#been getting really into shapes recently. you guys hear about triangles? this shit rules

[limesquares]

he’s like a girl to me <3

[felassan]

Thoughts on Dark Fortress #2

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

So late with this one! some stuff irl was keeping me really busy and hyper-distracting me lately, but it’s finally over now so I’m back on my bioware bullshit. :D

Overall there were a lot of beautiful or awe-inspiring scenes in this issue, and a lot of great, meaningful / poignant character interactions and moments between characters. It’s pretty impressive actually how much was able to be packed in. I posted some of my favorite panels here. also omg! the action sequences! the big reveal! the ending!! woww

cool scene-setting, panned out shot of Neromenian and behind it, the Dark Fortress, to immediately pull you back into the world and ‘where we left off’. the combination of ruined dead trees, red lights, lightning and fire/smoke is very atmospheric and hints at what’s ahead

“From this... city, if we can call it that” is a sick burn and reminds you that the Qunari are technologically more advanced than most of the rest of Thedas, from their cannons to their aqueducts

more individually distinct Qunari soldiers, sth I again appreciate

! last issue there were big ‘You haven’t seen the last of Tractus!’ vibes, naturally, but I didn’t expect him to escape by stabbing and killing the Qunari using a chair-leg..!!

the last panel on the first page of Karasten is really good. the way it’s colored, the way it’s lit, the light and shadow, the fiery backdrop, cinders floating, the details of his expression.. 👌 it also makes me think to the possible future, to DA4 when mainland Thedas may be continuing to face the entirety of the Antaam

in Vaea’s acrobatics scene on the bridge, I know rationally that she’ll be fine but couldn’t help but worry for her. again I like how they don’t shy away from showcasing Vaea’s specific abilities. also the attention to detail - you’d think some rocks are just some rocks, but it highlights the risk she’s undertaking that if she falls it’s into rough seas which could dash her against the jagged rocks :’S. Vaea, gooooo!

Fenris’ “Enterprising girl” line has big “Clever girl” meme energy :D

my heart can’t take Fran and Autumn leaning over the edge after Vaea in worry ;; or Aaron looking back in concern over his shoulder ;; or Fran’s tender reassurance ;; or Autumn’s Worried expression ;; the care and bonds which have grown between this group of characters ;;

notice Aaron starts drinking when Vaea’s away from them and they’re beginning to grow worried about her safety. the poor man’s nerves and stress levels

Fran touching the vegetation while she’s considering if she could use her magic to open the entrance from the outside is a nice touch

did Marius leap in front of Fenris and Fran there when the entrance opened?? damn, he’s quick. and the three of them look all scary and formidable here ready for combat. notice how the curve of the door and the spikes that go into the ground, and the composition of this panel, make it look like they’re standing in front of an opened dragon’s maw? ‘teeth’, a rumbling ‘roar’.. some nice foreshadowing here.

the reunion panels are so cute. Autumn’s lil tum as she jumps and Fran and Fenris’ lil smiles of relief and at Autumn’s reaction to seeing Vaea, then a rare happy beam from Aaron.. feel.. the love ;__;

red lighting in the tunnel sets a dangerous, dramatic build-up mood

👀 more info on Fenris’ past, on the specifics of the process which gave him his markings. in the panel where he says that it took a long time, his shadow on the wall behind him reminds me of the shadow of his past that has dogged him for so long :(

Fenris and Marius height difference

discussion of the process shows the power difference between blue and red lyrium. blue lyrium took a long time, red lyrium is almost instant

Autumn is such an intrepid little explorer and alert scout, tail and ears up, head forward. good girl!

“I just... worry about you, my girl”  ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚  I’ll be so sad if these are death flags for Aaron and he doesn’t make it out of here. also note Fran in this panel, who recently had to kill her own father and is still dealing with that, watching the strongly paternal moment between Aaron and Vaea :(

love Vaea’s faith in Aaron and her sense of humor. also I don’t know why, maybe it’s because Vaea met Sebastian, but her “Maker, no!”, although in a completely different and light-hearted context, reminds me of Sebastian’s “Maker nooo!” at the end of DA2 hh

the reference again to Hawke, who Fenris saw haunted by what they tried to do - save their mother - and couldn’t :’(. also with the shadow in this panel, here’s another person struggling with the shadow of his past qq. this is later emphasized again in Aaron when he continues to talk about his past and in the panel is a chain and manacle. smart visual metaphors, a must in the comic medium with limited space

mushroom skull 💀🍄

“It isn’t about what I’ve done. It isn’t about my failures. Or my choices. It’s about their impact” - he’s misty-eyed here as he thinks back to Ostagar.. does this line btw seem almost meta to anyone else btw? :D it feels like a meta reference to the experience of DA players and PCs, who are always having to deal with the impacts of their choices

I wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die” ;;

So Aaron is also a veteran of the Battle of Denerim

reference to the Hero of Ferelden - “Those were someone else’s battles”. I’m being captain obvious here but I can’t help but [heart pitter-patter] at any and all references to the HoF

I like the.. parallel? is that the word? Aaron’s stories were him trying to inspire people to make a change, or him trying to convince himself of that. and now here’s Vaea, inspiring Aaron with her words in these panels. the little guys can make a difference! in the world of Thedas, you don’t need to be a big bombastic hero or a Player Character to have an impact 

lmao Fenris right on cue. the moments of humor/light-heartedness are nice because they break up the tension and are sprinkled throughout without derailing build-up or taking away from dramatic story impact. yknow?

yeah Aaron!! leave it behind. leave it to rot with mr mushroom skull (and hey the mushroom skull was there for a reason). again tho if this is a death flag i 

Fenris straight down to business with the tactics

its cute how close Autumn has been sticking to Fran

Tessa checking in on Fran again, as she did in issue 1

Could Vaea’s “Well, shit” be an homage to Varric? :D they have met

I also wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar”

the poor dragon :’( big dragon the Qunari had in Trespasser vibes

the sword has a really cool design, kind of reminds me of something a samurai might be depicted wielding

👀 lore-drop! so ancient elven arcane warriors used lyrium-infused swords. this seems to confirm the sarcophagus is an ancient elven artifact, no? makes sense, wasn’t it said that the sarcophagus’ design was based on the architecture/outfit-design type elements of a specific faction, and that this was done intentionally? it looks kinda ancient elfy in make, right? also about the lyrium-infused swords of the arcane warriors, well well well.. remember that the Evanuris and the ancient elves mined the bodies of Titans for lyrium, for power and to use as a resource. here’s an example of that use

as I read through this portion I became increasingly concerned for my boy Shirallas.. we really are in it now aren’t we 😭

the Qunari are launching STRAIGHT-UP ROCKETS ohhhh

pretty ‘lightshow’ over the wall in the “Let’s hope the fortress is as secure as Danarius boasted” panel hh

protective older brother Fenris, impish younger sister Vaea. love that dynamic, we love to see it. sheepish and exasperated Fenris is so cute

the Bone Pit dragon fight with Hawke and co reference!

I wonder how long the dragon has been captive here, and how Danarius/Tractus was able to capture it

lore-wise what are the implications here? when Fenris’ ritual was being undertaken, the sword and the sarcophagus were bombarded with magic, fire spells. in this one they aim to have the dragon bombard it with fire-breathing. is it just fire that makes it work/powers it, or is there magic in dragonfire, in dragons? it reminds me of “Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?”

purple color for the dragon’s growling sounds/typeset is a great idea

lets.. goooo!!!!

Marquette is such a nerd. later on when he activates the sarcophagus he has mad scientist vibes

the dramatic reunion face-offs begin!! as the prophecy foretold!!!!1

true to form, Marius DOES have nothing to say ahahaha, even at this, his personal climax. maybe Marius dies in the next issue, but Tessa lives and gets to go back to Charter

these Venatori look almost Star Wars

Shirallas my boyy.. nooo... don’t do it 😭

ah ah ah! try casting magic with no ARMS

Francesca a beacon of blue light and goodness

the splash combat page is masterful. everyone playing a part, so much going on, everything happening at once. a thing that sticks out to me about it is Aaron’s outstretched hand and alarm as he watches Fran fall 

Autumn with her lil hackles raised

“The Venatori have returned” dun dun dunn

goodbye Shirallas 😭😭😭

the composition of the second to last page with triangle/diamond-shaped panels and the framing of dragon wings is awesome

the Dread Wolf rises, “the Tevinter Imperium will rise again”.. on-point on-point cohesion

there he is, the red wraith

Super Saiyan Shirallas

what a note to end an issue on

wow wow wow!!

and separate to the above, some speculation based on the cover of Issue 3: the piece of metal looks like a broken collar coming off Shirallas, like the one there was on the cover of Issue 2 coming off the dragon. also he’s all bulky now with draconic talons/claws (reminds me of in-world legends of Reavers who dug too deep of their own power after drinking dragon blood and whose bodies consequently began to manifest subtle reptilian traits actually). I’ll be interested to see what results of this allusion between Shirallas and the dragon!!

[forbidden-creepypasta]

Dis-Row-Roth, or: Our Vacation Did Not Go As Planned

It was my senior year of college more than a few summers ago, and I wanted to do something special to mark the end of my last semester. I came up with the idea of a camping trip. I'd never been camping before in my life, so why not. I talked my friend Caleb, our friend Matt, and Matt's girlfriend Sarah into going with me. My parents have six acres of coastal land just outside of Lompoc, a small city in California northwest of Santa Barbara, where they stay for the winter. Our campsite was at the edge of a ten-foot crag about 100 yards inland, overlooking the beach and ocean. They had an old truck camper there set up on stilts that we could use. Not exactly roughing it, but hey I never liked tents. Too flimsy. A path runs alongside the cliff edge for a while before gradually winding its way down to the shore. The only downside to the site was having to hike half a mile to reach it. After parking at my parent's house, we strapped as much crap to our backs as we could manage and hoofed it. Our first night there was pretty chilled out. Plenty of drinking, swimming, relaxing. The view was awesome, with the stars and crescent moon twinkling on the ocean. Matt and Sarah had turned in for the night around 3am but Caleb and I, still basking in the glow of a good buzz, waded along the shore. We were discussing our less-than-ambitious plans for after college when we made an unexpected find. “Whoa, is that natural?” he asked. We got closer. They were these crazy drawings someone had made in the wet sand. Nope, definitely not natural. And I'm not talking hearts or smiley faces or anything like that. This shit was intricate. Fancy-looking stars, triangles, cubes, and other shapes I could probably identify if I hadn't flunked geometry, all arranged into a giant symmetrical pattern. The detail was insane. And judging from the super-fine lines in some of the shapes, it was obvious they hadn't just used their finger to draw them. Underneath the pattern were initials: “D.L.I.” A signature? Caleb smirked. I hate it when he smirks. He looks like such a goofy asshole. “What the fuck? Matt or Sarah do this?” He half-drunkenly kicked his feet through the sand, ruining the design. “Hey man, not cool! Someone spent a lot of time on this shit!” Caleb kindly reminded me that if it wasn't any of our doing, then this anonymous “someone” was on my parent's private property. Good point. Good, sobering, point. We decided to head back to the camper. Caleb muttered along the way. “Must've been recent too. Seriously, who does that? Scribbling in the sand with, like, rulers and compasses and shit. Just gonna get washed away...” He trailed off, and stopped walking. When I asked what was up, he asked if I heard music: “Like this faint piping? And bells?” I stopped to listen, but heard only the ocean. He swore there was music coming from somewhere. There was nothing in sight though -- no people, no boats -- to explain it. I told him he was hearing things, and he shrugged it off. “Gone now anyway.” We walked the trail back up to the camper. We wanted to show Matt and Sarah the drawings next morning, but the surf had taken them by then. Matt was curious but Sarah thought we were making it up. That day went by same as the first, except we kept an eye out for any possible trespassers. When night came, things got weird. The four of us were lounging on the beach when Sarah suddenly got real quiet. Normally she's the kind of person who shares every last thought that enters her mind, as it enters, no matter how trivial. A nonstop mental broadcaster. So her silence didn't go unnoticed. Matt nudged her. “Honey?” “Where's that coming from?” Caleb and I looked at each other. “Where's what coming from?” “Those voices.” She cocked her head. “Sounds like 'dis...row...roof.' Or 'roth?' Dis-row-roth?” We're all staring at her like she's crazy when Caleb bolts upright. “There! It's back! The music!” “The fuck are you guys talking about? It's just the ocean. Or the wind or something,” I groaned. “Does the ocean have fucking bells? You hear that too, Sarah? That piping? Hm-hm, hmmm-hmmm.” He hummed out the tune with alternating high and low pitches. But Sarah was lost in concentration, straining to listen for voices nobody else could hear. Finally she stood up, said she wasn't feeling well, and headed back to the camper. Matt shrugged his shoulders and followed after her. “Aaand it's gone again. This is driving me nuts.” Caleb sat back down. Our third and final night there...well fuck. I don't even know how to describe it. We were all cooped up in the camper shortly after the sun had gone down. The three of us guys were playing blackjack on the overhead bed. Sarah was fiddling with her camcorder at the dining table, trying to explain the significance of her phantom sounds. She kept insisting it was one word, Disrowroth, that she'd heard her grandfather say before. Said it was a name from one of his made-up stories he used to tell her at bedtime. She couldn't remember much about the story aside from one phrase connected with it: “His mantle trembles under the horned moon.” “Well thanks Sarah, that clears things up,” said Caleb, flashing his stupid smirk. “I'm going down to the beach. Anybody wanna join me?” Matt and I took him up on the offer but Sarah had a headache and wanted to stay inside. We took a shortcut to the beach by climbing directly down the rock face. It's a pretty easy climb, going down anyway. I jumped the last few feet off the cliff. “Holy Christ, this sand is cold!” Should've brought shoes. We didn't do much. Made a fire, roasted some hotdogs, cracked beers. Then stretched out on the sand, just shooting the breeze. I want to emphasize that none of us were drinking enough to get blackout drunk. That's why the missing time makes no sense. That's why it was such a shock to wake up and feel water lapping at my feet. I looked around. We were still on the shore. To my right, Caleb and Matt were passed out. Sarah had come down from the camper and was furiously shaking them to wake them up. No idea what time it was. Right away, I was hit with this overwhelming sensation of “wrongness.” Everything was wrong. Sarah wasn't talking but I could tell she'd been spooked by something. The look in her eyes and her clenched teeth said it all. My two friends jerked their heads around, confused. Sarah's panic seemed to rub off on us. It was as if we'd woken up from a dream to a surreal nightmare. The ocean had grown louder, almost deafening. The landscape looked gray, glassy, alien. And it was too dark. The others noticed this too. “Where's the moon?” blurted Matt. “Where's the fucking stars and moon?” I looked up to a black void, and stammered something about cloud cover. “What clouds!” he shouted back. Then I heard it, or thought I heard it. Those three syllables, layered on top of the wind: Dis-row-roth. Over and over, like distant chanting. And I swear the roar of the ocean now, the ebb and flow of the crashing waves, had a disturbingly musical quality. Maybe what Sarah and Caleb said earlier was getting to me. Whatever the case, I felt an unconscious, primal urge to leave the shore. As in, caveman-about-to-be-pounced-on-by-sabertooth type of primal. My legs were doing the thinking now, and they were screaming RUN. They got the go-ahead as soon as Sarah pointed toward the water and screamed. Deep, guttural, a scream that peeled my skin. I looked back for only a split second. I don't know what I saw. An undefined, undulating mass -- debris washing ashore maybe? Some kind of fish? Nothing? It doesn't matter. I didn't need to see anything. We all bolted on cue, running from some vague, possibly imagined threat. I remember how the sand sloughed and sighed beneath our feet. It felt sticky, and I tripped constantly. “What?! What are we running from?” yelled Caleb. Sarah shrieked something in reply I couldn't understand. We took the same shortcut back up the cliff. In hindsight I'm not so sure it was much of a shortcut. It's only ten feet, but going up is harder than descending. The rock face bit at our feet and we struggled on the near-vertical slope. Finally we pulled ourselves over the lip and piled into the camper. Not much was said after we'd calmed down a bit. What could we say, really? I almost felt childish, although that sense of “wrongness” lingered. It's hard to describe (and I can't speak for the others), but it's like the beach, the path, the camper -- it was all there just for show, not meant to be used, and we were breaking some unwritten rule simply by being there. You know how people say “someone walked over my grave?” Well in this case, we were the ones doing the walking. Anyway, I'm not sure when the thunder and lightning started. I know it wasn't raining. When I first noticed it, I got the impression it'd been going on for a while already. Caleb had been looking out a window facing the shore when, after a bright flash, he gasped. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” We crowded around him. “Now what?” He told us to wait for another flash of lightning. We did, and in the next burst of light saw a row of murky figures far out on the shore. There were maybe a dozen of them, and they were just standing there. Couldn't make out any details. “Oh shit. Where'd they come from?” squeaked Matt. Sarah retreated to the corner of the bed and tucked her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. I can't tell you how vulnerable I felt, holed up in that little camper at the edge of the cliff. At least it wasn't a tent. We talked over each other: “Are they looking at us?” “Should we leave?” “I can't tell if they're moving.” “Wait for another flash.” With the next few lightning strikes, the figures seemed to have moved closer to the shoreline. Another flash showed they were in the water. We watched as they marched further into the sea in slideshow-like progression. Flash. Water up to their waists. Flash. Water up to their heads. Flash. Then they were gone. They weren't swimming, they walked into the goddamned sea and just disappeared. The storm died out a little later. We stayed awake as long as we could before succumbing to exhaustion, one by one. I was the first to wake up at the crack of, well, about 12:45 in the afternoon actually. The floor was strewn with water, sand, and blood. Guess our feet got shredded pretty good on the cliff. There was no sign of anyone on the beach. We found traces of a few footprints in the process of being washed away, but that's it. Hell, some of them were probably ours. After the hike back to my parent's (we made incredible time, I gotta say), our little ordeal was officially over. Well, almost over. If all that weren't enough, there's one more piece to the story, and this one creeps me out the most. Matt and Sarah broke up a few months later. She'd left a box of her stuff at his place and never bothered picking it up. Among the contents was her camcorder. Never did use the thing. But apparently, that night she was fiddling with it in the camper, she must've pushed the record button at some point without realizing it. For the rest of our trip it sat on the table seat facing the wall, recording until the tape ran out. Matt played back the video for me. Nothing to see, but the audio was all there: the thunder, our shouting, Sarah's whimpering, everything. “What exactly am I listening for?” I asked. “Wait for it...” he said, fast-forwarding the footage. It was only by chance, skimming through the rest of it, that he'd found something else, something while we were all asleep. Matt, Caleb, and I maintain that none of us got up during the night. Matt had even gotten in touch with Sarah again to ask her. She said she was out like a log until waking up with the rest of us. Which means either one of us sleepwalks, or someone came into our camper. Because you can hear the door opening. The door I locked. You can hear someone shuffling around. You can hear...I don't know what the hell it is. Something squishy? And then you hear one of us -- I think it's Caleb -- talking in his sleep. Guess what he's saying? Those three fucking syllables. The magic word that got inside all our heads. And the way he says it. It almost reminds me of backwards speech (he'd later tell me he was having dreams of drowning). The shuffling resumes, the door closes, and it's back to silence until the tape runs out. So there it is. The one time I decide to go camping and it's a total clusterfuck of mystery and terror. Should've gone to Disneyland. *UPDATE: OK, sooo... this is kind of amazing. Good-amazing or bad-amazing, I'm not sure. (ever hear of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?) Before I was prompted to write this whole account down, I tried doing some research to shed some light on Sarah's Disrowroth story. And came up with zilch. BUT, one of my contacts finally emailed me back with a hit! They found a relevant poem in a book of collected poetry called “Near and Dear, Far and Faceless: Favourite Verses.” The book has a copyright of 1956, published by Cresset Press. This could very well be the basis for Sarah's grandfather's story: Paean to the Star-Flung God From far He heard our prayer and came -- 'Twas sweet to ear; Our music, same. To ageless depths they sank, alight And stirred His dreams of Sothic nights. For long the blessings ceased to cease Till mem'ries crumbled piece by piece. Now mist at best to all but few, Our vigil lights the way anew. His tide shall taste the graven call And thirst for more ere back it fall. 'Neath crescent moon His mantle quakes -- Alas, again, what's dead awakes! Disroroth! Luna invictus! Luna invictus! Disroroth! Disroroth! Luna invictus! Luna invictus! Disroroth! Has anyone EVER heard of this name Disroroth before? Please let me know, something's come up and it's very important. Whoa, ghost town in here. If anyone's reading, I'm trying a more conversational tone for this one. Would also like to mention the name Disroroth was actually pulled straight from a dream. Does it have some as yet unrealized significance? Or is it dream-gibberish? Who knoooooows

Credit to: alapanamo

[thesportssoundoff]

Ten incomplete thoughts on UFC 216

Due to work, I missed the main card except for the main event which I managed to get home in time for. Anyways here’s what I got based off of the prelims and the FX card.

1-  Demetrious Johnson is our ugly baby

This is a Jerry Jones-ism so forgive me but I think it fits if you think about it. Have you ever seen a couple that just had a baby---and the baby's ugly? To everyone on the outside, the baby is absolutely hideous looking but to THEM, to those parents, it's the most beautiful thing ever because its THEIR baby. Demetrious Johnson is our ugly baby. For some fight fans and casual consumers, Demetrious Johnson is a midget who has boring fights against limited competition with a weird personality. He lacks a demographic, a definable fanbase by which an organization can capitalize on his gifts. He's destined to be the guy or the man who fight fans have no interest in. His mere PRESENCE on a card or an event signifies skippable to them. He is almost a fan repellant at this point. He is, in many ways, an ugly baby.

But he's our ugly baby. He's the best fighter in the world as of right now. Where as other see boring fights over limited competition; we see dominant performances vs good fighters who would be great in a world where he doesn't exist. Whereas they see the hit but don't get hit style as boring, we see endless activity through a variety of channels designed to minimize risk BUT still promote action. He finishes fights. He challenges himself to be better. His dominant reign has never featured two fights alike and while you can be bored with the dominance, it's still dominance. It's still one man dominating a host of opponents of various shapes, sizes and styles. All of which unique, all of which remind you that what you're seeing is special and what everybody else sees is irrelevant. Who gives a shit if he's an ugly baby, he's YOUR baby.

Mighty Mouse, in a climate where fighting often and fighting consistently on TV isn't really worth as much as it should, will never be respected for what he is. He's our ugly baby; the thing only we can truly appreciate. You just gotta go with it.

2- The Uniqueness of Combat Sports; Good and Bad; was on display.

We begin with the good. The 1 v 1 nature of MMA (and boxing and etc) makes it so much more free flowing as to the how and why we get the matchups. There is no set schedule---so when Derrick Lewis hours before the show can't go? You just get another guy on display! Out comes Walt Harris who had a fight scheduled previously who gets bumped up the card. That's the fun thing about MMA; it's never always laid out to perfection but 9/10, it ends up being just fine. Instead of not getting a Werdum fight, we get Werdum vs Walt Harris on like six hours notice. That's really cool.

And the negative? Well in no other sport would an obvious matchup not happen on account of money. The brackets are what they are, the Yankees and Red Sox don't immediately get to play one another in the ALCS. Who wins is who wins. Tony Ferguson vs Conor McGregor is the fight to make under all categories except for one----which happens to be the biggest one. At the risk of upsetting the Nate Diaz fans, imagine if the Lakers last year took the place of the Spurs to ensure that the NBA would garner the biggest ratings for their playoffs. It'd be stupid---but MMA is a stupid sport sometimes. So we'll sit and wait to determine whether the right title fight will take place or whether the most economical title fight will take place. Either one will do.

3- Mighty should SERIOUSLY think about retiring.

There's a theory that flyweight would've had a better chance of surviving had it not been for Demetrious Johnson, the aforementioned ugly baby of MMA. Let's test that. Mighty Mouse should seriously consider pulling a GSP. Just take off for a while, work on the Fox team/whatever network is next team and provide analysis from a distance. When the opportunity arises for him to come back aka when there's a title fight that makes sense, he should return. Let's see if HE is the problem of it the division itself is a problem.

4- Tony Ferguson is a once in a decade type fighter

No, I don't mean that in the sense that he's a prodigious athlete or some special draw. He's not Conor or Ronda or whomever else has been tabbed with such a label.  I'm talking about a guy who is a fighting freak; one of those fucked up type of guys who has these fights that the average human being couldn't fathom and even pro fighters would try to avoid. He began the third round shouting at Kevin Lee about how this was going to be his round and he legit just marched dude down, ate whatever fire was coming his way, got up from takedowns and then when shit got hairy on the ground, he went elbows into armbar into triangle. Tony Ferguson fights with this unrelenting confidence and this air of inevitability. "At some point, I'm going to get you. And when I do? You aren't going to do shit about it." Ferguson isn't just a great fighter, he's a savage sadistic will breaker. You don't see guys like that come along, not in today's MMA where fans think fighters play it safe more than ever before.

5- Greg Jackson had a bad night.

I didn't see any of the main card fights beyond the main event but this goes to the Duquesnoy and the Ray Borg fight. In the former, it felt like any adjustments after the first round were nil for Duquesnoy. Unorthodox only works when fighters are afraid of it and you execute it with near perfection. The unorthodox offense and footwork of Duquesnoy was figured out pretty quickly by Stamman and the adjustments were....I unno. MAYBE Duquesnoy got some great advice and he just didn't execute on it. His third round was abysmal from start to finish and outside of Stamman nearly giving him the fight by virtue of being an idiot, it was not the performance we expected from a top prospect. As for Ray Borg? WHEN has clinching with Mighty Mouse ever worked. I watched a bushel of Demetrious Johnson fights in a row and pointed out that the clinch is where he excels---so Borg clinched and wrestled. Even if Ray Borg isn't a good striker, you have a better chance of starting something on the feet. Furthermore, you HAVE to tell your fighter to never go for the neck on Mighty Mouse. Everytime he takes guys down, they chase that desperation guillo because he feeds it to them. Every single write up I read involved some form of "Borg chases a guillotine" but that never works. NEVER. The gameplan didn't seem to give Borg a single shot.  Also felt like Lando Vannata engaged far too much vs Bobby Green BUT I'm not gonna hold dude responsible for that.

6- I think Kevin Lee is making a right choice jumping up to 170 lbs

I made the comparison of Gray Maynard for Kevin Lee at 155 lbs. I think that's still apt---but I think Lee going UP in weight is the right idea. Kevin Lee said he weighed 185 lbs or more vs Tony Ferguson and so that gives you an accurate window of what MOST 155 lbers are weighing after rehydration and etc etc etc.  Lee will not be at that big of a size and strength disadvantage vs guys at 170 lbs. Look at how MOST 155ers who have moved up have been able to hold their own vs genuine welterweights. The difference is not that massive and so I figure Lee with better cardio will pop into that top 10 discussion.

7- I need a good reason why there's no 165 and 175 lb divisions

Just curious what the excuses are. I understand it might not curtail weight cuts but it can't hurt for sure. Unless you're going to tell me 185 lbers are going to try to kill themselves to make 175 lbs but if thats a concern, just establish a weight percentage rule. Weigh more than 15% of your intended weight class? Move up or move out! If you're concerned about MMA watering itself down then I mean are you not realizing the quality of talent between 155 lbs and 185 lbs? That's a stupid excuse. The quality of fights will improve because people aren't dying to make weight that intensely. You're at least TRYING something. Two more titles? 99% of you people don't even care who the champ is anyways if he's not a star so how does it impact your ability to enjoy MMA?

8- Brad Tavares is quietly becoming really good.

I've been harsh on Tavares because I feel like he's better than what he's put out recently. Over the past two fights though, he's shown some serious improvements. He's more aggressive while still being his usual composed and patient self. He's got a great jab, he can wrestle with just about anybody. In many ways it felt like he always knew his chin was a little questionable and so he fought to protect that. Recently though it feels like he's more aggressive than usual and that's a good thing. I just think he needs to get that finish which has eluded him so far in the UFC.

9- Magomed Bibulatov losing is a bummer.

Yes yes yes yes. I know. Try to hear me out here for a second will ya? The one thing we keep hearing about guys at 125 lbs is that they're all basically the same guy. The idea that they're all just fighters fighting the most boring guy in the world. Bibulatov had a teensy bit of buzz on him and John Moraga, a dude who at this point is your gatekeeper to the stars, smelted him. Woooof.

10- The Anik, Rogan and Cormier team seemed to have an idea of how to work together.

Don't know if it was the week or whatever the case may be BUT thesse guys were all on their game. Cormier seemed to fit in better and have a better understanding of what he should or should not be calling and their jokes actually seemed to work for once. Most of all, all three guys seemed to be in the zone with very little moments of  "Wow that was stupid!" Good night fo rthis new commentary squad.

[terribleco]

RBL Spot Interview

DIY skateparks have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years. I'm unsure whether it's a response to the growing number of people using skateparks, as people look for a more secluded spot to skate, or whether it's a natural extension of the creativity and freedom of skateboarding - but DIY parks have become a staple part of modern skateboarding. One spot which is thriving in this area is the RBL Spot, at an undisclosed location in Essex. The spot has been growing organically with an impressive level of professional finish and a great selection of obstacles to skate. I spoke to Will, who heads up the effort for the DIY spot, about how it came about, and how building there got him into the middle of a manhunt straight out of Police Interceptors. 

Can you introduce yourself and tell me how long you've been skating for? My name is Will. I started skateboarding in summer of ‘01, aged about 10-11.

What inspired you to start building the RBL Spot? I've wanted to make a street style spot for a while. I tried 6 months before in an underpass which is lit up all night, but had some trouble with the graffiti writers who captured the space first. When I found this spot, I knew it was perfect. It was a BMX spot before, but as they built it out of wood, it all got burnt down by local chav kids - a constant plague to the spot.

What does RBL stand for? RBL means “rubble”. If you follow the hashtag #rubblespot back, you can see the earlier wooden BMX park and the concrete bits they had on the building before it was burnt and then knocked down. It used to be a good spot for graffiti and urban exploration, so the name was pretty set, I just gave it a slight rework.

What was on the site of the RBL Spot before you moved in to build the DIY park and before the BMX spot? It was a sport and social club, with tennis courts, football and bowls pitches. The red tile areas of the spot are where the shower rooms used to be. It had a large function room you could rent out for parties and events. Some of the skaters remember playing football there when they were really young. The club was subject to arson in 2013, and then I believe the building was demolished in 2015.

Did you set out to build the spot because of a lack of decent skateparks nearby, or because you were after something a skatepark can't offer? We have some OK parks locally, but there's something special about DIY spots: a sort of no rules freedom. There are not many DIY's that are all street. We're 20 miles away from Urbside, who have the transition covered! Scooters are a real issue in my local park: It's very small, and I've grown quite tired of waiting for the council and their 2 million pound lottery grant funded upgrade. I've been trying to work with them and local police on this for the last 18 months.

Which famous spots did you take inspiration from when building obstacles at the spot? As far as the inspiration for the obstacles, layout etc - it's all from my love of plaza skating. Early 00s street was the best! Spots like Love Park, Carlsbad and Pier 7 are all hugely influential which is pretty obvious! Also 4 months before we started building, I visited Barcelona. Seeing the locals at Sants inspired me: their style, consistency and love for their spot.

Are there any other DIY parks out there that you use as an ideal benchmark for what you would like RBL to become? I really like the Bodila Project in Barcelona, the guys are super helpful and friendly too. Clemente DIY in Grand Rapids, Michigan is awesome too: kinda raw East Coast vibes. I love all the spots with a real sense of community, which is a big part of what I'm trying to create here.

You mentioned the chavs being a plague on the spot - Has anything super sketchy happened to you down at the spot whilst building or skating? Funny you should mention the chavs – I caught two of them just after the shed at the spot was kicked in for the 2nd time, and one of them ran away without his bike. I kept it hostage for a few hours until he went and got his Mum and Dad to scout it out for him.

By far the most memorable sketchy incident happened on a Sunday night in January. I'd been down there building on my own all day, and except for this crew of mosher kids who hang about near the spot, I'd seen no-one all day. I'm finishing a zoot, waiting to do the final pass on this triangle patch of concrete, when I hear a screech of a car from the top of the hill, and the loudest, clearest voice shouts out “freeze, put your hands up!”. I grab my phone, thinking 'Oh shit, this could be some good content!'. Next thing I know, there's loads of blue lights, sirens, and loud chatter from the road. More old bill turned up, and the whole thing was looking pretty heavy, so I started packing my shit up. 

One of the cars started driving down real slow past me, lights on. They stopped at the bottom of the hill, and they got out with a fucking huge dog, with lights shining over towards me and across the spot. They slowly walked towards where the moshers throw bricks and shit.

At this point, I thought "Fuck this, I'm out - I'm not getting caught up in this and bringing attention to the spot". Touch wood: we have had no trouble from the police, local residents or businesses yet. So I grabbed my stuff and started waddling down the road between a load of police at the top and the parked, flashing police car at the bottom. When I say stuff, I mean a huge backpack, 2 tote bags, a tripod with a video light still on it, a shovel and a sledgehammer. 

FUCKING HELL. I thought you were gonna say the worst thing you encountered was some kids vandalising the spot but that's much crazier than I expected. How I didn't get stopped I don't know, and I never got to the bottom of what happened! 

The spot seems like a real community effort. How many other people have helped with the build? 4 of us started it, but I’ve had probably 20 other people help mix cement, or donate some money on the GoFund. Myself, Wes, Sam, Mark, Daryl (our buddy who came up from London for the build days, bless him), then also big shout outs to Rob and Matt who also helped on the big builds. It's awesome, as Mark and I skated Rob & Matt's DIY warehouse spot in Brentwood about 10 years ago, and now it's gone full circle.

How has the lockdown from COVID-19 affected the build? Dramatically. For starters, Wickes are not selling sand and cement as they're not essential items, so getting materials has been a mission. Fortunately a small family-run builders merchant got me sorted. With the local skateparks officially taped off and police monitoring them, we've had more skaters visit, in small groups luckily. Downside of this is the ground is getting more worn day by day! We've also had more non-skater visitors than ever, with the residents of the local houses nearby all coming over to take a look, and they've all been very supportive when I've spoken to them. I've got to know one guy who heads down there every morning to work out; it's great to see the space being used by everyone.

What have you got planned for the spot in the future? Currently in build is a new 7 stair with a low, long round handrail, and importantly, a BBQ. I've got plans to finish tidying the last bit of the edge and bank down to the lower panel. I'd like to add a long flatbar in the side section. And finally I'd like to extend and join the far end with a bank, making the whole layout a complete L shape, which is a lot of work! We really need to work on a lot of the holes in the floor too, and also dig away at the sides. The more you dig, the more room you have to skate but 95% of the digging has ended being by me! We really need to borrow a digger from the site opposite.

What's the sickest trick to go down at the spot so far? For me, seeing Neil Smith shred it up the other week. He did a nollie heelflip down the gap in a line and nollie heelflip fs crook on the little ledge. Not enough from our lot: we spent more time building than skating last summer, so hopefully this year we’ll enjoy skating it more. This has gotta be the worst one: 

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A post shared by @hallofmeat on Oct 5, 2019 at 11:33am PDT

Other than Neil Smith and Thrasher's Hall Of Meat, have you had many high profile skaters visit the spot, or show interest in it? Nah. Smithy is pretty local. The future of the spot is pretty uncertain so we keep it pretty low key. If you know, you know. But obviously I’d love to see people come shred it up.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a DIY spot? Pick the right spot. Never stop researching, stuff like mix designs, tools, techniques – all knowledge is good. Preparation is everything, it's better to take two days doing it really well than rushing it in 1 and having to fix it half a year later. Invite trustworthy people, and be prepared for everyone to slate what you've built. Everyone has ideas but not many will put the time, money, effort, blood, sweat and tears in!

Anyone you want to thank? @mr_radman for teaching me everything, all the support and encouragement to build the rubble spot, and the many hours he spends behind the camera capturing us all. @wjstringer for all the help and support from day 1, likewise @meerington_ for the many hours of help and all the sick sessions we've had skating recently. Shouts to @kit1 and @redbulluk for showing support for me last year and sending over a pallet of materials.

Big up everyone who's donated and helped out, and come along for a session. Let's hope we can have a few more soon!