Queen Constricta announced. "Now, Lars, be sure you're as ready as you'll ever be because Ms. Imagineer is a very tough opponent."

"Well, speak of the devil." Lars muttered in surprise as the guards moved him to the arena. "Wish me luck, guys! I'm going to need it!"

"Good luck, Lars!" Steven hollered as Lars got further away from him and the Fryman brothers.

"Nosiop, are you there?" Naja called for her older brother while slinking through the castle halls. "Where are you? Father is getting worried and wants to see you." Unfortunately, her big brother did not answer. "Come on, Nosey, where are you?"

"Looking for someone, my dear?" Aquamarine asked as she fluttered down and landed on the floor next to Naja. "I once felt lost, too, but then I realized I had someone right by my side this whole time."

"You're one of those Rutile Rebels, aren't you?" Naja asked Aquamarine. "What do you want with me?"

"Oh, how very astute, your grace," Aquamarine replied with a mocking curtsy. "Now then, you were looking for someone, right?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Nosiop," Naja stated. "Have you seen him?"

"I am right here, dearest Naja." Nosiop hissed as he, Pyth, and Black Rutile emerged from the shadows. "Oh, I am so sorry that my sweet baby sister was so scared her big brother wasn't there to keep her safe. Then again, you were always pretty scared but always tried hiding it by acting like the showman you want to be."

"He does raise a good point there, princess." Black Rutile snidely added before cupping Naja's face in her hand. "You ever feel like your old man and the queen have been holding you back from reaching your full potential, Naja?"

"Nosiop, what are you doing fraternizing with Black Rutile?!" Naja asked hurriedly. "You know she's an intergalactic criminal imprisoned for multiple counts of attempted genocide! Stay away from her!"

"Oh please, you threaten to destroy one planet multiple times, and everyone treats you like the bad guy." Black Rutile rolled her eyes in disgust. "Anyways, your brother isn't fraternizing with me. I'M fraternizing with HIM. As it turns out, the two of us have something in common, and we became close quite instantly."

"Perhaps you'd like to join us on our little crusade." Nosiop offered while taking his sister's hand. "Together, the two of us can rule the universe side by side as brother and sister with an unstoppable Gem army at our command, and no one will have to judge you for what you really are!"

"What are you saying?" Naja asked, growing more concerned for her big brother's mental status by the second.

"I'm saying that Mother and Father are holding us back!" Nosiop yelled in his sister's face, momentarily flicking his forked tongue at her. "I have legitimately good ideas for our people, but no one ever takes me seriously! But Black Rutile, on the other hand, truly understands my suffering, for she has encountered the same problems as I!"

"Indeed, I was made an outcast because I disagreed with the current status quo of my race." Black Rutile added, trying to look as innocent as possible with a pout and big, pleading eyes toward Naja. "I was even betrayed by my friends who started thinking little of me, but I changed that quickly."

"I know where this is going, and I refuse to take part in it!" Naja exclaimed as she tried to escape the oncoming swarm of Rutile Rebels. "Father will hear about this!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess, but I think not." Black Rutile hissed angrily. "Rubies, seize her!"

"Yes, my Rutile!" the Rubies obediently chorused as they jumped up and tackled Naja to the ground. "Princess has been secured!"

"Excellent, little Rubies." Pyth purred eagerly. "Now, please show the dear princess to her room until further notice." He gave orders with a sadistic smile. "Wouldn't want her getting in the way by telling everybody."

"You won't get away with this!" Naja yelled angrily as the Rubies dragged her away. "Steven will find out!" As Nosiop watched the Rubies carry off his sister, he turned away in shame at having to betray his sister like this. But alas, their worldviews had no choice but to clash as he still had far grander designs in mind, and she didn't play a role in them. With a heavy sigh, the visionary prince looked to his new Gem ally and his royal vizier, who looked back at him with sinister smiles.

Meanwhile, in the Ouraborium, Lars had been pitted against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer in combat, but despite his moderate skill in combat, the donut boy turned undead space hero was outmatched in every way possible.

"Stay still, for Pete's sake!" Lars groaned as he tried catching up with Lady Imagineer's airborne acrobatics. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't beat you!"

"But that's what makes your race so fun, Lars!" Imagineer laughed sweetly. "You have so much potential; you just need to learn not to waste it!"

"Yeah, that's my sister up there!" the reality-warping trickster Flipso cheered for Lady Imagineer while conjuring up a smartphone to record the fight with. "You're doing amazing, sweetie!" Suddenly, Solaris Noctua turned his gaze to find Flipso in the audience below where he and the other Universal Lords were seated. Flipso immediately hid himself by disguising himself as a Slytherophidian. "Gotta keep up appearances."

"Quit flying around so much!" Lars yelled as he tried using his portal powers to scream his way to Lady Imagineer, but she was far too quick on her feet for him to keep up.

"Gonna have to catch me first!" Imagineer giggled before conjuring up an illusion of Sadie that made Lars blush, distracting him long enough for the space pirate to realize he was now falling to the ground. "I can also conjure up illusions based on what I find in your mind."

"YOU SUUUUUUUUCK!" Lars screamed before he landed on the ground with a loud thud, prompting the audience to chant.

"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!" the Slytherophidians cheered as Lady Imagineer floated down to where Lars landed and helped him up.

"Ugh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he shuffled away. "This is probably the second most humiliating moment in my life, right after Steven possessing my body."

"Oh, come on, Lars, at least you had fun, right?" Lady Imagineer asked with a cute smile.

"Yeah, maybe it was a little fun." Lars laughed dryly before continuing his walk of shame.

"Oh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he struggled back to the quarters the Jormagundr royal family gifted him upon his arrival on Serpentes and slumped on the closest velveteen couch to sleep his troubles away. "Oh, sweet Velveteen Rabbit. Take me away on your Edwardian adventures."

"Anything the matter, Lars?" Emerald asked while walking in and stroking Lars's aching back.

"Just lost to Lady Imagineer," Lars said while turning his head to face Emerald. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to comfort an 'old friend' of mine in these trying times," Emerald replied. "Seeing you so humiliated like that, while it was cathartic to see you feel how you always made me feel back in the day, it just pained me to see a worthy opponent go down like that."

"What are you saying?" Lars asked, not expecting a good answer at all.

"I'm saying is that Steven has ruined your life for long enough!" Emerald exclaimed. "First, he repeatedly robs you of your dignity, then he takes you away from your home planet where you were forced to die for him, and now you're fighting for your life on another alien planet! And you're expected to become his friend after all that?!"

"You're wrong!" Lars yelled as he bolted up, briefly yelping in pain. "Yeah, Steven and I got off on the wrong foot, but he still willingly gave up everything for the wellbeing of others, even me, and I returned the favor! Now, I'm living the dream as a badass space hero like in the old TV shows with a bizarro found family of Off-Colors!"

"That's what I hated about you, Lars, outside of the fact you stole my favorite ship and got away with it," Emerald stated while pulling out her spiked club from her gem, now pulsating with electricity as she pointed it at Lars. "You're way too human!" She swung her club at Lars, who deflected it with a kick.

"No, I'm just human enough!" Lars smirked before punching Emerald's face and knocking her down. "What's with the change in attitude? Last time I saw you, you were willing to face punishment for your crimes."

"Things have changed. Though I wanted to atone, eventually, I grew tired of Black Rutile's wailing and believed my failures were because of her." Emerald revealed. "Ditto for Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite as well."

"Guess old habits die hard, I suppose," Lars muttered before Emerald tried taking him by surprise with another swing of her club, but Lars dodged in the nick of time and sent her flying towards the wall with a combo of fists and feet. As Emerald lay injured against the wall, Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite raced to see what was happening.

"Emerald, what happened here?!" Morganite asked while helping the renowned pilot to her feet.

"Seems like I got a little shortsighted again." Emerald laughed weakly. "At least I tried to get one over on him."

"This won't be the last you'll see of us, Lars of the Stars," Demantoid said to Lars. "When next we meet, you will face the full might of the Rutile Rebels."

"And I'll be onto you like a Langdon Cobb movie." Lars replied firmly.

"Do any of you have a clue as to what he said?" Pyrope asked while the three Gems carried Emerald away, to which Demantoid and Morganite responded with hushed confusion.

In the Crystal Gems' room in the arena, Steven was sitting worriedly on the couch with Peedee as Ronaldo paced around the sofa, thinking about Lars's loss and how it would affect them. "Well, there goes Lars." Ronaldo declared bluntly. "Either of you got any bright ideas?"

"I'm not sure what to do now," Peedee replied. "I mean, what chance do we have now that the Diamonds have been poofed and Lars is out of commission? In fact, where are the Crystal Gems?"

"Off being forced to fight more innocent aliens," Steven added. "Speaking of which, I wonder how Black Rutile is doing."

"Attention all combatants, our next fight is a very special one!" Constricta's voice announced through the arena's PA system. "For quite possibly the biggest show yet in the Contest of Champions, we give you Steven Universe versus Black Rutile!"

"What?!" the three boys yelled while Black Rutile stormed into the room with an evil laugh.

"I see you just heard my big surprise for you, Steven!" Black Rutile announced joyfully. "As arranged by my dear friend Prince Nosiop, we shall have our long-awaited rematch, and I'll finally get the chance to destroy you once and for all!"

"No one destroys a boy like you, my Rutile," Aquamarine said while perched on Black Rutile's shoulder. "See you soon, Steven." The two Gems laughed as Black Rutile turned around and left, leaving Steven horrified at what he had just heard.

"This is not good; this is not good at all," Steven muttered nervously. "Everyone here already hates me because I don't want to kill people, so they'll no doubt be rooting for Black Rutile to destroy me! What do I do?!"

"Hey, don't fret, Steven, just believe in yourself," Ronaldo suggested. "Believe in the Ronaldo who believes in you."

"He's right," Peedee added. "Some people can't believe in themselves until someone believes in them first. Remember that no matter what, everyone back at Beach City has your back."

"Thanks, guys," Steven said with his eyes closed. "But I guess I have no other choice." He opened his eyes, revealing that one of them now had a diamond-shaped pupil.

And so, we finally reach the halfway point of Snake Eyes with the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, allowing them to finally settle the score after their numerous fights in Alternate Future. And this time, Black Rutile won't just decide to give up on Steven and let him wallow in shame, she's going in for the kill and has a lot of issues left over she'll use their upcoming fight for. How will things turn out? Find out next week.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven universe snake eyes #steven quartz universe #black rutile #prince nosiop jormagundr #aquamarine #eyeball ruby #holly blue agate #cat's eye #andesine #cinnabar #lars barriga #ronaldo fryman #peedee fryman

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blowflyfag · 4 months

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Pro Wrestling Illustrated: 1995 THE YEAR IN WRESTLING. March 1996

MATCH OF THE YEAR: DIESEL VS. SHAWN MICHAELS 16,710 votes

For four months, fans waited for this one–and a worthwhile wait it was.

Until Survivor Series 1994, Diesel and Shawn Michaels were he best of friends. Going into that pay-per-view, they were also the WWF World tag team champions. But a disagreement in an eight-man tag team match made them the bitterest of enemies. Shawn remained a rulebreaker, while Diesel went the fan favorite route. And three days later, “Big Daddy Cool” became the WWF World champion.

Everyone wondered when these two former friends would finally meet, one-on-one, with the World title at stake.

Everyone found out when it would be on January 22, when Michaels won the Royal Rumble and earned a World title shot against Diesel at WrestleMania XI.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania was good, but Shawn vs. Diesel was better. It lived up to all the prematch hype, and for the third consecutive year, Michaels was involved in our Match of the Year.

Diesel pounded his old buddy early on in the bout. “The Heartbreak Kid,” as everyone expected, showed tremendous resiliency. He clotheslined the World champion over the top rope, executed an over-the-top-rope flying bodypress, then spent a few minutes trying to wear Diesel down. He used a flying elbowsmash from the top rope and a sleeperhold.

Then came the turning point. While Michaels and Diesel were brawling outside the ring, referee Earl Hebner, in an attempt to keep Sid Vicious, Michael’ Bodyguard, from getting involved, twisted an ankle. That prevented him from getting back into the ring quickly. It may have also prevented Michaels from becoming the World champ, because Shawn superkicked Diesel and had him pinned for at least 10 seconds before Hebner crawled back to make a count.

Diesel recovered, caught Michaels with two boots to the face, and “jackknifed” him for the win at 20:40.

“Incredible!” wrote Ken Wallace of Topeka, Kansas. “I didn't think Diesel could stay with Shawn for a match that lasted 15 minutes or more. And even in defeat, Michaels was terrific.” Everyone knows what happened the next night. These two rivals became friends again. We may never see a Shawn-Diesel rematch, but even if we don’t we’ll always have memories of this thrilling bout.

RUNNERS-UP

JEFF JARRETT vs. SHAWN MICAHELS: 15,831 votes

First runner-up: “The Heartbreak Kid” strikes again! A 20-minute thriller between two terrific athletes is the simplest way to describe the July 23 In Your House II match in which Michaels won his third Intercontinental title. A powerful superkick to the jaw was all it took for Michaels to finish off “Double-J” after The Roadie accidentally tripped his employer.

HARLEM HEAT vs. THE NASTY BOYS: 13,798 votes

Second runner-up: The Nastys won the WCW World tag belts from Booker T and Stevie Ray in this Slamboree slugfest. The result was noteworthy because Jerry Sags fought half the match on his own after Brian Knobs was injured before the bout. It was the Heat’s legdrops vs. the Nastys’ piledrivers, and it ended when Sags pinned Booker after a top-rope elbowsmash.

PSICOSIS vs. REY MISTERIO JR.: 6,620 votes

Third runner-up: These two masked superstars, rivals in Mexico's AAA, brought their feud to ECW on September 16 and contested a bout that featured stunning aerial moves. Misterio at 5’3” and 140 pounds, beat his 5’10”, 200-pound rival in a match that was highlighted by Misterio diving from the ring apron onto Psicosis , who was lying in the third row of the audience!

VOTES FOR OTHERS (15,187)

Some of the top vote-getters who did not capture a runner-up spot include: January 22: Diesel vs. Bret Hart; April 2: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor; June 18: Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright; August 4: Tony Anthony & Tracey Smothers vs. The Heavenly Bodies; August 26: Eddy Gurrero vs. Dean Malenko; August 27: Shawn Micahels vs Razor Ramon.

#diesel #big daddy cool diesel #shawn micahels #hbk #heartbreak kid #wwf #world wrestling federation #pwi #pro wrestling illustrated #magazine scan #magazine transcript

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rhlgull1331 · 6 months

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PRO WRESTLING RATINGS 2023 (5 of 6)

20 professional wrestling matches out of 182 watched throughout September & October were rated 4 stars and higher.

AEW, surprise surprise, had the most top-rated matches with 11.

My favourite match of this block; Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr. from AEW WrestleDream on October 1st. I rated it 4.75 out of 5. It was beautiful.

Here are 3 matches that I suggest you goddamn watch:

Chad Gable vs GUNTHER (Monday Night RAW, September 4th) I'm not a big WWE fan these days, but every once in a while they manage to pull their best wrestlers (most often GUNTHER than not) into having an amazing contest with major stakes that feel so very fun to watch. A primetime stage in Chad Gable' career began when he first challenged GUNTH and this rematch had his reputation shoot like a rocket. I hope they do it a third time.

Billie Starkz vs Marina Shafir (REVOLVER Women's Grand Prix, October 8th) Marina's time in AEW has not shown her at her best. If you've yet to see her at a time where she has the chance to act as a methodical and calculating powerhouse of sheer grappling knowhow, then you should watch this match where she manages to help the already impressive Billie Starkz tell a super compelling David vs Goliath story.

Fuminori Abe vs Takuya Nomura (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura Produce Kakuto Tanteidan ~ Bokura Wa Kakuto Tanteidan, October 12th) Although it got a 4.5 and not a 4.75 (rewatch coming soon, that may change) this has gotta be the most engaging and thrilling and captivating match of 2023. Violent, yet positive in its way of harm. Both Abe and Nomura are made men to men, they are both such amazing wrestlers. Plus, they also happen to be the most consistently good tag team in the world today so more power to them!!

Wrestler Of The Block has been cancelled because I'd rather focus on my Wrestler Of The Year list for the final post.

The updated total of matches watched since the last post is....

950

Which means that I am definitely going to hit my goal this time. As I said , for 2022 I tried to hit the big 1K, but only got to about 800. After finishing with this year, I will continue to watch a lot of pro wrestling - I do LOVE it after all - but I don't think I'll be keeping up with current-day stuff in the same way as I have for the last 2 years.

Well, these past two months have been very slow-moving for me, since I've had to move house and took a week away from watching any wrestling to focus on that. I am sorta glad that I did take time away, because I did not realise just how monotonous this whole project had begun to feel until I got back into the swing of things.

Regardless, this is still very fun for me. I love this shit.

#pro wrestling #aew #wwe #womens wrestling #wrestling

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ringthebethal · 2 years

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Better The Devil You Know III

Well, I'm finally in a place I could write again.

After a breakup and Covid hitting my household I finally got time to write.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman x OC (Beth Foley) x Wheeler Yuta (Paul)

Part 1 Part 2

Buffalo, New York

7th Sept 2022

Beth was defending her new tbs title in a rematch with Jade Cargill. She was regrouping with the baddies as I sat in the corner gathering myself, clutching my ankle.

Jade had let her anger out on me for losing her title.

Suddenly Max’s music started. I saw him running down to the ring in his black slacks and signature scarf. He ran to my corner and grabbed my hand through the ropes.

‘Are you hurt?’ Max frowned. I could see the concern etch on his face.

I snapped, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Babe....’ Max started.

‘No,’ I snatched my hand out of his and stood by the ropes talking down to Max whilst hopping on one leg. ‘Get out of here, Max’

I felt myself get rolled up and pinned by Jade.

‘1…. 2…. 3…. Ring the Bell,’ the referee shouted.

When I got my head right, I saw Jade on the ramp with the baddies and the CBS title.

Max came towards me in the ring, ‘Beth,’ he crouched down.

‘No, stay away from me.’ I spat, struggling to get to my feet. ‘I just lost my title because of you.’

I roll out the ring and hobble up the ramp—Max hot on my heels. I went through the tunnel, and I felt Max grab my hand.

‘I’m so sorry, Beth,’ Max pleaded.

I felt tears fall down my face. ‘Why? Why did you get involved again?’

‘I just wanted to be there for you’ Max kissed your hand. ‘I wasn’t there to make you lose; I swear.’

I felt in limbo with my feelings for Max and my anger for his involvement in the matches. I broke down in tears. ‘I just lost my title because of you.’

Max wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. ‘I’m so sorry. I will do anything to make this better.’

I just stayed in his arms, crying my eyes. He runs his hands through my hair, causing our eyes to connect. He pushed his lips on mine.

I felt my anger take over, and I pushed him away. He started to advance towards me again, which caused me to slap him hard.

‘Always making it about you, Max,’ I spat ‘you will never change.’ I proceeded to stumble away towards the trainer’s room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Well, your foot is seriously sprained’, the doctor confirmed at the hospital. ‘You’ll need to be off your foot for a couple of weeks.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I felt myself be pulled into a hug.

Paul knows to the world as Wheeler Yuta volunteered to take me to the hospital. We had become good friends in the last month.

‘I’m going to kill Max’, he mumbled to himself as he let you cry on him.

‘Why can't anything go right for me?’ I cried, clinging on to Paul for dear life.

‘It’s going to be ok’, he said. ‘I will be here the whole step of the way. We speak to Tony. I’m sure he can find you something to do backstage.’

‘But I won't be able to do much’, I hiccupped. ‘I just got an apartment in New York’

‘Well, you can spend some time making it your home’, he smiled. ‘Getting away from the drama at work might do you some good.’

I smiled back at him. ‘Thank you, Paul. Maybe some time off will do me some good.’

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

23rd September 2022

I sat in my apartment watching a murder documentary. My foot had healed so well that I would be returning next Wednesday. I was waiting for Paul to come back with pizza for the evening. He had been here most of the time since the accident unless he had to go taping.

It had been a blessing. I wasn't so lonely; it was nice to have help as I struggled the first week.

Suddenly a knock went at my door. I got up slowly and headed towards the door.

Paul had a key, so I was confused as I opened the door.

‘Paul, I thought you had a.....’ I stopped mid-sentence. ‘Max? What are you doing here?’

Max was in a t-shirt and jeans, holding red roses. ‘Why aren't you answering the phone? I have been calling you for weeks.’

He stepped into my new apartment. ‘I didn't want to talk to you’, I snapped. ‘How did you find out where my apartment is?’

‘I have my ways’, he smirked, then his face turned serious. ‘Shouldn’t you be resting?’

‘Doctor said my sprain is healed,’ I smiled to myself.

He pulled me into a hug. ‘I’m so glad gorgeous’, he kissed the top of my head. ‘I’m so sorry this was all my fault.’

‘Are you actually sorry?’ I mumbled, ‘Or are you saying that to try to make things better.’

‘Sweetheart, I love you.’ Max stated whilst grabbing my face. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to kiss me.

‘Kissing me isn’t going to solve what happened’ I stood my ground looking him dead in the eye.

‘But it’s a start, Max said, stroking my cheek.

Suddenly the door swung open. I pushed Max off me quickly to see Paul standing there.

‘Yuta?’ Max frowned.

Paul came towards me, holding pizza boxes. ‘Hello, Max,’ Paul said lowly, putting his arm over my shoulder. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Trying to see the love of my life’, Max growled, causing me to laugh. I put the pizza down on the sofa.

‘Max, you need to leave I asked.

‘But Beth. I want to fix things.’ Max begged.

‘No, you want me because you want your manager back,’ I laughed. ‘You are manipulating me as you have done for the last three years.’

‘I suggest you leave, Max’ Paul stood in front of me, puffing his chest.

Max laughed. ‘I can’t wait to beat you to a pulp at the anniversary show.’

Max proceeded to walk out the door. ‘I think Beth, Yuta might be the one using you.’

I sighed when the door closed, and Paul pulled me into a hug. ‘I’m sorry you had to deal with that’, I mumbled.

Paul gently caressed my face making me look at him. ‘Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about.’

I felt this sudden urge to kiss him when our eyes connected. But he already beat me to the punch and tested the waters with a small and sweet kiss on my lips.

I pulled away, smiling. ‘Can we eat? I’m starving.’

Paul laughed, grabbing the pizza off the floor. ‘Of course, we can.’

#mjf x oc #mjf x reader #mjf #wheeler yuta x reader #wheeler yuta x oc #wheeler yuta #aew fanfiction #fanfiction

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wrestlingisfake · 2 months

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Revolution preview

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson - This is for the AEW tag team championship. Sting and Allin won the belts on February 7, and moments later the Young Bucks savagely attacked them as well as Sting's sons. This is billed as a "tornado tag team match," which just means nobody has to tag in and out and they can brawl all over the place.

Sting, who will turn 65 later this month, announced in October that this he would retire on this show. He debuted in 39 (!) years ago in 1985, and I've been watching him for nearly 35 (!!) of those years. Hell, the guy is in my Tumblr profile pic, along with Robocop. It's fair to say Stinger's choice of tag partner has improved since then.

I had originally expected Darby would be Sting's final opponent in a one-on-one match, so doing this tag match is a bit of a letdown. But it's clear by now that Sting needs to be carried by a partner, and not just by his opponents. We can expect Allin and the Bucks to bounce (and/or bleed) all over the place to disguise the fact that Sting can't do much. Sting will probably hold up his end of the match with one or two crazy spots--he probably shouldn't, at this stage of his life, but he's not going to stop until tomorrow.

I had been thinking Sting would probably do the job in his last match, even if it was against a heel team like the Bucks. But after the bloodbath on February 7, I'm not sure anyone will settle for less than Sting getting revenge. What that means for the tag belts is anyone's guess, but I'm leaning towards Sting and Darby to retain.

Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page - Joe is defending the AEW men's world title. Strickland was named the #1 contender a few weeks ago, but Page, the #2 contender, demanded a match for that spot, which ended in a time limit draw. So we get a three-way. Ugh.

Page and Strickland started feuding in September, because Swerve wants to win the world title and Page happened to be a convenient stepping stone. After Strickland beat Page twice, he was ready to move on, but Page was still incensed about the way Swerve broke into his home to taunt him. At this point, though, Page is the heel in the rivalry, because Swerve is super cool and Page is increasingly whiny about trying to keep Swerve from winning the title.

I hate three-way matches because they can't settle anything. Nothing that happens in this match can resolve the Page/Strickland feud. Joe can't definitvely knock either challenger out of top contention, because both of them will have excuses if they lose. The guy who doesn't get pinned in a three-way can always whine for a one-on-one rematch, and the guy who does get pinned can always say "I never got my one-on-one title shot." So this match is just filler until AEW inevitably runs it back with the matches I actually want to see: Joe vs. Page, Joe vs. Swerve, and the next installment of Swerve vs. Page.

I've seen a lot of buzz for Strickland, and it feels like everybody is saying AEW needs to pull the trigger now and put the title on him. I think it's too early to take the belt off Joe, but Swerve's definitely got something, and AEW needs to strike while the iron is hot. That's why I think they booked this as a three-way, to give us "Swerve is in a world title match" without beating him or belting him. One way or another, I expect Joe to retain in a way that makes it Page's fault that Strickland is not the world champion. After Swerve settles his business with Page, then I think he'll set up for a proper one-on-one title bout and finally get the gold. But not today.

Christian Cage vs. Daniel Garcia - Cage is defending the AEW TNT title. Adam Copeland appeared to be the obvious challenger for this show. However, Garcia got the pin in a trios match against Cage, Nick Wayne, and Killswitch, and somehow decided that pinning Wayne means he can beat Christian. A Copeland vs. Garcia match to settle things went to a no-contest when Cage's group attacked both guys. Now Copeland is selling a worked injury, so Garcia gets the shot.

This is kind of interesting since Garcia has been on a roll of late, and Matt Menard's weird "Danny Garcia is my son" gimmick contrasts with Christian's weird father figure gimmick. But unless Garcia wins the title or somehow gets adopted by Cage, I don't really see anything coming out of this. Best guess is that they're saving the next Cage vs. Copeland match for later, and this is just a placeholder. Cage will retain.

Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson - Eddie is the AEW continental champion, the ROH men's world champion, and the STRONG men's champion. I think all three belts are on the line, but they haven't made it clear how unified these titles are supposed to be. During the Continental Classic tournament, these two went 1-1 against each other. Eddie is content with getting a win over a guy who never respected him, but Danielson still won't give Eddie his due. So if Kingston wins, Bryan will be obligated to shake Eddie's hand.

I like both guys, but this kind of storyline is why Toni Storm popped me when she mocked male wrestlers for making every storyline about being angry and demanding respect. I believe Eddie will win but I don't believe Danielson is going to suddenly show him respect if he does. Even if Bryan does have a change of heart, I won't buy that either, because he's said and done stuff he can't take back with one handshake. None of Danielson's griping about Eddie makes sense in the first place, now that Eddie is a major-league wrestler and a literal world champion. I hope Kingston just wins to put an end of this, but something tells me this will never end.

Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo - Purrazzo, only two month after jumping to AEW from TNA, is challenging for the AEW women's world title. The backstory is that these two were close friends when they were coming up (in the indies, Japan, and WWE developmental), but now Deonna is a great technician and Toni is totally insane.

The build for this has been pretty ridiculous, but I have to say I'm really looking forward to the match. Purrazzo's great and I look forward to her working with all the other top women in the company. Storm's character is a trainwreck but she portrays that trainwreck so skillfully that it only enhances her act. This could go either way, but I personally think a Purrazzo title win is what's best for the women's division right now.

Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong - This is for Cassidy's AEW international title. AEW spent three months building up intrigue about The Devil and who was under the mask, and the payoff was Adam Cole (who is injured) betraying MJF (who is also injured) and assembling the Undisputed Kingdom stable. Roddy is effectively the #2 guy in the new faction, so he's chasing one of the midcard titles. Orange kinda doesn't give a shit, and neither do I, but I guess the match will be good. I could see Strong winning the belt here, but I could just as easily see Orange retaining--this one's too close to call.

Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita - This will be Ospreay's first match in AEW since he signed with the company in November, and fulfilled his New Japan obligations in February. Both men are aligned with the Don Callis Family; the idea here is that the faction has run out of enemies to fight, so Don is putting on a little exhibition here. Ospreay has been getting cheered a lot for the past few months, except when he's standing around Callis, so I get the feeling this is setting up his exit from the stable. I think Ospreay needs to win his first match as an AEW guy, but it's weird to think Takeshita is going to lose at this point. Maybe they'll do a clusterfuck finish or something?

Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler - FTR (Dax and Cash) and Mox/Claudio went to a 20-minute draw on February 21, so they're running it back here. You're never going to believe this, but both sides are angry and demand respect. In other breaking news, Dax Harwood believes his opponents don't understand what this is about. I assume this match will have a longer time limit, but I'm not sure they've announced that. They pretty much have to come close to 30 minutes this time, but I don't think there's room on this show for them to do 40. Greensboro is basically FTR country, so I think they should pick up the win. But something tells me that won't end the feud...

Chris Jericho vs. HOOK vs. Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Brian Cage vs. Lance Archer vs. Magnus vs. Dante Martin - This is an eight-way match billed as an "all-star scramble." I assume everybody's just gonna fight all over the place, and the first man to score a fall wins the match. The winner will earn a future men's world title shot. This was originally supposed to be Wardlow, Hobbs, Archer, and I think Cage in a "meat madness" match with some other big beefy dudes, but Miro and Keith Lee aren't medically cleared so they changed the match to include Jericho and some smaller dudes.

If you're like me, and you saw this matchup and wondered who Magnus is, he's a CMLL guy who qualified for this match by beating Matt Sydal on March 1. I'm sure he'll do some cool stuff but I can't imagine he'll win.

The key storylines here are Jericho vs. Hobbs and Cage vs. Hook, but I don't expect much progress here. The Undisputed Kingdom plan for Wardlow to win the world title and then hand it to Adam Cole, so this might be step one in that plan. I'm not sure it's time for Wardlow to chase the world title, but I guess I'll pick him to win for lack of a more obvious choice.

Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale - This is scheduled for the pre-show. These four have been fighting since Hart won the AEW TBS title from Statlander, and used black mist to turn Skye to the dark side. The latest development is that Stokely Hathaway wants to manage Kris, and wants Kris to cheat like a heel, but Kris forces him to put up with super-happy-babyface Willow. So I guess Stoke is trying to turn Kris to the dark side, but a different dark side. Like, Julia's on the spooky Kevin Sullivan dark side, and Stoke is more of a Jimmy Hart kind of dark side. I either want to see Willow pin Julia to set up a title bout, or for Julia to get the win to move on to some other challengers.

Jay White & Max Caster & Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy & Willie Mack - Another pre-show match. Back in January, the Acclaimed (Caster & Bowens) and Billy Gunn proposed an alliance with Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Austin & Colten), and they became the Bang Bang Scissor Gang. The original idea was to gain an advantage over the Undisputed Kingdom, which would make sense, except that instead of feuding the Undisputed Kingdom the BBSG just starting squashing a lot of jobbers in six-man and twelve-man matches. Tonight's opponents feel especially random--I suppose Jarrett/Lethal/Singh is an established trio, but I'm not sure Mack has even met Quen & Kassidy before. This should be an easy win for the BBSG and mainly a pretext for them to do some wacky comedy in their intro.

#aew #revolution #sting #darby allin #the young bucks #samoa joe #swerve strickland #hangman page

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thef1nalb0ss · 10 months

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Money in the Bank Cash-ins: Who, when, and what?

Now that Money in the Bank is over and we have new contract holders, the debate about their cash-ins begins. I'm going to try and predict who they'll cash-in on, when they'll cash-in, and for what title they'll cash-in for.

Damian Priest

Starting with Mr., or Señor, as he prefers, Money in the Bank, Damian Priest.

Based on Damian coming to ringside for the Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins match last night, as well as Damian and the rest of Judgement Day being on Raw, it's reasonable to assume he would have his sights set on cashing in on the biggest prize on Monday nights- The World Heavyweight Championship.

Except there's a small problem with that in Finn Balor. Damian's Judgement Day brother is unlikely to take the loss at MITB as an ending, and a rematch with Seth may be on his mind. If Finn's still chasing Seth, and Damian wants to keep things between himself and his Judgement Day teammates friendly, he may have no choice except to focus on another title for his cash-in...and lucky for him, Judgement Day has also been feuding with another champion...

WWE is trying to make NXT a third brand again, and having the contract cashed-in on its main title would put a lot of eyes on the product. Rhea's been down in NXT recently for a few different things- last year, she defeated Roxanne Perez at Cora Jade's request, and most recently she confronted Carmelo Hayes backstage and maybe also did a little scouting of one Lyra Valkyria. Judgement Day is watching NXT- and they're watching Melo.

Now, if he's going to cash-in on Melo, he's probably going to do it soon. I don't think it's quite Great American Bash soon, but soon. Perhaps end of summer heading into fall. As a loose pinpoint, I'm going to predict it'll be sometime in September.

Who: Carmelo Hayes

When: September

What: NXT Championship

Iyo Sky

And now for Ms. Money in the Bank, Iyo Sky.

This one is an interesting case for a few different reasons- one, the women are known for having extremely quick cash-ins. Two, the successful cash-in rate for the Women's Money in the Bank Contract is 100%. Third, and finally, Iyo said during the press conference the briefcase isn't hers- it's Damage CTRL's.

The typical thought here is that Iyo will cash-in on Asuka. They have history, Asuka is the Women's Champion on Smackdown, the same brand Iyo is on, and Iyo confronted Asuka a few weeks ago. However, I'm looking at something different. While I do think Iyo will have a match with Asuka in the near future, I don't think Iyo is going to use the briefcase to get it. I think Iyo is going to cash-in with Bayley by her side on the Women's Tag Team Championships.

We also have new Women's Tag Team Champions in Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and I think that this time they'll have the long reign they were meant to have before Liv's injury. With both Iyo and Bayley saying that the briefcase is both of theirs (even though that's not how the briefcase works), if they both truly think that way, then the logical thing for them to do is cash-in for the tag team titles. Of course, Iyo could cash-in on a singles title, which upsets Bayley and leads to the break-up, but I don't think Damage CTRL will break up until Dakota returns. The other option is that Iyo waits until Dakota is back and cashs-in with Dakota for the tag titles rather than Bayley, which leads to them breaking off from Bayley.

Going back to the topic of the Women's Contract always being successfully cashed-in, theres speculation this year's cash-in will be the first failure. If that is the case, I can see a cash-in for the tag titles protecting Iyo in the case of a failed cash-in, as she won't have to take the pin.

For when the cash-in will occur, I think they'll want to wait a bit, perhaps even after Damian cashs-in. There's a few reasons to do this- to begin to break the expectation that the Women's MITB Contract will be cashed-in quickly, to make it so Iyo has another singles title match before her cash-in, and, potentially, to wait until Dakota is recovered so Iyo can cash-in with her. Because of this, I'm going to say Iyo's cash-in will either be right before or during the road to Wrestlemania. To give a specific month for the cash-in, I'll say January.

Who: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

When: January

What: Women's Tag Team Championships

So those are my predictions. Do you agree with me? Have different predictions? Think my predictions are completely wrong? Let me know!

#wwe #wwenxt #mitb 2023 #wwe mitb #mitb #damian priest #iyo sky #bayley #damage ctrl

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lis-likes-fics · 2 years

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Your WIP tag

I want to know about Found Again. 😁

-thatfanficstuff

Oh, wow! Thank you for the ask. ❤️

So Found Again was a story I actually started a year ago this month. It probably should have been done by now but that was before I started organizing release dates 😅. It is set to be posted by August 31, but the date might be moved to September.

Found Again is a Loki x Reader story where I mixed the Norse and Greek Gods. Reader is the daughter of Athena and the Goddess of Truth and Passion, so you can imagine the perfect pair between her and Loki. This story is kind of like Romeo and Juliet, but with less teenage romance and more badass-gods-with-a-vengeance-streak.

I'll go ahead and post a snippet too, just to spoil you a little. 😘

—

Centuries and centuries ago, when the Norse gods entered the world, they and the Greek gods instantly bumped heads, fighting over who was able to dominate the world's religion. The Greek-Nordic War was fought long and hard in battle before ending in an ultimate draw—a draw some gods still refuse to call a lose. A draw some gods would love to call a rematch on.

Relations have been tense between the two since the beginning. Relations meaning you cannot have a Norse and Greek god in the same room without heads going missing.

In short, Greeks hated the Nordics. Nothing would change that.

Besides, the Norse gods were smelly pigs–

Ah, that was what you sensed. You turned in the crowd and spotted a particular type of aura around someone. A certain raven haired man with glowing green eyes. Loki, God of Mischief and Lies.

He seemed to spot you at the same time you spotted him. He rolled his eyes, and you couldn't help but return the favor.

—

This part is from the first chapter, a fun chapter to say the least. I can't wait to show off this book! I hope you enjoyed this, thank you again! ❤️

#lis answers #sneak peak

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inthemelancholymoonlight · 2 years

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From September 28, 2020 (yet again):

Someone made a TikTok complaining that people can't like Cedric Diggory because he didn't have personality, so here's my rebuttal. He did have a personality. We see it when he asks Oliver Wood for a rematch after Harry falls off his broom in PoA. We see it when he asks people to stop wearing the badges, when he helps Harry with the second task even though it meant he might have gotten in trouble, when he insists Harry take the cup in the third task. But... that's it. The true tragedy of Cedric Diggory is that we don't get to know him any better. His story is cut short. He DID have a personality. He was probably one of the sweetest, kindest characters in the entire series, but we didn't get to know that. So yeah... don't bash my boy. I will fight back.

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amplesalty · 2 years

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Halloween 2022 - Day 3 - Rabid (2019)

I hope this one works out because the last Canadian thing called Rabid didn’t age that well...

Erm, excuse me, I think I’ll be the judge of that...

Oooh boy, it’s the other CM Punk movie. I say other, it would have been other at the time I watched Girl on the Third Floor back in 2020 but he’s since added to that with 2021’s Jakob’s Wife, another horror movie. I’ll just make a note of that here for future reference...

And I say ‘ooh boy’ not out of some dread for what I have ahead of me but for the way so much has changed in just two years since I looked at GotTF. By that point he was already on the outs with the UFC after his two defeats (or 1 defeat and 1 no contest as it apparently is now) so acting seemed like another string to add to his bow after wrestling, TV personality, writer, commentator etc etc. But on August 20th 2021 everything changed when the familiar sound of ‘Cult of Personality’ began to blast throughout the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, marking Punk’s return to professional wrestling for the first time in seven years. I do love the idea that, following this, he notified UFC that he had retired. What was that Chris Rock joke about boycotting Rihana’s panties again?

Everything seemed to be coming up aces, especially after a much loved feud with MJF and Punk’s coronation as AEW Champion at Double or Nothing in May of this year. But what should have been his crowning achievement seems to have been the start of his downfall, an injury only days later would put him out of action until August, at which point he returned only to lose to title to Jon Moxley. Then, following their rematch at All Out on September 4th, all hell seemed to break loose backstage after some questionable comments made by Punk in the post show media scrum, with reports of a fist fight between Punk and fellow AEW stars Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Everyone involved was stripped of their titles and we would come to learn that Punk had suffered an injury during the show and was projected to be out for another 8 months. Following that fracas though, there are question marks over whether AEW would even take him back. Maybe it’ll be time to dust off the old SAG membership...

Which brings us to the subject of today; Rabid. And we’re not just talking about what Kenny Omega might be after Ace Steel bit him. I might as well get Punk’s part out of the way early because it really is a bit of a blink and you’ll miss it cameo, though he does return briefly later on the in the movie. It’s a totally believe bit of casting though as he plays an abrasive douchebag that gets kicked out of a nightclub before running into our leading lady, Rose, played by Laura Vandervoort, who looks very much like Charlize Theron. Maybe Theron mixed with Elizabeth Olsen.

Loving the glittery shirt they’ve got him dressed in, don’t think I could ever imagine Punk wearing such a thing. But in his few minutes, he manages to pick a fight with two bouncers way bigger than him, get the cold shoulder from some random woman and then proceeds to spend what feels like way too long just following her down the street to chew her out and tell her that she’s not even that hot anyway. Ah, the last refuge of the rejected man, or does that only come when you says she’s probably a lesbian anyway? And hey, even his missus April Mendez AKA AJ Lee managed to get herself in on the action too!

As for the story as a whole, Rose is an aspiring fashionista totally bereft of confidence due to some disfiguring scares that came by way of a car accident that killed her parents. Between being orphaned at a young age and being left with a permanent reminders of it, that’s gonna do a number on your psyche. She gets asked out by one of her co-workers, something we come to learn isn’t 100% on the up and up, so with her general mousey demeanor and the coerced nature of his proposal, I was kinda getting Carrie vibes about the whole situation. Which does fit slightly with some moments that come up later on...

After learning the truth, Rose storms out but ends up driving his scooter straight into oncoming traffic leaving her even more disfigured but luckily there’s an experimental clinic that wants to help her so they can develop their bleeding edge techniques. Only, there does seem to be some side effects in play...

Like the odd cravings. Mmmmm, you can really taste the botulism! The movie does go out of it’s way to show Rose’s usual vegetarian diet so it’s definitely strange to see her suddenly rip open a steak and just go at it.

What I had forgotten from my brief research on this film after watching Girl... was that it’s a remake of a David Cronenberg movie. Probably for the best that I only re-learnt this as the movie started because I might have had second thoughts otherwise since I don’t normally get on the best with that type of movie and I’d usually shy away from jumping straight to a remake. Still, you can definitely see the connection, albeit quite far into the movie. And it seems to just remember it out of the blue and then instantly shifts into body horror mode. It’s a bit jarring to have this very sudden shift in tone. Otherwise they’re kinda going for this ‘is it all in her head’ thing which I never really got absorbed into. Maybe because it’s fairly obvious there’s something shady going on, I know all about these so called ‘experimental procedures’, I’ve seen Body Bags.

Plus it’s hard not to come off a little sus when the surgeon comes out for the operation like he’s one of the Emperors Royal Guard. I mean, I guess you’re gonna get blood on your scrubs anyway so you might as well make them red...

That guy actually threw me a little bit at first because I thought it was William Atherton, he of Walter Peck and Dick Thornburg fame. But no, it’s just the coincidentally named Ted Atherton who is apparently of no relation but of passing resemblance.

It’s a very Canadian affair here, with Ted being a native along with several of his co-stars and they all seem to have starred in either Degrassi, various adaptations of XIII or both. I know Degrassi is a big thing over there so it’s probably just a right of passage for any Canadian actor that you’re going to end up in that thing at some point.

As the name of the film suggests, the theme of rabies comes up and it’s a little eerie given that the movie came out in late 2019 that it heavily features talks of the CDC, quarantines, public health crises and has rampant face mask wearing.

Overall, the movie did enough to keep me intrigued throughout to see where it was going but, kinda like with Hocus Pocus 2 yesterday, I’m a little underwhelmed with the ending. I’m normally all for a ‘questionable sanity’ type movie but I guess it didn’t really build up to it enough to make it questionable, it just kinda jumped straight to 11. Where Rose’s reconstructive surgery has her prettier and more outgoing than ever, maybe she’d have flashbacks or visions of her old scars that make her pull away from this sudden social contact and in that isolation is where the demons start to come in.

It’s a decent enough movie but I imagine there’s probably a lot more notable examples in the body horror genre that you’d want to get to before this one. At least it has the novelty of seeing Punk. That’s something these Soska sisters have pedigree for is the ol’ wrestler movie. They did See No Evil 2 after all and did Vendetta the year after which has a real ‘main event in any town’ poster to it.

Dean Cain vs The Big Show, Hell in a Cell?!

#Rabid #cm punk

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stephanericherthanyou · 2 years

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Ch505-527

Ch505: The Fire

kon! long time no see :’)

“burn. i am finally able to express my condolences. choujirou.” the guardian of hell...that turns everything into ashes....

/lies down, eviscerated by the old man yaoi of it all (also the loyalty that reminds me a bit of ikkaku & ken-chan....inch resting...)

CANG!!!!! HELLO!!!!!!!

“it’s been over 1000 years. juha bach. i came here...to annihilate you.” DAMN!

Ch506: The Fire 2

wait so this bach is one of the twins, right? so did ken-chan actually dispose of the other one or

“my dad can beat up your dad” - accutron

Ch507: The Fire 3

i see we have reached the era of “trollface comics included at the end of the chapter”

Ch508: Like a Raging Fire

YES THE ZOMBIE ARMY

Ch509: Tenchi Kaijin

man this art is so incredible and gorgeous

“you cannot steal something whose limit is unknown” huh

Ch510: The Extinction

so that /was/ the last time he and okikiba talked....oh :(

Ch511: Die Standing

who knows how much of this yamajii backstory is true given that it’s coming from bach...although he and unohana definitely were that kind of person back in the day so it’s perhaps at least somewhere in the middle

Ch512: Everything But The Rain

ahh it’s raining....i’d forgotten that this chapter had this title as well

“i will not last much longer...despite being a captain of one of the gotei 13, i was unable to defeat the foul enemy who invaded seireitei. i let many valuable soldiers die, causing the suffering of their subordinates and families, and in the end i was defeated miserably. i am ashamed of this. on the other hand, you are a human. normally, not only you shouldn’t be involved in all this...you should not even be here now...yet...i’m going to ask you a favor. please forgive this despicable behavior of mine. please...protect soul society, ichigo kurosaki!”

:( BYAKUYAAAAA

and the ending meme refs his ‘death’....we could not have known. we never could have known.

Ch513: The Dark Moon Stroke

“byakuya, the noble shinigami, entrusted him with his last will!” yeah there was no ambiguity there SHUEISHA

the getsuga tenshou comes out in a shape like the crescent moon huh...that would, i suppose, be the titular “dark moon stroke” (i am slow at these things sometimes ok)

Ch514: Born in the Darkness

telegraphing just as loud as your quincy bedspread in the anime: you, my child, are a quincy. surprise!

ooooh i see....kyoka suigetsu strikes again

Ch515: Relics

isane....unohana....man. we see how tough this is on shunsui, but for unohana--she’d known yamajii longer than anyone, sasakibe probably the same, all their old comrades from back then had died...this is the final order yamajii gave her (& her squad) and she’s holding onto that, and him, for just a little longer...and she probably knows she can’t wait any longer for her rematch with ken-chan, in which she’s going to have to die....and all of this happened within a few days and she is thousands of years old. :(

“-sama” wrow ichigo

and it’s still raining. and rukia doesn’t know about byakkun (did they really reveal he was ~alive~ this soon after? maybe that really long hiatus was between these parts but for some reason i thought it was like....august-september and one of the earlier chaps in this part mentioned it was mid-september on the wsj cover but it was uh. almost 10 years ago and this recap series has demonstrated the faultiness of my memory already)

heh the meme at the back was like “bleach will never end!” and....they were right, but they didn’t know it :’)

Ch516: The Squad Zero

sldfkj is there anyone who /doesn’t/ know about ikkaku’s bankai

Ch517: The Stairway to Heaven

thanks for the earworm kubo

OH MAN UNOHANA’S FACE FUCK THE PAIN

Ch518: The Shooting Star Project (Zero Mix)

og shooting star project (& its remix) were kuukaku.

lol grimmjow pls

kisuke ur right on the money, ofc ichigo will protect everyone

“ganju...he became huge and turned into stone, so im using him to hold the banner” KUUKAKU PLS

and the return of fullbringers huh

Ch519: Hot Hot Heat

so many great ichigo faces...

Ch520: Killers Not Dead

meanwhile, in soul society...!?

“i can see why the king of souls would fall for him” sldkfjs

AWWW YEAH KENPACHI FIGHT

Ch521: A Piggy Party

ichigo, to renji: you’re staying on the bottom!

it’s just like how ichigo looks in orihime-vision....

Ch522: Love It

“mysterious plushie-chan” sldkfj

Ch523: Words of Origin

which is on top? well, sexually, yes, but also who is the king and who is the horse?

speaking of who’s on top...”you’re taciturn, but i like that. because as long as i hear your voice, the only wound i have can’t stop throbbing.” i don’t remember it being this shippy!

Ch524: The Drop

isane and the love letter huh....she /did/ know about the scar, confirmed and all, so...i wonder. and she was confirmed in love with unohana--did unohana know? were they together?

Ch525: Edges*

it’s ‘if i’m admiring i can’t surpass’ all over again huh

Ch526: The Battle

“you’re the only man in the world that could make me happy” as she is impaled on a blank background. good romantic shit.

yes being impaled on a sword is always romantic but like, the pose here? incredible. lovely.

(also thinking about how her power resembles barragan’s a bit...)

Ch527: Eliminate From Heaven

“you have enemies to fight...friends to argue with (byakuya, ichigo, and...renji apparently?)”

“the one that’s been watching” huh...well. yes i suppose.

#richer rereads bleach #long post #text post #the new scanlation group has so many watermarks #which is why im not putting in too many screenshots #bleach #*important introspection

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4x09 · 2 months

Text

September loses his fight with Rowena and a traditional heroic narrative would have him win the rematch with the power of friendship but honestly I should have Rowena kick his ass a second time

#AND HIS LIL DETECTIVE TOO!!!#ocs #thoughts #rev #pilot talk

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biblenewsprophecy · 3 months

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Michelle Obama ‘terrified’ about the potential results of the 2024 presidential election–could she be plan B?

COGwriter

There is a debate planned tonight between Republican presidential hopefuls, Nikki Haley and Ron Desantis:

January 10, 2024

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be the only two Republican presidential candidates facing off in tonight’s final GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2024 nominating process on Monday. …

Trump has a commanding lead in Iowa that has widened since September, according to the latest CBS News polling from December. Fifty-eight percent of likely GOP caucus voters in the state said they would vote for Trump, while 22% supported DeSantis and 13% backed Haley. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/republican-debate-iowa-2024-haley-desantis/

Yet, they are not considered likely winners unless something dramatic happens with Donald Trump.

Recent polls seem to point to a close rematch between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden for the 2024 presidential election, with Donald Trump seeming to have a slight edge.

This prospect reportedly terrifies former First Lady Michelle Obama:

Michelle Obama reveals she is ‘terrified’ about potential results of the 2024 election

January 8, 2024

WASHINGTON — Former First Lady Michelle Obama revealed she’s “terrified” about the potential results of the 2024 presidential race, calling it a fear that keeps her up at night.

“Our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit – it affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama said on an episode of Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast released on Monday, adding “I am terrified about what could possibly happen.”

“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted,’” Obama said. “And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up.” …

Obama also suggested that there is a double standard surrounding Trump’s indictments, arguing that a Black man in America could not face four sets of criminal charges and still run for president. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/01/08/michelle-obama-terrified-2024-election/72153207007/

Many Democrats feel that Joe Biden is showing too many signs of aging and because of that, and his general unpopularity, that this may result in Donald Trump winning in 2024 to their general horror.

Various ones have suggested that although Joe Biden says he is running for re-election, by next August he may realize that someone else has a better chance to beat Donald Trump (presuming he is the Republican nominee) or whoever the Republicans run against him.

A news anchor suggested that Michelle Obama is ‘Plan B’:

Network anchor makes troubling prediction about Michelle Obama

January 9, 2024

Fox News host Jesse Watters predicted that former First Lady Michelle Obama could replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket Monday.

Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Biden during a lunch meeting to attack former President Trump more aggressively, even suggesting the hiring of a former campaign staffer to serve as senior strategist. Trump has led Biden in general polling, being 2.2% ahead of the incumbent in the RealClearPolitics average of general election polls from Dec. 4 to Jan. 2.

“The Obamas say Joe Biden is going to lose, so they’re staging a hostile takeover. Obama world is telling everyone who will listen in Washington that the Biden campaign is complacent, unimaginative, they don’t understand the threat of losing to Trump,” Watters said. “Team Biden says Biden is way too Zen. I think when he says way too Zen, he means barely alive, but I don’t want to put words in the former president’s mouth.”

“The Washington Post is reporting Obama has been visiting Biden to tell him he needs a full overhaul of his campaign,” Watters continued. “Obama is pushing Biden to push his political operation outside and beyond his advisors. Translation, Barack and Michelle are taking over, and the media agrees.” …

“Biden’s trying to throw Trump in prison the rest of his life, strip his business license strip him off the ballot and just called him a combination of Hitler and King George III and the Obamas think he should go on the attack?” Watters asked. “I am afraid to ask what this would look like, but if Trump is not damaged goods by the convention, Michelle Obama is presenting herself as plan B.” https://www.wnd.com/2024/01/network-anchor-makes-troubling-prediction-michelle-obama/

Last Fall, Republican Senator Ted Cruz speculated that Michelle Obama could enter the race:

Sen. Cruz Sees Potential for Biden Early Exit in Favor of Michelle Obama

September 22, 2023

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, this week made a bold prediction about President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

Put simply, Biden — taking heavy fire over his age, his economic, immigration and foreign policies, and his alleged role in shady family business dealings — will drop out, replaced with former first lady Michelle Obama as Dems’ 2024 standard bearer.

“Here’s the scenario that I think is perhaps most likely and most dangerous,” Cruz said Monday on his “Verdict With Ted Cruz” podcast. “In August of 2024 [at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago], the Democrat kingmakers jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama.” …

Cruz said if Biden’s decline continues by the time of the DNC convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago and the party decides all of the downsides are really worrying them, “then the convention is the opportunity to parachute someone in” by creating a story that for health reasons, Biden is not able to continue.”

Obama has repeatedly said she has no desire to run for president, but Cruz said, “to parachute in in August of ’24, a couple of months before the [election], and suddenly wake up and be president, it’s not a bad gig at all.”

“Would she do it? I don’t know,” Cruz said. “I’ve met Michelle, but I don’t know her personally in any meaningful way. I don’t know if she would do it, but I do think Barack Obama is already running the Biden administration. I think he is already the puppet master behind this Biden White House. I don’t think Joe Biden is the decision-maker.

“So, when I see the media turning on Joe Biden right now, I think the odds of Michelle Obama parachuting in in August of 2024 have risen dramatically, and that ought to scare the hell out of anyone who is unhappy in the direction this country is going and doesn’t want us to go even crazier in an even worse direction.” https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ted-cruz-joe-biden-michelle-obama/2023/09/22/id/1135574/

In 1968, Hubert Humphrey was basically picked, somewhat at the last minute, to be the Democratic party’s presidential nominee. So, a last minute nominee is possible.

If it again happened that way, Michelle Obama would not have to campaign much.

Plus, if she were the candidate, she may say something like she is only reluctantly doing this and that she despises Donald Trump so much that she will not debate him. Michelle Obama probably could get away with an unconventional campaign (like Joe Biden did blaming COVID restrictions) which she may be more comfortable with.

We will see.

No matter who emerges and wins, Isaiah had warnings for leaders which apply in the last days:

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20)

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16).

We are seeing political leaders in many lands, including the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand erring by promoting sins that the Bible condemns.

This includes Michelle Obama.

Now, ever since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom, I have felt that it is likely that the USA would end up with a female president or at least a highly-influential woman in a top level, federal government job. As it turns out, the four remaining predominantly British-descended nations (the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) all have had not only queens (they shared the same ones), but all have already had a woman in the office of prime minister (a prime minister is the chief executive official in a parliamentary system of governance). And the USA does have a female vice president (Kamala Harris). We will see if Michelle Obama will run–if so she may well get enough votes to end up as the President of the United States.

As far as voting goes, notice something that international author Doug Casey wrote about it:

March 29, 2019

Democracy is vastly overrated. …

Most of the founders of America were more concerned with liberty than democracy. …

Voting encourages politicians. A vote against one candidate—a major, and quite understandable, reason why many people vote—is always interpreted as a vote for his opponent. And even though you may be voting for the lesser of two evils, the lesser of two evils is still evil. It amounts to giving the candidate a tacit mandate to impose his will on society. https://internationalman.com/articles/5-reasons-not-to-vote/

As far as evil goes, evil is still evil.

Many professing Christians believe that they need to vote even though that concept is not endorsed in the Bible. But the Bible teaches:

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil (Exodus 23:2)

The “lesser evil” is still not good.

What should a Christian do?

Jesus said to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) and to pray for God’s kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

As far as political leaders go, the Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

Notice that we are to pray for worldly leaders and those that have authority over us so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life. Nothing like this is said for voting that many falsely claim is their “Christian” duty–prayer for leaders is.

No matter who you may think is better, the lesser of the evils is still evil.

Supporting evil is not the solution for Christians.

Irrespective of what may or may not happen with Joe Biden, neither voting for him nor Michelle Obama, nor anyone in the Democratic party, nor the Republican party for that matter, will stop the decline of the USA.

Those who are truly part of the Philadelphia remnant will go forward to fulfill Jesus’ commissions in Matthew 24:14 and 28:19-20. They will also support the preparation for the short work of Romans 9:25-28 as well as work to reach the Jews and the full number of Gentiles as recorded in Romans 11:23-25.

We are also to pray for our spiritual leaders. Notice what Jesus taught:

2 The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2).

Notice what Paul taught:

25 Brethren, pray for us (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).

We also are to pray:

14 The will of the Lord be done (Acts 21:14).

Similarly, Jesus taught:

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:7-10).

And that, I believe, should be the type of prayer that Christians have about elections and politicians. Followers of the true God are also told to:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7).

The world is changing–and the USA has no intention to depart from evil.

Trust God.

Repentance is the only thing that could delay the disaster coming to the USA (cf. Daniel 4:27)–but that is not expected.

Without national repentance, the end is coming very soon no matter which party wins the USA 2024 presidential election.

Destruction is coming to the USA–as well as its British-descended allies (UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand)–and it will be worse than most people will believe.