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ambrose-d · 5 years

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We’re all having fun here!

Words: 3181

Murder Mystery human au!

Don’t look in the tags if you don't want to be spoiled for who the murder is!

“So...it was you..?...”His voice broke as he said it, emotion and heartbreak bleeding through his words.

“Mhm! But don’t you worry, you’ll meet them again soon enough!” As he said that...

He lunged.

It was Roman’s idea to go to an abandoned amusement park. Roman Prince was 21 years old, and was full of idiocy. He had green eyes and tan skin, along with dark blonde hair. He always wore a white shirt with white jeans and a red ascot tie, you know, like a cartoon character. He was the perfect boy, being athletic, pretty, and having an angelic singing voice. Girls flocked to him like moths to a flame. Except Roman wasn’t a fan of any of them. He just wanted to be an actor in Broadway, being famous for his acting and singing, not his appearance. Roman had a twin. The twin’s name was Remus Duke, as their parents wanted to give them different last names. Remus was less than a cute baby, and they hadn’t wanted their perfect, cute child to seem related to Remus. Remus was able to grow a mustache, purely to annoy Roman. Remus had green eyes and super pale skin, sometimes wearing toxic green tight tube tops and very short shorts. That is what he was wearing right now. Remus had dark blonde hair as well, but had dyed a streak of it in the front gray. Objectively, he was an on-fire garbage can. Figuratively, of course. Remus was very much alive and not on fire. He was all for going to the theme park, thinking that he could do all kinds of stupid and gross stuff. Speaking of big words such as objectively and figuratively, the only person in the group that actually comprehended how much of an idiotic idea it was to go to the park. Logan Croft was his name, and he was 22 years old. He had ultramarine blue eyes and black, slicked-back hair. He wore a black polo and a blue tie. In addition to that, he wore square glasses and khakis. He was kind of stuck up and knew more words than you could even imagine. Logan was also best friends, though he begged to differ, with a man named Patton Hart. Patton was a bubbly kind of guy and was 20 years old. He wore circle glasses and a light blue polo shirt with a gray cardigan wrapped around his shoulders, in addition to jeans. He had light blue eyes and curly light blond hair. He was the innocent type, the kind of person people want to protect. Everyone liked him, even people who usually hated everyone. Emile Picani was the innocent type as well, in the same way. Emile was 23 years old and was studying to become a therapist. He was already very empathetic, so it was easy. He wore a beige cardigan and a baby blue tie. Joan Marco and Talyn Blattea were almost inseparable. Joan was 21 years old and wore an orange beanie, a t-shirt, and jeans. Talyn was 20 years old and wore a sweatshirt tucked into some jeans. They both were in love with each other, though would never admit it.

Damien Mendax was a pathological liar. The left side of his face was burned and scarred, making him blind in his left eye. This was caused by a house fire, and he went back inside to get his pet snake. Damien wore a long sleeve, black shirt, and long black jeans. As the eight entered the park, Logan was looking very unimpressed by this whole thing. As it was stated, Logan was very stuck up and serious, so it was no wonder that he was not enjoying this trip. It was Roman that noticed it first. “What’s gotten on your mind in a freak, Bill Nye the Science Guy?” Roman asked, taking a break from spinning Patton so he could talk to Logan in clarity. Also, something else about Roman’s character. He can and will call the others nicknames that he thought of. The others don’t mind, so Roman continued to do it. “Oh, I am just contemplating how much it is an injudicious proposition it was to do this,” Logan said dryly. “In English! You know I don’t understand the big, fancy words you use,” Roman complained. “I was thinking about how much of a stupid idea it was do come here,” Logan corrected. “Well, I think it’s a great place to be! It’s fun and we’ll be able to explore what was once here! Don’t you like looking around old places, Logie Bear?”Patton chimed in, making a sour face. As he said that, a single magpie flying above them and cawing. “Ooooooo, that’s a pretty bird!!”He exclaimed as he pointed at the Pica Pica. Logan sighed at how scatterbrained Patton was. He looked up at the bird, deciding to just go with it. “Ah, yes, a Eurasian magpie. It is a lovely bird. Very intelligent, too.”As he said that, the gates of the amusement park swung open. That was because Remus pushed them open. Logan simply rolled his eyes. Only Remus could be that immature, wanting to be the first person to be inside the theme park. “Oooo!! It looks super duper spooky in there!!”Remus exclaimed, grinning. Remus was very immature, “Remus, if you want to explore it, go ahead and explore it,” Damien said. Damien spent the most time with Remus, so he was used to Remus’s immaturity. It did get tiring after a while, so when he got annoyed with it, he’d just send him off to annoy Roman or Logan. The task was easy enough, and Remus loved to annoy them both, separately or together. Remus went inside the theme park, a huge grin on his face. Damien and Logan simply sighed. “Let’s go inside, alright?”Talyn asked Joan, who they had been walking with and was trailing behind the rest of the group. “Which ride do you want to try and ride first? The rides may still work, by some miracle luck.” Joan thought for a couple moments. “The rollercoaster seems fun,” They said, shrugging. “I always like the rollercoaster. It is so exciting and fun.” As they said that, Patton looked at the two of them. “Joan, could I talk to you for a bit? And Talyn, you can’t listen to this, sorry.” Talyn and Joan looked very confused by this, but they both nodded. “Thanks!” Talyn caught up with the group, still looking confused. “Do you guys know if Patton has any beef with Joan? He wanted to speak with them privately...Emile, do you know anything? You’re a therapist, so maybe you could’ve seen something?”Talyn asked, looking at Emile. Emile simply shook his head. “No, I didn’t notice anything. Sorry. Maybe Joan borrowed some money and never returned it?”Emile suggested, shrugging. He honestly did not know of anything happening, thinking innocently about it. Logan pursed his lips before saying, “It is most likely something personal, so I suggest that we do not question it anymore. At any rate, shall we explore the park more? Perhaps the rides and the park still have electricity going through the wires, but it hadn’t been turned on.” “Joan said that they wanted to go on the rollercoaster, so why don’t we find it and wait for Patton and Joan on the coaster?’ asked Talyn. They all nodded, setting off to find the rollercoaster. They found it after a while, boarding on to the cart. They waited a couple minutes for the two before the park sparked to life like the night sky on the Fourth Of July, lights turning on all around them. “Ah, it appears I was right. But that would mean that the roller coASTER-” Logan began to say before being cut off with the coaster turning on and starting to move. “Put on your safety measures, everyone!!”He yelled, clearly panicking at the rollercoaster turning on by itself. Who wouldn’t, though? The rollercoaster hiked up a hill before going steady on a level surface. The people in the front, Roman and Logan, saw something in the middle of the tracks...or should I say..someone.

It was Joan, tied up and hopefully unconscious. The roller coaster was going to run straight through them.

The scene seemed to go in slow motion, Logan and Roman trying to stop the cart and failing while the others looked so very very confused. The sickening crunch of bones and the gushing of blood, freely flowing from the now open wounds. The sounds of Joan’s death were so loud, even against the sound of the coaster. It was screaming from Joan, probably instinctually. Talyn was the third person to realize what had happened, just after Logan and Roman. Talyn was sobbing, and the others realized like a domino effect. First Emile, then Damien, and finally Remus. It was not a pretty sight, them all coming to the understanding that their friend was dead. The ride was silent except for the sound of the ride and Talyn crying. They all got off the ride and tried to comfort Talyn, though it was very hard because Talyn’s closest friend just got run over by a roller coaster. Death wasn’t really something that you could fix, especially like that. If you had a heart attack or something along those lines, fine. But not like that. Just as they were comforting the person, Patton came strolling up like nothing. “Hey, kiddos! What’re you all doing? Talyn, why are you crying? What happened?”Patton asked, cocking his head to the side innocently. “Jo-Joan’s DEA-DEAD!!”Talyn howled out, burying their face in Roman’s shoulder. Roman ran his fingers through their hair to potentially comfort them. “That’s horrible! I was just talking to them, and I said that I would be right back, and when I came back, they were gone! I guess I know where they went to!”Patton said, his grin turning to a frown. “Logically, we should contact the police and get out of here. If someone killed Joan, they have the potential to kill other people,” Logan said. Damien took out his phone and tried to dial 911. He waited for an answer from authorities, though it never came. “It appears that we cannot reach the internet, which means that whoever the killer is most likely made it so there is no internet in this area,” Logan conspired, shrugging a bit. Talyn sniffled, pulling away from Roman. “Tha-Thanks, gu-guys..I-I’m gon-gonna g-go wa-walk arou-around to tr-try a-an’ cle-clear my he-head,” Talyn stuttered out, shuffling away from the others and towards the game section. The others decided to head their separate ways for the time being.

After a bit, Remus was just going around, seeing if anything was in the claw machines. He saw something large in one of them, so he walked over to that claw machine. What was in that machine chilled him to the bones, something that made him scream.

It was Talyn’s head.

Almost immediately, the others came running. They all looked worried and panicked, Damien and Logan appearing to already know that another murder took place. Why else would Remus of all people scream at something that wasn’t major? Once they were all there, it was dead silent. Patton covered his mouth, Roman felt tears going down his cheeks, and Emile sobbed silently. Logan and Damien remained stoic, but you could see the despair in their eyes. You could see the despair in their expressions. Pairs, they had decided. Pairs of people to explore. Logan and Patton, Damien and Remus, and finally Roman and Emile. Logan and Patton went around to the kiddie games and rides, much to Logan’s displeasement and Patton’s enjoyment. Patton was humming a joyful tune as they walked, Patton keeping Logan’s hand in his own. Logan kept his face stoic and emotionless as always, pushing up his glasses with his free hand. Suddenly, Patton released Logan’s hand and pointed in the direction of a ride. “Imma go over there and see if that still works! Stay here, Lolo!”Patton said, skipping over to the ride. “That defeats the purpose of pairs- okay he can’t hear me. I minus well stay here,” grumbled Logan, looking forward and not at the ride. Suddenly, someone pushed him from behind, his glasses coming off in the struggle. The person stepped on the glasses as the two moved, and his attacker pushing his head down. They were right in front of a rubber duck pond, where little children played games to try and win prizes. He struggled to breathe, though the person kept his head pushed under the water. The world started to spin as he was forced to inhale the murky water. He didn’t know how long he was under the water, but it was about a minute from what he remembered from his books. His books didn’t matter anymore, he was drowning. After the minute was up, the world faded to black... A scream rang out through the park. Everyone came running like it was Black Friday and there was a really important and really good sale. They all showed up to see Patton looking terrified, standing at the exit of a kiddie ride, pointing at the rubber ducky pond. Bent over the pond was Logan, deathly still. His glasses were about a foot away, shattered like they were garbage. “I wa-was jus-just goi-going o-on th-the rid-ride bu-but h-he did-didn’t wan-want t-to g-go o-on th-the ri-ride s-so h-he wai-waited ou-out her-here an-and no-now he-he’s de-dead!”Patton babbled. Roman went over to comfort the man. “Shh...It’s alright, Padre. It isn’t your fault..it’s okay,” The twin said, soothing Patton’s hair. “Bu-But i-it i-is m-my fau-fault..! I-If I-I had-hadn’t go-gone o-on th-the ri-ride..h-he’d b-be he-here no-now!”Patton sobbed out, clutching Roman’s shirt. So now they had two groups, Roman and Patton, then Emile, Remus, and Damien. Damien would switch groups so each group had three members for equal amounts of time. But, in the present moment, Roman and Patton were walking around the game section, looking for something to play. If the rides still worked, maybe the games still worked. They came across a high striker game, commonly known as the strong man game. “Do you think I can hit the bell?”Roman asked as he picked up the mallet, or, well, tried to. The mallet wasn’t there. Roman turned around to see the hammer swinging straight for his head.

Damien was walking around the game section, humming. He was looking for Roman and Patton so he could join their group and make it equal. Despite the situation they were in, it was peaceful. He was enjoying this peace. No one to disturb him..oh..oh no. He looked at a strong man game, seeing Roman, bleeding from his head and thrown over the lever like the dead man was the mallet. From the bloody mallet beside Roman, it was safe to assume that the hammer was the murder weapon. He could never, ever tell Remus this. He did question where Patton was, though that wasn’t his biggest concern.

Damien walked back to his group, ushering Emile away from Remus. “Roman is dead,” Damien whispered, making sure that Remus could not hear him. Emile’s face turn from bright and bubbly to terrified. “You-You’ve got to be joking..? Please tell me you’re joking,” Emile asked quietly, utterly petrified for his and the other’s safety. Damien simply shook his head. “I wish I was joking...You go with Patton, I’ll go with Remus,” Damien suggested, receiving a nod from Emile as a response. He turned back around to Remus. “Alright, you’re going to explore with me and Emile will explore with Patton,” He explained. Remus nodded. Damien and Remus set off to explore the food shacks, coming across one for fries and pizza. “Ten bucks that I’ll eat a slice of pizza!”Remus giggled as he said that. Damien just looked tired, pulling out a ten-dollar bill and nodding. “Go for it, buddy,” Damien said with so much enthusiasm that it should’ve belonged to a dead man. Remus was idiotic. That was very apparent based on the fact that he was eating God knows how old pizza for $10. Remus ate the whole pizza and Damien gave him his ten dollars. However, almost immediately after, Remus lost consciousness. Damien caught him and checked for a heartbeat.

There was no pulse against his hand. Damien freaked out. Remus, too? Why Remus? Remus already suffered from dumbass-ery, so why exaggerate that fact by doing something to the food? Who knew that Remus was going to actually eat the food? It had to be the murder. Damien felt hot tears start to leak down the sides of his face. Remus was the only one that would actually give him a chance. Someone had to take that away, but why? What did the murderer have against them? The man let Remus fall out of his arms, standing up. He wiped his tears away and went to go find Patton and Emile. Once he had found them, they were just preparing to get on a drop tower. “Why don’t you join us?”Asked Patton, offering Damien a seat right next to him. Damien agreed. How bad could it be? As they all boarded the drop tower, his seat wouldn’t lock. Before he could change seats, the ride suddenly shot up, leaving him glued to his seat because of gravity. Once they reached the top, he panicked. The only reason he was still on this was because gravity was working. The ride let itself free fall, basically pushing Damien off of it. Damien’s body hit the ground with a splat. Once the ride had finished, Emile got off immediately and went to go check on Damien. Damien, of course, was very much dead. Emile stood up and looked at Patton with terror in his eyes.

“So...it was you..?...”Emile’s voice broke as he asked it, emotion and heartbreak bleeding through his words.

“Mhm! But don’t you worry, you see the others again soon enough!” As Patton said that, he pulled out a broken off carousel pole. There were jagged and rough edges, perfect for murder.

Patton lunged at Emile, the pole right in front of him.

Patton was faster than Emile, because of course he was. Patton was almost immediately in front of Emile, holding the jagged pole to his neck. “Say hi to Roman for me, he was always my favorite!”Patton chirped before running the sharp part of the broken off pole against Emile’s neck, blood filling the therapist’s throat and mouth. “Sorry ‘bout that Emile, it was necessary!” Patton let Emile’s limp body fall to the ground as he walked away.

Patton was gone, leaving behind all his past friends that had passed on. He couldn’t say he was sorry, either.

#unsympathetic patton #logan sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #deceit sanders #thomas sanders and friends

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tipsoctopus · 5 years

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"Love to see it", "What a clown" - Lots of Newcastle fans react to another ex-player's dig

Mention the name Jonathan Woodgate and arguably the first thing that pops into your head is ‘injury-prone’. The current Middlesbrough boss played around the block in his heyday, but he even admitted himself that recurring setbacks had stopped him from fulfilling his potential.

Nevertheless, the ex-England international did enjoy some relative success with his respective clubs, reaching the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2004 with Newcastle, and then winning the League Cup with Boro.

Since then, both clubs have endured mixed fortunes, but speaking about how a couple of his new signings have adjusted to life at the Riverside, Woodgate appeared to take a dig at the Magpies.

He said: “This football club is a big football club, who’s done well. I know we’ve only been in the Premier League once in 10 years but we’ve been to a UEFA Cup final, we won the Carling Cup, Newcastle haven’t. When was the last time Newcastle went to a UEFA Cup final? Our history is better than theirs in recent times, I’d say. It’s a big club.”

After hearing Woodgate’s comments, Newcastle fans understandably flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their matter.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club pointed back to how Michael Owen had also recently taken a shot at Newcastle, and suggested it is ironic that they keep talking about the Magpies even though they are a “small club”.

Some fans however offered a more ruthless response to Woodgate’s words, and insisted they have now lost their respect for him.

Check out some of the reaction of Newcastle fans below:

Why did he even mention Newcastle? What’s with all these former players talking about how small a club we are? If we were that small they wouldn’t even be thinking about us. Love to see it.

— Simon (@supernova_1984) September 12, 2019

This is a shame. Actually quite liked the fella. Was class when he was here. That respect I had has now ended.

— Steve McKenna (@SteveMcKenna_) September 12, 2019

He left out out greatest achievement. Getting £13million for Jonathan Woodgate

— Rob Healy (@RhealyCreepy) September 12, 2019

Ok mate you think that…..bless

— Drunken Gamer (@DrunkenGamer69) September 12, 2019

How many times have they played in the Champions League though?

— Jason Miller (@rough_justice76) September 12, 2019

Someone is under pressure to mention us when we haven’t played them in the league or cups in over 3 years. Clutching straws there.

— Allan Mawson (@AllanMawson) September 12, 2019

Very strange statement considering #NUFC have played champions league football; have in recent history finished 3rd, 4th & 5th in the PL. Won the Championship twice; been to a European semi final. Our history isn’t much to shout about but it’s far greater than Boro’s

— Kevin Nichol (@Kevin_Nichol) September 12, 2019

What a clown. Did he get injured giving this interview?

— Byernysern (@byernysern) September 12, 2019

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bentchcreates · 7 years

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1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Seemingly unimpressionable Aomame finds herself living in a world that is almost unchanged except that there are now two moons in the sky. A writer, Tengo, notices the same, and notes its similarity to a fantasy book he has secretly ghostwritten. As the fine line between reality and fantasy blurs, a unique love story between the two blossoms and in time, they must find a way out of 1Q84 to escape the clutches of a mysterious religious cult that pursues them for something neither wants to give up.

I had put off starting this for so long because look at it! Haha! To say that I was intimidated by its size is an understatement. But like what my cousin – who absolutely adores all Murakami stories – said, this was such an experience.

*also, I loved my cousin’s gorgeous hardcover copy so much, it’s graced my IG a bunch of times. heehee

This is my second Haruki Murakami book after Colorless Tsukuru so I was somehow familiar with his subtle integration of fantasy elements in a seemingly contemporary setting. I also know very little about Japanese culture, especially in the year 1984 so I will admit that there were parts of it that I didn’t fully grasp, or have completely flown over my head. Still here’s are my thoughts (also, mild spoiler alert!):

The femininity and sexual fluidity of Aomame. I will use the term sexual fluidity loosely here because Aomame is straight for the most part of the narrative, but as the blurred reality unravels around her, the readers are shown more of Aomame’s background and preferences. I didn’t want to point it out too much –because love is love, and I feel like Aomame’s lesbian trysts were borne out of love – but this book’s nonchalant presentation of it, of a woman comfortable with her sexuality like this, is notable.

Tengo’s complacence and his eventual longing to break the monotony of the life he had built around himself. As with Colorless Tsukuru, Murakami’s male lead here isn’t dead but isn’t actually living. He’s going through the motions. And Murakami shows in this story that it isn’t particularly bad if one chooses to live like this. There’s a reason why people would choose this and although boring, it makes sense. Ultimately Tengo makes a choice to leave it behind, to risk it, and I’m happy it doesn’t all go to waste in the end.

Complexity of characters. Tengo and Aomame’s depth of character were magnificently portrayed in this book. As well as the supporting characters like the dowager, Tamaru, Ayumi (huhu), Komatsu, Fuka-Eri and Ushikawa. I also felt that Buzzcut and Ponytail were distinctly Japanese but maybe that’s just because they remind me of anime goons a lot.

Magical realism. I will admit that I’m drawn more to books/stories where the magic is straight up fantastical and flashy, but the subtleness of the magic here is an artform. I can’t claim to understand and make sense of everything (i.e. what are the maza and dohta and what exactly do they do???)but maybe that’s how the author wants it to be? Reality is whoozy in the world of 1Q84 so my real-world logic must not apply.

Ushikawa. I was ready to sympathize with him because Murakami have drawn out his character so much, even giving him his own POV in the third book and then ~the end~ happens!? Argh. To this day I don’t know what I feel about that.

The romance. This is not in the same alley as the romance books I normally devour but it is successful in making me root for the characters and feel what they’re feeling. Murakami also painfully teases the reader, putting a lot of situations where they should’ve already met, and then twists it so they won’t meet yet. Agh! I actually had to cheat at one point and skimmed the last few pages for me to know the outcome. I’m not going to say what happens but for someone like me –who absolutely hates spoiling the story by getting to the end first – to take a peek at the endings, I have Murakami’s compelling writing skill to blame.

I understand why people tag this as a difficult read. It took me 8 months to finish all of it and I had to read other books in between for breaks. It’s not so much because the narrative is boring or is particularly bad, it’s just so long and winding. There’s a part here where Tengo was reading something from an encyclopedia (or something) about a group of indigenous people, I don’t know, and I skipped it. It might have something to do with the story, and underlying theme or what not, but I got so frustrated that I felt like I was reading it too slow so I did away with it. No regrets.

5 of 5 Stars. Why a perfect score, you may ask. Well, why not? I don’t think I will ever understand why it had to drag for so long, for a bunch of subthemes to just suddenly be there without direct importance to the plot, but there is no denying that Haruki Murakami has worked on this artfully. Maybe the reader’s frustration is deliberate to express the craziness of the parallel world; maybe it was there to distract us from the fact that Tengo and Aomame’s worlds are converging under our very noses. But when it starts to fall into place, when you’re at the edge of your seat at full attention to what is happening to the characters (this is after you power through 75% of the trilogy, I’m sorry to say) then it becomes clear why Murakami is such a prolific writer with fans all over the world, despite the mixed reviews this book is getting.

Blurb:

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

Buy Links:

Kindle EBook: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LROUW2/

Print copies are available in leading bookstores worldwide.

About the Author:

Murakami Haruki (Japanese: 村上春樹) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. His work has been described as 'easily accessible, yet profoundly complex'. He can be located on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/harukimuraka... Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture, particularly Western music and literature. He grew up reading a range of works by American writers, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and he is often distinguished from other Japanese writers by his Western influences. Murakami studied drama at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he met his wife, Yoko. His first job was at a record store, which is where one of his main characters, Toru Watanabe in Norwegian Wood, works. Shortly before finishing his studies, Murakami opened the coffeehouse 'Peter Cat' which was a jazz bar in the evening in Kokubunji, Tokyo with his wife. Many of his novels have themes and titles that invoke classical music, such as the three books making up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: The Thieving Magpie (after Rossini's opera), Bird as Prophet (after a piano piece by Robert Schumann usually known in English as The Prophet Bird), and The Bird-Catcher (a character in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute). Some of his novels take their titles from songs: Dance, Dance, Dance (after The Dells' song, although it is widely thought it was titled after the Beach Boys tune), Norwegian Wood(after The Beatles' song) and South of the Border, West of the Sun (the first part being the title of a song by Nat King Cole).

#bookish #bentchcreates #book review #magical realism #1q84 #haruki murakami

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getseriouser · 7 years

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20 THOUGHTS: It’s still only March

A hotly contested Round One, lots of upsets and great narratives from the weekend which suggests the season ahead has great promise.

The Crows, Bombers and Power were the big winners from last weekend, whereas the Giants, Blues and Dockers didn’t show us much to get excited about.

Off-field the trade talk and free agency simmers in the background and the AFLW capped off a wonderful inaugural season with a stellar finale on the Gold Coast.

1. I know one event was free and a Grand Final, the other was paid-entry and a home and away fixture, but the fact the AFLW Grand Final Saturday afternoon attracted over 15,000 fans, a wonderful result for the women’s game, yet the Q-Clash that night, the Queensland derby, Round One to a new season, only got 12,000, is very disappointing.

2. Mark Evans will have his work cut out for him in South-East Queensland as Suns CEO. Their talent is coming through and eventually they will play finals and field a side worthy of decent crowds, but there seems to be considerable damage to the market appeal for both QLD clubs, especially on the Gold Coast. Crowds have never turned up for any sport on the tourist strip, the league will need to be patient and extremely hard-working to ever see that change.

3. Travis Cloke was booed on Friday night and that became an issue? He was booed taking a set shot but hardly for any other touch the rest of the night, so perhaps that had something to do with it? And where was the outrage when fellow 2010 Premiership player Dale Thomas received significantly more heat when Collingwood plays Carlton? Not quite sure why this became an issue at all.

4. Marcus Bontempelli has been many pundits Brownlow pick and even received some votes in Saturdays paper for his game last Friday. He is a star, a wonderful young player, and someone that Dogs’ fans can be extremely buoyant about. But here and now, in 2017, he arguably wouldn’t even be in Geelong’s best two midfielders, let alone top five players in the AFL like Mark Robinson suggests. Hold your horses a touch.

5. This Essendon side will be mighty this year, my only fear was a slow start given the circumstances of the last 18 months. The signs on Saturday night against a ‘decent’ Hawthorn suggest that they might be alright from the word go, which is good signs for those optimised Bomber fans thinking of September footy. They are a real show, promise you.

6. As for their opponent Saturday night, it’s not all doom and gloom but the Hawks sides of the last five years simply don’t drop that game at all, they find a way, have a purple patch kick three or four goals and turn the momentum – they just get up. This side now has a vulnerable underbelly and the idea of winning another 15-16 games just looks unlikely.

7. The Giants had a nervous Preliminary Final last year and it cost them. They were the better side but the Dogs played it better. That same mentality, the lack of aptitude when it really matters or allowing themselves to play below standard, that is the only thing that stops them this year. And whilst Leon Cameron and his staff are good operators, this team still might be too flimsy to take home the chocolates come year’s end despite how insane their team is.

8. On the other hand Adelaide had a wonderful start and they will be a top-four fancy for sure. To smash the Giants by ‘that’ much is indicative of how cohesive Don Pyke has them playing but also that they’ve got the mix just right. A lot of ‘no names’ in that side but it doesn’t matter to win a flag – who would know Josh Dunkley or Toby McLean if they walked past them in the street?

9. It won’t appear as such on the stat sheet but the return of Paddy Ryder to the Port side on the weekend made a huge difference. As a number one ruckman he is one of the better proponents of the craft in the game. So whilst we all see Max Gawn as the premier ruckman in the league, don’t discount Ryder as someone who could have a year to reconsider that belief – he is a star.

10. Nick Riewoldt, luckily it wasn’t curtains with that knee injury on the weekend. Even so, we shall see how his career pans out in his twilight years, but would he could go down as the greatest player to never have won a Premiership or a Brownlow. Walk up Hall of Famer for sure.

11. The Lions performance on the weekend was super encouraging for Chris Fagan and the rest of the club. Most notable, which won’t get the proper love down in Melbourne, was the games of Harris Andrews and Eric Hipwood. This column has highlighted these two already and their games on the weekend, especially when Andrews played on Suns-superstar Tom Lynch, show the impact they can have on a Brisbane resurgence.

12. How good was the AFLW? Great crowds, very encouraging TV ratings, good corporate support and all based on a season pretty hastily organised and with the stuff up of the Grand Final to boot. This will go from strength to strength and don’t underestimate the league’s potential when situated in the ‘clear air’ of February with very little other competition in the sporting calendar.

13. Carlton are in the complete rebuild phase and why they didn’t get good picks from the Crows for Bryce Gibbs I’ll never know. But the Dale Thomas conundrum is a big one – he has given them little to no value on real big coin. He is out of contract this year and whilst many are saying he will go on, remember this: none of the current coaching staff or list management were around when he joined the club, so any sort of new deal being elementary is far from a good thing.

14. Here’s an idea: why don’t once a year, when they play a game in Melbourne, don’t Sydney wear a South Melbourne strip, complete with a traditional red V, and Brisbane wear a Fitzroy strip, not just the colours as they do now but with the FFC monogram instead of the Lion. Sydney has almost 15,000 Melbourne-based members and I know Brisbane is looking to reconnect with more Fitzroy supporters, there’s a novel way to try and maintain and improve those Victorian membership bases.

15. A forgotten superstar of the game who could easily have an All-Australian year without us even noticing – Dayne Beams. He is that good that should he stay fit (the big question, no doubt) he is a walk-up to the All-Australian squad of 40. Towards the end of his time at Collingwood he was always at the level of Scott Pendlebury, and we know the heights to which the competition rates the Magpies skipper.

16. Before we look into some of the key matchups of Round Two, remember, it was just Round One. Last year Melbourne defeated the GWS in Round One and they went on to have very different years. The first game of the year is more about who is more ready than whose going to be the better side; always wait at least two to three weeks before we can settle on some proper judgements.

17. Big game for the Crows and Hawks this week at the MCG, if the Crows can get up here that’s two massive wins to start the season, validating what they are working with at West Lakes, and they after just two weeks look a candidate for the top four, perhaps even the top two.

18. For Hawthorn, this will be a stern test as Adelaide won’t be a pushover. To be 0-2 will be quite the setback and early season doubts after an off-season of change, and where so much experience left the club, will be hard to budge.

19. Tomorrow night is the Grand Final rematch, after a loss last week at home to the Power, this really means a lot more for Sydney than the Dogs. They need to get one back otherwise the season is off to a horrendous start. It won’t be all complete doom and gloom but there’ll be plenty of questions asked if they are winless after two, for a side so many pencilled into top two calculations.

20. Dustin Martin watch – we know Richmond will throw all the cash at him, and to be honest I don’t see why they can’t afford to re-sign him, money shouldn’t be too much an issue. But he will have so many other offers. St Kilda, Adelaide, at least one if not both Sydney clubs, they’re definitely throwing big coin. Talk of North and maybe Collingwood as well, and list management meetings in Perth and Queensland have raised the possibility too. He has already chosen a new club already from the numerous offers or has made up his mind to consider a new one, thus the flurry of interest.

(originally published March 30)

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