You'll be watching on the sidelines.

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Life is beautiful and life is cruel. A window into the souls of the victorious and the vanquished. In a way, football did come home during the summer of 2021. Follow along Amelia’s journey, navigating the football world as a tactical analyst for the italian football team, with a brother and father part of the three lions. Will Amelia leave Italy and come back to England? Will she leave the Serie A for the Prem? Will she set aside the bianconeri stripes for new colours, leaving behind friendship for love? Maybe she can have both...

EEEEEEK here's part two!!! Part two sees more of Amelia's beautiful brain, the love she has for her team, and her brother, & her friendship with Kyle Walker. Hope you guys love it as much as i do - please let me know what you think - i'd love to hear from you all!

Love always,

Steph xx

UPDATE as of 31/07: I've made some additional editing changes due to some feedback about the confusion between ben white (her brother) and ben chilwell (not her brother LOL). Nothing has been added to the story, just the addition of either surname has been added where i think it could be more straightforward - for future readers!

Part 2. | seconda parte

warnings; none - just a whole lot of feels.

word count; 1469

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Wednesday 28/07 5pm AEST. Updates are twice weekly (Sunday & Wednesday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex

link to fic masterlist here

11 July 2021 | The Final Match.

The players for both national teams lined up side by side down the tunnel. Chiellini & Kane, both confident in their teams ability, captaining with great authority and mentorship for the ten men stood behind them. Amelia stood at the back of the tunnel, watching the scene ahead of her. Her dad, walking up the centre aisle between the two teams, shaking the hands of his players, confident in his preparation. A gentle hand to her brother's shoulder, saying everything it needs to say. It was the same hand that rubbed the back of her neck as he walked past, communicating the same thing. Go your hardest, you’re ready for this.

It was her turn, she started at the back of the line, and in true Italian style, a kiss was placed to both cheeks of every player up the line. When she reached Jorginho, a player she came to appreciate for his technical mindset and intellectual approach to the game, she kissed his cheek and turned to the player opposite him - her brother, who was trying his hardest to face forward and pay his little sister no mind. She knew what he was doing, but she wasn’t as heartless as the rest of the England squad probably perceived her to be. Reaching out, she rubbed her hand along the back of his neck, just as her father did to her, leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before continuing down the line of her players to the front. Shaking hands with Gareth Southgate, who no doubt had come to realise who the girl was in relation to his team, and a kiss to both cheeks of Mr Mancini, she walked out and took her place on the bench, ready for the game of her life.

120 minutes of football later.

Life is both beautiful and cruel. Whilst she hadn’t anticipated the early goal from Shaw, Amelia had predicted every play by the english and made sure her team was there waiting for them to turn and run. They knew to never let Harry Kane have the space to move the ball, to make sure Mason Mount was marked at all times and to pay attention to the silky smooth skills of Raheem Sterling. They knew that every player on the english side had the talent and skill to shoot and score, no matter if they're a striker or full back. In the end, the endless taunts from the british crowd and constant reminder of “it’s coming home” only fuelled the Italians further and pushed them harder, to their limits. Eventually both sides met with equal force and completed extra time at a draw, leading to penalties. All of Amelia’s preparation with Gianluigi Donnarumma would present itself now. She went over the preferred sides of the penalty takers she presumed would be stepping up for their country, and reminded him of all he has achieved & what there is still left to be done. After all, they are the masters of their own fate.

Donnarumma’s block of Bukayo Saka’s penalty rattled her bones and sent a chill down her spine. They had done it. The boys had finally brought football back to Rome for the first time since 1968, and while she can’t take all of the credit, she knows she single handedly played a part in this victory. As soon as happiness filled her body, guilt and sadness flooded her heart. She had been part of the problem that caused her brother so much pain. Her dad knew how to handle rejection, this wasn't his first rodeo, and could see with an open mind just how they had managed to achieve greatness. But her brother had truly believed they had it, that football was coming home to England.

After being surrounded by her boys, cheering and hugging her, screaming in relief that they had done it, Amelia took a step back and took a deep breath in. Looking over to the players in white consoling each other with looks of understanding and pats on the back, hugging those with the unfortunate fate of missing their penalties, she found her brother.

_____________________________________________________________

Squatting down with his elbows resting on his knees and hands covering part of his face, his eyes showing disbelief that the moment had escaped them. Jordan Henderson, the figurative big brother to my big brother, leaning down whispering what one can only assume is words of encouragement and strength to him. A voice to my right startles me, not because I wasn't used to the noise, but because it was a voice I haven't heard directed at me with anything other than venom in a very long time.

“He wants you to be there for him, don’t ever think for a second that he doesn’t want you around.” Kyle Walker speaks into the open, whilst looking around at the fans still in the stadium. The fans behind us right now would be watching with speculation, wondering why the english player is talking to an italian so soon after defeat.

“I don’t think he doesn’t want me around, i just don’t think he wants me around right now” I spoke back, trying to reason with myself and Kyle as to why i haven't gone up and offered my condolences to my brother.

“I think the only thing that can pull him out of this is you. He was beating himself up last night after your argument, and while he turned it into motivation for today, it's still weighing on his conscience. He’s happy for you, we aren't that mean so as to deny him the pleasure of being proud of his little sister...even if she is working for the enemy���

“You’ve always been one to be the voice of reason, whilst still being the clown I grew up to know and love”

“Does this mean we’re friends again? I’m sorry about last night” Kyle admitted.

“Last night wasn’t what ended our friendship...we stopped being friends the day you left Spurs.” I joked back to Kyle. I turned to look at his over-expressed shocked face and walked backwards a few steps while giggling, before turning and sauntering over to my brother who was now surrounded by some more teammates. Upon seeing me and noticing my solemn expression, finding comfort in the fact that I wasn't there to rub my win in their faces, the boys left my brother to himself.

I stood there, staring into the eyes of my brother, who after a few minutes reached out and pulled me into him as though I was a life raft and he was stranded in the ocean. We stood there, hugging, saying everything we needed to say through the way we were gripping to the backs of each other's team colours.

“I am so proud of you, you put up one hell of a fight Ben. Certainly made my job harder” I spoke into his shirt. He was the taller of the two, but I wasn't that short. Almost immediately after, I felt him push more weight onto me and sink a bit lower so he was in my neck, shedding a few tears he didn't want seen by those around us. Not even 5 seconds later, he stood up straight, wiping his eyes and offering me a smile.

“God, I wish you weren’t better at your job than I am at mine” he joked back to me. I smiled up at him, shaking my head.

“I would say you’re wrong but the medal that's about to be around my neck would say otherwise” i joke back with him. I was not about to dull my sparkle for someone else's sun to shine, whether he is my brother or not.

“We have to talk about everything that went down last night but i’ll let you enjoy your night with your team” Ben says as we turn and begin to walk toward the stage being set up for the ceremony.

“Thanks Ben, family dinner on Sunday? Tell your friends to come, you and i both know mum will have enough food to feed everyone without even trying”

“Of course, I'll put it in the lads chat & see who’s still around. Kyle will see it in our family chat - who even put him in there anyway!?”

“Honestly...I think it was mum. You know she loves her son, Kyle.”

As I walk back to my team, and into the arms of Fede and Jorginho who wrap me up in an Italian flag and start jumping around, I can't help but smile and laugh at my amazing life. Who knows what the future has to hold, but for tonight, the azzurri are the champions of europe and the trophy is coming home, to Rome.

Part 3. | parte terza

Rain Plays SWTOR: Reputation 101

In another installment of my series on things new players may not know, let’s talk about Reputation! I had no idea what Reputation was for a while after I started playing.  What is it? The easiest way to describe it is that it’s yet another thing you can “level up” in SWTOR. There are six levels: Outsider, Newcomer, Friend, Hero, Champion, Legend.  Reputation applies to your legacy - meaning that all your characters can contribute to earning it, and all your characters benefit from the level you have. You only have to climb to Legend once with each group and it applies to all your toons across your legacy. 

How do I earn it?  Reputation is typically earned by completing missions, and also sometimes drops from enemy NPCs as loot. It can also be acquired in Cartel Market packs, or at least, it was in the past. In the past it’s been found in Galactic Command crates, too.  If you get Reputation as part of your mission rewards, it will be auto-consumed, which means the points will be automatically added to your Reputation level. There are only two exceptions: if you’ve already hit Legend, the reputation item will be in your inventory, You can’t earn any more rep, but you can sell the item to a vendor for some credit.  You are also only permitted to earn a certain amount of Reputation across your legacy every week. This is to stop players from maxing Reputation too fast. If you earn more Reputation than you can use in a week, the item will remain in your inventory, and you can click on it to earn those points next week. 

How do I know how much reputation I have?  Press Y to open your Legacy panel, and click Reputation on the left. You will be able to view your reputation with each group. 

Why do I care about earning it?  There are three specific perks that might be of interest.  1. Ability to buy items.  In each area of the game where reputation can be earned, you will usually find at least one vendor selling unique armor, decorations, mounts, pets, and sometimes even companion contracts. These things are gated behind Reputation levels - meaning, you must have attained a certain level of Reputation with that faction to buy. Some of the stuff is really nice, and it’s usually not expensive. 

Taran models the Blue Scalene armor that can be purchased from the Gree event vendors.  2. Titles.  When you reach Friend and Legend levels with each group’s Reputation, you’ll be awarded a title that your entire Legacy (all your toons) can use. Some of the titles are edgy, some are silly, and you may find the perfect one for a particular OC.  3. Goals.  If you are the sort of player who is a completionist or needs find things to do on the game, maxing out Reputation can be a good goal.  What Reputation can I earn? 

Most of the newer planets have Reputation to earn as you complete your normal story missions. So do daily areas and events. In some cases there is a different Reputation to earn for Imperial and Republic sides. In other cases there’s just one Reputation but it’s named differently on Imperial and Republic sides.  The full list: 

Reputation that can be earned by both Imperial and Republic players:  Blatant Beks -  Earned for completing races and story missions with the Balatant Beks gang during the swoop rally event.  Bounty Brokers Association - Earned during Bounty Contract event weeks by completing bounty contracts.  Coalition Forces on Yavin 4 - Earned doing story missions on Yavin 4 during the Shadow of Revan expac, and for completing Yavin 4 daily missions.  Galactic Solutions Industries - Earned by completing GSI missions.  The Gree Enclave - Earned during Gree Enclave event weeks via dailies in the event area.  Horizon’s Razor - Earned for completing races and story missions with the Horizon’s Razor gang during the swoop rally event.  People of Rishi - Earned doing story missions on Rishi during the Shadow of Revan expac, and for completing Rishi 4 daily missions.  Pit Screamers -  Earned for completing races and story missions with the Pit Screamers gang during the swoop rally event. T.H.O.R.N. - Earned during Rakghoul Resurgence event weeks via dailies in the event area.  Underworld Exchange - Complete honesty time: I have no idea how this reputation was originally earned or what it means. It used to be five different things and it showed up in Cartel Market packs and GC crates. I don’t even know if it’s still there. You can buy some cool stuff in the Cartel Bazaar with it, though.  The Voss - Earned via story missions and heroics on Voss. This is the only class story planet that provides an opportunity to earn Reputation.  Reputation that is collective, but has different names for each faction.  The Adjudicators (Rep); Ordnance Acquisition Corps (Imp)  - Earned on CZ-198 via dailies.

Citizens of Makeb; Makeb Imperial Forces - Earned on Makeb via story missions in the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expac, Makeb dailies and heroics.  

The Dantooine Initiative (Imp); Dantooine Preservation Force (Rep) - Earned during Pirate Incursion event weeks via dailies and heroics in the event area. 

The Dread Executioners; Strike Team Oricon -  Earned on Oricon via missions in the Oricon story arc and dailies. 

Imperial First Mobile Fleet; Republic Hyperspace Armada - Earned by doing PvE space missions (obtained on your ship) Imperial Forward Command; Republic First Fleet - Earned in the Kuat Drive Yards flashpoint. Imperial Guard on Belsavis; Republic 5th Assault Battalion - Earned in Section X via dailies.   Onderon Infiltration Force (Imp); Onderon Royal Guard (Rep) - Earned on Onderon via story missions in the Onslaught Expac and dailies.  Osssus Assault Battalion (Imp); Ossus Colonization Initiative (Rep) -  Earned on Ossus via story missions in the Jedi Under Siege story arc and dailies. Reputation that has to be earned for each separate faction: Imperial Forces on Iokath - Earned for completing story missions during the Forgotten World Iokath story arc (post-KOTET) and Iokath daily missions by players siding with the Empire.   Republic Forces on Iokath - Earned for completing story missions during the Forgotten World Iokath story arc (post-KOTET) and Iokath daily missions by players siding with the Republic. **  When you begin Iokath, you will be earning the Reputation associated with your faction, up until the point in the story when you have to choose an ally. If you decide to switch sides, you will earn the other faction’s Reputation from that point on. When you do dailies, you can choose which side to support.   **

Special Olympics touch many lives

February 29, 2020

Canadian athletes Jennifer Jones, Catriona Le May Doan, Mark Tewksbury and Scott Moir mingle with Special Olympic athletes in Thunder Bay this week.

Decorated Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury left Thunder Bay this week inspired by the spirit of the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.

As a member of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Canada, Tewksbury was in the city to cheer on the participants.

But the experience took on a deeper meaning for him, hitting close to home.

“I know how it feels to be part of a community that’s sometimes excluded,” he says, describing how he ended up coming out as a gay man.

Tewksbury found solace in sport, which he says helped him to overcome challenges, to build self-confidence and to find lasting friendships.

“In these Special Olympics we see athletes experiencing the same thing,” he figures. “I felt like I had an affinity for the Special Olympics.”

Spectators crowded the various venues to encourage and congratulate the competitors from across Canada.

“The whole community has really embraced the Games and athletes and family,” says former Olympic speedskater Catriona Le May Doan, who joined Tewksbury in the same capacity.

“I was here for a board meeting and to see all the athletes and sponsors,” she explains.

The national event impressed Le May Doan and others she encountered.

“I’m hearing praise after praise about how the Games were run, the food, the welcome and the continuous excitement,” she says. “(The organizers and volunteers) have done an amazing job.”

She found the experience endearing.

“It’s inspiring every time to see them (the participants) compete,” says the accomplished athlete. “The first thing they do, regardless of results, is hug each other. The camaraderie and spirit is something we could continuously learn from and be inspired by these athletes.”

Le May Doan said the Special Olympics in Thunder Bay has exceeded expectations.

“People are sometimes surprised by the high level of competition,” she says. “It’s about inclusion and also about sport and pushing your limits.”

Curling star Jennifer Jones and retired Olympic ice dance champion Scott Moir were also on hand in Thunder Bay this week.

Moir, who along with Tessa Virtue formed one of Canada’s most famous Olympic duos, addressed the crowd at the opening ceremony of the figure skating competition on Thursday at the Tournament Centre.

He is part of the Champions Network, a group of Olympians, who support Special Olympics athletes. Moir took close to 30 athletes on tour to perform in a show.

“It’s a huge boost for so many of these athletes,” he says. “It’s uplifting. It’s been emotional. It’s one of the special moments of my life.”

In his speech, Moir acknowledged the dedication of coaches, whose talents have contributed to a dream taking shape.

“They’ve all taken time out of their lives to support your dream,” he said in his speech. “You are truly an inspiration to all of us in the skating world.”

Moir was also moved by the spirit of the Special Olympics.

“It’s done more on a pure level,” he says. “It’s sport done for the right reason. When the athletes walked in during the opening ceremonies, they were exuberant. There was overwhelming joy.”

During the torch run and the lighting of the cauldron, he says this feeling was inescapable, bringing to mind the Special Olympics anthem, encouraging participants to be happy to be part of the experience and to be happy with each other.

Moir recognizes how difficult it is to compete at a high level.

“We were blessed to have a long career,” he says. “A lot of the athletes wait years to get a shot at the Special Olympics.”

“For a lot of them, it’s the end of a long journey — a lot of perseverance,” he says. “It started out as a dream — competing at a national level — coming to fruition.”

John Van Lierop of London, Ont., is one of the many faces behind the scenes who have helped make the competitors’ dreams possible.

He volunteered as a lap counter at the speedskating venue.

Certified with Level 3 qualifications through the Ontario Speedskating Association, he has volunteered over the past 22 years at three regionals, one provincials (in Thunder Bay in 2011) and most recently, at one nationals.

“Thunder Bay is very welcoming and warm, compared to the last time we were here (in 2011) — in minus 40 degrees (Celsius),” he chuckles.

Sporting a hat full of collectable pins, Van Lierop was an unmistakable figure at Delaney Arena. He says he has 300 pins in his collection and treasures a Thunder Bay police pin he got at the 2020 Special Olympics and one from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from the 2011 Games.

“There’s more crowd participation,” he says. “It’s hard to hear. The stands were full. The enthusiasm from the crowd — you can feel it going towards the athletes. The fans are cheering everyone.”

Volunteer Diane Imrie, who was co-manager of figure skating, drafted Team Ontario figure skater, Katie Xu, of Stittsville, Ont., along with several of her friends in a club they call the “Birthday Club”.

It was part of the Draft an Athlete program.

Imrie, who is also the executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, was delighted to be able to see her athlete compete.

“It was serendipitous that I was a volunteer with figure skating and it happened to be the sport our athlete was drafted from,” she says. “We were able to meet when she took the athletes’ oath at the figure skating opening ceremony, which was really special.”

—The Chronicle Journal

thanks for answering!! i hope you don't mind if i send more charas...how about green and/or lillie?

fhgjkfdg aw yea thank u!! hopefully this doesn’t publish before i’m done typing lol

also this definitely needs a readmore bc i got emotional abt Green oops

Green

favorite thing about them

first of all: the fact that Green canonically has a rivals to best friends arc with Red fills me with so much joy and YES they are on their alolan honeymoon you cannot convince me otherwise

okay like. gen 1 Green just perfectly encompasses what it’s like to be a ten year old in a way? like ofc he’s written like a kid bc he is a kid, but i feel like the writing on him just feels so genuine as compared to some of the other 10 yr old rivals you get in other regions. even though he’s kinda a brat at the start, he kinda eases up a bit as you go along your journey and starts giving you progressively nicer/more praise-y end lines when you beat him (going from “i picked the wrong pokémon!” to “so, you are ready for boss rocket!”) but still retains this childlike rivalry and competitiveness and i love that about him

and like. fucking beating him at the Indigo League still completely breaks my heart because even after he did become the champion at age 10 the first thing that happens is you beat him and Prof Oak just yells at him for being bad at things and like. ow. 

this is why i headcanon that Red actually took awhile longer to get to Green like please. please give my boy a chance to be happy and proud

also Red was caught up with Team Rocket anyway so i imagine he must’ve fallen a little behind at some point? anyway

the development on him across regions is so choice!!! he’s so much more mellow and even kinda melancholic when you find him in gsc/hgss, like he’s calmed down over a few years and he obviously misses Red so much but like, it’s clear that Red is kinda the reason Green does settle down and he seems to have worked on his character and become a nicer person - and he still has that sassy flair to him! he’s just got that gradual slope from asshole rival to kinda aloof gym leader to friendly/sassy battle legend and aaaaa i love my boy so MUCH

also huge point: he’s so fucking driven??? he’s got the most drive and the most passion for battles/pokémon in general out of all the rivals i feel. he’s only closely matched by Silver, but Silver seems to be more aggressive than passionate, and somewhat out of necessity too (like, Giovanni abandoned him what was he to do), whereas Green just really like. he genuinely just cares so much about battles and about pokémon in general! he literally calls you in hgss and just rants about how many different kinds of pokémon there are in the world!!!

also in Alola he’s like???? just so sweet?????? he congratulates you and is like hey you’re really strong lets battle like!!!!!!!!! supportive boy!!!!! he has come so far over so many generations and i cry

also on Four Island when you play frlg he legitimately says “Be smelling ya!” when he leaves and how do you not love this idiot

least favorite thing about them

i mean. while i get that you beat Green right after he becomes the champion in the kanto games i feel like there should’ve been more pomp and circumstance for him and i’ll never forgive gamefreak for giving this boy his dream, then making you rip it away from him, and then watching his own gramps yell at him for fucking up like. again it’s that drive, i get why Red keeps such good pace w Green but i just feel like he worked so hard and he deserved so much better than that

also while i’m very biased towards him bc Big Emotions, i feel like if i knew this boy irl who was constantly i’m so great and you’re a loser i would probably punch him eventually lmao. in theory it’s kinda endearing but as a real person that’d be grating 

favorite line

on one hand, “smell ya later” is so fucking iconic, but on the other - 

“I’m Blue. Man, this guy called Red brought me down in a heartbeat. I haven’t seen him in a long time…I wonder where he is and what he’s up to… Come to think of it, you look a little bit like Red. Yeah, you do. Just…Just a little bit. Whatever…”

my namelessshipping heart

ALSO NOT CANON BUT GREEN RANTING TO YOU ABOUT RED AND GETTING SO DISTRACTED THAT HE FORGETS TO GIVE YOU THE POKÉDEX????? BIG GAY

brOTP

for long elaborate headcanon reasons, i see him as being a good brotp with Kris - i headcanon her as also being really driven the way Green is, but more quiet about it, she’s kinda a good balance to him and they probably do pokemon research together. i also feel like she kept him sane while Red was still missing/before they found him on a fuckin mountain

OTP

do i really need to tell you that i’m 100% namelessshipping

like they perfectly balance each other. Green has all this energy and all this spunk and Red is just like… so opposite of him y'know? he’s quiet and he’s more measured in his behavior i feel, he doesn’t really rush into things as much, and yet they both really just took Kanto by storm when they were kids, and i like how they have this foil dynamic and are both still so successful? they’re so different and they complement each other in that way, and they both find success in their own ways

like one of the reasons i hate that Green’s championship gets undersold so much is that he did beat you to the punch, and he has been one step ahead of you, and there’s so much passion there and it’s so loud - and yet you as Red are just as driven, you take down Team Rocket, you’re always right on his tail, so close but not quite there, you’re the only one who can keep up with him and you’re the only one he cares enough about to slow down for

so like. idk with even all my headcanons about namelessshipping aside (and i can infodump those another day lol), i feel like the in-game representation of them just works. they just work so well together, they balance each other without ever holding each other back, and there’s something really beautiful about that in a relationship y'know

…..i feel bad abt not putting as much infodump about isshushipping now but oh well

nOTP

i don’t really have a notp with him? i kinda like. i basically just do namelessshipping, but i don’t get a visceral eugh when i see other ships with him, just kinda a well it’s not nameless so i’ll be on my way. idek what other ships w him are popular?? i’ve been in nameless hell since 2012 so 

random headcanon

while Red is still living on Mount Silver, Green is not coping well with having him so far away, and so Green massively overworks himself to the point that he keeps just not being in his gym sometimes bc he’s bouncing between the gym, training multiple teams, pokémon research, and ofc going to visit Red whenever he can. this leads him to be kinda temperamental after he’s been working on 2 hours of sleep a day for like a week until he just has an emotional meltdown and crashes, and then he gets right back into it because he has no self preservation

…….. nicer headcanon; Red can only cook two (2) foods, so Green cooks all the food for them when they move in together. he has attempted to teach Red how to cook, but Red pretends not to understand so Green will keep making him food. Green knows Red is faking it and doesn’t call him out bc he thinks it’s cute

unpopular opinion

look i’ve played through classic red version a few times and when i say he wasn’t that much of a jerk, i do genuinely mean he was not that much of a jerk. he’s like ten. ten year olds are just Like That. i guess this isn’t too unpopular anymore but it was Back In The Day and in some parts of the fandom he’s still seen as a jerk and like Bro He Is Ten In RGB/FRLG cut him some slack

also genuinely unpopular - Green is taller than Red. i know namelessshipping has fallen into the bara Red and twink Green trope but i refuse to let go of tall Green/short Red fuckin fight me why dont you

song i associate with them

a lot of the Pray For The Wicked album by Panic! at the Disco gives me Green vibes, more for the sound than for lyrics necessarily, but for some reason Roaring 20s just like. has the sound of Green to me. it’s somewhere between flamboyant pride and underlying insecurity that i think really encapsulates Green (or at least his subtext)

favorite picture of them

i genuinely love his let’s go concept art he’s such a sweet good boy?? 

and for the life of me i cannot find the op source on this but this is my fave pic of Green/namelessshipping in general that i’ve had saved since like 2012 maybe???

yeah if anyone can help me source that i’d appreciate it bc reverse image search only brings me to pinterest and random wattpad links :/

update: source seems to be the artist くる (pixiv id=982894) on pixiv, even though the original post got taken down (ty anon!)

Lillie

favorite thing about them

by now i guess you know im a sucker for character development, but i think they did a really good job with her!! i feel like her turn is a bit more in moments than it is with Green, who gradually evolves (lol) over the course of Kanto/all the gens overall. you see more discrete moments where Lillie starts to shift and gain confidence in herself and i am so proud of her ???? like the way she gets excited when she sees Olivia doin’ her z-move stuff, she starts buying her own clothes and getting ahead of you, etc etc

and like, she still has moments where she’s scared, there’s still some fundamental Lillie in there yknow? you don’t lose any of that softness that characterizes Lillie, she just like… she gets better, she develops without losing her Lillie vibe and i love that abt her. she overcomes a lot of the shit she had to deal with when she was stuck with Lusamine, she stands up to Lusamine eventually, and ghfdkjsg gah she’s a sweet gorl i love and appreciate her

also like. the writing on her backstory is so subtle in-universe. like yeah she literally looks like Lusamine’s daughter and you see her in the opening cutscene leaving Aether, but as the protagonist - like as Selene lets say, there’s little hints about where Lillie came from, and if you suspend your disbelief and put yourself in the pc’s shoes, there’s subtly to her character arc that i like 

also like. when she changes her outfit and starts being more protagonist-y, like more confident and kinda bubbly instead of shy??? love that shit it’s so cute can i have custody of this child pls

least favorite thing about them

i like. sometimes feel like she’s too soft of a character for me to really get into? like i love her and Hau, they’re sweet good friends, but i tend to personally gravitate towards characters that create a little more tension (ie Green and N)

(though on that note, Hau can be kinda savage. he just calls Faba out and sarcastically calls Gladion “a ray of sunshine” at some point i think?? Lillie is just very tender and i will support her forever, but i think that also makes her almost too soft to keep me fixated on her yknow. it’s not even a flaw in her character but just not something i fawn over as much)

favorite line

“I’m so glad I got to meet everyone. I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

like that ending kills me but that line almost feels like. I Feel That So Much like i feel so happy to have met all these new characters and to have played these games, and i feel like some of the player’s energy and enjoyment of the game is channeled into this last line of hers 

also GET IN THE BAG

brOTP

probably her and Hau?? idk, i don’t have a specific brotp for her but i like her just hangin around w the other Alola kids, so like her, Hau, Gladion, and the protag kids. they’d raise hell together and Lillie continues to be the only one with some impulse control

(Gladion also has some impulse control but keeps getting annoyed by Hau and so he gets dragged into their nonsense anyway)

OTP

Selene and Lillie is. Good. idk what the ship name is but it’s canon

nOTP

i dont even know if people ship her with Gladion but incest is a big no-no in my house

random headcanon

when she goes to Kanto, i bet she’d pick Bulbasaur as a starter if she was given the opportunity - and if not, she’d probably catch a wild Vulpix 

unpopular opinion

idk if have any unpopular opinions for her?? 

song i associate with them

i have no reason to associate this with her but the Rainy Day theme from acgc just. has a vibe about it. i think a lot of ac music feels like it suits her

favorite picture of them

i found this art of her through a lofi remix of her theme awhile back and it’s so pleasing to look at? her hair is nice and the colors are so warm n happy gjhkfdgf

if you read this far, congratulations!!! and i’m sorry

Promt: pete bonnington/bono? Could be about anything really💕

(sorry it took so long!)

we’re made of secrets

He’d decided, after his many years of being in the Paddock, that the majority of these drivers were idiots. They lived these lives in the limelight, and were all terribly bad at hiding secrets. It was shameful really, someone should really tell them, but he didn’t want to be the one to do it. So he left it be, and kept quiet when he stumbled across them in compromising situations. They never knew, and that suited him best.

i.

The first time he’d discovered two drivers in a… situation, he’d been still fairly new to this circus. Well, he liked to think so anyway. It felt like a lifetime ago now, but it was only nine years ago. Christ, that made him feel old.

He’d been taking a weird route down the Paddock, the media having been kicked up into a frenzy with all the on-track entertainment. He hadn’t really been concentrating that much on what happened between the Red Bull and the McLaren, too focused on his own team. It wasn’t like they were scrapping for the race win, or even points, another retirement for them was almost inconsequential. From what he’d seen, it had looked like a strange incident, and a nasty one for the McLaren, no wonder the journalists had descended. The Championship was still wide open, this just made it even more exciting.

He was rushing between motorhomes, when he heard two hushed voices, though the anger was still evident. He stopped, almost as if he’d been struck. It wasn’t as if he was in awe of anyone (which was a lie even to himself but he wasn’t going to admit it), but he wasn’t massively important. He knew that, and he didn’t want to be chewed out by anyone for disturbing something he really shouldn’t be hearing.

He knew he should go back, and he was really just about to start retreating, but one of the people said something quietly, and he just knew that voice. He crept forward, peering round the corner of the motorhome, mouth falling open. Even his in his wildest dreams, he’d think he was crazy. Completely insane.

Jenson was stood with his arms crossed, still looking furious, but even from the distance he was standing at it was obvious that the anger was disappearing. Seb was standing close, hand on Jenson’s waist, curled like it belonged there. Jenson’s face was slipping into frustrated, to slightly irritated, with a glimmer of fondness. Seb was still talking, looking upset and slightly red in the face, and Jenson was still watching him like Seb was his entire world.

Holy shit.  

As Jenson leant in to press a kiss to Seb’s head, he pulled back behind the motorhome, not making a sound. He retraced his steps, turning back into the main paddock, trying to concentrate his mind on his job. He was going to pretend he saw nothing, it was best for everyone, right?

                                                        ~*~

ii.

The second time he stumbled across two drivers, he was standing in a corridor, and they didn’t even notice him. It was the end of the season, and 2011 was looming ever closer. Seb was off celebrating with his team still, the party still being heard from all the way across the hotel. He’d come into this race the underdog, even Red Bull not believing he’d be their champion, which possibly made it all so much sweeter.

He was digging in his bag, he knew he’d thrown his door key in here somewhere, it was just where . He was tired, and after the excitement of the weekend was just the empty, drained feeling that was left behind. He just wanted his bed, and to pass out for a few hours. He deserved it, really.

He vaguely heard the lift open, and two figures stumbled out. He only glanced up, not really concerned, until his brain finally caught up with his eyes. It wasn’t two random strangers that had stumbled out of the lift. It was Fernando and Mark. Both blindingly drunk, and both completely unaware that there was anyone else in the corridor. Fernando was completely invested in trying to tear Mark’s clothes off (and he really meant tear), and Mark was only focused on kissing whatever part of Fernando he could get his hands on. They stumbled into walls, not really caring where they were going or who heard them, and if they had noticed him he figured that they probably wouldn’t care. There was an intensity about them that stunned him, it made him feel like he was intruding on something desperately private and emotionally raw, even though it looked like they were trying to have drunken sex in a corridor.

He looked through his bag again, trying not to make too much noise, finally finding his door key and letting himself in, ignoring any noises he could hear from outside his door. He was going to put this evening into the same place in his mind as that day in the paddock, and pretend it never happened. He didn’t even know what they were to each other, so there was no use in thinking about it.

He was still trying to convince himself of that when he laid down on his bed, and then he was thinking about nothing at all.

                                                            ~*~

iii.

When Dan and Jev arrived onto the F1 scene, he’d known almost at once that there was something more there. It was in their body language, in their looks. He’d resigned himself to running into them in some unfortunate situation, he was already up to two hands with his encounters with Mark and Fernando, and it was almost impossible to see how in love Seb and Jenson were once he knew the truth. It was the same with Dan and Jev, you could almost see the adoration in their eyes, how they gravitated to each other without really realising it.

It didn’t take long to run into them, in a nondescript bar in Melbourne, hours after the race ended. He’d only left the Paddock an hour ago, helping take down the motorhome where needed, and staying for the debrief. There wasn’t much they could do first race in, but it was always helpful to get as much feedback as possible. Couldn’t hurt, could it?

He’d barely sat down with his beer, when he noticed them in the corner of the bar, already fairly wasted, and Dan all but sitting in Jev’s lap. If he had been someone from Red Bull or Toro Rosso, both of them would be toast - getting drunk after the first race of the season wouldn’t be the way to go about keeping their seats. But they seemed comfortable, with people seeing them in the open, with each other. Jev saw him staring, and he could see the panic burst onto Jev’s face, but all he did was wink and turned his attention back to his beer, smiling to himself. He was already keeping secrets for two couples on the grid, what was the harm in a third?

                                                            ~*~

iv.

The drivers seemed to be getting younger all the time. Or maybe it was him getting older, maybe a bit of both. They were all so idealistic and unafraid, happy to stare death in the face with nothing but a laugh. He admired them, he truly did. He wished that he could be so carefree, or even that he’d seen others like them in years gone by. It might have made all the difference to some. Now those drivers he’d started with were older, more cautious, still products of their time in a way. The difference between Seb, Lewis, Fernando and Kimi to the rookies on the grid was outstanding. There was no other way to say it.

However, it almost meant that they were even more reckless than some of the predecessors. He’d seen so many get themselves into situations, and didn’t know what to do about it. These guys didn’t seem to care what happened, almost playing a game of dare. How far could they dare to push it? How long would that thrill pay off, until the worst happened and their world bottomed out?

He only thought it was the thrill seeking experience, he was certain of it. But then Japan came, and Charles was quieter than usual, looking pale and withdrawn. And at his side was Pierre, only having to look at someone to make sure they got out of the way, keeping any unnecessary distractions away from his friend. And something just didn’t add up, in his mind. He knew the two of them were closer friends than they usually let on, but this was something else.

It wasn’t until the Sunday, right before the race, before he realised that he’d been right.

He’d stumbled across the pair again, Charles holding onto Pierre tightly, looking like he was trying to calm himself down. Pierre was just holding him, letting Charles get all his emotions out without judgement. He didn’t dare move, it seemed like such a fragile moment that even the slightest sound would break it.

“I’m sorry.” Charles managed to get out, hiccuping. “You shouldn’t be here with me.”

“This is exactly where I need to be.” Pierre responded, pressing a gentle kiss to Charles temple. “I’m not leaving. You need me more.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

He backed out here, conscious not to make a sound. It wasn’t just thrill seeking with them, then.

                                                            ~*~

v.

With Carlos and Lando, it was almost inevitable. Even half a Paddock away, he could see the pining between the two, and he was pretty sure that some of the McLaren engineers had started betting on the two. There was less secrecy between the two, and Lando was so young and had no barriers on his life, it didn’t really seem to matter anymore. It was almost like an open secret, except the only two that thought it was a secret were Lando and Carlos themselves.

The tension kept mounting, both almost oblivious, until Germany. Lando had crashed out spectacularly, though no-one was really paying attention to that outside of the McLaren pit. He was walking back to the motorhome after the race, knowing that the debrief was going to be long and painful, when he heard a shout from somewhere behind him. He turned, and saw Carlos running up to Lando, concern etched all over his face.

“Are you okay?” Carlos asked, starting to reach out like he wanted to touch. Lando was grinning, bad race already forgotten.

“Yeah, why? You didn’t worry did you?” Lando teased, expecting Carlos to laugh along with him. Except he didn’t.

Instead, he gave a groan of frustration, dashing forward and giving Lando a kiss, pulling back almost as quickly, horrified. “I am sorry, I know you do not like me, I was just upset, and -” He broke off, as Lando pulled him back in, shutting him up.

He smiled from where he stood, turning back to the Mercedes motorhome. At least something good came out of today.

                                                           ~*~

+ i.

It didn’t always go to plan though. He’d seen so many of the drivers fall in love, and some even out of it.  And sometimes, they fell in love with the wrong person.

He’d worked with Lewis for a long time. He knew him almost as well as he knew his family, Lewis put his trust and faith in him every time he got in the car. And he knew exactly how he felt about Nico.

He didn’t know what had happened before Lewis was in Mercedes. It wasn’t his business. But he could see Nico was trying his best to impress Lewis, even if he was going about it all the wrong way. Lewis didn’t respond well to mind games, or snide comments. He was a racer at heart, and underhand techniques never did sit well with him. He watched as Nico tried everything he could think of, and when it finally became too much for him to bear, he retired. He wasn’t able to deal with the possibility of rejection, and took the easy way out. Not that he was criticising.

He thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn’t. It never was. Nico took the time off, mending his broken heart back to something of normalcy. He returned back to the Paddock a few years later, holding his head high, but still up to his old tricks. He tried to drag Lewis’s competitors down, but Lewis took no notice. And there was nothing Nico could do but watch from the sidelines as Lewis took everything from him without meaning to.

There were a lot of happy endings in the Paddock, and he was happy to have seen some of them start. This wouldn’t be one.

Madison: A Goodbye That Goes On Forever

I don’t need to tell you Friends, fans, and followers, signs of finality are everywhere. The haze of darkness arrives earlier than you expect each night. The air in the morning has a chill in it. The leaves in the branches above your head cling to life while their thin membranes turn to dust, and the diamond at the south west corner of Vancouver’s Strathcona Park sits silent. It’s time to say farewell.

The East Van Baseball League saw their last game of the season play out. A 16 to 2 defeat of the Railtown Spikers at the end of a weekend long tournament of post season playoff games that produced the league’s first champions: the Mount Pleasant Murder. The Murder turned in an impressive record all season long and counted only two losses during the league’s inaugural regular season.

Don’t let that record fool you into thinking the Murder had it easy in the playoffs though, friends, fans, and followers; those fellas had to work for their title. The Murder barely escaped loss at the hands of a Black Sox team decked out in Saturday morning hangovers and new jerseys, and a Railtown Spikers crew that wouldn’t go away. The Spikers surprised everyone on the opening Friday of the tournament with a take down of the Strathcona Stevedores. And on Saturday, they managed to brand the only “L” into the Murder’s near impeccable weekend championship run, and earned the right to come back on Sunday for a rematch to determine who would get bragging rights all winter long. What a final it was, friends, fans, and followers. It held the beautiful possibility of a dramatic upset, with a Spikers victory over the Murder all the way into the last gasps of the 4th inning, but after that it was all Murder. That’s when Malibu Rum started making its way around the Official Roy Madison Broadcast Booth like we were sipping from a bottle of memories at a wake.

After the dust settled, everyone went up to the league’s hot dog provider, What’s Up Hot Dog? to celebrate. Suddenly it was the off season friends, fans, and followers; a time when there’s little use for Roy Madison. I took one last look at the green lawn of Strathcona Park darkening in the setting sun, and hired a car back to the hotel to pack up whatever belongings I had worth keeping. I went downstairs, ordered a final round in Sylvia’s Bar, and said so long to everyone there that made my stay so pleasant and welcoming. Then I high tailed it to the airport and got the hell out of town.

That was some time ago. I’m back in California now. Tina is nude and just out of the bath behind the sliding glass doors of my small patio here at the Highland Gardens Hotel. We’re going to Musso’s for dinner to celebrate my return, and I have just enough time to file this final East Van Baseball report from where I can see the teal-blue void of the pool that started this whole business in the first place, glowing into the night sky above. It feels good to be back, I’m a lucky fella to have managed to keep a setup like this intact. Tina runs the Gardens, and kept my room ambiguously occupied and unavailable while I was in Canada. Now I have to occupy her evenings every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

Some might call me a goddamned prostitute, but for chrissakes what do you expect friends, fans, and followers? A sportswriter doesn’t make much of a living without a steady beat, and I haven’t had one in years. Hell, it was probably in Tina’s best interest to have me off the premises anyway. My crisis in front of the other guests at the Gardens seated around the pool on the day I decided to fall into it without a plan to return to the surface, likely brought plenty of questions Tina didn’t have answers for. Oliver helped out a bit too, by playing the part of a paying guest while I was gone, making it easier for Tina to keep my room out of the hands of holidayers until I was ready to come back.

Don’t go thinking Oliver is some kind of saint though, friends, fans, and followers. He was holed up in my place long before this whole East Van thing got started, and was likely ecstatic at the prospect of having the Madison suite to himself. Oliver and his wife Alice have been on rocks since I don’t know when, so he’s up in my corned beef sandwich on a regular basis. I can always tell a stint at my place is in Oliver’s forecast. He’ll come over for cards, something he rarely does — he says he can’t stand all the smoke — then he’ll stay late to clean up and never leave. All spring he was on my pull-out sofa, and we were bickering with each other night and day. Thank the lord above that he cleared out about a week ago so I didn’t have to put up with him when I got back from Vancouver.

Want to know why? Because Alice missed his cooking! For chrissakes friends, fans, and followers, can you imagine? His cooking! Hell, I can’t figure it out. I thought his cooking was a pain in the neck! The constant worrying over cooking times, the non-stop berating for a critique of his efforts, asking how it tasted, if there was too much salt, if there was something he should have done differently, then professing that there wasn’t enough turmeric, and finally that it was completely ruined. And I hadn’t even had bite yet.

When I got in from Vancouver, Oliver was gone, but his presence still greeted with me a tidal wave of cleanliness. He had sprayed the living bejesus out of the place with Lysol and it just about knocked me over. But that’s not all friends, fans, and followers. Oliver left one of his goddamned soufflés in the fridge with a note under it.

“Welcome back. I whipped up this little something for your arrival because you just can’t trust food on planes these days. And please stop ashing your cigarettes in the window sill of the shower, it’s disgusting. — Oliver.”

Not a word about how to cook the thing, so I threw that damn soufflé in the trash and ordered a bucket of chicken.

Oliver and Tina weren’t the only ones to miss me while I was gone. The fellas I have over on Wednesday’s weren’t too pleased to show up at the Madison suite to find Oliver in an apron, about to put a lasagne in the oven and forgo cards for charades! And Ruben, my bartender at Musso’s thought I might be in some sort of distress when I didn’t show up for my usual. Tina said Ruben actually came all the way up Hollywood Boulevard before dinner service one night to check up on me. Helluva guy. I’m telling you, I don’t need a doctor or a dame, just a bartender to sit in front of.

Now that I’m back, I realize Vancouver had a good effect on me. In the spring, when I didn’t have an inkling of where Vancouver was, another season of Major League Baseball was set to open and I could care less. Actually, come to think of it friends, fans, and followers, I didn’t have much interest in anything. I had no desire to take part in life’s greatest pleasures: not writing, not swimming, not eating, not smoking, christ not even drinking. Ok, I was still drinking, but I sure as hell wasn’t writing.

I was flat out on a lounger in my housecoat by the pool one morning in March under a haze of dilaudid, tomato juice and beer when I heard some kid floating on a yellow donut out on the water, talking with some actors about how he was from Canada and was set to play baseball for a new sandlot league in Vancouver. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but some days later, when I was waiting to run out of air on the floor of the pool’s deep end, I got the idea to come back to the surface and go to Vancouver to check it out.

I was in attendance for the first exhibition game of the season that spring, but didn’t leave the front seat of my car parked outside Strathcona Park. I guess I just wanted to see if what that fella was talking about in Hollywood was real, because there isn’t a goddamned ounce of truth in that town. But when I saw that group of guys and gals, just playing ball out there, in a roughed up park, in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, the mixture of familiarity and foreignness roused an interest in me that said: get out of the bloody car Madison! But it was too soon friends, fans, and followers. I had to take my time. My return to regular coverage had to be taken slowly, seriously, methodically. At that point, all I needed to hear was the tell tale hiss and pop from a ball hitting leather, and hell, I got it.

The next game, I left my car to sit on the grass, but still maintained a safe distance from the diamond and stands so as not to create any interest in my presence. It was still damp, and that goddamned, cold, wet, Canadian lawn put two big wet circles on the ass of my slacks. I snuck out of there somewhere in the fourth inning with my tail between my legs. I certainly wasn’t going to introduce myself in that state. Back in my room at the Sylvia Hotel, with my pants hanging in the window, drying in the breeze of English Bay, I filed my first East Van Baseball report to make it official, by simply stating: this was my beat.

Every time I returned to a East Van Baseball game, I moved a little closer. The fans in the bleachers, the cheers, the scent of the open air, the crack of tin cans being pulled open, the dust and dirt getting kicked up from wild plays around the bases in those early months when players were getting the tightness of winter off their throwing arms and catching hands, everything just felt fresh and full of promise. Finally one morning, as if possessed by the vast turf of Strathcona Park itself, I walked up to a few of the Black Sox to introduce myself like any other good citizen of the free world and said, “Fellas. I’m your writer, Roy Madison.” And that’s how it all got started.

Even though my coverage of East Van Baseball competed with the unexpected hypnosis of ocean surf that held me transfixed in my beach-facing room at the Sylvia Hotel, forcing me to report on games from my dining room table instead of an East Van ballpark, the league appreciated whatever words I managed to put together. All season long, players, friends, fans, and followers came up to me, shook my hand, thanked me for the stories I told, the games I managed to attend, and welcomed me into the community of what’s only getting started up there in Vancouver. I don’t think those kids knew just what the hell I was, where I had come from, or what I was doing, but by the time the season ended I was handed a microphone for the championship tournament.

In the final days of August, when East Van Baseball’s first playoffs were set to begin, Strathcona never looked better. The fields were kept green and lovely by the grounds crew ladies, the washrooms were open, the bbq was on and sizzling with weiner, the spa bus — painted red, and parked just behind the field — was hot, and hell even the goddamned sun decided to come out, making it one of the warmest weekends all summer long.

When I sat down in the official Roy Madison broadcast booth and asserted myself with a clearing of the throat, a flood of memories came through the worn out grass beneath my feet, up to my ankles, through my legs, across my heart and down to my left hand holding the mic. In that split second of amplified silence before I spoke, I heard a child’s cry crossfade into the sound of hard soled shoes on a sidewalk, the thunder of the 7 train pulling into Grand Central on its way to Shea Stadium, felt the warmth of a good meal cooked by someone that once loved me. I smelled exhaust in the autumn air from the car I bought new with the spoils of a good year at the Daily News, and pictured the fat little fingers of fellas I saw every day in the press box plucking away at a keyboard, jawing on about the sight of some sweet dame in the stands. Like a current of nostalgia that ran through the park all around us, it gave me a shock, and electrified my voice with the grandfatherly tone of knowledge I needed to profess to the fans in attendance that Friday evening — “Friends, fans, and followers, it’s time for East Van Baseball!”

And just like that, I had made a return to broadcasting, but christ was I rusty. Thankfully I had a crew of great fellas to help me out. Some kid from the Murder named Rob, kept me on the course of balls and strikes. And Andrew, my color man and sound technician knew all the players, because hell I didn’t know who was at plate half the time. They were just swell friends, fans and followers, and obviously enamored at the chance to work with a self-proclaimed legend! I could see a glint of wonder in their eyes, as I stumbled my way through inning after inning to the annoyance of the umpires, and some of the players that weren’t much impressed with the idea of hearing their motions translated into my brand of poetic play-by-play.

I’m sure those fellas with me in the box thought they might want to get into the press box game one day, so I did my best to make the life of a sportswriter sound terrible. Because it is friends, fans, and followers! I warned those two that every meal would be lunch — an endless cavalcade of plastic wrapped sandwiches, chased with concealed beer in a paper cup. Every town would start to look the same, and the highway at night would start to speak to them through painted streaking signals of light, so that by the time they stepped up to a microphone they would talk in an alien language few people could understand. Home would be a filthy hotel room, an ice machine down the hall their fridge, a vending machine their pantry, an adult movie their lover, and if they happened to check into a joint with a pool in the parking lot... Aw hell, who am I kidding? Sportswriting is great! My life is a good one, it just took me a summer in Vancouver to admit it.

Well, Tina’s turned off her hair dryer. That means she’s just about ready for dinner, and any second now she’ll be stepping onto the patio to complain that I’m still in my underwear. I don’t know why I thought Hollywood was ever so bad in the first place. A writer can only spend so much time courting modesty. Eventually I had to give in and accept that what I have is exceptional: solitude, sun, a swimming pool, sex on Tuesdays, a steady card game every Wednesday, and the desire to spin a yarn to anyone that will listen. I’m a sportswriter. I’m the guy that tells people what’s really going on in that split second between a ball leaving the sweat-glistened hand of a pitcher on its way to the dry wood of a bat — redemption! Friends, fans, and followers, redemption.

But that’s a story best left for another season, because this one has long since finished. The end is good. The constraints of finality are needed. “The last,” defines things, and gives them meaning and purpose. I’m sure you thought Roy Madison was just going to go on forever, didn’t you friends, fans, and followers? A thank you is in order if you made it this far into my endless goodbye, but the only story I have left is for Manny, my usual waiter at Musso’s. It starts like this: a martini and shrimp louie salad in one of Musso’s luscious booths, followed by a rib eye steak, baked potatoe, and bottle of wine that Manny suggests by just bringing it to the table. The climax is dessert, with a tawny port, and several healthy doses of tobacco appear throughout the whole thing. It ends with a late night swim under palm trees that blot the darkness of the sky with their even darker, ink black crowns.

Oh hell, friends, fans, and followers, I’ll be back — or maybe I won’t. I don’t know. That’s the thing, nobody can tell if the air entering their lungs is their last breath or not. Life will always be without a natural, convincing closure. So I’ll just stop.

Animal Sentai Zyuohger - Episode 25

So yesterday’s episode was…heavy. Let’s see what this one’s all about. It’s Animal Sentai Zyuohger, episode 25. Here we GO!

-We begin at the cabin. Yamato’s still reeling from what happened, his mind still leaps to it in quiet moments…And so Leo decides he’s going to help do something to remind Yamato that he’s not al—

-Cue Misao to ruin the moment, and he’s brought a second fishing rod. His first rod, in fact, a precious memory of his. And he wants Yamato to have it. Which leads to an argument and to Misao despairing and going off to find something even more precious.

-And Yamato realizes that everyone’s worried about him…And trust him, he’ll be fine. Just…Give him a little time, okay?

-Up in the Big Bow, Genis is full of praise for Bunglay…Whooooo is ready to tap out. Listen, you got a good thing going here, but he’s gonna go solo. All of this ‘waiting his turn’ stuff, it just isn’t for him. So he’s gonna get gone and do his own th—

-Kubar immediately goes for him, to everyone’s shock…And Bunglay’s amusement. He’ll be heading off now, gentlemen. And Genis isn’t even mad, wanting to see what Bunglay can stir up…While Kubar begs for a chance to be next up. Oh, this is so very personal for him.

-Opening!

-Episode 25! The Unhappy Camera

-So Misao is out and full of despair…When he sees someone selling Happy Cameras. Cameras that make you happy. And the spirits/delusions in his head debate things, until in the end, he ends up deciding to get one of the cameras! Yeah they’re a MotW plot.

-Back in the cabin, they’re having a fresh discussion about the Misao situation, and Leo’s firmly on the tough-love side of things…And then cue Misao with the camera. Yamato’s trying to put on a brave face, but of course everyone’s (minus Leo, who’s still grumpy) real interested in some goof-off fun with this off-brand Polaroid. Instant photos are just inherently fun, after all. So they rack off a few, and Leo tries to get in the mood…But Misao doesn’t even see him. And the others suddenly vanish when he turns back to talk to them….?

-And then Leo gets a vibe! Shit…Okay, they’ll show up! Gotta go deal with this!

-Out in a local courtyard, bunches of other people also had their friends disappear so yeah the camera sucks you up and puts you in your polaroid. As the MotW gathers up these photos…When Bunglay shows up to stir up some trouble.

-And Kubar steps in to defend his minion. And oh, he is pissed. Soon, they’re dueling, as he orders his minion to get out of here and continue the game!

-Which is when Leo and Misao arrive…And get to see the MotW use his shoulder-mounted camera to seal up a victim in the photo! And Misao gets the polaroids out of his pocket and YUP the other four are all sealed in. At least the girls are together, Tusk and Yamato are stuck solo and unable to communicate with anyone.

-And to make it worse, Misao is in guilt mode, so it’s just Leo. Instincts Awakened! Lion charges in…Only to have to dodge that camera lens like a celebrity dodging paparazzi! And in the chaos, the MotW manages to steal the polaroids of the other four, leaving Lion and Misao to escape as just the two of them…How are they going to beat this shady shutterbug?

-Meanwhile, Kubar and Bunglay have taken their duel to the rocky part of the beach. Because you can go anywhere between cuts in tokusatsu land. So Bunglay already knows why Kubar is so worried. It’s since he knows what happened to Kubar…How a certain someone destroyed your home planet…So come on and fight him!

-Back with Leo and Misao, where Misao is just lost in his own head and freaking out and not able to get any results. And Leo can’t stand dealing with this spiral, which leads to all of Misao’s self-loathing and guilt and everything just spilling out. …Shit, Misao. I know your struggle all too well. And in the end, he ends up admitting that he hates people like Leo trying to force things out of him before he’s ready…

-But man, Leo can at least respect that kind of pushback. He can respect some fire in the belly. So come on, they’ve got work to do. …And then he gets a vibe. That bastard’s close. They’re gonna need a plan to deal with that camera, though…And Misao’s got something.

-So cut to the MotW filling out his album. And the crew still haven’t figured out any way to escape…When Leo and Misao arrive, full of fury and will! Two men who hate each other…And they sprint behind some cutesy photo frames, the kind with circles to put your head into. Because if he can’t get a clean shot, his camera does nothing! And from back here, they can shoot with impunity! And thus, they fire…

-And the first shot beans him in the head, knocking the second shot that was aimed for his camera. Well shit. But The World’s ready, as he switches to CROCODILE and goes in as a spearman! With two steady strikes from their frame, they shatter the camera, undoing its magic effects! Hell yeah!

-The people are freed…Including the crew. The World is so very sorry for what happened…But no. You only did it because Yamato was down. No apologies needed. …Now they’ve got a phony photographer to fight. Instincts Awakened!

-Champion of the soaring sky, ZYUOH EAGLE! Champion of the surging waves, ZYUOH SHARK! Champion of the savannah, ZYUOH LION! Champion of the forest, ZYUOH ELEPHANT! Champion of the snowy drifts, ZYUOH TIGER! Champion of the world, ZYUOH THE WORLD! Animal Sentai, ZYUOHGER!

-So the MotW draws out his weapon…Which appears to be a weaponized monopod. Or you might market it as an urban tripod. The point is it’s camera gear with angry claws on the end. Lion and The World manage to snatch it away and pin this cameraman on his own equipment, lining up for the finish! THE WORLD! WOLF! ZYUOH SHOOT! ZYUOH THE BURST! A bevy of gunfire rings out, and he goes kaboom!

-While Kubar gets back, still furious, and send his man a Continue. Naria’s off, while Genis can see right through Kubar’s behavior…

-So the guy’s big. Animal Combination! NINE! SEVEN! EIGHT! Animal Kingdom Combination! FOUR! THREE! TWO! FIVE! ONE! SIX! Tousai Zyuoh! Wild Zyuoh King! So it’s a double team…But this guy’s just too fast despite being big! And soon Lion and The World devolve into bickering…

-Though that turns into them actually discussing a plan, as The World prepares to pin the bastard! Go in for the attack as soon as he has him grappled! And so Tousai Zyuoh whips out a length of line, binding the MotW, as Wild Zyuoh King starts the slashing…Now for the finish! Animal Kingdom Combination!

-THREE! FOUR! NINE! FIVE! TWO! SEVEN! EIGHT! SIX! ONE! WILD TOUSAI KING! Gotta sell that toy. ZYUOH DIRECT STRAIGHT! Aaaaand he’s stabbed through! Goodbye, MotW.

-In the aftermath, Misao’s out by the river, showing Leo how to fish. And Yamato’s taken up photography. So, Leo and Misao are…Well…They’re actually talking, even if it’s arguing. That’s something. listen, it’s a hell of a lot better than he was acting before, okay?

-Credits! Feel your zyuman power charge up! And then bust a move!

Well, that managed to get into some heavy stuff while still being fun. And it looks like next time is gonna continue that trend. We’ll just have to see if I’m right, in episode TWENTY SIX of Animal Sentai Zyuohger! Wait for it!

#132 Gladiator Fights

Gladiator fights are a longstanding tradition across the galaxy. From the moment that the first two sentient beings discovered fists, lifeforms across space and time have wanted nothing more than to just sit back and watch two guys beat the ever loving snot out of one another. Charming. This literally universal infatuation with gladiator fights has forced individual fight sponsors to continually up the ante. This sense of competition, coupled with the fact that you generally end a fight with less fighters than you started it with, has forced fightrunners to search far and wide for new potential champions for their rings. And that means that at one point or another, many of Earth’s superheroes have found themselves being forced to participate in one of these fights. So let’s get you ready to get ready to rumble why don’t we?

Many times when a hero is kidnapped and forced into a gladiator match they don’t have any opportunity to stop it until they’re already in the arena. These alien fightrunners have all kinds of fancy gizmos to make sure you fight whether you want to or not. First off they abduct you through one-way teleporters. That’s mad fancy. It’s also terrifying. They can grab you at any moment and you won’t even know you’re being kidnapped until it’s too late. So there’s not really a lot you can do to prevent that sort of thing. If you’re being targeted by a less prestigious fighting organization, they might actually send a few of their fighters to kidnap you. These guys you can usually beat up. But I’d actually recommend not doing that. If you beat up their fighters then the fightrunners are only going to want you more. They’d actually prefer it if you beat up the first few fighters they send after you. That just shows them that you’re worth their time. Also, these fighters that they’re sending after you are most likely also victims of kidnapping, torture and possibly brainwashing. If you see any type of receiver or communications device in their ear or elsewhere on their head you should try to take it and destroy it. With any luck that will free the fighters from the fightrunners’ control and you’ll gain a couple of cool gladiator allies… Or you might’ve just destroyed their hearing aid or their fancy alien jewelry. Then you will have a cool gladiator enemy. An enemy that you are not supposed to fight. Just run away from them really fast. Eventually they’ll get tired of chasing you.

If you can’t avoid capture (like if they’re using those fancy teleporters, or you didn’t have the stamina to run away really fast at the time) then I guess you’re going to be a gladiator now. Which isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. You spend your days fighting all manner of superhumans, monsters, aliens and that one really big duck that technically hasn’t committed any crimes per se but you just don’t trust that guy, this isn’t really all that different except for the bright lights, enclosed space and cheering, bloodthirsty, sports fans. 

However, be aware that the fightrunners might place some limitations on you in order to make for a more interesting fight. They’ll almost definitely remove any weapons from your person, your utility belt is definitely a goner, though if you’re an armored hero there’s a chance they’ll let you keep that since you fighting perps in your armor is almost definitely what caught the fightrunners attention in the first place. They may have a selection of weapons for you to choose from, though most likely none of them will be ranged or projectile based weapons. So you should train with swords and spears and the like whenever you have spare time in preparation for this specific scenario. If you have weapons as part of your anatomy or if you’ve got an alien device of some sort permanently bonded to you there’s a solid chance you’ll be allowed to use that in the fight. For the rest of you, there’s basically a 50/50 shot of the fightrunners letting you have full access to your powers. This might even vary from fight to fight depending on what the fightrunners think will make for the most interesting and thrilling show. 

That last point is key, all the fightrunners care about is what will make for an interesting fight. So you need to do whatever you can to make it so that them allowing you access to all of your powers and weapons will be the most interesting course of action. Demonstrate that you can use your personal advantages in interesting and unexpected ways. Develop a boisterous and exciting personality for yourself in the ring. Learn how to work a crowd, get the gladiator fight watching populace on your side. The more the crowd loves you, the better you’ll be treated, and the more complacent the fightrunners will think you are. If you want to practice this sort of thing before you get kidnapped to fight monsters on some trash planet, I recommend making appearances at Earth sports games. Get yourself invited to throw out the first pitch at baseball games or to sing the national anthem and then take advantage of those opportunities to test out your new macho wrestler persona. Belt out the star-spangled banner in your loudest, most obnoxious voice. Delay the first pitch, and thus the entire ball game (as if baseball games weren’t long enough) by dancing around the field and taunting the batter with several fake-out pitches. The more obnoxious you are the more tickets you’ll sell so really ham it up. 

Notably, you’ll often catch the attention of the fightrunners, and then be kidnapped, while you’re in the middle of battling someone. That means that you’ll almost never be the only person from that fight who gets abducted. Occasionally one of your allies or teammates will get kidnapped with you (sick!), which at first glance sounds great (yeah!). At least you’re not alone in this situation (thank goodness!). Two superheroes are always better than one (that’s what I’ve always said!). Until you realize that the fightrunners have no intention of allowing you and your pal to fight together (wait what?). That would be crazy (I guess…). Especially when it would be so much more interesting to force you to fight each other (dang!). So now you have to spear fight your best friend and the father of your godchild (that escalating at an alarming rate) you don’t get to still be the child’s godfather when you kill the child’s actual father! Everyone knows that! But the father still gets to be the father even if he kills the godfather! This is a real lose-lose situation! But maybe there’s a way you can both come out of this alive. Call up all of your super-friends now and agree to take the following course of action should the two of you ever be kidnapped by the same alien gladiator fighting ring. Should the two of you be pitted against each other in the ring give the fans the grandest fake fight of your life. For added authenticity I recommend getting all your friends together and practicing a bunch of choreographed fights right now before it’s too late. Become a master at faking a punch and at throwing yourself onto the ground as though you’ve been real punched. It will be your most stunning performance yet (and yet, just like your 8th grade production of Peter Pan, your parents won’t come to see it). Make the fight so intense and exciting that the fightrunners don’t even let you get to the part of the fight where one of you has to impale the other one on a trident because they realize that they can sell way more tickets if this fight is just the first of many. Eventually they’ll make the two of you fight it out to the death but you’ll have bought yourselves a little bit more time to plan your escape (more on that later).

Other times though instead of being kidnapped with a pal you’ll be abducted alongside the guy you were fighting. Which hey, convenient. You were already fighting that guy anyway. It doesn’t really matter where you’re fighting them. Or how many assorted aliens are holding up poster boards and chanting your name while you do it. Except the very fact that you were already fighting the guy tells the fightrunners that pitting you against each other wouldn’t net them anything new. Being new and innovative and exciting is what keeps the lights on and the doors open in these death arenas. So the fightrunners won’t just let the two of you keep slogging it out. They can’t very well advertise a fight that any joe schmo on Earth might have already seen a dozen times. So in all likelihood they’ll turn you into a tag-team and force you to fight alongside each other. Hilarity will undoubtably ensue. You’ll bicker. You’ll disagree. Probably they’ll disregard the rules of the fight and try to kill you a bunch of times while you’re fighting someone else. It’ll be a whole thing. Before you can effectively fight, and hopefully survive this whole stupid field trip to Murder Mountain, you need to convince your enemy that not trying to kill you is in their best interest. How easy of a task this is largely depends on how stupid the bad guy is, and how large of a sense of self-preservation they have. Once you’ve got that done you should be able to do fairly well in the ring. After all, though you may be on opposite side of the law, you’re both seasoned fighters. And depending on how long you’ve been enemies for, you know each other’s fighting styles pretty well and should be able to work well together. 

But you can’t just live in a giant starship fighting random kidnapped strongmen forever. Eventually you’ll have to return home and that means you need to mount a daring escape. Luckily you’re not alone. You have your teammate, or your nemesis. (Who is maybe now your new best friend maybe? You saved them when that acid-spitter from Phlemgaxia came at them. They saved you when a wolf who had your sister’s eyes came at you. It’s complicated.) But you also have the other gladiators. Presumably they don’t want to be their either. Some of them might sure but that’s fine, just beat them up on your way out. Most of the time the other gladiators are skilled alien fighters, superheroes from other planets, or even alternate versions of you from other dimensions! You’ve gotta imagine some enterprising fightrunner is someday going to start a gladiator ring consisting entirely of alternate dimension doppelgangers. People are going to want to watch alternate versions of the same guy fight each other. Trust me, I know about these things. So anyway, you’ve got all these disparate ultra-skilled fighters and all they need is someone to lead them to freedom. Some dynamic and charismatic figure for them to rally around. Thankfully, you’re there, and if you’ve been keeping up with this guide, you’ve got everything you need to lead these people in a good old fashioned uprising. Destroy the robot guards. Storm the armory. Hijack the teleporters and launch a heck ton of escape pods. You’re going home and you’re bringing a bunch of new allies back with you. Some of them will probably go back to their homes (who wouldn’t). Others will set off to go break up other superhuman fighting rings. And the rest might just stick around and fight crime alongside you. 

So all in all being abducted and forced to fight against a bunch of strangers who probably haven’t done anything wrong might not be the worst thing in the world. You’ll have gotten some quality training in. Possibly made friends with one of your lifelong enemies. Led a quality revolution. And by the end of it you’ll have gained the phone numbers of some of the galaxy’s best fighters. Not bad for a Tuesday. (Wow what a cheery perspective on this horrifying experience. We’re really putting the “glad” in “gladiator.”)

Havre Has It!

Zombies, that is. “Havre Has It” is the mysterious town slogan I’ve seen in my hometown since I first moved there. I spent nine years trying to figure out precisely what “it” was, and I can assure you that if “it” is something you want, Havre DOESN’T have “it” and never will. (My friends and I often suggested changing the slogan to “Havre’s Had It” and variations thereof. The local businesses always played an amusing game of telling the People of the Hi-Line to “Shop Local” while never having anything you want— and because they knew they were the only game in town, acting as if doing business with you was a chore— then bitching about how everyone kept going on big out-of-town shopping trips whenever they could…) On the Dream Plane, though, one thing that old ghost town seemed to have in spades was zombies. Almost all of the dreams I’ve ever had about the undead seem to be connected to this town, as if a manifestation of the slow death the real town was going through. Just a bathroom and gas station on the way to someplace else, and slowly losing its ability to distinguish itself from the rest of the Hi-Line region, a string of towns on Highway 2 so small you’d miss them if you blink. Worse than outright desert, the whole region looks like dry living death— my first question as a freshman in high school, having moved there from the mountains of western Montana, was: “Where the hell are all the trees?” The fact that anyone actually tries to farm this land strikes me as conclusive proof that inbreeding diminishes intelligence. Out there is a hollow shell of a boom-town mall, one still dreaming empty, plastic dreams, still in denial of the fact that it gets emptier every year, still awaiting that fabled comeback that all boom towns seem to think is their birthright. There is an old joke out there, that on the Eighth Day, God stopped there to take a shit. Shitsplat, MT: Home of Montana State University Havre (the School Formerly Known As Montana State University Northern, and Northern Montana College before that…), a college well on its way to being reduced to a tech school or community college. Despite what rabid fans of the Northern Lights and Skylights (NAIA National Champion Women’s Basketball Team… back when I moved there more than a decade ago) and its fledgling football team (which was still getting their asses kicked by little high school outfits… guess the original team just wasn’t embarrassing enough or something) may tell you. (Just a little trivia: I am one of the last two people ever to walk out those doors with a Bachelors in English.) MSU- Northern, Home of the Fighting Zombies, if you recall from my other dreams. Guess they finally got loose or something… …I am standing around in the Mall with my old friend’s then-girlfriend, waiting for him to get off work. M works at Taco John’s (both in the dream, and in the waking world back then), one of the few businesses that remain between the building’s two eerily silent wings. (R.I.P. Woolworths— and its ill-fated sequel, Gibsons… R.I.P. J C Penny…) Despite two-out-of-three storefronts staring vacantly out at the halls like empty eye sockets, people are out and about shopping. But as he steps out of the store, there are screams from down the hall. People are fleeing, and the reason quickly becomes apparent. (You guessed it.) Zombies. Marching, shuffling up the hall like a bunch of angry Christmas shoppers who had tried too many chocolate liqueur samples. I run over to the emergency fire axe mounted in the wall compartment, throwing an energy blast to break the glass. I wonder why I’m grabbing an axe when I can throw energy bolts, and instead hand the axe to M. I tell them to escape while I hold off the zombies. I fire a few more blasts, flash-frying several of the shuffling shoppers, then I start to power up. The closest thing I can come to describing how it feels when I “power up” is how it feels when I’m flying— total freefall… and that sensation of lightning surging through my veins. Nothing so mundane as blood. (I’ve reached out and powered up, using super powers before, but I guess after watching a whole season of Dragon Ball Z, my dream-powers were really on fire.) My aura is glowing, and it seems like there is spectral fire raging all around me. When I summon up enough power, I attack head-on with a flying leap right into the midst of my undead adversaries, unleashing a cyclone of superhuman strength and speed. I remember kicking one of the monster’s heads right off, punting it through a display window. Most of the zombies, though, just get back up and start shuffling toward me. After dishing out attacks from which an ordinary human being wouldn’t be able to move for a week, I suddenly remember that you can’t kill something that’s already dead. I jump back away from them, deciding I need a new strategy. I retreat back to the skylit fountain at the center of the Mall and just start powering up. And powering up. Even as the hungry cannibal-corpses are marching toward me, I stand, the eye of the storm. There is so much raw energy flowing through me I can barely contain it. Just as the first of the zombies is about to reach me, I unleash this energy in a massive shockwave radiating out from where I stand. In the waking world, I came to call this technique Ground-Zero, and I imagine if I could use it in the waking world, say, on someone’s house, there would be a blackened crater and rubble raining down all around… but the place where I stood would be untouched. The view changes to a spectacular camera-shot of M and the others fleeing from the Mall. They are all knocked down and sent sprawling (good thing, too) as the doors shattered outward in a hailstorm of glass shards. The skylights explode in a jagged crystal fountain that would have sliced a person to ribbons as easily as it sliced up through the air. And flickering into existence above the collapsing Mall, like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, a fiery spread-eagle form emerges. I’m still powered-up and I’ve even managed to outrun my own explosion. I flip and roll through the air, hurling energy blasts at the zombies in the parking lot. As my friends get in their car and drive off, I fly alongside them, ready to blast anything that gets in their way… TO BE CONTINUED… …This was all one dream, but I’m telling it in two parts, just for the hell of it. (But partly because this part was fluid and continuous, whereas most of the rest of it tends to jump around.) The real Mall in the real town is mostly empty, like the Atrium downtown, and it was actually kind of depressing to wander around in there, like watching a time-lapse documentary of the town’s own fate. The summer of 2000, I went back to Kalispell for my cousin’s wedding, and while we were there, M and I tried to visit my favorite childhood mall, Gateway West. I find it strange now, because either security was lax, or we somehow hit on the only unlocked door in the whole place. One might think the largely vacant parking lot would be a tip-off, but I was always the adventurous and persistent type, not one to let reality get in the way of my time-traveling adventure in the Flathead Valley that smoke-shrouded summer. What we entered was basically a ghost town. The entire mall was deserted. Just empty storefronts, dirt, and a lot of old equipment laying around. This was once the place I used to hang out whenever I got the chance to go into town as a kid, and now all that remained of my childhood memories were skylight windows and lonely-looking trees growing at regular intervals down the hall. Most of the opposite end of the hall was denied us, blocked by a big wooden wall announcing some cellular phone center office. Coming Soon. (I took a lot of pictures that summer because I suspected that what was “coming soon” was the ongoing erasure every place and thing I remember. A bulldozer has already made a lot of my past disappear. Coming Soon… New California Estates.) I walked out of the ruins of Gateway West Mall, feeling for all the world like an archaeologist walking out of a haunted pyramid. In my mind’s eye— time overlapped a great deal that summer, and I often walked in more than one when at a time— I could still see people walking up and down those dusty walkways, shopping bags in their hands, kids trying to drag their hungry parents to the arcade instead of the host of restaurants… could still hear laughter and music and a hundred conversations about anything under the sun… I think I understand now how the Parthenon would feel to some ancient Greek guy if you yanked him out of the past and showed it to him now. I have the distinct feeling that somewhere over the horizon, the same future awaits another mall in the middle of nowhere. -12/05/01

The backlog Week 4 [where the hell have you been edition]

I LIVE! In all seriousness, when im at school, I don't have access to my gaming computer and my laptop doesnt have enough space free for a project like this. Anyway, I am back for the next month, so let's get to the first game(s) 

Anomaly warzone earth + Anomaly 2 playtime: 4 hours total

Im bundling these two together as they are very similar in game play. In Warzone Earth, you play as the 14th platoon deployed into the heart of the Anomaly, a giant mysterious dome that crash landed on top of Baghdad and tokyo. As the platoon leader, its your job to make sure the convoy of APCs and walking missile platforms gets through the level safely. The game refers to itself as a tower offense game. Essentially its a tower defense game, but instead of placing down towers, you are the targets that the towers are shooting at. Your vehicle team is constantly moving forward and its your job as commander to choose the right path for the vehicles to drive down and to strategically deploy the four power ups at your disposal. Your tools include a repair which heals your units, a smoke screen which makes enemies less likely to hit your units, and a decoy, which enemies will shoot at instead of your units. Usually the player is spending their time babysitting the convoy and rushing to collect more powers as they are dropped from killed enemies. Each mission has a different objective, but it usually devolves into, get to a place and kill all the towers. 

Anomaly 2 is much the same as its predecessor. Set in the far future after an alien invasion, the earth has frozen over and humanity’s numbers are dwindling. Humanity’s only hope is a single convoy on their way through a frozen america to get to New york. As this is the future, humanity's weapons have evolved as well. The standard ACP with a gatling gun on top has evolved into a car with two gatling guns. And it also turns into a walking mech flamethrowers mounted on either arm. Bad ass. The power ups have also changed a little. You have your standard repair bubble, there is a focus power up which will tell all your units to focus fire on one tower you want particularly dead and an emp type power up which will disable enemy towers for a short while. Anomaly 2 also has multiplayer, but I didn't play that as it is most likely dead at time of play. 

Antihero playtime: 70 minutes

Antihero is a competitive digital board game where each player plays as a master thief in a victorian england type setting. As the leader of a thieves guild, you have to go around a burgle the good people of “London” to fund your operations and buy pieces to put around the board. You can hire urchins to occupy specific buildings for special bonuses, hire thugs to block access to areas, and gangs to off your opponent's units and hunt down targets (as well as making a little extra dosh along the way.) this game takes advantage of being a digital board game because everything your opponent does is done mostly in secret. Obscured by the smog of war, you can not see what your opponent is doing, which could spell your doom if you aren't fast enough to look into his territory with your master thief. 

I am not great at this game. I couldn't get past the second level on easy mode that's how bad I am. However, I can see it is a fun game, and I can see how this game’s multiplayer was popular for a time. However, I dare not go there as I fear that I may be utterly stomped by a player who has had several years more practice than I have at this game.

Apotheon playtime: 4 hours

Apotheon is the story of one greek guy not named kratos going to olympus to kick the butts of all the greek gods. The most striking thing anyone playing this game will notice is the artstyle. It is drawn to resemble Greek pottery paintings. You know the kind. The ones that depict Hercules doing his trials or some other greek hero doing something impressive. Anyway, story. The earth has been screwed over by the gods because chronic rapist Zeus decided to revoke humanity’s access to the things that are necessary to life. Hera picks you as her champion then sends you to mt Olympus to gather the gifts of the gods and maybe smack some sense into her cheating husband along the way. The game play is a 2D mix of dark souls and metroidvania games that are so prevalent in the modern day. However, Apotheon came out before the current wave of soulslikes so there is some small growing pains. Combat is kinda clunky and your character can sprint at 30 miles an hour but immediately slows down to a crawl whenever he so much as touches a staircase. Combat as mentioned before is mildly clunky. It uses a physics engine to do all its swings and stabs. Heavy weapons like a club have a wide swing arc and is directed by which way you tilt the left analog stick. The Reliance on physics to get the job done can lead to some interesting results. I saw one raider in the first area get launched into space after being double teamed by me and a friendly malita man. Apotheon is an interesting game with a stunning artstyle and compelling exploration. Which in this modern age of soulslike metroidvanias, is all you really need to stand out. 

Aquaria play time: 1 hour

Speaking of metroidvanias, Aquaria. As the name suggests, the game is an underwater metroidvania mostly concerned with puzzle solving over combat. You play as Naija, a lonely fish lady who can use the power of song to do magic. As a fish lady, you can swim around the oceanic caverns with relative freedom. The game wants to be played with a mouse and keyboard, as my attempt to play it with a controller was thwarted swiftly. As is fitting for a game where the protagonist’s main power is singing, the game has a killer soundtrack. In the little bit ive heard when I was playing, it was some pretty good music. Visuals are decent. The game has a hand painted aesthetic, however some of the animations are kinda stiff and stilted. This game was originally released in 2007 after all. Small indie metroidvanias were not knocking it out of the park yet in terms of animation yet (im sure someone will correct me on that point eventually…) the small amount I played had me swimming around a claustrophobic map going around and solving puzzles that lead me to new areas and new song powers. One of the first i got was the ability to pull around large rocks. The second allowed me to transform into an old fish goddess and shoot energy missiles at hostile fish. While the game is focused on puzzles and exploration, that doesn't mean it is devoid of combat. I feel as this is the weakest part of what i played. I gave up on the game when i died to a puzzle boss who’s apparent solution didn't work. There is probably a lot I didn't see in my short time with the game. There is a whole cooking mechanic that I didn't fully grasp, as well as pets and the ability to decorate the main character’s house with special decorations you found out in the world. I may revisit this game at some later point, but for now its going back into the backlog as I search for more interesting games with less obtuse boss fights. 

Armello playtime 2 hours

Armello is yet another digital board game. Set in a fantasy version of zootopia, the king of the land has fallen ill with the Rot. and all the clans of the land have sent their strapingest of adventurers to go and try and claim the throne for themselves. This can be done in one of four ways. Having the most honour points (gained by killing other players, or completing quests), gather four spirit stones and cleansing the king of Rot, having the most Rot yourself, or just straight up murdering the king. In the few matches I have played, the easiest one to achieve is the Honour victory, although that might just be my play style. Like most board games, rounds are taken in turns. Each player has a certain amount of hexes they can move, and landing on spaces will have different effects. Most events that happened as a result of landing on a space are luck based. “Perils” have you rolling dice, quests have you selecting from a circle of icons trying to pick the one that will net you a reward, and a random spinner that could give you anything from rot to gold to teleport you to the other side of the map. Once everyone has had their turn, day turns to night and new monsters spawn on the board. When the sun rises again, the king dies a little from his fantasy aids and gives the person with the most honor points the choice between two Decrees which will most likely be terrible for everyone involved. On top of all this, players have access to a hand of three cards. Which have various effects. Proper use of your cards can lead to victory or defeat depending on who you're playing as. Armello has an online mode, but like the other online modes in this batch of games, I dare not touch for fear of getting crushed. The game also has an online store where you can buy new skins for your dice and new character packs. It's a fun little board game, but im putting it on the shelf for now because i’ve had my fill and have  no friends to play it with. 

15+5+5 To Watch 72919

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 29 with Jacob Aere

Forbes named the most valuable franchises in sports, led by the Dallas Cowboys, who for the fourth consecutive year landed atop the list. The study values the Cowboys at $5 billion, with the Yankees second on the list at $4.6 billion, and Spain’s Real Madrid in third with a valuation of $4.24 billion. Rounding out the top ten are Barcelona ($4.02 billion), the Knicks ($4 billion), Manchester United ($3.81 billion), the Patriots ($3.8 billion), the Lakers ($3.7 billion), the Golden State Warriors ($3.5 billion), the New York Giants ($3.3 billion), and the Dodgers ($3.3 billion). The NFL dominates the overall list with 26 teams in the top 50. A major contributor was the league’s lucrative media rights deals with CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and DirecTV, which saw each team receive more than $260 million last year. Way behind the NFL was the NBA, which had nine teams on the list. Eight European soccer clubs made the list, as did seven MLB franchises. Cowboys owner and Sport Business Handbook contributor Jerry Jones has been credited with driving up the franchise’s value since purchasing it for $150 million in 1989.

The cost of the Raiders' new Vegas stadium has risen to $1.9 billion. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal (LVRJ), the Las Vegas Stadium Authority has reportedly approved $40 million worth of additions to the build, including 20 more suites and a field-level club area near the venue’s north end zone. The LVRJ report added that close to $1 billion has so far been spent on the construction of the 65,000-seat stadium. The new venue is expected to be ready for the 2020 season, when the Raiders are scheduled to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. The construction project, of which $750 million is being funded by taxpayers, has now passed the halfway stage, with the next major task being the installation of the cable steel roofing system that will support the stadium’s translucent roof. The latest update comes a month after the franchise appointed AEG Facilities to operate the new stadium. Right now, the Raiders are reluctantly in the spotlight as HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documents their every move during NFL preseason camp.

As NFL teams settle into training camp, Patriots legend Tom Brady sits at No. 1 on the NFLPA Top 50 players sales list, while new Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is the highest rookie on the list at No. 21. The first list of the 2019 season, according to the NFLPA, is based on total sales of all officially-licensed NFL player merchandise, tracking year-to-date preseason results from March 1 to May 31. The NFLPA list is the only verified ranking of all officially licensed, NFL player-branded merchandise sold from online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 75 NFLPA licensees. Additionally, Fox Business noted the Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr., who ranked second in sales overall, was the NFL's "top-selling player in terms of jerseys manufactured by Nike, the league's official uniform supplier." Brady "ranked third in that category.” Also high on the list – Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Lovers of the made-for-TV Skins Games of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, rejoice. According to ESPN.com, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Hideki Matsuyama are rekindling the series, with the first event taking place before the inaugural Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan on October 21. The Zozo Championship was Woods’ first official commitment following his historic Masters victory in April. The one-day Skins competition will reportedly offer “lucrative prize money.” The event, which will be run and sanctioned by the PGA Tour, harkens back to The Skins Game series that ran 1983-2005. The upcoming event is also reportedly part of Woods’ content agreement with GolfTV; negotiations are currently taking place to televise the event in the U.S. The Zozo Championship is the second leg of a three-tournament Asia swing on the 2019-2020 PGA Tour schedule that includes CJ Cup in South Korea and the WGC HSBC Champions in China. The Zozo Championship features a 78-player field, no cut, and a $9.75 million purse. 

It’s official – Colombia has its first official Tour de France win. Columbian Egan Bernal left his mark on the Tour de France in the mountains and in the record books, at 22 becoming the youngest Tour winner since the World War II. NBC Sports also clocked some firsts – throughout this year’s event, NBC Sports Group provided U.S. cycling fans with a deeper look at the action than ever before. The Peacock deployed several new production tools for its coverage of the 21-day race, including, for the first time, live feeds from POV cameras mounted on several competitors’ bicycles. NBC Sports’ studio production had another new tech toy in its arsenal this year: an augmented-reality graphics and telestrator system developed by Israel-based Morpheus, which produces virtual cyclist graphics. Live Tour de France coverage on NBCSN averaged 307,000 viewers through last Sunday’s Stage 15 – the highest since 2015, and up 11% from last year at this point in the competition. In two years, the Tour will have a fresh look as well, as in 2021 it will begin in bicycle-mad Copenhagen for the first time in its 100+ year history.

World Cup star Alex Morgan looking to launch female-focused media venture. Morgan, co-captain of the USWNT and World Cup champion, is planning to launch her own media venture focused on storytelling, specifically content for girls created by female athletes. The unnamed project is one of many off-field pursuits for the 30-year-old, recently named one of TIME's 100 most influential people. Morgan has written a series of children’s books about soccer called “The Kicks,” and last year acted in her first movie, a sports comedy called “Alex & Me.” Her sponsors include Nike Inc., Coca-Cola Co., AT&T, and Secret, a deodorant brand owned by Procter & Gamble. Morgan reportedly isn’t planning to launch it in partnership with any major media companies – rather, it’s part of a larger push by women on the team to advocate for gender equality in sports and beyond. “We’re authentic to who we are and what we stand for, and we’re becoming more brave and comfortable in our own skin,” Morgan said. This latest venture shows how the women of the USWNT can continue to use their championship platform to speak up about important issues. 

Although he didn’t prevail, racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was still a win for IndyCar driver Zach Veach. Stockdale, Ohio native Zach Veach is still searching for that elusive first IndyCar win. But as the Mansfield News Journal pointed out, Veach, “in his second full season behind the wheel of an IndyCar, racing for Andretti Autosport…is still looking for the checkered flag, but there is plenty of time left in what looks to be a very long career behind the wheel.” Veach’s work off the track makes him a compelling public figure. In 2010, when he was 16, he made CNN's list of most intriguing people for his role as national spokesperson for FocusDriven, an initiative to fight distracted driving. His newest venture is with EverFi, an education initiative to help kids learn life lessons through sports. Veach also “has a ton of success over his career at Mid-Ohio.” During his three-year Indy Lights Series run, Veach had five Top 5 finishes at the track. While that didn’t come to pass this weekend, the confident, talented young driver considers the event a win for his family, his friends, and primary sponsors Group1001 and Gainbridge.

James Harden has joined the ownership group of MLS club Houston Dynamo. According to Front Office Sports, Harden has acquired a 5% stake in the Dynamo, which carries an overall valuation of more than $475 million. Harden, who in 2017 signed a then-NBA record $228 million dollar contract extension with the Houston Rockets through the 2022-2023 season, becomes the fifth member of the ownership group, which also owns the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Houston Dash and BBVA Stadium. The group is led by Mexican businessman Gabriel Brener, who acquired control from AEG in 2015. The other members of the group are Ben Guill, Jake Silverstein, and former boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya, all of whom are expected to continue their involvement after the basketball player’s investment. Harden said, “Houston is my home now, and I saw this as a way to invest in my city and expand my business interests at the same time.” On the pitch, the Dynamo sit two points behind the playoff positions in MLS’s Western Conference, while the Dash are five points off the pace for a spot in the NWSL’s final series.

The Oklahoma City Thunder partnered with the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum to unveil their new City Edition uniforms, a "charcoal and gold Nike uniform [that] pays respect to those affected" by the 1995 bombing there. The Oklahoman reported that it has "long been a Thunder tradition to bring each player to the memorial when he joins the team," but now the team will "put its own imprint on the museum." The team "plans to underwrite a permanent exhibit that will focus on the 'Oklahoma Standard.'" The "three values associated with that standard -- service, honor and kindness -- are also printed above the City jersey’s tag." In addition, a time stamp "appears under each: 9:01, the minute before the bombing, and 9:03, the minute after." The "survivor tree, a 90-year old elm that withstood the blast, appears on the waist band of the shorts." The Thunder also "pledged to fund free admission to the museum once a month" during 2020. The jerseys – a touching way for basketball fans to honor those lost in the tragedy almost 25 years ago – will be available to purchase at a later date.

A new report by MVPindex shows the NBA’s latest season brought notable increases in the league’s social media footprint and brand value. The report shows a 132% increase in the NBA’s collective social media footprint during the 2018-2019 campaign, with league and team accounts collectively generating more than $1.1 billion of value for brand partners, up 20% from $921 million 2017-2018. By comparison, the NFL last season generated $343 million in brand value, the second-highest social media value among the top leagues. Among the various social media platforms, Instagram proved most valuable to brands, generating about 90% of the total brand value while accounting for only 10% of the NBA's total social media content. The NBA patch program is also driving activations, with seven team patch partners among the top 25 of the league’s top social media activations. “The smart teams are activating around moments along with scores and highlights,” said MVPindex co-Founder and CMO Kyle Nelson, also a Sport Business Handbook contributor. The team with the most social media engagement was the Warriors with 291 million social media engagements, followed by the Lakers with 147 million.

Williamson signs landmark deal with Jordan Brands. Pelicans forward Zion Williamson's deal with Jordan Brand is for seven years and $75 million, according to a source cited by Forbes. In DC, The Washington Post notes for "comparison purposes," LeBron James signed a seven-year, $87 million deal with Nike in 2003. Williamson "arrives in the league as arguably the most-hyped prospect since James." Rockets guard Russell Westbrook and Thunder guard Chris Paul "have signature lines with Jordan Brand, but as an ascendant superstar, Williamson can quickly become the face of the brand." ESPN reported Williamson "ultimately turned down a higher offer from Puma" and as much as $15 million annually from Chinese brands Li-Ning and Anta "in order to wear Michael Jordan's brand." Williamson could see also his already impressive social media following expand after signing the Jordan Brand deal. Jordan has 33.1 million total followers, with 55% of those on Instagram. Williamson became a social media juggernaut due to his high school and college exploits, amassing almost four million Instagram followers and 390,000 on Twitter. Clearly, this sneaker lace up is a win-win for Williamson and the Jordan Brand.

Women’s Wear Daily reported Vineyard Vines has signed a deal with the Premier Lacrosse League to become its "official style partner." Vineyard Vines will "create exclusive product that will be available for purchase" during the current 2019 season as well as the 2020 season. It will "consist of PLL T-shirts and Shep shirts for men, women, and children that will be sold on the league’s web site." The deal "includes Vineyard Vines activations in each of the league’s 13 major-market cities that will include branded signs, on-field half-time entertainment for fans and T-shirt giveaways.” Vineyard Vines, which recently wrapped up a massive collaboration with Target that is thought to have helped revive the classic but aging brand, previously partnered with Peyton Manning, Manning’s Nationwide ad campaigns, and has outfitted golf announcing legend Jim Nantz. The PLL deal seems to be right in line with Vineyard Vines’ preppy image, albeit for a younger sports generation. 

Outland Trophy finds presenting sponsors again. The Outland Trophy - awarded to college football’s top interior lineman - will have presenting sponsors again, in 2019. The Football Writers Association of America and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases announced that they plan to partner on a public awareness campaign bringing attention to the importance of flu prevention. Selected by FWAA, the trophy is awarded annually to the top interior lineman in college football. As part of the public awareness campaign, the Outland Trophy presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases will use the hashtag #FightFlu on all advertising, marketing, social media, and public relations materials. The 2019 Outland Trophy presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases will be awarded during ESPN’s The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 12. While this may seem like an odd alliance for a football award, it exemplifies the power of sports as a vehicle for widespread messaging and the commitment of collegiate and pro sports alike toward public service campaigns.

Nasdaq makes a bet on sports gambling. The New York-based stock-exchange group announced a deal with UK betting platform Football Index to help build its trading platform using tools similar to those Nasdaq uses on traditional stock exchanges. The four-year-old, privately held Football Index launched a virtual “stock market” in 2014 in which participants buy shares in star players like Lionel Messi or Harry Kane. The site provides a mix of fantasy sports and regular sports betting with elements of stock market speculation. The Football Index deal will be the first in which the Nasdaq brand will be visible to gambling customers. Nasdaq has other sports-betting clients including the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has a monopoly on the Chinese territoryʼs sports-betting market. It also has an agreement to provide betting technology for the horse racing unit of Australiaʼs Tabcorp, a lottery and gambling giant. In both those cases, Nasdaq has supplied back-end technology but its logo and branding did not appear on any consumer-facing products. Football Index says the ultimate goal is to create “recreational markets for retail traders in something they understand a lot better than” traditional financial instruments, such as currencies.

Nike, Nickelodeon join forces in a pineapple under the sea. Nike and Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products have launched the Kyrie x SpongeBob SquarePants collection, available August 10. The collection features five shoes inspired by the signature characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, as well as apparel and accessories including T-shirts, a hoodie, socks, and backpacks. According to the official release, NBA superstar Kyrie Irving’s latest collection “is suited for on-court competition and off-court jellyfishing.” The sneakers in the collection showcase the signature Kyrie 5 silhouette in bright yellow for SpongeBob, pink and green tones for Patrick, and turquoise accents for Squidward. The low-cut silhouette of the Kyrie Low 2 pays homage to the currency-crazy crustacean, Mr. Krabs, as well as a Sandy Cheeks version with colors inspired by the squirrel’s space suit. SpongeBob SquarePants, one of the most iconic TV series ever created, has impacted pop culture with its universe of beloved characters. The title character has also influenced the worlds of fashion and streetwear with recent collaborations, including Moschino, Lisa Frank, Marlou Breuls, and Chinatown Market. This year marks SpongeBob’s 20th anniversary, off the court and on.

Top Five Tech

The PGA Tour adds DraftKings as its daily fantasy sports (DFS) partner in a multi-year partnership. According to Golf Channel, DraftKings offers a DFS golf game where contestants in most U.S. states can wager real money to compete for cash prizes. The typical game setup requires participants to submit an entry fee and choose a fantasy roster of six players for each tournament while staying within the guidelines of a designated salary cap. The new partnership began during the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, with PGA Tour-related prizes to be added to the cash offerings available to top finishers. The Tour will also make available real-time video highlights of rostered players for DraftKings participants among other specific content offerings, similar to video offerings now available around other fantasy leagues. By moving golf into the DFS format with DraftKings, the sport may be able to pick up new and younger fans who wager on live tournaments.  

Odell Beckham, Jr. is launching a production company and YouTube Channel. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the NFL superstar is changing up more than just his longtime New York Giants outfit this offseason. The new Cleveland Browns wide receiver has launched his own media outfit, ITN Productions, as part of a pact with Wheelhouse Entertainment. To start his new productions, Beckham will launched his YouTube channel to offer an off-the-field look into his life. The new YouTube platform will add to the wide receiver’s hefty social media presence with 13.4 million Instagram followers and another four million on Twitter. Looking to current NBA superstars with production companies like LeBron James’ SpringHill Entertainment and Stephen Curry's Unanimous Media, it looks like OBJ is on the right track to set himself up for long term success.

The Fortnite World Cup has appointed IMG to manage distribution and media production. The Epic Games event was hosted July 26-28 at the 23,000 capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. According to Esports Insider, the tournament featured several separate events including the Creative championship, solos and duos finals, as well as the Celebrity Pro-Am.  The total prize pool for the tournament was $30 million, with the winners of both the solos and duos competitions taking home the top prize of $3 million each. IMG delivered all content via an encoded stream from its IMG Studios production facility in the UK and The Finals was broadcast live on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and within the game itself (via the Watch Live button when you log into Fortnite). Sport 24 Extra, IMG’s in-flight sports channel, also presented the Fortnite World Cup live during international flights on select airlines. Bringing IMG Media on-board is a smart move from Epic Games, as it will continually allow them to reach a multitude of worldwide audiences on social media and even up in the sky.

NASCAR, NBC, and iRacing team up to deliver eNASCAR on NBCSN. According to Sports Video Group, this is the first ever eNASCAR live event on television. The world’s best NASCAR iRacers will compete in the event on TV as part of “NASCAR America” and will later return to “NASCAR America” on NBCSN on the last Thursday of each month in a four-race series. In the online simulation racing game, competitors race head-to-head from around the world. More information on the three future iRacing events on NBCSN will be revealed in the coming weeks. In addition to the eNASCAR iRacing All-Star events being broadcast on NBCSN, iRacing and NASCAR also have a professional esports series known as the eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series, where global drivers compete for more than $100,000 in prize money in a year-long championship. NASCAR’s aging audience may get a younger boost with a heavy dose of esports while real life racers have transitioned to notable esports team owners including NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other racing stars Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon. 

MLS’ Los Angeles Football Club is using tech for food and drink orders at home matches. According to the Los Angeles Times, LAFC and Satisfi Labs have partnered up to expand their virtual assistant platform, Olly, with Apple Business Chat to offer a new system for fans to communicate directly with food and beverage vendors at their home venue, Banc of California Stadium. Fans will be able to order food and drinks from their seats and pick them up at their convenience using the Messages app on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac – but not Android. To start an Apple Business Chat to order ahead, fans open the camera on their Apple device to scan a QR code found around the stadium. A conversation with Olly will open immediately in the Messages app, and then the user can respond in their own time frame for a pickup location and finalize the purchase with Apple Pay. The food and drink options will always be changing depending on what LAFC wants to experiment with and what fans are demanding – allowing for a more pleasurable, convenient fan experience.

Power of Sports Five

MLS WORKS showcases the soccer league’s philanthropy during 2019 All-Star Week. According to Orlando City FC, MLS’ philanthropic group is rolling out a slate of community-focused initiatives and events in the Orlando area for the MLS All-Star Game on July 31. MLS will offset a portion of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with All-Star Week festivities by purchasing 2,600 carbon offsets from a clean cookstove project in Africa. Supporting the Orlando City Foundation’s commitment to urban agriculture, MLS will invest in a community garden as part of the MLS WORKS + Target All-Star Community Day. And in partnership with Fleet Farming and their Edible Landscape service, a garden will be installed at Neptune Middle School. MLS will also provide funding for South Street Urban Farm’s education program in the Parramore area of downtown Orlando. The charity arm of MLS will also team up to combat hunger and support the Special Olympics as the MLS All-Stars take on La Liga’s Atletico Madrid.

Wasserman Media Group launches The Collective with $1 million for women in sports. According to Philanthropy Women, Wasserman unveiled its new program July 13 and the Collective will offer resources for female-focused initiatives, utilizing the full reach of Wasserman entities to support business and client campaigns. Among the Foundation’s grant recipients are Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and the City of Los Angeles’s Evolve Entertainment Fund. Currently, Wasserman represents 56% of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, 26 WNBA players, and “a number of women Olympians who have won a total of 37 gold medals since 2010.” Representing some of the top women in sports such as Megan Rapinoe, Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, and Katie Ledecky, Wasserman Media Group has furthered its commitment to increasing the prominence of top female athletes.

LA Galaxy and Chevrolet team up to launch the Chevrolet Charity Challenge. According to LA Galaxy, The LA Galaxy Foundation, Chevrolet, and players from the club have teamed up to launch a competition to raise awareness and donations for local Community Partners. Eight LA Galaxy players will compete and be rewarded for completing designated tasks at upcoming games and their earnings will go to charity. For every pass completed, tackle, duel won, meter covered, clearance made, and cross completed, the LA Galaxy Foundation will donate up to $1,000 to a local Community Partner. The eight community partners include Garden School Foundation, Playworks, Make-A-Wish: Greater Los Angeles, The Mission Continues: Reporting for Duty in Your Community, SurfRider Foundation: Los Angeles, Gift of Life, Special Olympics Southern California, and Positive Coaching Alliance: Los Angeles. Fans of the game were also encouraged to support community partners by making their own donation to the partner of their choice during the club’s July 24 home match. 

Kevin Durant helps to send kids from Prince George, Maryland to college. The newly-signed Brooklyn Net has opened the Durant Center, an educational facility in his hometown. According to BET, the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation has committed $10 million over the next decade in a partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools and College Track to help minority low-income high school students earn a college degree. The Durant Center is the first College Track center on the East Coast, with the inaugural class of the Prince George’s county program totaling 69 students of color. Enrolled students attend the center after school for tutoring and advising where they are taught life skills, including time and stress management. Last year, Durant donated $3 million to University of Texas Austin, in addition to supporting organizations like the Tulsa Dream Center, Larkin Street Youth Services, and Black Girls Code in San Francisco, and was named ESPN’s 2018 Humanitarian of the Year. This only builds on his philanthropy track record.

The Tom Hatcher charity golf tournament raises nearly $100,000. Six years ago, Tom Hatcher had no idea what he was starting when he decided to organize a charity golf tournament. According to The Daily Times, Hatcher is the circuit court clerk for Blount County, Tennessee and was moved to action by his father, who was in the midst of a five-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. At this year’s tournament, more than 300 golfers competed for two causes close to Hatcher’s heart. The sixth-annual event raised roughly $100,000, which will be split up and donated to Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Inc. and the Blount County Boys & Girls Club. The total donations have increased every year, with Hatcher’s inaugural tournament raising $23,000 in 2014. This one’s total bested last year’s by roughly $20,000. By mixing politics, sports, and charity, Hatcher continues to see growing success in raising funds and awareness for the Boys & Girls club as well as Alzheimer’s Tennessee.

TO PREDICT the future in commerce and industry it is common practice to look at past statistics, trends and data to strive and get best estimates for future performance.

Is it time to look at Rangers in this manner now that the financially bloated years are just a memory, with the new entity struggling to get any success now that a fiscal level playing field is beckoning?

Before the financial upheaval that befell Scottish football with the arrival of Souness and Murray in a two year period in the mid to late eighties, it is interesting to look at the performance of Rangers in the twenty years previous.

Since 1966 up until the arrival of Souness, out of the 20 league titles up for grabs Rangers won a total of three in that period.

Compared to Celtic’s fourteen this looks somewhat sparse, but we of course have to take into account the Jock Stein inspired Nine In A Row Scottish League winning record from 1966-1974.  The remaining three titles were shared between Aberdeen and Dundee United in the early 80’s during the emergence of the “New Firm.”

It must be recognised that during this halcyon period for the Celts that Rangers had a decent side evidenced by a European trophy win in 1972 against Moscow Dynamo. Indeed Rangers entry into the competition was by courtesy of Celtic as Cup winners, when Celtic also raised the league flag that qualifying season entitling the hoops to a bash at the major trophy: The European Champions Cup.

The Cup Winners Cup victorious Rangers team included some accomplished players including Alfie Conn, Alex McDonald and Scottish International Willie Johnston who was to become embroiled in a bizarre drug testing fiasco at the World Cup in Argentina in 1978. Interestingly the Cup Winners Cup Final took place at The Nou Camp in Barcelona with an attendance of less than 25,000.

Where were the Bears?

  After the departure of Jock Wallace, who served up three titles in four years in the 1975-1978 period, Rangers hit a leaner spell before financial doping upon Murrays arrival.

Their attendances in the first part of the 1980s were lower than previous successful seasons in the mid 1970s.

The average home attendance for Rangers over the six seasons before Graeme Souness -the harbinger of financial calamity – showed face, was 20,462, with a low point of 17,969 in season 1982/1983. [1]

In the early eighties before the financial watershed of Souness and Murray it is noted that Rangers did not take the runners up spot in the table even once.

This is testament to the form of Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Dundee United managed by Jim “Don’t ever offer me that- Scud!!” McLean.

During this time we saw the sacking of John Greig as Rangers manager and the ineffective return of Jock Wallace. Perhaps an indicator of the decline of the Rangers club in the eighties is that the ageing team which played in Rangers lowest ever home attendance ever in a league fixture featured five remnants of the successful Cup Winners Cup team of 1972.

Rangers (1872) recorded their lowest ever attendance in the league on Wednesday 23rd of May 1979 in midweek just before the wilderness years of the eighties.

On the Monday previous, Celtic had snatched the league title in the famous “Ten Men Won The League” game at Celtic Park after the dismissal of Johnny Doyle. Celtic came from behind to register an incredible 4-2 victory against the odds.

Rangers had a league game still to play and the fixture versus Partick Thistle – now a dead rubber – took place two nights later at Ibrox.

Less than 2000 fans turned out to watch the match.

Two major Scottish newspapers recorded the attendance as 2000, however that may have been an embellished massaged figure as the Rothmans football yearbook provided the attendance as 1300.

Once you subtract the away support and the attendance of family and friends of the players it does not leave many home fans paying at the gate.

So where does that leave us with the prediction given the facts and performance of Rangers in the two decades pre Souness and Murray?

Now that they have to stand on their own financially without a sugar daddy who had access to almost bottomless cash from Scotland’s two major financial institutions, it’s hard to find any positives!

Without the fabled investor that many Ibrox fans on social media and radio phone-ins insist is on the horizon, we have to look at the facts presently.

Rangers have performed poorly financially since Charles Green the founding father initiated the new club with the basket of assets from the liquidation sale.

Taking this into account and evaluating the situation from a start-off point at the end of season 2016-2017, the playing squad evidently do not have enough quality to mount a league challenge for next season.

With a lack of finance it will be difficult to recruit players with the necessary qualities who can supplement the squad. The current Rangers squad value is £11.86m. [2]

This is approximately one quarter of the value [2] of the Champions, with more quality Celtic signings expected during the summer window that will lever the financial chasm wider.

…ignoring the dodgy claim on the dead club’s trophies…

  Some of the Rangers squad have long term contracts until the year 2020. These include O’Halloran, Dodoo, Windass, Holt, Rossiter and Halliday, who may prove costly to dispose of if the new manager is of that mind.

Contracted to 2019 are Garner, Hodson, Wallace, Cafu, Forrester and Foderingham.

Arguably their two best players Hyndman and Toral returned to their parent clubs today, their time at Rangers having come to an end.

There are questionable cash liabilities due for the dismissal of Warburton, Weir and McParland and also the Wi-Fi dispute has still to be heard in court.

There is the problem of the soft loans.

Will they continue?

Can the three bears recover their money?

Can new a new share issue to raise capital occur or can the loans be converted into equity?

This can’t happen until King is able to get a majority vote from shareholders over the dissapplication of pre–emptive rights to enable a wider share issue to new share purchasers to raise fresh capital.

Rangers still have no nominated financial advisor (NOMAD) which is a necessity to facilitate this despite a promise from King at the inception of his reign.

The Ashley Case is coming up soon and a reverse decision will see no income on club merchandise replica shirts for six years.

We also have the takeover panel ruling on Dave King to bite, which could see him cold shouldered by every financial institution in Britain.

The Supreme Court decision is also due in the autumn and should BDO’s appeal fail it will finally confirm beyond any doubt that Rangers cheated from 1999-2011.

There are repairs to the stadium overdue confirmed by evidence heard during the trial of Craig Whyte at the High Court in Glasgow under oath by Ian Shanks (Lloyds) and Mike McGill (MIH). This is a legacy issue from at least 2010-2011 season and is to comply with H&S regulations.

Did I mention roofs?

Will Ann Budge, Stewart Milne and Steve Brown of Hearts Aberdeen and The Perth Saints meekly accept Rangers granting of a European Licence if they don’t fully comply with the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations?

These clubs have already fired a salvo over Stewart Regan’s bows by mentioning in their audited club accounts that they are fully compliant with UEFA FFP.

Pedro Caixinha the rookie Rangers manager has already stated that he needs to get in new faces for the coming term that he can trust.

Where are the readies for the deadies coming from?

Contrast this to the existing situation at Celtic.

Celtic have a proven manager with a long term commitment who has transformed the players currently at the club and has made signings who have made a significant impact immediately.

More signings are imminent with Eboue Kouassi still to properly contribute.

Celtic have promoted from the Club Academy with players like Ralston and Johnston given opportunities, while the club‘s youngest ever top team scorer Jack Aitchison is being noticed for prolific displays at his national age group as well as Celtic’s youths.

The club has accumulated approximately £30m from a group stage appearance in the Champions League this season. Replica shirt sales and merchandise have rocketed in the Lisbon Lions centenary year. Celtic have a trimmed squad managed by proper amortisation with former academy players now established in the first team.

Additional income from a sell on clause for Virgil Van Dijk as well as a 61,000 sell out stadium with a waiting list for season tickets and entry into the CL qualifiers is also a financial plus.

So in summary given the undisputable evidence, can we predict that after the distended EBT years that ended in disgrace for Rangers can we really see a sustained transformation in the distribution of Scottish Titles and Trophies?

Can Scottish Football possibly return to the kind of results that were normal for Rangers in the two decades before the arrival of EBT Souness, a man who was paid by Rangers while employed as a manager of a premiership club in England?

I predict ….a riotously successful and prosperous period for Celtic.

Sources:

[1] www.fitbastats.com

[2] http://ift.tt/Sk671L

Written by FeedtheBear@FeedtheBear1888

   CELTIC QUICK QUIZ – “In my lifetime Rangers have won more honours that Celtic, how old am I?”

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    CQN’S LISBON 1967 JOCK STEIN T-SHIRT IS BACK IN STOCK, BY POPULAR DEMAND! ORDER WITH IN THE HEAT OF LISBON BOOK, BOTH FOR ONLY £19.67 at www.cqnbookstore.com

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