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lactoseintolerentswag · 4 months

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Rise Characterizations Pt. 8!!!!!!!!

This has literally been sitting in my drafts for so long I forgot it existed. Sorry to all the Baron Draxum fans (and Draxum himself, bbgirl deserves better). If you're new to my line of notes here's the beginning where I started with Raph. Alright part 8, Baron Draxum, here we go.

Language Habits:

Speaks in long and drawn out sentences, if you're getting nervous about run-on sentences you're on the right track

Due to this, tends to give speeches or monologues

Dramatizes everything fairly eloquently, look for the most exaggerated form of a word. Classic villain speak: "imbeciles", "brethren", "eliminate"

Puts emphasis on those dramatic adjectives and verbs

Occasionally refers to himself in the third person, not as often as Raph

Tends to yell or raise his voice when frustrated or lost in passion

A common gag is trailing off in a casual tone about the severity of his experiments ie his "if it works right" about the ooze causing pain when mutating that poor fish guy

Personality:

Incredibly intelligent yet impatient. It isn't known to my knowledge who taught Draxum or if he taught himself, but his mastery of alchemy and fighting makes him a truly impressive opponent. However, he's always cutting corners to get to his goal. He wasn't willing to raise through the ranks of The Foot the traditional way, he created an army of mutants rather than seek yokai, and was unwilling to spend further time interpreting the prophecy of doom towards yokai-kind

Flair for the (over)dramatic. Draxum is almost your classic evil villain kind of guy. He'll pull out all musical stops, including flowing hair and clothes. On the other end he'll completely overreact and commit to things of little matter like his position as a lunch lady.

Unyielding in his stubbornness. Draxum is not easily swayed in his belief, and even as hard as Mikey tries he is not rid of his disdain for humans by the end of the series. Guy was also incredibly persistent in his research despite his lab blowing up twice. This also allows him to hold longer grudges, even resorting to childish pettiness if he feels annoyed enough.

Affinity for muscles and power. He was drawn to Lou Jitsu for many reasons, but a main one was definitely his muscles. All his guards are usually incredibly beefy, and he was immediately drawn to Raph as "beautiful" when he's reintroduced to his specimens. As for power, he's drawn to the dark armor and is lost in the ecstasy of being imbued with so much mystic energy.

Self-absorbed and egotistical. Draxum is kind of obsessed with his title and self-proclaimed responsibility for saving yokai-kind. He's not one to easily admit his mistakes and takes great pride in his work.

Willing to toe the line of morality. Huginn and Muninn have blatantly called him their evil boss, but Draxum does see his actions for the good of yokai-kind. I don't think he really cares if he's working with evil organizations (The Foot) or doing evil things if he saves the day.

Team builder. I think it's interesting how Draxum is drawn to building teams. He's drawn to working together, all he wants to do is unite yokai and his mutants into an efficient force. This does not mean he's very successful.

Miscellaneous:

Has minor telekinesis

Was a warrior before he was an alchemist

Does not have a good relationship with the Three Heads (apparent leaders of the Hidden City)

Controls seeds that can a) grow into vines, b) expand into robotic vine gauntlets, c) encase his gauntlets into meatier gauntlets that can shoot out waxy cocoons

Is referred to as a sheep-man from the brothers, but I suppose whatever animal you interpret him as is up to you

Has a great singing voice :) ( which is subjective I suppose)

Alright now that is finally posted just gonna let you know that this Isn't the last of my rise analysis posts!! I'm so sorry for the wait!! I got lost in so many schedule things. I'll try and pump a few more analysis posts out within these next few weeks (excluding June 16-22), but I've also been busy working on miscellaneous wips. Thank you for being so sweet to me on all the other notes posts, you guys are so awesome :)

#save rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fanfic #character analysis #baron draxum #baron draxum rottmnt #critter talks

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misfitwashere · 1 month

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August 12, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

AUG 13

The 2024 election is shaping up to be bizarre on the Republican side. The party’s presidential nominee, former president Donald Trump, has largely stayed home and posted on social media while his vice presidential running mate J.D. Vance has been trying to cover the campaigning for the team. Indeed, Vance’s offer on Wednesday during a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to debate Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggests that Vance is not unwilling to be seen as the face, if not the leader, of the Republican ticket.

The actual presidential nominee appears even more unstable than usual, and it certainly appears that his handlers are trying to keep him off stage. As Tom Nichols of The Atlantic noted yesterday, “When Trump is on TV a lot, his approval goes down. When he’s in hiding and his surrogates are rearranging his bonkers crazypants word salads into something like real thoughts, his approval goes up.”

Observers, including Jackie Calmes of the Los Angeles Times, have been clear that “Donald Trump’s state of mind should be under debate.” “Trump’s fire hose of cray-cray has inured Americans to his outrages,” Calmes wrote today. “But now that President Biden, a normal and empathetic man, has been pushed out of the 2024 race over concerns about his age and mental acuity, Trump’s more manifest unfitness for office should be ignored no longer—by the media, former advisors and military leaders who remain silent and, yes, Republicans.”

Trump held a surprise “press conference” on Thursday, where, according to a team of reporters and editors at NPR, he misstated things, exaggerated, or lied outright at least 162 times in 64 minutes, a rate of more than two times a minute.

He said that the United States “is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in from an economic standpoint,” and warned we could end up in another depression like the Great Depression of the 1930s. In fact, the economy is strong and growing at a faster rate than it did in three of the four years of Trump’s presidency.

He warned of a national crime wave although crime has been plummeting after a surge in 2020, during Trump’s term, and said that we are “very close to a world war,” which illustrates that Trump’s main lever to turn out voters is fear. With the successes of the Biden-Harris administration having neutralized the economic fears that worked in the past, and with the goals of antiabortion activists achieved in 2022 with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Trump is apparently going for broke with the threat of World War III.

Altogether, the event did Trump no favors.

Poll numbers for Harris and her running mate Minnesota governor Tim Walz have climbed since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 he would not accept the Democratic nomination, and observers have reported that Trump’s anger is leading him into unforced errors, picking fights with allies and seemingly unable to let go of his focus on the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, a focus that his advisors warn is turning off voters.

Trump has repeatedly seemed to fantasize that Biden will return to the head of the Democratic ticket, and on Sunday, seemingly frantic about Harris’s huge rallies while he can no longer attract big crowds, released a rant accusing Vice President Harris of using AI to create fake footage showing large groups of supporters greeting her airplane. Faking crowds with AI is a technique we know Trump uses, but there is no evidence Harris does. Immediately, people who attended her events released their own videos proving the size of the crowds, and political pundits openly questioned Trump’s mental health.

Then, this morning, Trump posted on his social media channel: “I’m doing really well in the Presidential Race, leading in almost all of the REAL Polls, and this despite the Democrats unprecedentedly changing their Primary Winning Candidate, Sleepy Joe Biden, midstream.” He went on until his closing: “We are going to WIN BIG and take our Country back from the Radical Left Losers, Fascists, and Communists. We will, very quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” This afternoon, Five Thirty Eight showed Harris up 2.7 points in the national polling average.

Trump’s advisors are pleading with him to stop name-calling and to stay on message. His campaign began today to run ads on X that look like his tweets but are much more like standard political ads.

Tonight, X owner Elon Musk planned to “interview” Trump, although it seemed pretty clear the event was intended simply to be a long advertisement for him. European Union commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton wrote an open letter to Musk warning about E.U. laws against amplifying harmful content “that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation.” Breton warned that his team “will be extremely vigilant” about protecting “E.U. citizens from serious harm.” Musk responded with a meme that said: “TAKE A BIG STEP BACK AND LITERALLY, F*CK YOUR OWN FACE!”

Last month the European Union charged X with failing to respect its social media law by letting disinformation and illegal content run rampant. X faces fines of up to several million euros.

In the end, technical difficulties delayed the start of the X Spaces event. Instead, wrote BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh, who specializes in exposing disinformation, a “deepfake livestream of the Trump-Musk interview” was playing “on a fake Tesla channel on YouTube, with 200,000 people watching.” Sardarizadeh noted that the channel was running a crypto scam, and YouTube finally suspended it. When the real X channel finally began to function, it showed Musk and Trump heaping praise on each other. But Trump was slurring his words, and when HuffPost White House journalist S.V. Dáte asked the campaign about his inability to articulate, it answered: “Must be your sh*tty hearing. Get your ears checked out.”

Trump went to Montana on Friday in support of Republican candidate Tim Sheehy, who is running to unseat popular Democrat Jon Tester, but otherwise has said he is not planning to hit the road until after the Democratic National Convention concludes next week, an odd lack of campaigning at this point in a presidential contest. He seems to be trying to regain control of the political narrative through tweets and social media. Today he said he is suing the government over the raid on Mar-a-Lago that recovered hundreds of classified national security documents, but this is almost certainly posturing to try to make him look strong: he would never be willing to undergo the discovery phase of such a lawsuit.

In the midst of Trump’s frenzy, J.D. Vance has been doing the usual appearances of a campaign, although, unable to generate rally crowds himself, he has been reduced to following Harris and Walz to theirs and trying to grab headlines there.

On Sunday he did the rounds of the morning talk shows, where on CNN he complained that Democrats are bullying him by calling the MAGA Republicans “weird.” Political journalist Brian Tyler Cohen promptly answered: “Crooked Hillary, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Sleepy Joe, Coco Chow, Lyin Ted, Ron DeSanctimonious, Birdbrain Nikki Haley, Old Crow McConnell, Gavin Newscum, Pencil Neck Schiff, Pocahontas, Cryin Chuck, and Kamabla would all like a word.”

Republicans have made punching down a key part of their rhetoric since at least the 1980s, and Vance’s frustration that the tables have turned feels a bit as if someone is finally standing up to the schoolyard bully.

Outside of the MAGA frenzy, Harris and Walz last week held big, joyous rallies in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada, contrasting their happy campaign with the MAGA Republicans’ drumbeat of carnage and revenge. A cover article from Time magazine today by Charlotte Alter described the scene of one of her rallies as a mashup of a Beyoncé concert, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and “the early days of Barack Obama”: “a kind of reception a Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t gotten in years. Fans packed into overflow spaces, waving homemade signs made of glitter and glue as drumlines roared. When Harris introduced her new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the cheering lasted more than a minute.”

At the same time, the grave issues that are propelling the Democrats continue to gain traction. The Associated Press today reported that in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision, more than 100 pregnant women have been treated negligently or turned away from emergency rooms despite federal law. Two women, each of whom lost a fallopian tube to an undertreated ectopic pregnancy—one also lost 75% of one of her ovaries, and the other nearly bled to death—have asked the federal government to investigate whether the hospitals that sent them home to miscarry without medical assistance violated federal law.

On Saturday, Trump’s campaign said it had been hacked, after Politicoreported that it had received communication from an account called “Robert” about internal Trump campaign documents. David Kurtz of Talking Points Memo put together a helpful timeline of the story today, explaining that on Sunday the Washington Post said it had also received some of that information and said it believed the information to be that referred to in an August 9 warning from Microsoft that Iran was engaged in an influence campaign. Today the New York Times also said it had received the information, and this afternoon the FBI said it is investigating attempted hacking against both the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns.

CNN national security and justice reporter Zachary Cohen reported tonight that the hackers apparently were able to access the campaign by compromising the personal email account of Trump operative Roger Stone.

“Buckle up,” Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, wrote on X. “Someone is running the 2016 playbook, expect continued efforts to stoke fires in society and go after election systems—95% votes on paper ballots is a strong resilience measure, combined with audits. But the chaos is the point….”

—

Chaos is the point.

#heather cox richardson #letters from an american

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 month

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Mike Luckovich

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 12, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 13, 2024

Altogether, the event did Trump no favors.

Trump’s advisors are pleading with him to stop name-calling and to stay on message. His campaign began today to run ads on X that look like his tweets but are much more like standard political ads.

Last month the European Union charged X with failing to respect its social media law by letting disinformation and illegal content run rampant. X faces fines of up to several million euros.

On Saturday, Trump’s campaign said it had been hacked, after Politico reported that it had received communication from an account called “Robert” about internal Trump campaign documents. David Kurtz of Talking Points Memo put together a helpful timeline of the story today, explaining that on Sunday the Washington Post said it had also received some of that information and said it believed the information to be that referred to in an August 9 warning from Microsoft that Iran was engaged in an influence campaign. Today the New York Times also said it had received the information, and this afternoon the FBI said it is investigating attempted hacking against both the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #heather cox richardson #Election 2024 #Chaos is the point #Trump senility #joyful Harris Campaign #political #democracy

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january-summers · 10 months

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Excuse me it's 2:30am and I have to be up for a visit to the farmer's market in... not long and instead of sleeping I have Agent Washington on the brain again. So, um, don't mind the ramble?

I have a competency kink. I need you all to know this so you understand how it colours my perceptions of Wash. I need for him to be extremely competent, even if he's being a dork, I need for him to be able to flip that mental switch and be ready and capable of fucking shit up.

anyway, on a completely related note I have a conspiracy theory (secret headcanon) that Wash was fudging his own numbers in real time in order to maintain 6th place on the leader board, because it keeps in on the board without putting him in 'disputed territory.' (aka the ranks everyone is gunning for.)

This is based solely on the fact that of the 5 times we see the board, he's in 6th place 3 times, and 5th place twice. one of those times is when York is in 6th with his freshly messed up eye.

This is spawned by nothing but my competency kink, and the fact that 6th place is an odd place to average/maintain. Like. sure. maybe it's a coincidence, maybe he's just always 6th/5th best on the team, but you have to admit it's a little odd that there isn't more variance when everyone else has much more of a jumble. Apart from Carolina, who only loses her 1st place spot when Texas shows up, only York and North are also on the board every time we see it, and both of them drop to 6th place at least once.

I just. I really like the idea that Wash has less interest in pissing matches with the others because he's high ranked enough for what he wants/needs out of PFL, but also the idea that he understands how the ranking system works in a way the others don't and he's aware enough of his team to estimate their scores and adjust his own performance accordingly on the fly during missions, without endangering said missions.

Is it likely? No, it's probably just a coincidence, but it's fun.

and it also lets me have PFL AUs in which Wash gets to accidentally piss off the other top ten members when Director assigns Wash as team leader for an emergency "oh shit it might be the Flood" mission and Wash gets to pick his team and picks none of the top ten.

Either because there are other Freelancers who are similarly capable as North and York but without the added AI which are too valuable to risk, or less likely to screw up the mission by being competitive like South and Carolina are inclined to.

And the others just don't have the skill-sets he wants, or the compatibility with the Freelancers he needs, to ensure mission success.

or like

based on what little maths we have for sure, Washington may not have finished highschool before joining the UNSC, or he might have joined right after graduation.

And just. imagine him realising he's lacking in certain points of knowledge after he accidentally endangers his team because his army training didn't include a specific technical expertise, so he started doing UNSC approved distance ed in his limited down time, half teaching himself a hell of a lot of things.

So when he gets to PFL, he does the same thing, he looks over the science notes, and he might not have a degree, but he makes sure he understands enough to know the limits of his team mates, their capabilities, their potentials, understands what the equipment is capable of.

and then there's a mission and someone's helmet is cracked, maybe a big hole from a weapon in the side, and they're fine, but the helmet is breached, and actually they're not fine because there's a few new holes in Niner's ship and they are venting atmosphere and the breached helmet cannot keep up, so Wash asks Niner to 'do a thing' that will give them stable atmosphere for a few seconds, asks for some of the other's super power units (in my head it's York's healing unit and North shield) and then tells the broken helmet team mate he can fix their helmet but they need to release the seals for a moment, as soon as Niner 'does the thing.'

and they trust Wash, so they take off their helmet and then everyone freaks out because instead of fixing the helmet Wash takes his off and puts it on his team mate and gets back in his seat and apparently takes a nap.

except no, because he's running at least 2 power units while the ships atmosphere vents because either he can handle it, or epsilon didn't self destruct and he can handle it. (basically using the shield, healing unit, and wash's emp unit to create a more bio-electric field around wash that's not really a shield but acts enough like a shield to protect him from the vacuum of space that's trying to be inside the ship.)

and like, I honestly believe his default personality is friendly and kinda dorky and sociable, but I also am constant running "he's a secret (and not so secret) badass" at all times

and I am not normal about him. and I don't know how this happened.

but for every cool and somewhat normal and sensible plot bunny I share involving Wash, there's more, far more unhinged bunnies lurking in the shadows.

I should go to bed, I passed good decision making. good night. I'll decide if i'm sorry about all this after I wake up. good night.

#rvb #red vs blue #agent washington #sorry not sorry?#january is unhinged about wash

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galaxysharks · 1 year

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Office Au.

Wildcat Youth Employment program. High school students intern as a collective at a local office to gain real world experience for credit.

Directors/Coaches

Miss Jenn - in charge of Sales and Marketing Teams

Mr. Mazzara - in charge of Tech and Building Events Teams

Dewey - Building Facilities Manager

Teams

Sales

EJ Caswell - being the CFOs son has it's perks, as evidenced by EJs immediate inclusion to the program. Make no mistake though, EJ has more than earned his keep, quickly proving to be the best young salesman in the programs history and leading the team to record breaking profits. EJ has since joined the company full time, following his graduation. When not in the field, EJ likes to hang out with his former unit, giving out tips and tricks of the trade.

Gina Porter - with the leave of EJ, Gina has finally claimed the top spot in Sales. Unfortunately now she has to acclimate the new blood while being short-staffed after Nini's transfer to the California office. And if that weren't hard enough, the student leader of Building Events is proving a persistent distraction.

Mack Alana - Mack has recently been offered a position in the program. His simulation numbers were fantastic, but he's a little out of touch with what really makes a salesman. He'll have to buckle down if he's to survive Gina's intense training, and his natural charm won't work on every sucker on the street.

Former

Nini Salazar Roberts - While not as competitive as Gina, Nini maintained a respectable lead in sales for several months. Nini has since transferred to a sister office in California, coinciding with her move to pursue music in her spare time.

Marketing

Valerie Donnelly - Like EJ, Val has moved up the ranks to the company proper. While not as involved as EJ, Val takes pride in her mentoring role and is always just a text away. Which might be necessary if Miss Jenn can't cut through the drama and whip these kids into shape.

Kourtney Greene - Having been in the program for a few years, Kourt is logically the next in line for Student Leader. Bold and Beautiful, Kourtney knows what works and how to make it work for you. There's just one problem, Kourtney is graduating in a few months and she's not sure if the company offer is where she's meant to go. This on top of wrangling the large personalities on her team have made this season more stressful than anticipated.

Carlos Rodriguez - Out and Proud, Carlos tends to fill every room he's in. High class, high maintenance, the office Instagram Page looks good and Carlos would kill before letting someone else touch his baby. Carlos operates as the Student officer of Diversity, and previously spent two seasons as Miss Jenn's shadow. In a loving relationship with Seb from Building Events.

Ashlyn Caswell - as the name implies, Ash is also a legacy member, but while her cousin shines flexing his skills and seeing the sights in the field, Ashlyn much prefers the view from her desk. Surrounded by her chosen family, Ashlyn is a stable and reliable member of the team, even if she did get a rough start with Val. Now if only she didn't get stuck with the computer most prone to breakdown.

Dani Cantrall - Like Mack, Dani is a new select from the class runner ups. She has good instincts, and brings a respectable following right out the gate. But it's her abrasive personality and short temper that's going to put her to the test.

Former

Lily Keegan - Lily was once a promising addition to the marketing team, but quickly proved a toxic influence. Miss Jenn asked her to leave after her snapshot 'Autism in the Workplace' nearly got the team, and the company itself, in hot water with the press.

Building Events

Ricky Bowen - How Richard Bowen qualified for the student outreach program is still a mystery. Constantly late, and shamelessly careless, many outside observers have wondered how he's maintained his offer, let alone achieved Student Leader. But his work speaks for itself, dozens and dozens of successful events on the books. Ricky has a unique ability to get the many divisions to work together in harmony. Now if only he could manage to organize his life enough to ask out the superstar Saleswoman Gina.

Sebastian Matthews Smith - Strong and reliable, Seb's slowlife mentality makes him an asset in the whirlwind of the office. While not always the most intuitive, Seb is highly skilled at the routines of event set up and breakdown. Seb spends most breaks in the Marketing office with his partner Carlos.

Jet Curda-Lyles - Jet is new to the Building Events team. Low energy and snarky, Jet doesn't speak often, but makes sure he's heard when he does. Hired on with his sister, he can sometimes feel like he's living in the shadow of her savant gifts with technology. Some unknown drama with the siblings can make meeting tense, but both are first to defend each other. Spends breaks dozing in the lounge or sitting with his sister's service dog, JJ.

Tech Support

Maddox Curda-Lyles - Maddox has a gift, and can make any technology sing. Now if only she was so talented at communicating with people. JJ is Maddie's constant companion, providing support and protection from the outside world. Maddox has quickly risen up ranks and become the Student Leader. Rumor has it, the company is looking to scout her early into their ranks. Not that Maddie's noticed, she's got her eye on a certain Marketing Student, with unfortunate luck with computers.

Big Red Redonovich - While Maddox has a natural agility with tech, Biggie earned his way over several seasons. Sweet and gentle, Big Red is everyone's friend, though he does clash with the foreign exchange employee Antoine. Big Red and Ricky were scouted together, with some saying that Ricky only made it in due to Red refusing to leave him behind.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts maddox #high school musical the musical the series #hsm the series #hsmtmts season 4 #hsmtmts jet #ashlyn caswell #madlyn #hsmtmts ej #hsmtmts gina #CHRIST MY HANDS #k this one long #yall know the drill #ignore my typos

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riacte · 1 year

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MCC 9 / All Stars Blue Bats - Sky Battle and Survival Games Analysis

(Reposted on Reddit! If you've been around my blog since 2021, this is just a rehash of my old posts from that time :D)

Since it's September and it'll be three years since the iconic MCC9, I decided to move some of my Blue Bats analysis here. As Ren puts, I still "think fondly of the Blue Bats".

In hindsight, it's probably kind of obvious that Blue9's success in Sky Battle (MCC9's first game that they got 3rd in) foreshadowed their overwhelming success in Survival Games. The Blue Bats survived the first round of SkB as a full team, and I believe that was the first time SkB was played, so that was pretty cool for an "underdog" team. H even screamed "I did nothing and I'm proud of that!" and Fruit pointed out they didn't even lose a single player. Later, in SG, they once again survived as a full team (significantly harder to do so compared to a single round of SkB).

It's not a coincidence - the four of them play different roles that are equally essential. They work like a well oiled machine which helps them power through PvP/ team games like SkB and SG.

HBomb is naturally the leader and strategiser. He was in charge of their strategy in Sky Battle. Similarly, he (and Fruit) was the one who led the Bats to loot around the border and gear up in Survival Games. H unites the team with his charisma. He makes the call outs. Everyone else follows. H knows what his teammates are good at, and thus knows how to assigns roles.

Classic examples of H's talent scouting: predicting False would pop off in Dodgebolt before he even actually talked to her (False killed H in one round of Skyblockle in MCC8 and he said she "scared the heck outta him"), and teaching Ren to sandkeep in MCC9, and Ren eventually became known as a good sandkeeper. H was already familiar with Fruit's skillset before MCC9, but the way he accurately pointed out False and Ren's core strengths when he just met them is crazy. (People didn't really think of the hermits competitively before MCC9. Although H did VOD review the two of them.)

Fruitberries is of course the key player when it comes to PvP, and he's in charge of combat. Fruit killed Dream and Techno in the first round of SkB, then went on to get a whopping eight kills in SG. Fruit’s just naturally cracked and with H to reel him in, he just goes insane. Fruit’s one of the first to approach any dangers, and when he’s in danger, H is ready to back him up. There is a very good reason why H + PvPer is a dangerous combo. They make up for each other's weaknesses and they compliment each other scarily well.

Everyone probably knows about the ferocity and power of Cherrybomb, but how about Ren and False, the first two hermits to win?

Ren is the so-called “support”. He was in charge of mining iron blocks and making armour in Sky Battle. He was also in charge of resource management in Survival Games. However, Ren had a tendency to stray, and that was exactly how he got killed in the 3rd round of Sky Battle. Afterwards, H told him to stick with the group. In SG, Ren was running around and finding chests, and learning from previous experience, his teammates made sure he didn't stray. In SG, the Bats rarely split up for long, so they stayed together and they dominated.

Ren also gives the others loot to better protect them (him telling Fruit to take his armour in the early stages of SG). Ren loyally follows orders, and while leaders are important, they need followers too. This is why Ren and H compliment each other well.

I want to stress the importance of Ren's "support" / "storage" role in SG. A big part of how Blue9 won SG is their gear (everyone had iron armour at least, they also had decent weapons and abundant food). Ren picked up twentyish arrows from Sapnap's loot, he gave some to Fruit, then False said she needed arrows so Fruit offered to split, but Fruit didn't need to do that because Ren had already split it for them, saving them time and the confusion of throwing each other gear. Ren isn't just a storage box, he knows what his teammates need, and he gives it to them.

False, as pointed out by other people, is observant and has a high spatial awareness. She reminded both H and Fruit of the border during the first round of Sky Battle. She did that for other teammates in Skyblockle in previous MCCs, and continues to take notice of the border in all MCCs up till now. In SG, she was frequently the one to remind Ren to come back, and kept a lookout for other teams. (False's spatial awareness and instincts also shines through in MCC19 SG, but that'll be another post.) She keeps an eye on events unfolding as Fruit and H charge into battle.

As a False main, I know she's generally good at surveying the battlefield / keeping track of her teammates / noticing the border (it's not a False SkB POV if she's not yelling about the border lol), and because Blue9 had excellent comms and they listened to her, her instincts could shine.

So really, the Blue Bats’ individual strengths and team strength were displayed in their first round of Sky Battle, and SG just showed their strengths off perfectly, with H as the leader/strategizer, Fruit as the nimble PvPer/ bridger, False as the observant spotter and Ren as the support who managed resources and built walls. False and Ren's roles could be easily neglected because those aren't flashy roles, but they're critical for the success of the entire team. MCC, at its core, is a team-based tournament. They're stronger together. The full team survived in Sky Battle, a PvP/team game. The full team also survived in Survival Games, a PvP/team game.

So, Survival Games Domination might not be as shocking as one might think. Sure, they got lucky, but it was absolutely not a fluke, since their success in Sky Battle set the stage. MCC9 Blue Bats has always been a cohesive and tight knit story.

I'll add in a bit for All Stars here, since the Bats got second in AS SkB. Similarly, the Bats survived their first round as a full team, further proving that MCC9 SkB was not a fluke. To add to the parallels, H also screamed "I did nothing!". They did well in AS SkB in the same way they did well in MCC9 SG. The composition of the Blue Bats as a team and their individual strengths basically spells it out. I would even dare to say it's inevitable that they're going to do well if they communicate and have high morale. (Funnily enough they were sad when SG was chosen in MCC9 because it was their least wanted game.)

It's also cute that you can tell False and Ren have become a lot more confident in All Stars when compared to teaming with Fruit and H in MCC9.

In MCC9, when H asked whether False would like to go left or right in Battle Box, she laughed and said she didn't know. In All Stars, H asked False to play as the hunter for one round in PkTand False just casually said "yeah, yeah, I can! It's on me." And we know how she told him to shut up in MCC29 Dodgebolt. False's taking charge!

In MCC9, Ren was feeling a little sad about getting 30th individual but everyone cheered him up by saying he was better than 10 other people. In All Stars, Ren also got 30th individual at one point but he was pretty happy about it because he "usually did worse" haha. The team in general became a lot more comfortable with each other.

Even though it's been almost three years since then, MCC9 Blue Bats remains my favourite team and POV. They're just unbeatable in my mind - the underdog arc, the shounen-esque hero's journey, the slick communication, the way everyone's individual strengths shone, the pioneers of Hermit + S tier teams, the butterfly effect this team-up caused (eg. H in Vault Hunters, Ren's MCC crown and his Third Life Red King lore), everything about it. Blue Bats Supremacy :D

#mcc #blue bats #blue9 #ria.txt #hbomb94 #fruitberries #falsesymmetry #rendog #yeeeee analysis post

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naavispider · 1 year

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Chapter 26 - The Rescue (tumblr version)

A reunion - but it doesn't go down as planned.

Full chapter under the cut for those still struggling with AO3!

The first time Miles saw Chacon back on duty after… the incident was two weeks later. The man had all but flown from his mind - he’d had so much else going on that truthfully, he hadn’t spared Chacon more than one or two passing moments of guilt in all that time. So it was with great surprise that Miles entered the mess to find him sitting back with his cronies at dinner. Miles hadn’t attempted to speak to anyone else from A Unit since he’d been taken off the team, and he could tell from Madden, Taylor and Squirrel's mutinous glares that he hadn’t been missed. Chacon however, wasn’t glaring. He simply watched Miles as he got his food and sat down on a table across the hall from them. Miles wasn’t sure because he didn’t want to keep checking, but he thought that Chacon wouldn’t stop looking at him the whole time he was there. He made a swift exit after finishing his food, and hoped that the number of times they’d have to bump into each other from here on out would remain minimal.

But it wasn’t to be. Three days after their initial encounter, Miles received word that he was needed on a supply run into the forest. He frowned when he read the update - in the middle of using the gym one evening. Supply runs were normally conducted by the SciOps team, with little if any interference from SecOps. Briefing was the next morning, so he supposed he’d find out more then.

He’d been on a few more missions since the one to retrieve Naalot from the Tipani. The first time he’d led a squad was on a mission to scout out the scene of a train raid by insurgents. The natives had pulled their usual stunt of blowing up the tracks, derailing the train and stealing whatever goods they could get their grotty hands on. It had taken days to clean up before the construction guys could get in and repair the damage. Throughout it all, Miles did his best to be a calm, confident leader that his men could look up to. He’d come to know them well by now, and they worked good together. He was respected and could tell that they held him in high regard. As a result, their squad was extremely successful, and now they were usually the first to be called upon whenever there was a major incident that required SecOps intervention. Miles was proud.

So he was surprised to walk into briefing the next morning and find none of his squad were assigned to the mission with him. It was a new team composed mostly of recoms - Quaritch, Wainfleet, Mansk and Z-Dog - as well as three other men. Two were xenobotanists who introduced themselves as Langley and Dubois when Miles entered, and the other was... Corporal Chacon.

Miles stilled when his eyes fell upon the man, confusion clouding his face. He looked at Quaritch as if hoping for reassurance that Chacon was supposed to be here, but the Colonel was in conversation with Wainfleet. Because the team was small and there were so many empty chairs in the room, Miles took a seat across the table from him, making sure to show his scepticism in every movement.

“Thank you all for making it,” Quaritch began, realising that everyone was here. “This is a small mission, but an important one nonetheless. The hospital has run low on a few supplies, and it’s our job to make sure those stocks are replenished. We have a list of the type and volume of plants they need, so we move out this afternoon to bring home the goods. Now don’t ask me the ins and outs of what these things are used for, but if it gets me painkillers when I need ‘em, I ain’t questioning it. Junior, Chacon,” he nodded at the two soldiers, “you’re here to assist our botanist friends Langley and Dubois with any human sized assistance needed, while the recom squad is there for security.” He went on to explain timings, equipment and transport, before opening the floor to questions. Miles only had one, but he knew it was better saved for a more private forum.

“Sir,” he said, once everyone else had dispersed.

Quaritch turned to him. “Yes, Junior?”

Miles had long since gotten used to Quaritch calling him by his surname by this point. Just spit it out. “Why is Chacon on this team?”

Quaritch stilled, thinking hard. “He volunteered,” he slowly said through a frown. “I’d forgotten you two have history… will this be a problem?”

“No, Sir,” Miles hastily replied. The last thing he needed was for Quaritch to think he wasn’t capable of working with the guy. He’d die before he’d let his reliability be compromised. “I was just curious.”

“Well, like I said, he offered when he heard the medics making a request. He’s grateful for the treatments they provided, and wants to give back.” Quaritch eyed Miles as if to remind him that this was all Miles’s fault, if he traced it back.

“Yes, Sir,” he said, before bowing his head shortly and retreating out.

He grabbed some food on his way to the hangar, having not long to get ready before rallying at the gunships at 10:00. A quick porridge later, and he found himself standing in front of the armoury, selecting his gear and arming up just like he had done so many times before. He jumped when a voice sounded behind him.

“It’s been a while, Junior.”

He grit his teeth and spun around, throwing Chacon a look that told him he was anything but remorseful for beating him up. He didn’t want to hear whatever grudge the guy had to bear.

“You’re a Lieutenant now, I hear?”

Miles narrowed his eyes. Chacon’s face still wasn’t completely healed - the skin around his left eye was discoloured, but it was only noticeable because Miles knew what to look for. He didn’t look angry though, and Miles wished he would. “If you’re looking for an apology, you won’t find one here,” he said shortly, turning back around to select a rifle before double checking his holster and knife belt were secure.

“That’s cool, because I’m not looking for an apology.”

“Then why are you here?” Miles hissed. “Why are you on this mission?”

Chacon didn’t look affronted, keeping a neutral expression on his face even through Miles’s hostility. “The medbay helped me when I was… out of action. There are some great people there.”

Miles’s fingers flexed into fists at his side. He did not need Chacon’s vague hints about being a spy now. The man was a traitor against his own people… and so was Janine.

“You’re on thin ice…”

“I just want to help them get the resources they need for medicine.”

Miles stared at Chacon, not believing a word, before deciding that it was too much to entertain. Chacon was dangerous - he could get Miles into a lot of shit if he decided to. He shoved past Chacon on his way out of the armoury, making sure to bump him hard, and grabbed a mask on his way out.

He regrouped with the xenobotanists, who were waiting near a fired up Kestral with the recoms already aboard. He gave Dubois a curt nod in greeting, and let him know to ask if he needed anything. A minute later and Chacon had caught up, armed to the nines just like Miles. Miles made a point of ignoring him as he clambered into the cargo hold.

The ship took off, rising higher and higher over the compound. Golden light flooded the compartment of the gunship as the panoramic view of Pandora was revealed to them. It was beautiful as always, but Miles had gotten used to seeing it by now, and he was far too preoccupied with trying to work out Chacon’s greater motivations for being here. He suspected a hand to his back any moment, about to shove him out of the ship to his death. Although ridiculous, he couldn’t rule it out. Chacon had earned the right to revenge. At least Quaritch would probably send Chacon out to join him in being a pancake if that did happen.

After a journey so smooth it was almost suspicious, the Kestral landed in an area two clicks west of Bridgehead. It was an area not known to be inhabited by any clans, so their only challenges should be the wildlife. In the mission briefing, Quaritch had explained that Miles was joining them as part security and part expert botanist due to his past. As the recoms trained their rifles on the treeline, Miles withdrew his holotablet from his backpack, and began following Langley and Dubois towards the specific area that contained the first organism on the list. Langley spotted the Canalyd plant first, leading the group over to the patch and withdrawing a sample cup from his own backpack.

“Five at least?” Miles double checked the amount with Dubois.

“That should be enough,” the man replied, gesturing for Miles to continue searching while they extracted the sporangia from the long stalks on the top of the plant. Behind them, the recoms kept their weapons raised, their eyes in the trees.

After twenty minutes, the scientists had collected three of the seven plants on the list, and were just about to suggest they search an area to their left when Quaritch called out.

“Hold it!”

Miles immediately raised his rifle, training it on the patch of trees that Quaritch was aiming at. For a tense moment, everyone was silent, watching the area where Quaritch was staring hard at.

“There’s something out there…” Quaritch spoke in a low and tense voice.

Just then, an arrow shot out of nowhere with zero warning, straight into Mansk’s chest. For a split second, Miles stared in horror, before leaping into action and firing his AR into the area from where the arrow had been shot. The noise was deafening after the silence, as guns all around him fired in unison.

“NA’VI!” Wainfleet roared, spinning around to face their six, but it was too late - another long poisoned arrow had been shot, hitting him right through the neck and out the other side. Miles’s scream caught in his throat as he yelled for the botanists to take cover, keeping his gun raised and firing into the trees as with his other he gestured for the two men to follow his direction behind a fallen tree. Everything seemed sped up and in multi-colour. One moment, the two men were running towards the tree, the next, their limp bodies hit the ground, gunned down like animals - wait, gunned down? Chacon was standing beside him, his gun raised…

Miles turned in horror to see what had become of the rest of the squad, but was met with the sight of an arrowhead protruding from Z-dog’s eyeball. Her hand twitched against the trigger of her recom M69-AR, letting off a few more rounds before she collapsed to the ground, dead.

The only thing Miles could hear was the roar of the Colonel’s furious outcry, before the words, “Get down!” were called out around the clearing. Miles recognised the voice, but things were happening too fast for their owner to register in his brain. Before he knew it, Chacon was beside him, a hand on his shoulder forcing him down as gunfire rained down on them from somewhere above. Miles couldn’t understand it - he hadn’t seen anybody. Whoever was attacking them knew their tactics - they knew how to hide. He heard a distant cry and a thump as someone else hit the floor, and Chacon’s hand was still gripping his shoulder tightly, holding him down, out of the way - he didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t see because of the ground pressed into his face, Chacon had shot Langley and Dubois, he didn’t trust him…

Then, the gunfire ended. The hand on his shoulder released, and Miles scrambled up to assess the scene. His hands were on his rifle in less than half a second, and good thing too, because when he stood up, he was face to torso with a nine foot tall Na’vi warrior, whose figure was blocking out the sun. Miles couldn’t take in any more of his appearance than the fact that he had a bow and arrow pointing directly at Miles’s heart.

He gasped, instinct telling him to shoot immediately, but his other senses stopped him. From the corner of his eye, he saw another warrior on his right - a woman, terrifying and familiar, her war paint seeming to shine in the sunlight as she raised Eytukan’s bow...

It couldn’t be her-

He cast around, seeing more warriors emerging from the trees, surrounding him.

He was outnumbered.

The recoms were dead. There was nothing he could do. He spun to his right, raising his rifle to Neytiri. This had to be a dream.

He switched his aim to the warrior in front of him, trying to make it clear that he could shoot either one of them if they made another move.

“Spider,” came a voice to his left.

He spun around to find it - but it was… Chacon. Standing by his side, calm.

Chacon was standing with a… relieved? look on his face. His weapon was lowered, and he held a hand out as if to push Miles’s rifle down.

“Spider, be calm,” he said in a voice clearly intended to reassure.

Miles was a thousand yards away from calm.

The Na’vi warriors still surrounded them. He cast his eyes over them once more, abandoning Chacon’s words of madness to better assess the threat. The men were… Omatikayan. If Neytiri was here, could…

He took a heaving breath. It didn’t matter. He’d find a way to escape this, to shoot them all.

“Lower your weapon,” one of them spoke.

But Miles was distracted by the figure emerging from behind the man. A tall, blue, intimidating figure with black dreads held back by a Burnfiber band. He knew that face…

Wait.

He knew that face.

He gasped, raising his rifle even higher as he realised he was staring straight into the eyes of Jake Sully.

His brain couldn’t compute what he was seeing in front of him with what was really happening.

“Spider…” the man said, in a gentle tone. Unlike the others, Sully wasn’t holding a weapon. He had one hand outstretched, as if to pacify Miles.

Then a voice that was comfortingly familiar sounded from behind him. The right kind of voice, the voice he longed to listen to. “Shoot him, Miles!”

He dared take his eyes off the target to see Quaritch on his knees behind him, disarmed and on the ground. A warrior stood behind him, holding a knife to Quaritch’s kuru.

“What are you waiting for? Shoot him!”

Miles should listen. He wanted to listen. He wanted to fire.

But if he did that, he’d be shot right back in retaliation. They all would - Quaritch and Chacon included.

Chacon.

Chacon was two feet to his left, his rifle hanging relaxedly on his back… He’d betrayed them. He’d led them to the Na’vi. Miles turned his weapon slowly.

“You don’t want to do that, Spider,” Chacon replied, raising his hands in surrender.

“That’s not my name,” Miles hissed, fury and confusion clouding his thoughts until he wasn’t sure he could think straight any longer.

“Spider.” Miles jumped, turning towards the voice. It was Jake Sully. “It’s okay. We’re here. We’ve got you. It’s all over.”

Feelings and thoughts threatened to flood Miles’s senses as the nostalgia in Jake’s voice hit him like a tonne of bricks. There had been a time when he idolised the man now standing in front of him. If he let them, he knew his memories would break him down and tear him apart. He fought them all off with a vengeance. Overwhelmed, he stumbled back, keeping his gun raised.

“Put the gun down,” Jake said, eyes flickering to his wife.

“You left me…” Miles choked out, barely aware of what he was saying.

“Kill him!” Quaritch roared from behind.

Miles kept his eyes trained on Jake. He hadn’t changed at all, yet Miles could find himself barely remembering what he was supposed to look like.

“I know, but we came back now…”

“Spider?” Another voice, a different voice. Miles didn’t need to cast around for its owner, because the boy that it belonged to emerged from behind a tree beside his father.

Neteyam.

Miles couldn’t help the noise he made when faced with the impossibly real sight of his once brother. Neteyam was really standing in front of him, his forehead taught with concern, eyes deep with longing and a plea for understanding. Even after all this time, Spider could read him so well. “We missed you, Spider,” Neteyam said cautiously, looking him dead in the eyes and ignoring the rifle pointing straight at his heart. “Lo’ak and Kiri especially.”

Something turned off in Spider’s brain. He couldn’t make sense of the situation. Jake and Neteyam couldn’t be real. Kiri and Lo’ak? They were just imaginary. He didn’t know what was happening. He wanted it to end.

“Shoot him, goddamnit Miles! You useless piece of shit!”

Spider didn’t register the sound of a thud followed by a groan that implied someone had just hit Quaritch.

“I- I don’t…”

“Spider,” Neytiri spoke, and Spider spun around with a gasp to point the gun at her. He’d completely forgotten she was here. It was too much. For the first time, she lowered her bow. “We’ve come to bring you home.” No. It was too much.

“Spider, I promise it’s okay,” Jake said from beside Neteyam.

The only thing Spider knew was that if he gave up his weapon, he was giving up control. He couldn’t do that. He gripped it tighter, hand hovering over the trigger…

A heavy clunk. A brutal ache in his temple, and then darkness was all he knew.

#miles spider socorro #neteyam te suli tsyeyk'itan #avatar the way of water #avatar wow fanfic #recom Quaritch #avatar 2 #atwow

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horoscope1078 · 7 days

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Olmo 🥰

Dani's Sun in Taurus gives him a steady, grounded personality. He's the type of guy who values stability, both in life and on the pitch. There's a calm determination in how he handles situations, and he’s known for his patience and persistence. He's someone who isn’t easily rattled, often taking his time to evaluate things before acting. When it comes to football, this could mean a careful, calculated approach, always seeking to master the technical aspects of his game and work steadily toward his goals.

With the Moon in Libra, Dani thrives in harmony and balance. He’s a people person who values strong relationships with those around him. This lunar placement adds a layer of charm to his personality, making him someone who naturally gravitates towards teamwork and partnership. He likely cares deeply about fairness and collaboration in every aspect of his life. On the field, he could be the glue that keeps the team united, always striving for cooperation and balance.

Dani's Cancer Ascendant gives him a nurturing and sensitive edge. He comes across as compassionate and emotionally intuitive, someone who can easily understand and connect with others' feelings. This soft outer shell might make him appear a bit reserved at first, but once people get to know him, they see his loyalty and warmth. His Cancer Rising makes him deeply empathetic, always looking out for those he cares about—teammates and friends alike.

With a Descendant in Virgo, Dani looks for practical, dependable qualities in relationships. He admires those who are detail-oriented, organized, and willing to work hard. In both personal and professional connections, he appreciates people who are reliable and grounded. In his football career, he likely resonates well with teammates who are consistent, disciplined, and willing to put in the effort to improve.

Dani’s Mercury in Aries means he has a sharp, quick-thinking mind. He’s direct and assertive in communication, never one to beat around the bush. This placement gives him a competitive edge when it comes to problem-solving and strategy on the field. He likely makes decisions quickly and confidently, trusting his instincts without second-guessing. His straightforward nature could also mean he's a strong leader, always willing to speak up and express himself without hesitation.

Venus in Aries makes Dani bold and passionate when it comes to love and friendships. He’s fiery and direct in how he expresses affection, not afraid to chase after what he wants. There’s a playful, adventurous side to him in relationships, where he craves excitement and spontaneity. In his personal life, Dani probably seeks partners who match his energy and who can keep up with his drive for new experiences and challenges.

Mars in Taurus gives Dani a steady, slow-burn energy. While he’s not the type to rush into things, once he’s set on a goal, he won’t stop until he achieves it. This placement shows his perseverance and strength, especially when faced with challenges. He’s someone who works tirelessly, focusing on long-term success rather than quick wins. In his football career, this translates to an unshakeable work ethic and a determination to keep improving.

Jupiter in Pisces gives Dani a compassionate and generous nature. He likely has a deep sense of empathy and an intuitive understanding of others’ feelings. This placement makes him someone who believes in the greater good, always striving to uplift and support those around him. In football, he may be driven by a strong sense of purpose, seeing the sport as not just a career but a way to inspire and bring joy to others.

Saturn in Aries gives Dani a strong sense of responsibility and discipline, but with an independent streak. He’s not afraid of taking on challenges, and he thrives when he’s in control of his own path. This placement shows that he’s learned a lot through facing obstacles, and these experiences have only made him stronger. On the field, Dani’s Saturn in Aries means he approaches his responsibilities with courage and determination, always pushing himself to overcome any hurdles.

With Uranus in Aquarius, Dani has a progressive, forward-thinking mindset. He’s innovative and unafraid to break from tradition if it means finding a better way to do things. This placement gives him a unique perspective on life and football, always looking for creative solutions and embracing change. Dani might be the type of player who isn’t afraid to try something new, pushing boundaries and thinking outside the box.

Neptune in Aquarius enhances Dani’s idealism and vision for the future. He’s someone who dreams big and wants to make a lasting impact. In his personal life, he’s likely drawn to humanitarian causes or projects that align with his progressive values. Neptune here adds a sense of inspiration to his work, whether on the pitch or in his broader ambitions, fueling him with a desire to bring people together and create a better world.

Finally, Pluto in Sagittarius brings a deep drive for exploration and growth. Dani is likely passionate about learning and expanding his horizons, whether through travel, education, or new experiences. This placement gives him a strong sense of purpose and a desire to uncover deeper truths about himself and the world. His football journey might reflect this, with a hunger for continuous improvement and a drive to push his limits.

Overall, Dani’s chart reveals a determined, empathetic, and ambitious player with a blend of steady perseverance and a passion for innovation. His Taurus Sun grounds him, while the balance of Libra and Cancer placements gives him a strong sense of harmony and care for others. With a Mars in Taurus and Mercury in Aries, Dani is a hard worker with a competitive edge, making him a valuable team player both on and off the field.

#football #spain nt #dani olmo #fc barça #fc barcelona #horoscopes

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iamhellborn · 6 months

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DWK characters as camp leaders

Imagine that the entire bunch decided to work together as leaders for a summer camp. This is how they would act as camp leaders:

Marlon would find himself naturally in the roll. He would arrange games, make sure everyone followed the schedule and teach the kids the importance of teamwork. Thus, every kid would show him a great amount of respect and love.

Jojo would find himself quite natural in the role too. He would be the one who comforted the kids with homesickness, reminding them that they soon would be united with their parents again and should not worry.

Raban would tell stories. He would start with reading from books but eventually get bored and move onto telling stories about the bunch. He would tell them with a lot of expression and drama, and once he was finished the kids would beg him to tell another one.

Vanessa would sometimes lose her temper at the kids when they didn’t behave, but it would never last for long. At the end of camp, one of the little boys would propose to her with a popsicle ring, for which she would say yes.

Markus would at first feel a bit uncomfortable around the kids, not really knowing how to behave around them. At one point though, he would come up with a game where the kids would throw balls at him and he would catch them, something the kids would find very amusing. After that, he would become more comfortable as a leader.

Deniz would also be unsure on how to behave at first, until one of the kids recognized him as Erol Yildiz’ son. Deniz would start talking about his dad, and soon move over to talk about himself, the places he had lived at and the teams he had played for. Once he started showing of his soccer skills, his popularity amongst the kids would rapidly increase.

Leon would arrive at the camp overly confident, believing all of the kids would love him. So it would come as a slap in the face when he realized they all loved his older brother but not him. Leon would frustratingly attempt to win the kids attention, without any success. It wouldn’t be until Leon humbled his ego and started working along with his friends instead trying to steal all the attention, that the kids would actually start appreciating him.

#dwk #dwk animated series #die wilden kerle animated series

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romancomicsnews · 1 year

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Who should play The Batman in the DCU?

This is a question that I think no one really wants to answer.

After the success of Matt Reeves The Batman, Michael Keatons return to the role, Kevin Conroy's Death, and Ben Affleck leaving it, I think it is safe to say people have had enough Batman, and enough good takes of the character.

Even so, Andy Muschetti is currently set to direct The DCU's Brave and the Bold, which will show a new Batman, now older and with his son, Damian Wayne.

Recently a popular fancast surfaced of John Krasinski for the role, to some fans love and some fans dismay.

Personally, I don't think he was suited for Reed or for Bruce. I can see him more as a Green Lantern. But this did get my wheels turning, hopefully to do better. And I got some picks. But first, we need to answer a few questions.

What live action versions are we pulling from?

We want to pull key elements from different versions, but there are so many iterations Jesus.

I am not going to go into all of them, I'll stick with 3. But know that I am a fan of most iterations of The Batman.

Ben Affleck

Love him or hate him, Ben Affleck's Batman was memorable. Personally he has a lot of things I want to incorporate into our DCU Batman. For one, he is our older Batman. Our actor should be similar aged to Ben.

He is also a complete unit. After being Batman for so long, he has had to make himself more of a unit in order to properly take out foes.

This is also the best voice, suit, and fighting style I've seen for a live action Batman. The voice modulator works wonders.

I think Ben had a presence that made it clear he was a leader of the team, if not Thee leader. I want our Bruce to feel the same.

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson is a little weirdo. And I mean that in the best way.

This was the first time I think it was properly shown how uncomfortable it might be to be around such a presence as Batman. He is fear personified, and working with someone like that can and should be awkward.

Pattinson also took being Batman way too seriously, our Bruce should do the same. Batman's a religion to Bruce.

We need someone who can be a middle ground between these two as Batman.

Christian Bale

While those two perfected Batman, no one has done Bruce Wayne better than Bale.

Bale by far did the act of Bruce Wayne most convincingly. It is one of my favorite aspects of his films. We need someone who can pull off charming douchebag when needed, but slip back into dark loner.

Bale was also funny in a way Batman hasn't been in awhile. We need someone when comfortable be able to joke with Clark.

You can see why casting a Batman can be extremely difficult. Balancing all these characteristics are crucial to making it work.

What ethnicity is Bruce Wayne?

All iterations of Batman have been white.

Now, is there value in making him another ethnicity? Maybe. Making him a person of color could be part of why he doesn't trust the police and takes matters into his own hands. Perhaps maybe his parents being new money is why they are killed. Who is to say?

For now, I will say Batman can be any ethnicity.

Other Stipulations

The DCU Batman is confirmed to have a son, Damian Wayne. Assuming he has already raised Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Jason Todd is already dead, this Batman has to be in their 50s. We're looking for an older actor.

George Clooney, Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson and Ben Affleck have all taken up the role, meaning we need a name. Someone who immediately you know, whether you like it or not. But we also need someone surprising.

We need someone who we can see doing this for awhile. At least 5-8 years. The DCU is just starting, so someone with longevity is a must.

He should probably be tall.

Finally, as always, someone not known for past superhero roles. Let's begin.

3. Jamie Dornan

Jamie Dornan may be the safest and most controversial choice for The Batman.

Like Pattinson before him, Dornan is known for playing the love interest in some pretty bad movies, but since has made a career for himself full of wins. Projects like Belfast, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar and the Tourist proves Dornan has the acting chops for it.

He is a little younger than we would like, but he can play older, and looks a lot like a classic Bruce Wayne.

I have two main concerns for Dornan. One, would he be better off as a villain? In the DCU, he may make a fantastic Gotham City villain like Harvey Dent. But in the MCU, does he have the making of a fantastic Doctor Doom? I think so.

Finally, the character he plays in Fifty Shades of Grey is BASED on Edward Cullen, who was played by Robert Pattinson, our current Batman. The comparisons will be built in from the beginning, and we something fresh.

I think Dornan can kill it, but there's too much against him for him to be my main pick.

2. Bradley Cooper

Now I know what you're thinking, he's Rocket Raccoon!

Yes he is, but the Guardians movies are now finished. And unlike his teammates, Cooper doesn't really show his face when playing the character. In a way, he is oddly detached from Marvel.

He has also worked with James Gunn before, is currently producing Joker: Folie a Deux, and has an incredible career to back up him as a pick.

From American Sniper to Nightmare Alley to A Star is Born, Cooper consistently delivers. He can do suave, he can do loner, he can do troubled, and he can do comedy. I think he could be a spiritual successor to someone like Ben Affleck, and lead the Justice League in a way that feels natural.

He'd also be useful behind the camera, as he was the director of A Star is Born.

My biggest concern with Cooper is whether he would want to do it. One of the benefits of playing a raccoon is you get to work from a booth for maybe a few hours and you're done. This would be a commitment.

There also comes the question of whether Cooper is bigger than the role. We want people to be lost in the story, so finding an actor who convincingly be Batman is crucial. Cooper might be just a little too big for this.

Of my three, I think Cooper is the most likely to land the role, and that may be for the best.

1. Alexander Skarsgård

If we're looking for a surprising pick, with range, physicality, a name that is big but not bigger than the role, I give you: Alexander Skarsgård.

Known for roles in The Stand, Succession, The Northman and Infinity Pool, Skarsgård is one of those actors who is often forgotten but people are excited to see when he pops up.

He is a dramatic actor who can do funny, scary, and anything in between. He's played fantasy characters in The Stand, a billionaire asshole in Succession, and a warrior in The Northman, all praised. He has all the making of a great Batman.

He is classically handsome, and at 6'3, 46 years old, he is just in the age range we're looking for, and towers over most heroes.

He doesn't feel like any other Batman before him either, which will help us stay away from those comparison conversations.

I don't think there really is a perfect answer as to who should be the next Batman. But of all my options, Skarsgård makes the most sense. I could see him and David Corenswet leading the league for years to come.

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usafphantom2 · 1 year

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USAF: XQ-58A Valkyrie enabled with Artificial Intelligence performs tactical tests

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 09/25/2023 - 16:00 in Military, UAV - UAV

An XQ-58 Valkyrie is launched for a test mission on August 22 at Eglin Air Base, Florida. The mission has successfully tested components that greatly reduce the risk of large-scale manned and unmanned autonomous systems. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/2ª Lt. Rebecca Abordo)

The United States Air Force (USAF) demonstrated air combat capability enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) during the successful launch of a Valkyrie XQ-58A.

This flight helps to develop a trained tactical autonomy algorithm from simulation to flight test in a high-performance unmanned aerial vehicle.

AI algorithms, developed and trained by the Autonomous Air Combat Operations of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), were integrated into an XQ-58A and flown in the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range.

Trained through deep reinforcement learning, AI algorithms used neural networks to pilot the real aerial vehicle against simulated opponents using simulated mission systems and simulated weapons.

An XQ-58 Valkyrie is ready to be launched for a test mission on August 22 at Eglin Air Base, Florida. (Photo: US Air Force/Ilka Cole)

"AI testing requires the combination of new and traditional testing and evaluation techniques. The team has learned many lessons that will be used to inform future programs," said Ryan Bowers, chief testing engineer of the effort.

The flight test, performed by the 40º Flight Test Squadron and supported by AFRL and Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, was a continuation of the successful test flight on July 25. The previous flight demonstrated an unmanned, high-performance, AI-enabled aerial vehicle for the Department of Defense and demonstrated standard aviation tasks, navigation tasks and safety grids for risk mitigation and increased safety.

"The opportunity to fly alongside this really immutable AI-trained and piloted aerial vehicle, this technology is very real and is here to stay," said Captain Tyler Brown, leader of the test crew. "I feel that we are at an inflection point of an exponential curve for the application of AI. It is imperative that we understand the power of AI, its strengths and weaknesses, and that it is implemented in the right way."

The Pentagon is committed to the responsible use of AI. Achieving the responsible use of AI requires a team of developers and users with AI-enabled autonomy, working in collaboration with procurement experts.

“AI will be a critical element for future combat and for the speed with which we will have to understand the operational framework and make decisions,” Brig said. General Scott Cain, commander of the AFRL. “AI, autonomous operations and human-machine teams continue to evolve at an unprecedented pace and we need the coordinated efforts of our government, academic and industrial partners to keep pace.”

Tags: Military AviationDronesArtificial IntelligenceKratosUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air ForceXQ-58A Valkyrie

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work throughout the world of aviation.

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hyperforcereignition · 1 year

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Running through the city on patrol was one of his favorite parts of it. Running across rooftops with reckless abandon, flipping through the air only to land on his feet…

It brought back some pleasant memories of watching videos on parkour late at night, texting his friend and planning to meet up somewhere to try out what they had seen.

With various degrees of success.

In reality, Chiro hadn't been that good at it. He fell a lot, even wound up injured a few times bad enough to require a hospital visit…

Or three. He honestly lost count. Between him and his friend, they had about six hospital visits for these antics under their belts.

Now, he was actually learning how to do such feats safely, mostly using the training room's simulator programs and then applying it to patrol like he was now.

His stomach did somersaults while he flung himself across a gap between two buildings.

The monkeys were nearby, always ever watchful of their young leader - just in case.

Today in particular though, they noticed… something was off.

Chiro was keeping up like usual… but they caught a glimpse of another boy his age trying to catch up to him… and when Chiro noticed him, he only smirked and started doing more complex tricks, prompting the other young man to do the same.

"Who is that?" Otto asked.

"I don't know but he's picking up the pace." Sparx answered.

The boy was an inch or two taller than Chiro with dark skin and wild deep blue hair. His eyes, an unnatural shade of violet that gleamed with mischief.

"Hey, Ichi!" The boy called, with a laugh. "You know, you can't outrun me forever!"

Chiro growled.

"I told you once, I told you a thousand times, stop calling me that! Only Mila's allowed to!"

"Kid, you know that guy?" Sparx remarked, looking back at him.

"Unfortunately." Chiro deadpanned before he laughed. "It's a story I'll tell… if he can catch up!"

Antauri stopped short, signaling the others to do the same.

"Pardon?" He raised an eyebrow.

Chiro stopped short before he noticed the boy catching up and made a break for it, shimmying up onto an air conditioning unit.

"Come on! You don't see me for awhile and NOW you can't catch up? For shame, Pizza Boy!"

_______

Tonight, along with ReIgnition's usual update, there's a brand new story collection on the horizon!

Welcome to ReIgitnion: Maintenance Checks a oneshot collection featuring the side stories that happen between the arcs or right after arcs in ReIgnition. Everything here is CANON to the AU of Hyper Force: ReIgnition

Summary:

Shuggazoom City, a shining gem on the planet's surface, a constant target of attack by the dark forces... it's up to the Hyper Force to protect this city... but what happens, when evil isn't looming?

#srmthfg #hyperforce: reignition #super robot monkey team hyperforce go #mila hanamura #antauri #chiro #gibson #nova #otto #fanfiction #Oneshot collection #ReIgitnion: Maintenance Checks #AU #Fanfiction AU #SRMTHFG AU #Castor Donati #OCs

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disregardcanon · 1 year

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okay so @petsohp and i recently watched players (2022) by paramount and by god guys it was GOOD

Paramount’s Players is a complex, Shakespearean tragedy. No, I'm not exaggerating. This mockumentary about esports has some of the tightest, most compelling characterizations that I’ve ever seen. It’s also a great examination on how having motives that LOOK the same, on the outside, can create conflict.

While there are a lot of characters that have some weight on the narrative, it primarily centers on the relationship between Cream Cheese and Organizm. These are both their league of legends handles and I’ll be using them for this analysis since it’s their primary identifier in the show.

Cream is one of the founding players of the professional team, Fugitive. He is an “aging” player (late twenties) who’s been in the business for years and plays “support” to different “ADCs”, who are the heavy hitters on a team. His first ADC was someone that he idolized that left them for greener pastures and is not always… kind or respectful of their past relationships.

Before that ADC left, Cream and Fugitive came close to a decisive victory in the North American Championships, but Cream made a mistake early in his career that cost the team badly and has never quite recovered his pre-mistake sense of ease and ability to be PART of a team rather than the undisputed “leader”.

Organizm is a seventeen year old who is very talented, driven, and has difficulty seeing past his own goals. He is hired by the team’s owners to become the new ADC and face of Team Fugitive. His arrival is met with a lot of conflict from Cream and the rest of the team because he is untested, has difficulties communicating, and replacing a more seasoned player who is a good friend and team player.

Org brings his own hangups to the group on TOP of his youth. His family who made fun of him for his interests in the past is now very supportive of the idea because it can bring them money and fame. His older brother, who used to bully him for playing league of legends at all, is now attempting to be his manager.

Cream initially rejects him outright because of the way that he came to the team, and it takes a long time for the two and the team to build up the trust and synergy that they need to be successful.

But they do it! Organism learns to communicate better with the team and trust them, Cream learns to trust him, and the team as a whole comes out on top of the North American Championship.

That’s the big goal that Cream Cheese had, was winning this competition to prove that he could. The rest of the original team is riding the high of achieving this thing that they’ve worked YEARS for… but Organizm is a bullied child prodigy. He’s still chafing at the fact that he isn’t, demonstrably, the greatest League of Legends player on the planet.

The rest of the team called it a night after they won the North American championship because that was their personal goal. Going to “Worlds” was just icing on the cake. They didn’t super think they’d get there and winning that wasn’t really their goal. They were basking in a victory that they’d spent years trying to achieve, while Cream was saying “yo Org you’re the best you’re the greatest you’re wonderful I’m so glad that we got you the BEST ADC! WOO! My legacy right here!” Which both activates some of his trauma with his brother only deciding that his interests matter since they could get him fame and money and taking credit for it, as well as prickling at him because he knows that isn’t true and if he doesn’t keep fighting and fighting and fighting it never will be.

Fugitive Gaming achieved their goal that took them years and years of working for. Org didn’t. Winning the US Championships were not He was just like “okay we got that punch on my card and now we need to try our absolute hardest to win Worlds”. Which is a reasonable thing for a professional athlete to want, I think. If your team won like, the United States National Soccer Tournament and THEN went to the World Cup and didn’t take the World Cup seriously because they just won the part that mattered to them.

But this is the United States Mens’ Soccer team… they were never going to win the World Cup, right? It’s an honor just to be invited. (not for the star rookie who wants to be the best player that ever existed)

So what I’m saying is that Organizm decided that Fugitive Gaming wasn’t taking competition seriously enough for his liking and he left. I think that it won’t work for him well in the end, but it’s GREAT because it’s perfectly in character, could have been solved with some communication, and creates a great amount of emotional stakes going into a season 2.

#players 2022 #players paramount #players meta #cream cheese #organizm #fugitive gaming

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letsrilakkusu-blog · 2 years

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Watching Seventeen Project for the first time eight years later

As a new Carat, I've been consuming Seventeen content at a rapid pace over the past few months. I had reached a point where I wasn't sure what to watch next when a kind Reddit user made a post about watching Seventeen Project for the first time and recommended it to all newer fans. I tend to avoid their older content (I won't lie, mostly because they look so fine now that it's hard to see them with cringe mid-2010s hair and styling) but I put my prejudices aside because I wanted to learn more about their pre-debut period and what they went through to become the absolute powerhouse that they are today.

For any newbies like me, Seventeen Project is a seven-episode series that follows the boys in the lead-up to their debut and gives them challenges that they need to complete in order to earn a one-hour live debut stage. The challenges are all performances that take place in front of a variety of audiences and judges, and they are done either as OT13, in their units, or in mixed groups.

As I anticipated, the hairstyles ranged from tolerable to terrible. Except for Jeonghan with his gorgeous long hair. Mans was so beautiful even pre-debut that he had the editors adding sparkles and angelic effects every time he shows up on screen. He also has this smoky eye look going on that I hate on everyone else but it just WORKS for him. Anyway, asides from the hair and baby faces (particularly Vernon and Dino) the boys look almost exactly the same!!

I know that it's a reality show and therefore highly dramatized but I still wasn't expecting to get so emotional while watching it. It's eight years after the fact and they've clearly debuted and become extremely successful, but it was still such a rollercoaster ride and I had to keep reminding myself that they are FINE. I was so mad at the Pledis CEO for coming in at the end of the first episode, giving them harsh criticism and then taking away their precious rings. Seeing various members disappointed and down on themselves when they couldn't perform up to par in the challenges was heartbreaking. The campfire candlelight ceremony where Coups shared his concerns about Woozi's combativeness and Woozi opened up about the burden he feels as their composer and producer really brought to light their struggles as leaders. And finally, when Seventeen had completed all of the challenges, earned their debut, and got their rings back from their parents, I cried happy tears. Overall, it was a valuable watching experience where I learned a lot about their beginnings, and it gave me a starting point to compare to their current level so I can really see just how far they've come.

Things that really stood out to me:

China line's Korean in progress

Jun and Minghao are still on the quieter side of the group, but watching Seventeen Project made me aware of how comfortable they've become with Korean. Back then, they were quiet simply because they had no choice. They were learning the language and struggling just to understand what was going on, let alone conveying their thoughts. Now, they speak freely and easily and even make really great jokes and insults in Korean! One thing that hasn't changed is how the other members are always looking out for them and making sure they have a chance to speak up.

Pre-debut songs that ended up as B-sides

The fourth challenge mixed up the members into four teams to see which one could win the hearts of an audience made up mostly of pre-debut fans. The songs performed by the teams were none other than NO F.U.N, OMG, Hello, and Drift Away (all but Hello are composed by Woozi, more on him later). These songs were released on later albums, so I had no idea that they were made pre-debut. It just continues to impress me how involved they were in production of their music and performances at such an early stage in their career. I particularly enjoyed the winners Jeonghan, Hoshi, and Wonwoo's performance of NO F.U.N, which they slayed with a Kingsman concept complete with suits and umbrellas. And they actually kept with it when they performed the song later on at concerts, just swapping out the umbrellas for canes.

*Not really related but while talking about this challenge, I had to laugh because now I know that Mingyu was a natural flirt from day one. He turned Hello into his own personal fan meeting and probably converted a Jeonghan fangirl haha.

Woozi is a genius producer

At the time of Seventeen Project, Bumzu said that Woozi had been composing and producing songs for about a year (he was only 19!), and mused that he showed real promise but only time would tell if he could become a genius producer. Later, Woozi talked about the burden of his position and how he felt responsible for the future of all 13 members, because their trajectory would be determined by the songs that he makes. Eight years later, Woozi has produced countless hit songs for Seventeen, its members' solo endeavors, and other artists, and he won the AAA Best Producer Award for 2021. My Carat heart is so proud that's he's surpassed Bumzu's expectations, and happy that Woozi clearly still loves making music and continues to do so out of passion rather than responsibility.

Vocal unit's rendition of "Because of You"

For the second challenge, the units competed against each other in front of a large crowd at a park. For their performance, the vocal unit rearranged After School's song Because of You into an acoustic version and sang it accompanied by Joshua's guitar. They placed second in the audience vote but got ripped by the judges for not standing out and ultimately ended up in last place. I had to disagree with the judges' assessment because I really loved their performance. It was soothing and sentimental, and I thought every member sounded wonderful. Even the clips of them practicing and harmonizing together sent me to heaven.

DK's vocals and confidence

My thoughts on the vocal unit's performance lead me to the absolutely heartbreaking moment in the same episode when DK starts crying during his post-evaluation interview. Although the vocal unit as a whole failed to impress the judges, Seungkwan received a lot of praise while DK wasn't spoken about at all. DK was asked how he felt about this since the two of them are the main vocals, and while expressing his disappointment in himself he just broke down in silent tears. DK is my second bias and my favorite singer in the group, so this made me incredibly sad. I know DK has always struggled with his confidence and perfectionism, so it really gets to him when he makes a mistake or can't utilize his voice the way he wants to. Looking at him now, the difference is astounding. He can sing with amazing fullness, belt out high notes, flawlessly switch between falsetto, head voice and chest voice (looking at you, Kidult), and pull off crazy adlibs. And he does so with such joy (or whatever mood matches the song) and command. He's the undeniable main vocal along with Boo and I'm so happy he's getting the recognition he deserves.

Hoshi's choreography and stage presence

Of course I have to talk about my number one bias, Hoshi. It's one thing to be a great dancer, but as the main dancer and leader of the performance unit, Hoshi was in charge of making the choreography for their songs. Thinking of dance moves is already hard enough, but he was also coordinating the movements of 13 people, taking into account transitions and singing positions to make for an effective and entertainment performance. From the beginning you can already tell that Hoshi is very creative and detail-oriented. He gets inspiration for movements from tiny things like grabbing a tissue from the box, creatively utilizes props, and likes to incorporate bits of acting into their performances (and now they have a rep as the theater kids of K-pop). Seventeen is known for their intricate choreographies and synchronized dancing, and Hoshi has definitely had a hand in making that name for them.

On another note, in the first challenge Seventeen performed Shining Diamond for the first time in front of a small audience at a mall. They were all really nervous and the judges pointed that out. But they were especially hard on Hoshi and said that he lacked the stage presence of a main dancer despite being in the center for much of the formations. Hoshi of course was ashamed that he wasn't living up to the positions that were given to him. But just look at him now! On stage he oozes charisma and grabs your attention even if he's not center. It's known that Hoshi's fancams are a must-watch even if he isn't your bias. Hoshi is stage presence encapsulated. Watching BSS' Circle Chart Music Awards performance, it blew my mind that just three members could fill the whole venue with their energy and get the crowd - fans and idols included - hyped up along with them.

The three leaders

Finally, I just wanted to give our three fearless leaders their flowers. Coups, Hoshi, and Woozi were given such huge responsibilities at such a young age. Coups had the double duty of leading the hip hop unit in addition to Seventeen as a whole. Hoshi and Woozi were responsible for their units and the group's songs and dances. Seventeen Project showed just how big the burden was on them, and how they all stepped up and into their roles to help the group succeed. It's no wonder that all three were inconsolable when they got their first music show win with Pretty U. Leaders and Seventeen, you've worked so hard for everything you've achieved and I know you have even higher places to go! I may not have been here from the beginning of your journey but I plan to be here for the rest of it. :)

#seventeen #svt #seventeen project #svt project #svt carat #seventeen carat

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