#....no actually december is the worst but this is the worst as far as workload goes

[killerchickadee]

I'm angry at work so I'm on tumblr instead of doing the million things I really need to be doing. IT'S NOT LIKE ANYONE WILL KNOW SINCE AS USUAL I'M THE ONLY FUCKING PERSON HERE.

[omorimodreverie]

Reverie Dev Log - November and December

Side Note: This one is quite long, if you only want an important part, there is a TL;DR summary at the bottom.

New Year Note

Happy New Year! We have now reached 2024! Reverie has begun as a little project since April 2021, before it even has its name. The more modern variant began after the demo release in August 2021, with CH1 releasing in May 2022, so it’s been a long way.

Though to admit, considering CH2.5 update came in December 2022, this means CH3 has a gap of a year now (though there are some updates and patches on 2.5 for a few months. This makes it seem like progress has been in stagnation, especially with delayed dev log recently.

This one will be shorter in technical and progress details, and more about the general gist of development plans in general, the surrounding environmental change in modding and OMORI as a whole (as that bears a great effect currently), and finally explains the slow down a bit (though a TL;DR: basically the past few months is holidays).

Also, Development post will now rather be every 2 months as well.

(And also the time is better spent on actually development than just writing, lol)

Overview

November and December for its period of time wasn’t as much done compared to previous months, though it wasn’t as bad as the worst case scenario when factoring in multiple holidays coming in that could have easily killed the motivation entirely. So all things considered, it’s relatively steady going despite the circumstances

For a quick rundown:

More NPCs implemented in maps

Writing is a bit more organized and more steady in terms of work now (And also an additional writer member!)

Portraits started to be done for most main characters

Connected up some progression from separate disjointed cutscenes

Some new plans that reduces workload*

Some enemy sprites are done as well on the side**

A few changes and re-polish on some music tracks

*for example, sunset are done on same map with filter than whole new set of maps

**Which are low priority, more of optional content in CH3 context

Updates, Changes and Needs

There are multiple factors that affect development, here it will be listed from short term factor to long term factor and potential future.

Holiday and Breaks

Let’s start with easy stuff, the short term factor. The past few months contain multiple holidays and also school breaks for some people. There isn’t much to say here, people on holidays get busy therefore less people are doing mod work, especially Christmas and New Year holiday.

(I mean, reverie is a fan mod project, not a job, lol)

Though there is still at least some minimum baseline of trying to keep interest up with some check in, so the interest doesn’t die off entirely, as mentioned in previous Dev Log before large holidays tend to be in big risk for that.

CH3 and Real World Content

One major thing to think about is the length of the real world section and the amount of content it has. The real world content has a large upfront cost due to making an entire new asset for the majority of aspects, so any new things added more will take far longer time than usual other chapters in the dream world.

There are two major aspects to consider, the mandatory story aspect, and the optional side content aspect. 

Mandatory / Story Content

As of current the main story aspect of CH3 is quite short, unlike Dreamworld areas, the Real world main content mostly revolves around cutscenes and dialogues, if you speed through the dialogue and cutscenes, it could very well take only half an hour or less to go through (though that’s unlikely the way it’s played on first playthrough at least, ignoring reading time).

One conflict is that, Reverie as a mod is far more focused on Dreamworld sections and battle heavy, making real world sections a bit awkward to make, taking quite a large amount of development time compared to other dream world chapters. The question then is how much real world content should be made, factoring in development time?

Side / Optional Content

As for side content, like in base game it’s mostly NPCs giving fetch quests (which are simpler to make), or potentially jobs (which is a bit more complex).

One unique aspect of Reverie over the base game though, is some amount of gameplay battles to at least give something to do (think of Jackson poster in Hobbeez in base game, but more fleshed out).

The important question is, how much side content should there be in the real world section of reverie? While it is cool to have some side content in real world and is a common complaint on base game itself that the real world feels lackluster, making more things in real world also takes up a large amount of development time which is not ideal. It’s a balancing act between not too lackluster but also not too much content which would take too much time.

RPGMV Needs and Modding Community

And finally, the general community aspect. The OMORI fandom has aged quite a while now, and as time passes the amount of people interested is reduced as well. This project is ultimately a fan project so the amount of interest on the mod isn’t really a problem, but what does this mean is there are less people interested in OMORI and also modding in general,.

A fair amount of people who tend to do RPGMaker MV (RPGMV) works tend to now be out no longer modding, or new members who do would tend to be making own project anyways. This means there has been less people who are available with RPGMV side, which means aspects like cutscenes should be cut down smaller to avoid development hell.

What this means for development is the gears shift from previous usual development focused on efficiency (getting task as parallel as possible), to a slower but sustainable development, focusing more on sustaining interest, which is better than losing interest totally.

TL;DR

Basically, the key important points are:

Short term aspect of Holidays and New Year makes November and December slow period in general.

Real World content (and CH3 by extension) is more time consuming and harder to make than other chapters

Therefore, amount of Real World content needs to be discussed, both mandatory and optional content

There has been less people in Omori community in general meaning there is less people to go by, especially RPGMV sector

Therefore, development has switched to a more slow burn state, taking things slow but sustaining interest to avoid burn out or lost motivation

And for development posts, now will be posting every 2 months than every months instead to reduce writing.

And about Applications...

Applications are always open! RPGMV / Programmers are always appreciated!

Final Stuff

Well now that you read this far, here's some portrait of Daphne and Bowen! (and also probably the only few sprite that is showable related to CH3 now)

There isn't much detail, but when resized down it is enough as a sprite

[punkpoemprose]

December 1st- Lights Out

Universe: 1970′s AU (The Great NYC Blackout of ‘77)

Rating: M (Mature, Sexy times)

Length: 3077 Words

A/N: So here we are again. Advent fics, and also decades AUs! I wrote from 1900 to 1950 for last year’s advent and I did 1960 in the spring, so here we are picking up where I left off! If you can guess what company Anna works for in this fic I will give you a cookie and a sticker. 

Lets see if I can finish at least the decades this time around, shall we?

Anna sighed as soon as she walked through the front door of the apartment, letting her hair fall out of the low bun she’s had it up in all day. She knew that it was probably silly to keep it up. After all she hated it being that way, but she wanted to make a good impression at work. The better she did, the quicker she could get a good reference, and the sooner she could get out of the city.

She was a bit amused though, despite the hairpin headache it had given her all day, that a coworker had compared the look to something out of the sci-fi flick that had come out some months back. She hadn’t seen it yet, but she imagined that being compared to the princess in the film was probably a good thing, she did know that it was exceedingly rare that a princess was evil or ugly. Her experience with children’s content was, of course, what she’d in part been hired for in the first place.

She shook out her hair and heard some of the little metal bobby pins fall to the floor, they clattered and skidded, undoubtedly falling into cracks and corners she didn’t have the time, energy, or light to locate. She knew that she’d find them again someday, but she hoped that it would soon be because she was busy moving furniture into a truck and her belongings into boxes. New York was interesting, to say the least, but she’d decided that she was much more of a small-town gal than a city chick.

She gathered up the rest of the pins in her hand as she raked her hair through the long and snarled mess. Those pins that hadn’t jumped ship with the initial shake had found themselves tangled in the waves of descending hair and were sometimes angrily biting at strands and taking pieces with them as she removed them. She could already feel her headache easing as her scalp tingled and readjusted to the natural weight distribution of her hair.

The worst part of her job was not the headaches, the hairstyles, or even the momentary concerns that maybe the princess she looked like was the rare evil and cruel type. No, it was much more mundane and far more upsetting, the factor being, of course, the hours. She had been working since noon and it was one of the rare days that she was able to get home before nine at night. Of course, she had expected this when she joined on the CTW’s education research and grant writing division. Kid’s television didn’t exactly make itself, much less make itself educational, but she was looking forward to going elsewhere and working for a less high-profile program and company. A nine to five, she thought, would suit her just fine, especially if it meant that she’d spend more time actually working with kids.

She kicked her shoes off and let herself breathe for a moment before turning around to lock the apartment door behind her. Kristoff has been asking her to be more careful lately with the door, and on the subway, and doing just about anything. They weren’t in a particularly dangerous area of the city and the office she worked out of was only two subway stops from their apartment, but she understood the worry. She was young and pretty in his eyes at least and there was talk in the news about some psycho attacking women. She couldn’t let herself give into the fear of it though, she was done being afraid. She had spent too much of her life being scared and lonely to let it ever happen again.

The bathroom door opened on the opposite side of the room and Anna grinned at the familiar creak of the hinges. She turned and saw Kristoff, fresh from the shower with steam rolling out from behind him, looking as happy to see her as he felt seeing him.

“There’s takeout in the fridge,” he said, looking a bit sheepish, “I was going to cook but I didn’t know when you were getting home tonight and I forgot to pick up the egg noodles on my way back from the shop.”

She wondered how he’d react if she told him that he was the only thing she was hungry for. She’d forgotten to call him to let him know that she’d had a sub at the office while finishing up on some research for an upcoming episode about astronomy, and while she appreciated his efforts at takeout, she didn’t need to eat. She was much more interested in the feast for the eyes before her. She was starving for his attention, to let her hands wander down his chest and to the towel slung low over his hips the way her eyes were traversing the same path.

They were both working crazy hours, saving up as much as they could for their dream of moving to the suburbs or to upstate or wherever they could both find jobs in their fields with a nice little starter house that they could set up a life in. Consequently, they’d both been too exhausted lately to spend their time together doing anything other than eating, sleeping, and maybe listening to the radio before falling asleep. The monotony of it was more exhausting than the workload, particularly when she spent a fair amount of her day wishing for the opportunity she now found before her.

She saw him grin when her eyes wandered back up to his. She knew that he couldn’t have planned to be just getting out of the shower when she got home given he hadn’t known when she would get home, so she called it kismet instead. She shrugged off her blazer, barely turning as she hung it up on the coatrack and returned the smile, throwing in an eyebrow raise for good measure.

It made him laugh, and that let her know that she had looked exactly as mock-lascivious as she’d meant to. She’d learned that when it came to Kristoff, she never really needed to try to flirt, he just gave her the love she needed on demand. Any flirting between them was, at this point in their relationship, mostly for the laughs.

As she stepped forward to meet him she watched as the room went from softly lit to pitch black in an instant. It caused her to jump about a foot, rush forward, trip, and encounter Kristoff who had been, in return, crossing the room to get to her. The impact wasn’t gentle, he was normally her favorite pillow, his largeness being mostly a virtue given the fact that despite his muscle he was overwhelmingly soft, but she had never run straight into his chest before. It was a bit like what she felt running into a padded wall would feel like.

“Oof.”

His grunt of discomfort was a strange comfort when compared to the more concerned sounds, shouts, and confused cries that came from the surrounding apartments and the street below. That, Anna realized, meant that they were certainly not the only ones who were out of power.

“Sorry!”

She offered the apology meekly as his arms wrapped around her. He gave her a little protective squeeze and she rested her weight against him a bit more fully, still recovering from the impact of their bodies that had her a bit shaky on her feet. Normally she enjoyed the sensation of him thoroughly wrecking her, but crashing into him unexpectedly was significantly less enjoyable.

Power outages weren’t exactly uncommon in the summer as everyone ran their fans and air conditioners, but it normally wasn’t something that lasted exceedingly long. This already felt different though, particularly as Anna heard the hollers and shouts coming from through the window from the rest of the block. Whatever had caused their power to go out was not localized to their apartment or building it seemed.

She let her eyes drift over to the window as they adjusted to the darkness they’d been plunged into. She could see past the no longer running fan that there were no lights to be seen in the park across the street from it, nor were there any beyond it.

“I think it’s the whole block,” she said quietly, “maybe even more. There’s no lights in the park and I can’t see any light past that either.”

They were both quiet for a moment as she felt him turning to look as well, turning them together to the side so that they could both look through their dark window, into the dark city beyond.

“Crap,” he groaned, “Might be the whole borough.”

Anna shook her head. That would be insane. They were in Manhattan, it was massive, and for the sheer amount of different areas it contained there was really no logical way for her to wrap her head around the power being out across it.

“If Manhattan is out, the whole city might as well be. I don’t know what it would take for it all to go out.”

Kristoff sighed and Anna’s eyes finally adjusted well enough for her to see his grumpy expression, or at least the shadowy set of his displeased jaw. They sat like that for a while, eyes adjusting to the dark, waiting for the power to click back on and for them to be proven wrong about any more than just their block being out. It didn’t return after minutes passed like hours, and they were forced to move from their standstill.

“Well… guess it’s a good thing that Elsa bought us candles for an apartment warming gift. Do we even have a lighter?”

Anna sighed, “Honestly I don’t know? I think I have a box of matches in the drawer next to the stove because we needed them when the igniter wasn’t working. One of us needs to take up smoking if this is going to become a more frequent event.”

That, she was pleased to report, made him laugh again. She stepped out from his arms to bump into furniture in her search for the drawer containing the matches. She never truly realized how many obstacles their apartment contained until she crashed her hip into the table edge, bumped into a basket of laundry she’d only half folded, and stumbled across a chair leg.

“That seems like an extreme option. We could just buy a lighter and not smoke. I know you don’t like the smell. You always complain about it when we go out to eat and someone lights up at a table near us.”

Anna hip checked the counter by accident but managed to find the drawer handle with one hand as she rubbed the now sore skin through her pant leg with the other. Somewhere on the other side of the apartment she heard Kristoff open the closet door and make a valiant attempt to dig through out-of-season coats, miscellaneous pieces of décor, tools, and sundry to find candles that, like everything else in their apartment, he couldn’t see.

For her part she was rummaging through the junk drawer, fingers making contact with buttons, patches, glue bottles, tape dispensers, and all manner of unnecessary-until-they’re-necessary items. She always told herself when she went into the drawer for something that she needed to clean it out, but it was one of those tasks that never made itself a priority.

“I don’t like it, but I’d probably have a lighter in my pocket if I did.”

She could practically feel his eyes rolling when her fingertips brushed against the rough, sandpaper-like striker of the matchbox. Her hand wrapped around the little box, and she was grateful to feel something rattle around inside. It would have been just like her to have thrown an empty box back into the drawer, and she couldn’t help but appreciate past Anna for leaving her at least a few matches.

“Found them,” Kristoff called just as Anna was about to do the same. It was a small mercy, she thought, that they’d managed to be prepared despite not intentionally preparing for anything. She held the match box up in the dark and shook it hard, the rattling heard across the apartment even with their neighbors still grumbling and shouting.

“Great,” he replied, hearing the sound or seeing the movement confirming the existence of the matches. “Though you should know… Anna I think I lost my towel somewhere near the closet.”

***

The lights hadn’t come on. They’d spent hours in the living room, reading, lazing, complaining about the heat as they read and lazed and sweated in their underclothes. The possibility of going out and seeing what everyone else was doing was offered and quashed by them both on a few occasions, ultimately with them both deciding that they wouldn’t be leaving the apartment that night, nor would they be doing so in the morning, even if the power was back on.

“I deserve a day off,” Anna moaned as Kristoff’s hips rolled into hers.

They’d went to bed innocently enough, planning to sleep in and catch up on rest. The plan had lasted all of a few moments until Anna took advantage of Kristoff spooning her to press her rear suggestively into his crotch. She thought that they deserved some sort of prize for making it into bed in the first place. She’d wanted him since she walked into the apartment, and though he’d managed to put on underwear out of the half-folded laundry basket after losing his towel, Anna had been more than willing to spend the rest of their evening on the couch in candle light.

Their current arrangement was better on their backs, and less likely to start a fire.

“You do baby,” he agreed, his voice deep as they engaged in the only agreeable activity a young couple could possibly agree on when it was late, the power was out, and there was nothing to be done about the heat.

His hands were on her waist as she moved above him, his fingers pressing into her skin as he helped her find a rhythm. She loved the way it felt to have him below her, to give him the pleasure he deserved while taking it for herself.

“You deserve a day off,” she added, “We can spend the whole day in bed.”

           He groaned and she felt his fingers squeeze a little tighter at the idea of spending a whole day alternating between making love and napping. Though, she supposed that he might also be reacting to the fact that she was speeding up her pace, riding him hard and fast, trying to make up for weeks of unwanted celibacy in one night.

           She was full of him, each time she rolled her hips and sank down on him brought her closer and closer to the edge. She’d spent hours daydreaming of it, feeling the stretch of him filling her, watching the euphoric daze come over his features as he let her give herself to him again and again until they were tired and sated. To see it now in the dim flickering candle light brought an intimacy that she hadn’t imagined before, the light dancing over his kiss swollen lips as he groaned and panted along with her.

           “Anna, if you keep doing that I’m going to…”

           She rocked her hips and his rolled in return, seeking just the right angle together and finding it as the friction of their joining brought her to her climax before he could achieve the same. She kept her pace, riding out the euphoric sensation as he panted out her name. She let him take up the lead then, letting him set the pace as she moved along with the urging of his hands on her waist.

           “Kris,” she encouraged, “Gosh baby you make me feel so good. Please come for me.”

           She settled her hands on his shoulders, using him for support as they sped up and worked together to find his end.

           He came for her, his grip tightening and his eyes fluttering closed as she watched his face. That was her favorite part of being on top, the view it afforded her of his features softening as she felt him go pliant below her.

           They stayed like that for a moment, his hands on her hips and her just holding his shoulders for support, watching him. When he caught his breath and her thighs began to shake from the effort, he pulled her to his side and kissed her lips softly, almost chastely.

           “I hope the power stays out,” Anna teased as she got comfortable on the bed at his side, “I know we agreed not to go to work tomorrow, but I think I could live without electricity if it meant more of this.”

           Kristoff chuckled against her ear as he pulled her back into him. It was too hot for it, too hot for what they’d just done, but a slight breeze through the window cooled the sweat on their bare skin and made it bearable. She felt him kiss her throat and she hummed appreciatively at the contact, her arm settling over his where it crossed her stomach.

           “Or we could just move sooner than planned. Imagine all the free time we’ll have together when we’re on the same schedule. I’ve been looking at jobs North of Albany and I think with our savings we can live on one income for a little while if you want to move up the timeline.”

           Anna smiled at the idea.

           “Want to hear something crazy?”

           He didn’t speak but instead she felt him nodding behind her.

           “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve been looking at open positions upstate too and Fisher Price is looking for someone with an education background to join their research and design team. I was thinking about calling about the position and setting up an interview, but it just seemed like it was a little fast.”

           “Anna that’s not crazy… baby that’s wonderful.”

           “You’re wonderful,” she teased, leaning back into him and turning her head to give him a peck on his arm.

           He laughed and kissed her on the top of her head in retaliation, and as they quieted and dozed off to sleep, Anna could not help but to think that maybe the blackout was fate after all.  

[tangyyyy]

Bon, parce que je te connais et que tu vas me faire un truc ultra angst tu vas te faire pardonner avec du pure fluff avec cet autre prompt^^ , Fluff numéro 7 “wait, no, don’t take kissing away from me.”

Here it is !!!! :D

My second dads!elu one shot ! Many many thanks @juuuunaaaaoooo, you made me write again !

Guys, you can request any prompts anytime in my box, really… ;)

Anyway… I hope you’ll enjoy this one !

Worst parents ever

Lucas is in a hurry. The rain began to fall on the streets of Paris and the young man has no umbrella. Walking on Boulevard Barbès, Lucas tries to bury the baguette he just bought under his coat, nobody likes wet bread. A fast-moving car passes by him and, driving in a puddle of dirty water, splashes his jeans. “Damn…” he grumbles, fastening his pace a little more.

Night has fallen on Paris and the Christmas decorations shine brightly. Lucas has never been a great fan of the holiday season. Especially Christmas. The endless family dinners, the fake kindness and the crappy gifts of his old aunts? No thanks, not for him. Eliott, on the other hand, loves Christmas. Lucas remembers, nostalgic, of their very first Christmas together, many years ago. Offended to learn that Lucas didn’t like this great tradition, Eliott had done everything he could to make this evening unforgettable. Thanks to his many talents, both physical and artistic, he succeded, although Lucas has always refused to admit it. He smiles. After a busy day of work, he can’t wait to find his man and their daughter.

Éléonore, said Nour, is now two and a half, almost three. Lucas often looks at her and can’t repress a whiff of anxiety at the idea that she can grow up so fast. His thin blonde hair leaves place, for some months, to thick chestnut hair that Lucas and Eliott have the greatest difficulty to style. On his little nose, many small freckles have appeared. Only his big deep blue eyes like Lucas’ don’t seem to change. Now capable of the most spectacular acrobatics, she’s also a talkative little girl with an overflowing imagination, just like Eliott. Lucas is sure of this and can say, objectively, that their daughter is the most beautiful person in the world.

Going home every evening to his apartment that he loves so much, coming back to his lover and his daughter… He was so happy! Once in front of the big massive wood door, Lucas pushes it and come inside. Automatically, he puts his keys in the small box placed on the entrance furniture, takes off his shoes, leaves his soaked coat that hangs on the coat rack and walks in the narrow corridor, the baguette unscathed by any trace of rain in his hand. A smell of tomatoes, thyme and rosemary tickles his nostrils. Tomato in the middle of December? Lucas knows that Eliott can be very creative in kitchen but making such an affront to seasonal vegetables? No it’s not in his habits…

Lucas finds Eliott in the kitchen, busy over the sink, washing a green salad. Looking around him, Lucas doesn’t see Éléonore. No doubt she must be playing alone in her room with her many toys as it happens to her more and more often…

“It smells good.” Lucas say, smiling.

Eliott, who didn’t hear his manwalking behind his back, jumps and put a hand on his pounding heart.

"Damn Lucas, you scared me…”

Lucas laughs and puts a little kiss on Eliott’s cheek before placing the baguette on the worktop.

“What are you doing?” He asks, curiously, as he sits on one of the high bar stools near the sink.

"I had no idea so I warm a jar of ratatouille.” Eliott replies by refocusing on the salad.

“Mmmh… good idea!”

Last summer Lucas’ mother had gave them several jars of fresh ratatouille, telling them that during the cold and long winter months, they could at least have some sun in their plates. Smelling the scent of Mediterranean vegetables bursting with sun and olive oil, Lucas licks his lips in advance. Éléonore, too, loves the ratatouille of her grandmother. She, who, however, begins to sulk the vegetables for a few weeks, makes an exception for the famous Mamie Marie’s Ratatouille.

“You had a good day?” Lucas asks, absently looking at Eliott bustling around the salad.

"Meeting, meeting, meeting and… Meeting! We’re on a new project. It’s going to be great but it’s hyper ambitious so there’s a thousand things to see upstream of the real…

-Oh ok, cool.” Visibly immersed in his own mind, Lucas now stares at a tiny gnat drowning in the sink full of water.

"And yours?

-Yes, yes, it’s been okay…” He answers absentmindly, staring at the gnat.

Silence falls in the kitchen. Drops of water come to the windows and the wind rises almost conceals the noises of the Parisian traffic. Only Eliott continues to work on the preparation of the meal, Lucas remains motionless near the sink.

Finally, Lucas frowns and redirects his focus to Eliott, now busy taking out the plates and cutlery of the small wooden furniture on his right.

“It means that you’ll spend a lot of time with Amélie…

-Well yes, she’s the pre-real workload so yeah indeed, I’m going to work a lot with her. Why?

-Just to know…” Lucas scowls, crosses his arms against his chest and forces himself to think of something else.

Knowing very well why Lucas asks such a question, Eliott bites his cheek, forcing himself not to smirk. Nevertheless he’s not decided to let such an opportunity to make fun of his lover. For years Eliott has been working with Amelie, Lucas has always been jealous of the young woman. It’s true that Amelie is an attractive woman who has never tried to hide, in the past, the attraction she felt and still feels for Eliott. But he’s always very clear with her. Although Eliott can’t be more faithful to Lucas, the young man can’t help but worry. Diyng of jealousy to know that Eliott is gonna spend most of his time with this very beautiful and clever artist, Lucas can’t think straight anymore.

Eliott, pretending to clean the sink a little more, discreetly walked to Lucas.

"Besides… Speaking of Amélie… Today she showed us the new shoes she bought, really high heels, Louboutin. Wow, it makes her legs beautiful, you should see that… Aoutch!”

Lucas just kicked him.

“Stop it already!”

Eliott now laughs openly.

“Stop what?!

-I don’t fucking care about Amélie’s legs!

-You should, she’s beautiful! And then her little dress…

-For fuck’s sake!”

Raging and crimson cheeks of shame, Lucas punches Eliott’s shoulder. The latter, far from being offended, laughs again and walked closer.

“You know I don’t like that girl and you play with it!” Lucas complains, folding his arms back and lowering his head sulkily.

"Sorry, sorry… I can’t help it!” Eliott say, wiping a small tear of laughter at the corner of his eye.

He tries to take him in his arms but Lucas is struggling.

"You’re just a fucking sadist!”

Eliott laughs again and finally settles down. He puts a soft, gentle hand on Lucas’ cheek, encouraging him to look up at him.

“I’m sorry, but… I can’t believe you’re still so jealous. Even after more than ten years, the house, Nour, all that…

-Yeah I know it’s ridiculous… ” Lucas breathes, biting his lip.

“No it’s not ridiculous, it’s… quite flattering actually.” Eliott smiles. "But once again… You’re the only one who counts, you know it.”

Lucas smiles as well, sighs and relax his muscles. His hands rest on Eliott’s hips.

“I know…

-And then you have nothing to envy to Amélie.

-Really?

-Really.”

Lucas, still sitting on the bar stool, legs apart to accommodate Eliott closer to his body, raises his eyebrows.

“She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen though.

"Yeah well…” Says Eliott unconvincingly. “Allow me anyway to put your tastes about women in question.” As Lucas prepares to retort, his man keeps talking. "She’s too tall… My type is smaller people…” He finished with a mocking smile.

"I’m not that small!” Lucas complains.

"Who tells you that you’re my type?

-You jerk!”

As Lucas begins to slap Eliott’s abs with his fists, he grabs his face with his hands and puts his lips on his.

“I love you Lucas…” he whispers between two kisses.

“I love you too, bastard…” Lucas answers.

The two men kiss each other. Eliott’s hands are set in Lucas’ neck. The latter grabs the bottom of his husband’s tee-shirt and strokes his bare stomach. Their tongues touch and play together. Eliott’s hands move up in his hair pulling them slightly. Lucas scratches his thin skin lightly, stroking his belly button and his ribs. Deep in his throat, Eliott lets out a small sigh of ease, without getting away from the mouth of Lucas. It’s the latter, at this sound, which moves away slightly, he licks his red and swollen lips, he rests his hands on his knees. Eliott frowns and looks sulky.

“Wait, no, don’t take kissing away from me.” He says, trying to take him back to him.

Lucas smiles. Yes, of course, he would love to keep kissing him, but at the same moment, a whole other preoccupation is coming to his mind.

"If we don’t stop right now, I’m not sure I could control myself for a long time…”

Eliott cuts him off by sticking his pelvis to his.

“I like that…” He moans close to his ear.

“I think it’s more reasonable to wait for Nour to be sleeping Babe…” Lucas smiles again, not finding the strength to walk away.

Hearing his daughter’s name, Eliott sighs, puts his forearms on Lucas’ shoulders and displays a look of deep reflection.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” He admits in a half smile. “It would be a shame to traumatise her for the rest of her life… By the way, where is she? That’s it, it’s teenage time? She doesn’t even want to come and kiss her father after a hard day at the childcare centre?” Eliott asks, glancing down the corridor to the bedrooms.

Lucas raises his eyebrows, losing his bright smile. He moves a little further and looks Eliott straight in the eyes.

"You’re joking right?” He asks his husband.

Eliott, not understanding what Lucas means, rising in turn a mocking eyebrow.

"Yes, Lu’, it’s a joke. I don’t seriously think that our two-and-a-half year old girl is already in her teens…

-No, I mean… She’s playing in her room right?

-Well yeah, I guess.

-Eliott…”

The two men look at each other, the same expression scandalised on their two faces. The situation seems to clear suddenly for one as for the other.

“Did you get her at the childcare center when you went out of work?” Lucas asks.

"No! It was you who were supposed to pick her up on the way back! You didn’t do it?

-No I didn’t!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” Understanding that their daughter is not at home as expected, Eliott rushes to the other end of the living room, to his phone that he had put there an hour or two ago.

“6 missed calls from the center!” He shouts, panicked.

"They tried to call me too!” Lucas answers from the small entrance where he went to get his coat in which he had buried his own phone.

Pacing up and down in the living room, the phone sticked to his ear, Eliott calls back the childcare center. Lucas joins him, collapses on one of the chairs, takes his head in his hands, nerves alive, succumbing to the stress of such a situation.

"Hello… Yes, I’m Éléonore’s father.” Eliott introduces himself, his worried eyes staring into Lucas’ anxious ones. "I’m really sorry, there was a misunderstanding and… Yes, yes, very well, thank you. Sorry again, we… We just… I know… Yes… We’re coming right now, sorry, we’ll be there in five-ten minutes.”

Coming out of the house with Eliott, Lucas doesn’t mind the rain anymore. In a big hurry, the two men walked fast to the childcare center.

“Fuck! We spoke about it yesterday! It was you who had to go and catch her!” Lucas yells, already out of breath.

"No no no! It was you who was supposed to come home with her!

-But that makes no sense! It’s you who came home first!

-Yes but the center is on your way, not mine!”

The two men remains silent, each convinced to be right.

After a little while, Lucas lowers his head and burries his hands in his coat.

“Damn… We’re the worst parents ever…” he said in a sad and shameful tone.

“Don’t say that.” Eliott answers without looking at him or slowing down.

"But we’re not even fucking able to decide properly who’s supposed to care about our daughter at the childcare cen…”

-Shut up!“

Lucas is guilt-ridden. Honestly and in theory, he knows very well that he overreacts. Éléonore is perfectly safe at the childcare center, they’re only late for an hour and then mistakes can happen from time to time… But he can’t help himself. How could they forget their own daughter? Worse still, how did they do to not realise earlier that the little girl wasn’t in the house? And if she hadn’t been to the childcare center, what if a stranger had come to get her? What if, what if … Before Éléonore came into his world, Lucas was the first to make fun of all those parents feeling guilty for the slightest mistake about their offspring. And now, he and Eliott find themselves in the same situation… What a joke!

Eliott pushes the door of the childcare center and introduces himself to one of the childcare worker at the entrance. On his heels, Lucas sees Éléonore playing quietly alone with small wooden cubes. Not caring a lot about the worker, he breaks off quickly, takes off his shoes and rushes alongside the little girl on the playthings. He crouches down and takes her in his arms.

"Oh sorry… Sorry babygirl…” He holds her tight and kisses her hair. “We’re here.”

Obviously the little girl doesn’t seem to have realised that her two dads had forgotten to pick her up. Lucas puts his hands under her armpits, places her against his chest and keeps her close to him while standing up. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Letting herself be carried into the entrance, the little girl sees Eliott in great discussion with the childcare worker. Visibly surprised to see that her both of her dads have exceptionally come to get her, Eleanor made a funny face.

“Papa?

-Yes, see? We came both! We really wanted to see you!”

Lucas stops near Eliott. The latter turns to his husband and daughter, smiles and lays a kiss on the little girl’s round cheek.

“Hi you. How are you?

-Good!

-What did you do today?

-I did the painting!” The girl answers playfully, proudly showing her two little hands on which there are still some traces of red paint.

Lucas turns to the woman.

“We’re really sorry, I don’t even understand what happened…

-Oh do not worry too much! As I said to your husband, this can happen to everyone.

-No but really, sorry…

-Listen, you’re not the first to whom it happens and you wont be the last, believe my long experience.”

Lucas smiles at her sheepishly, absently stroking his daughter’s hair.

“And then…” Keeps saying the woman. “It’s a pretty good thing!”

At these words, the two men raise their eyebrows.

“It means that your world doesn’t revolve around Éléonore only. That’s a good thing! She needs to see that everything is not just working for her only, that she’s not the center of the whole world, especially at that age. There are times when we don’t necessarily think about our children, it’s pretty healthy actually.”

Lucas bites his cheek, thinking back to what they were just doing to forget their own daughter. Seeking to hide his embarrassment, he drops the little girl on the ground so that she can get her shoes in the small lockers near the entrance. Eliott bends down and helps her to put on her shoes.

Seeing two other pairs of shoes in the lockers, Lucas looks up at the woman.

“There are still children?

-We don’t close until late, around 9:30 pm, for parents who have atypical schedules.”

Lucas nods before putting on his own shoes.

Once Éléonore has put on her thick coat, Eliott takes her in his arms. The little girl frowns and tries to struggle.

“Nooo! I want to walk!!” She gasped. Eliott doesn’t let her go and shakes his head.

"Sorry kitten but it’s raining a lot and…” He glances at Lucas. The latter shrugs. “And as we left the house quickly, we forgot to take an umbrella so we will walk very quickly to not get wet.”

Lucas bites his cheek again. They didn’t even think of sheltering their daughter from the rain… really, they fucked up everything today! The shrill voice of the little girl draws him from his dark thoughts.

“Will you run?” She asks Eliott. Éléonore loves when Eliott carries her on his back while running at full speed, it’s even one of her favourite activities. His father laughs.

"Of course! Everything you want tonight Mademoiselle Lallemant.” He replies, kissing her forehead.

His coat on, Lucas turns to the woman, standing there, watching them tenderly.

"Well… We’ll go now. Thank you very much and sorry again for all that.

-Do not worry, not a big problem, really. Next time make sure to keep your phones with you.” She answers with a smile.

"It wont happen again.” Lucas adds, shaking her hand. "Nour, you say goodbye?

-Goodbye!” Nour yells, still in Eliott’s arms, waving her hand to the woman.

"See you tomorrow sweethart.” She greets her back, giving her a small wink.

On the way back, Lucas looks in front of him, Eliott running in the rain, holding Éléonore firmly in his arms. The little girl laughs loudly. Lucas could never get tired of this laugh for sure.

Back home, while Eliott kneels in the small entrance, helping their daughter to get rid of her coat and shoes, a burning smell suddenly rises to Lucas’ nostril.

"Oh fuck!” He rushes into the kitchen. In the saucepan, the ratatouille is totally burnt and lets escape a blackish smoke. With a quick gesture, he grabs the pan and puts it in the sink before running the water.

"Damn fucking shit… That must be a fucking joke…” Lucas takes his head in his hands. “We make everything mess!” He slaps his forehead with the palm of one of his hands.

He feels so guilty to not being able to do anything right. He would like to be that perfect, caring, organised father, but deep down, tonight, he still feels like a teenager who has trouble growing up. He knows it’s fleeting, he’s aware that most of the time things don’t go so bad but… Tonight is too much…

On his back, he feels Eliott taking him in his arms. The man puts his hands on his stomach, puts his head on his shoulder and hugs him, his chest stucked to Lucas’ back.

"It’s okay…” he whispers in his ear.

“But Eli, look, we’re fucking pathetic…” Lucas complains, thinking back to the forgetting of their own daughter and their house full of an unpleasant burning smell. He begins to run out of air and feels his belly knot. Eliott moves slightly away to give him room to turn around.

“Hey, hey, calm down, Lucas… look at me. Look at me…”

Lucas turns around and stares into the calm and reassuring eyes of his man.

“Nour’s perfectly fine, she’s here, with us. And about the ratatouille… It doesn’t matter at all. It’s nothing… ” He told him confidently. Lucas nods, soothed by the sound of Eliott’s voice.

“What are we eating then?” He asks in a weak voice.

Eliott frowns and thinks.

“Hmmm… we can order a pizza!” Leaving Lucas’ eyes, he turns towards the living room in the direction of Éléonore, who is busy telling the contents of her day to one of her stuffed toys, sitting on the ground at the foot of the Christmas tree. "Nour… Do you like pizza?”

The little girl raises her big blue eyes towards her father. She doesn’t answer anything, obviously not understanding what Eliott is asking to her.

“Pizza… You know, the round good thing with other stuff on it…”

The little girl frowns before refocusing on her stuffed toy. Obviously what her father tells her, not only does she not understand it but she doesn’t really care about it either.

“Oh my God…” Eliott blows tragically, a hint of indignation in his voice.

“What?” Lucas asks.

"Our own daughter has never tasted pizza in her whole life…” He says, eyes round, slowly turning to his husband.

“Well… Uh yeah… Maybe not with us but wi…

-That’s the real shame, Lucas! What unworthy fathers we are!” He exclaims in a perfect dramaqueen’s impersonation. "We have to fix this right now!” He adds, grabbing his phone to call their favourite pizzeria.

A smile on his lips, Lucas looks at him, his own blue eyes filled with unspeakable tenderness.

A little later in the evening, Eliott and Lucas are settled in the couch. Éléonore is sitting between them. Just out of the bath, her hair is still wet and her skin smells like baby soap. In her hand, she holds a small slice of pizza she carries to her mouth, already smeared with tomato sauce. Her two dads watch her eatting with appetite.

"So? You like pizza?” Lucas asks her smiling.

The little girl just nods, too busy eating her new favourite dish to answer properly to her own father.

Lucas sighs of ease, keeps smiling and lets himself go against the back of the couch, a hand resting on his daughter’s back. He looks at the ceiling thoughtfully. Eliott prefers not to waste time and takes a large slice of pizza.

"You know what?”

Eliott turns to him, traces of tomato sauce at the corners of his mouth, just like their daughter. At this sight, Lucas laughs.

"I think we’re not so bad fathers…” Lucas says.

“Of course we’re not.” Eliott replies.

“We forget our daughter at the childcare center, we almost burn our kitchen, we don’t eat at the table but on the couch by putting crumbs everywhere but…” He pauses, watching Éléonore and Eliott. “We’re happy like that.” He finished with a smile.

"And that’s what counts.” Adds Eliott, his mouth full of pizza.

"Yeah, that’s what counts…”.

[bakubros]

Tagged by @artsytodoroki, @minaaashido, @pilotpig! This was so much fun to fill out, guys! Thanks for tagging me. 💞

Rules: Answer 11 questions, Create 11 of your own, and Tag 11 people!

I’ll tag: @pinkcupofcherrytea, @dekudorks, @lupizora, @enonmia,  @shulksfeels, @mysonisthesun, @a-erith, anddddd.... just about anyone else who’s interested in doing this c; (i’m a lazy tagger, rip.) amy, shy, piggie, i’d love to see your answers as well if you have some free time! 

(questions are at the veryyyyyy bottom of this read more, lol)

Amy’s Questions:

If you were a character in the BNHA universe, what quirk would you want to have? *nervous sweating* I actually have a really detailed OC I made for Hero Aca and now that I have the opportunity to show her off to the world, I’m getting nervous? LOL. I’ll just say that the quirk’s name is tentatively “flying fish” and then leave it at that for now... Until I find the courage to brag about it in depth... (I am actually in love with the idea and character I came up with, I’m just ??? Suddenly nervous for no reason?? LMAO)

Do you know your MBTI? If you do, what is it? INFP!

Are you somebody who thinks before you act or do you act before you think? It honestly depends on the context of the situation. When I’m with friends or people I’m comfortable with or when I’m tired, I act before I think. When I’m skeptical of others or anxious about how I’m being perceived, I think before I act.

What’s your current obsession? Mmm, tough! I’ve been really into watching movies recently, particularly the Oscar-nominated films. I’m sad because I side with the New Academy on a lot of their picks but know that the Old Academy still dominates so rip ;;;

If you ever wanted to change your name, what would it be? I used to hate my name and thought about changing it to “Willow Kathryn” instead of “Jessica Kathryn.” I don’t know what I was thinking when I was younger; I just know that, now that I’m older, I would never go through with such a change. LMAO

Least and favorite subjects in school? Favorite was literature, least favorite was (and will always be) math.

Describe yourself in one or two words. Passionate, Empathetic

How tall are you? 157 cm (though I like to think I’ve grown a bit ;;;;)

Do you have a phobia? I don’t think that any of my fears are strong enough to constitute a phobia? Though I will admit to an awful abhorrence of bugs.

Would you prefer to go where there’s less people or more people? I’m assuming you mean live? And if that’s the case, then less people. If it’s late at night or something though (like now!), I prefer to be around more people.

Do you believe that the world is divided into good and bad people or is everybody the same? if so, why? To assume that the world is Manichean feels like an antiquated, small-minded notion; to assume that everyone in the world is the same feels ignorant and dehumanizing. I believe that all “divisions” within our culture (I’m throwing morality into this category for the purpose of this question) are man-made constructs--in that sense, there’s no right or wrong answer. In my case, it’s just fundamental disagreement with the notion, lol. On the question of morality, however, I will say that I believe that all individuals exist on a spectrum and cannot be definitively good nor definitively bad; to label someone in a single category like that limits future perception of them and implies an inability for human change/growth.

Shy’s Questions:

[pre-school teacher voice] What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to be a teacher, and then a pediatrician, and then a writer, and then a professor. And now I’m back to teacher. We’ve come full circle. LOL.

What did you do today? GOT SOME OF MY SHIT TOGETHER!! Double-checked my degree audit with my advisers, met with the dean of my college to ensure that I’m on-track to meet the criteria for graduating summa cum laude with the dean’s medal in December, and discussed scholarship funding with some of my current sponsors. I thought that I was going to owe my school money after the summer, but it’s looking like they’re going to be paying me instead. 😎

What’s the last really good fanfic or meta you’ve read? I’ve... honestly been slacking really hard in the reading department for the fandom. I’ve been reading a lot of wips recently (which obviously haven’t been posted), but the last one that comes to mind is cherry chapstick on the tip of your tongue by oliviyay on ao3! 

Do you prefer saying “y’all” or “you guys?” You guys!

What is the last thing you watched? A video of Die Mannschaft’s coach talking about how proud he is of His Boys™️.

How are you feeling? I just really want the semester to be over because I’m tired of the workload? But at the same time I’m really antsy about that because it means graduation is just that much closer?? And idk if I’m fully ready for that?? Like, I know that I am but like... I still don’t feel like an adult lekrjwlekrri

Favorite sitcom? Parks and Recreation, hands down. I binged the entire series when I was going through a bad breakup, and whenever I can’t sleep or need a pick-me-up, the show always has my back. I’m p sure that if Netflix ever removes it I will die.

Anime or manga or neither? I’ve always been partial to manga!

Favorite kind of smoothie? The Beach Bum at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe! I like it because I’m a sucker for chocolate, but the ingredients in the smoothie still make me feel like I’m healthy.

Got any allergies? I’m mildly allergic to dust and pollen. For some reason I’m severely allergic to a certain species of grass. (And, because I have the best of luck, it’s the species of grass that is native to Florida. It’s everywhere I go and I just want to be able to sit in the park without breaking out into hives. ;;;)

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased? I just recently paid $800+ for VIP tickets for my parents and I to go see Elton John in concert. But, like, I know it’ll be worth it so I’m not even mad LMFAO

Piggie’s Questions:

What is your favorite soap scent? Ooooh, this is a really tough one! I can’t think of anything specific, but I’m a fan of scents with floral undertones!

What is the talent of yours that you are most proud of? Please go on and on and on about it!! (and don’t say you have no talents because I know all of you well enough to know that’s not true >:’D) Mmmmm, this is tough! This is more of a personality trait, I suppose, but I’m really stubborn when it comes to getting what I want; if I have a goal in mind, I do absolutely everything that I can to achieve it. So far, this has worked out really for  me, which is why I’m considering it a talent? I’m sure that a lot of it is just good luck though. LMAO. I think that I also have really good memory! I remember seemingly insignificant details really well, which makes for fun writing. c:

What is your favorite book and why? Or TV show/anime/movie if you don’t like books? The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien--this book is honestly what inspired me to become a writer and holds a very special place in my heart. Second favorite would be The Mill on the Floss by George, and every time I’m reminded that it’s considered one of the worst books in classic lit I cry a little harder.

Which fictional character do you relate to the most? (And why, if you want?) Bakugou Katsuki, in terms of backstory (being praised when young and letting it go to my head), passion/ambition, and tendency for cursing. I’ve never been outspoken or antagonistic though, so that’s where our biggest difference is, lol. (He is still my Child though and I Would still die for him)

Do you have any collections? If so, what do you collect? Books and video games, I suppose! Though right now I’m also starting a magazine habit that I know I’ll regret in the future...

What are your top three best personality traits, and what is one thing about your personality that you want to work on? In no particular order: passion, empathy, and friendliness. I’d like to be more consistent outgoing when it comes to meeting new people and making new friends. I’ve been given many opportunities to form bonds with really awesome people, but I always get shy/awkward or just fudge it up. I’d really like to change that, haha.

Do you have any pets? If so, what is/are their personality/personalities like? I have a dog named Snowie! When she was younger, she was super rambunctious and liked playing in the dirt--wasn’t much of a cuddler. Now that she’s older, she’s a lot calmer. And she really likes cuddling which I really appreciate.

What is your preferred study method? Depends on what I’m doing specifically! If I’m reading lit or crit theory, I need an empty room, some good music, and soft lighting. If I’m preparing for a test or writing something up though, I need to be around other people. When it’s something that I don’t really want to do, constant supervision is necessary to make sure that I actually do it. LMAO.

What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done? Impromptu island hopping and cliff diving on my cousin’s boat during my last trip to the Philippines!

What are your life goals? Oh boy. Although I mentioned that I’m a very goal-oriented person, I’m really bad at designing long-term goals? I think that I’ve only ever gotten as far as five or so years in the future. I guess I’ll say that I want to work in a job that I enjoy, surround myself with people I care about, and do something that makes me feel like I’ve left a mark. (Ahhh, this was such a bad answer! Sorry! ;3;)

What is your favorite part of being on Tumblr? Probably the people I’ve met. The nice ones, ofc!

My Questions

What was your first big fandom? How did you get started in it and how did it inspire you?

Was there ever a fandom that you were a part of that you now regret? (catch me in middle school skipping class to watch the early premieres of the twilight movies and getting into intense debates over team edward v team jacob LMFAO)

If you had to pick an artist to create the OST of your life, who would it be? Why?

Tell me three things a person could say/do/believe to instantly taint your friendship/relationship with them.

I suck at cooking. Do you? If you don’t, what’s your favorite thing to make? (hmu with a recipe and i’ll love you for life lmfao)

If you had to name a daughter right now, what would you name them? What if you had a son? (Alternatively, if you have no interest in children, what name would you like to give a female/male character that you create?)

Let’s say you were to die right here, right now. What would be your biggest regret?

Think of one really, really good teacher you had. What made them so great?

What’s your “origin story”? If you had to explain why you are the way you are by only pointing at one event in your life, which one would you choose?

Tumblr is an actual hellhole. But what do you like about it?

How are you? (I’m stealing Shy’s question because I really like it lmao)

[saffronandperi]

Saffron and Peri Season 3 Casting Call

Saffron and Peri Season 3 Casting Call

Well ladies, gents, and assorted others...the second season of Saffron and Peri is fast approaching an end, so you know what that means…

Time for the casting call for season 3!

Saffron and Peri will be back in the new year with another 6 episodes for your listening enjoyment, and we're going to have a host of new characters that will need voices, so that means a time for auditions.

If you're interested in lending your voice to the third season of Saffron and Peri, we have a form for you to fill out, and a list of characters for you to get acquainted with.

Once your form is filled out, and an mp3 file of your audition is ready, please email us at SaffronAndPeri @ gmail.com (no spaces).

Please note that your audition has to be crisp and clear, and it is preferable if you own recording equipment.

The deadline to submit your audition is Wednesday, December 13th.

Feel free to leave me a message if you have any questions. Good luck!

Character List

The Staff of the Space Police Station:

Captain Adam Bradimov:

Gender: Male

Personality: An optimistic and charismatic people-person.

Recommended Lines:

Greetings Crew. Glorious day, isn’t it? Stars shining. Engines humming. Dashboards bleeping pretty colors. Lieutenant, set the ship to patrol mode. Detectives, your prerogative for today is to keep the peace in our sector and serve our citizens to the best of our abilities. Let’s see what’s on my own agenda for today…. “Update Captain’s log”. Let’s just check the last entry: “Logs are boring. Delegate log-writing to the Lieutenant.”

The LK701, mostly known as Leckie:

Gender: Female

Personality: An artificial intelligence that acts as the lieutenant and the ship. We’re not looking for a full robot monotone, but a voice that’s pleasant, level and smooth.

Recommended Lines:

Lieutenant’s Log. The captain has delegated log writing to me so I shall dedicate a portion of my resources to monitoring and recording our daily activities. I can report that the atmosphere is breathable for all crew members, nutritious and enjoyable food is fully stocked, and all crew uniforms are up to standard. My tasks for today are charting a path for the usual patrol and monitoring the frequencies for distress calls.

Sergeant Stanistem

Gender: Male probably? (your guess is as good as mine)

Personality: A grouch, very reluctant to go along with any of my crazy writing. The sergeant prefers to express himself in a series of grumbles and mumbles, not actual words.

Recommended Lines:

Give us your best grumpy mumble! Try for slightly varying levels of grumpiness.

Detective Connis:

Gender: Female

Personality: No-nonsense, has a bit of a temper, highly efficient and prides herself on doing her job well, not the best manners. A little twitchy, since she recently tried to give up caffeine.

Recommended Lines:

With the workload I got? Central Command has sent an epic novel’s worth of paperwork to my drive. This will take all day!

Captain, the lieutenant has observed some suspicious activity on the boundaries of our sector. I recommend we steer the ship there immediately.

I know I told you to hide all the caffeine from me, but now I changed my mind, okay? So tell me where it is NOW. Tell me now OR I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY ACTIONS.

Detective Urswin:

Gender: Agender, but we’re looking for a feminine voice since they are often mistaken for a woman.  

Personality: Calm and compassionate, good with people. They have a voice with kindness in it. Speech pattern prefers questions to direct statements.

Recommended Lines:

Thank you for coming in. You must have been nervous to contact us, yes? But I will do my very best to make you as comfortable as possible. Where would you like to begin? Take your time, there’s nowhere else I need to be. Yes, I can personally assure you that your anonymity will be protected. No, no, I do not think it’s trivial at all. Jaywalking puppens is a very serious matter!

Cadet Caffree:

Gender: Male

The youngest member of the ship. Over-excited, very passionate about his hobbies, not very good at picking up social cues. Talks very fast and excitedly

Recommended lines:

Hi! Are you new to this sector? What sector are you from? Really? I’ve never been there! Tell me all about it! How many planets are in your sector? What are the main languages? What’s the food like? What about the music? What’s the weather like? Do you have a lot of different species or is it one of those places that are just dominated by one species? Do you - OH MY STARS IS THAT A ZIGGY STARDUST PIN YOUR WEARING?

Special Agent Katticus Attison:

Gender: Male

A talented and highly skilled special agent, but prone to paranoia and mood swings. We’d like an actor who can alter his voice slightly to suit his calm moments and erratic moments, as his personality tends to fluctuate with stress, often in the same sentence. (those are in all caps in the script)

Recommended lines:

Everybody, please calm down. We need to approach this case in a methodical manner, so let’s start by interviewing - WHO MOVED MY PEN? I TOLD YOU NEVER nevermind that, it’s not important. What’s important now is cracking this case as soon as possible, unless of course YOU STOLE MY PEN TO PREVENT US SOLVING THIS CRIME BECAUSE YOU WERE IN ON IT THE WHOLE TIME!

The Pirates:

Captain Starbeard:

Gender: Male

Literally the worst criminal in the universe. Egotistic, taunting, and abusive, his dialogue is pretty much all insults. He’s either angry or bragging, sometimes both. Strong pirate accent wanted please!

Recommended lines:

Out with it you scurvy swab! I’ve seen space pigeons smarter than you, you whimpering buffoon. Suffering supernovas, half a dozen tongues and not a single one of ‘em attached to a brain cell. Speak yer piece, you lily livered landlubber, or I’ll make ye walk the plank and straight into a black hole.

Veke:

Gender: Male

The captain’s second in command. A figgety whimpering sycophant. Pirate accent here too please.

Recommended Lines:

*gulps or whimpers* Y-yes C-Captain S-Sir.

Permission to blow it to smithereens, sir?

The Smuggler:

Gender: Male

Calculating and merciless. Needs to sound tough and cutthroat, but no pirate accent required.

Recommended lines:

I didn’t get as far as I did without learning how to call a bluff. You’re sweating. Your left eye is twitching. These are not the movements of a man who has the upper hand. Now hand over the goods and it will be like this little incident never happened.

The Tavern Keeper:

Gender: Male

A gigantic bully, not very intelligent. We’re looking for a deep gruff voice with a bit of a growl in it. No pirate accent needed.

Recommended lines:

What will it be?

Get out or I’ll throw you out!

Pirates 1 through 4:

Gender: Male

Just give us your best pirate voice!

Recommended lines:

Well, well, well, what have we here?

Captain Starbeard says you’ve been getting too big for your boots lately. Now, would you like to be split gullet to gizzard... Or do you prefer tongue to tentacles?

Saffron and Peri Voice Actor Form

When emailing us your audition, please fill out the following form and include it in your email.

Name/Contact Information:

(Please provide your name and an active email address where you can be reached.)

How you would like to be credited:

(If you don't want to use your actual name and have a stage-name you would prefer to go by, please state it here.)

Part(s) auditioning for:

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[samedischoolblog]

So my journey to medical school has not been straight and narrow at all !! In fact it’s been truncated 😅 I’ve passed a t junction and I honestly think I took the wrong turn. I went on two round abouts instead of one and in general it’s just been one big mess!! Nonetheless I’m here now

Okay so I had already spoken briefly about GEMP and how I’m currently a student under this program. So basically what it is is a graduate entry medical program at Wits university. You can apply for medicine after having done any degree. You then write an entry test called the WAPT and based on your marks you either receive and offer or not.

I received my offer on the 6th of December 2018 after getting rejected in 2017( this has got to be one of the worst memories in my life)

I had worked so hard in my undergrad degree and had come so close to getting in, but my marks just weren’t good enough for me to be in the safe zone, even though I had passed the WAPT. I was then advised to do a postgrad degree ... it was tense guys

All I thought about was how much of a life delay this was and how I’d be spending another year fighting for a dream which was quickly fading away . Fast forward to December 2018, I did my honours degree and graduated cum laude

And I got accepted into medicine !

So far it’s been hectic guys !! The workload is immense and adjusting is so tricky. But I guess each day as it comes. It’s week 4 and I’m still trying to juggle being awake at 6 to get to my lectures on time and have enough energy when I’m back to actually study the work from the day

But I have my friends with me and they are amazing people. I also love food mayne! And at the end of the day it’s about keeping hope alive .

[harryandmeghan0-blog]

Here's why everyone was talking about the Queen dying - Bristol Post

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/heres-why-everyone-was-talking-about-the-queen-dying-bristol-post/

Here's why everyone was talking about the Queen dying - Bristol Post

A post claiming The Queen of England is going to die on a very specific date went viral.

Thousands of users from around the world have been discussing the Reddit claim since it was first uploaded at the end of December.

The original post has since been deleted along with the user’s account.

But users have saved screengrabs of the deleted comments – discussing whether it was a prediction, or a threat.

Read More

People have also been investigating what the odds are of Queen Elizabeth II actually dying today.

As reported by Plymouth Live, The original post was made just after Christmas Day by a Reddit user called Beefy_Cabbage.

There’s a special reason the Queen stays at Sandringham until February (Image: Getty Images)

It was upvoted around 50,000 times and attracted 7,000 comments before it was deleted, and beefy_cabbages account shut down.

People have said if the worst actually did happen, the original user would either be the star of a ‘creepy predictions’ phenomenon – or would be hunted down by British intelligence force MI6.

Others pointed out that MI5 deals with domestic affairs in British espionage, not MI6.

Reddit user BigTicketKAT wrote: “This is one of those posts that’s going to be a part of a YouTube video called “creepy unexplainable reddit posts.”

Read More

Alexandeadmau5 wrote: “Imagine if The Queen gets on reddit and sees this” while Sunghj118 said: “Plot twist, this is the queen’s alt account and she’s orchestrating all of this to fake her death and pass on the throne.”

User TheStakesAreHigh has said the odds of The Queen dying on Jaunary 5 are pretty low, adding: “Elizabeth II is currently 92 years old. Via this website , the odds for a 92-year-old woman to die within the next year of her life is 16.06% (which will be rounded up to 16.1% for simplification).

“Dividing this probability evenly among all 365 days of the year (which is not how it works, but it’s all that we have to go off of), each day of her 92nd year, the Queen has about a 0.04411% chance of dying on any given day.

“Now, in order to fulfill /u/beefy_cabbage ‘s legendary prediction, the Queen would need to NOT die before January 5th, and then die on that day. There are 9 days before the 5th (27th-4th), so the probability ends up being:

“(100%-0.04411%) * 0.04411% (the first term representing the nine days she would survive and the second term representing the day she would die).

“By this expression, the Queen has a 0.04393% chance of dying on January 5th, 2019. This is about a 1 in 2276 chance. So it’s pretty unlikely (but definitely still within the realm of possibility!) that she’ll die then. God Save the Queen.”

Read More

What will happen when The Queen dies?

The Queen’s death will trigger an official 12-day period of national mourning.

Read More

Union Flags will be flown at half mast throughout the country and books of condolence will be opened at embassies across the world.

The London Stock Exchange will be closed for at least the day of the Queen’s funeral and potentially for several days – potentially costing the economy billions.

The Queen’s body will be taken to Parliament, where she will lie in state in Westminster Hall – like the Queen Mother in 2002 – until her funeral.

More than 200,000 people travelled to pay their respects to the Queen Mother and that number is expected to be vastly exceeded in the event of the Queen’s death.

The succession

As first in line to the throne, Prince Charles will automatically become King when the Queen dies as the throne is technically never vacant.

However, the accession council would need to be convened at St James’s Palace to formally declare Charles the king.

He would be asked to swear loyalty to Parliament and the Church of England in front of the council.

Read More

In turn, the Houses of Parliament will be recalled to swear loyalty to him.

The words to the National Anthem will be changed and new postage stamps and currency created to reflect Prince Charles’ ascension to the throne.

The only way Prince William would become king is if Prince Charles chooses to abdicate and pass the throne to him.

Charles has increased his workload since 2013 as the Queen’s has reduced in what appears to be a handover of the reins.

However, a survey last April found that only 53 per cent of people say they like Charles, compared to 77 per cent for the Queen.

The funeral

The Queen’s state funeral will be the biggest ever seen in the UK – far eclipsing the likes of Princess Diana, the Queen Mother and Margaret Thatcher.

The service will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently the Rev Justin Welby.

Politicians and heads of state from across the globe will attend as well as the Royal Family.

Read More

The Royal Family gossip

As such, the event is likely to be one of the most heavily-protected of all time, with armed forces drafted in to guard against potential terror attacks.

Her coffin will be taken from Westminster Hall and travel through crowds of thousands of mourners by gun carriage to Westminster Abbey for the service.

It is expected the Queen will be interred in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where her mother and father, King George VI, are buried.

Source: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/queen-elizabeth-dead-royal-family-2392377

[flauntpage]

Examining Jay Ajayi’s (Former) Offensive Line and Right Knee

On the surface, a fourth round draft pick for Jay Ajayi feels like highway robbery.

Here’s a guy who ran for 1,272 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He’s 24 years old and under contract for $705,000 next season.

So what’s the catch?

Is this a classic case of sending your team a message? Making an example out of a guy? Did Ajayi wear out his welcome in Miami? The ex-Dolphins running back reportedly did not have a great relationship with head coach Adam Gase, who criticized his running backs after Thursday’s 40-0 loss in Baltimore. Gase said that his team has “got to stop trying to hit home runs all the time” and insinuated that some Dolphins don’t even know the full play book.:

“Offensively, it’s a joke,” Gase said. “We’ve got too many guys that don’t want to take it home with them. Until our best players actually put forth some effort, it’ll be [expletive].”

In 2017, Ajayi has 465 yards and zero touchdowns on 138 attempts. He’s on pace for about 66% of last year’s total yardage production and is finding zero red zone success.

Kyle mentioned earlier that Miami’s offense is pretty bad, and that can’t be understated.

Jay Cutler was poor and Matt Moore is worse. The Dolphins are the only team to score under 100 points this season and they rank dead last in total offense. Teams were able to stuff Ajayi with eight man fronts and sell out in rushing defense to make a one-dimensional offense become zero-dimensional. The Dolphins also spent a lot of time playing from behind, so they were chucking it in the losses against Baltimore (40-0), New Orleans (20-0), and the Jets (20-6). Somehow, they’re 4-3 and will probably be in the wild card hunt because their defense is pretty good.

Here’s Ajayi’s 2017 game log:

He had a nice day in Atlanta and also in the Tennessee win, but his 3.4 YPC average is way down from last year’s 4.9. Fantasy owners were constantly bitching because he wasn’t finding the end zone.

A lot of his runs look something like this, where blockers are being pushed into the backfield and he finds himself trying to juke or create something for himself two yards behind the line of scrimmage:

Here’s another example, where he’s barely able to squeeze through in an effort to reach the line of scrimmage:

Watch how far Anthony Steen (65) gets pushed into the backfield on this Jay Ajayi run. Who wants to guess why Ajayi is averaging 3.5 ypc? http://pic.twitter.com/mm1fmkrcTM

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 23, 2017

There’s little red zone film to dig up from this season, obviously, since Ajayi hasn’t scored. Believe or not, Miami doesn’t have a rushing touchdown at all. They have nine passing touchdowns, seven of which have been caught by Kenny Stills and Jarvis Landry. Ex-Eagle Cody Parkey leads the Dolphins with 32 points scored on 8 XPs and 8 field goals.

I did find this clip of Ajayi running it from the five yard line in the Chargers game, a play where he’s stuffed by a linebacker. Does he hit the right hole here?

It really doesn’t matter, because this is LeGarrette Blount and Zach Ertz territory anyway. Ajayi can run goal line plays, but he won’t have to in this offense. He’s a guy who can burst through the line and break off a big run, unlike Blount, who has shown some flashes but usually has trouble getting upfield on those stretch/outside zone runs that the Eagles continue to call. Ajayi will be much better on those designs while Blount needs to be the de facto goal line guy.

Based on the clips above, nobody is going to have success in the red zone running behind that Miami line. And when you’re struggling, sometimes you lose your focus and try to do things that take you out of your element. I think that’s the case with Ajayi in 2017, which is probably exemplified here, where he makes something out of nothing:

Jay Ajayi had no blocking in Miami, and he still did things like this http://pic.twitter.com/hmj0xnbBi8

— Ben Livingston (@bliv94) October 31, 2017

The Dolphins’ offensive line is responsible for the NFL’s second-worst rushing yard total (535). Only Arizona is worse, and they’ve been hit by injuries and multiple members of the Eagle defensive line.

Miami is also tied for second-worst with a 3.2 YPC average among all runners. They have 30 negative rushes on 168 attempts. So 18% of their runs have gone backwards.

And the number you see below on the far left, “EXP,” is the combined career starts for their five linemen. They’re 14th out of 32 teams in that category, so you can’t blame it on youth.

Is the knee an issue?

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington had to go and be the asshole by dropping this after the trade went down:

Something to keep in mind about Ajayi trade: Dolphins don’t believe he has much left in his knees. Longer-term play. Something to watch for.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 31, 2017

I mean, look, it’s fair, but Ajayi would still have to pass a physical before the trade is finalized, so I don’t know if there’s much of an issue here. Ajayi did have problems dating back to his Boise State days, when he tore his ACL as a freshman and had to have his right knee surgically repaired.

That was 2011.

He returned in 2012 and put up 3,796 yards and 50 touchdowns in the next three seasons, so it seemed like the ACL was no longer an issue.

But his draft stock declined amid reports that the knee was still a problem and might require future surgery. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Ajayi had a “bone-on-bone” issue in that same knee, so the concern was basically that a heavy workload would limit the longevity of his NFL career at a position where even healthy players don’t last too long to begin with. Miami didn’t seem concerned at the time and drafted him in the fifth round. Some boards had Ajayi originally going above the likes of Tevin Coleman, David Johnson, and Ameer Abdullah.

As for the rest of his medical history, Ajayi did miss some time in 2015 with a hamstring pull and broken ribs. That cut short his preseason and kept him out until November of his rookie campaign. He dislocated a shoulder in December of last year but played in the season finale against New England, so that didn’t turn out to be a long-term thing.

Regarding trade cost, the Eagles had three fourth-round picks next season, so losing one of them isn’t much at all. Trading one of them for an affordable running back who can help you win now is even better. The Eagles last five fourth-round draft picks were Mack Hollins, Donnel Pumphrey, Jaylen Watkins, Matt Barkley, and Brandon Boykin, so it’s not like they’ve been snagging game-changing talent in that round anyway.

So even if the knees end up being a problem, this is still a low-risk move with high potential. This isn’t coughing up a second-rounder in desperation to put the team over the hump.

Also, it’s worth noting that the Cowboys now have to look elsewhere if they’re thinking about grabbing a replacement for the soon-to-be suspended Zeke Elliott.

Examining Jay Ajayi’s (Former) Offensive Line and Right Knee published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[jersey772-blog]

How many games will the Cleveland Browns win in 2016?

The Cleveland Browns have not impressed most national prognosticators. But what does the Dawg Pound Daily staff believe is in store for the team in 2016?

The Cleveland Browns open the 2016 NFL season today when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Browns have been the talk of the NFL – and not always in a good way — since the end of last season. Another regime change by owner Jimmy Haslam has been derided as front-office appointees Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta are adding analytics to the team’s toolbox for rebuilding the team. This has ruffled the feathers of traditionalists who fear what they don’t understand.

Related: Browns vs. Eagles: Planning for the Wide 9

The hiring of head coach Hue Jackson has been well received, however, as for the first time since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns hired a head coach that other teams were actively coveting.

On draft weekend the Browns selected 14 players – 13 made the final roster — and last week claimed a league-high five players off the waiver wire. Consequently, Cleveland enters the regular season with more than half of its roster comprised of players in either their first or second year in the league.

That has led many to predict nothing short of doom and gloom for the Browns this season. Forget challenging for a playoff spot, the Browns are going to be so bad, according to some, that they may find a way to post a record worst than 0-16.

Related: 5 bold predictions for 2016

So just what does 2016 have in store for the Browns? The Dawg Pound Daily staff got together to look into their respective crystal balls and come up with a prediction for the season.

Jonathan Goehring (Final record: 7-9) Though expectations are low as the Browns move through a lengthy rebuilding process, the team has an opportunity to surprise many in 2016.

Led by quarterback Robert Griffin III, who is possibly Cleveland’s long sought-after franchise quarterback, as well as several young playmakers on both sides of the ball, the Browns do not lack talent. They also have found a head coach in Hue Jackson who has had experience succeeding at the NFL, a coach whose expertise is on offense and can work with a young offensive line and young receivers.

Cleveland’s schedule is also manageable, as each of the first four games before wide receiver Josh Gordon returns from his four-game suspension are winnable. The young talent Cleveland possesses will not form a winning franchise overnight, but it will translate to more success than 2015.

Given the way the Browns lost games in heartbreaking fashion last season, the team will experience slightly better fortune in 2016. The rebuilding process will get off to a solid start this year, as the Browns will finish 7-9.

Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Steven Kubitza (Final record: 7-9) There are two groups of Brows fans. The first thinks the Browns are going to go 1-15, and can’t wait to see the team end up with the first pick in the draft. Then there is the group that wholeheartedly believes the Browns are headed to the playoffs this year. I fall in the middle of these two extremes.

The Browns are a team consistently falling in the three- to five-win range, with a break from that cycle being more unexpected than the starting quarterback making it all 16 games. The Browns did go 7-9 in 2014 with an extreme lack of leadership off the field, so this new, organized leadership group should lead to some success. Right?

Related: Browns vs. Eagles: 5 keys to victory

The main reason for this prediction is the presence of head coach Hue Jackson on the sidelines. Those Browns teams that finished in the realm of 3-13 and 4-12 lost many close games, either blowing fourth quarter leads or losing at the last second. Think of last year’s “kick-six” loss against the Baltimore Ravens as an example.

With Jackson as head coach, these late-game losses can be avoided, or at least managed better. The Browns are a young team who are going to lose some close games, but if the team has a late lead, Jackson should be able to do a much better job at keeping his team poised than the coaches of Browns past. Think of Pat Shurmur calling a handoff to a backup tight end for an example of that. I was there. I won’t forget.

It is a new era. There is a new coach and a new quarterback, and that will result in more wins. Or so I hope as the Browns will finish at 7-9.

Aug 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon (12) stretches as he works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Joel Cade (Prediction: 5-11) The Browns are undergoing yet another “rebuild,” but unlike years past, this front office’s plan is bold and outside the box.

Their moves have been decisive with a dash of unconventional. Much like a baseball rebuild, the first move was to tear down the remnants of last year’s veteran laden 3-13 team. Letting all of their free agents leave gave this front office the embarrassing look of incompetency to those outside of Berea. Drafting 14 players and trading for cornerback Jamal Taylor helped rehabilitate the front office’s image. However, the total makeover the Browns will ultimately play out on game days this fall.

Related: Storylines to watch vs. the Eagles

The Browns schedule is formidable. Opening the season with five of seven games on the road means this young team will get a baptism by fire NFL style. The early part of the season will be rough as rookies and young players learn to adjust not only to playing in the NFL, but also to head coach Hue Jackson’s power run, West Coast style offense and defensive coordinator Ray Horton’s complicated zone blitz 3-4 base defense.

Expect this team to struggle out of the gate and start slow. By mid-season, Jackson and company should be able to separate the studs from the duds on the roster. This will allow for better game planning and should prove for closer, more exciting games. By December this team should be comfortable in the NFL and in their respective schemes.

Unfortunately, it will be a rough season on the field for the Browns, especially early. However, as the team jells around its coach and scheme, the games will grow far more exciting.

Contrary to Brian Billick’s thoughts, there are winnable games on the schedule. Look for the Browns to finish at 5-11.

Roger Cohen cheap nfl jerseys (Prediction: 6-10) One thought came to mind when I saw ESPN’s analysis of 10,000 computer simulations rating the Browns Super Bowl chances as ZERO: that’s probably a bit too optimistic.

Conversely, the Browns will not go 0-16 and may actually “shock the world” by:

Duplicating the team’s 1950 NFL debut by defeating Philadelphia this afternoon — although this Eagles squad is not the reigning league champs Open 2-0 by topping the Baltimore Ravens in the home opener Beating the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium Win the “Brady Bowl” return game against the New England Patriots on Oct. 9 That’s what might cheap jerseys from china shock the sports universe, here’s what won’t:

Josh Gordon relapses and never plays a down for the Browns. RG3 can’t overcome his problems with quarterback mechanics, ego management and injuries and starts fewer than eight games. The Browns run a bus terminal for place kickers, punters and returners, with special teams play costing them at least four winnable games. Quarterback Kevin Hogan jumps off the practice squad to start in December – more than once. And the worst: Joe Thomas’ consecutive snap streak ends. By some crazy combination of the above, the Browns will finish at 6-10 with Hue Jackson earning some Coach of the Year votes.

Eric Szczepinski (Prediction: 6-10) National reporters are giving the Cleveland Browns no love heading into the 2016 season, with many predicting the team to win fewer than three games. However, there is reason for Cleveland fans to be optimistic heading into the season.

The offense will cheap jerseys be centered on an improved receiving corps featuring rookie Corey Coleman, Terrelle Pryor and the long-awaited return of former Pro Bowler Josh Gordon. Robert Griffin III will have a solid group of playmakers to ease the offensive workload.

Related: Hue Jackson and Browns coaching debuts

Griffin remains a huge question mark beginning the season, but with his athletic ability, the Browns revamped playmakers and head coach Hue Jackson’s player-friendly scheme, there is no reason to believe that Griffin will not be able to hold his own at the quarterback position for the Browns.

Defensively the team is extremely young and lacks playmakers at key positions. However, the offense should be much improved and give fans hope and something excited about heading into the season.

Look for the Browns to cheap jerseys china finish at 6-10 on the season.

Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (11) catches a touchdown as Atlanta Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen (37) and cornerback Desmond Trufant (21) defend during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Thomas Moore (Prediction: 3-13) Buckle up, Browns fans, because things are wholesale jerseys china about to get ugly, at least in terms of the team’s final won-loss record.

The Browns are undergoing a rebuild that is taking the roster down to its foundation. A year from now — after a season of growth and evaluation, another off-season of work and the 2017 NFL Draft – the Browns will be closer to the end of the beginning, but the next few months are going to be rough.

MORE FROM DAWG POUND DAILY Garrett, Howard to Browns in latest NFL.com mock draft17h ago Browns sign former CFL kicker Brett Maher1 d ago Cleveland Browns: Kevin Zeitler adds new dimension to the running game1 d ago Talking free agency fallout on Episode 3 of the DPD Podcast1 d ago Should the Cleveland Browns trade for Richard Sherman?2d ago There are still several questions surrounding quarterback Robert Griffin III; the young wide receivers, and that most certainly includes Terrelle Pryor, still need time to learn how to play the position at the pro level; and the rookies will have their ups and downs as they discover that playing 16 games in the NFL is far different from playing 12 or 13 games at the college level.

But that doesn’t mean the next four months will not be filled with some excitement. On those days when Griffin is hitting deep passes, or Carl Nassib and Emmanuel Ogbah are harassing opposing quarterbacks, the Browns will be fun to watch. wholesale jerseys

This team is not set up to “win now” under any definition of the term, but rather is one that should get better as the season goes along. It may be hard on the eyes at times, but will be of benefit when looking at the big picture.

NEXT: Browns vs. Eagles: TV, Radio Info Las Vegas oddsmakers have set the over-under on wins for the Browns this season at 4.5. All those glittering buildings on the strip were not built because the people running things are stupid, so that number feels very accurate. The Browns will have no problem hitting the under as they will close out the year at 3-13.

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

What We Learned: Uh-oh rest of NHL, Carey Price is heating up

Getty Images

(Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.)

For a little while there, the Montreal Canadiens looked vulnerable.

This has been a solid team all year, but there were plenty of questions to be asked about how their all-world goalie was going to hold up. This was, after all, his first time back from what was basically a year-long injury battle, and those who were skeptical that he’d be able to keep up his high-level performances are probably starting to get a bit of whiplash.

He was nearly unbeatable In the first two months of the season, going .947 in 16 games to start the year (this after a strong albeit not-very-busy World Cup). Then it became time to start asking questions about workload, because he went a dismal .899 in December and .906 in January.

The Habs unsurprisingly started to slip around that time, despite good play up front. Price went from being the biggest reason by far the Habs made the playoffs two years ago to being a huge liability that cost them plenty of points in a divisional race that seemed to be getting unexpectedly more interesting than it should have been.

But they’ve not settled in comfortably to the first-place spot in the Atlantic and are only four points behind Pittsburgh and Columbus, and are enjoying what is now a five-game winning streak after they lost eight of their previous 10. Price is a big reason why.

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He played four of those games and allowed just four goals, going .964 in this brief stretch. And while any goaltender on earth can have four good appearances in a row, Price has been playing well for a lot longer than that; even when they were losing in early and mid-February, he started to creep above league average again.

Let’s put it this way: In his last 16 games, Price is a very good .926. In the 16 before that, he was .889. That’s obviously a huge swing, and unfortunately for the rest of the Eastern Conference, the odds that Price continues to be .920-plus instead of below .890 seem incredibly good.

So the question, then, is what changed? For one thing, his save percentages on both low- and medium-quality shots on goal have risen sharply after weirdly steep drop-offs.

Obviously there’s plenty of reason to suspect a lot of the recent change boils down to the dismissal of Michel Therrien and the hiring of a much better coach in Claude Julien. The Canadiens are unsurprisingly playing a lot tighter in their own end these days and allowing Price to see more shots from farther out. That helps pad out the save percentage a lot, and certainly a big reason the numbers have improved. But across all shot types, Price is just playing better these days.

Price’s real problem when he was losing a lot of hockey games was that his medium- and high-danger save percentages at 5-on-5 cratered at the same time, and even when they didn’t he started allowing more low-danger goals. It’s a bad combination, obviously, and you’ll never guess what: The number of shots from anywhere close to the net has dropped sharply under Julien.

This was always the danger for anyone hoping to sneak past a still-slumping Price at some point in the playoffs. Julien’s defensive coaching acumen is one that makes good goalies into great ones, and great ones into world-beaters and record-setters. His system has actually changed a lot over the past few years but it was always tough for him to get anything less than average goaltending even in the worst of times. Putting him together with Price always carried with it the likelihood that goals against would dry up quickly.

What the Eastern Conference absolutely didn’t need was Price rounding back into Vezina form. Even though too much of the season is gone by (and other performances just too dominant) to actually get him the trophy, the fact that he might play the last month-plus of the year in the .925-to-.930 range is still going to get the Habs plenty of points. Moreover, anything approaching that level of performance probably gets them very deep into the playoffs.

The Habs are still a team with problems, sure. It’s tough to say who carries the puck out of their zone long-term. It’s probably not too much of a coincidence that Price’s save percentage was at its lowest points in the month and a half Andrei Markov missed; when you can’t get the puck up the ice effectively, you tend to turn it over in vulnerable positions and create scoring chances for the other team, to say nothing of the fact that you probably shouldn’t leave it to a 38-year-old to lug the puck for you in the first place.

In fact, if you look at the splits for Markov’s absence, Price was .936 prior to his injury, .898 during it, and is .923 since. Obviously it’s a little reductive to say, “Well, Price was only bad when Markov was hurt,” but there’s plenty of reason to suspect that an ineffective breakout would lead to lower save percentages. That much lower? Tough to say; probably not, but it’s definitely not going to help.

Point being, a healthy team in front of him and a top-four coach in the world was probably always going to help Price get back on track. So too was the simple passage of time. He just isn’t as bad as he showed for that six-week stretch. Not even close. Put another way, even with an abysmal stretch in December and January, Price is still tied for fourth in the league in save percentage among goalies with at least 45 appearances. That feels just about right given the talent level, and he’s probably going to close the gap between himself and the rest of the league, given who coaches him these days.

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The Canadiens have 16 regular-season games left. They’re not going to drop too many of them if Price is the Price we’ve all come to expect over those game. And then, well, anything can happen after that.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Now this is a solid take.

Arizona Coyotes: The Coyotes love having all these draft picks. Why, it’s almost like they should have been tanking for years.

Boston Bruins: BRUINS WIN THE TRADE!!!!

Buffalo Sabres: There would be if they could ever win a dang shootout.

Calgary Flames: Speaking of goalies who are heating up a little bit, Brian Elliott hello.

Carolina Hurricanes: I saw some guys on NHL Network talking about how Bill Peters shouldn’t have called out Eddie Lack. Dude’s save percentage is .873. Like, how do you not call that out?

Chicago: This team’s propensity to just win regular-season games is nothing short of incredible. Also, sign me up for a Nashville/Chicago first-round matchup.

Colorado Avalanche: Oh my godddddddddddddd.

  Columbus Blue Jackets: This is gonna surprise you but John Tortorella was involved in a controversial coaching decision in a loss. Since the big winning streak ended, Columbus has nine regulation wins in 27 games.

Dallas Stars: Hold on, John Klingberg scored AND Kari Lehtonen had a great game? What year is this?

Detroit Red Wings: This is the funniest thing you will read all year.

Edmonton Oilers: Yup, it’s a goal and an assist for McDavid again. Ho hum.

Florida Panthers: Watch a Panthers game these days. You’ll see they’re playing well. They also can’t get a W lately. That’s hockey I guess.

Los Angeles Kings: Yo, Ben Bishop was supposed to be the insurance policy, man.

Minnesota Wild: Yeah honestly I was a little surprised the Wild didn’t push a bit more all-in than they did. Hanzal helps, but I thought for sure more prospects would get moved.

Montreal Canadiens: Honestly I wouldn’t be too worried about Ottawa and Boston.

Nashville Predators: Be nice to have Ryan Ellis back, eh?

New Jersey Devils: I have a theory that this team just isn’t all that good. Correct me if I’m wrong.

New York Islanders: Yeah sure, I mean why not grind Thomas Greiss into dust?

New York Rangers: The Rangers were so freaked out by Saturday’s loss to Montreal that they recalled Tanner Glass about it. That’ll fix the problem.

Ottawa Senators: That’s my good boy again.

Philadelphia Flyers: Yeah sometimes it’s just like, what are ya gonna do? It’s the Capitals.

Pittsburgh Penguins: I think it’s honestly fine to have real penguins at a hockey game. That’s fun! But maybe it’s not fine to set off huge fireworks displays two inches from their heads. Just be nice to them. They’re so little and maybe you want to just scratch their bellies and feed them nice fish and be their friends? Instead of scaring them a lot just be nice?

San Jose Sharks: Yeah man I wouldn’t want to play the Sharks in the playoffs.

St. Louis Blues: What if firing one of the best coaches in hockey wasn’t a good idea? Oh I don’t know.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Here’s the most useless quote I have ever seen about salary cap management: “It depends on the type of contracts that we sign. The terms of their contracts that will affect the cap number.” Good stuff, Steve. Thanks.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Does this team have a “run” in it? I dunno man.

Vancouver Canucks: They’re “not dead yet” but it’s like one of those people who got pinned to a tree by a car and if you move the car that’s it.

Vegas Golden Knights: Oh I don’t know maybe.

Washington Capitals: The Caps keep on winning at home, folks. Pretty good team.

Winnipeg Jets: This goal, it was good.

Play of the Weekend

Come on dude. This isn’t fair.

Gold Star Award

I feel so bad for Robin Lehner, who’s having a great season (.922) and not getting much help.

Minus of the Weekend

That Avs game was truly a horrendous performance from everyone involved. Incredible.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “AdamParrot” is doing it right.

To Philadelphia: Matt Duchene

To Colorado: Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Couturier, Robert Hägg

Signoff

Agh, my groin.

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

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