#i don't even know what scoring a 6 (on the field) means

[anditwentlikethis]

men really think they did something when they say that hilarious funny goofy joke about how "Travis is scoring 6s on and off the field" like brothers Taylor Swift wrote a song about you, it's called Mean. go listen

[cringecompanionapologist]

I Found a Doctor Who RPG Sourcebook and I'm Making It Your Problem

Actually, I found several. It seems that there is a sort of Doctor Who tabletop RPG with sourcebooks for each Doctor that include ready-made character sheets for the Doctors, companions, and major players in each televised story.

I could look into all of them, if I really wanted to, but the thing is, my computer is nearly a decade old, slowly dying on me, and hates screenshots, so taking and storing a fuckton of screenshots of absolutely everything isn't something I can do. So, I'm just pulling a few interesting bits from the Second and Fifth Doctor Sourcebooks. There's no structure to this beyond me thinking "I wonder what their character sheet looks like".

So, the Second Doctor stuff is not much at all. I got the Doctor himself.

I should probably note that I don't have much experience with tabletop RPGs, and none with this one in particular, so I only half know how to read these. This screenshot isn't even very good. I'm working off a free site with a terrible zoom function and I couldn't get the whole thing. The basics are that characters have a set of six Stats, a bunch of Skills, some traits that give them special strengths and weaknesses, and some basic character information. The Second Doctor's got a lot of stuff, some of which even gets explained.

I've deduced that there's probably a separate manual for the basics of how the game works, what the Stats mean, what the Skills do, etc. So a lot of Why These Numbers Are What They Are questions go unanswered.

Any way, this screenshot sucks so much that I can't bare the sight of it any longer, so we're moving on to the next one. Here's Jamie:

Wow! You can actually see things this time.

Most of the stat numbers don't go above 5, from what I can tell. So we can assume that Jamie's strongest stats are Coordination, Presence, and Strength, without any stat being too weak.

The skills are more mixed.

Athletics most likely refers to physical skills, Convince is persuasion, Craft is making stuff, I think, Fighting needs no explanation, Knowledge is...well...knowing stuff, Marksman is shooting/throwing accuracy, Medicine is obviously medical knowledge, Science is...look a lot of these seem like special subcategories of knowledge that are self-explainatory, Subterfuge I think covers "rogue skills" like spying and lock-picking, Survival is the sort of things Boy Scouts learn probably, Technology is computers and technobabble, Transport is driving and the like.

So, when it comes to strengths, Jamie is physically fit, but can't swim. He is very good at fighting because he's a male companion in the 60s that that was like at least 75% of their job. Marksman is apparently based in knife-throwing ability. Subterfuge...well, if you've seen The Enemy of the World, Jamie is actually a pretty good spy.

As for weaknesses, Jamie knows nothing about any STEM field.

There's also a little number for Technology Level. I've seen this number go as high as 7, but the 18th and 19th century characters seem to be placed at a 4. I didn't get a screenshot but Victoria is the same, despite the whole Industrial Revolution thing.

Then we've got some personality traits and such that effect things. Jamie apparently gets points for being attractive and brave, as well as for being accepted anywhere in time and space no matter what he's wearing. There's really not a whole lot to analyze here.

Now, the entire reason I did Second Doctor stuff was because the villains get character sheets and I wanted to see Salamander's. I added the Doctor and Jamie to pretend I had any other reason to be there.

I took this screenshot without using the zoom and it looks pretty good actually.

It turns out that those skill numbers can go above 5 as Salamander scores a 6 in Ingenuity and Presence, as well as a 5 in Resolve. Almost all of his stats are pretty high. As an RPG villain, he's a boss fight.

Instead of a full chart of skills, which only Doctors and Companions get, Salamander just gets a list. His higher points here are Convince at 5, Knowledge at 4, Subterfuge at 5, and Technology at 5. Convince and Subterfuge are his more manipulative skills as a politician, while Knowledge and Technology are because he did, in fact, invent the technology he got popular for inventing. His Tech Level, at a 5, is somewhere between Jamie and Victoria, and some of the more futuristic aliens. That does make sense for the early 21st century, even a slightly more high-tech 21st century than the one that actually happened.

As for Traits, a lot of them give him bonus skills that are actually explained, such as the ability to invent gadgets, resist mind control, menace people into doing what he wants and get even bigger bonuses in Technology and Convince situations, being a tech genius for his time period and a respected authority figure.

So, cool stuff.

The Fifth Doctor stuff I got is a bit more extensive. We'll start with the Doctor himself.

The good news is that it's a full screenshot. The bad news is that it's very hard to read. We can see a very high Ingenuity stat, because he's the Doctor. There's a Tech Level 10, because I'm guessing that's Level Time Lord.

I do have enough info to compare his Skill number to the Second Doctors.

Athletics has risen from 1 to 4 because of all the cricket. Convince drops from a 5 to a 3, because nobody listens to Five while Two was fairly good at getting people to listen to him. Fighting has risen from absolute 0 to 2, which isn't much but it's literally something. You can see a lot of numbers improve slightly as the Doctor has learned more things over time, like Medicine going from 1 to 3.

I actually looked over four different companions this time. We'll go in order of introduction. Here's Adric.

His Tech Level is confusing in the blurry screenshot. But, as for other stuff, his fast healing and ability to control the TARDIS a little are noted, though the reality warping of Block Transfer Computation isn't because it's too damn complicated and has it's own system.

Adric's skills in general are pretty low, but they don't seem to be too unfair. These sourcebooks started coming out around 2013, when the fandom's aggressive Adric hatred had started to wind down, possibly as people realized that all the season 19 companions had writing problems and the confused performances you often get with confused writing, but Tegan and Nyssa stuck around longer so improvements could be made, and Big Finish started doing damage control with them earlier on, especially in Nyssa's case.

I'm actually surprised Adric's Athletics score is as high as it is. His Science score being only a 3 and Knowledge 2 confused me at first, but when I thought about it, it a makes sense. Adric knew a lot about mathematics but basically nothing anything else, even other STEM fields. Nyssa had to tell him what photosynthesis is, which I learned in elementary school science classes. Between this extreme focus on a single subject, lack of socials skills, and somewhat stilted speech and movement, I think I like Adric as much as I do because all this stuff feels like autism and I was an autistic teenager when I first saw him.

He also gets good Subterfuge skills because he can pick locks, do sleight of hand tricks, and overall has a good skill set that was rarely put to use.

And now, Nyssa:

Tech Level 7 explains where Traken is. We'll get to compare several different planets I guess.

Nyssa gets a higher science stat, with an emphasis on biochemistry. She has a more diverse STEM skill set than Adric. Other than that, I don't have much to report here. The fact that she's upper class seems to affect her ability to interact with people who aren't. As you will see, Turlough somehow isn't given this problem despite it being more obvious with him than with Nyssa.

But before that, there's Tegan.

Technology level 5 for the 1980s. These tech levels seem to cover a lot of historical ground. 1746 and 1866 are both in 4 and 1980 and 2018(futuristic version) are both in 5. I wonder what separates these levels from one another.

Tegan is considered fairly ordinary, not a fighter like Jamie nor a scientist like Nyssa, so her stats are kinda bad. Looking at her traits, her skills seem to include running and screaming, with points off for being impulsive, argumentative, and loud. I don't think the people who wrote this liked Tegan very much.

Anyway, of course there's Turlough.

Trion is apparently Tech Level 7, the same as Traken. So that turned out to not be very interesting.

His main strengths are in Convince and Technology. He can half-understand the TARDIS at times and appears to be good at lying to people. The fact that he doesn't get running and screaming in his traits and Tegan does is sexism. He also gets to be charming, though not attractive like Nyssa or Tegan. Men can get this trait, since Jamie did. I think he's commonly seen as average-looking.

Also the fact that he's seen as lucky with all the shit he went through is hilarious.

Finally, as a bit of a bonus, Captain Wrack from Enlightenment has a character sheet. How do you even make stats for an Eternal?

Many of her stats are surprisingly low for basically a low-level god. Though she's got a high Knowledge score and a Tech Level of 12, since Eternals go beyond Time Lords, though it's more power than technology with them, isn't it? Do we just not know how to factor this in?

So when it comes to these tech levels:

18th-19th century Earth = 4

20th-21st century Earth = 5

Traken and Trion = 7

Time Lords = 10

Eternals = 12

That's all I got for now. I hope you enjoyed this bit of fussing over meaningless numbers.

[wexhappyxfew]

“Don’t leave my sight again” for Kennedy and Bucky! Only if you want! I love your writing! <3

HI SWEET ANON!!!!! thank you so so much for popping this in the askbox and for the love on my writing! it means SO MUCH!! i had a lot of fun with this one - we went in a direction i wanted to explore a bit more with the kennedy x bucky dynamic, especially their ever-present bickering about sports with their (respective) red sox and yankees, hehe. i really enjoyed this prompt because i could still utilize the dynamic i wanted, but inject the prompt into the writing in a way that was more heartfelt and meaningful than anything, so, please enjoy!! :D

lips itching to grin

(a/n): kennedy x bucky girlies, we're back and better than ever and focusing on the early days again with these two, specifically in the ever-present baseball rivalry (with a side of heartfelt and slightly flirty banter that neither side may or may have not predicted.....). ps: there's a whole lot of baseball references in here along with a deep dive into the red sox and yankees baseball almanac of 1942 players, as (to preface) they discuss a yankees x red sox game from 1942, with some of their own perspectives (though we enter the conversation in the middle lol). please enjoy!!! <3333

"Alright, well, runners on first and second, game-tying run at second, bottom of the 5th," Kennedy started, as she watched Paulina offer one of the newer replacements a dance as Billie Holiday sung with those swing trumpets over their heads, "you got Joe DiMaggio coming up with two outs. Dick Newsome's already at 78 pitches."

"Easy," Bucky offers as Paulina and the replacement move out towards the center of the floor and start dancing - Kennedy likes seeing her smile, "DiMaggio hits an RBI double and makes it to second base. Then you ain't even tied up anymore. Score's 4-3."

"But," Kennedy started, glancing upwards at him with a look as she tilted her head, a smile on her cheeks, "you got Charlie Keller up next. Getting to that point in your roster where it gets a little….hairy."

"Says the one with Joe Cronin on your-"

"Focus." Kennedy said snapping in front of his face, bringing a smirk onto his lips as he looked back at her, "We're talking about the fucking Yankees right now, Bucky."

"Don't call them the fucking Yankees."

"They're the fucking Yankees to me, got it?" she said and she watched Bucky turn from his position leaned up backwards against the bar to actually facing her, "What?"

"You get really passionate about your Red Sox, huh?" he said, leaning his hand up against the side of his face and watching her, "I'd hate to mess with you-"

"You already have." she told him in a sing-song voice as she turned and took a sip of her beer and looked out to the dance floor again, "Try growing up as the only girl in a house full of brothers. You either play baseball or you are the baseball, I'm afraid." Bucky snickered at that and sipped his own drink - bourbon maybe, she could smell it on his lips from here.

"What the hell kinda baseball did the Farley brothers play?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Clearly not that great of baseball, you're all Red Sox fans."

"Says the one who willingly became a Yankees fan."

"Willingly-"

"At least I grew up in the area! It makes sense!"

"Can't knock me, Yankees' got a fan all the way from Wisconisn - can't say the same about other teams now, huh?" Bucky said leaning towards her with a grin, "Gotcha there, huh?" Kennedy watched him.

"Bill Dickey comes up and goes out swinging," Kennedy said, staring him down, "Red Ruffing's taken outta the game. Atley Donald's up on the mound. Johnny Pesky's up to bat. Donald walks him. Tony Lupien comes up - an absolute bomb outta the field. Rest of the game is a no-go. Red Sox win. 6-4."

"For someone who despises the Yankees, you sure do know a whole lot about them." Bucky said, sipping his drink again, "It's cute. You trying to impress me with that Yankees stuff."

"I just know a whole lot about games where my Red Sox win," Kennedy mouthed back, the tops of her cheeks burning, "you'd know if I was trying to impress you."

"When's that happened?"

"Never."

"Huh."

"Exactly." she said, sending him a look and he smirked again, his eyes watching her in that manner they always seemed to, "What's that look for?"

"What'd you usually play?" he asked her, that lazy grin growing on his face, "C'mon, I know you were probably in a group of kids that got together to play. What were ya? No….let me guess. First base, you're pretty tall." She stared at him and raised a brow. "No?"

"What about this," she started, standing up straight and holding out her arms, "screams first base, huh?"

"Fine. Shortstop. Speedy, quick-witted-"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Don't get in over your head."

"Continue…." Kennedy said with a smirk.

"Shortstop." Bucky said, "Final answer."

"Ding-ding, you're correct," she said with a smile, "usually my older brother and I fought over that position. He usually gave in."

"You were convincing enough." Bucky said, sipping his drink again.

"I was better than him." she offered back, catching that look on his face, "What, like it's hard to believe?"

"Nah, nah," Bucky said shaking his head back and forth and grinning, before avoiding her questioning entirely, "you like hitting?"

"Usually was middle of the pack, sometimes cleanup, I flip-flopped." she said with a winning smirk, "Wasn't often I got cleanup though, my older brother, he's a fucking giant, like 6 foot 5 or something - Bobby - he usually could drive in any and all runners. Sometimes he let me in the spot. It was usually some stupid fight we'd have, but he'd let me have my ways sometimes. Which was nice." Bucky grinned at her again and she couldn't tell whether that was just how he decided to look at people or if there was something else going on behind those eyes and that smile. But she just left it for the time being and took to sipping her drink again.

An upbeat Ozzie Nelson beat came over above them, which immediately sent Kennedy thinking of home again - its summer, the windows are open, her mother's got the radio playing the music she always used when cleaning the house; a mix of Artie Shaw, Billie Holiday, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Sometimes even some Ray Noble. Any sort of music as such would remind her of that time in her youth, racing around the house with her brothers, this music in her ears, the kitchen smelling like lemon soap and freshly scrubbed, the linens hanging outside, the sound of her mother sweeping and shooing away her brothers or their dog, Gunny.

"My ma loves this music," Kennedy said with a smile, looking out to the dance floor as people danced and clung onto one another, as if it were the only thing they had apart from those flying coffins - human touch, more important than anything when they were here, "she played it all the time at home."

"She a big band fan?" Bucky asked her, and she looked to him with a smile and nodded. The corners of his eyes grew soft - she noticed he did that sometimes when he was really listening to you; really, really listening. When she had first noticed it, she'd been taken back at the intensity with which he would watch and listen, but he did it so subtly she had never really noticed until now.

"Always has been." Kennedy said with a nod, "I mean, with five sons and one daughter, there isn't a whole lot of space to listen to quiet jazz, or…something or other. Everyone always wanted big band being played." Bucky let out a bark of a chuckle and then got quiet again, glancing her way with that cautious look painted on his face. He knocked her shoulder lightly.

"And you?" he asked her, a slightly playful look on his face, lips itching to grin again.

"What about me?"

"What do you like?" he asked her, "What does Kennedy Farley dance around to her when no one's looking?" Kennedy couldn't help but laugh, a real genuine laugh and shake her head.

"Usually Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller."

"Like mother, like daughter." Bucky said with a smile, "What's she doing now ya think? Your ma?" Kennedy shrugged, feeling slightly homesick at the thought of her Ma, at home, with all her children off to war, or college, or school, her husband off to work, leaving her in that big house all alone. Her stomach twisted unpleasantly and she couldn't fight the sad expression off her face.

"Probably getting dinner ready - she makes a damn good beef stew. Chop the carrots, onions, celery. Let the beef sit and marinate for a while. The whole house would smell almost like Christmas Eve," Kennedy said softly, before quirking out a grin, "waiting for Dad to get home from work." She stared at Bucky who watched her back. "Your ma?"

"Much of the same probably." Bucky said, leaning up against the bar and schooling his features evenly, "Cooking up dinner, waiting for my dad to get home." Bucky smiled almost bittersweetly. "Wish she didn't have to be there alone, ya know?"

"Yeah," Kennedy said quickly, her emotions warping with her intense want to berate him yet again over baseball, but her softer side took over and she looked at him, "I don't doubt though if I went home, she'd be telling me 'Don't leave my sight again.'" Kennedy said with a small smile. "Broke her damn heart for me to come out here. Only daughter. One of the youngest." Bucky watched her, his face quiet, his expressions even and he seemed at once, intently focused purely on her.

"She didn't want me to come." Kennedy told him honestly, feeling like if she didn't get it off her chest now, she never would tell a soul, "Here. Flying B-17s, being a gunner, getting my hands on a .50 cal. She hated the idea of all of it. But I guess she let me go because she knew it was what I wanted. What I needed. For me." She looked over at Bucky and saw nothing but that gentle, fond expression on his face. She smiled slightly. He smiled right back, almost instantly.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," he said, watching as her face morphed from sadness to mild surprise, to which he laughed at, "yeah, I swear to ya, Farley. I really am. Hey, who was it that saw you shooting that .50 cal back in training and hand-picked you for my gunners, alright?" She was quiet. "That was me."

"And then of course Birdie took you under her wing and the rest is history, but I didn't forget that at some point in time, you were one of my waist gunners," he said, knocking her shoulder lightly again, "a good one at that, you know that?" Just hearing Birdie's name made her heart squeeze.

"It's really nothing special-"

"You shot Expert, Farley," he said, holding her gaze with a firm look, "that sends eyes wandering, I promise ya."

Oh.

She watched him for a moment before her fingers were getting twitchy and she needed something for them and to get herself to look away from that look in his eyes.

"Cigarette?" she asked him, pulling from his gaze to dig her hand into her pockets and produce the slightly crumpled cigarette packet she always had on hand. He watched her before slowly nodding.

"Sure." he said, as she innately popped open the top and produced two cigarettes, sliding one onto her lip and the other into his own hands, "Thanks."

"The least I could do for a compliment like that." she said, almost bashfully, as he placed it on his lip with a chuckle.

"First time anyone's ever told you that?"

"People don't tell me a whole lot of things like that ever so," Kennedy started, before attempting to smile, "yeah, first time for everything" Bucky watched her curiously as he produced a lighter and leaned forward to light up her cigarette before doing his own.

"Really?" he asked her, almost surprised - why would he need to act surprised, why did he even bother to care? She nodded. Bucky watched her for a moment, fingertips drumming against his cigarette as he stared at her; his gaze not one she was entirely even turning away from or wanting to.

"Cleanup." She stared at him, raising a brow.

"Tell Bobby Farley that you shoulda been in cleanup in the lineup." Bucky said, turning towards the bar again and calling for another drink, "Shortstops are usually closer to the top of the lineup anyway, right?" Kennedy watched him, her heart pounding.

"Bucky-"

"I woulda put you in that clean-up spot any day of the week, believe me." he said, smiling at her, with a grin, before turning to the bar and getting his drink. And she recited deep from within her mind, something Bobby Farley had taught her well and good in their screaming matches - 4th slot in the lineup, cleanup spot, usually one of the more or most important players in the lineup; they're powerful, drive in runs and more than anything are one thing - consistent.

[cloudsspoke]

Breaking: Paulo Dybala no va a la Copa

This whole Dybala mess really upsets me.

This is actually kinda ironic for me because back in March, at the end of my post (this post), I wrote a lengthy paragraph about how fans’ toxic culture could destroy this team.

That supporters’ behavior who tend to compete players against e.o or criticize players, act like they have the right to decide who should join the NT and who shouldn’t is ridiculous. I mean, being Scaloni isn’t an easy job. Not only that Scaloni have to defend the Copa America title holder, but he also has to pick 23 or 26 players to be invited for his Copa squad when roughly 50 players are showing immense performance on their respective clubs this season. It must’ve been a dilemma, and supporters need to be wise in accepting what Scaloni has decided and believe that Scaloni knows better what is best for his team.

I never expected that I would have to swallow the bitter pill of my own words. Because that is actually what’s happening now, with Dybala becoming the center of controversion in light of the decision made by Scaloni.

Really, who would have thought that the player that gets left behind would be Dybala?

We’ve all seen how Dybala is a true baller this season, despite his injuries. Man be the only player who won 3 POTM awards, assisted 9 times, and scored 13 goals with 7 of that being 100% successful penalties. Unlike how he got injured 40 days before the World Cup, this time –less than a month before Copa– he’s fit. But what the heck then Scaloni decided not to call him?????

Maybe this is what Scaloni meant when he said, those who played for WC don’t have any advantages. That the only 2 players who got a 100% guarantee to play for this year’s Copa are just Messi and Di Maria. But the idea of not calling Dybala is just a total shocker to almost everyone.

A little throwback when the news of him picking up an injury just 40 days before the World Cup sent his teammates into concern. According to Cuti’s statement, their Whatsapp Group chat talked about that and he felt bad for Dybala.

But, surprise surprise, he still made it into the list and joined the whole team just a day before he celebrated his birthday with the team in Abu Dhabi (November 14th).

You can see just how happy and relieved everyone was when they embraced Dybala, even Cuti hogged him from the rest of the players.

Back to the present time.

How can I defend Dybala without discrediting other players, such as Angel Correa, Garnacho (who did well on United tbh), Carboni, or Nico Gonzales, whom according to Sofascore they are all scored less than Dybala’s average rating.

How can I explain that I don't expect Dybala to play as a starter (I don't even expect him to play as a sub either). My only plea toward Scaloni is simply to put Dybala on the roster just like Scaloni always puts Armani despite him not playing. Dybala's presence itself is enough for me.

I know the reality is kinda harsh for Dybala as he found it difficult to get a permanent spot (not only in the Scaloni era).

As in the last World Cup, Dybala only played <20 minutes (replacing Julian in the 74th minute in the match against Croatia and coming on in the last minute during the Final match).

Moreover, in the previous Copa Dybala was also absent due to poor performance at Juve caused by his injury. It really hurts to know he missed the chance to play when the country won the trophy.

To lessen the disappointment, he at least won Finalissima by only playing for 5 minutes, and amazingly in just that short time he scored a goal to secure that 3-0 victory over Italy.

Looking back at the 2019 Copa, out of the total 6 matches played by Argentina, Dybala’s first time entering the field was in the 3rd match against Qatar. Coming on in the 76th minute to replace Lautaro, providing an assist for Kun 6 minutes later. Argentina’s 4th match, he played in the last 5 minutes when Argentina was leading 2-0.

In the next game, again he came in the 85th minute when Argentina had already lost 2-0 to Brazil, and as for the last match to obtain the 3rd place Dybala played as a starter, along with Messi and Kun, scored in the 22nd minute before being replaced by Di Maria in the 67th minute.

Can you see what I’m trying to prove here?

Dybala may not always be the #1 option, but when he eventually plays, he delivers. He’s a clutch. And just like his statement, that he simply wanted to support the team, and tried not to show an angry or frustrated face for not being played. He knew this, and regardless of the situation he was fine with that. He accepted that.

And judging from how very important it is to be an NT player for every Argentinian footballer, I believe Dybala is happy enough to be invited to this year’s Copa even without any guarantee that Scaloni will really let him play. I believe he wouldn’t mind being a benchwarmer (unlike that England player who refused the country call because he didn’t want to be a benchwarmer under Southgate as coach).

So, what made Scaloni leave him out this time around?

What frustrates me the most is knowing there’s no logical reason to justify Scaloni’s shocking decision not to call Dybala up for Copa. There’s absolutely no reason at all.

1) He's fit,

2) His performance with Roma this season is amazing despite injury, while the other players that Scaloni chose are actually played not much better than Dybala,

3) Sentimental aspect-wise, he's one of the senior players,

And even more so 4) He has good chemistry with the whole team (( Especially since he's also part of Messi's close circle –Messi, LDP, Ota, Di Maria, and the Palo Santo trio– ))

5) Nothing bad happened between him and Scaloni previously (as confirmed by Scaloni himself in this interview).

Even Scaloni told that story about his son Noah’s favorite player is Dybala. Like, is that doesn't mean a thing??????

In return, Dybala always shows respect to Scaloni. Never openly throw a fit or complaint.

6) More importantly, this might be Dybala’s last chance to play in Copa America ffs!!

So, what's with the sudden plot twist????

Many people reacted to this news by saying, “Scaloni can do everything that he wants, you don’t question him”, "With or without Dybala won't change anything", and yes, it’s true. Scaloni could have called Dybala either based on performance aspect or sentimental reason, or even simply just because he can and I bet no one will gonna file a complaint about that because almost all of us expected Dybala to be there!! And okay, Dybala's existence won't give any differences since probably won't play either, but at the very least it could spare Scaloni from having this unnecessary public frenzy.

But somehow out of nowhere, Scaloni chose the extreme opposite. Which then sparked public heated discussion, and eventually, supporters dragged the other players like Garnacho or Nico Gonzales, when In my opinion the most random thing out of this situation is the fact that Scaloni chose Angel Correa over Dybala (again, I don't mean to belittle Correa, simply just stating a fact that it's bizarre).

Call me overreacting or being a bit too dramatic, but it feels like Scaloni is using the power that he knows he has. I’m saying this because there’s no justifiable reason to explain this Dybala situation, this feels like purely a power trip from the coach.

I try to respect Scaloni’s decision, I try to be positive and supportive, I want to be level-headed in response to this news, I try not to hate the coach, I try not dragging the other players, and even try to not pity Dybala’s bad luck too, but it’s just hard.

I know, anything can still happen.

Who knows, right?

Maybe Scaloni suddenly realizes that he made a mistake and is willing to make a little change on the squad list. Maybe some players try to reason with Scaloni for him to call Dybala. Or maybe someone from the already selected strikers picks up a last-minute injury so he can’t play thus Scaloni has no other option than to replace that someone with Dybala (this is very ill thought coming from my brain, pardon not pardon). or maybe Dybala will get married to Oriana this June, so at the very least, he won’t be feeling too woeful to abstain from Copa (the last part is just my wishful thinking tho)…

At last, I'm upset knowing that Dybala out from Copa means I won't get any new content of this beloved Cordobese pair.

And for this reason alone, Scaloni, sir, what you did is a crime.

UPDATE:

Paulo Dybala rompió el silencio tras la no convocatoria a la Selección Argentina:

Tenía confianza en formar parte del equipo, así que fue un golpe muy duro para mí porque ser parte de la selección nacional es una de las mejores cosas que he tenido. Entiendo que a nuestro entrenador le resulte difícil elegir. Tenemos tantos buenos jugadores en equipos de toda Europa y él tiene que elegir 26. Respeto su decisión. Siempre le he dicho eso. Tengo una gran relación con él y sin duda ha elegido lo mejor para la Selección Argentina.

Estaré animando desde casa, como siempre que no estoy en el equipo. Tengo muchos amigos y espero de todo corazón que puedan volver a ganar la Copa América.

No estoy llorando, tú estás llorando 😭😭😭😭

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Imagine if Krone had mocking Isabella's fate during his discussion with Emma and Norman?

Like telling them that ALL the sisters have to had children, the only difference is that the ones becoming mama (like Isabella) can have only one

(i headcanon that the Sisters in the Headquarter have generally maybe two or three kids, maybe more for some… …considering that there are 5 houses at Grace Field …and 1 child shipped every 2 months by house. It mean 6 by house every year. So the whole Grace Field facility ship more or less 30 children by year. …so yeah i really think that some sisters have to had more than one child, especially considering how the Sisters Formation is hard and that not a lot sucess)

And then Krone would mocking Isabella like "Her child must be almost 12 now…hum if they have not been shipped yet, they'll be very soon, i wonder how she felt about it, not knowing her baby's fate since six years." in a kind of "lol"

(also because her own child is probably too young to be shipped since she is only 26 and so her child can only be younger than 6. She thinks that, unlike Isabella, SHE is sure that her child is alive)

Norman would maybe feel some little sympathy for Isabella, even if feeling stil betrayed and angry toward her. And he wouldn't like that Krone finds hilarous the idea of Isabella not knowing her child's fate.

Emma would wonder how a mother can do that. And wouldn't like that Krone finds that funny too.

Krone would be like "you really think we have the choice? that's cute" because a part of her doesn't like the way Emma judge her. Like she would say to her that it's easy to judge when she has not been at her place.

And later, Norman and Emma speak about it with Ray and is internally panicking. He's also kinda pissed that Krone finds that funny and hopes that Isabella suffers because of it. How petty this woman is to hope that? (for real, a part of him also hope that Isabella suffers at the idea to ship him because a part of him hope that she loves him but he's kinda in denial about it)

I wonder if Krone's child is at Grace Firld. what if it's Chamberlain?

Isabella is an anomaly when it comes to Moms in that she's the youngest one to ever be selected in the history of at least the current incarnation of Grace Field that's been around for roughly 400 years.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 181.2 | Chapter 181.3)

Her excellent test scores at the farm and later at headquarters combined with favoritism from Sarah led to her placement being expedited. With there being an extremely limited number of Mom positions, most Sisters (because they're all Sisters first, Isabella being the exception and not the rule) are left waiting for years, and this is what results in them having multiple children if they don't retrain for another path, not that Moms are limited to having a single child. If anything, you'd think they'd want more children bred from those who reach that position, so the time spent waiting for spots to open up would be beneficial for the demons. Sarah had enough sway to persuade those in charge to get a recent graduate of the Sister training in there, though, so Isabella was able to skip to the front of the wait list.

I'm not entirely sure what Krone would gain from mocking Isabella in this manner? There's the melodrama for the readers who are aware of her connection with Ray and then later seeing his reaction to it, but it seems counterproductive in how it not only generates sympathy for Isabella when Krone wants the children on her side, but also, and the more important reason, it's being done at the expense of an innocent child. She's openly reveling in the demise of a child for the perceived harm it does to Isabella and her reputation. The being petty part in itself is fine and serves as commentary on infighting being used by oppressors as a means to prevent class solidarity and systemic change, but it seems like a disservice to Krone's character that she'd indulge in it in front of the people she's trying to form an alliance with when she knows her being a Sister and what that says about her is already upsetting to them.

(Chapter 20)

And then on the meta front, it would be too direct in hinting at the Isabella-Ray connection with how forward it is in reminding the audience Isabella was required to have a child to become a Mom instead of leaving it as a thread lingering in the background.

(Chapter 31)

Isabella talks with Emma about becoming a Mom after having a child in what is one of the most harrowing moments of the series for me (the way she so calmly and casually tells this eleven-year-old to submit to systemic medical rape, to surrender her child to the same system and perpetuate the cycle of cruelty and violence, because she genuinely believes it's the best path for her, wrecks me on so many levels), and the imagery of a pregnant Isabella is there for the reader, but she never explicitly mentions her own biological child. The in-universe reasons for why are up for debate, but the meta one is to not be any more obvious about her connection to Ray than what's already been implied with the lullaby, their shared physical traits, and the spy arrangement.

(also because her own child is probably too young to be shipped since she is only 26 and so her child can only be younger than 6. She thinks that, unlike Isabella, SHE is sure that her child is alive) wonder if Krone's child is at Grace Field. what if it's Chamberlain?

It is interesting how Krone never spares a thought for her child during all the time the reader has with her, but that might be a nod to the compartmentalizing all Sisters and Moms do in order to avoid cognitive dissonance.

And later, Norman and Emma speak about it with Ray and is internally panicking. He's also kinda pissed that Krone finds that funny and hopes that Isabella suffers because of it. How petty this woman is to hope that? (for real, a part of him also hope that Isabella suffers at the idea to ship him because a part of him hope that she loves him but he's kinda in denial about it)

Definitely agree about the conflicting feelings Ray has toward Isabella and the self-loathing he holds for caring when he knows logically nothing good can come of it.

[l-egionaire]

You know what? Since I gave my ideas for Illvermorny, why not give some Quodpot stuff I have too.

There are 11 positions on a Quodpot team. 6 Chargers, 4 Runners, and the Commander. The Runners are sort of the equivalents of chasers in Quidditch. Their job is to move across the field and score by throwing the Quod into their teams cauldron. Only Runners and Commanders are allowed to actually touch the Quod and score points. If any of the chargers touch the ball, it's a foul, and the ball is given to the other team, as well as its explosion timing lowered. Chargers are responsible for trying to either delay runners or to knock the ball out of their hands so that the Quod can be caught by a member of their team. Commanders are responsible for scoring goals like Runners, but they're also responsible for making the teams plays and deciding what strategy to use before each move. If the Quod explodes in the face of a runner or commander, they're called off the field. The games over once all a teams Runners and their Commander are off the field, so often players try not to have the Commander hold onto the ball for long or make goals. Each cauldron is held on towers at opposite ends of the field and the players meet in the middle before each move for the ball, similar to Quidditch. Each goal is worth 10 points each.

Just like how football is considered more violent than soccer, Quodpot is a LOT rougher than Quidditch. There's lots more physical damage, crashes, injuries, broken bones, and players getting roughed up in general. Healers are on standby at all times, and it's not uncommon for them to rush out to heal up a hurt player. There's an unofficial record for how many times the healers will have to be called in on games.

Most non-Americans or people who have never seen a game of Quodpot think that when someone says the ball will "explode," that just means it'll burst with a small pop. But no. When the Quod explodes, it goes off like a bomb in the players arms and leaves them covered in scorch marks. To protect themselves from that, players during games wear armor overtop of their Qoudpot robs. The armor is similar to a Roman or Greek armor, with gauntlets, greaves, shoulder armor, chest plates, and, of course, helmets. The armor is always done to match with the team colors, with their team's logo stamped onto the side of their helmets. The helmets themselves are especially important as they're enchanted to dampen the effects of the balls explosion on the eyes, nose and ears. While it COULD be possible to make it so that the helmets and armor COMPLETELY nullified the effects of the exploding Quod and keep the players from getting hurt by it, as one teams coach put it, "that'd take the fun out of the game".

A Quod usually explodes within twenty to thirty minutes of being in play, depending on things like how many times it's thrown, how fast the player is holding it is flying and other factors. Players CAN choose to throw the ball before it explodes (they're only taken out if they're actually holding the ball when it blows) and some even attempt this as a tactic to take out opposing players by giving THEM the ball just as it's about to go off, but it usually doesn't work as most Runners train not to instinctively catch the ball unless it's thrown by one of their teammates and simply let it go off in their face.

Due to the potentially numerous balls needed, Quod balls are usually duplicated with a multiplication charm during the game so that they don't run out. For young children who can't do those charms, their parents take care of it.

[lifewithchronicpain]

In case you want to attempt to understand the big game this Sunday:

I know most people on here don't care about the Super Bowl, but given the popularity of the Chiefs thanks to Taylor Swift, I thought I'd share a basic explanation of the game for those who feel totally lost.

A football field is 100 yards, the game time is 60 minutes with 4 15 minute quarters. Each team is assigned a side that will switch after the first and third quarter to negate any advantage to one side. The object of the game is to bring the ball into the end zone for a touch down, or to kick a field goal. Every inch forward you gain with the ball in your possession is how the game is won.

The game starts with a kickoff where the catching team is on offense (decided by coin flip) trying to get the ball to the end zone on the other end. They have 4 tries to get 10 yards, that's called a down. When they reach or surpass 10 yards they get a first down, meaning their chances reset and they have to make another 10 yards or the end zone. It's possible to lose yards, so you might starts 1st and ten, running back gets pushed back and your next move is at 2nd and 13 yards. Then you can throw the ball for 15 yards on the third down and you're now you're at first and ten again until you fail to make 10 yards or get a touchdown.

If you can't get the ball to the 10 yard mark, after 3 tries, you have to either use your last chance to "go on 4th down" or to punt. If you lose your chance to get 1st down on the 4th try, the other team picks up the ball exactly where you left off. If you do that and you're not even close to the end zone, you're giving the opposing team great field position. But if you're 4th down and 1 yard from a touchdown and you need that to win, you go for it. Punting is to prevent good field advantage on a failed 4th down. The ball is kicked into the other team's territory to set them back as much as possible. If the team scores they also kick it to the other time but in that instance it's a kickoff.

There are two ways of moving the ball, running and throwing and the opposing team on defense does everything they can to fuck that up. Now as much as I enjoyed football in my youth I never learned all the positions, but you really only need to know a quarterback throws, a receiver catches, and running back runs the ball without having been thrown the ball but rather handed off at the start of a play. Throwing the ball goes farther but runs the risk of incomplete passes or turnovers, where the defense gets the ball from the offense. Sometimes a turnover can ever be turned into a touchdown, so it is possible for the defense to score.

A touchdown is 6 points, then you have the option of kicking in an extra point, or running it into the end zone again from a set distance for 2 points. The latter is harder so almost every touchdown gets an extra point, but if you need 2 points to tie or win, then coaches have gone for them on occasion.

A field goal is 3 points and when the ball is kicked through the yellow bars, and can only be done from a certain point on the field which is about the 35 yard line. You kick a field goal when you know you can't make a touchdown just to get points on the board, and have made the difference with ties and victories.

This already long post is really just the basics. I've watched football for 20 years and I don't know all the rules about what holding position constitutes a fumble (dropped ball that can be picked up by opposing team) and how much a player needs to be in bounds to make a catch, but the newscasters do their best to explain. Just go with it.

So if this is your first ever football game or super bowl, I hope I've now made it at least a little bit clearer.

[uncloseted]

what do you think about gender reveal parties. I don't think they're problematic or maybe they are but there's a way to make them not problematic. yes those "football player or ballerina" cakes or those things that cause fires are stupid but announcing whether you're having a male child or a female child should not be problematic??? even the most woke people end up raising their babies as boys or girls. i don't think having a party should change anything

I think you're right that there's probably a way to make them not problematic. And I think their original intention, to celebrate that the inventor's pregnancy had developed to the point that the sex of the fetus could be determined after several miscarriages, is genuinely really beautiful. And I don't think there's anything wrong with revealing the assumed sex of the baby at a baby shower or a similar event.

That said, I don't think it's as simple as you're making it. I don't think it's a coincidence that gender reveal parties have become popular in a time where there's growing anxieties about changing gender roles, increasing changes to gender equality (both positively and negatively) and the meaning of gender itself. Gender reveal parties frequently seek to reestablish rigid gender roles through the way they represent each gender. As you say, gender reveal parties usually have some form of gender essentialism present in them. It's almost always "blue for a boy, pink for a girl" or "football player for a boy or ballerina for a girl" or "guns for a boy or glitter for a girl", "pistol for a boy or pearls for a girl", "wheels for a boy or heels for a girl", etc. It's not usually something more neutral like, "Superman or Wonder Woman" or like, "Bluey or Peppa Pig", where there's not very much gendered baggage present.

I'm not saying it never happens, but I am saying that I think the people who are drawn to gender reveal parties are usually drawn to them because gender essentialism is important to them in some way. And it's also creating an entire event that's centered around the idea that gender is the most important thing about this baby's identity. People never seem to have "name reveal parties" or "eye color reveal parties" or whatever, you know? They're gender reveal parties because that's the most important thing to the parents. It's what they're imagining when they think about who this kid will be and how they'll move in the world.

And you might say that it's not that deep. A lot of people do say that. Like you said, "even the most woke people end up raising their babies as boys or girls" (which is not strictly true, but I get your point). "Having a party [shouldn't] change anything". And you're right. It shouldn't. But it does. Babies are subject to a ton of gendered stereotypes pretty much from the time that they're born. One study found that parents of newborns rated daughters as more soft, fine-featured, awkward, and weak, but sons as more firm, big, well-coordinated and strong—despite no objective differences between the sexes in weight, length, or Apgar scores. Another found that “boy” babies were seen as stronger and more of a problem, whereas “girls” were perceived to be more sensitive, and a third study found that mothers had more optimistic expectations of the motoric abilities of boys than girls—in the absence of any actual differences. And this persists throughout childhood. Girls begin to internalize the idea that the most important thing they can be is good-looking, while boys internalize that "being tough" is the most important thing for them. Other studies found that by age 6, girls were already significantly less likely than boys to say that members of their own gender were "really, really smart," and that young girls often receive the message that the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are not “for them” or that they're naturally worse at those subjects than boys.

To some degree, this stereotyping is probably inevitable. Regardless of how you raise your kid and what the school you send them to is like, eventually they'll encounter someone who subjects them to rigid gender roles that impact their perception of their own identity. But parents can control how much those gender roles impact their kid's perception of their own identity, and to a degree, they can control how much other people project those gender roles onto their kid. By throwing a very gender essentialist gender reveal party, it's indicating to friends and family that it is not only okay to stereotype the kid based on gender, but encouraged to do so. Having a party changes the precedent that's being set about what is and isn't appropriate behavior towards this baby. It's encouraging people to buy the baby "girl toys" or "boy toys", to buy them clothes in pink or blue, to view the baby in a gendered way instead of just as a baby.

And that's ignoring the fact that gender reveal parties are creating a whole event from the results of a prenatal sex discernment test. Depending on the method the doctor is using, those provide an inaccurate result between 1% to 5% of the time. And between 0.02% and 0.05% of babies are born visibly intersex. Depending on the definition used, up to 1.7% of people can be considered intersex. It's not always so simple as "it's a boy" and "it's a girl", but gender reveal parties kind of ignore that possibility and set an expectation for what this baby *should* be like. And it's not really considering who this baby will be when they're born and as they grow up. For queer or trans kids, they're gendered differently than their cishet peers from a very young age. And a lot of kids are just gender non-conforming in some way- "tomboys" and "sissies" have long been gendered expressions that we just kind for cis kids.

I guess again what I'm getting at is that a gender reveal party sets an expectation for who this kid will be, and I think that creates the potential for a lot of pressure on the kid and a lot of disappointment for the parents. And I think that in any other context, we would feel like that's weird. If a parent threw their unborn baby a party being like, "this kid is going to be an opera singer!", we would think that's weird, because who knows who the kid will be? Maybe they'll want to play rugby instead. But we've just kind of accepted it when it comes to gender reveal parties. And that's not to even talk about the gender reveal parties where it's super clear that the parents are visibly disappointed with (or even angry about) the result of the reveal.

At the end of the day, do I think gender reveal parties are the singular thing holding us back from gender equality? No. Getting rid of gender reveal parties probably isn't even in the top hundred priorities for things we would need to do in order to make the world a more equitable place when it comes to gender. And I don't think the type of people who throw these kinds of parties really care that much about preventing their children from being exposed to stereotypes anyway- they're usually the people perpetuating them. But I do think they're (usually) problematic, and they're certainly not helping us achieve gender equality, either.

[dandylion240]

And all of them for any of them for Maja, as I need to learn more about her

1.Would you hug a stranger? How close someone has to be to get a hug?

No I would not. I would have to know someone really well before I go around hugging them.

2. Have you tried some exotic/weird food? How was it? Would you eat it again?

It depends on what you call exotic. To me pizza is exotic. It's not something I've ever had up until recently I had almost steady diet of fish and kelp.

3. If you had to give up one sense, which one would it be?

Oh that's a difficult choice but I'm a musician so I need to hear, to see and to touch. So maybe smell? I mean I can still play and sing and not be able to smell.

4. How good are you at remembering dates? What about numbers in general?

I keep close tabs on my calendar so that I don't miss any gigs and I'm more into musical notes and scores than facts and figures.

5. Do you like cold or hot weather more? Why?

I'm used to the cold and I feel like I'm wilting if I'm outside too long in the summer time.

6. Would you rather spend a date night somewhere quiet or in a more crowded place (e.g. club, festival, amusement park, etc.)

I love going out to clubs or concerts. Any place where there's music.

7. What shows your emotions more, your words or your actions?

My songs. I can put my feelings into music more than words or actions.

8. Is curiosity good or bad thing in your opinion? What makes you curious?

You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat. That being said curiosity led me here so it can't be all that bad.

9. Balloons or confetti?

Neither really. You wouldn't like them either if you've seen what balloons and confetti do to the environment.

10. Have you ever had an animal to eat from your hand? Do animals usually like you?

There's nothing like feeding a dolphin. I love all kinds of animals and they just know I mean them no harm.

11. Would you rather be stranded in a huge deserted field or locked alone in a room, for following two weeks?

Both sound absolutely horrid. I could probably do a huge deserted field if that field had a lake or something.

12. Do you prefer to sleep with socks or without them? Do you usually even wear socks?

I don't wear socks until recently I didn't even wear shoes.

13. Do you tend to get sick easily? If so, what do you do to prevent that? If not, what’s your secret to strong immune system?

I don't think I've ever been sick. I think I'm immune to most human illnesses.

14. What is your first language? How many languages can you speak?

I know quite a few languages. Mer, Simlish, Dolphin, etc.

15. Do you like drawing/painting? What’s your preferred art tool?

Music. That's the only art form I need.

16. Are you more organised or disorganised person? Or maybe you like to plan only certain aspects of your life?

I'm very organised and I plan everything out before I do anything. I have to know what I'm doing before I start. Of course you can't plan for everything but I'm seldom caught off guard.

17. Would you choose a dream car or a dream house?

Dream car I guess. That way I can travel between gigs. I don't know what I'd do with a house.

18. Are you the type of the person that would laugh when someone else falls? Or would you rush to help? Maybe you would just walk by without reaction?

I suppose I'd stop and help if they looked like they needed it but if it looked like someone was already assisting them and I was in a hurry than I'd probably just keep on going.

19. How often do you travel? What you like the most about it?

I haven't done too much traveling yet but I can see myself doing a lot of it once I have my music degree.

20. Do like stargazing? Do you believe in shooting star wishes?

There's nothing like a sky full of stars. I don't honestly know if I've ever made a wish upon a star but if I did I know what I'd wish for.

Thank you for asking!

@wannabecatwriter correct me if I got anything wrong. I'm still learning her personality.

[orlandospride]

I just don't understand the logic of wanting smaller goals and fields. And for me it's not about sexism or the sport being the same or anything. The question for me is: what problem does that solve? I think anytime you want to do something er should start at identifying an issue and than thinking about a change that could solve it. Your other examples make sense: problem: women have more non-contact injuries solution: making women specific cleats problem: women are at greater risk of concussion solution: hard to say but possible ones: getting rid of headers or limiting their use, greater punishments for high elbows, knees and feet in congested areas. But I don't know what problem changing field and goal sizes solve, I think we have to start with the problem, specially because any changes comes with downsides, some tenporary and others permanent. With the goal, temporarily we might see more post collisions while players adapt to the smaller space, longer term we may have fewer goals and more draws, what is the upside to balance that?

there is a quality gap in women’s football and I don’t think anyone would (or could) deny that. there’s a gap in men’s football too and high scorelines aren’t restricted to any particular league or country. sometimes things go wrong and really weird things happen. a top side will have 6 put past them totally out of the blue, but they’re far less of an anomaly in women’s football and you can all but guarantee the winner when a top 3 side plays...anyone else

I don’t see less goals and more draws in a game that currently has lots of goals and lots of (one sided) wins as a bad thing. I think draws more often between say, arsenal and chelsea, is a fair trade off if it means bristol city aren’t getting 48 goals put past them in 17 games (some of those stats are even more dramatic outside of the wsl, I’m just using the wsl as the example because it’s the league I’m closest to following)

I fully acknowledge and accept that goalkeepers aren’t always to blame for goals and smaller goals aren’t magically going to make the teams at the bottom suddenly able to compete because the issue is so much bigger. for me the problem is parity between clubs in almost every division in any country, and whilst there isn’t one singular quick or easy fix to it, I don’t think it’s out of the question that smaller goals might be able to help with that. having a smaller goal would (probably) mean there’s less of them . having a smaller ball would (probably) mean less concussions and faster passes giving you a more fluid and exciting game

it always has to be about balance, IE how do you stop the top 5 or so teams in the world from stockpiling world class players and therefore being able to score 50, 70, 100 goals a season without punishing them for being the relatively few clubs who are actually willing and able to invest? the only league I can think of where the parity is not so much of an issue, though often does still lead to the same handful of teams leading the table and winning tropes, is the nwsl. but that’s because they’ve had very specific rules which europe has never really had a willingness or desire to emulate. I also think it should be about fun. football is a sport, but it’s also a game. it’s supposed to be fun and personally seeing some massive one sided victories or goals that could have been saved kind of….isn’t. smaller fields are unpractical and doesn’t translate well to grassroots, but a game with smaller goals, smaller fields and a lighter ball I think could bring hugely exciting and really enjoyable games

I love football. I want it to be good. I know with the disastrous implementation of VAR there’s, to some extent, an attitude of “just leave football alone” but I think there are some changes which could genuinely be fun. I remember when perez got slated for suggesting a 60 minute match instead, granted his suggestion was for monetary benefit, but I also think in hindsight that one could have been fun too. and as someone who sits through 100 minutes of men’s football dross every Saturday, and I just think football could be more fun if we, collectively, weren’t so resistant to change. football is old and old is great, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be better or that we at least shouldn’t entertain new ideas

[trace-of-a-song]

Your Project Doesn't Need Original Music - But It Might Make Things Better

My spicy take for the weekend - brought to you by wandering down a thorny path where people's choices for production costs for AD were put under a really strange funhouse microscope, is this. Yes, you can use premade, royalty-free, or low-cost licensed music for your game/film/show/project. You absolutely can. It might suit your needs perfectly. It can definitely cut costs when you're figuring out your project budget. There are people out there putting great music into the world Just for folks to use in exactly this way. No shame, no side-eye. Important disclaimer: I'm a composer. I do this for part of my living. I've been doing it for a while, and at some point in the near future when I have the time to figure out how I want to do it, I'll be putting some of that music into the world too. I like to think I do it pretty well. All of that said, here's what a composer can do that the above solution can't. - Tailor the music to your project's timing precisely. (Depending on the license you may or may not be able to edit the premade "trax"you're using. - Make it so the music fills in exactly where the mood shifts. - Evolve with the show, the scene, the moment. - Take feedback and make changes based on that. - Become an active part of your storytelling. - Be inspired by your project (and maybe do a bit of inspiring back) - Add a collaborative partner to your team.

That last one is probably the most important, and in a way it sums up the rest. When you bring a composer onto your project, whether it's for score, a theme song, one episode, or a 6 season epoch, you're adding to your team. Even as a one-off hired gun, a bit of their heart, spirit, energy, caring, passion, and interest is in your project. You gain another voice to bounce things off of, another pair of ears on the mix, a cheerleader, a co-conspirator.

Music that is made for your story is different than music that happens to fit. It just is. It breathes along with your scenes. It's a custom suit vs the closest fit you can find off the rack.

Does that mean it's expensive? Well, not necessarily but it's often more expensive than free!

It takes me 2 hours on average for a minute of custom music (I've recently started timing it because as I move more of my income to freelancing, planning is a thing). That's time spent planning, composing, editing, timing things to the scene, tweaking volume, polishing, and sending it wherever it needs to go. The most recent project I'm wrapping up has just shy of 17 minutes of music in it. An average TPNAN episode has 12. If I charged something like $20 an hour for my work, which is a number tossed around as a living wage a lot, I'd be making almost $500 an episode for TPNAN. That's not taking into account that creating music is a specialized field and that maybe that expertise and practice time means it's worth more than $20/hr. Let's just say... I'm not charging $500. (To be transparent, TPNAN is half my baby so I'm charging $0, but it's an example I know really well so I used it.) My point here is that many composers, myself included, will work for less than that. We'll do it for projects we love, people we respect and want to support, stories we care about. We'll do it when and because we can afford to spend the time, because we're supporting ourselves in other ways, or because we don't mind sticking 7 or 8 wicks in a candle just to see what happens. If you're a project with a tiny budget and want custom music, talk to some composers and I am beyond certain you'll find someone who wants to work on it with you and will work with what you can offer them. Yes, that includes "I can't offer you any money but I can trade you this skill I have" or "None of us are making money on this but would you be part of telling this really cool story with us?" I'll get into when people CAN afford to pay "fairly" another time. It would muddy the waters too much today. What I'm saying is, if you want to add a composer to your team, you can. And your project might well be better for it. And there is no shame in carving out a little of the budget you have whatever size it is for something that will make your project better. Graphic design, a good director, custom music, all of the things. You get to decide what counts as necessary to tell the story you want to tell, and what's extra. Rant over. Back to making pretty math noises!

[jeannereames]

Hi, love your blog and your books, they have been good for my knowledge, they had made clear some points that were cover by the mist of ignorance, I mean, when I was at school my teachers didn't know about Alexander so when we saw him in history class there were a lot of incoherences (sorry for my poor grammar, I'm still learning english).

Hephaestion is an interesting character, we don't know much about him but I have always wonder how he was as a husband, in my research it seems that he wasn't so interest in women like others were. I have wonder if that make him a careless or a typical (in the context of the history) husband? Did he marry because Alexander say so or because he wants to ensure his place? Does he felt pity for the girl or he didn't care about her at all? Was a better husband than Alexander?

And talking about Drypetis, we know about the famous beauty of her mother and of Roxanne. But how do you think that beauty was? Certainly, not like my modern view about attractiveness of a female, so I wonder yours.

Sorry for the long post! 🙃

We know nothing about his interest (or lack of it) in women. He did marry in Susa in 324 because Alexander told him to…along with 90 other officers. That doesn’t mean he was against the idea—may have been one of the few fully in favor of it for the politics.

While fictionally I’ll make hay over his lack of recorded lovers (of either gender), from an academic point of view…it’s meaningless.

This is probably a good time to review “arguments from silence,” and why they’re so tricky.

An ARGUMENT FROM SILENCE suggests a lack of evidence is significant. BUT this only works if one can demonstrate that such evidence ought to be there…and isn’t.

That’s hard to do for the ancient world as “a lack of evidence” describes our cursed lot. My modern historian colleagues are regularly astonished by how little we have, and what we can spin out from that little.

I bring this up is because arguments from silence are too common in pop history, which too often does them badly due to a lack of understanding regarding 1) what evidence IS available, 2) what should be available, and 3) what’s absolutely unsurprising not to find.

Sometimes students will ask me, “But didn’t they write stuff like that down?” (‘That’ varying.) The answer is often, “No.” Or more colorfully, “They didn’t give a shit.” Even in the Roman Empire, they lacked bureaucratic record-keeping as we understand it. In Greece, centuries earlier, a few city-states kept some records, but most didn’t, especially prior to the mid-4thCentury BCE. It’s connected to the “epigraphic habit”: the desire to record information (in public) for posterity, and the idea that record-keeping might be a good general idea often merge.

Even so, WHAT they thought worthy of recording isn’t always what we’d like to know. This, in turn, pertains to how they wrote historical texts: what they chose to report (or not).

So, with that background…

The problem with knowing Hephaistion’s sexual interest (or lack of it) in women is how and why our sources relate such information.

In short: they mostly don’t.

This owes to their LASER focus on Alexander. Even then, what each source tells about him varies. I think we can probably be sure we know all Alexander’s wives, although Barsine’s status is not completely clear (imo). I assume she was at least a palakē, which is a formal mistress: less than a wife, but more than a hetaira. Yet given Macedonian marriage practices, perhaps she was a wife in Macedonian eyes? The Greeks regularly “demoted” Macedonian royal wives to mistresses, so I don’t trust our sources on this score.

Whatever the case, we don’t know all Alexander’s female (or male) sexual liaisons outside his wives because the sources mostly don’t care. When they do care (ala Plutarch and Curtius), it’s for some—often Romanized—moral point. Which is a looong-ass way from anything the Macedonians cared about.

And if we don’t even know his, how can we assume we know his officers’? Hell-to-the-no!

We hear about these women only if they matter to the larger (Alexander-driven) narrative. So we know the name of Philotas’s mistress, Antigonē, because she was hired by Krateros to bring pillow talk back to Alexander. We know Harpalus’s mistresses because he spent oodles of treasury funds on them, and got in trouble for it (twice). We recognize the name Laïs because she later became the long-time mistress (palakē) of Ptolemy I, mother of some of his important offspring in the Successor wars.

Ergo, not knowing the names of Hephaistion’s mistresses—or whether he had any—is not significant. Outside of special circumstance, we wouldn’t expect to.

We DO know the name of his wife from the mass-marriages at Susa in the spring of 324 because she was a princess, sister of Alexander’s wife, and her selection for him had distinct political significance. Yet that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a wife already, back in Macedon. Others of Alexander’s officers did–one reason many promptly divorced their Persian brides after Alexander’s death. I note the possibility largely as it illustrates the level of what we don’t know.

My educated hunch is that Hephaistion’s marriage to Drypetis was his first marriage. And I don’t believe he had any children (even by-blows), or we’d have heard about them as a result of Alexander’s extravagant grief. Yet this is far from saying he had no mistresses—or boyfriends, for that matter.

Regarding Drypetis and his relationship with her…it’s a complete blank. We just don’t know how Hephaistion treated her, what she thought of him, or what he thought of her. They weren’t married long enough. The weddings were in early spring, after ATG got back to Susa following the Gedrosian march/rest in Karmania. He spent a while sorting business in Susa before he went on to Opis (and subsequent unrest/mutiny there). I suspect Hephaistion and Drypetis were married no more than 6-7 months. He died in early/mid-October. She wasn’t pregnant by his death, but given how busy that period was, it could be a function of his duties and lack of time.

As for the beauty of Persian royal/elite women, it seems to have been something remarked upon by more than just Alexander historians. We lack images of Achaemenid Persians, alas, but below is a lapis lazuli bust of among the most famous: Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, wife of Darius, and mother of Xerxes (lived second half of the 6th century BCE). Note the large eyes, high eyebrows (apparently plucked), and small mouth. Given the tendency to idealizing in Ancient Near Eastern art, this suggests what would have been considered high beauty.

Beneath her is a Roman copy of Praxiteles’s original Aphrodite of Knidos—considered the ideal of Greek female beauty in the early-mid 4th century BCE (based on the incomparable Phryne, Praxiteles’s mistress).

Both have an oval face with full cheeks, and we can see Aphrodite’s nicely plump. That meant something! She had enough to eat = wealth. The modern starved-skinny model with long face, strong jaw, and stark cheekbones…that’s attractive now partly owing to what photographs well: prominent features and thinness (because the camera adds pounds). Persians and Greeks preferred rounder features, heart-shaped faces, small bow mouths, soft jaws, and fullness in the body (plump, not overweight). About the only hold-over would be large eyes.

What I haven’t really noted is coloring…other than a preference for pale skin as that signified one had slaves (= rich) and didn’t have to work in the fields outside. Hair color and eye color just wasn’t that big of a deal. Sometimes it comes to the fore: gray-eyed Athena. (Although the word is generic for blue/gray/greenish.) Similar for Apollo and Dionysos, in the Homeric hymns. Dionysos had black hair there (as did Apollo). Both “blond-up” only in the Classical era. And Hera was noted for her extraordinarily beautiful “cow-eyes.” E.g., large and dark-dark brown.

BUT, because I love to support the Gingers of the World…RED-blond hair was considered the most desired in Greece. Aphrodite was a strawberry blonde (at least sometimes), as was Helen…when anybody bothered to note it. And (quite probably) Alexander.

[strangerthings-stans]

Thoughts Throughout My First Watch Through of Stranger Things Season Four:

WARNING: Spoilers and non-sense ahead. As I typed without thought. No think, just awe.

*All these statements were written directly after watching said episode. These are basically live reactions*

Chapter One:

In general, I'm terrified. So, right off the bat. I think Eddie is 010. He has a watch blocking his tattoo. He seemed to almost know what was going to happen to Chrissy and 010 seemed to know things in advance. And you're probably thinking I'm crazy because 010 is dead, but what if he faked his death? If 009 was able to survive, maybe he could too? Anyways. Even if it's left field. Eddie Munson Stan club.

*I needed a two hour break between episodes as I was alone at a cottage in the middle of no where. Absolutely terrified. I know they said this season was going to be scary. But jeez*

Chapter Two:

this episode brought to light how desensitized El is to inflicting pain. Now that the pain she inflicted is not a power, but her own free will, it shows that perhaps there is still a monster in her. Vecna probably shows your biggest fear/regret ... That would explain Freds vision. I'm wondering is Victor Creel is Vecna. It could also be 010 because he is getting vengeance on Eleven. I really don't have much to say about this episode at this present moment.

Chapter Three:

"peters projects"...Is Peter 010 or an experiment? The dinner table scenes are arguably the best scenes for comedic timing in stranger things, prove me wrong. My theory on 010 being Eddie still stands. He seemed unphased by Steve bringing up a friend with powers... But mind you, he could be numb to everything because of trauma. If Sam knows so much about elevens power (given though he is a scientist), then perhaps he has had an inside source?

*You can tell the writers really used the extra time during the hiatus wisely*

Chapter Four:

Absolute chills. As someone who has lost everyone in the last year, I can't help but feel a comfort in this episode. The special effects and practical effects in this episode were above and beyond. It really portrayed what nightmares feels like, fake elements but mostly real. This episode makes me feel bad for moments I felt as though Max's character was slightly lack luster (please please don't hate me because I already hate myself). She is nothing less than amazing. And her bond with Lucas is so pure, they geniuenly want the best for eachother... I wish we would've found out what was in the letter to him- but I'm glad he didn't because that would've been bad. Hopper being reunited with Jif was just so pure, I can't wait to see him reunite with Joyce (at least I hope that happens). Can you imagine him just not letting her say anything and just swooping her in for a kiss? My heart would not be able to handle that. On the note of Russia, I don't think Murray had the coffee... He may have been smart and he is conscience enough to figure out a plan.

Chapter Five:

I don't know how I feel about Brenner being back, and by that I mean, I don't know whether or not I can trust him. I'm so excited to see his character back, but it feels like this is Stockholm syndrome. I felt so bad for hopper this episode, I just felt for him. When he brought back up Sarah, I just cried. As per Eddie, I think the jocks meeting up with him was for the best... So they could maybe put two and two together to see Eddie didn't cause Chrissy's death. I'm really interested to see how the house will play into defeating Vecna (well this is under the impression he will be defeated). Suzie, please come and save the day.

Chapter 6:

I am starting to believe Joyce and Murray could single handedly take over the world. They both balance the chaos in eachother and I just love their dynamic. Speaking of dynamic, Suzie's house just seems like the most chaotic place in the world and part of me wishes that I lived there- I'm sure Argyle thinks the same. I loved his commentary of Eden's name relating it to her religious culture- he was really trying to score the brownie points. I'm also really worried that vecna took Eddie underwater... Last we saw him he was swimming..

Chapter Seven:

I absolutely love a good interrogation scene. And then the insanely smart use of light brights. I hope to save Nancy sings to her. Chefs kiss. Then the Russians. My god. The writers really had me on my toes. It had such high stakes with such high rewards. 1000 to 1. Wow. Just wow. The Reunion between Joyce and Hop- heart melting. To see Hop have his guard up to dropping it because he loves this women so much that he is just taking one minute to embrace her. Oh and then finally El leading to Vecna? I figured Vecna had something to do with the Creel's and I figured a new character this season would be an experiment. This was expected yet not? I should've saw it coming when the kruels little son didn't have the black eyes. I'm wondering if perhaps Terry was artificially inseminated with 001 ... Specimen... And perhaps that's how Brenner knows Eleven is their only hope. That is if Brenner is to be trusted, which that I'm not certain on. To think this isn't the finale.

My theories for the finale episodes of season 4 will be out once I compose myself.

[dolliedarlin]

⏤l o v e s t r u c k 

s u m m a r y : you have a quirk called 'animate' and it's very emotions-based, meaning that if you feel a very strong emotion, you're able to animate things and however strong that emotion is, the stronger it is the things you animate. Also, the pupil of your eyes can change shape or colour in accordance - red for anger and blue for saddness. In battle this is useful for animating weapons and such, however, when you fall in love...it's usefulness isn't always straightforward.

a / n : this is my first time writing for bnha characters so i'm really sorry for any inaccuracies in personalities. also, i, unfortunately, have only been able to think of this imgaine concerning bakugou and todoroki. even so, please enjoy the read!

w a r n i n g s : profanity by the obvious culprit

k a t s u k i  b a k u g o u  

❥ it happened when you saw his passion and drive during practice...

❥ You always held a deep admiration for people who knew what they wanted and fought for it no matter what. Those were your parents, pro heroes who fought for the greater good as well as each other, and you, so you wanted to be like them and make them proud.

❥ Not only that but you were also a fanatic about LOVE.

❥ Your parents may have only had you as their only child but the insurmountable amount of love they had for each other would give birth to over a hundred children.

❥ You wouldn't have minded having younger siblings but you knew that your parents, being pro heroes themselves, were already risking too much with having their relationship public as well as their status as parents.

❥ By hearing them always gushing over how wonderful it feels to be in love and to be loved back as well as seeing how they act around each other - still a pair of love-struck teenagers in love - you were eager to meet the love of your life and fight for him

❥ During training or instances when you have to fight, it's that want to love and be loved that also fuels the power behind your animations. This power has only strengthened the instant you found the person you were destined to stand with forever.

❥ Bakugou Katsuki.

❥ The moment you took the time to look at him, really look at him and understand who he was was during tests and hero training.

❥ He's a skilled fighter with passion and drive. Admittedly, he's as explosive as his quirk and as rude as rude can get but you saw through that every time his eyes narrowed into a focused stare whenever he was fighting or studying.

❥ It really shows through how passionate he is about becoming the number one hero and you found yourself falling hard for him every time you saw the fire behind his eyes.

❥ It was just so attractive; your little heart couldn't take it!

❥ The time you really fell for him was during the final exams.  Yes, he was stubborn but only because he was so determined. Yes, it was a struggle and they almost lost all home but he never gave up. He was the perfect one for you.

❥ Although you were worried and scared for them at the time, your heart skipped many beats and you soon found those hearts being animated around you as you watched on, worried but falling deeply in love.

❥ You know very well that he can protect himself but your love for him encouraged you to protect him at all costs, especially when you saw him in such a vulnerable state. He was never like that so you swore to yourself that you had to get stronger so that he'd never have to be in such a state again.

❥ Not only that but you had to get stronger for yourself as well as Bakugou.

❥ You wanted to protect him but also be worthy enough to stand by his side.

❥ It became easier to train after having fallen for Katsuki, actually. Now that you had someone in mind to push you forward, someone to visualise being by your side through tough times the way he would be there for you as well, only helped you grow stronger and stronger.

❥ Over time, it became obvious to everyone, even Bakugou how deeply in love you were with him. Not a day goes by without you losing your focus during class only to stare at your ash-blonde classmate with animated hearts floating around your head and hearts in your eyes.

❥ Because of that, you found your grades slipping and even though you asked super nicely, even offering a shoulder massage, Bakugou refused to tutor you.

❥ "Now get out of my way heart eyes!" he snapped at you as he shoved you to the side

❥ "But darling~" you whined, "how can I ever hope to become the perfect wife for you if I don't have a good enough education?"

❥ "HEY! Who said I would ever be marrying you?! And Stop Calling Me That!"

❥ "Oh! Would you prefer 'honey', instead? Or 'sweetheart'? Or 'love of my life'?" by now he was a blushing mess but he still had a snarl on his face. The pink in his cheeks was a win for you though so even if he continued to refuse, you wouldn't mind.

❥ "I don't prefer any of those shit names! Now Leave Me Alone!"

❥ "Fine," you grumble with a whimper and he almost felt guilty at the sad look that crossed your delicate features, "I'll just ask Midoriya-kun for help instead-"

❥ "My room! Bring your shit! 6 pm! Don't be late!"

❥ "Oh Darling~ I knew you wouldn't say no to me~"

❥ It was amusing really, to everyone except you and Bakugou, to see your interactions with each other. You were too in love to notice anyone's teasing whilst Bakugou kept being pushed over the edge by his supposed 'friends'.

❥ "Friends my ass," he grumbled as they whispered behind him about how hilarious it was to watch you pinning for him.

❥ It wasn't funny! It was serious! You were serious about him and he knows it, you said it yourself.

❥ "Stop overdoing it dumbass," he glares down at your exhausted, panting form. It seems as though you were doing extra training atop his tutoring sessions.

❥ "but..." you looked up at him with a tired smile, "I can't be the perfect wife until I'm strong enough to stand beside you..."

❥ He didn't know what to say except for, "I'd rather have a wife that can cook and have good grades at school than a dead one from fatigue," he helps you up and takes you back to the dorms. He didn't know why the hell he said that but you didn't say anything so he assumed you just didn't hear him in your worn state.

❥ After that day, however, you insisted on cooking every day and finally got your grades up. You almost beat him in scores, actually. It was surprising but it proved how serious you were about your love for him. He almost became soft for you.

❥ "Stop doing so much heart eyes," he growled as he saw you making breakfast in the early morning.

❥ "But I need to become a good wife for you, Darling~" you chirped happily as you poured him some apple juice, "and to do that I have to be a good cook - just like you said!"

❥ "Tch! How are you so sure you'll stay interested? You'll find someone else eventually," Bakugou always saying nonsense thoughtlessly whenever he was around you and it was beginning to get on his nerves. He didn't care about this shit, so why in the hell was he saying it to you?

❥ "Nonsense," you huffed adorably, hands on your waist as you turned to him with a frown after lowering the heat on your heart-shaped cinnamon pancakes, "you're the love of my life, there's no one else on this earth that I would ever want except you Katsuki," you flashed him a close-eyed smile, "You're my one and only, Darling~"

❥ He begins to shout out of habit before turning away so you don't see his blush, "Shut up with that bullshit! Your dumb pancakes are gonna burn!" you didn't see his face did you?

❥  In your perspective, you still had a long way to go before you could ever reach Bakugou's standards and finally stand by his side when in actuality you had unknowingly made him want to stand beside you by just being yourself.

s h o t o  t o d o r o k i

❥ it happened when you saw him smiling for the first time...

❥ The moment you first met Todoroki, you were determined to make him your friend.

❥ No matter how many times he had pushed you away, you were never deterred, in fact, it only fueled your determination in befriending him.

❥ It hurt you to see someone so closed off and without a clue as to how amazing it felt to feel loved and return that love, whether it be romantic or platonic.

❥ You wanted Todoroki to feel that beautiful feeling as well.

❥ All your life, you always had a very loving home with many younger siblings that you adore taking care of. Despite the occasional tantrums that they would act out, they were still the sweetest kids in your eyes and you would do anything for them

❥ Obviously, growing up in such a warm environment made you a very compassionate and empathetic person, even your quirk stemmed off of that which proved to be an advantage in your journey to becoming a hero

❥ The more emotional you were - regardless of if you were extremely happy or angry - that became your source of power in battles, meaning that the things you animated became all the more powerful on the field. The more you wanted to save someone from evil, the stronger you were.

❥ That was the obvious advantage but...that wasn't the case for when you wanted to be subtle about feeling intense emotions like...

❥ falling in love

❥ You didn't expect it with Todoroki, however.

❥ At the end of the day, he was your dear friend through and through. It took a lot of hard work and persistence for him to finally put his trust in you and return your friendship

❥ You didn't want to sabotage all that hard work. He was just beginning to reciprocate your friendly gestures, gestures that you would almost cry over each time because it felt like such a big step for him.

❥ It made you feel such pride when you saw him lose the cold look in his eyes and finally relax when talking with others and engaging in friendly activities

❥ Admittedly, Todoroki was still blunt and clueless to some things but he had all the time in the world to work on that. Having already taken the first step himself, the momentum for his exploration in emotions and opening up to others had begun and you're sure everything will just fall into place after that.

❥ Of course, he still needed some assistance so you had been helping him understand certain emotions and why people would feel a certain way under different circumstances.

❥ It was honestly the cutest thing and you were beyond happy to help satiate his curious mind on various topics he never had a straight answer for.

❥ EXCEPT for studies...he was better than you in that regard most definitely- yep! He's the one that needs to help you if that were the case.

❥ "I don't understand how you could get such a simple question wrong, (Y/N)..." he mused, genuinely dumbfounded at how horribly you failed at answering the practice question.

❥ "Please just help me, Todoroki-kun," you whined, flushing in shame at how horrible you were at English.

❥ "I apologise," he gives a soft bow of his head as you smile and wave off his apology before... "but I really am curious, even a little bit concerned for you,"

❥ "Just help me!"

❥ Not only did you need help in studies, you needed help with hero training. So you trained together. The two of you were dedicated students and always provided great input on ways of improving technique and approaches towards attacks. You made a perfect oblivious pair.

❥ The time your feelings decided to show was when the two of you had just finished sparing and it had been your turn to pay for an icy treat as a reward for such hard work. After making a short stop at the convenience store, you were now on your way back to the dorms happily chatting with ice creams in hand.

❥ "Is it weird to want to become closer to someone..." Todoroki stares at his icicle curiously, "someone that's close to you and is always there for you?" he feels a warmth in his cheeks that he's always having to suppress around you, it was never easy but he always succeeded.

❥ All he had to do was just think about you being in danger and being unable to help. That set his flustered state back to normal right away despite the sinking feeling he felt in his heart.

❥ "It's normal to feel that way," you assure, taking another taste of your ice cream, "there's no shame in that and it's definitely not weird,"

❥ "Oh," you flash him another reassuring glance as his lips tug up into a soft smile, "I'm glad,"

❥ That was when it happened.

❥ The setting sun had framed his smiling figure with a soft glow and you were instantly the victim of his content disposition. You knew he was handsome but...he looked all the more ethereal when he was smiling - smiling in the sunlight.

❥ The glow made his hair look like freshly fallen snow beside polished rubies as his eyes, one grey and one a paralysing blue captured the twinkling essence of the sunshine perfectly. His chiseled jaw cast a shadow across his neck, further defining his proportioned features as his angular nose gave him the desired picture-perfect side profile.

❥ If he didn't resemble the embodiment of perfection then and there, you don't know what did.

❥ As you stood dumbfounded, Todoroki had turned around, having walked several steps ahead of you and was stunned into his own silence.

❥ There you stood, a meter or so behind him with animated red hearts floating around your head, your stare was fixed solely on him as you let your coned ice cream gradually melt under the heated gaze of the sun; it's stickiness attempting to glue your fingers together.

❥ This wasn't the first time he had seen your animate quirk illustrate your emotions. He remembers you explaining that whenever you felt a strong emotion, whether it be happy or sad, you would lose control of your quirk and it would animate whatever it was that you were feeling.

❥ One time, you had ranked really low on an English test and a raincloud animated itself above you before it proceeded to soak you in rain. That day he had let you borrow his blazer to avoid Mineta's perverted staring and offered his tutelage on the subject.

❥ This is new. He wonders what strong emotion you were feeling. Hearts...what did hearts represent? Love...right?

❥ He looks around before his eyes landed on your icecream. Did you love your ice cream so much that you didn't want to eat it and just let it melt in your hand? He frowns. No, that can't be it.

❥ Could it be him?

❥ "(Y/N)..."

❥ if only he smiled more...-no!

❥"(Y/N)?"

❥ That would mean more people would see his soft handsome features and you can't have that! You are the first person he showed that side of himself to so you should be the only one allowed to ever witness it again-right? Or is that too selfish-?

❥ "(Y/N)?!" thankfully, Todoroki was able to successfully snap you out of your daze.

❥ "O-Oh! Sorry Todoroki-kun," you blushed in apology, looking to the side in embarrassment, only to squeal in shock horror when you notice the hearts floating around you. Shouting nonsense in between constant 'I'm sorry's, you waved the hearts away, "I-I'm really truly s-sor-"

❥ If it weren't for Todoroki taking your free hand in his own and tugging you back along the way to the dorms once more, you would have uttered your hundredth apology but, instead, you were left a stuttering and blushing mess, your animated hearts making their comeback floating around your head.

❥ As soon as you're right next to him, he lets go of your hand and pulls you closer by the waist. By now the hearts have begun to float around him and, although you were embarrassed beyond belief with your gaze fixed to the floor, Todoroki smiled even wider before leaning down to gently kiss your temple

❥ "Now, I know you weren't lying to me," this caught your attention albeit you were still a flustered mess of a person, "this feeling is so normal the other person feels the same way too, right?"

❥ You didn't know how to respond to that. Smile or faint from too much blood rushing to your head?

❥ How about both?

n a v i . | bnha mlist

[tigerkirby215]

5e Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Suke “hugehugesword” Su. Made for Riot Games.)

In my constant and continued effort to deny Ezreal’s existence I finally had to get around to building him. Again it’s not that I don’t like him... I mean I don’t. But I kinda forgot what I was going to build him as. Lol.

Dorans & Dragons also made a build for Ezreal back in like... early 2020. Christ that’s before the world went to shit, ain’t it? Well regardless they also made their build before Tasha’s Cauldron came out and I think I can make a build that is different enough to warrant my build existing alongside theirs.

In short: this is an elaborate excuse for me to make another Artificer build.

GOALS

Gawk at this! - We need many a glowing projectile to spam at foes before blowing them up. Ezreal isn’t the type to just autoattack.

I always know a shortcut - Flash on a 15 second cooldown is nice. We’ll need to be able to blink around constantly throughout the entire fight.

Time to show 'em who's best - Nothing’s more dangerous than a well-placed Trueshot Barrage sniping through the entire enemy team.

RACE

Back to good ol’ Variant Human. As a Variant Human you can increase two of your ability scores by 1: increase your Intelligence and your Charisma, to be the hot smart twink you are. You also learn a Language of your choice along with a Skill of choice. You spent plenty of time studying The Void so Abyssal would make sense as a language, and for your skill Perception would help you spot traps or incoming ganks... as long as you remember to ward.

For your feat we’re going to be grabbing Arcane Shift as fast as possible with Fey Touched so you can start Flashing. (Not like that!) You can increase your Intelligence score by 1 and also learn the Misty Step spell. You can also add a Divination or Enchantment spell to your list and a little Heroism never hurt anyone. You can cast both of these spells once without spending a spell slot, and can then spend spell slots on them after the fact.

ABILITY SCORES

15; INTELLIGENCE - Archeology is a lot of history and facts... If you do it the boring way, that is!

14; DEXTERITY - Repeat it after me: “something something Medium armor.”

13; CHARISMA - You’re a pretty boy twink who got at least two girls on the Rift to fall for you.

12; WISDOM - Traveling through ancient temples and traps takes a degree of common sense. Not necessarily common sense you have, but a bit of boost never hurt.

10; CONSTITUTION - You’re an ADC, which means you’re squishy.

8; STRENGTH - Twink.

Feel free to swap Constitution around with another stat for better health but worse roleplay.

BACKGROUND

“Archaeologist” is just the nice way of saying Tomb Raider, which is the mean way of saying Adventurer! You get proficiency with History and Survival (hey you’ve gotta tough it out in the desert sometimes!) You also get proficiency in a language of your choice (I went for Dwarvish because Dwarves seem to have built most ruins) and proficiency in either Navigator’s Tools or Cartographer’s Tools... “Who needs a map?”

You spent enough time in ruins to pick up some Historical Knowledge on ancient dungeons and temples to know who made them. And if you find anything that belongs in a museum you know how much it’s worth to the museum!

(Artwork by Sangsoo Jeong. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ARTIFICER 1

Starting off as Artificer to “borrow” a few inventions. But also because you get training in Arcana to know your magical artifacts, Investigation to find said magical artifacts, and Calligrapher’s Tools to slay Ascended and Darkin alike in one blow. You also get Magical Tinkering to wave that gauntlet of yours around on some Tiny objects, making them glow or play sounds or do all sorts of things that Prestidigitation would probably do better. But at least you can play your own theme music too!

But of course the main appeal of being an Artificer is the Spellcasting. You can learn two cantrips from the Artificer list like Message to coordinate with your support and Guidance to help yourself find treasure! (Or help others I guess.) You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your Artificer level (rounded down.) Cure Wounds will let you summoner spell Heal yourself or your Support. Faerie Fire will serve as a more basic version of your Essence Flux, making an enemy easier to hit (therefor making them take more damage!) And Feather Fall is always useful in a pinch!

Also yes you don’t have your gauntlet yet so you’re going to have to use a Light Crossbow for now. Feel free to take a combat cantrip if you want but you don’t really need it.

LEVEL 2 - ARTIFICER 2

Second level Artificers can make Infusions, special definitely-not-stolen magical treasures that make them more awesome than everyone else. For a little more AD an Enhanced Weapon is useful to have. You can also put those goggles on your head to use by making Goggles of Night to see with your dumb human eyes. A Mind Sharpener may feel like a cheat, but I’m not going to say no to keeping Concentration in check. And for your final infusion? A Rope of Climbing might be useful? Honestly the more impressive stuff comes after you’ve done a bit more exploring.

You can also prepare another spell like Alarm, just in case someone’s planning to steal your... legitimately earned treasure.

LEVEL 3 - ARTIFICER 3

Third level Artificers get to choose their specialty and Armorers don’t have to wear an entire suit of armor; just a gauntlet! Along with proficiency in Smith’s Tools you can turn any suit of armor you find into Arcane Armor. The armor has a variety of benefits: no Strength requirement, the inability to have your armor removed against your will, the ability to take it off or put it on as an action, and some replacement limbs. But notably it works as an Artificer spell focus!

There’s two different Armor Models and we’ll be going for the Infiltrator variant for a Lightning Launcher. This makes your Gauntlet a weapon that deals a d6 of lightning damage, with a regular range of 90 and a long range of 300 in case you want to go for long ranged snipes. Additionally once per turn you can pop Essence Flux to do an extra d6 of damage on hit! And I didn’t even mention the best part: this works off your Intelligence! So no more need for the crossbow.

You also get your boots for Powered Steps, increasing your movement speed by 5 feet. And thanks to your Dampening Field you can hide in bushes with free Stealth advantage! I’d recommend trying to get a Breastplate because that’s the best armor you can get that doesn’t also impose stealth disadvantage, but even with Half Plate you can still be sneaky! Heck, you can even wear Platemail if you want! "And my boots are not waterproof. Fantastic."

Oh and you get some Armorer Spells! Magic Missile will autoaim for you like your Arcane Shift projectile, and Thunderwave is helpful for some self-peel.

LEVEL 4 - ARTIFICER 4

4th level Artificers get an Ability Score Improvement: seeing as we have uneven Intelligence take the Observant feat for +1 Intelligence and a boost to your passive Perception and Investigation to watch the minimap for people to snipe! Additionally you can spy on the bad guys if you want and read their lips to gain knowledge of all their secret plans!

More Intelligence does also usually mean more spells prepared but I’m going to wait for...

(Artwork by Xu “Crow God” Cheng. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - ARTIFICER 5

5th level Armorers up their Attack Speed with Rising Spell Force, gaining an Extra Attack with the attack action!

You also get Mirror Image and Shatter added to your list of Armorer Spells, and can prepare spells like Rope Trick for a safe place to rest for awhile, and Heat Metal to really lay in that Essence Flux.

LEVEL 6 - ARTIFICER 6

6th level Artificers get more Infusions which is what I was waiting for! A Radiant Weapon is all the fun of an Enhanced Weapon but it also doubles as a flashlight for your dumb human eyes! And Boots of the Winding Path will let you Arcane Shift back to safety in case you accidentally run into danger.

Feel free to swap some of your old infusions around too. A Lantern of Revealing or Cloak of Elvenkind would be helpful... and Gloves of Thievery never hurt anyone.

And finally you can prepare Aid, as your natural awesomeness rubs off on your allies. "Oh, please, don't die. I can't lose a sidekick. Not again."

LEVEL 7 - WIZARD 1

You didn’t think this would just be a pure Artificer build, did you? Even if that would’ve been stronger I’m legally obligated to needlessly stick multiclass levels into all my builds. And Wizard is definitely a good multiclass for more slots to do Spellcasting! You learn 3 cantrips and six leveled spells as a first level Wizard:

CANTRIPS

To help your allies land their shots take Mind Sliver to weaken an enemy’s saving throws.

Prestidigitation will let you do a bunch of simple magic, and if you want you can have your own hero music too!

Finally Friends is good to make friends you don’t mind losing after they tell you where the ancient ruins are.

SPELLS

I basically just took everything with the Ritual tag. Alarm (yes you have it as an Artificer spell but you can swap that out), Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Identify, Tenser’s Floating Disk... and sure why not Find Familiar too? Seeing as you can ritual cast at will most of your early level stuff is going to be reserved for Ritual Casting, as you’re probably going to be spending most of your first level slots on Magic Missile and Faerie Fire anyways.

You also get Arcane Recovery, letting you recover spell slots equal to half your Wizard level (rounded up.) So right now you can get a first level spell slot back at the end of a Short Rest! And later on you can get more!

LEVEL 8 - WIZARD 2

Second level Wizards get to choose the school that their parents left them in before disappearing in the jungle, and the School of Evocation has a surprise tool that will help us later. Along with being an Evocation Savant (allowing you to copy Evocation spells into your spell book with half the time and cost) you can Sculpt Spells so that they only hit the bad guys: when you cast an Evocation spell (from any class, not just Wizard!) you can choose a number creatures equal to the spell’s level + 1. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save. This will be really useful when we get our (pseudo-)Global ultimate; wouldn’t want to fry your pals now would you?

We may as well grab some of those Evocation spells, right? Earth Tremor will let you hit an AoE Mystic Shot because Riot decided that Tiamat should have a cleave I guess, and I mean... Shield is never a bad thing to have?

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - ARTIFICER 7

Back to the big brain plays: 7th level Artificers can make the biggest brain plays thanks to Flash of Genius, letting you boost an ally’s skill check or saving throw with your own natural perfection. The boost is equal to your Intelligence modifier and you can use this reaction a number of times equal to double your Intelligence modifier.

LEVEL 10 - ARTIFICER 8

8th level Artificers get another Ability Score Improvement? Well seeing as Intelligence still controls just about everything we do it would do good to increase that by 2! That does mean you can prepare more spells (both as a Wizard and as an Artificer) but I’m going to wait for...

LEVEL 11 - ARTIFICER 9

Every ADC dreams of being six-slotted; now you can be with Armor Modifications! Your Armorer armor counts as 4 separate items for the sake of your Infusions: the chest piece, boots, helmet, and the armor’s special weapon can all be infused. Far more importantly however you can have two extra infusions! Those infusions have to be on your armor, but you can put the Radiant Weapon (weapon) and Goggles of Night (helmet) onto your armor and save your other infusions for your allies! Or for yourself; yourself works too.

And we can’t forget the third level spells! You get Hypnotic Pattern from your Armorer Spells for an AoE stun, but far more importantly you get Lightning Bolt which will serve as Trueshot Barrage! And since you’re an Evocation Wizard you can shoot past your friends without blowing them to bits. "Oh, a plan. Yeah, I totally have one of those."

You can also prepare spells like Haste for more DPS (just don’t get stunned), Blink for some Duskblade invisibility, and replace Alarm with Revifify... Ya know: just in case.

LEVEL 12 - ARTIFICER 10

As an ADC it would be good to get six-slotted, and Magic Item Adept lets you get your 4th Legendary item! That’s because you can now attune to 4 magic items at once! (And can also craft Common and Uncommon magic items more easily.)

Speaking of Infusions, we can make more of them, such as a Cloak of Protection or Winged Boots! These are just generally useful but not really Ezreal specific; they’re mostly for your allies. "The gauntlet's for show... the talent's all me."

You can also prepare another spell like Fly which is just universally useful, and holy shit you get another cantrip. Take Mage Hand and maybe try to be a little more cautious when tomb raiding?

(Artwork by Bo “chenbowow” Chen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - ARTIFICER 11

Do you want a lot more Mystic Shots? 11th level Artificers can make a Spell Storing Item and put an Artificer spell of first or second level inside. What’s cool about this is that anyone can use it, allowing them to cast the spell as if they were you!

My recommendation? Give them Mirror Image. It’s an amazing buff that doesn’t require Concentration. Even a low DEX Paladin will appreciate the chance to not be hit, and a high DEX ally can really get value out of Mirror Image. Yeah the Barbarian technically can’t cast while raging, but they can use this before going into a Rage to be very hard to hit!

And speaking of spells you can prepare another one, so how about you grab Create Food and Water to keep yourself sated on longer archeological trips. "Why didn't I eat before I got here...? Ezreal, why?!”

LEVEL 14 - ARITIFCER 12

12th level Artificers get another Ability Score Improvement... we got all we need in terms of stats (Intelligence lol) so now it’s time to really make some impressive trick shots: the Sharpshooter feat will let you attack at long range without disadvantage and ignore cover bonuses, but most importantly you can take a -5 to your attack roll for a whopping +10 to damage! Don’t use this on high AC targets obviously but if you think you’ll hit why not go for the one-shot? "No applause, please. ...Okay, maybe just a bit of thunderous acclaim. ...A little?"

LEVEL 15 - WIZARD 3

I do still want more spell slots, as well as more spells known! Truthfully there isn’t too much I want from second level, so take Locate Object to find hidden treasure and Augry (added to the Wizard spell list thanks to Tasha’s!) to know what to expect in the next dungeon... sorta. "No plan survives first contact with me."

LEVEL 16 - WIZARD 4

4th level Wizards get an Ability Score Improvement: we got all the abilities we wanted really, so why not Get Lucky? The Lucky Feat will give you a bit of anime protagonist power to guarantee that you make the perfect daring escape. Feel free to take Warcaster or just increase your Constitution however; by this point Ability Scores don’t matter too much.

You can also learn two more spells like Melf’s Acid Arrow for another Essence Flux-esque DoT ability and See Invisibility, in case you need a Sweeper Lense to deal with any clowns.

LEVEL 17 - WIZARD 5

Ima be honest I kinda just wanted third level for Thunder Step to get an Arcane Shift that does damage. Artificer 18 / Wizard 2 (or even just Artificer 20) would’ve been a fine build for Ezeal too, if you don’t think this one spell is worth a 5 level class dip.

Anyways you also learn another cantrip and I mean... you may as well take Shocking Grasp for some defense up close? You also get one other spell and I’m gonna suggest Galder’s Tower this time which is like Tiny Hut... but awesome. And really small. This is mostly just a way for me to talk about a fun spell and also recommend my homebrew fix for it.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - ARTIFICER 13

You got third level spells as a Wizard, you can now prepare 4th level spells as an Artificer! Fire Shield and Greater Invisibility are both available as Armorer Spells, one of which is far more useful for you than the other one. Bro imagine how crazy Evelynn would be with Evelynn’s passive. But yeah feel free to swap around your prepared spells a bit for more 4th level spells, since you definitely have the slots to do so.

LEVEL 19 - ARTIFICER 14

14th level Artificers are Magic Item Savants who can attune to 5 magic items at once, meaning that along with your boots which are technically magical but whatever you can finally be properly six-slotted! But far more importantly you can attune to any item, regardless of any class or race restrictions tied to the item!  "I can't get hauled into wizard court again. Technically I don't have a permit for the gauntlet."

Speaking of more attunement: more Infusions. An Amulet of Health will let you boost your bad Constitution from a 10 to a 19, giving you a solid 76 health boost near max level! Other than that more movement speed is never a bad thing, and Boots of Speed may give you more value than your other magic boots.

But holy shit forget all that because you finally get your 4th Artificer cantrip! Grab Mending because somehow we don’t have that yet; gotta keep your outfit in check! Oh and you can get around to preparing another 4th level spell! Truth be told though the 4th level spells for Artificer are kinda... bad? But at least Tasha’s gave us Summon Construct which is a surprisingly strong summon!

"Last time I was in Shurima, I decoded some glyphs. Something about a jackal head... End of times... The usual. All I wanted was this ruby scarab. It looks great on my mantle."

LEVEL 20 - ARTIFICER 15

Our final level is the 15th level of Artificer for the Perfected Armor Armorer capstone. When you shoot an enemy you mark them with Essence Flux, giving them disadvantage to hit you. In addition the next attack (including your own I’m pretty sure!) has Advantage against the enemy while they’re marked with  Essence Flux, and if they’re hit they’ll take an extra d6 of Lightning damage!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Blast 'em, gauntlet! - With your capstone ability you do 4d6 + 10 damage with your Lightning Launcher, and that’s before using Sharpshooter. Even without your capstone 3d6 + 10 is still really good damage output, especially when you can cast spells for big bursts of damage.

See if you can handle this! - Speaking of spells your slots go all the way up to 7th level, and while you’ll mostly just be upcasting a 12d6 Lightning Bolt is nothing to sneeze at! Not to mention other options like a 7d8 Fire damage Heat Metal or +30 HP Aid.

If anyone asks, I didn't see any of these priceless artifacts for sale - It goes without saying that having two more attunement slots than the average character is massive, especially when you can stick infusions onto your armor to maximize the amount of treasures on your person.

CONS

I wasn't strong enough? - Investing fully in INT gives us maxed out combat stats but it leaves a lot of our other abilities lacking. We’re nowhere near Charismatic enough to sell (somewhat) illegitimately gotten gains, and while Infusions can help augment our health (and even our Strength if you grab a Belt of Giant’s Strength) your Wisdom and even your Dexterity are rather mediocre, which is bad for both skill checks and saving throws.

Impossible comebacks are sorta my specialty - Most of your coolest stuff is tied to spell slots and other Long Rest dependent mechanics, and while you have a lot of spell slots (as well as Arcane Recovery to get some of them back) they are still quite limited. You’re perfectly viable as just an auto-attack and Q spammer, but who doesn’t want to shoot lasers and explosions, ya know?

Never met a problem that I couldn't blast away with magic... that I don't even understand - 5 levels in Wizard give us big spell slots but that’s about it, and yeah a 7d6 Lightning Bolt (that won’t hit your allies) is nothing to sneeze at but for the most part you are more of a Martial character. Just saying that level 18 of Artificer would’ve given you Magic Item Master for a whole 6 attunement slots! And level 20 of Artificer would’ve given you Soul of Artifice, essentially operating as a +6 to all saving throws and a 6 time use Guardian Angel.

But if a teamfight breaks out you’re more than a capable ADC. Artificers are the masters of magic items and it doesn’t matter if you make them yourself or “borrow” them from an ancient tomb; you can be the hero mom and dad always wanted you to be! Just concentrate on your farm in the early game and don’t take unnecessary risks. You may be the perfect man of magic but you’re not immortal, despite what the ADCs I’m forced to support always seem to think.

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuesting. Made for Riot Games.)

[introvertguide]

Star Wars (1977); AFI #13

In honor of May 4th and the original movie that started it all, the group reviewed Star Wars (1977). Nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning 6 with one extra special achievement award for Sound, this is perhaps the most highly decorated science fiction movie of all time. The special effects and the music were especially moving making the Star Wars experience something amazing to behold. I was lucky enough to see one of the re-releases in the theatre back in the mid 80s. In fact, I might well have seen the film 100 times over my life. The music might be the most well known soundtrack globally. With inflation, this is the 4th highest grossing film of all time. It is truly a fantastic work and I would like to now spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Let me start with the usual:

SPOILER WARNING!!! I DON'T THINK THERE ARE MANY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM, BUT FOR THOSE FEW THAT DON'T KNOW, I AM GOING TO RUIN THE PLOT!!! STOP NOW AND GO WATCH IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!!

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Amid a galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a massive space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Imperial Senator Princess Leia of Alderaan (Carrie Fisher), secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics (this entire effort was originally a throwaway concept but was completely fleshed out in Rogue One almost 40 years later) , but her starship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Darth Vader (acted by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones). The movie is just starting and the odds against the rebels are shown by the scale of the two ships. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of an astromech droid called R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), who flees in an escape pod to the desert planet Tatooine accompanied by protocol droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).

The droids are captured by Jawa traders (little shiny eyed beings who are now meme legends), who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, part of a holographic recording of Leia starts playing a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi where she requests his help ("Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!"). Later, after Luke finds R2-D2 missing, he is attacked by scavenging Sand People while searching for him, but is rescued by elderly hermit "Old Ben" Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness), an acquaintance of Luke's, who reveals that "Obi-Wan" is his true name. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his days as one of the Jedi Knights, the former peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic who drew mystical abilities from a metaphysical energy field known as "the Force", but were ultimately hunted to near-extinction by the Empire. Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars (another throwaway concept that was eventually fleshed out) until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan presents Luke with his father's old lightsaber, the signature weapon of Jedi Knights. The connection between Darth Vader and Luke's father is explored in depth during the next eight films.

R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father, a fellow veteran, for analysis. Although Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force, he is left with no choice after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers have killed his aunt and uncle and destroyed their farm in their search for the droids (cue the Academy and Grammy Award winning theme music composed by John Williams). Traveling to a cantina in Mos Eisley to search for transport, Luke and Obi-Wan hire Han Solo (Harrison Ford), a smuggler with a price on his head due to his debt to local mobster Jabba the Hutt. Pursued by stormtroopers, Obi-Wan, Luke, R2-D2 and C-3PO flee Tatooine with Han and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) on their ship the Millennium Falcon. As they reach the planet's orbit, two Star Destroyers try to intercept them, but Han is able to jump to hyperspace by reaching lightspeed.

Before the Falcon can reach Alderaan, Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) interrogates Leia about the location of the Rebels's secret base, with the threat of destroying her home planet, and, when she answers that the base is on Dantooine, he orders Alderaan destroyed simply as a show of force. As the group arrives in the asteroid field that now stands in place of Alderaan, Han spots an Imperial TIE fighter and is taunted into chasing it and shooting it down, allowing the Falcon to be captured by the space station's tractor beam. Inside the Death Star, Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam, and Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia after discovering that she is scheduled to be executed. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices his life in an epic lightsaber duel with Vader, allowing the rest of the group to escape the Death Star with Leia. Using a tracking device, the Empire tracks the Falcon to the hidden Rebel base.

Leia's schematics reveal a hidden weakness in the Death Star's thermal exhaust port, which could allow the Rebels to trigger a chain reaction in its main reactor with a precise torpedo strike. While Han abandons the Rebels after collecting his reward for rescuing Leia, Luke joins their starfighter squadron in a desperate attack against the approaching Death Star. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffer heavy losses as Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters against them, but Han unexpectedly returns to aid them in the Falcon, narrowly managing to save Luke before Vader can shoot him down. Guided by the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke turns off his targeting computer and uses the Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, destroying the Death Star moments before it fires on the Rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony at the base, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism.

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I want to explain the connection between this movie and the Joseph Campbell version of the hero's journey that so many people have pointed out. This journey starts out with a call to adventure that is refused and then forced (Luke is given an opportunity to leave, he declines, the death of his family pushes him forward, he leaves with his team). Campbell then predicts an initiation that involves meeting a woman and gaining weapons, a meeting with an incredible power, and an achievement of the hero's power (goes to star destroyer, meets Vader and loses Obi-Wan, gains power over force). The story ends with a refusal, a magic flight, a rescue from without, and a hero's return (Luke goes to attack the Death Star, Han refuses and then eventually saves him, and the day is saved so the heroes are rewarded). It is a story that is called the Monomyth and has been recognized in Greek myths that are thousands of years old. It is a good story that has been proven to work and it makes for one of the most enjoyable movies of all time.

There was some negative opinions of the film because it is such a simple old story that became extremely popular and film goers would no longer be interested in intelligent thinking movies. It is kind of the truth because blockbuster summer films are full of explosions. The highest grossing films since then have tended to be highly explosive action films. Films like Star Wars, Jaws, and Indiana Jones are a lot of fun, but they are not super deep. They are easy to understand at surface level, but they can also be interpreted to mean much more significant things. The choice of the viewer about whether the story has deep inner meaning or is just the Odyssey in space is personal and likely colors opinions about how good it is. Some people think it is stupid fun while others have actually formed religions around the idea of the force.

One thing is for certain, the formula worked amazingly well for a large group of people and this made movie producers want to copy it. This is what is generally called a watershed moment because the look of movies changed significantly. There were so many more space operas and they all had that worn post-apocalyptic look to them. Star Wars and Mad Max combined to give a different look of what futuristic was. There was advanced tech in some cases, but there was a scorched Earth that had run out of resources and people suffered. Think about how many movies and television shows there are that have come out since the 80s and combine industrial tech for space and distressed almost Western appearances for the planets. The movie changed the way many people see the future.

One thing that is inarguably great was the score. I am not going to try and describe it with words, I am just going to put links to the different themes here so you can hear for yourself:

Star Wars Main Theme (Full) - YouTube

Star Wars- The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) - YouTube

Princess Leia's Theme - YouTube

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (1977) Soundtrack 11 Cantina Band - YouTube

This is somewhat strange for the AFI so I went back and checked, but I believe that this is the only film with a ranked villain (Darth Vader), hero (Han Solo), and theme song (Main Theme). Even if it is somewhat simplistic from some perspectives, the story and the songs and the sounds and the characters speak to those who watch it. Seeing the movie is an incredible experience and I envy those who get to see it for the first time.

I am a big fan of the original Star Wars trilogy and I could completely nerd out going over all of the little things throughout the movie, but this is not a deep dive but instead an overall review. So does it belong on the AFI top 100? Maybe more than any other movie. It is an epic tale that changed the way movies were made across multiple genres. We could probably look at all science fiction films and put them as before or after this one. It is an important piece of American film and (no matter what anyone thinks of the other Star Wars films or George Lucas) it is a masterpiece. Would I recommend it? I cannot say yes enough. It is part of my culture as a California movie nerd and understanding this film is understanding some of the basic knowledge I grew up with. All sticks are swung around like light sabers. If I say "Princess Leia hair," everyone around here knows exactly what I mean. If something is impossible but still needs to be done, we tell people to use the force. I have lived in the Bay Area for 20 years and I can still reference a location by how close it is to Skywalker Ranch were George Lucas worked on movies. Please check out this film and you will know why I am such a fan of movies.