#[fc/ just add white streaks]

[onlyarogue]

[painofhumanity]

very tempted to add Rogue with Elizabeth Gillies as a FC (going with white streaks being throughout her hair instead of just in the front and she dyes them), and have her be a sort of mix of the X-Men movies and X-Men: Evolutions

[hobierps]

The Lone Paradise Ranch Long have the residents of Arkney County known of the good times to be had at the Lone Paradise Ranch, where the liquor never stops flowing, nor does the parade of beautiful women. Founded nearly 20 years ago by Rafael Soler as a way to fatten his checkbook after seeing an opportunity to add a source of entertainment to the county, the Lone Paradise Ranch quickly built a name for itself among the who’s who of Arkney County and beyond, thanks in no small part to the annual Arkney Derby, an event that rivals the Kentucky Derby in scale.

While the Lone Paradise is largely known as a place to gamble away your fortune on the horse races, inside is where the real horseplay transpires. Managed by those who have fallen into Soler’s grasp, a prostitution ring is run out of the ranch—one driven by sweet words promising opportunity and the fear of what happens if you dare not believe them. Though all who fall into the spider’s web have their own cause for being there, whether it be drugs, loans with unscrupulous interest rates, or the chance at a better future, the more they struggle, the more tangled they become. Leaving seems the most obvious answer, but doing so is a nigh unattainable feat, as the Lone Paradise demands a hefty price for freedom.

The Lone Paradise promises to make your most intimate dreams come true, but who dares pay the price?

This ad is for some of the members of the local prostitution ring. The faces and some of the ages are flexible. This ad is open to original characters as well! (For all levels.)

Feel free to hit one of us up on discord at either contramundum#7735 hobie#4947 or mady#5462 if you have any questions! Full descriptions of the members of the Lone Paradise Ranch after the break~

Owner & Operator — Rafael ‘Raf’ Soler (53) FC: Benicio Del Toro || Played by Mira Owner and operator of the Lone Paradise Ranch, Rafael Soler has been at the center of Arkney County’s entertainment for nearly twenty-five years. By day, the ranch boasts family-friendly activities, but the real fun happens after the sun has fallen. The adult entertainment offered by the ranch has skyrocketed its appeal and made the Lone Paradise Ranch a name whispered among both the elite and those with more illicit cravings. He’s shown himself as an adept businessman who’s not afraid to sink to the level of his clientele, and recent years have found him more depraved than ever. In a long term business/personal relationship with Entertainment Manager, but Annie March has recently caught his eye.

Personal Assistant — Logan ‘Vick’ Vickers (34) FC: Scott Eastwood || Played by Hobie Rafael Soler’s second-in-command, Logan Vickers serves as an extension of the man’s will. He began working for the ranch after graduating high school when Raf used his wealth to protect Vick’s family’s cattle ranch from foreclosure. He is reckless and wild, a hot-headed cowboy who flies by the seat of his pants. Despite his rowdy streak, Vick oozes southern charm and rarely does he ruffle feathers without meaning to. In his youth, he was a local rodeo star, roping calves and clinging to the backs of bucking broncos. Today, he undertakes the more vicious duties for Raf, more often than not walking away with blood on his hands. He has seen the measure of Raf’s wickedness and embraced it, choosing to walk with the devil, rather than meet his wrath. Despite knowing the depths of Raf’s depravity, he has roped in his two longtime friends, the Horse Handler and the Head of Security, into his disturbing games.

Head of Security (mid 30s) — Reserved for Levi Suggested FC: Russell Tovey, Jai Courtney, Jon Kortajarena A transplant from the west coast, the Head of Security came to Arney County after his wealthy father decided to give up the good life in favor of getting back to his roots. A teenager when he arrived in Kansas, the Head of Security quickly fell in with Logan Vickers’ gang of hoodlums. Like the Horse Handler, the Head of Security was brought into Rafael Soler’s circle by Vick, yet unlike the Horse Handler, the Head of Security has no qualms about the unsavory things that go down at the ranch. Though, perhaps this is why the more abhorrent tasks are left to Vick. Instead, the Head of Security is charged with protecting the girls from overzealous patrons and the occasional disgruntled boyfriend. He and Vick are in an erratic off-the-books affair that neither man acknowledges.

Horse Handler (mid 30s) — Open Suggested FC: John Boyega, Michael B. Jordan, Dudley O'Shaughnessy Kansas born and bred, Lone Paradise’s resident Horse Handler has spent his lifetime in the flat grasslands of the Midwest. The son of a pair of horse breeders, the Horse Handler knows his way around those beautiful creatures. Like Logan Vickers, he participated in the local rodeos in his youth, solidifying their friendship—one that has lasted to this day, despite Vick’s unconscious attempts to derail it. An old soul with a bleeding heart, the Horse Handler is a misfit among the Paradise Ranch staff. He stands against everything that Rafael Soler believes, but found himself roped into the madness by Vick nearly a decade ago. Now he cares for the horses that the ranch keeps for races and fixes the odds in the house’s favor when Raf deems it necessary. A bit of a white knight, he’s been known to engage in relationships with the entertainment, believing he can save them from a life of servitude.

Legal Advisor (33-36) — Open Suggested FC: David Castañeda The legal advisor is Raf’s son, returning from a lackluster stint on the East Coast, but also the most presentable face of the operation, there in places where his father, Rafael Soler’s accent or aggressive bearing might be less welcome. Whether in dealings with local police, lawsuits, or other official functions, the legal advisor knows where all the bodies — perhaps literally — are buried, and is more than happy to grace the situation with a placid all-American smile. His exact feelings toward the ranch and/or his father are murky at best, and buried under carefully considered words; however, his eye has really been drawn to his father’s latest favorite, Annie March, much to his dismay.

Entertainment Manager (40s) — Open Suggested FC: Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Thandie Newton One of Raf’s long time favorite performers, the Entertainment Manager has done her fair share of favors to get to where she is today. Beginning as just one of the girls, the Entertainment Manager exercised her feminine wiles to charm Raf and win his favor. At one time, she might have thought he’d marry her, but she’s long since learned of her disillusion. A few years ago, Raf retired her from the floor and now she manages the talent with a firm, but fair, hand, taking it upon herself to protect the ones who do good work. She spits fire and fights for what she wants, but she knows to bite her tongue when it comes to Raf. Vick, however, is a different story. She knows they stand on equal footing and is more than willing to throw her weight around when necessary. She has been involved in a long term relationship with Rafael Soler that spans both the personal and professional, though his attention towards her has waned since Annie March caught his lustful gaze.

Escort One — Annie March (24) FC: Josephin Skriver || played by Mady/ She’ll convince anyone who asks that she’s doing just fine, but Annie is always a step away from disaster. After attempting to steal cash and a car from Raf, Annie has been working for him to pay off the debt. But that hasn’t stopped her from borrowing more and more money from him to fund her drug habit. Annie has her share of secrets, including that she’s trying to get a little freedom after being under Morphos’ watch for most of her childhood and can make people do just about whatever she wants them to. At the end of the day, Annie is a survivor and she’ll play whatever game she needs to in order to get by.

Escort Two (20s) — Open Suggested FC: Zendaya Too smart for her own good, Escort has her own operations going on behind Raf’s back. She has private clients she sees on the side and is carefully stealing from Raf in order to fund her escape from the ranch and Arkney. She might come off as the cold type but she has a soft spot for Jockey, even though she knows this is the last place to start caring about people. Particularly close to the Entertainment Manager and almost feels bad for lying to her face but doesn’t fully trust anyone here. Doesn’t realize how dangerous her moves are getting and that the Legal Advisor is starting to catch on.

Escort Three (early 20s) — Reserved for Sam Suggested FC: Karmay Ngai A girl from a nearby town nobody bothers to remember, she is the youngest and newest addition to Raf’s coterie. Seeing the success of former girls like the Entertainment Manager, she has an idea that the ranch is her way out. It should go without saying that not all is as it seems. From the icy indifference of the Entertainment Manager to the questionable warnings and/or advances from the Horse Handler, nothing is given and she learns she must find her footing within the complex politics of the ranch. But how long will it take for the glamor of the ranch and its clientele to wear off? Only time will tell.

Jockey (20s) — Open Suggested FC: Regé-Jean Page, Reece King, Avan Jogia First spotted by Raf at the derby, something about his headstrong, self-assured nature found him in the man’s good graces. One of the fastest racers, Raf soon after offered him a resident position at the ranch with an income that put a jockey’s to shame. Aside from serving as a conversation piece at the ranch for the guests (he’s a skilled storyteller to boot) and eyeing Escort 3, he also has been unwittingly drawn into some of the ranch’s shadier dealings by Vick and the Horse Handler. He’s beginning to realize that he can’t see the bottom of the pool he’s entered.

[vivalahoni]

LFRP- Zari’to Honi (Mateus| Crystal DC)

✦ GENERAL INFORMATION ✦ Age: 24 Birthday: 23rd Sun of the 1st Astral Moon Gender: Male Race: Miqo’te- Keeper of the Moon Sexuality: Straight Marital Status: Single Alignment: Neutral Good Server: Mateus

✦ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ✦ Hair: Wild red hair with streak of white, often worn loose Eyes: Golden Height: 5’9 Build: Slender/muscular  Distinguishing Marks: Aside for common Miqo’te marks, light dusting of freckles on face, white tribal painting on face Common Accessories: Fan of hats

✦ PERSONAL ✦ Profession: Private Investigator (former scout and spy for the Maelstrom, reached rank of Captain) Hobbies: Reading, trying new food, traveling, chocobo riding, sparring Languages: Common, Tribal Miqo’te, Hingashi Residence: Goblet,  The Honeypot Agency Ward 18, Plot 33, Shirogane, The Spinner’s Rest, Ward 15 Plot 46 (FC headquarters) Birthplace: Black Shroud Religion: Believes in fate Patron Deity: Oschon, the Wanderer. Fears: Not a fan of bugs

✦ RELATIONSHIPS ✦ Spouse: None Children: None Parents: Zari Honi (Mother- NPC). Tonto’a Yas (Father- NPC) Siblings: Sasha Honi (Sister- NPC )Toncho’a Honi (Brother - NPC) Jhanna Honi (Sister)Chenoa Honi (Sister) Lyra Amberlin/Moreaux (Adopted Sister- Lyra Moreaux) Other Relatives: A whole tribes worth,  Master Urahara (Shinobi Master- NPC)

Pets: Red, his dog

✦ TRAITS ✦ Extroverted / In Between / Introverted Disorganized / In Between / Organized Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded Calm / In Between / Anxious Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable Cautious / In Between / Reckless Patient / In Between /  Impatient Outspoken / In Between / Reserved Leader / In Between / Follower Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic Traditional / In Between / Modern Hard-working / In Between / Lazy Cultured / In Between / Uncultured Loyal / In Between / Disloyal Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

✦ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ✦ SMOKING HABIT: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

✦ RP HOOKS ✦

·         Goblet Life: Honi has just opened up his own Private Eye business located in the Goblet called the Honeypot Agency. He and his colleagues can help you out of any sticky situation.

·         Maelstrom: Honi once served in the Maelstrom as a scout and spy but has since retired. Perhaps something from his past has come back to haunt him?

·         Shinobi: Honi was trained in the ways of the ninja by a Doman refugee while in the Maelstrom. He has also spent alot of time far east thanks to his FC. Perhaps another shinobi seeks his aid?

·         Oh brother, where art thou?: Honi originally left the Black Shroud in search of his brother who had been thought dead. He had only found bits and small clues as to what happened to his brother and none of them are good. Perhaps you can help with the search?

✦ CONTACT INFORMATION ✦ Tumblr: @vivalahoni​ Follows come from @vivalaezra​ Discord: Huckebein#3245 In Game: Zari’to Honi on Mateus. I also rp on Ezra Elric on Balmung.

·         I will not rp with minors, either ic or ooc.

·         I rp both in game and discord.  I’m more so available on discord thanks to work being very relaxed at time ^_^. I’m also happy to rp anywhere on the Crystal Datacenter

·         I am around US EST early AM or late PM.

·         I am open to lore bending but not breaking. Discuss before hand before we add it into the RP.

·         I generally prefer a heads up on triggering topics that may come into rp like rape, walking in on intense torture scenes, ect ect. While I’m happy to rp mature themes, I generally just like some warning about somewhat intense/dark scenes before proceeding.

·         Any long term damage to my character must be discussed ooc first.

Thanks for taking the time to read, ciao!

@ffxiv-crystal-rp​

[cypher2]

Andonovski says that the framework for this season was laid out last autumn, as he and owner Bill Predmore attempted to chart the course of how the upcoming season would go.

“Our year started, for (Reign FC majority owner and president) Bill Predmore and myself, last November,” Andonovski said. “We had 11 different lineup predictions that covered things like pre-World Cup, during the World Cup, after the World Cup, with Jess Fishlock coming back from France, without her, with different players coming in and out. We projected 10 or 11 different lineups. Bill was instrumental in all of this. He helped me with the preparation and made a lot of things happen behind the scenes. I had to do a lot on the field to manage all of those players and incorporate them, but I think the most important thing is the preparation before the season even started.”

The roster was bolstered with a mixture of newcomers, like Shea Groom and NAIA standout Bethany Balcer, and returning veterans like captain Lauren Barnes and midfielder Allie Long.

The club itself was in for a big change. After half a decade at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium, the club was informed that the venue was no longer suitable to host NWSL home games. Instead, Reign FC found a new home in Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium. The response to the move was incredible – fans  in the South Sound helped Reign FC set new attendance records in 2019, including an increase of 1,389 on average per match from 2018.

Not all of the changes went over as smoothly, however.

The club sent nine players to the World Cup to represent seven different countries. Six more players would suffer season-ending injuries, while others were waylaid by shorter term injuries.

To boot, the club stumbled out of the starting gate, opening the year 0-1-3 after failing to convert a late penalty in its season-opener against Houston and settling for a 1-1 draw against Orlando in its first match in Tacoma.

“Historically, if you look at teams that I’ve managed, I would say with the exception of last season, my teams have started slow and then started picking things up toward the middle of the season,” Andonovski said. “That’s something that I’m going to have to look at myself and see if it’s something I’m doing. Am I giving too many formations or trying to add too much in a short period of time? Maybe it takes a little time for things to click and once they do things go well.”

More players arrived in time for things to start clicking, even as a large chunk of the team departed to chase glory with their national teams at the World Cup in France. Among them was forward Ifeoma Onumonu, signed as a National Team Replacement Player just six days after being waived by the Portland Thorns.

For Onumonu, the spirit of the squad hadn’t dampened, despite the early sluggishness.

“Coming into this club, I was going through my own type of challenges,” Onumonu said. “That did help when I did come and join Reign FC. It was like I’d been through some things and the club had been as well. It helped with the camaraderie. It was an experience where even though the club was going through a hard streak, it was still very positive.”

The hard streak ended quickly. The club recorded its first win of the season against Sky Blue FC on May 18 and went on to win four of its next six matches, rising from seventh in the league table all the way to first following a July 5 road win against rivals Portland Thorns FC. The stretch also saw Onumonu record her first NWSL goal in a win over Utah on June 28, the same day that she was signed to the club’s supplemental roster.

“It was really special,” Onumonu said of her goal. “I had been waiting for a goal for two years now, so it was nice to finally get it. It was an important win as well. On any given day in this league, a team can pull out a win against anyone else. We knew that and we used it to our advantage. I thought we had a lot of doubters, so it felt good to prove them wrong. In that time we were going through quite a bit of injuries, which is always tough. It didn’t stop from there. It felt really good to score and contribute to that success we had during that run.”

The return of Fishlock provided a big boost to the club in the early summer. The midfielder returned from her loan to Olympique Lyon in France and knocked in two game-winners for Reign FC. Fishlock’s immediate impact on the squad led to her being named the NWSL Player of the Month for June before being sidelined with a season-ending ACL tear.

Just when Reign FC looked to be getting on a roll, more obstacles presented themselves.

June gave way to a grueling July. With two road matches against North Carolina and tough home losses to Utah and Chicago, Reign FC endured a 2-4-1 stretch that dropped them into fifth place entering the final six matches of the season.

“The fact that we have two of those teams (from that stretch) in the final says a lot about the quality of the teams that we were facing,” Andonovski said. “Playing North Carolina twice on the road didn’t make it any easier, but we didn’t have a choice, we had to prepare as best as we could. One thing that made it easier was that even when things were not going well, there was nothing negative about it. We used every single game as a learning opportunity to get better, regardless of the result. We kept moving forward, we kept getting better and the results were coming as the season was going by.”

With six games to play, Andonovski challenged his team to push for a playoff spot:

“Going into the last stretch of games, Vlatko said ‘we’ve made mistakes in this portion of the season and now we’re on to the last quarter of the year,’” Onumonu said. “’We’re going to have to win the majority of games to make the playoffs.’ We had a mini-season where everything that happened prior to this last stretch of six matches didn’t matter anymore. It was about winning or getting points and moving on. We erased all that we had done because it was over and it didn’t matter. Our objective was to make the playoffs.”

Reign FC fought its way to a 3-1-2 finish over the final six matches, thanks in large part to an Onumonu equalizer at the death of a 2-2 draw against Washington on September 14. Jodie Taylor also notched a late game-winner against Utah in a September 25 match that had to be pushed back a week due to a waterlogged pitch at Cheney Stadium. With a win over Portland in the final home match of the season on September 29, Reign FC clinched its second consecutive playoff berth under Andonovski.

Despite all the bumps and disruptions that the season’s path had taken, Reign FC was playoff bound once more.

“The struggle and the tough times we went through in the first 18 games helped us prepare for the last six games,” Andonovski said. “We did decide that this was a little mini-season that we felt we had to win or finish well, which I think we accomplished, we were talking about how this mini season has to be a reflection of the whole season. It has to be a true picture of who we are: warriors, fighters who are intense in their goals. That helped us take on those games the way we did.”

Reign FC’s semifinal match against NWSL Shield-winners North Carolina was a game of grit and determination. When the Courage scored a go-ahead goal on a penalty kick in the 88th minute and had dominated possession all match long, Reign FC looked like they would be unable to mount a response.

Onumonu changed that. In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, the forward received a ball from Celia Jiménez Delgado and fired a shot past Stephanie Labbe, forcing extra time.

“I feel like that moment summed up our season,” Onumonu said. “Fight to the end. That’s how I took it. I was really thankful for that goal because I know how much it meant to still have a chance and still be in it. To be able to score in that moment was special. North Carolina is a good team and has been for years, but we’re not going to go down without a fight. The end result wasn’t what we wanted, but this game is hard, it’s tough. Being able to keep us in there for as long as possible was so special.”

Reign FC came up short in extra time, but the club had gone down swinging.

“I’m very proud of the players,” Andonovski said. “Every single one of them. The way they approached the game was tremendous. To be able to go to North Carolina, against that team and an incredible coach in Paul Riley and battle all the way until the last second and tie the game 1-1? It’s incredible. I’m very proud of them. Unfortunately, in the last 30 minutes we didn’t have enough in us to make a miracle happen. We didn’t have enough to be able to match North Carolina and their quality.”

Onumonu’s final strike was emblematic of Reign FC’s spirit, but her path over the course of the season, like so many of her teammates, mirrored the club’s year.

“When I look at it, I would agree that Ifeoma’s season is how our season looked,” Andonovski said. “But it’s also Rosie (White’s) season. It’s Balcer’s season. It’s Celia’s season. Young players came in who were unknown or had in some ways been rejected that wanted to make a name for themselves and prove people wrong. They just needed an opportunity and in the end they did it. It was similar for our club. I don’t want to say that we were an unknown, but people didn’t believe in us. We were rejected to some extent and we just needed a platform and a chance to prove people wrong and in the end we did.”

For Onumonu, that drive and determination were the major lesson from 2019.

“I would say the biggest lesson is to be resilient,” Onumonu said. “I think how I started out my season, where I started with Portland and then everything with Reign FC has been a challenge. You have where you expect to be, then you have to go somewhere else. You switch and all your emotional attachment with a team has to change. Now, you have to fight for your new club. It made me grateful for the club, honestly. I’m very thankful for the club. As a player, it taught me that one person’s opinion of you does not define you and I think that’s something that this season has taught me.”

For Andonovski, the year was proof that no obstacle is insurmountable.

“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned this season, it’s that there is always a way to be successful,” Andonovski said. “If that way doesn’t work, there is always another way.”

[thesportssoundoff]

DWCS Season 3, Week 2 Preview Primer

Contract totals thus far:

Signed:

1 HW

1 MW

Victor Reyna (10-3, 32 years old, Pro since 2012) vs Miguel Baeza (6-0, 26 years old, Pro since 2015) Welterweights

Victor Reyna Where He Fight At? Like a lot of dudes from Texas, Reyna has pretty much stuck to that region of the United States. He fought a few times in Legacy Fighting Championship and has been primarily fighting for Combates Americas as they've undergone a bit of a growth spurt since 2017. Who’d He Ever Beat? Evan Cutts has some MMA name panache I suppose. Cutts was a part of Bellator's attempt to make a TUF and he's also known as the dude who ended Reagan Penn's brief pro MMA career. He also has a win over Daniel Rodriguez; a then undefeated fighter who has an 8-1 record and a few Bellator appearances. He's even got a key loss on his resume vs Kevin Holland. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? Reyna's fought A LOT of guys who fight quite a bit and so his record of opposition is 80-40. That's pretty damn solid! TUF veteran Marc Stevens was 20-10 when they fought (also Reyna's last loss) as well as 4-0 Kevin Holland, 6-2 Evan Cutts and 6-1 Andrew Parker. Reyna's last fight was against 16-10 Heyward Charles. Why Is He Here? Well he's the beneficiary of an injury!  Fortis MMA's Ramiz Brahimaj got hurt and on 10 days notice, Victor Reyna gets the call up. Reyna has bounced between 170 and 185 lbs a lot in his career so I'm a touch concerned about the chances he makes weight on short notice (although on some of these fights, he weighed as low as 174 lbs). Reyna is here because they needed a Contenders Series main event and he was available. About it. This doesn't mean he CAN'T  get a deal! It just feels more like a case of needing a guy on short notice and having the right number to the right matchmaker or so on so so forth. Reyna's interesting in that he kind of embodies the prototypical MMA prospect tester on the regional scene.

Miguel Baeza Where He Fight At? Florida and only Florida. Places like Fight Time and Titan FC adorn the short resume of Mr. Baeza. Who’d He Ever Beat? Nobody of note! At 6-0 and fighting primarily out of Florida, Miguel's pretty limited in his opposition. The most interesting/insightful factoid is that he holds wins over a pair of brothers in Florida (Gus and Mike D'Angelo). Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 14-10 is the record of Baeza's six opponents at the time of their fights. Gus D'Angelo was 2-2 and Mike D'Angelo was 3-2 when they fought. 5-2 Leo Valdivia is probably his best record opponent who he beat by split decision. Why Is He Here? Baeza was originally supposed to face Fortis MMA's Ramiz Brahimaj in what feels like one of those DWCS fights that's name prospect from region A vs name prospect from region B and whomever wins gets a contract a la Austin Tweedy vs Te Edwards. Baeza has limited footage out there on the interwebs but from what I've seen; he fits the Contender Series model. He's an athlete young guy who seems to hit really hard or at least hard enough to overcome his sometimes apparent flaws. He also fights with an air of composure about him and being composed and knocking people out gets Dana White excited.

Alton Cunningham (7-1, 26 years old, Pro since 2017) vs Tony Johnson (7-2, 32 years old, Pro since 2007) Light Heavyweights

Alton Cunningham Where He Fight At? Alton Cunningham is a former DWCS guy! He fought last season vs Bevon Lewis. Beyond that? Cunningham has a few LFA cameos and a Pure FC spot or two (a developing little regional promotion in Wisconsin). Who’d He Ever Beat? Nobody of note. Cunningham's toughest opponent was the aforementioned Bevon Lewis who he was finished by in the first round. He's beaten a few fighters with winning records but nobody you've heard of beyond that. The most interesting bit of Cunningham's record is that his last four fights have been at LHW, MW and HW. Dude's been all over the damn map so far. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 54-39-3. Is that good? Bad? I'm kind of not even entirely sure. The undefeated Bevon Lewis at 5-0, 16-27 BJ Lacy and 4-1 Eric Murray Jr in his last fight at LFA are pretty much his best opposition. Why Is He Here? Well there are a few things I suppose. For starters, he's an under 30 guy at 205 lbs. That on its own gives him a secondary chance at the Contenders Series. Most of the guys who get second shots on the Contenders Series are fellas who fight at the bigger weight classes because need trumps value sometimes. Cunningham's also a pretty solid regional prospect at LHW which adds to his value. He's also, when he's on, a really good action fighter. Alton Cunningham struggled with the power of Bevon Lewis which is horrifying since Lewis is a natural 185-er and Cunningham is a big dude 205 lber but all sins can be forgiven I suppose. They literally found a dude who fought twice since 2015 to fight him in hopes he'd get a win. Cunningham is here because there just aren't a bunch of dudes like him here.

Tony Johnson Where He Fight At? Tony Johnson has been boxing and doing BKB stuff more than he has been doing any sort of MMA. Case in point, Johnson has STRIKEFORCE (and not the version of it most of us are familiar with) on it. The headliner for the Stikeforce card he fought on? Babalu Sobral vs Bobby Southworth. He did fight on a Bellator card in 2018. Who’d He Ever Beat? Justin Baseman in 2013 (!!!) is a pretty quality win from a regional perspective. Johnson also fought Clifford Starks and lost back in 2011. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 31-25. His two losses are a combined 12-2 which means his victories are 19-23. Not a very pretty record. Why Is He Here? I'm not entirely sure? I hate to be negative when it comes to stuff like this but Tony Johnson is 36 years old, has fought infrequently since 2007 and has more highlights of his exploits in boxing than he does in MMA. I cannot believe anything other than "Tony Johnson is just here to get finished by Alton Cunningham so Alton gets a deal." Fine if so but this still feels awfully transparent. Maybe I'm wrong though and Tony Johnson is here to pull off an upset. He's a guy who has fought for over 10 years in various sports and Cunningham was rocked and hurt by a MW.

Zach Zane (12-7, 29 years old, Pro since 2015) vs Justin Gonzales (9-1, 28 years old, Pro since 2016) Featherweights

Zach Zane Where He Fight At? ALASKA FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP, BABY. I'll never not be amused when somebody from AFC winds up on a UFC platform. Zane's fought primarily in Hawaii, California and other Northwestern states but has reinvented himself fighting dudes down in Alaska. Who’d He Ever Beat? Decky Dalton is probably the best win to report; an Irish dude who fought primarily out of BAMMA. Zane's got some reputable losses though! Former DWCS fighter Joey Gomez (lost a split decision to Kevin Aguilar), former UFC fighter Chris Avila (the Diaz Bros training partner dude) and undefeated AFC fighter Nick Novelli are some of his seven losses. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 56-36 would be the record of opposition at the time Zach Zane's opponents fought him. Zane is currently riding an eight fight winning streak and of those wins, his opponents were a combined 16-10. So if you want to get even MORE math-y, you remove the eight fight winning streak with the opponents at 16-10 and focus just on his 4-7 record prior to the winning streak and his strength of competition THEN was 40-26. Why Is He Here? On paper a dude with a 12-7 record who is about to hit 30 isn't exactly DWCS worthy. Dig deeper though and you're talking about a guy who has an 8 fight winning streak with all 8 fights coming by way of some form of stoppage. Kane has also been fighting across four different weight classes across 145, 150 at a catchweight, 155 and a short notice call up for 170 lbs. If the big goal of the Contenders Series is to collect raw athletic dudes with upside then I'd argue it's secondary hits should be experienced dudes fighting out of nowhere who are lost in the cracks. He also has sort of fixed his career while spending more time at Blackhouse MMA. He also just sort of looks like the kind of guy who the Contenders Series would look; a reckless striker who attacks subs consistently in grappling situations. Also of note is One FC signed him and was going to use him but he fell out on them at the last minute and I guess they just axed that deal right away.

Justin Gonzales Where He Fight At? Justin Gonzales has fought out of one place every single time. He's fought at SCL; a promotion that's held over 70 events in Colorado. Big fan of the name Sparta Combat League. Who’d He Ever Beat? The resume is actually pretty damn good for regional MMA. Gonzales has wins over then undefeated Derek Brenon (who was making some noise with CFFC and LFA), 8-1 Bruno Ferreia and Combates veteran and then undefeated Enrique Gonazles. Throw in regional veteran Drew Brookenshire at 18-8 and there's damn good competition here. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 54-15 is what Justin Gonzales has faced in his undefeated career. Again among those were 18-8 Drew Brookenshire, 6-0 Derek Brennon and 3-0 Enrique Gonazales. His last fight out with a win over 8-1 Bruno Ferreira. Why Is He Here? He's the kind of guy who should be here. Justin Gonzales is an undefeated high level wrestler who has finishing chops on the feet and on the ground. He fights at a weight class of power where the top talent really does shine through. He's here because if you made a show LIKE this, you'd want a guy LIKE this on it. Gonzales IMO is the one dude who is a near lock to get signed if he wins.

Michael Lombardo (8-1, 29 years old, pro since 2016) vs Kyle Daukaus (6-0, 26 years old, pro since 2017) Middleweights

Michael Lombardo Where He Fight At? An ATT guy and a Florida native, I suppose it's no surprise Lombardo fights primarily in Florida and Louisiana. He made a few appearances in Titan FC and also pinch hit at a Bellator card too. Not the world's worst places to ply your craft. Who’d He Ever Beat? A whole lot of fluff. There's nobody here you'd know of but who he could've fought (Punahele Soriano) is the most interesting bit of the resume. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 25-25-1. Lombardo's strength of schedule is not exactly his strong suit and that kind of record speaks to it. His best opponent is 6-3 David Mundell who he lost to decision against. Why Is He Here? Gym, record and weight class! Lombardo is an under 30 middleweight as the division is undergoing a bit of a renaissance in the UFC. He trains with ATT and so you know the good word has probably been put in a time or two. He's 8-1 and comes into this fight with five straight wins and four of those before the final bell. Lombardo's got some fights out there on youtube and he doesn't really strike me as anything but a middleweight-y type fighter. He's big on takedowns, he clinches a lot, he's a brawler in space and he tends to fight in spurts. He's not a bad fighter and we've seen middleweights find homes  in the UFC before and stick around with that kind of style. Just not sure if THAT gets him signed.

Kyle Daukaus Where He Fight At? CFFC and ROC! Those are really good regional promotions on the East Coast. Who’d He Ever Beat? Daukaus enters the UFC with pretty much much the best win of any Contenders Series guy so far; Jonavin Webb. Webb is a former UFC flame out but a pretty high level East Coast fighter well worthy of starring off on a resume. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 27-12 is the record of opposition for Kyle Daukaus. The fact that Webb was 12-2 when they fought means that his opposition outside of the toughest fight of his career is a not too pretty 15-10. Still not entirely awful. Why Is He Here? Beating a UFC veteran can/should always make you somebody of note to promoters and matchmakers. Jonavin Webb is a super reputable high level win worthy of flexing about. The fact that he's a fight finisher who hasn't seen the judges in his career and fights at 185 lbs makes him all the more intriguing.

Richie Santiago (7-1, 26 years old, Pro since 2016) vs Miles Johns (8-0, 25 years old, Pro since 2014) Bantamweights

Richie Santiago Where He Fight At? CES MMA. The former home of BATISTA has become a pretty reputable East Coast regional organization that's churned out Contenders Series guys and  quality fighters. Who’d He Ever Beat? NOBODY! I guess his best win is Billy Giovanella who had a few Bellator appearances in 2015. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 31-32-2. His record of opposition is not exactly going to get mounted on anybody's wall. It's somewhat skewered by a very rough opening to his career (his first four opponents were a combined 8-17). His pro loss was to a 3-2 fighter. It also was last year so it's like it happened in the deep past. Why Is He Here? Well for starters, watching Santiago suggests that he's not a bad fighter and the sort of dude the UFC SHOULD have an eye on. Maybe it's the face and the bald-ish head but dude reminds me a lot of Eddie Alvarez from an offensive standpoint. I've seen him hurt, rocked and then rally back with some surprisingly crisp striking. His big performance is an LFA fight where he got hurt a bunch, wobbled a few times, landed a big knee and then scored a RNC sub almost within the blink of an eye. He also is a part time flyweight as well which sort of gives him a leg up if that division is going to stick around.

Miles Johns

Where He Fight At? LFA mostly. He's the current LFA bantamweight champion to be exact. Who’d He Ever Beat? A lot of really great fighters on the regional circuit. Wins over Levi Mowles, Adrian Yanez and Caio Machado may not be super big wins or the kind of stuff that gets you shuttled up to the UFC but they're impressive enough that his DWCS spot almost feels a little unncessary. Win an LFA belt and you get into the UFC; thems the rules. Record Of Opposition At The Time Of Their Fight? 40-12 would be the record of opposition for Miles Johns. Wins over 11-3 Caio Machado, 7-2 Adrian Yanez and 6-2 Levi Mowles stand out big time.   Why Is He Here? I mean the Contenders Series really should be based around THESE sorts of fights. Two guys with pretty records on paper, both big deals of their respective universes, fighting for a contract. Johns is clearly ahead of the curve though vs Santiago. Primarily or namely speaking, Johns trains with an elite gym (Fortis MMA is DWCS royalty at this point), he fights with the bigger org and he's fought the better competition. He also has the sort of style I can see Dana liking a lot. He's here because he belongs here.

"Who Might Get A Contract?" Rankings

1- Alton Cunningham 2- Kyle Daukaus 3- Michael Lombardo 4- Miles Johns 5- Justin Gonzales 6- Miguel Baeza 7- Zach Zane 8- Richie Santiago 9- Tony Johnson 10- Victor Reyna

[ariadnebridgestock]

some tsc fc + impt things to remember

a guide with some fc suggestions for certain (specifically more about the lgbtqia+/poc) tsc characters that will hopefully be able to help you guys when you edit/draw/write about them:

CORDELIA & ALASTAIR CARSTAIRS

important info: cordelia and alastair are biracial, they are half persian so they have light brown skin!!! cordelia has black eyes and dark red hair and alastair has black eyes and blond (dyed) hair

fun facts: not really any at the moment to my knowledge but in your work, for cordelia: you can include cortana, daisies and for alastair:...he's grumpy? best friends with charles! [more details here and here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

for cordelia: golshifteh farahani, tarlan parvaneh, taraneh alidoosti, for alastair: kourosh sadeghi (courtesy of @cassandraclare's pinterest)

JEM CARSTAIRS

important info: jem is biracial!!! half british, half chinese!!! he has dark brown hair and eyes (they were silver when he was sick because of the yin fen)

fun facts: he has a single white streak in his current dark brown hair and he has scars on his face and body [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

anthony neely (popular and the most accurate as possible), zhang yixing (popular), yang yang, song weilong, bai jingting, huang jun jie (suitable)

MAGNUS BANE

important info: magnus is part indonesian so he has brown skin!!! he is bisexual!!! he has black hair and yellow-green eyes

fun facts: he has cat-like eyes and no belly button (if for whatever reason, magnus is shirtless in your work!) [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

godfrey gao (popular, movie), peter adrian sudarso (courtesy of @catarinalosss! if i’m not wrong, i can't exactly remember where but i saw this somewhere)

ALINE PENHALLOW

important info: aline is half chinese!!! she is a lesbian!!! she has black hair and brown eyes

fun facts: she is canonically shorter than helen (it would be nice to include this cute little detail in your work!) [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

du juan, mingxi

RAPHAEL SANTIAGO

important info: raphael is mexican!!! he is aroace (aromantic and asexual)!!! he has black hair and eyes

fun facts: he looks young as he was turned at fifteen and he has a small scar on his chest caused by a crucifix [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

jake t. austin

ARIADNE BRIDGESTOCK

important info: ariadne is indian!!! she is a lesbian!!! she has black hair and topaz eyes

fun facts: she wields an electrum whip and plays the piano [more details here] (eet spoilers!)

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

pooja mor, neelam gill, pooja hegde, rasika navare, chawntell kulkarni

DIANA WRAYBURN

important info: diana is dark skinned!!! she is transgender!!! she has black hair and dark brown eyes

fun facts: she has a tattoo of silver koi fish on her cheek [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

anok yai, duckie thot, senait gidey, danai gurira

LILY CHEN

important info: lily is chinese!!! she is pansexual!!! she has black hair and eyes

fun facts: to my knowledge and according to my memory: she plays the piano and smokes [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

fan bingbing (popular), sui he

CATARINA LOSS

important info: catarina is dark skinned when she is glamoured!!! she has dark blue eyes, blue skin and white hair

fun facts: everyone should know this already but she is a nurse [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

bee melvnin, shvorne marks (particularly her role in itv's endeavour! courtesy of @catarinalosss!)

MAIA ROBERTS

important info: maia is biracial!!! she has light brown skin!!! she has brown eyes and hair

fun facts: she is curvy, has a tattoo of a butterfly on her back [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

tina kunakey (courtesy of @jessamine--lovelace!), tashi rodriguez

ANNA LIGHTWOOD

important info: anna is a non binary lesbian!!! she has blue eyes and black hair

fun facts: she smokes, wears suits and owns cecily's necklace [more details here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

ruby rose, erika linder, kristen stewart

CRISTINA, DIEGO & JAIME ROSALES

they are all mexican!!! skin is on the brown spectrum [more details here, here and here]

suitable fancast/s (choose to your own liking!):

for cristina: cindy kimberly (popular), eiza gonzalez, for diego/jaime: said sigala (most of his pics are with a hat but he's mexican so if you can make it work!)

some other CANON LGBTQIA+ CHARACTERS (please always keep in mind!)

KIERAN HUNTER: bisexual!!! [more details here]

MICHAEL WAYLAND: bisexual!!! [more details here]

HELEN & MARK BLACKTHORN (bisexual!!!)

fun facts: they are both half faerie so they have pointy ears [more details here and here]

ALEC LIGHTWOOD: gay!!! [more details here]

WOOLSEY SCOTT: gay!!! [more details here]

JULIAN BLACKTHORN: demisexual!!! [more details here]

one more thing: DRU BLACKTHORN is fat!!! please use appropriate fancasts!!! e.g (popular) barbie ferriera (and courtesy of @cassandraclare's pinterest)

/

clearly i am not the best at providing fc, these are just a few suggestions, for some i didn’t provide fc since they are not poc so they should be easier to find and for some i really don't have any/a lot of fc since i usually use nameless (to my knowledge) faces or faceless pics (if you do this as well, please at least get their skin tone right!!!) so please let me know, if you'd like, by reblogging this post or replying, if you have any fc for the poc esp or send me their names and i can add them in! also if you have any issues with any fc suggested here, please do let me know!

[sgtbuckyybarnes]

1-15 for louie harper lola noelle aaaaand stella thanks!!!

I thought this said 1-5 but you tricked me! 😂

1. Have they ever brought home a stray animal? If so, how did that go?

Louie - She’s brought home Alex if that counts?

Harper - Harper isn’t really an animal person so I don’t think she’d bring one home but she’d defo give up her sandwich if she saw a stray dog on the street

Lola - Prefic Lola would never but the Lola who has broken away from her parents and responsibilities is learning all about this kind of stuff ends up adopting a stray cat (who lbr actually is the one who adopts her)

Noelle - Noe would bring every single stray home if she could - including Fangs and Sweet Pea! Her and her mum could never afford to get their own animals so she’d bring any that she saw back home...to the point where when she was younger her mum had to explain it was normal for cats to be out even if they had owners. Dogs are defo her weakness although she was known to even bring injured birds, mice etc home

Stella - If there was any possibility Noe and Stella could meet they’d start an animal sanctuary together because she’s as bad!

((more below))

2. What is something that your OC and their best friend knows about one another that no one else would know?

Louie - Louie and Lexie know that the other still suffers from nightmares. Obviously Mark and Alex know they can have trouble sleeping but they don’t know the contents of the dreams whereas the girls are constantly telling one another to get them off their chest

Harper - Harper doesn't really have a best friend tbh! If her and Mal were canon Mal would be the one who’d know about her fears of her past...she’d feel too bad dumping that on Bucky when he’s been through enough himself

Lola - Lola isn’t a sharer. She has had friends who were only her friend because she had money so there’s nothing someone knows about her no one else does

Noelle - Noe and Fangs know pretty much everything about each other! 

Stella - Her and Michael know how overwhelmed the other is with their new life in the big city. No matter what fronts they put up they still have that terrified streak.

3. How does your OC greet their best friend in public?

Louie - Hugs, hugs and more hugs!

Harper - I think Harper would get to the stage with Mal where she’d greet her with a hug, every one else gets a smile and a wave, Steve gets a blush

Lola - Her and Toni greet one another with fist bumps

Noelle - Sickly sweet nicknames most people hate (Fangs gets ‘my love’ a lot for example)

Stella - She beams every time she sees Michael, just her entire face lights up

4. How does your OC greet their partner in public?

Louie - Once they’re together Louie and Alex are aaaaaaaall about the PDA

Harper - She reaches out and squeezes Bucky’s hand

Lola - She likes to wrap an arm around Sweet Pea’s waist and lean her face against his chest

Noelle - Like Louex once her and Fangs are together they’re all about the PDA. With Jug she’d be more shy

Stella - With a kiss

5. Your OC meets a magical talking frog with a quest, what is your OC’s next move?

Louie - She’d think someone had spiked her drink

Harper - She’d probably kill the frog 😩😂

Lola, Noelle & Stella - Would immediately be up for the challenge 

6. What song does your OC go absolutely wild to? Describe how they get wild.

Louie - Louie loves anything pop music, especially nineties stuff! She’d be all hair flipping, dancing on tables kind of wild

Harper - As wild as Harper gets over music is a tap of her foot. She’s more into old school rock like ACDC and Guns n Roses

Lola - Idk if this is bc of her fc but Lola loves Andante Andante by Abba, she loves to get up onto the Karaoke to sing it

Noelle - She hates to admit it but in a total cliche way Noelle adores Mr Brightside, jumping up and down and singing at the top of her voice

Stella - I don’t really know any 1920s tracks tbh but if she were around nowadays Stella would love Shoutout to my Ex by Little Mix, she’d be dancing around her room and jumping on her bed

7. Your OC is running from the guards, why are they most likely running from them?

Louie - For helping when she wasn’t supposed to, she’s too caring and can never leave someone behind

Harper - Oh god where do I start with her, she’s probably acted on her instincts by mistake over something

Lola - For being rude

Noelle - A sarcastic comment gone the wrong way

Stella - Helping to protect her family the Shelby way

8. How would your OC describe their best friend using three words to a stranger?

Louie - (About Lexie) Hard-working, Kind, Scatty

Harper - (About Mal) Trustworthy, Badass, Kind

Lola - (About Toni) Badass Tiny Person

Noelle - (About Toni) Nosey, Bossy, but-I-love-her-a-lot (she has to add that last bit or Toni will kill her)

Stella - (About Michael) A Massive Nightmare 

9. Your OC decides they can dye their own hair, with their very little knowledge about hair, how does this go? Do they have their friends with them, supporting them? Do they do it when they are alone? Do they do it before a big and upcoming event?

Louie - Louie would have Lexie there and they’d try their best but she’d end up in the hairdressers the next day

Harper - She’d be good at it, having had to disguise her appearance more than a few times

Lola - She wouldn’t have a clue!! Toni would end up stepping in and fixing it for her

Noelle - Even though she would never have done it before Noelle would be surprisingly good, there’s a gifset of Zendaya with red hair and it looks amazing so I think that’s where she’d go. She’d be the one to do it just before a big event no matter how many people told her that was a bad idea

Stella - I don’t think she’d even try, she’d be too scared that it would be ruined!

10. Your OC accidentally becomes a vampire for a day, what is the first thing they do with their new found powers?

Louie - If we’re taking TVD vamps she’d use her blood to heal people

Harper - Her humanity would be switched off immediately and Bucky would have to bring her back

Lola - She’d freak out that she looked ugly with fangs

Noelle - She would be an amazing vampire she’d just revel in the power

Stella - She’d scare off all the Shelby’s enemies 

11. Your OC decides to dress as their best friend for Halloween as a joke, what do they do to look like their best friend?

Louie - She’d be more likely to dress up as Mark and be extra annoying and say she was him

Harper - Harper would go full on Captain America and she’s not even sure if he’s her friend let alone her best friend

Lola - Her and Toni would dress up as each other, raiding each other’s clothes and just doing over the top impressions

Noelle - She’d stick a pair of vampire fangs in her mouth and be like “Guess who? Eh? Ehhhh?”

Stella - She’d just be a dick to everyone and say she was Michael

12. What is something completely random about your OC that even you, as the writer, find confusing?

Louie - She doesn’t like pineapple on pizza?? Problematic tbh

Harper - How she can be so organised but such a mess at the same time (sorry girl xoxo)

Lola - A lot of stuff confuses me about Lola, it’s due to her upbringing in such a well off family. She can be such a brat and sometimes come across uncaring even though she actually really does care with every fibre of her being

Noelle - The fact that she even wanted to become a serpent. Part of me understands she wants a family around her but her mum was so against this gang mentality and Noelle would usually go with whatever her mum thought 

Stella - Why she stays with boys who don’t seem to care about her and definitely don’t deserve her

13. How does your OC celebrate their birthday? What is their wildest birthday story?

Louie - She has all of her friends and their kids round to eat cake and watch movies. Her wildest was probably when she was still at home, her parents were away and she had a party at the house, police were called and she ended up arrested for being too noisy

Harper - She doesn’t really celebrate birthdays

Lola - She likes to be the centre of attention on her birthday, everything is about her from morning until night...and probably for the entire month tbh. Her wildest birthday is probably to come in the fic, partying barefoot on the beach with three gang members

Noelle - She is a Princess on her birthday, she absolutely loves it (and not just her own she loves everyones birthdays and always tries to make them special). Her wildest was probably when they were young and they (her, Fangs, Toni and Sweet Pea) snuck out to go and camp at the quarry. All of them ended up being reported as missing until they strolled into her place the next morning smelling like campfire.

Stella - She likes a lowkey celebration for her birthday, again her wildest is probably to come. I can imagine the Shelby's have a wild time for birthdays 

14. Your OC and their friends decides to go to a restaurant at 3am, what restaurant are they going to, and why are going to a restaurant at 3am?

Louie - They’d be at Joes because they’d probably have been having a lock in. The owner would trust her with her key as well so her, Alex, Lexie, Mark, Meredith and all the others would have the run of the place

Harper - Her and Bucky would be in a local take away because they couldn’t sleep

Lola - They’d be going out for ice cream after a night of partying

Noelle - Pops, especially after Veronica takes over, and because they’d hate sleeping in the tents and would need cheese fries to help them get over it

Stella - It’s not a restaurant but they’d still be drinking in The Garrison pub

15. Your OC now gets to strut around in a cape, what colour is the cape and what do they accessorize the cape with?

Louie - Light blue to match her scrubs

Harper - Black, Shuri would add it to her uniform and Harper would lowkey adore it

Lola - White and it’d be with whatever summer dress she’d be wearing, cropped so it was just a little longer than them but didn't drag on the floor 

Noelle - Noe would love a cape omg. Hers would be black with the serpent logo on the back and she’d wear it everyday in place of her jacket

Stella - Black with red inside, she’d wear a suit underneath 

[bettysnooze]

9, 13, 16, 8, 10 !

10. which muse is the most fun to write for?

already answered here !!

16. which muse is most willing to fight another muse?

depends on what they do tbh but like if this is ‘fighting for no reason’ than definitely makaria, and if it’s bc they’re an isle kid or like half-animal then it’s otto

and ofc makaria and otto would just 100% fight each other

~*~*~*~*~*~ okay so somehow i got all the long ones kjhbfevkhe so READMORE for otps/notps and How I Met My Muse (also since this got so long i’ll answer 13 on another ask!!

8. what is each of your muses otps? notps?

so this is gonna be like ‘i once shipped them’ and ‘so many crushes’ (I’LL USE THE SLASH)and it could have been for like five minutes or five weeks so pls welcome to my mind

betty otps: betty/ranon, betty/happiness, betty/feeling-protected, betty/melissabetty notps: like romantically every other guardian kid bc she is literally their mother/sister

veronika otps: VERONIKA/NOELLE, also veronika/a-good-loving-familyveronika notps: veronika/not-good-loving-families

makaria otps: MAK/BAIN, mak/talon JHBCVKDJHFEBJ A MESSmak notps: mak/stress

hershey otps: hershey/ophelia, hershey/self-care, hershey/self-confidence omfghershey notps: hershey/self-destructive tendencies

cestrum otps: cestrum/misty, cestrum/relaxationcestrum notps: cestrum/lola (i stg this was a crackship idea once and lord almighty)

aiwei otps: aiwei/juniper, aiwei/happiness, aiwei/finding-out-more-about-his-family, aiwei/BECOMING-A-REAL-BOY-BC-HE-WAS-ONLY-A-BABY-WHEN-HE-DIEDaiwei notps: aiwei/confrontation :(

otto otps: otto/common-sense, otto/open-mindednessotto notps: otto/any-of-his-dreams-coming-true, otto/winning

illyria otps: ROLLY POLLY OLLY (illyria/ronan), illyria/the-sea, illyria/comfortillyria notp: illyria/not-being-near-the-sea (this is happening rn jfc), illyria/discomfort

kirsa otps: uM KIRSA/SHEN (SHIRSA???? SHIH TZU???), kirsa/talking-about-her-emotions-instead-of-passive-aggresively-making-them-into-playskirsa notps: kirsa/not-being-honest its an issue

dignan otps: dignan/being-himself, dignan/darcy CAN I LET THE POOR BOY LIVE ? NO ?, dignan/FUTURE BOYFRIEND WHERE ART THOU, dignan/baseball the real otp thodignan notps: dignan/closeted

helen otps: helen/swords, helen/coranza, helen/angel, helen/shae, I GOT SO MANY, helen/being-herself, helen/no-responsibilitieshelen notps: helen/keeping-things-to-herself :(

penelope otps: penelope/money, penelope/being-soft, penelope/coming-to-terms-with-her-horrible-upbringingpenelope notps: penelope/being-selfish jcvnfklrfjvbwr

9. why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

( BETTY ): i knew tasha and rhi from a previous rp we were all in, and they’d played guardian characters too and i aLWAYS wanted to play a guardian character but i didn’t have any ideas back then, but then they were like “hey you should join us” and i was like “BOY OH BOY”. sandy was always my favourite guardian, and i had just finished rping a daughter-of-morpheus character so dream powers were like my thing and boom, betty mansnoozie was born aka the sweetest, most good character i’ve ever written. ALSO i’ve always had sibling-ish relationships with rhi so like the betty/jake relationship goes back a LOOONG way

( VERONIKA ): after betty i knew i wanted a darker character, and i was like “okay so who is like completely unforgivable” and i immediately thought of rasputin. there was also another rasputin child around at the time, and they had gotten rasputin’s powers so i was like!! what if i made a kid that wanted those powers, who wanted to be a villain and to be like their parent?? veronika’s gone a long way since then and really like i’m so proud of her and i love her so much, she’s just gone through a lot i lOVE HER

( MAKARIA ): SO OKAY LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ME AND HADES BECAUSE HONESTLY, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS. i first played a character based on panic (hades’ sidekick) like aaaaages ago, and then i played actual disney hades in another rp. needless to say i really fucking love hades as a character. and betty was too nice, and veronika was too cynical and kept to herself, and i really wanted another mean-spirited CHATTERBOX (because i myself am such a chatterbox i mean look at this). i lowkey had a child of hades in a closed rp sort of situation, his name was macario (because i’d wanted a son) but the original is makaria, and i love my girls sO makaria was born. i also love zendaya, and previously hades had always been white but so much art on tumblr depicts persephone as this beautiful black woman so !! BOOM. i also wanted to try a different villain-kid-parent dynamic, because veronika ends up hating her dad but mak like 100% defends hades still like even to this day

( HERSHEY ): I WANTED A BOY LMAO and i was really into bts at the time so i’m like okay hmm where would yoongi fit in?? i re-watched wreck-it-ralph randomly and i remembered that i always wanted to try a sugar rush child so i was like heeeeeeeeeyyyy :)))). and it kinda just all fell into place because i’d also been interested in making a character that loved cars and racing (fast and the furious got me so bad). and i liked the idea of having another character with some sort of ability, and it was so interesting figuring out how hershey was going to fit into the auradon world bc he was originally virtual sO YEAH. and also the name came like in a second. FUN FACT, hershey von schweetz’s fc (in a different time before BTS took over my life) was going to be hailee steinfeld and now look at wHO USES HAILEE STEINFELD

( CESTRUM ): so after the craziness and Extra-ness of makaria and hershey i know i wanted someone more chill. i had always loved alice in wonderland i knew i wanted a son of the caterpillar because 1) alan rickman’s voice is God and 2) i always wanted to rp the caterpillar in like so many disney rps but i never got the chance lmao. so the idea for cestrum actually came even before i found the perfect fc (kibum), and it took me ages to find the perfect fc. i knew he was going to be weird and quiet but also talkative but also nOT? and just a different moral compass and way of thinking from everyone else. i was so sure about applying for cestrum and it was only after that i was like “ok but am i going to be smart enough to play this like 5000 IQ person wtf did i get into” and yEAH. also i always like making new characters with types that (during that time of the rp) aren’t so common yet, so having this stoic character was like yEAAAAAHHHH

( AIWEI ): so hershey and cestrum are my first boys and this is basically the start of my “one boy after another” streak and then i got AIWEI. the real babe. everyone’s been pretty mature so far, or like dealing with a lot of responsibility etc. and now i wanted someone who would be like a real teenager (more or less) and just have that childlike wonder and be rly innocent tbh. so aiwei is all of this, and he’s young and inexperienced but the twist was that he’s actually this boy who died in a fire when he was a baby and his father, in the underworld, resurrected him and performed some magic frankenstein stuff to make him grow older. and he’s the oldest out of all the kids but he’s been a baby 60% of this life until elder gutknecht finally got all the tools necessary to make him old and i jUST !! also i really loved that tin-man song from the wizard of oz. my actual baby, aiwei gutknecht i love him and will die for him

( OTTO ): AND AFTER ALL THE NICE, SEMI-NICE PEOPLE i was like “so what’s happening with the isle thing right now do ppl not like them like is there active resentment or what” and then i was like “what if i had a character that did the active resentment!!” and otto white was born. i knew he was going to be a jackass. i knew he was going to be anti-isle. and i knew he had to be a prince and a kid of one of the ‘original’ disney princesses. and i ended up choosing snow white because she’s technically the ‘oldest’ and there was evie and vera and i was like aayyyyy conflict. but yeah so otto was going to be the personification of fear and bias against isle kids, and i thought it’d be fun to play with that politics and society thing that i’ve never really done before. otto’s my first character that is actually irredeemably an asshole. i wanted to see how far i could go and where i could go with a character that was actively trying to not change. i was super nervous about applying for him tho bc like i knew he was going to insult a lot of people and i didn’t want to be like hated rip bUT it turned out well so YEH

( ILLYRIA ): i’ll be honest i watched pirates of the carribean and like calypso/davy jones is still the otp of otps for me. and i once had my fortune-telling phase and i saw valentine was there anD ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE A FILIPINO FC !! HECK YEAH !! and at this point i wanted to like branch out from my usual characters and try something different, to add new things about characters so i thought about illyria’s aversion to touch. and i knew she was going to be stoic and weird like cestrum, but she was also going to be charming and i wanted to see how that would go and it’s hard getting into illyria’s head sometimes but she’s like a Fave

( KIRSA ): so i watched this movie called “the darjeeling limited” and it’s basically about this dysfunctional set of siblings – one of them feels super responsible for the other two but is a big mess, the other sort is more put together but has problems he actively avoids, and then the last is this playwright who’s been in love with the same girl for like 10 years and falls in love easily. and i was like “who does that remind me of???” SO TBH the idea for kirsa first started out as a brother for the stahlbaums but then i realised there were no more spaces and i was like “tHE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY!!” and the rest is history. so kirsa is the dramatic playwright who falls in love too easily but also doesn’t know how to love properly, and she drinks and smokes and has all these vices and she’s still 17 so like what a hot mess. she’s as talkative as mak and as flirty as hershey but kirsa is less put-together and although she thinks she knows herself, she really doesn’t. she needs guidance pls

( DIGNAN ): so this really just began as a “i wanna get in on this waters family drama” business LMAO. and i love sarah’s misty so i wanted to see how it would go if she had a little brother. it also made a bit of a change because most of my characters are like the ‘older’ siblings or friends and i wanted more young people so i thought of dignan!! i also wanted a character that would be more pro-authority than other characters i’ve had before (dig’s always going to think highly of the auradon royalty bc he understands them and knows they don’t rly have much choice sometimes and that they try their best). and i chose joe keery (aka steve harrington, love of my life) as an fc bc i JUST FINISHED WATCHING STRANGER THINGS and charlie heaton was darcy, and natalia dyer was being used too and i was like hEYYY FC CONNECTIONS. 

               FUN FACT: dignan’s two defining things right now (baseball and being gay) weren’t even in the cards at the start, he was literally supposed to be more john watson, i’m-gonna-be-a-serious-doctor and like be fun but a guy who loved to study. but now he’s sporty and he’s figuring out this new part of himself and he’s literally my actual favourite character right now i love dig so much. also i needed a character that would 100% share my love for the 80s (hershey loves 80s music but only sings to annoy ppl so its not the sAME). and now dig has the hair and the fashion sense and he loves 80s music too man.

( HELEN ): the idea for helen really began with like this ‘bodyguard’ idea. i wanted a character that was like 100% protective. they were going to be this warrior, trained-as-a-child kind of person, and they were gonna be connected to royalty. i first tried this with kirsa but that didn’t work out, and then i tried it with dignan but he was too soft and easily persuaded tbh he can never be mad at his royals. and then i thought of tangled (and the mess the hoods and the greenes were in at the time LMAO). 

helen was first gonna be max’s child (for the full guard effect) but then i saw a space opening for rapunzel and eugene’s child and !! and then she became princess warrior, who wanted to protect her people rather than rule them and LIKE WHO DOES THAT REMIND ME OF??? PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA THAT’S WHO so seriously fun fact, a lot of the inspriation for helen is leia. and i chose the name ‘helen’ because of helen of sparta, a beautiful woman who started the longest war, and together with the fact that helen is very much a fighter of wars rather than the starter (and she has low self-esteem rip) its so fun i love helen, my sword princess child

( PENELOPE ): so i have an asshole auradonian, and mak is like simmering down, i knew i wanted an asshole isle person. and mak/blythe have such an awesome friendship and i loved blythe’s character and all the people in the cinderella family and world and i knew i wanted to get some of that action ;)))) so i rewatched the 2015 movie (I LOVE CATE BLANCHETT SO MUCH) and then i rewatched ‘ever after’ which is this 90s cinderella movie with drew barrymore. after watching ever after, i knew exactly how i wanted this daughter of drizella to be like. she’s going to be the worst parts of mak and kirsa (they’re bitches but like nice ones) and just be this snooty sugar baby gold-digger. she knows exactly what she wants, she knows she’s going to get it. she’s part daisy buchanan, jordan baker, very much this hedonistic character who understands life as being good if you have money and status. such an old idea but it’s what she learned from her fAMILY. 

a lot of penelope’s character came from me wanting to explore what i’d found with otto, the unapologetic asshole, but now she had reasons to be. otto’s rich and gets ltierally everything he wants so he sucks even more because he’s still mean-spirited – but now we have penny, who grew up with nothing but wanted everything, and her grandmother and mother put all their hopes and dreams on her, told her not to associate with her nicer aunt and cousin and even her little sister – and she’s an asshole. literally guys penelope is going to change and become better i just dunno how yet but shE WILL

13. what’s a weird headcanon you have for each of your muses?

THIS ASK GOT WAY TOO LONG ALREADY, BUT I GOT THIS NUMBER IN ANOTHER QUESTION SO I’LL ANSWER IT THEEEEERE

[onlyarogue]

onlyarogue edit: 001

[yuehouzi]

Really  LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY.      RULES.  repost, don’t reblog !!      TAGGED.  no one in particular.     TAGGING.  anyone and everyone.

BASICS.

FULL  NAME : Yueliang Wukong NICKNAME :  Yue, Little Thief AGE :  8 BIRTHDAY :  August 9th ETHNIC  GROUP : Vacuoan NATIONALITY :   Vacuoan LANGUAGE / S* : Common tongue, Vacuoan -- a mixture of the main city’s dialect and the one spoken by her parents. SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :  ??? ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :   ???  RELATIONSHIP  STATUS :   Single as a pringle. For this and the previous two questions, she’s a child. If anyone is interested in me answering them in the verses where she’s older, I guess I can do that. Otherwise, no. SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS :   Lower middle HOMETOWN / AREA :   Vacuo CURRENT  HOME :   Vacuo, main city / the city that surrounds Shade Academy. PROFESSION : Student, eventually a huntress-in-training.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR : Thick and golden blonde with a silvery white lock near her bangs. EYES :  Deep brown. NOSE : She has one.  FACE : She has one.   LIPS :  She has them and they’re thin. COMPLEXION : Dark tan. BLEMISHES : Some birthmarks scattered on her arms, on the inside of a knee. SCARS : Some light scarring on her knees. A white mark on her cheek. TATTOOS :  None HEIGHT : 3′8″  WEIGHT : 41.43 lbs BUILD : Slight, with some lean muscle.  NOTABLE FEATURES : A simian’s tail, with golden fur.  ALLERGIES : Pollen ( unknown since it’s not a problem for her in Vacuo ), dust mites. USUAL  HAIR  STYLE :  Layered, approximately chin-length, with the ends angled to frame her face. If her hair gets long enough, there may be a tuft of a braid.  USUAL  FACE  LOOK :  Keen interest. She’s constantly observing her environment, picking out the interesting people / objects.  USUAL CLOTHING : Sneakers -- think chuck taylors. shorts or capris. a short sleeve or tank top under a sleeveless hoodie, which has her brother’s emblem on a breast pocket. a square scarf. If her mother dresses her...count on more traditionally feminine styles and colors. She absolutely refuses to wear skirts and dresses of any kind.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S : She’ll proudly say none. However, after seeing the fall of Beacon unfold on a live broadcast -- Grimm start making occasional appearances in nightmares. Every day that goes by without hearing from Sun adds to her worry that he’s dead or missing. ASPIRATION / S :  To have an interesting life, experience as much as she can. After the fall of Beacon, she begins considering a future as a huntress.  POSITIVE  TRAITS :  Curious. Intelligent. Fiercely loyal and compassionate towards her family and friends. Inventive. Independent. NEGATIVE  TRAITS :  Mischievous. Impulsive. Stubborn. Smug. Prideful. Manipulative ( to a degree ). MBTI :   ENFP-A ZODIAC :   Leo TEMPEREMENT :  Sanguine SOUL  TYPE / S :   Performer ANIMALS :  Rooster VICE  HABIT / S : The occasional case of sticky fingers. 

FAITH : Self declared atheist, privately interested in agnosticism. GHOSTS ? :   No. AFTERLIFE ? :   Not sure. REINCARNATION ? :  She’ll say no, but she’s curious. ALIENS ? :  Maybe. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :  N/A ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE : Not sure about preference, but she and her family are lower middle class. She’s happy the way things are, but with the amount of time she’s spent around her parents’ workplaces and markets / bazaars -- she’s starting to realize that money is power and she’s beginning to capitalize on that with her swear jar. SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION : Look -- I’m a government / international politics student and I have no idea what’s meant by this. Are we talking political alignment or views on social policy / issues ? Those don’t necessarily align. Anyways -- she’s eight aka she has none of her own and doesn’t know much beyond what she hears others talking about. EDUCATION  LEVEL :   Primary school

FAMILY.

FATHER :    Tián Wukong MOTHER :   Mei-Xing Wukong SIBLINGS :   Sun Wukong EXTENDED  FAMILY :   Maternal aunt, uncle, and cousin in Mistral; paternal uncle in Vacuo NAME  MEANING / S :  The Wukong family has names relating to the sky and celestial objects. HISTORICAL  CONNECTION ? : Not so much history as philosophical / religious. Sun is clearly based on the Monkey King in Journey to the West. She and Sun are a representation of the Taoist principle of yin-yang.

FAVORITES.

BOOK :  She’s not much into reading. Comics always catch her eye. She’ll occasionally look at magazine articles if they have pictures that interest her. If she’s being read to, she’ll listen to almost everything. MOVIE :  Anything action related ( that her parents permit or don’t know about ). Documentaries may catch her interest, but on a case-by-case basis. 5  SONGS : She listens to whatever is playing on a scroll speaker. If there’s live music in a market / bazaar, she stops to listen -- especially if the music is coming from an unfamiliar instrument.

DEITY :  Privately, she’s interested in most deities. Since she was young, her mother has told her that she was blessed by the moon and the silvery streak in her hair is proof. Yue doesn’t buy it, but she does wonder. HOLIDAY :  a celebration of the New Year. MONTH :   Any that don’t bring cold weather. SEASON :   Summer. PLACE :   Her home city in Vacuo. She’s very interested in Shade Academy and while she’s not allowed outside the city boundaries alone, she loves to travel. WEATHER :   Bright and sunny or clear and moonlit, with a slight breeze. SOUND :  The hum of a crowd with music woven in. SCENT / S :  Petrichor. Fresh fruit. The lingering scent whenever she steals Sun’s shirts or jackets. TASTE / S :   Food. She likes food and isn’t picky.  FEEL / S : None in particular. ANIMAL / S :   Nearly all.  NUMBER :   None. COLORS :  White, blue. Anything bright.

EXTRA.

TALENTS :   Running cons. Memorization. Getting under people’s skins yet somehow still being adorable. Climbing. Arguing. BAD  AT :  Being sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. Subtlety. Anything that requires patience. Knowing when things don’t need her comment. TURN  ONS : She’s a child. TURN  OFFS : She’s a child.   HOBBIES :   People watching and eavesdropping. Gymnastics. Running cons. Hidden object games ( ironically ).  TROPES :  Animal Stereotypes. Annoying Younger Sibling. Brown Eyes. Badass Adorable. Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Kick the Dog. Little Miss Badass. Little Miss Snarker. Mystical White Hair / Power Dyes Your Hair. Only Known by Their Nickname. Pint-sized Powerhouse. Tagalong Kid. AESTHETIC  TAGS :  none yet. QUOTES : (1) “I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” (2) “She decided a long time ago she didn’t want to be a careful person, that she didn’t want to live her life constantly worrying about what other people thought of her. Of course she does worry, she does nothing but worry, and all her lack of care amounts to is that she offends people constantly and tests them with her inappropriateness and expects them to love her for it.” (3) “If you think you can grasp me, think again.”

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S : Pudding Fong from Tokyo Mew Mew. ALT  FC / S :  None, but searching. OLDER  FC / S : None, but searching.  YOUNGER  FC / S :   N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S : None, but searching. GENDERBENT  FC / S :  N/A

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ? A1 :  Ooh boy, I have no idea -- I enjoy films but I don’t have enough knowledge to be confident in answering this. 

Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ? A2 :  Something that evokes feelings of mischievousness, happiness without a care in the world, then transitions to more serious and uncertain. Finally, something suited to action. Personally, I listen to to the klk soundtrack when I want to write action for her.

Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ? A3 :  looks at @brightlikewukong. Because I told them about my ideas and they didn’t stop me. I also have a habit of getting deep into developing characters and plots for them and Yue has me wrapped around her little fingers.

Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ? A4 :  Mm. Maybe the fact that she’s so young and I haven’t written someone like her before. Not to mention, Rai’s Sun is a gift and I feel that both Sun and Yue have grown in their interactions with each other. 

Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse. A5 :   c: I work with kids and ooh boy do they sometimes know just how to grate on my nerves c: On the one hand, I understand they’re children but on the other, sometimes you just know when they’re being little shits on purpose. 

Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ? A6 :   Um. We will fite for the people we care about. 

Q7 :  how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ? A7 :  Simultaneously unimpressed and impatient.

Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions  with ? A8 : In terms of actual interactions, with her brother ( brightlikewukong ) and their parents. She’s also managed to insult Neptune and Scarlet, much to her amusement. In terms of future interactions or ones that haven’t occurred on here, I’d love to see her interact with any muses from Vacuo ( they seem to be in short supply here ). There are a few NPCs that she’ll interact well with, namely her friend Zarrin Ahmar ( currently a student at Shade ).

Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ? A9 :   Anything that Rai talks about or posts in relation to Sun. The klk soundtrack as well. And sometimes, the things I see at work.

Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ? A10 :  Several days, since I did it in chunks.

[ultrasfcb-blog]

World Cup 2018: Why England must stop world

World Cup 2018: Why England must stop world

World Cup 2018: Why England must stop world

For England to beat Croatia and reach the World Cup final, they must stop the best midfielder in the world.

That is how highly I rate my former Tottenham team-mate Luka Modric. I’ve not met many players as driven as Luka, and I’ve seen even fewer who are as talented as him.

I remember the first time I saw him play, when he was part of the Croatia team that beat England 2-0 in Zagreb in a European Championship qualifier in 2006.

I was on the bench that night and he was absolutely phenomenal. I had heard Spurs were interested in him and I was thinking to myself, ‘please tell me we are signing this kid because he is unreal’.

When he joined Tottenham in 2008 at the age of 22, we became close friends and even then he was already becoming the leader he is now as captain of his country.

That is one of the qualities he has that many people might not expect and, as a player, he always had a few surprises up his sleeve too.

‘His mindset is win, win, win’

Modric’s ‘magnificent’ strike doubles Croatia’s lead

The things that make Modric such a threat to England on Wednesday are not just his vision, the fact he is a two-footed player, or his low centre of gravity and balance.

Yes, the way he uses his body when he is on the ball plays a big part in making him the fantastic footballer he is, but so does his personality.

Luka has always demanded a lot from his team-mates and there were times in games when he would be the one rallying the troops, even in his early years at Tottenham.

Some creative players can just drift out of games if they are not going their way, but not Luka. He is passionate about his football and he had a little aggressive streak in him that I quite liked actually.

He would get angry and always let you know if he wasn’t happy if, say, you did not give him the ball or if things were not going the way he wanted them to.

Off the pitch, he would let loose when we were out together but when it came down to business, he was right on it.

In training he was exactly the same as he was in games – intense and relaxed at the same time.

He was forever complaining about refereeing decisions and arguing with his team-mates, but also urging us on and celebrating any kind of victory.

Whether it was a two-touch game, a possession-based drill, five-a-side or eight-a-side, he loved winning. His mindset is win, win, win.

‘The tighter the situation, the better he is’

World Cup 2018: Russia 2-2 Croatia (3-4 pens) highlights

When Luka came to Tottenham he was a number 10, but he could play deeper than that, and on the left or right too.

He was just as effective in any role – because he has got defensive discipline to his game and never shirks a challenge – but what he really wants to do is get on the ball and take responsibility.

I loved playing in midfield with Luka at Spurs and one of the things that stood out for me was how clever he was in tight situations in midfield.

In fact, the tighter the situation got, the better he became.

Luka has never conformed to the norm when it comes to the usual positions a central midfielder would take up to receive the ball from their defenders.

For a start, he was always happy to receive the ball anywhere – whereas most midfielders have favourite areas to drop into.

I categorically remember certain times in training where I asked the coaches if I could go on the opposing team to him because I needed to work him out – he was just too good.

He would go into areas just in front of the full-backs where, if I was playing against him, I would think, ‘I am going to go out there and mark you’.

But he would get the ball and all of a sudden he would be at you – and past you. Every time I thought I had him pinned down, he just got away from me. I’ve seen him do the same thing time and time again at this World Cup.

So it is going to be hard for England to shut him down on Wednesday because he is quicker than most people think, and a lot stronger too. For a player who is only 5ft 6in, he has got the biggest calves I have ever seen in my life.

Why doesn’t Modric get wider accolades?

Highlights: Croatia 2-0 Nigeria

It is six years since Modric left White Hart Lane to join Real Madrid – and since then he has got even better.

Watching him play, he is obviously a guy who can run a game and make things happen in midfield, with the ability to know exactly what is going on around him.

When you consider how well balanced he is, I just don’t see a better player in that area of the pitch anywhere on the planet right now.

Bearing in mind he has won the Champions League four times with Real, I don’t think he always gets the wider accolades he deserves.

That is probably because he does not get more goals. He has got two at this World Cup, but throughout his career he has never scored in big numbers, and that is something some people use to judge how good a player is.

I think differently. Like his Real Madrid team-mate Toni Kroos, Spain’s Andres Iniesta or another Croat, Ivan Rakitic, Luka is a rhythm-type player who sets the tempo of games and gives his team control of them.

Croatia’s greatest player, carrying his country’s hopes

Highlights: Croatia 1-1 Denmark (3-2 on pens)

There is quality right through this Croatia team, especially in midfield which – with Modric, Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic – you could argue is the best in the tournament.

Then you add in those who have played in Champions League finals, such as Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic and Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren, and you can see why they have been doing so well.

They have flirted with success at previous tournaments but the difference now is this team are expected to do something and it is Luka who is spearheading that.

The pressure is not a problem for him, though. Even in his younger days, in Croatia, he was like a god over there – he was seen as the next star to follow the likes of Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinecki.

Now he is probably looked upon as the greatest Croatia player, which is some statement, and he is carrying the country’s hopes.

Handling that sort of pressure is never going to faze him, and he showed how strong he is mentally in his side’s last-16 win over Denmark.

He missed a penalty late in extra time but still stepped up – and scored – in the shootout.

That did not surprise me one bit. I knew for a fact he would take one because he is just not the type of player to shy away from responsibility.

Jermaine Jenas was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Moscow.

2018 Fifa World Cup semi-final: Croatia v England Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow Date: Wednesday 11 July, 19:00 BST Coverage: Full radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and text commentary online and in BBC Sport app

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/8016/

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[tisha25f1100869-blog]

Terry Dubrow, NeNe Leakes & Even more E! Fate Reveal Their Super Dish 2017 Forecasts.

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Greater Buffalo grass is the home of many Cornell alums, functioning in all sectors of the economic condition and also made contacts via a crucial Cornell Nightclub. While hen is actually still master in United States usage, the taste for turkey has actually boosted throughout the years. This country-and-western bar in the Ft Worth Stockyards, near Dallas, bills itself as the world's biggest honky-tonk - as well as with more than 127,000 square feet, that's no overestimation. The Clemson Tigers stunned Alabama on Monday evening, moving for a crazy 35-31 triumph, breaking the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide's 26-game winning streak as well as securing the university's second-ever championship game. The outcomes carry a similarity to hen airfoils - minus the hen, certainly! Poultry bosom usuallies be actually a little bit completely dry, however marinading the meat adds extra flavor as well as maintains it moist.

[junker-town]

The Egg Bowl is the story of who you *think* you are

Or, more specifically, who you want everyone to think you aren't.

This story was originally published in 2013.

We’re recirculating it again ahead of the rivalry’s return to Thanksgiving Day for 2017. Most of the names below have since left their respective schools. Star players are now in the NFL, Ole Miss fired Hugh Freeze amid multiple scandals in the summer of 2017, Scott Stricklin is now the athletic director at Florida, a years-long NCAA investigation into the Rebels has since tangled up a star MSU linebacker, and Dan Mullen still looms over Ole Miss as Mississippi State’s head coach.

The Rebels have even since changed mascots again.

What hasn’t changed: the stuff besides the names.

Starkville, MS - Ole Miss defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, the brand name of college football's freshman class, is running the ball for the second consecutive play in a scoreless Egg Bowl.

He's dragged to the ground in part by Mississippi State defensive end Chris Jones, also a five-star freshman. That's 10 stars worth of Magnolia State hype, all colliding on Thanksgiving.

One is a Bulldog, and one is a Rebel.

Since they're defensive ends, the pair was never expected to meet on the field. But now that they have, everyone in the stands is sure one or the other of them boys is an evil, cheatin' prick who's everything wrong about college football. The other's just a young man who loves his new university.

Nkemdiche, the highest-rated prospect in the country last year, chose the unlikely Rebels. This infuriates Mississippi State fans to their cores. There's no way Ole Miss should've landed the nation's top talent, and out of Atlanta of all places. Never mind that his brother — once an ignored, grade-risk, 'tweener-DB — came to Oxford as a Houston Nutt fire-damage special in the summer of 2010, and that years later their mother wanted them on the same campus. Cheaters.

Jones is a home-grown Missisippian, a native of nearby Houston. His is a fine example of the path taken by a top in-state football recruit:

Declare interest in one of the two local SEC programs.

Weather a barrage of hype, rumor, seduction, and accusation from both fan bases until Signing Day.

Be forever loathed by one.

So Ole Miss fans swear the five-star Jones was in love with joining an already-stocked 2013 Rebel class and pairing with Nkemdiche. He had visited the Oxford campus late in the recruiting season, but his family had been bought by MSU boosters. Poor Jones was held captive by a Bulldog shadow government that even forced him to bait key Rebel boosters into potentially offering him money on tapped phone lines. Cheaters.

The moment will be writ large on message boards for months to come, and maybe end up on a billboard.

Billboards rank just above spray-painted overpasses in tact and subtlety among advertising mediums, which is exactly why more and more college athletic departments are using them.

"When I worked at the University of Kentucky, we had a similar campaign for an existing slogan: 'Welcome to Big Blue Country,'" Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin explains. "We wanted to do something similar, something direct, but spent several months really struggling for what to do exactly. I remember, in a moment of frustration, just telling our team I wanted something direct, like, 'Hey, welcome to our state.'"

"I can say they're highly visible, and they create feedback from our fans. I know I hear from Mississippi State fans every time they pass by a new one about how much they love seeing it," Stricklin said. "But I don't know that the R.O.I. is really worth what you're paying for them, other than the non-quantifiable good feeling. I don't know how you put pencil to paper to explain that."

In the 2007 Egg Bowl, MSU's Derek Pegues, one of the rare standouts at Batesville's South Panola High School to eschew nearby Ole Miss (22 miles) for MSU (121 miles), broke a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown. It would push the Dogs to a win and certify Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron's pink slip.

The following summer, a billboard appeared in Panola County on Interstate 55, near the Highway 6 exit to Oxford. The junction is the most common route for drivers headed to Ole Miss from either Jackson or Memphis and considered the heart of Rebel country. Now a maroon-and-white billboard read, "Many Happy RETURNS For Bulldog Club Ticket Holders," featuring a picture of Pegues.

The archduke of outdoor advertising had been shot dead. The modern Mississippi Billboard Wars had begun.

"It can be July and no teams competing, but people will see [the billboards] and instantly gauge where their teams are at," then-Mississippi State AD Greg Byrne, now at Arizona, said. "That's the real value, and it's not a television ad you can mute and ignore."

In 2008, Houston Nutt's Rebels sealed the fate of the embattled Sylvester Croom with a 45-0 walloping in Oxford. As if such a complete dismantling wasn't enough recompense, Ole Miss flashed a message on its brand-new Jumbotron (MSU would complete its a year later, exactly one cubic foot larger in size):

"When they shellacked us in the 2008 game and put up 'Many Happy Returns,' I just told our people that's clever. That's not obnoxious. We had that coming. That was very cleverly, subtlety done," Stricklin said.

"I think on that level, that stuff is kind of fun. And anytime you do something from a marketing standpoint, you open yourself up to [a response] if you have a bad day."

Ole Miss is 7-4 in Hugh Freeze's second season, while Mississippi State is 5-6 in Dan Mullen's fifth.

The night is less about the Rebels and more about a growing anxiety around the home team. Mullen's offense, his trademark, has faltered this season. MSU fans are impatient despite the current staff's streak of three bowl bids.

On this night, MSU’s wearing Adidas-crafted solid maroon with solid gold numbers and letters topped with gold chrome helmets.

Getty Images North America

STARKVILLE, MS - NOVEMBER 28: Brandon Wells #30 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs takes the field prior to a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Davis Wade Stadium on November 28, 2013 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Mississippi State is all in on the brand association with the Golden Egg trophy, named not for any connection the state has to poultry, but for its poorly constructed golden football that, over the decades, became nicknamed "The Egg."

Much of Mullen's persona has been built around a zeal to humiliate Ole Miss. He validated his claims, winning three in a row against an increasingly hapless Houston Nutt from 2009-‘11. He calls them "TSUN, the school up north" and even let himself be videotaped promising that MSU was "never losing to this team again" after the 2010 game.

He did eventually lose. Last November, 41-24. As deft as Mullen was at rallying Mississippi State, Hugh Freeze was at washing Ole Miss' local elitism in the blood of the Lamb. A son of Tate County, he's yet to miss an opportunity to publicly preach about a team winning for the love of each other and not the hate of an opponent, all while recruiting with Mullen's same fearlessness.

Even after finally losing his first Egg Bowl, there's no restraint from Mullen, no dampening of the mission statement. if anything, MSU has doubled down and lacquered itself in rivalry lust.

"Let's face it, our fans aren't telling us that the one game we absolutely have to win is against some FCS opponent," Stricklin says. "I don't think it matters what we wear, really. Our fans aren't halfway in, so there's no reason for us to be."

MSU has come to claim Mississippi as its state, or specifically, "Our State."

As Stricklin tells the story, the "Our State" campaign was created and put in motion well before Mullen's second Egg win.

"They were actually scheduled to go up around the first of the new year, but the sign company was ahead of schedule, believe it or not. Almost as soon as the second in 2010, the billboards started going up, and fans on both sides took it to be a shot, which it really wasn't intended to be."

The billboards sprang up on graduated schedule across Mississippi, on the state line of every major interstate, along with major highways and cities. And gold trim started making its way onto the MSU uniforms for each Egg Bowl.

"I don't think there is any reaction. It's hard to say this in a blanket statement, but I don't think people see it as a big deal," counters Ole Miss senior associate AD for marketing and communications Michael Thompson.

Thompson is the Rebels' image maker, to a degree, an ex-ad man who's worked to overhaul everything from the specific hues of red and blue used in the Ole Miss logo to the meticulously planned change in mascots two season ago.

"I need to make sure I clarify that," he adds. "That game is a big deal, but I don't think that our people want us to put out a uniform change or tweak for that game. That's not part of our brand standards guide. It's just not who we are."

Since Mullen and Stricklin's embrace of beating all things [school name redacted], Ole Miss has opted to aim its nose even higher. The Rebels responded to the "Our State" campaign with a series of non-State billboards around Memphis and the state of Mississippi, never acknowledging their disdain for MSU's growing confidence.

"I think Dan Mullen might pick the billboard locations personally," Thompson jokes, referencing a recent wave of MSU billboards that seemed specific to the location of key recruits. In early 2012, MSU was hit with a secondary NCAA violation for a billboard in Oxford that read "Play with the Best," which the NCAA considered a call for prospects. Ole Miss fans felt it was because highly sought-after Oxford recruit Jeremy Liggins was about to sign his LOI.

And it's not just billboards. Shortly after Donte Moncrief split the MSU secondary for the second time in the Rebels' blowout in 2012, Ole Miss cued up video of Mullen's promise to never lose the Egg again:

Hey it was a promise that wasn't kept," Thompson says of the clip.

"There was a lot of talk about that clip leading up to the game. It had surfaced online a good bit. Our athletic director [Ross Bjork] happened to ask if we had that clip queued up, and we happened to have it available. At a certain point in the game, he asked us to play it."

No fan base is a homogenous group that's the opposite in every way of its rival.

There are ag schools and business schools and private schools and commuter colleges, and at some point, all fans become classless trash by somebody else's standards. But there are gray areas.

However, in Mississippi, a sparse state population and a feeble economy strangle out the periphery. There's little in the way of outside immigration, and not only are you loyal to either one team or the other, you personally know your town's next great linebacker prospect and the opposing school's local bag man. You know for a fact they're up to something, because you heard from the guy who saw it all.

As both universities slowly grow, each is discovering it's impossible to keep an entire student body and fan culture in step with any one image.

But on Egg Bowl week it's still suitable to boil everything down to the rednecks vs. the country club.

Before the game, you notice how willing the participants are to play to their own stereotypes.

This is not the Iron Bowl. There are no national titles at stake. There haven't been since the early 1960s. The Egg Bowl is a potent distillation of Mississippi as compared to its neighboring Southern cultures, a stronger high and a harsher burn.

Live in Mississippi long enough with an open ear and you can learn to hate everybody. Trust me.

You're either a red-dirt, hillbilly dipshit, kin to farming families outside Tupelo (and a cheater) or a racist, fork-tongued Jackson lawyer (and a cheater). And tonight everybody's a damn cheater, a "cheeeetin son of a bitch" precisely, as it echoes through the stands.

I've often wondered out loud around Oxford and Starkville that if everybody's cheating so damn much, is anybody really cheating? The answer around Thanksgiving week is, "yeah, those sons of bitches are."

If you ask one side, you can find much to hate about the Rebels.

Ole Miss, a postcard town stained to the bone by a cancerous, self-created mystique that's so vapid, so invalidated by modern culture that one extra cufflink, one extra bow tie, one extra flair on an already obscene cocktail dress would implode the whole damn Grove in a fit of pretentiousness, like a dying star with a little alligator embroidered on it.

The Grove: that giant, ham-fisted paean to a world that either never really existed or did and should be forever forgotten. A WASP Freaknik of doctors, lawyers, and politicians blocking traffic seven times a fall.

Ole Miss: a grown-ass man, bereft of self-awareness, wobbling around his fake fiefdom in an outfit straight from the boys department of a Dillard's after-Easter sale in 1986.

So to hell with Ole Miss.

If you ask the other side, you can find much to hate about the Bulldogs.

State, a lot so ignorant to their circumstances that their baseless pride becomes downright noxious, a poison in the air. Mississippi State, the worst of all nondescript land-grant institutions, a sorry smattering of brick buildings and hills and as war-torn as a Serbian armpit without the excuse of having suffered an actual war. There's no way to explain away the alarming amount of local self-regard for so much hopeless blight.

Starkville: a Springsteen song without melody or lyrics or any remote significance to the fabric of American identity. A people united by the cultural mantra of scorched-earth, fit to forever wage a kamikaze war over the last bunk of a basement cell in the SEC West.

Mississippi State: a churlish, bell-ringing, camo-coated Flannery O'Connor villain trapped inside a 3 Doors Down chorus.

So to hell with State.

He was a brazen, smirking carpetbagger from New Hampshire who trolled an entire state of old-money blowhards.

Watching Mullen work the postgame press conference in the wake of a surprise upset win over the Rebels is witnessing a master.

"I think now at this point we certainly expect to be considered for the best bowl available, especially when you consider we've now got a better conference record than the school up north," he beams, the Golden Egg freshly returned to his side.

In the course of the evening, Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace fumbles away the game while diving into the end zone in overtime. The gaffe ends with the quarterback face down on the maroon grass, a maneuver that will become a (local) internet trend hashtagged as #Wallacing. Ole Miss fans will fume, especially when extended clips show State safety Nickoe Whitley squatting over Wallace to celebrate.

Nkemdiche will become, as one lifelong MSU fan tells me after the game, "the most hated Rebel in Starkville since Eli Manning." He allegedly spent the fourth quarter smack-talking MSU players and fans while Ole Miss' defense struggled to stop the Bulldogs from moving the ball.

Mullen’s voice cracks when talking about the "medical miracle" return of injured quarterback Dak Prescott to win the game. Prescott, thought to be suffering nerve damage in his shoulder and out for the regular season, entered the game late to spark MSU's comeback. This will enrage Rebel fans, convinced Mullen is willing to trade on his players' health.

A week later, Stricklin admits with equal parts pride and sheepishness that more billboards are on the way.

"It's hard to make too much of a rivalry game," he says.

Thompson, in response, holds the company line for Ole Miss, now losers of four of the last five Egg Bowls.

"No, as of right now, I know of no plans for any kind of advertising specific to that game. I think that you have to choose those things wisely. On any campaign you have to look at all the potential scenarios that could occur. You don't want all your eggs in one basket," he deadpans.

Above the smoke and the Egg and the university-issued golden pom-poms flying into the air is State's Jumbotron, with a giant hashtag: #WONTHEDAY, mocking Freeze's oft-repeated catch phrase for Rebel football.

"That one was not run by me. I promise," Stricklin says with a bit of a laugh. "Our marketing staff must have come up with that one during the week. I've asked in the future they run all of those by me."

[onlyarogue]

The face of Anna Marie when she becomes the terrorist known as ‘Rogue’ and then face of Rogue when she joins the X-Men.

[onlyarogue]

Photos from Rogue’s Phone- Part 1

Featuring Remy LeBeau, Xavier Institute, & Dinner

@onlyathief