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allfrogsmatter · 3 years

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tag game for historical simblrs!!!

(thank you so much @sinclairesimblr for tagging me!)

i know what a rambler i can be, so i put it under the cut

1. What has been your favorite time period to play in or which one are you most excited for?

So far I’ve enjoyed the 1930’s the most, especially the financial aspect and supporting a large family and big house with no steady income, plus the fashion and trying to piece together outfits for different sims of different ages. I’m really excited to play the 1940’s (but dreading finding out if my boys die) and just from the small amount of cas i’ve already done for the decade I can tell I’ll spend a LOT of time dressing my sims. I’m also looking forward to the 50’s, as it’s one of my favorite eras!! I’m especially excited to delve into my teen sims lives in the 50’s because that’s kind of my niche: 1950’s high school.

2. Do you have a favorite piece of historical cc? (CAS or BB)

I am absolutely obsessed with every piece of cc by @gilded-ghosts and at the moment am especially enamored with their 40’s film noir set (i’ve used every piece in preparation for the 40’s) and their just released earth angel dress (more 50’s cc YES PLEASE)

3. Who is your favorite sim currently?

One of my favorite things about the Hayes legacy is how much I love every sim (i am unbelievably attached to ALL of them), but my favorite has for a long time been tony. There’s just something about him, he was such a sweet little boy and he grew up and i loved him more and more, and now as a father he just warms my heart. I will say though that David is giving him a run for his money. I fell in love with Dave in his teenage years and I love his story and personality and I can’t wait for you guys to get to know him too.

4. What is your favorite world?

For whatever reason I have always really liked Willow Creek (if you couldn’t tell by the fact that all my sims always live in willow creek). I just love the style of the buildings and the scenery and the river and trolley, and in a way I guess it reminds me the most of my hometown out of all the sims worlds (except maybe evergreen harbor except I don’t have eco living so i wouldn’t know).

5. Are you more gameplay or story focused?

This one is kind of hard because I really am both. I think my gameplay and story drive each other and each gives me the motivation for the other. A lot of my story is based on gameplay, but then there are times where my gameplay is driven by the story I have in my head, and the cycle between the two is what keeps me from getting bored with the game.

6. Do you like to play with pets in your historical saves?

Absolutely not. I actually hate playing with pets in sims 4 so much. My sims never really have the time to give them much attention and they always run away and then the entire household is sad and it messes with interactions and screenshots and just drives me crazy. Pets also just add one more thing to the story and I feel like I have to have screenshots of them too, but I never EVER want to pose pets, sims are hard enough. The only time I’ll have a pet is if i’m playing a small household with plenty of money, but even then they’re never happy.

7. What’s your biggest immersion breaking pet peeve with the game?

Of course I have to go with the stupid townies and their ugly little outfits, especially because almost every single townie in my game wants to be wearing a pose accessory like a cricket paddle or a bouquet of flowers. Another one that drives me insane though is the phones. I installed a mod so they wouldn’t use them but they still do. It was really annoying when I had just installed SOL and they kept ‘calling a stranger’ and find it so funny they became hysterical and almost died.

8. What’s your favorite in-game historical item? (CAS or BB)

Lately I’ve been really appreciating strangerville and the military uniforms (mostly because i had to dress about 2628937293 sims in military outfits). I also REALLY love the windows and doors from University, I think they are so charming and well suited to a lot of my builds.

9. What would you like to see as a new pack or asset to the game?

Honestly I don’t have any specifics in mind. I would appreciate any pack that added more historical cas or build items, or focused a little more on teens (they are my favorite life stage to play with).

10. What pack do you think is invaluable as a historical simmer?

For one I don’t think I could play the sims at all without seasons, not anymore at least. Having weather is kind of a basic necessity for any gameplay or storytelling in my opinion. I also use parenthood a lot and I like the earned traits that come with, I think they really add to character building. If I were at the beginning of my decades challenge or trying to integrate farming as any large part of my gameplay it would DEFINITELY be cottage living, but i actually do not have that pack yet :’)

11. Do you have a favorite mod to enhance historical gameplay?

I for one really enjoy wonderful whims (for historical and non historical gameplay). I like that I can adjust the settings for pregnancy odds and the attraction system that comes with it is an absolute game changer to me. I also completely rely on MCCC, as I’m sure many others do, and Slice of Life

sidenote: i also have life tragedies installed and somehow i had it enabled and irene got run over by a car in the backyard so i had to restart the save AND I HAD PLAYED LIKE 3 DAYS SINCE SAVING

12. What’s your ideal family size for playing?

I really enjoy playing with teenagers and with big families, so probably 4-6 is a good number for me. I get bored if the household is too small, but if it’s too big I get overwhelmed and my sims can’t take care of themselves.

13. Do you use poses?

Oh yes I certainly do! If i didn’t use poses i probably wouldn’t have a simblr because i cannot express the story the way i want without poses, but that doesn’t mean i enjoy posing sims.. usually. There have been a few occasions though where I’ve just gotten really into it and made these elaborate scenes with a ton of background sims and taken a bunch of screenshots, and I’ve always ended up really happy with how they turned out.

14. Do you use any overrides in your game?

I don’t think I do.. honestly I just can’t be bothered to download ones, it’s not really a big enough deal to me, except I did recently download a foot override because I hated the shapeless little blobs, but now all socks are foot shaped so I’ll probably delete it soon.

15. Do you, or did you, play off-the-grid during your game?

No. That feature wasn’t available when I started my decades challenge and now I don’t need it because my sims have electricity and running water.

16. What lifespan do you play on?

Normal, but I always cheat and set them back a few days when I feel like things are going by too fast. Especially when sims age up to elder I always age down the male sims a little because they end up being way older than their wives thanks to the whole not aging while pregnant thing (which I’m too lazy to fix). I also do this a lot when my sims are teens because I always feel completely unprepared for the next decade to start.

17. What inspired you to start playing a historically?

I first started playing historically years ago because I saw someone else do a decades challenge build series on youtube (i don’t remember who though) and wanted to play my own. Recently I started playing historically again because of @pixelnrd and her amazing legacy (which i know i rave about all the time) and from there I discovered a bunch of other amazing simblrs and legacies and just knew I had to share my own gameplay.

I know a lot of people have been tagged but in case they haven’t already I’m tagging @sunshineguruu @historiasim @cosisim and @greengreyviolet

#tag #tag game #ask game #nonsims

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secretgamergirl · 3 years

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Here’s me starting the rumor that Street Fighter 5 spent a good chunk of its development actually being Dark Stalkers 4

OK everybody, strap on your tinfoil hats, because I’m going to pullan idea partly out of my own butt but also back it up with some solid physical evidence. I put to you the following premise: In 2015 or so, Capcom had a team working on a version of Street Fighter 5 which never saw the light of day, seen here:

while another, smaller, less experienced team was working on finally releasing a 4th game in the long dormant Dark Stalkers series, which was to finally make the jump to 3D. For whatever combination of reasons, the plug was pulled on both these projects, with the more ambitious and presumably costly Street Fighter 5 being cancelled outright, and the mostly finished but supporting a basically dead IP Dark Stalkers 4 getting a hasty last minute retrofit to become the Street Fighter 5 we have today.

So what do I have to base this on? Well, the cancelled version of Street Fighter 5 is plenty well documented. It’s technically speculation on my part that they scrapped everything they had and picked up a partially completed game they had sitting around to retrofit instead, but well... the alternative is that after reaching the level of polish seen above, someone decided it was imperative that they scrap all those art assets and that engine and switch over to a visual style of uh... this:

Which to me feels decidedly less “stylistic choice” and more “hastily modeling characters and sketching out plot scenes at the 11th hour in a different engine designed to light stuff in a cartoonier style that doesn’t work here.”

More importantly though, this guy here, F.A.N.G?

He was originally designed as a new character for a scrapped Dark Stalkers game according to this, at least to go by this thread’s translation:

So, that just on its own makes a ton of sense. Cartoony design, really stylized proportions, weird poison hands gimmick. Doesn’t fit in at all with Street Fighter, but he’d make perfect sense in Dark Stalkers as some kind of like... plague doctor? Additional jiangshi type? So, he got recycled. Also his cartooniness works a whole lot better with the general visual presentation of the whole game.

But wait, there’s more. Because see as soon as Halloween rolled around, Street Fighter 5 came out with a new costume pack for everyone, which included a whole slew of Dark Stalkers homages... and by that I mean full on models of Dark Stalkers characters bearing new resemblance at all to the Street Fighter characters ostensibly wearing them as costumes.

youtube

Well, really, it’s more of a mixed bag. But, Morrigan there is 100% Morrigan, nothing from Chun-Li, ditto Lilith-Juri (which is decidedly telling as the former has... complex gender things going on I don’t want to label with how sketchy I am on the exact backstory, and... flattening the chest and broadening the shoulders of Juri, specifically, is rather antithetical to how that particular character is treated. Also Khaibit is a deep lore cut who had never been a playable character but would have made sense to bring in as a new playable character if they were, you know, making a new game.

The other thing with these is that they, you know, don’t look like weird gross distorted lumps of clay, like all the normal characters do. They look like they were actually designed for this game’s lighting and palette and general visual style. Meanwhile new characters and new costumes (which for the record as a rule otherwise do NOT do this sort of full body and face model replacement) would otherwise take until the last couple of DLC seasons to stop looking so very very off.

A friend who plays way more fighting games than me says this would also explain a thing or two about the whole V-Trigger mechanic. Something about the uniformity of it feeling a bit Dark Stalkers-y or the way pre-existing moves are forced into it feeling odd for something organic to Street Fighter. I’m not fluent enough in Fighting Game to have fully followed.

What I do know though is that all of this would explain a whole lot of otherwise baffling things. Why did Capcom spend several years hyping up a new game that never materialized?

Why does Street Fighter 5 have this weird cartoony shading that doesn’t match the model detail?

Why was that prototype of a much nicer looking SF5 scrapped for this?

Why does the latest game in one of Capcom’s big tentpole series seem like it changed hands a lot mid-development?

Because for most of its development life it was gonna be Darkstalkers 4, that’s why! Probably. I mean again I’m just speculating here, but it all fits together weirdly well, right?

#street fighter v #dark stalkers #game dev #conspiracy theory

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backtothestart02 · 3 years

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The Football Star and the New Girl - 1/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: I suck at titles lately...oh well. Enjoy this first chap! The story itself is based loosely on a dream I had. :)

...

Synopsis: HS!AU - They were like ships passing in the night. Would they ever meet on the same page?

...

Chapter 1 -

Francine West walked down the hall and peeked into the open doorway of her daughter’s bedroom. She found her sitting on her bed, her things packed in multiple suitcases at her feet, but she herself – Iris West, 14 ¾ years old – did not look very excited to be leaving her home without her family. She was looking at a photo album. Tears were staining her cheeks.

Francine rested her head against the door frame as she watched her, her heart aching to heal the wounds she knew would only grow more with time.

“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know.”

Iris’ head whipped toward the sound, and she hastily shut the photo album and tossed it onto her bed, wiping her cheeks quickly after.

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t interrupting, was I?”

She walked into the room, and Iris scooted over a little so she could sit next to her on the bed.

“No, not at all. I’m glad you’re here.”

They shared a sweet look, then Iris leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. Francine held out her hand, and Iris intertwined her fingers in her mother’s grip.

“I still want to go,” she assured her.

“Yeah?”

She nodded against her shoulder.

“I need stability, mom. I can’t be moving around going from school to school every six months. I’m proud of dad, of course, and I love being with you all. I’ll miss you a lot, but…I want friends and the same school and a life.”

“A boyfriend?” Francine nudged her gently.

Iris rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Maybe…eventually. I’m only 14, Mom.”

Francine nudged her again.

“14 ¾.”

Iris laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. A boyfriend would be nice, once I get to know the guy for more than a couple months. But first, friends.”

“Friends are important too.”

Iris nestled into her mother’s embrace and sat in silence for a while.

“What about Wally? Is he going to be going to new schools every-”

“I’ve decided to attempt homeschooling.”

Iris lifted her head.

“You have?”

She nodded.

“He’s only 10, so the curriculum is simpler, and he’s pretty introverted, even around us, so Ruffly can suffice for his friend. At least for now.”

Francine pursed her lips. She did want real, live human friends for her son, as well as for her daughter. But for now their golden retriever seemed to be what got the most laughs out of young Wally West. She would hope that lasted at least through another school year.

“I’d take him with me if I could,” Iris said.

“You’d take both my children from me?” Francine asked, only half joking. “What am I supposed to do all day long without your brother to drive me crazy?”

Iris looked into her mother’s eyes and saw that they were watering.

“Oh, Mom, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay, honey.”

She sighed and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s temple.

“I know it hasn’t been easy for you, losing your friends so often because we have to move. It’s the life of a military family, I’m afraid. I signed up for it when I agreed to marry the man, but you, my baby, were just born into it.”

She pulled back to look into her eyes.

“I want you to know though that if at any time the school isn’t working out for you, we’ll come get you in a heartbeat.”

Iris winced. She knew it wasn’t that simple. They were moving overseas to a new post. Iris would be staying here in the U.S. Even if the school was a bit of a move for her too. It wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to.

Still, she obliged her.

“Yeah, okay, mom.”

She smiled, but Francine knew better.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and interrupting their little moment came Joe West with little Wally West on his back. Joe was dressed in all camouflage wear, and Wally was giggling from bouncing up and down on his “horsie”. Ruffly was close at Joe’s heels.

“What is this here?” Joe asked, witnessing the tear streaks on his two ladies’ faces.

“Dad!” Iris sprung up.

She ran to him, and he slowly released Wally off his back, who promptly complained when his shoeless feet hit the floor.

Joe hugged his daughter tight, lifting her off her feet briefly and kissing the side of her face.

“Oh, baby girl, are you sure you want to go?”

Iris laughed when she was back on her feet again. She wiped away fresh tears.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m just gonna miss you guys, but I need this. For me. Okay?”

He sighed and nodded, then looked across the room at his wife.

“She’s so grown-up.”

“I know.” Francine sniffled.

“Why is everyone crying in here?” Wally asked. “Aren’t we gonna see her for Christmas?”

Everyone laughed.

“Aren’t you gonna miss me at all, you little punk?” Iris asked, ruffling his curly hair.

“Eh, maybe a little.” He shrugged, uncaringly.

Iris rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s time to get going then, yeah?” She looked at her parents who nodded.

“Yeah,” Joe said. “That seven-hour drive is no joke.”

“Seven hours! That’s a lifetime!” Wally whined.

Ruffly barked.

“Just wait till your plane ride,” Iris egged him on. “That might be even longer.”

Wally groaned. “I hate traveling!”

“Better make sure you have something to keep you occupied with then, Walls,” Joe said, and with that Wally zipped out of Iris’ room to make sure his many bags included plenty of toys to play with on his very long journey.

“I’ll go help him,” Francine said. “We’ll meet you at the door with his things.”

“Sounds good.”

Joe smiled, but it was pained. Once Francine had left, all the toughness had melted away again, as it often did with his baby girl.

“Boy, am I gonna miss you,” he said.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Dad.” Another tear streamed down her cheek, and he was quick to wipe it away. “You look so handsome in your uniform, Dad.”

He chuckled.

“Alright, enough sadness for now. We can do this again in seven hours.”

She laughed. “Okay.”

“You wanna help me get all a million and one suitcases out to the car?”

She took a step back and looked around her room.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“You can apologize by helping me.”

“Deal.”

She smiled, and slowly they made their way to the front door and then the driveway with all seven of her suitcases. It took a few trips, but then she knew she would need every bit of her belongings for the long school years that lay ahead.

Her family would visit as often as they could, of course, but it would be difficult with them living overseas. She probably wouldn’t see them again until her dad was forced to move again like they were doing now.

But she’d thought long and hard this. She longed for friendships that lasted, for a life beyond what was available to a military family. She needed to connect and to be free for a while, even at the sacrifice of not seeing her family every day, especially her mom and baby brother. This new school – Huntington Farm and Boarding School – would be just the ticket.

Out in the middle of nowhere somewhere down south, the school was on a huge stretch of lush land that also served as a farm – no animals, just crops, which was a shame, Iris thought. She’d miss having even just her dog around too.

But the place was renowned for its academics and social scene there in the middle of the wilderness. A boarding school for those who needed it, traveling families mostly; and if the colorful flyer they’d sent in the mail was any indication, Iris would absolutely love it.

“Everybody ready?” Joe asked, when everyone had piled into the car sometime later.

“Ready!” the family cheered.

Joe chuckled and started the car.

“Huntington Farm and Boarding School, here we come. Watch out for your most dazzling student yet.”

He met Iris’ eyes in the rearview mirror, and they sparkled.

“You know it!” Iris said.

Joe grinned and backed out of the driveway.

They were all on their way to bigger adventures now.

…

One year later…

Iris sat on top of the fence on the edge of the football field, waiting for who she hoped she hadn’t misinterpreted wrong. After nearly a year of first claiming he didn’t like her and then months of mixed signals, Iris was convinced he actually did like her, as much as she liked him.

Sitting on the fence post waiting for the guy to come kiss her seemed like an odd tradition, but it was built into the social aspect of the school, and she figured it was the only guaranteed way she’d know if he was really crushing or not.

She’d dressed as cute as she could for a game, and soon she’d know if it would pay off or not.

Biting her bottom lip, she gasped quietly when she saw him coming around the corner heading right towards where she had herself perched.

Barry Allen was the star football player – star of every sport he could get himself into really – and they’d been making genuine eyes at each other for weeks. Now, as he approached her, it felt as if their whole future was hanging in the balance.

He stopped about 20 feet away. Bracing himself maybe for the decision he’d have to make? Presumably have gained the courage, he continued his walk, headed straight for her and stopped directly in front of her.

Iris waited, her heart hammering a mile a minute in her chest. He was tall enough to reach her – so tall, but she bent her head anyway, and sure enough their lips met in a soft, tender kiss.

She opened her eyes as he took a step back, but the smile on his face was undeniable. So was hers.

Just as he was about to say something truly romantic – she’d decided – one of his teammates burst behind them.

“Did you just kiss Iris West?”

Barry spun around, panic on his features.

“I-”

Another teammate appeared.

“Wait, what?”

“Barry just kissed Iris!”

“But I thought he hated her. He swore he did.”

Iris tensed on the top of the fence, waiting for Barry to smooth the whole thing over. It couldn’t be that big of a deal that he’d pretended to hate her all while flirting with her on the downlow for nearly a year…could it? It was annoying to her for sure, but his teammates couldn’t be that annoyed, could they?

Barry never smoothed it over.

His teammates left, looking disgusted, and Barry looked back at Iris for one more moment, not knowing what to do. Then he left, calling after them.

“Wait, guys, it’s not what it looks like!”

And Iris sat alone on top of the fence, the magical memory of her first kiss completely shattered.

How would they come back from this?

#westallen #fanfiction #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #the football star and the new girl #chapter 1

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missksj · 4 years

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choose your hero!nct127

ﾐ☆ genre: punch inspired!au, video game au!, superhero au!

ﾐ☆ word count: 7k

ﾐ☆ warnings: mentions of greatest fears and nightmares, fighting, death, light smut but nothing too vivid, and sm ceo and dispatch make an appearance ew i know

ﾐ☆ author’s note: ah my first nct 127 headcanon and second creation on this site! yes i know it’s been a long time coming since punch dropped but ever since i saw the music video, this idea popped into my head. i heard of other nctzens talking about this aesthetic when mentioning the mv, but hopefully you like my take on it! please enjoy and look forward to more writing from me in the future! thank you so much! ps this is not proof read yikes sorry

Velvet clouds of psychedelic purple with the scattered rays of sunset hues made an unnatural background for the logo’s electric lettering with lightning strokes cracking the static screen in your stuffy apartment. Outside was a different matter. A thunderstorm jolted the placid crimson sky to a violet that only nature could create, although the graphic designers of PUNCH: NCT 127 came close. It was rather befitting for the stark opposition of the hurricane raging outside to the retro sparking aesthetic that you’ve witnessed for the ninth time, and it was the most pivotal. It was as if the thunder was the applause, the lightning rallying behind you, the pelting of the raindrops reverberating the hammering of your heart. Almost victorious in a way, the non-player hero that lurked in the background of the other eight paths taken would finally be the alternate hero to your player. He was a prize in the reverie that you constructed solely from his brief bio to the artificial mannerisms and quotes that he generated in the story lines which enabled you to project your fantasy on mundane men. The comparison was cruel, fictional characters were even crueler. Nimble fingers and darting eyes fell into a comfortable routine, familiar with the introduction story, it was a race between the controller’s buttons and the spiteful lightning that would sever the power.

[FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY]

[PROPERTY OF THE NCT 127 DIVISION UNDER THE SM AGENCY]

PRIORITY IDENTIFICATION

[NAME]...F/N L/N

[ID #]...07201607

[STATUS]...Active

[CLASS]...Agent

[ALIAS]...Punch

[TEAM AFFILIATION]...N/A

Welcome to the NCT 127 Division, Agent L/N. I am Lee Soo-Man, the Director of the SM Agency and your guide for your latest mission: THE FINAL ROUND. On behalf of the whole SM community, we apologize for the abrupt summoning, but your presence and skills are crucial if we are going to defeat the DISPATCH terrorist. For too long, the person that cowers behind the mask that claims itself DISPATCH has tormented South Korea for too long, and only you can stop them. It cannot be done alone though, if you so choose to take on this responsibility, I will assign one of the nine superheroes of your picking to share this task. Do you accept it?

CLICK [YES] TO CONTINUE

CLICK [NO] TO RESTART

I am pleased that you have accepted the assignment. For the duration of the mission, the NEO ZONE will be the location of the base for you and your partner. Intel, equipment, and training will be at both of your disposals. Now that you have been briefed on all inner workings of the mission and the NEO ZONE, there is one last obstacle until you defeat the enemy. The selection of your partner is based on compatibility and trust, I implore you to consider wisely until you make a final decision. The designated superhero of your liking will be under one of two teams, FUTURE OR DREAMER. Both equally beneficial, but the bonds of loyalty run deep between the members, you have to determine which one of their morals you value more. Heed my warning though, with the right set of skills and talent, you and your partner will be unstoppable but tread lightly your connection with him. After all, you are his only weakness. Which team and hero will you choose?

CLICK [TEAM FUTURE]

CLICK [TEAM DREAMER]

You now have the option to choose your hero.

Before your perplexed mind could comprehend the change of dialogue, a streak of lightning had pierced the stillness of the undisturbed bedroom and released the tempest that was once contained to reality. With the abundance of consuming darkness, shards of glass pricking your paling skin, and tree branches pounding for entry--your white knuckles and twitching eyes fathomed the only connection you had with actuality; a plastic controller and the flickering avatar of your destined hero you chose only seconds before. Your heart had been thumping, not from the anticipation of a new adventure, no, it was pure fear that jolted your numbed muscles to sprint to sanctuary. The thunderstorm mocked your failed attempt at fleeing as another surge of electricity enveloped the room in white and sparks rippled at your ankles as you ran away but the tethering currents from the screen wrenched you back.

SOUL TRANSFUSION NOW COMPLETE_

Team Future

Taeil

Power: Pyrokinesis

A very vocal opponent when he’s on the battlefield, you might be on the other side of the area but you can always figure out where he is located by listening to his strange grunt/growl combos, enemies usually have to process the inhuman sound that came out of a small man but you just roll your eyes and toothy grin grows as you run to him for back up

Says “let’s get it!” any chance he gets, always attempts to make it your team chant before going on a mission but everyone votes no, even you

Loves to wear long sleeves as a staple piece of clothing despite his already burning temperature, he claims it eases him as if it were security blanket, and he enjoys when you tell him he looks adorable with his sleeved paws

During winter though, he always has to stock up on sweaters because you are always stealing them, whether it’s the feeling of his residual heat ghosting over your skin or look of complete adoration glazing over his eyes as he devours that look of yours, it’s a great excuse to wear one

If you had to assign ‘roles’ in the relationship, you would so be a top, he’s the most chill boy out there as you throw tantrums or squeal out of pure joy when you are finally promoted, it’s either purring hums out of his mouth or a silly smile as he gazes at you

Physical affection is minimal between you two unless you initiate it, but it’s mostly wrapping his arm around you, it’s in no way conveying that he doesn’t love you, but rather love to him is experiencing moments with you, making memories while watching a funny movie or dancing horribly to a playlist he created

An exception is when you end up falling asleep on the couch as you two watch a movie, he secretly loves to carry you back to bed as he tucks you in and truly soaks in what you mean to him

His hair gradually transitioned to its current red as his powers grew throughout the years and he would always dye it but his genes overpowered any artificial color, not until you said you liked his hair like that, he decided to keep it

King of making you smile especially when you are down, he can’t stand seeing you sad so he insists on becoming a goofball until your sides hurt from laughing so hard

Takes training way too seriously, you always start off competing but by like the 100th crunch you are wiped but he’s still going

Becomes sulky when his Disney Hades costume doesn’t come out as planned because his fire is red and not blue, but it was the best decision ever when you suggested Ghost Rider for the Halloween party, Taeil never looked better with just a leather jacket covering his bare skin

You finally convinced the clothing department to give you a fireproof uniform because Taeil has really bad aim, and your clothes are rags after a mission

Figured out you had a crush on Zuko when you were younger, so he would rewatch it with you and definitely cosplay Zuko, perhaps even role play with it if it’s something you were into

Having sex with Taeil was searing pain shooting through your thighs, tender love handles, heaving chests and lactic acid seeping through your muscles as he cheered you onto the last lap--it was a workout in itself with a sweltering room that reflected his aroused emotions

Both of you are constantly battling, whether it’s a rap battle or a cooking battle, Taeil is in love with the passionate side of you

Breakfast in bed is a tradition held during the weekends, he says he loves to spoil you but he just loves tasting his own food while you give him compliments on how delicious it is

Taeil is usually saved as a last resort for dangerous group missions, you’ve heard stories of his past battles as if he were legend already, but you’ve only witnessed his true power once by scorching down the enemy in one go, flames clawing his body as the inner glow within him exploded like he was a supernova--someone had to drag you out before the building collapsed on itself from the stifling heat and the roaring fire

You pinch his bouncy cheeks as often as possible just to see him roll his eyes while he fights off the widening smirk that makes his doe eyes curve into crescents, but it’s the blooming crimson of his cheeks that you indulge in, lightly sizzling your fingertips until you can’t take the pain any longer and yelp slips out, but Taeil swiftly swoops in and kisses your fingertips in an apology, it was a good pain though

It’s a normal night for both of you, 2 AM and your blabbering about everything and nothing, and Taeil always ends up the saying the same line to you as he coaxes you to sleep because he knows how grumpy you become in the morning, “I’m grateful we’re together, who would make you a fire if you were stranded on a deserted island? You definitely can’t, so, hmm, I guess it has to be me”

Johnny

Power: Lycanthropy

You’d suspect him to be bear when he morphed with his build and height, but he’s a hulking chestnut brown wolf with gentle eyes

Basically a puppy on steroids always expects a treat and good belly rub after eviscerating all his targets

Has the ability to shift at will, so during winter nights you can find him nestled around you for added warmth

During the colder months, he usually wears knitted sweaters and oversized coats in his human form because it reminds him of his fur, and he claims he likes to keep you warm while he holds you in any form

Creates video tutorials of both of you sparring with each other, lots of constructive criticism and compliments on your ‘form’

Begs you to ride him into a mission just for the sake of it, he can so see you as a badass warrior on their monstrous steed

Johnny’s favorite time of day is during the end when you wind down with him and you tell him every detail of your day despite you two being joined at the hip as partners

Always asks questions out of plain curiosity and simply in love with the sound of your voice, it’s the equivalent of you petting his sweet spot on the back of his ear

Without a doubt, he howls in bed while having sex, he’s always teetering the edge of shifting and even though you repeatedly tell him it’s fine to let go, the splintered wood of the headboard and floating feathers of a slashed pillow is evidence of how much concentration he puts in to keep you safe

Manicures and pedicures on a regular basis in the Suh household got to keep those claws clean

Adamant about not getting a pet dog with you, his excuse is he would get too jealous of another canine but his stance is weakening with your improved puppy dog eyes

Multiple jokes about ‘starting a pack’ with you

While in his wolf form, he can understand human language but he doesn’t have the ability to communicate, so both of you rely on subtle gestures

Naturally has a small smile, always nudges you with his snout, and whenever you make a joke to him, he bears his canines that are frightening to most but to you it’s comforting

Johnny’s greatest fear is if you two are ever in an argument and his anger blinds him to the point of him unconsciously shifting and accidentally harming you

Even clumsier in his wolf form, he doesn’t realize actually how massive he is which makes him a hazard to normal-sized beings

Gets most of his stances and moves from the wolves from the twilight series, he won’t admit but he’s certainly inspired by them

Sexual appetite is at a peak when the full moon comes out, growl central!!

The most treasured item you two have is a portrait of wolf-Johnny on his hind legs, attacking your face with slobbering kisses and you grinning brightly because nothing can compare to the bliss of that snapshot

Taeyong

Power: Superhuman Speed

After every assignment, Taeyong’s personal mission is to dote on you, this usually happens by using a covering or his own jacket and slinging it over your shoulders, if there is grime or blood on it, he lets out soft ‘sorry’ even though you always tell him not to

He knows it’s his job, he understands the need, but that doesn’t mean he is comfortable with the bloody side of it, and so he loves talking to you after incidents, your voice is soothing and it helps him process all the trauma, he says it’s for your sake but you know in these moments you are his crutch and you gladly accept the job

Naturally, a faster walker than you so he always manages to be a few feet ahead of you, but when he sees you fall behind, he holds your hand and tugs lightly while matching your pace

After enhancing his speed, he always has flushed cheeks and a glossy sheen across his forehead, so you make it a habit to kiss his forehead, cheeks, and lips to cool him down

It doesn’t work, his heart his pulsating harder than ever and does that exasperated airy laugh as an attempt to stabilize his heightened emotions while walking away so you don’t witness his even redder face

You give him piggyback rides after missions, his energy is basically depleted by then, so a jacket for a piggyback ride seems like a fair deal even though he fights you the whole way but you know he adores being cared for

You were the one to convince him to dye his hair pink in an effort to have an easier time spotting him during assignments and now he’s pink blur racing off to defeat villains

When he lightly peppers kisses on your face, the smacks get louder until he finally lands on your lips and it’s the most exaggerated sloppy sound he can make while he squeezes your cheeks

Weekdays for him are for cooking dinner, and you occasionally join to help him but mostly it’s him feeding you bits asking if everything is seasoned well and by the end, he is cursing because half the dinner is already gone

Type of boyfriend to remember you mentioning something you like and a few days later, he buys it for you or he randomly buys you things that remind him of you and leaves it for you as a surprise

Always doodling on you or leaving you notes with drawings so he can remind you that he loves you or to hydrate

After stressful missions, he just plops on top of you, his nose inhaling your scent as he forces his heart to match your rhythm, it lasts for about twenty minutes or until he can finally recharge

Taeyong’s gym locker in the NeoZone is plastered with couple photos of you two and photos of you modeling or candid while he directed you with his camera

The only way you can convince him to give you ten more pushups or five more pullups is if you bribe him with kisses and it always works

Very sacrificial, it’s one of his main flaws, he’ll get super flustered and annoyed when he sees you in the line of fire, so he’ll ultimately take all the heat and scold you after to put yourself first

His face usually has a cold blank stare to it as he observes his surroundings but once you collide into him and coil your arm around his, he grows this massive grin that only you can create

Never takes advantage of his speed with you, his surroundings are always in a constant race and he’s always anticipating the next move, but with you, your a serene presence washing over him; calming him, grounding him to capture every moment of you so it isn’t a blur but a vivid mural

Definitely tender and sensual in bed, once tried to spice things up by using his speed but he almost broke you, so now he only changes his pace if you request it

With your head on his chest every night, the last thing you hear before you fall asleep is the rapid thumping of his heart; it’s the only lullaby you’ll ever need

Yuta

Power: Supernatural Swordsmanship

Cut his hair with his kodachi and you most definitely needed to clean up the edges

Villains dread combating with Yuta, not just because he’s insane with a sword but he only talks about you and your relationship while fighting as if the opponent will answer his question of whether he should give you a cookie or ice cream cake for your birthday or even both

Rather than making you feel better when you feel down, he would be your soundboard, a shoulder to cry one, a great pair of ears; patience and multiple ‘mhms’ as you unravel your worries while his fingers swirl on your thigh and he kisses your temple

You two could be on opposite sides of the room but his eyes would always gravitate to you and he would wait until you notice so he could meet your gaze and he would do the dorkiest faces, especially his famous lion rawr aegyo, it makes you realize how good of a father he would be

Goes wild when he sees your body tremble beneath him as the cold metal of the kodachi glides along your skin

The only thing rivaling his love for you is his love for his katana, it’s bond that can never be severed and it’s a trust that only develops between soulmates, you could never understand but you accept and allow it to be the third partner in the relationship

It shouldn’t be possible for Yuta to look like a prince walking out of an otome game right after a battle, but there he is, glistening skin with swept hair and twinkling eyes as he sheathes his katana across his back as if he’s going to ride his horse in the Sengoku period

It’s usual occurrence to catch him absentmindedly talking to his katana, you wouldn’t be surprised if it could talk back, he can summon it by hand already, that sword and he shares one brain cell but he usually uses it as a mirror

You’re a killer couple, not only with looks and fashion but it’s quite a sight to experience as you shoot a bullet to his katana so it can ricochet at a target eighty feet away

Manages a rigorous training session before you wake up and when he’s done, he ends up collapsing on top with his sticky body as you screech at him to get off

The training facility in the NeoZone is rarely used because Yuta is a big believer in fresh air and beautiful scenery will motivate you more, so your sparring on the edge of cliffs and sprinting along the seaside

Alternates between reading books with you outside in your backyard with a makeshift picnic or both of you cuddled in bed with the open windows and the only source of light is the sun

If you have missions abroad, he convinces the agency to always give both of you one day free so you can act like tourists, nobody can say no to his dashing good looks and he knows it

One year for Christmas, you got him custom made tiny katana earrings and it’s literally the one pair he uses now, at least on his lobe

Yuta isn’t the overbearing type when it comes to jealousy, he shouldn’t have a say in what gender your friends are but when he sees a certain person obviously flirting with you it just takes slight glint of his katana to blind the intruder and they are already scurrying off

Gets a kick out of playing real-life fruit ninja

Decided to shave a slit in his eyebrow with his katana one spontaneous night, he got out of the bathroom with a huge grin and asked, “does this make me look more badass?”

Your hands always end up somewhere around his stomach, gliding across the lean muscles, squeezing around his hips, twiddling his piercing, you name it, you can’t keep your hands off him

Nakamoto Yuta is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, the pang of fear thrills you as you witness his lack of mercy and fiery anger at injustice as he slaughters anyone that stands before him, but that wicked glint in his eye softens just for you and then you see the scrawling of your name engraved on the hilt of the katana, and you know you are the only one that knows the true Yuta and you feel so blessed

Doyoung

Power: Precognition

You beg him every possible waking minute for him to allow you to do his makeup if only to contour his insanely sharp cheekbones, he finally relents but he has a scowl on his face the whole time

You’ve become quite a baker with Doyoung but he always has to guide you so his arms snake around your waist as an excuse yet he acts completely innocent when he knows it makes you distracted

Playlist for every occasion, especially when he’s having sex with you, the house ends up feeling hollow whenever he’s away without his angelic voice but to your surprise, Doyoung leaves you secret audio files lulling you in a trance

His mouth becomes a cherished part for you, especially the way the corners of his lips curl up naturally, the small smirk instantly widening when in front of food, or the blinding white teeth as he’s gritting them when approaching an orgasm or laughing at you, not with you

It takes about five minutes for Doyoung to arrange his plushies in the right position so you both don’t ruin them as you cuddle

One arm draped over a plush and the other wrapped around your back, or him in a fetal position with his plush embraced into his chest as you act as the big spoon

Hand holding is strictly for the bedroom with him, but he knows you admire his hands often, so he’ll have him some type of connection with you when out in public; whether it’s his pinkies wrapped around yours, curved into the loop of your pants, or his delicate veiny hand wrapping around your sleeve

End up catching him more than once, gushing over the phone with his brother about how in love he is with you and you may not lurk in the background for a few minutes until you interrupt the conversation by saying hi to Donghyun

Downtime for you two is building a puzzle, coloring some pages, playing board games and him smug with his victory, watching some documentaries or kdramas, and if you two bought some new furniture for your renovating house, he would most definitely want to do it by himself as you laugh while handing him pieces

Manages to still be shy when you both kiss, it’s you who initiates the subtle peck on his pouting lips, but soon the soft curve of his lips invites you more while your hands cup his warming cheeks--he’s a contradiction of being timid but with all the confidence as he nibbles your lips as if you were a delicacy

Training for you two equals nap time, his power allows him to rely on his mind rather than his body, so when you ultimately force yourself to exercise, Doyoung is laying on the couch, lazily cheering you on

Always giving you little compliments in your earpiece as he guides you around for a recon mission, and still holds his breath when he tells you about the unforeseen event that you need to be prepared for even though he knows you can handle it with ease

Studies multitudes of intel before a mission because he can never be too prepared, and it eases his nerves knowing that he can take every precaution in ensuring your safety

Would dedicate a photo album of himself on your phone, and even send you his recent selfies, telling you to choose one of them as an updated contact photo

You clown him 24/7 but he clowns you right back, it’s always a constant playful banter between you two, his eyebrows would furrow when you called him cute, the trembling of lips broke his facade, and when he does it to you, you essentially become his baby as he bites your cheeks but tell no one or he would deny it

From the moment you two wake up until you both arrive at headquarters, he has sullen look across his features, he would brush his lips across your temple and a hoarse good morning would escape his mouth in a notion to acknowledge you, but until he gets coffee in his system his energy hasn’t been restored yet, but your use to it as you tug him to the break room with his lidded eyes

Alone time is a must for you two, it could be both of you in the same room doing your own thing without communication or different parts of the house or mostly you would leave to run errands and Doyoung stuck in his room, but at the end of the day he crawls to you and says a small ‘hey’ as if his day just started from the moment he set eyes on you

Doyoung was always on alert, aware of incoming predictions that he had no say in but easily accepted, it’s a strain on his mental being, a reason why he needs to center himself by being alone, but then you come

Your blank, just like him, you’re unpredictable and foreign to him, but it’s not until you two kiss for the first time, that a hazy premonition reveals itself in a form of two children that share your hair but his feline eyes, it’s fragile though and uncharted, he knows that he needs to do right by you to get to the last level that seemed like paradise to him

Team Dreamer

Jaehyun

Power/Being: Android

During his exoskeleton stage, Jaehyun requested that the scientists create dimples during his living tissue transplant because he heard “they’re to die for”

Definitely thought it was a weapon utilized to kill his enemies

You make a habit to poke at his dimples until you feel the exoskeleton underneath, an oddly comforting sensation that makes you realize that Jaehyun doesn’t have a heart but his actions say otherwise

Literally the personification of steam coming out of ears in cartoons with scalding red tips, this only happens when you’re in danger or when he sees you in what he perceives as provocative

It took five hours to draw an array of tattoos on him for a disguise on a reconnaissance mission, and a certain neck tattoo was going to make you abandon the mission and your sanity

Sadly, he had to erase them because the “the bad boy” persona was an official disguise in his hardware and couldn’t be revealed to the public

Jaehyun kept one design, however, a soft beauty mark on the apple of his left cheek, he claims it’s your signature as his owner but you like the word partner better

Programs all your training sessions and signature moves to his hard drive because he believes there is no better instructor than you (except Bruce Lee)

The first time you helped him clean his internal munition unit, you couldn’t decipher any of the weapons so you gave them your own personal nicknames, he kept correcting you but he got tired so he now calls them “wholly fist” and “boom boom pow by the BEP”

You joke around with him that because he was created on valentine’s day, he should be credited as a sexbot but he always frowned at that comment until he figured out he could turn the tables on you by saying “I could be your sexbot”

Whenever he sees another person eyeing you in what he perceives is attraction, he activates his instant kill function with laser red eyes and declaring “target locked”

Suave and intimidating when you two first meet but truly transformed into a ‘soft boy’ after downloading your Pinterest board

Whenever both of you are out in public, eyes ogle him and mouths gawk, but Jaehyun is oblivious to it all until he turns to someone and starts up the most wholesome conversation about something mundane and you know that person melts with ease because Jaehyun was built to reflect human nature, but he was doing better than most in your opinion

Lots of arcade dates with him, he quickly figured out the algorithm of each game just so he can overflow you with gifts and so he can show off his basketballs skills because he knows you love eyeing his arms in action

When he’s with you though, he’d rather listen and absorb every action and word that you produce, he wants to immerse himself in you because he truly believes that you are all that is good about humankind

Archives every single detail that you speak, and replays it for you when you forget something or to prove you wrong, there is no in-between

Robot sex!!!! That drilling option though...oof

The moment he realizes the blaring internal alarm warning him of his elevated temperature and the shorted circuits whenever you are near, he correlates it to what humans label “love” so he downloads files on expressing these so-called feelings

Instead of saying “I love you”, he says “I dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin you” when he first confesses, and you assume there is a chemical imbalance within him so you rush him to the infirmary but for the first time, Jaehyun stalls and his eyes are clouded with retrieved information glowing neon green until he settles on “I love...I love...I love you” (yes, he stole it from Mr. Darcy, so sue him, he’s a fracking android)

Jaehyun sometimes doubts his ability to love you and even you sometimes question if you can love a piece of metal, but then you observe him before he joins you in bed that he triples check his instant kill function is disabled and he gushes about the new song he discovered and you are so sure that he was made for you

Jungwoo

Power: Lightning Bolt Projection

Gets easily flustered with the most pouty lip ever when you call him ‘Zeus’, it was his failed superhero name when he was trainee, but to you, he is much better than that jerk of a Greek god

Dressed up as the actual Zeus once for the office Halloween party and the year after that as a lightning bolt and you a storm cloud

Whenever Jungwoo craves attention but you’re occupied with another task, he repeatedly zaps you, not enough to harm, but until you cave in yet when you want to be annoyed with him, his owlish eyes and trembling lips easily subdue you

Your shoulder is a sacred space for him, it's the perfect fit for his head to settle in with a toothy grin and the warmest ‘mhms’ as he listens to you speak

Jungwoo was never much of a fighter, his powers were swift enough to eradicate enemies with not much mobility, but training sessions with you were more than enough of an excuse to spend time with you

Lately, your skin has been electrifying, not only the amorous glow you were emitting, but everyone you came in contact with felt a slight spark

Hair treatments are a must, the frizz is wild with Jungwoo, you really need to ask about his hair products because his hair so fluffy despite the amplitude of currents running through him

While brushing your teeth with him, he always shoots out finger hearts to you and winks through the mirror, it’s a great way to start the day

Never felt more grateful for his power until you were attacked on an assignment and your heart failed, it took four shocks to revive you with streams of tears and muttering to any God to hear his prayer

He’s most himself in the rain, umbrellas have never been on your shopping list

Definitely shoots bolts out of his finger guns and then blows on them afterward, if he’s feeling flirty, an added wink explodes your heart

Your biggest cheerleader when you are kicking ass during a mission

It’s a tradition for him to rake his fingers over your back with slight ripples of electricity while you cuddle in bed, it does wonders to relax your muscles

It’s been months of practice to improve his bolt voltage and range, but he finally managed to write ‘I love you y/n” in the sky, he couldn’t help it, he’s bursting at the seams with adoration for you

Both of you in the kitchen is a sight to see, you season but he cooks the food, his specialty is slightly charred chicken

Packs both of your lunches so you can eat together on break

Gets scared easily and as a result will discharge a lightning bolt as a defense, so pranks are off-limits between the team members

Literal sparks when you kiss, numbing and exhilarating as currents pass through your molding bodies to create goosebumps and raising hairs

When he thinks of home, his first instinct is to be cradled in your arms, watching trashy movies as a thunderstorm quakes the earth

Mark

Power: Compulsion

Mark might excel in whispering but when you turn the tables on him, with your sultry murmurs, he can’t help becoming a puddle of blushing mush

Never once used actual compulsion on you, the only exception is when you figured out the surprise birthday party he was planning for you, he redirected your attention to grocery shopping

His favorite part of you is your right ear because it’s where you naturally tuck your hair at and he just loves to twirl a strand of it in his finger while he mutters sweet nothings to you

You’re his bodyguard during missions, he can’t possibly get that close to targets while they attack if you aren’t watching his back

Even when he is supposed to be acting intimidating during an assignment, he can’t help but stutter and repeat ‘uh’ a thousand times, but he gets the job done eventually

Your literally breaking sweat, contorting your body so four targets don’t reach Mark, and he’s over there oversharing with another target

“The love of my life is about to kick your ass and you aren’t going to do a single thing about it, booby head” or “make the password ‘mark and y/n forever’ or else”

Naturally whispers in his sleep with his stinky breath in your ear, and you try to push him off but he just clings onto you like a koala

In the morning though, the slight breakage in his voice from pitched to croaky as he says good morning to you is on repeat in your head for the whole day

Mark’s give away when he is about to use compulsion is him licking his thin lips, and almost makes you get knocked out by the enemy because your already under his spell

Does a tiny dance for any occasion, from doing the laundry, stripping naked, or when you two had your first kiss

It’s the strained grunts, the heavy breathing, and the showering of hushed compliments in your ears that makes you reach your peak in bed, Mark always sounded better when he was being pleasured

To him, your voice is the loveliest sound across the universe and your adorably awkward cackle that you so desperately try to hide as he reenacts vines to you is what happiness is to him

Ice cream dates consist of him bringing a tub of ice cream to a yogurt shop because he knows you prefer it

Coughed over his first fart with you but now he loves to fart on you as you pretend you are suffocating and gagging

Has a folder in his photos dedicated to you where it ranges from blurry to candids and in during most of them he was either hyping you up or teasing you

Greets you with a ‘yo!’ whenever he enters the room

Will always buy you any lip product associated with watermelon and you’ll always buy him baseball caps for him to wear

Despite being loud for 90% of your relationship, he is most vulnerable with when he whispers his greatest fears, future goals, and nightmares to you because your the only one he can trust

With the many decibels that Mark Lee varies in, your favorite by far has to be the ascending chortle from the low HAs to the high HEEs with clapping hands and a scrunched nose that puffs out his cheeks-- it’s pure bliss to you

Haechan

Power: Light Manipulation

Haechan is utterly in love with your cheeks, instead of biting them or pinching them, he opts to kiss them whenever he has a chance, it’s rushing heat of your blush and the swelling of your smile that he lives for

The little spoon in bed, just so he can wrap his leg around you and nestle his head in the crook of your neck just like a koala

Literally always a brat to you, it’s the many ways he shows you affections

You asked him once to paint your nails, and now he does it every Friday ever since he discovered the ‘my hands look like this so hers can look like this’ meme even though his hands just have bitten nails

A man of action, Haechan shows you love through his movements with a heart framed by his fingers or blowing a kiss

Needs to always be physically attached to you, whether it’s hugging you from behind, leaning his head on your shoulder, or falling into you when he’s in a fit of giggles, he needs you to know that he will never let you go

Snarky remarks and cheesy jokes define your relationship with Haechan

Manages to always wake up before you on those lazy mornings with you burrowed deep into his side, and he can’t help but be memorized by your presence but soon feels selfish when he moves a ray of sunlight to your eyes so he can just peek at the explosion of colors in your eyes when you flutter them open--ah yes, this is his favorite part of the day

Loves to play video games with you into the late hours of the night, especially overwatch, but your always the first one to pass out, so he makes sure to tuck you in and dim the light of the screen so it doesn’t bother you

Most nights the both of you are wide awake so you end up playing ‘what the light?’, a game where Haechan creates 3D objects out of light and you have to guess what they are before he finishes them

Oh, and shadow puppets! He’s become quite the expert with them, he creates the most ridiculous stories with them but you join him by voicing the characters

In addition to ‘I love you’ as a goodbye, you have a secret intricate handshake with him, his excuse was that if you two ever question’s one identity if ever an enemy swapped bodies, you two would know the truth with the handshake but in reality, he just loves that extra time with you before you two part

It’s either Haechan teasing and making fun of you or he’s doting on you, there is no in-between because after all, you are his idiot

If he’s in the mood, he’ll solidify light photons into the shape of a sword and call it ‘sunflower’, he just loves to tell the tale that he took out fifteen assassins with a sunflower, but usually, he blinds them or burns them

Goes the extra mile for you to create a spotlight on you when you are giving a mission brief at headquarters, that’s the love of his life right there and he’ll make damn sure everyone notices them

Recreates Edward’s sparkling in the sun scene just so he can see you beam with laughter

Master of mood lighting during sex, and don’t even mention when he hits his climax, bulbs flickers and lamps explode

It might be a trick of the light, but Haechan’s eyes are vividly bright and he’s drowned in golden hues of sunlight, it makes you wonder if he was plucked from the star itself

Yet, as your lips quiver and your glassy eyes blink the last remnants of tears in Haechan’s cupped hands, there is an inner glow from them as you bask in their warmth, he can’t help but proclaim that you are the sun of his world, you are the light of his life even when it feels like his is diminishing

#NCT 127 #NCT #nct 127 punch #nct 127 au #nct 127 x reader #what did i even write #im choosing either jaehyun or yuta #taeil x reader #taeyong x reader #mark lee x reader #johnny suh x reader #kim jungwoo x reader #jaehyun x reader #haechan x reader #doyoung x reader #yuta x reader #nct scenarios

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breadknight-likes-things · 4 years

Text

Game Journal 04/22/20: All Of Appalachia Fears....The Park Ranger.

Fallout 76 has a lot more personality that people give it credit for. Appalachia is downright weird, filled with bizarre creatures, silly costumes to wear and thanks to Wastelanders, weirdo characters and situations. I’ve spent most of this game running around in a park ranger uniform and I don’t think I’d really have it any other way. While it could be cynically argued that it was to sell cosmetic DLC, I’m a big fan of the way Fallout 76 lets you wear whatever goofy costume you want completely separate from whatever armor you have on. It helps that the costumes are all over the place, easy to collect and predominantly silly. Want to dress like a Civil War infantryman? Go for it! Walking around like a giant skeleton freshly brought to life by FEV? There’s a Halloween costume for you! As I said before, I’ve been rocking the khaki shorts and big billed hat of your local friendly park ranger, preventing forest fires and telling people how to get the visitors center since this game came out (Okay I was briefly a skeleton man too, skeletons are cool).

Rose’s design is really strong for a character that mostly just hands out quests! They obviously put a lot of work into it!

Wastelanders big new addition was, of course, the NPC’s, and man have they gone a long way so far into injecting even more personality into Appalachia than was already there. Just tonight I did a bunch of quests for Rose, a Miss Nanny robot who’s convinced she’s a raider. It’s a fun switch from Fallout 4′s Codsworth and his prim and proper butler shtick. In a different Fallout game I think Rose would be a widely loved companion character, and while here she only gives out quests, I still think she’s notable and a lot of fun. Now granted, I think Rose was in the base game as it released a year and a half ago, but obviously she didn’t have her extensive dialogue tree that brings a lot of silly depth to her already silly characterization I hope Wastelanders points me in the direction of even weirder robots. Honestly Fallout is at it’s best when it’s about the weird robots isn’t it? Maybe I just miss Nick Valentine....what do you guys think that gumshoe is up to during the Fallout 76 timeline?

Random Screenshot Of The Day:

Give the Yakuza localization team an Oscar.

Stray Game Notes:

- Yakuza Kiwami 2 is off to a really strong start! I can see why this entry is often highly regarded among the fanbase so far!

- Maybe I’m delusional and there’s no personality at all in Fallout 76, and it’s all just radiating off Tiger King which I’m watching while playing.......nahhhhhhh.

- Someone reminded me of Gex today, now I think I’ll never truly mentally recover from remembering the horrors of Tail Time and Dana Gould.

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avengerscompound · 5 years

Text

Home - Chapter 10

Home: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers

Word Count: 1964

Warnings: Angst, parenthood, sexual manipulation, action, injuries, underage drinking and drug-taking.

Synopsis: 16 Years after the death of Daisy, Steve and Bucky have successfully raised two teenage kids with telepathy. Teens are never easy to live with though. Sarah in particular likes to test boundaries. Now on top of all the usual challenges of parenting, they have to deal with troublemaking demigods, a daughter who just wants to be accepted for who she is and running the Avengers. That’s when the children of other super-powered individuals start going missing.

Chapter 10

Sarah and Loki stood outside the office door where Viper had locked herself after Hydra agents started dropping like flies. Sarah took the door handle in her hand and just as she went to twist it open Loki put his hand on hers.

“You don’t have to do this. This burden does not have to lie at your feet.” He said.

There was gunfire from inside, narrowly missing both Sarah and Loki. Sarah twisted the handle, shattering the lock and pushed the door open. “Yes, it does.” She snarled.

Viper raised her gun but Sarah stopped her gross motor functions. All Viper was able to do was stare straight ahead.

“Hello, Viper,” Sarah said, walking towards the woman. “How would you like me to kill you today? I could be kind. Let you use that cyanide pill you have stuck in your back tooth that you keep thinking about. Or I could just switch your brain off. That would be pretty painless. I did promise to tear your throat out with my teeth though. I don’t like breaking my promises.” She ran her fingers down Viper’s neck.

“I’m not scared of death, you foolish child.” Viper seethed.

“No, I can see that. I can see exactly what you’re scared of. Seeing as you love torturing little kids, maybe I’ll just trap you with that.” Sarah snapped. She closed her eyes and pushed. Viper fell to the ground trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t escape. She whimpered as she lay on the ground. Her body twitching.

“Sarah, stop this.” Loki soothed. “Let her go. Your fathers can arrest her.”

“Why should I?” Sarah yelled. “Do you know what she did to me? To the others? What she was was going to do to us?”

Loki ran his hand up and down Sarah’s arm. “I know. Trust me, I know better than anyone what it’s like to be consumed by the thoughts of vengeance.”

“You’re lecturing me?” Sarah snapped. She walked to where Viper lay whimpering on the ground and dragged her to her feet. Her fingernails bit into the skin on vipers throat. “You killed thousands of people. You were going to destroy Earth and you’re worried about her life?”

“I don’t care about her. She could die a thousand times over and I wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.” Loki said, slowly approaching Sarah. “What I care about is you. Doing this. Killing a person in cold blood. It will change you.”

“Maybe I want to change. Maybe if I change people will start taking me seriously.”

“Sarah?”

The sound of Bucky’s voice made Sarah’s head snap around. “Daddy?”

“Let her go, honey.” Bucky soothed. “Let me take care of this.”

Sarah dropped Viper and ran to Bucky falling into his arms. Bucky held her tightly putting his chin on the top of her head.

Sarah’s mental hold on Viper released and she came to, stumbling to her feet. She lurched forward in an attempt to run but Loki caught her, sliding his blade effortlessly between her ribs. She screeched as Loki removed the blade and wiped it clean on her back. He let her go and she slithered to the ground.

“Loki! I said I’d take care of it.” Bucky snapped.

“And now you don’t have to. No need to thank me, soldier.” Loki said, waving his hand.

Jamie and Bucky supported Sarah as they left the facility. When they reached the exit, an icy blast of air hit them in the face. Sarah shivered. She was still only wearing the light white cotton Hydra dressed her in.

Steve spotted them and ran over embracing his daughter. “Oh god, Sare. I was so scared.” He breathed.

“So was I,” Sarah replied, breaking down in tears.

The Avengers got all the missing children situated on the jet and notified the authorities to the Hydra base and the incident that had occurred.

Bucky and Steve pulled Loki aside on the Quinjet.

“What happened in the base?” Steve asked.

“I found the children together. Sarah had already taken out three guards and opened their cells. Those people that had them had inserted something into their necks. Some kind of Midgardian technology to negated their gifts. Sarah was about to cut it out of that one there.” He pointed to Danielle.

“Oh god.” Bucky groaned.

“Then what happened?” Steve pressed.

“I removed the devices from each of the children. We fought our way out.” Loki explained. “I say we. It was mostly Sarah. That small blue child can phase into things and disrupt technology. He is the reason we were easily able to break through the doors. But Sarah just made everyone we came across fall asleep. It was quite boring in the end.”

“What about the dead woman?” Steve asked.

“That was me. I’d apologize but I am not sorry for that. She was in charge. She tortured those children. I wouldn’t normally concern myself with such petty trivialities, but I have grown fond of you mortals. Particularly your family.” Loki said.

Steve scowled but chose not to press it. Instead, he moved back to check on the children.

“I heard what you said to Sarah,” Bucky said when Steve was out of earshot. “I just – I wanted – Thank you. You’re right. It would have changed her. Killing. It puts a stain on you that is impossible to erase.”

“Why Barnes, are you getting all emotional on me?” Loki laughed. “The next thing I know I’ll be invited on the next Rogers’ family picnic.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Bucky said. “Just thank you. And thank you for finding her.”

Epilogue

“Alright, Sare. I think that’s it.” Olive said, securing the last clasp on Sarah’s uniform.

A year had passed and a lot had changed.

Sarah was now homeschooled. Primarily taught by Vision. Her grades had evened out and she found that without all the noise she could actually learn. She wasn’t just leaching off what other people were thinking.

With Sarah away from school Olive had started to realize that her feelings for Sarah were real. She wasn’t confused. She didn’t just not like boys because the ones around her were all terrible. She liked girls and specifically, she liked Sarah. Her powers didn’t matter. Sarah had never given Olive a reason not to trust her. Sarah’s powers were scary but she’d never used them to hurt her. So Olive had called Sarah and said she’d missed her. They had started hanging out outside of school and had now been dating nine months.

The Avengers had started a program to help train enhanced children with their abilities. So they could both control them, but they could protect themselves if people came after them. It was called the Young Avengers Initiative and for the most part, just acted as a weekend or summer holiday style program. Depending on how far the children had to travel. For extreme cases, the children moved into the compound and were looked after like family. They also studied with Vision and were trained by ex Avengers such as Clint, Natasha, and Tony.

Today was the day the first graduate moved up to the rank of official, the government recognized Avenger.

Sarah had her uniform. She had her code name. Now she had to just show everyone what she could do.

“Thanks, Olive. Oh god. I’m so nervous.” Sarah said.

Olive smoothed her hands down the red, blue and white stripes of that ran down Sarah’s midriff. She leaned over and gently grazed her lips over Sarah’s. “You’re gonna do fine. You were born for this.”

Sarah and Olive walked down the hall and stepped outside into the sun. The training grounds looked like a crowd had assembled for a kids soccer game. Children and adults lined a rectangular pitched and all talked and played while they waited for the proceedings to start.

Olive kissed Sarah on the cheek and veered away from her, heading in the direction of the crowd. Sarah walked towards Steve who was standing in the middle of the field.

The crowd cheered when they saw her.

Steve smiled. “Today we are here to welcome the first graduate of the Young Avengers Initiative through the ranks to become an official Avenger,” Steve shouted. The crowd cheered again. “But first we have to see what she has to offer the team.” He turned to Sarah. “Liberty, let’s see what you can do without your powers.”

Steve lunged at Sarah but Sarah stopped his gross motor functions. “Sarah, I said no powers.” Steve scolded.

“No, you didn’t.” Sarah pushed.

“No, I didn’t,” Steve repeated back.

There was laughter from the crowd. An arrow suddenly flew in Sarah’s direction. She ducked out of the way of its trajectory and glared at Jamie. He stood on the sidelines with his bow raised.

“Stop cheating, Sarah.” He scolded.

“Ugh, fine,” Sarah said, letting her dad go.

Steve shook himself. “Cheeky.” He laughed and came at her again.

He and Sarah sparred. They were quite evenly matched. Steve had the experience and size but Sarah knew his moves before he made them and strength-wise she took after him.

He threw his shield at her and she swatted it out of the air. As it fell she jumped and used it as a launchpad to attack Steve from above. She caught him with her thighs and flipped him out of the field.

Carol came at her. Flying in from above and shooting energy blasts.

“No fair!” Sarah cried as she zigzagged across the field avoiding them. “How come you get to use your powers and I can’t use mine?”

“You’ve got this, Sare,” Carol replied.

Sarah scooped Steve’s shield up from the field and used it to deflect an energy blast straight back at Carol. Carol got knocked backward out of the field.

Sarah felt Scott coming towards her. “I know where you are, Uncle Scott.” She said.

“But what about if I do this?” Scott appeared out of nowhere, returning to his original size and launching himself at Sarah. Sarah feinted to the left and Scott went sprawling on the ground.

“Yes. I know where you are when you do that too.” Sarah smirked.

Ants started swarming onto the field. “Please don’t make me kill your ant friends, Uncle Scott.” She groaned.

“Okay, Liberty. You can now show us your powers.” Steve shouted over the crowd.

Sarah grinned and looked at Scott.

“Oh, shit…” Scott cursed, scrambling backward away from her.

Bucky approached Steve and hooked his arm around Steve’s waist. “She looks pretty good out there.” He said.

Sarah had taken control of Scott’s body and was using him to get rid of the ants.

“She’s going to be an asset to the team. I just wish I could have protected her from this life.” Steve agreed.

“It never ends. The fighting. There’s always something else to fight for. Better she can defend herself than just be a victim of the next thing that comes.” Bucky said. “Besides, it’s what she’s chosen for herself. Jamie chose to opt-out of being an Avenger. He’s happy living a normal life. It’s good for him. Sarah chose this. Just like you did. If there was anything I wanted for them it would be the ability to chose what they do. I didn’t really get that.”

Steve leaned over and kissed Bucky, pulling their bodies tightly together. “I love you. You know that right?”

“Yeah, I know. I love you too, ya punk.” Bucky grinned.

Steve ruffled his hair and pulled away. He stepped out into the field.

“I think you’ve proved yourself a worthy member of the team.” He shouted. “So with this new member of the group. Come welcome your new teammate. Avengers…”

~ END ~

#bucky barnes #steve rogers #captain america #the winter soldier #bucky barnes x steve rogers #captain america fanfic #the winter soldier fanfic #stucky #fanfic #fanfiction #finding home #home

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burnouts3s3 · 5 years

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Kill la Kill IF, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Publisher: Arc System Works Developer: A+ Games Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 59.99 USD How much I paid: 49.94 USD (I got a pre-order discount) Number of Playable Characters: 8; Satsuki, Ryuko, Nui, Houka, Ira, Uzu, Nonon and Ragyo (Satsuki and Ryuko have 2 variations). Number of Stages: 6 Rated: M for Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes and Violence Nudity: Lots and lots of cleavage and side boob. Characters usually dressed down to bikinis and thongs when disrobed. No visible female nipples. Can I play offline: Yes How long I played: 4 Hours. 2 hours to complete Satsuki's perspective on Story mode and 2 to complete Ryuko's. Microtransactions: None so far. What I played on: My Nintendo Switch. Performance Issues: When the Switch is docked, the performance 'mostly' runs smoothly, albiet shows the soft textures up front. When in handheld mode, the framerate sinks like a rock and becomes stitled. One instance of the game pausing for one moment before resuming. Lenghty loading screens whether docked or on handheld mode. And of course, no anime game is complete without its most famous feature, missynced lip flaps. Dual Audio: Yes. Both English and Japanese voices are available. English Cast: Erica Mendez as Ryuuko Matoi, Carrie Keranen as Satsuki Kiryuuin, Matthew Mercer as Aikuro Mikisugi, Patrick Seitz as Ira Gamagori, Stephanie Sheh as Nui Harime, Christine Marie Cabanos as Mako Mankanshoku, Kaiji Tang as Tsumugu Kinagase, Grant George as Uzu Sanageyama, Romi Pak as Ragyo Kiryuuin, David Vincent as Senketsu, Sarah Anne Williams as Nonon Jakuzure, Steve Staley as Hoka Inumata and Todd Haberkorn as Shiro Iori My Personal Biases: I recently watched Kill la Kill and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was a good show. My Verdict: Even fans aren't going to be satisfied with this package. With an anemic roster, few stages and a battle system where you fight the camera more than you fight your opponent, Kill la Kill: IF is wasted potential. Even the amusing cutscenes can't save this piece of junk. Wait for a sale. Kill la Kill IF, a review

It's strange that after 5 years of one of the most beautifully animated action shows that we finally now get a release of Kill la Kill IF. Based on the popular anime, will the game do its original source material justice? Let's find out in this review! For those of you who aren't familiar, Honnouji Academy is a fictional high school situated in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the island of Honnō City. The school is dominated by its fearsome student council led by their president Satsuki Kiryuin. Its students wear Goku Uniforms, which give their wearers superhuman abilities because they are constructed with a special material known as Life Fibers. Vagrant transfer student Ryuko Matoi, who wields a scissor-shaped longsword that can cut Goku Uniforms, challenges the council as she searches for her father's killer. Although she is initially easily defeated by Takaharu Fukuroda, she finds a sentient sailor uniform that she names Senketsu, a Kamui which is completely made of Life Fibers and transforms her so that she can face Kiryuin and her trials and obstacles. Kill la Kill IF is a filler story set in the anime's canon storyline. Gone are the various side characters and multiple developments throughout the story and instead speeds through to the main battles and opponents. Set as an arena fighting game, players control one of the characters found in the show and use their unique abilities to whittle the enemy's lifebar to zero. Each character is given access to a melee attack, a ranged attack and a grab which breaks the opponent's guard. Overtime, a player's SP bar builds up. 2 out of the 4 bars can be used for a special attack or to unleash bloody valor, a rock paper scissors mechanic to gain boosts such as attack or health. Losing the battle results in damage while winning continuously allows you to unleash a final ultimate attack. The issues become evident right from the start. Despite Studio Trigger, the animator of the series, supervising, the game's engine just cannot live up to the 2D anime that told the original story so well. While the art direction certainly lives up to the original with its use of contrasting colors and unique aesthetic, the actual animation itself remains stilted and choppy, even on the best of machines. While the animators are able to work around this (Mako's scenes continue to be the highlight of the franchise), you can't help but feel the 3D counterpart is struggling to match up what Trigger mastered in 2D animation. You better get used to the visuals. In order to unlock any of the other modes, you'll have to play the MANDATORY story and watch the stilted cutscenes (which you can skip, Thank God). Because who wouldn't want a story mode that has cutscenes that are longer than the actual gameplay? After all, it isn't like someone won't upload those cutscenes up to Youtube and you can watch them for free... Wait... And that's not even mentioning the numerous loading screens that come between every other cutscene and before the gameplay starts. I don't know if the loading screens are shorter on more powerful consoles and PCs, but they were certainly a slog on the Nintendo Switch. So, if you're in the market for a game with little gameplay, lengthy cutscenes and lots and lots of loading screens, have I got a game for you. Most matches are set between an individual opponent and involve whittling down the foe's health bar to claim victory. However, certain modes allow multiple opponents to face off against each other, either in battle royale or with pairing into teams. Half the time, the game plays like a Musou or Open world beat em up where in the player character must defeat multiple enemies on screen. Sometimes it's rogue Covers, sentient uniforms and other times its Nui clones. With no camera control and no ability to lock on to individual opponents, you'll often miss your intended target and end up hitting a new enemy instead. Story mode, even on its easiest difficulty, opts to pad out the game by giving certain enemies so much health, it takes forever to shrink it down to zero. Forget the sword sponges throughout the game; half the time the camera can't keep up and my poor player character is out of frame because of all the enemies are upfront while said PC is all the way in the back. In addition to the story, there's also Online matchmaking, survival challenge in which you play AI opponents in a row and Covers Challenge, in which the game becomes a full Musou and you must defeat all foes in the arena. All the original voice actors from the anime's dub cast have returned. Erica Mendez as Ryuuko Matoi and Carrie Keranen as Satsuki Kiryuuin give the same respect to the source material as did the Japanese Seiyuu and it's always fun to hear Patrick Seitz, Grant George, Stephanie Sheh, Todd Haberkorn, Matt Mercer and Steve Staley again. If you dislike the voices, the game comes with Dual Audio and you can switch to the original Japanese. CAVEAT: What a waste! How did such a great property get saddled with such a lousy adaptation? Kill la Kill (the anime) still holds up as a show even 5 years after its release. It's too bad all that potential is made into a cashgrab of a game. With its limited roster, wonky camera, and lack of stages, even diehard Kill la Kill fans should wait for a sale while watching the cutscenes on Youtube. It's too bad. For just a brief moment, I did see the makings of a good game. The only reason this anime adaptation doesn't take home the award of "Most squandered potential of an anime property" is because Jump Force came out earlier this year. Verdict: Rental or wait for a sale. Or just watch the anime again.

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professorpalmarosa · 7 years

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For Pokémon Dawn & Dusk, I intend to release two chapters a month. The first two are currently available on Fanfiction.net.

Team Sigma (the villainous team for the Kinzo region, where the fanfic takes place) will not be making their first major appearance until Chapter 13…which means everyone other than my beta readers will have to wait until mid-June or early July before you’re properly introduced to these bastards, but dear god am I excited to tell you about them!

Who is Team Sigma?

Team Sigma is a cyberterrorist organization based in the Kinzo region. By the start of Dawn & Dusk, they are mostly known for data breaches, stealing personal information (including from a member of the Elite Four), hacking PC storage boxes, and leaking classified government data into the hands of the common people. Some of that data was sensitive enough to incite a riot.

As Dawn & Dusk progresses, it quickly becomes clear that Team Sigma is engaged in far more dubious activities than simple black-hat hacking. There are (just to name a few things):

E-bomb attacks

Confirmations that Team Sigma leaked fake news stories to manipulate the Kinzonian people into electing a puppet Prime Minister

Evidence that one of their Beta-level operatives once served in the transition government’s “secret police”...

I’m not even sharing the most twisted thing these guys pull. You’ll actually have to follow the story to see that!

What does Team Sigma hope to accomplish?

Members of Team Sigma pride themselves first and foremost as a cult of efficiency. They are resourceful, meticulous, organized, focused, and always eager to find ways to improve not only themselves, but the world around them.

Sigmas look at the world the way a Quality System Auditor looks at an organization: searching for things they don’t like and finding ways to correct them...or at least improve them.

They aim to transform their home region into a meritocracy where society’s most productive contributors are properly rewarded for their hard work and talents. Everyone is provided for, but it is the hard workers and the best workers who will reap the most reward. This is part of why you will hear them constantly repeat their unofficial company mantra: greater than the sum of our parts.

Team Sigma believes that everyone has a role to play in society…but what you like to do might not necessarily be what you should do.

How is Team Sigma organized?

While most organizations in the Pokémon franchise show three categories (Grunt, Admin, Boss), I decided to organize Team Sigma’s categories based off the 20th century sci-fi classic Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Gammas are your Grunt-level foot soldiers. They will be seen sporting the organization logo and uniform, and will wear a yellow belt with their jacket. This is to signify they understand the fundamentals of the organization’s ideologies and can apply that code of conduct at a basic level. The belts are yellow as an homage to what a yellow belt signifies in Lean Six Sigma Lean Manufacturing methodology.

Unlike in actual games, the Gammas the protagonists (Cyrus and Cynthia) encounter almost all have names, distinct personalities, and even backstories.

Gamma Squads are classified by the first initial of their Beta’s name, and then a priority number. The lower the number, the higher up the totem pole that Gamma is. For instance, Bobbi and Cooper (the first two Gammas you’ll meet in Dawn and Dusk) make up Gamma Squad A1, as their Beta’s name is Aldous.

Betas are your Admin-level operatives. They will wear a more customized uniform, typically in shades of green with a green belt. This is to signify that they understand and apply the organization’s methodologies so masterfully that they can be trusted to lead teams and govern over their own separate projects. The belts are green as an homage to what a green belt signifies in Lean Six Sigma Lean Manufacturing methodology. Fun fact: I’ve been a certified LSS Green Belt for a couple of years!

In Dawn & Dusk, there are a grand total of four Betas: Aldous, Ray, Margaret, and Harlan. Each of them were named for a different dystopian science fiction writer I’ve enjoyed for many years: Aldous Huxley (Brave New World), Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Harlan Ellison (I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, 7 Against Chaos).

There are homages to Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Tom Godwin, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, George Orwell, and Isaac Asimov in Dawn & Dusk, too; but not as Team Sigma members.

There is only one Alpha, and it’s going to be a long time in the story before the protagonists (or even the reader) encounter them. The Alpha’s color scheme is predominantly charcoal gray, black, and bronze. This is to signify that they embody every part of the organization’s methodologies and applies them not only to their work in Team Sigma, but across their entire life. Black was selected as the main color to signify what a black belt and master black belt signify in Lean Six Sigma Lean Manufacturing methodology.

Where are they located?

Team Sigma is an exclusive threat to the Kinzo region. Kinzo is modeled heavily after Soviet-era Ukraine and Russia, with elements of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and Imperial Russia thrown into their history.

Until 1970, this region was a satellite region to the Sinnoh region and had its start as a penal colony. The more you delve into the local culture, the more that becomes apparent.

Although nobody is quite sure where the Team Sigma base is (or even if they have a base), it’s not uncommon to see Gammas lurking around with their computers. Most of them do remote work. Some even work from home.

When does Dawn & Dusk take place in the Pokémon timeline?

Pokémon Dawn & Dusk takes place when Cynthia and Cyrus are 15 years old. Timeline-wise, I used 1996 (the Japanese release year of Red & Blue) as my start-point. After doing the math, Dawn & Dusk takes place during the mid to late 1980s.

The Kinzo Region gained its independence in 1970, and suffered a terrible disaster (the “Wolfram Town Incident”, which was based heavily off the Chernobyl incident) 3 years prior.

Team Sigma got its start a few years after that, but one of their key members was heavily involved with the incident. Another one was also involved with the new government’s secret police during the transition period.

Why Team Sigma?

Because I have always had a weakness for dystopian literature, atomic-era science fiction, and transhumanism. These glorious nerds apply all of those things, along with my morbid fascination with cult psychology and my fascination with lean manufacturing!

In 2016, my former job signed me up for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. While in there, I learned the concepts of lean, including how to make manufacturing procedures more efficient and less costly without jeopardizing anyone’s jobs. All our evidence was based on statistics and we’d find ways to make processes go faster, produce better product, and create less waste.

It was a lot of fun and I really got into it. Even at my current job, I still use a lot of the lean training!

…but it really does start to sound like you’ve joined the Cult of Efficiency when you start grumbling that somebody’s cluttered desk isn’t up to 5S standard, or that all that walking back and forth is a transportation muda.

I saw the potential to blend a lot of that lean training (you can read a lot more about Lean Six Sigma and these other terms in those links I gave you) with my other loves to create a villainous team that contains elements of Brave New World, 1984, and Animal Farm..and my own unique brand of oh-dear-god-why batshit insanity.

Once you start moving beyond how Team Sigma operates and get into why they operate the way they do…some of my beta readers are already reeling. They don’t have the full story yet, but I’m sending my readers up and down a literary rollercoaster.

#Team Sigma #Pokemon Dawn & Dusk #ProfessorPalmarosa #writing projects

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duaneodavila · 6 years

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Watching Maryland Screw Up The Easiest Decision In Football History Is A Perfect Microcosm Of Maryland Football

For years, the Maryland Terrapins have served as a precautionary example of how not to run a college football team. They wear atrocious uniforms, belong to a conference that years after the fact struggles to remember that they exist, and they’re objectively bad at “winning football games against people who aren’t Texas.” It’s truly telling when “on-the-field failure” is the least of a program’s problems, but that’s Maryland.

But then things took a tragic turn before the season with the death of Jordan McNair, who passed away two weeks after suffering heatstroke during a grueling practice. From the start, it appeared as though McNair’s death was preventable and that his post-incident care was suspect at best. The head coach was suspended and the university commissioned an investigation engaging, among other attorneys, DLA Piper.

Now, so far so good. This is standard operating procedure — this is what we’ve seen at Penn State and Baylor. It’s usually the institutional cover the school needs to fire people for cause and therefore sever ties without owing the coach millions of dollars in dead money. It can also serve the opposite purpose. For example, earlier this year, the Ohio State University used Mary Jo Whitewash’s fig leaf of a report to let its coach and athletic director off with a slap on the wrist for enabling domestic violence. Either way, the internal investigation report dictates how the school moves forward by covering its legal bases.

So when Maryland released an absolutely damning 192-page report that stopped just shy of using the word “toxic,” it seemed as though Maryland was gearing up to clean house and fire everyone for cause. The report didn’t exactly recommend firing head coach DJ Durkin, but it did blame him for failing to control the subordinates that were responsible in its estimation for the broken culture, so Durkin’s fate was already likely sealed.

Which is why it was so dumbfounding when the school reinstated head coach DJ Durkin, reportedly over the objections of the university’s president. The Board also reportedly wanted to retain the strength coaches directly involved in the practice that led to McNair’s death! It’s one thing to mortgage your soul for Joe Paterno, but Maryland was ready to sweep it all under the rug for a 5-13 conference record. Not that either case is acceptable, but at least you can see why the former gave some people some pause, you know?

But let’s take a second to underscore exactly how stupid this was from a legal standpoint. The Board held in its hands a report that would allow them to turn the page on a culture that — quite likely — contributed to killing someone and move on from a mostly disastrous coach for free all at the same time and they didn’t take it. That would be bad enough, but in so doing, they set the bar for “cause” having to be “at least something worse than this report” which would more or less require Maryland’s locker room being the set of a Hostel movie.

And yet that’s still not the end of the mismanagement because after players walked out on the reinstated coach and Maryland’s governor spoke out, the school fired Durkin without cause meaning they’re now exactly where they would have been a day ago… except owing millions of dollars.

Michael McCann lays it all out:

By firing Durkin without cause, the termination provision of Durkin’s contract kicks in. It obligates Maryland to pay Durkin liquidated damages equal to 65% of the remainder of his contract. Durkin was scheduled to be paid $7.8 million from 2019 to ’21 and is also owed compensation for the last two months of ’18. Applying these data points, the university will pay Durkin about $5.1 million.

Unbelievable. It’s like the old saying, “When DLA Piper opens a door, Maryland runs head first into a wall stud” or something like that.

Worse for the school, as McCann points out, there’s an outside chance that Durkin could mount some likely unsuccessful defamation-style claims, but they’ve also guaranteed that they will have an adversarial relationship with him when McNair’s family ultimately pursues its wrongful death suit. On the one hand, Maryland can posture itself as having distanced the program from the old guard, but if they were going to pay millions anyway, they could have just kept him on administrative leave “pending the resolution of this matter.” Literally, at every single turn of this, Maryland has screwed it up.

A student is dead. Whether or not the head coach is directly responsible, the disturbing revelations of the report proved it was time to pull the plug and start over with a new regime that can redouble Maryland’s efforts to protect its students.

It may be time for the Board of Regents to consider cleaning house on the legal team side too.

The Legal Implications of Maryland’s Roundabout Firing of DJ Durkin [Sports Illustrated]

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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biofunmy · 5 years

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What Brand Defines These Soccer Stars? Their Own

In July 2015, after the United States women’s national soccer team had won its third World Cup final, securing its place as the dominant women’s international soccer team; after its winning game became the most-watched soccer game in United States history, with an average of 25.4 million viewers (more than the N.B.A. finals, more than any men’s soccer game); after the team returned home to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the first time a woman’s team had been so honored — after all that, the members of the team still had the feeling.

“We weren’t able to capitalize on the moment,” Christen Press, a forward, said recently.

“Everyone around us was — TV, sponsors — but we weren’t compensated or treated like what we were: the absolute best soccer players in the world.” So, Ms. Press said, “we decided it was time to change the paradigm.”

The “we” she was referring to included her teammates Megan Rapinoe, another forward and captain; Tobin Heath, also a forward; and her former teammate Meghan Klingenberg.

There was less than a week to go before the three current players would fly to London to begin final preparations to defend their title in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, which begins on Friday in France. But before they got on the plane, they were sitting around a conference table in a loft in Lower Manhattan, going on the offensive with something else.

They had decided they were done leaving their brands, and the potential of what their brands could become, in the hands of the corporate world. So they had formed a new company, re-inc (purposefully lowercase, named after the idea of reinventing the incorporated), and this week they were unveiling their first product: a T-shirt with the words “Liberté, égalité, défendez” on the front.

“It’s really a mission statement,” Ms. Press said. And it’s the beginning of what will be a series of drops in the spirit of Fenty or Supreme that they see ultimately as a full gender-neutral line encompassing street wear, heath and wellness, and technology.

“We wanted to start in fashion, because it’s male dominated, and street wear is the worst of it,” Ms. Press said. “It’s made mostly by men, for men, and women have to adapt. It’s ripe for disruption.”

The aim of the line, which is sold through a website, newsletter and social media channels — together the women have more than 1.75 million followers — is to wake up the world to the power of these particular athletes, not just as vehicles for other people’s marketing visions, but also as powers in their own right.

As such, it is also what they believe is one of the last fronts in the fight for the equality and recognition that the team has been waging since the late 1990s, a fight that culminated in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by 28 players earlier this year against the United States Soccer Federation. And it is one of a number of such initiatives being explored by different members of the team.

Also this week, Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Allie Long introduced a new website featuring a T-shirt of their own design: “USA vs. Everybody.” And not long after, the Players Association (effectively the union of the women’s soccer team), unveiled a new brand on its website: OOSA, named for the team chant and conceived to represent the players, on and off the field; products will follow.

“Our members are brilliant, enterprising women who are exploring ways to monetize their individual brands beyond their endorsement deals, that hopefully will create opportunities beyond their playing days,” said Becca Roux, the executive director of the Players Association.

After all, being an elite athlete is not just about what happens on the pitch or in the arena. It’s about the way that success is parlayed into multiplatform businesses.

“It’s about our fight for fair value in a different way,” said Ms. Press, before passing to Ms. Rapinoe.

“There’s this box of ‘female athlete,’” Ms. Rapinoe said, one that is favored by many of the large brands they work with — Women’s World Cup sponsors like Coke and Nike. And it is a box, they all agreed, defined by the idea of “girl next door” — or, in the case of Ms. Rapinoe, who has been an out athlete for about 10 years, “the equality person next door.” Over to Ms. Heath.

“We’re always seen through other people’s lenses,” she said. The three women looked at one another. Not anymore.

Breaking Out of the Brand Box

Most of the inequities of United States soccer, where the women’s team has been notably more successful than the men’s and has become an beacon for women’s rights in sports for more than two decades, are fairly well known: the fight to play on grass as opposed to artificial turf; the continuing dispute over pay.

But even in that context, the lack of corporate recognition of the broad audience appeal of the female soccer star is surprising.

It wasn’t until 2015, for example, that Nike, the brand that outfits 14 of the 24 national teams playing this month, started making women’s jerseys in men’s sizes so that male fans could support their team and favorite players.

That was also the first year Electronic Arts, the company behind the FIFA video game, included women’s teams and players in its virtual soccer world.

Nike did not design uniforms for the women’s teams until this year. Previously it had simply made derivations of the men’s uniforms for women. It wasn’t until 2017 that Ashlyn Harris, another member of the United States team, became the first female global ambassador for the soccer brand Umbro.

“In the past,” said Mike Principe, the chief executive of GSE Worldwide, a sports marketing and management company, “female athletes were seen as most marketable when they could be pitched as sex symbols, and that is only now beginning to change.”

Still, it is not a subject most sports agents or managers want to discuss, even in the context of evolving attitudes. When contacted, most asked to speak off the record or on background, and picked their words carefully, tiptoeing around the idea. The athletes were not nearly as circumspect.

“I had always felt as if I was put in a box with my partnerships,” said Ms. Harris, who has been a fixture on the national scene for more than a decade. “They’d cover up my tattoos during photo shoots. It started to make me feel I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t being valued for who I was or what I brought to the table.”

Finally, after the 2015 World Cup victory, she said, she told Wasserman, her sports agency, not to bring her any brand proposals that “didn’t align with who I was.”

“I realized I was never going to be the tall, blond skinny girl from the magazine cover, but I was very good at being me,” she said.

Being herself was certainly working on social media, where Ms. Harris had begun making the occasional T-shirt, which she would promote on Twitter and Instagram, and which, she said, would sell out “in days.”

As a result, creative input became part of her deal with Umbro, regarding both the products she endorsed and wore and the way her image was portrayed. This fall the first Umbro by Ashlyn Harris collection will be released.

“They gave me a seat at the table,” she said, “and I’ve been sitting there ever since.”

But what if you want to set your own place?

Instead of Fighting for Something, Own It

The idea for re-inc was first broached by Ms. Klingenberg in 2015, after the last World Cup victory. She had been talking to Steve Nelson, an entrepreneur and co-founder of the 3-D manufacturing company Carbon, Inc. in Silicon Valley, and a mentor of sorts from her days playing at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

As he remembered, he told her: “You’ve been fighting and trying to get paid more, but instead of fighting for something, why not own it? Equity is more valuable than a raise.”

This is not exactly a new idea in the tech world, though it is one that is starting to gain currency in the sports world, where traditionally the big brands have dominated, but where social media has transformed the ability of athletes to connect directly with their (often immensely dedicated) fan base.

There is a trend, said Marc Beckman, the founder of DMA United, an advertising agency that represents brands and individuals like Russell Westbrook in taking ownership of their own commercial future and profit margins.

Certainly, this has not escaped Alex Morgan (5.8 million followers), who, when queried by a fan about “USA vs. Everybody” on her Instagram page, noted, “Our idea, our execution, our brand.”

“If you think about other athletes such as LeBron James, Serena Williams, even Maria Sharapova, it’s the pay and power that they derive from their professional identity that qualifies them for whatever comes after, whether it’s fashion or film or something else,” Ms. Rapinoe said.

Building a brand is part of that, and on social media especially, being able to be “authentically yourself,” she said, is key. The best way to do that is to do it yourself.

In October, with Mr. Nelson and Rocky Collis, a lawyer and the outside counsel for the United States women’s player’s association on board, re-inc was formed and went into what Mr. Nelson calls “stealth mode.”

Ms. Press is the chief executive; Ms. Klingenberg, the president; Ms. Heath, the chief innovation officer; and Ms. Rapinoe, the chief branding officer. They also have an advisory board that includes Deepak Chopra (whom they met through Mr. Nelson) and Jessica Tillyer, of SYPartners, a branding expert.

They have funded the first drop by themselves but plan to take outside investment for the second, which will extend from “head to toe” with socks, shorts, hoodies and hats. Each item has been considered to an extent that is not exactly normal for a fashion brand but is perhaps normal for a brand that sees itself as a vehicle for change.

A cropped verison of the re-inc shirt.CreditRe-Inc

The T-shirt, for example, though it looks simple, began with the question “What does it mean to be patriotic?” Not a straightforward issue when you are both representing your country and suing your national association.

“At first we didn’t want to use words at all,” Ms. Press said, “because they made us think of labels, but then we thought, what if we could use them not as a statement but to make wearers consider the issue.”

So while the words are red, blue and white, they are twisted, darker version of the shades. The shirt itself is a kind of dusty cream, made from Japanese cotton, and all the e’s are facing backward, almost as a challenge.

Only 500 of them were made — 250 in a cropped cut, 250 in a more oversize style, neither earmarked for men or women specifically — to spur demand. The women are, they said, learning as they go. “We believe in ourselves as a product: as soccer players, as brand ambassadors, as humans in the world,” Ms. Press said.

It is unclear how this will effect endorsement contracts with big brands, which may well chafe at the competition (even if it’s not direct) and the implications. In the end, said Mr. Nelson, “I told them there’s no guarantee any of it will work. But whatever does happen, at least you’re free.”

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aion-rsa · 6 years

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X-Men: Dark Phoenix Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

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Now that we have a first look at the latest X-Men installment, let's delve deeper into what the trailer has to tell us.

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Gavin Jasper

Sep 27, 2018

X-Men

The X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer is here! While the future of the X-Movie franchise is uncertain, what we have here is our first look at the twelfth movie in the cinematic multiverse, the seventh straight-up X-Men movie, and the fourth X-Men movie of the current timeline. This is the direct sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse, which featured Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) unleashing her full power to take out the titular villain. Now the defeat of the last threat led to the looming threat of Jean meeting her full potential.

This sounds very, very familiar...

Anyway, check out the trailer right here if you haven’t already. Or watch it again. Or don’t. I’m easy.

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Now let’s break down this two minutes of teasery goodness and hope that it distracts me enough from having the Doors stuck in my head.

THE CURRENT ROSTER

Wearing the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely uniforms, we see Xavier leading the team of Quicksilver, Nightcrawler, Beast, Cyclops, Storm, and Mystique. Of course, as we’ll get to down the line, this won’t remain the lineup for long.

REWRITING THE WHEEL

The basic storyline here, at least in terms of what the trailer shows us, is extremely similar to X-Men: The Last Stand. We’re shown that Jean Grey was troubled and too powerful as a child, so Professor Xavier did a mind whammy on her to keep her in check. Now she’s reaching her potential and not only is she edging closer to the dark side, but Magneto appears to be helping her out.

And she’s got those weird vein cracks all over her face too.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with doing a cinematic mulligan with a comic character. This is a year that’s shown the second attempt at Deadpool fighting the second attempt at Juggernaut while the second attempt at a Venom origin story is about to hit the box office. It’s just so weird to see them trying to tell an entire comic arc all over again.

One of the big changes this time around appears to be Jean’s childhood trauma. Rather than simply being too powerful than one little girl should be, we see that her powers accidentally led to the death of her family. Xavier seems to have repressed that memory and that’s surely one of those things that will bite you in the ass down the line.

HEY, LOOK! SPACE!

There are a couple shots in the trailer of the team flying around in space, even if it’s limited to just outside of the upper atmosphere. This is mostly a way to show off Mystique’s snazzy new makeup job, but the comic version of The Dark Phoenix Saga (X-Men #129-138) is very much linked to the team having space adventures. That’s a major thing that Last Stand didn’t involve, though the movie was too busy as is to include it.

While several X-Men members are shown in the background, there’s no sign of Jean in there.

JESSICA CHASTAIN FOR SOME REASON

While Magneto appears to be doing his umpteenth turn of egging on mutant villainy only to feel really bad about it later, Jessica Chastain is shown briefly as pushing Jean towards evil. Her role isn’t officially known, but considering this is a Jean/Cyclops story and the big question mark over Mr. Sinister finally showing up in one of these movies, she could be some new take on that villain.

BEAST IN THE BROTHERHOOD?!

At one point we get yet another Xavier/Magneto face-off. Xavier has the X-Men backing him up and Magneto has his own crew. I don’t know who the two on the right are, but Beast has decided to throw in with the Master of Magnetism. Various parts of the trailer show Hank portraying concern over Jean’s increasing power and disgust at Xavier.

There is probably one other thing that would send him over the edge...

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Somebody dies. We see the funeral and everything. Unless it’s a big swerve, all signs point to Mystique getting taken out. Not only does she have a very limited amount of screen time in this trailer despite, you know, being Jennifer Lawrence, but she’s Jennifer Lawrence and she’s still in these X-Men movies. She’s getting the Force Awakens Harrison Ford mercy treatment here.

Plus, look at the way it's framed. Xavier and Beast on opposite sides and thrown into conflict due to these events.

It also helps that there’s this shot of Beast embracing her that very much looks like he could be hugging her lifeless body.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix opens on February 14, 2019. Bring a date. The full schedule of X-Men movie releases can be found here.

Gavin Jasper writes for Den of Geek and was excited about a Phoenix-based X-Men movie until realizing it’s not about the video game lawyer. You can check out more of his stuff here. Follow him on Twitter @Gavin4L

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media101jazzaah-blog · 6 years

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PewDiePie vs The Wall Street Journal

On February 14th of 2017, Journalist’s from the Wall Street Journal, Rolfe Winkler, Jack Nicas and Ben Fritz wrote and published an article titled: Disney Severs Ties with YouTube Star PewDiePie After Anti-Semitic Posts.

A post shared by PewDiePie (@pewdiepie) on Mar 2, 2018 at 11:51am PST

Felix Kjellberg, mostly known by his online profile “PewDiePie”, is the biggest YouTuber on the platform having over 65 million subscribers and over 18 billion views on his YouTube channel. After months of researching through PewDiePie’s enormous catalogue of videos, Winkler, Nicas and Fritz, came across anti-Semitic posts and Nazi imagery over a six-month period prior to the release of the article. The “evidence” regarding the anti-Semitic posts were forwarded to the partners that PewDiePie was working with – Disney (who owns the multi-channel network PewDiePie was signed with) and YouTube. As a result, Disney severed their ties with PewDiePie and YouTube themselves cancelled the upcoming YouTube Red series “Scare PewDiePie 2” as well as pulling him off the Google Preferred tier, a premium family-friendly tier for advertising.

The article itself is based around a video posted on the 11th of January 2017, which included two men holding up a sign “Death to all Jews” whilst laughing. The background of this video is about a website called Fiverr, a freelancer website where people are paid to do certain tasks. This is where PewDiePie decided to see how far people are willing to go for $5 with absurd offers where most were obviously rejected, however, some weren’t like the two Indian men holding the sign. The Indian men and PewDiePie were heavily criticised and both were suspended from Fiverr – after an apology [pictured below] and explaining that they did not know what the sign meant, the Indian men regained their account.

This particular video and eight others that were on PewDiePie’s account (three of which are no longer on the channel) are posts that include anti-Semitic jokes or Nazi imagery, according to the Wall Street Journal article. What makes this article interesting is that the journalists’ compiled the videos into multiple clips to make somewhat of a montage video which portrays PewDiePie in a negative way – almost making it looked like he supports a Nazi movement. This had caused major outrage among the YouTube and online community, as it felt like a takedown piece targeting internet personalities – “old school media does not like internet personalities because they are scared of us, we have such a big influence and such a large voice and they don’t understand it and that’s why they take this approach with us”, PewDiePie explains in his apology video (which is no longer available). For those who have been following the YouTube star for years, are aware of his dark sense of humour or satirical comedy, therefore, most mainstream media platforms are fathomed as to how this 28-year-old Swedish man became such massive influencer among the younger generation.

The Wall Street Journal is now being accused of taking the clips in question out of context. PewDiePie highlighted that they [The Journal] were only using parts of his video, thus, taking it completely out of context. An example is one clip of PewDiePie wearing a Nazi uniform watching a Hitler speech – Of course that looks and sounds bad, however, if you were to observe the full video, it was about the new YouTube Heroes programme that had recently been created to monitor content on YouTube. Other videos included PewDiePie pointing upward which for some reason looked like he was saluting or when there were swastikas shown on his channel when PewDiePie was showing his new game WITH the title “Please Stop Doing This” as players from the game that he created were making them.

In his apology video he continues to criticise mainstream media due to the number of times either himself or other public figures get “blatantly misrepresent[ed] for their own gain, and [they] even viciously attack people to further themselves.” Another big YouTuber by the name of Philip DeFranco – who shares content regarding current events, politics and pop culture, shares his opinion on the PewDiePie/Wall Street Journal debacle [Video below]: “The Wall Street Journal and all of the other outlets, 100% have a bead on the forehead of PewDiePie, and that is because Felix brings in the clicks, outrage brings in the clicks, get them in with a headline and whatever happens, happens… and the other sites that are talking about PewDiePie now, you see their intent, their intent was to takedown and ruin Felix, the biggest YouTuber on the platform”, he continues to mention “the mainstream outlets that are trying to cover this, you are overextending and are looking silly and you are adding to the conversation of why you should not be trusted.”

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Overall, because of the initial story that was brought to light by the Wall Street Journal, PewDiePie lost his contract with Disney and his YouTube Red series, however, he stands by his statement that the journalists were out to get a story – “it was an attack by the media to discredit me, to decrease my influence, and my economic worth.” Multiple media outlets continued to headline misleading articles without diving further into detail which is very concerning and dangerous with the ‘fake news’ stigma that is around - readers either go off the title or assume it’s a reliable source without fact-checking, hence why the media still has the influence and pull on an audience.

However, PewDiePie ends the video by apologising to his audience and those who may have been offended by his content. He understood that things have consequences and accepts the decisions that Disney and YouTube had made and as a send-off to the Wall Street Journal, he said “I’m still here, I’m still making videos. Nice try Wall Street Journal… Try again motherf--.”

[Re-uploaded version of PewDiePie’s Apology Video]

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DISCLAIMER: This post is strictly for the purposes of a University assignment.

SOURCES:

Wall Street Journal Article & Image: https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-severs-ties-with-youtube-star-pewdiepie-after-anti-semitic-posts-1487034533

PewDiePie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pewdiepie

PewDiePie YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PewDiePie/featured

Philip DeFranco YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil/featured

Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8fucBzAL-0

Image: https://www.change.org/p/wsj-apologize-for-the-lies-against-pewdiepie-reinstate-pewdiepie-s-network

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrnJAy-rfyA

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conflictpredicted · 7 years

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“Jackal Kraus, how are you today?”

“About the same”

“Do you think you can proceed with your appointment?”

“Yes”

he sat in an office in the northern wing of the base, he went there a few times a month. A middle-aged lady with a long figure dressed in a suit displaying a military crest sat behind the desk, her hair was pulled tightly back in a bun and while she looked intimidating, she had a kind face. She leaned in closer to her desk with a pen and paper and smiled at him.

“You said that last time too”

Jackal straightened up in his chair even more “no I think I can” his eyes averted to the corner the book shelf in the corner of the room “sometimes it’s just hard to tell if I can until I start talking”

The woman grinned “that is very true.” She flipped to a new side of paper in her notepad “Now, if it’s okay to begin. How is Anjie?”

“She’s stable” he stopped for a moment and began to play with the button on his jacket and then looked back up at her “she loves board games and adores my friend Tobas. She laughs all of the time and last week she even tried a cooking class offered by the hospital” he continued on with full expression “and well she says she is not sure if she’s the greatest cook considering she spilled most of the ingredients on the counter-” he stopped himself “sorry that’s not what you wanted to know, is it?”

The woman still held her pleasant smile “That’s okay, I’m glad to hear.”

He was quite nervous and started to feel sweat on the back of his neck.

“Anjie seems like quite the happy girl, compared to you.”

Jackal looked away, he couldn’t stand coming to terms with his real self.

“it would help if you opened up to me.”

Both sat in silence for a few moments before she started speaking again

“Jackal, please look at me. You have experienced trauma, no doubt, and you are doing the best you can. But you have pretended as if nothing has happened for over a year now. It isn’t healthy.”

Jackal finally looked at her again, wearing a disheartened smile “I guess I can’t proceed with the appointment today” he let out his signature light laugh “sorry” and left the office. The woman remained in her seat and watched him walk by the blurred window, she sighed and felt confounded.

While more than half of the base was in Liastein, the upper ranking officers thought it would be a great opportunity for the remaining squads to do an “area scope” whilst cleaning. Tobas groaned he couldn’t believe he wasn’t chosen to leave, it was his hometown and he hadn’t visited in months. Watching everyone get on trucks and leave the base only made his homesickness manifest more. He pouted on the stone wall outside, moments later sen appeared and searched around for the rest of the group

“Where’s Sina and Jackal?”

Tobas turned away, he did not want to talk nor look at him. Sen was used to this behaviour and while it was annoying it didn’t get on his nerves too much. Tobas finally jumped off the wall and walked up to him with his arms crossed

“You did something.” he said accusingly

Sen didn’t know what he was talking about and walked around to see if sina or jackal had arrived until he was stopped by Tobas who grabbed his shoulder “What was that look general gave you last night”

Sen removed his hand from his shoulder “I don’t know, he just looked at me”

Tobas’ eyes were pointed and gleaming, “You know I don’t believe a word you say” he said through his teeth

“then why are you asking me a question if you won’t believe it anyway” tobas balled his hand into a fist and as he was about to swing it Petar walked out the entrance of the base

“Wow you two, am I going to have to break you up?” he came over to see what was up and tobas released his hand and shoved it back in his pocket “No, sen over here is just being smart”

“hmm” Petar said assessing the situation with his shifty hazel eyes, sen shrugged with both hands it was the most animated he ever got aside from combat and eating bread. He stepped back and sat on the bench taking out his pocket watch to check the time, petar brushed his bangs from his face, he usually kept them held back with a few pins but forgot them today. He looked to sen “You know Jackal and Sina are cleaning out the compost over there.”

he looked up “really?”

“yeah they have been for about 20 minutes now”

Sen felt a bit foolish since he had been waiting for them to begin todays duties and to find out they had started without him. Petar looked obtusely at the two of them and wondered if they ever really functioned as a team, before offering to reunite them.

The three of them walked through the soggy field in their boots and full uniforms, although they were only cleaning it was still considered an official duty. The sun beamed down, for a February day it was almost like spring and the grass let off a peaceful earthy smell. They came upon a concrete platform which led to the sorting facility enclosed in a fenced off area, it no longer smelt like spring but now awful. Sina and Jackal were there working away and wearing masks on their faces to block out the smell. Sina dropped her bag and waved at Petar, Jackal lifted his head up and waved as well. Sen didn’t look pleased with the situation their squad was assigned, he knew that it was probably his fault though. If sen wasn't pleased then tobas was a hundred more times discontented, looking more than unwilling to step foot through that gate.

The two of them came out smelling strongly of rotten banana peals mixed with spoiled milk, they took off their gloves and breathed in the fresher air for the moment.

“its not as bad as it looks” jackal assured, mostly speaking towards tobas who carried a pretty boy complex.

Petar was in a daze and still smiling at sina, she said nothing and continued to return it back to him. Sen rolled up his sleeves, took off his nice white gloves, and stuffed them in his pocket. After putting on the rubber gloves he proceeded through the gate before the others. Jackal followed behind him shortly.

“sorry you have to do this, I would help out but my team and I got assigned the lounge.” He patted sinas head and said his goodbyes

Tobas smirked at her “Is that your boyfriend?” sina looked at him with a look of dismay

“No we’re just friends.” She stated firmly.

“oh~ he would feel miserable to hear that” chuckled tobas

Sina expressed confusion

“Petar has it hot for you”

Sinas face flushed red, scrunched her nose up, and joined jackal and sen.

Jackal held the bag open so that sen could pour one of the bins into it. Behind them sina was knelt down sorting through cans, she ripped the labels off them and placed them in a separate pile.

Tobas sat on the ground against the fence, to him he was in hell. He sighed his head back and forth repeatedly while watching the three of them touch garbage

“I could easily get a girlfriend you know”

Jackal glanced over and gave him a funny look. Sina increased her concentration at the can sorting.

“I’m serious, I’d say I get asked every week” tobas went on, none of them knew what he was going on about.

“what about you Jackal, you’re pretty good looking yourself” he winked. \jackal tied the garbage bag and chuckled “am I? I don’t know about that”

Sina looked up at him “People admire you Jackal”

He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully “well that’s good to know” then he wondered “why do you bring this up, Tobas?”

Tobas expressed a half-twisted grin “Petar is hot for Sina”

Her face again flushed red in both embarrassment in anger she violently started ripping the labels off and digging loudly through cans, sen peered down at her confused. Tobas turned his head and watched her attentively “I think love is what we need during this dark time, I say go for it sina”

Jackal continued to rub his neck, he wasn’t sure what to say, he could feel her embarrassment and could see the fun tobas was having.

“Don’t listen to him, he just likes to poke fun at whatever he can, Petar seems nice though. So, if you like him don’t be ashamed”

Followed by his comment, Sina made the biggest racket, now avoiding any contact with jackal and tobas. Sen changed the subject to work “Lets just finish cleaning so we can get out of here” the smell was starting to become nauseating. When the work was done they were all so relieved but badly needed a shower, except tobas who did close to nothing. Despite that he rushed off to the showers anyways, sina waited until sen could tell them ago, for she respected him to that extent. Sen dismissed them, and she hurried off partly because she was still flustered and so she could get a shower as well.

It was nearly lunchtime and sina was starving. Fortunately, ever since she saw crow her nightmare had stopped, and she was able to focus during the day now. This had her feeling mentally good. She caught sight of jackal who was walking back with sen. Behind her was petar from the other direction, jackal did a small salute to him, in which sina looked behind her shoulder and spotted him. It caused her to blush and that made her anxiety exceed levels. So she decided to rush off and enter the cafeteria by herself. Petar watched her leave in confusion. Momentarily, a few of Petar’s squad members showed up, including tera the snippy one.

“shall we eat, I think we worked for it” he said inviting Jackal and Sen to join them.

Tera plugged her nose “Oh my, do I smell trash?” then laughed as she continued to enter the cafeteria.

Petar sigh “sorry about that, she’s not that bad” then whispered, “all of you actually smell quite nice” sen didn’t know what to do with that information and waited for jackal to say something, which surely the polite guy did “Well, thanks” he replied lightheartedly.

Petar eagerly looked for the table Sina was at, ever since yesterday he hasn’t stopped thinking about the times they’ve spent together. He was dying to confess his feelings but was at a difficult crossroad with himself. They had hung out with crow alone many times in the past, she knew his father, and they got along well. Everyone gathered at a table in the middle of the room, sina felt uncomfortable when everyone abruptly sat around her talking loudly. She wasn’t expecting all of the company and had taken 3 portions of food for herself. She quickly pushed a cheesy baked potato at sen, who had a plain one without butter. He looked down at it and then at her puzzled, she gave him a desperate look that read “please just go along with it” he nodded at her and pulled the cheesy potato closer to him. Petar looked happily at her and asked how the cleaning went, she gave him a thumbs-up but didn’t feel like talking. She never liked talking during meals because she was so focused on the meal in front of her.

Suddenly an alarm went off, it was so startling a piece of potato fell from her mouth. Everyone looked around, everything seemed to be okay until smoke started billowing from the hallway

“What is It a fire?” Jackal questioned in a panic

Moments later an announcement over the PA was made “everyone take positions, at this time the situation is unknown, prepare yourselves for potential combat and take positions. I repeat prepare yourselves and take positions”

Sen’s and Tera’s communication devices started beeping like mad both of them answered and there was shouting at the other end of them

Tera shouted back into hers “what’s going on, please calm down!”

The voice at the other end said

“w-we’re being attacked!”

#ch4

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flauntpage · 7 years

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DGB Grab Bag: Goodbye Jagr, Hello Whalers, and Brad Marchand, Comedy Star?

Three Stars of Comedy (All-Star weekend edition)

The All-Star weekend is weird. It's pretty much the only time all year that NHL players are allowed to show any personality, or at least try to. Some jump at the opportunity. Most don't. And the results are always hit-and-miss.

It's been especially tough to find a good laugh at the event ever since the NHL dropped the breakaway challenge that had some of the stars playing dress-up or otherwise getting creative. And no, we're not going to go with this year's Wes McCauley's offside review announcement, because the fact that the NHL had an offside review in an all-star game was just sad. But even if we're grading on a curve, we'll hand out some points for effort at this year's event.

The third star: Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman – Their pirate costume routine was fun, at least as long as it wasn't foreshadowing a Karlsson-to-Tampa trade that would basically guarantee the Lightning a Cup. But the real star was this quote from Karlsson.

The second star: Brian Mach's grandmother – Mach is an NHL linesman who got to work all-star weekend for the first time. Grandma was not impressed.

The first star: Brad Marchand – Yeah, he wouldn't have been my pick to steal the show either. But by embracing the heel role, Marchand at least looked like he was having fun. From his sarcastic waving to to his over-the-top injury faking, Marchand came across as… well, not remotely likable, but at least vaguely self-aware. In the NHL, that's something.

Overall, we'll give the weekend a C+. Ah well. While only a few of their All-Stars were all that interesting, at least we still have Jaromir Jagr, right? Now to take a big sip of water and move on to the next section…

Outrage of the Week

The issue: Jaromir Jagr has been released by the Calgary Flames and signed with a team in the Czech league, all but certainly spelling the end of his NHL career. The outrage: NOOOOO! Is it justified: We knew it was coming. We had plenty of time to prepare. We should be OK with this.

We are not OK with this.

And I feel pretty safe saying "we," because over the years Jagr somehow morphed into a universally beloved figure among hockey fans. He'd basically taken over Teemu Selanne's role as the guy that just about nobody disliked. Even Penguin fans who weren't over the whole 2011 bait-and-switch, or Capitals fans still trying to figure out how he went from perennial Art Ross winner to "guy it makes sense to trade straight-up for Anson Carter" overnight were mostly OK with him by now.

That's a weird twist on a memorable career, given how Jagr arrived in the NHL. Back in the early 90s, when he arrived as Mario Lemieux's sidekick and immediately won two Cups in his first two seasons, plenty of us didn't like him. He was the poster child for a certain kind of flashy European player that we were having trouble getting used to. The NHL was a league where you weren't supposed to smile if you scored a goal; having your own trademark celebration was basically a felony violation of The Code. So even when he took over from Mario as the league's best player, we loved seeing him get his comeuppance.

He just didn't get it very often. The Washington debacle seemed to spell the end of him as a legitimate superstar, but then came his rebirth with the post-lockout Rangers. Little did we know he had another dozen years left. He spent a few of those in the KHL, and that and the two seasons' worth of time he lost to Gary Bettman's lockouts might have cost him a run at the all-time goals crown. The fact that we can even conceive of that for a guy who played 80 percent of his career in the Dead Puck era is ridiculous. Even better, he emerged as one of the game's better personalities, and both he and we loosened up over the years.

But now it's over. Probably. Nobody would be completely shocked if Jagr showed up again some time next season for one more run. We've been here before, after all. But this time feels different. This really does feel like the end.

So thank you, Jaromir. Father Time catches up to us all eventually, but you sure made him work for it. We'll see you in the Hall of Fame in three years or so. And until then, we'll always have your awkward draft day and your ridiculous highlight-reel goals and yes, the image of your injured groin slathered in peanut butter. It's been a trip.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Today marks the 41st anniversary of one of the weirder record-breaking performances in NHL history: Maple Leafs defenseman Ian Turnbull's five-goal game. Not surprisingly, it's the only time a blueliner has ever scored five times in a single game; even hat tricks by defensemen are relatively rare, with only 42 players managing the feat in the last 30 years. Many of those names are the ones you'd expect, like Al MacInnis, Paul Coffey, and Shea Weber. A few are not, including this week's obscure player: Deron Quint.

Quint was a second-round pick by the Jets in the 1994 draft. He made his debut during the 1995-96 season, the team's last in Winnipeg, and held down a regular roster spot in Phoenix before being dealt to the Devils for Lyle Odelein at the 2000 deadline. His stay in New Jersey didn't last long, as he was dealt to the expansion Blue Jackets that offseason. He'd spend two years in Columbus before bouncing around the league for several seasons, making stops with the Blackhawks, Islanders, and Coyotes (again). His NHL days ended in 2007, but he continued his career in Europe for another decade, earning all-star honors in the KHL.

Quint was never much of a goal scorer, at least at the NHL level; he had only 46 in his career, and his high for a single season was just seven. But he briefly found his scoring touch on March 9, 2001, recording the hat trick in a 7-6 Blue Jackets win over the Panthers. All three goals came in the second period.

Oddly enough, that's not even the strangest Deron Quint goal-scoring feat. As a rookie in December 1995, Quint matched a six-decades-old NHL record by managing to score two goals in four seconds. How does a defenseman pull that off? As you'll see below, a little bit of luck helps.

The NHL Carolina Hurricanes Actually Got Something Right

The Hurricanes have a new owner. He's a 46-year-old billionaire named Tom Dundon, and so far he's been saying all the right things about wanting to win and keeping the team in Carolina. That's a positive development for a long-suffering fan base, but for the most part it doesn't really matter much to anyone else. The Hurricanes will continue their playoff push, they'll keep being that one team you always forget is in the Metro, and Canadians will continue to make up stories about them being on the verge of moving to Quebec. New ownership is a nice enough development, but that's about all it is.

Well, until this week. Because now we know that Dundon is toying with the idea of bringing back the Hartford Whalers.

Well, not the actual team. But Dundon would apparently like to reestablish the team's ties to its own history. That means selling Whalers merchandise, and maybe even playing games wearing the old uniforms (which were recently voted the league's second-best ever).

And, by far most importantly of all, the glory that is Brass Bonanza. It's back.

Hell yeah. In a sports world where retro is all the rage, this just seems like common sense, and it's a surprise that the NHL's various relocated teams don't do more of this sort of thing. You can understand not wanting to jump into right away, when fans in your old city are still recovering from the loss of a team; you don't want to wipe their face in it. And in cases like the Coyotes and Stars, where the old city eventually got another team, then you may not want to step on any toes.

But at this point it feels pretty safe to say that the NHL isn't heading back to Hartford anytime soon. So bring on the green and white. Find out what Pucky the Whale is up to these days. And by all means, blare that beautiful Brass Bonanza every chance you get.

(And be sure to crank it up extra loud whenever Brian Burke and the Flames are in town.)

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

We're one week away from the start of the Winter Olympics, which won't feature NHL players for the first time in 24 years. That's disappointing, and it's going to make the tournament a tough sell, no matter what those intellectual eggheads in the New York Times try to tell you. Still, we might as well make the best of it. So today, let's look back at the last pre-NHL gold medal game from 1994, as Canada and Sweden face off in one of the most memorable games in international history.

Oh yeah, we're doing this in Swedish. I probably should have mentioned that up front. Or not mentioned it at all, and just let you go through the whole clip thinking you were having a stroke.

But yeah, this is the clip from the Swedish broadcast, because everything sounds better in Swedish. Don't worry, though, I'm sure the announcers will be professional and stay impartial.

Our clip begins with about two minutes left in regulation. Everyone knows this game for the shootout, but not many remember that Canada had scored twice in the third period to take a 2-1 lead and were less than two minutes away from winning gold. Poor Derek Mayer. He scored the second Canadian goal that would have been the winner if the lead had held. Mayer was two minutes from being a national hero. Instead he's the guy who played 17 games for the expansion Senators. This sport can be cruel.

Sweden is on the powerplay because international hockey is always rigged against Canada. Man, those benches are in a weird place. One of those Team Canada players could reach over and grab the Swedish guy as he works the boards. Probably should have, in hindsight.

Sweden ties it on a goal by defenseman Magnus Svensson, which is 100 percent the name you'd come up with if you had to make up a fake Swedish identity for the cops and you panicked. It's very subtle, but you can pick up a little bit of excitement from our announcers, one of who screams a very aggressive "YEAH." Or I guess it's "JA." Either way, he seems happy.

We cut ahead to the shootout, and it's Magnus Svensson again. Or maybe it's not the same guy and most of the Swedish roster was just named "Magnus Svensson." I kind of hope it's that. Anyway, he scores on a gorgeous deke, leading to another "JA."

Wait, a defenseman got to take a turn in the shootout? What kind of Olympic coach would ever let something like that happen?

Next up is Forsberg, although this isn't the famous shot we all remember. He does score, though, beating Corey Hirsch on a nifty move. It's so nice that we skip the traditional "JA" and go straight to "OY YO YO YO." I don't care what language you speak, that's a flat-out fun thing to yell. I'm using that in my everyday life.

Next up is Forsberg again, because the Swedes snuck him in for a second shot even though it's against the rules and they should have to forfeit and Canada retroactively wins gold WHOOO! [checks earpiece] OK I'm being reminded that international hockey allows players to shoot more than once. You win this round, Sweden. Literally, as it turns out.

Forsberg beats Hirsch with the Peter Forsberg Move, which… I mean, how do you not see that coming, am I right?

This is the famous goal that would wind up on a postage stamp. Fun fact: The goalie in that stamp is wearing blue instead of Team Canada red because Hirsch refused to let them use his likeness and threatened to sue. He's since said that he regrets that, but I always liked it. It's the equivalent of making your friend delete that embarrassing photo of you looking stupid, except at an international level. I can respect that.

Needless to say, Forsberg's goal gets an extended OY YO YO YO from our two announcers as we head to the replays. I forgot how close Hirsch was to stopping that. Usually when The Forsberg works, it's into a wide-open net. But Hirsch is right with it the whole way and gets his glove down in the perfect spot. He's just a fraction of a second too late. Hockey, man.

That's it for our clip, which doesn't show Paul Kariya's game-ending miss and the subsequent celebration, presumably because our two announcers dove out of the booth to join it. It was Sweden's first ever gold medal; they'd win another with (mostly) NHL players in 2006. Can they do it again this year? Nobody knows, because we have no idea what to expect from this tournament. But if it's as entertaining as the 1994 gold medal game, will it be worth watching? I'm going to ahead and say ja.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Goodbye Jagr, Hello Whalers, and Brad Marchand, Comedy Star? published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 7 years

Text

DGB Grab Bag: Goodbye Jagr, Hello Whalers, and Brad Marchand, Comedy Star?

Three Stars of Comedy (All-Star weekend edition)

The All-Star weekend is weird. It’s pretty much the only time all year that NHL players are allowed to show any personality, or at least try to. Some jump at the opportunity. Most don’t. And the results are always hit-and-miss.

It’s been especially tough to find a good laugh at the event ever since the NHL dropped the breakaway challenge that had some of the stars playing dress-up or otherwise getting creative. And no, we’re not going to go with this year’s Wes McCauley’s offside review announcement, because the fact that the NHL had an offside review in an all-star game was just sad. But even if we’re grading on a curve, we’ll hand out some points for effort at this year’s event.

The third star: Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman – Their pirate costume routine was fun, at least as long as it wasn’t foreshadowing a Karlsson-to-Tampa trade that would basically guarantee the Lightning a Cup. But the real star was this quote from Karlsson.

The second star: Brian Mach’s grandmother – Mach is an NHL linesman who got to work all-star weekend for the first time. Grandma was not impressed.

The first star: Brad Marchand – Yeah, he wouldn’t have been my pick to steal the show either. But by embracing the heel role, Marchand at least looked like he was having fun. From his sarcastic waving to to his over-the-top injury faking, Marchand came across as… well, not remotely likable, but at least vaguely self-aware. In the NHL, that’s something.

Overall, we’ll give the weekend a C+. Ah well. While only a few of their All-Stars were all that interesting, at least we still have Jaromir Jagr, right? Now to take a big sip of water and move on to the next section…

Outrage of the Week

The issue: Jaromir Jagr has been released by the Calgary Flames and signed with a team in the Czech league, all but certainly spelling the end of his NHL career.

The outrage: NOOOOO!

Is it justified: We knew it was coming. We had plenty of time to prepare. We should be OK with this.

We are not OK with this.

And I feel pretty safe saying “we,” because over the years Jagr somehow morphed into a universally beloved figure among hockey fans. He’d basically taken over Teemu Selanne’s role as the guy that just about nobody disliked. Even Penguin fans who weren’t over the whole 2011 bait-and-switch, or Capitals fans still trying to figure out how he went from perennial Art Ross winner to “guy it makes sense to trade straight-up for Anson Carter” overnight were mostly OK with him by now.

That’s a weird twist on a memorable career, given how Jagr arrived in the NHL. Back in the early 90s, when he arrived as Mario Lemieux’s sidekick and immediately won two Cups in his first two seasons, plenty of us didn’t like him. He was the poster child for a certain kind of flashy European player that we were having trouble getting used to. The NHL was a league where you weren’t supposed to smile if you scored a goal; having your own trademark celebration was basically a felony violation of The Code. So even when he took over from Mario as the league’s best player, we loved seeing him get his comeuppance.

He just didn’t get it very often. The Washington debacle seemed to spell the end of him as a legitimate superstar, but then came his rebirth with the post-lockout Rangers. Little did we know he had another dozen years left. He spent a few of those in the KHL, and that and the two seasons’ worth of time he lost to Gary Bettman’s lockouts might have cost him a run at the all-time goals crown. The fact that we can even conceive of that for a guy who played 80 percent of his career in the Dead Puck era is ridiculous. Even better, he emerged as one of the game’s better personalities, and both he and we loosened up over the years.

But now it’s over. Probably. Nobody would be completely shocked if Jagr showed up again some time next season for one more run. We’ve been here before, after all. But this time feels different. This really does feel like the end.

So thank you, Jaromir. Father Time catches up to us all eventually, but you sure made him work for it. We’ll see you in the Hall of Fame in three years or so. And until then, we’ll always have your awkward draft day and your ridiculous highlight-reel goals and yes, the image of your injured groin slathered in peanut butter. It’s been a trip.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Today marks the 41st anniversary of one of the weirder record-breaking performances in NHL history: Maple Leafs defenseman Ian Turnbull’s five-goal game. Not surprisingly, it’s the only time a blueliner has ever scored five times in a single game; even hat tricks by defensemen are relatively rare, with only 42 players managing the feat in the last 30 years. Many of those names are the ones you’d expect, like Al MacInnis, Paul Coffey, and Shea Weber. A few are not, including this week’s obscure player: Deron Quint.

Quint was a second-round pick by the Jets in the 1994 draft. He made his debut during the 1995-96 season, the team’s last in Winnipeg, and held down a regular roster spot in Phoenix before being dealt to the Devils for Lyle Odelein at the 2000 deadline. His stay in New Jersey didn’t last long, as he was dealt to the expansion Blue Jackets that offseason. He’d spend two years in Columbus before bouncing around the league for several seasons, making stops with the Blackhawks, Islanders, and Coyotes (again). His NHL days ended in 2007, but he continued his career in Europe for another decade, earning all-star honors in the KHL.

Oddly enough, that’s not even the strangest Deron Quint goal-scoring feat. As a rookie in December 1995, Quint matched a six-decades-old NHL record by managing to score two goals in four seconds. How does a defenseman pull that off? As you’ll see below, a little bit of luck helps.

The NHL Carolina Hurricanes Actually Got Something Right

The Hurricanes have a new owner. He’s a 46-year-old billionaire named Tom Dundon, and so far he’s been saying all the right things about wanting to win and keeping the team in Carolina. That’s a positive development for a long-suffering fan base, but for the most part it doesn’t really matter much to anyone else. The Hurricanes will continue their playoff push, they’ll keep being that one team you always forget is in the Metro, and Canadians will continue to make up stories about them being on the verge of moving to Quebec. New ownership is a nice enough development, but that’s about all it is.

Well, until this week. Because now we know that Dundon is toying with the idea of bringing back the Hartford Whalers.

Well, not the actual team. But Dundon would apparently like to reestablish the team’s ties to its own history. That means selling Whalers merchandise, and maybe even playing games wearing the old uniforms (which were recently voted the league’s second-best ever).

And, by far most importantly of all, the glory that is Brass Bonanza. It’s back.

Hell yeah. In a sports world where retro is all the rage, this just seems like common sense, and it’s a surprise that the NHL’s various relocated teams don’t do more of this sort of thing. You can understand not wanting to jump into right away, when fans in your old city are still recovering from the loss of a team; you don’t want to wipe their face in it. And in cases like the Coyotes and Stars, where the old city eventually got another team, then you may not want to step on any toes.

But at this point it feels pretty safe to say that the NHL isn’t heading back to Hartford anytime soon. So bring on the green and white. Find out what Pucky the Whale is up to these days. And by all means, blare that beautiful Brass Bonanza every chance you get.

(And be sure to crank it up extra loud whenever Brian Burke and the Flames are in town.)

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

We’re one week away from the start of the Winter Olympics, which won’t feature NHL players for the first time in 24 years. That’s disappointing, and it’s going to make the tournament a tough sell, no matter what those intellectual eggheads in the New York Times try to tell you. Still, we might as well make the best of it. So today, let’s look back at the last pre-NHL gold medal game from 1994, as Canada and Sweden face off in one of the most memorable games in international history.

Oh yeah, we’re doing this in Swedish. I probably should have mentioned that up front. Or not mentioned it at all, and just let you go through the whole clip thinking you were having a stroke.

But yeah, this is the clip from the Swedish broadcast, because everything sounds better in Swedish. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure the announcers will be professional and stay impartial.

Our clip begins with about two minutes left in regulation. Everyone knows this game for the shootout, but not many remember that Canada had scored twice in the third period to take a 2-1 lead and were less than two minutes away from winning gold. Poor Derek Mayer. He scored the second Canadian goal that would have been the winner if the lead had held. Mayer was two minutes from being a national hero. Instead he’s the guy who played 17 games for the expansion Senators. This sport can be cruel.

Sweden ties it on a goal by defenseman Magnus Svensson, which is 100 percent the name you’d come up with if you had to make up a fake Swedish identity for the cops and you panicked. It’s very subtle, but you can pick up a little bit of excitement from our announcers, one of who screams a very aggressive “YEAH.” Or I guess it’s “JA.” Either way, he seems happy.

We cut ahead to the shootout, and it’s Magnus Svensson again. Or maybe it’s not the same guy and most of the Swedish roster was just named “Magnus Svensson.” I kind of hope it’s that. Anyway, he scores on a gorgeous deke, leading to another “JA.”

Wait, a defenseman got to take a turn in the shootout? What kind of Olympic coach would ever let something like that happen?

Next up is Forsberg, although this isn’t the famous shot we all remember. He does score, though, beating Corey Hirsch on a nifty move. It’s so nice that we skip the traditional “JA” and go straight to “OY YO YO YO.” I don’t care what language you speak, that’s a flat-out fun thing to yell. I’m using that in my everyday life.

Next up is Forsberg again, because the Swedes snuck him in for a second shot even though it’s against the rules and they should have to forfeit and Canada retroactively wins gold WHOOO! [checks earpiece] OK I’m being reminded that international hockey allows players to shoot more than once. You win this round, Sweden. Literally, as it turns out.

Forsberg beats Hirsch with the Peter Forsberg Move, which… I mean, how do you not see that coming, am I right?

This is the famous goal that would wind up on a postage stamp. Fun fact: The goalie in that stamp is wearing blue instead of Team Canada red because Hirsch refused to let them use his likeness and threatened to sue. He’s since said that he regrets that, but I always liked it. It’s the equivalent of making your friend delete that embarrassing photo of you looking stupid, except at an international level. I can respect that.

Needless to say, Forsberg’s goal gets an extended OY YO YO YO from our two announcers as we head to the replays. I forgot how close Hirsch was to stopping that. Usually when The Forsberg works, it’s into a wide-open net. But Hirsch is right with it the whole way and gets his glove down in the perfect spot. He’s just a fraction of a second too late. Hockey, man.

That’s it for our clip, which doesn’t show Paul Kariya’s game-ending miss and the subsequent celebration, presumably because our two announcers dove out of the booth to join it. It was Sweden’s first ever gold medal; they’d win another with (mostly) NHL players in 2006. Can they do it again this year? Nobody knows, because we have no idea what to expect from this tournament. But if it’s as entertaining as the 1994 gold medal game, will it be worth watching? I’m going to ahead and say ja.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you’d like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Goodbye Jagr, Hello Whalers, and Brad Marchand, Comedy Star? syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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