#yeah loss of XP in game but

[nightfal1n]

Just curious, what sort of drawing equipment do you use? (Tablet, drawing laptop etc.) - sorry if this has been asked/mentioned before 😅

I have an HP Spectre myself, but it’s Very Old so I have to get something new soon and there’s too much to choose from 🫠

Also, I love your drawings so much!! I’m amazed at how you’ve been able to release new pieces daily - hope you’re not pushing yourself though 😣

Thanks for an ask! also been enjoying your okohoshi art and hc a lot.... they're soft (,,´ω｀*,,)

For my setup, I have gaming laptop (2021 ryzen 9 zephyrus) + xp-pen 14 (2nd generation) poor bundled remote control is never used for drawing and recently got Ipad pro (12'' 4th generation) as a backup device which I'm still trying to get used to.

Both has their own merit but maybe Ipad will be a better value for newcomers? They has a great screen and optimized application for more compact and cheaper package (compared to high-spec pc+tablet combo. full setup and software will end up cost you more). Though personally I'll still keep using PC as a main because everything on ipad are so heavily rely on internet. As much as I'm thankful to Procreate for one-time purchase it's still no Clip Studio Paint (sadly subscription-only for mobiles) and I'm aware of compatibility and stuff. For laptop at least I have windows 7 and old csp installation files to turn back to (<- will continue to be wary of everything live services until he dies)

Honorable mention: There's Z fold 4 I use when I'm outside and need sketching...it's okay for drawing (and excellent for almost everything else) but I do regret buying ibispaint on it. Didn't plan to have ipad back then orz (Concept free edition and Artflow are more than enough)

It's warm my heart to know there's people enjoying my arts out there. I do those routine to cope so...not a big deal.....um... (look at my own backlog and thinking what's wrong with this guy? is he planning to die sometime soon?....totally in deny that I'm looking at my own works)...I need to get something out to compensate saturday kn8 loss TTwTT AND NOW THAT I REMEMBERING IT THAT MANGA CLIFFHANGER IS KILLING ME AGAIN...yeah, I'm not pushing myself at at all (read: my life is already over since I decided to pick up the manga...but I'm content with that (*'▽'))

Here is a virtual tea&cookies set! Have a nice day (っ・ w ・)っ🍵🍪

[meganuzlockediary]

Pokemon Black! Already Worked up!

20th June

Ok it is decided! I got excited about playing these games so I chose Black over Platinum for now. I loved Black when it came out and in my opinion this genration is the best in the series. So much thought was put into it! It really was the pinnacle of the DS era. It is also probably one of Pokemon's toughest era. Fortunately with 150 new pokemon to use plus the old ones in Black and White 2 im not so worried about my losses!

So here goes nothing!

My starter choice is Tepig this game. A strong Fire Fighting type which was my brother favourite in the past. I have never been a fan but a strong and guaranteed fighting type for the famous run killer Lenora will be useful. I name him El Piggo he has a -Speed nature which I am already feeling but Emboar wasn't horrendously fast anyway.

Honestly, I breeze through the opening. Tepig is a great start and blasts through all opponants. I feel bad because there are so many cool touches at the beginning. The little scene with Bianca is literally 7 lines long but is very well written. The battles at the start walking onto route 1 together and Ghestsis' speech are really engaging. With that I battle N. His purrloin ain't much to my level 7 tepig at this point. I actually get my girlfriend to fight him. A rare video gaming occurance.

With that I head to route two and get a Patrat I name Alvin. Honestly He is just fodder again in preparation for Lenora especially with the worse ability but we shall see. Last but not least I head to the dream yeard for Pansage as it really is the only answer to the upcoming Panpour and honestly when else am I going to use one.

This is going to be tiny on mobiles but these are the three. The new format sucks for this unfortunately.

With that I handily beat cheren with Pansage and Tepig before heading into the gym... OK a bit of a power increase. I ahve to grind on patrats and lillipups for bloody ages to get to level 14. The xp just doesnt go up! I'm glad I do though because the battle against Cress does not go as planned.

So yeah, When I said this is when pokemon starts to actually get hard. I wasn't kidding! I send in Tepig against Lillipup because thats what you are meant to do and I start tackling. Unfortunately it can only do chip damage about 25% he is doing 20% with his bite and didnt use work up. So, I'm happy I'm chill. He gets down to about 50% and then pulls off a critical hit bite! Which Flinches me! activates my berry! Which he then steals at the end of the turn and ALSO HEALS!!!! WHAT! I blame Cheren for this! Since when did pickup do that! I am astonished. Whats worse is I have another pokemon in the back with another Oran berry! I sneak in a few more tackles before I am forced to switch into Patrat! Who I did not train. So I spend the time using leer, I eventually go for tackle fearing a work up that could wipe the team. But it doesnt hit the range and procs a potion. Patrat goes down but I bring in Pansage and finish it off with a vine whip. Which fortunately does finish it off. Enough monkey business! Pansage basically can't be beaten now. As water gun deals practically nothing and vine whip is dominating the panpour!

That insane combination can't have been a high chance but I'm fuming. I was mere inches from losing my starter there and would have been furious! I can't believe how lucky I had to get there! Never again!

Gym badges won: 65

Pokemon Used: 140

Pokemon Defeated: 31 (didn't like Patrat much anyway)

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Initial thoughts on OW2:

Having played roughly 10ish games tonight, some wins some losses, and completing my three daily challenge rewards, I’m about level 4 on the BP, and this is including the 20% boost in XP I get from I guess having the paid BP which tbh I didn’t even know I was getting. I knew I paid for something, but quite honestly I just want the PvE mode that’s probably never coming.

Anyways, initially I thought that this meant XP was incredibly stingy, and it might still be, jury’s still out, but when I got to thinking about it, 4-5 levels a day, I think that’s maybe reasonable. I don’t really know how long a season is, I’m assuming it’s a quarterly thing so ~13 weeks I guess. 13 weeks is 91 days, so 91 days of dailies you can do to earn quick XP. Plus there’s weeklies on top of that, as well as some season-wide challenges, though I don’t actually know if those give you XP or if they just give you outright items. It’s not terrible. You’d finish the BP in about ~20 days, probably more since not everyone can play 10 games in a sitting, and who the fuck knows how outrageous the daily challenges might become.

I didn’t really play as Kimiko much. I had ample opportunity to, mind you, but the few minutes that I did play her sort of confused me to the point that I just decided it would be better to swap to someone I know how to play. That’s probably not a dig on the hero herself, I just didn’t really give her a chance to figure out her kit.

I will say, one ‘good’ thing, if you can call it that, is that this whole mess of a launch did at least reinvigorate the community a bit. This feels like Day 1 all over again, which is kind of nice. People were active in chat, asking what everyone thought of the game, or making memes as usual. I played against an infinitely superior Reinhardt and we joked about how you don’t need no stinking guns when you have a HAMMAH! Shit like that is what I think this game lives for.

Game looks nice. New maps are pretty good (except one of the robot maps but I can’t recall the name of it, but something about it just felt really off to me).

The queue to get into the actual game itself was a bit frustrating. Not even so much because of the queue itself, that much I’ve come to expect on a Day 1 release (even though there’s really no excuse these days for that sort of issue but w/e), but what bugged me was that the queue would just straight up ‘lie’ to you sometimes. I hopped in and it said there were 0 people ahead of me, 5 mins later it says 30,000 people were ahead of me. To their credit, it really didn’t take all that long to get by 30,000 people, maybe like 15 minutes. This happened again later where it said there were 800 people ahead of me, and then it jumped to 4000 after waiting for over five minutes. I understand technically that it’s just trying to load the actual number, but it still seems wrong to give me a random incorrect number only to correct it later.

OVERALL, yeah no there was no reason for OW2 to be a thing. That fact isn’t going to change any time soon I don’t think. It always should’ve been just an update to OW1. It just feels like they took a big ol’ break on releasing new content and decided to update the graphics a bit while they were gone. Do I think the game is bad? No, it’s still fundamentally Overwatch. Do I think there’s a lot of BS involved in it all? Absolutely. Am I gonna stop playing? Not even remotely.

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Londerland Bloodlines -- Already Editing The Pre-Game Timeline

Mostly because, the day after I posted it, I had a better idea for triggering Victor's move to Los Angeles while trying to remember when you meet Samantha in the main game (whom Victoria is replacing -- turns out it's right after you get the "Dead Ex" quest from Isaac). Rather than Victoria sending him a letter saying her parents (and thus she) aren't moving back to Burtonsville, I imagine it going down closer to this:

-->First of all, I've compressed the timeline down some -- I felt like Victor and Victoria were dating for way too long, especially given their canonical relationship is formed in a much, much shorter period of time. So I've moved the date of their first meeting to late April, and the date of the "Corpse Bride" incident to late June. This means Victor and Victoria were dating for roughly two months, and then the below also takes place over roughly two months, which feels more realistic (Victoria is willing to put up with a lot from her parents, but not quite THIS much)

-->Anyway, yes, at the end of June, after the kidnapping and Emily and all of that, Maudeline, Finis, Victoria, and Hildegarde all go to the summer house to destress, and for a while, everything is okay

-->Maudeline and Finis decide to take the opportunity of being away from the Van Dorts to start introducing Victoria to new suitors once more; an annoyed Victoria, not ready to date again, turns them down

-->There are an increasing number of fights about this -- Victoria finally forces herself to go out on a date with one Augustus Giovanni one evening in September, but she hates the experience (not in the least because Augustus refuses to eat anything and creeps her out) and fakes illness to get out of it early

-->Victoria finally has enough shortly after Augustus and decides she wants out -- with Hildegarde's help, she scrapes up enough money for a plane ticket and a hotel for a little while and flies out to Los Angeles herself

-->Her intention was to send Victor a letter explaining she'd moved so he'd know where to contact her going forward, leaving it with Hildegarde to post -- however, poor Hildegarde loses the letter when Maudeline interrogates her about Victoria's flight. Maudeline takes the letter, destroys it, and sends her own letter to Victor telling him Victoria is "gone" and not to contact them again

-->Victor receives the letter and is stunned, with his brain bouncing back and forth between "did she even care for me, maybe she got sick of me while she was away" and "what the hell did her parents do to make her just up and leave like that" -- either way, he knows he's never finding out where she went from the Everglots, and decides if Victoria can leave her parents, he can too

I feel like this scenario works better with the characters as they're established -- Victoria didn't want to break permanently with Victor, after all, she just wanted some time to get herself back together after a traumatic experience. And then her parents started retraumatizing her and -- well, it all got to be a little much. AND this allows me to note when she met one of the Giovanni clan! So good news all around. :)

Oh! And an idea that I just had while posting this -- maybe the reason she’s coming out of the Cavoletti Cafe when she encounters Victor and Alice isn’t because she’s a patron, it’s because she’s a waitress. She needs a job if she’s been in L.A. the longest out of the mains, after all! So maybe she’s just coming off her shift when she spots her ex? Oooh, I like that. . .

[victoria-writes]

Ira Blood x Reader (All Saints Street) One-Shot

Pairing: Ira Blood x Reader (gender-neutral)

Word Count: 1,040

Summary: You become internet friends with Ira. One day, you meet him irl and feelings start to bloom between the two of you.  

Read it on AO3 too

Story:

It had been raining all day. You were going to be productive today, do some cleaning and laundry. Instead, the sounds of rain outside your window and your oh-so-comfy bed lulled you back to sleep. By the time you woke up, you decided those chores were a problem for another day. You log onto one of your favorite multiplayer games. You decide to play support, healing your teammates to victory. 

You try your best, but you can’t win them all. You sigh as your teammates flood the chat with “gg”s and insults directed at you (you actually did a fine job healing but they need to blame someone). You’re about to move on to another game when you notice something. Someone named Pog_Bloodsucker sent you a friend request. “Bloodsucker? Wasn’t that the tank from the last game?” you ask yourself. Why not? You hit accept and they immediately invite you to a group. Hmm...you do get more XP when you play in groups and they were the only nice one in the last game. You hit accept again. 

You hear a man with a British accent in the voice call, “Hey, mate. How’s it going?”. 

“Uh hi. I’m good. How are you?”, you respond. 

“I’m alright. That last game was something else. You did a really good job healing”.

“Oh thank you! Yeah, it was so close. I really thought we were gonna win haha”

“Haha yeah. What game mode did you wanna play? You’re okay with being support?”. 

You guys went on to play together all night, cracking jokes back and forth all the while. When your eyes start to burn and check the time to see it’s almost 4am, you say goodbye to your new friend Pog_Bloodsucker. He asks for your discord and you add each other on there too. 

After that, you and Mr. Bloodsucker start talking more over discord and playing games together at night. You learn that his name is Ira and he’s a vampire, not just an edgy human who thought “bloodsucker” was cool. What started as awkward quickly turned into a great friendship. You and Ira started telling each other everything. He’d tell you about the hijinks he and his roommates would get into. You’d tell him about work/school and your day-to-day life. Eventually, you learned that he lived in Beijing. 

“Why’d you move so far away?”, you asked him.

“Vampires are so focused on appearances. My family would always make me wear heavy makeup and lacy black clothes. Here, I can wear tracksuits whenever I want”. 

“Tracksuits? You moved to China because you wanted to wear tracksuits?”.

“Yep”.

You couldn’t help bursting out laughing.

“Hey! What’s so funny? Tracksuits are comfortable and practical!”.

“I’m sorry but most people wouldn’t move across the globe for an outfit”. 

“Well that’s their loss. China’s not thaaaat far anyway”.

“Oh yeah, it’s so close...if you own a private jet”.

“Very funny. You should come visit me one day”.

You agreed, jokingly. 

As fate would have it, that promise would come to pass as truth. Your work/school (you pick) announced that you would be spending some time in Beijing working on a major project. They agreed to pay for your hotel and tickets, so how could you refuse? You pass this information onto Ira and he’s ecstatic. He offers for you to come over to his place and hang out in person. Well, you did promise. You agree and he sends you the address. 

Now, you listen to the click-clack of your shoes on the street as you walk to apartment 1031. You were so nervous. You had video calls before but you had never seen him in real life. What if he looked different somehow? What if making conversation is harder in person? You try to calm down and realize you’ve made it to your destination. You knock on the door three times and Ira opens it. His face breaks out into a wide smile when he sees you.

“(Y/N)! It’s good to see you. Sorry for making you come over at night. You know how inconvenient it is for me to move during the day”, he says that last part apologetically as he engulfs you into a hug.

“It wasn’t a problem. It’s good to see you too, Ira”. 

Wow, he was way cuter in person and taller than you expected. Was he blushing? He turns around and leads you inside before you can get a good look. 

“This is my room. Make yourself at home”, he says as he opens the door to a room filled with video games, comic books, action figures, posters, and consoles. 

“Wow...you’re an even bigger nerd than I thought you’d be”.

“What? Shut up”.

“Hey, it’s not a bad thing. I think it’s cute”.

You could’ve sworn steam was going to start pouring out how his ears with how red his face turned when you called him cute. You decide to have mercy on him and not comment on it. You smile when you remember him gloating online about how popular he was with the ladies when he lived in Britain. Did he blush like that when they flirted too? 

“What do you want to do?”, he asks.

“Hmmmm I don’t knooooow we cooooould”, you wonder aloud as you look around his room, trying to come up with an idea. You spot something out of the corner of your eye.

“Woah! You have so many fighting games! Tekken! Street Fighter!”, you flip through his pile of games excitedly. 

“Haha yeah. We could play them if you want”.

The two of you sit down and start playing Street Fighter V. His fingers linger on yours for a bit longer than necessary when he hands you your controller. Ira wins the first few games. He teaches you some combo moves to help you get better. After that, you win! Again, and again, and again, and agai-

“Okay. Okay. I think you’ve proven you’re better at this than me. What now?”.

“Mario Kart?”. 

“You’re on”. 

Something told you you’d be here for a while, but you didn’t mind at all. Especially when you realized how much closer you and Ira were sitting now.

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

stop bleaching the roses

hannah's first day huh? alright vodblogging/vod breakdown time because not many people are talking about the stream and the implications of "guys this is my first day wdym???" is terrifying

spoilers for hannahxxrose's April 17-18, 2021 lore stream

i'm sure hannah's starting xp being 12 means something

hannah weirdly pointing out who planted the server trees

hannah gets philza'd

hannah is suspicious of why she isn't getting any in-game achievements

"cough twice if you need help", "I don't need help," *proceeds to cough*

she blindly ate some spider eyes

"guys this isn't lore"

she's very keen on the landscaping of the various server houses

"i wonder who did this prank" hannah please

hannah weirdly avoided the glass-sealed crater of L'manburg

HBOMB!

Mary Poppin

"whoever lives here must be really big and strong" bruhhh the poor basalt house

"I didn't see any armor"

she has spotted the red banquet posters and is eager to go

"make a pink house" "good idea!" head in hands

okay some of her pausing is making me think she's timing an interaction

shoutout to the dono leading hannah towards the room with the "cool red stuff"

actually yeah, what is hannah hearing?

"I think I'm supposed to go this way" THAT LEADS TO THE EGG?

Sam has joined, with a timely creeper too

she's avoiding the egg room despite repeatedly digging into it

ah the egg is speaking

SAM!

"when i last saw you, i was about to sleep" oh hey sleep connections

not to mention memory loss connections too

(okay i clearly missed a stream because i do not remember hannah having a place in sam's bank)

if hannah was asleep throughout the first hour, she apparently managed to lose her stuff, steal food, and build a new house all while asleep

okay actually, she was visibly hungry for most of that and pointed it out when relaying her experiences to sam

"we have to build this house for Dream!" hhhhh she's tying every loose thread together i do not like this

"'told you to do in your dream?!'" mood sam

hey she blindly hit sam, like in their last interaction

s l e e p w a l k i n g

she has sleptwalked before, but it's clearly very rare; based on the circumstances that led to this, i theorize that she must sleepwalk as a survival mechanism

(hey how high is the chance that is equivalent/similar to ranboo's enderwalking)

"I won't sleepwalk again," Oh Hannah

oh it's improv lore too! banger stream!

[solesurvivorpaigeargot]

Paige has her own story? what's it about?

... confused on whether your referring to the story I’m writing for Fallout rn, or the original story I mentioned in the tags of another ask, nonnie. Either way, I’ll answer for both. 

Paige first existed in my head as the protagonist for a post-apocalyptic story I was writing that was.... kiiiiiiinda like a zombie story but without the zombies? Basically some mad genius got it into their head to design a new family of beasties that would be genetically programmed [and optimized] for hunting humanity to reduce what they considered excess population and force global regression away from mass manufacture consumer culture back down to subsistence living to prevent global ecological catastrophe from over-consumption of resources. [I never got into where that mad genius got the funding or support for their project, shush I was like fourteen when I first conceived the idea XD] 

Instead of being about the end of the world, however, the main body of the story took place a good twenty years after society collapsed for lack of human capital. Paige was one of a larger cast who had all lost people, homes, and otherwise in the collapse, all of which were examples of how people deal with grief and loss. Paige was the example of Self Destructive Independence; refusing to trust others, lest they fail her and someone ends up hurt... but always offering herself up to others, and trying to do everything by herself. She was also an example of Denial, avoiding talking about the things she lost and turning to alcoholism to drown out the memories rather than deal with it. 

You can understand why she and her story maps so well onto Fallout 4 XD 

And she’s not the only one who’s arrived in the fic I’m writing with their themes intact. Another character who’s hopped the fence over into the fanfiction I’m writing [and happens to have an unfortunate name] is Nathan. Nathan’s major theme was Survivor’s Guilt, as he was never a particularly self-reliant or violent person before the collapse... he just happened to be away from the major hot spots when it happened. Pretty much everyone he knew and cared about, however, were not. However, where Paige sinks into self destructive denial, Nathan Grows into a leader for the group of survivors in the story. He accepts what happened, the trauma, and everything that came with it, and becomes the person he needs to be to continue on. 

I know, I could just change his name to avoid confusion with the male sole survivor’s default name being Nate, but when he’s been Nathan in my head for more than a decade... meh XP

ANYWHOOZIT, yeah I have a Fallout Fanfiction where in Paige is my protagonist, because when I played the game she’s who I modeled my sole survivor after... and pretty much kept her core themes intact. A big part of Paige as a character is she is still very much not over the death of her husband or the loss of her old life. She’s getting shit done, but I wouldn’t exactly say she’s dealing with it. [This also tracks because p much every RPG protagonist has issues with delegation XD] Challenging her idea of needing to do everything alone to protect herself is the budding romance arc with Hancock, who is already pretty much in love with the bitch but assumes she’d never keep him, so he’s not saying anything and is constantly mentally prepared for the day she drops him like a stone. 

... and then I’m gonna throw them into a life-or-death situation that tests both of their character flaws and see what comes out on the other side XD 

There’s a link in my pinned welcome post on this blog. If you’re curious, have at it :3

[queenofthefaces]

Merry Christmas to me I woke up from a nap after a bizarre dream/nightmare

For one, it was Danny Phantom themed

The main trio + vlad were stuck in a video game and didn’t know how to get out yet so they were making the best w what they had

Also Danny and Vlad were dating and totally stupid in love but hiding it hard from Sam and Tucker

At one point Tucker was comforting Sam over her breakup w Danny; there was a flashback scene where tucker was talking abt how mistakes can be forgiven through apologies and how he was now like really good friends w that one background character Nathan (according to the wiki). And Danny made like there was another relationship to fix—but instead talked abt a “new hot girl” and goaded Tucker into flirting w her before telling Valerie to put in a good word for HIM to another girl. The whole thing ended with Sam saying to Tucker “yeah, but you’re trying, and that’s what counts” (in terms of him trying to cheer her up) (there was absolutely implied to be smth between these two, like this whole part was a “pre relationship” fanfic or smth)

Sam got to level 27 on her animal taming stat (which was a Really High Level in the game) bc she kept talking to Vlad’s horse, Soda (who vlad never did anything with), and also got bonus XP from an amulet she found + bc she was taking care of the horse. Who she could now actually talk to. Soda asked her to get him some oatmeal from Portland next time they went. Sam maxed out her animal taming and unlocked fast travel with Soda (I’m assuming one of the only ways to do it in the game which is why it’s so impressive)

At one point Danny lost his memory and Had to go over to vlad’s big fancy mansion (which was covered in hearts, and had so many nice appliances you could only get in the endgame at a high level but vlad got them from an in game loot box) and vlad is SO GIDDY to see Danny just like “oh💕Daniel💕” almost GIGGLING as he shuts the door behind Danny

And Danny doesn’t know what’s happening all he knows is that he’s kinda freezing up out of awkwardness and incredible lust bc wow this hot man is def flirting w him (and vlad didn’t know Danny lost his memory)

Eventually they start making out and it’s revealed Danny doesn’t know vlad’s name (bc of the memory loss) bc of a metaphor he makes. Danny says smth abt how he feels really loved or w/e bc of how gentle and reverent vlad is being and that he kissed with the care/finesse of a heart surgeon performing surgery. And Danny refers to vlad as a heart surgeon in his head.

Then Danny gets sick of being treated gently bc he knows “the heart surgeon” is holding back and Danny uses some sort of ghostly claw thing to “rip the molecules to the surface” and tears down Vlad’s back (erotically) and their kissing gets heavier esp as vlad is looking at Danny SO LOVINGLY this man was a shmoopy MESS in this dream

Sam starts leveling up other skills as well, and I think she levels up her investigation + pattern recognition skills so she can learn more abt the world they’re in, decipher languages, etc, and she finds some books of Vlad’s and her investigation skills lead her to recognizing that some of his books are from the real world and are abt ghosts in a way that applies to Dan and vlad for real. And it was implied that she would eventually uncover that they’re dating this way somehow

(Also the skills were really cool bc they didn’t just instantly make u smarter, they trained you in those skills and then added some perks to help you—like you could increase the font of a book or search and highlight parts of it instantly/in your mind)

[auburnflight]

For the ask meme: 10, 14, 20, 22, 31! Feel free not to draw all/any of the responses since I'm sending so many numbers!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK!! I’m so excited that I can FINALLY answer these~

(Also, just a warning, there will be spoilers for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, since it’s kind of hard to answer these asks without spoiling anything ;;)

10. What’s your opinion on Rhea?

I was suspicious of Rhea from the beginning... so scratching the surface of her actions and motives in the Golden Deer route was interesting. But what was really satisfying was this moment at the beginning of Crimson Flower, where Byleth decides to side against her, and Rhea suddenly loses it... I was just screaming to myself the whole time. XD

I feel like this is kind of a defining moment regarding how I feel about her. The villains in all the Fire Emblem games I’ve played so far are really compelling--they’re godlike beings that feel betrayed by humanity in some way, and out of grief or anger, try to use their immense power to set things right but end up causing widespread destruction. So I feel sorry for them, yet I can’t forgive them for everything they put the main characters through. Rhea is the same way. I can sympathize with her loss of her family, but in the process of trying to get them back, she does many despicable things to Byleth and to Fodlan on a wider scale. And the moment where we see her begin to fall apart at this turning point in Crimson Flower was where I was like “...I KNEW IT.”

(Also I’m sorry this was my first time making a comic, I don’t know how to font)

14. Favourite class of students?

Always pegasus knights. I am very partial to them. Of course, Ingrid ended up being one of my favorite characters.

20. Best OST?

This one is really hard because I love the whole soundtrack! It keeps the traditional Fire Emblem feel, but it also mixes in some electronic elements, which I find absolutely fascinating. A good example of this is one of the songs that plays during the underground battle with those who slither in the dark--I think it’s called “Shamballa”?   

Other honorable mentions include the remix of the battle theme that plays in the much later chapters with the really emotional cello part (I can’t check what it’s called right now, sorry ;;) and of course, the theme song The Edge of Dawn.

22. Favourite scene?

I wanted to try and draw a comic for this one next! I wasn’t able to include it in this ask since it would take me too long to draw, but hopefully eventually!

There were a ton of scenes that stood out to me, especially in Crimson Flower (learning more about Edelgard was one of the most fun parts of the game for me). But I think the one I have to pick as my favorite is another one right at the first turning point of Crimson Flower--when, after the first battle at Garreg Mach, Edelgard approaches Byleth and suddenly opens up about all the anxiety she’s been bottling up. 

It’s a side of Edelgard that we don’t get to see at all in the other routes, and I feel it shows how truly human and vulnerable she is. It also shows how uniquely important Byleth is to her--even though Hubert’s always been by Edelgard’s side, she doesn’t have much room to show her fallible side or waver in front of him, because their relationship is so tied to Edelgard being a leader, to their mission and to this bloody path they’re carving. But Byleth can be that person that she opens up to and shares her anxieties with. (And I love how Hubert specifically refers to Byleth as offering “emotional support” at one point. XD)

31. If there was one thing you could change, what would it be?

I would love to see more scenes in the Crimson Flower route (can you tell it was my favorite? xP) getting more anime-style cutscenes like the other routes do. I personally really liked how the anime cutscenes worked.

I mean... LOOK HOW COOL THAT IS!

I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities where CF just... didn’t use them and stuck with the in-game models instead. Particularly in the scene where Edelgard and Byleth are reunited after the timeskip... I mean, the other routes all got an anime cutscene here! Why didn’t this one?! *flips a table*

But yeah, thank you again for the asks and for letting me ramble a bit about Crimson Flower especially! ;; I definitely want to try making more FE3H scenes into comics now~

(FE3H Ask Meme)

[joshnekuu]

Can I ask for you to talk about david and his relationship with son/daughter in law/goetia anyone just dad david

Aw hell yeah

this is long so i put it under the cut wooo

Ok so like... in FGO Canon David implies that he always sort of knew Roman was Solomon, but he didn’t allow himself to think about it, so he never really pressed Roman about it or gave any indications that he knew, he just kind of let it be and let him live his life as he was in Chaldea. But we saw in his interlude that he went out of his way to show off for Roman by fighting a bunch of spriggans, and in the Go West event there’s that moment where David seems disappointed at the realization that he won’t have time to talk to Roman once he and Mashu finally establish contact with you (and in the rerun, he’s in the shop and he has a line mentioning that he wishes he could have gotten to see Roman more), so like. I think it’s safe to say that he definitely liked to find chances to spend time with him and be around him, without really forcing his way in as a fatherly figure.

So I think David really loves his son! Even if he says things that can be pretty insensitive (like saying Solomon seemed like the type who might try and destroy humanity). But David seems like he can be a pretty thoughtless person at times, without intending to be cruel, so I don’t feel like he really meant it in a way that was supposed to imply he thought ill of Solomon. Because I think he demonstrates through his actions that he does care for his son and wants to spend time with him and be there with him like he wasn’t in life, but also respects his boundaries enough that he gives him space, never does anything that threatens to expose his secret, and lets him do his job without interfering even if he really does want to talk to him.

(Also it just like. Kills my heart cuz in the Go West event it’s been a month or so for you guys inside the event, but only a few hours or days for Mashu and Roman, so David like. Just wants to hear from Roman because it’s been a long time for him. But he still doesn’t get in the way of you guys communication even though he wanted to hear from him......... a good dad...)

As for David saying that he was never one for child rearing, and saying dismissive and insensitive stuff about Solomon, I feel like.... I big part of that is because he lost a few of his children, and the loss of his son Absalom was particularly painful for him? So I feel like after that it would have made sense if he’d sort of... distanced himself from the role of father, with his other children, including Solomon. So it’s not so much that he isn’t interested in being a father or doesn’t want to be, it’s more that he never really recovered from that loss, and doesn’t have a lot of faith in his ability to be a good parent after that, so he does what he can to distance himself from it. But his FGO personality seems to be kind of dismissive of things and generally calm and a bit of an airhead sometimes, and I feel like the dismissive part especially is his way of trying to avoid subjects he doesn’t really want to deal with or think about, which is why parenthood is one of the things he just brushes aside and doesn’t discuss much. So like.... tldr David does want to be a good dad to Soloroman he just has some baggage there and isn’t quite sure how to deal with it, and also can tell Roman doesn’t want to have his identity as Solomon acknowledged so he’s giving him his space while still trying to be a part of his life in more subtle ways.

David straight up says he adores the Queen of Sheba, and that she’s smart and graceful, but he’s a bit afraid to talk to her because they’re rivals in terms of business. In her interlude she avoids him because she also sees him as a business rival who would take her share if they teamed up, and in Abigail’s interlude they discuss business together too, and seem to get along okay but when it comes to business stuff that’s when things get a bit more tense/serious. So their relationship I feel would be one where they’d get along pretty well with everything except for business matters. 

(FGO is bad and has David like.... kinda fixated on her beauty and stuff and is also a shithead and is like ‘oh she’s like a microcentimeter taller than me so she’s not THAT pretty’ which is honestly just a dumbass and sexist detail to give to a character and honestly that’s the sort of writing I prefer to write off because it’s just kinda creepy and doesn’t add much to either character or the dynamic xP)

I feel like he would enjoy teasing her a bit, since she seems nervous to talk to him, and might as her stuff about Solomon here and there, but in a way that disguises how much he actually wants to know about their relationship and how his son’s life was after David passed away. I feel like that would be a subject she wouldn’t talk about all that much with him though, at least at first. Idk how in character this is but I like the idea of him teasing her and saying she can call him father if she wants, and her just being taken aback and wondering if this is some sort of mind game so that he can get the upperhand in some business venture, and David just finds it very amusing and endearing. But yeah he loves his daughter in law and thinks she’s a smart, beautiful young woman, and he’d prefer to avoid being her rival but knows it’s inevitable, and won’t go easy on her when they wind up going head to head.

And Goetia!! He doesn’t seem to have much of an opinion on him in FGO...? Because they don’t care about David or take him seriously as a character 75% of the time orz But I guess I could see him genuinely not having much of an opinion on Goetia, just seeing him as one of Solomon’s weird things that he did, but writing it off as Solomon knowing what he’s doing and it’ll probably work out in the end. If Goetia were to ever join the good guys, I feel like David would be a bit skeptical at first and sort of keep an eye on him in his own way, and give him something of a hard time. 

But I am really a sucker for the idea of David accepting Goetia as his weird demon son and Goetia just being confused and annoyed by it, and part of David’s motivation for treating him as such is because he knows it annoys and confuses him, so it’s sort of both genuinely wanting to extend an offering of acceptance toward Goetia, and a way of giving him a hard time for everything he did. 

I am getting sleepy but yeah I love David even if I don’t love how they choose to write his womanizing habits sometimes, and i love his children and sort-of-children-in-law so it’s Good it’s Fun thank you for this ask

[blogsweet824]

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[artyrogue]

Blind Date Gaming: Monster Race Okawari

Oof. Today's date reeked of mimicry, like I was going out on a night with a mockingbird holding a photocopy machine. Now, copying ideas and putting new spins on them is hardly new to the gaming industry (or any form of entertainment, really). Many decent titles and concepts came from such efforts, in fact! However, sometimes the new spins are rather odd choices. It's like taking the idea of a sandwich and tossing in soup. Do you want a stock-soaked PBJ sandwich riddled with noodles? Probably not, and that's kind of how I feel about Monster Race Okawari, tonight's blind date.

Looks kind on novel, right? There's some sidescrolling dragon runnin' at top speeds through different landscapes, some odd creepy things holding down the copyright date like it's a hostage. So what game does this emulate, you ask? Well, I'd say it sort of reveals itself quickly upon the game's start.

Nope, this looks pretty original, not at all almost exactly like any other majorly successful game boy game

So yeah, it's a Pokémon knock-off. The spin here is that, instead of fighting your little slave creatures, you throw them into auto-races. And by 'auto-race', I don't mean they drive little shriners’ cars around tracks all menacingly-like. I mean the monsters just...automatically kind of run with no real input from you. Like you wound up one of those cat toys and let them go. What fun.

Gotta watch 'em all!

You get to pick from 3 starters, just like in Pokémon. Let's check out our options here:

Okay, so you got generic snake, kawaii hedgehog, and definitely-not-Rhyhorn. Amazing. So, which to pick? Well, unlike pokémon, they don't have types; instead they have terrain rankings. For example, the snake is better in water, hedgehog best in grass, and I guess Rhyhorn could be good on ice? I dunno, I didn't really look much at the time. Each monster also has stats such as balance, jumping, and guts, but I couldn't tell you what any of those actually, y'know, do. Their HP is stamina, allowing them to run for longer periods. All of this is available for review in a totally unique stats page.

What amazing monster design. Definitely not something from a Lisa Frank sticker set.

Okay, that's well and good, but what of the overworld? After all, monster racin' is only half the game, right? What about the cool areas to explore and people to meet?

This is not building confidence

So the starting area is absolute crap. It's a city, for sure, but every single building looks identical and there are rows and rows of these houses. Interiors all look the same. I got so lost trying to find out where to go in the first 15 minutes or so. No one in the buildings has much to offer for progression (though I do wish I knew what they were saying...), but I eventually stumbled into what I assume is my rival and got my first pokémon. Err, joggimon. Whatever you want to call them. I went with the snake because it was so dang generic I felt bad for it. I named it a bunch of Japanese characters that vaguely looked like a snake so I could tell who it was in my party list.

What's this joggidex entry say? Well, Google translate seems to indicate 'It's always plotting things and playing pranks. When I'm bitten by a brood parasite, I get a good night's sleep.' Gotta love machine translations.

You eventually get shuffled to some generic field area where you can start enlisting other monsters to your team and leveling them up. Leveling is odd. Either you are completely outclassed by the random encounter (mostly due to terrain ranking) or you overtake them in a couple seconds and the game is like, "welp, good enough, have some XP". You can try to overcome the foes who are decent on the terrain, but they get perks you don't, like random speed boosts.

The lines mean speed! See?! This game has ACTION!

You, on the other hand, can swap between monsters on the fly, but it takes a few seconds for the current runner to stop and the new one to get started. Usually this means a loss, as once the foe is far enough away, the game counts it as your loss. Eventually enemies lose their stamina and can be handily beaten, but it's really not worth wasting time. Just grind on the weak, derpy-looking enemies.

Once I had a killer team of monsters, I ambled over to what I assume was the gym equivalent building in this game. I got into a few races against some new monsters, but with my ace runners, we overcame the lot of them. At least the terrain changed a bit, allowing me to get a minor taste of strategy (if you'd call it that?).

I'd better get a decent TM from this

Afterward, I was congratulated by my rival and left to go...somewhere? I have no idea. I wandered for like 30 minutes all over the copy/pasted landscapes and could find no way to progress. Probably somethin' due to the language barrier. I think I saw where I needed to go, but some idiot blocked me off and wouldn't allow me to pass. I slipped a 20 in his pocket, but the jerk just looked the other way. There goes my dinner payment.

There're also these random holes in the ground I can't seem to reach. Who built this infrastructure? ...Are the races in the sewers? (Cue repressed memories of Battletoads)

Guess that's the end of my journey here. This one was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. It seemed like it had potential, but the crappy map design, boring monsters, even more boring gameplay, and inclusion of brood parasites just made for a dull experience. This explains why I'm not going on another date with this title. It might be more fun if it got translated, but why bother? I'd rather take this Sprite of Passage and run. Hopefully faster than these loser monsters.

brings new meaning to 'time is running out!'

[sveasauvageon]

Svea's Instagram || HSWW

☾♔; February 26, 2018 ☾♔; sotd: idk yet ☾♔; comedian otd: JOHN OLIVER ☾♔; Svea's Insta ☾♔; {G} https://goo.gl/PnjH23 ☾♔; Mod(s): @.miky94

Whilst I've got you here, please, please, PLEASE join us at Hogwarts, group link here {https://goo.gl/PnjH23} there's only a few spots left, and I SO need this group to succeed!!

And onwards to the posts

|| featured not-mine characters (comments and insta) || - Syn Lothbrok | @.ghostpastey - Eloise Avery | @.themadmonarchist - Xander Carlyle | @.lady-stoneheart - Damien Greaves | @.natasha-maree13 - Henry Clark | @.lady-stoneheart - Moses Park Jr. | @.koby - Chanel Black | @.daily-donuts

*feel free to add comments you want to add from your characters, just write it in the comment section below and include the post number as well please*

1.@.seven.deadly.syns most people sit on these things called "chairs" Syn: ya, but I'm not "most people" I'm awesome! Chanel: Syn, those socks just blinded me Syn: ur welcome ❤

2. Cutest little baby ever, your cat could never be as precious as my little Vhagar. Syn:  Idk~ Zeppelins a little cutie 🖤🤘🐱 Svea: sure, but Vhagar is the cutest XP Moses: Your cutest little baby bites me. Not as cute as it looks TT_TT Svea: It's not Vhagar's fault, it's Galileo's fur that sets her off. :P   Eloise: Adorable. Chanel: My cat is cuter than all of yours combined Svea: please, Vhagar demands more adoration than Fabergé demanded perfection.

3. I know I'm hot, but damn you're blinding @Elo_Vera Syn: yeah she is W O W Z A H 😍 Eloise: Oh that's what you were doing.. But yes, I am blinding :) Chanel: Eloise always looks blinding Eloise: Loving the love guys @.Chanel, @.svea Svea: 😘

4. Swedes v Brits in ice skating. Guess who won? Henry: why do you two have to make everything into a game? Svea: is this about paintball again? Henry: YES!!! Not everything has to end in bruises and loss! Lili: chill Mr Clark, ice skating is a game. Paintball is life! Henry: Life is life little Ruski Chanel: Hope you didn’t get frostbite brrr! Svea: please, winter in Cornwall is nothing compared to Sweden year round.

5. There is nothing more enjoyable than introducing people to the glitter EXPLOSION that is Eurovision. Eloise: Yes! Eurovision! Are you watching? Svea: ALWAYS! ZIEBEN ILULU~~~~ Eloise: ooh, I am almost done with this, where are you watching? Svea: Gryffindor dorms, I'm inducting young Xander to the glitz and glamour that is European music. *Cue Te Deum* Chanel: Eurovision is a joke but fun too watch Svea: fúcking excuse you! Eurovision is the greatest thing the muggles have ever made, and I would remind you, they've landed on the bloody moon. It's a multi-national effort of cooperation and friendship, a muggle version of the triwizard tournament if you will, and no one dies in it! Eurovision is an absolute joy and my country is the best at it, so screw you! 😠👿🖕 Eloise: Eurovision is not joke. It is a way of life. @.Chanel Henry: Svea, Älskling, remember that chat we had about being nice? Svea: that and Eurovision are two every different things, don't be a dotard because you guys haven't won since 1997. Henry: that is not the point Svea: yes, the point is that Eurovision is the best. Fúck you too, sötis.

6. There it is, the "I'm better than you" face.   Moses: It's also "I knew you'll mistake that part" Chanel: What’s the bow for Greaves?

7. Sometimes I surprise myself with how gorgeous I am. XP Henry: vanity is not one of your most redeeming qualities Svea: yeah, but it's not vanity if I am ridiculously attractive. Henry: you are, but still the height of vanity Svea: whatever you say pretty boy Henry: as you command, your royal highness :p Chanel: Got to admit it, you’re stellar ugh

8. The Viking and The Frank, and the awesome Scandinavians. Your countries will never be as cool as ours! Syn: preach Chanel: Can someone go with me there?? Svea: We're modern countries and our English is excellent, you'll be fine on your own. Except Copenhagen muggle zoos, "fūcked up" does not even begin to describe them.

9. Paintball is the greatest thing muggles have ever made! apart from # eurovision Henry: I still don't understand how I got bruises from a game involving paint. Lili: it's because you're weak Henry: that was rude, Ruski Syn: Henry, u r weak tho Henry: I'm not weak! Paintball is just more vicious than quidditch! Eloise: What is this paintball you speak off? Svea: omg, you are coming to Sweden this christmas so that we can play a massive game of paintball assassins! Bring your cheapest clothes, it's a messy muggle game. Eloise: Want to tell my grandparents that? Svea: I'll tell them you're coming to explore and "observe" the ways of Scandinavian nobility. If they don't like that, tough. What are they going to do, call me a blood traitor? Oooh, I'm quaking in my boots. Chanel: Looks fun! When is your next to the death fight? Svea: You'll need to wait for an invite from my Grandmama, she's the Grand Duchess of Paintball. Eloise: Maybe with a little fire-whiskey I'll send exactly all of this to my grandmother. Of course, you'll probably never see me again, but that is a problem for future me. Svea: don't worry, I'll just expecto patronum the fúck out of her, 'cause she's definitely a dementor. Eloise: my grandmother is not a dementor. she's just very... dementor-like. most of the time.. Svea: I would bet 1000 galleons that she's sucked out at least one person's soul. Eloise: I don't ask what I don't want to know (I am 300% sure that it's been more than just one person tbh) Svea: -nods in solemn agreement-

10. GOOO VRASTRA VULTURES!!! Henry: PUDDLEMERE UNITED ALL THE WAY! Svea: THEY'RE NOT EVEN PLAYING LOSER Lara: neither are as good as Germany Syn: excuse you Svea: she means in a muggle sport, and OH! YOU WANNA GO THERE? Henry: TWO WORLD WARS AND ONE WORLD CUP, DO-DAH, DO-DAH!!! Lara: I can't hear you over the sound of us winning~~~ Svea: I'm not showing you my cool textbooks anymore. Syn: FIGHT ME LARA! U TOO HANK! 😡🖕 Henry: How dare you call me Hank, my father is a literal lord. That's offensive. :P Chanel: Jealous of that view though

11. Someone thinks they're hot af. Henry: no, I'm thinking flash photography is a rude way to be awakened. Svea: XP Chanel: Get out of bed Clark! How did you get into the Gryffindor common room Svea? “I have my ways” doesn’t cut it hun Svea: first, that's the Clark Manor in London, and second, I have a special favourite who adores me and tells me everything in Gryffindor House (and no, I don't mean you Henry).   Henry: Xander!!! I told you to stop doing that Xander: 🤷 wake up on time then, you're storasyster's problem now

12. You wish you had a little sister as cute as mine Lili: aww, you're the cutest big sister (also the creepiest, when did you snap that) Svea: I'll never tell~~~ Henry: no offense, but my little brother is clearly the cutest Xander: I'm your cousin Henry: :O Xander, who taught you to be so cruel Svea: you're totally my little bro though right? Xander: storasyster <3 ^_^ (Swedish for "big sister") Henry: THIEF!! TTwTT Chanel: Wish I had that opportunity :/ Svea: to steal Xander? Soz, but he's already my lillebror (Swedish for "little brother") Lili: excuse me, but this post was about how cute I am! I'm sending you people a curse from Mother Russia. Henry: I'm pretty sure one of you have already cursed me.

[junker-town]

10 winners from Week 4 in the NFL

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Fournette is good, but is he “Kyle Williams as a wedding officiant” good?

Week 4 did not put elegant football on display for the world to see. The final Sunday of September played host to a wide swath of ugly football across the league.

An AFC East showdown between the Patriots and Bills saw five interceptions thrown and the deciding touchdown scored via blocked punt. The Bears lost their starting quarterback minutes into their rivalry game against the Vikings. The first touchdown of Seahawks-Cardinals was a pick-six from a player who’d never had an interception in his six-year NFL career.

But manure helps flowers grow, without brutal ugliness we’d never appreciate true beauty, ugly ducklings become swans, etc. Week 4’s abject grossness made its bright spots shine a little harder. So who provided the silver lining to this week’s stormclouds?

It wasn’t ...

Not considered: the Falcons, who threw for nearly 400 yards and got 10 points from it

Matt Ryan has thrown for at least 304 yards in each of his four starts in 2019. His 331 passing yards per game are 22 more than his MVP campaign of 2016, when he led Atlanta to an 11-5 regular season record and a league-best 33.8 points per game.

Despite this, this year’s Falcons are 1-3. They are averaging only 17.5 points per game. They have to throw the ball so much because they’ve only led twice in a game so far — and both times it came in a Week 2 win over the Eagles.

Atlanta has gone from dark horse contender to looking like a team that had been called up from relegation without being ready in any meaningful way. The crazy thing is, the Falcons still look good on paper. The defense is allowing fewer than four yards per carry and fewer than 5.5 yards per play. Austin Hooper has emerged as a powerful cantilever to a receiving corps led by Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Calvin Ridley. Ryan sure seems like the kind of QB you’d want throwing the ball 44 times per game.

Then, you watch them play football and they look like they’re cosplaying a poorly organized Senior Bowl scrimmage.

Now, on to...

This week’s actual winners:

10. Marcus Mariota, who would really like to get paid in 2020

Mariota was the beneficiary of Atlanta’s ability to make uneven quarterbacks look like All-Pros this fall. The fifth-year passer followed Jacoby Brissett’s lead by carving up the Falcons in a win that was never in question after halftime. Mariota threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday. More importantly, he refused to give Atlanta any extra opportunities, keeping an impressive season-starting streak alive:

.@Titans Marcus Mariota is the only QB who has started every game this season and has yet to turn the ball over

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 29, 2019

2019 has been an extremely Mariota year, as he’s alternated strong performances with confusing ones en route to what’s shaping up to be a nine-win season. Those inconsistent outings — he’d needed 49 dropbacks to throw for 304 yards in a 20-7 loss to the Jaguars a week prior — have made the Titans reticent to offer him the kind of deal most former top-five picks earn with their second contract. If Tennessee isn’t convinced, some needy team could look at Mariota’s showcase against the Falcons as a reason to give the Heisman winner who’s been to the playoffs only once in four seasons $50 million guaranteed next spring.

9. Trevor Davis, who is a running back now I guess

The greatest player an 80-yard football field has ever seen needed only one game to leave his mark in Oakland. The former Packer — acquired 11 days earlier in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick — hasn’t seen a target with his new club, but the wideout/kick returner was the Raiders’ most electric runner Sunday.

Yeah, @Trevor9Davis is gonna fit in just fine around here.#OAKvsIND | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/NjO4eK3VKe

— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) September 29, 2019

Davis only touched the ball twice against the Colts. He finished his day with 74 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders’ 31-24 win.

8. Jadeveon Clowney, who gave the Seahawks the exact presence the Texans really could have used

Clowney had never notched an interception in his five-year career leading up until Week 4. This made sense, as the pocket-destroying edge rusher was rarely asked to do much in coverage with the Texans or Seahawks. He wasn’t in pass coverage Sunday when he rewrote that section of his NFL resume.

THAT. WAS. HUUUUGE!@clownejd takes it to the house! #GoHawks x #SEAvsAZ pic.twitter.com/dl78eUxOik

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 29, 2019

Clowney was being blocked at the line of scrimmage when he used his 6’11 wingspan to pluck a Kyler Murray pass out of the sky. All he had to do after that was beat an offensive lineman to complete the first pick-six of his career.

That didn’t mean much for a Seahawks team that was rarely challenged in a 27-10 win over the Cardinals, but there was some delicious symbolism involved for Clowney. He’d been traded to Seattle after the Texans refused to offer him a market-resetting contract extension in 2019. His presence was missed in Week 4 as Houston fell to Kyle Allen and the Panthers.

Even though Houston got to Allen enough to force three fumbles, the Texans could have used another game-changing force alongside J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus to finish off a resilient young passer who managed to escape danger and reel off some big plays.

Kyle Allen avoided that JJ Watt sack!#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/vZRfCwDHZk

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 29, 2019

The final score? 16-10 — a deficit that was, for one week, exactly what Clowney produced for his new team.

7. Eddy Pineiro, who might make Matt Nagy a little less insane about the double doink

The Bears ran more than 10 different kickers through the wringer in an effort to find Cody Parkey’s successor this offseason. That spinning wheel eventually landed on Pineiro, who so far has rewarded his head coach’s faith.

Pineiro may not have had a kick as important as his game-winning 53-yarder in Week 2, but he was still a consistent presence for Chicago Sunday. He made all four of his kicks in Week 4 — three field goals and an extra point — and has converted 14 of his 15 kicks (eight field goals, six XPs) to start the season. He was especially valuable in Week 4 because his Bears played all but one series of the game without starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Backup Chase Daniel was fine in relief (195 yards, 6.5 yards per pass, no interceptions), but the furthest he could drive the Bears after that first drive was field goal range. That’s when Pineiro took over, building Chicago’s confidence in its special teams back one kick at a time. He poured in 10 points in a 16-6 victory over a Vikings team that never found its footing against the Bears’ brutal defense.

Pineiro won’t erase the pain of Parkey’s audible failure until he does it in the postseason, but Sunday’s performance continued a good start. If Trubisky misses extended time, Chicago could wind up leaning on its kicker to provide the bulk of its scoring until he comes back.

6. Nick Chubb, who helped the Browns bust the myth of the 2019 Ravens’ defense

No team had rushed for more than 160 yards against the Ravens defense in their last 29 games. Chubb hit that mark on his own in a Baltimore beatdown (hey, that sounds familiar) in Week 4.

The second-year back helped shatter the mythos of the Ravens’ stingy defense, carving his AFC North rival up from the inside out. Chubb ran for 165 yards on 20 carries, none bigger than the 88-yard score that stomped out Baltimore’s comeback hopes. Lamar Jackson had hit Mark Andrews for a touchdown one play earlier to cut the Browns’ lead to 24-18 — but Chubb made sure that was as close as Jackson would get in the fourth quarter.

To. The. House.@NickChubb21, everybody. pic.twitter.com/RCeJGdSsaX

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 29, 2019

How did his quarterback Baker Mayfield — who had a day of his own with 342 passing yards — feel about his performance?

Lmao pic.twitter.com/55VRH8N8cM

— JTB (@B1ckle) September 30, 2019

Pretty good!

5. Devin McCourty, who is approaching interception immortality

McCourty had four interceptions in his previous four seasons with the Patriots. It only took him four games in 2019 to match that total.

The Pro Bowl safety has yet to play a game this season where he hasn’t come down with an interception. He got on the board early against the Bills, sniffing out a bad Josh Allen decision downfield:

Devin McCourty has 1 INT in every game to start the season so far -- that ties Mike Haynes for the NFL record for most interceptions in consecutive games pic.twitter.com/Kmt7xOeJHc

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 29, 2019

That first-quarter pick put him alongside lofty company. McCourty tied an NFL record with interceptions in four straight games — a mark previously held by Hall of Famer (and former Patriot) Mike Haynes. McCourty doesn’t have the same impeccable resume Haynes has, but a late-career renaissance would certainly bolster any Hall of Fame debate the three-time NFL champion and three-time All-Pro has working in his favor.

4. Christian McCaffrey, who definitely inherited his father’s hands

McCaffrey has been one of the league’s most dangerous receivers out of the backfield since entering the league in 2017. On Sunday he pulled off his most eye-popping catch yet:

Christian McCaffrey is Superman pic.twitter.com/rGmaC5rpYB

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) September 29, 2019

McCaffrey finished his day with 93 rushing yards, but he was much more valuable for backup-turned-starting quarterback Kyle Allen with his hands. McCaffrey caught all 10 of Allen’s targets, paving the way for the second-year quarterback to earn his third straight victory as a starter.

3. Mackenzie Park and Jordan Binggeli, whose halftime on-field wedding sparked a Bills comeback

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d type:

Jim Kelly was able to give Josh Allen a pep talk because he was walking the bride down the aisle at a Bills-themed wedding at halftime.

CBS reported that the Bills’ legend spent some time on the sideline to talk up Buffalo’s current quarterback and address other members of the team. It worked, too! Kelly was one of several honored guests as two superfans exchanged mid-game nuptials in front of one of the sport’s most raucous crowds.

Mackenzie Park and Jordan Binggeli won the @BuffaloBills' NFL100 Experience of a Lifetime, and were married halftime of today's game! Former Bills legends Kyle Williams, @JimKelly1212, @thurmanthomas, and @SteveTasker89 were in the wedding. #NFL100 pic.twitter.com/sha7BTiJ9l

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2019

Kyle Williams WAS THE OFFICIANT. The dais was Zubaz-striped.

And @BuffaloBills legend Kyle Williams officiated the wedding! pic.twitter.com/3xexcOpwxu

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2019

The Bills were outscored by 10 points before the wedding took place, then held New England to just three second-half points after Park and Binggeli said “I do.” Buffalo didn’t win, however, which means the team needs to have a halftime wedding every week from now until its eventual 2023 Super Bowl win.

I don’t know where or what the reception was, but if it didn’t include someone in a Tyrod Taylor jersey getting powerbombed through a flaming folding table then I’m not sure we can call this a real Bills wedding, regardless of Kelly’s presence.

2. Frank Gore, who could be the last player to ever rush for 15,000 yards

Gore did not look 36 years old while being the only bright spot of a foundering Bills offense. The future Hall of Famer gashed the Patriots’ vaunted defense with regularity Sunday,

No run was bigger than his 41-yard sprint in the second quarter. It not only set up Buffalo’s first points of the afternoon, it also made him only the fourth player in league history to ever rush for 15,000 yards.

FRANK GORE JUST GOT TO 15,000 RUSHING YARDS pic.twitter.com/nnvKEtqQ7V

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 29, 2019

Gore finished with 17 carries for 109 yards — his first 100-yard game as a 36-year-old but 13th of his 30s — and averaged more yards per play than the Buffalo passing game. While the former 49er, Colt, and Dolphin is comparatively elderly compared to his peers at tailback, he put together a throwback performance to stand out as the Bills’ offensive MVP in a near-upset of the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Gore now ranks fourth among all NFL players in rushing yards, behind only Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown, and Barry Sanders. He’s first among active backs. Here’s where that top five stands after Sunday:

Gore: 15,021 yards Adrian Peterson: 13,408 LeSean McCoy: 10,820 Mark Ingram: 6,335 Lamar Miller: 5,854

So yeah, there’s a good chance Gore is the last member to join the 15K club for a long, long time.

1. Leonard Fournette, who gained 225 rushing yards

I know, I thought he might be washed after last year’s 3.3-yard per carry campaign, too.

Can't be stopped.@_Fournette now has 165 rushing yards on the day.#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/PnXKmJKQBG

— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) September 29, 2019

Fournette’s big day gave Jacksonville the leverage to come back from a 17-3 second quarter deficit and then later a 24-23 one with 92 seconds left to play, giving Gardner Minshew a safety valve in his second straight win behind center. And though Minshew was impressive in the comeback effort, Fournette’s third-year breakthrough may have finally stolen the spotlight — or at least tilted it slightly away from — the league’s most interesting rookie.

He also celebrated the blockbuster performance by cussing out a starting offensive lineman for nearly drawing a 15-yard penalty at the end of the game. That’s either a stunning example of leadership or, if you’re not sold on Fournette as a legit NFL running back, something weirder.

After nearly forcing his way out of Jacksonville with a disappointing 2018, the former No. 4 overall pick is finally starting to live up to his collegiate pedigree. He’s on pace for a 1,600-yard season, and while he’s unlikely to keep that pace, he’s got a great opportunity to put last year’s injury-shortened, 439-yard campaign in his rear view.

[thedenfantasyleague]

The Den Fantasy League Recap: Week Three

Fellas, 

We’re back for Week Three. There were winners and losers, the haves and the have-nots. A lot going on in the recap and our Biggest Loser this week. 

-

Debbie Rowe v. El Commish

Well, this is not how I expected my week to go. Here I am, going into the Witching Hour on Sunday getting ahead of myself and already thinking about my victory recap but, as we all know, Fantasy Football is a cold-hearted minx. Even though I ended my week as the third-highest scorer, Jake made me the biggest loser with his dominant performance.  As previously mentioned, I felt great after the first round of games were through. In fact, all but two of my players hit double figures including big games from Matty, Shady, Julio, Juuls, and Pats D. That was the brief highlight of my day. It started early with Mike Evans, returning from the bad offense grave to score his first of three touchdowns. Then the wheels fell off: Deshaun (25.8), McCaffrey (24.8), and Lockett (21.4) all had good games. Even Saints D had multiple touchdowns. Finally, on Sunday night Kupp went for the jugular. Cooper’s 100+ yards and two touchdowns pushed me into unfamiliar territory: I am the biggest loser.

The Perfect Ten v. Mr. Magorium 

Where to begin with this. In the critically acclaimed film Friday Night Lights, Coach Gary Gaines and the Permian Panthers find themselves in a threeway tie to make the playoffs. We see Coach Gaines and captain quarterback Mike Winchell attend the tiebreaker and Gaines boldly says to his QB “Ain’t no such things as curses.” Unfortunately for Gabe, the same blind disbelief has yet to work for him this year. Frankly, he didn’t give himself a chance after his spirited interview last week. Gabe, despite guaranteeing a win earlier in the week, came out with another loss. He might have fueled E’s fire going into this week as E and his team surpassed their projections this week. That is really thanks to the only four players to surpass their own projections: Weller (14.1), Cowboys D (11), and Prater (8). Who am I missing? Oh yeah, that’s right. Mark Ingram went off. He ended the day with over 130 total yards and three touchdowns. For Gabe, he again struggled to meet his projections for the week. In fact, only three of Gabe’s players reached their projections and that’s not saying much. He had three players in double figures: Goff (14.2, 2.6 short of projection), Zeke (13.9, 6 short of projection) and Chubb (13.1, 1.6 short of projection). Other than that, a lot of letdowns across the board. The question is: where does Gabe go from here? Is he hoping for a 2018 - Perfect Ten type run or is his team doomed? Perhaps it’s time for Gabe to make amends.

Fire Jarn v. Hank Mardukas

Everything is going according to plan. Rob has continued his win streak, almost guaranteeing his implosion when it matters most. How did we get here? Rob was led by massive games from Brady (20.1), Kamara stepped up in Brees’s absence (28.1), Kerryon scored a TD (10.3), Devonta actually had a good game (9.5), and he capped it off on a huge MNF. The Bears D almost guaranteed his victory with a pick-six early in the game and continued to add on with two more picks and two fumble recovery. Scott had hopes of pulling a late victory out last night but putting your hopes in an abysmal Washington offense is never a good idea. Scott, in comparison to weeks past, found himself fighting for points this week. Lamar and Dalvin continued their successful starts to the season and Scott found some promise in a huge game from Evan Engram. If Scott would’ve used some of his stellar subs he would’ve taken home the victory. Scott needed a come back down to earth moment this week and I’m happy to see Rob continue his winning streak. I think I speak for the whole league when I say it’d be a real shame if he went back to classic Rob and fell apart at the end. Real shame.  

Wilmore Cinderella v. Virginia Kuppcakes

What a heartbreaker for Al. Going into this week, a few teams were looking for their first win and Al was really only looking for a glimmer of hope. Al had relatively good games across the board but found big pushes from guys like Mixon (15.5), Thielen (17.6), Cooks (12), Gore (14.9) and event OJ out-performed his projection. Even if Gostkowski doesn’t miss his XP, he still finds himself 0.4 points short of victory. JP secured that victory by exceeding his projections this week. For JP, he found an explosion of points from two guys: Jameis (25.5) and Lindsay (25). On top of those two, he had above-average games from Thomas, Robinson and even Packers D. This was an interesting matchup that both teams needed a win to define their team and for Al, he goes back into the loss column. JP will look to continue this momentum and get as far away as possible from the Cabana.

Stick With Us PVO v. VP

Oh, Vinny. What’s the fantasy equivalent of bless your heart? Vinny, with hours left to play on Sunday night, said he was a “few plays” away from a victory. What? Despite having his best week and hitting over 100 points, Vinny’s team didn’t really stand a chance. Vinny actually had 6 of his 9 players surpass their projections: Mariota (scored 15.6 when he was projected 13.3, super), Sanders, Burkhead, Hooper, Agholor, and Jags D. 100.4 points is a great week for Vinny but he should’ve known not to get your hopes up in Fantasy. Dylan came out and scored the second-highest total for the week. He truly did it in a wild fashion. Guys like TY, Mack, and Panthers D had above-projection weeks which is always good. That’s not where the real story is. Amari surpassed his sub-10 projection with 20.8 points and Russ surpassed his 18-point projection by 23.3 points for a total of 41.3 points. Yes, 41.3 points. Garbage touchdowns or not, that’s impressive. Within all the excitement of these massive games, Dylan’s weekend took a downturn. He saw his star running back end up in a walking boot and on crutches late Sunday afternoon. Saquon was the face of this franchise but I’m sure Dylan’s response to that is “Stick With Us”. Also, let’s not lose sight of the whole “Dylan Wins - Browns Lose” correlation.

Kalabar’s Revenge v. Team Timshel

The true “Anything Can Happen On A Monday Night” game of the week saw Mike and G going into Monday at a near deadlock. Only one could come out victorious. G went into Monday with the edge in projections thanks to big performances from guys like Mahomes (duh), Juju (USC Trojans - Fight On), and Rams D. Other than that, it was a pretty disappointing week from the rest of his squad. All he needed was a A-Rob to outscore Mike’s Montgomery going into last night’s game. Mike got to that close of a margin by big games from Dak, Keenan (30.6), and Buffalo D (Bengals are not good). Mike’s cause for concern could be Gurley. He blew half his budget for the season on his backup and they both combined for 5 points. Yes, Todd Gurley and a $75 Malcolm Brown combined for 5 total points. Some would say that’s not good. In regards to the actual victory, David Montgomery and his 8.1 points surpassed A-Rob’s 6 points to secure Mike’s victory. Our closest games can go either way. Look at JP last year, after a crucial defeat on a MNF game, he was broken. Will the same happen to G?

The Biggest Loser (PVO)

Rightfully, I was on the hook for TBL this week. I welcomed on Gabe (and Hayley) to discuss my matchup and address the elephant in the room. 

We’re on to week four. Good luck and, as always, set your lineups accordingly. 

You’re beloved Commissioner, 

Jared R. Mosqueda

[flauntpage]

Super Bowl 52: A Look at New England’s Special Teams Unit

Let’s get it back to the Eagles.

We’ve got a Super Bowl to prepare for this weekend, and while we can continue to cover every god damn angle of the build up, like the ban on Boston cream donuts or the corny bet between mayors, it’s time to start talking about the game itself.

Now, normally I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about the New England Patriots’ special teams. But this is the SB we’re talking about, so yeah, we’re gonna analyze this vile and repulsive NFL franchise to see how they perform in this phase of the game.

And we’ll do it for the offense and defense as well, but that’s coming later this week.

Here’s part one of our preview series:

Kicking

Stephen Gostkowski was, again, one of the NFL’s best kickers this season.

He went 45 for 47 on extra points and finished 37 of 40 on field goal attempts for a top-five, 92.5% success rate.

Here’s how he finished from each distance:

1-19 yards: 0 for 0

20-29 yards: 16 for 16 (100%)

30-39 yards: 9 for 9 (100%)

40-49 yards: 8 for 11 (72.7%)

50+ yards: 4 for 4 (100%)

He was right in the middle of the pack for total attempts from 50+ yards, but nailed every single one of them, including a 62-yarder against the Raiders in Mexico City:

En honor del cumpleaños de Gostkowski, aquí el FG de 62 yardas que conectó en CDMX. #GoPats

pic.twitter.com/Ae4xeuAjHG

— Corazón Patriota (@PatsHeartMX) January 28, 2018

The numbers hold up, considering the different distances he was asked to kick from. And it’s interesting to note that only twice before has he been asked to attempt 40 or more field goals in a single season. The Patriots called on him a bit more than they typically do, and he put up his third-best single-season FG% in response.

He’s 1-2 this postseason, hitting a 31-yarder against the Jag-wires and missing a 53-yarder in the Tennessee game. He had made 22 straight postseason field goals before that miss. It was his first botched playoff field goal since 2009, so go figure. Gostkowski was 7-7 last year and 4-4 in 2015, though he did miss 3 extra points in the same time frame.

That’s really been the only blemish on an otherwise stellar career. He missed an XP in the 2015 AFC Championship game, forcing a late two-point conversion in the eventual loss to Denver. Gostkowski blamed himself for the defeat, but Bill Belichick defended his kicker post-game.

As far as kickoffs, he led the NFL with 99 of ’em. That’s what happens when you score a shit ton of points. Opponents only took 40 touchbacks, but returned the ball an average of 18.9 yards when they did bring it out of the end zone, so they probably should have just taken a knee.

I won’t get too far into the weeds with weather and surface and whatever, since the Super Bowl in a (mostly) invariable dome this year, but Gostkowki’s 11 postseason kickoffs at Gillette Stadium were returned 6 times for an average of 20.7 yards. His regular season field goal misses were at MetLife and Gillette (twice), and the weather looked to be fine in both of those games. You’d have to call John Bolaris to double check. The XP misses were at New Orleans (dome) and at Pittsburgh.

  Punting

Ryan Allen only punted the ball 58 times this season. For comparison, shitty teams like the Giants and Jets booted it 95 and 94 times each, respectively.

He dropped 41% of those 58 punts inside the 20 yard line with just three touchbacks and 14 fair catches. Opponents returned 23 punts for just 105 yards and no scores.

The thing with Allen is that he’s a lefty. The Pats have almost exclusively used left footed punters in recent years, which Sports Illustrated wrote about a few weeks back:

Discerning the percentage of left-footers in the United States is complicated by the fact than many of us have no idea which is our dominant foot. But, with only about 10% of the population being left-handed, having close to one-third of punters in the league being left-footed appears to be outside the norm. (By comparison, there was just a single left-footed kicker in the league this year, Oakland’s Giorgio Tavecchio).

The simple answer is that left-footed punts spin the opposite direction, counterclockwise (from the punter’s perspective), presenting an extra challenge for returners who are used to reading a right-footer’s spin. From the punt’s apex, a left-footed ball will fade to the returner’s right, whereas most returners are used to catching right-footed balls that fade to their left. That has the potential to cause a returner to hesitate or, even better for the punting team, to muff the catch. The search for answers usually ends there.

Interesting.

It may or may not be the explanation for this Kenjon Barner muff on a left-footed punt from Michael Palardy back in October:

Maybe it was the proximity of the gunner and his teammate that threw him off.

Either way, it’s certainly something to think about. Jacksonville did. They brought a lefty in to work out their returners last week:

Thank you @Jaguars for working me out today. Helped the returners prepare for the Patriots.

— Brock Miller (@hashtagbrock) January 17, 2018

I’d bring Brock up to Minnesota and have him punt 1,000 balls to Barner this week in preparation for the big game. And if Barner drops one, he has to take 1,000 more reps until he catches 1,000 in a row.

If you watched the AFC Championship game, you might have wondered why the Patriots were being a bit conservative while playing from behind. They punted twice from midfield areas and again while trailing 20-17, but it’s really because Belichick showed a lot of trust in Allen to flip the field before getting a defensive stop.

For instance:

It’s 4th and 10 from the Jacksonville 45 yard line with 6:01 left to play. You’re down three with three timeouts. Belichick punts, Allen hits the 10 yard line, and now Blake Bortles has to move the ball a considerable distance to flip the field the other way.

New England really isn’t that much different from Minnesota in the way they play a smart field position game. The Vikings never got to play that game, though, since the Eagles were aggressive and opportunistic in building up that big lead last week. New England will try to roll with this style no matter what the situation is, because they’re proven about a million times before that they can overcome all sorts of deficits. They were right around middle of the pack this year with 13 4th-down attempts, so they’re much more conservative than Doug Pederson in this regard.

�� Returning, tackling, and gunning

Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola are the kick and punt returners, respectively.

Lewis had a really nice season in this area, finishing fourth in the NFL with a 24.8 yard average on 23 attempts. He took a 103-yard return to the house in Denver:

103 YARDS TO THE HOUSE!@DionLewisRB is GONE. #GoPats #NEvsDEN pic.twitter.com/fnVmoZVx1u

— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2017

Amendola finished 14th in the NFL with 8.6 yards per punt return. That number is 10.4 in the postseason with 52 yards on five attempts. Lewis’s playoff average is down a few yards on just a handful of returns.

As far as coverage, they have/had some good open-field tacklers. Nate Ebner might have been the best of the bunch before going on injured reserve after tearing an ACL. Same with Jonathan Jones, who went on IR after the Titans win with a foot injury. Matthew Slater, the special teams captain, IS healthy and is playing well, as usual.

Slater and Jones are the first string gunners. Jones was replaced by Johnson Bademosi after the injury, and I didn’t see much of a dropoff or change in performance last week.

An interesting wrinkle is something Baldy pointed out two weeks ago, when Tennessee was throwing a double team at Jones and putting one guy on Slater:

.@patriots @R_Allen86 punted 58X this season and had only 3 TB’s. @Patriots are masters of understanding field position. #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/xzJghD2ypx

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) January 16, 2018

Slater gets a great jump off the line and usually gets through clean.

Jacksonville didn’t double either guy and instead showed a more traditional punt return look. Slater is on the top of the screen here and Bademosi is on the bottom:

Pretty clinical stuff there. It’s a 53-yard punt with nice hang time, Slater zooms off the line and gets down the field untouched, forcing a fair catch right around the 20 yard line.

Go through the film and you see those types of plays everywhere. New England has always had a solid special teams unit under Bill Belichick and it’s a big part of why he’s won however many Super Bowls. What is it, five, right? I sometimes lose track.

Super Bowl 52: A Look at New England’s Special Teams Unit published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/