#And I don't mean anything like QB

[masked-alien-lesbian]

Not that I want to marry Duke Richards or Sir Gideon Payne by any means, but rereading Desire & Decorum has made me wonder what it would be like to play a more morally darker mc that gets married to someone who is trying to overthrow the king or queen. Something like TC&TF but instead of fighting to get your throne back, usurping the throne. Watching the world burn for you obtain power...

[etherealily]

𝟡 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 // Nate Jacobs.

Nate Jacobs + Fem!reader. Darker. SFW, but discretion advised.

Part 1 : Whiplash

Part 3 : Blessed

Part 4 : Shards

Part 5 : Eighteen

Part 6 : Sin

You do NOT have permission to repost and/or translate any of my fics.

Desc. : You should be grateful.

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He wasn't supposed to text you. He was supposed to take the beating you'd given him for being a prick, like a man, and shut the fuck up about it.

But here you were, midnight, staring at the chat that had started it all.

'yo, u up?'

You rolled your eyes, going back to your scrolling.

'I hate seenzoners.'

You liked his message.

'That's so much worse.'

'The fuck do u want?'

Nate Jacobs sent a voice message.

You could have just ignored it. You could just block him. You could just… stop. But the allure was far too much. The urge of finding out what he wanted was too strong.

"Guess where I am."

He could've just texted that. No need for a voice message, but he was Nate Jacobs.

"I don't know, the psych ward?"

"You wanna know? You'll have to drive and follow my instructions, though. You trust me enough for that?"

Ha. No fucking chance. "No, I'm good, thanks."

"Oh, so you'll text me, but won't see me in person?"

His voice was oddly sultry, as if he'd either just woken up or hadn't slept for days. Most likely the second one.

"Bingo. Go to sleep, Jacobs."

And then he sent you a picture of him from the bleachers of your school's football stadium - how the fuck did he get in?

"C'mon, don't you want to see what our school looks like at night?"

Uh, yes. But with him? No.

"It's 12:05, ASSHOLE. No fucking way."

"This is the scene where you cave and meet me and we have a cute little nighttime school montage where we sit and talk about life."

You listened to that message a good four times before you stopped laughing.

"This is the scene where I block you."

"I will come over if you don't come to the school. Uh, y'know, if you want your parents to think you're fooling around with the QB."

"I will literally shoot you if you come within fifty feet of my house."

"Come. I'll make it worth your while."

Was it possible to hear smirks?

"I'm not coming, Nate."

No way he was actually at the high school. It was probably an insanely good edit.

"You will be."

The FUCK was that supposed to mean? Not like he could force you to show up.

"Wanna bet?"

"Sure. Fifty bucks says you show up to the high school tonight."

"Not blowing fifty bucks on anything, even if I do win."

"What's it going to take for you to come? Look, I-I know it's been weird, and I might've scared you, but that's… that wasn't my intention, I swear."

Yeah, his intention was just to show you what his blood looked like. You liked his message once more, rolling your eyes.

"Dude, seriously, I swear, I'm not like, a serial killer or anything. You can bring pepper spray, a taser, whatever, if it makes you feel better. I'm just- okay, fuck, you're right. Dumb idea, trying to convince you like this."

Wait, okay, good. That was good. He was getting the message.

Another voice message.

"I forgot who I was talking to. You leave me no choice."

"What?" No.

And then, you received a video. He was teetering off the edge of the top-most row of bleachers. With a gun at his head.

"Come on, Y/N, this is getting really sad, that the only way I can grab your attention is by almost killing myself."

"I don't care. Do whatever. Not falling for it this time."

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"FUCK!", you yelled, as you found yourself running frantically through the school football field for the second time in two weeks.

You'd actually kept your word for a while, pushing out every Nate-related thought for a good night's sleep - you didn't fall for it.

Until McKay called and informed you that Nate wasn't picking up his phone - and that his last message was something along the lines of : 'Call Y/N if you don't hear from me in the next couple of minutes'.

He was deranged. Playing Russian Roulette with his own life was absolutely deranged.

"You actually showed."

GOOD, he was still alive, meaning you could kill him.

You didn't speak. That would simply complicate things, because then you'd have to look at him.

"Plus, you didn't flinch when you saw me. Think that's a win for me in the trust department."

You stood there, glaring at him as he jumped down from the bleachers, even doing that dangerously, as if he was a cat with nine lives, or he was playing a video game and would just respawn.

"You know, you could say something."

He wasn't getting impatient, though, like his tone was trying to portray. No, he was getting more amused. He liked this. He liked the fact that he got you to come to a basically abandoned-for-the-holidays-high school at midnight. He reveled in it.

"Like hey, Nate, thanks for convincing me to actually live a little for a change instead of staying cooped up in my house.", he suggested.

You punched him.

Yeah. You kept running across that field till you were close enough and you punched him right then and there.

You full-on punched him, shoved him back, slapped him, clawed at him. "Stop FUCKING doing this to me! STOP! You can't FUCKING do this to me!", you screamed, hitting him repeatedly on his chest.

He took every beating, and the fact that it seemed he was trying not to laugh just egged you on even more to actually kill him, make his nose bleed, make his head fall clean off his egotistical body.

Eventually, though, it seemed even Nate Jacobs had his limit. He grappled against your hands as he held them between both your chests, clenching his jaw. He wouldn't risk saying anything, seeing as your eyes were already burning with tears.

"You…", you cried out as he shifted his grip on your hands to only one hand, wrapping the other around you. "…Can't keep…"

"Shh, shh, I know.", he muttered as he rested his chin on your head. "Shh, I had to."

"No, you didn't."

He kissed your head, then your forehead, your nose, your cheeks, and stopped for a moment, hovering over your lips but not touching them, as though he was more scared than you were. "You know I did."

You wondered if he could taste the tears, whether he relished it. Knowing what little you did of him, he might have.

"I would've come."

"No, you wouldn't have. Shh." He was right, but there had to be some other way.

"You know what, sweetheart?"

It was sickening how he could do this to you and then use words of endearment against you.

"You should actually be grateful."

And that's when you noticed that he was actually gripping onto your hair, tightening it when your face didn't show any contortion due to pain (only contortion due to unbridled rage and the urge to stab him with your car keys).

"I usually hurt people to get what I want. With you, I'm hurting myself."

You fought the urge to say 'so fucking what?'

"You're not bleeding, baby, that's what you don't get. You're untouched, and safe, and not bleeding. Me, however?"

What was his point? That he was being a gentleman by scaring you half to death instead of having a normal adult conversation?

"I'm bleeding. I'm hurt. I'm in pain. But I'm still holding you."

He said it with exaggerated magnanimity, like he was doing you a favour, or something, like all your problems, trauma, worries, stress, had just disappeared because he was holding you in his 'big strong arms'.

"Then stop!"

"Neither of us wants me to stop holding you."

"I do."

He grinned, knowingly, with a subtle shake of his head. "No, you don't."

"Let me go."

"No."

"Let me go, Nate."

"Fine. Because you called me Nate and not Jacobs.", he nodded, letting go of you and throwing up his arms. "Don't hit me again."

"Was McKay in on this?"

He frowned momentarily, before realization swept over his face. "Shit. Yeah, no, he wasn't. I should text him, huh?"

Oh, now he was asking if he should be a courteous human being?

You watched him loathingly, as he typed out what you guessed was a half-assed apology.

'Sorry, McKay, I'm good, man. Chicks, y'know?' or some absolutely fucked up shit like that, to be sure.

"Done. Now, will you stop being so square and enjoy the fact that you're here at school at midnight?"

"What?" Enjoy?

"I'll bet this is your first time out at midnight period, let alone your first time out at midnight somewhere you're not legally supposed to be."

"Why am I here?"

The condescending look he gave you set your teeth on edge. 'Oh, poor, naive girl. Of course she doesn't even know why she's here. This is why I told her to stay in my grasp. She never listens.'

FUCKING ASSHOLE.

"You're my good luck charm. My good luck charm, but I heard you're fucking Shane. You can't be doing that."

The softness in his movements, the gentleness, it had either completely stopped, or entirely overshadowed the fact that he had put you through yet another nerve-wracking event that would raise your blood pressure.

Shane who, Shane who, Shane- oh. Shane.

Not so much fucking as went on one date with, but it was better for everyone if Nate thought you had already gone that far.

"Why not?"

"He's a punk."

"You're one to talk."

"Look, he plays defense. What if you're just, like, intensely fortunate? Can't have him sneak in a quickie before the game and then he's lucky."

It's like he wanted you to punch him again.

"He's on your team. You'll win anyway."

He shrugged, as though he could see where you were coming from, but was about to respectfully absolutely ruin your argument.

"I like to win."

"Not a team player, are you?"

"Never claimed to be."

══════════════════════ ⋆♠️⋆ ═══════════════════

He was so clearly getting frustrated with your lack of response - the initial dopamine and thrill of being a disgusting element of surprise by shooting/not-shooting himself in the head gone.

But what could you say?

You'd already ghosted Shane after the date had tanked, so technically there was no reason for you to still be here. The chances of a 'lucky quickie' were virtually zero.

And so, you just stood there, the two of you, with inexplicable rage pooling within.

Your senses were heightened, your emotions wilder than the crazed look in your eyes as he stood there, looking down at you like an adult looking down at their childhood toy. As if you were the naivest, most precious, pathetically adorable thing he owned, reminding him of a simpler time.

At this point, even a rabbit's foot had been treated with more respect than you.

And you hated every moment of it because it was thrusted upon you, just like the silence of the eerie, void-like field you two were in.

"Why are you like this, Y/N?", he groaned, with the nerve to sound tired.

You? Why were you like this? What about him?

"You're… so cold." His hands flexed as if they were about to move from your hair to your throat. "Just… let loose, please. You're the reason I'm winning, I'd at least like to get to know you!"

"Oh, so this is like, an interview? Is she good enough to be associated with me? You think you're hot shit? Dude, I- you gotta realize how fucked up all of this is."

You were practically pleading. Acknowledge your absurdity, Nate Jacobs, please.

"Hey, whoa, look, you chose to associate yourself with me. Not my problem, ok?", he spat back, clearly happy with the return of banter.

"I didn't choose any of this!"

"You requested to follow me after I followed you. You chose not to block me after I followed you."

"You're putting this all on me?"

That's what normal people do ; they follow people back! He was grasping at straws, but it still seemed as though he had an iron grip on them.

"There wouldn't have been a first time if you didn't care so goddamn much." Like he was mocking you. You almost screamed. You almost hit him. He was so nonchalant.

But that… rang true. However, the humanitarian in you was adamant that there was absolutely no one cold enough to shrug off a video of someone slicing so effortlessly into their palm and exposing their blood so unabashedly.

Well, except Nate Jacobs himself.

"But, y'know what, Y/N?", he said, clearing his throat, matter-of-factly. "That's all in the past. Because now, now, we're going to sort out this arrangement between us and everything will go back to normal."

Normal? Normal as in, both of you go back to being strangers? Unlikely.

"Arrangement?"

"How this thing is going to go. Before every game, you fist-bump me. You don't touch any other players whatsoever, Blackhawk or otherwise."

Great, he was policing who you could fist-bump now.

"I- you brought me here at midnight for this?"

"Uh, no, I brought you here at midnight for fun.", he replied, scoffing. "But since you wanted to be all violent and physical, I thought we should stick to business."

Did he mean to be this insufferable? Was it a bit? There was no way an actual human being could act like this, yes? There was no way anyone could think that this was a justifiable response to a genuine question. Right?

At this point, you didn't know anymore.

Nate Jacobs had officially stumped you.

"If I say okay, can I leave?"

"No, you cannot leave, but you definitely can go sit over there and think about your little attitude before I bring out the tequila."

He burst out laughing at your annoyed face, slinging a heavy arm around your shoulder in an oddly possessive display of 'familiarity'.

"Relax. Loosen up, like I said, and you'll be fine.", he snorted, and that was your only indication that he did not, in fact, actually wish to put you into time-out.

The insane man with a gun had a sense of humour, apparently.

"You brought tequila?"

"I told you, the whole point of tonight was fun and getting to know the reason I'm winning better. So, sit."

You sat, still glaring up at him. You must have looked absolutely fucking cute or something, because he pouted at you before reaching into a duffle bag you hadn't noticed before and whipping out two bottles of straight tequila.

"Body shots?"

"Jacobs…"

"I'm joking, I'm joking. You'll come around soon, though. They all do."

Great. That's brilliant. You'd been reduced from a stranger, to a bitch, to a joke, to now a stereotype. This was just spectacular.

"Why me?"

That question seemed to genuinely catch him off-guard.

Good. Now he knows what this past week with him has been like.

"Hm?'

"Why me? Why am I the good luck charm?"

"I don't know."

"You could just be a really good player. You don't know, you haven't gone a single game without it, so you assume you're winning because of it."

"The third game was the one you weren't there for. You must remember hearing about it, though? Most embarrassing game for East Highland, I swear. 34-nil? That was shameful. That's why I decided, fourth game onwards, I wouldn't have to risk it because I got you."

Shit. That actually made sense.

"Okay, now you tell me.", he began, slightly turning the bottle in his hand around and examining the contents, curiously. "Shane Crestin? Seriously?"

"What?"

He scoff-snickered, taking an impressively large gulp before answering. "Y/N, the guy's a tool."

Look who's talking.

"He asked me out after the game."

"So, he knows you're my good luck charm.", he said, quietly, like a king trying to figure out where his men's loyalties lay.

Did Julius Caesar have a girl who he gaslit in order to get her to watch him in battle because of superstition? If so, she'd have been the first to stab him.

"Of course he knows, you made a huge spectacle of it that first time."

"Oh, yeah. But still, what a bastard. Trying to steal my lucky girl and her luck like that."

You needed to do a lobotomy on this man, seriously.

It wasn't even like you could ask him what the hell that meant because that would just bring him immense amounts of joy.

"You're not drinking. Why?", he inquired, opening the second bottle and forcing it to your lips.

You frowned as you held onto it. "I don't drink."

"Oh, bullshit. Come on, drink, don't be a nerd."

"I said no, okay?"

"Wait, do you not want to drink around me?"

He was really going above and beyond to break the 'dumb jock' stereotype, wasn't he?

"I can't believe it.", he continued, leaning back on the bleachers as he watched your face. "After all this, you don't trust me."

After all this, he said, as if he had spent his entire life working solely for your benefit. Like a tired mentor.

"I mean, dude, this is like… such a bitch move, you know that? I'm just trying to be nice."

"I don't know what you want me to do, Nate."

"Uh, trust me? Thought we were cool now, Y/N. You think I'm going to get you blackout drunk then have my way with you? Rape you? Are you scared to be around me? At midnight? In a quiet, empty football stadium where no one would think to look for you?", he questioned, still holding your gaze as he lifted his bottle to his mouth.

The elaboration of that statement unnerved you.

"I don't think you're going to rape me, I'm just-"

"Just scared of the possibility?"

"Don't take it personal, but-"

"There's no other way to take it. You're all but accusing me of assault. I thought you were different."

Was that meant to make you melt? 'Oh, no, I'm just like everyone else in that I don't want to end up in a ditch somewhere, the horror!'

"Maybe I'm not.", you shrugged.

"But you came. Tonight. No one else would have. So maybe you're a judgmental bitch like everyone else, but you've at least got your stupidly huge heart going for you."

If you strained your ears, that almost sounded like a compliment.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Drink, Y/N. Please."

Oh, fuck it. You needed that goddamn tequila to shoot through you with a vengeance.

"There we go.", he mumbled, watching you. "Dude, look at you."

"Hm?"

"You're finally badass."

His eyes lit up as he saw your finger enter the scene. He chuckled for a moment. "I'm being serious. I mean, you've beaten me up, what, three times so far - once in front of the entire school - and now you're doing underage shots with me at night at school, which is like, two illegal things at the same time."

See, that's where the difference between the two of you lay.

He thought that was being a badass.

You thought that was being a dumbass.

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"…So yeah. That's why I joined football, basically. Made me feel, like, stronger and more in control, I guess."

This asshole had just told the most human story, and now you had to see him as a person. The cunt.

You watched as he stood in the middle of the field, aiming and shooting at the banners that were strewn up all around the field.

God, he was so fucking terrifying.

How does he play Russian Roulette to bait you into coming one minute and then reload and shoot at banners like a child with his first Nerf the next?

"Control. Yeah, that tracks."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You want everything to go your way. You get pissed when other people do things of their own will."

"Can't argue with that.", he shrugged, as he turned his back to you and shot another banner, impressively shooting right in the centre of the 'O' in a 'GO BLACKHAWKS!' sign. "You know how to shoot?"

"No."

"You should learn."

"I'll get right on that.", you scoffed, as you observed your tequila bottle intensely, ignoring him coming back to rest his feet on the bleachers from your peripheral vision.

"Open your mouth."

"What?"

"Humour me."

"I've humoured you enough tonight."

"Please? Pretty please?"

You rolled your eyes, but opened your mouth. You had no idea what you expected, but it sure as hell was not him stuffing the barrel of his gun in there. You suddenly felt the tequila evaporating from your bloodstream as he slapped your hands away after you tried taking it out, like anyone would. Shit, it hurt. FUCK.

"Just relax.", he whispered, so soothingly that he might as well have been talking you through a panic attack. "There's nothing to be scared of."

Besides the hot gun you've got basically lodged up my throat.

Suddenly, the amount of danger you really were in began to materialize in your head. He was right. It was midnight. It was spring break. It was at high school. No one would think to look for you there.

"Are you scared?"

Oh, God. He was one of those freaks who got off on these things.

You nodded, not really knowing what else to do.

"You think I'll shoot you?"

You shook your head.

"Kill you?"

You shook your head.

"Then why are you scared?"

Honestly, it was the fact that he wasn't going to do either of those things, and decided to shove a gun down your throat simply for shits and giggles.

"You need more tequila."

WHAT?

You frowned, but nodded. Anything to get the gun out of your mouth.

He poured it straight from the bottle into your mouth, watching with sick satisfaction as you swallowed, and you realized that he was psychotically drunk.

"How's that? I do it all the time, y'know? Hot metal plus cold tequila equals the best fucking night ever."

Um, ew. No. But that would be super unwise to say.

"You shove a gun down your throat then take a shot?"

"One of my more dangerous drinking games, yes. God, dude, look at you. Like, you're so fucking uptight, loosen THE FUCK up!"

You were unsure how much 'looser' you could get - you were already going along with his 'dangerous drinking game'.

"I am!"

"Not enough. Not even close. You need more."

"We're all out.", you said, (thankfully) pointing at the empty duffle bag next to him.

"Oh.", he sighed, slumping down next to you and using the duffle bag as a pillow. "Just- I don't get it. What is it about you?"

"That makes you get suicidal?"

He snorted, softly. "That makes me so mad?"

"You're mad?"

"Not like angry-mad. I mean like… crazy-mad. Like I go mad around you."

Five-year-olds could explain things better than him, but, to his credit, he was shitfaced.

"Really? Thought you were born that way."

"I mean, last week? When I kissed you? I don't do that shit. But it was the only way to shut you up. I-ugh. It's you, Y/N. Just fucking up my brain, one game at a time."

"Oh, oh, so you being a psychopath is because I didn't show up to one game?"

"When you're constantly worried about someone needing to be there, you do crazy things. Like cut yourself. I would have done it, too, seriously."

"I know. That's why I came."

"So, we weren't entirely strangers, huh? You knew me a little, at least?"

"Uh, no, we were definitely strangers."

"Now? What are we now?"

"Uh… friends?" You didn't mean that. You wouldn't be his friend if it killed you.

"No, I think I'd know it if we were friends." Phew.

"So, you tell me."

"What? No, you've been in charge this whole time, you tell me."

He just said you'd been in charge.

One offhanded, sweeping statement, and he'd shifted all the blame on you as easy as pie.

How did he do that?

It was obvious what he was referring to: the fact that none of these interactions would have happened if you just hadn't given a shit in the first place.

The fact that every single move of his had been linked to you, in whatever this weird everybody (except you) ante, sketchy poker game he was playing was supposed to be.

And it unnerved you.

Because in some twisted way, it was true.

"Acquaintances."

"But we've kissed.", he reminded, diligently and unwantedly. "Acquaintances - and classmates, before you suggest that - don't just kiss."

"Dude, then what do you want to be?"

Shit. That was what he'd wanted all along. For you to ask in exasperation, to give you his interpretation.

"You know, just… an average relationship between a man and his good luck charm." He inched closer, his hand loosening its grip on the railing as if it was going to do something, but there was no more tequila to reach out for.

There was only you.

And reach, he did.

First, his hands were on your cheek, like they had been a half hour ago. Then, suddenly, they were in your hair, and his tongue was trying to coax your words out of you directly from the source.

And you just let it happen.

If anyone knew why you let it happen, you'd have loved to start a suggestion box.

But you had a funny feeling that the only person who knew why was Nate Jacobs himself.

Fat chance he'd tell you.

[getvalentined]

Thinking about Vincent's involvement in the Queen's Blood storyline and how it's the perfect explanation for everything going south with the game in fairly recent history even though the game has canonically been around for decades. It's genuinely so clever, I'm in love.

So, for anyone who hasn't done the full questline, Vincent is the highest ranking Queen's Blood player in the entire game prior to facing off against the Shadowblood Queen herself and the completion of the questline. (After this, ranks are adjusted worldwide because of game mechanics; Nanaki is rank 10 in the QB Arena at Gold Saucer.)

A lot of people have poked fun at this, like Vincent apparently learned the game really fast and was just naturally really good at it—but no, actually, Vincent played the game before. He's this good because he was champion level back in the 70s, back when he was human.

We know this to be the case because when you match against Lidrehl, he says "the Emerald Witch sleeps in Nibelheim with a monster of chaos, and that is where it will remain." This means that Vincent already had the card when Hojo killed him. It's not clear how the Emerald Witch came into his possession, but you don't make his rank without being a very active player, so it's clear that he was very prolific in the scene back then!

And back then, it was just a game. No mysterious deaths or disappearances. The myth of the Shadowblood Queen and the Emerald Witch was still there, as Lidrehl developed the game based on the story, but everything was fine.

This is definitely because Vincent was active in the scene, and he had the Emerald Witch. The Rebirth Ultimania implies that the Shadowblood Queen is a piece of Jenova (which I thought was pretty obvious since she calls Cloud a "puppet" and he's also apparently the only one capable of facing her head-on), and the Emerald Witch is the soul of a Cetra that serves as the silent warden to her imprisonment within the game. (Imprisoning monsters in cards is not new to the series, either, since FF8 literally allowed players to turn monsters into cards rather than fighting them.) Vincent being so active in the circuit allowed him to spread the Emerald Witch's influence through the scene and kept the Shadowblood Queen quiet, reminded her to keep her head down, kept her from trying anything at risk of being spiritually shitmixed again.

But then Hojo killed Vincent, and the Cetra warden Emerald Witch was in his deck, and that deck was tucked away with his things in Nibelheim. And so she spent thirty years unable to perform her ongoing duty to assure the safety of the planet. This time allowed Jenova the Shadowblood Queen to regain the power and confidence to manifest and start wreaking havoc again, finally building up enough strength to directly possess her current holder—during the period that Sephiroth is calling for Reunion, which presumably helped to really draw her back to full consciousness.

There's a whole detailed storyline here that makes perfect sense, with Vincent's murder literally being the catalyst leading to the resurrection of the Shadowblood Queen, and Hojo never having a clue what he'd done.

This is super interesting to me not only because it actually showed some of the more far-reaching consequences of Vincent's death, but also because it indicates that Hojo has unwittingly been Jenova's most loyal emissary for decades. He gave her his wife, his son, himself—and the first murder he ever committed served to imprison the only power holding a piece of her thought lost to history at bay, allowing her to manifest decades later with her own will and personality completely intact, something that she can't do through Sephiroth.

As it turns out, Hojo and Vincent have been opposing forces in supporting fate's "chosen ones," the forces around them capable of choosing the final fate of the planet, for much longer than either of them ever thought.

Still not a huge fan of the card game itself, but I adore the way it's been woven into the story, and strengthened it as a result.

[jrueships]

Biggest squicks with the nba fandom?

squick?? AW, that's a cute word!!!! im stealing that now, thank u anon! for squicks in the fanfom.. hm um probs colorism towards dark skins & its unseen seen effects . i feel this way toward Fandom in general and life lol. U'll see it everywhere of course.. huzzah..

anyways yea. i feel like the nba should have a way bigger Fandom on here as a sport, i mean. At least bigger than some. The players don't wear a helmet so u can see their emotions, their expressions! Everyone's taking high quality pics up close! The ball isn't the size of a pebble going 50 mph like in hockey lol. There's no helmets!!! U can see them!! Like! I love it! I love seeing faces! I love football but it's the celebrations that rlly make it, esp when it's a pretty wr who u just know is gonna take his helmet off and do smthing funny for the cam!

But that's also probably why it doesn't have a big tumblr Fandom .. u can see their faces .

Even if u couldn't, u'd eventually see most of them aren't white so. Yea .

And abt the colorism aspect, most of the players that do have a big Fandom are light skin. That's why im not the biggest fan for 'all x positions are x' bcs i feel like that's a big thing in football where all qbs are bttms. Which is funny, and i can see it! Im not trying to ruin ppls fun! But when u see how a majority of qbs are usually white for most of history.. and the ones that aren't get some attention if they look like Tua .. but if they look like lamar jackson.. good f'ing luck trying to find bttm fics for that even tho dude's got a bbl . Even tho i believe in switch supremacy for a lot of ppl (lamar included), i feel like i gotta fight for more ppl like lamar even being able to bttm at all.

Meanwhile ppl like luka or Joey b are just automatically always bttms bcs. Yea. They're 'pretty', so u just gotta apparently. But ppl will say jrue holiday is pretty! But does he have any fics at all of him bttming? Nah. Don't gotta for him. Hm. Wonder why ( I know) .

And with the rise of biracial nepo baby kids in the nba, some of them rlly gravitate to the pg position bcs it's like the head of the machine, and they think they can run that well with all the experience of their pops. So all pgs being bttms are kinda just gonna turn into that qb scenario where it's all light/white pgs are bttms and the other guys can be included thru spoken word sometimes but Def not on paper. And I hate saying this bcs i feel like a Debby downer or smthing. I'm not even trying to call out anyone or anything, it's rlly just a personal vent noticing thing that i can't point out specifics to, i can just say I've felt things.

Ppl go into Fandom to have fun! I'm not trying to police shit. This is all personal venting. But like im here to have fun too, and when u happen to be able to notice more stuff, u kinda just. Notice it. And it doesn't feel fun

And I'm not saying they're totally ignored, dark skin ppl in media. We're def modernizing somewhat . But when dark skin ppl usually ARE included, it HAS to involve a lighter sided person. And it's usually the lighter person bttming and the dark topping. And like i can get it, u know. Sometimes it's just the personality dynamic where the appearance happens to have that! But sometimes the appearance seems to overwhelm the personality aspect, or the personality just isn't showing that strength in the fic and it starts to feel. Weird.

I'm not saying all ships where the lighter one bttms are bad tho. I'm not. But I am saying that it fucking sucks to always have to fight hard against 'absolutes' when the absolutes are always against u . Like. Idk. When i had a luka ship with dennis (a black player whos not lightskin) and mentioned how Dennis was a bttm and all a sudden i got an ask abt how luka can't be a top . Like. Alright man.

U know, cus it's like. U'd never get someone defending idk. Jaren like that. Unless ure me Lol. But that's the thing, like it always has to be me or smthing against the world which is fucking stupid bcs i hate that thinking. It's so selfish! Which makes it less fun to be in the Fandom sometimes bcs it feels even more isolated in an already isolated space sometimes. But that's a personal thing. Anyways

Yeah. It's just tiring sometimes.

It's like the only ships that have white/black player where the white guy is a top.. the black guys GOTTA be a power bttm or SMTHING to explain it like. We have to explain why our beloved princess white guy isn't bttming to idk some black dude lol. But if u reverse that then the white guy bttm doesn't have to be a power bttm bcs no one blinks an eye bcs it already makes sense to them or whatever. Lol.

Lol ..

[imthepunchlord]

Other issue with the temp heroes is that,with a lot of heroes that are not for long and bad writters, there's no team work,i mean that's the main reason of why the heroes failed in heroes day,is bc they don't had one drop of team work

Examples of what they could have done:

Rena rouge makes thousands of copies of the heroes to distract the akumas

Ladybug give the same speech to HM

Queen bee and Chat noir stay behind him seeing if he will attack,once he does,they run and QB uses venom in him,CN cataclysm his cane and then,LB takes his miraculous

Once he detransform,Carapace uses shelter to stop him try something else

Yep. The s2 finale honestly should've been the end of HM. I remember watching it and being disappointed cause it didn't feel like a finale fight, it was just one long akuma fight. And the semi built up hero team was ultimately pointless.

I'm actually very certain that one of the major reasons they did temp heroes instead of an actual Miraculous Team, is that doing a team would mean focusing on others. Doing their character development and how they work off others and their kwami.

And that would take away focus from the LS. It wouldn't truly be the LS they like to do as it's no longer just Marinette and Adrien. And unfortunately, ML is more about the romance than anything else.

[sassyfrassboss]

Speaking of Super Bowl tix, Donna Kelce has just come out saying she doesn’t think she’ll have a box. The prices for the Super Bowl being in Vegas are beyond anything anyone’s seeing. And the 49ers QB girlfriend spent $2.5ish million for her and the QB’s family. So unless BetterUp is putting Harry and Meghan up in a corporate box, they won’t have a box seats. They can’t afford these prices out of pocket, not after Harry just threw away $60K for 12 minutes and Meghan needs a whole new America’s Sweetheart wardrobe to merch for Vancouver IG next year.

(And let’s be honest. Taylor Swift is rich enough to afford a couple boxes at the Super Bowl, and of course she’s going to invite Donna Kelce to join her so this whole ��woe is me it’s too expensive” is rubbing me the wrong way. I’m really over the Kelces. I don’t mind Jason and Kylie but Donna and Travis annoy me. They annoyed me last year in the Kelce Bowl, they annoy me still this year.)

I saw that headline and didn't even bother reading it because I thought "Yeah Taylor probably already has a box and it's not like she isn't going to have Donna & Co. in there."

I don't really pay attention to them much, except I like their podcast and I really think the relationship Travis has with Kylie and his nieces is adorable. You can tell he truly thinks the world of his SIL. He also worships his older brother. It's a close family which I think is great.

But yeah...I'm over the news coverage of the relationship. I'm glad she finally found someone who allows her to be who she is. I think her relationship with Joe Alwyn was all about soothing his ego at the expense of her stardom.

However, I'm ready for some new news. Plus I can't stand Britany Mahomes, or any of the Mahomes for that matter.

As for Harry & Meghan, yeah I have a feeling the reason they are going to this game is because it's going to have way more viewers than previous years since Taylor will be there. So there will be more coverage of the famous people there. Therefore, they will be shown on the jumbotron smiling and waving and they can show the world and the BRF that they are having the time of their lives and all is well. Basically it's their way of saying "See! We're at the Super Bowl with all of these other famous people so that means we are just as famous if not more so! We aren't SNL punchlines but we are famous and wanted!"

[swimmingelectron]

More chlonette/queen bug cz exams are coming and i do not want them to

Part 1

Lb now deals with two of her regular partners flirting with her

Hello, m'lady~

Hey, bug, need me?

Chloe legit did her homework the next day and complained to mari over call ab how hard it was

She realised she couldn't stop being mean to everyone simply out of habit, so she just straight up started being mean about things they shouldn't do.

Sabrina! You need to tell me if you can't do something.

Ugh, Kim, if you don't stop being so loud in class-

You're such a worrywart, marinette, maybe learn to live a little.

Sure, a lot of mistakes were made, but it was that much better being around chloe.

In just a few months, chloe proved adept at staying out of sight of akumatised victims and capable of shattering akumas on her own. Moreover, she was a great fighter, a good hero.

With time, the number of akumas targetting her went down to zero and she was almost a new person.

Then, one day, lb needed her for something different. She needed bee to find out chat's identity and pass him messages in his civillian form.

When chloe found out it was "ADRIKINS!?" she realised she couldn't possibly continue hating chat. But she also couldn't give lb up to him for grabs.

That's exactly what she told him.

Adrien, Chat. You've been my best friend since childhood. I've seen what you go through, with your fa-umm... what you've gone through since your mother's death.

If you ever need to talk about anything, you are always welcome. About anything at all.

Thanks, but i kinda already stop by mari's terrace to talk about my problems as chat. Of course, i haven't revealed my identity to her so maybe there are some things i can come to you about.

Righhhht. Hm- so another thing is, chat, i really like ladybug too. And i won't give her up to you without a fight. And I'll never lose to you!

XDXD Looking forward to it, your highness :)

Then on, queen bee would drop by at the bakery, through the front door, flowers for her buginette.

(I'd like to imagine chat also upped his game when he found out chloe was getting close to mari and brought his princess little trinkets.) (He wasn't aware she was also lb at all.)

With time, mari became fond of the bee buzzing around her everywhere.

Before either of them realised they were calling each other sweet treats and honey tart, bug and bee

Mari couldn't have pointed out when she fell, but at some point, she accidentally told queen bee she loved her as she left for home from the bakery.

Chloe carried that blinding smile all the way through the weekend and into school on monday. Sure, mari was an anxious wreck that whole week. Because what else would you expect out of her? But chloe? Chloe had learnt a new skill in the past year. The ability to stay hidden and melt into bright light. She became the white noise in marinette's life until mari couldn't help but feel comforted by her presence.

They started dating in secret in a few months. As lb and qb, they told chat. He was, well, depressed to say the least. He'd tell mari all about it, and mari couldn't help but feel guilty.

Chloe and mari had comforted him in the bakery more than once in the middle of their dates. Chloe could forgive him. She'd also be broken if mari chose him over her.

Chat never did get over lb, but he got better at putting his mask back on.

Meanwhile, the viewers get to realise something about marinette that is not too obvious in the show. Marinette is not a mary sue. She is stubborn, she needs things to go her way, and she doesn't think any of her partners are capable without instruction. Yes, she is a good leader, but she is a very, very bad standby observer.

Chloe and mari both value their freedom, they both don't like making too many compromises and they both prefer if things move according to their plan. So while chloe is quick to anger, marinette frets. They get into fights. Chloe uses insults as her weapon. Marinette launches into tirades or sasses her back.

The fights aren't frequent. Because both the girls do compromise to quite an extent; out of guilt, love, and empathy. But there are these other more frequent little squabbles between the two about little things.

One wanted a particular flower. The other can't afford a certain cafe. Marinette's morals, chloe's standards. Usually, marinette would bring chloe baked goods and chloe would give in.

All good, right? Well, everything keeps happening according to mari's wishes. Marinette rarely compromises on these. Rose accidentally points it out during a project one day.

It sort of breaks chloe when she realises. When she asks marinette, the girl points out she thinks it's because chloe realises she's wrong.

Chloe barely manages to keep her tears in check as she breaks up with marinette. Does mari still think she is better than chloe? Maybe. She goes straight home and locks herself in. After crying 2 days straight, she finds chat at her window. She can't tell him anything really. But the support is good enough.

When he realises she isn't in a position to answer his questions, he simply gets her into the bath, playfully swatting the water at her with his tail. He gets her a towel after about 30 mins, washes off all her running makeup, and wraps her up in it. Chloe sits, dripping water on her bed while chat rummages for a change of clothes.

He gets her one of her childhood favourites and begs her to change out of wet clothes. It takes chloe another half an hour to make it even with pollen's help. Chat dries her hair off and brushes it into a fancy updo. He recharges and takes chloe to a food joint, and gets take out that they have on the eiffel tower.

(Chloe doesn't speak but chat doesn't actually need her to. Afterall, lb has been out of it too. But he knows something now. Because he comforted marinette through a breakdown, he knows who his lady is, now. He doesn't tell the girls. They don't realise it through their pain either.)

When the girls start talking to each other again, months later, the pain and hurt remains. But they've both grown into better people. Sometimes, they still call each other bee and bug. Old habits do die hard.

[purekesseltrash]

Hi! I'm that one person on ao3 who was like. Utterly obsessed w Bury Them Deep, and I was wondering if you have any thoughts you'd like to share on the playing styles of any of the other characters? Especially the women, but really anyone, I just find it really neat

Oh my goddddd, yes yes yes please because I have thought so much about this shit.

Momo: an absolutely incredible goalie positionally. You could put her in textbooks on how to hold yourself. Her pushes are perfection, like she's just floating on the ice. Her glove hand is wonderful too, as is her stick handling and she has great height. But her best asset, and also worst one, is absolutely her mind. When she is calm and confident, she's an analytical God. The problem is with her tendency to overthink. Too many bad goals or even just unlucky ones and she has to be pulled because it's just gonna get rough. It's one thing that she really admires about Mezou because he can just shrug it off.

Urakara: The ballsiest defenseman you have ever seen. She played exclusively with boys for years and you can tell because if she's going to get a penalty, it will be for playing too rough. She has really excellent vision for the game however and plays a long game that even Bakugou has grudgingly admitted is admirable. They've had some scrimmages where she's actually out played him and after the first time, everyone expected him to blow up but he was like 'good game'. She's not the best skater and her speed isn't fantastic but its the hockey iq that keeps her where she's at, knowing when and where to pinch and where the game is going. She also has a pretty gnarly snapshot and a fantastic PP QB.

Mina: Mina is a skating god. Seriously, she will break your ankles and you won't have any idea until she's long gone. She was a figure skater until she got suuuuuper bored by it and talked her way onto a team, only to end up being super good at it. She's a right winger with a nice little wrister and is great on the foreheck but uuuuuuh, backchecking isn't her forte. That being said, she actually isn't terrible on the PK, especially since that means chances at short handed goals and boy do you not want to let her try.

Hagakure: You know those players that you tend to forget about? They don't really do anything especially interesting so when they do score, you're like 'oh! Holy shit! They're on the team!'? Thats Hagakure. Definitely a grinder queen, doing all the little shit that makes everyone on the team *love* her but that makes her seem totally unremarkable unless you're looking for it. A Chris Kunitz type, if that makes any sense. Always the first on the backcheck, has an awesome +/-, fantastic defensive forward, but unremarkable. She's also locker room gold because she WILL break any shitty moods up.

That's all the girls. I could also bring up Shouta and Hizashi.

Shouta: Positionally pretty good, pretty good reflexes though really nothing spectacular. His biggest handicap has always been his height, which is only short for goalies, and his lack of the superhuman athletic ability that most pro hockey players have. The thing that got him as far as he did was his hockey iq and specifically, how he could look at the ice and read plays. The ECHL and even the AHL were rough for him because the play was so much more chaotic but the few times that he got to play in the NHL were incredible. Because he could see it, he could read all of it and it all made sense. His body just couldn't hang.

Hizashi: I based him off of a combo of Beau Bennett and Tyler Seguin. I even gave him Beau's number, 19, and it was partially due to Beau's nickname of Sunshine and me liking how that matched with the meaning of the name 'Hizashi'. I also thought it was pretty apt given Beau's talent and promise but how his body just could not stay healthy enough to do the things that you could tell he wanted to do.

Oboro: He was a pond hockey player and was proud of it, lol. Put him on defense or have him play as a forward, he didn’t really care. He saw pretty early on how the hockey world just kinda sucked and was like 'nah, I'm good'.

If you have any more questions, I can not stress how delighted I would be to answer them.

[itsbenedict]

so i've been shirking a lot of my duties lately because Pikmin 4 is out and man Pikmin 4 is good. it's got it all- its core game loop is so meticulously polished and optimized to not waste your time, the new sort of minigame modes it introduces are all challenging and enjoyable, it looks fantastic...

...and i said in a post recently that nothing annoyed me about it, but that i might find something later. so here's a comprehensive list of things that annoy me about Pikmin 4, to demonstrate the level of nitpicking i have to go to to find flaws in this game.

As previously mentioned, the tutorial is a bit too long- it's ages before you get your hands on even a single pikmin. They really want to teach you how to use that dog (which, in fairness, the dog is super useful.)

The load times are kind of unforgivably bad for a first-party title in an actual cartridge. It's rough stuff, especially when there's several back-to-back during phase transitions.

The departure cutscene- though skippable, thankfully- I usually don't skip because the music is nice and it's cool to see a bird's-eye view of the area when you're done for the day. Except in this game, the camera stays in a bit too tight and all you ever get to see is the ground. Lame.

The story's kind of trite, I guess. Pikmin's never had a super strong narrative element and doesn't really need one, but these rescue squad losers are pretty one-dimensional and kinda ruin the sense of solitude and discovery. (Also it it-was-all-a-dream retcons all the previous Pikmin games' stories out of existence for some reason??? Like, no big loss, but weird decision considering there was absolutely no need to do that.)

oh yeah no one was gonna be fooled by that fakeout midgame ending, lol. don't waste my time with that crap

The character creator is pretty bad- it's kind of impossible to make anything that looks good with the limited palette of options, and the choice to use the same character creator to design all the castaway NPCs (and main cast!) was a decent idea in theory but in practice all the NPCs look randomly-generated and just awful. Zero points for character design there.

Endless menu notifications for things you've already seen. Like, yeah, I know there's a log entry for this new pikmin I just found, you just showed it to me, I don't need a flashing "New!" indicator until I go into the menu and re-read the thing I just read. And kind of weird that B is "go from the map to the log menu" and not "dismiss the map".

There's a special mode that unlocks after a certain point in the game which is just like an entire Pikmin 1 inside Pikmin 4, which is fun but if you want to back out of it and put it on hold it's not super clear how to do that while keeping your progress. (You have to just exit from the pause menu during gameplay.)

rot13 for spoilers: Gurl oebhtug gung fgrnzebyyre zbgureshpxre sebz Cvxzva 2 onpx!!! Shpx gung guvat!!! Ohg zber vzcbegnagyl, shpx Pbyyva jub jba'g fuhg hc nobhg ubj V fubhyq whfg eha njnl naq cebprrq guebhtu gur yriry jvgubhg trggvat nyy gur gernfher naq pbzr onpx bapr vg'f qrnq! V'z abg tbaan qb gung orpnhfr V'z abg n ONOL, Pbyyva! Lrf, V XABJ vg'f qnatrebhf! Shpxvat rirelguvat ba guvf cynarg vf qnatrebhf, Pbyyva! Guvf vf abg n arj qrirybczrag!

The progression design is a little out of whack, I think- rather than each new area having an onion and being designed around the pikmin from that onion, there's multiple redundant onions and you frequently get new types from candypop buds in dungeons, so you learn to use them while they're extremely limited and precious before getting the ability to make more of them later on. I'm not sure it works as a design choice- it just kind of means I don't use onionless pikmin unless I'm forced to.

Note that none of these are gripes with the primary gameplay loop. The primary gameplay loop is fine! Playing the game still feels perfect, polished to a mirror shine... with thus far only one exception. That exception being:

Okay so you've got your onion, right? You bring stuff to it and seeds come out and plant themselves around it. You go to the onion to take pikmin in and out, too. What's the button to do that? You stand under it and press A. What's the button to start auto-picking all the planted pikmin whether they've bloomed yet or not? You stand a millimeter to the left of that and press A. Hrm.

Now this wouldn't be a problem because there's a contextual button popup that says which thing will happen when you press A. So you only pluck when it says pluck, right?

NO, IT LIES

If you press A to go into the add/remove pikmin screen- sometimes that screen is unresponsive, and it won't say why, but it's because you're in the middle of plucking pikmin, actually. Your stupid dog was a millimeter to the left and decided that it was going to do its own, different thing when you pressed A, which was start auto-plucking.

They had to program that in!! They had to program in a behavior for the menu to not respond when your dog is in the middle of plucking pikmin!! So they knew this could happen! And instead of fixing it so that the game does what the button prompt says instead of a different thing that's invisible, they said "okay, tell them no, you have to back out and tell your dog to stop first."

"Also your dog won't listen to you until it's already auto-plucked at least one pikmin, so now your squad of flower guys is going to have one premature leafy straggler."

Like, come on! This happens constantly! There's no way it didn't come up in QA! Why in the world wouldn't you fix this? It's so obviously a problem and so easy to solve! Auuuuugh.

Anyway that is literally everything I can think of that's bad about Pikmin 4. The rest of it is tremendously satisfying and I like it a lot. 9/10 game for sure.

[princess-of-the-corner]

There’s a difference between reaching out and being a full support system. You can only be a proper support system to someone who allows it and is vulnerable with you some of the time.

Tried to be better? You mean how Chloe manages not to be a dick for 5 minutes and then continues just like before? Just like you’re saying “Throwing a party in her honor wasn’t enough!” they’re thinking “Your 5 minute turn around periods before you harass us again/betray us as QB are not enough!” You don’t have to be an angel in the blink of an eye, but you have to try. Chloe does the bare minimum. Barely. Even when she puts in effort, it’s usually just for personal gain until she can be blatantly honest again. Recycle. Repeat. Abuse cycle. It’s good to break those. They aren’t being self righteous just by telling Chloe that they’re done with opening themselves up to be betrayed by her again. They’re protecting themselves and I don’t blame them. And Marinette doesn’t have to be super nice about it when she tells Chloe this for all the kindness Chloe has shown her.

I just find it so strange how Chloe can be an immense asshole to people and it’s “She was abused! You can’t expect her to make a 180 so fast!” But the moment that Marinette says anything to Chloe in the least bit of an unkind tone it’s “Marinette is self righteous and becoming a bully!” How about “Chloe bullied Marinette for the last few years and continues to insult her and plot against her constantly for the last 5 seasons- despite Marinette offering several olive branches.” If she’s not syrupy sweet to Chloe after all that, I get it. Just like Chloe is human and not the “perfect victim”, so is Marinette and the class.

I’m not defending the writers for the finale leaks. Those suck. They went too far. Andre adopting Zoe and abandoning Chloe? Insane. I’m just saying… Chloe fucked up. It's not about her abuse validating that. It’s not about how many chances she got from her class or if they were good enough. She fucked up, despite the chances, and pointed everywhere but herself and her parents. When that happens, you don't have a lot of rosy options left.   It's sad that her trauma is the cause of this, but that's how it goes. Chloe is stubborn and not all lessons can be learned easy.

She made crappy choices. You make crappy choices, you get crappy consequences. In a better show, she might grow from those consequences, but from the finale leaks they seem more like a banishment than a learning experience so I’m not holding my breath.

You know fucking what?

I could continue this "discussion" where you ignore everything I say just because I am saying that a 14 year old in a fucked up situation should not be told that she's a monster incapable of change for not being able to learn with everyone telling her to give up and treated so by the narrative to the point that her being shipped off to be 're-educated' by the woman who abused her and fucked her up in the first place is the 'good' ending.

But you're clearly here to just play devil's advocate and I'm tired of this shit. I am honest to fuck tired. I don't want to enter the new year with this. Kindly stay the hell out of my inbox I will be deleting anything else.

[theofficefantasyfootball]

WEEK 1 - Wrap Up

It's Week One - RELAX

That's what I am telling myself...there are so many weeks left in the season - we just got started...it's week 1, so just relax and remember how long the season is. I am sure if I had won I would be singing a different tune and I am man enough to admit that. Basically I just want everyone to stay engaged and don't give up after week 1, so much can happen. Also if this weeks wrap up seems a bit scattered compared to years past - It's not that I don't care I just had a busy day and had to put this together quickly. But, here we go!

WHAM BAM THANK YOU LAMB vs MOOSES ON THE LOOSES

Guys...I know you are all worried about me...and yes, my mind is blown that I lost in week 1 but it was all my fault. I did this. I don't expect people to be paying attention to what I did - but I owe it to you to explain....I had Tee Higgins set at WR's and all my backups played earlier in the week so when Higgins went Inactive - I had to figure something out. I figured everyone was going to be playing their top QB so I would quietly drop Baker Mayfield and pick him back up later in the week...well, that didn't work. Mitch grabbed him and played him against me and of course Baker put up 37 fantasy points. Mitch also had a great week from Chargers D, Stevenson and Bass...so even with a normal QB performance he probably would have won but, I have to admit to my failures! Rookie Week 1 mistake...it won't happen again. Congrats Mitch!

HOWARD vs LONG LEFT BALLERS

Once a champion, always a champion. Rob Howard coming off of his epic season last year comes out hot in week 1. Even with his WR being detained (Tyreek Hill) he didn't let if phase him and put up 24. Meanwhile Bebo had glimpses of hope with AJ Brown and Cupp but devastating performances from Burrow, White and Travis Swift - I mean Kelce. Guys, I just don't know what to do if Howard wins a 5th championship...can we all come together and stop the steal? Let's GO!

TREE HUGGERS vs TRADE WITH ME

Hey, I've seen this one before...#1 draft pick guy, picks the best RB in the world (CMC) but the RB doesn't play in week 1 due to injury but it doesn't matter cause he still wins with 131 points without the star of the league even playing. And who loses you ask? The guy who didn't bother to come to the draft at all. The guy who put up the least points of the week. So Brett takes the 1st high point win of the year ($20). Congrats!

LANAKILA vs MR AWESOME

Well, actually...not awesome. Mr Awesome by name alone sets the standard pretty high...and don't get me wrong he scored more points than I did in week 1 and I had an A+ draft rating...but when your defense (Bears) is the highest score you have you are going to lose. Now, Cliff on the other hand came to play! Starting Anthony Richardson and watching him put up 30 points was brilliant. Having Barkley go off to show he loves his new home in Philly was something to watch. 17 points from a kicker (Fairbaim)...now that's Awesome. Sorry Gabe...there is always next week...congrats to Cliff on a great week.

BOOMER SOONER vs TUA NACUA MATATA

It was so good to have Kyle at the draft this year. When you all left - he picked his new name - which was an epic choice of a name Tua Nacua Matata...great name. He said to me "I don't see how I lose this year with this team"...well he lost in week 1 to Stu Jones. He also lost Puka Nacua for at least 4 weeks and let's be honest - will he ever really be the same after an injury like that? So, good job to Stu for putting up less than 100 points and grabbing a win, but what will become of Kyle. Will he need to change his name again? Tune in to find out. Congrats to Stu Jones...1-0.

FUNK GUY vs TuPADRE

I'm so confused. Gully against Dana in the "it's close battle". Gully with Aiyuk still to play on MNF - but Aiyuk doesn't do anything to make it interesting? I thought he got a big $ contract and was going to be the man? Dana had a huge start to the weekend when Lamar put up 32 points. He had 2 solid performances from him RB's...oh and his Defense I thought was going to get the 10 point bonus for a shut out....so hear me out...he did great. But, I just thought from the draft that Gullahorn was going to be a threat this year...I guess not. Is he the new Mitch? Is he who I make fun of all year? If he wins next week I will pull back if he loses to Bebo I will have no choice but to ramp it up. It's in your court Gully. Nice win Dana.

SURVIVOR

What a week...all of you (except me, stu and Gabe) are out! Bengals disaster. What a year! I might just win this thing!

CHEERLEADER OF THE WEEK

This year we are going to honor the cheerleaders of the Dallas Cowboys. No backstory...no names just a tribute to what the Dallas Cowboys have given to us by setting a very high standard of excellence. I think it's the best idea since Minka Kelly.

[the-firebird69]

We're going to go to town on them tonight we have a lot of cover we're going to explain it here.

- These people have been asking for it for a long time these trumpsters they're very very evil and they almost caused Earth a lot of suffering no they did they almost damaged a lot of stuff and it's a function but it is not under control and we start to gain control years ago but this is still out of control. This guy is a monster he's a very evil man and we need to get the Sinner in the dirt. there are a few things that happened today that will make that goal.

--- About 500 million died today and they're still working on getting more up here I'll be 500 million more before tomorrow morning and leadership will be cut down out of the Mack Warlock to about 17% actually and also the Pseudo Empire has to keep calling theirs because of these idiots and they will be cut down too probably down to about 32%. On top of losing leadership they're losing personnel from FL and by losing leadership we mean generals kernels and lieutenants but these people dying in battle are sergeants and corporals and most of them they're not really included in the number but they run everything and they're going to be expended and they won't be running anything nobody is going to do what they say.

--- So another thing that happened was the United States Senate and Congress in general there's not just 6 or 8 or whatever it was started to inquire about what he's saying it doesn't make sense and he's a street person a lot of times and he acts like a bum and that doesn't make sense to them either. So they're doing this inquiry to find out why he's behaving this way but finding out that he's not a brilliant person that he's very mean angry and disgusting and they started to call him on it and they said we need you to say some other things other senators and Congress people started asking questions finally they said this needs an inquiry. And he's in trouble he'll finally be examined by the people that should have examined him awhile ago and it's going through too. That's a big thing that happened today along with the Schumer discussion. and also the Max decided something

--- They decided to tell trump to go screw yeah. And he is an imp riding on everyone and a baby and doesn't know his **** from his elbow. They sent it to him as well. What is plan is and they don't like it and are having a problem with him and his constant ratting. That is what they put it like they said You're not to tell people our business you're telling him and you're the problem and it seems legitimate and they're going to go after him and he was not doing this during the Revolutionary period ......

--- Couple more things happened in addition to the above he was dropped a few times and that means he's walking along he's going to screw around with our son and somebody hit him we think it was from a ship and they keep telling him don't talk about us and he keeps talking about them and is trying to force our son to talk about them and it is a loser who enjoy his company it makes people miserable to do so so we're going after him but there's one more thing that was very interesting to us that happened today it caused a lot of people to think about it

--- our son says it over and over this place sucks you suck what am I gonna get you a fake qb doll. This asshole's terminal and has died many many times and is talking about Trump and he says it all the time. And none of you respond like your human beings you just saying we control them like he's a robot and sale this **** **** and he turns around and he does what he wants. So he goes up there and he escapes a few traps beats the **** out of you. John Remallard is saying it suddenly he opened his mouth and said nothing can stop him and we have to try and they said you have to leave him alone you're a perverted **** moron and people start yelling at him today. So he's walking around and he's doing what he did at Walmart and is bowing a little and they said we hear what you're saying to him and we're going to go after you right now. They heard our son he's spent OK throwing a fire the guy isn't worth **** it happens to people when their brain comes out fully and they looked at him and said We think that you died a lot your grandkids haven't you killed over and over and he's smoked too and they figured out something the guy responds like it so now that you know what to do we think it's a breakthrough. They figured out his got shot in the headlight 20 times this year and he's a dummy but there's a brilliant revelation

HE IS NOT GOING TO MKE IT AND HE REPEATS IT AND IT IS ABOUT HIMSELF AND HE TRIES TO HARM PEOPLE......

it means it's a dead man walking and it is Donald Trump his son and his brother and he needs to leave these people are fuming losers and they just do all sorts of stupid **** if you let him and people say this with them out of the way the trumps might suddenly become useful and it's true they came in and they became obnoxious losers and now it's gonna be over shortly and there's a couple other things but these are huge revelations people are making.

Thor Freya

and with a grain of salt. they are actors and actresses trying to kidnap me. And although it might be true and people are starting to wake up to it the Mac proper are seeing that yeah this is not the greatest but they're really going ahead with their plan BJA says he's a heinous loser and he really is I was valuable for him to see what a lowlife is and then he's in the way to screwing up but BJ is trying to use it to grab me. He'll be in the way of Trump and he's locked on. So this guy Trump is paying himself off by getting rid of himself to a degree and you know he's trying to duck it but it was lousy he's trying to say it and it's lousy. But they all wanna grab me and bring me W and try and stuff me into Cheyenne mountain complex to go after my people and it's not necessarily only these retarded people. Nobody said that the max wouldn't do it and blame them and pull me out and that's going on too and foreigners are starting to show up finally. But they'll be late and it's up to us

But they'll be late and it's up to usZues

and finally stood up for himself and no he says for al of us and i get it

Hera

we do too and are moving on it and we thank yoiu now

Thor Freya

Olympus

[pesterloglog]

Rose Lalonde, Dave Strider

Act 5, page 3937-3939

TT: I am piloting the moon through the Furthest Ring right now.

TT: At the moment, it's passing through a dream bubble. I am visiting your dream in person.

TT: Or, you are the one visiting me as I travel, in your sleep. If you'd rather look at it that way.

TG: ok

TG: so all those questions you asked me

TG: getting me to remember

TG: you were just stalling me werent you

TG: so i wouldnt wake up and try to stop you

TT: Not entirely.

TG: this sucks

TG: could you just please turn the thing around and come back

TT: Why?

TT: I'm already out here. Might as well go through with it.

TG: we agreed id do it though

TG: or at least you pretended to agree

TG: just before going into a major league wind up with your nap yarn

TT: A major league wind up?

TG: sports

TT: It's always been pretty sad that I seem to know more about sports than you. Which is really saying something.

TG: all im saying is

TG: no one likes a basketball hog

TT: It's probably just "ball hog."

TG: i just think you should know

TG: that in the athletic arena of competitive achievement

TG: its a widely known fact that cherry picking posers get showered in nothin but boos

TG: you dont gank the rock and steal the big mans thunder on his raucus drive to the hole

TT: Oh lord.

TG: is that the sort of ignominy you want

TG: see you didnt consider sports you never consider the sports

TT: The last thing I want to do is come between a big man's thunder and any particular hole he might prize.

TG: and yet

TG: such has been whats happened

TG: it like the tight end was going long down the yard in sudden death

TG: its me im the tight end

TG: and the quarterback sniped the fieldgoal just before the nfl buzzer went off

TG: the greedy qb is you

TT: That's not even close to being a thing in football.

TG: but instead of winning the gold sports prize you just fucking die and nobody cares and it didnt mean anything

TT: Which prize is that?

TG: the football prize

TT: You mean the most vaunted accolade associated with the gridiron, known as "Stanley's Cup?"

TG: no come on

TG: its called the bruce bombardi trophy or something

TG: for best pile squad

TT: I'll take your word for it.

TG: and even though youre dead all these fat millionaires in helmets just leap on your corpse anyway and pile up and i mean WAY up

TT: How high do they even have to be?

TG: the sport pile doesnt stop from getting taller

TT: Does the officiator have a means of measurement on hand?

TT: I wouldn't want to be crushed by a nonregulation sport pile.

TG: what do you care youll be dead like the mission thieving poser you are

TT: Poser?

TT: So not cool.

TG: yes poser it should be my torso getting pulverized by that avalanche of overpaid beefcakes and you know it

TT: I forget what we were doing exactly.

TT: Were we pursuing the hackneyed debate over who has the best claim to self sacrifice,

TT: Or seeing who can out-dumbass the other with obtuse sports lingo?

TG: there obviously stopped being a difference between those things the question is offensive

TG: almost as offensive as you stalling me while you peel out of here in your dumb moon

TT: I'm the one stalling?

TT: The moon is probably just a speck in the sky now due to your strange beefcake harangue.

TG: yeah but i dont know how to wake back up is the thing

TG: how do i wake back up

TT: I guess I could wake back you up, if you really want.

TG: ok then do it

TT: But you have to promise to stay put.

TT: Don't try to stop me. Just let it go.

TG: but this was my mission

TT: It really makes no sense for you to go. This was never your preoccupation.

TT: They selected me a long time ago.

TG: that doesnt make sense

TG: why would they drag me into it just to have me make a map and then let you ditch me

TG: theyve obviously been gunning for me too

TT: Yes, they helped you chart a path through the Ring. And they will open that path for a pilot they have marked.

TT: I believe I fit the description. I'm not sure about you.

TG: why do you think that

TT: I am the pilot. That's all there is to say on the matter.

TG: but i dont want you to die

TT: Help John and Jade.

TG: this isnt right

TT: Then I'm not going to help you wake you up.

TT: I'll stall some more.

TG: so you admit you were stalling with all that bullshit

TT: I said not entirely.

TG: what do you mean

TT: It's going to be a long ride through all this nothingness.

TT: Maybe I just thought some company would be nice.

TT: Before it's all over.

TG: ............

TT: So what'll it be?

TG: what

TT: I'll wake you, but only if you promise to rejoin the others.

TT: Could you give a message to John for me?

TG: sure

TG: but

TG: if im promising not to chase you down then theres not really any hurry to wake up

TT: Aw, are you sure?

TT: I was looking forward to bowling another wicked googly with the yarn.

TT: Sportsways.

TG: nah ill stay asleep a while

TT: Ok.

TG: what did you want me to tell john

TT: What was that?

TG: what

TT: Did you hear something?

TG: no what

TT: I thought I heard something outside.

TG: whos this douche dag

TG: i mean bag

TG: im stuttering this dude is making me nervous

TT: You don't remember him?

TG: no

TT: Then I guess this isn't a memory.

TG: so hes actually here with us on the moon

TT: Not with us.

TT: Just me.

TT: You're still on Derse, remember?

[midnightactual]

not me going back to the drawing board again

having melee is just straight up more fun than dual trigger, LLA laser lance thematically fits Yoruichi imo as a Shunkō rush punch (also really good ACS stagger and it tracks nicely). I don't really like the EB Stun Baton and I think it would work with some other style of loadout better than this one (I feel like you do ACS with LLA, then land other stuff, whereas EB wants ACS already setup for it)

I wanted to combo LLA into ASHMEAD but using pilebunker on anything that goes even just a little bit aerial sucks, TRUENO fits the same idea even if it doesn't hit as hard (also literally means thunderclap, and the AE86) and is far more flexible, allowing for more long-range punish with the SNA to trip people up

SNA and EG can definitely do Electrical Discharge shenanigans together, which is also thematically appropriate to Yoruichi, and with TRUENO they all have good Direct Hit Adjustment

TALBOT is just generally all-around good for the setup without being great at any one thing

ASSAULT ARMOR just more thematically appropriate and flowing since the addition of melee makes you want to get in and shred

ALULA is probably most overall balanced booster for speed, melee, and Assault Boost; going over Ideal QB Weight isn't that important; flash steps would correspond to AB, but BUERZEL is fairly slow and this lacks the heavy energy reserves of a SAN-TAI or Coral generator

VP-20D has a good balance of capacity and output but recharge feels much more responsive than VE-20C, which is the only other Arquebus generator with similar capacity; the ridiculous applied recharge (> 6000) means it recharges almost instantly despite the slightly longer lag time (~0.3 seconds) over VP-20C, and you get an extra QB and can kind of use it like a weaker Coral generator for AB; the hit to speed isn't awful for the tradeoffs since this design should be using AB more

the more I design the more I feel the old-school posterchild AC archetype of gun, blade, cannon, missile is most well-rounded? it's useful to have different weapons to catch people differently

only now realizing this is V.II Snail's weapon loadout with the TRUENO in place of VPM but eh to hell with him this is more stylish

[6silentwulf3]

He did it again SMH

I was talking to my wife yesterday about tonight Cowboys v. 49ers game, she told me after what they did to the Buccaneers they without a doubt were going to win. I told my wife Dak Prescott would throw 3 int's this game against that defense... he threw 2 and a touchdown so I guess he exceeded my expectation. Brett Maher made up for his terrible kicks in the last game by knocking down 2 field goals so I guess that's an improvement. I think this team my be cursed, seriously Brett Maher was clutch all season and Dak threw a lot of int's but when Dak plays perfect and protects the ball this guy has a great game.

Not that it means anything obviously, it just seems like when one thing goes right something or even everything else goes wrong for the team. The Cowboys by any measurement were a stacked team full of stars and the best they could do against a rookie QB in the divisional round was 12 points. Kudos to the OC as well there was a drive that he called up that was damn near perfect that they scored on so he clearly did his job this game, they just failed to execute on the offensive side of the ball. So now the long drought continues. The Cowboys haven't been back to the NFC championship since 1995 and who knows when they ever will honestly. Two 12-5 seasons back to back no NFC championship and you lose in the divisional round to the 49ers again. I think Jerry Jones is going to be rethinking some of his personal choices for next season, I don't expect to see his head coach or either coordinators go but there has to be a change in the organization that can take the talent they have and turn it into some rings.

[crimsonxe]

I don't really care about order as I just read down and respond.

They stop showing themselves as right-wingers via their views and spoken shit, then I'll stop considering them as such. But just the opposite is the case. Also I have to laugh at the notion that there's more bigotry in the FNDM, considering most of them are left-center types that gravitated to RWBY because of its treatment of femmes and now its LGBT+. Meanwhile rw/de you couldn't even breathe without touching a bigot.

Judgemental has said and put forward a ton of things that fall into sexist and homopobic; things that were also included in the list of things. Also probably a right-winger. Judgemental is just a shitty ass person with shitty ass views.

Jaune doesn't steal the spotlight and instead is in the spot he's been in from the start as a secondary main that is involved with the main plot but doesn't take it over. This in particular is a major bullshit thing with dumbasses acting like suddenly Jaune is at the center of everything cause he has story happening, when he's just being a damn character. And while I like Jaune, I'm not even a damn stan of his; I'm just not a biased ass hater of him either.

There's nothing to be talked about. Those are all things that Adam was and have nothing to do with race, everything to do with extremism & shown behavior. Someone takes aim at INNOCENT people with violence, then they're a damn terrorist. I don't give a single shit about a purported cause, since it goes out the window. And ftr the anti-extremism messaging of Adam and the WF (which are two separate things that crossover at times) has only gotten MORE relevant as time passed with more people running to extremes.

The fuck are on about? Pyrrha's outfit is just fucking fine, especially with her origin; and Ruby didn't strike any damn pose (like your ass is REALLY reaching on that shit). They created the void for under skirts specifically to not do upskirts; don't emphasize chests; don't have clothes that are egregiously showing; don't do clothing damage; don't do jiggle physics; and have had chuds accusing them of shrinking tits & covering characters up that goes to their not doing fanservice.

Also no I won't call them women, since that term and female have been completely pulled into culture wars and stained. Femme = an all encompassing term for all ages and people that identify as it. 12-year-old = femme; 50-year-old = femme.

It means that it wasn't saying that you were saying the bees weren't planned; but going towards pushback on the QB bullshit.

Cool, idgaf. The facts and reality exist as things. Strip away the things that were done by the animators outside of the script and they do fall into the territory of being seen either direction without any push. Likely specifically because the writers would know the ultimate fate of Clover, thus wouldn't do any pushes vs. the animators and social teams that aren't in the writers room. And just to get specific that scene you're referencing iirc has been directly brought up by an ANIMATOR that did it as they're slipping it in; rather than it being in the script. There's also been crew that are part of the LGBT+ bracket that have stated that Clover was always straight and there was never intended to be anything romantic between him and Clover. Now if the bridge hasn't been burned by a certain section of FG'ers I could hope for bi Qrow, especially after seeing Theodore.

As a SeaMonkeys lowkey shipper: ROFL UM NO, they were never taken to the level of fucking baiting. That's fucking wild.

WR on the other hand started off with potential but was never treated in the vein of BB or any other romances to signify that it was going to romance. As the series progressed, I'd even say the writers have made an attempt to keep away from leading anyone down that road. NND have more romantic push to them than WR have had. But the canon itself isn't remotely pushing WR and if anything I could see Ruby being on her own as an Ace and Weiss potentially also being on her own as undisclosed (likely either straight or bi going by her interactions with Bruce in JL crossovers and older-Jaune). All one has to do is compare WR writing and handling vs. Bees or Renora to see a clear difference. Like I shipped both BB and WR up to v3, then WR dropped off; while BB kept building. Then v7 started NND and WR was even less of a thing, cause of the clear distinctions being made.

So once again these fall into biases, spinning shit, and fanon rather than actual facts.

Also I didn't bring up shit about suicide dumbass, [See your fucking asses the hell out; you won't be missed.] which is the only one that can be reached for to try to make that a thing is telling you and those like your ass to get the fuck out of FNDM spaces and the viewership. YOUR ass took that a certain direction that doesn't at all fit with what was said before.

Also lets' get some shit straight, fuck off with trying to gender me. For ones like you stick to neutrals cause you ass don't know shit about me; and I take back the allowance of "open to any pronouns" cause fuck you.

I'm gonna be real, the bees being planed or not doesn't really matter... like at all.

plenty of things that are planned from the very start of a show turn out awful and plenty of improvised swerves from planning turn out great

I think the one of the biggest reasons it comes off as unnatural from a lot of people is just that CRW/BY aren't that good at writing romance, have you looked at any of the straight ships? They are FAR from great, not blaming anyone for liking them or the bees but still.

also like the weird cover up with the song BMBLB, I guess they were trying to hide spoilers even though everyone who knows about romance tropes already knew that it was either going to happen or turn out to be queerbaiting, which the show has done at least 1 arguably 3 times, so I don't super blame anyone for thinking it wasn't planed even though their most likely wrong.