#< AND DION!! I just noticed they’re more similar | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mythical-skykid · 4 years

Text

Concept art time!

So I’m sure you guys know the spirits that each have masks resembling the elder’s headpieces right?

In @sky-successors-au these guys held the title of “Emissary” of their respective region, and basically acted as the right hand person for that Elder, handling important tasks, act as an ambassador between regions, and other stuff.

Each elder chooses who they’d like their Emissary to be (with the exception of the Valley elders but I’ll explain that later lol) , and there’s no age requirement, but the youngest age range of people who’ve held the position are usually teenagers.

Emissaries do not automatically become Elders if something happens to the previous one though. The process of selecting the next Elder is done by forces unknown in the universe, but it is rumored to be done by ancestors who are already residing in the afterlife in orbit. This isn’t to say no Emissary hasn’t gotten chosen to be an Elder before, but it’s rare.

Now to meet the Emissaries who existed at the time of the Descension arc in the au! These were my first sketches of them so they’re pretty rough lol

Isle:

This is Dion! You may recognize him from my stream doodles a while back lol. He’s Emissary of the Isle, and he was one of my favorite Emissaries to write. He was chosen for the position when he was pretty young, and worked under the Isle elder for a long time. He looks up to Primus a lot and trusts his word, and came to view him as a father figure. He’s a grump but also needs a hug.

This is Icarus! He’s Emissary of the Prairie, and is the second beast to the position next to Forest’s. He has a much more nervous and detail oriented personality compared to the Prairie elder’s more laidback and excitable one. He’s the second one you guys are going to see in the comic.

This is Talia! They’re a good bean, they’re also the youngest of the Emissary bunch, since they’re still a teen. They were chosen bc they were also super crafty and talented in creating things for their age, something that reminded the Forest Elder of herself when she was younger.

In addition to Emissary duties Talia is pretty much like an apprentice to Treya, learning how to work in different crafts, and how to use magic to influence those crafts. Talia is also pretty cheerful and curious.

Ah here’s the fun duo lol! So as a bit of an explanation beforehand, these two were interesting to decide how to write at first, because I noticed that while their spirits are in the Valley constellation, their masks had a lot of characteristics that resembled some of the Wasteland spirit ones. (Ex. The horn parts of the headpiece and how it covers a full three sides of the mask)

This relates to their backstory in the au because the Valley elders were put into the position at a pretty young age, so the Wasteland elder just appointed two of their soldiers as Emissaries to the Valley Elders (And also to look after them at times where the other Elders couldn’t) . These soldiers are Lucasta and Blagdan!

As the twins got a bit older they grumbled about not having been able to choose their own Emissaries, but when Lucasta and Blagdan got more used to the job and didn’t just act like stoic bodyguards and opened up more, the twins warmed up to them. In addition to Emissary duties both L and B help the twins in combat or physical training, and help oversee races and such. On the rare occasions the twins split up to handle different matters, Lucasta usually tags along with Iver and Blagdan tags along with Vier.

Both Lucasta and Blagdan are childhood best friends and rose to the rank of soldier together, and Lucasta has more of a teasing and cheerful demeanor while Blagdan is more serious and resigned, even if the twins or Lucasta manage to breach his grumpy tough guy facade lol.

This is Maude! Maude is the oldest Emissary of the bunch, and is Emissary of the Golden Highlands Wasteland. She’s held the position of Emissary through two of its Elders, both the Wasteland elder’s predecessor and the current Elder.

She’s known Quintus since they were very young and is probably their most trusted confidant besides the other Elder’s, and her skill and experience in battle place her at second in command of the kingdom’s forces.

Her personality is stoic and she gets straight to the point, and she holds the creatures of darkness in just as much contempt as Quintus does.

This is Viscay! They’re not an Emissary, but they’re another character that had a headpiece that I just decided to make a backstory for. They’re (obviously) a lookout scout and lookout for the occasional dark creature attack on the Wasteland.

Lastly, this is Alden! He’s Emissary of the Vault. He has a calm and focused spirit, and gifted in magic and spells due to studying under the Vault elder. Similar to Talia, he also is sort of an apprentice to Hex, and aside from Elder duties he spends time learning more difficult spells or sorting/adding to the archives of the Vault.

And that’s all of them! Some you’ll see more of than others in the story but you will see all of them at least once :)

#sky children of the light #thatskygame #sky successors au #long post #my ocs #my art

27 notes · View notes

unproduciblesmackdown · 4 years

Note

let's get those Multiples Of Four for the lihn asks

Thank Yoy here i gooo

4) Favorite exchange(s)?

i like the conversation when sheila stays behind with susannah while the latter gets changed into the uniform skirt or whichever costume piece lol and susannah is clearly like trying to Fit In as she would with the girls as a whole group re: just sheila but that's not really what sheila herself is about so it's not going anywhere at first. it was very funny when judith just smacks susannah's lunch tray straight down onto the floor rip. and of course i love kitty Addressing susannah leading into masochist

8) Favorite costume(s)?

hmm not great at noticing these details (especially the first time around and in non-hq footage lol) but i Did notice (and appreciate) how all the characters were costumed quite differently in a very Personal Style sort of way, v helpful to characterize them each and help distinguish them earlier on. i did like susannah's costumes a lot with the yellow / purple and patterns and vests and carefully styled hair and her post-timeskip look was fantastic as well

12) Favorite background moment(s)?

again i was pretty focused on the foreground stuff really lol and i don't really remember anything where i was noticing something happening only in the background. but a more Literal background moment, i too really enjoyed the silhouettes of the girls striking poses being projected onto the bg behind susannah at the beginning of the show, very effective and Dramatic

16) Underrated moment(s) in the show?

i don't think i have a real answer re: what's Underrated mostly b/c i've already seen so much good analysis & appreciation from people about pretty much everything........so a vaguely tangential answer is about wishing it was just a Little more evident that Kitty And Dorothy Have Their Own Thing Going On, which like, yeah maybe it's easier to tell in person watching the show, but......and i Do like that kitty's connection to susannah is so clearly more general than their Relationships (or potential ones / wanting one) b/c of course susannah's dilemma around goes beyond Just the particular forbidden romance with this particular person

i also found judith's character like, nonzero engaging, which is just like i hadn't heard much about her prior i don't think. not as though she's at all Likeable in the sense of like if you were in the show you would not like this character who is both a bully and a narc but it's still like, good for her eventually realizing the error of her ways even if it'd've been good to realize it Before miss asp made it clear she was only ever intending to use judith, and like, maybe if your snitching on a girl had indirectly led to her death you'd stop narcing on everyone instead of just setting up the same situation again. but at least she comes around and threatens francis and even her awfulness can be funnier than the awfulness of other characters who are being awful

20) Headcanon(s) for what happens before the show?

oof that's tricky since so much stuff in the show is unveiling ppl's Backstory / what's happened prior.....idk i was gonna say i wonder how kitty got makeup kits into nation but maybe they're allowed / it's allowed for her b/c her parents are paying so much. not very exciting

24) The Other One or Oh Well?

did have to confirm which one The Other One is but i guess that one lmfao i just have a great time with sheila going off on those verses and it's fun how it's this playful song about them bonding over being rejected.....the "and i guess i don't know how to feel about it" delivery is v funny. much respect and appreciation for Oh Well though of course

28) Something you like/have noticed about the show that you haven’t seen anyone else mention yet?

i'm not sure there Was much that i noticed that i hadn't heard about prior......tbh i think there were just a few Plot Points i hadn't already heard discussed but they weren't exactly Fun ones so i was like hm yeah i can see why ppl wouldn't necessarily specifically address this for kicks

32) If only one could happen, would you prefer a cast recording or an Off-Broadway run?

i agree w/ p much everyone, gotta love the increased availability of a cast recording.....will be around for more than a few weeks, will cost less to obtain the experience, and around here Who Knows what cast recordings will spark. love how plausible it is that lihn Will get a cast recording, here's hoping

36) Favorite song(s) off the Hits of Nation/character playlists?

seeing as i forgot these playlists exist, f, and i have never heard music i just checked for which songs i know i know off the top of my head lol. s/o to each of the girls having iko iko by the dixie cups on their playlists, guess that's some required listening

[susannah: l.e.s. artistes by santigold], [rat: one way or another by blondie, i got a rocket in my pocket by jimmie lloyd (which i've only partially heard b/c it plays in the bg of a The Iron Giant scene lmao so this only counts like 1/3 of the way)] [kitty: diamonds are a girl's best friend by marilyn monroe, la vie en rose by edith piaf, anthems for a seventeen year old girl by broken social scene] [ya-ya: sugar sugar by the archies] [miss asp: i THINK i've heard "straighten up and fly right" and "if i knew you were comin i'd've baked a cake" but i don't especially wanna look them up and confirm lmao. know "i'm proud to be an american" and "god bless the usa" lol ew. "comfortably numb" by pink floyd and "whatever will be will be" by doris day et al and "my heart will go on" by celine dion] [first of all interesting that francis and buzz share a playlist but i guess really all of the roles by The Guy are pretty functionally similar lol. accentuate the positive by perry cuomo, blowin in the wind by bob dylan, i Think i've heard hang on to your ego by the beach boys but i think i forget how it goes]

40) What does LIHN mean to you?

hmm well classic iconis content around here with the shows celebrating misfit weirdos and him always trying to write a show about people who usually wouldn't get a show written about them and creating this material for an all-girl show with only one token The Guy and the Lead specifically being a black girl and there being a specifically trans role as well.....love how much people have been enjoying it even as it took me ages to get around to Consuming it myself, and it's been v cool for it to be so like, here's Totally New Material. even prior to me having actually seen it, it was also definitely nice to have This in the wake of august to interrupt the [lying facedown], and again it was fun to even secondhand have ppl having a great time w/ the show and getting to appreciate the Content and Analysis happening hell yea

44) Favorite non show/cabaret performance of a song?

oop i might've only seen the non-show video for "oh well" so guess it wins! fine by me

48) Favorite time Francis was wrong?

it's pretty classic / all-encompassing when he very strongly implies that susannah has no choice but to marry him / no Hope for her Future otherwise

#lihn #nothingunrealistic1

6 notes · View notes

quilloftheclouds · 5 years

Note

For the character develop questions, 1, 9 and and 23 for any oc(s) you want!

[Hey folks, remember that ask game from oh so long ago?]

Yeah I’m finally getting to replying to these. XD Feel free to send in some more, I’m catching up on Tumblr stuff tonight!

Thank you for the ask!

1. How does your character sleep? Peacefully, fitfully? What position do they sleep in? What is their typical bedding like?

That’s a Dione! Oof. Uh, how does one answer this question for a characters that legitimately doesn’t sleep? How bout this:

A long, long while ago, Dione Nikolaeva cursed herself to not have to sleep. Magic is basically the sole thing that sustains her, at this point. There are all sorts of reasons why that is an exceedingly terrible idea, but Dio thought it would be FINE because she is a STUBBORN, ABSOLUTE WRECK of a human being who doesn’t give a care for her personal health, who thought what made her human was getting in the way of her work. So a simple fix would be to curse it away, right?

She meditates in a trance-like state, instead. She likes sitting cross-legged for this on something comfortable, her hands in varying positions depending on what she feels like at the time.Think of how D&D elves work with only having to trance for a few hours instead of sleep, but have it be more like a meditative rest with a focus on letting your magic circulate fully throughout your form so you don’t die.

Y’all, I genuinely think Dione is just a lich at this point.

9. Is your oc afraid of touch or do they actively seek it out? Is there a reason for this? What are the exceptions?

That! Is an Isabel, according to my dice! Isa doesn’t actively seek it out, but will gladly accept a hug if someone offers (someone she likes, that is). She’s also the source of hugs to those she likes, when she notices they’re requiring a bit of encouragement or someone to comfort them. It’d only be a half-hug, but it’d be a pretty darn tight, warm half-hug! Most commonly this pertains to her child Colin, but also to George when he needs it, and in general she’s pretty close with these two anyways!

Anyone else tries to touch her, though? If you don’t ask, if you aren’t close, well. You might end up without that hand to touch her with.

23. What is the most annoying sound to your oc? What’s the most pleasant? Is there any reason?

Ah! Sindre! Okay wonderful!

Sounds are incredibly important to Sindre. There are some incredibly spoilery reasons why this is, but uh. Yeah.

He loves the sound of wind through the trees, between the cliffs, over the ocean, through the rigging of the Compass. And rather contrary to what you’d normally expect for sailors who live on a floating lightning rod, he also loves the sound of far-off thunder, and rain, and all things pertaining to a Storm.

Most unpleasant? Breaking glass. This is related to his backstory, but without going into too spoilery territory, it has to do with something he holds dear to him breaking. It would make a very similar sound.

#ask #ask reply #oc development asks #oss #one siren's soul #sindre #george #colin #dione #isabel #i've been doing a lot of developing of sindy lately #and i gotta say #he's becoming one of my faves #oh no #timefire25

3 notes · View notes

imaginaryculturepress-blog · 7 years

Photo

In which we launch the first-ever Tales from the Pit story/review, and Why Even Try Launch “More Than”.

Hi, hello, and welcome!

My name is Skyler and the story I'm about to tell you shall include approximately twenty thousand words of insignificant information that's definitely not aimed at increasing my website traffic. ... Definitely not... ...Anyway... I'm trying to make this a regular type of post, as with all things on this blog; a sort of "concert story", if you will. It’ll mainly include photographer-orientated content such as issues that occurred whilst shooting, though I’ll attempt to add as much crowd and band information as possible. Perhaps now that I've gained the idea, I ought to start shooting a few things around the venue and whatnot to add to these posts. Maybe train stations and car rides with a Tumblr-esque theme, stray dogs and freeways at peak hour, and whatever else is deemed suitable. I needed a name for this segment, though, something memorable and preferably a reference of sorts. So I did what any Five Finger Death Punch fan would do and turned to their extensive catalogue of music to find something even remotely similar to my requirements. And then I realised: they have a live album called Purgatory: Tales from the Pit. I didn't feel "Purgatory" was the best heading, but "Tales from the Pit" had a nice ring to it. Shorten it to TFTP and you've really got something. Sort of. So I suppose we should restart this. Hi, hello, and welcome to Tales from the Pit! *Include all the above nonsense that did nothing more than waste your time and increase my Google search rankings. * ... Let's cut to the chase, shall we? T'was the Wednesday before the With Con show when I found myself at a fish and chips shop, surrounded by drunk dudes and dogs. There were VBs on a table and a pregnant American Bulldog wagging its tail, making me question all my life decisions. Why was I at this place? Why am I a concert photographer? Why does nobody tour in Perth? What is the impact of the dog’s pregnancy on the Australian economy? Etcetera. I had one show coming up, the aforementioned one, this Saturday at Red Lighting Paradise (HQ). Plus a potential Placebo show at Perth Arena. (It later turned out that the Placebo pass was all mine. It also turned out that the concert was cancelled. Read more on that here.) But besides that, I was free and bored out of my mind. That’s the thing about concert photography; you’re either working until your brain explodes - shooting, emailing, arguing with the Internet, editing - or sitting around sending press requests. Or blogging. (School disclaimer: yes, I also study… …when I’ve no editing to work on…) And considering that in the last six months I’ve only covered nine shows and almost Placebo, that’s a lot of wasted – sorry, school-orientated - time. (Update: another show happened last Friday, Homebrand's "Shelf" launch show.) I soon returned home to a stable wifi connection to find a photographer’s favourite message: “Would you be able to cover our launch show this Friday? Sorry for the late notice!” T’was from one of my favourite local acts, Why Even Try, known for their (positively) insane sets and marvellous music. Supporting them were Grey States, Shedhead, and Crown Loser, three bands I hadn’t previously photographed but was extremely excited for. The late notice didn’t bother me, though I was left trying to back out of prior arrangements. Before long, we’d confirmed the shooting arrangements and everyone resumed with the launch show preparations: set list confirmations, instrument things that I’ve no clue about ‘cause my job is to just click a camera button, etcetera. The only problem I seemed to have (aka that my parents seemed to have) was the two-shows-in-a-row ordeal. The closest I’d gotten to this was in June, with the Boris the Blade Warpath Weekender on the 3rd and SOTA Festival two days later. Not to mention that those shows were back when I had lower self-expectations and everyone was used to waiting up to a week for photos. Nowadays, it was show day on Friday and photos by Sunday at the latest. But two shows in a row? Having to go from prep to travel to shooting to travel to sleep to editing to prep to travel to shooting to travel to sleep to editing again? Whilst suffering from an extremely annoying cold that left me coughing with every breath? This would be interesting. Friday came soon enough. T'was my first day back at school after a week of feeling sick as all hell, and the amount of work I received was definitely more than what was taught. "Test next Monday!", "This is due, erm... today!", "This is worth twenty percent of your overall mark!", "Don't forget your bibliography!", the list could go on forever. Concentrating on all those tasks was nearly impossible. There were two shows coming up and I still felt like crap. I made a mental note of everything I had to do. Prep gear, charge batteries, ensure the lenses are clean, pack, DON'T FORGET THE MEMORY CARDS, bring earplugs, and, of course, clear enough space on my laptop to load the couple thousand photos. (Photographer rant: why do laptops have such limited space and why do raw images take up so much of it?! And why aren't the affordable hard drives Mac-compatible?!) The evening rolled around rather quickly. Before I knew it, I was outside HQ, wondering why, exactly, there was a razor blade on a picnic table. As always, there were young children around with their parents, skateboarding, scootering, and just generally being really freaken loud. The weather was nice, though. T'was that perfect winter-going-onto-spring style that you usually found around there. And everybody knew each other. Well, most people did, whilst I just stalked everyone online. (Oh sue me.) Soon enough, we found ourselves inside the venue and deciphering gear. The latest edition to my kit, a beautiful 85mm f1.8 Nikkor, was my go-to lens, and I anticipated it to perform similarly to how it did at the Ambleside show. Mounted on my entry-level DSLR, the Nikon D3400, I thought I had the best setup ever. Key word: thought. The lights dimmed shortly after, and Crown Loser - aka James and Co. - were onstage, facing a crowd of fans - aka friends - and a lens that was failing to focus - aka my heavily praised 85mm f1.8 Nikkor.

When you consider it, concert photography is rather simple: you choose a subject, have your lens focus on it, press the button on the camera, and spend thirteen hours trying to save the image the next day. But when said lens cannot focus on said subject, you my friend are fucked. Because, no matter what fancy Tumblr aesthetic you were "going for", a blurry photo is a blurry photo, and a blurry photo is shit. So I could've taken a thousand fuzzy images and made them greyscale before trying to convince the band that it was "supposed" to look like that, but I wasn't about to. I knew they'd see right through it - even my grandmother would. The problem was, I hadn't realised my lens issue automatically. It wasn't until half way through CL's set that I finally noticed that the pixels were blending into a blurry mosh pit. (That made no sense but anyway...) Was my lens dusty? Dirty? Fucked? Had my friends pulled some crude joke on me at school? Oh, that's right - I don't have friends! (I'm joking, I've around three...ish.) (I also don't usually take my gear to school.)

So I had to go clean it. Except that didn't help. Nothing helped. I messed with my ISO and threw manual mode into a frenzy. Maybe it had something to do with the fogginess? That sometimes happens. The venue either uses smoke machines to create better light illusions (which are useless if you're employing green and red lighting anyway) or has a large number of people in a small space sweating like crazy. , it created fog and wouldn't be helpful. Of course, said fog would disappear soon enough, but that's the thing: fog wasn't the problem. So what was the issue? I was fucked if I knew! I continued changing my settings and attempting new angles. I made more trips to my equipment and I wouldn't blame anyone in the audience for wanting to kill me for that, because let's face it: nobody appreciates the idiot who keeps interrupting your viewing pleasure every five minutes due to lens issues. Or angles. Or memory cards. Or batteries. Or - you get the point. It was a frantic set. I managed to get a minuscule nine photos out of the entire thing, which was disappointing but better than nothing. The band was amazing, of course. I don't know a lot about music (besides how to photograph and headbang to it) but they did really freaken well, delivering a dynamic, memorable set. I'd say something even more generic such as "the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves immesely" but if you know that crowd, and if you're reading this then you probably do, they're not exactly fussed as long as they can jump around and yell random crap. (Which, quite frankly, is the best type of audience.)

As they were playing their final song, Dion said, in the way he always does, "SHEDHEAD FUCKING SUCK!" And who was up next? You guessed it - Shedhead.

With my ineffectual lens still ineffectual, the band took to the stage, delivering a magnificent set that had the whole crowd headbanging and screaming inside jokes.

I decided to swap my gear at some point during their set, as evident in the photos. For comparison, here's a shot of their (extremely talented) (I need new adjectives) lead singer and guitarist, Alex, taken with the 85mm:

And from roughly the same angle with a 35mm:

There's obviously quite a difference, as you'd expect. It's always of great appreciation to have various lens sizes, for sometimes you're after full stage shots or landscape full-body shots and other times you want close ups, but unfortunately I didn't have that pleasure for the majority of this show.

I'm not about to lie: it pissed me off. It truly did. You've probably realised that by now. Here I was, being expected to take (relatively) professional(ish) photos, depending on this bloody combination of glass and plastic Nikon dare call a lens, and it was completely failing me. (Did I mention that it was an excess of $500? Yup.)

Now, I know that most of you photographers out there will be scoffing at me, tired of my complaining and thinking something along the lines of, "It's not about the gear you have, but how you use it." Well, that's a valid claim. It is. But this usually comes from someone who either shoots with multiple lenses, or some smart ass who doesn't even do photography. You have to go based on what the bands are after, what they typically end up posting. You send them twenty-something photos, and they'll use a couple for profile photos and some for their social media. And which ones are used for social media? Predominantly closeups.

So, if the band you're shooting for is (potentially indirectly) after zoom-ins and your 85mm is broken, you my friend, are, as previously stated, fucked. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it for the rest of the show except sit around and weep or take out your old 35mm.

But hang on, Sky! Don't you have a 50mm?

I wished I did. (Note: I purchased one soon after this gig. Like, the next day. I'll get to that in my next post on the With Con show; it was quite the drama.)

So stuck in those photographical Down Days I remained. (See what I did there? No? Go educate yourselves here.) The band continued playing adroitly, and before I became accustomed to shooting with the 35mm again, their set was over.

Halfway through.

During the intermission, I came up with a game plan: shoot the first song or two with the 85mm and hope to capture a useable image, then swap over to the 35mm.

Grey States (who I always thought were Greystates) were soon up, and I was faced with a new issue: someone - a band member's father, most likely - was Skyping a relative to show them the entire set. Whilst in the photographer spot. (Is it just me or is there an unspoken rule at HQ regarding the corner where the stage and pit meet? Like, that lil' gap? Isn't that for photographers? And, if it's a really popular band, for extreme fans as an addition to the front row? Photographers, what're your takes on this? Aren't we supposed to get stuck in that section?)

And I get it; a former member of Green Day was performing. But move out of the fucking way! If you want evidence of the set, you've got these professional(ish)(not really) photos to display. Send them to those relatives. Do what you want with them (just offer a bit of credit for ya gal here). Skype later, yeah? I was probably in the way the entire time regardless. (Side note: I can imagine that relative just saying something along the lines of, "Ko je ona budala što uvjek stoji ispred kamere? Ošni ju, jebo ju konj!" Assuming they're Bosnian. Which they most likely aren't.)

Just stay out of Sheldon Cooper's spot.

As for the band, well, damn. They delivered an incredible set, incorporating magnificent instrumentals and musical creativity. (Has anyone realised just how little I know about music and musical terminology? It's rather ironic. Comment some new words that you usually use to describe music.)

Why Even Try were soon playing, and by this point I was through with my 85mm. It wouldn't focus, it wouldn't photograph, it wouldn't function the way it was supposed to. So the 35mm it was. Back to getting ultra close to people, apologising waaaay too much, doing what I'd do anyway and taking shots from the stage, suffering, etcetera. All whilst listening to a riveting set and trying not to dance.

Honestly though, the guys were a prime example of why the Western Australian music scene isn't dead yet; their performance was dexterous and exuberant, making for a convivial night that may or may not have resulted in some pretty cool photos (if I do say so myself). "More Than" is definitely worth checking out, just as all their songs are. All the bands' Facebook links will be listed later on in this post, so leave them a like and listen to their music.

And that was that.

MUSIC SUMMARY:

Crown Loser: incredible/5

Shedhead: fuck yes/5

Grey States: outstanding/5

Why Even Try: 69/5

PHOTOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY:

Lenses: kill me now/5

Camera: for the price I paid, I'm not allowed to complain/5

Lighting: if I had the money I would change the venue's entire lighting setup/5

Editing: time consuming/5

My sanity: nonexistent/5

These aren't real ratings? Well... it's not exactly a "real", "generic", "stereotypical" music blog; one moment we'll be discussing shows, the next we'll be reviewing records and considering the environmental impacts of veganism and how minimalism influences tour life. All whilst poorly referencing lyrics and incorporating weird metaphors and Shakespearean terminology. I don't understand it either.

So that was Friday. Up next: Saturday.

No shit, Sky.

Also up next: the With Con show. On the aforementioned Saturday.

Stay tuned.

Until then, go listen to all the bands mentioned in this post. Find their Facebook links here:

Why Even Try

Grey States

Shedhead

Crown Loser

Live long and headbang, xx-Skyler Slate

#bands #livemusic #gig #concert #review #concertphotography

1 note · View note

rosalinesbenvolio · 7 years

Text

I Want To Leave You Feeling Breathless

Maya's feet hurt. Lucas notices.

man I've had this idea in my head fOrever & this isn't exactly what I planned so idk if I'm gonna write another very similar But Not The Same fic or not but have this pile of fluff. title from celion dion's steve mcqueen

also on ao3

It’s not noticeable at first, actually, which Maya likes to put down to the sheer overwhelming nature of nearly doubling the size of her friend group and the amount of people she has to (wants to, is honored to be able to) worry about.

In hindsight, it’s entirely unsurprising that Lucas is the one who brings it to her attention: Lucas has rapidly become someone she can count on to give it to her straight, since Riley loves her too much to take fault in any of her bad traits and Farkle may be a genius, but he misses increasingly huge parts of her life.

Lucas calls her a short stack of pancakes and Riley agrees and the argument is settled by Mr. Matthew’s weird older brother, but Maya still goes and trades her favorite winter jacket for a pair of heeled booties at Demolition. How’s she meant to protect Riley from the big bad world if she’s too short for Riley to hide behind, anyway?

Of course, that isn’t the end of it. Riley just keeps on growing, and it’s getting quite clear that Maya’s not. Maya finds herself looking up to meet her sister’s eyes on a near-weekly basis, and she finds herself trading in each pair of shoes for a new-to-her even taller pair.

The good thing about the triangle dissolving and the whole group of them being overwhelmed with high school and relationship drama and extracurriculars and friendships outside of the circle is that no one really notices that Maya is coming to school in what is, basically, a half step away from stilettos. Or, if they do, they don't realize it's a part of some sort of weird insecurity-slash-pathological-protective-instinct and instead chalk it down to her fashion sense, which has settled into a happy medium between Rebellious Maya and Maya With A Father Figure. (It's fun to test Shawn, with skirt length and transparent blouses, but it still feels warm and fuzzy somewhere between her lungs when he tells her she's too young for such clothes.)

The downside, of course, is that she can only complain about her arches and the balls of her feet killing her so much before someone goes ahead and points out well, why are you wearing those kinds of shoes? like they think they've solved climate change or something.

In their sophomore year, when teachers start making noises about the ACTs and the SATs and their AP exams, Riley institutes a mandatory weekly study session, telling them they'd best all show up or else she’d sic her father on them. Cory’s gotten even more ridiculous ever since Shawn came home and married her mom, insisting that he's now her actual uncle, and Maya appreciates the excuse of not wanting to deal with Mr Matthews any more than she has to. She’d have come anyway, because she sort of misses Riley and the rest of them, for all they still hang out every few days, and she hates studying alone, but it's nice to be able to claim a less sappy, more selfish reason.

Maya gets to the Matthews’ residence first, even before Riley, who’s been distracted with flirting awkwardly with a girl on the cheer team, and the entire place is empty, so Maya unlocks the door with her own key, hobbles over to the fridge and pulls out what she assumes is the rest of the previous night’s dinner, leaning heavily against the countertop as she watches it go ‘round and ‘round in the microwave.

The front door opens at the same time the microwave dings, and Maya straightens up and forces her face not to wince as she carries her plate over to the couch, heels clicking against the wooden floors. Lucas is at the coffee table, already pulling two prep books out of his bag, his baseball duffel leaning against the wall by the door, his hair dropping with what Maya hopes is shower-water and not sweat.

“Riley still putting the moves on Sam?” Maya asks as she sinks into the couch, stirring up her pasta and reluctantly accepting a stack of flashcards from him.

“I think Sam finds it more endearing than uncomfortable,” Lucas says, and he grins a little knowingly when Maya lets out a tiny sigh of relief—they'd all been worried when Riley came out as bi to the cheer team, because some of the upperclassmen had been a little mean about it, but they'd graduated and the rest of the team seemed mostly fine with it in that shitty denial sort of way.

“You think she's got a shot?”

“I'd say the hair twirling was pretty telling,” Lucas gossips, raising his eyebrows and waggling them until Maya snorts.

“Riles’ gonna get some,” Zay announces when he, Farkle, and Smackle come crashing in. “Farkle saw Sam leaning over and holding Riley’s elbow, and I heard them set a date for Saturday.”

“He also whooped and got us caught,” Smackle says, shrugging out of her sweater and sinking into the love seat next Farkle. “I find myself unable to believe believe that this is who got me an etiquette book.”

“Is no one gonna let me forget that?” Zay mumbles. “It was a nice gesture!”

“Almost as nice as pity-asking me out,” Maya quips and Zay groans, messing up her hair as he passes by on his way to the pantry to look for Mr Matthews’ secret poptart stash. Every time he finds them, Cory changes the location, and it's been almost a year of passive aggression, and Maya wholeheartedly approves.

“I helped him hide them,” Farkle calls out to Zay, who is halfway underneath the sink. “You'll never find them this time.”

Zay does a passable imitation of Farkle’s old favored honk-laugh and Farkle whirls, half out of his seat, to throw his copy of The Scarlet Letter at Zay’s back.

“You swore you'd never do that!” Farkle half-shouts, patting Smackle’s calming hand on his forearm absently. “Now I get to tell everyone about you getting locked in the chicken coop.”

Lucas snorts and then starts laughing, ducking his head and pressing his hand to his mouth. Maya reaches out and prods him in the back of the skull, easy enough to reach, for once, since he's finally taken his regular seat on the floor, between the couch and the table, in front of her.

“Do you already know this tale, Sundance?” Maya presses when his shoulders keep shaking, even as he mostly controls his expression. Zay’s struggling to get out from under the sink and yelping loudly in protest, swearing and shouting that Farkle had better not, but Maya’s attention is entirely on the green-eyed cowboy at her feet. “How come you haven't told me?”

“Zay knows too many things about me,” Lucas admits, grinning ruefully even as he reaches back and catches her hand to stop her from continuing to jab her little fingers at him. “But I think Farkle is just annoyed enough to share.”

Zay yells nonsense the entire time Farkle speaks, and Farkle only just gets louder until the both of them are nearly screaming over each other. When Riley finally shows up, looking dazed and well-kissed, Farkle has to tell the story again, since they're all cracking up and she's curious. Zay pouts the entire second time, making menacing noises, but he's ultimately a good sport about blackmail deals.

They break for dinner when Auggie gets home, and they all take turns talking to Cory and Topanga when they call from their date-night vacay hotel in the Hamptons, like the upper-middle class white people they are.

Between biology and trig Maya brings up Sam, and Zay leaps at the change to tease someone else for a change, but Riley is, Maya is proud to note, somewhat more composed about this love interest than she has been in the past, only pinkening a little when Maya makes kissy noises, and only gushing for a moment about Sam’s eyes and how smart she is before she fairly adeptly turns the subject to Lucas’ most recent game.

Maya leans over and cuddles into her sister for a while after Lucas and Smackle get into it about the validity of baseball as a hardcore sport and the comparable mathletes team. Riley allows Maya to pet her hair and snuffle at her cheek, smiling gently and fondly as she wraps her skinny arms around Maya’s frame, squeezing and giving her a look like we can gush more later.

Maya blows a raspberry against Riley’s elbow-pit in a and don't be stingy on the details and eventually drags herself to settle back against the other arm of the couch, one leg bent at the knee, other one dangling over the side, heels still strapped to her feet.

Eventually it's time for Auggie to go to sleep, and the group settles into their quieter selves, Farkle and Zay quizzing each other on the periodic table, Smackle typing steadily on her laptop, working through her English essay with a sort of efficiency that still impresses and terrifies Maya in equal measure. Riley is the first one of them to nod off, curled up tinier than she should be able, all those long limbs and huge personality, hugging her math notes and her phone tight to her chest. Zay is next, and Farkle pulls out a book to read. Lucas is still working through his ACT prep book, setting his phone’s timer and taking test after test, eyebrows furrowing a little when he doesn't finish with the results he'd wanted.

Maya stretches hard, arching her back and pressing her shoe against Lucas’ cheek when he wrinkles his nose at the sound of her spine cracking. He blinks and finally looks up from his workbook, hands catching Maya’s heeled foot and holding it steady, his expression like he's working through some tough problem.

“Still wearing these, Shortstack?” He says, not really a question, more under his breath than anything else. His eyes are glinting in the dim room, and Maya knows she's been caught. Because Lucas is a fundamentally different person than she is, he doesn't immediately start laughing or crowing at this new knowledge. He barely even smirks.

He does, however, shift around until he’s more or less facing her, pull her foot a little closer to his chest, and unbuckle her shoe, sliding it off her aching foot with an overwhelming sort of gentleness.

He motions for her other foot and, somewhat dazed, she slowly slings it towards him, taking care to not jostle Riley with the movement. He removes that shoe too, and just holds her feet in his hands for half a second before he digs his thumbs into her arches and Maya has to bite down on her lip to hold back a damn moan, the pleasure-pain is so good.

He keeps doing it, too, massaging her feet and her ankles, soothing and firm in an alternating, mind-blowing pattern, those green eyes looking up at her from his spot at her feet.

“How long have you needed this?” Lucas murmurs, and Maya—Maya flushes, eyes glancing around the room to make sure Smackle and Farkle finally succumbed to sleep.

“How long have you wanted to do this?” Maya retorts quietly, and Lucas doesn't answer her any more than she answered him, but his hands drift up a little, working her calves with strong, slightly calloused fingers, never leaving her feet for long.

Maya tilts her head, hair falling around her in a way she knows is attractive, and Lucas’ eyes dilate, obvious only because of how closely she's watching him.

“I won't pretend that I think anything I say will convince you to stop,” Lucas muses, brushing his thumbs across the delicate bones in the top of her feet.

“They're kind of my thing, now,” Maya says, with a casual shrug that doesn't do too great a job of disguising her shudder. Lucas is polite enough not to mention it, although now—now, he's smirking.

“Gotta give the people what they want,” Lucas agrees.

The words are on the tip of her tongue: and what do you want? but she's only ever been brave with Riley, and this ain't something Riley can help her with. Lucas seems to read the question in whatever expression is on her face anyway. He bends down and presses a feather-light kiss against each foot before giving Maya her feet back and smiling, that proper, Huckleberry smile that Maya won't admit for a million dollars that she's missed.

“I'll make sure to hear you, the next time you complain about them,” is all he says. It's almost a letdown. Her stomach swoops at all the promises in his expression. It kind of feels like a beginning, though.

#lucaya #lucaya fanfiction #gmw fanfiction #show: girl meets world #ship: lucaya #writing #mystuff

41 notes · View notes

investmart007 · 6 years

Text

Los Angeles a busy place for NFL on Saturday night

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/UC1JjQ

Los Angeles a busy place for NFL on Saturday night

After all of those years eschewing the Los Angeles area, the NFL now has two teams there. On Saturday, both will host preseason games on what many say is the only August weekend that even slightly matters.

The Rams host the Texans in an afternoon game, and four hours later the Chargers entertain New Orleans.

There’s actually some intrigue in Chargers-Saints, particularly for an exhibition game. For the second straight season, the teams went through two days of joint practices at the Chargers’ training camp complex in Orange County ahead of the preseason game.

Saints star quarterback Drew Brees once was San Diego’s starter, then was displaced by Philip Rivers. Brees has gone on to wild success and a Super Bowl championship in New Orleans, while Rivers has been a fixture behind center for the Chargers in San Diego and now in L.A.

“It was a tough set of circumstances, obviously, because they drafted him in 2004 to basically take my job,” Brees said on the Saints’ website. “I think everyone always tried to pit us against each other and couldn’t figure out how we could be friends or good teammates to one another in the quarterback room when we were having that type of competition, but we were.”

And they still are friends as well as supreme competitors. “There’s no denying it was somewhat awkward,” Rivers said. “We both wanted what the other person was trying to get, and keep it from him. But at the same time we pulled for one another.

“It may not make sense, and I’m not sure any of that necessarily does. That’s kind of the way it went in those two years. I tried to be the first person to high-five him after a touchdown. But at the same time I wanted to be out there playing.”

Neither will be playing very long Saturday.

The Rams’ glamorous offseason additions are expected to play for the first time. Coach Sean McVay has been exceedingly cautious about using his starters in the preseason and could continue to hold out some veteran players, but receiver Brandin Cooks, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters are likely to see their first action.

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play in a 33-7 loss at the Rams last season because of a torn ACL, but will get to test himself against a Los Angeles defense still attempting to identify a starting outside linebacker. The Texans scored at least 33 points in each of Watson’s last five starts as a rookie, but failed to score more than 17 points in eight of nine games after he was hurt.

MORE INTRIGUE The biggest topic from the Chiefs’ perspective as they head to Chicago is coach Andy Reid gets to match up with his former offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, now in charge of the Bears.

“I’m proud of him for having the opportunity — I’ve watched his tape and he’s doing some good things with the team,” Reid said. “It’s a little like looking in the mirror when you look at his offense. He’s added a few little wrinkles but a lot of it is pretty similar.”

The Bears were hoping to have first-round draft pick Roquan Smith in his first action, but he barely practiced after ending his holdout. Starters or key players missing the game for certain are LB Leonard Floyd (broken bones in his right hand), and TE Adam Shaheen (right ankle and foot). Also possibly out: CB Prince Amukamara (ankle), DE Akiem Hicks (knee soreness), and TE Dion Sims (concussion).

THE RETURNS While most fans will focus on the play of the Indianapolis and San Francisco quarterbacks, Andrew Luck and Jimmy Garoppolo, on Saturday, the coaching staffs might look more closely at their revamped secondaries.

The 49ers are eager to see cornerback Richard Sherman make his first appearance since tearing his Achilles tendon last season. The former All-Pro with Seattle joined San Francisco in the offseason. “I’m more concerned about my game shape and making sure I can still go every single play because I haven’t played (since November),” Sherman said.

First-year Colts coach Frank Reich will get his first glimpse of his projected starting safety pairing.

Clayton Geathers, who missed most of 2017 after neck surgery, returned from a subsequent knee surgery in Monday night’s loss to Baltimore. Now, Malik Hooker, Indy’s first-round pick in 2017, is expected to make his first start since October after recovering from two torn ligaments in his right knee.

It would be the first time Geathers and Hooker have actually lined up together in game action.

“I’m going to be pretty excited, just from the journey we had,” Hooker said.

HOLD THAT LINE Cincinnati’s offensive line struggled against the Cowboys last week, which was a bad sign after the Bengals spent the offseason overhauling it. The starting offense managed only two first downs — one on a scramble by Andy Dalton — in three possessions. If the right side of the line struggles again on Sunday vs. Buffalo, changes could be in store, especially at right tackle where Bobby Hart has had problems.

First-round draft pick Josh Allen gets his opportunity to secure the Bills’ starting job after showing progress in accuracy and decision making since the start of training camp. It’ll be Allen’s first start, and comes after the quarterback directed drives to a touchdown and two field goals in a 19-17 win at Cleveland. Allen has yet to face an opponents’ starting defense, and he’ll be playing behind a retooled offensive line that struggled against the Browns’ pass rush. Coach Sean McDermott said some starters will play into the third quarter, though he didn’t specify QBs.

BACK TO PITTSBURGH Mike Vrabel started his NFL career with the Steelers as the 91st pick overall in the 1997 draft. He returns with the Titans looking for his first victory as a head coach.

Vrabel says he kind of stumbled out of the blocks in Pittsburgh where he learned how to be a professional player from the likes of Dermontti Dawson, Mark Bruener, Jerome Bettis and Greg Lloyd.

“My first apartment was next door neighbors with Greg Lloyd,” Vrabel said. “I’m like going out after games and I’m like this is crazy, like I’m working out with this guy. So there were a lot of great pros on that team, Hall of Famers … They really showed the younger players how to be a professional one, how to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and what it meant to the Rooney family to represent that organization.”

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will make his lone exhibition appearance eager to “knock the rust off.” The 36-year-old modified his diet during the offseason and arrived in training camp noticeably slimmer, though don’t expect him to start ad-libbing in the pocket as he did a decade ago. Roethlisberger is content to let his right arm and his brain do most of the work.

RYAN VS. RAMSEY All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey gets his first look at one of the many NFL quarterbacks he ripped recently.

Ramsey is back from a one-week suspension and slated to play when the Jaguars host Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons.

Ramsey has declined interview requests since rejoining the team Monday. He hasn’t spoken publicly since screaming profanities at media members who recorded a post-practice altercation involving defensive ends Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue. Three days later, GQ magazine released a Ramsey story in which he called Buffalo rookie Josh Allen “trash” and said Ryan was “overrated.”

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he’ll be looking for his players to show they are game ready against Jacksonville.

“Are we playing with speed, playing with urgency and executing?” Quinn said.

Starters can expect to play “somewhere between three or four series or two quarters,” Quinn added.

Notable exceptions will be standout wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman, who are healthy but will be held out for the third straight week. Quinn also plans to protect them in next week’s final preseason game against Miami.

LOPSIDED The Ravens have been a bad matchup for the Dolphins, who lost to Baltimore 38-6 in 2016 and 40-0 last year. They meet Saturday night in Miami.

Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, will see his most extensive action of the preseason. He hasn’t been hit in the first two games.

Newcomer Frank Gore, the NFL’s leading active rusher, is expected to play for the first time this summer.

Miami wants to see more from rookie tight end Mike Gesicki, who is battling for a starting job but has yet to catch a pass.

The Dolphins have allowed 299 yards rushing in the first two exhibition games, including 226 yards at Carolina, and 71 on one play.

For the Ravens, it’s all about the QBs. Joe Flacco has enjoyed a brief but solid preseason, and they’re trying to get Lamar Jackson up to speed, but he has been playing like a rookie and running dangerously. RG3 has been good, but the question is whether the Ravens will keep three QBs. This game might help them make a decision.

The Ravens appear prepared to start rookie Orlando Brown Jr. at right tackle, but if he struggles in this game they may have to rethink it.

NO DRESS REHEARSAL LIKELY FOR DAK, ZEKE The Cowboys could be without all four returning starters on the offensive line for what’s supposed to be the “dress rehearsal” game at home against Arizona on Sunday night. There’s a good chance that means quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t play either.

In Prescott’s case, Dallas had a 16-play drive that went into the second quarter on his third series last week against Cincinnati.

Coach Jason Garrett says that longer-than-expected stint also factors into whether he plays against the Cardinals. If Elliott doesn’t play, that means he will skip the entire preseason despite being healthy.

No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen is a game-time decision for Arizona after injuring the thumb on his throwing (right) hand in practice. Sam Bradford, who has completed all seven passes in the preseason, is in line to start again.

If Prescott sits, the Arizona defense likely will go the entire preseason without facing a starting quarterback. San Diego’s Philip Rivers skipped the opener, and Drew Brees sat for New Orleans last week.

By Associated Press

#august weekend #cornerback richard sherman make #defensive tackle ndamukong suh #exceedingly cautious #quarterback room #receiver brandin cooks #saints star quarterback drew brees #san francisco quarterbacks #showing progress #slightly matters #subsequent knee surgery #super bowl championship #texans quarterback deshaun watson #TodayNews

0 notes

ultrasfcb-blog · 6 years

Text

Man Utd: Jose Mourinho finds some concord eventually - Dublin

Man Utd: Jose Mourinho finds some concord eventually – Dublin

They won’t have set the world alight, however Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Leicester on Friday night was nonetheless a major outcome and efficiency.

It has been a tough summer time for United boss Jose Mourinho and I stated final week that I felt he wanted to find some harmony within the club.

He received that from his workforce’s show at Outdated Trafford, from the best way they began so effectively to how they noticed the sport out on the finish.

It was not excellent by any means, however who cares? They weren’t enjoying their strongest workforce, and it’s proper at the beginning of the season.

It was undoubtedly a optimistic evening for United, who picked up three factors towards tough opponents – and there may be heaps extra to come back from them.

Mourinho was stuffed with reward for his gamers

‘That is Outdated Trafford, and we’re United – that is how we play’

Mourinho stated after the sport that his facet confirmed glimpses of what they’re able to, they usually definitely made a powerful begin.

Sure, they went forward inside the primary three minutes via Paul Pogba’s penalty, however what was necessary was the best way they went after Leicester proper from the off.

United had been excellent within the early phases and I believe the Foxes had been in shock on the means they got here out of the blocks and took management of the sport.

It was virtually as in the event that they had been saying ‘look that is Outdated Trafford, and we’re United – that is how we play’.

There was a unbelievable environment inside the bottom as a result of United had been enjoying the sort of soccer their followers wish to see and displaying them one thing they’d not seen for a very long time, which was a little bit of a spark.

Their first thought once they received the ball was all the time to get it ahead they usually had been attempting to get their extensive gamers excessive up the pitch, which is the United means.

It was very thrilling to observe for the primary 20 or 25 minutes however, once they took their foot off the fuel, Leicester got here proper again into the sport.

Pogba responds to being given duty

Pogba has had two stars shaved into his scalp to have a good time France’s second World Cup win

Issues had been much more even for the remainder of the match however I additionally assume Mourinho will likely be pleased with the best way his facet managed the sport when Leicester had been posing a menace.

I do know they’d a lapse proper on the finish when Jamie Vardy pulled a aim again for the Foxes however, in any other case, they’d the sort of focus they wanted.

That was right down to the organisation and self-discipline of the senior gamers that Mourinho may name upon, and the way arduous they labored collectively as a unit when they didn’t have the ball.

It was telling that he made Pogba his skipper within the absence of the injured Antonio Valencia, after all of the hypothesis that the France midfielder is sad and desires to go away.

Mourinho received it proper. Pogba responded with a robust all-round efficiency, in addition to scoring the opening aim after what I’ve to say was a really unusual run-up for his penalty.

Jose is the kind of supervisor who provides somebody the captaincy for the correct causes and I believe he determined to present Pogba some duty for managing the sport and the gamers round him, which was a really intelligent transfer.

‘Shaw is the most effective left-back on the membership’

Shaw’s efficiency ‘very full’ – Mourinho

Pogba was not the one United participant to impress me. Juan Mata was sensible at choosing the right go and Andreas Pereira was additionally very regular.

On his United debut, Fred did effectively at what I might name the ugly work, which was successful the ball again and never attempting to be too intelligent when he had it, and I believed Alexis Sanchez’s work with out the ball was excellent too.

There are some attacking gamers who may as effectively not be within the facet if they don’t seem to be scoring or creating, however Sanchez does all of that and likewise works arduous and breaks up the opposition play when United shouldn’t have possession.

Sanchez ticks all of the bins you need out of your ahead, so it is vitally arduous to go away him out.

And I used to be delighted for Luke Shaw to get his first aim in senior soccer.

Mourinho has been vital of Shaw up to now however he was stuffed with reward for him afterwards, and rightly so.

Luke made one mistake – in the direction of the top of the sport when he was caught in possession inside his personal space by Vardy – however he is not going to have to be instructed about it.

He’s the most effective left-back on the membership when he’s match and flying so I’m glad he has received his aim, as a result of it ought to take a little bit of stress off him.

Lindelof and Bailly – collectively on the again?

Mourinho didn’t get the brand new centre-half he wished within the switch window and, from the feedback he made after the Leicester match about being a head coach as an alternative of a supervisor, he’s nonetheless not completely satisfied about it.

However contemplating Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly had performed so little collectively of their time at United – simply 99 minutes in complete earlier than Friday’s sport – they seemed fairly stable and durable on the again.

Bailly generally is a bit rash and presumably wants a voice in his ear as he’s about to dive right into a deal with to say ‘arise, arise’ however he received away with it towards Leicester and is clearly a very good defender.

As I used to be saying on BBC Radio 5 dwell on Friday, United have a really robust squad. When you’ve got spherical pegs in spherical holes, and all of them are doing the correct job on the similar time, then you’ll do effectively.

The very best information for Mourinho is that it appears to be like like there have been will likely be just a few battles occurring for locations in his first XI over the subsequent few weeks, all around the pitch.

And I do not assume there have been any negatives for him on Friday,

Sure, Marcus Rashford missed a few half-chances, however there was nothing clear-cut, whereas Romelu Lukaku ought to have scored when he was clear via however Kasper Schmeichel made an excellent save.

That is not stunning, as a result of I do know from expertise that everybody is a bit rusty for the primary sport again.

United nonetheless received the win regardless of in all probability solely being at 70%, and everybody who was concerned goes to be fitter subsequent time. I’m trying ahead to seeing how their season progresses from right here.

Dion Dublin was talking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/10241/

#Barcelona

#Football

0 notes

junker-town · 7 years

Text

NFL free agency 2017: Grades for every move as they happen

Who got the next Brock Osweiler? Which team landed the perfect pass rusher? Let’s grade this year’s free agent additions to find out!

There are two ways of looking at free agent signings in the NFL. If you’re a fan, it’s pretty exciting to see your team adding brand new players to the roster. The more name recognition those players have makes it even better. When another team does the same thing, they are clearly making a mistake, the second coming of the 2011 Eagles “Dream Team.”

If this spectrum of free agency reactions were represented on a line, there’d be a larger middle part where not every decision looks like it was made by Dan Snyder.

In 2016, the Giants defense thrived with the help of free agents Janoris Jenkins and Olivier Vernon. Atlanta made smart, targeted, and expensive moves last year to fill gaps, and that worked pretty well for them, except for blowing a 25-point lead at the worst possible time in the history of the sport.

Maybe this year’s moves will work. Maybe they won’t. In the meantime, all we can do is assign them letter grades.

Jets sign CB Morris Claiborne

The Cowboys are going to have to do some work to replenish the secondary after losing Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne in free agency. Claiborne is a solid addition for the Jets at a position of need, as long as he remains healthy. That hasn’t been his forte.

Grade: B

Ravens sign CB Brandon Carr

His contributions may not always show up on the stat sheet, but Carr is a versatile defensive back who can play on either side of the field or in the slot. The Ravens needed to upgrade the secondary, and already did so when they brought in safety Tony Jefferson from the Cardinals. Carr isn’t a splashy playmaker, but he is a solid veteran addition.

Grade: B+

Falcons sign DT Dontari Poe

During the Falcons’ Super Bowl run, the team’s young and speedy defense found a rhythm in the latter half of the year. Still, the team finished near the bottom of the NFL in total defense and bolstering the unit is top priority. Adding nearly 350 pounds to the middle of the defensive line is a great way to start and will benefit all aspects of the Atlanta defense.

Grade: A

Vikings sign RB Latavius Murray

Minnesota struggled to run the ball in Adrian Peterson’s absence during the 2016 season, so on the surface, the addition of another big, powerful running back makes sense. But even when Peterson was on the field, the team couldn’t run because the real problem was the offensive line.

A three-year, $15 million deal with Murray doesn’t break the bank, but it will go to waste if the Vikings don’t find players who can pave the way for their new addition.

Grade: C

Patriots re-sign LB Dont’a Hightower

The Patriots aren’t messing around this offseason. Hightower was key to New England’s defensive success last year, and he’ll return to the Patriots despite generating interest from the Jets and Steelers on the open market. Hightower returns to New England on a four-year, $43.5 million deal with $19 million in guaranteed money.

Grade: A

Seahawks sign RB Eddie Lacy

It’s a low risk move for Seattle on a one-year deal that pays Lacy $5.55 million. That’s a lot of “China food.” Minutes after Lacy signed there were reports about his weight circulating. It’s something to keep an eye, but not as big of a question as his ability to stay healthy. Seattle already has Thomas Rawls, but there’s reason to wonder about his health too. C.J. Prosise is another good runner on the roster and another one who struggles with durability. Between the three of them, they ought to get 16 good games.

Now, who’s going to block for them?

Grade: B

Raiders sign WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson

Patterson wants a role in the offense, and he’ll get it as a third or fourth receiver in a productive offense. Also, think about those trick plays the Raiders can run with him. More importantly, Oakland gets one of the best return men in the NFL.

Grade: A

Rams sign CB Kayvon Webster

There just wasn’t any room on the depth chart in Denver for Webster to get his snaps. He’ll get plenty of them with the Rams who are desperate for cornerback help. At two years, $8 million, it’s the kind of low key signing that can turn out to be the best kind in free agency.

Grade: A

Eagles sign QB Nick Foles

I’m guess this was purely a financially motivated move since he comes a lot cheaper than Chase Daniels, who they signed to a three-year deal worth $21 million last year. Foles gets $11 million over two years with just $7 million guaranteed. And the Eagles only get $1 million in cap savings.

Grade: C

Chiefs sign DT Bennie Logan

They lost Dontari Poe, but got a capable replacement for a one-year deal worth $8 million. That’s not a bad way to do free agency. The only quibble I have is why just one year, which is great for Logan, but could leave the Chiefs looking to replace that position again.

Grade: A

Lions sign G T.J. Lang

Detroit made a nice investment to upgrade its offensive line this month. Lang gives them a mauler on the inside who helps keep the pocket clean and gets push in the run game. It doesn’t hurt that they also stole him away from the Packers. The downside here is that they have $19 million guaranteed to a 30-year old who had foot and hip surgeries this year.

Grade: B

Patriots trade a first- and third-round pick to the Saints for WR Brandin Cooks

If you think about it, the Patriots average of 27.6 points per game was their lowest offensive output since 2009. Sure, they won a Super Bowl, again, but they could be better. Now, they’re better, A LOT better.

Cooks and Chris Hogan on the outside. Rob Gronkowski anywhere he wants to be. Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, Dion Lewis, James White and the newly acquired Dwayne Allen. Good luck stopping that!

Grade: A

Packers sign TE Martellus Bennett

Why settle for Jared Cook when you can have Martellus Bennett? This is a great move for the Packers, a big upgrade at the position and a dynamic receiver who gives their offense more punch in the middle of the field. The Packers don’t sign a lot of free agents, but it seems like when they do, they make it count.

They’ll still have to do something about that defense.

Grade: A

Washington signs WR Terrelle Pryor

It’s a little surprising that Pryor has to settled for a one-year, $6 million deal to prove himself. He did manage to top 1,000 yards with the Browns last year, despite a rotation of bad quarterbacks. It could be a steal for Washington, looking to fill the void left by DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon’s departure ... assuming the organizational dysfunction doesn’t spill over to the field.

Grade: A

Patriots acquire DE Kony Ealy and a third-round pick from the Panthers in a trade for a second-round pick

Don’t judge the deal by the rounds, New England is only moving down eight spots. And in return, they get a former second-round pick who had a huge game in the Super Bowl last year. He’s been a disappointment other than that, but the Patriots have a knack for turning those players around.

Grade: A

Colts sign DL Jabaal Sheard

Indianapolis has a lot of work to do on defense. Signing a mid-level pass rusher like Sheard is a good move toward that. Three years, $25.5 million with $12.75 guaranteed for a guy who picked up 13 sacks in two years with the Patriots. He’s also a solid presence defending the run.

Grade: A-

Vikings sign RT Mike Remmers

Everyone remembers Remmers for his struggles when he started at right tackle for the Panthers in the Super Bowl (it didn’t help that Carolina didn’t bother to send an extra blocker to assist), but he’s a solid right tackle. The Vikings scooped up Reiff and Remmers in 24 hours, not a bad haul. This was their biggest need.

Grade: A

Panthers sign FS Mike Adams and DE Julius Peppers

Peppers returns to Carolina where they can use some depth for their pass rushers. He had 7.5 sacks last season, so even at 37, he can be effective in a situational role.

Adams is another old-timer — he turns 36 this month — but he’s a good one. He had 12 picks over the last three seasons with the Colts. You probably didn’t notice because, lol, Colts defense. They needed veterans in the secondary.

Grade: B

Dolphins sign LB Lawrence Timmons

I’m not exactly sure what the 31-year old linebacker brings to the table at this point, other than a part-timer. But at two years, $12 million, with $11 million guaranteed, the Dolphins probably don’t intend for him to be a in part-time role.

Grade: C

Bears sign CB Prince Amukamara

Another season, another one-year deal for the former first-round pick who’s struggled with injuries his entire career. He’s a steady enough corner who can start, that’s not a bad thing for the Bears.

Grade: B+

Titans sign CB Logan Ryan

The Titans lost out on the A.J. Bouye sweepstakes, but they were still able to land one of the top cornerbacks on the free agent market — and at a cheaper price (three years, $30 million).

Ryan earned his payday after developing into a starter in his final two years with the Patriots. The Titans needed secondary help, and even if Ryan wasn’t as highly coveted as Bouye or new Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore, this is still a solid pickup.

Grade: A-

Chargers sign Russell Okung

Four years and $53 million seems expensive based on Okung’s performance in Denver last year, but if the Chargers can keep him on the field, he can be an effective blocker again.

Grade: B

Ravens re-sign DT Brandon Williams

We don’t usually include players re-signing with their team on this list, but Williams is a useful exception. It looked like he would for sure get away, but the Ravens kept the centerpiece of their defensive line in-house with a five-year$54 million deal with $27.5 million guaranteed. Dontari Poe can expect a similar deal.

Grade: A

Jaguars sign CB A.J. Bouye

It wasn’t cheap, but boy oh boy does the Jacksonville secondary look fun with Bouye paired with Jalen Ramsey. Bouye turns 26 in August and Ramsey turns 23 in October, so the Jaguars don’t look like they’ll be worried about the cornerback position for a long time.

Is Bouye worth the $67.5 million he’ll be making over the next five years? He looked like it in 2016, but that was his only year as a starter.

Grade: B

Seahawks sign OT Luke Joeckel

The former No. 2 overall pick didn’t live up to his draft status in four seasons with the Jaguars. He dealt with injuries, but mostly just didn’t play very well and was eventually kicked inside to guard when the team signed Kelvin Beachum.

But it’s a one-year deal that makes sense for the Seahawks and doesn’t break the bank. Even though he didn’t live up to his blind side protector promise in Jacksonville, he’s an upgrade for a Seattle offensive line that badly needs one.

Grade: B

Vikings sign OT Riley Reiff

Minnesota was desperate for offensive linemen, and they found one. He can play either side, and with Matt Kalil gone, he’ll probably start on the left.

Grade: A

Eagles sign WR Alshon Jeffery

The most notable thing about Jeffery signing with the Eagles is that he did so on a one-year deal. It’s worth $14 million so it’s not a cheap deal for Philadelphia, but it means Jeffery will be playing for what he hopes will be an even bigger contract in 2018.

Coupled with Torrey Smith, this is a deal the Eagles can definitely feel good about for the 2017 season and the development of Carson Wentz. The concern is whether or not Jeffrey will be able to stay healthy for an entire season.

Grade: A

Texans solve their Brock Osweiler problem by trading him to the Browns

Well, here’s one you didn’t see coming this week! Maybe we should have. The Texans made a huge mistake with the Osweiler deal last year, and by the end of the season it was pretty apparent that Bill O’Brien knew that too. They had to do something about it, but given that contract the Texans couldn’t just cut him without a massive cap hit.

A trade seemed unlikely because who else would want Osweiler after watching his film from 2016? Turns out the Browns did! And they might have been the perfect landing spot for him. They have the cap space — more than $100 million to start the offseason — to do it. Even if they do end up releasing him, which is now a possibility, they can still eat the cap space. Essentially, what they’re doing is buying a second-round pick by taking a big problem off the Texans’ hands.

Cleveland gets: Osweiler & his deal contract, a second-round pick in 2018 and a sixth-round pick this year. Houston gets: A fourth-round pick this year and saves $10 million in salary-cap space and $16 million in cash.

More importantly, Houston gets the cap room to make a move for Tony Romo.

Grade: Give both teams an A for creativity. If Houston can’t land Romo for some reason, I’d drop them to a B, because at least they made Osweiler someone else’s problem.

Titans agree to terms with S Johnathan Cyprien

Cyprien is staying in the AFC South, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He’s fine, an upgrade at a position of need for the Titans, but not the kind of free agent that changes the shape of a team or anything.

Grade: B

Cardinals sign S Antoine Bethea

At 32, it’s legit to wonder if he can be effective, but going from the dumpster fire in San Francisco to talented outfit like this could be just what he needs. He replaces Tony Jefferson.

Grade: B

Browns sign C J.C. Tretter

The Browns could’ve had a good interior line had they just hung onto Alex Mack, but they didn’t. Tretter helps paste over that mistakes and gives them a real tough center who should do wonders for the run game. Combine this with the decision to re-sign guard Joel Bitonio (who got a $51 million deal despite injury concerns), and the Browns have reason to be optimistic about their line this year and beyond.

Grade: A

Broncos agreed to terms with G Ronald Leary

You can make a pretty good case that the Broncos trash offensive line was the reason they didn’t make it back to the playoffs this year. This is a good first step toward fixing that. And, hey, maybe he’ll be reunited with his old pal Tony Romo from Dallas.

Grade: A

Washington agreed to terms with DT Terrell McClain

McClain is being rewarded for this healthiest season in a long time. But he’s more of solid starter than a game-changer, and Washington defense needs game-changers. The most interesting part of this deal will be to see what kind of money he’s getting now that front office infighting has made Bruce Allen the de facto GM again.

Grade: C

Saints agree to terms with Tedd Ginn, Jr.

If the team does end up trading Brandin Cooks, and it sounds like they will, Ginn gives them another deep threat, though probably not a guy who can pull out a 1,000-yard season like Cooks.

Grade: B

Rams sign WR Robert Woods

Woods is getting $39 million for a five-year deal with the Rams, with just $15 million guaranteed. If you consider that deal alongside the $42 million contract, with a stunning $28.5 million guaranteed, the Rams gave Tavon Austin last year, the team now has more than $80 million committed to a pair of role playing receivers, neither one of whom has topped 700 yards in a season.

Woods will see his share of work in the passing game, but the Rams need a true No. 1 receiver, especially after letting Kenny Britt walk.

Grade: C

Eagles and WR Torrey Smith agree to terms

It’s a three-year, $15 million deal, which could end up being one of the biggest steals in free agency this year. It gives Carson Wentz a veteran speedster at a fraction of the cost it would’ve taken to land DeSean Jackson.

Grade: A

Patriots agree to terms with CB Stephon Gilmore

Gilmore’s deal with the Patriots is expected to be in the neighborhood of $14 million per season, which is about on par with what the market’s top cornerback was expected to get. We’ve seen the Patriots make a play for the market’s top corner before when they signed Darrelle Revis to a two-year deal for $32 million. That one was effectively a one-year deal with $12 million the first season and a $20 million option for the second that the team declined.

Anyway, this makes their secondary one of the best in the AFC, enough to rival Denver. The thing to keep an eye on now are the reports of a potential trade brewing with the Saints that would send their other starting corner, Malcolm Butler, to New Orleans in exchange for WR Brandin Cooks.

Grade: A

Rams will sign LT Andrew Whitworth

The Rams needed o-line help bad enough to sign a 35-year old left tackle to a three-year, $36 million contract with $15 million guaranteed. Whitworth did make two All-Pro teams in his last two seasons, and has only missed two starts in his last eight years. He was the best left tackle available this year.

Draft bust Greg Robinson will likely move inside to guard. The right tackle job can go to either Rodger Saffold or Rob Havenstein. The Rams have been trying to build a viable offensive line since Orland Pace left a decade ago. This gets them a competent option for protecting their investment in Jared Goff.

Grade: B

Buccaneers agree to terms with WR DeSean Jackson

To compete in the NFC South right now, you have to be able to keep pace with the Falcons offense. Adding Jackson helps the Bucs accomplish that by giving them a dynamic speedster to pair with Mike Evans.

Grade: A

Browns will sign WR Kenny Britt

Four years, $32.5 million for Britt, who posted his first 1,000-yard season at age 29. The good news for the Browns is that he did that with Case Keenum and Jared Goff throwing him the ball, so he should get better QB play even with the Browns’ relatively low standards in that department.

What makes this deal a bad one is that it likely means the Browns are moving on from Terrelle Pryor. They reportedly balked at a rate starting at $10 million per season, but they also spurned one of the few players who expressed a desire to play in Cleveland, not to mention a 27-year-old talented receiver who posted his own first 1,000-yard season with the Browns rotating cast of signal callers.

This is how the Browns stay the Browns.

Grade: D

Bears expected to sign QB Mike Glennon

A three-year deal averaging almost $15 million per season for an immobile pocket passer with limited upside really isn’t as bad as it sounds. That’s at the low end of the pay scale for starting quarterbacks, at least the ones who aren’t still playing on a rookie deal. And it’s clear that this is just a temporary solution. Chicago still plans to draft a quarterback.

Maybe they’ll save enough money to re-sign Alshon Jeffery.

Grade: B

March 8

Free agency doesn’t start until 4 p.m. ET on March 9, but you can be forgiven for any confusion you had watching the free agency scoops drop from morning until night the day before that.

Most of the deals struck prior to the official start of the league year are of the “agreed in principle” variety, i.e. teams and players have the details all worked out, they just can’t sign any dotted lines until the league blows the whistle.

Giants sign WR Brandon Marshall

The Giants had a really good run through free agency last year, picking up players like Jenkins and Vernon to round out their defensive needs, versus, say, trying to make over the roster entirely in free agency. This is a similar move.

Odell Beckham Jr. is clearly the No. 1 guy still. Marshall gives them a really good No. 2 who helps create more mismatches for Odell, he’s an upgrade over Victor Cruz, and he gives Eli Manning another big target.

It was a two-year deal worth reportedly just $12 million. I would have assumed Marshall, even at 32, could’ve had more money.

Grade: A

49ers agree to terms with QB Brian Hoyer, WR Marquise Goodwin, and FB Kyle Juszczyk. They’re expected to sign WR Pierre Garcon on Thursday afternoon too.

The 49ers were scheduled to start the league year with no quarterbacks on the roster and no real offensive playmaking talent either. So it’s not surprising to see them sweep up four players right off the bat, especially the two players — Hoyer and Garcon — that coach Kyle Shanahan already knows well.

At least they seem to have realistic expectations about who Hoyer is: a backup. Kyle Shanahan reportedly suggested as much. It’s a two-year deal, which supports that. Now, the Niners can draft a quarterback and develop him on the bench behind Hoyer, if they so choose. Or, perhaps more likely, use Hoyer to keep Kirk Cousins’s seat warm until 2018.

Contract values for Garcon and Goodwin haven’t been reported as of press time. It’s likely the team views Goodwin as a role-playing fourth receiver/speed guy. Garcon isn’t a No. 1 receiver in the traditional sense of the position, but he’s a reliable pass catcher who led Washington in receptions and yards last season.

The one I don’t get is Juszczyk. Sure, he catches more passes than your average fullback, but they just made him the highest-paid fullback in the NFL at four years, $21 million, with $10.5 million guaranteed. An average of $5.25 million per year for a position that’s all but eliminated in the modern game.

Grade: B ... and a D for the fullback signing

Patriots acquire TE Dwayne Allen and a sixth-round pick from the Colts for a fourth-round pick.

There was a time when Allen looked like he could be one of those rare tight ends who could block and be a matchup threat, but he’s mostly been a disappointment since his rookie season. In New England, he’ll be a role player, replacing the departing Martellus Bennett as the second tight end on the roster, behind Gronk.

Grade: A

The Bills signed TWO fullbacks: Mike Tolbert and Patrick DiMarco.

Whoever said fullbacks were irrelevant would be really confused by all the road graders getting scooped up on Wednesday. DiMarco is the blocker, and the Bills committed $8.5 million for a four-year deal with him. Tolbert’s deal is a one-year, $1 million flyer, so it’s not like they’ve tied up a bunch of money in two hulking backs.

Buffalo’s running game has LeSean McCoy to be the speedy home run threat. Now, they have some hosses for the short-yardage power side of the equation.

On the other hand, the Bills could have used this money to help address other needs and find fullback help somewhere else.

Grade: C

Jaguars agree to terms with S Barry Church and DE Calais Campbell.

Jacksonville won the offseason championship last year. The Jags are off to another strong start this year, and they won’t have Gus Bradley coaching the team, which should do wonders.

Church replaces departing free agent Johnathan Cyprien, and will be an upgrade at strong safety. Church signed a four-year deal reportedly worth more than $6 million per season.

Campbell was one of the better defensive linemen on the market this year. He’s a great addition to the Jaguars’ already loaded defensive line. Sure, he’ll be coming from a 3-4 to a 4-3, but he can play all over the line and should transcend the scheme. He’s a great addition, but almost feels like more of a luxury than a pure need for the Jags. I’d be more pumped as a fan than as an armchair general manager.

Grade: B

Lions agree in principle with RT Ricky Wagner.

There’s a new price point for right tackles this year, and it starts north of $9 million per season. Nobody else on the market is likely to get that kind of deal — a deal like the one Wagner got with the Lions. He was the best right tackle available. He’s an upgrade over departing Riley Reiff, especially as a pass blocker, and is a great bookend with second-year left tackle Taylor Decker.

Grade: A

Ravens agree to terms with S Tony Jefferson

Two years in a row now that the Ravens have scored a big free agent safety. Last year it was Eric Weddle. That move paid off, but inconsistent play from Lardarius Webb undercut the secondary. And with Matt Elam’s injuries and legal troubles, the Ravens had a major need here. This is the kind of safety tandem that can make a defense fearsome for opponents.

Grade: A

Panthers expected to sign LT Matt Kalil

It’s nice that he’ll get to play on the same line as his brother, Ryan, but the Panthers better hope the family reunion can get him to play better than he ever has since being drafted fourth overall by the Vikings in 2012.

A hip injury kept him sidelined for all but two games last year. He’s reportedly back to 100 percent.

Carolina is committed to reclamation projects for the left tackle spot. Michael Oher didn’t cut it after signing there in 2015. He still has two years left on his deal. Now, with Kalil, the Panthers are banking on an other first-round pick turning around his disappointing career.

Grade: D

Ravens agree to terms with RB Danny Woodhead

Woodhead and Joe Flacco on the same team? Is it possible to win 10 games with the league’s leader in grit and an #elite quarterback? I guess we’ll find out.

Grade: B

0 notes