#so i can do what i did with DQ 11 and put in 14 hours in a day?

[blind-alchemists]

so where, exactly, do I find 400h to sink into Hades II.

[tommo-stylinson]

50 questions you’ve never been asked before

@finelinedwalls tagged me to do this! Thanks so much, I love these!!! 

1. what is the colour of your hairbrush? orange and yellow and pink

2. a food you never eat? lasagna or jalapeno poppers

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? honestly depends on the time of the day. usually cold though

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? working out? or showering. I honestly could have been in the shower for like an hour and wouldn’t notice

5. what is your favourite candy bar? daily milk fruit and nut! and twix

6. have you ever been to a professional sports event? yeah, a shit ton of hockey games 

7. what is the last thing you said out loud? “ha-ha sucks” when I obnoxiously climbed over my brothers to get to my room

8. what is your favourite ice cream? my favourite normal ice cream flavour is strawberry but one time i had this raspberry lychee one and no ice cream will ever compare to how good it was

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? milk

10. do you like your wallet? it’s fine. it’s more of a card holder so i can put it in my front pocket when i go out cause i hate purses

11. what was the last thing you ate? vegan cheesecake with cherries

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? nah

13. the last sporting event you watched? the nba skills competition in like february so clearly i watch a lot of sports

14. what is your favourite flavour of popcorn? honestly? butter salt! like caramel corn and chicago mix are good but nothing beats a good butter salt

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? my boss

16. ever go camping? yeah i live like 45 minutes from the rocky mountains so i go a lot

17. do you take vitamins? nope lol pretty sure my doc told me to take vitamin d cause no one gets sun here but like.... ma’am I have adhd you think i can remember to take a vitamin 😂

18. do you go to church every sunday? i've never been to church. I’ve been for like funerals and weddings but i’ve never “been to church”

19. do you have a tan? it’s april in canada i absolutely do not 😂

20. do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? sweet and sour pork is my favourite thing in the world, but as a whole, pizza. 

21. do you drink your soda with a straw? if i get it at a fast food restaurant yes, but otherwise just out of a can. i don’t really like pop that much though

22. what colour socks do you usually wear? black

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? yeah. it’s super common here like everyone and their grandmas drive over the limit. you usually drive beside cops that are going 10km/h over on average. i won’t in like... playground zones and communities but we’ve got a lot of big freeways

24. what terrifies you? literally the only thing is like giant waves. not like tsunamis just like big ass waves like when you watch movies and the boat has to go over a wave that’s like 50 ft high? wtf is that. no. 

25. look to your left, what do you see? a wall. that’s so not interesting. it’s white has wood panels and a scratch-off map of the world on it

26. what chore do you hate? sweeping

27. what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? steve irwin

28. what’s your favourite soda? root beer. it’s legit the only one i drink. 

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? depends on the situation. if my fam is getting dinner then it’s drive thru

30. who’s the last person you talked to? my brothers

31. favourite cut of beef? y’know, for an albertan, i should really know the answer to this but i do not. i like steak- that’s all i got. 

32. last song you listened to? best song ever just ended as i was typing this and now it’s to be so lonely

33. last book you read? the last book i skim-read was find me (cmbyn sequel) but the last book i actually read was the martian back in 2016/2017

34. favourite day of the week? fridays and saturdays usually cause i go to my bf’s house for the weekend but like... covid... so now it’s sat/sun cause i don’t have to go to work

35. can you say the alphabet backwards? i tried to learn and gave up so nope

36. how do you like your coffee? black, especially if it’s hot coffee... if it’s iced i’ll get a little more creative but i genuinely really like black coffee

37. favourite pair of shoes? my orange converse

38. at what time do you normally go to bed? i usually put my computer away at like 12/12:30 but read until 2-3

39. at what time do you normally get up? if i work then i wake up at 9 and read until i get up at 10. if i don’t work then like 10:30/11

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets... sunrises are only good to me if i’ve stayed up all night to see them. otherwise it just means i’m up way too early

41. how many blankets are on your bed? two- april in canada is cold lads

42. describe your kitchen plates? they’re like turquoise and round

43. do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? beer for sure. like a good friuty ipa. my city has a shit ton of micro-breweries so i’ve tried some wild flavours 

44. do you play cards? sometimes? it’s not like a past time of mine but if someone was like “let’s play cards” i’d be down

45. what colour is your car? silver

46. can you change a tire? in theory? yes.... with my dad teaching me? yes.... in an emergency? yet to be seen

47. what is your favourite state/province? my fave province is alberta, but like british columbia is a close second

48. favourite job you’ve ever had? working at a camp for kids with disabilities- especially the few years my job was focused on kids with complex behaviours 

49. how did you get your biggest scar? i sliced my wrist open hopping a chain-link fence while drunk like a year and a half ago.... it’s not that long but it’s in a weird triangle shape cause two different wires cut and then crossed over so it looks kinda cool

50. what did you do today that made someone else happy? i work at dq so i assume that someone was happy with their ice cream 

imma tag @that-anxious-blonde  @chocolatepepsifloat @larryiswhatilivefor @siriussilly if you want to! no pressure!! 

[geckcellent]

tagged by @habenaria-radiata an i’ve been sleeping on this for like 2 days bc iT LOOKS SO FUN 8′| but haven’t been on pc til now. ty 4 tag !! answers are below the cut.

1. rean/jusis (sen no kiseki) 2. inaho/slaine (aldnoah zero) 3. naoya/abel (desu1) 4. hibiki/yamato (desu2) 5. johan/judai (ygo gx) 6. nanashi/hallelujah (smt iv:a) 7. jomy/blue (terra e) 8. protag/arata (digimon cyber sleuth) 9. abel/atsuro (desu1) 10. karma/nagisa (assclass)

All questions for copy+paste:

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6?

2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2?

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screensaver/profile picture/tumblr screensaver?

4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be?

5. Why is 1 so important?

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

8. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond?

9. How many times have your read/played/watched 10’s fandom?

10. Which ship has lasted the longest?

11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up?

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

14. Is 4 still together?

15. Is 10 canon?

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5’s ship?

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond?

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s tumblr page?

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

no obligation ofc but! tagging @neutralend, @jusis-albarea, @moments-minutes-more + cien/king/azu/lightful whose urls i fORGET BC I’D FORGET MY HEAD SOMEWHERE IF IT WAS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE TO PUT IT DOWN 

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6? LITERALLY LIKE THE SECOND JUSIS WALKED ON SCREEN 2 SECONDS INTO SEN 1 AND CALLED THEM ALL DUMB HOES 😂😂

2. Have you ever read a fanfic about 2? bitch i'm like pretty sure i've read the entire ao3 tag. not that that takes long tho //rarefandom blues

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screensaver/profile picture/tumblr screensaver? UHH. on my psp like years ago, when i was a baby geck i stored all my ~pg-13~ pics on my psp bc my dad was always remote monitoring stuff on my desktop acct sO YEAH i had a rotating background pic of various low res kazunao on cycle

4. If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be? HEY OP, THAT SURE IS IRONIC, FUCK YOU

5. Why is 1 so important? LISTEN WITHOUT THEIR VERY GAY ~BOND~ JUSIS WOULDA STILL BEEn an asshole tryhard """perfect noble""" and rean woulda been 4eva alone bc honestly..,,, ... .. ,,, , if they hadn't had a superstrong bond then the plot would've crashed and burned like midway through sen 2 as well tbh

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship? why are you calling me out like this?????? >:T is a serious ship but they're pretty funny funky compared to kazunao (thinking emoji)

7. Out of all the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry? THAT'S TOUGH BC LIKE I FIRMLY BELIEVE ALL THESE SHIPS WOULD DIE/WALK THROUGH FIRE/EAT A LIVE BULLET ANT FOR THEIR PARTNER but uhh if i had to pick i'd say karma/nagisa just bc of how amazing of a team they are in canon. least chemistry though?? DEFINITELY inaho/slaine, they make it work with a lotta dedication and grease and also by being more stubborn than god tbh

8. Out of all your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond? honestly op this is like breaking into my house and taking my dog and cat hostage and saying only one of them can survive wtf !! iii think strongest bond is either inasure once all issues have been started working through, or hibiyama at basically any point post-sept route though.

9. How many times have you read/played/watched 10's fandom? all the way through?? like 3 times, once the anime and twice the manga aaand then i read bits of the manga piecemeal from time to time.

10. Which ship has lasted the longest? WELL LET'S SEE UHH my immediate urge was to say hibiyama for having 2 whole lives together (+1 4eva alone pining cycle for yamato) but honestly 2 ain't got nothin on kazunao for lifetimes spent statistically LMAOOOO. but also like rean/jusis is going strong 4 games now and H O NEST they only get gayer every game !! err if this meant ship longevity relevant to shipper then johan/judai is the 1st ship i fought my homophobic parents over as a baby geck and honestly there was no turning back,

11. How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up? I'M GOING TO SCREAM I THINK BECAUSE THEY DID ONCE. IN CANON. IT WAS VERY MESSY THERE WAS A LOT OF DEATH INVOLVED AND HONESTLY I LOVE IV:A BUT HOLY FUCK

12. If the world was was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8? Huh that's tough actually. abel is basically god and atsuro's a smart techie so they're a superpower team, but canon already ran inasure within like a millimeter of their lives and both of them are extremely competent AND dogged af so?? i think they both would. but also like any survival/gauntlet-type question is immediately biased towards abel so i rule he should be disqualified tbh

13. Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason? first of all there are no secrets on a ship full of closely bonded telepaths and second of all no. no. no. blue is the GAYEST fucko i have literally ever seen grace the screen. bitch's hobby is gazing intently into jomy's eyes and flying around with him while one or both are naked. LISTEN,

14. Is 4 still together? yeah and they will be til death do they part

15. Is 10 canon? honestly???? no relationships are ever confirmed except the teacher related ones but if you have eyes and a brain even if it's vestigal then yeah, canon.

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win? going with my earlier ruling to DQ abel "god is my bitch" minegishi related ships, it'd either be inasure or karma/nagisa, the former being extremely adaptable tactically and the latter being literally unmatched in the kind of situation hunger games death gauntlets take place in. counting abel in though, everyone rallies together probably behind johan/judai who have this naruto-like infectiously enthusiastic leadership, bust outta the game and beat up the sponsors.

17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5's ship? OH GOD AND HOW LMFAO, lookin at you yubel. but uhh we got some very gay scenes outta it and also hot bondage not-johan and it resolved nicely so we good o/

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond? listen op i'm looking you directly beady eyes to beady eyes and telling you to put my cat and dog down and back away slowly hhh. all of them. all. of them

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 3's tumblr page? not anymore, there's just not much new content production for them

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink? OP TURN ON YOUR LOCATION I JUST WANNA TALK ! !! ..jokes aside if i HAD to break one of them it would be jomy/blue bc honestly an amicable breakup for them would still be miles kinder than canon (PENSIVE x99)

[danasappdesign]

Questionnaire responses

1. Setting of base location: Urban/city= 60%, Suburbs= 20%, Small town= 20%

2. What colors, aesthetics, and/or visualizations do you associate with ice cream?

- White, brown, pink. Creaminess texture while being firm in shape. Rounded. Overflow of toppings including sprinkles or chocolate syrup

- White, aqua, any color pastel

- Light brown, white, pale pink, cream, hot pink, bright blue, mint green

- Pink, tan, white, light green

- Bright pastel colors, summer, comfort, and sweet aromas

- Brown, butterscotch, and beige mostly and all the other nudes

3. Describe your relationship with/ feelings toward ice cream?

- Amazing experience to enjoy any time of the day. Uplifting and makes me feel happy. Can never go wrong with a scoop of it. Pure love

- Always here when needed, especially when feeling a bit down or just craving something sweet.

- It's cold but makes me feel warm inside

- It’s my stress reliever and I often crave eating it 😘🤤🤤

- A strong relationship or a bond that never broke

- My certain flavors that are my go tos just feel amazing! It's like heaven in your mouth! Just fun food!

4. How often do you go out for ice cream, or think about going to an ice cream shop?

- Weekends I feel like going out to get ice cream, especially if it is a hot sunny day.

- Frequently

- Once a week

- Maybe like twice or thrice a week

- Way too often but definitely once a week

- I go out for ice cream like twice a month but I think about it a lot more often than that

5. Where do you usually go when you want ice cream? (Select all that apply)

- Local ice cream shops: 40%

- Known ice cream chain: 40%

- Look for something new: 33%

- Supermarket/ corner shop: 7%

6. What is your preferred method of finding new places and restaurants to go to?

- Word of mouth: 47%

- Social media: 60%

- Google/Yelp: 33%

- Walk around and find places: 7%

7. How do you differentiate between ice cream shops? What makes a store somewhere you want to go to?

- The amount and variety of flavors makes each ice cream store unique. Also, the layout of the store itself differentiates each place. I want to go to a place that has the feeling of being a family owned store and has an authentic feeling to it.

- If they have samples and I get to stand there and think abt what I really want without feeling judged

- Knowing the flavors or the extra mile they will go with add ins. Have to go where that's the main/only thing sold .. I'm not big on like McDonald's, DQ.... Fast food place ice cream. I'd rather actual ice cream shops.

- The overall feel of the place. I think if they go the extra mile to promote a lifestyle and make themselves a unique brand I would go again

- I more often go to ice cream shops that have unique flavors and methods of making ice cream

- Showcase, display, and decoration. Large choice of ice cream (vegan, gluten free, variety of flavors), kind employees, and a clean place.

8. What are things you pay attention to online when considering/ researching a place to eat? (ex. photos, reviews, ratings, descriptions, etc.)

- Reviews/comments are very important. Photos of the place itself I pay attention to. Additionally, I pay attention to how well the website of a place is. If the website is neat and provides plenty of information, it goes well for the place as well.

- All of the above. Also word of mouth ratings from friends and family. That way you actually know if it's good or not.

- Photos and reviews, but like real photos, not fake ones!

- Reviews ( photos and rating ), location, menu

- I pay attention to reviews, ratings, and descriptions

- Photos mostly, but also reviews and ratings

9. Tell me about a time when you really wanted to go out for ice cream and needed help finding a place to go:

- Going on a date is very important to know where a good ice cream place is. You could go out in a very remote area on a date and it may not be easy to find an ice cream place near you.

- When I was visiting a small city and was desperate for some ice cream but I knew nobody there to get direction for the best shop in the city

- Never. I always have a place to go because I have a list

- We were looking for a place to eat some ice cream, ended up going to the first place we saw and were a bit disappointed.

- Never💅🏻 Instagram tells me where to go😂

- I know all the places in my city where I can get ice cream.... so didn't need any help!

- My daughter for her birthday wanted fun ice cream with toppings... so I researched and then named a few I thought she would like. We ended up at a place called Orange Leaf. Yummy frozen yogurt with lots of flavors and you get to serve yourself and put on as many toppings as you want. Just have to be careful. When they weigh it to give final pricing 😅

10. Where did your love for ice cream stem from? Who do you share this with, or how do you express this?

- Growing up my family always had ice cream for dessert. Ice cream just resembles being in a safe homey environment and it's the most fun to enjoy with those who too make you feel most comfortable.

- I generally love dairy products and have a sweet tooth, ice cream is both, so it's super! I express my love by ogling ice cream online and eating it whenever I can.

- My family loves ice cream... Especially my mom, she is my go-to partner to eat ice cream with!

- My mom... She's always loved ice cream, vanilla and butter pecan... she always says "ice cream is good any time of the day... breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner." I get my love of ice cream from her!

- I like to go for ice cream with my friends

- Probably the fact that my father encourages my love for ice cream😂

11. How might you go about sharing your experiences, good or bad, at a specific ice cream spot?

- Post a picture to social media: 60%

- Tell or text a friend about it: 68%

- Write a review on Google/ Yelp: 28%

-I do not share my experience: 20%

12. Has social media impacted or influenced how you view your relationship with ice cream? If yes, how so?

- While social media creates the desire for ice cream, the real relationship of ice cream is the experience of enjoying it so I wouldn't say it has impacted me greatly

- Not really! I just take it as everyone has different taste! Someone may say they don't like it. But honestly if you don't try for yourself you'll really never know. Everyone is different in what they like. I'd definitely take their opinion into consider but ultimately it's my taste buds.

- Made me realize all the options available , even if we have certain diets to follow (Vegan , lactose free , gluten free )

- Instagram make it look soooooo good so I want to try it out

- Sort of because sometimes I like to post a picture of the ice cream I get

- Not really but I do fall for a lot of ice cream clickbait pics and love watching the videos of it being made, like the rolled ice cream

13. Tell me about a time when social media played an important role in your ice cream cravings or your love for ice cream

- Just seeing amazing photos of the ice cream itself from different locations wants me to travel to those places to experience what those photos showed

- Ice cream videos are usually on my fyp and I check different places from there. One time I wanted to go out with a friend and I went on TikTok to find fun things to go eat in the city and I found a place called Mr. Dips, so we went there.

- When I see super yummy combos of ice cream being made on a reel or something... I'm like gotta try that. Or if it's based on a character from a movie or a book for my daughter. I Gotta try it.

- When I see other people posting that they're eating it, like my friends

- Generally, seeing people post pictures or reviews of ice cream makes me crave it.

- When looking at someone's story sharing pictures of their ice cream and really wanting one (especially if it's really hot outside)

14. Are there any challenges or obstacles you face on the topic of ice cream? If yes, what accommodations might help with this?

- Finding the best place to eat ice cream that isn't sold by a big brand company. Google tends to put chained ice cream stores at the top of all the searches and I hate that. I wish there was a setting that allowed you to put in specific needs that would pinpoint the exact store you want to go to

- Food restrictions. Not everyone has a large selection of options. So always having some gluten free , lactose free / vegan ice cream options is really good and could really brighten up people's day.

- Not really. Lol. Maybe if certain flavors would be more available. Haggen daz makes an amazing green tea ice cream but I can never done it anywhere anymore. Bums me out... (Sorry can't spell)

- Apart from the fact that I'm kind of lactose intolerant, and I'm trying to shed a few pounds no.

- Nah, not really

- Finding the right richness. I like chocolate but it has to be just right. Vanilla is a bit less challenging but it needs to be rich too

15. How far would you travel for ice cream?

- I wouldn't drive more than 30 min away to get to a store

- 3 hours at top

- A walking distance

- 30- 45 minutes not more

- Maybe a drive across town but I’m not going across country to have the best ice cream lmao

- Depends... how much I'm craving for!! Definitely anywhere within the five boroughs

16. When traveling what is your preferred mode of navigation?

- Maps: 20%

- Google maps: 93%

- Waze: 7%

17. Thoughts on ordering ice cream to your door from a food delivery app such as Ubereats or Postmates? Have you ever done it? Please elaborate on your experience.

- Never done it. It may be practical but I personally find the experience of eating ice cream more enjoyable when going out to the store and buying it and eating it there

- Done it, loved it, but it wasn't really anything special, just plain ice cream

- I have. Honestly, I’d rather go out myself for things like icecream

- So dumb. I did it once. It comes melted. I think the only time I’ve cream is really worth not going into your own freezer for is when you go to a cool shop

- I have done it with a place called Screamery. It’s amazing ice cream and it stays so soft and cold no matter how far. Ofc there’s a limit but it’s amazing otherwise.

- I haven't done this before but I'd be open to it if I trusted that it would be handled well in transit.

[placetobenation]

It’s TLC week in the WWE and am I the only one thinking the WWE is just yawning through this year’s end of year PPV. Now, I get that usually, it’s the gimmicks that get this PPV over and that’s one of the things I just don’t get. We have not one, but two TLC matches already scheduled. We get Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin and The Kabuki Warrior vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Plus, add in Rusev vs. Lashley as a tables match minus the ladder and chairs. Shouldn’t there be just one TLC match? With the introduction of the dog food last Friday night by Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, wouldn’t the match vs. Reigns work better as a dog collar match? Makes perfect sense to me!

I need a little more creativity people! How about Rusev vs. Lashley with Lana in a cage. Loser gets Lana and if Rusev wins, he gets Lana for a day to make Lana be his servant/chauffeur/lackey.

Now, what I am intrigued by coming up this Sunday is Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz. Remember, it’s not The Fiend. It’s not a title match. It’s a great spot for The Miz to steal a victory, stand up for his family and to further show there’s a huge difference between Bray and The Fiend. Wyatt may have his shortcomings, but The Fiend would go to the end of the Earth to defeat his opponent. The possibilities are equally endless and delicious! I’m hoping this one main events and sends us home with another cliffhanger! And for that, I give the Star of the week to both Bray Wyatt and The Fiend with a side assist to The Miz. Best storyline of the week, by far!

Here’s your card as of Saturday morning for the TLC PPV:

Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz

TLC Match: Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match – Ladder Match: The New Day vs. The Revival

Raw Tag Team Championship Match Open Challenge: Viking Raiders vs. TBD

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship TLC Match: The Kabuki Warriors vs. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair

Tables Match: Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley

Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy

RAW

RESULTS

Drew McIntyre defeated Matt Hardy

RAW Tag Team Title Match: The Viking Raiders defeated The Street Profits to retain title

Aleister Black defeated Akira Tozawa

Humberto Carrillo defeated Andrade

Buddy Murphy defeated Zack Ryder

Becky Lynch defeated The Kabuki Warriors (DQ)

Erik Rowan defeated mystery local competitor (referee stopped match)

US Title Match: Champion Rey Mysterio defeated AJ Styles

What we loved:

We feel you Seth – FINALLY! The real Seth Rollins has returned! There’s no doubt that Rollins just feels better as a top-notch heel. In the ring, he’s on an elite level. But on the mic and backstage, his vibe is just more of a fit for his look when he’s a bad guy. So, finally giving in to join the Authors of Pain to take out Kevin Owens makes a ton of sense! Now, let’s see a long, slow burn as these three dominate RAW for awhile. Maybe they take out Brock Lesnar at some point too!

It's @RandyOrton OUTTA NOWHERE on #RAW!@AJStyles took his eye off the ball and @reymysterio capitalized to retain the #USTitle! pic.twitter.com/1AQRagqmLE

— WWE (@WWE) December 10, 2019

REY REY – Even despite the quick finish at the end, it’s really good to see Rey Mysterio, Jr. get some run in a main event on Monday nights! Beating AJ Styles, albeit with a wink and a nod from Randy Orton, lends a little credibility to his US Championship Title.

Black vs. Tozawa – This one was a pure treat that probably gets lost in the sports entertainment of a three-hour show. Non-stop action from start to finish that clearly was PPV quality or something you’d expect on Wednesday nights.

What we didn’t love:

EXCLUSIVE: @Zelina_VegaWWE was NOT happy with @AndradeCienWWE after their "miscommunication" on #Raw. pic.twitter.com/xk0Jy9KIdD

— WWE (@WWE) December 11, 2019

A rift with Andrade – Is there a rift brewing between Andrade and Zelina Vega? I for one, hope not! They are such an awesome duo together that I hope the WWE is not  thinking of splitting them up with hopes of pairing Andrade with his real life girlfriend Charlotte Flair in a feud vs. Vega and ???. Sometimes, you don’t need to mess with chemistry. Call me old school I guess.  

TLC gimmick matches – Call me crazy, but as we’ve stated previously, we need some outside of the box thinking here!

Matt Hardy squash – I truly hope there’s a payoff to all these Hardy squash matches on RAW. Maybe a new persona or bringing back the BROKEN Matt for another run. It’s hard to see Matt Hardy signing a new deal just to put others over and lose in 3 minutes week after week.

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Cruiserweight Title Match: Angel Garza defeated Lio Rush (submission) to win title

Raul Mendoza defeated Cameron Grimes

Travis Banks defeated Jaxson Ryker

Dakota Kai defeated Mia Yim

Breezango defeated The Singh Brothers

Bianca Belair defeated Kayden Carter

NXT Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Finn Balor defeated Keith Lee & Tommaso Ciampa

What we loved:

This is @AngelGarzaWwe's moment. Congratulations to the NEW #NXTCruiserweight Champion! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/08bYz3VlaW

— WWE (@WWE) December 12, 2019

Have a night Angel Garza! – It’s one thing to win the NXT Cruiserweight Title in an absolutely stunning opening of a match Wednesday night! It’s completely another to follow that up with an engagement as Garza brought his girlfriend into the ring after the match to propose to her! Talk about instant connection to the fans. Count me in on wanting more from Garza and yes, Garza-Rush III.

We'll see you next week, Prince.@FinnBalor #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/xeGjfUBqao

— WWE (@WWE) December 12, 2019

Finn’s Finish – A top rope coup de grace over Tommaso Ciampa in a closing attempt on to the already pinned Keith Lee! WOW! Simply scintillating! Balor is now one step away from making his past not only his present but also his future. Wednesday night we get Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship that has classic written all over it. My only regret is that they’re not making it a one-hour time limit! But, we can dream! Plus, on a side note, the trio of Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuinness were amazing with their points and commentary. Totally invested!

Meh:

The middle of the show – Sure, it’s great to pack the show with more matches. More matches means more time for those superstars that don’t normally get time and exposure to a national audience. Good to see Raul Mendoza, Cameron Grimes, The Singh Brothers vs. Breezango, a new face in Kayden Carter and more. But, when it comes in the form of 3-5 minute matches, do we really have enough to grab on? Seven matches on a show that normally maxes out at four-to-five matches seems like it’s trying a bit hard to pack things in, much like a RAW or Smackdown. It’s one of the things that makes NXT. Not everyone gets seen each week and the show breathes. So, while we didn’t hate it, we also didn’t love it.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose

The Revival defeated Shorty G and Mustafa Ali

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro defeated Heavy Machinery

Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin – no contest

Non-Title Smackdown Tag Team Match: New Day vs. King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler – no contest

What we loved:

.@WWEBrayWyatt found a way IN to @mikethemiz & @MaryseMizanin's home…#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/snPHmETc7E

— WWE (@WWE) December 14, 2019

Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz – With Renee Young being sent to The Miz’s Los Angeles home during Smackdown you just knew there would be a payoff. Still, doing it makes it big and real. Love when the WWE makes it personal and with the fact that we’ve all seen inside the Miz’s house with his family from the Miz and Mrs. Show on USA Network, it all feels like we are part of the story. There are so many layers to unravel still with this one that I hope that the WWE doesn’t feel compelled to fast track this feud. Let it play out through Royal Rumble and maybe even through until WrestleMania if possible.

Tired of people hamming it up https://t.co/T7dkVtEer5

— Cesaro (@WWECesaro) December 14, 2019

That ham – Wasn’t that one sweet Milwaukee, Wisconsin ham that Otis was trying to give to Sami Zayn? I’d sure take it as a Secret Santa gift! The crowd loves them some Heavy Machinery!

Kofi’s explanation – Heading into the set-up of Kofi Kingston vs. King Corbin, we got a nice exchange between the two where Kofi, two months later, explains how he felt about his WWE Title loss to Brock Lesnar and the 2019 year in general. Good insight and a payoff that needed a receipt.

What we didn’t love:

Tables, Ladders and Chairs are ALL legal. This could be you on Sunday, KING @BaronCorbinWWE. #SmackDown #WWETLC @HEELZiggler @WWERomanReigns pic.twitter.com/O3YJk0bixW

— WWE (@WWE) December 14, 2019

Double no-contest – Of course, we all knew that Roman Reigns was behing the backstage attacks all night long on King Corbin’s security team as payback for the dog food incident last week, but did we really need a double no-contest in the main event? Having The Revival help out Corbin and Ziggler take out the New Day lays a bit of credence to the Smackdown tag team title match, which really has no business being a ladder match, I’ll grant you that. But overall, it kind of felt like they just gave away the last half hour of the show just to have Reigns stand tall at the end of the night as poor Dolph eats another table off the ladder.

Where was Lacey Evans – Doesn’t she have a title match Sunday at TLC?

Parting thought:

What’s with Elias and Dana Brooke? First with the shots at Drake Maverick last week and now the crude callout of Bayley this week. A threesome with Bayley and Sasha Banks, really Elias? She looks like a dude? You’d expect trying to push the envelope on USA Network, but on FOX? It seems a little misplaced and leaves Elias just meandering as a one-trick pony from week to week. At least this week, it led to an immediate match between Bayley and Dana Brooke with the obvious result. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m expecting a bit more out of Elias than what we’re getting.

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots and Red Sox fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

[mredwinsmith]

Coaching Peaks and Valleys Pt 2

Phoenix. 2012 US OPEN. Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The last time I was in Colorado my college career ended in the semifinals; the two tendons running from the bottom of my shin to the top of my left foot felt like shooting pool with a rope. I should’ve known better. A day into the tournament, there was a four-way tie for second with Riot, Phoenix, Showdown, and Molly Brown all at 2-1. Scandal was 3-0 after having upset Riot in the opening round 10-6. Following rounds 4 and 5 on day two, Scandal was way out in front at 5-0, while Riot and Phoenix were 4-1 and Showdown was 3-2. During the first set of games in round 6, lightning halted play and after a lengthy delay the first foursome had their games called and decided: making Riot 5-1, and Scandal 6-0.

Phoenix vs Showdown and Ozone vs. Safari had to wait until the next morning to decide their 6th round. Now, four teams have to make up round 6 at 9:30 in the morning, whereas four other teams wait to finish the last round and the last round, is staggered with games at noon and 1:30. The semis is scheduled for 4:30. Riot at 5-1 is waiting to play Ozone (1-4). Scandal at 6-0 is waiting to play Phoenix at 1:30. As Scandal sleeps in, Phoenix arrives to make up the 6th round with a 4-1 record. We have Showdown and Riot in front of us and are guaranteed the semis as forthcoming games and overall records have that mostly decided. Only Showdown could possibly tie Molly Brown for fourth, but they’d have to lose to Aerosol who are 0-6.

Open up the lines vs Showdown, I say. Let’s self-sub or work in pods half to half and use Showdown like practice dummies and forget about the outcome. It’s a free game. Likewise with Scandal – throw every play in the playbook at them and every defensive ploy we can throw at them as well and disregard the outcome. Open the lines and play 3-3-1 and pull rollers every point. Or play them both close for a half and then open the lines up for the second halves. After all, we have a roster of 25 plus who have traveled 6,000 miles and they all want playing time. Following these two games we have at least one, and maybe one more to play for real-real. If we go 0-2 to finish pool play, we get Scandal again in the semis rather than Riot, and I see playing Scandal back to back as a plus more-so than having to play Riot who are so far in our heads the is game already over.

Meeting with the captains that morning, collectively they weren’t impressed. I guess it was like Aesop’s fable The Wolf and The Ass: they wanted to kill and not cure, that’s what they were there for, and it was put to me quite bluntly: we don’t lose to f-ing Showdown.

Flash forward to Nationals in Sarasota months later: Sunday morning 5 am and as I’m steering the rental van out of the driveway, others are just getting in after their night out as also-rans in Siesta Key. I’m returning the van to Tampa and from there driving a rental car to Orlando – to meet my family at Disney, for Halloween, where my son will get lost. One passenger in the van is one of the aforementioned future Callahan winners, the other is missing the final day to attend her grandmother’s funeral. I’m quietly waiting for the conversation and only my groggy inner chatter is talking, actually singing – wake up, wake up you sleepyhead, and trying to break down what went wrong, hoping never to see Mr. Big’s 19th Hole or the Daiquiri Deck ever again, but later, at the mercy of the Disney machine and waiting for a table at a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I’d regret dismissing Mr. Big’s and would almost welcome a watered down daiquiri.

Though by then I was on my own and recapping my last six hours and trying to explain why I first drove to Tampa, why no one else could return the van, why I lingered at the airport until I was certain their flights were on time. Why? Why? Why? There’s no name for it. You can’t explain it. It’s what we do. As tired as I was and with nothing to inoculate me against the Disney freak show, I only repeated myself: “It’s about the Constant Huddle and seeing it through.” And for a second, I expected Rafiki to appear and tap me on the shoulder with his walking stick and nod with approval and pride, but it was only the waitress, her eyes pinwheels not unlike a Manson girl, explaining it will be another forty-five minutes, and I may as well have been speaking another language. Which I was.

Back in the van and sensing the finality of it all, it doesn’t take my passengers long to speak up. Unlike the ride down days before, no one is dialing out with earbuds. This was the first time in four seasons we didn’t make quarters. And this is the biting issue, as if it were a birthright to ascend.

At this early hour with barely any sleep, it’s difficult to not be blunt and not point fingers. “Mention the wind, mention adjustments, and you can walk to Tampa.” Nervous laughter, but they understand. Our postseason circle hijacked by no-shows and coy indifference, they know that this is as good as it gets. Steering with one hand and holding a pin that could pop the beauty of the constant huddle if I let it, I leave it alone because with Tampa looming ahead of us, it’s this moment that makes all the investment worth it and makes the constant huddle so precious, and writing this here and now I think about all those airports, all those hotel rooms, all those rental cars and vans, all those road trips, all those discussions suspended over the open road, I think about driving back from Team USA practice in April of 2005 and getting lost in Augusta looking for James Brown’s statue, the same weekend my man DQ attended the Beth Coltman Memorial Tourney at Cape Henlopen, Pony’s first tryout, and with his car broken down – he just gives it to the guy there at Snookies Auto Sales and figured out a ride back to the city later – because this is what we do – and it was, of course, DQ who called me on that first day of March back in 2014 and asked me if I’d heard, and then I buckled and braced myself against the kitchen table, because more-so than UNCW, UCSC, UCSB, Fury, Riot, Bravo, Ring, Phoenix, Sockeye, etc, it is.

Carleton – love ‘em or hate ‘em – that transcends the idea of the constant huddle and takes it to a whole other level and I of course cannot help but think about those Carleton players setting out their cleats, their jerseys, their socks, the things they carried to a tournament they never made it to, and how that huddle remains suspended over the open road, and how fortunate you are to squeeze the juice out of this sport and ride the peaks and valleys for as long as you can.

“Mention the wind, mention adjustments, and you walk to Tampa. You showed up and played ultimate and when it was time for something else, you didn’t show up. And few things are worse than not showing up.” They stare at I-75 rolling past us. What they didn’t know and what they could not have known were the numbers. Minus Fury and Riot, the numbers I needed to see were already in. Phoenix went 4-3 and in 7 games played scored 89 points, finishing 13th overall and 8th in total points scored. Fury would be the only team to go through without a loss and of the other fifteen teams, only two stayed above double digits in ALL of their losses: Traffic with five losses and 8 games played; and Phoenix with three losses. We scored points, but somewhere the system was fractured, callow. Breathing holes weren’t enough. In pool play it went like this:

Opening round vs. Nightlock: 4-1. 6-2. 9-3. 11-5. 14-7. 14-13. We score on our second try for 14-7. We don’t see the disc on the next point, and then give up 5 straight breaks before finishing the game on our O’s second try for 15-13. Second round vs Showdown and the D2 vs D3 matchup. Our D has possession one time for 7 all downwind, but gives their O the upwinder for half. Our D has possession for 9 all downwind and again gives up the goal upwind. We break for 10 all. Showdown holds for 10-11. Despite our O’s shortcomings and the eventual finger-pointing, the O did what they had to do when they had to do it: they scored upwind in one possession to even the score at 11 all. We had the disc one time to break downwind for 12-11, but no dice. After that, we scored one time on six tries and Showdown scored three times on six tries, breaking for the game upwind on their third try and we lose to f-ing Showdown.

Third round vs Traffic: 12-7. 12-15. A five-point lead and quarters bound became suffering an eight-point run and getting bounced from the power pool. Playtime for players rewarded for being good sideline players is suddenly a tie game (insert Chris Rock logic here). At 1-2 and minus 6 in the loss column, point diff was not on our side. Either was psyche. This team was not the same Phoenix team who in 2010 was also 1-2 after the first day. Playing up from the bottom on Friday, that team rolled two for the win after being tied at 13s vs. Safari; rolled two for the win after being tied at 13s vs. Bent; then in the prequarter at 10-7, scored five on seven tries to bounce Molly Brown 15-10; and had Fury 7 even in the quarters (with no observers).

Back at the US Open and we’re down 4-6 to Showdown. Our O gets 5 on the board we run a 3-3-1 for three straight points for half 8-6. 10-7, and then they roll two for 10-9. We trade from here with neither team breaking, but Showdown scores in the hard cap to finish the game and we win 12-11. 23 total points played and we score 12 points on 25 tries in a game that goes to hard cap, and Scandal’s been in the hotel watching Wimbledon (Our first two days consisted of late mornings and Wimbledon and me watching Phoenix work on crossword puzzles and later explain how they were challenging once, until I sat beside KD at 30,000 feet en route to Potlatch and watched him destroy the New York Times crossword – in ballpoint).

Scandal came in seeded fifth among eight teams. The previous season at Nationals they lost to Phoenix in the quarters and then would go on to lose the 5th place game and 7th place games to Showdown and Molly Brown. In our quarterfinal that year, we were kicking the pants off of them until 12-6 when they came zone and our three college handlers blinked. Not so suddenly it’s 14 all and we roll the next two, breaking for the win 16-14. Later that evening at Mr. Big’s all of us reduced to also-rans, a Scandal player when told Phoenix are lining up car bombs, remarked: F Phoenix! Exactly. In 2012, there was no love lost between these two, a post-game circle was unheard of and with a 6-0 record and looking to sweep the pool, Scandal was flexing.

Despite the grind to defeat Showdown, and contrary to the strategy proposed earlier, the call was to beat Scandal and beat them by enough points to win the pull and win the tie with three teams at 6-1. So we’d see Showdown in the semifinal, the team we just tried our hardest to beat by one point. Losing, we’d still see Riot in the semis. Kill or Cure? Down a break at 2-3, we roll two for 4-3. They get back on serve for 5-6. We have the disc one time on D for half 8-7, but they score on their second try keeping the game on serve. At 9 all we earn possession one time with our 3-3-1 for the lead but turn in their red zone and it’s 9-10. On the ensuing point, our O had the disc 4 times for 10 a piece, but they break for the win and at 5-2 we moved on to play Riot in the semis.

Our first match vs Riot on the first day began competitively enough for 3/4s of the game, but with us at 2-0 and them already with a loss, suffering another upset was unlikely in the Riot camp. We hung around for a bit, down two at half, and after rolling 2 for 8-9, had four chances to tie at 9s but those missed chances quickly turned into an 8-12 hole. Final score: 9-12. Before the weather delay, Phoenix defeated Molly Brown 13-9, and Safari 12-7. We won the games we had to win to stay above 500.  After the first two games the third day, we were 1-1 with a difference of 3 points in those two games and 43 total points played. Riot went up 6-0 before we knew the game had started. Our offense was 0 for 10 on six points played. Our defense did manage to gain possession the five times that we did pull, but we never managed a break. After scoring 21 points our previous two games that day, we came away with 4 to Riot’s 15. Riot went on to defeat Scandal in the finals 15-10.

Kill or Cure? When does one or the other set the standard for things to come? And how do you know when to make that call and can you deal with the immediate or long-term backbiting? I can’t say. That’s part of the fun in coaching. You take those risks and you roll the dice. Change the force to backhand at the end of the game, and a sure-handed O just might turf the around reset, on double game point. You don’t know, but you take that risk and you take bigger ones. After the US Open, Phoenix finished the year 17-5 before Nationals; won regionals on two breaks to one; and lost to Scandal at Fusion by one after dropping the break to win, but would Phoenix at 4-3 rather than 5-2 and playing Scandal in the semis and back to back hours apart have been better off over the long haul? Well, it’s like this: The day after the US Open, connecting in Atlanta in the dreadful D concourse, the loudspeaker announced last call for Wilmington, North Carolina. I wouldn’t make it. I was pinned down in a stall with altitude sickness, wiping foam and spittle from my chin. I spent the next five hours on standby and dry heaving before getting the last flight out that day. But I wish I had that weekend back.

“The early Stones were in a constant huddle, dissecting blues songs in front of the speakers and playing them back for each other and then for their few fans. They thought of themselves, not even as a band, really, but as a way of distributing music the radio never played.” Dan Chiasson. New York Times Review of Books. March 10, 2011.

The post Coaching Peaks and Valleys Pt 2 appeared first on Skyd Magazine.

from Skyd Magazine https://ift.tt/2qKOzjM