#this eventually progresses to 'pick me up i need to get somewhere' and Phoenix will be all 'of course your majesty'

[pocket-prosecutor]

people often ask why Phoenix's chest pocket is always so big compared to most other suits.

[theharrypotterrealist]

Remus Lupin spent most of his life being used by Albus Dumbledore and that makes me sad.

Think about this: when Hagrid first tells Harry about Voldemort, he tells him Voldemort had spent thirteen years coming to power before his first encounter with baby Harry. James and Lily were 21 when they died, which puts Remus, in the same year in school, also at 21 at that time, meaning Voldemort first started rising when Remus was 8. Voldemort’s rise was relatively slow and stealthy at first, with unexplained disappearances and the like, but Dumbledore knew what was up from the beginning. Fenrir Greyback was a known associate of Voldemort’s by the end of the war, but given he’d been operating biting the children of Ministry workers for years before the begin of Voldemort’s rise, they probably got together pretty quickly, if they weren’t already associated, along with various other rogue werewolves. And given how close of tabs Dumbledore kept of Voldemort, Dumbledore was probably aware of the association between Voldemort and evil werewolves when he offered Remus a place at his school. I’d argue the only reason he offered him a place at the school was because he was looking to pick the appropriate werewolf to shape into the agent he wanted to counter this association. It would take seven years, of course, but Dumbledore also played the long game, and part of playing the long game is acquiring the appropriate pieces to play with along the way. 

Whenever Remus would talk about the situation, he seemed to perceive it that Dumbledore offered him a place at the school despite being a werewolf out of the kindness of his heart, or to counter and injustice against werewolf-children being denied a magical education. He was in fact slavishly grateful for it. Which is probably how Dumbledore wanted him to perceive it, so that he’d be grateful and feel obligated when the other shoe dropped. But if that was true, then Remus wouldn’t have been the only werewolf to go through Hogwarts. Fenrir Greyback had a stated preference for children. Remus, therefore, wasn’t the only child werewolf being denied an education, by far. Dumbledore probably could have stuffed at least a handful of child-werewolves in the Shrieking Shack. Remus would have had compatriots sharing the same secret and wouldn’t have felt so alone. Maybe one could try arguing that Remus was a pilot run, but that falls apart, as he went through successfully, but was both the first and last werewolf to go through Hogwarts. The Shrieking Shack was disused after he left school. Because of course Dumbledore didn’t want to educate werewolves. It was risky enough taking on Remus. Why take on more risk, when you can just pick the right werewolf- note that background materials say that Dumbledore spent an afternoon interviewing child-Remus over board games before offering him a spot- groom them they way you like and then when they’re about to leave school and oh-so-grateful for the education and relatively normal childhood they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have otherwise, then tell them that you need them to go and spend the rest of the war in the dangerous pit of destitution and despair that were the werewolf dens, for the greater good, of course.

I doubt the werewolf dens were Remus’s idea. I’m certain when his friends were joining up with the Order of the Phoenix, he would have volunteered, too, but he was a pretty good duelist, and I imagine in an ideal world, he would have pictured himself volunteering to fight beside James and Sirius, not slink around in the werewolf dens to the point where James and Sirius got the idea that he was the Order’s traitor (the implied reason James, Sirius, and the real traitor Peter, changed secret keepers without letting him know). In the later books, when he’s filling this role again in the werewolf dens, he makes it pretty clear he hates it there and he doesn’t think he’s doing much good as the werewolves who are open to being recruited to the light side are pretty much non-existent given the way they’re treated by society.  

Then, when the war is over? Dumbledore has enough influence and progressive friends and allies that he probably could have helped Remus to get a job somewhere discreet, even as a werewolf. He’d given Hagrid a job as a half-giant with barely any education and a propensity for raising man-eating monsters, after all. But did he do this for Remus? Nope, Remus was unemployed, homeless and squatting in a tumbledown cottage when the Prisoner of Azkaban came around. Then he offers Remus a job, once he knows Sirius has escaped and Remus is the only other person Sirius might logically have an interest in contacting- he offers him a job to keep him in sight in case Sirius comes calling. A job Dumbledore knew damn well was cursed, for that matter, that ended well for precisely no one. But oh well, right? And poor Remus was again oh-so-grateful for the opportunity. But when the year is over and Dumbledore is certain that Sirius isn’t dangerous? Well, back to unemployment and homelessness, son, at least until the end of Goblet of Fire, when Voldemort has risen again and then it’s time for our well-groomed-werewolf-agent to go back to the werewolf dens. Until the war eventually kills him.

Now, I don’t subscribe to the Dumbledore-was-evil theories. The way I look at it was that Dumbledore was a general in a war, and like all generals, he collected the appropriate army- muggles might need infantry, artillery, medics, air support and so forth, Dumbledore needed a werewolf, a half-giant, a reformed death eater, a boy-who-lived and so forth, and like all generals, he accepted that as a part of winning the war, the outcomes wouldn’t be good for everyone- including himself. But Remus idolized Dumbledore, was the foremost of the we-must-trust-Dumbledore voices in the later books, was so grateful for everything Dumbledore did for him, and that makes me feel sad for him. Because more likely than not, Dumbledore saw him as just the necessary ‘werewolf’ piece on his chessboard, to be used as needed and left to his own sad fate when not.   

[theinsanecrayonbox]

well it was supposed to be FCBD (yes i know “postponed”), and it’s been a terrible day thus far, so how’s about my plot outline/list for what was going to happen in Superverse before it went on hiatus...because at this point it would either be another time skip past all/most of this or a full on hard reboot if we went back to it at this point

to start off, the STT was going to continue with Chloe struggling to be leader since Tim’s around, and everyone keeps going to him a bit more than her...well half of everyone. it culminates with Time leaving to  go restart the Power pals, since well, he’s nearing 20 at this point. and the STT was getting quite a large roster, so the older members went with him, while the younger stayed and Chloe once again could be the leader.

Kevin would’ve met Junior at some point (because who doesn’t like amophus daemons). Trudy also got herself a girlfriend in the form of Susan C. Anthony, a bank heiress, who does not have powers.

Tootie was going to eventually come back (idk when or how) as Shadow Stalker. again, her return was farther down the line, so i don’t have the details that well ironed out...

Chester had already left Star Investigations because Mari had called him to a reading of Catman’s will. he did indeed inherit half of West Industries, as the young Adam was posing as a long lost son and thus was legally entitled to half the company too. Chester took over as Catman, while Mari stayed on to help Adam deal with the company. Chester would join Tim’s new Power Pals, thus finally fixing their broken friendship.

Trixie and Trini were going to head to Glamazon Island after they defeated Hair Razor. Trini’s lasso was destroyed in the fight, so they figured maybe she could use this reality’s lasso. Trixie’s powers were also starting to flare up, so they were also hoping to get some answers to that. once there they get to see that Goldenlocks has had her son, and they get to meet Hermia (whom Dwight was dropping off). they both end up going through a mystical trial of sorts that ended with Trini not getting the golden lasso of this universe, but her own silver one forged for her; Trixie on the other hand gets flashes of Cel’rey and Trisha, and the mystical voices tell her that she needs to go to England, leading into a Star/Sonic crossover event

over with Sonic and Paladin, it’s business as usual. however, CHATTY is starting to get hyper aggressive since Sanjay and Francis are starting to renew their romance.the team has to take her out, but in the ensuing battle their complex looses power for some time. this leads to 1) Sanjay learning that Britannia has blackmail over every member of Paladin and 2) it jump starts Molly out of her coma. Molly goes full Phoenix force though, as she absorbed the Light from Trixie at the end of Civil War (thus leading to her coma). this is when Trixie and Trini arrive more or less, so they help Paladin wrangle Molly back in and Trixie is able to reabsorb the Light, getting her powers back, and becoming Star-Gal once more. this also leaves Molly awake and permanently able to fly.

it would soon become revealed that BRAT, headed by Doombringer (the life hopping sorceress from King Arthur’s time), had been bankrolling Paladin (she also had a hand in funding Shallowgrave’s Civil War, and had the Summers killed, among other things). how is it revealed? because Crimson Lightning comes back into play once Sanjay and Francis are together again as the annoying jealous ex that he is. they manage to get him under control thanks to Molly’s help, but Alyssa ends up with the demon sword, becoming the Black Knight.

Trini goes and joins Tim’s Power Pals, while Trixie gets called back into space. First she finds and frees Hawkgal, then the two go out into space. Remember the ice guy Star Investigations helped out? well he sends a distress call to Trixie; her mentor Killgala is back some how...and the Darkness is also en-couching. Mark and Starfury also join up with them, ad they would in time find a version of Crash Nebula. the whole Light/Darkness mythos was also better explained, about how at the time of creation the cosmos split, thus leading to the Darkness and the Light; both energies became corrupted in different ways (the Light Corp imprisoning and using the Light, the Darkness going power hungry and creating the Eliminator drones, etc) and only by genuinely reuniting them could there be balance or something. that’s all cosmic stuff that i hadn’t fully fleshed out, since we needed to get past the Cosmic Cat stuff...

of course one minor subplot; Hermia would use Trixie and Trini’s existence as an excuse to escape Glamazon Island, claiming to go back to the mainland to go live with them, only to instead go shack up with Liam (the young Wet Willie). Trini, since she joins the Power pals, is the one to find that out, and gets royally peeved. but Hermia eventually takes over her spot on the team.

over in Eraserz, the team was going to get stuck going on a World Tour, being cut off from the Nexxus because some force was screwing up the multiverse. they would end up in a Mojoverse-like setting where they’d meet a half-editor entity (i forget who it was, might’ve been the April Fool or Puck). they’d pick up some temporary members, like the Franklin West Catman (who ends up staying in his reality), Charlie Hampton, the young Crimson Chin (who ends up on an alternate earth where the Power pals and STT had tehir age roles reversed, but there was no Chin, so he stays with that earth’s teenage Goldie) and some more permanent ones like RJ; specifically when they recruit RJ, Shirely stayed out of the Primeverse to do so (this was plot important) but so did Tony because he didn’t wanna risk running into Trini; RJ was recruited BEFORE Trini joined the Power Pals though. Tony would end up going missing while the team was hunting for an entity that was killing off alternate Trixie tangs, so they called in Trini to rejoin the team. somewhere along the line, RJ got stuck in a time displacement, and wound up on Earth 0 (the world that Shirely was exiled to) in the past; see, since RJ joined up, Shirely had been half avoiding, half flirting with him, and he was just starting to come around to it, but now he understood why, because from Shirely’s perspective they'd already dated. so RJ spends time with the past Shirely, is the one that convinces him not to be a prick and help the Eraserz when they come to him to take down Dark magician and co, and he ends up going back to his proper time, and the two of them pick back up tehir relationship where it left off. (this is all every important because as it would be revealed, Shirley and RJ are actually Tru Turner/Double T/FTT’s Masked Magician’s parents. Tim and Toot adopted her to keep her safe. that’s why she has such cosmic power, because she’s half Editor).

we were also going to learn more about Maggie’s backstory, since on the surface she seems like the only Eraserz member without a horrible tragic backstory, but as the plot progressed we’d keep getting hints to something. yeah, she has a Winter Solider!Kevin on her earth, and she kinda had to kill her cousin to save lives. but turns out she didn’t really kill him or something, because they end up on her world at some point and find out that she was manipulated to think she had?? something like that...i also had no intention to ever bring Kore back, so yeah, he’s dead-dead.

anyways, the Trixie hunting entity; that’s the Dark Star-Gal from that one special. she’s the Trixie that merged with the Darkness (since the Darkness wants to consume the Light, that we know she was the vessel for) and became self aware of the multiverse and started reality hopping to consume all Trixies. the Eraserz stop her...only to discover that the reason that Dark Star became aware of the multiverse was because the Showrunner gave her access...the Showrunner  that has been MIA since the Eliminatorz were stopped.

 the Showrunner was the one now causing the multiverse to start collapsing and breaking down because, to him, “this isn’t what the universe was supposed to be like”. he created one canon, and then another entity (the fandom) came in and started breaking it up, making spin offs, AUs, different versions, creating the multiverse. so he broke that entity up into pieces and scattered them across the multiverse, then created the Editors to police the multiverse to make sure the pieces couldn’t get back together (thus the universe rule of only 1 version of a person can exits there at a time) and slowly try to correct and remove the “wrong” universes. but the Editors grew out of his control as they evolved, so he created the Eraserz to, well, “erase’ the mistakes. but even they went against his plans, so he decided to just leave and just erase everything. but the pieces of the greater entity did find a way to come together, (a fragment of?) Omegus managed to hitch a ride with RJ when the Eraserz recruited him. Omegus then overtook Tony who bore the mark of Beteal, who went to Dark Magician to take the powers that Anosmotic, aka Zethran, had given him away, undoubtedly found a way to the Nega-verse to confront Alphane, and so on and so forth (if you hadn’t noticed, each reality that had an Omegus equivalent had a different name, and now you know why)...until all the pieces could be reunited, possibly in the body of CoT!Saber actually, into one being called Omnicron.

and the final confrontation of the Showrunner and Omnicron would be in the vast void as the multiverse was set on pause as it crumbled. the Showrunner claiming that Omnicron had destroyed the thing he had created, only for Omnicron to be all “i saw what you created and wanted to create my own. you helped me flourish, and then i helped others flourish. how can growth and creativity be the wrong thing to do?” because no, Omnicron did not destroy the multiverse, it was indeed the Showrunner; Omnicron took what the Showrunner had made and let it flourish on its own, while he just tried to contain it back into what he made it to be to begin with.

and so yeah, that’s what i had planned for Superverse. some thing were far more fleshed out than others, but those were the parts i’d had planned for YEARS. i had the Omnicron stuff planned before Civil War, while the Cosmic Cat i had planned since Civil War

[desperatelyreviewingdennis]

Joker (2019)

This movie was phenomenal.

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I was interested almost entirely due to Joaquin Phoenix's involvement, but even then I wasn't expecting much from Todd Phillips of all people. Don't get me wrong, Old School is one of my favorite movies. But it's not exactly an encouraging pedigree when you're considering a dark, gritty thriller.

But the hype got to me. Good job, Warner Brothers; your manufactured incel shooters controversy won you at least one ticket sale. I hope you're proud of yourself.

So I went to watch it opening night so that I could view it untainted by whatever reviews I stumble upon before it's eventual digital release. There's going to be people that say it's terrible and other people that shout it's praises, all for political reasons, and I didn't want to slog through them. My opinions are easily malleable I'm not proud of it but here we are.

And I'm glad I did. Todd Phillips, you are officially forgiven for Road Trip.

There's not much to be said that doesn't drift into spoilers. The acting is amazing by everybody involved. The score is great, the pacing pretty good. Pick a metric and they probably get a good score.

Gun to my head, my biggest complaint would be that there's no central conflict driving the plot. It's just a story about a guy. Stuff happens to him, he happens to stuff, it's fascinating. I'm in no way demeaning the script. It's just not my cup of tea, I like there to be a clear goal the characters are working towards. It can be separate from the actual story, but I still like it to be there. To pull from the TPCU (Todd Phillips Cinematic Universe), in Old School the story was definitely about Luke Wilson character's growth, but it was in the framework of the "three dudes trying to keep the local college from stealing their house" plot.

But that's 100% a me thing. I was still competely engrossed in what was going on, and honestly the movie probably would have suffered from having such a conflict. Sometimes that's the way it goes, which is why such stories exist in the first place.

And it's funny because I remember watching movies in the past and thinking "this movie would be so much better if they hadn't tacked that completely unnecessary conflict on at the end" but I guess now I'm just some basic bitch that needs to have his stories spoon fed to him.

With that out of the way, let's get into a more detailed discussion.

First of all, this isn't a comic book movie. Let's get that out of the way real quick. It would take maybe fifteen seconds to rewrite the script into an entirely original IP with no relation to any DC properties, and it would still work. Honestly you could even keep the name, but you'd probably be better off renaming it Jester or something just to be safe. IP law is fucking crazy.

And I don't mean that in the sense of "just call Batman Nite Owl and we won't have to pay realities." I mean it would still succeed as a standalone movie, people would just think it was about some psycho in 1970s Chicago. No big deal.

BUT

Being a Joker movie still manages to improve the experience.

Part of the Joker's mystique is that he doesn't have an origin story. They've told one a couple times in the past, but it's assumed that none of them are real. The Joker is the definition of an unreliable narrator. They play with this in The Dark Knight, where he tells at least two conflicting stories for how he got his scars.

And they play with it here, too, in two different ways.

The first is pretty superficial. His literally doesn't know his own past, and only comes to realize this as the movie progresses. At first he thinks his father just abandoned them, then he learns that his father is Thomas Wayne (yes, this would make him Batman's brother), then he learns that not only is he not Thomas Wayne's son (sorry to get your hopes up Bruce) but he was adopted so he never even knew his biological mother. Oh also his adopted mother was horribly abusive and probably the cause of his "condition."

But on a slightly deeper level, we learn even the events we're shown weren't reliable. At first it's obvious day dreams: he imagines himself a guest on his mother's favorite late night talk show and giving a stand up routine at a comedy club. But both are while he's in the audience and we're shown him snapping back to reality. But later we witness an entire relationship bloom between him and a neighbor, and only find out well after the fact that none of it actually happened. So even as we're watching the Joker's origin story it's getting retconned in real time.

That realization about the fake relationship shakes the entire movie to it's core. The story is told entirely from Arthur's point of view, there is only one scene without him present. If he can insert a girlfriend into his story, what else did he add?

My guess? Basically everything.

There is one scene you can take at face value. Him talking to, and presumably killing, the therapist at the end. He's Kaiser Soze-ing her.

Starting at him shooting Robert De Niro, he’s suddenly in a cop car.  No real idea how he got there, did he surrender or was there a fight or what?  Then miraculously he’s broken free, and everybody present knows who he is and idolizes him.  How convenient.  But then the very next scene is him with the therapist, so he’s been captured again.  Again, how? 

But he’s been a central figure in the uprising the entire time.  He triggered the damn thing.  As his own mental state deteriorates throughout the movie, the state of the city also deteriorates.  So that’s probably fake as well.

Also consider that there’s only one scene in the entire movie that Arthur isn’t present for.  The murder of the Waynes.  And oh, he was responsible for that as well.

Doesn’t that all just make more sense if its stuff he’s making up?  Presumably there’s some element of truth to it.  There probably were riots, they were probably triggered by three white guys getting shot on the subway, the talk show host was probably killed.  Arthur might even have killed him, it was recorded live so kinda hard to fake that one.  But the connecting pieces -- his mother, his relationship to Thomas Wayne, the subway murders -- were just him having a laugh at the expense of the therapist who probably thought she was getting somewhere with him.

I know I’m probably overanalyzing it.  I’m making excuses for what’s maybe not great writing by inventing a meta narrative that explains away any inconsistency.  But I really really like this version of the script, 

[fereality-indy]

Gravity Falls Valor Force Rangers Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ford's Basement Laboratory

Ford is busy working through the sound being pumped down from the party upstairs, he would have happy to be up at the party but he was never comfortable in large social gatherings. The twins know this, so when he asked to be excused from the celebration they allowed it. He was still planning on heading up in a while to put in an appearance. For now though he was just tinkering around with some new equipment he had Fiddleford order from one of his suppliers. It is some sonar equipment that will be perfect for he and his brother's next sea excursion, especially after he's done modifying it.

His head was bopping along with the upbeat tempo when suddenly he heard the music stop and a loud ruckus come over the speakers. He rushed over to the monitors he had set up (mostly to know when one of the family was looking for him). What he saw was one of the most extremely ugly men he has ever seen (and he has seen plenty during his time on the other side), either that or given his clothing he was an enormous Gnome. It appeared that Mabel's friend, Grenada was it? Guava? No it's Grenda, stepped up to dissuade the whatever he was. He panned the camera around and he saw Soos and Melody picking his brother off of the ground outside the entrance to the room the party was being held. He fought the urge to run to check on him and brought the camera feed back onto the matter at hand. As he saw Grenda fall after the creature backhanded her into the wall.

"Dang it, where did I put them?" He said as he began searching through his lab while still trying to keep one eye on what was happening above him. As he saw the twins and their friends be surrounded by some black mannequins, he found the dark gray box he had been searching for. He began activation sequence as he opened the case to release what was inside. "Now hopefully whoever receives these will be able to get here in time to help against these monsters."

Meanwhile Upstairs

"CRYPTIZONES, ATTACK!", Vodak ordered and as one the black mannequins charged towards Wendy, Dipper, Mabel, Pacifica, & Thompson.

Mabel the first to react as she ducked back from the outstretched arms of one of the attacking creatures. She hauled off and decked the creature.

"Ouch!", she called out, "watch out all. These guys are solid."

She was then grabbed from behind. The creature that grabbed her threw her towards the wall, she caught herself before hitting it face first.

Thompson tried delivering a forward thrust kick only to have the creature grab his foot. The creature then flipped him over causing him to land on his stomach. Another creature kicked him in the stomach, hurling him a few feet away from Mabel, where he landed with his back against the wall.

Pacifica delivered a solid palm thrust into the chest of the creature that was reaching for her, only to come to the same conclusion that Mabel had just yelled out. Two of the creatures grabbed her and threw her so she crashed into the rising Mabel.

Dipper attempted a grapple with the creature in front of him, just barely dodging a blow from another in the process. The creature he was grappling with took advantage of this distraction and lifted him off of his feet. It then lifted him into the air and threw him across the room. He landed in a heap near Thompson.

Wendy was fairing better than the rest of the group (growing up the child of Manly Dan and having three brothers that are becoming more like their father every day will do that). She had already taken down one creature and was in the process of throwing another one to knock down a third when she saw Dipper get thrown. This distraction was all the creature needed to twist from her grip. While it righted it self the first creature she had knocked down had worked it's way behind her. The newly free creature landed on it's feet and kicked out striking her in the chest, she went backwards tripping over the first creature in the process. After she landed, her foot was grabbed and she to went flying towards the rest of the group.

As the group attempted to regain their footing five different colored beams of light flew into the room and struck them. As they processed what happened, Dipper is the first one to notice that everything has gone to gray-scale.

"Whoa, wait a minute?", Dipper calls out as he looks around. Having been to the mind-scape before he recognized this effect.

"Dipper, what's going on here?", Pacifica asked as she stood up after untangling from Mabel and saw the lack of color in everything besides her four friends. In fact they each seemed to be a little more colorful than she remembered, almost as if she was seeing an afterglow of the beams of light that had hit them.

"Aw, man. Not this again," Mabel bemoaned as she looked around, "At least the creatures are frozen while we're here."

"Well that's not exactly how this place works Mabs," Dipper said as he and Wendy helped Thompson get to his feet.

"Ok man, why does everything look like my granny's old tv?", Thompson asked as he rubbed his sore backside.

"We're in the mind-scape," Dipper replied as he walked over and examined the creatures and their leader, "Now the real question is how we got here? Bill has been gone ever since we wiped him from Stan's mind. And none of these guys seem like they would be able to drag us into it."

"There was those beams of light that hit us," Wendy added as she joined him in looking them over, "You think they have something to do with it?"

"Very astute observation Wendy," they heard a familiar voice say as someone walked out from the shadows, "Intelligent and brave, no wonder the phoenix chose you."

"Grunkle Ford!" Mabel and Dipper called together.

"Greeting kids," Ford said as he stepped fully into the light. "Sorry for the location, it was the easiest location and way for me to explain what just happened."

"Alright then Grunkle Ford, what is going on?", Pacifica questioned.

"Well I don't know much about your current opponent, but a few days ago some sensors I set out after Stanley and I returned from our first sea voyage registered a class six disturbance in the in regions spatial field." Ford said as he walked over and studied the tall gnome, he was certain now that that was what it was. After seeing the expectant face of his great nephew he continued, "As soon as I was free I went out to investigate to location of the disturbance, but all I found was a shattered stone with mystical residue coming from it. It's currently back in my labs to be studied."

"You think this guy is the cause of the disturbance?" Thompson asked as he was still trying to process what was going on. The only real thing he knew right now is that it is never boring around the Pines twins.

"Unfortunately no. This gentleman here," Ford said as he gestured towards the giant gnome as he turned to face all of the assembled teens, "would only register a two or three on the scale, if he registered at all. Though I wouldn't be surprised to find out he is connected some how. But I digress, the initial question is still unanswered."

He slowly paced in front of the teens,"During my time on the other side I met many an interesting people. One being I met while traveling was an Eltarian named Zordon. As we discussed dealings with our home worlds and compared stories of being tricked by evil beings, he told me of how he was able to create a team of of defenders for his home dimension. The process used was a blend of science and mystical energies that created what he called the morphing grid. But seeing as the evil they were created to fight was locked away for eternity he hoped he never had to use the grid again. I took many notes as we talked and planned to enact my own grid if I ever return home in order to battle Bill, but I never got the chance as the fight against him was already in progress. It was during that first trip after Weirdmageddon that Stanley and I found ourselves somewhere near the Greek Isles defending a dying pegasus from a small flock of harpies. I realized that he and I were not going to be able to keep on handling this instances on our own for to much longer. I remembered the notes and plans I had made and as we worked towards trying to help the pegasus to survive, I began discussing the plan with Stanley."

He paused there for a moment, looking pensively at some items he held in his hand. After what seemed like a good minute, he continued. "As I was pondering how I could power my morphing the pegasus spoke to me. Rather than dying in vain he wished to join me in my quest to do right in the world. As he passed his spirit coalesced into a token that began my search for noble creatures to help in my quest. Eventually the pegasus was joined by a phoenix from near Rome, a kelpie from the Scottish shores, a tanuki from Japan, and a jackalope from the American south west. These five, along with a power source of my own design, became the basis I built my morphing grid around."

"Whoa. I know nothing is sedentary when you guys are around, but what are you going on about?" Thompson asked. "And what were those beams of light?"

"He's explaining that now Thompson," Wendy calmly replied.

"Thank you, Wendy. Yet another reason I can see why the phoenix chose you." Ford said as he walked over to her, in his hand he held a necklace like medallion. When he reached her hand handed over the medallion. "To answer your question Joseph..."

"I keep telling you that you can call me Thompson, everybody does." Thompson interrupted.

"Well Thompson," Ford said as he handed the next medallion to Dipper, "to answer your question, when I saw on my monitors that the party was being attacked I figured it was time to activate the morphing grid. This sent out the spirits to choose their representatives."

"So did you plan on us being these representatives?" Pacifica asked as she stayed close to Mabel.

Ford noticed that the two of were holding hands as he handed the two of them medallions. He answered her question as the girls themselves noticed, "No, I had hoped that the representatives would be chosen and I could tell them what was going and then they would be able to get here in time to help. I actually was hoping for once that you all would be left out of this, but a part of me knew. It wouldn't be a Pines summer with out something happening. Though I have to be honest, I am surprised at who the spirits chose."

He handed Thompson the last medallion before he continued, "These medallions are your physical connection to the morphing grid and with them you will be able to call upon the spirits for assistance."

"So they will come out and attack these creatures for us?", Mabel asked even though she was barely paying attention. She was trying to figure when her and Paz had started holding hands. She wasn't complaining but they hadn't talked about letting anyone else know yet.

"No, that is not what will happen Mabel." Ford responded with a chuckle. He pointed over at her medallion as he continued, "As I said, the medallions are your connection to the spirits. When you place them on you will feel the spirits helping enhance your own natural abilities and perhaps they will even grant you other abilities."

"Perhaps? That doesn't sound too encouraging, Grunkle Ford." Dipper said as he turned his medallion over in his hand examining it. He looked over as Wendy place her medallion around her neck. As she did so he noticed the slight reddish hue that she had been exuding began to practically blind him before it died back down to the level it was at the beginning. "What was that?"

"That was the spirit bonding with Wendy," Ford said as he turned towards the ginger haired young lady, "Wendy, because of your intelligence and courage you have been chosen by the phoenix to be the Red Ranger. And as the Red Ranger you will be the leader of the Valor Force Rangers."

"Whoa. That feels interesting," Wendy as she was processing what she was told. Suddenly she got it and started waiving her hands in protest, "What, wait a minute. I'm no leader. Dip would be a much better leader, he's the one who always comes up with the plans when we go out on mystery hunts. Or even Paz, she's used to telling people what to do."

"Hey!", Pacifica snapped back until Mabel gently squeezed her hand.

Dipper put a calming hand on Wendy's shoulder and said, "Look I may make the plans, but you're the one who makes sure that we all make it through everything when my plans invariably go awry. I'll follow you anywhere."

Wendy smiled at this and as she looked around she saw the others nodding in agreement.

Ford then turned to Dipper as he put on his medallion and a green glow flared then ebbed, "Well put Dipper. It's acts like that that caused the jackalope to choose you as it's representative as the Green Ranger. The jackalope values both speed and wisdom."

Turning towards Mabel as she and Pacifica had finished putting on their medallions, a mixed glow of blue and pink settling back down. With a smile Ford continued. "Mabel, you were chosen by the kelpie to be the Blue Ranger due to your connection to water. Your charm and playfulness caught it's attention also."

He then looked over at Pacifica as he continued, "And Pacifica, you have been chosen by the same pegasus that started me one the journey to create the Rangers to be the Pink Ranger. Nobility and honor are traits it respects."

As he turned to the final member of the chosen quintet all he saw was a solid black mass that then coalesced back into the young man who's name he couldn't place. "And you Joseph..."

"It's Thompson, sir." Thompson said as he looked over from his friends to Ford.

"Oh yes," Ford said as he scratched his head, "You've been off at school for awhile haven't you? How has it been treating..." Ford stopped himself as he realized he was getting off topic, "Actually, we can talk about that later. It seems the tanuki has chosen you to be the Black Ranger, got a little bit of a mischievous side there don't you. The tanuki is known to hold those with a big heart and not a small amount of luck in high esteem."

"Well I have to admit I am feeling empowered," Mabel said as she lifted her arms up to flex. It was only half way through the movement that she realized she was still holding Pacifica's hand. "Ooops."

Dipper cocked an eyebrow at what he just saw before he turned back to his great uncle, "How much longer are we gonna be in the mind-scape?"

"Well according to my calculations you should be coming out of it right about," Ford was looking at the watch on his left wrist, "now."

Back In The Waking World

"Alright Cryptizones, they're weakened." Vodak called out from the back of the swarming creatures, "Destroy them!"

The closest creature swung an overhead chop downwards towards Wendy's head, she reflexively brought her arms up to block and as the chop hit sparks flew from her arms. She then pulled back and decked the attacking creature, sending out more sparks at the impact point. The creature flew across the room.

A second one reached towards Pacifica only for her to float upwards out of it's reach. She the dropped down and hit a literal dropkick on the way down. Once she landed she continued downward and swept the feet out from under another creature. As she rose up she hit a roundhouse on the next closest creature.

Dipper ducked low and sprung forward, landing a clothesline on two of the creatures as he jumped straight through them and landed a good ten feet away. He then ran back into the combat and rapidly began throwing chops at every creature he could reach.

One of the clotheslined creatures flew straight into the table holding the punch bowl, launching the punch into the air heading towards the battle-zone. Mabel threw her hands up to keep the punch from splashing her face, when suddenly the punch stopped mid-air. Feeling a little bit of a pull caused Mabel to move her hands and she noticed the punch moved with her hand movements, she then caused the fluid to wrap around one of the creatures and then flung it across the room.

Thompson waded into the creatures punching the creatures as he went. Then one moment he was standing there and the next he was gone, replaced by another one of the creatures. This confused the creatures he was fighting, finally deciding that he just disappeared so they turned to join one of the other fights. He was trying to figure out what happened when he looked at his hands and saw they were identical to those of the creatures. He walked up behind two of the creatures who were trying to get behind Mabel. He grabbed the heads of the two creatures and slammed them together. Mabel turned towards him, preparing to attack only for him to jerk out of the disguise.

The Rangers regrouped and took stock of the remaining Cryptizones. As they watched another dozen creatures come out from behind their leader, the Rangers heard Ford speaking to them one more time, "Rangers, it's time for you to test out the full capabilities of the medallions. Now do as I say..."

As one the five teens got into a fighting stance, they then thrust out their right arms straight, before finally reaching back and grabbing their medallion. Wendy then called out, "Alright Valor Force, It's time to kick it into action Ranger style!"

In a flash the red aura flared over all but Wendy's head, the aura then becomes a new uniform. The torso is red with a silver star design, well actually it almost looks like the entrance into the Gravity Falls Valley where the ship had carved through the cliff sides. The lower half of the uniform was gray pants capped off with a black belt and holster. Black gloves and boots finished off the look. She calls out, "The majestic phoenix, Red!" and finally a helmet forms. It is the same red as her uniform, with a rounded rectangular visor.

Dipper's green aura surrounded him and coalesced into a green version of the uniform. Before his helmet appeared he called out, "The enigmatic jackalope, Green!"

The blue aura flowed over Mabel before it washed back reveling a blue uniform. She called out, "The fervent kelpie, Blue!" and then her helmet came into being.

Bright pink pulses en-capsulizes Pacifica before it revealed a pink uniform like the others wore. She tipped her head to the side before calling out, "The noble pegasus, Pink!". As she straightened her head, her helmet appeared.

Thompson stood still as the black aura enveloped him before merging with his shadow, leaving him in a black uniform. "The clever tanuki, Black!", He called out before the helmet surrounded his head.

"Whoa, not bad.", Mabel said as she took in everyone's new look.

"Looking Good Dip," Wendy said with a hand on his shoulder.

"Not bad yourself," Dipper replied with a smirk in his helmet.

"They could use some accessories," Pacifica added off-handily.

"Guys, I don't think they're admiring our new look." Thompson said as he called attention to the approaching Cryptizones.

The Cryptizones, while surprised at the change of outfits, continued to advance on the group of friends. The Rangers dropped into their various fighting stances: Wendy stood with her arms loosely at her side and her left foot just slightly in front of the her right, while Dipper seemed to be ready to reach out and grapple, Mabel was in a standard boxing stance, Pacifica held her right hand up near her shoulder as her left foot had slid approximately six inches in front of her right, and Thompson stood with his left foot straight at Cryptizones and his right was held back and at a ninety degree angle, his arms ready to attack.

The creatures rushed forward and as one the Rangers lashed out and began to fight through the mob of Cryptizones. Wendy rushed through knocking several over as she went. Dipper grabbed the first Cryptizone that reached him and threw him into three others. Mabel ducked and dodged as she worked through hitting jabs and uppercuts as she went. Pacifica caught her first opponent with a thrust from her right hand and followed up with a roundhouse to another Cryptizone. After sliding forward two steps Thompson lashed out with a near vertical kick that knocked the closest Cryptizone back into three others. From there the team made short work of the remaining Cryptizones. They then turned towards Vodak.

"Well look at the time," Vodak said as he looked over at the advancing Rangers, "I think I hear someone calling me."

He then turned and ran towards the door, blinking out of site as he passed through it. The fallen Cryptizones disappeared with him.

"Alright Rangers power down," Wendy called as she dropped out of Ranger mode. The others followed suit.

"That was awesome," Mabel yelled as she ran over and hugged Pacifica before she realized what she had done. She started to pull away but Pacifica held on to her left hand.

"Well, how long has this been going on?", Dipper asked as he watched his sister actually blush from the continued contact.

"Uhmm," Mabel started before Pacifica squeezed her hand.

"If you must know Dipper, we both realized we were interested in each other before you two left last year." Pacifica calmly answered, "And we've been talking all through the school year. Do you have a problem with that Pines?"

"Not as long as you treat her right," Dipper said with a smile. He was glad to see his sister happy with some one, and this explained why she turned down Rory DeMarco awhile back.

Hearing his approval lifted a weight off of Mabel's shoulders she had been carrying since last summer. She rushed over to her brother and pulled him into a non awkward sibling hug. "Thank you Dip, I've been so worried you wouldn't understand. I could take disapproval from anyone else but if you had, I don't know what I would have done."

"Of course I understand Mabs, she makes you happy. That's all I need to know," Dipper replied as he returned the hug.

"She does," Mabel said before she leaned closer to her brothers ear and in a whisper added, "You need to go get what makes you happy now."

Dipper sputtered some as she the released the hug and went back to Pacifica giggling all the way.

--------------------------

Well this ends the third chapter of Valor Force Rangers. We start off with Ford down in his basement while the party was going on upstairs. He then notices the fighting going on and the appearance of the villains cause him to begin searching for something. Meanwhile the gang are attempting to fight off Vodak and the Cryptizones, but aren't overly successful. Suddenly they are hit with five colored beams of light and they are in the mind-scape with Ford. He explains the lights and let's them know they are now Power Rangers if they wish. After they return to the waking world they discover their new abilities as they fight off the villains. They then bring out their new uniforms and proceed to take out the Cryptizones. Vodak runs with his tail between his legs.

Also remember to check out my other Gravity Falls works here:

Gravity Heroes - A few months after the Mystery Twins head home from Gravity Falls Mabel gets a call from Soos telling her that Dipper was found turned to stone out in the woods. The problem is Dipper is standing right next to her. This leads them off to a new adventure.

Gravity Heroes: Sidetracks - A series on one shots & drabbels that are stories that are in the Gravity Heroes-verse but aren't necessarily required to read the main story-line. It's essentially my take on the classic Marvel Comics Presents.

Welcome To The Gravity Falls Region - My take on the Pokemon AU. Follow the adventures of the potential Pokemon Master Dipper Pines and his sister Mabel, Pokemon Coordinator extraordinaire, while they travel through the Gravity Falls Region.

The Curse - Thanks to a misunderstanding Wendy is targeted by a fairy curse. This is a short story following what happens afterwords.

I also would feel honored if any of my works inspire any art. If you do I would love to see them. Thanks again to all who have read this far. I have received art now from Deviou5, Siryleleen, & Polydactyly Zodiac. These will be posted soon in my Deviant Art account as fan art and credited to them. Thanks again you three. I'm happy to see different interpretations of the characters from the Gravity Heroes AU. Let me know by PM if you do and I'll send out a list of the full descriptions to you. The art is now up at fereality. deviantart just remove the spaces. A new pic of Yami is now up.

Again I'd like to give a shout out to dusk4224, EZB, SuperGroverAway, ddp456, & A Pleasant Dream. It was their stories that made me want to get back into writing and to want to start with Gravity Falls. Please check out their stories if you haven't already.

Please review. I'm always open to constructive and helpful criticism, though if you're gonna troll please move on.

[junker-town]

NBA mock draft 2017: Lonzo Ball to the Lakers is destiny

LaVar Ball called his shot. Now Lonzo Ball appears on his way to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are going to meet in the NBA Finals for the third straight year. For everyone else, the only hope that exists comes in the form of June’s NBA draft.

If you can’t win now, you might as well build for the future. Every draft class has quality players lying somewhere, and this one is no different. With a strong top 10 leading the way, this class is full of players who won’t only contribute, but will also make the league a brighter, more lively place. NBA fans will love De’Aaron Fox’s speed, Malik Monk’s flamethrower shooting ability, Lonzo Ball’s sixth sense for passing, and Markelle Fultz’s creativity off the dribble.

With the lottery complete and the Finals only a formality, it’s time to get serious about draft season. This is a fun class of players with a group of intriguing teams near the top waiting to select them. Let’s mock.

1. Boston Celtics - Markelle Fultz, G, Washington

Think of Fultz as a bigger Kyrie Irving. He’s an acrobat at the rim, he can stroke jumpers off the dribble and has no problem splitting a trap in the pick-and-roll. He also won’t be the same defensive liability Irving often is because of his size. Fultz has two inches of height, six inches of wingspan, and probably 20 pounds in weight on Kyrie at the same age. The Celtics need to hold onto this pick, draft Fultz, and benefit from employing one of the game’s next great guards for the foreseeable future.

2. Los Angeles Lakers - Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

LaVar Ball spoke it into existence. Magic Johnson knew it would happen. Lonzo Ball is the heavy favorite to be drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, and it feels like destiny.

There will be plenty of speculation about the Lakers potentially picking De’Aaron Fox or Josh Jackson, but Ball has a sizable edge given his local ties, “Showtime” flair, and superior three-point shooting ability. Lonzo helped transform UCLA from a sub-.500 team to one of the country’s best in just one year. It might not happen as quickly for the Lakers, but they can expect the same result eventually so long as everyone buys into their roles.

3. Philadelphia 76ers - Josh Jackson, SG, Kansas

As I wrote last week, this is where the draft gets interesting. Philadelphia will have its choice at a ton of talented players, but no one feels like a perfect fit. The more I think about it, the more it feels like Josh Jackson has to be the pick.

Jackson’s jump shooting ability is the big question mark, but he brings so much else to the table. He’s a quick-twitch athlete who can defend multiple positions, create plays for his teammates and score both in transition and as a slasher. Philly will need to find shooters at point guard and on the opposite wing. Until then, a core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jackson should do just fine.

4. Phoenix Suns - Jayson Tatum, SF, Duke

Tatum is gong to score in the NBA. The question is if he’ll be able to develop as a passer and playmaker to achieve his full potential as an offensive weapon.

Pairing Tatum with Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe would give Phoenix a ton of offensive firepower. If last year’s lottery picks, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, come along, Phoenix could emerge as a force in a few years.

5. Sacramento Kings - De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky

Fox to the Kings at the fifth pick is the perfect storm of value, fit, and talent. He is exactly what Sacramento needs: a lightning-quick point guard who attacks opponents on both ends and projects to be the future face of the franchise. Buddy Hield’s knockdown shooting is a perfect complement to Fox’s game at the off-guard. The Kings still have a long way to go in their rebuild post-Boogie Cousins, but taking Fox with this pick would be a great start.

6. Orlando Magic - Malik Monk, SG, Kentucky

The Magic could really do anything with this pick. They could try to upgrade at point guard with Dennis Smith Jr. They could draft the player with the highest defensive upside in Jonathan Isaac. They could add shooting in the front court with Lauri Markkanen. In the end, the Magic just need star power and Monk is the chance to offer exactly that.

When Monk gets hot, he offers deep shooting range and elite athleticism. Orlando already has Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier as options at the two, but adding another shooter and scorer never hurts. Maybe Orlando’s rebuild will end some day.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves - Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State

It’s easy to see Isaac as this year’s Brandon Ingram: wing skills in a 6’10 frame complete with a developing three-point shot. That isn’t quite right. Ingram needs his jump shot to thrive, while Isaac uses it to complement his tremendous defensive ability. With quick feet and good length, Isaac looks like the rare four that can protect the rim and defend the perimeter. If he fully commits himself into being a great and valuable defender between Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, he has the physical tools to get there. Whatever he develops offensively is just gravy.

8. New York Knicks - Frank Ntilikina, G, France

Phil Jackson has been adamant about bringing back the triangle offense, which is why the Knicks’ reported interest in Ntilikina makes a lot of sense. A point guard in the triangle needs to be big and have shooting ability, and Ntilikina checks both boxes. Still only 18 years old, the Knicks would be wise to give him plenty of time to grow into the job. Surely that will go well.

9. Dallas Mavericks - Dennis Smith Jr., PG, NC State

Smith has rare explosion for a point guard. He’s at his best attacking the defense downhill where he can get to the rim and make athletic plays at the basket. A little small and will face questions about his ability to be a natural distributor, but there won’t be many point guards stronger and faster. This draft must be stacked within the top 10 if Dennis Smith Jr. is slipping to No. 9.

10. Sacramento Kings - Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona

What a coup this would be for the Kings. First adding a brilliant lead guard in De’Aaron Fox, then adding a player who complements his skill set perfectly in 7-foot marksman Lauri Markannen. Markkanen is an elite shooter at 7 feet tall, one with a super quick release and range beyond the three-point line. He’s an ideal pick-and-pop partner for Fox and someone who would provide critical spacing in the front court.

11. Charlotte Hornets - Justin Jackson, SF, North Carolina

Michael Jordan must know all about Justin Jackson after he led North Carolina to back-to-back Final Four appearances, including a national title this past season. Jackson made major strides as a three-point shooter this season, but he does his best work around the basket with his floater. This would give the Hornets more lineup flexibility and a player with local connections.

12. Detroit Pistons - Donovan Mitchell, G, Louisville

The Pistons seriously considered moving Reggie Jackson last season. Mitchell isn’t a natural replacement, but he has some of the same qualities Stan Van Gundy looks for a guard. Namely: length and athleticism. Mitchell should be able to carve out a role defensively while his shooting and secondary creation ability continues to develop. Think of him as Victor Oladipo with a better handle.

13. Denver Nuggets - OG Anunoby, F, Indiana

The Nuggets’ No. 1 objective this offseason should be finding a strong defensive presence next to Nikola Jokic. That requires a power forward with great foot speed, long arms, and the ability to both defend the perimeter and protect the rim. If the Nuggets could trade up for Isaac, that would be ideal. Anunoby is the next best thing. He has the ability to defend potentially every position on the floor if he can get healthy after tearing his ACL in January. His offense remains a work in progress.

14. Miami Heat - Zach Collins, C, Gonzaga

It’s going to be fascinating to see where all of the big men in this draft land. There appears to be more supply than demand at the position in this first round. Regardless, Collins will be safe as a skilled five man who flashed some shot blocking ability as a freshman at Gonzaga. If the refs would have let him play in the national title game, the ‘Zags may have been champs.

15. Portland Trail Blazers - Jarrett Allen, C, Texas

The Blazers found a major upgrade at center when they acquired Jusuf Nurkic at mid-season. Allen would offer them a different dimension up front: faster, longer, and more projectable defensively. He didn’t make a huge impression for an 11-win Texas team as a freshman, but his physical tools are undeniable.

16. Chicago Bulls - Terrance Ferguson, SG, Adelaide (NBL)

The Bulls need athletes and shooters around Jimmy Butler. Ferguson counts as both. He reminds me of Magic guard Terrence Ferguson: great position size, a smooth shooting stroke, and explosive leaping ability, only it hasn’t all clicked yet. Ferguson would be wise to focus his gifts on the defensive end of the floor early in his career.

17. Milwaukee Bucks - Hamidou Diallo, SG, Kentucky

The Bucks like swinging for the fences in the first round and Diallo is this year’s lottery ticket. He posted the second-best vertical leap ever (44.5 inches) and has great length for a shooting guard. He essentially jumped from high school to the NBA, so he needs skill refinement, but that bet appears to have worked out OK for the Bucks with Thon Maker. Why not try it again?

18. Indiana Pacers - D.J. Wilson, F, Michigan

Wilson could be a diamond in the rough in this draft. He always had an intriguing combination of length, shooting touch, and shot blocking, but he finally put it all together during the last month of the season. He has all the tools to be the modern four the Pacers have been looking for.

19. Atlanta Hawks - Justin Patton, C, Creighton

Patton was a late bloomer who is still only scratching the surface of his potential. He has quick hands and fast feet, with a nice touch around the basket. He even drained eight of the 15 three-pointers he took this year. The Hawks are in position to groom a young big man behind Dwight Howard, and Patton would be a tremendous value here.

20. Portland Trail Blazers - Harry Giles, C, Duke

The most likely landing spots for Giles are the teams with multiple first-round picks. No one is better equipped to take a gamble on him than the Blazers, a team that enters draft night with three selections in round one. Giles was once the top recruit in the country before multiple knee injuries took a toll on his production at Duke. If he can regain his old form, this could be a home run pick for Portland.

21. Oklahoma City Thunder - Luke Kennard, SG, Duke

Kennard is a cold-blooded scorer who fills it up from three-point range and finds ways to finish around the basket. He would give OKC some spacing for Russell Westbrook, another scoring option when Westrook is out, and some potential to grow into a pick-and-roll ball handler.

22. Brooklyn Nets - T.J. Leaf, PF, UCLA

The Nets could use another shooter after trading Bojan Bogdanović at the deadline. Leaf answers the call there. Brooklyn would afford him plenty of time to get stronger and gain his bearings as a scorer by the time they’re ready to win.

23. Toronto Raptors - Rodions Kurucs, F, Latvia

A potential draft-and-stash pick on the wing, Kurucs is a 6’8 forward with some perimeter skills.

24. Utah Jazz - Semi Ojeleye, F, SMU

Ojeleye committed to Duke out of high school, but didn’t become a star until he transferred to SMU. A supremely jacked three-level scorer, Ojeleye would give the Jazz another bucket-getter on the wing and additional lineup flexibility.

25. Orlando Magic - Ike Anigbogu, C, UCLA

He’s like Bismack Biyombo, only a lot cheaper.

26. Portland Trail Blazers - Wesley Iwundu, SF, Kansas State

Iwundu is a big wing who can handle, pass, and defend, but needs to grow as a shooter. If his jump shot fully comes around, he’s going to be a good player.

27. Brooklyn Nets - Derrick White, SG, Colorado

White is the surprise story of draft season after a breakout D1 debut season at Colorado. The former DII guard can shoot, pass, and handle the ball, and also tested well athletically. He’s a great story and a good player.

28. Los Angeles Lakers - Jonathan Jeanne, C, France

A 7’2 French centerwho could develop into a rim protector down the low. The Lakers need to find interior defense with this pick.

29. San Antonio Spurs - John Collins, PF, Wake Forest

Good scorer and rebounder who struggles defensively and doesn’t have much shooting range. He’s essentially a bigger, younger David Lee, which is a great value at this spot.

30. Utah Jazz - Isaiah Hartenstein, PF, Germany

A massive big man who does a little bit of everything and is working to develop his face-up jumper. He could be an eventual replacement for Derrick Favors.