I Can Do It (ICDI)
-
I Can Do It (ICDI) - Chapter 104: Diehard point grubber.
The moment Jian Rong hit the key to recall to base, he was nearly deafened鈥?/p>
Xiao Bai鈥檚 scalp was tingling. 鈥淲aaaahhhhh nice! Nice!!!鈥?/p>
Pine: 鈥淕ood.鈥?/p>
Yuan Qian: 鈥淎hhh woahhhh鈥斺€?/p>
Moon: 鈥淎h鈥攁h鈥攁h!!!鈥?/p>
The referee supervising the team chat in the back felt like he was listening to four ancient monkeys play a video game.
Jian Rong wasn鈥檛 fond of playing ranked in five-person parties. Whenever he outplayed before, at the most the barrage would kick up some fuss, so this was his first time hearing a barrage that came with sound.
This made him pause for a second in the middle of buying items. Then he said, 鈥淎fter another wave, we can go for Baron.鈥?/p>
鈥淗ow are you so badass?!鈥?Yuan Qian sucked in a breath of air. 鈥淭his is my first fucking time seeing someone win a 1v5 in the semifinals!!!鈥?/p>
Moon understood what he was implying. 鈥淗as it happened before in the regular season?鈥?/p>
鈥淚t has, Master has also won a 1v5 in the regular season before, but he was using LeBlanc. It鈥檚 way easier to outplay on that champion that on Cassiopeia鈥擷iao Rong you鈥檙e way too fucking badass!!!鈥?/p>
Xiao Bai said, 鈥淚鈥檓 covered with goosebumps all over, if you don鈥檛 believe me tell Pine to feel my arm! Really!!!鈥?/p>
鈥淒o you want me to be banned?鈥?Pine鈥檚 voice was as collected as always.
In reality, Jian Rong鈥檚 heart was beating extremely fast. The purpose of playing games was for the excitement of it, after all.
Fighting Tiger wanted to kill him too badly, leading to many holes in that 5v1. In addition, his feel for the game was especially good today鈥?/p>
鈥淔orce a team fight.鈥?Jian Rong said, 鈥淚鈥檓 unsurpassable this round.鈥?/p>
The instant that Jian Rong had achieved the penta kill, the major streamers鈥?livestream rooms, shopping plazas broadcasting the match live, gaming chat servers and so on were all flooded with screams.
Including the break room backstage.
鈥淕ood heavens鈥攈ow did he do that? Is this what the reaction speed of a young person is like鈥︹€?The assistant coach had already shouted for a while now, and currently his voice wasn鈥檛 much better off than that of the three commentators. Hoarsely, he said, 鈥淭hat wave alone is enough to give him the title of a god, right??鈥?/p>
Ding-ge drew in numerous deep breaths and said with a smile, 鈥淣o need for the 鈥榬ight.鈥欌€?/p>
The assistant coach paced back and forth for a long time in the break room before finally calming down. Then, the first thought that popped into his head was: 鈥?em>Ge, did we only sign him on for one season?鈥?/p>
Ding-ge gave an 鈥?em>en.鈥?/p>
鈥溾€is value is gonna skyrocket immediately.鈥?The assistant coach tugged out a tissue and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. 鈥淚 bet a lot of teams want to steal him. In that case, we have to discuss renewing the contract with him soon鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the rush, we aren鈥檛 even done with the spring season yet. Also鈥斺€?Ding-ge peeled apart a tangerine and stuffed a section into his mouth, subconsciously glancing towards the sofa.
The assistant coach followed his line of sight and looked at Lu Boyuan too. 鈥淎lso what?鈥?/p>
鈥溾€lso, we have money. What, you think Fu-ge wears that gold chain around his neck for nothing?鈥?Ding-ge swallowed the tangerine slice. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 more, this opportunity was given to him by our team. Have you ever seen a team that dares to promote a streamer straight into a starting position? Jian Rong isn鈥檛 the type of person to bite the hand that feeds him.鈥?/p>
Lu Boyuan鈥檚 tightly clenched hands relaxed only when the director begrudgingly shifted the camera away from Cassiopeia at last.
He let out a long exhale before he ducked his head and laughed.
Jian Rong was very strong; that was something he had known all along. Just by watching a few of Jian Rong鈥檚 streams, it was clear that his hand speed, reaction speed, and technique were definitively the best among the new generation of pro players.
His only shortcoming was his playstyle: it was impulsive and self-centered, reckless and headstrong. This made him appear to be incompatible with competitive gaming.
But that was also the part that Lu Boyuan liked the most.
Judging from the cheers that could be heard even through the door and the comments spamming the barrage to the point that it lagged鈥攖he competitive arena needed this kind of pro player.
Twenty-eight minutes in, TTC effortlessly destroyed Fighting Tiger鈥檚 base, winning the first round of the match.
Amidst the audience鈥檚 applause and screaming, Jian Rong was the first one to take off his headphones and walk backstage.
Right as he entered the break room, Ding-ge greeted him with, 鈥淭he world鈥檚 number one Cassiopeia is indeed badass.鈥?/p>
鈥淩eplay!! Where鈥檚 the match replay?!鈥?Xiao Bai rushed in and said, 鈥淚 was buying items at the time and didn鈥檛 see it! Replay it so I can watch!鈥?/p>
鈥淟ook at it after the match!鈥?Ding-ge tugged Jian Rong back as he started making his way towards the couch. 鈥淟et鈥檚 discuss the strategy for the next game. Jian Rong, you鈥檙e definitely going to be targeted after this, can you pick a champion that you can survive on?鈥?/p>
Jian Rong swept a glance at Lu Boyuan and stopped in place. 鈥淎re there options?鈥?/p>
The intermission was very short. Before they could even finish discussing tactics, a staff member came to rush them back onstage.
Ding-ge stood up. 鈥淟et鈥檚 go.鈥?/p>
Jian Rong let out an 鈥?em>en鈥?and suddenly remembered something. He picked up the water bottle that he took offstage with him. 鈥淲ait a moment, let me fill up my water.鈥?/p>
鈥淭he water dispenser is empty.鈥?The assistant coach quickly said, 鈥淕ive it to me, I鈥檒l run next door and fill it up, it鈥檒l be fast鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淣o need.鈥?Lu Boyuan, who was sitting on the sofa and listening to them discuss strategy the entire time, spoke up mildly. He picked up his own thermos and said, 鈥淐offee. I brought it from the base, but I didn鈥檛 drink that much鈥?you don鈥檛 mind, do you? God Jian.鈥?/p>
A beat later, the LPL鈥檚 newly minted God Jian walked towards the stage with his teammates, holding his captain鈥檚 thermos.
Commentator A: 鈥淎lright, our players are returning to the stage鈥攚ho knows if it鈥檚 because of that Cassiopeia, but now that I鈥檓 looking at Soft again after ten minutes, it seems like he鈥檚 become a little bit more handsome.鈥?/p>
Commentator B: 鈥淔ighting Tiger still seems to be very relaxed. Veteran players are just in a different class, their mentalities aren鈥檛 affected by the outcome of one game. That鈥檚 pretty good.鈥?/p>
鈥淪oft鈥檚 thermos is a new item from TTC鈥檚 merch line, right? The design is quite nice.鈥?Commentator C smiled as he helped to market it. 鈥淚 heard that the player鈥檚 signature is printed on it too.鈥?/p>
At that moment, Jian Rong just happened to pick up the bottle. The signature on the side of the thermos was revealed to the camera as Commentator C continued鈥?/p>
鈥淪ee, the side is engraved with a鈥?Road?鈥?/p>
The three commentators: 鈥溾€︹€?/p>
Commentator C tried for innocence. 鈥淚鈥檓 not the one stirring up rumors this time!鈥?/p>
A few seconds later, he said, 鈥溾€t the very least, I didn鈥檛 do it on purpose!!!鈥?/p>
The pick/ban phase started soon after. The first thing that Fighting Tiger banned was Jian Rong鈥檚 Cassiopeia.
鈥淩espect.鈥?Xiao Bai was delighted. 鈥淕od Jian, whatcha playing this round? Actually, I feel like you can still outplay, ss鈥擨 haven鈥檛 seen your Talon on the competitive stage yet鈥︹€?/p>
Ding-ge lifted up his notebook and knocked him on the head again. 鈥淚f Twisted Fate is available, choose that, otherwise take Orianna!鈥?/p>
In the end, Twisted Fate was banned by Fighting Tiger. TTC had first pick and immediately helped Jian Rong lock in Orianna.
As Ding-ge had predicted, Fighting Tiger realized that when playing against Jian Rong, you either had to assist each other or you had to suppress him.
But Orianna wavecleared too fast. If Da Niu left the mid lane at all, it was easy for him to be short on minions, so they could only go with the latter option.
After being ganked by the enemy jungler yet again, Jian Rong recalled to base with low health and said, 鈥淭heir jungler has ganked me three times now.鈥?/p>
Moon: 鈥淚鈥檒l be right there鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淒on鈥檛 come.鈥?/p>
鈥淎h?鈥?/p>
鈥淭he other side is on Kassadin, you won鈥檛 be able to kill him.鈥?Jian Rong checked the minimap and discovered that their team鈥檚 bot lane was playing very fiercely. They were suppressing the enemy under the tower once more. 鈥淕o countergank in another lane that has the advantage. Don鈥檛 come mid, they won鈥檛 be able to gank me to death anyway.鈥?/p>
As soon as he finished saying that, the enemy jungler arrived at the bot lane.
By now, both bot lanes had already started fighting each other, and the situation was quite unfavorable for Xiao Bai and Pine. Fortunately, they still had a fair amount of health, and their positioning was decent too. After dodging the enemy support Thresh鈥檚 hook, it looked that they would be able to escape by the skin of their teeth, but then an ice arrow suddenly shot straight at Pine鈥攖he enemy ADC Ashe鈥檚 ult was off cooldown.
Upon being struck by the ice arrow, judging from the distance it had traveled, he would be stunned for at least 1.5 seconds.
1.5 seconds in a situation where they were being triple-teamed was enough time for Pine to die twice.
The enemy jungler was to the left, so he couldn鈥檛 shift that way, and his blink skills and flash were still on cooldown. Right as it appeared that Pine鈥檚 Caitlyn was about to be finished here鈥?/p>
There came the sound of a flash. Xiao Bai, controlling Leona, charged over behind Pine and blocked that arrow for him!
Commentator A: 鈥淏ye helped to block it鈥?although Leona is tanky, Bye鈥檚 current level is still very low. He鈥檚 most likely going to end up dying here.鈥?/p>
Commentator B: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no helping it, it鈥檚 always better for the support to die rather than the ADC. If Pine was killed this wave, the bot lane would explode even more.鈥?/p>
Commentator C nodded. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 right. The other side also used up four Summoner Spells, so if Bye dies, it won鈥檛 be too much of a loss鈥?hm??鈥?/p>
Before the commentator could finish his sentence, he watched as Pine, who was silently running for his life, instantly turn around the moment his flash came off cooldown. He flashed back through the line of minions blocking the way and decisively threw a net onto the enemy Ashe鈥檚 face!
Simultaneously, he retreated a bit because of the recoil and widened the distance between him and the enemies once again!
If struck by Caitlyn鈥檚 net, her next basic attack would trigger a headshot鈥攚ith a bang, Pine鈥檚 headshot directly killed off the low-health Ashe!
Commentator A: 鈥淏eautiful! By exchanging a support for an ADC, TTC ends up not losing but profiting! Weren鈥檛 Pine鈥檚 mechanics way too meticulous here?!鈥?/p>
鈥淭hat flash probably gave Fighting Tiger a scare鈥︹€?Commentator B couldn鈥檛 help but laugh. 鈥淣o鈥?what鈥檚 up with TTC today? They鈥檙e all so fierce and full of outplays?鈥?/p>
Seeing Ashe collapse onto the ground, the already dead Xiao Bai could peacefully buy his items at last. He also didn鈥檛 forget to pitch his voice high and convey his flattery. 鈥淧-baby is so handsome! P-baby is so amazing! P-baby is a gun god! P-baby mwah mwah mwah!鈥?/p>
For a brief moment, Jian Rong thought that he had invited in a female accompanying gamer who was tagged with 鈥?em>adorable little sister鈥?and 鈥?em>sleep coaxer,鈥?and he nearly yanked off his headphones.
Pine also paused for a second because of Xiao Bai鈥檚 kissing noises. 鈥溾€on鈥檛 be disgusting, buy a control ward.鈥?/p>
鈥?em>Wuwu, I just bought a Cloth Armor, I鈥檓 broke.鈥?Xiao Bai wavered. 鈥淢aybe I should undo it and buy the ward鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淚t鈥檚 fine.鈥?Pine stiffly interrupted him, 鈥淚 bought it, shut up and get in the lane.鈥?/p>
Sensing Jian Rong and Moon鈥檚 speechlessness, Yuan Qian typed in the team chat鈥?/p>
[TTC 嗉?Qian: This is Xiao Bai鈥檚 ultimate trick for getting on the Mic Check.]
[TTC 嗉?Bye: ^3^]
Jian Rong: 鈥溾€︹€︹€︹€?/p>
[TTC 嗉?Soft: Lose weight and go be an actor]
[TTC 嗉?Bye: Who are you trying to imply is fat?]
[TTC 嗉?Bye: Wuwuwu QvQ, P-baby he鈥檚 mocking me!]
鈥淧lay the game.鈥?Pine coldly cut through their 鈥榟armonious interaction.鈥?鈥淒on鈥檛 bother me.鈥?/p>
Fighting Tiger played extremely carefully this round, especially Da Niu.
It would be a lie to say that they weren鈥檛 affected at all. Being 1v5鈥檇 in the semifinals, even an immortal would go into self-seclusion after that.
A period of time passed peacefully for both sides. Finally, at seventeen minutes, a team fight erupted.
Yuan Qian caught Fighting Tiger鈥檚 jungler red-handed stealing the Rift Herald. Both teams swiftly rushed to the scene鈥?/p>
Jian Rong gave his ball to Yuan Qian鈥檚 Sion, who immediately used his ult and charged forward like a speeding train鈥攌nocking the enemy top laner and jungler straight into the sky!
Jian Rong and Xiao Bai followed up with their own ults, with Pine furiously dealing damage from afar. A chaotic fight later, TTC won the team fight with no losses and three kills.
鈥淣o rush, don鈥檛 chase them. Let鈥檚 go for the Rift Herald and drake.鈥?Yuan Qian said, 鈥淲e鈥檒l play it slow and steady, don鈥檛 give Fighting Tiger any chances.鈥?/p>
Jian Rong called back his ball and turned around to go back into the jungle.
Fighting Tiger was a team that excelled at seizing opportunities.
But TTC evidently didn鈥檛 plan on giving them a sliver of a chance this time. Even Soft didn鈥檛 pursue the champions with low health.
Everyone in Fighting Tiger held their breath and forcefully dragged the game out to forty-eight minutes. Da Niu encouraged his teammates in their voice chat, 鈥淛ust wait, it鈥檚 down to a single fight now, we can overturn it as long as we hold out until they make one mistake鈥斺€?/p>
Before he could finish, a kill announcement sounded.
While their ADC was going for one of their own monsters, he was caught and bound to the spot by Xiao Bai. Then he was killed by Pine, who was following after Xiao Bai.
At a late game disadvantage and with their carry gone, Fighting Tiger鈥檚 loss was inevitable.
At forty-nine minutes and fifty-two seconds, TTC pushed Fighting Tiger鈥檚 base and won the second round of the match.
鈥?/p>
In the third game, Fighting Tiger pulled out the strategy that they were the most proficient at鈥攈alf-map support flow.
Twisted Fate was banned, but that wasn鈥檛 an issue; Taliyah was also capable of providing assistance. Ashe ADC, Shen support, Gangplank top, Nocturne jungle鈥?/p>
In addition, Fighting Tiger didn鈥檛 target the bot lane this time. Instead, they went for the top lane, and Yuan Qian was visited so often that he couldn鈥檛 even leave the tower. Adding onto that, his teamwork with Moon wasn鈥檛 good enough, so if Moon came, it was basically a buy one get one free. This led to the enemy top laner, Gangplank, being enormously fed in the early game鈥?/p>
Xiao Bai was speechless. 鈥淭heir ADC has played Ashe for three games now, is he not sick of it?!鈥?/p>
Moon sighed. 鈥淔ighting Tiger has always been the type to do whatever it takes to win.鈥?/p>
Because the top lane was cleared too thoroughly in the third round, at thirty-four minutes, TTC regretfully lost the game.
Currently, the score was 2:1.
In the fourth round, Yuan Qian finally snapped.
鈥淚鈥檝e been pressured for three games now鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淚 know.鈥?Ding-ge patted his shoulder and asked, 鈥淐an you play Irelia?鈥?/p>
When he said that, everyone was startled.
Every pro player had their own signature champion.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Qian, who resisted pressure every single game nowadays and acted as a tanky engager, had become well-known because of Irelia, a champion that was unparalleled in dueling and laning but was extremely weak in terms of team fighting.
Yuan Qian was also stunned. 鈥淧ick Irelia? Then who鈥檚 going to engage鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淚鈥檒l do it.鈥?Xiao Bai immediately said, 鈥淚鈥檒l take Nautilus, Moon can choose Nocturne, we can easily engage whenever we want.鈥?/p>
Yuan Qian: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been over a year since I鈥檝e last played Irelia in a competitive match鈥︹€?/p>
鈥淲eren鈥檛 you playing her a lot these past few days in ranked?鈥?Ding-ge asked, 鈥淎re you gonna pick her? If so, then lock her in, otherwise you can continue to bear the pressure.鈥?/p>
Yuan Qian went briefly silent before he clenched his teeth. 鈥淚鈥檒l do it, I鈥檒l fucking do it! If I don鈥檛 slaughter the other side, I won鈥檛 eat for three days!!鈥?/p>
Jian Rong locked in Fizz this time.
Upon seeing that, Commentator A was astonished. 鈥淔izz鈥?mn鈥?last time when he played with Fizz against Fighting Tiger, the results didn鈥檛 seem to be very good.鈥?/p>
鈥淗e probably wants to create an advantage in the early game,鈥?Commentator B said. 鈥淎fter all, Da Niu got his Orianna this time around. Da Niu鈥檚 Orianna is quite strong, they鈥檒l have to suppress him early on鈥?Yuan Qian picked Irelia???鈥?/p>
Commentator C smiled. 鈥淭o tell the truth, no matter what champion TTC picks or what kind of team fight they create nowadays, I don鈥檛 feel shocked at all anymore.鈥?/p>
This game, the intent behind both team compositions was very clear: fast-paced versus slow-paced, let鈥檚 see who鈥檒l be laughing in the end.
The answer to that question came quickly enough.
Seven minutes in, two kill announcements sounded in the map鈥?/p>
[TTC 嗉?Qian has slain ZHhubi]
[TTC 嗉?Soft has slain ZHcattle]
TTC鈥檚 top and mid laners simultaneously got their solo kills!
Commentator A: 鈥淓very member of TTC has a really great feel for the game today!鈥?/p>
鈥淚sn鈥檛 this their usual standard?鈥?Commentator B paused. 鈥淔ighting Tiger鈥檚 jungler came to gank Qian-ge, but鈥?Soft and Moon are right behind him!鈥?/p>
Yuan Qian also knew that he was going to be ganked soon.
Seeing that his teammates were currently hurrying towards him, he dispelled the idea of running away and continued to play pretend in his original spot.
The enemy jungler Rek鈥橲ai broke through the ground. Yuan Qian flashed and distanced himself, forcefully buying six seconds of time under the onslaught of the other two champions鈥?attacks鈥?/p>
Fizz鈥檚 ult came out from the darkness, hitting the enemy top laner. Two seconds later, a shark emerged from the air, directly finishing him off.
If Irelia got the early game advantage, then nobody even had to think about playing anymore.
TTC rapidly adopted a 4-1 split push strategy鈥攖he mid laner, jungler, and bot lane duo grouped together to push the mid lane, while Yuan Qian carried the bot lane and destroyed the towers there by himself.
Fighting Tiger鈥檚 top laner went to defend the turret and ended up being solo killed by Yuan Qian.
Fighting Tiger鈥檚 jungler and support rushed over to assist. Yuan Qian killed off the support before he slipped into the underbrush with low health and disappeared鈥?/p>
Just like that, they kept grinding and grinding, all the way until the game was thirty minutes in. The inhibitor in Fighting Tiger鈥檚 mid lane was still present, but the ones in the top and bot lanes had been snatched by Yuan Qian鈥?/p>
At thirty-four minutes, Yuan Qian flashed and used his ult, detaining two Fighting Tiger players. Jian Rong鈥檚 Fizz jumped straight into the air and charged in. Without losing any of their own teammates, TTC wiped out Fighting Tiger, proclaiming their victory for this match鈥?/p>
However, they weren鈥檛 in any rush to push Fighting Tiger鈥檚 base.
Everyone still remembered how Da Niu had taunted TTC in the post-match interview鈥?/p>
Who said that you guys could win as long as Road wasn鈥檛 here?
Who in TTC was someone 鈥渆asy to deal with鈥?
LoL wasn鈥檛 a single-player game, nor had TTC ever relied solely on the support of one person.
If Road was there, they would depend on him.
If Road wasn鈥檛 there, they would take on the match together, seize the victory, and wait for him to return.
In the broadcast, the spectators watched as each member of TTC ran over to the area outside Fighting Tiger鈥檚 fountain and initiated some 鈥渇riendly interactions鈥? flashing their team icon, dancing, tossing out random skills鈥?/p>
The scene was too chaotic, to the extent that a certain tiny figure appeared particularly out of place in comparison鈥?/p>
Among countless allied minions, Jian Rong鈥檚 Fizz was pushing the enemy Nexus extremely painstakingly and diligently. Fizz鈥檚 trident prodded again and again at the Nexus; he might as well have carved the words 鈥?em>I want to win鈥?onto his forehead鈥︹€︹€︹€?/p>
[Am I seeing things? Is the person obediently pushing the base my son??!]
[WTF, little dumbass whatcha doing??? You should be flashing into Fighting Tiger鈥檚 base right now and using Zhonya鈥檚 Hourglass OK????]
[@LPL this really isn鈥檛 him! It鈥檚 a fake!! How many times do I have to say it!!!]
[Has Soft gone stupid from all his climbing in the Korean server?]
[Damn, it鈥檚 like he鈥檚 never won before?!]
[He鈥檚 become a diehard point grubber.]
鈥?/p>
Fighting Tiger鈥檚 base was finally destroyed by Jian Rong, and TTC successfully won the semifinals with a score of 3:1.
After shaking hands and exchanging bows, the moment Jian Rong went backstage, he saw Lu Boyuan leaning against the wall next to the door, waiting.
There was a cameraman at Lu Boyuan鈥檚 side as well, a staff member from their team. They were in charge of filming raw footage to be edited into a documentary later.
鈥?em>Ge! We won!!!鈥?Xiao Bai said excitedly.
Lu Boyuan nodded. 鈥淢n, you guys played pretty well.鈥?/p>
Xiao Bai: 鈥淒id you see that last engage of mine? Wasn鈥檛 it super awesome? Qian-ge鈥檚 freaking treasured blade never becomes dull鈥︹€?/p>
Jian Rong couldn鈥檛 interject a single word, and the cameraman was also nearby. As a result, he had no choice but to walk sullenly next to Lu Boyuan, chewing unhappily on the gum in his mouth and pretending that it was Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai: 鈥淎nd in the second game, P-baby鈥檚 flash, net toss, and headshot鈥︹€?
Headshot my ass.
I鈥檒l headshot you.
Xiao Bai: 鈥淥f course, I feel like there weren鈥檛 any problems with my Leona that round at all. With me there, they still dared to think about touching P-baby? They鈥檙e dreaming鈥︹€?/p>
Lu Boyuan listened to Xiao Bai quietly as he cast a glance at the person next to him from the corner of his eye. 鈥淒id you drink all the coffee?鈥?/p>
Jian Rong stared blankly for two seconds before he realized that Lu Boyuan was talking to him. 鈥淣o, there鈥檚 still half of it left.鈥?/p>
Right as he said that, Lu Boyuan took the thermos from Jian Rong鈥檚 hand. In front of their other three teammates and the camera, he very naturally twisted open the top and took a sip from it.
After he was done, he put the lid back on and said to the dumbfounded Xiao Bai, 鈥淵ou can continue.鈥?/p>
Yan: Happy birthday to God Lu 鉂?sharing some more weibo fanart for the occasion! (these past two chapters were so long and full of gaming content 鍥?I hope it sorta makes sense)