#now that i think about it it makes a lot of sense considering domis and veroniques personalities. even louis. damn.

[vestaldestroyer]

at the risk of sounding extremely stupid, Marquis de Sade isn't just a background character from vnc but a real person?? wrote philosophy books and porn??? the word sadism is partially derived from his name???? how do I not know this! that's Dominique's dad? ough I have so many questions

[digital-dhampirs]

I can't believe that people blame Noé for hurting Mikhail. Like YES it was harsh but Mikhail 1) took Domi as prisonnier to blackmail Noé into taking Vani's blood 2) forced Noé to drink his blood in a very disturbing way, forcing him to watch all his trauma with Moreau 3) has forced Noé to attack Vanitas, scaring him a lot. 4) has planned everything to kill Noé 5) tried to kill Domi 6) still tried to kill Vanitas even while being hurt. So I don't think that Noé thinks clearly here

Yeah I agree with ya! I definitely think Noé would’ve been able to come to a much better decision had he been thinking clearly, but given the circumstances of the evening Noé thinking clearly was pretty much impossible. At this moment in time Noé is literally down to throw himself in front of a Ferris wheel if it means Vanitas gets to live— if that Ferris wheel is a kid who already tried to kill Dominique and did all that other insane stuff in the past few hours, and he’s a second away from killing Vanitas, Noé’s probably going to attack first and ask questions later.

Ofc, that isn’t to say Mikhail deserved this or that Noé was in the right for hurting him. Mikhail is kinda a mess right now, but at the end of the day it seems like he’s being manipulated by the Teacher (and likely Naenia as well) rather than doing everything he does of his own volition. Mikhail is making the choices (if he wasn’t it wouldn’t be a fun experiment for the Teacher, after all), but the Teacher seems to be the one who’s really at fault for most of the stuff Misha did. (In particular, I think Mikhail’s almost obsessive desire to kill Vanitas at the end there stems from his belief that the Teacher can just bring Vanitas back if he dies.)

Noé, meanwhile, clearly didn’t consider the effect his actions would have on Vanitas when he jumped in and attacked Mikhail. We can see his face start to go from pure rage to something more surprised and concerned when he notices Vanitas’s reaction to Mikhail’s screams. I don’t think Noé had time to think about Vanitas’s potential reactions when he stepped in to save him, but this does illustrate a running theme throughout VnC taken to its extreme— Noé and Vanitas, despite constantly acting to save each other, have a tendency to not consider the effects their actions might have on the person they’re saving.

So I do understand why people might find Noé attacking Mikhail to be excessively violent, or why people might blame Noé making a bad decision. But I also think that this decision is one that makes complete sense for Noé as a character in this specific situation.

[neversetyoufree]

do u have any theories as to why Vanitas couldn’t kill Noé? — besides him genuinely caring for the tol vampire 🥺

Haha, I don’t really have other theories to be quite honest. I think you said it all right there.

Like we see when he first harasses Jeanne about how caring for Luca makes her weak (and again when he starts threatening Domi and Noé at the beginning of the VaNoé fight), Vanitas has a whole complex about not getting too attached to people. He claims it’s a source of weakness, but considering he must be quite traumatized by whatever happened with Luna and Misha, I’m guessing his aversion is actually coming more from a place of fear. Keeping himself lonely is a defense mechanism, because if he never gets attached to anyone, he’ll never have to worry about hurting them again. It also protects him from having to open up about himself emotionally, something that he obviously hates.

So because of all that, the guy really doesn’t have any friends at the start of the series. He’s got Dante, but I don’t think Dante fully realized how much he valued Vani’s presence before Gévaudan, and more importantly, there’s no way in hell that a pre-series Vanitas (and probably current Vani as well) would ever open up emotionally to him. It’s “business partners” all the way with these assholes. Then Noé showed up, and everything changed.

At this point in the story, Noé and Jeanne are the two most important people in Vanitas’s life by far. They’re his first real adult experiences with love and friendship, and even if he still doesn’t want to admit it, he’s very attached to the both of them. And though you could argue otherwise, I personally think that of those two connections, the one with Noé is the slightly more important one.

I say this largely because, on an emotional level, Vani’s relationship with Noé is the only one in his life where he’s even begun to open up about himself. Vani was vulnerable around Jeanne when he was sick, and she gets to see him blushy and flustered in a way others don’t, but he’s never really let her into the emotional dimension of his life. She doesn’t know about Dr. Moreau, she doesn’t know about his parents, she doesn’t know about Misha, and she doesn’t know he was a chasseur. With the exception of when he was poisoned (and right now in chapter 53, I suppose), I don’t think she’s ever even seen him looking particularly upset.

Noé, on the other hand, has come to know Vanitas pretty damn well. And sure, Vani didn’t want to share a lot of the info about him that Noé now has, but that doesn’t stop him from knowing it. And that doesn’t stop Vani from knowing he knows it. He told Noé about his parents’ death, his chasseur training, and his time with Dr. Moreau. Noé saw (and saved him from) his breakdown after being reminded of “Number 71.” Noé found a tactful way to comfort him and assure him of his worth after hearing that “as if anyone could love a person like me” line. Noé is the one that’s always watching his expression, asking unwanted questions and forcing him to open up. The one that is by his side all the goddamn time, like it or not. There’s a real, reciprocal emotional intimacy between them in a way that Vani may not have ever had before, and certainly hasn’t had since he killed Luna.

Vani has been a surprisingly decent supportive crutch for both Jeanne and Noé (current arc aside, on the supporting Noé angle), but since he hasn’t opened up to Jeanne much, Noé is the only one that’s returned the favor. So like, even if they don’t get along well as friends in the traditional sense, Noé is undeniably the one person that Vanitas is closest to in the world, and I think Vani has come to depend on his presence more than either of them fully realize.

Plus, beyond everything else, Vanitas just likes to be around him. Like Mochizuki said in that recent interview, Noé and Vani are drawn to the things about one another that are different from themselves. As annoying as he might complain it is, Vani enjoys Noé’s light and earnestness and honesty. He’s pulled toward it. As much as they might annoy each other on the surface, they get along quite well where it counts, and their lives are better for knowing one another. It’s hard not to love someone like that, and even harder to try and suddenly throw away that love.

Imagine trying to kill someone that’s not just your closest friend, not just the very first real friend of your adult life, but also your only real source of trust and emotional intimacy. Noé has become a fixture in Vani’s life, and Vanitas has very suddenly been forced to confront the fact that he can’t bear to live without that fixture. He’s attached in a way that he hasn’t been in a long time, and he probably hates it, but that won’t make the attachment go away.

[sleepyfishies]

if i wanted to be obvious i would say albedo. which. yes. obviously. you two i think would have a good dynamic and general like respect for each other’s work and habits yada yada you’re compatible but step aside this is domis matchup game now

kokomi mhmmhm. for a lot of the same reasons as albedo. like she’s freaking busy as all hell and her social battery is near nonexistent, but i feel like she wouldn’t mind being in a room with you while you do your own thing and she’d be able to recharge. then she may start asking about whatever it is you’re up to, and shes genuinely interested. also serves as a great distraction on your part because if she’s listening to you talk it means she’s going to take a breather and just relax for once. but she enjoys moments together even if they’re spent in silence. umm hmmm good with advice and can very much separate your relationship from work in the sense she’s not going to sound rigid and methodical about advice, but rather genuinely hear what it is you’re saying and offer her response based on love she has for you as well as the understanding of the situation. you’d just be good for each other i think, like a scale you’d balance one another out

orrrr yoimiya. she’s fun loving and excitable, and i think she’d just make sure you always remember the little joys in life. she’d also encourage you to balance work and fun without being too overbearing about it. she’d drag you outside when you’re working later than u typically do, promising it’ll take but only a second and when you do boom (literally) fireworks display she made just for u. you could also listen to her excited rambling and keep up with her bubbliness i think, and she’d be more than willing to take you on the excursions where she gathers materials

Hehe Albedo 👀

Tbh I never considered Kokomi but your reasoning is so sweet omg ToT I like that a lot

Yoimiya I think is the kind of extroverts who picks an introvert to adopt and helps drag them out a little. She's also the type of person who isn't tiring to be around because she can very much keep a conversation going on her own and I think even if I zoned out for a second she wouldn't really mind cuz she just loves rambling (I mean, she's always rambling to her dad too cksmxn)

Idk I just love Yoimiya, she's my wife ToT 🙏🙏

[peachywander]

All asks

Holy shit, this will be so much fun B-) *cracks knuckles*

Ask me: FANDOM EDITION

A - Your current OTP

Uhhh pff,,, skeleton dance I think?? I mean sure, skelley dance is always my current OTP, ngl. They're basically made for eachother, hell, even craig himself wore tshirts and stuff with wander hugging hater ifthisisn'tcannonthenidkwhatitis

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

To be honest,, wander x beza. I used to dislike every wander x girl ship bcs I see him as gae and nothing else. But I have a friend who does lots of art with them so I think it grew on me more and more with time?? Now I think they would look cute together, even if i'm still not super big on it.

C - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will

Wnder x domi. No comment, I despise it with all my heart 😂😂 Like I said earlier, I don't like most of wander x girl ships, and domi really hates wander. Sooo this ship simply doesn't make sense to me,, lmfao.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t

I think Twi x Flash from mlp. Yeah, I thought twi was cute when crushing on him in the 1st EG movie but they don't seem to have that chemistry I was hoping for. Plus I haven't seen any recent episodes of mlp in a long time, though I heard ppl say that he was mean to her once, if I remember well? Anyways, doesn't work so much for me.

E - Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

Besides memes/ shitposts, not really. Check @gunxball if you want to see posts of mine back when I was into gumball 2 yrs ago (golly i miss those times)

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Probably su (2016-2019) or kid vs kat (2011-2014)

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Why yes, of course I do. cosmo x wanda from fop. They were so adorbs together esp in the first 2 seasons. Don't like how they got so flanderized with time, their dynamic was absolutely destroyed, and my day was ruined when I found out.

H - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series

I don't watch either lolol

But I think anime.

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

Dislike the fandom, not the show itself? Probably hzbin hotel. The show has a pretty neat concept and animation and it had such a big impact on my artstyle when I first watched it. But the fandom? Absolute hell. (pun intended)

From shipping wars, to pestering vivz, anything is possible. Glad I haven't actually interacted with that part of the fandom.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

Not a show but among us. Back in september/october last year, my tl was FILLED with among us, up and down. Made me a lil tired of it but once I tried playing that game, I couldn't stop. Also the owlhouse, fell in love with the artstyle and story.

K - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom

I don't have a current fandom. Not feeling in the mood + school + inactivity bcs of school. So I'll say abt my latest fandom, which was animaney. Well, people were really nice, and they seemed to enjoy the reboot. Nothing more to say tbh,,

L - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for

Ummm I don't really like giving rqs to my fave artists, i don't wanna bother them haha

M - Your favorite fanart or fanartist

I don't know aaaa, prolly toonipi but she also draws ocs, not just fanart.

N - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor

Anything cute or sappy with skelleydance (NO nsfw)

O - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of

Lasers and feelings. Skellydance again. It matches sO well-

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

I used to have a skatepark AU ft. su chars but never put anything over here. I still have the sketches from 9th grade lmao.

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

To be completely honest, Amydot. Up until s3 they really gave me possible ship vibes. They interacted a lot, and peri discovered her metal powers thanks to amy. But after s3 they hardly ever interacted anymore (besides that one ep from s5 with the kindergarden). I was so dissapointed, but hey lapdot isn't so bad anyway, right?

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

Back in 2014 I would have said chred from angry birds, definitely. Not many really shipped them, and when I saw some fanart of them on dA everyone would say "ew, gae". Well, 2014 everyone. I was always like "so?? i like that ship, what's the problem??"

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon

Uhmm, i headcanon darwin from tawog that he likes to yodel lol

T - If you mostly have homoships, do you have any heteroships

I think my ships are 50-50, but here are some examples:

Larsdie

Stevnnie

Blckeye

Fluttrcord

Beeckard

Starc0

Tanyamao

Foxodile

Pennball

Carwin

U - If you mostly have heteroships, do you have any homoships

Same as T. Another examples:

Skelleydance

Wnderingeye

Sylava

Lumty

Rupphre

Pearlmthyst

Badgrmao

Bubbline

Flutterdsh

Patbob

V - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping

Lol no. Tbh, i'm not super big on shipping either. I only slighty like/dislike any ship i listed earlier (with the exception of skelleydance, i'm too in love with that ship)

W - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

wakko warner (animaney)

wander (woy)

fluttershy (mlp)

amethyst (su)

bubbles (ppg)

X - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

skelleydance (woy)

lumty (toh)

stevnnie (su)

Y - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from

kid cosmic (or maybe I do ship papa g w/ chuck), animaney, okko, gravity flls

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

That one fan made episode from su called the smothering, it was so freaking amazing. It helped a lot in relieveing the pain of that big hiatus from 2017 (which was the biggest one, i literally turned into a skeleton waiting for new eps). Loved peri's needy personality, as well as lappy's playful one. It was so well written, like it could be perfectly fit as a role reversal episode in the main show.

[torterrachampion]

30 days of Vanitas no Carte. Day #28

So, what is love? [In general or regarding the series.]

Man, you're really coming with hard questions now. We'll try and go with what I think the series is trying to say because I don't want to try and unpack what I think it is. Now, I'm not sure I can pass judgement on the characters' feelings but I'm certainly going to try. At the moment the series seems focused on romantic love within the group of Vanitas, Noé, Jeanne, Domi and Luca. I'm only going to address romantic love since that's what Noé's question to Vanitas was about. I ramble for so long and I'm not sure it's coherent so everything is under the cut.

For now let's look at why the various characters have feelings for each other.

Here's what we know:

Domi loves Noé (There's also mild undertones of her liking Jeanne too)

Jeanne loves Vanitas

Vanitas loves Jeanne

Luca loves Jeanne

Noé loves either Vanitas or Jeanne

Domi has liked Noé since they were children, since before Louis died. She also seems to have fallen for him pretty quick because of how young they looked when Noé first drank her blood. Part of why Domi came to love Noé would probably be because he's one of the few people outside her family she saw on a regular basis and probably one of the only non-aristocrats. Domi clearly had a hard upbringing, among her siblings she seems to be somewhat unimportant and her family apart from Louis don't seem very loving at all. Noé's one of the few people who can and will give her the affection she needs.

It also helps that Noé's a catch. She's right about all his good points when she explains them to Jeanne in chapter 45. Noé and Dominique would work well together but I don't think they stand a chance. Noé would have noticed Domi's feelings by now if he returned them and it makes a lot of sense that Vanitas was confused by them being just friends. Vanitas absolutely picked up on Domi's feelings towards Noé. These two have had multiple romantically/sexually coded moments but because Noé never comes across as particularly affected by them it always feels one-sided. Let me just say that it's bizarre that Noé hasn't caught on yet, we've seen with Vanitas that Noé is very emotionally intelligent and can analyse other people's moods pretty accurately. It could just be that he doesn't understand love though.

Anyway, assuming Domi has some feelings for Jeanne it seems like she has a tendency to fall for people who stick by her in any capacity. Jeanne immediately took a liking to Dominique and they became friends pretty fast. What I'm saying is that I think Domi's just a bit lonely and wants a romantic partner who genuinely likes her as a person.

On to Jeanne. She only started showing any interest in Vanitas once he started being nice to her. The first hints of it was on their date. Then, in Gévaudan, Vanitas didn't spend any of the arc messing with her. The only time he even tried was when he was flustered by Jeanne and didn't want to get out of his wet clothes. I think the most important turning point was when Vanitas promised to help Chloé though. Jeanne obviously has a lot of conflicting feelings about her role as a borreau and Vanitas provided her with a way to avoid killing someone she cares about. I think that was probably when Jeanne started to see his powers in possibly a similar light to how Noé viewed them in volumes 1 and 2. Also, Jeanne seems to find physical affection very important if her pushing Vanitas down for blood and her comments in the last chapter are anything to go off.

Now Vanitas. He was originally lying about loving Jeanne. His reaction to his love proves it, since he didn't seem at all concerned before these last few chapters. I think the weird relationship he created between himself and Jeanne in the first few volumes probably reflects some twisted understanding of love on his own part. Anyway, I'd say he fell for Jeannne after she fell for him. At the moment when she smiled at him (You know the smile) and he started to see her differently. I think this also put his other interactions with her into a new light for him. He started to actually realise what kind of person Jeanne is and that she's actually a lot more interesting than he first gave her credit for.

Luca's feelings for Jeanne seem like the most doomed feelings in the series. Jeanne obviously wants to protect him but she still sees him as a child. Luca doesn't seem to interact with many people, certainly no one his own age, and Jeanne is probably one of the few people who treats him kindly. Ruthven, despite being his uncle, seems fairly cold (he was plotting an assassination after all) and he probably doesn't see Loki that often. Essentially Luca is lonely and Jeanne is a kind, strong and beautiful woman. Who can blame him for getting attached to her?

Finally, Noé. The most confusing member of the cast. I'll be honest, to me he gives off the fewest romantic vibes out of all of them. And the fandom seems split on who he has feelings for. I have a preference but I'll consider both. Being clear, I would prefer if he were interested in Vanitas because I think it makes more sense narratively and I just like the ship. So let's address his relationship with Vani first.

If we're only taking into account interactions before chapter 12 I'll say that Noé doesn't have many reasons to like Vanitas. They were still kind of on rocky ground in their relationship. At that point in the story if he had romantic interest in Vanitas it would mostly boil down to two things as I see it: 1) A fascination with Vanitas as a person 2) Vanitas's blood. If you disagree feel free to tell me but honestly I can't imagine any deeper reasons to be interested in Vani at that point.

Beyond chapter 12 though Noé does have more reasons to care about Vanitas. Noé gets to understand Vanitas a lot better throughout the catacombs and Gévaudan and learns to rely on him. Vanitas has also grown fond of Noé (in a tsundere kind of way) and affection will make you like a person more. Besides that Noé has literally asked for Vani's blood, and while he was understandably a bit out of it, that's not a normal thing to ask from your human friend.

If Noé likes Jeanne then it's mostly based on physical appearance. Before chapter 12 Noé had never interacted 1 on 1 with Jeanne. He'd only ever fought her in volume 1 and been near her in volume 2. So, if Jeanne is the one he likes Noé just likes strong, beautiful women I guess. After chapter 12 the only time I can remember them interacting was when Jeanne threatened to kill him in Gévaudan. This at least shows Jeanne doesn't have much interest in him. But there is some evidence that Noé could like Jeanne and that is at least what Domi thinks.

So, what does all that mean? Well, I think Jun is definitely saying there needs to be some emotional vulnerability. All the characters fall in love with people they trust (possibly bar Noé???), this is particularly evident with Vani and Jeanne's progression after they started to open up more. But if emotional availability was all you needed Domi and Noé would be a couple.

The characters fall in love if the other person has something they desire and this is where the one-sidedness of some of the relationships comes in. Domi and Luca desire Noé and Jeanne respectively but they don't possess anything that those two desire in return. A big thing for a lot of the characters seems to be physical attractiveness. In the only reciprocal relationship between Vani and Jeanne they both obviously find the person physically attractive. Jeanne has made her feelings very clear in recent chapters.

So I guess it's slightly different for every character. Some would need more or less attention, physically or emotionally, and for things to work out it would probably have to match up with what their partner needs from a relationship. It was easy to write based on stuff that’s clear in the text but interpreting what it means for the themes of the story is so hard and I can’t explain myself very well. Let's just say I don't know where Jun is taking this story but she's concocted a hell of a complicated love triangle. And yes, I am exposing myself as a vanoe and domijeanne shipper.

[domiandsascha]

Roland Garros diary - Day 4 - Thursday the 31st of May 2018

Those events happened five days ago, but my memories are crystal clear so this review should be pretty accurate.

For our last day in Roland Garros, we decided to try another gate, where we were first in line, again, obviously. We met a really sweet old couple and watched the ballet of official cars driving players inside the resort (playing "who do you think that is?" when the tinted windows were closed). Once in, as usual, we ran to an information desk and ask about practices. Domi being scheduled to play second on court 18, I was 95% certain he would practice on site. I was a bit too certain of it, so when we couldn't find his name anywhere on the schedule, my heart broke slightly. But it didn't make any sense (after four days, we knew exactly how things were being organized), so we tried another desk and realized the first scheduled we had been shown was partially cropped. Domi was, indeed, going to practice on site, on the same court I had seen him on Monday. So the pieces of my heart gathered, but started shaking big time. We went there straight away to grab a spot at the front, behind the bench I was hoping Domi would choose. Fognini was practicing, but because this man is the personification of everything I despise in a human being, I couldn't have cared less. He left earlier than he was supposed to, without a single look to the dozens of fans who had made their way to the court for him. A great person, truly… The court remained empty for ten minutes, but because Domi was going to practice with Gasquet, a lot of people sat on the bleachers behind us. Günter arrived on the other side and leaned on the barrier. The second our eyes met, he gave me a slow and respectful nod to say "hi" and I'm not going to lie : that made me feel pretty special haha. Because luck was our best friend, a player (whose identity is still a mystery) came on this court by mistake and chose the other bench. Therefore, when Domi arrived, the only bench free was the one right underneath my nose. I really need to play the lottery soon. Thank you unknown player. So yeah, Domi was right there, once again. Stretching my arm would have been enough to touch him (spoiler alert : I didn't). And he was looking down, sorting his stuff out, all focused. And we knew better than to disturb him before his practice. But… I'm a really polite person and he was so close, it just came out of my mouth "Good morning Domi". For a couple of very long seconds, nothing happened, but then his eyes shifted, straight into mine, and with the shyest of smiles, he replied "Morning…". And some officials from the tournament are still trying, five days later, to scratch my melted heart from the floor over there. His practice was as mesmerizing and painful to watch as the first one. I think it would take at least ten to get used to it. Or ten thousands. I'm not sure. Once he was done, he came back to the bench just to grab his spare racket and said "Sorry guys…" before leaving the court. I guess it was too many of us at this point. Or he was in a rush to go prepare for his match. Or he wasn't in the mood. I don't really care, I didn't mind. He acknowledged us and apologized, like a decent person (take the hint Fognini…). And as I've been telling a lot of people over the past few days (coz some people are getting really rude when they don't get what they want from players) : they're athletes, under pressure, in the middle of a freaking important competition and hell no, they absolutely don't owe us to stop whenever we're on their way. After Domi was gone, his fitness coach gave the practice balls away and Jue and I got one each. Then we rushed to court 18, where Domi was going to play a couple of hours later, and on our way there, we crossed path with Rafa, "walking" to practice, surrounded by security and followed by a hundred of fans. But still, we saw Rafa haha. I must admit : I wasn't expecting to find court 18 that packed that early (considering the previous day), but that's because I had forgotten how people are fascinated by Fabio Piece of Crap Fognini. Because yeah, I was about to watch Fognini's match to secure my seat for Domi's… Oh Thiem, the things I do for you… We managed to get in and walked all the way around. After watching 3 sets of Domi from the most perfect spot (view wise) the day before, I had been hoping to seat behind his bench for the second part of the match. But for now, his bench was Fognini's and the bleachers were full. We only found two separate tiny spots on the last row. But when Jue and I decide we want a certain spot, we get that certain spot. As I said before, that's what we do best in life. So we basically spent Fognini's match working our way down the bleachers (and cheering for his opponent who we had never heard of before). It wasn't that hard, really. During most of the changes over, some people were leaving. We just had to keep our eyes open and be faster than the people walking in. And we were fast. When Fognini left the court, we were second row, right behind Domi's bench. Epic win. (I'm not going to waste time on Fognini's disgusting behavior towards the female umpire, his opponent, the crowd and his own fans, but gosh, do I hate him even more now…). On the first row, there was an Austrian couple with a massive flag that was kind of putting my tiny paper one to shame, but I still held it proudly the entire time. Domi and TsitsipASS walked in and the match resumed quite quickly. (Again, I'm not going to waste time on negativity, but Tsitsipas gave me the ultimate proof that my gut feeling about him was the right one : he's nasty). It went really fast, because Domi was flying. He was flawless, in total control and I was dying from adoration and admiration. He won. I saw him win a match. I'll carry that with me as a feel good thought for a very very very long time. When everyone stood after match point, I managed to jump at the very front. The previous night, I had dreamt (like for real, at night, while sleeping) I would get Domi's towel, but he chose to give it to an Austrian boy and became quite bossy when someone else tried to grab it (that was really hot). He started to sign balls and take pictures, walking closer and closer to where I was, but catching his attention seemed really hard. I was handing a second copy of my present (not to give it to him again, but to get him to sign it for Cla, my epic friend who got us all the tickets for Roland Garros and is also the co creator of this silly but brilliant idea of a present). The sweet lady next to me helped to put it right underneath Domi's nose and he looked up. I asked "Did you get it, Domi ?" and he replied "Yes I did !" with a little smile. Then I asked if he could sign a copy. He had let go of the first marker pen he had been using, but turned around and another super sweet person gave him one. He signed the present, I thanked him, asked for a picture and got a quick selfie before he started to chat with the Austrian couple. After that, it all went a bit blurry in my overwhelmed brain, I don't really remember him walking away and leaving the court, I was a bit too busy freaking out. Especially coz Jue, who had stayed behind me, had filmed my interaction with him and like, omg, she's the absolute best !! After all this, we were in urgent need of shadow, quiet and food, so we sat on a bench in an alley to eat our lunch. Then we entered the Lenglen, our official court for the day, and we watched the end of Malek VS Gasquet (and I do like Malek but it's always really nice to watch a Frenchman win in front of a French crowd). And then it was Borna time, on court 3. He had already started when we got there, but the bleachers were half empty and making our way to the row behind his bench was so easy, it was almost boring. But Borna's match was great ! He lost his first set, just to give us some more of him, and then played masterful tennis. We cheered for him as loud as we could. The only moment we went silent was when he undressed and remained shirtless for an entire minute. Speechless. I called him a piece of art on day 2, well… little did I know then… After the match, he came to us and the family next to us who had been supporting him too. We congratulated him and when Jue asked him for a picture, I did a hell of a job at photobombing their selfie and we now have an epic picture of the three of us hahaha. On our way back to the Lenglen, we passed by the court where Angie Kerber had just won her match. Perfect timing being perfect, we stopped there a few seconds before she walked out. Despite the mess of fans and security guys, I managed to get a couple of super nice shots of her. She's such a princess. On the Lenglen, we watched Caro's match, which was a bit more of a fight than the one we had seen on Tuesday so that was a great way to end our stay in Roland Garros. And also, after that, we watched on a big screen part of the crazy battle going on between PH and Jeremy Chardy on court 1. Before leaving the resort, we stopped in the different shops but didn't buy anything, because it was crazy expensive and nothing was really appealing. I mean, in the Adidas shop, I starred at and stroke Domi's current shirt for a few minutes (and Sascha's and Lucas'), but no. That would have been a crazy expensive pajama top considering I don't wear man shirts. And… that was it. We had to say goodbye… But there was no way we could feel sad. Those four days were just perfection. We got everything we had dreamed of and everything we had been too scared to dream of. We were too happy and grateful to be sad. Also… our adventures in Tennisland were not quite over yet ! But I'll tell you all about it in another review coming… as soon as possible.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Bubble Keeper Week; Saad, Nyquist, Zetterberg, and More – July 24

  It’s Keeper Bubble Week here at Dobber Hockey.

Last week I posited the question of which guy to keep as a final keeper in my home league: Viktor Arvidsson or Kevin Fiala. I wanted to address some of the comments from the community below.

Most people said Arvidsson. For the 2018-19 season, Arvidsson does hold more value. He’s likely not to be moved off the top line or the top PP unit and that slotting with his proven goal-scoring ability makes him the better overall value this year.

Like I mentioned in those Ramblings, I’m not convinced that Fiala isn’t the better player right now. If we work under the assumption that Fiala is as good as I think he is, how long does it take before he forces the hand of the coach to play him 17-plus minutes a night?

I wanted to see which players had comparable seasons to Fiala’s 2017-18. I went to Hockey Reference and these are the players since the 2005 lockout to post 20+ goals, 25+ assists in their age-21 season, while playing three-quarters of the year with fewer than 1250 total minutes. The list is short and mostly distinguished:

  The best comparable season for Fiala’s season is probably Jamie Benn’s 2010-11, though that season saw Benn play just 69 games.

I do think Fiala is the better option in the long-term but Arvidsson is likely the better option for at least another year. Striking that balance is the key to remaining competitive in keeper leagues year after year.

One commenter also suggested Dadonov. His production is good but the peripherals are not. He’s a much better option in points-only leagues than multi-cat leagues. Also, the addition of Mike Hoffman could push Dadonov off the top PP unit.

Anthony Mantha’s name was mentioned a couple times and I’ll say this: I like Mantha a lot as a player but I have little faith in Jeff Blashill as a coach and even less that the Wings will be a competent offensive team for the next couple years. Good player in a bad situation.

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If you have questions about keepers or dynasty option, hit up the comments and we’ll get to your queries.

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We are just a little over a week away until the release of the 2018-19 Dobber Hockey fantasy guide! Be sure to grab your copy from the Dobber Shop.

Don’t worry about the release being so early as it’s constantly updated with new information. There is a lot of information all through the fantasy guide so give yourself the time you need to prepare!

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Last week I mentioned that I would be starting my projections. I also mentioned that I would be writing about certain things I find as I compile my projections for the 2018-19 season.

Let’s delve into a few findings. These won’t be projections just yet, more just pointing out certain raw totals from the last two years. All data for these Ramblings is at five on five and extracted from Corsica.

  Goals

Only eight players have managed at least 20 goals in each of the last two seasons. Some of those names make sense like Vladimir Tarasenko, Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, Patrik Laine, and Auston Matthews. Wingers Anders Lee and Rickard Rakell are also on the list. The final name? James van Riemsdyk.

Van Riemsdyk has been known more for his power-play prowess over the last couple years as everyone marvels over his hands around the net. That is prolific five-on-five scoring, however. Now that he’s back in Philadelphia, maybe he’ll be made a focal point of the offence where he can average somewhere in the 17- or 18-minute range per game rather than the 15:24 he has the last two years.

  Speaking of Rakell, these are the top-3 players in five-on-five goals over the last two years: Auston Matthews (55), Connor McDavid (51), Rickard Rakell (48). That’s not a typo, only McDavid and Matthews have more five-on-five goals over the last two years than Rickard Rakell.

There is probably some quibbling to be done whether he’s just a good player skating with a Hall-Of-Fame centre or a great player skating with a Hall-Of-Fame centre, but for our purposes, it doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t seem destined to split from Ryan Getzlaf anytime soon and is locked into that top PP unit. I’m curious to see where his ADP lands because there isn’t a reason to suspect a decline coming from Rakell this year barring injury or a terrible streak of unluckiness.

  Last bit on the subject of five-on-five goals, Jeff Skinner has 46 of them over the last two years, just behind Rakell. He seemed destined to be traded from Carolina but here we sit at the end of July and he’s still a Hurricane. Maybe he returns after all? Regardless, coming off a down year largely due to a shooting percentage crash, he’ll be a good value come draft day. Even if he stays with Carolina, he should be a target in fantasy drafts.

  Primary Assists

I wanted to discuss primary assists instead of all assists to start with. The reason being that secondary assists can be pretty random and the rate that second assists are handed out can vary wildly depending on the hometown scorer. The repeatability of primary assists helps us identify the elite playmakers.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Connor McDavid has the most five-on-five primary assists over the last two seasons with 50. To the surprise of some of us, look who finished second with 45 primary assists at five-on-five:

    Henrik Zetterberg turns 38 in October, hasn’t scored more than 17 goals in any season since 2011-12, and doesn’t really contribute much across the board in stats like penalty minutes, hits, or blocked shots. With the depth of the centre position, there are many leagues where Zetterberg isn’t a must-draft. Leagues that count points only, or include face-off wins, are basically the only leagues where Zetterberg can still carry good value. All the same, it shows how Zetterberg has kept himself not only relevant, but a top playmaker, in a league where youth and speed are the focus.

There have been talks and rumours whether he may or may not play next year. There’s always the question of his health even if he does play. Regardless, it’s been an impressive two years of playmaking from the future Hall of Famer.

  Johnny Gaudreau leads all wingers in primary assists over the last two seasons but note that Alex Radulov isn’t very far behind. On a team with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and John Klingberg, I think the fact that Radulov had 72 points last year gets a little overlooked. The additional ice time he received in Dallas compared to his season in Montreal helped boost his numbers across the board, even though his actual shot attempt rate per 60 minutes declined slightly.

Unless there’s some sort of trade for Erik Karlsson, it looks like the Dallas lineup last year will largely be the same this year. They brought back Valeri Nichushkin but he won’t be a big threat to Radulov’s ice time. It does seem possible that Nichushkin grabs the top-line slotting with Seguin and Benn but unless he shows more consistency than his last season with the Stars, it won’t be a long-term solution. I like Nichushkin’s skills a lot but he’s probably better suited to play more sheltered minutes on the second or third line.

  Another surprise on the primary assist leaderboard is Max Domi. He’s just below the cut-off from the top-10 listed above, but his total of 33 over the last two years is one fewer than David Pastrnak and Filip Forsberg, and one more than Josh Bailey and Jakub Voracek. Each of those wingers played on teams with high offensive talent while Domi was in a poor offensive environment in Arizona.

That should give Canadiens fans some hope. Domi’s goal scoring, or lack thereof, has been covered at length both here at Dobber Hockey and elsewhere. A jump in shooting percentage from a career-worst six percent will help but expecting him to be a perennial 20-goal guy is about the most we can ask from him. If he can settle into the production levels that we’ve seen from Zetterberg the last few years, that would be a win for the Habs.

Of course, he needs someone who can finish the play to in order to improve his raw totals and the Habs are lacking proven goal scorers. The same could have been said in Arizona, though, so his 2017-18 season is likely his floor.

  We’ve covered goals and primary assists so the next logical step is to combine the two and see the leaders in primary points over the last two years. This is the top 20:

    Again, McDavid is at the top, by a significant margin, and it’s not a huge surprise. Auston Matthews sitting third is an incredible feat considering he missed 20 games last year.

At this point I still haven’t done projections but it’s going to be tough to peg Matthews. He is undoubtedly one of the top players in the league even though he won’t be 21 years old until September. The questions are how much more ice time can he earn in excess of the 18:08 he played last year with John Tavares in town, and do the Leafs stack the top PP unit? To truly reach that next step of fantasy greatness, Matthews needs a big jump in PP production. That will ultimately determine whether he ends up in the tier of fantasy players just outside Connor McDavid, or in the tier around the top-25.

  I’ve written about him perhaps more than any other player this summer, so I won’t dig further into Jason Zucker right now. All I will say is look at his primary points total over the last two years and look at the names around him.

  There is another very interesting grouping further down the 5v5 primary points leaderboard. They are players who find themselves just inside the top-50 and all managed somewhere from 54 to 56 5v5 primary points:

    The name that jumped out immediately to me is Brandon Saad. Anyone who has read my Ramblings for the last few years knows that he’s a big favourite of mine. Last in week in a Ramblings I wrote that everyone should be drafting him this year. I also wrote about his season at the end of March and much of those thoughts hold up here. One commenter noted how bad a season he had. The article I just linked as well as some thoughts below outline why he should be targeted.

Just think of how impressive it is to put up one fewer five-on-five point over the last two seasons than names like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and John Tavares even though he had just 17 total assists and 35 total points in 2017-18. It was a brutal season for him production-wise and he’s still been as productive at five-on-five as first- and second-round fantasy picks over the last two years.

His problem is the power play. We know his career-worst 7.6 percent shooting should rebound, but whether he returns to the 50-point plateau or takes that next step in fantasy value depends on his PP production. Very few players can put up fewer than five PP points and have significant fantasy relevance. If he can get that PP time and PP production, Saad could be one of the best value picks in drafts this year.

  Also wanted to give a special shout out to Gustav Nyquist. I know he hasn’t really lived up to expectations since bursting on the scene with 28 goals in 57 games way back in the 2013-14 season. Like Saad, though, the PP production has been what’s holding him back, having averaged just shy of 10 PP points per season over the last three years. The 2018-19 season is the last one left on his current contract, so he could find himself with a new team once head-to-head playoffs hit in March (though he does have a no-trade, so he has control of where he goes). Unless the team moves to a heavily-used top PP unit, it’s hard to see Nyquist as more than a 20-goal, 50-point guy. Not bad for fantasy, but certainly capable of more.  

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-bubble-keeper-week-saad-nyquist-zetterberg-and-more-july-24/

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

What We Learned: Canadiens continue to make themselves worse for no apparent reason

Another summer, another wasted asset? (Getty)

The Alex Galchenyuk trade was a long time coming, that’s true.

But if you saw the immediate assessment from pretty much everyone on Friday night, you fully understand that everyone sees this as another big L for the Montreal Canadiens.

The question to be asked of any trade is, “What’s the point?” and if you’re Marc Bergevin, what answers could you possibly begin to offer that make sense? Galchenyuk was a natural talent who was nearly a point-a-game player early in 2016-17, when he was already coming off a 30-goal season as an age-21 center, before a bad knee injury seemed to set him back. That was all the Habs needed to inexplicably shuffle him away from the middle of the ice forever, despite the fact that they desperately needed someone — anyone — who could play that position in a lost season when they had all the time in the world to experiment.

Instead, his most frequent linemates this season were Jonathan Drouin, a good player, and Artturi Lehkonen (not so much). Galchenyuk still ended up as the team’s second-leading scorer who was also third in goals despite playing just 16 minutes and change a night somehow.

Again, it was clear the Habs wanted little, if anything, to do with him but if the plan was seemingly always to trade him, the way they handled him this season was baffling. If you’re trying to get someone to buy high on a guy you don’t really value that much, you have to put him in more of a position to succeed, especially if you’re trying to sell people on the fact that he’s a competent center. Instead, Bergevin and by extension Claude Julien spent much of the season more or less saying, “I know this guy isn’t ready to be an NHL center after that knee injury 18 months ago,” and even if that were true and you had your heart set on shipping him out this summer, that’s not how you handle it.

The return for Galchenyuk, who will absolutely be used as a center in Arizona, was left winger Max Domi. You’ll notice that, in the Canadiens’ pursuit of a legit No. 2 center, they seem to have traded one away for a guy who is decidedly not a center at all, which is a weird decision. Moreover, while Domi and Galchenyuk have identical career points-per-game numbers, Domi has also played nearly 200 fewer games in his career.

Ah, well, Domi debuted in 2015-16, versus the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign for Galchenyuk. But here’s the thing: their birthdays are separated by fewer than 13 months. It took Domi longer to get himself to Galchenyuk’s level, and while their games are very different — Domi is more of high-skill grinder set-up man-type player — the amount of quality they bring to their respective teams should be a major point of concern.

After all, if Bergervin’s media availability about the trade referenced “energy” and “intangibles” more than once, with an ask for doubters to watch highlights on YouTube, that should be telling. That in addition to the acknowledgement that this guy is, of course, definitely not a center. You can find some really great goals scored by, like, Fernando Pisani or Alex Tuch. These aren’t the kinds of guys you trade Galchenyuks for.

Domi wasn’t exactly running with the biggest of the big dogs in Arizona (he mostly played with Christian Dvorak and Clayton Keller), but he still finished 17th in primary assists per 60 among players with at least 500 minutes at full strength this year. In the same neighborhood as Jaden Schwartz and Evgeni Malkin. Nothing to sneeze at. The question is, do they put him on Drouin’s top line immediately? If not, who else can he pass the puck to that will be able to convert at the same rate as a Keller?

No one is saying Domi is a bad player — though his worse-than-Zac-Rinaldo underlying numbers on a crap Arizona team certainly don’t say he’s a good one either — but the Canadiens don’t seem to have acquired the best player in the deal, either. And in fact, they’ve moved on from a player that theoretically could help at a position of need (even if they were reticent to try him there) for one that definitively does not help there.

Sure, he’s 12-and-a-half months younger, and came with an advantageous contract situation — the Habs immediately signed Domi to a two-year extension worth $3.15 million against the cap, after which he’ll still be an RFA due to his wholesale lack of service time — but the cap savings on this deal is only about $1.75 million, and it’s not like Montreal is right up against the ceiling or anything anyway. They have to re-sign like four guys and will have $21 million or so in cap space right now, so that’s probably an indicator that the GM is going on safari with some big game in mind.

Maybe, if you’re being charitable to Bergevin, you argue that’s $1.75 million more that can go to a big signing this summer that’s going to steer this team out of the skid. But can you honestly trust Bergevin to make such a signing? Short of John Tavares, who’s he going to acquire that makes the kind of impact Montreal needs such a player to make? The decision-making on both the UFA and trade markets exhibited by this particular group of executives has been beyond baffling for years, and it’s not about to turn around just because Bergevin may or may not have an in with Tavares’s agent.

But it once again circles back to what a guy provides, y’know? Domi is probably at a maxed-out value (pardon the pun) because it’s hard to see him staying an elite set-up man for too long; his personal all-situations shooting percentage was just six this year, well below his previous career average, but his teammates shot a whopping 11.6 percent with him on the ice. Maybe you chalk that up to his elite set-up skills, but also, there probably aren’t too many guys who can reasonably support an 11-plus teammate shooting percentage long-term. Especially with a low-talent group like the Coyotes and Canadiens both have. Most of the guys with on-ice shooting percentages of 9-plus over the past three seasons have names like Matthews, McDavid, Perry, and Pastrnak; can we really consider Domi in that group?

Unlike the Habs, Arizona actually put Domi in a position to succeed, and while they probably weren’t shopping him, one imagines that when Bergevin called, John Chayka felt it was one of those “we’re always listening but they’d have to bowl me over” offers.

Apologists will say that the jury is out until they’ve played the full 82 in 2018-19, or maybe even longer. But when the hockey world — even the national media guys who don’t usually put the boots to teams over this kind of thing — is collectively laughing up its sleeve at what seems to be another lost trade for the Canadiens, you really have to wonder.

Three summers in a row, Montreal has traded out at least one name-brand player. Subban, Sergachev, and now Galchenyuk. The return has been Weber, Drouin, and now Domi. Is that a team that’s improving? Is it even a team that seems to have any kind of direction?

The only thing Bergevin should be happy about these days is that he’s not Pierre Dorion.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: I can assure you: Teams should always always always always always take the best player available. “Should they do that?” is a question we need to stop asking.

Arizona Coyotes: Click here to see Shane Doan whining about how Galchenyuk doesn’t Play The Right Way. Also note Galchenyuk, at age 21, had as only one fewer 30-goal seasons as Doan did in a 21-year career. Doan would probably also like to see Galchenyuk chicken-wing elbow a few more opponents in the face. Get lost!

Boston Bruins: This is a nice little deal for Matt Grzelcyk. Think this could be a very good bottom-three defenseman for a number of years.

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres love acquiring guys who were on BU in 2015. Insofar as they’re up to four such players. Which is a lot.

Calgary Flames: The Flames would be delighted to move up in the draft but Brad Treliving said, “I’d like a helicopter, too.” So probably don’t get your hopes up.

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes should already be trying to extend budding star Sebastian Aho but the player would be very wise to refuse until he has another potentially get season.

Chicago: Well, these are definitely two guys, for sure.

Colorado Avalanche: I love to qualify my lede about the Avs maybe moving up to No. 4 by the eighth word of the first sentence.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Haha yeah, okay.

Dallas Stars: Kari Lehtonen is selling his house and maybe that means he’s done in Dallas after this season you never never know.

Detroit Red Wings: The Wings have offered pending UFA Mike Green $6 million for one year or $10 million for two. Take the latter deal, Mike.

Edmonton Oilers: There are still players who WANT to play for the Oilers? Signs and wonders.

Florida Panthers: The Panthers made a big deal out of their 25-anniversary logo and it’s…… fine I guess. I always loved the crossed-hockey-stick-and-palm-tree secondary logo.

Los Angeles Kings: I absolutely did not hear about the Kings trading for Peter Budaj again last week. So here’s that news.

Minnesota Wild: Pretty good examination of how the Wild miiiiiiiight be able to make some small changes to improve their chances to compete. But also, good luck in that division hahaha.

Montreal Canadiens: Yeah again Domi is a good playmaker but for whom is he Playmaking?

Nashville Predators: Sure the Predators don’t need to make any kind of big changes but imagine if they felt like doing that anyway?

New Jersey Devils: Here’s New Jersey governor Phil Murphy throwing $20 in the trash.

New York Islanders: I literally won’t believe a word about Tavares re-signing until it happens and even then I’m gonna be like, “Yeah, but really?”

New York Rangers: Plenty of machinations coming up for the Rangers in the week ahead. Having that many first-round picks is a nice kind of luxury, isn’t it?

Ottawa Senators: I love that the Sens finally got around to suspending Randy Lee a full 17 days after he was arrested. Dorion’s out here like “We made it clear we don’t tolerate this kind of stuff” and it’s like, come on man who are you fooling?

Philadelphia Flyers: Just in case you were wondering whether buying tickets to preseason games was a ripoff, the Flyers and Islanders are playing each other four times in September.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Horrible news about a Pens prospect and his junior teammates injured in a fire.

San Jose Sharks: If the Sharks can get a good forward this summer I like them a lot to come out of this division.

St. Louis Blues: This is an evergreen headline, to be honest.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson, the Spokane Enjoyer. Say, do you think there might be an NHL team near Spokane, like maybe about four hours away, sometime soon?

Toronto Maple Leafs: Honestly, if you can get Tyler Bozak relatively cheap (which I doubt) he’d be a useful bottom-six center.

Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks probably should be looking at a buyout or two but probably won’t make a move there because, ah, why bother?

Vegas Golden Knights: So funny that an expansion team isn’t picking until 61st. Very sad!

Washington Capitals: I’m increasingly of the opinion that John Carlson really might re-sign after all.

Winnipeg Jets: Don’t get it twisted: Just because the Jets are really good now doesn’t mean Winnipeg is no longer a “frozen outpost.”

Gold Star Award

I always feel so happy when guys get traded out of bad markets, so congrats to Alex Galchenyuk!

Minus of the Weekend

Phew, that was a close one for Max Domi, who is no longer an immigrant now that he’s moved back to his home country. Now he’s gotta Make the Canadiens Great Again!

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week

User “DownGoesMcDavid” is on one.

To Van: Karlsson Bobby Ryan

To Ottawa: 7OA 2019 2nd rnd pick Tanev Kole Lind Michael Dipietro

Signoff

May I see it?

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

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

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