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dmc-tings · 3 years

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DMC Gang Teaching their s/o how to drive

Dante

Uh, yeah he knows how to drive

But... he's not the best teacher

Usually ends up asleep in the back

Cause he trusts you to figure it out

One day though, damn near changed his life

You smashed into a newspaper stand

The impact woke him from his nap

You were holding on to the steering wheel for dear life

Tears welled up in your eyes and he immediately pulled you into his lap

Kicking the door open, hauling both of you out of Morrison's now wrecked car

Dante was more concerned about you

You still hadn't said anything, just letting tears fall down your face

He checked you over, he was silent as well

Pissed at himself for letting his negligence, almost get you killed

The cops showed up, after a kind soul called them

An ambulance got to the scene and checked the pair of you over

While the paramedics looked you over, Dante called Vergil and Nero

The pair made it to the scene in Nico's van

But it wasn't just the two of them, the whole crew came

Kyrie and Lady rushed to your side, Lady shoving the paramedics and cops away from you

Kyrie got you talking, letting you weep onto her shoulder

Dante got a scolding from Vergil and Trish

Something along the lines of, "How could you be so wreckless." And "You knew that was dangerous, Dante."

He wasn't listening tho, he watched you cry into Kyrie's arms, while Lady rubbed your back comfortingly

Once the scene cleared out, it was just you and the crew

Oh! And a confused and angry Morrison

"How the hell.... Dante, you know your paying for this."

Your half-devil finally made his way to you, for once (and during this whole thing) speechless

His head hung, he didn't need Vergil, Trish or Lady to scold him

He was beating himself up over this

You looked up from Kyrie and Lady, throwing yourself into his arms

Crying out "I'm sorry's" and "I should have been more careful's"

He shushed you, burying his face in your shoulder, "Im sorry. I should have been paying more attention."

He silently cried into your neck

After that day, Dante took more care in paying more attention to your driving

Once you got your license though, he still took naps

Or so you thought

The devil man would only be resting

Peeking at you every so often

Vergil

You stood awkwardly in the archway of your shared bedroom

Vergil giving you a (visibly) shocked look

You wanted him to what?

"Verg? Did you hear me?" You shuffled your feet abit, again

He blinked at you

Dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and down right appalled

"You.. You want me to..."

You looked away, abit ashamed

But to your defense, you could and had always walked everywhere in Red Grave

You really didn't need to drive, unless you went to the beach or somewhere out of town

But.... Vergil didn't know how to drive either, he had spent the last 20 something years in hell

And the last thing he thought he would ever be asked to do or teach was FUCKING DRIVE

He shook his head, not saying anything to you

You bit your lip and looked away from him

You misunderstood his head shaking

Then his face flushed, letting out a grumble

"I dont know how to drive."

And in his defense, he just teleports or opens a portal to where he wants to go

You straightened up, "Wh-what?"

Great, you were back at square one

Vergil gave a small cough, "Why do you need to learn how to drive?"

You looked at your feet, "I just wanted to learn..."

In all honesty, Nero had teased you about being an adult, and not knowing how to drive

It made you feel low

Vergil gave a huff, noticing your hesitation

"Who." He stood up

You looked at him, "Ver-"

"Was it Dante? No... he barely knows how to drive..." his eyes flashed

You grabbed his arm, but it didn't stop him

He slashed open a portal, right into the shop

"Who teased (him/her)." It wasn't a question, a demand for the person who insulted his sweetheart

"Vergil. Please stop..."

Everyone in the shop looked at Nero, who had his headphones in

Vergil let out a growl and pushed you behind him

"Teach them how to drive!" He snarled, slicing the headphones off of his son's head

Nero shot up and got ready to fight back, but stopped when he realized what was happening

"Uh... sure... i-"

"Both of us."

Dante burst onto laughter, realizing what Vergil was getting at

Nero looked at Nico, "uh... can we-"

"Oh hell nah!"

At a loss Nero looked at you and his dad

"Well.... uh... i-"

Vergil scoffed, throwing a few summoned swords at his cackling brother

Then he pulled you close, "Tease them about not knowing how to drive again, and you'll feel my wrath."

He took you back home

After setting you on your feet and giving you a kiss on the forehead, he returned to his reading

"So..."

"You have me. No need to drive."

And that was the end of that

Nero

Nero sat in the van in the driver's seat

You in his lap

You insisted that he sit in the passenger seat

But the part-devil placed you in his lap

Now he was scratching his head

"Nero?" You looked at him with big puppy dog eyes

He looked down at you, "Yeah?"

"Do you know what your do-"

Nero waved his gauntlet clad hand

"Of course, I got this."

He, poorly, started to explain the gears, buttons and switches in front of you

"Aight. So. You got the gear shift, I think it's a stick. And the... uh... windshield wipers. And the lights in front, and the brights..."

'Oof,' you thought, 'I could have just asked Dante... and got just about the same experience.'

You drummed your fingertips on the steering wheel

Finally, tired of your boyfriend droning on, you turned the key and started the van

Nero jumped, then patted you on the head, pointing at the 3 pedals at your guys feet

"Well since your in my lap, I'll work the pedals. Just tell me when to speed up and slow down. Ok?"

You nodded, "Alright! Nice and slow though."

From here, using team work, you and Nero made your way around the block

Slow and steady

Then Nero hit the breaks a bit too hard

You nailing your forehead on the steering wheel

"Shit! Nero!" You leaned back rubbing your sore head

"S-sorry! There was a old lady crossing the street..." he mumbled

Then leaned forward a bit, examining your forehead

He sucked his teeth, "Shiiiiit. That looks bad babe...."

"No shit." You barked

You felt your boyfriend flinch at your tone

After the pain passed you patted him on the arm, that was wrapped around you

"Its ok. Good thing you stopped though." You pointed at the old lady still trying to cross the street

Nero nodded, grunting with agreement

"I... I think thats enough driving for the day."

Nero gave another nod, letting you crawl into the passenger seat

He made way back to the garage/shop

Once parked he looked at you

And you gave him a smile

"Thanks. That was pretty fun!"

Nero gave a small laugh, "I suppose it was, save for you bashing your skull on the wheel."

You huffed, poking out your lip, "Not entirely my fault."

(Yes, I include him, cause some people like him. And personally I like his character as well)

You and V were cuddling in the living room of your apartment

You leaned into his chest, watching tv, as he read from his book and gently running a hand through your hair

"V." You spoke lifting your head

He gave an acknowledging hum, looking to you from his book

"Can you teach me how to drive?"

He looked at you, his mind drawing a blank

As Vergil, he never drove, hell they barely walked

"Love, I've never driven.... Ever." He told you gently

You looked forward at his chest, searching your mind, trying to figure out who you could ask to teach you how to drive

V cocked his head at you, wondering what was going through your mind

You looked up, eyes shining, "we could learn together! There's plenty of books on driving!"

V's eyes lit up as well, your excitement fueling his

"Oh? Where to we begin then?"

You both sat up, you grabbing your phone and V sitting up with you

"Well the DMV would be a good start. They can give us all the info to study."

"There's a written test?" V asked, he knew he could pass that

You nodded, not looking up from your phone"Yes. And there is a driving segment as well."

V froze and looked down at you, but seeing you so excited, he didn't want to ruin your fun

Later you both got everything from the DMV

And at V's insistence, the library as well

You both spent weeks reading and learning

Even convincing Nico to let you practice and take the driving part of the test, using her van

Eventually when it was time for the tests, you both where prepared

You passed them with flying colors

Ignoring the dangerous tips Nico gave you

When it was V's turn, he passed the written exam

But hesitated when it was time to get into the van

He stood at the driver's door, hand on it

You walked to his side, gently putting your hand in his

"V? You can do it. Just don't think too hard about it."

He looked at you to speak, but you cut him off, sealing his lips with a kiss

Happy, he climbed in

You sat alone in the DMV, anxious

He came back with the instructor minutes later, beaming proudly

"You were correct, my dear. I didn't overthink."

He pulled you into a hug, after you both got your licenses

#dante devil may cry #vergil devil may cry #nero devil may cry #v devil may cry #lady devil may cry #trish devil may cry #nico devil may cry

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jacksgreysays · 4 years

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Determined Clairvoyant, Misguided Knight brainstorm, (2020-05-29)

A/N: So I had a weird sleepless brainstorming/outlining binge last night, passed out and woke up to this chunk of nonsense...

I’ve been reading a lot of DCMK (Detective Conan and Magic Kaito) fic but also I am always a little bit thinking of DoS so my brain went:

Hey, Shisui and Shikako have very similar personalities to Kaito and Shinichi...

But Shisui is the detective and Shikako the thief.

And on the one hand, I was considering just translating it into the in Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con 'verse, such that Shisui is Interpol/FBI and ends up helping the crew because what they do is morally right even if it's not legal...

But it just wouldn’t be the same!

Also, for those who don’t know anything about DCMK, I’m not really using the Detective Conan premise (in which a famous teenage detective gets shrunken into a 6 year old and has to keep his identity secret while finding/dismantling the criminal organization that did this to him. In their defense(?) they were trying to kill him but used an “experimental poison.” They’re not going out of their way to randomly turn teenagers into kids... although there is another teenager that got turned into a kid by that same poison)

But it is interconnected to the Magic Kaito ‘verse (in which a teenager discovers that his dad didn’t die in an accident but was murdered by a mysterious criminal organization (possibly the same one as in Detective Conan? we’re not sure) because he used to be Phantom Thief KID who was searching for a magical jewel called Pandora that supposedly grants immortality because said mysterious criminal organization wants it for nefarious means. Also the teen and his dad are stage magicians and make their heists very flashy and fun)

Anyway, personality wise I was really feeling the Shikako = paranoid/logical Shinichi vs Shisui = flamboyant genius Kaito contrasting with their arguable respective roles as Shikako = chaotic neutral regular rule breaker and Shisui = lawful good believer of systems if not authority.

I was considering whether or not I wanted to transplant the characters into the DCMK setting, but seeing how that’s just (arguably) modern day Japan I was a little... the adapting would be more work than its worth when really all I wanted was thief!Shikako and detective!Shisui and I also, as previously mentioned, didn’t want to just insert Shisui into the Fia(M)C ‘verse.

So then I remembered this ficlet in which Danzo successfully became Hokage but a mysterious figure (ie Shikako) is working against him and I was like. Okay, but reluctant detective!Shisui having to try to capture insurrectionist thief!Shikako is hilarious. And I know Shisui isn’t actually KMP in canon, but Danzo is Hokage which means the situation is bleak and I kinda explain everything below anyway, so...

Enjoy?

shisui is one of the oldest uchiha in the village because everyone older than him was executed by danzo for their (supposed?) attempted coup

doesn't particularly want to be a detective, but he's the only one left

sharp-eyed shisui? it is both mocking his singular eye but also he does end up being pretty good at investigation

Itachi is clan head and also one of danzo’s busiest anbu (because danzo is creepy and weird) and he’s being run so ragged that shisui stepped up to do it since he vaguely remembers the KMP’s protocols and also, with one eye short, his combat effectiveness isn’t as reliable

He hates not being able to be back up for itachi, but until he figures out the depth perception thing, he’d be a liability

Itachi is the only one with both eyes (again, because danzo is creepy and weird)

every time one of his younger cousins activate their sharingan, they are forced to undergo surgery because danzo harvests one eye from each of them

sasuke is the next upcoming kid

hikaku/sai was the most recent

Shikako is working reverse chronologically to restore eyeballs because they’re not exactly labeled but she knows the newest eye goes to the most recent activator.

This is how she gets hikaku/sai’s immediate loyalty (he has both eyes, but still hides one under his eyepatch/headband because if you can’t passive aggressively use danzo’s tricks against him then what’s the point? )

((also, it’s a real good dramatic reveal of how shikako gets shisui to trust her because he’s like “you’re stealing my family’s eyeballs and turning my little cousin into your spy” and then hikaku/sai just flips up his eyepatch and blinks both eyes at shisui and he just. “well, that was literally the only argument i had”))

Oh, the age of graduation is lower in canon because danzo doesn’t believe in coddling kids and also “back in my day” nonsense, so sasuke is maybe around 8?

kakashi is, like, a weird sticking point. he's the only non-danzo adult that has a sharingan and, hey, he's also only got just the one, but shisui also remembers the elders being a little weird about him so :shrugs:

I should figure out what to do with him, tbh

i mean, i know Shikako helps Naruto escape/evade ANBU capture because Danzo was going to turn him into a “proper jinchuuriki weapon” so maybe she throws him at Kakashi and is like “BABY SITTING DUTY FOR YOU, SAD STRING BEAN”

and there’s also Tenzo/Yamato to consider here

at first the thefts are random but escalating: old mission reports, the sandaime's novelty(?) crystal ball, the hokage's hat, the sword of the thunder god, etc, etc

then it becomes directed: sharingan eyes

Shadow Thief Shikako is here to make things real difficult for danzo

while shisui is trying really hard not to get smitten (even though she’s stealing his family’s eyeballs! but he guesses better than in danzo’s possession? he’s very conflicted emotionally and very stressed and also a teenager), shikako is recruiting allies for her coup

She needs to make a deal with the devil… Kabuto? For the medical expertise in how to re-implant all the sharingan she’s stealing?

He does spy on behalf of who he thinks is the strongest, and shikako is v strong by this point

Although, the whole concept of “you were the first person i ever wanted to murder” “you flatter me” is kind of funny

What is going on with orochimaru in this timeline?

For that matter, what’s going on with the other sannin?

hyuuga have weird feelings about the whole one eye stolen thing, branch family in particular because on the one hand: DOJUTSU/BLOODLINE THEFT is literally their big nono. But they do like being the strongest clan in the village now.

Is neji’s dad still alive? When did danzo become hokage? Is it before or after Hinata’s near kidnapping?

Ibiki, anko, aoba -- gotta figure out what’s going on there

Does aoba not have the crow summons since shisui is still alive?

Is aoba a surprise half uchiha?

Unsure how bleak i want things to be for the Nara clan. They definitely don’t like things, but i’m not sure if they’re also largely killed off, just shikaku, or just yoshino…… unless Shikamaru has been taken as Danzo’s apprentice/ROOT?

Something also has to have happened to the akimichi and yamanaka tho, in order to justify/reflect it

Team 10 is essentially being held hostage. Shikako has to “steal” them from Danzo in order to get the ANY clans’ cooperation

they’re allowed to visit their family once a week in order to get clan training, but it’s on different days from each other so the other two are still within ROOT’s grasp and the one who is visiting their family knows not to step out of line

Shikamaru has been trying really hard to help him and his teammates escape, but he’s only eight years old. I’m but a boy. I’m just a boy

There is a war.

I’ve decided this.

It’s the only way to make sense of why danzo is still in charge without him having killed a ludicrous number of people (more than he’s already killed, that is)

There is a war and that’s where the majority of the loudest dissenters are sent (inuzuka, aburame, gai, etc) and because they are always out on the front lines they don’t know how bad it actually is at home

Mist rebellion peeps?

Zabuza and Haku are still alive at this time, i guess

Terumi Mei--is there even a mist rebellion at this time or are they too busy with the war, too?

… Gelel/Sand?

look, magical gems are the crux of Magic Kaito and I know I’ve replaced them with Sharingan eyes, but still. If there’s a magical gem I feel like I’m obligated to at least mention it

also, Shinichi in Detective Conan ends up with, like, the most ludicrous allies over the course of the series. He is a--as far as anyone else knows--a 6 year old Japanese boy with connections to the American FBI. That’s nuts! So Shikako having allies with Mist or Sand isn’t too far outside feasibility in comparison

A/N: So... in theory I would like to come back to this and actually write it--because as far as sleepless brainstorming sessions go, this one is fairly coherent--but just in case I don’t, I figure people would enjoy this mess of an outline anyway. And it’s nice to have notes for later.

Title is, unsurprisingly, my attempt to make the letters DCMK apply to Shikako and Shisui. On the one hand, I know the quote is “and angry Aburame, a focused Inuzuka, and a motivated Nara” but I kiiiinda misremembered wrong and thought it was “determined,” fell in love with Shisui as the “misguided knight” and then only after went back to check and realized that it should’ve been “motivated”

Ah well

#jacksgreyson #fanfiction #brainstorm #outline #incomplete #dreaming of sunshine #detective conan #magic kaito #shikako nara's guide to delinquency and military insurrection #determined clairvoyant misguided knight #shikako nara #shisui uchiha

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psychefm · 4 years

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talk to the hand [ TIMOTHEE CHALAMET ], [ REED ‘NEWT’ NEWTON ] is the new kid on the block around here. at [ TWENTY ], the [ CIS BOY] works at [ BABBAGE’S ] in the mall and, like, [ HE ] totally reminds us of [ CHANDLER BING ]. oh snap! what? their favorite movie is [ HOME ALONE ]???? so is mine!

ABOUT THE MUN. i used to lie to y’all, my mom didn’t say no, i did

i hate this site man. and that’s it, that’s all you gotta know about me.

BIO. good news!!!! i’ve successfully replaced all my emotions with jokes !!!! tw bullying

reed newton was born in london england to sylvia anne bixby and cornelius otis newton and honestly, he’s regretted it ever since.

newt was an accident. he was the product of one of his mother and father’s first ever lustful encounters, and their subsequent shotgun wedding so honestly they both spent most of newt’s formative years in the honeymoon period. some of newt’s earlier memories are of him walking in on his parents doing the devil’s tango in the broom closet and his nanny rushing to cover his eyes. good times.

honestly newt walked in on his parents doing the do more times than any kid should have before the age of nine. and then he walked in on a parent doing the do with a non parent. in other words newt got an eyeful of his father and the pool boy and it wasn’t long after that that his parents went through a long and messy divorce. once again, good times.

his mother decided to pack up their things and move herself and her nine year old very impressionable son to nebraska, because fuck that kid amiright. newt was quickly designated as the skinny weird nerdy kid with glasses and a funny little accent, and so as you can guess he was pretty mercilessly bullied from age nine to eighteen. he really never stood a chance.

i feel like this is a good time to mention that newt’s mother was a sex therapist, which is not the same as a regular therapist but still, therapist is in the name. he should have been able to talk to his parent in this time of strife and get some level of support right? nope. sylvia bixby is well known for writing a men are from mars, women are from venus like book on communication and dating and all that, so his mom was generally on book tour after book tour. but maybe she would have been supportive if she was ever actually around, right? again, nope.

unbeknownst to newt whenever his mother was around she was not only just casually psycho analyzing her only child for shits and giggles, no, she as also writing about it. newt’s mother wrote an entire book about raising a highly repressed teenage son with newt as the star, and you can only guess what that did for newt’s stellar high social status in high school. nothing great.

did newt ask her not to publish it once he realized she had wrote it? yes. did she still publish it? also yes. so newt and his mother no longer have the greatest relationship. holidays are awkward.

things were not better on his fathers end, but it wasn’t because his father particularly did anything nearly as tone deaf as his mother. yes, his father was a famous erotica novelist and yes that made newt’s life a living hell, but newt luckily wasn’t the subject of those books. neil transitioned from writing fabio like novels to writing some lgbt fiction which, great for representation, horrible for your teenage son who is now known around school for having a dad who writes porn. to top it off, neil ended up starting a long term relationship with the pool boy and gaining a pseudo step son from it. benjamin caley was not only more athletic than newt, not only more attractive than newt, but also better than newt in every single way imaginable which was a real self esteem booster. his father actively prefers benji and every time newt visits him in england over the summers he comes home hating himself a bit more.

which works out because after the book being published, most people kind of hated newt too so at the very least he was on trend. there was a lot of classic nineties bullying you know, wedgies, swirlies, shoving newt into lockers. all very cliche. newt would tell his bullies as much, but it never really went over that well.

but then finally newt graduated. he was free from the hell that was the public education system and his childhood household. he graduated with honours, moved out of his mother’s house, and got himself his own apartment with a roommate near the mall where he got his first real job.

goes to university for software engineering. has an internship at apple that he’s absolutely terrified to mess up. has an old beat up car that was like the first big purchase he ever made with his own money, so he loves it to death even though it’s a piece of shit.

PERSONALITY. do you fear me? don’t feel so special now. i have social anxiety. i fear everybody.

this is my first time playing newt so all of this is subject to change BUT

INSECURE. newt is a weird mix of cripplingly insecure and weirdly confident and there is no in between ever.

WITTY. humour is and always will be the only defense newt has against anything, so he makes a lot of jokes especially when he feels uncomfortable.

EMPATHETIC. newt is a big push over when it comes to emotions like he would never do anything to hurt someone unless it was by accident or he was provoked or you’re his step brother benji or either of his parents in which case he will run you over with his car on sight. but no really, if newt is in a position where he has to hurt somebody he will do absolutely everything in his power to either not or avoid the situation completely.

AWKWARD. sometimes honestly, although it depends on the day. v clumsy though. usually he can try to make his awkwardness funny but does he always succeed? the answer is no.

HEADCANNONS. actually all of my systems are nervous.

has to drink like six cups of coffee or tea a day. very serious about his tea because english. also has vegemite on his toast.

can actually cook pretty well even though he prefers to eat takeout. cooks because it’s cheaper and he’s a broke ass student yk. won’t take money from his parents ever, and will straight up give it away if it’s forced upon him.

writes star trek fanfic for fun and has a kind of weird relationship with writing because of his parents honestly?? but he enjoys it so, maybe the apple in fact does not fall from the tree.

has commitment issues because of his parents divorce but don’t we all.

developed a stutter after all the divorce drama because he thought it was his fault. he later had to see a speech therapist. his mother later had a fwb relationship with this same speech therapist. newt wanted to die.

traded his glasses for contacts and you will literally only see newt in glasses if he rips or loses his contacts or if he’s at home.

in love with all things sci fi, will rent and see every sci movie ever made if he can

accidentally knocks down at least one display in babbages per day so there’s that.

speaking of newt runs a small side gig out of babbages where he fixes up tech because paying for university, rent, and car insurance out of pocket gets up there. so if you need someone to fix your desktop newt is your guy.

is actually a pretty good flirt when he’s drunk or feels comfortable. is constantly teetering between painfully insecure and confident.

is very bi and very hesitant about it because of his father and all his feelings towards that, but he will eventually stop fighting it so much soon hopefully. has probably had a few drunken hookups with guys but tries to convince himself that is just a drunk thing yk.

is allergic to bees so death has a kiss just for him i guess.

loves video games but that goes without saying

has anxiety and takes medication for it, one of the few healthy things his mother has ever done for him.

speaking of his mother if newt ever sees her book about him in a book display he will spend as much time as needed taking each book and hiding them in obscure places so that no one will ever be able to find them and buy them. he read the whole thing because he had to know and yep he absolutely hates it.

goes by newt and only newt so that no one can make the connection between him and his mother or his father upon first meeting him or hopefully ever. a lot of the kids he went to high school with still know though and with the accent and everything, he’s not fooling anyone who has at least heard a rumour

idk what else y’all imma fite tumblr for making me write this twice

WANTED CONNECTIONS. actually wait, i take that self deprecation back, i’m great.

ROOMMATE. because newt can’t afford his place on his own between all his expenses. please. think of the shenanigans.

ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN THING. kind of inspired by chandler and janice tbh. these two are pretty incompatible and whenever they’re together all they talk about is breaking up with each other but whenever they’re broken up and they see each other they somehow always find themselves waking up in bed together the next morning. it’s a mess.

NERD SQUAD. give me newt’s friends from high school please and thanks. just a crew of absolutely dweebs and misfits.

FWB/EWB. self explanatory considering newt’s big commitment issues but i just imagine like making out in the back room and like hooking up in the break room and someone leaving like a damning article of clothing in there and the two of them scrambling to get it before anyone notices. just fun.

EX. self explanatory but yes, an ex gf or bf, an ex fwb or ewb, give me all the exes please.

REPEAT CUSTOMER. this person is always paying newt to come fix their computer and other tech and newt just doesn’t understand how they mess it up so badly. like he doesn’t get how or why technology hates them as much as it does, but he’ll take the money.

HATESHIP. just good old fashion animosity. could be hate from school or the fresh hate upon working in the mall together or they can just be newt’s least favourite customer and he can hate them for that.

CRUSH. maybe newt had a crush on them in school. maybe they had a crush on newt in school. maybe newt has a crush on them now. maybe they have a crush on newt now.

and anything else tbh. i’d love a smoking buddy for newt, a friend who he can never get any work done around like when they’re together they’re just like !!!, someone who used to be one of the popular kids who he is now getting along with or still holding a grudge against, his big gay awakening in school maybe like the first masc person he had a crush on, someone who tries to get newt to party and come out of his shell, someone who idk steals from babbages skjsdj idk man i am open to anything at all so just like this and we can brain storm if anything!

#vhsintro #r.n. | intro.#using this gif of timmy surfing cause when else am i gonna get the chance #but oof finally done

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unwoundvisions · 4 years

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Macayla Laurence Info Dump 7

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

The first time she saw Laurie be praised by his friends for his more carefree nature threw her for a loop because she was always judged or scolded for it. That and many of the other hypocrisies when face made her feel helpless for a really long time. It also led to her not really being herself around most people.

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

She doesn’t wear many things with pockets and is envious that men just naturally get to have pockets. Honestly, if she did have them she would probably just have sweets in them.

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

She doesn’t really dream which disappoints her because she would really like to. If she ever remembers a dream, it’s usually a nightmare that feel so vivid she has trouble going back to sleep after.

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Oh yes, quite often. Her grandfather taught her how to use a gun when she was around 13. He wished for her to join them on those big hunting parties they often had but she had no intentions on doing so. Still, she had a genuine interest in target practice and became the best shot in the family. Granted, she’s only ever fired at stationary targets but her shot is usually more accurate than Laurie’s or her grandfather’s.

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Not really. Her father did denounce a lot of the family’s money when he married her mother. Still, her mother made pretty good money as a musician and she can’t recall them ever struggling. After their death, she and Laurie grew accustom to the wealth their grandfather had.

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

She is much more comfortable in less clothing but rarely ever gets to wear something comfortable. The noble fashion usually involves lots of layers and that’s just dreadful for her.

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

The time a man attempted to have his way with her. He had seemed like a very nice man and she had never expected him to do such a thing. She had dismissed his advances and assumed he’d give up like everyone else but the second she turned her back, he grabbed her. It was terrifying but thankfully she was loud enough to get help before anything serious could happen.

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

She was shockingly calm with Rachel’s crew for a while. Not exactly happy or thrilled to be hostage but she felt at ease with them. She felt safe to a certain extent.

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Not really. If anything, it triggers something in her to do something. She usually tries to help whoever is bleeding any way she can.

Does your character remember names or faces easier?

She can easily remember faces. She can remember names too but not as well.

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Not really. She of course has both but it’s not something she feels like she needs to be happy. She only wishes to use her wealth to help others.

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

Happiness and she still holds out for happiness despite always being urged to make compromises in her life.

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

She admires both a great deal but ambition is something she admires a lot because she considers herself to be slightly ambitious.

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

She’s never really had a romantic relationship before. However, some of biggest flaws would most likely is that she is hesitant to say how she truly feels until she is sure the other person is serious about her. Her other flaw is her insecurity. She struggles with her confidence sometimes. Not all the time but there are days where she doubts everything about herself and her appearance. She also gets anxious and often overthinks things. She’s also very emotional which isn’t exactly a flaw but could make arguments harder.

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

She is guilty of comparing herself to others but whenever she notices that she’s doing that, she can usually stop herself because deep down she knows that comparing yourself to anyone is pointless.

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

It sort of depends on what happened. She doesn’t like to point the blame at other people unless it’s absolutely necessary. She’s more likely to blame herself but she really doesn’t even do that unless she feels personally responsible.

What does your character like in other people?

She can like a lot about people but generally likes if they are determined, brave, funny or kind. As long as they are a good person, she’ll probably like them.

What does your character dislike in other people?

Overall, she dislikes people who look down on others. Judgmental people. Hateful or cruel people.

How quick is your character to trust someone else?

She is very hesitant to trust people given how gossipy nobles are. She’s always hesitant about revealing too much of her true self.

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

She will suspect others pretty quickly because she’s been betrayed by “friends” far too many times for not behaving enough like a lady. However, if she is close to someone, she will most likely never suspect them because they’ve earned her loyalty and trust.

How does your character behave around children?

She’s always liked children and genuinely enjoys entertaining them. She’s also never minded taking care of them. Because she is a older sister, she’s always sort of had a maternal instinct and she’s always seen herself being a mother at some point in her future.

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

She is going to cry. No way around it, she will eventually start crying. She always tries to hold her own and but if the person is being a bit too harsh or speaking a little too loud, she’ll cry. She can’t help it. Hell, she’ll cry if she feels like she’s not being understood. Truly, the crying is most likely unavoidable. She can be furious and crying at the same time. It’s a mess honestly.

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

She’s not really a violent person. It truly takes someone else attacking her first, or attacking the people she loves first to draw a physical reaction from her.

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

When she was younger, her mother really influenced her more creative passions. She used to dream of being a singer or actress. She kept dreaming of that for a while until she and Laurie came into their Grandfather’s care where that dream got pushed aside as she grew up.

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

She truly can’t stand any kind of any kind of bigotry, sexism or anything hateful like that. Whenever people are cruel or abusive is awful to her as well.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

She is at her most comfortable when she feels as if she can truly be herself. Usually late at nights with Laurie where she doesn’t have to worry about carrying herself properly all the time.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

Usually at parties because she is usually crowded by potential husbands. She doesn’t like being sought after by so many people as if she’s nothing but a trinket. She’s not very comfortable around men in general because far too many of them have talked down to her, tried to touch her or other inappropriate things.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

It depends. If the person giving them criticism is genuinely trying to help her improve, she’ll try to take the criticism and improve. However, if someone is offering unhelpful criticism, she will probably get upset and defensive.

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

She will immediately try another method if it did not work the first time. She’d rather find a way that does work than waste time a method that didn’t.

How does your character behave around people they like?

If she likes them, that must mean she trusts them. If that is the case, she is a lot more carefree and herself. She’s happier, relaxed and eager to have fun. She’s not at all worried about keeping up appearances or behaving properly. She’s a lot more confident and sure of herself.

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Very cold and ridged. If she does not like the person, she’ll most likely say as little as possible because she does not want to engage with them what so ever. If they do try to engage her, she’ll try to be civil but her irritation will probably be evident.

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Defending her honor for sure. She’s done everything under the sun to ensure the family’s status is protected but if someone were to question her honor, she’d prioritize that.

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

It sort of depends on the situation. If it’s possible to avoid the threat/problem, she will because that most likely means a horrible situation can be avoided. However, if it’s unavoidable she’d rather face the threat/problem head on.

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

She was actually bitten by a dog when she was a baby. Thankfully, she was so young that she can’t remember it. She doesn’t have a fear of dogs, she actually loves them. It did leave her with a small scar near her mouth though.

How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Given that her home is staffed with people working for them, she’s always treated them very well. Her grandfather always taught her and Laurie to be respectful to those waiting on others.

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Not at all. She knows everything she has is simply because she was born into a wealthy family and thinks there are people far more deserving of it than her.

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Not really, she and Laurie have always had their grandfather.

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

Not really. There have been several people who helped take care of her and Laurie when they were growing up such as nannies, tutors, ect but they always had their grandfather.

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

Saying it to her family is very easy to her. Saying it to friends is easy as well. She’s never told a person she loves them in a romantic sense. She’d be very hesitant to do that though because she has a fear of rejection. She can’t really imagine saying the words without meaning them.

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

She does believe in an afterlife but doesn’t think it’s exactly what people imagine it to be like. She assumes it’s nice but just not exactly as it’s described. However, just because she believes in afterlife, that doesn’t mean she does not fear death. She fears death and will always fear dying which is why she wants to live her life to the fullest.

#➵ cunning cayla #✧ modest musings ✧#༄ The Voyage (sky pirate fic)

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Armchair Analyst: What's at stake for all 22 MLS teams in action in Week 34

October 19, 201812:45PM EDT

The regular season’s penultimate weekend. At this point you probably know – broadly speaking – every team’s tactics. So let’s take a look at what’s at stake in all 11 games this weekend.

Bear in mind that the Revs, who were throttled 4-1 at RSL on Thursday night, are the only team who won’t take the field.

Here we go:

The Early Games

Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

The Supporters’ Shield, maybe? Home field throughout the playoffs? Maybe a good chunk of Tata Martino’s legacy – and Josef Martinez’s – before he maybe heads south to take over El Tri?

What Tata’s built has been magnificent, and this team will be remembered for a good, long time, no matter what happens. But in order for the Atlanta United Way™ to become the league blueprint, it needs to be sealed with more than just big transfer fees and individual accolades. Martino’s team needs to win a trophy, and it’s hard to imagine they’d win one if they figure out a way to drop home points to this Chicago team at this stage in the season.

Josef, meanwhile, needs to make one last push to cement his MVP credentials. It was unquestionable at this time last month, but he’s gone dry while Zlatan has led the Galaxy on something of a playoff push. This game, with Miguel Almiron out and silverware in the balance, is the perfect venue to remind people of whose team it is.

The elephant in the room is Ezequiel Barco. With Almiron out, it seems like this is the kid’s chance to take the reins:

He has the on-the-ball skill to play that role. So far he has not displayed anything close to the kind of vision necessary.

At stake for Chicago is absolutely nothing but pride. I was surprised that Veljko Paunovic was so sanguine about his future in Bridgeview, but there it is.

D.C. United vs. NYCFC 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

The old axiom is “games in hand don’t mean anything unless you use them” and I’ll go ahead and say it: No team in MLS history has used its games in hand as well as D.C. United. A win here and they are officially into the playoffs, and will have gotten there by going 11-2-3 since the midway point of the season. Here’s what that climb looks like:

They could be in fifth by the end of the weekend (unlikely since Columbus play Orlando City, but still), and possessed of an outside chance at winding up in third place by the end of Decision Day presented by AT&T.

Which tells you what’s on the line for a reeling NYCFC team. D.C.’s great run of form started on July 28, while on July 29 NYCFC forgot how to soccer and haven’t rediscovered it since. They’re 2-5-4 in their last 11 games and are in danger of playing themselves into a road trip for the Knockout Round – deadly for a side that’s been not great away from Yankee Stadium.

A single point for the visitors here would be ginormous as it would virtually guarantee home field in the Knockout Round.

Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

It’s win or die for the Impact, who’ve gone 10-5-4 since the start of June and have really, really had their moments. But they’ve had some notable lapses as well, including a pretty comprehensive 3-1 loss to this same TFC team at the end of August.

For the Reds there’s nothing but pride and hatred of a rival on the line. There’s obviously no salvaging this season for TFC – that ship sailed sometime in late July, and has been making for the horizon ever since – but at the very least they could do the honors of knocking out their most loathed enemy. I personally find the ability to deliver a helping of schadenfreude to be good fuel.

Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew SC 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Crew SC fans were big winners last week, and are on the verge of doubling it up here as a win against the worst team in the league (sorry Quakes, I know what the standings say but c’mon) gets them through to the playoffs and keeps alive the fight for home field in the Knockout Round. As it stands they’re fifth behind the Union, but Philly have much tougher games down the stretch – home vs. RBNY, at NYCFC – than Columbus do (at Orlando, home vs. MNUFC).

Friendly reminder that the last time these two teams met, the Purple Lions took Columbus deep into stoppage time before Wil Trapp found the game-winner from 35 yards:

Columbus don’t need more of that, though. They’re still in desperate need of goals from their wingers, and until they get that they should be considered prohibitive underdogs once they get into the playoffs (which they will).

Orlando are 1-19-3 since their six-game unbeaten run ended back in May, taking six of the last 69 points on offer. On Wednesday they lost 2-1 at home to a shorthanded Seattle team, in the process setting a new record for defensive futility (their 72 goals conceded is the most in MLS history). They’ve not had a nice season.

My colleague Bobby Warshaw detailed their midweek struggles HERE.

Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

All that stuff at the top about the Shield being on the line for Atlanta should they drop points to Chicago? That’s predicated upon the idea that the Red Bulls will get full points here, which is not a particularly great bet. Philly are unbeaten in four, and are 9-3-2 in MLS play since the middle of July. In the Eastern Conference just D.C. and RBNY have had better records (and only slightly better).

And these teams have already met twice this year. Philly got a scoreless draw in Harrison back in May, and then been RBNY 2-1 in Open Cup play in Chester a month later.

This all by way of saying that the Union have been really, really good for about the last six months, and if they win this they come pretty close to solidifying home field in the Knockout Round.

RBNY, meanwhile, need three points or their Shield hopes are pretty close to done. Both teams should throw caution to the wind here because a draw helps neither.

The Late Games

FC Dallas vs. Sporting KC 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Dallas remain atop the West despite their indifferent second half of the season form, as they’ve gone just 6-5-4 since the midpoint of 2018. Obviously that’s not so great, and obviously the problem is their attack. While they’ve had some good moments, those have come in fits and starts and have proved to be unreliable/unrepeatable.

To that point: In their past five games they’ve been shut out three times and have scored just two goals from the run of play, both of those against what is literally the worst defense in MLS history. On top of that, they’ve only beaten one playoff team in the second half of the year.

Of course that playoff team was Sporting KC, at Sporting, back on July 28 in a fun and high-scoring 3-2 affair. We were all so young then.

If FCD lose here then SKC jump them and move into the top spot in the West, and LAFC most likely skip past them as well. It’s not nothing – I’m sure they’d prefer to have the whole week after Decision Day to rest up, rather than having to play in the Knockout Round – but it’s also not the biggest deal in the world, either.

SKC were sluggish and bad for their first 60 minutes on Wednesday in Vancouver, then fun and rampant for the final 30 of a 4-1 win:

Clever ball here from 16-yr-old Gianluca Busio, who made his 7th MLS appearance last night for Sporting KC and got his first MLS goal. The first 10 of his 30 mins were rough, but he grew into the game and hit several insightful passes. KC scored 3 after he came on. #VANvSKC pic.twitter.com/DeE9YBv3GQ

— Scuffed (@zlebmada) October 18, 2018

Busio’s fun, but with Felipe Gutierrez back it’s unlikely he plays much this weekend.

Anyway, Wednesday’s big win means it’s super unlikely SKC will fall out of the top four and into yet another road Knockout Round game, but that chance does still exist. A single point here guarantees (not mathematically, but there’s no way the Timbers are making up 17 goals worth of tiebreaker in the final two weeks) fourth place at the very worst, and a home playoff game in Kansas for the first time since everybody froze to death at MLS Cup 2013.

Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Let’s give it up for the Sounders, who dug an even deeper hole in the first half of 2018 than they had in 2017 or 2016, and responded by putting together literally the longest real(*) winning streak in league history, and the best half-season PPG in league history. They are playing good, pretty and winning soccer no matter what Bobby says.

And on Wednesday in Orlando, without Nicolas Lodeiro or Gustav Svensson or Raul Ruidiaz, they calmly and comprehensively clinched a playoff berth for the 10th straight season.

Here’s the kicker: Their work’s not done yet. Given how their respective schedules map out, it seems pretty likely that we’re destined for a Seattle v. Portland game in the Knockout Round. And while the Sounders are currently in fourth, it’s only by two points and the Timbers have a manageable final two games. Seattle need to keep their run going unless they want to open the playoffs on short rest at their biggest rival’s home.

Since they raised the US Open Cup trophy last month the Dynamo have been playing like a team making offseason plans, including a 4-1 loss to this same Seattle team.

LAFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Vancouver’s season ended over the past 48 hours. Not mathematically as they can still get to 49 points and 14 wins, but they’re not making up a -14 goal differential. It’s done.

So what do they throw out there against an LAFC team that’s made a habit of carving up bad defenses, and are 6-1-2 in their last nine?

Honestly, it shouldn’t matter. If LAFC are as good as I think they are, and as good as they’re supposed to be, they’ll go out there and win this one comfortably no matter how the ‘Caps line up.

This tweet is correct, by the way:

The most important part of #LAFC’s big win was Carlos Vela assisting a goal by Adama Diomande, because they had really lacked chemistry before tonight. Crucial that they develop a stronger connection in the final third, going into the playoffs.#LAFCvHOU #MLS pic.twitter.com/UokXk8AY5W

— #ThankYouDeuce (@JogaBonito_USA) October 13, 2018

This is what needs to continue for the Wingdings. And I need to see them be a little smoother playing from the back than they were last week.

Minnesota United vs. LA Galaxy 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Minnesota United finished last year on 36 points, with 70 goals conceded and a -23 goal differential.

In 2018 they signed one home run of a DP in Darwin Quintero, and with two weeks left are on… 36 points, with 65 goals conceded and a -19 goal differential. Injuries have made for some extenuating circumstances, but 1) there has been minimal improvement, and 2) I don’t entirely believe this:

Just off the phone with Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright, who reiterated his support for Loons coach Adrian Heath and GM Manny Lagos in the wake of his “passing grade” comments to @theothermegryan last week.

He said Heath and Lagos will be back in their current roles in 2019.

— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) October 4, 2018

If Minnesota finish their season with a home loss to the lowly Rapids, and then a home loss to the Galaxy, and then go on the road and lose at Columbus (which I’m pretty sure they will), and show basically zero year-over-year improvement, it’s fair to assume their brain trust has been graded on a curve.

It’s simple for the Galaxy: They win or their season ends.

It’s safe to assume there will be major changes coming to Carson this offseason regardless of whether LA make the playoffs or not, but guys are very much playing and coaching for jobs here. Also bear in mind that the MVP race could actually get pretty real, and if Zlatan – who is, by the way, in the process of setting a league record for goals + assists per 90 – really is the god he says he is, this would be a good weekend to show it.

Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

If RSL hadn’t come out on Thursday night and absolutely drilled the Revs, this would be hands-down the biggest game of the weekend. Worth noting, for those of you with ESPN+ and a hankering for USMNT candidates: In a must-win game, in the playoff race, rookie Homegrown Corey Baird put in the best attacking performance any American’s had this year in MLS. He utterly dominated the first half, and while I’m not screaming “cap him now!!!!111” I am, at the very least, saying “bring him to camp in January!”

Baird kind of flew under the radar because he chose to go to Stanford at age 17 instead of signing a pro contract. And he could’ve signed a pro contract either in MLS or Europe, and has spent most of this season going out there and proving why. His 8g/5a in 1900 minutes this year compare pretty favorably to other youngish attackers Albert Rusnak (10g/7a in 2500 minutes), Alphonso Davies (6g/11a in 2250 minutes) and Michael Barrios (6g/6a in 2350 minutes).

So yeah, Thursday night took a lot of the drama out of this game – which, for clarity, is RSL’s last of the year – but not all the drama because the Galaxy are still lurking and Zlatan is still talking big. If RSL lose or tie, and LA win out, they jump the Claret-and-Cobalt in the standings and another season in Utah ends before November arrives.

There is also a non-zero chance Portland miss the playoffs, though it is small: They would have to lose this game and their Decision Day trip to Vancouver, and LA would have to win out. It would be a pretty crazy confluence of events, but this is MLS and this is the year 2018, so who’s brave enough to bet against it?

But the more realistic “what’s at stake?” answer is “playoff seeding.” Just like Seattle don’t want to start their playoffs on the road against a rival, same goes for Portland. That trip up I-5 has not treated them kindly over the years.

Quick reminder that, two weeks ago at Rio Tinto, Portland stuffed RSL in the trash.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

There is nothing at stake in this game except pride, and maybe the chance for a few Quakes players to impress future head coach Matias Almeyda.

EDIT: Somehow I forgot about #WondoWatch. He’ll probably bag a brace now and claim the record in front of his home fans, which would be pretty dope.

One More Thing to Ponder

That’s a single image. Perspective is fun.

Happy weekending, everybody.

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Armchair Analyst: What's at stake for all 22 MLS teams in action in Week 34 was originally published on 365 Football

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Armchair Analyst: Good, Bad & Ugly of the most recent USMNT camp

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October 17, 20189:45AM EDT

The latest two friendlies – a 4-2 loss to Colombia and a 1-1 draw with Peru – are in the books. Given the stakes of the game (null), where we are in the cycle (hella early) and the roster called in (experimental), none of what happened should be keeping anybody up at night for good or for bad. They were just friendlies.

That said, there’s always something to learn if you’ve got an open mind and a keen eye. So let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad & the Ugly from the last 180 minutes of USMNT play.

The Good

• Dave Sarachan saved his best for last. When he took over a year ago his mandate was more or less 1) to breathe some life back into the program by playing as many kids as possible, 2) to sort out the defense at least a little bit and 3) to get his players to play with pride and toughness.

For the first eight games of his tenure he read that as “play a bunch of defensive midfielders – even if they’re out of position – and very few attackers.” What, exactly, did we learn from games in which Tyler Adams was at winger?

He shed his overly defensive ways for the last two games and while that meant the U.S. got drilled against Los Cafeteros, I don’t care. By playing pretty much every player in their best spot, we learned a lot about who could compete at that level. By doing the same against Peru, we learned about who could compete at that level. These games were fun and good and an extremely valuable couple of data points.

Would’ve been nice to get the win against Peru, but I don’t blame the coach for that.

• The kids the kids the kids the kids. Even without Adams, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic, these last two games were revelatory (and don’t forget the game before that, against Mexico, in which the 19-year-old Adams scored the game-winner off of a perfect cross from 21-year-old left back Antonee Robinson).

What do I mean by “revelatory?” This:

omfgggg pic.twitter.com/l8d1eFhpfg

— Arthur Kogan (@TheRealArturK) October 17, 2018

That’s 23-year-old Kellyn Acosta to 18-year-old Josh Sargent to 19-year-old Jonathan Amon to 18-year-old Tim Weah. It didn’t quite come off, which is a shame because if it had, it would’ve been one of the very best goals the U.S. scored this decade.

There were little moments like this in attack scattered throughout the last two games. Sargent’s ability to link play both through midfield and in the final third is advanced for a kid who’s only every played five meaningful games against adults; Amon has a gift for making the first defender miss and his ideas with the ball are very good; Weah not only made the play of the game against Colombia, but he appears to be on his way toward becoming a DaMarcus Beasley-esque defensive presence on the wing.

I’m gonna add 20-year-old FC Dallas right back Reggie Cannon to this group as well. Not for a single second, in his debut, did he look out of place, and the few times he got forward he was able to become part of the play.

The end product mostly wasn’t there on this night, but guess what? I don’t care. You play these tough games with these kids at this part of the cycle with the hope that they will learn from them, and be ready to provide more end product six months from now, and 12 months from now, and 24 months from now and beyond that.

I saw seeds of creative attacking play, and I saw moments of real chemistry. It was good.

• With all due respect to Sargent, the best player on the pitch for the U.S. on Tuesday was Aaron Long. He was smooth and unfazed even while putting out fires and defending in isolation all throughout the first half. Then in the second half, with the USMNT determined to get on the ball a little bit more, he was the one who started most sequences, calmly distributing through the Peruvian press.

Most of those sequences died in midfield, which we’ll get to in a minute. But Long – who, like Cannon and Amon, was making his international debut – walked out onto the field against a top 20-ish team in the world and put forth the best game an American center back has played this year.

If Long can replicate this next month against England or Italy, one of John Brooks or Matt Miazga is going to have to fight for their job.

The Bad

• Michael Bradley’s first 70 minutes against Colombia were really good, and his last 20 minutes were the opposite of that. The veteran tasked with locking down a result let Falcao slip right past him and into the box for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Then on Tuesday, Cannon was subbed out after 84 really solid minutes for veteran right back DeAndre Yedlin. One-hundred-twenty seconds later, this happened:

For both veterans, the defensive lapses represented a worrying continuation of their respective club form.

There’s maybe nobody in the world who needs an offseason more than Bradley, who’s basically played every available minute since he was 17 years old and looks like he’s carrying all of them out there whenever he sets foot on the pitch. He can still bring calmness to the game and spray passes better than any d-mid in the US pool, but watch him (try to) move and, compared to the player he was 12 or 18 or 24 months ago… it’s night and day.

I question whether he’ll ever get his legs back.

With Yedlin, I’m on the verge of giving up the ghost re: him ever being a conscientious defender. He’s 25, so definitely not a kid anymore. He’s played 200-plus professional games, 65 of them in the English Premier League. Why is he still falling asleep at the back post? Why is he still getting pulled into no-man’s-land?

On this roster, he should be a leader – someone who sets the tone and makes veteran plays that the kids don’t even see unfolding. He wasn’t that at all.

• It was always going to be a tall task in any of these last four games, and if at the start of September you’d offered me a 1-2-1 record with a -3 goal differential against Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, I’d have taken it.

But yeah, the old complaint is there: I’d like to have seen more meaningful possession through midfield rather than hurried, nervous, scattered play. It was especially lacking in the first half against Peru.

If Gregg Berhalter takes over next month – and at this point, it’d be kind of shocking if he didn’t – it’ll be interesting to see how much of Columbus Crew SC’s calm, two-touch soccer he tries to bring to the national team. Given the player pool, maybe it’s just not worth it.

But I actually suspect it is. Let me put it this way: Counterattacking is fine, and we should do a lot of it. But good-to-great counterattacking teams, in any league or international competition, tend to end up with 40 to 45 percent of the ball. The U.S. against Peru had 31.6 percent.

I’m still fine with the result, but how much more satisfying would Tuesday have been if they’d been able to just put their foot on the ball for the final 15 minutes and kill the game off? If you can’t do that, you’re going to invite teams forward, and if you invite teams forward, you’re leaving yourself open for back-breaking last-minute goals at the back post.

The Ugly

• Antonee Robinson’s night was a STRUGGLE against Colombia, just as it was against Brazil in September. Ben Sweat’s first half was a nightmare against Peru.

Robinson bounced back with a strong sub appearance, including that game-winning assist, against Mexico. Sweat bounced back with a defensively competent and occasionally useful offensive performance in the second half against Peru. Anyone who looks at the left back position and decides that all hope is lost is being ridiculous.

One of the best things Sarachan did was leaving Sweat in there. Dude played through his yips and was useful in the second half.https://t.co/5hXrnY22M8

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) October 17, 2018

Anyone who looks at it and says it’s a position of strength is being equally ridiculous. Robinson needs to develop some smarts in a league not known for emphasizing that, Sweat needs to bottle what he had in the second half and make sure he brings it to bear for the full 90 whenever he’s on the field for club or country, Danilo Acosta needs to find a team that will play him, and maybe Nick Lima (who’s right-footed, but is equally comfortable at left back) needs a look as well.

Regardless, unless George Bello is about to make a Cannon-esque ascent in 2018, this is an area of concern.

• Wil Trapp did a nice job of organizing the US midfield – there’s a reason Peru didn’t have a shot on goal until the 70th minute, and it was because the U.S. lines were tight and connected even after the countless turnovers that plagued the team.

What he didn’t do was win the ball much, at all, in the center of the pitch, and that puts a hard cap on his usefulness as a player, especially with younger guys like Adams and Russell Canouse coming through the ranks. Moreover, Trapp’s biggest strength has always been his ability to organize the game by spraying possession from side to side and eventually playing his team into the attacking third.

On Tuesday, he wasn’t able to do that:

By no means was this entirely his fault. Sweat’s struggles meant that Trapp was constantly pulled out wide to help shut down Peruvian attacks; none of the other midfielders could put a foot on the ball and control the game even a little bit; the whole endeavor was hamstrung by a lack of urgency to push the game forward, which meant that even when the USMNT were in good spots they were hesitant to do anything except cycle uselessly.

It happens.

But Trapp is 25 – not a kid – and while he’s not the type of veteran that Yedlin is, he was nonetheless one of the older players in this camp and was expected to bring some sort of order to the chaos, and he did not. If he’s unable to do that in the long run, he will find himself looking up the depth chart at others very, very soon.

• Bringing Sweat back on for the second half was one of the best things that Sarachan did, since it led to 45 solid minutes for a previously nervous player at a position of need. Maybe he’ll never wear the Red, White & Blue again, but (more likely) when he does wear it again in January camp, we’ll all see a more confident and competent player. It was a good piece of man management.

So was benching Kenny Saief for this game:

We assumed COL were targeting robinson but really they just went after the weakest entry point in the 442. After the goal dave moved saief right (instead of telling him to play real defense). COL found him there too. Then it’s dominoes pic.twitter.com/43UmYOQfC3

— constable velasquez (@away_goals) October 15, 2018

Click through and look at that whole thread, with clips, of Saief’s lack of defensive effort against Colombia. That’s unacceptable from any player at any age, but for a 24-year-old – again, not a kid – who plays for a UEFA Champions League team?

I had high hopes for Saief heading into this camp and was hugely disappointed by what we saw last week. Hopefully the message has been sent and we’ll see better from him the next time he’s given the opportunity to fight for a role with this team.

• Same for Julian Green, I hope. He got stuck in on a tackle against Colombia and it led to Wood’s goal. He pulled out of a tackle (you can hear Ian Darke commenting upon it at the start of the clip above) against Peru and it led to a goal conceded. That’s not how you win a job.

Green is, from my point of view, still a man without a real position with this group. He gets into great spots, but doesn’t have the speed to be a pure winger, doesn’t have the technique to eliminate players off the dribble, and doesn’t have anything close to the vision needed to be a playmaker.

The good news? If he can get healthy, the next time the U.S. step on a field it’ll likely be Pulisic picking the ball up in those spots. And if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, you just don’t know how to be happy.

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Armchair Analyst: Good, Bad & Ugly of the most recent USMNT camp was originally published on 365 Football

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