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cosmiclatte28 · 3 years

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Baking! (Yuta x you)

a/n : heyyo it’s friday, let’s have some “me” time and enjoy some imagine with Yuta! Idea came from @yutahoes comment on previous post HOT PATCHED

warning : none! suggestive, how you ended up with a bun in the oven! (your beloved Nami), and of course 2020 was a baking year and I am more than willing to share you the recipe i am referring to for this story! DM me :D also i got a bit too carried away :) but it’s gonna be fun :D

tagging : @2-3-t-i @yutahoes @ailoveyuta

with that said.. enjoy your scene!

Ever since the pandemic started and staying at home becomes a mandatory rule, you and your fiance, Yuta have been trying to overcome boredom with all possibilities. On the first month of staying home, you two are very excited about having “leisure” time while working at home. Both of you are delighted by the fact that you don’t have to wake up early, drive in the busy streets, and you just have to slip into your proper clothes when there is a board meeting. Considering your job is a magazine editor, you have meetings but luckily not every day.

Second month, you start to do yoga and exercises with Yuta every time he is bored, and he has nothing to do. Well, his comeback is still in preparation, so he only comes for regular practice and always got home when your office hour ends.

Fourth months, you pick up a new hobby and because your magazine company needs to make a new fresh content that suits the situation, the team comes up with a baking page. You are assigned to make the content, including taking pictures and trying the recipes your team made. You also have to do the editing but there’s help with that. You take the challenge, though you never bake before you see this as the perfect opportunity to start a new hobby. Things were great, the content is rising in demand since the world is baking suddenly! You got your raise and you enjoy doing this until your silly ass fell from challenging yourself to a wild yoga pose. You hurt your arms, they are a slightly fractured and you cannot make your baking content for the first three weeks of recovery, but you are so irritated to just stay in front of the laptop and watch your other friend make the pictures and cakes. So, when you can no longer hold yourself back, you plead the director board to give you back the baking section and they did love your job so you won the part back.

“Yuta can you come home earlier today?” you question the man who already wears his mask and has his training bag ready on his shoulder.

“Me?? I guess I’m done after lunch, I only have to practice singing today. Why?” he asks you back

You put on your sweetest smile “Don’t you want to try baking? I need some help with the rubric.”

Yuta’s eyes twinkle, it’s been his wish to try baking but because of practice and the amount of tools to wash and lack of time he hasn’t been able to do it. Now that you are offering him, he thinks he can seize the opportunity.

“Okay, I’ll try, who knows NCT will have a baking vlog after this, might flex about my skills” he smirks and you only grin at his cockiness.

“Okay, you can go.” You push him away after kissing his cheek and blushing when he winks at you and disappear behind the door.

Today you just have to wait for the team to send you the ingredients and recipes. You wonder what you’ll bake today no, what Yuta will bake today.

He was lucky the baking procedure he has to do today is easy. Simple lemon cake and you manage to get good pictures of Yuta’s hands and the aesthetic bowls and whiskers. You manage to hold the camera with your stiff casted hand, but it works even when you look super silly.

“Oh gosh! This is healing.” Yuta exclaims when his first cake comes out of the oven nicely and with a good aroma. You quickly take pictures and once it’s done, Yuta has already cut a slice and pops it into his mouth. “Yummy, I am talented indeed.” He sounds so confident and you hate to admit, his cake is better than what you expect and knowing your husband, you know he won’t stop bragging about this, he might even go as far as trying more baking recipes.

Your nightmare comes true, once his promotional schedule with NCT is over, he comes home with a load of baking supplies.

“Yuta, what’s all of this?” you ask when you help him bring in bags of spices, butters, and decorating tools.

“My promotional week is done and I have our well deserved rest! I am going to be productive and bake for you every day!” he smiles like a little kid who just get a chocolate and you can’t say no to him.

“Oh no, not every day Yuta!” you joke as you help him organize the spices into the kitchen racks.

He brought different types of flours and sugars, even bought yeast and baking sodas. Oh he really is planning to bake!

“Well, I have to finish some works have fun baking! Make sure you wear the apron and don’t set the oven too high. Wash the bowls too okay.” You pat his long hair and skip into your room.

Yuta takes his time to shower, sing in the bathroom, check the internet for easy recipes and even compare recipes from different websites.

His choice finally is decided on the famous banana cake, it doesn’t require mixer and he notices you have bananas at home.

“Flour, bananas, eggs, butter…” he bends to take the things out and places them all on the counter. Next he brings out the bowls and whiskers and the rest of the stuffs he needs.

“Okay all set,” he rubs his hands and takes the apron you have. Yuta’s lucky he can use your apron well, (thanks to his small waist). “And where is it,” he walks to the living room to get his small rubber band and as he bites the rubber between his teeth you happen to leave your room to get some water.

“Oh!” you exclaim when you see a hot scene reveling in your eyes. If you bring something, you’d drop it already.

There under the golden hours of the sun from the window, Yuta is tying his hair up and his lip bites is not helping you. Not to mention the apron fitting him well. You kinda regret not buying a “cute” apron.

“Let me help,” you grin when Yuta fails to tie his hair. Somewhat in the middle of tying his hair we was surprised to see you gawking at him. He blushes a little when you step closer and take his hair into one bundle and expertly you tie the band around it.

“There you go! Neat and tidy.” You click your tongue and run a hand down his exposed biceps.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” you playfully ask him this when you learn just how “dolled” up he is. In your apron, smelling good, looking hot, and smirking.

“As much as you want me to tease you, see that?” he points to the kitchen and you follow his finger direction “I am baking you cake.”

You lead him to the kitchen, cool yourself down with a glass of iced water and Yuta starts to busy himself with the recipes.

He starts by measuring the cups of flour, sugars, and spoons of cinnamon and baking soda.

You choose to observe him instead of coming back to your work. You’re glad you have saved your works earlier and don’t have to return for it.

Yuta looks super serious when he cracks the eggs and starts mixing them to the dry ingredients. You take note at how accurate he is, you learned about the small details about baking through your rubric.

“Need help?” you ask when Yuta starts to whisk the mixture together. He brings his bowl to his waist and with his tilted head and angled hand, he starts whisking the batter.

You have to hold yourself back when you see how he looks delicious right now. With an apron, a tied hair, tongue sticking out of his lips from focusing, his flexed arm and how he smirks at you. Gosh he’s the real cake here! You wonder how will he react if you suddenly come and bite him there on his neck which is inviting you to bite a mark there. Hey mark!

“No, I got this.” He winks at you and continues whisking the ingredients. Another minute passed by, he adds the mashed bananas and some cut apples for better taste. You focus on his actions but mostly enjoying the show he gives to you.

“You look hot.” You blurt that out loud as you secretly eat the choco-chips he will add later. “You think I look hot? You haven’t seen me whisk a whipping cream or make a meringue!” Yuta says as h places the bowl down and begin doing the next step.

You lean over the counter, eager to see what he is doing next. “Okay, all set just add choco-chips and stir and pour to container.” He smiles nicely to you, expecting to get praises or just a satisfied face. But all Yuta sees is your side smirk.

Yuta can always read you like a book, so without losing his cool, he checks you up from head to toe. He notices how you’re not focusing on him, biting your lips, and your ears and cheeks are as red as strawberries right now!

He connects the dots in his head and snaps his finger in front of your face. You jump in surprise “What?” you yell, clearly annoyed that your fantasy session is destroyed.

“No you’re staring at me too intensely! Stop it,” he acts like his innocence just got violated.

You click your tongue “Yuta, blame yourself!” you pull your hair in despair when you feel your body heating up more and feel tingles slowly creeping up.

Yuta is ignoring you when he shows off his flexibility by bending forward to put his container in the oven. “And that’s the right temperature, now we wait!” he tosses the mittens aside and leans his body to the table you’re seating at. He glances to the cup of water with only ice cubes left, he grabs it up and swirls it around before sipping the remaining drops.

“What are you looking at Princess?” his playful remarks are slipping from his lips. You bite your lips down and try to shake whatever idea you have in your head after seeing him drink the last drop of water like that is the best water in the world. His Adam’s apple bopping is not helping you at all, you lick your lips and lowkey will kill him for making this looks so yummy and advertise-able.

“Nothin’” you lie though it is as clear as day that you are “eating” him in your mind.

“You sure? You don’t look like that.” He says and then knocking the glass to his lips to take the remaining ice cubes in his mouth.

You nod your head and turn redder if it’s possible. Dang Yuta is clearly teasing you and you love it. “I-“ you can’t stop your sentence for the next thing he does is taking your lips there with ice cubes in his mouth. The cold sensation wakes you up from your day dream and you press your hands over his trained arms. He passes the cube into your mouth and you’re surprised with this new sensation. Oh Yuta and his surprises!

He continues taking you there until there’s no more cubes left and both of you are already breathing harder and the atmosphere has turn super hot. Next thing you know, you’re already on the sofa pinned down by Yuta as he teases you with butterfly kisses here and there.

“Yuta-“ you moan out his name when you have the chance, your hand pulls on his hair so he can stop kissing you for a while “Your cake.” You breathily remind him about the cake in the oven.

“Hm? My timer hasn’t gone off.” He ignores your attempt to stop taking you here.

“You want this right? Or do you want to eat me instead? You really look desperate earlier.” He nuzzles into your neck and gives some generous kitten licks there.

“Oh you were teasing me!” you defend yourself “Admit it.” You push him away to see his eyes and get the truth out, but Yuta is Yuta and he always has his way of making you lost. “No, I did not. You were this turned on by me, that you were having such sexy thoughts in the middle of the day.” His hand travels south and you already stifle a moan so he won’t be cocky about it.

He already plays with the hem of your pants, only seconds to pulling them away and eating you raw there, but his timer goes off and he has the biggest grin on his face, while you the biggest disappointment. “Yuta!” you’re already sounding so desperate, tears are forming in your eyes and Yuta only chuckles, he wipes your tears and stands up from between your legs.

“Oops! My bad, cake is done! Why don’t we try it when it’s hot?” he leaves you to turn the oven off and takes the cake out. He left you like that! All teased up and messy.

“Yuta- you will pay for this.” You groan before ignoring the pain from the edged pleasure and stomping your feet angrily to the kitchen.

“Come try this, tell me if this is good.” He offers you a forkful and you angrily chomp down on it.

“Bad.” You mutter, as you cross your hands over your chest but still chew on the delicious cake.

“Bad? This is so yummy! I can take this to the boys, and they’ll ask for more.” Yuta towers above you.

You pout “Fine, its yummy.” Your hand reaches out for some more bites, but you stop and shake your head “You. Finish what you did to me, or I cannot enjoy my cake.”

He giggles and in one swift motion already has you in his arms “Alright my princess, let me enjoy my cake instead!” he brings you to the room and you’re already giggly again, giving him kisses and playing with his hair.

You swear you will kill him if he only leaves you in the room and goes back to eat his cake in the kitchen, lucky you he did not do that. You both know that the cake will be cold once you’re done with the session but who cares when Yuta can bake more of them!

And that is probably how you end up putting a bun in the oven with Yuta!

fin.

#yuta x reader #yuta x you #yuta x y/n #yuta imagines #yuta scenarios #yuta fluff #yuta suggestive #yuta smut #yuta oneshot #yuta soft hours #yuta domestic fluff #domestic fluff #yuta #nct yuta scenarios #nct fluff #nct flirt line #nct yuta fluff #nakamoto yuta #nakamoto yuta x reader

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thecrownnet · 3 years

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The Crown Is One Of The Hardest Shows To Cast. Here’s How They Do It.

Casting announcements for The Crown are almost as exciting as the premiere of a new season itself. Half the fun of the show is analyzing the actors set to portray famous figures like Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, as well as who will next fill the storied shoes of Queen Elizabeth. Season 4 of Peter Morgan’s royal drama was cast by Robert Sterne, who' won several Emmys for his work on the series along with Nina Gold (the duo cast seasons 1 through 3 together, and they were also responsible for the influx of talent we saw on Game of Thrones). Unsurprisingly, casting The Crown poses specific challenges not experienced on any other show.

“It’s not only that you’ve got to find actors who can successfully embody real-life, well-known people, but you’ve got to make sure there’s a continuity as it’s passed from the younger to the older version of the actor,” Sterne tells ELLE.com. “Who’s done it before, who’s doing it after, and who are the real people?”Sterne, who's currently in the process of re-casting the entire series for seasons 5 and 6, adds, “It’s nerve-wracking because people invest in the original people. You do X hours of screen time with them and fall in love with their interpretation, and then you go again [and re-cast] every two years.

”The casting process for each season starts about a year before filming begins; a meeting with Morgan clarifies where the characters will be in their journeys the following season. There were 262 speaking characters in season 4, and Sterne personally worked on all of them. The casting director notes that “you’ve got to think ahead of the game,” and that there are several factors to consider—not just whether the actor looks like the real-life person.

“They’ve got to have some credibility, physically, to be the people they’re supposed to portray,” Sterne notes. “But at the same time, they’ve got to get the spirit of it right.” Below, Sterne breaks down the behind-the-scenes process of building the cast of The Crown.

Perfecting Princess Diana

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“Diana was a big deal,” Sterne says, confirming the role has been The Crown’s biggest casting challenge to date. “It was clear as we were heading into the 1980s that she was going to be a major part of it. And we’re starting with Diana at the beginning of her life—we’re not trying to find the icon of the Mario Testino images.”

The casting team embarked on an international search for the person who would play Diana, looking at hundreds of possible actresses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. They weren’t just auditioning professional actors, either. “It was completely open,” Sterne notes. “We were going into schools in the home countries to see if there was anybody who might be good, since we meet her at 16, as well as looking at people who'd done a lot more work.”

The massive search brought them back to Emma Corrin, whom Sterne had seen in the casting process for season 3. The tense lunch between Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell) and Diana in the third episode of season 4 was used as the audition scene for Camilla—and Corrin came in as a reader to stand in for the part of Diana.

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“I usually read in all these meetings, but we decided because it was this major scene that we would get somebody to come in [for Diana],” Sterne explains. “We asked Emma to come in, not thinking about casting Diana at this point. But as she was reading with these Camillas, all the directors and the showrunner were looking more at her and not at the people playing Camilla—who will remain nameless, of course. When we got to thinking about Diana a year later, there she was in my notes.”

Bringing in Margaret Thatcher

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Sterne was told early on that the big focus for season 4 would be the three main women: the queen, Diana, and Margaret Thatcher. Casting Thatcher, who has been portrayed repeatedly onscreen in the past, was unusual, because actress Gillian Anderson is Morgan’s partner, and the creator himself approached her about the role.

“There was always a list of one,” Sterne says. “We had thought of ideas and talked it through a lot, but we always knew Gillian Anderson was totally amazing. It seemed like a fresh and interesting way of going. We were very lucky she said she’d do it—she’s such a clever character actress.”

While Anderson is a fairly big name, Sterne and Gold aren’t always looking for an A-list star to be part of The Crown. Having someone like Anderson come in is balanced by casting lesser-known actors like Corrin.

“One of the great joys of working on it—and working with Peter Morgan on it—is that we’re open, and it’s a really genuine opportunity to find the best person for the part,” Sterne says. “We get to find the actor we believe has the best skills and the best instinctive connection with the part, rather than feeling like we’ve got to provide big names all the time.”

Carrying Charles Through

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“He’s so three-dimensional,” Sterne explains of the role of Prince Charles. “There are so many aspects to that character. He would have to go on a journey.” It was important that the actor could evolve over a two-decade period, playing both a young version and the one who closes out season 4.

Josh O’Connor's work in Francis Lee’s 2017 film God’s Own Country led Sterne to cast him as Prince Charles. “He totally inhabited the role in God’s Own Country in this beautiful performance that’s very different from who he is. We thought, ‘Gosh, if that guy can do that and run with a character who’s so different than himself, then that will be interesting to see.’ As soon as we started [working with] him, it became pretty clear it was Josh.”

O’Connor has the obvious physical similarity to Charles, particularly in the ears, but Sterne really wanted someone who could make the role their own and not just mimic a famous figure—something especially important to season 4’s arc.

“It’s really important that you’re not getting an impersonation,” Sterne notes. “They have to embody them. We have an amazing team who help with the voice work and the movement work—those technical aspects—but you want somebody who has the skill to take on all that technically, and then leave it all behind. Josh flew with that from the moment he came into the room.”

Finding Young William and Harry

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Princes William and Harry make their debut in season 4 as young children, and the resemblance to the real royals is almost uncanny. A baby version of William shows up in episode 6 as Charles and Diana tour Australia and New Zealand in 1982, while Harry appears later in the season. Unlike with the older royals, Sterne focuses on physical appearance alone when casting the kids.

“They have to be as recognizable as possible,” he explains. “They don’t have the opportunity to say many lines, so it’s all visual. You want people to have the pleasure of going, ‘Ah, there they are!’”

Sterne says the difficulty in casting children can vary depending on the situation. The search involves looking through schools in the U.K. and visiting drama groups for kids. “You have to keep going until you find people who feel credible,” Sterne says.

Casting One-Off Characters and Extras

While the fourth season of The Crown focuses a lot on Charles and Diana's relationship and Thatcher’s rapport with the queen, several standalone episodes bring in one-off characters who are equally important to the narrative.

Episode 7, “The Hereditary Principle,” sees Princess Margaret learning that the royal family’s estranged cousins have been locked in a mental institution. The women, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, were first cousins to Elizabeth II on her mother’s side and both had severe learning disabilities. Sterne and Gold cast Trudie Emery as Katherine and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa. Both actresses have learning disabilities in real life.

Trudie Emery as Katherine Bowes-Lyon and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa Bowes-Lyon in The Crown season 4 episode 7, "The Hereditary Principle".

NETFLIX

“We had a few pictures of those two women and did a lot of research into their lives and experiences, and then did a national search across drama schools and residential care homes to find people with learning disabilities who looked similar to the real women and were interested in acting,” Sterne says. “We employed a lot of the people with learning disabilities we met along the way and put them in small parts in those scenes with Trudie and Pauline. We wanted to find real people with learning disabilities so they were properly represented. There are not as many opportunities as you’d hope for, and when we started looking around, there were so many drama groups. There’s so much talent out there.”

Similarly, in episode 5, Tom Brooke plays real-life British man Michael Fagan, who broke into Buckingham Palace to see the queen—a key moment in understanding the state of England in the 1980s.

Tom Brooke as Michael Fagan in The Crown season 4 episode 5, "Fagan". NETFLIX

“We knew there was going to be an episode about him,” Sterne says, “and I remember reading stories about him and there were loads of pictures of him. For a character like that, you look at footage of him and read about him. It’s a really extraordinary part to play, so you want to find an accomplished, technically brilliant actor who looks a bit like him. Tom is an actor with a whole lot of soul, and you wanted [Fagan] to have a whole lot of soul.”

Sterne adds, “Fagan's story was a way of exploring Thatcher’s Britain that's not automatically going to be covered if you’re just dealing with the royal family and the prime ministers, which is the usual core of The Crown.”

#emma corrin #josh o'connor #gillian anderson #tom brooke #the crown

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hiringu · 5 years

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 15 questions 7 mutuals *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

i was tagged by @rosypumpkin, thank you sweet flower 🌸✨ hope you’re well 💖 (I’ll do this on my main account)

Were you named after someone?

not my first name, however my middle names come from my nan and great gran

Last time you cried?

honestly I cry all the time, I cried the other day just because Tohru in Fruits Basket is so inspiring pure and light 🙈

Any kids?

no, I think I’d be better as the quirky aunt than as an actual mother, haha

Do you use sarcasm?

I actually used to be super sarcastic, however I never liked that in me, and when I started healing it just naturally stopped, I feel bad when it does happen though

First thing you notice about a person?

usually their eyes and energy, you can tell a lot about people through those

Eye colour?

quite dark brown, I always wanted blue but I’ve grown to love my eye colour!

Scary movies or happy endings?

it honestly depends on my mood, although I’m a sucker for a happy ending uwu

Special talents?

oh gosh I don’t really have any, I’m one of those people that’s quite good at various things, but not special 🙈

Birthplace

Gibraltar!

Hobbies?

I have a few, I like to write, draw, play around with photoshop, anything creative really, I also enjoy reading loads, and does collecting Natsu Dragneel merchandise count? 🙈

Do you/ have you played any sports?

I did gymnastics for like 10 years, I also did dance as a child, although I have zero rhythm and dance like a dad 🙈 I was also on the hockey, football, rounders and athletic school teams

Pets?

my beautiful angelic staffy, uwu, she’s my world

Height?

5”7

Favourite subject in school?

History was my favourite since I started school, I also always loved learning about mythology, I enjoyed art, english literature, science (specifially physics when it was about the universe, and biology) and math!

Dream job?

I’ve had so many haha, if I was smart enough I always wanted to be an environmental scientist, however I’d also like to own a farm (although I wouldn’t kill any of the animals) or own my own plant/coffee shop, I also would love to become a gallery curator! I was better at presenting others art then creating it myself.

I tag: @pockyparchment @anouroses @psychedelic-disneyprincess @honeysake @melodybun @woah-milk @uh-yuck 🌸✨

#questions #me

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angelbloggerwithabox · 2 years

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RQG Retrospective Asks by @kindofwriter found here.

Gosh I’ve come to love this show so much and I’m going to deeply miss it. Thanks for the list of asks, writing this out was a fun way to remember many of the reasons why I love this show. This fandom is undoubtedly one of the most talented and loveliest ones out there and I’ve loved screaming about Alex’s latest crimes against the party with you guys. ❤️

Under the cut because this got very long.

1. The moment Sasha has the opportunity to finally get her revenge on Barret, but she just forgives him, and moves on.

2. Watching listening to Hamid and Azu’s friendship develop over the years has been wonderful. I absolutely love how Bryn reinforces the fact that Hamid fully has the ability to go evil, but its his friends’ influence that makes him want to be good. Hamid went from never having a positive influence in his life to having Azu (Zolf and Grizzop as well), who made him re evaluate a lot of his upbringing. Now he can’t bear to lose his friends and he’ll do what ever it takes to keep them safe. I love this tiny man so much.

3. Tie between undressed Zolf “loads of hit points” Smith my beloved and Azu doesn’t remember anything from seminary school because she was too busy kissing people.

4. Zolf Smith. Something about going from growing up with a lot of trauma, generally bleak world view and having enough internalised guilt to isolate yourself from everyone that you care about; to working through that trauma and literally becoming the embodiment of hope.

5. Azu opens up an orphanage with Kiko, in the seminary, for many of the children who lost their families in the war.

6. Emotional death scene(s) of a few characters, and the rest reminisce about everyone that died along the way.

7. Wilde heals Zolf, tenderly holds his head and gives him a little kiss on the forehead as Big Ben explodes in the background.

8. How Zolf became a cleric without a god and is the cleric of (the concept of) hope now. Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe something to do with how forces like hope, love, luck etc. exist on their own and are powerful enough without the influence of a god.

9. Airship. I just like sailing tbh. Also there’s something about multiple characters, with different motivations, hanging around in a small space and bonding in the downtime that makes me feral. +body swaps and animated objects were brilliant.

10. It’s Wilde. I’m weak for the punny bard. His development from the aristocratic diplomat who didn’t much care about the people he worked with; to someone who deeply cares about his team has been wonderful. Special mention to Einstein, love the chaotic teleporting grandpa.

11. Oohh I have so many for this!! I’m putting a few of my favourites here

“I know you feel, like, the things we’re doing aren’t good enough, and I know- you know I feel the same, and I’ve failed and I’ve got hurt and I’ve got other people hurt, and… I haven’t helped when I wanted to help. But- that doesn't mean we should stop trying! We’re just people, we’re all people, and we’re not perfect. It doesn’t- matter, if we make mistakes, what matters is that we don’t give up, is that we keep trying to do good, we keep trying to help, that we make up for the mistakes- we don’t let the mistakes become all we are, we don’t let the mistake be the final thing, the final word on us, we don’t let the mistake be the only thing we ever contributed to this world.”

“ I…I forgive you Barret. You didn’t care. All this time, you didn’t. And I think that’s ‘cause no one cared about you”

“We’re all the product of countless deaths, Zolf. We’re all just the product of the people that managed to survive by slashing up as many other people as they could.”

“ You can’t protect people from their own actions. They have to be able to learn from the mistakes that they make.”

“You are more important than a thing!”

“ Sometimes you can’t save the world, but you can save a person.”

12. I have 207 and 177 that I re listen to quite frequently. Special mention to a few scenes I’ve replayed more times that I can count:

The Damascus carriage

Wilde and Zolf’s conversation after he wakes up from his resurrection

All of the body swap shenanigans

Hero’s feast with Jeff Chaucer Dragon Slayer

Bertie ends a riot by yelling

Hamid turns a riot into a dance off

Discussions of Apophis being DTF

13. Definitely can’t not think about the show when random historical figures are mentioned. Also I happened to watch the 2016 ghost busters the other day and called Kate McKinnon’s character Cel the whole time. It’s not even just the look, it was the whole vibe.

14. Don’t recall anything specific at the moment.

15. Sasha’s letter, Grizzop’s sacrifice (I’m still mad about the ripped character sheet!) and The Vengeance crash landing.

16. I haven’t put out any fan content for the show, but I’ve written a few pov and internal monologue type things just for me.

17. I’m very bad at making memes sorry :(

18. I already loved all the main cast members and blindly trusted their ability to tell a good story (I was right!!).

19. I just deeply enjoy the character growth and the journey that they go through over the years. Also the audio quality in the first season make me super emotional because it reminds me of how far RQ has come. I wish I could have been there at the beginning, but I’m glad to be here at the end.

20. Sometimes you’re only going to have bad choices, you’re going to make mistakes, but that’s okay as long as you try to be better. Try to trust other people because you’ll have someone in your corner most of the time.

#If you read all of this I am blowing you so many kisses #rqg #rusty quill gaming

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tkmedia · 3 years

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'It wasn't the way I wanted to move on but it just had to be...'

4:47am, 03 October 2021 Telusa Veainu was enjoying an autumnal day off from Stade Francais last Wednesday when RugbyPass unwittingly took the pep from his step by mentioning over the phone the deflating news that had broken in England the day before. Wasps had provided a seriously disappointing medical bulletin on the status of Malakai Fekitoa, the former All Blacks midfielder who was recently able to change his Test XV allegiance to Tonga after representing their 7s side in June in the Olympic qualifier head in Monaco. ADVERTISEMENTRather than now giddily going on and playing for the Tongans in the upcoming internationals versus Scotland at Murrayfield and England at Twickenham, a shoulder dislocation has ruled out the 29-year-old who earned the last of his 24 All Blacks caps in 2017. The revelation about Fekitoa had eluded Veainu, who had spent his Tuesday winding up his football-mad Stade teammates at training by claiming he was a Manchester City fan before that night’s clash with PSG at the Parc des Princes across the road from his current club’s Stade Jean-Bouin stadium.

What happened when RugbyPass went behind the scenes with the Tonga national team

What happened when RugbyPass went behind the scenes with the Tonga national team“I’m not really a big football fan but I know boys at the club are big PSG fans. I was supporting Man City just to stir the pot a little bit. It’s the hottest ticket around town at the moment, the PSG ones,” he quipped at the start of the interview with RugbyPass.Veainu went on to be playfully polite and well-spoken on a myriad of topics, even when it came it reflections on his delicate contract rebel exit from Leicester in July 2020. However, the prognosis about Fekitoa now being unavailable for the internationals on October 30 and November 6 left him flustered. “Is he (out)? I didn’t even know that. Ah, f**k that… ah s**t!Ex-All Blacks midfielder Malakai Fekitoa was all set to represent Tonga against Scotland and England but Wasps have now issued a disappointing update #Wasps #Tonga #AllBlackshttps://t.co/sMqvGEjplm— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 28, 2021“As soon as he qualified a lot of the boys sent him messages, ‘This is awesome’. It was just a good vibe. I spoke to some of the boys from the 7s and they were so happy to see him come back and to give back to Tonga. It was really good.” ADVERTISEMENTIt was 15 months ago when Veainu’s change of a different type of allegiance made headlines. Financially worried Leicester were demanding across the board salary cuts but the Tongan international, who had been in the East Midlands for five years, stuck to his guns along with Manu Tuilagi, Noel Reid, Greg Bateman and Kyle Eastmond by refusing to stay for less. He’d nothing lined up when he took his brave stance, but it didn’t take long for his talent to find a suitable suitor in Stade Francais and a three-year deal was quickly agreed. Sweet. “At the time they did what was right for them in terms of the pandemic and I was doing what I needed to do for my family and to support them and that was the decision I had to make based on that. “At the time I didn’t really have any options and it was just when things started to break down with Leicester and the news started to be published that Stade heard about it and came through. At the time all the clubs had finished all their signings and I was very fortunate to be picked up by Stade. I owe so much to Leicester and they will always be my team. It has a special place in my heart. It’s where everything took off for me and I’m always cheering the boys on, supporting them from afar. “Welford Road is probably the best place I have played in front of fans. Every time I went out and played I just wanted to showcase myself, to put my best foot forward and it gave me a confidence and an arrogance that when I stepped out at the stadium I was never going to lose. ADVERTISEMENT“But looking back at the decision I made, it was just the right one at the right time for me and it was probably the change that I needed. They were fine, they had Freddie Steward coming up as a young kid. He had all the potential and we knew he was going to go out and showcase it, so it was just a matter of time. For me, it was just the perfect time to move on. It wasn’t the way I wanted to move on but it just had to be.“As a Pacific islander, your faith comes first and then your family and then it’s either football or food. That was part of the decision and the other one was just to try and experience something different. Experience a different culture. I’d been there for five seasons and just wanted to try something different.”Paris is proving to be exactly that – very different in so many ways. To begin with, moving there in a pandemic wasn’t exactly ideal. “It was crazy,” he admitted. “It was pretty stressful on my partner and my daughter at the time, especially not being able to speak the language and coming here trying to settle in. The training was tough and we were all in little bubbles.”Stade eventually finished sixth in Veainu’s first season and while they are currently bottom following four defeats in their opening five games this term, the latest coming at Brive on Saturday, it is still very early days. “Top 14 is a long season and it’s definitely more about how you finish,” he explained. “It’s a marathon. For us it’s just focusing on what we are trying to do, trying to play some good footy, getting those combinations right and believing in our own ability.“Gonzalo (Quesada) has been awesome. He has been all about getting to know the person, allowing individuals to express themselves when they go out on the pitch. He is also big on family and the off-field stuff. He has got a very simple game plan as well which I really love and enjoy playing. It worked for us last year and when we do things right we can punish some teams. “I just like how the French embrace life,” continued Veainu. “Rugby can’t be everything to them. It’s about balance. They like to have a cigarette here and there, have wine with their lunch and all that stuff. It has definitely opened up my eyes. When I was at Leicester it was all about rugby, rugby, rugby. Even when you went home it was rugby, rugby. But here they are able to switch off and they are able to go and have a nice dinner together. It’s just different. “When I first came here I thought, ‘No, this is the wrong way’. Then I realised there are more ways, different ways of skinning a cat. They have just got a different way of doing it. You think the French are unprofessional but they are not, they have just got their own way of dealing with how they play rugby and their approach to it. They are a lot more emotional. There is so much more passion in it, which is a bit more different to what I experienced at Leicester. It’s just crazy sometimes but it is just such a refreshing attitude on rugby and life as well.”Not since after the 2019 World Cup in Japan has Veainu made it back to Christchurch. Home is where the heart is, where the 30-year-old’s rugby story started in league before switching to union and accelerated. “I’m from a big family, one of eleven. A Christian family brought up in New Zealand, we didn’t have much. My parents were very hard workers, my dad worked two jobs to provide for us. I owe a lot to my parents for the sacrifices they made for me and the family… They watch my games, but Peppa Pig is dominating the TV back home at the moment. They are just more happy they have got grandkids.”When Veainu started out it was with notions of being the league superstar. “I thought I was Benji Marshall but I was nothing like him and when I saw the rugby (union) boys getting really cool kit, I decided to switch. We were playing league on Sundays, rugby on Saturdays. I just played along with my friends, then started to make a few rep teams and that was it, I stuck at it.“I still played league all the way up until I was 16, just dipping in and out, just keeping it quiet and not telling the rugby coaches about it. I was on a scholarship in my school so when they found out we had to stop and I wasn’t allowed to play anymore so I just had to focus on rugby. “I’m not the type of person that gets down and would be gutted about things like that. It was, ‘Oh it was fun while it lasted’ and I moved on. At the time I was training in the academy at the Crusaders and then made New Zealand U17s. From then on that was when I was really thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I was so, so fortunate to be in the top 50 players in New Zealand’. Coming back from that camp I was on a high. I realised I could make a decent career out of this if I trained hard and put my head down.”It wasn’t enough, though. For sure he had the potential. Just look at his pedigree with the World Cup-winning Baby Blacks, scoring a hat-trick for New Zealand in the 2010 Junior World Cup final. However, Veainu couldn’t crack Super Rugby. Unfulfilled spells at the Highlanders and Crusaders led him to the Rebels, but even there it didn’t happen for him and by June 2015 he was considering his options outside the game. Then came a life-changing call from Tonga. “I was sort of at rock bottom and then Tonga threw me the lifeline for the Pacific Nations Cup. I played a few games and the coach at the time asked me if I wanted to come to the World Cup. Obviously, they had a load of good wingers and full-backs at the time but I just said, ‘Yeah, why not, I’ll come along as baggage man’. Next thing you know I’m playing all of those games and I’m picked up from Leicester after that. “In Melbourne, I didn’t get much game time. I was just doing a lot of training and playing club rugby. Really low in confidence because I wasn’t getting selected. I felt at the time I could offer something different but I wasn’t being used. I was still doing everything I could but I just wasn’t getting a crack. The coach at the time just wouldn’t give me a look in until everyone got injured pretty much.“When I came back to New Zealand and I was, ‘Far out, I need to get a job’. I’d a few interests in rugby but at that point of time, I just wanted to be home with family, be surrounded by them and seeing them motivated me to get back into rugby and find the love for it and literally two, three weeks later I was at Tonga training. When I went to Tonga it felt, ‘This is where I belong’. Being back at home in the motherland and just seeing my people was awesome. It gave me such a refreshing perspective on rugby.”Welcome to Tigers @tveainu #Tigersfamily pic.twitter.com/1gKxekKnQx— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) October 28, 2015It’s a perspective Veainu would love the global rugby authorities to appreciate and nourish rather than allow their reputation to be tarnished by embarrassments such as last July’s 16-try, 102-0 hammering by the All Blacks. It was never a fair fight, the result highlighting how difficult it is resources-wise for tier two countries such as Tonga to bridge the gap to the rugby elite. “How long has this been going on for, and it’s the same for Fiji and Samoa. Fiji are a lot better now but there is just no fair game for us in the Pacific Island nations. They asked us for a game but there were no MIQ spots. Everything just seems to go against us.”If there was one thing Veainu would change overnight it is the eligibility rules. The last rugby league World Cup demonstrated the positives that can materialise as a strengthened Tonga were transformed and packed out stadiums in New Zealand. “By being able to switch alliances you don’t know how much that impacts the young generation. Instead of wanting to play for the Kiwis they want to play for Tonga now and you have guys who have had one or two Tests for New Zealand or Australia, they can now offer their services to grow the game here in Tonga by playing for Tonga and bringing their high profile over.“The Tonga fans don’t have much but they give their voices and literally would give you the shirt off their back. They just love rugby and rugby league. Can you imagine if Tonga was a tier-one nation? Oh my goodness! The towns would be painted red and there is a lot of support in New Zealand as well. We have had training in Auckland and there were a lot of supporters turning up, bringing us fresh watermelon, coconut juices and things like that. We just loved putting a smile on their faces.”It’s two years now since Veainu earned the last of his twelve Test caps before the world ground to a halt, but he hopes to soon add to that tally with the upcoming games in Scotland and England as Toutai Kefu has been in touch. “I’ve spoken to him a few times. He is quite a bubbly guy and he is pretty happy. He just wants to get busy again. He is recovering (from being injured in a robbery at his home) and I’m really happy that he came through alright.“I’m definitely putting my hand up to be involved in the game. I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been able to play for Tonga in a long time due to the pandemic, so I can’t wait to see the boys again.”

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Western Illinois, Year 37, 2043-2044

Our Western Illinois dynasty has four seasons left in College Hoops 2K8. We need two titles to tie John Wooden’s record.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 37, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Coming off a heartbreaking loss in the Final Four, Western Illinois started the new season with a young roster featuring zero seniors. We began the year at No. 23 in the preseason polls and had a solid run in the non-conference schedule before uncharacteristically dropping two games against Summit League opponents. We rebounded to win the conference tournament and punch our ticket to the big dance.

We earned a No. 7 seed to the NCAA tournament and beat Colorado State in the first round, and UNLV in the round of 32. We then lost in the Sweet 16 to NC State to end our season.

We had no open scholarships, so didn’t land any new recruits. We did lose center Filipe Hopes early to the NBA draft after the season.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 37:

Our goal is to tie or surpass John Wooden for the most national championships in college basketball history before the series ends after Year 40. With four seasons left, we have eight national titles to Wooden’s 10. We need to start stacking championships ASAP, and we start the new year with a team that’s good enough to win it all.

Everyone is back from last year’s team aside from center Filipe Hopes, who jumped to the NBA. With an intriguing four-man freshman class coming off their redshirts and set to join the rotation, we should have one of our deepest and most talented teams ever. We start the new year ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls.

Let’s meet the starting lineup:

PG Arvydas Hardy, 93 overall, redshirt senior: Hardy entered the program as our second-highest recruit ever (No. 12 overall), but hasn’t been able to fully live up to the hype yet despite some flashes of brilliance. Hardy is a huge lead guard at 6’4, 238 pounds, and he checks just about every box with his skill set. He’s blessed with a team-best 90 rating in three-point shooting, and he has A grades in passing and ball handling. Hardy’s only major weakness is that he’s often a little too passive offensively. We need to him to tap into his takeover scoring ability if we want to have a deep tournament run. Projected top pick out of Mesa, AZ with C- potential.

SG Augustine Bruthelieus, 92 overall, redshirt junior: Bruuuu is a tough 6’5 guard who can man either backcourt spot. While he’s not exactly a knockdown three-point shooter (75 rating), Bru plays a physical brand of basketball by getting into the paint on offense and forcing turnovers on defense. He has A- ratings in passing and handling for a shooting guard, as well as B+ ratings in both offensive and defensive awareness. Just a solid all-around player even if he doesn’t have outlier size or a signature skill. Former No. 42 overall recruit out of San Diego with C+ potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Reece Mascoll, 93 overall, redshirt senior: A monstrous 6’9, 260 pound wing, Mascoll can play bully ball at the rim or stretch the defense with a high 70s rating in three-point shooting. We love that he has the versatility to play either forward spot, and can project as a primary scoring option at his best. After a big sophomore year coming off the bench, Mascoll’s tournament run as a junior wasn’t as dominant as we hoped. He decided to return for his senior year despite being a projected first round pick, and now should co-headline the team with Hardy. Former No. 40 overall recruit out of Riverside, CA with C potential. Projected top pick.

PF Al Reece, 89 overall, redshirt senior: Reece has tremendous size at 7’1, 277 pounds for a natural power forward. He has the best shot blocking rating on the team (90 rating) and can slide easily to the five. Reece checks a lot of boxes for a ‘Necks big man, but there’s one thing that holds him back: he’s almost too aggressive offensively. He shouldn’t be taking more shots than Hardy, but that has happened often in stream games. We need him to be a role player rather than think he’s our star. Former No. 138 overall recruit from Glendale, AZ with C- potential.

C D.J. Foster, 82 overall, redshirt sophomore: Foster is our lowest-rated starter in years, but we have no problem with that because he’s already proven to be a solid performer in tournament games. His best attribute is his size: at 7’2, 274 pounds, he’s able to protect the paint and rebound just by standing there. He also has more offensive game than you would expect, showing off a solid mid-range jumper last year. Former No. 173 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Chicago with C potential.

For as stacked as our starting lineup is, our depth might be the best asset of this team. We have the potential to go seven deep off the pine with no scholarships last season and four freshmen joining the rotation coming off their redshirts.

Redshirt junior Jerald Elliott (91 overall) is a 6’6 shooting guard with a ridiculous 99 rating in speed who also has A- ratings as a passer and ball handler. Elliott is our second highest rated shooter, but his slow release — similar to that of former guard Brandon “The Musket” Price — limits him some as a shooter. If Elliott is our ‘sixth starter,’ we have a group of freshmen and sophomores behind him who give us quality depth at every position.

Redshirt sophomore Ketshner Evertsen (83 rating) is a 6’8 shooting guard who we’ve moved to small forward. He projects as an elite shooter and proved he can be instant offense when he gets hot on our tournament run last season. Cam Kateley, a 6’6 redshirt sophomore point guard, and Bernie Doyle, a 6’9 redshirt freshman shooting guard, both provide size and floor spacing potential in the backcourt. We also have redshirt freshmen Floyd Keller (6’7 wing), Oscar Frye (7-foot power forward), and Brody Munoz (6’11 center) who could see time in the rotation in March.

Recruiting

We have four open scholarships this season. Since these players will only have three years with us before the series ends, we’re thinking about targeting some JUCO guys throughout the process. After scanning the available options, we decide to offer the following players:

SG Everson Fitch out of Peoria, IL: No. 14 overall player and No. 9 at his position

SF Kory O’Donnell out of Kansas City: No. 57 overall player and 6 at his position

PG Archie Howell out of El Paso: Five-star JUCO freshman

C Daon Whithers out of Cleveland: Five-star JUCO freshman

Fitch would go down as our third highest-rated recruit ever. O’Donnell is already massive at 6’9, 250 pounds for a high school small forward. Howell and Whithers are both five-star JUCOs, with Whithers profiling as a stud and Howell looking more gettable. We’ll see how it goes.

Reminder: WE’RE NO. 3 IN THE POLLS. Let’s do this.

How did the regular season go?

After a breezy season-opening win against Creighton, we faced No. 14 Oklahoma State in our next game and lost, 85-73. There will be no pressure to go undefeated this year. A few weeks later we lost to UConn and NC State, both talented but unranked teams, that dropped us out of the polls entirely.

We rebounded with wins over Kentucky, DePaul, and Lehigh to close out the non-con slate at 8-4. Not how we wanted to start the year.

Did we go undefeated in Summit League play?

No! We lost to Fort Wayne in our very first conference game of the season. An absolute shocker.

Oh my gosh, it happened again. This time to Southern Utah:

Two conference losses in each of the last two seasons, sheesh. This team was preseason No. 3!!! Are we even going to make the tournament at this point?

We won out for the rest of our regular season games and then entered the conference tournament. I am legit terrified we’re going to lay another egg and miss the dance entirely. After winning the first two games, we have a rematch with Southern Utah in the title game. They are rated as an 82 overall, which is about the highest you’ll ever see a team rated in this conference. We streamed the game here.

We won, and headed to the NCAA tournament. Man, this team doesn’t feel as good as I hoped.

Who did recruiting go?

Not well! We landed no one at the early signing deadline, and saw three of our targets commit elsewhere. The only original target we’re looking strong with is Howell, the 6’2 JUCO point guard, but he’ll still need a little more convincing in the offseason.

We’ve pivoted to big man Logan Polk, the No. 185 overall player and No. 11 center, in the front court. We also have offers out to five-star JUCO power forward Erik Stepp and four-star shooting guard Cornell Berry, who is rated No. 33 overall. Polk looks like the most likely to sign out of those three, while Berry is a swing for the fences. I figure we might be due for a little bit of good luck at some point here.

2044 NCAA tournament

We’re a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, drawing MAC champion No. 9 seed Akron in the first round.

We’re rated as a 100 overall heading into the tournament at 27-6 on the year. The Zips are only rated as an 85 overall.

Before we get to the tournament run, let’s check in on the roster:

I know it hasn’t been the most dominant regular season, but damn, this roster is undeniably loaded. In terms of both top-end talent and depth, I’d put this squad up as one of my best ever. The reality is it won’t be remembered that way unless we run all the way to the national championship.

Hardy and Mascoll were big-time recruits with great tools who have had flashes of greatness, but have never put it together consistently. This is their chance as seniors. Reece and Foster, at 7’1 and 7’2 respectively, give us a major size advantage on any opponent. Bru and Elliott are versatile guards who feel like they could go either way in March. I’m really excited about our bench, with a few big wings who can shoot (sophomore Ketshner Evertsen and freshmen Bernie Doyle and Floyd Keller), some more size (freshman center Brody Munoz) and plenty of lineup versatility.

This team is awesome, but so far they have the underachievers tag. Let’s see if we can shake it. As always, we’re watching a simulated game between the computer. I’m not controlling the Leathernecks.

Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 105-70. We’re rolling into the second round.

That was a straight up blow out — we were able to hit ‘sim to end’ with 13 minutes left in the game as we held at 30 point lead. This one was never in doubt.

A few takeaways: Hardy was awesome, popping off for 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting. What a great start to his final tournament run with us. It was an ideal game for Mascoll, too, hitting a couple threes and dishing out six assists. Bruthelieus was great scoring the ball, and Elliott looked solid as our backup point guard.

We only hit two three-pointers in the first half and were still up 21. That seems like a good sign.

The win sets up a game with No. 1 seed Richmond in the round of 32

There’s nothing worse than getting a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, because it means we have to face the top seed in the round of 32. For us, that means a matchup with Richmond. I have to say, I’m shocked to see the Spiders are this good.

Richmond enters the game rated as a 98 overall. We’re a 100 overall.

It’s possible this will be our toughest game on the road to the Final Four. I guess we might as well take it on early. It’s not like we’re playing for Sweet 16 appearances over here. We need titles.

Massive game. The nerves are real. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 111-99! We’re into the Sweet 16!

This was another ‘sim to end’ game with five minutes left, but in reality it was a lot closer than the final score would indicate. The first half was a dog fight, with Richmond using a zone defense to coax our perimeter players into taking threes. We attempted 27 threes in the first half (making 10), and 45 threes on the night (making 17). That has to be a record. Seeing as we were making them at a 37 percent clip, I was happy to let our guys keep shooting.

Bru was the biggest star, with 17 of his 22 coming in the first half. He finished 6-of-13 from three despite only being rated as a 75 in three-point shooting. That was huge, especially on a night when Arvy Hardy didn’t have it (1-of-7 shooting).

Mascoll (18 points on 6-of-12 shooting) was awesome again, and our sophomore center Foster (11 points, 11 rebounds) looked every bit of 7’2 out there. Major shout-out to Jerald Elliott as well, who helped blow this game open in the second half when we put him at point guard went with a full court press. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and added a couple steals and a bunch of assists. It is an immense luxury to have a versatile guard rated in the 90s like him coming off our bench.

The win sets up a game with No. 4 seed Rhode Island in the Sweet 16

Rhode Island is rated as an 85 overall. They don’t have any super highly rated players, but it looks like they’ll have a formidable team for a stream game with a big small forward who can shoot and a couple veteran guards.

I’m starting to gain confidence in this team. We already knocked out the No. 1 seed, and I think we’ve found something with lineups that have Elliott at point guard. Let’s keep this run going. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 94-71! We’re rolling into the Elite Eight!

Three games, three ‘sim to end’ blowouts. I had a good feeling about this one when Reece Mascoll ripped a three off the opening tip:

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Those good vibes wouldn’t last long: nine minutes into the game, Rhode Island was up double-figures. We took a timeout, put Elliott in at point guard, turned up the full court pressure, and before you know it we were going into the halftime break ahead by 13 points.

Elliott is really becoming a stud. He’s a great shooter (86 rating from three), but his slow release handicaps him on the wing. That’s why we’ve mostly been playing him at the one, where his size (6’6) and uber-elite speed (99 rating) is a terror. He’s really solid as a passer and decision-maker, and that’s been enough to give us a boost when he put him in for Reece as our first sub.

Look at the speed!

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Hardy was also really good this game with 16 points, four assists, and a couple threes. We’ve been waiting five years for Hardy to carry us, but it seems like he’s just not aggressive enough to be a superstar. Instead, he’s really solid within a team concept, hitting open threes, dropping dimes, and never forcing his own offense.

Mascoll is starting to play like a star. He finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals, just an incredible performance. Also: Floyd Keller got his first real minutes and scored nine points during a key stretch. Hell yeah. We are looking good.

The win sets up a game with No. 2 seed Louisville in the Elite Eight

We have our work cut out for us if we’re going to reach the Final Four. Louisville is one of the best teams we’ve ever faced in this simulation. Yes, they’re a 100 overall, and their roster is even stronger than ours. They have five players rated in the 90s, two players rated as 89s, another rated as an 88. We showed off Louisville’s roster at the start of the video below.

I’ve never felt more pressure as a coach. We need national title No. 9 if we want to match or surpass Wooden, and I doubt we’ll have a team as good as this one again before the series ends. We need a title, and Louisville is an enormous test in the Elite Eight.

One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 113-95. We’re going to the Final Four!

We had some technical difficulties in this one, and by the time I resolved them we were well on our way to a fourth straight ‘sim to end’ game in this tournament. It is absolutely unbelievable that we were able to blow out that Louisville team. Just a great performance by our guys.

Foster was wildly good. The 7’2 sophomore center popped off for 22 points and 12 rebounds. He can score with either hand around the basket, has a decent face-up jumper, and is just so, so big. Louisville had no answer for him:

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Our depth also shined again in a big way. On a night when Mascoll (10 points) wasn’t taking over, we were lucky to have 6’8 sophomore wing Ketshner Evertsen, 6’9 freshman two guard Bernie Doyle, and of course our boy Elliott get hot and help carry us.

Elliott just rules at point guard, going off for 16 points and seven assists on 6-of-7 shooting. I swear the guy never misses, and rarely makes a bad decision. Doyle (nine points) got going attacking the basket, and I really think he can be a future star. Then there’s Shner, who broke out as a freshman in the tournament last year and remains a great weapon for us off the bench:

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Shner finished with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three. I’m telling you, the wing depth is really what makes this team stand out.

There was also a kick ass Mascoll tip-dunk during our technical difficulties that was so good I had to pause the game and figure out the stream so we could make a clip of it as a replay.

We’re feeing it right now. On to the Final Four!

The win sets up a game with No. 1 seed BYU in the Final Four

BYU has had a really solid program throughout this simulation, and this looks like one of their better teams. The Cougars enter the game rated as a 97 overall, and they play a bit better than that because they have a ton of size in the front court.

We are one win away from the chance to play for title No. 9. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 94-88! We’ll be playing for the national championship!

There was no ‘sim to end’ in this one; instead, it came down to the final minutes. I really thought this was headed for a blowout, but a wild end to the first half set the table for the final 20 minutes. After Ketshner Evertsen hit a three with seconds remaining before halftime, BYU came down and drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer:

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We were comfortably in control for most of the second half before BYU started to make its run. Up 14 with under five minutes left, BYU started making everything and suddenly we couldn’t buy a bucket. The Cougars made it a two-point game with under a minute left, but some clutch free throw shooting from Hardy iced the win. This was unquestionably the most difficult game we have had on our tournament run, and it has me thinking that a national title game win won’t come easy.

Jerald Elliot, the 6’6 junior shooting guard, was awesome again, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and almost exclusively playing the point for us. Our dude might be making a run at MOP if we can win it all.

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Evertsen — aka Shner — was also killer again, going 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three to finish with 15 points. It is so nice to have a 6’8 natural shooting guard on the bench we can go to for a jolt of offense. The starters also played well enough, with Hardy and Mascoll each scoring 13 points and Bru putting up 12 points.

The win sets up a game with No. 2 seed UCLA in the national championship game

We beat UCLA for our second ever championship, and we’re going to have to do so again if we want title No. 9. The Bruins have a loaded roster with four players rated in the 90s.

We enter at 32-6, they enter at 31-6. They’re a 99 overall, we’re a 100 overall.

Given that we’ve stated our goal is to tie or surpass John Wooden’s record 10 championships before the series ends after Year 40, there’s a case to be made that this is the biggest game in program history. This would give us title No. 9 with three seasons left. We aren’t catching Wooden if we lose.

Please, ‘Necks. One time. Let’s go!

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***

Win, 101-81! WESTERN ILLINOIS IS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FOR THE NINTH TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY!

This game was tight for the first 33 minutes or so, but our SECOND HALF TEAM came through when it counted. In fitting fashion, it was a true team effort with five players scoring in a double-figures and bench player being named MOP.

Jerald Elliott finished his amazing tournament by putting up 16 points, seven assists, five steals, and three blocks in the natty on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. He was deservedly named MOP. Elliott came into this season with a nice rating but major question marks about what role he would play. It turns out he was the point guard we needed all along, and that let the rest of the team fall into place.

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It was also great to see Hardy have such a good title game performance. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with three assists and just one turnover. It was a quintessential Arvy Hardy effort: he picked his spots and was efficient with every shot attempt. I’m going to say he lived up to the hype as our second highest rated recruit ever.

We needed this one:

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And then there was Bru. We once recruited Bruthelieus and Elliott together as shooting guards in the same class, and that couldn’t have worked out any better. Bru finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting and might have pulled a full DiVincenzo by playing his way into the NBA draft.

This three off a pin-down screen was the dagger.

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Reece Mascoll also went out as a champion in his last game. While he never became a monster scorer like Jitim Dupree, Skip Clemmons, and Nic Cummings before him, he was one of the best players on this team the last three years and an invaluable contributor to this championship. His ability to play either the three or the fourth was an incredible dimension for us that we won’t have next year.

He also had a big dunk, if you’re into big dunks.

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One last shout-out to Hardy for using his final game in a ‘Necks uniform to .... take our first ever charge!?! I honestly can’t remember this happening before.

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From the moment we brought in the Hardy-Mascoll-Reece-Hopes group that was named the fifth best recruiting class in the country, we always thought their senior year would be our moment. While all of those guys were great, I think I’ll instead remember this team for having so much versatility and such great depth.

Pretty much everyone played two different positions for us on our run. We had size, we had shooting, we had size that could shoot. If this wasn’t our best team ever, I really do think it’s damn close.

Let’s see that hometown newspaper. Print lives in 2044!

It feels so good to win national championship No. 9. We’re one behind John Wooden with three seasons to go. All we wanted was a legit chance to match or surpass him, and now we have it.

So: let’s see who’s coming back next year.

Offseason

Western Illinois is your national champion. Feels great to say.

Hardy, Mascoll, and Reece all get drafted. We did lose one other player to the NBA: Augustine Bruthelieus. The man went out on top, having the best game of his career in the national title. Mad respect.

My record stands at 1,075-205.

I get offered jobs by NC State, Arizona, Indiana, and Arkansas, but turn them all down.

We lose an assistant and hire someone new with B- ratings across the board.

Recruiting

So just a reminder: recruiting isn’t going too well. We have four open scholarships and no one who is ready to accept.

The player we’re closest with is five-star JUCO point guard Archie Howel. After the second week of the spring signing period, he becomes our first recruit:

Howel is a 6’2 guard out of El Paso who we identified as gettable early in the process. He won’t redshirt and will be a senior in Year 40 because he’s entering school as a sophomore. The only position we didn’t recruit for two years ago was point guard (remember, we had no open scholarships last year), so filling this position was crucial. We’ve had a couple good JUCO point guards over the years in Damon Hendriks and Diondre Haynes, so hopefully he can be the next one.

We also badly need a center and have been chasing Logan Polk since we lost our initial target. A week later, he becomes our second commit:

Polk is rated as the No. 11 center in his class, and the No. 185 overall player. His AAU numbers are incredible: 17.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He’s ranked a tad bit lower than the guys we usually get at his position, but he should be a solid three-year big for us before the series ends.

We have two more open scholarships, but our two targets — four-star shooting guard Cornell Berry and five-star JUCO Erek Stepp — both sign elsewhere. We need a big guard and wing, but we also just have to take what we can get. We decide to offer the top international player, 6’2 point guard Christano Ngoundu out of Cameroon, because he projects as the top player available. On the last week, he signs with us.

Our last scholarship is offered to 6’8 small forward Ivan Adler out of Bellflower, CA. He’s only rated No. 192 overall, but his AAU stats were awesome — 13.3 points per game on 44 percent three-point shooting — and we love his size. We were his only offer going into the final week, but unfortunately he did not commit. We’re going to have to roll over that scholarship to next year.

Now it’s time to set next year’s schedule:

@ Richmond, Maui Invitational, Vanderbilt, @ Providence, @ Duke, Northwestern, @ Penn State, Saint Louis

Year 38

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 38:

Two thoughts:

This team has a chance to be very good

The lineups we play in the regular season will not be the same ones I’m playing in tournament games as we try to win national championship No. 10

None of the freshmen are redshirting. Here’s what they came in:

Christano Ngoundu, 77 overall, B potential: I was hesitant to offer Ngoundu because oftentimes international recruits take five years to get good, but I’m so glad I did because he’s easily our best get. The 6’2 guard should get backup point guard minutes from the jump.

Logan Polk, 76 overall, C potential: Probably about as good as we could have reasonably hoped for given that he was only ranked No. 11 at the position. He’ll likely earn spot minutes as our second big man off the bench.

Archie Howel, 71 overall, C- potential: This one hurts, but he does he have a 75 rating in three-point shooting, so maybe he can be a depth piece and a weapon in tournament time if nothing else.

We’ll have three scholarships to recruit for this year.

We’re going to be streaming Year 38 on Sunday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET on my Twitch channel. We’ll be recruiting and simming through our regular season, and then going into the tournament. If we have a long tournament run and can’t complete the season in one night, we’ll finish out the tournament run on Wednesday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET on my Twitch.

Watch Western Illinois in Year 38

What: Western Illinois Year 38 season

When: Sunday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET. If necessary: continued on Wednesday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: My Twitch stream

For email updates on this series, subscribe here.

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shslshortie · 6 years

Text

Continued cup of France shit

I just realized its kinda weird that the two top French pairs (pairs and ice dancing) both are skating their shorts to Ed Sheeran. A little weird, but I’m not mad at it. More interesting than anything.

Tough luck for Alina Zagitova today. She was virtually flawless in Beijing, and I ate all my words about a technically back loaded program such as that for her senior debut at 15. But tonight from the moment she stepped onto the ice, it was off. Her flexibility and strength in her kicks and extensions wasn’t there. Her spins weren’t nearly as strong or stable, and her jumps obviously had multiple issues. Even as she stepped onto the ice and when she was in the kiss and cry, she didn’t look disappointed or upset – she looked SCARED. And that personally upset me. Yes, she is the reigning Junior World Ladies Champion, and a favorite to make the Russian Olympic team… but she is a 15 year old girl. This should be something she loves, not something she fears doing poorly at. THIS is why I have an issue with the Russians, especially the girls. because it is obvious that after one bad run, they automatically think they will be replaced and thrown by the wayside. It is so upsetting because she is such a gorgeous and talented you g girl, and I want to see her succeed and grow with these amazing programs… but tonight I was just worried for her.

I was very excited for Poling Edmunds tonight. Cup of France was her only GP event, as she has been focusing on college and healing injuries. I am REALLY not a fan of that costume though. I know, being against jumpsuits for ladies in skating is very old school, but a jumpsuit requires a very specific type of music and an edge to the program as well as the skater to be pulled off. Polina is a very ballet-trained skater, and this costume does nothing for her, her figure or her program. I love the Paladio music, but I definitely would have chosen a costume that was darker, or had a brighter contrast in the accent colors (a brighter purple or red). For a kind of rough transition into adulthood (skatingwise), her jumps are so much better than I was expecting, and I am very excited for her. She is such a different skater than we saw back in 2014, and I mean that in a good way. I’m very excited for her long tomorrow, and I hope for her to be back next year in two events so she can be competitive with the rest if the US ladies again.

I am obsessed with Elizabet Tursynbaeva. Her time with Brian Orser has been absolutely amazing for her, and she has such poise and stature for a young girl of her age, going into uncharted territory as a khazk (sp) ladies skater. Even though she popped her lutz with a single, that Triple Salchow-Triple Toe was PHENOMENAL with her arms aloft, and on the fly too. I think this music is still a little mature for her right now, but it is still so entertaining to watch and I cannot wait to see how far she comes. ALSO seeing her in between her adorable mother and Brian Orser in the kiss and cry literally melted my heart.

Okay I am so done with Swan programs this season. I’ll admit, Maria Sotskova does have a very nice one, and her first spin combination is PERFECTLY timed with the music… but there is only so much you can take in one season. For her, I would really like to see her work on her stability in her jumps, especially if she is going to put her arm aloft in every one. One if my biggest pet peeves in skating is upgrading jumps using aloft arms, but doing it without having it look like a flopping dead fish. She is a lovely girl with a lovely costume, but I am so conflicted with the Russians. especially at this competition.

I love Katelyn Osmond, and im so glad she got to perform this program in France (it is one of my favorite shorts this season)… but it was nowhere near as strong as she was in Canada. You can tell she wasn’t too confident going into any jump, and even when she finished, she knew it wasn’t her best.

Oh gosh I love Yuuna Shiraiwa’s costume and music choice. Absolutely perfect for her and her style of skating. Her Triple Lutz Triple Toe was so clean and serene and it almost makes you feel relaxed just looking at it. Especially for coming directly from NHK last week where she only placed 8th, WHAT a turn around. Even though she was really the only one to skate clean tonight, I am not among the crowd that believes she was underscored. Even though this piece was lovely and very clean, her PCS in performance and choreographic elements was no where near as high as Osmond or Zagitova.

What a ballsy choice for Mae Berenice Meite with her Beyonce short program. I loved it, and her jumps were so strong compared to in Moscow, and what a great performance for her home crowd. I would love her to improve upon the meagre choreography in this short program and get it clean. I personally wish the music had better cuts because there are some awkward gaps in the music, but overall I enjoyed it. And this was definitely a program for a jumpsuit.

Mai Mihara is wonderful. I love this program for her and it is be fun and upbeat while still being technical and mature. I wish she had a bit more confidence in her jumps because they are there as long as she doesn’t think too much about them. Seeing her strong skate even through her first issue, and her AMAZING step sequence made me continuously impressed with the young Japanese skaters this year. It absolutely sucks that only 2 of them can go to the Olympics. They deserve 3 almost more than any other country besides Russia.

God the week of Christmas is going to be so great not just because of Christmas, but because if the absolute blood bath that is gonna go down in Russia and Japan. I can’t wait.

I hope something changes for tomorrow though… something was obviously off with the rink or in the air. Almost nobody was on their top game except for Javier, and almost every single one of these skaters has competed in at least 1, if not 2, if not 3 international competitions this season already… so it should not have been this messy all around.

#more figure skating #shut up dani

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agents-of-frickle-frackle · 7 years

Note

If you could change anything about the direction aos has taken and the plots they've used, what would you change?

Y’ALL this is a loaded question. lemme keep this brief also general trigger warning for self harm/suicide mention

a) aos was promoted as a look behind the scenes of shield, their tagline was “not all heroes are super” but WAIT HANG ON A MINUTE WE FORGOT THAT YES THEY HAVE TO BE and don’t me wrong here i love that agents of shield is superhero daisy johnson’s origin story but the original concept was so good???? like a little ragtag group of regular people coming together and dealing with superhero shit??? amazing

b) goodbye winter soldier u ruined the team bus family

c) things get so dragged out and repetitive??? hydra just kept coming back in different ways, fs got dragged out for so long, ward just kept getting dragged into the plot, how many similar shady organizations have we seen, etc etc time to let some things go

d) this ties into the dragging things out thing but- shorter seasons. look I wasn’t wild about the three “pod” s4 thing when they first talked about it but it WORKED. I liked the tighter storylines. like I know most people want as much of this show as they can get but imagine if they kept the seasons shorter I feel like they could tell a better story

e) I would get them some gosh darn honest to goodness burn your eyeballs out powered by the sun blindingly bright fricking lightbulbs

f) buddy the dog is there with no explanation he’s just there also he’s the new director

g) lets handle self harm and suicide and depression a little better please it would be great for my mental health ok thanks

h) i honestly cant remember what most of season three was about so i guess we can scrap the whole thing????? except for 4722 hours?????

i) bobbi and hunter wouldn’t get written out of the show just to go die in canceled spin off land

j) I ACTUALLY REALLY PREFER THE WHOLE MONSTER OF THE WEEK STRUCTURE??? this also ties back into point d but like season long plots are fine and all but the case of the week adventures in season one were so much fun and it helps me actually remember what happened in each episode (see point h)

k) we could talk about the shows (and the fandoms) treatment of characters who aren’t white or straight or male but i don’t get paid enough/am not in a position to accurately discuss such things. just know that i have eyes and i have seen u all. i’ve seen what you all are capable of. i remember.

l) listen. LISTEN. you know what we really need? a new graphics design team. we could add a new vfx team too but that’s for a whole other reason

m) everything about will daniels is the same except he’s played by someone else. idk. bob morley. i dont care. just not dill pickles.

n) more backstories. which i think they actually got better with in s4 but like, what do we even know about half of these main characters, let alone side characters???

o) why spend half a season on inhumans just to drop the afterlife inhuman community thing and then two years later make an inhuman show but without the inhumans you introduced on aos like its such a mess

p) [insert name of every dead character ever] lives

q) we’re bringing back the night night guns

r) women dont HAVE to punch people to be strong characters ok most of our female characters here on aos are involved in stem but they only get to have “cool badass female empowering moments” when they fight someone like whats up with that

s) longer lasting consequences (im look @ u fitz’s magical disappearing brain damage or every time the government is like “this is the end of shield!!1!” but shield is still there or the fact that people dont have more emotional trauma over the things that have happened???)

t) you get a redemption arc you get a redemption arc everyone gets a redemption arc i dont even care (yes even THAT PERSON. WHOEVER YOU ARE THINKING OF RIGHT NOW. THEY GET REDEEMED. OK BYE)

u) every so often people just stare directly into the camera like on the office. don’t question it.

v) harold the hungry space rock was actually undercover in hydra but is really a shield agent and he joins the team and has a badge and everything. don’t question it.

w) closure on certain characters. like yeah sure some of them they don’t want to give closure on because maybe they’ll come back some day but like where is joey. where is mike. what happened. explain.

x) 4x15 never happened. end of story. bye.

y) lbr i would’ve canceled aos and let these incredibly talented actors and actresses move on to better things a while ago

z) literally just read this all the replies to this tweet okay there are way more serious issues that could have been dealt with in this list that i didn’t even want to get into but there are some good opinions in those replies and at the end of the day none of it matters because this is the show that we have and this isn’t the framework. we can’t just get rid of our regrets re: this show. and im sure if we could, we would just find new things to complain about 24/7 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#shoutout to everyone on twitter who tried to help #it was fun #also im tired #anon #this gets salty so like if you're one of those people who can't handle anything anti aos maybe don't read this #ok bye

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yeoldontknow · 7 years

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You don't have to answer these if you don't want to, or if you've explained before! But I'm curious, what do you love most about exo, and why is chanyeol your bias?? ❤️

hello sweet anon!! oh my gosh. this is such a cute ask. ahh~~ i love it. i haven't really talked about why i love EXO; have definitely waxed poetic about chanyeol, both sober and drunk.

i've waxed poetic about PCY, but i would be a terrible stan if i didn't talk about him every time as though it's the first. chanyeol deserves only the best ok. ️

all of this will be under the cut because i ended up doing this on the train and wrote for about 45 minutes lmao

i think what first attracted me to exo was how influenced by R&B they are. obviously i'm aware this is really because of the label/umbrella they operate under. they're kind of at the mercy of management when it comes to producers/songwriters, however there have been loads of times where they've been solo (or featured) and creating music within the genre. or, if you're Do Kyungsoo, sitting in a car singing musiq soulchild like it's nothing.

pcy has been writing his own music for a while, and there's always a R&B/slightly soul feel about it - even the tone he uses in his ballads is rooted slightly in blues cadences, which is one of my all time fave genres. having been lucky enough to see exo live, i can honestly say mostly i was impressed by how diverse they are. i love artists that never sound the same, every album is different and/or influenced by different styles.

again, they are at the mercy of management for this, but the production on every album is incredible. i can't really say it's a cut above the rest of kpop because i have only recently started being a fan of the genre, but the mixing and mastering on each record is unreal. sometimes, it puts me off. it sounds TOO produced; other times, it's refreshing to hear something so clean. the levels are always pretty perfect - i'm not a recording engineer, so this really is just my opinion.

i'm sure this is a more detailed answer than you were expecting, but i literally live and breathe music. exo were my gateway drug into kpop and i genuinely would not have stayed if i couldn't have them flow seamlessly in a playlist of all the other things i listen to on a regular basis.

and now for why i love chanyeol.

here's the thing: i love talent. i love that he decides to do something and then does it. he wants to learn how to bowl? off he goes and does it. he wants to learn to play a moog synth? there he go! there's a lot of wonderful things packed even just in this, so let me pull them apart.

his steadfast devotion to ambition.

his inability to suppress his passion.

his relentless desire to learn.

his fearless ability to try literally anything at least once.

these are insanely admirable qualities to have in a person. he plays so many instruments, sings, learns sports, tries his best at dancing, devotes himself to songwriting, all because of the three things above. he talks about music like it's his soul because it is his soul. he knows he could likely anything, and, therefore, is willing to try everything. when he commits his brain to something, he makes it happen, and that's something i try to do in my everyday life.

then we have his unwavering kindness. his unyielding desire to spread love and happiness. he wants to make those around him laugh. he wants to take care of those around him - the most important people in his life are spoiled to hell.

then we have his ability to be human. he openly admits that when things get difficult, and he feels pressured, he cries. sure, he does his best to keep it from his members but his reason for doing so stems from the above: he doesn't want to burden them/he knows they're going through the same shit he is/and he'd rather make them smile when he's with them than make them sad. that he even admits to being open with his emotions is a humble, beautifully human thing to do, and i find it impossible not to admire that.

he's also the first to support the other members in all their endeavors. he's basically kai's biggest fan. junmyeon released a solo song? he did an insta live playing the damn thing on loop. ksoo has terrible eyesight which makes it look like he's glaring at everyone and literally scared the other members into submission? chanyeol was the first to talk to him, go to dinner with him, and walk him home. he bought the entire band gaming computers so they could play a game as a team and bond in a different way.

also: don't get me started on how the boy is allergic to cats, yet found a stray cat on location at a shoot and went out of his way to buy it food/pet it/love it.

again. i'm sure these are way more details than you ever would have asked for, but my love for Ultimate Bias Park Chanyeol is honestly unlimited. i am stopping myself because i feel like i should, not because i've run out of things to say.

it's easy to say any member of a group or band deserves love - of course they do! but, for me, chanyeol is the embodiment of love, kindness, humble connection, and unfailing acceptance of the fact that he is only human. there's a lot to admire in him while also an ability to see his flaws - and i love those flaws because they make him who he is. he has a lot to learn because he is young and here's what's exciting: he will learn it because he simply doesn't seem to stop.

tl;dr i really like exo, but i love and, most importantly, respect Park Chanyeol with every fiber of my weak heart.

#the cutest anons!#i love chanyeol so much #its hard for me to even put it in words #chanyeol #is my heart and soul #Anonymous

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dalmatianplantationsensation · 7 years

Photo

CHARACTER SHEET: Roger Jonathan Radcliffe

As I hide behind these books I read / while scribbling my poetry / like art could save a wretch like me / with some ideal ideology / that no one can hope to achieve. / And I am never real; it is just a sketch of me. -- Waste of Paint, Bright Eyes

It takes strength to be gentle and kind. --I Know It’s Over, The Smiths

STATS:

Birthday: 11 October 1991

Hogwarts House (Primary): Ravenclaw (modelling a blend of Hufflepuff and Slytherin)

Hogwarts House (Secondary): Ravenclaw

Myers-Briggs: ISFP

Enneagram: Type 5

Height: 5’11

BACKGROUND OVERVIEW:

Mother: Harriet Martha Hunter Radcliffe

Father: William Jonathan Radcliffe (deceased)

Mother’s Occupation: manager at a fabric store

Father’s Occupation: musician

Family Finances: lower class

Birth Order: only child

Other Close Family: Gran on his dad’s side; he has two male cousins on that side who are pretty Patts-esque lol; didn’t really talk to his mum’s side all that much till about a couple of years ago

Best Friend: Paul Patts

Other Friends: from home: Lucy, Finn, Ed; from here: Anita, Perdita, Berlioz, Stan, Brad, Belle?

Enemies: none, really—Lou?

Pets: 32 Dalmatians lol (he had a Dalmatian named George when he was growing up)

Home Life During Childhood: eh so it was happy till he was about ten, then his father started drinking more than usual and doing bad drugs and there were a lot of fights and broken furniture and all that and Roger blames himself

Town or City Name(s): London, England—East End, near Shoreditch

What Did Her Bedroom Look Like: sloping wall with green-striped wallpaper, lots of books jammed into a little shelf, a little wobbly desk with a single desk lamp, kept a bunch of knick-knacks on his desk, lots of sheet music

Any Sports or Clubs: probably in school band or orchestra, also did theatre

Favorite Toy or Game: He had a stuffed dog that he went to bed with every night till he was like 13 or something and it wasn’t “cool” anymore and one of the bigger kids teased him about it so he stuffed it in the bin, but his mum rescued it and it’s on the shelf above his childhood bed

Schooling: finished secondary

Favorite Subject: Music, of course, and English

Popular or Loner: had his own group of friends, was never really a true loner, also helped that his best mate was like the most popular bloke in school

Important Experiences or Events: Dad died when he was 15, he found the body in the bathroom

Health Problems: prone to addiction, undiagnosed depression probably, also near-sighted if that counts lol (he wears contacts most of the time)

Culture: English

Religion and beliefs: his mum’s family goes to church pretty regularly and he’s, like, the type of guy who wishes he could believe in God but isn’t sure—even so, does Christmas, Easter, that whole thing, and when he’s feeling particularly vulnerable, he will pray

PERSONALITY:

Bad Habits: nervous talker, easily addicted to substances, smokes, drinks too much when he’s in a depressive spell

Good Habits: loyal, dedicated to his craft when he is in a steady spell, very good with kids and animals

Best Characteristic: dedicated—to the people close to him, to his craft, to his passions, he won’t quit on you

Worst Characteristic: low self-worth—he doesn’t think much of himself at all and it’s a big hindrance to, like, his life

Worst Memory: finding his dad’s dead body ha ha ha

Best Memory: when Powell approached him and introduced himself and said he had talent

Proud of: his musical ability

Embarrassed by: uh his like,,,everything—his looks, his background, his finances, his grades

Driving Style: he’s very average, speeds a little but remembers his turn signals

Strong Points: kind, artistic, passionate, intelligent, goofy

Temperament: melancholic

Attitude: can be broody

Weakness: tbh he’s like really sensitive if you doubt the one thing he is proud of (musical ability); also fuck with Paul/Anita/his mom (and Perdita by extension), he will get upset

Fears: not living up to his artistic potential, turning into his father

Phobias: turning into his father highkey

Secrets: sometimes he’s happy? His dad died bc it really put his mum out of a lot of misery…

Regrets: getting good at music, because that’s what ultimately drove his dad down the drain

Feels Vulnerable When: talking about himself in general lol, he likes talking to other people and does genuinely want to know more about them but he hates it when it’s about him

Pet Peeves: snobby rich people—he can deal with regular rich people who aren’t snobs and think that his social class is his own fault, kale (really does not like kale)

Conflicts: desire to follow his artistic dreams vs how freakin’ hard it is to do, as well as not wanting to like totally leave his mum in the dust

Motivation: to be a true, genuine artist and hoping success will follow

Short Term Goals and Hopes: get some sort of record deal—either as a musician or a composer

Long Term Goals and Hopes: gosh—make a decent living as a composer, trying not to be a sell-out, but also still getting his time in the limelight

Sexuality: bisexual, if we’re talking Kinsey-scale it’s like a 2.5 (prefers women, but still likes men)

Exercise Routine: gets most of his exercise from working tbh

Day or Night Person — Night.

Introvert or Extrovert — Introvert.

Optimist or Pessimist — Pessimist

LIKES AND STYLES:

Music: jazz, of course! He grew up listening to the greats and has a fondness for Charlie Parker. Errol Garner is another favorite. Other than that he listens to a lot of classic rock—London’s a great city for classic rock, eh? Got the Stones and the Beatles and the Who—real great place, music’s everywhere, didya know that lots of the classic rock bands were influenced by jazz? Roger can show you where they played. Also really into the Smiths. And indie stuff. Fan of the occasional really good musical. Just doesn’t really like pop is all (ok except for some songs....)

Books: classics, he’s partial to the 1920s era—Hemingway (yes, I know), Fitzgerald, Stein, and all that good stuff. Also a fan of Virginia Woolf. Also a huge Jane Austen fan, he won’t admit that right away but it’s easy to pry out of him.

Magazines: tbh not many,,,he keeps up with music stuff online

Foods: good pub food—he likes a good steak pie with loads of green peas and mashed potatoes on the side. Also a good English breakfast (his favorite part’s the sausage).

Drinks: tea—black, the English Breakfast blend. Likes a good beer as well, or a shot of whiskey.

Animals: Dogs. No, but seriously, he’s always been fond of them and will take care to point them out on the street to whoever he is with.

Sports: He plays football but sucks at it haha, but he follows Paul’s team!

Social Issues: LGBTQ+ rights, he’s like really against gentrification, having lived it firsthand

Favorite Saying: “Life is like jazz; it’s a lot better when you improvise.”

Color: Grey. He likes how varied it is. It reminds him of home and of silver and the sky and the Thames and a lot of things he likes.

Clothing: he’s like very particular about how he dresses, tries not to wear shorts and t-shirts, he likes to keep it dressy casual, like hipster style (wow, roger)

Jewelry: he has a nice watch his dad passed down to him and a ring his granddad gave him when he graduated

Games: played pokemon when he was younger, will take a turn on those first-person shooters when he’s with friends, likes the Legend of Zelda

Websites: Instagram, tumblr, has his own like wordpress or something with music reviews, posts some piano covers on youtube (not terribly many)

TV Shows: Fools and Horses, other british sitcoms which i am too lazy to research r now but he’s a sitcom sorta bloke when he does watch tv

Movies: he likes weird horror movies, big zombie fan; secretly really adores Love, Actually, but says his favourite movie is Ray (which is a great movie, he just likes Love, Actually more....); prefers the BBC Pride and Prejudice over the Kiera Knightley one and is passionate about that

Greatest Want: to be a true artist™

Greatest Need: to overcome his bad self-esteem and love himself

CURRENTLY:

Home: lives in the Dalmatian Plantation farmhouse, on the top floor in an attic bedroom

Household furnishings: lots of sheet music, he keeps his closet pretty neat, but the rest is quite messy. Always has a stack of books on his bedside drawer. There’s usually an empty mug of tea because he’s too lazy to bring it downstairs lol. Bed is usually not made.

Favorite Possession: probably a book from either Paul or Anita (or both)

Most Cherished Possession: the piano in his house in London, which belonged to his dad and his dad’s dad; also the watch his dad left him

Married Before: Nope.

Significant Other Before: Finn, Sarah (those are the only significant ones)

Children: n/a

Relationship with Family: very close with his mum, they stuck together when it got really bad on his homelife end; she’s always been supportive of him; his mum’s family used to not speak to them much, but recently have been reaching out; dad’s family talks to them more

Car: n/a

Career: dog care-taker, record shop clerk, musician/composer

Dream Career: composer/jazz musician [music teacher, but he doesn’t know that yet]

Dream Life: ok so honestly—Roger’s destined to become a teacher. He’s great with kids and in the end, he will (hopefully) realize that his passion for music is meant to be passed down to others. Sure, he’s gonna still write the occasional almost-famous tune and play in ensembles and venues, but he’s gonna be truly happy as a teacher.

Love Life: uh—kinda dating Anita? What is? Going? On?

Hobbies : playing music, reading, walking the dogs lol, likes playing football sometimes (sucks at it), acting

Guilty Pleasure : will, on occasion, like a pop song; rom-coms

Sports or Clubs: n/a

Talents or Skills : great musician—plays piano excellently, trumpet pretty well, and can manage a bit on saxophone and guitar; has a good singing voice too (baritone)! Decent driver (can drive manual wow that’s impressive to me tbh); good with kids and animals (also impressive to me lmao)

Intelligence Level : artistically inclined—he was bad at science/math classes, but good at music, literature, and history. He’s not dumb by any means, but his strengths aren’t really in a technical area. He’s knowledgeable and interested in learning about things, but don’t ask him to solve some intricate mathematical proof

Finances: manages alright on his own (he basically doesn’t have to pay rent, so he’s doing p good; sends money back home too)

#roger gets two quotes bc he's special #and im in love with him #character sheet #about #hc #stuff

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