#it’s definitely a game changer moment imo

[thisisadaseyblog]

The moment Derek moves beyond pure simple attraction to falling in love…

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 21: Exotic Creatures Of The Deep (Strange Animal)

Some of you might already have some idea of how absolutely abnormal I am about this album and have been for several months, without fail. It's... perfect? And you know that personal relevance will also often be a total game changer in deciding what your ultimate favourites are and such. It's personal relevance of my own doing anyway, if I can call it that, you know those memes that go something like "it's MY mental breakdown and *I* chose the soundtrack!!". Oh yeah, that's what happened here. But even that aside I might never get over how much ECOTD is EVERYTHING I might want from an album and it has not lost its power with passing time even one bit. I'm wary to call anything a number one definitive favourite most of the time, but if I really had to choose... yeah, this is my favourite album of all time, there's absolutely no denying that.

Where do I even start with this... Well, coming back a bit to the LB - HYL - ECOTD series as a whole, I love how all three of them have so much in common and each one is some sort of natural development on the previous one, keeping its core elements but also adding new ones that are unique to the new album. And I guess the style of ECOTD is the one that ended up speaking to me the most. Toning it down a bit on the repetition aspect, adding more fancy synths, heavy drums, more guitar-based stuff continuing from HYL... And its still edgier and more electronic and darker and theatrical than the previous ones. Maybe I could even call it straight up COOL sounding (at least at times) in a way that the previous ones aren't (or not quite as much). (And that's not to say that they're all not icredibly cool in their own way anyway, but, you know.) None of these three are definitely better than the others for me by the way, but. Still, love the whole evolution here a lot.

And now, of course, a word on the craziest and most ambitious idea of the century, the 21×21 shows. I spent about a month, if not more, earlier this year going through what I'm quite sure must be the majority of what's been recorded from these shows, and I have no regrets. And yeah, one of the most impressive feats in the history of music, playing 21 albums in full day after day, but also can we please talk about the visualisations they put there to go with the albums. Catching glimpses of those album covers being comically stretched or rotated and such was a very important part of the whole experience. But yeah, Sparks Spectacular, it really is so spectacular.

I actually do have specific favourites on this album rather than being obsessed with it all the same amount, but I think it deserves special treatment just like Lil' Beethoven, so, let's go, going over all of them now. And I think it's better to just dive straight into them now anyway, in order to get a better hang of this whole album and why it's so brilliant and special to me.

Intro + Intro Reprise

I love you leitmotifs that reappear throughout the album and tie it all together. Such a good touch on what is imo the most cinematic of Sparks albums

Good Morning

This happened a couple of times to me with Sparks, when I first hear a song and I'm quite intrigued and delighted but that's mostly it. And then I hear it once more after a while and I'm never the same again from that point on. THIS!!!!!! SONG!!!!! I was so right that I would love all of ECOTD even more than anything before it based just on this. This is the Russell falsetto album by the way, that's important to note. I'm very impressed by this song in many ways. I like that it starts with this specific synth sound that's VERY characteristic of this whole album. And the fake ending... This song has LB and HYL all over it but it's also its own beautiful thing

Strange Animal

This song has an effect of "stopping in my tracks the moment I hear the first note" on me to be honest, another one of my forever and biggest favourites. Right up there with all the other rocking epics to the likes of Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls, Dick Around and As I Sit Down To Play The Organ. Sparks going meta on music & being a musician is also always very cool to see

I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song

My first impression of what would become my most listened to Sparks song was a "wait, this was supposed to be a Sparks-only playlist, am I still listening to Sparks??" But a couple more months passed and what can I say, I'm obsessed now (and have been for over half a year now). The Maels saying "fuck you" to love songs & pop songs cliches will always be one of my favourite things about them... While they're also actively alluding to and using those cliches to create something very effective. I'm sure that it being so similar to the type of electro pop songs that were getting lots of radio play in the late 00s is why I'm so drawn to the sound here. It's always all about that nostalgia effect, huh (and this album is the absolute PEAK of "oh god why are all these songs so nostalgic to me I've only known them for this relatively short amount of time")

Let The Monkey Drive

This song ends what is probably my favourite 4 consecutive songs run on any album ever. Each is so mindblowing but in a different way. Best thing about this song to me is its atmopshere. It's just SO tangible. Like, this IS driving past the speed limit on a highway in the middle of the night (we can ignore the rest of what's happening in the story here for a moment). Obsessed with Russell's voice here and also it's so great to me how such a minimalistic approach can be so effective in creating this whole very specific mental image. Just unsettling strings in the back and two notes (or repeating chords) on the piano that are sort of the most prominent "melody" here and that's all you need. The suspense, the understatedness of it all, I love it

I've Never Been High

One of the most Sparks-like of Sparks songs in a way? And another one where I could probably start coming up with lyrical interpretations for on the spot. Lots to think about regarding all of these songs to be honest. And I like how the rising piano notes at the end lead into the descending flute (?) melody at the start of the next song

(She Got Me) Pregnant

Honestly, I absolutely love this song, it's one of my favourites on the album, maybe top five material. And it somehow sounds exactly like how I could have imagined it to sound, based on just its premise, I don't really know how that works but it does, lmao. And who else would give you this sort of song if not Sparks, no one

Lighten Up, Morrissey

Glam rock bliss that does not clash with the rest of the album despite being pretty stylistically different from the rest of it. Quite saddening that it's the only song here that has a music video, when there's SO MUCH potential here, seriously, again, this whole album is so cinematic. I do quite like what we got here though, love this era of Sparks ALSO when it comes to the visual side of it all (I keep saying this over and over), but still, there's so much more we could have had, y'know

This Is The Renaissance

GOOD GOD, I LOVE THIS ONE, in love with it from the first listen. It's everything that makes this album so grand and one-of-a-kind in a nutshell. Among the top 10 Sparks songs that should have had a music video also. I have a pretty elaborate painting idea based on this song in mind, so I hope I'll be able to make it into reality at some point in the future

The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'

List of Sparks songs where movie-directing is used as an allegory of sex is somehow at least two songs long I've noticed (this + Love Scenes). Anyway, this one's a pretty heavy one to unpack so I don't think I can really do it justice today. Love it just like every other song on here though

Photoshop

Another one that could have had such a killer music video. Again, stripped-down arrangement that's just enough to hit you with the right amount of feels and overall one of the most killer Ron piano master moments overall, now that I think about it. The plea of "photoshop me out of your life" sounds pretty... on-the-nose out of context? But again, Sparks magic makes it work anyway! And the 21×21 performance is in my top 10 Sparks live moments of all time (I don't actually have a list like this but, maybe I should make it now)

Likeable

...This is the song of all time to me. Honestly, give me any song pondering the nature of what it means to love vs what it means to like someone and things of such nature and you have me hooked forever. But even that aside, musically speaking, it's just... perfection. Most cinematic Sparks song overall maybe, it's really just like a little movie, every moment is so perfectly timed and measured, I have no words honestly, for just, how incredible it all is. The melodic aspect now, it makes me so emotional, one of the most likely of Sparks song to make me cry, for real. I could start going over every different part of the song now but honestly, they're all just, equally amazing. Special shoutout to the waltz parts though, and the bridge. Oooohhh the bridge, when it all gets so intense, and then the main melody reappears with an acoustic guitar, it's just, peak of it all. And then the intro leitmotif comes back again and it's just?!?.?? My feelings on this song might even still not be fully comprehensible and clear to me. All in all, couldn't imagine a better album closer than this, hands down. And this song also closing the Sparks Spectacular series of shows, yeah (not counting the encore). Oh man. Oh maaannnnn. What a freaking ride.

[sunflowerdigs]

Reblogging again because I read it again and I do have one tiny difference of opinion. I think the first midpoint is the Nexus Event at the start of 1x04. It falls closer to the actual s1 midpoint and, imo, it shows us Loki manipulating time for the first time (inadvertently) through caring, a skill he goes on to hone and that becomes the series game changer. It's also the moment his goal. shifts from "gain power" to "make sure someone else is ok". That someone else is a variation of himself, so he's really (finally) putting his own emotional needs before his quest for power for the first time in his life. It's why the final line that he hears before he learns to control the timeslipping is a callback to the nexus event trigger ("Do you think that what makes a Loki a Loki is the fact that we're destined to lose?").

HWR doesn't understand love or its power, so I don't think it occured to him that Loki (who is 99% of the time a villain) could come to care for Sylvie if they met up. And he didn't anticipate the danger of that. He thought it would be like him and Ravonna (which, as you pointed out, is the midpoint of s2) and Loki would just dispose of her after gaining power. But Loki is different. Again...it's not romantic love, really, because Loki is viewing Sylvie as a variant of himself at the time. He also sees her as a separate person, as Sylvie, and he definitely has a crush on Sylvie and wants to get to know her more and maybe even have a relationship with her (up until the citadel fight, where, like you said, he realizes that she can't trust him). But he doesn't promise Sylvie that even if they lose they'll still survive because he doesn't really know Sylvie - he promises that to the part of Sylvie that is a Loki (in effect, making the promise to her and himself).

Idk. Hope that makes sense. I like...find it really difficult to talk about Loki and Sylvie. Because it sounds like I'm trying really hard to create something non-romantic because I don't like their romance but I'm not. Like you say, Loki's character development gets in the way of romantic Sylki, so it's important to understand that he is both (1) crushing on Sylvie as an individual and (2) kind of projecting onto/empathizing with Sylvie-as-Loki in order to nurture his burgeoning self love. And it's that second piece that wins out. So, even when he stops being romantically interested in her, he's still deeply invested in her future and her happiness.

honestly I'm more at a loss when people say sylki is canon. I am...very confused by what people mean by that. they were never anything romantic together? I honestly feel like I've missed a whole season of the show when that gets said. that's not from a shipping standpoint; that's from nothing happening that'd make them "canon"

like, to ship sylki is still to ship something that isn't and didn't become "canon". it's still wanting something that didn't happen between them

like, even if sylvie was an intended "love interest" (was she? even? on the basis of her being a woman that loki connects with?), I don't call that alone a romantic relationship between them being "canon". Like, if elizabeth bennet and mr darcy never became anything, they're not "canon". that's just something that could have been but wasn't.

they were never actually anything?

LET'S TALK ABOUT "CANON" & BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION, THE SERIES' MIDPOINT & THE THEME OF BETRAYAL, AND THE SUBJECTIVITY OF ROMANCE

I've been sitting on this inbox comment/ask for a long time because I wanted to make sure I respond in a way that feels productive, kind, and doesn't step on other fans' joy. Having said that, as a Lokius shipper, I think it's really important for Lokius shippers and Sylki shippers to unite on at least one subject and that's positive bisexual representation. This isn't meant to be a harsh reply--I understand what the anon is saying from their point of view--but I also want to delineate between canon and personal interpretation/taste.

I also want to note that it's unfair to disavow Mobius and Sylvie's impact on Loki, Loki's impact on each of them as a result of his individual relationships with them, and thus the impact Mobius and Sylvie have on one another separate from Loki. Doing so really halves the overall richness of the story, and taking this into account is why my metas are so annoyingly long. This one, in particular, is a mess but hopefully I've managed to wrangle it into some kind of coherence that addresses the anon ask that is respectful to Sylki. Fear not, Lokius shippers, I discuss Lokius in this post, too. But first, let's talk about canon and bisexual representation ...

CANON AND BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION

Canon is often defined as: 1.) what is actually written in text (as opposed to subtext), AND 2.) what the creator(s) verbally confirm.

I've said before and I'll keep repeating: the most important aspect of art is art's relationship with the reader/viewer. Individual interpretation is what escalates a medium to a deeply personal and, at times, spiritual level. Art is supposed to make us think and feel. We're supposed to interact with it and do with it what we will. This is particularly important when we consider that much of consumable art is hampered by the demands of capitalism. Fan-interpretation democratizes what people without power want to see and hear, whereas canon (especially mass media canon) often self-censures to sell to the widest audience.

From the creators' standpoint, Sylvie has always been intended to be Loki's romantic interest, and Loki was always intended to have romantic feelings for her. This is what the creators tell us. Whether or not one likes Sylvie and Loki together is subjective.

As for the text, the plot between Loki and Sylvie has the markers of a romance, albeit one that doesn't come into full fruition. By full fruition, I mean a happy ending with each character affirming one's love for the other and committing to being together. Now, a relationship doesn't have to be successful or reciprocal to be considered romantic. Heck, it can be absolutely toxic and still be romantic. Whether or not the plot is convincing in its execution of romance, however, is also subjective.

What romance requires is: 1.) at least one of the characters desiring the other, and 2.) at least one of the characters willing to sacrifice for the other. Sacrifices don't have to be big, either. They can be small and cumulative.

Canonically, Loki fulfills both of these romantic requirements for Sylvie. (More on Sylvie below).

Subtextually (that is, not canon as defined above), Loki and Mobius fulfill both of these requirements for one another.

I'm gonna soap box for the next two paragraphs, so you can skip over this if that's not your jam. Both romances, canonical and subtextual, can exist concurrently without erasing the existence of the other. Even if Loki and Mobius had miraculously become canon in S2 (it's Disney, this never would have happened but let's explore the hypothetical), that doesn't erase Loki's former romance with Sylvie in S1. To erase that history is bisexual erasure, which isn't okay. Likewise, quashing the importance of queer subtext in order to "kill the other ship" isn't okay either, as it reinforces optical heteronormative romance in mass media and is also a form of bisexual erasure.

What's more important than either ship "winning" is the positive portrayal of a bisexual character. This means a character who demonstrates genuine love and devotion to people of more than one gender. If we accept the canon AND the subtext (we don't have to like it; Sylki's not my cup of tea personally, but I accept it as real), Loki fulfills positive bisexual representation, however restrained that representation may be. The social goal is to get to the point where a media juggernaut like Disney allows its franchise characters to experience relationships with more than one gender canonically and positively. We're not there yet and I'll probably be dead before Disney ever gets there, but Loki can be seen as a historical stepping stone distinct from Aziraphale and Crowley (Good Omens) and Steve Bonnet and Edward Teach (Our Flag Means Death).

(NOTE: Polyamory is a whole separate subject matter, which I'm won't get into here.)

ON SYLVIE

There's fan dispute over Sylvie's interest in Loki. I've previously written meta on Sylvie's sexuality and how she responds to Loki's romantic advances here. In S1, while she starts off frustrated, I think Sylvie slowly develops interest and was cautiously hopeful that she and Loki could figure out their futures together. Loki has been consistent about wanting to be with Sylvie and supporting her up until the necessary plot conflict of the series midpoint (S1E6; the S1 finale). This midpoint is the root cause for why Loki and Sylvie's relationship becomes strained. Again, this doesn't mean that the romance never existed--the plotpoints are there--but it does mean Loki's character development got in the way.

So let's talk about the series' midpoint and the interplay of Mobius, Loki, and Sylvie's mutual impact. The three are so deeply entangled that it's worth untangling their cause and effect on one another.

THE SERIES' MIDPOINT & THE THEME OF BETRAYAL

I keep stressing in my other metas that the series' midpoint (S1E6) is the most critical. Structurally, midpoints are where the story turns. Midpoints occur on multiple scales: at the episode level (typically in acts 3 or 5, depending on how the screenwriter divides their screenplay), at the season level, and at the series level. Midpoints are what provide the overall narrative and character arcs with movement.

As a whole, there are 3 key midpoints in the entire series:

1.) S1E2/E3 - When Loki betrays Mobius for Sylvie (midpoint of S1)

2.) S1E6 - When Loki betrays Sylvie for the "bigger picture" (midpoint of the whole series)

3.) S2E3/E4 - When it's revealed HWR betrayed Renslayer; Victory Timely is brought into the mix, and Sylvie reluctantly joins the TVA (midpoint of S2)

There is another betrayal that runs near-concurrently with #2, which is Mobius's betrayal of Renslayer (it begins in S1E4 and continues into the S1 finale). Thematically, we can take Loki's betrayal of Sylvie and Mobius's betrayal of Renslayer as mirrors of one another because these are the only betrayals that are motivated by good rather than selfishness. The selfish betrayals of #1 and #3 bookend betrayal #2 to highlight the beginning Loki's readiness to become a hero in S1E6. Where S1 focuses on Loki exploring who he is, S2 focuses on the hero Loki will become. S1E6 therefore serves as Loki's turn, his launching point to get to where he lands in S2E6. The story is really well-structured!

The poetic irony is that Loki's S1E6 betrayal was not an act of villainy, but an act of character growth.

There is plot set-up for Loki's betrayal of Sylvie, and that set-up is 2-pronged: 1.) from Sylvie's end, her misinterpretation of Loki's intentions, and 2.) from Mobius's end, the provision of unconditional friendship. Building up to these prongs are S1E1 - S1E3, in which Loki's self-interest and impulsivity are emphasized. S1E4 pivots Loki from self-interest and impulsivity to consideration for others and caution. Sylvie did not bear witness to Loki and Mobius's interactions in S1E1-S1E2 and S1E4 in the time loop chamber. She has no context for why Loki would hesitate killing HWR. I'll discuss this more under "Prong 2".

PRONG 1: SYLVIE'S MISINTERPRETATION

In the scene below (S1E5), Sylvie makes an assumption about what Loki wants and Loki admits via subtext that ruling a timeline actually won't make him happy.

Sylvie smiles in response, implying she understands what Loki means, however Loki often speaks in double-meanings (he cannot be trusted) and Sylvie has doubts (she cannot trust). From Sylvie's point-of-view, Loki has discussed the desire to rule with her 3 times (writers' magic 3s again). Above is the third. The previous 2 are:

1.) In their first confrontation in S1E2, when Loki offers Sylvie the opportunity to be his lieutenant. (Can't find the gif of this. Grr ...)

2.) On Lamentis (S1E3) in the scene below:

By S1E6, Loki has no interest in rule.

He's honest when he says he's worried about the greater ramifications of killing HWR. Sylvie doesn't believe him. The question is how did Loki arrive at this point in his character arc? Why slow down now? Why worry about the consequences now?

The answer is in S1E4.

PRONG 2: MOBIUS'S UNCONDITIONAL FRIENDSHIP

It's established in S1E1 that Mobius knows Loki better than Loki knows himself and consequently better than Sylvie knows Loki. A lot of Mobius-haters despise Mobius's cold confrontational tactics but it is those same tactics that force Loki to self-reflect. And to be clear, Mobius uses cruelty in S1E1 because 2012 Loki would not believe in, let alone listen to, softness and compassion. Cruelty is a language 2012 Loki understands, therefore Mobius communicates with him on that level to get him to listen and start thinking about the answers to the hard questions.

Not exactly the gif I wanted, but close enough. In this scene, Mobius wonders why Loki, who "has so much range", wants a throne. He then asks Loki, what's next? The implication of these questions is that Mobius knows Loki will never be satisfied. He knows, deep down, a throne is a poor substitute for what Loki really wants: love, acceptance, and companionship.

Mobius's tone is mocking, his note that Loki has a wide range is complimentary, and the question is serious. Further, and this important, Mobius gives Loki respect in conjunction with his cruelty, his compliments, and his seriousness by acknowledging Loki's intelligence ("I am smart"; "I know") and his potential to be more than a villain ("That's not how I see it"). Understandably, this strange, dizzying mix of seemingly contradictory truths puts Loki off-balance.

Their tenuous allyship becomes a friendship in Mobius's eyes near the end of S1E2. Mobius is practically squeeing about Loki's multiple breakthroughs and how well they work together to Renslayer:

And Loki genuinely looks excited to help Mobius. Look at that fist-pump. Mobius doesn't see it, he's ahead of Loki, so his enthusiasm isn't an act. The seeds of mutual trust (rather than doubt) have been planted.

Unfortunately, Loki's poor impulse control and need to hedge his bets out of self-interest lead him to betraying Mobius. Both Sylvie and Mobius take Loki's betrayals poorly.

The key difference is that Mobius cannot resist the desire to trust Loki, to want to be his friend. This desire creates Mobius's doubt in Renslayer, which in turn leads to his betrayal of her.

Forgiveness isn't easy. It requires the ability to accept disagreements and another person's shortcomings. It requires good will, faith, and a willingness to move on. It requires compromise and, at times, letting go entirely.

Mobius torturing Loki with the Sif memory loop was awful. His personal hurt is directly tied to the below admission, which informs Loki what Mobius thought of their relationship:

And that revelation startles him. It forces him to evaluate his actions that led to Mobius saying such a thing (impulsivity; self-interest). Loki, who doesn't want to be alone, desires Mobius's friendship.

So when Mobius returns to Loki with an olive branch ...

Loki offers Mobius an olive branch of his own by affirming the friendship Mobius believed in but felt betrayed by.

Thus, Loki and Mobius accept each other's olive branches. They forgive each other and repair their relationship from there. This is critical thematically because Loki and Mobius each extend olive branches to Sylvie and Renslayer respectively, both of whom reject those olive branches more than once. Sylvie and Renslayer represent opposite ends of the chaos versus order ideology, for which neither is willing to compromise. Loki and Mobius also start out at opposite ends before meeting in the middle.

Sylvie unfortunately does not know anything about Loki's interactions with Mobius and how those interactions have impacted Loki's motivations. She doesn't know that Loki wants to "slow down and think about this" because the last time he acted on impulse, it turned out he almost threw Mobius's friendship out the window without realizing he had his friendship in the first place.

For her, the seeds of doubt have already been planted: Loki betrayed the TVA to pursue her, Loki expressed shock at Sylvie's desire to "walk away" rather than taking advantage of the "ultimate power vacuum" once the TVA is destroyed, he expresses the desire to rule 3 times. Therefore, it's perfectly reasonable for Sylvie to assume Loki would betray her for power even though she had hopes to the contrary. Romantic tragedy? Absolutely. Believable? Depends on who you ask and what your personal taste is.

There must be some kind of sentiment on Sylvie's part, however, because she chooses not to kill Loki. Instead, she kisses him goodbye and throws him through a time door.

Mobius's friendship is therefore the catalyst for everything that unravels between Loki and Sylvie in S1E6 (the series' midpoint). I think it's safe to interpret Sylvie's tearing into Mobius in S2E4 as not only due to being in the TVA and having all her traumas brought to the surface, but also due to experiencing jealousy. This level of anger matches Mobius's outrage about Sylvie in S1E4! Note, however, that this interpretation of Sylvie's interaction with Mobius is subtext. Subtext goes many ways!

THE SUBJECTIVITY OF ROMANCE

Are Loki and Sylvie a believable romance? It depends on your taste.

A fictional couple's overall successful reception by the audience (which is rarely if ever 100%) is contingent on a few things:

1.) Character development

2.) Story execution

3.) Chemistry between the actors

Reception and interpretation of the above are all subjective. In addition to these elements, another important factor is couple trope. Depending on your preference, some tropes might be nope while others are yum. You might even like most tropes but the actor chemistry, character development, and/or plot are just not doing it for you.

Loki and Mobius follow the tropes of:

Opposites attract/Complementary set

Sunshine and cynic

Enemies to allies to friends to lovers

Sherlock and Watson

Slow burn

Ride or Die

Loki and Sylvie, on the other hand, follow the tropes of:

Exceptionally similar but with key differences/Matching Set

BAMF duo

Enemies to allies to lovers

Bonnie and Clyde

Fast and passionate

Ride or Die

Loki and Sylvie's romantic dynamic may be compared to the following couples in other media:

Batman and Catwoman

Jack Sparrow and Angelica Teach

Benedict and Beatrice

If you notice, they all have very similar personality traits. They also fight and fight a LOT. It's part of their charm and can add to their chemistry.

Personally, I didn't feel any chemistry between Loki and Sylvie, I didn't feel like there was enough warmth between them, and I really wanted Loki to be loved by someone who makes an effort to understand him rather understanding his core traits off the bat by being the same entity. Loki and Mobius hit all the right story beats for me. Tom and Owen's chemistry as actors is remarkable. I'm also a sucker for ball of sunshine and cynic dynamics.

But that's just me. That doesn't mean I don't see what the creators tried to do with Loki and Sylvie in terms of plot, character development, and couple tropes. Some people felt chemistry between Tom and Sophia, others (like me) didn't. Whatever the case, the canon exists and the romantic tropes are there. I just feel the subtextual romance between Loki and Mobius is stronger and that, again, is my subjective judgment.

[smokeonshadows]

Maggie/Hunter

Of fucking course I’d be the one to fall for a ship that has no chance of happening and is on exactly no one’s radar.

So I know that sibling love triangles are so 2010, but there’s just so much potential in Maggie/Hunter and strangely enough, even moreso now that-

**spoilers and anti-Parker stuff behind the cut**

Maggie was the one to vanquish Hunter.

But first, let me backtrack a little and talk about exactly why I chose this as my hill to die on.

I’m not even going to lie, I don’t like Parker as a character. imo, he’s really bland, him and Maggie don’t have any chemistry, and the acting is really weak. Most of all, the storyline is basic af. We’ve seen the whole Romeo and Juliet thing before and this really seemed like more of the same. It definitely played it safe and relied too much on that trope to make it interesting. Everything about this is so safe- Parker is clearly shown to be a good person. Every time he strays to the ‘dark side’ it’s kind of blamed on his demonic heritage (he’s being possessed by the source or whatever) and not him as a person. We don’t see him experiencing any sort of real moral dilemma or anything like that and in turn, it doesn’t actually challenge Maggie on a personal level either. I mean, sure, it’s an obstacle that he’s a half demon/the Source and she’s a witch/Charmed One, but at no point is her being with him really testing her moral boundaries or beliefs, and that’s just not interesting to me.

People were saying that Maggie/Parker is supposed to be Phoebe/Cole 2.0, but if that was the intention, they really missed the mark and it’s so frustrating because you have Hunter, who’s literally right there.

Hunter’s the exact opposite of Parker. He’s clearly a bad guy and he’s so committed to playing that part. He has a very different set of moral boundaries than Maggie has, he’s very good at doing terrible things, and he’s loyal to his evil family (and also, he’s handsome and charismatic to boot). So what would it be like if despite these serious differences, Hunter and Maggie felt some sort of attraction to each other? How interesting would it be for someone who’s spent his entire life focused on gaining and maintaining power by any means necessary to start questioning all of that? What would it mean for Maggie, someone whose duty is specifically to fight evil, to fall in love with someone who’s actually knowingly done some seriously evil shit?

Whatever it is, it’s way more interesting than what we got. It would take more time, more development, more work, but the payoff would be so much more satisfying (say it with me: slowburning angst and really hot hatesex).

This is most likely never happening. This ship sank before it was even built. But come to think of it- I mean, yes, she vanquished him, but that actually sounds like the beginning of a love story, not the end of one. If you think about it, it’s actually kind of the perfect way to connect their stories.

Like, it’s completely possible that, idk, midway through season two there’s a game changer in the form of Hunter getting resurrected. And what would he have on his mind? That’s right- revenge. And who would be the target of his revenge? Yup- the Charmed Ones, but particularly Maggie, the one who vanquished him (which would also be a way to mess with Parker). In the wake of his resurrection, he’s severely weakened, so while he bides his time until he regains his strength, he’s been stalking Maggie, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Meanwhile, throughout the season, Maggie starts to get a taste of the dark side and it drives a wedge between her and Parker (maybe even between her and her sisters). Hunter, as a silent witness to everything happening to Maggie might start developing feelings for her...

Yeah, you get the idea. There are quite a few ways this could go from there.

But yeah, aside from all the interesting character stuff that could happen, I just think they’d look really good together. Their actors are also both singers, too, so if there’s a musical episode, I’d love a duet from them.

So yeah, those were my two cents that no one asked for. Maybe I’ll come back to this with an actual fic or something.

[madewitharkit]

Augmented Reality's A-ha Moment by Chip Sineni @ Trixi Studios

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen. Technology has peaked. The singularity has arrived. It is glorious. https://t.co/ij7636QB3L

— StuFastStuCurrious (@irishstu)

July 27, 2017

ARKit is AMAZING. If I weren't running for congress, I'd be all in on it. https://t.co/a24uFYPAHC

— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal)

August 1, 2017

This made my year https://t.co/IEayVxKB1c

— Steve Harries (@Steve_Harries22)

July 27, 2017

Ok, I'll admit I'm now excited for augmented reality. https://t.co/Vnyru0DMHt

— jason (@Jason)

July 27, 2017

This might be the coolest thing I've ever seen. https://t.co/zk9Kpm9alb

— Eric Sauter (@theEricSauter)

July 26, 2017

Oh my gooooooooooood https://t.co/DV5fxvykkH

— Ryan Schaefer (@Digitalistic)

July 26, 2017

What https://t.co/gJygfGLKQt

— Bram Kanstein ✌️️ (@bramk)

July 27, 2017

This is ridiculous...ridiculously cool. https://t.co/ioShhFw0Oy

— Dmitrij Paškevič (@Murrzeak)

July 26, 2017

ARKit is seriously amazing stuff. Many people don't realize how much Apple is about to change the world again. https://t.co/W8pPUOGWgY

— kelley babin (@kelleycfc)

July 27, 2017

Oh come on. This stuff just keeps getting more amazing. https://t.co/tmXxzMKWFL

— Geoff Coffey (@gwcoffey)

July 26, 2017

This is awesome. The future, before global warming kills us, will be amazing. https://t.co/AAe9s9F2Xm

— ☁ David Ulevitch ☁ (@davidu)

July 27, 2017

Best usage of Augmented Reality so far. 😆👍 https://t.co/hUDWFzWUP4

— ᴊᴀʏ ʜᴏʟᴛsʟᴀɴᴅᴇʀ (@j_holtslander)

July 26, 2017

I don’t think people get what’s about to happen. https://t.co/jaUO861lQu

— Bryan Bartow (@bryanbartow)

July 27, 2017

Oh, this is the best thing I've seen in a long while. https://t.co/42udL0N9Sm

— Neil Rennison (@rennihammer)

July 27, 2017

This is the future we want. Use our futuristic technologies for memes, not war machines. @mcplanner https://t.co/7FIBaYJZwc

— Josh Levinger (@jlev)

July 26, 2017

Oh my god https://t.co/WLb3BQiz9d

— ＢＲＩＡＮ⚡️ＳＯＫＯＬ (@_bsokol)

July 26, 2017

Amazing - opening new worlds 😍❤️👍 https://t.co/c3Mjl1NrsU

— Philip Watson (@cheersphilip)

July 26, 2017

WOW https://t.co/EuLfgwgtyn

— ˗ˏˋ ᴍɪᴋᴏʟᴀᴊ ˊˎ˗ (@M1K0LAJ)

July 26, 2017

Brilliant use of ARKit and made me laugh out loud! https://t.co/GyOL88XZCt

— Josh Anon (@joshanon)

July 26, 2017

This is on another level! https://t.co/EVbn5k5gRL

— Tech & Coffee Media (@techandcoffeem)

July 26, 2017

Apple is going to sell a billion more of these https://t.co/X30U7PsXTK

— Yannick Laclau (@yannick)

July 26, 2017

Take my money https://t.co/MN6zqlkcAN

— Paul Shields (@paulshields)

July 26, 2017

Jaw-dropping that this is rendered live. I have never more strongly wanted to get into 3D since tinkering with Moray/POV-Ray in the 90s. https://t.co/jSQyYppfIF

— Stuart Preston (@stuartpreston)

July 26, 2017

This is amazing! My dreams are coming true!

— Endoran (@endoran1)

July 26, 2017

This is the best thing ever in the history of technology and the interwebs! WANT IT NOW! https://t.co/F578l1QDpj

— Michael Vermaak (@michaelvermaak)

July 27, 2017

Great use of technology? Or greatest use of technology? https://t.co/7ns9hWdqwR

— Craig McClellan (@craigmcclellan)

July 26, 2017

jaw-dropping https://t.co/kEQsvpazd5

— Eimantas (@walkingsmarts)

July 26, 2017

This is unreal https://t.co/nKzejuLa47

— Jeff McCloud (@KahanaEarl)

July 26, 2017

YES. https://t.co/AOtV452XzD

— Stephen Wake (@stephenwake)

July 27, 2017

The future has finally arrived. lol https://t.co/JWe3t0Vydv

— ThomW (@superthom)

July 26, 2017

My childhood dream is coming through, absolutely magic. https://t.co/Rt05wLoznm

— ethancleary (@ethancleary)

July 26, 2017

ARkit is now done. I don’t see the point in any more AR projects after this. Mission complete. 👏👏👏 https://t.co/tmaaDtC4VF

— Mathew Lucas (@Mathew_Lucas)

July 27, 2017

Wowzer 😳

— ✨RocketMan 🚀✨ (@SS162)

July 26, 2017

Holy cow! https://t.co/r7diUDFsMj

— Tony Bruno (@Avindair)

July 26, 2017

oh now this is fun https://t.co/eABJNj1CHQ

— Christopher Mims🤳 (@mims)

August 1, 2017

Amazing new technology. https://t.co/w0G47KcyZS

— Bob_Bonanno (@rwb1200)

July 26, 2017

AR blows me away. Need to hack on this immediately. https://t.co/kXmRlxTM9W

— Drew Minns (@drewisthe)

July 26, 2017

Straight up amazing. https://t.co/B1Sv5LxOv0

— Johnny Martin 🎥 (@johnnymartin)

July 26, 2017

Woah! Realtime AR rendering styled from a classic music video from the 80s. Animation could use some help but seriously so cool. https://t.co/JZ8W5NTFgM

— Graeme Little (@graeme_crackers)

July 27, 2017

The future seems fun https://t.co/BiVWHdjojd

— tony (@tonyjcannings)

July 26, 2017

This is M A D https://t.co/Fv8GqjWHK8

— Pavel (@Pahitos)

July 26, 2017

These are getting better every week! https://t.co/OPfRGztS1j

— Adam Smith (@adamontherun)

July 26, 2017

Oh come now! #ARKit https://t.co/t07HMXz0cI

— Ben Pickering (@benpickering)

July 26, 2017

SO COOL 😃👍

— Dman (@Dman228)

July 26, 2017

😱😱😱😱 https://t.co/QfwzmKRz6E

— Maxime  👨🏻‍💻📱 (@bourvill)

July 26, 2017

This is freakin’ amazing! https://t.co/xGvXgbzxay

— Tim Richardson (@timrichardsn)

July 26, 2017

OMG WAT IS THIS! https://t.co/kR3wr67r7E

— Anondson (@xeoth)

July 27, 2017

This is crazy good - I want it! https://t.co/LmIH1zO19B

— David Brown (@superdavey)

July 26, 2017

ARKIT getting cooler and cooler. https://t.co/sNK2Q9Zyak

— Tj (@_TDJ)

July 27, 2017

Apple killed AR 😆 https://t.co/MHkQxjNcuU

— Ian (@Ianhew82)

July 26, 2017

This is brilliant! https://t.co/v3pNM0FB2J

— Lucritia (@Geisha_SantiLu)

July 27, 2017

Are all of the eighties going to be real now? Whoa. https://t.co/5z4lIxIQoL

— Matt (@mattk)

July 27, 2017

Wow. When do we get AR glasses? https://t.co/zpjQ4mNXam

— Steve Wu (@stevenwu)

July 27, 2017

Mind: blown https://t.co/ZKubLzjdzc

— Model 3 Owners Club (@Model3Owners)

July 27, 2017

This is a game changer #VR #gaming #shopping https://t.co/XvHIgO5w7Q

— dheeraj (@dheerajbatra)

July 27, 2017

Definitely not something I expected to see made real in my lifetime, when I saw this back in the 80s... but there it is. https://t.co/VrWUTFd8qr

— Chris Wood (@_psonice)

July 26, 2017

This is bonkers! https://t.co/w8Asvtcii2

— VRsenal 3D (@VRsenal3D)

July 26, 2017

That's amazing! I feel like I just got sucked into my computer and spat back out again.

— Troy Smith (@smith_t_r)

July 26, 2017

Aha! This is a new Take On ... me? Jaw: meet floor. https://t.co/EfY8ALywSa

— Matthew Hall (@aDB)

July 26, 2017

Incredible https://t.co/DRe0nDp6Bu

— Daman Rangoola (@damanr)

July 26, 2017

The world is changing!! https://t.co/nYQR2Wi10i

— Ken Mclaren (@kenmax34)

July 26, 2017

Wooow! Sold! https://t.co/yy7ZLTx5Vb

— Jan Deruyck (@janjeanjack)

July 27, 2017

This is some impressive stuff @madewithARKit ! https://t.co/sbPs6zI1F1

— Andrew Sammut Alessi (@LE551)

July 27, 2017

ok, we have a winner #ARKit https://t.co/QYPLoYGe7K

— Dorian Roy (@dorianroy)

July 27, 2017

What @Apple does with #ARKit in #iOS11 will be truly transformative! This + 🍏Watch + soon 🍏Googles will kickstart mass adoption of AR IMO https://t.co/T8ZKK4pkuK

— Thomas Leiterman (@ThomasLeiterman)

July 27, 2017

This is really amazing. https://t.co/7hTiKatRBW

— Lailo (@lailo_ch)

July 27, 2017

This is art. https://t.co/btGwoBpfcz

— Narek Babajanyan (@narekb13)

July 27, 2017

Things are going to get really weird.... https://t.co/fGOUtl73ml

— William P Barnes (@williampbarnes)

July 31, 2017

Holy wow this is cool. https://t.co/hOL1BjgJx5

— Michael Lo Sauro (@michaellosauro)

August 1, 2017

This is nuts https://t.co/0pzoVa3YQk

— Micah Laney 👨‍💻 (@micahlaney)

August 1, 2017

This is truly amazing, I can't wait to use this type of technology now https://t.co/VT1ZN0UP4p

— Dinalli (@Dinalli)

August 1, 2017

My mind is officially blown! I can’t wait to try this! #AR #ARKit #edtech https://t.co/S4tty180ml

— Bryan L. Miller (@EdTechNerd) August 21, 2017

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[mikeholloway]

What did you think of Sierra's game ultimately? Everybody always tries to compare her to Kelley but she seems more Andrea esque in the way where she gets better every time she plays. Also the analyse peoples game things is so true. Like people will sit around analysing Hali and Sarah's "games" but ignore legends. Sarah is so boring she has the same boring monotone voice as a lot of winners (Denise, Cochran, Kim, Yul)

First off, Denise and Kim, sweeties, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that a ugly ass bitch like this would even say that. Oh my god.

Re: Sierra’s game; I dunno, man. I love her personality and I love her off the island, so I felt inclined to like her and the way she approaches the game in Worlds Apart and in Game Changers. Her WA game was subtle, and extremely social based. It’s clear she planned on going to the end with Will and Dan and getting her easy win. Nothing special, but respectable, considering the post-merge was like, a seven person alliance picking off a minority. I definitely think she wanted to move her game in a more strategic direction for Game Changers, but I don’t think much of it came through in the edit. We see in the first ep, she’s supposedly the one who brings together what would’ve been a majority alliance on Nuku (which included pretty much everyone except Cirie and Andrea I think, maybe Zeke). Like a lot of people, I don’t really think she got the chance to play premeerge, or well, really had to play. Voting out Caleb was easy, then I’m pretty sure she’s the one to throw out Malcolm’s name when he goes - which is an incredibly smart move on her part (though I think she and Malcolm were friendly preseason, he might’ve worked with her). Once merge hits, we see again she’s the one sort of bringing the massive group together, excluding Hali and Michaela, with the intention of Michaela leaving. Again, good decision on her part. Her game sort-of falls apart after Ozzy’s booted though. But, we see in Zeke’s boot ep that she approaches Andrea and Cirie, telling them that essentially, she’s willing to vote for whomever they tell her to vote in order to stay in the game. Rewatch that scene. She comes off so well in that moment, IMO, it was a very skilled “I’m playing from the bottom, but I’m fine as long as it ain’t me” approach. The biggest flaw in her game was telling Sarah about the legacy, and NOT saying “I’ll will it to you as long as I make it to AT LEAST final 7.” Sierra just saying, “If I leave, you’ll get a nice little present,” is just so stupid it’s ridiculous. Sarah then has all the reason in the world to vote her out, exactly like she did. Overall, Sierra’s a phenomenal social player, but she’s only decent in the strategic field. I like her, I like her in the game, I don’t get irrationally annoyed by her presence like mostly everyone else does. I wouldn’t compare Sierra to Kelley or Andrea, they’re both aggressive, or at least reactive; Sierra is passive. I’d compare Sierra to Michele.

Thanks for agreeing w/ my other posts.

[kubyrant-blog]

NHL Playoff Night Game 3s - Kings Goes Down 0-3 - Minnesota Finally Exploits Jet-D - OV Scores Twice in Second Period Collapse (PART 1)

First ever Tumblr Post, so you can be sure that I simply have no idea what I’m doing. But gonna try to summarized my thoughts in simple points.

So the biggest news of the night was Kings losing 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in a span of 21 seconds. Yes, not even enough time to past gas if you’re going for a two timer. 

I don’t personally feel it’s fair to blame the loss entirely on the Kings, as they played a very solid defensive game all the way to that point in the game, but let’s say we are just being respectful to the game that Jonathan Quick had tonight looking like a reborn Stanley Cup goaltender. I mean he still is a top-notch goalie, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t even know who was defending on the ice in front of him when I saw the two goals, both live. First one was this  slick juke (by James neal I heard when they reported the goal), spinning off the defender from the boards and beating Quick five-hole. That was a tough one because the guy had a airplane landing path to the net, literally, and then on the second goal, the pass was a flick back-hand no-look pass made with two Kings hounding the Knight player carrying the puck from behind the net, and the player who eventually scored, was (hear this) drafted 53 overall in the second round in 2011, now you can also imagine the season that the Knights are having. No one thought he was going to score 43 goals this season (because last season he only scored 6 playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets), he potted the game-winner past quick with a perfect redirect shot to the far left corner of the net (William Karlsson is this stud fella’s name, a young Swedish player of course, as you do expect in these days NHL formidable stars).

Remember the other surprise this season though, is that the Kings missed the playoff last season, but this season they were able to record half a goal more per game. However you want to intuitively believe in “stat’ in the hockey world, it did make a difference in securing the LA. Kings into a post-season spot, but truth be told when any of the possible equations to evaluate tonight’s match-up between the two teams, is factoring the importance of an ‘eye-test’ gained by simply watching the game, I think it’s rather definitely just a disappointment that the Kings couldn’t get the game back to a possible even 2-2, as they got ‘royally’ out-played, out-skilled, and out-coached by the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4, who just smartly out-scored & found the back of the net at the key opportunistic moments that happened in the game. 

It was in the third period, it happened tonight. Within just this span of 21 seconds as mentioned, they swiftly put two pucks behind Jonathan Quick, who by my standards played good enough to take absolutely no blame for the loss, given he was stopping pucks through screens, tips, and those blatant give-way leading to odd-man and break-away opportunities for the Golden Knights, but did get beat on the first goal unluckily with the puck going five-hole (still really not his fault when the guy dumbly reached and got burned by James Neal off the board), and then he got beat again on a bang-bang play behind the net, when the puck shot out from off the board onto the stick of an uncovered William Karlsson (bad type feeling for goalies, worse than a 2-on-1 imo because instead of having a ‘lounging’ chance at the pass-shot, with the tight quarter pass the goalie has no chance to properly react anyhow from his crease, plus Karlsson also put it perfectly to the left far post, so unless he grew an inch or two that was a sure goal executed to perfection by the Knight’s forward). And following the two goals, the Kings simply couldn’t muster enough offensive support to help their deserving moving wall of a man in the crease, thus dropped their third consecutive contest to the Knights. You could say defensive zone break-downs, where guys are simply left with their stick unchecked for chances, may be the sure thing that the Kings need to adjust going ahead into Game 4.

Yes, thus far the three games have been really close in scores, 1-0. 2-1, and tonight 3-2. You do see a trend here, right? Kings are scoring more and more, almost double than “half a goal” better each game, but they’re still down in a 0-3 hole. Gotta give the Knight credit, they back the King’s defense up the entire knight. If you watch the replay or the games they’ve been playing, it will show one strategic flaw clear as crystal: Gerard Gallant isn’t giving the King any chance to make a pass through the neutral zone, and so far as the series scoreboard indicates he’s doing this up to this point better than any other coach has proven in the playoff race, along with the constant fueling of the knights offense, their combo of strat and depth scoring talents, he likely going to put his team to a series sweep of the Kings. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and watch the first three games, this is what you will see.

Kings D-Man collects the puck (*Other than Daughty really, you won’t really see anyone moving the puck up for them). 

And he’ll try to make a pass up the center.

It will get knocked away or intercepted by well-placed sticks. Usually the ladder form, if so passed off then to an open wing-man readily moving half-way down the center circle, to this point forcing both of the two bigger and slower D-Man to have to back up to show respect for the forwards’ speed and ability to make a bolt right pass them. (They sometimes also try to do the old, dump-and-chase, but with the speed in their line-up, they simply run out of energy doing so all game). 

Eventually, what happened in the third, is too much turn-over and failed dump-and-chase, causing tired legs while the Vegas Knights had fresh legs playing off their trap strategy. Even the commentator simply described that, “they (Kings) are just playing panic hockey, at this point” (after being tired and then getting scored on).

It was like watching a sad re-roll entertainment of an old film this night. Even I personally felt bad for them, not being a Kings fan (actually the total opposite), as I wanted them to at least get it to overtime for a showdown, but I realized later that they simply could not sustain against the Knights and their deployment of the trap strategy that devised a good amount of energy saving for the Knights while the Kings were furiously applying attacking pressure in-between the first and second periods.

One of the Kings Commentator also concurred to the fact at the end of the game, saying “They simply ran out of gas.” That’s literally more of a proof than anything, when the old pros and observers says this in the most non-bias and accurate analytical manner that they said about anything else that the Kings had done in the broadcast game the entire night. It was a definitely a highly physical affair between the two teams (like much of a men’s game played), some would say a true outing between the two battle ‘royale’ teams.

But in the end now, as the dust settles after their tilt tonight in the Staples Center arena, what are the Kings chances, if any, to come back from a 0-3 series?

I think the writing on the wall was set by the way things played out tonight, There is. Absolutely. Nada. Nulla. Nope. No chance that they come back.

Sure you can say, as a Kings fan, there’s always a chance for a reverse sweep, because it’s been done many times before in the past, but let’s not look at the  stats and just focus on the deciding factors of their comeback, and here’s in my opinion the basic missing pieces in the puzzle for the Kings to convince me that they can win out:

1) Most important reason ofr me. Kings don’t have Justin William (and Marian Gaborik) to save your touchy royal butts. Both players were lost in the team roster movement, and tonight was the perfect situation when they could have really used a playoff game-changer. Kings don’t play the run-and-gun game. They never did have played that style, as far as I know from watching them come to the rise in 2012. If they trade chances with a more depth-pacted team, it’s going to be a loss 10/10 time.

2) Drew Daughty and Anze Kopiter, they both have scored in the series and Anze finally got his first tonight late in the third tonight, to cut it from 3-1 to 3-2, these players cannot simply carry the entire team on their backs. On the side and backend, you do have two other important core players in Muzin and Lewis, both becoming more and more like aging role-players who can no longer to support their TOP 6 forwards when they have an offensive drought like they tonight. (To be fair though, Muzin can still produce in the regular season and defend very well, seen him caught up in the back-foot to a few guys while back-checking tonight, but really guys, the energy he’s spending just playing defense because of the Knights potent and ‘perfectly perfected’, counter-attack rush off the turn over, it has just tremendously impacted his individual offensive production game in this series, and this regular season alone he scored 8 Goals from the back for the kings +34 helpers). The only person who the Kings had before was Trevor Lewis and the other guy Pearson, first Lewis is still a great player, but what I consider him to be now is a Ryan Kesler type of aging star in particularly playing well below his ability in his prime years. But I still remember Lewis’ game-changing goals in the Stanley Cup Playoff, he basically is the pillar of supporting forward for them. And Pearson, he simply looked gas’ed tonight, especially in the third when he had tons of great scoring opportunities. 

Again, this is why I love watching these NHL playoff games. Especially in the first round, a lot of stats and analytics become actually proven in result shown on the ice. Golden Knights proved to us that they are a very well-coached, fast and  talented opponent to be reckon with in this year’s NHL playoff bracket. While so many times, the team that beats adversity in the first round, goes on to the conference final or the cup final. Looking at the kings this point, it’s likely not going to happen, where the Knights lose in the next 4/4. Again, the strategy deployed by coaching by Gerard Gallant, combined with a lost of their key playoff performing players and scorers, plus an aging forward core (defense they have Drew Daughty and Muzzin and both are still producing at their prime rate, so not gonna pick on them), their playoff odds does not look too great at this point. Finally, the Kings is on the third year after their Cup Run. Kings GM Rob Blake has refused to blow up the team up until the end of this year, albeit I know that it may be because they held down a playoff spot all year, but they have certainly a lot of depth problems to address on their roster in this upcoming off-season, which may be much sooner than he had anticipated.

*I want to put in a final word here, just because we are talking about these older teams in the NHL and new young starts rising quickly from the juniors, SHL, and college levels: the problem is not that GMs aren’t willing to blow up the team, rather when they do it and how much cap room they can expand. You can say, making playoff is great, but the Kings simply won’t win another Cup with this current roster. If they match against the Knights every year, they’d lose that contest if they could continue to rely on the anchoring defense of Drew Daughty in the back, we all had believed in the start of Game 1 that they may be able to handle the Knights potent offensive weapons. But as it’s come to our full view, looking back at everyone’s game prediction for this series, the line-up depth of teams are now more important than their elite players on the roster in order to determine any given match-up of games/series. Thus, my pick for this years final 4: Boston (with tons of young lead by Bergeron, Merchand, and added weapons of the likes of Rick Nash), Tampa (lead by former Art Ross winner Stamkos, over Pittsburgh), Nashville and Vegas (over Winnipeg, both no need for explanation).