#the raven prince is a tough one but i really think his issues with his body in human form | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

not-poignant · 5 months

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Is the Raven Prince averse to touch and afraid of pain because of what Davix and Olphix did to him when he was a child?

Hi anon!

The Raven Prince is touch averse in every universe. He has definitely gone through some things that made that worse, but those things aren't the same in every universe, and he'd be touch averse regardless of those things. The degree of severity might shift, he's just never been very drawn to this kind of intimacy.

I see it as more inherent to him as a person, in the same way that he rejects his human flesh simply because he prefers to be a bird, and prefers to be in the sky. Therefore at least in when he is a bird shifter, a big part of his touch aversion is specifically being touched while he's in the form that he likes least and has the most dysphoria over. He's the shifter that says most often - out of all of our shifters - that he is an animal first 'I am only a raven' 'I'm just a raven' than any of our other shifters (Julvia, Gulvi, Fenwrel, etc.)

Imho, the Raven Prince's issues with touch come down to issues with his body, and in fae stories, this is specifically because he identifies as a bird first and foremost and is kind of always craving to be back in that form, and I think sees living in human form as a detraction and not a bonus. It's also why he shifts so much more often than any of the other animal shifters in any of his stories. He's always very quick to return to raven form.

As a human, I'm still noodling on his touch aversion, but I think it will be something he's always had. Some of it will likely be exacerbated due to trauma, but he's the kid who never wanted to hug extended family. I think honestly even in scenarios where the Raven Prince picks up a partner, he never sees that partnership as something with a lot of physical affection of any kind, and doesn't really identify with that kind of intimacy as being like...wanted often.

I'd say a fair bit of that is also neurodivergence + sensory overload issues.

#asks and answers #the raven prince #corbyn prince #underline the silver #the nascent diplomat #fae tales #fae tales au #the raven prince is a tough one but i really think his issues with his body in human form #would be related to sensory processing issues around anything tactile #he's always been a very neurodivergent character #even in his best incarnations he's particular and he has special subjects (see: tRP introducing magic to Gwyn in TND and how excited he is)#his dislike of things like war and physical battle #all root back into his issues around touch tbh #which kind of makes me a little amused when i think about it him and the fact that he's so good at avoiding war #because he hates the thought of all those fae being gross and touching and hurting each other's bodies dsalkfsa #administrator gwyn wants this in the queue

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whetstonefires · 3 years

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it's been most of a year and i'm still unable to get past the weirdness of how The Raven Boys books ended.

it's not that it was a weak ending; those are common and it could have been worse, and the prose remained strong enough to almost get away with it. landing a novel series is tough. it was an extremely ambitious project to begin with. that's fine.

what i'm stuck on is how the way it was weak seemed so avoidable. there were all these really excellent themes built up in the intersection between Ganzey's quest and the other main characters' issues, and the magical drama, and the in-depth portrait of White People of Western Virginia that filled out so much of the first few books. there was a lot to work with! it was all making a visible effort to come together!

and all of it was dropped to wander off at a right angle and attempt to replace actual thematic resolution with last-minute high drama, a gay B-ship, and the divine right of kings.

Glyndwr isn't important because he was a king. there have been so many kings. and the highest rank he ever formally claimed was prince, and that was from an angle of aspiring to reconstruct a principality rather than receiving one intact. Glyndwr lingers as a narrative--was reconstructed as a narrative by 19th century nationalists--because he was the last. long after the last, really. he never truly reigned. he was a rebel. he led a revolt on the strength of his distant ties to a fallen throne. his fight started with a spat with his neighbor spiraling wildly out of control but became a large-scale uprising for Welsh independence.

he was metaphorically entombed with hope on his breast because his people were conquered by the English.

how do you put that person at 300% mythic capacity in fucking Virginia, ground zero of the English conquest of north america, make Virginia practically a main character it's so luxuriously present and linger on The Importance of Being A WASP (In Modern Virginia) and then just. absolutely refuse to engage with the existence of English colonialism despite every aspect of your narrative being conspicuously drenched in its legacy??

like. i own that i initially mistook the textual avoidance of the subject of the English following after Glyndwr 200 years later along the same path to shatter another nation there as setup for Ganzey's belated realization that

in all his frenetic compiling of every possible resource

it never fucking occurred to him to ask the still-extant tribes of what was once the Powhatan Confederacy if they had any oral history about such a bizarre fucking event as "a weird foreign boat comes in and then the people on the boat walk a hundred miles inland in an obsessively straight line ignoring or destroying all terrain obstacles, carrying a bier." because he'd been raised to think about pre-colonial Virginia in such a way that 'i wonder if anyone noticed Glyndwr's funeral procession' just. never came into his head.

i thought that was why the book was following his lead of treating 15th century Virginia as uninhabited! to set up that breakthrough, and the way it would tie into the major early theme of the flaws and blindnesses his being from a Best Family had put into him.

and then it wasn't.

so like. maybe stiefvater just sincerely shares Ganzey's hugenormous blind spots, despite the hugenormousness of them being such a major part of his explicit character?

but at the same time, Calla's last-minute absence from the ending of Blue Lily, Lily Blue after all the foreshadowing throughout the book from title onward suggested she would be central to the resolution was about the point at which threads really started visibly being dropped, and not picked up again.

(the point from which things started going downhill and never recovered was, in retrospect, after they got the mad tree witch out of the false tomb and then the story didn't actually know what to do with her, but the fact that there was no point to this character after the initial shock of her wasn't clear until things actually wrapped up and there hadn't been, while Calla's abrupt last-minute siloing to the car with the fake person was obvious as soon as it occurred.)

and having the whole narrative start to decay from around the point that the single black character in the whole story is conspicuously and inexplicably sidelined tends to suggest to me that there was a conscious choice to skirt a certain type of Controversy going on here, at the cost of authenticity, to the detriment of the entire enterprise.

which would make the series an object lesson to writers.

which is why it keeps returning to my mind.

#hoc est meum #racism #history #books #once again not gonna be rude and put this in the tag #writing #wales #erasure of native peoples #my favorite part of the historical glyndwr is #the deal he made with 2 of the guys the king of england had separately sent to put his rebellion down #to divide everything south of Scotland amongst the three of them #ireland was the first proper british colony #and wales was the first nation subjugated by the english #and the Powhatans were the first nation in america hit by that same machine #it's not #it's not a SUBTLE connection

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gerec · 3 years

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Tagged by the wonderful @turtletotem :D :D :D

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

It's Been A Long Time - 7.6k, Cherik, Call Me By Your Name AU

It's been fifteen years since Erik last saw Charles Xavier, when they fell in love over the course of one unforgettable summer. Since then their lives have gone in very different directions, though their short love affair left an indelible mark that still ties them together.

This fic and the next on the list are my favourites from this year; they’re both about ends of relationships and the highs and lows therein, though this one at least has a happy ending. IBALT is inspired entirely by the last part of the book, which hit me the hardest and I loved the most, and I was happy to translate all those emotions into a story for my favorite pairing.

An End Comes to All Good Things - 5k, Cherik, Erik/Shaw, Charles/Logan

Sometimes love isn't enough, and good relationships still end. For Erik it happens sooner than expected, when he begins an affair with his boss and mentor, Sebastian Shaw. For Charles, it happens later than it should, after a proposal that never happens.

This...I have no idea what prompted this story, though I’m really glad I wrote it, and I think it’s one of my best. It feels honest and raw to me, and almost cathartic to get down, and mature and emotional in a way I’m really proud of. It’s also maybe the only Cherik fic I’ve written where they start in a relationship and break up and don’t get back together? Definitely a first.

The Master of Charlton Park - 45k, Cherik, Charles/Steve, a/o

On the brink of losing his ancestral home, omega Charles Xavier agreed to do the unthinkable; he would sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of his family, and bear a child for a married alpha and his mate.

But Charles never expected that alpha to be Erik Lehnsherr, with whom he shared an impossible love and undeniable passion.

I tell anyone who’ll listen that I’m not usually a huge fan of regency au, so of course I have to go and write 45k of it lol (not all this year - I just finished it in 2020). It was (I thought) a sufficiently trope-y bodice ripping romance, and I’m quite happy with how it went/ended, so much thanks to darling @ikeracity for giving me the plot bunny to begin with :D

AU-gust Challenge - 27k, Cherik, various pairings

This was surprisingly tough to do, to write an au a day for the entire month but I’m so glad I stuck it out! There are a least a few ficlets that deserve a follow-up/I have more ideas to explore, and I definitely hope to get around to addressing them in 2021! My favorites of the bunch:

Soulmate AU - An old painting leads to a chance meeting with destiny. (Cherik)

Royalty AU - Charles runs from Genosha, and the possibility of happiness with the Crown Prince. (Cherik)

Space AU (Part 1) - Charles and Raven get a lucrative job offer.

Space AU (Part 2) - Erik shows up to make Charles' bad day worse. (Cherik)

Private Detective AU - PD Charles is accused of Shaw's murder. (Erik/Shaw, Cherik)

Monster Hunters AU - Logan vows to save Charles from his vampire lover. (Cherik, Xavierine)

Magic AU - Dark Mage!Erik takes Paladin!Charles prisoner. (Cherik)

you can never tell (with eyes downcast remix) - 3.4k, Charles/Kurt

Kurt lets himself get caught. Charles loses, even when he wins.

@irelise wrote such a gorgeous fic for these two that I just had to remix it, and dig further into the twisted ‘relationship’ between them. I like that the fic ends with Charles being just as messed up as he’s always been, not really having learned any lessons or resolved any issues, and possibly taking those same hangups into future affairs...

#gerec writes #gerec rambles #2020 in fic #2020 #gerec's 2020 #fic summary #cherik #xavierine #starles #i usually do a full summary of total works and words written #but honestly this is the best of the bunch here #so i'll just leave it at that

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ecofinisher · 3 years

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The Adventures of Super Nathan 4 - Chap 2

Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29003949/chapters/71391201

https://www.wattpad.com/1018609843-the-adventures-of-super-nathan-4-chapter-2

The class was now in the break playing with each other in small groups. Most of the parents stood together with other parents watching their children play and chatted along with each other.

Nathaniel hung out with Luka, Ivan, Kagami, Rose, and Jin on the stairs observing their offspring play tag with another. Ivan held out his smartphone in his hands to watch the kids thought it and took a few snapshots of them running and showed it to Nathaniel, which nodded.

„Who would have thought one day we would sit together years after we finish school and watch our own offsprings play with each other?“ Luka asked looking at the friend group, which nodded at Luka‘s comment.

„I wasn‘t for myself expecting it so early, but I gotta admit it gives me such a great feeling to see Elliot run there along with the others,“ Kagami stated watching Elliot crash against Rouven, which was laughing afterward Rouven began to haunt the blonde laughing along with him, making Kagami smile enchanted. „Adrien blessing me with this cute, little boy was the best thing he could have done,“ Kagami mentioned earning a nod from Ivan.

„Did you really have to give up your education to be able to be around Elliot?“ Ivan questioned looking at the Japanese woman, which shake her head.

„No, I was able to repeat the next semester on the other year. I just didn‘t want to be less present in Elliot‘s life as I would be along with Adrien gone at the uni. I left the university to be at home with him, later on, Gabriel opened for me a 70% workload to be working at the office along with him and Emilie,“

„At least it‘s something good,“ Ivan commented.

„How‘s is every one of you doing?“ Kagami questioned. „So far I only know about Lila and Nathaniel. What are you doing Rose?“

„I opened the hair salon along with Juleka, Jean, Aurore, and Marc,“ Rose mentioned. „We cut everyone‘s hair and Jean and Juleka also know how to barber. Every man can get for 7 bucks a new hair cut. Depending on what else we do it gets another price,“ Rose explained.

„What would Nath pay for his haircut?“ Luka asked placing his hand behind Nathaniel‘s head watching Nathaniel grab Luka‘s hand to pull it down.

„Hey, I like my hair the way it is,“ Complained the redhead making Luka snicker.

„Sure you do, babyface,“ Luka joked.

„Says the one who has the face shaved,“ Nathaniel countered making Luka grin.

„You know I just shave my face out of hygienic reasons, right?“ Luka commented making Ivan chuckle at their argument.

„Are you two really going to talk about shaving right now?“ Questioned the tall man.

„Don‘t worry Ivan, if Lila was here the conversation would have turned awkward in the next five seconds,“ Kagami mentioned making Ivan chuckle.

„She really would,“ Luka agreed making Nathaniel frown.

„Hey you two are talking about my wife,“ Nathaniel commented watching Luka slap his friend on the back.

„Don‘t worry, we‘re not meaning to offend,“ Luka assured, then his phone began to ring and he got up to attend the call and walk towards the exit.

„Do you still work in the retirement home, Nathaniel‘s dad is living?“ Rose questioned earning a nod from the raven-haired man.

„Yeah. I don‘t feel like anything has changed at all except for Cody growing up,“ Ivan mentioned.

„This year was tough for me and Nathalie. We were all on our own and we only managed to visit my mom every second week. Lila was the entire time out in Italy during the recording of the series. Lila‘s luck now was, that the role she got as a protagonist will mainly play in Paris and just the first season takes place in Italy. Soon she will be here and we‘ll be able to see her more often,“

„Wish I could see her today, but we‘re going to have dinner with my parents and we won‘t be able to come,“ Rose mentioned earning a nod from the redhead.

„It‘s okay you can visit us any other day,“ Nathaniel added making the blonde nod.

„I may bring her one of the coupons my frequent guests usually receive at Christmas. In case she wants to color her hair back,“

„I think she likes having black hair so far,“ Nathaniel mentioned. „But it‘s not a bad idea either,“

„Good,“ Rose agreed, then watched Nathaniel take out his smartphone as he heard it receiving a message and he opened it to see it was sent by Ivan, that showed his son along with Luka‘s running. Nathaniel gave a thumb up, then opened his gallery to send the previous picture he took during class to the chat Ivan was in along with 14 other students from his class. Ivan replied with a thumb up followed by Marinette beginning to type down a message.

„Aww my little Prince,“ Marinette commented with several hearts beside it.

Mrs. Donner passed across the court of the elementary school with a plateau with middle-sized and small cups of coffee and stopped by the adults on the stair to offer them a drink.

„Is anyone interested in a coffee or an espresso?“ Questioned the teacher earning a nod from all students, except for Nathaniel and the teacher bowed down at the adults so each of them could take a drink.

„Ivan remember the first time my friend Paulo offered Adrien a cigarette to smoke?“ Luka questioned earning a nod from the tall man.

„Oh yes I do,“ Ivan responded with a laughter. „Why did he want to do that again?“

„He said something about it would make him more manly,“ Luka mentioned. „Really?“ Nathaniel asked. „I would have never done that,“

„I understand you,“

„Hey what‘s the next lesson in the schedule?“ Ivan questioned. „Was it Math?“ The raven-haired man asked earning a nod from the teacher.

„Yes, it is. Don‘t worry. It‘s very simple for them,“ Mrs. Donner said watching Luka elbow Nathaniel on his arm.

„You‘ll be able to tell Nathalie the difference between a plus and a minus, right?“ Luka joked making Nathaniel frown.

„Are you kidding me?“ Questioned Nathaniel making Luka chuckle. „Of course I do,“

„That‘s great, but you don‘t need to worry about if anything isn‘t understandable for you to explain to your daughter when needed. The school is here to help her out, when she needs it,“ Mrs. Donner explained earning a nod from Nathaniel.

„Your group seems quite close I have noticed. Were you in the same class before?“ Questioned the woman earning a nod from Luka.

„Well I was a class ahead of them, but I knew Nathaniel and Ivan from the elementary school. Rose was my sister‘s childhood friend and they‘re together now and I‘m married to Marinette, who attended the same class as Nathaniel and Ivan,“

„Okay and I think I‘ve seen you in some magazines along with the former teeny model Adrien Agreste, right?“ Questioned the teacher earning a nod from the blue-haired woman. „I remember starting university and see your first image with him,“

„Oh yes….I think it was with our sponsors for the fencing tournament or a paparazzi shoot,“ Kagami mentioned. „I‘m not really fond of photoshoots so I‘m sort of lost in the ones I attended with him,“

„It‘s no issue. I will move further to the next parents. See you all in the classroom again,“

„Is anyone of you going to eat at home?“ Ivan questioned. „I‘m not sure if I can make it to cook something quick for Cody only,“

„My mom offered me to pass by her house for lunch with Rouven. If you want I can ask her if she could make space for you two,“ Luka offered. „Nathaniel, you‘re also interested?“ Questioned the raven-haired man his short friend.

„I was planning in stopping at the restaurant down the Louvre, but if you don‘t mind it, I could go with you,“ Responded the redhead.

„Great, I will just make the call,“ Luka stated getting up from the stairs to search his mother‘s phone number to call her.

„Has Adrien actually have a plan B, if he fails again at the exam?“ The blonde woman asked watching Kagami take a sip of her espresso.

„I didn‘t ask him anything about it, cause I don‘t want him to feel negative about it or that I think negatively about his performance later on the exams. I think after we know the results we can see later. Maybe he‘ll get luckier this time and we won‘t need a plan b,“

„Wee, when he passes this means he will once more be distant from all of you again. How are you able to deal with that?“ Questioned Rose.

„Well, we may get used to that. If there‘s something changing between all of us I ask Adrien if we can find out a solution to this. We will wait first,“

„Don‘t let Adrien miss all the memorable moments he can experience with Elliot throughout his life. How many men or even women miss the most important parts of their kids' life, just because they're hoping to provide them a better life?“

„Oh Rose don't‘ worry. I and Adrien are both in this. We promised each other to help each other out,“

„That is good. These coming years are going to be the best ones you‘ll have with him. Believe me,“ Rose spoke earning a nod from the blue-haired woman watching the playing kids.

Adrien sat in the bedroom in front of his desk gazing into the book he was using to study. Plagg, his kwami sat on top of a shelf over the desk, which contained various named files watching the blonde learn for the exam.

„Why didn‘t you go together with Elliot and Kagami to the first school day?“ Plagg questioned. „You would be only the morning there,“

„I need to focus on Friday, Plagg,“ Warned the blonde.

„I know you do, but you could have been present there like Kagami or at least for an hour or two,“

„I could, but I couldn‘t. I will make it up for him tonight anyway by watching that movie with him they didn‘t finish yesterday,“ Adrien mentioned picking up the smartphone, which lied at the edge of his table counting the amount of minutes he‘s been studying, which were at 135. „I‘m not sure when exactly we will watch it thought. I would prefer in the afternoon rather than after dinner,“

„Wouldn‘t you want it after dinner?“ Questioned Plagg. „You know so that he can straight off go to bed or get ready for it?“

„I don‘t know…..Well it could come the case that he has homework to do and I believe it‘s better for him to do them right after school. Or he should do it the way he feels is better for him. I used to hear from Kim or Ivan, that they had the need to do something after school before working on the homework first,“

„Eating first always is a good option,“ Commented the black kitten earning a nod from Adrien, which looked back at his smartphone as he heard it vibrate then pressed on the home button to lighten up the display and see a message from his wife, then he sighed.

„Oh damn it, the surprise party,“ Adrien commented leaning back on the seat picking up his phone to unlock it.

„Morning Adri. I forgot yesterday about the surprise party we were participating in going to. If you prefer to stay back to study, stay. I‘ll be going there to at least see Lila again. See you later,“

„I promised her to go a long while ago. I‘m not going to skip it,“

„What about the movie?“ Questioned the kwami.

„We‘ll see that later. I‘ll wait until they‘re back,“ Adrien stated beginning to text a message to Kagami. „I prefer to solve it with her, rather than randomly agreeing or disagreeing on it,“

„Sounds quite better than the last few times,“

„That‘s why I chose this way. I‘m lately being so absent that soon or later I will end up being like my dad or worse“

„What your dad was in the past was worse. You‘re just something else…..something that comes before bad,“

„There‘s nothing before bad. I‘m either bad or worse,“

„Okay I know something else. You‘re not perfect and that‘s normal. You‘ll never be perfect, you will just learn how to deal with it. This is a good start, you prefer to discuss with Kagami the issue about Elliot and Lila‘s surprise party you agreed on going months ago. Just talk you two about it and it will get solved in a way or another. Which way you‘ll both agree on remains unknown for now,“

„Sure, I‘ll do it, don‘t worry. Here I need to focus now on the learning,“ Mentioned the blonde shoving the smartphone back to the end of the table, followed by the kwami to sit down on its cover with a piece of cheese on his hands to observe the holder continue his practice for the exam.

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dropbee7-blog · 5 years

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Cold Takes: A Look At Chicago’s Sloppy Win At San Francisco

We’ve all seen the “Hot Takes” from the last weekend’s games all over the net.

In this series, I’m letting some time pass, and after reviewing the game tape a couple of times, I’m going to share some “Cold Takes” about the Bears pulling out a tough win over the San Francisco 49ers and staying alive for a bye in the playoffs. I’ll also sprinkle in a few thoughts about our division rivals. These are just a series of my thoughts and observations about the game as well as the Bears in general up until this point, presented in no particular order.

My game ball goes to Danny Trevathan. Not only did he have a huge, game saving pick, he also played on whale of a game from the first snap to the last. Honorable mentions go to Roquan Smith, Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, Eddie Goldman, Sherrick McManis, Deon Bush, Prince Amukamara, Kyle Fuller and last but certainly not least Leonard Floyd.

Leonard Floyd is the monster that we wanted out of him when we drafted him. These last six weeks, after he was fully healthy from the knee (from last season) and the hand, the man has been money. Literally. He’s about to get PAID.

Speaking of Floyd, if he starts this weekend I do believe we’ve got a couple of signature bets that get won... It will be interesting to see if the people who bet their sigs that Floyd wouldn’t start the entire season will “remember” that they did so.

No, before you ask, I am not the sig-bet police.

As usual, I’ve not got much to say about Mitchell Trubisky, mostly because everybody else talks about him a lot. Mitch had great numbers, but unlike what was reported on the radio, he had NOT seen the defensive holding flag when he launched that horrible throw into the end zone that was picked off. He just plain missed, and we got lucky.

THOSE types of passes are what we can’t have in the playoffs from Mitchell. He doesn’t have to win games by himself (he can HELP though), but he cannot allow himself to lose games. That was a Rex Grossman type throw, and we just need to not have any more of those.

Jordan Howard needs 176 yards to break 1,000 for the season (last time I checked). I’d like to see the Bears give Howard 40 carries and see if he can break that mark... because if they do that, and if he did, we win this ballgame this week. Minnesota is actually really struggling with the run (if you take out the LOLions & Packers games, because they can’t run on an NAIA team let alone an NFL team).

Richard Sherman’s explanations about the proper way to hit other players in the helmet when in a fight were interesting. Never punch, always swat with an open hand... they feel it more and you don’t hurt yourself. Sherman has a lot of experience doing this. I wonder why a lot of players think he’s a dirtbag?

We only dressed 4 WR’s, and when Anthony Miller and Josh Bellamy were ejected for fighting that left us with two wideouts for the rest of the game. For a lot of teams this would be a problem, but for Chicago? We just slotted Tarik Cohen and one of our pass catching tight ends out there and pressed on.

Think about this one, how things have changed. We only dressed four WR’s and one of them was Bellamy... and everybody was happy about it.

I asked the boys at The Chicago Audible Podcast (CLICKY) (formerly Da Bears Brothers Podcast) in their December 19 Q&A show (CLICKY) if they thought Joshua Bellamy had earned a multi year deal, and the fellas agreed that he had. Truth compels me to admit a bit of trolling here, I’m a long time listener and fan of the show, and over the history of the show the boys have not been noted as the biggest Bellamy fans... in fact, they pretty well universally had him cut during the pre-season roster episode.

So what do you good people think, does Joshua Bellamy deserve a multi-year contract along the lines of a Sherrick McManis deal? I think he absolutely does.

The more I watch Matt Nagy on tape... later after the game’s emotions settle down... the more impressed I am by how quickly he reads the defenses and throws changes at them.

This will probably make you roll your eyes, but I am dead serious. Matt Nagy slots in age between Drew Brees and Tom Brady. With what he has between his ears, if he can throw the ball AT ALL, he could be a winning quarterback in the NFL today. Make the read, get the ball out, boom. Of course, the first hit might put him in intensive care, but... hey, dreaming doesn’t hurt :)

BOOM!

Speaking of BOOM!...

Chicago Bears fans need to make BOOM! work, and we need to start in the playoffs. Seriously, this HAS to be a thing. Can you imagine the power and shock of 60,000 rabid Bears fans... and their players on the sidelines... doing the Matt Nagy BOOM!

I’ve been reading a lot of articles about Matt Patricia. We got the right Matt.

Green Bay has played a lot better since they fired their coach after losing at home to the hapless Arizona Cardinals.

I’m still laughing so hard it hurts... Green Bay lost at home to the Arizona Freaking Cardinals. The likely first team in the draft. With a healthy Aaron Rodgers. Excuse me, I’m about to die laughing.

Gasp. OK, got my breath back now. Whew.

Don’t look now, but Jon Gruden is still and idiot.

OK, there’s really only one huge thing to talk about with the 49ers and Bears, and of course it’s Robbie Gould. Robbie, a Bear forever no matter where and how long he plays, sure is missed, but even he admits he was needing a change his last year in Chicago. Personally, I think that change could have come by getting him a new position coach and coordinator to fix his mechanical issues and help him focus, but Ryan Pace decided to save some coin and cut him.

That’s worked out great for Robbie, but terrible for the Bears. Robbie has been even more automatic since he left than he was in his prime here. Of course, in San Fran land he’s kicking in much better conditions than Chicago, but still, the dude is on fire.

Bold prediction time. Robbie is a free agent, and appears to be happy in San Francisco... but he lives in Chicago, loves Chicago and the Bears need to upgrade in the kicking department. My bold (and very unlikely to come true) prediction is that Chicago eats the rest of Parkey’s contract and signs Robbie this off-season as a free agent on a 3-year deal. Robbie would rather live here with his family than out of an apartment out there...

Yeah, I know, that last one is more a pipe dream than reality, but a fan can hope.

As usual, I asked my fellow WCG contributors if they had any cold takes to share... you just know they did...

Eric C. Duerrwaechter

I sure do miss Robbie Gould. And the rest of the Bears’ fanbase certainly does as well. It bites not having a kicker who’s as automatic as Gould was during his prime, even through today. With that said, the objective should be touchdowns, not field goals. Yes, Ryan Pace and his staff should look into adding competition next year at the Kicker position. Then again, this offense is light years away from the old mindset of controlling the clock and settling for field goals if need be. Matt Nagy and this team want touchdowns, nothing less. And, well, I do not feel Parkey is nearly as bad as Connor Barth was for his time in Chicago.

It’s also comforting to see Mitchell Trubisky continuing to improve after his stinker against the Rams two weeks ago. As he displayed against the Packers just a week prior, Trubisky utilized his athleticism as a tool to buy time for his receivers to get open against zone coverage. He took a few sacks at San Fran against a decent front seven, yet he didn’t seem overly rattled when pressure was applied. Instead, he looked downfield, made quick decisions, and threw bullets with anticipation and accuracy. That is something I have waited to see consistently for a while now. Oh, and he is in the midst of a 7-game winning streak as the Bears’ starting QB. The last time any QB won 7 in a row? 2006, with Rex Grossman; a QB comparison that Trubisky has certainly outperformed.

And now, time to get a little hot...

Screw all the talk from ESPN and other pundits about needing an MVP caliber QB to reach the Super Bowl. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl in 2000 with the Baltimore Ravens despite not even touching 2,000 yards in 11 starts while passing 12 TDs to 11 Ints. Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl in 2012 with a great defense while posting mediocre stats as a QB. Peyton Manning rode a great defense to the Super Bowl in 2015 despite having his worst year as a pro. He, Manning, threw 17 interceptions compared to just 9 touchdowns. And, just last year, a back-up in Nick Foles became the 2nd ever backup QB to win a Super Bowl. I would say Trubisky is better than any of those QBs were in the aforementioned seasons, and he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl with this season thanks to a scary Bears defense paired with a smart coaching staff.

Rant. Over.

Josh Sunderbruch

I don’t blame Ryan Pace for moving on from Robbie Gould at kicker. It needed to happen, and it was a decision based on performance (not pay). However, I absolutely do blame Ryan Pace for the parade of ineptitude that has made its way through the position since Gould was cut. Better kickers were available, yet Pace has provided the Bears with a motley collection that has gone 56/74 (<76%) since 2015.

Superfans

OK, Chicago Bears fans, there you have it. What do you think? Spill the beans!

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2018/12/27/18157612/cold-takes-a-look-at-chicago-bears-sloppy-win-at-san-francisco-49ers-danny-trevathan-mitch-trubisky

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years

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Super Bowl LIII prop bets: A look at the bizarre novelty wagers for the big game

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Some people will tell you that prop bets are for suckers. And those people suck.

Prop betting has become one of the most popular wagering options for both squares and sharps alike, according to sister site Covers.com.

When it comes to the professional bettors – those fabled Vegas wiseguys – they don’t care what the bet is. Their biggest concern is value: do they have a significant edge over the book to make money on that bet?

Whether that’s on the Super Bowl pointspread or time of the first score of the game, money won is money won. That said, there are “smarter” prop bets to make, like handicapping prop odds for things you can actually research and quantify.

You can crunch the numbers around the longest made field goal for Super Bowl LIII and have an educated prediction. You can’t, however, accurately forecast the fashion habits of Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine and know whether he’ll wear a hat during the halftime show. I mean you can try. And boy do we try.

For all of you Super Bowl bettors — the so-called suckers — who love those unpredictable and often absurd novelty prop options: we salute you. That’s true gambling. Let’s do the impossible.

*Note: Most novelty props that can’t be officially graded in a box score are not allowed to be offered in legal sports betting states like Nevada or New Jersey. These types of props are only available online or in Europe sportsbooks. If you can’t legally take part in those markets, these predictions should simply be treated as entertainment only.

COIN TOSS

The same folks that poo-poo prop betting are the same ones that crap all over wagering on the coin toss.

Yes, it’s an actual coin toss with no way to predict what will happen. Pure 50/50. But, it’s also a coin toss, so there’s no outside factors like weather or in-game injuries that will spoil a play you thought you handicapped perfectly. Just let her rip.

Another reason to love betting on the coin toss: it’s the miso soup of Super Bowl bets. It’s quick, and early on, and you don’t have to go nuts and bet a ton of money on it. The coin toss is just a little taste to warm up your gut for the all-you-can-eat feast that is Super Sunday.

As it stands, Tails holds a 27-25 edge over Heads in Super Bowl coin toss history. Tails had hit in four straight Big Games before Heads showed up last year at Super Bowl LII. Is Heads due to come up again in order to balance out the universe or is Tails still the hot pick? Reminder: it’s a coin toss, so don’t lose too much sleep.

A couple other coin toss trends to consider (but are actually pure fluff): the NFC has won 18 of the past 21 Super Bowl coin flips but lost last year when the AFC Champion Patriots took the toss. That was just the second time in New England’s eight Super Bowl showings under Bill Belichick that the Pats won the toss – and they lost both of those games (2012, 2018).

Again, it’s a coin toss. Have fun.

PREDICTION: Tails (-105)

NATIONAL ANTHEM LENGTH

Motown legend Gladys Knight has the honors of singing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LIII. The 74-year-old songstress from Atlanta has an Over/Under of 107 seconds (could vary per sportsbook), which is well below last year’s 120-second total for pop singer Pink, who clocked in at 112 seconds and cashed in for Under bettors.

Going back over the past 28 Super Bowls, the average length of the anthem is about 115 seconds but recent singers have really milked the spotlight with longer versions of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. Before Pink, three consecutive singers went over two minutes with their anthem performance and looking back at those past 28 Super Bowls, just seven versions of the anthem stayed below the current O/U of 107 seconds.

I did some YouTube sleuthing and found a recording of Knight singing the anthem back in 1991, with her finishing with a time around 105 seconds. That was 27 years ago. According to my fellow Covers Live Wire host and professional stage performer/singer Maddy Palmer, Knight’s age and breathing control have her leaning toward the Under. Maddy believes Knight won’t have the pipes to go all out like some younger anthem singers in the past. She’ll keep it quick and clean.

Good enough for me.

PREDICTION: Under 107 (-115)

HALFTIME SHOW

Is it just me or does Maroon 5 not have enough clout to play the Super Bowl halftime show? Beyoncé, Prince, Paul McCartney, The Rolling “F-ing” Stones, and… Maroon 5. One of these things is not like the others. I guess that’s what you get when every other major musical act passes on the chance due to their stand on the NFL vs. Colin Kaepernick. But I digress.

Props around the halftime show are abundant, with Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi (God, I’d love an all Outkasts halftime show!) scheduled to appear. As mentioned above, you can wager on whether Levine will sport a hat to start the show or not, but by now that’s standard Super Bowl prop betting fare. I think the real money is in the opening song markets.

Some books have “Moves Like Jagger” as the front runner to kick off the halftime show while other have songs like “One More Night”, “Sugar”, and “Makes Me Wonder” at the top of this prop. You can grab most of these between +300 and +600.

The one trend I’ve noticed in recent Super Bowl halftime shows is a “psych out song” to open. They start playing the tune from one song but then start singing another:

We saw Lady Gaga do this three years ago with “God Bless America” and then jumping into “Poker Face”, Bruno Mars did it in 2014 with a kids choir singing “Billionaire” then he went in with “Locked Out Of Heaven”, and Beyoncé crossed us up with a “Run The World (Girls)”/Vince Lombardi mashup then singing “Love On Top”. Beware of this trend because it causes grading issues with many online books. It’s their prop and their rules, so whatever they think is the first song sung – that’s what you get. Tough tees.

The other trend I’ve picked up on in recent Super Bowl halftime shows is that acts will either open with their latest song – in order to promote the new album – or they’ll swing big with what is considered their greatest hit:

Justin Timberlake went new with “Filthy” right out of the gate last year, Lady Gaga went classic with “Poker Face”, Coldplay went classic with “Yellow”, Katy Perry went new with “Roar”, Bruno Mars went new with “Locked Out of Heaven”, as did the Queen B with “Love On Top”, and Madonna took us back to the classics with “Vogue” in 2012.

Since most of these options pay a larger sum due to the unpredictable nature of this prop, we’re pulling the trigger on three songs to open. Going classic: “This Love”. Going new: “Girls Like You”. And, digging into setlists from their recent concerts: “What Lovers Do”.

PREDICTION: Opening song – This Love (+1,500), Girls Like You (+600), What Lovers Do (+400)

BETTING THE BROADCAST

The great thing about broadcast props is that the game can be an absolute wash and you still have a dog in the fight. And speaking of dogs, did you know there’s an Over/Under prop out there on the number of dogs featured in Super Bowl commercials (5.5)? Gotta go Over, right?

Other broadcast offerings include how many time Tony Romo will correctly calls a play before it happens and will a call Romo correctly predicts finds its way to the endzone? Then you have all of the Over/Under TV appearance props: Giselle 1.5 O/U, Roger Goodell 1.5 O/U, Robert Kraft 2.5, Kylie Jenner 0.5.

There are a ton of these out there but my favorite one – in terms of probability – is will CBS mention the age difference in the two head coaches, Bill Belichick (the evil entity that uses his body as a host is 391 years old but he doesn’t look a day over 66) and Sean McVay (33).

The “Yes” on this prop is priced at -200, which may be a little too rich for the casual fan but this prop is going to hit. You bet $20 to get $10. You’re going to return half of your investment right away. No mutual fund is going to promise that kind of return.

PREDICTION: “Yes” broadcast mentions age difference between Belichick and McVay (-200)

GATORADE BATH

Just because the whistle blew and confetti is flying doesn’t mean the betting fun stops. The postgame is a dog and pony show of unpredictable markets just waiting to be wagered on. You’ve got a ton of President Trump related props (Will he congratulate the winning team on Twitter by midnight ET?) and of course, who will the winning quarterback thank first (God, family, coach, team, fans)?

At the top of that list though is the color of the Gatorade bath. Depending on where you play, the price on colors is all over the place. However, most shops do have water/clear and yellow leading the charge.

Looking back to 2000, this is your Super Bowl Gatorade bath count: Water x 7, Orange x 5, Yellow x 3, Blue x 1, and 4 bone-dry coaches. You had both Water and Orange when the Ravens won in 2013, in case you’re actually counting.

If you like the Patriots, there might be value in no bath – if available at your sportsbook. In Belichick’s five wins, he’s stayed dry in three of those games (thanks to walk-off wins) with Blue and Water as the color of the other two. McVay, on the other hand, got a Water bath in his first win as the Rams’ head coach in Week 1 of the 2017 season.

Seems like H2O is the way to go.

PREDICTION: Water/Clear +360

This article was written by Jason Logan (@CoversJLo) and originally published on Covers.com, a site also owned by Tribune.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/02/01/super-bowl-liii-prop-bets-a-look-at-the-bizarre-big-game-novelty-wagers/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/super-bowl-liii-prop-bets-a-look-at-the-bizarre-novelty-wagers-for-the-big-game/

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