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chasingpj · 4 years ago

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𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

pairing: leo valdez x gn reader

summary: five ways he says i love you through his actions

warnings: implied nudity and s*x, discusses food and eating and nothing else, i think. oh, and maybe some typos

category: headcanons

love letters/notes

leo is a busy boy

he's always picking up new projects so he can spend all day in his workshop or the forges with his siblings

when you guys live together, he leaves small notes on the refrigerator for you

they're always short, saying simple things like "i love you" and "i miss you already"

for the love letters, he'll leave them in random places for you to find

if you're a big reader, i can see him hiding it between the pages of your book

one day, you pick up your book to read, and the note falls on your lap

it's a love letter written on a piece of blueprint paper; there’s a little bit of oil smudged on the side of it

he got distracted while he was working on something because you were the only thing he could think about

his love letters never fail to make your heart flutter

sometimes they make you cry

he's quite sentimental

leo always tells you he does better writing down his feelings than he is saying it out loud because he can organize his thoughts better

you know that leo has a hard time with that because of how he grew up

when you guys have an argument, which isn't very often, he writes his feelings down on paper

he's always quick to apologize if he did something wrong, and the notes help him form the apology that you deserve, and you're quick to forgive him

once, you were super angry after an argument, so you locked yourself in your shared bedroom

you needed to calm yourself down

the both of you much too angry and stubborn to make a compromise

as your recollecting yourself, 40 minutes in, a folded piece of paper slips from under the door

the letter has teardrop stains, and the ink is slightly smudged

on the paper, it's all his thoughts written out in the best way he can explain them

after reading what he wrote, you quickly deemed that whatever you were fighting about was silly, and you guys made up

you love his spontaneous notes so much that you do them back

you guys have a game of who can find the most creative hiding spot for your notes

one time you found one tapped to the inside of the toilet cover

you found it hilarious

you throw folded post-its with messages in his tool belt

he finds them during the day while he's working on something

after you joined in on the fun, he scatters notes in random places, and every few days, you find a new message hidden somewhere randomly

they're just so sweet; there’s never a time where they don't make you smile

gifts

this is a given

it's not a leo headcanon if gift-giving isn't included

he would make you things like roses from scrap metal to literal furniture

if you have a lot of jewelry, he will make you a cute jewelry box

if you're a big book reader, he'll make you bookcases to support your book collection

he's always giving you little trinkets that he made with leftover materials from projects

he loves making things for you and gets upset when you decide to buy something from ikea instead of asking him

"babe, why would you buy that? I could have just made it for you!"

when he's on his way from returning on his quest, sometimes he'll find something that reminds him of you in a store, and he'll buy it

when he has the money for it, he'd buy you a star :(

says that he spent even more money to buy an extra bright star

because "you're the sun in my universe"

brb gonna cry

also, he'd gift you a bond bracelet

you know, those bracelets where every time you tap on it, it makes the other person's bracelet vibrate

the both of you get anxious when one of you goes on quests, so the bracelets bring the other person who's at home comfort

because when you tap back, at least he knows you're alive and vice versa

one of the best gifts you've ever received from him was your engagement ring

he made it himself

he took so much care and effort into making it

imagine leo forging your wedding ring himself??? i'm in spain with no s

he was so nervous that you wouldn't like the style, so he had piper casually bring it up to you

piper was so nonchalant about it that you didn't even think twice about the question

the ring has the prettiest gemstone or diamond (whatever you prefer)

you cried so hard when he told you he made it himself that you couldn't even say yes to his proposal clearly

he makes both of your wedding bands too

he carves a saying that's dear to the both of you on the inside

this is nothing to do with anything but imagine when you guys have kids, he makes animals out of pipe cleaners for them i'm gonna cry, brb pt 2

overall, whether he makes the present himself or not, he puts a lot of effort and care into it

every gift has a meaning and a place dear to your heart

cooking for you

leo is canoningly a good cook

he loves cooking for you

and you love eating what he makes

he's usually busy on the weekdays, so he cooks on the weekends

you guys always joke that he'd be the cutest househusband

you got him an apron for Christmas as a joke gift one year, and he wears it all the time

there's something so charming about him wearing an apron with a funny saying like "Mr. Good Lookin is Cookin" or with like a ripped out shirtless guy in front of it

you giggle every time you see him wearing it

oh, no matter how many times you've seen it, it's still so bizarre when he takes out hot trays from the oven with his BARE hands

everything he makes tastes amazing

he makes all kinds of food and is always trying something new

if you tell him what you’re craving, he’ll cook it for you

once he woke you up to ask if you wanted ribs… it was 3 am but like, of course, you wanted some

unless you're vegetarian or vegan, sorry, HAHA

often though, he does make Mexican food

it reminds him of when his mom was alive

he always has some story to share

every time he makes caldo de pollo (chicken soup), he always talks about how his mother would make it in the summer and that when he was little, he would always complain about eating hot soup in hot weather

you know he doesn't notice his constant telling of this story, but you don't mind

it's so bittersweet when he talks about his mom

through the cooking of his traditional food, you feel closer to him and his late mother

the memories he shares with you makes your eyes sting with tears

especially when leo says how much he wishes that esperanza could have met you

sorry, that was a little emo

also, leo usually wakes up earlier than you

he knows you're a sleepyhead, so he'll cook breakfast for you

so that when you're running around in the morning trying to get dressed and your things together

you never leave the house hungry because there's always a tupperware filled with breakfast, and if he has enough time, he'll fix you something to take for lunch too

if you come home late from work or school, he'll make dinner even if he's tired to surprise you

so many times you've come home from a shitty day at work or school, and the small table where you guys eat your meals is all set up with your favorite food

leo greets you by peeking his head into the hallway from the kitchen, tossed curls, cheerful brown eyes, and a bright grin

"I hope you're hungry," he says, despite knowing that you are hungry

and then you guys talk and laugh together over a delicious meal

compliments

leo's really observant

he notices when you’re in a bad mood, even if you try not to show it

he also notices when you change little things about your appearance

if you get a haircut or you get your nails done, he'll comment on it right away

especially outfits

if you buy something new, he'll complement it

imagine standing in front of the mirror, looking at yourself in your new outfit

leo comes behind you, his hands coming around your waist

he'll pepper kisses on your neck, a soft hum leaving his lips as he meets your eyes in the mirror

"is this new, mi amor?" he asks, hands running up your sides

once you affirm that it is a new dress or shirt, he'll smile and tell you how beautiful you look in it

maybe says he'd rather see it off of you wink wink

there's never a day where he doesn't compliment you

he thinks you're the prettiest person in the world

you've caught him staring at you lovingly plenty of times

he's just asking himself how did he manage to get someone as beautiful and amazing as you

you always squirm under his gaze and playfully ask what is he looking at

"you're so pretty, mi amor. I can't help it."

AHHH!!!!

alongside the endearment of mi amor, he'd always call you bonita and hermosa

you're so sweet to him, and he can't help but tell you how much you mean to him every chance he gets

surprises

leo is an acts of service kind of guy

i think he'll spontaneously do things to make you happy

if you've been busy studying for finals or just beat up from a day at work

he'll draw you a bath

or he'll cut up some fruit for you and leave it at your desk

he randomly buys you flowers

he never needs an occasion to buy your flowers

it'll be a regular tuesday, leo just happened to walk past a store with flowers displayed in the front, and he thought about how bright your smile would be if he showed up with a bouquet

I feel like he's pretty introverted, enjoys being at home with you

the both of you are pretty broke for a while, so a lot of dates were at home

leo made the most of it

you guys will have nice dinners at home

he'll set the table nicely, set the mood with candles

he'll redecorate the space so well you feel like you're at an actual restaurant

and of course, his food is amazing

breakfast in bed is another thing he'd do for you unsolicited

especially if you guys had a looong night wink wink

you're woken up by his still groggy voice, fluttering kisses on your cheeks

you open your eyes to see he's set a tray with your favorite breakfast on top of the bed

the two of you will eat breakfast together, which usually leads to you staying in bed for the rest of the day

just enjoying the warm cocoon your sheets create around the both of you

overall, he's super observant and caring, and he goes the extra mile to make sure you're happy because he knows you do the same

anyways, does anyone know where I can get a leo?

masterlists taglist: @nct127bee @minamisulemisa @yanfeisluvr @cartocns @Slytherclaw-kitten @idk-bye-no @percysbluehairbrush @Hermioneswifeee @quteez @drayshadow @ashookykooky

#my writing #leo valdez #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez x you #heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus fanfic #heroes of olympus fanfiction #leo valdez imagine #leo valdez one shot #leo valdez fanfic #leo valdez fluff #leo valdez drabble #leo valdez headcanon

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brett-tablot-imagines · 7 years ago

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Lies

(not my gif)

Here it is FINALLY!!! I hope you like it guys!!!

WARNING: swearing, accusations of cheating, fighting...I think that might be it...

~~~~~~

The one night you asked him to be there for you. One night. And he doesn’t show up. You call him one last time before you give up and go home. It was the night your midterm paper and you needed Brett to help you. Of course, him being at Devenford and you going to Beacon Hills with your brother, Scott, the distance was hard but that has never stopped you two before. He came for prom, lacrosse games, random dinners, he would even drive over when you were having period cramps. But the one night you actually asked him to be there, he wasn’t.

You didn’t want to be upset but you couldn’t help but feel stupid. Stupid for depending on him, stupid for needing the help in the first place, but most of all you felt stupid for believing he would come. He’s canceled plenty of time, on your nine month anniversary, he called you five minutes before he was supposed to meet you to say he couldn’t make it. You didn’t even want to celebrate because you felt like having an anniversary evert month wasn’t important until it was a year but Brett insisted this was important. He canceled when plans on your birthday, but he made up for both events. But your midterm pretty much determined where you would go for college.

You get home and open your window out of habit. every night since you two started dating, you opened your window for your werewolf boyfriend to come through. Scott didn’t like it but he knew that if your window was open, Brett was bound to come and check up on you. He was off at school now so it was mostly just you home by yourself. But anytime he came home, he just plugged his ears or left when Brett was over.

You turn on your music and stare at the ceiling, thinking of college. Before you know it, the bed moves and a big figure flops down next to you. You don’t look at him, you just stare at the ceiling. Brett clears his throat and leans in his elbow to look at you.

“Prince Charming is here.” He smirks and you glance at him. His forehead is sweatier than normal and his hair is messy.

“Where?” you snap back. Brett smiles and leans in closer.

“You’re looking at him.” He leans in for a kiss and you sit up, dodging him. You look around and shrug.

“I don’t see him.” You get up and walk to your closet, finding an outfit the next day to wear at school. Brett sits up and frowns, expecting you to turn and smile at him but you never do. Instead you go to the bathroom and begin brushing your teeth. He follows and leans on the doorway. You put your long hair into a messy bun and continue to brush your teeth as if brushing away every kiss and every thing you have done that involved Brett and your mouth.

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong?” He eyes you. You shove past him back to your room.

“Nope.” You begin changing into your pajama’s and Brett sits on your bed. You slide on black boy shorts and maroon shirt. You walk back to the bathroom and wash your face. Brett doesn’t follow you this time. Instead he reads the paper you shared with him. In his opinion, it would get you into any school you wanted so he didn’t know why you would be upset. You come back in the room and he smiles at you.

“Baby, this is great. Why are you stressing out about it?” You freeze when he speaks up. You look at him in shock. He read it. He knew he was supposed to come and he didn’t do it.

“You’re kidding me, right?” You say. He looks at you with raised brows. You scoff and cross your arms, waiting for him to make comment about it but he stays silent. “Do you know what day it is?” You snap. He thinks about it and then shrugs.

“It’s Tuesday.” he says matter of factly. You throw your arms up, exasperated. You take a deep breath and point to your computer.

“You promised to help me with my paper and send it to colleges since you were already excepted. You FUCKING said that you would help and you FUCKING left me alone at the library all FUCKING night and now you walk into my house and expect me to be okay with this?!” You start yelling at Brett and he looks at you shocked.You swore but never like this and Brett didn’t like this side of you.

“I forgot baby, I’m so sorry.” He stands up and walks over to you quickly but carefully. “Let me make it up to you.”

“No!” You push him away. “I’m tired of you having to make shit up to me! I want my boyfriend to be supportive and there for me but you seem to have more important things. But tell me Brett, what’s your excuse this time? Maybe your car broke down or maybe Satomi wouldn’t let you out of the house or my personally favorite, you were helping Lori with homework.”You become more and more hysterical by the second. You run your hands through your hair and scoff.

“I was at work.” Brett answers.

“YOU DON’T HAVE A JOB!!!!” You snap at him and size him up again. You see a green wristband that sticks out like a sore thumb. The words ‘SInema’ in black print. “What is that?” You point to his wrist. He looks and covers it up. You feel like him hiding it knocks all the air out of you. “Are you cheating?” You whisper.

“No!” Brett snaps. “What would fucking make you think that?”

“You just fucking lied to my face and said you were ‘at work’ and now you hide your wrist band that proves you weren’t where you said you were! And you were at a goddamn club while I was at the library waiting for you!” You shout. Brett stutters and stands up walking to your window.

“I’ll talk to you when you actually want to listen to me.” You scoff and practically push him out your window. He lands on his feet and glares up at you with yellow eyes.

“If you would have told me the truth from the start, I would have listened.” you wipe away tears you din’t see coming. When Brett sees you cry, his eyes disappear and his mood changes entirely.

“Y/N…” You slam your window shut before he can even say anything else.

You go to your bed and curl up in a ball under the covers. You cry harder than you’ve ever cried before. Your mom comes in to check on you and when she sees your state, she calls Scott who immediately drives into town to spend the day with you. You go to school though, looking like death itself. Liam follows you around, trying to make you feel better but with no success. You get home and open your window but you quickly close it, not wanting anyone or anything coming through your window tonight. You begin homework and try not think of your werewolf or his smile or lips or body or laugh or kisses or hugs or cuddles or hands or hair or eyes. But you can’t. That’s all you can think about so you just shut your eyes and end up falling asleep on your homework.

Your bedroom door opens and chuckle is heard but you don’t move. You turn your head away from the light and snuggle back into your arms.

“Y/N.” Scott says. You don’t move or jump. He repeats your name but you choose not to look. “She’s all yours.” Scott says to someone else. The door closes and your chair is moved from your desk and a body carries you with ease to your bed. They gently place you on top and under the sheets. You half expect the body to crawl in with you but they don’t. You open your eyes and see Brett looking at you from your previous spot on the chair. You stare at each other, reading the others actions and emotions without words. Brett areas the silence.

“Satomi asked me to check out a lead on a possible lone wolf. She wants to make sure they won’t be a threat to us or to the McCall pack.” You listen as Brett talks. Everything he says make sense. Satomi wouldn’t want a lone wolf roaming around and reeking havoc for either of the packs. “I was going to go to the library but then Liam texted me and said he tracked the wolf to Sinema and you know Liam would never text me unless it was serious.” you half smile, knowing Liam and Brett weren’t fond of each other. “So technically I was at work but I did mess up and I don’t want to keep making thinks up to you. I want to be there for you. So if you will forgive me, I would love to start now.” Brett puts a dozen roses on the table that you never spotted before. You gasp lightly and stare at the roses. When you don’t respond, Brett takes it as you’re still mad so he stands up, walking to the door.

He doesn’t hear you jump up and run over. You quickly hug the tall wolf from behind and he freezes. You hug him tightly and snuggle into his back. Warm hands cover yours and you smile. He turns and cups your face, kissing you with more passion than any other kiss you have ever received You smile into the kiss and hold his hands in place.

“I love you.” he whispers. You smile wider.

“I love you.”

#Brett Talbot #brett talbot imagine #brett talbot x reader #brett talbot fluff #brett talbot smut #brett talbot fanfiction #teen wolf fanfiction

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greyias · 7 years ago

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Hop on the Crazy Train Guys! Spoilers and Rampant Speculation, Ahoy!

Hey guys, are you ready to hop on the Crazy Train? Find your tinfoil hats as I leap from the “Oh, that might make sense” discovery decrypted from the 5.4 Datamining into full on Conpsiracy Theorist mode. Full disclosure, I realize A) how ridiculous all this sounds; B) the extreme unlikliehood of this being the ACTUAL storyline is… low. But if it were. It would be a-MAZ-ing!

This my new pet Master Theory of the (SWTOR) Universe. And the answer, is not 42, as Douglas Adams might have us believe, but in fact 7-18-1-22-5-19-20-15-14-5. You can pry this ridiculous headcanon from my cold dead hands.

Spoilers, and wild speculation that grasps at the thinnest and most fragile of canonical straws, below the “Read More”. Leave your suspension of disbelief behind, because it’ll just drag you down.

So at the end of the revised letter discovered in the 5.4 datamining, in each of the variations on the letter that Theron sends, there’s an error message with a string of what appears to be random numbers. If you apply an alphanumeric cipher to them, it looks like he’s trying to say “It’s Zildrog” and gets cut off, hinting that perhaps everything is not as it seems. (Seeing as how we have to wait until next Tuesday to see if we do indeed receive this letter, well…)

So, anyway, let’s leap onto the crazy train guys. Starting where this whole traitor nonsense first cropped up, which was RageBot Tyth’s CAPSLOCKKKK speech at the end where he’s revealing that, *GASP* there’s a traitor in our midst. (This was pretty heavily hinted at from the first cut scene, that something was up). Let’s look at that speech, in all its Shifty, Capslocky glory:

YOU HAD NO CHOICE. YOU WERE LURED HERE. BLINDED BY DUTY. DISTRACTED BY TRUST. YOU DID NOT SEE THE BLADE TO YOUR NECK THE RAGE IN YOUR SHADOW. THE TRAITOR. YOU ARE BETRAYED.

There’s a dialogue option here that gives you three branched answers (if I’ve pulled from the proper datamining spot on TorCommunity), where you can be all “Bzuh? Why?” Or “You’re trying to trick me” or “I KNEW SOME MOFO WAS UP TO NO GOOD”: ONE MARKED BY ANGER. PAIN. HOPE ERODING. // RAGE FEEDS ON TRUTH // SUSPICION CORRODES

The first one… is interesting.

THE BETRAYER LURED YOU TO IOKATH. IGNITED WAR. SPARKED THE ENGINES OF RAGE, ENVY, PASSION, HATE, SORROW. THE BETRAYER NOW OFFERS YOU: SACRIFICE PRIME. FUEL FOR THE SIX GODS!

There’s an extra bit he says at the beginning too that’s interesting, but I’ll circle back around to that later, because it’s a bit of a tangent.

So, he specifically mentions that we’re blinded by our duty (doesn’t say to what), and we’re distracted by “trust”. There’s a “rage in (our) shadow”. They’ve lured us into this death trap with the specific intention of waking the old Zakuulan gods, in theory, to bring about the end of all organic life in the galaxy.

And if you’re thinking “Well, minus the genocide of the entire galaxy that sounds like it could be Theron! I mean, unless we’re like dating him and trying to rebuild everything and doing exactly what he has indicated that he wants up to this point”–hold on! Stop wallowing in despair, because I’ve got a better idea! It’s the Order of Zildrog!

Actually, I’ll do one even BETTER. It’s not just the Order of Zildrog. It’s Zildrog. As in, the old Zakuulan serpent demon who likes to sleep in the Endless Swamp, test warriors, and eventually wants to bring about the destruction of all life. Because that’s what crazy serpents of death do in their spare time. I mean sure, I could be 100% off base, being played by my own hopes, expectations, and cipher substitutions and grasping at the thinnest of straws here, but hear my crazy butt out!

After that speech, we all assumed that the traitor he was referring to, one who’s been at our side from “the beginning of it all” was person in the Alliance. But what if it wasn’t… a person? But still a member of the Alliance. An in fact, vital member of the Alliance.

What if it’s the Gravestone?

Okay, whoever hasn’t slowly backed out of this post at this point and unfollowed me, I assume you had picked “sentient warship of death and destruction” in the “Who is the Traitor?” betting pool as a joke, and are suddenly sweating and looking nervous. (“Am *I* a Scion? Can *I* see the future? That was a joke! I thought the theory of several jawas standing on each others’ backs wearing a robe made more sense!”)

And in a strange sort of way, this makes… a tiny bit of sense? There have been some things that have been nagging at me since we started KotFE/KOTET, but I had brushed them off as dues ex machinas and just weird plot holes. (I mean, they might still be. Sometimes things in SWTOR can be subtle as an anvil landing on your head) While this speech was going on, there was a tiny voice in me asking: What does this giant raging metal god of death care about me? How does he know this about some random person in my Alliance?

But a fellow mighty war machine from Iokath? Tyth just might know a thing or two about that.

“But Grey,” you say as you reach for a sedative as my ramblings start to reach a fever pitch, “you said this was about Zildrog. What does that have to do with the Gravestone? My lovingly loyal warship that I rescued from a swamp and has followed me into battle ever since?”

Well, what I’m saying (as I dodge that sedative to get out the rest of this wild hair that is likely unmoored in reality) is that the Gravestone IS Zildrog. And he’s finally making his move after pretending to be a loyal, stupid spaceship after all this time.

Hold on, let me put on my tinfoil hat and explain my insanity more. Because there are hints peppered throughout KotFE and KOTET that actually back this up. Ambient dialogue on Zakuul with both the Heralds of Zildrog and just random Zakuulans allude that Zildrog is like kind of the rebel of the God Pantheon (some don’t even consider him one of the Gods), hinting that maybe he fought with the other Gods. After the Iokath storyline, we find out that the Gods are actually Giant Mechas intended to play war games all over the galaxy, and Zakuul was one of their favorite worlds to destroy over and over, decimating that population constantly.

If you run about the place there’s all sorts of strange bits of lore about Zildrog that don’t seem to connect to the KotFE/KOTET storyline. Forgive me for I’m stuck at work and can’t go find all of the actual pieces of dialogue verbatim, but I just heard a lot of them this weekend running KotFE Chapter 7 (for unrelated reasons) and it goes something like this: Zildrog is a mythical “dragon” who is “sleeping” out in the Endless Swamp. Waiting to be awakened so he will one day return and “raze the world” and bring “death to all who did not believe”. He’s even got his own Death Cult! Cool! They’re just as insane as this theory, and fervently believe the Apocalypse is an Awesome Thing™. If only there was a way…

So, here we are, Outlander Extraordinaire, and we find this ancient warship out in the swamps. It’s called the GRAVEstone. A name that seems to indicate something ominous about its origins. It’s been whispered that its the only thing that ever stood up in a fight with the Eternal Fleet (which we now know also came from Iokath. As part of their War Game scenarios). It’s been a while since I’ve played that chapter and paid attention to the dialogue, but I recall Valkorion being a bit… vague about it. Like, possibly that he had no fucking clue it was there. (Or he did, hard to tell with Voidy McLiarface). It has this mysterious room that we spend at least two scenes in, and we’re like “Wow, this is weird”, and the game’s like “Yeah, isn’t it? Hahahaha, we better go stop Arcann now shouldn’t we little Outlander?” and you promptly forget about it until your next playthrough and you’re like “Yeah, this is still weird.”

Then we’ve got Scorpio, another Iokath droid, one of the more intelligent ones. She can talk to the Gravestone, interface with it directly. She tells us it has intelligence, an intelligence almost rivals hers. I think she even hints that it has its own purposes but that it won’t say what those are. Before we can delve into “Wait, are you saying that my brand new ancient starship is sentient?” oops! We gotta go stop Arcann again!

Then we’re in KOTET, we’ve just disarmed a fucking quantum bomb on board the Gravestone, when all of the sudden EVERY SINGLE SHIP IN THE FLEET + THE GRAVESTONE suddenly gets pulled back to its point of origin: Iokath. This is a really weird side trip considering its only purpose in the bigger plot of KOTET seems to be to explain the Fleet’s origins as well as give us some shiny new shield upgrades for when Vaylin attacks in Chapter 8 so we don’t immediately die. But hey, our Love Interest was super duper cute with us during this chapter and that was touching.

And then we defeat Vaylin, the Eternal Fleet goes feral and we have to tame it, we kick that stupid ghost out of our head once and for all, and we all live happily ever after! Yay! GO TEAM!

And then. We have to go back to Iokath. Everyone has to go back to Iokath, because a mysterious third party has suddenly slipped in information about these superweapons that literally no living character has memory of, or any reason to have memory of. Specifically, memories of ancient war machines that have been known to decimate entire organic populations, just because. One of their favorite hangouts being Ancient Zakuul, who built up an entire pantheon around them. The only justification for Theron knowing about this is that he plugged in during the Iokath chapters, but his behavior during that and subsequent chapters is either the best acting in the world, or suggests that he doesn’t know this at all. He in fact is the one who plugs back in, and finds evidence that explains the purpose of the superweapon. Dialogue on mine (because Light Side ftw baby!) indicates that maybe it’s Scorpio who’s giving you this information? But it’s vague, almost as if it’s someone else… like, say, an ancient artificial intelligence that lovingly takes you around the galaxy and lets you play with it’s big old Omnicannon? And it’s ignited another conflict, that has the potential to spread throughout the galaxy.

Oh yeah, and then there’s you. The latest in a line of people with control over the Eternal Fleet. Something that has been shown to mercilessly rain destruction on inhabited worlds like a mad dog unless someone is holding its leash. And hey, if you were, to say, be killed while sitting on a throne that information was planted for one of your trusty sidekicks to find, maybe it would be free to go about it’s business raining destruction on the galaxy. Oh, and those old slumbering “Gods” might wake up too, and go cause a few apocalypses of their own. And while everyone is distracted with all this dying, maybe that dark presence in that weird room might finally wake up and watch it’s handiwork.

Being limited as an AI on a warship, it might, say, I don’t know, send vague and cryptic messages to various opposing intelligence organizations. Possibly it had communication with that whole Death Cult that formed around it and lived in the swamp where it lived. Maybe it sent them some messages too, once the coast was clear, and the Eternal Fleet was no longer in opposition to it, now that it’s unwitting puppet had taken out every Zakuulan who had sat on the throne controlling it.

Or you know, Theron changed his clothes for the first time in his fucking life, threw on his Evil Cloak of Evil™, and said “Sorry bitches! It’s Apocalypse time! God I love dying horribly! Mwah ahahaha!” and rigged a train to explode. Because he’s just Extra™ like that I guess!

I mean, you know, who can say which theory is right? The straightforward one we’ve been led to believe with the 5.4 datamining retconning five years of character development for a pointless shocking twist, or the one with an ancient evil sentient warship that just wants to watch the Galaxy burn? I mean, they both have arguments in their favor, amirite?

Because I mean, I don’t know about you, but the only thing more bizarre than Theron being the traitor all along would be that we weren’t betrayed by a person all along, and no matter how many people Theron and Lana interrogated would they discover the culprit. Because who would think to turn to that giant hunk of metal parked outside and say “Hey buddy, sent any super secret encrypted transmissions with that intelligence we forgot about for 1.5 expansions?”

We were betrayed. By a fucking warship. OUR GODDAMN SHIP HAS BEEN PLAYING US ALL ALONG WHAT THE HELL BIOWARE I’M LAUGHING AND CRYING THIS IS SO INSANE IT CAN’T BE TRUE

Join me next time in “Insane Theory Land that Will Not Be True”, as I argue that Tenebrae/Vitiate/Valkorion, Master Manipulator and Devourer of Worlds was outsmarted and used by a sentient spaceship because lolololol. And—OH WAIT ONE LAST THING:

Back to Tyth’s speech. At the very beginning he says this: I AM ONE OF SIX. THE SIX BOW TO NO ONE.

The six gods in the Zakuul Pantheon: Izax, Scyva, Tyth, Aivela, Esne, Nahum. Zildrog isn’t included in that. Some believe he’s another form of Izax, the chief among the Old Gods. I’m nowhere near my PC right now and can’t double-check who is listed on the Iokath Operation, but… it was five bosses, not six right? Am I correct in remembering that Izax wasn’t listed?

Because there’s another funny thing about Izax you guys. There’s this whole “Watcher Izax” that’s mentioned by the guard captain in Chapter 6 who had gone off to the Core Worlds and didn’t come back. And then there’s Guss’s recruitment mission, where his master is named “Isaac”, and when we get back from that Sana Rae is very clear that there’s something very powerful, and very dangerous about this guy.

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED. UP IS DOWN. NORTH IS SOUTH. WAKE UP SHEEPLE YOU KNOW I’M RIGHT.

(Okay I’m probably wrong.)

I mean, there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered: Why did the Gravestone start attacking the Eternal Fleet? If it’s part of the fleet, why is it the only Iokath ship, that looks different from all the rest by the by, that doesn’t need a Gemini droid to control it? Why did the Gods go to sleep? Why didn’t the Gravestone just wake itself up? Is the mud on Zakuul that sticky? The world may never know.

#5.4 datamine #spoilers #speculation #i know #it's probably not true #BUT WHAT IF IT IS #swtor #i will go back to writing my angsty fic now #I've planted too much false hope that might get dashed as it is #gravedrog

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dansphlevels · 7 years ago

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Paper Cranes

Summary: Dan and Phil, who have been dating and completely open about their relationship for two years now, find themselves in a strict week-long church camp where they might need to keep their relationship a secret.

Themes: fluff, religion (Christianity), potential homophobia, closeted relationship, au, camp, established relationship

Length: oneshot, 3.2k words

TW: Low-key religion and potential homophobia

***For notes on the religion in this work, scroll to the bottom***

Monday

Back at home, everyone knew that Dan Howell and Phil Lester were dating. They lived in a pretty accepting community, and though there were few LGBT people in their town, they were generally accepted.

They started dating around two years prior after being friends for a few years. Dan asked Phil out on a date, and Phil asked Dan to be his boyfriend two dates later, making it official. They’d been inseparable ever since. Dan’s grandma was the one who suggested he go to the weeklong overnight church camp in the mountains. After looking into it, Dan agreed to go, on the condition that Phil could go with him. Neither of them were very religious, though they did go to a Christian church a few times a year, and felt like they had a decent grasp of it. It was hard agreeing with the faith sometimes, as so many Christians were homophobic.

This particular camp ended up being more conservative than they’d thought. When they arrived, one of the first things Phil did was ask a girl why her arm was bandaged. She smiled and explained that she had a tattoo, and as many kids were coming from more conservative churches, the councilors and staff were asked to cover their tattoos. At this, Dan and Phil exchanged a look and realized that for once, they might just have to keep their relationship a secret. It was already mid-afternoon when they arrived at camp, so there wasn’t much time for activities. Luckily, Dan and Phil were put in the same cabin, along with three other boys and two male councilors. One of the boys, named Nathan, was about a year younger than them and shy, but he took an immediate liking to Phil and his random humor. The head counselor, a tall guy with curly brown hair named PJ, also got along with them pretty well. "Just so you know,“ he was saying after they’d all settled in, "there are a few rules here at camp, along with the obvious. Make sure to drink plenty of water, don’t pull any pranks, and people of the opposite gender must be at least 6 inches apart.” That got their attention. One of the boys, a fit guy with similar hair to Dan’s, looked troubled by this. “So like… no relationships?” "Good question Anthony, “ PJ responded. "And yes, unless you’re married, this is a relationship free zone.” He shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, I don’t make the rules. But it’s just until Saturday, you can survive that long, right?” Maybe Anthony could. But Dan and Phil sure couldn’t.

Tuesday

The camp was a lot more fun than they had anticipated. Despite it being a Christian Camp, everyone seemed pretty normal, laughing and joking in an average high school manner. The people at the four square box were competitive but encouraging, the people doing crafts focused, but conversational. The counselors were less of authoritarians and more of peers, especially PJ, who was only a few years older than them. It was a warm, forgiving environment. It was hard keeping their relationship, which they did so open about for such a long time, under wraps, but not impossible. They purposely bumped into each other walking, accidentally brushing hands while getting their meals, and playing the part of lifetime best friends to the fullest degree. Once, during cabin free time, Anthony pointed out the hickey on Dan’s neck, jokingly asking about the girls back home. Dan had to blush and ignore the question, meeting Phil’s gaze for a millisecond before looking away again. Phil knew where the hickey had come from.

Wednesday

One of the activities scheduled for Wednesday was the zip line. It was long and even went over the lake, but to get to the top it was necessary to scale a climbing tower. However, it wasn’t a big deal for neither Phil nor Dan, as neither of them were afraid of heights. But Dan did position himself at a spot where he could thoroughly admire Phil’s ass as he climbed. Dan was the last person to go, so by then everyone had already walked back, including Phil. The only one left with the head counselor PJ, who walked back with him. They walked in silence for a few moments, until PJ cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but I want to make sure that you’re comfortable with it first.” He spoke carefully, as if making sure his words didn’t upset Dan.

Dan, who was willing to talk about just about anything, shrugged. “Sure, I don’t mind.”

“What are your beliefs about sex?”

They kept walking, though really Dan wanted to stop in his tracks and stare at the counselor in shock.

But Dan kept walking. “We’re at church camp.” He thought that would shut him up, remind PJ of where they were, but the counselor only laughed. “I know it’s church camp. I just believe in being a real Christian and living every day the same, whether at church or university.” He paused. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just wondering because, you know, the hickey.” This caused Dan’s cheeks to go red, but he tried to will it to go away. “Yeah, well, the Bible says not to if you have sex until marriage…” he stated, grasping at straws. Truthfully, he only read the Bible when in church, and that was few and far between. But it sounded right. PJ Shrugged. “I think it’s important you interpret it for yourself. That’s why I waited to have a serious commitment until I had a serious commitment before having sex.” Dan raised his eyebrows. “A serious commitment?” “Well, my girlfriend and I waited until we decided to get married to do it. I’m proposing after we’re through University.” Dan nodded, thinking as they walked. “In that case… yeah, I have sex. I’ve always thought that it was a good thing, and as long as you’re safe and both people are consenting, I don’t see why not.” The camp was in sight, and they could hear the different campers milling around and playing games. PJ stared ahead. “Christianity isn’t about restrictions. It’s about love and forgiveness, and knowing that no matter how much you screw up, you’ll always have someone looking out for you.” That night, Dan Phil told their cabin mates that they were going to go to the bathroom, and snuck out behind the cabin, allowing themselves to hold hands as they snuck down the hill. After they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be seen, they turned, and under the concealment of the woods in the darkness of night, they kissed.

Thursday

Thursday came with an obstacle course and 60 minutes of art. Which was about 53 minutes too long for Phi

"You guys are taking too long,“ he complained, wandering around the picnic tables aimlessly. "I finished already and I’m not even good at painting.”

"You’re done already because you’re not good even at art,“ Dan corrected. "Sit down, pleb.”

Phil ignored his insult, but straddled the bench anyways, facing Dan. “I like your tractor, by the way.”

"It’s a tree!” Dan argued, dipping his brush aggressively in the paint water.

"Then what’s that red part?“

"The trunk. We were out of brown.”

"There’s more of every color at the main table.”

Dan glanced up, looking where Phil was pointing- at the brown paint on the table. “You know what? You can shut up.”

"Rude,“ Phil decided, completely unaffected. "I was just trying to help.”

"Well, you can shove your help up your-“

"Dan!”

"-Bible,“ Dan finished, trying to save himself. "You can shove your help up your Bible. Not your- right. Yeah.” He cringed, barely having avoided cussing. “Religion.”

"You’re so stupid,“ Phil intoned fondly, brushing some of Dan fringe to the side. "I love you.”

They both froze, realizing what he’d said. Everyone else went quiet.

"But no homo,“ Anthony suggested.

"Right,” Dan said, trying not to laugh. “No homo.” — It was evening, and everyone was showering and getting ready for bed. It was the perfect opportunity for Dan and Phil to sneak away, back to the obstacle course everyone had gone through that morning.

Truthfully, it was less of an obstacle course and more of a few random challenges. Dan had been able to try twice, but he still hadn’t been able to walk the full length of the tightrope, so that’s where they went. Besides, it gave them some privacy.

They weren’t supposed to wander off, but they were both past caring.

"That’s probably not safe,“ Phil thought aloud as they approached the tightrope- a stretch h of thick wire about 10 meters long, and maybe half a meter high. "You probably shouldn’t go on there without a few people spotting you.”

"Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of me ignoring you.“ Dan climbed onto the tightrope, holding onto the tree for balance. "Besides, you can spot me.”

Phil was still doubtful. “Do you really trust me?”

"‘Do you trust me? Do you trust me?’“ Dan quotes from 'Aladdin’, still holding onto the tree as he balanced. "A whole new world….” "Stop singing, I’m going to go deaf,“ Phil complained.

"Whoa-ho-ho, those aren’t very Christ-like words,” Dan giggled, letting go of the tree for a split second before grabbing it again.

Phil watched him worriedly, holding his hands out in case Dan started to fall. “I was just saying, that you probably shouldn’t trust the clumsiest person ever with your life.”

"I’m not trusting you with my life.“ He took a step forwards on the tightrope, wobbling slightly. "I’m trusting you to break my fall.”

He stumbled and caught Phil’s hand, who furrowed his eyebrows. “Just don’t die.”

"Noted,“ Dan agreed with a joking smile as he kept walking. "I’m getting pretty far, huh?”

"You’ve barely left the tree.“

"Why are you so critical of me?” Dan stumbled, and chose to step off instead of fall. As he was still holding Phil’s hand, he landed so close they were almost chest to chest. “See?” Dan whispered. “I told you I was fine.”

Phil tugged his lip up between his teeth, focused on Dan’s lips. “Um… we should go. They’ll start wondering soon.”

Dan rolled his eyes playfully. “Worry wart.” He took a half-step forwards and pressed his lips against Phil’s in a quick kiss. “We don’t have to leave too soon.”

Phil returned the kiss, allowing his hands to grasp onto Dan’s side, the feeling completely natural. Dan’s hands reached up and clasped behind Phil’s neck, tugging the boy’s hair gently. They kissed for longer than they probably should’ve, but when Phil finally pulled away, Dan whined and pulled him back in.

“Dan, we have to go,” Phil reminded, though he didn’t push him away.

"I know,“ Dan whined. "I just don’t want to have to keep playing pretend. Why can’t we just tell them we’re dating?”

It was rhetorical, but he answered anyways. “Because then we won’t be able to be alone at all, which means no kissing until camp ends.”

Dan groaned, pressing his forehead against Phil’s. "You’re right. But I’m going to continue to be miserable.”

Phil laughed breathily, his arms around Dan gently as they rocked back and forth, foreheads touching. “You should pray about it.”

Dan smiled painfully. “This feels wrong. Talking about praying after kissing a boy."

The boy holding him breathed in deeply, his eyes closed. "I don’t know. It sounds like we could do a whole lot without ever getting God to hate us.”

Friday

It was the last full day of camp. They would leave tomorrow at about noon, and start the three-hour long car ride back home. Only about twenty-four hours until they could kiss freely once more.

One of the activities that everyone at camp had every day at one, was cabin quiet time; basically, forty-five minutes to nap, relax, and take a break from all the running around they would do for the rest of the day.

In Dan and Phil’s cabin, they had no choice but to be quiet. The younger boy Nathan hadn’t slept at all the previous night, and it turned out he was miserable to be around when tired. He’d fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, leaving the other trying to be as quiet as possible as not to wake him.

PJ had given everyone who was still awake little origami sheets, with the directions to cut and fold on them. Everything was quiet for a few minutes as they settled in.

"This is impossible,“ Phil complained, his origami swam looking more like a crumpled tissue.

Dan rolled his eyes and grunted as he pushed himself off his bed. "Let me see, you doof.” Climbing up onto Phil’s bunk- which was barely big enough for just Phil- he grabbed the paper from his hands, examining it. “Phil! Why’d you rip it up?”

"That’s where the lines were!“ Phil defended.

"Yeah, the lines to fold!”

The others a hushed them in unison.

Dan gave them a look, before lowering his voice. “You fold the straight lines and tear the dashed ones.”

"All of the lines are straight!“

"The freaking- the solid lines Phil!”

Phil was less interested in the paper, and more interested in the boy in his bed. He put his hand on Dan’s face, effectively both annoying Dan and reminding him to chill. “It’s just paper.”

"Paper you tore up into little bits,“ Dan complained, his voice softening as he gave in.

"Fine. Show me the right way.”

So Dan got a fresh sheet and showed Phil what to do, their shoulders and sides touching with how close they were, legs practically tangled together. Dan watches as Phil finished the origami swan, and despite it looking slightly dented, it was recognizable as a swan.

Dan laid down as Phil got another one. And by the time he was finished, Dan was fast asleep lying against him.

Saturday

"Oh my God.“ "Doesn’t it look great?” "Phil… I can’t believe- how many of those freaking swans did you make?“ Phil shoved him lightly. "Dan!” Their cabin had been in charge of setting up for breakfast that morning, and after each table and all the chairs were in place, Phil added his own personal touch- mini origami swans at every table, and scattered around the dining area. There was one on top of the stacks of cups, one on top of the napkins, even one balancing on the lights. At every table sat a little swan, some facing towards each other in a way that made it look like they were having a staring contest. As Dan looked around, he was able to find a few other hidden ones- on chairs, floating in a drink pitcher, looking at him expectantly from a throne of boxes. "They’re actually not swans,“ Phil added proudly. "They’re cranes. Did you know a group of cranes is called a 'dance’?” Dan shook his head, grinning. “Only you Phil, only you. When did you even have time to do all this?” Phil scratched his head awkwardly. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. Couldn’t shut off my brain. I’m going to miss camp.” Dan’s grin faded to a sad smile. “Me too. I know it has it’s issues, but…. I don’t know. It feels weird to think that we’re leaving today.” They both sighed in unison, then broke into giggles. “Well, let’s just enjoy it while we can.” Dan sighed more dramatically, brushing his curls aside. “Okay. I just… there are some things that I won’t miss about this place.” They weren’t alone, but there weren’t many people in the dining hall. Either way, no one was watching. Phil took a step forwards, biting his lip slightly. “Yeah?” "I miss you,“ Dan whispered. "I like… I like being open about our relationship.” In almost perfect unison, they moved forwards, and Phil engulfed Dan in a hug, wrapping his arms around the boy tightly. And out of all the touches they’d shared that week, this one just might have been the most intimate. — Everything was cleaned up. Their stuff was packed and already loaded in Phil’s car. Everyone was getting ready to leave, but no one was really ready to go. You grow close to people when you spend even just a week with them. Leaving… leaving was hard. Dan and Phil leaned against Phil’s car, talking with some of their cabin mates. PJ walked over, a sad smile on his face. “Hey guys, about ready to head out?” Dan returned the smile. “A little. I’m right in between wanting to get out as fast as I can, and….” he struggled to say the words. "Not really wanting to go?“ PJ suggested. Dan nodded gratefully. "I always struggle leaving. But, there’s one thing that usually helps.” He pulled something from his backpack, and turned it over, handing it to Dan. Dan held it carefully, observing it. It was a large book with a leather bound cover. "It’s a study Bible,“ PJ explained. "Each year I’ve been a counselor, I give one out to one of my campers. Instead of just having the text, it explains it in more modern terms. I don’t know, but I really like mine, so I hope you’ll like it too.” He glanced beside Dan, sizing up Phil. “And this way, you can share it with Phil. Since you’re such good friends and all.” Dan glanced at Phil and beamed. “Thanks a ton PJ, I’ll definitely use it.” Everyone started saying their final goodbyes, and they watched as most of their cabin turned to leave. Only Anthony and PJ stayed behind. "We’ll wave you off,“ PJ promised, and they hugged quickly. "Take care, you two.” And with that, they got in the car- Dan driving, as Phil was too tired- and they waved goodbye as they pulled out. Right before Dan started the car down the main road, he looked at Phil happily, who was already getting ready for a nap. “Sleep well. Goodnight kiss?” He smiled and leaned over, sharing a short, but sweet kiss. As Phil sat back down, he glanced over and laughed. “Oh no, maybe we shouldn’t have done that.” Dan looked where Phil was pointing and burst into a light laughter too. Behind them, through the back window, they could see PJ and Anthony, staring at them wide-eyed with their mouths open in shock. /They definitely saw the kiss./ "Well, I guess camp’s over,“ Phil joked. They waved bye, and their startled cabin mates shook themselves out of their daze and gave a quick wave and a smile, still looking a bit shaken by the surprise. And then, just like that, they left. Phil fell asleep after a few minutes of staring out the window, and Dan signed contentedly, glancing over at his boyfriend’s sleeping form. Only three more hours of driving to go, he thought, trying to be hopeful. The car rumbled down the street, containing one sleeping boy, one nostalgic boy, two suitcases and sleeping bags and whatever else they thought they had needed to bring. And, on the mantle of the car, a study bible with a little pink paper crane sitting on top of it.

***Note about religion in this work***

The views of the characters in this story are not necessarily my own, and I’m not saying that they are right. But I wanted to add a bit of Christianity in it’s natural habitat, because I feel that a lot of people have a very warped idea of the religion, and I wanted to show an aspect that a lot of times can’t be seen outside it. But, along with that, you can enjoy this work without being suffocated with the religion.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope you enjoyed it! As always, my ask box is open for story prompts, and if you have an questions or comments about this work, let me know! Im happy to discuss.

Fic Masterlist

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter

The Toronto Raptors have long grown beyond Vince Carter. DeMar DeRozan and Chris Bosh have scored more points in a Raptors uniform than Carter did. Kyle Lowry has surpassed Carter's contributions to winning, according to advanced metrics like Box Score Plus-Minus. Kawhi Leonard is closer to being the best player in the league than Carter ever was. The Raptors today are a better team than any that featured Carter. But the franchise wouldn't be where it is at today without Carter's monumental contributions.

James Naismith may be the Canadian who invented basketball, but Vince Carter is responsible for bringing it to Canada. There were two discrete times in Canadian basketball history: before and after Carter.

Carter made his impact felt in Toronto's hockey-crazed market immediately. The year before he was drafted, Toronto had a middling attendance record that ranked 16th in the league. That rose to 10th in Carter’s rookie year to 9th, then 6th, then 5th for the 2001-02 season.

His star rose accordingly. In 2000, Carter amazed viewers and participants alike with his inconceivable performance in the slam dunk contest. He led the league in All-Star voting in 2000, 2001, and 2002. By 2002, Carter was being featured in Gatorade commercials with more screen time than Derek Jeter. More than a decade later, The Carter Effect documentary revealed that he even brought bottle service to the nightclubs of Toronto. Carter put Toronto on the map in more ways than one.

Of course, it all fell apart at one point. His divorce from the team was ugly, and it resulted in years of boos raining down on Carter whenever the man known as Air Canada returned to the Air Canada Centre. While that resentment lasted for many years, the franchise and former superhero are no longer at odds. For the first time, the boos turned to cheers midway through a game in 2014, when Toronto honoured Carter, then with the Grizzlies, with a tribute video. The moment brought Carter to tears.

Part of what has allowed Raptors fans to once again love Carter is that Toronto became a winning team and conference contender behind the leadership of Lowry and DeRozan. By 2014, the Raptors had finally broken the franchise record for wins of 47 set in 2001-02, Carter's third year with the team.

The city no longer holds a grudge. These days, Toronto erupts with standing ovations for Carter practically every time he steps on the court. That remained true in a January 2019 game against the Atlanta Hawks (that could end up being Carter's last in the city), when the Toronto crowd stood and applauded multiple times when Carter entered the game.

Winning was what finally allowed Toronto to forgive Carter. It was easy to hate him when Toronto was mired in the dreary days of Rafael Araujo, and it's easy to love Carter now and enjoy the good old days when the team employs Kawhi Leonard and is gunning for a championship.

And winning is the reason why Carter should now return to Toronto. The Raptors have evolved beyond what Carter built, while Carter himself has grown into a veteran who values his teammates' success over his own. Toronto and Carter certainly haven't grown together, but they have grown to a stage where they now belong together.

The Raptors are one of the best teams in the NBA. Not only do they lead the league in wins, but 538's statistical model gives Toronto the second-best odds in the league at an NBA title.

Beyond all the feels that would come with a Carter/Raptors reunion, he has value he can add to the team. He has spent the last several years as a player-coach of sorts. Players in Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento, and Atlanta have raved about his cerebral ability to pass his skills onto younger teammates. Toronto employs several young wings, including OG Anunoby and Norman Powell, who could use lessons in how to translate athleticism into consistent on-court success. Bringing Carter home would benefit Toronto now and in the future.

Carter is a lovable veteran, and the Raptors are actually short on veteran presences. CJ Miles, Kyle Lowry, and Danny Green are the only Raptors in their 30s, and Lowry and Green spend too much time on the court to be the wise old heads on the bench. It would help the team to employ a level-headed, elder statesman with 88 games of playoff experience, behind only Serge Ibaka for most on the Raptors.

Despite being the oldest player in the NBA, the soon-to-be 42-year-old actually remains a passable player on the court, too. Carter shoots nearly 38 percent from deep (which would be the second-best mark on the team behind Green), and triples comprise almost two-thirds of his field goal attempts. The Atlanta Hawks are actually better when Carter's on the court than when he's off of it. When Toronto is at full health in the playoffs, with a rotation likely cut to 9 or 10, Carter would not make the cut. But for the remainder of the regular season, he is quite capable of playing well for short stretches when Toronto's wings need a rest, and could deflect media attention away from Lowry and Leonard, two stars who are media-averse. The extra attention that would come with such a reunion wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He is comfortable with the press, even to the extent that he may pursue a career in broadcasting when his legendary playing career ends.

If the Raptors can work out a trade with the struggling Hawks, who don't look playoff-bound and signed Carter to a one-year, veteran's minimum deal, they should jump on it.

In his 21 years in the league, Carter has been many things. He's evolved from one of the most electrifying players of all time, to a villain, to a beloved teammate (who can still casually pull off one of the league's smoothest 360 dunks). He's an elite player-coach who can still play NBA-level ball, and with their championship aspirations, the Raptors could use a player and person of his quality.

The Raptors no longer miss Carter like they once did, which creates an opening where once there was only hostility. Precisely because the Raptors have passed Carter by is why they are finally ready to bring him home. From his perspective, Carter deserves another chance at playoff success (he's still without a title and has never been to the NBA Finals), and he deserves to chase it in the most important basketball home of his career.

It's been said before, but a random Tuesday night in January against Atlanta may well have been Carter's final basketball game in the city of Toronto. After so many years of wins and losses, boos and cheers, that statement is as bittersweet as it is heartbreaking.

But it doesn't have to be true. There's more amazing yet to be had. Bring. Back. Vince.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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leehaws · 6 years ago

Text

Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter

The Toronto Raptors have long grown beyond Vince Carter. DeMar DeRozan and Chris Bosh have scored more points in a Raptors uniform than Carter did. Kyle Lowry has surpassed Carter’s contributions to winning, according to advanced metrics like Box Score Plus-Minus. Kawhi Leonard is closer to being the best player in the league than Carter ever was. The Raptors today are a better team than any that featured Carter. But the franchise wouldn’t be where it is at today without Carter’s monumental contributions.

Carter made his impact felt in Toronto’s hockey-crazed market immediately. The year before he was drafted, Toronto had a middling attendance record that ranked 16th in the league. That rose to 10th in Carter’s rookie year to 9th, then 6th, then 5th for the 2001-02 season.

The city no longer holds a grudge. These days, Toronto erupts with standing ovations for Carter practically every time he steps on the court. That remained true in a January 2019 game against the Atlanta Hawks (that could end up being Carter’s last in the city), when the Toronto crowd stood and applauded multiple times when Carter entered the game.

Winning was what finally allowed Toronto to forgive Carter. It was easy to hate him when Toronto was mired in the dreary days of Rafael Araujo, and it’s easy to love Carter now and enjoy the good old days when the team employs Kawhi Leonard and is gunning for a championship.

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/a3ndqk/torontos-return-to-relevance-has-healed-the-vince-carter-wounds?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=439z5q&site=sports

And winning is the reason why Carter should now return to Toronto. The Raptors have evolved beyond what Carter built, while Carter himself has grown into a veteran who values his teammates’ success over his own. Toronto and Carter certainly haven’t grown together, but they have grown to a stage where they now belong together.

The Raptors are one of the best teams in the NBA. Not only do they lead the league in wins, but 538’s statistical model gives Toronto the second-best odds in the league at an NBA title.

Despite being the oldest player in the NBA, the soon-to-be 42-year-old actually remains a passable player on the court, too. Carter shoots nearly 38 percent from deep (which would be the second-best mark on the team behind Green), and triples comprise almost two-thirds of his field goal attempts. The Atlanta Hawks are actually better when Carter’s on the court than when he’s off of it. When Toronto is at full health in the playoffs, with a rotation likely cut to 9 or 10, Carter would not make the cut. But for the remainder of the regular season, he is quite capable of playing well for short stretches when Toronto’s wings need a rest, and could deflect media attention away from Lowry and Leonard, two stars who are media-averse. The extra attention that would come with such a reunion wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. He is comfortable with the press, even to the extent that he may pursue a career in broadcasting when his legendary playing career ends.

If the Raptors can work out a trade with the struggling Hawks, who don’t look playoff-bound and signed Carter to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal, they should jump on it.

In his 21 years in the league, Carter has been many things. He’s evolved from one of the most electrifying players of all time, to a villain, to a beloved teammate (who can still casually pull off one of the league’s smoothest 360 dunks). He’s an elite player-coach who can still play NBA-level ball, and with their championship aspirations, the Raptors could use a player and person of his quality.

The Raptors no longer miss Carter like they once did, which creates an opening where once there was only hostility. Precisely because the Raptors have passed Carter by is why they are finally ready to bring him home. From his perspective, Carter deserves another chance at playoff success (he’s still without a title and has never been to the NBA Finals), and he deserves to chase it in the most important basketball home of his career.

It’s been said before, but a random Tuesday night in January against Atlanta may well have been Carter’s final basketball game in the city of Toronto. After so many years of wins and losses, boos and cheers, that statement is as bittersweet as it is heartbreaking.

But it doesn’t have to be true. There’s more amazing yet to be had. Bring. Back. Vince.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter syndicated from https://justinbetreviews.wordpress.com/

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yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 7 years ago

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Puck Daddy Bag of Mail: Tweaking the playoff format

The current playoff format could disadvantage the Predators who figure to run into a strong Jets team earlier than they’d like. (Getty Images)

It’s awards season at this point. Most playoff races are decided, most good teams are resting players, and most bad teams are already starting to at least think about packing up the stall for the summer.

So you can forgive people if they really don’t care much about the last 10-13 games their teams are scheduled to play here. Very few teams are playing for anything worth anything, and it’s mostly just players taking runs at point- and goalscoring titles. (In the games on Tuesday night, a few guys really emptied the tanks; Brad Marchand and Nikita Kucherov each had three points, Erik Karlsson had two to pull within three points of the league lead among defensemen with six fewer games played than the leader.)

But perhaps most interesting this week was Pierre LeBrun asking a bunch of GMs if they want to expand the playoffs when Seattle gets its team. They predictably said yes (for obvious, job-preservation-related reasons) and everyone groaned. There’s really that little to talk about at this point.

So here are a bunch of questions that have little to do with the rest of the season. Let’s roll:

Megan asks: “If you could make a single change to the playoff seeding system, what would it be?”

Pretty obvious here, but if we’re sticking with the 16-team format — and we absolutely should not! — then you go No. 1 vs. No. 16, No. 2 vs. No. 15, and so on and so forth.

The NBA, a league run with plenty of competence versus the NHL’s complete lack thereof, is reportedly considering just such a move because it recognizes how fundamentally flawed the current 1-8 East/West format is. That, also, is a league without ties and loser points, which helps to uncloud how big the gaps there are for Nos. 1 and 8. The NHL at least gets to pretend because of its very dumb points system that this isn’t an issue.

There are, as Adam Silver points out, plenty of issues with this; in the NHL, if Tampa is the No. 1 team and, say, Calgary is the No. 16, they might be at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to travel versus a No. 2 like Nashville facing a No. 15 like Columbus. Then you have to build extra days into the schedule, the playoffs take even longer, etc.

But I think that’s probably the fairest way to handle this overall. Certainly everyone in the world thinks the current format sucks. But I think there should also be a 60-game regular season, so the NHL doesn’t want to hear my ideas on this.

Raul asks: “Which team will be the worst to make the Conference Finals this year?”

Speaking of the very bad playoff format, it basically guarantees at least one relatively weak team makes the Conference Finals every year. See: Senators, Ottawa.

This year, I think the pretty obvious answer is whichever team comes out of the Pacific, because I don’t see Dallas as being a particularly big impediment for Vegas in the first round (if that is who they end up facing) and I think the 2-3 matchup in the Pacific isn’t gonna produce a great competitor either.

The fact that you’re just gonna have Nashville and Winnipeg hitting each other in the ribs with aluminum baseball bats for six or seven games seems wildly unfair to both the fans and those teams, but that’s what we have to live with.

I don’t think any of the four or five legit contenders for the Eastern Conference Final (Tampa, Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and maybe Philly all seem plausible here) would be illegitimate.

Ashmead asks: “Why do NHL teams recall players for a few hours (e.g. Dylan Strome)?”

In the case of Dylan Strome, that was an emergency call-up in case Derek Stepan couldn’t go that night (I want to say on Monday?) but it turned out Stepan was healthy enough to dress so they sent Strome back down with an eye toward giving him a runout over the last eight or 10 games.

But the reason I picked this question was because about a week ago, I saw a bit of confusion on Twitter about a few teams sending down young roster players then recalling them shortly thereafter. This was on the AHL roster deadline day, so it behooved players to “send down” guys on two-way contracts so they would be eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. These were purely paper transactions to ensure that even if teams were eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, their 22-year-olds (or whatever) could still get as many playoff games as possible.

Just a quick explainer but in a lot of cases, those are the two reasons teams would rapidly move players back and forth between the AHL and NHL.

Dana asks: “Why isn’t the recent influx of First Nations players such as Bear, Whitecloud, Montour etc. a bigger deal?”

There’s no real good answer to this question, I’m afraid. I think part of it is certainly that many of them do not appear as though they are of a different race (many have Western names, etc.), but also because there has been an increased presence of First Nations players in the league for some time now.

While there were only a handful active native players on NHL rosters to start the season (including Carey Price and TJ Oshie, among others), the call-up of Ethan Bear and signing of Zach Whitecloud added a lot to that number, proportionally.

The league can and should certainly do more to help native players — especially in remote parts of Canada — get access to affordable hockey. Otherwise you hear the stories about Jonathan Cheechoo (I think) taking a long helicopter ride multiple times a week just to get some ice time with other kids. I know a number of native players who made a good living in the league have certainly made those kinds of efforts, but given that there are so few, those efforts can only go so far.

As with the question of why aren’t there more black players in the league, it seems like the answer is “opportunity,” and that leads to a lot of uncomfortable questions about inclusivity if Hockey Is, indeed, For Everyone.

Pokecheque asks: “What would be your ideal fix for the NHL draft lottery?”

Well as long as we’re asking how I would fix the league, I would say there is no NHL draft and players are free to sign with whichever teams they like as they enter the league. Of course, you can impose limits on how many players a team can have on entry-level deals as a means of curtailing any handful of clubs from stockpiling elite players.

Drafts are anti-competitive and as a capital-L Labor guy, it’s unfair to enforce where players are able to work so tightly. I’d also get rid of restricted free agency, but that’s a different subject entirely.

Anyway, I don’t think you need to fix the concept of the draft lottery. I’m all for tanking to get the best guy. I can see why most people are not, but I am unmoored from the sport’s toxic cultural mores.

If you think tanking is a problem, I’d probably tweak the odds a bit so maybe every team has the same chance regardless of whether they finish two or 40 points out of the playoffs. That would create chaos and chaos is funny.

Rebecca asks: “When the (hopefully) new Seattle NHL team starts playing, they’ll have a natural rivalry with Vancouver but the NHL seems to like smooshing together random teams for ‘rivalry night.’ What manufactured rivalries can you see the NHL pushing for Seattle?”

They’re for-sure going to be in a rivalry with Vegas as the two most recent expansion teams. That’s not even negotiable.

Otherwise, you probably have to look to other sports for rivalry inspiration. The Seahawks also have a long-standing rivalry with the 49ers, and that’s close enough to lump the Sharks in. The Sonics used to have a big rivalry with the Lakers so maybe you say the Kings.

The real answer to this is “Whatever NHL team moves to Oklahoma City soon” but y’know.

Jones asks: “How would you alter the salary cap?”

I think the cap works pretty well for what it is, as it stands right now. I might incentivize teams to get better at drafting and developing by giving them a slight discount on re-signing players that made their NHL debuts with the clubs. I’ve seen people propose a 50 percent drop but that’s preposterous; imagine giving the Oilers Connor McDavid for $6.25 million AAV next year? FOH.

But if you wanna say 10 percent? Even 20 percent? I have a lot of time for that.

I might also add some mid-level exceptions like they have in the NBA, just to encourage a little more of a middle class in NHL salaries.

Plus it seems fine to let NHL teams retain as much salary as they want, but put a limit on how much of their cap obligations it can account for.

Those are the big ones for me but I’m sure I could come up with more if I really put my mind to it.

Stephen asks: “What college free agents do I want on my team?”

I’m not going to get into this too much (naming players, etc.) because I’ve answered this same question at least three times this season, including literally last week. Go back through the archives.

But the reason I’m answering this one is simple: To plead with you not to get your hopes up. The number of college free agents who really and truly become something in the NHL is pretty small, but there’s a sweepstakes or three every year. This leads to people dramatically overrating players, like say oh I don’t know just to choose a random example from the recent past who got insanely overrated and everyone shouted at me for saying he wasn’t that good but I ended up being right, Jimmy Vesey.

How much did I say to people, “Do NOT get super-excited about Jimmy Vesey?” How much did those people tell me to take a walk? How many goals does Jimmy Vesey have in 147 career games at almost 25 years old? It’s just 31.

Similar “sweepstakes” were held for Christian Folin (173 career games), Matt Gilroy (225 games), Matt O’Connor (1 game), Spencer Foo (0 career games), Danny DeKeyser (368 games, but he’s really bad), Justin Schultz (395 games but he had to change cities before people stopped throwing garbage at him on the streets), etc.

There are success stories: Kevin Hayes, Torey Krug, Chris Kunitz, Tyler Bozak, etc. But with the exception of Hayes, who simply let his draft rights with Chicago expire, what do a lot of those guys have in common? Yeah, they’re undersized, “late bloomers,” or both, that’s correct.

A lot of NCAA free agents aren’t “late bloomers” so much as they never really bloom into being real NHL players, and that’s totally fine, but let’s just try to be realistic. Any guy your team gets at this time of year is a free asset who has a max ceiling of Chris Kunitz or Tyler Bozak. These aren’t bad players, but they’re not even close to being superstars.

Adjust your expectations accordingly.

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

All stats via Corsica unless noted otherwise.

#_uuid:f7287a62-4c6f-3db6-b7a2-8ce9d2c0f12d #_revsp:21d636bb-8aa8-4731-9147-93a932d2b27a #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Ryan Lambert

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wadupkev · 7 years ago

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Why I Graduated College Early

COLLEGE! The best four years of your life. Where you get to act like an adult without most of the actual responsibilities of being one. Where you find your future spouse. Where you find the best friends of your life. The glory days. The good ole days. Where you learn the most about yourself. Where you decide who you’re going to be.

A couple of these things ended up being true for me. More of them did not. And that’s okay.

I didn’t enjoy college like most people say you should. It took me 2 ½ years to find a group of Christian friends that I could rely on. Those 2 ½ years were not the best years of my life. I spent most weekends in my room alone, watching stupid shows on Netflix. Sometimes I would make it to the game room to play some pool against other random drunk college students. I was an ambassador that bragged about how much I loved the school while on tours, but then on my own I was looking into what I needed to do to transfer schools. I wanted to go home, I wanted to go to the school all my home town brothers went to, I wanted to be anywhere else other than the place I didn’t feel comfortable. I fought myself a lot on whether or not to leave. I was ready to.

God had other plans. And man oh man does he always have other plans. It had been a prayer of mine for the longest time to find a community I felt a part of. Sure I had friends here. I knew a lot of people. But I hadn’t found the people I could confide in. I couldn’t find the community I felt like the Lord was calling me to here. I was sure when I decided to come to Mesa that this is what the Lord had for me. But now that I was here, I had no clue what he was using me for, or what I was doing here. I was lost.

Second semester of a junior year, I found my group. We had a men’s group meeting that originally was going to meet once a month. At the end of our first meeting, I asked if we could meet weekly. I was tired of not having guys to call brothers in Christ. We did, and I became great friends with some fellas, and we got to talk about Jesus every week. We got to be vulnerable and pour of lives out and into each other. That semester was the blessing I had prayed for. Though it didn’t come when I wanted it to, it came when it needed to. I had already decided to graduate early, mostly because I didn’t like it here, and was unsure of where I would live for a half year before leaving. I had asked the guys at men’s group to pray about it. God was doing his thing like always when he brought a couple new guys to men’s group. They asked for prayer about who was going to fill some empty rooms they had. The moment they said that, all eyes turned to me, and I couldn’t help but put my head in my hands and tear up. God was working in my life in ways I had never seen so clearly. He was laying blessings on me that I was hoping and praying for.

I had gone from a place of despair, to a place of joy. I had gone from a place of doubting God, to wanting to submit absolutely everything I had to him. I still struggle with that and I understand that it’s a process, but the last year that I have spent in college has been the highest point in my walk with God. Learning to trust him with more and more of my life, praising him in times before that I was dishonoring him, loving life in a place I had once not enjoyed it. I was seeing his plan for my time here rolled out. I was seeing his plan for my life and was soaking it up. I wanted to stay another semester of school and be with the friends I had made here. And there goes God again, landing me an internship with my dream job company. Setting up exactly what he had for me right beneath my nose.

All of this has taught me many things. Gods plan is way more important, way more surprising, and almost never what you expect. Giving him control earlier than you think in every single situation is a smart thing to do. Not giving up when things suck, is a wise thing to do. Pressing into Jesus and letting him serve you is something that he LOVES to do. And being a servant to the kingdom of God is the most life giving thing you can do.

I’m so thankful for my time at CMU. I’ve told so many people over the last couple days that I’m going to miss the people here more than anything else. I’m going to miss the conversations about how people are truly doing. I’m going to miss Beer Tuesday’s. I’m going to miss FCA, Men’s Group, Bible Study and Church. I’m going to miss my roommates, and my brothers in Christ. I’m going to miss the Ambassadors (not the Admissions Office). I’m going to miss the volleyball team and the staff. I’m going to miss the mentors I’ve gotten close with that pour God into my life. I’m going to miss the people here. I’m going to miss this place.

I know the Lord is working and I’m relying on him more than ever for what’s next in my life. I encourage you to do the same. If you’re reading this, know that I love you. Genuinely. Whether this is the first time you’ve heard it today, this week or in a while. Whether your mom told you it this morning. I promise, I love you.

To the people in Grand Junction, know you mean the world to me and I am so thankful for the blessing you all have been in my life. I hope I have left you with some piece of me. I hope I was able to show Jesus to you in some way.

To everyone else, I love you too. I promise. I hope and pray that I have left some sort of impact on you, as I know you have on me. I hope I have shown Jesus to you in some way.

I am encouraged in what God has next in my life. This time spent in the valley (literally and figuratively) has been something I would do over and over again given the chance. Living a life for Jesus is a beautiful thing and I’m realizing that more and more each day. I’m realizing the importance of being alone in times, and the importance of exhausting yourself to be with others sometimes. God’s plan isn’t always easy to see, and for me, it was so far in the distance. It takes time and determination. It takes sacrifice. But it’s all worth it. It’s easy for me to say these things as hindsight is 20/20, but I promise you the Lord is working in your life. Sometimes we just aren’t listening.

Trust God. Love others. Be quick to forgive, and offer an understanding heart to those who need it. God is so good and I am so thankful to have been allowed the opportunity to attend college and take on this challenge. ALL the glory goes to him. It’s not me.

I love you.

Sincerely,

Kev (CMU Alumni) GO MAVS

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter

The Raptors are one of the best teams in the NBA. Not only do they lead the league in wins, but 538's statistical model gives Toronto the second-best odds in the league at an NBA title.

If the Raptors can work out a trade with the struggling Hawks, who don't look playoff-bound and signed Carter to a one-year, veteran's minimum deal, they should jump on it.

But it doesn't have to be true. There's more amazing yet to be had. Bring. Back. Vince.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Dear Toronto Raptors: Bring Back Vince Carter published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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