#it's great to see her have such a breakout tournament!

[tracksuitlesbian]

[grantmentis]

Women's Worlds 2023 Primer

The PHF season may be over, but many of the players we love will be playing in women's worlds this upcoming week alongside their peers from the PWHPA, SDHL, Naisten Liiga, NCAA, Usports, EWHL, and countless other fantatic women's hockey leagues or organizations from around the world!

When: April 5th - April 16th

Click here for full schedule

Where: Brampton, Ontario at CAA Center. Games will be in Eastern time

Click here for tickets

What Teams are playing:

Group A: Canada, USA, Switzerland, Czechia, Japan

Group B: Germany, Hungary, France, Finland, Sweden

How to Watch:

Canada: TSN will be broadcasting all games in the tournament for Canadians

USA: NHL Network will be broadcasting all of Team USA's and Team Canada's games, but not the rest of the tournament

Finland: Broadcast scheduling here

Germany: German games should be available at MagentaSport (and apparently free!)

France: Sport En France should have at least the French teams games

Sweden: SVT should carry Sweden's games

Switzerland: available to stream at srf.ch

Unfortunately I could not find broadcast information for Czechia, Hungary, or Japan, but that may be a language barrier issue on my end. If this is something you are familiar with please let me know!

Lastly, if you want to watch a game that's not available to you, feel free to message and I can see what I can do to help

Tournament format:

All of Group A makes it to the quarterfinals, so the preliminary games are just seeding for them. The top three seeds in Group B will move on as well. Then, the knock out stage looks like this:

Below the cut is rosters, notable storylines, and expectations for each team. These are in alphabetical order.

Canada

Roster

Notable changes: Natalie Spooner comes back after missing time with pregnancy. Danielle Serdachny makes her international senior team debut after having 71 points in 40 games as Colgates captain this year. Claire Thompson returns to the world stage after missing last world championships, comes off a spectacular olympic showing. Potomak is out, despite strong performance last world championship.

Player to watch/other fun things; Sarah Fillier. She has been one of the world's best goal scorers for over two year and, at only 22, will likely only get better

Goals: Win gold again! They've been dominate on the world stage again since the break from the pandemic, working extremely well with their new coach. They are the team to beat with a mix of vets and newcomers

Czechia

Roster

Notable changes: Klara Peslarova, star goalie for Czechia, is not here due to season ending knee injury. Michaela Hesova (who is only 17 years old!) makes her senior team debut in her place and Kateřina Zechovská comes back to the mix. Tereza Radová is out, Sára Čajanová returns. Klára Jandušíková makes her senior national team debut, one of the few ncaa dIII players to do so!

Players to watch: Tereza Vanišová is coming off a PHF championship where she scored the cup winning goal, and has been one of the Czech republics more creative offensive players that plays with an edge. Natálie Mlýnková just had a breakout year for University of Vermont that saw her have 42 points in 36 games.

Goals: Get a medal. Czechia has risen FAST on the national stage, going from not qualifying to medaling in their first wwc in just a few years. Thanks to a mix of a good core who's been playing together a long time like like Mills/Mrázová/Križová and talented youth like Čajanová, they have cemented themselves at one of the worlds threats.

Finland

Roster; http://leijonat.fi/index.php/maajoukkueet/naisleijonat/2022-23/mm2023/item/45144-naisleijonien-mm-joukkue-julkistettiin-taessae-kokoonpano ( no graphic :-( )

Notable changes: Elisa Holopainen will not play for Finland after a great showing last worlds due to injury. Susanna Tapani, who had five points in 6 worlds games last year, is also not on this roster. Sanni Ahola will make her senior national team debut as a goaltender for Finland. She had a .920 as the starter in St. Cloud state this year and could be interesting as they try to find their next starter. Emilia Kyrkkö is another new goalie, who played in Finland this year but will play at St. Cloud next year. I’d expect Ahola to get more time though. Michelle Karvinen not on roster. Lots of roster shakeup overall.

Players to watch: Noora Tulus has been a national team mainstay for some time, but the last two years she has found another gear. Coming off a club season in Sweden with 56 points in 32 games. Sini Karjalainen had a breakout season in Vermont, will be interested to see if she can translate in the world stage.

Goals:After a rough few tournaments and roster turmoil, and some coaching questions, Finland is trying to get back in Group A and compete for a medal. Competition will be fiercer than ever but they look to prove why they dominated so long.

France

Roster:

Notable changes: Marion Allemoz, who was the team captain, has retired. Morgane Rihet, who was also an assistant captain and mainstay, is not on the roster. Margot Desvignes makes her senior team debut after some strong showings in Sweden.

Players to watch: Chloe Aurard is /the/ player for this team, being a star over at Northeastern the past few years. Justine Crousy Theode, who plays in the mens division in France, will be interesting to see if she gets any starts. With no clear starting goaltender, the 22 is making her senior team debut after strong performances at the u18 level

Goals: Get their first top division win. After being promoted to Division IA in 2013, they've slowly risen to finally qualify for the primary WWC tournament for the first time since 2019! Despite tournament cancellations from the pandemic, they've kept their momentum as they look to establish themselves as a mainstay in the top division. In 2019, they did not get a win, so they hope to do so this time.

Germany

Roster: https://www.deb-online.de/2023/03/24/frauen-nationalmannschaft-finaler-kader-fuer-weltmeisterschaft-in-brampton-kanada-nominiert/ ( once again no graphic :( )

Notable changes: Going even younger in goal, swapping out lilly Uhrmann for Chiara Schultes, no Tanja Eisenschmid though her sister Nicola is there. We do have university of Maine twins Lilli and Louisa Welke still though!

Player to watch: Nina Jobst-Smith (listed as Katerina) had a breakout year in university of minnesota duluth, with 25 points in 39 games. Sandra Abstreiter is a goaltender who has proven she can steal a game.

Expectations: Similar to hungary below, finish top three in their division, hopefully with two decisive victories, to move on to the semifinals.

Hungary

Roster: https://www.jegkorongszovetseg.hu/noi-valogatott-megvan-a-vb-re-utazo-25-fos-keret

Notable Changes: Very much a run it back roster with little changes. Like its basically identical to their one from last year

Players to watch: Mira Seregély was already a steady contributor for Hungary, but after a breakout year in University of Maine, we may see her take another step. Same with Taylor Baker, a shutdown defender who had a solid season in montreal this year.

Goals: Finishing top three in Divison B to clinch a semifinal berth. They've done so their past two outings, but last time was on a tiebreaker. The past two tournaments they've only had one win in each preliminary round, so trying to secure two would be big. Keeping the group together to try t build on exisiting chemistry will be key.

Japan:

Roster: https://www.jihf.or.jp/common/img/info/info_20230324_153025.pdf

Notable changes: Similar to Hungary, they are running it back. Most of their changes come from adding some younger players to their forward group, including twin sisters Rio and Riri Noro making their national team debut after strong performances at the u18 level

players to watch: Haruka Toko is forever my answer here as I think she's one of my favorite players to watch in terms of her speed and shot, and she's coming off a season that saw her return to the SDHL and have 27 points in 29 games. Ayaka Hitosato also is coming off a successful first season in the SDHL, and it will be interesting to see how that affects her game.

Goals: make the semifinals! last year was a heartbreaking 2-1 shootout lost in the finals they hope to avenge, and have proven they are capable of it

Sweden:

Notable changes: Most notably, long time captain Michelle Löwenhielm is not on the roster. Sara Grahn returns after missing some time on the national team, will be interesting to see how they divide time between her and Söderberg. Ebba Berglund, Jessica Adolfsson, and several other no longer on the teams defense after being in the last few tournaments, so going for a new look there.

Player to watch: Maja Nylén Persson has become the #1 defender for the national team at 22 years old and is coming off a stellar SDHL season. Sara Hjalmarsson was over a point per game at providence college this year.

Goals: Win division B and try to make it to the semifinals. After a few rough years due to labor rights issues, the national team is trying to find some stability again and figure out their identity as they develop a young core.

Switzerland

Roster:

Notable changes: Not many, mostly concentrated in the forward group. Evelina Raselli has retired since last wwc, which is the big one.Sarah Forster makes her return after a strong season in the PHF.

Players to watch: For years, it has been the Lara Stalder and Alina Müller show, rightfully so as they are two of the best hockey players in the world and it is a gift to watch them together. We have also seen young defender Lara Christen have strong defensive performances in the past few tournaments, getting it done on both ends

Goals: Medal for Bronze again, hopefully by improved depth scoring and defense. In the past it has been their top line and Brändli who has carried them, so they hope to supplement their high end talent with a good supporting cast.

USA

Notable changes: A lot of babies! Players having babies, including Alex Cavallini and Kendall Coyne Schoffield. Then a lot of players who are very young, with 6 players being under 20, including new faces Abbey Levy, Gabbie Hughes, and Tessa Janecke to name a few. Brianna Decker has retired. No Hannah Brandt, grace zumwinkle, jincy dunne, maddie Rooney, or Jesse compher. HUGE shakeups here.

player to watch: Taylor Heise won player of the tournament last year, and has continued to dominate at the NCAA level, she may only be just beginning. Gabbie Hughes makes her senior team debut after several great years at Minnesota Duluth, and will be interesting to see how she fits into the roster.

Goals: Win gold again, especially with a new look with John Wroblewski at coach. He was the coach last tournament, but only had a few months to work with there. They looked improved under him already, so we will see how they look with a full cycle

[rei-ismyname]

Heir of Apocalypse #2 better be playing fair with my heart.

I have thoughts about Heir of Apocalypse #2. They're full of spoilers so here's a cut.

All media is in conversation with what's come before to some degree, and X-Men comics made just after the premature and rushed ending of the boldest and most cohesive period ever - the Krakoan Age - even more so. Even if it's not textual or intentional that relationship is there.

One of Krakoa's great challenges was finding ways to work with the central conceit - full resurrection of mutants - to create stories that had stakes. When nobody can die it can be easy to deflate tension. For the most part they succeeded admirably, but I can't help but wonder how From The Ashes will handle death in a world where we pretend it's permanent.

I'm not going to completely recap, notes in dot points are easier to digest.

- The action picks up smoothly where it left off. Everyone is introduced and Genocide, a character I don't know very well, has invited himself and is destroying a town. Everyone has agreed to put the tournament on hold to rescue civilians.

- Even Armageddon Girl, who does not give a fuck about humans. In fact she is a mass murderer at this point. Good for her, it just seems a little out of character. Genocide's 'toxins' are harming the Earth, sure whatever.

- Speaking of characterisation, what is up with Exodus? If he's returning to his pre-krakoa 'nonsensical crusader' characterisation then what's the point? A lot of excellent work was done to make him a fully rounded and sympathetic person, a hero even. He was dismissive of humans but you could see his position. He would not kill Monet needlessly and he wouldn't be so blase about it. Also, he's been on the Quiet Council with Emma Frost for at least 3 years in-universe, though it's implied to be longer. They were a voting bloc post-Inferno and he respects her. They've worked out how to communicate with each other and they fought skyscraper sized Monsters together on Judgement Day.

So WTF would he say 'the harlot is right' referring to her? He knows her name. If I was being generous I'd say it's in response to her calling him a fanatic, but it doesn't read that way. Immortal X-Men established that as almost a fond nickname ('my little fanatic') so I am very sceptical of this misogynistic term seemingly out of nowhere. If I'm not being generous at all I'd guess that Steve Foxe is going off a 'judgy fundamentalist' template and doesn't have a good handle on Exodus' voice. One moment he's aloof and above it all, the next he's accidentally killing another mutant (literally against his faith) and shrugging it off. It's stripping away what makes him interesting, his pathos. Moving on from Krakoa is one thing, but moving a breakout character backwards feels like erasing it. I'll come back to this.

- Sinister's voice feels right. He's very obviously depowering AG and Exodus, though I am suspicious that Exodus would even let him get close. Sinister was kill on sight for Exodus and Rasputin IV the last time we saw. Literally nobody should trust him even a little bit right now. Why did Apocalypse even invite him?

- Apocalypse, buddy. So we're acknowledging that he lives on Arakko but regressing him to his 90s characterisation? In his After The Fall one shot and X-Men Red he completed his character arc and concluded that survival of the fittest was not enough. Surviving means nothing without thriving, he said. I'd like that followed up on, but I fear he's torturing people needlessly and then Arakko will go away. I'm reserving judgement for now but this should be written by Al Ewing.

- I'm getting the impression that the conversation with Krakoa is one sided. It feels like it's almost making fun of it? Where is Bei The Blood Moon? She's married to Doug and he's here in this ridiculous tournament. Armageddon Girl is basically a supervillain, 'poor Lin Li' feels odd. These people all have established relationships that grew over the last 5 years. The 'hero clique' sticking together feels determined to ignore that, especially when they're acting like they don't know these people.

- 3 deaths.

[pick-em-pool]

WEEK 13

LADIES. GENTLEMEN. ROCKY. ENZO. TAYLOR. TRAVIS. It's officially the HOME STRETCH 🏁🏁🏁 As we have a mere 5 weeks left until a champion is crowned 👑 Who will take home the big bucks 💲 and who will have the ignominy of LAST PLACE this year?!?!

RUSTY - 10 POINTS

The top performer of the week moves himself into 6th place 📈 Does Rusty have what it takes to claw himself into the top 3 this year? I HOPE so 🙏 because I heard he's going to donate any winnings to the Sorry-Maguire-But-Logan-Is-My-Favorite-Son-And-Also-Better-Looking-Than-You fund. It's a charity group for handsome youths, please consider donating to such a worthy cause everyone 😎

PEYTON - 9 POINTS

A great week with 9 points is not QUITE enough for Peyton to escape the current 3-way tie for 3rd place 3️⃣ He'll have to be laser focused in these last few weeks to grab some of the money 💰 Hopefully he can spend it on installing more closet space in the apartment so he won't have to live out of his suitcase like a wandering hobo 😭

ABBY - 9 POINTS

Despite having never watched a game of professional football in her entire life, Abby is firmly in the mix for some moolah this year 💳 🤷‍♂️ It seems like her backflip of doom didn't scramble her brain TOO badly. Unfortunately the sheer embarrassment of it also meant she had to move out of Florida, block all her friends, and assume a new name of Billy-Bob Jones in Mississippi. Prayers up for Billy-Bob 😢😢😢

VAL - 9 POINTS

It's an absolute BRAWL in 3rd place right now, with Val fighting it out for a top place and some top dollars 💰💲💸 She had a chance to breakout but her faith in the Steelers once again let her down 😫 Before anyone picks the Steelers again, just know that this is a real tweet from their new quarterback:

Obviously, the Steelers are finishing 5-0 🏆

JULIETTE - 9 POINTS

The solid 9 points isn't enough to dig JuJu out of last place just yet 😪 This poor performance is ruining her Reputation 😑 After a Fearless start, she's on Red alert 🚨🚨 can she turn it around and make a comeback worthy of Folklore? or with she be remembered as a loser Evermore!!!

JANIE - 9 POINTS

The two-time champion is having a one-time TERRIBLE season for sure! 😭😭😭 I'm rather worried about what we're all walking into in Arizona, I don't think the Scottsdale regional paddleball tournament WINNER is used to being seventh place 👿👿👿

JJ - 8 POINTS

Truly the most difficult spot to be, JJ is in 4th place and juuust barely out of the money for now 🏃‍♂️ Can he lock-in and finish with some cash? 🤑 I can see the determination on his face, and it's NOT A LOOK, IT'S AN EMOTION 😤😤😤 No one knows what it means but it's provocative - IT GETS THE PEOPLE GOING 💯💯💯

LISA - 8 POINTS

She's been #1 for 13 Weeks, can she hold on for 5 more?!?! 🧗‍♂️🧗‍♂️🧗‍♂️ Lisa had had the most dominate performance of ANYONE in ANY of the season's we have done the pick-em pool 🥇🥇🥇 and yet despite that she's on in the lead by SIX points 📏 will she be able to hold and make HISTORY 📜 and MONEY 💲 but mostly MONEY 💲💲

GABBY - 8 POINTS

Lisa left the door OPEN 🚪 this week with only 8 points but Gabby wasn't able to capitalize on it 👎 And so she stays in second place for now 🥈 She's also responsible for the delayed update today, as I had to take a nap after I woke up. LAST time Gabby and I wake up together!!!

6:30 AM

Gabby: I'm going to make a coffee, what do you want, tea? do you like tea? what's your favorite tea? Me personally I like coffee

Me: (silence)

Gabby: Is that jacket going to be warm enough? Maybe you need a new jacket? I'm going to get you a new jacket, what color do you want?

Me: (silence)

Gabby: I saw this video on Instagram - would you still love me if I turned into a worm? You better take care of me if I turn into a worm

Me: OK let's play the quiet game

ALRIGHT EVERYONE ITS TIME TO LOCK IN AND FINISH STRONG! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK 😎

[danwhobrowses]

My Highlights for NXT No Mercy 2023

Well, now that family meals are done for I can finally get some time to watch No Mercy. I've heard good things on the internets with a solid card of NXT and Main Roster talents. So let's see what I liked

Positives only, better formula I find even if the amount of interaction is the same, and then Wrestledream tomorrow or Tuesday depending on time.

Spoilers for the PPV

A rare match for WWE kickoff shows

No Mercy video game intro

Crowd has been great too

Corbin pulling an American Badass entrance

Very good spot for the pop-up chokeslam

Even better spot of the Undertaker situp and spear

Dragon Lee also donning a black and white mask for ref duties

That sell by Dragon Lee was hilariously over the top

Oh good the Schism is dead

Los Lotharios sporting the Perro Aguayo Jr. claw mark

Their Gory bomb combo was good too

The Creeds too, so good, how have they not been called up yet?

Quadra-Superplex

Becky 'shopping' for extreme rules weapons XD

British Strong Style is still alive with Bate seconding Pete Dunne

Dar with an Andrade-esque elbow there

Melo using his promos against former opponents in his entrance was clever mind games and presentation

Dragunov's 619 into clothesline

The intercept Enziguri was very well-timed

Glad for Dragunov, last time he was champion he had to vacate due to injury, so hopefully he gets a proper run

Becky's gear is lowkey really good, all her monikers, allthe doubts, all the people in her life and a tribute to Bray

Between the use of a wrench and hammer and Don Callis using a screwdriver Home Depot must make a lot of bank out of wrestling

Broken Barbies huh?

Neat senton on the office chair, followed by a table Swanton (though the table barely gave)

Stratton looked strong in defeat too, she got a lot of big moves in

Conclusion

It was indeed a good show, wrestling is of course subjective but I still found that the final two matches while very well done aren't quite MOTY Contenders, perhaps with Melo/Dragunov I'm still lacking in context but it does feel like the bar is much lower for NXT than for other matches.

Credit where credit is due though, not a single bad match on the card, maybe a few cheap conclusions due to interference but interference is hardly ever enjoyable. I assume the direction now for Melo is to further tensions with Trick, since they've now swapped champion-holder roles, and hopefully the Creeds will get called up to the main roster soon, but there's also some promise in the Breakout tournament participants, so plenty of stuff to be positive about.

Match of the Night: Main Event, the women put in a lot of work to meet the expectations built across NXT and the Main Roster shows Best Entrance: Melo's jerseys entrance was great calling out on his prior opponents and having 2 separate jerseys for Dragunov's prior failed attempts, just beats Corbin's motorcycle Best Attire: Has to be Becky for me, it wasn't flashy but it was more a testament to how much she has elevated herself since NXT, she wasn't champion there like the other Horsewomen, she was often the Ole Anderson of the group, she rose above it all and is still rightfully one of the biggest women in wrestling. Best Performance: To heap on praise for the main event I'll give it to Stratton, she hanged with Becky like she belonged, Dragunov and Melo deserve praise too of course. Spot of the Night: Dragunov's 619 into a clothesline for me, it was just super vicious

[richardsphere]

Rwby Catchup V7E10

Writing this after the fact, so non-chronological order: Weiss mom has a drinking problem, in the same episode that reminds us Qrow is trying to kick the same habit. To indicate exactly how terrible a parent Jaques is, she cries happy tears from hearing her daughter isnt coming back home. Whitley hates his sisters for abandoning him to his father. (great scene, great characterisation. Love it entirely). I dont ship it (yet) or anything, but i do hope they’ll join the same AA group at some point. Imagine the thrill of getting to arrest your own dad. Arthur is still sort of generic, but he’s earned a trait besides Smarm and Science: He’s a half-decent salesperson. Also a bit of a showman with a sense of drama. Innocents are about to freeze, and i’ll admit that i like seeing a businessman turned corrupt politician actually face accountability but i dont know if thats the writing or my frustration with the having access to the internet during the Trump Administration. I hope this’ll be the end of his character, he seems like exactly the type of villain whose presence is better felt in absence. (as in the scar on Weiss’ face is enough presence on its own, we dont actually need his presence that much. I might be wording it badly. Basically im worried they’re gonna stage a breakout scene for him and he’ll overstay his unwelcome as a character.) Neopolitan is back, and she still leaves me feeling as cold about her presence in the narrative as the icecream she is named after, but that’s largely because its hard to characterise a character who does not speak. (but then, her being a one-note character is actually a strength. The same as Wile-E-Coyote being one-note is a good thing).  This brings me to a little segment that I call “Richard struggles to figure out what the deal with Emerald & Neo even is”. Today on RSTFOWTDE&NES: I’ll openly but shamefully admit it took me verry long to realise that neo’s semblance was some kind of pseudo-illusion thing? Though at least some have seemed semi-tangible. In my defense her earliest appearances mostly had her use it to vanish into thin air so i thought she was just a teleporter like Ruby. Then when i finally figured out Neo had illusions, i sort of got confused and thought a lot of Emeralds things in the tournament where actually Neo doing that. I guess what im trying to say is its kind of weird for the villains to have 2 different illusion-based characters, and for one of them to have an “only one target at a time” limitation. like thats sort of weird isnt it? I might be misremembering, but did Maid!Neo talk to Weiss? Or was that a different maid who has been stuffed into a closet off-screen so Neo could take her place afterwards? Its sort of unclear to me. Cinder is also here, God i hope she gets a character besides “generic hunger for power” at some point but if there is i havent seen it yet. But its nice to know that Ozpin isnt the only one whose lieutenants can betray them at least, not much to say she’s still spending most of the plot looking ominously. Whitley crying on the stairs, This family needs more hugs and less alcohol. Robyn, you’re nice. I dont know what more to say. You’re the only character in Atlas i would trust to run a popsiclestand, Not a lot of deep going on with her, but Robin Hood parodies live and thrive by virtue of their simplicity. They finally tell James that Salem cant be killed and that they lied about the relic’s number of questions, i’ll admit i only ever understood one of those two lies. (They could’ve just claimed “ozpin told us she cant be killed/do you really believe that if she could be killed Ozpin wouldnt have succeeded a thousand lifetimes ago). Does this mean the tower is cancelled? Is operation “100 Shions at once” finally cancelled? NO because Oscar said to stop keeping Salem a secret, so that plan is still a go apparently.  The Penny and Winter Dont Understand Eachother scene was great, and i adored the moment Winter thought “oh shit, did i just pull a robo-racism?”. Verry “Pyrrha accidentally implies Jaune should jump off the roof” energy there.

[orionsgifs]

MORTAL KOMBAT 2 Fancast.

These are my fancast for the sequel! When I fancasg these characters, I’ll write down my reasoning for these! Please give feedback! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Now before I continue any further, the director wanted accurate casting just like he did for the first film. So I will be doing the same and respecting his wishes! Anywho, let’s begin!

THE MIZ - Johnny Cage

A WWE wrestler who has an experience in Acting and his gimmick is considered based off Johnny Cage! I feel like he’d do an excellent job considering that he is a good talker and athlete in the wrestling business. Besides, for decades, he’s been very dedicated to giving the fans what they want. He stated that if he ever gets casted, he wants to get the character right due to the last detail. Currently working on his kicks and splits, and he’s old enough to play Jessica McNamee’s romantic interest who is 36. Miz is 42! I honestly don’t see a better cast than this!

YOSHI SUDARSO - Kuai Liang

Yoshi Sudarso as an actor, stuntman and martial artist. Like Joe Taslim, he is also Indonesian of Chinese descent. From my research, he is very good friends with Joe Taslim and was very interested in the role if Kuai Liang is in the script. He is also younger than Joe Taslim (He is 33 years old). You don’t see him in much, but you can find him on Power Rangers, Buffalo Boys, Project Power and Bullet Train! He’s a good actor and a very agile martial artist, and he’s VERY well acquainted with the color blue! He could become the next stuntman actor to get a huge breakout role next to Max Huang, who portrayed Kung Lao!

Also if you look closely and squint your eyes just a little bit, they kinda have a resemblance of being brothers… it could mostly be the eyebrows!

SISI STRINGER - Kitana

This should be a no-brainer fancast since Kitana and Mileena are technically twins. Sisi Stringer has shown her range in acting in Vampire Academy (Stream it on Peacock, it’s amazing.) So I wouldn’t be so surprised if she does get casted as Kitana (But I will be so happy because she deserves it!)

ANDREW KOJI - Kenshi

Andrew Koji is an up and coming British actor and martial artist of Japanese descent. Kenshi is a eurasian (Japanese) character, so this cast would be very fitting for Andrew Koji, especially since he has the look and the mysterious voice and his experience with swords (Storm Shadow in Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins). I could see him pulling this off!

JOE TASLIM - Noob Saibot

Not much of a fancast since this is technically bound to happen, in all honesty. But it would be cool to see Yoshi Sudarso V. Joe Taslim! Just Yoshi living his dream of being on-screen with a friend of his, especially since he stated that Joe Taslim is like a brother to him in the Hollywood industry!

AMBER MIDTHUNDER - NIGHTWOLF

Not a genderbent fancast, but a “passing the mantle down” fancast! I have a pitch where since we saw a photo easter egg of Nightwolf in the movie, he’s most likely a legendary protector of the Matoka. Later that day, he’s gotten very old and asks the great spirit to find another warrior and pass the Nightwolf mantle down to them, then Grey Cloud can train them for the tournament. I fancast David Midthunder as Grey Cloud since David is the face model for Nightwolf in Mortal Kombat 11 and he is also Amber Midthunder’s father! So this could be perfect in my opinion.

[uomo-accattivante]

Great article about Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter - a poker movie that’s not really a poker movie...

Some filmmakers write a hit movie and spend the ensuing years trying to escape its shadow. Paul Schrader never flinched. Forty-five years after his “Taxi Driver” script put him on the map, the writer-director has developed a body of work loaded with alienated anti-heroes compelled to violent and reckless extremes for the sake of a higher calling.

That includes “The Card Counter,” in which Oscar Isaac plays guilt-stricken Abu Ghraib vet William Tell, a man with a gambling addiction compelled to help the revenge-seeking son (Tye Sheridan) of a former colleague. Taking justice into his own hands, Isaac’s William Tell slithers through the Vegas strip in search of questionable salvation, not unlike a certain Vietnam vet named Travis Bickle did from the driver’s seat. As if to cement the comparisons, “The Card Counter” features Martin Scorsese as an executive producer, marking the first time the two men share a credit since 1999’s “Bringing Out the Dead.”

For Schrader, “Taxi Driver” comparisons are inevitable in all his work. “My tendency is to look for interesting occupational metaphors,” Schrader said in a recent interview. “‘Taxi Driver’ hit the bull’s eye of the zeitgeist and it doesn’t die. There’s no way I could’ve planned for that, but it does inform the stories I tell.”

At 75, Schrader continues to churn out movies much like his compatriot Scorsese, albeit on a much smaller scale. “The Card Counter” is the latest illustration of the secularized Christian dogma percolating through his work. “Our society doesn’t like to take responsibility for anything,” he said. “But I come from a culture where you’re responsible for everything. You come into the world soaked with guilt and you just get guiltier.” In his own prickly fashion, Schrader makes movies steeped in empathy for lost souls in search of redemption despite the daunting odds. “We’re all certainly capable of forgiveness,” he said, and chuckled. “Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.”

The “Taxi Driver” dilemma looms large in nearly all of Schrader’s work, from the dazzling high-stakes activism of “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” all the way through Ethan Hawke’s eco-conscious priest in “First Reformed.” While the latter, Oscar-nominated effort brought Schrader new fans, “The Card Counter” is an even more precise distillation of his aesthetic — a moody, philosophical drama about the vanity of the personal crusade.

Schrader, who has labeled his homegrown character studies as “man in the room” dramas, embraces the parallels as usual. “There is this kind of myth that the taxi driver was this friendly, joking kind of guy who was a character actor in movies,” he said. “But the reality is that it’s a very lonely job, and you’re trapped in a box for 60 hours a week.” He saw the same logic with gambling, a wayward profession generally depicted in the movies in the context of escapist romps, rather than the somber rituals that afflict most players. “I thought about the essence of playing cards every day, or sitting in front of a slot machine. It’s kind of zombie-like,” Schrader said. “You see commercials of people in casinos laughing. But it’s a pretty glum place. Today with slots you don’t even have to pull the lever. You just sit there and let the numbers roll.”

The gambling figure led Schrader to the bigger picture of his character’s conundrum. “I was wondering why someone would choose to live in that sort of purgatory,” he said. “He doesn’t want to be alive, but he can’t really be dead, either. What could cause that? It can’t be a simple crime, murder, or a family dispute. It has to be something unforgivable. And that was Abu Ghraib.”

After the fallout of that debacle, William did time in a military prison, and reenters society before the movie begins. That was a world the filmmaker wanted to understand in clearer terms. Though Schrader has received blowback for his controversial Facebook posts in the past, in this case, the platform was an asset: He used it to track down soldiers who had done time in the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, the only military prison in the U.S., to better understand the initial claustrophobic world that Tell endures, as well as the conflict between the justice he’s received and what he deserves. “This man has been punished by his government, set free, and paid his due, but he doesn’t feel that,” Schrader said. “What does he do then? How does he fill his time? That’s how it all began.”

Schrader himself toyed with gambling when he lived in Los Angeles early in his career, but soon gave it up. “I very quickly realized I was only interested in gambling if it was really dangerous and I didn’t want to expose myself to that kind of danger,” he said. Years later, though, the experience helped inform his story. “There is this whole fantasy of gambling movies from ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ to ‘California Split,’” Schrader said. “But poker is all about waiting. People will play 10 to 12 hours a day and two to three times a day, a hand will happen where two players both have chips. Now you’ve got a face-off. But that doesn’t happen very often. Most guys who are there are running the numbers, the probability.”

He envisioned “The Card Counter” as a repudiation of the traditional poker movie, which builds to the giddy release of a final tournament. When that moment arrives in the movie, Schrader takes the movie in a bleak, shocking new direction. “It’s not really a poker movie — that’s a red herring,” he said.

William is immersed in his casino journey when he encounters Cirk (Sheridan), the crazy-eyed son of another Abu Ghraib soldier who committed suicide. Cirk blames the soldiers’ former commander (Willem Dafoe), and hopes to loop William into the plan. Instead, the older man decides to take Cirk under his wing to talk him out of the act, which doesn’t prove so easy. In the process, the gambler forms a curious bond with La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), a gambling agent and pimp whose icy, relentless drive to make the most out of the poker circuit brings William some measure of companionship on his wayward journey.

It should come as no surprise that the “Girls Trip” breakout is nearly unrecognizable in the role of the calculated La Linda, which is also a distinctly Schraderish touch: From his work with Richard Pryor in 1978’s “Blue Collar” all the way through Cedric the Entertainer’s supporting turn in “First Reformed,” Schrader has made a habit of seeking out comedic actors willing to play against type. That’s partly opportunistic on his part. “They’re eager to do it because they want to expand their palette, so you can get them for a price,” Schrader said, chuckling again. “That’s necessary, given the kind of films I make.” But that’s not all: “They will always find a way to be interesting, even when they’re not getting a laugh.”

Which is not to say that the process comes easily to them. Haddish recently told the New York Times that Schrader had to coach her out of speaking in a comedic sing-song. The filmmaker put it in blunter terms. “On the first reading of the script we had, frankly, she wasn’t very good,” he said. “I told her to go back and read every single line without emotion. Then I said, ‘You’re not going to do that in front of the camera, but you can’t hit every line either. So let’s pick five or six lines you can hit where you get a smile or reaction.’ Quickly she got that it was a different rhythm.”

As for Isaac, whose disquieting turn suggests a maniac lingering just beneath the surface, Schrader once again turned to metaphor. “I told him to imagine himself on a rocky coast in the ocean,” Schrader said. “Waves are going to come up and get you all day every day. They’re going to try to batter you. Let them. The waves will go away. You’ll still be there. Don’t compete. In the end, the rocks will win. You have to learn to trust that the way these things are put together has more power than the individual movement.”

William’s routine includes an odd ritual in which he covers all the furniture in his various Vegas hotel rooms with white paper. While the motivation is never explained, Schrader said it stemmed from an experience with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti on the set of 1982’s “Cat People,” when Schrader realized the man was doing the same thing. “He said, quite simply, ‘I have to live here surrounded by these ugly hotel furnishings,’” Schrader recalled. The concept inspired the new movie’s most compelling visual motif. “Casinos are very ugly places. There are no exceptions,” Schrader said. “Often you aspire to finding pockets of beauty and there weren’t really any here except the only place he could control, which was his hotel rooms, where he could privatize his visions. I came up with this ritual for him to control those visuals.”

At a certain point, Schrader himself couldn’t control the visuals of “The Card Counter” for more prosaic reasons: After an extra tested positive for COVID-19, the production shut down last March, with five days of shooting left, and couldn’t resume until July. Though Schrader initially took to Facebook to fume at his producers, the pause eventually opened up an opportunity to tweak his vision. “I edited the film and put in placeholders for the five or six scenes of consequence that I hadn’t shot,” he said. “I didn’t have a fully finished film but I could screen it for people. Normally you only get that privilege if you have a big-budget film and you’re allowed reshoots.” The early audience included Scorsese, who provided a crucial note. “I asked Marty, ‘What am I missing?’ He said to me that the relationship with Tiffany and Oscar was too thin. So I rewrote those scenes.”

Schrader asked Scorsese to take on the executive producer credit as a favor. “I said, ‘Marty, wouldn’t it be nice to share a card again? I thought it would help sell the film but it would also be a cool thing to do after all these years,’” Schrader said. “Then a couple of weeks later his agent called wanting to work out a deal. What deal? I asked Marty and he said yes. That’s the deal!” Now, the pair are trying to collaborate on a new long-form TV series based on the Bible, though the timing has been delayed by production on Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

In the meantime, Schrader has been mulling over the way “Taxi Driver” not only continues to inform his storytelling but the world at large. “Hardly a week goes by that I don’t notice or hear some reference to it,” he said. “But I don’t know how you’d tell such a story today. A number of writers have tried and I don’t think they’ve succeeded because it has to come out of a certain place and time. We have plenty of these incels around, but they’re not as original or revealing as they were 45 years ago when that character came on the scene. I wouldn’t know how to write about it.”

Instead, his next project is a love triangle called ��Master Gardener,” which he hopes to shoot in Louisiana before the end of the year. He has several other potential scripts ready to go after that. And while he has expressed trepidation about the future of cinema in the past, he’s not convinced that audiences have given up on it yet. He recalled a conversation he had with Cedric the Entertainer when “First Reformed” made the rounds. “He said off-handedly to me, ‘You know, I didn’t realize there were so many people who liked serious movies,’” Schrader said, and chuckled once more. “Well, yeah, there are.”

“The Card Counter” premieres next week at the Venice Film Festival. Focus Features releases on September 10, 2021.

###

[victimhood]

The one in which the Euros 3rd place playoff is abolished after Italia 1980, and then restored at short notice for Italia 2028, making it the historic occasion in which a whole country cockblocked their captain Nicolò di Genova.

It is June 1980. The European Championship is taking place in Italy. It is the first edition of the tournament with eight teams, divided into two groups. The winners of each group move on to play in the final, and the runners up of each group move on to battle for third place.

It is the final edition of the Euros to have the third place playoff. With dwindling attendances and television viewers, UEFA deems the fixture unnecessary for future editions of the tournament. Italy hold Czechoslovakia to a 1-1 draw, and the match is decided on penalties. The final outcome? 9-8 to Czechoslovakia.

For as long as it has existed, there has been vocal opposition to the third place match. There are those who question its purpose, who see it as a meaningless extension of the tournament for advertisement money. A kinder commentary on offer is from those who see it as cruel to make losers play yet another competitive fixture, for little to no reward. Just think of the fourth-placed team—they played better than the rest of the competition except three—yet they must go home with the bitter memory of having lost twice.

On the other camp, there are those who recall with great fondness the third place match of the 2002 World Cup between host nation South Korea and Turkey. If that doesn’t work for you, what about the consolation it offered to the host nation in the 1990 World Cup, a breakout tournament for Italy’s Roberto Baggio?

Now we skip to June 2028. The European Championship is once more taking place in Italy. There are twenty four teams divided into groups, followed by a knockout stage. There is no third place fixture on the schedule. The much-beloved Italian captain takes his team on a blistering dream run, in front of an adoring home crowd, beating a well-regarded Portugal and incumbent holders Belgium along the way. He has declared his intention to retire for good, once this tournament is over.

Picture this: you are Italy. You play England in the semifinal in Napoli, at the Stadio San Paolo, also known as the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. You arrive in the stadium, or you watch from home, full of hope, with faith in your captain and your squad. Your team scores one at the 20th minute. Perfect opening. England try but they can’t get past the deadbolt across goal, past your much vaunted defensive line. At the 63rd minute, Foden puts one past your goalie, but VAR rules it offside. At the 89th minute, the scoreline is still 1-0 and you’re nearly through, and some egregious fans are already cheering, and then Foden gets it in for real in a stroke of sheer luck. The ball hits the crossbar but somehow bounces downward into goal. The game goes into extra time, and then to penalties. The final result? England wins 4-3 on penalties. This is a brutal game. At the end of your match, your captain sheds tears and apologizes for not being able to do more to push the team through to the finals. No! You want to scream. Caro Nicolò, il nostro capitano, it’s not your fault. You have done so much for us. You begin to blame yourself: it’s us, it’s our fault. We dared to dream too early. You were so busy dreaming of your beloved captain raising the trophy that you forgot the game wasn’t over. In fact, even before this semifinal you were already dreaming of the trophy. This is how fate punishes you. You hate to see him end his career this way. He didn’t let you down, you let your captain down! Can we do this one over? You’ll do right by your captain this time.

Picture this: you’re the president of UEFA, and the tournament is hosted in your home country. It would have been the honor of honors, to award the winner’s medals to your compatriots. The papers are raging over the match outcome: England squeaked through on a razor’s blade, and Italy were the more inspired team. The fans are out in the streets. The people have spoken! Let us bring back the third place match! Let us see our captain off with dignity and honor! Your colleagues say: this is preposterous. We got rid of it years ago, because of Italia 1980. But does anyone really remember why? The advertisers tell you they’re willing to pay. One extra match means extra revenues. Worse things have happened in the pursuit for money. What’s the harm in a consolation match? An emergency meeting is called. Who’s playing in the second semifinal? France and the Netherlands. Both their feds agree to the third place match. From the next tournament onwards, there’ll even be a sweet cherry of a coefficient bonus—all the feds agree to this, but it would not be fair to the rest to apply it this ongoing tournament (and you hear minor grumbles from the FIGC, FFF and KNVB, who think they should be compensated for the inconvenience). No matter; the people have been given what they want! Another football match in the grand machine of things! The meeting takes so long that France beats the Netherlands 3-2 in the meantime, and now someone has to do the unpleasant job of telling the players. Were any of them consulted in this affair? What a preposterous concept. That’s not how UEFA works. UEFA says jump and they say how high.

Picture this: you are Nicolò Di Genova, and you’ve played the final match of your professional career. It did not end in the way you wanted, but such is life. You are ready to put your former self in the grave. You say goodbye to your treasured teammates, and the very next morning you check out of the training center to make your way to Turin, to see your fidanzato in the semifinals. Well, he crashes out too, his downfall orchestrated by that paraculo of your club teammate, Sébastien of the number 23. And so it is England vs France in the final, to be played in Italy. The thought of it turns even the strongest stomach of any citizen of this noble country. The only silver lining to this cursed final lineup is getting to whisk the love of your life off into the secluded countryside, and maybe with a few rounds of passionate lovemaking you can even forget the pain of loss.

You’re in the car. You just picked up your inamorato from his team hotel. You want to push him into the backseat and blow the brains out of him but you have better self control than that.

“How does retirement feel like?” he cracks a joke at you.

“You know full well my plans,” you return cheekily.

You’re driving off into the E70 when your phone rings. It doesn’t stop ringing so you pull over to take the call.

It’s your national team coach. “They just restored the third place match. Can you come back to the training ground?”

Who agreed to this? Your mind is reeling from the preposterousness of it all.

“They love you, Nichi. The people want you back.”

You exchange a look with your lover. Now his phone is ringing too. It’s his coach.

Due to this unfortunate turn of events you end up having an argument with your lover. You are principled, and having principles means not giving in to this total farce of a circus show, the third place match. Your lover is an incurable romantic, and pleads on behalf of your people. They did this all for you—show them some love in return. And what was the meaning of the past 31 years of your life again? You have already given them everything.

If only the people of Italy knew how much they had to thank Yusuf Al Kaysani. It’s because of him—it’s because of his beautiful deep brown eyes that glisten with all the stars of this universe that you cave and you agree.

“Get out, let’s switch. I’ll drive, and you call your mom and tell her the news.”

How do you begin to articulate how much this man knows the answers in your heart before your brain catches up to the same conclusions?

And so, like Lazarus, on the fourth day of your death you come back to life.

ITA vs NED

Picture this: you’re the cameraman, in the tunnel. The teams are lining up. The two captains emerge from the dressing room and compliment each other on their good looks with wry smiles. Some good natured ribbing, you think. They’re old friends. They played together for eight years at the same club. The Italian captain puts his hands on the Dutch captain, and then, like magnets, his hands seem incapable of leaving the Dutch captain’s back. You start to feel uncomfortable, like you’re seeing something that you shouldn’t be seeing. You look around. Everyone else in the double file of blue and orange is just chatting away, acting normal. Maybe...it’s just your imagination? You train your camera on the chatting crowd, giving the captains space. The match officials appear, taking the lead in front of both teams. You get in position for the money shot, following the two teams out of the tunnel and into the adoring crowd.

Picture this: you have never missed a single football match your grandson plays in. So when there’s a surprise third place match announced, you have to bail on karaoke night with the girls to watch the match on tv. Your friends don’t watch football, but if they do, they watch for the “hot guys on the Italian team”. Oh yeah, he’s playing Italy, you tell them. Feel free to come over to my place, if they don’t mind your oldest son and your rowdy grandchildren. Karaoke night swiftly becomes football night. There is an argument between Hamza and his dad over the pointlessness of the third place playoff. So...your family has been behaving in an unusual manner for several months now, and you suspect it’s because your grandson said he is gay. The papers here don’t report it, because they still want to claim him to some extent, but you have noted that the coverage is more conditional than before. You don’t live under a rock, and you’ve seen the news on YouTube even if no one around you is prepared to talk about it. As the two teams walk out of the tunnel and onto the pitch, you notice the Italian captain letting his hand slip from your grandson’s back, and Hamza suddenly jumps in front of the TV screen to adjust the volume.

“What the heck are you doing?” Mehdi, Hamza’s father and your eldest son, yells.

“The audio was...wonky,” Hamza replies sheepishly. “But I think it’s okay now.”

The match begins. At a corner kick, the Italian captain practically plasters himself all over your grandson, and it’s Hamza messing with the TV remote again, this time accidentally switching channels. Mehdi slaps him in the back of the head. You think that maybe it’s time you called Ibrahim. Someone needs to tell you the truth they’ve been so bad at hiding. Your grandson is not just gay, he seems to have a lover, and it’s that evil-eyed captain, the man who curses all who cross him.

Picture this: you’re a fan from the friendly town of Muggenbeet, watching from the San Siro. You came all this way to support the Oranje and they had to concede that final goal to France in front of your face. Sore and in denial about your loss, you start to make jokes about Waterloo to cope, handing the French off to the English. And then—out of nowhere, UEFA announces that they’ll restore the third place match. You think it’s the most shameless attempt for the host country to award themselves something ever. But, you know, does anyone really want to watch an England-France final? No. Never. For forever. We hate them both. It’s not football. It’s a circus of clowns. The viewership for this third place match is through the roof, higher than for your semifinal vs France. Let’s just treat this as the real final. What a galaxy-brained idea. Your country could steal it from the hosts—no hard feelings to Italy. You’ve enjoyed the pizza and the pasta, maybe it would be fun to crush their team like little peppercorns to sprinkle on your food. Based. Now you want a cacio e pepe after the match. Wait, you’re not in Rome, where the real (fake news!) final is. Boo. There is a corner, right at the end where you are sitting. Poepjes is taking it. Dekmijn and Blootgat are running up. Your captain is being felt up by the Italian captain. (No literally, that guy isn’t even looking at the goal? He’s just...pressing himself against your captain? Why are his hands encircled around Al Kaysani’s waist like so?) Anyway, the ball pings between the Italian keeper and Blootgat, and then it flies into Di Genova’s rather shapely calves...and bounces into the goal.

Uhhhhhh, THANK YOU? Grazie mille Nicolò Di Genova!!!! You gave us one goal!!!

The Italian fans must be flabbergasted. Isn’t this the dude’s retirement match? Or whatever. Who knows. Italy is a place of the greatest contradictions, so you’ve been told. But you’ll take what you can get. You kinda feel bad for the guy, who has buried his face in his hands. Maybe...you should cheer for him. And so...the lot of you, the orange lot, sitting in the Curva Sud, you start singing for the Italian captain. Nicolò Di Genova! There’s only one Di Genova!

The third place match is the most lawless ninety minutes in the historical timeline.

Picture this: you’re an Interista and season ticket holder. And of course you support your national team. You were heartbroken when the England keeper denied Marcuzzi to progress to the finals. You cried when your captain cried. And then, out of nowhere, they said, let’s bring back the third place match. The finals are in the Stadio Olimpico, so...maybe let’s have the third place match in the San Siro? You score a ticket at your usual seat. You get to see your captain one more time before he rides off into the sunset? What more can you ask for? This is romance of the highest order. The San Siro loves Nichi, of course all the staff and volunteers come together to make the event happen in a matter of days. You can’t believe this is happening. And then...your captain opens the scoring with an own goal. The Dutch fans are singing for him. What do you do? Well, if you can’t beat them, join them—you can sing louder for your captain! He’s your captain! And you know, their captain, he’s kinda your guy too, because Sempre Inter. Revenge is served, sweet and cold like a scoop of gelato, when your captain heads in the equalizer. The crowd goes wild. He’s taking this match seriously, but you knew he always would—that’s why you love him. He could ask for your firstborn and you would gladly give it up. You can always trust your capitano. There is a penalty call in the second half of the match and his teammates give it to him—a little unorthodox—but like a deadly sniper your captain sneaks a cool and calculated one past the Dutch keeper. You cheer. Does it count as a hat trick when you’ve scored at both ends? What a scoreline to retire to!

Picture this: you’re Yusuf Al Kaysani. You just lost in the third place match, a match widely panned as the least necessary match in a tournament by those who don’t know better. And yet, the third place match is the purest expression of love for the beautiful game. All other matches are clouded by the temptations of fame and fortune. The third place match you play for love and honor. You watch from the sidelines as your boyfriend leads his team to collect the medals, from none other than Paolo Maldini. Maldini, who’s doing an admirable job as UEFA President. Who knows where and how they got these medals at short notice—sometimes this country pulls miracles like a rabbit out from the magician’s hat of chaos. Everyone in the stadium is acting like this is the final. It’s not—it’s something a little better, a match born of love, played for love, with nothing to win and nothing to lose.

There is no trophy to lift, so Nico’s teammates lift him. They’re yelling for you. You’ve played with and against at least 90% of that team. Come join us, the men in blue say, and everyone forms a circle, arm linking arm, bouncing to the music. There are no losers here—your whole team is invited to the celebrations. The Dutch fans are singing: Second place! Second place! Let’s pretend we’re second place!

Let’s be real, for this one night, in this exact stadium, there’s only one captain, and the ones in the know push you towards him. Here’s your man, the unspoken acknowledgement. But you know your place—this is not your night. This night is for him. It’s for the country that loves him, and for him to say one last goodbye. Daniele Pirozzi jumps on the captain’s back, and the captain carries him for a while, laughing away. Pirozzi, whom you spent countless hours training how to read the field, in a fashion after yours. And then there’s Boselli, Marcuzzi, Poepjes and more. From one generation to another, the baton is passed. Nico, look around, these are our boys, as good as any. They’ll be better than us, and we are happy to see it, for the love of the game. Pirozzi jumps off the captain’s back and jumps onto you, asking you if you want to lift the captain together. You laugh and agree. On the count of three, uno, due—

Picture this: you’re Nicolò Di Genova, and you’re sitting on the shoulders of your protegé and your lover. Here we can mark the passing of the guard—tonight you are unburdened and the only thing that’s left, you realize, is love. Yusuf was right. Look, look how much they love you. Even San Paolo did this for you. Could you ever have denied all of them this? You almost screwed it up at the beginning, but perhaps God was just reminding you to take your responsibilities seriously. You are but a servant of the game and this ground is your ground, your hallowed ground, the church of your sins and glory.

It’s the final competitive match of your career, and you get to walk off the field, arm in arm with the love of your life, cheered on by a country you gave everything to.

Now, for the rest of your life to begin.

(chapter 106: nel blu, dipinto di blu, of The Beautiful Game)

[holeyweasel]

༄ daniel padilla, cismale, he/him + the color orange, impressive explosions, fireworks in the night sky, trolley carts ignited into flames, graffiti on stop signs, and quivering palms concealed by a nifty hand-buzzer. – is that george weasley ? their ministry records say that they are twenty-five , a pureblood , and went to hogwarts . currently they are the owner of weasley’s wizard wheezes . whenever i see them saintlike by jakey starts playing in my head. i think this may be because they’re astute & whimsical , but they also happen to be deviant & reticent . (       BIOGRAPHY. | PINTEREST. | PLAYLIST.     )

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL & SUBSTANCE ABUSE / ALLUSIONS TO ALCOHOLISM.

basics .

name & origin : george felix weasley ; based on the Greek word georgos; meaning farmer. the word georgos is a combo of two Greek words, ge (γῆ), meaning earth, soil, and ergon (ἔργον), meaning work. && george doesn't apply much of a personal meaning to his name; perhaps molly was following the trend of her late, twin brothers, gideon & fabian, or maybe it'd just been a coincidence. george doesn't know; it's possible he never will, since molly doesn't talk about her brothers that have passed too often. nicknames : forge, fred, georgie, gred, twin #2, & weasel. preferred name : george is fine. age & birthdate : twenty-five ; april first. gender & pronouns : cis male ; he/him. orientation : straight ; heteroflexible ; questioning. ethnicity & nationality : filipino ; english. hometown : ottery st. catchpole, devon, england. current residence : the loft above number ninty-three diagon alley. occupation : owner & operator of weasley’s wizard wheezes. hogwarts house / school graduated from : gryffindor.

miscellaneous .

phobias : he can’t be alone, because when he is, that’s when he gets into more compromising situations. he excessively relies on others to fulfill his own emotional needs (eg. fred, specifically) his codependency to fred ran, and continues to run, so deep that even his level of confidence changes without his brother around. he needs fred around to feel okay with himself. he fears being rejected and abandoned as lone unit; rather than the one collective unit he was with fred. quirks : when disinterested in something, doesn’t put the effort in; rarely expresses his true emotions unless it’s through anger; jokes so much it’s hard to tell when he’s being serious; sometimes doesn’t realize when a joke has gone too far & unintentionally hurts people’s feelings. when his emotions are too much to handle, can act rashly, and do something stupid; he often winds up in trouble since he couldn’t careless what others think. also he’s not great at overly complicated math. fred was better at math, while george is better at reading/writing/words in general. basic addition and subtraction is fine, but once you get to double digits? oof. he uses his fingers to count. hobbies : comforting others & giving advice anonymously, creating his own spells & potion recipes, dueling, inventing things, quidditch beating, quick-wit, speed reading, stand-up comedy; there’s never a dull moment with him; he’s always able to entertain an audience and make people laugh. likes : adventures, biscuits, breaking things, causing chaos & confusion, conjuring up ideas & schemes, creating inventions, discovering new things, explosions, fireworks, flashing lights, freedom, friendly debates, hippos, irony, jokes, laughter, memes, mum’s home-cooked meals, parkour, philosophy, petty arson, punching things, puns, quidditch, quotes, rebellion, rioting, sweaters, & unlimited knowledge. dislikes : being alone, being controlled, boredom, commitment, conformists, copycats, cucumbers, disloyalty, early mornings, feelings that aren’t joy, grapefruits, hypocrites (ironically), instant tea, judgmental people, ordinary living, pocket watches, purists, restrictions, school, sellouts, silence, sitting still, spinach, the government, the rich, the status quo, & unnecessary rules. wand :  10 ¾ inches ; dogwood ; dragon heartstring core. patronus : previously, his was a magpie; along with fred’s. since fred’s death, he struggled to conjure one for many years, but eventually was able to - and it’s now a peacock.  boggart : him, completely and utterly alone. without fred or just without anyone in general? the world may never know. reverse amortentia : burning cedar, broom polish, firewhiskey, freshly baked biscuits, & roasted chestnuts.

history .

➵ the fifth son born to arthur & molly weasley right after his twin brother, fred, george was practically born a prankster & inventor. after graduation, he planned to become a successful entrepreneur. from birth, both him & fred were attached at the hip; getting into all sorts of shenanigans together. not much has really changed regarding that. growing up, they successfully set off a dungbomb during christmas dinner, turned ron’s teddy bear into a spider after he broke fred’s toy broomstick, gave ron an acid pop that burnt a hole in his tongue, and nearly tricked ron into taking an unbreakable vow. ➵ during his first year, him and fred swiped the marauder’s map from filch’s desk; this aided more in their mischief. ➵ george, while not being a hat stall, could definitely have been a fair candidate for slytherin with his ambitious & cunning nature — if only he wasn’t a red-headed, reckless weasley. ➵ this curious boi might have a teeny, tiny case of undiagnosed ADHD. he definitely exhibits all of the symptoms; he’s never gotten officially checked out, though.  ➵ second year, he joined the quidditch team as beater. at one point, ron informed harry that george received ”really good marks” for his first few years. ➵ the summer before his fourth year, he stole arthur’s ford anglia with fred and ron. this was in order to rescue harry from the dursley’s and bring him to the burrow. ➵ the summer after fourth year, george went on a trip with his family to visit bill in egypt. with fred, of course, he tried to push percy into a pyramid. ➵ fifth year, he & fred graciously gifted harry the marauder’s map since they’d already memorized it. ➵ sixth year, he attended the quidditch world cup with his family, harry, & hermione. he and fred gambled on the outcome & won a great deal of money from ludo bagman. however, they were never paid, and harassed bagman all year. fred wanted to inform the ministry; george was against it since that’s considered blackmail. after harry won the triwizard tournament, he gifted fred & george his winnings to make up for their lost bet. they put this money away with the intention to invest it into their future joke shop. this is also the year they began selling their inventions and he took his ordinary wizarding level exams; received 3 OWLs in, what’s assumed, charms, defense against the dark arts, & transfiguration. ➵ seventh year, he spent the summer before school at 12 grimmauld place. after being given harry’s winnings, george had no interest in returning to school, but did anyway. he spent most of the year selling his and fred’s products. he also joined dumbledore’s army; not being a huge fan of umbridge. ➵ later that year, umbridge kicked him, harry, and fred off the quidditch team after george & harry got into a fight with draco malfoy. once the DA was discovered, george decided with fred, that he didn’t care about getting in trouble, and they began an all-out rebellion. they shoved an inquisitorial squad member into a vanishing cabinet, set off an array of fireworks that they made themselves, & created a portable swamp in the corridor. after the vandalism & chaos, george flew away from hogwarts with his brother; encouraging others, and peeves, to follow their example. ➵ after fleeing the castle, george worked with fred to establish a weasley’s wizard wheezes storefront. the summer before the golden trio set off for their sixth year, they had their grand opening. they remained open in diagon alley even while growing tensions of the war ensued. draco malfoy even purchased peruvian instant darkness powder from their shop, which assisted him during the battle of the astronomy tower. in theory, the twins unknowingly helped the death eaters twice, but we don’t have to unpack all that right now. ➵ him & fred lived in a loft above their shop. ➵ sometime after turning of age, george joined the order and assisted them during the battle of the seven potters. he was paired with remus lupin, and sometime during this mission, snape hit him with sectumsepra. he lost his ear and it was unable to be healed due to being cut off with dark magic. ➵ the burrow operated as a new headquarters for the order until they were ambushed by death eaters and they had to flee. ➵ george & fred were frequent guests on lee jordan’s radio show: potterwatch. ➵ george was hit with snape’s sectumsepmra curse and ended up losing his left ear. since it was dark magic, his injury wasn’t able to be repaired. he has permanent hearing loss and a scar where his ear used to be. he’s picked up BSL (british sign language) since the incident.  ➵ he split up from the rest of his family after the death eater ambush, but remained with fred. him & fred were apart of lee jordan’s radio broadcast, potterwatch, so it’s assumed they were with lee in some way. ➵ there was an incident where george, alone, was taken in front of the wizengamot while fred had stepped out for the afternoon. he was brought on charges of aiding and abetting the mass breakout of muggleborn criminals. supposedly, they had items sold at weasley’s wizard wheezes that’d aided in their ultimate escape. ➵ questioned & tortured at the hand of umbridge, they almost sent him off to azkaban… but the department of magical law enforcement requested time to gather more evidence to build a stronger case of george’s involvement. his blood status wasn’t in question, and therefore, he was free to go. ➵ during the battle of hogwarts, george lost his twin brother, fred, in an explosion orchestrated by augustus rookwood. the years that followed were absolutely the hardest thing he’d ever gone through.  ➵ upon fred’s demise, george might have taken up a biiit of a drinking problem. while it hasn’t entirely taken over his life, some would definitely consider him a “functioning alcoholic.”  ➵ depending on a potential charlie mun, after fred’s funeral, george followed charlie to romania in order to “travel” and “find himself” without fred able to stand by his side anymore.  he eventually stole a dragon from charlie and took it across the world. goooo georgie! he returned about a year after fred’s funeral initially took place. ➵ for quite some time, george struggled to conjure a patronus. with all of his “happy memories” linked to fred, the charm became quite difficult for him to perform. of course, george is a determined individual; he continued to try anyways.  ➵ eventually, two years after fred’s passing, george was able to cast a patronus. although, instead of a cheery magpie revealing itself, a peacock took its place. this was significant because, slowly but surely, george was beginning to detach his identity from fred. ➵ george continued to build the business he’d started with his late brother. these days, he fills his time with work; occupying his mind with weasley’s wizard wheezes instead of the void fred’s passing left within him.

[amoveablejake]

My Five Key Songs of July 2021

How did we get here then. 

Welcome to July’s five key songs of the month, well at least the five key songs in my eyes or should that be my ears. I was going to write then that I can’t quite believe that we’re here already but thats not strictly true. July has seemed like quite a full month, it seems like an age ago that one night in London England...okay, we won’t get into that. But if you did ask me if that event happened in July I would have said it didn’t. Its been a full month and I think I’ve got the songs lined up to reflect it. 

Track number one: ‘Last Train Home’ by John Mayer 

Look, its no secret that I don’t listen to a lot of what you may call ‘modern music’. Or perhaps a better way of phrasing that is that I don’t listen to a great deal of albums that are hot off the press. In part this is because I don’t have the social media platforms where records are announced and also during the recent lockdowns I haven’t been heading into record shops as much. All of this is to say that sometimes I accidentally stumble across a new album from an artist I like completely by surprise. And that, that is a pretty sweet feeling especially as it makes me think I’m in days gone by such as the 80s and I’ve walked into a store to see this new album thats just come out. And I’ve mentioned the eighties there because that seems to be where John Mayer’s new album ‘Sob Rock’has come from. Now, I will admit this is the first Mayer album that I’ve listened to in full, and that only happened really because one song that came out quite a while ago as a single is finally on a full album on this record but nevertheless this record is a lot of fun. Well, fun isn’t quite the right term as a lot of it does revolve around heartbreak but even with that in mind its an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The opening number, ‘Last Train Home’ is a song that must have been hidden in Doc Brown’s Delorean because it is a nostalgia (yeh, yeh I’m nostalgic for a time I wasn’t living in, sue me) fueled track that could slide into a number of John Hughes films seamlessly. And any album that has the audacity to be released with a fake vintage price tag on its cover that is actually printed on so you can’t peel it off is a hit with me. 

Our second track of the month: ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ by Vanilla Fudge (Quentin Tarantino Edit) 

Right out of the gate I’m going to issue a disclaimer. I have no idea how the Quentin Tarantino edit from the ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ soundtrack differs from the regular version but lets gloss over that. Its the one I’ve been listening to so its getting the name check here, I’m sure Quentin would appreciate that. Over the last week or so I’ve been reading Mr Tarantino’s debut novel which is the novelization of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’  and whilst I’ve been reading it I’ve been listening to the soundtrack for the full effect. First off, I should say that to call it a novelization of the film I think is selling it a little short as it is a story onto itself and makes the near three hour long film look empty by comparison with the amount of detail and world building present here. Either way, reading the book is made all the better by listening to the soundtrack alongside it and Vanilla Fudge’s version of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ has been my standout hit of the soundtrack on these last listen throughs. And yes, its not as good as the Supremes version or come to mention it as good as the version from the first series of the show ‘Glee’ which is a real sucker punch, but this psychedelic take on the track is a hit and is helping to transport me to Los Angeles in 1969. 

And our third entry is: ‘I Saw Her Again’ by The Mamas and The Papas 

Following on from the album of the week pick for this week ‘I Saw Her Again’ has more than earned its place on this list. I’ve been listening to it practically on a loop all week and again, its taking me to California in the sixties. It would be pretty damn hard for me to pick one the Mamas and The Papas song above the others but at the moment ‘I Saw Her Again’ seems to be sitting at that top spot if only for that mistaken coming into the chorus, its a mistake and a perfect one at that. Oh, and the almost orchestral breakout mid way through doesn’t go amiss either. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we saw this song appear again in one of these key tracks features. 

Coming in as the fourth track of the month: ‘Snowdin’ by Lofi Lia 

Quite honestly, all five songs for July could have been Lofi Lia tracks. Her music from the ‘Season One’ album has become integral to my day to day listening habits and is often sending me off to sleep through its gentle riffs on video game classics. For me, ‘Season One’ has joined the ranks of my hygge albums and ‘Snowdin’ at the moment would be the main cosy track and the one that when it comes on I breathe an even deeper sigh of relief. Like with ‘I Saw Her Again’, I have no doubt that we’ll see more Lofi Lia tracks throughout the year and at the rate its going she may even be one of the front runners to be my artist of the year. Big words, I know. And yet, ‘Snowdin’ is not the track of the month for July. Well, thats because it has to be, has to be, something else. 

And the song of the month for July is: ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. 

It seems obvious now that it had to be this song. I mean, come on, it had to be this. Although saying that for the past week as I’ve been formulating my plans for the songs of the month feature ‘Sweet Caroline’ wasn’t in it. Not because I’ve gone off it but because honestly, it feels like the Euros and our new national anthem’s rise was months ago. But no, it was this past month apparently and whilst I have listened to Diamond’s classic over the past couple of weeks for a while it was the only song hitting my airwaves. And boy, what a time that was. In all honesty I’m not sure why the England fans started singing ‘Sweet Caroline’, I just know that after the Germany match when I was beside myself with joy (I’m sorry Germany, against any other team you know you’re my favourites, okay maybe not against Argentina but you know I adore you) and couldn’t believe what was going on, this song was being sung all around Wembley. It seemed to capture that moment perfectly and then went onto to capture the magic of the tournament more and more. And yes, I know it wasn’t sung after the final penalty but maybe, just maybe it will in Qatar in 2022. I sure hope it is. But if not, thats okay too. If this song is ours only for this one tournament then thats fine because as I’ve said before Euro 2020 will always hold a special place in my heart and ‘Sweet Caroline’ will forever be the soundtrack to those memories. 

But I wouldn’t complain if it was also the soundtrack to a trophy lifting in 2022 either. 

So, there we have it. Another month’s key songs being written down and put out into the world with ‘Sweet Caroline’ ofcourse taking the position as the song of the month and thereby securing its place on the end of the year playlist. Its going to be an interesting playlist for 2021 I think and I’m already looking forward to seeing what the August track of the month is and if my birthday (gasp) will have anything to do with it. But thats then and this is now. And now, with my mind firmly in the present, in the moment, definitely right now and nowhere else I’m going to think about that game against Ukraine. Thats now right, no? Then why does it play everytime I close my eyes. 

-Jake, a man who is already preparing himself emotionally for the Women’s Euros next year in England, 31/07/2021

[pcssessicn]

☆ . · . miguel bernardeau, twenty-one, male, he / him . · . ☆ fitzwilliam 'fitz' phénix-alvarez lives in that huge mansion over there! no, not that one. look for white stucco walls & terracotta shingles and that’ll be it. the nhl defenseman has offered occasional glimpses of soft yellow walls and an impressive collection of plants in the background of social media posts, but all of that is nothing compared to seeing the opulence in person. they’ve remained protective as ever since moving to tercet court two months ago, but it seems like they might’ve gotten a little more mistrustful too. maybe that’s why they’re rumored to have such a distant relationship with everyone else who lives on this street. ☆ . · . ooc info: ollie, they / them, 21, est . · . ☆ career claim: cale ma/kar.

BASICS

Full name: Fitzwilliam Phénix-Alvarez Nickname: Fitz Birth date: September 29th Languages: English, Spanish, Quebecois Francois Hometown: 

PHYSICAL

Age: 21 Weight: 196 lbs Height: 6′2″ Body build: athletic, lean Eye color: grey-blue Faceclaim: Miguel Bernardeau Glasses or contacts: neither 

Tattoos: a raven in flight over his left shoulder blade, monochromatic vines winding up his left bicep

Scars: most predominantly a thin scar near the base of his neck where a skate slashed him when he was fourteen ; several other smaller scars of less note, especially on his hands --- much less noticeable

PERSONALITY

Good personality traits: observant, calculating, protective Bad personality traits: mistrustful, dishonest, aggressive 

Fitz comes across as very confident and in control, and at ease in his skin. The truth couldn’t be farther from it. He works hard to put forward the easy front he does --- and some days he can’t tell which one is more real. He has a dishonest smile that masquerades as honest, and a tendency to manipulate those around him when necessary to shed suspicion off himself. He can be almost charming at times, at least extremely amiable. Despite all this, Fitz is not rash or impulsive -- in fact everything he does is carefully calculated, though he goes to great lengths so it does not come across as so. The one place he feels truly effortless is on the ice.

He finds it hard to truly allow people close to him and to really see beyond the most superficial layers of himself. Furthermore, there is a deep-seated fear of not being enough and being forgotten ; he finds it easier to not let anyone close so there’s less chance of this happening.

THE STORY ( i rly was gunna try to write this nice and eloquently but... u get this instead 😔 )

— fitz was born to up and coming spanish actress reyna alvarez in chicago. the result of a messy one-night stand, but reyna ultimately decided to keep the baby. he is indeed named after fitzwilliam darcy from pride and prejudice bc his mother’s first breakout role was in a film adaptation of the book and she loved the book after reading it. how unfortunate for him.

— his birth father was never in the picture, but the man he would come to know as his father came into the picture a year or so after his birth. already one of the top architects in north america, paul robert phenix was in chicago for a conference and he and reyna fell in love. fitz has been told it’s was all very romantic. so then the happy family moved to pittsburgh where his father’s architecture firm was based.

— despite growing up with two parents who raked in a fair amount of cash, they made sure nothing was just given to fitz. they’d both had their humble beginnings and big believers in tough love, they made sure not to spoil their son. they did however make sure he was sheltered from the media when it poked around and the two things they did pay for without question were his education and sports.

— he started playing hockey when he was six after seeing a pens game on tv while they were out at dinner and knowing he just had to do it --- and never stopped. he got recruited to the us national team development program when he was sixteen and spent his last two years of high school in michigan living with a billet family most do who are with the program, which gave him a huge sense of “normalcy.” but really he was far from normal, his development taking great steps over those two years leading up to his draft year.

— queue the cale ma/kar career claim lads aka all the hockey development & logistics u can probably skip if u don’t care laksdjf: 

 one year before graduation and a draft, he vocally committed to playing at university of massachusetts - amherst. he went fourth overall to the la kings in the 2017 draft ( yeah technically irl that pick belonged to the avs but sh ), and proceeded to remain loyal to his commitment and play two years at umass despite his new top five prospect status. he was put into a first pair role from the start of his freshman year ( 2017-18 ), was a huge part in bringing the umass team up from the bottom of the standings. he plays for team usa in world juniors 2017 and 2018.

his sophomore year ( 2018-19 ), they make it all the way to the frozen four. fitz gets announced as the hobey baker winner and the day after they get knocked out of the tournament. not long after that he signs his entry contract with the kings and finishes out the season with them. he scores his first nhl goal on his first shot in game 3 of the first round of playoffs irl the kings don’t make playoffs but again shh. they get knocked out in the first round and fitz goes home and trains harder than ever.

he come back to kings training camp the next season ( 2019-20 ) more determined than ever to make the team. he does so out of camp and has an incredible rookie campaign. he gets injured in december and misses a few games but is back mid-january. fitz is given the calder ( award that goes to the best rookie in the nhl ) at the end of the season. technically cale hasn’t won this yet but we all know he will.

— la is a bustling city and fitz is a fan of one night stands : he just doesn’t feel like he has time for a relationship and hookups scratch that itch. he’s not an asshole about it, really. there is typically that understanding that this is a one time, no strings attached thing. but this one girl he sleeps with in march obviously does not get this memo and continues to not get the memo. she starts seriously stalking him in the following months and eventually he gets a restraining order against her ( use ur imagination kids ). he’s not really comfortable staying in his own apartment downtown for the time being though after he still sees her around. he stays with a teammate until the season ends, which then brings us to his connection to tercet court.

— paul robert phenix, now world reknowned architect, had a hand in designing several of the homes on tercet court, including one in the style of old money spanish mediterrianian villas that he designed with his wife in mind to be their new home. fitz’s mother had loved the house and moved in for a few years after the court opened but with her taking fewer roles up in the movie industry and getting exceedingly more lonely, she decided to embrace the more nomadic livestyle of her husband and moved out about a year and a half ago. since then the home stood vacant ( though certainly still cared for by several paid landscapers and maids ) until fitz’s dilemma arose a few months ago.

— a few phone calls and a begrudging agreement to pay the extremely steep taxes on the place for the year ( again, tough love and fitz may be a pro-athlete but he’s still making less than a million a year with his entry level contract ), and fitz moved in about two months ago ( say mid-may ).

MISC

— tri-lingual. father is french-canadian and his mother is spanish. needless to say he grew up a little confused. that worked itself out soon enough though. uses he uses quebois french in-season kind of frequently to talk to a couple teammates. really only uses his spanish to talk to his mother and family.

— since moving in fitz has filled the mansion with plants. he absolutely does not seem like a plant guy but he is... absolutely loves it. his major at umass was kinesology bc he thought it would be the most helpful and knew he wasn’t going to graduate but he snuck in some out-of-major classes on horticulture. truly just likes plants a lot. they don’t judge him.

— probably set up his own puck shooting pad in the backyard. why not there’s enough space. he had to retrieve a couple pucks from the bottom of the pool though which has been good incentive to not miss the net lmao. he also has revamped one of the rooms in the house to have synthetic ice.

— runs in the morning before it gets hot. skates a few days of the week in the afternoon. home gym in the house is definitely a perk but he prefers to work out with others because it feels more productive.

— probably drives like. a range rover.

— offensive defenseman. likes to jump up in the rush and is good at break out passes as well as zone entry. earned his place quarterbacking the first powerplay towards the end of the season. he can be quite physical when he needs to be though and don’t ever go after his goalie. ( his nhl.com player page )

— he’s not a recluse by any means, but he has no desire to built connections in tercet court so probably hasn’t actively reached out. they’re likely to have met outside of the small community or if your character forcibly came and introduced themselves. or if they knew each other already mayhaps??

— oh and he’s bi. like really really bi. obv not advertised given his career path but he’s not having some crisis over it either. it just is. probably has a stack of nda’s next to the condoms ready to go at anytime alsdkfj.

OOC

hey lads. i’m ollie !! for those around for round 1.0 of this rp i played alya ( the sports photog ). i am back and this time going back to what i do best : playing hockey boys 😔😔😔.

[thegeneralsnotebook]

January Feature: History of Colours Part 1 -- Yellow

Welcome to another year’s worth of articles on The General’s Notebook. The time off in December, as I flew home to be with my family for the holidays, was a refreshing one, and now I have some energy to begin tackling another project. In this case, that’s a new series of posts over here, detailing the history of each colour within the entire scope of the MLPCCG metagame. For many of us, those early days of the Premier Block may be represented by nothing more than the old cards that we know were played with back then, but there was real development and real competition then too. In fact, in my opinion those days were something of a Golden Age for the game, when the subreddit was filled with excited speculation and real discussion. Sure, the cards may have been subpar, but the community was pretty great.

Of course, in my case those days were before even my time, as though I started playing the game around midway through the tenure of Canterlot Nights, I only first started paying attention to the larger trends around Absolute Discord. So some of the older decks were completely unknown to me, and I was lucky to have the expertise of my good friend Bugle to help putting this history together. To start, we’re going to be talking about Yellow, because it’s a colour that’s had a really interesting history, possibly one of the most interesting out of all the colours.

It’s also a colour that is really present in the zeitgeist of the game right now, suddenly a force to be reckoned with not just in Core, but also in Harmony. Indeed, as we’ll see, there’s a little bit of poetic justice in Yellow taking a Harmony crown this year, given its history with the format, but to understand that we’re going to have to take the whole journey first.

Yellow’s fortunes in the game have experienced some significant variations over the course of time, but in broad strokes, the story is actually very simple. In the beginning, the colour was great. Then it was bad, for a long time, and now it’s good again. Barring one or two exceptions, that’s actually a pretty good approximation of how things have gone in the years since Premier. So let’s start with those golden days of yore, when the future was bright, and the metagame barely a new thing.

The core highlights of any Premier Yellow deck.

The Golden Years of Premier

There were two notable Yellow decks in the days of Premier, and while they shared one big card (one that will be a recurring theme through these early days of Yellow decks), aside from that their playstyles couldn’t be much more different. On the one hand, we had the aggro stylings of Blue/Yellow Rainbow Dash Wins, and on the other the Yellow/Purple control of Royal Guidance.

RD Wins probably requires little introduction and explanation. While in those days the game was fundamentally different, with confronting a Problem before anyone else netting you the Problem’s bonus points, functionally aggro was still aggro. That meant that one kept their cards’ reqs low, optimized high impact for low cost, and built an insurmountable momentum through the midgame that carried on through to the end. The biggest feature of Blue in those days was the free movement available from cards like Wild Fire and Holly Dash, and the AT efficiency of Cloudchaser and Two Bits. Yellow pitched in cheap things to make finding the off-colour Problem requirements easier, as well as the best Faceoff trick in the day with Critter Cavalry. And, of course, lest she ever be forgotten, the sheer dominance that was Guidance Counselor. This wasn’t one of those decks that necessarily tried to lock the opponent out of the game with her, as RD Wins was often, er... winning before that would happen, but it was still a huge source of AT advantage, and already well-recognized as one of the best cards in the game.

By the way, those 9 Troublemakers certainly weren’t a mistake, as if you take a close read on PR Rainbow Dash’s text you’ll realize that she needed them, even if the main strategy of the deck was was to confront Problems and go fast. And hey, who would say no to the opportunity for that brilliant double YPS opening? Even if we’re an aggro deck.

To the second example, Royal Guidance was the Swiss Army Knife of decks in those days, and it was one that absolutely thrived on the idea of dropping Fluttergui Turn 2 and basically winning the game from there on out. In fact, that was where the name of the deck came from, since Royal Guidance was the card that enabled either of Fluttergui or Ursa Vanquisher to hit the board early, setting up for an extremely asymmetric early game that would be used to assert dominance through the rest of it. Generally, this would take the form of solid Purple control, hunkered down behind Troublemakers and letting the game draw out. In those days, options against Troublemakers were few, and most decks could only really gather their resolve and hope to take them down in the faceoff, and under those circumstances Purple’s tools were well-positioned to keep the walls secure.

Indeed, some builds of Royal Guidance even tried their hand at the good old Gyro toolbox, even then already in a very well-developed form, though without the Eff Stop support at least. In the late game, the deck would often transition into a farming plan once Fluttershy had been flipped over, and could usually pull it off quite well, netting the extra points needed for the last push to the finish.

The meta as a whole was fluid in those days, with a number of other decks also vying for things (as we’ll get to in future articles), but with these two Yellow was absolutely in contention. This was a state of affairs that was bound to continue, at least for a little while.

These two could kill you with a wink of their eyes.

And The Man at the Back Said “Everyone Attack”

And it turned into a Ballroom Blitz. This one is probably the most well-known Yellow deck of the Premier era. Not only did it represent a distillation of the best that Yellow had to offer from the first two sets, it represented the match-made-in-heaven that was Yellow and White. And, so far as I could tell from the history, this deck was also Rarity: Truly Outrageous’ breakout hit. Sure, it was obvious to everyone that she was an absurdly valuable card right from the start, but it looks like this was the first deck that really hit the big-time with her.

The new Fluttershy Mane represented a huge speedup in the early game, especially since at this point Starting Problems were almost all small ones with easy confront requirements, and thus CN Fluttershy could ensure a quick confront and bonus points as soon as Turn 2. Remember those first confront bonuses plus the faceoffs, and a dominant early game could easily put the game out of reach, especially once it was followed up with the White-powered midgame, consisting of Stand Still to keep the opponent off-balance, and of course RTO to seal the deal. The deck could even (and often did) obtain the extra efficiency of using Staring Contest to self-bounce a cheap Friend like Forest Owl. Why, after all, would one spend 2 AT to move it when one could transition it through the hand instead and only pay 1 AT? All of that combined to make a lightning-fast juggernaut that tore up tournaments all across the country.

Of secondary note is a list that Bugle brought to my attention which I had never even heard of, a Yellow/Pink creation of the time that went by the semi-official name of Ploofy Critters. Fundamentally, this deck is working to much the same principles as the one above, but replacing the White integration with a somewhat lighter Pink package instead, and taking more Yellow weight as a result. Pink certainly does offer a bit of more permanent removal, but this deck’s success was something of a mystery at the time of its origination, especially with this list missing the crucial power that was Snips & Snails: Problem Solvers. (Which, it pays to note, was an even better card with those old first-confront rules.) Still, this deck in combination with Ballroom cemented Yellow’s status as one of the strongest colours in the game.

Unfortunately, though, that pride was coming right before the fall.

Something tells me this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of these two in this series.

Rock & Ruin

Crystal Games started out shaping up to be a great set for Yellow. In fact, there was a deck shaping up that looked about ready to dominate the whole meta, and it was indeed powered by a Yellow card. But it got banned. Even so, for at least a little while the old guard was able to keep on with things, mostly overlooking the cards in the new set. As time went on, though, a couple of Manes who had been introduced in a small supplemental set made their presence felt more and more, and started defining their own era, which we’ll cover in more detail once we get to the articles about Orange and Pink. Most important to this story was the final nail that came with the banning of Guidance Counselor. Yellow had lost its biggest weapon, and in a world now filled with farming and Pile combo, there just wasn’t any space left for it anymore. It fell away.

So began the Long Darkness for the colour. Indeed, it got so bad that at the second NA Continental tournament, there was a grand total of just 7 Yellow cards across the entire Top 16. The one bright spot, in its own ironic way, was the popularity of Seabreeze’s Flower, which was kind of a Yellow card, even though nobody was using it for that purpose.

From here, the history gets a little dull, because yeah, the Long Darkness continued for a long time. Years and multiple sets passed with the colour being little more than a footnote, with few good Manes to its name, no true bombs that could form a deck’s foundation, and little prospect on the horizon too.

Which isn’t to say that attempts weren’t made. A few of them even bit at the edges of viability. Equestrian Odysseys especially offered quite a bit of hope, with Fluttershy, Backup Vocals finally being the card that could maybe make Bubbly Mare work, and Bedtime offering the chance for a Yellow/White control deck. Both of those saw real experimentation, but came up short, especially in a meta that was now quickly falling under the sway of the Apple Queen.

Then, suddenly, a spark. From a most unexpected direction, the colour came to life in High Magic, this time partnering with Purple and White in the form of Zipporwhill control. Granted, it was a mere 4 Yellow cards that made it into the deck, but that was the most that had been seen in a top deck in years, and more importantly they were the key cards that made the deck work. The piles of critter tokens that often accumulated over the course of a Zipporwhill game were a testament to that. The deck’s ability to turn a merely efficient Power Event in Rise and Shine into a control tool was its main strength, and cycling it repeatedly with Eff Stop turned out to be just the ticket. While Zippo’s time at the top turned out to be brief, with Defenders heralding the rise of Pink decks with more removal than she could stand, it was a bright, shining moment. Maybe, just maybe, Yellow was back to being something worth playing around with.

The heralds. Surprisingly, it still took a few sets for Yellow to emerge again.

A Silent Renaissance

Defenders of Equestria absolutely was the point of rebirth for the colour, though one wouldn’t necessarily have known it at the time. This was, after all, the meta made famous for Hot Wings and Vinyl’s Bag of Tricks, a time of Pink ascendancy almost unparalleled save maybe for the grand old days of Pile (again, more on that in the Pink article). But quietly, important seeds had been sown for Yellow’s resurgence later. Most importantly, after literal years of waiting, the colour received not only one but two exceptional Mane Characters in Nurturing Nature and Thorax. With that came extremely efficient point acceleration in the from of Tri-Horned Bunyip, and new tools against both Resources and Troublemakers, themes that had been building in the colour for a while, and were now getting close to a critical mass. Indeed, the colour was getting back to its roots for the first time in a while: prepping for a game plan of speedy confronts and aggression.

You might think, then, that it was only a matter of time before things turned around. Seaquestria & Beyond certainly had enough good cards that one would think the colour couldn’t help but see play. Day Shift once again gave the colour some brutal AT efficiency, its efficacy against Resources became unmatched with the introduction of Brian, and we even saw multiple effective multicoloured cards added in: like Pirate Fluttershy and Treading Water. Yet even so, Yellow remained under the radar, with the Seaquestria meta being first dominated by the Apple Queen (prior to her forcible removal) and then by Tempest Shadow and Purple/Pink.

Nay, it was indeed not until Friends Forever that the colour finally threw off its bonds and re-emerged as a true contender. Little wonder that this was accompanied by a true monster card in Mage Meadowbrook. In this set, Yellow was not taking any prisoners, and it was time for everyone else to feel the weight of the long years it had spent in irrelevance. Suddenly there were more Yellow than one could shake a stick at, with the most prominent being the Thorax/Orange aggro pioneered on the West Coast, and the pure mono style that first made waves in the Midwest. It also featured, at least tangentially, in the alicorn tribal that saw some play around this time. 

Fast-forward now to Leaders & Legends, and suddenly the colour is everywhere again. It has prospects with Purple thanks to Pegasus Royal Guard, is still going strong in Orange, where it now regularly trots out Novo for the surprise faceoff edge, and even just captured a tournament in Harmony, at this most recent Vanhoover Pony Expo. Remember how I said there was a little poetic justice in Yellow’s tourney win this year? Well, Yellow dropped off in the old CG meta due to the prevalence of Pile of Presents and Orange farming. Which deck did Yellow have to beat to take the crown at Vanhoover this year? Yeah, it was Pile, albeit in an updated form. What was taken first from Fluttershy, Thorax has now reclaimed.

Conclusion

That thus wraps the discussion of Yellow for this month. Truly, this colour has had a very bumpy ride over the course of the history of the game. Yet, at the moment, the horizon looks bright. It’s a future that once looked nearly impossible, but those of us with a soft spot for the colour are now happy to see it come. May many more like this follow!

As for this series, the next colour in the line will be White, as we walk backward through the normal colour order. That may be in February, or later if something else demands attention first. But in any event, I’ll see you all back here next month for another post!

[junhaoshua]

The Great Collie Crossover, 6/10

A/N: I own none of the characters, being neither JK Rowling nor @colubrina. This is just a chance for me to play in the sandbox they have created.This is a birthday/get well soon present for the lovely @colubrina, whose work has been such a joy and inspiration to me.

***

5: The Green Girl

“You were - never friends?”

“Hard to be friends with someone who deems you a slimy snake. And they’re idiots.”

The world ripples as she sees her eleven-year-old self in the Great Hall, looking around nervously as she makes her way to the Sorting Hat. It barely touches her head before -

“You’re in Slytherin?” Hermione asks in astonishment as Fred and George boo at the little girl making her way to the green table, as she looks at her younger self shaking Draco’s hand and squeezed with Theo and Blaise and Pansy.

Slytherin-Hermione gives her a withering stare. “And you’re in Gryffindor, yes, I believe that has already been established, so shall we get on with it?”

It’s so strange to see their first year play out. Insulting Harry when he gets a new broom and a spot on the Quidditch team. Wingardium Leviosa and Ron saying she has no friends, only this time, she has the Slytherins. No troll. A glass bead bracelet from Draco for Yule and little cakes from Narcissa. Trying to get Hagrid in trouble for his dragon. Slytherin losing the cup after all her hard work because Harry and Ron and Parvati had saved the stone.

Summer and going to Diagon Alley and meeting Lucius Malfoy, who seems quite fond of her here. The incident on the Quidditch pitch and Ron calling her a filthy little Mudblood. The Chamber opened and Slytherins escorting her everywhere. Brewing polyjuice in Snape’s lab to find out if Harry is the Heir. Dinner with the Malfoys. Petrified again, and Lucius storming up to Hogwarts to remove Dumbledore. Draco half out of his mind with worry.

Being shown off by the Malfoys over the summer. Third year and no Time-Turner, not for Slytherins. Draco continuing a sort of half-dating thing with Pansy. The boggart lesson with Lupin. Draco strolling out of that cupboard and calling her a Mudblood. The werewolf lesson, but here, Snape likes her. Enough to teach her how to make a patronus. Slowly resenting Draco and Pansy. Crookshanks catching Scabbers for real here. Starting her own thing with Blaise. The encounter at the Willow that goes so differently but ends with her helping Sirius to escape on the hippogriff anyway.

“I don’t see much difference,” she says. “At least, not in the outcome.”

Slytherin-Hermione smiles. “Watch.”

The Quidditch World Cup, spent under the Malfoys’ aegis. Threatening Moody after he turns Draco into a ferret, then writing to inform the Malfoys about it. Resisting the imperius in DADA. Snape being all sympathetic when Harry curses her with long teeth. Going to the ball with Viktor to make Draco jealous. Starting a thing with Draco, properly this time. Rita Skeeter being a pain in every world. The end of the Tournament going exactly the same.

The Malfoys making a show of keeping her under their wings. Kissing Draco. Not being a prefect. Luna - and Blaise. Umbridge attempting to use a blood quill on her and failing. Making her patronus, a snow leopard kitten. The D.A. - Delle Arti, at Blaise’s suggestion - for Slytherins. Harry and one of the Weasleys beating up Draco after a Quidditch match.

Dinner with Tom Riddle and impressing him. Impressing him enough to be given his Mark on a necklace.

Hermione’s eyes flick to her counterpart, horrified. Other-Hermione cups the silver pendant around her neck and smiles viciously as the heart turns into a skull and snake.

The breakout. Warning Snape that Voldemort knows. Draco making an otter patronus. Working against Harry. Sending Umbridge to the centaurs, again. The battle at the Ministry, only this time she’s not there.

Spats with Bellatrix, who’s so maddened by the Dementors it’s almost pitiful. Riddle’s pet. Draco and Theo screaming as they take the Mark. The Slug Club. Trying to get the Death Eaters in. Draco killing the Lestranges for threatening her. The necklace and the mead because Draco has a fondness for overly convoluted plans. Sectumsempra. Killing Dumbledore and getting his wand, then killing Bellatrix and Greyback too. Handing the Elder Wand to Riddle.

Lucius back home. The obvious oppression of Muggle-borns being opposed to Riddle’s goal of power. Killing Hedwig and cutting off George’s ear. Riddle getting the locket back from Umbridge before killing her. Spats with the Carrows over their tendency to insult her and hurt children. Being kind to Michael Corner and Neville but neither of them appreciating it. Identifying Harry and Ron at the Manor, but Dobby rescues them anyway. Saving Lupin and Tonks. Killing the Carrows. Ravenclaw neutral in the battle. Narcissa saving her from Molly’s curses. Riddle avada’ing Harry then burning the body, no resurrections here. Neville swearing allegiance.

Hermione opens her mouth, but Slytherin-Hermione shakes her head. “Wait. Watch.”

Imperio’ing her parents to stay in Australia. Neville taking the Mark. Draco and Theo destroying the horcruxes. Neville killing Nagini, then slipping poison into Riddle’s cup. Planting the trees, one for every person they murdered.

“So you did get rid of him in the end,” Hermione murmurs.

Slytherin-Hermione laughs. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking it was for some noble misguided Gryffindorish honorable aim. I just wanted to rule the world, and he was in my way.”

“No wonder you’re in Slytherin.”

“Oh, please. The Hat put me there because of who we are already. Don’t think that being a lion makes you better than me. We’re the same person, down inside.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Hermione says, shaken.

The other Hermione laughs. “Really? Rita Skeeter in a jar? Umbridge and the centaurs? Scarring Edgecombe for life? Lighting Snape’s robes on fire? Your dream of being Minister?” She steps forward with every statement until Hermione is pressed up against a tree. “You are just as ambitious and cunning as me, and don’t you imagine otherwise.”

The fog sweeps her away before she can reply.

***

She finds herself in a sitting room that, through her many trips through worlds, she recognises as being in Malfoy Manor. The rose garden outside the window is unmistakable. There’s a ugly, agonised, disjointed cubist portrait of Professor Snape on the wall.

This world’s Hermione reclines on a sofa, heels kicked off on the floor, a diamond bracelet on her wrist. She sits up when she sees her. “I heard you had some problems with Ron,” she says casually. “He gave me some trouble too. We’re still friends, but well, it is easier to be friends with someone who hurt you when they’re living in another country. France, to be exact.”

***

Thank you to the wonderful @sulisaints for pre-reading! Crossposted on AO3.

[hazyheel]

WWE NXT Takeover: Toronto II Predictions

We are headed back to Toronto for Summerslam weekend this year, which means that Takeover will be hosted from the same city. It is certainly an interesting card this time around, with every championship in NXT proper being defended, in addition to a non-title women’s match, which is nice. All of the matches look really good, so let’s just hop right into the list.

The first match on the list is Candice LaRae vs. Io Sharai. During Sharai’s pursuit of the NXT Women’s championship, her and LaRae were best of friends. Sharai had a championship match at Takeover XXV, where Shayna Baszler’s lackey’s tried to get involved, but LaRae beat them down with a kendo stick. Still, Sharai tapped out to the kirifuda clutch, and lost. But after the match, she beat down Baszler and earned herself a rematch. That rematch was inside of a steel cage, and the two beat the hell out of each other. This time, Sharai looked like she was about to escape, when Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke came out again to cost her the match. LaRae ran out to support her friend, and helped to beat down the women. In the finish, Sharai was locked in the Kirifuda clutch right in the door frame of the cage as she tried to escape. To get out of the hold, she bashed Baszler’s head with the cage door, causing Baszler to fall out of the cage unconscious, but still winning the match. Afterwards, Sharai brutalized LaRae and blamed her for the loss. Since then, the two have brawled a couple of times, prompting Regal to make the match for Takeover. This is a bit of a tough one to predict, because LaRae is probably next in line for a title shot, but Sharai has had a recent heel turn. Both women need the win, but I would say that LaRae needs it more. It will propel her into the Women’s championship scene, and she can finally be the one to take the belt from Baszler. I doubt this will be the last time these two fight, and it is very possible that Sharai actually takes the women’s championship from LaRae, but right now, the babyface needs it more. This is LaRae’s Takeover debut, at least in a match, and it is the biggest stage that she has ever been on, so I think she will deliver in a big way. Sharai is great and has proved as such, so she is the perfect opponent for a debuting star. I’m excited for this match a lot, a sleeper great match for this card. 

Then, in the first of the championship matches, we have the Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships. This is a pretty simple story. The Street Profits won the titles in a ladder match at Takeover XXV, and have proceeded to beat each of the other teams in that match since then. They beat Lorcan and Burch, and then the Forgotten Sons. Fish and O’Reilly are the last team on their list, but they are also probably the best tag team in NXT history. I found this one a bit tough too, considering that the Street Profits have been appearing on Raw lately, but something about their NXT promo makes me think that they are going to retain. The two are really good together, but they haven’t had a breakout tag match yet. They were awesome in the ladder match, but in that sort of environment, big spots are given more attention. So in a straight tag match, they can show all of their talent and establish themselves as good champions and a great team. Of course, we could also end up with the Undisputed Era with the championships, so that the team holds all the gold at the end of the night, but considering how common that is in WWE right now, I think they will hold off on that for a bit. I think the Street Profits will win in a match that will be very good, but maybe just shy of great. 

Then we have a triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong. This match was originally just going to be Dream vs. Strong, because Strong pinned Dream in a 6-man tag a few weeks ago. So he had a claim to the title, but Dunne made a shock return to NXT proper, and inserted himself directly into the title picture by virtue of his very long title reign as the WWE UK Champion. He also has a noted history with Roderick Strong, as the two were tag team partners for a couple months before Roddy betrayed him last year to join the Undisputed Era. So we had a triple threat on our hands. I don’t think that Dunne is going to win here, but I do think it is a toss up between Strong and Dream. The only reason I’m picking Dream to retain is that I doubt another stable will hold all the gold in WWE. But if there is any match that I’m going to be wrong about, it will most likely be this one. I think Dream will retain here, but then go on to lose the title to Cameron Grimes after he wins the breakout tournament. But I could definitely see Roddy winning too. This is a match that makes my mouth water, and I’m really excited to see three of the best talents in NXT square off. 

Next up is Shayna Baszler defending the NXT Women’s championship against Mia Yim. The two have had a very violent and personal rivalry, starting in a match where the two beat the hell out of each other for a short period. When Yim was granted this title shot, Baszler, Shafir and Duke all beat her down in the ring and left her laying, calling her gutter trash as they did. In response, Yim channeled her street smarts and put both Shafir and Duke on the shelf with attacks in the parking lot and locker room respectively, saying that now the field is even. Baszler insists that Yim doesn’t deserve a title shot and is not good enough to be on the gold brand, while Yim says that Baszler can’t win without her friends and can’t deal with an opponent who fights dirty. This is an easy pick, Baszler is going to retain. Yim just doesn’t have the star power to take it right now. She is a placeholder. Still, should be an interesting match. 

And in the main event, we have Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole three, for the NXT Championship, three stages of hell. It isn’t being billed as that, but it is a much cooler name for when the stipulation changes. This all started back at Takeover New York. The title was vacant, and Gargano was the most recent #1 contender, so he was guaranteed a spot. Cole won a fatal 5-way to be the other competitor, and it was a 2 out of 3 falls match to ensure a decisive winner. Cole won the first fall, but Gargano came back and won the match. Cole said that he would have won in any other match, so he was given a rematch in a straight singles match, and sure enough, he won. So now, Cole has been rubbing his championship in Gargano’s face. He paraded around with the title, going to his wrestling school and telling students to give up, and even showing up at his parent’s restaurant and pinning his picture on the wall. The two brawled several times, so Regal made the match official. He also added the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation, but with a twist. Gargano picks the stip for the first fall, Cole for the second, and regal picks for the third if it comes to that. Gargano picked a street fight, as he has been tapping into a darker side for about a year now, and he wants to embrace that here. Cole picked a straight singles match, as he said that he does not need anything special to win. Regal hasn’t revealed the third stipulation, which adds some intrigue into an otherwise predictable stipulation. And I know I’m picking every champion to retain here, but I really don’t think there is any point in putting the belt back on Gargano. He is better chasing, and he already had a fairytale moment. Cole is a great villain right now, and he should have the belt for a while. For it to mean anything, Gargano is going to need to beat a new foe for the NXT Championship, maybe even Tommaso Ciampa when he returns. Cole should have a nice run, because if he loses it now, then it will be way too much hot potatoing for my liking. The last two matches have been great, although I question the A+ I gave the second match in hindsight, and I have high hopes for this match. They killed it twice before, make it a hatrick.

So, those are my predictions. No title changes I don’t think, but anyone in the Undisputed Era can concievably win their match. It’s a toughy for a lot of them, which makes the pay per view that much more exciting. I can’t wait for tomorrow night. 

[asianblackcouples]

We continue to be so very proud to report that one of our "kids", Naomi Osaka, Haitian and Japanese, has just won her semi-finals match at the US Open women's tennis tournament in NYC! The 20 year old Naomi moves on to a historic finals match against Serena Williams on this Saturday! Serena and Naomi are friends and have even trained together in the past, but in their only professional tennis match against one another earlier in 2018, Naomi actually beat Serena! This is the first Grand Slam tennis finals for Naomi, so she will need to control her nerves, and Serena is looking very strong in her post baby comeback, so it should be a great finals match! The winner of the finals match will win $3.8 million USD (or ¥420 million JPY) and the loser of the match will win $1.85 million USD (or ¥205 million JPY). We first wrote about Naomi in 2015 when she was 17 and we are excited to see her living her destiny! Much love and many blessings to Naomi Osaka and her family!

https://asianblackcouples.com/naomi-osaka-breakout-tennis-star-on-the-rise/