#i wonder what sort of scenarios nagi thinks about in his head when he has a crush :3

[garoujo]

nagi thinks about you ♡

omigosh nonnie im not above crying over this ໒꒰ ྀི ′̥̥̥ ᵔ ‵̥̥̥ ꒱ྀིა its early snifle ! ily <3

[tumblunni]

Also yeah while im on the subject

I really hate fantasy settings where magic is limited by biological sex. Because usually its used to enforce some sort of stupid gender stereotype that the writer believes is "biologically innate" rather than predjudice, by making up a world where it actually is biologically innate. Or its like "oh but women cant do those jobs" but again, a made up excuse for it to be LITERALLY TRUE. And usually they either dont even touch on the subject of trans and gay people (since it often conflates heterosexuality with gender...) or else it actually does bring it up and just creates a cavalcade of even more everything-ism...

Like i mean i love the game Jade Coccoon and considering it came out in the early 2000s i can understand it being more sexist, and its supossed to be a dark game anyway and a lot of the societal structures in Syrus Village are meant to be wrong and evil even if the characters act like its the way the world should be. The villain of the game is basically the toxic atmosphere of your shitty town and their paranoia of things they don't understand. Tho that means the player kinda has no motivation to finish it cos the main conflict is also saving those same villagers from dying and theyre all fucks. Anyway i'm going offtopic! What i mena is that i dont think it was a particularly sexist example of the inexplicable gender segregated magic trope. But just cos its a fave game of mine im gonna pick it to talk about anyway. Hope i dont sound too negative on it, cos seriously i love it loads!

Ok so to use Jade Cocoon as an example, here its a thing that only men can be cocoon masters and only women can be nagi. Tho it also gets a bit complicated because nagi is also an ethnicity as well? Its kinda like being romani, they're a race of displaced people who travel the world giving their magical services to other countries while searching for their lost homeland, which you end up finding at the end of the game. So yeah its extra weird cos male children of the nagi race are born with no powers whatsoever and cant even become cocoon masters, yet they get the ruling position in this homeland place? Like thats a better metaphor for how christian societies work, honestly!

Anyway im going offtopic again!

Basically, cocoon master = adventurer dude who catches monsters, nagi = magician who purifies those monsters so you can use them in battle. So when you catch stuff it becomes an inventory item rather than being able to use it on your team right away. And also nagi women can fuse monsters together to make super badass new ones and basically the gameplay system works really well to make you believe your wife is absolutely necessary to your quest and you would die without her, even if she cant fight. And honestly its actually kinda romantic! I just wish it wasnt presented as this weird sacred heterosexuality arranged marriage nonsense where all women are physically unable to go to a dungeon and all men are physically unable to not fight every day. Or at least thats how the powers work and if you try and step out of that role you fuckin die. Like it would be romantic to have a couple of a battle partner and a supporter magician if they actually chose it, yknow?

And whats annoying is that they actually do bring up the subject of people defying gender roles and canonically state that you not omly die but bring a curse upon everyone and are hated forever. They dont mention trans or gay people, instead the excuse is that a man loved his wife so much that he tried to learn nagi magic to lift the burden from her. Cos oh yeaj women get 'punished' by god for doing this magic?? Cursed tattoos all over their body the more they use it, and everyone hates them and eventually they turn into a fairy and forget they were ever human. And in the japanese version you can actually fight other nagi women who met this fate, theyre just another monster that you can fight and capture. They were censored in english cos they looked like really racist stereotypes of black women! Ugh! So yeah anyway nice straight husband is punished by the magic straightness enforcing rules of the universe for loving his straight wife too much. So what is the even point? If a man tries to use nagi magic it creates the "black cocoon" of cursed doomness and blah. Literal punishment for not conforming to gender. Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

Anyway this setting always made me wonder about all the stuff it just glosses over with this implication that every one of these relationships worked out fine. Like even before we rub lgbtq topics all over a retro videogame, there's a lot of logical holes! Like seriously how many of these arranged marriages ended up loveless or abusive? How many women just didnt want to stay confined to one room forever and not even have anyone look at them because their magic markings are shameful yet its also shameful not to want to do it?? How many men were terrified of going out on this advebture fighting literal demigods sent by heaven to punish humans? How many of them just had no ability to fight and died immediately because of shitty traditions, while perfectly qualified women had to sit there and watch it happen? What if there werent enough straight men and women of the same age and people were forced into gross pedophilic shit or other horror scenarios just cos there has to be this one magical straight couple or the village dies? Whenever theres this stupid gender magic its ALWAYS portrayed as idyllic and never failing ever, unless *gasp* people dont follow the gendrules...

And then SERIOUSLY do no queer people exist in this universe?? Man i'd be so interested in their stories! I actually had an oc idea of a self insert version of me as a travelling merchant. Because maybe what if nonbinary people could do both sides of the magic at once and thus adventure alone without being tied to a village's straight marriage system? So i'd just go around purifying monsters and then be a place you could buy new and rare mons from other villages without having to catch them. Maybe an easier way to get the super rare drop fusion materials for tiger pattern and stuff? And like seriously itd be good to have a character to talk to who agrees that your village is made of assholes. I cant say its bad writing cos it was clearly intentional, but they shoulda at least put a bit more incentive to keep playing even if you didnt care about these people. Also it would help plug the plothole of how a village even survives if it doesnt have the required people to form this magical straight marriage. Have some mysterious enby avengers who travel all across the world and save everyone regardless of country! All we ask is you buy some of our lovely souveniers! Maybe a pet patalchu for your family? Seripusly why dont they ever show anyone using the purified monsters for anything other than fighting the unpurified ones? You'd think they'd be really useful in repairing the village and guarding the walls and like..regular industrial jobs. Help the place actually advance and not have to live day to day on scraps,bickering amoungst themselves as the monsters grow ever closer to breaking through. Hell, you could even have them help spin the cocoons for other monsters! If this magic only depends on having a dick or not, then cant we just dress up some animals in the magic straight marriage outfits? XD

And like aaaa man im getting so emotional just imagining a trans woman who's constabtly told she will literally bring about the apocolypse if she tries to fill the female role in this ritual. And then one day she tries to spin the magic silk and she thinks she's committing the ultimate sin and they were all right. But the magic responds to her touch, and she makes a spell more beautiful than any other woman in the village! It would probably be harder for a trans man cos the magic doesnt have so much of an immediate proof like that. Just going out and winning a fight with a monster can be called "dumb luck", and knowing these assholes they'd probably keep calling it dumb luck even after the thousandth time you save their life!

And man, i wonder how gay relationships would work in such an annoyingly strict system of enforced heterosexuality? Would it be like the magic isnt REALLY gender locked at all, and it can just be any couple with either partner taking either role? Or would it be that it is one magic per gender but the bigoted villagers were wrong about it being impossible to do things without both? Like maybe when you're going into battle alone as a single cocoon master you cant fight without catching other monsters. But when two cocoon masters love each other their magic is amplified and they become able to like.. I dunno.. Imbue each other with elemental strength so they can fight the monsters hand to hand? Cos really the elemental system is the only reason you cant do a no monsters run of the game as it is. Maybe since they cant purify monsters but they can still catch them, they equip the monsters as sort of a power rangers transformation? Or socket them like materia on their weapons? Or just if the world was less segregated into tiny sexist racist villages they could simply buy the purification coccoons from another local nagi, and villages without a coccoon master could buy the services of travelling ones. Oh, and maybe two nagi lesbians could be even more badass! Cos if they can only purify and not fight, maybe their double purification is so strong that they can just straight up walk into the forest and monsters don't attack them. They dont even need to do the full spell, they can calm a beastie's rage just by holding out their hand and patting it on the head. So they coukd be infinately more effective and not have to just tenporarily clear single travelling routes of a few monsters, but actually work towards slowly purifying the entire forest and creating a peaceful land again. Tho i mean the game did have a unique atmosphere with the whole 'no hope of ever beating them' aspect. It was unique to see a society formed around the idea of never going into forests or you Die. But magical lesbians and their family of a million pet dragons is honestly better!

And uhhhh ive gone all offtopic now and i camt stop thinking about how much i love magical lesbians with a million pet dragons

The End

[sundayera7-blog]

Bears Mailbag: Draft talk, possible extensions, the running back situation and edge rushing depth options

As of Tuesday, we are exactly one month away from the start of the 2019 NFL draft. Every year, the draft is exciting, but obviously this year has been different for the Chicago Bears and their fans.

Not only have they taken a calculated approach in free agency, but they also lack a first and second round pick (as of now). That means the Bears won’t be making their first selection until the end of day two.

Even so, it’s hard not to be turning your focus to the draft and what the Bears may do. This is a team with a top-end roster, but due to their relatively quiet free agency, a few holes still remain including running back and edge rusher depth, among others.

With all of this in mind, let’s dive into this week’s mailbag to answer these questions and beyond.

Looking at the Bears current options, Aaron Lynch and Ezekiel Ansah appear to be the best available. Lynch has had three visits with other teams and still hasn’t signed. It’s been said that the Bears want him back, just at their price, not his rumored asking price of $5 million per year. It was also reported that Ansah recently had surgery and teams are waiting until mid-April to see the rechecked medicals before they think about signing him.

Veteran options like Nick Perry, Derrick Morgan or even Shane Ray could be cheaper options as well. Perry was cut, so he would not count against the team’s current comp pick formula that is currently projected to yield a fourth and fifth round picks.

I still maintain that the Bears will end up with some sort of veteran, it just will have to be at their price. Even after the Patrick O’Donnell re-signing, they are still sitting around $17.5 million in cap space, which is more than enough to work with.

Once the team drafted James Daniels last year, I was always in favor of keeping him at center (coming out of college). Of course, we know that they decided to keep Cody Whitehair there and to a certain extent, it was an understandable move.

The Bears did not deem Daniels ready to start in Week 1.

They wanted a steady presence that Mitchell Trubisky was used to under center.

With that in mind, I still believe Daniels could be a damn good center and it’s likely his best and most natural position. His athleticism fits very well in this blocking scheme at center and he’s a very steady and reliable snapper.

The one thing to keep in mind with this move is that normally, guards get paid more than centers and the Bears will get an extension done with Whitehair at some point this offseason. I’m not sure how much money will factor into this decision, but the Bears could be raising his potential price tag a million or two a year if they decide to move him to guard.

Either way, if they are going to make the switch, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

As noted above, the Bears are in need of another edge rusher. There’s still some quality free agent options out there, but Emmanuel Ogbah is someone that is rumored to being shopped by the Cleveland Browns right now.

A few things to keep in mind with any trade scenario.

The Bears have five total picks and none before 87.

Although Ogbah was a former second round pick, he has seven sacks the last two years.

How much is that worth for a team like the Bears? Likely not much and more of the point, it’s probably not going to be a big enough need for the Bears to meet the Browns asking price. Remember, teams don’t give up valuable edge rushers often and when they do, it’s usually not for a cheap price.

It’s also worth noting that he’s in the last year of his rookie deal, so that would also need to be factored into the Browns asking price.

Mike Davis has 234 career carries and more importantly, his season high was in 2018 when he had 112. Obviously that does not support the theory that he could be trusted as the team’s primary back.

Even so, it’s important to keep in mind that head coach Matt Nagy is not looking for a featured back or a bell cow that can carry the ball 20-25 times per game like Jordan Howard did the past few seasons.

I would fully expect the Bears to spend one of their first few picks on a running back in next month’s draft as well.

Davis will need to stay healthy, but make no mistake, this is an offense that will have a trio of backs capable of carrying the ball 10-15 times a game and that’s exactly how Nagy wants it.

Admittedly so, I’ve been extremely behind my usual pace in terms of evaluating this draft class as a whole.

While I had taken a shallow dive into this running back class prior to this past weekend, it wasn’t until this past Friday that I truly dove in head first and was able to complete the majority of my evaluations.

As a whole, I wasn’t nearly as impressed with this class as some have hyped it up to be. For reference, I don’t have a single first round talent in this year’s class. That doesn’t make it a bad thing, but the top end of this class lacks in a big way.

I’ve also only got three second round grades and seven total backs in the first three rounds. Needless to say, at least from a value perspective, the Bears should find themselves in good shape whether it be the third or fourth round.

Here’s my top 10:

- Josh Jacobs (Alabama) - Darrell Henderson (Memphis) - Miles Sanders (Penn State) - David Montgomery (Iowa State) - Damien Harris (Alabama) - Rodney Anderson (Oklahoma) - Trayveon Williams (Texas A&M) - Bruce Anderson (NDSU) - Devin Singletary (FAU) - Devine Ozigbo (Nebraska)

In terms of fit for the Bears, I’d go Henderson, Sanders and Williams. I’m not sure Henderson or Williams are true three down backs, at least right off the bat, but that’s not at all what it appears the Bears are looking for. I really like Montgomery, but I worry that his lack of explosion will deter Pace and company.

All in all, the Bears will have a few nice options staring them in the face at 87 overall.

There are two things that I think Trubisky needs to take sizable steps in, in order to take the “next step” and help the Bears reach the promised land. As of now, I think the tools are there for the Bears offense, but it all depends on Trubisky at this point.

Footwork

Pre-snap recognition

Footwork is number one for me and it’s that way for a few reasons. Consistent footwork will improve accuracy and create much more consistency overall. Sometimes I found myself wondering “What the hell?” when I would watch him miss wide open throws.

Pre-snap recognition is something that Nagy highlighted as a big key and I agree with him. Being able to understand defenses coming out of the huddle, especially coverages, will allow him to throw open receivers better and ultimately allow him to progress through his reads more naturally.

Trubisky may have been in year two of his NFL career last year, but he was also going into only his second full season of being a starting quarterback since his senior year in high school. It was also the first year in a very complex offense that asks a lot of him. If he’s going to take that leap, this is the year it will happen.

As I highlighted a few questions back, the Bears won’t make their first selection in next month’s draft until the 87th pick.

Because of that, plenty of fans (including myself) are wondering if Ryan Pace will be comfortable with waiting until that point to take his shot at one of his top running backs. This will be the first time in the Pace era that he won’t have a first round pick and in all four years prior, he’s had top 10 picks. So, obviously this will be a big change for him.

Pace is no stranger to trading up and down in the draft. His last three drafts, he’s made moves and I don’t expect this year to be any different. In regards to next year’s draft, the Bears won’t have a first rounder again, but they’ll have a pair of seconds and one of those is the Raiders’.

If the Bears are attempting to deal into the second, I would fully assume that they will have to make a similar move to last year when they dealt a fourth round pick and a future second rounder. I’m not sure how likely that is considering they lack a first and third in 2020.

Then again, I wouldn’t rule anything out with Pace because as we’ve seen, he doesn’t lack creativity and the aggressive nature to get his guy.

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/3/27/18283297/bears-mailbag-draft-talk-possible-extensions-the-running-back-situation-and-edge-rushing-depth