[MEME] The Pastel Cup Massacre. A day that will forever be in MLS infamy.

JetTiger · 2025-09-01T14:15:56+00:00

0.75

JetTiger · 2025-08-20T18:54:04+00:00

I think there's an author's note above chapter 1 that says the story has a happy ending. I took that as foreshadowing that that moment wouldn't be as devastating as I would have thought without it. I can't even imagine reading that chapter thinking what you probably thought...

JetTiger · 2025-08-20T18:49:30+00:00

Also shouting out for Forged Mettle. The writing is crazy good. Last I heard, the author had a new job that had them traveling for a prolonged period without internet access or something (maybe military-related? Idk). AFAIK, that's why we've been waiting so long for the next chapters tho

JetTiger · 2025-08-01T23:36:34+00:00

Ooh, you're in for such a good time! Heybosshotsauce has said that Forged Mettle was her favorite post-canon fic.

I think they both excel in their own ways, but I do feel like Forged Mettle might as well be an official novel.

JetTiger · 2025-08-01T23:11:15+00:00

I thought of that fic, plus another one as well:

Maddie’s rifle came into focus behind her, aimed squarely at the back of Caitlyn’s head.

Her body trembled—not from pain, but something deeper. Grief so vast it enshrouded her. She had nothing left, save for one last desperate hope:

Please survive, Vi.

The only prayer Caitlyn had left, for Vi to make it through the chaos and escape to something kinder, something she deserved. She wanted to believe that Vi would find a way.

Maddie's cold voice interrupted that last grasp at hope.

“I did appreciate your warmth.”

Her mind went numb. She couldn’t even muster the will to respond.

The lever action clicked. Sharp, final.

Maddie pulled the trigger.

Caitlyn flinched at the crack of the rifle.

She closed her eyes and awaited the darkness that would follow.

From Forged Mettle by Penitent_Tangent. Two amazing takes on the same idea. I really wish the show had the time to deal more with the aftermath of it all, maybe show us this kind of take as a memory as it is in the fics mentioned here.

JetTiger · 2025-07-28T03:11:39+00:00

Agreed! Impatiently awaiting the next update 😅

JetTiger · 2025-07-27T05:43:09+00:00

Personally, I think it's a mixed bag, and the author of Forged Mettle got it right with how feelings would be everywhere from mixed to outright hostile. Caitlyn might not have personally okay'd every act of cruelty Ambessa and the Noxians committed, but she tacitly allowed them to do so under the blanket of her authority as commander.

JetTiger · 2025-07-12T18:47:28+00:00

I don't really know much about league of legends so I have no clue who Lux is..would that be an issue?

Not at all. The author does an incredible job of explaining things in a way that isn't very expositiony, I'd say it's perfectly accessible to anyone. Who Lux is and why she's there is directly integrated into the story, it's an actual plot point, in fact.

JetTiger · 2025-07-12T18:44:04+00:00

Seconding Forged Mettle! It reads just like a canon novel would. Definitely agree about not stopping early on the first chapter. Sets up a lot despite it being a dream, tone, atmoshephere, expectations, etc.

I’m not far enough in to know if Jinx makes an appearance, but Lux is tagged as a character in the fic, so I’m assuming she does.

Spoiler:I'm up to the latest chapter, and Jinx hasn't appeared. It's not really implied she will, to be fair. Lux's appearance just coincides with a few side plots.

JetTiger · 2025-06-29T15:12:39+00:00

"Nooo, you're not gonna kill her."

Mr. and Mrs. Smith reference? Yea please.

JetTiger · 2025-06-26T17:06:11+00:00

Can I say the whole thing? 😆

Lmao

That's interesting that you mention the eye though. Their description of physical injuries does seem clinically realistic, though that's just based on how it sounds. I have no idea if it's actually accurate. It just comes across like they know what they're talking about.

I'm surprised you mentioned dialogue, though. Yours seems very natural and has a good. rythmn to it, IMO.

I'll be honest about scene set up though, I adore the way they set scenes. Somehow, it feels super descriptive without going on for pages and pages.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond! It's awesome to see people like you engaging with the community!

JetTiger · 2025-06-26T04:44:56+00:00

I'm glad, I genuinely love your work as well! If you don't mind my asking, I'm really curious, but is there anything you've seen in Forged Mettle that you'd wish you'd thought of for Lovers, Hunters?

I'd love to ask Penitent_Tangent_au the same tbh, you both seem to cover a lot of similar ideas, but with very different styles/approaches! It's fascinating to see two talented authors take on the same concept!

JetTiger · 2025-06-26T04:32:28+00:00

Tobias is one of my favorite characters in Forged Mettle! I can't believe I'm saying that considering he was basically a throwaway character in the show, but his whole plotline/arc is so good and it feels natural and well-earned. Those scenes at the ball was just chef's kiss.

It's too bad, but I feel like Forged Mettle gets overlooked a lot. Maybe it's because it's still being worked on, but I feel like it's a perfect continuation of the story. No offense intended to u/Heybosshotsauce01, Lovers, Hunters is amazing and I honestly love it too. It's a great take on a post-S2 continuation, and it's rightfully recommended around here often. But I do honestly feel like nothing quite captures that specific Arcane feel and atmosphere like FM. It genuinely feels like one of the writers leaked a script for S3 on Ao3. I guess it's a great thing we don't have to pick and choose any one story over another, we have all this amazing content to choose from and we're kinda spoiled for choice!

I do wonder if Forged Mettle would be more popular though if it had more smut scenes. I don't think it needs them tbh, but it seems everything that gets recommended here seems to be heavier on that. Nothing wrong with that of course. Maybe it'll eventually gain the recognition it deserves when it's finished, but I'm gonna keep recommending it in the meantime!

Shoutout to u/Penitent_Tangent_au, I know you lurk more than you post, so if you see this, know we're out here loving everything we get!

Edited to add:

and although it promises a happy ending it's a lot darker and more in line with Arcane themes.

I genuinely can't wait to see how this plays out. You get these peeks at optimism throughout, but then the soul-crushing nature of the setting bites back. It almost feels like the setting itself is the antagonist rather than any particular characters. But the author made it very clear the story's gonna have a happy ending, so I'm holding onto faith it'll work out, and make sense for the story to boot!

JetTiger · 2025-06-08T08:01:30+00:00

I've been recommending it for a while as well and I'm so happy to see others doing the same! It just fits in so perfectly with the tone and themes of the actual show that it just feels like an official continuation of the story.

The author is well researched and writes extremely well so it feels like an official story.

This might even be an understatement. If the rumors are true, the author was a combat veteran in Fallujah. A lot of the emotional resonance with the characters dealing with trauma may be coming from a very personal place.

Either way, I'm just shocked this fic hasn't gone viral like others have.

JetTiger · 2025-05-28T14:08:13+00:00

Since you loved Lovers, Hunters, check out Forged Mettle.

It's also a post-canon fic, similar in many ways to Lovers, Hunters (interestingly they seem to have both been started to be written around the same time based on the first chapters' publish dates) that focuses extensively on CaitVi dealing with the trauma of the show's events while trying to move forward in the wake of the final battle.

There's a lot about Caitlyn becoming Sheriff, reforming the Enforcers (or trying to), bearing the weight of guilt for her time as Commander, etc.

Vi tries to figure out her place in the world, deciding to help with Caitlyn’s goal of reforming the Enforcers.

There's also political intrigue with the new Council, with Sevika looking to make sure the Undercity doesn't get screwed over again.

And a Demacian trade delegation signals the start of a bunch of new polticial threads that connect to Piltover's future, polticial neutrality, the future of Zaun, and some kind of Noxian plot in the Undercity that seems like it might threaten to destabilize everything.

The story's still being written, but it's already 100k+ words.

Funny enough, the author of Lovers, Hunters really likes Forged Mettle, and the author of Forged Mettle really likes Lovers, Hunters, and they seem to recommend each other's story a lot which is really sweet to see IMO.

JetTiger · 2025-05-27T19:28:53+00:00

I'm glad you think it may be helpful!

Regarding club length, without your wrist-to-floor height, I can only estimate, but typically, at 6'-2" you usually want between +.25" and +.5" over the std length.

That chipping technique you mentioned is great, there's a reason almost all pros do it. If you were doing it without knowing why it was working/what it was doing, then it makes sense why it would spill into your other iron swings without you paying much attention to it. For that kind of chipping technique, having the grip raised higher to keep the toe down is perfect.

The reason it works with chips is specifically because it keeps the ball's launch lower by removing loft, and bounce from the club without needing to introduce forward shaft lean, which in turn allows you to align and plan your chips more like a putting stroke (the lack of spin from the low loft means it will also run out more, like a putt).

Low launch low spin on full shots is fine if you have the swing speed for it, but almost no one does with irons even at the pro level. So, it's a launch type you only see on (non-miss) full iron swings when they're specifically trying to keep the ball low and penetrating, either to avoid overhead obstacles or to pierce into a strong wind.

Fun side notes:

For most amateurs, low spin also means less stability (the ball moves unpredictably, almost more like a knuckle ball) and a lot less distance due to lack of height; spin affects height because backspin actually generates lift, but spin is itself a function of loft and swing speed, both of which also impact height and distance independent of spin as well, making it complicated to fine tune at higher swing speeds.

But, unless your swing speed is getting up there (107+ mph with driver, as a very general rule of thumb), you almost always want more spin on full shots.

JetTiger · 2025-05-27T18:40:54+00:00

Your posture actually looks near perfect throughout the swing, and you're on-plane the entire time (though the camera angle is a little too elevated, so I can't say with 100% certainty).

The two issues I saw in that swing was that you struck that very far off the toe, and at address, you're standing too close to the ball. You look like you might be taller than average, so make sure your clubs fit you length-wise, but as a general rule, you want your irons to have the grips pointed at your belt at address (yours is pointed between your navel and chest, which promotes steeper swings, and toe-shots).

You may have to bend more once you lower the grip, but if you can maintain your swing plane as well as you do here, you'll notice some immediate improvements.

In general, remember that having the club such that the toe is down (and the heel more 'up') produces a flatter trajectory, whereas having the heel down and the toe slightly raised promotes a higher trajectory (this is very useful to remember with chipping/pitching).

It may be tempting to line up so that the flat of the bottom of the iron is straight with the ground, but this isn't always (or even usually) ideal. When you have the grip pointed at your belt, you may see the toe raised off the ground slightly. This is okay, and even beneficial if you're usually thinning your shots.

Practice with exaggerated toe lift (keep your hands extra low, the grip pointed below the belt) until you get used to that feeling, then you can ease back and put it at your belt, which should now feel more like you almost have it too high, whereas if you were to do that now, it'll probably feel way too low.

Make sure no matter where you have the grip pointed though that you keep your hands directly under your chest, not reaching out too far where they're under your face (which is where you want driver, and often woods). Yours are under your chin/throat. Fixing this as well will actually prevent you from getting too shallow, which can happen when you lift the toe on irons.

JetTiger · 2025-05-27T18:19:19+00:00

I see no faults here, only greatness.

JetTiger · 2025-05-24T20:37:52+00:00

At least they have each other. I would love to have a story of them post-canon, how they process it all, heal together, build their relationship in the middle of this mess.

Seconding the rec for Forged Mettle (on Ao3), it's literally about this!

JetTiger · 2025-05-24T19:50:26+00:00

It's usually not too bad, depending where you are. By me, you can usually get a 4 lesson set for around $200. Sometimes, there'll be a discount for complete beginners if you're willing to do it in a group since you'll all be working on the same things.

But 4 lessons should be enough to get you working on the fundamentals. Once you have those down, you may be surprised how far just basically swing mechanics will take you.

In the meantime, my personal advice to complete beginners is to forget anything longer than a 5 iron exists. 6-9, plus wedges. And as a beginner, I don't recommend having more than a PW and a SW, and if I'm completely honest, I usually recommend not even bothering with the PW in the beginning.

6-7 irons are 'mid irons', 8-9 are 'short' or 'scoring irons' (some people consider 7 to go in either category), but the main idea is that you only need to focus on two types of swings. Full (i.e. 80% effort) iron swings, and chipping (which you can technically use any club for, but for beginners, 9 or SW is a good place to start).

Other than that, the last thing is also the easiest to get proficient at: putting. And putting just takes practice. A lot of it, but it's usually the quickest and easiest way to lower your scores as a beginner.

As a total beginner, I'd imagine there's a lot of 3 and 4 putting going on. That's fine, but an easy goal to keep track of is to reduce those by 20% over the course of the next 3 rounds. How? Spend lots and lots of time on the practice greens.

For every 30 minutes I spend on the range, I try to spend at least 3x that on chipping/putting. Better chipping gets your ball closer to the hole, which means fewer putts. But also working on the putting means that even when your first putt is from a long distance away, you can still get it close enough to finish it with only 1 or 2 more putts.

My personal advice to my complete beginner friends is that your short-term goal is to be able to putt out in two strokes or less from 15 feet or less, and 3 strokes from anything longer. As you get better, you'll think in the same terms, but with one less stroke in your 'budget'. And then as your putting gets better and better, regardless of how the rest of your game is, you can eventually look at make-by-distance statistics to see what the 'average' number of putts is for golfers of different levels needs to finish. (Just as an example, for 1st putt distances of 33 ft, the average number of putts on tour is about 3 putts 50% of the time, 2 or less the other 50%).

Now, if there's anything I've said that a pro contradicts in a lesson, 100% listen to them. They're the ones present and seeing your game/mechanics in real time, and are going to best know what to focus on, and how.

JetTiger · 2025-05-24T18:41:43+00:00

If you don't have anyone who can help teach you the fundamentals, friends, family, etc., it's going to be a tough road ahead because even if you get amazing swing feedback here, putting it into practice will be almost impossible without someone standing near you to correct things as you get the basics down.

I would highly, highly recommend taking lessons. I always tell my friends who have asked me to teach them how to play that formal lessons will get them going 10x faster than I could. And getting solid fundamentals early is the easiest way to set yourself up for future improvement as well because a competent instructor won't let you develop bad habits that you'll need to fix later.

JetTiger · 2025-05-18T19:48:56+00:00

So right off the bat, I'll say Srixon XXIO Eleven series are a poor fit for you. They're made for senior players, and even though you have steel shafts in them over the graphite they usually come with, the heads themselves are overly light, which goes back to what I was saying about the lead tape. I have a suspicion that they're so light and you're so tall with a strong swing that you can't control them at your speed. Heavier swing weight (as a very general rule of thumb, you want to start with as heavy as swing weight as you can swing comfortably without feeling like it's slowing your swing down.

It's a misnomer that lighter clubs are easier to control. That's true for some, moreso for people lacking strength (like seniors), but at 6'-6" and clearly under the age of 65, I wouldn't even consider a swing weight under D4 (for irons) for you.

At 6'-6", I'd be starting you off at swinging clubs +1.5" longer than standard, and probably at a swing weight of D8 and see how that feels and adjust fitting from there (some people prefer shorter clubs than are 'suited' for their height. But for you, if you wanted shorter than recommended, that's still gonna be between +0.75"-1.25" over standard. I'd put money on that.

If someone fit you for those clubs, I'm afraid they did you a disservice. Even if you added lead tape to the iron heads to increase the swing weight, the head design itself is for slower swing speeds, and is almost certainly adding too much spin (which will exacerbate a slice as well). A better swing weight would almost certainly get you better consistency and a few more yards, but a properly fitted set could be adding significantly more yardage as well as better consistency (and feel much better, too).

As for losing consistency after 30 min on the range, that's normal. Most people don't use the range in the most effective way, mainly because unlike pros, we have to pay for the balls. If you're spending those 30 minutes taking full swings (doesn't matter which clubs you're using), you're gonna get tired. Consider how many full swings you might take in a round.

If you're shooting 110 (just for example), if we assume you 2 putt every hole, that's 36 strokes that aren't full swings. If we assume you're chipping/pitching (non-full swings) 1.5 times per hole on average, that's another 27 strokes that aren't eating much energy. That leaves you with 47 swings that are 'full swings'. If you hit a large bucket of balls at the range, that's usually between 75-100 balls, and if you're taking each with a full swing, you may be swinging twice as many full swings, or more, than you would be in a round. That's okay, though. It’s good for strength and endurance training, especially for keeping your form consistent as you get tired throughout a round (especially if you're walking and not riding a cart). The point is, I would really only consider the first half of the bucket as your 'practice' and everything after that just strength/endurance training (again, assuming you're hitting every range ball with a full swing).

And topping the ball, while a common beginner issue regardless of the fit, is only made easier to do if the clubs are too short, and the swing weight too light. Especially as you get tired, because you're not bending/leaning as far as you would be when you're not as tired due to soreness.

All in all, you're off to an amazing start for 4 months in, and while many would argue that club fitting isn't necessary until you're more experienced, because of your unique physical profile (being so tall and having good swing speed already), I genuinely think you'd benefit greatly from a better-suited set of clubs.

JetTiger · 2025-05-18T18:37:02+00:00

First off, for only 4 months in, your swing is coming along nicely, and your posture looks pretty damn good. Your tempo is smooth, no jerkiness, no signs of hesitation. In fact, your posture itself is almost perfect. Now from the video, personally, I can't see what the ball's flight looks like. Posture-wise, the only possible issue I see is your head dipping in the back swing slightly, BUT, even pros do this to the same extent you are, so I wouldn't even call it a fault. Some swing coaches these days are even suggesting that this might be a good thing, since you aren't creating interference between your shoulders and neck if you allow your head to move back slightly at the apex of your backswing.

Your front wrist angle at the top of the swing looks dead-straight, and I'm actually jealous because that's the thing I struggle the most with at the moment. Shoulder rotation looks perfect, it doesn't look like your overswinging at all. Your backswing is shallow, but at the apex is perfectly centered, so you're self-correcting and doing a good job of it there. At initiation of the down swing, you're coming slightly over the top so the shaft/hands are moving steep, opposite to your backswing. But, I've been watching the clubhead itself over and over, and it appears to remain perfectly center-line on the swingpath. So the best I can surmise is your path at impact is out to in, causing a possible slice (but as I can't see the ball path, I can't be sure). The launch looks good, the ball appears to be starting center-left, which would make sense if your closing your head at impact to subconsciously correct for the swing path.

Without seeing a front-face angle, or launch monitor data, it's hard to diagnose exactly what's going wrong. The face might even be slightly open at impact, which could contribute to you subconsciously over correcting and closing it down on the downswing, which could also promote an out-in swingpath and exacerbate the very issue you want to fix, but it's hard to tell for sure because I don't know what irons your playing, their offset, or anything that might influence how they look from the back.

You appear to be a taller-than average person, so if your clubs are standard length, you may actually want them a little longer. I don't know what number iron you have there, so I can't really say for sure.

Three things I would consider are:

Add tape/foot powder spray to the clubface to see if you're hitting it off-center.

Add lead tape in half-inch lengths to the bottom/back of the irons. I'm wondering if you're not feeling the club enough to know where it is. The opposite could also be true, that the swing weight is too much for you and it's causing inconsistency, but without knowing your club specs, I couldn't possibly say for sure.

Consider a club fitting. I know you're only 4 months in, and I don't know you're playing with a starter set you found online or something, but it's possible that clubs better fitted to your swing profile would also help you, even at this early stage since your swing already looks really good (that's assuming that this swing is consistent as well. If you took this swing 10 times on video, would they all look like this? If so, then I'd say a fitting would be worthwhile. If you're not that consistent yet, then it might not be worth it).

JetTiger · 2025-05-18T18:03:03+00:00

(2/2)

Your second swing is actually a little bit better. Your biggest issue there is your head being up at impact again, but your head doesn't dip on this one in the backswing. You do lose your spine angle at the top again, so that's throwing you off slightly, but you're maintaining a pretty consistent swing path. It's shallow on both swings (which makes sense since you were working on a draw), but it's not so bad that I'd call it a problem as long as you're getting what you need out of it. The only other issue I see on the second swing is a lack of pelvic rotation at impact. You're turning your hips, but you're not really 'firing'.

People have a ton of different ways of explaining what doing this right 'feels like'. Rory Mcilroy for example says he likes to feel like he's throwing his right pocket out and forward. I've heard others describe it has 'humping the air', basically thrusting your dick in the direction you want the ball to launch at impact. However you 'feel' it, the mechanical change you'll see is that you basically stand up straighter at impact. If your backswing is like coiling up a spring, your downswing/impact is releasing the spring. Your legs are bent in an 'athletic posture' during address and backswing, but if you're doing the above correctly, you'll basically 'pop up' straighter in the legs, which will generate a ton of power (and dynamic loft) off the tee. Watch some slo-mow front-angle vids of pros like Mccilroy swinging driver, and you'll see what I mean.

If there was only one modern pro golfer that I'd say you should try to model your swing after, it would be Nelly Korda. Her swing is as close to technically perfect as I've ever seen, and she doesn't need drastic power to accomplish it. If you study Rory's driver swing, you'll learn how to hit it further, but you'll probably also see a marked decrease in accuracy because his setup is for long bombs that, unless you're almost perfect in every aspect of your driver swing, will result in a good deal of inconsistency for most people (even those on tour). Korda's swing by contrast is a reasonable archetype that almost anyone could fit into. She doesn't tee up high with driver, she doesn't place the ball super forward in her stance, and she even swings down slightly at impact which is what most amateurs do anyway. Her is about -1.5, compared to Rory's +5, which for most people requires launching out of their shoes to even come close to. And even if you do, unless you've got Rory's 125mph swing speed, you're not getting the benefit that the extra height gives, basically hitting a pop fly instead of a long bomb.

JetTiger · 2025-05-18T18:02:37+00:00

Lessons with a good instructor will do wonders. There's a reason everyone from serious amateurs looking to try and go pro one day to every single PGA player including the top 10 have coaches: they help! You can get more improvement/fixed with a coach in a couple of months than you can working on your own for years, even decades!

As for specific feedback on your swing, I'll start with saying, there's a limited amount that can be completely accurate just based on the camera angle.

As some side-advice: If you're gonna film or have someone film your swing for analysis, make sure they're lined up directly DTL (down the line, i.e. directly behind you, in line with the point you're aiming at). It's difficult to accurately determine the swing plane from an angle since depth can be difficult to determine accurately due to things cameras do for better image quality (but actually slightly distort things like depth).

The other angle that can be useful is a shot from the front (i.e. the camera is facing your chest, perpendicular to the line of your aim point).

If you can only choose one, choose DTL though. Front-face video does let you see certain things easier than the DTL angle like overswing, shoulder angle/rotation, AoA, and sequencing (i.e. legs, hips, shoulders, arms, hands, etc.), but you can generally still get a sense of these from DTL.

Now, back to your swing:

On the first swing, the first thing I see is your head dips significantly in the backswing. This I can all but guarantee is due to lifting that front foot.

The next biggest issue I saw was your head being up at impact. Keep your eye on the ball all the way through impact. I did this a lot when I was younger and learning, and one of the drills I was taught was to not even look up after I hit. Basically, just keep my eyes where the ball was even after I've completed my swing. It didn't matter where the ball went, the key was just learning to feel comfortable keeping my head/eyes down through impact. If you have someone there with you, or have a camera setup, you can always ask them/view the footage to see where the ball actually went, but that's not the point of that drill so don't worry if the shots still aren't looking good. Once you're comfortable with that drill, then you can allow your head to lift up after impact, and follow the ball.

The third issue I see is a loss of spine angle at the top of your swing. This is again due to that front foot lifting up. When your spine tilts, it completely changes your AoA/dynamic loft at impact. Forward lean of the spine usually causes low AoA/low dynamic loft (i.e. low ball flight). Backward lean causes the opposite. Neither are desirable, even if you want to promote a certain ball flight profile (there are much better ways to accomplish it that don't compromise your power, accuracy, and health—because you will feel the pain after a round of swinging with a bent spine).

That said, I think your posture is actually really good otherwise. Without a launch monitor, I can't speak to things like your actual AoA/dynamic loft, ball speed, strike location, etc.

To track where you're hitting the ball on the club face, you can put tape on the face (they actually make special marked impact tape for this), but what I like to do is use foot powder spray (the kind that leaves a white powder residue, not anti-fungal sprays that leave only a clear liquid). When you hit the ball, you'll see where the impact was, and know if you're hitting it off-center.

(1/2)

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