#kenobi - 4 hrs

[redbean-nom]

kind of funny that 80% of star wars media released after the sequels has been dedicated to explaining the "somehow" of palpatine's return

[transmccall]

answering the questions from this.

feel free to answer yourself.

~~~

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

severus snape, marty mcfly, stiles stilinski, anakin skywalker, obi-wan kenobi, jonathan byers & michael from the good place + soooo much more.

lighter or matches?

can’t get either to work bc fine motor skills go brrr

do you leave the window open at night?

rarely

which cryptyd being do you believe in?

the real question is do they believe in me /j

what color are your eyes?

very dark brown

why did you do that?

do what??? lmao

hair-ties or scrunchies?

hair ties even tho i don’t use either

how many water bottles are in your room right now?

just the one, it’s reusable

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

it depends on the day

would you slaughter the rich?

just call me robin hood /hj

favorite extracurricular activity?

writing ig??

what kind of day is it?

it’s a thursday lol

when was the last time you ate?

uhh about 4-5 hrs ago

do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

depends if it’s cold or humid but if former-yes

are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

cat dad (of 4) & dog uncle 🥺💜

can you drive?

bout that…

are you farsighted or nearsighted?

nearsighted

what hair products do you use?

uhhh, just shampoo lol. i prefer lush shampoo but i usually end up using typical brands. i don’t like gel in my hair and luckily i have hair that kinda just swoops into place ~

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

i mean sure i’ll do it but my steadiness is crap

do you say soda or pop?

pop

something you’ve kept since childhood?

not my sanity lawl

real answer is childhood stuffies

what type of person are you?

a dork

how do you feel about chilly weather?

love sleeping in the cold but i prefer outside to have a bit of sunshine if it’s chilly so it’s not too cold. fall is my ideal season.

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

looking at the stars?

perfume/body spray or lotion?

lotion bc allergies are so bad with the former

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

usually Gay Moments with loved ones. no i will not elaborate >:)

about how many hours of sleep did you get?

uhhh, good question. prob around 7 hrs but severely interrupted coz insomnia a hoe

do you wear a mask?

depends on setting & how many people are close

how do you like your shower water?

scalding hot !

is there dishes in your room?

nope, one thing i’m good at. bothers me greatly to leave any.

what type of music keeps you grounded?

usually slow melancholy types

do you have a favorite towel?

i have a tiny fluffy soft one that can engulf me and it’s so chefs kiss

the last adventure you’ve been on?

gee i’m not sure what one considers an adventure but the last place i went was visiting my friend rj. before that was travelling to the states, towards the end of last year. by myself for the first time. :)

is there a song you know every word to by heart?

many! even ones i thought i’ve forgotten ages ago

what’s your timezone?

EST (eastern standard time)

how many times have you changed your url?

on this account only a few times but always came back to this url. my old account it had to be over 20 lol oops.

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

lauren :) whose @ i have forgotten oops

a soap bar that smells good?

they all just smell like soap to me ? lol i only ever get the plain ones. but body wash is a diff story.

do you use lip balm?

hardly. i don’t like the texture.

did you have any snacks today?

yeh i had hersheys chocolate !

how do you take your coffee?

usually with caramel creamer

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

lol not proud to say but either reddit or facebook (rn purely for the groups i’m in)

what’s your take on spicy foods?

i can’t handle spicy food but some are good if they are mild and not overpowering.

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

lawl nice try fbi

can you remember what happened yesterday?

uhhh i gamed a lot? had a nap? idk what else. oh ! also had therapy.

favorite holiday film?

elf or christmas with the kranks

what was the last message you sent?

“nice bong” rofl

when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

accidentally did when i was super younger but intentionally i think around 15

can you skip rocks?

no! >:(

can i tag you in random stuff?

always, i love being tagged in things. :)

[merrysithmas]

no peace 19 hrs until kenobi episode 4

[maulthots]

You trying to watch the prequels before the Kenobi premiere? I’m looking for that 4 hr edit of ROTS mixed with TCW for maximum angst and feels, do u know where to find it?

>:)

[victoriareyloficlists]

08/01/2021 Additions to Reylo Work Environment

These fics have been added to the Work Environment list located here.

Boss Relationship

Weighted Warmth by Fayth_Delarosa (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: This was a mistake, a huge one. Maybe she could turn back now. But something keeps her rooted in place, and she hugs the precious parcel closer to her body, dreading the moment ahead of her. Secret. Fucking. Santa.) Car Trouble by dawninthemtn (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 18 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In which Ben is forced to work undercover at one of his dad's shops and meets a lovely mechanic named Rey.) Holy Knot, Batman! by Eskayrobot, Poaxath (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey goes to her coworker's Halloween party as part of a Batman villains group. Ben goes to his cowoker/childhood friend's Halloween party as part of a Justice League group. Rey is Ben's secretary. And Ben and Rey obviously do not like each other. They DON'T! ) keep calm and let HR handle it by hi_raeth (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey managed to go a full year without ever directly interacting with her new CEO, but now it seems like he’s dropping by her office every single week.) The Life You Always Dreamt Of by KyloTrashForever (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Victorian AU, Quick Synopsis: In 19th century London, Rey is a poor street rat desperate for someone to see her as something more. Little does she know that the mysterious and powerful Skywalker heir has set his sights on on her to become his wife, and will do everything in that power to make her his.) The Golden Rule by JJJJ12 (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Never fight with girls. It was Han's golden rule. The only piece of his father's advice that Ben followed. It had been difficult, but not impossible. Until he met Rey.) Say it With Sugar by fettuccine_alfreylo (AO3 2016  Rated E Complete, 20 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is the owner of his family’s small chocolate shop. Rey Kenobi is a talented chocolate maker he hires. They both share the same passion for chocolate. Unfortunately, they share the same kind of anxiety, too.) Bad Publicity by Azuwrite, Cecilia1204, Frog_heart_00, GreyForceUser (ReyandKyloforever), Littlemistake, LostInQueue, MyJediLife, Ohlittlelovely, ReyloBrit, SavingWhatILove, Shestoolazytologin, thoseindarkness (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Niima is the Social Media manager for the actor Ben Solo. She also may be insanely in love with him, and when the size of his assets are challenged, Rey does what she must to defend him.)

Coworkers

Your Pretty Little Heart by Ever-so-reylo (Ever_So_Reylo) (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 15 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Modern day AU in which Ben is an Alpha, Rey is an Omega, and they are way better at having sex than at communicating with each othe) She's My (Work) Wife! by Darth_Malfoy (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben and Rey are platonic coworkers as far as she knows. When Ben introduces himself and Rey to new hire Poe, Ben has a Freudian Slip and refers to Rey as his wife.) Want and Need (I will ruin you and set the stars on fire) by miaxxx (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Kenobi didn’t want an alpha. She was perfectly fine with suppressants and seeing herself through her heats every few months. Until Ben Solo started at the cubical next to her and everything changed.) And a Partridge in a Pear Tree by hearts_0f_kyber (rw_eaden) (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has been getting presents on her desk every day of December. They're wonderful, thoughtful little gifts but there's only one problem: she has no idea who they're from.) Trust Falls by TazWren (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Jackson is a hot-shot sales rep who has no time for processes or for IT. Ben Solo is the head of IT who has no time for Rey's carelessness. Can two people who never see eye-to-eye find common ground? Or, how getting an armful of Ben Solo turns Rey's world on its head. A gift fic for the Thirst Order Gifting Season) Employee Engagement by Celia_and (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The HR survey that Rey takes actually seems more like a list of first date questions. Ben Solo works in HR. Coincidence? ...Maybe.) it's a date by hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen) (AO3 2018  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: It takes Rey approximately half an hour to realize that they’re on a date.) Misprint by JenfysNest (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In which Rey prints the elaborate erotic fiction she writes about her quiet co-worker Ben Solo at work, but he gets to the printer first.) 169 Days by JenfysNest (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: It’s been almost a month since Rey Johnson started as the coordinator for company events at Supremacy Realty. Ben Solo knew she had heard things about him. His reputation always preceded him. Everyone knew to “stay away from Solo.” Rey hasn’t stayed away, though.)

Client Relationship

America's Asshole by monsterleadmehome (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is a critically acclaimed (but widely despised) movie star. Dubbed "America's Asshole" by the press, he has recently finished a stint in an anger management facility after punching his last agent in the face. Rey Niima is a top talent agent and is outraged to find out she has been assigned to be Ben Solo's newest victim. ) Getting Handy by andabatae (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben’s not sure how to flirt with the woman who performs repairs at his apartment complex, so he keeps breaking things in order to see her again. Unfortunately, Rey now thinks he has an anger management problem...) Talk Taxes To Me by here4thereylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben has been Rey’s tax accountant for the last four years. Maybe this is the year they grow a little closer... Rey is finally no longer Ben's client. Whatever could happen???) Love Makes Fools Of Us All by Darkcat18 (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Victorian AU, Quick Synopsis: Poe Dameron and Armitage Hux take their friend Ben Solo to Madam Natal's high end brothel so that he can be rid of his virginity. Ben, though nearly thirty, has no desire to lose his virginity to a whore. When he sees Rey, laundress and cook, he strikes a deal with Madam Natal to spend the night with her. Rey agrees after he offers her a very large sum of money, to be paid directly to her. What neither realize is that this deal will change the course of their lives.) Lightning Strikes Twice by vuas (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Fantasy AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gives up her First-Born to the Demon, Kylo Ren, in return for her Grandfather’s life. The thing is—she doesn’t have one to give. Yet.)

[this-is-not-what-i-expect]

Tag Game

Rules: Answer all 20 questions in this game, then tag 20 people.

I was tagged by @selfproclaimedunicorn and @awkwardbutinwardlyverysassy, thanks loves 😘

1. Name: Yuan Jing/ Robin

2. Nickname: Yuan or Yuan Yuan

3. Zodiac sign: Virgo☀️ / Gemini🌙

4. Height: 167 cm

5. Languages: Chinese, English

6. Nationality: Taiwanese

7. Favorite season: Summer & Autumn

8. Favorite flower: frangipani, blue-eyed mary, skeleton flower

9. Hobbies: painting, writing ( haven't done that for a long time though), hardcore stanning, traveling

10. Favorite colours: lilac, lavender, ultramarine, the color of an evening sky, all shades of green

11. Favorite animals: orcas, beluga, horses, hummingbirds.

12. Favorite fictional characters: where should I start? Bran & Sansa Stark, any version of Sherlock Holmes, Obi wan Kenobi, Maglor, Sauron, Countess Elizabeth from ahs hotel, Father Kim Hae-il, Howl Jenkins Pendragon, Toya Akira, Lady Oscar, Nico Robin, Uchiha Itachi, Virgo Shaka, Sailor Venus, MICKEY MOUSE, Shego from Kim possible, Lightning Mcqueen (at some point of my childhood I was totally obsessed with race car and racers, and I still want to become one tbh) I'm such a nerd oops

13. Coffee tea or hot chocolate: tea thank you

14. Average amount of sleep: ??? 7-8 hrs perhaps

15. Cats or Dogs: nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn--cats. Preferably a white cat, only because I want to live like Sailor Venus.

16. Number of blankets you sleep with: Blankets are for noobs and babies. When you are a pro like me you sleep with two pillows.

17. Dream trip: any place that's much less humid than taiwan

18. Blog established: right after GoT s08e07 aired.

19. Followers: 113

20. Random facts: I hate butterflies. I like snakes. I believe in the existence of angels or any form of higher spiritual beings from major religions, but I'm not a religious person. I'm naturally uncomfortable with the idea of faith or spiritual persuance narrated by a group of people. I've been this way since I was very little and I distaste every religious experience I had especially when I was pressured into it.

Tagging: @sayruq @softmialanna @socialdisaster @softmialanna @the-fatal-impact @mintyhootax

@vxidmary @schnoogles @thedoctorfalls @jim-hopper-superhero @zenzaina @academicequestrian @fifty-shades-ofbrown

[wazafam]

George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels weren’t appreciated in their own time, but contemporary kids loved those movies and they’ve since turned them into cult classics with thousands of YouTube hot takes and a subreddit full of memes. While the exact execution of the trilogy has its fair share of flaws, the storytelling at large deals with some compelling themes.

RELATED: Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy's 5 Most Disappointing (& 5 Most Satisfying) Moments

From seasoned pros like Samuel L. Jackson and Liam Neeson to relative newcomers (at least back then) like Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor, the prequel trilogy was filled with incredible actors. Those actors have starred in plenty of hidden gems over the years.

10 Natalie Portman: Annihilation (2018)

Alex Garland followed up his acclaimed directorial debut Ex Machina with a similarly acclaimed sophomore feature, Annihilation. Part of what killed the movie was the studio getting cold feet about its viability at the box office and selling the international distribution rights to Netflix.

Natalie Portman stars as a scientist who leads a team into “The Shimmer,” a strange extra-terrestrial presence spreading across Earth and mutating all animal and plant life in its path.

9 Liam Neeson: Silence (2016)

Making an instant icon out of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace is just one of Liam Neeson’s many achievements throughout his decades-long career. After becoming a revered dramatic performer with classics like Schindler’s List, Neeson reinvented himself as an action hero in 2008 with Taken.

Neeson has worked with Martin Scorsese a couple of times, including playing a supporting role in his underappreciated religious epic Silence, which stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as a pair of Jesuit priests trying to spread Catholicism in Japan.

8 Keira Knightley: Laggies (2014)

Padmé’s use of decoys gets a little confusing throughout the prequel trilogy. Sometimes, she appears as herself; other times, she uses a decoy. One of those decoys was played by Keira Knightley, who went on to become a huge star with roles in Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean.

In 2014, Knightley starred alongside Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell in the late Lynn Shelton’s romantic comedy gem Laggies.

7 Jimmy Smits: Running Scared (1986)

There are plenty of classic buddy cop movies, from Lethal Weapon to 48 Hrs. to Bad Boys. One of the action subgenre’s most underrated entries is Running Scared, starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Storylines From The Prequel Trilogy That Were Never Paid Off

Bail Organa actor Jimmy Smits made his big-screen debut in this movie in the role of Julio Gonzales. The film is about two streetwise Chicago cops taking on a drug dealer.

6 Rose Byrne: Instant Family (2018)

Rose Byrne only had a small role in the Star Wars prequels as one of Padmé’s closest confidantes, but thanks to hit movies like Bridesmaids and Neighbors, she’s since become a much bigger star.

In 2018, she starred with Mark Wahlberg in Instant Family, the heartwarming story of a couple adopting three siblings and adapting to the sudden change. The movie was inspired by the real-life experiences of director Sean Anders.

5 Joel Edgerton: It Comes At Night (2017)

It was recently announced that Joel Edgerton will reprise his role as the uncle that raised Luke Skywalker in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Edgerton recently starred in writer-director Trey Edward Shults’ hidden horror gem It Comes at Night.

Set during a mysterious pandemic, It Comes at Night is essentially a cautionary tale about mixing households, as a family takes in another family they’re not sure they can trust.

4 Ewan McGregor: Shallow Grave (1994)

Ewan McGregor’s most famous role prior to playing Obi-Wan Kenobi was that of heroin addict Mark Renton in Danny Boyle’s darkly comic classic Trainspotting. But before Trainspotting, McGregor and Boyle collaborated on a different crime comedy, Shallow Grave.

The movie sees three roommates bringing in a fourth tenant and finding him dead with a big bag of cash. Greed promptly pits them all against each other.

3 Terence Stamp: Bowfinger (1999)

Terence Stamp played Palpatine’s immediate predecessor Chancellor Valorum in The Phantom Menace, but since he hated working with greenscreens, he refused to return for Attack of the Clones. The Hollywood satire Bowfinger, directed by Yoda puppeteer Frank Oz, is one of Stamp’s most underrated movies.

RELATED: Star Wars: The 3 Greatest Moments From Each Prequel Movie

Steve Martin stars as an unscrupulous movie producer who decides to make a movie with a major star, played by Eddie Murphy, without his knowledge. This involves secretly shooting around his personal life and casting his dorky twin brother, also played by Murphy.

2 Temuera Morrison: Once Were Warriors (1994)

While Temuera Morrison’s most famous role is undoubtedly clone template Jango Fett, as well as all the clones that were created with his DNA and grown-up Boba on The Mandalorian, his breakout role was in Once Were Warriors.

Morrison gives a powerful performance alongside Rena Owen and Cliff Curtis. The movie chronicles the ups and downs of a Māori family, touching on such serious subjects as alcoholism and domestic violence.

1 Samuel L. Jackson: Jackie Brown (1997)

Quentin Tarantino’s most underrated movie, Jackie Brown, is his only adaptation of previous source material: Elmore Leonard’s crime novel Rum Punch. Being beholden to source material resulted in arguably Tarantino’s most mature film.

Pam Grier stars as a flight attendant who plays a gun runner (Samuel L. Jackson) and the cops against each other with the aim to make off with the loot from an upcoming heist.

NEXT: Star Wars: 10 Ways The Sequels Made The Prequels Look Better

10 Underrated Movies Starring Actors From The Star Wars Prequels from https://ift.tt/2R7MtuA

[chromium-siren]

Pass the happy along! 💛 When you get this reply with 5 things that make you happy and send this to the last 10 people in your notifications 😘

1. Getting Beatles songs stuck in my head 2. Stranger Things 3. Getting drabble prompts 4. When people send in RP memes 5. Cozy socks I tag: @spacegirl-kenobi @porgs-n-ponchos @rinskiroo @bearsofair @first-order-it @first-order-hr

[sirfroggie]

Tagged by @witchersjaskier <3

Name: :)

Nickname: Cain

Zodiac: cancer

Height: 5’7”

Languages: English, some Spanish

Nationality: American

Favorite season: fall

Favorite flower: lavender

Favorite scent: fresh laundry

Favorite color: purple

Favorite animal: butterfly (or crab, or lizard, or snake)

Favorite fictional character: Obi Wan Kenobi

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: hot chocolate

Average sleep: maybe 6 hrs

Dog or cat person: dog

Number of blankets: at least 4 if not more

Dream trip: literally anywhere outside of the US

Blog established: like 4 years ago, I think?

Followers: like 60. Love u all :*

Random fact about me: I sometimes wish I could be a tree instead of a human

Introvert or extrovert: introvert

Place to relax: on the floor with the sun shining on me through the window

Favorite snack: beef jerky

Recent shows: the Witcher, the good place, no tomorrow

Favorite video game: COD zombies

Uhhh I don’t really know who to tag, honestly don’t really know why I was tagged lol :D, but this was fun~

[junker-town]

7 players who could be the difference in the World Series

Getty Images

There are plenty of stars in the 2019 World Series, with Cy Young-laden pitching staffs, a former AL MVP plus two MVP-candidate third basemen this season. But they aren’t alone!

Here are seven impact Washington Nationals and Houston Astros who will enhance your Fall Classic viewing.

Getty Images

Yordan Alvarez

Coming into the postseason, it would have been difficult to envision a scenario where Yordan Alvarez would be considered a liability — he did nothing but mash baseballs over his first 87 games as a big leaguer. If baseball really was just a silly spreadsheet game where the best algorithm always won, then the Astros would have no qualms with sticking with a guy who hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers over just over half-a-season’s worth of work.

However, baseball is a game with a bunch of flawed humans and it almost never goes exactly according to plan. Instead of seeing the 22-year-old slugger continue to hit baseballs hard and often, we’ve seen him languish through a bleak postseason at the plate. Alvarez is only hitting .171/.227/.244 with an astronomical strikeout rate of 43.2 percent over 44 playoff plate appearances. He’s scuffling right now and it’s a testament to just how deep Houston is that they’ve reached this far.

A.J. Hinch isn’t giving up on him for the World Series, though. Alvarez will be starting for the first two games but there’s a question of whether or not he’ll get the start once the series shifts into the NL ballpark. A big breakout night at the plate before the series moves to Washington would make that decision an easy one for Hinch and it would also be a sign that things are going great for the Astros. They’ve already had consistent production at the plate throughout this postseason and if Yordan Alvarez can come alive, that would be huge for Houston’s chances of winning a second World Series in three years.

— Demetrius Bell

Michael Brantley

It’s just nice to have Michael Brantley fully healthy for the postseason, after several star-crossed years in Cleveland.

The talented outfielder finished third in AL MVP voting in 2014, then followed that up with another productive season in 2015. But when the Indians made their World Series run in 2016, Brantley was limited to just 11 games all season because of a shoulder injury — one that required surgery the offseason prior — and he missed the playoffs.

In 2017 he made the all-star team again in a wonderful comeback year, but then he missed 50 games with an ankle injury. He was rushed back to play in the postseason after playing just the final two games of the regular season, then was just 1-for-11 in Cleveland’s ALDS loss. He had ankle surgery after the season.

This year Brantley signed with the Astros, adding depth to an already formidable lineup. He was an all-star for a third straight year after a typically solid Brantley season, hitting .311/.372/.503 with 40 doubles and 22 home runs while providing above average defense in left field.

He made a crucial defensive play in Game 6 of the ALCS, following up a sprawling catch in left field with a strong, accurate throw to first base for a rally-killing double play.

Have a feeling we are going to be watching this for a while. pic.twitter.com/voWjyNaKfv

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2019

Brantley has started all 11 postseason games for Houston this year. He has been relatively quiet offensively, though he homered in the ALDS and hit .304 (7 for 23) in the ALCS. Brantley has also been very selective at the plate, seeing more pitches than anyone else this postseason, averaging 4.30 per plate appearance.

— Eric Stephen

Sean Doolittle

Washington’s bullpen was mostly bad during the regular season, ranking 29th in relief ERA (5.68), ahead of only the execrable 108-loss Orioles. Sean Doolittle was a bright spot though, and shortly after the all-star break stood out with his 2.72 ERA. He allowed only three home runs in his first 44 appearances, but then went through a rough patch, surrendering seven home runs in his next 10 games, more than he allowed in any of his seven previous major league seasons.

That landed Doolittle on the injured list with right knee tendinitis, and after a two-week rest he was refreshed. He allowed all of two runs in eight innings in September, and has allowed two runs in his 7 playoff innings, giving him a 2.35 ERA since his return with 13 strikeouts and two walks. That’s much more in line with his career numbers entering 2019: a 2.83 ERA and 2.40 FIP, the latter ranking ninth among major league relievers.

Daniel Hudson has emerged as the Nationals closer this postseason, but Doolittle saved Game 1 of the NLCS when Hudson was on paternity leave and also got the final three outs to close out the NLDS against the Dodgers. Those two have been the most reliable relievers in the Nationals bullpen, with Doolittle looking a lot like his former self these last two months.

As a bonus, the better the Nationals do, the more likely we are to see Doolittle bust out his lightsaber.

The force is strong with Obi-Sean Kenobi. pic.twitter.com/2vsqvcUjoD

— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2019

— Eric Stephen

Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke has made the postseason in six seasons on four different teams, but this will be his first World Series appearance. And if the Astros are going to succeed, they’re going to need Greinke to pitch more like he does in the regular season than he has in the playoffs.

In 14 postseason starts, Greinke is 3-6 with a 4.44 ERA. Compare that to his career .625 winning percentage and 3.35 ERA and it seems a bit peculiar. It gets a lot more bleak if you remove his postseason appearances with the Dodgers, where he was quite good. In his eight non-Dodgers playoff starts he’s got one win, an ERA of 6.64, and he averages about 11 H/2.5 HR/3.43 BB/ 7.78 SO per nine innings pitched. All of which is starkly worse than his career numbers.

In this postseason alone, he’s allowed 15 hits, five home runs and five walks in 14 innings. He’s also struck out 16, which shows an almost uncanny ability he has to average almost exactly as many hits as he does strike outs.

But, and I feel like this needs to be emphasized, he is actually a very good pitcher in the regular season. I’m not the type of person who believes in “clutch” or “choking” — I feel like those terms imply that a player can control exactly how well they play in the moment and I think that outside of conditioning and practice, that’s just not the case. Especially for pitchers. You can be in excellent shape and be a perennial Cy Young candidate and sometimes, you’re just not going to have control of your pitches.

That said, he was very good in his appearances with the Dodgers in the postseason, so it’s not necessarily a hopeless case. And if he can limit the contact while keeping up the strikeout numbers, he will be a very important factor to Houston’s success in this series.

— Sami Higgins

Getty Images

Yuli Gurriel

So far this season the Astros first baseman is hitting just .209/.239/.302, and in the ALCS he was just 3-for-24 (.125). But look a little closer, and you’ll see Gurriel has been tattooing the ball. Nine of his 20 balls in play against the Yankees were hit 95 mph or harder.

Gurriel hit into outs on balls that, according to Statcast based on how hard and where they were hit, had expected batting averages of .820, .720, .620, .620, .550, .430, .420, and .410. He was robbed by Gio Urshela in Game 2, by Aaron Hicks in Game 3 and Game 4, then by Aaron Judge in Game 5, to name a few.

In the Game 6 clincher, Gurriel finally broke through with a three-run home run in the first inning, followed by a 101-mph single in the eighth. Factor that in with the fact that Gurriel has yet to strike out this postseason in 46 plate appearances, and he sure seems like somebody ready to bust out in a big way.

— Eric Stephen

Howie Kendrick

Howie Kendrick is coming off of an absolute monster series in which he was named National League Division Series MVP at the age of 35. Including him on this list might be a bit obvious, but the Nationals are going to need him to carry that performance into the World series in order to stand a chance against the Monstars Astros.

Washington is the underdog in this matchup, but if players like Kendrick can continue to get on base with regularity, they have proven that they can capitalize on those opportunities, even against top-tier pitching.

It was Kendrick’s grand slam against the Dodgers that sent the Nationals to the championship series, seemingly against all odds, and his MVP performance that helped them sweep the Cardinals. So it seems almost expected that he will make a big contribution to this series to cap off one of the best seasons of his lengthy career.

— Sami Higgins

Anibal Sanchez

With all the talk surrounding the three-headed monster of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, you have to remember that another pitcher who has come up huge for the Nationals has been Anibal Sanchez. It’s a testament to how strong those three have been throughout the playoffs that a guy who had everybody on “No-Hitter Alert” during the NLCS isn’t a lock to get a start in the World Series.

However, if the Nationals do turn to Sanchez then they can at least be confident that he’ll keep up the same level of pitching that the Nats and their fans have become used to during this postseason. Also, he’s got World Series experience under his belt — he went seven innings in Game 3 of the 2012 Fall Classic and only gave up two runs while striking out eight batters. The Detroit Tigers happened to lose that game to the San Francisco Giants, but it’s hard for a pitcher to lead his team to victory when said team scores a grand total of zero runs.

This is always the time of year where unsung heroes become the legends that you talk about in the future — even if it’s in the vein of “Hey, do you remember this guy?” If Anibal Sanchez is called upon again, maybe he’ll deliver a start that puts him in that particular territory.

— Demetrius Bell

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Tagged by @chloenightswantsflight :)

name: Holly

nicknames: not many but one friend calls me Hollard Greens

zodiac: Taurus (and i live up to the stubbornness and determination)

height: 5′2″ 

orientation: Bi or Pan i keep flip-flopping on what word I like better

favorite fruit: watermelon or pears

favorite season: spring because of flowers and baby animals (i live where there’s a lot of wildlife and I love seeing the babies)

favorite animal: chambered nautilus

favorite book: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (i read it like 30 times in middle school) or The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff 

favorite flower: baby’s breath (i think the little white flowers are tiny and cute) or lesser celandine (they grew on me after I had to look at them for glorfindel drawings)

favorite scent: fresh bread

favorite color: metallic bronze or gold, olive green, teal, and purple

coffee | tea | hot cocoa : I honestly put like two tablespoons of cocoa mix in my coffee every morning and I also love tea

average hrs of sleep:  in the summer - 7/8hrs,  during high school? 4/5 hrs (I’m hoping i sleep more in college) 

cats or dogs BOTH

favorite fictional character: (so many this is just a sample) Kaldur’ahm, Roy Harper, Shiro, Elrond, Glorfindel, Luke Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi, B’Elanna Torres, James Kirk

dream trip: Space, or like, Rome.  Egypt would also be cool. 

blog created: Dec 2013

number of followers: 773 (and I’ve gained like 8 the past 3 days and idk why)

random fact:  I’m going to college to study archaeology and I’m really excited about it

I’m tagging 

@cakeandpi @beholdthemem @crechemaasters @thesoulsikeep @rider-phantomhive @impala-atnight @callmeofficergrayson @brokennheadphones @emilyymadness

[skullinacowboyhat]

Rules: answer these questions, and tag 20 followers that you would like to get to know better.

Tagged by: @kilshade

Name: Skullie

Nickname:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Hogwarts house: Ravenclaw

Height: 5′4″

Orientation: straight

Ethnicity: European 

Favorite fruit: APPPLLEEESS

Favorite season: Winter

Favorite book series: Harry Potter (always...)

Favorite fictional characters:  Um...I have so many dang. Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Finn, Ventress, Zayne Carrick, Captain Kirk, Spock, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley (just to name a few)

Favorite flower: Forget-me-nots

Favorite scents:  Rain, wet grass, morning mist, smoke, lemon verbena, vanilla candles, chilli, and old books

Favorite color: Dark blue

Favorite animals: Lions and dogs

Favorite artists/bands: Hidden Citizens, Phil Lober, Coldplay, John Mayer (and Trio), Imagine Dragons, Florence + the Machine.

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa?: TEAAA (specifically: chai vanilla tea with a dash of milk and a spoon of sugar)

Average sleep: 8-10 hrs

Number of blankets I sleep with: Right now? 3

Dream trip: Back to my American hometown

Last thing you googled: Star Wars KOTOR 2 lightsaber colours

How many blogs do I follow: 148

Number of followers: 221

What do I usually post about: Star Wars and SWTOR

What is your aesthetic: Uhh.....forests with little rays of sunlight peeking through, old libraries with winding staircases and plants all over.

Tagging: @carterashofficial, @lazyartistwastaken, @calllebasi and @kitteria

[indoukaoru]

tagged by @eijuhn​, nice to meet you; feel free 2 talk to me anytime (’: also your blog is v aesthetic, Nice

RULES: answer 20 questions and tag 20 followers you would like to get to know better

i dont even have followers what am i doing; ig i’ll tag people i genuinely don’t know well lmao, but anyone can do this if they want 0: @mizukisenpai​ @themorninglark​

1. name: jay

2. nickname: reon, R

3. zodiac sign: leo

4. height: 5′5 (?)

5. orientation: bi + grey-ace (?)

6. nationality: east asian (mainly hakka + non-han chinese)

7. favorite fruit: berries,, blueberries maybe?

8. favorite dish: honestly i have no clue lol. i have a fondness for noodles ig

9. favorite flower: 金银花 – japanese honeysuckle, according to google

10. favorite scent: smoky / earthy smells

11. favorite animal: probably like... those furry moths... or owls.. maybe a shoutout to like, lynxes / foxes

12. coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: coffee, for sure. though mixing coffee and hot chocolate is great bc im garbage

13. average hours of sleep: during school it’s like 5-6 hrs, during the summer it’s like, 12 lmao

14. cat or dog: cats i guess

15. favorite fictional character: yikes i cant choose One soo... from DAYS it’s indou kaoru, from daiya it’s kuramochi youichi – other faves include kagami taiga from knb, gotou hidenori from samurai flamenco.... from other non-anime fandoms there’s a honorable mention for obi-wan kenobi from star wars, nick carraway from the great gatsby, and grantaire from les miserablés.

16. favorite film: cloud atlas

17. number of blankets you sleep with: 0-2

18. dream trip: maybe hong kong or japan? haven’t been in a long time, for both.

19. blog created: like... late 2016 since i accidentally deleted my old blogs, which i’d had since 2011 ):

20. number of followers: not enough

[bentuhoekenobi]

In Transit

My mind is relocating. From the 7 years of being and educator and gamedev community volunteer in Auckland to something else.

This transition will take between 2 to 12 months. Likely around 8.

Because of this I am  going to migrate my few posts on my staff blog to here with some post reflection on them.

I’ve also removed mention of my PhD from this blog. Although I am still planning to do the project that was the core of my PhD, it will be different due to the loss of an academic context and the gaining of a commercial one. It is highly unlikely I will ever do PhD. Or re-enter academia.

SOMEHOW I COPE

Published by Ben Kenobi on August 29, 2018

In the interest of documenting my process and outcomes:

for my professional profile,

to promote my events and attract collaborators for research projects,

to slow myself down and do less,

to reflect critically on the outcomes of my efforts and potentially drop responsibilities,

to act as a way to collect all of my efforts in to a single place,

I'll start by identifying value in what I produce to help me select what remains - or becomes - a part of my workload and what doesn't.

As it affects the documentation process itself I'll also be developing workflows to COPE (create once publish everywhere) (Fox, 2017) and identify - and potentially create - value across all metrics: learning, research and leadership.

RISE

Published by Ben Kenobi on August 30, 2018

What a busy couple of days...

SEP AKLGAMEDEV MEETUP - GUARDIAN

I've organized the content and set up the event page for the next AKLgamedev Meetup.

This month coming is the first time since the idea first surfaced a couple of years ago, that the AKLgamedev Meetup is going to provide an 'Indie' Launch Party service. The idea is that the meetup trades a themed catered celebration for a developer presentation and, depending on the size of the studio, some sponsorship contributions.

See the announcement in Yammer event page for more details.

I'm having troubles with the room booking because I'm dead keen to use the WZ building in some new and interesting way.

PHD SUPERVISORS

I have two potential supervisors meetings early next week.

Ultimately I just want someone who can guide me through the PhD process. It doesn't really matter too much what they do. I prefer someone with a qualitative background.

I've been set a deadline of "the end of September" to have my PGR2 accepted.

I also met Boris Bacic who takes the COMP819 Ubiquitous Computing paper. I have asked if I could go along to a class to see what they do there and connect.

OFFICE 365

I've been quite thoroughly testing the new features of 365 - especially those available off-campus.

STRENGTHS + OPPORTUNITIES

We are now using a platform and front end that Microsoft are still willing to support and update. This means obviously good and potentiually easy-to-implement features are now available to us...

Some features seem to work well off campus now (like the scheduling assistant) and I'm hoping to identify interesting work habit opportunities that can make for better work/home habits and more productive off campus working.

Ultimately I am focusing on identifying how this new platform can help us breaking the culture silos at AUT. The financial silos are harder to break, so it's more a matter of either ignoring them or just "playing them" - making them work in ad-hoc ways with 'back-room deals'.

One of the more technical advantages is that it's easy to invite AUT staff and students to the platforms. This is a big deal as the first 'wall' is often enough to turn new adopters away.

Delve has helped me understand a bit more about how the university works and exactly who everyone is. It's still not as good as it could be and I suspect that a lot of the HR information is out of date (e.g. who reports to who).

CHALLENGES

Behaviour change. Even for the willing it's hard to adopt new skills, approaches and workflow cultures.

I've already noticed some features lacking from the suite. For example Trello is still far more advanced in many ways than Planner (although Planner does have some nice things that Trello doesn't). So far I haven't seen enough of a feature 'dip' to warrant not giving it a good test. I'll be testing Planner out, for example, on the Creative Tech Showcase + Awards (staff and students) and some Bachelor of Creative Tech Planning tasks (staff only).

LEGO SKETCHES (DISCONTINUED)

I've also started up my "Lego Sketches" exercise again as part of my PhD. The image above is an example and I'll explain more as I go.

TRANSMEDIA NARRATIVES PRESENTATION PREP

I've started working on a 20min presentation I'm giving at Pete Rive's CTEC704 Transmedia Narratives paper on Sep 19th. It's split in to two halves:

A brief intro to some of the more famous ARG's that have been born out of the commercial video game industry focusing mostly on Fletcher Dunn's presentation on Valve's Potato Sack ARG at Digital NatioNZ 2014.

A quick look at the Suburban Quilt: A street-game about bees. Although not a transmedia project, it was planned to be and it has some parallels with some of design tools and the fact that it needs to be facilitated.I'll then be working my way through the teams talking to them about their projects.

FOREST FOR THE TREES

Published by Ben Kenobi on September 04, 2018

I have two days of solid meetings lined up. So I doubt I'll get much work done.

I'm reminded of the race on Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy that realises that the only way to mask their telepathy was to talk more because beings that talk more usually think less.

...

PHD PROGRESS

I met with my first potential PhD supervisor. We both feel we'll be a good fit.

Next step is to meet with my first potential secondary (Wednesday) and then start on my PGR2 to help clarify to all involved parties what our expectations are. I'll blog my update but I need to narrow down some theoretical frameworks and methodology.

I've asked for some good PhD examples in my area.

SENIOR STUDIO HALF-TIME REFLECTION

During our Senior Studio meeting today we reflected on the crit format.

The students receive a slideshow template that has instructions for what kind of information is expected in what week.

This is a shared doc so all students and staff can see each others progress. I've never had a problem with students deleting or interfering with other team's presentations in the 4 years I've been doing it this way.

This is a formative assignment and feedback is written by all staff present in to the notes of the first slide of each group's presentation. This means that we need a minute or two between each group to clean up the feedback but at the end of the session the assessment task is done.

A roughly clustered continuous timeline is be made. Students are expected to engage with 1-2 before and 1-2 after their own. The idea is to increase engagement:

teams are clustered with projects relevant to their own,

there is often a lot of repetition in the verbal feedback so we only say the repeated stuff once every 3 presentations and constantly remind groups to engage during other crits to hear their feedback,

engaging with a crit is exhausting - the fewer that each student has to see the more they will engage themselves...

What was interesting to me was when one of the 'commercial-video-game' teams had made the terrible mistake of focusing on all the things in their game that didn't matter. Assets and animations and no mechanics. They have a fairly clear final visual aesthetic but were under the unjustified impression that they could design their mechanics in complete abstract. Maybe I wasn't as explicit about that at our last meeting.

The interesting part was that the team they were clustered with had done a pretty rigorous prototyping process making several 'grey-box' (Winters & Zhu, 2018) and they jumped in before I could comment and 'laid in to them'. It was good advice - so I let them go and endorsed them.

The first group, who were mostly younger (half were year two) got to see that the techniques were 'not magic', 'obvious' and something they would be expected to do in a year's time.

O365 REFLECTION - ATTRACTOR LANDSCAPES + BOUNDARIES

A staff member asked if they should consider using Planner in their team.

I'm an avid and relatively expert Trello user. I prefer Favro over Trello but it costs more. I have used both in other organizations and they save a tonne of time. No more agendas - just agenda tags. Minutes are much shorter as the action item info is translated straight to the task during the meeting. Although things like conflicts of interest still need to be reported.

The hardest thing about trying to use all of the good tools that the industry use at the university is that academics don't want to learn them. I'm hoping that the lack of a registration wall, and the fact that if managers start using OneDrive, staff will hopefully gradually start to use the associated apps. I'm not holding my breath. But I'm optimistic.

I've started using Planner with some of my more willing tutors, technicians and professional staff and it's working well:

meeting action items go straight to the buckets on the fly

static info is stored in the associated Sharepoint,

and chatting[1] is done through the associated Teams team.

Although Planner it's definitely a 'Trello-lite' I think the fact that it integrates with the other 365 platforms that have no "registration-wall" - and is part of a infrastructure eco-system that the staff can't really avoid - is why I'm optimistic the culture may gradually shift towards realising these tools may help us not just save time and work more effectively as individuals, but reject some of the silo-culture tendancies we all have.

The hard part is how attractor landscapes (Case, 2018) can be used to show that these tools can help us work across faculties.

Before the coalition of the willing can tackle that we must first prove that they can help us work across faculties.

I've been documenting the pros and cons through this blog. This weeks lists of downsides:

Planner

Teams

Shortcuts. Especially for searching/filtering. Which I do often.

Removing a deadline seems to be impossible and you have to delete the task and start again.

Feature request: Add students from a class to a Teams team (and subsequently a Planner plan, OneDrive folder and Outlook group).

[1] The 'chatting' I'm referring are things like: clarification and exploratory conversation. Not 'off-topic' banter.

MECHATRONICS LAB

We've made positive steps towards streamlining the Mechatronics Lab and equipment loan processes using Office 365 apps.

MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO

My almost 4yr old started kindy today. It was definitely cute. But what was interesting was seeing her observe what we'd all done - introduce ourselves - and then do her most confident and best interpretation. "Hello my name is Amelie. I live in Ruakaka. I go to the beach. And I have so many toys at my house to play with." None of that was scripted. It was all from her watching the adults introduce themselves. She deconstructed our introductions as far as:

Hello my names is [name].

I live in Ruakaka.

A few other things.

DEFENSE

Published by Ben Kenobi on May 30, 2019

I live in a culture that encourages overworking. You need to set your boundaries. Doing everything accomplishes nothing.

RESEARCH

Potential advisor.

Regular meetings. Some structure is necessary. Primary good of regular meetings is spitballing.

Potential Masters supervision with some overlaps.

Project Shadowmeld.

Post Secondary School Play

Macarthur foundation 2010

Gee 2007

identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups

PHD EXAMPLES

Attending an ethics approved playtest.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Tasks workflow is finally ​almost there. One feature that Planner has that Trello doesn't. A sortable personal task list - removes the need for a separate app to handle you own personal tasks. You just need to create a separate "Personal To Do Planner Plan" for any tasks that you don't want to show up on another team's Plan.

OnePlaceMail looks like it might have some good uses. It's not a big priority for me right now (until more of the team start using Teams). What I'm really looking for is something that can convert an email in to a Planner task. I've Tried using Flow but it's very limited. It's hard, for example, to bring in links (like what happens in the example on that OnePlaceMail site) from a webmail. This guy got it working so the email body is trawled for links that get turned in to link attachments on the card. But it's a lengthy hack. The main thing is that I don't want to lose the initial information from the email. Judging by my forums search, there's not even an easy way to add the email as an attachment to the Planner task.

Case, N. (2018, May). An Interactive Introduction to Attractor Landscapes. Retrieved September 3, 2018, from https://ncase.me/attractors/

Fox, V. (2017, December 5). Five Benefits of Using the Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE) Method - Blackboard Blog. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://blog.blackboard.com/five-benefits-of-using-the-create-once-publish-everywhere-cope-method/​

Winters, G. J., & Zhu, J. (2018). Guiding Players through Structural Composition Patterns in 3D Adventure Games, 8.