#very inconsistent... he is tough to figure out how to draw

[eugenoid-draws]

Jopson sketchdump because he is very dear to my heart

[danny-chase]

The Batfam as Tech Majors

AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.

Dick:

Mechanical Engineering Major

He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible

He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad

Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there

He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take

Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it

He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes

This gives him a bunch of random knowledge

When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.

He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.

His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.

He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it

Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club

He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major

Barbara: 

Computer Science/Math duel Major

She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient

Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate

She’s the curve breaker

She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned

She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream

Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program

She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating

The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals

Jason:

Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major

He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers

Jason lives in the library

He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up

He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments

He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program

He volunteers for a local robotics team

When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well

He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child

Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack

Someone choked in front of him on the first day

Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die

Cass:

Innovation/Design Major

She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them

Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind

Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone

She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them

She has patents for the inventions she created at WE

She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself

It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!

The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass

There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony

Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship

She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius

Tim:

Computer Science Major with a minor in game design

He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures

He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long

He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up

He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due

If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due

This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters

He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently

This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset

Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts

He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club

Against all odds, he joined a fraternity

Dick literally fell off a building when he found out

He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am

He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either

He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend

Steph:

Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science) 

She gets constantly shit on for being a civie

Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background

She and Jason complain about the disrespect together

She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition

She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible

But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all

She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?

She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students

She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign

She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes

She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating

She joined a sorority and had a blast

They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well

Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention

She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities

Duke:

Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience 

Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year

Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him

He joins a variety of professional groups as well

He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs

But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume

He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on

When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join

He ends up meeting like half the campus

He unintentionally has become a god of networking

Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate

He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)

He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives

He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates

Harper:

She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering

She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE

She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps

She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project

She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee

She’s in the front row in every lecture

She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep

She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop

Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill

She refuses to work there

Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam

She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time

They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so

Cullen:

I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major

He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs

They have a million inside jokes

To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language

He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested

Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O

He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well

It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat

He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat

Damian: 

Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology

He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal

He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein

He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)

He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals

He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time

He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)

He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again

He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club

They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook

He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun

He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks

Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)

Bonus Bruce:

He cries at every graduation

He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation

He never does - it’s about his kids, not him

He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know

He sobbed for days after Cass graduated

He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate

After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit

He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience

The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something

But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge

But in a pinch, he can fix stuff

[dumbfuck-mojave]

FNV Companions React to Someone Being Aggressive Towards Rex.

@spidester basically came up with this idea.

TW: Mentions of violence against humans and animals. Some sexual flirtation. Swearing is the norm at this point

Fucking IDEK if these are out of character anymore we just roll with it. Also, shitty and inconsistent writing and react length ahoy. Also yes I lied and said this was going to be out last night but I got sick please understand-

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Arcade: Six had dragged him into Ultra-Luxe because once again, they were being stupid and trying to beat some sort of goal they had set for themselves earlier that day at the gambling tables. Rex had also come in with them, but had wandered off with his snout up in the air towards the kitchens. While Six was focusing on the Blackjack table Arcade heard a sudden yip and bark behind him and turned to see two people laughing and kicking the poor dog. They weren’t dressed like the people that would usually gamble here and they certainly weren’t a White Glove, so Arcade just assumed they were some travelers that didn’t know Six’s reputation and love for their canine companion. Also angry at the situation unfolding, Arcade briskly made his way over to them.

“Excuse me-”

“Fuck off.” 

Now, that made Arcade very unhappy. Honestly, he expected them to be rude, but was still a little surprised at how quickly they shot him down, not even trying to start an argument or anything. Yet.

“Listen, gentlemen.” Arcade said sharply, “I suggest you leave now because you’d much rather deal with me telling you how vile of people you are than for my friend over at the Blackjack table getting word of what you’ve been doing to their dog.”

“Oh, tough guy, eh? Well guess what, we don’t give a shit about what you or your idiot friend have to say!” The taller of the men sneard, getting right up in Arcade’s face. “Fucking forget it, the dumb dog isn’t worth our time. They ran out of booze a while ago anyway.”

Arcade gave them a look of disinterest as the semi-stumbled out the door. He made….. eye contact?..... with one of the masked servers when he looked away from them, who also seemed relieved that the two men were gone, probably because they had trached dust and mud throughout the entire main room.  Making his way back to Six, Arcade was going over scenarios in his head about what Six would do once he told them. Turns out one of his guessed scenarios was true. He did know Six very well after all. Unfortunately for the men, they had decided to sleep naked that night and Six had found out where they were staying through a few connections. A few hours later the men’s clothes were strung up on and lit on fire in the middle of Freeside, with the neat edition of shoving several hungry geckos into the men’s hotel room. The men ran out into the Mojave, naked and with a few flesh chunks missing from their body, while Rex gnawed happily on his Brahmin Steak in the Lucky 38. 

Boone: A Legion party had ambushed them just outside of Red Rock Canyon as they were making their way towards Vegas from Goodsprings. The system they had was working well enough, Boone had managed to climb his way up on the hill to the right of the road and was sniping them from afar while Six was up close with their ripper. It was hard to get solid damaging headshots on them since they were those dumb helmets, but if he got lucky Six would get close enough to rip one of their helmets off so he could get a clear shot through their skull. Usually, there were 4 Legionaries in a party but Caesar must have really wanted Six dead at this point, so they were currently being surrounded by at least 12, possibly even more. As Six drop-kicked two legionaries into each other, Boone noticed one of the other Legionaries targeting Rex and backing him up against the Canyon wall. Luckily for Boone and unfortunately for the Legionnaire, there was no helmet in sight. Boone lined up the shot and it entered the target’s head with a whiz and a squish. As the now-corpse fell to the ground, the group of three reorganized amongst the carnage. Rex sat down at Boone’s feet and looked up at him, mouth open and panting. 

“Don’t look at him like that.” Boone said in a monotone voice, making the Courier laugh beside him.

“Boone, you’re talking to a dog.” The Courier started on their way once again to Vegas, looking down at the dog now trotting beside them.

“You want to go see the King Rex?”

*Bark*

“Look who’s talking to the dog now.” 

Veronica and Cassidy: The girls had decided to hang out together today, without the Courier. They also had Rex in tow and were currently sitting at the Atomic Wrangler’s counter. Both of these women were at least three bottles in each already and their laughter poured through the casino as Veronica slouched over and snorted at one of Cass’ merchant stories.

“There is *snort* there is no way he did that.” Veronica wheezed out, falling into another fit of laughter.

“He did! He just grabbed that fucker by his-”

Their conversation was cut off when a man walked over to them. Much too confidently, I might add. They both looked up at him in disgust and annoyance. 

“So, what are two beautiful ladies doing out here all alone. You know, why don’t we all go upstairs and have a little *fun* together. ” The man leaned in so far he almost touched noses with Veronica. Rex had been sitting idly with his head in his paws on the floor until this moment. When the man leaned in, Rex growled and stood up, brisling at the man. 

“Dumb dog.” The man grumbled, swinging out his hand and hitting Rex in the head. Now no one knew if the man had meant to hit Rex so hard that he slammed his glass dome into the counter, but it didn’t matter now. Veronica pushed up off the counter and shoved the man back.

“Who do you think you are?! First, you come up to two ladies who are CLEARLY disinterested in you, interrupt their good time, then you have the audacity to hit our dog?!” Veronica practically yelled, drawing attention from several others in the room. Two people in particular had the look in their eyes that was almost begging to see a fight.

“Listen, girlie, I do what I want, ok?” The man growled, cut off by Veronica shoving his back against the counter, “Oh, girlie, you want to start right now?” 

“She doesn’t want to do anything with you. Nobody would.” Cass said as she finally stood up, looking over Veronica’s shoulder.

“Now come on ladies, no need to fight over me.” The man slurred, the beginnings of a wolfish grin on his face. 

Now, Ronnie may be small but she has a power fist and can fuck some people up. In a flash, the man was on his knees with both arms straining behind him, courtesy of Cass. Veronica unveiled her power fist and a spark of fear appeared in the man’s eyes as she swung it dainlity near his temple.

“I could swing my fist sideways right now.” She started swinging faster and more aggressively, “And give you a good lesson about how to treat others around you with an indent on your head to remind you.” 

“N-No!”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure it would be no trouble for my friend here.” Cass sneered, tightening her grip on the man’s arms, making him squeal out in man. 

“Please, please! No!” 

As the once confident man was damn near sobbing just at the prospect of getting hit, Veronica and Cass looked up at each other and grinned. Dragging the man outside, Veronica used her unarmored fist to hit him into a puddle of… something. The man stumbled to his feet and looked back in fear at the doorway. Then sprinted off. 

“DAMN! NEXT TIME YOU START A FIGHT YOU BETTER BE ABLE TO FINISH IT!” Cass yelled after him before they retreated into the casino once more.

. On their way back in, two figures walked out the door, following the now out of sight man. Sometimes, if you want to see a fight, you just have to start one yourself. 

Ed-E: *Pulls out laser canon* “Beep beepbeep bop'' Translation: “You bitch ass motherfucker”. Even if Rex sometimes drools on Ed-E or accidentally whips a ball at it’s shell, Ed-E will still protecc and attacc. 

Lily: Ok no but honestly and sorry to disappoint but any scenario involving her reacting to this is just them fighting, her calling the Courier Jimmy, then absolutely rocking the perpetrators shit. Like, tear that person in half grandma. I wanted to write a longer thing out….unless

Raul: He and Six had decided to stop at 188 Trading Post for the night instead of attempting to walk all the way back to Vegas. They were low on supplies, tired and hungry, and Raul’s back was acting up again. Samuel was nice enough to let Raul lie down for a bit on one of the mattresses behind the bar while Six was focusing on cleaning their weapons and bartering. Just as he was about to drift off, he heard Six’s voice speak up above the radio.

“Don’t touch my goddamn dog like that!” 

“You don’t get to tell me what to do you fucking piece of shit! Oh fuck-” 

Raul stood up and peered around the corner to see a rather interesting sight. Six was straddling some random man and aggressively slapping his hands away when he tried to reach for them, all while screaming every obscene thing they’ve ever been taught, even some things in Spanish thanks to Raul. Samuel was looking very concerned at the bar, not wanting to get directly involved in this mess while Rex was barking his head off in the man's face. After Raul managed to drag Six off the man, he found out the man was an associate of Alexander and was talking about making a deal with him when Rex came up to him to sniff his hand. Agitated, the man reached down and put his fist around Rex’s muzzle, yanking him up on his back to legs. Nothing escalated past that point as Six had entered the picture by then. They eventually decided to just walk back to Vegas that night and extend their break home, but damn if Raul wasn’t impressed and kind of flattered at the way they gracefully told a man how they were going to cut out this tongue and feed it to rats. Raul is dad.

(The insult thing was definitely a nod to one of @nuclear-reactions posts)

Thank you for reading! Requests are open!

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

You Asked, I Told

Spoilers up to Chapter 37 of Baghdad Waltz

Hi everyone,

I’m so very sorry for being so late with getting Chapter 38 out. Writing that Spent Brass put a delay in everything, though it was really crucial to get it posted before this next chapter.

This has been a really tough chapter to get right for me. I’ve gone back to the drawing board more than once for a couple scenes. I’m not sure when it will be out, but I’m working on it daily and making some good progress. Thank you for sending me your words of encouragement and letting me know you’re thinking of me! I’m thinking of you too and know you’re really looking forward to more. It will be a doozy, in terms of content, so I hope it’s worth the wait.

In horrifying news, BW is turning THREE YEARS OLD on March 13th. Kill me. (But not before I finish this fucking thing.)

In the meantime, here are some answers to some Asks-------

Thank you so much for the very kind words. I’m so pleased that this story checks off so many of your boxes, and I’m relieved to know that the structure and methods I’ve chosen for storytelling have lent to a balanced narrative where you can appreciate both of these characters. I figure people don’t have to like each character equally, or at all. I just really want their choices make sense, for each character to have a distinct psychology, to have each action and reaction be believable, even if it is infuriating or illogical (it can still fall within the character’s internal logic, based on their own worldview). And I am so honored that this fic can serve as some inspiration for your own. God knows I have mine I go to on the reg when my stuff sucks and I can’t string two words together to save my life.

This is a deceptively silly question, I think (because I can’t keep anything simple). Working out together would be a nice little nostalgic throwback, wouldn’t it? I sometimes pop back to earlier chapters when they were in Baghdad and think about those times with a wistful smile. I think about the way they related, the way they looked, the relative lack of complications in their lives, and it’s such a profound departure from the way things are now.

Steve obviously has kept up his gym going with Matt. We’ve also seen that working out for him is about more than just being swole and hawt; it’s about control and regulating his emotions. And for Bucky, working out used to be a way of maintaining peak fitness for his career, which was one of the ways that he evaluated his self-esteem. If he was fit, he had value. Also, if he was fit, he was sexy, and we know that sexual capability is also one of the primary currencies he uses to determine his self-worth. He also used the construction of his physique as a way to develop his masculinity, the correct form of [gay] masculinity, rather than being a twink or a sissy. This was always a struggle against Bucky’s natural slim body composition, which has become his default again now that he’s been out of the military.

Now Bucky faces a couple of hurdles to exercise, whether he would do it for health or for building his physique. He has the challenges brought about by his many injuries - compromised grip in his left hand due to his massive forearm injuries and inconsistent rehabilitation efforts, ongoing pain in his right foot and a continued limp from that, significant back and hip pain due to very heavy load bearing and overcompensation from his foot injury. This would make it challenging for him to engage in any intense fitness program. What he really needs is to go back to physical therapy, and probably occupational therapy as well, but last time didn’t go so hot last time.

Even if he didn’t have to contend with his injuries, Bucky is at a bit of a crossroads in terms of how much energy he wants to put into rebuilding and maintaining his ideal physical self, which seems to be based on some prototype he picked up long ago (more on that in a future chapter). No chest hair, no body fat, muscles, a perfectly shaved asshole at all times… But he’s not 21 anymore. He has a boyfriend now. And even though he’d probably love to go to the gym to shoulder in on Steve’s time with Matt, I wonder if he would want to go for himself anymore. I wonder if going with Steve would be intimidating or make him feel pressured to fall back into his old patterns. Because now at least he has the excuse that he can’t lift heavy, that he can’t run, so he might as well not even try. But if he could, it would be interesting to see where his path would go as a 31-year-old man.

See? You thought it would be a simple “Yeah, there’re totes gonna go to the gym together, chapter 41, stay tuned!” or “No, probs not, I don’t think he’s much of a gym goer anymore.” Alas. I give no simple answers. This is why you have to wait 5 months for a BW chapter.

This is a good observation. Bucky loves himself a good drunk pizza. He also watches a lot of food-related TV when he drinks. Bucky has had to think a lot about food for various reasons. One is building muscle and physique when his body is telling him NO I WILL NOT. One is not eating so that he can get drunk faster. One is eating the right kind of diet so that he can have anal sex without having to worry about digestive issues (constipation, feeling too full, not being ‘ready,’ too much or too little shitting), which is a thing he would take seriously a hardcore bottom. I see things like pizza as a comfort food, family food, something Winnie would get for them every Friday night after they moved to New York. It’s a very emotional food for him, but he knows it’s “bad” for all of the aforementioned reasons, because it will make you fat and slow your buzz and stuff up your colon, so he might be most inclined to eat it when deep in a bender and doesn’t give a shit about those other things. Because Bucky not only drinks to forget and manage intense emotions, but he drinks also to just relax the relentless march of self-perpetuated, often absurd rules about what and who he is and what he can and should do. So yes, Bucky has some disordered eating, most of it functional, though a lot of his lack of eating recently is likely anxiety-related and/or stomach illness-related.

Another excellent observation. For those who might need a refresher, since this was in chapter 36:

The morning after Bucky shows up at Steve’s drunk and they have sex and many revelations are made about drinking during their relationship, Bucky gets honest about what happened the day before. He tells Steve:  “I had my interview. It— I really don’t know how it went. I was so out of it. I’ve been so fucked up these past couple weeks. Just— it’s been bad. Really bad.” He tells the story of what happened at Scott’s. Steve asks why Bucky didn’t tell him he was struggling, and Bucky says that he didn’t want to get into it. Steve shifts in to talking about whether they should get back together.

I think there are a couple things here I could say. Yes, Bucky saying that he’s struggling is an example of some unusually straight-forward honesty that’s also a personal risk for himself. That’s a real measure of progress! But while I think this honesty is something that’s pretty new, the fact that he’s in a bad place mentally is not new information to Steve. I think back to the chapter before, after Bucky’s PT appointment with Luke, where he was clearly very distraught and having an extremely difficult time. Steve couldn’t get him to say what was happening then, but it was clear that it was something very major.  So I don’t think this really felt to him like a major revelation, like Bucky’s really been holding it all together perfectly while imploding on the inside. I think this observation was more like, why didn’t you just TELL me you were struggling rather than having to have me wonder and then get wasted and come here drunk? Steve has a long history of asking Bucky if he’s okay and getting the brushoff. He’s probably starting to get tired of always asking and getting shot down.

Another part of your question is also very valid - is this the right time to get into a relationship??  Haha. Ha. Well, nobody said these two were good at making relationship decisions. But on a more serious note, Bucky having struggles is not only not new information for this month, it’s not new information for their relationship. Bucky has always had a secret life of pain that Steve has had to wonder about, ask about, beg to be let into, and he probably figures that one of the best ways he can affect change is if they’re in a romantic relationship. It will let him get close, give him some leverage, etc. So although it might come off as callous, Bucky’s struggles are the rule rather than the exception, and Steve probably figures he needs to get this relationship locked down so that he can get them into therapy and much-needed help.

Of course, there’s plenty of dramatic irony here, right? Steve doesn’t know what we know, which is that what Bucky is struggling with here is the REALLY BIG STUFF. He probably just thinks it’s his usual stuff. So. We’ll see where that goes. Bucky is going to maintain this illusion for as long as he possibly can.

Yes, @pitchforkcentral86​ and I had several conversations about whether Bucky should have an animal. It’s a common trope in fic, and a joyful one to read. (Omg, I didn’t know about Alpine until now and I am thrilled!) And yes, service dogs, emotional support animals, therapy animals, pets, they can all be very healing, can provide meaning and purpose, and can also help to structure the lives of people who feel destabilized in various ways.

However, I have held back on giving Bucky an animal because a) his aforementioned history with animals, and b) I’m not sure if that’s what he needs at this point in his journey. I do really think Bucky has some sort of healing that needs to take place around animals. He loves animals. He loves nature and is a true soft boy (TM) who has been deeply hurt by his experiences. It was very inconsistent with his values to do the things he did, see the things he saw, and it’s so painful that he doesn’t know how to reconcile it.

But he’s in such a precarious place now emotionally, with such low resources, and he can barely even share the smallest pieces himself with other humans. People are a lot more complicated, yes, but animals are a lot of responsibility. He would be so hard on himself if he didn’t do a good job, if he didn’t react well to his animal companion, etc. And I think it would probably be more bang for his buck to devote that energy to trying to increasing his emotional intimacy with his partner or his sponsor or other important humans in his life who are asking for his trust. He could GO BACK TO THERAPY EVEN.  

I do think something that would potentially be helpful and pretty low resource cost is to have a therapy animal in his life, like something he could go periodically, a therapy dog at the VA or something he could visit and pet once in a while. It would be a good start.

But that’s just my thinking for this character specifically. I think service/emotional support/therapy animals are wonderful and can create incredible bridges for people to improving their quality of life.

Well, that’s all for now! I will continue plugging away at BW and will get it to you as soon as I can. Thank you, as ever, for your patience! And thank you for the wonderful Asks <3 <3 <3

[king-finnigan]

That’s Just Wasteland, Baby - Chapter 7

You can also read this on AO3! M A S T E R L I S T

A/n: I posted this on AO3 yesterday, but only now on tumblr because I realized I had forgotten to post chapter 6 here. Which is kinda stupid of me but go off, I guess. Special thanks to @pansexual-courfeyrac​ for being my beta! Also made a little /style change/ cause uh... Geralt’s not doing.... great.

As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy, and don’t hesitate to leave a like and a comment if you feel like it!

His back screams in agony, as he shifts slightly, trying to find a position on the cold, stone floor that isn’t immensely uncomfortable and painful. The bleeding had stopped, after a while, though the wounds are barely healed. Still, every small move of the muscles in his back sends new waves of pain across his body, stretching its paralyzing touch all the way down to his toes and fingers.

He sighs, and slowly pushes himself into a seating position, giving up on trying to sleep. Instead, he sits cross-legged on the floor – with some trouble – and closes his eyes to meditate. His thoughts are scattered, his mind fuzzy, and a small tendril of fear flares up in his chest. He’s scared of forgetting, of losing himself in this cold, damp cell.

So, he organizes his thoughts, by cataloguing the things he knows.

He knows he is Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher. He knows he has a Child Surprise, Ciri. He knows he has a good friend, Yennefer. He knows he has two brothers, Eskel and Lambert. He knows he has a father figure, Vesemir. He knows he is was engaged to Jaskier, who has been murdered in cold blood by Nilfgaard. He knows they abducted him. He knows he is in a dungeon of sorts. He knows there is a guard by the door, staring at him with contempt in his eyes, and he knows there’s another one, outside his cell.

The list ends there, worryingly short, and he frowns. Fine, what does he not know, then?

He doesn’t know how long he’s been here, for starters. The food comes at inconsistent times, and is often not enough to appease his hunger, making him weaker and his thoughts even more incoherent. The guards change either too quickly or too late to be normal. He can see what time it is from the angle of the sunlight shining through the dirty window high in the stone wall, but sometimes time seems to move either too fast or too slow. He could have sworn he saw the light moving backwards once, and he feels like he’s losing his mind.

He doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t hear any birds, nor the wind, nor anything else, other than the heartbeats of the guards, and his own. No one talks, except for the Eel, when he feels like dignifying the Witcher with his presence, and the young guard, the one with the sea-green eyes, when he had told him his name. Everything around him is encompassed in an unnatural silence, and it makes him uncomfortable.

So he doesn’t know what time it is, where he is, or how long he’s been here. He doesn’t know when he’ll eat next, when he’ll see another kind face, when he’ll finally be able to sleep properly. He doesn’t know how to escape. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever get the chance to really mourn Jaskier.

He doesn’t know a lot of things, and he’s losing hope and it annoys him.

He opens his eyes as the door to his cell opens, and the young guard steps in – Rhirthisech, his name was. The angry-smelling guard leaves, walking down the hall until Geralt can’t hear his heartbeat anymore, the guard that had been standing outside the door following him.

It’s quiet for a few moments, and Geralt closes his eyes again, trying to meditate, failing to keep his mind from wandering. His nose tingles, as something in the air changes. The young guard smells of curiosity again, a scent that tickles, like when he’s smelled a candle or a perfume too deeply.

The smell becomes nearly unbearable, and Geralt is ready to snap at the boy to spit it out or stop being so loud with his emotions, when a soft voice breaks the silence. “I thought Witchers didn’t feel.”

Geralt opens one eye, peering at the teen, before closing it again. He doesn’t know what to say, so he keeps his mouth shut, hoping the young guard will give up and go back to being scared of him. Like everyone always is. Like they should be. Like Jaskier never was.

The scent of curiosity itches at his nose again, sharp and demanding. A few more moments of quiet, and Geralt can hear the start of a sentence in the back of the teen’s throat, only to be cut off again immediately. It repeats several more times.

He sighs and opens his eyes fully, giving the young guard an annoyed glare. Still no fear. “Spit it out.”

The boy startles a bit, though he regains his composure quickly. “Is it true, then? That Witchers don’t have emotions?”

Geralt pulls up his eyebrows at the teen. “Does it matter?”

Rhirthisech’s voice is soft, sea-green eyes sincere under the black, Nilfgaardian helmet. “It does to me.”

The Witcher scoffs, yellow eyes incredulous, confusion in his chest. “Why?”

The teen shrugs. It is quiet again for a few minutes, as the young guard stares at the back wall. Geralt is about to close his eyes to try and meditate once more, but the soft voice speaks up again: “Who was he?”

Sea-green eyes look at him confused when Geralt shoots him a death glare. “Who?” he asks, very much aware who Rhirthisech is asking about. A silent warning in his eyes to back away, to leave the subject be.

Rhirthisech does not heed the warning, and keeps on talking. It reminds him of Jaskier.

“The man who was killed, who you cried for.” A sharp tug at his chest, and Geralt sighs as the grief hits him again.

He looks up, into the teen’s earnest eyes, curiosity and sincerity in his scent, making for a delicate smell of flowers, teetering on the edge of becoming troublesome for the Witcher’s nose.

“He was the love of my life.” The truth, for once. He has no desire or need to lie.

Rhirthisech looks down at his feet. “So Witchers do feel.”

Geralt nods, closing his eyes again, ending the conversation. “Yes, we do.”

҉    ҉   ҉

It’s a day later, or a week later, or a year later, or an hour earlier. Geralt can’t tell. His mind is fuzzy, and he has to blink a couple of times to clear the fog from his vision. He’s not sure if he’s fallen asleep, or if he meditated too deeply, but he notices the cell is suddenly empty, Rhirthisech gone.

He cocks his head, straining his ears, frowning when he doesn’t hear a heartbeat outside his cell, or anywhere nearby, except for his. Maybe Nilfgaard has abandoned him – an almost hysterical part of his mind thinks.

Still, the cuffs are secured tightly around his wrists and ankles. He stands up slowly, painfully, as the barely-healed wounds on his back stretch a little too tightly and uncomfortably. The chains around his legs are short, shackled to the floor, and he finds out he can’t put a step forward. Those around his arms give him space to move, though, and he bends down, tugging at the ring in the stone floor that anchor the bonds around his ankles.

It doesn’t budge an inch, the metal too strong to bend, the stone too tough too break, Geralt too weak to free himself.

He stands up straight again, back protesting, as noise fills the hallway outside his cell, his door bouncing off the wall as it’s slammed open.

His heart sighs, then sings in relief, as he meets Yennefer’s purple eyes. “Geralt! Thank the gods, we’ve searched everywhere for you.”

She walks over to him, crouching down to inspect the chains around his ankles, tugging at them, probably figuring out a way to break them without hurting him. He frowns. “’We’?”

She nods absentmindedly, and footsteps in the hall draw his attention again. He looks up, and meets blue eyes he would recognize anywhere.

Jaskier sighs in relief, half-sobbing as he stumbles forward, bridging the gap between them. Geralt is still for a moment, frozen and numb, the realization not fully settled yet. Finally, he hugs Jaskier back, and he feels tears sting in his eyes. “Jaskier…”

“Gods, Geralt, I’ve missed you so much.” The Witcher frowns, and pulls back, holding his love a few inches away, yellow eyes inspecting the familiar face, unsure if he really heard what he thinks he heard, or if it had been another a figment of his imagination.

“What?” He tries not to sound too worried or weirded out, afraid of hurting his love’s feelings if he did. The last thing he wanted was to see Jaskier ever hurt again.

Jaskier’s hand comes up to cup Geralt’s cheek, the coolness of his fingers seeping into his skin. “We were worried sick, I was so scared they had killed you, or…”

Geralt’s frown turns into a scowl, and he pushes Jaskier away, ignoring the pang he feels at the Bard’s hurt expression, he has hurt him again. His cheeks sear were Jaskier’s cold fingers had been just moments before. He notices the emotions on his love’s face doesn’t really reach his eyes, and that the colour of them is slightly off, the blue a little too grey. He takes a deep breath, the smell of mud and murky water assaulting his nose. Finally, he strains his ears, and hears Jaskier’s heartbeat, steady and slow. Too steady, too slow.

He takes a step back, and to the side, away from Yennefer’s hands. He notices her eyes are slightly the wrong shade of purple.

“You’re not real.” He tries to take another step back, his movements restricted by the chains still around his ankles, as not-Jaskier reaches out.

“Geralt, it’s me, it’s always been me. My love-“ The Witcher feels heat building in his chest, anger red-hot in his veins, and he slaps not-Jaskier’s hand away, chains clanging against each other noisily as he does so.

“Don’t call me that. You’re not Jaskier. Jaskier is dead.” He growls out the last words, teeth clenched, jaw set.

A heartbeat comes and passes, and suddenly not-Jaskier laughs coldly, not-Yennefer standing up, looking impressed. “He figured that out quite soon.” Her face morphs, and in the blink of an eye, she’s a Nilfgaardian soldier.

“That, he did.” Not-Jaskier has turned into the Eel, and Geralt growls at him as he takes the Witcher’s chin in his cold, unforgiving fingers. “I wonder how.” He pulls his eyebrows up, waiting for an answer.

“Fuck you.” The Eel tuts, and lets go of his chin, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Now, now, Witcher. That is no way to talk to a friend. How very rude of you.” He grins, muddy brown eyes crinkling in genuine delight. “Obviously, you must be punished now.”

He snaps his fingers at the soldier. “Bring me a torch from the hall.” He slaps Geralt’s cheek condescendingly. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?”

Geralt sneers at him, anger coursing through his veins. The soldier returns with the requested torch, and the Eel takes a knife from his belt, the crude leather handle worn.

“You’re probably wondering why I did all this.” He looks at Geralt expectantly, as if he wants the Witcher to ask for an explanation. He doesn’t. The Eel continues anyway.

“Well, you see, my dear Witcher, it gets quite boring here from time to time. And what’s more fun than breaking a man from the inside?” He smirks, pressing the tip of his finger against the pointed end of the blade. “Better yet, you’re not just a man, you’re a Witcher.”

He presses the tip of the knife against Geralt’s nose. “All the more fun to break you, then.”

He steps back, hanging the blade in the flames, the light flickering in his cold, muddy brown eyes. For once his gaze is not emotionless; he looks delighted.

“Anyways, I thought it would be fun to commemorate this” he takes the knife from the fire, the metal red-hot “victory you’ve had on me. Though, maybe you won’t be so lucky next time. We’ll see.”

His hand grips Geralt’s left shoulder, squeezing painfully, as he presses the tip of the searing blade into the Witcher’s right shoulder. Pain explodes as the skin sizzles under the heat, and Geralt clenches his jaw, determined not to cry out.

Finally, the knife is removed, and Geralt releases his breath in one quick scoff. The Eel smiles, inspecting the thin, violently red stripe the blade has branded into the Witcher’s skin. “Hmm. Very pretty.”

He moves back, wiping the now cooled-down blade on a handkerchief he has pulled from one of his pockets. He waves his hand dismissively to the guard. “Go, get that useless boy to stand guard. What’s his name again?” He rolls his muddy brown eyes. “Whatever, doesn’t matter.”

And with that, they’re both gone from the cell, and Geralt is left alone as the door closes behind them. He lowers himself on the ground, with some trouble, pressing the cool metal of the chains around his arm against the burn, hissing quietly as he does so.

҉    ҉   ҉

Ten minutes later, or maybe an hour later, or maybe a week later, Rhirthisech joins him again, standing guard next to the door silently for half an hour. He eyes the new, red mark on Geralt’s skin, curiosity and worry in his scent. It reminds him of Jaskier.

Geralt sighs, as the teen shuffles on his feet a little, and he can once again hear the start of a sentence stuck in the back of the boy’s throat. “Spit it out, Rhirthisech.”

The young guard looks up, sea-green eyes surprised and delighted. “You remembered my name.”

Geralt nods tiredly, almost regretting starting the conversation. “Not much else to do around here.”

The sea-green eyes are too excited for Geralt’s liking, but he decides to humour the teen. “I know you want to ask me something.”

“What’s it like out there?” The question takes the Witcher by surprise, and he simply stares at the young guard, who has an expectant look on his face.

“What do you mean?”

Rhirthisech puts his spear on the ground, and Geralt listens for anyone else who may be present or approaching in the hall, sure the boy would be punished terribly for doing something like this. The young guard moves forward, sitting in front of the Witcher.

“I’ve only ever known Nilfgaard and serving my country. What’s it like” he waves his hand to the dirty window, high in the stone wall “out there? In different countries?”

Geralt cocks his head, fighting to keep a smile from dancing across his lips. It’s been a while since he’s seen someone so curious and excited around him, so carefree and fearless. It reminds him of Jaskier. It reminds him of Jaskier. It reminds him of Jaskier.

But Jaskier’s dead. He ignores the sharp pang in his chest.

He shrugs. “It’s… fine, I guess.” His brow creases as memories flood him. “I used to travel around, fight monsters, get coin for it.”

Rhirthisech removes his helmet, an unruly mop of jet-black hair springing out from underneath it, and for the first time, Geralt can see how young the boy truly is. Barely fifteen, maybe. His sea-green eyes are filled with wonder. “You can do that? Just… travel around?”

Geralt frowns again, though he tries to make the boy feel like he isn’t judging him. Since when does he take other people’s emotions into consideration? “You… can’t?”

Rhirthisech shakes his head. “No, we’re not allowed. Only when our squadron goes somewhere, and even then, we travel mostly by portal.” He gets a faraway and dreamy look in his eyes. “I’d love to see a forest sometime.”

Geralt would love to see the forest again. He cocks his head. “You’ve never seen a forest before?”

The teen shakes his head again, sea-green eyes focused on the back wall. “No, I was born in the capital, and I grew up there. I went to train for the army when I was eight, as usual, which was in the mountains. Now I’m here.”

Disbelief rises in his chest, and he’s not sure if he heard what the boy said correctly. “You started training when you were eight?”

Rhirthisech nods, then shrugs. “All orphans do. Because usually you take your father’s profession but well…” he rubs the back of his neck, and Geralt can feel a note of sadness creep into the ever-present scent of curiosity “since I didn’t have one, I had to become a soldier.” He shrugs again.

Something stirs in Geralt, and his mind flashes back to the training he’d had to endure when he was younger. The boy reminds him of himself.

“How old are you, Rhirthisech?” The teen looks up, squaring his shoulder unconsciously, as if to appear bigger.

“I’m fifteen, but I’m a very good soldier. I may be a little… thinner and smaller, but that doesn’t mean I’m not as good as the others.” Geralt gets a sneaking suspicion that the boy has said this a hundred times before already, as if he has had to defend himself against sceptics and bullies his whole life. The boy reminds him of himself.

He smiles, softly, reassuringly. “I believe you.”

It is quiet for a few seconds, and Geralt’s mind wanders back to the beach-side cottage, and to his home in the wooded hills of Lyria. “So you’ve only ever seen mountains?”

Rhirthisech shrugs. “And the capital. I’ve heard of other things, like the ocean, and… meadows I think they’re called?” Geralt nods. “But I’ve never seen them before.” The boy smells sad again. “Would love to, someday. Though I doubt I will. At least not anytime soon.”

He recognizes the dreamy, wistful look in the sea-green eyes, the boy reminds him of himself, and he smiles softly. “Would you like me to describe it to you?”

[creative-poptart]

(I can't believe I've never seen your account before, your works are lovely!~ 💜) What if the UF and SF bros had a s/o that had a really bad self hate problem, covered up with fake narcissism?

I kinda almost don’t want to do this one, not because it’s inappropriate or anything, but… it’s a big same hat for me. I’ve dealt with it in a less than healthy way, and while I’m better, I’m still having some issues. I’m not in any danger of relapsing I don’t think, I’m okay, I promise! It’s just a bit of a subject that I unfortunately have had experience with.

That being said, TW: self hate ahead

UF Sans/Red: When he first meets you and starts talking to you, he thinks you’re exactly like his brother, Fell. There’s a lot of similarities in the way that you both bolster yourselves up with fancy words, pointing out your achievements for everyone to see with a lot of pride. He’s cool with that, he knows how to handle someone like that very well. When the two of you start dating, that’s when he starts to notice the inconsistencies in your words and how all the things you say seem to be pointed, even if they sound positive. The funny thing about dating someone is that you see a lot of things that other people might not see from the surface level. It comes to a head when one day he teleports into your room, only to hear you sobbing in the bathroom in between the occasional scream. He thinks you’re being attacked, so he goes in, magic at the ready, only to find you curled up in the tub and sobbing your eyes out. Red goes to your side in an instant to find out what’s wrong and you spill your guts to him about how you feel like utter scum and you hate yourself. He’ll do his best to figure out how to help you, but as it is with most of the monsters from any Fell-verse, there’s a lot of regret and self hate going around. 

“hey now, no need t’cry like this. c’mon, let’s get you somethin’ warm t’drink, some good food, an’ we can talk it out together, okay?”

UF Papyrus/Fell: For all the pomp and circumstance that he puts on, he honestly admires how you keep up the emphasis on yourself. Your presence commands attention somehow, and you know all the right ways to keep it if you want it. He almost envies that about you, how you can make the room forcibly put their eyes on you and keep it there. He wants to be close to you, so that he can make sure he has a lot of attention on him as well. After the two of you start dating, he can start to see through the cracks in your armor, into what you really look like without the facade. There’s nothing that seems bad at first, but then it starts to break down when you slip up in little ways. To others, there’s no change, but Fell can see that you’re struggling to maintain what you have going on outside. He’ll pull you aside at one point after you try to press the best of yourself to an important group of people, which failed miserably. He’s going to ask what’s going on, and the cracks break open into a sob, and from then on you let it all out and tell him everything. From the moments when you were too scared to look at yourself in the mirror, to when you wanted nothing more than to never leave your room. He agrees to go to therapy with you, because you both have problems, and he really wants to help you get better.

“WE DO NOT HAVE TO STAY LIKE THIS, AND WE CAN GET BETTER, TOGETHER. LET’S GET YOU CLEANED UP SO THAT WE CAN START LOOKING FOR A THERAPIST.”

SF Sans/Black: While Fell may admire the way you can draw attention to yourself, Black really doesn’t care all too much, though he doesn’t like the fact that you can draw more than him at points. He also recognizes a similar defense mechanism that you and he share in common, which is if I talk about how great I am, no one knows I’m hurting. He uses it a lot more often than he would like now that he’s on the Surface, but he keeps a close eye socket on you to make sure you’re not going to implode too soon. As soon as you start dating him, he starts to forcibly chip away at the exterior you’ve put up for your own defense. Of course, this could easily swing back and bite him on the coccyx if you pick up on it, but he’s wily enough to keep it on the down low. When you finally crack under the pressure he’s putting you through, you’re a mess, swinging between hot rage at yourself and deep sorrow at how low you’ve fallen. You admit to him that you want to do good things and be better, but there’s so many people who are just better than you, and it hurts. He’s not one to admit faults easily, but Black will also open up to you about the similar things he’s gone through and all the hatred he holds for himself. You’ll get better together, but it’s a long, hard uphill battle that you’ll both have to face for some time.

“I KNOW THAT ALL OF THIS SEEMS LIKE IT’S SO MUCH TO HANDLE, AND I UNDERSTAND MORE THAN YOU KNOW. BUT WE HAVE TO TRY, OR ELSE IT WILL NEVER IMPROVE.”

SF Papyrus/Rus: Before you start dating, he can tell that you’re putting up a front, the same one Black puts up every single time someone confronts him about the past. You’re hurting, but he’s not one to bring it up right away because you don’t know him all that well. Somehow, you make it work all the smoother than his brother’s, so he wants to keep close to make sure you’re really okay. From the moment that you start to actually date each other, he’s letting you know that it’s okay to talk to him about anything for any reason. At first, it doesn’t really do much for him to say that, but he gradually starts to see your resolve waver, considering the options. After a few months of contemplation, you pull him aside, crying, and spill everything you’ve hated about yourself for the past several years. You hate your appearance, how much of a failure you are, and how disappointing your life has become. At this point, he breaks down sobbing too. From all of these guys, the one who really stands the best in the self hating department is not Rus. Sure, he may not have done too much, but that is where it lies in that he feels he didn’t do enough to try and help his brother and monsterkind. This is going to be tough, but potentially the best combination for getting help the fastest.

“an’ i know that this is hard, believe me, i’m still there too. but i got you now, an’ you’ve got me, so maybe we can find a way to dig ourselves outta this…

Thanks for the ask @xxsharpaxe! This was admittedly tough to write, but I think it’s really gonna help some people out.

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 48.33 & 34 - Edi/Bri + Man/Dar

I was going to start this by saying it had been a while since I’d last had to do a multi-episode post, but I just scrolled back and it was apparently only a few months ago, so I guess I can’t. I was also going to open with a bit about how, if I wanted to use this blog as an example of my writing prowess to any prospective employers, it would be like putting down as a reference your boss from that bar job where you’d fallen asleep midway through pouring a pint and caused a mini lager-flood. But I said that last time as well, so in addition to showing up my inconsistent posting schedule I’d also be outing myself as an uninspired self-plagiarist. 

Its obvious, both intuitively and from the brief period when I actually did manage to upload a few hours after episodes were dropping, that the only way to grow my engagement and readership is to get my blogs online in that short window immediately after the show when people are in that sweet, sweet UC headspace. Thats how the internet works, you move too slow and you get left behind. So why is it that I’ve allowed myself to postpone my self-imposed deadline by a week, so that I write the previous week’s blog just before the current one should be due? Why is it easier to distract myself from the same focus-scattering effects of Twitter and YouTube that I should be trying to counteract by getting the work done right away after a seven day interval has passed?

I can’t answer those questions, but I’m trying to get the point where I can by sleeping with my phone in the other room and reading my 12 issues for £12 Economist when I wake up instead (all the podcasts were right, its like a collection of really long tweets, but without the hashtag wars). 

One advantage of the fact that no one reads these anymore is that I feel less obligation to not go off on solipsistic tangents before I’ve even started (not that the obligation ever stopped me before).

Anyway, as of two weeks ago, we’d had eight quarter final matches (twice as many as you usually get), and only had two to go. Durham and Teddy Hall were relaxing in the pot for the semi final draw, having already won a couple of QFs each, whereas Glasgow and Emmanuel would be staying forever in this stage after two losses on the trot. Four teams were still trapped here, with a win and a loss under their belts, but they would know their fates soon enough.

Edinburgh vs Bristol

In my last review, I said of Emmanuel, Cambridge that they had had the hardest possible quarter-final draw, getting knocked out by Teddy Hall and Darwin, and I don’t disagree with that, but Bristol faced the same two opponents, and would be sitting pretty in the semis had it not been for a hundred-point comeback by the cuddly Oxonians, after they had neutered the exuberance of Jason Golfinos in their match against Darwin. Edinburgh knew they’d have to be wary of a Bristolian quartet who had shown they could rise to the level of their opposition after a fairly nondescript opening few rounds.

Fitz-James buzzed in after only two words to give Edinburgh the first ten points of the game, and they doubled their score with two bonuses on Sir John Everett Millais. Booth looks anguished as he negs the next starter though, and Basu gets Bristol off the mark with a speculative guess of Tolstoy. Sumner, a physicist who’s been very good at physics questions all series, beats Fitz-James to the buzz for Transistors to give the English side the lead.

But just like the current in an AC circuit, they don’t hold it for too long, as Paxman generously says he’ll accept Fitz-James’ answer of the North Star, one of the given names for Polaris, in place of Polaris. How kind of Paxo. Bonuses on sub-atomic particles as represented by the initials corresponding to numerical scientific notation follow. Having correctly identified 10^-12 as being pico (i.e ‘p’) Booth goes too deep and suggests the pi-meson. FJ frowns, and rightly diverts to proton. Sometimes the questions aren’t so complicated.

Bristol take the lead with the Picture Qs, and it continues to alternate rapidly, with neither side able to take control of the contest. It looked as if it was going to be a matter of who had their noses in front when the gong went, but Edinburgh managed to find something in their locker, taking four out of the last five starters to put the game out of Bristol’s reach.

This will have been filmed soon after Bristol’s devastating last-minute loss to Teddy Hall, so that may have been playing on their minds going into the final stages, and they again seemed to run out of steam, falling just short of the semis for the second time. The Avonside University have now made the Quarter Finals on seven occasions in the Paxman era (including in four of the last five years) but have failed to make it beyond them every time. This was certainly the closest they’ve come.

For Edinburgh its a third semi in as many years, and they’ll be hoping they can make the leap Bristol couldn’t and go one stage further than they’ve ever managed before.

Final Score: Edinburgh 155 - 120 Bristol

Manchester vs Darwin, Cam

Darwin, the last Cambridge college left in the competition, had looked unstoppable in their first two rounds, before coming unstuck against Bristol in their first quarter-final. Their Talismanic captain Jason Golfinos was back on form as they smashed fellow Cantabrigians Emmanuel, but the loss demonstrated an over-reliance on the skipper. Manchester would be hoping for another off-day from the American

However, he introduced himself as being from ‘New York, New York, the city so nice they named it twice’, and you don’t introduce yourself as being from ‘New York, New York, the city so nice they named it twice’, unless you’re feeling full of confidence. Its like when a footballer is so sure they’ll score that they store some kind of prop behind the goal to crack out when they do (see Raul Jiminez vs Watford on Sunday).

It only takes him up until the word ‘Chrysippus’ in the opening question to show that this confidence was not misplaced. Darwin go ten points clear with his answer of laughing, which Manchester are not. They know they’re in for a tough game. Lynott comes in early in a bid to counteract Golfinos, but can only send the Mancunians below zero, where they would stay for some time. In fact, the Golfmeister would amass four starters personally before Hanson finally buzzed in, scared, with Shannon, and brought them back into positive figures.

A starter for Mulley, and Golfinos’ fifth of the evening meant that the match was pretty much out of Manchester’s hands by the halfway stage, but Antao quickly swooped up the music question, on piano pieces with the right hand missing, and was even able to name the exact piece, which impressed Paxman. This would be the highlight of Manchester’s night - not a bad highlight, all told, but indicative of the gulf between the two sides. Golfinos hammered out another starter, and then seemed to ease off a bit, allowing his opponents to break into triple figures.

For Manchester, this series represented their best performance since the end of their dominant era in 2014, and perhaps a sign that they’re on the path back to the top of the game. And for Darwin, if Golfinos turns up, this may well represent a great shot at the trophy.

Final Score: Darwin, Cam 195 - 120 Manchester

The semi finals will thus be as follows:

Edinburgh vs Durham

Darwin, Cam vs Teddy Hall, Ox

This draw is interesting because it guarantees a non-Oxbridge finalist for the first time in 6 years. It also guarantees the Darwin-Teddy Hall match featuring the head to head battle between the series’ two top buzzers in Golfinos and Freddy Leo. Its also a bit strange because Edinburgh and Durham already played each other in the QFs, and rematches are generally avoided until the final. Its in part for this reason that the past five finals have been all-Oxbridge affairs, so unless the past draws have been pure coincidence, this indicates that a conscious decision was made to guarantee a finalist from outside the Big Two...

[thesportssoundoff]

“Prospects, Newbies and an old school TV card” The UFC’s 25th Anniversary (but not quite) in Denver

Joey

November 4th

Well folks, we've got a mere TWO months left in this Fox deal. That shakes out to two PPVs, four FS1 events, one Fight Pass Fight Night and one Fox event remain. Our first FS1 trip takes us to Denver, Colorado for a UFC Fight Night anniversary deal. In many ways, this event DOES feel like a throwback to the past. If you cut this show down to a four fight main card with no televised prelim slate, this would be a killer Fight Night. Yair vs Zombie is a fantastic main event on paper that should be an absolute gas while it lasts, the same goes for the action fighter vs action fighter clash as Mike Perry takes on Cowboy Cerrone and then the card is rounded out by two very intriguing battles between proven fighters and former title contenders (one champion!) in GDR vs Rocky Pennington and Ray Borg vs Joe Benavidez. It's not though and so plenty of folks will look at the lack of recognizable names and say "WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!?" which while fair, also neglects how many top flight prospects they've got on this undercard. It's a four fight great card and then a combination of prospects vs prospects and newbies vs proven gatekeepers. It's actually a not bad fight card even if it's not the love affair many UFC fans probably want for their 25th Anniversary show. We've also got to get a face to face look at what seems to be a two month long farewell tour at 125 lbs as well. I'm not saying you HAVE to watch it but you'd be pretty darn happy TO watch it.

Fights: 13

Debuts:  Maycee Barber, Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Julian Erosa, Devin Smith, Bobby Moffett

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 6 (Frankie Edgar OUT, Yair Rodriguez IN vs Chan Sung Jung/Ricardo Ramos vs Ricky Simon CANCELLED/Chris Greutzmacher OUT, Thiago Moises IN vs Beneil Dariush/Maia Stevenson OUT, Hanna Cifers IN vs Maycee Barber/Alonzo Menifield vs Saparbek Sarafov CANCELLED/Jordan Espinoza OUT, Joby Sanchez IN vs Mark De La Rosa)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 9 (Chan Sung Jung, Yair Rodriguez, Mike Perry, Donald Cerrone, Germaine De Randamie, Rocky Pennington, Ray Borg, Joe Benavidez, Beneil Dariush)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: (Ashley Yoder)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Germaine De Randamie, Davi Ramos)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC):  26-11

Yair Rodriguez- 1-0 Korean Zombie- 3-1 Mike Perry- 5-3 Donald Cerrone- 5-4 GDR- 2-0 Rocky Pennington- 3-1 Ray Borg- 2-2 Joe Benavidez- 2-1 Maycee Barber- 0-0 Hanna Cifers- 0-0 Mike Trizano- 1-0 Luis Pena- 1-0

Divisional Breakdown:

Lightweight- 4 Flyweight-3 Women's Strawweight- 2 Featherweight- 2 Welterweight- 1 Women's Bantamweight-1

Too Low- Beneil Dariush vs Thiago Moises

Let us begin with this fight, sitting comfortably at the very opening of the televised prelims. On a card full of debutantes, high level prospects and four really really good fights, this is one prelim fight that sort of kind of should be a lot higher and potentially as high as the main card. Thiago Moises is a pretty solid regional lightweight who got called up after a spot on the Dana White's Contenders Series in Brazil. At the very least, this has the potential to be a very fun back and forth grappling contest. It's far better than just assuming that these prospects in their debut won't have a slip up or get lost in their nerves.

Too High Up- Maycee Barber vs Hannah Cifers

Okay so this is actually a really good fight. I had a chance to watch Hannah Cifers throughout her Titan Fighting run. She's an articulate striker who often combines precision offense with pressure. She didn't do a ton of grappling in those fights but I'm going to bet she'll be okay there as well. There were basically three fighters given ample hype time going INTO the second season of the Contenders for Dana White; Greg Hardy, Nick Newell AND Maycee Barber. Barber walked through Jaimee Colleen who has a win over Danielle Taylor and outnumbered in her terms of experience. Barber has something different about her and it's not a surprise she's getting the O'Malley treatment given her age, talent level and the need for more fun things at 115 lbs. It just FEELS like you're asking a lot of her here and the same for Ciphers on short notice.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 27-35-1):  Maycee Barber, Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Bobby Moffett, Julian Erosa, Devonte Smith

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 28-23):  Hannah Cifers, Thiago Moises, Joby Sanchez, Yair Rodriguez

Second Fight (Current number: 36-28-1): Mike Trizano, Luis Pena, John Gunther

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 21-36):  Yair Rodriguez, Korean Zombie, Germaine de Randamie, Ray Borg, Chas Skelly

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 30-21-1): Maycee Barber, Mike Trizano, Luis Pena, John Gunther

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really:

The UFC Win Check Test The records of fighters who have 4 or more UFC fights (or three full calendar years in the organization) but 0 wins against people still in the UFC:  Amanda Bobby Cooper

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Are we TOO optimistic about this main event? On paper, Yair Rodriguez vs Chan Sung Jung is a fight for the ages. The all pressure power punching Zombie vs the super flashy Mexican star seems like the sort of shit you'd get excited about. There are just three key aspects about this fight that I'm having a tough time getting my hands around. The FIRST is the location. Yair Rodriguez has fought at altitude countless times before so it'd be unfair to assume he can't do it BUT it is worth remembering that he was absolutely dead tired in Mexico both times and he slowed down quite a bit in the 4th or 5th rounds in Utah. The Korean Zombie has never struck me as a dude who has had issues with his conditioning but that was a military assignment and a few knee surgeries ago plus I don't think he's ever had a real big altitude fight like this one. The second aspect is just the all around concern or confusion on Yair Rodriguez's mindset. Yair was crushed by Frankie Edgar in his sole UFC loss and that was in May of 2017. He admittedly opted to take a year off to heal up/get better/train around before getting cut from the UFC for a short spell due to Yair either turning down a succession of fights or just not wanting to get bullied into taking a fight. He took a fight vs Zhabit in September, pulled out due to injury and now he's back in early November with no mention of the injury. When Dana was asked about Yair after he pulled out of the Zhabit fight, Dana implied in so many words that Yair was a guy who just didn't want to fight. I think wondering where his head is at relative to taking a fight like THIS one is worthy of asking. Lastly, I think it's 100% fair to say we're not going to see the best version of either dude. The Zombie has fought just ONE time since 2013 and he's now officially beyond 30 years old. Injuries and a military service took him away from MMA for a looong time now and against Bermudez, he looked pretty rusty before he snapped back into it to end the show early. Yair Rodriguez is taking this fight on short notice plus  a year away plus the questions around his career plus the fact that the last time he saw him, Edgar was punching his face into the canvas. I'm not saying this fight will suck, I'm saying we should temper our expectations a bit.

2- How valuable will Yair Rodriguez's kicks be if he's to pull off this upset?

3- So much of Donald Cerrone vs Mike Perry feels like a matter of determining how washed up Donald Cerrone is vs how much you believe Mike Perry can improve under the watchful eyes of Jackson-Wink. Cerrone is what he is and he was able to fight at a frenetic pace against Leon Edwards, giving us an occasional glimpse of what he's good at while reminding us of all the things he's been bad at for his entire career. Mike Perry's upside is of the Chris Leben variety; a high level fun brawler who is going to throw down until the sun goes down on him. That said you'd have to hope an elite gym can iron out some of the weaknesses he's got, primarily his over aggresiveness and his defensive lapses. Would be the hope, riiiight?

4-  If you read this and you're rooting for Cerrone to win so you can get Diego vs Cerrone? Shame on y'all, man.

5- Anybody feel really bad about Ray Borg vs Joseph Benavidez? On paper, this is a really intriguing fight between the inconsistent Borg and the declining Benavidez; the sort of fight that could get Borg back on the winning track or maybe open the door for Benavidez to have one last run to the title. The problem is that there may be no title---and the problem may be that a really good fight on paper will be meaningless because the division is gone. That draws the air out of the building so much for me. The same goes for all three of these fights. Are the winners basically fighting for spots in the 135 lb division?

6- The Contenders Series is really about churning out quantity with some hype vs turning out future champions BUT they've got a few guys on here who could at least be in the conversation of potential title contenders. Maycee Barber is just 20 years old, undefeated and blessed with all sort of skills. Devonte Smith is getting a put together short notice fight vs Julian Erosa to pad the card but he's VERY good and figures to show out against a quality journeyman (fighting out of his weight class). Lastly Thiago Moises could develop into a quality lightweight who can be relied on to draw fights in Brazil.

7- Davi Ramos has won two straight in the UFC, both by submission. Normally that gets you a nice step up but the reality is that it's not happening here. He's getting John Gunther in what feels like an opportunity to run Gunther out of the UFC after his awful win vs Allan Zuniga.

8- GDR totally disappeared off the face of the Earth after her win vs Holly Holm, citing hand problems and an unwillingness to fight Cyborg to go along with a pull out of a fight vs Marion Reneau. She returns against Rocky Pennington who had an equally lengthy lay off prior to her fight vs Amanda Nunes. This feels like a last chance fight for two ladies with different issues.

9- Why is Amanda Bobby Cooper vs Ashley Yoder the featured prelim? Is there some sort of Mackenzie Dern victim prize at stake?

10- Chas Skelly vs Bobby Moffet is the Spiderman pointing meme of this card.

11- The TUF Undefeated Season was...something. It was a grueling watch live and the finale is easily the worst TUF finale I've ever seen. This is a big bounce back opportunities for guys like Mike Trizano and John Gunther. Luis Pena got hurt and was pulled off the show but dominated Richie Smullen so he's sort of safe. Trizano vs Pena is going to be a very interesting fight worth keeping an eye on.

12-  Would there be any interest in Holm vs GDR 2 if she wins?

[ahkaraii]

oh gosh i love your meta, now i have to ask your opinion about Kakashi, im fascinated by his trauma and how he dealt with it, which i think was a bad way, but still interesting. What do you think about him and his role? about his time as Hokage?

Okay, let me first start by saying: I love Kakashi. I love him a toooon, and I will happily draw a thousand comic strips with him as main character because I find him fascinating. But my love for him does not preclude the fact that Kakashi is not a “morally good” man, and probably would never become one unprompted.

First: he is a shinobi, and all that it entails - a professional killer, a man loyal to a fascist-like system, who will die to protect its ideals. He is a product of this system and will dutifully perpetuate it (unless someone he admires proposes a different solution, cough, Naruto, this is where you come in).

Second: his internal ‘moral code’ is incredibly inconsistent over his life because Kakashi doesn’t objectively know what is good or bad -- as a child he used to think his father was Good but then it turned out his dad was Bad, and that set the stage for his ongoing anxiety about not knowing what is Right or Wrong. (It also didn’t help that he was a child soldier at age five, dear lord). What Kakashi does know is what is valuable and valued in the shinobi system, and later, what was valuable and valued by important figures in his life that have died. Everything that falls outside of this is deemed “Trash” or simply “Unimportant”.

Third: Kakashi is a very psychologically fragile guy. He suffers from anxiety, depression, and depersonalization, to name a few symptoms. The resulting mess is what appears to be a schizoid personality with an underlying anxiety disorder that manifests through ritualistic OCD-like behavior.

Kakashi likes rules, he likes order, he likes knowing exactly what is going to happen. That’s why he reads the same silly novel a gazillion times, why he clings to a dead boy’s moral code -- the dead can’t change their minds and change the rules on him, and the novel’s ending is already written, it can’t be retconned on him. It gives him mental stability in a very inconsistent and threatening world that has pulled the rug on him too many times for him to ever be able to trust the solidity of the ground below him.

As an adolescent he had symptoms of anxiety-induced OCD -- cleaning his hands over and over comes to mind. He visits the graves of his dead for hours and hours without fail. He always wears his mask, come rain sleet or snow.

So it seems that in order to be sane he needs a schedule, he needs things to be the same or at least predictable. Missions are easy. What is the objective? How am I going to accomplish it? Mission complete. Come home. Rinse and repeat. He is at his most emotionally stable living a very predictable and ritualistic lifestyle. The rest is Trash and Unimportant.

This has remarkably translated to him being a very good shinobi, because the ideal shinobi is a kunai always ready to be drawn, that self-sharpens, that flies true and hits the mark you intended to hit. Kakashi can do that. He knows exactly what he needs to do to be just that, and that brings him peace. Perhaps not tranquillity, or happiness, but certainly a mental blankness that is absent of emotional pain, which is superior to what he feels when he’s not on a mission. His moral code before Obito is thus: the Shinobi Rules are Law, and following that strictly kept him content, because he knew that was Good.

Indeed, had Obito not died as he did, Kakashi would have placidly continued being a phenomenal rule-following shinobi. He would have made one HELL of a good ROOT agent, likely succeeded Danzo and carried on being the epitome of the darkness of a shinobi without batting an eyelid. Killing kids, burning people’s livelihoods, sabotaging peace efforts--all Good because I was ordered to and I Am Following The Rules and that is Good. But the fact of the matter is Obito DID die, and told Kakashi that the shinobi rules were Trash because Comrades Are More Important, which shattered Kakashi’s careful rules and order. So, to reduce the anxiety resulting from this loss of structure, Kakashi rearranged his moral code around Obito’s last words and carried on.

Then Obito turns out to be the bad guy. Whoops! A panel later, Kakashi now re-organizes himself to follow Naruto’s ideals instead.

What is consistent across all this? Kakashi, fundamentally, has no idea what is morally good or bad. He is full of anxiety and that anxiety is only relieved by following a set structure, a set of behaviours that can be operationally defined and followed to the letter, behaviors that produce a predictable result. If Kakashi arrives late, people will yell “you’re late!” If Kakashi pulls out his book in public, people will yell “what a weird pervert!” He assumes all these facades because they produce predictable results that comfort him in how predictable they are.

So -- all that psychological preamble aside, would Kakashi make a good Hokage?

From what I've seen (at a glance =_=) in Boruto, he is the one that helps Konoha transition from a technologically deficient village to a highly technological one. The reconstruction efforts are immense, and the city triples in size, but I don't see that many shinobi running around, so presumably the civilian:shinobi ratio has exponentially increased. Interesting to think about. I still don't know how their economy works, lmao, but whatever Kakashi did seemed to have worked and worked quite well. So that’s canon for you.

But, ignoring that sequel, because I really don't care to follow it or incorporate it into my personal headcanon, I think Kakashi would actually make for a pretty lousy Hokage, hahaha.

Kakashi is better suited to be what I’ve now taken to calling the “Shadow Hokage” -- the force behind the "Light" Hokage, as it were. Think about this: he could’ve made a phenomenal ROOT leader. In fact, he was an ANBU commander for quite a while, and he was universally acknowledged as being really good at it, both at completing missions and getting his comrades back alive. What an efficient ninja! His mission success rate combined with his minimal waste of human resources = A++ shinobi, sir!

Why not a “Light Hokage”? Well, beyond Kakashi’s “I never abandon my comrades” speech, he has very few words of wisdom to impart to impressionable youth. He can hardly communicate with fellow shinobi, how the heck do you expect him to communicate with civilians? With the daimyo? Oh, he can do it -- we saw with Yamato and Naruto and the Raikage that he is capable of bowing and talking formally, yadda yadda -- but that is not Kakashi’s strength. Why would you ever force this socially-impaired, languid-as-fuck schizoid disaster into a public, political position??? Dear lord.

He’s better suited to sticking to the shadows, imo. He can and has made the tough decisions, the cold, heartless, friend-killer decisions for the good of Konoha, even having Obito’s code eating away at him. But squatting with baby Academy students and accepting flower crowns a-la Hiruzen is just...not a thing I can see him doing for years and years with enough feeling to convince anyone he means it. He was -- quite objectively, I’d argue -- a spectacularly BAD jonin-sensei when it was just three little kids looking up to him. Imagine an entire village of children looking up to this guy, their new Cult Of Personality To Aspire To. Rip kids.

I’d much rather have Kakashi as someone below the Hokage, who takes orders from someone who wants to change the shinobi system. Have Kakashi take up the mantle of jonin-commander, if ROOT is no longer a thing. Use his keen intelligence to suggest strategies on how to allocate resources, which people to recruit and which to discard, where everyone’s skills are best suited for, what areas need improvement, etc.

Finally, please give him therapy dogs and an enthusiastic man in a wheelchair so he can ultimately retire in peace ;//u//;

[if-only-we-could-read-it]

( @ava-burton-writing you mentioned wanting to know more about my oc’s, so I hope you don’t mind me tagging you in this!)

It’s occurred to me (or, rather, it did occur to me, twelve days ago, when I started writing this post) that aside from a few responses to asks, I haven’t actually explained what prov is, or who anyone in it is. Which, considering I’m a writblr, and I made this blog to talk about my wips and oc’s, literally makes no sense. So here’s a post on Prov:

What is Prov? 

‘Prov’, short for ‘The Provect Gene’, is my current (main) wip. It’s a YA sci-fi set in a ‘post-dystopian’ society with a (large) ensemble cast. 

It’s ‘history’: It’s been building in the back of my brain for so long I can’t actually remember when I first came up with the idea. I do remember making a wattpad and debating uploading it, but instead using the account to read other people’s works and to make notes and write extracts for other works I had planned (including fanfiction). Eventually, some of my friends discovered and decided to write their own books, so I decided to write Prov at the same time. Initially, it was called Psykes, short for Psysimalae (or something like that), for some reason, was written in first person despite being a multipov book, and a lot of the characters were clearly my attempt at just inserting my friends into the book (I didn’t even… change their names…) instead of the half fleshed characters I wanted. It as nothing like what I envisioned and was so badly planned and written that I literally gave up. I tried several times to come back to it and couldn’t because the quality of writing was so poor and there was so many inconsistencies in the story. Considering I could write pretty well at that time, the only thing I could think of is that my desire to get the book written fast/at the same pace as my friends overruled my ability to write. Eventually, after years of continuing to write the story in my mind, I came back to it and started to write it properly. 

Summary (that started off ridiculous and somehow got serious at the end): Once upon a time, there was a very rich, very smart, but not particularly nice, man named Cyrus. After years of theorising and making calculations, he came to the conclusion he could create a superpowered race of people for an army. Because he was the kind of person who wants to make superpowered armies. Through coercion, manipulation, lying, the occasional murder and other generally unethical means, he brought the people he wanted to experiment on into his labs and began testing. The only problem was that these people were teenagers, and teenagers are in that in between stage where they’re full of rebelliousness and ‘fight the system’ urges, and didn’t appreciate being locked up and prodded with needles. Eventually one of them who’d figured out he had powers used them to blow up a large portion of the lab, killing some people but freeing many others. The main problem – or, in Cyrus’ case, consolation – was that most of them had not learnt about their powers in the lab, and therefore didn’t know they existed. This made it easier for Cyrus to recapture them. He also managed to spread the word that they were ‘dangerous individuals’, which, in a world that’s fueled by paranoia, has a major impact. So now the police and government are after them too, which isn’t good for them. 

The book starts approximately one year after these events, when three small groups of the experiments are forced together, only to discover they have powers. Tired of always hiding and running, they decide it’s time they tried to put a stop to Cyrus and his experiments, and convince everyone that they’re not dangerous. This, along with them trying to figure out their powers, and trying to avoid simply getting caught and thrown back into the tests, make life very hard for them. Along the way, they discover more people like them, and more factors than they ever could have imagined, including corruption that goes far beyond what they thought. Loyalties are questioned, families are torn apart and sanity balances on the edge of a knife. After all, what’s the point of morals if only you stick to them?

Characters

Mains:

Isabelle: Has the power to manipulate light. The literal mother of the group, makes sure everyone eats and sleeps and doesn’t get themselves killed. Knows everybody’s secrets but nobody knows hers. Very sarcastic. Just wants to sleep. Original squad. 

Damian*: Can manipulate electricity. Isabelle’s (slightly) younger brother. Kind of an asshole but it’s not intentional. Actually tries to be nice he’s just not used to other people (or their feelings). Very smart. Basically the tactician. Original squad.

Barry: Psychic. Drinks way too much coffee, he’s probably at least 85% caffeine at this point. Hyperactive. Basically the child of the group. Was sick before being taken by Cyptem and missed a lot of schooling. References TV shows a lot. Original squad.  

Calypso: Can manipulate water. Very into fashion. Is willing to die for the aesthetic. Seems like the kind of person who in any other situation would have her life together. Isn’t going to let a small thing like people wanting to kill her hold her back. Original squad. 

Will: Astral projection. The medic of the group. Wanted to be a doctor. Tries his best. Frequently questions how moral it is to hoard medicinal drugs. The most reasonable of the group. Done with everything. Original squad.

Leo: Can manipulate molecules to cause them to freeze or ignite. Makes a lot of bad jokes. Scared most of the time, but would do anything for his friends. Acts like he knows what’s going on but literally never does. Going through an internal identity crisis. Original squad.   

Pyra: Can manipulate her own molecular structure (basically, shapeshift). Smol but could kill you. Took about a million self-defense and fighting lessons. Always ready to fight. Tough exterior, slightly sweeter interior. Original squad.

Beth**: Relationship detection and empathy. Definitely hates you. Virtually unreadable. Good at manipulating people and situations. Thinks she’s the strategist of the team. Pessimistic. Usually right. Smart. Original squad.    

Lara: Can teleport. Badass. Basically saves everyone multiple times. Probably better than you at everything. Slightly paranoid. Would kill a man. Acts like she doesn’t like you but secretly would probably die for you. Doesn’t need a squad.

Chris: Telepath and telekinetic. Lived in a cave for like a year. Tries to be skeptical of people to protect himself but can’t resist helping everyone he meets. Uses obscure plants to treat injuries and illnesses. Book two squad.     

Matt: Molecular immobilisation. Strong. Good at fighting. Pretends to be quiet and grumpy but is actually a sweet heart. Could crush a rock with his hands. Likes hand-to-hand combat. Finds it funny that people are uncomfortable around him. Book two squad.

Seth: Molecular combustion. Matt’s twin. Not as strong as his brother. Very concerned about Matt’s tendency to get into fights. More prone to panicking in situations. The guy who tries to lean on the wall and act cool only to fall through an open doorway. Book two squad.       

Meg: Pain manipulation. Really a nice person but is being manipulated. Starts off hating everyone she meets but warms up to them quickly. Spends a lot of time being used. Doesn’t need anyone else. Technically book two squad, but also doesn’t need a squad.

Cyrus: Can manipulate shadows/darkness. The villain. Spent years trying to prove that superpowers were possible. Loose morals. A good actor. Could probably be a politician with all the lies he makes people believe.           

Wyatt: Shield manipulation. Literally a child. Was put through a lot before he was rescued from Cyptem. Is basically adopted by Isabelle. Generally distrustful of people, but very protective of the people he cares about.

Sides

Melody: Sound manipulation. 100% done. Not as mean as she initially seems. Doesn’t like people trying to control her. Would probably become a politician if she didn’t hate the government so much.           

Alex: None. Is an intern at Cyptem who discovered what was going on. Is willing to help everyone even though they seem crazy. Has no idea what’s going on most of the time. Spends a lot of his time eyerolling.

Paige: Heat manipulation. Isabelle and Damian’s older sister. Has done very questionable things but is still a good person. Cares about her siblings, but doesn’t show it well. Inadvertently causes drama.         

Renee: Illusion manipulation. Also a child. Spends more time in Cyptem than Wyatt. Likes to draw. Hard to explain without spoilers.

Amara: Fear manipulation. Cyrus’s right-hand women. Cold blooded. Willing to apply whatever force is necessary to get the job done – and in this case that involves helping get the kids back in and figure out how to make them more compliant.          

*The spelling of Damian has been a bit iffy through the years. When I initially wrote Prov, my friends asked if I’d spelled it wrong, and implied it wasn’t meant to be spelled the way it should. eventually, I changed the spelling, but I kept getting muddled up between the two. Then I went, ‘screw it, my character, my spelling’ - except I’d forgotten which was the original spelling. So for a while I just alternated between the two before settling on ‘Damian’. 

**Beth’s name has been subject to repeated change. Initially she was called Beth after someone I knew, and didn’t like, but who was part of my friendship group so I felt obliged to include. When I rewrote it, I changed her name along with everyone else’s, and she became Ellie. Except ‘Beth’ always fit her more so I eventually changed it back, before realising that meant I have a ‘Beth’ and a ‘Seth’ - who also have quite a lot of interaction, which is very important to the plot. I put my foot down at changing Seth’s name, so chances are, Beth is going to become Ellie, or some other not-Beth name. 

Tags: Prov tag, Isabelle, Damian/also-Damian, Barry, Calypso, Will, Leo, Pyra, Beth, Lara, Chris, Seth, and Matt. (Some characters have a lot more information in their tags than others, because I’m inconsistent with tagging. Which is going to change from this post on. Meg, Cyrus, Wyatt and the side characters do not yet have tags.)

So, there, finally: my wip and its characters laid out. So now when I talk about it, people will actually know what I’m talking about.

[duhragonball]

Babbling about Comics

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to get back in gear with my plan to read my entire collection of X-Men comics.   I had this big plan to do it in 2015, but I only made it about halfway, which put me around Uncanny X-Men #280 (September 1991).   That’s about 29 years’ worth of comics, though, so my plan was probably unrealistic.

Ever since I reblogged this, I’ve been thinking about how I used to be big into American comic books, but not so much anymore.  One person in that thread jokes about how complicated it is to start reading X-Men and Wolverine, and the thing is, I actually know how to do that, because I spent maybe a week in 2014 obsessively studying the Marvel Chronology Project website to come up with a good reading order.  Honestly, it’s kind of fun, but only because I’m a maniac.  I can’t see how any normal person would even want to bother untangling that mess.  The system was designed for only two kinds of immersion.

1) You bought the comics when they were published, and read them in more or less their intended reading order, because you had no other choice.

2) You’re a maniac like myself, who accumulated all this stuff after the fact and you’re determined to go back and figure out what happened.

Nowadays, it’s a lot easier for a new fan to dig into the past, because so much of Marvel’s back catalog is available in digital format, but it’s still a pretty big paywall when you think about how many X-Men comics they’ve made.   And even if you download torrents, you still have to read the whole thing, and who has time for that?  Generally, Marvel’s marketing strategy has been to try to make the new stories accessible enough for new readers to follow, while only reprinting the older material that’s important or popular.   As a collector and a completist, this always frustrated me, but I think I’ve finally begun to see the wisdom of that approach.

See, the real gateway to a franchise like this is to stick to the greatest hits.  For me, that’s Uncanny X-Men #94-167, which spans 1975-1983.  Then you jump all the way to Wolverine’s solo book, which started in 1988.  The first thirty issues of that are really, really good.   I like the stuff that Larry Hama did with Wolverine later, but it’s not for everyone.  If you want to read a crossover, I’d recommend “X-Tinction Agenda”, since it provides a decent snapshot of where the X-Books were at in 1990.  Now, I’m skipping over a lot of other material from the period, but a lot of it was pretty awful, and the good issues of X-Factor and New Mutants  were kind of inessential.   The point is that you have to sample the best stuff first, then decide if you care enough about the characters to go dumpster diving through the rest of it.   You’ll find some gems, but you have to be willing to put up with some real crap to get at it. 

For example, right now, I’m in the middle of 1992, which was sort of a defining period for the X-Men franchise.   Chris Claremont had ended a 17-year run as the writer, and they were trying to build everything around superstar penciller Jim Lee.  I don’t know what went wrong exactly, but by the end of the year Lee had left to start his own company, and a lot of the X-Men comics from that year have a long list of co-plotters, co-scripters, and guest artists.  The flagship title, X-Men v.2, held up reasonably well, but it’s sister Uncanny X-Men suffered from neglect.  UXM #281 was supposed to herald this bold new era, but instead it just looks like a tire fire, one that continued to burn until #293 at least.   But, those issues are notable because they introduce Lucas Bishop to the franchise. 

I never cared much about Bishop, except that he looks pretty cool, and he had a cool voice in the X-Men cartoon.  Otherwise, I only knew he was a guy from the future with a gun, just like the dozen other future-guys-with-guns in 90′s comics.    But when Bishop was introduced, he hailed from the year 2062, where he’s part of a Judge Dredd-style security force.  Bishop revered the X-Men as legends, but once he meets the real deal he quickly finds out they’re not what he expected.  Bishop sees himself as a peacekeeper, and he’s honored to join the X-Men, but he keeps finding his violent, hair trigger methods at odds with the X-Men’s rigid protocol. 

The thing is, I identify with the guy.   I used to write him off as a knock off of Cable, or one of the other loose-cannon hardcases the X-Men keep recruiting, but they actually found a way to make Bishop stand out from the crowd.   He loves the X-Men in theory,  but he really doesn’t understand what makes them work.  Which is sort of like me trying to read all these comics I only know by reputation.    A lot of of the things fans praise the X-Men for are vastly overrated or completely misrepresented.  The conventional wisdom I always got from the fans was that the X-Men were only great when Claremont wrote them, and then Scott Lobdell took over and Ruined Everything(tm).    The reality (from my perspective) is that Claremont ran out of mojo around Year Eight of his 17-year run, and he was running on fumes from ‘83 to ‘91.  I’ve seen fans carry a torch over what happened to Madelyne Pryor, but as far as I’m concerned Madelyne Pryor’s introduction was when the Claremont run jumped the shark.  Her whole character arc was a no-win scenario and their biggest mistake was in not ending it sooner.  I used to think the X-Men comics of the early 90′s were a creative train-wreck, but somehow it managed to generate Bishop, and that gives me hope. 

Also, there is something oddly comforting about reading these old comics.   Nothing ever really changes with the X-Men.   If a character gets killed, they just come back a few years later.   If a character quits or turns evil, it’ll get reversed later.  The X-Men never really win or lose any battles.  They just sort of show up and fight, and then something else happens and they get distracted by that for several issues.  Last night I read the issue where Forge gets upset because he’s in love with Storm and he hasn’t even gotten five minutes alone with her to rekindle their feelings from 1988.   He awkwardly proposes to her, and she punts, telling him she’ll think about it.   In the very next scene they have together, he leave the mansion before she can even give her answer.  Forge is convinced that Storm doesn’t really love him, and that she’ll never set aside her X-Men career long enough to make time for a serious relationship.   As he slams the door, she mutters “I would have said... yes.”    That’s classic X-Men for you.   All angst, all turmoil, no resolution.   We don’t know if Storm is sincere or not, and Forge won’t even stick around to find out.   Is he right about her, or is he just too afraid of rejection?   Maybe we’ll see in a later issue, but I bet we don’t.   It’s Schrödinger’s ship.   Everything sort of hangs in midair. 

Now, I might have said that this is why I’ve come to prefer anime lately, because the stories are more decisive.   Goku married Chi-Chi and that’s it.    Done.   There’s no hotshot editor trying to split that up or retcon it to clear the way for a fresh pairing.   The real tragedy of Storm is that she’s trapped in Comic Book Time, so she couldn’t have a long term relationship even if she wanted to.    If she had married Forge in 1992 they would have inevitably been divorced a short time later, because Marvel likes to rotate romantic partners around every few years.   Storm actually married the Black Panther later on, but I’m pretty sure that’s over now.   But Goku’s marriage to Chi-Chi is absolute.   I like certainty.   It helps make the characters feel more genuine, and less like imaginary dolls driven by editorial whims and sales charts.

But, having recently finished Revolutionary Girl Utena, I find the X-Men’s open-endedness kind of soothing.   I didn’t get what I wanted from the ending of the Utena TV series.  I’m not sure what I wanted, exactly, but what I got wasn’t completely satisfying.  I may warm up to it later on, or I’ll watch the movie version and see if that’s more to my liking, but that’s pretty much all I’m going to get.   With the X-Men, I’m not particularly invested in the characters, and I have a general knowledge of what happens to them, and that anything that happens to them is mutable and transient.  It takes a lot of the punch out of Forge walking out on Storm, but it’s still decent theatre, and I’m not in the mood for dramatic punch right now.   Utena was like getting dramatically punched by Star Platinum for five pages.   I’d watch one episode and then I’d have to take a break before moving to the next one.    Not everything needs to be like that.  Sometimes it can be Bishop possibly getting Storm on the rebound, only to discover that she’s not as good in bed as the history books said she was.

Nevertheless, I think this is something the comics industry needs to address.  I got fed up with following comics because the new ones are expensive and inconsistently produced, and nothing worthwhile ever happens in them either.  They keep relaunching series with new #1′s, or renumbering them every time they get close to a Big Round Number, so it’s probably even harder to keep the reading order straight than it was twenty or thirty years ago.   So it’s a lot of the same hassles you get from back issues, except my back issues are already bought and paid for, so I might as well waste my time reading them instead of paying for overpriced new stuff.   Their best bet is to introduce new characters, especially female, POC, and LBGT+ characters that are tough to find in the back issue rack, because that’s something novel they can use to draw modern audiences.   Because Thor’s dealt with Ragnarok about a dozen times already, and the X-Men haven’t accomplished anything tangible in 30 years, so eventually no one’s going to fall for the same corny “Nothing Will Ever Be the Same!” gimmick.

[marsnmango]

Things that take me out of fanfiction (as a fanfiction writer)

Aside from the obvious (poor grammar, formatting errors, etc.) these are a few of the things that make me pause and reconsider whether or not I really want to continue reading the thing that I am reading. 

Mis-characterizations; it’s impossible to know with 100% certainty how a character is going to react in all scenarios, but some things are tough to overlook. Characters that are incredibly strong struggling with a weak enemy, for example- that sort of thing can be done, but you’d better set up the context correctly. Or it can throw (me) your reader off. If there’s a reason why your character’s behavior is diverging from what is canonically accurate, explain it! Don’t be afraid to just straight up say it. People (including myself) like to know what they’re in for when they start a fic. 

Inaccuracy. Now it is fiction, so lots of liberties can be taken with this, but if you cannot adequately describe something that your character should know how to do... it’s going to stand out. For example, if your character is a working adult, but you are not, and you do not know how to go to the bank and get cash out of it... Maybe avoid writing that specific scenario. Write around it. Describe it vaguely. 

Politics. You can tackle real issues through writing, if you know how to do it and can do it well. But please, please do not have one character mention [Real world (usually American) political figure] and have everyone else in the scene unanimously agree and rip on that political figure. Unless it’s something completely in-character and reasonable for everyone involved... Even if I agree with everything being said, it’s just annoying. 

Poor/Unrealistic Dialogue. Colloquialism is something that is naturally ingrained in every culture, but please try to keep in mind the differences in a conversation between 2 thirty year olds and 2 teenagers. When I read a story featuring a supposed adult, who speaks as if he is a freshman in high school giving a power point presentation for the first time... it’s. weird

Memes. That’s right, I said memes. I love memelords just as much as the next guy, but unless it’s a story that is very clearly focused on something that would involve that subject matter, I don’t want memes. First of all, fanfiction becomes outdated, fast. A Damn Daniel meme is going to 1. date your story and 2. completely throw me for a loop in your story that is based in Ancient Egypt. The 2 second chuckle from a handful of readers is not worth it. 

Non-existent/Unrealistic Consequences. Problems do not magically go away overnight. In order to avoid leaving any loose ends, list off the primary list of problems that your protagonists are going through. Then when you write the conclusion, double check that it eliminates or addresses each of these problems; whether or not they’re going to persist after the story ends or whatever else the deal might be. If a character struggles with addiction (for example)--make sure the conclusion mentions something about how the character is going to handle (or has handled) this problem. 

Handling tough subject matter lazily. This is tricky for anyone, but if you have never experienced a traumatic situation, but your intention is to portray this situation as realistically as possible... do some research. If it’s a little outside of the realm of reality (parents murdered by shark wolves), research the stages of grief. How people within your protagonist’s age group cope with it and how they don’t, and whether or not your Granted, not all fanfiction strives to be as accurate as possible when it comes to trauma. Some people just genuinely love to torment the hell out of characters they like, and that’s fine- just preface it in the tags or summary. Trigger warnings help as well, that way people know to avoid reading about things that may draw overwhelming or unpleasant feelings. Or a past trauma, worst case scenario. 

Inconsistency. Your dragon-queen alpha wizard raven way had the regeneration ability 3 chapters ago, but now that she lost her hand it’s suddenly the end of the world? If this is the case, there needs to be a reason why it is true this time but wasn’t every other time. You can bend the rules, but make sure there’s a reason (even a ham-fisted one) why they’re being bent. 

Poor/Lazy Characterization. This sort of goes hand-in-hand with inconsistency. If a character is an asshole, who is proudly an asshole and nothing but an asshole... he’s not going to tip his waitress? He’s not going to internally monologue about how the servers work hard and deserve to be paid well, unless he is genuinely a decent person on the inside. Even if the author does this in an attempt to allude to the fact that he is going to become a better person later on, there are better ways to go about it. Your asshole-character would likely be more subtle in his approach, or use misdirection. Throwing a crumpled up $1 bill at a waitress is far more likely and expected of bratty/asshole behavior... “But at least they left a tip?” Not-so-Slow Burns. If you sign up for a slow burn, it might be helpful to focus on the slice-of-life behavior and how the characters gradually get closer throughout. If you rush straight into the romance, it’s not a very slow burn. They don’t generally start feeling doki-doki true love by the third total encounter they’ve ever had in their entire lives. Sometimes, maybe. But handle with care, and keep in mind that people need time to change. If they���re refraining from a relationship or whatever because MC 1 is anti-humanity, your MC isn’t going to become a people-loving pope overnight. A timeskip might help you out there, but it’s risky if it’s unexpected or random. I AM NOT THE FUN POLICE. In the end, even if you borrow the characters- your story is your story. I’ve done almost every single thing on this list, some things more frequently than others depending on the nature of my story. You are allowed to do whatever you want and have as much fun as you want. I’m offering this list mostly to the people who want to receive feedback, because I’ve been there. You’ve finally got your grammar down. You’re working on your vocabulary and formatting and yet..... you still don’t feel any growth or significant change in your audience. It can be frustrating. Making a note of these things and how often you do them will help you to gain a more enthusiastic audience about your work. People like to read fanfiction that feels as though it could stand on its own. This is especially helpful for those fanfiction authors who want to publish their own novels someday.  Also, not all of this falls on the responsibility of the author. If an author consistently updates their tags/summary/notes, etc, then there’s no reason that a reader should walk into a Slow-Burn and expect hasty passionate smut in chapter 2. Or read a story titled “THE GORE OF WAR” and complain about...y’know, gore. Most readers tend to have a pretty good grasp on what the atmosphere of a story is going to by the first paragraph. And the atmosphere may change over time, which is fine! Just keep your readers in mind before your lollipops & sunshine rom-com becomes a last minute zombie apocalypse. Maybe make a note of that in the notes; give people a chance to bail, and trust me, you want them to bail. 1 more hit on your work isn’t worth the 3-paged flame you’re about to receive.  Above all, just have fun and keep writing. The more you write and the more willing you are to constantly adapt to feedback/growth, the better your work is going to become! Nobody starts off writing like R.R. Martin. He probably started off with really shitty star trek slash. 

[thisdaynews]

Premier League predictions: Lawro v rapper & Man Utd fan Avelino

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/premier-league-predictions-lawro-v-rapper-man-utd-fan-avelino/

Premier League predictions: Lawro v rapper & Man Utd fan Avelino

Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday but which of these inconsistent sides will come out on top?

“Take away Liverpool, Leicester and Manchester City, and there are a lot of bang-average sides in the Premier League this season,” said BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson.

“People talk about how good Chelsea are ‘on their day’, and say the same about Tottenham or Arsenal too – but they are not having many days.

“All of these sides are being beaten by teams you would not expect to, and sometimes pretty easily.”

Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.

This weekend, he is up againstrapper and Manchester United fan Avelino.

Avelino grew up in Tottenham but fell in love with Manchester United after watching David Beckham and Paul Scholes on TV. “Kevin de Bruyne is the best player in the Premier league – much as I hate to say it. My favourite player cannot be a City player, though, so I am going with Paul Pogba. Why? On his day, he is unstoppable.”

Avelino, whose latest song Higher Power is out now, has been frustrated by United’s up-and-down form this season – and thinks Paul Pogba could help provide the solution.

“Nothing comes as a surprise to me with United this season,” he told BBC Sport. “I have been saying for a while that, in the bigger games, we tend to do all right.

“We just need to figure out a different way of playing because when we are asked to have most of the ball, it is like we don’t know how to break teams down – there are no ideas, it is like we are running into a brick wall.

“The reason Pogba could help fix that problem is because of his inventiveness. He can just pick a pass or do something where he changes a game with one moment.

“He is head and shoulders above the other guys. It is almost like being back in the playground, when one of the older boys would get on the ball. Everything about him is just better.

“I don’t think he can do it on his own, though. We have to build on what we have with him in the team, but we definitely need one or two other players who can do something similar.

“People say he is inconsistent but I think we have to admit United are not one of the best teams in the country right now, and he needs some help.

“Pogba plays with the best of the best for France, but it is not the same for him at United – and when the United team does not perform then it does not seem fair to always say it is his fault.”

Premier League predictions – week 20 Result Lawro Avelino SATURDAY Brighton v Bournemouth x-x 1-2 2-1 Newcastle v Everton x-x 1-1 1-1 Southampton v Crystal Palace x-x 2-0 0-1 Watford v Aston Villa x-x 2-1 2-0 Norwich v Tottenham x-x 0-2 2-1 West Ham v Leicester x-x 1-1 1-2 Burnley v Man Utd x-x 0-2 0-3 SUNDAY Arsenal v Chelsea x-x 1-1 0-2 Liverpool v Wolves x-x 2-0 1-1 Man City v Sheff Utd x-x 3-0 4-2

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth10points. The exact score earns40points.

LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS

All kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless stated.

SATURDAY

Brighton v Bournemouth (12:30 GMT)

Brighton played well in the first half against Tottenham but ended up with nothing to show for it.

That seems to happen quite often with the Seagulls. They are nice to watch but they are not clinical at putting teams away.

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‘Lots of positives’ despite Brighton defeat – Graham Potter

Bournemouth are pretty similar, just more experienced at this level. Cherries striker Callum Wilson is fit again, which is a big boost for them, and it would be just like them to go to Brighton and win.

Lawro’s prediction:1-2

Avelino’s prediction:2-1

Newcastle v Everton

Everton got a good win over Burnley in Carlo Ancelotti’s first game as Toffees boss. They had to wait to make the breakthrough, but they deserved the points.

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Carlo Ancelotti pleased with ‘special’ Everton win

The worst thing Newcastle did in their defeat at Old Trafford was scoring first, because they made Manchester United angry.

However, the Magpies have been in decent form at St James’ Park under Steve Bruce – they have not lost there in the league since Arsenal beat them on the opening weekend.

If they react as a team, like they did after their last heavy loss against Leicester in September, when they responded by winning three and drawing one of their next five games, then they will get something out of this one.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:1-1

Southampton v Crystal Palace

Southampton produced their best performance of the season to completely outplay Chelsea on Thursday.

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Massive performance from every Saints player – Ralph Hasenhuttl

Their results have picked up a lot in the past month, which shows what a good idea it was to back Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl when he was under pressure earlier in the season.

A lot of clubs might have reacted differently after losing 9-0 at home when they were in the bottom three.

Crystal Palace also got a really good result, fighting back from 1-0 down to beat West Ham, especially because the Eagles do not score very many goals.

I am going with another Southampton win here, though. They have the worst home record in the top flight at the moment, but Hasenhuttl has developed a knack of picking the right team to get the job done.

Lawro’s prediction:2-0

Avelino’s prediction:0-1

Watford v Aston Villa

Watford are off the bottom of the table and their improvement continues. They had to work very hard for their point against Sheffield United last time out – but they got it.

The great thing for new Hornets boss Nigel Pearson is that he has come in and got results straight away.

Doing that means he gets a response on the training ground too, because the players think: ‘He knows what he is talking about.’

Aston Villa hung on to beat Norwich but it is a real worry for them that they are conceding so many goals and chances.

It is alarming how open they are, and that is why I am backing the Watford revival to continue.

Lawro’s prediction:2-1

Avelino’s prediction:2-0

Norwich v Tottenham

Norwich made lots of chances in their defeat by Aston Villa but, not for the first time this season, they finished empty handed.

The Canaries will think they can get at Spurs too but, unless they improve defensively, this will probably end up with a familiar outcome for Daniel Farke’s side.

Lawro’s prediction:0-2

Avelino’s prediction:There might be a bit of a shock here. 2-1

West Ham v Leicester (17:30)

I thought Leicester’s tactics were strange in Thursday’s defeat by Liverpool. James Maddison was on the left of midfield but he kept disappearing to come inside and play, because that is what he does.

That left Trent Alexander-Arnold completely free to pile forward down Liverpool’s right. Everyone knows what a threat he is, and I don’t really understand how Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers did not spot what was happening, or try to change things to stop him.

Leicester are now without a win in three league games, and I am not convinced they will get a victory here, either.

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Manuel Pellegrini ‘disappointed’ with manner of West Ham defeat

The pressure is mounting on West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini as his side slide down the table, but they have picked up some decent one-off results along the way and I just have a feeling this will end up in a draw.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:1-2

Burnley v Man Utd (19:45)

Which Manchester United will show up? At the moment, you just don’t know.

As poor as they can be – their defeat by Watford before Christmas, for example – United are very dangerous when they are at it.

This is a tough game to predict, because I also think Burnley will be better than they were when they lost at Goodison Park in their last game.

But if United play well, they will win.

Lawro’s prediction:0-2

Avelino’s prediction:I have been buzzing off United striker Mason Greenwood since before the season started. He is unreal.

I speak to some of the people at United and, even in the summer, his name was buzzing.

He was the talk of the club, with people expecting big things from him, so I started looking into him and saw this young guy who is two-footed and has got ice in his veins with his finishing. He has got a lot of work to do, but you can see what everyone is talking about – he is just so dangerous.

I love seeing talented young players but what sticks out for me is if I can identify character and temperament too.

If I could pick one player for United to sign in January, it would be Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. He is quick, dynamic and young, and he is creative and hungry for success too.

He would be able to handle the pressure of playing for United too – obviously talent is the first thing you need but to be a success at big clubs you need the right mentality too, and he showed that by going to Germany and becoming a key player for his team.

As for the game? It is a tough one but we are going to go there and absolutely pulverise them. Pogba will be back in the side too. 0-3

SUNDAY

Arsenal v Chelsea (14:00)

This is Mikel Arteta’s first home game as Arsenal boss, and I am sure that will give everyone a bit of a lift.

But I just don’t trust the Gunners defensively – you can’t, because it is still the same players, regardless of who is in charge.

Chelsea are so inconsistent at the moment too. I watched their defeat by Southampton last time out and, as frustrating as they were in that game, I would not be surprised if they played much better here.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:Willian looked like Lionel Messi when Chelsea beat Tottenham last week. I am a big, big fan of the Blues right now, and their manager Frank Lampard.

Chelsea are a young team so they are going to have some weeks where things do not go so well for them, but it is exciting to see a lot of young English players get their chance. 0-2

Liverpool v Wolves (16:30)

The number of chances Liverpool have created in the first five minutes of their past two league games is just frightening.

What Jurgen Klopp’s side are doing slightly differently now is they keep hitting these long balls, from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, and they are so accurate.

It is so difficult for teams to try to stop them, because they don’t really know what is coming.

It just means Liverpool keep getting behind defences, and not just from interplay in the opposition half – they can hurt you from distance now too.

That is what whoever they are up against has to contend with, and I think they will cause real problems for Wolves – who will have had a day’s less rest than them before playing it too.

Lawro’s prediction:2-0

Avelino’s prediction:I love watching Wolves. They are good defensively and they are a good counter-attacking team, and I think they can come away with a point. 1-1

Man City v Sheff Utd (18:00)

Sheffield United have not been beaten in any of their nine away league games so far, but this is by far and away their toughest assignment to date.

If City play anywhere near as well as we know they can, they will have too much firepower for the Blades.

I am not expecting United to make life easy for them, because they will be solid and well organised, and they are a clever side.

But the teams who have beaten City at Etihad Stadium this season – Wolves and Manchester United – undid them using absolute pace, and Chris Wilder’s side do not have that in their attack.

Lawro’s prediction:3-0

Avelino’s prediction:To beat City at the Etihad like Wolves and Manchester United did, you pretty much have to play the perfect game.

As great as Sheffield United have been this season, I think City will have too much for them. Kevin de Bruyne is playing like an alien at the moment, and is the best player in the Premier League without a doubt. 4-2

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last week?

From the festive Premier League matches on 26 and 27 December, Lawro got five correct results with no exact scores from 10 games for a total of50 points.

He was beaten by singer-songwriter Richard Hawley who got four correct results, but with one exact score, for a total of70 points.

+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO’S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION TEAM P W D L PTS +/- 1 Man City 19 18 0 1 54 +2 2 Liverpool 18 16 2 0 50 -1 3 Tottenham 19 14 4 1 46 +2 4 Chelsea 19 13 3 3 42 0 5 Arsenal 19 10 5 4 35 +6 6 Man Utd 19 9 5 5 32 +1 7 Leicester 19 9 4 6 31 -5 8 Aston Villa 19 7 4 8 25 +10 =9 Burnley 19 7 3 9 24 +3 =9 Watford 19 7 3 9 24 +10 =11 Everton 19 6 5 8 23 +2 =11 West Ham 18 7 2 9 23 +6 =11 Wolves 19 7 2 10 23 -6 14 Bournemouth 19 6 2 11 20 +2 15 Newcastle 19 6 1 12 19 -5 16 Brighton 19 5 2 12 17 -1 17 Southampton 19 4 3 12 15 -3 =18 Crystal Palace 19 3 5 11 14 -9 =18 Sheff Utd 19 4 2 13 14 -12 20 Norwich 19 0 7 12 7 0

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20

Score Guest leaderboard 160 Gabriel Luna 140 Arnold Schwarzenegger 100 Adam Peaty 90 Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Bobby Seagull, Geraint Thomas 80 Andy Murray, Stephen Graham 77 Lawro (average after 19 weeks) 70 David Baddiel, Richard Hawley, Michael Johnson, Craig Mitch, Alex Scott 60 Sonny Bill Williams, Serge from Kasabian, Stefan Ratchford 50 Chelcee Grimes, Reece Parkinson, Sam Warburton 40 Stephen Fry, Neil Jones, Tommy O’Dell 30 Seth Rollins

Total scores after week 19 Lawro 1,470 Guests 1,320

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[sammgreer]

For Honor - Review

Competitive multiplayer isn't usually my thing. When For Honor was initially announced, I couldn't have been more disinterested. Despite the enthusiastic presence of Jason VandenBerghe on stage, For Honor seemed like a terminally dumb and dull idea for a videogame. Vikings versus knights versus samurai is such a childish, macho premise that it couldn't help but turn me away.

Yet in the intervening time between then and now, my interest was piqued. I'd spent more time with Dark Souls you see, especially the third game and had found myself now engaged with the online component. The competitive side had initially been off-putting, a wrinkle in an otherwise stellar game but over time, through exposure I became enthralled. I got good at it. I sought out foes, for tense duels and long drawn out skirmishes.

So with a competitive side mustered in me, For Honor began to look different. I began to see the nuance in its combat, in its design. Those tense duels, encompassing dexterity and cunning, that had been the source of much joy for me in Dark Souls looked awfully familiar in my glimpses of For Honor.

Did it live up to my expectations? Most certainly. For Honor is exactly what's been marketed. A multiplayer focused medieval melee basher. You pick a faction for the over-arching meta game, with victories and losses contributing to their position on the map. Though no matter what faction you choose, the game allows you to pick any class. With your chosen hero you can enter a few games modes though the main ones are Dominion, a control the points affair and the duels, both 1v1 and 2v2 brawls.

And that's it pretty much. There's oodles of customisation, which is nice provided you're into tinkering with every inch of costume rather than the person underneath. Unlocks that offer minor tweaks to stats. But that's it, emphasis placed squarely on what For Honor does most and best; combat.

Boy does For Honor do combat well. The underlying system is deceptively simple. A rock, papers, scissors design in which you lock onto an opponent and are then choosing between three directional stances, determining from where you attack and from where you can block. There are numerous nuances to how this works in practice and complications are made by the draining of stamina, of combos and trick moves.  

Having that simple foundation however, gives For Honor's combat a clarity that makes it approachable and easy to follow even in the heat of the moment. It's telling that even as you improve, fundamentally, everything boils down to those stances. Great players are patient and seem almost inactive, favouring single attacks and saving their flurry of combos for just the right moment. Those who aim to button mash will find themselves swiftly defeated.

The presentation deserves praise here because whilst the visuals are pleasing, it's the animation that gives heft to every swing and also communicates important information. You can spot feints, the winding up before an attack. Keeping this information clear and consistent across twelve different characters, each with their own movesets and styles, is no small feat and the game couldn't possibly work as well as it does without such stellar end result.

Of the modes, Dominion puts you in a team with the objective of capturing points. It's not a novel mode by any stretch but it doesn't have to be, the combat remains the draw and For Honor does little to get in the way. There are environmental hazards, traps and ledges with players also able to perform drop attacks for an instant kill but these simply spice things up. Solid level design ensures that with open ground and tight funnels, it always places you in spaces that each require a different approach, with your class determining where exactly you want to be.

Here For Honor is a chaotic frenzy but exhilarating. Mad feats occur, with you impossibly holding off the entire enemy team whilst you await your teammates to respawn or rescuing a friend by booting an enemy off a ledge from behind. Really this mode will be best enjoyed with a group of friends, the moments produced in the chaos always better shared. There's plenty of appeal here but for some it might be too much mayhem.

As such For Honor is really at its best when its one on one and the duel mode is precisely that. Best of three out of five rounds, nothing but you and your opponent. A variety of maps come with their unique hazards but overall, this boils down to simply how much you've mastered the game. It's as thrilling as any competitive game can hope to be, relying on what's going on in the minds of the players as much as what's happening on screen. Second guessing each strike, trying to divine your enemy's approach whilst concealing yours.

In competitive videogames, with the most popular examples being shooters like Call of Duty, Ubisoft investing in something that's grounded in a slow pace, with little room for twitchy trigger finger, is a surprise. There's little concession made here, save for a robust practice suite. For Honor is unashamedly what it is, through and through.

And what if you're not competitive, is For Honor worth buying for the single player or co-operative options? Not really. Whilst the single player campaign is better than it has any right to be, its best moments offering unique set pieces and some tough bosses, it's not nearly robust enough to justify a purchase in its own right. You can play against bots with friends or strangers if you'd prefer, there's no need to take on other players but without the element of human surprise, I doubt For Honor would offer much longevity.

No, For Honor is what it has been marketed as. A competitive multiplayer game that sits somewhere between Dark Souls, Dynasty Warriors and Nidhogg. If there any complaints in that regard, it's the inconsistency of the matchmaking. Mostly it works as intended but those niggles do crop up, interruptions mid match or overly long periods stuck in a lobby, waiting for players despite the bustling population. Not a deal breaker but an unwelcome issue regardless.

The most pleasant surprise is the tone of the thing. For all the premise sounds like nothing more than an energy drink fueled teenage boy's fantasy, it is instead a bit more reserved. There's no gloating over mauled enemies or reveling in gory feats and in fact the main villain is vilified precisely because of their lust for violence. It isn't deep or insightful at all but neither is it the indulgent, sickeningly violent bluster it could so easily have been.

The single player has a pleasingly gender diverse cast too, with players even able to choose the main hero's gender in each campaign. Whilst certain classes in the multiplayer are locked into being male, so too are others locked into being female, with no chain mail bikinis or other nonsense to separate them. It's a daft idea, these historically disparate factions fighting it out but it's delivered with sincerity, aiming to be as welcoming and respectful as possible.

Another huge surprise is finding a fair number of players are not only friendly but also helpful. Several times I've had apologies for being kicked off a ledge, players genuinely ashamed to defeat you in a “cheap” fashion. I've had players offer me advice and I've seen competitors helping train each other. One struggling player confessed to me he could not figure out how to beat my class so I spent a few matches, offering him advice and practice till he could at last defeat me. 

It's not always like this, there's plenty of the usual online toxicity to go about but there is also an atmosphere of good sportsmanship, an interest in winning fairly or not at all. The pursuit of mastery is to be shared. I've no idea quite what has facilitated this spirit in the multiplayer but I am grateful to find it.

If you want something to sink your teeth into, to master and compete in, then For Honor is a multiplayer game like scarce few others. It's a niche I enjoy immensely but in spite of For Honor's best efforts, it's not going to be for everyone. 

But if you've been put off by the seemingly macho posturing of the premise or the imagined, lethally competitive community, you might be surprised as I was to find that's not really the case here. It won't be welcoming in every match but there is room for newcomers, more than might be expected of such a game. 

As For Honor's community evolves, I just hope that space for new players is not abandoned as the pro's take flight. If Ubisoft can also introduce some more complex modes that enhance the core combat, then it could become a very special game indeed.

For Honor is something I'll keep coming back to for those duels. Eager to learn a little more each time, improve by just a little bit. For me.

[sportsmaniausa0]

Ranking The NFL Quarterbacks

With the NFL season quickly drawing close, I figured it'd be a terrific time to interrupt down and examine the top 32 beginning quarterbacks in the league. And what higher manner to accomplish that than thru a list.

Now just for rationalization, I'm ranking the beginning quarterbacks of every team with some exceptions. I will still encompass injured gamers like Josh Freeman and Donovan McNabb notwithstanding the reality that both might not be capable of play in Week 1. Sam Bradford can also be in this list because we all understand that, at very least, he might be the starter in some unspecified time in the future this yr.

So here we go:

#32: Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson - Arizona Cardinals: While we look forward to the Cardinals' choice of who might be the beginning quarterback come week 1, in my view, it doesn't definitely depend. Matt Leinart performs in slow movement while Derek Anderson is set as erratic because it receives on the quarterback function. Whoever finally ends up below center for this team is a big drop off from Kurt Warner and deserves to be ranked 32nd out of the 32 starting quarterbacks.

#31: Alex Smith - San Francisco 49ers: The former number one average pick out has dealt with lots for the duration of his time in San Fran - injuries, demotions, several offensive coordinators, and a excessive loss of expertise in his personal body. While he does make the occasional extremely good throw, it isn't always sufficient for me to put him in the pinnacle 30. CAN'T DO IT!!!

#30: Matt Moore - Carolina Panthers: The Panthers appear to be biding their time with Matt Moore till they sense secure playing Jimmy Clausen. They would not have drafted Clausen with their first choose (even though it was inside the middle of the second round) if they weren't making plans on giving Clausen the keys to the car as soon as he's prepared to drive. Moore would not sincerely stand out in any way. He's were given okay arm power, ok accuracy, k coverage reputation talents and so on...But he isn't always the Panthers' lengthy-term answer at NFL quarterback. Clausen is.

#29: Trent Edwards - Buffalo Bills: Trent Edwards hasn't been the model of consistency thus far in his NFL career. However, he does have some fantastic traits. Namely, he has a compact shipping and throws a pleasant long ball (he throws it high so it drops into the receiver's arms at an perspective that is very tough for the DB to get to). However, he doesn't appear to have the potential to find the open receiver if his primary read is included. You can just see it when you watch him on Sundays. If he is not prepared to throw the ball at the pinnacle of his drop and there's any indecision, he starts offevolved to panic (the top of a QB's drop is while the primary read receiver have to be popping out of his wreck). This in the end receives him in problem on way too many events.

#28: Josh Freeman - Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman indicates loads of potential as a young QB. He has a exceedingly strong arm, and fantastically, he has some ability to make plays outside the pocket while the play breaks down. But just like many younger quarterbacks, his coverage reputation and choice-making each want to be quicker. If he can enhance this part of his sport significantly in 2010, you could find him cracking the top 20 quarterbacks via the quit of this season.

#27: Kevin Kolb - Philadelphia Eagles: Kolb has some big shoes to fill this year. He isn't always the maximum bodily gifted QB in the league, but closing season he showed glimpses of being capable of characteristic at a very excessive degree within the framework of an offense that has lots of guns. This isn't always as easy as it sounds. There is a positive degree of timing you need to have as a quarterback, even whilst you are surrounded by a ton of talent. Last year, Kolb showed that he has that form of timing to his recreation. Now he simply needs to put a shaky preseason behind him.

#26: Jake Delhomme - Cleveland Browns: If not for his erratic play, Delhomme might be higher on this listing. He does truly have skills and he's shown the ability to make a few tremendous throws into small windows throughout the route of his career. There is lots of Brett Favre in his recreation. The awful element is, he is like the Brett Favre with all of the bonehead throws and handiest a fifth of the amazing throws. John Madden is extraordinarily disappointed that I just stated Delhomme and Favre inside the same sentence.

#25: Sam Bradford - St. Louis Rams: If you're a Rams fan, you need to be happy with what Bradford confirmed this past week towards the Patriots. He appeared extraordinarily calm inside the pocket, which is fantastic considering how bad his O-line has been. His accuracy stood out and his arm looked pretty strong.

#24: Matt Cassel - Kansas City Chiefs: Expect Cassel to be exceeded by Bradford because the 12 months progresses. Cassel is the epitome of a machine quarterback. He desires a whole lot of expertise around him because his usual quarterbacking abilties are just excellent and no longer high-quality. Isn't it funny to look returned to the 2008 season when many enthusiasts and Boston media-kinds in which seeking to argue that the Patriots have to change Brady inside the low season and signal Cassel to a long-time period deal. Haha, conventional.

#23: Mark Sanchez - New York Jets: Jets fans anywhere are outraged! They are screaming at their computers proper now and cursing my name for putting Mark Sanchez so low. But what can I say? Despite something potential Sanchez may or might not have, proper now he isn't always an amazing NFL quarterback. This does not suggest he may not be a very good quarterback within the future. But let's accept it, it is no longer like he has a cannon. It's no longer like he dazzles us along with his accuracy, insurance recognition, or poise on a week-in week-out basis. He's were given a variety of paintings to do. The desirable news is that it can not get any worse for Sanchez than it has been this preseason.

#22: David Garrard - Jacksonville Jaguars: Garrard keeps to play at a particularly high level for the Jaguars. He has been a rock for this organisation for the previous few years. To be pretty honest with you, Garrard throws a genuinely satisfactory ball and may be very accurate. His large issue is that he's late with loads of his throws, and consequently, the timing between he and his receivers is off on too many plays. Better coverage reputation and anticipation competencies should have Garrard playing at a much better degree.

#21: Kyle Orton - Denver Broncos: Orton is physically constrained as a passer. However, he is still a consistent quarterback. He won't make a ton of mistakes and he'll work inside the design of the offense, however he can have a tendency to be a touch slow doing away with the ball at instances. In the quit, Orton is a constant field fashionable who might not lose many games to your crew. The trouble is he may not win many video games in your crew either.

#20: Jason Campbell - Oakland Raiders: Campbell does have a sturdy arm, and whilst matters are clicking round him, he has the capability to make a protection pay. However, the inconsistencies in his sport are not just related to the players and offensive coordinators he's had around him. They are extra related to his troubles locking onto receivers and taking too long to eliminate the ball. A faster pace to his sport might bump him up some notches on this list.

#19: Matt Hasselbeck - Seattle Seahawks: When he is playing well, Hasselbeck is a laugh to watch. He's accurate, he'll throw the ball from all angles, and he does anything and the whole thing he can to control the protection. Arm energy has in reality been the simplest factor lacking from his repertoire at some point of his profession. However, a vulnerable arm is a problem for a quarterback. It leaves less margin for error. More things round you have to pass flawlessly which will be effective. I believe the perception that you do not need a wonderful arm to be a first-rate quarterback. But you better be damn good at the entirety else to make up for what you lack in arm strength. Hasselbeck is ideal at the whole thing else, but he isn't always THAT good.

#18: Vince Young - Tennessee Titans: A lot of humans available probably think there may be no way 17 quarterbacks in the NFL are higher than Vince Young. But those people are in all likelihood lending more weight to Young's walking talents and his overall performance against USC in the National Championship sport than they're to his pocket passing competencies. Always recall, the most important factor for a quarterback is his potential to throw the ball from the pocket. Why do so many analysts and experts have a look at a player's strolling capacity to determine whether or not he is a good quarterback? Generally, if you can't throw the ball, you're going to have issues playing the placement; troubles that walking around the sector in circles may not clear up. I will say that Young has advanced his capability to throw the ball from the pocket inside the final year or so. But ultimately, he nevertheless wishes to get A LOT higher at playing the location the right manner - the regular manner. Mobility outside of the pocket can give you an part over other mediocre passers, but it may not get you into the upper echelon of the NFL quarterback ranks.

#17: Chad Henne - Miami Dolphins: If you've got watched Henne this preseason, you have visible how comfortable he looks hanging within the pocket and finding the open receiver. His anticipation skills are solid and he has sufficient arm electricity to make all the necessary throws. He'll have some united states of americaand downs this 12 months as all young quarterbacks do, however in the long run, this guy has the tools to be a excellent QB and a rock for the Dolphins Organization for the next ten years.

#sixteen: Matt Ryan - Atlanta Falcons: Ryan is the kind of quarterback who does the entirety the right manner. He has true pocket presence, he is correct, and he is aware of where to go together with the ball for the most component. Last year, we noticed a piece of a regression for Ryan. He battled injuries, and Atlanta's walking game was nowhere close to as effective as it changed into in 2008. Yet with  seasons of experience and studying now beneath his belt, count on Ryan to look a bit bit greater like a seasoned vet in 2010.

#15: Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens: The general consensus on Joe Flacco is that he had a down sophomore 12 months after a brilliant rookie season. I disagree absolutely with this sentiment. If you bear in mind, Flacco had some good moments his rookie season, however via and huge, he rode the coattails of the rest of his group. Last 12 months, he not only confirmed signs of being capable of manipulate an offense, however he also confirmed that he has the capability to create a ton of huge plays. He's tall, calm in the pocket, has a wonderful arm, and throws the ball to the outside as well as any quarterback in the league. With the addition of Anquan Boldin to the receiving corps this season, I assume Flacco to have a large year.

#14: Matt Schaub - Houston Texans: Schaub is not a bodily talented passer, however he is accurate and a very good anticipator. He reads insurance well, and appears to understand where to go with the ball. Yes he does have a massive, good sized, huge, non-human, and totally unfair weapon in Andre Johnson, however Schaub's four,770 passing yards final season are difficult to argue with.

#13: Matthew Stafford - Detroit Lions: I realize, Stafford threw a whole lot of alternatives closing season, and he is younger, and he's uncooked. So what. This man has titanic talent. He could make throws that best one or  other QB's in the league can make. And if you've been watching him this preseason, it is clean he has taken a massive boom step from his rookie yr. He looks so calm, cozy, and in control. A lot of QB's have expertise. The high-quality ones mix skills with tough paintings and the ability to play the game intelligently. I strongly consider Stafford is on his manner to turning into the form of QB who places it all collectively. It took every ounce of strength in my frame to refrain from putting this man within the top ten. By season's end, I'm confident he will be there.

#12: Tony Romo - Dallas Cowboys: Romo has proven prolonged moments of brilliance, as well as the tendency to disintegrate against exact defenses. He is an accurate passer who receives rid of the ball quick. He has the ability to keep performs alive and find open receivers after the play has broken down (that is extraordinary than being a strolling QB). His largest hassle, even though, is the blitz. He cannot appear to stay inside the pocket against strain. This results in some big performs right here and there when he receives to the outdoor, but it additionally ends in some awful plays and a lack of consistency. If Romo desires to take the plunge to being a exceptional quarterback and now not just a great one, he'll want to be more impregnable in the pocket in opposition to stress.

#11: Eli Manning - New York Giants: You could make the argument that Romo and Eli are interchangeable. But I like Eli's consistency better. He is aware of where to go along with the ball, even in opposition to the blitz. Ultimately, Eli and Romo are comparable in universal ability no matter having specific playing styles. I just sense that with Eli, you recognize what you're going to get. And you could always count on him to be prepared for anything protection he faces.

#10: Donovan McNabb - Washington Redskins: A new uniform shouldn't alternate an excessive amount of about McNabb's game. This is his twelfth yr in the league. At this point, he is who he's, in terms of both the good and the awful. McNabb has as strong of an arm as any QB in the league. We're speakme an absolute cannon. And every so often he breaks out a throw that no different participant inside the league can make. But McNabb's largest problem is that when he makes that exceptional throw, he will fireplace the ball on the walking returned's toes inside the flat at the very subsequent play. McNabb's inconsistencies are heavily rooted in his poor and undisciplined throwing mechanics. But his talent is just too right to keep him out of the pinnacle 10.

#nine: Carson Palmer - Cincinnati Bengals: I love watching Palmer play. The guy is difficult. Not to say he is pretty rattling suitable. He's were given a sturdy arm, accuracy, is aware of what he's doing, and gets rid of the ball on time. Watch intently the subsequent time you notice him on TV. He'll get to the top of his drop and hearth the ball twenty yards downfield to his receiver in stride numerous times a recreation. He genuinely is one of the fine in soccer at playing with timing and rhythm. And this season, he's going to have a ton of expertise round him on both facets of the ball. Could this be the year the Bengals win a Super Bowl?

#8: Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers: Say what you want to about Ben Roethlesomething for his off the sphere troubles. He can hearth that pigskin. He additionally is probably the hardest quarterback within the league to actually carry to the floor. How regularly have we visible him shed more than one 300-pound defenders after which throw an absolute rope thirty yards downfield to a tightly included receiver and still control to healthy the ball in there? The solution, my friend, is lots. Yet what many do not recognise approximately Roethlisberger is that when he performs from within the pocket, he's at his absolute first-class. His run-around plays make for terrific highlights, however they don't translate to steady quarterbacking. For every one awesome play he has outside of the pocket, he has approximately 10 incompletions/interceptions/sacks from fleeing the pocket too early and making it up as he is going along. If he was higher at gambling in the framework of the offense - essentially throwing the ball wherein it's designed to go - together with his physical capabilities, he would be an elite quarterback without query.

#7: Jay Cutler - Chicago Bears: Yes, I have Jay Cutler beforehand of Roethlisberger. Their accuracy is comparable, however Cutler has a piece of an area in arm energy. And maybe I sound like a broken document, but Cutler plays higher from inside the pocket. And if you really need to convey it up, he is also quicker, faster, and extra athletic than Roethlisberger. He just chooses no longer to run as an awful lot. The factor that Cutler doesn't get sufficient credit score for, even though, is his durability in the face of pressure. He can provide the ball downfield with defenders in his face in addition to all of us within the league. He's extremely company in the pocket. Cutler is at his worst when he makes silly selections and throws the ball to nicely-included receivers due to the fact he thinks he can complete any pass at any time. Yes he's inconsistent. But his inconsistencies stem from correctable things. There is not anything wrong with him mechanically or insurance recognition-sensible, and he is as hard as they come at the position. He simply wishes to scale it back with the stupid throws - some thing Brett Favre also had to do as a young'un. I consider a no-nonsense Offensive Coordinator like Mike Martz will help Cutler enhance this location of his sport dramatically.

#6: Philip Rivers - San Diego Chargers: Rivers might also have the ugliest throwing movement on the grounds that Bernie Kosar, however he's accurate, has a robust arm, and does just about the entirety right when it comes to quarterbacking. He also would possibly throw the first-rate long ball in the sport. As I said in component one in every of this three day collection, to throw a terrific long-ball you want to throw it excessive so it drops into the receiver's fingers at an angle this is too difficult for the protecting back to get to. Rivers does this extremely well. And he can throw it a mile. Don't be fooled by way of his Kenny Powers throwing motion.

#5: Brett Favre - Minnesota Vikings: Did anybody capture Favre last week towards the Seahawks? Did you notice some of the throws he made? At age forty, he's nevertheless slinging it as well as any other QB in the league. While it's tough to disclaim that Brett Favre is amusing to observe, I want he'd get more credit score for the reality that he does all of the little things right. He has uncanny anticipation abilties. He has extra special imaginative and prescient and insurance reputation abilities. When he throws interceptions, it's hardly ever because he's fooled, and more so due to the fact he trusts his arm too much. His accuracy is likewise underrated and overshadowed by all of the different flashy things he does. Favre has had an first rate career, manifestly. He need to cross down as effortlessly one of the top 5 quarterbacks of all time.

#four: Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers: Elite. The most effective word you want to recognize to explain Aaron Rodgers. Skill-clever, he has surpassed the forty-12 months antique model of Brett Favre. He can throw the ball a mile. He could make every unmarried form of throw. And his ability to see the sphere and understand defenses has grown exponentially due to the fact his first begin in 2008. Rodgers is the primary motive why the Packers look like the elegance of the NFC in the meanwhile.

#three: Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees is an elite quarterback, however not due to the fact he sooner or later gained a Super Bowl. Nobody is an elite QB entirely for winning a title - in any other case Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Mark Rypien, Jeff Hostetler, and so forth could ought to be categorized as such. Brees is elite due to the fact he is amazingly accurate and does the entirety proper. He also is such a suitable anticipator that he absolutely negates having a poor skip-protective offensive line. He gets rid of the ball so quick that the opposing bypass rush not often has time to take advantage of his blockers up the front.

#2: Tom Brady - New England Patriots: Brady had a down yr in 2009 after getting back from his knee damage. He sported a 96.2 QB score and threw for 4,398 yards, 28 TD's, and most effective 13 INT's...Yeah, Brady became horrible. But don't worry Pats fans. This preseason, Brady seems like he is back to his vintage self (I imply the 2007 version, not the 2009 model this is nevertheless higher than about ninety eight percentage of all quarterbacks). Brady has one of the most powerful arms within the league (a large development from his first few years), pinpoint accuracy, great anticipation, the potential to make any form of throw, and the capacity to read coverage quick. He also has the calmest ft in the pocket of any QB in the league. So get excited, Boston sports lovers. You might not ought to whine and moan about your hapless Red Sox anymore as soon as the NFL season begins, because Tom Brady goes to have a monster 12 months.

#1: Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts: Think of a quarterback ability, any quarterback talent. Chances are, Peyton Manning has it. He can do all of it. He could make each feasible throw and he can do it against any protection, everywhere, any time. But what units Manning apart is not his accuracy, his statistics, or his control of the offense at the road of scrimmage - despite the fact that those matters do set him aside. What separates Manning from the relaxation is how rapid he methods data, how speedy he acknowledges insurance, and then how quick he reacts. Don't be fooled via everybody who tells you Manning isn't the top dog because he would not have sufficient earrings. Peyton is a ways and away the nice QB within the NFL proper now. He might simply be the fine of all time too.

[thegloober]

13 Tackles From Troy Dye Not Enough Against Arizona; Must Stop Run VS UCLA

The Oregon Ducks followed up a tough loss to Washington State with a blowout throttling at the hands of the University of Arizona. Let’s take a look at how our prospects performed.

Justin Herbert, QB

Stats: 24/48, 186 yards passing, 2 TD, 1 INT; 6 carries for 31 yards

Draft Stock: 1st Round

Oh man, it is just getting worse for Justin Herbert and the Oregon Ducks who started so promising. They had the heartbreaking loss to Stanford but then bounced back against Cal and Washington, jumping all the way up to the 12th ranked team in the country. And now, they find themselves towards the bottom of the PAC-12 North. Herbert’s not having any more success throwing the ball. Maybe it’s the loss of freshman offensive lineman Penei Sewell that is taking a toll on the line because Herbert is having a little less time in the pocket, but if you watch the receivers run routes, they’re not creating any separation.

Despite the troubles through the air, Herbert is also not showing the emotional leadership that a guy at his caliber and at his position must show on and off the field. If Herbert doesn’t start taking control of this offense then the Ducks are in trouble the rest of the season.

Grade: C-

The Ducks will finally return home after two straight weeks on the road. We’ve always known the PAC-12 for being a conference that beats up on each other, but if the Ducks don’t show some heart against UCLA (2-6), it will prove the start of this season was a farce. 

UCLA’s defense has been less than stellar, ranking 11th in the PAC-12 in both total and scoring defense. The Bruins biggest issue is stopping the run, but Oregon has been making poor run defenses look good as of late. Herbert should start off by establishing the running game early, and then draw the safeties up with play-action and pump fakes to open up the field. 

Penei Sewell, OG

Draft Stock: Freshman

Out with high ankle sprain. 6 week estimated timetable. 

Jordon Scott, DT

Stats: 1 tackle, 1 solo tackle

Draft Stock: Sophomore

Jordan Scott seems to be becoming less and less of a factor. Against Arizona, he didn’t see an unordinary amount of double teams, so there’s no excuse for him being kept out of the back field as much as he was. Also, Zona didn’t stick to running wide and away from Scott, instead he seemed to be struggling with shedding blockers or reading the design of the plays correctly. Either way, a performance like this against an average Zona team is very disappointing. 

Grade: D

UCLA’s offense has yet to find it’s rhythm all year. They began to look promising after a 0-5 start by back-to-back wins against Cal and Zona, however, they took a step backward again by following up a two-game winning streak with a 41-10 loss last week to Utah. 

Scott must regain his form and find what was working for him earlier in the year. He needs to shed the UCLA blockers to stop the run, UCLA’s biggest offensive weapon. He also must start reading the design of plays correctly again to keep UCLA in check. 

Jalen Jelks, OLB

Stats: 4 tackles, 4 solo tackles, 1 pass deflection

Draft Stock: 3rd Round

Jelks, once again, was somewhat of a non-factor. For an athletic specimen like himself, there’s no way he should be playing this inconsistent. He lined up all over the field Saturday against Zona and should have been able to take advantage over a sub-par offensive line. He had a few good tackles and the one pass deflection, yet he allowed himself to get pushed off his line, allowing the Zona 0-line to open up gaping holes that the Zona backs feasted off of all game. 

Grade: C

UCLA likes to run the ball a lot, I mean duh, it’s a Chip Kelly offense, but it’s mostly because they have struggled with QB injuries all year and haven’t been able to figure things out through the air. 

It’s going to be imperative that Jelks makes himself extremely hard to block. If he stops getting pushed aside so easily, and these holes shrink to the point where he can use his speed and strength to close the gaps, the Ducks will have success against the lowly Bruins. 

Troy Dye, LB

Stats: 13 total tackles, 13 solo tackles, 1 Tackle For Loss

Draft Stock: 4th Round

As typical for Oregon’s defense in these past few weeks, Dye has had to be everywhere. He had 13 tackles in the game against Zona, but what was most disturbing was that they were all solo-tackles, meaning, not only are the Ducks defenders relying on him to bail them out, the defensive line, in particular, is not doing their job and allowing the running backs to get into the second level with ease. 

Also, despite the 13 tackles, Dye missed a few open field tackles and was blocked by o-linemen too often. It’s tough nit-picking a guy who had to, basically, do everything himself, but if the Ducks wanted to be victorious against the Wildcats, then Dye needed to do even more. 

Grade: B

The same thing will apply to Dye as it does for Jelks and Scott. STOP THE RUN! UCLA is not yet able to rely on their passing game to bail them out of games. It is however, good enough to beat a team if the run game is working because that means the Ducks must adjust to it and bring up another defender in the box. Bringing up another defender creates one-on-one matchups on the outside which has plauged the Ducks all year. 

Dye must step up in the holes unblocked and make the tackle within three yards of the line of scrimmage, or the Ducks will be in serious trouble. 

Source: https://bloghyped.com/13-tackles-from-troy-dye-not-enough-against-arizona-must-stop-run-vs-ucla/