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monstermaster13 · 2 years

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When it comes to friends there are several different types but there are two types of friends that are different from each-other, one is true friends as in someone that is always there for you and while they may not be perfect or agree with you, they're always there and then there's what is known as the kind you don't know why he's there, the kind that only exists to be used for their abilities, he was a slightly pale looking man who was no older than 20 who has part of a group of people known as the Pollution Squad, a group of thugs specializing in destroying the environment and also creating monstrous versions of animals that normally wouldn't be like that. Tyson was one of those people, he was Tyson aka the Salamander…a supervillain wannabe with a poison obsession, he liked bad guys, and that's definitely one trait he wasn't shy of. 'So you create toxic mutants and steal hopes and dreams?' 'Eh, I am a villain. That's kind of what I do.' 'You do know that you force people into being your monstrous minions as well, right?'

"Don't you do the same thing too? I mean you transform people."

"Oh no, mine do it willingly."

"Does that really make it any different?"

"Explain that remark please."

That Werebelushi In The Shades walked over….explaining that it is important to protect the earth and everything on it before explaining that as a villain he was essentially planet looting, which was wrong, of course being a villain Tyson disagreed and thought he was doing a good thing, but mainly because his boss had told him to. Without hesitation, the Audrey II plant sneered as he jumped over in the direction of Tyson, entangling him in his vines…'Oh boy, a new toy.' 'Archie, stop that…he's not a toy.' 'Oh yes he is and I cannot wait to play with him.'

"What the hell?"

"Archie! Please put that man down."

Eucalyptus walked over to Archie, her Audrey II plant and she scolded him for a bit. 'I know this man has been very naughty, but it's okay.' The male Audrey II plant responded with..'You know he just tried to use his toxic touch on him, right? That means I have the rights to entrap his sorry ass with my vines and drop him into my mouth so I can eat him.' 'Yes I know that but eating him would be a bit too harsh, don't you think?' 'Oh I guess you're right.' 'You could tire him out and drain his energy though.' Archie nodded as he connected a vine into Tyson's back and began to constrict him a little bit, draining his energy several times and making it difficult for him to escape but in the process something began to exit Archie's mouth and enter Tyson's. That little thing was a seed which began to go down his throat and enter his insides, making his aura glow dark green as half plant dna began to enter his system.

"Please let go of me…I am sorry that I am doing this, I just can be easily swayed okay?"

"It's obvious that you can, I mean seriously you need new friends..but you need to be a new you too."

The more Archie gripped on and the more Tyson tried to break loose, the more difficult it was. As his skin slowly began to smoothen out and lose imperfections as his arms slimmed down and his hands followed suit, dwindling down in size as his fingernails lengthened, his 'Demon Slayer' t shirt and jeans slowly contorting into a dark green leotard and tights as his chest slimmed, his torso following suit as his stomach slimmed and a pair of what was commonly known as breasts developed on his chest. He gasped as he felt his breasts, he examined it while his back arched and his hips flared out, making them look rather shapely. 'Okay I actually don't mind this. I've never really understood why I needed to hang out with people like that anyway, I just needed validation I guess, or someone who appreciates me for me, being a villain isn't as good as I thought it would be. These people just don't get me, my heart isn't fully in it, corrupting the earth's resources is bad but they do it anyway, they didn't care for me.' 'Of course they don't. All they care about is ruining the earth.' 'My friends didn't even care for my own efforts?' 'Oh they liked your efforts, they just liked you solely because of your toxic touch ability.' 'It's true, the only liked me for my powers, they used me.'

He examined himself as his legs altered to become more shaply as he gained some musculature while his feet shrank and his privates retracted…'My privates, my secret weapons…they're gone. Oh well, it's no big problem really, I mean I don't care for sex, never have.' In addition to this his neckline lengthened as his back arched and his shoulders folded inwards, his hair turning from its tawny brown color to an Auburny red color as his eyebrows thinned and his eyes widened, eyelashes blossomed around them as his cheekbones sharpened and his nose shrunk while his lips plumped, his features contorting into those of a certain plant themed villainess, his voice altered and feminized, also becoming quite sultry as he or 'she' began to feel she had been born as who she was, which was to say the plant themed villainess she resembled, i.e Pamela Isely aka Poison Ivy. Her mental changes were gentle ones as she began to feel she had always been born as Pamela Isely and that she had always been friends with Harley Quinzel/Harley Quinn, and naturally she felt this was right as her transformation completed itself. Archie let go of her and smiled. 'There we go, all better.'

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry that Archie attacked you, Ivy."

"Oh that's quite right, i've got unruly plants in my gardens too but I can easily get them to behave."

Eucalyptus chuckled as she hugged Pamela, this meant a lot to her especially knowing that Pamela was her idol and her favorite DC character so she got to know a lot about her, the two bonded and she even got to share her experiences with her. Pamela definitely knew know that Eucalyptus and also Harley were the only friends she needed, the others didn't care for her particular talents but she figured she could fix them, and of course she admired Archie, that rambunctious space plant with energy vampire powers was always so sweet to her. 'Aaaaw, you like Archie.' 'Yes, and I think he LIKES me too.' 'It's very rare Archie ever gets along with anyone, but you're special, you're my type of woman.' 'Harley says the same to me as well.' And thus with that a friendship was formed and Eucalyptus also ended up becoming Pamela's student and she learned how to tame some of her plants and how to use special plant themed magic.

"You're impressive."

"Thanks. You're awesome too."

Like always, we come to the what happened afterwards section…it's safe to say Eucalyptus is now a close friend of her personal hero and knows how to use her plants to her advantage, Pamela gained a lot of fans too and became quite popular, and also now comes the lesson of the story, sometimes the villains are actually legitimately good underneath and only act out because they are told to.

#Monstermaster13 #Poison ivy tg

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xxdragonwriterxx · 4 years

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Pls do a pt.2 of cuddle bug. I need more where they get delayed and Levi has to share his tent for another night or two. Pls at least consider it, the end of cuddle bug gave me big boy 🦋🦋🦋

A/N: You know, I never really considered a sequel for this story but once you mentioned it, I got really excited about it! I loved writing that story so it’s always really fun to hear people say they enjoyed it. Thank you for requesting, I hope this is what you were looking for! (Also, ur comment inspired the title).

🐉 Song Recommendation: “Liar” By: Arcadian Wild 🐉

~~~

🔥 Butterflies Caught Up In The Storm 🔥

(Y/N) felt it before she saw it. She felt the wind pick up from a light breeze to an insistent gale. She saw the clouds rolling and colliding in the sky, darkening and growling. She heard the rush of wings as flocks of birds shot into the air and flew away from the trees, which were starting to rustle with the increasing wind. It was clear and bright out, a beautifully crisp autumn afternoon, but (Y/N) knew what was coming. Her horse seemed to agree, the chestnut mare’s flared nostrils and wide eyes telling (Y/N) she could sense it too. Giving the mare a soothing pat on the neck, (Y/N) carefully tugged her forward, trying to convince the beast to graze before the storm hit.

“You’re having trouble too?” A familiar feminine voice asked, catching (Y/N)’s attention.

“Yeah,” (Y/N) said, smiling at Petra, who had wandered over with her own bay gelding. “Phoenix won’t eat with this storm brewing, she’s too stressed. I’m trying to calm her down but she’s not having any of it.”

Petra nodded grimly, “Tyson is the same way. He won’t stop pacing.”

“It must be a bad one this time,” (Y/N) said quietly, reaching up to stroke Phoenix’s fur, “She doesn’t normally fear storms like this.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about our tents being blown away.”

“Me too…” (Y/N) murmured. “I’m guessing none of us are going to get any sleep tonight.”

Petra groaned and led Tyson in a small circle, trying to keep the normally level-headed gelding from pacing.

“Yeah, I know,” (Y/N) sighed. “I was really hoping to get some rest, it’s been a long day.”

(Y/N) normally didn’t have a problem with storms. In fact, she had a certain soft spot for them. She loved how dark it got, the clouds creating a gloomy yet comforting blanket over the land. She loved the sound of the rain as it pounded on the windows, the crack of the thunder as lightning struck the sky; a glowing sword slaying some mighty beast. She loved the wind and how it would howl it’s lonely song, crying out for a lover that would never respond. Despite the chaos it presented, storms always tended to soothe (Y/N), making her want to cuddle up with some warm tea or hot chocolate and a book. It made her want to burrow under a blanket and listen to the roaring outside her window as the storm lashed at the stone walls of the Survey Corps castle. But she wasn’t in her room with a warm blanket and a good book. She wasn’t protected by the solid stone walls of the Survey Corps headquarters or given warmth by the roaring fireplace she had across from her bed. She was outside of the walls, in the middle of nowhere with a skittish horse and nothing but a flaxen tent to keep her safe. The only benefit of the storm was that the titans seemed to have scattered in the wake of the approaching darkness, finding some other place to settle down for the early onset night.

“Hey, at least we won’t have to sleep alone tonight,” Petra said, trying to lighten the mood. “At least we will be paired again since we lost that supply wagon to the titans, maybe it’ll feel better to experience the storm with another person. It might be comforting.”

Petra had a point, but her words also brought a twinge of anxiety to (Y/N)’s gut. Captain Levi hadn’t seemed upset with her when she had cuddled up to him by accident the last time they shared a tent, quite the opposite really, laughing and teasing her. But it didn’t stop the thoughts from filling her head, making her overthink the situation. He had found it amusing the first time because it had been unexpected and she had been so flustered in the morning when she had woken up to find him sprawled underneath her, but what would he think if she did it a second time? Would he be annoyed? She was half expecting him to reassign her to sleep beside Eld or Gunther at this point. She wondered if he would even be compelled to make Petra and Oulo sleep in separate tents despite their relationship, just so he could make (Y/N) sleep with Petra instead.

It made her flush with guilt and embarrassment at the thought. The last thing she wanted to do was make Levi uncomfortable around her, but she had invaded his personal space in a way she was sure nobody else had ever done before. It was only natural that he would distance himself from her.

(Y/N) shook her head, chasing the negative thoughts away, deciding to worry about that later. “Yeah, at least we won’t be alone. Maybe that’ll make it easier if the tents try to blow away, there can be two people to hold each one down instead of one person trying not to get carried off by the storm.”

Petra chuckled and led Tyson in another circle.

“Speaking of sharing tents,” She said, her eyes glimmering, “How was it sharing a bed with the Captain?”

(Y/N) froze a bit. Memories of that night came flashing back, making her blush as she remembered the feeling of his solid chest pressed beneath her, his warm breath fanning out over her neck, and his soft silver eyes gleaming at her as he fought the urge to laugh at her flushed face.

“Oooooh,” Petra said, her smile widening as she noted (Y/N)’s pink cheeks. “Why are you so flustered all of a sudden? Did something happen? Did you two finally fu-”

“NO, NO,” (Y/N) shouted quickly, waving her hands in front of her face. “No, nothing like that. It was just kind of embarrassing sleeping next to him. I mean, he’s the Captain! It just felt weird as his subordinate to be in the same bed as him with nothing but our pajamas on.”

Petra nodded but the shit-eating grin on her face didn’t disappear. (Y/N) leaned over and flicked her friend on the forehead, giggling when the ginger hissed at her with a glare.

“What was that for?”

“You know what it was for.”

“That was mean, (Y/N).”

“Well, you shouldn’t have been thinking about Levi and I in that tent, especially since I told you nothing happened.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I would never do such a thing.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at Petra’s teasing but couldn’t keep the warm smile off her lips as the two laughed together. She had to hand it to the sweet ginger, she had at least helped decrease her stress and pull (Y/N) from her own head. Even the horses had sensed the shift in their riders and had calmed down somewhat, Phoenix leaning down to take a few nibbles of the grass at her feet before she raised her head again, her ears rotating as she listened for any sign of danger.

“(L/N)! Ral! We are setting up the tents. Put the horses away and get over here now!”

Both women stopped laughing immediately and moved to tie the horses to a nearby tree, making sure to loop the ropes into loose knots so the horses could escape if they really needed to without injuring themselves. As soon as the animals were secure, (Y/N) shoved her anxiety away, and the pair made their way over to the rest of their squad.

__________________________

Levi cursed as he glanced at the darkened clouds, the sky now an inky black as the storm covered the setting sun. A light rain had started since the tents had been erected, but Levi knew the worst was yet to come. He watched as the squad moved around, tying down the last of the supplies and attending to any last minute necessities while the rain was still light and misty.

Without his permission, Levi’s eyes automatically found (Y/N) amongst his squad members, watching as she moved quickly around the camp, calming the horses and covering the wagons with the tarp they always brought on missions for exactly this reason. She was so graceful when she was focused, her movements lithe and quick. He knew she tended to be a bit of a clutz when she was just performing mundane tasks back at headquarters, but it didn’t take away from the obvious control she had over her body as she maneuvered around each of her comrades, helping where she could and confirming that everything was accounted for just as Levi had asked of her.

Snapping out of it, Levi quickly averted his gaze and cursed again, this time in anger at himself. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He had had a crush on (Y/N) for ages and yet it had never affected him like this before. He felt like he was flailing, like he lacked control for the first time since he was a small child. It scared him, made him embarrassed and anxious. He had an idea of what this was, but it didn’t make it any easier to digest.

He knew he had been an asshole lately, knew she was confused and hurt. When he had first woken up to find her sprawled over him, he had been overwhelmed with emotions that had pushed him over the edge, leading him to finally act on his hidden desires somewhat. He had allowed himself to laugh and smile, had allowed himself to get close to her, brush his lips along her ear, and compliment her. He had enjoyed it, letting go a little, letting himself finally show her how he felt about her. But then reality had slapped him across the face. She was his subordinate, and while it wasn’t forbidden, it wasn’t ideal. He just knew it would interfere with his focus on the battlefield, and he couldn’t afford the distraction. On the other hand, he didn’t even know if she liked him back. She had cuddled up to him in her sleep, but she had admitted to him herself that she does that to anything she sleeps with. Her pillow, a blanket, a stuffed animal, a person, it didn’t matter, she would cling to it. So what made him special? How did her cuddling him give him any indication of her feelings?

It didn’t. It didn’t mean anything. She wasn’t cuddling up to him because she found comfort in him, she did it because it was normal for her. Any other man would’ve done just as well, possibly even better in holding her close that night. The thought of another man cuddled up with (Y/N) made his blood boil and his teeth clench so hard they hurt, but he couldn’t force his feelings on her just because of one incident. Especially if she didn’t feel the same way. It just wasn’t meant to be, no matter how much he wanted it. So he had settled for loving her from afar, pushing her away and keeping her at a distance, just like he did with everyone around him. He was determined to stick to his promise of keeping people at arm’s length, guarding his heart through thick and thin in the event that someone he cares about gets ripped away from him again. He had lost way too many people in his life, he was not about to experience the pain of losing (Y/N) too.

He could tell his cold behavior confused her, but he kept it up, hid behind his mask no matter how much his heart cried when he saw her hurt expression. It was for her and for him, better for everyone involved if he just ignored the pulling of his heartstrings and continued their relationship as it should be, as Captain and cadet.

“Captain.”

Levi was snapped out of his reverie by the voice of none other than (Y/N), her eyes hooded as she looked at him.

“Everything is stable and prepared for the storm, sir.”

“Good, you are dismissed.”

(Y/N) saluted him and spun on her heel, not looking back as she made her way to their tent to change and prepare for bed. Levi’s gut twisted. He hated that look in her eyes. So far, she had treated him with nothing but respect ever since he had begun ignoring her, but he never missed that look in her eyes, the confusion and disappointment in her gaze. The feeling of wanting to be sick all over the stones of the cliff edge where they had set up camp increased tenfold when he thought about having to spend the night with her once again. The thought of having to experience the tension of laying beside her all night. He wondered if she’d even cuddle up to him again, if her body would reject him even in sleep despite her habit.

Levi sighed and ran a hand through his slick raven locks, rain droplets landing on his cheeks as they dripped from his fringe. He knew he just had to act like an adult and go in there with her, but it was an effort to fight the feeling of nausea in his gut as he made his way over to the tent they were sharing. As soon as he slipped in through the flaps and zipped them closed, the loud roar of thunder rolled over them quickly followed by the intensifying of the rain, turning from the soft taps of droplets to the pelting of bullets.

(Y/N) was facing away from him when he entered, neatly folding her uniform and placing it off to the side while she waited for him to change. Levi undressed quickly and followed her example, placing his clothes beside hers as she settled on the cot, pulling the blankets up to her neck. Neither of them spoke a word, but the urge to spill everything that was on the edge of their tongues plagued both of them. Levi finished his nightly regimen before carefully slipping under the blanket beside (Y/N), blowing out the lantern and making sure to turn away from her so she wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable.

(Y/N) grit her teeth when she felt him turn away from her. Was she really that bothersome? Had her cuddling him really made him that upset? She knew she had no right to judge him, it was his boundaries she had crossed, but that didn’t stop the tidal wave of sadness and disappointment that rose in her chest. She had been hoping they could move past this, that he would give her the chance to apologize and they could go back to the way things were between them, but obviously he was in no hurry to speak to her ever again, if his behavior towards her was any indication.

(Y/N) closed her eyes and tried to let the sounds of the storm outside soothe her, snuggling deeper under the blankets as the rain slapped the tent’s walls, trying to drown out her thoughts and emotions with the sound of the rolling thunder that rumbled and barked overhead.

(Y/N) was nearly asleep, her brain finally quieting down for the night when she heard it. She thought for a minute she had imagined the noise, but after another moment of patiently listening, she heard it again, the sound of a deep groan coming from the Captain. (Y/N) froze, her eyes wide as she waited. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew for a fact it couldn’t be good. The noise sounded high-pitched, desperate, strained, as if the Captain were in pain. (Y/N) turned slightly and opened her mouth to say something when a bolt of lightning dashed across the sky, flashing the tent with a bright white light. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping when she suddenly realized just how uncomfortable he was.

Levi was shaking.

What had she done? Thunder crashed as horror seeped into (Y/N)’s bones. She felt his shaking increase, the subtle vibrations making the cot twitch and shift beneath them. How could she have done this to him? What she had believed to be a mild annoyance to her Captain seemed to be much worse than that. At first, she wondered why he didn’t tell her about his discomfort with touch, or why he didn’t have her reassigned, but she quickly shoved those questions aside. Of course he didn’t tell her or reassign her, he was the Captain of their squad, the goddamn Humanity’s Strongest. Of course he would put his pride and reputation before his fears. It was his job to appear unfazed no matter what he was faced with.

And besides, even if it wasn’t his job to keep silent about his personal issues to his subordinates, (Y/N) had a hard time seeing Levi admit to having a phobia of touch. He always kept that mask placed securely over his emotions and expressions, it was no surprise that he would hide this as well.

The fact that she hadn’t known didn’t stop the feelings of dread and guilt from dragging her stomach to her feet and choking her heart with a chain. She felt the tears well up behind her eyes, and didn’t try to stop them when they spilled over her lids and cut wet paths down her cheeks. She felt sick. She wanted to apologize, but she didn’t know how. She was used to comforting people with physical affection and gentle soothing gestures rather than using her words. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to wrap her arms around him, to stroke his hair and rub soothing circles into his back, but she forced herself to hold back. She had clearly caused enough damage already.

Making up her mind, (Y/N) decided that the best option was to leave. She knew there was very little she could say or do to make up for what had happened, and she refused to keep him awake with the fear of her touching him again. The last thing she wanted to do was be away from him, especially when he seemed so vulnerable, but she wasn’t going to let herself cause unnecessary tension within the squad because she decided to be selfish. They needed their Captain in top shape, and it was clear that wasn’t going to happen with her in the same room. Quietly gathering her blanket and her cape, (Y/N) slowly stood and crept towards the exit flaps of their tent. She cringed at the thought of being sandwiched with the Oulo and Petra, but she knew the couple wouldn’t deny her entry despite wanting to enjoy their alone time together, and figured that would be the best place for her to stay for the rest of the night. Taking a deep breath to prepare for the onslaught of cold water she was about to get blasted with, (Y/N) curled her fingers around the edges of the flaps and started to undo each loop keeping them closed.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Levi’s cold voice, despite being a bit shaky, made (Y/N) freeze in her tracks. She had known he was awake, but she hadn’t expected him to protest.

“Um, I’m going to Petra’s tent, sir.”

Levi furrowed his brows, his jaw clenched, “Why?”

“Because I was making you uncomfortable, sir.”

“What are you talking about?”

The last thing (Y/N) wanted to do was embarrass him further, but she figured now wasn’t the time to beat around the bush.

“You were shaking, sir.”

(Y/N) saw the realization quickly flash across Levi’s features before he scowled angrily, leaning back with an arm over his face, “Fuck…”

He hadn’t known that she could feel it. He had been trying so damn hard to hide it, especially after those little groans had escaped him without warning. The knowledge that she was here to see him in such a vulnerable state tossed his heart around like a butterfly in a storm, a confusing blend of intense embarrassment and soothing comfort flooding through his veins.

“I wish you had told me sooner,” (Y/N) said, causing Levi to lift his arm so he could look at her properly. “I know why you didn’t, but if you had, I never would’ve tried to stay with you for another night. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, and the last thing I want is for you to think you have to avoid me because I didn’t respect your boundaries. I am s-so sorry…”

(Y/N) broke off, swallowing the tears that bubbled in the back of her throat. She wasn’t the victim here, she wanted to appear sincere and apologetic but she didn’t want to make him feel guilty for his reaction to everything that had happened between them. She just wanted to make him feel better and pretend like this whole incident had never happened.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll leave now. I hope you’re able to get some rest tonight, Captain-”

“(Y/N).”

The way he said her name, in a tone that sounded desperate and strained, made her close her mouth and meet his gaze.

“Come back to bed.”

She hesitated at first, but quickly found the confidence to move towards him when he pinned her with a dark glare. Moving back to her spot, (Y/N) placed her cape with the rest of her uniform and brought the blanket back over her body, laying down on the spot furthest from Levi.

(Y/N) let out a loud gasp when Levi suddenly reached over and wrapped his arms around her before she could react, yanking her away from the edge of the cot and pulling her into his chest. (Y/N) quickly tried to push away from him, but he held her steady against him, his arms refusing to loosen until she gave up on escaping.

“Listen here, brat,” Levi said, his voice surprisingly clear, “It’s not you. I’m not afraid to be held by you. I know I’ve been an asshole lately, but I was worried about letting myself get close to you only to lose you. I’ve lost so many. The last person I want to be caught up in everything is you. I c-care about you, and I just can’t stand the pain of watching you die.”

(Y/N) teared up at his impassioned confession, her fingers clenching in the fabric of her pajama top. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage as if it was trying to bust out, its drumming song throbbing throughout her entire body.

“But, you were shaking, and facing away from me, and fidgeting around,” (Y/N) said quietly.

Levi tensed but took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax again.

“That wasn’t because of you, brat.”

She tilted her head in confusion. He knew she wanted more details than that, but he was finding it difficult to put everything into words. He was just about ready to blurt it out to her, rip off the bandaid quickly, when a flash of lightning broke the sky in half, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the entire camp.

To her utter shock, Levi flinched and whimpered. He cursed at his own reaction, his arms tightening subconsciously around her body.

“Levi…” (Y/N) murmured. “Are you… scared of storms?”

The look in his gunmetal hues was answer enough. (Y/N) felt a dizzying mix of immense relief and a rush of sympathy and sadness wash through her. She was glad she wasn’t the source of his fears and discomfort, but she felt horrible for what he was going through. She had had no idea, never even had an inkling that their fearsome, stone-faced Captain would be scared of rain and thunder.

Quickly shaking off any questions she had, (Y/N) shifted her arms from where they had been hugging her stomach, and wrapped them around his waist and neck, pulling him into her. She felt him tense a little at the foreign contact, but she didn’t let it mess with her confidence. She knew he needed this, knew he secretly craved the comfort of human contact, and forced herself to shove her anxiety to the side and focus solely on her hurting Captain. After a moment, Levi eventually tightened his grip on her and snuggled into her embrace, making her heart explode with love and affection.

He nuzzled his face into her neck, letting out occasional quiet moans and murmurs of approval as she ran her fingers through his soft raven locks with one hand and rubbed comforting circles into his back with the other.

They were silent for a long while, merely enjoying the comfort of the other’s company despite the tenseness (Y/N) could still feel in the Captain’s muscles. Whenever thunder rocked the world, or a gust of wind made the rain lash against the tent like gunfire, (Y/N) would hold him tighter to her, cooing softly at him and massaging his back and shoulders. His eyes closed at her ministrations, his lashes fluttering against her skin, tickling her neck as he started to settle.

“My best friends died in a storm just like this,” Levi whispered into the dark, making (Y/N) gasp. She looked down to see his eyes were still closed, his nose pressed against her neck.

“Levi… I’m so sorry,” (Y/N) said, lightly scratching his undercut.

“What’s done is done,” Levi said tightly, “But I’m never going to let anything happen to you.”

Levi opened his eyes, pinning her with a look of determined fire, “I will protect you, I promise.”

(Y/N) smiled, letting out a contented sigh as he leaned in to press soft butterfly kisses along her throat, a sign of gratitude for everything she had done for him.

“I’ll protect you too, Levi. Whenever you need me, I am here for you. Always.”

Levi was grateful she couldn’t see his face as he blinked away the tears that had unexpectedly risen to prick at his eyes. “I’ll hold you to that, brat.”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and leaned down to press a loving kiss to his forehead, “You better.”

Levi snorted, “Go to sleep.”

“Yes, sir.”

Levi gave her a weak flick on the shoulder before snuggling more into her warm embrace, a small smile making its way to his face as he felt the fear drain from his body despite the storm still raging outside. (Y/N) was his calming balm, something to soothe his tortured soul and battered heart. He was still afraid of losing her, but he knew now that he couldn’t bear to stay away. He would just have to work harder to protect her, to keep her from harm at all costs. He would become her sword and her shield, a way to repay her for being his blanket, his home, his light.

“Goodnight Levi,” (Y/N) sighed as her own eyes fluttered closed.

“Goodnight Cuddlebug,” Levi said softly, a nickname he was sure would embarrass her later. Just as he expected, (Y/N) threw him one last half-hearted glare for his teasing before she succumbed to her exhaustion, a small smile on her face as she curled into his warm body.

Levi found himself quickly falling asleep behind her, surprised at how fast she made him relax. He was so used to being an insomniac, especially during a storm where he felt paralyzed with fear and horrible memories, but (Y/N) was holding his demons back for him, keeping them locked away for the night, and he couldn’t be more grateful for that as he slowly slipped from consciousness and into a dreamless sleep.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” was the last thing Levi managed to say, the last thing (Y/N) managed to hear, before the pair fell into a deep sleep, wrapped up in their own little world together.

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satansjit · 4 years

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Reflections on the Color of My Skin

By Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

My colleague had other encounters with the law that he shared later that night, but his first story started a chain reaction among us. One by one we each recalled multiple incidents of being stopped by the police. None of the accounts were particularly violent or life-threatening, although it was easy to extrapolate to highly publicized cases that were. One of my colleagues had been stopped for driving too slowly. He was admiring the local flora as he drove through a New England town in the autumn. Another had been stopped because he was speeding, but only by five miles per hour. He was questioned and then released without getting a ticket. Still another colleague had been stopped and questioned for jogging down the street late at night.

As for me, I had a dozen different encounters to draw from. There was the time I was stopped late at night at an underpass on an empty road in New Jersey for having changed lanes without signaling. The officer told me to get out of my car and questioned me for ten minutes around back with the headlights of his squad car brightly illuminating my face. Is this your car? Yes. Who is the woman in the passenger seat? My wife. Where are you coming from? My parent’s house. Where are you going? Home. What do you do for a living? I am an astrophysicist at Princeton University. What’s in your trunk? A spare tire, and a lot of other greasy junk. He went on to say that the “real reason” why he stopped me was because my car’s license plates were much newer and shinier than the 17-year-old Ford that I was driving. The officer was just making sure that neither the car nor the plates were stolen.

Among my other stories, I had been stopped by campus police while transporting my home supply of physics textbooks into my newly assigned office in graduate school. They had stopped me at the entrance to the physics building where they asked accusatory questions about what I was doing. It was 11:30 p.m. Open-topped boxes of graduate math and physics textbooks filled the trunk. And I was transporting them into the building, which left me wondering how often that scenario shows up in police training videos.

We went on for two more hours. But before we retired for the night we searched for common denominators among the stories. We had all driven different cars—some were old, others were new, some were undistinguished, others were high performance imports. Some police stops were in the daytime, others were at night. Taken one-by-one, each encounter with the law could be explained as an isolated incident where, in modern times, we all must forfeit some freedoms to ensure a safer society for us all. Taken collectively, however, you would think the cops had a vendetta against physicists because that was the only profile we all had in common. In this parade of automotive stop-and-frisks, one thing was for sure, the stories were not singular, novel moments playfully recounted. They were common, recurring episodes. How could this assembly of highly educated scientists, each in possession of the PhD—the highest academic degree in the land—be so vulnerable to police inquiry in their lives? Maybe the police cued on something else. Maybe it was the color of our skin. The conference I had been attending was the 23rd meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists. We were guilty not of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), but of other violations none of us knew were on the books: DWB (Driving While Black), WWB (Walking While Black), and of course, JBB (Just Being Black).

None of us were beaten senseless. None of us were shot. But what does it take for a police encounter to turn lethal? On average, police in America kill more than 100 unarmed black people per year. Who never made it to our circle? I suspect our multi-hour conversation would be rare among most groups of law-abiding people.

As I compose this, about 10,000 chanting protestors are filing past my window in Manhattan. And because of the intermittent looting and related violence, the curfew for this evening has been pushed earlier, to 8 p.m., from 11 p.m. in the preceding days. The most common placard was “Black Lives Matter.” Many others simply displayed the name George Floyd, who was handcuffed face-down on the street with a police officer’s knee on the back of his neck, applied with a force of at least half the officer’s body weight, resulting in his death. Curious irony that NFL star Colin Kaepernick offered a simple demonstration of care and concern for the fate of black people in the custody of police officers, by taking a knee during the Star Spangled Banner before football games. (One media outlet mangled the moment by describing him as protesting the national anthem.) The outrage against his silent act of concern for a national problem persisted through the 2017 season when, as a free agent, he went unsigned by any team to continue his livelihood.

So, we went from a peaceful knee to the ground to a fatal knee to the neck.

The way peaceful protesters and the press are being shoved, maced, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and tackled in the streets of our cities (when the police should have focused on arresting the looters) you would think the protestors were doing something illegal or un-American. But, of course, the U.S. Constitution has something to say about it:

Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom … of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Which amendment was that? The First Amendment. So, the founders of this nation felt quite strongly about it, empowering one to declare that protesting for redress of grievances is one of the most American things you can do. If you are the police, pause and reflect how great is the country whose Constitution endorses peaceful protests.

What do we actually expect from our police officers? To protect the peace and arrest the bad guys, I presume. But also, to be armed with lethal force that they can use when necessary. That part clearly requires training on how and when to use (and not use) the power of your weapons. The rigorous Minneapolis Police Academy training lasts 4 months. The slightly more rigorous NYC Police Academy lasts 6 months.

Yet to become a certified pastry chef at a prestigious culinary academy requires 8 months. The perfect croissant demands it. So maybe, just maybe, police recruits could benefit from a bit more training before becoming officers.

In 1991, Rodney King (age 25) was struck dozens of times, while on the ground, by four LAPD officers, with their batons, after being tased. The grainy 1990s video of that went media-viral, inducing shock and dismay to any viewer.

But I wasn’t shocked at all.

Based on what I already knew of the world, my first thought was, “We finally got one of those on tape.” Followed by, “Maybe justice will be served this time.” Yes, that’s precisely my first thought. Why? Since childhood my parents instilled in me and my siblings, via monthly, sometimes weekly lessons, rules of conduct to avoid getting shot by the police. “Make sure that when you get stopped, the officer can always see both of your hands.” “No sudden movements.” “Don’t reach into your pockets for anything without announcing this in advance.” “When you move at all, tell the officer what you are about to do.” At the time, I am a budding scientist in middle school, just trying to learn all I can about the universe. I hardly ever think about the color of my skin—it never comes up when contemplating the universe. Yet when I exit my front door, I’m a crime suspect. Add to this the recently coined “White Caller Crime,” where scared white people call the police because they think an innocent black person is doing something non-innocent, and it’s a marvel that any of us achieve at all.

The rate of abuse? Between one and five skin-color-instigated incidents per week, for every week of my life. White people must have known explicitly if not implicitly of this struggle. Why else would the infamous phrase, “I’m free, white, and 21” even exist? Here is a compilation of that line used in films across the decades. Yes, it’s offensive. But in America, it’s also truthful. Today’s often-denied “white privilege” accusation was, back then, openly declared.

The deadly LA riots associated with the Rodney King incident are often remembered as a response to the beating. But no. Los Angeles was quiet for 13 months afterward. Everyone had confidence, as did I, that the video was just the kind of evidence needed to finally bring about a conviction in the abuse of power. But that’s not what came to pass. The riots were a response to the acquittal of the four officers in the incident, and not to the incident itself. And what is a riot if not the last act of helpless desperation.

The 1989 film by Spike Lee “Do the Right Thing,” which explored 1980s black-white-police tensions in Brooklyn, New York, ends with a dedication to the families of six people. Eleanor Bumpers (age 66), Michael Griffith (age 23), Arthur Miller (age 30), Edmund Perry (age 17), Yvonne Smallwood (age 28), and Michael Stewart (age 25). All are black. One was killed by a white mob. The rest were unarmed and shot by police or otherwise died while in police custody. All deaths occurred within the 10 years preceding film, and all occurred in New York City. None of the police-induced deaths resulted in convictions, as continues to be true for 99% of all police killings.

We know of these events because they each ended in death. But even so, back then, it was just local news. Was this just NYC’s problem? I asked myself. But for every police-related death anywhere, how many unarmed victims are shot by police and don’t die, or are wrongfully maimed or injured? Most of those cases didn’t even make the local news. But if you lived there, you knew. We all knew. For what it’s worth, NYC now has the lowest police-caused death rate per capita among the sixty largest cities in the US. Is it that extra two months training in the Police Academy?

The corrosion and ultimate erosion of our confidence in the legal system in cases such as these, even in the face of video evidence, has spawned a tsunami of protests. With sympathetic demonstrations across the United States and around the world. If the threat of prison time for this behavior does not exist—acting as a possible deterrent—then the behavior must somehow stop on its own.

Some studies show that the risk of death for an unarmed person at the hands of the police is approximately the same no matter the demographics of who gets arrested. Okay. But if your demographic gets stopped ten times more than others, then your demographic will die at ten times the rate. I suppose we first have to get the bias factor down to zero, but then there’s still the matter of police killing unarmed suspects, white people included.

I talk a lot. But I don’t talk much about any of this, or the events along this path-of-most-resistance that have shaped me. Why? Because throughout my life I’ve used these occasions as launch-points to succeed even more. Yes, I parlayed the persistent rejections of society, which today might be called micro-aggressions, into reservoirs of energy to achieve. I learned that from my father, himself active in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s.

In a way, I am who I am precisely because countless people, by their actions or inactions, said I could never be what I am. But what if you don’t have this deep supply of fuel? What becomes of you? Who from historically disenfranchised communities, including women, LGBTQ+, and anybody of color, are missing—falling shy of their full potential because they ran out of energy and gave up trying.

Are things better today than yesterday? Yes. But one measure of this truth is a bit perverse. Decades ago, unarmed black people getting beaten or killed by the police barely merited the local news. But now it’s national news—even breaking news—no matter where in the country it occurs.

So how to change all this? Organizations have surely assembled demands for police departments. Here, I offer a list of my own, for policy experts to consider:

Extend police academies to include months of cultural awareness and sensitivity training that also includes how not to use lethal force.

Police officers should all be tested for any implicit bias they carry, with established thresholds of acceptance and rejection from the police academy. We all carry bias. But most of us do not hold the breathing lives of others in our hands when influenced by it.

During protests, protect property and lives. If you attack nonviolent protesters you are being un-American. And you wouldn’t need curfews if police arrested looters and not protesters.

If fellow officers are behaving in a way that is clearly unethical or excessively violent, and you witness this, please stop them. Someone will get that on video, and it will give the rest of us confidence that you can police yourselves. In these cases, our trust in you matters more to a civil society than how much you stick up for each other.

And here’s a radical idea for the Minneapolis Police Department—why not give George Floyd the kind of full-dress funeral you give each other for dying in the line of duty? And vow that such a death will never happen again.

Lastly, when you see black kids, think of what they can be rather than what you think they are.

Respectfully Submitted

Neil deGrasse Tyson — trying hard to Keep Looking Up.

#neil degrasse tyson #reflections on the color of my skin #reflections #black lives matter #justiceforfloyd #blm movement #blm #support blm #science #george floyd #justice for black lives #justice for poc #no justice no peace #know justice know peace #white silence is violence #physics #amerikkka #blacklivesmatter

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bladengineer · 4 years

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Hello there! Have you got any soft kaihil friendship Headcanons

Friendship Headcanons?? i have them aplenty, come get em fresh!!! IF NO ONE MAKES CONTENT OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP I WILL DO IT MYSELF THEN

i like to think their friendship doesn’t completely solidify until post-GRev; sure they consider each other friends and teammates, but it was mostly by association since their friends are friends. its after the whole chaos where the lull of daily life returning kinda had them just sit down, take a breather and realise that they miss being around friends

so i think, it kinda just. grows from there:

Kai tends to be...gentle with Hilary. not in a way where he belittles her or does an 180 in personality but, he often displays the same behaviour he has with Max whenever he’s with her; just a little bit more patient, just a little softer around the edges

but he doesn’t really give her any special treatment beyond that, since she’s an equal in his eyes, a respect that Hilary very much appreciates

Kai doesn’t trust anyone with driving his very nice and shiny car, EXCEPT Hilary because she has a) a brain, b) patience, and c) is responsible. oh? Max wants to practice his driving? sure, here are the keys, take Hilary or be ready to run laps until you puke.

Hilary really appreciates Kai’s trust in her but she’s also not above calling him out when he’s being a jerk or falling back into unhealthy habits – and as much as he grumbles about it, he’s secretly thankful that she isn’t afraid to stand up to him when he’s in a funk

Tala likes to joke they and Ray are the Competent Squad of the Team but he and Hilary both know its just her. she’s the competent one. Ray sometimes gets too mischievous for his own good and Kai isn’t patient enough to deal with them, so Hilary has to kick their asses back into gear

Max: kai if you could choose who would be the next team captain, who– Kai: Hilary. Tyson: but she doesn’t even beyb– Kai: Hilary.

when Hilary announced that she got herself a date, Kai (and the other boys ofc) kind of went unconsciously into Overprotective Mode – dont get them wrong, they know Hilary could move mountains if given the opportunity, but that wont stop them from being protective

Hilary: what is wrong with you, at least Kai is mature enough not to– Kai: what’s their name and vaguely last known location Hilary: >:o

Kai once accidentally ripped his scarf and after finding him trying to clumsily mend it himself, Hilary sewed it back together for him. every since then whenever he rips something he just wordlessly walks up to Hilary in a silent request to help him

they have a rather obvious height difference, but that doesn’t stop Hilary from being fiercely protective of this guy, who’s almost two heads taller than her, whenever he gets uncomfortable around people

for some reason, Kai knows exactly how much Hilary can benchpress and tbh the team doesn’t know what terrifies them more; Kai knowing or the fact that Hilary could probably benchpress Max

Reporter: Kai do you ever feel like you have to walk around with a bodyguard? Kai, immediately: i have Hilary

Hilary tends to get very nice jewellery from Kai as birthday presents; they are usually very simple and lowkey but look pretty nonetheless. these days you often meet her with small ruby earrings that the team swear are genuine. Kai never comments. (they are real.)

in a way, Kai sees Hilary as breath of fresh air – she’s cheerful and headstrong, yet kind and mature. on the other hand, Hilary finds Kai’s presence as comfortingly grounding, when things seems to get too hectic around her, he always seems like constant. its like they balance each other out in a way.

their friendship isnt a loud one. or super obvious. its quiet, but soft and kind. its a bond that very appreciated by both of them, so its not unusual to see Hilary take notes of training procedures to run it by Kai after, and not a few hours later she is seen dragging him around the store by the arm.

look im not saying Hilary would shank Boris if she ever got close enough but Hilary would most definitely come at him with a sword and Kai would stand aside with his phone like “you’re doing great Hilary”

#beyblade #bakuten shoot beyblade #engineering some headcanons #blader asks #blader anons #kai hiwatari #hilary tachibana #trying very hard not to reveal my future fic plans #anyway; kai appreciates and respects hilary tachibana #hilary: i could kill a man with my bare hands #kai: i know this and i support you

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mitchmrner · 5 years

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i am a member of the tyson barrie protection squad

#tyson idgaf what anyone says I love you.#leafs lb

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newstfionline · 6 years

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Civil Asset Thievery

Sovereign Man, November 30, 2018

Civil asset forfeiture is a legal process that allows the government to seize assets and cash from citizens without any due process or judicial oversight.

You don’t even have to be charged with a crime. You are assumed guilty unless you can somehow prove your innocence.

Of course, not everyone has this ability… if you aren’t local, state, or federal law enforcement, this is called stealing, and you go to prison.

But the government is actually a bigger problem than common thieves.

A 2015 report showed that law enforcement used civil asset forfeiture to steal more from US residents than every thief, robber, and burglar in America combined.

About $4.5 BILLION worth of cash, cars, homes, and other property is taken by civil asset forfeiture each year--hundreds of millions more than common criminals steal.

And it happens at every level. Your local cop can use civil asset forfeiture just like your state trooper. And then any one of the armed agents of the US government--from the FBI to the Fish and Wildlife Service--can rob you for whatever reason they want.

This travesty continues to grow because the police who take your stuff get to keep it. Police departments and government agencies around the country depend on civil asset forfeiture to boost their budgets.

Cops will literally keep some of the cars they take as squad cars. And they make a fortune auctioning off the houses, boats, and anything else they confiscate.

Obviously this gives police an incentive to steal, whether or not they actually think the property was used in a crime, or acquired illegally. Remember, civil asset forfeiture adds billions every year to their bottom line.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case of civil asset forfeiture.

Tyson Timbs was convicted of selling a small amount of drugs to an undercover police officer. He was sentenced to house arrest, and paid about $1,200 in fines.

But then police used civil asset forfeiture to take his $42,000 Land Rover which Timbs purchased with money from a life insurance policy after his father died. The money did not come from selling drugs, or any other illegal activity.

Timbs sued, and the case made its way to the Supreme Court, because every lower court in Indiana said the forfeiture was perfectly legit.

The case revolves around whether or not the seizure of the Land Rover was an excessive fine under the 8th amendment, and whether or not this protection against excessive fines applies to state governments.

And the public got some crazy insight into the government’s position.

The Indiana Solicitor General was arguing in favor of civil asset forfeiture when Justice Stephen Breyer asked him a hypothetical.

Breyer asked, if a state needs revenue, could it force someone to forfeit their Bugatti, Mercedes, or Ferrari for speeding? Even if they were going just 5 miles per hour over the speed limit?

And the utterly appalling answer from the Indiana Solicitor General was, yes.

That’s right… the official government position is that they can steal any amount of your property in “connection” with any crime whatsoever, no matter how trivial the crime may be… even exceeding the speed limit by 5 miles per hour.

This is how overbearing and authoritarian the government has become in the land of the free.

This is how much power your local cop has… and the power only grows as you go to state, and federal officials.

If there is any solace in any of this, it is that the other Supreme Court Justices were reportedly laughing at this exchange.

The justices seemed incredulous that Indiana’s top lawyer was using such absurd assertions and flimsy reasoning in his arguments.

So, for now, we can keep our cars if we get pulled over for speeding. But that may not always be the case…

Depending on how this is ruled, it could pave the way for even more egregious abuses of power… or it could curb the practice, and reign in these thieves in uniforms.

#Civil asset forfeiture #Tyson Timbs

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tkmedia · 3 years

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90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: James Pierre, Kevin Rader, Dax Raymond

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 offseason practices concluded last week. Next up for the team is their annual training camp, which should get underway in the latter part of July. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s 90-man roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers 90-man roster preview that includes outlooks for each player goes alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow along with. The next three players we will preview today are James Pierre, Kevin Rader, and Dax Raymond. CB James Pierre — Pierre, who signed with the Steelers last year as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic, beat a lot of odds as a rookie as he made the 53-man roster despite there not being much of an offseason or any preseason games. Not only did Pierre make the 53-man roster in 2020 as a rookie, but he also went on to dress for every game on his way to registering 27 defensive snaps played with a whopping 227 more on special teams. He had 10 total tackles aa a rookie with most of those coming on special teams as well. He showed a lot of potential on defense as an outside cornerback in the regular season finale and even registered a pass defensed in that contest. Outlook: Pierre entered the offseason with quite a bit of buzz surrounding him. During the Steelers offseason practices, Pierre reportedly did not disappoint and with that, there’s a lot of speculation that he could ultimately play a lot more defensive snaps in 2021 and potentially even wind up being an outside cornerback in several sub packages. Pierre should make the 53-man roster again this year and play a considerable number of snaps on special teams while severing as a depth player on the cornerback depth chart. He has a legitimate shot to become a future starter for the Steelers on the outside and especially if he plays well in whatever defensive playing time he receives in 2021, which could wind up being more than a lot of people think right now. TE Kevin Rader — Rader, who was signed originally as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2018, has been around the Steelers organization quite a bit since 2019. During the last two seasons, Rader has spent a considerable amount of time on the Steelers practice squad and was list as a protected player quite frequently during the 2020 season. He was on the Steelers expanded gameday roster for four games last season and played in one of them with 12 snaps coming on offense and 12 more on special teams. He also dressed for the Steelers lone playoff game last season and logged 20 special teams snaps. In total, Rader, a Youngstown State product, registered three total tackles in 2020. He was mainly used as a blocking tight end on offense in his limited playing time and failed to register any offensive stats. Outlook: Rader should get a chance to make the Steelers 53-man roster this summer as the team’s third tight end. Zach Gentry, the Steelers former fifth round draft pick out of Michigan in 2019, figures to be Rader’s biggest competition for that last spot as we sit here a few weeks out from the start of training camp. Rader is an above average blocking tight end and an adequate special teams player so that could help his cause quite a bit this year in training camp and the preseason. It could ultimately and realistically go either way with Rader in the next several weeks and it would not be shocking to see him start the 2021 regular season on the Steelers practice squad. TE Dax Raymond — Raymond, who was signed by the Steelers originally last July, injured his ankle during a 2020 training camp practice and ultimately wound up being waived from the team several weeks later with an injury settlement. Raymond was signed originally by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Utah State and he spent some time on their practice squad as a rookie. He has yet to spend any time on an NFL team’s 53-man roster to date. The Steelers signed Raymond back to their offseason roster way earlier in the year. Outlook: Raymond’s best shot at sticking around ibn Pittsburgh past the final rounds of roster cuts involves him ultimately landing on the team’s practice squad and even that will be tough to do if the Steelers decide to retain just one tight end in total on that unit. Raymond has had some injury issues so far as an NFL player so hopefully he can stay healthy all summer and at least log considerable practice and playing time during training camp and the preseason. He’s merely a low-level developmental tight end at this point, however. He has a lot to show in the next eight weeks. Previous Posts In Series 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: DeMarkus Acy, Marcus Allen, Tyson Alualu 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Abdullah Anderson, Kalen Ballage, Zach Banner 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Berry, Chris Boswell, Antoine Brooks Jr. 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Shakur Brown, Isaiah Buggs, Calvin Bundage 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Devin Bush, Rico Bussey, Kameron Canaday 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: T.J. Carter, Demarcus Christmas, Chase Claypool 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Aviante Collins, Rashaad Coward, Anthony Coyle 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Carlos Davis, Stephen Denmark, Joshua Dobbs 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Kevin Dotson, Eric Ebron, Terrell Edmunds 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Trey Edmunds, B.J. Finney, Minkah Fitzpatrick 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Mark Gilbert 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Ulysees Gilbert III, Joe Haden, Joe Haeg 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Najee Harris, Pressley Harvin III, Dwayne Haskins 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Kendrick Green, J.C. Hassenauer, Cameron Heyward 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Alex Highsmith, Anthony Johnson, Buddy Johnson 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Diontae Johnson, Jamir Jones, Jarron Jones 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Miles Killebrew, Christian Kuntz, Justin Layne 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: John Leglue, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Cassius Marsh 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Arthur Maulet, Ray-Ray McCloud, Anthony McFarland Jr. 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Isaiah McKoy, Jarvis Miller, Henry Mondeaux 90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Dan Moore Jr., Tre Norwood, Chukwuma Okorafor

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cabinofimagines · 7 years

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Can you do how Nico, Percy and Leo would react when they have younger sibling campers (about age 13) come to camp for the first time?

Done this at a Xmas party w/ family so sorry for mistakesPercy- SHOOK- 'Another child of poseidon? Nice!'-Insists on showing you around- Then insists in learning you how to fight with a sword- Is so happy, and cannot wait to introduce you to Tyson/ Sally- 'My mom is your mom now'Nico- 'Wait what'- 'Wait WHaT'- Does not know what/how/why so he just tries to avoid you. - does need sometime to get used to you. -When finally accustomed to you, he treats you like Hazel. -Very soft boy. -Very protective - Introduces you to Hazel, and his -totaly not- friends- Doesn't want you to get hurt in anyway. - *you cough* TO THE INFIRMARY WE GO- So firstly bit distant, and shocked but does warm up to you after sometime. Leo- NEW MCSHIZZEL SQUAD MEMBER-Excited, very excited - Step one: casually talks to you, then bursts in flames-Step two: wants to show you around the forges, as apology for scaring you -gets sidetracked pretty fast-Then up to bunker 9 -He really likes the wonder that you have for the bunker. - He helps you with everything. Hope u liked it! - Asja

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tereox · 7 years

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This is Tyson. His hair is three different colours by nature and has been like that since his birth (doesn't make much sense if you think he's human. he's not.) He's pretty much an alien. His race is called geonides and they look like humans but can also transform into creatures that look like animals or Pokémon or a weird mix of the two. They also have a military called spacial guard which protects space and they can use magic. Back to Tyson. He's a total nerd and loves to play video games as you can see in the second picture. The third one shows him in 'fight mode' as I always like to call it. He loves his oversized hoodie jacket and only if it's extremely hot he takes it off. (It's blue btw) Tyson often makes jokes and is really bad at being serious. Once on a mission he couldn't stop laughing because he had come up with a joke, his whole squad was detected and they failed to eliminate a major threat to the universe. Oh. And that in the second picture is supposed to be a couch he's sitting on and he's holding a 3DS.

#OC #OCs #OC art #Tyson #I like names with T #about half of my characters either start with the letter T or J #I don't know why #art #doodles #description #oc tyson #my oc #my art #he's so cute #but also badass

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junker-town · 5 years

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We drafted basketball teams made up of ‘Star Wars’ characters. Which is best?

Was the Force with any of us as we made our picks?

A short time ago in a galaxy very close to here, the Skywalker saga reached its conclusion with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Episode IX maybe the finale of the series’ third movie trilogy, but it’s far from the end of Star Wars as we know it, thanks to the limitless runway Disney+ offers and the overwhelming desire for nostalgia that is Hollywood today. (Give it a decade before we get the beginning of another movie trilogy). But it still marks a pivotal turning point for those of us invested in the saga.

So to celebrate, five diehard sports and Star Wars fans came together to do something (long pause) truly special: draft a five-man basketball team to take down a crew of alien ballers hiding out in the Unknown Regions.

There will be a substantial reward for the team who defeats these invaders. Managers were free to use any draft methods necessary, but we want this to be a fair fight. No superteams.

So, we laid out some important ground rules:

Only one Force-wielder — i.e. Jedi, Sith, etc — per team.

Only one droid per team. (Though one of the teams doesn’t have a droid).

Each team must possess at least one sentient alien. Unlike the Empire, who looked down on non-humans, we don’t discriminate.

All Star Wars canon can be considered, and by all, we mean all. (No Legends canon, though). Because of that, we made use of lots of characters from the many animated shows, The Mandalorian, and other side projects. We took this very seriously.

We’re building an actual basketball team, so chemistry matters. As the old basketball saying goes, there’s only one thermal detonator.

Those guidelines — particularly the one limiting everyone to just one force user— made for a fascinating draft. Here’s how it played out.

Allow everyone to explain themselves.

The Slamdoshans (Tyson Whiting)

PG: Ahsoka Tano (Force user) SG: L3-37 (droid) SF: General Grievous PF: Bossk (alien) C: Sarlacc COACH: General Armitage Hux

With the guidelines in place for the draft, I wanted to make sure I picked a team with players who would bend the rules as much as possible.

Some might find it “unfair” that I have two lightsaber-wielding players on my team. To be clear, Grievous may have lightsabers, but he is not a Force user. Plus, though he is mostly machine, he is technically of the Kaleesh race, therefore making him an alien pick. (My masters degree in Star Wars is already paying off). His four arms and ability to turn into a weird spider thing has the potential to surprise opposing players.

I was criticized at the time for choosing Ahsoka Tano over a Skywalker as my Force user, but she was trained by Anakin Skywalker, so she knows all his moves. She’s a great leader and showed her craftiness in tight situations during the Clone Wars.

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L3-37 and Bossk are my sleeper picks of chaos. L3 will-trash talk you into submission, though I might have a problem with her on Twitter. I picked up Bossk’s nasty 7-foot-tall ass because he will walk through you, hissing and spitting while he does. I also assume he has incredible ball control with those three-finger hands.

So the Sarlacc. I know what you’re thinking: yes, I AM a genius. Sure, he (it?) can’t move, set a pick, or really leave the ground in any way. But stick this bad boy under the net and you’ll never surrender a layup or rebound EVER AGAIN.

Also Coach Hux will hit you so hard with those pregame speeches that you’ll have no choice but to win.

Tosche Station Power Converters (Caroline Darney)

PG: Cassian Andor SG: Lando Calrissian SF: The Mandalorian PF: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Force user) C: Chewbacca (alien) COACH: Orson Krennic

Look at this perfect squad. Getting Chewbacca with my first-round pick (No. 2 overall) was clutch, and his big frame will dominate in this league. Anakin/Vader was a steal in the fourth round, and this is Rogue One peak-condition Darth Vader. His rage may lead to some bad fouls, but he’s been instructed not to force choke the refs.

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I decided to lock down a pair of sharpshooters on the wings in the form of Lando Calrissian (Solo’s Donald Glover version) and the Mandalorian (affectionately known as Mando). They can run off of screens set by either big man (seriously, the screens are going to be so beautiful), and are both catch-and-shoot players. Mando’s inability to take his helmet off could get in the way at times, but his support of Baby Yoda makes it all worth it. Also, imagine the fits Lando will wear walking into the arena before the game. The capes! So many capes and furs!

To bring it all together, I needed the ultimate team player running the point. Enter Rogue One’s Cassian Andor. Quick, resourceful, and full of the intangibles coaches love, Andor is the perfect distributor for this squad. He doesn’t care about personal stats, but he will come through in the clutch if he has to get a last-minute bucket.

I know there may be questions about Director Krennic running the squad, but he’s here solely for the perfect quotes. Just imagine: when the defense is lacking, Krennic can hit them with “Are we blind? Deploy the garrison!” When my team wins the title, you can already hear him saying, “As we stand here amidst MY achievements.” Or, if his job is in question, hitting ownership with “your concerns are hardly warranted.”

But let’s be real. Vader is the player-coach of this team.

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Dooku Blue Devils (James Dator)

PG: Yoda (Force user) SG: Greedo (alien) SF: Boba Fett PF: K2-SO (droid) C: Rathtar COACH: Watto

How did they sleep on this roster? The fools. The intergalactic fools. I’ve got Yoda running the point as my Muggsy Bogues-esque hero and distributor. I wanted my Force user touching the ball every single possession, and this was the best way to do it.

From there, I wanted to lock down the paint. I have some big basketball beasts as my enforcers. K2-SO is 7’1, and Rathtar has as astonishing 20-foot wingspan thanks to its tentacles, which will be too much for most teams to overcome.

The secret to my team is Greedo. I needed offense, and everyone knows his love of shooting first. (Editor’s Note: Please strike the end of that sentence from the record). If he needs to be kept in line, I have complete faith in Boba Fett’s “game respect game” bounty hunter familiarity.

Finally, I picked Watto to be my coach because I want a merciless cheater.

Project Harvester (Mike Prada)

PG: Bo-Katan Kryze SG: Sheev Palpatine (Force user) SF: IG-88 (droid) PF: Captain Phasma C: Jabba The Hutt (alien) COACH: Grand Admiral Thrawn

My toughest decision came in the first round. Do I wait on picking my Force user and build up the rest of the team, or do I just bite the bullet and take the most powerful being in the galaxy, personality issues and all? In the end, I gave in to my hate. Talent trumps character.

After that, I couldn’t take any good guys because there’d be obvious philosophical clashes. Jabba’s ego makes him a risky pick, but I’m gambling that he’ll be fine protecting the paint if Palpatine gives him a few post touches. IG-88 and Phasma are quality 3-and-D wings that’ll take on the tough assignments, and Thrawn is a master tactician who has the star’s trust. Point guard was tricky, but Bo-Katan has the versatility to play a secondary role while not being afraid to challenge the star if he steps slightly too far out of line. (I hope she has more respect for Palpatine than she did for Maul in Clone Wars).

Palpatine will take all the shots, which isn’t ideal. But hey, it works for the Rockets.

The Bombads (Russ Oates)

PG: R2-D2 (droid) SG: Rey (Force user) SF: Jar Jar Binks (alien) PF: Cara Dune C: Wampa COACH: Admiral Ackbar R2-D2 is the true hero of the Star Wars saga and always knows what to do in a tight spot. He’d be an excellent floor general on the court. While she is new to the Force, Rey keeps picking up points and has been able to disrupt the First Order’s offense. Cara Dune is a former New Republic shock trooper, so yeah, she’s going to grab all the rebounds. Better watch out for the claws on the Wampa, or you’ll be sorry. Admiral Ackbar can spot a trap by the opposing team.

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Y’all can hate on the Jar Jar Binks pick if you want. I’ll accept the creative destruction he will cause on the court.

Which team are you taking to address this looming threat in the Unknown Regions? Vote in the poll below. The winner gets the full bounty. The loser is stuck with a bunch of useless tracking fabs. (Click here if you can’t see the poll).

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spicynbachili1 · 6 years

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What’s wrong with this franchise has become systemic

The Phoenix Suns are a dumpster hearth but once more, and whereas there are numerous issues that want fixing, this franchise’s sickness has turn out to be systemic.

If Tuesday night time’s story regarded acquainted for Phoenix Suns followers, that’s solely as a result of it was. It was the identical horror movie this franchise has had on loop for 5 years now: For each step ahead, it’s been three steps again.

“We had been speaking about making progress and making an attempt to take a step ahead coming into this recreation and we undoubtedly didn’t do this,” Kokoskov stated. “We made three steps backwards.”

Only for this week, the step ahead got here within the type of a rousing 102-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, punctuated by one other virtuoso Devin Booker efficiency within the fourth quarter — full with a game-winner.

Two days after the followers of Speaking Stick Resort Enviornment had been going nuts down the stretch of a enjoyable — and extra importantly, shut — recreation, the three steps backward got here within the fourth quarter of a double-digit loss to the Brooklyn Nets, because the boo birds serenaded the Suns and their lackluster effort all the best way to the locker room.

“I’d be doing the identical factor if I used to be up there,” Booker stated. “I perceive it, however on the identical time we have to repair it and no less than present effort. I believe that’s what they need to see and we haven’t provided that.”

By the best way, the Suns followers had been booing fairly loud these final Three minutes. One dude would not cease yelling “YOU SUCK” and “FIRE IGOR” on the best way out

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 7, 2018

This wasn’t simply an remoted case, nevertheless. It was one more recreation within the 2018-19 marketing campaign the place the Suns had been enjoying meaningless fourth quarter minutes. In a fair broader scope, it was one more double-digit defeat characterised by a scarcity of effort, disgruntled followers, nonexistent protection, underperforming kids, apathetic veterans and an overwhelmed head coach making an attempt to determine the right way to attain his workforce.

The followers aren’t glad. Neither are the blokes within the locker room. Neither is the workforce’s notoriously impatient proprietor, Robert Sarver. The Phoenix Suns was once one of many winningest franchises in NBA historical past, a workforce recognized for enjoyable and fast-paced basketball relationship again to the glory days of Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, Charles Barkles and Kevin Johnson.

Now, they’re off to a 2-Eight begin following a 21-win season. They’ve the worst level differential within the NBA (-13.four) by a large margin. Solely three of their video games have been remotely aggressive, and even the gauntlet Phoenix has endured schedule-wise doesn’t excuse the dearth of effort seen on a night-to-night foundation.

“One of many issues was focus wasn’t there,” Kokoskov stated. “Physique language wasn’t there. Effort wasn’t there. It’s arduous to search out one thing optimistic concerning the recreation, however undoubtedly I’m not glad and happy with how we carried out tonight.”

So how do you repair effort? How do you repair the one factor that shouldn’t want fixing for a rebuilding squad, particularly 10 video games into the season?

It’s not a straightforward reply. The blame extends for miles, however it’s troubling to see the identical type of poor physique language, matador protection and double-digit deficits that characterised Earl Watson‘s tenure already returning beneath a brand new head coach.

“I nonetheless stick to what I imagine in strongly, that it’s arduous to teach effort,” Kokoskov stated. “Your job is to appropriate the blokes, to information them, to teach them, train them to the extent of your information and skill and expertise that you’ve. However that’s arduous, as a result of that’s one click on in your thoughts: I need to do it or I don’t need to do it. I nonetheless imagine that it’s arduous to teach effort.”

“I really feel like that’s one thing we must carry,” stated Richaun Holmes, who completed with 13 factors, 10 rebounds and two blocks off the bench as one of many solely vivid spots of the night time. “It’s a mindset. Simply go in there and play as arduous as you probably can for so long as you probably can.”

Kokoskov and the gamers appear to agree that he can’t coach effort, however one thing has to alter in how he’s reaching these gamers — and quick. Even after making apparent modifications to the rotation like giving Holmes backup middle minutes or enjoying Mikal Bridges over Josh Jackson, the Suns rapidly slipped again into dangerous habits together with turnovers and defensive issues.

Falling again into an uncompetitive recreation after solely two aggressive ones doesn’t simply require scrutiny for the top coach, nevertheless. The veterans have been as responsible as anybody.

Tyson Chandler, who was just lately purchased out, was a pleasant presence to have within the locker room for such a younger workforce, however contributed little or no on the court docket and his lone voice of expertise was drowned out due to it. It was the identical with Jared Dudley.

It’s scary how rapidly Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson have joined them within the class of washed up vets who aren’t doing a lot to instill good habits within the youthful cornerstones.

To be truthful, 10 video games is a brief period of time for a gaggle of recent veterans, younger gamers and 4 new rookies to come back collectively, particularly beneath a first-year head coach. Nonetheless, even with the age hole, the forging of chemistry and the rising pains of studying a brand new offense, the instance the veterans have set is unacceptable.

Anderson was by no means a defensive stalwart, however his efforts on that finish have someway reached a brand new low, and even worse, he’s not spreading the ground or doing something to counterbalance these defensive shortcomings. Averaging 5.four factors per recreation on a disastrous 33.Three % taking pictures from the sphere and 24.1 % taking pictures from downtown, Anderson definitely isn’t justifying his minutes.

Chandler was a horrendous backup middle, and it’s been a Godsend to see Richaun Holmes eat up these minutes now. Jamal Crawford hardly performs, however when he has, he’s shot 30.Eight % from the ground whereas placing up his typical degree of defensive resistance.

Most likely not a great signal when your most skilled and costly vets look checked out by the 10th recreation of the season

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 7, 2018

The worst offender, nevertheless, has been Trevor Ariza. His 10.5 factors, 5.6 rebounds and three.5 assists per recreation could sound horrible on paper … till you throw in his .374/.352/.900 taking pictures splits, his team-worst whole level differential of -108, or the $15 million he’s being paid to attempt to change the Suns’ dropping tradition.

It’s not simply the uncooked numbers which might be dangerous although. Watch Ariza for even a single recreation and his lack of effort is difficult to overlook. He — and Anderson — appears like a man who’s mentally checked out, merely right here to gather his pay examine whereas already desirous about the place he’ll play subsequent as soon as he’s traded or purchased out in February.

He’s been a step sluggish defensively, which is to be anticipated of a 33-year-old, however to not this diploma. He gambles for steals he received’t get, jogs again on transition protection, throws his fingers up after his younger teammates make errors and basically, exudes the precise type of physique language that has contaminated Phoenix’s basketball tradition for years now.

Nonetheless, Kokoskov insists the workforce should stay united and battle by these struggles collectively.

“That may be the very last thing that we do is level fingers at some particular group,” he stated. “That’s precisely what I’m speaking about, the place there’s a fragment within the group, the vets towards the youthful [guys] — it’s a workforce.”

He’s proper; blaming the vets will get the Suns nowhere, particularly when the children have been simply as responsible on the trouble entrance.

Devin Booker has been banged up and has a ton of accountability offensively, however his atrocious protection hasn’t improved. He’s as a lot of a legal responsibility on that finish as ever, and maybe even extra so with opposing offenses now focusing on him to get him in foul bother, tire him out or capitalize on his psychological lapses to attenuate his impression on the sport.

Deandre Ayton is double-double machine. He’s a welcome presence on the glass, frequently instructions double-teams to open issues up for the offense, and his underrated passing skill retains issues flowing when the assistance arrives. Nonetheless, his protection — notably on the subject of help-side D and guarding the pick-and-roll — is as dangerous as many feared.

Deandre Ayton suits in very effectively on this Suns workforce. I will go away it at that.

— Max (@maxmcc11) November 7, 2018

He’s additionally gotten in his head fairly a bit, like Tuesday night time, when the Nets had Jarrett Allen sagging deep into the paint and leaving him so large open for mid-range jumpers that the No. 1 total draft choose was thrown off his recreation, overthinking when he ought to shoot and when he ought to run the offense.

Josh Jackson provides 100 % when he’s on the ground, however it’s been like making an attempt to direct a runaway practice by a hedge maze. Mikal Bridges is exhibiting loads of promise and deserves extra love, however he’s nonetheless a first-year participant susceptible to creating rookie errors and never able to being a legit difference-maker on a night-to-night foundation.

Apart from Jackson, Holmes is the one participant whose effort stands out, and he’s a really restricted backup middle whose stick with the franchise — a few months — is much too brief for him to be disillusioned or jaded but.

“I’d take 5 guys precisely like that with quite a lot of effort,” Booker stated of Holmes. “That’s for all of us, that’s myself too. I’m holding myself accountable and every one in all us on this locker room.”

On paper, the Suns have the correct mix of younger, promising expertise combined with veteran affect and an clever offense to provide higher outcomes. In actuality although, the vets don’t give a rattling and are setting a poor instance for the children, whereas those self same kids’ errors are irritating the vets, draining them of their hope issues will enhance and their will to set the correct instance.

So how are the Suns supposed to interrupt that type of cycle that continually breeds hopelessness?

“Holding one another accountable, and being okay with that,” Booker stated. “I believe all good groups have that belief and chemistry the place they’re capable of get on one another and know that it’s for a greater goal. So for us, I don’t suppose we have now that proper now. We’re not comfy with one another. We don’t step on one another’s toes. We don’t push one another and I believe that’s what we have to do.”

The issue is, it’s not nearly getting extra effort from the gamers or the technique of the tactician in cost; the roster is inherently flawed too. Former basic supervisor Ryan McDonough failed on this entrance time and time once more. It wasn’t simply that he put the unsuitable head coach in cost with Earl Watson, or that his strikes had been closely influenced by a meddling and overbearing proprietor.

The roster by no means had the correct mix of youth and veteran expertise beneath his reign. His draft historical past is affected by dangerous misses, and his monitor file on the commerce market is even worse. You will have additionally heard, however the Suns at the moment don’t have a starting-caliber level guard. That could be crucial place on the ground league-wide, however it’s much more very important for a workforce that wants Three-point taking pictures, facilitating and above all, protection, to pair alongside Booker.

With a lot roster fluctuation, instability, imbalance and bitterness, it’s no marvel nearly all of Phoenix’s gamers didn’t develop, reply to the teaching employees or join with the entrance workplace throughout McDonough’s tenure.

These fixed drawbacks have been a endless cycle, and even with Booker, Ayton and Bridges trying like future stars, the identical sample of dysfunction has already taken the Suns’ 2018-19 season by the throat.

The cornerstones could also be structurally sound sufficient to construct upon, however what occurs when the bottom is unstable and the inspiration crumbles right into a gaping abyss?

Even after signing Booker to a five-year max extension and drafting two top-10 picks, the clock is already ticking. Guide desires to assist Phoenix win now, however there’s solely a lot dropping a competitor of his caliber will tolerate.

“This dropping by double-digits has to cease,” he stated.

Buying and selling for some extent guard received’t repair every little thing, which is why even listening to a reputation like John Wall — the star level guard however poor chief of the Washington Wizards who can’t shoot and will probably be paid $47 million in his age-32 season 4 years from now — being related to the Suns is sufficient to ship shivers down the backbone.

Making an attempt to pin down the largest drawback with the Phoenix Suns is like making an attempt to label the one atom within the chemical response that set off a raging hearth, or figuring out the one contaminated cell that induced a terminal virus to unfold throughout the globe. It’s a idiot’s errand, principally as a result of there isn’t a fast repair.

It’s not simply the proprietor. It’s not simply the top coach failing to succeed in his workforce. It’s not simply the errors of the GM. It’s not simply the vets not giving a rattling, the children not being gifted, or the disillusioned fanbase whose justified negativity solely breeds extra negativity.

It’s all of it. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s the everlasting storm cloud that hangs over a company situated in 110-degree climate.

Veterans come right here as a result of they know the Suns will overpay for his or her short-term providers, routinely stopping them from coming into the season with the correct mindset of adjusting the tradition. Younger gamers are drafted right here and fail to search out their means as a result of they’re continually being developed in a foul atmosphere with out the correct accompanying expertise to assist them enhance.

Shedding has turn out to be the norm in Phoenix. It’s seeped into the tunnels of Speaking Stick Resort Enviornment, and although double-digit defeats are hardly appreciated by anybody concerned, they’ve nonetheless turn out to be the established order.

Identical to how every little thing appears to go proper for profitable groups and championship contenders, the Suns are mired in an endless sequence of unlucky occasions that might make Lemony Snicket wince.

Every chapter is extra bruising than the final, however even this workforce’s all-time low is construct on unstable floor that offers technique to one thing worse. Altering one a part of the equation solely permits it to morph into some new and equally daunting problem.

After Level Hydra, the Brandon Knight commerce, Goran Dragic‘s exit, Markieff Morris‘ towel-throwing, public commerce requests, fired head coaches, 40-point losses, and so, a lot extra turmoil that may’t even match into one sentence, the Suns are attempting to deal with the right here and now lest they really feel the load of a haunting 50-year historical past that features zero championships and an eight-year — occurring nine-year — playoff drought.

For this poor group, which means making an attempt to proper the ship with a collective effort to carry everybody accountable.

“I believe it’s an all-around factor,” Booker stated. “I don’t suppose each workforce has only one chief. Should you have a look at all the nice groups and all of the championship groups, I believe all of them have individuals that each one get on one another. However like I stated, it’s for a greater goal and it’s higher for our workforce that persons are uncomfortable. It brings one of the best out of us.”

True change is difficult. Sarver promoting the workforce alone received’t repair Phoenix’s issues; it’d simply go away some new billionaire with a severely flawed construction to construct up. Buying and selling for some extent guard, hiring a brand new GM or firing Igor Kokoskov (ought to the dropping proceed) received’t do it both; it’d simply go on the issues to another newcomer working beneath the time restraints of Sarver’s endurance.

In some unspecified time in the future, there must be stability. If the scenario sounds hopeless, it’s as a result of the one reasonable shot Phoenix has of defying these odds and returning to contender standing within the subsequent decade is the sheer expertise of Booker, Ayton, Bridges and one other doubtless top-five draft choose profitable out over relentless dysfunction, lackluster supporting casts and organizational incompetence.

The unhappy reality is, the issue with the Phoenix Suns is systemic. From their tradition to their fame to their entrance workplace to the blokes of their locker room to the on-court product, the Suns and their frequently scheduled chaos have been the laughingstock of the league for years now.

Subsequent: Week four NBA Energy Rankings

Booker was the primary main step ahead to fixing that. Ayton was one other lunge ahead, and Bridges very effectively could be too. However as we’ve seen with the Phoenix Suns time and again, for each step ahead, it’s been three steps again.

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from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/whats-wrong-with-this-franchise-has-become-systemic/

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flauntpage · 6 years

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The Sadism of LeBron James vs. the Toronto Raptors

The worst playoff loss* of LeBron James’s career, to the best of my recollection, was his 2011 Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. LeBron left Cleveland the previous summer and signed with Miami for the express purpose of winning championships, took on heaps of shitty PR in the process, and practically gave up the MVP which ought to have been his birthright. He and the Heat were widely expected to blow through the Mavs’ collection of elder statesmen and high-end defensive role players, flex on the league as a whole, and take the first step in forging the steel dynasty of the future. This did not happen.

Instead, Lebron severely underperformed, wrangled in by Tyson Chandler’s rim protection and a kind of unidentifiable malaise, while Dirk Nowitzki was downright heroic, loopily driving to the rim against whatever defender he got, drilling jumpers as if in a fugue state, and unleashing his totally unblockable one-legged fadeaway all over the midrange.

Seven years later, the Cavaliers floundered to a fourth place finish in the East, while the Toronto Raptors were the best team in the conference pretty much all year. Dwane Casey, an assistant on that Mavs team of destiny, did everything he could to make their squad better, modernizing the offense, making some smart bench acquisitions. It was a team of dudes who have played nearly entire careers on the fringes of people’s attention, making themselves a force to be reckoned with. After the Cavs barely made it past Indiana to play yet another series against Toronto, This is it, finally, you thought. The Raptors Team You Can Believe In.

But here we are, watching an older, wiser LeBron uncork the one-footed fadeaway, that instrument of his past embarrassment, as Cleveland takes a 3-0 series lead on the Raptors. Wielding the weapon of his vanquishers, he has made the New Raps the Old Raps once more: poor and sad and defeated. It is a moment of pure poetry, certainly, but hold the glass to your nose and breathe in, sniff deeply and detect the notes of something else deep in its bouquet:

Sadism.

Watching LeBron come off a series where his squad looked deeply vulnerable and proceed to whip the Raptors’ asses for the third year in a row, I have been made to wonder: at what point does excellence cross the threshold of pure immorality? Is it really necessary, is it adding much to his life, to personally annihilate the poor Raptors like this? What could possibly drive someone to do this to one group of dudes, game after game, year after year?

Seeing a fanbase with so much hope not a week previous, transmuted on the spot into vomiting messes, you wonder: is this fair? Didn’t they deserve success as much as that Mavs squad of the recent past, a franchise and a group of dudes who were incomplete separately but found success in communion? Why did it have to end like this, why will their squad get tossed into an egg bath of chaos, just because there was nothing they could feasibly do about the best basketball player since Michael Jordan?

LeBron has so much. Couldn’t, WOULDN’T, a kinder person just embrace the quiet victory of letting go, setting aside the monumental effort that comes with the desire for victory? Couldn’t he just let the playoffs run their course, score 30 a game and look good doing it, then rest, sitting on the mountaintop and watching the remainder of the playoffs pass him by while a happy universe quietly sings his praises even in defeat?

Is an honorable bow-out, taking a moment to relax and reload, so unacceptable to LeBron? And does he have to not just BEAT the Raptors for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, but personally sweep them while the rest of his team stands around? Does he have to apply a power dribble in transition, squeeze the precious oils out of their bodies, gently rise into the air, and subtly apply those oils to his big ol’ face as the ball drifts through the air and drops through the net?

Shouldn’t he have shown mercy in this matter and let the Raps save face after a year where they really did everything they could to be the best they could possibly be? Why not give a small kindness to this team that has given him so much? Did he have to not only BEAT the Raps, but embarrass them, imprison them in history as Jordan did the Mark Price Cavs, the Clyde Drexler Blazers, or the Patrick Ewing Knicks?

True greatness, I submit, true MORAL greatness, would have allowed LeBron to let this one go. But the drug of victory emits such a tempting call, even for a man with his strength and power. The thrill of seeing your enemies embarrassed and scattered to the wind, to destroy your inferior enemies in front of a national TV audience is the ultimate thrill, vicious and acidic and immoral. LeBron once seemed too moral, too kind, for this sort of pleasure, for the same indulgence that fueled Jordan or Tiger Woods or Bjorn Borg.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

But here he is now, full aflame in celebration of that most savage of victories, the pose of the Christ taking on the sins of humanity in his celebration,** arms spread in MOCKERY OF GOD, so deep is the pleasure he has derived from destroying the Raptors. In claiming this victory, LeBron will have committed a sin so monumental that the pleasure it creates matches, perhaps even exceeds, THE LORD's capacity to forgive the amount of suffering it has caused. To celebrate in the wake of the destruction it wreaks is, frankly, inhumane.

*Boston 2010 is also an acceptable answer, thought I might argue that our man eventually got his revenge and was playing with a team that won, like, 10 games after he left. Also it doesn’t function for my thesis, so who cares.

**This does make Kevin Love the cross, but unfortunately I will have to save deep analysis of this fact for another entirely too metaphor-laden post sometime in the future.

The Sadism of LeBron James vs. the Toronto Raptors published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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hermanwatts · 4 years

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Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 5 September, 2020

Dragon riders, mecha mercenaries, and Larry Correia’s Black Heart appear in this week’s new releases.

Ascendant (Songs of Chaos #1) – Michael R. Miller

Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean.

But then he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within.

But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows.

Holt has one chance to survive. He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon’s magical core. A unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come, and prove to the world that a servant is worthy after all.

Dream Stream Reality – Derrick Burke

The only time you can’t game is when you’re sleeping… until now.

Mild-mannered security guards by night. Powerful, magic-wielding heroes by day. Donald and his friends have been chosen to beta test the new version of Dream Stream Reality—a massive multiplayer game world which is played while you sleep.

Who wouldn’t want to design their own adventures while napping? It’s literally, well, the dream.

Donald must balance an increasingly volatile personal life while exploring the new release and actively hunting for glitches and bugs within technology so advanced it feels like reality. What could possibly go wrong?

Destroyer of Worlds (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #3) – Larry Correia

The Great Extermination has begun.

In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Lord Protector Devedas has sworn to uphold the Law. Once, he and the traitor Ashok Vadal had been like brothers. Now, he hunts Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword, heretics and rebels who seek to live outside the rule of the Law. All Devedas must do is find and kill his best friend and order will be restored to Lok.

The rebels seek the secret kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Thera, a paradise where water is pure and food plentiful, where there are no castes, where the people rule themselves, and are not slaves to the Capitol. Ashok Vadal is not sure he believes in such a Paradise, but he—along with his allies—does seek refuge in the rebellion’s hideout in Akershan. But Vadal, a former High Protector who has turned his back on the corrupt Law, will not merely wait meekly, hoping that fleeing to Akershan will spare the rebellion from the clutches of the Great Extermination. No, if it’s a war the Capitol wants, Vadal, who has faced down gods and demons, will be all too willing to give it to them.

Endure (Forgotten Starship #4) – M. R. Forbes

The ship is in dire straits, deep behind enemy lines and on the verge of capture. While Tyson fights to prepare a defense, other forces work to ensure his ultimate failure as they seek to claim one of Pioneer’s few remaining secrets.

Meanwhile, Keesha and the Marines may have captured the enemy Forge, but they have no idea how to bring it under control. Searching for answers, strange echoes from within the station lead Keesha to make a dangerous decision that could cost her everything.

The fight for survival is coming to a head, and it will take all of the strength Tyson, Keesha, John, Tsi, and the passengers and crew of Pioneer can muster to endure the coming storm.

Otherwise, it won’t just mean the end of the colony…

…it will be the end of us all.

One Minute to Midnight (Four Horsemen: Guild Wars #8) – Tim C. Taylor and Chris Kennedy

Having destroyed the starkiller located at Aneb-4, the alliance of Goltar, Spine Patriots, and the Midnight Sun Free Company have gained a bit of breathing space from the criminal organization known as the Endless Night.

But the Endless Night isn’t done. They have two more starkillers in their possession, and they are ready to use them against a civilization that no one—especially the Mercenary Guild—is going to miss. Their target: Sol.

Although victorious on Aneb-4, the alliance only has the façade of combat power; they need time to re-equip and rearm…time they don’t have. They need help.

When the Speaker of the Mercenary Guild offers the job to Nigel Shirazi, he is already busy and mentions it to the one person who knows something awful is coming—Sansar Enkh, who has had a vision of the Sun blowing up. In the aftermath of the Omega War, though, the Golden Horde isn’t ready to take the field, either, and Sansar will have to recruit anyone who’s available, and somehow find a way to put together a working team if they are to be successful.

But time—as Gray Wolf operative Beowulf knows—is rapidly running out. The Endless Night are readying the weapons, and it is only a matter of time until they fire them. Can the forces arrayed against the Endless Night get there in time, or will the clock strike midnight for Earth?

The Place of Knowing (The Volatar Saga #5) – D. K. Holmberg

The Volatar started one war. Now he must end another.

Hevith has found a city of Jahor, though none want to fight. While they might be content to hide in the north, he wants to push the attack and reclaim what was lost. Others are willing to fight alongside him, but the price of war might be more than he can stomach.

Heading into the southern forest revealed a truth about the Volatar. He may have stopped one war, but at what cost? Now another war threatens to bring about even greater destruction than what they’ve ever faced, but first he needs to understand the truths hidden within lands ravaged by war for decades. How can he find those truths when so much has been lost?

Small Unit Tactics #1 – Alexander Romanov

A strange, foreign world. Mysterious judges with capricious rules. Thousands of gamers find themselves split into factions and pitted against each other at the whim of an unknown higher power, with no idea how they got there or why they were chosen. Dying in this world hurts, but it’s not the end: dead players always respawn to fight again.

Echo, with his extensive knowledge of fighting, armor, and weapons, has all the makings of a great leader. The ragtag recruits fighting for him under the less-than-threatening name “Society of Pinprick Enthusiasts” become the bane of the opposing factions, sowing terror in their wake. But this game won’t be won in straightforward skirmishes. The squad will have to forge pacts with their own faction, the judges, and even their enemies. Each day brings new twists, new rules, and new ways to play, and a step that seemed to be in the right direction might suddenly become a fatal mistake.

Brute force and bravado won’t be enough for Echo to carve his way to the top and stay there. He will have to lead his squad through mistakes, good fortune, victory, and defeat in his quest to secure his position.

Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 5 September, 2020 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

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