#liam only thinks it with modern world tech
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"Liam?" Her head jumps a little on Liam's chest as she asks the question, the movement of her jaw lifting her up and placing her back down again when she goes quiet. Even just with her neck turned to her side, her head resting on his chest, mundane and simple as this, comes with a firm and steady weight that serves as a reminder to what she is, what her body has been shaped by the seafoam for. If he needed to breathe, Miranda could have surely pressed it from him without much effort.
Her crown towers above them both, tines stretched out to devour the sky and all the stars, sitting atop the pink princess, who cares not for these things, and who busies herself with nudging her head up against Liam's chin.
Miranda's tongue eventually flicks out, the double tips first only briefly darting over his skin, disturbing hairs and little more. Then, it touches him, the texture smooth and only distantly textured, bumps stretched out into hills, tastebuds like scales. Her tongue is slick, wet, evoking things from beneath, the low things that burrow through the silt and the marine snow and wither in the light of the sun. The dual tips move in tandem, both excising distinct muscular control, removed from the other and yet working in the same part. She darts a few times over, only briefly brushing up against his lips once, before some shyness takes her, and she tilts her head to press her nose down and against his collarbone again.
Miranda, still dwelling, finally continues her question, speaking again to Liam's neck.
"Do you... Do you ever miss it? Being human, I mean?"
the weight of miranda was welcomed.
her leaning on his body, enough if it dared to squeeze the wind out of him, was comforting, something he'd grown accustomed too even before they made things official. just as used to the sensation of the tongue against his skin.
the tickle of the slight hairs on his skin made some shivers, nothing that caused a full physical reaction, before the tongue touched his skin. liam scrolled idly though his phone, giving a little hum to acknowledge to the princess that he'd heard her call his name.
head tilted in the silence, a factor to cause the tongue to brush his lips, only to return to some sense of shyness. it quirked his lips momentarily, upwards in an amused smile towards her.
the question hung in the air, heavy and on liam's mind.
liam's finger twitched, his chest rose in a mock suck in of air that he didn't need, the weight of someone else causing it exhale as soon as it settled in his lungs.
"sometimes," he raised his hand, pulled his glasses from his face to clean them off. holding the square frames in his hand. a centuries old prescription that he didn't need when he'd been human. "now that i've lived for a while."
being a vampire, at first, had been quite thrilling. a sexy beast of the night, a dangerous predator that gave him power, anyone would want to seek that. even if the method of turning could be unpleasant. "i don't miss the life i had, when i was human. i mostly miss the concept of being mortal, to be able to live a full life without constantly having to find new things to occupy the mind and keep things interesting for myself as the time shells on."
his hands pushed the glasses back onto his face, blinking as to adjust to the new, clear world around him, as his hand moved to brush along miranda's back. "why do you ask, dear miranda?"
#royalreef#『 statement submission — ask#『 fangs & filters — liam de lioncourt#『 the rhythm of this trembling heart is beating like a drum — liam x miranda ( royalreef )#liam only thinks it with modern world tech#now this is a topic i definitely wanna explore on more#vampires n immortality n the length of one's life is something i think about often#especially for liam
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CaptainSwan One-Shots Recs p.14
Hello CS Fandom! I give you a new One shot list. A lot of them are new but there are some old ones in here as well, but there are all just so wonderful. Hope you enjoy. And if you have any theme idea for a list let me know.
If you are intrested you can find my other lists here.
Cat-astrophe, @pirateherokillian
‘dating best friend’s sister’
Le Cirque Noir, @the-captains-ayebrows
Running away to join the circus is like - the biggest cliche ever, but it’s the only available solution to Emma Swan’s very immediate problem. Running from the cops and with a freshly broken heart, Emma just needs shelter, a job and a ride out of town. She never expected to stumble into a world of real magic complete with witches, werewolves and a trio of shape-shifting brothers. Beast-taming isn’t so hard when the “beasts” are really humans in disguise. Taming were-panther Killian Jones might just be another matter all together. But maybe a lost girl can find a home among the “circus freaks”.
Ballet (Mis)Steps, @hollyethecurious
CS Modern AU: Killian Jones is a retired ballet dancer turned choreographer. Emma Swan is a retired ballet dancer turned journalist. What happens when he comes out of retirement and she is tasked with getting the coveted interview - twelve years after they parted ways...
New Year, New Me, @xemmaloveskillianx
I made a New Year’s resolution to be better at showing the people I love how much I care… But now all I want to do is kiss you.”
Apparitions, @justanotherwannabeclassic
Gifted with the ability to see ghosts, Emma Swan considers this more of a curse than a blessing. When a pair of ghosts named Milah and Liam request her help in befriending a loved one, Emma is introduced to a heartbroken Killian Jones. Easy enough, right? But somewhere along the way, Emma begins to see Killian as more than a friend, and must wrestle with realities of dating while hiding her secret while also helping his loved ones move on.
Concussion Protocol, @welllpthisishappening
She doesn’t see it at first. And, somehow, that’s even worse. Because the replay is in slow motion and they keep showing it and Roland won’t stop yelling and Henry won’t stop cursing and Emma’s going to do damage to her thumb if she keeps slamming it against her phone.
He doesn’t play the entire third period.
And Emma keeps tugging on her ring. Ruth keeps staring.
The Jolly Reader, @belovedcreation
One quiet morning on the lake, Emma meets the owner of a floating bookstore and she learns to appreciate the silence of books and days far from the city.
something extraordinary, athena3062
CS AU. Emma never liked romantic comedies, especially the ones where two people inexplicably fall back in touch after years apart. When wine, instagram and her ability to memorize phone numbers collide, her life takes a turn in that direction.
Prompt, @nowforruin
A cs proposal.
And I'm Home, @1handedpiratewithadrinkingprob
"I believe that it's easier for you to let me go. You put your arms around me and I'm home." Emma Swan has never been good with feelings. When she inadvertently befriends Killian Jones, her emotions seem to go into a tailspin. Through a series of snapshots into their relationship through the years, Emma and Killian search for what it means to be home.
Pirate Tech, @mayquita
After several years living in Storybrooke, Killian has adapted quite well to the modern world, becoming an expert in the use of technology. When Snow and David return from a camping weekend, Emma and Killian decide to emulate Emma’s parents and a challenge arises between them to see if they are able to spend an entire weekend without electricity. Canon compliant/future.
Prompt, @initiala
Maybe Killian and Emma sometimes have "competitions" in bed, like betting who can be the last one to come or who can get off quicker?
Dedicated to You, @nothandlingit
I am an author and you are at my booksigning but why are you handing me these scrap papers to sign? Wait - is that the first story I ever wrote and trashed because some people at high school made fun of me by reading it out loud? And now you're here, not to tease me, but because you liked my writing even back then? Captain Swan AU
the process of peer review, @emmaswanchoosesyou
Best friends. Colleagues. That's what anthropology and archaeology professors Emma and Killian have been to each other for years, but sometimes old definitions and practices need to be revisited.
The Fox and the Hound, @awkwardnessandbaseball
Years ago, Killian Jones left his youthful days of illicit romance and causing trouble behind him in favor of walking dogs for a living in Storybrooke. He’s been working for the same families for years, so discovering David Nolan’s beautiful yet closed off sister behind their apartment door is a surprise. It's not long before Killian finds himself coming down with a case of puppy love, but Emma might just send him home with his tail between his legs.
All Things Considered, @the-girl-in-the-band-tshirt
When word of Robert Siegel's departure from NPR's "All Things Considered" goes public, Emma gets the chance to compete for her dream job. All that stands in her way are nine fellow journalists - one of them being the charismatic yet cocky Killian Jones. When she ends up paired with Killian on the first story, things get more complicated as she tries to balance fighting for her long-time aspiration and her budding relationship with this fascinating fellow reporter.
Of Pirates and Princesses, @i-am-miapotter
Enchanted Forest AU. Queen Snow always told her daughter that, if given a choice between the Evil Queen and a pirate, go to the pirate, that way she could at least have a chance to return home. Princess Emma, after being kidnapped, has to make such a choice. At the time, she hadn’t realize that it could have such a huge affect on her life.
the reprise, @arexnna
“i run the night slot on campus radio and some jackass keeps calling in to insult my music taste and request high school musical songs instead” au
Muddle Through Somehow, @msgenevieve447
She always knew Henry would leave home one day. She just didn't think he'd leave home for another realm, okay? (Starring Emma Swan and Killian Jones, featuring cameos by Henry, Snow and Charming, mention of Regina and others.) Captain Swan Christmas Fic, set during 702 - ignores S7 timelines (or lack thereof).
kiss me (on this cold december night), @jennifer-morrison
Maybe asking your best friend to pretend to be your boyfriend as you make a trip back home isn’t the smartest idea Emma’s had in a while. then again, how smart is Killian for actually saying yes?
#cs ff#cs ff rec#cs rec fic#cs rec ff#rec list#cs fic rec#cs fic#captain swan ff#my rec list#cs rec ff#cs rec list#cs fanfics
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the end of 2017 is nearing, and while one direction may have gone on hiatus two years ago, fandom participation has stayed strong, particularly in fanfiction! for those of you who are following me, you’ll know that i’ve read a lot this year, and i love rec-ing fics whenever i can. so i thought i’d share my list of my favorite fics from this past year.
and thus! here is part one of my list of my favorite fics from 2017!
note: all fics listed have been completed in 2017, although some may have started in previous years.
in alphabetical order:
Atlas At Last by louisandthealien
Be Still by thisonegoes
Black with Autumn Rain by whimsicule
Cold Little Heart by seducedbycurls
cupid’s defence by harbb
Deuxsphere by sweetlullabies
Emperor’s New Clothes by sunsetmog
got the sunshine on my shoulders by hattalove
Homegrown by casuallyhl
It Comes and Goes in Waves/It Always Does by roaroftheninth
keep the light on by renlyne
Life Was a Song, You Came Along by rainbowninja167
like a boomerang by youwilll
Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson
Looking Through You by allwaswell16
all information on the fics is under the cut.
Atlas At Last by louisandthealien [@louisandthealien] (83k)
Harry/Louis, 1970s AU, road trip, ot5 friendship, strangers to friends to lovers
He doesn’t know what he had been expecting out of the road trip itself besides burping contests and too much shitty gas station food with Oli and Stan, but in the brief moment before Harry ambles up his driveway, Louis idly wonders if this is about to become some sort of Gay Coming of Age story.
Maine to California in ten days. In which Zayn’s an open-shirt hippie they meet somewhere in Ohio, Liam’s the pastor’s son running away from home, and Niall’s the number they call on the bathroom wall.
It’s 1978. Harry and Louis are just trying to get to San Fran in time for the Queen concert.
⇨ read on ao3
Be Still by thisonegoes [@this-onegoes] (150k)
Zayn/Harry, murder mystery, detective AU, hurt/comfort
Zayn hears the telltale sound of stretcher wheels bouncing up over a weather strip. A tech backs out of the door first, as both Zayn and Harry turn to watch. They wheel the black body bag out and lift it down the stairs, to take her away. She's officially cleared for transport, no longer a resident of the household. She's now just a corpse wrapped in plastic.
When they finally turn back to one another, Harry blinks and then shatters into pieces.
Detective Zayn AU.
⇨ read on ao3
Black with Autumn Rain by whimsicule [@whimsicule] (93k)
Harry/Louis, magical realism, thriller
“Thank you,” Geoff says, taking a sip of his tea. “What did you tell him?”
Louis has a sip as well, lets the tea burn down his throat too quickly, too hot, and he feels it all the way down to his stomach. “The truth. Essentially,” he replies after a moment, licking his lips, relishing the slightly bitter taste of the brew that’s never quite strong enough for Louis’ liking. At least it’s not decaf. “That my dog scented it. That I didn’t touch the body. That I came here first thing.”
Geoff nods pensively. “Did he believe you?”
“Probably not. There’s only so many people who can drown on dry land before it gets fishy.”
or: Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren't exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance.
⇨ read on ao3
Cold Little Heart by seducedbycurls [@seduced-by-curls] (194k)
Harry/Louis, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, werewolves, hurt/comfort
Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child.
A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.
In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham.
Louis really could use the help.
⇨ read on ao3
cupid’s defence by harbb (116k)
Harry/Louis, Cupid AU, lawyer AU, fantasy & supernatural
In which Harry is Cupid, Louis and Liam own a law firm, and they're all getting sued.
⇨ read on ao3
Deuxsphere by sweetlullabies (156k)
Harry/Louis, college/university AU, soulmates/soulmate-identifying marks AU, enemies to friends to lovers
The way the vines of the rose curled around the sharp straightness of the dagger was an image that was going to be forever embedded into his mind. The longer Harry craned his neck to look at it in the mirror, the more he realized—it was fucking creepy. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why it was there, or why humans decided to make it mean something.
Harry's first year at uni is guaranteed to be a breeze as long as he stays focused, steers clear of flying footballs, and completely avoids boys who are in bands.
⇨ read on ao3
* as a note, this is my favorite fic of 2017.
Emperor’s New Clothes by sunsetmog [@magicalrocketships] (92k)
Harry/Louis, famous/nonfamous AU, exes to lovers, secret relationship
The fact that Louis’s most precious belonging was a cat with a face like thunder and an uncanny ability to cover every single inch of Louis’s clothing with cat hair was something that Louis chose not to think about too much.
or: Harry’s a pop star and Louis isn’t, and there’s a non-disclosure agreement where there used to be a relationship.
⇨ read on ao3
got the sunshine on my shoulders by hattalove [@hattalove] (124k)
Harry/Louis, famous/nonfamous AU, exes to lovers, Sweet Home Alabama AU
five years ago, harry styles left his tiny home town to make it big as a recording artist. he didn't have much regard for what he left behind - a life, a family, and a husband, who woke up one morning to find him gone.
now, harry has everything he could possibly want: he's rich, famous, and adored by everyone he meets, including his boyfriend. but when said boyfriend proposes to him, he's forced to face the uncomfortable facts of his past - and louis, who's spent the last five years returning every set of divorce papers harry sent him.
(or, an au based on the movie sweet home alabama.)
⇨ read on ao3
Homegrown by casuallyhl [@casuallyhl] (51k)
Harry/Louis, gardens & gardening, strangers to friends to lovers
“It wasn’t an easy decision, if I’m honest,” Harry admits, shoulders sagging in on himself. “Moving is really difficult. My whole life was in Manchester. But Manchester didn’t want me. Leeds did.”
“Well, Leeds is happy to have you,” Louis says, giving Harry a kind smile.
Harry brightens a bit at that, undeniably pleased. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Louis replies, expression soft and lips curved.
Or, a gardening AU where Harry is new to town and the newest volunteer at the local gardening club, Louis is the attractive grandson of one of the members, and the nosy volunteers hatch a plan to get them together.
⇨ read on ao3
It Comes and Goes in Waves/It Always Does by roaroftheninth [@almost-a-class-act] (50k)
Harry/Louis, World War II AU, post-war AU
“He says that he’s grateful for that ending, because he always wanted to imagine it like that and you were always a better storyteller than he was. But that’s not the ending that should be published, because it’s not the truth.”
Summary: It is 1953; Louis makes that nine years since they won the war (eight if you count the Americans, which he never does). His first novel, a best-seller set during wartime, is due for a sequel - but Louis doesn't want to face the ending.
⇨ read on ao3
keep the light on by renlyne [@daretomarvel] (43k)
Harry/Nick Grimshaw, canon compliant, future fic, friends to lovers
but·ter·fly ef·fect
noun
1. (with reference to chaos theory) the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.
2. a cumulatively large effect that a very small or seemingly insignificant natural force may produce over a period of time.
In which Harry Styles tears up over glitter, and Nick Grimshaw’s life becomes immeasurably more complicated.
Or: it’s 2020, and really, better late than never.
⇨ read on ao3
Life Was a Song, You Came Along by rainbowninja167 [@rainbowninja] (37k)
Harry/Louis, Singin’ in the Rain AU, famous/nonfamous AU
It's embarrassing how long it takes Louis to recognize his own song. Niall had sung it as a bright, hopeful love song, and that’s honestly how Louis had always assumed it should sound. But this new voice, slow and rough, stripped of any backing instrument, has infused the lyrics with just the tumultuous mix of fear and defiance that Louis can remember so clearly from the night he wrote them.
It’s not a comfortable thing, to feel like someone is singing all your secrets back to you.
Louis is a songwriter trapped in a lie that could ruin his best friend's career. Harry owns a record store, distrusts everyone in the music industry on principle, but loves Niall Horan's newest album. A modern retelling of Singin' in the Rain.
⇨ read on ao3
like a boomerang by youwilll (51k)
Harry/Louis, college/university AU, Groundhog Day AU, pining
AU in which Harry gets trapped in a lift, Louis gets stuck in a Wednesday, and it's always February 2nd. Until it isn't.
⇨ read on ao3
Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson (87k)
Harry/Louis, summer camp AU, friends to lovers
“You just wanna go fawn over Styles as soon as possible,” Zayn grumbles.
“I do not. Plus, he probably got ugly this year. Eighteen is an awkward time...I bet he’s got acne and one of those terrible fuckboy haircuts all the hipsters are getting these days, with the shaved sides? Just watch, the first year we’re gonna get any time together is gonna be the first year I don’t have a stupid crush on him.”
---
Or, Louis is a riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor who he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two summers. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’s formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.
⇨ read on ao3
Looking Through You by allwaswell16 [@allwaswell16] (41k)
Harry/Louis, famous/nonfamous AU, roommates, friends to lovers
Just as Louis and Liam were starting out in the music industry, writing and producing for up and coming artists, a fateful meeting with new pop singer Harry Styles changes everything. Four years later, just as Harry is set to embark on his next world tour, a drunken confession causes a rift between once inseparable friends. As Harry tries to make sense of his feelings for Louis, he begins writing his next album to express them as it may be the only way to break through the walls that Louis has built between them.
⇨ read on ao3
and that’s it for part one! part two will be coming out soon! x
credits for resources in banner: saturnthms (gradient), resourcescollection (galaxy texture), & kaeveeoh-art (speech bubble animation)
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My monster prom pop quiz results
Stat questions
What is your spirit emoji?
c. Snowman, because that motherfucker is in the middle of a blizzard and he’s fuckin’ smiling. He doesn’t give a fuck about blizzards. And he has a kickass hat. +BOLD
It’s your chance to fix global warming. Go ahead!
b. Nah, the world is doomed. But I’ll start investing in ships and start a profitable business for the “soon to be covered by water” world. +WEALTH
Be a visionary: what will the next big social media craze be?
c. Rbert: from now on, a socially awkward guy named Robert will do everything he’s commanded to do through the app by its users! +CHARM
You wish you were raised by…
b. A pack of wild wolves… who also happens to be tech moguls who own some of the most profitable companies of Silicon Valley. They would be kick-ass role models AND wild wolves! Sick! +WEALTH
You build a 100ft statue commemorating an event so that in 1000 years archaeologists can learn something about the people of our time. What does the statue represent?
b. That mind-blowing twist in your favourite TV show that clearly changed the life of everyone forever, unlike all that boring stuff they show on the news. +CREATIVITY
Which is the coolest mythological creature?
c. This weird creature I drew when I was six and which is clearly super derivative from other mythological creatures… but it’s super cool and it’s my OC and my spirit animal, okay? +CREATIVITY
You’re elected president for a day. What’s the first law you pass?
b. Trivia fact: presidents don’t pass laws… so is this a trick question or are you just being an idiot? +SMARTS
A radioactive possum just bit you… what superpowers did you get?
c. The incredible power of writing fanfiction so compelling that the actual creators of the TV shows decide to go with my ideas and crazy ships. +CREATIVITY
School is outdated and lame. We need a new school subject asap!
a. Critical thought. I mean… damn, this country could really use a subject like that in schools. +SMARTS
If you had to have sex with animal… which animal would it be?
c. A human being, because I’m the kind of douchebag who loves to find loopholes in stupid questions like this one. +SMARTS
The coolest reality show would be…
c. People in various positions of power must face all sorts of questions relevant to their field, and if they fail, they lose their jobs… and society wins. +SMARTS
You get the chance to produce a movie. It’s based on…
a. The most influential Russian novelists of the XIX century… have gone nuts! They don’t remember anything about last night and now they can’t find the manuscript of The Brothers Karamazov; and Dostoyevsky has to deliver it TODAY! +FUN
Democracy is just broken. What would be the best way of choosing the leaders of modern society?
c. We create a reality show called “America’s Next Top President” where the candidates compete in all kinds of physical and mental challenges. Voter turnout would increase and we would turn a profit on it! +FUN
If you could put a curse on your worst enemy, what would it do?
b. The curse of always meeting obnoxious people at parties who are super into new fad diets that feel the need to explain them in detail. +CHARM
What would be the coolest prize you could find in your box of cereal?
c. A sample of a more nutritious breakfast option, so people are encouraged to stop eating that colorful crap. +SMARTS
What inanimate object do you think would make the best girlfriend or boyfriend, provided you went criminally insane?
a. A human-size pillow depicting a character created by myself. As a matter of fact, I have all the needed paperwork and I’m only waiting for the conservative narrow-minded laws of our country to finally step forward into waifu and husbando territory, as was clearly intended by God. +CREATIVITY
Which god do you pray to each night before sleeping?
b. Praying is for fools. I took some compromising pics of a god molesting a tree, and now I blackmail him for whatever I want. A lot more effective. +SMARTS
Stats
Smarts: +6
Boldness: +1
Creativity: +4
Charm: +2
Fun: +2
Money: +2
prom date questions
What is the sexiest type of knowledge a lover can have?
a. How to set stuff on fire. DAMIEN
Your partner just gave you a cool gift for your anniversary but you totally forgot! Quick, come up with an idea for a great gift!
b. A silly toy that makes silly noises. SCOTT
What would be a deal-breaker for a potential lover?
d. The person is boring. POLLY
What would be a killer accessory?
c. Coolness itself. LIAM
The world will end tomorrow… What will you do today?
c. I’ll finish my novel… whoever comes after the end should know my legacy! LIAM
Which criteria would you use to name your children?
c. A non-heteronormative name to give them freedom to define themselves on their own terms. LIAM
If you were an ice cream… which flavour would you be?
a. Double creme de la Gruyere and meringues. LIAM
What would be your dream first date?
a. An art exhibition experimental enough to give you a seizure. LIAM
You find a genie in a bottle. You can ask for whatever you want. What do you ask for?
c. Before asking for anything, you try to negotiate up to the three standard wishes. VERA
What would be the most appealing in a love partner?
b. Sharp wits. LIAM
Love results
Miranda - 0
Damien - 1
Scott - 1
Liam - 6
Polly - 1
Vera - 1
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Words Just Can’t Do Them Justice....
Here, my favourite multi-chaptered Captain Swan Fanfics.... They’re classics, so you’ve probably all read them, but I think re-living these two special characters is something we’re going to need soon....
Alternate Universe - Modern
Read All About It by Kymbersmith90 - Using Twitter to ask an actual princess on a date may not have been Killian's best idea... until it was.Part 1 of Royal Realities
http://archiveofourown.org/works/7924948/chapters/18110287
Warm Nights & Firelight by Oubliette14 - When in the wake of a messy breakup Emma makes the impulsive decision to return home to her parent's ranch in the Rockies, she certainly doesn't expect to find a strange Irish guy living in what was once her apartment over the garage, and she definitely doesn't imagine that the home she couldn't wait to be rid of five long years ago would be the very place her heart begins to heal.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11025589/1/Warm-Nights-Firelight
To Make Your Heart Race by fergus80 - Killian “Hook” Jones is NASCAR’s bad boy, who is forced to do some community service to clean up his act. Emma Swan is the counselor at the local Children’s shelter who is done with men and relationships after her latest in a long stream of nightmares. http://archiveofourown.org/works/5619112/chapters/12944908
Poem Without Words by totheendoftheworldortime79 - Looking to make some extra money, college senior Emma Swan takes a post as a model for Professor Killian Jones’ art class. Sparks fly on both sides. Will they give into temptation?
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3973093/chapters/8914423
Heart By Heart by totheendoftheworldortime79 - Emma Nolan, rich, famous, heiress to Nolan Tech, frustrated by her life, unable to get anyone to take her seriously as a businesswoman, flees to her New York life for Hawaii. A chance meeting with grad student-turned-mechanic Killian Jones might change her life forever. If she lets it https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10924345/1/Heart-by-Heart
The Lost Boys by niniadepapa - He's the charming, out of control frontman of one of the most successful bands in the world. She's a hard-working rising actress. Sometimes it's hard to find out what's real and what's make-believe when fame's in the game. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8975354/1/The-Lost-Boys
Walking In A Straight Line by msgenevieve447 - It's one of the oldest stories in the book. Two old friends have a few too many drinks, two old friends share a kiss. Happens all the time, right? But what happens when only one of them actually remembers it? (Captain Swan AU, with a side order of Snowing, mention of Emma/Walsh) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10957085/1/Walking-in-a-Straight-Line
The Trouble With Faking It by nowforruin - Killian Jones is one drunken mistake from never setting foot on a movie set again. Enter Emma Swan, the woman his manager has paid to pretend to date him and clean up his image. It seems straightforward enough...but there's always trouble with faking it. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11228500/1/The-Trouble-with-Faking-It
Wedded Bliss and Asterisks by EmilyBea - Emma Swan is an enemy of love who just happens to be an up and coming wedding dress designer. She's convinced that true love is nowhere in her future but then she meets Killian Jones, whose magazine is covering the opening of her new boutique. Suddenly Emma finds herself drawing up new plans for her life, ones that seem to all be leading towards her own form of wedded bliss. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12295382/1/Wedded-Bliss-and-Asterisks
Search and Rescue by onceuponajollyroger - When Killian Jones, a rescue swimmer for the US Coast Guard, pulled Emma Swan from the unforgiving sea he had no idea she would end up rescuing him right back. [Captain Swan Modern AU] https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11255395/1/Search-and-Rescue
World Unknown by colormyheartred - Emma signs up to be a test subject for a "guaranteed true love match". The kicker is that she can't see her match until their wedding day. The moment she sees him for the first time, she knows she's doomed. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11824108/1/World-Unknown - Read the Sequels too!
With This Ring by kissmelikeapirate - This was just about the dumbest idea she had ever heard. Marry a guy she barely knew? But sometimes desperate people do crazy things. And crazy things can sometimes be the best things you ever do... https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11286660/1/With-This-Ring
Headlights Fading by EvilIsntBorn337 - When Emma Swan's car breaks down outside of a small town in Maine, she finds herself stuck at the local garage, but as the repairs take longer and longer to complete, she has to decide if, in the end, she wants to leave the town at all. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11251326/1/Headlights-Fading
With Affection by PhiraLovesLoki - Emma Swan isn't a middle schooler. So why is she receiving notes from a secret admirer? She's also definitely not a romantic person. So why is she writing back? Modern!AU Captain Swan, with side orders of Snowing and Frankenwolf https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11045549/1/With-Affection
Music of The Heart by InMyEyes2014 - Granny Lucas loves to be both chef and matchmaker for the town of Storybrooke. When she sets her skills on Liam and Killian Jones, she is sure she has found the perfect matches with Elsa and Emma. While some participants are willing and others reluctant, Granny and her cohorts are determined to make each a match made in heaven or at least in lasagna. http://archiveofourown.org/works/6215764/chapters/14240920
Alternate Universe - With a Touch of Canon
Remember When by Emilee Amethyst - "I will find you. I will always find you." Says the Charming Family motto. But does it still apply when two centuries separate you from the one you love? Captain Swan story slight universe alterations. Picks up at season 2's "The Doctor" where Emma already knows Hook from their past, but he has "no bloody clue" whom she is. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12079881/1/Remember-When
Across Time And Space by Annaelle - Seventeen year old Emma Swan unwittingly and accidentally falls through a mysterious portal that lands her in the middle of the ocean, only to be saved by a young, dashing lieutenant, and to be brought aboard the Jewel of The Realm. Will she be able to find her home? And if she does... Will she still want to go? Lieutenant Duckling/Captain Swan. AU. Canon elements. - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9864377/1/Across-Time-And-Space
Until The Fog Lifts by ArtjuiceRP - Cursed!Killian AU: Emma Swan has more than enough to deal with. For one, her son believes the entire town of Storybrooke is cursed. She definitely doesn’t have time for the mysterious pawnbroker, Killian Jones, even if Henry insists that he’s the prince she’s meant to be with. http://archiveofourown.org/works/3448121/chapters/7561955
Canon Universe (At One Point or Another)
Unbreakable by xHookedonKillianx - What if Hook was able to go with Emma and Henry when they left to escape Pan’s curse? With no memory of each other or Storybrooke, Emma and Killian meet in New York as complete strangers, both with broken pasts, and both with clean slates for their future.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/6818248/chapters/15563941
Smooth Sailing (With A Chance Of Definite Passion) by sandra70 - picks up right at the end of season 3... and tries to answer the question "Where is the relationship going?" (without obstacles like Elsa and Marian; but others might appear) The rating has officially changed to an "M" now... https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10640638/1/Smooth-Sailing-With-A-Chance-Of-Definite-Passion
Chinese Food and A Movie by Ltb16 - In an interview after S3, Adam said something about Hook and Emma getting Chinese and watching a movie and this was born. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10347266/1/Chinese-Food-and-a-Movie
Everyday I Write The Book by msgenevieve447 - "I'm in the book now." To say that a lot has happened tonight is something of an understatement, but Emma is determined to make it all fit together on the same page. (Post-322.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10385057/1/Every-Day-I-Write-The-Book
Separate Lives by lenfaz - Set after 3x20 "Kansas". After saving the town one more time, Emma decided to return to New York, leaving her past behind. Three years later, she realizes that might be not have been the best decision. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11010202/1/Separate-Lives
#Captain Swan#chapters#faves#cs ff#cs ff rec#cs fanfic rec#emma swan#killian jones#canon#canon divergence#au#alternate universe#Modern AU#words
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Links 7/28/19
Digital Elixir
Links 7/28/19
Wanna get rid of an iguana? On second thought, don’t just ‘shoot them up,’ Florida says Miami Herald
Two are arrested after man dressed as clown sparked mass brawl on P&O cruise liner when guests at black tie gala took offence at his fancy dress and chairs and plates were thrown following all-day ‘patriotic party’ Daily Mail)
Customers Sue Over California Wildfire Liability Law Climated Liability News
In a World With More and Intense Heat-Waves, a Review of What Heat Does to Us The Wire
Think the heatwave was bad? Climate already hitting key tipping points Reuters
‘Bravo!’ ‘Great News!’: Cheers as European Investment Bank Unveils Proposal to Stop Funding Fossil Fuel Projects Common Dreams
Can This Ancient Greek Medicine Cure Humanity? NYT (David L)
Sports Desk
Bernal set to become first Colombian Tour de France victor France 24. And what a great tour it was! I was one of 10 million who got a first-hand glimpse of the peloton speeding by, during the first part of last Sunday’s stage (stage 15).
Fortnite World Cup kicks off with $30m at stake Guardian (The Rev Kev)
Waste Watch
Why do we drink so much bottled water? TreeHugger
Lawmakers propose sweeping national plastic waste legislation Waste Dive
It’s the second dirtiest thing in the world — and you’re wearing it AlterNet (JZ)
Waste Only: How the Plastic Industry is Fighting to Keep Polluting the World Intercept (UserFriendly)
Class Warfare
Trump Antitrust: Going After Big Tech or Covering for Corruption? Big by Matt Stoller
The Shadow Bosses of the Gig Economy Jacobin
Should the Rich Be Allowed to Buy the Best Genes? Airmail News
Everyone: go get your check from Equifax!
$125 is a nice chunk of change.
Get that money and pay off a bill, sock it away, take a day off, treat yourself, whatever you’d like – but cash
that
check!
It takes one minute. Do it here
: https://t.co/sy7eZCuLi6 https://t.co/OdgYrlJZbh
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) 26 July 2019
2020
How Democrats Are Shorting White Voters for 2020 American Conservative
Trump campaign sees political advantage in a divisive appeal to working-class white voters WaPo (The Rev Kev)
Democrats in Disarray
Spare Me the Purity Racket NYT. Modo hits back.
MMT
Modern Monetary Theory Goes Global Bloomberg (furzy)
Big Brother IS Watching You Watch
Your Arrest Was Dismissed. But It’s Still In A Police Database. Marshall Project
Imperial Collapse Watch
Five Forms of Retreat Benjamin Studebaker
New Cold War
The Real Reason The Propagandists Have Been Promoting Russia Hysteria Caitlin Johnstone (The Rev Kev)
Brexit
The Two Jacobs London Review of Books
The Ham of Fate NYRB
When Boris Johnson asked me why the lane next to Calcutta Collectorate smelled of urine The Print
Brexit, Britain and the Permanent Crisis in the Gulf Counterpunch Patrick Cockburn
The Rev Kev:
Boris Johnson wants to reopen negotiations with the EU. Let me check the Brexit Negotiation Simulator to see how that will pan out… pic.twitter.com/7NUyVEhxhM
— Liam Butler (@LiamMakesStuff) 23 July 2019
Syraqistan
PEPE ESCOBAR: US and Iran Stuck on Negotiation Ground Zero Consortium News
Libya’s Grim Civil War Escalates Der Spiegel. Thanks Obama!
India
Flood Relief: India Gathers Satellite Imagery from Several Space Agencies The Wire
Controversial electoral bonds are not only opaque, they come at a cost to the Indian taxpayer Scroll
How the realty sector is being plagued by severe cash crunch Economic Times
Will the Supreme Court Set a Precedent in the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal? The Wire
China
US, China tilting towards conflict on Taiwan Asia Times (The Rev Kev)
Chaotic scenes as Hong Kong protesters march onto roads, unsure of where to go SCMP
Explainer: The Yuen Long mob attacks and Hong Kong’s triads – why do some consider the New Territories ‘lawless’? Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong braces for new rally after fresh riot police clashes AFP
This footage from @HongKongFP is the clearest I’ve seen yet of the police baton charge inside Yuen Long station.
And from a strategic viewpoint it just baffles me.
I cannot work out what police were hoping to achieve beyond smashing a few heads.https://t.co/FLESOFLobn
— Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) 28 July 2019
l’affaire Epstein
Judge signs protective order over materials feds to turn over to jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein ABC
Trump Transition
Trump’s Secretary of Labor Pick Is Reliably Anti-Labor Capital & Main
Trump uncorks French wine threat in digital tax retaliation France 24
Barack Obama shares op-ed criticizing President Trump’s ‘poisoning of our democracy’ San Fran Chronicle
Noam Chomsky: To Make the US a Democracy, the Constitution Itself Must Change TruthOut
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MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap
Tibalt | Original art by @sedelerystick
Welcome to another edition! So many things to look at this week, including a look at the spoilers for Amonkhet, as well as Cats under Wraps, and some reactions to this weeks Magic Story, Trust. But let’s not put the Cartouche before the horse, and get started on the bounty that is this issue of the Magic the Gathering Weekly Tumblr Recap
1. To the Victor go the Spoilers
Cartouche Blend | Reconstructed by @hopelessly-vorthosian, Original MtG art by Kieran Yanner
This week, we got glimpses of Amonkhet’s local deities, and they’re posed to make waves. Like the gods of Theros, these gods require you to meet a certain condition before they can fight for you. It seems that all 5 will have different conditions, which will interact with their activated abilities. Hazoret feels right at home with Madness cards from Shadows Over Innistrad, and Amonkhet’s own “Discard matters” theme. Kefnet strikes me as a shoo-in for a control build. not only does it give you an end-of-turn mana sink, but late game, only costs 3 if you miss your land drop. Expect to see these on game day, I think!
Recently, we saw the Planeswalker deck cards, sans text, but now here they are, in their untouched, uncensored, lean, mean ab-flexin’ glory! Gideon, Martial Paragon is lackluster, feeling like a toned-down version of his Battle For Zendikar printing, which has been a mainstay in Standard since he was printed. Liliana, on the other hand, is EDH ready, just begging to be slotted into an Atraxa deck. Her +2 can make short work of smaller creatures, or gun down larger threats every other turn, much to the ire of Voltron players. Her ultimate is nothing to scoff at, especially in a multiplayer game where she’s spent several turns putting creatures underground.
Liliana, Death’s Majesty looks amazing to me, being able to wipe the board 3 turns after she comes down, all while protecting herself in the meantime. Alternatively, she has a home in battlecruiser decks, promising to raise the two titans left in standard, or any of the Gearhulks from Kaladesh. Gideon of the Trials also has the goods to shake up standard, being a three mana Platinum Angel that can protect itself. The great thing is, the emblem even works with any other Gideon, including his Battle for Zendikar printing, or Martial Paragon. Expect to see this, alongside his Oath at an LGS near you!
These two creatures are posed to be my favorite in the set. Scribe of the Mindful seems lackluster at first glance, but serves as a potent threat. With it, and Keftnet in play, your opponent is forced into a dilemma. Either walk right into an answer, such as a Fatal Push with revolt on, or give you the free card draw. With so many uses, I look forward to playing with the Scribe. Soul-Scar Mage fills me with an incredible urge to build UR Prowess again. It was an archetype I enjoyed deeply during EMN standard, but lost its chutzpa for me with the release of Kaladesh, and more importantly, the loss of Elusive Spellfist. Soul-Scar mage could be the aggressive, field-controlling presence the archetype needs to return!
-- Nick @nick-dowdle-jeskai-judicator
2. This Week’s Magic Story Review
Trust, by James Wyatt
Untitled | Original MtG art by Tyler Jacobesen
When writing a recap for the Magic Story, I think it’s important to consider beforehand what you want to focus on and what to leave out. For example, are we writing this for those who have read the story or for those who haven’t? The answer, of course, is both. You should cover the essential aspects of what happened so that those who haven’t read it can catch up and understand, but at the same time additional thoughts should be added, or those who have read it will find this to be nothing other than a boring summary. So, with this in mind, let’s get right to it!
This week’s Magic Story, Trust, follows the Gatewatch as they arrive in Naktamun, and their first experiences there. Thanks to Jace’s sublime improv abilities (and despite Chandra’s vocal ignorance regarding the customs of Naktamun), the group is able to lie its way into convincing Vizier Temmet that they’re returning from a mission for Bolas, and secure a place to stay as base for its operations. There are two main takeaways I would like to underline from this story. Firstly, we see a warrior taken away by viziers of Bontu as consequence for declaring “The trials are a lie! The gods lie! The hours are a lie! Free yourselves!” and “The return will bring only devastation and ruin!” This is interesting: this woman somehow found out the truth, or at least part of it, hiding behind the trials of Amonkhet. This begs a few questions: how did she find out? Have other Amonkhetians discovered the truth over the years? And does she know something that we, as an audience, do not? Sooner or later, we will hopefully find out.
Renewed Faith | Original art by Wesley Burt
Now, onto the second major issue: Gideon. Ohh boy. As I mentioned in last week’s installment, Gideon’s admiration of the gods (stemming from his backstory) can and will cause friction between him and the rest of the Gatewatch. The feeling of utter devotion that Oketra instills in him in this story is powerful and difficult to explain (props to James Wyatt for conveying it so effectively), and has resonated with many who have felt a similar religious abandonment in their life: take @talinthas post on this, for example\. As a non-believer, I have a hard time relating to this feeling, but I do not underestimate its power. And it is clear that Gideon is torn between the Gatewatch’s mission and his feelings towards Oketra. All you have to do to see that is read these two passages:
Firstly:
"Do you hear her?" Chandra said. "She's a freedom fighter!"
"We're not on Kaladesh anymore," Gideon said gently.”
and secondly,
"And what if your precious cat-god is the one lying?"
"She's not."
"So much for asking questions. Seems you already know the truth."
"I don't know about the woman, or the trials, or the hours. But there is no deception in Oketra.”
There is no doubt, in Gideon’s mind, that Oketra is on the right side of the things. The gods’ true nature and intentions are still a mystery, both to the Gatewatch and to us, but the fact that they are the supreme authority on Bolas’s plane should make us suspicious, at the very least. Next week we will hopefully resume from the cliffhanger of Gideon meeting Oketra alone and see how exactly this will unfold.
As Cruel Reality shows us, Gideon will eventually have to face the true face of Naktamun. But what will happen between now and then? And how will this affect his relation with the divine? I look forward to finding out alongside you all.
--- Diego, @magus-of-the-color-pie
3. Just Cos...play
Nicol Bolas Armor | @dominian-dracologist
After some exciting progress reports, it’s finally ready!
Akroma | @jdcosplay
--- Compiled by Liam, @coincidencetheories
4. Shot through the Fan-Art
All Long, Evil Villains Have Equally Long, Evil Cats | Original art by @frigidloki
Spoiler season descended upon us like angry Jackal God, and as the new art is unveiled, new inspiration sparks within Magic Tumblr’s best and brightest. @diorevoredo is enamored with the concept of cat mummies, while @misteryada celebrated the opening of a fresh pack of chalk with a six foot announcement board drawing of our beloved Goddess, Oketra.
Speaking of the Gods @theblogeternities imagined a world where Elspeth, spurred by the devotion of those who share her story, ascends to Theroan Godhood. Also, see the same user’s melding of the Amonkhet and Theroan Pantheon’s key art
If you’re less for the gods, and more for the monsters, @steveraffle has immortalized the Eldrazi Titans in Stained Glass
--- Liam, @coincidencetheories
5. Tunnel Vision
Tunnel Vision| Original Art by Danny Orizio
This week, we’re looking to highlight some YouTube videos!
Commander Clash - MTGGoldfish: A third series begins with a brand new cast member, Twitch’s Mrs Mulligan, Jennifer Long!
Deck Tech #1 - Board State: Recap contributor @delver-of-seacrest is starting a YouTube channel, Board State, and in this premiere video, he’s going through the Temur variant of the Modern Delver.
Is it worth it: Mind vs Might - Tolarian Community College: The Prof takes a look at Magic’s most out-of-it’s-time duel deck release in recent memory, and asks if it is indeed worth the MSRP.
and what else might be of relevance... oh yes
Amonkhet Trailer (English) - Wizards of the Coast: I’ll just leave this here.
--- Liam, @coincidencetheories
...and finally: Magic: the Travelling Binder project
It started with an idea by @zoe-of-the-veil, to send someone a magic card for them to receive, enjoy, love and then autograph and pass along to another magic player, with new cards being added once a card is full of signatures, hopefully building to an amazing collection winging it’s way around the world. Adapting and developing the idea, @commandtower-solring-go is preparing to host the Magic Binder of Travelling Cards, hoping to turn the tables on Wizards, and instead of sending cards to WotC for them to sign, participants would chose a pet card, sign it themselves and send it to @commandtower-solring-go. The cards would then be collated and arranged in a binder, to be sent to Head Office in Renton, as a gesture of appreciation for the game we all love. We understand that this is still going head, so check out the post for more!
Thank you again for reading this week’s issue of the MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap. Hope to see you next week!
Interested in contributing to the Recap? Want to keep track of notable posts and trends throughout the MTG community on a given week? Or write a short blurb on a specific topic? Do you just want to make us aware of one specific topic or post? Please PM our main editor @the-burnished-hart or any of our staff writers!
#mtg#mtgwtr#mtg weekly recap#weekly tumblr recap#magic#amonkhet#magic the gathering#mtgakh#spoilers#magic story#preview#fan-art#cosplay#youtube
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New Post has been published on http://bit.ly/2izthQ9
Modern Shakespeare - Why Change Has Much Ado About Everything
About The HRIS World Transformational Leadership Series™ #thwTLS
Leadership needs to change with change -- and yet still discern what and which principles should not be forsaken.
The HRIS World Transformational Leadership Series™ takes both a high-level as well as up-close look at what it takes to inspire commitment so to achieve the vision of a preferred future, the very definition of Transformational Leadership.
Hashtag for The HRIS World Transformational Leadership Series™ is #thwTLS
For more information about this series, eel free to reach out to us by clicking here for more information.
Shakespeare and Much Ado About Nothing is more like Much Ado About Everything…
Our lives, if we stand back long enough, are comedies that, like Shakespeare’s play, combines elements of mistaken identities, love, robust hilarity with more serious meditations found on honour, shame, and court politics.
Yet nothing seems no longer irrelevant and everything seems to be relevant to everyone…
We are busier, hopefully more productive, better organized, more knowledgeable, than any society before us thanks to technology.
Yet at the same time, we are less regulated in our personal behavior and in the use of our tongue.
We need to return to ground zero and see what needs to be rebuilt…
6 Pillars
Trustworthiness…
Respect…
Responsibility…
Fairness…
Caring…
Citizenship…
Character
Raising the bar of expectations has never resulted in lower quality of anything – yet for many leaders, that bar keeps slipping.
Not going to raise quality or even maintain it without raising the bar of expectations, are you?
Without establishing sound character, change is going to be more of a challenge without than with sound character…
Whose Voice Do You Listen To?
Whose voices you choose to listen to will decide
– What you believe…
– What doors will close on you…
– What doors will open for you…
Facts and truth are irrelevant to any of the above.
Unavailable or Available to Learn?
You decide to when make yourself unavailable or available to learn – the facts and truth will sort themselves out as you keep yourself available to learn.
And not available at the levels you choose, but available at all levels.
Many times, if not most of the time, you will rely on information that makes you feel comfortable and not on information that challenges you
– to assess your beliefs
– to rethink your beliefs
– to change your beliefs
That can cause you more problems, more missed opportunities, more closed doors than you really know.
The Only Thing That Doesn’t Change is Change
In 2010, Eric Schmidt announced that every 2 days we now create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003 [1]…
In 2013, knowledge was doubling every 12 months – with the build out of the IoT (Internet of Things), IBM has assessed that will change to every 12 hours [2]…
Yet…
Are you more productive since 2010? 2013? Or are you merely busier?
Busy? Or Productive?
Where have you really focused with all the latest gadgets you have at our disposal?
Developing economic gain?
Gaining more knowledge?
Learning to think differently?
Or are you creating whirlpools of busy-ness that only sucks the life out of you while you abandon
character?
wisdom?
learning?
discernment?
Are you truly getting ahead with technology?
Or is your technology getting ahead of you?
Most everyone knows Albert Einstein [3] – many of his thoughts and theories are still being proven, some nearly a CENTURY after came up with them, other thoughts of his are still in progress of being proven.
And he did all his thinking about the universe, physics, life…
without a computer – as it hadn’t been invented yet…
without a smartphone – as it hadn’t been invented yet…
Yes, he was gifted — which is exactly my point when combining technology, knowledge, discernment, even character…
We have the technology that can help us the way it couldn’t him…
The Ways and Means of Change
David D’Souza hits upon many of these points in his interview on BBC’s Radio 4 The World Tonight [4 – time marks 35:17-36:34, the entire topic stars at 31:31and is well worth a listen].
Ths topic on Radio 4 focuses on the effect smartphones have had on our lives in the last 10 years — and unfortunately working more efficiently has not been one of the realizations…
“With 10 years of the modern smartphone, we haven’t seen the productivity gains that you might expect that has been transformed in someways in the ways we work and transformed the way we live but has not transformed our economic fortunes…
“What proliferations of email allows you to do is to circulate information more effectively, and more rapidly, and to more people.
“That doesn’t necessarily, in and of itself, create economic value.
“What we are doing is making ourselves busier but we are not necessarily making ourselves more productive.
“Smartphones allow us to do things that we couldn’t do before, what they don’t do particularly well is regulate our behavior.
“Being able to communicate all the time just increases the amount of noise in an organization, it doesn’t increase the output.”
The ways David focuses upon isn’t productivity and being busy, as both are the ends.
The ways he focuses upon is the actions you choose, the actions we choose: ‘making ourselves‘
What you choose in doing with your technology is resulting in making yourself busier, or making yourself productive…
These choices are seeds for what you create, what you produce or just plainly not and remain a busy body…
Whether you are being busy or being productive, the rate of change of technology around you could not care less — the rate of change of technology is growing logarithmically no matter which you choose to do, so you are left with having to do what you can to change with change… or get left behind.
And the only way to change with change is by being productive, being selective in what you want to be productive about so to leverage your direction and future accordingly.
No society, no culture ever got ahead by being busy.
Forget the What, Learn the How
Albert Einstein once shared that we cannot expect to solve our problems using the same thinking we used to create them, lest we bury ourselves in more problems.
You have been trained by our present education system, which has been enforcing the same thing for more than a century now, to teach everyone to learn what to think…
With the rate of change of technology, this type of teaching and the rate of education can’t keep pace with the rate of change in technology – and truthfully, education is already getting left behind.
Think about that — education is already getting left behind.
That means you need to abandon being told what to think, you need to abandon learning what to think — and you need to learn how to think, with everything.
This is not something new — before the education system we have had for the last century or so, we had to learn many dry things like principles… laws…. morals… ethics… trustworthiness… respect… responsibility… fairness… caring… citizenship… all of them seeds that lead to learning how to think, learning how to build character.
And they were learned them in a mixed-level school room — as well as at home.
You will be hard pressed to find busy-ness and learning how to think in the same room…
Stay Updated
More to come on this.
Do get our newsletter to stay up to date — and give yourself more time away from your busy-ness.
More Content from David D’Souza
If you liked what you heard in David D’Souza’s interview and/or want to read morea about what he is thinking, he has contributed a couple of posts to us here:
What Makes a Great Conference – Why some conferences do well but not great
HR Tech Europe And Differentiating Differently — It’s all about how the data is differentiated, differently – images help!
You can also catch his blog here: 101 Half Connected Things
Discover More From Our Transformational Leadership Series
Open to Discover More!
More Content In This Series…
Modern Shakespeare – Why Change Has Much Ado About Everything
| Garrett O'Brien
Our Top 25 Viewed Posts for 2016
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Introducing Our Features for Everyone
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Does Your Workplace Really Support Women?
| Our Audience
What Are the Key Challenges for HR in Europe?
| Garrett O'Brien
Why Business Ethics Doesn’t Work and Never Will
| Garrett O'Brien
What We Are Unwilling to Change? And Why?
| Garrett O'Brien
Is Your Company’s Strategy All Chat and No Metrics?
| Tom Janz
6 Shortcuts for Retaining Your Employees in Record Time
| Our Audience
Do You Know How to Identify Your Future Business Leaders?
| Liam Tarry
Team Alignment and Performance: Data Talks
| Tom Janz
What Comes First — Your Company’s Strategy? Or Your Company’s Talent?
| Tom Janz
10 Traits of Transformational CEOs
| PR-thwrn
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#Albert Einstein#BBC Radio 4 The World Tonight#busier productive lives#character#David D'Souza#impact of technology on work and life#Leadership#learning#learning how to think#rate of change of education#rate of change of technology#smarphone usage#the ways and means of change
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The Pitch Perfect star teams up with ‘work wife’ Rebel Wilson for new rom-com
Adam Devine stars in Isn’t It Romantic, a rom-com that turns the typical rom-com on its head. (Photos by Michael Parmelee, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Adam Devine likes a good slow dance; he just doesn’t want to do it in the rain.
“I’d say I’m fairly romantic,” said Devine, costar of New Line Cinema’s Isn’t It Romantic, which hit theaters on Feb. 13 just in time for Valentine’s Day. “That’s the romantic comedy trope of it being in the rain and you’re so in love that you don’t care. I care. Let’s do it inside.”
Devine stars as Rebel Wilson’s love interest for the fourth time, with Wilson previously having had a cameo on Workaholics, which Devine coproduced, cowrote and costarred in, and the love story of Fat Amy and Bumper in Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. Devine plays Josh, coworker, best friend and, of course, unknown romantic option to Wilson’s Natalie, a New York City architect who has an encounter with a mugger that renders her unconscious. A lifelong cynic when it comes to love, Natalie wakes up to discover she is the star of her worst nightmare, a romantic comedy.
“We have quite the history,” said Devine. “We joke and say we’re each other’s work husband and wife.”
youtube
After claiming that the on-screen relationships with Wilson were “super cute” with playful emphasis on the “super,” Devine gushed about his two other costars, Liam Hemsworth, who portrays Blake, a handsome client, and Priyanka Chopra, who plays Isabella, a model and self-proclaimed yoga ambassador.
“I didn’t know Priyanka before this,” said Devine. “Obviously I knew who she was, but I didn’t know her personally. She’s so cool and down to earth and such a funny, fun person, so it was cool getting to know her. And Liam, I actually directed him in an episode of Workaholics, so he and I had met before in that and, man, that guy makes me laugh so hard. He’s so good in this movie. It will show him in another light, which will be cool for him.”
While Wilson’s character wakes up in her own romantic comedy, Devine joked that if he had to choose a romantic comedy of his own, it would be Cast Away, the 2000 American survival drama starring a stranded Tom Hanks and a volleyball.
“It’s just me on a deserted island with my best friend Wilson,” Devine said. “Is there some sexual chemistry there? It depends on how long I’m on that island.”
Isn’t It Romantic offers many of the usual romantic comedy tropes while making fun of romantic comedies at the same time.
“What’s cool is Rebel’s been saying that she wouldn’t normally get cast in a rom-com so when this came around and it sort of turned rom-coms on its head, she was all about it,” said Devine of the film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. “It’s cool that this movie is really for everyone, as cliché as that is to say.”
Devine originally segued into acting because he was “shitty at sports.”
“Thank God it worked out,” he half-joked.
Priyanka Chopra, Adam Devine and Rebel Wilson (Photo by Michael Parmelee, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Adam Devine as Josh and Rebel Wilson as Natalie in Isn’t It Romantic. Devine said he and Wilson joke they are each other’s work husband and wife.(Photos by Michael Parmelee)
Liam Hemsworth as Blake, Rebel Wilson as Natalie and Adam Devine as Josh
Adam Devine, Rebel Wilson and Priyanka Chopra star in Isn’t It Romantic. (Photo by Michael Parmelee)
Adam Devine (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Devine explained that unbeknownst to many, his career started with stand-up. At about 19 or 20 years old, he recalled, Devine got a job at the Hollywood Improv Comedy Club, working the door, answering the phones and trying some open mic nights. In 2008, Devine did Live at Gotham, a Comedy Central stand-up show featuring up and coming comics. From there, Devine got Workaholics, which aired from 2011 to 2017.
“It was such a learning experience for me,” said Devine. “I got the show when I was 25. That was my first real job. I hadn’t worked as a series regular on a TV show before, so I went from being a guy who hadn’t ever been a series regular to being not only the star, but I had to write all the episodes and produce them all. The learning curve was really steep for me and the guys, so it was sink or swim and luckily it was swim.”
Since the Comedy Central show, Devine has starred in The Intern, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates with Zac Efron, Modern Family and Netflix original movies such as When We First Met and Game Over, Man! He recently finished his stand-up Weird Life Tour, which culminated in the filming of his first Netflix stand-up special set for June.
“A lot of people didn’t know I do stand-up. That’s why it was really important for me to do my first special,” said Devine. “I love stand-up. I hope to never stop doing it even though movies are so time consuming. Going off and doing stand-up is like a breath of fresh air. It’s just you and the mic and a crowd. It’s just a party every night, which is what I’m all about.”
Throughout Devine’s career, he drew much of his inspiration from three great comedians who came before him: Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell.
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“Jim was the first comedic star I fully fell in love with, everything that he did made me laugh,” said Devine. “I like how he segued and did more dramatic stuff and didn’t let himself get boxed in. Will is just naturally the funniest guy that’s ever lived; he will say anything and it will make you laugh. Ben Stiller did what I really respect. He’s able to write, direct, act and produce in his films and coming from a background where I have had to write and produce a lot for myself, I’ve looked up to him my whole career.”
Devine explained he is always developing a new project or trying to find something to work on because he just loves what he does.
“As long as they will allow me to continue doing it, it really is a dream come true for me,” said Devine. “I will try to work as hard as I can for as long as I can.”
While working on a few other projects and with HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, in which he costars alongside Danny McBride and John Goodman, set to premiere in 2019, Devine is currently filming in San Francisco for his most current role in CBS Films’ comedy Lexi. Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who wrote The Hangover and directed and penned Bad Moms, the film talks about phone addictions. Devine’s character is so addicted to his phone that he shuts out the outside world. When he finally meets a girl at the behest of his phone, the phone becomes jealous and attempts to ruin its owner’s life.
“I think we all are [addicted],” Devine said. “I got that new update on my Apple and it shows your screen time and it shows I use it 14 percent less than most people, so it turns out everyone is more addicted than me, and I’m looking at my phone literally right now, checking my texts.”
Devine joked that when he spied the update he has used his phone less, he couldn’t help but cheer for himself, “Look at me go. Then all of a sudden you take a road trip and you’ve used the GPS the entire time and you’re like, damn it. I won’t even drive home without it.”
Although he doesn’t consider himself a conspiracy theorist, Devine took on a deeper tone with a touch of humor as he let out, “These things are going to turn on us.” He recalled that he was recently talking with a friend in a crowded bar as his friend explained he works in marketing for a clothing company Devine hadn’t heard of.
“The next day I get targeted ads about his company, that I had never heard of, on my phone,” Devine said. “So obviously my phone heard that and linked us up, which is terrifying.”
While shooting in San Fran, Devine said he met some people who are “really high up in these tech companies, and they’re like ‘oh, it’s terrifying.’ They’re like, ‘I try not to use my phone a lot, I turn off all the settings so it won’t listen to you.’ Once you start to think about it, it does start to get scary and intimidating.”
Adam Devine chats with Long Island Weekly's Christina Claus about teaming up with his Pitch Perfect costar Rebel Wilson for Isn't It Romantic, which hits theaters just in time for Valentine's Day. The actor and comedian also shares what rom-com he'd choose to be trapped in and it's not what you think! The Pitch Perfect star teams up with 'work wife' Rebel Wilson for new rom-com Adam Devine likes a good slow dance; he just doesn’t want to do it in the rain.
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CaptainSwan Fic Rec p.2
This is my second fic rec which contains some of my favorites cs fics, most of them are au. Hope you enjoy!
MULTICHAPTER
A Thin Line, curiousconstellations , Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/4245585/chapters/9607032
Killian Jones and Emma Swan have at least one thing in common: their mutual hatred for each other. When a work assignment forces them to be around each other they discover that perhaps the lines between emotions are sometimes difficult to distinguish. (Modern CS AU)
A Million Shores and Bays, piratesails, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/5815825/chapters/13402480
It isn’t exactly her fault she’s come to trust a man she’s never met over, well, any other man she’s actually met. It’s what makes all of it safer, easier even, knowing that there’s no way she can actually fuck it all up by running away when she’s already away to begin with. Pen Pals AU.
Accidentally in Love, CaptainSwanLuver, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/4201977/chapters/9493005
Emma Swan needs to be married by 30 in order to receive the money from her trust fund and save her failing business. Killian Jones is the thief who just tried to rob her store. The two strike a deal: Killian will pretend to marry Emma and she won’t send him to jail.
Across the Sea, thejollypirate, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11268999/1/Across-the-Sea
The unintentional, unpleasant run-in Killian Jones, lead singer and guitarist of The Ruthless Pirates, makes with the blonde stranger who is apparently his manager's friend doesn't stop him from starting a special bond with her while he has the chance. Long distance relationship AU.
Alone with You, totheendoftheworldortime79, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10696977/1/
Captain Swan Modern AU. Star investigative journalist Emma Swan needs nothing and no one, except her job. What happens when she meets her new boss's brother, Killian Jones?
Body Language, effulgentcolors, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9835782/1/
Killian is the captain of the football team and Emma is your 'nerdy girl'. They also happen to be Ruby's brother and best friend and she is frustrated with them both.
Burning in the fire of a thousand smiles, qqueenofhades, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11442201/1/
Modern British Royalty AU. HRH The Princess of Wales, Emma Windsor, rather literally runs into her bodyguard's little brother, shy librarian Killian Jones, at a benefit gala, and sparks unexpectedly fly. But can they make a relationship work in the glare of the spotlight, and with Captain Liam Jones' own dark past?
Caught Inside, amagicalship, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11660023/1/
Captain Swan/Point Break AU. FBI Agent Emma Swan goes undercover to determine if a gang of surfers is responsible for a recent string of priceless art heists. What she doesn't expect is to get in too deep with one of the suspects. Can she keep her head above the water as the stakes get higher? Or will the waves of danger leave her caught inside?
Cause I'm Broken (When I'm Open), bisexual-killian-jones (aelover867), Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/2461034
Emma hated her brother's new best friend, Killian Jones. But who said that she had to hate fucking him?
Guilty, Your Honor, shipping-goggles , Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12137813/1/Guilty-Your-Honor
Modern!AU Captain Swan. "It was a one-time thing," is definitely one of the last things you want to say to your new boss on your first day at work. For lawyer Emma Swan, this case is open-and-shut. The verdict? Completely hopeless.
Heart by Heart, totheendoftheworldortime79, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10924345/1/
Emma Nolan, rich, famous, heiress to Nolan Tech, frustrated by her life, unable to get anyone to take her seriously as a businesswoman, flees to her New York life for Hawaii. A chance meeting with grad student-turned-mechanic Killian Jones might change her life forever. If she lets it.
Hepless, the-lady-of-mist-haven, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11258417/1/Helpless
Killian Jones is a single dad, working for a better life for himself and his son Liam. He does not feel like he needs a woman in his life. Until one night he ends up in ER with his son and meets a gorgeous pediatrician, who may flip his world around.
Halfway, charmedtomeetyou, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/4103200
It's been years since they've seen each other, but former best friends Killian Jones and Emma Swan meet up for lunch one day and end up spending the afternoon and evening together at the annual Miners' Festival. Much has happened to them since they were close - and none of it very happy. Can they go back to being easy friends, or has it turned to something else entirely? A modern AU (no curse).
I Lied, dashingswan, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/5307518/chapters/12253859
CS + we broke up months ago, but you’re in the hospital after getting seriously injured today and oh i am still your emergency contact (angstier then it sounds)
I See The Light (Now That I See You), bisexual-killian-jones, Wip
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10872039/1/
Emma was twenty-six when she could finally see colors, after she had lost faith in it ever happening to her. She just wasn't quite expecting it to be him. AU where you only see black and white until you meet your soulmate.
Icing on the Cake, startswithhope, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3280049/chapters/7155497
"is that REALLY what you want us to write on your custom-order cake?"
Modern AU / Killian and Emma meet over the phone and enter into an unlikely partnership.
Instantly in Love, haleigh91, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10364024/1/
Captain Swan AU. Emma Swan is the co-owner and manager of a popular bar in New York where her star bartender is the cocky Killian Jones. In their public lives, they hate each other. Little do they know that in their personal, online lives, the person that they've been chatting with for weeks (the one they've so desperately somehow fallen for) just so happen to be each other.
Lethologica, Lifeinahole, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/6559507
Maybe if they could find the right word to describe their friendship, everything else would fall into place.
Make You Feel My Love, XerxesRises , Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11080890/1/
Emma Swan is trying to make her way in the world with her young son, Henry, and failing miserably. Enter Killian Jones, a damaged soul himself, and his young son, Liam. Can these two broken people build a life and a family together? Modern AU.
More Than A Memory, alwaysbeenapirate, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3529019
He didn't remember much - and he didn't remember her. The accident changed their lives and sent Emma into a tailspin, desperately waiting for Killian to come back to her. But when he finally wakes up from his coma, the past six years are gone. Despite him having no recollection of their love, a broken yet determined Emma refuses to give up on them. She's got her work cut out for her, but some memories are definitely worth fighting for.
No Way In Hell, effulgentcolors, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10560389/1/
Heartthrob Killian Jones and Hollywood's ice queen Emma Swan are chasing their dreams, hating each other since before their first meeting and thinking they will just have to tolerate the other while the shooting of their latest movie lasts. But there's some fine print on their contracts and it seems that they don't know quite what they have signed up for, both on and off set.
Not a romcom movie, paradisdesbilles, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10586775/1/
Modern Lieutenant Duckling. "I'm not interested in being made the butt monkey of the school, or being some social experiment where you're trying to have me elected prom king or what have you, until we realise we've been falling in love all along and have our first kiss on an Adele song. Not interested. Savvy?" "I – I'm not planning to fall in love with you." "Good. Neither am I."
Oh, Brother..., the-captains-ayebrows (EscapistFiction317704), Complete
http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/6849493
FAKE DATING AU!!!!
Emma's roommate Liam is still recovering from a nasty breakup, but his brother Killian is constantly trying to get him back into the dating scene. When Emma finds out that Killian is coming to visit for the weekend, she offers to pretend to be Liam's girlfriend to get his brother off his back. It's just for a couple of days after all. What could go wrong?
Read All About It, Kymbersmith90, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/7924948
Using Twitter to ask an actual princess on a date may not have been Killian's best idea... until it was.
Search and Rescue, onceuponajollyroger , Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11255395/1/
When Killian Jones, a rescue swimmer for the US Coast Guard, pulled Emma Swan from the unforgiving sea he had no idea she would end up rescuing him right back.
Separate Lives, lenfaz, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3259703
Set after 3x20 "Kansas". After saving the town one more time, Emma decided to return to New York, leaving her past behind. Three years later, she realizes that might be not have been the best decision.
Sharing Space, singingisfun, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10994250/1/
After two years, Emma comes for visit and Killian offers to let her use his room while she's there.
Sign of Attraction, headoverhook, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3172678
Some day she was going to find a way to kill him without leaving a trace. Hopefully it would happen before he drove her insane. Neighbors AU.
Sometimes It Hurts, captain_k_jones, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/4238109
After 8 years of marriage, Killian and Emma Jones are in the middle of a very public divorce. Clueless to why Emma is ready to end their marriage, the truth is a greater hardship than Killian could ever imagine.
The Pirate Next Door, the-captains-ayebrows , Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11203013/1/
Captain Swan Modern AU: A handsome stranger moves into the apartment right next to Emma Swan's. Emma isn't ready for romance, but what harm could come of making friends with the charming self-proclaimed "pirate" whose bedroom shares a wall with hers?
The Reformed Scoundrel, headoverhook, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11408528/1/
Emma's dire situation calls for desperate measures, proposing marriage to a duke seems to be the only way to protect her son, and there is just one nobleman who might consider such an outrageous offer - Killian Jones, the Duke of Hillsborough, the most notorious rake the ton has ever seen.
The Trouble with Faking It, nowforruin, Complete
http://archiveofourown.org/works/3878953
Killian Jones is one drunken mistake from never setting foot on a movie set again. Enter Emma Swan, the woman his manager has paid to pretend to date him and clean up his image. It seems straightforward enough...but there's always trouble with faking it..
Wildest Dreams, swanssong, Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11307323/1/
When rising star Emma Swan has a one night stand with a gorgeous man she picked up at her manager's engagement party, she doesn't expect to see him ever again. But of course her life is not that easy.
Kentledge Hall, dassala, Wip
http://archiveofourown.org/works/9553691/chapters/21601586
A penniless dock worker inherits a title and his family's destitute estate. In order to save the house and grounds, he puts an ad in the paper for a wealthy wife from the United States. The damaged Emma Swan is desperate for a new start anywhere but New York. Together, will they save Kentledge Hall?
Perched a Few Feet Above the Water, IrishSwan, Wip
http://archiveofourown.org/works/9560882/chapters/21617297
Based on my own prompt #28: Killian is a single father. He and his 2 year old child are lounging by a public pool when his child accidentally falls in the water. Emma is the lifeguard that saves the kid's life.
Knock, Knock, charmedtomeetyou, Wip
http://archiveofourown.org/works/5747773/chapters/13243978
Emma Swan has made the best of her crappy apartment ever since she became best friends with her neighbor, Ruby. But when Ruby moves out and a loud Brit takes her place, the thin walls and lack of space are suddenly not so endearing. After a particularly stressful day, Emma decides to confront the nightmare next door, and entirely against her better judgment, she might just be making a friend.
Love, Kindness, and Other Useless Things, joneskillian, Wip
http://archiveofourown.org/works/6615556/chapters/15137278
CS AU, set in 1815.
Lord Killian Jones is haunted by the demons of his past which makes him nowhere near the man he once was, so he can't be the father he wants to be. And above all, he believes he is undeserving of love. Perhaps with Emma that is all about to change. But falling in love is never easy, that's just how it is.
FindEmmaSwanAFriend, randomsquare, Wip
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12350310/1/FindEmmaSwanAFriend
Feeling left behind by her more successful, settled friends, Emma Swan moves to Scotland on a whim. Sure, she's winning at Instagram, but something is still missing from her new life. Fortunately, her friends back home are on it. #FindEmmaSwanAFriend goes viral. Enter Killian Jones, reluctant columnist, who is on the hunt for his newest subject, and may just have found her. CS AU
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How Notre Dame went 4-8, and why things will get better in 2017
Get your jokes in now, because the turnaround is likely on its way.
This preview originally published May 9 and has since been updated.
We never had a problem with Notre Dame officials, but after the war, some of their fans began driving us crazy. They began writing letters saying that other schools should imitate Notre Dame, not just in winning, but by winning absolutely cleanly and honestly. Sure, who doesn't want to do that? But no one could get players like Frank Leahy could...
Also the fans said that Notre Dame sets an example that other schools could follow if those schools didn't like cheating so much. I really got angry when they started applying that to Purdue, as if we [Purdue] cheated.
— Lafayette Journal & Courier sports editor Gordon Graham, Onward to Victory: The Creation of Modern College Sports
One of the things I enjoyed about writing my latest book, The 50 Best* College Football Teams of All Time (and hey, if you don’t enjoy your own book, who will?) is how you can trace how perceptions of certain programs changed over time. Notre Dame is the best example.
There are two Notre Dame teams in the book (which, in anti-social fashion, isn’t actually about the best teams at all): the 1924 team that won the Irish’s first Rose Bowl and the 1947 team that is typically called one of the most talented of all time. In between the first and the second team, all of college football began to look at Notre Dame in a completely different light.
The 1924 team was a plucky squad, abused in some stadiums for the school’s Catholic backbone and going out of its way to put a good face forward for both school and religion. Look at these wholesome boys who will pray before the game and help you up after bowling you over!
The 1947 team was, by any account, no less wholesome. But the Irish were the heavyweight champion of the world by this point. Their connections with the Naval academy had helped to allow the school to maintain a high level of talent during World War II, and with loose postwar transfer rules and the name of NOTRE DAME lording over the sport, Frank Leahy was able to amass so much talent in South Bend that third stringers who never saw the field would find success in professional football.
Plus, as with any program or coach who purports to represent more than just football, the Irish brought some pretty irrepressible fans with them as well.
All of this is a long way to say that, even seven decades after that 1947 team and its fans lorded Irish perfection over all the land, when Notre Dame suffers a frustrating season — say, losing a ton of close games on the way to a 4-8 record — fans of other college football teams are going to enjoy it immensely. That’s just how things go.
Fun fact: Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish went 4-8 last season. It really happened. Buy rings if you want. Definitely make posters and memes. Lord knows plenty on this little corner of the Internet have. But don’t expect it to happen twice.
I have long noted how, when you look at a given year’s S&P+ rankings, you can pretty quickly point out the teams that are likely to rise and fall the next year (from a records standpoint) by simply looking at the standout records. My favorite example is 2011, when both 7-6 Texas A&M (eighth in S&P+) and 8-5 Notre Dame (11th) seemed out of place, ranking much higher than their records suggested they should have. The next year, the two teams went a combined 23-3.
It doesn’t always work out in such a clean manner, but the bottom line is, sometimes your record doesn’t match your on-paper quality. That usually rectifies itself quickly.
That Notre Dame went 4-8 last year is certainly unique; it was only the second time since 1963 that the Irish won fewer than five games. The Gerry Faust era of the early-1980s is notorious for its mediocrity, but Faust’s Irish never went worse than 5-6.
That the Irish went 4-8 with a pretty good team is even more remarkable.
Best teams to finish with four or fewer wins (per S&P+), 2005-16:
2016 Notre Dame (4-8, plus-10.5 S&P+ rating, 26th)
2007 Washington (4-9, plus-9.8, 26th)
2013 Florida (4-8, plus-9.7, 33rd)
2005 Arkansas (4-7, plus-7.5, 33rd)
2012 Arkansas (4-8, plus-7.4, 39th)
2009 Virginia (3-9, plus-6.8, 35th)
2013 TCU (4-8, plus-5.1, 50th)
2008 Arkansas (4-8, plus-4.8, 41st)
2005 Washington State (4-7, plus-4.3, 46th)
2008 Baylor (4-8, plus-4.3, 42nd)
This list is both a warning sign and reason for hope. Of the nine non-Notre Dame teams above, five saw their records improve, sometimes dramatically, the next season.
In 2014, TCU’s Gary Patterson made some assistant coach changes, freshened up his offense, and went 12-1.
2009 Arkansas improved to 8-5 in Bobby Petrino’s second year in charge.
2006 Arkansas improved to 10-4.
2014 Florida improved to 7-5.
2006 Washington State improved to 6-6.
2009 Baylor didn’t improve because of a quarterback injury, but 2010 Baylor improved to 7-6, and 2011 Baylor soared.
At the same time, of the seven non-Notre Dame teams on the list that didn’t dump their coaches immediately, four had done so within two years. The bad feelings a season like this engenders are hard to overcome.
2016 in review
2016 Notre Dame statistical profile.
Here’s the most positive spin I can put on last season: Kelly didn’t lose the team. The Fighting Irish stuck together well enough that they continued to lose close games to good teams deep into the season. Sometimes a team collapses; Notre dame did not. In fact, it did the opposite.
First 4 games (1-3): Avg. percentile performance: 60% (~top 50) | Yards per play: ND 6.4, Opp 6.2 (plus-0.2)
Next 4 games (2-2): Avg. percentile performance: 74% (~top 35) | Yards per play: ND 5.6, Opp 4.4 (plus-1.2)
Last 4 games (1-3): Avg. percentile performance: 78% (~top 30) | Yards per play: ND 6.2, Opp 5.6 (plus-0.6)
After a dreadful defensive start, Kelly fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder four games into the season. That he hired him in the first place was a bit of an indictment, but there’s no question the defense improved after the change. The offense, meanwhile, remained mostly steady aside from a monsoon-addled 10-3 loss to NC State.
Notre Dame played at a top-30 level or so for most of the last two-thirds of the season. But the losses continued — by seven points to Stanford, by one point to Navy, by three points to Virginia Tech. The season finished with the first not-so-close loss (45-27 to USC), but even in that game the Irish created more scoring chances and won the field position battle, creating a decent opportunity for a win that didn’t come.
Kelly has had a fascinating relationship with close games at Notre Dame. His Irish lost five of their first seven one-possession finishes, then won 15 of 18. They lost three in a row and won five of six and have now lost eight of nine. Do the Irish have another drastic change in direction left?
Offense
Full advanced stats glossary.
Todd Graham has struggled the last couple of seasons as Arizona State head coach; after going 20-7 in 2013-14, he’s gone just 11-14 since. Defensive collapse has been the major cause — ASU ranked 114th in Def. S&P+ in 2016 — but losing assistants hasn’t helped.
Graham has churned out aggressive, speed-happy assistants throughout his career; he employed Chad Morris (now SMU’s head coach) and Gus Malzahn (Auburn) long ago at Tulsa, and it’s probably not a coincidence that his ASU offense regressed a bit in 2016 following the departure of longtime assistants Mike Norvell and Chip Long to Memphis. Norvell became head coach, Long became offensive coordinator, and despite losing all-world quarterback Paxton Lynch to the NFL, the Tigers continued to play at a top-40 level offensively last fall.
Long only has the single year of coordinator experience, but you could see how Kelly might be attracted to him as a potential energy booster.
With a pass-first attack, Memphis ranked 46th in Adj. Pace and excelled at creating one-on-one matchups and solo tackle opportunities. A trio of rushers (including two freshmen) combined for 1,838 yards at 5.9 per carry, and the combination of quarterback Riley Ferguson and receiver Anthony Miller combined to connect 95 times for 1,434 yards.
One could see similar numbers from Notre Dame this year. Running back Josh Adams combined decent efficiency (42 percent of carries gaining five-plus yards) with above average explosiveness, junior backup Dexter Williams was a bit all-or-nothing, and four-star freshman C.J. Holmes could be ready to play a small role.
Adams and company will be running behind a well-seasoned line that ranked 18th in Adj. Line Yards and returns five four of last year’s starters. Three of the four have started for two years, and the line could get a boost from young talent in the form of redshirt freshman blue-chippers Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Equanimeous St. Brown
Meanwhile, it’s easy to think that the Brandon Wimbush-to-Equanimeous St. Brown combination could thrive. St. Brown averaged 10.9 yards per target as a first-time No. 1 target, combining big-time efficiency (57 percent success rate) with high-end explosiveness (16.6 yards per catch).
Most of last year’s battery mates — sophomore Kevin Stepherson, junior C.J. Sanders, tight end Durham Smythe — return, as does tight end Alizé Mack, who averaged 10.6 yards per target in 2015 before missing last year because of academics. And if the spring is any indication, four-star sophomores Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool could be ready to play steady roles as well. [Update: Notre Dame also added Cameron Smith, a former 596-yard receiver at Arizona State, as a grad transfer.]
This offense should have all the pieces Long craves for creating mismatches and big plays. Wimbush’s only real experience so far came in going 3-for-5 passing and ripping off a 58-yard touchdown run against UMass in 2015. His athleticism is obvious, and if he’s ready to live up to his blue-chip status, this offense will hum. That’s still an “if” until proven otherwise, though.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Brandon Wimbush
Defense
It’s even easier to see what Kelly saw in Mike Elko. The longtime Dave Clawson assistant produced high-caliber defenses as Bowling Green defensive coordinator (31st in Def. S&P+ in 2012, 52nd in 2013) and found immediate, sustained success following Clawson to Wake Forest. While Wake’s offense hasn’t been good in what feels like decades, the Demon Deacons ranked 28th in Def. S&P+ in 2014 and 22nd in 2016.
With an experienced front seven and an ultra-young secondary, Wake created havoc up front and played things safe in the back. The Deacs also had one of the best red zone defenses in the country, allowing just 3.8 points per scoring opportunity (first downs inside the 40).
Elko inherits a defense that was so young last year that it’s still pretty young. He’ll be relying on sophomores in the front (tackles Jerry Tillery and Elijah Taylor, end Daelin Hayes) and back (corners Julian Love, Donte Vaughn, Troy Pride Jr., and Shaun Crawford, safeties Devin Studstill and Jalen Elliott). And while there are blue-chippers galore on the roster, few of them reside in the secondary. [Update: Star Navy transfer Alohi Gilman would compete for a starting safety job, if his unique eligibility waiver request went through.]
Still, this was a legitimately strong pass defense in the middle of the season, from when VanGorder was fired until the last two games against Virginia Tech and USC.
First 4 games: 64% completion rate, 14.3 yards per completion, 154.2 passer rating
Next 6 games: 57% completion rate, 10.8 yards per completion, 110.7 passer rating
Last 2 games: 69% completion rate, 11.5 yards per completion, 155.7 passer rating
Granted, that midseason sample includes the monsoon game against NC State and the Army and Navy games, but there’s still obvious potential here, especially the Irish can keep the same first string on the field for a longer period of time. Eleven different DBs averaged at least 0.8 tackles per game last year; only six played in all 12 games. That’s a sign of a rotation that is larger than a coach wanted it to be.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Drue Tranquill
The front seven only has to replace three contributors, but end Isaac Rochell, tackle Jarron Jones, and linebacker James Onwualu were maybe the Irish’s three best havoc guys last year, combining for 29.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and 10 passes defensed. The linebacking corps is particularly experienced, and between Nyles Morgan, converted safety Drue Tranquill, Greer Martini, and Asmar Bilal, he should have the attackers he needs there.
Firing VanGorder had an immediate effect last year. After allowing 200-plus rushing yards in three of their first four games, the Irish only did so three times in the last eight, and two of those instances were against option-heavy Army and Navy, who combined to pass for just 61 yards.
Even without Rochell, Jones, and Onwualu, this should be a strong front seven. The question is, how quickly can Elko come to trust the secondary? I would expect him to play things conservatively in the back, as he did at Wake.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nyles Morgan
Special Teams
Special teams didn’t really help the cause. After ranking 35th in Special Teams S&P+ in 2015, the Irish fell to 80th because of shaky place-kicking range and woeful punt coverage. Tyler Newsome averaged a booming 43.5 yards per punt (26th in FBS), but opponents averaged 15.1 yards per return (123rd).
Ace return man C.J. Sanders was able to make up some of that difference, but if Newsome can avoid outkicking his coverage quite so much, this could theoretically be a top-50 unit even if kicker Justin Yoon’s range doesn’t change much.
2017 outlook
2017 Schedule & Projection Factors
Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep Temple 67 15.5 81% 9-Sep Georgia 20 3.8 59% 16-Sep at Boston College 76 14.7 80% 23-Sep at Michigan State 44 7.1 66% 30-Sep Miami (Ohio) 88 23.9 92% 7-Oct at North Carolina 38 5.7 63% 21-Oct USC 7 -4.7 39% 28-Oct N.C. State 27 7.8 67% 4-Nov Wake Forest 64 14.8 80% 11-Nov at Miami 18 -1.3 47% 18-Nov Navy 71 18.3 85% 25-Nov at Stanford 12 -6.3 36%
Projected S&P+ Rk 17 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 24 / 25 Projected wins 8.0 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 14.3 (9) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 10 / 8 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -4 / 0.7 2016 TO Luck/Game -1.9 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 57% (58%, 56%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 7.2 (-3.2)
In terms of trust with the fan base, it’s possible that having such a bad year with such a demonstrably solid team is harder to overcome than a random collapse like, say, 2016 Michigan State’s. Notre Dame lost close games in about every way a team can lose a close game. It’s a new year, and Brian Kelly has two new coordinators with him to right the ship. But until the Irish indeed turn things around, then they remain the absurd underachiever that went 4-8 last year.
Still, a turnaround is realistic at worst and likely at best. Notre Dame dealt with preseason turnover in the defensive backfield and was juggling freshmen and sophomores in the back all year. The Irish encountered setback after setback but were as good in November as they were in September. Kelly brought in an exciting new defensive coordinator and an offensive coordinator with energy to burn.
It’s really easy to talk yourself into a significant Irish bounce back in 2017, in other words, and the numbers have your back if you choose to do so. S&P+ projects Notre Dame 17th in the country, and despite a schedule that features five opponents projected 27th or better (and only one projected worse than 76th), the Irish are the projected favorite in nine games and are expected to win eight on average.
This is all well and good. But it’s hard to forget that Notre Dame was projected 11th, with a likely 9-3 record, last year. The Irish underachieved the rating by a little and the record by a lot. And seasons that are disappointing to this degree are hard to overcome.
I wrote in last year’s preview that, in overcoming quarterback injury and remaining in the Playoff hunt all the way to the end of the year, Brian Kelly had pulled off his best coaching performance in 2015. He followed that up with his worst. His recent performances have flipped as significantly as his close-game fortune. Can they both flip back this fall?
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How the Iconic Wipeout Series Was Born
From Playstation Blog USA
“It’s only really many years later when you have the benefit of hindsight that you look at the idea, the art direction, the soundtrack, the platform… and it’s all just perfect timing. Those moments don’t come along very often.”
– Nick Burcombe, co-creator, WipEout (1995)
WipEout hit 1995 with the force of an earthquake. Its sci-fi vision of armed anti-grav craft battling it out at 1,2000kph for gold and glory on twisting, vertigo-inducing race tracks couldn’t have been further removed from the quintessentially English pub in which it was conceived. Yet it felt perfectly in sync with the world it roared into like a supercharged sci-fi colossus.
Birthed in Liverpool, England and deployed on PS One’s bleeding edge tech, WipEout dropped into the eye of a raging cultural storm that was gripping the United Kingdom. Yet while it embodied the zeitgeist of ‘Cool Britannia’ – a celebration of the country’s beautiful collision of movies, music, art, club culture – its impact wasn’t restricted by geography. Cool Britannia’s epicentre was the British Isles. WipEout’s was anywhere a PlayStation was hooked up to a TV.
How the Future of Racing Started in an English Pub
WipEout was the child of a concept pitch and a vivid memory. The two met in a pub just outside Liverpool in the early ’90s, introduced by a pair of Psygnosis developers – designer Nick Burcombe and artist Jim Bowers. The drinking establishment was a regular haunt for studio staff of which Bowers and Burcombe were two. They’d regularly meet and bounce ideas of each other.
Years earlier, Bowers had created a concept movie of two wedged ships dogfighting along a race track, firing missiles at one another before soaring round a huge loop.
He’d showed it to Burcombe, who recalled the footage when regaling Bowers with a story of how he’d overcome a particularly difficult race in Super Mario Kart by turning the TV’s volume off and cranking up a trance track (‘Age of Love’ by Age of Love) on his hi-fi.
“I had a zen moment were everything flowed perfectly,” remembers Burcombe. That sense of exhilaration as the music reached its peak as he crossed the finish line “was the moment I knew I wanted to make a game that did that to you.”
He envisioned doing the same to Bowers’ concept, setting the piece to a Liam Howlett cover of surf track ‘Wipe Out’ that broke out into the Prodigy’s ‘No Good’.
“I think that was the moment we could both see immediately what the game could be,” Nick says. “Even if it was in our slightly sozzled minds’ eye.”
The concept was gold. But there were two other key elements that helped turn the concept into reality.
How the CD-ROM and the Movie Hackers Made WipEout a Reality
In the early ’90s Psygnosis was making inroads in two key areas. Alongside researching CD-ROM technology on the belief it’d soon be the next big shift in the industry, its Advanced Technology Group art team were getting to grips with 3D modelling. The result was a pair of arcade shooters, Microcosm and Novastorm (the latter, designed from scratch by Burcombe, offered a heavier emphasis on sci-fi).
Unbeknownst to Psygnosis, Sony’s PlayStation console would also use the technology. Impressed by the studio’s output, Sony would soon buy the studio outright and put it to work creating a game for its debut games machine.
At the same time, Sony Pictures approached the studio to create a gameplay sequence for a scene in its movie Hackers. Bowers and Burcombe saw their chance to solidify the idea born from their recent pub conversation. A tight deadline meant there couldn’t be any fat, and the pair raced to refine their initial idea. Burcombe focused on vertigo-inducing track design while Bowers added pop-up walls that could be shot to access new sections of the level.
Their work paid off. So impressed by the concept, when the studio took delivery of its first PSone development kits, Burcombe was put in charge of creating its debut title. “I think [my boss John White] and Jimmy knew I had something in my head that I wanted to get out,” Nick theorises.
Tracks, Setting, and the Feel of Anti-grav
Initial focus was on perfecting track design. Trackside details, the game’s overall tone and theme were secondary.
“I was much more concerned with the length of straight, steepness of elevation, frequency of undulations and the tightness or camber of chicanes and corners,” says Burcombe.
The designer also had a clear idea about the weapons pilots could use during the races, stating that everything initially designed made it into the final game.
The 2052 setting was picked because of its relative proximity to the modern day. Close enough to relate to (“it should still be recognisable. An arbitrary date – like 3231AD – would mean nothing to me”) but still offer a tantalising glimpse into future tech such as anti-gravity, which would be the cornerstone of WipEout’s feel.
“For some bizarre reason, I’d use vocal sound effects to really emphasise the weight of something or the inertia and drift,” recalls Burcombe of trying to convey the feeling of anti-grav to the rest of the team. “So I’d have to say it is a testament to the programming team who actually understood what I was trying to achieve.”
How the Iconic Soundtrack Emerged
You can’t talk WipEout without discussing its soundtrack. At a time when licenced music was a rarity in the industry, it was a combination of Sony’s extra marketing heft – specifically tapping into Sony’s music label – and an early demo of the game that secured the title’s first artist. Burcombe headed to London to meet Phil and Paul Hartnol – better known as dance outfit Orbital.
“We got talking about [the demo we showed them] and they were really enthused.They took us down to the studio to play me a track they had called P.ET.R.O.L. After some remixing and reworking – this track actually ended up on the disc. I think once that contact had been made, it was easier to get some others.”
Leftfield and The Chemical Brothers soon followed, and the game’s success greenlit further collaborations in sequels with the likes of FSOL, Fluke, Underworld, Prodigy, Photek and more. “It was a who’s who of the ’90s dance scene,” Nick says as he runs down the artist list.
Restarting the Project and Finishing the Game
Yet despite discussing the initial concept at length and fine-tuning it before full production began, creating a fully textured, real-time 3D game proved challenging, to the point that at one stage, the team had to restart the entire project, rethinking its approach to its production and programming pipeline.
“There was a moment when Ken Kutaragi came to the Liverpool studio and left believing we couldn’t make our launch dates,” Nick reveals. “But that was like a red rag to a bull for a team that had already worked very hard on it. The final few months of WipEout’s development was extraordinary, and I think being there for the European launch was a monumental achievement.”
“Looking back on it now, if it was just reverse psychology – it worked,” Burcombe admits.
Even when discussion shifts to the game’s launch, and acknowledgment of the fact that WipEout was on every early adopters’ wishlist come the PS One launch night at the studio’s local HMV, in typical developer fashion Burcombe mainly remembers the less enthusiastic critical responses.
“We were reading the 7s more than the 9s and nodding about the things that could be improved. It really focused our attention on what we needed to achieve for a sequel.”
After celebrating its success the team rolled up its sleeves and immediately started work on the next entry: WipEout 2097.
The Price of WipEout 2097
In the original game, weapons were deployed only to slow the competition down, give you time to overtake. In 1997 follow-up WipEout 2097, the studio introduced ship energy bars, meaning competitor – and player – ships could be destroyed if you didn’t recharge via trackside pit lanes. It added a new layer of strategy to races; WipEout’s version of F1 tyre changes mid-race.
Ships would now scrape up against walls, sparks flying, rather than coming to abrupt halt. While the original’s difficulty had its fans – including XDev’s John McLaughlin (“This is also why it is loved so much,” he says. “Once mastered you become one with the handling model, zipping through tracks, bounding over boost pads”) – the team wanted to make a more rewarding experience.
But the development turnaround proved creatively tough. Coming directly off finishing the original, the studio now had just less than eight months to develop and release the sequel. Despite 2097 bettering the original in every way, some of the original staff needed a break. As a third game went into production, Burcombe became a bystander to the franchise’s future. Nick eventually left Psygnosis – or Studio Liverpool as it was rebranded – to form his own independent label, PlayRise, and work on mobile turned console racer, Table Top Racing.
“I was able to stand back and watch as WipEout 3 launched, then Fusion on PS2 and then the PSP, PS3 and PS Vita versions.” But he remains upbeat about seeing the series continue without him. “Watching it evolve from afar has been great and I know so many of the people who have worked on all these different versions – improving and building on it each time.”
“I think it’s one of those games that actually conveys something of the team in it. It is a game with a soul and I think people get that,” Burcombe concludes. “The ideas, the graphic design, the music and the PlayStation all combined to make it perfect for that moment in time.”
The Origin of WipEout Omega Collection
“It’s a unique game; there’s nothing else like it. It defined a generation.”
– John McLaughlin, XDev, Omega Collection
December 2016, Anaheim, California. A packed auditorium’s roars are only emboldened as the tease of a bass-heavy electronica track kicking in merges with stunning HD visuals to confirm WipEout is returning. The Omega Collection couples PS3’s fan favorite tag-team of WipEout HD and Fury to PS Vita’s WipEout 2048 for an upgraded, remastered package on PlayStation 4.
It’s a welcome surprise for fans. For John XDev’s McLaughlin – one of those lifelong franchise fans and brainchild behind WipEout’s rebirth – “it seemed a simple and obvious choice” to bring the series back.
Though he admits it couldn’t be his decision alone, he made sure he was in the best possible position when pitching the idea.
“I managed to pry [WipEout HD’s] codebase from IT and got it over to Hustle Kings developer EPOS”. Together with CEO and programmer Staffan, McLaughlin worked out how they could conceivably make a PS4 remaster happen and worked up a timeline for development. To achieve it, they’d have to reach out to Clever Beans studio (When Vikings Attack) to partner with. The pitch worked. WipEout was on its way back.
The original plan, according to McLaughlin, was just to work on the HD/Fury package. “But very early on in development we looked at the 2048 code,” he explains. The PS Vita launch title is the most recent entry into the franchise, but its fiction provided a glimpse into an earlier era of the Anti-Grav Racing League. “We thought it would be great to bring all of the tracks and ships from that game too.”
Artwork was reworked, details added. SFX was totally remastered. Split-screen was coded in – a first for the previously handheld only 2048 – and a couple of nods to the classic era added (“we set about bringing back a couple of defunct teams from yesteryear and brought back Tigron and Van Uber teams.”).
And today, some months short of WipEout’s 21st anniversary, the futuristic racing franchise is reborn on PS4.
Back in 1995 there wasn’t anything like WipEout. In 2017, there still isn’t.
Your favorite race track from the franchise…
While Burcombe has the very first WipEout track, Altima VII, as a highlight (“I purposely put it first so you get that “wow” moment from the rollercoaster style downhill section”), it’s pipped by the game’s later course Arridos.
“It has a brilliant flow to it,” he remembers. “There’s some insane airborne shortcutting and great air-brake drift corners too. I also love that it looks carved into the landscape; the location seems plausible.”
For McLaughlin, it’s a pair of Sols – Sol2 from HD and Sol from 2048 – that are closest to his heart. “I love being thousands of feet in the air, zipping along at 1200KPH knowing I can fall off the edge at any moment. Real seat of your pants stuff!”
Your favorite WipEout team…
Maybe because it’s the default team come the ship selection menu of every WipEout, but both Burcombe and McLaughlin favour the Federal European Institute of Science and Research, better known under their acronym, FEISAR.
Though McLaughlin “has some affection” for Triakis, Burcombe points out the story behind FEISAR’s naming may be why it’s his only choice.
“It was a bit of a political joke. The UK had just signed the Maastricht Treaty in ’92 and it was a sort of prediction on where the UK and EU might be heading.”
Your favorite music track…
Despite not making its WipEout debut until 1997 sequel 2097, Prodigy and dance classic Firestarter is what immediately comes to mind for both men.
“It’s embedded in everyone’s brain,” Burcombe sums up simply. “Even though the version in [WipEout 2097] is the instrumental, it’s so engrained in the UK psyche, your mind just fills in Liam’s incredible vocal without even thinking about it.”
Your favorite piece of fan appreciation…
Much as WipEout is a unique melting pot of near-future techand killer tracks, so too is fan love spread across mediums, styles and disciplines. Burcombe points to seeing WipEout tattoos (“it blows my mind that its influence is strong, they felt the need to etch it into their skin forever”) but also that he “still gets regular emails” from fans thanking him for getting them into PlayStation, dance music or becoming DJs themselves. For McLaughlin though, a homage to the in-fiction ships wins out. “I simply love this model.”
Celebrate WipEout Omega Collection’s launch with its iconic art and music
Listen to WipEout Omega Collection’s soundtrack on Spotify here, and crank up the volume for a curated tracklist of the franchise’s best track from previous entries in our new The Best of WipEout playlist here.
Check out 25 stunning pieces of unseen WipEout artwork from across the franchise’s history here.
Celebrate the franchise’s stunning artwork with a collection of WipEout League t-shirts and hoodies, available from tomorrow exclusively on PlayStation Gear. The tops which were debuted on stage at PSX last year, feature a variant of the iconic Anti-Gravity Racing League logo – which dates back to the original game. Check them out below..
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How Notre Dame went 4-8, and why things will get better in 2017
Get your jokes in now, because the turnaround is likely on its way.
We never had a problem with Notre Dame officials, but after the war, some of their fans began driving us crazy. They began writing letters saying that other schools should imitate Notre Dame, not just in winning, but by winning absolutely cleanly and honestly. Sure, who doesn't want to do that? But no one could get players like Frank Leahy could...
Also the fans said that Notre Dame sets an example that other schools could follow if those schools didn't like cheating so much. I really got angry when they started applying that to Purdue, as if we [Purdue] cheated.
— Lafayette Journal & Courier sports editor Gordon Graham, Onward to Victory: The Creation of Modern College Sports
One of the things I enjoyed about writing my latest book, The 50 Best* College Football Teams of All Time (and hey, if you don’t enjoy your own book, who will?) is how you can trace how perceptions of certain programs changed over time. Notre Dame is the best example.
There are two Notre Dame teams in the book (which, in anti-social fashion, isn’t actually about the best teams at all): the 1924 team that won the Irish’s first Rose Bowl and the 1947 team that is typically called one of the most talented of all time. In between the first and the second team, all of college football began to look at Notre Dame in a completely different light.
The 1924 team was a plucky squad, abused in some stadiums for the school’s Catholic backbone and going out of its way to put a good face forward for both school and religion. Look at these wholesome boys who will pray before the game and help you up after bowling you over!
The 1947 team was, by any account, no less wholesome. But the Irish were the heavyweight champion of the world by this point. Their connections with the Naval academy had helped to allow the school to maintain a high level of talent during World War II, and with loose postwar transfer rules and the name of NOTRE DAME lording over the sport, Frank Leahy was able to amass so much talent in South Bend that third stringers who never saw the field would find success in professional football.
Plus, as with any program or coach who purports to represent more than just football, the Irish brought some pretty irrepressible fans with them as well.
All of this is a long way to say that, even seven decades after that 1947 team and its fans lorded Irish perfection over all the land, when Notre Dame suffers a frustrating season — say, losing a ton of close games on the way to a 4-8 record — fans of other college football teams are going to enjoy it immensely. That’s just how things go.
Fun fact: Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish went 4-8 last season. It really happened. Buy rings if you want. Definitely make posters and memes. Lord knows plenty on this little corner of the Internet have. But don’t expect it to happen twice.
I have long noted how, when you look at a given year’s S&P+ rankings, you can pretty quickly point out the teams that are likely to rise and fall the next year (from a records standpoint) by simply looking at the standout records. My favorite example is 2011, when both 7-6 Texas A&M (eighth in S&P+) and 8-5 Notre Dame (11th) seemed out of place, ranking much higher than their records suggested they should have. The next year, the two teams went a combined 23-3.
It doesn’t always work out in such a clean manner, but the bottom line is, sometimes your record doesn’t match your on-paper quality. That usually rectifies itself quickly.
That Notre Dame went 4-8 last year is certainly unique; it was only the second time since 1963 that the Irish won fewer than five games. The Gerry Faust era of the early-1980s is notorious for its mediocrity, but Faust’s Irish never went worse than 5-6.
That the Irish went 4-8 with a pretty good team is even more remarkable.
Best teams to finish with four or fewer wins (per S&P+), 2005-16:
2016 Notre Dame (4-8, plus-10.5 S&P+ rating, 26th)
2007 Washington (4-9, plus-9.8, 26th)
2013 Florida (4-8, plus-9.7, 33rd)
2005 Arkansas (4-7, plus-7.5, 33rd)
2012 Arkansas (4-8, plus-7.4, 39th)
2009 Virginia (3-9, plus-6.8, 35th)
2013 TCU (4-8, plus-5.1, 50th)
2008 Arkansas (4-8, plus-4.8, 41st)
2005 Washington State (4-7, plus-4.3, 46th)
2008 Baylor (4-8, plus-4.3, 42nd)
This list is both a warning sign and reason for hope. Of the nine non-Notre Dame teams above, five saw their records improve, sometimes dramatically, the next season.
In 2014, TCU’s Gary Patterson made some assistant coach changes, freshened up his offense, and went 12-1.
2009 Arkansas improved to 8-5 in Bobby Petrino’s second year in charge.
2006 Arkansas improved to 10-4.
2014 Florida improved to 7-5.
2006 Washington State improved to 6-6.
2009 Baylor didn’t improve because of a quarterback injury, but 2010 Baylor improved to 7-6, and 2011 Baylor soared.
At the same time, of the seven non-Notre Dame teams on the list that didn’t dump their coaches immediately, four had done so within two years. The bad feelings a season like this engenders are hard to overcome.
2016 in review
2016 Notre Dame statistical profile.
Here’s the most positive spin I can put on last season: Kelly didn’t lose the team. The Fighting Irish stuck together well enough that they continued to lose close games to good teams deep into the season. Sometimes a team collapses; Notre dame did not. In fact, it did the opposite.
First 4 games (1-3): Avg. percentile performance: 60% (~top 50) | Yards per play: ND 6.4, Opp 6.2 (plus-0.2)
Next 4 games (2-2): Avg. percentile performance: 74% (~top 35) | Yards per play: ND 5.6, Opp 4.4 (plus-1.2)
Last 4 games (1-3): Avg. percentile performance: 78% (~top 30) | Yards per play: ND 6.2, Opp 5.6 (plus-0.6)
After a dreadful defensive start, Kelly fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder four games into the season. That he hired him in the first place was a bit of an indictment, but there’s no question the defense improved after the change. The offense, meanwhile, remained mostly steady aside from a monsoon-addled 10-3 loss to NC State.
Notre Dame played at a top-30 level or so for most of the last two-thirds of the season. But the losses continued — by seven points to Stanford, by one point to Navy, by three points to Virginia Tech. The season finished with the first not-so-close loss (45-27 to USC), but even in that game the Irish created more scoring chances and won the field position battle, creating a decent opportunity for a win that didn’t come.
Kelly has had a fascinating relationship with close games at Notre Dame. His Irish lost five of their first seven one-possession finishes, then won 15 of 18. They lost three in a row and won five of six and have now lost eight of nine. Do the Irish have another drastic change in direction left?
Offense
Full advanced stats glossary.
Todd Graham has struggled the last couple of seasons as Arizona State head coach; after going 20-7 in 2013-14, he’s gone just 11-14 since. Defensive collapse has been the major cause — ASU ranked 114th in Def. S&P+ in 2016 — but losing assistants hasn’t helped.
Graham has churned out aggressive, speed-happy assistants throughout his career; he employed Chad Morris (now SMU’s head coach) and Gus Malzahn (Auburn) long ago at Tulsa, and it’s probably not a coincidence that his ASU offense regressed a bit in 2016 following the departure of longtime assistants Mike Norvell and Chip Long to Memphis. Norvell became head coach, Long became offensive coordinator, and despite losing all-world quarterback Paxton Lynch to the NFL, the Tigers continued to play at a top-40 level offensively last fall.
Long only has the single year of coordinator experience, but you could see how Kelly might be attracted to him as a potential energy booster.
With a pass-first attack, Memphis ranked 46th in Adj. Pace and excelled at creating one-on-one matchups and solo tackle opportunities. A trio of rushers (including two freshmen) combined for 1,838 yards at 5.9 per carry, and the combination of quarterback Riley Ferguson and receiver Anthony Miller combined to connect 95 times for 1,434 yards.
One could see similar numbers from Notre Dame this year. Running back Josh Adams combined decent efficiency (42 percent of carries gaining five-plus yards) with above average explosiveness, junior backup Dexter Williams was a bit all-or-nothing, and four-star freshman C.J. Holmes could be ready to play a small role.
Adams and company will be running behind a well-seasoned line that ranked 18th in Adj. Line Yards and returns five four of last year’s starters. Three of the four have started for two years, and the line could get a boost from young talent in the form of redshirt freshman blue-chippers Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Equanimeous St. Brown
Meanwhile, it’s easy to think that the Brandon Wimbush-to-Equanimeous St. Brown combination could thrive. St. Brown averaged 10.9 yards per target as a first-time No. 1 target, combining big-time efficiency (57 percent success rate) with high-end explosiveness (16.6 yards per catch).
Most of last year’s battery mates — sophomore Kevin Stepherson, junior C.J. Sanders, tight end Durham Smythe — return, as does tight end Alizé Jones, who averaged 10.6 yards per target in 2015 before missing last year because of academics. And if the spring is any indication, four-star sophomores Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool could be ready to play steady roles as well.
This offense should have all the pieces Long craves for creating mismatches and big plays. Wimbush’s only real experience so far came in going 3-for-5 passing and ripping off a 58-yard touchdown run against UMass in 2015. His athleticism is obvious, and if he’s ready to live up to his blue-chip status, this offense will hum. That’s still an “if” until proven otherwise, though.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Brandon Wimbush
Defense
It’s even easier to see what Kelly saw in Mike Elko. The longtime Dave Clawson assistant produced high-caliber defenses as Bowling Green defensive coordinator (31st in Def. S&P+ in 2012, 52nd in 2013) and found immediate, sustained success following Clawson to Wake Forest. While Wake’s offense hasn’t been good in what feels like decades, the Demon Deacons ranked 28th in Def. S&P+ in 2014 and 22nd in 2016.
With an experienced front seven and an ultra-young secondary, Wake created havoc up front and played things safe in the back. The Deacs also had one of the best red zone defenses in the country, allowing just 3.8 points per scoring opportunity (first downs inside the 40).
Elko inherits a defense that was so young last year that it’s still pretty young. He’ll be relying on sophomores in the front (tackles Jerry Tillery and Elijah Taylor, end Daelin Hayes) and back (corners Julian Love, Donte Vaughn, Troy Pride Jr., and Shaun Crawford, safeties Devin Studstill and Jalen Elliott). And while there are blue-chippers galore on the roster, few of them reside in the secondary.
Still, this was a legitimately strong pass defense in the middle of the season, from when VanGorder was fired until the last two games against Virginia Tech and USC.
First 4 games: 64% completion rate, 14.3 yards per completion, 154.2 passer rating
Next 6 games: 57% completion rate, 10.8 yards per completion, 110.7 passer rating
Last 2 games: 69% completion rate, 11.5 yards per completion, 155.7 passer rating
Granted, that midseason sample includes the monsoon game against NC State and the Army and Navy games, but there’s still obvious potential here, especially the Irish can keep the same first string on the field for a longer period of time. Eleven different DBs averaged at least 0.8 tackles per game last year; only six played in all 12 games. That’s a sign of a rotation that is larger than a coach wanted it to be.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Drue Tranquill
The front seven only has to replace three contributors, but end Isaac Rochell, tackle Jarron Jones, and linebacker James Onwualu were maybe the Irish’s three best havoc guys last year, combining for 29.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and 10 passes defensed. The linebacking corps is particularly experienced, and between Nyles Morgan, converted safety Drue Tranquill, Greer Martini, and Asmar Bilal, he should have the attackers he needs there.
Firing VanGorder had an immediate effect last year. After allowing 200-plus rushing yards in three of their first four games, the Irish only did so three times in the last eight, and two of those instances were against option-heavy Army and Navy, who combined to pass for just 61 yards.
Even without Rochell, Jones, and Onwualu, this should be a strong front seven. The question is, how quickly can Elko come to trust the secondary? I would expect him to play things conservatively in the back, as he did at Wake.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nyles Morgan
Special Teams
Special teams didn’t really help the cause. After ranking 35th in Special Teams S&P+ in 2015, the Irish fell to 80th because of shaky place-kicking range and woeful punt coverage. Tyler Newsome averaged a booming 43.5 yards per punt (26th in FBS), but opponents averaged 15.1 yards per return (123rd).
Ace return man C.J. Sanders was able to make up some of that difference, but if Newsome can avoid outkicking his coverage quite so much, this could theoretically be a top-50 unit even if kicker Justin Yoon’s range doesn’t change much.
2017 outlook
2017 Schedule & Projection Factors
Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep Temple 67 15.5 81% 9-Sep Georgia 20 3.8 59% 16-Sep at Boston College 76 14.7 80% 23-Sep at Michigan State 44 7.1 66% 30-Sep Miami (Ohio) 88 23.9 92% 7-Oct at North Carolina 38 5.7 63% 21-Oct USC 7 -4.7 39% 28-Oct N.C. State 27 7.8 67% 4-Nov Wake Forest 64 14.8 80% 11-Nov at Miami 18 -1.3 47% 18-Nov Navy 71 18.3 85% 25-Nov at Stanford 12 -6.3 36%
Projected S&P+ Rk 17 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 24 / 25 Projected wins 8.0 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 14.3 (9) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 10 / 8 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -4 / 0.7 2016 TO Luck/Game -1.9 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 57% (58%, 56%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 7.2 (-3.2)
In terms of trust with the fan base, it’s possible that having such a bad year with such a demonstrably solid team is harder to overcome than a random collapse like, say, 2016 Michigan State’s. Notre Dame lost close games in about every way a team can lose a close game. It’s a new year, and Brian Kelly has two new coordinators with him to right the ship. But until the Irish indeed turn things around, then they remain the absurd underachiever that went 4-8 last year.
Still, a turnaround is realistic at worst and likely at best. Notre Dame dealt with preseason turnover in the defensive backfield and was juggling freshmen and sophomores in the back all year. The Irish encountered setback after setback but were as good in November as they were in September. Kelly brought in an exciting new defensive coordinator and an offensive coordinator with energy to burn.
It’s really easy to talk yourself into a significant Irish bounce back in 2017, in other words, and the numbers have your back if you choose to do so. S&P+ projects Notre Dame 17th in the country, and despite a schedule that features five opponents projected 27th or better (and only one projected worse than 76th), the Irish are the projected favorite in nine games and are expected to win eight on average.
This is all well and good. But it’s hard to forget that Notre Dame was projected 11th, with a likely 9-3 record, last year. The Irish underachieved the rating by a little and the record by a lot. And seasons that are disappointing to this degree are hard to overcome.
I wrote in last year’s preview that, in overcoming quarterback injury and remaining in the Playoff hunt all the way to the end of the year, Brian Kelly had pulled off his best coaching performance in 2015. He followed that up with his worst. His recent performances have flipped as significantly as his close-game fortune. Can they both flip back this fall?
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