#up until now most players were portrayed as -bad guys- that were a danger to society.

[5-pp-man]

I was soooo hoping that s2 would go there. We love a good "our employer is lying to us to suit their own hidden agenda, perhaps we should take down the establishment 🤔" story

[carewyncromwell]

Hey, guys! So I don’t really have enough material in this most recent side quest to work with to create full roleplaying posts for it (largely because the writing for this quest was stilted as all get out and there really weren’t very high stakes)...so instead, I’ll be doing something a little different, and simply writing out my personal rewrite of the quest’s storyline, as performed by my MC, Carewyn. Most of the overall framework of what happened in the quest will still be there, but I will try to flesh out or rewrite some things to hopefully better develop the ideas and help them more smoothly fit into canon. Hope you enjoy!

When Lucius Malfoy first arrived at Hogwarts, Carewyn was immediately suspicious of him. She wasn’t familiar with the man, but she thought that his timing of coming to Hogwarts for an inspection only after the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher went on the run from the law reeked of the school governors and/or Ministry of Magic wanting to put forward a good show of looking after the students for the press, so that they couldn’t be condemned for their inaction.*

* = (Yes, I know this quest is supposed to be aimed at year 2, but...well...I honestly can’t justify why year 2 would be when an inspection would happen. I suppose the Ice Curse was still in effect, but it’s not like the Ministry or the school governors took any action in response to the danger of the Vaults, even though it seems like the perfect ammunition for Lucius to use against Dumbledore. He was able to coax all of the school governors to sack Dumbledore in the name of saving students during the Chamber of Secrets arc later on, so it feels like this could’ve been done here too, if the Ice Vault was still raging. Dumbledore would also have little reason to think we’re “good at solving mysteries” if this takes place in year 2, since we at that point haven’t even successfully dealt with one Cursed Vault yet. So in this version of events, Lucius has only just become a school governor in anticipation of his son, Draco, attending school in the next few years. And because the Statue Vault and Rakepick are currently being tackled by the Ministry already, Lucius doesn’t really have any more action he can take. It also makes very little sense for a five-year-old Draco to be brought along to Hogwarts. His mother Narcissa is a stay-at-home mother, and even in the films, it’s pretty clear she -- and Lucius, at least in the books -- wouldn’t want her precious bb boy being taken care of by a pair of strangers with no experience in child-rearing. And I don’t think either movie! or book!Lucius would want any “bad influences” like protagonist MC around his son at that age, either -- at least by age nine, Draco would be pretty locked into the pureblood beliefs he’s been raised with, and since he’d be attending school in two years, it would give Draco a good preview of what his school life will be like ahead of time.)

Carewyn’s suspicions only heightened when Flitwick summoned her and Ben to the Charms classroom and Lucius Malfoy was there talking to Professor Flitwick. She had been very flattered by Flitwick’s praise of her Charm work...but the way Lucius looked at her when he turned to her...

Even though yes, Carewyn didn’t like the mention of Jacob, there was something else she could sense in Lucius’s eyes -- something intrigued. Although he smiled very pleasantly, there was a definite marked interest in his voice, not unlike how Professor Tofty greeted her upon first meeting. Lucius had definitely heard a lot more than just about Jacob -- but despite this, Carewyn merely gave Lucius a very cool smile in return.

Lucius’s condescension toward Ben for his blood status only made Carewyn dislike Lucius all the more. When he’d left the room, Carewyn agreed with Ben’s distaste for the school governor immediately.

“Professor Flitwick,” she said slowly, “are the Malfoys an old Wizarding family?” Carewyn had heard plenty of stories about her mother’s family and their particular dislike of Muggles, so it seemed logical to think the Malfoys were like them.

Flitwick had confirmed that yes, they were, adding that Lucius could be difficult sometimes. “But he is one of the school governors,” he’d said. “So we simply must cooperate.“

After Potions class, Merula and Carewyn were both forwarded to Dumbledore’s office by their Head of House, Severus Snape. While waiting for Lucius Malfoy to arrive, Merula explained a bit more about Lucius Malfoy’s history with Voldemort, which thoroughly justified Carewyn’s distrust of the man. When Dumbledore and Lucius arrived, however, Carewyn and Merula soon found themselves roped into looking after Lucius’s son, the bratty nine-year-old Draco Malfoy.

Okay -- I know a lot of people liked how Draco was portrayed in the game and enjoyed how he (if you picked to protect his secret) expressed genuine admiration for MC, but...yeah, in this version of events, he’s not nearly so cute. (I mean, come on, in the books, Harry compared Draco to Dudley on first meeting -- this kid has some serious issues with empathy and a real selfish streak. He might be a lot more clever than Dudley, but in my mind, he should be pretty fun to hate at this stage, rather than cute.)

For one, because he’s older, Draco’s in less need of babysitting and more in need of guidance. Lucius thought it only fitting that two such promising students show Draco the best Hogwarts has to offer -- and Draco, being older and therefore even more entitled, arrogant, and condescending than he’s portrayed in the game, was sizing up his competition just as much as he was tailing after them. His father Lucius had told him all about Merula’s parents and about Carewyn’s reputation as a Cursebreaker, so he knew that both girls were incredibly powerful and thus were both people Draco should have in his circle, whether as allies or as pawns. While Lucius was at school, he became very talented at making connections, which has served him well in the present by giving him the power to either sway or pressure people into doing things his way -- and Draco not only is expected to do the same, but the young Malfoy heir is eager to follow in his father’s footsteps and already be the “big man on campus” when he starts at Hogwarts. Even if both Carewyn and Merula will be graduated by the time he starts school, those ties could still be very beneficial down the road.

That being said, Draco and Merula did still instantly end up at each other’s throats. Even if Draco was supposed to “get Carewyn and Merula in his circle,” thanks to his spoiled upbringing by his parents, Draco has no social skills whatsoever, and so has little idea of how to charm people without putting down others in the process. Even though (or perhaps because) Merula was a bully herself most of her school career, she reacted very harshly to Draco’s nasty attitude, and soon the two were verbally smacking each other around with barbed, personal insults.

Despite her growing dislike for both Lucius and his son, Carewyn did everything she could to be the mediating force between them and even successfully distracted Draco by asking about his interests and taking him to the Quidditch pitch. Not long after they arrived, Draco succeeded in snatching a spare broom and started flying around the pitch.

Merula sincerely hoped that he’d fall and break his neck, but Carewyn -- even if she didn’t particularly like Draco -- knew it’d be terrible if he did hurt himself. So she boarded her own Cleansweep (which she’d kept locked in the Slytherin Quidditch tent, in case one of Orion’s players needed a spare broom) and took off after Draco.

Once in the air, Carewyn kept her wand close in case something went wrong. Fortunately she needn’t have feared -- within a minute, she could see that Draco was a very talented flier. In an attempt to distract him away from fighting with Merula, Carewyn suggested that she could teach Draco some flying tricks. Draco was scornful at first, until Carewyn weaved through the stands and threaded the needle through all three goal posts before sweeping into an extreme dive and pulling up mere feet from the ground. She smirked up at Draco, folding her legs over her broom so she could lean back effortlessly with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Ready for a lesson now, Mr. Malfoy?” she called up to him coolly.

The young Malfoy heir couldn’t hide the greedy look in his eye at the thought of learning those cool tricks, nor could he hide how thrilled he was learning how to do an extreme dive.

Once the two had finally come back down to the ground, Draco asked Carewyn if she was on the Slytherin Quidditch team. When she said no, explaining that she just didn’t have the time to devote to Quidditch, Draco reacted with scorn.

“Because of those Vaults, I guess?” he presumed.

He said that his father had told him all about Carewyn’s Cursebreaking, and her family too -- that her brother was a delinquent and her mother had run away from home to marry a Muggle. Merula was actually a bit startled by this, not having heard that particular fact about Carewyn’s mother, but Carewyn herself kept her temper, even as her tone grew cooler and dryer than ever.

“My family may not be perfect, but I’m proud of it, all the same,” she said softly.

What she didn’t add out loud was, “I certainly wouldn’t be proud of my family if I were in your shoes.”

A bit miffed he hadn’t been able to get a rise out of Carewyn, Draco soon enough turned his attentions back to Merula. He ranted about how his father had said Hogwarts was going to the dogs and about how they had so many Mudbloods amongst their ranks. Carewyn stiffened very sharply at the use of the word.

“That is not a word to be used in civilized conversation,” she told him very severely.

“My father says it all the time,” Draco argued.

“Really?” said Carewyn, her lips turning up in a cool smile. “Don’t reckon that’s something you should admit too readily, given your own family’s history -- I wager a fair number of people at this school would hex you to belch slugs for using a word like that.”

Merula's face broke out into a smug smirk. “Don’t give me any ideas, Cromwell.”

This change in topic, however, led to Draco wanting a proper dueling lesson from Merula and Carewyn. Naturally, because Draco didn’t have a wand of his own and they certainly weren’t going to lend him theirs, the two girls refused -- and soon enough, they got word that Lucius was finished with his inspection and would be leaving the school soon.

Of course, that didn’t happen, because sure enough, Lucius’s wand went missing. The prime suspect? The Malfoy family house elf, Dobby.

Carewyn had little experience with house-elves prior to Dobby (only having met Pitts the previous year), so the poor elf’s maltreatment at the Malfoys’ hands greatly upset her. Determined to prove his innocence, she asked Dobby to tell her whatever he could say without hurting himself and -- upon Dobby trying to smack his own head against the ground -- she actually bent down and grabbed hold of him in both hands to try to wrestle him into not hurting himself.

“It’s okay, Dobby,” she kept telling him. “I’ll make sure you don’t get blamed.”

It didn’t take long at all for Carewyn to get to the bottom of who had taken the wand. If Dobby felt he couldn’t tell her who the thief was because he couldn’t speak ill of the Malfoy family, then there was only one possible suspect. Catching up with Merula and Draco, she confronted the Malfoy heir about having taken his father’s wand. Draco denied it at first, but pretty quickly came clean.

“I’m not too young to learn how to duel!” he said. “I wouldn’t have borrowed Father’s wand if you’d just lent me yours!”

After some prodding, Draco admitted where he’d hidden his father’s wand. It didn’t take long for Merula to find it.

Despite the younger boy’s bravado, though, Carewyn could still tell that Draco hadn’t meant for this whole thing to go so far. He wasn’t really sorry about the thought that Dobby could be blamed for something he did -- but he’d enjoyed what he’d learned so far and wanted to stay at Hogwarts a little longer so he could learn some spells.

Feeling some compassion despite herself, Carewyn sat down on the edge of the fountain next to Draco.

“If you give me your solemn word only to use this in a formal duel,” she said very seriously, “I will teach you one spell. Do we have a deal?”

His eyes once again greedy for knowledge, Draco nodded and eagerly agreed. Holding out her wand in front of her, Carewyn told Draco to put his hand on top of hers. Then she walked him step-by-step through the wand movements for the spell “Everte Sactum,” the Stumbling Hex.

“When you cast this correctly, it will hurl your opponent off their feet,” she explained. “That can then give you the time you need to get away, if you’re in trouble.”

Her eyes then narrowed sharply upon Draco’s face. “Remember your word, though -- you will only use this in a duel, not for fun. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Draco said breezily, but he was grinning from ear to ear all the same.

The group met back up with Lucius Malfoy and Dumbledore in the Headmaster’s Office. When Lucius asked Carewyn who had stolen the wand, she answered simply,

“No one, as far as I can tell. Merula found it on the floor near the Entrance Hall -- no thief to be seen.”

After all, Draco had only admitted to “borrowing” his father’s wand -- not stealing it.

”There’s no evidence that Dobby couldn’t have still taken it,” said Lucius.

Dobby shook his head frantically, wringing his hands desperately as he insisted he didn’t take the wand and never would. Carewyn very gently cut off Dobby’s denials by pointing out that house elves can’t lie to or speak ill of their masters without hurting themselves. The fact that Dobby was not hurting himself while claiming he didn’t take the wand was proof in itself that he didn’t commit the crime. And everyone must be considered innocent until proven guilty...right?

Lucius considered Carewyn carefully, his gray eyes oddly critical and shrewd upon her face -- then he inclined his head in an abridged nod.

“...Wisely said, Miss Cromwell. You could be an excellent lawyer, with sentiments such as those.”

His gray eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly as his lips curled up in a cool smile.

“I daresay that would please your grandfather quite a bit.”

Carewyn’s blood ran cold. Lucius Malfoy was in touch with her grandfather, Charles Cromwell? She’d never met her mother’s father before -- but given that Lucius Malfoy spoke highly of him, she wondered more than ever if she was incredibly fortunate in that...

For his part, Lucius seemed satisfied by how taken aback Carewyn was and, with a flourish of his cloak, swept toward the office door.

“Come, Draco,” he called over his shoulder.

Before Draco left, he paused, turning back to look at Carewyn.

“I won’t forget that,” he said. “What you did.”

He didn’t need to articulate what he meant.

“And I swear -- when we’re both done at Hogwarts, we’ll meet again, Cromwell. And when we do, I’ll be the greatest wizard ever -- greater than you could ever be.”

Despite the arrogance in his expression, Draco was still grinning from ear to ear in a kind of vicious determination.

Carewyn’s blue eyes grew a little smaller as she smirked in return.

“Good ambition. Just keep in mind -- there are many ways to be ‘great.’“

With an offhand scoff, Draco turned on his heel and followed his father, not fully able to bite back the smile still clinging to his lips.

When Dumbledore, Carewyn, and Merula were out of earshot, Lucius spoke to Draco at last.

“She knew you took my wand, didn’t she?” he asked.

Draco, although startled, reluctantly nodded.

“And yet she dared lie to my face,” said Lucius in dark amusement. “Rather effectively, too. Tell me -- what did you think of her, Draco?”

Draco shrugged offhandedly. “All right, I guess. She’s a decent flier -- and her spellwork’s okay.”

“Coming from you, that’s high praise,” said Lucius dryly. His lips curled up in a wry smile. “Seems I was right to think I should keep an eye on her advancement...”

Dobby was so grateful to Carewyn that he said that if she ever needed him, she only had to ask. Carewyn was very happy for that -- she had a feeling that she could use at least one friend in the Malfoy household, if Lucius really had such close ties to her mother’s family.

[the-kiwi-is-not-a-pewee]

Every Single Grievance I have with Fable 3

I don’t hate Fable 3.

I swear I don’t, especially after a second playthrough that helped me get over the jarring change of mechanics from Fable 2. Heck, I don’t even think it’s a bad game. But I have a lot of problems with it.

Like, quite a few. And I did say I was never gonna stop ragging on it, so this list of grievances is the result. It’s not comprehensive, it’s going off of pure memory so YES I will get details wrong but this wasn’t made with perfect accuracy in mind.

It’s a lot of minor things and if anyone can explain why some of these things are like this, please tell me.

Enjoy my complaining.

1. Where the Fuck Am I?

Sanctuary map oh Sanctuary map, where the fuck am I???

I actually have a couple problems with the Sanctuary map, one of which being that it is a terrible map. Oh, it does decently well in places that don’t have many multi-level areas like Brightwall, but in places like Mistpeak? Where the terrain can range from very high to low? 

Navigating with the map is an absolute nightmare.

And I say this after trying to find the Mistpeak Demon Door using just the Sanctuary map. The result of that adventure was me looking up a YouTube video instead.

Nothing is where you think it is, areas are hard to pinpoint in relation to each other because you either can’t see them or there are other obstacles in the way. And the map doesn’t show you where YOU are so you have to either rely on the golden trail or do guesswork.

Not that the golden trail is reliable because the thing fizzles like a candle in the wind and it can’t lead you to locations that are not quests or fast-travel locations.

And... oh boy. Fast travel.

How the fuck does this game determine where you end up when you fast-travel to a location? Fast-travelling to Brightwall especially is a gamble, you either end up all the way outside the gates where you enter from Mistpeak Valley or you end up in the square. Why is it not always the square? Why can you end up outside the village? There’s nothing interesting there that would warrant it.

2. Dying in Slow-Motion

This isn’t about the hidden health bar. I’ll get to that later. This is about the gratuitous amount of slow-motion shots you get while fighting.

It’s... frankly a little absurd, like someone really REALLY liked that mechanic in Fable 2 and decided to crank it up to 11.

I get it, some nice slow-motion so we, the players, can appreciate the flourishes. But sometimes I don’t even hit anything so I’ve just wasted a few seconds watching my character miss, and sometimes if you’re swarmed you get a lovely slow-mo shot of your character about to get bodied.

It’s not as annoying as some other things, but I have to ask. Why??

3. Skill Tree Nuance

Fable 3 absolutely stripped any nuance of upgrading the Heroic disciplines. Fable and Fable 2 at least had you choose what ASPECT of each of the disciplines you wanted to level up, so you had to at least make a decision of what you valued most of each one. Was Accuracy more important to you because of the type of gun you were using or perhaps you liked shooting things more? Did you prefer a bigger health bar at this point in time over hitting harder? Did you want the greater power of Shock over the ability to hit more targets with Inferno? (These examples are all from Fable 2 because I’m not familiar enough with Fable to pull from that.)

In Fable 3 your hardest decision leveling up in skills is merely deciding if you like melee, shooting, or magic better. With a side of selecting what spells you want.

Nice.

And no, having the Guild Seals act as your experience and unlockables currency does not make the choice much more complex. You’re still choosing to upgrade the entire skill and not upgrade choice aspects of it.

4. Why is My Health Bar the Entire Screen

Listen. I meant it when I said I don’t hate Fable 3, and a big reason is because I can play around most of the stuff that is annoying or unfamiliar to me.

Except.

The.

Health.

Bar.

For those who don’t know, Fable 3 does not have a health bar. Or, rather, it does, but you, the player, are not privy to it. Instead, the entire screen turns gray and the edges turn red like it’s a fucking FPS shooter. Fable 3 is not an FPS shooter. Fable as a SERIES is not an FPS shooter.

It is not the type of game where you should have to guess EXACTLY how low your health is, because while the screen change gives you an approximation, it’s absolute garbage for making a quick estimate of how many hits you can take before you’re knocked out.

You also can’t even increase the health bar on the Road to Rule. At least, not as far as I’m aware because I CAN’T FUCKING SEE IT. Speaking of the Road to Rule...

5. Road to Rule is Not Terrible, But Half of it is Unnecessary

I get that the Road to Rule is supposed to be a replacement for the menu level-up systems in the other two games but the thing is, since leveling up was dumbed down the Road to Rule doesn’t have much going for it aside from being Theresa’s pocket dimension where she can talk to the Hero of Brightwall. But even then it’s unnecessary because, as seen in the last part of the game when she shows up for the last time, she can apparently stop time itself.

The thing is, half the shit in the Road Rule makes no sense to be locked behind progression. Sure, dyes maybe I can get (even though they’re superficial), but expression packs? I need to progress to even gain the ability to make friends with someone? I have to wait and shell out Guild Seals just to buy property?

Why? Because of the second half of the game? 

Wasn’t the point of that being the gold amount was set so ridiculously high you still have to put in time or job grinding so regardless you have to invest something? Being able to buy property earlier in the game isn’t going to impact it that much, which just makes it being barred in the Road to Rule very... unnecessary. Like the job level ups being in the Road to Rule instead of leveling up in the job itself and thus breaking any impression that your character was getting better at the task by doing it instead of just suddenly shooting up in skill.

6. Why is the Guild Seal so Fucking Huge and Logan’s “Enough!”

Nothing major here, just like... why is the guild seal so huge? It requires like 2 hands to pick up. Sparrow traveled with that thing for like, gods know how many years as well as the Heroes from ages past. Why is the damn thing so big, it’d be so inconvenient to carry.

Also in the cutscene where Walter confronts Logan and the Hero of Brightwall tries to stop him, there’s this moment where Walter tries to protest and Logan goes “Enough!”. But the thing is, he says it in the same tone you’d take if you were cutting someone off, and Walter stops speaking before Logan says it. It’s just a little awkward.

7. Side Cast

I really actually have only one issue with the side cast. Other than that, I think Fable 3 has a very well-developed side cast. Walter is really cool, Jasper is amusing, and Page and Ben are enjoyable and mark their personalities out starkly. I could go on, but you get the idea. I feel like I know these characters as people, much better than I do in Fable 2.

But the thing is, while that is true, some relationships are straight-up neglected. For example: any sort of dynamic between the Hero of Brightwall and Logan and the relationship between the Hero and their dog. Fable and Fable 2 at least gave their characters if not equal time, at least SOME time. The dog gets a few cute tidbits and honestly I didn’t expect a retread of the connection from Fable 2, but half the time I forget the dog is even there. The relationship between the dog and Hero does not impact anything unless you count Traitor’s Keep, but we’re not since it’s DLC. Nothing impactful is really connected to the dog.

Logan. Oh, Logan. You got did so dirty by this game. Fable 3 had the opportunity to do something with the player choosing to spare Logan, but it goes nowhere. It doesn’t offset your new money goal or increase it if you choose to execute Logan because of his soldiers leaving or staying depending on the choice, the Hero and Logan basically never talk in the second half of the game, heck, you don’t even see him again until he’s all “Imma just go” at the end. I’m not asking for a lot here, just something. I get that forcing your sibling to choose between the life of their childhood friend/lover and the lives of protesters will damage any semblance of a sibling bond they would have, but it would’ve been a wonderful opportunity to delve even deeper into why Logan made the choices he did and how they affected him. Does he feel remorse for what he did now that he’s off the throne? Would he do it all again? We’ll never know, because he vanishes off the face of Albion until the end where he says he’s leaving.

8. Some Plot Holes and Other Plot Issues

As much as I like Logan and believe he’s easily the most complex major antagonist the Fable series has had, uh... as much of the Fable community has pointed out, his secrecy makes no sense. At first I thought maybe he kept quiet because he thought no one would believe him when he said the Darkness was coming and Walter and the Hero of Brightwall only believed him because they experienced it for themselves. And that’d be a perfectly plausible explanation.

If the entirety of Aurora couldn’t back up his statement.

Seriously, it wouldn’t be just Logan’s word, he has the remnants of an entire nation to back him up. He already made a promise to Kalin and she’s been portrayed as a perfectly reasonable leader, I can’t see why she’d not help Logan convince Albion of the danger. It’d be in her best interests as well because it would increase the likelihood that Aurora would get aid from Albion.

Logan also doesn’t look great or even effective as a leader. Theresa tells you that he can’t defeat the darkness because... reasons, and I actually believe her. Because this guy has apparently been taking what was essentially the evil path to getting gold and only raised... 400,000 gold in 4 years. And you can piss that all away in one of your first choices as ruler. That’s like... really pathetic and unbelievable, because the evil choices are supposed to give more gold. That’s the whole reason why Logan decided heinous actions were okay in the first place! 400,000 gold doesn’t convince me of that!

Also, the second half of the game really suffers because of the Good/Bad duality choice system. It gives you little room for compromise. Why can’t I tell Samuel to wait one more fricken year before Brightwall Academy is reopened? Why does the orphanage have to be torn down to make room for a brothel, was there no other buildings or empty space?

See what I mean here?

9. Gamebreaking Glitch I Encountered And Am Still Salty About

Apparently, there’s a gamebreaking glitch in Fable 3 where you load the game up... and you never leave the loading screen. Yeah. That’s a thing. And I know, because I got it. The only way you can re-enter the game is by deleting your save file, because Fable 3 is so allergic to menus that you can’t even switch Heroes in the Sanctuary since that requires you to enter the game first. Yes, I am still salty about this.

10. This Is Just Here Because I Don’t Like The Number 9

Elise/Elliot don’t have a lot of emotional impact on me. You don’t really spend a lot of time with them like you do with Rose or even see them killed in front of you like with Rose OR Scarlet Robe. Like, you meet them in the garden then you get pulled away for a swordfighting tutorial lesson and then there’s a cutscene and you make a choice and they’re either dead or not. Aside from their unique presence in the kidnapped quest, they’re kinda just... there, especially if you choose to save them.

11. I Forgot This When I was Originally Writing the Post

Interacting with NPCs outside of the story-relevant ones in Fable 3 is... awkward. You are forced to interact with them one-on-one and do quests just to get them to like you. And I get the quest part, for it to force some personalized connection between the two of you, but the quests are all the same! Fetch this, deliver that, dig up this. You don’t even get to choose what expression you can do to them because the game only lets you see three options at a time.

Fable 2′s NPCs were not exactly deep and complex either, but they had personality! They had likes and dislikes and favorite places and shit. AND you could choose exactly what expression to do. Stores are not great either, the wares are so limited and unreliable its difficult to find anything specific.

Some Good Points About Fable 3 Because This was Too Much Negativity

Walter, as a final boss, is foreshadowed and built up much better than the Great Shard in Fable 2. While I do love the Perfect World section of Fable 2, it works better narratively than it does gameplay-wise. Lucien is built up to be Sparrow’s ultimate confrontation and he just... falls and dies after you suck the power out of him. Not exactly riveting.

The Hero of Brightwall follows the trend of having a semblance of personality and not being an entirely blank slate mouthpiece for the player. Fable’s Heroes have always been slightly more than just player avatars, to me at least. There are these little moments where they act like their own person. Like the Hero of Oakvale having a PTSD flashback of his village being burned down, or Hammer commenting on how quiet Sparrow is, or the Hero of Brightwall being a bit cheeky at times like giving Saker a playful punch before pulling him to his feet or saying “This is the last party I’m taking you to” (or something of the like) to Page at Reaver’s mansion. I dunno, it’s just this tiny detail I always liked about Fable.

THE FASHION IS SO MUCH BETTER IN FABLE 3. Gods I don’t know why I get so hung up on this but every dress and most of the shoes in Fable 2 look TERRIBLE. Fable 2 just doesn’t have a lot of appealing clothing options for me, thus why I dress mostly the same in a lot of my playthroughs of Fable 2. But Fable 3 has much nicer looking clothing. I only lament that I can’t snag something like Page’s masquerade dress, that thing was gorgeous.

I spent way too much time on this.

[championfrita]

Pokémon Sword and Shield Review

So...I've taken some time to fully play Pokémon Shield. Now, I know this is pretty delayed, and I got the double pack so I wanted to play Sword first to see if how I felt was really accurate or if I was being too harsh. That said, let's talk about my experience with the Galar Region.

Initial Impressions

Overall, I was excited to play Shield at first. Everything was bright and exciting and the characters were easy to recognize and not overly generic.

The first few hours of this game, well it's a slow burn. And I do mean SLOW. Even with the text set to Fast and me taking things at my own pace it took me at least a good couple hours to reach the Wild Area. Furthermore, this game has an infernal amount of handholding, even when given the option to say "I know all this already" it still gives a brief explaination for almost anything and STILL makes you sit ALL THE WAY THROUGH the catch tutorial.

It's 2019 and older players still don't get the option to skip this. Come on GameFreak.

That said, the longer I played the more I began to notice...how should I put this? Blatant laziness?

The Wild Area

Now, the CONCEPT of the Wild Area in theory is amazing. It's still not too bad as is, but there are definitely flaws. For starters, the same tree has been copy pasted all over the place to make up 90% of the foliage.

More than that, though, despite the Wild Area having a good selection of Pokémon and a fairly varietied environment (desert, lakes, forest) it feels oddly...empty. There are no real secrets to speak of, no hidden areas, no easily missed items. Everything is all right out there to see and spread pretty far apart. I don't know if it's a lack of Trainers or the fact that I don't have an Online membership so I played alone, but the Wild Area feels like it just needs something MORE.

Dynamax Raid Battles, even when done alone, are fairly fun and sometimes challenging with the turn limit. Radiant AI Trainers spawn in to assist you if you're playing alone so there's no worries about having to take one on with just one Pokémon.

Camping, which can be done anywhere but is introduced to the player here, is an absolute treat. Have YOU played fetch with a unicorn? I have, and I love it. The wide variety of curries you can make with different ingredients is nice, and your Pokémon even get EXP boosts if you play with and feed them while camping.

The Pokémon

Honestly, I'm really not impressed. The Galar Dex of new Pokémon feels painfully small, so much so that playing Pokémon GO and catching a few Unova Pokémon made me yearn for the days when we used to get regions completely FULL of new Pokémon. Remember when you had to wait until AFTER the main game to start catching Pokémon from past gens? I...well, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I LIKED that.

That said, using a sparse selection of Galar Pokémon and Galar Regional Variants on my team definitely made the Gym Challenge more difficult. I picked Scorbunny, because Fire Types, and honestly didn't really care for it or its evolutions at first. Cinderace has really grown on me though and I like Pyro Ball as a move. It's flashy and powerful and that suits me just fine. Most of the new Pokémon's DESIGNS were good and I liked them, there just really weren't ENOUGH of them.

I'm fairly pleased with the regional variants as well. It was difficult to adjust to Ponyta and Rapidash being Psychic Type, but I really liked having them on my team. At the same time...Meowth not evolving into a Persian doesn't really sit right with me.

I'm all for branch evolutions, but Perrserker honestly just looks more like a giant Galar Meowth than anything. I played this with only the info given in the few scattered trailers I'd seen, so I was genuinely excited to see what a Galarian Persian would look like only to end up with Perrserker. The Typing is phenominal, and I think it's great to see a Steel Type Meowth for a change, but I just don't like where they went with it. Eh. Ces't la vie, moving on.

The Story

It's weak. Straight up, the story in this game is poor. There were so many directions they could have gone. I really liked the idea of Rose being this charismatic chairman hype man for the League and being the bad guy. I saw it coming, but it was a nice change to see just based on his personality. Still, it feels rushed. His motivations are really one dimensional and glossed over. Like, "Oh, here's the bad guy. Go get him." It worked in Gen 1 because Giovanni was a MOBSTER. He was MEANT to be a bad guy straight to the core in general, but Rose just doesn't have that vibe.

Not only that, but the "Bad League Members" are kinda meh. That feels REALLY lazy. They didn't even really get a decent uniform change when they started taking on the name Macro Cosmos in Rose Tower. They got black glasses. That's it. Just that. The fight with Eternatus feels painfully rushed and shoehorned in too, almost like they thought "Oh no, we need to give them a big nasty boss to fight! Let's just throw a random monster at them and say Rose summoned it. Seems like a solid plan."

I DID like the after story with Piers though. It really solidifies that older brother sort of nature with him, even if he tries to hide it most of the time.

The Characters

I liked Hop. As a character he's really fun and I like how they gave him this over excited very grand gestured sort of personality. He's really just happy to be ANYWHERE as long as it's with his Pokémon and you. His admiration for his big bro might come off strong and make him seem a little flat at first, but he's overall portrayed as a good kid and I like him.

Leon on the other hand...well I hated him for most of the game. His design is great and he looks fabulous, but he just has the most cocky, obnoxious, pandering personality 90% of the time. Still, I have to give credit where credit is due and recognize that he IS actually a multifaceted character. He showboats not just because he's too confident but also to give the crowd a show and put people at ease in times of danger. Not only that, but his recognition of his little brother's accomplishments and his graceful acceptance of defeat when you beat him reveals a really well written character.

I don't DISlike Sonia, and I have no problem with Prof. Magnolia sitting on the sidelines, but she can be a little...irritating at times with the way she speaks about and to people. The Gym Leaders, aside from Piers, feel a little...light.

I mean, most Gym Leaders don't have detailed backstories, but these ones feel paper thin personality wise as well. I had to look at the official GUIDE just to be sure what the relationship between Melony and Gordie even WAS because you only seem him in her Special League Card in Shield and that tells you nothing about him. The only real leaders that stood out to me were Piers and Raihan, and while I was iffy about his design at first I LOVE Raihan. He has so much more personality and ferocity than any of the other leaders. And the social commentary about him needing to constantly take and post a selfie, even after losing, is a nice touch.

The Galar Region

Is very linear. Like, VERY linear. Even when you take a branching path it either loops back around or gives you a free ride to wherever you have to backtrack to. I hope you like Hammerlocke, cuz you're gonna be visiting there several times.

I know that the region is based off the UK, and maybe my Americanized idea of cities is different (idk, I've never been to the UK), but a lot of the towns in this game feel really small. Like, almost smaller than some of the towns in Hoenn small. Maybe it's a lack of significant interactable buildings, but despite many of them having multiple floors you typically can only access one and that's kind of a disappointment. The hotel in Wyndon won't even let you get in the elevator, and while I get that Alola also did that, it's kind of jarring when the hotel in Motostoke WILL let you see other floors.

That said, I kind of expected more than ONE Wild Area. The one we DID get is fine, and I appreciate what it is and lets us do, but I honestly thought there would be multiple places to really explore outside the standard straight lines. Pokémon has never been a franchise to shy away from puzzles before so I expected this to not be any different. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Moreover, many of the environment pieces are just UGLY. A lot of the ground textures are reused 3DS assets, and those copy pasted trees I mentioned earlier? Also 3DS assets. How do I know? They're pentagonal instead of round. In other words, they have five sides. Why? Because the 3DS hardware couldn't handle complex environmental shapes that well so they could get away with it, but now that we have nice round berry trees the contrast becomes painful. The Wild Area is so ugly the first time you see it is at NIGHT. They were so aware of what they did they hoped making it darker would hide the lazy flop instead of showing off how bad it was.

It isn't like they COULDN'T fix it either. Look at Ballonlea and Glimwood Tangle. They're absolutely beautiful and very well done. The modeling with them is fantastic and I love the glowing effects. They absolutely could've made the poorly done areas look amazing, but for some reason they didn't and the game suffers some as a result.

Other Thoughts

The Gym Challenges...they were not fun. Like, honestly some were ok. Herding Wooloo was easy, but they really didn't feel like anything I would expect from a Gym. The water puzzle in Nessa's Gym was fine, and I personally liked the spinning cup ride, but the rest just felt like agonizingly long padding because they couldn't come up with anything. Look at Circhester's challenge. It's a dowsing rod gauntlet where you have to avoid falling in pits in an artificial blizzard. It. is. SO. SLOW. That said, Spikemuth having just a Trainer gauntlet instead was kind of awkward. I reached the end and asked myself "Was that it? Is this it? Is this all there is to Spikemuth? Just one giant alleyway and a Pokémon Center?"

Raihan's three trials of worthiness challenge? It was more difficult than the battle AGAINST RAIHAN. Speaking of, I beat Hop, Marnie, Bede, all the Gym Leaders, Rose, Oleana, and Leon on my first try every time. While it was more difficult with my specific Pokémon choices, it really wasn't much. And can I just say that the Gym Badges are kinda lame? I get what they were going for, but the designs of each piece could've been really unique and intricate and instead we got glorified stamps.

I liked a lot of the general features of the game. Camping, clothing shops, League Cards. I love designing League Cards, even if I'm the only one who's ever gonna see em. That said, the clothing choices were really narrow based on what we got in Sun and Moon. The variety of different items was pretty small, though I loved all the punk leather stuff but WOW IS IT EXPENSIVE. Like Lumiose Boutique expensive. AND WHY IS THERE NEVER A REDHEAD HAIR COLOR THAT ISN'T JUST AUBURN RED? There are actually A LOT of redheads with LIGHT RED hair (that's more a personal gripe than anything, I know).

A lot of the music felt almost like rehashes of older BGMs. Like, Postwick, Route 1, and Wedgehurst all sound like they have remixed Hoenn music. A lot of the other music tracks just don't feel fitting for the areas or for Pokémon games in general. I like parts of the Slumbering Weald music and I like the Gym Music, but the opening of Slumbering Weald feels awkward and like it doesn't fit a mysterious forest we're not allowed to be in.

I know I've complained a lot, but there were some things I genuinely liked. A lot of the Pokémon designs, place names, and other radiant decor and parts of the region are actually subtle and not so subtle references to cultural points of the UK. Skwovet and its evolution for example are a gray and red squirrel respectively and are a nod to invasive species, which is neat.

In Conclusion

Is Pokémon Sword and Shield amazing? No. Is it bad? No. Sword and Shield fall into that mediocre middle ground of being ok but nothing to write home about. Could I have done without them? Sure, they aren't some world ending imperitive must play. They're ok, and they make for a fine jumping on point and a fine little adventure if you have spare time. Have other mainline games done it better? Heck yeah, but that doesn't mean Sword and Shield haven't done a few good things too.

Overall, it sort of feels like GameFreak bit off more than they could chew, or were afraid to make changes because of unfamiliarity with the Switch's hardware and software limitations. Pokémon Let's Go had a lot more effort, but it also was much safer and had a much easier to work with art style to everything. Chibi proportions are a lot easier to fake than a more realistic counterpart. Things can be not perfect and it's less noticable than with more realistic proportions, and I think they were afraid to push back the deadline any further for the inevitable backlash despite that being what they likely needed. The DLC may change my mind, but as it stands, just the fact that they feel they can JUSTIFY their laziness with DLC packs really upsets me.

I give Pokémon Sword and Shield a 5/10.

It's just, OK.

[catgirlxox]

Re: Ben 10′s Harem - Concerning the way part of this fandom sees shipping dynamics...

The only thing that has been stopping me from writing this until now is that it may offend some people. Not in the sense that it is discussing an extremely sensitive topic, just that I don’t mean to sound as if I am blaming people. 

As anyone who has read my essays knows, I’m very passionate about defending my favourite character and setting the record straight about how his characterization is interpreted. And, the “bad boyfriend/long list of love interests“ debate (a hot topic in this fandom) is something which relates to this and something which I have already written about extensively as well.  

I have a theory.

There are some of us in this fandom who enjoy shipping Ben with certain female characters. Even if I personally may not agree that every pairing is that great, I can’t physically stop them from shipping whoever they want. They’re entitled to that, I guess. The same goes for shipping Ben with a harem/multiple girls.

There is this one essay I wrote quite some time ago which has gotten some attention from those who do support the harem concept involving Ben. And in that essay, my main point was that, as presented in canon, namely the literal harem episode “The Most Dangerous Game Show”, Ben does not seem too fond of the idea of having a harem, therefore he should not be blamed for the reckless and immature nature of those female characters who have been paired with him in the series. 

I also outlined some of the good qualities, skills, and personality traits Ben possesses, which have led him to become who he is today, and explain why anyone who has been shown having any kind of feelings for him have tried to pursue him since they recognize his value and potential as a partner. 

If you take a moment to look over the page, you might notice that those who comment and like the post seem to be under the impression that they “agree” with me. Forgive me if I did not make myself clear enough in what I had stated in that essay, but I do not think that they really understood what I was saying. 

I appreciate any support my writing may get, regardless of what you ship. However, I’d argue it is quite hypocritical to support an argument when you actively support the opposing argument as well.

If Ben is seen as a valuable partner to many of the girls who were paired with him in the canon series, but they often times gave him mixed signals or red flags of not being a great partner towards him, and because of this, he did not show much of an interest in continuing to pursue any of them, why would you continue to make him look bad by portraying him as some kind of philanderer, womanizer, or player who wishes to posses all these women at once?

I assume if you hold this character dear then you would understand what his life entails, correct?

In Ultimate Alien’s “Fused”, it was shown that he doesn’t get enough sleep and often pulls multiple all nighters in a row, due to alien criminal disturbances and nightmares. Not to mention this is happening during his very demanding full time job.

Gwen: “How many all nighters did you say you pulled in a row?”

Ben: “Two? Okay, three. Maybe four. Anyway, I’m good for another one.” 

In Omniverse’s “The More things Change”, it was shown that he didn't even have a chance to eat something until the every end of part 2, implying, again, that his job is very demanding. 

And, in Omniverse’s “It’s a Mad Ben World”, he stated that it was his “first afternoon off in weeks” and all he wanted to do was play a video game and take a break. 

During all this, he is also blamed for being a terrible boyfriend. He couldn't even be the guy his ex girlfriend wanted him to be because he had very little time to be with her like she expected. 

He let her have her space and pursue what made her happy instead of complaining that tennis took up all of her time and that she was away from him for so long because he probably felt like it wasn't his place to demand such a thing. 

The boy apparently doesn’t even have much time to thoroughly take care of himself because he has dedicated so much of his time to protecting the whole entire universe, and you think that he apparently has the time to pursue a relationship with every female person or alien he comes in contact with.

The sad thing about this is that, instead of realizing the facts of Ben’s reality that I have just outlined, many people who consume fan made media depicting harems or shipping Ben with various female characters end up with the impression that he is “sexist” and “objectifies women” instead. Then they spread around that idea without realizing that it was implied from a work of fan fiction, not canon source material. 

Observe:

(The source for the comment above is a rather NSFW work of fan art depicting Omniverse Ben and two female characters.)

What hurts me the most is the implication that this conclusion can be drawn from the idea that if someone draws a certain character acting a certain way, then that mirrors the way they have been portrayed in canon. But that kind of thinking ignores the fact that people can misunderstand or misinterpret other peoples’ ideas or intentions, and then, as I stated previously, spread around false claims without re-evaluating their clouded judgement.

Or, perhaps more simply, just voluntarily use him as a self insert puppet and chose to portray Ben however fits their specific fantasy best, stripping him of his character development, characterization, and moral values, because, let’s not forget, he was written to be a superhero. 

Again, I did not chose to write this in order to blame people for the flaws of the Ben 10 fandom. I only want to bring this possibility to light since it is hard to believe that the writers of a children’s television series had the intention of creating a protagonist which showcases all these bad traits rather than one who can inspire and connect with his audience on a personal level. 

[lotusdiscussthis]

I know you posted a while ago about how Shuichi never gives Kokichi a chance and just writes him off, but I do understand him (Shuichi), maybe because I also have anxiety, but I know people who act like Kokichi does in real life, and while they seem cool in fiction, they’re toxic, tiring, and frustrating to be around in real life, especially for someone with major anxiety. Just food for thought.

Haha, I only just made that post the other day. It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this sort of response. Though I’m afraid the specific food you are feeding to me isn’t something I haven’t already considered numerous times before. Given how the narrative has played out, of course people who’ve played V3 would think the same way about both characters initially.

Saihara = Every man/Sensitive Cinnamonroll.

Ouma = Complex individual/Troublemaking D-bag.

Both of them just seem to fall on either one of the two categories by the majority of the fandom.

But y’see, what you’ve just said about one character being too toxic to be around and one being the anxiety baby is exactly what’s seriously wrong with how the story is woven. I have an issue with Saihara because he’s portrayed as a sensitive kind soul that has anxiety and depression. And it’s due to those aspects of his character, the characters and the narrative itself are just using that as an excuse to make you overlook his major faults. And the worst fault of his is… he just sucks as a detective, no matter how you look at it. All that talk about him being scared of revealing the truth and all the crying he does, is nothing but pathos when you look back on it. Pathos that make you go “Oh well, what happened to Kaede wasn’t his fault.”,…except that it totally was his fault in the end. At least 50% of it was. And it still baffles me to this day how blasé Saihara’s reaction was when finding out that Kaede was not Rantaro’s killer. For a guy that was sunken deep into his own insecurities and depression in Chapter 2, and how personally worried he was about whether or not he could’ve done something to save Kaede, he didn’t take that discovery as hard as one would think.

Anyone in his shoes would be all like, “OH GOD, HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID! I SCREWED UP! I SCREWED UP BAD-”… but no. Instead he’s like “HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY” and put ALL of the blame onto Monokuma and the game itself. Like,… how? This isn’t something that you just … get over instantly. And before you claim it as part of Kaito’s training or whatever, this sort of discovery would be DEVASTATING for a detective and as someone who supposedly cared for Kaede as much as he did. And yet Saihara didn’t even take a second to self-reflect on this or even go “I screwed up… but I’ll make it right”. NOPE. All on Monokuma.

That seems a bit too heavily inconsistent, seeing as we were already aware of his own personal values, his attachment to Kaede and his worst fears when playing as him.

Look, I have issues too, but using that as a means to overlook your own hypocrisy, selective-ness and your inability to take charge by yourself is just wrong. And yet, that’s all Saihara’s been doing.

But before I get too deep into the subject of empathy between player and characters, I think the most important thing to take into account when analyzing DRV3 is that you have to separate your own personal feelings from the game and actually *see* how the personalities and behavior patterns of Ouma and Saihara pertain to the story as a whole.

Let’s start by using the near end of Chapter 1 for example.

When Kaede was voted as the killer, Saihara went against his detective work in finding the mastermind and told everyone that “there was no mastermind”. Which is dumb. Whether the mastermind was actually related to the hidden room or not was yet to be determined, because they never actually went inside the door and find out what the purpose for it was. The door exists for a reason, but the mystery behind it was put on the back burner because of Saihara’s painful trauma over Kaede. Because of HIS pain, he decided from then onwards not to check the hidden door again. 9 dead students later, Kiibo went full war-mode and blew up the entrance and DA-DA-DAAAA! THE HIDDEN ROOM APPARENTLY HAD A PURPOSE AFTER ALL. Go figure, right?

Do you see the issue in only focusing on the protagonist’s emotions and nothing else? Because the game was clearly going for the “weak-boy-becomes-strong” character arc and had constantly reminded us of how insecure he feels, we were compelled to only listen to his inner turmoil and ignore the fact that he’s not doing anything useful in his freetime until someone gets killed. And when we’re not too busy on focusing on Saihara’s pain, we’d be focusing on Himiko’s. And if not Himiko, we put the focus onto Maki. Those who didn’t get enough attention just didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to survive V3.

The fact of the matter is, V3 was heavily centered on the emotions of the three survivors than anything else. And because of that, we were forced to look at certain characters (such as Ouma and Angie) that even *dared* to actually put effort into stopping the killing game as the problematic troublemakers while the supposed good guys just get away with doing nothing to help the situation themselves until the finale.

You know who didn’t give up on the idea that there was a mastermind after Chapter 1?

That’s right. Not Saihara. Ouma. As I’ve said before, Ouma knew full well that the mastermind was monitoring them and also knew that there was a traitor within the group. It’s not that he’s a paranoid boy who couldn’t trust anyone, it’s because he’s incredibly cautious and has adapted to dangerous circumstances like the killing game before and knew how to avoid trouble. (Say it with me now, HE. IS. NOT. A. CLOWN. OR. PRANKSTER)

You say that Ouma was too toxic to be around Saihara, but Saihara didn’t have any issue hanging around Maki at all. The chick who promised not to kill anymore, but was still insulting Saihara a lot. She then broke her promise by going behind everyone’s back to kill Ouma, only to have that plan backfire badly, berated Saihara while secretly planned to sacrifice him and the rest of the class to get her payback against Ouma. Even after all of that, Saihara forgave her, ignored all the backstabbing she did and still saw her as a friend. That’s just… wow.

So why is Ouma a jerk, you wonder? Because when Ouma was saying that he wants to ENJOY the game, it’s because behaving like a twisted sicko would get you far in this twisted, sick game. Getting too buddy buddy and acting like you want to stop the game for even a moment would prove to be hazardous to your safety.

If the incident with Kaede has proven anything, being openly defiant against the game and acting self-righteous in front Monokuma would only paint you as a nuisance, thus making you a target. That’s why in Chapter 5, he told Kaito he had to *lie* to himself that he enjoys the game, so the person behind Monokuma wouldn’t kill him. And it’s not enough to just play it up in front of the Nanokumas, he had to be consistently twisted and evil so nobody would catch wind of it. And he had to be selective in finding allies, such as Gonta and Miu, because those two were the most valuable people within the group that wouldn’t carelessly disregard everything he says.

I think I’ve explained enough. I dragged this longer than necessary. I’ve explained how Saihara and Ouma’s behaviors have impacted the story. I hope this answer will suffice. Having to get too sucked into the emotions of the survivors can be fatal when not paying attention to the other elements of the story.

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Alex you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Frank Longbottom!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

We’re so excited to have you back in the rp, Alex! The way you fleshed out Frank’s app was beautiful and the thought and dedication that you placed into it shone through. There’s a lot of complexities to his character, and the struggles he’s going to face in the future were completely evident. We can’t wait to see how you develop Frank further and how his story progresses in this different timeline of the Marauders! 

application beneath the cut (tw: Torture, Kidnapping, PTSD, Violence)

OUT OF CHARACTER ♔ INTRODUCTION

Name: Alex

Age: 20

Pronouns: She/her

Timezone: EST

♔ ACTIVITY

6-7/10 I sam online a lot of the time however I am in college so there are some times when I get very busy. That being said I am normally online at least once a day and tend to lurk more than that. So 6-7 maybe lower than winds up being accurate but that it the minimum of how often I will be on.

♔ ROLEPLAY EXPERIENCE

I’ve been roleplaying on tumblr for over 5 years now on my River Song roleplay blog. Recently my muse from her has been a bit less so my most recent threads aren’t my favorites but I have gained a lot of experience from the blog. I love the character and writing her I’ve just been having a hard time because after 5 years the fandom has died down.

http://riverxxsong.tumblr.com/

My old Lucinda blog:

https://lucindaxxtalkalot.tumblr.com/

My old Frank blong:

https://frankxlongbottom.tumblr.com/

♔ TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

♔ HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I was in CRT for a long time! <3

♔ ANYTHING ELSE?

I’ve missed Frank and the CRT community so much since I’ve left I would love the opportunity to continue to develop his character. IN CHARACTER ♔ DESIRED CHARACTER Frank Longbottom

♔ FACE CLAIM Penn Badgley ♔ REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER First Application Reasons:

I had never really thought about Frank Longbottom until joining this group, but as I started interacting more and reading all of the threads I fell in love with Frank. Then also when Lucinda got together with Alice I fell in love with her and just because Lucinda has to lose her doesn’t mean I want to. I really love Frank’s story line and had wanted to take on the challenge of writing as a person of the opposite gender. I am really hopeful that I will get to play him and develop his character, his deep love for Alice, his dark side, his frustration with the war, and all the other things that makes him such an amazing and complex character.

I am extremely excited to play on the idea of Frank’s dark side; I think far too often he is portrayed as a big teddy bear when in fact I think he might be one of the most vicious of the “good guys”. I don’t think Frank would ever hurt anyone just for pleasure, but he sees the line between good and evil as blurry especially during war times. During school he saw far too many of his house mates tortured to let it slide without any acknowledgement. Being from the Longbottom family, one of the sacred 28, other purebloods often expected him to fall on their side, that is until he got the reputation of breaking their noses. People who don’t know him often find him jaded and aggressive and he can come off as a flirt. He is unrelenting in his pursual of a better world, but he doesn’t always see where the lines lay.

It is because of this more aggressive nature that Frank first became affiliated with Aversio.  The group was a better match for his personal ideologies and were willing to see that the ends justify the means. Frank is often surprised that even among Aversio he is on the more aggressive end of the spectrum. He is highly impulsive and will push for, as well as take on dangerous missions, before thinking through the consequences for himself and others. He lacks a sense of self preservation and considers the war a worthy cause to die for. He fluctuates between being extremely self confident and extremely insecure depending on the situation and how long he’s taken to think.

Thinking has actually often time been a hindrance to Frank as he finds that once he starts thinking things through he’s nervous and worrying side surfaces. It is when this side emerges that he finds it harder to be a good member of Aversio and do what needs to be done. However this is in stark contrast to how is more worrisome side is seen in the Order where caution and careful planning and strategy are praised.

Second Application Reasons:

I simply adore Frank Longbottom. I think he can be one of the most complex characters in the series especially with the way his skeleton is written in our group. I have missed him since I left the group a few months ago and would love to get to write as him again. I think Frank is dynamic and real and struggles with the questions of morality which many of us don’t need to think about in our life. I think he has so much growth left in his character and in his current state he is so angry and focused, I think as he grows his views may change rapidly.

I would love to dive more into his darker tendencies because I think at certain levels he could rival some of the death eaters for cruelty. His views right now are extremely polarized, you are either good or you’re bad. He feels as though people in the Order are good but when he allows himself to be honest about what he thinks about them he feels they are cowards and are afraid to do what is necessary. Frank believes that Death Eaters lives are worthless and if they are not helping him further the goal of ending the war than they should be terminated from existence. I would love to have the people who love him who aren’t in aversio slowly bring him toward a more moderate view but I would also love for him to have one or two people in Aversio who encourage this extremist view and push him forward with his plans.

I think there could be some extremely interesting plays with insanity with Frank allowing us to see the lengths that one will go to in order to do what they see as right. Frank believes in his mission and thinks he is entirely right and righteous in his beliefs. One of the most fascinating aspects of the potencial I see with this starting point I am seeing for him is having his behaviors be almost identical to those of the death eaters but serving the Aversio agenda. Getting to write him being unaware of the extremes which he is reaching and having the characters around him see him unraveling could be fascinating.

Following this downward spiral, which I think would be amazing also having it tied in with him being newly engaged with Alice and having them be adversaries for a few months in their ideologies, I think he needs to come to a breaking point. Most people are made of a series of moments and I believe that but I also think that there are some moments which are more defining than others and I think Frank’s path will be violent and cruel in the beginning of this new era for him, I think that part of the character was lost and I became too involved in the relationship between Frank and Alice. I still am planning to have Alice be a large part of Frank’s narrative but I would love for him to have some other characters to support that. I would love to collaborate with one or two other Aversio players who also want to take their characters down this morally ambiguous path in the pursuit of a better world. On the other side I want Frank to have work friends who are in the Order and more in line with Alice’s way of thinking. I think Frank would confess to Alice his allegiance and if she couldn’t convince him to change his ways I think calling in backup of these individuals who are morally aligned with the Order, I’d love to see the fight which could even turn physical. In a huge fight like this I would love the insanity to appear in full and have Frank either injure or almost severely injure people he cares about. At that point I think Frank would break down and he’d change his allegiance leaving behind Aversio forever. However, the anger which naturally exists within him would still be there and he would still have an internal struggle over the actions which should be taken. The transitioning allegiance going quickly to be fully aligned with the Order. Additionally, what Frank would do with the information he had gained while in Aversio.

Overall, I’d love to see Frank as a character who build in extremist beliefs until it hits a point where he either would lose the people he cares for most or switch sides and I would like to have him switch sides. However, I think switching sides would be painful and he would struggle with identity and guilt and his own morals. Overtime I think he would come to see Aversio as a terrorist organization and be a major public advocate against it as well as being on a possible anti Aversio task force within the order. I would love Frank’s story to be one of misguided good intentions and the dangers of thinking that the ends justify the means and the corrupting power of a seemingly quick solution and self distributed justice.

Elaborate on why you would like to play this character. Just tell us, what made you pick this character and what made you feel in love with them. This can be as long or as short as you want to, though showing your love for the character is encouraged as it is something we look at when we can’t decide between applications. In this section you should also describe the character and how you see them. At least in a few sentences that offer additional information to what we provided in the character’s bio. You don’t have to do a complete personality analysis here, but just glimpse us of them by giving reasons for why you decided for this character. Don’t write what you think that we want to hear, but just make this character your own. ♔ CHARACTER’S SEXUALITY Heterosexual. Frank has never really had the urge to be with a man. He thinks his friends are good looking blokes but that’s about it. That being said he has no judgement about who people choose to love and encourages his loved ones to do what makes them happy. Before he and Alice were serious he was a big flirt, his lovelife consisting mainly of hookups. Until Alice came into his life, friends were his only priority and he had no interest in finding a girlfriend. He was a major fuckboy but had his own code about hooking up with girls, never spreading rumors or bragging about the people he would hook up with.

I love Fralice!

♔ PERSONALITY TRAITS Please elaborate on at least 2 of the traits listed on the bio (one positive and one negative). Explain why you believe they were assigned these traits and what they mean in the context of the character.

✓ Dependable

Frank always considered himself lucky, he grew up in a happy stable family without all of the normal stigma that came with being a pureblood. Frank is extremely dedicated to those he loved and because of that he will never fail to be there when they need him. Frank’s dedication runs to an extreme level that it never wanes even when being there for a friend could put himself in danger, in that situation he would just run faster to help the ones he cares for.

Frank will always be there to protect Alice, it is the only reason he didn’t ask for a change of partner after they broke up. He needs to be there for her, to protect her, even though it kills him inside. There is a physical pain in his chest when he sees Alice and remembers she doesn’t want to be with him, but he can’t stand the idea that she would run into danger without him at her side. ✓ Loving

Frank’s friends are a central part of his life. He would do anything for them and drop everything in his life to help them. It is this platonic form of love that has dominated Frank’s life so far and only in his developing relationship with Alice do we see how romantic love looks for him. Frank is amazingly loyal to his friends at school he would often find getting into fights trying to protect them. He is definitely what people would describe as rough around the edges, but those who get to know him would describe him as a true Hufflepuff, loyal to a fault. ✓ Ready-mind

As a Hufflepuff through and through, Frank always had an open mind and was ready and willing to learn new things. What set him apart is his dedication to his studies during school, although he was not a bookworm, he was a dedicated hard worker and would often be seen with his brow furrowed as he completed homework in the Hufflepuff common room. ✓ Unstoppable

Frank is an oncoming storm. He would burn cities to the ground for those he loves. He is not afraid of using force to get what he wants, and once he sets his mind to something you better get out of his way or get crushed in the process. This is a great benefit when you are on his side as he will stop at nothing to keep his word and protect those he loves. Those who stand against him though should be wary as when he sees someone as opposition, he feels no remorse for what he does to meet his goal. ✕ Doesn’t know limits

Frank doesn’t know when to stop. He struggles to not lose himself in the war. He finds himself more inline with the ideals of Aversio than with the Order of the Phoenix as he has trouble waiting to take action. He oftentimes has to fight to prevent the extent of his aggression from being seen. He doesn’t just want the Death Eaters locked up, he wants them dead with their homes burnt to the ground and any trace of them destroyed. He thinks they are traitors to the wizarding world and shouldn’t be allowed the privilege of having existing. He wants to see the end of their regime with no trace of it left to be built upon and thinks it is worth exterminating the entire population in order to fulfill that goal. ✕ Lacks self-control

He is highly impulsive and has a desire to take action. Frank will volunteer often volunteer for missions before thinking of the risks to himself or the others on his team. He has no sense of self preservation which adds to his likelihood of doing something that could get himself hurt.

Frank sees his impulsivity as a strength it allows him to act when he needs to and prevents him from missing a moment when he should have gone. He thinks the personal danger this lack of self control puts him in is negligible given the amount of good he feels these actions accomplish. ✕ Worrier

Frank has no regard for his own well being and is only worried about his friends and loved ones. He thinks about them all the time and is extremely concerned about their safety during these uncertain times. His loved ones are his main concern at all times, but it is often his worrying breaks his determination. In stopping to think he realizes the risk to himself and others and feels he can’t fight in the war as well. He thinks of his lack of self control as a positive and strives to not think about things to deeply in order to avoid being bogged down by his thoughts. ✕ Dark thoughts

Frank offer suffers from very dark thoughts. He doesn’t just want to win the war but he oftentimes finds his thoughts drifting to the idea of obliterating the opposition. He wants to be the type of person who is patient, kind and merciful, but he feels war is not the times for this virtues. During school he worked to always keep himself in check and to ensure he (usually) played by the rules, but war has allowed him to explore, this other side of himself which had stayed buried for so long. His only fear is he kind of likes it .

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The following section should be looked at like a survey for your character. Answer them in character and feel free to use gifs. Or, if you’d rather, answer them in third person or OOC without gifs. Answers do not have to be extremely lengthy.

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“I would invent a spell which allows me to locate people who use the unforgivable curses. I would have the auror department run it at all times because if we were able to know where these curses were being used it would make finding and destroying death eaters much easier.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“I would bring Alice Prewett. She’s always had my back in the feild and I know she’d have my back in the forest. I easily trust her with my life. As for an object… I would bring a flashlight, so I could have my wand ready in case I need to immediately cast a spell for self defense.”

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“I am worst a making decisions which involve not immediately punishing those doing wrong in the hopes of a longer plan. I understand that it may not be best to stop things when we know they are occuring, due to the sensitivity of sources but when there is an injustice occurring… I can’t help but want to take actions and when someone tells me it’s impulsive or short sighted I just find myself getting angry.”

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

“I would never want someone to say I’m disloyal. Loyalty to the people who matter to me in my life is one of the most important things to me. My friends and family are most important to me. I am always on their side so anyone suggesting I’m not would break my heart.”

EXTRAS (SEMI-OPTIONAL) This portion is not obligatory, but it is heavily encouraged. This section can include, but is not limited to: mock blogs, future plot points, a questionnaire, your character’s wand, boggart, patronus quotes, playlists, moodboards, edits and everything else you can think of. It’s kind of a ‘everything can, nothing must’-section. Even if this section is in no way required, please keep in mind that this can be something that makes me decide for one applicant or another if I can’t decide just looking at the obligatory part. This doesn’t mean I’ll only have a look at it if I can’t decide- for that I’m far too curious what awesome things you’re all going to do-, but is something that plays great importance when I can’t decide for one applicant.

https://frankxlongbottom.tumblr.com/

PlayList:

Frank in Love (Fralice songs):

Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillet

*Come to me by the goo goo dolls*

Angel with a Shotgun by the Cab

Say You won’t go - James Arthur

Backseat Serenade-All Time Low

Frank’s anthem:

The Phoenix - Fall out boy

Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Uprising - Muse

Burn It To The Ground - Nickelback

Ready Aim Fire - Imagine Dragons

The Crimson Bow & Arrow - Jonathan Young

The World - Jonathan Young

For Alice Post Break Up Feeling

Iris - The goo goo dolls

Impossible Year- Panic! At The Disco

Young Frank:

The Good, The Bad And The Dirty - Panic! At The Disco

Girls/Girls/Boys - Panic! At The Disco

Head cannon:

Frank got into a lot of fights in school (mostly) protecting others and standing up for his beliefs.

Frank enjoys his darker impulses and worries that they will one day take him over however he also feels justified in the actions he’s taking given that he is at war.

Frank was a flirt and a player during his school days.

Frank’s friends are the most important thing to him (Alice too later)

Frank’s sense of loyalty is deeply ingrained but his impulses take control when it comes to his loved ones.

Frank is happy to die for the war and gives very little thought to his life down the road.

I think this would vary depending his state of mind but at times when he feels disconnected from most things or during some of his largest fights with Alice and during the time she left him he escalated his commitment to the cause to an almost suicidal level

I think these impulses will settle as Frank grows older but he still will not hesitate to throw himself in front of danger to protect his loved ones

Frank really struggles with his dark impulses and despite knowledge that he should want to take the moral high ground he finds himself drawn to extremely violent and extreme plans that may kill more death eaters rather than trying to break up the organization

Frank often find himself wanting to slaughter the death eaters and finds them to be irredeemable

I’d love for this to be challenged by someone close in his life where a close friend of his is in truth a DE or someone switches sides

James, Lily, Frank and Alice are couple friends and will at times go on double dates. They relate very well to each other and struggle to be newly married in a period of such chaos

James, Lily, Frank and Alice spend time talking with each other about their hopes and fears of being a new parent and rely on each other for support.

Frank will be an extremely dedicated new parent but I am unsure if having a child will lead to an escalation of his extreme thoughts to try and end the war quickly or if a child would bring him to see things from more of a moderate view to the point where he moves almost entirely to the order.

Frank is a year older than Alice so he would currently be 20.

Future Plot Points:

Flashback-  Frank and guy friends at school talking about girls and the future

Flashback- Frank’s various hogwarts adventuress

Flashback- Frank’s start as an auror

Frank tries to start a bar fight with a pureblood

Frank pushes an even more aggressive Aversio

Alice finds out Frank is in Aversio

Frank and Alice move in together

Frank and Alice get married

Frank wants to start a family or Alice gets pregnant

Frank and Alice have Neville

Frank becomes a major aggressor in the war and starts trying to pursue Death Eaters to a larger extent

Frank attempts to sabotage the lives of people who he suspects to be death eaters

Frank has a few HUGE fights with people he loves about his being in Aversio (Moody, Alice, Augusta, anyone he is very close with)

Frank leaves Aversio

Frank struggles with switching over to the mentality of the Order

Frank eventually perceives Aversio as a terrorist group WRITING SAMPLE

Prompt:

The last sane night. We all know how the dreaded-end-game occurs; but what if your character had the insight to know things were going to come to a quick end for him? How would he spend his last night before he is tortured to the brink?

TW: Torutre, sexul assault

The ground was cold beneath him; the packed dirt floor of the cell slowing drinking the heat from his body. As Frank stirred slowly from the numb comfort of unconsciousness, he felt as if the world was trying to pull him down to its core. The weight on his chest made each breath agony, he tried to open his eyes. His eyes seemed stuck shut at first unwilling to open,he took another agonizing breath before forcing his eyes open. The light from the hall wasn’t much, but in that moment it felt like he had stared directly into the sun. He panicked for a moment waiting for the world to come into focus, as it did he remembered, Alice. Where was Alice? The pain in his body shifted to the background as the thought of his wife came fully into the forefront of his mind. Tears welled in his eyes, the war had ended. Frank had let his guard down for only a moment, he remembered the night in horror.

Voldemort had been destroyed. The war was finally over. That was the mantra Frank had been repeating to himself since he had first heard the news. He still had trouble believing it was true, it was as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Frank knew he need to move past it. This was a new chapter in his life, the one he had been fighting for. They had won the war, and now he could relax and enjoy his family.

It was for that reason that Frank had come home late. He had just made one stop after work. Frank had bought a nice dinner for he and Alice to share together; he had even purchased champagne. He hadn’t been worried about leaving at home alone; the war was over and they had won. He didn’t even sense something was wrong until he got home.

As he walked up to the front door he saw it was open, a pit formed in his stomach his throat clenched making it hard to breathe. We’re not at war he tried to reassure himself his hands shaking slightly. He walked closer to the door stepping slowly not wanting to over react and scare Alice and Neville.

The packages fell to the ground, Frank had gotten close enough to the door to see that it had been opened by force. He couldn’t remember what happened next, but he found himself in the hallway wand in hand. “Alice!” He cried voice shaking in a panick. “Please, Ali, please answer me and tell me you and Neville are fine.” He couldn’t breathe, he should have been home over an hour ago. He should have been here. It was amidst all these thoughts that a cold feminine laugh escaped him. He whipped around staring into the living room in horror at the scene before him. Before him stood four of Voldemort’s most loyal followers, the Lestrange brothers had Alice restrained, their hands running all over the pieces of her that were only for him. Frank’s entire body shook, “If you touch her again I,”

“What will you do?” Bellatrix Lestrange stood in front of him her sharp features had grown ever more gaunt during the war, now she look somewhere between dead and alive. “We have your wife and son.” She said in a voice which was almost sweet looking down at Neville who she held in her arms. “You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them now would you.” She then turned and held Neville by his feet waking him and starting him to start screaming. “Now put down your wand slowly.” Barty Crouch Jr. stood at the ready want aimed at him even if he were to risk Alice and Neville by trying something

Tears began streaking down Frank’s face and he slowly bent towards the floor and placed his wand down. “Please,” His voice was distorted by a choked sob. “Take me instead just leave Alice and Neville, I will do anything!” He had failed them. He had failed to protect his family at the time when it counted most, and he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to fix it.

Rodolphus looked Alice over his eyes filled with lust. “Bella, we get to keep her right? You said this would be fun.” He looked over at Bellatrix like a puppy waiting for a treat. “Yes, I did Rod. You can play with her for now. Just don’t break her… Yet.” Bellatrix replied her voice calm and cool as if giving someone permission to borrow a book. Rodolphus smiled a malicious, smile before ripping Alice’s shirt revealing her breasts now contained only by her bra.

“No!” Frank shouted, he couldn’t let them hurt her. He’d rather die than let them lay their filthy hands on her. He started to run towards he his core impulse taking control. He told her he’d always protect her and he’d be damned if he failed now.

“Petrificus totalus!” Frank had only taken three steps when he was hit. Every muscle in his body suddenly stopped he fell forward because of the momentum he had gained from trying to reach Alice. Tears clouded his vision as Crouch came over and sat him up so that he could still see Alice and Neville. There was red on Alice now, and her chest was entirely exposed. Her cream skin had been sliced by Rodolphus and he was powerless to stop it. He watched as those men continued to grab at his wife, at his Alice. How could he have failed her like this? How could he be so powerless.

Frank couldn’t believe that had only been a day ago, or at least he thought it was a day. He rolled to his side ignoring the shrieking of his every nerve in his body. He took a deep breath not focused on his own pain any longer. His mind was only Alice, he didn’t care if he lived or died he never had it had always been about her. Frank pushed himself up slowly so he was in a seated position as he scanned the room for her, his beautiful wife, the only thing, besides their son, that he had ever cared about.

He looked around trying to find her in this cavernous cell. His heart froze for a moment when he thought she might not be here but that was when he saw it. It was just a tiny movement from the back dark corner of the room but it had to be her. Frank couldn’t let himself believe otherwise. He shook as he tried to stand cursing his own body for failing him. It seemed as though he weren’t good for anything as of late. So he crawled on his hands and knees, probably looking like the broken man he was. “Hey, Al is that you?” He said as softly as he could his voice dry and raspy. He moved closer finding her small scarcely clothed form curled up in the corner.

The sight of her like this brought tears to his eyes. “I don’t deserve you. I never have.” He said softly. “Ali, what have they done to you?” His voice shook in horror as he began to notice smaller details. She had cuts all over her body and her eyes. Something had changed. “Alice, what happened? How long have we been here?”

Alice, the love of his life, his wife and the mother of his child, merely tilted her head as if confused. “Who are you?” She said her voice nervous but intrigued. “Who is Alice?”

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #204 - The Untouchables

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) Al Capone at the barber.

First of all, this scene establishes Capone’s position in the world of the film. The press treats him as a legitimate businessman despite his immoral standings (he’s a KNOWN bootlegger, he doesn’t even hide it), which means it’s going to be all the more difficult to take him down. He’s totally in control of the scene and the fear we see in the barber’s eyes when he accidentally cuts the mobster shows just how dangerous he really is. It’s a great first taste of the gangster.

2) The second scene - of the shop blowing up and the little girl going up with it - does well to draw in audience sympathy. Despite all his showboating Capone is a monster who kills whoever gets in his way. A bully on the worst scale. He literally murders a little girl as collateral damage because someone doesn’t want to serve alcohol. That’s just fucking evil.

3) As I’ve noticed with many mob movies, The Untouchables has a woman problem. Patricia Clarkson is great but here character is nothing more than the dotting and supportive housewife. Like, there’s no conflict to her AT ALL. Her husband is doing work which puts her and her family at risk but she’s always supportive/understanding. Can’t have the woman questioning her man now can we. It’s kind of annoying. And then the only other two female characters I can even think of - the mother of the murdered girl and the woman at the train station - aren’t even characters really as plot devices. They’re just there to up the stakes for Ness.

3.1) ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I just googled this shit and for one thing Eliot Ness didn’t have any children during the time this film is set and two HE DIDN’T HAVE A HAPPY MARRIAGE! They ended up getting divorced a few years later IN THE 30s! But the film decided to drop that ripe conflict and interesting character interaction to instead give us a cliché dotting wife trope!?

4) Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness

The best movie heroes don’t see themselves as heroes and aren’t portrayed as invincible/mythological but as just normal people trying to do good. That’s exactly what Ness is here: a good man doing his best. While at the beginning of the movie he’s a bit of a boy scout, it’s his development from that into a man who is willing to go further for a good deed which makes him interesting. This is a guy who pins up a headline of his first really big failure, who is able to remove any sense of ego and pride to ask for help when he needs it. He HATES it when he has to kill people (as seen when he has to shoot one of Capone’s goons in Canada) and just wants to get home at the end of the day. Costner portrays all of these qualities very well, making Ness an honest and down to earth character. Writing a character to be that is one thing, but Costner actually portraying that helps the audience get invested in our protagonist.

5) Sean Connery as Malone.

Connery was won his only Oscar (and it was the only time he was nominated for an Oscar) in this part and you can see why. From his very first scene Malone is striking and memorable, taking complete command of every scene he’s in. Robert DeNiro as Al Capone is a tough guy to go up against, but through Connery’s performance you believe Malone can really help take him down. That’s how strong a performance he gives, being the standout player in an already great cast. And one of the key things about Malone is that he’s not all about bravado. He’s not a trope, but a character. He has fears, insecurities, but he’s able to push past these to do the right thing. This just means Connery’s performance is all the more layered as he plays out Malone’s decisions and conflicts. It’s absolutely great.

6) The church scene.

I think this scene is largely memorable because of how powerful the cinematography is. It’s a unique visual; the characters are kneeling/in a state of submission but by towering over the camera they’re given power in the shot. But it’s more than just an amazing shot (which that is), the scene also clearly sets up the stakes and goals of these two cops. You clearly understand Ness’ morals and convictions here while Connery’s always amazing performance as Malone really helps to carry the scene.

7) I love the way Malone tests George Stone/Giuseppe Petri (played wonderfully by a young Andy Garcia). He wants a real fighter, someone strong in their convictions, not someone who could easily be pushed over by Capone. So seeing how reacts to blatant racism is very telling of this. Also I just love that THIS is the way Giuseppe (I think I’m going to call him Giuseppe in this post) handles it.

8) I go to school in Chicago, so I recognize a ton of the bits in the film which were actually shot in the city and I always get a kick out of it. Like, “oh, I walk down that street. Oh, I’ve been there. Cool!”

9) The ease with which the titular Untouchables handles the first liquor raid reminds me of a quote by Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Everyone KNOWS where the liquor is, Capone’s not HIDING, just no one wants to take him one because of his power and because they don’t care. It’s not hard at first, it just gets hard once you actually make a move.

10) The dinner scene.

I think this is DeNiro at his best in the film. The dinner scene is ripe with tension as soon as Capone picks up a bat. You KNOW what’s going to happen with that bat. He’s Al Capone for pete’s sake! The slow pacing of the scene as well as what is basically a demented version of “duck duck goose” (as Capone makes his way around the table, we’re waiting to see who he’ll wail on with the bat) really ramps up the tension, while the total brutality of the scene’s outcome raises the danger/stakes for our heroes.

11)

Ness [in shock at the suggestion]: “Try [Al Capone] a murderer for not paying his taxes?”

I was originally going to use the “Dramatic Irony” gag from Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” but it doesn’t really work in the context so instead:

12) This line always stuck with me.

Canadian Mountie: “And surprise, as you very well know Mr. Ness, is half the battle.”

Ness: “Surprise is half the battle. Many things are half the battle. Losing is half the battle. Let’s think about what is all the battle.”

13) The entire shootout in Canada actually works very well. There’s a grand amount of tension in the scene before anyone even fires a gun, just when we’re waiting in the shack. Then the fact the mounties kinda screw up Ness’ plan creates interesting conflict because anything that can be done to throw off a well thought out plan is interesting. But what works the best is the fact that the ensuing skirmish between Capone’s men and the authorities is just so damn entertaining to watch. The music, the action, all of it makes it feel really heroic honestly. I dig it.

14) I really like Malone’s trick that convinces Capone’s guy to turn on him. It’s really intelligent and the fact that the movie kind of takes it seriously (with the music and the focus on Capone’s living goon) actually makes it pretty funny.

15) Wallace’s death packs a considerable punch, primarily because he was the best on the team. He was the most honest, the most earnest, just a good man. Even better than Ness you could argue. So the fact that he’s the first to die and in a truly awful way just drums up a lot of sympathy/reaction from the audience.

16) If you want to understand the impact Wallace’s death has on the story, look no further than the following scene. The fact that Eliot just straight up goes to confront Al Capone is A) a powerful choice by the character and B) very telling of his emotional state that he does something so reckless.

17) I love how pissed Malone gets when it seems like they’re done going after Capone. When he’s in, he’s all in. His own personal stakes are so high by now. What would the point be of all of this, of Wallace’s death, if they’re not going to go all the way? This whole moment could really be considered the low point of the film, meaning a big change needs to happen.

18) A lot of my notes lately have been about scene and in some ways how one scene leads to another. The death of Wallace leads to Eliot making a hasty move as well as the crumbling of the investigation. The crumbling of that investigation leads to Malone confronting his police pal about Capone (more on that in a moment) which leads to the next scene which leads to the next scene. The best structure of a film is an invisible one and the organic nature of this plot means just that. It’s pretty great.

19) As I mentioned above, the scene where Malone confronts his cop friend about Capone is really great. Not only is it organically born from what’s happened but it’s pure stakes. If a character - ANY character - can leave the scene without getting what they want and not being totally devastated the stakes are too low. NEITHER character can yield to the other without being totally fucked, to the point where they have a fist fight trying to hold on to their stakes.

20) Malone being stalked by one of Capone’s men in his own apartment is INCREDIBLY effective as a scene of suspense. The use of point of view camera angles in this shot is great. The audience is given the information we don’t think Malone has and we’re worried for him. Much like the shark in Jaws, it seems like he’s about to get jumped on by a bad guy before he turns around with a friggin’ SHOTGUN and utters one of the greatest lines in film history.

Malone: “Brings a knife to a gun fight.”

21) Following this, Malone’s extended death sequence is absolutely gut wrenching and another strong example of Connery’s excellent acting. It speaks once again to stakes. He’s holding on as desperately as he can, as long as he can, until he can tell Ness what he died for in the first place. Until he can do one last thing to help put Capone away. It’s just totally heartbreaking and I love it.

22) The Union Station shootout.

This is by far the most iconic moment in the film I think. First of all, let me mention two personal things about this scene: I walk those steps REGULARLY and one of my teacher’s at school is a sailor in this scene (I just don’t know which one, I think the left one walking up the stairs).

A perfect example of high stakes from slower tension, not only does the scene take its wonderful time building up to the shootout but the violence itself is also in suspenseful slow motion. The inclusion of the baby buggy not only adds a slight ticking clock element to the pre shootout scene but also a grander scene of immediate stakes as the action unfolds. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THE KID GET HURT! It’s just really freaking great.

23) The final encounter with Ness and the man in white who killed Malone always felt a little extra to me. On the one hand it ties up that loose end and is very entertaining to watch. At this point I’m more interested in what is happening in the court room with Capone though. So…I don’t know. The movie is pretty great so I guess having it in doesn’t hurt it. Also Eliot killing him in basically cold blood shows a lot of development for his character. As does…

24)

Eliot [on how he convinced the judge to change juries]: “I told him his name was in the ledger too.”

Lawyer: “His name wasn’t in the ledger.”

25) And this is a final good note.

Reporter: “They say they’re going to repeal prohibition. What will you do then?”

Eliot: “I think I’ll have a drink.”

Eliot was never fighting for prohibition. He was fighting for the law. He was fighting against a bad man who was killing people and alcohol was a part of that. And I think this last line represents that perfectly.

Despite whatever issues I may have with it’s female representation, The Untouchables is an absolutely excellent film. It is wildly entertaining, able to be fun and dramatic at the same time. And although Sean Connery gives the best performance in the film, he is a part of an ensemble with no weak link in its bunch. From DeNiro to Costner to Garcia, they’re all great in the film. All in all, The Untouchables is just a great movie.

[iztarshi]

Day of Story and Song -- Episode 69

The last episode! I'm not sure the transcript is actually finished yet, but people are working hard on it. So, if I run out of episode I'll just have to stop and catch up later.

I'm actually on the edge of my seat going IS THIS GOING TO WORK? Or will this not work and they'll be pushed to figure out the "cut the bonds" bit?

Whoo! Davenport's a GREAT pilot. Maybe that's why he forgot so much? Time spent learning to pilot spaceships was probably also erased.

Taako, is this REALLY the time to confess to shoe theft? Not the most urgent issue right now.

….they're trying to get Merle angry. Which. I think is a losing proposition, honestly. He doesn't go much beyond surly. Or possibly they're confessing because they might be about to die. Who even knows.

I am completely not sure whether Clint cheated there because I can't remember the rules governing the Living Grimoire as applied to spell levels.

Yeah, I mean, Magnus can't use magic, but on the plus side he has a sword so overpowered it was never meant to be IN THE GAME.

…I'm missing kind of nine minutes of fight, but I don't WANNA stop and wait for it. It was probably just dice rolling?

(I came back to this nine minutes. I can't believe i missed Magnus using his grappling hook to swing into TWO overlapping zones of deadly magic.)

I was just going to comment on John going One Winged Angel when Griffin called him Sephi-john.

Oh no, Merle's nearly dead! Except, y'know, right now I'd expect Kravitz to give some leeway on that whole thing until the planes aren't in imminent danger of destruction, so I'm not TOO worried.

*laughing* I'm just really entertained that Taako's never been OFFICIALLY frightened before.

XD Taako's… well, that was a bit long for a one liner. But I liked it.

Oh, yeah, Magnus lost the Raging Flaming Poisoning Sword of Doom defeating the first John form. Which I don't blame Griffin for doing, because MAN that was overpowered.

Aww, Merle had the most Bond. Which makes sense, since he spent a lot of that being steady and wise and generally trying to give people hope.

Oooooh, the bond engine talks! Or maybe the Light talks through it?

…oh… it lets him summon a person through bond, that's really cool. Anyone he needs.

I have caught up there, so I'm taking a break. And wondering who the other two would call. Pan's the obvious one for Merle, since who else do you call on in times of trouble? For the others, most of the people they have are a bit more… people-y. As in, only mortal and possibly in some serious shit themselves. Taako could call Lup, but she's saving the world right now. Taako could call Kravitz, that would be pretty cool!

Oh! Maybe Magnus will call Julia?

Aaaw, he summoned Troth! And I'm finding that adorable mostly because I know she's from another game, so I kind of appreciate the crossover. Although, isn't she also inside the Hunger?

Caught up again. I should stop being so impatient and wait until they've actually had a chance to transcribe it.

Justin nearly rejects a bond attack on the grounds he doesn't have much bond and I know it's not Taako, it's his player, but it is easy to imagine Taako going, "Yeah, don't think I really connected that much and people probably don't care about me, so I'll pass."

YES! He summoned Joaquin! That's awesome, even if he didn't roll very high!

I went and slept in there, but now I'm back.

He rolled a whole lot higher on Joaquin's actual attack :D And also got a hug, I like these two.

"Travis: Uh, Griffin, if we wanna do...and you can cut this out - but when we wanna do Bond attacks, does that just count as an attack?"

Ha, no, you can't bond attack and then ALSO hit it with Railsplitter three times.

*laughing* Merle uses the bones that let him ask the DM a question to ask if Griffin's had fun. That's so cute, and kind of amazing to imagine in character tbh. Merle wants to know God's enjoying himself.

Garfield the Deals Warlock is really stretching the bounds of "people who care about you" but I guess ANY relationship is a bond?

It occurs to me that when they do the graphic novel they're going to actually have to figure out what Garfield looks like.

Roswell! This bond thing is the BEST.

Justin's app for rolling large numbers of dice is very useful.

I'm laughing at Taako's speech. But, hey, he really IS pretty damn powerful on his own.

Clint's use of the ball of whatever that lets him go back nine seconds. Interesting. I do wonder if Griffin had a plot intention for that?

Voidfish summon!

Ha, yes, they can't EAT the orbs, orbs are not information. But they can do some damage, because they are huge amorphous magical jellyfish and that's pretty badass.

Ee, Magnus summons the Power Bear. This is all so cool!

I think the transcribers didn't quite get a paragraph here fixed up yet, because things kind of don't make sense in the middle of Griffin's description. I'm still impressed they've transcribed it this fast at all!

Oh, noooo, Lucretia telling them to run. But does she really think Magnus would leave her? Probably none of them would, but Magnus most of all.

Aww. Taako's leaving because he has to get to Lup. That makes sense -- he's not abandoning them so much as going to someone else.

*cracks up* Taako checked everyone was doing okay and when they were he came back. That's both hilarious and really cute. It's… TAAKO being torn like this? Caring about two groups of people and wanting to be wherever the danger's worst because that will be who needs him?

I'm not sure Griffin should be narrating this bit? Like, I am down with the last episodes being more story-like because he has to wrap things up, but isn't it up to Justin whether Taako summons Garyl? Let alone whether he rides him at the Hunger?

Never underestimate the ability of these guys to respond to a Mysterious All Powerful Being by getting hung up on what to call it.

Ohhh, they're counting making the shield as cutting the bonds. I guess it did cut the Hunger off from, uh, everything. Maybe including itself.

"Jeffandrew: By any measure, Merle, you won."

You saved all the things! That counts as winning.

And I guess this guy will take the Light back now it's… Now that things are in a plane he can reach, probably including the Light since it was there when the Hunger fell apart. And the Light can go back to being wanted and used by people who actually know what to do with it.

Aww, Angus.

Wow, the world is really, uh. Really good post-near-apocalypse. And Angus goes to school and makes friends, which is great!

Davenport becoming a sailor makes sense -- he can't be a pilot anymore, but he's still a traveller and explorer by nature, and even ONE world has a whole lot to explore!

*laughing* Somehow I didn't see Kravitz HIRING Barry and Lup coming, but sure. They're actually really well suited to that.

I did NOT see Barry acquiring DNA from Lup's note coming. Yay for Lup in her own body again! I mean, I figured the body would happen somehow, but not that it would happen like that.

I like that Griffin's narration stops at the NPCs this time. I want the PCs to be able to pick their own happy endings.

Oh, Taako :D He's still Taako, and because he's still Taako, he's portraying the world-wide love for him into a brand. I love that he hired Ren. Good taste in assistants.

WTF with the random duelling at Taako's school? I think you're kinda messing up Griffin's happy ending where everyone came together in peace, but I kinda like it? Everyone's still PEOPLE and even the people who brought about this peaceful ending through love are still the people who murdered someone to save a spell slot on healing once. They're better people, but Taako's still self-centred and callous sometimes, and thoughtless fairly often.

Sazed surrendered himself! It's good to know that people know that Taako wasn't responsible for that. I mean, Taako himself didn't seem inclined to, uh, clear his name or anything, which might be because he still thought of the incident as "half his fault".

*laughing* Taako just checking that Ren is okay with him dating Death before he hires her.

Ren and Taako having a business relationship/friendship is SO CUTE.

Afterlife vacation. I wonder what you do on one of those? Also, I'm reminded of Korra and Asami going to the spirit world. It's the new thing, gay people going on interplanar vacays!

Taaaaaakoooooo, read Angus's letters you jerk.

*pfft* I like that Angus has grown into less of a pushover? Like, he still loves Taako, obviously, but he's also not taking him too seriously when he's being ridiculous.

I had to stop to crack up at Angus knowing about the silverware because, yeah, Taako did a very bad job of ever hiding that.

Merle's in vestments and my first thought was "is someone getting married?"

Merle's adventurer summer camp! That's remarkably cute. As is this focus on the next generation, actually. Even if Taako's school is sometimes questionable, they've all got experience to pass on.

"Travis: I just want to say, canon, I would imagine that Taako and Magnus actually try to call Merle all the time, but like he forgot to turn his Stone of Farspeech off of silence. And so like--

Griffin: That is so fucking true to life and I love it."

XD

Merle's conditions for accepting leadership of somewhere are Terrible Puns.

Aww. I do love that he's living with his kids? I didn't say that when the adventure thing first came up, but he's really returned to take care of his kids. I do wonder what their mother thinks? But it's great.

Mavis is such a sweetheart.

It IS a wedding.

Aww, Killian and Carey's wedding! What a great place to end it.

Magnus also has a school! Everyone was really feeling they had stuff they needed to pass on to the next generation here. Although, since it's Magnus, he also has a school for DOGS.

As an aside, I wonder where Fisher and Junior are? I hope they're okay, you know. I hope everything being untangled and put back in its place means that they're home, with the other voidfish, being fed artworks and sharing those they love.

AWWWW. Magnus, along the way to looking for something worth dying for, finding something worth living for instead!!!

Aw, Kravitz, bending the rules one last time for his friend.

*snff* Magnus and Julia's reunion.

Fisher!

Ooh, so that's where they ended up. Between the planes, able to go anywhere, looking for stories.

…I wonder if they're going to get a cameo in the NEXT Adventure Zone, because Griffin's basically made them perfect crossover fodder.

"Justin: Thus ends the Adventure Zone: Balance, the story of four idiots that played D&D so hard they made themselves cry."

They played D&D so hard they made EVERYONE cry.

[writingguide003-blog]

Stanley Cup playoffs roundtable: our writers forecast the postseason

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/stanley-cup-playoffs-roundtable-our-writers-forecast-the-postseason/

Stanley Cup playoffs roundtable: our writers forecast the postseason

The puck drops Wednesday as 16 teams kick off their quest for the Cup. Our writers predicts the winner, key players and dark horses

Most entertaining team that didnt make it

From 3 November to 27 December, the Buffalo Sabres lost only one game. But after that, they dropped off horribly. Through their final 19 games of the year, the Sabres won only four, and on Sunday, the team fired head coach Phil Housley. It was fun while it lasted, and its a shame it didnt last longer. CH

Most entertaining team that didnt make it: Entertainment can come in sardonic forms, and in that respect Ive been constantly entertained by the many missteps the Ottawa Senators have made as an organization this year. From embarrassingly humorous Uber videos, to an owner that went after well-respected local media, to trading away the teams best players and then finishing dead last, the Senators are in the pole position to win the NHL draft lottery. And that would probably be the sign of a team turning the corner … until you remember theyd already traded away the pick. JK

Its Montreal, who thrilled hockey fans by going 7-2-1 in their final 10 games in a last-ditch attempt to qualify for the postseason. The Habs 96 points tied an NHL record for the most points by a team that didnt quality for the postseason and they improved 25 points over last year. CR

High-seed most at risk of going out early

Calgary had a terrific season, and have been one of the most interesting (and often entertaining) teams to watch. They Flames score a lot (288 total goals this year) and frequently when short-handed but they also concede a ton (220 this year), and though goaltenders Mike Smith and David Rittich have each, at times, been solid, there is still a question of whether either can be clutch in the playoffs. CH

The Jets feel like the obvious choice here. Theyve gone 3-5-1 in their last nine and havent really looked dominant for two months now. Still, as many points as the Calgary Flames accumulated this season in topping the Western Conference, theyve been past the first round just once in the last 13 seasons. Im not bullish on their chances. JK

Tampa Bay are the second round against the Boston Bruins. Although the Lightning tied the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings with a record 62-win season, the Atlantic Division is the strongest in the NHL. Tampa and Boston finished Nos 1 and 2 (tied with Calgary) in the entire league for points. The Bolts are the strong Stanley Cup favorite, but Boston should not be counted out. CR

Dark horse to win

The Boston Bruins. They finished the season strong, grabbing 13 wins in their last 20 games, peaking at the right time of the year. The Bruins lost two of their three games against Tampa Bay this year (including their last game of the season), but if they somehow manage to topple them in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Bruins could emerge well positioned to take the whole thing. CH

The St Louis Blues. The excellent Justin Bourne laid out his bargument on why it will be a weird-ass team that wins the Stanley Cup this season, and if theres any team outside of Tampa Bay, Boston or Washington that qualifies, its the Blues. On 2 January, the Blues were dead last in the NHL. Since then, theyve put together a crazy good run, going 30-10-0, good for first in the league in points during that span. Twenty-five-year old rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington has been a ton of fun to watch with his .930 save percentage over that stretch. JK

The St Louis Blues were 15-18-14 at the end of the calendar year in last place in the entire NHL. Nobody gave them a chance to make the postseason then, and few believe they can knock off the Winnipeg Jets now. But after 1 January, the Blues went 30-10-5 to post the best record of any team and the Blues may surprise some people. Although the Jets were dominant in the season series (3-1-1), the teams havent played each other since December, so throw that record out the window. CR

Most important player in the postseason

Nikita Kucherov. Every other team in the East and whichever emerges victorious in the West had better hope Kucherov comes down with a bad case of Rick Nash syndrome and completely ghosts in the playoffs to hold out any hope of finding a way to beat the high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning. CH

Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning forwards 128 points were the most in the regular season since 1995-96. All eyes will be on the 25-year old, as he seeks to continue the artistry hes portrayed night in and night out in the playoffs, when things generally tighten up on the ice. JK

Boston center Brad Marchand, a 5ft 9in agitator who can beat you with both defense and offense. Marchand has won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward four times in seven years, and this year he finished in the top five in scoring, accumulating 100 points for the first time in his career. Marchand centers Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, considered the best line in hockey. CR

The Boston trio including Brad Marchand (63), Patrice Bergeron (37) and David Pastrnak (88) is considered the best line in hockey. Photograph: Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports

Can anything top the Knights story last season?

What if Barry Trotz, the man who coached the Washington Capitals to a Stanley Cup victory last year, does the same this year with the homeless New York Islanders? CH

Like, probably not, right? I mean, maybe if the Carolina Hurricanes bright back the Storm Surge that they officially put to bed towards the end of the regular season, win the Stanley Cup and then NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presents the Stanley Cup to a Bunch of Jerks, then we might be onto something. JK

Maybe this years Golden Knights. Like last year, there are doubters. But theres still an aura about them and the players seem to respond to coach Gerard Gallant because he creates a positive atmosphere within the team. They also still have Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, and leading scorers like William Karlsson and Jonathon Marchessault are having great years again. The Knights sputtered going down the stretch, going 3-5-2 in their last 10. But is a team that, when it catches fire: watch out. CR

One bold prediction

The Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup and Gary Bettman is forced to present the Cup by playing a game of duck-duck-goose with the entire team, and then doing a running jump off a trampoline and slam-dunking a basketball into it. Bettman still gets mercilessly booed. Somewhere, Don Cherrys head explodes. CH

For just the third time in Stanley Cup playoffs history, well see a goaltender score. Theres data to suggest that teams facing a deficit should be pulling their goalie far earlier, and were starting to see that happen more and more. Goalies are better all-around players than they ever have been, so I wouldnt be surprised to see a goalie look to ice a game late with something that looks like a breakout pass but actually finds its way into the back of the net. Ron Hextall style. JK

The Colorado Avalanche, the lowest-seeded playoff team with 90 points, will knock off the 107-point Calgary Flames in the first round and get all the way to the Western Conference finals. Its kind of crazy to think they could even get past Calgary, who are the only NHL team to have five players with 70 points or more. And Colorado missed one of their scoring stars down the stretch as Mikko Rantanen missed the last eight games with an injury. CR

Eastern Conference final

Washington Capitals over Tampa Bay Lightning, four games to three. CH

Tampa Bay Lightning over Washington Capitals, four games to two. JK

Boston Bruins over Washington Capitals, four games to one. CR

Western Conference final

Calgary Flames over St Louis Blues, four games to two. CH

St Louis Blues over San Jose Sharks, four games to three. JK

Vegas Golden Knights over Winnipeg Jets, four games to two. CR

Stanley Cup final

Washington Capitals over Calgary Flames, four games to two. Only one other team has managed 62 wins in a single season, as the Tampa Bay Lightning did this year: the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, who, as it happens, also featured a high-powered Russian scorer atop the teams point-getters, followed by a Canadian guy named Steve. But despite their regular season success, the Wings failed to win the Cup in the spring of 96, falling in seven games in the Western Conference finals to the Quebec Nordi er, Colorado Avalanche (who went on to sweep the Florida Panthers to take the Cup). Call me crazy, but history is in danger of repeating itself. Tampa Bay played Washington three times in March. Tampa Bay took the first game, 6-3. They won the second by a 5-4 score, but needed overtime. The third time, on 30 March, they lost 6-3. Three games dont make a trend, but if the East comes down to a contest between the Caps and Lightning, as it did last year, my money is still on Washington. CH

Tampa Bay Lightning over St Louis Blues, four games to two. I predicted the Lightning would win it all before the season began and I see no reason to stray from that prediction now. This juggernaut of a team had the fourth-most points in NHL single season history (128) and their incredible regular-season success feels like its sustainable over the next few months. Whoever they draw in the second round will likely be a bit beaten down after a hard-fought opening series and I dont believe any team in the Western Conference can measure up, talent-wise. Itll be the Eastern Conference finals, likely against hardened and tested sides like Washington or Pittsburgh, that present the sternest challenge, but that should be the teams only real threat. This is a historically good group that is playing a different brand of hockey than the rest of the league right now. JK

Boston Bruins over Vegas Golden Knights, four games to two. Even with Marc-Andre Fleury doing his magic act in goal for Vegas, the Bruins are just too strong offensively, led by their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Both scrappy and skilled, Marchand hit 100 points for the first time in his career. But the Bruins have depth beyond the one big line. They had five 20-goalscorers and eight Bruins matched or passed career highs. Once this team gets on a roll, its hard to stop them. After the All-Star break, Boston strung together a 19-game point streak. CR

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

[flauntpage]

A Guide for Who to Root For in This Trash-Ass Super Bowl

At long last, we know John Wick’s impossible task: picking the more likable team in a Super Bowl involving the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Wick is a New Yorker and definitely a Giants fan, so you know this to be true.

Every year, those of us who are fans of the loser teams not playing on Super Bowl Sunday prefer to have an easily identifiable villain to root against and an underdog hero we can pin our hopes on. Last year, it was easy, as the beautiful Atlanta Falcons dominated the vile Patriots for two and a half quarters before proceeding to puke all over themselves and fall into quicksand while trying to hold up their sagging pants.

The decision this year is much more difficult.

That’s why I’m here, to break down everything about the teams and help you choose your new favorite team for three hours. Patriots? Eagles? Let’s look at this logically and solve the riddle of Super Bowl LII.

QUARTERBACKS: Tom Brady vs. Nick Foles

Brady: He was brought into existence in 2001 when a scientist stuffed a football into a jar of mayonnaise and buried it in radioactive waste. While some people can be stupid in a charming way, Brady’s idiocy is more dangerous. He’s Forrest Gump if instead of chocolates and running Forrest enjoyed highly expensive potions that give sick people false hope and cheating at football with near total impunity. Brady has so completely shed his human form that he can’t answer a simple question about which Kendrick Lamar songs he likes after saying he likes Kendrick Lamar.

Foles: No idea. Is he lefty? “Nick Foles” sounds less like a quarterback and more like a strategy created by evil hunters. He’s blond, I think. Who is the last blond quarterback to win a Super Bowl? John Elway? That was like 20 years ago. Foles would have to be the blondest since Terry Bradshaw, right? Apparently he has a gigantic shlong, but that’s going to make half the people jealous and half love him. He probably can’t name a Kendrick Lamar song, either.

Advantage: Push

COACHES: Bill Belichick vs. Doug Pederson

Belichick: He’s cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient at cheating. If they ever make a Horrible Bosses 3, he needs to be a character that’s stalked by Tiquan Underwood. This guy either dresses like he just got done with a three-hour biceps session at the YMCA or he’s traveling back in time to participate in prohibition. He’s a man of few words where the media is concerned because he prefers to save them for love letters to Donald Trump.

Pederson: Wasn’t this the name that Cameron Frye is always using in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? “Doug Pederson, Chicago PD!” How is this team in the Super Bowl? Before becoming head coach in Philadelphia, he spent three seasons in Kansas City as offensive coordinator and guided the Chiefs to no better than 21st in total offense in his time there. Don’t you dare say the NFL isn’t a meritocracy! He got a Super Bowl ring as holder with the Packers in 1997, which is like telling people you won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan because you played a corpse on the beach.

Advantage: Push

CHAIN RESTAURANTS: Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Wawa

Dunkin’ Donuts: Bostonians’ years of defending the watered-down piss coffee they serve turned out to be great practice for defending an indefensible football team. “There’s something about the Dunkies in Boston that’s just different!” No, there isn’t. Someone in 1948 spilled sewer water into a coffee machine in Quincy and nobody had the heart to say they were serving garbage juice. This would be the perfect #brand partnership for Brady if he didn’t think coffee beans contained ligament fiber thetans or some shit.

Wawa: It’s a 7-11 that’s not self-aware enough to realize it’s just a place to get beef jerky on a road trip or a pre-cooked hot dog when you’re drunk. Wawa is to Philadelphians what music is to people when they’re teenagers—it was there in your formative years so you think it’s better than it actually is. “Oh, but they make sandwiches!” Holy shit, sandwiches? Can you get sandwiches anywhere else in the world? It’s a fancy rest stop named for how babies say water. Get lost.

Advantage: Push

RECENT HISTORY: Patriots vs. Eagles

Patriots: This is the Patriots’ eighth Super Bowl appearance since 2002. The Patriots have won no fewer than nine regular-season games since 2001 and have a record of 209-63 over that time. With Belichick and Brady at the helm, the Patriots have become the model franchise across all sports.

Eagles: Donovan McNabb puked on the field during a Super Bowl. From 2001 to 2003, the Eagles lost three straight NFC title games, the last two occurring at home. When they finally got to the Super Bowl in 2004, they lost to the Patriots. They would go on to lose one more NFC title game in 2008, which makes them a less successful version of those Buffalo Bills teams that lost four straight Super Bowls.

Advantage: Push

FOLLOWING RULES: Cheating vs. Not Cheating

Cheating: The Patriots have been caught cheating on two occasions, Spygate and Deflategate. It’s doubtful a team with a history of cheating only cheated twice, so we will likely never know the full breadth of the Patriots’ cheating but it’s probably wild. If you told me Belichick would get nude and oil himself up so he could slide in air ducts above the visiting team’s locker room with a recording device, I would believe you and hate you for making me picture that image.

Not cheating: The beauty of being a franchise without a Super Bowl is there’s no way anyone can accuse you of cheating. Or trying. Or being good. Man, maybe cheat a little, huh? That town needs it.

Advantage: Push

FANS: Insufferable Pricks vs. Volatile Assholes

Insufferable pricks: The one thing I truly appreciate about the douchebag core of Patriots fans is their unapologetic nature. “Everyone fucking hates you!” “Good. I don’t give a shit. Go Pats.” You have to respect it. There’s never any, “Not all Patriots fans are like that!” nonsense. They know the team cheats and the players and coach are trash but all the winning is so orgasmic they go with it. Bill Simmons is a 50-year-old man who probably has a “hate us because they ain’t us” tattoo on his calf and it’s damn admirable.

Volatile idiots: Now with Eagles fans, you never know. You could wear a Giants jersey to an Eagles game and either engage in witty ribbing and banter with good-natured fans or have your throat slit while waiting to buy a beer. And unlike with Patriots fans, there are still Eagles fans who play the “every city has bad fans” card. Sure. Every city has people who intentionally puke on children, throw batteries at players, punch police horses, craft large signs that say “FUCK MILLIE” because 100-year-old people should eat shit too, throw snowballs at Santa Claus, boo the franchise’s best quarterback when he was drafted, cheer because Michael Irvin may be potentially paralyzed on the field, throw a beer bottle at the best first baseman in franchise history, or climb into a penalty box to fight Tie Domi. You’ll find all that in every sports town, absolutely.

Advantage: Push

TELEVISION SHOWS: Cheers vs. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Cheers: Really funny show about 1980s people in Boston who don’t care about anyone but themselves, hanging out in bar. It stars Rhea Perlman, who is married to Danny DeVito.

It’s Always Sunny: Really funny show about 2000s people in Philadelphia who don’t care about anyone but themselves, hanging out in bar. It stars Danny DeVito, who is married to Rhea Perlman.

Wait, should I be writing a TV show about a bar in … New York?

Advantage: Push

MOST FAMOUS FAN: Mark Wahlberg vs. Mark Wahlberg

Seriously, this moron from Boston—who claims to be a huge Patriots fan even though he left in the middle of the Super Bowl comeback last year and blamed his child for it—says he doesn’t care who wins this year! Why? Because not only is Come Awn Come Awn Feel It Feel It a huge Pats bro, he once portrayed some shitty player who only made the Eagles roster because the team was so damn shitty.

Can you imagine this idiot being asked about global warming? “I’m really rooting for humans to survive climate change but I was in a movie where trees and plants killed people, so I’ve got a special place in my heart for leaves. I’ll be happy no matter who wins.”

Advantage: Push

It turns out the lesson here is don’t root for anyone. Don’t even watch the game. There’s a decent chance John Wick 2 will be on one of your HBOs. Watch that and don’t look back at NBC until Monday morning.

A Guide for Who to Root For in This Trash-Ass Super Bowl published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[adambstingus]

Whats Worse For Your BrainDrinking or Playing Football?

Our correspondent drinks for a living. Is he putting his brain at more risk of damage than a football player?

I woke up Sunday morning with a throbbing headache. Id spent the previous night heavily sampling a selection of rare whiskeys with some friends.

That may have been fun, but now here I was, still in bed at 11 a.m., barely able to keep my eyes open, hardly able to think, certainly not wanting to turn on the days NFL games.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

And I thought this cannot be good for my brain.

The effect of NFL action on the brain is one of the hottest topics of the moment, with the movie Concussion opening this Christmas weekend.

In that film Will Smith portrays Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who first brought to light the appearance of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in American football players.

Thanks partially to Omalus work, nowadays when we watch the constant brutality on the football field, when we see players crashing their heads into each other down after down, when we notice aging players getting dementia (and worse) once retired, many of us have even started to wonder, Can I ethically enjoy football any more? Myself included.

At the same time, though, I often put my own brain in serious jeopardy too.

Yes, I am a professional drinks writer. Mid-day cocktail tastings. Evening scotch samplings. Beer festivals on the weekends. Trips to breweries, distilleries, and wineries. You should see how much free liquor gets delivered to my house on a daily basis!

People often tell me I must have one of the best jobs around. But they arent the ones that have had to drink literally every single day for hell, who knows how many days in a row it has been now. They arent the ones that wake up many mornings with a hangoverjust another occupational hazard.

So, with all this in mind, I decided to ask some football concussion doctors about the effects of my equally dangerous profession on my own precious brain. I wondered, how bad is my drinking compared to playing football?

Was a single whiskey shot equal to a QB sack?

A night of heavy beer drinking equal to a half of football?

Did my brutal Sunday morning hangover feel worse than it did on a Monday morning for a running back?

Neither Dr. Omalunor Will Smithreturned any of my calls, but luckily I had other accomplished doctors willing to answer my questions.

Dr. William Barr is the Director of Neuropsychology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

He is a clinical expert on epilepsy, forensic neuropsychology, and sports concussions. He has testified in numerous cases involving forensics and in civil cases involving MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). More importantly, from the mid-1990s until 2004, Barr was a neuropsychological medical consultant for the NFLs New York Jets.

He quickly understood the somewhat silly concept behind this piece, and even why a professional drinks writer had reason to be concerned.

I used to think about boxers, he told me, noting that this was before all this concussion talk was in the mainstream. People used to say boxing was the only way for a kid to get out of the ghettobut he had to put his brain at risk. How terrible it was that society forced them to do this! But I also thought about the typical Mad Men-era businessmen. They had to do the three-martini lunches for their workthey too were pickling their brains just to get ahead!

Barr is a bit of a firebrand when it comes to talk about concussions. In fact, he believes concussionswhether from football or otherwiseactually have a fairly minimal impact on future cognitive functioning.

When you look at the studies and what happens three months after a concussiondo you know what meta-analysis is? he asks. I dont. He explains that, In science, rather than making conclusions based on a single study, you look at all the literature. Put it into a similar metric. Whats the overall effect based on many, many studies? So now, maybe, youre looking at 300 people over 10 studies. What it shows is the overall effect (on your brain) of a concussion after 30 days is lower than the effects of intoxication.

The study Barr is citing is Grant L. Iversons 2005 paper Outcome from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Iverson didnt study alcohols traumatic effect on the brain per se, but he did find chronic cannabis use to be worse on overall neuropsychological functioning than an MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) was on a person just one to three months after the injury had occurred. Likewise, he found chronic cannabis use to be slightly worse on future memory functioning than an MTBI.

For Barr, that was enough for him to deduce for me that alcohol abuse would be probably likewise worse on the brain than head injuries from playing football. Uh oh.

Barr isnt completely speculating, as he has co-authored his own significant studies. With a team of other doctors and PhDs he helped pen Cumulative Effects Associated with Recurrent Concussion in Collegiate Football Players and Acute Effects and Recovery Time Following Concussion in Collegiate Football Players.

Ive studied athletes more than the general population. With them we can get information before their injury and then after, he tells me. And what that shows is that 95 percent (of athletes who have a concussion) recover back to normal in 7 days or less.

He tests alcoholics brains in a similar manner to how he tests concussed athletes. He interviews them and then gives them a series of tests, ones mainly based on memory functioning (they have to remember a certain story).

So I might notice, this person has problems with attention and remembering things. In the past theyve been a 10-drinks-a-day alcoholic and now it looks like theyve pickled brain.

Though well-honored and quite thorough, you can probably see how Barr is considered a bit of a contrarian for his thinking on concussions.

Barr was even dismissed from the NFLs MTBI committee in 2004 by then-chairman Elliot Pellman, another former New York Jets team physician who is not without his own controversy.

I wanted another doctors opinion on my potentially pickling brain. Dr. James Paci, a professor and orthopedic surgeon, specializes in sports medicine at Stony Brook University Medicine. Hes also the football teams doctor.

First, he clarified that he was neither a neurologist nor brain physician. Despite that, he was trained to deal with concussions on a day-in, day-out basis in his own role as team doctor.

My expertise is how do we treat these athletes, Paci told me. What do we look out for? How do we prevent long term consequences?

However, unlike Barr, Paci somewhat struggled with the comparisons I was hoping he would draw for me.

Certainly there is some connection between alcoholism and Alzheimers, brain diseases. Drawing a parallel between drinking and football though? I dont think anyone has made that correlation. Though he does note, The rock n roll lifestyle and athlete lifestyle certainly do have some comparisons.

A man like Paci believes that both football and drinking are inherently dangerous, but thats OK, so long as we acknowledge the risk involved in both activities and, thus, let potential participants make informed decisions.

Ive had concussions before, Paci tells me. Anyone who plays sports has had one before.

Paci is about my age, having played football at Yale University in the late-1990s, while the slightly-older Barr played during a time head injuries werent treated all that seriously.

Back in the day when I played high school football, Barr tells me, you pretty much had to be in a coma before they did anything about it.

So both men had played football at a fairly high level, had head injuries on the field, and were still able to become prestigious doctors. But did they drink?

Not routinely, but I do, Paci tells me. Most doctors do. There are certainly benefits to some alcohol.

(Ive been saying that for years.)

I do, Barr also tells me. Everything in moderation. A little bit of alcohol can be good for the heart. Theres good data for the red wines. Some scotch in moderation, a finger a day maybe.

So you guys drink, but now knowing what you know, would you let your own children play football?

On that point Paci is fairly strict, believing young children simply dont have the body control and should stick to flag football or two-hand touch.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

Barr has a six-month grandson he absolutely wants to play football some day.

Should that boy play football or not? My take, from what we know right now: the chance of getting dementia, the prospect of a 13-year-old boy who starts football getting dementia one day is, lets say, 1 to 2 percent. Im being liberal, Barr tells me. But lets say that boy is not allowed to play football. Instead junior becomes fat and gets diabetes and high blood pressure. Now he has a 30 percent chance of dying of dementia.

So to Barr inactivity in this country is a much bigger problem than helmet-to-helmet contactinteresting, because drinkers on the whole are statistically much more active than non-drinkers according to the Center for Advancing Health.

That papers lead author, Michael French, a professor of health economics at the University of Miami, found that alcohol users not only exercised more than teetotalers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.

I dont fully understand the relationship, Barr admits, though he has a speculation. Maybe people feel like after visiting the gym, they deserve to do something bad.

Its true enough anecdotally for myself, though Im a bit more of the reverse. I do something bad the night before, then feel the need to go jog five miles the next day.

I ask Barr point-blank, It seems like you ultimately think its safer to play in the NFL than to drink heavily?

Yeah, you could say that, he confirms.

This did not sound good for me. But what exactly did heavily mean? This week alone I sampled new whiskeys on Monday, drank wine with dinner on Tuesday, visited a hot new cocktail bar on Wednesday, went to a brewery opening on Thursday, and hit happy hour with friends on Friday.

Luckily, Barr relieved some of my concerns about any sort of future with dementia, simply telling me, You would not be on the phone with me, or even able to write this story, if you were drinking too much.

Regardless, I think Ill start trying to be more cognizant of my intake. As Paci ultimately summed up for me: The brain is an amazing thing. Your head hurts when you bang it. So you try not to bang your head again. With a hangover, theres obviously something similar going on there.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/28/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or-playing-football/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/165813833432

[samanthasroberts]

Whats Worse For Your BrainDrinking or Playing Football?

Our correspondent drinks for a living. Is he putting his brain at more risk of damage than a football player?

I woke up Sunday morning with a throbbing headache. Id spent the previous night heavily sampling a selection of rare whiskeys with some friends.

That may have been fun, but now here I was, still in bed at 11 a.m., barely able to keep my eyes open, hardly able to think, certainly not wanting to turn on the days NFL games.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

And I thought this cannot be good for my brain.

The effect of NFL action on the brain is one of the hottest topics of the moment, with the movie Concussion opening this Christmas weekend.

In that film Will Smith portrays Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who first brought to light the appearance of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in American football players.

Thanks partially to Omalus work, nowadays when we watch the constant brutality on the football field, when we see players crashing their heads into each other down after down, when we notice aging players getting dementia (and worse) once retired, many of us have even started to wonder, Can I ethically enjoy football any more? Myself included.

At the same time, though, I often put my own brain in serious jeopardy too.

Yes, I am a professional drinks writer. Mid-day cocktail tastings. Evening scotch samplings. Beer festivals on the weekends. Trips to breweries, distilleries, and wineries. You should see how much free liquor gets delivered to my house on a daily basis!

People often tell me I must have one of the best jobs around. But they arent the ones that have had to drink literally every single day for hell, who knows how many days in a row it has been now. They arent the ones that wake up many mornings with a hangoverjust another occupational hazard.

So, with all this in mind, I decided to ask some football concussion doctors about the effects of my equally dangerous profession on my own precious brain. I wondered, how bad is my drinking compared to playing football?

Was a single whiskey shot equal to a QB sack?

A night of heavy beer drinking equal to a half of football?

Did my brutal Sunday morning hangover feel worse than it did on a Monday morning for a running back?

Neither Dr. Omalunor Will Smithreturned any of my calls, but luckily I had other accomplished doctors willing to answer my questions.

Dr. William Barr is the Director of Neuropsychology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

He is a clinical expert on epilepsy, forensic neuropsychology, and sports concussions. He has testified in numerous cases involving forensics and in civil cases involving MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). More importantly, from the mid-1990s until 2004, Barr was a neuropsychological medical consultant for the NFLs New York Jets.

He quickly understood the somewhat silly concept behind this piece, and even why a professional drinks writer had reason to be concerned.

I used to think about boxers, he told me, noting that this was before all this concussion talk was in the mainstream. People used to say boxing was the only way for a kid to get out of the ghettobut he had to put his brain at risk. How terrible it was that society forced them to do this! But I also thought about the typical Mad Men-era businessmen. They had to do the three-martini lunches for their workthey too were pickling their brains just to get ahead!

Barr is a bit of a firebrand when it comes to talk about concussions. In fact, he believes concussionswhether from football or otherwiseactually have a fairly minimal impact on future cognitive functioning.

When you look at the studies and what happens three months after a concussiondo you know what meta-analysis is? he asks. I dont. He explains that, In science, rather than making conclusions based on a single study, you look at all the literature. Put it into a similar metric. Whats the overall effect based on many, many studies? So now, maybe, youre looking at 300 people over 10 studies. What it shows is the overall effect (on your brain) of a concussion after 30 days is lower than the effects of intoxication.

The study Barr is citing is Grant L. Iversons 2005 paper Outcome from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Iverson didnt study alcohols traumatic effect on the brain per se, but he did find chronic cannabis use to be worse on overall neuropsychological functioning than an MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) was on a person just one to three months after the injury had occurred. Likewise, he found chronic cannabis use to be slightly worse on future memory functioning than an MTBI.

For Barr, that was enough for him to deduce for me that alcohol abuse would be probably likewise worse on the brain than head injuries from playing football. Uh oh.

Barr isnt completely speculating, as he has co-authored his own significant studies. With a team of other doctors and PhDs he helped pen Cumulative Effects Associated with Recurrent Concussion in Collegiate Football Players and Acute Effects and Recovery Time Following Concussion in Collegiate Football Players.

Ive studied athletes more than the general population. With them we can get information before their injury and then after, he tells me. And what that shows is that 95 percent (of athletes who have a concussion) recover back to normal in 7 days or less.

He tests alcoholics brains in a similar manner to how he tests concussed athletes. He interviews them and then gives them a series of tests, ones mainly based on memory functioning (they have to remember a certain story).

So I might notice, this person has problems with attention and remembering things. In the past theyve been a 10-drinks-a-day alcoholic and now it looks like theyve pickled brain.

Though well-honored and quite thorough, you can probably see how Barr is considered a bit of a contrarian for his thinking on concussions.

Barr was even dismissed from the NFLs MTBI committee in 2004 by then-chairman Elliot Pellman, another former New York Jets team physician who is not without his own controversy.

I wanted another doctors opinion on my potentially pickling brain. Dr. James Paci, a professor and orthopedic surgeon, specializes in sports medicine at Stony Brook University Medicine. Hes also the football teams doctor.

First, he clarified that he was neither a neurologist nor brain physician. Despite that, he was trained to deal with concussions on a day-in, day-out basis in his own role as team doctor.

My expertise is how do we treat these athletes, Paci told me. What do we look out for? How do we prevent long term consequences?

However, unlike Barr, Paci somewhat struggled with the comparisons I was hoping he would draw for me.

Certainly there is some connection between alcoholism and Alzheimers, brain diseases. Drawing a parallel between drinking and football though? I dont think anyone has made that correlation. Though he does note, The rock n roll lifestyle and athlete lifestyle certainly do have some comparisons.

A man like Paci believes that both football and drinking are inherently dangerous, but thats OK, so long as we acknowledge the risk involved in both activities and, thus, let potential participants make informed decisions.

Ive had concussions before, Paci tells me. Anyone who plays sports has had one before.

Paci is about my age, having played football at Yale University in the late-1990s, while the slightly-older Barr played during a time head injuries werent treated all that seriously.

Back in the day when I played high school football, Barr tells me, you pretty much had to be in a coma before they did anything about it.

So both men had played football at a fairly high level, had head injuries on the field, and were still able to become prestigious doctors. But did they drink?

Not routinely, but I do, Paci tells me. Most doctors do. There are certainly benefits to some alcohol.

(Ive been saying that for years.)

I do, Barr also tells me. Everything in moderation. A little bit of alcohol can be good for the heart. Theres good data for the red wines. Some scotch in moderation, a finger a day maybe.

So you guys drink, but now knowing what you know, would you let your own children play football?

On that point Paci is fairly strict, believing young children simply dont have the body control and should stick to flag football or two-hand touch.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

Barr has a six-month grandson he absolutely wants to play football some day.

Should that boy play football or not? My take, from what we know right now: the chance of getting dementia, the prospect of a 13-year-old boy who starts football getting dementia one day is, lets say, 1 to 2 percent. Im being liberal, Barr tells me. But lets say that boy is not allowed to play football. Instead junior becomes fat and gets diabetes and high blood pressure. Now he has a 30 percent chance of dying of dementia.

So to Barr inactivity in this country is a much bigger problem than helmet-to-helmet contactinteresting, because drinkers on the whole are statistically much more active than non-drinkers according to the Center for Advancing Health.

That papers lead author, Michael French, a professor of health economics at the University of Miami, found that alcohol users not only exercised more than teetotalers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.

I dont fully understand the relationship, Barr admits, though he has a speculation. Maybe people feel like after visiting the gym, they deserve to do something bad.

Its true enough anecdotally for myself, though Im a bit more of the reverse. I do something bad the night before, then feel the need to go jog five miles the next day.

I ask Barr point-blank, It seems like you ultimately think its safer to play in the NFL than to drink heavily?

Yeah, you could say that, he confirms.

This did not sound good for me. But what exactly did heavily mean? This week alone I sampled new whiskeys on Monday, drank wine with dinner on Tuesday, visited a hot new cocktail bar on Wednesday, went to a brewery opening on Thursday, and hit happy hour with friends on Friday.

Luckily, Barr relieved some of my concerns about any sort of future with dementia, simply telling me, You would not be on the phone with me, or even able to write this story, if you were drinking too much.

Regardless, I think Ill start trying to be more cognizant of my intake. As Paci ultimately summed up for me: The brain is an amazing thing. Your head hurts when you bang it. So you try not to bang your head again. With a hangover, theres obviously something similar going on there.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/28/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or-playing-football/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or-playing-football/

[jimdsmith34]

Whats Worse For Your BrainDrinking or Playing Football?

Our correspondent drinks for a living. Is he putting his brain at more risk of damage than a football player?

I woke up Sunday morning with a throbbing headache. Id spent the previous night heavily sampling a selection of rare whiskeys with some friends.

That may have been fun, but now here I was, still in bed at 11 a.m., barely able to keep my eyes open, hardly able to think, certainly not wanting to turn on the days NFL games.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

And I thought this cannot be good for my brain.

The effect of NFL action on the brain is one of the hottest topics of the moment, with the movie Concussion opening this Christmas weekend.

In that film Will Smith portrays Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who first brought to light the appearance of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in American football players.

Thanks partially to Omalus work, nowadays when we watch the constant brutality on the football field, when we see players crashing their heads into each other down after down, when we notice aging players getting dementia (and worse) once retired, many of us have even started to wonder, Can I ethically enjoy football any more? Myself included.

At the same time, though, I often put my own brain in serious jeopardy too.

Yes, I am a professional drinks writer. Mid-day cocktail tastings. Evening scotch samplings. Beer festivals on the weekends. Trips to breweries, distilleries, and wineries. You should see how much free liquor gets delivered to my house on a daily basis!

People often tell me I must have one of the best jobs around. But they arent the ones that have had to drink literally every single day for hell, who knows how many days in a row it has been now. They arent the ones that wake up many mornings with a hangoverjust another occupational hazard.

So, with all this in mind, I decided to ask some football concussion doctors about the effects of my equally dangerous profession on my own precious brain. I wondered, how bad is my drinking compared to playing football?

Was a single whiskey shot equal to a QB sack?

A night of heavy beer drinking equal to a half of football?

Did my brutal Sunday morning hangover feel worse than it did on a Monday morning for a running back?

Neither Dr. Omalunor Will Smithreturned any of my calls, but luckily I had other accomplished doctors willing to answer my questions.

Dr. William Barr is the Director of Neuropsychology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

He is a clinical expert on epilepsy, forensic neuropsychology, and sports concussions. He has testified in numerous cases involving forensics and in civil cases involving MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). More importantly, from the mid-1990s until 2004, Barr was a neuropsychological medical consultant for the NFLs New York Jets.

He quickly understood the somewhat silly concept behind this piece, and even why a professional drinks writer had reason to be concerned.

I used to think about boxers, he told me, noting that this was before all this concussion talk was in the mainstream. People used to say boxing was the only way for a kid to get out of the ghettobut he had to put his brain at risk. How terrible it was that society forced them to do this! But I also thought about the typical Mad Men-era businessmen. They had to do the three-martini lunches for their workthey too were pickling their brains just to get ahead!

Barr is a bit of a firebrand when it comes to talk about concussions. In fact, he believes concussionswhether from football or otherwiseactually have a fairly minimal impact on future cognitive functioning.

When you look at the studies and what happens three months after a concussiondo you know what meta-analysis is? he asks. I dont. He explains that, In science, rather than making conclusions based on a single study, you look at all the literature. Put it into a similar metric. Whats the overall effect based on many, many studies? So now, maybe, youre looking at 300 people over 10 studies. What it shows is the overall effect (on your brain) of a concussion after 30 days is lower than the effects of intoxication.

The study Barr is citing is Grant L. Iversons 2005 paper Outcome from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Iverson didnt study alcohols traumatic effect on the brain per se, but he did find chronic cannabis use to be worse on overall neuropsychological functioning than an MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) was on a person just one to three months after the injury had occurred. Likewise, he found chronic cannabis use to be slightly worse on future memory functioning than an MTBI.

For Barr, that was enough for him to deduce for me that alcohol abuse would be probably likewise worse on the brain than head injuries from playing football. Uh oh.

Barr isnt completely speculating, as he has co-authored his own significant studies. With a team of other doctors and PhDs he helped pen Cumulative Effects Associated with Recurrent Concussion in Collegiate Football Players and Acute Effects and Recovery Time Following Concussion in Collegiate Football Players.

Ive studied athletes more than the general population. With them we can get information before their injury and then after, he tells me. And what that shows is that 95 percent (of athletes who have a concussion) recover back to normal in 7 days or less.

He tests alcoholics brains in a similar manner to how he tests concussed athletes. He interviews them and then gives them a series of tests, ones mainly based on memory functioning (they have to remember a certain story).

So I might notice, this person has problems with attention and remembering things. In the past theyve been a 10-drinks-a-day alcoholic and now it looks like theyve pickled brain.

Though well-honored and quite thorough, you can probably see how Barr is considered a bit of a contrarian for his thinking on concussions.

Barr was even dismissed from the NFLs MTBI committee in 2004 by then-chairman Elliot Pellman, another former New York Jets team physician who is not without his own controversy.

I wanted another doctors opinion on my potentially pickling brain. Dr. James Paci, a professor and orthopedic surgeon, specializes in sports medicine at Stony Brook University Medicine. Hes also the football teams doctor.

First, he clarified that he was neither a neurologist nor brain physician. Despite that, he was trained to deal with concussions on a day-in, day-out basis in his own role as team doctor.

My expertise is how do we treat these athletes, Paci told me. What do we look out for? How do we prevent long term consequences?

However, unlike Barr, Paci somewhat struggled with the comparisons I was hoping he would draw for me.

Certainly there is some connection between alcoholism and Alzheimers, brain diseases. Drawing a parallel between drinking and football though? I dont think anyone has made that correlation. Though he does note, The rock n roll lifestyle and athlete lifestyle certainly do have some comparisons.

A man like Paci believes that both football and drinking are inherently dangerous, but thats OK, so long as we acknowledge the risk involved in both activities and, thus, let potential participants make informed decisions.

Ive had concussions before, Paci tells me. Anyone who plays sports has had one before.

Paci is about my age, having played football at Yale University in the late-1990s, while the slightly-older Barr played during a time head injuries werent treated all that seriously.

Back in the day when I played high school football, Barr tells me, you pretty much had to be in a coma before they did anything about it.

So both men had played football at a fairly high level, had head injuries on the field, and were still able to become prestigious doctors. But did they drink?

Not routinely, but I do, Paci tells me. Most doctors do. There are certainly benefits to some alcohol.

(Ive been saying that for years.)

I do, Barr also tells me. Everything in moderation. A little bit of alcohol can be good for the heart. Theres good data for the red wines. Some scotch in moderation, a finger a day maybe.

So you guys drink, but now knowing what you know, would you let your own children play football?

On that point Paci is fairly strict, believing young children simply dont have the body control and should stick to flag football or two-hand touch.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

Barr has a six-month grandson he absolutely wants to play football some day.

Should that boy play football or not? My take, from what we know right now: the chance of getting dementia, the prospect of a 13-year-old boy who starts football getting dementia one day is, lets say, 1 to 2 percent. Im being liberal, Barr tells me. But lets say that boy is not allowed to play football. Instead junior becomes fat and gets diabetes and high blood pressure. Now he has a 30 percent chance of dying of dementia.

So to Barr inactivity in this country is a much bigger problem than helmet-to-helmet contactinteresting, because drinkers on the whole are statistically much more active than non-drinkers according to the Center for Advancing Health.

That papers lead author, Michael French, a professor of health economics at the University of Miami, found that alcohol users not only exercised more than teetotalers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.

I dont fully understand the relationship, Barr admits, though he has a speculation. Maybe people feel like after visiting the gym, they deserve to do something bad.

Its true enough anecdotally for myself, though Im a bit more of the reverse. I do something bad the night before, then feel the need to go jog five miles the next day.

I ask Barr point-blank, It seems like you ultimately think its safer to play in the NFL than to drink heavily?

Yeah, you could say that, he confirms.

This did not sound good for me. But what exactly did heavily mean? This week alone I sampled new whiskeys on Monday, drank wine with dinner on Tuesday, visited a hot new cocktail bar on Wednesday, went to a brewery opening on Thursday, and hit happy hour with friends on Friday.

Luckily, Barr relieved some of my concerns about any sort of future with dementia, simply telling me, You would not be on the phone with me, or even able to write this story, if you were drinking too much.

Regardless, I think Ill start trying to be more cognizant of my intake. As Paci ultimately summed up for me: The brain is an amazing thing. Your head hurts when you bang it. So you try not to bang your head again. With a hangover, theres obviously something similar going on there.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/28/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or-playing-football/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/09/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or.html

[allofbeercom]

Whats Worse For Your BrainDrinking or Playing Football?

Our correspondent drinks for a living. Is he putting his brain at more risk of damage than a football player?

I woke up Sunday morning with a throbbing headache. Id spent the previous night heavily sampling a selection of rare whiskeys with some friends.

That may have been fun, but now here I was, still in bed at 11 a.m., barely able to keep my eyes open, hardly able to think, certainly not wanting to turn on the days NFL games.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

And I thought this cannot be good for my brain.

The effect of NFL action on the brain is one of the hottest topics of the moment, with the movie Concussion opening this Christmas weekend.

In that film Will Smith portrays Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who first brought to light the appearance of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in American football players.

Thanks partially to Omalus work, nowadays when we watch the constant brutality on the football field, when we see players crashing their heads into each other down after down, when we notice aging players getting dementia (and worse) once retired, many of us have even started to wonder, Can I ethically enjoy football any more? Myself included.

At the same time, though, I often put my own brain in serious jeopardy too.

Yes, I am a professional drinks writer. Mid-day cocktail tastings. Evening scotch samplings. Beer festivals on the weekends. Trips to breweries, distilleries, and wineries. You should see how much free liquor gets delivered to my house on a daily basis!

People often tell me I must have one of the best jobs around. But they arent the ones that have had to drink literally every single day for hell, who knows how many days in a row it has been now. They arent the ones that wake up many mornings with a hangoverjust another occupational hazard.

So, with all this in mind, I decided to ask some football concussion doctors about the effects of my equally dangerous profession on my own precious brain. I wondered, how bad is my drinking compared to playing football?

Was a single whiskey shot equal to a QB sack?

A night of heavy beer drinking equal to a half of football?

Did my brutal Sunday morning hangover feel worse than it did on a Monday morning for a running back?

Neither Dr. Omalunor Will Smithreturned any of my calls, but luckily I had other accomplished doctors willing to answer my questions.

Dr. William Barr is the Director of Neuropsychology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

He is a clinical expert on epilepsy, forensic neuropsychology, and sports concussions. He has testified in numerous cases involving forensics and in civil cases involving MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). More importantly, from the mid-1990s until 2004, Barr was a neuropsychological medical consultant for the NFLs New York Jets.

He quickly understood the somewhat silly concept behind this piece, and even why a professional drinks writer had reason to be concerned.

I used to think about boxers, he told me, noting that this was before all this concussion talk was in the mainstream. People used to say boxing was the only way for a kid to get out of the ghettobut he had to put his brain at risk. How terrible it was that society forced them to do this! But I also thought about the typical Mad Men-era businessmen. They had to do the three-martini lunches for their workthey too were pickling their brains just to get ahead!

Barr is a bit of a firebrand when it comes to talk about concussions. In fact, he believes concussionswhether from football or otherwiseactually have a fairly minimal impact on future cognitive functioning.

When you look at the studies and what happens three months after a concussiondo you know what meta-analysis is? he asks. I dont. He explains that, In science, rather than making conclusions based on a single study, you look at all the literature. Put it into a similar metric. Whats the overall effect based on many, many studies? So now, maybe, youre looking at 300 people over 10 studies. What it shows is the overall effect (on your brain) of a concussion after 30 days is lower than the effects of intoxication.

The study Barr is citing is Grant L. Iversons 2005 paper Outcome from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Iverson didnt study alcohols traumatic effect on the brain per se, but he did find chronic cannabis use to be worse on overall neuropsychological functioning than an MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) was on a person just one to three months after the injury had occurred. Likewise, he found chronic cannabis use to be slightly worse on future memory functioning than an MTBI.

For Barr, that was enough for him to deduce for me that alcohol abuse would be probably likewise worse on the brain than head injuries from playing football. Uh oh.

Barr isnt completely speculating, as he has co-authored his own significant studies. With a team of other doctors and PhDs he helped pen Cumulative Effects Associated with Recurrent Concussion in Collegiate Football Players and Acute Effects and Recovery Time Following Concussion in Collegiate Football Players.

Ive studied athletes more than the general population. With them we can get information before their injury and then after, he tells me. And what that shows is that 95 percent (of athletes who have a concussion) recover back to normal in 7 days or less.

He tests alcoholics brains in a similar manner to how he tests concussed athletes. He interviews them and then gives them a series of tests, ones mainly based on memory functioning (they have to remember a certain story).

So I might notice, this person has problems with attention and remembering things. In the past theyve been a 10-drinks-a-day alcoholic and now it looks like theyve pickled brain.

Though well-honored and quite thorough, you can probably see how Barr is considered a bit of a contrarian for his thinking on concussions.

Barr was even dismissed from the NFLs MTBI committee in 2004 by then-chairman Elliot Pellman, another former New York Jets team physician who is not without his own controversy.

I wanted another doctors opinion on my potentially pickling brain. Dr. James Paci, a professor and orthopedic surgeon, specializes in sports medicine at Stony Brook University Medicine. Hes also the football teams doctor.

First, he clarified that he was neither a neurologist nor brain physician. Despite that, he was trained to deal with concussions on a day-in, day-out basis in his own role as team doctor.

My expertise is how do we treat these athletes, Paci told me. What do we look out for? How do we prevent long term consequences?

However, unlike Barr, Paci somewhat struggled with the comparisons I was hoping he would draw for me.

Certainly there is some connection between alcoholism and Alzheimers, brain diseases. Drawing a parallel between drinking and football though? I dont think anyone has made that correlation. Though he does note, The rock n roll lifestyle and athlete lifestyle certainly do have some comparisons.

A man like Paci believes that both football and drinking are inherently dangerous, but thats OK, so long as we acknowledge the risk involved in both activities and, thus, let potential participants make informed decisions.

Ive had concussions before, Paci tells me. Anyone who plays sports has had one before.

Paci is about my age, having played football at Yale University in the late-1990s, while the slightly-older Barr played during a time head injuries werent treated all that seriously.

Back in the day when I played high school football, Barr tells me, you pretty much had to be in a coma before they did anything about it.

So both men had played football at a fairly high level, had head injuries on the field, and were still able to become prestigious doctors. But did they drink?

Not routinely, but I do, Paci tells me. Most doctors do. There are certainly benefits to some alcohol.

(Ive been saying that for years.)

I do, Barr also tells me. Everything in moderation. A little bit of alcohol can be good for the heart. Theres good data for the red wines. Some scotch in moderation, a finger a day maybe.

So you guys drink, but now knowing what you know, would you let your own children play football?

On that point Paci is fairly strict, believing young children simply dont have the body control and should stick to flag football or two-hand touch.

A parent cant consent to giving their kids a cigarette or a beerwhy can they consent to him playing tackle football?

Barr has a six-month grandson he absolutely wants to play football some day.

Should that boy play football or not? My take, from what we know right now: the chance of getting dementia, the prospect of a 13-year-old boy who starts football getting dementia one day is, lets say, 1 to 2 percent. Im being liberal, Barr tells me. But lets say that boy is not allowed to play football. Instead junior becomes fat and gets diabetes and high blood pressure. Now he has a 30 percent chance of dying of dementia.

So to Barr inactivity in this country is a much bigger problem than helmet-to-helmet contactinteresting, because drinkers on the whole are statistically much more active than non-drinkers according to the Center for Advancing Health.

That papers lead author, Michael French, a professor of health economics at the University of Miami, found that alcohol users not only exercised more than teetotalers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.

I dont fully understand the relationship, Barr admits, though he has a speculation. Maybe people feel like after visiting the gym, they deserve to do something bad.

Its true enough anecdotally for myself, though Im a bit more of the reverse. I do something bad the night before, then feel the need to go jog five miles the next day.

I ask Barr point-blank, It seems like you ultimately think its safer to play in the NFL than to drink heavily?

Yeah, you could say that, he confirms.

This did not sound good for me. But what exactly did heavily mean? This week alone I sampled new whiskeys on Monday, drank wine with dinner on Tuesday, visited a hot new cocktail bar on Wednesday, went to a brewery opening on Thursday, and hit happy hour with friends on Friday.

Luckily, Barr relieved some of my concerns about any sort of future with dementia, simply telling me, You would not be on the phone with me, or even able to write this story, if you were drinking too much.

Regardless, I think Ill start trying to be more cognizant of my intake. As Paci ultimately summed up for me: The brain is an amazing thing. Your head hurts when you bang it. So you try not to bang your head again. With a hangover, theres obviously something similar going on there.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/28/whats-worse-for-your-braindrinking-or-playing-football/

[classicfilmfreak]

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/04/20/stagecoach-1939-starring-john-wayne-claire-trevor-and-thomas-mitchell/

Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor and Thomas Mitchell

“Now, folks, if we push on, we can be in Apache Wells by sundown. . . .  Then it’s only a hoot and a holler into Lordsburg.  We got four men who can handle firearms—five with you, Ringo.  Doc can shoot if sober.” — Marshal Curly Wilcox

Like a number of other films in Hollywood’s greatest year, 1939, Stagecoach has a number of distinctions that makes it one of the great American films—of America and in the spirit of Americana, drawing upon folklore and becoming, itself, a part of movie folklore.  While forever regarded as a “B” Western, mainly because of its low budget, it’s a label deemed unfair by many.  It’s much more than a “B” Western.

Stagecoach is director John Ford’s first sound Western, since at least two silent films, The Iron Horse (1924) and 3 Bad Men (1926), are of some distinction.  One of his greatest Westerns, period, Stagecoachis the first of seven he would film in Monument Valley.  “My favorite location,” he said in a 1964 interview.  “I feel at peace there.  I have been all over the world, but I consider this the most complete, beautiful and peaceful place on earth.”  Cheyenne Autumn (1964) would be his last Western, and the last filmed in the Valley.

This area of the eastern Utah-Arizona border became Ford’s trademark, and for a while respected as his personal property until other directors began borrowing the landscape.  The backdrop of Stagecoach’s main title is, in fact, Monument Valley, behind alternate views of Indian horsemen and the U.S. Cavalry on the move.  Then, the credits concluded, the evocative prehistoric stillness is broken by two men on horseback moving, though distantly, toward Bert Glennon’s camera.  Glennon shot a variety of Ford movies, including The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), The Hurricane (1937) and Rio Grande (1950).  The stagecoach will traverse the Valley at least three times during the film.

In Stagecoach, Ford delineates the dangers for a group of disparate, and often desperate, passengers in a cross-country trip by stage.  For the Mormons in Wagon Master (1950), the means of transportation is covered wagons as they encounter stranded travelers, a lovely damsel, the expected bad guys and, of course, Indians.  Men move about mainly on horses in The Searchers (1956), both the isolated settlers and a lone horseman from the past who comes calling at a small prairie dwelling.

The West Ford portrays in these last three films had largely faded by 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, where the critical means of transportation, the railroad, symbolizes both the civilizing of the frontier and the annihilation of the West as folklore.  The film represents a darkening of the director’s view of his beloved West, and, mostly set-bound, Liberty is the only one of these four films not shot, partly or entirely, in Monument Valley.

The mention of John Ford implies, for all time it seems, John Wayne.  After seeing Wayne in Howard Hawks’ Red River (1948), Ford said, “I never knew the big son of a bitch could act.”  It was a typical “compliment” of the often cruel, sadistic director, and Wayne was, for him, a lifelong whipping boy.  Beyond the verbal abuse was a deeply embedded affection, and they made twenty-four films together, though, granted, not all are Westerns.  Wayne made a total of over eighty in the genre during his career, which began in 1926—not with a Western, however—and ended in 1976 with The Shootist, a Western which portrayed a West that, finally and irrevocably, had disappeared.

After years of making down-in-the dust “B” Westerns for Monogram and Mascot Pictures, though sometimes appearing in minor roles in “A” movies, Wayne made Stagecoach at “only” thirty-two, launching his career.  Even in Stagecoach, he takes second billing to Claire Trevor, the highest paid star in a cast that includes Thomas Mitchell, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Tim Holt, Hank Worden and Jack Pennick.  Most would become part of Ford’s stock company of favorite supporting players.

Stagecoach is an early version of The High and the Mighty (1954), Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and many other films where a cross-section of society endures, and usually survives, possible peril on a long journey.  Or, in the likes of Grand Hotel(1932) and Separate Tables (1958), the location may be stationary, and while not necessarily implying physical danger, the equally confined occupants encounter their various phobias, anxieties and jealousies.

In the 1880s, six individuals board a stage in Arizona Territory for Lordsburg in New Mexico Territory.  Although, even by that time, the characters were time-worn clichés, the actors are so perfectly cast and their performances so polished that all handicaps are overcome.  It helped that Ford often scripted his films knowing in advance who would play the parts and matched the actors with the characters accordingly.

The main title is typically Fordian, full of American folks songs.  The tunes are “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” and “Jennie with the Light Brown Hair,” with alternating views of Apache (actually Navajo) horsemen and the U.S. Cavalry on the move—and Indian drum-like music.  These and other such tunes will support most of the score.

When stagecoach driver Buck (Devine) informs the town marshal, Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft), that the shotgun guard is off tracking down the Ringo Kid (Wayne), who has escaped prison and is searching for Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), the murderer of his father and brother, Wilcox volunteers to ride shotgun.

First of the passengers to board is a prostitute, Dallas (Trevor).  Being chased out of town by the ladies’ Law and Order League, she asks alcoholic physician Doc Boone (Mitchell) if the ladies can force her to leave.  Boone, who can’t pay his rent and has abandoned his office, says “We are the victims of a foul disease called social prejudice, my child.”

Arm in arm, they walk to the waiting stage, accompanied by one of John Ford’s favorite hymns, “Shall We Gather at the River?”  Usually rendered at his frequent movie funerals, it now appears in the soundtrack as a comic march, both a little risqué and slightly tipsy.

Also making the journey are whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek) and a snobbish Easterner, the pregnant Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), on the way to meet her military husband.

At the last moment, a Southerner, Hatfield (Carradine), boards after what he interprets as an inviting smile from Lucy.  Later, when Boone refers to his medical service in the recent Civil War as the “War of the Rebellion,” Hatfield corrects him: it is the “War for the Southern Confederacy.”

A cavalry unit led by Lieutenant Blanchard (Holt) arrives with news that Geronimo and the Apaches are on the warpath and that they will escort the stage to Lordsburg.  “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” is the leitmotiv for shots of the stage crossing the landscape.

At the edge of town, banker Ellseworth Gatewood (Berton Churchill) flags down the stage.  He has stolen $50,000 from his own bank.

Further along the trail—eighteen minutes into the film—the Ringo Kid greets the stage with a single rifle shot.  (Although the scene is obviously in brush country, possibly Chatsworth, Los Angeles, the first view of Wayne twirling his rifle—a rapid tracking shot, ending in a close-up—is filmed against a process screen of Monument Valley.)  Ringo’s horse has gone lame.  Marshal Wilcox arrests him and asks for his rifle.  “You may need me and this Winchester,” Ringo says.  “Saw a ranch burin’ last night.”  He surrenders his rifle and sits on the floor of the already full coach.

At a stopover at Dry Fork, Mrs. Mallory resents eating with a prostitute, but Ringo sits beside Dallas.  Mrs. Mallory, Hatfield and Gatewood move to the other end of the table.  En route to Apache Wells, Mrs. Mallory further snubs Dallas’ concern for her health.  Hatfield offers her some water, but instead of giving her the canteen Wilcox passes down from the driver’s seat, he fills his folding silver cup for her.  Yet when Dallas asks for water, Hatfield extends the canteen.  So much for this Southern “gentleman.”

At Apache Wells, Mrs. Mallory learns that her husband has been wounded in battle and taken to Lordsburg.  She faints, inducing labor, and through his drunken stupor, Doc Boone delivers a baby girl.  Ringo asks Dallas to marry him.  She doesn’t reply, but the next morning she accepts.  Not wishing to leave Mrs. Mallory and the baby, she tells Ringo she’ll stay and meet him later.

Ringo escapes, but when he sees smoke signals, he returns to warn the stage passengers, who re-board and, now without the escorting cavalry unit, reach Lee’s Ferry.  The Apaches have killed the station-keeper and his family.  After crossing a river and believing they are safe, the travelers are attacked by the Indians.  An arrow enters the coach and strikes Peacock.

During the seven minutes as the Indians chase the coach, Buck is wounded and everyone soon runs out of ammunition.  Just as Hatfield is preparing to shoot Mrs. Mallory to spare her a ghastly death from the Indians, he is fatally shot.  At this moment the U.S. Sixth Cavalry arrives, and the stage continues on safely to Lordsburg.

The stagecoach chase would justify an exciting, fitting climax.  What could be better?  But John Ford must tie up the many loose ends in the remaining twenty minutes of film.  First, Mrs. Mallory learns her husband’s wounds are not serious and she thanks Dallas for taking care of her baby.  Peacock, who survived the arrow, invites everyone to his home in Kansas City.  Gatewood is arrested.  And Dallas, who hasn’t told Ringo about what she does for a living, leads him to her part of town.  He still wants to marry her.

But Ringo has one last thing to do.  Reminiscent of the central shootout in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance—both at night—Ringo walks down the street toward Luke Plummer and his two brothers (Vester Pegg and Joe Rickson).  Their slow, edgy strides are underpinned by some actual original music.  As Ringo drops to the ground to fire, the film cuts to Dallas and only shots are heard.  “Ringo!  Ringo!  Ringo!” she cries.  Ford temporarily misleads the audience and shows an apparent triumphant Luke entering the saloon, only to collapse dead on the floor.  Ringo has killed all three of the Plummers.

Ringo, having given his word not to escape and expecting to end up in prison, returns to Wilcox.  Boone and Wilcox are waiting with a buckboard.  After Ringo has said good-bye to Dallas, the marshal suggests she might “like to ride a ways with the Kid.”  After Dallas climbs aboard, Boone and Wilcox throw rocks at the horses and shout, sending the two animals off at a gallop and giving Ringo his freedom and a presumed happy life with Dallas.

The signature trademark of Stagecoach is not the long coach chase by the Indians, however exciting and epoch-making it may be, but by its central stunt.  Yakima Canutt has two “performances” in the sequence.  In the more famous one, dressed as an Indian, he leaps from a running horse to the lead pair of animals in a six-horse team.  He is “shot” by Ringo, falls, grasps the harness and drags his feet between the two lead horses.  Ringo shoots again.  Canutt lets go of the harness and the horses and coach pass over him.

In his own words:

You have to run the horses fast (35- to 37 m.p.h.), so they’ll run straight.  If they run slow, they move around a lot.  When you turn loose to go under the coach, you’ve got to bring your arms over your chest and stomach.  You’ve got to hold your elbows close to your body, or that front axle will knock them off.

After the coach passes over him, he attempts to stand up, then falls and remains inert, to show a dummy hadn’t been used.  From the flat plain of Lucerne Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert, Canutt selected the hardest part, so that the coach wheels would sink as little as possible into the surface.

Of course, there’s the obvious question few viewers of Stagecoach seem to ask, one that exposes an obvious inaccuracy: Why didn’t the Apaches simply shoot the horses?!  “If they did that,” Ford once replied, “the picture would be over.”

English theater critic and writer Kenneth Tynan asked Orson Welles in 1967 which directors he most admired.  “The old masters,” he famously replied.  “By which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford.”  If not compliment enough, Welles showed his high esteem for Ford by, he said, viewing Stagecoach forty times before beginning Citizen Kane (1941).  Ford’s influence is clearly seen in many aspects of Welles’ film, including those “original” shots of ceilings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-VWDsdkwM