#hiccup 1 is perfect his design has no complaints from me

[royaltea000]

You guys ever like “I could draw this better” but by the time you finish drawing it you’re like I could draw this better cuz it took so long that you’ve improved even more 😭

[sanaserena]

As promised, more screenshots! This time from Episode 3. Of all episodes, this was one of the slowest for me, but not by much!! There are so many things to like about this episode (but comparatively, Episode was more exciting). This episode marks the beginning of Usopp's recruitment to the Strawhats. So, good things I liked from this episode (a complete series overview review later, including some hiccups I didn't love, but wasn't a dealbreaker for me):

Not just for this episode, but I loved the music. As someone who has always been primarily manga over anime, I really enjoyed the take on the music for this entire series! It's literally been stuck in my head all week... Even more, I really did enjoy the themes and motifs for each character! We even get a hint of We Are or Overtaken at crucial moments in the live action!! (One of which was the introduction to Going Merry!) It's interesting, I loved the moments when these appeared, but did not immediately catch that they were versions of the Anime OST, because evidently, I don't watch the anime as often...

Helmeppo. Have I said it yet? Even if I have, I'll say it again. Aidan Scott does such an amazing job as Helmeppo. He's a complete ass, yet he's become a likeable ass (and no!! I don't mean that literal scene from Episode 1! Some days I wonder if the choice to include was like a metaphor for his character...it probably wasn't but still!) Nonetheless, this guy has so many facial expressions and pretty damn perfect for Helmeppo. I like that we get to see more of him (and Koby and Garp) as we get to see how they grow from their roots to post-timeskip in the manga.

Nami, Zoro, Luffy. Again, Episode 3 gives us more development of their dynamic as a crew. They're still not together yet, but this is also one of the reasons I really enjoy Episodes 3 and 4. You can't have the Nami, Zoro, and Luffy of live action as they are in Episodes 7 and 8 without these two episodes. Because it's in 3 & 4 that we really get to know each one and they each get to know each other. There are so many great moments. Like when Luffy is idealistically optimistic about how to get a ship, and Nami is characteristically cynical, with Zoro totally agreeing with her. And like those two moments between the three: 1) Nami asking for Luffy and Zoro's opinion on her outfit (they just don't get it), and 2) Nami and Luffy making a bet (I love this moment because we get such a lovely conclusion of it in the next episode.)

Usopp, and almost immediately we get strong Usopp and Luffy camaraderie. Which was fantastic. You can see they're almost cut from the same cloth.

Btw, have I mentioned yet how awesome Mackenyu is at Zoro. Right from the get go, I was super happy that he was cast as Zoro (despite people's complaint that Taz's hair was too short and Mackenyu was too pretty).

Inaki is great at Luffy. His Luffy isn't exactly the same as Luffy in the manga, but we're looking at two different mediums here. In essence though, he makes a wonderful Luffy. He has all the core values of Luffy, loves and hates, and seriously, Inaki gives Luffy some really wonderful faces throughout the live action!

At first, I was a bit hmmm over Klahadore's costume. it felt a bit much. But the more I watched the actor act him out, the more I forgot about the costume and focussed on the man. And well, I can say I was fully convinced.

Kaya's mansion. I do love the idea that we see events taking place at the mansion, rather than on the hill in the manga. I mean I adore that fight in the manga too, because it has many funny moments, but the live action variation does a great job bringing a different location alive. (And I love that I now know that there's electricity in One Piece... which was a question the Production designer Richard Bridgland had asked about.) I love Kaya's wardrobe. It's insane, but so wonderful to look at. Her bedroom is adorable. Her dining room tells a story. The kitchen is definitely a kitchen. And so on.

Once again, I couldn't fit all the images in this post, so look for Part 2 here: Link

[nightcoremoon]

everyone sucks dark souls' dick over how it's triumph over hardships and whatthefuckever

asylum demon is a little bitch.

taurus demon is a little bitch.

moonlight butterfly is a little bitch.

titanite demon is a little bitch.

capra demon is a little bitch.

havel the rock is a little bitch.

stray demon is a little bitch.

bell gargoyles are cheating little fuckers.

these fights aren't hard. they're not difficult. they're painfully easy. those first seven I beat without breaking a sweat, most of them on the first or second try. would've been the first for some but the game just loves artificial difficulty. what's that, you want strategy and tactics and reaction time? too bad, fuck you, have random ass bullshit, skewed numbers (enemies have fuckhuge hp and damage and you have wet paper), extra enemies on the side who fuckin teleport and ignore physics (oh right it's havok physics so fuck it who cares let's all teleport), oh yeah and your framerate is cut to ribbons because the game tries to render THE ENTIRE WORLD AT ONCE and when your framerate is low guess what YOURE LITERALLY NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO PLAY because it kicks you to the main title. oh and the bonewheels? yeah I made jokes about them before but jesus christ who fucking OK'd these? was there any QA at all? oh you rested at that bonfire, fuck you you're here forever now because you move at half speed and they move at double speed and they can pivot midair a full 360 and they instantly break your poise and do a hundred damage each hit oh yeah and they can all hit you at the same fucking time. there's a literal zero frame window whatsoever to roll out of the way. all you can do is pray to the RNG gods that it'll let you play. and that's bullshit.

this game

is fucking

TERRIBLE

every single complaint I've seen about the prequel- WHICH I LOVE- and the sequel- WHICH I USED TO HATE BUT NOW LOVE BECAUSE ITS SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN THE TRASH HEAP OF THE FIRST GAME- can be levied tenfold against this game.

fuck this berserk fanfiction trash that namco bandai threw money at for the art department and level design crew. they got all the budget, leaving nothing for the fuckin nonexistent ai.

the bosses all suck too. yeah ds2 had shitty bosses and reskins too, but IT HAD TWICE AS MANY AS DS1 DID. it's allowed a couple of trash bosses. and it has some absolute gems. the last giant is a perfect first boss that will decimate you if you don't know what you're doing but if you understand it you can plow through it easily, but can't be complacent with.

flexile sentry is a cool design and has two different moveset to content with, AND a level timer. skeleton lords? good boss. executioner chariot? good boss. mytha? eh, decent boss. smelter demon? fucking amazing boss. old iron king? cheating bastard but hey just don't fall in the lava idiot. git gud. fume knight? *chef's kiss* sir allonne? *chef's kiss* rat vanguard? incredible puzzle. the rotten? it's ok I guess but it's still better than half the ds1 bosses. najka? quelaag reskin but still ok. rat authority? sif and capra had a baby. prowling magus? ...ok that one is just embarrassing, I'll give you that. freja? great. pursuer? he'll crush you if you don't know what you're doing but all of his attacks are unique and avoidable and he looks fucking cool. ruin sentinels? tough as hell and worth the struggle in learning them. gargoyles? it's not a reskin, it's the ds1 gargoyle fight but not a completely horrible steaming pile of shit that's just a worse version of maneaterds in the prequel. lost sinner? good boss. mirror knight? good boss. demon of song? good boss. velstadt? good boss. vendrick? holy shit is he the best character in the series or what? and his boss fight... everyone says lord gwyn is the saddest because of sakuraba-sama's amazing talents at musical composition (so uh tales of symphonia is the best video game soundtrack ever made hands down don't @ me I'm sorry metroid prime but you have too much ambient noise) and PLIN PLIN PLON but I guarantee you that PLIN PLIN PLON would work well against vendrick too. oh yeah then you have the fake dragons (ok), throne duo (mediocre version of ornstein & smough), nashandra (meh), and aldia (meh), and also the bosses of shulva (meh) and the dogs of eleum loyce (meh) and the burnt ivory king. who is the best boss in the series hands don't don't @ me I'm sorry soul of cinder but you rely too much on nostalgia.

dark souls 2 is a fucking masterpiece with a few hiccups that are all holdovers from the first game. standing alone, this is probably the best action rpg ever made, and what everything else should build itself off of.

ds1 has a bunch of copypasted enemies with the word "boss" slapped on them, shitty mechanics, and even shittier stages.

quelaag is good. four kings is good. nito is good. seathe is good. sif is good. o&s are good. the dlc bosses are good. every single other boss is fucking stupid or fucking terrible and either can be cheesed or REQUIRE cheese.

what I mentioned before are jokes. ceaseless is just a pathetic version of dragon god who was vastly improved when he became old iron king. centipede demon is fucking garbage. bed of chaos is worse than garbage. priscilla is a meme. gwyndolin is a hallway. demon firesage is a reskin. gaping dragon is a waste of a cool design. iron golem is a joke who can be 1v1'd by tarkus. pinwheel? shut the fuck up about the prowling magus and congregation, pinwheel is not a real boss. lord of cinder? he's the reason why I don't parry, because parrying is cheese and it's fully dependent on having a $1000 graphics card and a brain that's wired to look at 60 frames per second. "but the human eye can only see 26" yeah exactly. man that's a short list of shitty bosses though. you're right? it's because I've listed all the dark souls bosses. and I haven't even listed all of the ds2 bosses.

I'm with hbomberguy here. ds2 gets more hate than it deserves. but I'll take it a step further.

dark souls 1 sucks.

it's not fun. it's not cool. it has a story ripped from a manga. its level design is a gimmick. the animations are shit. the hitboxes are shit. the physics are shit. the lighting and textures are still shit AFTER A REMASTER. the weapons and moveset variety is shit. the enemy design is shit. the locations all look exactly the same. the NPCs are boring and forgettable- I don't even know their fucking NAMES besides andre and gough (and gwyndolin but she's as real as her tits). it's built from salt and cyanide and broken glass rather than love for its roots. the music is the only part I can salvage without any buts. I can't even say that actually because THERE IS NONE EXCEPT DURING BOSSES WHEN YOU CANT LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT THINKS THAT DIFFICULTY IS SPEED AND SHEER NUMBERS.

it's a bad game.

you can like it. you can play it. you can love it.

but holy shit, shut the fuck about about it. I get it. I understand. I know. okay. got it. shut up.

I'll stop talking shit about your baby when you stop bitching and moaning and whining over how much you won't let yourself enjoy 2.

[husbaano]

Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD Review: A Bite-Sized Disappointment

Final Fantasy XV is a staple for modern day Square Enix that has one of the most bizarre development cycles and releases in gaming. When it originally launched for consoles in 2016 it had been 10 years since its conceptual reveal trailer, underwent both a system change as well as a director change, and a 3 month release delay. After such a long developmental cycle the game receive mediocre  reviews including from myself who was extremely confused to how the game was considered “finished” in the first place with laughably unexplained cut scenes, bad animations, a simple combat system with no depth and just overall lack of polish; all of that development time and the game just ended up being bizarre and incomplete. Square Enix even stated that this was intentional in order to promote a “games as a service” model in order to keep providing for the consumers. Final Fantasy XV has continued to grow as its own brand since its release nearly 3 years ago with a full length feature film, an anime series, two mobile games, DLC and free updates to further “polish” the game. Square Enix is continuing to expand the reach of this multimedia powerhouse with the release of Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition for the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One; an HD port of a “demake” originally made for mobile platforms. This demake somehow manages to capture the spirit of the original while adding some minor adjustments to make the originally once bumpy road trip a little smoother.

Final Fantasy: Pocket Edition HD retains the exact main plot from the original console release, even going as far as using the same audio and cutscenes; just chibi-fied. Set in a fantastical modern land, or a “fantasy based on reality”, Prince Noctis of the kingdom Lucis, must travel with his three companions to be wed to Lady Lunafreya of Tenebrae to complete a peace treaty. Thing don’t go exactly as planned as the peace treaty is very soon breached by the enemy nation, Niflheim, and the four boys must go on a journey to save the people of Lucis. In the original release I was baffled by how little of the story there was in the main game; a good chunk of it was found in supplemental material, specifically the anime series and the movie, like how the four boys became friends and how the peace treaty was breached in the first place; all of which are kind of crucial to the plot. To put it frankly the original story was a mess, important battles and events occur off screen, characters aren’t introduced or have purpose but the player is expected to care about them, time-skips happen often, almost no time is spent on the rival empire Niflheim and a lot of the characters associated with it go nowhere. It's just a weird occurrence when a randomly introduced man named Jared gets three main story quests devoted to him when the main antagonists get no screen time, some characters even only appear for one in the entire game. The main four characters,  Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio, and their “roadtrip” are meant to be the heart and soul of the adventure; and they really are. Their interactions are charming, amusing and downright funny I love the brotherly bond the four share throughout the journey and during gameplay; its just annoying to realize that there is no in-game explanation as to how the four became friends in the first place! The story was, and is still, definitely a mess but the game developers tried to alleviate some of these issues through updates and DLC; although not perfect, the game is in way better shape than it was when it originally released.

Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD contains most of the major hiccups of the original release since its story is almost 1:1 with the original just with a new coat of paint, but it still manages to improve in some areas. One thing that stood out to me the moment I started it was the added “context” found before cut scenes; text blurbs occasionally appear to inform new players about the lore and the general story which helps comprehension immensely and is something that should have been in the original release to begin with. Another way Pocket Edition HD improves upon the story is by providing NPC dialogue strictly regarding the plot; this helps with world building and keeps the player invested in the story. One of the most common complaints about the original release was the lack of urgency since the plot seemed very “linear” but the game itself  was open world so a lot of that plot tension was lost. Since Pocket Edition HD is a linear experience, the plot isn’t lost upon the player and is almost always the focus.

The entire game has been compressed into a cute, chibi art style that is very similar to the 2007 FFIV Remake for the Nintendo DS and 2013’s Bravely Default for the Nintendo 3DS. The art-style is distinct and translates the character designs well but the animations leave a lot to be desired. It feels as though they cheapened out on animations during cut scenes rather than it being part of the “demake” experience. The voice clips are all ripped from the console edition so some dramatic scenes come off as goofy rather than emotional. Pop-in is common and the game chugs while in docked-mode; in handheld mode the game runs at a smooth 60 fps most of the time. The menus are nothing special either; they feel pretty empty, boring and bare bones. It's not horrible for a mobile title, but for a $30 Nintendo Switch game this is bit disappointing. 

Pocket Edition HD takes the console version and streamlines it to become a linear adventure rather than an open-world one. The world of Eos in the original release was vast but empty; it was just big for the sake of being big with nothing to do. Pocket Edition’s linearity is actually a benefit since the game seems a lot more focused, the plot is more cohesive and it feels more like a game rather than a walking simulator. The combat system has been overhauled but not for the best. As someone with 90 hours in the original release, I learnt the “depth” of the combat system but it wasn’t entirely enticing; it eventually watered down into mashing warps and holding buttons to block every attack in the game. It wasn’t deep or engaging,it kinda was just there. Now PE: HD takes this already watered down combat and dilutes it down even more. Each party member fights on their own while the player can only control Noctis. A single button is held to automatically attack the enemy you’re targeting, while occasional prompts appear that give you the option to perform a special attack with one of your teammates. Noctis can warp-strike to any enemy on the field at the cost of MP, and occasional QTEs can give you a brief window in which an incoming attack can be dodged or parried. The combat system is very bare-bones and fun at first, but it begins to drag once you realize it doesn’t get any more intricate. It’s stale and just plain easy;  there is almost no challenge whatsoever. You can pause the game at any time to consume many readily available Potions to restore HP and the enemies go down fast. 

In a similar fashion, the progression system is a watered down version of the console version. XP is awarded to party members after each battle and is applied at the end of each story mission. Leveling up party members allows for upgraded stats and AP to be gained. These Ability Points can be used on the bare-bones skill-tree to obtain new skills for the party; the skill-tree is just kinda basic and boring especially taking into consideration that enemies die easily to basic attacks as is.

Final Fantasy XV is Square-Enix’s new cash-cow and as such is being distributed to every platform imaginable. Square’s newest venture with the XV brand, Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD is a bizarre one and tough sell. This mobile app “demake” up-scaled for HD on the Nintendo Switch is a strange concept that lands in the story department for the most-part but lacks greatly in regards to game-play. It's a very strange release that serves little purpose considering the original release is a bit cheaper than this mobile title ported to the Nintendo Switch. It gets the job done if you want to experience XV without access to any other console but the price-point is just too high to justify the purchase.

[edge-of-bizarre]

how would fishlegs and rosethorn's wedding go? Would mama ingerman approve?

Long post about engagements, weddings, and impatient mother-in-laws

I don’t think there would be a wedding without mama ingerman’s approval. I’m pretty sure that Mrs. Ingerman has long since changed her hypercritical nature (perhaps an event leads to Rosethorn proving herself worthy idk, probably just time and she notices Rosethorn actually LOVES her son, love love loves, and she’s a good influence and you KNOW rosethorn gasses fishlegs up all the time, his confidence increases)

Mrs. Ingerman goes from iffy and of course, very critical of this new woman in her son’s life, to perhaps pushing it. I think it would be a “my boy is too perfect for anyone” to a “she loves him and will take care of him and if that boy doesn’t act quick-” Her once sideways glares have changed to a rather outrageous, outright proclamation that that girl will become an Ingerman by the years end (well… sometime in the future at least) Aka Lock That Girl Down phase 1. I assume Fishlegs prob lives with his mom, perhaps he moves back in after Hiccup moves in with Astrid (i just want hiccup and fishlegs to be roomies), and i think he isn’t too thick to understand this could be seen as lady repellent, therefore dates usually end at Rosethorn’s place or he picks her up there until she’s like “you… you live somewhere right” “…. yes” “… this is setting off a lot of alarms for me, so unless you answer correctly-” “i live with my mother” “… that’s it?”

Anyway! Rosethorn is part of the family the christmas she receives her first Mama Ingerman knit sweater (think the weasley’s) and then family dinners usually involve “Have you thought about the future?” or Mrs. Ingerman asking why for the love of god he hasn’t proposed yet. She is probably giving him her old engagement ring, or at least a family engagement ring the moment she approves because “i’m not getting any younger”, I think it would be a family ring, Fishlegs does get it resized as his gf is not the same stock as the large Ingerman clan, and more than likely gets it stuck on his finger in a moment of absentminded fiddling or what if she doesn’t like it? What if it’s not good enough? What if-

Fishlegs is anxious. He is nervous. I believe he would be in a place where there is no way Rosethorn would say no to a proposal, she is totally, completely in love with him, but anxiety does not allow for logic. I’m sure he has thought about rejection, but i think she definitely calms those thoughts through actions and so more of his anxious energy is designated to making this absolutely perfect. IT MUST BE PERFECT. It is an ultimate proclamation of love, besides the wedding itself, therefore it’s his forte, but it’s also so important he wants to get it just right. He wants it to be about her, and them, and probably talks Astrid and Hiccup’s ear off because they’ve done it before.

It takes a few tries. During the picnic he planned, it rained and he couldn’t possibly do it now. He stumbled and stuttered through breakfast in bed, “Sweetheart, are you feeling ok?” As Rosethorn puts a hand to his forehead because she thinks he’s ill as he tries to put together words. That was scratched off. He workshops and finally decides on a romantic evening, his mother knows nothing because if she knew she might blab to relatives. Maybe they go to the opera, or a play, something fun before a very nice dinner. @e–wills did a wonderful post on engagements here and she even included rosethorn, my heart, also took the words outta my dang mouth. Rosethorn and Fishlegs definitely have talked about the future and marriage and it’s something they both want, just a matter of when.

Fishlegs plays off the night as their anniversary (i feel like he’d come up with a lot of anniversaries… first date, first kiss, etc, eventually Rosethorn is saying let’s just stick to one as the big one) Rosethorn is delighted with the night, she’s smiling to herself because its so lovely, and she can’t wait to see his face when he unwraps the present she got him even though they promised no presents. So she’s distracted and not expecting anything more from the lovely little speech he’s made. I think if he was super nervous, she’d suspect something is up, but maybe once in his life he isn’t nervous, he’s excited, so she is completely unaware as the ring makes its way over via dessert. Lots of tears. A lot from him. He probably doesn’t get out fully what he’s going to say because of tears or because Rosethorn is saying yes before he’s even gotten on his knee and “wait- i wanted to say something” “ok ok ok- go-” “I love you so- you’re already crying? I’m going to cry now too!” it’s private, it’s romantic, it’s sappy and oh so sweet, lots of kissing and later on adult stuff, and he does make a dumb face she likes when she reveals the limited edition comic she bought (ben wyatt and the iron throne face) Rosethorn is beside herself and is sitting up in the early morning looking over the ring because she really should have seen it coming and fishlegs has so many tells, how did she not see it? he probably asked her if she still wanted to get married recently, and decides making breakfast is more useful than wondering about the other things she misses. 

I think they’d try to wait until morning, at least that’s what they’re going to say they’ll do and either are too interested in smoochin and being together or it’s 1 am and he’s rolling over to tell her he will die if he doesn’t tell anyone right this second.

Mrs. Ingerman phones anyone she can get, puts a post in the ingerman family facebook page, the whole family knows. Meatlug is very pleased, she drools plenty to show how happy she is. Mrs. Ingerman is planning the wedding already, she has a binder (fishlegs prob has a binder) of wedding stuff, she wants to be a big part of the wedding.

Rosethorn’s family is delighted by the news, they all like Fishlegs, they probably stop by because rosethorn’s mother had to “see it for me self” and her father is weepy. They’d be paying for it, but I also feel like Mrs. Ingerman would be trying to pay, “We don’t have the budget for that!” “I’ll pay for it myself then” Mrs. Ingerman has her standards, plus they HAVE to have the whole family. 

Rosethorn invites Mrs. Ingerman to come wedding dress shopping with her mother and friends. I think mama Ingerman probably is pulling a wedding dress out of the attic “it was my grandmothers” and Rosethorn politely agrees to try it on, but it is truly hideous, Fishlegs manages to say “Well… it’s white?” while Mrs. Ingerman is admitting it isn’t as trendy as she remembered. 

Both bachelor and bachelorette party are on the mild side, perhaps not so traditional, i think the girls treat themselves to a spa day coupled with a night out on the town, Ruffnut is griping about no strippers because she has a wallet full of ones but those complaints died when the hot masseuse comes in for her massage.

Mrs. Ingerman wants her nephew to be the ring bearer because he’s so cute, except he will only go by “Thor Bonecrusher” now, and promptly tried to eat the rings (fishlegs was giving the kid the side eye and keeping his distance cause this kid kicks him every time) and once the child proves himself a bad idea, Meatlug is crowned ring bearer, and is absolutely adorable, she is a good dog.

Wedding is early summer or autumn, when its not scorching. I think autumn just cause fishlegs’s designated color is orange haha, smaller wedding, but it’s still a lot of fun, the Ingerman’s are lively.

Rosethorn probably spends the night before the wedding with her parents, and Fishlegs is weepy already, and “I just want to give her a call- let me just call her really quick-” Rosethorn LINED his pockets of his tux (or if he goes for the kilt combo idk what the jacket is called) with tissues and he weeps more when he finds them with a hand written note and a lipstick kiss print. He’s nervous about everything going to plan, but he’s not totally nervous cause Hiccup and his mom are both there. Rosethorn’s father is very very clearly bawling. He’s a crier, her mother tears up a bit while he sniffs through words. I think they’d prob blindfold the couple for some words before the ceremony because Rosethorn said he’s not allowed to see her in the dress and so he turned around and said she’s not allowed to see him in the suit.

The wedding itself was short and sweet, lots of tears on both ends. Fishlegs prob hugged the life out of his father in law and mother in law, Mrs. Ingerman CRIED, the two held hands the whole time and the vows were disgustingly sweet, Meatlug did a wonderful job with delivering the rings, and the couple probably kissed before the I Do’s, they’re just very over excited. the cheer from the large ingerman family side was deafening when I Do’s were finally shared, and it is a smaller wedding compared to the hiccstrid and rufflout weddings, but it’s a pretty good party. The reception lasted a while, the dancing never seemed to stop so the newly weds were absolutely wiped, especially after greeting so much family. The wedding night included Fishlegs falling asleep the moment he got home, still in his dress shoes because “i’m just going to rest my eyes a moment while you’re in the bathroom” and Rosethorn puts a blanket over him and he manages to mumble “I love you so much” as she pulls of his shoes off (he undid her dress so she could go to the bathroom) Meatlug happily snuggled in between them and sleeps very well, and in the morning she is given a toy bone with peanut butter inside and is plenty distracted as the wedding night actually happens before pancakes, coffee, and kisses are served, along with plenty “Good morning, Mrs. Ingerman” cause there is a younger mrs. ingerman on the block now.

They honeymoon somewhere with historical significance, I can def see the two going to Ireland or Scotland, staying in bed and breakfast’s and going to see castles plus the landscape. Maybe Italy? France? They have a wonderful time and learn a lot and of course it’s romantic, they have picnics and see the sights. Meatlug couldn’t be more happy when they return. Mrs. Ingerman then begins Phase 2, which is grandchildren. grand kids aren’t too far off, don’t worry. Mrs. Ingerman probably wants Rosethorn to call her mom but it just won’t stick.

[yahoo-from-the-marbles-blog]

Power Rankings: Truex stays at the top as Johnson moves up

DOVER, DE – JUNE 04: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway on June 4, 2017 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Welcome to Power Rankings. As always, Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it’s the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. Direct all your complaints to us at nickbromberg@yahoo.com and we’ll try to have some fun.

1. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 1): He may only be up nine points in the standings over Kyle Larson, but with his two wins and eight stage victories, Truex Jr. is setting a blistering pace towards being the top seed in the playoffs. That pace is contingent on maintaining the top spot in the standings, but unless Truex and Larson have a terrible stretch of races in the near future they should be the top two seeds. Third-place Kevin Harvick is 116 points behind Truex.

Coincidentally, Truex finished third on Sunday at Dover.

2. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 6): Now that Johnson has tied Cale Yarborough with 83 career Cup Series wins, he’s going to tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with his next win. Whenever the next victory happens Johnson will be tied for fourth all-time in the Cup Series.

As he’s tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven championships, it’s fair to wonder if Johnson will get to No. 2 on the Cup Series win list behind Petty. David Pearson has 105 victories; 22 more than Johnson has right now. If Johnson drives for three more years he may not get there. But if he drives for five more, there’s a shot.

But Johnson has a ways to go to catch Kyle Busch. With 84 NASCAR victories, Johnson is 89 wins behind Busch.

3. Kyle Larson (LW: 5): Larson led over 240 laps but spun his tires on the final restart. That hiccup allowed Johnson to skip away and be ahead at the overtime line when Ty Dillon spun and collected a bunch of cars behind the leaders.

Larson’s become the main Chevrolet competitor to Hendrick Motorsports this season, largely because of his team’s relationship with Hendrick. With Stewart-Haas Racing driving Fords, Ganassi became Hendrick’s top satellite team and it’s showing, even if Ganassi has been coy about the extent of the relationship with Hendrick.

4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): Harvick finished ninth on Sunday. Stewart-Haas is still figuring out the keys to go from very good to great with Ford. When you take away Kurt Busch’s win in the Daytona 500 SHR has just six top fives over four drivers in 12 races. That’s a .125 batting average. Not good.

Harvick has four of those top fives. He’s been really good at Pocono and it won’t be surprising if he gets a fifth top five next week.

5. Kyle Busch (LW: 2): Busch’s race went sideways on the first pit stop as the air gun malfunctioned as the left-rear tire was being changed. That malfunction meant the new tire and wheel weren’t fastened to the car when the jack was dropped by the jackman and Busch drove off.

Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens could face a four-race penalty for the team’s mistake based off the rule as written in the NASCAR rule book. But the rule that suspends crew chiefs for wheels coming off is designed to prevent teams from only fastening two or three lug nuts to a wheel to have a faster pit stop and allegedly not to further penalize teams who make a pit road mistake.

DOVER, DE – JUNE 03: Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway on June 3, 2017 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

6. Jamie McMurray (LW: 7): McMurray’s having the best season of his career. Yes, really. McMurray hasn’t won a race through the first 13 this season but he’s got eight top-10 finishes and is fifth in the points standings.

McMurray won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in 2010 (in addition to the fall race at Charlotte) but he finished 13th in the standings that season. He’s never finished inside the top 10 of the standings. This could be the year.

7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4): If this was the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately series then Keselowski would be one of the most disappointing drivers in the Cup Series. He was slow during the All-Star Race (and had the goofy penalty) and crashed in both the Coca-Cola 600 and in Sunday’s race in Dover.

But those crashes have simply been wrong place, wrong time events. And Keselowski has been at the front of the field in both of them. When Kurt Busch got loose beneath him Sunday, Keselowski moved up the track to give Busch room. But Busch bounced off of him still and sent Keselowski into the wall.

8. Austin Dillon (LW: 12): Dillon finished 12th at Dover … and is still outside the top 20 in points. Dillon would begin the playoffs 46 points behind Truex at this rate. And that’s a setup for success. But if 12th is the new normal for Dillon and crew chief Justin Alexander, then he’ll get into the top 20 with no problem.

9. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10): Hamlin’s eighth-place finish is just the third time he’s strung together consecutive top-10 finishes in 2016. But he’s slowly climbing in the points standings. After he was 16th through six races, Hamlin is now ninth in the standings through 13.

10. Chase Elliott (LW: NR): Elliott’s fifth-place finish was his first top five since the sixth race of the season at Martinsville. Yet it didn’t stop his slide in the points standings. Elliott still dropped a spot to eighth in the standings after being as high as second after Martinsville.

11. Matt Kenseth (LW: NR): The defending champion of the Dover spring race wasn’t much of a threat to win over the second half of the race and finished 13th.

12. Clint Bowyer or Joey Logano or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. You pick: They all had problems on Sunday. Logano and Stenhouse hit the wall because of right-front tire issues while Bowyer had a problem with an oil line that sent his car to the garage.

Lucky Dog: Ty Dillon was on his way to a top five before the crash.

The DNF: After hitting Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch crashed again.

Dropped Out: No one.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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