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katewaliss · 4 years ago

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! write with me or fight with me!

you either die by my sword or the most painful head canons imaginable! *merida vc* choose yer fate

just kidding!

hey there gaymers, i am crissy! i am 22, live in pst, go by she/her pronouns and honestly would very much like a distraction from life -- preferably in the form of 1x1 and rp in general. i am currently doing online school plus trying/failing at adulting, being a crazy pink haired college student living on microwave dimsum with my crazy fluffy demon cat, but that still leaves me with a lot of time and what better way to spend that time then crying and dying, am i right, boys?

so without further ado ( adieu? idk gusundheit ) here are a list of discomboblulated plot things that have been floating around in my head that i might be fun to do ( plot fragments, ideas, ocs, fcs i like, settings, genres etc )! i’d prefer a message if u liked any of these in the inbox or dm form, my tumblr ims are open and my discord user is mr. worldwide#2918 ( pitbull supremacy ) but if ur shy i will message u and be annoying!

lastly: i prefer hcing in the dms to replies, however i will do replies/ask memes slowly, i don’t really like making blogs and prefer google docs/discord and i ask ( gently and respectfully ) that minors do not interact.

thank u and happy hunger games! xx

COLLEGE TOTALLY SPIES -- i was really obsessed with this picture right here and i thought that the picture would be a good premise for a little four person group based on totally spies. i was thinking that these three college students/young adults some friends maybe not some enemies or just on completely different ends of the social agenda get bonded together when they accidentally end up roped in a top secret spy organization that is fronted by a record store. the details and flesh of the plot i think would be cute to figure out all together maybe in a google doc or a big discord so we can make the rp to perfect world building specifications. right now i have two spots open!

my friend lexi over at comradc has taken the cool goth asian girl and is using lyrica okano

i am playing the freckly backwards hat lesbian in the red polo named aj mccallis and i think im using diana silvers ( not sure might switch to tati rodriguez )

we also have the cute blond girl w the dyed hair who is giving me kind of like sydney sweeney energies, blonde girl maybe like lalisa manoban/jinsoul,

and we have the rad black girl with the bandids who i would only accept black fcs for for such as diamond white, ryan destiny, salem mitchell,

i’d prefer if this stayed kind of sapphic and female and enby friendly. we can def make make npcs and characters but i’d prefer if the characters looked like they do in the picture ( minus the white girls who can be racebent as long as there are vibes ) mostly bc i want the poc people to stay the correct poc! but yeah! if u like this message me specifically!!!!! seperately and hit me w a role ud like maybe an fc an idea anything < 3 im working on a google doc and discord sever

- i really want to play a himbo skater boy evan mock like its my dream i know nothing abt him other than he probably goes by something like mouth or juice or tris or dex or dante but !!!! he has buzzed hair he buzzes designs into, does stick n pokes, hates cops, will kiss anyone, likes to mosh at house shows, smokes a lot and sounds like crush from finding nemo, probably ur parents worst nightmare if im honest rodrick heffley energy -- adopt him for any plot

- i also really am obsessed with simay barlas who is my mascot rn -- i want to play her in some sort of dark academia setting with like gossip girl blair waldorf energies lu from elite and have her be really mean and cold and pretentious and play the cello and probably have secrets and be uptight idk the name mallory is resonating hard w me ( we could even do a gossip girl the secret history type group if people liked that )

-ok i also really really want to play streak aka silas montgomery who is like very like sidekick best friend to the golden boy main character, does a kick ass goat impression, class clown, relentlessly hits on like the most difficult person in school, does crazy things for laughs and attention, just wants to make people happy, only wears hawaiian shirts, finger guns, is going nowhere in life, his dad is probably the dean at whatever prestigious school also he is very very depressed and drinks often! love u! a I Feel Like Im The Worst So I Always Act Like Im The Best electra heart baby PINTEREST

also yes his hair is pink reg verse he did it on a dare but hp verse he did a potion wrong and it never came out

SOMEONE DO A LADY HANNIBAL WILL GRAHAM RP KILLING EVE RP W ME! i made this will graham adjacent gal for a genderbent hannigram rp her name is bisexual disaster enida johnson and sometimes goes by needy or will bc her middle name is willamena! has basically all the will things wears flannels is a mess but has a bunch of cats instead of dogs in her woods log cabin and im using crystal reed bc it fits perfect in my head idk if u like her hmu hit me w a lady hannibal PINTEREST

other stuff

ok i really want to do a princess and knight plot but with knight zendaya and princess anya taylor joy ???? ALKHALKSHALK LITERALLY HELLO literally modern or like dnd style i do not care but know i love dnd! we could make it like them goin on some skyrim quests like hi

speaking of dnd and skyrim if anyone wants to do like anything based in dnd stuff or skyrim stuff i am DOWN

jennifers body plot!!!! maybe set in college!!!!! sounds spicy i will do a f/f or m/m version leggo leggo

UNTIL DAWN UNTIL DAWN!!!! i wanted to do a little like 6 person or mumu until dawn thing where everyone either makes new characters or characters based on the existing six! i made a girl adjacent josh character named riley PINTEREST who i love very much ( fc might change im thinking maybe medallion rahimi ) pls hmu if ur down

i looooooove breakfast at tiffanys!!!! like i really love breakfast at tiffanys we love a call girl broody author ship and i want to play a mishti rahman holly golightly type character so so bad

pygmalion plot!!! basically like an author and the main character of their book comes to life and the book character is probably from a different period of time or realm so doesnt know how to do modern 2020 stuff like microwaves and the tv! and then maybe they get sucked into the characters book world thats written by the author and have to navigate that! enchanted! w the kdrama! energy!

GOSSIP GIRL PLOT ENERGIES

any sort of the secret history murder society until dawn ahs horror type setting i am on a kick rn

i still really want a deaf sailor and siren plot bc that is so spicy or even like anything involving sirens like maybe one thats like vegetarian and doesnt like to eat humans so it ariel rescues one and keeps it safe!! or like only men are susceptible to the sirens song but aha! i am a woman! Romance!

anything in the realm of percy jackson i love mythology lets go i kind of want a echo narcisuss plot and i want it to hurt me so bad

i will do harry potter stuff but only if its completely removed from the current canon like years in the future no existing families also maybe beauxbatons salem and drumstrang plots bc thats what matters

iiiiiiiii really like anime so i will do anything kakegurui, soul eater, ohshc

i kind of like grew up on the hunger games so i will gladly take any hunger games plots like young effie and haymitch is spicy or like a career tribute and one of the weaker poorer distracts enemies to lovers leggo

i have a kind of oc that had their parents die in a factory gas leak that was the governments fault and it turned them into a vigilante assasin that is slowly picking off bootlicker government people one by one pretending to be one of them until bam! gets attached to the rich asshole son or daughter of the head hauncho or one of the higher ups ... drama

rich little celebrity fussy wussy being held captive by the mafia and the tired stoic mafia guard but they fall in love

i kind of like any plot that involves one person that is really loud or angry or dramatic or whiny and the other one is kind of sweet and gentle or does not talk much idk make brain happy

speaking of!

no nonsense law student studying abroad in a european country and an artist there falls in love w them and is all romantic and gush and is like ur my muse!!! and they are like Go awAy and they explore the city together and themelseves its nice!

i want to be an avan jogia super villain idk why i need to but i do

not to be a disney adult bc i am not but anastasia princesses dont kiss kitchen boys

rival cheer captians? best friends brother? pop princess celebrity singer and like antiestablishment really angry rockstar in a publicity relationship? broody detective and sunshiney diner person that works at the diner they eat at everyday?

idk i will think of more hmu these can all be made f/f or m/m if they arent

#1x1 #1x1 rp #1x1 roleplay #plots #this is so long and messy and weird idk it repeats a lot hit me up im emabrrassed already

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cloveroctobers · 4 years ago

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HARRY ZHONG (MITCHELL-WHITE)

IG info/bio: @/heedful.harry | 15.6k followers| hi, I’m Harry and I’m a business major. No, You don’t have to hold your applause 🧐

21 years old

From York, England

Cancer sun + ARIES MOON energy

He and his younger brother, Archie were foster children in the Mitchell-white household

which consisted: Harrison Mitchell and his daughter from a previous marriage, Briony, Piers White and together they had a surrogate carry their child, which gave them their second daughter, Pippa

Later they came to the decision to adopt Harry and Archie Zhong, if only that’s what they wanted too

It took longer for Harry to warm up to the family since he was still waiting and wishing for his mom to come back for them

He was diagnosed with IED around 15 years old

Goes to therapy for it and meetings with others with similar issues...he dreads the meetings since it makes him feel like he has a problem or something, which HE DOES but it makes him feel like a...but he knows that’s a ignorant way to think

He’s currently a business major and loves telling people about it *yawn* (don’t drag me lmao)

He’s thinking he’ll be a Financial analyst or a Marketing manager

The type of person who’s done a lot in his short life that it’s often unbelievable ex.) telling the villa he’s driven one of the cars that was used in the fast and furious franchise & getting pissed when bill and everyone else didn’t believe him

Harrison is a train driver and is normally bubbly + wears bright preppy clothes

He also loves Broadway, much to Harry’s annoyance...if he hears one more Hamilton song he’s gonna slam his head thru a wall stg

Piers is a music producer and is more reserved or “stand-off-ish” until he gets warmed up to you + his aesthetic is a rocker, yeah he’s got the whole tattoos and boots thing going for him, after all he was in a rock band

Piers makes the most $ and is of high status, which brought him and his family perks but is not a snob about it...it’s whatever ya know?

Harry’s closer to piers, feels he understands him more & can be kinda rude to Harrison when he’s in one of his moods but tries to be better at responding to him since he made him cry once years ago — yes he felt like complete shit afterwards

Harry is anemic so he always finds himself cold, experiencing fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and if he gets up too fast or moves too fast? Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the—FLOOO000R! (I’m making this joke as a person with anemia)

Likes cold weather since everyone else can feel what he feels on the daily

Plus he loves dressing for winter season, trench coats, wool coats, turtle necks, thermal t-shirts, fleece pants, rolled up beanies that keeps his ears covered and his hair glued to his forehead...you name it!

On the regular? He’s a khaki’s kinda guy, dress shirts, and loves wearing suit and ties...he’s not the biggest fan of jeans. He loves dressing fancy unless the measurements are bloody awful

I’m going by the alternative design for Harry and...whew! Then he’s 6’1 if we’re talking about the one they gave us then we all know he has a baby face, so I’d say he’s about 5’8

He’s got long legs + arms and hates how majority of his pants barely fit around his ankles

has dry scalp too

I feel like he’s pretty intelligent and sometimes it can come off as a know it all, yet, he’s always down to help people & isn’t condescending while doing so

He knows how to make soaps and would sell them on his etsy account in highschool where plenty shat on him for it so for awhile he stopped the hobby until Harrison encouraged him to keep at this if it was what makes him happy

Harrison is the type of parent you go to for comfort and hugs even if it might feel like he’s smothering you

Piers is the one who lets you come to him when you’re ready to talk about it, no pressure

Harry went to a high school that focused on technology so he’s all into the latest gadgets

This is a secret but he only got a apple watch to feel like a true spy

His intelligence got him somewhere with a few ladies ;)

He’s a certified freak, 7 days a week and had a handful of hookups and about 4 gfs in his life so far

He’s kinky!!!

& has a f**t fetish

His past relationships were not long relationships, which sucked but Harry felt like...this might sound arrogant, but it’s either their lost — although there was never any bad blood with his breakups! or his person was still out there somewhere...

I haven’t fully played his route (AJ stole my ass since I couldn’t romance seb or Nicky sorry) but I’ve seen screen caps and he’s a total sweetie if he’s really committed to you, you might be his “true love”

He’s nervous opposed to his usual confidence when he’s chatting to other ladies with ease, with you it’s different, it’s magnetic, nerve-wrecking, butterflies, electric, and exciting all wrapped in one

I feel like he shows his love language with quality time but also enjoys physical touch from his partner

Picky eater

But he was worst as a child! Barely ate anything which led to him being lanky or it’s in his genes but mostly he wouldn’t eat a damn thing

These are a few of his favorite things: figs, green tea, and almond milk

makes the best spring rolls with the rice paper, those are superior than fried! “Fried food will kill u u know!” “Okay bill.” “Iona, don’t know if u had too much to drink but, erm I’m Harry.” “R/WHOOOOssssh! And you’re s’pposed to be the smart one, yeah right.”

outside of the villa he found himself continuing his friendship with bill—even tho he pisses him off sometimes since he’s always got some shit to say but they’re probably the closest, Iona she’s always honest and is always a good time to be around when they hang out, Then there’s Camilo and Miki that he hangs out with too

Is the first one sharing about his day in the group chat with all of the villa, he can feel half of them rolling their eyes at him since many feel he tends to exaggerate

if he’s not endgame with mc...he kinda feels a way that Genevieve found her happiness in seb instead of him, it’s not that he’s bitter—he genuinely liked her and felt like maybe they didn’t try hard enough but deep down knows relationships can’t be forced. It’s just his ego trying to control things that’s all! plus he was comfortable with vieve even if it felt more on a platonic side...oh well

once slid into jen from s1’s dms one dark stormy drunk night & admitted on live that erikah kinda gave him some tips before going on the show... & that he thought one of the new girls that entered the villa was a better fit than one of the originals from s2 which caused him to get blocked by said original OOP

Has a circle of close friends outside of the villa, they’re all brainiacs and have something going for themselves

Enjoys action films and biographical drama films like: James Bond, John Wick, and the social network

Isn’t ashamed to admit that he loves using sheet face masks but isn’t the greatest at following a consistent skincare routine

Has his own back massager that he spent a lot of $ on since it wouldn’t go on sale and then a week later...it went on sale

sends a lot of “🙃🙂” texts when you piss him off

probably worked at GameStop, the apple store, Godiva, and currently works at a electronic repair shop for a side of cash but is looking for a internship since he’ll be graduating next year

Always Keeps cough drops on him?

is a huge cuddler & falls asleep easily

His brain is always active, experiences REM sleep often

fav video games are tekken & hitman

owns a drone now 😏

also loves strategic board games & riddles

Took quarantine life seriously, did his research before it completely broke globally and started buying shit excessively in person and online that he sent most to his family before the campus shut down

Is the friend that will check on his friends :)

Keeps his dorm and his room back home CLEAN af, is OCD about everything being in order/organized. Will know if you touched his shit, Archie felt his wrath many times before

Has a life goal board in his closet, & plans to be fully established by 25. More power to ya Harry!

Celeb crushes: Victoria justice, Jesy Nelson, Deepika Padukone, Brec Bassinger, jasmine tookes, and princess Mae

Who does he listen to? oceanfromtheblue, Galimatias, Ta-Ku, Aries, Tyler, the creator, rich Brian, NIKI, viji, & AJR

Anthem = DPR IAN, “So beautiful”

#litg #litg3 #litg s3 #litg harry #litg genevieve #litg bill #litg seb #litg mc #litg oc #litg moodboard #litg headcanon #litg headcanons #yes I’m still doing these and it’s kinda challenging but at the same time not?

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puzzlepcice-a · 5 years ago

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* RESIDENT EVIL STARTERS ! @merceditaes: “ where are you taking me ? ”

❛ 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. ❜ 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 she led the way down the graffitied hallways. the thought of blindfolding mercy DID cross her mind, just for the dramatical effect. but clementine quickly realized how much of a bad idea that really was. maybe it was best to save those cheesy moments for when it came time to exchanging gifts during christmas time. night had come & the entire boarding school fell into content quiet, but being a NIGHT-OWL by nature now && ensuring aj was fast asleep before making her quick escape & grabbing mercy under the guise of a ‘patrol’ work, she decided that now was a good as time as any. however, as she neared the door that concealed project she had been working with willy on for the last WEEK or so, the more her palms started to sweat. she’s tried to keep a certain level of confidence about showing mercy, but rounding the corner, her steps halted outside a room. it was just another testament of how nervous she not only made her, but how much she really VALUED mercy’s opinion. hand curling around the handle, clementine silently prayed she’d at least tell her if she didn’t like it, turned it, & pushed it open. inside the room was two sets of cushioned lounge chairs in place where the obvious imprint of a bed used to be in the space, couches that were more or less salvaged from both the storage rooms & barricades && cleaned as best as able, a furry, old purple rug that was still soft to the touch. across the window hung a worn, red banner that was decorated in a mixture in uneven & even letters ( giving away who exactly was in charge of design ) spelling out ‘ MERCY’S DEN ‘. bright green and blue beanbag chairs positioned enough to give enough walkroom, candlelight's illuminated the room on the nightstands && gave a cozy ambiance to the room. old, cosmopolitan, vogue, & seventeen magazines stacked on each other with a couple old school board games && a mini stack of books ( at least, the more interesting ones that willy got from the library ) on the top shelf they implemented. standing aside, clem let her take in the refurbished space, teasing her lower lip between her teeth as she anticipated her reaction . ❛ so, whaddya think? ❜ she braves in asking. ❛ our talk the other day got me thinking about how much you could use your own space to just do you, so I got willy & aj to help me put this room together. y’know, in case you just want somewhere quiet, but not your room. ❜ she explained. a bright grin emerging across her lips as her eyes panned around the interior. ❛ we’re missing a place to put ALL the junkfood like doughnuts, candy bars, cheese & pepperoni pizzas, but that's what the magazines are for. ❜ really, she wanted some part of this school feel a little closer to HOME for mercy.

#merceditaes #/ » no bites . still with me? « ┊ *SEASON 4 ┊ ic.#V. END OF THE ROAD ╱ completed act one.#🥺

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frankbelloriley · 6 years ago

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top ten wrasslin’ matches of 2018

So before I get into this, I’m gonna lay down some ground rules--well, more like tell you the rules I gave myself and those rules are 1) did it make me laugh a bunch and forget about how stupid the world is? (which is the basis for every one of these kinds of lists really) 2) would I show this to someone who had never seen wrestling before? and 3) one (1) match per episode/pay-per-view with one (1) exception for a good reason With that in mind, I’m going to get some honorable mentions out of the way:

Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho for the IWGP US Championship, and the Fatal Four Way for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship between Marty Scurll, KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi, and Will Ospreay from Wrestle Kingdom 12-- they’re all really good and fun and worth checking out, but another Wrestle Kingdom 12 match is going on this list

The other two Chris Jericho NJPW matches versus Tetsuya Naito and EVIL--not on this list literally only due to the “one match per ppv” rule, but they’re all very fun, Chris Jericho is delightfully dickish and you should watch them in order to see Chris Jericho become a progressively more goth dad (he out gothed a dude named “EVIL” (all caps theirs, not mine) that’s how goth Chris Jericho got)

As much as it pains me and as much as it is a testament to what good wrestling there was in 2018, none of the Johnny Gargano-Tommaso Ciampa matches (1, 2, 3, which I can’t find online and whatever) are on this list (my favorite is probably their second match), and neither is Velveteen Dream-Tommaso Ciampa which rips (can I interest you in a fight between a Prince inspired wrassler who refers to himself in the third person and whose act became a giant subtweet of Hulk Hogan against just the biggest asshole in the world?). There is only one Johnny Gargano match on here, and if I’m writing a list of the best character arcs in 2018, the list goes Gargano’s redemption only to succumb to the dark side, Kazuchika Okada’s existential crisis after losing the championship, and Becky Lynch becoming The Man in that order. Becky’s arc really only started four-five months ago and much of it was spent by creative trying and utterly failing to get the crowd to boo her, and Okada’s arc was, by design, slow and frustrating after he lost the championship, but Gargano basically started the year as Luke Skywalker getting his hand cut off and ended the year as Kylo Ren yelling at a ghost on the salt planet, with every character turn making sense. It’s fascinating.

Speaking of, no Aleister Black-Johnny Gargano at NXT War Games 2 match which might be as pure a classic wrestling story as there is, second only to the Gargano match that is actually on here. (In real life, Aleister Black hurt his leg, so in story, they explained it that he got attacked in the parking lot by an unknown person, so the mystery of who attacked him would go on for months (coincidentally the same amount of time it would take someone to recover from an injury like Aleister Black’s) until Johnny Gargano fessed up to the act by kicking him in the face, so now Aleister is seeking justice. Wrestling is delightfully extra.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs Asuka TLC match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship (no link, couldn’t find)-- whew (not “woo” in this house we boo the woo) Asuka was finally Asuka again (her first and last ppv matches in 2018 (this and against Charlotte at Wrestlemania) are super great and everything else is super not), Becky Lynch continued being the actual greatest, and I literally do not know how Charlotte Flair did not end up in the hospital after this. It’s not making the list for how the match ends in bullshit fashion even though it ends perfectly in character with consistent story logic (a pleasant fucking surprise from WWE especially considering, again, the rest of Asuka’s year)

None of the Shayna Baszler-Kairi Sane matches (can’t find NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4, but I found Evolution and NXT War Games II) (NXT was really good this year), which is a shame because all of which are great, but my personal favorite is on Evolution, and another match beats it out. As I’m writing out the list, I realized there aren’t a bunch of women’s matches, but that’s because WWE’s creative ideas for its women’s division was garbage until the Becky Lynch turn happened in August and got a crowd reaction they super didn’t want and tried to change until they were finally forced them to lean into it. However, Evolution was easily the best main roster WWE ppv.

Nothing from All In literally only because that show is for Wrestling Fans, and this list is supposed to be a “if you’ve never watched wrestling in your life” list. All In is good good fun, but if you show it to someone who’s never seen wrestling before, they’re gonna ask why are there dick druids, and you’re gonna have to explain that Joey Ryan, a dude who wrestles with his dick, came back to life after being murdered and the number one suspect was the guy from Arrow (really). Get into wrestling, then watch that PPV.

Good god, that’s a lot of honorable mentions. Anyway:

10. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, an open Intercontinental Championship Challenge on Monday Night RAW, August 27th - this is just a really fun wrestling match between two talented guys who were stuck in other feuds that were prolonged needlessly in 2018, and it was just fun to see these guys branch out, do something different, and tear the house down against each other like, “oh yeah, these two are really good at what they do, I almost forgot.”

9. Andrade Cien Almas vs. AJ Styles - Smackdown Live on September 18--Like Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins, AJ Styles was stuck in bad storylines that meant to make him look like a strong champion but ended up making him look like a plot armored goober. Here we have the story of the cocky upstart Almas taking the veteran champion Styles to his absolute limit with a finish that is smooth as hell.

8. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Dominion on June 9th - Spoiler for the number two entrant but this is where I’m breaking the “one per ppv rule” because Hiromu Takahashi has a broken neck and no one knows if he’ll ever wrestle again, so this might be his swan song. (He doesn’t break his neck in this match, I wouldn’t introduce him like that) These are two dudes who flip with zero caution to themselves with some incredible flippy shit. Watch it and pray for Hiromu to make a full recovery.

7. Six Man Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship with Adam Cole, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, EC3, Killian Dane, and Lars Sullivan - Okay, so, about this. Excepting Killian Dane and maybe Lars Sullivan, everyone here has had a better match elsewhere this year (Lars probably had a better match against Keith Lee, Adam Cole had his best match against Ricochet, Ricochet and EC3 had their best matches against Velveteen Dream, and Velveteen Dream had his best match against Tommaso Ciampa), but everyone gets a moment to shine here, and this is the NXT introduction of Ricochet who is basically a flippy videogame cheat code who is made out of some sort of alien substance. At one point the two large men Lars Sullivan and Killian Dane toss Ricochet across the ring to each other like they’re playing fucking catch. It’s hilarious and maybe the fifth most insane thing that happens here. If someone was to come up to me like, “I know nothing about wrestling, what should I watch to find out if I like it?” I would probably show them this.

6. Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii, G1 Tournament Match - I’m laughing just thinking about this match. I don’t think anyone would call Tomohiro Ishii the best wrestler in the world, but I love him with my heart. Kenny too, but a boyish giggle comes out of me every time Tomohiro no sells someone slapping the utter shit out of him and he says (presumably) something like “that it?!” (I’m a fan of this gif of Pete Dunne slapping a no-selling Tomohiro for Pete Dunne shaking his hand afterwards. Physical comedy!). Anyway, the story here is Kenny Omega has gone 6-0 in this tournament, Ishii (who he has a competitive history with) has gone 0-6 in the tournament, so Kenny takes him for granted and when he realizes his opponent won’t go down that easily, it’s too late. It’s quick, it’s fast paced, and very fun.

5. Meiko Satomura vs Mercedes Martinez, Mae Young Classic Quarterfinals - I had no idea who these women were before the Mae Young Classic, but I loved Meiko with her first match in it, while Mercedes was just, you know, fine. But this? Wheeew. Two veterans giving it their all, and if you don’t turn into a Michael Scott crying gif after when they show each other respect, we ain’t the same.

4. Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas, NXT Takeover: Philadelphia - Going with this one because it’s the most newbie friendly match, it kicks off Johnny Gargano’s year storyline at the finish, and Andrade Cien Almas is really really good at his job. It’s a simple “good guy versus arrogant heel” match, and Andrade comes out to a masked mariachi band as his entrance.

3. Kota Ibushi vs Cody Rhodes, Wrestle Kingdom 12 - there are probably better matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 but this is my list so fuck you but this is the match where pro wrestling finally clicked with me after starting to watch it because of GLOW. Folks, this is a 20 minute Jackie Chan fight with Kota as the daffy Jackie Chan-like hero and Cody as Anime Biff Tannen. It is fast, has some wild acrobatics, and it is funny as hell.

2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega, 2/3 Falls Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (Part 1, Part 2), NJPW Dominion on June 9th - If the last one was a comedy, this is an epic. This thing last an hour and a half, and it goes by in a flash. The entire Okada-Omega series is basically wrestling’s Lord of the Rings, and this is its Return of the King. The only reason it’s not number one because of the match’s lack of follow through in the months since, but man, this is great.

1. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair, Last Woman Standing Match at Evolution (start at 29:45 then watch the end here)- *types then deletes a bunch of unintelligible vowels* Okay, so this is the first match that really took advantage of the NXT Horsewomen since their call up in a good long while and it rules. I’d say Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch had been given nothing for 2018 until August, but “nothing” would be a step up in some cases *cough* group therapy *cough* *cough* Nia Jax injuring every single one of them plus others and the only reason she still has a job is that she’s The Rock’s cousin *cough* Charlotte had her Wrestlemania match against Asuka, but this? This is mean, this is rough, this is the story of a girl, no this is the story of two former friends wanting to throw the other through a table. When pro wrestling is bad, it’s “what the fuck am I doing with my life watching this shit” bad, and when it’s good, there is nothing like it. This is the latter (not the ladder, but there are those here).

#told myself to finish writing this so i can work on my 'the year in summation' text post which i've done every year since 2015 #'it's a nice idea and one i want to keep doing throughout the years

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eggscelsior · 7 years ago

Text

A Brief History Of Andrew’s Protective Streak

Andrew learned to do stick-and-poke tattoos during juvie. Nothing fancy; he had always been good at sketching, so his line art was crisp, and he could do shading easily enough by filling in the design with less passes of ink. It was amazing how much cooler a pubescent teen thought he looked with a dragon jabbed under his skin in blue ballpoint ink, instead of just doodled on top. That was, in fact, one of the top requests. Andrew considered it distastefully ironic - Dragon, Draco, Drake.

He was amused by the idea of stabbing “Drake” hundreds of times in black and blue. But why would anyone want that permanently etched into their body? Andrew had given himself enough marks to remind himself of the opposite: that Drake was temporary, that he could be outlasted. Andrew’s marks were carved as a distraction, dulling one kind of pain by making a fresher, sharper, controlled version. They were for endurance, not aesthetic. He covered his marks with black armbands, not filled them with ink. They were necessary but nothing to be proud of. Andrew had no urge to give himself a tattoo. But the favors he garnered in trade for his skill were invaluable.

~~~

No one had ever kept a promise to Andrew (Cass had maybe tried), and with a lack of any real thing worth living for, he’d decided to create his own value by keeping promises to others, as long as he gained something from it. Andrew made a business out of promising tattoos and following through. He was good at them. And he was good at protecting his goal, because it got him out of the juvie facility one Friday a month for “away” games.

And he might be good at protecting people, if they were people he decided mattered, and that felt…slightly more worthwhile than anything else. There was something in the concept of being needed that made living a bit more tolerable, a bit less boring. He'd hated the idea of a carbon copy brother that had been needed by the woman that birthed them in a way that she hadn't needed Andrew. He'd wanted no part of that shit. He had Cass. Aaron was not his problem. Aaron did not matter.

But then Drake had gotten interested. "Let him visit." "I want to meet him too." "All three of us will be brothers." "Twins are every man's fantasy, AJ. "You'll look so perfect in my bed together.” And suddenly Aaron needed Andrew, even if he didn't know it. Andrew was shocked how vehemently this hit him, how important a priority it immediately presented itself as. The first person who genuinely needed him. It was up to Andrew to keep the carbon copy cleaner than the original. No one deserved Drake, and this was something only he could be relied upon to protect against.

The only way to prevent Drake from eventually convincing Cass to have Aaron come visit, with or without Andrew’s approval, was to remove himself as well. He was used to being hurt, and to hurting himself, so he could handle this loss. Cass wanted to keep him but she didn't need him, like Aaron. So he did what he had to do and landed himself in juvie.

Then he actually met Aaron. Aaron’s mouth listed off the name of some girlfriend – his identical twin was straight? Huh. – and the name of a high school and a position as backliner on the school Exy team, blah blah blah small talk, but Andrew took one glance at the long sleeves and jeans during California summer – there was the edge of a bruise at the collarbone – and the posture – defeated – and the behavior – jittery, twitchy, he’d seen too many inmates crashing to not know Aaron was on drugs that were both addictive and strong enough to kill – and he decided that this carbon copy needed continued protection, lest he end up as marked up as Andrew after all, just by someone else's hand than Drake's.

“Uncle” Luther wanted to help “save” him from juvie, but wanted to send him back to Cass. He needed to go where Aaron was, so he shared a truth that he’d never wanted to voice out loud. Luther did not believe him, immediately marking himself off Andrew’s list of people who had a chance to matter due to blood proximity. Instead he guilted a promise out of the minister to keep other children out of Drake’s reach “in case they’re as incapable as me at ‘judging brotherly affection’ and would come out just as traumatized” and drummed up a cavalry march in Luther’s meddling missionary heart to bring Andrew “home” to his “mother” and brother.

Then he called in a lot of hoarded favors from his tattoo business: “accidental” conversations held within earshot of wardens that painted him in a good light, or at least, in a bad light with the bad crowds. A staged fight that he broke up peacefully, with sharp words and sharper stares, instead of with the fists the wardens knew he was so good with and the shivs he’d only ever been suspected of having. He even had a couple of recommendations from guards that had been impressed enough with his art to get inked by him themselves.

Pristine behavior, a winning streak for the Exy team, and his list of favors wouldn’t take too long to rattle up a parole hearing.

~~~

He was out of juvie, and he was busy. He had joined Aaron’s high school Exy team to keep an eye on him; it was still difficult to pin down all the times Aaron managed to pop pills, so he required observation. Andrew had made a very pointed promise to Aaron’s mother and was arranging to keep his promise because she wouldn’t fucking listen.

~~~

Tilda was dead, finally. It had been ruled an accident, as planned. Aaron was no longer attempting to speak to him, which was fine. He did not require his brother’s approval, just his dependence, and Andrew had fulfilled the promise to protect him. Aaron’s unexpected grief over his waste-of-oxygen mother was annoying, so Aaron glowering from across the room was better than Aaron grieving loudly.

Now was a good a time as any to get Aaron sober. It wasn’t like his twin could fill any more of Tilda’s prescriptions now that she was dead, and Andrew didn’t intend to let him go questing for more sources. So Andrew locked him in a bathroom with canned food – he tossed in Spaghetti-O’s along with the soups and green beans because he wasn’t a monster – and a pillow and waited for sixteen days.

He met with the lawyer in the meantime and signed off for the life insurance payout - A. Minyard. Not a lie. He bought the cheapest cremation possible and tossed the urn on Luther's front lawn for the bastard to make funeral plans around. He bought a car to replace the one he'd made Tilda wreck and put the car’s insurance policy in his own full name. He left Aaron's off. Aaron could depend on him to drive them.

Aaron emerged silent, sober, and craving grease. Andrew drove them to Sweetie's. His twin said nothing about the car, and Andrew didn't offer the spare key of a ninety grand vehicle to a just-barely-ex-drug-addict. There was no point bolstering temptation with means and opportunity.

Then Nicky showed up from Germany. Interesting, that his brother somehow turned out straight but his newfound cousin had managed to worm a gay gene out of Luther and Maria’s chromosomes. Less interesting was Nicky being a fucking chatterbox, making up for Aaron’s blessed silence in a way that no one asked for, as well as Nicky’s complete inability to defend himself even as he assumed guardianship of the twins.

Andrew did not have time to exchange a promise with Nicky in advance, he was too busy beating these four men who’d dared hurt his cousin like they were every man who had ever laid a hand on Andrew without consent. There were a lot of those. That meant a lot of beating. He nearly lost himself in the all-consuming violence tearing out of his core, and came out of the incident with a string of therapists and a bottle of literal happy pills.

They fractured his emotions from his rationality. He spent days with his eyes opened to how amusing and engaging the world could truly be, and then slowly he started to recognize the sick feeling in his gut and the constant edge of a headache throbbing in the base of his skull to the tune of but why is it funny? It’s not. It’s not funny. Stop it. Stop laughing. Stop laughing. STOP.

He became the dead hollow space rotting out the inside of a laughing shell. Why was he living, again? Oh. Promises. Protection. That was about all his brain could hold onto firmly while he was trying to scrape the corners of his ill-fitting smile off his own face with his fingernails. Weeks of practice tamed the giggles down to silent, hard-edged smiles. He could hear the world around his own laughter again.

God, who wouldn’t he kill to stop taking this medication? His brother. He needed to be needed. His cousin too, apparently. The promise was silent but he’d already paid out, so Nicky was his now. The rest of the world could fucking burn.

Aaron was edging away, though, drowning in the misplaced grief he refused to get over. But then Aaron’s girlfriend slapped him, yelled at him for not paying enough attention to her, grabbed his wrist too hard and bruised it. Aaron’s eyes said he couldn’t hit a woman. Andrew didn’t care if it was moral or a psychological remnant of Aaron’s mother’s abuse. A new promise was forged. Aaron was cemented at Andrew’s side through graduation. Andrew broke the girl’s arm and delivered the same promise he’d made Aaron’s mother. The girl quit school.

There were several other girls. Andrew struck preemptively at each. Aaron was his now, he had promised. His to protect. Something to continue living for. Women were nothing but trouble. They turned Aaron into a useless victim. Aaron hated him for his proactive violence, but Andrew only needed dependence to give him a purpose in life, after all.

~~~

And then the fucking Sons of Exy showed up and delivered a grand invite to join the Ravens after graduation.

First of all, it was laughable that they thought he’d leave the brother he was protecting behind to play a worthless sport.

Second of all, he was solidly unimpressed by Riko and Kevin. They were obsessed with Exy, and Exy to him had started as a literal temporary escape from prison and ended up a babysitting gig for his beat up strung out brother.

And third, their tattoos were tacky, unstylized computer font numbers, and unreflective of each boy’s potential in their chosen field. He informed Kevin of this quite pointedly, detailing his lack of interest in someone determined to make a career of coming in second, and the flash of fear in Kevin’s eyes at the implication of holding himself back to second place was…not quite amusing, and only vaguely interesting. It was not his problem. Kevin did not matter.

~~~

When graduation approached, Andrew paid attention. Nicky wanted to go back to Germany. Andrew hadn’t met and didn’t trust Erik, and wanted to delay that as long as possible. Worse, Aaron wanted to run off to college and be a doctor. Lofty goals for someone with shit grades after putting the high in high school several dozen times too many. He’d still try, though. He’d end up in a community college God knows where, no longer bound to Andrew’s side via their promise.

Andrew would not survive his medication without someone to protect.

When Wymack came knocking, Andrew seized the chance and reaped profit all around. Wymack agreed to let him bring his not-great-but-at-least-experienced family along on academic scholarship, and quietly agreed to let Andrew off his drugs for games. He’d seen tapes of Andrew before and after being assigned the pills, so he knew it was to his mutual benefit.

Aaron would get into college, shit GPA or no. The promise was reinstated another four years. Hopefully he’d learned his lesson on the last set of girls.

Andrew called in the favor for protecting his cousin and waited to see if Nicky would disappoint. Nicky waffled, he called his boyfriend-fiancé-whatever to get advice, and he finally caved and agreed a business degree would be good for him.

The drugs would wear off in two years. His promises would hold a little longer. Andrew had no fucking clue what he was going to do after that, but thinking about the future was a waste of time when he spent every spare minute keeping the Joker-laugh restricted to his face and out of his sane mind.

~~~

When Kevin showed up at Palmetto at the beginning of the spring semester with a shattered hand, looking as hollow as Andrew’s own chuckling corpse, he became a thing that mattered.

He promised Andrew a love of Exy – not feasible, but if protecting his goal could magically become a worthwhile purpose, then at least he’d have something to live for after his cousin and brother abandoned ship – and Andrew promised to keep him. Kevin’s life story was vaguely interesting, and Andrew wouldn’t mind breaking some parts of Riko permanently. He didn’t like abusers of his possessions. He stole Kevin’s phone, called up the prick, and made him some promises that involved ending up as bruised and bloody as his school colors. He hoped Riko wouldn’t listen.

~~~

When Neil Josten actually showed up at Palmetto after all promises otherwise, Andrew paid attention. Neil very quickly went from something pretty and mouthy that Andrew wanted to break for something akin to fun, to something he wanted to break to keep his protective promise to Kevin, and finally to something Andrew was going to keep for himself.

Neil's lies were aggravating. Trying to pick the truths out of the lies was interesting enough to keep him engaged. They made a game out of it. Neil was cheating; half the truths he said were not 100% truth. Picking those out was even more difficult. The idea of pushing Neil into full honesty – or at least approaching the asymptote, as one could only know another human being so well – was actually…more entertaining than he wanted another person to be. It felt like power over him.

He liked his foibles to be predictable: cigarettes, 20 to a pack, consumed at a speed he dictated. Crackers, consumed per the quantity that he ordered. Not Neil, who he always seemed to want more out of. More what, he didn’t know yet. He just knew that he gave away far too much information and far too much ground to this half-lie and what he got in return was not enough.

~~~

He was starting to understand what he wanted from Neil. He wanted another Roland. Lithe body, quick wit, good for occasional sexual impulses.

Except Neil didn’t swing, so that was out. It was a good thing Neil was holding Kevin anchored in Palmetto, or he wouldn’t be worth keeping, Andrew told himself.

And yet somehow Neil kept working more out of Andrew than he’d rightfully earned. An extra secret, on credit. Allowing Neil within closer-than-typically-acceptable proximity because he liked breathing Andrew’s smoke. Halloween with the upperclassmen. Dinner with Nicky’s worthless parents.

What the fuck was he giving so much away for?

The answer danced between them for a breath at Exites. He smacked a hand over Neil’s mouth and wasn’t quite sure which of them he was censoring, but the result was the same.

~~~

Drake. DRAKE.

He wasn’t even sure he was conscious. Everything was black, but that might have been a pillow? It was hard to breathe?

There, there was the old familiar pain. He was laughing. He watched his body react irrationally from the inside out. His hollow innards were infinite, pushing out against a heaving, giggling shell that was cracking.

~~~

Aaron. He hadn’t protected Aaron. There was blood on Aaron.

Aaron wasn’t hurt? Why was Aaron touching him. Why was he being touched?

Luther. He made his speech to Luther. Words years in the making.

The fucking drugs were sucking the vindication out of his voice, replacing it with a kind of sick, casual conversational pitch mixed with inane glee.

Sirens. He took off his knives. He already felt so exposed, and it had been only seconds.

Neil was touching him. Why?

No, the scars were personal. Neil hadn’t shared his, why the fuck should he be touching Andrew’s? A promise was delivered. Neil listened and let go.

Huh.

People were talking and his head was going to split open. The drugs were winding down and he was retaining snatches of the hospital room that he didn’t want to keep. A rape kit. Why? Drake was caught in the act AND dead. Intrusive. No. He punched the orderly. He was cuffed to the bed.

Outside he grinned at the expressions on the faces of this group of men he’d kept. He wanted to wipe them all off. His. Theirs. Fuck his chemical smile. Fuck their pity. Men didn’t depend on someone they pitied, and that was all Andrew had to live for. Fuck the drugs.

Bee wanted him off the drugs. He knew there was a reason he kept her around. But…he had promises to keep, and that took precedence. He was used to pain.

Abram. He challenged it just to be sure, but it felt true. He liked truth.

Oh. Neil let Andrew touch his scars, and wow. He’d survived a fair bit, it felt like. Those were true, too. Neil promised to keep Kevin alive, even though he was so prone to running himself, and Andrew thought of the way Neil had actually let go of his arm when Andrew told him to. It was just enough to make him trust, but only barely. Only temporarily. Only in the absence of any other viable solution.

It was time to get clean. Finally.

~~~

He fell back into old survival habits under Proust's hands. In the moments Proust “worked” on him, he distanced himself, like watching something bad happen to a stranger. He couldn't look away, but it wasn't happening to him. Afterward, he reiterated the promises Proust had ignored.

He spent group sessions silent and planning how to keep those promises. He spent individual sessions talking just enough to show them he was making progress towards release. He stole the absurdly heavy tungsten paperweight off the desk of the doctor weaning his drug dosage to aid the exercises he did in his room.

He got clean.

~~~

God. Fuck. The blue eyes were one thing, the hair was criminal. This was going to be a problem. Neil was still here, and he was pretty bruised up, so apparently he’d kept his promise against something without running away. Andrew was content with that. That story would probably be more interesting than a status report on the rest of the outside world, so he put it off till last and commanded Nicky to fill him in on everything else.

~~~

Neil had gone to Evermore. If he hadn’t outright broken his promise to stay by Kevin’s side and protect him, then he’d bent it over backward and fucked it with a rusted fork. Kevin had only been safe from Riko because Riko had been too busy with Neil.

Neil had marks from his past that he’d pressed Andrew’s fingers to, marks Andrew had considered intriguing but dismissed readily enough because it was before his time, before his promise. But this. He smashed the band-aid back against Neil’s cheek, unable to look at the tattoo any longer without needing to punch something, and Neil had been punched enough in the last two weeks to account for several lifetimes.

Andrew hadn’t protected Neil from this tattoo. Andrew couldn’t, because he was getting unfucked in the head and Neil had been a stupid fucking martyr. Proust. Neil had gotten this mark for Andrew, because of Andrew.

Neil had a tattoo that Andrew hadn’t put there. Riko had touched something that belonged to Andrew. Andrew hadn’t protected what was his.

Andrew scaled back the gaping chasm of rage. He wanted to slide out one of his newly-returned knives and carve the fucking tattoo off of Neil’s face. Neil looked like he wouldn’t mind. He scaled further back. He wanted to tattoo over it. Neil probably wouldn’t mind. He scaled further back. He would not do anything to Neil’s face right now because it would cause an adverse reaction from the shitstain roosting in Evermore.

Andrew was a creature that endured. He had patience. He’d kill Riko for this, eventually. For now he needed to focus on what was in front of him. He needed to focus on Neil, on making Neil promise to at least not purposely counteract his own safety.

“If it means losing you, then no.”

Damn the boy. He threw Neil’s keys off the roof and nearly threw himself off two minutes later when Neil wrapped his lips around Andrew’s cigarette filter. Andrew didn’t want a few of his skin cells touching Neil’s mouth, he wanted his tongue between Neil’s lips instead of that cigarette.

Neil’s auburn hair glinted in the sunlight and Andrew was not happy to realize that this was going to be different from Roland, if it was anything at all.

And it wasn't anything. How many times had Neil reinforced that he didn't swing? Neil wasn't flirting with that move. It meant nothing.

~~~

Abram, thought Andrew the first time he felt like touching himself after... everything that had happened in rehab. Abram. Cute old fashioned Christian name. Neil was probably circumcised. He wondered if Neil’s pubic hair had any of that pretty auburn tinge or if it was darker. He thought about Neil's lithe runner’s body and flat stomach and he pictured touching Neil's scars in a way that would make the boy shiver with desire instead of disgust. He wanted to see them.

He wondered how many practices he would get away with sabotaging before someone thought to try sending Neil on court to bargain with him.

Two, it turned out. He didn't hesitate to make his demand. Neil barely hesitated before agreeing.

~~~

He liked touching Neil’s marks of survival, but made sure to keep his touch impersonal. Andrew wondered which of them had more scars in total. Neil’s were obviously larger, and he found himself interested in their stories. The words leaving Neil's mouth were carefully measured and haunted, but they rang true. Andrew didn't feel like he was giving away more than he was getting, this time. He was getting closer to Neil's asymptote and it felt rewarding.

~~~

After admitting his physical attraction to the walking Exy disaster he’d been idiotic enough to keep - the miniature one, to clarify between the two - Andrew went through five cigarettes and spent Roland’s thirty-minute “lunch” break in the back room making out with and then blowing Roland close enough to heaven to yank out one of God’s omnipotent fucking leg hairs, and by the time he was done he had to admit to himself that he was picturing Neil the whole fucking time.

Neil was just a shiny new toy that he was being deprived of blowing. This was nothing.

~~~

It was probably nothing, anyway. At least the one kiss was nice, before Neil had a panic attack.

~~~

The kisses were very nice, actually, and touching Neil’s cock was very nice, and Neil’s orgasm face was actually kind of attractive, and Neil didn’t touch what he wasn’t supposed to. And when Andrew finally got bored, he could always go back to effortless, no-strings Roland.

~~~

This was nothing. This would never be a this.

~~~

“Anything,” Neil promised in return for something as silly as actual effort from Andrew at Exy. He could decide what he’d tattoo over Neil’s number after they won. He had a goal to shut down.

~~~

This would never be a this because Neil was gone, Neil was fucking gone, Neil was a hollow shell saying “thank you” but meaning “goodbye” and then HE WAS FUCKING GONE—

~~~

Neil’s tattoo was gone. Andrew wanted to vomit. Andrew also almost wanted to smile. Riko’s mark was gone from his property, his Neil. Fuck everything, Neil was alive, he could think later. For now, he had to keep the FBI’s filthy hands off his Neil and take him home.

~~~

Neil lay on his back in their bed in Columbia almost a year later. Andrew smoked by the window, watching contentedly as Neil drew lazy patterns against his own shirt.

“I’ve been thinking a lot…about getting a tattoo,” Neil said suddenly, but quietly, like it was a confession. It was almost a question. Andrew’s opinion obviously mattered, though Neil should be perfectly aware by now that Andrew’s interest would not be swayed by the quantity or type of marks marring his skin.

Andrew arched an eyebrow to indicate he should continue.

"I thought I'd never want one after Riko's, but the more I’ve considered it, the more I want to memorialize certain things on my skin. Marks I choose for myself, for once."

Memorialize. So help him, if Neil wanted his mother's name they were going to have a fight. Another useless, abusive female, surprise surprise. And people wondered why he didn't trust them as a rule.

“…A pair of crossed keys. The house key and…I haven’t decided which of the car keys yet, actually. The GS was “first” first, but the Maserati was the first one you trusted to me alone.”

Oh. Andrew exhaled a long stream of smoke in Neil’s direction as he considered this, watching it dissipate as it crossed the room. “Cars and houses change. The basic shape of the two key types don’t. Don’t be so specific. How badly do you want this?”

Neil thought about it seriously. “I’d get it today if I didn’t have one major problem: I’m not going to trust some random tattoo artist to look at my chest, and I want it here.” He touched himself to indicate.

Dead over his heart. Fucking romantic. Andrew sat up from where he leaned against the window, stubbed out his cigarette, and grabbed his laptop. He pulled up a YouTube video demonstrating stick-and-poke tattoos so that his skittish boyfriend wouldn’t bolt, and then walked out of the room to gather the supplies.

Neil was wide-eyed when he made it back to the room with a bucket of gathered up equipment and pulled out a new sewing needle, a pencil, thread, tape, and ink, along with sterilizing supplies. "You're not seriously suggesting I get an amateur tattoo with pen ink and a needle."

"Tattoo ink." Andrew shook the bottle at him, and then set it down to swab his desk off with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol. "Much better than ballpoint, and I've done plenty of good tattoos in ballpoint. You're not getting an amateur tattoo."

Neil scooted over to the end of the bed by the desk as Andrew lined up his supplies. “You have no tattoos.” Neil had earned the privilege of seeing Andrew fully naked about seven months after moving into Andrew’s room.

“I did it ‘professionally’ in juvie, and I was good enough that some of the guards even wanted a free tattoo done, so they got me real tattoo ink. This is a sealed bottle,” he assured Neil, tapping the lid.

Neil considered all of this. “You don’t do anything for free.”

“No. But favors go a long way in a prison.”

Neil nodded and obediently took his shirt off when Andrew flicked his fingers. He lay back down again, but tensed when Andrew disinfected the skin with brisk scrubs of an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

"Relax," Andrew ordered. "I've done hundreds of tattoos." He could feel Neil's pulse thumping rapidly against his fingertips. He uncapped a blue marker and Neil wordlessly dug in his pocket for keys to trace. Andrew shook his head, though, and Neil went still. He'd meant it: they would share more than one car and more than one house in their lives. Neil was memorializing a concept, not specific key teeth. He freehanded a hardware store house key and an unbranded car key in an X over Neil's hammering pulse. “I’m planning black ink with bold lines and some minimal shading. Unless you want something different.”

Neil craned his head up from where he was laying to look. His expression was pleased.

"Any changes?"

Neil thought a moment, then dug in his pocket again. He selected the key to the Foxhole Court and laid it vertically between the other outlines. This one was specific, so Andrew traced the teeth carefully. It was also a hardware store copy like the house key, so he thought a moment, and then drew a fox paw on the head. Neil smiled, wide and soft.

Fuck. He'd had to stop counting months ago. The percentage was getting too ridiculously high. He hated... He hated how Neil made him feel out of control. For years his reason for living had been curating others' dependence on him. Having his own needs and emotions depend so heavily on another person was terrifying, but he'd resigned himself to it.

And it was Neil. He could trust Neil.

“Can we make the paw orange?”

Andrew shook himself out of his own mind. “I’ll get some orange ink online. We’ll fill that in when it arrives.” He rubbed the design down with another alcohol swab followed by petroleum jelly, and then uncapped the bottle of black ink.

Neil froze again when he picked up the needle and sterilized it. He shot his boyfriend an unimpressed stare as he methodically wrapped thread around the tip, and tipped his chin sharply at a scar two inches north of his design. "You've literally been shot, Neil."

"Once. This is a lot of punctures, okay." Neil took a slow, steadying breath.

"It is not a big deal. I've tattooed twelve year olds that handled this with more grace."

"Then why don't you have any, if it's no big deal?" Neil shot back. "I've never even seen a tattoo artist with no tattoos."

Because I've never had anything worth inking, Andrew wanted to argue. But that wasn't entirely true. He'd had a few passing thoughts about the short list of things important enough to keep with him for the rest of his life. The things he was building his life on. Truth. And Neil.

Neil was actually quaking in their bed. He wanted this so much but was so irrationally afraid.

Andrew silently sat in the desk chair and lifted his left arm, propping his elbow on the desk. He gave his inner wrist a swipe with an alcohol swab, just above the arm band, drew what he wanted carefully, and then dipped his needle in ink and began.

It had been a long time, and it was an eye opening experience, marrying together the familiar resistance and yield of skin under the pressure of the needle with the small, sharp pierces that throbbed with his heartbeat in his wrist. On the whole, pricks hurt less than slices. It hurt, but it didn't bleed or linger beyond a raw throb. Neil would be fine. He saw Neil sit up in his peripheral vision, but Neil wasn’t watching the design, he was watching the angle of the needle. Andrew was done stippling the first layer in about five minutes.

“It’s shallower than I thought,” Neil commented when it was safe to speak without distracting Andrew.

“Deep enough to hold the ink, not deep enough to hit blood vessels or let the ink feather over the muscle.” He went over it again, making it darker.

Eventually Neil piped up again. “How did you learn? I thought tattoo artists generally practiced on themselves to figure it out. Who else would let them?”

Andrew kept his eyes on his work, dipping for fresh ink and falling back into the rhythm. Like riding a bike. He’d always been quite efficient and quick with his work. “You don’t learn on skin. You learn on fruit, like bananas and oranges. The peel has skin-like firmness.”

“And…does it hurt?”

Andrew stopped to wipe off the excess ink again, sending Niel a bored look. “Immensely. I am writhing in pain.” Neil shot him a look in return. “It’s just shallow pinpricks, idiot.”

After a third pass and wipe, he eyed it critically. "Yours will take a good deal longer than fifteen minutes because of the size and shading, but.” He twisted his wrist for Neil to see. “Nothing to it."

Copying was easy for him, with his memory. 'Abram' was written in Neil's handwriting.

There was not 'nothing' on Neil's face. Neil's breath hitched, and the sheer emotion in those pretty blue eyes threatened to drown them both.

Andrew covered Neil's eyes when he couldn't stand it anymore, but he bent forward for a lingering kiss at the same time. "Your turn," he murmured against Neil's lips, pressing his palm to Neil's design. Neil's heart was still pounding, though Andrew didn't think it was due to fear anymore. Good enough.

Neil shuddered under his touch and cupped a hand around his wrist, squeezing gently. Andrew let him, and didn't flinch, but he made a note not to touch Neil's tattoo when it was done.

He kissed Neil one more time, then patted his tattoo down with mild soap water, sealed it over with Neosporin and saran wrap. He re-sterilized and threaded his needle, and Neil let him begin to work.

#andreil #aftg #fanfic #up on ao3 if you prefer to read there

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dailyabx · 4 years ago

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Day 19

Hello! Today was my long day again. However, from some reason I took the time before all of my classes watching videos. I think stress is really getting to me if I’m trying to shut off my brain for a few videos. I also was super tired today, so I made some coffee. In the end however, I still fell asleep. Today in my classes, it was the last day for an assignment or chapter section. Hence, today I had to edit and turn in one of my creations for design via a Google drive, and had a chapter 18 review test for Japanese today. Though when I came to the classes stress was relieved from me, all the stress I built before any of the classes was taking a toll on my stamina and motivation. I have to do my best doing my work for class so that I don’t make another week full of stress. Interestingly enough, by keeping up the daily blog and keeping myself in check, this makes me more reflective and accountable. As I keep writing more about my daily life and habits, I realize the many faults and same struggles I have that I don’t change. I wonder how this contributes to other students, how do students battle with their stress and how much are actually able to make the good habits last.

I also consumed my pot pie from yesterday, though I once again also skipped lunch with my family again though. I realized that I also don’t drink enough water, so I plan on drinking more from now on. However, though I said that, I did make coffee and drink a cup today. I put in a lot of cream and sugar, so it was more sweet than bitter, which is just how I like it. This time, instead of instant coffee, I used a coffee press using ground coffee since my brother’s wife bought coffee grounds instead of instant. Sadly though, that means I can’t make Dalgona Coffee, which I got hooked on right before instant coffee ran out. It was my second time using it today, yesterday being my first. Honestly it surprises me how simple it is, though I wonder if I am doing it right.

This is the coffee press I used today.

I also played my games listened to a lot of music on Youtube again today. A lot are Japanese songs and some are just some nostalgic ones that I hadn’t heard in awhile. For some reason, I’ve been listening to some Disney songs as well. As I am listening to these Disney and cartoon songs, I find it amazing that such stories can mean so much in such a short time. Especially Steven Universe. Back then and in many animations now, not many talk about change, being vulnerable, communication, pronouns, and LGBTQ+. It is amazing how time has changed and how these animations, like She-Ra and the Princess of Power, are changing society views on what is viewed as “normal.” Though this is a big improvement, I still think that the present still hasn’t reached that time in life where we can proudly say that discrimination is uncommon or unheard of.

- Escapism from Steven Universe Ft. AJ Michalka, Zach Callison, and Grace Rolek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StQbdpG31aA&ab_channel=Occo

- Love Like You from Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDiun9xOPG8&ab_channel=Phizzy

- Jodi Benson - Part of Your World (Official Video From "The Little Mermaid") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKlJuO07eM&ab_channel=DisneyMusicVEVO

- Idina Menzel, Evan Rachel Wood - Show Yourself (From "Frozen 2") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZxwPwmgrw&ab_channel=DisneyMusicVEVO

- Jemaine Clement - Shiny (from Moana) (Official Video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93lrosBEW-Q&ab_channel=DisneyMusicVEVO

- Dwayne Johnson - You're Welcome (From "Moana") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79DijItQXMM&ab_channel=DisneyMusicVEVO

- Auli'i Cravalho - How Far I'll Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPAbx5kgCJo&ab_channel=DisneyMusicVEVO

- Mulan | I'll Make A Man Out Of You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVcLIfSC4OE&ab_channel=Disney

- Mulan | Reflection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGGXsm0a5s0&ab_channel=Disney

- Ilene Woods - So This Is Love (Cinderella's Song) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnxupEXxrTI&ab_channel=Isobel152

- Fireworks -Arrange ver.-cover 【Mafumafu】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-wPaLrL2yA&ab_channel=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%B5%E3%81%BE%E3%81%B5%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%82%93%E3%81%AD%E3%82%8B

- Eine Kleine-Acoustic Arrange-／Mafumafu【Tried to sing】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVdLInaYaBA&ab_channel=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%B5%E3%81%BE%E3%81%B5%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%82%93%E3%81%AD%E3%82%8B

- Official髭男dism - Pretender［Official Video］ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ8WlA2GXbk&ab_channel=Official%E9%AB%AD%E7%94%B7dism

- 米津玄師 MV「パプリカ」Kenshi Yonezu / Paprika https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s582L3gujnw&ab_channel=%E7%B1%B3%E6%B4%A5%E7%8E%84%E5%B8%AB

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stinkek · 7 years ago

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cant stop rambling about aj help

I swear, once I get membership in Animal Jam, I’ll buy an owl and dress it up as Schultz from “Daffy - The Commando” (I’d get a helmet in the Horses Only Party). Might as well buy an eagle and make it cosplay von Vultur from the same cartoon... Unless my interest to specific characters burns out by the time I graduate from university and start earning my own money.

...

You know what’s ironic?.. “Animal Jam” can be played by people of all ages, but the target demographic is children. Unless the kid was already taught how to be responsible with money, which seems unlikely to me, they can only ask their parents for membership. Parents can refuse. What if the child REALLY wants membership and their parents give a strict “NO”?.. Some people say stuff like “get a job and buy membership with your own money”. I hope it’s not children they say that to because children are supposed to go to kindergarten and school, not to work. I guess those kids have to get used to it and to bear with spoiled member brats making fun of them for being non-member and being able to use only, like, 10% of the game’s content. All we can do is prevent them from publishing their passwords and using online “free membership” hacks, otherwise they may REALLY piss off their parents when they show them the computer with viruses...

I’ll confess: I MYSELF tried those hacks, with surveys, you know. I only picked specific surveys where I could do something for free, but they demanded real information so I didn’t finish them. I didn’t complete a single survey. I hope Kaspersky antivirus protected me from all threats I voluntarily exposed my cheating hypocritical ass to. Nothing weird has been happening on my PC since then. But I advise you NOT to try those hacks anyway. Don’t repeat my mistakes which could have possibly costed me. It will be better to have little features in a game than a ruined computer and your personal information in a stranger’s hands... Oh, and just to be on the safe side, I changed my password for the game.

I’m actually more chill about my restrained abilities in this game than I was a year ago. I wrote an angry “B’AWWW”-like journal on DeviantArt back then, complaining about how little stuff non-members have. I still think they could give non-members a little bit more features, I hope I won’t sound too greedy, at least not as greedy as I did before... I would like a 3rd space for an animal. I love my wolf Fuzzy Shyfoot (whose usual design resembles my persona’s and main OC’s) with Level 16 (yep, she has 5 hearts) and seal Teensy Sleepybelle (only Level 5), I don’t want to recycle them just to be able to play as another animal. I think that unpopular animals like rhinos and sloths could be made available for non-members, since most people seem to get membership for member canines (especially arctic wolves, DUH), member felines and birds (minus penguins) and a lot of people find rhinos and sloths ugly and hardly ever use them. They seem unprofitable, like, how many people bought membership for a sloth or a rhino? I bet I could count these people on my fingers... Then, I wish non-members could actually BUY those two non-member floorings, instead of hoping that a member wins them in “The Forgotten Desert” and trades with them! Heck, I wish there were more floorings and wallpapers for non-members in general, even plain one-color wallpapers would be nice! It would be cool for non-members to get their first flying animal even if they wouldn’t be able to play “The Forgotten Desert” with it, like a duck, or a raven/crow... or a goddamn PIGEON. Though, on second thought, flying animals can’t play all-year-round adventures on land (not to mention underwater), they can only play seasonal adventures and “The Forgotten Desert”, so maybe a non-member flying animal isn’t such a good idea...

I would LOVE to buy membership, but, as I mentioned some time ago, I’m not allowed to do so. I’m forbidden to spend money on games until I finish studying, so I try to enjoy free features. But I get bored quickly and fantasize about being a member. hhhhhhhhhh

#animal jam #membership #thoughts #hacks #money #member #nonmember #non-member #game

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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The 7 best beefs to circle on the NFL calendar

Of course Jalen Ramsey and Baker Mayfield are two of the players with a score to settle in 2019.

Welcome to Revenge Week at SB Nation NFL, where we are celebrating the dish that’s best served cold. You can keep up with all our latest revenge content here.

Everyone loves a classic case of bad blood.

Football is a contentious and confrontational sport by design, but things get ramped up when two of the competitors just plain don’t like each other. You know if Michael Crabtree and Aqib Talib are playing each other — Crabtree officially signed with the Cardinals — you better tune in to see the inevitable chain snatching.

That skirmish started because a player was disrespected and thought he needed to defend his pride. That’s the same dynamic that fuels so many other NFL feuds.

It’s why Jets running back Le’Veon Bell will want to show out when he plays the Steelers this season, and Ravens safety Earl Thomas will get a chance to make the Seahawks pay for not giving him an extension.

Right now, we’re not talking revenge on a former team, though. Charles McDonald already broke down the best of those matchups on the 2019 schedule. Instead, we’re focusing on the best beefs between two players — or maybe a coach and a player — this upcoming season.

Here are the battles in 2019 that have too much animosity for you to miss.

Aqib Talib vs. Michael Crabtree (Rams-Cardinals, Weeks 13 & 17)

The aforementioned chain snatching feud is back on the menu.

Arizona scooped up Crabtree in early August and that’s perfect because it puts him back in the NFC West. That means two (possibly high tension) December matchups against the Rams, and the possibility of another matchup or two with Talib.

Crabtree and Talib got along during joint practices between the Ravens and Rams last year, and they reportedly squashed their beef at a go-kart track earlier in 2019. So maybe it’s done. We’ll see if December football can ramp things back up to their old chain-snatching ways.

ICYMI: #Broncos CB Aqib Talib broke Michael Crabtree's chain necklace, then laughed about it: https://t.co/lb4gi5g4ag pic.twitter.com/gftimX02G7

— Jon Heath (@ByJonHeath) January 1, 2017

Richard Sherman vs. Michael Crabtree (49ers-Cardinals, Weeks 9 & 11)

Talib isn’t the only one who has had problems with Crabtree. Sherman had some harsh things to say about the receiver years ago. Back then, Sherman was a member of the Seahawks and Crabtree with with the 49ers.

The peak of the rivalry came on Jan. 19, 2014. In the NFC Championship, Sherman deflected a would-be game-winning touchdown away from Crabtree, resulting in an interception that sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

Then he tore into Crabtree, calling him a “sorry receiver.”

Let us never forget that time Richard Sherman went off on Michael Crabtree while a terrified Erin Andrews stood next to him. pic.twitter.com/graJKFvxg5

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 9, 2018

Things never got quite that contentious between the two again. They only played each other two more times in 2014 and then Crabtree left the division to join the Oakland Raiders. They haven’t seen each other since and Sherman’s rant to Erin Andrews came to define the feud. It pushed Sherman into superstardom and Crabtree’s star has since faded.

A couple more matchups after five years away could stoke those old flames.

A.J. Green vs. Jalen Ramsey (Bengals-Jaguars, Week 7)

Ramsey has annoyed plenty of players in his career in Jacksonville, but nobody has blown their top quite like Green.

In a 2017 game between the Jaguars and Bengals, Green had finally had enough. After about two quarters of getting antagonized, the receiver was set off by one more push from Ramsey. Green choked, tossed, and punched the cornerback and both players were ejected.

Green was suspended for a game, and apologized for losing his cool.

A.J. Green -- "I apologize to my teammates, Mr. Brown, and everybody, because that is not who I am. It just got the best of me today."

— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) November 5, 2017

But Ramsey only tried to further stoke the flames. He reportedly tried to find his way to the Bengals’ locker room after the ejections. Days later, he told reporters that Green was “soft,” “weak,” and not “mentally strong.”

Jalen Ramsey sounded off at AJ Green after practice: pic.twitter.com/NbeVK1kTTQ

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 9, 2017

Ramsey has provoked what sometimes feels like half of the league in the couple years since. The fight was out of character for Green, though. He’s generally a mild-mannered, quiet player who hasn’t had problems with anyone else.

Green’s even dismissed the idea that he and Ramsey have a problem.

“There’s no real beef,” Green told PFT Live. “There’s no real beef off the field. There’s just two competitors. Got in the heat of the moment. Stuff happens. When you’re playing, it’s sports man. You know, tempers go crazy sometimes, and sometimes you can’t control emotions. I couldn’t control mine that day. [I’ve] got to do a better job of that.”

Does that mean part two will be less contentious? Maybe. But Ramsey’s still going to be someone who talks trash constantly, and you have to imagine Green badly wants to avenge his frustrating first performance against the cornerback.

You shouldn’t expect another brawl between the two, but this midseason clash will surely have some heat.

Baker Mayfield vs. Kliff Kingsbury (Browns-Cardinals, Week 15)

Most of the time a coach vs. player beef wouldn’t be that exciting to watch — not so when Mayfield is involved, though. He’s the type of player who will air his dirty laundry out in the open.

After all, the iciest death stare of the 2018 NFL season came from none other than Mayfield and was directed at his former coach, Hue Jackson.

Baker Mayfield staring down Hue Jackson pic.twitter.com/GIOTBemQF1

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) December 23, 2018

So don’t be surprised if Mayfield has even more attitude reserved for another one of his former coaches: Kingsbury. He probably has even more reason to have a chip on his shoulder when facing Kingsbury than he did with Jackson too.

Jackson was fired by the Browns before joining the Bengals — which somehow pissed off Mayfield. In the case of Kingsbury, it was Mayfield who was spurned.

In 2013, Mayfield walked on to Kingsbury’s Texas Tech squad and earned the starting job for the opener of his true freshman season. By the end of the year, he was the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, although an injury cleared the way for Davis Webb to steal his starting role.

The situation rubbed Mayfield the wrong way and he left Texas Tech to join Oklahoma.

“When I got hurt, there was no communication between me and my coach,” Mayfield told ESPN. “When I got healthy, I didn’t know why I wasn’t playing right away. At that time, we were losing a couple games in a row. I was still clueless as to why I wasn’t playing. That was really frustrating for me because I started the first five games and we won. So, I just didn’t really know exactly what he was thinking or what the situation was.”

Between 2015 and 2017, Mayfield was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and beat Kingsbury’s Texas Tech teams three times along the way. He wound up with a Heisman Trophy, was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and enters his second season with the Browns with expectations sky high.

There’s not a lot of reason for Mayfield to harbor hard feelings, because things certainly worked out well for him post-Texas Tech. Except, this is Mayfield. He feeds off of revenge. There’s no doubt he will jump at the chance to stick it to the coach who he thinks didn’t believe in him.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. Terrell Suggs (Steelers-Cardinals vs. Week 14)

Suggs and Roethlisberger battled in the AFC North for 15 years. Now Suggs will don a different uniform for the first time in his career after joining the Cardinals on a one-year deal.

In December he’ll get another chance, likely his last, to bring down Big Ben.

Both players have experienced success in their long history of Ravens vs. Steelers matchups. Suggs has sacked Roethlisberger 17 times, more than any other player. Roethlisberger’s 13 victories in the regular season — and two more in the playoffs — against Baltimore are the most any player has ever had against the franchise.

The (presumptive) final chapter will look a lot different with Suggs wearing red. And the ill will between the two players is closer to a case of frenemies than true rivals.

“I think there’s a lot of mutual respect there between each other,” Roethlisberger said during the 2018 season. “There’s a little bit of talking on the field — I wouldn’t call it trash-talking — but there’s some mutual respect trash-talking, if you will, that goes on. It’s a special rivalry he and I have.”

Suggs hasn’t been as effusive when talking about Roethlisberger, but he was friendly enough to swap jerseys with the quarterback after their last duel of the 2018 season. Over the years, he’s called Roethlisberger a “rat bastard” with “Jedi mind tricks.” He’s also warned everybody not to fall for the quarterback’s supposed injuries.

Suggs has no doubt that Roethlisberger will play on Sunday: "How you doin', Benjamin?" pic.twitter.com/lEwQbP15EM

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 2, 2016

But hatred has never really been the backbone of their grudge. Both players will be 37 for their Week 14 game, and even if it’s not quite as spicy as other feuds, it’s one we should all appreciate getting to see one last time.

Richie Incognito vs. Yannick Ngakoue (Raiders-Jaguars, Week 15)

The silly rivalry that’s brewing between the Bills and Jaguars is great fun. However, one of its most unfortunate chapters came shortly after their postseason meeting in January 2018.

After the Jaguars’ win, defensive end Ngakoue accused Bills offensive lineman Incognito of saying “some weak racist slurs” during the game. Other Buffalo linemen denied the accusation and an NFL investigation concluded it had no proof slurs were said.

A few weeks later at the Pro Bowl, Ngakoue and Incognito reportedly cleared the air.

So maybe they buried the hatchet. Or maybe the two will play with a little extra edge when the Jaguars and Raiders meet in December.

Sean Payton vs. Marcus Peters (Saints-Rams, Week 2)

The Great Gumbo Grudge started in November 2018 when the Saints picked on Rams cornerback Peters in a 45-35 win. The New Orleans offense couldn’t be stopped, but it was receiver Michael Thomas, especially, who couldn’t be contained.

Peters was in coverage for seven of Thomas’ 12 receptions and gave up 146 of the receiver’s 211 yards. That included a 72-yard touchdown for Thomas in the final minutes that put the game on ice.

Payton told reporters that Thomas burning Peters was exactly how they drew it up.

“That was the plan,” Payton said, via the Los Angeles Times. “They were going to travel Marcus to him, and that was fine by us. We thought we really liked that matchup — a lot.”

Peters responded by telling reporters he looked forward to a potential rematch:

Marcus Peters looks forward to playing the Saints again, and sharing a bowl of gumbo with Sean Payton. pic.twitter.com/W5Kpmm5P4M

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) November 9, 2018

“Tell Sean Payton keep talking that shit, we’re going to see him soon,” Peters said. “You feel me? I liked what he was saying on the sidelines too. So I’ll tell [him] ‘Keep talking that shit and I hope you see me soon. You feel me? And then we’re going to have a nice little bowl of gumbo together.”

Peters got his wish when the Rams and Saints faced off in the NFC Championship Game. In the second meeting, he gave up only two receptions for 28 yards, although the Rams floated several different cornerbacks over to cover Thomas. Still, when presented with a clear opportunity for an “I told you so,” Peters opted against it.

Marcus Peters: “I don’t even like gumbo. I was just bullshitting y’all.”

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 21, 2019

[infomercial voice] But wait, there’s more!

The next chapter of this particular rivalry is great because it’s not just Peters vs. Payton. It’s also the whole damn city of New Orleans vs. the Rams.

The Saints would’ve been in Super Bowl 53 if it weren’t for an atrocious missed call. Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman clearly got away with a pass interference penalty that — if called — would’ve set up the Saints to run out the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. Even the Rams admitted it should’ve been a penalty.

Instead, Los Angeles got the chance to force overtime with a field goal of its own and eventually won.

Saints fans had a big, angry parade and went so far as to file a futile lawsuit against the NFL for the result. Payton — who said the blown call was the most obvious pass interference penalty ever — led the charge for a rule change that will now let coaches challenge interference penalties.

There will be fireworks when the rematch happens in Week 2. There will also be a chance for the Saints to get some vengeance. But Payton and Peters are at the root of it all.

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metavanaj · 6 years ago

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What the hey, AJ? | First Assault [Volume: January 2019]

YES, THE TITLE IS COMPLICATED.

Hi - if you’re reading this, you know the drill. My name’s MetaVanAJ, insert quirky catchphrase and/or ‘your mum’ joke here. Welcome to the first volume of ‘What the hey is AJ play...ing?’ Yeah, the title isn't the greatest but hey it rhymes...mostly. I just thought I’d use this as quick way of communicating what I’m playing (or going to play) at the moment, & hopefully give some quick recommendations, to pique your interests in some really good stuff. As much as I would love to do a video version of this, I feel I would lose the spontaneity behind the idea; once I get my shit together I’ll do one of these in video form, someday. The only reason I’m writing this now is because January 2019 is so jammed packed with excellent NEW titles (despite most of this article being about ports & remakes), that I literally won’t be able to keep up. And I can’t even keep up in an off-season so this is just exponentially worse. So, ‘what the hey is AJ playing’ in January 2019?

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

(Platform(s): Switch | Release Date: Jan 18th)

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is taking another core title hostage so please buy this game. Joke aside, I am still looking forward to this title. Like everyone else, I’m a bit iffy and uncertain about how the gameplay is shaping up but I’ll be picking this up day one. Why? For one reason only, of course: Suda51. You see Goicha Suda is a brand - he is a different, ‘special snowflake’ and he makes different ‘special snowflake’ games. His name has been slapped on various works the past decade, and then some, but he actually hasn’t directed a game since 2007’s No More Heroes, on the Nintendo Wii. Travis Strikes Again marks his return to the directorial seat, albeit an odd-way to do so. But hey, this means pure unadulterated Suda-vision, the same vision that gave us Killer7 and No More Heroes; meaning narrative-wise we’re up for, what the kids call, some wacky shit. That and being able to blast through this with a bud, in co-op, will ease any of the pain, if the gameplay isn’t to mechanically engaging. Pain divided...is worse - why would you subject your friend to that?

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

(Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC | Release Date: Jan 11th)

I saw someone call the ‘Tale of’ series the McDonalds of JRPGS - I don’t think that’s an accurate metaphor but hey it’s an interesting way to open up a paragraph, no? Tales games tend to be a bit ‘same-y’ but it’s a bloody excellent formula and the fact they’ve released so many of these over the years just goes to show the formula works. Don’t like the characters, story & setting of one Tales game? Play the next one - gameplay remains the same, fundamentally. I won’t dive into the gameplay deep here but let's just say the ‘action’ is pretty decent in this ‘action-RPG’. Personally, you can’t go wrong with any Tales after Tales of the Abyss (Symphonia didn’t click with me, my bad). Apparently, Vesperia is one of the best in the series, so if it’s half as good as Abyss, and what I’ve seen of Xillia, then this is definitely worth a buy - especially on Switch, so you can take this bad boy on the go. Don’t worry, high-frame lovers: it was 60fps on the 360 in 2008, it’ll a good time, trust me. And this is one also has a dog with an eye patch in it...and a pirate midget. The definitive edition also adds all the extra goodies from the japan exclusive PS3 port, which is all the more reason to pick up a copy now. LIKE RIGHT NOW.

New Super Mario Brothers U Deluxe

(Platform: Switch | Out now!)

Eh, I’m not super excited about this game in particular but moreso the idea of the game itself. Shocking fact: New Super Mario Bros. games have been decent this entire time. The games have no spunk, in terms of story and presentation, but boy is the level design tight & fun. If you’re looking for a good 2D platformer on Switch, get Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, or hey even Shantae ½ Genie Hero. The other big 4-player party-style offerings however, have been kinda meagre offerings. Super Mario Party looks boring and soulless, Kirby: Star Allies is patronisingly easy to a point of being ‘unfun’ (and that’s for a Kirby game), and I forgot how to casually play Smash without crushing people’s dreams. Super Mario Bros. U is a great platformer and even greater with a few buddies but I’m not clamouring to get it at full price. I still strongly recommend it though if you’re just looking for some 4-player platform ‘em up fun. Comes with Luigi U too, that’s nice - surprised they didn’t charge us for it, all over again. That’d be almost as bad as charging a full 80 Australian dollars for it...oh wait.

Resident Evil 2 [2019 remake]

(Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC | Release Date: 25th Jan)

Legitimately thought, I don’t need to sell you this one. You saw the trailer, you’re probably already hyped that Resi is ‘returning to its roots’; whatever that means. Personally, I haven’t touched Resident Evil up until recently, as I am a big baby when it comes to jump-scares. I know their coming but I still go through the physical shock of getting scared by set jumps. The titles I have been delving into (and loving) of late, have been Resi 4, 5 & 6...all at once - and I wonder why I can’t tame the backlog? Anywho, that’s why I am excited for the Resi 2 remake. Why should YOU be excited? The Resi 2 remake takes from all the best components of the series, and smooshs them together to create something extraordinarily beautiful - the actual horror elements and sense of claustrophobia through environmental design from the first three classic games, the tight gameplay formula from the modern Resi formula (4, 5, 6) and the beautiful new engine from Resi 7. Resident Evil 2 (2019_ is like a best hits album of everything the series has achieved so far. Play it, yeah - you owe it to yourself.

Kingdom Hearts freaking III

(Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One | Release Date: 29th Jan)

At this point, you are either on the Kingdom Hearts hype train, or you live in beautiful bliss of the Kingdom Hearts hype train. I got in an abusive relationship where whenever I thought about Kingdom Hearts 3, I would angrily playthrough the entirety of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix again. I’m better now - I spend my days now complaining about Dream Drop Distance like a good boy now. That being said: I’m a fan like everyone, I’m getting this Day 1, and I payed an extra 20 Australian dollars, on top of full price, for the deluxe edition. If you’re wondering why you should buy Kingdom Hearts 3, all I’m going to say is it’s going to be epic. It’ll have a rippling behemoth impact on anyone who’s touched a game from the Eastern shores, like Final Fantasy XV did, at its release. If you’re a newcomer, obviously start with Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, as they are the finest action-RPGs I’ve ever played, in my short time on this earth. But if you’re even remotely invested in the series, you’re already drooling - that fabled release of KH3 is so close I can practically taste it. It tastes so good. I SWEAR TO GOD THOUGH IF I SEE ‘FLOATY COMBAT’, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’ll DO. I’ll see you at the end of it all...

Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal

(Platform(s): PS4, PC | Release Date: 18th Jan)

Woah, that last one got a little emotional there. Anyways, this one’s an easy sell: BOOBS, BUTTS, ANIME BABES, & BODACIOUS BLADES. Senran Kagura Estival Versus was a interesting musou that showcased some promising gameplay elements; I actually had to activate more than two brain cells at once, during my playthrough. Shocking, I know. Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal is a remake of a 3DS game (Senran Kagura Burst), which consists of gameplay more akin to a 3D-Beat-’em-up. It simply looks like a bit of a meatier Estival Versus so I’m keen to check it out & see how deep the game mechanics well is. If you’re looking for a fun light action romp too, you should as well. The presentation, which I won’t delve into here, is often what is a bit of a turn off for newcomers - I personally have never been swayed by it either way it. Sure, it’s a bit saucy but it doesn’t detract from the fact that whatever the Senran Kagura series tries its hand at, is often a pretty fun & polished experience, albeit a slightly shallow one. This one isn’t necessarily a ‘must get’ but they’re not charging full price so it is definitely worth an investigative playthrough, if you can get past the ‘fan-service-y’ presentation.

Well, that’s it for the first volume of ‘What the hey, AJ?’ Next time, I hope to adapt this into video form & hopefully spin in a few funnies, as well as just tighten up the structure. Next time, probably won’t be all new releases either - I’ll probably end up doing another just if I find that everything I’m playing, at any given time, is amazing. I have, and always will be, MetaVanAJ - stay cool, fools. Actually, that was mean calling my audience fools. Stay cool, individuals.

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mageknight404 · 8 years ago

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Hey, Ray! It's thanks to your videos on the 3DS release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney that I got into the series. After the first trial of Turnabout Goodbyes, I decided to buy the trilogy for myself, and I had a great time with all three games! It was the characters' personalities and developments that kept me engaged with the stories they had to tell, so I'm curious. Who are your favourite characters in the series and why?

Hey, glad to hear it! The Ace Attorney games are a lot of fun and remain the only visual novel series I can easily get into, so I’m glad others can find it just as accessible.

There are a lot of characters in this series that I like, both major and minor, throughout the entirety of the series, so I’m rather spoilt for choice. So I think it’d be best to list my Top 3 under three categories - Legacy(main characters across the whole main series), Pre-Apollo Justice(characters from the original trilogy and the Investigations games), and Apollo Justice onward. Likely spoilers on this list, but I’ll try to keep them light.

LEGACY

1. Maya Fey - I think it’s pretty safe to say Maya’s my favorite character in the whole series. She’s cute, her antics are hilarious, she has great banter with much of the main cast, and she goes through so much turmoil in only 3 years(ranging from losing loved ones, being tried for murder multiple times, and being kidnapped), and even more when she returns for Spirit of Justice, yet sticks it out with a smile and a grin no matter how bleak it gets.

She always tries to be helpful and shoulders a lot of burden when she feels she’s let people down(mostly Phoenix). She acts playful and junk when it comes to her becoming the next Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, but she certainly understands the gravity of it as the games go on and we learn more about her and her family, ultimately embracing her title as Master come Spirit of Justice; at this point she’s 28 years old now, yet is still the same cheerful happy-go-lucky spirit medium we’ve all come to be familiar with. She even manages to utilize her powers in clever applications several times to either help herself or others get out of a jam. She’s a well-written, fun, and engaging character and I’m looking forward to what Capcom does with her next.

(also she looks so freaking cool in Spirit of Justice, look at her!)

2. Miles Edgeworth - Edgeworth is another dude who benefits from having so much character development in the main series and his spinoff games, going from an antagonistic jerkface with a smug streak, to a morally conflicted lawyer seeking his true purpose in the law world at large, to being a genuine rival and friend to Phoenix in their search of finding the truth in cases, which makes it all the more incredible when he was intended to be a one-off unlikable boss character in his initial appearance in the first game. He’s smooth, he has great wit and top dialogue, and it’s all the more hilarious when he makes simple blunders and loses his composure. You really do get to appreciate the nuances in his character as it gradually changes with each game in the series, and the payoff being fantastic post-AJ.

Investigations 2 gets special mention as it goes to great strides to show Edgeworth’s legal conflict when his badge and methods get called into question, suggesting he is more like a defense attorney than a prosecutor. Despite all odds he is unfettered and continues to pursue the truth by carving his own path instead of embracing the teachings of his father Gregory, or mentor Manfred von Karma, to the hilt.

3. Ema Skye - Here’s a character that isn’t as utilized as the other two and was retconned into existence post-original trilogy, yet still managed to be much more than a Maya expy. She’s introduced as a replacement for her in the added Case 5 for the DS port of the first game - plucky, bright, and really into science and forensics, and is looking to learn more about these to help solve crimes, starting with clearing her sister’s name of murder. She eventually gets to study abroad and is ready to apply her earned knowledge into action come Investigations(which was supposed to be her game but eh, it worked out for Edgy in the end)…

…And then we see her again in AJ and she’s just a detective, bitter that she failed her exam to become a forensic investigator and her personality change becomes all the more sad and real. Even so, her eyes still light up whenever she gets a chance to practice her skills, and when she returns in Spirit of Justice, now a full-fledged forensic investigator, her cheerfulness, inquisitive nature, and plucky attitude return in full force, and I get so giddy seeing Ema be so happy after her sour streak two games prior. Like Maya, Ema always tries to be the bright spot if she can lend a hand to a friend, and she’s such a fangirl of Edgeworth, even in SoJ.

Me personally, I’m waiting for some genuine chill interaction between Ema and Maya in a future title. (aside from the very end of the DLC case in Spirit of Justice, we never get to see the two interact much on amicable terms, which made me sad.)

PRE-APOLLO JUSTICE

1. Adrian Andrews(Justice For All/Trials and Tribulations) - JFA was a game full of problems, but Case 4 was not one of them. Headlining a great deal of that case was Adrian, manager to the accused, Matt Engarde and stellar Samus Aran cosplayer. She starts off cold, confrontational, and analytical but is a classic and rather tragic defrosting ice queen. She was left devastated after her close friend and mentor(sister in the anime) Celeste Inpax commits suicide after a skeezy and petty love triangle with her, Engarde, and his rival Juan Corrida goes horribly awry, which almost drove Adrian to commit suicide herself after losing her pillar of strength(Adrian has a dependency issue). This is brutally dragged out in court in order to get her to talk about her role in tampering with the crime scene of the main case, and it just about leaves her as a broken mess.

Fortunately for her, the truth about the crime comes out and exonerates her as being a potential murderer, but still has to do jail time for her role mentioned above. She doesn’t mind though and we see her with a smile on her face to show that she is now free of grief and ready to move on. Her debt is paid seven months later, as we see her again in Case 2 of T&T having done her time, which a much sunnier disposition and outwardly friendly towards Phoenix(who she was at odds with for most of Case 4 in JFA). We even getting to see more of her real self - still meticulous, but now helpful yet very clumsy and prone to making slip-ups as a result. I know a few people who have suicidal thoughts, and it’s very disparaging to see a woman like her so broken in JFA, but so refreshing to see her be so better off in T&T, as seeing Adrian smile is a wonderful feeling. As far as incidentals are concerned, she’s my favorite of the original trilogy. (and it made me feel all the more sorry for her seeing her squirm in despair animated in the anime)

- 1b. Lana Skye(Ace Attorney - Rise from The Ashes) - Ema’s older sister and the accused of Case 5 of the first game. I’m putting this here because Lana shares many traits with Adrian - mannerisms, troubled past, and desperation to hide said past from others(in Lana’s case it’s to hide it from her sister instead of herself). They even look similar to one another, haha. She goes from being a skilled attorney to Chief Prosecutor, but is actually more of a puppet being stringed along by the mastermind of the crime and has done some very morally grey things in regards to her troubled past, all to make sure to protect Ema’s innocence even if it damns her own image. It wouldn’t be fair if I mentioned one and not the other because of how similar both Lana and Adrian are as characters, so why not.

Also I really like Lana’s prosecutor design and wished she showed up or got referenced to in future games along with Ema.

2. Dick Gumshoe - He doesn’t appear in AJ onward except in a flashback, otherwise I’d consider him a Legacy character. Gumshoe is the Maya to Edgeworth’s Phoenix before Kay Faraday; a bumbling, scatterbrained detective, and the posterboy for pistolwhipped butt monkey who’s always in danger of having his salary slashed, but he’s a helpful dude and always pulls through at the last second when it counts, pal. There really isn’t much I can say about him, as he’s very much a self-demonstrating example, but he’s so much fun that I don’t think it matters.

What really makes Gumshoe so much fun for me is how much of a foil he is to Edgeworth and his interactions with him in general, as well as the lengths he’s willing to go to help him out. Investigations made it clear that he has no less than infinite respect for him from the moment they met, seen in Case 4, and more or less weighs on him hand and foot from then on. Edgeworth may find some of his antics irritating, but nonetheless considers him a reliable asset and welcome ally to help solve cases, likely due to how dependable he is in critical moments. Even when he’s in danger of losing his job or is kicked off the case, he still finds ways to help the cause, either by himself or by enlisting Phoenix’s help(to the point that part of me wonders what’d happen if Nick actually hired him to work at the office). He’s a good man, loyal to his job and his supervisor, and I can’t help but admire the man.

3. Shi-Long Lang(Investigations 1 and 2) - Hugh Jackman and his Wolf Fang Fist! Lang’s more or less Edgeworth’s rival in these games(moreso the first) and is very much an “act now, debate later” fellow, whose ideology comes to blows with Edgeworth’s more than a few times, and in his haste often makes a few leaps in judgement that punches holes in his logic. At the same time, he’s a badass Interpol agent with a boa collar coat, a smooth theme, and is a father to his very loyal police force. Despite conflicting ideologies, he’s still able to help Edgeworth out from time to time, even if it’s not for his sake but for Lang’s own or the case at large. And when things get serious, oh boy is he ready to throw down(see both Case 5s). He’s a pretty simple dude, but I just really like him.

(also it takes some balls to be able to block Franziska’s whip midlash)

APOLLO JUSTICE ONWARD

1. Apollo Justice - Wow, surprise! I like the main character of this arc! To be perfectly honest, I liked Apollo in his home game, but didn’t think much of him at the time as he was more or less in the back seat for 40% of his own game, while Phoenix did the rest of the work for him and usurped glory that should’ve gone to him alone.

That all changed starting with Dual Destinies and especially with Spirit of Justice.

Apollo was intended to be Phoenix’s replacement as he starts his own thing, but Capcom exec mandates forced Nick to be included in AJ and he was shafted some prime opportunities for establishing character development and backstory, only really getting some hints about his heritage to another character. Dual Destinies gives him a best friend who instilled a backstory for his rather quirky catchphrase “I’m fine!”, turning it into something heartwarming when he reveals they used to shout it to one another to lift their moods, and then made Apollo go on the warpath when he learns of his pal’s death and who might be responsible for it. Expanded even further in the next game where we finally find out about Apollo’s upbringing, his biological and foster fathers, and his relation to the local prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmahdi. These events put my boy in the spotlight, who proves by the end of the game that he’s more than capable to walk tall with the big boys. He goes from being a loud and hot-blooded youth to being a worthy member of the Wright Anything Agency Triuumverate, to eventually standing on his own as a bonafide lawyer.

SoJ was the best thing to happen to this kid, and I’m so glad he was able to rise to the challenge.

2. Simon Blackquill(Dual Destinies/Spirit of Justice) - Simon is the local prosecutor for DD and makes a welcome extended cameo in SoJ. He’s a prison inmate, but gets to do the lawyering thing from the slammer because he’s just that good. His main deal is that he serves as an antagonistic force to Athena as Edgeworth was to Nick and Klavier to Apollo, and he was a bit of an edgy dude himself being a swordsman and styled like a samurai, always quick with his razor-sharp wit AND razor-sharp wind, commanding his pet hawk to handle evidence, SILENCE-ing the crowd, and using his psychological knowledge to play the situation to his advantage. He was also a jerk for most of DD.

Point at hand here is that while I thought the game was playing up his psyche knowledge a little too much(he came off more as a more intense version of AA!Edgeworth instead), he was still a wonder to witness. He’s a delightful smartass with a really cool theme and I dug the swordsman motif. Dude even breaks free of his shackles multiple times whenever he’s ready to make a serious statement. Eventually we find out that he was framed for the death of Athena’s mother(of course) and is acquitted by DD’s end. Though it was a little hokey, I did get a great feels moment between and Athena and thought nothing else of it.

And then he shows up in SoJ to assist Athena in Case 4. Here, all limiters are off - he’s a full snarkmaster with excellent comebacks, such as calling Nahyuta “Sad Monk” constantly, SILENCEs him, and even tells Athena to get her act in gear in a great moment when she breaks down in the middle of the case. This case made me appreciate Simon a hell of a lot more, and it showed that he was a great foil and aloof big brother figure to Athena when they’re on the same side for once. He’d better come back for more!

3. Dhurke Sahdmahdi(Spirit of Justice) - THIS FUCKING GUY. Introduced as the possible culprit of Queen Amara’s assassination of the Kingdom of Khura'in and insinuator of starting the rebellion against its corrupt legal system, we eventually find out that he’s actually Apollo’s foster father and is the most real, coolest guy ever. Seriously, I adore this dude. He’s such a nice, chill guy and a respectable father figure, constantly lamenting that he wasn’t able to be in Apollo’s life more often due to him being a wanted man. Case 5 is a roller coaster of intensity, and Dhurke helps bring out a lot of fun in that case. I can’t say anymore without going into heavy spoilers, but by playing the game all the way through, you’ll understand why I love this man so much.

It should be noted that SoJ’s Khura'in segments being so unrelentingly bleak for the first half of the game was actually turning me off from playing it, as I became gradually more and more apathetic to the kingdom’s plight and was in fact dangerously close to dropping the game for a while as I was getting impatient and disinterested… until the backstory bomb dropped about Dhurke and Apollo halfway through Case 3. This instantly revitalized my curiosity about the two and their relationship and helped push me to complete the game. Long story short, the payoff was damn well worth it, and Dhurke footed that bill personally.

Also he’s voiced by freaking Jamieson Price. Bless this dragon who never yields.

HONORABLE MENTION - Athena Cykes - I mentioned a few years back that Athena was a character who when she was first introduced, I had apprehension toward, as I was forebodingly expecting her to be a super annoying sidekick or supporting character. Her design, which I thought was silly at first but has now grown on me immensely, did not help at the time. Then Dual Destinies came out and I was immensely surprised at how much I enjoyed her character.

Let’s be honest, DD was Athena’s game. Even though she, Nick, and Apollo were tritagonists, its story centered around her and she was featured prominently in every case, DLC included. As a whole, this was Athena’s story. People may have differing opinions whether or not this was warranted or justified, especially when it meant pushing AJ alumni to the side, but Athena kept proving her salt in each case regardless - whether it’s by serving as the heart for Phoenix or Apollo, or getting dirty herself to save her close friend Juniper, twice, she was ready to help out.

I have a very delicate tolerance when it comes to Genki Girl characters - if done properly, I pretty much love them on the spot; if done poorly, I want to wring their necks out of existence. It all depends on how well the girl in question exerts her energy. And to my surprise, Athena passed with flying colors. She’s excitable, competitive, and eccentric, with just a pinch of sass. She’s also really impetuous, but remains focused enough to deliver a good argument, especially when it comes to using her heightened hearing to dispel one’s discord in their heart. When the pressure is too much, she breaks down and regresses back to her sheltered childhood state where she becomes emotionally repressed and almost catatonic, yet even in her darkest hour she fights against the pain.

I found myself enjoying Athena’s character arc a lot in DD and really grew to like her more and more. Her willingness to help stems from her relationship with Simon and wanting to set him free by proving he didn’t murder her mother, as they were close friends prior to that event, and I genuinely wanted to see her succeed. Outside of her heavy plot, she’s a fun character and, I’ll be honest, I’m thankful her role was toned down to a more supportive one in SoJ to let the AJ alumni shine(and boy howdy do they ever).

Oof, that was a lot to get off my chest, but I hope this was satisfactory for you, anon!

#ace attorney #characters #opinion

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ayyoitsalex · 4 years ago

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Chapter 8 - Troop Mothers

Finding hobbies at a young age isn't always easy; You're not quite sure what you're good at or what you suck at. It's a lot of trial and error, and in my experience you keep your hobbies to yourself until you're convinced by someone else that you're good at it. Growing up I tried different sports and extra curricular activities to make friends or get outside, but it was a lot of misses. I tried soccer, two left feet. I tried girl scouts, no patience to go door to door. I tried softball, couldn't hit even if it was a beach ball. My siblings found their calling right away, and low key it was a little frustrating to being the designated fan of the family. Finally I started playing basketball with my dad and took to it like none of my siblings could, but never went out for any team. In my own selfish way I think I just wanted the games to just be about us. It's one on one time I spent with my dad at parks until dark, or until mom would call him to bring me home. And you know how the rest of my relationship with basketball goes. Sam and I are always trying to nudge our guys into getting out there. I don't want them growing up wishing they could've had memories. Though nothing seemed too interesting to them, but none the less they'd try. While I wanted them to have hobbies to make friends I didn't want them to feel like I was forcing them thus it becoming a chore. One afternoon walking through the outlet with Sam and the kids. We weren't there for anything in particular other than walk around and let the kids get some fresh air. There was a park nearby, so after not really buying anything we decided to hit the playground. The boys quickly ran off while Sam and I took Charly to the baby swings. "Not too far okay?" I shouted. They both gave me the thumbs up. I took video of Sam pushing Charly and posted it to my story because why not? Right then AJ ran back tugging on the legs of my jeans. "Mommy mommy!" He said excitedly. "Yes AJ what is it hon?" I knelt down. "C'mere I gotta show you something!" I smiled as he continued to pull me over. "Okay okay what do you wanna show me?" I followed behind him to a group of boy scouts. I started to get the idea. "The boy scouts?" I asked. "Yeah! Some of my friends are over there. Can I join?" His eyes looked at me eagerly. I was just as excited on the inside that he'd shown so much desire for something. Charly and Sam followed. "Baby! AJ wants to join boy scouts." I smiled from ear to ear. "Buddy! That's awesome! Of course let's get you signed up!" Sam gasped. Sam and I found the troop leader who looked like he was a father to one of the other boys. "Hi excuse me?" I tapped his shoulder. "Yes?" He asked turning around to us. "Is it too late to have my son join the scouts like is there scout season? We're not too familiar with..traditions or whatnot." He laughed at my question amused. "No no we take scouts all year round. You're all from around Oceancoast right?" We nodded excitedly. "Yeah my son has classmates in this troop we just found out." "Great great then I'm sure he'll have no problem blending right in with the troop. What about your son ma'am does he also want to join?" Sam tilted her head slightly confused. "..well yeah he's also my son." The troop leader immediately realized his mistake, and both Sam and I were waiting on the next words out of his mouth. "OH! I'm so sorry I didn't realize. I really do apologize I didn't know." He looked sincerely sorry, so we believed him. "No it's okay you couldn't have known. I guess I really should've said our son." He took a sigh of relief that we weren't about to kill him. "Then let's get your son all signed up, we have some forms here to sign and things you'll need to get before the next meeting. This ones just about finished." "Alright, AJ! C'mere." He raced over to us while Cole waited with Charly by the stroller. Aj walked over from his friends. "This is gonna be your troop leader Mr...we didn't catch your name." "Oh! I'm not the troop LEADER, I just help out the leader. Here. Honey!" He shouted. Whoops I guess we made a mistake too. A woman blew a whistle before jogging over to us. "What's up?" Both Sam and I both began smiling even bigger. "Oh you've gotta be shitting me." Eve motherfuckin' Hunter out here teaching boys life skills. "Well it's been a long time ladies." "Wait..am i missing something?" Her husband looked around at us. "I played high school basketball with these two knuckleheads." "I thought you lived in LA!" Sam exclaimed hugging her tight. "Well we did, but y'know how things go." We all kinda drifted off from each other after Peyton and I graduated. "This is awesome! Our boys can be friends! AJ this is Ms. Eve." "Aha so you wanna join our troop?" AJ nodded a little unsure of what just transpired. "Well firstly, in my troop we are vocal and make our voices heard, so again you wanna join our troop?" "Yes Ms. Eve!" AJ smiled, and saluting for good measure. "Our salutes a little different here buddy." She showed him and he signed back. "This'll be great I can reconnect with you guys again." "Shoot all we need is Peyton and we're all here again." I said. "Wait is Kayla back too?!" Eve gasped. "See maybe social media isn't such a bad thing." Sam smirked showing her an instagram post. "Anyway our meetings pretty much up, and it looks like Dan got you all the forms you need. We normally don't have our meetings here it's usually at the rec center but still on Saturdays. Don't be late!" We nodded before waving bye. Sam and i looked over the forms and the things the scouts would be learning to do, and we both agreed it was a good thing for AJ. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to get AJ his uniform and other things he'd be needing. "He's gonna have so much fun." Sam said reading through the scout handbook. "I think so too, but there's one thing we gotta talk to him about." "What's that?" "I think we should talk to him about being able to stick with it." "Oh for sure I think that's a good idea. AJ can you come in here please?" He poked his head through our office door. "C'mere baby we gotta talk to you." "Whats up?" He asked sitting down. "So this scouts stuff, we know you're excited. Promise us now you're going to stick with it." Sam said seriously. "I promise!" He put his hand over his heart. "Okay we'll remember this talk. Cause we're excited for you too and think you'll have a lot of fun." "I think so too especially since one of your friends is our troop leader." "Mhmm I'm sure you'll learn a lot from Eve." The next week AJ got dressed for his first meeting, and Sam and I couldn't contain our excitement. He looked so cute in his little navy blue uniform and hat. We went over the handbook since he'd need to know some scout oath before he officially joined. I snapped a picture of Sam with him and sent it to everyone I knew. My sibling group chat immediately responded. "OMG LOOK AT AJ IN HIS LITTLE UNIFORM! Augh my heart!" -Natalie "WOO! You go godson!" -Nathan "IM SOBBING DUDE HES SO CUTE TELL HIM THAT I LOVE HIM! TELL HIM!" -Elizabeth the always dramatic. We drove over to the rec center, parking by what looked to be Eve. She was unloading a box and greeted us. "Hey guys! Whoa look at this little dude! All ready to be a scout?" She said looking at AJ. "Yes Ms. Eve!" He said proudly. "That's what I like to hear! Now they're all waiting inside you can join your friends and we'll get started in a minute." AJ raced inside eager as ever. "You guys can stay and watch if you want, if not we finish at seven. If you're late picking up your kid more than twice I will not have him back with me." Sam and I were a little taken back by the warning. "Sorry didn't mean to shake you, but I'm just required to say so." We nodded our heads. "We'll be on time to pick him up Eve don't you worry!" Sam saluted the boy scout way. Eve rolled her eyes laughing. "You never did change did you Sam?" "NOPE! ITS WHY THIS ONE LOVES ME!" Sam shouted as we walked back to the car. We had a little bit of separation anxiety for a minute because we didn't leave right away. "Look he'll be fine. This is good for him." "Right..right.." I took a breath. "Okay let's go..It's only two hours." We went back to my parent's house where they were watching Cole and Charly. It felt a little weird just having the two kids with us. Sam and I fed them dinner, and gave Charly a bath to pass the time until pick up. Around six thirty we left my parents to go pick up AJ. I was ready to hear all about it. We arrived a little early so we stood by the door and watched with some of the other parents. Sam and I also took the time to introduce ourselves to some of the other families since we figured we would see a lot of one another in the times ahead. The group of boys sat in front of Eve listening intently as she demonstrated knot tying. Even I took some mental notes. At the close of the meeting they all huddled together before howling goodbye. The boys high fived one another until AJ spotted us. He ran right over smiling big. "Have fun sweetie?" I asked. "Uh huh! I can't wait to come back next week!" "My kind of scout!" Eve smiled walking from behind him. They high fived. I never knew Eve had this kind of touch with kids, but then again I never really knew all that much about Eve to begin with. "How'd our little guy do?" Sam asked. "Oh like a fish in water fit right in." My heart couldn't be more full at the moment. "He did a great job. You wanna show your moms some of the stuff we learned today?" AJ pulled a set of strings from his pack and proceeded to show us the different knots. When he finished we all clapped for him, and I could tell it made him feel good. "Thanks Ms. Eve." "Aha you're welcome. Now be sure to practice and do some of the handbook reading with your parents." They saluted one another before Eve began to walk away. "Alrighty lets get you home so you can have dinner, finish your homework, and get ready for bed."

#book

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mhsn033 · 4 years ago

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AJ Tracey: ‘There’s no massive machine pushing me’

Checklist copyright Press See

There are two framed soccer shirts proudly displayed aspect by aspect on the wall of AJ Tracey’s dwelling.

The main is a signed Tottenham shirt from the final of the 2019 Champions League. The membership formulation every little thing to him.

The opposite is a Paris Saint-Germain shirt, signed by the man whose name reflects a pivotal second in AJ’s occupation – Thiago Silva.

Since his leap forward 2016 duet with Dave, the 26-year-passe has never seemed abet.

He’s one of the critical most winning rappers within the UK, and has two singles within the tip ten: West Ten (with Mabel) and Dinner Customer (with Mostack).

AJ says he is carried out his occupation his formulation and remained an neutral artist. To mirror that, he’ll receive the Innovator award at next month’s AIM Impartial Music Awards in London.

He spoke to Radio 1 Newsbeat a pair of “crazy and historical” 2020, his occupation, soccer, Dim Lives Topic and being “a nerd”.

AJ Tracey on… Staying neutral

I’m able to ideal talk for myself, however being neutral is the appropriate formulation you realize that the harsh work you keep in has been yours and yours alone.

There are some artists which possess success being on a tale designate, and some possess success being neutral, and I’m contented for each person.

You if truth be told realize how great effort it’s possible you’ll possibly need keep in and also you in point of truth find the fruits of your labour by being neutral.

Contrary to popular belief, it be correct me and my little team. There could be no massive machine within the abet of me pushing the relaxation.

If I utilize a loss it be my loss to undergo. If I gain, it used to be my call and we won.

Checklist copyright Getty Photos

Checklist caption The rapper won Finest British Music for Ladbroke Grove on the 2020 NME Awards

AJ Tracey on… Family

Remaining neutral formulation things possess got more straightforward for me because after I first started making tune, my predominant goal used to be to motivate my family.

Obviously I desired to find pleasure from the tune and construct ingenious success, however I desired to give my family a chance to are living a better existence.

I’ve carried out that now by buying my mum a condominium. No matter I enact now is a bonus.

Signing a tale deal would possess given me financial comfort however now I’ve carried out it my formulation, it would not in point of truth matter.

AJ Tracey on… Dim Lives Topic

We’ve made our voices heard and in addition they want to proceed to be heard.

I’m an avid supporter of the Grenfell effect of abode off too and I possess all these varied injustices that happen to us as a folk formulation something wants to swap.

If it takes us going out of doors right by a world pandemic to provide folk realise, then I don’t tips striking myself at anxiety to trace you that we must be handled equally.

On the opposite hand great success I if truth be told possess, I’m a shadowy man and that is what it comes down to and until I’m handled devour all my other counterparts, something wants to swap.

AJ Tracey on… Missing are living gigs

I knew I would leave out are living shows however I didn’t know to what extent and it be been in point of truth tough because I possess it be my existence. It supplies me vitality and I if truth be told devour interacting with fans.

I desire I could well existing the excitement I find off doing a trace.

Or not it’s devour occurring a rollercoaster for the first time. No longer the second or third time you breeze it, however that thrill of the very first time you ride it.

Checklist caption On stage at BBC Radio 1Xtra are living in Birmingham in 2019

Going on stage is devour an excitable fear. You possess to take into accout there is a crowd of 40,000 folk waiting to acquire you. That is intense while you happen to suppose the inaccurate ting or time out up or omit your lyrics.

After I pull it off and I hit every lyric completely and find the crowd’s reaction – there’s nothing devour it.

AJ Tracey on… Finding out tune in lockdown

I’ve been making an try to give a enhance to my craft as a musician and a producer.

I cannot play keyboard so I’ve been studying notes and the numerous between the total keys and the octaves.

I desire I would taken tune extra severely in school for the reason that technicals are so factual to perceive.

If I could well play keyboard then I would be a total other stage of artist. So I’m making an try to be taught it.

AJ Tracey on… Tottenham’s season

Plenty of the boys are in point of truth my mates so it be a dinky of a tightrope to talk about however if I keep out a tune that each person would not devour, it’s possible you’ll possibly need got to take into accout I’m human and I would possess idea it used to be factual.

If that is the case, I had the most productive intentions and I’ve never tried to let any individual down – so I undergo that in tips for the footballers.

Most of them are folk and if they’ve a inaccurate bustle, they’ve a inaccurate bustle.

Checklist copyright Getty Photos

Checklist caption AJ met with the Spurs team, at the side of Harry Kane, final year

This year we correct want to chalk it up as an all correct season. We didn’t enact our simplest however we gave our all and we carried out above Arsenal so that’s all factual.

One thing I didn’t deem would impact me as great because it would used to be not going to the soccer.

Me and my dinky brother don’t are living within the a associated household so I don’t find him that great.

The suitable time we find to link up is on the soccer and we breeze and find Tottenham every other weekend. And I’ve in point of truth overlooked it.

AJ Tracey on… Being a nerd

I if truth be told were a right fan of Zelda my total existence. My core fans will know that I if truth be told devour video games. I’m smitten by Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Pokemon – I if truth be told devour it.

I’m a true abundant nerd.

Or not it’s funny after I link up with obvious artists and in addition they find at me and my mates and we’re chatting about Zelda.

They possess to deem ‘what’s occurring?’

Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Fb, Twitter and YouTube.

Be all ears to Newsbeat are living at 12: 45 and 17: 45 weekdays – or hear abet here.

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thegeneralsnotebook · 6 years ago

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Nov 28 Spoiler Design Roundup

Cheering Section

Novelty: As I’m kind of getting tired of saying by now, the card gets the automatic +1 for having the Harmony tag (maybe we can just assume that going forward?) While pushing aggro and Competitive isn’t necessarily something new for Blue, this is one of the few cards that I can think of which specifically pushes the colour to go wide. Which is not something it’s done a whole lot of in the past.

Impact: Competitive 5 is I think the number where this card switches from middling to quite good. So Impact is a question of how many Blue decks from the days of yore could consistently have three pegasi out. Scootaloo clearly would qualify, Bluna perhaps less so. So there certainly could have been some adopters out there.

Flavour: The flavour on this card is pretty nicely established, especially while pegasi are known for having individualist streaks, they’re also fairly team-oriented most of the team. Why wouldn’t they work together to elevate the stars among themselves?

Accident at the Pear Farm

Novelty: As I’ve made this series, I’ve occasionally wondered if Novelty and Flavour are somewhat opposing ideas. For example, sometimes I’ve awarded Novelty for cards that took a colour away from doing things it’s done before, and sometimes I’ve awarded Flavour for cards that let a colour keep doing things that it’s always done. This card is a good example of why I think the system still works. It does a decidedly less-Orange thing (Troublemaker +Power) in a very Orange way (banishing stuff from discard). Which is great.

Impact: Funnily enough, as I mentioned in my Field Report video when I talked about this card, the real allure of it is that it’s sitting in that brilliant 2+2:5 spot where aggro will like it a lot. Even if the text is irrelevant, I can’t give it less for Impact since aggressive decks want Problems like this so bad.

Flavour: This card is strange, since I’d say that if the design idea of the card had anything to do with Dragons, I’d give it a 5. Troublemakers helping Troublemakers: that’s exactly the Dragon synergy. But there’s no connection to pears whatsoever.

Garble, Let’s Race

Novelty: It was pointed out to me after I lost my marbles over this card that giants in Orange aren’t exactly anything new, and Garble himself might not even be breaking new ground in terms of power. Competitive 4 is still the highest value on any individual Friend though, and this is the first Friend that’s been able to do that for Troublemakers (as opposed to directly giving them power like Purple has done before).

Impact: One the Impact front, the first thing that I said for Novelty comes back for this one. Rescue Party actually is probably the better Friend if you want a real aggro powerhouse at this cost, and Garble alone isn’t enough to bring the Troublemaker deck to life.

Flavour: I positively love this card’s flavour, though. I mentioned this in my reaction video, but Garble as a character really has this big individualist streak and is the kind of guy who really could strike out on his own. Despite being a total jerk, this dragon is ambitious, competent, and oh-so-willing to believe that he’s the best thing there ever was. In short, he’s not a ready-made support character, but if all you’re looking to do is start a ruckus, he’ll be plenty of help.

Somnambula, Pillar of Hope

Novelty: In general, for what it’s worth, I’ve found all of the Pillars so far to be quite well-designed. Somnambula may be re-purposing text from good old Balloonoculars, but that text needed to be better represented anyway, and she does something very special with it. The draw trigger is entirely novel, though (again, somewhat similar to what Balloonoculars did, but much more general).

Impact: I’ve plenty of talk already about fun things that can be done with this card, and many of them rely only on original Core cards in order to do it. Without question, this card could have been implemented into a variety of Pink strategies before FF, and I think most of them would have been eager to have her. Granted the answer to her is the same as the old meta’s answer to everything else (Belly Flops, pumpkins, etc. etc.), but it would still be a different place.

Flavour: I really like this card’s flavour. If you wanted to talk about Hope embodied in a card, then look no further. Given a little bit of knowledge, you get to make a judgement call, and hope that you’re right. Hope tempered with the wisdom to direct it properly is a potent weapon. Plus (and I’ll get to this for the other pillars), I really appreciate the chosen art. A hero of action should to the extent possible be depicted in action.

Star Swirl the Bearded, Pillar of Sorcery

Novelty: Star Swirl is functioning here essentially an embodiment of Super Purple. I do believe that “Super Meticulous” is the correct shorthand for his first ability, and it takes the concept to its logical extreme. In addition, even though he’s borrowing Premier Twilight’s text for his second part, that text is entirely new to Core, so it’s not even really that old.

Impact: Unfortunately for Star Swirl, big expensive Friends really need to do something right away to be able to enjoy much relevance. Compare Redeem Starlight, whose ability was positively monstrous if you could get it off several times. Somnambula’s great because she does something right away, and Flash is similar. Star Swirl pretty much needs to see the start of a turn to get his value out.

Flavour: This one borrows from the Novelty blurb quite a bit. Star Swirl is Purple refined and sharpened to a point. The fact that he takes an original Purple ability (Premier Twilight’s) and adds on an evolution of a thing that Purple only later became known for is only icing on the cake. If Premier Twilight was the Faithful Student, then this is what she would have looked like if she’d been able to get her Ph. D.

Flash Magnus, Pillar of Bravery

Novelty: I really do feel sorry for both Flash and Lightning Dust (whose Novelty rating I will be decreasing as a result of seeing this card). It’s such a shame that those two cards simply had to be so similar to each other in the end. Flash gets the better end of the stick for adding a little onto that formula, but at least in this category I can’t help but feel disappointed.

Impact: In this category, though, I’ve got nothing but praise. Even if my initial reaction may have been somewhat over-the-top (Flash doesn’t necessarily go in everything) I still think most Blue decks would eagerly make a place for him. And he would be a potent tool for them. When you can’t zip Thunderlane around and confront everything, then you may as well use this guy as a cudgel on your opponent’s turn.

Flavour: My only complaint on the flavour on this card brings up the little footnote I wrote for Somnambula above. Sure, Flash is a finely handsome stallion, but with the amount of action this guy’s gotten up to, I would have expected there would be some art to show him in the thick of it. A shot of him just standing there doesn’t quite have the same impact. Besides that, though, the design works just fine.

Princess Cadance, Family Matters

Novelty: Cadance actually hits this one out of the park, doing some pretty crazy things on a Friend. The cost-reduction thing is close to Secret but it’s done in a much more extreme way. The Event tax is close to a Mimics (if you name Events with your Mimics about ⅔’s of the time, then in the long run it’s exactly the same thing). And the card draw is absolute insanity.

Impact: Unlike the other big, slow giant tri-colour cards, Cadance gets some love in this category even if she’s a super magnet for removal. Namely, she is still guaranteed value, except for the corner case where she’s removed by some effect that doesn’t require the opponent to play a card. Other than that, you’re going to get at least some value from her, which is enough to make her viable in more than just the reanimation playstyle.

Flavour: Okay, just like I did for Tri-Twi here: 1) While this cost reduction thing is clearly the Blue effect, it reminds me more of Pink because of Secret, and Gilda, and similar things. So I’m not feeling this one. 2) Taxes are for the rich and famous (because in Equestria the tax code makes sense). So White! 3) Pink has returned to its roots, and will draw you all the cards. Sorry, did you only some of the cards? I’m afraid you’re getting all of the cards.

Detention!

Novelty: As a slower unconditional Napcakes, this card reminds me a lot of some of the Events we had back in The Crystal Games. I don’t remember the exact names, but I’m sure there was something at least similar to this. It’s getting it’s mandatory +1 for the Harmony, but that’s it.

Impact: As I said in my reaction video, I think this card is kind of on the fringe even in the world where Unicorn decks exist. If it’s trying to make its own way, it’s not going to find one.

Flavour: Now, the Flavour here is pretty good, though. Top-decking is the most serious removal that Purple can offer, and setting it in the academic context is nice. Plus it’s important to point out that the Unicorn Harmony is done right. Having an abundance of Unicorns isn’t going to make your spells more powerful, but it might make them easier to do.

Smolder, Culture Shock

Novelty: Naturally, I can’t give Smolder much of a drop for Novelty. That text certainly looks nothing like anything that I’ve ever seen before. It’s clever, but it’s still decidedly Orange. It’s nice.

Impact: Smolder gets a helping hand in this category because Orange is really crying out for a reasonable Mane right now. Yes, Muffin Mare exists, but she has a pretty dedicated niche. With AJ gone, Orange desperately needs a good general purpose Mane. And even though Smolder has the obvious Dragon synergy, she’s perfectly fine in other Orange decks that do faceoffs from time to time.

Flavour: Like with Gallus, let me try to interpret this text into something that can be well-understood. Again, we’re in a tough spot (the faceoff). Smolder is going to take the opponent head on (exhausting herself) in the hope of interfering with them (forced discard) enough to give one of her allies (other card) an opening to strike (+Power). Now that is very Dragon-like (it’s bascially what the tribe is about), but it sounds like a super stretch to throw that on Smolder as a character. I’m not convinced.

Yona, Student of Friendship

Novelty: I was getting ready to bust Yona all of the way down to 1 just like I did with Sandbar before. While it’s true that no card that no card has had her specific text before, there have been many variations on the theme. However, I did notice one key thing that I felt merited something: the fact that her effect isn’t local, whereas all of the Friend-based “Turn a Troublemaker down” effects are. That actually counts for something, since it helps her out with the Trixie TM.

Impact: That said, we’re still going to be moving along here. Yellow has plenty of Troublemaker hate already, and won’t blink an eye getting more.

Flavour: Interfering with Troublemakers has in the past been interpreted as impressive power (including in one of my favourite Flavour cards, Princess Celestia, Bane of Evil). However, sometimes it’s also been mere trickery or unexpected good fortune. I find it hard to really fault Yona in any way on this, so she can have a middling score, since she’s okay in Yellow.

Stop Fighting!

Novelty: This is another card that I really like, in this case mainly because of the novel thing that it’s doing with its tribe. When the tribe thing was first starting out, we saw the way that Unicorns and Pegasi and Dragons etc. were looking, and everyone said “Well gee, there aren’t really enough griffons to pull a deck like that together; let’s hope we see a lot more griffons.” But this card is saying that the griffon tribe isn’t going to work like that. There probably isn’t going to be a griffon deck; there may instead be a griffon package that augments other things. And it’s cool to see some tribes that aren’t implemented as full “Your whole deck must be Unicorns” things.

Impact: Somewhat paradoxically given the above, I still think that we’re a little short on griffons at the moment for this card to have a real spot in the world. It’s not terrible as a pure 1 AT frighten, though, so at least I have to give it that.

Flavour: Griffons can be loud and intimidating, and I really love again how the tribe’s synergy is portrayed in the design of cards like this. Griffons generally aren’t team players, so you’re not going to see effects like Unicorn Trixie or Dragon Charcoal. Instead, you’re going to see effects that make each griffon individually better. Top notch, though why this has to be in the discard pile first is a tougher lift for me.

Queen Chrysalis, Evil Twin

Novelty: In effect, what Chrysalis is really implementing is a stronger version of the already-done stealing mechanic. Since this card effectively steals a Friend, but no recourse exists to get the Friend back. If that was the only thing special about the card, it wouldn’t score that highly. But implementing it on a 5-cost, 0-Power Friend that ushers in a whole slew of rules on what “copying a Friend” actually means. Sign me up for that.

Impact: Unfortunately in terms of game impact, we really can reduce Chryssy down to just a stronger stealing effect. Since stealing was already generally considered too expensive at 4, I wouldn’t say that making it 5 and getting the extra surety is going to help all that much. Though she can be cheated out, which is something at least.

Flavour: Let us all take a moment to collectively chuckle at this beautiful flavour text. And if you hear any hissing, watch carefully the one who hisses, for that one may be the traitor in disguise. In all seriousness, though, this card perfectly encapsulates the changeling ideal of aggressively replacing someone else. It’s something Chrysalis honestly ought to do more of on the show; it’s kind of what she’s good at.

Ocellus, Knowledge is Power

Novelty: Well, clearly there isn’t much to say on this. This Mane is totally new; we’ve never seen anything even remotely like this before. And it’s clever, and it’s cool. Ocellus has already inspired lots of new thinking about how to play decks with her (including from yours truly). That’s precisely what novel cards are supposed to do.

Impact: Similar to Smolder, Ocellus gets some of her Impact score purely from the fact that White was in need of a better general-purpose Mane than it currently had. Which isn’t to imply that this one is necessarily “general-purpose”. She definitely does require some thought and work to use properly, but not as much as Octavia. And she’s clearly powerful, though not quite in a way that I’d immediately say she’s going to rock the meta.

Flavour: Okay, I may as well keep this process going. So Ocellus is naturally a timid individual; she needs some support (the efficient Friend) to properly shine. With AT somewhat associated with knowledge via Purple, the Immediate ability is the implementation of the whole Knowledge is Power thing: with applied thought, Ocellus can be a proper force. However, she has to take a hit because she doesn’t belong in White. I fully understand why this Mane had to be White (the changeling colours are Yellow and White) but that doesn’t make it a Flavour win.

Maulwurf, Extra Large

Novelty: It’s true that the text on this card has an identifiable source, coming straight from good old Jet Set & Upper Crust, albeit with a slight variation both in Power and in text. Bringing that effect to Core is desirable enough (especially since it was actually a valuable thing in Harmony once or twice), even if it’s basically the same card.

Impact: While clearly a farming counter, Maulwurf on its own does nothing against a farming deck. Indeed, old JSUC required an Alicorn Amulet to really come into its own, and this card will likely fill the same role in any deck that wants it. Farming is around though, so in that sense it stands a fighting chance.

Flavour: Trying to figure out what exactly the point value of a Troublemaker translates to in terms of flavour was an interesting exercise for me. In the end, I think it comes down to the degree of cunning on the part of the character. Minions and wild beasts don’t get the points, it’s the leaders and the planners that get that benefit. And thus this works, in addition to the moderate values on the rest of the card with the game text filling in for its resistant biology.

Untested Magic Fireworks

Novelty: This card really comes out of leftfield and leaves only an impact crater when it leaves, doesn’t it? On the one hand, this is a classic Johnny card and something that the game needs more of. On the other, it instantly calls to mind Chaos Capital of the World, though clearly with some major differences that probably make it much more applicable to the weird interactions that it’s going to cause people to dream up.

Impact: I have no idea whatsoever what the Impact of this card should be. Again, its presence has already incited fevered theorizing, and a couple of combos that sound like they might be edging closer to the main stage. But it definitely feels like more of a joke to me.

Flavour: At this stage, I feel like the card should just turn things up to eleven and replace the Problems each time while it’s at it, so the whole board is just getting nuked. Either way, though, it’s still pretty awesome. This is a meteor coming out of nowhere and doing some damage. To everyone. Outstanding.

Sorry Stamp

Novelty: Mechanically, this card is actually pretty interesting. It stands in a similar spot to Pharynx, where it’s quite bad when used on its own, but rapidly gets quite respectable when used in the proper deck. In the way that I see Earth Ponies playing, this card is very much just going to be dismiss two things, and that’s new too. It will be interesting to see how the costs play out.

Impact: This is one of the cards where I feel like Impact, as I have been judging it, feels wrong. Like sure, this card gets a low Impact score because it’s not going to start an Earth Pony deck all on its own, so clearly in SB nobody would use it. (Especially since there was no shortage of removal in those days already). But that’s really not the point of the card. But again, that’s why we don’t average or combine the ratings when we do overall. The card is novel, and cards shouldn’t have to always be all three.

Flavour: Like a fair number of these Harmony cards, the problem is with the scaling. We have more Earth Ponies so it’s easier to stamp more stuff? Hardly.

These things somehow always turn out being incredibly gigantic pieces of work. That I didn’t quite expect when I started out. But I guess it’s almost done, right? Just have that review stream to look forward too...

#mlpccg #mlp:ccg #friendsforever #design

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scholaarblog · 6 years ago

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“The PBL Playbook” and How PBL can Help You Innovate Inside the Box

My good friend and a colleague I highly respect, AJ Juliani, is offering an opportunity to get a copy of his book, “The PBL Playbook” by paying shipping and handling only. AJ does some incredible work, and I love his blog, and this is a great way to dive deeper into Project Based Learning. If you are interested, you can order your copy here:

The PBL Playbook – by AJ Juliani

If you want a sample of AJ’s work, here is a post where AJ shows how PBL can help you “innovate inside the box” by providing students exceptional opportunities for deep and empowered learning, while still preparing students to do well within the traditional constraints of school.

Check out his post below.

I was worried the first time I tried a project-based learning unit with my students. As a young teacher, I had prided myself on running a challenging class and had focused much of my attention on getting my students prepared for what we were both going to be assessed on: the test.

I was not doing test prep. I didn’t believe that giving students sample test questions would make them do any better on our state standardized scores (and still don’t).

Yet, I was actively trying to match my lessons and activities to what they would be assessed on later down the road. I thought that this was best practice, and would benefit us both as they would be ready to tackle challenging questions (in any format) as we got towards the end of the school year.

Heading into our first true project-based learning unit, I wondered whether my students would learn as much as they did when I was teaching in more traditional methods.

I wondered if they would have more fun and balk at going back to those traditional tasks.

But, deep down, what I really worried about (if I’m being honest with myself), is how their results on the standardized test would reflect on me as a teacher.

And I don’t think I was the only teacher who felt this way…

Is Practicing the Test the Best Way to Prepare for a Test?

As author Jay McTighe states: “The logic of test prep is plausible and rooted in experience from other domains. For example, if you want to improve your performance in dribbling a basketball or piano playing, then you must practice those activities. Shouldn’t the same apply to test taking?”

I was a former athlete and was a football and lacrosse coach during my time as a middle school and high school English/Language Arts teacher.

As a coach, I believed that winning was a byproduct (not just a goal) of the time, work, and focus the team displayed while practicing. Fundamentals, teamwork, strategy, tactics, planning, and execution all had a role in how well the team performed. But, at least we had common goals.

In the classroom, we had varying goals. Each student was different. They all had unique interests, ideas, friends, and views on what success looked like to them in school.

My goals as a teacher were fairly simple.

I wanted students to enjoy my class and find success in learning.

I wanted to challenge students and give them an opportunity to grow.

I wanted to make sure their hard work in my class showed on the learning assessments that were measured.

I say this because, maybe, just like me, you only have one or two assessments each year that are actually measured beyond your classroom walls.

And guess what?

We care about what we are measured on. We focus on it, and we try to improve it. This is not only teachers, this impacts every person in any field.

In a recent HBR article they talk about how the measures in other fields (CEOs, Medicine, Science etc) have the exact same impact:

It can’t be that simple, you might argue— but psychologists and economists will tell you it is. Human beings adjust behavior based on the metrics they’re held against. Anything you measure will impel a person to optimize his score on that metric. What you measure is what you’ll get. Period.

This phenomenon plays out time and again in research studies.

There is no way around it, except to change what we measure. Or, to change the game entirely.

I was caught up in a circle of practice that was based on some misconceptions on how to improve the metric I was judged on as a teacher. It is important to note, I was trying to do what was best for my students this entire time. I believe almost all teachers have the best interest of students, and that their practice is predicated on preparing students in any way possible.

McTighe shares the misconceptions that led me down this test prep trap as a young teacher, and what many of us commonly believe as the reasons for preparing students for a test that we don’t believe in.

Misconception #1 – The best (and only) way to improve test scores is to practice the test.

Here McTighe shares an analogy of the yearly physical exam with your doctor. Although the physician examines and measures your health, spending all your time trying to prepare for this physical with practice on the strategies would not make much sense.

It would be thought silly to practice the physical exam as a way to improve one’s health. But this confusion is precisely what we see in schools all over North America. Local educators, fearful of results, focus on the indicators, not their causes. The format of the test misleads us, in other words.

Misconception #2 – Standardized test items involve primarily recall and recognition, and thus drill and practice will be the most effective method to prepare students for them.

Grant Wiggins (2013) points out the flaw in this reasoning: “Even though the test format requires a selected response, it does not mean that the tested knowledge is necessarily simple. The [format] deceives you into thinking that since you are mimicking the format of the test, you are therefore mimicking the rigor of the test. But data show the opposite conclusively: local tests are often less rigorous than state and national tests even when they mimic the format.”

Too often, the information revealed by test prep exercises identifies whether students have chosen the “correct” answer rather than helping teachers determine if they have a conceptual understanding of the underlying concepts and skills and can apply (transfer) those.

How I Got Out of The Test Prep Trap with PBL

It started small.

First, I started to notice how disengaged my students were in class. Despite my efforts to use technology, create fun learning activities, and challenge my students…I was failing them in many ways.

They cared more about getting a GRADE and playing the GAME of school than they did about learning. When I looked at the research it was clear that it was not just my class (and my students) that were showing signs of apathy.

In a recent article by Scott Mcleod on Dangerously Irrelevant, he shared results available from the annual Gallup poll of middle and high school students (over 920,000 students participated last fall). Here are a couple of key charts that Scott made from the data:

Interestingly enough, it seems that our students know this is happening. They know that they and their peers are often bored in school.

This was when I first started with project-based learning. It was a natural attempt at doing school differently, so my students might become engaged. At this point, I had nothing to lose.

My co-teacher and I taught our symbolism unit using an activity where students would create “junk sculptures” to represent characters, scenes, emotions, and much more through their creation. Our transfer goal was having them discuss in roundtables how the authors use the words on the page in the same way.

We got students talking during class, in real ways. Discussion games, fishbowl activities, and symposiums focused on their analysis out in the open, instead of trapped on the centered lines of a worksheet.

We changed our assessment of the human rights and genocide unit from being a letter to a state senator to developing, creating, and running an awareness campaign that would reach our community and people all across the country.

With each of the changes, my confidence grew as a teacher. With each new project, my students’ confidence also grew in their ability to critically think, problem solve, and create in authentic ways.

And they were not doing worse on standardized assessments. They did better.

They were not missing pieces of content that we could not cover because of lost time to the project. They were going deeper.

The Research Supports PBL Approach to Achievement

I wasn’t the only one finding out how wrong I had been about Project Based Learning. Everywhere I turned I started to see articles, journal reviews, and videos of teachers around the world who had seen their students achieve at high levels when moving from a traditional teaching approach to a PBL approach.

When Edutopia came out with this overview of the research around PBL I nodded my head at the results:

Studies comparing learning outcomes for students taught via project-based learning versus traditional instruction show that when implemented well, PBL increases long-term retention of content, helps students perform as well as or better than traditional learners in high-stakes tests, improves problem-solving and collaboration skills, and improves students’ attitudes towards learning (Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009; Walker & Leary, 2009). PBL can also provide an effective model for whole-school reform (National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, 2004; Newmann & Wehlage, 1995).

A 2016 MDRC/Lucas Education Research literature review found that the design principles most commonly used in PBL align well with the goals of preparing students for deeper learning, higher-level thinking skills, and intra/interpersonal skills (Condliffe et al., 2016).

No longer could the argument be about how well (or poorly) students would do on standardized assessments. The research was clear. When PBL was implemented well, students thrived in traditional tests and in a wide variety of soft-skills that are crucial to development and success beyond school.

The Buck Institute for Education also put out a research summary on PBL and 21st Century competencies that states, “Project Based Learning has been shown to yield a number of benefits for students, ranging from deeper learning of academic content to stronger motivation to learn. Looking specifically at how PBL supports 21st century learning goals, we can find several promising areas, including:

Academic Achievement

21st Century Competencies

Equity

Motivation

Teacher Satisfaction

I urge you to dive into this research more here on the BIE website if you have any doubts.

If you asked any teacher, administrator, parent, school board member, student, or community member to list their top goals for an academic program, you would see achievement, 21st century competencies, equity, and motivation all at the top.

Project-based learning is shown to work in all kinds of schools, in all different grade levels, with students of varying backgrounds and abilities.

So, if this is what the research says about PBL, then why do we still have so many schools falling into the test prep trap? Why do some many teachers feel like they cannot make the jump into PBL? Why haven’t we seen a nationwide movement towards PBL as a best and effective practice for all students?

Finding the TIME for PBL When We Have to Cover So Much Material

When teachers ask me about my PBL experiences, they’ll quickly ask three questions over and over again:

How did you find the time?

What about the curriculum?

How did you assess it and make sure students were understanding content/concepts etc?

In reality, this is just one question, that I can phrase in a quick sentence:

How did you do PBL given the current constraints as a teacher in our educational system?

The issue is that we all have constraints. Are we supposed to as teachers and leaders NOT do Project Based Learning because we don’t have enough time…or can we start within the time we are given?

This isn’t a case of all or nothing.

I think teacher and author, Joy Kirr, put it perfectly in this comment:

I cannot redesign my entire school like I know you dream of. I am one teacher. I can, however, with the blessings of my administration, give 60 minutes of my week over to the students. It is TOO LITTLE time, I know. And I can’t make sure each project will change the world. But it is a start. And the lessons we all learn during this time seep into the other four hours I have with these students throughout the week, thank goodness. I don’t have numbers to show student progress. But I’m trying to create life-long learners. How do you measure that?

Project-based learning experiences give students opportunities that they would never have in school otherwise. To ME that is enough. It is enough to try this type of learning with your students. It is enough to take a risk and go beyond the curriculum.

I’d ask anyone who is criticizing PBL in the classroom to talk to the teachers and students who have had this opportunity. I’d ask them to look at what students are creating, making, and building during this time. I’d ask them to talk to the parents about their students’ attitude towards learning.

I’ve heard from so many colleagues and teachers around the country (and world) who have said this time has changed their teaching and the way they view learning.

I give two answers to the question above:

Try it for a day and see what happens. Start small and build from there.

Teach through the project, instead of using the project as an “end-of-unit” assessment that takes more time than a multiple choice test. When kids learn during the project, the time constraint goes away.

And yet, it also comes down to the school leaders. What do we praise, support, make time for, and allow as school leaders? Are we encouraging our staff and students to take risks and go beyond the traditional models of teaching and learning?

If you are a school leader, try to reflect on these four questions as a way to promote this type of learning in your school.

The First Question is: What do We Praise, Look For, and Assess?

There is famous saying I referenced earlier: “What you measure is what matters.” And this is very true in the teaching and learning world. If our schools are only successful based on standardized measures, then it is no coincidence that many focus their efforts on the performance of these measures. For our students, this tends to mean they believe handing work in on time, being compliant, and doing well on traditional assessments is what makes them a good student. It’s why a third of my 11th graders during the 20% project asked if they could just get a handout with a rubric instead of having to think for themselves on what they wanted to learn. Yet, when we change what we praise and look for in a classroom, students begin to adjust what matters. When we praise failure, look for grit, and assess the process (instead of only the final product) then students are empowered to share their work and grow as learners in a variety of ways.

The Second Question is: What do We Support?

Take for instance a school that solely focuses on standardized assessments. The teachers are not supported by the administration by bringing in new ideas or curiosity to their profession. Then it is increasingly difficult for teachers to support students when they create or make. Often they’ll never get the opportunity. Yet in schools like Wissahickon (where I taught) I was supported when I wanted to try something new in the classroom. Online and global opportunities like the Flat Classroom Project weren’t looked down upon. And when my students wanted to try something outside of the box or run with a project idea, I jumped at supporting their innovative work through ideas like Project: Global Inform. Support is a key ingredient to help those new ideas actually work.

The Third Question is: What do We Make Time For?

A constant complaint I hear from teachers and students is that they don’t have enough time. It drives stress levels up, and brings innovative work to a halt when we create curricula and schedules that are jam-packed with content and pre-determined lessons. When we make time for reflection/self-assessment (look at Hattie’s work), sharing, and making/tinkering our students (and our teachers) actually go out and TRY new things.

The Fourth Question is: What do We Allow?

What we allow for in our schools and classrooms will ultimately open up avenues for new ideas to develop. If we don’t allow for inquiry, choice, collaboration, digital tools, failing, then usually only the people in charge are allowed to have ideas.

How to Teach About the Test and Learn Beyond the Test

Around the testing time, when it came to be March, there started to be a real sense of urgency in my school. Are our kids ready to take this test? Have we done our best to prepare them for this assessment? And how can we figure out ahead of time, what we need to do to get them there?

What always struck me as odd, is that we have all these tools and all this data that we can use, but we never have enough time. Instead of approaching the test as the ultimate measure of my ability to teach and my students’ ability to learn, we began to take a different approach in my classroom and school.

Our focus was not to dismiss the test but to treat it as a reality.

The conversation I used to have with my students before the test was simple:

“I want you all to try your best on this, just like in anything else you do. But you should not be waking up in the middle of the night because of these tests. You should not be coming to school nervous because of these tests.

You all, have been prepared for much greater things than these tests. The tests only show a smidgeon of your ability, not just as English students, but as human beings. So if you think that I’m going to stand up here and tell you how important these tests are, I’m not. Instead, you should treat them the same way you treat anything else. Do it to the best of your ability, and understand that everything you’ve been doing in my class has prepared you for this. But, it has also prepared you for much more than this.”

My students scored well on our state tests. Not every single student, but across the board covering minority groups, low-economic groups, and all different types of students, they scored very well. In an effort to teach above the test, I had to look at my choices as a teacher with a different viewpoint.

Our focus needs to change. We can’t hate these assessments. And we also can’t love these assessments. We need to start treating these tests for what they really are, which is just one assessment out of many that our students will have to take in life.

Their first interview for a job, that’s an assessment. The college essay they’ll have to write, that’s an assessment.

They are assessed every single day, and judged every single day, and this is just another assessment they’ll have to take in the game of life.

Is Project-Based Learning the solution to all that is wrong with our current system? No.

But, it is a start. Like so many teachers around the world jumping into PBL, I saw my students get excited about learning again. I saw my students work together with their classmates towards common goals. I saw my students struggle and fight through tough learning moments. I saw my students become leaders and push their classmates to success. I saw them reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what they would do differently next time.

Above all, I saw my students LEARN. They demonstrated their understanding in all kinds of ways (and yes, the test was just one way). And, as a teacher, when we see our students learning, the excitement is contagious, and our creative spark continues well beyond the school day.

Wondering How to Start?

If you are wondering where to start with project-based learning, I’ve got a free guide to kick-start this type of learning in any classroom. Just enter your email below and get access to The Epic Guide to Student Ownership for free.

September 26, 2017 Incremental Innovations #IMMOOC

August 14, 2017 10 Reasons to Try Genius Hour This School Year

July 2, 2017 Preparing Learners For Anything #EmpowerBook

July 18, 2012 Lessons from Caine

October 27, 2016 Developing Innovators and Entrepreneurs

“The PBL Playbook” and How PBL can Help You Innovate Inside the Box published first on https://profitinfomastery.tumblr.com/

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