#this is also one of like 3 times i drew kris; this is the first

[askyofexplodingstars]

i’ve been wanting to show some of this forever, but the original files are on my old hard drive that i haven’t been able to recover yet, so i’ve been unable to

but i just found some old screencaps i sent to my friend while working on it so here is

it was to be a joke animatic/animation set to jack stauber - coconut ranger, with spamton being in love with his kromer; this predated me falling knee deep into spamvil lol, maybe by like a month? i was working on this in late october, that happened in november

maybe if i can ever recover the files, i can put that in it’s own comprehensive post down the line

[hashtagdrivebywrites]

Y'all bear with me on my bad phone pictures and excessive notes lmao, but, uh, ask and you shall receive.

Here's my concept art for Jason in my fic Imprint, where he's a halfa and Danny's biological dad and the king father/king regent? of the infinite realms.

Here's the first ever sketch I did somewhere around chapter 2 or 3:

Featuring larval Ghost!Jason, Pit madness/Lazarus Water and little bitty Ghost!Danny.

I was already thinking about the possibility of a crown but didn't know what to do with it yet so I just left a halo as a placeholder DBZ-style, which you'll see in the next few concept stages until I finish the latest one.

Ah, the oldest concept I had for the Pit is that it laid dormant in Jason's mind and would physically pull itself out of his head, which is why it's kind of half melded with Jason's helmet in this one. And I'm still kind of considering that idea, but I'm leaning more towards it coming from the bulk of Jason's body instead, as we see it in chapter 8 of Imprint when readers get to see Jason's ghost nonsense from an outside perspective. They (the Pit) is definitely more tiger-like now, and you'll catch a glimpse of a sketch dump where I'm trying to get a handle on tiger shape language (?). They'll still be water based and colored like the pits/a lagoon. It may be hard to picture- just trust me.

Uhhh let's see....the "lantern ribcage" is a part of the design that's really important to me so you'll see me consistently playing with it as I go through these early concepts. That's his core nestled in the lower part of his ribs, visible but protected behind the iron cage of his bones.

I wanted to incorporate Jason's helmet and other parts of his vigilante/hero uniforms in his ghost form since that part of his life is deeply personal to him.

I also knew that I wanted him to have a very monstrous aspect to his design- and I can't resist slapping pointy teeth on any of my concepts that deviate from being strictly human. So those aren't going away. Nostrils to breathe smoke and fire so Jason can better emote with most of his face being metal.

Danny's default ghost form, opposed to Jason's will still kinda be the one he has in his original dimension- black and white suit and the classic DP symbol on the chest, but probably better armored and with a bat emblem thrown in somewhere. So thats what I drew him with here- though little kid sized, with an added black streak in his hair to complete the inverse of the Lazarus Pit streak he has in human form.

In ghost form, when Jason needs precision, his go-to weapon will be the All Blades, which I have kinda illustrated here.

I may kinda set the bones of this design aside to use as a more humanoid ghost form that's closer to his living form, but that's still up in the air.

Here's concept 2, which I did on chapter...5? I think? Which is when I decided I wanted to make Jason's most comfortable ghost form to be kinda big and outrageous:

This one's got some notes doodled around it- but I'll type them out in case you can't read my handwriting.

Jason was definitely leaning more toward dragon (and I'm still trying to find the balance between dragon and phoenix that works nicely for him, but we're getting there.)

I decided not to put heat pits on his face recently so that the parts of his head modeled after the helmet are smooth metal armor. I tried to elongate the head but still keep the lines of his helmet in the design.

This is also the first time I started messing with horns- which have been bent in just about every direction at this point trying to make them mesh well with the rest of his design. The uppermost notes in the image mention basing the shape of his horns off of one of his weapons. I thought that the flaming all blades would just be overkill at that point and decided to play with using the Kris knife he gets from the League. Which is....still overkill but it's less fire to draw, so we'll call it a even. There is also a note on my decision to make his horns into a pair only because of being Bruce's second son and the second Robin. (I have put way too much fucking thought into this if you haven't figured that out already).

Tried a different look for the teeth and ended up scrapping it.

I also started leaning more into making his back look as messed up as possible at this point and started thinking of the....mountain range in plated rows like a croc's back.

And here's concept 3, which also starts playing with colors and the all-tail, no-legs look that I decided to stick with:

This is definitely the biggest jump between concepts so far and was sketched up while writing chapter 7, which I think is the first time we get to experience his ghost forms (there's 2 that we saw in that chapter).

So I continued to smooth and lengthen the head and tried a different thing with the teeth- which I kept. I also felt a lot better about the lines from the helmet with this concept. I tried curling his kris knife horns forward, trying to play with their form. Those have changed since.

This is the first time I added hair, but it's hard to see. He, like Danny, has an inversed streak of black at the front of his 'do to reflect the Lazarus stripe.

Again with the halo placeholder because I was still on the fence about the crown. Started trying to make the mountains of his spine more volcanic looking. Don't know if I'm keeping that or not yet.

So the three major differences between this and it's predecessors is the 1) mantle of smoke that is constantly being expelled from his body that is supposed to imitate a kinds cloak/mantle; 2) the tail, which has since been changed into a fiery tail instead of a ghostly one; and 3) I slapped his Robin 'R' from the movie UTRH on him to make this form more...him, I guess, and also to make Bruce cry like a baby.

So the things that I have changed is the ribcage, the shape of the horns, the crown (which finally has a rough design and a name based on the fight he has to win to earn it- yes, I already have that arc scribbled out and will most likely be adding it into the story) and I added some extra stuff to the face to match the written descriptions in Imprint.

SO. -Claps hands together- I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything, and I am always interested in hearing how y'all have interpreted these characters for yourselves.

If this is something you want me to do again with other character designs, let me know and I will. I am working on Jason, of course, and the Pit, Frankie boy, Danny's big long boi form, Gotham and some other odds and ends.

(Whoops forgot tags again)

[alessandrxs]

HSHQTASK059

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined back in 2018 , which is crazy to even think about because it's now six years later ! i remember having seen the group a few times in the tags but didn't apply until a few months later ... but when i DID pluck up the courage to join , it was just before the olimpiel wedding which was so fun to be a part of ! i think i was literally just starting a new job too around the time i joined , so it was changes all around , which was really refreshing !!

2. which characters have you written over the years ?

too many ... starting with prycilla , aurora , danilo , amon , kris , ale , renee , aalayna , omari , pretty sure i had a kelsey merrit at one point , eloa , the madelyn cline and drew starkey i had for seconds , i think there was a sofia carson in there somewhere too ...

3. what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

being a part of the italy plotline was so fun ! i'm not good at politics by any means but being around people who had so many good ideas which would always boggle my brain bc i'm dumb as shit was so fun to be a part of ! but also , the egypt plotline will always have a place in my heart ...

4. what about other people's plotlines ?

so so SO many !! the english plotline , the french ..... i was always on the edge of my seat whenever they were written out on the dash waiting for the next person to reply so the tea could be dished out ! but honestly every single plotline was just so interesting and amazing to read that i was always in awe

5. who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

considering how many times i've brought him back after thinking his time was done , without a doubt my favourite would have to be ale ... i just feel like he became such a comfort character for me , especially since when i've been going through things he's always been the character i've reached out for to write ! but kris was also so much fun to write and then my fool of omari , he really was my comedic relief character !

6. if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

kris realising just how much of a prick his dad is and becoming firmly team silje <3 it was a defining moment for him , and now silje has a job and is in college !! she's doing so good !!!

7. is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

literally not a single one ! i loved all the twists and turns , seeing how things unfolded , it was fun to just be able to write them out and see where they led and go from there

8. what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

definitely the egypt plotline ... it happened at a time where i really didn't have time to be fully involved in and i think it's just been so unresolved , if only life didn't happen 😔

9. what is your favourite ooc memory ?

the panic in the ooc chat when evy fucked up the counting bot when we were at like 300+ ..... AKJDNFKJDF there are so many moments that i'll cherish forever but this one is the first that came to mind !

10. where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i have a tumblr for indie / 1x1 purposes which is @gcdlybehaviour ( currently under co ) and a discord that's with the same name ! honestly feel free to contact me at either of them at any time !

11. what else would you like to say ?

thank u all so , so much for all the memories and making hshq such a special place <3 i joined at a time where joining groups had become such an anxiety inducing experience for me but everyone was so , so welcoming and it soon became a place of comfort and to just get away from everything ! i've genuinely loved writing out every single thread , plotting out every single plot and just being able to be in an environment where everyone has been like a family ! i'm going to miss everyone so much <3

[moralesmilesanhour]

Ooh wait I forgot to do this. Seems like an appropriate time so [game show music plays]

Malika's official spiderverse ranking (REAL)!

(Excluding Miles G and Miles' family sorry guys)

Miles Morales ‼️

Duh. He's like, the Main Guy and the reason why most of us are here. He's weird!! He's lame!! He's smart and annoying about it!! Just like me fr 🔥🔥🔥 hope he gets therapy soon and maybe some meds

2. Hobie Brown

Lives up to his character description in every way possible. He IS an anarchist and he WAS in fact, "this cool the whole time". Bonus points for being the first guy to fuck off to his dimension the minute he did what he had to do (help the youth and ruin Miguel's day). Extra points for Gender

3. Pavitr Prabhakar

He just debuted and he's already got several iconic one-liners under his belt. Banger suit redesign and FAWK Marvel for that first costume ‼️ It's really the curly fringe that does it for me like EATTT

4. Margo Kess

Idgaf she's literally goated. Had she gotten more screen time slhe would've been number 3 tbh. She's here to slay and found a way to stay her ass at home while being part of an elite Spider Squad. Women in stem

5. Jessica Drew

"But she's on Miguel's side!" And wrdgaf 🤣 she beats bitches up not just with webs but with A MOTORCYCLE!! And she's one of the only Spideys not masked Jessica is literally here to clock in, do her job, and clock out. She's #real I can't take that away from her. Bonus points for Issa Rae

6. Spot

I know. Look, I KNOW. But this is quite literally one of the most genius and thematically-coherent supervillain reveals I have ever seen in a superhero movie. HE WAS THE BAGEL GUY I WAS SO GAGGED! I left the theater and had to stare at a wall like this is excellent usage of pre-existing comic book characters to further one of the movie's messages, which is to not underestimate people!

7. Gwen Stacy

DONT GET MAD AT ME FOR PUTTING HER BELOW SPOT I CAN EXPLAIN

Okay look, she's cool. She's a punk that does ballet and she is part of the Hailee Steinfeld Cool Girl Industrial Complex. But she hasn't done anything that blows my mind yet and she clearly wasn't taking Hobie's advice like girl sjdlslk. I also doc points for pissing me off so sorry to her. On god we gon get you a girlfriend and some therapy as well 🙏🏾

8. Miguel O'Hara

Ohh brother this guy STINKS‼️ But they went sooo crazy w his character design shout out to Kris Anka. Bonus points for Oscar Isaac but minus points again for throwing a trash can at a high schooler. He only eats cafeteria food and has NO BITCHES! But upon reading about his character backstory ive decided that this guy is so unhinged and pathetic that it is now comical. Therefore I can't hate him. LEWSER

9. Peter B Parker

Sorry peepaw we're gonna have to put you down. At least Miguel can say that he has strong principles and believes in his own flimsy theory out of trauma. Miguel also doesn't really know Miles, , but Peter MENTORED HIM. Bro literally helped train living, breathing proof that anything was possible and that there was no "right" way for Spider-Man's story to go and he still let Miguel convince him otherwise. YOU HAVE A BABY THAT WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT MILES! Sir you may be a genius but you are not smart. Then he has the nerve to insult this kid's intelligence multiple times like don't piss me off. The betrayal puts him lower than Miguel because you've disappointed me peepaw 💔 and put a coat on that baby. I love him but he SUCKS

That's it 🫶🏾 please don't take this too seriously these characters are not real and thus cannot read this and I'm also kind of joking here

[drawing-every-utdr-character]

Heya! You said we could ask your opinions on things, so I’m here to ask a few questions!

(If any of these were previously asked, I’m sorry).

(You don’t need to justify your anwsers exept you want to).

1. What are your favorite character in Undertale? What about Deltarune?

2. What are your favorite moment of both games?

3. Do you belive in narrachara(the theory that Chara is the one narrating Undertale)?

4. Are you on the AU comunity? If yes, what are your favorite ones?

1. my favorite characters in undertale are mettaton and the nice cream guy. mettaton because i relate to him a lot, and the nice cream guy because i love how sweet and optimistic he is. my favorite characters in deltarune are rouxls kaard and tasque. rouxls because he's stupid as fuck (/pos) and tasque because funny kitty

2. for this one i could give a lot of answers for different reasons.

for undertale: i like every scene with sans and papyrus because they're basically narrative foils so they're always funny together. i like the scene where mettaton first shows up both because he's my favorite character and because i love how energetic it is. i like the encounter with snowdrake's mother because it's basically the most depressing thing in the entire damn game. i like the scene during mettaton's show where he takes phone calls from fans because it shows the complexity of his character.

for deltarune: i like the opening because of the way it introduces kris's name (my only complaint is that none of the text can be sped up so it always takes a long time...). i like the ferris wheel scene for obvious reasons. i like every scene with rouxls kaard because he's stupid, i hope he tries to be a villain again next chapter. also every scene with queen but i think everyone shares that opinion. i don't have as many answers to this one because it's been a few months since the last time i played deltarune, i'm playing it again literally as i write this tho

3. out of every undertale theory, this is the one i have the weakest opinions on, just because i'm not very invested in chara. i think it could be true but i'd need to read more about it first, which i'll do eventually

4. when i was a kid and i was first getting into undertale i drew a Little bit of au stuff because i wanted to be cool but i have since accepted that i'm not..... invested in undertale aus at all. i Would be if they explored the possibilities of aus of the entire game, but instead all of them just focus on sans. which sucks for me because the undertale tag both on here and on ao3 are just full of sans aus where they're barely even sans anymore. don't get me wrong, i love sans too, and i'm not trying to rag on people who do like undertale aus, but i want to read about the relationships between characters that are actually in the game, yknow?

[bflolocalpunk]

(Forgotten 2014 Post) - The Year of Steve Ardo

At the lowest point of my life I had made the decision to live on and fight for a brighter future. I didn’t have a set plan of attack, the only goal I had in mind was to survive the rest of 2013. As 2014 ends, I’m looking back on how everything has changed in just one short year.

In early 2013 I had began drawing up flyers for punk shows in the area. While I made 11 flyers across that span of year, I only attended maybe about 3 shows in total. I resolved to change that, starting on January 4th in which I became acquainted with 2 more local punk bands: Accidentals and On The Cinder. They were ecstatic that they met the guy who drew up the flyer and promises were made to talk later about artwork. I also introduced myself to The Howl, a four-piece touring from Chicago in which I bonded over printmaking with a the lead vocalist and guitarist Sam. Witnessing first-hand how much these bands appreciated my work gave me a special kind of warm feeling deep inside; this is where I belonged. In time I met more musicians and bands that welcomed me with open arms and became another family to me.

I made strides in the art community as well. As of December 31st, 2014 I still haven’t had an exhibition of my own, but I’ve created numerous friendships and connections with other artists throughout the city including some well-known ones. Established artists were going out of their way to introduce me to other resources. For the first time in my life I was getting recognition for my work and people knew my name.

I started to date again. I was still grieving James’s departure, but I wanted to at least meet new people and see what might transpire. I wound up meeting a med student from my alma mater over a few drinks. Kris was a transplant from NYC who grew up in the same small West Virginian town as one of my uncles. We hit it off right away. After a week of going on dates, we made our relationship official. He was 5 years my senior, but without even putting any real effort into it we fit together perfectly. The relationship lasted the entirety of March until the beginning of April before an old flame of his came into the picture and eventually ousted me from my boyfriend throne. It was devastating to me as once again I was just experiencing happiness with someone and things suddenly fell apart.

Spring wasn’t setback-free by any means. In the same month that Kris left me I also was let go of my full-time screen-printing job and once again someone very important was taken away from me forever. Seriously, fuck April. I was still homeless and the financial burdens of massive student loan debt bared down on me with every month’s end. Sometimes life happens like that, and even though I had no control over the circumstances I still endured them at point-blank range with full knowledge that I was no longer as weak as I once was.

Summer was fast approaching and I began networking within Buffalo’s LGBT community. Almost every month the Pride Center of WNY organizes a mixer for working LGBT professionals to meet-up and connect with others. I was out of a job and had no idea where to even begin looking, so I didn’t think it could hurt. While frequenting them I started to meet new friends and share stories of the DIY community I was now deeply a part of. At one such mixer I wound up hitting it off with a guy (confession: he happened to look like a lot like James, that’s why I approached him), and while he was already partnered he told me of a friend of theirs that was looking for a roommate. I had made new friends and finally escaped my indefinite homelessness.

The hot summer days also provided endless events that kept me busy. Every weekend was full of shows and festivals and it seemed like I was constantly on the go. Hell, I even had the chance to participate in a few and get some free press. Softball started up again and even if I was carrying a heavy heart missing a certain someone I still went to support my friends in the LGBT league. Before I knew it autumn had arrived and with softball now over I started joining a small group for karaoke every Tuesday night at Q on Allen. A new friend I had made earlier in the summer (1 of 2 Steves I became close with) donated an unused bike of his so now I had a lot more freedom to go places in the city. This would be a huge help as my car broke down right before Halloween.

I threw my hat into the dating ring again; for the period of about 3 weeks I went on 2-3 dates a week with different guys just to play the field. I soon realized that I wasn’t quite ready to date again; the majority of my past relationships were really emotionally intense, and I wasn’t quite okay with being single yet. Andrew and Tim were gone, I still had feelings for Kris, and I missed James (or maybe it was what might’ve been with James). Now I’ve finally accepted being single so getting to know guys and seeing where things progress doesn’t scare me as much. I’m still petrified of falling in love again, but someday that fear will subside and I will find someone to share the rest of my life with.

There was a bit of a minor shakeup in my life regarding the non-profit organization I’ve volunteered at for almost 3 years now. I’m currently on a break from there and using this time as a means of focusing on my own major projects. If I choose to return I know that I will be welcomed back without issue. After New Year’s I plan on making my official decision.

It’s a surreal feeling when I take a look back at everything that’s happened in 2014. Last year I was forcing myself to live until midnight just so that I could say that I survived a year of hell after a very close attempt at suicide. I’ve made some very amazing friends and have met and worked with some awesome musicians. On The Cinder, Accidentals, Hang Bob Ewell, B-Side Basterds, The Cran Tangerines, Seven Thirty Seven, Angstea, Battleship Crunch, Grain Assault, Creation Order Xtinction, Ballzy, Loudmouse, Everett Lonesome’s Nightmare, Robin and the Hoods, The Crack Horse... there’s too many wonderful and talented friends to list and I had the honor of becoming an artist/designer in the Aluminum Records family. The Northrup House, The Flower House, Hoyt and others have become more than the scenes of basement shows; they’ve become communities of individuals working together for something bigger. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting touring bands like The Howl, Samuel Powers, and Oh The Humanity! and even forming friendships with some of their members. I’m now part of a community where I’m putting my heart and soul into keeping the DIY spirit alive working side-by-side with others who share the same beliefs through art and music.

Last year I would never have believed that life would take me down this road, but then again last year I was not the same person I am today. Even now I couldn’t tell you what happened or why things changed. Dumb luck? Did “fate” decide to give me a goddamn break for once? All I know is that I resolved to never give up, no matter what.

[lunaryhues]

I'm about to do a bit of an art dump. All of this was already posted on my twitter, but I'm putting 'em here too. This is the first of three. The original Twitter thread post date was April 23.

The rest is under the read more cut (there's a lot, be warned)

chibi style doodle page i guess?

a couple of sword guys

Splatoon 2 era Jr players vs. Zap players (when they both had Ink Armor)

masked charger inkling. i always liked splat1's hero charger design more.

yeah i like kirby a normal amount

there was a short period of time where i was experimenting with my character design a LOT. i liked the idea of an even more androgynous design...

...but I also messed with some more cutesy things too. I'm too attached to my gigantic bobble hat to get rid of it though

I can't explain this fully but this is Hell Miku, an injoke in my friend group that I got attached to

doodle page. pretty sure the character doing the peace sign here was my animal crossing character at the time.

top secret design information.

deltarune ch2 doodle page

wow i draw myself a lot more often than i thought i did what the hell

a music-loving cyclopes character named Illumina.

and finally, I drew this as a joke for some friends a long time ago (oh god tumblr made this one look like shit lol)

I don't remember the context of this but the file name is "wacom test" so I guess I was checking to see if my old wacom intuos tablet still worked lol

Splatoon OC doodle page

Kris Deltarune thing that I am Not Satisfied With At All, but screw it, up it goes anyway

uhhhhhh a long time ago i posted some kirby drawings and the taranza there was unfinished because my computer crashed while drawing it. anyways i finished it eventually but with an entirely different shading style

Junko Enoshima SUCKS!!!! I love her

Ralsei I doodle the day before Ch2's release from excitement

Takanashi Kiara chibi. I really like the shading on this one...

witch girl design that lives rent free in my brain

uhh casual pearl? idk i like her

unpolished sketches from around the time splatoon 3 was announced

[theemporiumreport]

Grand Opening of The Emporium Report!

Hello and Welcome to my blog!

My name is Wayn (They/Them) and I started this blog because I just wanted a place to formally store my thoughts about certain comic issues or comic events!

A little about me, I'm:

Non-Binary

21 years old

Currently in university as a Technical Theatre Major and a Creative Writing Minor.

Filpino-American!

Although I am a Creative Writing Minor, I'm really bad at grammer and overthink a lot so if I write terrible sentences, no I did not <3 :). Other than reading and thinking about comics, I love playing video games such as League of Legends (sadly) + related games, Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Bayonetta, and so much more! (I may from time to time write about these games, but that will be in the future ;)

Little more fun facts:

Favorite Food: Sushi or my mother's sisig

Favortie Musician(s): Wolf Alice, Beyonce, Doja Cat, Rina, plus my monthy music obsession (which is Janelle Monae's The Age of Pleasure)

Favorite Color: Love a good blue, purple, or red

Favorite Movie: At this moment? Across the Spider-verse (EEAO is VERY close behind)

Favorite Show: The Magicians

Now to get into my comic journey and experience!

Comic History

My first exposure to the comics, or at least superheroes, was the Fox X-Men movies! My family had the 2000's trilogy on DVD and it was the one of the only things I liked watching alongside with Spongebob and Ben 10. I would always watch these movies on loop at my father's work on those portable DVD players. Looking back, it was such a fun and simple time!

As I grew up, I watched more Marvel related media such as Ultimate Avengers (2006), Super Hero Squad, Agents of Shield, and even played Marvel Heroes Omega for years until its sad shutdown in 2017. But enough of what I watched or played, the very first comic I read was in 2014 with All New X-Men #18!

But why this particular issue? Well I purely blame Stuart Immonen and his beautiful artwork! I remember seeing this particular cover and loving the new costumes of the O5! The futuristic unitard with each person color coded was very appealing to young me! I also liked that I knew the central characters: The Original Five X-Men. I specifically loved Jean Grey and had an unhealthy crush on Scott Summers (I even read is solo series :o). But this issue is what brought me into comics and when re-reading the run today, I get great flashbacks and memories!

Now here are some personal comic fun facts:

Favorite Character(s): Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Danielle Moonstar (Mirage), Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), Ororo Munroe (Storm)

Honorable Mentions: Kwannon (Psylocke), Jean Grey, Rachel Summers (Askani), Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman), Gwen Stacy (Ghost-Spider), Miles Morales (Spider-Man), literally all the New Mutants (except Magma...)

Favorite Writer(s): Chris Claremont (past), Jonathan Hickman, Vita Ayala, Leah Williams, Steve Orlando

Favorite Artists: Russell Dauterman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Kevin Wada, Kris Anka, Joshua Swaby, Sara Pichelli

Favorite Limited Comic Run: House of X (2019) by Jonathan Hickman

Favorite Issue: New Mutants #41 by Chris Claremont

What is The Emporium Report?

To elaborate more on the purpose of this blog, I just wanted a place where I can write and write and store my thoughts. Out in the real world, I don't really talk about comics as the community around me are not really fond of comics (theatre people D:). So, I made a twitter (@emporium_report) that I ramble on about comics. But, I wanted to make a full report or essay about certain issues (such as the brilliance of New Mutants #41) so I made this!

Prepare to read:

Analysis on single issues or characters

Reactions/General Thoughts on Comic Runs or Events

Personal deepdives into characters

Possible video game analysis/reactions and such

and more!

Lastly, why is it called The Emporium Report?

Well, I am a really big Scarlet Witch fan (will probably go into my history with her later) and I found her new shop in Orlando's run to be quite neat! The mystical shop is called Emporium and now this page is called The Emporium Report!

Thank you for reading all the way to the end!

I am currently looking for any comic friends so apply away! :D

But in all seriousness, thank you and I hope that I stay comitted to this page!

-Wayn.

[fluffytriceratops]

I feel like Raph would be a bit insecure about his spikes and size when it came to his s/o, especially during cuddling moments because he wouldn’t want to accidentally harm them. (He’s such a sweetie) but I also feel like he’d be really nice to cuddle with. He really is a giant teddy bear.

ANYWAY-

Enjoy this doodle and lil imagine of Kris x Raph. <3

Also! This is my first time writing about the Rise iteration, so I apologize in advance if it's a little ooc. I tried lol.

Tags: @thelaundrybitch @rheawritesforfun @turtle-babe83 @leosgirl82 @post-apocalyptic-daydream @mysticboombox @drowninghell @raphielover @raphslovemuffin80 @doctorelleth @tmntspidergirl @jurikyu-blog

(If you want to be tagged in my future TMNT related work, feel free to let me know and I’ll happily add you!)

_

It was her smile that drew him to her, but it was her laugh that stole his heart. 

He had been having a shitty day. Nothing was going the way he wanted it to, his brothers weren't listening to him, Master Splinter whooped their asses in training, and he didn't get a decent nights sleep thanks to an awful patrol the night before. To say that Raphael was in a bit of a bad mood was an understatement. So he scowled to himself as he poured a glass of lemonade, heating some leftover pizza in the microwave. And that's when he heard a wonderfully melodic sound. 

Kristina was laughing. It was a genuine, heart throbbing burst of giggles. The kind where you're laughing so hard that you can't breathe, and your stomach aches from the force of the chortles. The kind where your eyes sting with tears, and you end up having to brace yourself on something because if you don't you're sure to fall over. (That something turned out to be Donatello, who caught the brunette in surprise as she stumbled into him-) Soft snorts managed to slip out of the female, and she slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. 

Raph was starring at her, eyes wide, mouth agape, lemonade spilling over the brim of his glass and onto the floor. Completely entranced with the merry sound. Kristina had mentioned before that she hated her laugh, it was one of her insecurities. But Raphael loved it. He thought she was utterly adorable. And every time he managed to make her laugh, he counted it as a victory. It didn't even matter that it was Donnie who had squeezed the sound out of her. Normally he might be a bit jealous, but in this moment, he didn't care. It was like all his anger and tension had disappeared without a trace and all he was left with was the heavy pounding of his heart. And the blush spreading on his face. 

"Awe, looks like someone has a crush~" Leonardo purred, chin resting in the palm of his hand as he smirked towards his brother tauntingly. Raphael snapped out of his trance and immediately stopped pouring lemonade. His face grew even hotter and he quickly turned and placed the jug on the counter. Large hands fumbling with a paper towel roll as he tried to clean up the mess he made. 

"D-Don't be ridiculous! Kristina is my best friend is all." He brushed it off, refusing to think more than that. 

"Riiight- and that's why you've been starring at her for the past few minutes-" Raph slipped and fell to the floor, paper towels going everywhere, the roll hitting him in the head and rolling across the floor. Leo bit his lip in a poor attempt to control his laughter, watching as his big brother pouted. Truth be told he looked like a little kid who had just been scolded. 

Leo walked over and bent down in front of him, lifting the paper towel that was draped over his head. "Ooh, you've got it bad." 

_

The next week, his brother's teased him relentlessly for liking Kristina. Something he continued to deny over and over again. By the end of the week it got so bad that they had started teasing him in front of her too.  Of course she was oblivious to this. Kristina tended to be a bit dense, she wasn't great with people or emotions, so certain things tended to fly right over her head. 

Raphael's face was pulled into a scowl as he entered the lair, his brother's trailing behind him. Another mission gone wrong. Another of his plans failed. Another patrol filled with the teasing comments from his younger brothers of his everlasting love for his female companion. At this point he was tired, sore, frustrated, and confused. 

"Man, that was rough." Mikey whined, rubbing his head tiredly. 

"Tell me about it. We got our asses whooped tonight." Leo added, mask hanging around his neck loosely as he trudged to his room. 

"Hey, anyone see Kristina?" Donnie glanced around, looking for the brunette who had stayed behind, opting to read in his lab instead of going home. The brother's shared a couple glances, all turning their gaze to Raph who had his back facing them. He had just finished chugging a bottle of water, oddly silent compared to normal. When he realized they were looking to him for answers, the big himbo sighed and turned to face them. "She probably just went home. I'll text her and see if she got there safely." He didn't allow room for further conversation as he left and made his way to his own room. 

Raphael pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up his face in the darkness of the lair. He was just about to hit send to the text he typed when a figure caught his eye. Turns out, he didn't need to text Kristina, cause she was right in front of him. Completely passed out on his bed. Her book was lying open on her chest, and she had a bit of drool dribbling down the corner of her mouth. She was curled up in one of his blankets, the sight nearly made him swoon. Raph's heart fluttered and he took in a shaky breath at the sight. Turning his phone off and placing it on a nearby table, he walked towards her as silently as possible.  Using a single finger, he pushed some of her long hair out of her face. Allowing his digit to linger against her soft, warm skin. Out of instinct, she nuzzled into his touch. His heart nearly shot out of his chest at that. Raph couldn't help but stare down at her in awe. She was so beautiful. He remembered the first time she had smiled at him. He was sure there wasn't a smile nearly as bright as hers. He loved everything about her. Even her faults and flaws. He just.. He loved her.

Oh fuck. Holy shit. He loved her. His brother's were right. HE LOVED HER! HE LOVED KRISTINA! His eyes watered at the realization and Raph couldn't help but smile. Without warning, a soft churr managed to escape him. And he winced at the sight of her pretty brown eyes squinting open. "Shit- Sorry, I didn't mean to wake ya." He whispered, face turning a lovely shade of red. Surely to put his mask to shame. Kristina only smiled at him, grabbing his hand as he started to pull it away. 

"S'okay. Come." She mumbled in her tired state, tugging on him in a silent plea to join her as she sat up to make room. Raphael's face only reddened more, and he stammered over his words. "I uh- I- I don't think-" 

"Please?" How could he say no to her soft brown eyes? With a curt nod, he lowered himself down onto his bed and allowed her to climb on top of him. It was a little awkward, but she made it eventually. Slowly, Kris lowered herself down and nuzzled into his neck. Just like before, a churr left him without warning. He was sure she could hear the erratic beating of his heart. 

"Kristina?" He whispered, wondering if she had fallen back asleep already. 

"Hmm?" She hummed in reply. 

Raph was hesitant with his next set of words. Wondering if he should even say what was running through his head right now. "I... I think I like you." 

She tilted her head back and peeked up at him. An adoring smile practically glued to her cute pout. "I think I like you too." 

In that moment Raph was certain, Kristina Lennox had taken his heart. And he'd be damned if he ever got it back. 

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Sharing my very long (super long) final comment on @butter--peanut‘s story kamui blues (which ended today). Idk why I’m posting it here too, maybe because the fic means just that much to me, or because I met Kris & @foebito through it, but yeah.

Under cut because its very very long....(plus it contains fic spoilers)

So it ended. We knew it would eventually. It seems a little unreal to think that there won't be a chapter anymore, mayb you feel similar here. I've told you that I have thought of what to comment for the past few weeks (yes weeks!) to summerise all my feeling of this fic and what it means to me, what it brought to me, so I'm typing this down before bed. I wanted to do it tomorrow, but I can't wait. Maybe you'll read this in the airport before your big flight or sometimes in San Franscisco in a hotelroom when you have time to breathe, whenever it is, I'm sorry, I have not pre-written this, but I can tell it's going to be long and full of sappy thoughts. Apologies ahead.

When I found this fic in July last year, I had just finished my Naruto read through, the first time to the end. I went into the kkob tag not because I was a hardcore shipper (thats henry's doing!), but just out of interest. Kamui Blues was the top fic and I got hooked on the tagline alone. It was just chapter 1. I remember clearly how hot it was that day, such a hot polish summer, and I sat on my bed phone in hand and reading. I lost the fic again because I closed it, but accidentally found it again maybe a week later at Chapter 2. As you know I wrote my first comment then too (I cant believe its been so long!) That day I was laying next to my boyfriend in the heat, gesturing my ass off about this fic I had found and what premise it had and even he said he thought is a great set up (and he does not like Obito so thats a wow!).

I loved the early chapters, and while the rest of the story is also very very dear to me the early story is my favourite part. I think it is good to have Kakashi at least a little happy, enjoying himself and Obito a bit unnerved and pissed off. I think the dynamic works well when Obito is just a nobody. Scenes in my head are ofc the one henry drew (in the hospital!) and the time kakashi says "Im fucking you apparently." Amazing.

You know I did not know that you could sub to fics because I'm an idiot, so from time to time I checked in to make sure there wasn't a new chapter. IN august I was finally able to go back to Germany again, so I opened it olny when I was in a very long line for a rollercoaster (Phantasialand Bonn btw, Tauron is the coaster- its.. very good), my best friends hand on my shoulder to guide me forward when necessary I read 3 chapters at once and when I was done it was like falling out of a trance, I had completely forgotten where I was. I told him that thats just my favourite fic, he shouldn't worry too much. My head was like WOA. I know I commented that, not to brag, just because I was like WOW. I'm pretty sure that was the chapter in which KAKashi recognises that Tobi was in Akatsuki all along.

I was so sad to hear Kakashi was framed as a bad person, a collaborator during the pain attack. I do not hate AU's in which Kakashi turns his back on konoha for all the shit they've done to him, but being framed? It was an important point of course, Obito taking charge not only of their lives but his own emotions and I loved the Kage summit a lot when they - how did henry say that- "make out while watching television". Memorable is especially the scene in which Kakashi says "I love you" to show the kage that he is under genjutsu. Ah, I want to read that again now.

I checked again week by week, it became such a normal behaviour on a friday that my friend whom I watch esports with on fridays knew that I was absent during game breaks because I was reading. He doesn'T know naruto apart from the general knowledge most people have but he sure knows kamui blues! :D I gotta admit, that was the time Obito died and didnt die and then Kakashi freaked out and while NOW i understand why that all happened, at the time I wondered if the fic had gotten a bit out of hand, if you had a plan. YOu know it happens in fic writing that the author does a plot twist just for the sake of a plottwist and it gets resolved instantly. THis was obviously not the case her at all, but I couldn't know this at the time.

Then the break. I remember feeling like I would have loved to offer you help on the writing process, but I had just recently watched the anime myself so how could I help? So instead i followed you on tumblr. I followed henry on tumblr and I know we talked about this just earlier today, but both of you followed me back and I was like WOO. I was so small then still, back before the groupchat existed. Then I met Henry through a stupid meme and we talked kamui blues until we realised we were both native speaker germans- what a coincidence!! And they were just the most annoying and lovely little person on my heal "read the other stories, read pitch black" I read Kiri through in the break and loved it and I gave in and read pitch black. I got this little community of ours on discord, I got closer with henry and we were wiating for the return.

When KB came back Henry spoiled me (a little! They screamed like a madperson on tumblr!) and thats when we started talking about chapters after the landed in private messages. It was like discussing your favourite episode of a tv show with each other and I enjoyed that time very much. I wanna shortly mention in the story shit started getting real and Sakura took Kakashi's eye and I gotta say, as much as I hated Sasuke, more than not I liked Sakura. I'm glad you gave her the arc she got, because she really deserved that. Oh and that you dressed Obito in jonin clothing! Perfect.

And then you and I started talking in pm's and I remember you mentioned something about a character being re-animated in kb (later id find out its shisui) and I told henry and henry went like "YOU GET KAMUI BLUES SPOILERS" as if I was included in insider trading or something. I was terribly nervous because I liked talking to you, but I didn't want to overwhelm or annoy you because by then you'D become an idol of some sort (which is crazy i know) and I wanted you to like me. I tried hard to balance between talking to you and leaving you alone and it too me all my courage to ask you if you have discord. And you did! And we started talking more. Woop.

(I know ive said it a lot but) AND THEN we made the groupchat thing for my fanfic dumbs and Henry and me were worried TOGETHER we might overwhelm you with constant chatting and oc talk, but I think you actually enjoyed it. I love getting babysit by either one of you and while I love our discord server a lot, our groupchat is just a bit more familiar. We got to hear your editing process through the final chapters while Henry and me live blogged each time a new one came out. That was nerve wrecking because I had to read it all fast, but it was so much fun too (and must have been terribly fun for you anyway). I cant believe you brought rin back (but not sakumo, come on). And obito got to be a badass and Kakashi and TENZO, god, I - still have feelings on that, i know you know, but urgh the poor boy, at least he wasnt captured all war long.

Here we are are now, the final chapter (After that wonderful smut we got to read early, yummy, dead animal kakashi and all). I think the fact that we decided to read it together on voice chat was the best decision ever and I'm so glad you were the one reading it to us. I did cry, a couple of times actually, i just ate it up so you guys wouldnt laugh at me. Its utterly perfect this ending, full of warmth and love and sunshine and the way here has been utterly perfect. Henry said it best when they compared it to Song of Archilles (read it and weep!)- a happy end, but what a tear jerker one.

So much has changed since and because this story caught my eye. I think part of why I cried today reading this was because I was reading it there with you and henry and how we will be friends well over this stories end. It seems so rather random that we met this way, I wouldnt know how to explain it to my mom. I'm so endlessly grateful to you and the universe because it brought this together. This was a fantastic novel and I want to congratulate you again on finishing all of it. I can't even say I'm proud, because I didnt know you back then, but I feel like it anyway. Kamui blues means a big deal to me not only because its a great fic (And it is!) but also because I now have you guys in my life and thats just such a gift to have. I will be forever thankful and ugh im teary again

I'm running out of characters (really true!) so I just want to again wish you a great flight, cant wait fo you to be back so we can watch some JJK so you can fall in love with the next friends to enemies to lovers ship there is (one has white hair and one has black hair even oops!) and maybe, in summer, we can all meet somewhere and just hang out. An Austrian an australian and a german going into a bar -there is a joke there somewhere I bet. I send you many many hugs, tiny tiny forehead kisses and wish you all the best. I cherish you a lot, Kris, I'm glad I met you. Congrats on finishing the masterpiece. I think its going to be around for a long time.

[bengallemon]

I posted 736 times in 2021

202 posts created (27%)

534 posts reblogged (73%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.6 posts.

I added 566 tags in 2021

#lemon time - 189 posts

#art - 76 posts

#my art - 76 posts

#digital art - 66 posts

#reblog - 60 posts

#undertale - 28 posts

#undertale au - 27 posts

#deltarune - 22 posts

#others art - 12 posts

#ocs - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 116 characters

#i actually dont know what they look like ingame because i haven't been able to play chap 2 so i'm just guessing here

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Desperately wanted to draw the boy, so take humanization.

Gotta say, I think this my best one yet. I'm experimenting with colours and shadows/highlights and it made this look so much better than with just flat colouring. Imma do more of this, but for now take the precious golden child!

Aim (the precious golden bean who we can never let anything bad happen to) belongs to @zu-is-here

41 notes • Posted 2021-01-18 04:31:22 GMT

#4

NOBODY TOLD ME IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY SO I HAD TO BE VERY QUICK

Anyway happy birthday Aim! Our smol little bean who's done nothing wrong. And happy anniversary to the end of the Dark Cream comic!

Aim belongs to @zu-is-here

This human design (which has changed a little) is by me

42 notes • Posted 2021-12-13 01:19:33 GMT

#3

Am I betraying the Cream and Fluffynightkiller ships? Yes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not, my multishipper's heart won't let me regret it. Presenting to you:

Studio AU Crossmare!

Idk why I wrote that in fancy text also hi I'm bored and have several other AU ideas SEND HELP PLEASE

I do have some ideas on how this would work, so I'll just throw them here while I suffer under blooming AU ideas.

This would probably have to be a timeline without Cream or Nightkiller/Fluffynightkiller, but everyone can still vibe together.

Cross and Nightmare wouldn't stand being around each other for too long but in secret really want to spend all the time in the world with each other. It gets to the point where it's very obvious to basically everyone but them, and a few other people (probably Dream and Killer, maybe Ink as well) decide to try and bring them together somehow, despite constant glaring and just the inability to not annoy the hell out of each other.

They end up sorta understanding each other and their personalities and slowly connect until they can be left alone together for an extended period of time without attempting to kill each other.

Idk who'd confess first or what would happen and all that, I'm just spitting words out here and hoping sense can be made of them.

I shall now desperately wipe words off my whiteboard to make space for a whole idea that's forming that I know won't leave me unless I do something about it and maybe draft some designs and concepts and all that.

Studio au belongs to @zu-is-here

The designs belong to @help-im-a-gay-fish

I'm going to look up references and write and just exist now bai

46 notes • Posted 2021-01-17 08:04:23 GMT

#2

holy fck two art posts in one day what cocaine have i found??

anyways: OBSERVE A B E A N

friend said to draw a papyrus so i drew this boiiiiii! i liked doing the pose and the clothing was nice. didn't shade because this is a reference image in case i do some more art with Broopie at some point.

This humanized version of the design belongs to me

Broomie!Papyrus itself belongs to @zu-is-here

This particular design of Broopie belongs to @manosaldibujo

Reblogs are more valued than likes, spreading artwork is very poggers, do so now.

54 notes • Posted 2021-08-22 12:24:07 GMT

#1

Thought: Deltarune AU where the school has to put up with a very anti-LGBT teacher who holds semi-weekly "talks" about how they should all be anti-LGBT as well. Kris decides to p*ss off that teacher as much as they can while obtaining a relationship at the same time. Susie, Noelle and Berdly all randomly join them in detention and they all bond over being part of the community and just vibing.

It switches between angst, problems and dealing with toxicity to just fluff and vibing together.

66 notes • Posted 2021-01-21 10:46:49 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[decidedly-unpoggers]

Country: United States of the Great Plains

System: Federal assembly-elected presidential republic under a non-partisan democracy

The 2040 General Election in the Great Plains took place November 3, 2040 to elect all 450 members of the National Council of the Great Plains, the legislative assembly of the United States of the Great Plains.

The elections, as all elections in the USGP, were non-partisan, as all political parties are technically banned. All members of the National Council are de jure independent. However, most members of the Council belong to to one of 4 major factions: the Technocrats, the Free Technocrats, the Religious Populists, and the Democratic Socialists. However, these factions are all informal, due to the ban on political parties and structure. With this in mind however, the different factions all play major roles in organizing a government, with the President and his Cabinet being elected by the Council by a simple majority vote. If no faction and their candidates can receive a majority, the government is thrown into limbo, in which tense negotiations are held to determine a government. It has yet to play out if no faction or coalition of factions can retain a majority. Background

The incumbent Technocratic government led by President Pete Ricketts had previously been highly popular, holding a supermajority in the National Council. They governed with the support of the Free Technocrats, who together had a 2/3 majority in the Council, with the Religious Populists and Democratic Socialists holding approx. 1/8 each, with the Religious Populists holding approximately 5 more seats than the DS. The Federalist Party of the Great Plains has a small handful of seat, albeit this small number of seats (c. 20) is one of the best performances for the International Federalist Party in any post-American Nation. This however changed when Tornado season struck. Tornado season was devastating, killing hundreds and leaving untold thousands of people homeless. Dakotan refugee communities in northern Nebraska were especially hard hit; one of the largest camps were almost completely destroyed, ruining the lives of people who had fled their homeland to escape civil war, only to be struck by tornadoes. The Technocrats had bungled much of the relief, wanting essentially to restore the status quo. This cost them the support of the Free Technocrats-who along with the Democratic Socialists-wanted to reform safety requirements and significantly increase direct aid to those who needed it. The Religious Populists were also critical, wanting to eliminate all aid to refugees, and to privatize the relief process, having churches and NGOs picking up all the slack.

The withdrawal of Free Technocratic support meant that Ricketts and his Cabinet had fallen just short of majority support. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the DS or the RP called a vote of no confidence (which would destroy his government), Ricketts called for early elections, to take place on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2040. Campaign

The course of the election was focused on domestic affairs. The biggest issue of the campaign year was the process of rebuilding, which is what caused the early elections in the first place. The Technocrats were criticized by opponents on all sides for their rebuilding plans. The Technocrats wanted to restore the status quo, rebuilding when necessary and providing limited amounts of direct aid to those hit, prioritizing Plainian citizens over Dakotan refugees, while still providing support to refugees. This drew criticism from both the left and the right; the Free Technocrats and the DS wanted to completely reform the existing housing safety requirements to accommodate tornado safety guidelines and to allow for more multi-family housing units, while the Religious Populists were angered that the government was involved with rebuilding, as they believed that it should be privatized, with churches and NGOs taking control of it. The RP were also enraged that the Technocrats were providing support to the refugees, with RP leader Kris Kobach falsely stating "These people come here from far away lands [Dakota], only to mooch off of us. We should be deporting them, not treating treating them like they are equal to us. They came here illegally, they should immediately and swiftly be shipped back to Dakota. We do not want them, and we have no need for them". The RP additionally wanted to cease foreign aid money being used to rebuild, citing "foreign swamp money" paying for "the homosexual agenda", "illegal immigrants" "abortion on demand", and various other arguments.

Various other issues were raised, one of them being the status of the Plains Federal Dollar. The Technocrats and RP charged that the reforms being pushed by the Free Techs and DS would greatly inflate the Federal Dollar; this argument backfired on the Techs, who abandoned it, while the RP still ran with it. The Free Techs and DS believed that inflation of the Federal Dollar would stimulate the economy. Another prominent issue was the compensation of farmers who had lost their crops; agriculture was one of the main sectors of the USPG's economy, without sufficient crops the nation would lose its main source of income. The Free Techs, DS, and small factions of the RP supported direct, recurrent payments to farmers; the Techs were forced to waffle on their position, given that some of the various factions in the group argued that it might significantly increase inflation and cause more of the national budget going into welfare, while other factions argued it was for the best of the farmers. President Ricketts had put out conflicting statements on farmer welfare, saying once "I have no issue with providing welfare to our farmers, the backbone of our economy", while saying another time "Farmer welfare will increase inflation and decrease productivity, hurting those who need it the most". The Federalist Party of the Great Plains (who are relatively more moderate than their affiliates in other nations), generally stood by the Techs throughout the campaign, but with the added twist of Compositional Pan-Americanism. Results

Early into the counting, it was obvious who won the election. The Free Techs (led by David Toland) and their Environmentalist faction were able to overtake the Techs and become the largest faction in the Council, with approx. 150 seats. The Techs became the second largest faction, having lost their plurality by less than 10 seats. The DS, RP, and Federalists maintained roughly the same number of seats.

Due to the fact no faction had a majority, a period of tense negotiations followed. Several unofficial coalitions were considered. These include: Free Techs+Techs, Free Techs+DS, and various others. An emergency coalition was considered with Free Techs+DS+RP, but that was viewed as extreme, so it was passed up.

An agreement was finally worked out: The Free Technocrats would hold the Presidency, with David Toland as their leader. In exchange for supporting the government and not holding a vote of no confidence, the Technocrats would get to keep the Vice Presidency (with former President Pete Ricketts) and the Speaker of the National Council. The Free Technocrats also were forced to pursue less economically interventionist policies, as the Technocrats would withdraw their support if they pursued too economically interventionist tactics. The DS remained in opposition, but agreed not to hold a vote of no confidence, as they prefer the Free Technocratic government over the previous Technocratic Government. Informal DS leader Kara Eastman stated that although she wouldn't join the informal alliance, she would support them and looks forward to the new, progressive government in power. RP informal leader Kris Kobach announced he would not support the government, and would call for a no confidence motion should he get the opportunity (which would fail, as the Technocratic Speaker could simply squash it).

[ahtohallan-calling]

chapter 12 of it’s always ourselves we find is here!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

[kristanna / m / modern au / coworkers & enemies to lovers ;) ]

all good w greg? 

.

No. Guess what was wrong with the printer?

.

out of ink?

.

Unplugged.

.

omg i feel like i shouldn’t laugh but i am

.

Well, then it turns out he had six different viruses on his work issued laptop.

.

no shit? that’s worse than hans

are you gonna make it to the dinner? I’ll save you a seat

liss told me it’s just a bunch of subs and chips and stuff but i mean it’s free

.

Don’t think I will. I’m sorry :/. Haven’t even showered.

.

don’t be sorry! i’ll just sneak some out and we can eat together in the room 😊

can’t have you starving to death

.

And suddenly, the bubbling, hot tide of irritation that had been rising in him since the moment Greg had first interrupted them on the beach was all washed away.

“So,” Greg said, squinting, “where did all my toolbars go?”

Kristoff chuckled and clapped the older man on the shoulder. “Good one, buddy.”

“No, seriously.”

“I’ll cut you a deal. Either you promise me never to click on a pop-up porn ad again, or I’ll tell Harry exactly how many pop-up porn ads you clicked on while using your work computer.”

The other man paled at that. “How can you tell?”

Kristoff winked and tapped a finger against his temple. “Call it intuition. Have a good one, Greg.”

It was for the best that the lobby and hallways were uncrowded as he made his way back upstairs to the hotel room, because not only did he still smell sort of seaweed-y, but he was paying next to no attention to where he was going. Every part of him felt charged somehow, like the air between a burst of lightning and the clap of thunder, but in the best way; he kept pulling his phone out to check it, to remind himself that this was real, that Anna actually returned his feelings, that she was choosing to be with him tonight.

Tonight-- and maybe beyond that, if this streak of luck continued. 

To his relief, she still wasn’t back in the room by the time he got there; he wanted nothing more than to hold her again the way he had in the water, but he also knew that there was definitely still some sand where it did not belong and that his chances of finally getting to kiss her were severely lowered if he didn’t hurry up and rinse off the saltwater that still felt like it was clinging to every inch of him.

He was just rinsing the last of the suds from his skin when he heard the door to the room open and Anna calling for him.

“In here,” he called back. 

“Hurry up before your food gets cold.”

He chuckled. “It’s sandwiches. It’s supposed to be cold.”

“Yeah, but you had to stop and think about it for a second, didn’t you?”

“Did not,” he said as he switched off the water and reached for his towel.

“Definitely did,” came the cheerful reply. “But seriously, hurry up, slowpoke. I’m fucking starving.”

When he emerged, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt as he ran a hand through his still-damp hair, she was just coming back in from the balcony, her teeth chattering. “Hey, Kris,” she said, and without further preamble she wrapped her arms around his waist and nestled her face against his shoulder.

“Hey, yourself,” he said, one hand instinctively flying up to cradle the back of her head as the other pressed against her back, pulling her closer to his chest.

Anna sighed happily and nuzzled her cheek against him. “Sorry, is this okay? It’s just kind of chilly now that it’s dark out.”

“‘Course,” he mumbled, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “But I’ve got a sweatshirt you can borrow. I’d hold you all night, but that’d make eating difficult, huh?”

She peered up at him, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Would you really?”

He swallowed hard. “Ah, shit, Anna. I-- it’s one thing when I tell you stuff like that on accident, but on purpose…”

So fast he didn’t have time to react, she brushed a kiss against the underside of his jaw and whispered, “You’re sweet, you know that?”

Speechless, he only nodded and headed over to his suitcase. “Here,” he said, pulling out a worn, navy blue sweatshirt and offering it to her. “It’s kinda old, but it’s pretty warm.”

Anna wriggled quickly into it, and for the second time that day his heart stuttered in his chest at the sight of her wearing his clothes. The sweatshirt was even bigger on her than his button down had been; it hung nearly to her knees. She giggled as she held up her hands to examine just how far past her fingertips the sleeves of the sweatshirt dangled. “At this rate, you’re going to go home with an empty suitcase.”

Kristoff didn’t reply, too overcome with the sudden thought of this is the night you’re going to kiss her. Of course he had tried to earlier when they were interrupted, and he just might have even before that in the elevator if only they’d had another ten seconds or so, but now seeing her so delighted to be wearing something else of his, the way her eyes had sparkled when he’d offered, the fact that she’d snuck him his dinner up here so they could enjoy it together underneath the starlight with nothing but the sound of the waves to disturb them--

Tonight, he thought, a shiver of wonder racing through him.

“Kris?”

He blinked, startled from his reverie, and looked down to see a look of concern crossing Anna’s face. “Are you alright?” she asked, looking suddenly nervous. “You were just-- staring at me.”

“Yeah, it’s just-- just-- yeah,” he said lamely, and to his surprise, her cheeks turned rosy. 

“Well, anyway,” she said, a little shy as she tugged the sleeves up enough that her hands were free, “I, uh, I put the food out on the table out on the balcony. I got you a Dr. Pepper, that’s your favorite, right?”

He nodded, once again too overwhelmed for words, and reached down to tangle his fingers with hers.

They ate in near silence, exchanging shy glances across the little table between bites of their sandwiches. He wanted to ask her more about everything, not just about the sudden miracle that had sprung up between them but about her, about what she liked to do on weeknights and where she went to elementary school and how she ended up working at an office supply company that, some days, seemed to run purely on nepotism and scotch tape.

And it occurred to him, suddenly, as he watched Anna settle further back in her chair, letting the sleeves fall back down to cover her fingers, that he knew the answers, that they’d been gleaned one at a time over the fourteen months they’d worked together; that she liked to go hiking with her sister or read at home with her cat on her lap; that she’d grown up in Illinois and been homeschooled until high school; and that she’d gone to Auburn and followed her sister further east. 

And god, even just realizing that he’d already known it all, that he’d known it and known that he felt this way about her for so long, was enough for him to again feel that rising certainty that he was going to kiss her tonight-- well, certainty and panic.

Anna, for her part, appeared to be more focused on the night sky than on the way he was dying a slow and painful death right there on the balcony. “I wish we could see the stars like this closer to the city,” she said softly, the evening breeze fluttering through the ends of her hair. 

“You can,” Kristoff blurted out. “I can from my yard.” 

She turned to look at him, her eyes softer than she’d ever seen them. “Can I come see them sometime?”

“You don’t even have to ask,” he breathed, hoping she understood how earnestly he meant it, and that that went for anything she asked of him; it was hers, all she might want of all he had.

He thought for a minute that the moment might be then, from the way her lips parted slightly and the way she leaned forward, but then something lit up in her expression, and she was on her feet. “Oh! I forgot we have dessert!”

He raised his eyebrows at that; it was very unlike Anna to forget anything sweet. He listened to her rustling around through her bag for a moment as he drew in a deep breath, trying as best he could to steady his nerves. 

“Aha!” she said triumphantly, pulling out the bag of M&Ms he’d bought for her the day before and waving them in the air. 

“Well, how about that,” Kristoff said, trying to contain his amusement. 

She grinned, already tearing the bag open. “You want some? Hold out your hand.”

“Nah, that’s okay,” he said, and as she shrugged and popped a handful into her mouth, he added airily, “I got them for you.”

She froze, one hand halfway back down from her mouth, the other slowly losing its grip on the bag. He could have sworn he could pinpoint the moment it had clicked for her— something about the way her eyes were suddenly so bright it made his chest ache. 

“Well, don’t mind me, go on and eat them,” he said mischievously. “I spent good money on those.”

She set the bag down with a decisive tap and finally remembered to swallow. “It was you?” she whispered. “The whole time?”

If he was being honest, he suddenly felt a little off balance himself. He barely managed a nod as she drew closer to him; he let his knees pull further apart so that she could stand between them as she leaned down to set her fingertips against his jaw. They were trembling, just barely.

“I can’t believe it,” Anna said, her voice barely audible. 

“Can’t believe what?”

A soft smile crept over her features. “How something so obvious was right in front of my eyes, and I never even noticed.”

His heart was beginning to pound. “I— I think I missed a couple things, too,” he murmured as she leaned down, and then suddenly— finally— they were kissing, her lips earnest and still candy-sweet against his. He set his hands on her waist to try and pull her closer she went easily, settling herself on his lap. 

“Anna,” he whispered, and felt her smile against him, and god, it was even better than his dreams. 

---

It had been difficult, at first, to fall asleep when she’d kept giggling. “What?” Kristoff had asked, confused, as they faced each other across the mattress, still keeping their distance though they hadn’t bothered with setting up any semblance of a barrier.

“It’s just that a couple of days ago I thought you hated me, and then we just kissed for the first time tonight, and now we’re sharing a bed and it’s just-- it’s just sort of crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s one word for it.”

She’d raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What word would you choose?”

He’d thought for a moment before saying, “Lucky,” his voice so serious it made something in her chest flutter.

And she’d bitten her lip and scooted across the midpoint of the mattress and shyly settled a hand on his chest like she had the night before, and he’d gone a step further and slid an arm around her shoulders to pull her even closer, and then they’d kissed again until Anna pulled back and whispered, “Is it okay if we just do this?”

“What do you mean just this?”

“Just-- kissing. Even though we’re sharing a bed? I just-- I don’t want to…”

“Rush things?” he’d finished for her, and she’d nodded, too shy to meet his gaze.

“Me either,” he had whispered then as she nestled her face against his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart calm her nerves until she slid into a deep, dreamless sleep.

At some point in the night, though, a sudden sense of loss dragged her from slumber, leaving her blinking, disoriented, in the pitch dark room.

“Kristoff?” she asked, reaching blindly for him before her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

He was sitting up on the edge of the bed, slumping forward with his head in his hands. Anna sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “Kris, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

She glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand, squinting at the red digits in the darkness. “It’s after two.”

“Believe me, I know.”

He sounded so dejected that she didn’t even have to think it through before her mind was made up. She pushed the covers back and crawled over to sit behind him. After taking a moment to steel herself, she slid her arms around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling the warm, woodsy smell of his shower gel that still lingered on his skin.

“Hey,” he murmured, lowering a hand to press it over hers where it rested on his stomach.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied, nuzzling her nose just above the collar of his t-shirt. “Wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

“No.”

“Will you anyway? Please?”

“Nosy.”

“Grumpy.”

“Hey, I was pretty cheerful today,” he contended, and a soft laugh escaped her.

“You were. It was really nice.”

He squeezed her hand at that, and she smiled, wondering if he could feel it against his skin. For several long moments neither of them moved, not daring to speak a word that might brush up too harshly against this tenuous, newborn tranquility between them, and then Kristoff sighed. “You’re not going to go back to bed, are you?”

“Nope. Not til I know you’re okay.”

“I don’t want you to worry.”

“Too late for that.”

Kristoff chuckled. “You’re too stubborn for your own good, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told. By you, mostly.”

He lowered both of his hands now, settling them in his lap, before turning as best he could to look at her over his shoulder, his dark eyes glossed with moonlight. “I’ve never told anyone this.”

“You can trust me,” Anna replied. “But you don’t have to.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile. “I know. It’s just...it’s kind of a long story.”

She shifted to sit behind him, turning so she could lean against his broad back and rest her cheek against the soft fabric of his worn shirt. “I’ve got all night.”

He sighed heavily enough that she rose and fell with him. “I just...if this changes how you think about me--”

“It won’t,” she said decisively. 

“It might,” he pressed on. “So I just...I’m sorry if it does.”

“Kristoff, quit worrying and just tell me.”

He sighed again. “I just...I really need this presentation to go well tomorrow. I can’t get fired.”

Anna frowned. “Why is that a big secret? I don’t want to get fired either.”

“No, it’s-- it’s different. I can’t get fired, Anna, I...I need this job to help take care of my family. And if I lose this one, I don’t think I could find another.”

“Of course you could! You’re super smart and good at all your-- your computery things, and--”

“I don’t have a degree. I barely even finished high school.”

She was glad he couldn’t see the shock she was sure was evident on her face. “But you’re the head of IT.”

“I know, believe me, and I-- I know there’s no way in hell I’d get a job like this again. Shit, I’d be lucky to get anything full time. But my mom and dad, they’re retired, and they don’t have a lot of savings because they spent it on all of us.”

“All of...who?”

Kristoff groaned; she felt his back shift as he raised a hand to run it through his hair. “I-- fuck. I guess I better tell you my whole shitty life story, huh?”

She turned and pressed a kiss against the nape of his neck. “Only if you want me to.”

He was quiet for a long moment then, but she waited patiently like she always did for him when it really mattered, knowing that, unlike her, he preferred to gather his thoughts in advance before diving in headfirst. Her eyelids were beginning to droop when at last he began to speak, his voice tight.

“I was a foster kid for a long time, til I was about to turn nine. And my folks took me in-- they took in, shit, I don’t even know how many of us over the years, but me and my sister were the only ones who stayed. And they were good to me like no one else had ever been, and when they finally adopted me-- shit, it was the best day of my life. But I...I was just so angry sometimes, not at them but just at the whole world, you know?”

She nodded, too overcome to speak, and after a moment he sighed and went on. “And so I just...I fucked around in school, spent more time in suspension than out, fell in with a bunch of other guys who did the same dumb shit. And then one day, I got arrested, and Pop told me that was it. He made me get back into therapy, made me sit at the kitchen table and do all my homework while he watched, wouldn’t let me leave the house unless he or Ma was with me. And I was furious, and then that burned out, and I was just bored as hell, and so I started messing around with computers, trying to figure out how they worked. At first it was so I could figure out how to fuck more shit up at school, but then I got serious about it.”

He paused then, shifting a little to look back at her. “I’m rambling, I know. You can tell me to shut up and go back to bed if you--”

“No,” Anna said fiercely. “I want to know. And I think you need to talk about it for your own sake.”

He was quiet for a moment, just taking stock of her expression, before nodding slowly. “Maybe I do.”

She settled against his back again. “So keep going.”

He chuckled at that, and she couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of his back rumbling against her. “Bossy.”

“Grumpy. Stop trying to distract me.”

“I...okay, okay, fine. Anyway, I graduated by the skin of my teeth, but I had no clue what to do with myself. Pop, uh, he was a handyman, and he got called up to the office building-- our office building, I mean-- and so I just went with him to kill time. And one day Mr. Westergaard-- as in the old dude-- he was there, and he was really pissed off about something with his laptop, and so I offered to fix it, and I did. And he just kinda looked at me and said, ‘well, shit, son, the IT guy I got now told me to just buy a new one’, and he hired me on the spot. And I just...I worked my way up from there, you know? And because he gave me a chance, I turned my life around, and now I can take care of my parents and my sister, and if I lose this…I don’t know if anyone else would hire me.”

Something dawned on Anna then, and she leaned around his shoulder to get a look at his face. “So Hans…”

“He knows, yeah. So does Harry. Nobody else, though. So that’s why he holds it all over my head, knows I can’t do shit about it.”

“Fucking rat bastard,” they said in unison, and after a moment of surprise they both laughed. 

Anna reached over to squeeze his hand. “Maybe...maybe now if people saw the experience you have…”

“Maybe’s not good enough, not when they need me. I gotta at least help them get through til Maggie graduates, and she’s got another year of high school after this one.”

She moved then to set beside him, tugging at his arm until he raised it and let her slip underneath it. He dropped it over her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I know that’s a lot to unload on you, Anna, I don’t blame you if--”

“Oh, shut up, Bjorgman, this doesn’t change jack shit. Except that now I think I like you even more.”

“What, really? Former fuckup, that’s your type?”

“No. But it means a lot to me that you told me all that.”

He was quiet then, his thumb rubbing slowly up and down against her shoulder. She was still wearing his sweatshirt-- he was crazy if he ever thought he was getting it back. She nestled closer against his side, wrapping her arms around his sturdy waist. “I’m here for you, Kristoff,” she said softly. “Anytime you need to talk about shit like this. It’s not gonna change how I-- how I feel about you. And tomorrow-- don’t even worry, okay? I’m gonna make sure the presentation is the best fucking presentation this company has ever seen.”

“I don’t know, last year’s presentation on solar panels is a tough one to beat…” he said half-heartedly.

“I mean it,” she said softly. “Fuck Hans. Tomorrow is going to be great. But first, we gotta get some sleep. You can’t just sit up all night worrying it’ll go badly, because then that’s exactly what will happen.”

“I know, I know, it’s just...I don’t know. I was just... I was thinking about all this shit, and then about you, and how I finally got to kiss you, and--”

“Finally?”

“Ah, shit, this is another one of those things you’re gonna want me to say, and you only know about it ‘cause I let it slip, and--”

“Finally for me too,” she interrupted. “But you kinda already gave it away when you confessed about the M&Ms. I got the first pack of those less than a month in.”

“...yeah.”

She leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek, but before she could, he turned and caught her lips with his own. She sighed against him, letting one hand rest on his chest as his arm tightened around her.

When they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers. “How am I supposed to sleep when it means missing out on more of that, huh?”

“Cut you a deal, if you don’t get your ass back under the covers right now, I’ll never kiss you again.”

She didn’t think she’d ever seen him move so quickly.

[burkymakar]

Hi! I was wondering if you could post the Athletic's Olympic roster predictions please?!

ok here’s a lot under the cut, i’ve included men and womens for both Canada and USA. 

Canada Mens

Remember how the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang unfolded? Canada won a hard-earned bronze medal playing a stingy brand of defence under coach Willie Desjardins and lost only a single game in regulation – to Germany in the semifinals – before defeating the Czech Republic to earn a place on the podium.

Just one thing was missing: NHL players. Hockey’s crème de la crème. Three years ago, the NHL decided not to participate in the Winter Olympics for a lot of reasons that made little sense to the hockey world which made the Games look a little like the Spengler Cup.

Thankfully, as part of the collective bargaining extension signed last summer, the NHL is returning to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing — assuming the logistical details can be ironed out among the league, the IIHF and the IOC and that the pandemic is under some sort of control.

With apologies to all the players who competed so hard for Canada in 2018, the selection process this time around will be far more difficult because of the staggering depth of the talent pool.

One thing Canada never lacks at the highest level of hockey is oodles of options at both forward and defence. The players who don’t make the grade for Canada would fill out a ‘B’ team that would contend for gold.

How might Team Canada 2022 look? Thought you’d never ask. In our eternal quest to be helpful to the managerial powers-that-be, here are our projections for a 25-player roster, which is what the IOC permitted for Sochi in 2014.

As always, remember that in Canada, for an exercise such as this one, there really aren’t many bad options. Just too many good ones.

The last time men’s hockey had a best-on-best tournament was back in 2016 and if that World Cup taught us anything, it is that the younger generation of players dominating the game today had no stage fright whatsoever when they were got a chance to play together as North America’s 23-and-under team. They were fun to watch and unlucky not to advance to the medal round.

In previous Olympics, sometimes Canada’s management team would opt for veteran players over young up-and-comers because of a fear that they might be overwhelmed by the moment. Team Canada’s biggest Olympic bobble in the NHL era came in 2006 and you wonder what might have happened if they’d injected the youth and vigour of Sidney Crosby onto a team that seemed slow and plodding on the big ice of Turin.

By contrast, the decision to go with the 20-year-old Drew Doughty in Vancouver proved quite prescient – he was one of the key contributors that year and then again in 2014 in Sochi, as Canada won back-to-back golds.

Nowadays, Doughty is one of the more polarizing players in the game. He still plays a ton of minutes for the Los Angeles Kings and oozes confidence. On a blue line that features a whole lot of next-gen talent – from Cale Makar and Shea Theodore to Thomas Chabot and Morgan Rielly — chances are they’ll opt for one or two steadying veterans on the blue line. We’ve selected Alex Pietrangelo and Doughty to fill out what is otherwise a talented but relatively green defence corps that’ll get the puck up to the forwards, with great dispatch and accuracy.

Canada’s 2014 gold-medal team won with a stingy brand of hockey and timely saves from Carey Price, whenever he was called upon. That can be a challenge sometimes – playing goal on a team that surrenders few Grade-A opportunities and tests your level of focus and concentration because there will be the occasional breakdown that you will need to be in a position to respond to.

Long-term, Carter Hart will likely take over from Price as Canada’s go-to starter in goal, but there are still some inconsistencies in his game that drops him down to the No. 2 position. One wild card I considered here was the Devils’ Mackenzie Blackwood, who had an excellent rookie season last year and was off to a good start this year as well. Chances are if Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong has the final say, Jordan Binnington would likely be the third goalie on this roster.

All of which leads us to the hardest, most controversial decisions which involve the forward group. There’s the usual problem of having too many natural centres on the roster and so someone will have to switch to the right wing. Among the elite-level centres in Canada, both Nathan MacKinnon and Mark Scheifele are right-handed shots and could swing over to the wing. One likely will have to and in this scenario, it’s Scheifele, if only so that MacKinnon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who developed some familiarity playing for Team North America in the World Cup, can play together.

That creates some flexibility if the coach – we’re picking Barry Trotz – ultimately wants to shift Nugent-Hopkins up to Connor McDavid’s line.

Splitting Crosby and Brad Marchand may also just be temporary. In 2016, those two along with Patrice Bergeron were the clear top line for Canada, and scored all the important goal. But Bergeron will be 36 by the time the Olympics roll around, and thus, didn’t make the final group here. You could theoretically put Marchand, Crosby and MacKinnon (playing right wing) together on an all-Nova Scotia line and the chemistry could be magical.

The beauty of Canada’s roster is the versatility of so many of the better forwards – Ryan O’Reilly, Sean Couturier, Brayden Point and Bo Horvat could all play the wing as well as down the middle. Chances are, every line that Canada rolls out will include two natural centres making face-off match-ups easier for the coaching staff, if they can fit both a right- and a left-hand centre onto each line.

The bottom line: With a player pool so deep, Canada has incredible talent and flexibility. Talent enough to get the go-ahead goal in a tight game.

Flexibility enough to juggle lines as needed and get the defensive match-ups as required. The greatest coaching challenge is usually selling a one-for-all and all-for-one vision. If a star player is forced to adopt a secondary role, he’ll need to handle it with maturity and grace and cannot start pouting because he isn’t the first option on the PP or the PK the way he might be on his club team.

Managing egos is as big a part of the job for the coaching staff as setting lines and spooling out ice time. — Eric Duhatschek

I’m going to keep this very simple.

Hockey Canada has a formula. It involves a few key rules that have helped Team Canada dominate best-on-best competition to an unprecedented degree over the past decade:

1) Everyone plays on their strong side.

2) Wherever possible, bring pairs of players that play together in the NHL so you have an immediate chemistry advantage in a short tournament.

3) Bring extra centres and just have them play on the wall.

4) Experience and tenure matter. If you were on the last team and are still elite, you have an edge in the event all other factors are equal.

Now, Hockey Canada has also opted to play grinding, low event hockey over the past decade. It’s cynical, it’s ruthless and it delivers gold.

However, this approach stinks. It shows a certain ruthless focus, which I appreciate, but it actually lacks any grander ambition.

Hockey Canada could aspire for more. They should aspire for greatness.

They should aspir for a national men’s team with the purpose of articulating a national vision of a beautiful, skillful and yet still assertive and physical two-way brand of hockey. Canada’s men’s team could play hockey beautifully if Canada decided to play hockey beautifully, and that’s what this team is going to do — within the framework of Hockey Canada’s otherwise winning formula.

Right off the top, I’ve built the fastest first line in the history of the sport. McDavid moves to the wing mostly for handedness reasons. A top line of McDavid, MacKinnon and Mathew Barzal are going to test the limits of what’s possible to accomplish in hockey playing at the highest possible speed.

Until one of Marchand, Crosby and Bergeron fall off and aren’t among the NHL’s best individually, they’re a set line for Hockey Canada. This is the easiest choice there is. They have chemistry, experience, swagger as a group, and they bring the DNA of Hockey Canada’s decade-of-dominance to this forward group.

The third line is where things get interesting, particularly because this is where the toughest omission from my team — Jonathan Huberdeau — kicks in. Ultimately I’m going to make a decision to prefer John Tavares’ experience, ability to cover in the event of a centre injury and his chemistry with Mitch Marner over Huberdeau’s electricity.

I’m not bringing Rob Zamuner or Kris Draper to fill a role or anything, but my fourth-line definitely has the identity of the highest-end possible version of an energy line. Honestly, in some matchups, this trio may well end up being Hockey Canada’s matchup line ahead of the Crosby line, since it’s just a collection of the countries most willful two-way players.

I’m bringing Steven Stamkos and Couturier as extra forwards, basically two centremen — a lefty and a righty — which means snubbing Bo Horvat and Claude Giroux, my toughest omissions besides Huberdeau.

We weren’t asked to name coaches, but I should add that I’ve named Pete DeBoer and Jared Bednar as assistant coaches, partly because they’re deserving and partly so that my top-four can get reps together throughout the NHL season leading up to the 2022 Games.

There’s a factor in the international game that I still don’t think Hockey Canada has fully incorporated into their player selection process, but they really should: Puck-moving defenders are everything.

Which is why Samuel Girard — probably my most surprising selection — is a slam dunk no brainer for this team and is likely to play a prominent role. Thanks to Bednar’s colluding with me to win a gold medal, he’ll spend more time with Makar in the season leading up to the Olympics (although they’ve spent 200 5-on-5 minutes together the past two seasons, so they’re not exactly strangers). Same goes for Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore, who have played together a bit at 5-on-5 in the early going for Vegas (about 35 minutes so far), but will become the Golden Knight’s fixture top pair in 2021-22 for the purposes of Olympic preparation.

Doughty makes the team because he’s still performing at a high enough level that his status as the most important Hockey Canada veteran defender matters. And Morgan Rielly will be his partner on a mobile third pair, narrowly edging out Giordano.

Ryan Ellis is custom made for the international game and my Hockey Canada will have zero reservation bumping him up the lineup if injuries call for it.

In net, Price and Hart are coming to represent the past and the future while Jordan Binnington gets the nod to round out my trio of netminders. I’m comfortable enough with all three goaltenders that whoever is performing the best ahead of the tournament will go into the round-robin as my defacto starter. — Thomas Drance

Canada Womens

Picking a Canadian roster a year ahead of an Olympics is never easy.

And this time around, looking ahead to Beijing 2022, might be harder than ever, as the years since the 2018 Games have been unlike any other post-Olympic period for Team Canada.

First of all, Canada is coming off a silver medal finish at the last games in Pyeongchang — the first time that’s happened in two decades. If that wasn’t difficult enough, on the eve of the 2019 world championships, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced it would fold after nearly 12 years in operation, taking away most Canadians’ daily training environments. Canada ultimately lost in the semifinal of the tournament and took home a bronze medal, the first time Team Canada hasn’t won’t at least silver at a world championship. Then, the 2019 4 Nations Cup was cancelled due to contract disputes between the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and the Swedish women’s team.

On top of all of that, there have been further complications brought by a global pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the 2020 4 Nations Cup and the 2020 women’s world championships.

Essentially, the women’s hockey calendar through the first three years of the Olympic quad cycle has been almost entirely wiped out.

“This quad had been a huge challenge, not only for our program but certainly for women’s hockey globally,” said Gina Kingsbury, the manager of the senior women’s national team. “We’re sitting at Year 3 of our quad with a very little amount of critical experience that we were able to share across our athlete pool to be able to evaluate them and be able to prepare them for an Olympic Games.”

The last time Team Canada played at an international event was 660 days ago at the 2019 worlds. Since then, they’ve relied on games against the U.S. national team and mini-camps throughout the season hosted by Hockey Canada, but even those have been largely put on hold due to the pandemic.

Still, with all that being said, as part of The Athletic’s one year out from the Olympics package, we are going to try our best to project the 2022 Team Canada women’s Olympic roster.

Guided by 2018

To start, let’s take a brief comparative look at who played for Canada in 2018 and who would make the team today. Players selected for the 2022 team are highlighted in red.

FORWARDDEFENCEGOAL

Meghan AgostaRenata FastShannon Szabados

Bailey BramLaura FortinoAnn-Renée Desbiens

Emily ClarkBrigette LacquetteGeneviève Lacasse

Mélodie DaoustJocelyne Larocque

Haley IrwinMeaghan Mikkelson

Brianne JennerLauriane Rougeau

Rebecca Johnston

Sarah Nurse

Marie-Philip Poulin

Jill Saulnier

Natalie Spooner

Laura Stacey

Blayre Turnbull

Jennifer Wakefield

From 2018 to 2022, we’re projecting 15 returnees among the 23 roster spots. Nine up front, four on the blue line, and two in goal. It’s not a ton of turnover between the four years, but there are still several spots for younger players to break onto the senior national team and for others to make their Olympic debuts.

Now, let’s look at the projection.

How did I arrive at these names with so few evaluation opportunities?

Well, despite the cancellation, Hockey Canada still named its 23-player roster for the 2020 world championships.

And, in early January, 47 players were invited to a training camp at Hockey Canada’s home base in Calgary. Thirty-five athletes attended the two-week camp — players such as Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Nurse were invited but unable to attend — and were split into two teams for scrimmages, with the line rushes and defence pairings posted daily.

It’s not a huge sample size, but using the previous Olympic and World Championship rosters, and taking stock of the two-week camp, which ended on Friday, you can get a pretty good idea of where things stand one year out from Beijing 2022.

As mentioned above, this roster consists of 15 returnees from the 2018 Games. And 22 of the 23 players projected here were named to Canada’s roster for the cancelled 2020 Women’s World Championship. Brigette Lacquette is the only player on my roster who didn’t make the World Championship roster, as she was unable to play.

These lines and pairings certainly aren’t set in stone, but they were consistently used at last week’s camp, except for Nurse on the line with Emily Clark and Blayre Turnbull, as Nurse did not attend camp.

To start, there are some names on this roster that should be no-brainers.

Marie-Philip Poulin, 29, is now over a decade into her international career and is arguably the greatest player of all-time in the women’s game. She’s Canada’s captain and scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal games of her first two Olympic appearances (2010 and 2014). A knee injury kept her mostly out of the 2019 world championships, but she’s healthy now. And it would take something completely unforeseen for Poulin to not be in Beijing.

Her frequent winger for club (the now-defunct CWHL Les Canadiennes) and country, Mélodie Daoust, is also a natural choice. With three goals and seven points in five games, she led Canada in scoring at the last Olympics. And scored one of the most impressive shootout goals in the gold medal game.

Natalie Spooner and Brianne Jenner have been consistent staples for Team Canada in the last two Olympic Games, with Spooner making her World Championship debut in 2011, and Jenner in 2012. The duo ranked No. 1 and 2 in scoring for Canada at the 2019 world championships. Spooner scored six goals and 10 points in seven games, only one goal behind Hilary Knight, who led the tournament with 11 points. Jenner wasn’t far behind with nine points.

Lauriane Rougeau and Jocelyne Larocque are also steady veterans, albeit on the blue line, who have the 2014 and 2018 Olympics under their belts. While, Nurse and Clark, who played together at the University of Wisconsin, both made their Olympic debuts in 2018 and should be natural choices to return in 2022. Similarly, Fast made her debut in 2018 and has established herself as one of the top defenders in the women’s game.

Youth vs. experience

I wanted to strike a balance on this roster with returning players, veterans and young players, or those making their Olympic debut. Because according to Kingsbury, as much as you want to win a gold medal, you have to keep an eye to the future.

“Often you tend to lean on what you know, and the unknowns of the young players obviously is a little scary, but I do think we’re at a point in our program that we do have to sometimes take calculated risks,” she explained. “We’re aiming at winning a gold medal in Beijing, but we’re also making sure that we’ve got a sustainable success here down the road as well and that we’re looking ahead in the future of our program.”

With that front of mind, there are some obvious omissions on this projected roster.

Both Johnston and Laura Fortino, who played in 2018, were among the final cuts for the 2020 world championships. I left them off this roster.

Shannon Szabados was a steady presence in Canada’s crease from her Olympic debut in 2010 until 2019. She recently had her first child and is currently not playing. She could certainly decide to come back but will be 35 by the next games and 39 by 2026.

So, this feels like a natural time for a passing of the torch in the crease to younger goalies like Ann-Renée Desbiens, 26, and Emerance Maschmeyer, 26, who have been given a lot of the net over the last two and a half years, along with Geneviève Lacasse, 31.

Similarly, Meaghan Mikkelson, a three-time Olympian, was one of the most experienced players at last week’s camp, with just under 50 games for Canada at the Olympics (14) and world championships (35) over the last decade. She last played in 2017-18, taking a leave after the birth of her second child. This will be her second comeback to the national team.

This was one of the more difficult decisions for my projected blue line, and I assume this will be the same for the real decision-makers at Hockey Canada. Mikkelson will be 37 when the Games begin. If she can re-elevate her game, she can be a force on the ice. But could, say, Claire Thompson, 23, have a similar impact?

If we assume Rougeau, 30, and Larocque, 31, make this team, with two other returning blueliners in Fast and Lacquette, the Canadian blue line isn’t going to be inexperienced. So bringing Thompson to Beijing over Mikkelson could be one of those “looking ahead in the future” decisions.

There could be a similar decision in looking at a player like Erin Ambrose, who was the most difficult omission for me. Ambrose was one of the last cuts for the 2018 Olympics, but played her way onto the 2019 and 2020 World Championship rosters. She could realistically do the same for Beijing. But again, how much does Hockey Canada want to look forward to the future?

Admittedly, Ambrose, Mikkelson and even Meghan Agosta — a four-time Olympian who is a full-time Vancouver police officer who hasn’t play for Canada since 2017-18 — could be the ultimate wild cards for 2022. However, for this exercise, I decided that if I was undecided between a player on the way up and an older player, I erred on the side of the former.

This brings us to the Olympic rookies, projected to be: Jamie Lee Rattray, Victoria Bach, Sarah Fillier, Loren Gabel, Jaime Bourbonnais, Micah Zandee-Hart, and the aforementioned Maschmeyer and Thompson.

All eight of these rookies were named to the 2020 World Championship roster, and they were all featured in the 2019 world championships except for Bach and Fillier, who were among the final cuts. Rattray, 28,  has been in the Hockey Canada program for a while now and has seemed to solidify a place within the core group. Bach was set to make her international tournament debut at the world championships, and while that debut has been delayed, her standing on the team remains.

There are two young stars to watch for here, too, in Gabel and Fillier.

Gabel, 23, made her senior team debut at the 2018 4 Nations Cup and won the Patty Kazmaier Award — the biggest individual honour in women’s college hockey — in 2019 after scoring 40 goals and 69 points in 38 games, including 11 game-winning goals for Clarkson University. She graduated that year as the all-time leading scorer with 213 points on 116 goals and 97 assists through 160 games.

Fillier, 20, was nominated for the Patty Kazmaier as a rookie at Princeton in 2018-19 after she put up nearly two points per game (1.97) to lead NCAA women’s hockey. Fillier, a centre, also led her team in scoring (22 goals and 57 points in 29 games) and was named the National Rookie of the Year. Like Gabel, Fillier made her senior team debut at the 2018 4 Nations Cup.

These two have been on the rise and should certainly crack the 2021 World Championship and 2022 Olympics rosters.

Bourbonnais, Thompson and Zandee-Hart further make up the young up and coming core of Hockey Canada’s roster, specifically on the blue line.

As mentioned, all of the above players were named to the 2020 World Championship roster, which shows a lot of trust from the decision-makers to put them into best-on-best competition. The world championships is often a dress rehearsal for the Olympics, too. That they were all chosen over veterans like Johnston and Fortino means a lot.

Finally, there are some other young players in Hockey Canada’s talent pool to be highlighted here, such as Élizabeth Giguère, Emma Maltais and Daryl Watts.

Giguère won the Patty Kazmaier last season, while Watts currently leads the nation with 11 goals and 21 points through 10 games to start the NCAA season. There are some key complications impacting their Olympic chances.

None of the three were at the recent camp, a key evaluator for the 2021 world championships. Kingsbury said “it was impossible” to bring any U.S.-based athletes to camp due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. (Fillier decided to take the year off from Princeton with the questions around if Ivy League schools would have a season and the Olympic considerations in mind.)

“Having our college players not here is definitely another challenge,” she said. “You’re trying to scout online, and it’s hard to see what they do in college and try to figure out if that’s going to have an impact at the international level.”

So while they are talented, without camps and potentially cracking the 2021 World Championship roster, it will be hard to jump into the 2022 Olympics. Especially if they are trying to take spots from returning players such as Turnbull, Jill Saulnier and Laura Stacey, who have all shown they can be reliable forwards who can play up and down the lineup.

For everything laid out here, all it takes is a really good tournament or training camp by one or two players to change my entire roster. Every year before the Olympics, Hockey Canada invites its Olympic hopefuls to Calgary for a six-to-seven month “centralized” camp before the Games.

Typically, there are some surprises on the roster, as Kingsbury said some players come in “like sponges” and elevate their game.

Such is the difficulty in this exercise. Anything can happen once we officially get into the final year of the Olympic quad. But regardless, Canada is going to have a deep talent pool to chose from when it comes time for Beijing 2022.

USA Mens

I remember covering the 2010 United States Olympic men’s hockey team — that came within a Sidney Crosby overtime goal of winning a gold medal — and before the tournament wondering: How the hell are they going to fill out this roster?

Ten years later, there has been a seismic change in the hockey landscape at the highest levels in the United States. Depth is no longer an issue for the U.S.

We often joke Canada could enter two teams in these best-on-best tournaments and both would be gold-medal worthy. The U.S. is not so far behind that and it’s illustrated by the difficult decisions we’ve made with this lineup and the hard decisions that await whoever builds the 2022 version of Team USA. There will be no shortage of heated debate about those tabbed to wear the red, white and blue and, of course, those whose names do not end up on the 25-man roster.

In starting to narrow down our roster here, we hearkened back to that scrappy 2010 team built by Brian Burke and David Poile and coached by Ron Wilson and looked for clues as to how to build not just the most talented team but the team most likely to win gold. What was it that allowed that group to defy projections and push a superstar-laden Canadian team to overtime?

Conversely, what was it that led a talented American roster to fall short of a medal in Sochi four years later and to flame out spectacularly in the 2016 World Cup? You will hear over and over that this version of Team USA will be the most talented ever iced in a best-on-best tournament. Maybe. But we focused in this exercise on building not just the most talented American roster but a team that can overcome disappointment, obstacles and the unexpected en route to what would be the first American gold medal in men’s hockey since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

Let the shame-talking begin. Yes. No room on this roster for Johnny Gaudreau, Zach Parise or Paul Stastny. No room for 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes. Sorry.

This is as good a team down the middle as any Team USA has iced, starting with Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. A little bit of everything from this group of centers including solid leadership, ability to play shutdown hockey and, of course, create offense. That meant excluding worthy pivots like Kevin Hayes and Hughes even though one former coach and executive we spoke to felt Hughes would continue to evolve and push his way onto the roster before the end of 2021.

As for the wingers, there is so much to like from this group including the size and speed of Blake Wheeler, Jake Guentzel and Anders Lee and the offensive creativity of J.T. Miller and Kyle Connor. And of course, who will every team in the tournament love to hate from the word go? Matthew Tkachuk.

We kept Stanley Cup champion and Olympic shootout hero T.J. Oshie (T.J. Sochi as he is known after his exploits in 2014) given his experience. If you wanted more speed on the right side, you could go with Bryan Rust and/or one of our favorite emerging players, Conor Garland. We love the natural connection between usual Winnipeg linemates Connor and Wheeler and we wanted Stanley Cup champion Blake Coleman on this roster for his versatility and his ability to play both ends of the ice.

At one point, we had Gaudreau as one of our extra forwards in place of Max Pacioretty but the experts we spoke to felt Pacioretty needed to be on the roster and the fact that Gaudreau has struggled to produce in the playoffs we went with Pacioretty. Both the coach and former player we spoke to suggested two Brocks, Nelson and Boeser, and Columbus captain Nick Foligno should be considered. Another dark horse forward in the former player’s view is Alex Iafallo.

There will be no more critical decisions for Team USA’s management team than the ones made on the blue line.

The Beijing Games will be played on North American-sized ice so it will be critical to include not only those defenders who can skate fluidly and make good, quick decisions with the puck but who can defend vigorously. Team USA’s entry in the World Cup in 2016 is a good illustration of why you should never build a team with the notion of facing one particular opponent. But given Canada is in the same round-robin pool as the U.S., the ability to defend a physical, skilled team like Canada will be paramount.

As in all things, the balance will be crucial. This group is split evenly right shot/left shot and does have a good mix of youthful zest and solid experience. Some may quibble with leaving a guy like Zach Werenski off the roster, especially given his familiarity with Seth Jones. Fair enough. But a number of NHL sources we spoke to felt Torey Krug needed to be on this team.

Jeff Petry has established himself as one of the most effective defensemen in the game excelling in all situations and playing more often than not against opposing teams’ top talent. Jaccob Slavin, who is the motor that drives the talented Carolina blue line, must be on this roster. Charlie McAvoy has emerged from the shadows of Zdeno Chara to become the Bruins’ undisputed number one defender and he will be a key part of this blue line.

So having to leave Werenski off the list of eight is difficult but a function of the breadth and depth of options that will be available. Others who were on the radar included young John Marino, who has been so impressive in Pittsburgh, and the venerable Ryan Suter, who is a perennial participant in these best-on-best tournaments.

Goaltending is probably the most clearly established position for Team USA. Connor Hellebuyck is the defending Vezina Trophy winner. He’s an elite netminder who has endured his own share of ups and downs en route to his current lofty status.

John Gibson, playing behind a rebuilding Ducks team, won’t have the gaudy numbers that other top NHL netminders boast but he is recognized around the hockey world as an elite netminder and he will push Hellebuyck for the starter’s role in Beijing.

Ben Bishop’s lingering health issues excuse him from our list but if the multiple time Vezina Trophy finalist went on a roll later this season or to start the 2021-22 season he could play his way into the picture. Two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick is Hall of Fame worthy but past his prime so we went younger with Thatcher Demko, who was stellar in the bubble playoffs for Vancouver.

We’ll admit one former NHL coach and executive with whom we shared our roster felt unequivocally Bishop should be on the team ahead of Demko. And one longtime netminder and analyst felt that the Kings’ Cal Petersen in Los Angeles might actually jump over Gibson by the time the Olympics roll around. — Scott Burnside

Let’s start with the fourth line. I was chatting with Blackhawks director of amateur scouting Mark Kelley for another story on the way about Team USA and he suggested this one. We were debating the merits of Jack Hughes on the Olympic team and he said, if he were to do it, he’d throw him out there with the two Tkachuks.

“No one will get near him,” Kelley said of Hughes. “It’ll be like he’s walking his two pit bulls.”

To pull it off, we’re probably costing a guy like Jake Guentzel a deserving spot, but it’s fun. I like the idea of T.J. Oshie as an option for shootouts but just couldn’t squeeze him in. I’d also like to find a spot for Joe Pavelski, who is averaging like three goals per game this season, but am skewing younger because we’re a year out. This team is loaded.

Quinn Hughes has gone from a guy knocking on the door to make the roster to the top pair over the last year. Just think of how good he’ll be a year from now. Zach Werenski could be penciled in to play in the place of Ryan Suter but it would be great to have Suter’s Olympic experience available in the top six. It’s also possible we’re suffering from some recency bias following Werenski’s slow start. Adam Fox, Neal Pionk and Matt Grzelcyk all have to be on a watch list this season.

The debate in goal will be about who starts between Gibson and Hellebuyck but the most interesting slot might be No. 3. Chances are, that goalie isn’t playing, so I’m bringing the future of American goaltending — world junior gold medalist Spencer Knight — to get experience on the big stage and soak in the experience much like a young Jonathan Quick did in 2010. — Craig Custance

Team USA is due in best-on-best hockey.

They lost the bronze medal game at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. They were embarrassed at the 2016 World Cup.

Now they’ve got a whole new generation of stars ready to bring USA Hockey back to gold-medal contention.

The difficulty in this exercise of selecting the roster for the Beijing Olympics is proof of how things got to another level for USA Hockey over the past decade.

It’s probably a crime to leave off T.J. Sochi but there’s plenty of time for me to change my mind before next year. Anders Lee, Jake Guentzel, Blake Coleman, Bryan Rust, Chris Kreider and James van Riemsdyk are among other names I passed over for now. It speaks to the elite U.S. depth. I’m probably one of the few who has young Brady Tkachuk on this roster this far out but, believe me, when we get closer to the final roster picks next December/January, he will have worked his way on to a lot of people’s lists.

I may also be one of the few to select Kevin Hayes but I wanted the extra center on the roster and given the fact the tournament will be played on North American-sized ice, I like his big body as a factor.

Four lefties and four righties, talk about balance in this defense group. I do worry I put too much offense on here but I’ve got my penalty-killing units in Slavin-Jones and McDonagh-Petry. Obviously, it’s tough to leave off a quality veteran like Suter and no doubt USA Hockey may not. Zach Werenski and Cam Fowler are other names to monitor over the year. But I really like the balance in those eight I put down.

Not much to debate in goal as Hellebuyck-Gibson is pretty much locked in at this point as the 1-2 punch. Now, I went with youth as the No. 3 with Demko but obviously, a healthy Ben Bishop or a resurgent Jonathan Quick would force USA Hockey’s hand. — Pierre LeBrun

USA Womens

It’s been nearly three years since USA Hockey forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson unleashed her gold-medal winning shootout goal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The “Oops I Did it Again“ move shook Canadian netminder Shannon Szabados right out of her pads and sent the United States back home with their first goal medal since 1998.

Much has changed in the women’s hockey landscape since the national team was paraded around the United States media circuit. From “Ellen” to “The Tonight Show” to some players visiting the White House, we seemed on track to see the best leadup to the next Olympics ever.

However, the U.S. women’s team hasn’t competed in an official tournament since the April 2019 women’s worlds in Finland and has had very few competitive games since. It’s been a rocky road that has been only further complicated by the pandemic. The last official roster we got from USA Hockey was ahead of the cancelled 2020 world championships.

The 2022 Winter Olympics are officially one year away and soon we can expect USA Hockey to name a roster for the 2021 worlds and enter residency in the fall ahead of selecting the roster for the Beijing Games. Here is a look at all that has happened since the Pyeongchang Games and what we predict the final U.S. Olympic roster will look like.

The rundown

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded as Team USA traveled to Finland for the 2019 world championship — their last official tournament. New head coach Bob Corkum made some noticeable roster adjustments for that tournament, including bringing back the final cuts from the 2018 Olympic roster: Alex Carpenter and Megan Bozek. Kelly Pannek, Annie Pankowski and the return of 2014 Olympian Michelle Picard were other notable additions.

As Team USA was competing on the ice, they were also paving a future for professional women’s sports off the ice. Players made a bold statement with the #ForTheGame movement, vowing not to play for an existing professional league in North America. That was a loud and clear message to then-NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan. The movement has since evolved into the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and the #DreamGap tour.

Games were already sparse when the Swedish national team held its own boycott for better conditions. Unlike what unfolded after the U.S. held out of the 2017 worlds, Sweden and its players did not reach an agreement and the 4 Nations Cup was canceled.

In lieu of 4 Nations, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada held a joint training camp in Pennsylvania. Canada opted for a young roster for the training camp, while the U.S. went with the usual suspects.

The next scheduled official tournament was the 2020 worlds. However, the pandemic shut that down and we haven’t seen USA Hockey in competition since. COVID-19 also greatly affected the PWHPA’s second year. Some players hit the ice last month in Tampa, but the organization has not yet been able to activate all of its five hub cities.

The 2020 world championship roster was announced and likely gives us the best glimpse at what USA Hockey will roll with as we approach the one year mark from the 2022 Olympics.

2020 world championship rosterFORWARDSDEFENDERSGOALIES

Brianna DeckerLee SteckleinAlex Cavallini

Hannah BrandtCayla BarnesMaddie Rooney

Hayley ScamurraMegan KellerAerin Frankel

Hilary KnightEmily Matheson

Kelly PannekMegan Bozek

Dani CameranesiKacey Bellamy

Kendall Coyne-SchofieldSavannah Harmon

Amanda Kessel

Jesse Compher

Alex Carpenter

Britta Curl

Grace Zumwinkle

Abby Roque

Roster changes

Notably missing from this roster compared to the 2018 Olympic team are Meghan Duggan, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, and Monique Lamoureaux-Morando. Duggan has since retired and it is unclear if USA Hockey is permanently moving on from the Lamoureux twins, who both returned to the team in November 2019 after each giving birth to their first child.

Defender Emily Matheson has announced she is expecting a baby boy in June 2021. Shelly Picard, who returned for the 2019 worlds, has also effectively retired and now serves as the deputy commissioner of the NWHL.

In goal, it would appear Nicole Hensley is on the outside looking in. Katie Burt and Aerin Frankel might be the two netminders Corkum brings in to join Maddie Rooney and Alex Cavallini. Overall, Corkum has shown he isn’t afraid to mix in some new faces with those synonymous with USA Hockey, such as Hilary Knight, Kacey Bellamy and new captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.

Annie Pankowski had a great world championship in 2019 but did not land on the 2020 roster. She was also missing from the 53-player roster tapped for an evaluation camp in October 2020, while younger players like Jincy Dunne, Natalie Snodgrass and Britta Curl were present.

Corkum emphasized in October the importance of bringing in new players and facilitating internal competition.

“We have a nice blend of youth and veteran talent here and the young players are certainly pushing the older players. And the older players aren’t ready to give it up,” Corkum said in a USA Hockey video recap.

Predictions

It is always difficult to make Olympic predictions, especially when USA Hockey hasn’t hit the ice in so long. I get the impression, though, that Corkum and USA Hockey are ready to shake things up. The roster for the 2021 worlds won’t be a complete youth movement, but it will feature some rising stars who have proven themselves in the 2019-20 Rivalry Series and in the NCAA. Here is my best guess at the 2022 Olympic Roster:

The 2020 world championship roster is the best indicator we have right now and I think we’ll see that team begin to take form as the go-to roster. I came up with line pairings based on the 2018 Olympics, 2019 worlds, and the 2019-20 Rivalry Series.

Alex Carpenter and Megan Bozek should make the next Olympics, though I’m more confident in Bozek than Carpenter.

Both are extremely skilled and are two of the few players currently getting in competitive games overseas. That said, there are a lot of good, young forwards coming up in the USA Hockey system. Abby Roque and Jesse Compher, for example, showed they are ready to play with Olympians in the 2019-20 Rivalry Series.

Roque, the 2020 Bob Allen USA Hockey Player of the Year, is an elite center and all signs point to her having a stellar international career. She scored two impressive goals in the Rivalry Series and injected some much-needed energy into USA Hockey coming off the lackluster performance at the 2019 November camp.

Last year would have marked the second consecutive world championship for Boston University product Jesse Compher. An injury kept her away from the Rivalry Series, but expect her to be back in the rotation. She has a great combination of size and skill for a USA Hockey team that is equal parts fast and furious on the ice.

Making the USA Hockey roster as a defender is tough, but ultimately, I think Matheson will need more time to return. I predict Savannah Harmon and Jincy Dunne will be the two vying for a spot this year, while Matheson will go for hers in 2022. I give the edge to the youth.

In net, Cavanelli and Rooney seem to be the mainstays for Corkum. Hensley attended the October evaluation camp, while Katie Burt did not. Frankel making the worlds roster indicates to me that she is being prepared for international competition.

As a journalist very fond of the eye test, this exercise was difficult, but here is to hoping we get to see players hit the ice for the red, white, and blue sooner rather than later.

[sudoscience]

New In Town: Background Info

Click here for a version with working hyperlinks.

Although it's never explicitly stated by the games, I'm going to assume the story is set in the US, or at least a country like it. The existence of monsters likely altered the course of several events in human history, so it's possible things are actually radically different. For the purposes of this story, I'll assume most things are still the same unless stated otherwise, (e.g. the American Revolution was still in 1776, and World War II was still in the early-middle of the 20th Century.).

Let's also just go ahead and say the story takes place in 201X for now.

[For the record, I pronounce 201X as "twenty-ex-teen". I guess you could say it "two-oh-one-ex", but why would you? I also assume it refers to the whole decade, so, for example, when I say "the early part of 201X", that could mean anywhere between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014.]

Navigation:

Humans and Monsters (Current headcanon)

Humans and Monsters (Old) (Preserved for posterity)

Footnotes

Master Post

Humans and Monsters

Humans and monsters have always coexisted relatively peacefully, at least as well as humans and humans. There have been some smaller wars over land and resources, but nothing like the war in Undertale (hereinafter "The War").

Someone still remembers that other universe, though. The universe where monsters freely used magic. The universe where a monster could absorb a human SOUL. The universe where the monsters were sealed underground and later systematically slaughtered by a human child. Perhaps that someone is W. D. Gaster. Perhaps it is Chara. I haven't decided yet. Until that time comes, I'll call that person Individual 1.

Individual 1 remembers the world of Undertale, but the version they remember is the one in which the genocide route takes place. After that world is destroyed, Individual 1 uses their DETERMINATION to bring the world back. They restore the world to long before The War takes place. Individual 1 convinces the King of All Monsters (who is probably someone other than Asgore) to strictly curtail the use of magic. It is Individual 1's belief that the only way to prevent The War from occurring is if humans never learn that monsters can absorb their souls. This is why we don't see evidence of magic in Deltarune.1

Sometime in 1965, a man in Twin Falls (Bill Hammond) learns of the monsters' hidden power. He attempts to alert the government, but it's years before anyone in power takes him seriously. Most people view him as a crackpot; he's this universe's Alex Jones. However, he begins to gain a following among the commoners, who take to calling themselves the Arcane Enforcement Unit. Hate crimes against monsters become more frequent, and the government establishes the Directorate of Inter-Species Relations to combat this.

Hammond's influence grows, and he runs for president multiple times, though he rarely gets more than 2% of the vote. In 1996, his campaign performs surprisingly well, but he is assassinated. His following was strongest in Twin Falls, and it once again becomes a hot spot for anti-monster sentiment, only this time it extends to humans who are considered "monster sympathizers", including Kris's birth parents and eventually Rudy, who is born around this time.

Paul and Judy Harper are DISR employees in Twin Falls. In 2003, the year Asriel is born,2 the DISR begins a joint operation with DHS and FBI to infiltrate the AEU, which is now suspected as a terrorist organization. The Harpers are assigned to the team, Operation Golden Flower, as undercover agents in 2005. In 2007, Judy becomes pregnant. Later that year, their cover is nearly blown. In order to keep their child safe, they begin making arrangements with some old friends of theirs, the Dreemurr family in Hometown. Their son is born in December,​3 and adopted by the Dreemurrs immediately. A few months later, Paul and Judy are killed; their death is not publicized classified in order to avoid jeopardizing the operation.

In the early part of 201X, an AEU supporter named Noah Trey Ullman is elected mayor of Twin Falls. This is when things really start to go south. Ullman incites violence against monsters and monster sympathizers. They usually stay out of the majority monster neighborhoods, but they tend to target monsters who are known to affiliate with humans. This is what prompts Rudy to move to Hometown.

Humans and Monsters (OLD)

Humans and monsters have always coexisted, but there's always been a lot of tension between them. For most of their history, they've lived more or less independently of each other. As humans began to industrialize, they began to expand and encroach on monster territory.1 Interactions with monsters became more frequent, as did altercations. While there hasn't been an outright war between humans and monsters, there have been frequent skirmishes, akin to the US and the Native Americans. There was a period where humans sought to make use of magic, primarily by employing the monsters. The monsters were often subjected to inhumane conditions, and uprisings, while infrequent, were not unheard of.

Knowing that a monster with one or more human souls could become a being of great power, this practice was eventually outlawed. Humans became reluctant to hire monsters at all, and most monsters eventually relocated to their own settlements. These are similar to Indian reservations, with the distinction that they are not considered sovereign. In order to keep things under control, the government created the Directorate of Inter-species Relations in the mid-19th Century. Under the pretense of fairness, the DISR banned the use of magic about 100 years ago;2 this would theoretically allow more monsters to be hired, so long as they weren't being exploited for their magical abilities. In practice, because magic is so central to a monster's existence, this drastically changed the monsters' way of life. Initially, smaller acts of magic were allowed, but as more monsters moved into settlements, their interactions with humans became less frequent, and the humans became more fearful, having only the legends and rumors to inform them rather than their own experiences. Eventually, all magic was banned, and the Arcane Enforcement Unit was created in 1956 to enforce said ban.

Of course, some monsters remained in the human cities. They felt they still had ties there, and refused to move. They are largely relegated to their own neighborhoods, and the AEU does its best to "gently encourage" them to relocate. Other than the AEU, very few humans interact with monsters.3

What happened five years ago?

There was a change in leadership at the AEU, and they became much more aggressive in their policing.

[I think this was a separate subsection because I originally planned on writing more, but now it seems pretty silly to have a subsection with just one sentence.]

Footnotes

Notes for New Info

There are several reasons I decided to scrap the old backstory, but this was probably the main one. I really liked the theory that Deltarune takes place after the Genocide Route, and I wanted to expand on that. I'm no longer sure I buy that theory, but I still think it's a cool idea. ↑

As noted in the "Headcanon for Existing Characters", I originally planned for Asriel to have started college early, which would further demonstrate how exceptional he is, and also factor into the resentment Kris wishes they didn't have of him. This is also his first semester of college, which is why Kris is so worried he'll have changed. I think I'll keep him a freshman, but increase the age gap between them. When Asriel gets back from college, he'll have just turned 19, while Kris will be turning 14 very soon. I'm assuming he's returning for Thanksgiving Break (and also that Thanksgiving still exists in this world), and this is the first time he's been back home since he left for college. ↑

Yes, Kris's full name is Krismas (no, not really). Their birthday is 22 December, and Asriel's is 15 September (unless there's an official birthday listed somewhere, in which case it's that). I hope it's okay if I write that Kris is biologically male, even though they identify as non-binary. Since I've already changed their pronouns in the main story, this is probably the only time it will ever be mentioned, unless maybe they go swimming or something. I got the idea from @caretaker-au and how they represent Chara as male non-binary (is that the right way to say that?); I know some people find that blog to be problematic, but I think that was more to do with them drawing porn of Chara and Asriel, not because they drew Chara as biologically male. (For the record, I was not aware of that when I started following them, especially since Tumblr banned porn a year before I even bought Undertale.) ↑

Notes for Old Info

Another reason I dropped this: I'm pretty sure this was inspired by @wolven0ne-universe's "Long Road" AU. Actually, there's a lot that was inspired by Long Road, even in the new backstory: the decision to have multiple OCs, the way magic supposedly works, humans exploting monsters for their magic, a shadowy organization that abducts monsters because of their magical abilities, etc. Some of this is attributable to the fact that I never read fanfics prior to playing Undertale, so some of these were "inspired" by Long Road simply by virtue of it being, like, the second fanfic I ever read, ever. (The first was "Flowey is Not A Good Life Coach".) Anyway, my point here is that I dropped this backstory in part because I didn't want it to be too similar to Long Road, not because I suddenly stopped liking Long Road. ↑

Here's an additional reason I changed the backstory: I wasn't sure if this was a believable timeline. I feel like it's plausible that human society would forget that monster magic involves a lot more than just a monster's ability to abosrb a human soul in just 100 years, but that doesn't seem like nearly enough time for monster society to forget that monsters can use magic. Plus, if monsters and humans have coexisted for all of human history, and monsters have been using magic for like 99% of said history, that seems like it could have created a lot of ripple effects that I would spend way too much time thinking about. Like, what if the existence of magic resulted in the first Industrial Revolution happening in the 15th Century? What would Earth look like in 201X if that were the case? I just didn't want to deal with all of that. ↑

Other than wanting to believe that Deltarune takes place after the Genocide Route, the next most important factor in my decision to scrap this backstory is that it's just really dark. The story has enough potentially depressing shit that I didn't need to add a monster Trail of Tears on top of it all. Plus, I was worried it might come across as racially insensitive. ↑

[fireflysummers]

Delta Rune: Addendum

People have asked me if my opinions have shifted at all in light of Toby Fox’s FAQ.

The answer is yes and no. 

Also, I’ve gotten a fair amount of...unasked for feedback on my other post, which was mostly just my own musings and opinion? So I might as well just kinda...address a bunch of things here, based on a couple observations over the last 48 hours.

What People Didn’t Like (And Why)

The Repetition of Plot Elements from Undertale in the Dark World

This one’s pretty common, and very justified given that, when the demo first launched, we had no idea that it was a demo. For all we knew, it was some kind of finished product. 

Although I didn’t want to believe that this is the case, it’s not uncommon for creators to accidentally fall into a sophomore slump of sorts, where under the pressure of measuring up to their freshman fame, they end up creating something dull and uninspired. 

Despite that, there wasn’t any level of self-awareness that indicated that the Dark World was supposed to be a cheaper version of Undertale. And then it ended by falling into the “it was just a dream” trope (not entirely, but close enough), which is one of my least favorite tropes, so I was just turned off altogether. 

The Battle System

I didn’t really enjoy the new combat system (that’s definitely a personal thing though...turn-based jrpg games have always been a struggle for me, and I straight up don’t have the time for the strategy that it often takes). That aside, Fox himself admits that the system is rough and really unbalanced.  

Also, I get the sense that he wants to bring home that theme of your choices mean nothing, but isn’t exactly sure how to do that yet, which explains a lot of the issues with ACTing in the demo.

Even after he gets it fixed up, I’m not sure I’m really going to enjoy the battle system, although I do commend him for his creativity and the attempt to integrate Undertale’s bullet hell into a turn-based game style.

Underdeveloped Characters

This one I can forgive almost entirely, by nature of it being a demo rather than a finished piece of work. I can relax my criticism of the Dark World NPCs as a result.

That said, I still failed to really feel anything other than aww...cute a couple of times (usually as Ralsei)

Oh, that and a shit ton of existential horror at Undyne and Alphys not knowing each other, the world being generally indifferent to whatever made Susie the way she is, and that everybody is turning a blind eye or actively punishing Asgore for some unknown crime. 

But I’ll talk about that a bit more in the next section.

The Vague Relation to Undertale and the Re-Use of Characters

Okay so like. I understand that Toby Fox insists that it’s Not Undertale.

Except that like.

I don’t buy that for a second.

Like, it’s Not Undertale only in the sense that it’s not related to the pacifist ending, but doesn’t disqualify it from being a follow-up to the genocide run (and therefore a direct sequel of sorts). 

That aside, if it truly was Not Undertale, then he wouldn’t have named it Delta Rune, brought Gaster into it, and drawn visual and flavor text metaphors to the original game. It’s related, it might be an AU, but that doesn’t make the OOC meanness of the familiar faces easy to swallow.

It could easily interpreted as “unsettling and OOC to show the player that their expectations will be subverted and that there is something Seriously Wrong with this world,” and a lot of people have interpreted it that way! I’m on the fence there myself, but you gotta understand that not everybody shares that interpretation.

For others, including myself to some extent, the message was: 

In the absence of dire circumstances, the characters that you were led to believe cared deeply about each other and you, are indifferent, apathetic, and  downright mean.

I mean, even if Kris on their own is a total dick? That doesn’t justify the way that the other characters treat each other. 

And that lack of warmth in the story was felt like a gut-punch to a small number of people.

On top of that, the weird twist ending didn’t do much to subvert that message. It gave no sense of whether or not the entire thing indicated a fundamentally sick world, or disprove that sense of they only cared about you and others out of a mutual need.

And if you can put yourself in that mindset, you can understand how that could be painful.

What People Didn’t Like About Me (And Others) Not Liking It

You’re Complaining Because it’s Not Undertale

No, I’m complaining because it’s Too Much Undertale. Because my personal prerogative is that Undertale is perfect the way it is and any additional content would only detract value from the original.

I was sincerely hoping for a totally new game, with maybe cameos or nods to Undertale, because I didn’t want to risk that horrible sequel syndrome. 

And while we, as fans, can opt to ignore horrible sequels (see: the entirety of the Harry Potter fandom), at the same time...sometimes you can’t unsee what you’ve seen. Sometimes sequels are enough to mar your affections and feelings for characters, especially because it comes from The Voice of God Dog.

You’re Can’t Complain that Things are OOC When It’s an AU!

-rubs forehead-

Look. I don’t know if you know this, but I adore AUs. Not every AU, of course, but I loved the concept and how the community came together to create some kind of semi-cohesive multiverse.

I mean, I literally drew over 100 different AUs:  SET 1 || SET 2 || SET 3 || SET 4 || SET 5 || SET 6 || SET 7 || SET 8 ||

But there’s a difference between fandom AUs and canon AUs--namely in that fandom AUs can be as out of character as they want, because it’s a fan creation.

There are multiple series that play with that multiverse theory as well, within their own canons, starting with the entire body of Osamu Tezuka, but also including the works of CLAMP (most notably XxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles), Adventure Time, the Final Fantasy series, and so on.

And the key to making an effective multiverse? The thing that makes it work? 

Keeping the characters in-character. There has to be that kind of consistency, otherwise it doesn’t function on a narrative level. You’re just reusing character designs and assigning new personalities, because you’re too lazy to design new characters.

Or worse, you’re baiting in previous players on a sense of nostalgia which is a trick I do not appreciate. 

You Shouldn’t Rely on Fictional Works to Aid Your Mental Health

Screw you. 

Everybody has Real Issues in their lives. Sometimes we need a hand from something or somebody else to keep moving.

Fine, But There’s No Reason To Be Publicly Upset by DR

It’s okay to dislike additional material, for whatever reason, so long as you’re not attacking others for liking it. It’s okay to be upset by something, even if it’s not rational, and you don’t need to force others to like what you like, nor should you feel guilty that somebody else doesn’t ‘get it.’ 

Will You Play Chapter 2?

I will purchase it to support Toby Fox on his endeavors. 

But you gotta understand, I straight up don’t play video games most of the time. Don’t have the time or the energy.

I only played Undertale after I’d had the whole thing spoiled to me, and knew it was worth the investment of my time. I should’ve waited on this one too, but I was too eager, and instead lost 4-5 hours of critical time for my graduate coursework (which definitely contributed to my annoyance).

TL;DR

You guys realize it’s okay for people to dislike deltarune? It’s okay for them to have been hurt by the characterization in deltarune? And people don’t have to write an essay in order to hold those opinions?

And that you don’t have to aggressively convert people to it like you’re some kind of church missionaries?

-sighs- At any rate, beginning to feel a bit more optimistic overall, and after that interview I can feel Toby Fox’s enthusiasm (he had something cool and he couldn’t wait to show it off!!), and I can get excited for him and others, even if as a whole the entire game experience fell flat.

Some day, I might even warm up to the game well enough to draw some stuff some time. I’ve got some fun ideas and theories, but still refuse to be hopeful that it’ll actually shape up. 

Because I am made of salt.