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formula365 · 3 years

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A thing of the past - Bahrain GP review

In 1973, the Formula 1 season closed with the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. The title had already been decided in favour of Jackie Stewart, who had secretly decided to retire at the end of the season, and leave the mantle of leading driver of Tyrrell to his teammate, François Cevert. Stewart would leave at the peak of his powers, with 100 GPs to his name, tired of seeing friends die on track. It had been a dark era for the sport, and there had been an impact on his and his wife’s mental health. It had taken too much of a toll for them to bear it any longer.

As fate would have it, they were in for another sad ending. On the Saturday practice session, Cevert lost control of his car in the Esses, hit the barrier on one side and was sent careening towards the barrier on the other side at an 90 degree angle. The second impact ripped the barrier from the ground; Cevert was killed instantly, from injuries caused by the barrier that was meant to save his life.

A lot has changed since those days, and Stewart was one of the men who most contributed to that. After retirement, he lead a campaign for improved safety in both tracks and cars. It took time for safety to arrive at today’s standards, but F1 can now boast an incredibly positive record. Despite some big shunts, only one driver lost his life in the past 25 years. People like Stewart, Charlie Whiting and Dr. Sid Watkins were instrumental in achieving this remarkable record, and the changes they campaigned for have saved many drivers.

Romain Grosjean added his name to that list yesterday. As the replays of his accident hit our screens, and the carcass of his survival cell became visible in the wreckage, it was clear that the barrier had given in. His head would have gone straight into the upper section of the barrier, at a speed of over 200km/h; just like his countryman 47 years ago, the car headed to the barrier at close to an 90 degree angle. Had it not been for the halo, the last great measure championed by Whiting before his untimely death, Grosjean would surely not have survived.

But for all that was impressive in how the car, the marshals and the medical car protected and ultimately rescued the driver, there are questions to be asked, particularly about the barrier. Improvements in barrier technology were one of the most important steps towards driver safety; accidents like the one that killed Cevert showed the importance of improving the design and build of the barriers to ensure that they could sustain heavy impacts without breaking apart. Barriers that were supposed to save lives were taking them instead.

Which is why we have to question what happened to Grosjean’s car. The similarities between Grosjean’s and Cevert’s crashes are inescapable, and in both cases the barriers failed to do their job. Yes, the halo saved Grosjean’s life, but the main point should be the fact that the halo should not have been necessary at all. If the barrier had fulfilled its purpose of absorbing the impact and throwing the car back out, the halo would have played no part in this crash at all.

To make matters worse, the way the fail structures of the car are meant to work, once the survival cell was stuck in the guard-rail, the back of the car had nowhere to go and, as it’s meant to do, it split from the monocoque. The violence of the impact and the fact the chassis was wedged between sections of the barrier probably led to the break happening further back in the car structure than it should. (I am in no means an expert in this, so take this sentence with several grains of salt) This, in turn, led to a fuel line rupturing, which led to the fire. The barrier failure not only caused the accident to be more serious than it should have been, it also caused a fire that made the driver escape harder and more dangerous than it should have been.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to diss on the FIA, when their relentless pursuit of safety has significantly contributed to saving many drivers’ lives. Grosjean’s survival was not a matter of luck, or a miracle, as many have said; it was the product of decades of work and science by those in charge of the sport. If news of tragedy are now rare in motorsports, we owe it to them. There is also no way to entirely remove the danger factor off these sports: every time a driver straps themselves to a cockpit, there is always a possibility that it will be their last time.

But certain elements of danger should be a thing of the past, and what happened to Grosjean is definitely one of them. There will certainly be a thorough investigation into the crash and the causes of this failure will come to light. If the past is any indication, the FIA will learn new lessons and will implement new measures to ensure that barriers will be improved and will continue to do their job. Most importantly, I am certain they will ensure that barriers will not endanger drivers’ lives rather than save them.

The comments made by Ross Brawn after the race were very encouraging. Instead of the usual platitudes about what a great job they have done to protect drivers, he talked about the things that did go wrong. It shows that the willingness to admit problems and study solutions has not gone away and that there will be a continued resolve towards protecting the stars of the show.

We should rejoice that Grosjean survived with only minor injuries what was quite possibly the scariest accident of the past 25 years. Witnessing a car burst into flames was something that we thought belonged to the distant past and brought home the stark reality of the risks these super humans take for our entertainment. But we should also not allow such an incredible escape to blind us to glaring problems that led to this big scare in the first place. There were other times in the past in which we were lulled into a sense of false security by miraculous escapes. Let’s not repeat that mistake.

Talking points

• When the race eventually got underway, it significantly helped to clear the fight for third in the constructors’ championship. What little hopes Renault and Ferrari still had were ended, and Racing Point lost a bag full of points when the chequered flag was in the horizon. Perez had another masterful race, taking third place early on and controlling Albon from a distance. His engine giving up the ghost was a cruel moment for the team, with the despair etched on Otmar Szafnauer’s face and body language in the pit wall.

• The major beneficiaries of Perez’ misfortune were McLaren, who leapfrogged Racing Point and are now 17 points clear in third. Even without that retirement, they would have still outscored the pink panthers, but this has made them overwhelming favourites in this particular battle. As mentioned in an earlier review, they continue to maximise their results even when they don’t have the fastest car. That ability to get the job done even when the odds are against them is an excellent sign for the team’s future.

• And Sainz’s race was enormous. P5, coming from P15 on the grid? Bwoah.

• Daniel Ricciardo, who will replace him at McLaren, left his teammate in the dust once again. The first time he was stuck behind Ocon he asked to be let by on the radio, as he was clearly faster; the team obliged and he quickly left his teammate behind. Later on, after a round of pit stops, he found himself behind Ocon again but this time passed without the assistance of the pit wall. The Frenchman is not a bad driver, but the Aussie’s superb form is making him look vulgar.

• Albon inherited a spot on the podium, and, after his big crash on FP2, the champagne must have tasted sweet indeed, but it was not lost on anyone how he lost the battle to Perez, the one driver vying for his seat, while driving superior machinery. Nevertheless, it is a moment that can give him a boost of confidence for the final two races and allow him to relieve some of the pressure.

• When asked after the race about the potential for drivers refusing to drive after witnessing such a terrible accident, Verstappen said that if he was a team boss he would fire them on the spot. The Dutchman’s alpha male attitude is beginning to grate a lot of people the wrong way, especially when his words have such a negative connotation in terms of mental health. It was heartening, though, to see a few of the drivers of the 2019 F2 grid were quick to denounce his words, having lived through something even worse than Grosjean’s crash. There is a different mentality in the new generation of drivers coming through, making Verstappen’s attitude look more and more out of place in today’s motorsports.

• Pierre Gasly drove another masterclass, this time in terms of tyre management. He was struggling by the end and was saved by the late safety car, but would have nevertheless (quite probably) finished P8 on a one-stop strategy in one of the most tyre abrasive tracks on the calendar. It was risky, but with Perez’ failure at the end, it proved to be a good roll of the dice by AlphaTauri.

• At the front, nothing new. Hamilton controlled the pace from start to finish, keeping Verstappen at bay and always responding when the Red Bull driver pushed that little bit harder. In the end, the Dutchman had nine of the ten fastest laps of the race, but it was still no match for Hamilton’s consistency over a grand prix distance. Try as he might, his car is no match for the W11 and that is robbing us of a mighty fight between arguably the two best drivers on the grid.

• Dr. Ian Roberts deserves all the plaudits he is getting, and then some, for the way he ran towards the flames to help Grosjean escape the wreckage. With protective equipment that is far less safe than the drivers’, he still dared to run towards the fire. Enormous bravery.

• A different type of bravery was shown by the Haas team members, who still had a car running in the race and carried on with their jobs. Even knowing that Grosjean was ok, it must have been difficult to continue their work after that enormous scare. But carry on they did; a special bow to them for that as well.

• To cap off another miserable weekend in terms of safety, a marshal crossed the track with a fire extinguisher in his hands right in front of Lando Norris’ car. He was trying to reach Perez’ stricken Racing Point, and the safety car had been deployed, so the speed of the cars had been significantly reduced, but this is a risk that simply should not be taken. An eerily similar situation killed Tom Pryce in 1977. And once again, Michael Masi shrugged it off by saying that, while not ideal, we should not castrate (his words, not mine) anyone for trying to help put out a fire. Non-chalant, flippant, callous. I miss Charlie Whiting.

#F1 #bahraingp #bahrain gp crash #romain grosjean #mclaren #Racing Point #sergio perez #lewis hamilton #daniel ricciardo #Max Verstappen #pierre gasly #Carlos Sainz Jr #alex albon

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antoine-roquentin · 5 years

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insofar as the hot-topic on everybody’s lips has anything to do with discrimination, it has much more to do with anti-blackness and Islamophobia than with anti-Semitism. just see the sort of shit leveled against BLM for supporting Palestinians.

but if we want an examination of american policy towards israel, we have to bring in a greater amount of topics. first and foremost is the interesting phenomena whereby AIPAC and associated jewish lobbies tend to be most influential among democratic politicians, but evangelical christian zionist lobbies tend to be most influential among republicans. overall, these tend to merge together in a dark money morass. moreover, we have the influence of the “five sisters”, aka the oil lobby, who tended to support democratic politicians in the wake of the new deal and republican politicians after jimmy carter cut the oil depletion allowance. most of all, we have to examine the conceptions of americans within the bureaucracy of the executive branch and its associated think tanks. state department, treasury department, and pentagon officials, as well as those associated with for-profit american institutions like RAND corporation and the hoover institute have for decades influenced american foreign policy to a far greater degree than any lobby has, simply because the executive branch tends to be the primary instigator on any foreign topic of substance while the legislative branch tends to act mostly in matters of domestic policy. as a result, the most influential lobbying groups around israel tend to influence the peripheries of american policy around that nation, not the center.

first off, this is not to say that israel is the only nation that lobbies, or that there is some dark israeli force influencing politics above all others. if anything, the various east asian lobbies perhaps have the most direct results on american policy. in the 1956 american presidential election, eisenhower’s campaign funds were provided entirely by the taiwanese lobby, aka the KMT, and the republican party continues their odd shows of fealty to this day. the bushes were constant fellows at the retreats of the odd korean cult run by sun myung moon, who also had connections to the yakuza and used their wealth to force various american press outlets to support reagan. not to mention the south vietnamese lobby’s influence on nixon.

rather, i want to discuss american foreign policy as it applies to the middle east. in the years during and after the second world war, there was a recognition that the predominant economic threats to american ascendancy were the developing nations in the heart of europe and east asia. their industrialization could spell the doom of american predominance in world affairs. consequently, american state planners made their best efforts to integrate and subordinate these economies with america’s, in order to derive the greatest economic benefits from their rise and perhaps stay a few steps ahead of them. one of the ways this could be accomplished was to stake control over middle eastern oil, which was of little use to the united states given its distance, but was the predominant source for europe and asia. chief among these suppliers were saudi arabia and iran. given that saudi arabia in 1945 was a backwater desert state with little in the ways of infrastructure, america worked to team up with a host of surrounding states who would have existing grudges with arab nationalist movements that might try to nationalize oil supplies and would welcome american support, specifically iran, turkey, and israel. when the key arab nationalist nation, egypt, was crushed by israel in the 1967 war, america, supported by the major oil companies, rushed to give further assistance to this nation. tens of millions of dollars of american support, in a situation where america had taken over from the uk and france as a primary supplier of local movements meant to divide middle easterners, suddenly topped a billion dollars in the years after 1967. clearly, this was not the work of a lobby, but of american state planners recognizing that israel could play a similar role in the middle east that south africa played in its region.

the israeli lobby coalesced with the christian zionist lobby after the 1977 likud victory. ironically, for those pushing anti-semitic stereotypes of jewish influence in american elections, it was american influence in israeli elections that caused this. traditionally, american evangelical beliefs had at their forefront the notion of america as a specifically christian nation against a world of anti-christian civilizations, chief among them those in the middle east. it also saw biblical prophecies about jewish reclamation of palestine raised to the forefront as something that would occur alongside the rise of a christian nation to do the lord’s work. consequently, when israel began winning military victories over countries that were seen as islamic, christian zionists began to believe that this was the work of god seen through the lens of prophecy. when the very young likud party was running for office in its second election in 1977, the american evangelical movement was there to offer it assistance, because its policy was that of israeli triumph over the non-western islamic nations surrounding israel. in turn, likud welcomed american evangelical parties, including a massive presence in jerusalem that had been forestalled by orthodox jewish parties.

this notion of a civilizational clash was solidified by 9/11. americans who had otherwise not given any specific thought to anyone who wasn’t their race or religion were suddenly noticing that people were pissed off by american imperialism. they reacted by supporting anyone who believed in the notion that america was in a clash of civilizations. dark money has broadly influenced american politics since then, but perhaps the one notion among all others among dark money users is islamophobia.

in any given year, tens of millions of dollars flow through major donors to a variety of dark money causes. AIPAC is one of the beneficiaries. it maintains an excellent political organization that recognizes new candidates and offers to tell donors to send money their way (rather than sending money itself). Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe in Gaza in Crisis estimate israeli-lobby funding at 10-15% of congressional candidates in the 90s. robert caro estimates oil funding as being a primary component of electoral politics in the 1930s. thomas ferguson in right turn says oil funding was the key component in jimmy carter’s loss to ronald reagan in 1980. this influence has only grown since then. the think tank of former black panther david horowitz receives millions of dollars yearly, not only to fund congressional campaigns but a variety of political causes. it funds canary mission, which maintains a blacklist of students on university campuses who express any pro-palestine view whatsoever. these students, or sometimes professors, are targeted for harassment by those on his mailing list. horowitz’ views have extended to more mainstream republican causes, like his article on why reparations for slavery are a bad thing.

overall, christian and jewish zionism are a lobby that draws tens of millions of dollars a year, not only in funding from billionaires such as the heirs of defense contractor allen-bradley, steel magnate carnegie-mellon, or department store sears-roebuck, but from numerous churches and synagogues who are in on the scam of a clash of civilizations. as a result, hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to american politicians over decades who maintain pro-war, anti-black, islamophobic stances.

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morebedsidebooks · 5 years

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LGBTQ+ Characters in Comics from the 20th century I like

It’s June, Pride is here and rainbow colours are everywhere. So, I figured I’d be a little retrospective and share a short list of LGBTQ+ characters in comics from the 20th century I have a soft spot for. I’ve organized these by date of the characters first appearing but, happily most are still having stories written about them today.

Let’s start with three ladies from DC:

Catwoman

Catwoman, specifically Selina Kyle has been around comics for a long time, nearly as long as the turbulence of her relationship with Batman. Though, Bruce isn’t they only character she has involved herself with over the years. I’ve got my share of comics featuring this fierce lady of many lives and antiheroine, including part of the New 52 run by Genevieve Valentine a few years back where her bisexuality was acknowledged as canon. Though, it was the film adaptation Batman Returns in 1992 with Michelle Pfieffer that blew me away when I was young. And remains, I think the most iconic Catwoman costume, which you can see in 4K now. Hear her roar.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is another longstanding character and probably the most popular female superhero. I had comics as a child with Diana along with watching the sometimes campy 1970s TV series with Lynda Carter. Perhaps even more interesting than the Amazonian warrior herself is the passions of one of her creators William Marston and the themes of those earliest comics. (I’d suggest the book Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peters Comics 1941-1948.) And of course, also the controversy over a strong heroine standing on her own sparked by Fredic Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy, or Pamela Isely with her sexual agency and connection to the Green, who admittedly may go about fighting for the environment as well as for women or children in the wrong way sometimes, is my top female character from American comics period. After again some rough treatment in comics recently, I wrote this year about her origins since 1966. Most people these days probably can’t think of Ivy without Harley, since it’s been 20 years since their first meeting in comics (longer for other mediums) but, these gals have a relationship that isn’t monogamous and has had it’s on again off again points too. (And note to DC maybe get it together on just how you define it since you waffle a bit hmm?)

Taku and Venomm

Black Panther was one of the few Marvel comics characters whose stories I’ve wound up reading. (My mum had this thing against some comics and one of my older brothers mainly passed on DC issues to me.) The Jungle Action installments written by Don McGregor are to this day still memorable. And part of that should be due also to Taku and Venomm (Horatio Walters), the latter first appearing in the “Panther’s Rage” arc. Though, it would take time for the open acknowledgement of this example of early gay characters in comics. Sexuality outside the heterosexual among other topics was taboo in the 1970s yet, McGregor managed with a collection of artists to bring a vision of Wakanda focusing largely on its black inhabitants and difficult social issues in the world to publication.

Juli Bauernfeind

I read The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio about boys at a German boarding school when I was 21. Juli was a character I connected to and the story had a profound effect on me. And I bawled my eyes out. It still makes me cry and is still one of the best comics I’ve ever come across. I reviewed the English edition a few years back. As well as wrote a post on the French bisexual author Roger Peyrefitte whose novel was adapted into a film which inspired Hagio.

John Constantine

Full of politics, call it dark with a dose of nihilism but, Hellblazer with John Constantine is just damn good. Sometimes the world is awful, people are awful, you’re awful and well yeah everything is going to hell. Constantine is pretty much dreadful for the women he’s often involved with, or well anybody really. It was in the early 90s readers were first clued into the history of his love life made up of girlfriends and boyfriends. And can we fail to recall the later S. W. Manor from Ashes & Dust: In the City of Angels, one of the most visceral takes thru a character that is basically a stand in for Bruce Wayne, and his twisted relationship with John? I’m not. It’s been a strange trip over the years some adaptations really glossing over his sexuality. Though of late handling this aspect of his character appears to have gotten better.

Stormer and Kimber

The madcap Jem and the Holograms was one of my favourite cartoons as a child in the 80s. I even had some of the dolls and cassette tapes. Stormer aka Mary Phillips part of the Misfits was the rock star I loved the most. Dedicated to music and actually quite sweet with the optimum blue hair. I had to try the colour myself. The episode where she teams up with Kimber after both have differences with their respective bandmates is a classic. So, it was truly outrageous when the series was revived in 2015 in comic book form by Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell, and the Stormer and Kimber relationship that had been brewing came fully out for fans. (Btw the comic also added a new character, Blaze who is a trans woman and girlfriend of Misfit’s fan Clash.)

Ash Lynx and Eiji Okamura

It’s been interesting to experience Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida in different ways from first encountering the comic when I was a teenager, picking it up again in my twenties, and yet again the animated TV series last year. I wrote about the comic and first few episodes of the 2018 adaptation when it was airing. Though, I haven’t posted much more on it because there’s a tiny percentage of its fandom I want to avoid, as well as 30+ years on the series is still— pain. This one is a tragedy folks. However, it also has a beautiful healing love story and touched on a variety of hot button issues that are sadly still relevant today. My love for these two teen characters in a gritty USA will live forever.

Chihaya and Kagetsuya

I’ve written before how the sci-fi title Earthian was what introduced and endeared respect for m/m comics from Japan for me. The art style of Yun Kouga has changed a bit over the years, nevertheless still stands out from the crowd. And Earthian with a taboo love between androgynous male angels remains my favourite of her work.

Michiru Kaiô and Haruka Tennô

Sailor Moon has become a multimedia sensation and is beloved around the world. Many kids and even adults of all sorts in the 90s will remember it in one form or another and cite it as an influence for pursuing careers in all sorts of creative fields. Along with countless fans recognizing or discovering something of themselves in the characters. There are several different characters for rep in the series. But particularly for me Michiru and Haruka were an opportunity in a very anti-LGBTQ+ climate (their relationship was even refashioned as being cousins when brought out in English for the first time) to nevertheless see such a loving, positive relationship.

Tomoyo Daidôji

Love is a theme the creative team CLAMP revisits and revisits and Cardcaptor Sakura is the magical girl comic series with a theme on all different forms. It is one of the first all ages titles from Japan that I will recommend to people. (Despite fyi containing a whopping four student-teacher relationships. Not the purpose of this post to go into right now though.) The best friend to Sakura, Tomoyo is one of my favourite characters. Always supportive, maybe a bit alarming popping out of bushes or other spots with her camera at the ready to catch either Sakura’s everyday life or battles, and possessing boundless fashion sense. (Btw, there are other characters in the series that are or could be interpreted as examples for my list as well. Sakura among them.)

Isabella Yamamoto

Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa, a sequel of sorts to one of the huge girls’ comics titles of the 1990s Gokinjo Monogatari, introduced a group of teenagers on the verge of graduating, some with an idea of what to do with their lives and others questioning the path they’ve so far taken. Isabella from an affluent background but, who struggled for acceptance from her family or nearly anyone until she was gifted a handmade dress by her childhood friend George (who is Bi btw), studies pattern drafting at the same art school as Gokinjo Monogatari. The most mature of the main cast, refined, always listening and offering a cup of tea, she achieves her dream career and self-actualization in fashion. Since I have a degree in fashion design, I have to agree that clothes are so much more than just something we wear.

#lgbtq characters #comics #catwoman #wonder woman #poison ivy #taku #venomm #juli bauernfeind #john constantine #stormer #kimber benton #ash lynx #eiji okumura #chihaya #kagetsuya #michiru kaiô #haruka tennô #tomoyo daidôji #isabella yamamoto

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acrobaticcatfeline · 5 years

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Rebuilding a Broken Mind, an Orphan Sanders fic

Word Count: 6484

TW: swearing, only a little bit, death mention, murder mention, doctors? patton is a veterinarian, idk if doctors is a trigger but you know better safe than sorry, i wrote thomas as bi and married to a chick but hes dead so like? also patton is pan and likes a chick. patton gets overwhelmed and cries a lot.

Notes: This is my orphan au and i cherish it they’re all such goods.

Pairings: uh none really, thomas and valerie, patton is crushing on my OC.

Summary: “Oh! Um, hi! My name is Patton Sanders, nice to meet you! Um, I’m 20, a veterinarian, and well, I’m an orphan.” Patton lost his parents when he was 15 and had to raise himself and his three younger brothers on his own. hes 20 now, and hes got a job and hes starting to get his life together. Of course with reminders of his parents constantly surrounding him, it makes it hard to really move on.

Oh! Um, hi! My name is Patton Sanders, nice to meet you! Um, I’m 20, a veterinarian, and well, I’m an orphan. I have three little brothers named Virgil, Logan, and Roman! They are so super awesome! Virgil is the sporty guy at his high school, he’s 17 and the captain of like, all of the schools’ sport teams! Logan is my little genius! He’s only 14, but he’s a whole two years ahead and in high school with Virge! Roman is my theatre kiddo, he’s in every arts program at his school and knows how to play just about every instrument at only 9!!! Now, as for me, I’m nothing special, I just try really really hard, so my brothers are safe. I triple timed high school and college so that by the time I turned 18 I had my degree in veterinary medicine. Logan claims I pulled an Aaron Burr by doing this, which I don’t fully understand, but I assume it’s a cool thing. I only did what I had to though, we were already orphaned by the time I started high school, which meant we had no money for college. My high school said that it would pay all my college expenses if I followed the guidelines set, and so I super dashed through school. I managed to ace just about all my classes with some help from my friends and siblings. But that isn’t what this is about. I’m not the focus in this story, I’m just the narrator and eyes. This is a story about 4 kids forced to grow up far too fast. This is a story of the children of the most amazing people. Because when it comes down to it, we’re broken minds, struggling to put ourselves back together.

Now, to start, we have to explain what happened first. Our parents, Thomas and Val Sanders were out at a college play that a friend of theirs was a part of. Unfortunately, they never made it out alive. One of the people attending the play started a shoot-out with about 5 others helping him. Nearly the whole auditorium was killed. Including them.

We had no living next of kin, so a family friend took us in for a short while before dropping us all off at the orphanage. I will never forget that day. I remember them letting us grab our important things from our old house. I remember crying while holding all my siblings close. I remember having to be dragged out of my home. I remember the looks of pure pity from the orphanage staff. I remember them trying to separate me from my brothers. I remember almost punching them. I remember the name of the staff member who was the only one to understand and let us stay together, his name was Terrance. I remember hugging him before we were ushered off. I remember the confusion from Roman when we told him we weren’t going home. I remember Virgil carrying him around telling him that this was home now, with faux excitement and a plastic smile. I remember Roman thinking mom and dad were still coming back, and none of us having the heart to tell him otherwise. I remember Logan not speaking at all for the next month. But most of all, I remember the broken parts that got littered everywhere we went.

I was 15. Roman was only 4. We were broken beyond repair. At least, I thought we were. I thought for sure that we were going to go straight from the orphanage to the homeless shelter. But I did it. I managed to do something, and it changed our lives forever.

The day before I turned 18, I went through with my plan. I have friends named Joan and Talyn who already had a house due to Talyn’s parents having money to spare. They let us stay with them for as long as we needed. We brought all of our things over and we explained the rules of this new situation. My bros were quick to follow instruction. The next day we officially moved out of the horrible child prison we were owned by. I was already well into my job as a vet tech and was able to fully become a veterinarian the next month due to my boss seeing that I was at least twice as competent as the resident vets. And so, it began.

It was bittersweet when we got our own place, as Joan and Talyn had grown to adore my little brothers in the short year we lived there. But I had finally earned enough money to rent a house, plus the orphanage contacted me, telling me about a very large inheritance we apparently had, which was somehow enough to buy said house. We ended up moving in and used the money I earned for beds and a couch.

Over the next year we bought more furniture and accessories as we saw fit. At the present moment, my room is bright blue with animal posters and pop culture references sprawled about randomly. Logan and Roman’s room is split in half. One side is meticulous with dark blue and black walls and a few nerdy posters, mostly of doctor who and Sherlock Holmes. The other however, was messy as all get out, had musical posters everywhere and usually had the mess all the way up to the metaphorical line. Logan never complained unless Roman’s things crossed it. Now Virgil confused me. I was planning on him sharing a room with me, but he refused, claiming that I needed privacy and rest since I was working full time and he wasn’t. All he wanted was a couch, some bedding, music, and some makeup. Because I’m a stubborn mule, whenever he lets me buy him things, I buy him the most bestest makeup and all his favorite albums, as well as some of the best headphones sold. He gets mad at me, but he deserves the world and more.

Okay, now we’re in the present! So, I might as well start the actual story now. Ok well then. Its Friday morning, today the big game at the high school is happening, which means Virgil has to leave early for practice. By early, I mean about the time that I leave for work which is 6 am.

I get up and make food like I normally do, only doubled because Lo and Virge usually sleep for another half an hour. Ro always gets up with me because I’m his ride to school. Virgil has a motorcycle that he drives himself and Logan to school on. I start up some friendly conversation as we eat, Virgil still groggy from sleep.

“are you ready for the game today? Isn’t it against the school rivals? I hope you guys beat them again, but I’m sure you will with such a good captain!!!” I wink at him as he chuckles.

“yeah, we’ve got this, if anything, I’ve got this, and that’s really the point. Yeah, it’s our rivals, the panthers, today. Not that they’ve ever been a challenge. We’ve swept the floor with them for countless years. And thanks for the poorly concealed compliment. Do we have anymore coffee?” he rambles off answers to my questions.

“yeah, but I don’t get paid til tomorrow and there’s only a cup worth left. Proceed at your own risk.” As soon as I say it, Logan zooms to the coffee and brews it for himself, cackling maniacally (giggling cutely).

“HAHAH!!! You will never get a drop of the saccharine nectar!!! Tis mine, forever and always!” he brushes his hair back with his hand and smiles at us. Roman beams and stands up in a fighting stance.

“thou shalt not loot this poor pauper of his deserved libation!!! Come at me thy villainous fiend!” and quickly the two start playing mock sword fighting. Me and Virgil laugh as Logan gets vanquished and the cup of coffee gets given to V. Logan ends up stealing some still, to my amusement.

We end up splitting up as the kiddos go to school and I head to work. I walk in, put on my coat, and then the place blows up. There is a half dead dog on my table and another 2 that are at least stable waiting. I’m apparently the only actual vet that showed up today. Great. Today’s gonna be fun.

I’m not gonna go into what happened at work, because honestly, not much happened. It was an average day at work, but now is time for the interesting part!!! So, the big game at the high school is happening today right? Well, let me talk about it!

So, I go and pick up Roman from school and head over to the high school while asking Ro about his day. He learned a healthy amount of animal and plant biology, so I talk about some of the things he didn’t understand and made a few biology puns which were received quite well luckily! When we get to the school, I call Logan to figure out where he had stationed himself. We meet up and find a nice spot on the bleachers. Not long after, the teams came out and started playing. Virgil is easy to spot, not to mention the announcers are constantly shouting about him as he keeps running the ball the furthest of either team. The game is pretty average for the most part, up until the very end. Virge takes the win but not a second after, he gets tackled full force to the ground. I stand up and look over the crowd as I see him up again, shoving the other guy away. The guy gets up close to his face and I think Virgil is going to punch him-oh god please don’t punch him. The guy gets dragged away by the referee and Virgil has a bunch of teammates coming to check on him and I feel much less on edge. I shouldn’t though. As soon as I think it’s done the announcers go quiet and the stands go crazy as Virgil uppercuts the guy and then knees him in the stomach.

“what just happened there?! Kyle, why did Sanders just risk his high school career like that?!”

“Fitton insulted sanders’ younger brother.” Oh. Oh no. Oh HELL NO! Logan stands up and looks in the direction of the guy and visibly shudders. Oh, he’s lucky that V got to him first. Oh, I might be going to jail guys! The rest of this story might be told from prison!

“Logan, do you know that guy?” I ask calmly. He looks at me before turning away.

“um, yeah. He uh, he’s an ex of mine…” I tense up. He’s never told me about him having been in a relationship! He tells me everything! Ugh, that’s not important right now…

“is he a freshman? I haven’t seen him on the team before.” Lo nods.

“yeah, we met at the local library. I didn’t tell you cuz I didn’t think you’d want me to date someone and um, never mind… Anyways, we broke up cuz he was trying to pressure me into doing um, bad things.” I twitch. Oh, I might kill him. I shake my head and take Roman’s hand and start walking down towards the team to pick up Virgil. We get down there and I check up on Virgil, checking for medical issues; he very well could have gotten another concussion. I get distracted when Virgil hisses at something behind me.

“oh, calm down parselhead. I wasn’t even coming over here for you” I hear in a low drawl behind me. “how’s it hanging bookie?”

“first off, I’ve told you what that actually means and that that nickname bothers me, please cease this instant, and second, I’m doing fine how are you Loki?” I hear Logan say calmly. I tense slightly and turn around with an angry look on my face.

“Logan you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I know for certain I wouldn’t if I were you.” Logan looks at me but shakes his head.

“I can converse with an ex and still be civil about it Pat. It’s no problem.” he smiles softly at me, but I can’t help the anger that swells in my chest seeing the huge smirk that this guy is wearing.

“yeah Patton we can be civil here, no need for this hostility. Anyways, I’m doing fantastic Logan! Thank you for asking! I even have a new boyfriend, one who doesn’t try to keep me a secret.” His voice is contradictory to his words.

“it was two years ago, and I was twelve and still in an orphanage, I didn’t need my older brother worrying about me anymore than he already did. Plus, I barely understood my emotions, how do you think I would deal with my brothers’?” Logan crosses his arms and looks up at him accusingly.

“I dunno, I sorta thought you were enjoying the relationship, but you just ended it for no reason, citing your brother as too intimidating to cross, and neither of them look that scary to me.” He says and I look over to Logan in confusion. He walks closer to him and starts talking again, harsher than before.

“you and I both know that wasn’t what happened. You got pissed off that I didn’t want to go smoke and bang you arrogant prick. Also, I’d watch what you say about my brothers if I were you.” He just smirks while he backs away.

“okay then, I see I’m no longer wanted here. See you round bookie.” He walks away, and Logan shakes his head and face palms.

“every fricking time… I try to be civil but he always… ugh never mind it doesn’t matter. V are you okay? I don’t know what Loki said, but I can almost guarantee it was a lie. Also, he has a ridiculously hard skull, don’t ask how I know that, are you bleeding? Concussed?” Logan looks up at Virgil with a worried smile.

“yeah, I’m sure it was a lie, didn’t make it any less enraging. And no, I’m not bleeding or concussed. You dated him? How?! He’s such a prick!!!” Logan laughs.

“I don’t know, he was interesting. He told good stories and listened to me when I needed to vent. He’s also an incredibly good pillow. Really, he was just, the person I needed at the time, I guess.” He shrugs. Virgil is still watching him leave with an angry glare fixed on his face. I decide to change the topic.

“hey guys, you want pizza for dinner tonight? Food for champions!” the other three smile and cheer. V changes out and we head home, and I hand make three pizzas from scratch the way that we usually like it. Dad loved pizza and he said my pizza was the best, so I usually make it for celebrations or as a pick-me-up. It seems like its serving as both tonight. While its baking I make a couple of announcements.

“okay, so I’m going shopping tomorrow morning, but when I’m done with that, I thought we’d go visit Joan and Talyn? They have some presents for you all.” All three of them look up from what they were doing with wide eyes and smiles.

“YEEEEESSS!!! JOAN AND TALYN ARE SUPER AWESOMAZINGSAUCE YAAAAAAYYY!!!” Roman screams. I giggle as Roman jumps around and hugs me. Logan laughs along with me as he pulls Roman away.

“calm down Ro, Pat is cooking, you can’t be that close to the hot oven. I’m excited too, yes Ro.” Virgil looks at me questioningly.

“why do they always get us gifts? It seems like every time we see them, they have stacks of presents for us.” I shrug.

“well, I sort of introduced my lifelong friends to my 7, 12, and 15-year-old brothers who were sort of helpless at the time. They like me, but they adore you guys. Some kind of cool grandparent syndrome I guess.” Virgil laughs loudly at this as the pizzas beep. I pull them out to cool and tell some more puns to pass the time. The evening goes on without a hitch, we play a round of word association games as we eat our pizza. I pack up the leftovers in lunch bags for the 4 of us and then clean up the kitchen. As I finish with that, Roman shouts for me to tell him a story.

I tell a story of a brave prince who has to protect his kingdom from a fierce dragon witch. The dragon witch had stolen away the princes soon to be bride. The prince fought through many trials to save his fiancé, however he was beaten to it by another beautiful princess who had won the maidens heart instead. The prince was of course fair, as the princess had fairly bested him, and so he went on a mission to love himself before he went around looking for a fitting bride-or groom, again. Roman sleepily cheers and snuggles into a black cat plush V gave him.

The most difficult to get to sleep is Logan, who just wants to read all night. He changes to a different book just as I walk over to his desk. “Lo, you need to go to bed. You want to be well rested for tomorrow kiddo. You can read your book tomorrow, I promise the ending won’t change, and it won’t leave without you.” He yawns, he has had a long day.

“if I go to sleep will you sing for me? Please?” he looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

“of course, Lo. Bookmark your page and go get ready for bed and I’ll sing for you.” He smiles and rushes off to get ready. He’s back in a few minutes.

“can you sing dads old lullaby? If not its ok but-” I cut him off.

“of course, I can Lo.”

“somewhere there’s someone who wants you to be

How they want you to be, their opinion

They’ll paint you the colors that they wanna see

And to them, its Monet,

But to you, it’s a gray, silhouette

So, pick up a pencil, a stencil, a crayon,

The picture is not finished yet

You can let someone else tell you your story,

You can let someone else tell you what’s true

Or you can set yourself free,

Climb the tallest highest tree,

Or maybe sit back and take in the view,

You can let yourself, let yourself do

Anything.”

By the time I finish the chorus, Logan is sound asleep, snoring softly and cuddling an owl plush. I get up, tuck him in, turn off the lights, then head into the living room. Virgil is laying on the couch with his headphones on full blast. I grab his sleep meds and a cup of water and hand them over to him.

“hey, you shouldn’t listen to your music that loud, it could damage your hearing. You don’t have to listen to me, but I just wanted to let you know. I worry about you guys, you know?” he smiles and takes the meds. He turns down the volume on his headphones and nods.

“sorry Pat, I didn’t realize they were that loud. And, we worry about you too. You do way more for us than you have to. Anyways, thanks for the meds and sleep well okay? Don’t stay up all night again.” I giggle and nod before giving him a quick hug and going to my room.

I do a few pieces of paperwork that I wasn’t able to do before the end of my shift and send a quick text to my vet tech Elenora, checking in on her, as she’s been off on vacation and she’s supposed to be getting back tomorrow, and she has some things she needs to pick up at the office. She’s also absolutely amazing and sweet and beautiful and I love talking to her so so much. But that’s beside the point. After I get all of that done, I check the time, realizing that its now 11:45 and I should have been in bed an hour ago. I quickly fall asleep soon after luckily.

The next day is super-duper hectic so like, hold onto your horses, this is gonna be a wild ride! Okay okay, so I get up at 8 and go shopping, blah blah, tons of coffee because my boys and I have a problem. I unload everything by 10 which is when the kiddos are waking up. Virgil apologizes for not waking up to help but I wave him off as I start to make a small lunch because three meals a day, but Joan and Talyn are probably going to take us out for lunch knowing them, so I don’t want us to lose our appetite, that’d be rude! Anyways I set out the 4 plates and eat mine before going to take a quick shower. By the time I shower and change, all three of them are conversing around the table. I smile fondly because, hey, I helped raise these fantastic kiddos! LOOK AT MY BROTHERS!!! Okay, I’m good now. I walk up to the table and they all smile happily at me before going back to their debate.

“listen, if you have straight caffeine you die, therefore this stuff is totally deadly and like, we’re slowly killing ourselves by drinking it.” Virgil says, being devil’s advocate per usual.

“well yes but that’s like chlorine and sodium!!! They are both deadly elements on their own, but together give us salt! Not to mention that even too much water can kill a human! And! Another point, coffee is a natural occurrence just like water!!! In reasonable quantities, coffee is perfectly safe!!!” Logan rants passionately making me glad that I invested some money into speech and debate for him. Roman grins.

“but if water, coffee, and salt could kill us, does that mean that the world is trying to kill all life on it?!? are we living on a death rock?!? LOGAN IS THE WORLD GONNA KILL US?!?!” his grin slowly gets sadder and more scared as he continues. Logan flinches slightly.

“I mean, technically humans have been killing the earth for years so I wouldn’t put it out of the question that that is the reason that everything on earth is potentially deadly to humans. That would make sense… gosh darn it why do you always send me into steadily collapsing bouts of existentialism?” Logan shakes his head likely jumping into one of his existential crises.

“do I want to know the opening remarks?” I ask and they all shake their heads no. I grab a mug and make myself some creamer with a hint of coffee. Heheh!!! Caramel coffee is very good, but caramel mint coffee is even better! Roman runs off to get changed right as Logan goes to take a quick shower. V asks to change in my room which I am totally ok with because of course!!!

Oh! I should say what we’re wearing shouldn’t I? okay okay, so I wear my favorite pair of khakis, which are quite worn from wear. I wear a pun-ny shirt about dogs, and a tan cardigan with black white and purple plaid shirt underneath. I also have some nice black boots. When Roman comes out, he’s dressed in a red theatre shirt, white jeans, and a white fluffy coat, with his favorite white fluff boots. Logan comes out with his talk nerdy to me tee, black ripped skinny jeans, a black fluffy jacket, black boots, and a snap back. Virgil ends up wearing his nirvana shirt, black ripped skinny jeans, leather jacket, and black converse.

Logan sneaks up behind Roman and puts one of his Disney caps on him. Roman gasps because Lo never shares his hats. He tries to give it back but Lo tells him not to. “I got that one just for you Ro, keep it.” I think RoRo almost cries as he dashes into a cute embrace with Lo. Logan giggles as he sees his baby brother smile. It really is the best feeling ever when you can be the cause of a smile.

Soon after the scene of pure wholesomeness, we head on our way to Joan and Talyn’s house. We are greeted by happy faces and a stack of gifts. This is normal I guess, like V mentioned, they always have piles of gifts for us.

“hiya!!! Glad you could make it! We decided to make a big meal instead of going out, I hope you guys don’t mind?” Talyn grins sheepishly. “and we also invited a couple more people. Sorry we didn’t tell you it was a surprise!”

“a surprise? Who’s here?” I ask, looking around them both to see. There are more gifts than usual. And they’re gift wrapped. Oh gosh what did I forget? Wait… what month is it? oops. I might’ve said that out loud.

“its January Pat.” Joan states simply with a growing grin. Oh god, it’s my birthday soon isn’t it.

“happy early birthday Patton-cake!” Talyn yells happily. Yup. Oh, I’m an idiot. I facepalm.

“I’m glad Joan called me on Monday, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten your presents from us and brought them over!” V smirks as we walk in. of course they were all plotting against me, I should have known! As I walk in, I see Leo, Jamahl, Dominic, Dahlia, Kenny, Derionna, Rafaela, calypso, and oh god, how did they get Elenora?!? I don’t think I’ve ever even talked about her to them!!! Not to mention that she must be horribly jetlagged!

“oh my god no way!!! I love you guys so much aaaa!!! How do you even know Elie?!?” I say as I go around giving hugs to my friends from back in high school that I’ve missed so much.

“dude, Els is in a bunch of my classes. She never shuts up about work, so it was easy to find out that you guys knew each other. Not to mention her constant fawning over ‘doctor sanders’” Elie punches Joan in the arm.

“listen here bean boozled, are you gonna keep outing me or are we gonna start this party? I estimate the time between now and when I fall unconscious from exhaustion and jetlag is t minus 4 hours.” She states matter of factly. God, I love her, I’m so far gone.

Joan and Talyn attack me with a hat while I’m fantasizing, and they laugh mischievously as they drag me over to the table. Joan’s saying something in one ear and Talyn’s saying something else in my other and I’m confused as heck, but all my friends surround me as well as my baby brothers and start singing at me. I don’t even comprehend what they’re saying because my brain can’t remember the last time I had a surprise party, and its actively making me remember my 14th when my dad and mom threw me a giant birthday bash and it was all day long and we fell asleep in a pile on the couch and before I can stop it all the voices start freaking out and I touch my face and I finally notice that I’m crying, and gosh I just ruined it of course gosh darn it they all went out of their way to make this and now I’m just sad and crying. I feel a thud and finally pay enough attention to see Roman hugging me tightly and apologizing. I pat his head and smile at him before kneeling down and reassuring him.

“Ro Hun, it’s not your fault I’m crying, I just remember mom and dad that’s all. I was caught up in my head but I’m fine. I promise ro. Do you wanna help me blow out the candles?” Roman smiles widely and nods. I pick him up and we blow out the candles together. The others all smile and cheer. Joan stands next to me with a smirk. Oh gosh they’re going to have me do something dangerous and I’m gonna agree because its going to be fun and d a n g e r o u s.

“you realize we are stealing you tomorrow to go barhopping right? Els even offered to dd for us! I mean of course, she’s sorta still underage for a few more months, but yeah, you, me, Talyn, and els are going to have birthday bash part two and its going to sick as Fu-” I cover their mouth before they can finish their swear.

“my baby brothers are here!!! No swearing!!! It’ll hurt their poor innocent ears!!!” I see Virgil and Logan give me a skeptical look before I gesture at Roman and I see their eyes widen in realization, before they nod furiously in agreement. Roman obliviously drags Logan off to play with the bubbles that Joan had gotten to keep the little ones occupied. I uncover their mouth and shoot them a look before giving it up for a smile as I hug them.

“thank you for this Joan, it’s kind of you. You didn’t have to really, haven’t even seen you guys in a few months!”

“that’s exactly why we did it. We don’t need a reason to give the littles gifts, and if we have a reason to give you gifts you won’t turn them down. You never have been one for spontaneous presents, but you know what, I love ya man, and you deserve to get shit on your birthday you oaf. I always felt bad that you wouldn’t let me help you and the kids when we were still in high school. God its been so long now, we’re old pat! You know my mom always tells me that they’d be so proud of you whenever I tell her what you’ve been doing. She actually wanted me to give you something, its wrapped in the pile of gifts.” They winked and nodded over to the living room where far too many gifts in my opinion, were sitting. The rest of my friends were there too, keeping themselves entertained one way or another, and I saw that Logan and Roman were running around outside chasing bubbles.

I go over to the stack and feel immediately intimidated. I hear the door open and Roman and Logan come inside. They sit behind me and I grab the first present that I can reach. The wrapping is purple plaid and Virgil’s name is scrawled on the tag. I open it up and look at my brother with a mocking look as I pull out a pale blue lab coat with dog face emojis.

“oh my gosh you dork I love it!!!” I pull it on quickly, seeing how it fits and beam at him.

“I’m glad. You’ve got another one somewhere from me” ugh of course that’s how there’s so many gifts.

I grab the next one with the same wrapping and rip it open only to see a new surgical kit, which I had been desperately needing to get but had been avoiding. They’re ridiculously expensive and I haven’t had the money to spare. I don’t know how vee could have managed to get that much money, and I don’t understand why he would spend it on me. I feel tears welling up in my eyes for the second time today, and launch myself at Virgil, picking him up and twirling him around. I see Elenora look at the tools out of the corner of my eyes.

“holy crap how did you afford these? This set is worth almost a thousand!” Virgil gives a feeble look as I set him down.

“I’ve been saving up for a few months, no big, you had mentioned you needed a new set a while ago, and I know you wouldn’t let anyone give you one. You can’t give this one back otherwise it’d be wasted so ha I win.” He ends with a smirk, and I punch him in the arm for calling me out on my OCD about work.

I grab my next gift which is a deep red with a matching bow. I peel off the paper and see a Pooh bear onesie and I smile down at it before laying back to smile at Roman who is giggling loudly.

“Lo helped me find it!!! I know you love Pooh, so I thought you’d like it!!!”

“he had tried to get you a size that fit him at first it was really quite adorable. We got him a Tigger one to match but we told him he had to keep it hidden until you got yours.”

I reached out for a hug and instead Roman kissed my nose then pushed me back into a sitting position. I huffed dramatically before grabbing my next gift, from Logan. I rip open the striped paper and see a book called animal madness, about animal mental health, and I feel my smile widen. There’s another book, by Jackson galaxy called total cat mojo and I might have squealed a little bit?

“LOGAN, I LOVE THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOSH OH GEEZ THESE WILL BE SOOOOO HELPFUL!!!!!!” Logan smiles and chuckles softly.

“I had imagined so, you have said that a couple of your patients have had mental issues more than physical and you’ve seen them more often due to their owners not knowing how to treat them, I hope the books hold deeper insight than google.”

I give him a big hug, and then grab the next presents, opening one after another all very sweet but also rather irrelevant gifts including coffee, cooking ware, and fandom stuff. I eventually get to Elenora’s gift though, which I was slightly scared about opening if I’m being honest? It could be anything, what would she get me? I open the rose gold box that holds a few different items. The first I notice is a necklace with a four pawprints on them, each a different color, red, navy, cyan, and purple, and each with me and my brothers’ names. I smile softly at it as I put it on. The next thing in the box is a new stethoscope that matched my light blue theme at work. After that is a build a bear Alolan Vulpix plush with an absolutely adorable cloak and a spare outfit. I squeeze it and it sounds so cute??? I’m so glad I share my obsession with Pokémon with her it makes work that much more enjoyable. The next thing I pull out is a dual sapphire and ruby pop head set and I let out a laugh at it, she knows me so well, I had mentioned I loved their characters and that they reminded me of my mom and dad once offhandedly, and yet she’s gotten me ruby and sapphire things three times now. I pull out a gift card to pizza shop I adore, and the last item in the box is a card that says read later, so I throw a glance her way as I put the card in the pile.

I thank her, and give her a hug, before turning my attention to the last present remaining, the present from Joan’s mom, who was basically my second mom growing up. I pull apart the wrapping hesitantly, and I almost let out a choked sob at what is in the package. It’s a letter from my parents. I cover my mouth as I grab the letter and read it.

“dear Patton, we hope this letter reaches you in good health, and that we are still in contact when you reach 21.” I make some odd strangled noise and my eyes start filling with tears. “no matter how our relationship is, we have a present for you. Patton cake, we know you’re only a year old now, but when you get this, we want you to know that no matter what we love you so so much and we want you to be happy no matter what. So, if you’ll forgive us if we’ve hurt you, we want you to have this glass and drink. Your mom made that glass right after you were born. She believes that the essential gift for a 21-year-old was a wine glass and a nice red wine. This wine is the same one I had on my 21st with my father and I saw it fitting to share it with you. I love you so so much son, and I hope you know that you’re in my heart wherever I am. The same goes for your mother. You know me and how paranoid I am, so this will probably be given to you by my best friend who I don’t doubt will grow close to you. In case anything happens, not that it will.” I don’t think I can breathe anymore oh my god this is from my dad- “but anyways ill stop rambling” no dad please keep talking don’t go please! “happy birthday Patton, you make me and your mom so proud. I love you so much” I wheeze and double over, I can’t breathe my dad, it was almost like he was there again, my dad was there and I-

I open the wrap on the glass, the crystal glass has an imprint that has the words “you’re capable of anything” and me and my parents’ names inscribed in it. Etched in, not just printed, its won’t fade, it will always be there. I look up at the roof to stop my tears, and to hopefully tell my mom and dad I love them if there is an afterlife. I wish I could see them one more time and be able to say goodbye. I can’t, but god it hurts so bad, I miss them so much its not fair they should have been able to come home they should be here they should have been here to see Roman and Logan and Virgil grow up it’s not FAIR GOD DAMN IT!!! I need to calm down, its in the past its over I can’t change it I can just keep going. I take a few deep breaths and wipe my eyes. I set down the glass and look at Joan.

“Joan, I need you to thank your mom for me, I-I owe her so much for this I can’t even properly explain just how much this means to me. If she ever needs anything let me know, I will do anything to help.” Joan nods and smiles at me softly.

I breathe a few more deep breaths before standing up.

“now, that’s enough of that. There’s cake and games!!!”

#tw swearing #tw cursing #tw death mention #tw murder mention #Orphan AU #my writing #my fanfiction #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #joan and talyn #others but just mentioned #my oc #elenora #lots of crying

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btshogwartsfics · 6 years

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BTS at Hogwarts (Pt.5- Jimin)

A/N: I had a lot of fun doing this one. I love the idea of Hogwarts BTS, but Chim is just especially fun to write for! My bias is coming at you guys next! Enjoy! <3

JIMIN:

House: Gryffindor

Patronus: Panther

Wand: Willow Wood, Dragon Heartstring Core, 9 ½ Inches, Supple Flexibility

Blood Status: Half-blood

Possibility of Being a Prefect: Yes

Quidditch: Absolutely

Best Class(s): Divination

Reasoning-

Jimin is a Gryffindor. My mind is made-up and you can’t do anything about it. Yes I can agree that he does have many traits of a Hufflepuff and at first I went back and forth between the two of them for our Chim. So while many of you may disagree with me on this, and that’s absolutely fine, I am firm in my belief that he is indeed a Gryffindor. I have also seen people argue that due to his ambition, he is no doubt a Slytherin. While again, I can see this, I think the things that some may see him as a Slytherin for, I see him as a Gryffindor for. I firmly believe that it’s not just the traits you have, but the traits you value that ultimately decide which house you belong to. He wants to do good and he wants to take chances and live a full life doing what he’s passionate about, but I don’t feel he would ever do anything he thinks is unjust and unethical. I fully feel Jimin would do almost anything for those he cares about and what he believes is right. He’s kind and considerate, but he is assertive and stands behind what he believes in. He may be kind and caring, but he is definitely fierce and chivalrous and brave. Although I do think a Hufflepuff can mess you up if so provoked and a Slytherin can absolutely have a soft side, I feel that those two clashing points in his personality come together nicely to mold him into an amazing Gryffindor. Change my mind.

The symbolism for panthers are guardian energy, assertiveness, understanding, intuition, artistry, aggressiveness and power. I feel that Jimin displays all these traits very well at different times and in different situations.

“Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.”

“As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.”

I hate to say it Jiminie, but you’re a bit short. Therefore I feel your wand would match and so I made it a bit shorter. Sorry.

Again, I’ve seen people say that Jimin would be a pureblood and I’ve seen people say Jimin would be a muggle-born, but I personally feel that he would be able to equally understand and empathize with both sides. It is for this reason I made (or headcanon) Jimin a half-blood.

Some Gryffindors (not all, I’m aware of this) tend to be a bit messy, but as I said there are exceptions to every rule. Not everyone in a certain house will act exactly the same. Jimin is an exception to this rule. As we’ve heard in interviews, Jimin hates Taehyung’s messiness (like Namjoon) and we also know that Jimin is a perfectionist. Due to this (being a perfectionist, I mean), I feel Jimin would strive to be a Prefect and possibly even Head-Boy after, even if he is playing Quidditch. I think it’s just in his nature.

Jimin would absolutely be a Quidditch player. Jimin has lots of muscle (even if Kookie is the muscle-pig) and I feel he also has a lot of strength. Because of this I think Jimin would be an excellent beater. I think he’d be good at other positions, too, but beater best. As a dancer, he is obviously athletic to a certain degree and I feel that would really help him out.

If you happened to read the last part of this (Namjoon’s part), then you will know that I admitted most of the reasons why I think a certain member would be good at this or bad at that is just a hunch. The same applies here.

Notes/Other:

Was strangely relieved when he got his acceptance letter

Like he grew up around magic and it was obvious he was a wizard but he was still somewhat afraid he wasn’t or like wasn’t good enough to go to Hogwarts

But of course he was

The Sorting Hat went through a bit of a hard time with this one but when it placed him in Gryffindor Jimin was honestly shocked

He didn’t think he was brave or courageous enough to be sorted into Gryffindor

Lowkey is scared that he don’t do justice to his house or represent it well enough

Not exactly bad at any class or another but he struggles to stay awake in History of Magic and ends up missing some of the notes and study material

Goes to Namjoon every time he forgets something and all he does is sigh

Can relate easily to all his friends has he basically grew up with the best of both worlds being a half-blood

Him, Tae and Jungkook get into trouble quite a lot being in the same year, but sometimes he has to admit they can get a bit too mischievous

but most of the time he has no problem pulling a few pranks with them here or there

Most of the time Jimin will follow the rules unless he sees something he doesn’t agree with

Whether it be morally, academically or in any other way, Jimin does what he thinks is right and some teachers find it endearing and others find it frustrating

But they all love him anyway because he’s not entirely reckless (even though he very well can be) and has a least a sliver of self-control

McGonagall adores him

So so so happy that he’s a Gryffindor

Doesn’t give him special treatment but even the other students are starting to notice that she’s quite partial to Jimin

Tried out for Quidditch as soon as he could and immediately landed the beater position

Captain thinks he’s one of the best beaters Gryffindor has had in a while

When he plays against Hoseok or Jungkook nobody ever knows who is gonna win this time

It’s practically a coin toss with those three

Such a sweet teammate gosh

He always prepares snacks and makes sure every player has enough water before every game starts

Was probably offered the position of captain when their old one graduated but turned it down because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to fill his shoes and be a perfect captain and stressed about taking on that responsibility

The rest of the team was kinda bummed because they thought he’d do great but they understood and gave the position to someone else and didn’t press him about it

Chim really appreciated that

When not focused on winning the game, he’s extremely cocky on the Quidditch pitch but as soon as he’s off of it he’s back to being our little mochi

Doesn’t get many detentions because he secretly has all the teachers wrapped around his finger

But they’d never admit it

Unfortunately he doesn’t have any of the boys to hang out with in the common room so he spends most of his time either in the courtyard or the dining hall

Occasionally he’ll stop by the library to visit Namjoon and he may have gone into the forbidden forest with Tae and Jungkook once or twice…

Loves Care of Magical Creatures class with Tae

All the little animals and even the big ones are just so cute to him

But he swears Tae might actually hurt himself one of these days

Doesn’t have any idea why but he’s really good at Divination and he loves it

Thinks it’s so cool and fun

Kookie doesn’t understand it and thinks it’s dumb, but he still manages to get good grades in the class

Not better than Jimin though and he loves to tell him

“I was good at Divination first” and “you only signed up because I did you copied me”

Trelawney always calls him out in class for it and uses him and his work as examples

He loves the praise but gets really shy and his friends love to tease him about it

Would be really great at dueling too if he tried

But he’s not really into using dueling spells and things unless it's for a good purpose or reason

like protecting his friends or anyone else in need (and self defense, but he’d rather use it to protect other people or a good cause)

A/N: I thank anyone who got to the end of this mess! I’m not the most organized person in the world, so I really appreciate it! <3 Jimin’s moodboard is about to go up and I will post Tae’s part and moodboard tomorrow! Kookie’s things will be Sunday!

#bts #bts au #bts x hp #bts hogwarts #bts hogwarts au #hp au #bts at hogwarts #bts in hogwarts #BTS jimin #bts park #jimin #park jimin #gryffindor #gryffindor!jimin

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abaikgirl · 6 years

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Loki, Asgard’s UN Representative

So I had this idea of what if after Avengers 4, after Thor defeats Thanos, settles the remainder of Asgard on earth and brings Loki back to life, Loki becomes the right hand to the throne and handles all diplomatic and foreign relations for Asgard (because he’s so sly and silvertongued and Thor is actually perfectly awful at diplomacy). So of course Thor chooses Loki to represent Asgard at the United Nations meeting and Loki goes in guns blazing to make things better for his people and takes advantage of the fact that everyone is terrified of him to do whatever the hell he wants. Anyways, it was kind of a one shot I wrote in a hurry, so enjoy!

“And now we call attention to the newest member of the United Nations-the sovereign nation of Asgardia, represented by Loki Odinson, All-Brother and advisor to the throne.” Although the words were said with decorum, there was a quiver in the voice of the UN head that betrayed the fear all in the room felt at having a former super villain present with them.

Loki rose from his seat at the back and gracefully walked to the microphone. Despite being a thousand year-old Norse god from space, he wore a simple but expertly tailored black suit that lacked any ornamentation except for a single gold lapel pin that had an elaborate knot design etched in it. His shoulder length hair was slicked back in soft curls and his smile was warm and gracious as he looked at the diplomats before him. Despite themselves, his refined appearance and elegant movements made many of the women and men in the room feel a rush of attraction. This wasn’t done by any magic because upon hearing that King Thor had appointed his brother Loki as Asgard’s UN representative, the leaders of the world reached out to Doctor Strange who was more than happy to put up anti-magic charms all around the main chamber to prevent Loki from getting out of hand. So no, this wasn’t magically induced attraction and trust, this was Loki doing what he did best—winning people over with his silver tongue and good looks.

“Citizens of the world, leaders of earth,” he began. “I understand many, if not all of you, are quite disturbed at the thought of having me be a part of your council. Considering the horrendously bad first impression I made, I can hardly blame you. However, you may put your worries to rest as I come as a humble representative of the Asgardian people to work in unity to find solutions that not only benefit Asgard, but all the nations of Earth.”

Loki allowed a pause, smiling warmly at the representatives half of whom looked ready to eat out of the palm of his hand and the other half looked entirely unimpressed with his eloquent “I’m good now” speech. Undeterred by their doubting expressions, he continued. Looking down, he pretended to be consulting notes even though he had the entire speech fully memorized and prepared, but the need for assist made him look more human and thereby more accessible to the mortals around him.

“The first topic Asgard wishes to bring before the United Nations is the abolishment of the Sokovia Accords.” For a moment, the contented lull he had induced on the crowd was broken and there was a flurry of urgent murmurs. Loki, undeterred by this rush of sound, continued. “Considering the fact that the accords seek to control and condemn Asgard’s leader, All-Brother Thor Odinson, Rightful King of Asgard, it cannot continue to be a functioning part of the world government and we move to have it abolished immediately.”

General Ross leaned forward to speak into his microphone. “With all do respect, Mr. Loki, the accords seek to prevent out-of-control vigilantes from running amuck in other countries. To abolish it is to put the world at risk.” Loki’s grin widened, turning colder and steelier as his bright green eyes settled on the general like a wolf that had spotted its prey. “And you would know all about putting people at risk, now wouldn’t you, General Ross?” There was a glimmer of fear in Ross’ eyes and Loki savored it as he continued to fix his gaze on the weak man before him. “After all, you were the one who led a military detail against an unstable and uncontrollable element, known as the Hulk, on a public college campus, endangering hundreds of innocent bystanders by your clumsy and bullheaded antagonization of said Hulk?”

Ross began to sweat and broke his gaze to look at the representatives around him for support. “That was—”

But Loki didn’t allow him to finish and plowed on. “I also recall you captured the Hulk after he had changed back into Bruce Banner only to release him on the unsuspecting population of Harlem to quell the rise of another unstable element—a member of your own team no less.” Loki let out a short, breathy laugh. “In all honesty, under the accords as they stand General Ross, you should be equally restrained and scrutinized for such reckless endangerment of human life that you accuse the Avengers to be guilty of.” Ross attempted to defend himself but Loki had already turned his attention back to the assembly. “Ladies and gentlemen of the United Nations, I am not here to say that my dear brother couldn’t use a bit of restraint. I, of all people know how reckless he can be. But as someone who once marched on the city of New York with the intent of conquering it, I can say with full confidence that the world is better protected with the Avengers and groups like them being given free mobility in emergency situations.”

This statement gained Loki some traction as the other delegates began to whisper amongst themselves that he had a very good point. After all, Thanos had wiped out half the universe only a few months ago and it was good that the Avengers had ignored the Accords and sprung into action to change that.

General Ross could feel his position quickly slipping and stood up. “Now, hold on. We can’t just let this…super villain come in here and overthrow important legislation for the selfish reason of allowing his brother do whatever he likes.”

“First of all, these accords affect the leaders of two sovereign nations,” Loki interjected. “Both Asgard and Wakanda are led by those who have risked their lives to save the world, so this is not only affecting my brother, but also King T’Challa whom I understand has only recently opened the borders of his country to the rest of the world. I would think it unwise to impose illegal and discriminatory legislation on their leader at such a delicate time. And second,” Loki gave General Ross a smile that dropped the temperature of the room a few degrees, “that’s reformed super villain to you.”

A deathly silence followed, broken only by Loki’s renewed cheerful tone. “All those in favor of abolishing the accords?”

No one dared to tell Loki he wasn’t authorized to initiate voting on a policy and it was almost unanimous.***

When Loki left the chamber, Thor was waiting for him and making conversation with T’Challa and his entourage. In all honesty, Loki adored Wakanda. Maybe it was the technological advancements, or the centuries of unbroken tradition or the all female royal guard—but it reminded him of home. Of course, the Wakandans did not share his same sentiment and as he approached they were guarded and reserved. It would take a lot for them to stop seeing him as the pawn of Thanos and start seeing him as a Thor saw him—a hero, a prince and an ally of Asgard.

Thor saw him and gave him a wide smile. “Brother! I saw the recording of your meeting. A true victory!” Thor clapped him on the shoulder and Loki returned his smile.

Turning to the Wakanda leadership, Loki gave a small bow. “King T’Challa,” he greeted.

“I appreciate what you have done for Wakanda and the Avengers,” T’Challa said, “But as I was just telling your brother, I still do not trust you to always do what is best for the whole.”

“I’m hurt,” Loki replied, but his playful smile didn’t match his words. “After all, I’m a diplomat now and that means I will always do what is best for Asgard and her allies. Are you one of our allies, King T’Challa?”

The Wakanda king frowned at Loki’s tone and stared at him for a few moments, appraising him. “I am an ally of Thor’s,” he responded in a careful tone.

“Well then, it seems that, like it or not, you will have to learn to trust me.”

Thor nervously looked from Loki to T’Challa, waiting for some further arguing and when none came he laughed. “It’s good to see you’re making friends, brother.” Turning to T’Challa, he tried to look more serious. “I assure you Man of Panthers, I trust Loki with my life. He has fought by my side in many battles for the good of Asgard and the universe, and I know he would do it again. You have my word, he is trustworthy.”

T’Challa looked as surprised as Loki did. T’Challa knew how important and binding oaths were to the Asgardians and no matter how often Thor expressed his admiration and trust for his brother since the destruction of Asgard, Loki didn’t think he would ever get used to it.

Brunnhilde approached them, her Valkyrie armor looking as out of place in the sleek modern UN building as Thor’s kingly attire, but if she noticed she didn’t show it. Loki watched how the crowd parted around Brunnhilde as she walked and he smiled, wondering how the UN would like it she were Asgard’s representative instead of him. After ten minutes they would practically beg to have him back.

“All-Brothers,” she greeted, with a secret smile. Heimdall had coined the title, back on the ark. Thor was pretty sure he had said it in jest, but somehow it stuck and now that was what everyone called them. Thor and Loki, All-Brothers on the throne of Asgard. “If we plan to make all of the appointments of the day, we had better go,” Brunnhilde informed them.

“Of course,” Thor replied with a boyish smile. “Until next time, my friends.”

T’Challa crossed his arms in the Wakanda salute which Thor, Loki and Brunnhilde returned.

Brunnhilde led the way to the slab of concrete the UN had laid especially for them. It was still freshly singed from their arrival and there was no doubt it would only continue to be worn away with further usage. Loki thought back on his conversation with T’Challa and frowned. “They still don’t trust me, brother,” he grumbled.

“They will,” Thor replied. Lifting Stormbreaker to the sky, he opened the bifrost and with a flash of light they were taken home to Asgard.

Thanks for reading. Should I write more? Let me know!

Special thanks to @the-spastic-pen for pre-reading.

#loki #avengers 4 #marvel fanfiction #thor #valkyrie #loki drags general ross #abaikgirl

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thebibliomancer · 6 years

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Essential Avengers: Avengers Annual #8: Spectrums of Deceit!

October, 1978

Is that an early cameo of Captain Monica Marvel? Can’t be, Mar-Vell doesn’t die until ‘82. Maybe this strange, enigmatic cover copy ‘sinister spectrums’ offers some clue as to the identity of this glowing individual.

(Its the All-New All-Different Dr. Spectrum)

Last annual, the Avengers failed to stop Thanos, having to crossover with Marvel Two-in-One to get the job done.

This time is less giant purple man tries to blow up every star and more ‘Hank Pym ruins everything.’

We start at ant-size as Yellowjacket welds a gem back together for Jan/Wasp’s birthday.

This is a very considerate gift. She loves jewelry and they say that adding a personal touch makes a gift even better.

Here is where it goes from ‘awwww’ to ‘ffs hank.’

Its not just any jewel. Its Doctor Spectrum’s Power Prism. Y’know, the one that talked and was evil? Hank insists that its harmless now.

He also swears his ants to secrecy. Because Jan is not patient when it comes to birthday gifts and odds are she was the kind of person that not only found all the Christmas gifts before Christmas but also opened them up to find out what they were and then re-wrapped them.

So Hank’s ‘wife detector’ goes off because of course he has one of those. So he hides the power prism.

As soon as she’s in the room she’s trying to wheedle hints from him but he’s adamant that she’ll get her gift at dinner.

Also: apparently Yellowjacket’s giant shoulders are just... removable. I mean, I guess it makes sense but you get so used to thinking of superhero costumes as this one piece outfit even though the gloves and boots and outside underwear indicate it being in multiple parts.

Also the texture drawn on the neckline makes me think... is the top part of the Yellowjacket costume just a really tight sweater?

Yellowjacket goes to change his clothes and as soon as he’s gone, Wasp starts sleuthing.

Hank was nervous when she came in and he shut that drawer awfully fast. Maybe he was hiding something. LIKE A PRESENT.

And sure, the drawer is locked but she has the power of small. So she uses her power of small to get small, crawl through the lock, and sneak a peep at the gift.

Wasp: “Darn it, Hank! If you didn’t arouse my curiosity, I wouldn’t have to satisfy it!”

That sure is an argument, Jan!

She’s thrilled to discover that either her present is a gigantic jewel and/or that Hank has a gigantic jewel for unrelated reasons. Either way, she just has to touch it.

And for some reason, Wasp touching the power prism is Bad while Hank was touching it a bunch earlier to no effect. Maybe because he was wearing gloves.

Either way, she feels a terrible sensation of someone siphoning her consciousness. Like when her soul was being transferred into Jocasta that one time in Avengers #162. But differenty.

Anyway, she’s being possessed by the power prism and for some reason this causes an explosion.

In a sitting room or perhaps parlor, study, den, reading room, or library, the sound of the explosion startles Quicksilver and Wonder Man.

Quicksilver runs off to see what’s what and immediately gets shot in the face by the All-New All-Different Doctor Spectrum.

Although, I’m pretty sure Janet wasn’t a doctor.

I don’t think the power prism cares though and its calling the shots and even loudly identifies itself to Wonder Man, who arrives just in time to see Quicksilver laid out on his ass.

Apparently, one of the powers of the power prism are hypnotic rings of light. Because Doctor Spectrum uses these hypnotic rings of light to hypnotize both Wonder Man and Quicksilver.

The prism briefly considers hopping ship but decides that although Quicksilver and Wonder Man are formidable, neither can equal the one it really wants to possess.

Pro-tip: Its Thor.

I wonder if that’s Janet bleeding through. Before she got married, one of her common characterizations was Aesthetic Appreciation of Every Guy and Thor came up more than once.

But the prism claims that Janet’s consciousness is completely dominated.

Power Prism: “My other host bodies were too strong-willed -- too driven by their own lusts for power to allow me pre-eminence. My last host subjugated my will to such a degree that I could not even voice my displeasure! Janet Pym has no power-lost, no obsessive desires -- and thus her will is dominatable.”

So its an interesting idea that actually not being a power-hungry jerk makes you more vulnerable to gem-based mind control but hey fuck you costume jewelry for implying that Janet Van Dyne is weak-willed.

Anyway, the power prism wants Thor. But before it seeks out that bod, it must take out the only one on Earth who knows Doctor Spectrum’s sole weakness.

I’m guessing Iron Man.

Meanwhile, at Iron Man, Iron Man holds up a large heavy thing (a solar collector, apparently) while some guys weld at it.

Doctor Spectrum arrives on scene and realizes that maybe dressing like a supervillain is less than inconspicuous so changes Jan back into her normal Wasp attire.

So Wasp/Spectrum walks through the crowd of leering workers and sucker punches Iron Man, knocking him out in one punch, man.

The crowd of workers immediately decides to try to beat her up because what if she tries to punch them next?

Luckily for them, the prism decides that rather than kick their shit its easier just to put them in a dome and fly off with Iron Man.

Wasp/Prism returns to the the Pym Mansion in Cresskill, New Jersey and puts Iron Man with Wonder Man and Quicksilver.

Apparently she was hiding the two in the pool. But maybe there’s a better place to hide them. So she flings the three off into space. Or maybe a secret hiding spot. Its ambiguous.

But little does Wasp/Prism suspect that Hank Pym has been peeking through the curtains and has realized that Janet has been taken over by the power prism’s sentient EEEEVIL personality. Plus, news about what happened at the plant has already reached him despite it happening just a page ago and all the witnesses being trapped in a dome.

He must have seen it on the news, where all superheroes get their informations.

Oh. Actually. When I said "little does Wasp/Prism suspect" I meant ‘she explodes the wall and starts attacking Hank.’ Because the prism is in Janet’s mind brain and can read her thoughts. And her thoughts revealed that Hank would have come all the way here to change clothes because keeping clothes at Avenger’s Mansion is silly.

But as Doctor Spectrum attacks, Hank shrinks down teeny small and summons a swarm of ants to attack Spectrum.

Hrm. Its always a bit uncomfortable seeing Hank sick ants on Jan.

But also, he can apparently command the loyalty of ants even without his helmet. So that’s neat.

Doctor Spectrum just creates a propeller though and disperses the ant swarm and assumes that the winds would have knocked out Hank or killed him. So whatever.

But then a bunch of superheroes burst through the wall hole that Doctor Spectrum kindly provided.

There’s Beast, Captain America, Black Panther, and Ms Marvel.

That’s a lot of blue and blue as black highlights. This is the Avengers’ Blue Team. Gold team would be led by Iron Man.

They were summoned by Hank who alluded to a mysterious precaution he had taken. But it was just a general alert so didn’t indicate that the threat was Doctor Spectrum or that Doctor Spectrum is Janet this time.

So without hesitation, the heroes attack. Although, Doctor Spectrum has a force field so even though Cap throws his mighty shield, Doctor Spectrum’s abdomen refuses to yield. Its like she doesn’t even know the song.

Ms Marvel flies up and punches Doctor Spectrum who says the cliche ‘I almost felt that’ before blasting her with a few thousand mega-watts.

I thought Ms Marvel (by the by, the Carol Danvers one, not Kamala) could absorb and redirect energy but I guess not always.

Seeing that Ms Marvel was just shocked with enough electricity to possibly kill someone, Black Panther does the only sensible thing and puts Doctor Spectrum in a headlock.

Oh, T’Challa... never change!

Cap tries to tell Black Panther to pry away the prism but its too late. Doctor Spectrum blasts the three heroes with a BRAM!

But by this point, Ms Marvel has gotten back up.

Ms Marvel: “I’ve got to hand it to you. That electro-shock hurt plenty!”

Doctor Spectrum: “‘Hurt’!? It... was meant to totally incapacitate!”

Ms Marvel: “Oh, it was, was it? In that case, I don’t feel so bad... about knocking you through the blasted wall!!”

And then Ms Marvel punches her through the blasted wall.

This gets Spectrum’s dander up. She was planning on adding Ms Marvel to her collection of hostages to lure Thor with. But now she’s just going to kill her.

Ms Marvel says the equivalent of ‘come on if you think you’re hard enough’ but then Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch show up and flank Spectrum.

Doctor Spectrum boasts that “Mine is the power of thought! Anything I can conceive I can pit against you!”

She hasn’t done much with it so far outside the propeller thing. Mainly just generic blasts, electricity, and force fields. But be afraid that at some point she might be actually creative with her powers, fools!

And then Vision flies out of the pool. For dramatic effect, I assume.

Vision: “You are not so invincible as you would have us believe. Anyone who has perused the proper files knows you possess a weakness -- a weakness that I, with my computer mind, could not fail to recall!”

And he activates the sun lamps he’s holding, blasting Doctor Spectrum with ultraviolet radiation as she protests that only Iron Man knows her weakness.

Vision then calls her a dumbass for assuming that the Avengers wouldn’t share knowledge about their enemies.

Makes sense to Ms Marvel though. To someone like Doctor Spectrum, allies are tools to be used. You wouldn’t just share potentially valuable information for free! Obviously!

Hank, Hank, and Captain America all come out from the house. And Hank (Pym) reveals that Doctor Spectrum is actually... JANET.

And with prism ultravioleted, the Spectrum costume fades, revealing her true identity.

BUT ALSO SHE’S IN A COMA <dramatic sting>

So the Avengers do what they always do whenever anything vaguely medical happens.

Call Mysterious Doctor Donald Blake. I.e., Thor. A.k.a., Donald Blake.

And while Dr Thor flies across the state, the Avengers keep a watch over Wasp. Although not a close enough watch to notice that her hands are glowing. One job. You had one job.

Truly the power prism is still active and is playing dead because it senses Thor coming.

Although the power prism is also baffled and dare I say even flabbergasted when it senses Thor vanish, as Dr Donald Blake shows up.

Actual doctor, Donald Blake, diagnoses Jan as physically fine but in some weird hypnotic trance. Like that alien prism that took her over still has a grip on her mind but is too weak to exert its will. Exactly like that scenario.

Removing the power prism isn’t even an option. It has fused into her nervous system. Removing it could kill her. (Also you could try chopping off her hand. It might just work.)

What they need is more information about this asshole space gem. Maybe Thor should go soak in a mystically significant pool, his abs intercepting potent oracular rays from the future. Or maybe they’ll just go ask Dr. Strange.

MEANWHILE, yeah. Iron Man, Quicksilver, and Wonder Man are still stuck in a capsule in a secret place. Its not space, to my dismay. Its actually the Atlantic Ocean which is at least a close second.

Luckily the Power Prism wasn’t completely zonked out because the capsule is still transmitting just enough oxygen to keep the three heroes alive but unconscious.

Also, Captain America very briefly switches into short-sleeves for summer, as if in some kind of coloring error, but switches back off-panel.

So the Avengers get in the Quinjet and go visit Dr. Strange.

He lives in the same city as they do. They’re lucky Tony pays for all this jet fuel.

Anyway, since the Defenders are the ones that beat Dr. Spectrum last time, Strange will be able to tell them what happened to the original host.

Wong tries to shoo the Avengers away because clearly Dr. Strange is far too busy to-

Dr. Strange interrupts to tell Wong to let them in.

Dr. Strange: “I sensed from the other room that this is a matter only I can deal with.”

Fun fact: hearing is a sense. In magician talk he may well be saying ‘I couldn’t help but overhear but this is a job for SORCERER SUPREME’

Although the extent of his help is to exposit some of what happened in Defenders apparently and then sending them on their way with an address.

As dubious as this sounds, apparently the Squadron Sinister broke no laws when they tried to sell the Earth to an alien and possibly other appearances since. So Dr. Strange just mind wiped them.

Difference between Marvel and DC. Marvel could never do a comic event about how mind wiping is bad because Dr. Strange has been gleefully doing it for decades with everyone mostly cool with it.

Anyway, he used Brand Ecch brain washing soap apparently because just one Squaddie seeing the Avengers may cause the whole sinister package to remember their evil ways and evil desires.

Are we sure that Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme and not just the Sorcerer Pretty Okay?

Oh and the reason why Dr. Strange is too busy to help? He has to watch Clea dance. BUT IN FAIRNESS, she’s dancing the Rituals of Valtorr and without proper supervision, why chaos could envelop the globe! And that’s why its very important that Dr. Strange watch very carefully.

I think some Titan Up The Defense is rubbing off on my perception of Dr. Strange. I can even hear the voice.

PART TWO: TO TAME A TORTURED TITAN

Guess what?

Split up gang, we’ll cover more ground that way!

Vision, Ms Marvel, and Black Panther go to the Arnold Columbo Health Spa in Queens. I don’t know that Vision can actually get swole and Black Panther is perfect the way he is. Have you seen how he’s drawn in the Christopher Priest run? He’s practically a dorito. A Bruce Timm character even.

Inside the health spa, Thundra is introduced to Mr. Kant. I guess a personal trainer.

Thundra immediately emasculates everyone present by lifting up a lat pulldown machine. A machine which weighs tons. But you’re doing it wrong. Its pulldown, not lift up. You’re working the wrong muscle group, Thundra.

But then Mr. Kant (I mean, obviously its Hyperion. He’s Not-Superman and Mr. Kant is a very Not-Superman name) sees the Avengers.

As Dr. Strange said, just seeing them brings back Hyperion’s memories and Hyperion’s memories are not good memories. I don’t know if anyone recalls this but Squadron Sinister Hyperion’s motives were that Earth accidentally destroyed his home planet because it was the size of an atom and Earth accidentally atom smashed it.

So instantly upon seeing the Avengers, its like a billion people died right in front of him all over again.

So he tells them to fuck off, understandably enough. And when Ms Marvel does not in fact fuck off, Thundra punches her through a wall.

She’s okay though. She even has time to quip as she flies through the women’s calisthenics class.

Vision tells Thundra that they came here to talk, not to fight. And then to show how disappointed he is with her aggressive actions, Vision shoots Thundra with his Heat Vision.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kant tries to put Black Panther in a headlock but Black Panther just flips him into some other bodybuilders.

I jumped the gun early because apparently Hyperion’s memory was gradually returning. Hatred of the Avengers and dead people first. And now he has remembered that he has super powers and he slams two barbells together hard enough to disintegrate them. The shockwaves scatter everyone in the room.

Except Vision.

He increased his mass to withstand the attack and now he calls Hyperion emotionally wrought and blows up the exercise equipment he was going to hit Vision with.

Meanwhile, another bodybuilder challenges Vision to fisticuffs. So Ms Marvel punches him.

A dazed Thundra gets in Ms Marvel’s way. So Ms Marvel punches her.

She’s really good at punching.

Meanwhile, Hyperion continues to be emotionally overwrought and angry that anyone would say that about him.

Hyperion: “You deride my actions, calling them emotional -- ! Tell me, Avenger, how would you feel if the planet which birthed you was destroyed -- all its people wiped out!?! Your world is going to pay for what it did to mine!”

In fairness, I think he’s earned his anger.

He did not earn a punch to Vision’s noggin and when he tries for one, Vision goes intangible and then does the inverse hand trick. Instead of sticking his hand in someone and slightly solidifying it, Vision slightly solidifies his head while Hyperion’s fist is through it.

Either way, it hurts like hell.

Meanwhile, Black Panther breaks up the fight between Ms Marvel and Thundra to gaze upon a miracle of sorts.

Vision and Hyperion are... talking? Like reasonable adults??

Vision: “I recommend you examine the forces that drive you -- both for the sake of the planet you threaten and for the sake of your own sanity.”

Hyperion: “Don’t try to imply my anger is unjustified. I warn you --”

Vision: “You have reason for sorrow. You have lost much! What I fault is your persistence in blaming an entire planet’s populace for the accidental deed of a handful of a well-meaning scientists. It was a tragedy, but an irreparable one. And you must allow yourself to recognize it as such.”

Hyperion: “But you can’t understand how helpless I feel! With all my strength, there is nothing I can do. I can’t restore a single life -- !”

Vision: “Frustration can be put toward constructive goals. Perhaps you should seek out the unknowing scientists who erred... keep them from making the same mistake again... from destroying another micro-world.”

Long moments pass, as Hyperion reflects on what has been said. Finally he slowly nods...

Great jimminy! Maybe Vision should become a therapist. The Marvel universe is lacking people who can talk to superheroes about their problems. Its mostly Doc Sampson and Moonstone. And Moonstone is evil.

Meanwhile, Thundra is confused. Who did a disagreement end without a determination of who is more powerful? Where, she might ask, was the arm wrestling contest?

AND NOW PART THREE: THE SPEEDSTER SINISTER!

Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye (a mere three-quarters of a kooky quartet) go to the warehouse HQ of Hudson Pharmaceuticals in West Caldwell, NJ to track down a speedster. But alas, not the one that will complete the set.

But as soon as perfectly ordinary and fastest pharmaceutical formulizer Harvey sees the Avengers, his memories immediately return and he remembers he’s the Whizzer!

Some memories you just don’t want back!

And hey, it took much less time than Hyperion did. Probably because of the superspeed.

The Whizzer immediately tries to kill the Avengers. I guess mind-wipes sometimes do have negative consequences!

He runs at the three and although they dodge, he was really aiming to rummage through a crate of drugs.

Because he’s a chemical genius. Instead of mongoose blood, this Whizzer made a pill that gave him superspeed. So its no trouble at all for him to whip up a smoke bomb out of random chemicals.

Although the cloud is green. It may be a stink smoke bomb.

Hawkeye shoots a ‘vaccuum up the gas’ arrow because why wouldn’t he have one of those? Do you not remember that he invented anti-gravity? Fitting a motor powerful enough and a container small enough for an arrow is child’s play to Hawkeye, arrow genius.

Even with the smoke gone, Whizzer is whizzering all around shoulder checking Hawkeye and boasting “How can you stop a foe who is elsewhere by the time you strike?”

The answer is obvious though.

When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all who oppose his shield must yield. FACTS.

And with a chang wang BONK! a ricocheted mighty shield bonks Whizzer in the back of the noggin.

Cap has practiced fighting superspeed foes in mock battle with Quicksilver. Plus, this is exactly how he beat the Supreme version of Whizzer when they fought on Other-Earth.

But there will be no talking this foe down. Apparently none possess Vision’s amazingly unexpected conciliatory prowess. Either that or maybe Whizzer had less sympathetic motives than Hyperion.

So they’re just going to sedate the hell out of him so he’s out of their hair through the current crisis.

Also, the foreman or whoever who called Harvey down to see the Avengers just disappeared between panels. In fairness, I’d do the same if a superhero fight broke out in my workplace.

PART FOUR: WHERE THERE’S A WILL...

Beast is flying solo on this one. For some reason. Surely one of the teams that had three members could have spared one.

Anyway.

The latest brainwashed member of the Squadron Sinister is... an evangelist named Billy Roberts?

And he is preaching to a huge crowd.

Even though the gist of the sermon is basically ‘how dare people accuse me of being in it for the money, why I tell you I’d do anyone a favor right now!’

Basically.

So Beast jumps out of the audience and goes ‘dibs.’

And after relaying the essential facts, Beast and Billy Roberts go off-stage to continue the conversation. Probably upsetting all these hundreds of people that came a long way to hear a man shout stuff about how pious he is.

And now that Billy Roberts has regained his memory he shares the SECRET ORIGIN OF DR SPECTRUM. Or a secret origin. Or something.

Bob Farmer, a sanitation worker in Detroit found a giant jewel in the trash. But Bob Farmer is an honest man who only believes in what he earns through his own labors so he gave it to Billy Roberts because Bob Farmer is also a very religious man.

Billy Roberts was going to sell it to fund his services but whoops, turns out it was a power prism and it possessed him.

Which is a very different story from the one the prism itself told but whatever. I’m sure nothing will come of this discrepancy.

But if Beast brings Billy Roberts to Jan and the power prism, he’s sure it can be brought under control again. Very sure.

So the Avengers return to the Pym pool with Billy Roberts in tow.

Hank thinks this is some joke, bringing a preacher to deal with alien jewel possession but he settles down when Billy Roberts explains his backstory again.

Billy Roberts: “This then, is the afflicted? I do not claim to have been granted healing powers by the Lord. But I do believe the scripture that says ‘All things come... to he who waits!’”

And the power prism leaves Jan and levitates towards Billy Roberts.

Too late, Black Panther realizes Billy’s perfidy and that he was only looking to regain the prism’s power.

Too late because the gem and host are reunited again with a BRAM! and Dr. Spectrum stands before the Avengers once again.

Dr Spectrum: “I was chosen by the Lord! Discovering the gem was a sign... a reward for my years of unyielding faith in him! His trust in me abounds! My will is his will!”

Hoo boy.

Billy Roberts Spectrum is also better at using the Power Prism’s green lantern-esque power better than Jan was. Which means he’s better at it than the prism itself.

He creates a giant energy fist and punches Beast, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye seneseless. And then creates giant electrodes that electrocute Captain America. All while yelling that he’s doing god’s will and they’re suffering god’s wrath for opposing him.

During the fight, Actual Doctor David Blake sneaks off. And then Thor appears! Huh, y’know have we ever seen those two in the same room at the same time?

But if you’ll recall from many words above, Thor appearing was exactly what the prism was aiming for. And having the focus for its singular objective appear in front of it allows the prism to wrest control away from Reverend Roberts and abscond his body.

To lodge in Mjolnir and take control of Thor.

Uh oh.

MEANWHILE, so hey. Apparently Roberts taking the prism from Jan caused the bubble that Dr Spectrum had trapped Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Quicksilver in UNDER THE SEA to burst.

If not for Iron Man’s quick action, Quicksilver would have drowned. As is, he swallowed a lot of water and will not be joining the big, exciting superhero fight. And Wonder Man will stay to watch him. So just Iron Man will be going to join the rest of the plot.

Meanwhile, Spectrum Thor (he doesn’t even get the costume. What a rip-off) blasts Ms Marvel out of the fight.

Scarlet Witch tries to Do A Thing but a near miss with lightning knocks her off her feet and out of the fight.

So Vision tries to... Guess.

a) Challenge Thor to a rap-off;

b) Fight the brainwashing with the power of love;

c) Do that thing he always do, like every single time, and jam his hand into a person

If you guessed c then you win nothing. But were correct.

Doesn’t work though because Spectrum Thor sticks his hammer in Vision’s chest, the mystic energies causing Vision too much pain for him to finish his hand thing.

So I guess all the Avengers are defeated for- oh hey Iron Man.

He makes quite an entrance. Shooting his repulsors while diving at Thor. And subsequently getting smacked away like a baseball. Homerun?

Iron Man recovers quickly and tries to blast Spectrum Thor with ultraviolet light but alarums and alack!

The Power Prism didn’t just want Thor’s body to be the biggest and buffest! Thor’s Asgardian bod renders the prism immune to ultraviolet light. For some reason.

Just go with it.

But suddenly and arbitrarily, the enchantment on Mjolnir picks now to remember that its a thing. A possessed Thor is not Worthy so Mjolnir becomes too heavy to hold.

And Iron Man wastes no time before he starts punching Thor in the face.

I’m wondering why Thor is even still mind-controlled if he’s not holding Mjolnir but whatever.

I won’t worry about it because something glorious happens.

THE RETURN OF THE IRON ROLLER SKATES!

Annnnnnd they are about as effective as always. Which is to say, not.

Iron Man tries to skates circles around Thor to confuse him and Thor just punches him in the face.

But look. The Iron Skates are not great because they’re good. They’re great because they’re bad. They try their best. Leave them alone.

Thor stands over the fallen Iron Man gloating... so Iron Man shoots him with his feet repulsors. But he realizes that everything he does is a temporary measure. He can’t beat Thor!

So its very lucky that a plot device is around to kick in right about now.

Guess how long its been since Thor dropped Mjolnir? Sixty seconds. And Thor is gone in sixty seconds, replaced by Actual Doctor Donald Blake.

And Mjolnir is replaced by a simple walking stick.

And here’s the thing. The power prism literally blinks out of existence because the enchantment on Mjolnir that governs its change of state didn’t make allowances for any stowaways.

The prism and the intelligence it contained have ceased to exist. Possibly forever. But probably not.

Blake even speculates that the ‘lose the power of Thor if don’t hold hammer for 60 seconds’ rule was even Odin’s safeguard against this very situation. To protect Earth from a thunder god gone berserk.

But there’s no time to really grapple with the multitude of questions raised by this annual. Because:

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Happy birthday, Jan! Your husband is a terrible gift-giver! Make it a rule, no year is the Evil Extraterrestrial Intelligence Anniversary.

So the process of writing up this annual might have been agonizing but I liked the issue itself. We revisit the Squadron Supreme, get to see several Spectrums (oh I get the title now), Vision gets to talk Hyperion down, and it all ends on a party.

Plus, when the Squadron Supreme or Sinister attack as a group, they individually get taken out pretty fast. So it was interesting to see what a big threat Doctor Spectrum could be even to a whole gaggle of Avengers. That Green Lantern-esque power is potent.

Good times!

You should follow @essential-avengers because it will make an intelligent space gem angry. I can’t prove this nor do I have even the flimsiest basis for saying this but nonetheless its true possibly.

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junker-town · 3 years

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6 winners and 3 losers from Week 14 in the NFL

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

History was close to being made from the most unlikely source.

Above any other sport the NFL is the one place where the impossible becomes reality, if only for a moment. No week better typified than than Week 14, where some of the most improbable performances came out of incredible places. While some of these could be a sign of things to come, others will exist frozen in time as examples of the league’s never-ending ability to wow us in unexpected ways.

There is no way to discuss this week’s kismet than beginning with Haason Reddick of the Arizona Cardinals. Reddick, taken in the first round of the 2017 draft, has been a decent linebacker, but nothing to really write home about. Good enough to be a starter, but not the game-changing defensive player the team hoped they were getting when they selected him.

For one week he utterly took over the game. Entering Week 14 Reddick had amassed 5.5 sacks in his NFL career, and forced three fumbles. Nothing too impressive over a three year career. Then on Sunday he went absolutely HAM to levels we have almost never seen in the NFL. Reddick recorded five sacks and forced three fumbles, both of which are Cardinals’ team records, in a performance so mind-blowing he wept at midfield when the game was over.

Blessed.@Haason7Reddick x #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/VP0NdQMDue

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 13, 2020

It’s important to realize just how close Reddick came to breaking two of the NFL’s most untouchable records — in the same damn game. The single-game sack record is 7.0, set by Derrick Thomas in 1990. It stands a testament to the mountaintop of pass rushing achievements, and is regarded as the league’s most solid record. It’s so easy to stuff a pass rusher that’s on fire these days. Teams will rotate tackles, use tight ends and backs to chip block, double team, the list goes on. Despite all this Reddick was on fire to such an extent he basically took over the game himself.

Then there’s those three forces fumbles, almost record-breaking in themselves. The NFL hasn’t made forced fumbles an officially tracked stat for very long, but the record belongs to Charles Tillman, who recorded four for the Bears in 2012. Again seen as impossible to top, again almost tied by Reddick on Sunday. His game stands as a testament to just how improbable and emotional the NFL can be, and watching it unfurl was perfect.

Of course, there were two other incredible and improbable performances from quarterbacks in the NFL. Drew Lock was on fire against a normally stingy Carolina Panthers defense, torching them for 280 yards and four touchdowns. It was a personal record for Lock, and Broncos fans will hope it’s a sign of things to come.

The other quarterback was, well ... it was Mitchell Trubisky. It’s exceptionally rare we ever get to talk about the Bears’ quarterback positively. These days his name is most often mentioned in reference to the players Chicago passed on (Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson), rather than anything Trubisky achieved himself. Credit where it’s due: He was sensational on Sunday, completing over 70 percent of his passes and throwing for three touchdowns in a rout over the hapless Texans.

Three of the biggest winners this week all came from unexpected places, and that’s beautiful.

Loser: DeShaun Watson.

There was functionally nothing really wrong with Watson’s game on Sunday, but we’ve got to start a petition, a GoFundMe, a Patreon ... something, just to get him out of Houston.

The dramatic loss to the Bears is the perfect example of how a good team was turned to dust in the matter of months thanks to Bill O’Brien. Watson has no weapons, he was sacked seven times, and everything crumbled around him. It’s going to take years to fix this mess, and it’s so incredibly unfair that Watson will likely waste his best football years on an organization that can’t support him.

#SaveDeShaunWatson

Winner: Derrick Henry.

At this point I might as well just copy/paste him in every single week. I’ve said it before, but in an era where the entire league is deemphasizing the running back, it’s nostalgic and refreshing to see one tear up the entire league into confetti.

Sunday was no different, as Henry ran for 215 yards at an astounding 8.3 YPA against the Jaguars. He also scored two touchdowns, because why not. Now he’s got 1,317 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, with three games left to play. What an absolute monster.

Loser: New York Giants.

The NFC East has been a rollercoaster of mediocrity all season long, and just when it seemed like the Giants might be the ones to wrap things up, they disintegrate. This should have been a relatively evenly matched week for New York against Arizona, and they shit the proverbial bed, getting blown out 26-7 and never looking like they belonged.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem if there wasn’t another team surging in the division, but the Washington Football Team is now on a roll and looks like they want to wrap things up. This was one of those losses that demoralizes a team, and I honestly don’t know if the Giants can pull things back together to mount a run down the stretch.

Winner: Jalen-freaking-Hurts.

This one deserves hyphens. If you’re the kind of person who just casually glances at box scores you’d see his middling passing game and be unimpressed. Then you scroll a little further and see that he ran for 106 yards on 18 carries and your eyes fall out of your head, clung to by their stalks.

This is something Carson Wentz could never, and will never do. Not only did Hurts prove that he can school an NFL defense, but he led the Eagles to a win over the Saints. Again, something I’m not sure Carson Wentz could have done this season.

If nothing else it makes Philadelphia watchable and fun, and that’s all fans could really ask for at this point in the season.

Loser: Dan Bailey.

It takes a special level of futility for me to mention a kicker at all, but for a guy with one job I have to say, YOU HAVE ONE JOB!

Generally speaking I think kickers get too much crap. They have one of the highest pressure jobs in the league, and all the time in the world to think of everything that could go wrong. In that vein, Bailey missed three field goals and an extra point — in a game Minnesota lost by 12.

Yes, for you mathemagicians that’s only 10 points — but keeping the game closer alters how you can call a game offensively. We’ll have to imagine what would have happened if those kicks went through. As it stand the Vikings’ playoffs hopes are in tatters.

Winner: The Bills trading for Stefon Diggs.

The assumption this season was that the Cardinals adding DeAndre Hopkins was going to be the difference maker to get Arizona over the hump, and to some degree that’s true — but the biggest value trade is going to end up being Stefon Diggs.

Buffalo got Diggs for a song considering his production this season. He’s fast become Josh Allen’s favorite go-to target, and that really showed on Sunday night when Diggs torched the Steelers en route to a big prime time win.

It isn’t just that Diggs is good, it’s how much better he is than the rest of the Bills’ receiving corps. Cole Beasley is a solid No. 2 guy, then the receiver fall off a cliff. If you push that entire depth chart up, and imagine Diggs wasn’t on the roster, it’s hard to believe Buffalo would be close to as potent as they are. This will be the trade of the season.

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racingtoaredlight · 4 years

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RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 7 Extravapalooza

With the way the COVID-19 situation in America (and lots of other places around the world) is rapidly heading in the wrong direction, I’m beginning to genuinely wonder if the NFL is going to have to pause the season for a few weeks as some states potentially decide that the gatherings that come with staging a football game are less than necessary.

Once the league decided to start the season as scheduled, I figured there was no way they’d stop the train once it began lurching forward, even if some unlucky teams were forced to start someone like Brian Hoyer at QB instead of their normal guy. Ahem. But, I also didn’t think things would deteriorate virus-spread wise quite to this degree. I was really giving us as a society way too much credit, it would appear. Given the resistance to the first round of shutdown measures, I think there’s a real possibility that shit could hit the fan in a way few of us have seen before if another batch were implemented, but it seems like the only option going forward for some places if they don’t get their shit together. Our choices in the very near future appear to be: court massive civil unrest spurred on by the very worst among us, or do nothing and let many of those same people carry disease to every corner of the country as hospitals become overwhelmed and people die alone and miserable. Hooray for letting the dumbest assholes dictate the courses of everyone else’s lives.

Now for some football picks!!!

My picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before things kickoff today.

EARLY GAMES

Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons (-2)

Ah, a team who recently fired their terrible head coach against a team who desperately needs to. I’m glad it finally appears to be dawning on Detroit’s offensive braintrust that D’Andre Swift is the best RB on the team and thus should get the bulk of the touches. You could even say he deserves the LION’S SHARE. Sorry.

I was ready to declare Matt Ryan officially washed heading into last week’s games, but then he went out and threw for 371 and 4 TDs against the (admittedly trash-ass) Vikings defense, and now I just don’t know. Does having Julio Jones in the lineup really make that much of a difference for him? Maybe! This game should be enjoyable slop and I don’t have any strong leanings one way or another. I’ll pick the Falcons just because a Lions loss gets them one step closer to freedom from their dipshit Goomba-from-Mario-Bros-lookin’ motherfucker of a head coach.

Cleveland Browns (-3.5) at Cincinnati Bengals

I like to make fun of the Browns just like everyone else, but I’d prefer to see less digital ink spilled on QB Baker Mayfield’s crappy play and more celebration of DE Myles Garrett instead. Garrett is AWESOME. Through 6 games he has 7 sacks (2nd in the NFL) and 3 forced fumbles (also 2nd in the league), and those numbers don’t fully capture how disruptive and nightmarish he is for opposing offenses most weeks. Sure, he maybe tried to kill a guy with his helmet last year, but c’mon. That was just a harmless little goof. No reason to hold it against him, in my opinion. Like, have you seen what Mason Rudolph looks like? He had it coming.

I feel bad every time I pick against Joe Burrow because I want he and I to be friends, but *points to previous paragraph about how Myles Garrett swallows planets whole*.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans (-1.5)

Last week I wrote a whole big thing (with stats to back it up!) in the Titans blurb about how Derrick Henry wasn’t playing well and was potentially wearing down, and then he proceeded to rush for over 200 yards and 2 TDs, including an unreal 94-yarder. I concede that I may have been misguided, and that attempting to use research is for lameass nerds. That said, I HIGHLY doubt he’ll have a huge day against the Steelers defense, but the combo of Henry and the Ryan Tannehill-led passing game should be able to put up enough points to win.

These teams are both very good and very evenly matched, but I don’t want to pick Pittsburgh because I actively dislike them. You won’t find that kind of analysis on Football Outsiders, friends.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (-7)

New Orleans will be without WRs Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders for this one, and I think QB Drew Brees is too far over-the-hill to make chicken salad out of the chicken shit that remains in their group of pass catchers. RB Alvin Kamara is great, but he can’t do it by himself. Oh, and speaking of Michael Thomas, a report came out yesterday that the Saints are open to dealing him. This report came from Mike Florio, so grain of salt and all, but it did lead to me reading a rumor that Thomas’ teammates hate him and secretly call him “Can’t Stand Mike,” a play on his “Can’t Guard Mike” Twitter handle. I found this hilarious and very much want it to be true.

Let’s raise a glass to Panthers backup RB and fantasy football savior Mike Davis, as his gravy train likely comes to a halt after today with the impending return of Christian McCaffery. The New Orleans rush defense is very good, so I don’t see him going out in a blaze of glory, but his out-of-nowhere statistical bonanza deserves to be celebrated.

Buffalo Bills (-10) at New York Jets

LOL Jets Head Coach Adam Gase still hasn’t been fired despite losing 24-0 to Miami last week. What’s it gonna take, I wonder? A second consecutive shutout may do it, but the Bills defense has been terrible, so it’ll take a real commitment to ineptitude for the Jets to put up their second squadoosh in a row. NY QB Sam Darnold is returning to the lineup, but he’s going to be without his best weapon, WR Jamison Crowder. I honestly feel terrible for poor Sam, as he was drafted into the worst situation I can remember. At least David Carr was hit enough that he likely doesn’t remember ALL of the bad stuff.

Nearly all of the Bills’ TEs are in the COVID-19 protocol, so I’m not sure how they’re gonna address that. BRING BACK JAY RIEMERSMA!

Dallas Cowboys at Washington Football Team (-1)

The Cowboys being underdogs against Washington is hilarious, even more so because it’s justified. I thought QB Andy Dalton would do a decent job leading the Cowboys offense last week against Arizona, and I was very, very wrong. I still think he can get his shit together somewhat, but the ceiling for this team has been lowered to “Darren Sproles might have to duck a bit” height. I can only condone watching this game for schadenfreude purposes, but even that’s stretching it. Any more than a quarter is just straight-up masochism.

Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Houston Texans

I’m simultaneously excited to watch this game and struggling to come up with anything novel to say about it. I’m interested to see how Green Bay deploys their awesome CB Jaire Alexander, as whichever Texans WR avoids him is likely to be peppered with targets. Shoutout to Will Fuller’s hamstrings for holding up so far and allowing him to kick ass.

As of right now it looks like Green Bay will be without studly RB Aaron Jones and sexy touchdown beast TE Robert Tonyan, which isn’t great. But, if there’s one opponent where you should still be ok using a backup RB, it’s the Houston Texans and their atrocious rush defense. Wait, why am I picking Houston? Whatever, fuck it, the heart wants what the heart wants.

LATE GAMES

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5) at Las Vegas Raiders

A couple of days ago, it looked like the entire Las Vegas offensive line might miss this game due to being placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list. As of this writing, all those beefy boys are cleared to play, which is good news since they’re going against Tampa Bay’s top-shelf defense (ranked #1 in defensive DVOA). Even with their full compliment of offensive personnel, I still predict many hilarious angry and frustrated faces from Jon Gruden.

Tampa Bay has decided to sign WR Antonio Brown, despite already having two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. It’s pretty clear this signing was done entirely because QB Tom Brady wanted it, as Brady has been pushing for his team to sign Brown going back to last year in New England. It’s so weird, Tom Brady doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would advocate for an emotionally unstable and supremely narcissistic accused rapist who’s left multiple organizations in disarray upon his unceremonious departure.

Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5) at Denver Broncos

Fuck yeah, our first potential snow game of the year! The gametime forecast as of right now calls for 5-degree windchill temps with a 35-40 percent chance of flakes throughout. That sounds horrible to play in, but glorious to watch. If we don’t get at least one shot of steam rising off of an offensive lineman’s head I’m gonna be pissed. I’m curious to see what Kansas City does with newly acquired RB Le’Veon Bell in this game. He’s definitely played in more winter-weather games than my boy Clyde Edwards-Helaire, so do they give him more carries this week than they would normally? I hope not, but I can definitely see the argument for it.

San Francisco 49ers at New England Patriots (-3)

I’m a little shaken (relatively, I’m not a complete lunatic) by how shitty New England, and Cam Newton in particular, looked against Denver last week. The lack of practice time due to multiple COVID-related outbreaks is a valid reason for it, but still. I think the Niners are the much better team when healthy, but they’re gonna be missing their best RB Raheem Mostert for this game (and the next few), which does impede their power-run game somewhat. Backup Jerick McKinnon is still very good, he just has a different, less-demoralizing style. Handsome Jimmy will have to make some plays, and I think he can do just enough. The overall talent gap will be too much for NE to overcome, I fear.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Los Angeles Chargers (-7.5)

The Jags have lost five straight games coming into this one, while the Chargers have dropped four in a row. Something’s gotta give! I will say that the Jacksonville losses seem more depressing (3 of them were by double-digits), while even though L.A. is losing, they at least feel exciting. A shiny rookie QB who looks decent will do that, I guess. Still, I’m riding with my man Minshew to cover one last time here. If he fails, well, I think it’ll be time for us to go our separate ways. “Separate Ways” by Journey is also what plays in Gardiner Minshew’s helmet speaker instead of play calls, coincidentally.

SNF: Seattle Seahawks (-3.5) at Arizona Cardinals

Seattle’s already abysmal secondary is going to be down Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams for this one, so Cards QB Kyler Murray should be able to sling it around with relative ease. His best weapon, WR Deandre Hopkins is Questionable with a lingering ankle injury, but he’s been playing through it so far and it hasn’t seemed to slow him much. I think this is the week the magic runs out for the Seahawks, and they take their first L of the season. Russell Wilson can’t bail them out EVERY time. Probably. This game is likely to be the stylistic opposite of the Monday nighter, because...

MNF: Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams (-6)

...all signs point to this being a butt-ugly game. I like good defense, don’t get me wrong, but nobody should purposely watch Nick Foles and Jared Goff play QB against competent defenses. I suppose I can see some entertainment value in getting to see both Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack torment quarterbacks in the same game, but I think I’m gonna pass for the same reason that I don’t really like to watch animals get eaten in nature shows. I get that it’s the way things are meant to happen, but damn. I’m a real wimp, by the way.

Last Week’s Record: 7-7

Season Record: 44-38-4

#Sports!#Football #NFL #Gambling

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backroomblogs · 6 years

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Bruins Comeback, Beat Carolina 6-4 - Jimmer

What a wild game, you can simply never ever count out this Bruins team. After a very lackluster first 50 minutes of play, the Bruins stormed back and scored 5 times in the last 10 minutes, and secured one of the more impressive victories by any NHL team this season.

Returning to the lineup after missing a game, Brad Marchand scored his 30th goal on a beautiful no look pass from David Pastrnak to give the Bruins a lead after the first period. From that point on it was pretty much all Carolina. They netted 3 second period goals, and added a 4th unanswered goal less than a minute into the third.

Things looked very bleak for Boston until Matt Grzelcyk sniped a snap shot (his third goal of the year) over the glove side of Cam Ward at 9:56 of the third period. This got the ball rolling on the comeback effort from the B’s. Just 56 seconds later it was David Pastrnak’s turn. The winger took a feed from Brad Marchand and absolutely roofed it (25th of the season) glove side on Cam Ward from the right side dot. Now with 9 minutes remaining, the Bruins trailed by only one, with all of the momentum.They needed only 21 seconds. David Krejci gloved down the puck and raced down the ice for a 2 on 1, feeding Danton Heinen with a cross ice feed that he buried (13th goal of the season) to knot it up at 4. 3 goals in 1:17.

But the B’s weren’t done yet. After Carolina captain Justin Faulk sent the puck to another planet and took of the delay of game penalty, everyone knew the Bruins were about to strike. Just 36 secondsi nto the power play, David Pastrnak took a perfect feed from Grzelcyk, and rifled a one timer (2nd of the game, 26th of season) top shelf on Ward. 4 goals in just 6:26, incredible. Pastrnak went on to score an empty netter to complete the hat trick and ice the victory for Boston. There’s a ton to unpack with this game so let’s jump in.

The Good

- Obviously that comeback was absolutely incredible. Once Grzelcyk got the B’s going, there was no looking back. It was like they flipped the switch and realized they were in a hockey game that they should have been winning. Grzelcyk looked awesome in the last 1o minutes, as many did, but every time he had the puck I had confidence that he was going to make a play. This is the kind of stuff that great teams do. They never quit no matter the deficit, and all it takes is one turn in momentum for the game to take a complete 180 degree turn. The Bruins were sloppy all night, and yet when it came down to winning time they once again turned it up to 100 and put on a clinic. I love this team.

- Brad Marchand and David Backes both returned to the lineup. Backes didn’t play a massive role in tonight’s game, but having him there for depth and line balance was obviously valuable. Marchand came back after missing one game with an injury, and he looked just fine. Marchy scored a goal and assisted on 2 others, including the game winner. Marchand really has been incredible this season, and watching dominate every night is awesome for B’s fans.

- David Pastrnak have yourself a night. Not only did he provide a highlight real assist on the opening goal with a behind the back no look feed to Marchy, but then he decided to mess around and score a hat trick in less than 10 minutes. He finished it with an empty netter, but those first two goals were some of the best shots I’ve ever seen from Pasta, and that’s saying a lot. He stepped up big time in this one, and it appears as though he has really regained his goal scoring touch these last few games after a bit of a dry spell.

The Bad

- Penalties, penalties, and more penalties. The B’s took 5 penalties in this one, and allowed 2 PP goals to Carolina. This included the first 5 on 3 goal allowed by the B’s all year. It seems like the B’s have been taking a lot of penalties lately, but I wouldn’t look into it that much. Just can’t be taking 5 penalties a night under any circumstance.

- This was a sloppy game for 50 minutes. Sure the B’s pulled it out, as great teams do, but once again it was not a 60 minute effort. Specifically the second period, where the B’s were outscored 3-0. They spent 20 minutes chasing the puck and getting absolutely dominated by a Carolina team that is not nearly as talented as them. They also took a few penalties along the way. It was the single worst period I have seen from this team in a long time. Thankfully they were able to pull off the comeback, but I am still searching for a full hard nosed 60 minute effort from this team soon.

The Ugly

- There was a number of injuries in this one, and frankly it makes the comeback that much more impressive. The B’s were down two top defensemen, as Zdeno Chara (7-16-23) and Torey Krug (13-35-48) both exited with injuries. They were also without second line wing Jake DeBrusk (14-25-39) who has looked great lately, and had a strong season overall. Losing these guys would usually mean a team trailing by a couple goals late would for sure accept defeat, but not this team. With Patrice Bergeron still out for a bit longer with his broken foot, and Charlie McAvoy still out with the sprained MCL, the Bruins can’t afford many more injuries. Per Bruce Cassidy, both Jake DeBrusk and Zdeno Chara will be out Thursday against Florida, as well as Saturday versus Tampa Bay. This news really sucks because the B’s will be without two huge players not only against FL, but against Tampa in massive game as they are battling for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the The Lightning. Torey Krug is a game time decision for the Florida game, and both Paul Postma and Anton Bidh were recalled on an emergency basis to Boston.

Overall, this was an amazing win for the Bruins. However, the injuries that came from it really really suck. Hopefully Krug will be good to go tonight, and Chara and DeBrusk will heal up quick. The Bruins will be on the road tonight in Florida against a Panthers team that has been playing good lately, so we should be in for another solid matchup.

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the-record-columns · 4 years

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Feb. 19, 2020: Columns

It ain’t over till...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

I suppose I would be considered a casual sports fan.

I enjoy watching college basketball on television most of all, but by no means am I a rabid fan of anything or anybody—even our own Carolina Panthers are trying their best to discourage everyone who ever pulled for them.

While I can tell you the names of the mascots of many teams and the towns they hail from, you'll have to ask someone else about the personal statistics for Bronco Nagurski from a game played in 1968. But, believe me, there are those out there who can.

However, many years ago when my children were young, we loved going to sporting events, most of all to basketball games with the old Charlotte Hornets. Now, I am talking all the way back to Kelly Tripucka, Dell Curry , Kurt Rambis, and, of course, Wake Forest's own 5' 3” Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues.

In those days the old Charlotte Coliseum was sold out every night. The Hornets worked the crowd like no other team. At halftime one game, Neil Diamond did a mini concert—completely unannounced. They would give away cars, even a brand new three bedroom house now and again. But most of all it was fun. Hugo the Hornet worked the crowd all night and the special effects and sound guys were state of the art (at least for then) and we loved it.

Once, they even had a formal wedding at halftime. No kidding, a real wedding was paid for by some radio station for the couple who wrote the best “Why We Want Married at a Hornet's Game” letter. It happened that our seats were close to the wedding party and we had a great time with them. Actually, the wedding itself was taken serious to the extent it could be at a basketball game—the place was quiet and you could hear the preacher. It stayed quiet until the preacher said the part that ends with “...speak now or forever hold his piece,” and a drunk screamed, “Don't do it.!!!” It did go downhill from there.

Well, enough of that, back to basketball.

After a few years, most of the expansion team days of older players had come and gone and the team was stronger and winning became the rule instead of the exception. The games were still always sold out, and it became increasingly hard to buy a good seat out in the parking lot, but we would get there early and always managed to get in.

One evening the Hornets were playing the Golden State Warriors led by their star guard Chris Mullen. The warriors were on their game and the Hornets had an off night to say the least. We were down over 20 points at halftime and did worse in the third quarter. Then, I witnessed a phenomenon I had never seen at a Hornets game—everybody just got up and went hone. Yes. They simply gave up and left.

It was disheartening beyond words to watch the aisles literally clogged with folks leaving. As I looked around the arena I thought of the old Dizzy Dean line when the attendance was announced at a baseball game, “Looks like we've got a bunch of fans dressed as empty seats.”

Well, to make the best of a bad situation, I moved my family down to better seats in the lower arena. I admonished my children that, when you are for a team, you are for them all the time, and it is a mortal sin to leave a game early, most especially if your team is losing. Actually, I told them, that is the absolute worst thing you can do—both for the morale of your team and for the fans who stayed the course. The remaining crowd continued to pull harder than ever for the Hornets, and they began a comeback like no other. By the end of the game the Hornets had not only made the game respectable, but beat Golden State in what I think is still the largest comeback in franchise history.

I was so proud.

On the way home we always listened to the Hornets radio network for the post game wrap-up. In between viciously berating the fans who left early, the announcers did the usual interviews. The one that stuck in my head best was when Chris Mullen, always the gentleman, said in his remarks that he had never been at a game where so few fans made so much noise. He went on to say it was so loud in the arena that the Warriors committed three 24 second violations toward the end of the game because they simply couldn't hear one another above the crowd’s noise.

Never, never leave a game early.

First, it's the wrong thing to do to your team, and, if you stay, you just might get to see a helluva memorable ball game after all.

The Blacklist

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

Special to The Record

Some of you may think I’m referring to the American nighttime television crime drama starring James Spader. While there are similarities, I’m referring to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and their recently released “Blacklist.”

The U.N. is calling it a database, but blacklist is a more accurate description. This list contains the names of more than 100 companies engaged in business activities with Jewish communities and Israeli enterprises who are doing business in Judea and Samaria. Those on the list have been deemed by the UNHRC as being complicit in helping “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to include East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan.” This list is nothing more than another arm of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel designed to harm her thriving economy and give her a bruised public image.

When will the Palestinians realize that those who claim to be standing with them in solidarity are only using them as pawns in fulfilling their own anti-Semitic agendas?

The UNHRC, BDS proponents, and other pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel groups have done nothing to elevate the healthcare, education or general standard of living for the Palestinians. They stand with the Palestinians on one issue only - the destruction of Israel. The publication of the blacklist by the UNHRC amounts to nothing more than an attack on Israel’s right to exist.

Ironically, it is only Israel which is helping the Palestinians rise above poverty in their respective territories. Yet, of the 112 companies blacklisted, 95 are Israeli and they are being judged as guilty of fostering economic activity in the disputed territories rather than being charged with damaging or restricting the Palestinian economy.

What the UNHRC wants to keep quiet is a report which shows that, according to Palestinian workers, Palestinian lawyers, and the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, Palestinians enjoy better working conditions and prefer working for Israeli employers - including in Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line – rather than working for Palestinian employers. Wages are four times higher with Israeli employers and Palestinian workers receive health benefits, sick leave, and vacation time to the same degree as Israeli workers.

By trying to harm Israeli companies that have “activities” in the West Bank, the UN is also harming the many Palestinians who work in these businesses, and who enjoy the better conditions. If the UN’s new BDS-flavored efforts lead to a larger boycott of these businesses, eventually they may have to let go of employees, among them Palestinians. Furthermore, it is likely that there will be pressure from the PA on Palestinians who work for the blacklisted businesses to leave their jobs. Even the Palestinian leaders are not standing with the Palestinian people much less the UNHRC.

The UNHRC’s blacklist, intended to harm Israel, is actually harming the Palestinians.

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Marvel’s Best Captain America Replacement Option Is Shang-Chi

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's best Captain America replacement after Avengers: Endgame is Shang-Chi, who will first appear in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. After Steve Rogers' sendoff, people have been wondering who will take his place in the MCU. While Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson is taking up the shield in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, that doesn't necessarily mean that he will fill the same role that Steve Rogers had. Falcon may continue Captain America's legacy, but the best character to replace Steve Rogers in spirit is Shang-Chi.

It was no secret that Chris Evans' time as Captain America would come to an end after Avengers: Endgame, which was the last movie on Evans' contract. While many speculated that the events of the film and the battle with Thanos would culminate in the death of the Sentinel of Liberty, Marvel Studios had different plans for Captain America. Captain America's story ended with him returning the Infinity Stones and going back in time to spend the rest of his days with the love of his life, Peggy Carter. At the end of the movie, the shield was passed to Falcon.

Related: Marvel Was Developing A Shang-Chi Movie Before They Had Iron Man Rights

The MCU will now move on to Phase 4, without two of its most important characters, Captain America and Iron Man. Franchises introduced in Phase 3, such as Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel are the future of the MCU, with new properties being adapted for Phase 4 as well. Among them is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which was officially confirmed at SDCC 2019. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as the titular hero as he takes on the classic Iron Man villain, The Mandarin. Here's how Shang-Chi, Marvel's first Asian superhero, can replace Captain America in the MCU.

What Captain America Meant To The MCU

In the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Batroc the Leaper said to Steve Rogers, "I thought you were more than a shield." This idea is a central part of Captain America's character, both in the comics and in the movies. The shield is a patriotic symbol of what Captain America stands for, but it doesn't define him. Sam Wilson may be the new Captain America, but that doesn't mean he's the new Steve Rogers.

From Captain America: The First Avenger to Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers has been the moral compass of the MCU. His version of Captain America represents the best parts of human nature. Much like his comic book counterpart, Chris Evans' Captain America always tries to do the right thing, no matter what. His sense of righteousness is why he's worthy of lifting Mjolnir. It's worth noting that while Captain America does evolve to a certain degree over the course of seven films, he doesn't come as far as other main characters. That's because Cap never needed to grow as a character. Instead, he changes the people around him. Captain America is a man out of time who holds on to values that the modern world may no longer share - if it ever did. As seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Cap tries not to let the world affect who he is as a person.

Who Is Shang-Chi In Marvel Comics?

In the comic books, Shang-Chi is a Chinese martial arts expert and the son of an immortal criminal mastermind named Fu Manchu. Shang-Chi's name means "the rising and advancing of the spirit". Fu Manchu raised Shang-Chi to be a force of violence that he could use to further his goals. Shang-Chi lived a sheltered life under his father's tutelage and received little exposure to the outside world, and even less to Western culture. After murdering an innocent old man on Fu Manchu's orders, Shang-Chi discovered his father's evil nature. Shang-Chi rebelled against Fu Manchu and reluctantly teamed up with agents of MI-6 to thwart his schemes.

As the years passed, Shang-Chi continued fighting against his father's criminal empire while getting to know the people of MI-6 and exploring the various facets of Western culture. Shang-Chi, who never liked working for MI-6, eventually found another use for his skills as a martial artist. Shang-Chi left the world of espionage to join a private detective agency, a place where he believed he could help people in the best way possible. Since then, Shang-Chi's adventures have led to run-ins with some of Marvel's biggest characters, including Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, and more.

Related: Marvel Doesn’t Own The Movie Rights To Shang-Chi’s Biggest Villain

How Shang-Chi Can Replace Captain America In The MCU

As the Master of Kung Fu, Shang-Chi is easily one of Marvel's most formidable hand-to-combat experts, a list that also includes Captain America himself. While Captain America is a super soldier, his abilities aren't necessarily superhuman, which forces him to win battles with skill rather than brute strength. This is a trait shared by Shang-Chi, who relies on his mastery of kung fu to save the day.

The similarities between Captain America and Shang-Chi go so much deeper than their physical abilities, and this is something that viewers may see first-hand in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The comic book version of Shang-Chi deals with many of the same problems that Captain America goes through in the MCU. Shang-Chi isn't "a man out of time" like Steve Rogers, but his extremely sheltered life gives Shang-Chi an experience not unlike the one Steve had when he awoke from suspended animation in The First Avenger. It took Shang-Chi a great deal of time to adjust to the Western world and its values, which made his own seem outdated. In one of Shang-Chi's earliest appearances, he was living on a park bench eating plants, because his moral code wouldn't allow him to purchase food.

Shang-Chi's time with MI-6 is reminiscent of Captain America's rocky relationship with SHIELD and the government. Captain America didn't approve of SHIELD's methods and never felt comfortable taking orders from them. Captain America's feelings toward SHIELD reflect Shang-Chi's attitude toward MI-6. Shang-Chi always referred to working in espionage as "games of death and deceit". Like Cap, Shang-Chi struggled daily with the demands of the job and remained determined not to let it change him. In short, Shang-Chi is a deeply philosophical character with a strong, unshakable moral foundation. If the values and convictions of the comic book character are adapted to the big screen, the MCU will have found its new Steve Rogers.

More: Who Is Shang-Chi? Marvel's New Asian Superhero Explained

source https://screenrant.com/captain-america-mcu-replacement-shang-chi/

#screenrant

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junker-town · 3 years

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6 winners and 3 losers from Week 14 in the NFL

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

History was close to being made from the most unlikely source.

Blessed.@Haason7Reddick x #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/VP0NdQMDue

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 13, 2020

Three of the biggest winners this week all came from unexpected places, and that’s beautiful.

Loser: DeShaun Watson.

There was functionally nothing really wrong with Watson’s game on Sunday, but we’ve got to start a petition, a GoFundMe, a Patreon ... something, just to get him out of Houston.

#SaveDeShaunWatson

Winner: Derrick Henry.

Loser: New York Giants.

Winner: Jalen-freaking-Hurts.

If nothing else it makes Philadelphia watchable and fun, and that’s all fans could really ask for at this point in the season.

Loser: Dan Bailey.

It takes a special level of futility for me to mention a kicker at all, but for a guy with one job I have to say, YOU HAVE ONE JOB!

Winner: The Bills trading for Stefon Diggs.

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pendragonfics · 7 years

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If I Scare You, Will You Run?

Paring: Victor Creed/Reader

Tags: Fluff, Angst, Rough childhood, Mutant Reader, Gender Neutral Reader, Neutral Pronouns (Mx + They/Them)

Summary: The reader has finally found a place they fit in at the school for gifted youngsters. When Victor is taken in, reforming for his history, they are drawn together; and maybe that's for the best.

Word Count: 1,354

Posting Date: 2016-05-19

Current Date: 2017-05-08

When most mutants are initiated into the X Mansion, they come in through admission to the school, or at most, as a rescue mission from the team. You, however, were a surprising case which astounded the team.

It had began with your parent's abhorrence to your mutation - you could speak to animals, and often calmed them. Which led to them being friendly, and even play with you.

This was good when it was at a dog park, or visiting the cat lady who lived next door.

But there had been the case at the zoo; where one white spotted leopard was agitated from a chattering of school children nattering it to display dominance. They had been banging the glass, throwing in rubbish.

Long story short, you managed to speak to it, and it retreated into its den for a nap, much to the children's, zoo keeper's and your parent's horror.

It was unnatural, they said.

It was frightening, they said.

It was also how you were abducted by a radical mutant group, shipped over many boarders, ran away from their cult, mugged, were homeless for three years, taken in by the wolves, and found yourself having walked thousands of miles, following pure instinct to knock on the door of the school.

Begging for asylum.

So, naturally, you began once over. And thusly, to everyone: labeled: the strange one.

Your friends were few and far between, and grew stronger over time. The girl who could walk through walls, Kitty Pryde (who was so nice to you, you nearly couldn't understand her kindness), and the gritty veteran, Logan Howlett, the Wolverine; your mutant abilities really tapped into his rage, to help him find a way out from rampage.

That was it. Your friends were a cheerful prep and a grumpy teacher. But since arriving at the school, your life had improved vastly; you were finally fitting in (to a degree), had a roof over your head, and it all seemed perfect.

It was then the brother of Wolverine appeared.

Professor Xavier said he was here for a rescue; his alliance with the chaotic neutral Magneto hadn't worked as well as he had hoped, and now, was lying in a cell under the school.

Well, that's what you heard from a rumor Piotr was telling Warren. Others had caught wind of the story, and now you weren't sure what was true; was Sabertooth really naked / wearing nothing but a tea towel / a stolen boutique pink 80's power suit under the school? Most likely not.

But it were these untruths and tall tales which led you skipping American History (it's not like Logan cared anyone were missing. Less papers for him to grade) and sneaking down.

What if he's really what they all say? That voice in your head intruded. A monster past saving. Didn't you hear he was more animal than human? Covered in hair and teeth longer than your fingers?

"Welcome Mx _______ _________," the computerised voice echoed as the elevator deposited you down below.

"This is it," you whisper. You wonder if you could speak to Sabertooth like you could to his brother. "Holy cannoli," you breathe.

There before you, is a clear cell. That's it - it's thick plexiglass on his side, and real, and thick glass on yours. In all, it must be nearly eight inches thick. The person inside is distorted from the protective glass, but you can still see a muscle-bulky man with sideburns of fury, a torn leather jacket and jeans, and long fingernails that mimic a beast.

No teeth. No wild hair that resembled a museum, animal Sabertooth.

"What's a little person like you doing in a place like this?" His voice is a grating lull, like a panther to its prey.

"I live here," you tell him.

You're going to be brave, you decide.

"Down here? What, you a freak like us?" You weren't sure if there was curiosity in his voice. "Don't look it."

You're in front of the most terrifying thing you've ever heard of, and you had lived with the threat of bears while being a homeless surrogate wolf, you remind yourself. If you could face a brown bear and calm its rage, you're sure you can help a man in desperate need for a pedicure won't be too hard.

"I heard that you're the brother of Wolverine," you tell him. "Logan. He doesn't much like speaking about you," you tell him. "So, what about you? You must be so tired of me, speaking -,"

He laughs. "Yes."

You beam. "Well, I don't want to not speak. It comes naturally to just let it all out."

"Words or other things?" Sabertooth huffs. You're not sure if it's a curt laugh he had just made, or not.

You can't help but chuckle. "I think we are going to get along really well."

You were right. After then, it sort of fast-forwarded; months were like minutes as they flew by. As soon as Sabertooth - just call me Victor, it's less a mouthful! - was released into the school, he was on watch from the Professor, and Ororo and Logan of course, but also you. You'd graduated now, and after a fitful bout of begging Charles, you'd become a sort of guidance councillor.

You let Pietro Maximoff walk out, glad he'd opened finally about his home life. He was a tough cookie to crack, but now you had an idea of how to help him. You were sliding his manilla folder away just as there was another knock at the door.

"You busy?"

You turn sharply, and not even before your heart stopped racing, you beam. "Vic! Come in. I've got a spare hour for you. What can I do you for?"

The hunkering ex-bad guy slid into the little purple chairs for the people you suss out the psyche of, and sighed.

"Why are you so nice to me?" His lips barely moved, his voice only a whisper.

Your heart wrenched at his words, eyes threatening tears. Those words; they hit home. Why are you nice to him? Your subconscious asked. Because I know a little about being not wanted. Abandoning your allocated post behind the desk, you rushed around and buried your head against Vic's neck, arms around his shoulders.

"Why? I'm just some guy who's killed more openly and more people than my age. And I'm pretty old. I've got nothing good to my name and you're -,"

You couldn't hear him talk like this any more. Slowly, you felt your mutation kick in; releasing a calm pheromone.

"Vic, don't talk like that," your lip wobbles. "You're not worth nothing. You're one of the funniest guys I know! And I've been around plenty of guys."

He huffed, tightening his grip with your embrace. "You're just sayin' that."

"No," you breathe. "No, I'm not just saying. I know what it's like to feel like an outsider. Every damn student here feels that, because of something they're born with. That the humans can't cope with."

It was then you felt another wave of your mutation flow out, and Vic's heartbeat calm down to a steady beat.

"We aren't judged on past actions, you know." You tell him. "Just what we choose to do in moments moving forward."

Maybe it was the proximity you had to the emotional man, or the fact you had known him for a year now, and that four days prior had been your two anniversary of finding the school, but you felt something move you. Something that nearly possessed you to edge away from his neck, and guide your lips to his.

"What did the coyote tell the moon?" You whispered.

"If I scare you, will you run?"

You withdrew, searching his eyes with your own. He seemed so scared, so sad, so broken. You know you can't fix a broken man. Nobody can but the casualty. Everyone else just helps.

"Maybe," you reply. "But the moon will always be there for the coyote. Always in his orbit. Waiting." You brush your lips against Vic's, and add quietly, "and there's nothing he can do will change that."

#victor creed #sabretooth #x-men fanfic #victor creed x reader #victor creed x oc #victor creed/reader #mutant reader #pendragonfics #chaotic--lovely #gender neutral reader

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andrewuttaro · 5 years

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New Look Sabres: GM 59 - FLA - Fourida Part One

I was honestly shook quite a bit when Kirpa was eliminated that way last night. I really thought she was going to make it to hometowns. Then again Cassie is probably getting eliminated next week if we’re all being honest. Oh yeah, this is the Sabres blog. I’m a married man now and this is the first full season of the Bachelor or Bachelorette I’ve watched. I’ve enjoyed it more than the Sabres as of late and I think you know why. I also trust your intelligence enough to understand that if you’re not enjoying an entertainment product enough to justify consuming it than you should step back. At the end of day that’s what our watching hockey is. You could probably read my frustration after the Devils game and that is not a good place to write this blog from. I took a step back. I am going to miss this in the summer. There is going to be a space of late August where I’m dying for this team’s name. This team hasn’t been in the playoffs for going on eight years and nonetheless I take in every little bit of Buffalo Hockey. I just love it and that’s how this blog started. That’s the new attitude. Therefore, I now give you, very enthusiastically, Playoff Trash Talk: Florida, you haven’t had your traditional second half run to get to the playoffs. Is everything ok? The Sabres are in no position to lecture y’all in how to make the playoffs but perhaps Buffalo can teach you all a lesson in playing once you’re there. Oh, you’re tired of the no-one-comes-to-our-games joke? Do something about it! The national hockey media drops Buffalo like a sack of potatoes whenever we’re not competitive so you don’t get to plead for relevance if you can’t be relevant in your own friggin market! You and us are the two teams in this division that always look like fringe playoff teams but never seem to get there. If and when we do meet in the playoffs you can bet the Sabres got more to give than your merry band of tanned Canadians. Sabres in 6! Now let’s get down to tonight’s matchup: the prior three matchups this season were a story of frustration and jubilation on both sides. We thought there was a Skinner-Yandle spat developing last game and here we are now in… different spots regarding the playoffs. It doesn’t look great for us right now but your done and if we’re going to make it, we got to play with confidence. I’m going to be the change I want to see in the world and call you Fourida Part 1! We’re getting two points against y’all and two points against your vastly superior neighbors to the north! 2+2= FOURIDA! I stole that play on words from every other hockey blogger, but I don’t care! LET’S GO!

I was absorbed by the drama between Kirpa and Cassie during the first, but I watched pieces and monitored twitter. It was either hot garbage or a scary good period from the Sabres according to twitter and what actually transpired on the ice was truly a mixed bag. On the ice in the first you see those confounding turnovers in all three zones, you see the bad defensive plays, and you see the hanging Ullmark out to dry. However, the chances the visitors did get were quality chances in the first. No score through 20 minutes. For all you folks decrying the O’Reilly trade guess which team won most the faceoffs in the start of this one? Yep, BUFFALO! That’s good because the Panthers outshot the Sabres. Something might have been said in the locker room during the first intermission because the visitors came out with some fire afterward. The second period saw the shot gap close quite a bit. It was hardly five minutes in when Jack Eichel got the puck into the offensive zone with Mittelstadt trailing not far. The initial shot was haphazardly and whatever. Every scoring play in this game kind of looked like a slow-motion train derailment but the Sabres had the man advantage and would use it for once. Sam Reinhart got the puck and shot it toward his Captain who got credit for a deflection goal that may or may not have gone off his stick. Nonetheless, the Sabres got the 1-0 lead and took it to the second intermission. The way the final frame goes though just about sums up this season.

Before you know it the Sabres are down 2-1. The first Panthers goal was by future Sabre Jonathan Huberdeau and the second goal was an absolute snipe by a guy named Jayce whose last name I will not even make an attempt at. He looked pumped too because he just about squeezed the life out of Vincent Trocheck for the assist. Okay, it’s one goal, let’s catch our breaths, guys. It isn’t over-. Shoot. Aleksander Barkov punched another one home in a goal I will absolutely blame Ullmark for. It snuck in on the post Linus had covered so I don’t know what went wrong. Down 3-1 and our boys stabilized it for a little while. They were crashing the net so hard poor James Reimer lost his helmet to Jake McCabe’s crotch at one point. Jack Eichel even scored a goal! Well, it got challenged and called back because we’re not allowed fun things in Western New York Sports anymore. The Sabres kept pushing until Jonathan Huberdeau scored again with less then four minutes left. Could they take him back to Buffalo? He cut through the D like warm butter. Terry Pegula was at the game after all! Vladimir Sabotka scored a goal in the dying minutes of this one for comedic relief, but it ended in a loss nonetheless 4-2 Florida. The goalie failed, the defense failed, and the forwards failed. This was another team loss and at this point it really feels like I tied an anchor to this team after enjoying that Islanders win so much. I want to apologize for my crassness and excitement after that win. I forgot how this goes. That said, I’m still not turning away any tickets you buy for me.

I’m not going to bother with three things right now: 1, I am sticking to Fourida and you can fight me if you hate optimism. I’m drinking the Kool-aid, fight me! 2, the out-of-town scoreboard isn’t my concern anymore. These guys need four or five wins in a row now before we can look at that with any degree of seriousness. 3, I know dropping from an 82% chance at a playoff spot in November to this is an historic, shitty record. I am not piling on sadness because, what did we say at the start: this is an entertainment product, not a misery machine. Take a deep breath. Watch the Bachelor! That’s a train-wreck we can all enjoy, eh? Like, share and share this blog around; and while you’re at it pray or send your good feels Kyle Okposo’s way. He’s got a concussion again and his injury history paints a very scary picture about that. Cheer for him if you can’t bear to do it with this utter collapse. Breathe in with me again, and out, and wind up for it: Let’s Go Sabres!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Carl Hagelin would be a fun, speedy addition to a bottom six that is anemic at times. Obviously, you want the right price for him. Alex Wenneburg is a bigger gamble, but I would take any shake up at this point if it doesn’t cost too much.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #nhl

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