#and sure fine i get it the discipline is important during war but BRO

[apricusapollo]

the way I'm PRAYING for general krell's downfall like that motherfucker can suck my fucking DICK

[moonraccoon-exe]

Hi, dear moonraccoon ! 💕💕 May I ask you to do the ship thing (I can't copy the symbol for some reason ;;) with Iris and Noctis ❤️ (if you want of course ❤️) I wanted to ask you to do it for Noctis and Prompto but someone already asked you that ;^; thank you in advance 💕💕💕 - artist anon ❤️ (who send you a lot of love ❤️❤️)

ARTIST ANON, MY SWEETEST!!!! ♡ ～(‘▽^人)

I hope you liked the Noctis and Prompto one, dear you, and I’ll happily comply for the Iris/Noctis one! Thank you for requesting in such a nice and sweet way, and thank you for all the love you always send!! You’re wonderful! ♡

This shall be the last I make for the heart symbol thing. 

I hope you like it, sweetest you!

I also hope you don’t mind that I made it post-game in a everyone lives AU; it worked better for domestic life, and so it wasn’t underage anymore, so it worked better/more natural for me. Thank you (/▽＼*)

[Adding a Keep Reading at some point]

Iris/Noctis

Who’s the first to wake up in the morning:

Iris, obviously. Noctis is a sleepyhead even at 30. Heck, maybe even MORE at 30, because at least now he can take the “king duties are tiring” excuse to sleep in for even longer than he did during his 20′s.

As second in command to the Crownsguard and having grown as disciplined, Iris naturally wakes relatively early for training and the morning run.

Who’s the one to make breakfast:

Iris because Noctis is still asleep, that little idiot. Iris had great teachers across her life (Cor, Ignis, Monica…), so she can handle her way through the kitchen just fine. Not that Noctis can’t he’s just. Still asleep. 

Who’s the one to serve the other breakfast in bed:

It’s mostly Iris, because Noctis IS STILL ASLEEP, that lazy and forever exhausted creature. What I mean is, Noctis struggles a lot with being up early unless it’s for his job (he still struggles but at least manages to throw himself out of bed), so even if it crosses his hea dto  bring breakfast in bed to Iris, Iris has already woken up, gone for the morning run, exercised, showered, dressed, and is currently making breakfast already or waking up up because it’s all already served.

Iris does it because she’s sometimes very happy that, in the end, Noct did say yes to her and she’s living her once utopic dream of a domestic, quiet life with Noct, so because she’s the sweetest and most adorable thing ever, Iris will sometimes bring breakfast to him just because she never thought she’d get this chance, she’s happy, and she wants to pamper him a little.

However, and surprisingly, Noctis has done it sometimes too; Noct is and will forever be mesmerized of how much and how sincerely Iris loves him and how amazingly she treats him, and he sometimes goes a bit paranoid about “wanting to show her I really mean it too but how”.

It comes in the form of Noctis’ greatest sacrifice; waking up early, earlier than her, and secretly turn her alarm off, go to the kitchen, prepare something, and surprise her with that in bed. No morning runs or training, just letting her sleep in, bringing her food, and cuddling a little before really getting up.

Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work:

Iris. You’d think Gladio is the only horny thing in the Amicitia familly? Pscht. You should have seen Clarus in youth (you should have seen Clarus until like 55 oh my god). And of course Iris too, goddammit. So it’s pretty frequent that she gets prety horny at random times, and it’s not rare that it happens in the mornings.

Iris suggests it mostly either casually or even playfully, not much sensually as one would expect. Noctis knows his wife pretty well by this point but whenever she happily suggests a quickie like she’s talking about playing a videogame, it can still make him burn cherry red in the face and go shy, but he always says yes. It’s a good way to bring the king fully awake and keep him in a happy mood when he has early morning meetings he otherwise would have slept through.

Who suggests they both ditch work to lay around all day:

It’s 50/50, actually. Noctis is a good and responsible and hard working king but sometimes there’s nothing important to do at the Citadel and he “just doesn’t want to be king today, Iris, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaase, just today, sweetie, I swear I’ll make the paperwork of both today and tomorrow, tomorrow, but I want to stay here today, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase, Iriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis pleeeeeeeeeaa-”

Iris is a bit too focused in her work (World of Ruin made her grow a bit too disciplined) so she suggests it less, but she’s offered it too, either at random times because she just wants to stay home with Noct, or because she notices Noct is a bit worn out, and wants him to take a day off. “One day without king won’t kill anyone”, and Noct can’t say no to her sweetness.

Who chooses the movies:

Iris. Iris is still that playful little bouncy creature, and Noctis has no troubles in whatever she chooses. Noct prefers to let her choose because it’s absolutely adorable to watch Iris bounce on her feet excitedly while her eyes roam through all the titles, and as she happily points at them and rants and goes “This one! Oh moogles, no, this one better, I heard the cast blah blah blah bla- MAYBE THIS ONE right Noct would you like that Noct I think you’d like it Noct, but what- no- this one!”

Noctis is too happy just watching her excitement, he agrees with whatever she chooses because the movies are good but Iris’ joy is even better.

Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie all together:

Iris. Noctis the Awkward Lamppost of a husband never thinks about it because he’s not….very romantic at random times, and his reasoning is “she was super excited about watching this movie, I don’t want to distract her”. 

Iris chose that movie specifically because it was boring and she wanted Noctis to kiss her but gods have mercy on her, Noctis is too dense and innocent. So Iris gives the first step always.

That, or she really was interested in the movie, but a while into it she’s happy that Noctis is so kind with her and always lets her choose, and she thanks with a kiss, which reminds her how happy she is that he’s there, alive and healthy, and with her, so one kiss turns to two, then ten, then thirty while Noctis softly holds her and kisses back, and so on until the credits are rolling. She missed the movie but eh. She has Noct and she likes him better.

Who orders lunch:

50/50. Iris the noodle lover and Noctis I-can-cook-but-I’m-too-lazy-to-can-we-order-instead make a mess of a team about ordering lunch. During the first months of living together, they ordered lunch as frequently as they prepared it, until both Gladio and Iggy had to chime in and give them a good nag about them not being kids anymore and needing to eat healthy, so now Iris and Noct just order from time to time, but still relatively frequently.

They both enjoy a lot of any sort of fast food, so they have happy moments surrounded of empty sushi boxes, holding their respective third box of it, sat on the floor of the living room in comfy baggy clothes, and joking about stupid things.

Who steals food from the other’s plate without asking:

Both, but it’s more frequent that it’s Iris. You’d think Gladio is the only Amicitia capable of eating an entire catoblepas and still be hungry. Pscht. You should know Clarus. YOU SHOULD KNOW IRIS, she eats even more than both papa and big bro. Noctis thinks she has a black hole in her stomach that swallows everything she eats and that’s why she eats so much, and so why she’s always stealing from his plate. 

Noctis makes sure to separate the things he doesn’t like (this picky idiot), and Iris is immediately snatching them away. None say anything about it, like it’s the most natural thing ever.  

Who curls up next to the other and falls asleep due to a full tummy:

Both like to curl up together and sleep after a good meal; Noctis likes Iris’ cooking, and Iris always eats a lot, so it’s just natural both are very satisfied afterwards. It’s not strange to find both curled up together on a sofa or bed or once or twice even in the living room’s floor, asleep due to a full and happy tummy.

Who distracts the other from trying to work at home:

Iris. She knows being king is a lot of duties and a lot of work, but she likes the philosophy of working at working and relaxing at home; she doesn’t want Noctis to overwork, so she doesn’t like that he brings work at home. 

When she sees him working home, she always asks if it’s a life or death issue and that, if Noct leaves it, “will it start a war?”. Noctis, bless his dense head and innocent soul, always thinks it’s a serious questions so he always says “Uhm…no”. This triggers Iris into trying to distract him on purpose from working, and even though Noctis sometimes tries to ask her to please not do that and let him work, he somehow always ends up in an arcade with her and how did it happen I was home just two minutes ago and oh look you won a moogle! That’s my wife! :D

Who asks to go get ice cream like a five year old:

They’re both a chaotic mess for ice-cream, so please be careful if you’re walking with them; if they see an ice-cream parlor or stall, they’ll both get overly excited in their own way. Iris will probably scream and bounce on her feet, and Noctis will probably shake the fists uncontollably and gasp, and without sharing a glance or word they’re both already running to get an ice-cream. It’s usually Iris who asks for them, though, as she’s the extrovert of the relationship.

Who takes pictures of their partner eating ice cream:

Iris. Noct is fine with being taken photos, and while he takes some at times too, it’s not often crossing his head. Iris may take one or two of Noct with his ice-cream, but it’s far more frequent that it’s a selfie of both with their cones.

Who makes a sexual joke about the dripping ice cream on their partner’s face:

Despite it not making much sense, it’s Iris. One would guess it should be Noct, but he’s still an innocent puppy that’s too awkward and dense to think about that sort of things (and if he’s ever thought of it, he feels too shy to say it because he doesn’t want to offend her, as he’s not often sure if it’s okay to joke about that or not).

More than a spoken joke, Iris just snorts, laughs a bit, and before Noct can ask her what is it, she reaches to take the dripping ice cream off Noct’s face with a finger and bings it to her mouth while making eye contact. It usually still takes a couple seconds or Iris’ help with something like “darling, it shouldn’t be on your face, be careful” before Noct catches it (if he does).

When he does, Noctis gasps, burns red in the face, and becomes a shy mess that tries to act casual. Iris just laughs and blushes too.

Who cooks dinner:

This is the most common time of the day when they order food if they do, because Noct it still too lazy and would rather not and Iris is too tired and she’s rather not cook. However, because they can’t just order every night, they decided to team up for preparing dinner; both are tired and don’t want to do everything, so they separate the work in two pairs of hands to make it more bearable.

Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards:

They team up again. Sometimes, however, Noctis insists he does it himself; as much as he likes sleeping, he has no troubles in sleeping late, where Iris is the opposite and has no troubles waking up early but would rather not sleep too late. He feels he never helps in the mornings and wants to put his part somehow, so if it’s with something as simple as cleaning the kitchen after dinner, then he does it gladly.

Who stays up until 2 reading:

Iris. It’s not frequent that she stays up late to read, but if it’s happened, it’s her. She got the liking from her brother, and while she doesn’t read as much as he does, she still sometimes finds a good book that captures her too much.

It’s more frequent that it’s Noct who’s up late, mostly for videogames online with Prompto (though they don’t do it as often as when they were 15). If Noctis has ever stayed up late reading, it’s important paperwork. Iris likes to stay awake with him until he’s done. 

Who stares at their partner while their sleeping:

Iris. Noctis sleeps a lot, so it’s not rare to find him asleep at either day or night. Iris has no troubles sleeping, but she wakes earlier than him, and naps less than him, so it’s more frequent that she finds him sleeping and gets a chance to look at him.

Iris really likes to stare because Noct changed after the Crystal swallowed him, and she likes to admire this new beauty, as used as she already is to it. She likes to look at Noct because she was in love with him all life and she marvels that life did give her the chance to be with him, she marvels that he’s asleep in the same bed where she sleeps and on the sofa of the living room of where she lives, she marvels at his existence alone. She likes to caress his face and hair while watching him sleep, being peaceful, quiet, and relaxed. Alive. And there, next to her.

Who kisses their partner while they sleep:

50/50 Noctis values a lot what Iris does for her, how long she did wait for him despite the possibility that he could have not made it, how hard she works, and everything she is. He can be a bit awkward at times and while he is romantic, it’s not as much or as frequent as he would like, and sometimes he feels he’s not giving her as much as she gives him. Sometimes, Noct wakes up during the night, or goes to bed later than her, and he likes to take her in arms carefully to not wake her up, and leans close to give her a kiss, both as a thank you (for just another day bearing with him), and as a little gesture of love. 

Iris does it whenever she’s stared at him sleep, but less than Noct does. She doesn’t want to bother him, as she sometimes feels she gives him too much love and maybe it can get annoying (it doesn’t), so she prefers to let him sleep peacefully. Still, sometimes, she’ll lean in to kiss his forehead or his jaw before leaving to let him sleep in.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~

This was surprisingly adorable and cute to write for! ♡ ～('▽^人)

Thank you soooo, so much for the lovely, wonderful request, my dearest artist anon!! It’s always a joy to see you drop by my ask, it makes me so happy, and this was a wonderful request to fulfill. :3

Thank you so much, artist anon!!

I hope to hear from you again soon! Sending you AAAAALLL the raccoonie love and snuggles!!❤

I hope you’re having a most BEAUTIFUL day or night, buddy!! Lots of raccoonie hugs for you!! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ♡

[junker-town]

What we know about the Antonio Brown vs. Steelers drama

Brown’s issues with the Steelers boiled over before a vital Week 17 matchup.

Antonio Brown missed an important Week 17 game against the Bengals — and it may not have been because of an injury. Instead, the All-Pro wide receiver may have been held out of the game due to disciplinary issues that tie back to an increasingly volatile Steelers locker room. That’s not where the drama ends, either.

After the Steelers’ season finale, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writers Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette reported that Brown’s trip to the inactive list wasn’t due to a balky knee like head coach Mike Tomlin told the press that Sunday. Instead, his absence was a disciplinary reaction that came after a week filled with missed team activities and an argument with an unnamed teammate.

While the Steelers were able to win without their star wideout, a sputtering offense made things much more difficult that expected against a spiraling Bengals team. While that gave Pittsburgh the victory it needed to stay alive in the playoff race, the Ravens’ nailbiting win over the Browns clinched the AFC North for Baltimore and all but eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention.

Since then, Brown has not spoken to anyone in the organization. Team owner Art Rooney II also told the Post-Gazette that while the Steelers would not release Brown this offseason, “all other options are on the table.” Brown took the small step of removing “Pittsburgh Steelers” from his Twitter bio.

What did the reports say about Antonio Brown’s Week 17 absence?

While Dulac and Bouchette don’t name who the confrontation was with, NFL Network scribe Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that multiple sources had told her Brown and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had “a little bit of a disagreement” during Wednesday’s practice. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Antonio Brown threw a ball towards Ben Roethlisberger before walking out of practice.

Was told this afternoon by a source during Steelers locker room clean out that Antonio Brown threw a ball near/at feet of Ben Roethlisberger and walked out of practice. Post-Gazette reporting Brown skipped Sat walkthrough and expected to play Sunday. He didn’t. @TheAthleticPGH

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) December 31, 2018

He did not attend practices the rest of the week, including Saturday’s walk-through practice, and skipped the Saturday night meeting at the team hotel. Brown never took the field for the start of the game against the Bengals and left Heinz Field at halftime, according to multiple sources.

From the Post-Gazette’s report:

Steelers receiver Antonio Brown did not play in the season-ending game against the Cincinnati Bengals because he elected to sit out practice last week after an unspecified heated dispute with a teammate, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has learned.

Several sources said the Steelers’ decision to not play Brown against the Bengals had nothing to do with any type of knee injury.

The disagreement occurred Wednesday morning during a routine walk-through practice that precedes their regular afternoon practice on the South Side. Brown became disgusted and threw a football in anger at one of his teammates, several sources said.

...

He did not attend Saturday’s walk-through practice and skipped the Saturday night meeting at the team hotel — the latest in missed meetings by the All-Pro receiver. Brown was never on the field for the start of the game against the Bengals and left Heinz Field at halftime, according to multiple sources.

Dulac and Bouchette’s report also suggested Brown showed up to the locker room on Sunday morning expecting to play, only to be shut down by Tomlin. This further annoyed teammates, who called Brown’s behavior “embarrassing” and “the worst I’ve seen.”

ESPN’s report gave more context to what Brown was emotional about:

Brown got upset that Roethlisberger wanted to run a hot read over again during a walk-through, so coaches sent another player to run the play, a source close to the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Brown got upset, left practice and talked with Roethlisberger afterward, telling the quarterback that he felt underappreciated and had issues with people in the organization, the source told Schefter.

However, Roethlisberger said the reports were blown out of proportion and that everything between Brown and him is fine — despite Brown not replying to any of his teammates’ texts in the past few days.

“That’s what baffling to me, people are making a big deal about a walkthrough on Wednesday, a fight between he and I,” Roethlisberger said on his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan. “If there was a blowup or something, I sure of heck didn’t see it. I’m not sure where that comes from.”

Former Packers receiver and current NFL Network analyst James Jones said that he has heard that Roethlisberger and Brown have a bit of a shaky relationship and Roethlisberger could be an antagonizer to Brown.

“I have talked to a couple people in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and they told me this has been lingering on,” Jones said. “I’ve been told in meetings [Roethlisberger] would take shots at AB. Like, ‘I don’t got to throw you the ball,’ and things like that. Wednesday in practice, I heard he ran the wrong route, Big Ben threw the ball on the ground, said, ‘Get him out of here. Get somebody else in there,’ and that’s when AB was at his boiling point and that’s when he went off.”

Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner refused to discuss Brown’s absence after he missed Thursday’s team activities, an out-of-character response toward a player working through an injury, but a telling one for a healthy scratch from the mid-week practice.

Months later, Brown would take to Twitter to expand on his issue with the veteran quarterback.

No conflict just a matter of respect! Mutual respect! He has a owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches. Players know but they can’t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It’s a dirty game within a game. #truth https://t.co/MsSyBVd3Ny

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 16, 2019

That may not have been the only time, though.

“He left the team three times,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette said. “Once for a week in training camp that they covered up. They said he had an injury and he really didn’t. Once on a Monday after they lost to Kansas City and he threw a fit on the sidelines and didn’t show up Monday, and then at the end of the season.”

On an episode of ‘The Shop’ that aired on HBO on Mar. 1, Brown explained the final week.

“I’m a little banged up so I meet with coach Tomlin and I’m telling him, ‘Hey man I’m banged up so I’m gonna need some time to get right,’ and he was like, ‘If you’re banged up, you can just go home’,” Brown said. “Like you ain’t even gotta be here, so I’m like ‘Damn, that’s where we’re at?’

“I’m going to war for these guys, putting my life on the line but it’s an unknown when it comes to me just like right now with the write-ups. They control the narrative. We ain’t standing on good foundation, and they can just paint you any kind of way. That’s the thing people don’t know, it’s kind of a controlled environment to where they can kind of determine if they want to let me in or not.”

“Damn, that’s where we at?”@AB84 dishes on the pivotal final week of the @Steelers season. #TheShopHBO pic.twitter.com/kByIuNHl2D

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) March 2, 2019

On his relationship with Roethlisberger, Brown on ‘The Shop’ claimed a clash of egos between the two. “I don’t have an ego,” he said. “I’m just trying to win.

“All year dude called me out. We’d lose a game and he’d be like, ‘AB should have ran a better route’,” Brown said. “That’s the type of guy he is. He feels like he’s the owner. Bro, tou threw that shit to the D-line, how the fuck am I running a bad route? You need to give me a better ball.”

What did Mike Tomlin say about Brown’s absence?

Tomlin met with reports for his end-of-the-season press conference and outlined what happened with Brown’s injury in the week leading up to the Bengals game. Tomlin said the wide receiver “expressed soreness in his lower body” on Wednesday, specifically his feet, ankle, and knee. On Thursday and Friday, Brown was still experiencing discomfort, so he was placed on the injury report and then was sent to get an MRI. Tomlin said that Brown did not end up going through with the MRI.

Tomlin said that Brown did not communicate with him on Friday evening and Saturday, as expected. It wasn’t until Sunday morning, when Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus reached out to Tomlin to let him know Brown was feeling better, that the team had any updates about Brown.

At that point, Tomlin told Brown that “the best thing was to be there and support his teammates.” Because Brown was MIA from Friday evening until Sunday morning, Tomlin said the team didn’t know the extent of his injury and that’s why he didn’t play.

“He was absent due to injury and lack of information,” Tomlin said.

The two spoke prior to the game, but they haven’t had any communication since. Tomlin added that he doesn’t know if Brown left the stadium during the game.

“Obviously we take his lack of communication, his lack of presence particularly on Saturday prior to the game, to be something that is very significant and it will be handled appropriately so. I’m not going to speculate on trades and things of that nature. We haven’t formally received a request in that regard, so I’m not going to speculate in terms of where the discipline might go and things of that nature. Just know that it’s going to be addressed, and it will be addressed, it needs to be addressed, for obvious reasons.”

Would the Steelers really trade Antonio Brown?

When Brown was on the field, he was still an elite receiver. 2018 marked his sixth straight 1,200-yard season, and that kind of performance, and the $21 million dead money on his contract, would make him difficult to trade away — especially for a team so reliant on a bludgeoning aerial attack. It also gives him a little more leeway when it comes to getting away with locker room shenanigans, like in 2017 when he gave the Patriots some bulletin board material by recording Tomlin talking about New England in the locker room after a Divisional Round victory over the Chiefs.

The cap hit alone wouldn’t stop the Steelers from trading Brown, though. There are ways to make it work if they wanted to — which they might.

Rooney made it clear that they won’t cut Brown, but a trade has not been ruled out. As he told the Post-Gazette:

“Whether the situation can be reconciled and have him back on the team next year, we’re a long way away from thinking that can happen. We’re not closing the door on anything at this point.”

Rooney also said it would be “hard to envision” Brown reporting to Steelers training camp in July, but that things could change.

That squares with what NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported a few days earlier, that the Steelers are open to trading Brown and they will at the very least “listen to trade offers.”

From @NFLGameDay: The #Steelers are open to trading WR Antonio Brown and we look into what it means (here is the link to my story from earlier: https://t.co/rCUmJ7vrQm) pic.twitter.com/BE4hehVbDh

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2019

Rapoport also said that plenty of teams would be interested in Brown, particularly the Broncos, and the Steelers could get a “significant return” for him — but perhaps not a first-round pick like the Raiders got for trading Amari Cooper to the Cowboys.

Brown was also allegedly involved in a domestic dispute in January of 2019. The NFL is now investigating the incident.

That doesn’t mean the Steelers will trade Brown, but it’s more of a possibility than it ever seemed before.

On February 12th, Brown posted a message on his Twitter and Instagram accounts saying thanking Steelers fans and that it was time for him to move on.

Thank you SteelerNation for a big 9 years...time to move on and forward..........✌ #NewDemands pic.twitter.com/fbIoFNdqK4

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 12, 2019

Brown hasn’t been traded or released, but Brown has officially asked for a trade.

Antonio Brown has not been traded nor has he been released. But Brown wants a trade and he officially has requested that from the Steelers, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 12, 2019

He met with Rooney, the team’s owner, to discuss his future in February. That may not have worked out so well for the Steelers. Brown took to Facebook Live — his medium of choice — to tell teams to call him, but only if they’re offering guaranteed money.

“If your squad want to win and your squad want a hungry wide receiver who’s the best in the whole world, someone hit my phone,” said Brown. “Tell them I ain’t doing no unguarantees. I ain’t even gonna play myself no more for this NFL. ... I think I done everything. What y’all think? What’s left for me to do? Win a Super Bowl? Gotta be the right team for that, right? ... If your team got guaranteed money, they want to get to know me and work with me, tell them to call me.”

He later posted on Twitter that he and Rooney were on good terms, but agreed that “we both agreed that it is time to move on.”

Had a great meeting with Mr.Rooney today we discussed a lot of things and we cleared the air on several issues! We both agreed that it is time to move on but I’ll always have appreciation and gratitude towards the Rooney family and @steelers organization! #CallGod #Boomin pic.twitter.com/DEgURchvhW

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 19, 2019

Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus gave more details about the meeting, and confirmed that it’s the Steelers in charge of finding a trade partner for now.

Only $19 million of the four-year, $68 million extension Brown signed in 2017 was guaranteed. The Steelers still won’t trade Brown is a deal doesn’t benefit the team, though.

“The other point we made (to Antonio) was that (while) we’re open to shopping around the league to see what may be available in exchange for your services, by no means are we going to make a trade or any type of move that will not be beneficial to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization,” Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said of the meeting. “Specifically, we will not be discounting you on the trade market, and we certainly will not be releasing you. All that being said, we’ll take a positive approach. If someone has a sincere interest and they want to make a move – either a significant draft pick, or a set of picks, or a significant player plus picks – and we think it will benefit the Pittsburgh Steelers in the long run, then we’re all in. If not, then we’ll make that decision at that point.”

Colbert when asked how deep the wounds are between AB and the #Steelers: “I don’t think any relationship is irreparable.”

— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) February 20, 2019

It’s still probably a good bet that Brown sticks around in Pittsburgh.

This isn’t the first time discord leaked through the seams of the Steelers’ locker room

Pittsburgh has courted drama throughout the season, though much of it came as a function of Le’Veon Bell’s year-long holdout in hopes of a lucrative long term contract. Bell’s absence put a strain on the rest of one of the league’s most talented offenses. While second-year back James Conner was able to pick up much of the slack, the club still struggled early and then spun out late as a 9-6-1 season ended without a playoff berth.

But while Bell may have been the focus of Pittsburgh’s locker room drama, Brown also made his issues with the franchise known throughout the season. A slow start led the All-Pro wideout to vent his frustrations both on the field and off. He wasn’t shy about expressing his concerns about Fichtner’s playcalling to his face in a Week 2 loss to the Chiefs:

Antonio Brown in Fichtner’s face. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/dIIMZvL51s

— SteelVideos (@SteelVideos) September 16, 2018

The following day, he’d take to Twitter to respond to a Steelers’ PR staffer’s praise of Ben Roethlisberger and his role in the team’s success. His since-deleted tweet was succinct: “Trade me let’s find out”:

Both Brown and his agent Drew Rosenhaus would deny Brown wanted to be traded out of Pittsburgh, but the wideout’s discontent was clear. He’d skip team meetings the following Monday, though those came with Tomlin’s blessing. He returned to practice the following Wednesday after dealing with private discipline from Tomlin and the rest of the Pittsburgh coaching staff.

Despite reports that Brown requested to be traded after the latest dustup, that doesn’t appear to be the case, as Tomlin said:

My understanding of the situation surrounding #Steelers WR Antonio Brown: As he exited the field in frustration on Wednesday, he yelled, "I’m done!" Then wondered why they don’t trade him. More venting in anger than anything. He has not made any actual trade request, officially.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 1, 2019

What’s next for the Steelers and Brown?

Despite these issues, Brown had a typically great season. He caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns — the 15 touchdowns were a career high. The seven-time Pro Bowler also passed the 10,000 yard milestone for his career. Brown’s 168 targets on the season ranked third behind Julio Jones (170) and Davante Adams (169).

Brown’s concerns about not getting the ball may have been valid. While JuJu Smith-Schuster’s ascendance left him as the Steelers’ most productive receiver, Brown was still the No. 1 target who drew double teams and allowed his fellow receivers to thrive. That passing threat also created space for Conner to thrive in a breakout sophomore campaign; he ran for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games while serving as the Pepsi to Bell’s Coke.

And Brown’s absence appeared to play a role in Pittsburgh’s sluggish start in Week 17. The Steelers faced the league’s worst defense in a deficient Bengals team, but managed to score just 16 points in the process. Without Brown on the field, Smith-Schuster was limited to just five catches and 37 yards — though he did score the game’s only offensive touchdown.

Smith-Schuster knows that Brown helps him and has said he doesn’t want to see Brown traded:

“No I don’t want AB to get traded. He makes me better. He makes the team better. He’s awesome. he’s a great dude. But for myself, I learn a lot from him just playing with him. If I want to increase my game to be the best, I’ve got to compete against him, so I do not want him traded.”

Was that a function of Cincinnati finding the extra space to double down on Pittsburgh’s playmakers without Brown on the field? Was it due to Brown’s behavior affecting the rest of the team’s desire to play, as one unnamed player suggested to the Post-Gazette? Or did the Bengals just play a little harder with the chance to derail a rival’s playoff hopes on the line?

No one’s quite sure. But what is clear is that Brown and the Steelers will likely have to work through some issues if they’re going to reconcile for a happy and prosperous 2019.