Lawson bates tiffany espensen wedding

I had been contacted by the magistrate to investigate a night wedding in the countryside that had involved the loss of human life. There seemed to be a recent rise in tourists involved in ghost dowries over the years. However, from my research I believe it was a man in search of night weddings for personal gain that was the cause of so many deaths.
When I received the request, I was nearby on Green Island, and addressing a rather unique matter even for my line of work. A little girl from the mainland had arrived two weeks prior and claimed to be the recently deceased husband of the grieving widow.
The child claimed to have woken up in the hospital where the doctors informed them that they had drowned and was clinically dead for 4 minutes when the body inexplicably sat upright in the gurney. This would have seemed to be great news, except when the child looked into the mirror, it was not their face staring back at them.
In old Taoist texts I have read of such events, where the bodies of the recently deceased are not put to ground quickly enough, and their souls are left to wander. They could get carried away by the Northeast or Southwest wind. Depending on the location from where they died. And possibly attach to an empty host.
This seemed to be the case, as the wife acknowledged that due to the wet season, they did not bury her husband's body right away. Because the grounds were so wet, that any graves would wash away, leaving corpses laying in the street. Still, I had the responsibility of testing the child. Whom passed a simple test of naming names. Where they used to live. The wife's habits. A conversation they recently had, and even childhood memories. All were confirmed by friends and family. But it would be the child's handwriting that ultimately convinced me. They were a perfect match, down to the signature.
Upon my approval, the villagers had no choice but to accept that this child was indeed the man come back to life. And when I left, he was sitting outside of his house cleaning fish as he had always done for 32 years, except now in the body of a 10 year old girl.
I didn't have much time to dwell on this case as I was needed at the aftermath of the failed night wedding. Ghost dowries have been in use for thousands of years, and traces of it can be found in many different cultures. From the Aztec to the Egyptians, and more recently from old Spain to the streets of Southeast Asia. Though in recent times, only a few remote places continued the practice, and there are a limited number of priests today who are qualified enough to handle such a case. Luckily, I had plenty of experience in this matter.
In my early years, I had married many ghost brides.
And was often asked, "But you're a priest, how can you get married?"
"Zhengyi Taoist priests can choose to take a wife or not. In fact, in order to pass on my Celestial title, I must have an heir."
The man looked distraught, "And you're sure this will stop her from whispering into my ear every night?" He clutched the bag rather tightly.
"Don't you worry," I took the bag from his hands. "Everything will be fine."
We would perform the customary vows and the following night the man reported no more whisperings from his daughter, yet a week later, the police raided my hotel in a different district. The man had claimed that I had swindled him. That his daughter had returned and continued her whispering of terrible, horrible things that he dare not listen. Clanking and banging away in the walls as he covered his ears in fear until sunrise.
Fortunately, I was allowed to prove my innocence.
I returned and stayed in the man's room, waiting with him for signs of his daughter. And surely enough, late in the hour, I heard the wretched scraping and dragging in the walls. The man stopped breathing in his bed and laid perfectly still. Even I was afraid to move as the most dangerous aspects of my job are in the unknown. My mind began racing, wondering if I had somehow botched the night wedding. Or worse, that the ghost bride wasn't his daughter at all, and I had inadvertently given this mysterious entity a special anchor to this world, a holy man.
The walls shook without reason. And a tiny noise could be heard near the man's bedside. He jumped off his mattress and ran to my side. The two of us watched as the noise traveled back and forth against the back wall like wooden clogs.
"My daughter did always carry around a rattle drum when she was little," the man whispered.
"Hush, don't let it capture your breath," I warned him. "Whatever this is, I don't believe it is your daughter. And because of the ritual, we may have increased its hold on this realm."
He whimpered, "Not my daughter?"
I held up my finger and traced the noise as it traveled in an odd form. I began to wonder if the entity was creating some sort of symbol.
"What are you drawing," the man cried.
"It may be creating a portal," I told him. "Now hush before it turns its attention toward us."
"Please, there must be something you can do?"
I reached into my bag and pulled out some incense. I lit the ends and began chanting. From my waist I pulled out a long yellow parchment. And drew on it a sealing spell. "Spirit," I called as I stepped forward. "I am a guiding light." The noise rattled with conviction as I drew closer. "Let me lead you to peace!" And with one quick motion I punched my hand into the wall, clutching the sealing spell in my palm, at the last place I heard the noise. To my displeasure I felt something wriggling in my grasp as something long and thin wrapped itself around my wrist, its end clawing at my forearm. I screamed when I felt its teeth sink between the soft flesh of my thumb and index finger. But I did not let go. Instead I pulled out this demon from the wall and threw it roughly to the ground.
The man screamed as he jumped onto a chair and screamed, "Rat!"
Yes. A simple field rat. That had a trap stuck on its tail which caused its movements to rattle in the wall. That had been rummaging near the man's nightstand because in one of the drawers he had left a bag of watermelon seeds.
Not all cases are this simple, and plenty are true to life supernatural encounters. Over the years my experience has taught me to be more cautious in my evaluations. Which was why when I finally arrived at the house of the massacre due to a failed night wedding. Every hair on my neck stood on end as I tried to be objective as possible.
But there was no denying that something heinous had occurred here. Bodies were still laying on the floor. Some with their faces in the dirt. Some missing their heads completely. And those with their faces up, were unrecognizable. And my first wife leaned into my ear and whispered to me, "This is the work of a ghost bride."
"How do you know?"
"I recognize her anger. It was mine before we were married."
"How do I know what?" A man walking toward me asked. "Are you the priest they called out here?"
He was average built, and in plain clothes, "Detective, why yes. I am here to assist you in anyway that I can."
The detective spit on the ground, "Assist me? As far as I'm concerned we're wasting valuable time carrying on with this hocus pocus bullshit. The killer's trail will be cold by the time we get through all this religious tape." He wafted the air in front of his face, "And the dead bodies boiling out here. This is all your fault as far as I'm concerned. Assist me," he snorted.
"Are there any eyewitnesses, Detective?"
"Several. But they're all saying the same damn thing. Spouting a bunch of nonsense. Which is why those religious nuts down at the station dredged you up."
"All non-relatives to the home owners?"
He snorted again, "Coincidence."
"Let us hope so," I told him. "Because the alternative is much worse." I walked the scene, going around the upturned tables, tracing the steps of carnage in the courtyard, to the main living room. There I saw the body of an old man, both hands clutching his chest, his face was completely missing. "Any surviving family members?"
"Some are still left," he grunted. "But we've gathered most of them under police protection."
"Have you located the husband?"
"Yeah, we're extraditing him as we speak."
"Extradite?"
"The foreigner took off in the middle of all the commotion. Boarded a flight back home according to our investigation. We've contacted the airline, and the airport security in America will hold him when he lands. As he is currently my number one suspect."
I circled the area in front of the shrine. Noting the spilled bowl and its contents on the ground. The position of the spoon next to it. Before standing in the spot on the left side where the effigy would have stood. "What about the bride?"
The detective shook his head, "What bride?"
"It was a night wedding," I told him. "There must have been a physical object acting as a stand in for the daughter's soul."
"Nothing more than bags of cotton usually," he paused. "But they did report that the stand-in this time was some sort of department figurine. A mannequin of some sort."
"Have you looked into that?"
"Why would I look into that. Are you crazy?"
"Right, you're right of course. You'd have to wait until after sunset to be able to figure out which mannequin serves as the ghost bride's earthly form."
The detective stormed off as if I had said something outlandish. Leaving me to my own devices, I interviewed a few of the neighbors who attended the night wedding, gathered some evidence and sorted with the other officers at the site, and then left for the nearest hotel in the city.
It had been a long month for me and I couldn't think of anything that I would enjoy more than a cold beer. So after checking in I went down to the bar, where an ethereal creature sat alone. She was beautiful to say the least and I had to strike up a conversation lest I live a life of regret, "S'il te plaît ma chérie, dis-moi comment on t'appelle pour que quand je sois perdu dans les ténèbres. Puis-je demander la lumière."
"What?"
"Oh, American. I apologize. I thought you were French."
"On my mother's side," she brushed away her hair.
I noticed the ring, "Ah, you are married. My sincerest apologies miss."
"Newly married," she commented. "My husband is speaking with the concierge."
"Activities on vacation," I mused. "How wonderful."
"It's nothing like that. It seems someone has left him a note. And we're technically on our honeymoon." She paused, "Though this isn't where we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be in Hawaii."
I ordered a beer with the bartender and sipped my drink, "Hawaii is wonderful, but this is also a beautiful island. In fact, when the Portuguese came here, they named it Formosa. Which translates to beautiful island. It may not be where you're supposed to be, but perhaps you'll find that this is exactly where you need to be."
The woman sighed, "I don't even know anymore."
"Ah, I know what this is. I've great experience in these matters. Having been married many times. You feel doubt."
She laughed, "How many times have you gotten a divorce?"
"Divorce?" I laughed. "I never leave a woman after we have been wed."
She looked taken aback, "Oh. I didn't know polygamy was so common in these parts." She glanced behind her to where a tall man was standing with what looked to be the hotel's concierge. "I guess we're in the same boat."
"It's not what you think," I told her.
"Where have I heard that one before," she rolled her eyes.
"Larissa!" The man called for her.
She stood up, "Well, it was nice meeting you. Tell your wives I said hello."
I smiled as she left, glancing at my sides. "If only you knew," I said while sipping my beer.
Now in hindsight, if I were not so fatigued after nearly a month of hard work and constant traveling. I would have perhaps picked up on the fact that she too was familiar with the concubine lifestyle. Which was unusual in itself for an American. Or perhaps I would have picked up on the fact that Larissa was an uncommon name. As I had read Jim's article. But there was no such luck, which is why, when I say that I am deeply regretful of what I read on the news later about the couple, I am truly at a loss for what I could have prevented. But that is not my story to tell.
After I finished drinking at the bar I made my way to the elevator and got in. When a man coming towards me waved as a sign to hold the door, I called out, "It's full." He looked at me bewildered as I was the only person he could see in the elevator, before sticking his hand out to stop the elevator from ascending. Huffing and puffing as he glared at me angrily before pressing his floor number. Except the elevator pinged. The weight capacity light had turned on above our heads. "Like I said, it's full." The man shook his head in amazement. Pressing his floor number again. The elevator pinged again. Unwilling to budge. I sighed and got out, "I'll wait for the next one."
And wait I did, even in my room I waited for night fall instead of resting. The thoughts of a botched night wedding swirling in my head. For the many things that could go wrong. Because even though I had much practice in these matters, I was still always nervous before a fight. So when night fell, I was red eyed and exhausted, but better mentally prepared than before.
But when I arrived back at the scene of the crime, I was not prepared for all of the commotion.
"Ka-kin-eh Ka-kin-eh," a man shouted as the fire blazed.
I grabbed one of the men running by with an empty bucket, "What happened here?"
"T-the villagers, they set the p-place on fire. Trying to rid the evil demon."
I let him go and shook my head. The fools! I made my way toward the courtyard where I saw the detective from earlier moping his forehead as he was helping put out the fire. "Detective! This is terrible," I yelled as the flames licked the night.
"No shit dumbass, it's a fire."
"You don't understand," I told him. "Now the entity has nowhere to return. We may never find it."
He threw the bucket to the floor and whirled around, "Enough! I've had enough! Listen here, there is a fire. F-I-R-E. This a real problem. If it catches to the fields, it could light the newly laid fertilizer on fire and catch the entire mountain!"
"Detective!"
That was the only word I had to say before he punched me. It was a dark night out, but stars had suddenly appeared. He hovered over me and I thought he would strike me again but then suddenly he froze. "What is that?"
I turned my head and looked out into the field. The heat of the fire burning the back of my head as I tried to stop my nose from bleeding. "Where?"
Neither one of us moved as we watched the tall field.
"Right there." He pointed.
I reached up and threw his hand down, "No! You never point at entities," I told him. "Now you could be marked!"
He ignored me and reached for his gun, "Stop! Hey you! I order you to stop or I'll shoot!"
I looked into the field, scanning the endless rows before my eyes stopped and froze in horror. At one point in time the thing must have been a simple plastic mannequin. Standing in a department store perhaps. But now, it was twisted and gnarled. Its face dirty and unrecognizable. It stood on all fours sometimes threes as it swayed slowly back and forth. The thing was also without form because it didn't need to bend or move as normal people. It was still objectively, plastic. It swung its arms behind it and used that as leverage to run, turning its head - cracking the seams that had somehow still held and took off.
The detective rung a shot out at it. I think it struck but it didn't matter as the mannequin disappeared in the field. The detective must have lost his mind because he gave chase.
I couldn't let him go alone so I followed. Pulling out my long yellow parchment as I wrote on it the symbols for sealing, hoping the simple spell would work. As we entered the tall field.
It was chaos. The ground was mushy beneath my feet, and the smell of fecal matter assaulted my senses further. In the brush I had lost the detective, so I was forced to tell my wives to help me locate his whereabouts. They didn't often leave my side, and some were reluctant but ultimately agreed.
I stood in the field, waiting with bated breath as I heard further gunshots in the distance. I couldn't wait for my wives to gather as I tore after the detective. And just in time as I saw him standing, looking absolutely terrified as he shot blindly into the fauna until his pistol clicked. The mannequin lunged for him. But I got there first. Pushing him to the ground, causing both of us to tumble.
He was eating a mouth of dirt as I pulled him to his feet. "We have to get out of this field! The ghost bride will pick us off in this thicket!"
Stumbling, and running, the two of us were covered in more than dirt. Several times we heard rustling nearby as if something were running alongside us. But eventually we made it out into the open plain. The detective trying to catch his breath as he reloaded his pistol.
"Shooting it doesn't work," he panted. "But maybe I can disable it from moving."
"Shut up," I told him. "Listen."
He stopped for a moment and we waited. Then all of the stalks before us shook wildly as if a hundred people were running through it. The detective raised his arm but I stopped him as my wives ran out of the field.
They were terrified as they ran right through us.
I hadn't experienced the feeling in awhile but the coldness as their ghostly forms went through our bodies was cold as ice. It was enough to bring us both to our knees, clutching our chests as we struggled to breathe. I had passed through one or two in a row before. But never 10 or 20 at a time. I lost count.
"What was that," the detective managed to gasp, his fingers in a death grip around his gun.
"A blue procession," I told him. "Something caused all of my dead wives to flee."
We looked up as the leaves in front of us rustled.
"Is it..."
I shook my head, running forward to catch her. My 13th wife, Ah-ren. Her arm was missing, and a part of her shoulder. She was an innocent girl that had drowned when she was alive. Her innocence carried on with her to the afterlife where many souls generally grew up embittered. But never her, always sweet my girl, just weary of water.
"I didn't want to go," she told me.
"I know," I held her. "I'm sorry."
"It got some of the others too. But Meita got in its way and told me to run." She cried.
"Don't cry I told her. You know how you hate getting wet."
"I don't want to go. I wanted to stay with you. All of us together."
I could do nothing but watch as her soul splintered and disappeared forever.
I had never felt such fury. In all my years, a womanizer, a liar, a cheat at cards, a scoundrel, a bastard even. But an undutiful husband? Never.
Without thinking I approached the field and cast a spell that was forbidden.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm purging the field. All beings alive or dead will forever feel displaced when they enter here. A feeling of unending dread and doom will overcome them, causing madness if they do not leave or are unable to. But I have no other choice." I reached into my side and threw a handful of salt. It landed on the ground as I chanted. The winds carrying it into the field, the small white morsels rolling obediently into the darkness.
"Nothings happening," the detective's word stuck in his mouth as a horrible scream echoed into the night. It sounded like two pieces of steel being twisted together.
"There," I took off after it. The jumbled figure of the mannequin fled toward the village.
We followed it through the streets and between alleyways; the villagers screamed and fled when they saw it. We barged through home after home as we chased it. Until we cornered it at an abandoned building at the edge of town.
"It was supposed to be a mall," the detective told me. "But the developers ran out of money."
We walked quietly into the empty building. Shells of stores stood in various degrees of construction. Checking a few of the fronts before venturing further inside.
"You've got to be kidding me," the detective said as we came near the center of the complex. There next to the escalators and the fountains was an army of mannequins of all shapes and sizes lined up like terracotta warriors. "They must have stashed them all here when the place was being built, and forgot about them when it closed."
"There are hundreds."
"We'll go through together. Quickly and quietly." He added, "Stay alert."
We moved through the rows, staring at all of the stuck faces, searching for one covered in grime and bullet holes. But it was more difficult than it sounded. Many of the mannequins were in bad shape, weathered, broken, laying in pieces on the ground. It was hard to tell if a pile of parts was indeed our culprit.
Slowly we began to clear the rows and I could see the other side in sight.
"There!" The detective shot his gun. The surrounding mannequins dropped like dominoes when the entity scattered. Falling down all around us, drowning in a sea of plastic arms and smiling faces. I was struggling to stand as I looked up and saw the entity come rushing toward us. The detective fired his gun blowing out one of its knee caps. I hurriedly reached for my parchment but could not find my pen. Another shot, another hit, but the scorned bride kept on charging unable to feel pain.
It jumped into the air and the detective blew a part of its face away. But then he began screaming as the bride began to eat him. Pieces of his sinew was launched into the air as he was torn apart. I rushed forward trying to help but the creature grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. My feet searching for the ground as my lungs folded trying to breathe. The thing turned its head toward me and said, "Will you marry me?" As the darkness closed into the corners of my eyes.
The fight was leaving my body as I saw several of my wives rushing forward. Their ghostly forms bloodlusted as they began tearing at the mannequin, slowly pulling out pieces of her soul, causing the mannequin's arms and legs to go limp as they dragged her out of the corporeal form.
I scrambled the floor blindly with my fingers searching for my sacred parchment but could not find it amongst the rubble and the ghost bride was fleeing, leaving the shell of her mannequin in a heap on the floor. My wives chasing her, screaming their fury for killing the others. For destroying their souls.
I chased after them into the open air, where she was being cornered. Crying as I approached, trying to escape into the Southwest wind. I knew what I should have done, but could not bring myself to do the right thing. Instead I bit my finger and drew symbols on my forearms with my own blood. Approaching the bride that never was and tore her soul into pieces.
When I was done my wives sat down around me before slowly dispersing as the sun began to rise.
"We did it huh?"
I continued staring at the sun, "Yeah."
"Well then," the detective said before disappearing. "Maybe in the next life I'll be sooner to trust you."
Later they would find his body in the abandoned mall. Still clutching his gun. The department gave him a 21 gun salute at his funeral and a medal as commemoration. I was just glad that his soul had not been eaten.
I, on the other hand, went back to the hotel. To the bar and ordered a well deserved drink. Where I saw a pretty woman sitting alone, "Did you know that in order for me to pass on my Celestial title, I must bear an heir?"
​
​
s

MATCH RESULTS

Winner	Loser	Match Finish	Stipulation
The Dyad and Ava	Diamond Mine	Hitting Ivy with the Schism mask
Blair Davenport	Dani Palmer	Falcon Arrow
Baron Corbin	Trick Williams	End of Days
Mustafa Ali	Joe Gacy	450 Splasha
Eddie Thorpe	Damon Kemp	German Suplex (Kemp's foot was on the rope)
Scrypts w/ Axiom	Dabba-Kato	Roll-Up after a distraction from Axiom
Thea Hail	~20 other NXT Women Superstars	Last Eliminating Dana Brooke and Cora Jade	NXT Women's Championship #1 Contender's Battle Royal

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Baron Corbin arrives backstage and demands an assistant to hit his music as he heads to the ring. Corbin said he thought he'd never step back through these doors once he got that call and went straight to the top. As he was main eventing Pay-Per-Views, as more people from NXT were called up and were hungry. Then something changed and the call-ups had an ego as they twiddled around the locker room. Now he walks around and sees trainees talking about their legacy and are on guaranteed contracts, living in the house that he built. Corbin says the OG's from FCW were the ones who made NXT what it is and sold out Barclay's Arena with 16,000 people and after seeing the last class of calls ups he knew a change had to be made. He says Carmelo Hayes represents the new NXT but he got a taste of main-roster reality last weeek when he held his title over his head. Ilja Dragunov comes out to confront Corbin and says he doesn't know who Baron is passing in the locker room but he isn't soft nor weak and after Battleground he should be first in line to face Carmelo Hayes. Baron says this is the ego he's talking about and says he's competed at 6 Wrestlemanias, retired Kurt Angle, and was the last person to pin Roman Reigns. Ilja tells him that Corbin wants to face Carmelo Hayes to make a statement and Ilja wants to face it because he earned. Ilja challenges him to a match tonight and says Corbin won't be as hard as Battleground was and lifts his shirt to show a large bruise on his stomach. Corbin warns him that once he's done with him he'll have plenty more. After Ilja leaves Trick Williams ambushes Corbin from behind and throws him to the outside.
  
• Thea Hail is leaving a gym as Duke Hudson finds her outside, Charlie Dempsey peaks out the door to tell Thea he better see her back there tomorrow. Duke wonders why Thea is evening training with them but Thea says if she doesn't like someone she just has to crunch back at them ever harder and says she needs the training for the battle royal tonight.
  
• Backstage Bron Breakker has beaten down Ilja and asks him if he likes pain and shouts at him.
  
• Stacks visits Tony D'Angelo in jail, Tony says he's doing well in here, his old friend Knuckles is in here, and he worked out the deal with the guards so he can watch Peacock and catch up on NXT the next day but he still needs to get out. Stacks says he's got their lawyer on it but isn't fully sure if it's Gallus behind things. Tony tells him to trust his guts and get some revenge because once he gets outta here there's going to be hell to pay. A guard tells Tony his time is up so he tells Stack that he's the underboss so he's gotta figure things out.
  
• Robert Stone tells Von Wagner he hopes this therapist works out because they've had trouble finding the right one. They flash back to Von telling a therapist to go f*** himself after he asks about his anger issues and physically threatening another one. Stone asks him to give this one a chance but after seeing someone else walk out of the office crying Wagner says he refuses to go in there and that his dad would never let him be seen crying like that. After the receptionist tells Wagner he's next, Von takes a liking to her and decides to give it a shot and tells Stone to wait outside as he winks at him.
  
• Dana Brooke arrives in the parking lot and says she heard about the battle royal tonight and wants to make her own opportunity by being the last woman standing.
  
• Tiffany Stratton is interviewed backstage, she says she isn't shocked that Dana wants a shot at her title and welcomes all comers. She says some people think a championship makes the superstar but she's making the title the most sought after on NXT. When asked about who she wants to win the battle royal she says Lyra Valkyria pushed her to the limit at Battleground but didn't have what it takes to be at the Tiffy-top.
  
• Nathan Frasier hosts Hard Hitting Home Truths. He says the landscape of NXT is constantly changing as he recaps himself and Dragon Lee stopping Noam Dar from winning the NXT Championship last week and welcomes his special guest and international correspondent, Dragon Lee. Lee speaks Spanish and Nathan says si. Lee lists off 5 names for Noam Dar's new group, calling them his rent-a-friends. Nathan calls out Noam and challenges him to a match for the Heritage Cup next week and Dragon says he'll be in his corner.
  
• Mustafa Ali says he's excited to be in NXT for a new level of competition. Wes Lee approaches and offers to hand Ali a shot at the North American Championship but Ali says he didn't come here to get things handed to him, he wants to earn a title match, that is if Wes is still champion.
  
• The Dyad attempt to ambush Mustafa after his victory but Wes Lee and Tyler Bate run in to even the odds and send the Schism packing.
  
• Backstage Maliq and Enofe tells Briggs and Jensen it's their fault that Hank and Tank fought and now Enofe wants to fight him. Briggs and Jensen show how close they are by answering questions about each others, Hank and Tank walk by and do the same and invite Briggs and Jensen to get some drinks. Maliq says it's clear they aren't on the same page when Gallus comes by and Joe Coffey says it doesn't matter if they're on the same page or not they'd never have a chance against them because it's Gallus boys on top. After Gallus leave Maliq says alright they can do this and Enofe tells him he'll see him in the ring next week.
  
• Noam Dar's entourage is interviewed backstage, Noam says he has to be surrounded by stars. Oro Mensah says Noam was the one who believed in him when he wasn't being used. He says Miss Jackson is bringing the action and Lash Legend is a future GOAT. Lash says the screen can't handle all this brightness and they're all trophies. Noam says he's never losing this cup and there's no stopping The Metaphor, check please.
  
• Gigi Dolin is on the phone with her brother saying that the staples in her head won't stop her from winning the battle royal tonight and says she'll talk to him later. Kiana James comes by and tells her that the after phone call will just be disappointment just like their whole lives up until then. Gigi says their upbringing doesn't define them and she'd rather be where she's at from where she came from than some stuck up elitist like Kiana and can't wait to throw her over the top rope.
  
• Following the match Dabba Kato beats down Scrypts before grabbing Axiom and slamming him on top of Scrypts.
  
• Backstage Joe Gacy is ranting about Wes Lee and Tyler Bates phony friendship and vows to expose them next week. Fowler says at least they were able to defeat Diamond this week. Joe says he is letting the Schism down and needs time to reflect. Ava tells him one root can not hold up an entire tree on its own.
  
• Backstage Mustafa Ali thanks Bate and Wes for their help last week and Bate says next week in the 6 man tag they'll rip out Schism by the roots. Mustafa Ali says there's some real magic between Wes and Tyler and everyone would love to see them go one on one, so after their tag match next week they gotta figure out when the two of them will face off.
  
• Following the main event Bron Breakker is in the parking lot and says he attacked Ilja because he won't allow him to say he's the most intense guy in WWE and he's going to start holding people accountable. He takes issue with Seth Rollins calling himself the workhorse of WWE and asks him to prove it by having the first NXT Champion show up to NXT to meet the most intense NXT Champion of all time!
  

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From I heard Amy mention 'needing encouragement' as what the Duggars use as some sort of code word for beating, I recognised it as something I heard before. I couldn't remember where exactly though and I was planning to scan some 19kids episodes to find something similar. However, I ended up meeting up on it much quicker than I expected.
I sacrificed my hands and precious time to braid my hair these past two days and while I was looking on Tubi for Bring It or Bring It On, Bringing Up Bates came up instead. I said fine, I can't find what I'm looking for so let me give into my longstanding hyperfixation and watch the show again.
In Episode 4 at 13:31, Gil says "He just needs a lil bit of encouragement" about Jeb, 2 at the time, because he was acting up in a consignment store.
I froze for a long while before finally restarting the episode and things have progressively gotten worse.
In about episode 6 or so, Lawson comments that eventually there will be so many Bates, you can just pick one for President and my head just fell into my hands. I knew things were bad and so much of the documentary is not new to me. But it's crazy what a bit more insight can cause you to notice.

Six months ago I met a really nice guy. At first it was just bating, but we kept hooking up over and over and we became closer. He's kind, interesting, absolutely gorgeous and I've never been so sexually compatible with someone.
Then he had to ask me out... but I reluctantly declined for three reasons:

1. I'm still in a somewhat unhealthy co-dependent friendship with my somewhat clingy ex, which I've been working with a therapist to sort out. I tried dating before whilst in this situation, and I ended up very depressed for 2 years. I am scared to go back there.
2. Also I want to move to Quebec to learn French, which I've wanted to do for 10 years - don't want to be held back anymore by attachments.
3. Finally, life wise, there might not be enough compatibility. A lot of our interests don't align, so long term I worry we'd run out of things to talk about. And, not to sound judgmental, but he lives at home with his parents and is still launching his career. I'm already 10 years into mine.

Anyway, of course he was disappointed. We hooked up a few more times as friends, but of course, he moved on started dating another sexy guy. I'm just sad, even though it was my choice. I guess it's the first time I felt something deep for another guy, it hurts. Why does life have to have such inconvenient timing? I'm not ready. Will I ever meet someone as good as this? (Such a selfish way of thinking I know). I hate being this out of control of my own emotions.

Monday
Mexican shredded cheese-topped blueberries. It’s what’s for breakfast when Minnie is on breakfast duty, in charge of monitoring your glucose, and you’re two years old.
Waterskiing for soggy sandwiches is the new skiing for donuts. Ski-vie Kate wanted to go first but had to wait for the larger of her two handlers to demonstrate how to use the ski trainer while her other handler ruptured her eardrums. After she waterskied to her parents’ satisfaction, it was time for a nap in her swimsuit, but the Contentot broke free from the blackout tent looking for juice and pajamas. Back out on the water again, Sea-Doo Kate was fed more sandwiches to perform for Instagram. During her break from filming, Stevie Chalk colored Belle’s fur pink and declared her love for the number one guy in the group, Tanner, with sidewalk art.
Tuesday
The Tuesday after Memorial Day means it’s back to work for the Turtles… just kidding! When you’re a Houghton, every day is a vacation day and they’re all still at the lake.
Feral Kate woke up with hair bigger than Sam’s but at least she didn’t have to spend the whole night sleeping in a dirty swimsuit. As the hardest working Houghton, she was immediately tasked with executing today’s content plan: Stand Up Waterskiing for a Two Year Old. Failure was not an option. Her wages? Unlimited sandwiches on the boat 🥪 and Rice Krispies doled out to her like cat treats off the side of the ski trainer.
In fact Stevie Sandwich consumed more sandwiches over Memorial Day weekend than Jen has eaten in her entire life - regular bread, Sola bread, or otherwise. Who can blame the little bread lover though. She was just trying to eat enough so that the giant life jacket they gave her would actually fit.
Snap Crackle Kate exceeded everyone’s expectations for waterskiing content and was rewarded with ice cream by coach Uncle Tanner. She seemed to love her moment in the spotlight on the water, smiling, hamming it up for the camera and singing along to her favorite Frozen songs.
Howler Monkey: Steven makes THE BEST peach cobbler in the world better cobbler than Tiffany. All you do is put peaches in the bottom of a baking dish, sprinkle cake mix on them, and slice up a stick of butter and put it on top of that. Because I never eat food or cook, I think it’s absolutely BRILLIANT. Wowowowow.
Wednesday
Dimwit took the day off IG but Jen storied what the Junior Turtles were up to today. Jen awoke to find Sleepy Kate blacked out in the kitchen and Dim and Dum asleep on the new sofa surrounded by a sea of plastic water bottles and cereal bowls. Apparently the A/C had gone out in their bedroom. Dimmy reported for Shilly babysitting duty while Tiffany and Adam went jet skiing. Tiffany had a case of mom brain which apparently made her forget riding a jet ski three weeks postpartum would be a bad idea. But somehow she bopped right through and Adam was the one left doubled over in pain. It was right back to work for Snap Crackle Kate as she waterskied again for Rice Krispies doled out by Tanner. Training Stevie Canine was such a success that Dummy didn’t even have to pull out his iPhone notes to reference his Fix Whining Plan.
Turtle time check. Jen shared stories from Saturday and tried to pass them off as today’s, of the Dirtles touring the new $5 million lake house she and Sr bought. In today’s depiction of Saturdays tour, SK seemed more impressed by the Castle o’ Timber, while Dimmy was ready for Jen to give it a Sarah Knuth-inspired makeover.
Back in real time, Jen shared her favorite family moments from the week at the lake house, and poor Dummy wasn’t featured in a single photo, while Dimmy was in one photo and Stevie Kate featured in five photos.
Thursday
Stevie Kontent’s wake up call: bright lights, big shrieks, and a phone shoved in her face. You can only hide under a blanket for so long before your handlers make you greet the internet with your good morning script and declare your love for all the fat poors who fund your travel. Next up it was time to force Shein Kate into some commissionable, linkable fast fashion while pretending the Contentot put together the cheap look all on her own.
Dummy updated us she got her period and is not pregnant with SK 2.0 (whew we’re all relieved to have a brief reprieve from turtle pregnancies).
String Cheese Kate had blueberries, a bracelet, a piece of cheese and avocado toast for lunch while Kimmy had a Go Hydrate drink containing 5 calories for lunch. So 👏🏻 so 👏🏻 yummy and it totally fills her up. After less than just one day back at home, Kimmy announced it’s time to travel again - to Arizona to see friends Brooke & Justin and then to a friend’s wedding in Utah - so she’s packing all her powders and supplements and shit to shill for the next several days.
Stevie Shaving Cream played with the neighbor boy in the tub with shaving cream but they didn’t like it, probably because their stupid moms couldn’t figure out that the tub is also a great place to rinse off the mess when they’re done. So the dim moms dragged the dirty tots through the house and plopped them outside at the water table to hose them off.
Dimmy was excited when a giant box was delivered - more shit to shill! - only to realize the package contained dozens of rolls of toilet paper addressed to Stevie Charmin. Was the tot’s BFF Sam behind this? Maybe he sent the package to SK to encourage her to TP Turtle Creek Lane as his punishment to the Senior Turtles for the Mormon bucket trek! Unbothered that strangers could be sending her weird stuff through the mail, Return to Sender Kate unboxed the rest of the day’s packages while reciting The Gruffalo and dumping a plate of her food on the floor.
Continued in comments due to character limit

I don't remember which creator was able to download the talk and published it because the IBLP streamed it, but they didn't make it public. Remember, when they made the talk that he gave where he bragged about beating one of the middle boys, and screamed at the younger girls because they cleaned the entire house, but had a sink full of dishes where he wanted to wash his hands that was dirty from work and bodily fluids because he was working outside all day. And then they made the talk private because of all the opposition from it.
Well, this years talk, he said that the husband had a right to have an affair because he was the one providing and the wife is home, and may not be able to make everything perfect. When he gets home, she is not the perfect 50's/Stepford Wife.
I was thinking, Tiffany and Carlin both have the right to have affairs because they are the ones bringing in an income to the unions. \
Lawson is completely floundering with what ever he is doing. She has all these acting credits, and has real estate dealings. Lawson probably had a quarter financially to the marriage. I am waiting for her to wake up, and realize that he is not what she thought he was, and shows his true colors. Watch they divorce in a few years.
Evan does just the social media for BSB, and that's it. The last video, he was struggling with the housework. He wasn't going to wash all the bedding that Layla peed on, and Carlin got mad.
If the roles are reversed if you ever listened to the talk, both of them have the right to go outside the marriages and have affairs.

My friend and I planned a spur-of-the-moment trip to Texas. Round trip from NY to Houston was under $200 but her son is an airline employee and got her a buddy pass. I arranged my flight on a different airline to arrive and depart within minutes of hers so we'd meet up at the airport around the same time. We spent 5 days in an airbnb. There was a little dust on the ceiling fan so after 2 days she complained to airbnb headquarters and got a refund plus a credit towards another apartment. We ate out daily and daily she either complained about the food after she ate it and got a refund or another meal to go, on the house. We went to the mall and she stopped in Tiffany's to get complimentary Perrier water instead of just purchasing a drink in the mall. It was finally time to go home. Her flight took off first, mine was scheduled 15 minutes later. When I landed at JFK, I called her to let her know I landed and where to meet me as my daughter was there to drive us home. She said she was still in Houston... she was not able to get a seat on stand-by! Long story short, she wasn't seated on the next two flights and ended up having to wait until the following afternoon to finally get a flight home. She had to pay for a hotel overnight, buy her dinner, and possibly breakfast, and had to spend on an Uber ride home from NYC to Long Island, and that ain't cheap! She spent way more in one day than she saved over our 5 day trip!😁🤭

Medic Corps lists their CFO as Jimmy Burns, who is the accountant in all of JB’s LLCs… It’s been said JB has accumulated $18 million from the show. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is actually a JB operation and the sons are merely working for him.
We know that JD Duggar & Nathan Bates are seen as the reps. However, the following have also been involved: Jana, Jed, Jer, and Lawson Bates.
My theory is that JB doles out money for a business, assigns different kids to “run” it, but is the true decision maker and leader behind them all.

Sunday, May 28, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts (with 17,300 Attendance)
First Match: Wes Lee (c) (w/Nash Carter) vs. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne vs. Joe Gacy (w/Ava Raine) - Fatal 4-Way Match for the NXT North American Championship
**Winner: Wes Lee**
Second Match: Dragon Lee (with Nathan Frazer) vs. Noam Dar (w/Oro Mensah) - British Rounds Rules match for the vacant NXT Heritage Cup
**Winner: Noam Dar (2-1)**
Third Match: Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak - Last Man Standing Match
**Winner: Ilja Dragunov**
Fourth Match: Johnny Gargano (w/Candice LaRae, Tommaso Ciampa, and Dexter Lumis) vs. Grayson Waller (w/The Miz, John Morrison, Bronson Reed, and Maryse) - Unsanctioned Match (with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee)
**Winner: Johnny Gargano**
Fifth Match: Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) (w/Joe Coffey) (c) vs. The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) (w/Ivy Nile) - Tag Team Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship
**Winner: Gallus**
*Not only, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang defend the title, Joe Coffey claimed the NXT Tag Team Championship as a Freebird Rule.*
Match #5: Indi Hartwell (c) (Raw) vs. Tiffany Stratton (NXT) vs. Lyra Valkyria (NXT) - Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women's Championship
**Winner: Tiffany Stratton**
Main Event: Carmelo Hayes (c) (w/Trick Williams) vs. Bron Breakker - Singles Match for the NXT Championship
**Winner: Carmelo Hayes**

Does anyone else wonder if Gothard ever tried anything with any of the Bates or Duggar girls. It struck me as odd that Erin Bates had a birthday cake for him at her wedding and finding out he liked blonde girls kind of made me shiver.

Why were they left out compared to others like Paul & Morgan?

Hi everyone! I've been on a recent Say Yes to the Dress binge and have time to spare, so I thought I'd rank the Bates wedding dresses in order of preference. This is just based off my fashion preferences- it is in no way intended as hate or as commentary on the actual person wearing the dress.

1. Erin- The dress itself was actually nice. It was the alterations that didn't work. It was really obvious they sewed in a t-shirt for modesty, and it's such a shame because the dress would have been so pretty without the modesty alterations.
   
2. Whitney (original)- The bolero did not work at all. I also wasn't a fan of the skirt's draping- it looked too heavy and bunched for me. But I at least prefer the bolero to sewing in a shirt.
   
3. Michael- The modesty alterations were less obvious than Erin's, but I still am not a fan of the short sleeves, pattern on the skirt, or the knot on the bodice. It doesn't really feel cohesive.
   
4. Alyssa- I really like this dress, but adding straps totally threw it off. They're too wide and look like they're going to slip off any second. The bodice also seemed to be slightly thick. Had it been thinner and the dress kept strapless, this dress would be ranked higher.
   
5. Tiffany:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(499x0:501x2)/Lawson-Bates-wedding75-68215707b65f4beb998beb2e4f3db3c3.jpg)- It looked very clean and appropriate for a coastal wedding, but the bow did not do it for me. I thought the neckline also hit at a weird spot. Having it be either a deeper V neck or a scoop neck and removing the bow would make a huge difference. Massive props for a sleeveless dress with a slit, though. It is certainly refreshing to see.
   
6. Josie- As with many of the other dresses, it's the alterations that I dislike. The dress itself is gorgeous, and I really like the material of the skirt. But the modesty panel is really obvious and distracting, and the extra lining makes it much harder to see the beautiful details on the bodice.
   
7. Esther- The style was flattering on her, and I liked that it had personality to it. I do think adding a belt and trading the crown for a simpler headpiece would have made it look more timeless, but it's still a very nice dress.
   
8. Lydia:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(859x228:861x230)/Bringing-Up-Bates-Wedding-100222-06-2000-2362fa7fad89407f9c13ac376e07ad04.jpg)- This was hard to judge because it was such a pain trying to find photos of her from the front (this was the best I could do), but I really like it! It's very classic and the lace and buttons feel interesting without being overdone. It will age very nicely.
   
9. Tori- The lace overlay of the dress was beautiful, and I really loved the train. It fit nicely and felt very classic. It was also modest without feeling very in-your-face about it. Bonus points for wearing her hair up to show off the back too.
   
10. Katie- I'm typically not a fan of overly simple wedding dresses, but this one really worked. It was very timeless and the big skirt made it interesting to look at. I do wish the neckline fit a little better, but I don't think it took away from the look.
    
11. Carlin- This dress was probably the most fitting personality-wise. It really screamed Carlin. The big skirt, flower on the waist, lace- it totally worked for her. I really liked how light the skirt looked and the floral accents.
    
12. Whitney (vow renewal)- The difference between this and her original wedding dress is so stark, considering they weren't even five years apart. The high neckline paired with the sleeveless, lacy style is incredibly flattering, and her hairstyle showed off the back and paired nicely with the formal but still laidback vibe. The style really stands out compared to other Bates dresses that can sometimes blend together. No critiques here. 10/10
    

After a year of tracking YouTube, I was asked if I could track Instagram. I am using slightly different tracking criteria, because Instagram is a different platform. I will be simply tracking the posts from a given month.
I did a poll and people would rather that I track Tiffany and Lydia than Lawson and Trace, so I am doing that. Meaning Jackson is the only Bates male listed in my chart.
# of posts in May 1. Kelly- 9 2. Erin- 8 3. Josie- 7 3. Carlin- 7 5. Alyssa- 5 5. Lydia- 5 7. Katie- 4 8. Michael- 3 9. Whitney- 3 10. Esther- 3 11. Jackson- 2 12. Tiffany- 2 (I wrote this before she and Lawson did their late night post 😂)
# of followers 1. Kelly- 476k 2. Erin- 399k 3. Carlin- 386k 4. Whitney- 356k 5. Alyssa- 347k 6. Josie- 298k 7. Katie- 227k 8. Michael- 216k 9. Tiffany- 116k 10. Esther- 83.8k 11. Lydia- 46.1k 12. Jackson- 42.1k
Qverage # of comments Per Post 1. Josie- 397 2. Katie- 269 3. Erin- 251 4. Kelly- 188 5. Carlin- 143 6. Alyssa- 128 7. Tiffany- 116 8. Whitney- 111 9. Lydia- 87 10. Michael- 77 11. Esther- 51 12. Jackson- 49 (he turned off comments on ½ his posts)
Average # of likes Per Post 1. Katie- 25.2k 2. Carlin- 22k 3. Erin- 12.4k 4. Kelly- 12.2k 5. Michael- 10.5k 6. Josie- 10.1k 7. Tiffany- 9.6k (Tiffany has likes turned off on one of her posts as it is a joint post with Lawson) 8. Whitney- 9.4k 9. Lydia- 9.2k 10. Esther- 8.8k 11. Jackson- 5.3k 12. Alyssa has the # of likes turned off
Total Average Engagement % (followers to likes + comments 1. Lydia- 20.1% 2. Jackson- 12.7% 3. Katie- 11% 4. Esther- 10.5% 5. Tiffany- 8.4% 6. Carlin- 5.7% 7. Michael- 4.9% 8. Josie- 3.5% 9. Erin- 3.2% 10. Whitney- 2.6% 11. Kelly- 2.5% 12. Alyssa has the # of likes turned off
I can''t track Alyssa's engagement as she has like tracking turned off, so that sucks. Otherwise, the accounts with the least followers have the most engagement on their posts (which makes sense). Except Katie, who has over 200k followers and excellent engagement (Katie might be becoming the sister to watch with social media). Josie's low engagement surprised me, especially as she is currently running a like and comment post.
I am curious to see how these numbers change from month to month. The goal is 1 to 5% follower engagement, so everyone is meeting that. I obviously can't track how many sales they generate for their sponsors, but I would think they are definitely meeting the goal.

Is this what we have been waiting for?
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https://people.com/lawson-bates-vows-music-video-premiere-exclusive-7506850