#Illegal Golf Putters | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nitewrighter · 5 years ago

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Have you ever considered for doing a fic of a double date? Any ships you want!

Haven’t written for McHanzo or Symmarah for a while, and I’ve always wanted to develop Hanzo and Symmetra’s rapport in my fics more.

——-

“…Why?” said Hanzo, watching McCree straighten his collar in the mirror.

“No one ever has to justify wearing a bolo tie,” said McCree, tucking his shirt in.

“You know that’s not what I mean. Why are we doing this?” said Hanzo.

“Civvy night’s important to Pharah,” said McCree, “And Pharah’s important to me. I’ve known her since she was a skinny little scamp about yea high.” He brought a hand halfway up his ribs, “Anyway we need stuff like this. We’re fighting a long fight.”

Hanzo adjusted his own dark blue blazer that he was wearing over a tasteful yellow v-neck shirt, a result of an afternoon ‘thrifting’ with Tracer and Brigitte. That whole excursion was utterly baffling to him until Tracer offhandedly mentioned Genji and Hanzo had immediately realized that it was Genji who had suggested they invite him along in yet another attempt to try and ingratiate him to the rest of the Watchpoint. He had confronted Genji about it, but Genji had more or less played it off with, ‘I just thought you should get some new clothes since you’re staying with us’ which, infuriatingly, was true, but there was something sickening about the idea of Genji running around the watchpoint asking people to hang out with his poor lonely brother who murdered him. If it wasn’t thrifting with Brigitte and Tracer, it was morning jogs with Reinhardt, or Winston’s movie night—even Mercy had managed to stuff down her dislike of him enough to invite him along to her book club. Book clubs! What kind of illegal splinter organization had book clubs?! And for the record, no, he wasn’t willing to discuss the fact that Where the Crawdads Sing had made him cry.

“Hey—You in there, darlin’?” said McCree and Hanzo suddenly snapped back to the present.

Hanzo glanced down a bit self consciously, picking a stray bit of lint off of his blazer. “Did you plan this with Genji?” he asked.

“Nah—this is me and Pharah dragging you and Satya along in a night of shenanigans. Y’know, balancing out the friend stuff with the couple-y stuff.”

“…you would consider us as close as Fareeha and Satya?” said Hanzo arching an eyebrow.

“I mean…” McCree scratched at his stubble, unsure of how to respond to that and Hanzo realized what he had just said could be taken in a more hurtful way than he intended.

“That wasn’t what I— I mean I do lo—like you. You are important to me. They just… seem more… established.”

“Hey— it’s not like we’re going to be aggressively making out next to each other—we’re just hanging out,” said McCree. Hanzo was quiet, glancing down. McCree put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, if you’re really not comfortable with it, we can call the whole thing off. But, on the other hand, Fareeha’s one of the coolest people I know. This isn’t Genji trying to get you buddy-buddy with the watchpoint, this is me hoping we can all hang.” McCree thought for a moment, “Plus… Symmetra’s all… classy and stuff—She never really took to me, so maybe she might take to you. But again—I can call the whole thing—”

“Fine,” said Hanzo.

McCree smiled and kissed his eyebrow. “You won’t regret it.”

“Mm,” Hanzo grunted in response, not really sure what he just agreed to as both of them walked out of the apartment.

“Well well well… look who the cat dragged in,” a voice called up from below and McCree looked down over the balcony of the admin apartments to see Pharah standing in the lot below in a leather jacket and aviator sunglasses.

“You got a lotta nerve showing your face back here, Amari!” McCree fired back.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve wearing a bolo tie!” said Pharah.

“I don’t have to justify myself to you!” said McCree, “RAAAAHH!!!” he practically vaulted down the stairs and Pharah bounded up to meet him.

“YAAAAAAAH!” She caught him around the waist and hoisted him terrifyingly easily up on her shoulder.

“Jes-US ‘Reeha what have you been eating?” said McCree, the wind half-knocked out of him from the lift.

“More protein than you, I can tell you that much,” said Pharah, planting McCree back down on the ground. They bumped fists and then took each other up in a one armed hug. “It’s been too long, cowboy,” said Pharah, before looking over to Hanzo, “Hey! We uh… haven’t talked much, but anyone who can put up with Jesse is all right with me,” she held her fist out

“I’m told you were among the first to answer the recall,” said Hanzo. He glanced down at her still extended fist and nearly moved to shake her hand, then had to consciously make his own hand a fist to bump hers. The delay was clumsy, awkward. Stupid, he thought.

“Ha, yeah, Overwatch brat with something to prove,” said Pharah, tucking her beaded braids of hair back, “But no missions tonight! It’s civvy night!”

“Civvy night!” said McCree, “Speaking of which… where’s Our Lady Of Geometry?”

“Oh, Satya’s gonna be here, trust me,” said Pharah, “Come on.”

She started walking briskly and McCree and Hanzo followed after her. McCree glanced over at Hanzo, who was glancing off with a furrowed brow. Hanzo felt something brush against his hand and glanced down to see the pinkie of McCree’s prosthetic extended to him, touching his knuckles. Hanzo wrapped his fingers around McCree’s prosthetic and looked up at him. When all was said and done, McCree did look good with a bolo tie. There was an odd comfort in that.

“Okay,” Pharah was walking backward towards the Watchpoint hangar, “I just want you guys to… keep an open mind, okay?”

“An open mind?” said Hanzo, arching an eyebrow.

“Well usually for civvy night we just go out for snacks and bar food—that kind of stuff—and I know usually the point of civvy night is getting away from the watchpoint but Satya wanted to try something new, so…” Pharah opened the door and both McCree and Hanzo’s eyes widened. The entire hangar was a wonderland of blue and white, filled with hard-light structures of miniature castles, sphinxes and pyramids, a miniature mountain with a sparkling waterfall and a dragon perched atop it, windmills, and an impressively big construct of a diplodocus moving its massive neck up and down. A layer of hard-light was stretched across the floor, levels shifting slightly with holes placed at various points near the fantastical constructs of castles and dinosaurs and windmills.

“Mini-golf?!” McCree blurted out.

“It was an interesting challenge,” a voice spoke behind them and both McCree and Hanzo whirled on their heels to see Symmetra in a high-waisted white skirt and sky-blue polo, leaning against the wall behind them, “But I haven’t had an interesting challenge in a while. The visual research, while…. incredibly tacky, was uniquely inspiring. And it’s not often that I have to run simulations as extensively as I did here. I even had to bring in outside consultation.”

“Outside consultation?” said Hanzo.

“Jack Morrison was surprisingly helpful,” said Satya.

“Jack,” McCree repeated incredulously, “You got Jack to help you plan a mini-golf course.”

“He was quite amenable to the concept if it came with the promise of customized putting constructs in his own quarters,” said Satya.

McCree looked back out at the pyramids and castles and the diplodocus slowly moving its neck up and down.

“Not that I need your approval, but…. I wouldn’t say I had a stick up my posterior now, would I?” said Symmetra, sidling up alongside him.

“I never said you had a stick up your—“ McCree caught himself and realized he had said something along those lines, only he hadn’t used the word ‘posterior.’

“Satya this is—-“ McCree took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair, at a loss for words, “This is honestly amazing. Thank you. You didn’t have to do all this—“

“I know,” said Satya, smugly, “But,” she materialized a putter out of hard-light in her hands, “What you may not realize about me is that I enjoy a challenge.” Hanzo glanced over at Pharah who was also grinning at this. Satya held the putter out to McCree and McCree took it.

“And bowling was out,” said Pharah, catching another putter as Satya tossed it to her. Satya handed the final putter to Hanzo.

“…I’m… not very well-practiced in golf,” said Hanzo, looking around at the constructs, still perplexed

“Well that’s the good thing about mini-golf—less rich people bullshit, less pressure… and everything’s kind of kitschy so you don’t take yourself as seriously,” said McCree, testing the weight of his own putter in his hands.

“I thought it would be appropriate with your focus on… accuracy?” Satya offered, “And it’s tackiness I thought would fit Jesse quite nicely.”

“Ouch,” said McCree, but Pharah just snickered and elbowed him.

“Rules are simple, try to get it into the hole with as few strokes as possible–lowest score wins,” said Pharah, shouldering her own putter.

“I understand the basic concepts of golf,” said Hanzo, flatly before catching himself. He cleared his throat. “Very well. I accept this challenge.”

Satya materialized a hovering screen with a grid featuring all their names in neat little boxes, “I do always say, ‘what game is complete without a grid?,’” she said, smiling.

“Of course you would,” said Pharah and Satya’s smile turned wry.

“Waaaaait a second, if the balls are constructs, too, how do we know you won’t cheat?” said McCree.

“You don’t,” said Satya.

“It’ll give you an excuse when we wipe the floor with you?” suggested Pharah.

“Good enough for me,” said McCree, “More fun than a bar night, anyway.”

“Oh! That reminds me!” said Pharah, hurrying off before coming back lugging a large cooler over loaded with ice and bottles of beer, as well as a few cans of sparkling water for anyone who didn’t drink (namely Satya—not a fan of the taste, apparently). McCree cracked open a bottle with his lighter and handed it to Hanzo before opening one himself.

“McCree can I get that lighter—” Pharah started.

“Here, my light,” said Satya, materializing a bottle opener for her out of hard-light, and Pharah kissed her on the temple in a thank you as she opened her own bottle.

Hanzo sipped at his own beer. He could enjoy beer, but tended to prefer sake. With sake there was a sense of ritual to it, with beer, there was a sort of implicit feeling of having to be social, as well as some stinging nostalgia over his great uncle Hideyoshi.

“Heh, and Satya calls me tacky,” said McCree as he and Hanzo watched Pharah help Satya adjust her golf stance, practically hugging her from behind.

Hanzo forced a chuckling “hm,” before sipping his own beer. This isn’t Genji pushing the Watchpoint to put up with you, he thought, This is just Jesse wanting to have fun. You can have fun. You can… deal with people.

“Hanzo?” said Satya, “Your turn.”

“Oh— you can…Fareeha can go next.”

Satya just shrugged and rearranged the order of their names on the grid, putting him below Pharah as Pharah putted next. Despite helping Satya with her own stance, it actually took Pharah several tries to get the ball close to the hole, and by the time she had the ball a few inches from the hole, McCree blurted out “GOOD LUCK!” and Pharah ended up hitting the ball too hard and they all watched as it bounced over the hole and hit the blue bricks of the retaining wall.

“Ass,” said Pharah, finally putting the ball into the hole and McCree just shrugged, grinning.

“All you,” said McCree, putting a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder.

“You—you should go,” said Hanzo.

“‘Kay then,” said McCree. It turned out he was almost as bad as Pharah, and it didn’t help that Pharah made a point of getting him back throwing her off of her own putt by going “Hey Jesse!” every time his putter made contact with the ball. He managed to sink the ball with only two more strokes than Pharah.

All the while Hanzo studied their stances, how they gripped the putters, how hard they tapped the ball, and managed to sink his own ball in only two strokes.

“…damn,” said McCree, “Thought you said you weren’t big on golf?”

“Well it’s… fairly intuitive,” said Hanzo.

The pyramids were next. “Awww… you made little me’s!” said Pharah, bending over the hard-light structures of the statues around the pyramids.

“I simply modeled them on the statues at the temple of Anubis,” said Satya.

“Oh,” said Pharah.

“That was a joke, they are you,” said Satya.

“Awww!” said Pharah again.

The Windmilll proved to be the bane of McCree’s existence. Satya and Hanzo watched as he muttered to himself, making stroke after stroke only to have the windmill’s arms knock them away while Pharah heckled him.

“I’m not cheating, if you’re wondering,” said Satya and it caught Hanzo off-guard to realize she was talking to him, “The speed of those windmill arms is perfectly consistent.”

“I didn’t think you were cheating,” said Hanzo, “It doesn’t seem in your nature.”

“Thank you,” said Satya. A pause passed between them. “I hope this all doesn’t seem too silly to you,” she said.

“There’s a giant glowing dinosaur in a watchpoint hangar, what could be silly about that?” said Hanzo as McCree finally sank his ball.

“I… actually was looking forward to this. We haven’t spoken much yet—” said Satya.

“So people keep saying to me,” said Hanzo.

The corner of Satya’s mouth twitched and Hanzo realized he had cut her off. He opened his mouth to apologize but was cut off by McCree teasing Pharah as she putted. “I…sorry. Please continue.”

Satya’s eyes lit up. “Well, it always tended to be difficult for me to initiate things with other people,” she went on, “Fareeha said ‘Civvy night’ was her idea so that she could touch base with other teammates… but I can’t help thinking she also came up with it to help me get to know the others.”

Hanzo’s brow crinkled. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would—” Satya started.

“Satya, your turn!” Pharah called.

“Duty calls,” said Satya as she made her own putt. It actually took her a few tries, though not as many as McCree.

Hanzo snorted a little before moving forward with his own putter. He remembered what Satya said about the arms of the windmill, studied the construct for a few seconds, furrowed his brow, and then made his stroke. Pharah and McCree were still bickering and teasing each other but both quickly fell silent as the little ball easily rolled up the slope, past the waving arms of the windmill, and planted itself neatly in the hole on the other side.

“A hole in one?!” said Pharah.

“Impressive!” said Satya.

“Holy shit, Han!” said McCree, slapping him on the back.

“Yes… well…it’s… just a matter of timing,” said Hanzo, smiling a little as they moved on to the next hole. Once again, it took a while to get through both Pharah and McCree’s rounds with all the heckling they gave each other.

“You said you were looking forward to speaking with me,” said Hanzo as they watched Pharah attempt to get the ball up the miniature mountain, “Why?”

“Well… I feel you are in a similar position as I was when I first joined,” said Satya.

“How so?” said Hanzo.

“Well… prior to my joining, the most basis anyone had for my character was Lúcio. And he was, justifiably, not fond of me,” she tucked her hair back, “And, of course, everyone on this watchpoint is eclectic enough to make their own decisions, but when the one person everyone seems to like doesn’t like you, well…” she shrugged, “Let’s just say I was eating a lot of meals alone during my first few weeks here. There was Zenyatta, of course, but arguably, Zenyatta makes a point of that sort of thing so...” she trailed off.

Hanzo wasn’t sure he liked where this conversation was going.

“And I like to think we have similar tastes,” said Satya, apparently noting his discomfort and switching gears.

“…similar tastes?” said Hanzo and Satya just motioned with her head over at Pharah with McCree’s head in a headlock, giving him noogies and going “YOU WANT A MULLIGAN? I GOT YOUR MULLIGAN RIGHT HERE!”

Hanzo snorted. “I suppose they’re making up for all the lost stupidity with all the missions they’ve had,” he said with a smirk. Satya silently and easily made her hole in a few putts as McCree and Pharah headed off to get another round of drinks for everyone.

“What did you mean earlier?” said Satya, coming back to Hanzo as he made his own putt.

“What?” said Hanzo.

“When you said ‘that doesn’t bother you?’ Why would it bother me?”

“It’s… it’s embarrassing. It’s… pitying you,” said Hanzo.

“You think Pharah introducing me to her friends is pitying me,” Satya said flatly.

Hanzo’s stomach tied up in knots. “No–It’s–It’s different for you. Before you joined the team you built things. You created. Sure, it was for an… evil corporation, but you weren’t… we are not the same.”

“You’re moving the goal posts,” said Satya.

“What?”

“Moving the goal posts. You relate to me when you think I’m being pitied or treated like a child by my partner, but when I’m able to rationally say, ‘No, it is not like that’ then suddenly we are not the same.”

Hanzo blinked a few times.

“It’s not pity, Hanzo Shimada, it’s empathy,” Satya went on, “You don’t think everyone else here has been lonely? I was lonely in Vishkar. I was lonely when I first came here. Pharah was estranged from her mother for years, McCree was wandering with a bounty on his head—” Satya sighed, “It’s… it’s terrifyingly easy to convince yourself that no one needs you when you’re alone. And it takes a lot of strength to bring yourself back. To cultivate relationships so you can center yourself. And sometimes you fall back, and that’s fine. I didn’t make it to the book club this month because I didn’t want to talk about how the book made me cry. But as long as you keep putting yourself out there–”

“You’re in the book club?”

“Yes.”

“Where the Crawdads Sing made you cry?”

“Yes.”

“…why is there a Watchpoint book club?”

“Long Orca rides.”

“…I hate how much sense that makes,” said Hanzo, “It made me cry, too.”

Satya just huffed and smiled. “Make your putt, Shimada.”

Hanzo stepped forward, placed his ball, drew in a steadying breath, and then with a single tap sent the ball rolling up through the castle, the little drawbridge closing behind it and a little fanfare playing. Both Hanzo and Satya rounded the castle and watched as the ball rolled out the other side and plopped neatly into the hole. The fanfare played again and little firework-like lights shot off from the castle’s parapets in miniature starbursts.

“…have I mentioned your work here was brilliant?” said Hanzo.

“You could stand to mention it more,” said Satya, arching an eyebrow.

“Have you been keeping score?”

“Oh honestly you won two holes ago, even if all three of us got holes in one for the rest of the course there’s no chance of beating you.”

“…Ah.”

“Shall we move on to the dinosaur?”

“It is a good dinosaur.”

“Told ya they’d hit it off,” said McCree as he and Pharah headed back from the cooler.

“You told me? I believe I invented civvy night,” said Pharah, “All you did was hook up with your probation charge.”

“Which makes me a certified genius. You just call it civvy night because calling it a double date is cheesy,” said McCree.

“It’s called civvy night so there’s no pressure to bring a date,” Pharah frowned as her ball popped over the hole and rolled out the other side, “Still trying to get Mei to come along.”

“God, someone needs to get her away from that lab,” muttered McCree.

“Right? But then again… 9 years asleep. Makes you feel pretty far behind on work.”

“Pretty far behind on partyin’ too,” said McCree, closing the distance between himself and Hanzo, “You guys down for another round?”

Satya smirked as Pharah handed her her drink. “But of course,” she said.

#mchanzo #symmarah

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cpblaylock-blog · 6 years ago

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Papa

He was a man of many dispositions, flawed and imperfect but relentlessly devoted to his family. I have so many vivid memories of my father as do my siblings and many of my friends. Some are side splitting funny, usually relating to his uncontrollable temper and quite a few recounted the mischief he would find with his closest friends. Growing up in a small town in the south was a gift. Growing up in a small town where your last name distinguishes you as “one of Jule’s kids” was like wearing a shiny new medal on your uniform because you were constantly reminded of your family history every time you drove by the park or other places in town with PEEK written on them. I remember being so proud of the historical significance of my family lineage because Big Jule was a master story teller and made sure his children knew the role his father and grandfather played in the early days of Cedartown. At the same time, it was like having the white hot beacon of accountability shining on you like the prison watch guard following you around all the time with the big spotlight because you could not get away with ANYTHING. If you were shooting bottle rockets illegally out on Cherokee Road or cruising Main Street a little too fast and got pulled over, the conversation with the officer was usually short and ended something like this - “You Jule Peek’s daughter?..........Yes, sir........Well hell, I’m gonna let you go this time and tell your dad he owes me a drink at The Red Dog.........Yes sir.”

As I grew older, Big Jule “took up” golf to have an excuse to spend time with me as he did with my sister and horses. Again, his temper proved to be entertaining one day when he got so mad he threw his putter into the tree on the last hole. When I asked him if he was going to go get it he said “no. I’ll get it later”. Well, 45 minutes later when we were driving out he stopped the car alongside the road and walked around the trunk and pulled out a shotgun. A few casual steps and one KABOOM later, the putter was retrieved (with a little bird shot damage) and in the trunk. Fast forward 10 years when I was playing professionally on the LPGA Tour and this was one of our go to stories for instant laughs.

I know Papa loved watching me play no matter what sport it involved. If it was baseball, basketball, tennis, track or golf - he was there. I remember him driving me to tournaments in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina and regardless of where we went, he knew the best places to eat and usually struck up a conversation with someone in less than 5 minutes. He would usually offer his “tips” on traveling such as “always look for local tags in the parking lots of restaurants. The locals know what’s good.” His greatest gift though was that of conversation. The man could talk to ANYBODY. It didn’t matter if they were a day laborer or federal judge; he would befriend them, start talking and by the end of the conversation they sounded like old schoolmates. To watch him at work was like watching your own episode of reality t.v.

In college, he would “stop by” Furman quite frequently saying it was on his way to the next paper mill. I didn’t care, I was always happy to see him, share a good meal and laugh at all the funny family stories we could recall. He would leave me with a big hug and a little money in my pocket to get something to eat and always reminded me to work hard and be respectful.

These are just a few of the memories I have with my dad. I choose to remember his laugh, his crooked leg for which he created multiple stories of how it was injured, his uncanny wit, and his adoration of all 5 children. His best attributes can be seen in each of my siblings which is a daily reminder of his true legacy. His wit, humor and laughter is in Asa, his competitive nature and work ethic in me and Gardner, his ability to make conversation and friends with anyone in Julie and his empathy and wisdom in Jule Jr.

Today, as I watched him draw his last breath, I looked at his hands and then at my own. The long boney fingers threaded with tendons and painted with freckles, looked just like mine. They were once strong and vibrant but were now weary and weak - finished with the work done on earth. I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for what he provided as a father and thankful that in the end he was forgiven and had accepted Jesus as his savior. He fell short of all God’s glory as we all do but I rest in knowing I will see him again someday.

Thank you Papa for being my biggest fan, letting me play with the boys, teaching me to never accept being average but most of all for the hardest life lessons and the opportunity to extend you grace, practice forgiveness and to love unconditionally.

I love you big, Dynomite ❤️❤️❤️

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cured-by-flowers · 6 years ago

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Keyword Search. It is equally as bad having to take 3 or even 4 to the green and then to continue with the bad run and again take 3 to putt. If you should decide to purchase the accessories then do pay attention to few tips here. Among these urethane is the latest. .

Judging the distance and the power to hit the ball. The less the bend in a shaft, the more control the powerful swinger will have. All players lose the odd golf ball here and there in the beginning the transition from driving range to golf course is a big one - suddenly a number of environmental factors like wind speed and direction come into play, and for the newcomer this can translate into the occasionally lost golf ball. They are sometimes used off the tee. Picking the best brand and finding the best price can be difficult if you don't know what you're looking for. Where to section-by-section article Shop?. You may then add several woods or hybrids of your own choice. If you are a beginner, it might take you a while to control this putter and have a better aim and grip at the same time. If you are a beginner, it might take you a while to control this putter and have a better aim and grip at the same time. The wheels were usually made of a clay composite, or steel and the trucks (axles) were less sturdy and initially of a 'single-action' design compared to today's 'double-action'.

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Judging the distance and the power to hit the ball. When the soap-box became detached from the plank, children would ride these primitive "skateboards". Many, many types of merchandise are duplicated, or cloned, so be sure the set of clubs you buy have not been illegally duplicated. . Use them to solve your initial swing flaws and decided how you like to play. You can easily carry it for a weekend trip and not have to worry about storage issues. Back and through same distance .

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islamfakrul · 3 years ago

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Top 10 Best illegal golf wedges [2022]

1. Intech Golf EZ Roll Men’s Left Hand Chipper Buy On Amazon Back weighted design – Provides better performance around the green for better stroke saving capabilities Advanced alignment top lines – For better alignment and accuracy Putter length with 7-iron loft – The EZ roll chipper is 35 degrees Gooseneck hosel – Shank-proof design 2. TaylorMade 2018 Distance+ Golf Ball, White (One…

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#Misc.#Sports

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akechicrimes · 5 years ago

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yes. and no. and also yes.

if yall havent been keeping up with lokiarsene’s translations, specifically rank 7, take a fuckin sip of that good good akechi content, because this post is about those. also say thank u to lokiarsene for translating this shit for u for free.

akechi does turn everything into competition, but i think that changes over the course of the social link as he realizes that these “games” he’s playing akira are actually, uh, fun. games are really supposed to be played for pleasure and competition simultaneously, which already characterizes akira’s and akechi’s relationship pretty well.

but i think playing games also becomes the basis by which akira and akechi start to relate to each other and eventually, the means by which they come to understand each other and become more emotionally intimate.

all games are a win condition and set of rules that restricts player freedom in creating the win condition. in this case, games become the blueprint by which a queered, but closeted, relationship manages emotional intimacy despite a situation that says they’re not allowed to be together.

what is a game? (aka boy fuckin howdy this meta got way too long and now I need signposts to understand where the fuck I am in my own argument)

all games are a win condition and a set of rules that restricts player freedom.

this applies to basically all games, from poker to basketball to golf to JRPGs to career-climbing to the little dinosaur game you play on your chrome browser. if you can think of a game that isn’t fundamentally an objective and a set of rules that restricts player freedom, let me know.

i think most people know that games always have a win condition. basketball asks you to get the ball in the hoop. blackjack asks you to get closer to 21 and not over than your peers. JRPGs ask you to kill your dad or god, or both.

i phrase rules as “restricts player freedom” because, although we could phrase the different “moves” as a type of script you’re supposed to follow, it’s actually easier to say that rules are a list of things you can’t do, rather than things you’re supposed to do. a lot of moves have what you can’t do baked in, e.g. in golf, you should use your putter when you’re on the green. baked into that is a set of other things you’re not supposed to do: you cannot pick the ball up with your hands, you cannot use any other club except your putter, you may not use your putter in a way the putter is not intended. that is to say, a lot of sports equipment is just another example of ways that player freedom gets restricted (lacrosse requires you to use a lacrosse stick, ice skating requires you to be on skates, card games require you to use cards instead of anything else, super smash competitions require you to--well, play super smash, which is in itself a huge piece of equipment).

restricting player freedom is where the fun comes from. in soccer, for example, the entire fun of the game is that you can’t use your hands. it’s supposed to be difficult. the more handicaps you have, the more interesting it is. this in itself highlights the fact that akechi uses his non-dominant hand for the billiards scenes, because he himself is intentionally restricting his own player freedom. he’s imposing his own rules on himself for the sake of entertainment, really.

“I might have to follow the rules but there are other ways to say ‘fuck you”

a lot of the fun is working with the rules without breaking them--working around them, bending them, using them creatively without technically doing anything illegal. you can’t use your hands in soccer, but you can hit the ball with your knee, your head, your chest, literally any body part except your arms. think about video games in particular--think about the skyrim players who, entirely without mods, manage to create rings that can effectively enable them to KO any enemy in a single punch. or other skyrim players who forge armor that’s so stat-stacked that you become effectively invincible. bending rules is a type of game in itself.

akechi is like. mega fucking pro at this. akechi has 100000000000 different things he cannot do because of all sorts of rules and all sorts of games he’s wrapped up in, and he works around all of them without technically breaking the rules. he doesn’t have any legal rights because he’s a minor, so he gets a part-time job. he’s a bastard child with no parents, so he volunteers himself for his persona powers. he’s a kid who’s likely not going to be taken seriously by his adult coworkers, so he dresses to the nines every day like an old man. it’s not what he’s supposed to do as an 18 yr old kid--but it’s not illegal to dress in argyle, either. (although maybe it should be.)

think about akechi’s entire sequence in sae’s casino, where he bends the rules so hard that they almost break. did he break explicit rules? technically not. but did he “break the game” by racking up unholy amounts of cash? sure did.

“just realized I don’t like this game very much but there’s no Child Protective Services to help you when ur dad runs the government. FML”

of course, we know that akechi doesn’t exactly like the situation he’s gotten himself into.

not that I don’t think akechi has any moral qualms against breaking rules or laws, but I do think that he’s aware that if he disobeys shido, he’ll get killed pretty fast. (thanks, kobayakawa.) he does have to actually play the game by the rules just out of pure necessity. and when it comes to his detective prince reputation, he needs to keep up appearances so that he doesn’t get fucking lambasted by all of Tokyo.

suddenly, the rules of the game aren’t fun competition that he can stop playing when he gets bored, but laws that genuinely restrict his freedom every minute of every day. I would argue that in basically no scene during persona 5 vanilla does he talk to sae, the phantom thieves, or literally anyone without the ghost of shido’s agenda or his detective prince reputation lurking over his shoulder and compelling him to behave in certain ways. naturally, he mentions frequently that he feels like he’s not free or doesn’t have the ability to make the choices he wants to. take a look at even the scene where one of his fangirls spots him in public—even though it should be nice to be so popular, it actually limits his freedom to go where he likes, and he can’t necessarily tell them to back off without suffering public backlash.

(I’d also like to point out that the way akira solves this issue is by giving akechi a disguise that enables akechi to be more free—a mask, so to speak, that enables akechi to act anonymously under his own power—a little bit like a thief who is better able to do good under the protection of anonymity—almost as if masks make u more free—hmmmmmmm. lmfaooooo.)

making matters worse, akechi has more than one game happening on his plate. there’s the Yaldabaoth game (win condition: whatever the fuck yaldo wants), the shido game (win condition: revenge), the detective prince popularity game (win condition: maintain popularity/get attention), and the “I’m investigating the phantom thieves” game (win condition: capture the phantom thieves).

by the time akechi comes to interact with akira, the rules—that is, the things that akechi is barred from doing—are suffocating. rules and games are supposed to be fun, and this is……………… not. the things he’s outlawed from doing vastly outnumber the things he’s allowed to do. his options are narrowed down to very very very few courses of action, and most of them involved murder.

(there’s also a parallel here with the law. laws are supposed to protect and better society, not be so convoluted and corrupt that they hurt the very people they’re supposed to serve. again, same with sae’s palace: the courts are supposed to find the truth, not become such an intense competition that sae is unable to pursue true justice.)

(I would also argue that it’s precisely the fact that akechi has so many different games he’s playing that he requires so many different “faces” in order to cope with them all. if he seems like he’s two-faced, that’s probably because every single game requires him to be a slightly—or drastically—different person in order to succeed.)

nice legs daisy dukes makes a man go *dies in cognitive boiler room*

this brings us to akira.

akechi’s not fucking around when he says that they’re similar. like akechi, akira’s playing—and to varying degrees of success—several different games simultaneously. from the start, he’s playing the “I’m a good boy who will get through my probation without a problem, thank you sojiro” game. akira is also playing the Yaldabaoth game. akira’s wrapped up in the phantom thief thing, playing by the rules of the metaverse to change hearts and reform society.

(again, I’d like to point out that akira has so many different faces because of these different situations, same as akechi. also, that akira is a direct victim of dysfunctional law.)

what’s fascinating about seeing akira and akechi interact is that there are so many restrictions on what they can and cannot do, it’s a little bit like a collision between ALL the different games simultaneously, and they start to blur together, enabling akechi to speak about any one of them at any given time because they’ve all started to collapse and conflate.

and then we take these two boys with so many restrictions on them, and they play this unholy mashup of every single game at once.

on its face, akechi is trying to dig up more information on akira because he suspects akira of being the phantom thief. the rules are that akechi cannot accuse akira of being a phantom thief without evidence (since the courts are, indeed, yet another game to be played and a set of rules to be followed--thank you, sae, for making that analogy extremely literal. also thank you p5r for emphasizing games as a prominent aspect for both sae and akechi. that was extremely cool of you). akira, in turn, cannot accuse akechi of talking to him only on suspicion of being a phantom thief, because akira is supposed to be a normal boy who doesn’t know anything about phantom thieves, and also isn’t supposed to be saying fuck cops in front of cops, even though he did that on live television to akechi’s face.

then there’s the shido game: akechi cannot accuse akira of being a phantom thief without shido’s say-so. akechi also cannot tell akira about shido’s conspiracy without backlash (read: getting offed). then theere’s the Yaldabaoth game that both of them are wrapped up in, which is what started this whole persona nonsense in the first place.

later on, additional layers get added on when akechi joins the phantom thieves, because then the game changes to akira attempting to outwit akechi’s attempt on his life, which means that akira cannot accuse akechi outright of joining the PT only to betray them because that, too, will blow up in his face.

I would like to argue that there’s one more game that’s occurring, which is the socializing game. akechi saw akira the phantom thief and decided he was going to get his number on the spot (lmfao. legend), and is now taking the necessary steps to establish a relationship with him, and there’s a whole song and dance involved in getting to know a complete stranger.

the win condition, in theory, is that akechi discovers whether or not akira is a phantom thief (which advances him in the two other games akechi’s playing with shido and his detective prince façade). the rules are that when you’re living in a city like tokyo, you have to text someone (not call them, because that comes off too strong), get them to agree to meet, arrange a time and place to be, and then provide a neutral activity for both of you to do so that you don’t just, yknow, sit and stare at each other with nothing else to do or talk about. (like akechi notes quite plainly, the point of going to a coffee shop and ordering a cake isnt to eat the cake. it’s to use the cake as a conversation starter.)

(i’d like to point out here that neutral activities to do together functions also to be a means of plausible deniability. it’s a way of alluding to things that you can’t, or even things you’re not supposed to, and having an easy and quick escape route if the conversation goes badly--”oh, i didn’t mean to imply that. actually i’m not comparing myself to a billiard ball after all. i really was talking about just billiards.”)

all of these factors come together into a pretty cohesive dynamic called The Rivalry Game, in which akechi and akira must pretend they’re doing literally anything else other than what they’re really doing, and they cannot acknowledge literally anything that’s happening.

basically, there’s a very short list of rules (restrictions on freedom) in The Rivalry Game, and it goes like this:

1) You have to pretend you’re not playing the game.

2) Neither Akira nor Akechi can win (because Shido is always winning so long as he controls Akechi), but the loser still dies.

Therefore, because there’s no win condition, either you keep playing, or one of them dies.

they’re gay, harold

one more game, for the record:

if you have eyeballs, you may have noticed that akechi is basically taking akira out on dates. (which, imo, is a refreshing change from the fact that akira spends most of the game taking other people out on dates.)

like, it’s kind of the most forward and aggressive dating protocol I’ve ever seen, but it is basically dating protocol. you get the guy’s number. you take a few days to call. you arrange a first date doing something fun and neutral. say nice things about them. try not to scare them off with being a fucking psycho. also, you save all the sad backstory shit for the third or fourth date, which is… quite literally what akechi did.

dating is in itself a type of game with all sorts of rules. don’t call them too quickly or you look desperate. don’t sleep with them on the first date or you look easy. don’t be clingy. don’t be jealous. don’t ghost them for weeks on end. on and on and on.

however, it’s in the nature of queer people dating in a conservative country that you’ve also got a few additional rules to the dating regimen, which requires queer people dating to exist in a sort of limbo where they pretend they’re just very good friends, or they’re rivals, or they’re detectives and thieves, or literally anything else but queer, in order to have plausible deniability.

essentially, the one rule becomes:

1) You have to pretend you’re not playing the game.

there’s an entirely plausible argument that firstly, the relationship is queercoded not only because of blatant flirting (which they do) or akira’s madoka bullshit in the third trimester, but because the nature of their “don’t ask, don’t tell” game rules replicates closeted queer experience. secondly, akira and akechi operate in the way that they do because same-sex attraction easily fits in with all the other things they’re pretending they’re not doing. if akechi never accuses akira of being a phantom thief, then akira can exist in schrodinger’s criminality and nobody gets fucked over by consequences. and if akira never accuses akechi of being attracted to him, then akechi can exist in schrodinger’s closet, and nobody has to run away or end The “Rival” Game.

billiards as a metaphor for my trauma but also just kidding. unless…?

keep in mind the preceding points: that the rules state that akechi and akira must pretend they’re not playing a variety of games, that akechi is good at repurposing game rules by bending them, and the fact that games are, actually, supposed to be fun rather than oppressively restrictive.

akechi’s mistake is that he starts using the rules of the game to communicate. this is particularly obvious in the first billiards scene, because he might have started off as using billiards as a way to break the ice and have a neutral activity to do while he gets to know akira, but billiards quickly becomes his way of picking akira’s brain and also intimidating akira. akechi applies a further handicap (a self-imposed rule for fun, is what I’m saying) to restrict his own freedom and use his non-dominant hand, communicating that he’s so good at billiards that he doesn’t need to face akira seriously, that he’s confident enough to win without it, that he doesn’t want to destroy akira so bad that akira will no longer hang out with him, that he wants akira to know that he’s stronger and better than him. not to meme, but he’s literally asserting dominance through a game of pool, because akechi is a nerd who wears argyle unironically. either way, it’s meant to assert himself as someone in control and in a position of strength. he’s pretty conscientious about heading off people who might assume he’s unintelligent or weak, like warning away people who might try to take advantage of him.

then a very clever thing happens, which is that akira bends the rules back: although he lost the billiards game, he points out that he noticed akechi is a leftie, letting akechi know that akechi might be better at billiards, but that doesn’t mean akira will let akechi push him around.

from here on out, they’ve established their MO for the rest of the relationship, and akira and akechi communicate primarily through actions, competition, games, and unspoken rules. this in itself becomes a sort of game, trying to speak to each other through the incredibly oppressive handicaps on what akechi and akira are and aren’t at liberty to say.

billiards becomes a metaphor because akechi isn’t at liberty to actually talk about shido. eating cake at a café becomes a reflection on interpersonal relationships and their difficulties, without ever saying so. the public baths scene is definitely not about relaxation. also, if akechi and akira are less than platonic, that’s not a problem, because the entire point of this exercise is that they can maintain plausible deniability. actually they were just talking about billiards. it really is just cake. just two dudes in a bathtub together, five feet apart cuz theyre not gay.

what happens over the course of the social link is that, although they’re still playing a wide variety of different games, the “win condition” of the unspoken rules becomes literally just talking to each other.

the goal becomes to spend time with each other, to understand each other, to become closer to each other despite all the restrictions in the way. after all, they’re so very similar, and both akira and akechi understand that they cannot be too direct. akira will play by the rules that you can’t talk about the game.

other social links have a goal of resolving someone’s personal narrative and growth, or getting some asshole to stop fucking over the social link in question. akechi’s social link operates more like a dating game, where the objective is simply to get to know each other. instead of the social link being about the social link changing for the better because of akira, akechi’s social link is about akechi and akira slowly sharing who they are to each other while pretending they aren’t doing what they’re doing.

what happens here is that a game in which akira and akechi both have their freedom restricted to the point of pain turns back into a point of fun for both of them, and a point of connection. it becomes something that brings them both joy and makes them less alone, even though on the surface, it seems like they’re talking about cake and the weather. the very rules that were isolating and oppressing them become a way they relate to each other.

in other words, they’re making a really good thing out of what’s basically a terrible situation.

like akechi mentions, they’re both victims of shitty adults, and they both have things they can and cannot do, but, somehow, impossibly, they’re manage to find a good thing despite all their restrictions. no, not even despite their restrictions—they’re making a good thing out of their restrictions by repurposing the things they can’t say and do into something that communicates meaning.

(this is also another reason why i think it’s so cute that in the bad end, akechi and akira are seen playing chess together--yet another game and competition, but the point of the game now is obviously just to spend time with each other, as they’ve always done over the course of their social link.)

this in particular is why the jazz thing is so important. jazz has rules. you have to play a particular instrument, for one. also, music might be improv, but music itself sounds good when it’s following a rhythm, when the notes are played in tune and in harmony, and replicate a pattern that’s pleasing to the human ear. music in itself has a set of rules and, for that matter, a lot of things you can’t do, primarily based on what sounds fucking awful.

what jazz does not have is a win condition of a traditional kind. jazz is not a game where you play against someone. jazz improv is a game where you play with someone, and you create something together—something that’s spontaneous, unpredictable, and a product of your teamwork and communication. the win condition is to enjoy each other and to have fun.

akechi starts his social link off extremely aggressively, with his emphasis on one person defeating another and the winner saving face. by the time we get to the jazz scene, he’s rethinking the nature of what it means to play a game with someone—that perhaps games can again be played for the sake of happiness with someone you enjoy spending time with, instead of a set of constricting rules that tie you down as you crawl towards an impossible win condition.

I SAID they’re fucking GAY, harold

overall, if anyone ever tells you that you’re reading too deeply into shuake, I’d like to say for the record that akechi expects and relies on akira to read too deeply into what akechi is saying, because akechi is not at liberty to speak freely.

akechi is constantly asking strange and pointed questions that don’t seem to connect to the explicit text or the train of thought he was following. he goes from talking about jazz to talking about akira, from talking about relaxation to his mother. when he asks why akira is interested in fighting him, he seems disappointed when akira says there’s no reason, because akechi is not actually asking about billiards. akechi is doing the equivalent of slipping shido’s censorship via maintaining plausible deniability that he’s talking about anything other than billiards.

he’s expecting you to know the rules. you are absolutely supposed to read into it. you are supposed to play according to the same rules that he is.

and in fact, communication and connection breaks down if you don’t follow the rules. akira’s dialogue responses are either painfully obtuse, throwing akechi off balance, or right on the money of the subtext akechi is putting down, which appears to surprise and delight him that he’s being understood for what he’s saying. akira ceasing to follow akechi’s subtext becomes a hindrance in their communication. he has to continue to follow the rules or else the communication gets jammed up. ironically, the very thing that’s supposedly limiting communication is in fact now the thing that ensure it can happen at all.

the best example i have for you is the dating game, especially so because akechi is definitely following a lot of dating game rules. if you’ve ever heard the phrase “that’s third date material,” that’s referring to an unspoken rule. if you get to the third date and start talking about something heavy like that, that in itself is communicating that you’re serious about the relationship--serious enough to wait for the third date, to follow the rules. the entire reason why so many of us lambasted akechi for asking for akira’s number two minutes after they met for the first time is because akechi bent that rule so hard it almost broke--the rule that you’re not supposed to seem too forward in case of communicating desperation--and this in itself communicates something.

well. this is a very longwinded way of explaining something that i think all of us know already about social interactions. It Means Something To Type Like This; it means something when you call a teacher by their first name; it means something if you show up to an office job in flip-flops; it means something when a woman wears a tuxedo and a man wears a dress. meaning is created by interacting with social rules, being creative with what you can and can’t do, and being clever with things you’re not supposed to do.

what i’m getting at is the things that you don’t say, and the ways that you interact with the rules themselves, generate meaning and communication. the rules of the game, for example, say that akechi is supposed to be investigating akira because akira is a phantom thief; but when akechi starts talking about his dead mother, his bending the rules of what he can and can’t do communicates that he’s not just here for an investigation anymore.

about akechi throwing his fucking glove at akira instead of talking about their feelings like his name is miles edgeworth (and then akira carrying that glove around in his pocket for almost four months like his name is phoenix wright)

home stretch, lads!

I proposed that the jazz scene is a shift in how akechi thinks about games and competition. from thereon, when akechi says that they’re rivals, he means that their competitions are a point of connection for them, instead of rivalry referring to the fact that akechi will one day shoot akira in the forehead.

this shift is what makes it so that we know that akechi is not seeking to antagonize akira in the rank 8 scene, where they fight 1v1. akechi asks him not to hold back anymore because that’s, again, how they can be honest under a guise of plausible deniability that this is really just a persona fight.

the fight doesn’t go according to akechi’s expectations. he loses, if you didn’t know. and akira is apparently stronger than akechi expected. (but that’s how it goes during improv. and since akechi was not fighting to necessarily win, and the point of the exercise was instead to communicate with each other, this doesn’t matter.)

akechi gives akira the glove as a promise to duel again. despite the fact that akechi says that he’ll win, the glove itself does not represent akechi’s desire to win. the glove is a challenge and an invitation simultaneously. the glove is a way of saying, I want to play again with you someday.

and then I made myself super sad just writing that last sentence, so please press F for me and my goroboy clown ass before we go on. thanks.

the glove isn’t just a promise to duel akechi sometime in the near future, but a promise that akira and akechi will be able to communicate and be as emotionally intimate as they have been over the course of the social link again one day—that part specifically, I think, is part of the reason why akira’s still carrying the goddamn thing on 3/19.

again, consider the bad ending screenshot of akira and akechi playing chess with that huge lovestruck smile on akechi’s face. akira’s wish wasn’t just akechi coming back from the dead, but for them to be fulfill the glove’s promise of being together, knowing each other, and working together to make their own happiness through competition.

so I guess. in conclusion. tldr. both of these boys are in a prison made of oppressive rules they can’t break. and they found joy in each other throughout it all.

thanks for coming to my ted talk.

hang on I have to make a post about akechi and games

#meta #mine #p5r spoilers

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dfnews · 8 years ago

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Episode Recrap of "The Bachelor Party"

Season 3, Episode 4 - February 6, 2017

From TV Guide;"Jeremy's bachelor party and Jinger's bachelorette affair bring together friends and family after weeks of wedding planning. Meanwhile, Jessa and Ben learn the gender of baby No. 2; and Derick goes back to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University to reprise his role as the school's mascot, Pistol Pete." In other words...another boring bachelor party, another ultrasound not done by a doctor, and again Derick goes back to his alma mater. I'm already bored.

1. Sex Party: The episode begins at the Jim Bob owned house that he allows Benessa and Spud to live in. Actually, it's grandma Mary's house but I'm pretty sure Jim Bob has taken control over most of his mother's assets by now. He just allows her to keep the properties in her name. Anyway, Ben explains they are getting ready to go to an "ultrasound place" to get a cute 3D photo and find out the sex of the baby without actually having to see a real doctor. Jana and Joy beg to go along to find out the sex. The producers ask Benessa why they want to keep the baby's sex secret and Jessa says, "To torture everyone. Just kidding". They say it's just fun. I think it's more fun if they don't even find out and are surprised at the birth just like in the olden days they so love and want to drag us all back to kicking and screaming.

2. Pity Party: The producers ask the kidults what they think Jessa is going to have, beyond just another brainwashed fundie. Most think it's going to be a boy. Jill surprisingly says, "I think Derick says he thought maybe they're having a girl so I said I'm gonna pick what he picks because he's always right, I'm always wrong." Well, Derick isn't always right. Jessa had a boy. Actually, from what I read on his social media, he's almost always wrong. Jill, you need to tell Derick to shove it if he is making your feel that you're always wrong about dumb shit like this. Mental and emotional abuse is not okay.

3. Party At The Convent: Jeremy's back in town to "party" with the Duggars and friends. On their way to the airport, Jeremy and Jinger have a fourteen year old brother chaperoning them. Horny fourteen year old boys are great at suppressing sexual urges in others. (sarcasm) Josh was fourteen when he started his incestuous molestation criminal spree. Maybe they should hire a nun to follow these courting couples around. One smack with a ruler to the crotch and no birth control will ever be needed. Jeremy's bachelor party will consist of playing golf. He has no interest in running around and partying. That already put him behind bars a few years ago. Lesson learned. Jessa's bachelorette party will consist of jewelry making. She says they don't drink or dance...neither do I....but jewelry making?! Ick! That's something preteen girls do at a slumber party.

4. Duggar Dinner Party: Jeremy's friends meet the numerous Duggars at the tin mansion. Jim Bob shows up from wherever he's been to appear in this scene. I was starting to think he had been shipped off to Christian rehab. After dinner, the friends and other kidults go off to participate in an escape room adventure. This might be the most secular and interesting thing they've ever participated in. They are sure to fail.

5. Escape Room Party: For some reason, it's guys against girls. The guys piddle around and end up dying. Then the girls enter. It doesn't start well when one of the girls walks in and says, "Oh wow! It's a kinda room!" The fun starts right away when they begin breaking the furniture in the escape room. They know TLC will pay for the damage. In the end, the girls got further along in the game than the guys but they also died in the pretend volcanic eruption. I wonder if the producers helped them along a bit to try to show that these uneducated girls are smart and the educated (some of the guys) are dumb losers as a way to push the fundies' lame agenda that people don't need to have an education in order to be saved from exploding volcanoes. I beg to differ.

6. Golf Party: Jeremy comes to the golf course dressed in knickers. He's out to "intimidate". I'm wondering why none of the Duggar brothers were invited to golf or did they just choose not to go. Is golfing on the same par as dancing? Pun intended. What happens after the first lousy tee off is something from the Three Stooges. I'm just feeling blessed that Jim Bob didn't go on this trip and hump someone as he did on the minigolf course. I'm also feeling blessed that Derick didn't puke on the green. The producers ask the Duggars to describe certain golf terms and again they all embarrass themselves but I thought I would never see the day where I would rather hear Ben speak than Derick. There is something seriously wrong with that dude. Jessa describes a putter as "It's a special task like a little dude who runs around and grabs your balls." My first laugh of this episode. Maybe for the season. Yes Jessa, It's a little dude who grabs balls. Josh is now working as a putter in his spare time. I guess the producers and the Duggars think it's funny to have them answer questions that they have no clue how to answer. I think most of us just groan at them about how they enjoy exploiting their own ignorance.

7. Jewelry Party: Make me a noose necklace. They are making jewelry that the bridesmaids will wear at the wedding. Michelle and the older girls are there as well as Josie. I'm sure Josie was thrown into this scene to again push their anti-abortion agenda because she was a survivor of an abortion. If the Duggars succeed in making it illegal for women like Michelle to stop a pregnancy due to medical emergencies then children like Josie and her mommy will die. We all have to hope the Duggars never succeed in overturning anything but a golf cart. Be truly pro-life! The jewelry topic soon turns to first kisses which gives them the opportunity to show old clips of other weddings. Joy talks about missing Jinger when she moves. She says Jinger does all the grocery shopping and all of the laundry. What the heck does Michelle do is the age-old question. I know! She spends her time researching Bible verses that are about how to guilt your children into being your slaves.

8. Party of Fools: Back at Jill and Derick's mansion witch is really Jim Bob's mansion, Jill is letting Izzy drink cold tomato sauce out of a can with a straw. Of all my years working with children, I have never heard of anyone allowing a child to drink tomato sauce. It is too acidic and full of salt and sugar. Jill says it's Izzy's favorite snack. Later we find out that Derick's dad died of long term complications from having high blood pressure. That alone is a great reason to keep his grandson away from high sodium products. Jill and Derick need to attend parenting classes fast! Derjill are going to OSU again! To be Pistol Pete, again! They're taking grandma Cathy this time. Derick reminisces about his father who was also Pistol Pete. Time to play, The Duggars are Idiots game! The producer asks them, "What is homecoming." The Duggars are absolutely clueless and proud of it. Jeremiah finally admits, "We're homeschooled. We don't know what that is." They don't know much about nothing.

9. The Party's Over: After the parade and terrifying Izzy with the Pistol Pete costume the family heads to the university to walk down memory lane. We have learned in this episode that Derick has little mind of his own. He took up the same sports as his dad. He went to the same college as his dad. He became Pistol Pete like his dad. I'm surprised he didn't become a cop like his dad. Jill then breaks a commandment by lying. She says her parents have said that after finishing homeschool high school that her siblings can choose to go to college. BULL PUCKY! Jill has said in the past that she wanted to go to college to become an RN but her parents said no. They instead encouraged her to take online classes to become a barely a midwife. Josh had long talked about becoming a lawyer and that never happened. Joseph went for one year to get some useless Bible certificate at a Christian college but that was not really getting a college education. The Duggar kids are brainwashed from birth to not even think about college. They think it's Satan's playground plus they're too cheap and people are easier to control when they have less education. Jill, stop breaking commandments and tell the truth. Stop covering up for your parents' crazy beliefs. The Dillards then visit Derick's old dorm and tell the story of Rick Dillard's death which brings this episode to a grinding halt. The party is definitely over.

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golfiyauniversity00 · 5 years ago

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Golf Tips - The Fundamentals Of Golf Putting

All of the great putters in world such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Brad Faxon may have slightly different putting styles, but they all have many things in common - the golf putting fundamentals.

In this article I am going to look at some (but not all) of the golf putting fundamentals, tell you why they are so important in the putting stroke, and also give you some tips to ensure you are getting these golf putting fundamentals right.

Wrist movement

There should be absolutely NO WRIST MOVEMENT at all during the putting stroke. This is very different to the way golf was played until relatively recently (from around the late 1970's).

If you have a look on YouTube and search for 'Shells Wonderful World of Golf' you'll find some great old golf footage from many decades including the 1960's. Have a look at a couple and you'll be amazed at how even the great golfers of their day had some very strange, and often very wristy, putting strokes.

Knowing how the modern game is taught I am always astonished that they could hole so many putts in those days!

If you have any wrist movement in your putting stroke you will find it very difficult to control the pace of your putts. This is because by using your wrists you are 'flicking' at the ball, and the speed of the putter head is going to increase as you do this. It is very difficult to do this reliably.

With wrist movement you're also likely to have poor alignment of the putter head at impact - something I discuss in more details a little later. This can cause you to miss short putts.

So - how can you remove any wrist movement from your putting stroke?

There are a couple of ways, including some training aids. But here is one simple way to (a) remove wrist movement and (b) check that you don't have any. Many golfers swear to me that their wrists are not moving when putting, but I can assure you they are - and I usually prove it to them by videoing them.

Firstly put your putter down. Take your normal putting stance and get ready to take a stroke - but still without a putter. Now CLOSE YOUR EYES. Make some practice strokes focusing 100% on your wrists and make sure there is NO wrist movement at all.

Now pick up your putter and repeat this exercise with your EYES CLOSED. Really be honest with yourself - are your wrists moving? Even 1mm is too much!

Finally hit some putts with golf balls, but again with your EYES CLOSED. Again focus on your wrists - don't worry where the ball is going... Are your wrists moving at all?

The most difficult part of this is to keep all wrist movement out of the putting stroke on the golf course when under pressure. But that will only come with practice and good control of your emotions.

Body movement

In a similar vein to no wrist movement, your body (torso) should not move / sway at all during the putting stroke.

This is because it will upset your alignment, and on short putts any mis-alignment however small can mean the difference between making or missing a putt. Remember - you only have to miss a putt by 1mm and it's a shot gone. Missing a fairway or green by a couple of feet rarely costs you so dearly.

So - how do you ensure your body is not moving?

Firstly you need to have a good set up with a solid platform. I cover this in detail in my golf putting lessons, but the key is to have your feet shoulder width apart and the weight spread evenly between both feet.

Now - again CLOSE YOUR EYES. Make some practice strokes and really focus on your body. Is it moving? Again even 1mm is too much.

I think you'll be amazed what you can feel yourself doing when you close your eyes.

If you feel your body moving simply try again until you feel absolutely no body movement at all.

Alignment

There are two elements to alignment when putting. Firstly you need to ensure your putter head is aligned at exactly 90 degrees to the target line when you strike the ball. If this is not correct you have no chance of hitting the ball at your target.

A good way to check this is to practice the 'push putt'. Working only on some SHORT putts, practice pushing the ball into the hole instead of making an actual swing. You'll find it surprisingly difficult to start with, but stick at it. When you start making these putts reliably, move a little further away from the hole and start taking small putting strokes. If your alignment is still correct you should hole plenty of putts. If you're missing move closer to the hole and practice some more on the 'push putt'. Please bear in mind a push shot is illegal on the golf course.

The other part of alignment that MUST be correct is your body alignment. This includes feet, hips and most importantly your shoulders. They must all be parallel to your target line.

Again I have a complete lesson in my golf putting lessons just covering alignment where I show you what the perfect alignment is and how to check yours is correct.

Controlling pace

On all but the shortest of putts, by far the most important factor in any putt is the PACE.

It is one thing to judge the pace - which mostly comes from experience and knowing how to read greens - but it's no good if you can judge the pace but not control it.

In theory controlling the pace of a putt is one of the simplest parts of putting. Simply make a longer swing to increase the pace for longer putts, and make a shorter swing to reduce the pace for shorter putts.

It's as simple as that.

The 'problem' is that people use muscles to control the pace of putts, and this is not only not necessary - it's also incredibly hard to do.

In order to try and master this, again take out your putter and hit some golf balls with your EYES SHUT. Just focus on rocking the shoulders back and forth varying the length of your swing. Focus on NOT using any muscles in your arms or hands - simply rock those shoulders back and forth.

Now open your eyes and repeat the exercise. Notice how the ball travels different distances with different lengths of swing - NOT how hard you hit it using your muscles.

Once you've mastered this, just gauge how far back and forward you need to swing the club for any given putt and then just rock your shoulders [https://golfuniversityau.com/]. Don't be tempted to use any muscles at the point of impact.

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