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iwritethat · 5 years ago

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Wally West: One

A/N: This was a detour from what I was doing. Oops.

Warnings: None

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"M'gann?"

"Yes."

"The cute alien chic?" You thought of the girl, clarifying it was indeed the correct one.

"Yes."

"And you're sure this one is the one because you said that 3 girls ago."

"Yes... I mean no, I don’t know - look can you please help me (Y/n)." Wally playfully pleaded with you like he’d done on multiple occaisions prior to this and you could only shrug in defeat.

"Sure but my conditions remain the same."

"I know, no bragging, pizza on me, you pick the film for the next 3 weeks."

"And?" You mockingly coaxed, knowing how much the next particular demand pained him which was evident in his deadpan but reluctant tone.

"And no mocking your dates."

"Good."

The following day you’d stategically accompanied Kid Flash on a visit to Mount Justice, the sight of you two together was no surprise to Robin, Aqualad nor Speedy though the remainder were intrigued by the mysterious stranger so Wally proudly made introductions.

"Hey M'gann, Conner, this is (Y/n)."

"Ah, this is who you love so much to talk about!" The Martian beamed grasping your hands as you shot a glare to a flustered Wally, the guy sheepishly running a hand through his strands.

"Is this your... girlfriend?" Superboy casually inquired after thinking of the correct terminology, yet again leaving you to wonder what your friend has been saying about you in your absence - also considering the implication this’d have on your scheme.

"No! Definitely not! I'm totally single, just because I've told you about (Y/n) doesn't mean we're dating. We're not dating by the way." Wally briskly recovered, blush fading as he emphasised his point specifically for the sake of M'gann.

"Nice to meet you both. Ah Kaldur!" You lit up once seeing the Atlantean, immediately embracing his form just as he did to you in hopes of catching up with him.

"It's been a while (Y/n), you look well."

"(Y/n) is here? Looking as lovely as ever, surprised you're still hanging with Wally though, you're way out of his league." Robin proudly joked as he walked toward you, genuinely happy to see you again and a girl called Artemis agreed with him despite only recently learning your name - supposedly teasing Wally was a commodity amount the Team.

"I'm here for training, Canary said she'd activated the sparring platform so I wanted to test it." With a content shrug you set your plan in motion, gesturing over to the designated area as indication.

Now you were very well trained, the team knew that so it wasn't a surprise when every single member landed with a 'FAIL' until Wally challenged your winning streak. You went two rounds, the first you played to his strengths allowing him to take you down with his speed and received the only 'PASS' of the day. M'gann cheered, flying over with questions and compliments whilst you comfortably sat up and proudly watched Wally bask in the desired attention. Meanwhile got to your feet, brushing yourself only to be met with a smirking Robin beside your figure.

"I know what you're doing and you are good at it, but I don't think it's gonna work."

"Does it ever work with Wally? He's never met a girl he's really caught deep feelings for but I'm only in it for the free food he's promised me." Came your knowing reply, softly smirking at Robin who seemed to disagree but accepted your justification nonetheless.

"There is one y'know..."

"Hey (Y/n) ready to get your ass whooped by the best there is? Fastest kid alive babe." The speedster smugly gained your deadly gaze, his boasting violating the agreement you’d struck less than 24 hours ago and thus not giving you a chance for Robin to elaborate like you’d wished.

This time you would not allow him a victory, like the others you took him out with a mischievous smile and then crouched over his waist whilst he leaned up on his elbows to meet you.

"No. Bragging." You raised a brow, tilting his chin towards you as you punctuated each word as a reminder before heading out. Although your plan had still succeeded to a degree, you walked backwards finding the Martian kneeling down to your friend inquiring about his condition as you winked at him - Wally seemingly impressed with your antics, as he usually was whenever he roped you into these scenarios.

You retained your attentive skills, even talking him up to M'gann but it became painfully obvious that her romantic affections were reserved for a certain clone which left you disappointed albeit pleased for her. Now, you had to break the news to Wally - you'd considered such measures while sitting against the wall in one of the Mountains many hallways bouncing a ball off of the other side as a form of contemplation.

Soon enough your felt a familiar comforting presence beside you, catching the ball and initiating a harmless game between the two of you.

"What's on your mind?" Wally knew you incredibly well, narrowing down I even the smallest quirks and he'd use that to his advantage.

"Nothing, but I'm afraid you might have to give up on M'gann."

"I know. Supes right?" He didn't seemed phased by your sympathetic disclosure, which surprised you slightly due to how long he’d spent gushing over the girl.

"Yeah, sorry West."

"It's alright. Thanks for trying, I'll still get you that pizza."

"But I didn't...?" His response was unexpected, leaving you somewhat speechless but he soon continued with conversation before you could finish, no evidence of heartbreak to be seen.

"That Dan guy you went out with? (Y/n) c'mon you're stunning, and he didn't even offer to pay the full check at the coffee shop. You deserve so much better, his flirting game was awful too." Wally reminisced on the details you’d cruelly given knowing he wouldn’t able to comment due to you deal, although such a thing was now void and you’d regretted that decision. Yet part of you enjoyed his mocking support.

"So I get the pizza but have to suffer your judgements for not getting you a date? I'm sure you have something to say about Jackson too." You threw your head back with an exaggerated sigh, Wally laughing as he replied.

"Don't get me started..."

How unaffected Wally seemed about the let down still puzzled you, although you believed something else must've attained his focus - not that you had any indication of what it was as you sat flicking through the channels.

"So... there's another girl." There it is.

"Dude, are you kidding me? Give yourself a month at least."

"No this one is the one, I know it." His tone was oddly confident compared to his usual dilemmas regarding that topic which automatically gained your full attention.

"Uh Huh. And when did you meet her? Love at first sight or whatever?"

"I've known her longer than a few days give me some credit here. But it wasn't at first sight, I didn't even notice it was happening or rather happened..." Wally's point was certainly more realistic in comparison and he was being truthful - again, maybe this peculiar circumstance held promise.

"You know my terms an-" You simply shrugged, assuming he wanted your assistance once more which dulled your growing investment slightly.

"No, not for this one."

"Hot damn, this woman must be special. Tell me everything!" That decision shocked you and it was evident in your tone, you excitedly encouraged him to indulge your lowkey interrogation since he never turned down your assistance.

"Yes she definitely is, but I don't know what to do for her y'know?"

"Romantic restaurant? Roses? Tell her over a romantic dinner." You listed things instantly, barely stopping for a breather.

"Would you want all that though?" Wally considered your ideas, furrowing his brows before he asked his question even if his posture radiated nervousness despite the confident facade he’d attempted to convey.

"Hah, no way! Honestly I'd love a chill night in, order a take out, put on a good series and just enjoy each other's company. I mean roses are nice too but I want to know my date likes me enough to relax and be themselves - you can't really do that in a fancy restaurant. Anyway, you should probably find out what this girl likes first." You simply smiled, giving him an honest opinion and advice for you felt he'd finally found someone more than just a crush to him.

"I guess..."

It was silent for a moment until familiar words echoed in your mind 'There is one y'know...' and instantly you stood up with your realisation.

"I know who it is!"

"What?! How?!" Wally snapped to with concern evident in his expression like a deer in headlights, unbeknownst to you why that was but he too halted in his tracks.

"Dick told me, I don't believe it Wally - it's great!" Now you had Artemis in your head, they'd hated one another at first so it certainly made sense that he'd grown to like her. They'd also kissed at New Years Eve or so you'd heard.

"Robin told you I liked you?! Are you kidding? He only knows because I thought he had a crush on you." That answer caught you off guard, practically disintegrating your ability to form a coherent sentence or even think straight due to the abruptness of it.

"Wait me? I didn't, um, I can't, since when? All the times I've been helping you with girls I... I..."

"Wait you didn't know? Okay stay there, I'm doing this again!" Wally held his hands out in defence, soon disappearing leaving you standing alone with your thoughts. A dangerous thing really.

Did you even have feelings for him? Quite possibly, that would explain why you occasionally compared dates to him and why you were always so willing to help him find his happiness but surely you wouldn't have suppressed them? It was so confusing.

Within a minute he appeared before you, a single red rose in hand and sheepish smile.

"I'm late I know that but there's no pressure for you. This is not how I expected you to find out, I aimed to flirt with you and only you before making a move so it wasn't thrown on you so suddenly but here we are. Guess I'm not great with girls without you."

With a mischievous grin, you pulled him close by his red hoodie and gently met his lips with your own and you couldn't deny how right it felt - an action you’d hope would quell the warring emotions. You pulled apart, his arms wrapped around your waist and yours on his shoulders.

"You're actually quite adequate, I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Oh you're hilarious." He matched your witty sarcasm, but still you find his happiness intoxicating.

"Can we, um could we take things slow? I know that's ironic to ask the fastest kid alive but please."

"I'd slow down for you, I want to take my time in every moment I get so it won't be a problem (Y/n). I promise." Despite the trace of concern in your voice, Wally was reassuring and sincere with his words so you both felt comfortable in whatever situation you'd crafted.

"So, I assume you won't be mocking my dates anymore."

"I think every date you'll have from now on is gonna be too great for me judge. Ah too bad, I know how much you loved me doing that." The speedster playfully responded with a knowingly satisfied smirk to which you threw him an 'are you serious?' expression.

Later, as you both sat comfortably on Wallys' bed eating pizza whilst a film played in the background, you received simultaneous texts from none other than Dick Grayson - his smugness translated even in a message.

[Dickiebird: Told you so.]

#wally west #wally west x reader #wally west imagine #kid flash #kid flash x reader #kid flash imagine #dc #dc imagine

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yopalonso · 5 years ago

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Arle Nadja for Smash Bros. 2: An addendum!

GO READ THE FIRST PART IF YOU DIDN’T YET

So! We’re back! With yet another Arle in Smash post. Didn’t I say that I wasn’t a believer of Arle in Smash, then why am I back at it again with another post? Well, to not only share more info on the topic, but to also emphasize on the details I left vague on my first post, without having to reconstruct the entirety of it from scratch. Or without having to add on top of it and then tell you to go read it again, hoping you’ll find the new details on that post.

Número 1: More ideas equal more fun!

Let’s get things started then with my first addendum: more moveset ideas! Ever since posting mine, I’ve stumbled upon plenty of other moveset ideas that I think deserve more attention. All of these which were shared in the #ArleForSmash Discord server, so if you’re still not there, go do it.

My highlight from the ones shared goes to the moveset concept by Celerity910. I took a read to it way after I finished up mine (considering that the Tumblr post went live almost three months after I finished up writing it down), and I noticed the subtle nuances and similarities later on as I kept on reading it. Celerity inspired it fully on the SEGA side of Puyo Puyo, referencing stuff from Puyo Puyo Fever onwards and basing the whole moveset under the rules of Puyo Puyo itself, and under the assumption that Arle would be included as a base fighter in Ultimate. It even includes a mention on Amitie as an Echo Fighter! It’s a fantastic read, honestly.

But upon reading it I was left with an impending question on my mind, that I had to write down after my original post...

Número 2: What does No COMPILE mean for my moveset plan?

Shocker. This is what struck me like lightning. What would happen to my moveset if I had to remove all of the COMPILE-era references? What would become of it? I then found out that nothing on that matter, well, mattered. SEGA isn’t too afraid to reference the COMPILE-era Puyo Puyo games specifically, so the moveset wouldn’t fall apart if moves taken from games like SUN or Puyo Yon are considered. The only two I could think of that could give me trouble, would be the ones from Madou Monogatari: the proposed Down Tilt and Forward Smash attacks, since those reference Madou in its fullest (and, c’mon, a tackle attack isn’t truly a reference, the body does like, what, 70% of the work there?). If these had to be cut, they could perfectly well be replaced by similar moves in motion: a Nuisance Puyo pop as her new Down Tilt (from the Puyo series), that could work exactly like the proposed one, and a four-Puyo pop for her Forward Smash, keeping the motion and replacing the fire with the popping Puyos. Everything else could very well be kept without sacrificing anything that was established before. Other things such as animations and the like would need to be changed, but that’s par for the course, and the animations would most likely be similar.

Now that those two are said, it’s time for...

Número 3: Her playstyle.

Now that we have a moveset, and since we have a notion on how she behaves on the battlefield, it’s time we addressed how she would play. This is something I omitted in the last part, already due to how insanely big that post ended up as, so it’s time to address it now.

Even though her main gimmick is Chaining through her Down-B move, that doesn’t mean that her neutral should be ignored. Her whole kit, when looked at separated from Diacute, is perfectly capable of putting enemies at a disadvantage. Her Up-Smash is perfect for catching landings or a missed air dodge, her Down-Smash is a good shield-pressuring tool that could very well lead to some crazy shield breaks, and her projectile game should keep opponents on their toes when trying to approach, mostly considering Fireball’s explosiveness on contact. I couldn’t say more about Ice Storm, her Side-B move, but this could lead to some crazy 2-frames, ledge traps or stage spikes if placed accordingly. Her stage control would be insane if the players learned how to properly lead their foes into some traps, such as anticipating a recovery with Fireball, only to then trap them with Ice Storm and sending them off with an Up-Smash. And her aerial game, while mostly situational due to how three of those moves have some anticipation, would be useful when attempting to stop some landings or when trying some follow-ups. Like, I’m just creating scenarios, imagine a Fireball into a spike combo. How crazy would that be, eh? Her off-stage game would be very balanced, too. Given how she could chase down her foes for an off-stage aerial or set up traps with her Neutral-B and Side-B would be ideal for her, too.

So, her regular plan seems really interesting and enticing. And the Chaining mechanic makes things even better. Most of these moves don’t necessarily have kill power or follow-up potential. So, the regular increases in knockback and damage from Arle’s chains could get things from regular to interesting to downright insane in a couple of minutes. Things like chaining together some aerials to then finish it off with a special would be sick. Or connecting some attacks at first and gaining the necessary buffs by keeping your distance with some Fireballs, then catch up a landing with a buffed Up-Smash. Sounds crazy. I mentioned it in the first part, that her grabs do not get affected by the buffs of Diacute, and that they do not increase the chain counter. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be used to extend or start a chain. So imagine the follow-ups you could do from starting up a grab after the first Diacute!

Her prevalent problem, however, lies within her archetype. Magical characters aren’t speedsters when it comes down to their attacks, so Arle players would have to be mindful on that at every minute. Her fastest attacks to get out of certain situations, would be her Side and Up-Tilts, her Jabs, Up-B and her N-Air. Every other attack could be interrupted from other angles, or before the attack even comes out. And in some cases, the endlag from a move could be catastrophic for Arle. Not to mention, if the player depends way too much on Chains, this could lead up to several, terrible mistakes that could potentially mean disaster for Arle, more so if you consider how chains work and your attacks don’t land. Her Up-Air move has a small shield that could stop attacks from above, but that still leaves her unprotected from the sides and from below. Another important thing to mention is the endlag on Mind Blast, both her Down-Smash and Up-B variants: it’s huge. So if you miss it, you’re left in a terrible situation that could lead to a hard punish, or even, an early KO. Not to mention counters and reflectors, Arle would have to handle extremely carefully against reflector-type characters, considering how Fireball and Ice Storm would be treated as projectiles. And there’s nothing worse than meeting your end by your own medicine. Not to mention how feeble certain characters are against rushdown or fastfallers, and Arle wouldn’t be an exception to that.

But if you learn the playstyle, then knowing when to push and when to retreat will be second nature to you.

Número 4: What if... she had an Echo?

I’ll say this short: I was not prepared for this type of scenario. Her moveset does come with a strong variety of attacks that could very well suit up a character like Amitie to take her role as an Echo Fighter. However, I’d have to rethink what to do on spells that Amitie logically doesn’t know or that have no equal on her. The ones that do have an equal would be easy to pass over: Flame over Fireball, Blizzard over Ice Storm, Lightning Bolt over Thunder, Fairy Fire over Heaven’s Ray, Explosion over Judgement, Reflection over Counter, and Accel over Diacute. Stuff like Mind Blast would have to be reworked to be compatible with Cyclone or Tempest, and maybe have Wind properties instead of shield-pressuring. Most of her other moves would also be changed to better fit Amitie’s happy-go-lucky personality. And as for her colors, well, I was not prepared for them, but they’d have to be inspired on her classmates, as well as on other characters of the series, or on obscure Puyo colors, like the Chu Puyo or the Block Puyo. Maybe give her that sweet Puyo Quest Fever alt? Who knows.

Número 5: More flair!

I didn’t mention on topics like a Guidance (mostly because DLC Guidances are out of the question), or her Boxing Ring title. I’ll get the second out first: The Apprentice Sorcerer (魔導師の卵 [Madō-shi no tamago] [”Magician’s Egg”, in context, this refers to a magician still growing, thanks, Celerity <3])

This title isn’t really seen in Puyo games at all, the Japanese one is used as a passive skill in Chronicle. So where does this translation come from? Surprise surprise, it’s from Hatsune Miku: Project mirai Deluxe, Stamp #110, the hint reads “Put on your best impress of the apprentice sorcerer”. The Japanese one reads similarly:「魔導師の卵になりきってみた。」(loosely translates to ”become like the apprentice mage” [thanks for the translation, Kei <3]) thus tying the titles together.

As for her victory theme, I was thinking maybe a shortened version of her titular theme could work.

And as for Carbuncle... Well, I wasn’t too keen on sharing this idea before, but I wouldn’t feature him as an important element of her moveset. Much like Morgana or the Slime, Carbuncle would be more visible on her Down-Throw, her taunts, and her victory screens, but outside of those cases, it’s Arle, all by her lonesome.

Número 6: Special thanks and additional notes.

Ok, I swear, this is the last time I’ll address this topic. I have a hunch feeling that Arle won’t be in the game, but... it’d be really cool if she was. She’s a character as important to SEGA as Sonic and Joker. It’d be horrible if by any reason SEGA decided it was better to go with a Sakura Wars character instead. C’mon, let Arle have this one, SEGA.

By the way, I’m not sure on what Hosoyamada-san thinks in regards to Arle in Smash Bros. or anything the like. It would be really cool if someone could ask him what he thinks, maybe, just maybe, he’s silently wishing for that as much as we do, like Phil Spencer with Banjo. We just have to wait and see.

If you made it this far, then congratulations, you’ve made it yet again through a wall of text, and I couldn’t thank you enough. I also have to thank Kaite20, Celerity910 and Schezoroark for their small, yet incredible contributions. I promise I won’t touch on the subject ever again. I had my fun, I had my time in the sun. Now I need to sleep.

Did you know? Arle Nadja knows more spells than the ones she shows in the Puyo Puyo games, including one called Contia. I wonder if she ever used Contia to pull off an all-nighter...

©SEGA. 2019.

#arle nadja #ARLE FOR SMASH #super smash bros #super smash ultimate #smash bros #puyo puyo #Madou Monogatari #arle #ぷよぷよ

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wazafam · 4 years ago

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The Flash movie will feature several superheroes from the DCEU. While Grant Gustin has been playing Flash in the Arrowverse for almost seven years now, the Scarlet Speedster is going to get active on the big screen very soon. Ezra Miller will be carrying the torch as DC's super-speeding hero as he'll star in his own film that will be draw inspiration from the iconic Flashpoint storyline. Even though it won't be a straight adaptation of the comic arc, it will have ramifications for the DCEU going forward, because of Barry's time travel.

Miller will soon be seen as Flash in Zack Snyder's Justice League where fans will get a taste of him traveling back in time to change the future. However, the Flashpoint-inspired film will be on a whole different level as it not only deals with time-travel but also the DC Multiverse. Barbara Muschietti, who is producing her brother Andy Muschietti's directed film, has teased that there will be a lot of DC characters showing up. The film has recently gone into production and will be filming for several months, maybe longer due to the global pandemic affecting TV and film production.

RELATED: Iris West's Role In Zack Snyder's Justice League Cut Explained

As The Flash development and production progresses, more heroes have been added to the cast. Originally, Ray Fisher's Cyborg was going to appear in The Flash movie, but Fisher's character has since then been removed from the script following the battle between him and WarnerMedia, in which he's alleged mistreatment on Joss Whedon's part during Justice League production. It remains to be seen if other superheroes from the DCEU will reprise their roles, given Barry's actions will alter the entire universe, but so far, the film already has an interesting lineup.

Barry Allen aka Flash first appeared in the DCEU during a brief cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice through archived footage. He is seen stopping a robbery while grocery shopping, likely in his early days as a speedster. He then showed up in another cameo in 2016's Suicide Squad where he briefly encounters Captain Boomerang before locking him up. If the Whedon cut of Justice League is excluded, then there hasn't been a lot of Miller's incarnation of the DC hero so far. The last time fans got to see Miller was in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths where he and Gustin's Barry Allen get to share the screen for a brief moment. That cameo, however, is how Miller's version of the character gets the name The Flash.

In the DCEU, Barry Allen's father, Henry, is imprisoned for the murder of Nora Allen, Barry's mother. As in other iterations of the character, he gets a job in Central City Police Department's crime lab so he can one day prove his father's innocence. The Flash movie will likely see Barry continue in that part while also seeing the ramifications of time travel play out. Despite having already suited up and operated as a superhero, this is essentially Barry's origin story in some fashion. He's still not The Flash that people know and loves from the comics, but that'll be the journey he goes through.

A big surprise for The Flash movie was the announcement that Ben Affleck would be back as Bruce Wayne aka Batman. Given that he had already stepped away from The Batman (which now serves as a reboot for Robert Pattinson's character), it seemed like his time as the Dark Knight was perhaps over after 2017. But it turns out that the DCEU's Caped Crusader will be joining Barry for another big adventure after the Snyder Cut drops on HBO Max. What part he plays has yet to be revealed and it's also unclear how much Affleck's Batman is in the actual story.

But the fact that the actor is still wanting to play Batman in the DCEU might mean that Affleck isn't completely done as some thought. Even though Bruce's father won't be in this take on Flashpoint, it doesn't mean Bruce won't be affected by Barry's actions. Perhaps the reason Affleck is in it, is to appear pre-Flashpoint as well as after Barry tries to restore the timeline to some degree. Given who else appears in the film, this Bruce may cease to exist because of Barry saving his own mother from being murdered, which would bring in another Batman.

RELATED: Why Ben Affleck & Michael Keaton Can Both Be The DCEU's Batman

While Affleck's Batman is showing up, there will actually be two incarnations of the infamous DC detective. Before Affleck was announced to appear in The Flash movie, it was revealed that Michael Keaton would officially be suiting up again as his character from the Tim Burton films. Given that the story is leaning more into the Multiverse concept, it opens up the opportunity for someone like Keaton's Batman to appear. This will be an older version of Bruce Wayne from that franchise that was established to exists on Earth-89 in Crisis on Infinite Earths. When Barry changes the past and returns to the present, Keaton's Batman will somehow be the DCEU's current Caped Crusader as a result of Flash's actions.

This is basically the film's way of having a Thomas Wayne figure (who plays a big role in the comic book) without having the actual character. Barry will get to engage with a different Batman that is still Bruce Wayne, but not the one he is used to. A big aspect that Keaton's Batman brings to the story, however, is that he'll be the one to create Barry's brand new suit. But given that he's reportedly going to be considered for additional DCEU projects after The Flash, it's likely Keaton's Batman is still around post-Flashpoint. Perhaps this paves the way for Keaton's character to star in a Batman Beyond project that takes place in the distant future of DCEU.

Another surprise that was recently revealed was the casting of Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. This will be the first time a Latina actress portrays the character in live-action. Currently, Melissa Benoist players the Arrowverse version on her own Supergirl show that is set to end after the upcoming sixth and final season. It's unclear how big Supergirl's role will be in The Flash and if it's a result of the Flashpoint event that she's suddenly in the DCEU. But The Flash movie will set her up for bigger things in the DCEU's future as there's a reason why she is specifically showing up in this film. One scenario is that the Flashpoint timeline rewrites history and has her be the last survivor of Krypton rather than Kal-El. Instead of Clark, Kara was the one to make it to Earth and become the planet's ultimate protector as Supergirl.

This will be the second big-screen version of Supergirl after Helen Slater played her in the 1984 film. There was a Supergirl DCEU film in the works a few years ago that was reportedly paused for unknown reasons. But with Calle now cast as the latest version of the heroine, it's possible the feature film is now being considered again. Since there haven't been any announcements yet on additional installments with Henry Cavill's Superman, perhaps this is a sign from Warner Bros. on who their new main Kryptonian will be going forward. Although, hopefully, this might actually mean that Cavill's Clark Kent will have another family member to interact with within future films. After all, Man of Steel did partially set up Kara's existence within the DCEU through its prequel comic book that came out ahead of the film.

It's also possible the introduction of Supergirl in The Flash movie will lead her into a future (and potential) Man of Steel 2. Either way, fans of Supergirl should have every reason to be excited as this will be the first time Kara gets to engage with other Justice League characters in a shared universe. With Kara now added, it seems she may not be the last DC hero to join the cast. Since the film is currently in production, more characters can be announced very shortly. Whether they are new or old DC players for the DCEU, fans can expect more faces to pop up in The Flash movie.

NEXT: The Flash Movie Can Confirm The Snyder Cut As Canon (With The Multiverse)

Every Superhero In The Flash Movie (So Far) | Screen Rant from https://ift.tt/37x4Nm5

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tombloodyfelton · 8 years ago

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So I finally decided to get out of my comfort zone and write something silly with zero angst and terrible puns and questionable morals. I just thought I owed it to Julian (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) Pls don’t hate me for this lol.

Part I - Allenbert

After the whole fiasco of wiping off Barry’s memories and his little row with Cisco over what could have possibly gone wrong (‘There was nothing wrong with my disruptor, Julian, I’d calculated everything!’, ‘Oh, then why did you forget about Barry’s increase neural velocity?’, ‘Excuse me, but it wasn’t like you remembered that tiny little detail either, Mr. Metahuman Specialist!’), Julian had retreated to the small room next to the Cortex, which he had basically made his own private office. He was currently making himself look busy with working on an algorithm to identify patterns in unsolved murders in Central City in the past ten years when Barry Allen walked in, looking slightly sheepish, but mostly curious and...well, carefree.

‘Carefree’ was a word Julian would have never thought he would one day use to describe the superhero of Central City, but well, here he was.

“So...since everyone else is busy downstairs trying to figure out how to... fix me, I was wondering if we could...talk, perhaps?”

Julian didn’t take his eyes off the tablet in his hands as his fingers typed in a series of codes in quick succession. “Talk? Alright. I can multitask.”

“What do you know about me?”

The question came out of nowhere and made Julian look up at the younger man with a raised brow, “What do I know about you?” You’re a shitty CSI, you’re sloppy and hot-headed, you never listen to my wise suggestions, you have a hero complex… “You’re gay and we’re dating.”

He wasn’t sure why he said that. Maybe because he thought it would rattle Barry, or at the very least annoy him. He liked getting under Barry’s skin, ruffling his feathers, so to speak. It was all good fun, the length the two would go to just to see nostrils flare, teeth sinking into the bottom lip to stop a particularly nasty remark from escaping, but failing most of the time and then being shamelessly unapologetic about it. He braced himself for a sarcastic retort, but for some reason, it didn’t come.

Barry’s pleasantly surprised “We are?” wasn’t exactly what Julian had been expecting to hear. He expected a certain amount of skepticism at least, but instead Barry had sounded pleased with the possibility of them together. Julian also noticed that the brunette CSI hadn’t even objected to being gay either. Curiouser and curiouser.

“Yes, totally.” He said flippantly to mask his surprise, eyes cast downward at the tablet, numbers and charts mixing haphazardly with the sudden images of Barry bent over his desk at the precinct, pants pooling around his long legs, his bare ass sticking out in the air.

Julian dug his finger into the knot of his tie to loosen it. It had suddenly become a little difficult to pass saliva down his throat.

“So, it’d be ok if I did this,” Julian looked up at the odd comment at the same time Barry leaned down to catch Julian’s lips in a surprise kiss.

Julian’s first impulse was to push him away, but Barry was kissing him with so much fervor and charming eagerness that it felt wrong and somewhat cruel to put such an aggressive end to it. Still seated and craning his neck to better access Barry’s mouth, Julian went along with the kiss because it actually felt nice, and he was surprised that he was enjoying a misplaced kiss with Barry Allen, of all people. Normally, he wasn’t particularly interested in such open displays of affection, but Barry had a way of running his tongue seductively over the seam of Julian’s lips and sliding it persuasively into his mouth that the blond couldn’t find it in his heart to care.

“What the fuck, man?”

The two promptly broke apart as their eyes landed on the intruder. Julian cleared his throat and adjusted his tie awkwardly, as he pointed an accusing finger at a deeply flushed Barry, “He kissed me first!”

“Err...I shouldn’t have?” If possible, he went even redder in the face as he took a step away from the desk and Julian’s seated form.

Cisco gave him a comic wide-eyed look mixed with horror and confusion. “No! You’re not even gay! Or did we mess up with your sexuality, too?”

“What? I’m not gay? But I thought...and the kiss was…”, Barry looked back at Julian as if asking for help.

Julian didn’t have the heart to deny him that, not with those innocent eyes and the trembling lips on that stupidly cute face. “It was very nice, Barry.” He said with absolute honesty.

Barry’s face lit up like a child who had just torn into a birthday present only to find his dream toy inside the box. “Yeah! I’d like to try it again.”

Cisco looked like he was about to pull his hair out. “No, you don’t! This isn’t you, Barry. You’re totally not gay,” and then with less conviction, “Well, as far as you let us know all these years, that is.”

Somehow, Julian was finding this whole scenario highly amusing. “Well, if he likes to explore other possibilities now, I’d say we let him.”

Barry gave him a brilliant smile, while Cisco turned to him with a severe frown. “Why are you even enjoying this? I thought you didn't like him.”

Well, the remark was a bit odd, considering the progress Julian had made in his rocky relationship with Barry. He thought everyone knew by now that the two actually got along and the bickering was only part of the fun. Why was Cisco upset over the fact that Julian might like Barry a little more than was allowed within the red lines of friendzone?

“You...don’t like me?” Barry’s eyes were quivering with hurt and confusion. It did something awful to Julian, like he had just kicked a puppy. “Then why are we even dating?”

“You're WHAT? JULIAN WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM??”

Julian got to his feet and crossed his arms across his chest defensively, “I was joking, okay?”

“Joking?” Barry now looked on the verge of tears. “Like, we're not really dating?”

Apparently, an amnesiac Barry was also very slow on the uptake. Julian actually liked him better this way, he could easily wrap him around his finger and make him believe the most ridiculous thing. He was just so damn gullible and Julian surprisingly found that a highly attractive personality trait on the speedster.

But the British CSI wasn’t really that horrible of a person. Or at least, he didn’t want to think that he was. “No, Barry, I’m sorry. It was just a stupid joke. I didn’t think you’d believe it.”

Julian was expecting Barry to get angry at him for the prank, but instead, the younger man just kept looking at him with hurt, pleading eyes. “But...but I liked it. The kiss. You. I mean...I have these feelings...I thought...it didn't feel like a joke.”

Barry’s sudden confession of love, or whatever absurd feeling it was, threw Julian completely off-guard. “Oh my lord,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, not believing that a little teasing and a little kiss, no matter how nice it had actually felt, could leave such a strong impression on Barry, who was, by all intent and purposes, totally straight and in love with his childhood sweetheart.

They really needed to get the old Barry back, Julian thought with rising panic.

Still standing in the doorframe, Cisco seemed to be having the same idea. “Julian, please figure out this mess before Iris finds out about it!”

“Why? What does she have to do with anything?” Barry’s cluelessness made Julian snort in amusement. Ignoring the whole creepy love confession, this was the most fun Julian had had in ages. And he had to thank an amnesiac, suddenly-gone-homosexual Barry Allen to thank for it. What had become of his life?

“Barry! You and Iris are engaged!” Julian was finding Cisco’s outbursts also quite funny. Somehow, the thought that this whole mess was the product of something Julian had said made the senior lab tech feel very proud of himself.

“WHAT?!” Was it just him, or were there just too many outbursts in this room, Julian wondered to himself as he watched Barry’s panicked expression with sly amusement. “Why would I even...! I mean, she’s like, my sister? Wally told me he’s my brother, so how does that not make Iris my sister?”

Barry’s reasoning actually managed to quickly sober Julian up. This was getting into dangerous territory now and Julian should really stop treating Barry’s sudden homosexual tendencies and attraction to blond, blue-eyed jerks as an amusing joke. “Okay, this is getting totally fucked-up.”

But it was proving to be very difficult not to be amused at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

“You think?” Cisco narrowed his eyes angrily at him. “You should’ve thought about it before making such stupid jokes for your perverse amusement.”

Oh, they were back at it again. The constant bickering. What was it with Julian always attracting these types of people into his orbit? Or did he just had that effect on everyone? “Well, I’m sorry! I wasn't lying when I said he kissed me first. Barry here apparently is kind of attracted to me.” And that is by no means my fault, he let Cisco draw that conclusion by himself.

Never let it be said that Julian Albert Desmond would ever admit to having made a mistake. Especially in cases that he clearly had not.

As if Julian had just said something Barry was dying to hear from the very start, those green eyes began to shine with fierce determination once more. “Yeah, Julian’s right. I really like the idea of us dating.”

How did they end up in this mess, again? Yeah, totally not Julian’s fault.

Cisco grabbed the sides of his head into his hands, looking on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “Oh my god. Okay. I’m leaving you to this! Julian! Fix this!” He then turned on his heels and left the office before either of them could say anything.

Julian turned towards Barry who was looking back at him with badly-concealed anticipation, biting his lip and shifting from one foot to another. He gave the brunette a suggestive smirk as he walked around the desk to get closer to him. Barry held his breath, green eyes daring him to throw all caution to the wind.

It had been ages since Julian had felt this carefree . He supposed Barry’s attitude was probably contagious.

“Okay, where were we?” And before he knew it, they were making out again, all eager mouths and labored breathing and drawn-out moans, hands tangled into one another’s hair and their bodies flushed from chest to hip, Julian on his tiptoes to better reach Barry’s amazing lips.

Barry was a damn good kisser, Julian decided as he felt sharp teeth tugging at his lower lip and sucking it in; and the blond CSI wasn’t one to let such good opportunities go to waste just because of some feeling of moral obligation. He’d let Barry punch him in the face once he regained his memories and then everything would be back to normal. No more guilty conscience and all, if there ever was one.

Next Part: Julvibe

#allenbert #julian albert #barry allen #cisco ramon #my fics #julvibe #the flash

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fauxastral-blog · 8 years ago

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and the tide it takes me away from you (and it brings me back again) - snowbarry

He grabs onto something for balance, he doesn't register what it is, only that it's the single thing keeping him upright. “Where is she? What happened to her?” "She died." [3x18 response fic] alternatively, read it one ao3 and leave a comment ... Barry didn't know until after.

I'm going to the future, he'd told Iris and Joe not more than three hours before receiving the message. They'd had no arguments for him, desperate and out of options; just like he was. He was glad neither had the thought to ask how exactly it was going to help, who'd he be seeking out to find the answers, how this would affect the timeline. Because he didn't know. All he knew was that they were slowly begin to grasp at straws as one headline after another came true, perfectly aligning for Iris’s death.

All he knew was that he had to stop that from happening, at any cost.

He and Iris drove-it seemed so strange, but he couldn't be flashing into the apartment building every night and not coming back out, the was a little too conspicuous even for him-back home in a heavy silence. One that wasn't begging to be spoken into, but held so many concerns and nerves unspoken of that it kept both their mouths shut voluntarily. Plus, if they voiced the worry that hung over them then that would make the chances of him going to the future and finding a way to fix everything more of a wistful dream than anything.

Somehow, not talking about repercussions helped him focus on believing that this would work, for not just the sake of Iris, but the entire team. He unlocked the apartment and wandered in aimlessly, completing the household tasks Iris asked him to, thinking fast. If he could just find someone he knew now in the future, someone close to him, maybe even future Barry if he was lucky, he could ask them for Savitar’s name then come back and hunt him down in this time, before the God of Speed got the chance to cause any more harm.

He’s feeling almost confident when he lets his head hit the pillow, staring at the blank ceiling as if it was going to fill in the rest of his life’s gaps. For the first time in many nights, he drifts off to sleep easily, a course of action still in the works, but a physical and psychological need for a solid night’s rest eventually taking over.

For an hour and a half, he wins a nightmare-less sleep. He doesn't see Wally trapped in the speed force, reliving his worst moments over and over or Cisco’s grief stricken look of betrayal when he first returned from Flashpoint or his dead mother on the floor of his childhood home or Iris, getting run through by Savitar and falling unceremoniously to the pavement of a time nearing ever closer. He doesn't hear the God of Speed’s voice mocking him or Caitlin, masked by the voice of Killer Frost, yelling that he was the one who made her a monster. None of that haunts him tonight and he's enjoying it so much that when his phone buzzing wakes him, he nearly rolls over and falls back asleep.

It's when it buzzes for a second time that he finds it in himself to sit up and see who so desperately needs him at midnight. He rubs his eyes and pushes the hair away from his face and is surprised to see Cisco’s name on the screen. The Flash rarely covered night shifts anymore, what kind of crime could be occurring that Cisco felt so compelled to message him? Why was he even at the lab this late in the first place?

You need to come to Star Labs right now.

Now Barry was wide awake. There was no crime specification in the message, meaning that a robbery couldn't be the reason he was being summoned. There was something so deathly cryptic about it, and Cisco very rarely used proper capitalization and punctuation in his messages. But what was at Star Labs besides-

Caitlin.

Barry propelled himself out of bed so fast he nearly flashed to the wardrobe, pulling on his flannel from earlier that day and grabbing a pair of jeans that still lingered on the floor as his makeshift outfit. He peeks over to Iris’s side of the bed momentarily, wondering if he should wake her in case something was really wrong, but she, too, seemed to be nightmare free for once, by the sound of her steady breathing, and he would be the last one to pull her out from that. She didn't need more worry to bear as it was.

Barry wasn't sure he would be able to handle it if something had gone wrong while he had been off formulating plans to go into the future.

Cisco’s emotionless words haunt him in the brief seconds it takes him to run into the lab. He checks the cortex first, hoping childishly that Cisco is hiding in there with Caitlin, healed and well, both of them ready to jump out and tell him that they were just pulling a prank like old times. When he doesn't find them there, as suspected, a feeling of dread still settles in his chest, resonating a fear to his core, and he runs to the med bay instead.

He can feel the transfer from a lukewarm air temperature held in the rest of the lab to a nipping chill immediately. He can hear his heart beating in his ears. His eyes race to Caitlin’s cot first before observing the rest of the room. He finds it empty, sheets glinting under the light with ice shavings. He can feel his knees weaken.

He grabs onto something for balance, he doesn't register what it is, only that it's the single thing keeping him upright. “Where is she? What happened to her?”

It's only after he asks that Barry’s eyes really take in the scene. Glass is shattered on the floor, a viciously sharp icicle has pierced the front wall and every piece of medical equipment that usually lingers close is outside of a ten foot radius of the cot. There's the oxygen mask thrown off to the side. The crash cart is turned all the way up, with its paddles dangling from the side of the cart. Caitlin’s necklace, the only thing that keeps Killer Frost at bay, lays on the tile, its glow gone, ripped at the clasp. A wave of nausea washes over Barry and he brings a hand to cover his mouth before dragging it up to reside on his forehead.

He finds Cisco next, who's huddled in the corner by the door, sitting on his legs with his shoulders hunched inward. He's staring at the cot in disbelief, his hair a tangled mess and tears running down his cheeks. His lips are parted, but no words find their way out.

Barry doesn't know what to say either, so overwhelmed that for a minute both men are just staring at the empty cot, hearts aching for the woman who no longer resided there. And just when Barry thinks he can't take any more, the moment is broken by Cisco speaking.

“She died.”

Barry loses his grip on the object that was holding up most of his weight and collapses against the wall, sinking to the floor with his knees to his chest. His elbows rest on his knees and his hands have tangled themselves in his hair, gripping tightly as though the feeling of that physical pain may be the only thing keeping him from falling apart.

“She really, truly, died, Barry. She started seizing in the middle of a sentence and we tried-” Cisco choked back a sob. He didn't continue the sentence. “Julian suggested blood clot, he doesn't know exactly, but she just started flat lining and we couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop it… She just lied there, so still. She was… gone; lifeless. And then Julian ripped off the stupid necklace and for one second, I thought she was going to be okay-”

Cisco breaks off for good now, tears coming too fast for him to continue. He buries his face in his hands, then, without even wiping his eyes, interlocks them as if he were in prayer; taking deep breaths in attempt to regain control.

Barry finished for him, the severe realness of the situation not quite hitting yet. “She's her, now, isn't she?” He wavers, so close to breaking. “Killer Frost?”

Cisco nods solemnly, saying no more. Barry can see him shutting down, but suddenly the speedster is back in the formulating mode he was in earlier with the future scenario, trying to construct a plan with his scattered brain. He shoves himself off the ground, walking as steadily as he can over to Cisco.

“Where is Julian?”

Cisco looks up at him, the same disbelief he had towards the cot now mirrored towards him. “He and HR went to look for her not long after she did that,"-he gestures towards the icicle punctured in the wall with his chin-"and ran out, but they didn't catch her, I'm sure of it. She's more powerful than she was, further gone.”

Barry’s hands are raking his hair again, grasping for a sense of direction. That was so far from what he wanted to hear. Now it feels as if he's in one of his nightmares again, drowning in the echo of Caitlin yelling from behind one of the pipeline’s cell’s walls : “You did this to me!” Only it was so, so much more real.

He had done this to her. His mistake, his flimsy, self-centered, decision had given her these powers in the first place, which made it his job to help her get rid of them. But he'd done nothing of the sort, instead focusing so solely on Iris that he forgot other people he cared for were suffering too, even if it was quietly. He remembered what he'd thought to himself earlier, that he had to stop Iris from dying at any cost. He wondered how he ever could have risked Caitlin being that cost to pay.

Now he had to bring her home safely, which really had been decided as soon as he saw her bed was empty. No debate, even though he could see a half-wit argument forming on Cisco’s grief-ridden face.

Barry promised himself that he could allow himself to grieve her later too, right after he found her and brought her back to the lab and found a way to make her their Caitlin, his Caitlin, again.

With a shuddering breath, he turns towards Cisco. “I'm going to find her.”

Vibe had seemed to lost any fighting will he had left, but all the same he attempts to stand. "Let me come, I can help. Maybe I can vibe her..." Barry looks down at him, not pitying, but tying to convey what he needed to say with his eyes, instead of trying to say it aloud and having it come out hole-digging the mess it surely would.

Understanding the message, Cisco sits back down. He'd never admit it, of course, but Barry saw a little relief in his eyes. After a moment of silence, Cisco looks back up at Barry with fresh tears running slowly and silently down his cheeks. “Bring her home.”

There was something resonating about his words. Maybe because they both knew “home” was far from her apartment or even this lab, it was the two of them, Barry and Cisco. The rest of the team applied too, of course, but there was a solidarity between the three of them specifically, because they were the original trio, despite everything and every new member that had joined over the past three years; they'd been through things together that could never quite be explained to anyone else. And wasn't that the definition of home anyway? “Always,” Barry says with melancholy and flashes away from the scene.

And while there was still an echoing of “Oh, god, what have I done” pounding in the back of his mind, there was also a sense of security. Because if there was one thing Barry did know about the future, it was that he would always find Caitlin Snow and he would always bring her home to him.

#snowbarry #flashfrost #snowallen #caitlin/barry #caitlin x barry #Caitlin Snow #Barry Allen #The Flash #the flash 3x18 #Cisco Ramon #snowbarry fanfiction #mine #ao3 #oneshots

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jodyedgarus · 6 years ago

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How Denver Got Better On Defense Without Changing Its Roster

The signings and trades of the NBA’s entertaining offseason help us figure out how we feel about a team’s chances of contending for a title the following season. But focusing on splashy roster moves — DeMarcus Cousins to Golden State, Kyrie Irving asking to leave a team that made three NBA Finals in a row — can blind us to other improvements a team can make.

That’s part of what makes the Denver Nuggets so compelling this year. The team played little to no defense last season and missed the playoffs. A few months later, the Nuggets rank among the stingiest groups in the league, have won seven straight and lead the West standings. And they’ve done this with virtually the same group of players from last year.

While a combination of secondary factors helps explain the turnaround, it makes sense to begin with the most eye-popping change in Denver: the Nuggets’ suddenly stifling defense.

“It’s our identity,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters last week after his group held LeBron James and the Lakers to just 85 points. “Let’s be honest, our first three years to be in the bottom five of defense every year, for me, it’s embarrassing. When you’re known, ‘Hey, he’s a defensive coach,’ and three years running, you’re bottom five. I have pride. We all have pride.”

And they should be proud for the time being. Denver, which was 25th on defense while surrendering 111 points per 100 plays last season, has jumped 21 spots, all the way up to No. 4 on that end, now allowing 105.5 points per 100 plays. And again: This reversal has taken place despite the fact that the vast majority of the Nuggets’ minutes this season — 99 percent, in fact — have been logged by players who were also on Denver’s roster last season.

The San Antonio Spurs became a lockdown team after they drafted Tim Duncan. The Boston Celtics were dominant on D after they traded for Kevin Garnett. But no team has ever improved by as much as this Denver defense has while keeping the cast virtually1 the same.

Denver didn’t have to change its squad to dominate on D

Biggest one-year improvements in defensive efficiency, and the share of minutes played by returning players, since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger

Opp. pts/100 poss. relative to league avg. Team Season % Ret. MP Previous season Value Change Spurs 1997-98 59% -5.7 +5.7 +11.4 Celtics 2007-08 50 -0.4 +8.6 +9.0 Bucks 2014-15 67 -5.2 +3.4 +8.6 Bobcats 2013-14 64 -5.7 +2.8 +8.5 Lakers 1999-00 69 -2.1 +5.8 +7.9 Nets 2001-02 41 -2.5 +5.0 +7.5 Pistons 1995-96 68 -4.7 +2.5 +7.2 Nuggets 2018-19 99 -2.3 +4.7 +7.1 Raptors 2006-07 37 -6.5 +0.5 +6.9 Hawks 1993-94 71 -2.2 +4.6 +6.8

Positive values mean the defense was better (e.g., allowed fewer points); negative values mean it was worse.

Source: Basketball-Reference.com

A lot of that relative improvement2 stems from a schematic change in how the Nuggets — specifically, Nikola Jokic — defend pick-and-roll scenarios. The team was shredded in screen-roll action last season, ranking third worst in the league in defensive efficiency when facing such plays, according to data from Second Spectrum. Fast-forward to now, though, and Denver is tied for third best against the pick-and-roll,3 largely because of how Jokic negotiates the plays differently.

Jokic is arguably the most well-rounded center in the NBA from an offensive standpoint, but with lackluster quickness, he has often found himself in no-man’s land: playing just far back enough to routinely give ball handlers wide-open jumpers but just far up enough to give speedsters the runway necessary to finish at the basket before he can get in position to block their shots.

This season, though, he’s made a concerted effort to play farther up on pick-and-roll ball handlers in hopes of forcing them into making quicker decisions. Yes, guards and forwards will often still be much more explosive than he is and will beat him to the cup at times, but with improved communication and more decisive action on Jokic’s part, Denver is better able to protect the rim when Jokic isn’t in position to make a play.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NugsDefense.mp4

The Nuggets are using “soft” coverage — in which the man guarding the screener doesn’t come up and truly engage the ball handler — on pick and rolls about 13 percent less than last year when Jokic is on the court, according to Second Spectrum. Opposing jump-shooters last season, having plenty of space, overperformed their expected effective field-goal percentage4 by more than 4 points when Jokic was the nearest defender — a sign that he may not have been playing up far enough to affect their shots. This season, though, opponents are shooting jumpers more than 5 points worse than their expected effective field-goal rates.

Similarly, the Serbian center — who ranked among the NBA’s bottom five rim protectors in both 2016-17 and 2017-185 — this year ranks smack-dab in the middle of the league’s rim protectors in how often he forces close-range misses when serving as the nearest defender. In other words, he’s been more than serviceable this season.6

Of course, it’s fair to question the sustainability of this strategy with Jokic and Denver’s torrid defense as a whole. After all, the Nuggets allow a relatively high number of looks from the short corners and have been somewhat unscathed in that their opponents have hit a below-league-average mark from those spots, and on wide-open triples in general, to this point. In fact, if you look back at Denver’s struggles in early November, when it dropped four contests in a row, teams hit better than 54 percent of their completely open looks from deep. (On some level, this has long been one of the things that Denver sacrifices in hopes of aiding Jokic in the paint. Other defenders, often assuming the 7-footer won’t hold up in coverage, provide help away from their defensive assignments, and in doing so, they run the risk of giving up an open jumper.)

Still, there are more reasons to believe in Denver than there are reasons not to. Despite having battled one of the NBA’s toughest schedules so far, the club — with Western Conference wins over the second-place Thunder, third-place Clippers, fourth-place Warriors, fifth-place Lakers and seventh-place Blazers — the Nuggets have beaten almost everyone in the West’s crowded playoff race. Denver has also knocked off Toronto, sitting in first in the East, on the road.

Other sources of optimism: Paul Millsap, after missing 44 games last year, is logging a career-high true-shooting percentage at age 33. Guard Monte Morris, who played in only three games as a rookie last season but now sees 24 minutes a night, is unbelievably sure-handed and owns the NBA’s best assist-to-turnover ratio by a country mile.7 Malone took the necessary step of inserting Swiss Army knife Juancho Hernangomez into the starting five when it became apparent that opponents were flat-out ignoring Torrey Craig because of his inability to shoot from outside.

Denver is one of the youngest teams in the league, but it leads the NBA in rebounding percentage, is tied for second in assist percentage and has managed to stay atop the standings without Will Barton, its top bench scorer, who should be back from injury in the coming weeks. The Nuggets’ defense has been the headline this season, but they still possess a top-10 offense, and Jokic — already one of the better passing bigs of all-time — has only continued to blossom on that end since bursting onto the scene.

It’s still somewhat early, yes. But if Denver’s defense is here to stay, the Nuggets have enough things going for them in just about every other facet of the game not only to make the playoffs for the first time under this regime, but also to do some real damage once they get there.

Neil Paine contributed research.

Check out our latest NBA predictions.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-denver-got-better-on-defense-without-changing-its-roster/

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jesusvasser · 7 years ago

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Christian von Koenigsegg Talks About the Future and His Nerves Leading Up to the Speed Record

No one was prepared for the disruption Koenigsegg would have on the supercar segment when the company first emerged from Sweden’s dark and mysterious forests in 1994. The combination of the car’s shape and its power took the wind out of many Italian sails. Neither was the world prepared for the sheer intellect and force of will of its Koenigsegg’s founder and namesake, Christian von Koenigsegg.

Twenty-four years later, the company—and, indeed, the man’s impact—has had a continuing impact on the automotive community. We sat down with Christian two weeks after one of his creations, an Agera RS, broke five world records, including becoming the fastest production vehicle on the planet. We discussed his past, the company’s future, and whether or not he is related to a certain Scarlet Speedster superhero.

Automobile: Are you related to the Flash? Is that why Koenigsegg is synonymous with speed?

Christian von Koenigsegg (with a laugh): Of course, I am!

AM: We knew it.

CvK: I guess speed is something that just comes natural to what we do here. It’s always been part of Koenigsegg’s DNA to go fast. I remember when we did the first CC8 in 2002. We had the first pre-production car and went wind-tunnel testing at Volvo’s wind-tunnel in Gothenburg, Sweden. With that data, we started calculating what kind of speeds we could achieve, and we were really, really surprised of what was possible. Ever since, I guess we’ve been chasing the demons of speed.

AM: Koenigsegg is also known for bleeding-edge engineering, what made you lean into that type of supercar design?

CvK: Building Koenigsegg’s persona, the one we have now, was really about distinguishing ourselves from the competitors. Making it interesting or exciting is one side of it. [AM: Take a look at Koenigsegg’s dihedral doors or triplex suspension.] Pushing boundaries and challenging myself and our team with what we can do is another.

I had always wanted to build my own sports car since I was a young boy, but when I started, no one was asking for a Swedish supercar, hypercar, megacar, or whatever. I had to solve, “How can I make people interested?” What came across as the correct strategy, but may have not been the easiest road to travel, was to try to outdo everyone else in what a sports car can do. Huge speed, power, grip, and handling all came into play.

But to combine all those contradictory features into something that’s rather useful for road use, that’s actually very livable to drive on a normal road and not be this undrivable monster, it had really never been done. We wanted to build something with those features better than anyone had before us and we did.

AM: We remember the first time we saw one of your cars and said, “Whoa, what is that!”

CvK: That’s exactly the reaction we were going for.

AM: Koenigsegg was the inventor of the hypercar. How do you see that formula evolving in the future?

CvK: There are a lot of things happening with electrification and the expectation of what these cars can do. I think it’s an extremely exciting time. There’s a lot of opportunity and challenges. There are a lot of regulatory challenges that come into play if you want to sell these cars for road use. There are environmental aspects. There is the environmental image, which is becoming more important to us as well.

I think, for those of us who are up to the challenge, it’s a fantastic era to build extreme cars. It is the most challenging era, for sure, but also one with the most opportunity for technology to be integrated into the cars and definitely more interesting than ever before. I just love it. This era is the perfect storm to create extreme, interesting, and unusual things.

AM: In that vein, what are your thoughts on a pure EV being labeled a hypercar? You’ve undoubtedly seen Tesla’s Roadster 2.0 and Rimac’s Concept One. Do you consider those hypercars? And is sound an integral variable?

CvK: To have a good sound or interesting sound that stimulates your senses is definitely a plus. At the same time, I don’t see why an electric car couldn’t be a hypercar. [A hypercar] needs to tick a lot of boxes. Of course, it has a hard time ticking the sound box and to a certain degree the emotion box, especially with the more traditional [supercar] clientele. But from my perspective, probably yes.

It’s not only about 0 to 60 mph or 0 to 200 mph, you also need the emotional aspect and a car’s agility. They lack sound to a certain degree. But if you push the boundaries of technology, and you have the performance and the looks and a lot of other emotions, why not?

AM: With the recent addition of the Regera, are you considering furthering your hybrid technology?

CvK: Of course, we still have a lot of sound [from the twin-turbocharged V-8], but with the Koenigsegg style and ethos, we’ll probably continue to combine ingredients to beat the pure electric cars at their own game. We want to show a different angle of what’s possible.

AM: Let’s talk about the record. Now that the event is over and everyone came back safe, was there anything specific you were truly nervous about?

Cvk: The entire event was very nerve-wracking. Being a public road, when you drive on it slowly it feels fairly flat and very straight. But at [284.9 mph] it’s far from flat. And the road is very narrow. There’s the chance for animals and vegetation, other obstacles on the road, or something could go wrong with the car. We’ve never driven that fast before, and it’s in front of a huge audience, so if anything went wrong, it’s extremely public and immediate. All those variables were very nerve-wracking. But we stepped up to the challenge, we were very open about everything, and it gave credibility the whole event. It was extremely exciting.

AM: What did you think when Mark Stidham (the owner of the car) and Jeffrey Cheng came to you with this proposal?

CvK: We’ve had our own ambition to do this for many, many years. We just couldn’t find a road we could shut down and get to it. And all the other tracks we found were too short. I kind of gave up on the idea. At the same time, I realized it’s not sane to travel at these speeds. No one really should travel at these speeds, especially on a public road. So we started to focus on how we get to 250 mph faster than anyone else and making the best car in that scenario. We didn’t want to spend our energy on making a car that’s really good at going 300 mph but has other compromises, whether that’s too long gear ratios to be fun or not enough downforce at slower speeds. So, like I said, I had given up on it.

But then Mark and Jeffrey said they wanted to do this. And they said they wanted to do this together. Even if we weren’t part of it, though, Mark was adamant that when he got his Agera RS that he was going to attempt the record. We decided that it would be far better if we were involved. We know the aerodynamics, the engineering, we have our driver [Niklas Lilja], and we can help set up the car to be as safe as possible.

In hindsight, it was a fantastic thing. But in one way, it was also something we didn’t really need to do because we can prove ourselves in so many other aspects. That it was possible, and that the car was capable of [hitting 284.9 mph], it’s incredible. I’ve looked at the data since, and we were actually hitting the rev limiter on the highest speed run for almost 10 seconds. We basically ran out of gear.

AM: Has anyone ever stopped you in the company’s history and said, “Christian, this is way too crazy? We can’t do that.”

CvK (with a laugh): Yeah, I’ve heard that a couple times. But I know why we are where we are, and it’s because we did these kind of over-the-top things. We did them well, and that’s who we are. We can’t change from one day to the other. We’re here to push boundaries, and that’s what I like in the end. Sometimes it’s frustrating and painful, but that’s who we are.

AM: On pushing those boundaries, while Bugatti is releasing the Chiron’s top speed, and Hennessey claims the Venom F5 will hit 300 mph, do you see any technical hurdles before a road car hits 300 mph or faster?

CvK: I’ll say this: We could’ve raised our rpm limiter and compensated more for the high altitude with the turbocharger’s boost pressures. In fact, we were actually down on boost pressure. If you look at video and the ease at which the car took itself up to those speeds, with a little less drag, a little bit higher rpm, a different gear ratio, and a few extra horsepower, we’re almost there. It’s not farfetched that with a few changes the Agera RS could’ve done it.

There aren’t many technical hurdles left. We had Michelin there, and they were blown away at how little their tires were affected by what we were doing. Before the record, we also spun our wheels and the Michelin tires to more than 310 mph at our factory and checked the valves and TPMS components, so there wouldn’t be an issue. I think with our suspension setup and the low weight of our car, their tires would’ve been fine to hit 300 mph.

Other cars, however, will be different as weight, downforce, and other variables will interact with the tires and car differently. But it’s definitely doable.

AM: So if Bugatti or Hennessey came out tomorrow with a faster run, do you think there would be a second attempt?

CvK: It’s not something we’re looking to go after. I think if someone beats 300 mph, and we then go 310 mph, where are we heading? To 400 mph? The limits are clear. If you look at drag racing, they’re hitting more than 300 mph. Then you have the salt flats. I don’t think there’s a hard limit. But the question is, if it’s a road car for sale, what’s the compromise for other aspects of the car? What are the sacrifices?

You can make the car completely robotized. All the aero changes itself, this and that flap close and open allowing for faster speeds. But there’s a cost of weight and complexity. There’s always a compromise. It’s not something we’re after.

AM: Then what’s next for Koenigsegg?

CvK: We’re working day and night to get the Regeras out. We have eight of them right now being built in parallel, and on top of that the Regera is about to take over the entire production line. It’s really launching that out in a big way to our waiting customers and to start showing the world what the Regera can do, which is very exciting.

To put it in perspective, it was a very wet runway here in Ängelholm, and we did a little drag race between a Regera and an Agera RS, and without spoiling anything, it’s pretty crazy what the Regera can do.

AM: My colleague Zach Bowman asked you after the event what this record meant for you and the company. You said that you needed time to digest everything. A few weeks on, how does it feel?

CvK: I’m actually surprised at the enormity of the thing. It spread like wildfire, and everyone seemed to really care about the record. I meet people who aren’t really interested in cars, and they know about it. It’s clear that it had a real meaning to people, and it put us in a good light. It was all positive. Of course, when it’s all over and done with, it’s a great feeling because it’s tough to get there, get it done, and make sure all the risks are handled properly. But afterwards it’s fantastic. I think it had a really important impact for the company. We’ve also heard that Agera RS customers are getting ludicrous offers for their cars!

AM: Thanks for sitting down with us, and thank you so much for having us at the event.

CvK: Of course, and I hope to see you in Sweden in a few months maybe to play with the Regera.

AM: Absolutely.

#IFTTT #Performance Junk WP Feed 4

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jonathanbelloblog · 7 years ago

Text

Christian von Koenigsegg Talks About the Future and His Nerves Leading Up to the Speed Record

Automobile: Are you related to the Flash? Is that why Koenigsegg is synonymous with speed?

Christian von Koenigsegg (with a laugh): Of course, I am!

AM: We knew it.

AM: Koenigsegg is also known for bleeding-edge engineering, what made you lean into that type of supercar design?

AM: We remember the first time we saw one of your cars and said, “Whoa, what is that!”

CvK: That’s exactly the reaction we were going for.

AM: Koenigsegg was the inventor of the hypercar. How do you see that formula evolving in the future?

AM: With the recent addition of the Regera, are you considering furthering your hybrid technology?

AM: Let’s talk about the record. Now that the event is over and everyone came back safe, was there anything specific you were truly nervous about?

AM: What did you think when Mark Stidham (the owner of the car) and Jeffrey Cheng came to you with this proposal?

AM: Has anyone ever stopped you in the company’s history and said, “Christian, this is way too crazy? We can’t do that.”

Other cars, however, will be different as weight, downforce, and other variables will interact with the tires and car differently. But it’s definitely doable.

AM: So if Bugatti or Hennessey came out tomorrow with a faster run, do you think there would be a second attempt?

AM: Then what’s next for Koenigsegg?

AM: My colleague Zach Bowman asked you after the event what this record meant for you and the company. You said that you needed time to digest everything. A few weeks on, how does it feel?

AM: Thanks for sitting down with us, and thank you so much for having us at the event.

CvK: Of course, and I hope to see you in Sweden in a few months maybe to play with the Regera.

AM: Absolutely.

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

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cloakedsparrow · 7 years ago

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SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Flash #24, on sale now.

Post-Flashpoint, beyond the New 52, even past the early days of Rebirth, a new DC Universe is taking shape. But Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, recalls an earlier time — and he wants everyone else to remember, too. When the events of “Superman Reborn” led to the re-emergence of the version of Thawne who had died in Flashpoint and was native to the previous DCU, the Reverse Flash discovered that the world was not as he had left it. There was a new Wally West calling himself a new Kid Flash, an Iris West lacking certain key knowledge, and a Flash yet to achieve some of his greatest victories. In short, a terrific opportunity for revenge.

“My Dear Iris… West?”

While the Flash and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) battle multiplying villain Multiplex at Barry’s birthday party (see last issue), Thawne pays a visit to Iris’ home. We know from Thawne’s appearances in “The Button” crossover with Batman that his frame of reference is solidly set in the pre-Flashpoint universe, making him one of possibly only two characters who remember the world that was, the other being Classic Wally West. Unlike Wally, though, Thawne’s perspective is further complicated by the intricacies of time travel — the Reverse Flash was born in the 25th century. He notes that, back home, “I was an expert on all things Flash,” which makes sense given that Barry Allen’s life and deeds will be some 400 years in the past by that point, but “that has changed.”

For example! While beating the stuffing out of Kid Flash, Zoom remarks him that “you, young ‘Wallace West,’ are new,” and taunts him by saying that not only is he not the “real” Kid Flash, but “you’re not even the real Wally West!”

Ok. Ok. We as readers know where Thawne is coming from, we know his perspective, and we know that certain things have changed. But more than twenty issues into an ongoing series and two years since the introduction of New 52 Wally, this is a pretty remarkable of retro-continuity marking. And let’s not forget that just last issue, in announcing his presence to Iris and Wally just as Wally had been discussing his villainous father, Thawne asserts that “there is only one Reverse Flash.” If the thrust of Rebirth is to move forward, as it seems to have been with the re-integration of Supermen in “Superman Reborn,” this is the exact opposite. But there’s also a lot of universal reconfiguration going on just now, with unmistakable references to Crisis on Infinite Earths also cropping up this week in Dark Days: The Forge.

Oh, but Zoom’s not done yet.

“Excuse me? You Don’t Know?”

Barry maybe should have told Iris he’s the Flash, as he contemplates this very issue. Because Zoom assumes that he already has. And learning that Iris doesn’t yet know provides even more sadistic fodder for a villain whose greatest thrill is toying with people’s lives.

There’s another interesting bit in Thawne’s speech, though. He suggests, at most half-joking, that Iris and Wally should “empathize” with him, because “the three of us have been hurt by the same man.” This seems to be in the context of aspects of all their lives being “rebooted” — Zoom’s word — and Thawne’s blaming the Flash, not entirely unfairly, for manipulating the fabric of the universe without regard for how it might affect those around him. He also seems to believe that Iris can help him discover the full scope of what has changed.

Zoom abducts Iris to the 25th century, leaving the Flash to find the severely brutalized Kid Flash along with a message in blood: “You Know Where I Live.” Barry catches his drift right away and dashes off to the future. But Thawne has a specific plan to reconstruct the world he knows, taunting Iris that he’s offering her a “gift,” to “remember a past life.” That life, of course, being the one where he murdered her.

Who is Zoom, and What’s His Connection to Iris?

In addition to Thawne’s direct interrogation of post-Rebirth continuity, the “Color of Fear” arc has raised some other intriguing questions with potentially major ramifications for these characters moving forward. First, there’s the top-level mystery of how Zoom survived his encounter with Dr. Manhattan during “The Button” crossover arc — or if he did. The possibility of the Reverse Flash’s return haunted Barry last issue, even as he stared down into Thawne’s burned-out corpse. A flare of energy deep within a hollow eye socket suggested there may be life in him yet.

But another possibility is that the Zoom we see here is one that has not yet raced to his fiery death at the hands of a naked blue god. Time travel, right? But if that’s the case, there are some other odd questions. From the moment pre-Flashpoint Zoom emerged into the current universe, his mission was to punish not his traditional adversary, but instead Batman, whose father had stuck a sword through Thawne’s chest in the alternate reality. There is no indication in the current story arc that Thawne still harbors this grudge, or that he feels it’s been resolved. There are a few possible scenarios, but they would require Zoom to have experienced at least some of the events of “The Button.” Or he may actually have returned from the dead.

There’s a parallel story in these issues, set in the 25th century’s Flash museum and narrated by an unknown character off-panel — possibly John Fox, a future Flash who has not shown up in post-Flashpoint continuity. In The Flash #23, this person revealed, somewhat implausibly, that history showed the Flash and Reverse Flash to be the greatest of friends and allies. In #24, there is commentary that the Speed Force is “hope made real,” but “with all blessings in the multiverse there must be a cost.” We see what appears to be bottled Speed Force energy, alongside another container of black energy.

It’s not clear as yet how these factor into the current story at hand, but even if Classic Zoom had not returned, the New 52 universe certainly did not appear to be building toward a world where Thawne and Barry Allen were anything like BFF. This may signal that Dr. Manhattan continues to manipulate the universe, or that there are other factors at hand influencing the future history of the Flash.

Oh, and Iris?

How far is Zoom — or is DC — planning to go in rebuilding an earlier world? Because Iris’s Silver Age history is wild. Iris discovered, shortly after marrying Barry Allen and learning he was the Fastest Man Alive, that she was a native of the 30th century, sent back in time as an infant refugee from a war between Earth-East and Earth-West. Ok! Then, after Zoom murdered Iris at a costume party (she was dressed as Batgirl) by vibrating his hand inside her head, Iris’ birthparents brought her back… to the future! There, they built a new human body to house her spirit (really!). Between “The Trial of the Flash” and Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry moved to the 30th century to be with her and they started a family. The line would continue with Bart Allen, Barry’s grandson, becoming the speedster Impulse and then Kid Flash in the late 20th century. Or early 21st, in DC’s sliding timeline. Or none of the above, because he was erased as part of the New 52 reboot.

There has been no hint that Iris is from the future in modern continuity. But why not, at this point? It would be fun to get Impulse back.

The Gatekeeper

Back in the original Crisis, after the creation of the singular new universe only Psycho Pirate remembered the way things were before. This was, on the one hand, a stroke of genius, because the Psycho Pirate was a nothing character. He was unlikely to do much with that information, especially since at the end of the story he was incapacitated by the enormity of his situation. And from that point on, it was all but impossible to use the Pirate in a story without evoking in some way his importance as a universal gatekeeper.

Zoom is a whole different situation.

The Reverse Flash is not a nothing character. He’s by most accounts the Flash’s greatest foe, responsible in the current continuity for murdering Barry Allen’s mother and, as this issue reminds us, in previous worlds for murdering Barry’s wife, as well. He feels aggrieved by the changes to the universe and intends to act on them, investigating the new corners of reality taking pleasure at the “second chance,” as he says here, to commit his greatest crimes again.

Since the beginning of Rebirth, the DC Universe has been in flux, with the contours of reality being defined across several series — most notably The Flash, Superman, and Titans — to establish how the New 52 and pre-Flashpoint worlds are coming together to make a single coherent continuity. “The Color of Fear” arc establishes Zoom as a villain who would tear all of that down to the ground. It’s a fascinating perspective for a baddie, drawing longtime readers in for the ride by reintroducing classic story points in utterly terrifying ways. Will history repeat, or will Flash succeed in saving Iris where he’d failed before? Who is the Flash museum curator with the unique perspective on the life and deeds of Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne? And what will the timeline look like by the time Flash and Zoom are done with it?

#The Flash #rebirth #Review #Reverse Flash #Eobard Thawne #Zoom #DC #Kid Flash #Wally West #Iris West #pre-Flashpoint #post-Flashpoint #multiverse #New52 #Impulse #Bart Allen #Crisis on Infinite Earths #Psycho Pirate #Article

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