#hold on let me add a follow up in the rbs because i need everyone to see The Vision (tm)

[legobenkenobi]

Commander Cody being named 'Cody' not because he wanted a #normal name but because he's a fucking nerd and he likes coding (so, 'Code-y' -> Cody pipeline) is a criminally underrated take if you ask me. like, yeah Kote in Mando'a is glory and that's beautiful and meaningful and I'm the last person to deny that Cody is destined for greatness but the dude is also a total nerd and it would be really funny if that was the actual origin of his name

[weaselbeaselpants]

I have a lot to say and not enough time to say it. It hurts, but ya’ll know what this is about so if you want my full fandom retrospective opinion thing guys, here.

I’ve been following Vivienne’s art and career since I found her on dA in 2009. I’ve basically grown up with her and have a wide range of opinions up and down her collective work. I must stress that I do not know her as a person and no matter how critical I get in my personal time if I somehow met her in real life or converse with her online again (like, back in the day we went back and forth. She was pretty nice to me), I’d be humble and congratulate her for her success.

Critique does not, EVER equate to attacking people.

But

the reason I don’t call myself a VivziePopVivzmind-fan is the exact same as to why I don’t like the proud use of ‘anti’. Let me try and explain -

The vast majority of Viv fans are just that: fans. Viv’s one of their favorite artists and they’re happy for her and obviously defensive when some mouth breather pops into their fan discussion calling her and all of them trash. Quite a lot of the Hazbin fans I know in my circle of friends are all pretty accepting and agree on the problematic notions and implications of her work.

HOWEVER, there’s a vocal minority in the VivziePop fandom that were and still are toxic. Their specific interest in Viv back in the day was toxic...and now that she’s moved on into a successful career I doubt they’ve gone away, considering the things I’ve heard. These people - they’d flood Viv’s comments sections and stuff with messages like they were talking to her when they weren’t and they’d unironically call her a god in a way that feels like gaslighting, ex: “I’ll NEVER be as good as you Viv! My art is just sooooo unpopular oh god you are incredible no one will ever like you as much as meeeee”. It made me uncomfortable. It made me not want to be around her because these people took Viv’s role in their lives so seriously and their demand for her attention...it struck a nerve.

These same fans have been around long enough to see actual shitlords - the likes of Kiwifarms and tapatalk wikis - come in and actually harass Viv. Viv’s been sent revenge porn by sick freaks who think they’re funny and believe she deserves it. No. In my non-name fan bystander opinion, Viv’s got some shit to work on, but no one deserves raperevenge porn. EVER. It was genuinely bad and yes Viv and her base have every reason to NOT TRUST these communities. Unfortunately, when these incidents happened, these particular fans took it upon themselves to gatekeep the fandom and act like Viv’s unofficial guard against any kind of decenting opinion of her, all without her say so.

((to the critics who will be all “but Viv or Faust said THIS to their fans-”, like I said, Viv’s far from perfect but regardless of how much she prolly wanted people to side with her I’m gonna guess that she didn’t want people sending transphobic death threats to DollCreep. Again, and this is coming from a bystander here, I have a feeling Viv knows about some of the toxicity but doesn’t know how/want to address it - which is a conversation all it’s own.))

This particular breed of VivziePop “fan” holds so much toxicity in her fandom(s). They aren’t the only cause, but they’re there. They feel entitled to her attention and her approval. They creep me out. Having spoken to other much-less critical admitted fans of Viv around me, these fans appear to creep everyone else out and put the rest of the fandom on edge. They’re gatekeepers. They’re creeps. Like the bronies and SU fans of yestertodayyears, they know harassment exists and that people have crossed the line - so they think any means is necessary to prevent that is automatically good. I could pile together all the incidents and folks who’ve had bad runs ins with this aftershock of Viv-obsession, but I do have a life of my own and this post is already stupid long so I’ll just list out the biggest examples and provide receipts when asked.

Critical blogs have gotten RAPE and death threats because they don’t like Viv’s art. HonestZoophobiaCriticisms, a blog I interracted with back in the day, def got one. Now Viv’s opinion of crit-blogs is that they’re “bad takes” but I can assure you she doesn’t want that shit being said on her behalf.

I’ve seen young artists get blacklisted from sites and forums cause they so much as post a redesign. Viv and co get told through the grapevine that someone’s making hatespeech and so preemptively block said person (prolly cause they’re in the middle of WORKING and can’t deal right now) only to find out after the fact that no, it was just a kid drawing their version of her characters. There’s serious miscommunication issues within the fandom about who’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and once you get the actual staff involved in this game of telephone you’re begging for trouble. The problem acknowledged, however, it’s souly from the “Viv never did anything wrong camp”. No word is said about how ugly the fandom is under the surface it’s all one type of person’s fault and not complicated’. Blah

I’ve only ever had ONE obsessive ‘fan’ who’d stalk me, mock me, and then redraw my art just to get attention from me. That shit fucked with my head. As a follower hundreds of miles away from Viv who’s agreed/disagreed with her through the years - I absolutely believe her when she says she hates ‘creeps’ and that she doesn’t want anyone in her fandom spreading hate on her behalf. It’s the one thing about her I’m POSITIVELY sure of. Whether she believes that said underlying harassment exists and/or is even a problem within her fandoms is anyone’s guess. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to write stupid blog entries like this, talk about fandoms and media and how they and the real world affect one another, and rb fan art I like. I’m cautiously optimistic fan with a side of salt.

Mixed opinions and critique within a fandom CAN and SHOULD exist. Hazbin Hotel has been greenlit by a studio! It has a product line of merchandise you buy. Helluva Boss is getting eight more episodes this coming year (yeeee:3yeeee). Two of Viv’s properties are now products. Nothing is immune from critique. And in critique you will find a lot of people who are not ‘nice’. Critique or analysis doesn’t have to be nice. There will be, in Viv’s words’ ‘bad takes’ on her writing. Maybe they will be actual CinemaSins-styled bad takes or maybe Viv is just mad that people don’t love and feel inspired by her characters the way she wants them to - it’s a fact she’s going to have to get used to.

((TBH, I’m pretty sure she’s already realized that criticism of all types need to exist. It’s just that, again, her and the SpindleHorse staff are kind of overwhelmed by all matter of takes and opinions coming their way they kinda can’t deal weeding out the fair ones from the assholes, so she lumps them all together.))

Shitposters, ironic fans, unironic fans, critical fans, just critics of Hazbin and Helluva CAN and WILL exist. They should exist and not feel threatened by the megafandom. There are people out there who are one step further and rightfully bothered by Hazbin/Helluva’s use of incorrect symbols, portrayal of certain topics, and the response by creators. These people have strong opinions and are actually disgusted by Viv. They deserve to exist too and should not be vilified because, like me, they’re commentary doesn’t consist of anything personal towards the people at Spindlehorse or the fans of her works. They can rant, they can be professional, they can be petty and they can be fair. But they will exist. You have to deal with it.

I am an ADD/OCD ridden autistic woman with serious anxiety issues who has no one to talk to half the time and so only HAS my fandom to communicate with. But that’s just it - it’s a fandom. A community. You have to learn to not think souly of yourself and of others in a community. A fandom doesn’t exist just for you or any one person. You have the right to be angry and defend or be offended. And it’s in the spirit of that that I ask, prrraaaaaay even, that I please

NOT BE CALLED AN “ANTI-ANTI” for not liking the moniker?!

I DON’T TO BE AN “ANTI”. Not ironically, not unironically. ‘Anti’ should be for politics and shit like pedophiles, necrophiles, nazis, serial killer stans, Trump, racists, antisemites, terfs, animal abusers, rapists, and antivaxxers. Anti should only come into critical media analysis when these ethical issues follow suit IN TO fandom discussion. ((EX: Anime and MLP proudly waving their cp and non-con into the public eye; Hazbin appropriating cultural symbols which are not satanic; Basically anything that concerns John K or Butch Hartman.))

If your DNI list unironically consists of the entirety of one fandom:  CONGLATURATIONS! You have done the exact same thing these particular creepy Viv fans have done: monopolize the conversation. And yes, people I’m referring to, IT’S STILL A PROBLEM EVEN IF YOU’RE FIGHTING RACISM/SEXISM/HOMOTRANSPHOBIA.

There are hundreds of Vivziefans who ARE more critical, accepting of faults, interested in discussion and especially rewrite and redesign stuff who would LOVE to engage with you and give you a follow. There’s hundreds of people who no doubt agree with you!

But the thing I’ve seen these very proud AntiHazbinVivzieHelluvaWhatever blogs do is lash out at fans for continuing to like Viv and consume Viv’s art in a healthy way. What the actual fuck is your problem?

I get it. Say a crazy Hazbin fan gets on your case for even SUGGESTING Viv could be homophobic ((”SHE’SBIANDWORKSWITHGAYPPLblahablahblah”)). They get in your face, make some callouts, try to rile up support against you, leave disgusting harassment throughout your social media? Absolutely ban worthy. After that it’s perfectly understandable why you don’t want to engage with anything HHHBZPVivzierelated because you’re so fucking tired of being labeled an abuser or “just jealous” for having an opinion on a show you don’t like. I’m with you!

But,

A fan agrees that something in the canon is bad or that Viv did something they don’t like?

A fan likes your silly shitpost meme?

A fan asks if they can like Hazbin and follow you at the same time? 

A fan does fan art of something you don’t like?

If your response to any of these ^^^ things is to get LOUD and accusatory, Vivsplain them about how they’re an absolutely awful person to ever question YOUR opinion, or just block them without a second thought? You’re a petty, vendictive shit and you also need to learn to let things go. I’m sorry but you do. As I already said, Viv’s work is a brand at this point, not just the work of a singular person. As such, there are gonna be mixed opinions and you can’t judge every single one of these people by what they like. You’re a shitty critic with a shitty attitude and yes that will demean the value of what you’re saying. This is bad because, if you’re trying to point out how Angel Dust’s abuse IS handled terribly; gay rep in Viv’s work is weak and terrible; the show appropriates closed practices; the fandom makes excuses for predatory artists and creepy behavior and individuals who have sketchy pasts - I’M WITH YOU. WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT THIS SHIT. JUST BECAUSE THESE ARE ADULT CARTOONS SET IN HELL MEANS THERE SHOULD BE ANYTHING CLOSE TO 2013 PONY-TUMBLR. <<<---- this shit is as important to me as it is to you and I really don’t like being called an abuser or apologist for saying “hey maybe blowing up at ppl for the shows they like ISN’T the way to go about this”. 

But I have, just like the good old days of 2015 Zoophobia of yore, been blocked because I admit to being tired of ‘Anti’ being equated to ‘critical’. Same with hater.

Critical DOES NOT = Anti+Hater. I’m fucking tired of people saying it does and I’m tired of people taking up the term as some weird form of fandom reappropriation. It’s stupid.

Tl;dr: Once upon a time, I was in a budding fandom for something I liked made by an indie artist I watched on dA. I wanted to be a bigger fan than I was already, but was told by toxic people within said fandom that I couldn’t be part of it for reasons they’d made up in their head about my ‘motives’ against Viv. My admiration for Viv or what I liked about Zoophobia didn’t matter because I thought the story was really rushed and people weren’t being truthful with how they really felt about it - ergo, I HAD TO GO. 

Flash forward 8 years later- My opinion of Viv’s body of work has changed but I still find myself in love with her style and some of her characters. I want to be on a forum or service that gives a healthy look at the problems there are with this series and fandom...and I’m met repeatedly by petty bs where people are again at each other’s throats. And yes, I do think it’s causing more harm than good especially when you insist there’s a “x person shouldn’t be trusted” mentality when fighting actual fucking racist, xenophobic, predatory bullshit.

[heyyylittlemo]

I'm bored so i will ask everyone this weird question:

Where's my Mo's at?

Yeah cuz I know some of ya be Tsundere af!

You're lowkey a cat at heart and whose friends are lowkey afraid of insulting you!! You'll say the exact opposite of what you really feel most times. You aren't always honest, and you can come across as not liking people you honestly admire. You don't feel its necessary to compliment others. In fact, the more you like someone, the more you'll probably call them names because you don't know how to handle your true emotions!

You're a bit of a gold digger--a parasite--taking advantage of others' willingness to please your hard nature with a bet--you're very competitive and find delight in others squirming to impress you! You make it a struggle because you're entertained by being chased. You gotta secure that bag tho, right? You'll come close with the sound of a nice bell. Cat needs that meow mix--and you're pretty obvious about it. Really though, the chase is just an excuse for you to run away and not admit that you're taken away by it all!

You're quite independent and tell yourself you can get by fine. You hate to bother others and hate to be bothered. But you do see the value in others' though it might take awhile and a lot of time for it to develop. You've closed yourself off because you've been hurt before. Before anyone was your friend, it's likely you were not on great terms at the start just because you're difficult. You're very cautious and overtime people see through your weaknesses and come to understand why you are the way you are.

You're that one in the relationship who carries. Y'all are some responsible ass people with 0 chill! You just want things to be done right and at your pace. You'll fall in love with the one who has the most perservance, patience, and nagging to make it out with you at the other side--someone who will understand your depth because they too have things that follow them. You need to be consoled and pursued like hell and without that insurance, it's hard for you to believe anyone's soft feelings for you because you feel you don't actually deserve it, even after everything. But once that person does break you out of your cage, you're actually very sweet and caring. Leave it to you to make sure they have everything they need, even when it disservices you.

Leave it to that one annoying person you can't stand to be the one you can't get outta your head--just admit the tension turns you on!!

You'll die before you admit it though, because they get on your last nerve and it would hurt your pride to admit it.

Even tho you seem like you don't care you've just learned to be careful and would break down at the slightest trigger--it feels good to be comforted.

😻😻😻😻😻😻

Where's my He Tian's at?

Because some of y'all be frisky!

You're somewhat of a instigator--lighthearted like a child--with a tail between your legs. Sometimes it's wagging like a happy-go-lucky puppy idiot out of love and other times it's dangling with mischief.

You love teasing others and looking for a reaction. Life's too boring without a little excitement. You want a challenge. Your friends think you're too much but respect you for your reputation!

You'll fall in love with the one person who won't be fascinated by your charm--who'll question you. It doesn't even insult or faze you, but drives you crazy! It makes you do stupid things to impress them.

You're quite shameless--whether your horny, in love, hungry, hurt, sad, etc. You wear your heart on your sleeve. But you also hide away because you know there's deeper things haunting you behind your façade.

Even though many people claim to know you, few really see you and you're truly quite lonely. You'll do anything to share your life with the one who really puts up with every side of yourself.

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

Where's my Jian Yi's at?

Because some of y'all are silly!

You're a very kind person whose always getting themselves dragged into some mess! You mean well even if things don't add up! You're very curious and see the best in people. Others tend to doubt you and see you as immature, but you hold a self-awareness most don't!

You love someone whose going to put up with your shenanigans and straighten you out. You think of the world as your play ground and find fun everywhere!

You'll fall in love with your best friend because they know you like the back of your hand! You value the history behind you guys' story. No one else can compare or relate which makes them important to you! You're interwoven closely with the one you like. You're very demi, but sexual too! You desire them so much that you can't help yourself!

Even if they judge you, they mean well and you apperciate someone whose realistic and calm-natured and nurturing. You've learned so much from them and have become dependent on their impact on your daily life.

Both of you share the same feelings and it never has to be stated because the proof is in the pudding. You're fine without labels, and your love is the most natural flow!

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Where's my Zhan Zheng Xi's at?

Because some of y'all don't play around!

You're a very realistic person whose not afraid to say what you mean. You're also not easy to open up and you don't bend to the needs of others often. Because of this, not many can get close to you. Even if it seems like you're just around to criticize and get everything done on your terms, you still hold your closest friends and family in mind and never once let them down! You'll go through great lengths for them and have a great patience. You're really caring deep down!

In reality, you're very attached and even clingy to the person you love--you can get pretty jealous!! You're very proud of your connection and hate to see anything stand in the way of it. You can worry and become restless about them at times!

You seem to always be around them even if you're going to tell them a thing or two about how they can improve themselves. You're absolutely in love with train wrecks! The goofy people! The helpless idiots! You'll take care of them because you've got big brother energy that cannot be denied. You need someone the opposite of you--bright and cherry--and it attracts you! Someone whose going to keep you at your toes and whirl you around into nonesene--because even if you act cool and collected, you're hiding your excitement!

You're very responsible and hard to crack. But with the right person, you become undone and display yourself in ways you hate to be seen like! You can't believe you want to kiss them, cuddle, wipe their mouth, and take them down the aisle, but they drive you crazy! You'll never once say it to them directly, but without words, you'll make sure they know just how much they mean to your life.

So which one do you resonate with most? RB or reply and let me know lol.

[mskinkyafro]

Cooking For Two (Aurora & MC)

A/N: Hey everyone, I’m back with a new open heart fic! I’m excited and nervous to share this because it’s my first Aurora x mc fic. I haven’t wrote for her much so I tried to capture her as best I could. I just adore Aurora as a character and I wanted to showcase her friendship with Katrina more and how I envision it in between chapters. Which is more comfortable and friendly than what canon pushes. This is a super cute and fluffy piece that I hope you all enjoy!

*Platonic Pairing*: Aurora & MC 

Summary: Katrina & Aurora spend some time in the kitchen.

Side Note: This takes place some time after chapter 6 but before chapter 8. I plan to make more fics around these two and their friendship so if anyone enjoys reading about these two, I’ll make sure to add you to a tag list for any Aurora x MC fic I write.

After an extremely tiring day, Katrina was gratified to finally enter her apartment. Dropping her bag to the ground and kicking off her heels, she reclines back onto the closed door. Running her hand languidly through her hair eases some tension from her body.

“Home at last.” she sighs.

Only a minute passes before she adjusts to get up from her spot to make her way toward the stairs. Right as she takes a step, she feels a graze from a leather-like texture. Looking down, she sees a scowling tortoise greet her.

“Pistachio! I didn’t see you there, buddy. I’m sorry.”

Katrina bends down and picks up the tortoise and presses a small kiss to his head. His scowl leaves and a smile replaces it. Shaking her head in amusement, she puts him down and laughs. As she stands up straight and turns to head to her room, a loud crash followed by a stream of expletives stops her in her track. Spinning in the direction of the kitchen, Katrina rushes over to the next room only to find pans and silverware scattered on the floor, knocked over spices, and a panicked Aurora Emery wiping vigorously at spilled water.

“Fuck! Damn it!”

Katrina cautiously treads into the disarray room, unsure where she should lend a hand at first.

“Aurora? Are you okay?”

“Does it look like it?!”

Katrina shoots her a pointed look. Aurora sighs dejectedly as she gets up from her knees with a drenched rag in hand and carefully moves to ring it out over the sink.

“Sorry to snap on you-- I’m pissed.”

Katrina waves her hand freely.

“It’s fine. So you want to tell me what the hell happened here?”

Katrina reached to push a pile of vegetables to the center of the counter and picked up the topple vials of spices.

“I figured after a few rounds of cooking with Sienna that I could manage a simple dinner for you all. Clearly, I should’ve known better,” she says flinging the wet towel aggressively in the sink.

Aurora leans her back against the cool surface with her shoulders low. Her hand pressed firmly against her forehead. Katrina moves delicately across the damp wooden floor and stands next to the shorter woman and lays a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in a gentle circular motion.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not all a bust. This is salvageable.”

Aurora looks to meet Katrina’s gaze, her eyes full of sadness.

“How? Everyone else should be home soon. I’d have thirty minutes, max and the recipe takes at least an hour and a half. Besides, I made a mess.”

Katrina looks around them again and notices things she missed when she reached the kitchen; half-peeled potatoes, vegetable oil tipped over the stovetop, opened ground meat hanging dangerously close to the edge of another counter. She walks away from Aurora and starts to gather everything up and organize them in a fashionable order.

“First thing, depending on how you see it, I have good or bad news for you.”

“And that is?”

“Jackie and Sienna are working late on-call shifts tonight and Elijah said he was gonna get drinks with Sothy.”

“That sounds like good news to you? You can just say I did all this for nothing.”

“Wrong! Look at it this way. This can be practice for next time you make dinner for us. Which will be mishap-free and everyone will be home to enjoy it. Bonus, you get a culinary lesson from yours truly.” Katrina tells her as she wipes up some spilled oil with a paper towel.

“You’re willing to help me cook?” Aurora asks shyly.

“Of course! Sienna isn’t the only chef living here. Plus I love you girl, but I don’t think it's wise to leave you alone in the kitchen too long or you’ll burn the place down.” Katrina teases.

“Shut up,” she scoffs. Rolling her eyes playfully.

“Hey, I’m not a person who frequently burns breakfast.”

“Kat, that was one time.”

Katrina looks at Aurora incredulously. The shorter woman avoids eye contact and folds her arms to her chest as she mumbles.

“Fine, only one time in this household."

“Exactly. Look I’m gonna go change real quick. You gather all the vegetables in one pile and everything else and I’ll be back in a few.”

Katrina turns to leave the kitchen and heads to her room. Not much time passed before she returns in baggy red sweatpants and old white wife-beater pulling her hair back in a high puff. Looking around the kitchen and no longer seeing a chaotic scene before her, she stands next to Aurora in front of the stove. She clasps her hands together.

“You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Don’t worry, this is gonna be fun and really easy once you do it more often. I promise.”

“If you say so.” Aurora deadpans. Katrina grins at the woman.

“First, before we begin we have to do the most important step when you begin cooking.”

“Wash our hands?”

Katrina pauses for a moment.

“Okay, the second most important thing?”

Aurora stares at her with a blank stare. With a sly smile, Katrina darts out the kitchen briefly before returning with a beat pill and her cell phone.

“Music, duh. You’re black. You should’ve known that.”

“Whatever,” she says with a bemused smile as she pushes a strand of her jet black hair behind her ear.

Katrina sets the speaker down and turns it on. In her other hand, she scrolls down her music library until her finger pauses and presses on the screen. A blast of soulful noise fills the air as Katrina grabs a large pot and fills it with water and sets it on the stovetop to boil. She shimmies pass Aurora and tosses a potato in her hands and holds out the vegetable peeler.

“Hey sister, go, sister, soul sister. Time to peel these po-tat-toes, po-tat-toes.”

Aurora reaches to grab the peeler and begins peeling the skin off into their trash can as she watches Katrina swing her hips in time with the music.

“Patti Labelle? Really, how old are you?”

“Hey, these are classics. The designated genre to listen to when you are about to throw down in the kitchen. Besides, that’s what makes the food taste even better.”

“Ah-huh, sure.”

Katrina sticks her tongue out playfully at Aurora who giggles at her antics. Katrina smiles to herself noticing that since attending her class reunion, Aurora has opened up more to everyone, finally finding her place. She continues her dancing while cutting up bell peppers and onions. Once she got them finely chopped, she bends down into the lower cabinets to pull out a large skillet and a large loaf pan and sets both on two inactive eyes on the stove. Peering over into the steaming pot and seeing the water bubble she calls out to Aurora.

“How’s it coming, my sous chef?”

Aurora moves to stand beside Katrina and brings the potatoes over, spilling the skinless starch over the counter.

“Finished. What’s next?”

“Okay. Chop them a quarter inch and then I’ll have you drop them into the boiling water and we’ll let them cook. Then you can season the meat.”

Aurora follows Katrina’s instructions as the taller woman lightly sautéed the previously chopped veggies in an oiled saucepan. The strong aroma filters through the air and in her peripheral view, Katrina notices Aurora inhales the scent. Kat takes note of the serene and warm smile that frequents Aurora's face lately. Spooning through the cooked veggies one last time, Katrina turns off the burner and sets the skillet aside to rest. She then reaches to set the ground beef next to Aurora as she prepares the wet ingredients for the recipe. Playfully, she bumps her hips into Aurora prompting the quiet woman to retaliate the same. To her surprise, Aurora dances along with the music, dropping it low before picking it back up.

“Umm, excuse me, Ms. Emery?! You’ve been holding out, girl! Since when have you had moves like that?!”

Throwing her words earlier back at her, Aurora replies with a smirk.

“I’m black, duh.”

“Okay, Ms. Smarty-Pants. How come you can’t cook, then?”

“The same reason why you can’t braid.”

“Damn, you didn’t have to come at me so hard.”

The two women laugh and continue ribbing the other as they continue the tasks at hand. Still chuckling, Katrina grabs the stalk of asparagus and drench them with olive oil and light salt before tossing them into an oven. Once she closes the oven door, she then turns back to Aurora who is now finishing up combining the last of the previously cooked veggies with the wet ingredients and seasoned beef. In her eyes, she looks up at Katrina, questioning that she’s doing things right. With a nod, the two women press the mixture into a loaf pan and place it alongside the rest of the food cooking.

“Okay, the meatloaf and asparagus are gonna take about 35min at least and we got a good 15 before we need to check the pot--”

Katrina freezes in place as she stops talking. Right as Aurora opens her mouth to question what’s wrong, Katrina reaches for her phone and clicks repeatedly on the button on the side, increasing the volume of the music as she begins to rap along obnoxiously loud.

“It's going down, fade to blackstreet

The homies got rb, collab' creations

Bump like acne,  no doubt I put it down,

Never slouch As long as my credit can vouch

A dog couldn't catch me ass out

Tell me who can stop when dre makin' moves

Attracting honeys like a magnet

Giving 'em eargasms with my mellow accent

Still moving this flavor,With the homies blackstreet and teddy

The original rump shakers”

She bounces along with the beat, swinging her arm around Aurora. Katrina was going to continue but is cut off by Aurora's own silky voice.

“Shorty get down, good lord, baby got 'em up open all over town

Strictly biz, she don't play around, cover much ground,

Got game by the pound Getting paid is her forte, Each and every day,

True player way I can't get her out of my mind, East side to the west side 

Pushin' phat rides, it's No surprise, She got tricks in the stash

Stacking up the cash, Fast when it comes to the gas

By no means average, She's on when she's gotta have it

Baby, you're a perfect ten, I wanna get in, Can I get down,

So I can win I like the way you work it, No diggity, I got to bag it up, bag it up”

Joy lights up in Katrina’s eyes as she urges Aurora to keep going. Together, the two both belt out the song and dance with each other. They shimmy and swing their hips to the next songs in the queue being as carefree as they can be. Time seems to have barely passed before, a timer goes off. Pausing to catch their breaths and control the giggles that escape their lips, Kat reaches to silent the alarm, while Aurora pulls out the food from the oven. Not too long after, the two set down the finished meatloaf, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and a platter of baked asparagus for the table. Aurora sets down two plate sets while Katrina grabs two wine glasses in one hand and carries an opened bottle of wine to the table and sits.

“Wine?”

“Oh yes, please. Definitely needed this.”

“Even more than this feast you prepared? Because it looks and smells amazing.”

As Aurora accepts a glass of wine, Katrina pinpoints a slight blush on her cheeks as she sips.

“Please, I hardly put this together.”

“Ah ah nope. Aurora, you did the grunt work. I just did little things. You totally did this. Enjoy it-- a matter of fact, relish in your success by taking the first bites.”

Nodding, Aurora gathers a healthy serving of everything onto her plate and takes a bite. A moan of satisfaction escapes.

“Damn, you make it sound really good. Let me test it out.” Katrina fixes her plate and once she places her fork into her mouth, it immediately goes back for more.

The two ate in silence minus the music from earlier playing softly in the background. Both preoccupied with the food in front of them. After a few minutes, Aurora speaks.

“I-- I really couldn’t have done this without your help Katrina. For taking the time to spend to teach me. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

Katrina sets her fork down and takes a few sips of her wine.

“It’s nothing. I’m happy you had fun tonight because I did too. I’m more than happy to make a repeat of it if you’re up to it.”

 “I’d like that,” Aurora says with a bright smile. 

The two talk as they ate, enjoying the rest of their evening.

[imthepunchlord]

For all the new things, I kinda wished they showed all of this before SwSh was released, now it's a bit more pricey and I feel like it's kinda rushed. Also for the Mystery Dungeon, I'm excited for that bit I really hope that include all the starters and non starters as well in the final.

I wish they went ahead and pushed back SaS so it’d be released 2020, with this expansion back already included, and the new places we go to can be unlocked during our adventure or as postgame. I would’ve fine waiting and would’ve preferred it, especially to give them a chance to do more with the main story which is pretty weak and made little sense, and Rose was a very forced in villain. Also made no sense in the story climax. Watching playthroughs and seeing the climax of SaS I’m just... 

Its also frustrating that you get to hear about things happening and not actually witness or help. Like, its nice having adults acknowledge that you’re a kid, don’t worry about it we’ll handle it, but at the same time, that’s a chunk of story we have a right to see, and we’re kids in this game, we don’t always do what adults say we should follow and see what’s going on. That could’ve been something optional. Go to event to see what’s happening or skip it to go to the next gym. 

And this is turning into a rant so I’m going to put this below. For those that just want to read my comments on Mystery Dungeon, scroll down till you get to the Pikachu gif, I’ll talk about it below. 

Also there could’ve been improvements with the rivals. Marnie is suuuuper intriguing and I love her, Bede I also like though that’s more me missing mean rivals and man, he’s a brat and I say that with affection. But in the grand scheme of things, they felt pointless. More could’ve been done to include them. And Hop. God, Hop. I know people like him, but from what I’ve seen, he seems like the most annoying “friend rival” made to date. He does not know what personal space is. He waits for you in front of gyms. He waits for you on new routes. He has to comment on almost every move you make in your fights with him. 

I don’t even own the games but just from the playthroughs I’ve watched I’m just... go away. Leave the lead alone. Everywhere you turn, he’s there, waiting for you. It also feels like he only got endorsed because he’s Leon’s younger brother. There’s nothing about him that I like. And, I don’t know why he gets the other wolf legendary? What makes him worthy?What makes him want to be a Professor in the future? That’s out of nowhere. 

Something more could’ve been done with Hop, maybe an arc of him resenting you a little because every match you beat him, and he’s the Champion’s younger brother and you just seem to stay ahead. Maybe let us have more scene of him talking with Sonia since he’s going to be her future assistant. If he’s going to be constantly stalking us and waiting for us, then yeah, let’s at least better build up where his character will go. 

Then there’s the issue of pokemon. With it pretty much confirmed they just reused models from gen 7, yeah, there’s no reason to not include more pokemon. If not the National Dex, which wouldn’t bother me too much, then go ahead and add about half. At most, I’d love pokemon included that would make the most sense. Like, lion is a big symbol throughout all of Europe. There should be a lion in Galar, either Litleo or Shinx returning if not a new lion pokemon. And with the expansion packs, yeah, they’re already adding 200 each pack. 

And a lot of this dlc should already be in the game. If 400 pokemon are going to be added in, they should already be there. The new Giga forms should already be there and we should’ve seen the Giga Venusaur and Blastoise the same time as Charizard. 

I’m also salty that there’s no going to Kalos. Maybe it’ll be a future expansion, and that’s a dlc I wouldn’t mind, but those are two very linked countries they’re based on. And Galar truly isn’t a big region. The Wild Area isn’t as big as it could be. Like, it doesn’t have to be BotW big, but it could’ve been bigger than what we got. And if not expanding the Wild Area, we could’ve had Kalos as a new region to go to, and more gyms for us to do. 

ALSO.

I am not a fan of you refacing the gyms and having them act as your “Elite Four”. 

They’ve already been fought. Aside from the first two, you’ve already fought all the star Giga forms they have. Its a really lazy decision. At least, you can have the two first gym leaders come in since you didn’t fight their star Giga forms, and include the other two version exclusive gym leaders as the other two. Just for some freshness in this final challenge. 

I know they’re not big on voice acting, but, they should’ve put some form of VA into these games. Its a little awkward to get animated cutscenes and there’s no voices coming forth. And its at its worst when you get to Piers and you see him singing away, I presume loudly, into his mic and its just awkward cause there’s no voice and you can hear him tapping his foot to the music and its just so off putting to watch cause something is missing: a voice! And you know what’s the kicker? Pokemon has included voice acting before. 

There is no reason to not do something similar, at least for Piers’ intro so its not so awkward to watch. 

And then post game... the official post game... I, I honestly can’t say what is even going on? Those two blonde bimbos, those designs, who agreed to pass them? For sword guy, I don’t know whether I should be laughing or uncomfortable. Its like, an in between especially when his hair flops around. Also, their reasoning, they’re causing chaos in Galar because they didn’t like a book Sonia wrote??? 

The villains in these games are just so dumb.

Like, Rose had a good motive but, he is still forced in. And he activates the climax for no reason. He was promised by Leon that he would help with Eternatus, all he had to do was wait through one match. One match that would’ve been 30 minutes at most, roughly. Yet he couldn’t wait for one match and went ahead and woke up Eternatus, does a video asking for help, and when you arrive, stops you for a battle that doesn’t make sense to have cause he asked for help why is he holding you up with a battle?? 

And Team Yell. Supposed to be like, a 2nd Team Skull and these guys could dream to live up to Team Skull. They can’t. They’re not funny or enjoyable at all. And my friend brought up a good point on the issue of having Team Yell based on punks when they’re supposed to be the “villainous” team. Punks, historically, were rebelling against an unfair system, they were progressive and revolutionary. They stood up for LBGT rights, they stood for having individual freedom, and just wanted to break the restrictions society wanted to place on people, let people express themselves and be who they want to be. 

If you want Team Yell to be a 2nd Skull and play around with punks as their theme, then they should’ve been set up to be red herrings as well. Be wary at first and then later find that they have hearts of gold, and mean well, even if they can be a tad extreme sometimes. And maybe they can help build up the danger of Rose, who in turn wants to paint them in with a bad image since they’re going against him and what’s normal in society. 

Anyway... Sword and Shield honestly should’ve been pushed back. They should’ve been saved for 2020, or even 2021, or however how much time they need. I would’ve been fine waiting. A lot of fans would be. But what we got wasn’t worth the $60 it was being sold at, and definitely not worth the $90 its being sold at with the expansion packs, and as far as I know, these are very, very small areas to explore. Cause as we’ve seen with SaS, they built it up to be big and grand and, well, the Wild Area was smaller than expected and the whole was far shorter than expected. You could beat it in 20 hours roughly. 

I even have mixed feelings on there being no enhanced version, cause these games do have potential, they just needed more time and polish, and then it could’ve worth the $60 price. But also thankful that there’s not another 2nd version and we may be getting a few expansion packs instead. 

Though I do think a lot they’re bringing in should already be in the game. 

Anyway, enough ranting about Sas, onto Mystery Dungeon!

Demo I think could’ve been a little longer, they stop you before you go on the Skarmory mission, I think it could’ve been a better placement to end after the Skarmory mission. 

Anyway, I like the changes so far. I love you can choose a different pokemon if you don’t like what you got from the test. I love that you have an updated move pool, though I feel kinda OP but you also kinda need it for these games cause I remember them being so hard and as a starter that can’t evolve till like, post game, yeah you’re going to need that help. I love that you get to wear a little scarf. Design wise, a little weird at first but it grew on me. Kinda reminds me of Okami. 

By trailer, for sure they’re adding more pokemon in. Lucario is seen in the team, when before, you only saw Lucario as a statue in Red Blue, I believe? Its been a long time. But they only had Gen 1-3 in RB, and Lucario is there so I would think they’d add in a lot more pokemon. 

For starters, I’m hopeful that beating the game, if you replay, you’ll get more options for the starters to play as and have as your partner. I’d loooove to have a chance to play as Popplio. Mega Evolution is confirmed, I wonder if regional forms would also be playable, like if we could evolve into Alolan Marowak or be one of the other two regional Meowths. Otherwise, everyone you could be in the old game is there, with no gender restriction! You can be a female Cubone! A male Eevee! A female Cyndaquil! I’m so happy about that since as a kid, I wanted to play Cyndaquil but never got it in the test and had to look it up and was bummed that it was male only and I wanted to be a girl. 

My biggest hope though is that with this, we’ll have a chance to play two player, since you have a team of two usually, and your friend or sibling or SO can play your partner. 

I am pleasantly surprised with it so far, though I will be holding off when its released in a few months, just going to listen to all reviews once they beat the game and if its very positive, cause SaS had a strong start and then went down hill with Gamefreak rushing it and cutting corners. I’m hopeful for this remake but cautious still. 

[minimickzy]

Tag || Peter Parker

You had been playing a game of Tag for 13 years, this could be the end.

Characters: Peter Parker x Reader, Mj, Ned Leeds, Tony Stark

Word count: 2260

Warning: fluff

AGE: 17/18

a/n: for my love of the movie Tag. PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK AND RBS MAKE ME DAY <3

Tag. Ever since you were 5, Peter, Ned, Mj and yourself had played a game of tag for the entire month of June. It was the bond that held you together all through elementary, Jr. high and now high school. Now it was after your senior year and with the threat of being pulled apart by college, this year had definitely proven to be the most extreme yet. 

The only ground rules were as follows:

No tag backs

No hitting of private parts 

No outsiders allowed to join 

Nothing is off limits

No superpowers fuck you Peter

In the 13 years of the game all of you had gone to extreme lengths in order to get rid of the cursed tag. Highlights include: crashing Ned’s aunt’s wedding and tipping over the cake in the process (smooth move Parker), running through a protest and accidentally breaking your arm while going after Mj and lastly finding out Peter was Spider-man when you sneaked up on him and he jumped to the ceiling. After that you had to add the 5th rule.

With school out, nothing was holding you back from putting everything you had into this motherfucking game. You were it with 5 days to go. Ned had tagged you so he wasn’t a target. Mj and you had made a truce to get Peter, he hadn’t been tagged yet this year- that was unacceptable. Luckily, you had Peter wrapped around your finger. Mj knew this was because that boy had been head over heels for you since the 3rd grade when he realized girls didn’t have cooties.

Mj put a tracker she and Ned had made into Peter's backpack earlier that day. You followed him to a park, happy to finally have the upper hand. You hid behind a rock and watched the small dot on your phone get closer and closer to you. Finally you heard his voice, you couldn’t hear what he was saying- honestly in the moment you couldn’t care less. 

As soon as the dot pass the rock and you saw his black converse appear on the path you jumped up and threw yourself on his back “You’re it!” You laughed as he let out a surprised yelp. You hopped down and started to take in the world around Peter Parker. Right behind him- who he had probably been talking to was Tony-fucking-Stark. Your cheeks heated up and you felt your knees go weak. You had just jumped on a guys back in the middle of a park while they were walking with a famous billionaire who had no idea you even knew him.

Peter turned to you and bit his lip. “I-I… I’m sorry- I didn't. Shit.” Peters cheeks were pinker by the second. “Mr. Stark, this is uh, (y/n).” Peter motioned to you Tony put his hand out to shake, “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I didn’t think this is how we’d end up meeting.” He smiled and you nearly fell over. Peter talked about you? You’d be sure to bring that up later. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I don’t normally go out and jump on peoples backs by the way.” You quickly grasped onto what was left of your reputation. “That’s a relief. Can I ask what made you do it now?” Peter rubbed the back of his neck before sighing, “It’s a game. We um-  Us and our friends play this game of tag every June- its kinda a big deal and (y/n) was it and I hadn’t been tagged this year. How’d you even know where I was?” You turned him around and unzipped his front pocket, digging out the small device and handing it to him. “Mj made a tracker.” 

His eyes widened, “wow.” You nodded and shifted awkwardly, “I um- should get back to Mj… We were uh, studying…” You nodded to Peter and waved to Tony while backing up, ready to run away as fast as humanly possible. “Nice to meet you Mr. Stark!” He smiled again before you took off.

You didn't see Peter for a 2 days until you and Mj were taking your weekly trip to the beach. This wasn’t to say that either of you were very inclined to go sit on a crowded beach that smelled of bird shit and sunscreen but you both did enjoy the people watching. Ned decided to join after the promise of ice cream. 

You sat on a towel, sunglasses blocking out the harsh light, bathing suit covered with a loose white tee. Mj was reading a book- more than likely about a civil rights issue that you would definitely learn about  as soon as she finished the book and was able to properly argue with no one but direct the rant at you. Ned was sitting back and just enjoying the heat with earbuds playing music softly. 

Everything was at peace until out of nowhere the book was knocked from Mj’s hands and Peter appeared running by and leaning down to tap her shoulder, “gotcha!” Mj didn’t miss a beat to lean over and hit you, “Go get em tiger.” You scrambled to your feet and took off in his direction. 

You maneuvered between towels and kids playing, never letting your eyes off of Peter. He looked over his shoulder to see you closing in on him. He ran onto a volleyball court and barely missed the bottom on the net while attempting to make it, you let yourself slide under on your knees with ease, quickly catching up.  Peter took a sharp turn for the ocean. Sadly for him, some kid had been working on a sandcastle and left the bucket lying around, catching his foot and causing him to topple over. You couldn't stop yourself soon enough and fell right on top of him. You laughed against his chest, “Not fast enough Parker.” You chuckled again before being knocked off Peter by a wave. 

Peter got up and started back towards where you both had left Ned and Mj. “If I tag Ned, we both run and let Mj fend for herself?” He asked, you chuckled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” When you reached the towels you quickly picked up your phone and towel as Peter tapped Ned, “Sorry!” You yelled and then took off laughing with Peter once again.

7 am, June 30th. 17 hours until the end of the game. Last you heard Mj was it. You had woken up bright and early to try and get the jump on everyone. You made your way to the coffee shop, you thought it’d be safe there until 10ish, that's when the rest of the group tended to wake up. You got coffee and sat facing the door, this way they couldn’t get past you. It was around 9:30 when a women started towards you, she was wearing a dress and a hat.

You looked around to check if there was no tables left and she just needed a place to sit… but that didn't seem to be the case as there was still quite a few empty table and chairs. Then it clicked- Peter had pulled this same shit on you in the summer before 8th grade. “Really this shit again? Learn some new tricks Peter.” You laughed until the women looked up and it was just a random stranger. You turned beet red and started to spew out apologies, “I’m so so so sorry- I thou- I didn't mean-” that was when you heard the evil laugh from behind you. “Peter!” you whipped around and caught his eye, he leaned to look past you and smiled, “thanks Ms. Samuels!” You glared at him, “I thought Mj was it?” You could see the smirk playing at his lips, “Oh yeah, she is.” “Then why are you… fuck.” 

A hand patted you on the back, “we love a good distraction.” “dammit!” You lunged as Peter ran like a mad man for the door. You chased him a few block through the masses of people on the street before he run into the subway. You followed not far behind. The train was just pulling in as you reached the platform. You could see his brown locks speeding towards the cars. “You’re not away this time Parker!” You slipped into through the doors just before they shut. The car was plenty full but that didn’t stop you from pushing past people in order to find him.   

It didn't take long to find him trying to hide in between a man and the doors. You put a hand on your hip and raised an eyebrow at him, “Peter you have to know when you admit defeat.” he peaked out at you past the man's shoulder and shrugged, “it was worth a shot.” You laughed and tagged him. “Better luck next time dude.” 

12 pm, June 30th. 12 hours remaining. Peter tagged Mj and you were once again fair game. In the last hours of the game things got desperate. In 5th grade you locked yourself in a bathroom at Mcdonald's for 6 hours. Peter made aunt may tell you guys he was sick and Ned and once pretended to get arrested in order to not be it at midnight.  

5 pm, June 30th. 7 hours to go. Mj tagged Ned after trapping him with a new lego set. You thought that might have been the end. But you can never truly feel safe as long as the clock remained running. You wondered around the city, just walking the streets in order to stay active and not be anywhere they would expect you to be. You started down a random street when you felt someone grab your arm. You reacted instantly and punched the person square in the jaw before realizing it was Ned. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry I thought you were some random guy! Are you okay?” Ned nodded and groaned, “yeah I’m fine- now that you’re it.” “are you sure you’re good?” Ned nodded again before reaching up to check if his nose was bleeding, “Yes. Just don't hit me again.” You sighed, “Shit, how the hell am I gonna tag anyone? How’d you even know where i was?” Ned shrugged, “Peter wasn’t the only one who we can track.” “Are you kidding me? We really need to update those rules.” “Yeah, like maybe no punching.” You shot him a glare, “stop whining and get that fucking tracker off me.” 

11:35 pm, June 30th. 25 minutes till your impending doom. You, Mj and Ned had made a truce to work together to tag Peter. He had let it slip to Ned his plan to get out tag free. Hop on the Ferry at 11:45, you had to admit it was a solid plan- or it would have been if not for his big mouth. You hid on the dock as the last passengers of the night found their way onto the Ferry. You waited until 11:44 to run on and find a seat in the corner with a view of the entire level. 

As the Ferry left the dock you sent a quick text to Ned and Mj, ‘plans a go.’ Peter wasn’t in sight which meant he had made his way to the second story. You went up to second floor and peeked around the corner to find the target. Peter was nowhere to be seen but you had watched him get on the boat so that only left one place. 

You softly walked to the front of the boat and sure enough there was Peter Parker. Your heart leap at the sight of him with the wind pushing his hair back and his sleepy stature leaning against the railing. You looked down to your phone, 11:56. You knew what to do. You knew exactly how to finish this game. Now you just had to wait a few more minutes. 

You watched him from against the edge of the doorway out to the deck, careful to not let your shadow ruin the eliminate of surprise. 11:57, this plan was crazy and might just kill you in the process but Mj had promised it would work just fine. 11:58. Too late to back out. You stepped forward and cleared your throat to make your presence known. Peter turned to look at you, his eyes grew wide as he stepped back, pressing against the railing. 

“Hey Peter.” You smiled as sweet as you could. “(y/n)...” You moved closer to him, “Ned kinda let your plan slip.” Peter went a little more rigid and mumbled under his breath, “Damnit Ned.” It was now or never, You pushed yourself towards him and kissed him. It wasn’t your first kiss, but it was your first kiss with Peter Parker. You didn’t know if you’d ever have a reason to do it again and you didn’t want to let any second of it pass. You put all the built up passion into a single moment. You pulled away before to long. Peter was staring at you with wide eyes, mixed with surprise and lust. You carefully pulled your phone up and pressed it, letting the screen light up to revel the numbers 12:00 and smirked, “You’re it Parker.”

General taglist

@marvels-queen-bee  @paigeyisme @littleblue5mcdork @mystxrieux@dannnyphantomm @properparker @flopobrien @utautattooedghoul@commondazy@safehaven1097 @macymafia@pinetree111 @thekidsofneibolt@mcheung0314 @notnotnotnotkayla @bigbilliamdenbro

Peter Parker Taglist

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[forcewindow85-blog]

The Linc - National NFL writers predict Eagles to beat Washington

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Week 13: Packers Fire McCarthy in Merciful Move For Coach, Team - FMIA Philadelphia 30, Washington 22. Week 7 2017: The coming-out party for Carson Wentz (four TD passes) and the Eagles, a 34-24 win over Washington, getting the Eagles to 6-1. This year: survival of the fittest at the Linc for 6-5 Washington and 5-6 Philadelphia. The Eagles have a ridiculous road to nine or 10 wins and a playoff prayer in their last five: Washington, at Dallas, at the Rams, Houston, at Washington. Not looking good.

End of the Mike McCarthy Era in Green Bay: Week 13 in the NFL - MMQB I think an appreciation of Jay Gruden is in order tonight. The Redskins coach survived the Robert Griffin III divorce and the Kirk Cousins fallout, and this year has kept the ship steady through a rash of injuries (RB Derrius Guice, G Shawn Lauvao, G Brandon Scherff, QB Alex Smith, etc.) So if anyone’s equipped to navigate a week infiltrated by the Reuben Foster waiver claim, it’s the younger Gruden brother. Tonight I think the Redskins, behind Colt McCoy, come out firing. And I think the Eagles, and Carson Wentz fire back with their second straight comeback win. My pick: Eagles 27, Redskins 24.

NFC Playoff Picture: Can the Eagles realistically be a wild card team? - BGN Week 13 of the 2018 NFL season featured a number of upsets. The results of some of those games actually helped the Philadelphia Eagles’ chances of making the playoffs, if only slightly. Let’s take a look at the updated NFC playoff picture.

All About the Run - Iggles Blitz The Skins are a running team. They are 13th in the league in rushing, only 25th in passing. This is a bit of an old school offense. The Eagles were great against the run for the first five games. As injuries mounted, the run defense began to struggle. They have allowed 135 rushing yards a game over the past six weeks. Not good. Breakdowns by DBs have hurt the run defense in recent weeks. Chandon Sullivan missed some crucial tackles on Sunday. Rasul Douglas missed a couple in the Dallas game. The defense tackled much better in the second half of the Giants game. That’s one of the ways they limited Eli and Co. The Eagles must tackle well this week.

Lawlor: Game Preview vs. Washington - PE.com We are now in the month of December. The Eagles have yet to win back-to-back games this season. That is really hard to believe when you consider the team won nine in a row during the 2017 regular season and then three in a row in the playoffs. If the team is going to make anything of this season, they need a winning streak. The way you go on a winning streak is by staying in the moment. One day at a time. One play at a time. One game at a time. A winning streak is built on winning moments. You can’t snap your fingers and conjure up four consecutive wins. You have to work diligently and focus on the task at hand. Doug Pederson likes to preach “winning the day.” It doesn’t matter if you are lifting weights, practicing, or playing in a game. Win the day.

Best bets for Redskins-Eagles - ESPN In$ider My projection for this game is Eagles -7.3 with a total of 43.8. As much grief as we all give Alex Smith for being such a risk-averse quarterback, it was this style of football that kept Washington in multiple close games this season, relying on a defense that ranks fourth in the NFL in takeaways. If the Redskins could eliminate mistakes, then their opponents would eventually make them and offer opportunities to capitalize. McCoy certainly gutted it out on Thanksgiving, but he wasn’t able to take care of the football the way Smith can. He threw three interceptions and fumbled once. I’m not sure we have any reason to trust McCoy in Philadelphia’s cold and wind Monday night against a superior team still vying for a division crown in the NFC East. I made a half-sized wager on the Eagles at -6, and would add more to my bet sizing if this were to drop below -6.

The five most intriguing NFL games of Week 13 - The Athletic The Eagles’ offensive line against Washington’s front seven. During last year’s Super Bowl season, the Eagles’ offensive line was arguably the best in the NFL. Because of injuries and inconsistent play, that hasn’t been the case this year. But in last week’s win over the Giants, the line played well. Tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters appear to be healthier than they’ve been all season. Washington has a good pass rush and will throw plenty of different blitz packages at Carson Wentz. If the offensive line can hold its own, the Eagles should be able to run the ball efficiently, and Wentz should have time to move the ball through the air.

Eagles’ Nelson Agholor bringing awareness to Camden-based literacy program - NJ.com The NFL’s annual My Cause, My Cleats campaign enables individual players to highlight charitable causes through the use of their footwear. In Week 13, several Eagles players will wear cleats designed to raise awareness for causes that are important to them. Agholor has partnered with PDQ on a year-long initiative called “Building Reading Muscles.” According to a press release, the program encourages Camden City School District “students to meet reading goals throughout the school year.” “Obviously, it’s all about literacy to me,” Agholor told NJ Advance Media on Friday. “I just want to bring attention to the kids in Camden and the efforts to help those kids read at a higher level, help their graduation rate and help them progress.”

Roob’s 10 Eagles observations: Kareem Hunt, an embarrassing stat, Eagles Pro Bowlers - NBCSP The Eagles have gone 12 straight games without having two interceptions in a game. That’s the sixth-longest streak in franchise history and tied with the 49ers for the longest current streak in the league. Their last two-INT game was the NFC Championship Game, when Patrick Robinson and Corey Graham picked off Case Keenum.

Can the Redskins Pull Out Some Magic Down the Stretch? - Hogs Haven I hate to say this, but the team will only go as far as the arm of Colt McCoy can take them. If Colt can push the football downfield and eliminate costly turnovers, we may have a shot. If we are unable to make plays and put points on the board, we will be putting too much pressure on our defense - and with the way they have been playing recently, that is not a good thing.

Cowboys address mystery man on Saints sideline - PFT In the aftermath of a Saints-Cowboys game during which the home team stymied one of the most potent offensive in football, suspicions have emerged in connection with images showing a person in Cowboys gear with a headset (and apparently a cell phone) on the New Orleans sideline. And, yes, the Saints are suspicious.

Report: Sean Lee’s return may not come against the Philadelphia Eagles - Blogging The Boys It’ll be a whole week before we see the Cowboys play another game, and on Sunday morning NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport indicated that it could be even longer before Sean Lee does in fact return. Apparently we could be looking at past this next game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mike McCarthy fired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers - Acme Packing Company It finally became too much for Mark Murphy and the folks in charge at 1265 Lambeau Field. Mike McCarthy is out as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The team announced the move on Sunday evening, following their 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. McCarthy spent nearly 13 years as the head coach of the Packers, putting up an overall record of 125-77-2 for a total winning percentage of 0.621. That span included nine winning seasons and eight years with 10 or more wins, as well as six division titles. The Packers made four NFC Championship Games during his tenure, going 1-3, and they won Super Bowl XLV following the 2010 season.

The NFL Promised It Would Change. The Kareem Hunt Failure Proves It Hasn’t. - Ringer The Kansas City Chiefs released the running back on Friday, but only after TMZ published a video showing Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in February. That it took until now for the league and team to take public action is a betrayal of everyone who’s made the mistake of taking the NFL at its word.

2019 NFL Draft order: 49ers edging Raiders for top overall pick after Week 13 - SB Nation The 2018 NFL season is paring down its playoff teams, and for a handful of hopeful contenders that means a December filled with important wins and crushing losses as January’s seedings unfold. There’s another race taking place on the opposite end of the spectrum as well: the spiral to the bottom of the standings and the top of the 2019 NFL Draft board.

...

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/12/3/18123381/eagles-news-national-nfl-writers-predict-philadelphia-beat-washington-monday-night-football-game-mnf

[junker-town]

10 good and/or bad 2018 NFL draft ideas for the Browns

We figured it out so you don’t have to, John Dorsey!

The Cleveland Browns are in a great position in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft ... probably. Not even the Browns can mess up having the No. 1 and No. 4 pick, right?

Since there are a lot of different things the Browns can do here, we decided to figure it out for them.

1. The Bills really want your No. 1 pick. Give it to them. — Bill Connelly

Last month, it came out that Buffalo — which has already traded its starting quarterback to the Browns — had talked to the Browns about a trade for the No. 1 pick.

The Bills have two first-round picks (No. 12 and 22 overall) and two second-round picks (No. 53 and 56). They have next year’s first- and second-round picks, too. They would likely be willing to part with a few of them.

But let’s say they just gave you this year’s 12th and 22nd picks. You could let them take the risk on a guy who, with the right breaks, could end up as good as Ryan Mallett. You, meanwhile, could grab the following with your three first-round picks:

No. 4: QB Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), OG Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame), or RB Saquon Barkley (Penn State).

No. 12: S Derwin James (Florida State), OT Isaiah Wynn (Georgia), or DT Vita Vea (Washington). There’s a slight chance LB Roquan Smith is still on the board, though I refuse to believe 11 teams would be dumb enough to pass him up.

No. 22: DE Harold Landry (Boston College), DT Da’Ron Payne (Alabama), QB Lamar Jackson (Louisville), or QB Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State).

Getting Allen/Nelson vs. getting some combination like Mayfield/Wynn/Landry or Nelson/James/Rudolph? Ignoring the other picks you’d probably be able to coax out of Buffalo, you take the latter 100 of 100 times.

2. Trade all your draft picks and only have future draft picks. — Ryan Nanni

In the seven drafts from 2009 through 2015, you made 10 first round selections. Sometimes you went defense (Phil Taylor, Barkevious Mingo, Joe Haden, Justin Gilbert, Danny Shelton), sometimes you tried to improve the offensive line (Alex Mack, Cam Erving), sometimes you tried to find your quarterback (Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden), and sometimes you picked the highest-drafted running back in five years (Trent Richardson).

I’m not going to tell you those were all bad picks! But none of them play for your team now, so, in some sense, there was no point in them.

Which is why I’m going to suggest you trade out. Not just of the first round, but of the 2018 draft entirely. Stockpile picks that won’t be available for a year or two or three. Prey on the weakness of teams that want to try and win now. It’s 2006, you’re a large financial institution, and every other team is an unsuspecting homebuyer. Go sell them on that balloon mortgage!

There are other reasons why you should just trade into the future.

You won’t get draft grades. Sports media jerks can’t say you screwed up!

Zero risk that you take the biggest bust. I don’t know who that person might be, and neither do you, but this is how you stay off unflattering slideshows.

You get to seem extremely smart. “Wow, no team has ever traded out of a draft entirely! The Browns must have some revolutionary thinkers, which we will write about all offseason because we’re starving.” — Sports Media Jerks, who now love you

Most importantly? You get to sell vague hope. It’s a different hope than here-is-a-21-year-old-holding-our-jersey-please-put-all-your-emotions-on-him. This hope is so far away that you don’t even have to define it.

Plus you can always just find a new job before those picks.

3. Just take Baker Mayfield at No. 4, please. — Morgan Moriarty

Look, we all know you need a quarterback. I know you may be distracted by the shiny tallness of Josh Allen, but don’t fall for it! How many typical, pro-style quarterbacks do you have to watch fail in your city?

Mayfield has an edge to him. What better way to turn things around by bringing some energy?

Remember how Sam Darnold flirted with staying at USC amid y’all having the first pick? And how Jim Mora said he wouldn’t want his former QB, Josh Rosen, to be taken by Cleveland? Meanwhile, Mayfield comes off excited when talking about what he can do in Cleveland.

Oh, and he has the two most efficient passing seasons in college football history. There’s also that.

4. Don’t even show up. — Brian Floyd

It’s fine to trade all the picks away for future endeavors. But that’s just kicking the can of draft pain down the road.

Don’t bother taking offers for picks. Don’t answer the phone. Don’t look at the Big Board.

Just take a vacation and clear your mind. The draft can be a stressful time, and there are perils with every pick and transaction. You don’t need that this year, Browns. Focus on yourself.

Skip the draft. You deserve it.

5. Just take a quarterback who is actually good. — Adam Stites

Yes, there’s a lot of creative ways to use the No. 1 pick. But a really novel idea would be to just get a quarterback who’s a good football player.

Allen — a player who completed 56 percent of his passes at Wyoming in 2017 and 49 percent (FORTY NINE PERCENT!) at a junior college in 2014 — is not that quarterback.

Mayfield would fit the bill after winning the Heisman in 2017. Lamar Jackson was the Heisman winner in 2016. You could sell me on Rosen or Darnold. Just figure out which one is good at football and pick him.

6. Get a QB and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and call it a day. — Alex Kirshner

I have no idea if any of the quarterbacks at the top of this draft class is actually going to be any good as an NFL starter. I suspect Allen won’t and Mayfield will, but everyone is a wild card. The Browns should trust their player personnel department — I can’t believe I’ve just typed those words — and pick their favorite at No. 1.

At No. 4, they should take Alabama’s do-everything defensive back. Fitzpatrick is really close to a sure thing as a future Pro Bowl DB, no matter his position.

The Browns could mess up a QB pick easily, but you’d almost have to be doing it on purpose to not get elite play out of Fitzpatrick.

7. Just build around Tyrod Taylor. — Harry Lyles Jr.

This isn’t realistic, but we’re going to play the game anyway. If the Browns decide to build around Taylor, they get to take Bradley Chubb and Saquon Barkley at No. 1 and No. 4 overall. You give your QB Barkley, Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry, Corey Clement, and David Njoku as weapons, with a defensive line that includes Myles Garrett and Chubb. Use the three second round picks, and others in later rounds, to add depth and talent.

With that, you hope Taylor can do enough. After all, Blake Bortles took the Jaguars to the AFC Championship game. And let’s not forget:

Tyrod Taylor has the lowest interception rate in NFL history (at least 1000 attempts).

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 19, 2017

The Browns would need some time to get experience. All of those weapons minus Gordon are still pretty new, and even Gordon spent a few years away. But assuming they all reach their potential, that’s a nasty skill corps.

If Taylor doesn’t work out, I know another quarterback they could give a shot.

8. Be boring. — Sarah Hardy

For the love of LeBron, Browns, just be boring. Do what most mock drafts think you’re going to do: draft Darnold at No. 1 and either Barkley or Chubb at No. 4. If one ends up as a bust, it won’t be because you Browns’d it up. It’s just the cruel fate of the NFL.

Like, by almost every metric, Allen is not going to be a franchise quarterback. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS. All it would do is confirm every joke made at your expense, that you are the Browns and will always be the Browns and there’s some ancient curse that forbids you from ever, ever, ever making the right decision. Maybe Darnold won’t ever be a viable starter either, but he could be. There’s still hope.

It might be anticlimactic on draft night, but who cares? At least you won’t be making fools of yourselves.

9. Redeem all picks for cash value — Ryan Van Bibber

Legally every coupon is required to have a cash value associated with it. I don’t know if that’s true for draft picks, but I do know that you can’t go wrong having cash in hand.

10. DRAFT. FOUR. QUARTERBACKS. — Jason Kirk

Cleveland’s QB situation is an ages-old smoking crater. Let’s get drastic.

Drafting Allen is an especially big risk for the Browns. It’s a big risk for anybody, but can a team with a coach on a scorching-hot seat afford to spend a year on such a raw prospect?

But! Go ahead and take Allen at No. 1. Then trade all your other 2018 picks for No. 2. (The trade value chart says it’d come close to working, but you’ll probably still need to sweeten the deal, so tell New York you’ll put in a good word with LeBron about his upcoming free agency.) Who are you gonna take there? Take Darnold, since the rest of the NFL seems to like him a lot.

Now you have a developmental QB and a relatively game-ready rookie. But drafting two QBs was something the Browns thought of already, and therefore it’s a bad idea.

It’s bad because it’s not enough.

You want the No. 3 pick, and it’s just become even harder to get, because you’ve already freaked out the rest of the league. It’s gonna take pretty much your whole 2019 draft to get the Jets to step down, but luckily, you’ve already put in a good word about New York with LeBron.

You finally get No. 3, and No. 4 was yours. Pick two from among Jackson, Mayfield, and Rosen.

You now have five QBs (counting Taylor), a ridiculous number tying up a huge portion of your salary cap, but remember: you’re the Browns. Problems can only be solved via extreme means, and even the word “can” is theoretical. Now sign a four-summer reality show deal, with one of these five guys getting traded each year until only a starter and backup remain.

We’ve fixed Cleveland’s QB situation. Have we ruined everything else in the process? No, we haven’t. It was already ruined anyway.