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stillness-in-green · 3 years

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No, Re-Destro Is Not Destro’s Literal Son

and

Yes, I Will Die On This Hill

I have a number of small, persistent quibbles with some of the widespread misapprehensions I see included in BNHA fanfic, quoted as fact in meta posts, even cited on the wiki. Quirk cancellation restraints, what the 20% quirklessness data point means in practice, when Kurogiri comes into existence relative to the time of the Shimura Family Massacre, things like that. My biggest one, though, is as the title suggests: the idea that Yotsubashi Rikiya is Yotsubashi Chikara’s son.

I don’t entirely know where this confusion comes from. As far as I can tell, the early scanlations didn’t get it wrong—one rendered the line in Chapter 218 about Destro having a child he didn’t know about as being children, plural, but otherwise, they were all accurate enough. It seems people just assumed that the child mentioned in 218 must be Re-Destro, who was, after all, right there on the panel. Even though the scanlations never said it, even though the official translation never said it, even though ample evidence in the manga disproves it, the idea still got around that Rikiya is Chikara’s son.

I have and will maintain that this is obviously wrong if you stop to think about it for even a moment, but unfortunately, most people don’t. The error can be found on less well-tended parts of the fandom wiki[1]; it’s in tumblr meta posts about the villains; it’s in fanfic.

And now, god help me, it is on the official anime website, too.

“Stillness-in-green, maybe you should consider that you might just be wro—”

I will face BONES and walk backwards into hell.

But if you want, you can come with me, and I’ll explain on the way. Hit the jump.

Dialogue + Narration

There are two places where the relationship between Chikara and Rikiya is explicitly addressed—the lead-in to the dinner scene in Chapter 218 and the fight between Clone!Shigaraki and RD in Chapter 232. If you include the Ultra Analysis databook, the number goes up to four: once each in Re-Destro and Destro Classic’s character blurbs.

Let’s take a look at each of those places, shall we?

The relevant Japanese text here is in the first narration box: 子ども, kodomo.

Kodomo is not gendered. It literally just means child. The key kanji is 子, ko. Like most kanji, it has a lot of potential readings, and you can add other kanji to it to modify it. Add 息 and you get musuko, son. Pronounce 子 as shi instead of ko, and you get a term that is frequently, though not exclusively, used to refer to boys. Add 女 to that reading and you get joshi, woman/girl. 子 is in a lot of words, many of them gendered! Used for kodomo as Hori does here, though, it does nothing to indicate a gender one way or the other.

Also too, it does nothing to indicate that Rikiya is the child in question; it simply states that there was such a child, somewhere in the world. Now, the natural assumption for anyone who knows how the graphic novel medium works and who understands basic literary analysis would be that the significant character we just met is, in fact, the child in question—except that everything else we learn about Destro and the original Meta Liberation Army here makes it entirely impossible.

I’ll do a full breakdown on why that is in the next section. In the meantime, here’s the next reference:

Here, we’re looking at the phrase the Viz translation renders as, “His blood runs through these veins.” The literal Japanese there is, Desutoro no matsuei chi o tsugu mono! In a literal translation, chi o tsugu mono means, “one who inherits the blood,” or, more loosely, “blood successor.” It’s matsuei—末裔—that’s the key word here.

Japanese has several words to express the concept of “descendant.” Matsuei is one word; the data book uses shison. So what’s the difference? Well, I’ll talk about shison in a moment, but I had an inkling of it just from looking at the kanji in matsuei—“end” and “descendant” respectively, leaving me with an impression of something like a final descendant or the terminus of the bloodline. Further research confirmed it: shison can refer to any lineal blood tie, but matsuei refers to a bloodline’s final inheritor, the person at the end of a long line of many, or even countless, generations. It’s the difference between being able to point to a grandparent and the kind of painstaking genealogical research that lets you[2] point to a famous royal from eight hundred years ago—matsuei is a word that very much assumes the existence of those countless generations.

So not only does Rikiya’s line there not imply that he’s Chikara’s son, but his specific word choice also tells us that he cannot be Chikara’s son. That’s, uh. Pretty conclusive, I would say.

Lastly, though, there’s also the data book. This is, perhaps, the actual closest you’re going to get to a manga equivalent of those character blurbs on the anime website, at least until such time as Hori deigns to give the MLA types character profile pages. (I live ever in hope.)

There are two relevant bits of text, one in Re-Destro’s entry, and the other in Destro Classic’s. The first describes how Re-Destro organizes the MLA as Desutoro no chi o tsugu mono: the same phrase he uses for himself in the manga, minus the matsuei. @codenamesazanka (the one who told me about the databook references among other citations, bless) rendered it as “Destro’s blood successor”; I have also seen it given as “the successor of Destro’s bloodline.” Note again, the lack of reference to a father/son bond.

Chikara’s entry uses that other descendant word I mentioned before, 子孫, shison. Notice that the term uses that ko kanji from kodomo before? As it does in joshi, 子 here reads shi. The other kanji, 孫, means grandchild. Thus, literally, grandchild-child—or, in the vernacular, simply descendant.

And then we have the anime website.

So, for comparison’s sake, the anime website uses 息子—the same combination of kanji that I said earlier gives you musuko, son. Heck, it even uses 父, chichi, for Destro—father. It’s as explicit as it’s possible to be, and I just don’t know why or how the anime website could fuck that up so bad when absolutely nothing in the manga describes the two Yotsubashis that way, and, indeed, one specific word choice actually rules out the possibility.

So, that’s all the manga says directly. It’s not the only evidence there is, though. In fact, the next piece makes it even more clear how colossally and impossibly wrong a father/son connection for Destro and his modern successor is.

Timeline

The long and short of this section is, “Since Harima Oji was Sako Atsuhiro’s great-great-grandfather, there is no possible way that Destro—who pre-dated Harima—can be Re-Destro’s father.” If you read that sentence and nodded your complete understanding and agreement, feel free to skip ahead to the last section. If you’d like the full explanation it takes to reach that sentence’s conclusion, though, read on.

So, aside from the word matsuei, the timeline is the most telling piece of evidence to my eye. I address it secondly rather than firstly because it’s less direct than the explicit narration; it relies on drawing conclusions based on things we’ve been told elsewhere rather than on the immediately relevant text. Oh, Mr. Compress’s relationship to Harima is explicit enough, but on what am I basing my claim that Destro predates him?

Regarding that, there’s no explicit year relative to My Hero Academia’s current events given for when Destro and the original Meta Liberation Army were active; the same is true for Harima Oji’s escapades. However, we are given some broad-strokes information, relative not to current events, but rather to the history of heroism as a legal institution in Japan.

We know that there was a widespread, lengthy period of chaos following the rise of quirks—called meta-abilities in those early years. At some point, however, people began to search for a way for meta-humans to live in peace with non-metas. The compromise that was reached was the foundation of professional heroism in Japan—while the use of meta-abilities would be legal in private settings, it was only by becoming licensed by the state as “heroes” that people could use their quirks in public.[3]

The legislation curtailing the use of meta-abilities—and the appropriation of a dead woman’s language to popularize a law establishing exactly the opposite of what she used that language to call for—is what catalyzed the rise of the original MLA. Thus, we can position Destro as being alive and active around the same time that heroism as a legal institution was being formed. Since we further know that he committed suicide in prison, we can assume that his child was conceived at some point prior to his capture. Ergo, Destro’s child, were they alive today, would be as old as Japanese professional heroism itself.

Next, consider Harima Oji, the Peerless Thief, a criminal who targeted the riches of “sham heroes.” We’re specifically told that he was active in the days in which the current system was settling into place—e.g. he only became active once the Hero System was established enough to have produced corrupt heroes. We’re told he preached reformation—he wasn’t just some pre-existing criminal who saw a shiny new target in heroes; he had specific grievances which he wanted addressed by the system, and which the system was not addressing.

The earliest Harima could possibly be active, then, is concurrent with Destro—Harima fighting against the corrupt people who had found their way into the new heroic institution, and Destro fighting against using the institution of heroism to oppress non-heroes. What I think is more likely, though, is that Harima came after Destro—Harima needed to have had time to realize what kinds of fakes had been drawn to this shiny new career path, maybe even to spend some time trying to change things the legal way.

I don’t suspect they were separated by very long—I would imagine Destro was easily within Harima’s living memory, and might well have influenced why he chose the path of protest that he did—but I do think they were separate.

Moving forward, then, Mr. Compress is four generations distant from his famous ancestor. Thus, even if you assume that Harima is of the same generation as Chikara, that’s what you’re looking at for Chikara’s child: someone who, were they alive today, would be old enough to be the great-grandparent of a thirty-two-year-old man.

Re-Destro’s probably a few years older than Mr. C, sure,[4] but that man doesn’t have Ujiko’s slow-aging quirk. Unless you want to start pulling theories about cryogenic stasis the story for some reason never saw fit to mention out of thin air, Re-Destro is in no way old enough to fit the bill.

This is backed up by one other piece of the timeline as well, and one more place we can look at language:

The small child at the center of the image is Rikiya, so young that he’s in schoolboy shorts for a meeting otherwise so formal that he’s been made to wear a tie. He’s, what, six to nine here, tops? And the adults speaking to him say that they’ve been in hiding for generations—代々, daidai, the kanji for generation followed by a kanji that just means, “See that kanji written right before me? Yeah, just read that one again.”

The original MLA was active for only a handful of years, and, per Chapter 218, they didn’t dissolve until Destro was captured. Thus, we can assume they have been in hiding since then, but not before then. With that in mind, this is another line that renders a father/son relationship impossible.

Remember, Chikara already had a child in the world circa his capture. If Rikiya were Chikara’s son, then Destro’s capture and his army’s subsequent dissolution could not have happened any farther back than nine months plus however old Rikiya was in this exact moment of his youth. Rikiya, who we see here as a child of less than ten.

Ten years in hiding doesn’t make one generation; it damn sure doesn’t make multiple ones.

Now, you could make theories about cryogenic statis that would explain this ludicrous discrepancy, sure. You could also theorize about e.g. artificial insemination,[5] or time stop quirks, or any number of other possibilities in the vast panoply the HeroAca world offers. The point is, though, that you don’t need to. There was, in the manga, no discrepancy that needed to be explained. It is only fanon misinterpretation and a glaring disinterest in the series’ villains from official sources that have presented this issue.

I’m praying that it’s all just a misunderstanding on the part of whoever maintains the website, and that the anime itself will render the relevant bits of dialogue correctly. Given the extreme cuts and alterations that My Villain Academia has been subjected to thus far, though, I’m sure you can appreciate my being concerned.

…So that’s the meat of it. The idea that Rikiya is Chikara’s son is wrong simply on the basis of what’s said in the text, and it’s doubly wrong on the basis of the timeline. There is, though, one other thing I think points towards Re-Destro being exactly the descendant he says he is, not a son playing down the connection out of humility or something. This one is a lot more headcanon-y, though, so I saved it for last.

MLA Social Dynamics

It’s quite simple. We have, in the MLA, a group of people that venerates Destro’s bloodline to an obviously unhealthy degree, putting up portraits of him wherever they can get away with it, tagging his successor with a “Re-” as if to invoke reincarnation or miraculous return, entirely willing to throw their lives away for what they think was his cause, and others’ lives if those others say anything too scathing about the words Destro wrote, quite as if they treat Destro’s memoir as some sort of holy writ.

They venerate Destro that much, and you’re trying to tell me that they wouldn’t just call a spade a spade and acknowledge RD as the son of their great leader? Come on.

Since long before I turned up the matsuei factoid in researching this piece, since long before Mr. Compress gave us such a helpful generational comparison, I’ve held the opinion that, given a group that holds their leaders in such high esteem, with such particular regard for bloodline, the only reason Rikiya does just call himself a descendant, rather than citing the specific term for what he is, is that the specific term is distant enough that it actually does sound more impressive to just say “descendant,” rather than something like, “great-great-great-grandson.” That kind of thing just begs the question, “What took you guys so long?” or, “You and how many other people, buddy?”

Mr. Compress may have the panache to carry off a line like that, but Rikiya’s a different story. If he had something so amazing up his sleeve as, “I am the son of the great Destro,” I have to think he’d just say it proudly, not fall back on the impressionistic vaguery of something like chi o tsugu mono. Even if I had no other evidence to work with, I’d think the same—all the evidence you need is right there in the character writing of who Rikiya and the MLA are and how they talk about the man whose dreams Re-Destro was raised to carry.

A closing note: I will allow that Rikiya is being overdramatic when he uses matsuei and its connotation of countless generations. There are a few other things we can use to trace the history of heroism—Ujiko’s age, and the 18-years-or-less periods that One For All was held by its pre-All Might bearers—and running those numbers leads me to believe that it is, in fact, entirely possible to count the number of generations between Rikiya and Chikara, and the number, while higher than one, is probably not all that high. Certainly matsuei is being more dramatic about it than is entirely warranted, hence the poetic flourish of the official translation’s, “His blood runs through these veins!” The theatricality only makes me fonder of him, however.

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FOOTNOTES

[1] It was changed and reverted on Re-Destro’s page at least twice before it finally stuck in January of this year. Chikara’s page took until July to be corrected, and it’s still wrong on various other subpages.

[2] Or your kids, if you have those. Only the last generation in the bloodline is the matsuei, but that’s a moving goalpost as long as the bloodline is still propagating.

[3] This summary of events combines what we know from both My Hero Academia proper and the Vigilantes spin-off, which I recommend to anyone who’s at all interested in finer-grained worldbuilding on Hero Society Japan than the main series makes time for.

[4] I personally headcanon him as 42.

[5] To which point I would refer back to the word kodomo, and note that that word choice indicates that Destro had a child in the world. Not a sperm sample kept in a freezer somewhere, waiting for the right would-be mother: an actual child. Some quick research on my part says that the farthest that term stretches is in using it to refer to yet-unborn children, fetuses still in the womb. Seeing as Japan doesn’t even allow inmates conjugal visits in real life, much less in a setting where villains are so dehumanized that Tartarus is an acceptable punishment for them, the line about Destro “having a child out in the world” takes us right back to a date of conception no later than Destro’s final night of freedom.

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha #bnha meta #yotsubashi rikiya #yotsubashi chikara #re-destro #destro bnha #meta liberation army #my writing #i have thoughts on the anime's nonsense too but #hahawow #that's gonna take a little longer to get coherent #preview: it's not about capitalism #it's about fear

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chameshida · 3 years

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I feel bad I haven’t contributed anything to LN fandom in a while so here’s some random HC of mine.

- Runaway Kid name is just “Kid”, that is his actual name but some kids do find it weird calling the other kid “Kid”, so they try to call him something else. “Runaway Kid” is the name coming up in sort of the mocking manner but Kid doesnt mind and wearing it like a champ. Mono is the one coiling the name “RK” in the version of story they get to meet (Unfortunately most of the time they don’t)

- In my simpler story/joke/meme, RK would fall prey into the simple “wimpy kind kid” characterization. But in the more serious story, RK actually share some characterization with Six and Mono. He is still kind but he’s more of a survivalist and realist too. But his “Kind but also feral” is on the different brand with Mono, in the way that Mono is more likely to kill than RK, RK is more likely to leave someone to die than Mono. Overall, RK is someone one who show and share kindness despite the harsh world but he is not selfless. he is also not violence and would rather run than fight.(he still got the weakass arm stregth too)

-Going to bring up Undertale for a sec, Neither Mono or Six would do the no kill run in the first playthrough lol. Six kills everyone but not actively seeking out enough to trigger genocide and she run from/ doesn’t kill Undyne. Mono accidentally kills froggit and some ruin monsters and Toriel but no one else afterward. (RK might suceed in pacifist Neutral the first time tho) pre-LN1-ending Six is not determined enough to do the genocide run, she would rather run from Sans and Undyne than fight them, and she wouldn’t go through all the trouble to seek out everyone to kill either as she just want to get out and survive. Post LN1 Six, drunken with power, However...

- During their Journey, Six’s actually being decent to Mono and not at all mean or call him names. However, after dropping him, it was then Six decided to dubbed Mono as “Stupid Mono” while dealing with her inner turmoil and guilt and that nickname stick after all is said and done.

- While their feeling is not at all romanctic, even in the friendship light it’s actually more Six --> Mono as oppose to usual fandom intrepretation. As Mono would act the same if it’s any other kid he finds needing rescue and befriend. Six however seem to have this ‘at first sight’ fixation on Mono and Mono only, that weird kid with paperbag who is all sort of weird but in the chaming way and shows her kindness. Six is smitten. Mono then saving and interact with other kid and she has this moment of mildly disappointed “Oh...” that it’s not just her Mono act this way around. (of course Mono still consider Six his bestfriend. and would risk life and limbs for her).

But in the end, Six act the way Six act (close off) and Mono is being super friendly towards Six so in the other kids eyes it is normal to view it as Mono--->Six. But Mono does view Six in the different light from other potential kids he’d come accross after she dropped him and not necessary in the positive way.

- Six is more popular and well-liked by the maw kids than Mono with the LN2 kids

- Six doesn’t experience unatural hunger again after getting Lady’s power. If she’s to maw down or cannibalize someone after that. It’s her usual feral antic driven by pure primal hate and anger rather than hunger.

-Maw arc(pfft) is essentially Six’s “Zuko alone’ arc

- Shadow six, despite being Six’s good side, does need to go through character developement and rude awakening arc lol. She isn’t off the hook. Vice versa, Six, although technically Souless, is not as Souless emotionally. She is still capable of feeling emotion empathy and character growth, she just missing a part of her which rattled her greatly. But if we ignore the terrible hunger acompanying her condition and she’s to go on without getting that part of her back, she can go on and develope into a better person of her own just fine without “her good part”. This is to say that while her missing her soul explain and effect some of her bad decision, it doesn’t make her not to blame for all the bad she did as she’s still capable of making a decision.

-Already mentioned it, but Mono knits and crafts and doing a lot of thing post Tower to make up all the lose activity he want to learns

- RK is fully literated (for kid his age, if the word is too complicate of course he wouldn’t know). Mono can read some but act like he knows everything. Six can’t read english but can read and write more Japanese than Mono read everything.

- Mono is the type who take “a few months old” very seriously remind everyone that he is older.

- Six always sleep curling up and never sleep on her back. Mono sleep mostly normally but he do like to elevate his feet. Usaully result in him putting his leg on his friends in his sleep.

- Six, although feral, is capable of being regal and proper when she need to be. The closest comparison to other existing character from other fandom would be Toph and Rukia(leaning more toward Rukia). If there’s ever a situation where they are to fit in as the well-manner kids, Six, surprisingly would fair better than Mono despite what Mono think(as he mostly only saw her feral side)She’s like the cat, even at the trashiest state there’s still a dignify and vain part, grooming and all. To sum it up, Normally Mono would be the cleaner of the two (clean hand, Goine EW and reprimmed Six whenever Six got too feral) but when put into a certain situation Six can fit in better while Mono street kids side start to show and he becomes out of depth.

- None of the kids voice has crack yet.

#long post #little nightmares #ln spoilers

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perfectmisslawson · 3 years

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Just responding back to your latest comments, you've 100% read my mind about Miri. I've had the exact same thoughts and I'm so glad it's come across, even with respect to things I haven't expressly said.

I've had those exact same thoughts about her. I'm not personally writing her from the perspective to where I think she has ASD. Just speaking for myself here, I prefer to write people as people, not as disorders with a list of symptoms, but if the people I write as going through certain things or having certain experiences happen to meet the medical criteria for specific medical disorders, then yeah I've probably written a character with that condition. But with Miranda personally, my thinking that she doesn't have ASD has nothing to do with her being "genetically perfect", it's just that I attribute it entirely to being a consequence of how she was raised. Maybe that's just because I'm a writer and that's how we think. I could be wrong.

She's kind of like...the closest comparison I can think of is those poor children who were raised in absolutely horrible conditions in extremely neglectful orphanages to where they were given no attention and no physical contact and virtually no care whatsoever by adults. The only difference between Miranda and those people is that her external needs were provided for. She was fed, she was educated, she owned stuff, and she got a lot of "attention" but not in the way a child needs. She was treated more like a science project, or a robot. Nobody saw her as a living thing, and if they did they were fired.

I can certainly relate to the potentially non-neurotypical aspect of her character as I'm not neurotypical myself. I have ADHD and I often have moments in my work where I'm just talking to someone in what to me seems like an entirely normal, professional way, and I get told I come off as "harsh", and I'm like...bro I'm not angry or raising my voice or anything, I'm literally just talking normally.

I feel like nobody would tell me this if I was a man by the way. And you can bet I don't get to make the same criticism back to a man if I think he's being too harsh with clients. So that's another part of it. If Miranda was a guy nobody would care how she talks to people, but if you don't have those innately nurturing, warm, empathetic qualities as a woman, then you're a cold bitch. But being a mono-gendered species, asari society doesn't have those gendered expectations, so for a start that's 100% a non-issue for Samara (who, while being warmer than Miranda, is a hard woman herself and very much sees that as an admirable, self-sufficient quality to have), and for another it's probably no surprise that Miranda expresses a liking for their way of doing things. She probably (correctly) perceives that she'd fit in a lot better in their society (flawed as it is) and be a lot more respected. There are plenty of cut-throat, ambitious, respected asari out there.

Also, yay, two lines of dialogue in-game confirming Miranda and Samara greatly approve of each other! My headcanon has been reinforced by 100%!

I agree with all of your headcanons 100%! I love the things you‘ve written about Samara‘s background in particular, because I always wanted to know those details! I can totally picture her as an actuary, that job is perfect.

I actually found your fic while googling for fanfictions about Miranda‘s childhood, because I wanted to read a fic where sixteen year old Miranda first joins Cerberus, and I just wanted to know of all the details of her past. She hints towards a horrible childhood but no other fic I have seen ever gives us scenes of that.

Your headcanons are fantastic, and I think the game really downplayed her abuse. It makes it seem a bit like her father was „just“ one of those parents who push their children too hard to study when in reality her life was utter hell.

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inventors-fair · 4 years

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Rising Action: Commentary

I appreciate your patience, everyone! You've waited long enough, so no further ado!

NOTE: If this week's feedback feels harsher than normal, just remember that this challenge put a lot of restrictions on your designs. The designs this week certainly aren't worse on average, but all the extra restrictions make it easier to pick out individual critiques. So, hard hats on for this week's inspection!

@aethernalstars - Regrowth of the Vastwood // Oran-Rief, Reborn

Slot: Vastwood Fortification // Vastwood Thicket. The MDFCs have their own sheet in the set, so they can only really replace each other. Luckily (if expectedly) Green already has a +1/+1 counter DFC to replace, though this is a more powerful enabler for that archetype. This uses Landfall explicitly, but the MDFCs always enable Landfall so that doesn't significantly improve its fit in the set.

Card: Mechanically, this is a pretty neat little callback to Retreat to Kazandu and Murasa Ranger. Narrow cards like this are actually great choices for modal lands, though I suspect the double-gating on this one (only green creatures and requiring a mana cost) is probably a little too narrow for something that appears as often in Limited as this does.

Nitpicks/Templating: The target hiding in the second half of this ability is strange, as you'll actually have to choose that target before you decide whether or not to pay. This would be an opportune place to use a recursive trigger, replacing "If you do" with "When you do", to avoid that weirdness. Also, only the mythic MDFCs got names that sounded legendary; all the others are named like standard nonbasics.

Overall: I agree that Oran-Rief probably deserved more than an Ooze, I'm glad somebody went for it.

Allison - Tarrasque, Party Crasher

Slot: Nissa of Shadowed Boughs, probably? Mythic slots are always tight, and this exact color combination is already represented there, so the only real option would be replacing that card for this one. At the very least they both play into the Landfall theme. That said, this actively punishes the Party mechanic, which is generally something you want to avoid when selling the themes of your set.

Card: Cards that rely on your opponents' deck construction to turn on are always a little iffy, as they're generally either great or terrible. Ignoring the parts you can't control though, this is still a huge threat that your opponents will have to answer immediately, and even when they do every land drop will just bring it back. This is probably a little expensive (or unreliable, at least) to see play in Constructed, and basically just 'game over' in Limited.

Nitpicks/Templating: Cost reduction abilities call themselves "this spell" nowadays, and this one would be be awkward to template nonetheless: probably, "This spell costs {1} less to cast for each creature in the party of the opponent with the most creatures in their party." Conversely, the Landfall trigger would refer to the card by name. I know, it's a little confusing.

Overall: I don't doubt that the D&D set this summer will feature a Tarrasque, and I suspect the Party mechanic as well. Maybe hold onto this one until then.

@dimestoretajic - The Last Relic

Slot: Myriad Construct. Colorless rare with kicker has a couple options, though this probably nabs the creature slot among those. This one doesn't support the +1/+1 counter theme as nicely as the Construct does, and I can't think of any other themes it's contributing to.

Card: Independently, this is a fairly reasonable design for a kicker Vehicle. The rate seems a little high for either the Vehicle half or the colorless 7-mana 5/5 evasive finisher, so having a card that can be either is probably well above rate, at least in Limited.

Nitpicks/Templating: You actually don't need a triggered ability for the kick effect: "If CARDNAME was kicked, it's a creature in addition to its other types" works fine.

Overall: I'm assuming this is intended to be a rare capstone to the uncommon Relic cycle, which is honestly a pretty nifty idea.

@emmypupcake - Seek Allies

Slot: Murasa Rootgrazer. The only muticolor uncommons in this set are the signpost ones, so this would be competing for space with that. Since the GW theme in this set is Landfall, changing the signpost slot to something that doesn't support that would cause a few issues.

Card: I actually really like what this is doing, though the rate on it is a little unimpressive. Eladamri's Call is cheaper, more flexible, and instant speed; while you don't need to compete with that for power level directly, it probably warrants a change or two to make that comparison less obvious.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks good.

Overall: I agree that this is definitely the color pair I would expect this effect in, despite the structure of the set. We'll keep our fingers crossed for it in the D&D set this summer.

@fractured-infinity - Twinspell Mage

Slot: Coralhelm Chronicler, though the design itself is awkwardly similar to Sea Gate Stormcaller. You would likely want to either upshift the rarity to replace Stormcaller, or change the design not to hit so many of the same notes.

Card: You're not the only one to take advantage of the new flexibility of copy effects, though I wouldn't actually expect them to be that prevalent going forward. This probably isn't a totally unreasonable rate for that effect, as it costs extra for both the flexibility with kicker and the higher cost of copying permanent spells, though there's an argument that one more mana on the kicker would still be pretty good.

Nitpicks/Templating: You probably still want a line allowing you to change targets, since this doesn't only target permanent spells - and even permanent spells sometimes have targets.

Overall: I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this printed at some point.

@hypexion - Inscription of Authority

Slot: Archon of Emeria. There are a few slots in each set just for format regulators, and both of these cards are serving that role. Neither is a great rare to pull in limited, but small evasive creature and awkward inflexible removal are probably on a similar power level, with the Inscription being a slight upgrade for White in the set.

Card: This is mostly just a removal spell with a kicker to get the second two abilities, as you'll rarely spend the card to do the other two. The second ability is pretty awkward to use; you'll have to caste it in the upkeep and hope that it hurts your opponent's plans somehow. Preventing lands from untapping isn't a particularly fun effect, and in Constructed that's often going to be Silence.

Nitpicks/Templating: Those are some unusual effects, but I think you managed to template them accurately. Kudos.

Overall: I can see why they decided finishing the Inscription cycle was so hard.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes - Relic of Resonance

Slot: Lithoform Engine or Forsaken Monument. Mythic Legendary colorless artifact surprisingly has a couple options in this set. Engine feels closest to what this is doing, though this is much narrower than that; Monument is serving a throwback role in the set, so this would be more relevant to the set's themes but would cost it that element. Also consider that downshifting it to rare would allow it to take the place of Throne of Makindi.

Card: I actually really like the idea of this inclusion in the set. My biggest issue with it was just how narrow it was, as kicker is only one theme in the set and colorless cards are best at bridging themes with diverse colors. With a little extra going on, this likely would've been in the winner's circle this week.

Nitpicks/Templating: This wants to specify "spells" rather than "cards", and I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to limit how much you can reduce the kicker cost. "Kicked spells you cast cost {2} less to cast" would achieve the same thing much more concisely.

Overall: I think there's a cool design that fuses this with Lithoform Engine that I would've been really pleased with.

@ignorantturtlegaming - Tribe of Heroes

Slot: Throne of Makindi, though it's not really straightforward adding multicolor cards like this. The fact that this is the exact same four colors as Omnath, Locus of Creation led me to think that was the slot it would be taking, but they're at different rarities. Having both would mean you need extra Black at at one of those rarities in order to maintain color balance.

Card: I'm not sure why this wasn't five-color, or even non-green - the colors for Party in this set are RB and WU. But then, this isn't actually a Party card: it uses the mechanic, but mostly circumvents what makes the mechanic interesting to play with: you don't even need to run other creatures in your deck for this to work. This plays into the flavour space of Party, but mechanically it isn't really supporting what that Party does for the set.

Nitpicks/Templating: You could probably get away with just listing the relevant types when creating the token, but the template you went with allows the token to be printed accurately. I think yours was probably the correct choice.

Overall: The mice are super cute. I don't totally get it, but you don’t need an excuse for cuteness.

@illharg-the-rave-boar - Master of Possibilities

Slot: Jace, Mirror Mage. Mythic slots are tight, and maintaining a (rough) balance of colors means yanking the one mono-Blue mythic already in. The result is less kicker support and more Wizards Party support, though at mythic they weren't contributing much to as-fan anyway. Somewhere in the midst of commentary, I lost track of how many mythics there were in the set: mono-Blue has two, and Sea Gate Stormcaller is definitely a more direct comparison for this card, as it plays into the Wizards and instant/sorcery themes in a similar way.

Card: My biggest issue with this design is how often the trigger just won't do anything - there are zero Wizards with Flash in Zendikar Rising, so Wizards and sorceries will generally trigger this for no benefit - especially in the Wizard tribal deck you would typically want to play this in. The idea is kinda clever, but the execution just doesn't really deliver on how cool the idea is.

Nitpicks/Templating: We've never seen a target self-replacement in a triggered ability like this, and I'm not convinced it works. Normally the ability wouldn't check your party size until resolution, but targets need to be chosen when the ability is put onto the stack. The template probably looks familiar because it's used on spells with things that are chosen before targets (like X values or kicker). This may be as simple as a rules update to cover it, but I'm not convinced there aren't other repercussions.

Overall: I feel like your Sphinx looks more like a typical Zendikari Sphinx than the one that did make it into the set.

@kavinika - Spear of Radiance

Slot: Akiri, Fearless Voyager. There's a cycle of ten rare two-color legends, so any multicolor rare would require breaking that up. Mechanically, this plays in some similar space to Akiri, with each providing one of the 'halves' of a Warrior/Equipment deck. Both offer protection and incentives for equipping, though this does so in a much narrower way.

Card: The most interesting part of the design is definitely the protection effect, which is an interesting take on what Akiri was doing and a fairly unusual approach for Equipment. If I had one qualm, I think I'd rather see the bonuses reversed: the untap effect does neat things with several non-Warriors in the set, and there aren't really any Warriors that can maximise it.

Nitpicks/Templating: You're missing a comma between your trigger and your effect (between "battlefield" and "attach"), and the condition in the activated ability should read "it's" rather than "it is". Both very minor quibbles.

Overall: I agree that that art would look very at home on Innistrad.

@mardu-lesbian - Tuktuk, the Ever-Returning

Slot: Crawling Barrens, probably. That's the closest we've got in colorless, at rare, and that synergises with Landfall. Losing the one creature land in the set feels like a big loss, but gaining a familiar legendary creature has its own advantages. Both are resilient threats that make drawing lands late in the game not feel so bad, so functionally the resulting formats probably look similar.

Card: Based on what I saw in the Discord, I believe your intent was for this to trigger from both your graveyard and the battlefield, so we'll assume that's how it works. Turning every land you draw into two tokens is pretty powerful - that's about on par with the first mode of Felidar Retreat, except this one can't be removed and sometimes doesn't cost mana. There are no good ways in Limited to permanently remove this card, and the Mill/Rogues draft archetype likely just can't win games where this is a factor. Outside of Limited, this is much more likely to exist in multiples and more likely to be free through self-mill, which sounds like a very, very powerful effect that would likely warp the Standard environment around itself.

Nitpicks/Templating: As implied above, as written this ability only works from the graveyard. Making an ability work from multiple zones requires stating so explicitly, and you generally don't want to do so with abilities that don't make equal sense in both zones. This would be a tough one to make work, though perhaps there's a clever template that I'm just overlooking.

Overall: I would've been really pleased to see more of Tuktuk.

@misterstingyjack - Roil Watcher

Slot: Tajuru Paragon. None of the other Green rares lean into the Party mechanic at all, so the committed member of the vertical cycle of multiclass creatures is the best bet. This trades out Kicker and additional Party synergies for (big) Landfall synergies, as well as synergy with MDFCs - this sounds pretty even, but because Kicker and Party both need the extra support in order to be playable themes, trading their support for themes that need it less might be a risky exchange.

Card: This is a neat way to interact with MDFCs and to turn on Landfall in the decks that want that - getting up to four additional triggers in a turn can be gamebreaking, but isn't always and the card doesn't feel overpowered at all. It has a similar feel to Nahiri's Lithoforming, leading me to believe it's probably an effect the Landfall decks really want.

Nitpicks/Templating: Effects that return your own lands generally don't target, and didn't in Zendikar Rising. As a general rule I would avoid targeting on anything unless making those choices before resolution actually leads to better gameplay, and opponents will rarely be able to interact with your lands at instant speed to make it matter here.

Overall: This one showed a really good grasp of the themes of the set. Kudos.

@nine-effing-hells - Total Party Kill

Slot: Shadow's Verdict, the Black rare sweeper for this set. Total Party Kill is definitely more aware of the set's themes, though it falls into the trap (pun intended?) of punishing what the rest of the set is trying to encourage. Party isn't something that works naturally in every set, so a lot of design work goes into making it as reliable as possible in Zendikar Rising. As such, we can't really afford to spend slots actively making it harder.

Card: That said, the card is a really clever idea. One thing to note for the design: sets with Kicker generally have a lot fewer modal spells, because those operate in very similar spaces. It might've been worth a couple extra passes to see if there was a Kicker version of the effect you'd be happy with.

Nitpicks/Templating: It's an unusual template, but probably the correct one for the effect.

Overall: This beat out two different Bruse Tarls and a whole party of mouses for Card That Made Me Chuckle the Most. That's gotta count for something.

@reaperfromtheabyss - Akoum Magnamancy

Slot: Nahiri's Lithoforming. This is doing something pretty different from Lithoforming, but noncreature rare slots in Red are slim. Both do a bit to enable Landfall, while this also reaches into Kicker and party space. That said, I worry it may have stretched itself too thin - I'm not sure any of those archetypes really want a card that requires so many pieces to optimise.

Card: There's a lot going on here, and even I'm struggling to come up with all the different permutations. It has four different modes (kicked and unkicked, and with and without party), up to two possible targets, and interacts with several different themes. It's definitely an ambitious design and it's certainly interesting, but it's hard to gauge, likely hard to use, and especially hard to maximise: which just means it will often prove less satisfying to play than to read.

Nitpicks/Templating: The last effect wants to be first, as a cast trigger: "When you cast this spell, if you have a full party, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy." As written, this is part of the spell's effect, and the copy still 'knows' that you had a full party as you cast the original, causing it to copy itself ad infinitum. Probably not intended.

Overall: Magnamancy has been a really fun word to roll around in my mouth. Moreso than actual magma, I assume.

@shakesz - Kesenya, Sea Gate Head

Slot: Omnath, Locus of Creation. Mythic slots are always tight, and multicolor mythic slots are even tighter. There's a color balance between the planeswalkers in the set, leaving only the colorless mythics and Omnath easily replaceable. Dropping Omnath for Kesenya means less landfall and more Party support, though mythics aren't really all that relevant to Limited anyway.

Card: I was expecting to see some designs that stretched the limits on Party, and this wound up being the only one exploring that space. That said, I expected to see it turned up to five; potentially doubling the size is a much larger boost. The tap ability is a bit snowbally, as it does essentially nothing on its own but does a lot on a crowded board. That said, the card is not individually powerful.

Nitpicks/Templating: The elephant in the party room is that Party doesn’t work that way - “party” returns a numerical value, it’s not actually a way for grouping creatures on the battlefield. The first ability almost works, though as written it’s not absolutely clear that “of each type” refers to party types and not...well, each type.

Overall: You’ve definitely succeeded in piquing my interest in the character, so that’s a win.

@starch255 - Zulaport Subjugator

Slot: Nullpriest of Oblivion is the closest thing, mechanically. And it’s when we look at the set this way that we see the obstacles they were facing with making Party work: adding more Warriors largely meant axing other Clerics, or Rogues. Skyclave Shade is the one rare Black creature without a party type, but that design is supporting +1/+1 counters, Kicker, and Landfall - replacing it just to get a small increase in Warrior as-fan would probably cost the set more than it gained.

Card: The design seems individually solid, and rather powerful.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks sound.

Overall: I agree that Standard could use more Black Warriors to make Party come together, but we may have to wait for Kaldheim for it.

@socialpoison - The Lithoform Core // The Murasa Skyclave

Slot: Emeria’s Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave. There’s exactly one slot for a mythic White DFC in the set, so adding this requires breaking the bolt land cycle. I’m inclined to think that’s not worth it. Attaching the land’s tap condition to your party seems clever, but lands coming in untapped is almost always most important on early turns and that’s especially true for the decks that will rely on curving out into 4 different party members.

Card: This overlaps unfortunately with Ondu Inversion at a lower rarity, though this is effectively an instant speed sweeper. In addition to punishing your opponent for committing to the board, it punishes them for things like...playing lands, and tapping them for mana. At seven mana I can’t imagine it being a very effective hoser for the things it’s trying to stop, which is probably for the best because I can’t imagine the format where this sees lots of play would be very fun.

Nitpicks/Templating: Legendary lands are still a thing they try to avoid. Having another side does ease some of those issues, but it’s still probably best practice just to let people play their lands - especially if that land is just a bad Plains.

Overall: The callout to Lithoform Blight is pretty sweet, I have to admit.

@thedirtside - Refreshing Breeze

Slot: Lotus Cobra. This is ramp that helps enable Landfall, so the rare Green ramp/Landfall card seems like the clear cut for it. This interacts interestingly with the large amounts of incidental mill in this set, providing you a way to ramp when you do happen to wind up with lands in your graveyard. Unfortunately, there are many ways to enable it yourself, which leaves it slightly lacking.

Card: I’m a sucker for a good ramp spell, and this one is very cleverly done. In formats with fetchlands it is a much better Birds of Paradise, since lands are much more dependable ramp than creatures. In Standard it’s interesting, because it’s one-mana ramp that almost never works on turn one on the play, which is when one-mana ramp is most powerful (and most dangerous).

Nitpicks/Templating: This would be a much better fit for the set if it let you play an additional land from your graveyard - the most reliable way to get lands in your graveyard in this set is on the back of an MDFC, but unfortunately as written this ability does not work with those.

Overall: I’m a big fan of the simplicity of this design, though I can’t help but wonder if there was room for a small Kicker effect to round it out.

@wolkemesser - Bruse Tarl, Bull-Headed

Slot: Akiri, Fearless Voyager. This successfully fits into the ten-card cycle of rare two-color legendary creatures, so kudos on that. It has a kicker effect and is a Warrior to support Party, but its Landfall ability actively discourages you playing with the themes of the set.

Card: I think you must have underestimated how powerful a 3/4 double strike, lifelink for two mana actually is - thanks to his Landfall ability, he would serve as the top-end for a deck that only ever wants two lands on the battlefield, and seeks to end the game by turn 3 or 4. I can’t imagine the kicked ability coming up very often, because random Ox tokens are generally worth so much less than an hyper-efficient creature like this.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks like you forgot to tell us what color the Ox tokens should be. White, I’m guessing.

Overall: I suspect this was intended as a Commander card, but since this challenge was for a Standard-legal set I have to keep that in mind. The idea is neat though, and I love how it makes Bruse and his Oxen adversaries.

Thanks again for your patience in getting this commentary out this week. This challenge was a little smaller than our weekly average has been, but I received enough positive feedback that I'll probably still try to make it a recurring feature. I appreciate everyone that took the time to join my little experiment this week!

~Mod [ @3smuth ]

#inventors fair #mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #rising action #3smuth #commentary

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youraveragebtsstan · 4 years

Text

A Namjin Fanfic: “Mono”

Genre: Fluff, Lime

Pairing: Namjoon x Jin (Namjin)

Word Count: 5.8k (5,889)

Summary: After a year of living in Monochromatic color, Namjoon reunites with his best friend Jin restoring everything as it should be. As unresolved tensions linger in the air, the rose-colored tints of their worlds begin to bleed together. But what happens when suppressed emotions bubble to the surface, forcing the two to pick up where they left off?

AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) Link: Click Here

—————–

With a crack of thunder in the distance, Namjoon suddenly became aware of the present. Stretching his neck above water, he gasped at fresh air, for the previous months of his life had done nothing but consume him, drowning him in memories of the past.

Day in and day out, he relived them in his mind- recalling a man that meant so much, one word would never be enough to describe.

He was his safe haven.

The first, and sometimes only to know what thoughts truly plagued his mind; recalling a moment where pure adrenaline and just his words alone gave him all the strength he needed. After months of mental torment from a failing relationship, one fateful night resulted in Namjoon packing what little he could carry, leaving behind everything he could live without. Upon storming out of the apartment and exiting the building, it was the vision of Jin’s proud smile that allowed him to ignore his ex’s shouts of disbelief and step into the taxi along the curbside. It wasn’t until he sank into the backseat that Namjoon allowed himself to breathe. Pulling out his phone, he stared mindlessly into the light letting his finger do the thinking. There on-screen, laid a year’s worth of pain in the form of five simple words, ‘I did it, I left.’ It was then that Namjoon realized he was the first to know. Without fear or hesitation, he would always be the first.

He was his best friend.

The only person never entitled enough to ridicule his decisions. Always understanding and never quick to judge, Jin was always by his side. Even when Namjoon faced the world alone, he was never truly unescorted. Recalling a time when only six boxes lined the living room wall of his empty condo, Jin was there to help carry the load. While embarking on a new journey, it was he who gave him a place to stay until he was able to find one of his own. Christening the home with laughter and the smell of local takeout, it was here where Namjoon felt solace- comfort in the realization he was the only one to truly show unconditional support. No matter the circumstances, he would always be the only.

He was his heartbreaker.

A love that would always pain him to breathe as it sweetly passed through his lungs; recalling a time where his long-awaited bliss came crashing, falling to the floor around him. As he wrestled advantages and drawbacks in his mind, one true desire floated to the center of it all. But before the courage that followed could find its way to the surface, talks of a 166-mile void haunted Namjoon in the form of Jin’s voice. While an unsteady smile framed his face, Namjoon suffered in the feeling of heartache as the organ in his chest had never beat so clearly for one person’s smile in his life. It was at this moment he appointed him his love. No matter the outcome, he would always be his love.

He would always be his everything - and here he was.

Leaning against his condo door, with eyes tinted red- compliments of the wine lingering from an hour before. With his skin softly tanned- contrasting the dark rain stained clothes, Jin smiled with excitement. Namjoon laughed at the strange sense of humor the world had. It wasn’t until now, face to face with his daydreams, was he able to inhale.

The two wiped their feet on the welcome mat as they stepped through the door. Fearing the dark and unfamiliar space, Jin shuffled back toward the door. It wasn’t until he felt the wool of Namjoon’s coat scrape his fingertips, did he realize he had gripped onto his arm. Namjoon lowered his head as his smile widened. Blushing in the dark, he shook his head, quickly shaking off the embarrassment. Losing comfort for a brief moment, Jin stood still as Namjoon left his side, the wool once again scraping his nails. With the sound of a switch pressing against metal soon, the kitchen stove light revealed Namjoon silhouetted in its orange glow.

And to think, Jin had just begun to breathe.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Namjoon said.

Leaving his jacket on a hook near the door, Jin felt his nerves slip away as he hung them to dry. He slipped off his shoes, lining them against the coarse mat with his toes, eventually making his way out of the kitchen and onto the living room carpet. Sitting in front of him was a couch, facing the wall to his left; and a small glass coffee table- housing a cooking magazine and a set of coasters- separated the two. Lining the left wall itself was a shelving unit only waist-high, allowing a tv, a few picture frames, and other small electronics to rest. Centered behind the couch sat a thin wooden console table, originally added to occupy the space accidentally provided more storage. In front of the console table, lining the wall to his right, housed a small office space, a place where Namjoon spent most of his downtime making music and working on his days away from the office. A modern office chair tucked perfectly underneath a glass table topped desk guarded with metal filing cabinets, plants, and a small trash can. Finally, behind it, all was the city. A prime view of Seoul on display hidden behind closed blinds.

“Oh wow, this place looks completely different.”

Jin wandered, eyes growing wider as his head turned. Suddenly he stopped. Placing his excitement on hold as he bent down pointing at a small picture frame next to the TV. Covering his mouth in embarrassment, Jin’s cheeks grew red.

“Oh no! Why is this out here in the open? This needs to be hidden.”

Panicking at the tone of Jin’s voice, Namjoon shuffled past the coffee table, huddling by his side. Picking up the small framed photo, he stared at the picture of two young boys nestled together. A younger version of himself stood on the right of the photo, barely managing his lanky limbs hidden behind an overgrown bowl cut; and standing to his left was a slightly older Jin, face framed by coke bottle glasses and newly discovered acne.

A smile crawled across his face.

Placing the frame down gently, Namjoon spoke with a soft assurance.

“I like this picture.”

“Of course you do,” said Jin as he rolled his eyes with a smirk.

Finding curiosity in the blinds that unevenly covered the window, Jin pulled on a small thin chain that hung along their edge. As he activated the pulley, the long panels separated from the center, revealing a blue-lit city as rain morphed the view.

“Ahhhhh,” he gasped standing motionless. “If I had a view like this, I would never close these blinds.”

Namjoon chuckled, now leaning back into the couch cushions as he watched him.

Stepping back, Jin inched his way to the couch plopping down in front of Namjoon never once taking his eyes off the window. He watched on as the raindrops decorated the glass in abstract brushes.

“This has to be one of the best views in Seoul… Even when it rains, it’s still beautiful.”

Lit only by the orange hue of the kitchen light, the cityscape provided very little brightness for the room. Though only casting a pale tint, no light was needed. Fitting like the final piece of the puzzle, the atmosphere was flawless; nothing needed to be said. Silence lingered between the two.

“You don’t have a view like this?” asked Namjoon poking through the peace.

Jin turned to his left, raising an eyebrow in comical confusion.

“You’ve seen my apartment. A one-bedroom no bigger than the size of your kitchen, and you think that broom closet is going to have a view?”

Namjoon chuckled at the comparison.

Jin continued as he huffed in annoyance, “The closest thing to a view is an alleyway about ten feet wide.”

“Well, it is rent-free… Perks of being a peds surgeon at Chonnam National,” he added nudging Jim playfully.

He felt no shame from the bold brag, that fell from his lips. He rested further into the cushions, as his nervousness seemed to exist no longer.

Jin too sunk into the cushions but for a different reason. He sighed.

“ Former peds surgeon,” he quietly corrected.

With a shot to the heart, Namjoon sat up with a start. Eyes wide and mouth slightly gaped, he leaned forward bracing himself on his knees.

“You quit pediatrics?!”

“No,” inserted Jin, calm and relaxed as ever. “-Just Chonnam. I already put in my two months’ notice.”

Though Jin’s words of clarity were designed for comfort, Namjoon still felt uneasy. The words ‘pediatrics’ and ‘Jin’ always fit so perfectly together. From the moment the two met, pediatrics had always been the number one goal for Jin. Which is why when Jin called after passing all of his doctorate exams with flying colors, Namjoon was most elated. Despite being reassured Jin still intended to pursue his pediatrics career, having Chonnam out of the picture just didn’t seem right. Namjoon almost found it comical- casting it off as a practical joke, but the comedy soon faded to tragedy.

“Where are you transferring to?” he asked.

“Seoul National.”

“Seoul!?”

For a moment he thought he had misheard. For a moment he thought it was a mistake, but when staring a little longer at Jin’s eyes, Namjoon was granted confirmation. Namjoon’s eyes grew wide again. Suddenly, the fear that lingered turned into something different. Namjoon gave in as his heart fluttered him to the skies; he bared down the rosey grin that came with it, choosing the lesser of two evils.

Jin nodded in conformation.

“Yeah, I’ve been looking for an apartment for about 3 months now. I found one 20 minutes away from here about one month into the search, put in my notice a week later after I got the apartment.”

Turning away from Namjoon, Jin continued his gaze out the window. He traced his chin with his finger as he continued, “Now the view’s nothing like this, but it’s still beautiful.”

“So you left for the view ?”

Namjoon’s curiosity grew hungrier in the silence lasting longer than expected.

“Come on, what made you leave Chonnam? It was your dream job, especially for pediatrics. You had been applying there for so long.”

“I was homesick I guess,” Jin confessed. “Plus, Chonnam was number eleven on Newsweek last year, Seoul National was number three. I was hired the same day I notified Chonnam, I quit after I found out of course.”

“How long ago did you apply for Seoul National?”

“About four, maybe five months ago,” Jin said with a nod.

“Well, congratulations,” said Namjoon with a smile.

Jin bowed playfully, “Thank-you. Oh! And you’re helping me move in a few weeks, just to let you know.”

Namjoon laughed at his advise.

“It’s only right considering I helped you,” Jin reiterated.

“I only had a few boxes when I first moved here, and you watched most of the time!”

A smack echoed through the room, as Jin’s hand playfully hit Namjoon’s shoulder, “It doesn’t matter, you’re still helping.”

“And it’s not like I’ll have a lot of things, most of the things I have now came with the Chonnam apartment, and with it, they’ll stay. Plus, I won’t be at home most of the time anyway, I’ll either be at the hospital or here enjoying the view from your couch,” he added with a raised brow.

Namjoon chuckled.

The mood of the room became overwhelming, pausing conversation. Succumbing to relaxation, Jin turned to face the window completely. Crossing his ankles over the arm of the couch, he wormed his way to the bottom, lazily resting his head on Namjoon’s lap. Jin tucked his hands into his sleeves as he swaddled himself.

It was now that Namjoon allowed himself a moment of vulnerability. His breath fell calmly, as he stared out of the window. Sounds of the room flooded in; the hum of the heater acted as white noise, while the light rain played in the background. Raindrops slid down the window, swirling and blurring the sky’s paint. It was almost film worthy.

“I still can't believe you had these blinds closed,” stated Jin.

Matching the tone of the room, Namjoon’s voice poured out with a softness, “I never really had a reason to keep them open.”

Puzzled at the mystery that always has and always will be his best friend, Jin turned to face Namjoon. His hair rustled against Namjoon’s thigh as he looked up at the man.

“Do you have a reason yet?” Jin questioned.

Remaining focused on the view, Namjoon answered without thought, “Yeah, you'll be out there.”

Jin's shoulders shook as he chuckled at the comment.

“I've always been out there,” he said gesturing to the window.

Trailing his eyes away from the sky, Namjoon shook his head in disagreement.

“No, you’ve been in Gwangju, but now you’ll be here, out there in Seoul.”

Jin grew silent.

Urged by the voice inside him, he too retracted from the view, only to have his eyes meet Namjoon’s fixated pair. Staring down at him softly, the gaze was all but intrusive. Coupled with honesty, Jin found a new wave of comfort wash over him. It was now he, who lost track of time. There was something so tranquil about the vulnerability in Namjoon’s eyes, he could get lost forever; wanted to get lost forever.

Involuntarily, Jin blinked pulling himself from the void. Soon he met with the realization of how many seconds had passed. Heat spread across his face, leaving a small tint of red in its place. Restlessness kicked in as his fingers found themselves clawing at the lining of his sweater’s hem. Blinking sporadically, Jin’s embarrassment began to show. Sparing him from more shame, Namjoon’s pupils faded away as he returned his gaze to the window. Feeling exposed and in need of reassurance, Jin glanced around in the dark before flowing suit.

Namjoon sighed as he continued, “I don’t really know. I guess Seoul felt empty; almost like it was missing something. After a while, I just stopped looking.”

“I felt the same way about Gwangju,” Jin said as his nerves settled. “I over exceeded my expectations, making it all feel underwhelming I suppose,” he admitted.

Namjoon agreed in a hum.

“Did you figure out what was missing?”Jin asked.

Namjoon looked down in confusion.

“Did you figure it out? You said Seoul was missing something, did you figure out what was missing?”

Namjoon huffed out a deep drag of air. He smirked at his hyung, always concerned and caring for others.

“I did,” he confessed. “I knew what was missing all along, actually. For a while, I avoided it; I tried ignoring the fact it was missing in the first place. But when that didn’t work, when I did find it, I realized some things just don’t want to be found, so I stopped. I stopped waiting and looking altogether.”

The words fell heavy on Jin’s shoulders. Already wrestling with self-inflicted guilt, Jin felt like toppling over at the sweetly crafted innuendos. For months he had been restless, fighting with a decision that weighed on his heart. And an evening of Namjoon’s fragileness added to the pressure, bursting him at the seams. Jin sat up slowly.

Namjoon blinked at the frown that crinkled Jin’s brow.

“Namjoon...I never- I never tried to…” Jin said sighing in between words as they struggled to find their way out.

“Jin,” Namjoon said softly.

“Namjoon, we- we need to talk about this.”

Namjoon’s heart began to race. He let out a quick sigh as he closed his eyes.

He thought he had avoided it. After arriving at the restaurant fifteen minutes too early and finding Jin already waiting at the table for two; after the two-hour dinner and ten-minute walk home in the rain, Namjoon assumed everything was fine. Nothing had come up in conversation; no hesitant smiles or hollow periods of silence followed by scraping forks haunted their reunion. Everything had fallen into place; slipping into grooves so easily as it did before. So why now, after all this time did the glass finally shatter? Stained with cracks, everything crumbled around him. He assumed everything had been forgotten and for the first time tonight, Namjoon felt foolish.

“We’ve been avoiding this all night. We can’t act like- I can’t act like this never happened,” replied Jin.

Namjoon responded with silence.

Jin stammered as he spoke, “I- I don’t want you to think I was running or hiding, because I wasn’t running or hiding from anything, especially not you. I didn’t- I didn’t even know until you came to visit. If- if I had known, I wouldn't have-”

Namjoon interrupted, head tilted to the side with a slight squint in his eyes.

“-left?” he questioned softly.

Jin quickly shook his head in agreeance, “No, I wouldn’t have.”

The mood had shifted.

The once mellow skies morphed into a harsh, tense cloud that grew only in that very room. Yes, yes! Jin’s heart raced as he nodded wildly, swallowing the lump in his throat; Finally some clarity! But no, enough was enough. Namjoon grew exhausted from the games. Thinking he could pick and choose what to keep hidden in the dark when it came to Jin was ignorant. Allowing himself to be open with the truth had only gotten him more bruised. Reopening old wounds had nearly drained him of his pain- leaving only frustration.

Standing from the couch in a rush his hands swung by his sides, clenching into fists resting by his hips. He glared at Jin, staring up, hopeful and wide-eyed. Growing slightly on edge, Namjoon’s voice rose in pitch as he spoke. He felt guilty even doing so.

“Come on Jin. You’re saying you wouldn’t have left Seoul if I told you how I felt sooner, not even for Chonnam?!”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Jin trying to lower his own voice with no avail.

Namjoon huffed in a chuckle.

“Namjoon, you would have known that if you didn’t leave Gwangju early,” said Jin continuing with reason. “You left before I could give you an answer.”

“I left early because I didn’t want to ruin the weekend. I shouldn’t have said anything. You were having such a good time showing me around and I ruined it. I shouldn't have even-”

“-Good time?!” Jin questioned.

His voice peaked at a screech. His eyes now vexed and body stiff, Jin stared at Namjoon in hurt and confusion. His heart continued to race.

“Namjoon I was 268 kilometers away from home and miserable. Gwangju was not a good time for me! Namjoon I had no friends, no family, no social life. I worked sixty hours a week and barely got any sleep. I was homesick! I missed Seoul, I missed my family, my friends, I missed you. That weekend you came to visit, I was only excited because you were there!”

And with that fell the guilt. The rant-like memoir bared all of Jin's burdens. Namjoon's face dropped in sorrow. Only a whisper could escape.

“Jin.”

“I didn’t handle it as well as I should have and Soju didn't help at all, I admit; but you telling me you loved me, made my day. Hell, it made that year worth living.”

Namjoon stayed quiet, the lump in his throat grew larger by the second.

“Before I could give you a sober answer, the next morning you were already on a train back to Seoul.”

“I didn’t know… I- I just thought I messed up. I wanted to take it back and pretend I never said it. I thought it would make it easier if I just left… I never thought- I never knew you were unhappy,” said Namjoon as his voice cracked.

Jin replied softly, “I guess we both had a rough year.”

Namjoon didn’t know what to say. Now that everything was out in the open, what was there left to say? Nothing; everything. Namjoon could barely think; his mind flickering between blank space and crammed emotion. Feeling tears well in his eyes, he dared not to blink. Turning toward the kitchen he trailed his fingers along the countertop, tapping them as he cleared his throat. He crouched behind the counter, disappearing from view. As he fumbled with the grooves of the small cabinet doors, tears spilled over his lashes. Taking a moment he paused, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. Nodding to himself, he cleared his throat, this time with a little more subtlety. Wiping away the tears with his shirt, Namjoon cleared his vision, opening the cabinet door grabbing a single bottle of wine.

Placing the bottle on the counter, he grabbed two glasses from a nearby rack housing various shot glasses and other ceramic cups. Tapping the faucet’s handle, he rinsed them; their glass clinked under the stream. Not caring to dry them off, he placed the warm glass on the counter filling them with the cool white wine. The bottle’s aluminum top creaked as it spun. As he sloppily filled each glass, the sounds of sniffles broke threw the splashes of the liquor. He ignored them just as Jin had done for him only moments before. Sliding on of the now half-filled glasses across the counter, he raised his own to his lips waiting. Standing in the glow of the kitchen light he waited, watching over its rim.

Jin’s shoulders raised as he sniffed. Eyes wide, he tucked his fingers in his sleeves as he wiped away the tears that capped their water lines. Once again the night sky became clear.

Rubbing his arms out of restlessness, he sighed.

Turning his back on the city, Jin walked toward the counter, careful to keep his head trained on the glass. He glanced up, noticing Namjoon’s stare drop from his position to the contents of his glass. Jin did the same. Slumping down onto his forearms, he raised the glass to his lips. Only after feeling the sting of its scent did he drink.

Namjoon spoke as he swallowed, “I couldn’t tell you to stay.”

Gaging the sound of his voice against the rain, he paused taking another sip.

“Telling you to stay, meant telling you to leave your dream for me. I wanted to… but I couldn’t.”

Tapping his nails on the glass, Jin swirled his wine with the shake of his wrist. Watching the wine wrap into a funnel, he pressed his lips together, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“Do you remember when we spent the night on the living room floor in my old condo? It was about a month after you came to live with me and it stormed so bad it knocked the power out in the whole building.”

Namjoon chuckled, “You lit so many candles that night, you didn’t realize some of the wax melted down the counter and into-.”

“-Into the carpet, yes! And they never gave me back my deposit either,” interrupted Jin as he pushed off the counter with excitement.

“Yeah, I remember,” smiled Namjoon.

Taking another sip, Jin lowered himself to the counter again.

“Well, while you were scraping the wax out of the carpet, I realized my dream was worthless without you in it. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor- even before I met you, you know that- but having someone there for it all was important too. I didn’t just want to go to work, come home and do it all over again. I wanted someone I could come home to, and you being there made me realize that.”

The two locked eyes. Frozen, inches apart, they stared.

“I had just submitted my application for Chonnam and you had just moved in. I couldn’t tell you I was in love with you and then a few months later leave you, the timing wasn’t right,” said Jin as he shook his head.

“And besides, I definitely couldn’t ask you to move across the country to live with me even if I got hired, you had just started to enjoy Seoul again. You were smiling and laughing. You hadn’t looked that happy in a long time and I wasn’t going to be the reason you stopped; I couldn’t. But yeah… being in Gwangju by myself made me realize I didn’t just want someone to be there… I wanted you.”

Namjoon paused, tracing his finger inside the rim of his glass. Placing the glass down, he slumped further into the counter, fully resting on his forearms. He glanced up at Jin.

“And you figured this out while I was hacking your carpet to pieces?”

Jin laughed. Placing a hand over his mouth, he leaned his head back as his shoulders shook. Elated, to say the least, he almost felt the need to cry. He had not realized how long it had been since he heard Namjoon’s voice. The voice of a man not laced with frustration, secrecy or embarrassment, but filled with his usual hints of sarcastic curiosity.

A smirk appeared on Namjoon’s face.

“I guess I had known for a while, I just...I just didn’t know how to tell you,” Jin responded.

Namjon nodded allowing a few moments of silence.

“So where do we go from here? Do we jump right in, give us a chance or do we even try to begin with?”

“We can try. I mean, we already know how we feel. There’s no harm in that as long as we don’t force anything.”

As Jin put an end to his ramble, he noticed the space between the two had shortened. Namjoon’s face was now inches away; his tone, dark and raspy.

“So let everything happen… naturally?”

Jin could feel his breath on his nose. Searching for Namjoon’s eyes, Jin found them- hiding under their lids, as they set fire to his lips. He felt the urge to lick them, feeling them crack under the heat. His words choked out in a whisper as he swallowed.

“R-right, naturally,” said Jin as he trailed off.

But before he could lift out of the haze, Namjoon’s lips met his, a fire blazing between the two. Mind blanking on contact, Jin’s thoughts reverted to one-word syllables. Lead by a string of, ‘oh my god’ s and ‘wow ’s, his synapses began to fire again, flashing like fireworks on the Fourth. Trying to rein in the chaos, Jin focused on the first coherent thought that came to mind; his lips.

Namjoon’s lips were rougher than he had imagined.

In his occasional daydreams, while his best friend went on rants about musicality, Jin had always noted his lips to be quite full and sultry; imagining they would be sweet to the taste, almost fragile. Or perhaps after waking up in the middle of the night, dragging himself into the shower, as his hands continued the fantasy, Jin recalled the dreams of Namjoon’s lips leaving wet delicate kisses on his neck, as they trailed over his collarbone, tracing the center of his stomach.

But this, this was different.

This kiss was far more rigid than his dreams. Filled with a rush of reality, it was electrifying. Hungrily, the two kissed. Starting off quick as they explored, slowing to an agonizing crawl, giving Jin only but a moment to breathe before eventually regaining speed. It was more breathtaking than he could ever imagine. The insides of Jin’s mouth were painted with a mixture of wine and saliva. His lips now tender and raw, Jin whimpered in between gasps. Reaching for Jin’s face, Namjoon trailed his fingers over his jaw. Cupping his cheek, he caressed him, holding him closer. Feeling the effects of the evening’s wine, Namjoon buzzed with warmth. Jin’s breath hitched as Namjoon moaned.

Wow, Jin thought as his eyes rolled under closed lids. He had imagined that too.

Letting his mind ponder at the sounds Namjoon would let slip from his throat if he were to have just one night to let his hands explore like his wandering eyes.

Jin’s head began to swim. He could feel the fire travel from his lips to his core, tickling his spine on the way down. Blood thumped against his eardrums, mimicking the steady pulse within his jeans. Jin scolded himself mentally, now was not the time to fantasize. There was no point, no need for imagination; this was real.

This… could be real.

Jin marveled at the idea. This could be his routine- his morning, noon and night. He could finally have that ‘someone’ he had been looking for. That ‘someone’ to crawl into bed with after 24-hour shifts, or that ‘someone’ to lay on the floor with spending hours scraping wax out of carpet on long stormy nights. He could finally have that ‘someone’ he had been missing for over a year.

Namjoon could be that one.

It could finally be reality; his reality. A reality he so desperately longed for.

Bringing their tango of tongues to an end, Namjoon’s kiss grew gentler by the second, easing himself down from a high he had not realized he was on. Opening his eyes, Namjoon held Jin’s gaze. His hooded eyes were a faded pink and parted lips slightly swollen. Soon the humid fog in the air disappeared. Namjoon’s cheeks flushed as his dimpled smile widened.

He dropped his head, “I’m sorry, that was definitely the opposite of not forcing it.”

Jin smiled as he withdrew from Namjoon’s touch. Letting adrenaline fade from his veins, he raised from the counter breathing fresh air once again. Careful not to stand completely, he too blushed, feeling waves of arousal rock as the storm passed.

He cleared his throat as he mocked Namjoon’s coyness, “Actually, that was far from forced. Almost as natural as you can get.”

Namjoon clenched his eyes shut. Dropping his face in his hands, he laughed.

“Ahhh, babo… Babo, babo. I shouldn't have done that.”

Staring into the distance, he raked his hands through his hair. Dragging them to his cheeks, he patted them softly.

“Why did I do that? Ahhhh, I feel red.”

Leaning back onto the counter, Jin reached for the bottle of wine discarded to the side.

“Maybe it was the wine. Here, have some more,” questioned Jin as he tipped out more liquor into Namjoon’s glass.

Namjoon groaned as he watched his glass be filled to the brim.

“Ahhhhh.”

Raising a brow at the man, Jin quickly refilled his own glass.

“I have nowhere to be tomorrow anyway.”

Walking around the counter, Jin grew closer to Namjoon, almost disregarding the chunk of marble between them. Propping himself on the counter, he swung his feet back and forth, careful not to hit his heels on its base. Taking a sip of the wine, he turned to his returning his attention to the window.

Namjoon looked on at the man that watched the rain.

Chuckling at Jin’s fascination, Namjoon glanced out the windows into the night sky. Watching the city lights twinkle as rain smeared their shine, his cheeks no longer radiated with embarrassment. A blanket of content wrapped around him. Swaddling him in happiness and fulfillment, Namjoon welcomed the long-lost sensation.

Finally, he understood why Jin found his lack of interest in the view so absurd. From the moment Jin entered his home, he had found everything he needed; everything he had missed all wrapped in one. It wasn’t until now, as Namjoon stared into the cosmic void, that he realized everything had aligned as it should. Colliding like the moon over the sun, Jin cast a shadow on his world whenever he was away. And oh, what a cold and long eclipse it had been.

But now, his warmth had returned. What was once lost, was found; what seemed so far out of reach was now within his grasp. And even the most muted of grays seemed beautiful against the rain.

Glancing at the glass in front of him, Namjoon raised it to his lips, sipping with caution. As he placed the glass down, he walked along the edge of the counter eventually stopping in front of Jin- the older had not noticed. Still distracted by his muse, his stare on the view remained still. Only when he felt the subtle tug of his glass being pried from his hands did Jin turn away. Namjoon gently removed the glass from Jin’s lap placing it next to his own. Resting his hand along the side of Jin’s jeans he stared at the seams, trailing his fingertips across the thread. Gripping at the denim, Namjoon’s palm pressed into Jin’s thigh. Heat radiated across his skin like wildfire. With unspoken permission, Jin spread his knees apart, allowing Namjoon to grow closer. Trailing over Namjoon’s arms, he wrapped his arms around his neck. As his hands hung inches away from his shoulder blades, he marveled at their newly found confidence.

Once again, Jin found himself helpless under their magnetic pull. Leaning in he paused, only inches away from the lips of the other.

With a whisper, he confessed, “I love you too.”

Before the breath from Jin’s lungs had time to cool his dampened lips, Namjoon found himself melting into Jin’s kiss. Jin’s fingers ran through his hair, raking and rummaging his scalp as they shared a more genuine kiss. More delicate and patient in nature, this kiss allowed for more time. More time to explore; more time to feel the warmth of content rather than the fleeting sting of lust.

Rocking its way in between the rhythm of the kiss, Jin’s words echoed in the back of Namjoon’s mind. Carrying him to that day in Gwangju where the sun spent most of its time soaking he and Jin in its rays all afternoon. The day that started off as an adventure through the city eventually turning into a drunken night encouraged by one too many shots. The day that concluded with the confession of Namjoon’s true feelings; his first true ‘I love you’.

Though months had passed since the once regretful encounter and the unspoken tension had well over been resolved, Namjoon felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter to the surface. Once suppressed and often ignored, Namjoon could disregard his feelings no more. Rather it be more than a year ago, lying on the floor under a blanket of thunder, or now, resting on cold marble wrapped within his touch, knowing that Jin felt the same way made Namjoon feel complete. Pulling away from the kiss Namjoon rested his head against Jin’s. Lightly, he nuzzled his nose against the other as he caught his breath. Careful not to grow too far apart for fear if they did he wouldn’t be able to breathe without him.

Here Namjoon remained, calmly reveling in a moment he had waited so long for. But in that moment, the wait itself no longer seemed to matter.

At that moment, the only thing he cared for, was him and his love; a love introduced and encouraged by rain and a view from a ten-story window.

At that moment, the only thing that mattered was the view and the rain itself; and oh how he hoped it would rain forever.

Completed On: Feb. 7th 2020

Written By: Carmen Feaster (YourAverageBTSStan)

Feel Free To Reblog- Just Give Credit

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scream-into-the-voiddd · 4 years

Text

Mishiranu Mono

Mishiranu Mono - part 1 ?

(i don’t know if op would be ok with me continuing, but i would like too if they let me)

Darkwing Duck au inspired by @inyuji and this post

[I fell in love with their art and idea for this au and it had such a beautiful story, and wonderful detail I had to write something.]

The night was cold, wind flapping, with foreboding terror. The moon was full and trees rustled with hard snaps, bending and twisting with night air. The dim light of the moon covered the empty street, or rather mostly empty. At the end of a quiet street just before the end of town was a small figure moving in the jagged shadows of the line up houses. The small figure moved in the night scuffling from house to house with footsteps as quiet as a gentle wind that would hit ones cheek on a summers day. The figure moved closer to a house and moved along its edge and hid below the light of the window that cast itself through thin kitchen curtains,the small figure moved beyond the lights yellow gaze and moved deeper into the shadows. The figure moved its hands to the top of a trash can lid and slowly placed their tiny fingers under it, then with the lightest of touches moved the lid upward and into the air.

‘Drake, honey have you put the garbage bin on the curve yet.’

A voice called from inside the window, light footsteps came past the window and a door creep open an amber glow hit the grass and the shadowy figure moved away into the darkness dropping the lid behind it.

‘Doing it now Mom.’

The voice called from the door-frame and the bright figure stepped onto the grass. it was a small boy on older then 13, he looked over into the darkness and walked towards it. The darkened figure pushed deeper into the dark but pulled there hand up like they were ready to push the boy away, but the boy had only taken a few steps before he bent down and pit up the garbage lid.

‘Damn wind.’

the boy then put the lid back on the can and dragged it to the street. The boy then stood there for a moment as he looked at the moon, he then stretched out his arms flapped then up and down slowly, he was saying something but it was lost to the wind. The boy then looked at his watch and jumped slightly and he ran back to the house.

‘It’s on, it’s on, it’s on.’

he then shut the door behind him and locked it with a clack, returning to the light he had walked out of. when his footsteps had left the kitchen. the small shadowy figure moved into the yellow glow.

A young girl no older then the boy she had raven black hair that went to her shoulders, it was uneven and looked like it been cut with garden sheers, she had bloodshot eyes and deep black bags under her eyes. She moved her face out of the light as quickly as she came into it, she then quickly and quietly moved back into the hollowing night.

the wind fell and the morning came and the sun lit up the streets. Out front of the the house closest to the hill side, was the young boy pulling his bike to the concentrate. The boy hummed the same tune over and over with word’s like ‘Darkwing’ and ‘lets get dangerous’ came whispering out on occasion. The boy rode his bike down the street and to the school. This ride took the boy about one hour every morning but he insisted on doing it everyday rain or shine. he believed if he could handle the ride there then everything else his school day had in store for him would be easy by comparison, and sometimes he was right, but today much like many other day’s it was only the beginning.

When Drake chained up his bike and run into class he heard Tommy Michel, talking to a group of gathered class mates.

‘It was a voice, it spoke in some kind of gibberish, must have been a kind of ghost language, and, and, I think it started singing.’

Tommy spat out these words theatrically as the small group pondered his words.

‘No way, you full of it Tommy.’

said a red headed girl.

‘Nah, nah I heard it, it was super creepy.’

she shook her heard at this.

‘There is no way, you, got close enough to hear it.’

some of the group nodded.

‘Yeah your way to much of a wuss for that.’

laughed out Herb Muddlefoot, a rather large and tall boy who was twice as big and wide as Drake.

Drake moved to his desk and took off his hat and turned his whole body to the boy next to him, who was drawing lighting bolts on his desk.

‘Hey, Elmo, what are they taking about?’

‘The weird house on the hill, Tommy kicked a ball over the fence yesterday, and he climbed over to get it, said he heard a voice inside the place, whole lot of bunk if you ask me.’

Elmo kept scribbling on his desk, Drake looked over to the small group again, Amy Foxwell, twitched her nose.

‘He’s right, something is in there, I can see the hill from my house. And the other night I looked out my window and i saw a whole bunch of strange lights, they were coming from inside the house.’

The group draw in closer together but Drake and Elmo could still hear everything their were saying.

‘Really, what did they look like?’

asked Herb suddenly a lot more invested, Amy took a moment.

‘like, like, shiny smoke. i don’t know.’

Tommy started waving his hands.

‘See, see, the place is hunted.’

Look’s of agreement went around the class room. Elmo leaned over so that only Drake could hear him.

‘Don’t you think it’s really hunted?’

Drake pondered this, then shrugged.

‘Doesn't matter, I’m not worried, it can’t hurt anyone and I’m not scared of ghosts.’

Drake nodded to himself, Elmo shook his head.

‘Dingus, you really do have some kind of death wish or something.’

Elmo then muttered something that sounded like idiot and went back to drawing.

Elmo Sputterspark was the closet thing Drake had to a friend, they were both seen as the class ‘weirdos’ but they weren’t to keen on each other either but they were both smart enough to know there was safety in numbers. So it was kind of a making do situation.

Drake found that he was not fully understood by other kids around him, they called him names and pushed him down everyday but he always got back up, and they would keep pushing, waiting for the day he would stay down, but it never came. It had become a game of sorts, who can keep Drake down the longest.

Drake then made his way into his school day being pushed into walls, slammed into floors and being called many things under hushed tones. When the day was done he set off on his long ride home and on his way he came across a small group in the distance, they were near the house on the hill.

The house on the hill has been abandoned for years now. The grass was so over grown that it reached up to Drake’s shoulder’s, the house itself was run down as rotting wood caved in. The place had been like this as long as Drake could remember, but recently it was more talkative or at least if Tommy Michel is to be believed.

Tommy Michel was standing in front of the old, beaten in fence as a group of boy’s stood in a circle, they seemed to be throwing something between themselves. Then Drake spotted Elmo running between the other boy’s trying to grab the object, Drake rode his bike over and jumped off his bike.

‘Hey! what you doing.’

Drake said announcing himself.

‘None of your business, Mallard.’

Herb (of course it was Herb) throw then what appeared to be Elmo’s bag to Tommy. The boy’s kept laughing and throwing the bag. Drake pushed himself into the middle.

‘Quit it, give it back.’

Drake was always ready for a fight, and they knew that. So, Herb know he had to think fast.

‘Ok, Drakestar you want it, go get it.’

Herb then spun the bag around and throw it as hard and as fast as he could at the house and it broke through an upstairs window, The boy’s then went away laughing and left Drake and Elmo standing there.

‘Gee, thanks.’

Drake looked over to Elmo.

‘They would have just gotten bored like usual if you hadn't put your big beak where it doesn't belong.’

Drake shook his head.

‘You have got to start standing up for yourself, or their just going to walk all over you.’

‘They walk all over me now! and they walk all over you too, and I don’t get as beaten up as you.’

Drake just sighed, if Elmo didn’t get it there was no use explaining.

‘My Dad’s gonna kill me, that’s the third bag this year.’

‘It’ll be fine Elmo, i’ll get it.’

‘Are you crazy!?’

‘No why?’

Elmo gave him a familiar sigh.

‘Suit yourself, but I’m going home.’

Elmo walked off in a huff, Drake looked upon the house and craned his neck up. It was taller then he thought, but, he was going to get Elmo’s bag back, ghost or no ghost. Drake took off his cap and put it in his bag he didn’t want any spider web’s or dust all over his favourite Darkwing Duck hat, he then weaved his way through the broken fence and into the garden. He stepped through the grass, it was so thick he could hardly walk in it, but as he got about six steps in he tripped. Drake landed face first on the hard ground, he had found himself in a clearing of sorts. Little trails were made in the grass that lead to and from the front door, you could only see them from the inside, Drake got up and slowly moved to the door.

He crept into the house as quietly as he could, the floor creaked with every step, the wind hollowed into his ears, sending a chill down and through his whole body, he looked around the room it was dusty and smelled like mildew. He paced his why to the stairs humming the tune that he hummed earlier that day, it seemed to have given courage as he made his way up the crumbling stairs. It was to dark to see in front or behind him, the wind was whistling in his ears louder now, but there was no windows or door’s open in the hall way, he felt something brush up against his foot, he let out a yelp as he jumped into the air breaking a floorboard under him. He looked around for a moment as he pulled his foot out of the hole he had made, he saw a light flickering under a door at the end of the hall. It did not look like someone was turning a light switch on and off but more like pulse like what ever it was, had been fading in and out. Drake got his foot out of the hole and moved to the pulsing light. He moved his hand to the door and turned the handle, pushing the door open and walking in. the room was empty and there was no sign of the light like it was never there. Drake let out a breath and turned back to the hall,

‘Yours’

A high scratchy voice said behind him. Drake snapped his head back to see two glowing eyes looking back at him.

to be continued?

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wizardoftrash · 3 years

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Ok I know I haven’t posted Magic content in a long time, but I’ve got to mention a few cards in Commander Legends.

First off I still play Magic. I’ve been playing Arena almost exclusively since it was in beta, scratching my Commander itch on Untap.in now and then since I was busy with other hobbies that took up most of my time and money. I still follow the game, but certain decisions that Wizards (and largely probably Hasbro) made have kept me from wanting to support them with content or my fun money. Commander is really the only format I care about.

This card is a real piece of work. There is already serious discussion about whether or not this card is format warping or busted, and I’m here to say that it is absolutely busted.

Most well-tuned decks don’t need or want this card neccisarally. With 2 or more opponents, getting your commander out 3 turns early (vs lets day 2 turns early via Sol Ring) isn’t a slam-dunk when it doesn’t help you sustain your lead like other rocks. Commanders that care about artifacts, sacrificing stuff other than just creatures, graveyard interactions that includes artifacts, that are stubborn to remove, or that need to be in-play already for your deck to really do it’s thing are going to want lotus. Fun fact, that’s a LOT of decks, and there are plenty of others that would improve significantly by adding lotus even if there are better cards out there to run.

The closest comparisons I can think of are Dark Ritual and Lotus Petal. Neither of those cards are totally busted, but I run Dark Rit in every mono or mostly Black commander deck I’ve ever built, and lotus petal in every deck that cares about artifacts, sacking, and recurring permanants. I just can’t see a world where I wouldn’t *also* run lotus in those decks, along with most of my other decks, because they just aren’t optimized to the point where it would be a hard decision of what to cut. Its just way WAY better than the stuff I have floating around.

Turns out, that’s one of the reasons this card is probably fine. Commander is a casual format, and it is already common practice to have a gradient of hard to soft decks. Jeweled Lotus will make some hard decks harder (my Glissa the Traitor deck will enjoy this) but cards like Sol Ring are already a core part of the format, and that card is totally bonkers.

TLDR: who cares if this card is nuts, the format already has plenty of totally busted stuff, and it really isn’t worth the energy to be mad about this one in a casual format.

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housebeleren · 4 years

Text

Theros Beyond Death New Commanders

Theros is a world full of flavor, and with lots of flavor come lots of great Legendary Creatures. And boy, Wizards didn’t skimp this time around did they? Several of the Gods from original Theros are still among the best Commanders to this day, and most of the rest are staples in the 99. So it should come as no surprise that this crop of cards is a treasure trove of goodies. I imagine a huge number of these will be heavily played for years to come.

Let’s go.

As usual, I’ll start with the Buy-a-Box promo. Athreos seems pretty solid. He’s super expensive to get out, but the good news is he’s Indestructible, so barring transformation effects & exile, he’s going to stick around long enough to get value. He seems like a really solid option if you’re looking for a W/B aristocrats general, especially if you want to play with good ETB effects. The added bonus here is he can occasionally steal your opponent’s creatures too, which gives him an added dimension over a lot of otherwise similar options. I also suspect a lot of people will misread the “dies or is put into exile” text, with much frustration.

In Brawl, Athreos is close to busted, as there are so few ways to deal with him and he generates such insane value. You basically have to be fast and go under him or find creative ways to win, because he’s going to build up a massive board state really fast. And there are so few board wipes to clean up. In short, a solid choice for EDH, and a bonkers choice for Brawl.

I mean, who are we kidding? Blue/Green is the best 2-color combination in EDH, and it wins through its ability to make tons of mana and draw tons of cards. And Uro...... ramps and draws cards. Yeah, seems like a good effect to have in the Command Zone. For a more 75% direction, you can focus on the thematic direction of the “Nature’s Wrath”. Which is what I’m going to build, personally. Lots of ramp into big Giants & Elementals for stompy stompy wins. And I like that Uro can lend himself to strategies up & down the spectrum, so he’ll appeal to all types of players. Though it’s highly possible the competitive scene will ruin it by creating some busted version of this deck and putting a target on our backs.

In Brawl, this seems equally busted, because it’s not like there’s anything you can do in Standard with piles of mana in Blue & Green, is there? Not at all.

Kroxa is really cool design. Feels perfect for the colors, but still something a little different and unique. The more competitive community immediately jumped on this as a Worldgorger/Animate Dead build, since he works as a built-in win-con for the combo, but it’s also quite possible to build a solid R/B punisher deck around this. There are also the all-in discard builds, but that seems particularly miserable, and unnecessary, since it’s super easy to get tons of activates off Kroxa himself, with the help of some reanimation effects.

For Brawl, I’d build this as a Red/Black control deck, using Kroxa to strip the opponent’s hand, clearing the board with removal, and eventually winning either with Kroxa as a massive beater, or with some of the strong planeswalkers in the color pair (of which there are several). For what it’s worth, the correct play pattern is basically always to cast Kroxa the first time, let him go to the Command Zone, then cast him from there for 4 before saving him in the graveyard for Escaping.

Polukranos looks like mostly a Standard powerhouse, at first glance. But the more time I spend with it, the more I’m convinced it would make a pretty solid Commander inclusion as well. If you’re building with Polukranos at the helm, you’ll want plenty of library filter & self-mill effects, as well as plenty of recursion. It’s often fine to just keep reanimating him as a 6/6 removal engine, but the Escape is there as well in case you need. Some ways to add extra counters to him seem good as well, and there are a plethora of those in these colors, particularly Green, go figure. He’d also be good in the 99 of other +1/+1 counters decks, as a good payoff when you need.

Seems good in Brawl.

Klothys seems likely to be way better than people are likely to expect. The closest comparison I can think of is actually Pharika, but with the added potential to ramp you and incidentally hate on more than just Creatures, all for no additional investment than your initial 3 mana. The immediate concept that springs to mind is actually Land Destruction, which is a kinda dick way to go, but probably quite effective. She’s an interesting card, and lends herself to very creative deckbuilding, rather than having an obvious build, and I always appreciate that.

For Brawl, you really can just build this as Red/Green good stuff, and it’ll work. Enough cards will naturally end up in the graveyard to fuel her ability and turn her into a completely viable clock on your opponents.

Purphoros seems nuts in EDH. Mono-Red typically isn’t great (unless you’re going full Artifact mode), so I actually envision Purphoros in the 99 of other Sneak Attack style decks for added redundancy. He’ll be a pretty obvious inclusion in Gruul & Jund sacrifice decks, particularly those that focus reanimating big fatties for massive swings.

In Brawl, there are some good options. Drakuseth comes to mind as a natural pairing with this, and there are definitely some other good targets to cheat out, but it’s unlikely he’ll beat out Torbrand as the mono-Red general of choice, particularly for 1v1, where that card is able to close out games ridiculously fast.

Nylea is likely going to get a lot of flack, compared to the other Gods, where she’s less obviously busted. That said, she strikes me as a pretty viable option for a creature heavy build, along the lines of what you might build for Yeva, Nature’s Herald. The cost reduction is relevant, and could be pretty gross at the helm of Elfball as well. She’s also a reasonable option for a Primal Surge deck, so I actually think there are plenty of possible directions you can go, and people will slowly figure that out.

For Brawl, my guess is Nissa, Who Shakes the World is still the best.

Heliod has already attracted tons of attention for the instant combo with with Walking Ballista, and having one half of a two card combo in your Command Zone is not a bad way to start. Beyond that, as far as mono-White generals go, Heliod has a lot more potential than some. He can grow into a massive threat very quickly, and partners perfectly with a the plethora of life-gain payoffs in the color. He’s also a shoe-in for lifegain Generals like Ayli & Karlov, so he’d work great in the 99 of several decks.

In Brawl, you have several good options to fill up the deck, but it’ll be tough to be a better aggro deck than Red, and White just doesn’t have the staying power for the long game, so I’m expecting most of the other Gods to be better.

Oooh Thassa baby, it’s so good to see you again! I love that they took this to another direction from the original card, but it’s still interesting and fun. My immediate thought here wasn’t actually to make a flicker deck, but to make a stealing deck, since they templated her in the style of Conjurer’s Closet, where the card doesn’t return under its owner’s control, but back under your control. Meaning, if you steal something with something like Willbreaker or Roil Elemental, you get to keep them! This also makes her a great inclusion in the 99 of stealing commanders like Sen Triplets or Rubinia Soulsinger. Or, y’know... put her in a flicker deck.

In Brawl, Thass is pretty great, since there are some amazing things to blink with her. Most notably is Agent of Treachery, and it shouldn’t be hard at all to close out the game after landing that.

Erebos is here to serve, and I am loving this design. In an aristocrats deck, this version is arguably better than OG Erebos, and that’s saying a lot. But the original version will do better in just any ole Black deck. As a Commander, you definitely want to build this around cheap value creatures you can sacrifice for extra value. There’s no shortage of good mono-Black generals, so build around this one if you really love the flavor.

For Brawl, it’s tough to say if Ayara or Erebos is better, but you’ll definitely want both in each other’s deck.

On to the Rare legends, we start with Atris. I love me some Fact or Fiction, but I need just a little more oomph to be a Legend worth building around. Might be a fun inclusion in a flicker deck, but I doubt anyone’s going to be clamoring to build an Atris deck. Even in Brawl, where there are plenty of better & more interesting Blue/Black generals. (Ashiok & Lazav come to mind immediately.)

There’s no shortage of Red/Blue Artifact-based commanders, so Dalakos has some tough competition. My guess is there are still some stronger options, but Dalakos has a unique angle by caring about Equipment, which is typically more of a White-aligned Artifact direction. So there’s definitely an interesting build here, probably for 75% tables. In more competitive decks, I could see Dalakos seeing play in plenty of Artifact builds.

I’m not sure if there’s enough good Equipment in Standard to make Dalakos worth building around in Brawl, but we’ll see as future sets come out if there’s anything spicy that makes this worth building.

Gallia is loads of fun. She gives support to an underserved tribe, has a card advantage ability that feels very fun & appropriate for the color pair, and is just some fantastic art to boot. It’s unlikely that this will be a particularly competitive deck, but fans of Satyrs and casual aggro will rejoice, and rightfully so. In Brawl, she’s much more impressive from a power standpoint, and will likely be a popular choice from this set.

Haktos is a super creative design, and one of the best top-down flavor wins of the set. (Not to mention fine AF.) In EDH, he’s a very clear Voltron commander, since he is close to unblockable and dodges most spot removal. That said, you can’t reliably equip or enchant him, so cards that buff him up generally will be staples in this deck. I’d look to cards like Bastion Protector and Bloodsworn Steward, which can put him in the key 7+ power range without an issue, and plenty of spot removal to get rid of pesky blockers that happen to fall on the chosen number. And of course, in those colors you’re also probably going to go for some extra combat effects. It’s unlikely to be super competitive, but honestly this deck seems like a ton of fun.

For Brawl, he’s solid in 1v1, but I don’t love him for multiplayer because there will be more creatures and removal around in the 2-4 CMC range than in EDH, so he may be even easier to deal with. Sometimes he’ll completely run away with the game, but he’s such an obvious target that he’ll just get removed over and over again.

Kunoros has a lot going on for 3 mana, but there’s not much to build around here. It’s basically a hatebear for Graveyard-heavy metas, but in White/Black that’s probably actually more of a liability than a feature, since you lose out on powerhouse cards like Karmic Guide and Sun Titan. I suppose Graveyard to Hand still works, so cards like Ravos are still on the table, but it seems like more trouble than it’s worth.

Same story for Brawl. In both formats, I see him as a role-player hatebear in the 99 of decks that want to disrupt as it grinds to a win.��

I’m always for a new tribe getting a Legendary creature, though who’s aching to build a harpy deck, I have no idea. It’s also tough because Black is not a particularly strong Enchantment color, so I really don’t know if there’s a deck here. (Watch me get this as a random build one month.) My best use case for Aphemia would be in the 99 of an Enchantment deck like Daxos the Returned or something.

Spiders are also a fun, unique tribe, though you definitely want Black to make the best use of them. Arasta, again, seems like there’s not much of a build here except as an incidental hoser against all-spell decks. Maybe if your meta is all Talrand decks?

Taranika is a cool design, and phenomenal in Limited, but yeah there just isn’t enough here for EDH, even in the 99. Maybe she’ll be an inclusion in the 59 for Brawl? But that’s really as much as I can possibly see here.

Of the mono color Rare Legends, Thryx is the only one with real EDH potential, from what I can see. He has Flash, so you can hold up counterspells, which is exactly what mono-Blue wants to do. And from there, he lets you cast massive spells at a bit of a discount, and has incidental “can’t be countered” text against opposing Blue manges, which is a fair amount of action. I’m considering him for the 99 of my Grixis Vial Smasher deck, since that deck wants to cast all kinds of big dumb spells.

Seems like there are better mono Blue options for Brawl, however.

On to the Uncommons. There isn’t going to be a lot here for Commander, since these are mostly balanced for Limited play. Eutropia is a bit interesting, and there are some possibilities. She’s in the best EDH colors, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to conceive of a way to generate a ton of mana, use Deadeye Navigator to flicker an Enchantment Creature a bunch of times, then swing for lethal. There are certainly better Green/Blue generals, but honestly that’s a lot of action for an Uncommon. In the 99, I could see her in various Enchantress style builds as a fun flavorful inclusion.

There are no shortage of powerhouse Green/Blue options for Brawl, but Eutropia could be a fun experiment to take in a different direction than you would Uro, Vannifar, or Kiora.

Siona is a super interesting design, as an Aura buildaround. Of course, the hotness here is that she immediately goes infinite with Shielded by Faith, which gives her way more viability than she would otherwise. Throw in a Concordant Crossroads and you have an insta-win, and they’re all super easily tutored pieces in these colors. There’s also potential just as an inclusion in the 99 of decks that run lots of Auras, like Uril or something.

In Brawl, this could be a really fun aggro deck for 1v1, though I think it’ll be a struggle in multiplayer.

The monocolor Uncommon Legends all basically have no viability as Commanders, so I’ll do these Lightning Round style.

Anax - Could be an inclusion in the 99 of certain OG Purphoros builds or other Red decks that want lots of tokens.

Renata - There are some decks that really care about Counters that I suppose this works in. She’s really cute with Persist, but you’ll need more colors to be able to make use of the really good Persist cards.

Daxos - Daxos is doing his best Soul Sister impression, and it’s really working. I’d slot him into any decks that want that effect, especially since many of them are White/Black with sacrifice outlets as well.

Callaphe - Probably the weakest of the bunch. Maaaayyybe possible in a mono Blue devotion deck? But I’m not suspecting this will see any play.

Tymaret - For the most part a pretty strict upgrade over Withered Wretch, not counting Zombie synergies. The Wretch is a card I run more than a lot of people do, and I see myself running this for similar reasons.

Alirios - The dream here is to flicker him multiple times and get an army of reflections. It’s possible in a heavy flicker deck like Brago or something, but it’s not enough to run him on his own.

And finally, the Planeswalkers for Brawl. Ashiok strikes me as particularly good as a Blue/Black control build. It should be pretty easy to keep the board clear early until you drop Ashiok, then the incremental value will be overwhelming pretty quickly.

You best believe I built this deck, and it is fire. There are so many good Enchantments legal right now that it’s trivial to put together a pretty solid build. The best part is, a lot of the good removal in White are Enchantments anyway, so you can often use his +1 to find removal, without having to tick him down. This deck has been a ton of fun, and it goes toe-to-toe with a lot of the best decks really well.

While a powerhouse for Standard, Elspeth isn’t quite priced to move for Brawl. There are just other, most powerful options. I’d generally run Heliod instead, and include Elspeth in the 59 if you really want.

Usually the Planeswalker Deck cards are awful, but this Ashiok isn’t half bad. It’s a fun Blue/Black reanimation deck, and I enjoy that. It’s unfortunate you can’t activate her -5 right away, which is the real thing holding this back. Lazav is probably better as a Blue/Black creature build, but I could actually see this.

And finally, Planeswalker Deck Elspeth. Honestly, I’d rather run this as my mono-White general than Sun’s Nemesis, since there’s a pretty solid Devotion build to be made. Not saying it’s good or anything, but it’s actually probably better than the main-set version, and that’s saying something.

Okay! That’s all the Legends from Theros Beyond Death. There are honestly too many of them, it’s hard to keep up! I’m building Uro for EDH and Calix for Brawl. What about you?

#MtG #theros beyond death

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teamcalamity · 5 years

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Opus Explorations - First Impressions of Planet 8

Welcome to Opus Explorations, a regular feature hoping to provide some inspiration to those of you stuck on the world map, not sure where to turn.

In each installment we will present deck ideas along with a brief summary, a suggested list and the verdict based on actual results when run at Team Calamity OP nights (usually a 4 round Swiss). If the summary sparks a tingle in your loins, then you can access in depth profiles of each deck in separate linked articles.

With Opus VIII just about to launch, rather than deck lists this time we decided to just go with a few cards we are looking forward to trying (note we haven't seen the full list yet) . If you haven't already then read our previous post which might give you a bit more insight/context into some of the choices we make below...

Rich

Cloud

I might be completely wrong about this card, but I feel that Cloud has the potential to dethrone some of the more frequently played 5 drop fire forwards. Whilst the damage dealt in the early game feels a bit underwhelming, his damage will grow the longer the game goes on. I think the closest comparison to Cloud is Baugavern - except Cloud fits better into dual element decks, replaces the special with the ex burst effect and doesn't damage for a fixed value. And Baugavern by all accounts is a decent card for mono fire, right? The second ability is probably not going to be utilised unless it has the potential to win you the game, but it's mostly going to be risky to just use willy-nilly.

Ultimately, I think Cloud and the presence of efficient finisher damage like Iroha or Rain, could lead the the emergence of an up-tempo mono fire deck that's heavily centred on enter the field effects. Feel free to taunt me 4 weeks after release about how wrong I was, which is often the way when I open my mouth about newly spoiled fire legends...

Lasswell

Lasswell is the card I'm most excited to play this set. It is packed with power that can be problematic for your opponent on a short, medium and long term basis. The most important of Lasswell's effects is his enter the field, as I feel that in today's environment, any card without an enter the field ability is instantly less playable. It's not the most efficient way of generating an on-entry dull and freeze (I'm looking at you, Genesis...), but the efficiency comes from keeping him alive and using the on-swing effect every turn - which for 1 fire cp is nuts.

The special is a bonus more than anything - I imagine that most opponents will immediately respond to Lasswell more than any other forwards due to the pressure he brings, and keeping him alive long enough to use Azure Sky might be problematic.

The one drawback to Lasswell is that he realistically only fits into Fire/Ice decks, and even then I feel like that he requires the deck to be centred around him. Sure - he can be run as a 3 of, and devout'd back if necessary. But I think how the deck runs when Lasswell ISN'T on the field could be an issue. Still, if he performs as well as I think he can, he could be the revival piece to the competitive fire ice decks of yore.

Yuffie

Yuffie represents the ultimate value card, even if it does require a specific setup. Luckily, it will be quite easy to fulfil the 3 Category VII characters requirement via backups - had this card said forwards instead of characters I would feel very different about it.

Despite the necessity of being tied to other Category 7 cards, I think there is a lot you can do with a sneaky Yuffie ninja attack. The 1k AoE on-swing provides a cheap proc for a plethora of other decks (namely Barbarricia and Diabolos in wind, possibly Orlandeau or Opus 5 Ramuh if you feel like getting spicy with Wind Lightning featuring the Turks).

I don't think that Yuffie will be much of a game changer, and she is far from a high impact card. But I think the card represents good value if you meet the criteria and run Godo, and it nailed the flavour of what Yuffie should do in this card game - which does not include being Vincent's or Red XIII's side bitch.

Mitch

Earth – Ardyn. 1 million CP.My pick for earth card is Ardyn. Now I know what some of you are screaming at the screen “but Mitch, the world’s best player, surely you must see that this dies to Famfrit” (*Replace with your favourite way to bone this card) and let’s be honest, if this card couldn’t be removed in any way, this game would just go to deck out and be really boring, god forbid this counter play. I’m under no illusion this card is great verses all match ups and as a result isn’t going to be a 3 of. Just don’t play it vs water…But now I will get to why I like the card; it actually has nothing to do with playing the card. I like it because it forces your opponents to build their deck in a way that they have an out to it, be it Deathgaze, Vayne, Deathgaze, Famfrit or even Deathgaze. This legend will auto win some match ups if they have no easy way to remove. I understand that this card also has “counter play” in that you can break your own characters to stop this beasty from blocking. Okay. Break your stuff. Let’s take earth wind for example, what would they want to break? Cactuar? Nope A back up? Nope, that deck is so refined that it will really struggle to deal with it. Earth Wind can adapt, but while this is true it that just feeds into my first point.

Lightning – Alphinaud

I know I should of picked the Kpop girls, but honestly they don’t excite me as cards, until they get the support to search or something to make this consistent. I may be wrong but the hype isn’t there for me at the moment.

I also see a lot of promise for mono lightning this set, you have that legend that deals 1k more than a fire legend who shall be shunned (BAD PALOM) and an action that makes this card a kill on sight.

My Card however is Alphinaud, searchable, haste with the right set up, but my interest is more in the deck it opens up. I believe that WOFF monsters, paired with this, lava golem and Urianger will actually become a thing. Urianger can bring back WOFF monsters with this card; it is a cheap aggro deck with a huge aggressive side. Originally I was thinking WOFF monsters would be 9k beasts, but with Alphinaud they won’t even be blocked!

Water – Shitty finger Zidane

I think fire might actually get to see some play this set, finally becoming a game of six colours. Fire got some great cards but it also got cards in other colours that compliment it. Everyone has thought of the Sage on Zidane first turn, and don’t get me wrong, it’s incredible. But I do think Zidane is viable in any water deck.

Zidane, to me, has given something to water which was sorely lacking or at least not strong enough to play and that is an aggressive early game. Everyone knows when you play water they need to set up, but this gives them a different playstyle. Then we come to the ability that it can’t be blocked if you have 6 or more in hand. Keeping 6 in hand before you swing should be viable which forces early removal for your opponent. This allows you to keep your hand up while setting up. Oh by the way, did anyone mention this was good with Fire?

Tom

It's easy to cream over new legends so i'll go for some that are a little less obvious, but I think will be really fun.

Ice - Palom

2cp Ice forward with discard.....turbo is back! Well no it's not, thank fuck, but for 2cp you get a multi choice card with all very viable options that you can flex depending on your situation and place a forward on top. Ground breaking hero, no but I'd love to see ice evolve out from the standard Setzer, Locke VI discard package and I think there's options now to really play around with some different combos/deck setups.

Fire - Marche

This was spoiled fairly early on and I think has gone under the radar. Fire was crying out for some consistent value plays and this offers that with an EX to boot (it's searchable too). I generally don't like cards that force you into mono situations but I like fire so i'll let this pass. I'd never thought I say it but with Opus 8 buffing fire somewhat, will you be able to find space for this into a mono fire deck?! One to test out for sure.

Earth - Gladiolus

FF15 slowly crawls it's way into FFTCG, this will probably be one more for fan service. Limited to Earth CP yes, however, you are going to be running Noctis so that shouldn't be an issue meaning you get a 2cp 9k forward with a dreamy 6 pack. I also love a special and this one is decent if not a little costly. You will mainly be running for the cheap body (no pun intended). Meta defining no, but if you are a fan this will be fun. Depending on the rest of the crew and if we get another Noctis could get interesting.

Peter

Sherlotta 8-053H

Ok so for a 2cp investment, at some point in the game you can cash in Sherlotta. Put her to the break zone to generate 1cp of any element.

You could do this immediately after playing her. For just 2cp! She's certainly my hero of this set.

Let's take a look at the possibilities of this mysterious woman.

Sherlotta will be a card I'll be looking to get 3 foils of, 100%.

Wind is my favourite element and the fact that this card now exists puts wind in a very fun position. You can add any card u want into the deck. You can play Phoenix L, Exodus, Dadaluma and even Opus 2 Yuna. Oh wait... noone plays that anyway :)

From a competitive aspect. Wind is a very popular element choice currently in the meta. Now every wind deck has access to the best bkup in the game. Shantotto. Scary thought huh?

So maybe it will even bring a psycological factor now I'm thinking about it.

As you know Shantotto is like Chaos/Cosmos and taps for any cp. In fact it gains the elements so there's synergy with H Bartz straight away.

I may be mistaken but up til now there isnt a way of playing a 6cp card without discarding from your hand. I feel this is important to mention because you're taxing your hand less which is great for high ceiling turns.

Honestly can't wait to build with this card. I'll be happier than a Catholic priest in an orphanage.

Team Calamity's OP runs every Friday from 7pm at Calamity Comics in Hatfield (North of London). You can also follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook (teamcalamityfftcg), contact us on email ([email protected]). Alternatively just write anything on the FFTCG Fans Facebook page, Team Calamity's James Stevenson will no doubt comment on it.

#final fantasy #fftcg #opus 8 #opus viii #final fantasy tcg #team calamity

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theclarkystuff-blog · 7 years

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The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hart's Club Band 2017 Remix

Sgt Peppers Lonely Hart’s Club Band for me is a great deal of many things, it was my first introduction to the band and it was a fantastic album which consisted of new indentities, of exploring new ventures in music which the young heart throb band was never meant to go. The album has always stood remarkably high in best of album lists despite it’s age and well remembered for many of it’s songs such as With A Little Help From My Friends, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite, When I’m Sixty Four and the masterpiece A Day In The Life, as well as controversial songs Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and She’s Leaving Home, songs which some fans believe contain references to drugs and about a young girl getting an abortion.

In 2009 The Beatles discography was reissued, fully remastered to there previous glory as the original transfer to CD was terrible, so bad that fans online would resort to making digital copies of the original pressed vinyls to make up for the disappointment of the official release. Fans like Dr Ebbett who provided these vinyl rips would retire after they felt that they couldn’t surpass the quality found in these reissues. While many would rejoice and over these remasters The Beatles would brave new frontiers such as digital music stores and even allow people to stream the music of the fab four but my mind has always remained on something an old friend would say based on these remasters that he felt the only way for the sound to progress or even give it more of a modern flair someone would have to go to the hassle to remix all there music again. A brief history on the mixing of The Beatles albums would be they was mixed in mono with producer George Martin and the band present while the stereo mixes would be handled as an afterthought later without the band present, many believing the mono mixes to be the definitive way The Beatles wanted there music to be heard. I was somewhat delighted and surprised when I saw that a 50 year anniversary edition of Sgt Peppers Lonely Harts Club Band with a new mix overseen by no other than the original producers son, Giles Martin. Giles history with the band includes working on the 2006 Love album and a remaster of The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl, an album I was very impressed with after he managed to clean up one of the muddiest, drowned out, horrid live albums I had ever heard into a great sounding representative of The Beatles as a live band, with this in mind I began to wonder if this remix could perhaps spoil one of the greatest albums ever made? Was there someway in which this could be ruined? Owning mono and stereo editions of the album I thought it would maybe be a nice experience to give the album a listen to in it’s original form and then be able to compare the mixes fairly with them all in mind.

Begining with the mono mix of the album in which I can already noticed differences compared to the stereo mix which I usually listen to. From opener, Sgt Peppers Lonely Harts Club Band, I can already hear that this mix sounds muddier and less clear than its stereo counterpart, many elements of the song I have known from many years of listening are still there such as the horn section, backing vocals and the audience sound and they are still present in this mix they do not stand out as much as I recall from memory and certain elements like the bass sound like it is high in this mix, in turn giving this album more of a harsh rock sound compared to what I have usually envisioned as a happy pop sound in the stereo mix. Songs like Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds I found took on a new feeling in this mix, sounding in what I can only describe has feeling more like something heard in a sci-fi piece, giving off a distance and cold sound, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite while not nessairly being a favourite of mine I feel takes on a more comftable sound in mono as as it better presents a dark and haunting sound not heard in the stereo edition, which tends to sound more like a joyful carnival experience. A difference I notice more as the album progresses is She’s Leaving Home and Within Without You show a different side to them, once being vibrant, colorful and cheery sounding they come off sounding bitter, darker and more honest.I may not find the experience as joyful as the stereo version I would usually listen to but it certainly registers with me how much of a different sound and atmosphere this mix has, there are few elements which I are missing from the stereo mix such as a Good Morning in which a hurd of animals can he heard going past the listener from channel to channel.

Switching to the stereo mix of the album, this time it embraces me like an old friend, speaking in the same tone I recall, reminding me of all the good times and retelling me old stories, but I may have broken myself to the point with this album that it now sounds a little bit too polished for my liking now. Opening Sgt Peppers now uses a much wider range of dynamics and sounds much more clearer that it is easier to make out guitar lines and sound effects going on at the same time, it sounds as good as I always recall it doing so, but now I feel it is missing something without that rawer sound the mono mix has. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds sounds like the psychedelic classic it always has been and still has a refreshing happy pop sound and even It’s Getting Better and Fixing A Hole even sound more happier somehow, despite the songs subjects focusing on what registered with me as trying to be a better person despite being an abuser of women in the past and while we have another song with drug references, ones which fans have suspected maybe have been heroin although McCartney insists like Got To Get You Into My Life was an ode to marijuana, an interesting comparison I note during this as I feel both and the mono mixes and stereo mixes would express either opinion, with the mono one sounding more like the trappings of an addiction and the other sounds like a wonderful light fun often associated with marijuana use. The second half of the record starting with With In Without You, and ending on A Day In The Life I feel benefits more with the stereo mix, songs like opener With In Without You sound better to be in a clearer recorder and goes along better with the subject of the song, despite it being about a death I always felt George Harrison was trying to express that part of you will always live in, despite the body and the mind being departed rather than the dark drudgery of ”tough shit, one day you will die and everyone else will go on living there lives". The reprise of Sgt Peppers however sounds like it has been neutered in its stereo format as this mix to me sounds too sparse, the mono edition gives the sound of it being loud, live and dirty , a sound much better for this type of song.

At this point I am thinking that I am prefering the mono mix although the truth of the matter, just like when it came to John Lennon wanting to mix the best parts from variouis takes on Strawberry Fields Forever, I am of the opinion this much or less the same case where the songs on this album sound better in mono while others sound better in there stereo form. The closest way to sum the sounds of the album in a simple way would be the mono mix sounding like The Beatles actually being in a room recording the album together while the stereo mix sounds like either a stage show or cinema production, it is a clean, well produced and accessible piece of art but it lacks the same gruff, rough around the edges darker sound and mood which is presented here. At this point I am thinking that if Giles Martin could somehow marry both the upsides of the mixes and present it in a stereo format we could be in for perhaps the definitive edition of this album, at the realm of possibility of this I am excited to open up the 2017 mix and find out.

From the start of the album it is clear to hear that there are differences present from the original stereo mix, while being able to keep the clarity various musical effects used in Sgt Peppers Lonely Hart’s Club Band such as the horns and audience chatter no longer sound as if they are overpowering the rest of the instrumental piece but gel into one fantastic piece of music that sounds like it fits together. Ringo’s drums sound like they are higher in mix which helps give it some of the rock sound present in the mono mix, other songs like LITSWD manage to keep the darker sound and present on the mono mix and other tracks such as It’s Getting Better have more of a live sound. The only track in my listen that I noted that sounded worse off was A Day In The Life, this mix sounded like it just missed the bang present on other versions. This remix has managed to successfully bring Sgt Peppers into the 21st century and for the first time perhaps have an excellent stereo mix of the album which as I had hoped managed to bring some of the best qualities of both previous mixes and bring in all into one excellent package.This version to me sounds like it managed to capture the sound of the band playing together in the same room much like the mono release by the clarity in this release is pure bliss to my ears, while these listening comparisons may not be perfectly fair due to the age of the original stereo and mono vinyls I own possibly being over 40 years old I have tried to listen to these with purely the mix in mind rather than comparing the sound condition to that of a new fresh vinyl played for the first time. This remix will most likely be my go to for future plays although with Giles Martin having already hinting that he has already done work on The White Album, preparing it hopefully for next year’s 50th anniversary, I wouldn’t mind comparing those mixes again should it happen.

#the beatles #john lennon #paul mccartney #george harrison #ringo starr #george martin #giles martin #sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band #with a little help from my friends #lucy in the sky with diamonds #it's getting better #fixing a hole #being for the benefit of mr. kite #within without you #when i'm sixty-four #lovely rita #goodmorning #a day in the life

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jdantheman · 7 years

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FL Studio vs Pro Tools: Which is better?

*DISCLAIMER: This post refers to FL Studio 12 and Pro Tools 12 as they are the most recent versions as of 3/10/2017*

The comparison between FL Studio and Pro Tools is a topic a feel passionate about. I’ve talked about this with many people with an audio background and a tend to hear many people refer to FL Studio as a lower class DAW. This frustrates me because I am an FL Studio user and can confirm that it’s not a lower class DAW and because I have experience with both and understand that they serve different purposes. They are both high class DAWs for what they are made for.

What is the purpose of FL Studio?

FL Studio is a music composition and production DAW meaning its main purpose is to allow the user to create music. When you first open FL Studio, you see a channel rack with a kick, snare, hi hat, and clap. This is where you create you individual patterns for your musical creation or instrumentals. At the bottom of the channel rack, there is a plus sign that allows you to add more VSTs to use more sounds for your instrumental. You also have the playlist window where you paste all your patterns to create an instrumental.

What is the purpose of Pro Tools?

Pro Tools is used for sound recording and sound productions purposes. The setup is geared towards recording and mixing any audio which means it’s not limited to just music. This include soundscapes, audio for video, or even a podcast. Upon opening a Pro Tools session, you see the edit window. This is where you see tracks that have been recorded or tracks that have been added to the Pro Tools session that weren’t recorded on Pro Tools. The other window that’s most important in a Pro Tool session is the mix window. This is where you’ll see the audio channels, auxiliary send channels, and the master channel.

Comparison of the two (from my experience).

o One similarity between the two is that FL Studio’s playlist window is almost the equivalent to the Pro Tools edit window. With both windows, you see each track used in the session and how long it will last.You can drag certain tracks and place them where ever you what to fit your sonic vision for the audio work.

o Both software have digital mix consoles built in the software. They have everything you need to mix like a volume fader, pan pots, equalizers, compressors, limiters, etc. Everything to create a quality mix is on both software.

o It is possible to use midi to create instrumentals on both software. I’ll admit, I don’t know how to do this on Pro Tools. I’ve seen it done but it was a long time ago. I have a lot of recording and mixing experience on Pro Tools so that’s what I’m most comfortable doing on it. The vast majority of my midi experience comes from FL Studio.

Dissimilarities between the two (from my experience).

o Pro Tools trumps FL Studio in the area of mixing but it’s not because it’s a completely better DAW. It’s because its purpose and its layout makes mixing a lot easier than it is on FL Studio. One reason why I like Pro Tools for mixing more than FL Studio is the flexibity with aux sends. You have the options of pre fader and post fader sends while on FL Studio, you only have pre fader sends. In my experience, a prefader send isn’t useful in recorded music. I find it easier to just use reverbs and delays as inserts on FL Studio because I don’t like their sends. On Pro Tools, you can create mono and stereo tracks. The closest you can get to that on FL Studio is using the mono/stereo separation feature on the mixer.

o FL Studio trumps Pro Tools because it has musical functions in your face. On the left side, it has all the drum packs that came with the software and all the others you may have downloaded. Finding a virtual instrument to play a melody is easy to find and putting it into the play on a grid that allows a consistent tempo is easy (of course after you learn how to use FL). I find that snapping to grid is harder Pro Tools although it’s not impossible. Because Pro Tools isn’t a music composition and production DAW, the needs like finding VST’s and making things play at a consist tempo isn’t as in your face and isn’t quite necessary unless you’re recording something with a click track. Even then, you can just use your musical ear to know when something is or isn’t in line with the tempo.

Explain why they shouldn’t be on equal playing grounds

The reason for me saying this is because these two software shouldn’t be on equal playing ground. If one is for music composition and the other is for sound recording and production, why compare them as if they were meant to serve the same purpose? It’s like comparing apples to oranges. What people should be doing is comparing Nuendo to Pro Tools and FL Studio to Ableton, Reason, and Logic Pro X if we’re talking about DAWs that serve the same purpose. That would be an apples to apples or oranges to oranges comparison.

#FL Studio #pro tools #audioengineering #audio production #recording

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itsworn · 6 years

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Shock Testing: Rebound and Compression in the Real World

Have you ever noticed when searching the online blogs that there are those subjects in our hobby where everyone has an opinion, and yet they don’t know why their opinion exists? Which oil, which tires, which paint, you name it—everyone knows exactly what you should and should not be using. Their opinion is generally based on what they read 20 years ago, and by golly they will not be swayed. I don’t know about you, but it drives me crazy. In God we trust—all others must have data.

So we were in the middle of a full installation of a Street or Track tubular coilover suspension when they informed us that not only does their system improve performance (which we expected), they also claim their system improves ride quality (which we didn’t expect). We are from the old school, and that means improved handling comes at a price—the ride quality goes down, not up. The classic example is the 600 lb-in coil springs Shelby installed in the early cars. Once you put those in, it will never ride better than a 600-pound coil spring. So we went back to Street or Track and asked if we could put their claims to the test, to which they didn’t flinch one bit.

We decided to open up the test to several different options for your car based on current availability and popularity. As in all product lines, different shocks are designed to perform differently, and not all drivers like the same “feel” or ride quality. Some drivers like the feel of a soft, comfortable ride and some like the assurance of a firmer ride. So “ride quality” is a personal choice rather than a firm definition. We hope to help you understand what some of the different shocks can do and how they relate to each other, and to see how the shocks used in the Street or Track kit fall in the line with other shocks on the market.

There are two different designs for shocks these days: mono tube (Bilstein and KYB) and twin tube (Monroe and many OEM). Both designs take advantage of compressed nitrogen gas to help reduce aeration (foaming) of the hydraulic fluid and to add firmness to the shock. The valve attached to the piston allows the hydraulic fluid to pass back and forth in the tube and convert kinetic energy from the spring into heat, which is dissipated out of the shock.

Shock Basics

For some of you this is going to be a review, but some don’t actually know what the shock is doing in the suspension system, so let’s go over the basics.

The shock absorber is used to dissipate the energy from the springs in the car. Left un-dampened, the spring would undulate back and forth like one of those kid rides at the park. This is caused by kinetic energy. To dampen the spring, the shock absorber has to convert kinetic energy into another form of energy: heat. This heat is then dissipated out of the shock through the hydraulic fluid in the shock. The shock achieves this by pushing hydraulic fluid through a valve when the shock is pushed in (compression), or when it is pulled out (rebound). It is how the shock manufacturers control the compression and rebound that gives the shock absorber its ride characteristics.

The way the shock valve works defines the characteristic of the shock. Although there are several ways the valves can work, it is basically restricting the flow of hydraulic fluid from the upper and lower parts of the shock. Basic physics—the smaller the valve, the harder it is to shove fluid through it, and more friction is turned into heat.

Compression and Rebound

Compression of the shock occurs when the suspension is driven up by a bump, a pothole, or any road variation. The more compression the shock has, the more resistance to movement, and the firmer the suspension is against the road. Like the 600 lb-in springs Shelby used, it takes more force to compress the suspension, and the more control you have. With rebound, the firmer the rebound, the slower the shock is going to allow the spring to return to ride height, which also affects the feel of the shock.

Some of you drag racers may remember when 90/10 shocks were popular on a drag car. The drag shock had a 10 percent resistance on rebound, which meant the car’s nose came up immediately when you hit the gas, shifting the center of gravity backward toward the rear wheels. The 90 percent compression meant the front end came down very slowly, which kept the center of gravity toward the back of the car.

Ride Quality

So what does this mean for ride quality? The more compression and rebound, the less the damper is going to allow movement of the spring, and the less movement, the more stable the car is in harsh conditions. The tradeoff is a less desirable ride for city driving. Going back to team Shelby, they chose a Koni adjustable shock back in the day—not because the Ford shock was bad, but the OEM shock was chosen to please a wider range of drivers, whereas the Koni was used in a high-performance vehicle to please a narrow range of drivers.

Most shocks are designed exactly the opposite of the 90/10 drag shock; you want an acceptable amount of compression and more force on rebound. The more compression, the harsher the bumps, but the harder it works in the turn. The more rebound, the slower the shock will return to ride height, and the more it will smooth out the ride; in a turn, it will help reduce some of the roll on the inside wheel.

One final thought: The shock is directly related to the other suspension components. The 600 lb-in coil spring was a quick fix to an existing problem. Today, new performance cars use a lighter spring with an adjustable shock or strut. That way if you don’t like it you can always put it back the way it was. Once the heavy spring is installed it won’t ride any softer. If you are thinking of a performance upgrade for your vintage ride, look for a system that has truly been engineered to work together, not just a bunch of off-the-shelf parts put together as a “handling” kit.

An original oil-filled shock from a 1970 Shelby (left), which was adjustable and made by Gabriel, and a new gas-charged shock for comparison. Gas-charged shocks have an initial load pressure due to the gas charge, which is why they don’t stay compressed like the original shock.

Oil vs. Gas Shocks

There is a lot of misinformation on the Internet, and some of it comes from the manufacturers themselves. Here are the basic facts about oil and gas shocks. All shocks are a hydraulic-style shock; some of them use oil and some of them use gas. Oil shocks are what were available to Ford in the 1960s. Almost every shock you will buy today is a gas shock. When a shock compresses, it loses volume, so there is a small area filled with nitrogen gas or air that can compress or expand as the hydraulic fluid requires.

Shock manufacturers have discovered that by using nitrogen gas, it helps keeps the aeration of the hydraulic fluid down. When hydraulic fluid heats up rapidly, it can cause bubbles in the fluid and this will affect the performance of the fluid. Nitrogen gas is inert and does not heat or expand like atmospheric air, and it keeps the bubbling from occurring. (Racers use it in their tires because the pressure doesn’t change.)

Even though most of your choices today are gas-charged shocks, the manufacturers can use the gas to “stiffen” the shocks by injecting more gas and increasing the pressure in the shock. Gases and liquids can only be compressed so much, and by increasing the pressure of the gas, they can prevent the oil from filling and compressing the gas any further, thus “stiffening” the shock with the gas, rather than by changing the valving.

The shock dyno has a load cell mounted to the top to measure force applied to the piston when the base of the shock is forced up and down, and a velocity gauge measures the acceleration of the base of the shock. Our test measured the velocity at up to 6 inches per second.

Since Ford had a weird way of mounting the front shocks, we built a simple rod eye adapter set to mount the shock in the dyno.

The Test

The way the industry tests shocks is with a shock dynamometer that measures compression and rebound. It does this by measuring the force required to move the shock piston at different velocities.

We went to Advanced Racing Suspensions (ARS) to do our shock runs on their dynamometer. ARS builds custom racing shocks for almost every racing venue you can think of, and its customers frequently win. We wanted an expert, unbiased opinion on our shock selections.

What the charts show us is how much force is required to move the shock at a given velocity. When the shock is at the very top or bottom of the cycle, it is still and has no velocity. Like an engine piston, the movement up or down will increase the shock velocity. The faster the shock moves, the more force is required to push the hydraulic fluid through the piston valve to fill the chamber. The lower line on the chart is the velocity in inches per second, up to 6 inches. The side bar is the amount of force required to move the piston in pounds. Compression is noted on the top side of the chart and rebound is on the bottom.

Corey Fillip with ARS confirmed that what you are looking for in a good street/track setup is a shock with mild/good compression and lots of rebound. Let’s take a look at our set of test shocks.

The Candidates

We selected four different shocks to test: A Monro-Matic Plus purchased from the local auto parts store to serve as our “baseline” shock, as it is probably closest to the OEM shock originally installed on our car; The Monro-Matic “Heavy Duty,” which was a used shock with about 2,000 miles of use, as we wanted to see how it performed after a couple years of use; a brand-new KYB Gas-a-Just shock that we keep in stock because we use and recommend them on my customer cars; and the Bilstein coilover used in the Street or Track tubular coilover conversion kit we are installing on our 1968 test car. A wide variety of shocks, and we expected a wide variety of results.

The Monro-Matic Plus is a gas-charged shock that is economical and gives an OEM ride quality. It is readily available at many auto parts stores.

The Monro-Matic Plus response in compression and rebound was very good and is a good choice for a nice, smooth ride for your first-generation Mustang.

The Monro-Matic Plus The Monro-Matic (PN 33059) was chosen because we felt it would probably be very close to the OEM ride and feel, and this is what was sold at the local auto parts store. In the test, it ran just about where we thought it would be, and this shock should be considered if you want a smooth, comfortable ride in your classic Mustang. The compression and rebound are good and are just right for a nice, smooth ride.

This Monro-Matic HD was installed on our test car that we are using for our tubular control arm conversion, so we decided to test it as a comparison to the standard shock and to see if the performance had fallen off over the four years it was installed on the car.

The HD Monroe saw an increase in compression and rebound over the Plus series shock, and still performs well with no loss of performance even after thousands of miles.

Monro-Matic HD We decided to test this one for a couple of reasons. We wanted to see what years of driving and sitting in the winter does to a shock, and as for the “Heavy Duty” moniker—was that simply a selling point or did it actually perform better than the “Plus” shock? We did notice that the piston rod itself was slightly bigger than the Plus shock, but we don’t know if that directly related to performance. We also need to note that we don’t believe Monroe lists the heavy-duty version (PN 20767) in its current lineup, but they may still be available. We were pleasantly surprised that the HD Monroe performed stronger in both compression and rebound, even after four years of use. The HD would give you a slightly firmer ride than the Plus version. Chalk one up for Monroe for both good ride quality and a well-built product.

The KYB Gas-a-Just shock is a favorite with the Mustang vendors for its firmer ride, and I usually keep a set in stock for my customers who are upgrading their suspensions. The Gas-a-Just comes with pretty good preloading from the gas charge, which helps along with the valving to firm up the ride.

The KYB is a much firmer shock than the OEM-style shocks and recorded the firmest compression of all the shocks tested—a great choice for cars with stock or firmer spring rates.

KYB Gas-a-Just Your author has recommended this shock for years to my customers, and I wanted to see how it would perform on the dyno. This is a mono-tube shock and is much stiffer than the Monroe shocks, and the baseline force that it has on the spring is triple that of the Monroe shock (27 lb versus 9 lb). The KYB scored the highest in compression and slightly higher than the twin-tube shocks in rebound, which means it is going to have a very firm ride. This is a good choice to improve the performance of either a stock spring or a firmer front spring in the original configuration.

The Bilstein coilover that came with our tubular control arms is advertised as not only improving handling, but also improving ride quality.

Street or Track has pulled off a double with this coilover shock. Street or Track has these shocks custom-made by Bilstein to their specifications. For a street/track car, this setup gives an excellent blend of compression (not too firm) and the most rebound of any of the shocks tested. It has to be used with the full tubular control system as it also connects to the lower control arm, which also helps improve shock efficiency.

Bilstein Coilover Why we were here in the first place: to test the Bilstein coilover shock included in the Street or Track tubular suspension system. What we were looking for was good compression and lots of rebound to get the best combination for handling and ride quality. And that is exactly what we found. In the words of Corey Fillip from Advanced Racing Suspensions, “This is the shock I would pick if I were building a street/track car.” We’ll take the shock expert’s word for it.

The results: The KYB was the firmest in compression (blue lines), and the Bilstein had the most rebound (green lines). The Bilstein also had more consistency in the test. Red lines are for the Plus, and orange lines for the HD.

Conclusion

So which shock is right for your car? It really depends on the type of driving you expect to do with your Mustang. The good news is that we feel that all four of the shocks did as we expected them to do, and depending on what you plan to do with your car, you can make an educated choice from these shocks.

Street or Track also sells a Bilstein shock designed to work with the original suspension in street, sport, and race valving. So if you are not ready to step up to the full coilover setup, a Bilstein is available for your car in its original configuration. Street or Track has done its homework on their coilover system and have several different valving solutions for whatever your driving needs are. We’d like to thank Greg Roe of Valparaiso, Indiana, for allowing us to rip into his ’68 fastback for this article.

The post Shock Testing: Rebound and Compression in the Real World appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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lorrainecparker · 6 years

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Review + comparison: iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface

In this article, I’ll review the new <US$100 iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface, with preamp and A-to-D converter. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it was only 3 months ago that I reviewed the >US$150 iRig Pro I/O, whose notable missing feature was latency-free monitoring. The new <US$100 iRig Pre HD indeed has true latency-free monitoring, costs US$50 less, although it lacks MIDI. When I say “multi-platform”, I mean compatibility Apple’s Lightning connector (used on all current iOS devices, including the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) and USB for compliant-Android, Chromebook, Mac and Windows devices. I am also including a 9-point pro/con comparison to its closest competitor on the market, the <US$150 i-XLR from RØDE (which is Lightning-only), including a test recording to hear the preamp and A-to-D quality, specs and practical pros/cons, and a “How to choose” section.

Comparison chart

Test recordings

The following iRig Pre HD (Amazon • B&H) test recording was made using the Shure SM58 dynamic microphone (Amazon • B&H) using my Google Android Pixel XL phone (Amazon • B&H) and the free Auphonic app at 48 kHz WAV mono. It was normalized to -16 LUFS, trimmed and uploaded as 48kHz WAV mono.

https://www.provideocoalition.com/app/uploads/iRig-Pre-HD-with-SM58.wav

Preamp gain and cleanliness

IK Multimedia has not published any spec for the official maximum gain of the iRig Pre HD (Amazon — B&H), but based on my observations, it seems to be approximately +60dB max. With the Shure SM58 (Amazon • B&H) , I had to set it about 64% to get our desired -12dB in raw recordings. However, I was happily surprised to hear a clear signal even at near max. In fact, it seems much cleaner than the preamps in the <US$270 Zoom H5 recorder (whose max gain is officially +52db, (Amazon • B&H) when both are at near max. Fortunately, with the iRig Pro I/O, I didn’t hear hiss or noise, as typically happens when you bring most preamps near to the max. The Shure SM58 dynamic microphone is not the gain hungriest dynamic mic on the planet, and it isn’t the hottest either, but it is much more so than most condenser mics. The SM57 and SM58 are closer to the middle of the dynamic mic spectrum. If you plan to use the iRig Pro I/O with one of the gain-hungriest dynamic mics, like the Audio Technica RE20 or the Shure SM7B,

you should add a pre-preamp like the FetHead (shown above, B&H link), which would be powered from the iRig Pro I/O’s phantom power function. In this case, the phantom power would power the FetHead, not the mic, and the FetHead would not send any phantom power to the dynamic mic. Normally, you would leave phantom power OFF when connecting the iRig Pro I/O directly to a dynamic mic, which is what I did with the direct connection to the Shure SM58.

On the other hand, as covered in my review of the i-XLR (Amazon link • B&H link), RØDE has explained that the i-XLR has a max of +80dB. That is plenty of gain for even the hungriest dynamic mic. With the palindromic Shure 545, I had to set the i-XLR’s gain to absolute minimum to get -12db (with the attenuator Off). However, the i-XLR is a one trick pony (iOS only/Lightning only) and does not officially offer phantom power. The i-XLR is intended to be used with dynamic mics or self-powered condenser mics (i.e. with batteries inside).

SUMMARY FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pre HD (Amazon — B&H) has sufficient clean gain for a dynamic mic like the Shure palindromic 545 mic or SM58. The iRig Pre HD has more than sufficient clean gain for a condenser mic or hotter dynamic mics like the Senal ENG-18RL (reviewed here, B&H). If you need to connect an even hungrier dynamic mic with the iRig Pre HD (like an ElectroVoice RE20 or Shure SM7B), consider getting a pre-preamp like the FetHead (B&H link) to complement the iRig Pre HD.

Sampling frequency and resolution

Fortunately, both the iRig Pre HD and the i-XLR offer 48kHz, the absolute standard for audio sampling for video production and distribution. See my related article All audio production & distribution should go 48 kHz.

In addition, both the iRig Pre HD and the i-XLR offer its 2x cousin, 96kHz. Finally, the iRig Pre HD also offers 44.1 (a throwback to the ancient CD-Audio standard. Not recommended for video) and its 2x cousin, 88.2 kHz (not recommended for video either).

In terms of resolution, fortunately both also offer 24-bit. See my related article: Understanding 24-bit vs 16-bit audio production & distribution to understand the advantages of recording 24-bit even when not planning to distribute 24-bit.

Hardware compatibility

The iRig Pre HD is extremely versatile, including compatibility for compliant Android, Chromebook, macOS, iOS, Windows, including necessary cables, except for Androids that use Micro-USB-OTG or USB-C. Unlike the iRig Pro I/O I covered back in August, the iRig Pre HD does not include MIDI.

On the other hand, the i-XLR is a one-trick-pony, offering only iOS via the Lightning port.

Clarifying the phantom power situation

The new iRig Pre HD absolutely offers switchable 48-volt phantom power, either to power a condenser microphone, or to power a FetHead (B&H ) if necessary to use with an extremely gain-hungry dynamic mic like an RE-20 or SM7B.

The i-XLR officially offers no phantom power. However, some other users and I have discovered that it does power a few XLR condenser mics that demand very low voltage.

CONCLUSIONS FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pro HD works great with phantom-powered condenser mics (with phantom power ON), medium-to-hot dynamic mics (with phantom power OFF) or (optionally) with very demanding dynamic mics via a FetHead (with phantom power ON). On the other hand, the i-XLR works great with any dynamic mic (including those that are very gain-hungry), or a small group of condenser mics that have a very low voltage requirement.

Live monitoring

Unlike its two predecessors, the new iRig Pre HD has a 3.5 mm jack for a stereo 3.5 mm headphone including hardware-based latency free monitoring! This means two things:

You can use any app to record audio-only or video with audio, even one that doesn’t offer live monitoring.

There will be no latency.

There is an ON/OFF switch in case you don’t want to hear yourself. In either position, you can still hear playback from the host device, or the voice of the other person if you are connected live via Allo, FaceTime, Hangouts, Skype, etc. It is aso confirmed that (just like the i-XLR), the iRig Pre HD will also work properly even if you connect a TRRS headset, and will intelligently ignore its microphone.

See my TS/TRS/TRRS/TRRRS: Combating the misconnection epidemic (illustrated above).

Conclusions, and how to choose a single-source XLR interface for your mobile device

I titled the this section as such, because it is not feasible to give a summary of advice for a laptop or desktop computer, given the enormous number of desktop/AC-powered options available, of which there are also many, and I have reviewed several before. That’s why this summary and guide is for mobile devices only, i.e. phones and tablets, and for a single-source XLR.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS ANDROID

If your phone or tablet is Android and compliant, and you want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter in your Android device (if it even exists), then the iRig Pre HD (Amazon • B&H) is your only logical option, since the i-XLR does not work with Android at all. Just remember to get your appropriate cable or adapter, depending upon the connection of your compliant Android.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS/ARE EXCLUSIVELY iOS If your phone or tablet is iOS (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) and you don’t have any need to use your audio interface with a different platform beyond, and you also want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter (which disappeared anyway starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus) then other factors should affect your decision:

If you want to use a condenser microphone that requires 48-volt phantom power, the iRig Pro I/O is your only logical choice, despite any other consideration.

If you want to use MIDI, the under <US$150 iRig Pro I/O I reviewed in August is your only logical choice, despite any other consideration.

If you really love the tally and Record/Pause feature onboard (at present, only with the free RØDE Reporter app), you will likely favor the i-XLR (Amazon • B&H), although it will cost you US$50 more, and it will work with iOS devices only.

Recent articles and reviews you’ll enjoy

Review: iRig Mic HD 2 handheld digital microphone

Review: RØDE Broadcaster, the voice microphone that challenges conventional wisdom

Review: RØDE improves VideoMic Pro+ with several new features

Use wireless Apple AirPods’ mic for shooting standups/monologues with your smartphone?

Balanced audio: benefits and varieties

Review: MixPre-3 audio recorder/mixer from Sound Devices

My multitrack crossgating audio workflow to eliminate crosstalk

Review: AT875R shotgun mic & AT8415 shockmount from Audio Technica

Upcoming articles, reviews, radio shows, books and seminars/webinars

Stand by for upcoming articles, reviews, and books. Sign up to my free mailing list by clicking here. Most of my current books are at books.AllanTepper.com, and my personal website is AllanTepper.com.

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Listen to his CapicúaFM show at CapicúaFM.com in iTunes or Stitcher.

Save US$20 on Project Fi, Google’s mobile telephony and data

Click here to save US$20 on Project Fi, Google’s mobile telephone and data service which I have covered in these articles. I’ve been using it since its birth in 2015 and I love it.

Learn to speak Castilian, the most widely used Spanish language

SpeakCastilian.com

FTC disclosure

No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own.

The articles contained in the TecnoTur channel in ProVideo Coalition magazine are copyright Allan Tépper/TecnoTur LLC, except where otherwise attributed. Unauthorized use is prohibited without prior approval, except for short quotes which link back to this page, which are encouraged!

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