Chapter 210.1: An excuse to hug right out in the open!
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The national finals were different from other competitions. As the grand finale for the entire competition zone, the game organizers naturally hoped that the teams could play out the most wonderful games that they were capable of, so there was a short backstage rest after each match.
The players got up and left the stage, returning to their backstage lounge from two separate directions.
The commentators were still going over the game just now. Both FTW, who'd won the match, and TPT, who'd lost the match by a narrow margin, had shown absolute strength.
"TPT's system of four protecting one always has strong firepower. Eurostar exerted his strength in the mid and late stages and forced FTW to trade two people for his life."
"FTW chose the right time. It's hard to say what the result would be if they'd continued letting it drag on."
The game was already over, so the commentators didn't have to be so stiff. They spoke more freely, their comments were more accurate, and the audience also listened very carefully.
The camera panned over the audience slowly, stopping on the row with the Team of Gods.
It was a fleeting scene, but the audience in the live broadcast room had seen it clearly.
Yan Jiang, Xie He, Kim Sung-hyun, and Yuan Ze were all silent, as though the game in the canyon hadn't ended, and they were still watching.
The haters immediately began to flame, "Shocked, aren't you! Shocked by our local competition zone!"
"Wake up, traitors, FTW's still awesome without you garbage!"
"I really don't know what they're doing here. Are they just here for self-humiliation? What Team of Gods was this? Be a bit less shameless, traitors!"
The scrolling comments swept by quickly. The room moderators had to carefully go through the comments from these haters in order to delete them in a timely manner. Meanwhile, there were more rational fans sighing--
"Although God Yan's face was expressionless, although God Xie was frowning slightly, although God Kim's expression was cold, and although Scum Man Yuan's peach blossom eyes were downcast, I feel that they were actually happy."
"Glad that their Lulu has a new partner?"
"What do you mean, new partner? It's that he finally has a partner!"
"Holy shit, what's the matter with you, previous poster? Why do your words hold so much..."
"Don't you guys have any awareness of how our great demon king's life has been over the past three years? Why should I hold back? Start crying with me!"
"As a career fan, I'm feeling a little arrogant. Fellow brothers, I want to see FTW get a 3:0 championship!"
"Not only are you arrogant, you're also dreaming. Are you treating our TPT like they're vegetarian!"
"If it was the FTW from the past, TPT might still have had the strength to fight back. But to be honest, no one can stop FTW in their current state!"
"When was the last time there was a 3:0 for the finals..."
"The Team of Gods three years ago!"
"F*ck!"
"I'm sorry, I'm feeling crazy too. I want to witness the birth of a new Team of Gods!"
In the backstage lounge, FTW was in high spirits.
Tang Chen was waiting for them at the entrance. When he saw Little Ning coming, he gave him a big hug. "Beautiful!"
Little Ning's hands had been trembling from when he stepped off stage until now. "Brother Tang..." He was whimpering.
Brother Tang was really a very busy person at the moment. Seeing that Yue Wenle was approaching, he released Little Ning and went to hug him, too. "Badass!"
Granny gray, who was hovering between crying and not: "......"
Yue Wenle was in a daze. "Oh."
He was obviously out of power. He looked like he needed some potato chips to continue on living.
Brother Cai didn't want this hug of love and tried to avoid it. Unfortunately, Comrade Tang was too broad and blocked the entrance, stopping him with an arm and giving him a hug.
Brother Tang: "Cool!"
Bai Cai: "......" He was about to get strangled to death!
Wei Xiao and Lu Feng came at the end. Brother Tang wanted to hug Wei Xiao.
Wei Xiao turned back and pounced on Lu Feng, poking his head out to say, "Brother Tang, me and the captain will just hug each other. There's no need to bother you with it!"
Lu Feng: "......"
Wei Xiao ignored it. This was an excuse to hug right out in the open! He'd be missing out for nothing if he didn't hug!
Chen Feng was responsible for pouring cold water over them, "You've only won a small match, yet you're acting like you've already won the national championship?"
Great.
Brother Tang gave them support, and Chen Feng cooled down the atmosphere. This made the small tails of the little ones in the team droop right back down.
Chen Feng would adjust his tone according to their state.
He could encourage them if they were downcast, and pressure them if their egos were inflated. This kind of psychological assistance was part of his job as a coach.
They'd played well in the first match and won beautifully, but there were still many problems. Chen Feng picked out the key points and had them calm down for the next hard fight.
"The entire China competition zone knows that TPT is a team that warms up slowly. Losing the first game is a common occurrence for them, so don't take it lightly..."
The FTW lounge was lively and bustling, while TPT's side was unusually quiet.
After sitting down on the sofa, Eurostar picked up a bottle of mineral water and drank down several gulps of water in one go.
He always liked to laugh and mess around and had a lively personality, but there was no smile on his face right now. The dimples that could often be seen had disappeared.
They'd lost the first match.
They often lost at the start of a game, but the atmosphere had never been as tense as it was now.
What they'd lost wasn't just the first match, but their invincible system of four protecting one.
TPT was very serious about this national final. When it came to their opponent, FTW, they'd also shown absolute respect.
There was no need to test the waters, no need to grope around. They didn't want to lose a single kill or a single match. They'd put in all their effort into this fight, and yet as a result...
They'd lost.
Eurostar felt a little flustered in his heart.
This was a major drawback to the four protecting one system.
Four of the players had put the hope of the entire team on one person, trying to create space for him to develop and giving him all the farm he could get.
Eurostar had lived up to expectations, playing strongly in the middle and late stages and had almost led their team to victory, but...
He'd been killed.
The advantage that they'd built up with so much difficulty had collapsed in an instant.
Guilt, remorse.
Eurostar couldn't help hating himself. He still wasn't strong enough, and he was still a long way off. Otherwise...
Zhuang Ruishi patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay. It's just the first game."
Eurostar bowed his head, his short hair covering his eyes as he stared at the mineral water in his hand. "Mm."
Wei Ji spoke up too, "We've already played really well. That's the peak level top-jungler combo in China."
At the end of the day, Du Yi was a veteran player with a steady mentality. He joked, "Only the top in China? They're the top in the world, okay? Those two are even stronger than Yuan Ze and Gary."
The atmosphere in TPT's lounge eased up as soon as those words came out.
Eurostar's mood relaxed slightly, as well. His frown loosened and he looked at Fu Li out of the corner of his eyes.
Fu Li had his gaze lowered, his index finger against his chin. He was obviously thinking and hadn't noticed their conversation.
Eurostar's gaze darkened again.
The coach touched on some points from the match just now, his tone gentle and soft as if he was afraid of over-stimulating them.
When Fu Li finished thinking and looked up, their coach immediately shut up.
Everyone's gazes moved to him. Fu Li said, "We can't let go of the early stages. When fighting against FTW, we have to grasp the rhythm in the early stages."
Zhuang Ruishi: "Mess with Ning Zhehan?"
Fu Li nodded and said, "Stone, keep your eyes on the top lane. Brother Du will follow me, and Star Cub, you take the storm hunter."
Eurostar was stunned.
Fu Li didn't look at him, but he raised his hand and pressed it lightly against the top of his hair. His tone was very light, "Protect yourself well."
Eurostar's Adam's apple shifted as he responded seriously, "Yes!"
After the break ended, Fu Li got up. "Let's go."
This would be a tough fight.
After a whole season of tempering, FTW was undergoing rapid growth at every minute, every second.
It was very difficult to win against a team that was so full of potential.
But they were the only ones who could do it!
At the beginning of the second match, Wei Xiao could keenly sense that there was something going on even during the BP session with TPT. "Are they going to snatch up the immortal warlock?"
Chen Feng naturally sensed it as well. "Pay attention to the mid-lane."
Ning Zhehan sat up straight and comforted himself, "I'm not scared of him!"
Wei Xiao laughed. "That's right, our God Ning isn't afraid of anyone!"
God Ning wasn't able to keep the corners of his mouth from curving up.
Chen Feng flicked the back of Wei Xiao's head. "Settle down."
Wei Xiao deliberately cried out in pain, like it was really painful.
The camera showed their interactions, and the fans saw a happy and joking FTW. They all started guessing, "There's no prize, but I'm guessing that God Q said something to make the brutal Queen Chen bonk him on the head?"
"What else could he be saying? He must be flirting blindly."
"Flirting with who? With who? I'm betting my kneecaps that it's the great demon king!"
"I'm taking those kneecaps, upstairs. It's obviously not the great demon king. Just take a look at our iceberg Lulu, he's clearly jealous."
"Let me just interject for a moment, Close has a perennial poker face. How can you guys interpret so many emotions from it?"
"Take a micro-expression management class, and you'll be satisfied with the sugar you get to eat."
"What micro-expression management? It's just taking knives as sugar, okay!"
"Don't digress from the main topic. Let's keep guessing. I'm betting that it's Brother Cai. The Jungler King dotes on his little wife, this is great!"
"In that case, I'm going to bet on Old Chips."
"I bet on Little Ningning!"
"Sigh, being a Quiet fan is great. He's good with everyone."
So what was the result of this contest?
Glory's Mic Explosion King sent out an official scrolling comment, "The results will be announced after the game."
So, there was a screen filled with 666 in the scrolling comments.
TPT had first pick in the second match. As Wei Xiao had predicted, they locked in the immortal warlock within seconds.
When it was FTW's turn to choose, they could choose two heroes after TPT's first pick.
What would they choose?
Chen Feng pondered it over, "If Fu Li is using the immortal warlock, then Eurostar will probably take the storm hunter. Do we want to lock it in directly?"
If Fu Li wanted to fight in the mid-lane, then it wouldn't be a pure four protecting one system. Eurostar would need a talent that could protect itself, so the storm hunter was his best bet.
If FTW took the storm hunter first, then Eurostar would have other options, but they wouldn't be as comfortable as the storm hunter.
However...
Wei Xiao asked, "Old Yue, do you want to use the storm hunter?"
Yue Wenle: "...... Anything's fine."
This pause couldn't be hidden from Wei Xiao and Chen Feng.
Chen Feng: "Take the berserker thief first, then."
Wei Xiao: "Alright."
The storm hunter was left up for grabs. TPT wasn't polite and took it right away.
The commentators looked at the line-ups and evaluated, "The two teams are both planning to fight over the early stages."
The berserker thief, berserker warrior, and spirit mage on one side, with the immortal warlock, storm hunter, and hidden thief on the other side. They were all talents that were strong in the early stages.
"FTW took a double berserker combination. TPT's a bit at a disadvantage in this round."
"They have no other way. They have to make a choice if they want to take the immortal warlock and storm hunter together."
"Let's see if FTW's double berserker will win or if TPT's double flying combo can pull even!"
Both the immortal warlock and the storm hunter could 'fly', so they were often jokingly called the double flying combo.
After entering the game, TPT made their intention very obvious. Du Yi followed Fu Li in the mid-lane, and it was clear they didn't want Ning Zhehan to have an easy time of it right from the start.
Both the immortal warlock and the spirit mage were assassin mage talents. They could rise to the heavens and drill through the earth when they were played well, but they had to sacrifice some of their long distance ranged damage and their ability to control their lanes.
The immortal warlock was a bit weaker before it reached level six, but it was also difficult for the spirit mage to do well because most of its attacks were close combat attacks. He would be killed by the other side if he even started thinking about leaving the safety of his tower to clear his lane.
This was especially the case with Du Yi by Fu Li's side. He would sometimes toss out a bubble tune and turn Little Ning into a little nothing.
Seeing that the mid-lane was having difficulty, Brother Cai said, "I'll go with Little Ning."
Yue Wenle was playing a gun launcher in this match. It was a marksman hero that could compete with the storm hunter; both sides had some flexibility, and it was fully possible for them to play 1v1.
Wei Xiao hesitated but ultimately still agreed, "Okay."
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Chapter 210.2: Kill Fu Li!
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Everyone understood why he hesitated.
Brother Cai and Ning Zhehan's cooperation really couldn't compare with Fu Li and Du Yi's.
This wasn't about the players' individual strengths, but the tacit understanding and awareness that was accumulated over time. This was a difficult barrier to cross.
FTW was still growing up, and they definitely had their shortcomings.
The mid-support linkage was relatively immature, but that didn't matter. They had to face it, accept it, and just move forward step by step. They would definitely improve!
Wei Xiao finished clearing his jungle zone and was about to go to the top lane.
Lu Feng: "Zhuang Ruishi is at the top lane."
Wei Xiao: "!"
There was no vision on the minimap. Lu Feng had probably determined this information by analyzing the trend in the jungle zones.
Zhuang Ruishi was in the top lane, so if Wei Xiao went over, the two sides would definitely break out in a skirmish.
Was it worth it?
Based on Lu Feng and Wei Xiao's ability, they could easily kill the two people on the other team if they waited to gank them; they also wouldn't die if they failed.
But...
Was there a more profitable option?
Wei Xiao didn't say much and changed directions, heading straight to the bottom lane.
Close could hold up against the two people's attacks on his own. Since that was the case, he should go to the bottom lane and gank Eurostar.
If the success rate was uncertain in a 2v2, then it was definitely much higher in a 2v1!
The commentators could see the overall trend from God's perspective.
"Quiet didn't go to the top lane. Will Zhuang Ruishi and Wei Ji be able to kill Close?"
The scrolling comments booed them directly, ""What are you thinking? Although the sky has already darkened, it's still not time for you to start dreaming."
The commentators continued, "In that case, will FTW be able to catch Eurostar?"
The scrolling comments were frivolous, "Eurostar's storm hunter might have the lowest DPS, but his ability to preserve his life is definitely topnotch."
"So, does that mean this round of top and bottom lane 2v1s is doomed to be fruitless?"
"Holy shit, look at the mid-lane!"
The director switched the camera over quickly and reached the middle lane.
The fights in the top and bottom lanes hadn't yet started when close combat broke out in the mid-lane.
The two mid-laners who hadn't yet reached level six and didn't have their ultimate moves had already started fighting.
"Is Ning Zhehan so reckless?"
"The immortal warlock's already in his face. Would he still be a man if he didn't go for it?"
"But the problem is..."
"He can't win, hey."
The spirit mage was entangled with the immortal warlock. In this match, Du Yi had taken the holy priest, and the healing quantity of this talent couldn't be over exaggerated.
A holy light fell on the immortal warlock, and even before the health that he'd lost rose up again, Fu Li had already used connecting clouds to rush up, causing Ning Zhehan's health to fall by a third.
Bai Cai quickly tossed a light shield to Ning Zhehan, ultimately helping him resist the subsequent damage. Ning Zhehan rolled away from Fu Li's next attack and countered with a wooden thorn.
Fu Li's body shifted away lightly, and he avoided the damage.
Ning Zhehan was just about to roll back and make use of his passive ability to control the immortal warlock when Du Yi's bubble tune arrived one step ahead of him, bouncing from the little soldier at critical health to the spirit mage's body. It even bounced over to Bai Cai a couple times.
"Nice." Fu Li's voice was calm. He seized the chance that Du Yi had created for him, using connecting clouds with landing on clouds, letting them stack up to deal explosive damage.
System Announcement--
First Blood.
TPT.Auroral killed FTW.Silvery!
Fu Li took First Blood, tearing open a gap in the mid-lane and aiming straight at FTW's shortcomings!
TPT's top lane attack was fruitless. Close didn't even lose a single soldier as he retreated safely.
In the bottom lane, Wei Xiao and Yue Wenle cooperated pretty well. They beat up Eurostar until he only had a silver of health left. Although they weren't able to complete the attack, they'd managed to harm Eurostar quite a lot by forcing him to lose a group of lane soldiers.
TPT gave everyone a different feeling in this match.
They were really worthy of being a kaleidoscopic team. In the previous game, it was four protecting one, and in this game, they had a jungler core. It was a variety of routines, and each one was done well!
After grabbing First Blood, Fu Li's farm was number one in the whole canyon. They continued with this tactic and continued to pressure the middle lane like crazy.
TPT's operation made RR puff up in anger beneath the stage.
Money: "Old Thief Fu, he stole that really quickly!"
Moonlit: "One person's skills might be inferior to that of others."
Mo Hui refused to accept it. "Hmph!"
If Fu Li really won against FTW, he would definitely go and knock him down!
TPT and RR's fight in the semi finals had really left them bloodied all over.
It was bad enough that RR had lost; they'd also revealed many of their tactics.
Who didn't want to win in the top four? Who didn't want to beat FTW?
RR had gone through many training matches with FTW in order to figure out a usable set of tactics, and that was the routine that Fu Li was currently using.
Their jungler would lock onto the top lane and help their own top-laner fight against the great demon king.
Their marksman would take a talent that had self-preservation ability and latch onto Yue Wenle.
They would rely on Moonlit's high level of skill to squeeze Ning Zhehan in the mid-lane.
It wasn't that everyone looked down on Little Ning, but he was a newcomer who didn't yet have enough experience. Compared with the other FTW players, he was still a soft target to hit.
Suppressing the mid-lane and forcing Wei Xiao to come and provide support meant that their top lane could relax slightly; they didn't dare to say that they could create a gap, but at least they wouldn't be shut down by Close.
If they could resist Wei Xiao's gank, they would already have won half the game. On the off-chance that they could also kill off Yue Wenle in a solo fight, then FTW would collapse for sure!
This had originally been RR's tactics for winning the championship. Now, it had been fully copied by Fu Li. How could they not be angry about it!
What made it worse was that Fu Li had made up for their tactical defects. Taking advantage of the immortal cooperation between their mid-laner and their support, they'd strung up Bai Cai, restrained Wei Xiao, and left a free area for their bottom lane.
Eurostar took over half of a jungle zone, and his farm was snowballing quickly. Adding on his personal skill level, there was really a good chance he could kill Yue Wenle!
Although Yue Wenle had been the number one ADC in China last season, it was because FTW had won the national championship.
When it came to a real fight in personal strength, nobody would back down to anyone else.
When it came to who was first or not, they just had to fight to see!
The second match was more worrying than the first.
FTW's fans began to panic again.
"That's not good..."
"The great demon king has been restrained, the mid-lane is getting hit hard, and in the bottom lane, Eurostar is gradually pressuring Yue Wenle..."
"FTW is at a complete disadvantage."
"What to do? What to do? If they can't find a breakthrough point, then TPT will just do it again in the next match."
"This isn't a matter of just losing a match, it's going to be a big deal!"
"Seriously, Ning Zhehan's level... even if FTW makes it to the globals, there's no way for him to fight against Xie He."
There was an unprecedented silence in FTW's team chat.
Bai Cai didn't speak anymore, and Wei Xiao didn't say anything. Lu Feng and Yue Wenle, who usually remained silent anyway, were even less likely to speak.
The more their farm fell behind, the more the middle lane became completely blown apart.
Finally, Little Ning couldn't hold back anymore, "Brother Xiao..."
What should they do? He was completely unable to fight against Fu Li and Du Yi.
As soon as Wei Xiao came to help, Fu Li and Du Yi would immediately choose to avoid fighting. When Wei Xiao went to clear the jungle, they would begin to apply pressure again.
The most painful part wasn't getting caught, but that they were completely unable to win against the other side in a 2v2.
There was no strategy, no awareness. What was right in front of their faces was nothing but a gap in strength.
--Cooperation was also a kind of strength.
Wei Xiao stared at the farm panel. "Brother Cai, go to the bottom lane."
Bai Cai was shocked. "This..." As soon as he left, Ning Zhehan would become thoroughly useless!
Ning Zhehan had heard it clearly as well. He felt an icy cold chill run down his back. His fingers trembled slightly, and he lost a lane soldier.
Wei Xiao noticed all of this, but...
There was no rebuilding something without breaking it first.
This so-called bronze having an advantage against kings wasn't as simple as just talking about it.
If he didn't have enough confidence, then everything was all in vain.
While Brother Cai was hesitating, Lu Feng's voice rang out, "Go to the bottom lane."
Bai Cai gritted his teeth and said quietly, "Little Ning, you hold on. I-I'm going to first open up a gap in the bottom lane with Old Yue." This was all he could think of.
Ning Zhehan tried to steady his voice, "Okay."
The audience noticed the moment Bai Cai left.
"What does this mean? Is FTW giving up on the spirit mage?"
"With this useless mid-laner? They should've done that a long time ago."
"That's no good, he was already a weakness, and now if they leave him alone, this match..."
"I thought FTW was strong, but it turned out that they're still noobs. Noobs don't deserve to win, get lost and go home to raise pigs!"
"Can't they change to a different mid-laner in the next season? Isn't FTW rich and generous? Is it so difficult to find a mature mid-laner? Yet you insisted on raising up a newcomer, hahaha."
The scrolling comments talked and cursed and had already plotted out FTW's development route for the next two years.
The fans' mentalities collapsed. They didn't even have the energy to flame anyone.
In FTW's team chat.
"Little Ning!" Wei Xiao locked onto his blue daddy. When there was only a tiny bit of health left, he tossed it towards the side of the middle lane.
Ning Zhehan was stunned for a moment, but his instincts moved faster than his brain, and the spirit mage had already tossed out a wooden thorn.
He was startled when the blue buff landed on his body. "I didn't... it wasn't on purpose."
The berserker thief needed the blue buff. Not only could it fill up his mana bar, it would also reduce his cooldowns. It was very important, but he'd actually...
Wei Xiao: "It was originally meant for you."
Ning Zhehan: "!"
Wei Xiao used a movement skill to get to the middle lane tower and said, "Do you believe in me?"
Ning Zhehan's heart shook. "Yes!"
Wei Xiao: "Do you remember what I said to you before the game?"
Ning Zhehan's heart filled with a wave of bitterness, and he couldn't speak.
Wei Xiao spoke for him, "You're our trump card for restraining Fu Li."
Ning Zhehan: "But I..." Played so poorly and couldn't do anything at all.
Wei Xiao: "Listen to me, don't think about anything!"
As soon as his voice dropped, he rushed out of the grass and locked his scythe on Du Yi.
Ning Zhehan hurriedly rushed over to keep up, his heart filled with panic, "Brother Xiao..."
Wei Xiao: "Kill Fu Li!"
Everything happened very quickly. Wei Xiao's sudden appearance surprised Fu Li. He'd predicted where the berserker thief's scythe would land and dodged it, but unexpectedly, Wei Xiao wasn't aiming at him. Instead, he locked in on Du Yi instead.
This...
Fu Li frowned slightly. He was just about to attack the berserker thief when a magic vine rose up from the ground, latching onto him firmly.
Fu Li: "!"
Ning Zhehan really didn't think about anything. He didn't think about who he was up against, didn't think about how it was the stage for the national finals, and he didn't think about what would happen if he lost.
There were only the three words from Wei Xiao left in his head: "Kill Fu Li!"
A full set of skills from the spirit mage landed on the immortal warlock's body.
Fu Li couldn't move and was directly controlled until he died.
The commentator's voice was shrill, "The spirit mage's combo was very accurate and precise, and those controls were connected to the point where the immortal warlock had no way to fight back!"
System Announcement--
FTW.Silvery killed TPT.Auroral.
Ning Zhehan had killed Fu Li!
The entire scene broke out with fierce applause. It was for the spirit mage, for Ning Zhehan, and for this mid-laner newcomer king.
Wei Xiao: "What are you in a daze for? Come get your double kill."
Fu Li was dead. How would Du Yi, as a holy priest, be able to flee?
Ning Zhehan's thoughts were still muddled as he rolled and attacked, taking down the pitiful holy priest who was trying his best to heal himself.
Little Ning, who'd been suppressed for an entire match, been overwhelmed until he couldn't breathe, and been pressured until his mentality had suffered a bloody collapse--
As soon as he was able to turn the tables, he was so happy that he wanted to turn on his mic and sing to the whole audience!
Wei Xiao released a breath. No one noticed that there was a bit of sweat on his forehead and palms.
This wave had been a bit tense.
But if they didn't go for it, then how would they be able to unlock FTW's infinite potential!
This wave of counter-killing in the mid-lane allowed FTW to snatch back their control over the rhythm of the game.
Little Ning stopped cowering, and the spirit mage was no longer afraid. Fu Li and Du Yi could fight against Bai Cai and Ning Zhehan, but they were unable to beat Ning Zhehan and Wei Xiao.
In this match, Wei Xiao's berserker thief didn't play like a jungler. Instead, it was more like a support.
His scythe would hook to provide support, so that his teammate could solo kill the other side!
His scythe hooked onto the c-positions; sorry, but you've run off too far.
Every single hit landed; TPT collapsed like an avalanche.
Victory.
Ning Zhehan was still a little out of it after they won the second match. "We won?"
Bai Cai felt like he'd just gone through a roller coaster. "...We won."
It was just f*cking outrageous, even having a wet dream wasn't so exciting!