#i yam not kidding

[ollierachnid]

have not seen the sun since the weekend, winter is an evil season

[lightrivals]

Sonic 3 spoilers below the read more!!

I can’t stop thinking about Shadow wanting Sonic to kill him; how he taunted and angered Sonic in hopes he would finish him off. The last sight before his death being a god drunk on revenge. Shadow did not expect to survive at the end of it all; he didn’t want to live without Maria. But for a moment, when Sonic found himself and showed Shadow that love is more powerful than grief, he smiled. The first smile since that photo with Maria. He accepted his second chance at life and embraced it with the same boisterous energy as Sonic. Twirling through the air together, reaching out for one another, spinning through the black death of space as two living shooting stars themselves. It’s beautifully romantic, in all meanings of the word.

Finally, Sonic and Shadow each found someone who can match them. No longer were they alone in their alienness, in their power. Shadow, draped in the shimmering pinks and golds bestowed by Sonic, Sonic flying at his side like the light that shines even when the star is gone.

It makes my heart ache so badly that Sonic gets that joy and freedom beside Shadow ripped away from him in Shadow’s sacrifice. To lose another person who understood him, someone who understood best of anyone he’d encountered thus far. And for Shadow in his last few moments, accepted his death not out of grief as he did at Sonic’s hands, but out of love—leaving a galaxy behind in his wake, a rebirth of himself from the cocoon of rage and pain that encased him for 50 years.

It’s so beautifully tragic, grief and loss, but as they say: better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

[unamusedyams]

dw guys they were just hangery

[hopeswriting]

Haru's really smart btw. She goes to midori middle school, which yams said is one of the hardest elite all-girls schools to get into. Her dad also teaches maths at a university, so that must have helped her too growing up. She also said she has tutoring from five to six. She does gymnastics and is at least good enough to participate in school's competitions, so you know she's athletic. She has that balance and agility and flexibility and core strength going on for her. She's so crafty and good with her hands. The disguises and costumes she's able to make? Girlie could disappear herself and keep living in namimori just fine. She'll butt heads with you to stick up for herself and her opinions. She'll stand by her principles and what she thinks is right no questions asked, even if it means resorting to violence, which she isn't afraid of and will also do without a second thought lmao. She'll wait for you to get out of prison and write you a lot of letters should you ever kill someone. She'll come with you whenever you have to get rid of an enemy family but will pretend she doesn't see any of it for your peace of mind (which was so funny of her actually zjeksjsk 😭😂). She'll test you to make sure you're still a good person worthy of her liking you and confront you about it if it fails. She'll make sure you're a good person full stop if she thinks you're up to no good even if you've never met before. She'll try to kidnap you to keep you safe when the students at your school are targeted and attacked. She'll put on a brave front for you so you can worry less about her and focus on the things you have to do. She's impulsive and reckless and prone to jump to conclusions. But she's also kind and brave and helpful and resourceful and driven and strong-willed and always well-meaning. She's girly and quirky and friendly and hardworking and energetic and fun and always ready to encourage you and cheer you up.

Anyways. I didn't plan to write all that and turn this into crying over what haru's character could have been hours, but here we are. Also i'm not necessarily saying amano should have just made her mafia too and given her a gun or something lol. I do personally think it wouldn't have gone against her character and i'd have enjoyed watching that happen, but i don't mind that she remained a civilian throughout the manga at all. I don't think it makes her uninteresting either, for sure. I'm just saying that not only she had potential, but there was also actual room within the story to make her a well-fleshed out supportive character. Like, my girl has all of this going on for her and what did we get?? Yeah, that's right. 😔

[yamball]

ok krakenblr can we talk about our newest special guy? Because he’s been waiting, he’s been working, he’s gone THROUGH it to be there and he is truly the definition of staying silly

I am, of course, talking about our fruit punch-sipping, grilled chicken-eating, gluten-avoiding baby defenseman:

Ryker Evans

Introduction

Ryker Garth Evans was born December 13, 2001 in Calgary.

His dad runs a successful hockey skills camp in Calgary, which is how he came to share the ice with elite hockey players throughout his life.

It’s also how he’s become very close family friends with Cale Makar and how he celebrated Cale’s Cup day with him (no, he didn’t touch the Cup)

Look at this cutie at three years old (x)

So he’s got everything going well and then when he’s around 10, he starts getting SUPER sick. Like missing a ton of school sick. He’s underdeveloped and small, not to mention sick and struggling with a ton of stomach pain.

He’s diagnosed with celiac disease, changes his diet and routines immediately, and has been managing it ever since. Tough ass kid from the start

While he eventually gets a growth spurt, it’s late, so a lot of this time is marked by scouts remarking on his skills in relation to his small size. One, who saw him at 15, said this: “The skill level he had was next-level skill. And his courage. He was like, 100 pounds and he would go into corners with guys that were 180 or 190 and come away with the puck. He was never afraid of anyone.” (X)

His dad said similarly, “There were a lot of times when he was a better player and they said ‘Oh, he was just too small.’ Even though it was blatantly obvious he was a better player, they said he was too small.”

But he’s a true analytics darling to anyone who actually looks past his size to see his skill. His dad’s a power skating coach, so his skating skills are also REALLY special. Scouts who really watch him fall in love with his skill and lobby for him successfully.

He’s selected by the Regina Pats in 2016 for Juniors. Notably, he’s named an A for the 2020-2021 season, the same season Connor Bedard joins the team.

NHL Draft Time (2020)

Okay, so. Ryker Evans hopes to be drafted for the 2020 draft. And actually, he’d been hopeful for 2019 as well (it didn’t work out then). But 2020, he’s REALLY counting on those hopes.

Every single team passes over him. He just simply isn’t chosen.

Of the snub, he says “It definitely puts a chip on your shoulder. It definitely makes you work harder. It definitely makes you want to prove everybody wrong.” (X)

He gets to work in that 20-21 season. But like I said, that’s the Connor Bedard season. So scouts start asking: is Ryker Evans actually growing in skill with his points increase or just getting the puck to our New Special Child?

Imagine being a good defenseman and contributing excellent passes to a wonderful player and having it count against you lmao I get so angry whatever

THIS HAS A HAPPY ENDING THOUGH

NHL Draft Time (2021)

So in 2021 :) Ryker is again waiting for the draft

The hopes are somewhat high but not astronomical. He figures if he’s chosen, it’ll be a later round and he’s not a masochist looking for disappointment.

So he actually sleeps in lmao he misses the beginning of the second

And despite all the doubt around his actual skill, despite all the HATERS….General Manager Ron Francis makes Ryker Garth Evans the second EVER draft selection of the Seattle Kraken.

Ryker is selected in the second round, 35th overall

His parents watch this, shocked, and quickly wake him up in time for a phone call

The phone call is very cute but he does admit he was sleeping lmao

Ryker heads back to Regina for the season but before he does, he notes: “I always wanted to prove everybody wrong. But now, since Seattle drafted me, I kind of have to prove them right.” (X)

Final Juniors Year

He’s great in the 2021-2022. Truly the one of the only players that can keep up with Bedard

They’re trading points back and forth and both are named to the all-star team for the WHL (nice!)

He leads all defensemen in points in the WHL

At the end of the season, he agrees to terms on his three-year ELC, setting the stage for his jump to the AHL next season

Coachella Valley Firebirds

Ryker joins the Kraken camp but fails to make the team roster. This isn’t surprising, as the Kraken had added Justin Schultz to the blue line in the off-season and so had a very clear and solid defensive core

Defensemen also take a longer time to develop well (I won’t go into this, but if you ever wanna chat about it/want sources on it, happy to do so! It’s fascinating to me), so Ryker’s rightful place was with the brand new Coachella Valley Firebirds

He trades the snowy Alberta weather for the desert, becoming a core part of this super close team.

Of this time, he says, “My whole career, everyone’s kind of doubted me. But I’ve been given some opportunities lately, and I just have to capitalize on them and show that I belong. That’s my mindset.” (X)

He also picks up the nickname Blade Boy (discussed here) and Garth. While Garth is his middle name, the Firebirds apparently started calling him that exclusively when a roster at an away game printed his name as Garth Evans

The 22-23 season was a tragic fairytale for both the NHL and AHL level of this franchise. CVF quickly endeared itself to a brand new community with huge wins and a huge dose of fun and personality from their players

This is not a CVF primer so I can’t get into it TOO much but oh my god. It’s so much you guys. When Dan Bylsma said Joey Daccord could’ve run for mayor and won in that town, you gotta believe him

Ryker lives with Luke Henman and Henman’s gf through the season. He apparently is NOT a good cook but he tries (the Tenny’s Talks with Henny is excellent)

Ryker really is able to develop as a player while in CVF, including going all the way to the Calder Cup Finals in their inaugural year

He is also able to develop alongside Tye Kartye, who has the distinct honor of being undrafted twice instead of Ryker’s just once. Tye is a very important part of this story because they’re some of the youngest guys growing together. (X picture cred)

Particularly under the leadership of Coach Jess Campbell, Tye goes from undrafted fourth liner to scoring in his NHL debut in the fucking playoffs against reigning Stanley Cup Champions….in a mere season.

Ryker is seeing that too. That’s the kind of culture he’s being developed in, too.

Ryker also gives us the all-time phrase “Nate Dogg, what happened?” in response to watching Tye’s first goal which is so 🥰

So the CVF season continues, going all the way to the end

The final is decided in game 7 overtime and they lose, which brings the fairytale to a tragic little end, but Coachella still cheers like crazy for the guys and chants Joey’s name even after he lets that final puck in

If I think about that game too much I get really sad so we are moving on

But not before I show you this really sad picture of Ryker on his hands and knees next to Joey just after the Bears win (x)

ughhhhhhhhh anyway

Seattle Kraken 2022-2023

Ryker did not make the opening night roster for the Kraken in 22-23

In explaining this decision and his hopes for Ryker, Dave Hakstol said he wanted Ryker (and others, like Shane Wright), to take their time in the AHL and play like they’re some of the best players in that league. Because they are.

But Ryker is called up on December 5, 2023 to spark life into the team when Schultz is injured.

When he was called up, he noted that he had been watching almost ever Kraken game, noting the systems that they were using just in case he had the opportunity to join.

Now that Schultz is back (at the time of writing this), Ryker’s been scratched once but has also played. Seems like they’re rotating him in evenly with the others

Why? Because he’s a big piece of the Kraken Future (tm)

(x) ^^ filed under “my whole heart” tbh

Looking Beyond by Looking Back

Last year and into this year, Ryker has been positioned as who will eventually take over a Vince Dunn-like position as the top offensive defenseman on the team. He’s drawn a lot of comparisons to him, especially because of the shared systems that the Firebirds and the Kraken run; he takes up the same role often, albeit with fewer minutes.

It’s also notable that he’s been slotted with Larsson during both the 2022 and 2023 preseason at times. It shows where Ryker WILL go (top line, with a stay at home defenseman) (my dream would be will borgen but that’s another story ok) though he isn’t there yet

We have to credit Coach Jess with a lot here again okay: she ran the power play coaching in Coachella Valley. Ryker has already quarterbacked a successful power play in his first few NHL games. (Dunner runs the first unit; Ryker’s been running the second)

While we don’t know how future seasons will shake up, Ryker’s early and successful call-up this season shows that they’re happy with his development and we should count on him being here for a while. (EDIT: on December 30, he was sent down again. We may not see him up again for a while 😔)

Not only for his skill, but for his identity. There were, by all accounts, better scouted and perhaps more skilled players on the draft board when the Kraken chose him.

But they, like his juniors’ team, chose him not just because of his skill but because of who he is. Because he’s battled adversity from an early age. Adversity from people who doubted him and from his own body.

That’s our kid. That’s our Blade Boy.

Now go watch Tenny’s Talks if you haven’t

[mxwhore]

yes the "they would NEVER have children" crowd are always 98% correct but also. all the character exploration is so worth it for me. bye

[cavity-collector]

yayyy more OC art for literally no one besides myself wowwieeee

[lovelettersinc]

Saw your yam fan art, thank you for your service in giving him content 🫡

AND I WILL CONTINUE

TO SERVE

TRUST

Feels like the perfect time to show off the fat dough babies (Chocoyam fan kids) I made for funsies

[solsticelosthermind]

Kid who’s been learning about medical stuff apparently for self amusement:, listing off a bunch of stuff most of the kids do that I also do: ma are you sure you don’t have some form of add/autism or something?

My stupid ass, literally doing jazz hands: the age old question. Am I like this because genetics? Or am I like this because trauma. We’ll never know!

Kid: ….I don’t think that is the question.

[makerofmadness]

I like just remembered that there's gonna be a cookie run trading card game (man they're going off with stuff aren't they-) and went looking for things and I'm wondering if anyone's like scoured every single trailer and other promo thing to get like pictures for all the stuff (it isn't out yet right? I genuinely can't tell at this point if it's out or not) but I went to the website and saw

My girl I need to see the full image NOW-

[amekonocternia]

I like making it so Yam's the most keyed into Milk than anyone else despite neither of them being actively aware of it. Like he clocked Milks emotional masking and semi facade of a put together person faster than anyone else, not exactly "oh this is whats happening" but rather a "something doesn't feel quite right". It definately helps that Yam himself also has been through a lot so he could recognise and resonate with things about Milk that the other two just couldn't, but also Yams hyper-observance of his surroundings lead him to recognising odd patterns of Milks that the other two didn't. The way he'd shift his body in uncomfortable situations or holding himself and doing other self soothing behaviors, noticing despite him smiling he just didn't quite have the same amount of emotion in his eyes. Like things like that.

I also imagine that would frustrate Yam, especially early on Y'know. Seeing that things just don't add up and being bothered that Milk just doesn't express himself, he struggles to understand why Milk even does it and questions if anything Milk does is genuine or not. How much of it is an act, what exactly does he not want to show and why, things like that. I've been thinking about them getting into a rough patch because of that, like getting into a argument over it and Yam pushes him too far and Milk just cracks and he sees this side of Milk that has been bottled up for so long just spill right in front of him and it's just,,, ouch.

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Apparently they still air Charlie and Lola on the swedish kids channel

Love that it’s still popular

[iridescentis]

I just absolutely love the idea that even when they're adults and Yam is a professional designer, Jim still models her clothes and puts on pretend runway sessions in their living room when Yam makes a new design maybe even inviting everyone else over to join in and eventually the kids join in too just strutting in the cutest little half-finished designs, that was my favourite thing I thought of when writing the fic

[rayuu]

i’ll only buy a sonic game if they bring back the chao garden.

[yamball]

psst…shane wright plays his first nhl game in montreal tomorrow

[pamesjatterson]

how my mom feels after assuming I feel some kind of way then getting mad about her own incorrect assumption