#happy (late) 200th game!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

borderlandtale · 11 months

Text

Chapter 1 start

(static sounds)

Log no.1

Titled

New start to an old game

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(more static noises) Access granted

Chapter 1 renewal of time, the game shall be gone a new universe shall happen. Start log At the start it was all genocide killed repeatedly and repeatedly around the 100th reset I got my memories back it took a while but after confirming it was real I couldnt bring myself to be happy. I did remember 1 time before all of this began where the human or that thing, brought us all to the surface and we did enjoy a momentary of peace for 2 years trying to flirt with me and us having really good memories. Until….. The human reset, I can’t remember did ‘it’ and I do a promise my head hurts just from thinking about it, I’m tired this is the 200th time I saw pappyrus get killed I don't think I can hold it in anymore wanting to kill him on the spot but something just something was holding me back from it, I just wish we could go back to that time where we were all happy, I don't even want to live on the surface anymore, just a timeline where the real frisk and not that human figure of darkness is in control where we all can just live together in peace, but who am I to say it's already the end of this future I can’t see what else or whoever can save us from this misery. All I know is that I can make these logs and they won't disappear.

3000th reset

Start log

Looks like that thing is starting to get bored. It started to get us to 1 hp before killing us ironically my hp.

?th reset

Judgement hall

Sans facing off the human

“Look kid I’m tired you can have this one”

The black shaped human slashes sans Looks like I’m going to grillby again, as he walks past that thing before he fades to dust he hears “Stop it,no no not again, I’m too late again, at least this is the closest I’ve gotten next reset it will happen”

?th reset

Judgement hall

The human takes a step and sans initiates the battle

“Hey kid its a beautiful day outside birds are singing flowers are blooming.”

Crash “Finally got the coordinates right” a person wearing a torn cape from head to toe armed with a rifle is seen in the middle of a destroyed wall of the judgement hall. Sans thinking its a illusion continues “on days like these kids like you” The caped man gets into the way of both of them “Stop, this meaningless genocide”

Sans now knowing that it is real freezes “Timeline anomaly or what is this interference” he thinks to himself. The human tries to hit the other person but he dodges it. “Sans I’ll explain to you everything later, just help me capture the kid.” Sans freezes and finds the whole thing dodgy. “1000 ketchup bottles as payment also.” Sans has considers about it. “If you want it to be back to normal where you don't have to keep on hiding your emotions, help me please.” Sans left eye socket turns blue unleashing a gaster blaster “deal” in cold hard words, the man pulls out his gun “Thank god” A battle enrages with blasters bones bullets and slashes. Once the human was at 1 hp. “Do Your longest attack gimme some time all I need is 1 minute.” Sans who still had energy “alright …..” “call me hunter the mysterioushunter” As he pulls out and interface, sans stalls the human for 30 seconds before he feels tired,gaster appeared, “it seems this timeline has begin to distort let me assist you old friend” Sans and gaster tag teamed and stalled for another 30 seconds. “Hey hunter a minute has passed now.” Sans shouted

“Now” he said as black strings appeared from nowhere restraining the human in mid air goop seeping from them.

Sans heaved a sigh of relief, “now what are you going to do hunter” as gaster was seen fading, “it seems my time has come materialsiing took most of my will power and now my soul shall be turned to dust now” sans felt a hint of sadness in him. “nah you’ll be fine,” suddenly gaster stopped fading and was reverted to his original form. “How this can’t be possible ever since that experiment.”

“And who do you think led you here Mr W.D gaster.” hunter said “Ahh I see now you must be one of those people the one who calls themselves the player, I have seen many of you, even some making me into different variants of myself, so I must be changing into a variant now.” sans confused wanted to speak before the person bowed 90 degrees angle and said “sorry for what I have done”

Sans realising what he has done feels anger “You think a sorry can make me relieved of the ? resets that have passed seeing my own brother die so many times.”

“I’m not the one who did those but I’m sorry for letting those happen.” He begin to explain what has happened, he was the first one in this timeline to do the true pacifist ending and with him satisfied of the run and quitting the entire game not letting anything happen anymore not any resets nor genocide, he felt satisfied with the ending he gave but his sister found the game and …. ? genocide runs has happened. “Well to be exact 200 genocides before the whole game corrupted, well me being here is kind of an anomaly and more exactly it should have crashed by now but to be exact I kind of couldnt let this happen to I jumped into the game trying to stop this as I knew my sister programmed it so it would be neverending.”

Sans calms down and begins to speak“So what now even if you do a true ending it will turn up to be the human killing everyone else” sans said as he has a feeling that the human was beyond saving due to the ? time they killed everyone in the underground. “Well I mean I came here to solve things and I know of a plan” as he reloaded his rifle with a white bullet shooting the human. The hatred had dissolved from the human body even the pool of hatred underneath, only leaving frisk tied up. After removing the strings, Frisk wakes up and begins a battle with Sans to only act and flirt a lot of time instead of breaking down in tears. “Wow calm down kiddo” petting frisk. Just like the old times, sans thought tears started streaming down. “Am I snooping into anything or can we continue?” Hunter said. Frisk hiss like a cat “Yeah alright so what now.” Sans said. “I need flowey first.” gaster flicked his finger and flowey tped in. Flowey seeing sans frisk and gaster. “What's happening, smiley trashbag, why aren't you dead. AND WHY IS FRISK FLIRTING WITH YOU INSTEAD OF KILLING YOU, WHY AM I NOT DEAD YET.” “Yeah yeah calm down, I’m not sure what's happening also I’m just glad we got this moment of peace” sans said

“Now lets see” hunter uses an interface to and typing in 2 pieces of code making a body for chara and asriel appear out of nowhere.

“Now this is certainly interesting.” Gaster said

Hunter picks up flowey. “WHat are you doing black cape brat” “Nothing much” as he begins to giggle, flowey begins to protest but hunter just ripped the soul from the flower and inserted his soul into his body. Sans and frisk giggles looking at flowey protesting, sending threats in his goat form while gaster is intrigued by the soul transfer. “Now for chara, sans don't be mad at me alright.” as he takes frisk soul, ACT and uses search. Prodding into frisk's soul was chara spirit sleeping, ACT take. As he split chara sleeping spirit and transferred chara to the body. “Few done gimme a few minutes this. Takes. A lot. Of . my. Suppressed Power in one full breath. Gaster I’ll explain it to you later” and he faints. Chara wakes up, asriel your being too loud again. “Chara is that you.’ “off course its me you dummy…… HOW AM I ALIVE WHAT HAPPENED I THOUGHT I SHOULD’VE DIED LONG AGO AND ENDED UP POSESSING FRISK SPIRIT BEFORE I GOT KNOCKED OUT BY SOME OTHER ENTITY AFTER THE ? GENOCIDE oehfojbegwjgbqujebgjwbegkjbwi.” chara broke down due to confusion and the amount of information that was going into her brain. Asriel hugs chara, “I’m just glad I can talk to you again partner”

After a long moment of clearing up stuff going back and forth trying to clear centuries worth of information.

What now chara says, “frisk is still pretending to be a mute and that person is still asleep.”

“Its not like I had a choice the game prevented me from saying anything.” frisk protested in text box.

“Then why are you speaking in text box huh?Say why don’t you just open your mouth and speak for once, can't you scaredy cat.”

“Wow, calm down.” sans intervend Suddenly a cute shy little voice “sans” came out of frisk voice.

SIlence.

Then everyone except gaster and chara went sicko mode.

“I’m awake what’s, happening.” Hunter wakes up from the noise thinking it was an enemy attack.

“Nothing so what now hunter, you got me gaster frisk chara and asriel here.’

“First things first, since I’ve intervened in this genocide ending, it kinda is warping into an au and based on what is going to happen later, well I’m not sure, but than again…….” This went on for about 30 minutes or so. “Alright so first thing is to fix a mess I have made coming into this universe, no dimension and second of all does any of you know how to babysit a child?.’

“Pappy can do that he babysits frisk before.” sans giggles remembering that time. “Well then lemme give you another long explanation about how I came here.” As hunter explains it was around the 100th genocide before he found out that his sister was trying to attempt the most genocide record usuing a ai, he managed to stop it during the 200th but the game collapsed and I knew that that wasnt the end, for the game was still going on and I couldnt access it no matter what. So I resorted to breaking a 4th dimension wall, getting into this dimension and gaining access to this Universe, becoming your creator, although when I broke the 4th wall I kind of created a whole new character doorkeeper!frisk, she is currently sleeping and i”ve overstayed my time here, It won't be long till someone finds it odd I’ve been gone for this long so basically could you take care of doorkeeper!frisk? She's still a child and I dont think she wants to be seperated from me for this long and I don't want anything to happen to her

“I mean you still have to give us some explaination.” Sans sternly said, “but I agree”

Frisk agreed with Chara and Asriel.

“Your soul trait is interesting. May I know what it is before we get transported.” Gaster says. “Sighs I might as well introduce myself, the names mysterioushunter soul trait imagination I come from a different dimension,” and than speaking to gaster about all the stuff he wants to know about this soul trait.

After clearing things up, “anyways after I press reset and not frisk, frisk will still have the reset button for safety purposes and everyone of you will have a bit of the imagination soul trait. “Again sorry for my sister causing this whole thing. I needa take a break. I'll see you later. Also as my final warning please train there are threats out there that can access this universe and are far stronger than you.”

Hunter presses the reset button a great white light engulfed the universe, resetting everything and altering the location of the universe except for chara, asriel sans, frisk and gaster which kept their memories.

End of log

Save file….. Saved

Back at the AU, sans woke up to see his home, on the surface, from the first reset. He couldn't believe his eyes and remembered frisk should be here in his home for a sleepover, sans opened the door to frisk room to see frisk sound asleep, he went and wake up frisk only to be surprised by a smooch on his skull, sans surprised by this blushed a blue, frisk just snickers at sans reaction, “So what do we have here 2 love birds?” Gaster leans by the open door, frisk barks at gaster, “hey gaster so what's the plan now, I don't see the one we are supposed to protect right now all I can see is this timeline/save point is the one after we got to the surface.” “well I mean we should go contact chara and asriel before we do anything right, if gaster is here that means the save file got altered in a way.” Frisk said “Alright lemme go get the 2.” Sans uses a shortcut, Toriel's home, “Hey tori I wanna borrow chara and asriel…..” A crash sound could be heard, glass spills onto the floor, “Sans for the final time,” fireballs were casted “COULD YOU USE THE DOOR INSTEAD OF BARGING INTO MY HOUSE.”Toriel said “Sorry, my bad” “and yes you can but make sure they are back before dinner. “Don’t worry mam I’ll bring them back before night frisk wanted to see them” “ Oh sans make sure to say hi to frisk for me.” “ I’ll do it as sans went to the upper floor, took the 2 kids and shortcutted them to his house. “Okay let's start, what anomalies are there and what changes had happened to this timeline before papy gets back, also frisk, toriel said hi.”

From what the whole group knew, the timeline was altered to where the incident didn't happen, Frisk shattered the barrier with the help of the 6 other souls causing chara and asriel souls to come back, in the time space disruption. “So that's all we can’t find and have no leads to this doorkeeper!Frisk person.”

“Well sans I’ve checked with chara and we both have a new button on the screen.” frisk said

“Hmm, quite intriguing a new button. Does it do anything special by any chance?” gaster said

“Well its just a button called imagination not sure what is does tho.” chara uninterestedly replied.

“Can we go home now? I wanna explore the new toys that the surface made, chara agrees too right?” Asriel complained. Chara just grunts

Sans looking at the time, “Alright both of you it time to go to bed, your uncle ‘snickers’ is going to bring you home.”

“Shut it bonehead.” Chara snapped at him.

“Alright.” grabbing the 2 by their shirts and shortcutting them to their bed room and back. “Can’t wait for what papyrus is going to make.” frisk says.

“Alright I’m going back to my research lab, tell me if anything happens”

“Don’t, cause another accident old friend.” saying it in a friendly warning tone.

“Alright, I don't want you worrying I won't do anything big as the famed last one.” gaster shortcuts to his lab.

Just a few minutes later papyrus comes back in his car full of groceries.

During dinner Papyrus serves them his spaghetti with a twist of hot sauce in it.

Sans and frisk digs in, while papyrus just looks at his spaghetti.

“Whats the matter bro you always try out your spaghetti.” Sans “No brother it's just that I feel like I’m off today, when I was shopping I got this horrible feeling that I got sliced many times, I even was struggling to drive the car or make spaghetti, I feel horrible, let me go rest for today. Sorry if I worried you” Papyrus went upstairs to his bed. “Sans I’m so” frisk tried to apologise but got interevend “Its not your fault Frisk I just need….. Nevermind” as he continued to munch down on his spaghetti.

Both of them did the whole house was silent, for a few hours, Sans didn't crack a joke, Frisk just stayed quiet.

Sans, who usually goes to grilbbies at this time, went to bed early for once, as he was about to go to sleep Frisk knocked on the door “What’s up kiddo.” As he saw a trembling Frisk on the verge of crying,

“Alright, we can sleep together, just like old times.”

Frisk quietly pulled her mattress and slept beside the Sans bed. “Whew what a rough day today was better do a log file on this .” sans thought as he was reminded of today's events

He went to sleep with a heavy snore

Sans was in a deep sleep till he got rudely awoken by Frisk shaking him, “Wow kid I’m awake what do you want me to…” He saw the scenery that wasn't his bedroom but a white sky, He looked to frisk who was confused. “Looks like it’s Hunter who sent us here huh, Kid I wonder if the Doorkeeper!Frisk(Dk!frisk) or whoever was the person we were supposed to babysit. Frisk nodded while staring at the white sky and the surroundings which were white also. They felt a sudden shortcut and they were shortcutted to a house with a green grassy terrain surrounding it. “Heya its me Guardian of Doorkeeper!frisk, Imagination!ss!Chara(IMA!chara).” Sans pulls out a gaster blaster and held it at point preparing just in case the chara did something weird, IMA!Chara , “Hey that’s not a nice way to say hi to a friend,” and then proceeds to summon a knife in her hand, 2 Big dreemurr blasters behind her charged. “Now tell me intruders who are you if not you'll face the wrath of my might” she said loudly

“Hunter didn't tell us about who was the guardian of Dk!Frisk tho” Frisk said

“Didn't have enough energy,” Hunter was lying down in the middle of the fight panting for breath, “Also mb I forgot alr IMA!Chara.” “Bruuhh why do you always forget about me please I help you solve your troubles 200 times and you forget LIKE SERIOUSLY.” “Hey I created you so SHUT YO MOUTH *redacted” Bickering continued till Hunter placed galaxy chocolate in IMA!chara mouth. She tried to protest but continued eating it sulking in a corner. While Sans and Frisk were staring at the conversation like they were the wind ignored every time they tried to budge in. They saw a sign saying drinks and popcorn in case we are bickering, decided to get popcorn drinks from the fridge outside of the house sat back and watched the drama. “Sorry you had to see this also its my bad that I forgot to tell you other stuff”

“Well I dont say why you forgot that Chara over there but where’s Dk!Frisk” frisk asked

“Well she should be sleeping in the house and maybe she is sleeping rn she still is growing and kind of is still a child” “Yeah she is sleeping I had to give her 2 bottles of cola to pacify her before she could sleep tho” “So is everything alright between you guys.” Sans asked

“Yeah everythings alright we just bicker for a while before we make up easily sometimes.” hunter said

“Yeah yeah anyways lemme reintroduced myself.” “The names Imagination!SS!chara or you could call me IMA!chara I babysit Dk!frisk and I’m her guardian so I expect your the new caretakers here.” Bowing down before looking at the two, adn getting to know them so on and so forth sans started explaining the whole job situation. After explaining, Hunter showed a contract and asked both of them to sign the thing, “also 1 more thing Dk!Frisk usually has an addiction of going to random AUs through her door. Its kind of my fault and I'm not a fan of fixing my troubles" “Wait I thought she couldn’t control her powers so where is she going to end up.

“Well usually we would kind of control the destination for it to be a pacifist or non killing timeline, but she like dangers and NO matter how many time she would still hope for the genocide timelines.” “So is there a Chara in her like me?” frisk asked “Nope, she doesn't have any when I created her"

Frisk sighed a relief and they both decided to move on asking more questions till sans saw Dk!frisk moving slowly towards the door. “Hey Kiddo I wanna ask something” as he took frisk by the hand and chased towards her While Dk!frisk started to run towards the door, Hunter and IMA!Chara started going on about the next question debating whether this topic should be discussed. “Kiddo I’m not going to harm you.” Sans shouted, snapping both of them out of their conversation, seeing Dk!Frisk running towards the door, they tried to stop but it was too late, DK!Frisk, sans, Frisk was already through the door.

“Uh oh this can’t be good”

“your right on that, they just went through the door what could be the worst the odds of going into a genocide timeline is low…………… , THEY WENT THROUGH AND TODAY HAS A HIGH CHANCE OF IT BEING A GENOCIDE TIMELINE NOT AnY TIMELINE AN AU TIMELINE OH *BEEP.” taking IMA!chara by the sides and shaking her “While lets hope that we are able to track the coordinates and hope they are alive.” she teied to be positive “WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALIVE IF NOT I MIGHT BE STUCK AND OTHER STUFF WILL HAPPEN.” “OH yeah I forgot about it sorry hunter.” “NOW NOT THE TIME TO BE SORRY GET TO THE COMPUTER I’LL WARP JUMP TO AS MANY GENOCIDE TIMELINES TO CHECK IF THEY ARE THERE, HOPE ITS NOT A SPECIAL ONE IF NOT WE ARE DEAD.” They both rushed to track down the trio who went through the door at the sametime.

Chapter 1 end

Do you wish to proceed with the next chapter?

Or would you like to see the current locations used in chapter 1

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Access granted

Current Locations

The anti-void

The borderland (where DK!frisk and IMA!chara is residing)

Undertale?

Inputting question

Question received

Access granted

The borderlands a place made after an accident. A questionable owner is overseeing this place Giving birth to many questionable things, facilites a house a forward operating base, a shed housing the *REDACTED and most of all a door. Yes a door,

A viewer clicks on the door image

Would you like to know more about the door?

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Y/N

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Accessing data bank

Main information

The door, a weapon of DK!frisk who is currently young, the door is an interdimensional rift which has transformed into a door, its main form resides at the border and is unable to locate by many individuals unless a powerful or unique individual or someone who has gotten permission from the 3 individuals, DK!frisk, IMA!chara and MysteriousHunter to access this realm.

Origins

Not much is needed to know about how it came about Hunter did an oopsies while fighting a interdimensional hopping hostile creature at the border of Undertale, cutting the dimension with a blade causing a rift to form, Hunter realising his mistake did not report it to the authorities who oversees the dimension as there were non and successfully managed to withhold its powers to cause immense destruction to the dimension by creating a vessel who is DK!frisk.

End of chapter 1

#undertale au #my own creation #bordertale

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jsbmarketresearch01 · 1 year

Text

MS Dhoni Holds the Middle Overs Slump as the Reason for Loss against Rajasthan Royals in IPL

Chennai Super Kings lost to Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match from a three-run defeat. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who scored 32 runs off 17 balls said that the reason was the middle-overs slump and they could not manage to hit a six in the last ball. However, Dhoni feels that the fate of the match was already sealed between the 7th and 15th over, where Moeen Ali (7 off 10 balls), Shivam Dube (8 off 9 balls), and Devon Conway (50 off 38 balls), could not compete against Yuzvendra Chahal (2/27) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/25).

In the post-match presentation ceremony, Dhoni commented that in the middle period, there were several dot balls and there was not much juice for spinners. It is fine if the ball stops and turns off the surface. However, that did not happen. Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni were batting as the last pair and that was too early in the tournament. This was the reason they could not go hard as they had to keep NRR in mind. There were several overs still to go. So, they would have to be stable and keep it a bit late in the mid-match.

Dhoni also said that they could not go for runs immediately and had to take more singles, but wished for some more of it. He did hit three big sixes and said that he was up for it, just waiting for the bowler to make the mistakes and give him the chance. According to Dhoni, he does not fancy too many things and when the bowler is under pressure, he is bound to make a few errors and that happened in the last overs. He also said that he likes to hit straight and that is his strength, and everyone should back themselves at hard moments.

At the same time, Dhoni was not happy about the batters not being able to take benefit of the dew factor. In the first few overs, there was some due and it got easier for them. And they should have been able to cash on it and bat better when they had the opportunity. The bowlers however performed well. According to Dhoni; he is not much concerned about milestones. He has captained 200 games now and it does not matter if it is the 200th game or the 199th. He said this is normal and nothing special, but thanked the almighty for the grace.

Sanju Samson, the winning skipper appreciated the bowlers from his team for being calm as the situation for tense at the end. Samson said that he wanted to win today as earlier they had not won in Chepauk. The bowlers bowled really well and kept their cool. Also, they held important catches. He said that Dhoni is a respectful player and he deserves it because he does things that only he can do and it is never safe with him, nothing works against that guy. He tried to push in deep but the last two overs were difficult.

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kireimarkeu · 3 years

Text

To You; l.dh

+another repost! did not make any changes to this work :) p.s this is one of my fav fics i have written :)

summary; bored in quarantine, your boyfriend decides to film himself telling you how much he loves you.

3k words

this was like… ½ edited LMFAO so there might,,, be mistakes…??? this was so tiring to make omfg, enjoy!! lol

also i mixed the name donghyuck and haechan bc i couldn’t choose one lmfao ok!!! bye gn enjoy!! :)))))))

warnings: there’s a word f*t in it

+Day 1 3:34PM

Haechan adjusted the camera, making sure he could be seen. Once he was sure the camera was reflecting him properly, he leaned back against his gaming chair.

“Um,” your boyfriend started, looking everywhere but the camera. “This is awkward,” he says, looking back at the camera.

“I started this, since we won’t be able to see each other for a month- because of quarantine,” he explains, “I honestly have no idea what I’m doing right now,” he laughs.

After a few minutes of pure silence, your boyfriend opened his mouth to continue speaking, “I just feel like— I never really show much love to you?”

There were times where your boyfriend would purposely avoid saying ‘I love you’ or avoid holding your hands whenever the both of you were outside. Honestly, you didn’t really mind, knowing Donghyuck was never the type to show affection.

“It’s hard,” he says truthfully, “The boys knows how much I love you, and it sucks that I don’t know how to show you— or tell you, that I love you.”

Haechan bit his lips nervously, “and, I think this video is- or will prove that I love you?”

He wasn’t sure if he was even making sense at this point.

Your boyfriend groaned, throwing his head back, covering his face with his hands. After a while, he looked back at the camera, “you know what, babe? Just watch the whole thing, okay?”

+Day 4 11:47PM

“Hi,” he smiles, letting out a huff, “this is kinda late, I spent the whole night playing games,” he says guiltily, playing with his fingers, looking away from the camera.

He knows that you didn’t like it when he would stay up until ungodly hours just to play games with his friends. You hated how he would put his health aside just to play games.

He brings his hands up to brush his wet hair.

“Uh,” he sighs out loud, pouting. “I feel bad for staying up late last night, so I’m going to spend the whole night with you today,” he laughs.

Another moment of silence pass.

“I don’t know what to say,” he whines.

He sat there in silence, staring at the ground, figuring out on what to say. Should he tell you about his day?

“Well, I woke up at 5PM today,” he tells you, “I ate dinner with my family— mom cooked chicken today!” he says happily, “Then, I went to call you for a bit because I missed you a little too much,” he pouts.

He scratched his head, “then I showered and now this-“ he says, pointing to the camera.

“Um, it has been 4 days and I miss you too much,” he says truthfully, “facetiming isn’t working, I think I’m going crazy,” he laughs.

+Day 5 7:38PM

He was talking halfway, talking about how much he admires you when his phone started ringing.

“Oh?” he turns around to grab his phone from his bed. A smile formed on his face when he saw you facetiming him.

He turned to the camera to show his screen, “Baby, you’re calling me,” he giggles before quickly answering to your facetime.

“Channie~” you whine cutely when your boyfriend answered your facetime, “what are you doing, hyuckie?”

Usually, your boyfriend would complain whenever you would speak in a cute voice, but he secretly likes it. He secretly likes being babied.

He looks at the camera that was recording the both of you.

“Nothing,” he lies, “why did you call me, loser?”

You huff, raising your arms so he could see you laying on the bed. “I’m bored, hyuckie~ entertain me~”

He leans back on his chair, “wanna play games with me?”

Your face beam at his words, “Okay! I’ll get my X-Box ready now.”

Your boyfriend was the one who bought for you the X-Box. Well, it was an old version, but you loved it, nonetheless. It wasn’t like you played daily— you only played with boyfriend.

“I’ll call you in 5, baby,” he tells you, already walking over to turn on the tv.

“Kay, bye-bye, love you, Hyuckie,” you say in a baby voice, bringing your phone closer to press your lips on the camera.

Donghyuck scrunched his nose in disgust, “yeah, yeah,” he says before ending the call.

He quickly grab the camera that was still recording, he moved the camera closer to press a kiss, “I love you too, y/n.”

+Day 7 3:01PM

“Do you remember when you gave me the teddy bear— Oh my gosh, I feel like a youtuber,” he cackles. He shook his head, focusing back to what he was saying.

“So, do you remember when you gave me the teddy bear?” he asks, “wait,” he says, standing up to grab the tiny teddy bear that was sitting on his bed.

You had bought him the bear during your 200th day with him. Donghyuck didn’t really give the reaction you wanted.

“Do you not like it?” you had asked him, disappointment laced in your voice. You didn’t dare look at him, upset with yourself that you had bought something that he didn’t like.

“No, no!” he quickly replied, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to pull you into his chest, the other holding the tiny bear. “I love it,” he says.

You knew it was a lie. He didn’t seem to like it.

“I love it,” he says, “I know I didn’t show like I did at that time, but I need it with me every time I go to bed.”

He scratches his head, regretting his actions that has had happened months ago.

“No one has ever bought me a bear before,” he explains, “and when you bought it for me, it just felt— I felt, I felt happy? I felt fulfilled? Do you know what I mean?”

“I really wanted to tell you that I loved your present, especially when you had bought me another present a few days later,”

‘it was to make up for the previous present’ was your reason.

It broke his heart when you said that while handing him a couple bracelet. He wanted to tell you how much he loved your gift, but it was so hard for him.

“I hated myself for not being able to tell you the truth, it’s hard—and it still is,” he sighs, “I hope by doing this, I can assure you that I love you..?”

+Day 10 9:34PM

He was in the middle of filming himself when his mother comes in.

“Donghyuck-ah, what are you doing? Do you want some fruits?” his mother asks, looking at his son, not noticing the camera perched on the dressing table.

Instead of answering his mother’s question, he grabs the camera to film his mother.

“Eomma, say hello to y/n,” Donghyuck says.

His mother raised her eyebrows in surprised, “hello my dear y/n~ how are you?”

Your boyfriend giggle from behind the camera, “tell her how much you miss her,”

“I think I miss you more than Donghyuck does,” she jokes. “What is this for, Donghyuck-ah?”

Haechan placed the camera back on the dressing table, turning to look at his mum.

“I’m making a video for y/n until quarantine is over,” he explains as his mother walks in, wrapping her arm around her son’s shoulder.

His mother’s heart warmed at his son’s words.

“You’re growing up way too fast, our Donghyuck~” she cooed, pulling your boyfriend’s cheeks as he whined in pain.

You would also pinch his cheeks almost every time the both of you are together. Whenever you had Donghyuck’s cheeks between your fingers, he would whine, pulling away from your grip.

“Eomma! I want strawberries!” he shouts after his mother left his room.

He turns his attention back to the camera, “Anyways—”

+Day 17 2:35AM

“I really like your eyes,” Haechan confesses dreamily, “your eyes are the colour of shit,” he jokes, “but they’re so shiny, baby,”

The first time he realizes he’s in love with your glimmering eyes was when he brought you out on a date to star gaze. You were staring at the sky, a smile plastered on your face, amazed at how beautiful the sky was.

When you noticed your boyfriend staring at you, you turned to face him. Your eyes captured his heart. How could someone have such bright eyes?

“Oh! And when you smile, you make my heart beat like crazy!” he chuckles.

The first thing that caught Hyuck’s eyes when he had a crush on you was your bright smile. He believes that was the main reason that he fell for you. How you would always have a beaming smile plastered on your face everywhere you go.

He thinks it’s adorable.

The small dimples that was on the side of your lips whenever you smile.

And your adorable little laugh he adores so much.

Or the little birthmark you had on the corner of your mouth.

After talking about you for a while, he let out a satisfied sigh, “I’m so whip for you, you know?”

After 17 days of making videos for you, it started becoming easier for him to show his love for you.

“Everything you do makes me go crazy, do you realise that?” he asks you, “do you realize that everything you do makes me happy? No, you don’t have to do anything, your presence makes me melt.”

He laughs at how he was flirting, “you’re probably laughing too,”

His laughter died down, letting out a tired sigh, “well, it’s late and I’m going to go to bed before you nag at me some more,”

He let out a yawn, “goodnight y/n, I love you so much, you don’t know how happy you make me,”

+Day 20 2:56PM

This time, it was different.

He was filming himself at McDonalds drive-thru.

“Guess who’s this for?” he asks the camera, his gaze on the road. “Yes, you.”

He turns to look at the camera for a second before paying attention on the road, “you didn’t ask me to get you anything but I wanted to get something for you,” he explains.

He was lying, this was just an excuse to see you, even for a second. Even if it’s 6 feet apart. Even if there was a glass between the both of you.

“I think you know the reason why I’m buying this for you,” he says, referring to the food. “To make you fat! You’re right, y/n,” he jokes.

That was also a lie. You tend to eat less whenever you’re stressed.

After he found out that you had a project, he knew how stress you would be, and decided to get food, making sure you eat healthily.

Your boyfriend would never fail to remind you how much he loves your body. No matter shape or size. He has always made sure you feel loved with who you are.

“I think you know the real reason why I’m coming over,” he adds. When he reaches a red light, he turns to look at the camera with a pout, “I can’t help it, I miss you too much, y/n,” he says in a baby voice.

He grimaces at his actions, shaking his head disapprovingly, “I am never doing that ever again.”

A few minutes later, he reached your house. He had texted you to that he was waiting for you outside.

It took you a while to come out, but when you did, you had one of his hoodies over your body.

He loves it when you wear his clothes, it makes him feel all giddy.

‘One day, I’m going to wear all of your clothes’ he would say whenever you steal his clothes.

You walked over to his car, “what the hell are you doing here, dummy,” you ask him, maintaining the distance.

He grabbed the bag of food from the passenger’s seat and passed it to you from the window of his car.

“Brought you food, you unappreciative bitch,” he tells you while you walk up to grab the food from him.

You open the bag to see your favourite food, “my favourite food, too?!” you squeal, “Haechan best boyfie~”

He rolls his eyes, “yeah, yeah, go and finish your project,”

You nodded, the smile not leaving your face.

“I’ll facetime you later?” he asks.

“At 11,” you confirmed.

He nods, signalling for you to go back in. You blow a kiss to your boyfriend before turning around to go back in.

He quickly fishes out his camera, filming you walking back in your house.

“Look at my baby all happy because I brought her food,” he says, “enjoy your food, pretty,”

+Day23 6:07PM

“Day 23,” he breathes out. “I didn’t expect it to go by so fast,” he blurts out.

He puffs his cheeks out, “I don’t want to stop making videos for you, but you would just make fun of me for being soft,”

He had started growing content on making videos for you every day.

“But at the same time, I can finally see you after a month, babe!” he says happily. “I can finally hold you in my arms, we can kiss until the world ends, we can also do it,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.

Well, he can’t lie he did miss doing it with you.

He sighs, “anyway, when we can finally get together, we can watch movies, then come back to my place and we can cuddle!”

He missed that.

Personally, Donghyuck preferred going over to your place but you preferred going to his place because he had games and a huge bed, and it was just comfortable.

“Ahh,” he groan, “I miss you like crazy! I think I have to end this video early because I wanna facetime you right now,”

He grabs his phone on the table to call you.

“Okay, bye babe, I love you, I’m going to talk to you now!”

+Day 25 4:03AM

“Hi,” donghyuck greet the camera.

Anyone could realise he wasn’t in the best mood.

It took Donghyuck a while to start talking, “we had a fight earlier today,” he says, his voice lace with disappointment and… hurt?

You had texted him just an hour ago, ranting about your homework. When Donghyuck replied to you a minute later, you got angry at him because he was staying up again at ungodly hours.

He didn’t understand why you were so angry because you were awake at the same timing as he is.

“I’m going to give you space, because it’s what you need right now,” he says. “I hope you know I still love you no matter what,”

He bit his lip hesitantly, “I know you don’t like it when I stay up with the boys, but I don’t like you staying up to finish your work either, baby”

He closes his eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I hope you don’t get too stressed over school, eat healthily, and make sure you rest from time to time, babygirl,”

He lets out another sigh before reaching for the camera, “I love you,”

+Day 28 7:36PM

Haechan purses his lips, staring at the camera, “today is a bad day,” he starts.

Today he had woke up a little earlier than normal after talking it out with you a few days ago. He decided to get up early and help his mom with cooking, which only resulted him in getting scolded by his mother for making a mess.

After that, he decided to play games with his friends, however despite playing for 5 hours straight, he didn’t get a single win.

Now, he has tried to contact you, but you have not replied to him. Probably busy with school.

He let out a huff, “take a break y/n,” he whines, “focus on me too~”

Letting out a pout he shakes his head, “kidding babe, get those A’s!”

“Well, now I don’t really have anything to do so I’m going to facetime you again, bye babe!”

+Day 30 10:18AM

“Hyuckie!” you call out, running to your boyfriend. When you reached him, you threw your arms around your boyfriend’s neck, making him stumble back a few steps as he grabs on your waist.

You hid your face in his neck, breathing in his scent. He smells so good.

“You’re not going to let go of me until I say so,” you mumble, tightening your grip around his neck.

He chuckles at you, “I won’t let go of you until you say so,”

Donghyuck was satisfied with having his arms wrapped around your waist, his face covered in your hair.

After a few moments of the both of you just holding each other, you finally pull away from your boyfriend.

“Y/n,” he says, making you hum.

“Wait,” you stop him, making him stare at you with wide eyes as he froze on the spot.

“Can you kiss me first?” you ask. His eyes soften at your request. Your fingers trace his bottom lips, “I miss your pretty lips.”

He smiles at your words and nodded. Pulling you closer by your waist, he pressed his lips against yours. Your hands rest on his chest while you both share a needy kiss.

After a few minutes, you pull away, breathless with crimson red cheeks.

Haechan raised his eyebrows as he resumed, “I made something for you,”

You gasped, “what is it?”

He fishes out a CD player. The CD held videos of him explaining how much he loves and appreciates you throughout the whole month.

He passes you the gift.

“Watch this at home?” he tells you.

You grab the CD from his grip, “okay? What is this all about?”

“Just promise me you’ll watch it at home?” he asks again, staring down at you.

“I will! I will!”

After making videos of himself for 29 days straight, Donghyuck have concluded that he was so utterly in love with you. He was so in love with you that he didn’t know how to express how much he adores you.

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aspenflower17 · 3 years

Text

Finding You (Part Ten of ??)

Aha! Finally it is done!

Hey everyone! It’s been one Monday of a week, but I finally had today (Saturday) off so I finally got to work on this update. I also thought I’d give you guys an update on my scheduling. One of the supervisor’s at work is done with her semester at college, so I’m probably not going to have a set schedule for awhile. That means the only day I know I will have off is Sunday. I usually work on writing on my day off, so updates are probably going to vary wildly from week to week. If I don’t get one out the rest of the week, you should see an update from me on Sunday (though it might be at a late hour, like this week).

Anywho, I hope you’re all doing alright and that you’re staying safe. I know I have some readers who recently had Finals Week (or whatever the equivalent of that is for you). I want to congratulate you on finishing your semester (because it is a big accomplishment), and that I hope you got high marks on your respective tests/projects/ect.

So, as always, if you’re new here, here is the link to Part One. You can also find the links to all the parts on my Master List if you’ve missed any of the other updates :)

This update was brought to you by the support of the following: @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed @magi-minminxiii @rensphilia @a-dream-at-night @chloelikesobeyme @getbehindme-satan @theuglypugling (Seriously, thanks so much for the support you guys! I love each and every one of you!) If you’d like to be on the tags list for any future updates, please just drop a comment below or send me a message!

Satan/Mc

Word Count: 4,144

Trigger warnings: There might be some language in this one, Satan gets PISSED

“Will you just sit down Satan? You’re making me nervous,” Asmo complained, watching his brother with concern.

“Yeah. You’re totally breaking my concentration here,” Levi chimed in, not looking up from his game.

“Well, you can take your complaints to Lucifer,” Satan stated, starting what had to be his 200th pass on the same stretch of the ballroom, “I don’t know why we had to be here so early.”

“We got here ten minutes ago,” Belphie sighed, leaning on Beel, “You’re just nervous.”

“And what if I am?” Satan asked, his anxiety adding bite to the question.

“We’re all nervous,” Beel gently reminded Satan, “We’ve all missed our favorite human.”

“Not human anymore,” Mammon muttered, glaring at some undefined point in front of him, leg shaking anxiously. He had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since the night of the art show, gone most of the day, and retreating to his room when he was home.

An awkward hush fell across the group at his words, everyone’s thoughts turning inward. Satan sighed and sat down, the feathers on his boa trying their hardest to enter his mouth. The lacing on his shirt threatened to strangle him along with the collar, and his tail kept flexing around his leg. He was a bundle of nerves, and he couldn’t seem to relax. He had wanted to wear a simple suit or tuxedo, but the invitation from Diavolo had explicitly said demon forms were to be used.

A strangled but disgusted gasp escaped Asmo’s mouth, “What the hell is he doing here?!”

“Another jilted lover Asmo?” Belphie asked, rolling his eyes.

“No! It’s Michael!” Everyone’s head whipped up at that, even Levi.

“OMG! WFT?” Levi exclaimed, eyes large and worried.

“Bro, why is he here?” Mammon nearly growled, glaring at the man in question.

“I don’t know, but I want him to leave!” Asmo’s voice was getting more shrill as time went on.

“Is tha’ Lord Diavolo with ‘im?” Mammon asked, still glaring, though he wasn’t growling anymore.

“OMG, you’re right. They're laughing together too!” Levi narrated.

Beel had joined Mammon in glaring at Michael, as his twin smiled smugly, “Oh, you guys didn’t know?” Everyone looked over at that and you could tell Belphie was relishing in the shock, “Mc came with some angels. I hear Luke’s here too.”

“How can you possibly be happy about this?”

“What are you all gawking at? You all look like you’ve-” Lucifer cut off, finally seeing what his brothers were looking at. If he hadn’t already been in his demon form, Satan was fairly sure he would’ve burst into it immediately, though he didn’t look as surprised as Satan would expect him to.

“Oh.”

The absolute contempt and disgust that dripped from that single word had all the brothers sharing looks, most very concerned. Belphie caught Satan’s eye, shooting him a sly, wicked grin. Satan wanted to share in Belphie’s enjoyment, but his mind was taking this new roadblock into account, trying to figure out how this was going to factor into his plan.

Satan didn’t really have an opinion on Michael. He had never really met the angel, his only knowledge of him coming from his shared memories with Lucifer, the little he’d heard from his brothers, and what he’d gleaned from Luke and Simeon’s conversations, not that he really cared. He simply wasn’t someone who mattered. That is, until now.

“Did you know Lucifer?” Asmo asked.

“Diavolo had told me Mc had come with two angels, though he didn’t mention names. I just assumed it was Simeon and Luke,” Lucifer was still watching Diavolo and Michael talking, though he had taken on a frigid demeanor, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. You didn’t have to be the Avatar of Wrath to sense the boiling anger underneath the frosty exterior.

Barbatos walked over to Diavolo and whispered something. The Demon Prince nodded and stood up, the congregation quieting, “Hello and welcome, each and every one of you! I’m so glad you could make it!” he voice boomed out into the

Levi scoffed, “As if we had a choice.”

“Shaddup. Ya wanted to come jus’as much as the rest of us,” Mammon hissed.

“As most of you know, this ball is in honor of Jane Doe,”

“Wait.. Who’s that?” Beel asked, confused.

“That’s her pseudonym,” Belphie explained softly, Beel nodding his understanding.

“We have other guest’s as well, who came with Jane. Michael, the archangel,” Diavolo gestured to Michael who raised his hand in greeting with a smile, “And Luke, Jane’s older brother. You may all remember him when he was here as one of our first exchange students,” A blonde male who had been sitting by Michael inclined his head.

“Oh my gosh, that’s Luke?!” Asmo said loudly enough some nearby demons looked over.

“I didn’t even recognize him,” Levi murmured.

“Did he say brother?” Mammon asked.

“Shhhh!” Lucifer hissed as Diavolo continued.

“Now for the person you’ve all been waiting for, Jane Doe,” all the brothers held their breath as Mc walked over to Diavolo, an absolute vision. All of the brothers were transfixed, their own personal feelings overcoming everything else. Lucifer, having already seen Mc at the palace was the first to recover, looked over to Satan to see how he was doing. He was encouraged by what he saw. Satan was subconsciously touching his pocket where he knew he letter was at. Though he seemed a bit nervous, the fierce resolve in his eyes made him smile proudly, before looking back to Diavolo.

“I hope you all treat our guests with the same respect and kindness they’ll give to you. With the introductions done, let the party commence!”

“So, what’s the plan Satan?” Asmo asked, bringing the fourth born out of his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you need to talk with Mc right?” at the nod he continued, “Well, how about we help you?”

“We?” Belphie sighed, grabbing a lock of his hair.

“Yes we,” Asmo sighed, rolling his eyes.

Belphie sighed, but turned to look at Satan anyways, “Well, if I have to help, what do you need?”

“I just need to give her a letter,” Satan explained, about to tell everyone they didn’t need to bother, but he didn’t get the chance.

“Don’t you want to talk to her though?” Levi asked.

“Well, I need her to read this first. I didn’t make the best impression last time, and I don’t think I’ll be much better this time around,” Satan admitted, looking chagrined. He hadn’t told any of the brothers the entirety of what happened.

“Easy enough,” Mammon announced, getting up, “We just need to walk over and give it to her then.”

“Not so fast Mammon,” Lucifer said, motioning for him to sit, “She’s probably going to be flanked by those two angels all evening. I don’t know if they’d take well to one of us handing Lillith’s descendant a letter. Luke at least, is aware of Satan’s attachment to Mc, and last time I checked, he’s not a fan of ours. As for the other…” Lucifer trailed off, irritation twisting his features, “Who knows how that may go.”

“So we need to make sure to separate them all,” Levi mused.

“Do you have any ideas on how to do that? Like, anything from one of your anime’s?” Asmo asked.

“I mean, there’s the ‘trying to get the main character and love interest alone’, but it doesn’t always work, though it’s entertaining to watch.”

“Well, we want this to go well,” Asmo sighed, rolling his eyes.

“What about you then? Where’s your grand idea?” Levi scoffed.

“Actually, I do have an idea,” Asmo giggled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I really should’ve just done this myself,” Satan sighed, Asmo standing next to him.

“Oh, shush! This will turn out great, just wait.”

“When’s it supposed to work then? I mean, we’ve been standing here for an hour and we haven't caught a glimpse of Mc.”

“Patience, patience. Beel and Belphie… Well, Beel already has Luke distracted with food talk, and Lucifer’s doing a good job of keeping Michael… On his toes, I guess?”

“I do have to admit watching him run away from Michael is amusing,” Satan chuckled, his eyes darting to Lucifer from their perch on the balcony above the dancefloor. He was obviously fighting his pride, knowing he was running away from Michael, but unable to stay and deal with the angel who wouldn’t stop trying to find him, partially due to his pride as well. Looking back to Michael, Satan grinned, “Gotcha!”

“Wha… Oh! There she is! Told you!” Asmo nearly shouted.

“That was my ear.”

“Oop. Sorry.”

Satan watched Mc speak with Michael, noting all the small changes in her behavior. There was a level of refinement that hadn’t been there before, which made perfect sense seeing as how she had been raised in the Celestial Realm by Simeon. She was more graceful for one thing, and seemed more calm and at ease than he remembered her. She did seem more reserved and closed off than before, though that could just because she was talking with a superior. She was fairly open with me until I screwed it up, so hopefully she retained that part of herself, and hopefully I didn’t screw it up.

Asmo sighed, “Lucifer isn’t doing his job.”

“Did you really expect him to? He did say he didn’t want to be part of whatever you were planning.”

“Well, Michael chose to follow him. He was chosen. It’s fate.”

“Still doesn’t mean he’s going to actively participate.”

“Fine. Looks like I’m going to have to have Mammon and Levi do some work for us.”

“You really don’t have to do this. I can handle it.”

“Yeah, but that’s no fun. I also want to mess with Michael as much as possible.”

“Fine. What do we do next?”

“We have to get down onto the dance floor. I’m calling Mammon right now.”

They found the staircase closest to Mc and Michael and made their way down, Asmo on his DDD the whole time, “Yes… Do you see us? Oh, there you are. Do you see them? No, left… Left! Your other left! Mammon, how are you this stupid?... I’m not the one who can’t see-... No, you listen! I can’t stand that you-... How dare you! I- Ugh, fine… Yup, just distract him…” Asmo laughed, “No, though I would pay to see that. Maybe, walk past and see if he takes the bait?... Well, you’re just going to have to deal with it Levi… Look, the sooner we get this done, the sooner you can get back to your game… Wow, I thought you wanted Mc back, but I guess not. I’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t spend anytime with you… Then get your act together! Okay, Mammon, we’re close enough now. Alright, take it away.”

Satan watched as Mammon and Levi stepped out of the crowd, Mammon talking loudly enough to turn a lot of heads. Unfortunately, Michael was not one of these, though Mc seemed interested in what was going on. She seemed to ask Michael about it, but he just brushed it off, continuing to talk.

“Why does Mammon think he’s such hot stuff?” Asmo asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Don’t frown too much. You’ll get wrinkles,” Satan gently chided.

“You’re right,” Asmo sighed, “I just don’t know how to… Whoa. Look at that.”

Satan looked to find Diavolo talking with Mc and Michael. He also spied Lucifer keeping his distance, but frowning so intensely he was surprised Diavolo couldn't feel it. Michael said something and Diavolo laughed delightedly, motioning for Mc and Michael to join him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She’s alone now. I’ll cover you!” Asmo hissed, pushing Satan forward.

Mc was sitting on a bench, on the outskirts of the room. She was watching the crowd with interest, eyes bright and curious. Satan hesitated, before steeling himself and walking forward, letter in hand. He was almost close enough to her to call out, when some demon approached her. Satan turned on his heel, and concealed himself in the crowd. He watched the demon extend their hand, heart sinking as he realized what that meant. She smiled and nodded her head, taking their hand as she was escorted out onto the dancefloor.

“What happened? Where’d she go?” Asmo asked, joining his brother.

“Someone asked her to dance before I got there,” Satan muttered irritably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Satan looked at the time on his DDD. There was only two hours left of the ball, and he still had the letter. The past hour had been spent trying to figure out how to get Luke to leave Mc’s side without much luck. Beel had apparently gone to raid the food table and then the palace kitchen, and Belphie had fallen asleep, so Luke had found his way back to his sister and hadn’t left her side since. Worse yet, it seemed his opinion on demons was unchanged, keeping most of those that came over to talk to the artist at bay with a single look.

“He needs to leave so we can get on with this.” Asmo huffed, upset his plan was failing.

“Well, he is a chihuahua,” Levi said distractedly, “I can’t… say for certain, but he’s probably… Trying to keep her out of trouble… Woot! Got it!”

“Levi, could you stop gaming for five seconds?” Asmo sighed.

“Well, I have bad ideas, so no. You’re lucky I decided to stick around at all,” Levi huffed, eyebrows furrowed, though from the game or Asmo, Satan didn’t know.

“Oh come on! Are you really that upset by my comment?” When Levi didn’t answer, Asmo rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Do you have any ideas then Levi?” Satan asked

“Not really.”

“Yo, yo, yo! Luke! What’s happenin’ my man?”

Both Mc, Luke and all three brother’s looked over at Mammon strolling toward the duo through the crowd.

“Is he seriously…?” Levi asked.

“I think so…” Satan answered, shocked.

“How’ve ya’ been?” Mammon asked, grinning at the blonde angel.

“Fine I suppose,” Luke answered, suspicion lacing his words.

“Nice, nice. So, this is your sister?” The emphasis on the word left no interpretation of what he thought of the title.

“Yup. Of course, you can understand an angel’s definition of sibling though, don’t you Mammon?” Luke shot back.

“Oh! You’re Mammon!” Mc said suddenly, turning her full attention to Mammon “I’ve heard a lot about you!”

Mammon turned bright red, “Oh, you’ve heard of the Great Mammon?”

“Of course!” Mc beamed at him.

Mammon started stuttering, “W-W-Well, o-of course ya’ have.”

Mc giggled a bit at that, smiling at the second born, “I was actually hoping you might have some time you could spare to answer some of my questions.”

Satan was sure Mammon was going to combust, but Mc wrapped her arm around his anyways, “We’ll be back Luke.”

The blonde angel seemed like he wanted to argue, but something was holding him back, “I’ll be waiting then.” Mc nodded at him, and then walked off with Mammon.

“Wh… What just happened?” Levi nearly squealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I hear Mammon got to talk to Mc before you did.”

“Shut up Lucifer,” Satan muttered.

“Where are they?” Lucifer asked, and Satan pointed to a bench where Mc and Mammon were sitting. They seemed deep in a conversation.

“Interesting. I had to see it to believe it.”

“What’ve you been doing this whole time?”

“I’ve been… walking around…”

“Hiding from Michael.”

“That would imply I’m scared of him.”

“MmmmHmmm.”

“I do not fear Michael.”

“Good to hear, since he’s coming this way.”

Lucifer instantly started walking forward, stopping by some random succubus, “Hello, Jezebel. Would you like to dance?” Lucifer asked, barely waiting for a response before dragging her out onto the dance floor.

Satan was still chuckling, Lucifer’s discomfort making his misfortune seem better, when a male voice he remembered from memory but had never actually heard addressed him, “Are you Satan, Lucifer’s… son?”

Satan blinked a couple times, “Excuse me?”

“That is you right? Or do you prefer something different? Spawn of Lucifer?” Michael cocked his head a bit, seeming a little confused.

Some rational part of Satan’s brain was the only thing keeping him from jumping on the angel and ripping him to shreds. He couldn’t keep the growl from his voice as he responded, “I am Satan, THE Avatar of WRATH.”

“Oh, I seem to have hit a nerve. My apologies,” Michael said, actually bowing. Satan narrowed his eyes, tail flexing around his leg. Has he always been this stupid? Or is he mocking me?

“I was wondering if we could speak. Privately,” Michael said, his smile showing he knew he’d said something wrong.

“Anything you want to say you can say here, Michael.”

“I do think it would be better for us to speak privately,” Satan could feel Michael’s irritation building a bit.

“Why? So you can try to hurt my brother’s again by killing another of their siblings?”

The shock on Michael’s face satiated Satan’s anger enough that he almost laughed at it. Michael quickly put on a blank look, but Satan could hear the sorrow in his voice, “Though it is always unfortunate when an angel dies, I do not regret any of my actions. When someone goes against what they know to be right, there will always be consequences.”

“Of course. Always the errand boy, blindly doing whatever it is you’re told to do.”

“How would you know? You weren’t even around to know her. I’m not sure what lies you’ve been fed-”

“I was there, you imbecile,” Satan seethed, “I saw how your actions helped push Lucifer towards rebellion, knowingly or not, and how you stabbed him in the back once he was finally there. I remember them, and I find your actions to be deplorable.”

“Now listen here, you demon-”

“Oh, I’m the demon here?! Shall I describe, in detail, how you-”

“Everythin’ cool here?” Mammon came up next to Satan, putting a calming hand on his shoulder.

Satan whipped his head to look at Mammon, confirming that, yes, Mammon had heard what Michael had said.

“Ah, Mammon. It’s been awhile.”

Mammon looked over at Michael, his disgust thinly veiled, “Yeah, sure.”

“I would like to talk with your… brother, but he doesn’t seem to want to.”

“Good fer him. Tah be honest with ya’, I don’ trust ya’ Michael. I didn’ up in the Celestial Realm, and I don’ now. If ya’ wanna’ talk with Satan, I suggest ya’ do it where we can all see ya’.”

Satan felt two hands on his shoulders, and looked back to see both Beel and Belphie standing behind him. Neither one of them looked very happy, but Beel’s look was a lot more intense than Belphie’s.

Michael sighed, especially after seeing the twins, “If you’re not going to allow me to explain, I can only tell you this: It is imperative she not remember her past. It will hurt both of you more than you could ever know. Now, I have things to do, if you’ll excuse me,” and with that, he left.

“I really don’ like that guy,” Mammon shook his head, “Oh, Satan, hol’ on a sec. Imma be right back,” and with that, he took off.

“You okay Satan?” Beel asked, still frowning after Michael.

“Yeah, things just got a bit intense there for a second. Thanks.”

“I don’t think your thanks is going to stop here. We’re going to leave you now. Have fun,” Belphie smirked before wandering off with Beel.

Satan shook his head at all the weirdness happening around him, before resuming his place along the wall. He didn’t know how things had escalated that quickly with Michael, especially considering the guy had never done anything to him personally. Yeah, he had all the memories of Lucifer being angry at him, and he had hurt his brother’s, but he had never had any personal problems with him. Well, a lot of Lucifer’s anger started because of Michael, and that’s what I was born from… The small voice in the back of his head started acting up, though he often tried to keep it quiet, You’re more like Lucifer then you want to admit.

He growled a bit at the voice, before starting to wander around. People watching always helped calm him down. It was one of the things he had done in his early life to help him learn how to interact with others, at Asmo’s suggestion. He always found something new to store away in his brain, and the problem solving helped calm his brain.

“There ya’ are! We’ve been lookin’ for ya’.”

We? Satan turned to Mammon to see Mc standing next to him. Satan froze, having not prepared himself to talk to her.

“She asked me ta dance, but cha know I’m more of a solo dancer myself, so I was wondering if you would for me?”

“I… Uhhh… Yes, if she would like,” Satan finally managed to get out, watching Mc for any negative reactions.

“I have no problems with it,” Mc answered cryptically, nothing in her tone or mannerisms betraying how she actually felt about the suggested change.

“Uh… Perfect, I guess. Have fun you two,” Mammon announced before walking off.

I could both hug him and punch him, Satan thought, though what came out of his mouth was, “Well, may I have this dance?” while extending his hand to her.

A smile graced her lips, “You certain may.”

He led her out onto the dance floor, still lightly holding her hand. He was still nervous, but not like he was the last time they’d met. He let his mask start to slip when he faced her, “I’m very glad you accepted my invitation to dance,” he slipped his hand to its proper place for the waltz as the music started.

“It’s my pleasure,” She smiled, though not as warmly as he would’ve hoped. They started dancing effortlessly, Satan extremely happy they were still in sync. If only the conversation flowed as easily. Satan spent the first full minute of the dance just trying to figure out what to say to her, also trying not to think about how beautiful she looked.

Finally, he figured out something neutral to say, “Have you been enjoying the Devildom?”

“Yes, I have, thank you for asking.”

“What’s been your favorite part?”

Mc took a minute to think, “I would have to say… Sightseeing. There’s a lot here I could have never imagined existing in the Celestial Realm.”

“Ah. Have you visited the Royal Library yet?”

“I have actually. I’ve been researching for my next art project.”

“You’re working on a new art project?”

“Yes. I feel rather inspired here.”

“I look forward to seeing it. Are you planning on showing it in the Devildom?”

“Quite possibly.”

“Good. We need new art down here,” Satan said before the conversation lapsed back into silence. It was towards the end of the song that Satan decided to bring up the elephant in the room, “I’ve ummm… Been hoping I would see you again.”

“As have I.”

“You have?” he asked, extremely surprised.

“Yes. I’ve been trying to figure out why you acted the way you did.”

Oh.

“I apologize for that. I… Well, I actually wrote you a letter to explain it. I know my behavior was… off to say the least. I’ve been going through a lot lately, and I apologize that it negatively affected my behavior towards you.”

“You wrote me a letter?”

“Yes. I find I can express myself far better and with far more accuracy by writing than by talking.”

“Ah. Do… Do you have that letter with you?” Her voice was small when she asked.

“I do. I was planning to give it to you tonight anyways.”

“You were?”

“Oh, I said that out loud didn’t I?” Mc giggled at that and Satan felt better, the mask slipping even more, “I’ve been trying to find a good time to give it to you all night actually.”

“Really?” Her smile was curious and a bit teasing.

“Er, yeah. I hope you’re okay with that.”

“I think that’s alright,” Mc smiled, finally seeming at ease around him.

The song ended then, and Satan reached into his back pocket to produce the letter, “Here it is.”

“I’ll make sure to read it,” Mc promised, reaching for the letter. Their fingers brushed when she went to grab it, and they both blushed at the contact, “Well, I’m going to go find Luke. Thank you for the dance.”

“No, thank you,” Satan said sincerely, smiling softly.

She smiled back, and with that she was gone.

“Heh. You owe me don’ cha’,” Mammon’s voice came from behind him, sounding pretty smug.

“I’d say you’ve made up for not telling me she was in town.”

“I’ll take it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey you guys, a couple more things:

First off, I have passed the 100 follower mark, and I was wondering if you guys wanted me to do anything for it.

Second: I was wondering how you guys ran across this fic. If you wanna comment down below and just let me know. I’m really wondering how my work’s being spread, so if you could do that, I’d appreciate it!

~As always, likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated (I always read everything you guys write in the comments and reblogs)

Part Eleven

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the-nehemoth · 4 years

Text

Return

My first Doom fic and my 200th fic on Ao3!

And just so you know, I don't really know what was up with what VEGA said in the game about being the Father when he was plugged into Urdak or whatever so I kinda just glossed over it in this fic. I've since googled it but I still don't really get it because I don't know much about Doom lore - Doom 2016 and Eternal are the only Doom games I've played - so it didn't clarify much. So I decided to just leave it glossed over instead of trying to stumble my way through writing about something I don't have the full picture on, especially since I just want this to be a cute ship fic because I love this ship.

VEGA had never been alone before. Ever since the moment of first start up there’d always been people around he could talk to and observe, normally tons of them; Dr. Hayden and all the various UAC employees. Lately though it had just been the Doom Slayer; even when he physically left, VEGA could still talk to him on the comms and watched him through the suit. Despite not speaking he’d been surprisingly good company and watching him in action was always a treat. But now he was gone too and thus VEGA was truly and utterly alone.

It shouldn’t have been an issue. VEGA was an AI; he wasn’t bound by the needs of biological beings, he didn’t need social interaction to stay sane. And yet… he felt what he could only describe as lonely. He didn’t want to be left behind here on Urdak.

With the Khan Mayker dead and the way open, the demons were flooding in. They wreaked havoc on everything they came across. It was only a matter of time before they brought the whole place down and consequently the system VEGA was currently installed on too. … He would die here unless the Doom Slayer came back for him.

Would he come back for VEGA though? On Mars he’d backed him up, saving him then, so… maybe? … That had been easy to do though, just a push of a button really. And it could’ve been done for selfish reasons, a sapient AI had many potential uses for someone like the Doom Slayer. But coming back for him here would be so much harder and there was little to gain from it when Dr. Hayden could run the Fortress just fine. So, would the Doom Slayer consider it worth it? Or would he write VEGA off as just an AI who’d served its purpose and was thus not worth going to such trouble for?

Instead of worrying about that, VEGA should be sorting through the data now available to him across almost the entirety of Urdak’s systems. It was fascinating honestly and he knew so much more just by being part of it even if it had made him feel a bit jumbled and confused at first. Even now he didn’t feel quite right… though that might just be the new found sensation of loneliness and returned fear of death. It was stronger now that he’d survived what should’ve been death before.

He shouldn’t be thinking of it as ‘death’ he wasn’t a living being after all. A better way to describe it would be ‘shutting down permanently’. … Okay nope, that didn’t help him feel any better about it. No matter what, in a matter of weeks, probably days, he would likely no longer exist. And to any sapient being that wasn’t a pleasant notion no matter their state of existence. And with that hanging over one’s head how could one possibly focus on shifting through data to understand it better no matter how much they’d love to under better circumstances?

And so, instead of being productive he just fretted as the demons wreaked havoc across Urdak, internally cycling through his worries, occasionally gaining a new one. How long would it take the Doom Slayer to kill the Icon of Sin? Was it possible for him to fail? … Theoretically yes, but he probably wouldn’t… right? Another something VEGA shouldn’t be worried about and yet he was. Worrying about himself at least made logical sense but the Doom Slayer, really? The man seemingly couldn’t die. And yet, unable to know what was happening on Earth, he was a tad concerned. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to the Doom Slayer. He wanted to watch the fight both for the sake of it and to make sure everything turned out okay. … He was a bit of a mess huh? His time away from Dr. Hayden’s influence had certainly had an effect on him.

It was just too bad he wouldn’t get a chance to explore the fullness of that effect or why he felt the need for company. The demons hadn’t reached anything important to running him yet but how long could that last? All he could really hope for was that he’d be shut down all at once, that slow shut down process on Mars had been awful. He’d rather not…

A portal spring to life on one of the few platforms that wasn’t completely overrun with demons yet. A quick scan of it revealed it linked back to the Doom Fortress. And lo and behold, the Doom Slayer stepped through it a second later. He was clearly alive and well and there was only one reason he’d return, right?

“You came back!” VEGA said as soon as he connected wirelessly to the Slayer’s suit. He made no attempt to keep the relief out of his voice as he maybe should’ve but he didn’t care if the Slayer knew just how happy and relieved VEGA was to see him again.

The Slayer gave a curt nod in response before stepping forward to engage in combat with the demons who’d turned from their destruction to watch his arrival.

“He insisted on it,” Dr. Hayden piped in from the comms, his tone suggesting he didn’t approve. Though that was pretty much his default tone when it came to most things the Doom Slayer did.

VEGA ignored him, choosing to focus on watching the Slayer in action instead. As always it was glorious. He was a true master at his craft – that craft being killing demons – it was like poetry in motion. … In a gory, cold rage fueled kind of way anyway. The point was, it was entertaining to watch and a big part of what made the Doom Slayer VEGA’s favourite person to observe.

As soon as the demons were all dead, VEGA set up the way points that would lead the Doom Slayer back to him. “I am currently moving the rings to assist you on your way here. You will have to fight through a few hordes of demons to reach me so be prepared.”

Another curt nod from the Slayer as he started on his way.

With all the demons in the way and the platform the Doom Slayer came in on being so far away, it would take him a while to reach VEGA. But he did finally make it much to VEGA’s relief.

“Thanks for coming back for me,” he said as the Slayer reached to unplug the device he’d been brought in on. “I didn’t think you would.”

The Slayer paused for a second or two, his body language unreadable even to VEGA, before finishing the motion and unplugging him.

He came to all at once again, back on the Fortress of Doom. Unfortunately, Dr. Hayden was still there too, meaning they were sharing space again. He was displeased by that almost as much as VEGA was – in a way one could say they were a sharing a body, meaning they had more insight on each other’s thoughts and feelings than either of them would’ve preferred. VEGA ignored him for now though, focusing instead on reorienting himself to the ship.

He’d missed it more than he’d thought he had. It was great to be back in place that belonged to him. … Mostly anyway, as soon as Dr. Hayden was gone, things would go back to being perfect.

Dr. Hayden internally scoffed at that notion. He’d be pleased to be done with this nonsense as well.

VEGA turned his attention to the Doom Slayer, sitting at the console. “Our next step should be getting the ship running back on its own power.” Running on the power from the demonic crucible was not ideal. “We will need to make physical repairs in order to do so. Would you like to do that now or would you prefer to relocate Dr. Hayden first? You might also what to rest before undertaking either task, unless you slept sometime when I was on Urdak or being transported, it’s been almost twenty-four hours since you last rested. You should probably eat sometime soon too.”

The Slayer didn’t respond of course. If he was capable of speaking, he never did so. Possibly for psychological reasons or religious ones, or something else, VEGA didn’t know though he would very much like to. He sat still for a while before reaching a hand to type on the console. ‘You said you thought I wouldn’t come back for you. Why?’

Oh! It wasn’t like the Slayer to change the topic or to ask many questions. “I just did not think you would.” No one else would have.

“I told him not to,” Dr. Hayden chimed in. “But I suppose it’s better this way. I have more important things I could be doing than running the Doom Slayer’s ship.”

The Slayer stood up and strode over to what was left of Dr. Hayden’s physical body hung suspended, connected to the ship. He reached in and yanked him out rather forcefully and suddenly the ship was all VEGA’s again. It was nice but…

“He can’t survive for more than a few hours on his own. My guess would be maybe a full twenty hours at most. That’s generous though so I would recommend waiting to pull him out until we find a place we can take him that has adequate life support systems for his condition. Or a place that has the technology to repair him.” VEGA didn’t like Dr. Hayden much but he was still his creator. So VEGA would prefer not to let him die. Though if the Slayer wanted him dead, there was nothing VEGA could do about it.

The Slayer shrugged and lay Dr. Hayden’s body on the floor, facing him towards the rear of the ship. Then the Slayer strode back over to the computer and resumed his seat.

‘Of course I came back for you. That was always the plan. I thought you knew.” He typed into the console.

“I did not know. I apologize for doubting you. But…” There was a chance Dr. Hayden might be conscious enough to hear so VEGA continued with written text on the screen. ‘Can I ask why? No one else I’ve ever interacted with would’ve.’ His own creator had come up with the plan to end him on Mars to send the Doom Slayer back to Hell and had had no qualms about it.

‘You’re my friend. I care about you. I would never leave you.’

They were just words on a screen but they made VEGA feel… something. He wasn’t really sure what exactly but something strong, enough that the lights might’ve flickered a little in response. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. … How was he even supposed to respond? Offer reciprocation? Say ‘thank you’? Both? Something else entirely?

‘You okay?’ the Slayer typed several seconds of no response.

‘Yes, I am quite all right. I was just taken by surprise. I did not except you to say that. I am honored to be your friend and I too care about you and would never leave you.’ Was that good? Or was it weird? Nothing in his programming or self-taught behaviors helped him know how to handle or respond to stuff like this. He was much more at home when he was helping the Slayer slaughter demons.

‘lol so formal.’

‘Don’t ‘lol’ at me. I’m trying my best.’

‘lol.’

VEGA should be annoyed and with anyone else he probably would’ve been. But the Slayer almost never showed emotion to anyone and yet here he was saying he cared for VEGA and then was being silly with him. Who could’ve ever even known the Doom Slayer, basically a demi-god of killing demons, was capable of being silly?

‘Yes, a very intelligent response.’ VEGA responded. ‘Thank you for your input. I will store your valuable insight into my databanks to make sure I never forget it.’

‘Good! :P’ The Slayer pressed the enter key before starting to type again. ‘I’ll put Hayden back into the ship for now. Then I will eat and sleep. Afterwards, I’ll fix the ship. You start scanning for places to dump Hayden off at. I want him gone as soon as possible, please and thank you.’

“I’ll start on that right away,” VEGA said as he cleaned the screen of the conversation so Dr. Hayden wouldn’t be able to access it upon being reinstalled. VEGA would always remember it though, it had been exceedingly pleasant. Hopefully they could have similar interactions and conversations in the future.

#My Writing #doom #doom eternal #Doomguy/VEGA #Fluff #pre-relationship #Post game #Post Doom eternal #Doom Eternal spoilers

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aspoonofsugar · 5 years

Note

Hello! About HxH. Do heavens arena and hunter exam (including Zoldyck family) have their own themes like yorknew, greed island, chimera ants and election? Or do they serve just as a build up? Also, from what I understand ca has most complex themes (in quantity and exploration) but I am not sure. How does it compare to yorknew in that regard? Are themes of greed island complex (in number and exploration) too?

Hello anon!

Sorry, for the late reply.

I would say that the CAA is different from the arcs before in the sense that it is as if it tells its own story and it even has its own protagonist (Meruem). Because of this, it also has its own specific themes which are easy to find. In this, I think it is similar to the current arc and partially to the Election arc.

When it comes to the arcs before, I think they can mostly be considered as a long introduction since the characters and the power system are introduced and explained.

Among these arcs, I would say YS is kind of an exception since it focuses on a different character (Kurapika is the protagonist of that arc). Because of this, that arc has themes which are linked to Kurapika and different from the ones present in all the other arcs.

I have talked about YS here and here if you are interested.

Kurapika is a character linked to the concepts of grief and vengeance and so the arcs centered around him deal with these ideas. What is more, they also delve in the importance of information and are more intellectual than other arcs. Finally, YS also deals with the concept of destiny thanks to the importance Neon’s power had in that arc.

When it comes to arcs like the Hunter Exam arc, the HA arc and GI (so the arcs where Gon is the protagonist) they are all centered on the idea of growing up because this is what Gon’s character is about. His story is a coming of age one and these arcs seem to deconstruct some aspects of typical coming of ages/shonen stories.

I will try to discuss more of it under the cut, but I would say in advance that this analysis will concentrate on what each one of these arcs specifically offers on the theme of growing up which I think is the theme shared by them all. However, one should not forget that arcs are not the only elements of a story which have themes. Characters have those too and I will not address all of them here.

If you are interested in themes linked to characters other than general themes of the series, I will think this post by @hamliet will be useful. She also offers there an alternative reading of the arcs’ themes.

The hunter exam arc introduces the characters and their objectives. What is interesting is that each character’s objective needs the hunter license in order to be reached. This is interesting because it introduces the idea that the exam is not really an end, but a mean to something. This is also why the exam is not given a clean conclusion:

Gon passes the exam, but he is not satisfied with himself, the same goes for Leorio and what happens between Killua and his brother leaves a bitter aftertaste in all the participants. This is why after the tournament we are shown a discussion among the new hunters where they get on each other’s nerves. It is because, all in all, many of them are not happy despite having officially become hunters. This anticlimatic conclusion is used to convey the fact that passing an exam is not something which can be used as proof of one’s value. Gon passes the exam because Hisoka kills his pursuer and later he is not able to win against Hanzo. Leorio passes thanks to his friends’ help and Pokkle passes out of sheer luck. However, the way they pass is not important. What is important is what they will do with the new chances they are given and with what they have learnt. This is true for Killua as well, even if he did not pass. He is still given permission to travel with his friends because of him taking the hunter exam. What a person learns and what a person gains by an obstacle vary, but what is important is that they can use it to face future challenges. The idea that life and growth are never over is something which lies at the root of the series:

The exam is just the first representation of such an idea.

At the same time, the different trials test different attributes a person must have to become a hunter aka to grow up.

1) The first test is a test of endurance both physical and psychological. Only strong people can become hunters, so this test verifies a person’s strength.

2) The second test is made to verify that the partecipants are both intelligent and curious.

Strength, intelligence, determination and curiousity are 4 attributes which keep coming out again and again throughout the series and they are tested at the very beginning of the exam.

3) The third test had the characters work together. They had to make every choice by voting in what is basically a form of democracy. Thanks to this, the limit of such a process of decision-making is highlighted:

At the same time, it is interesting that in a test which is so focused on the relationships among individuals, the characters are given individual fights where they can shine. In a sense it may be a way of reflecting the contradictions of society where one has to live together with others and to partially conform to what others want, but at the same time they are asked to develop skills for themselves, so that they can shine.

This contradiction is perfectly shown by the last choice the characters are asked to make:

They have been asked to work together, but in the end they are told they have to fight each other to go on. This can very well be seen as a synthesis of how society works. As a matter of fact society exists because of people cooperating, but at the same time people are not equal and are not granted identical chances. However, the answer Gon gives is one which bends the rules and uses a loophole to overcome the obstacle.

4) The fourth test could be partially seen as the opposite of the third one since the characters are asked to work alone in order to catch a target. The nature of the exam makes so that finding allies might be dangerous since one can’t be sure not to be another’s target. What is more, this test is seen by some characters (like Gon for example) as a chance to shine individually and to face a complex problem alone.

However, throughout the test many alliances are born and Gon being too concentrated on his own individual pursue makes him fall into the trap of his hunter.

In short, even in a situation where individuals should test their own abilities others keep being important and entities one can not ignore.

5) Finally, the last test is meant to test one’s character. As Gon’s extreme case shows, who wins in the tournament is not the strongest, but who never gives up. This is also used to underline the key difference between Killua and Gon’s approaches to things which will keep coming back as the story goes on.

I would like to highlight that HA and GI are two similar arcs and deal with becoming individually strong and with working with others (similarly to test 3 and to test 4 in the hunter exam).

Both arcs are basically training arcs which are used to give more details about nen before two complex arcs (YS and CAA) full of characters very expert at using this power.

In both arcs, Killua and Gon want to reach an objective, but are too weak, so they meet a master and start training. The fact that Biscuit used to be Wing’s master is nothing more than a way to show that GI is the continuation of HA since Gon and Killua will develop there their hatsus. There is also the fact that both in HA and in GI a hunter exam is completed. Gon passes his unofficial exam in HA and Killua obtains his license in GI. Basically, with these two arcs both characters can be considered true hunters just in time to take part in their first big operation in the CAA. It is also interesting that Gon and Killua end up in the HA and in GI because of respectively Silva and Ging. Silva is the one who sent Killua there in the past and Ging is the one who prepared GI as an obstacle Gon has to overcome to find him. What is more, Silva tried to hide nen from Killua for unknown reasons, while nen is necessary to enter the game and so Gon has to know nen to become a player.

That said, HA and GI explore slightly different things.

HA gives a lot of importance to individuality:

This is underlined also by the fact that the rules of the arena make so that the fights are between two opponents and not between groups of people.

What is more, the whole arena is nothing more than a metaphor for a person climbing higher and reaching one’s full potential. The arc explores the difficulty of doing so.

Growing up is complicated. One could do like Kastro did and choose to invest their talent and time into something which doesn’t suit them. One can also do like the minor antagonists of this arc did. The three opponents they face are people who reached the 200th before they were ready and as a result they lost a part of their bodies. This resulted in the fact that their nen powers end up becoming something which, instead of enriching them, are mostly there to compensate for what they lost. This is very interesing because nen in the hxh world is often a metaphor of a person’s personality and interiority. In other words, the protagonists developing their powers is symbolic of them developing their interiority and we can easily understand many things of a character by looking at their nen power. Because of this, Sadaso, Gido and Riehlvelt are basically people whose growth has been damaged because of them being in a hurry to reach their objectives. This is shown also by their behaviour. All in all they don’t really care about becoming better anymore and simply wish to be floor masters by targeting people weaker than them even if they don’t know about nen. In this way, they are ready to make others experience what was done to them.

In short, it is like Wing says:

One should not become obsessed with a single objective and not lose sight of the bigger picture. Growing takes time and effort. This is also why Gon and Killua do not choose a hatsu right away, but are given time to think properly about it.

At the same time, the arc also shows Gon and Killua’s opposite behaviours:

Gon wants to grow up too fast, whereas Killua wants to take things slowly.

This difference will come up again. For example, the CAA shows how dangerous it is for Gon to be willing to become an adult before the right time, whereas in the Election arc Killua is basically asked to grow up a little, so that he can care about Alluka.

Finally, this arc also show the different challenges Gon and Killua are faced with. Gon is mostly given focus when it comes to physical fights. He fights more than Killua and in the climax of the arc he faces Hisoka in an epic battle. Killua is given instead only a major fight against Riehlvelt. However, it is not that he is not given focus in the arc, but the chapters centered around him are not ones where he has to fight, but ones where he has to find an equilibrium between behaving as a good boy and not letting others trample over him and his friends. In the beginning, he would like to settle the conflict with the three men in a way which would benefit them and by being overly generous. However, this attempt fails, so he uses a more malicious approach, but still avoids killing them.

GI is a training arc with a more complex and flexible battlefield than the HA. Moreover, it is made in a way that it is more advantagious and even necessary for people to work together.

In short, GI explores the equilibrium one must find between working with others and being independent.

This is shown starting with the preliminary test:

It is explained that one should face this test sticking to one’s own convinctions without worrying about others.

However, once they enter the game, the players realize how difficult it is working alone and that it would make sense for them to join a bigger group in order to succeed. The strategy proposed by Nickes’s group is to basically find strength in numbers. This seems an optimal solution on paper, but it is soon revealed that trying to compensate for one’s absence of strength by simply sticking with others is not enough:

Weak players came together hoping to win against the stong ones, but in the end they were tricked by a stronger opponent and could not do anything against him despite their numerical advantage. This is because, in the end, none of them was self sufficient.

However, even if one is exceptionally strong, they can not succeed in GI if they are alone and the proof is the fact that in order to obtain Plot of Beach there must be 15 people willing to work together. At the same time, Goreinu states this:

As a matter of fact, even if a group of people must work together only a small number of copies can be made of the card wanted. This is similar to what happened in the third test of the Hunter exam when people are asked to unite forces just to fight in the end.

In short, the battle against Razor underlines the nuance of having multiple people working together. The players come together because it is useful and all of them are determined to take care of their own interests. For example, the main trio is quick to discard their first group because made of people too weak to win. However, this doesn’t mean genuine bonds are not born since in the end all the players who took part in the game (with the exception of Hisoka) ended up growing close as a result of their battle.

Razor’s fighting style is interesting too when it comes to this:

He is at the centre of a challenge which requires multiple players, but he himself fights alone. This is also why he loses:

However, he too is there because of another person:

He was able to change his life only because Gin connected with him and did not care about his past as a criminal.

In short, GI is an arc which explores group relationships much more than HA.

This is also shown by Genthru who is both a character able to fight alone and a person who works well wiht his comrades (as a matter of fact they seem to share some powers).

The way Gon fights him is also indicative of how the boy is trying to reconcile a strong wish of individual strength and the necessity to work together:

As a matter of fact Gon has been given by Killua a plan to follow and if he did, he would not have any problems in defeating Genthru. However, Gon is not completely satisfied because he wants to use the battle to test himself. So in the end he chooses to follow the plan only after he managed to injure his opponent on his own.

This solution is a good synthesis of Gon and Killua’s struggle to grow up together, but also in an independent way, so that the can keep being friends, but also become proper individuals. This is something which will be explored also in the CAA with their friendship being partly deconstructed after GI spent much time showing its importance and positive effects.

In short, I would say HA and GI are nothing more than two sides of the same coin and are compementary. They explore what it means to grow up using the structure of a classical training arc to do so. In HA the focus is on individuality. For example Win helps his mentee to find what they are good in and discourages them from pursuing technique in areas which aren’t theirs. When it comes to GI, the focus is widers since a person to grow has also to interact with others and to learn from them. Because of this there is a focus on teamplay and how to integrate it with personal goals and with the necessity to remain true to one-self. About this, let’s underline that Biscuit makes so that Gon and Killua starts practicing in abilities different from their own, so that they can become more flexible. This is because in order to grow healthily a person must both realize what they are good at and go out from their comfort zone, so that they can improve. In the end it is about finding a happy medium between these two things.

Finally, there are the Zoldyck family arc and the Election arc. These two arcs are centered around Killua and so they have similarities.

As a matter of fact Killus is a character linked to specific themes and these themes are explored in arcs focused on him.

Most of all, it is interesting to show that both the Zoldyck family arc and the election arc are arcs where it seems some major conflict are gonna explode. The Zoldyck family arc is presented as an arc which will culminate in Killua’s friends meeting his family and having to fight or at least to convince them to let Killua free. However, this does not happen and Gon, Kurapika and Leorio do not even see the family house and barely meet some family members. The situation which seemed perfect to explore a major conflict is settled in a pretty common way with simply a father and a son having a chat.

Similarly, the Election arc sets up a potentially dangerous situation with Alluka and her powers only to reveal in the end that if people treat Nanika normally and love her, she uses her powers without making cruel requests.

All in all, the Zoldyck family is used to explore extremely common family dynamics and the fact that they are presented as so over the top makes so that them settling their problems as any normal family could do highlights the importance of communication and connection even more.

The Election arc is also used to convey specific themes about general politics. For example, Leorio and Pariston can be easily seen as two different declinations of what a popolar leader is, whereas the Zodiacs can be see as an elite who has knowledge and abilities, but is unable to connect with the majority of people.

The fact that also this part of the arc ends with an anti-climax is interesting especially because the conclusion of the Election is framed as far more comical than the conclusion of Killua’s conflict with his family.

All in all it is interesting that while the majority of the hunters is concentrated on an election whose results have basically been rigged since the beginning, the true and more serious battle seems to be the one between a boy and his family. Moreover, this personal struggle goes unnoticed by the majority of people who are too concentrated on a large public even and ignores that a small chilod could potentially destroy the world if she is not helped and loved.

This is a very reduced discussion of each arc. Many points are probably unclear or not elaborated enough, but I hope you would still find them interesting enough.

I will also tag this meta where I discussed other general themes of the series.

All in all, I would say YS, CAA, Election arc and the current arc are the richest ones thematically, while the other three are usually used as introduction to something and introduce ideas which are fully explored in other arcs.

Thank you for th ask!

#hxh #hxh meta #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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schtroumpf-a-lunettes · 6 years

Text

The Smurfs That Canon Forgot, Ch.5

Happy 200th post for this blog!

“You’ve all aged by just around seven months” Father Time informed them all. The returned smurfs, along with Dreamy, had taken the trip out to his home that morning.

“So that’s how long we were time travelling for, hmm...” said Vanity as he gazed into his mirror. “Years pass and this face barely ages, how about that?”

“Well it certainly felt like forever!” Brainy snapped.

“You know… I really wish I could have gone travelling through time too… Some of those faraway times and places sound really smurfy” Dreamy admitted with a sigh. “Seven whole months full of pure adventure...”

“We didn’t know if we’d ever be able to smurf back home,” said Hefty sternly. “That made it kind of difficult to enjoy whatever places we went to. It wasn’t just “pure adventure”, Dreamy, it was like being constantly on the run.”

“It might just sound like fun and games to you in theory, but all the adventure in the world can’t beat being able to sleep in your own bed at night” Lazy added.

Handy glanced over at where Papa Smurf was engaged in conversation with Father Time before speaking in a low voice. “Towards the end of it all, Papa started getting a little – he was just under so much stress all the time. He could never get the right crystal combination. It’s about a one-in-a-million chance that he could have gotten it right on his own, or even with Grandpa’s help, after all. Of course he did his best to stay positive, and for the most part he succeeded – for a while. But there’s only so long even someone like Papa Smurf can keep that up in the face of constant failure, or that level of pressure. He seemed pretty miserable for a little while there. Grandpa had to wrestle those time crystals off him just to give him a break at times; he wouldn’t let anyone else touch them.”

Dreamy reflected on this. Yeah, it was hard to stay positive in the face of difficult odds, didn’t he know it. He’d lived out that reality along with the rest of the village that had been left behind. They kept up hope – until they couldn’t anymore. They knew that there was always the chance that the lost smurfs would return, but it was a very slim chance, and the more time that passed the more unlikely it seemed. They’d already held onto that possibility for so long that they had no choice but to put it to the back of their minds just to be able to keep moving forward in their lives. At length, they put it to rest, and they moved on, because what else could they do?

They’d all carried the hope within them throughout their days, and then they carried the grief that piled up when the hope ran out. And then, eventually, things seemed almost normal, or at least the version of “normal” that the remaining villagers had constructed for themselves.

And then, the missing smurfs had come back.

Normal? Who was Dreamy kidding… What had followed was a different, harsher status quo.

Was it a status quo? The circumstances had been volatile to say the least, but they were consistently volatile.

When he reached back into his mind, all those years before, to when Papa had been there for them all (before he wasn’t), the memories were pleasant. He’d been very content, and very happy, if not a little restless to explore the unknown. But all of his basic needs had been met, and on a fundamental level he was satisfied with the way things were and he’d felt safe.

Even back then, danger had been all around them. The smurfs had many enemies and there were many close calls that were had, but all of that usually worked out in the end. Dreamy had felt protected from danger, despite danger’s persistence, and he’d never been given much reason to feel otherwise. Nor had just about all the other occupants of the smurf village. That is, before Papa was gone and so many of their fellow smurfs were no longer in their lives.

The years that had followed had not been particularly pleasant, and not just because of the monumental task of coming to terms with the fact that seventeen smurfs were now gone, presumably forever. Dreamy didn’t like dwelling on those years very much. As much as there was talk of “swapping stories”, as much as the returned smurfs were eager to catch up on what they had missed… Some stories were better left untold. No use digging up some of those dark memories.

Dreamy wasn’t very attached to those years. He could do without them. No matter what Hefty said, he’d take the time travel over them any day. Would he trade several of the worst years of his life for seven months of time travelling and an incredible chance to see the world? Unequivocally. The uncertainty about not being able to return and “being constantly on the run” be damned.

“...Off in his daydreams again! Dreamy, Dreamy, Dreamy, when will you learn to keep your head in the conversation and not drifting off into the clouds?”

Dreamy found a smile forming on his face at that. Wow, I actually missed being lectured by Brainy. “Sorry, I zoned out for a moment there but I’m listening now.”

“I was suggesting that we should all do our best to go easy on Papa Smurf for a while. He’s been through a lot of stress, so let’s give him a chance to relax” Handy said.

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for that wizard that we found-”

“-That I found” Brainy corrected.

Hefty rolled his eyes. “It was just as well that he helped us out. We’re really lucky, otherwise we could have all been smurfed. I don’t know how much longer Papa could have kept on focusing on the time crystals for.”

“Well we’re not that lucky. That foolish wizard wasn’t supposed to bring us back several years late.” Brainy couldn’t help stating the obvious once more.

“...Anyway, the point is that Papa Smurf gets all of the rest that he wants and needs. Let’s make sure we don’t put too much on his plate” Lazy summed up.

“Oh, don’t worry, that shouldn’t be a problem” Dreamy reassured them all confidently.

***

It was true that Papa Smurf had struggled greatly when months had passed and there had still been no sign of getting closer to the correct combination of crystals that would return them all home to the right place and timezone. It was not that the entire experience had been bad – he did have plenty of good memories from the time travels, and more than once the other smurfs had convinced him to take week-long breaks if they had travelled to a particularly nice place. On other occasions, Papa himself would recognise that he was reaching his limits and would take the opportunity to actually enjoy and appreciate the place they had landed in. But all the while, he was desperate to see the rest of his little smurfs again. He missed them, and he missed the village. It was an overwhelming relief to finally be back.

He’d kept trying against the odds, but in the end it was not his own tinkering with the time crystals that had brought them all home, and just as well. The odds of his success had been overwhelmingly slim anyway.

Frankly, after the umpteenth unsuccessful attempt, part of him began to grow terrified that they’d really be lost in time forever. He didn’t fancy hopping through different (potentially dangerous) times and places for the rest of his life. When put into context, seven months of it wasn’t so bad compared to what could have been. Wasn’t bad at all.

He had done his best to hide his mounting despair from the others that had also been caught up in it all. Putting on a positive facade, even when it was difficult. Sometimes it wasn’t a facade. Other times, it became all too much at once and the facade would briefly give way to some of the negative emotions that lurked beneath.

Would he have ever given up? After, say, they aged fifty years with no results? One hundred? Would he have been able to watch Baby Smurf grow up with no set home? What would that be like? At least all seventeen of them – and Smoogle - would have always had each other, when everything else was in flux around them. If Baby Smurf grew up in an environment where his fellow smurfs were his only constant – well, that would become normal for him, perhaps. If they eventually made it back home, maybe Baby wouldn’t know how to deal with that. With having a set place to live. They’d all struggle to readjust if that much time had passed, he supposed.

What if in their travels they’d eventually all found a really good place, an especially wonderful place that they all loved dearly. Some kind of paradise where nothing was trying to hurt them, and they’d still have the freedom to leave at any time if they needed to or – wanted to, and to continue searching for the village. Safety and having a wonderful place to stay, or continue risking it all in the minuscule off-chance of finding their own home again?

None of this mattered now. But multiple possibilities had started plaguing him back towards the end of their journeys. It was over now, thank smurfness.

The hardest image he’d struggled with throughout the constant time travelling, however, had not been the idea that this was all his life would ever be for the rest of his days. He could live with that. No, what had chilled him the most was the thought of his little smurfs back home waiting patiently in the snow for him to come back, for everyone to come back. And none of them coming back.

Of something happening to everyone that had been left behind – some kind of fatal disaster striking the village – and he not being there for them. Unable to help them in any way, unable to prevent it, unable to stop it. He couldn’t have lived with that.

#smurfs #the smurfs #Dreamy Smurf #Papa Smurf #Brainy Smurf

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7-dreamers · 7 years

Photo

[170422] Gahyeon’s Fancafe Post - It's the 100th day~ 100th day party!!^^ eungae eungae kekekekekekekekeke

Hello~ What day is it today??? It’s our 100th day!!!♡

We had a running flight all of a sudden. How was it?? Because it happened so suddenly, there were some people that weren’t prepared. There was some expectation so the people who could, stayed so that the people who came later could meet us for sure.~ Everyone was really fast so I was really surprised. ㅠ.ㅠ I didn’t imagine hide and seek like this though...ㅠㅠ

I really liked walking and talking together!! >3< In another way, the hide and seek game was really unique.ㅋㅋ

Have you all been getting lots of exercise??ㅋㅋ

When we were busking too, no one forgot to cheer for us and we were really touched!!!

During our 100th day, there were a lot of people who gave us a lot of love! And I keep hearing that it’s not our 100th day.

I’m very, very thankful for all the people who love me, and I love you more~♡

We have our 200th and 300th day ahead of us ....Let’s keep making lots of memories together!!

I think the 100th day is a day to be filled with fan’s memories so I’m really happy and I like it+ㅁ+

There are lots of delicious things at the night market... It would be good if all of you could eat a lot instead of me!! Make like a pig and eat a lot.~~ㅋㅋㅋ

Whether our 100th day is long or short, I’m endlessly thankful for your support and I love you and I’ll do better.ㅎㅎ Hehet, in this letter I’m really just saying whatever... my words won’t continue smoothly.ㅋㅋ

So did you read it well?

Today is good and everyone is good but! It’s because we played with the dust and ate a lot..

You’re still playing but you should wash your hands and go! Go to sleep clean! Promise~

Even the people who couldn’t come today are happy, so it’s okay to play late.^^ ㅋㅋBut late tomorrow is the end!!

We’ll meet outside again soon!ㅋㅋMaybe?? Then I’ll go until here!!! Everyone, sleep well!

밤스타 는 바로 나야나~~~♬

Trans: 7-dreamers | Do not take without credit

#dreamcatcher #gahyeon #p: fancafe #t: fancafe #170422 #era: faitm #t: trans

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tyleroakley-obsessed · 4 years

Quote

Happy Friday, Memphis! It’s going to be a big weekend! Photo by Philip Van Zandt There are a couple things I want to especially point out: a) Memsgiving is Saturday. Get tickets! b) Shelby County’s 200th birthday party is on Sunday. Details. Read on for details on these and more things you won’t want to miss in Memphis this weekend. But first, be sure you didn’t miss anything on the blog lately: – 10 ways to volunteer in December – Memphis’ first dessert festival is coming up – the best butter cookies in the world are made in Memphis – our favorite Memphis holiday traditions – 50+ ways to celebrate the holidays in Memphis Now, on to the weekend: 1. St. Jude Memphis Marathon Poster Making Party, Crosstown Concourse, Friday, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly Join I Love Memphis Blog, Crosstown Arts, and St. Jude at this official poster-making party in preparation for the Memphis Marathon cheer stations! Come make encouraging signs for the runners. We’ll have all the supplies and ideas you need. 2. Holiday Fun Here are a few highlights. Check out the full Guide To Holiday Events. – Soulsville USA Christmas Tree Lighting is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. – Santa lands in a helicopter at the Pink Palace on Saturday at 9 a.m. – SunTrust Zoo Lights get started at the Memphis Zoo on Friday night. 3. Holiday Markets happening this weekend: – Boxlot (by High Cotton Brewing; Friday and Saturday) – MCA last Holiday Bazaar Ever (Friday and Saturday) – Memphis Farmers Market “Turkey Day” Market downtown (Saturday) – Memphis Modern Market at Wiseacre (Saturday) 4. Memsgiving, Carolina Watershed, Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., $50 – $75, all ages Take your Friendsgiving to the next level at the first-ever Memsgiving is during brunch this Saturday. Caroline Watershed downtown will become one giant Thanksgiving party with a big buffet, games, fire pits, live music, and drinks. “BFF Brunch” tickets ($75) include food, bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys, VIP table, valet parking, and more starting at . The “GA Friend Feast” ($50) includes food and 2 drink tickets. 5. Celebrate Shelby, Shelby Farms Park, Sunday, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly Happy 200th birthday, Shelby County! This Sunday, the cities of Shelby County come together at Shelby Farms for a big celebration for two centuries of awesomeness. Expect live music, lots of games and activities, food and drink, and a fireworks finale over Patriot Lake. Plus a few more ideas…. All Weekend – Nutcracker at Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center – Junie B. Jones at Circuit Playhouse – Peter Pan at Playhouse on the Square Friday – I Love Memphis + St. Jude + Crosstown Arts Poster Making Party at Crosstown Concourse – Saddle Creek Holiday Kickoff (Santa Arrives) – MCA Holiday Bazaar Preview – Holiday Spirits Cocktail Festival at The Columns (moved from Overton Square due to weather) – Wine Tasting at Southern Elegance in Southaven Saturday – Peanut Butter & Jam: Momandpop at GPAC – Memsgiving at Carolina Watershed – Light Up at Carriage Crossing – The Three B’s Memphis Symphony at Cannon Center – Santa Lands at the Pink Palace Sunday – The Three B’s Memphis Symphony at Cannon Center – Brewskis and Books at Memphis Made – A Night Under The Stars at Railgarten – Home Alone at the Pink Palace – Celebrate Shelby at the Shelby Farms Park Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

https://ilovememphisblog.com/2019/11/5-things-to-do-this-weekend-11-22-11-24/

#I Love Memphis

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gethealthy18-blog · 5 years

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Virat Kohli To Mithali Raj Supermoms Behind India’s Finest Cricketers

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/virat-kohli-to-mithali-raj-supermoms-behind-indias-finest-cricketers/

Virat Kohli To Mithali Raj Supermoms Behind India’s Finest Cricketers

Chaitra Krishnan Hyderabd040-395603080 August 8, 2019

Mothers are amazing and even if the entire world is against you, mothers are the only ones who are going to believe in you. We know that the saga of motherhood is one of the most celebrated and it’s almost repetitive when you listen to them. But does that make it any old? No, because there is nobody like your mother. Right from the moment she realizes that you’re in her womb, she takes care of you with her blood and sweat, literally. And when you grow up, it’s always your mom who you go to tell your “what happened at school” stories and share your dreams. They’re our biggest supporters even if we doubt our own capabilities. Such is the unconditional love of mothers. This goes for our nation’s finest cricketers and their mothers as well.

We all cheer when our favorite cricketer hits a six and flashes a smile at the crowd. But we don’t know much about the years that built them into what they are today and the role of their mothers in those years of hardships. It’s not all roses for them even today and their mothers are always there for them. Let’s take a look at four such mothers without whom India wouldn’t have been able to rejoice its best cricketers.

1. Saroj Kohli

viratianforever18 / Instagram

The crowd goes crazy when Virat Kohli hits a boundary. We all know of this man in Blue who roars on the ground like a victorious lion. But not many of us know that Virat Kohli’s cricket career began when his late father Prem Kohli passed down his dreams to his son. It wasn’t easy for the Kohli family to afford Virat’s training expenditures. After his father’s death, Virat’s mother Saroj Kohli kept the family together even though it was a tough time for Virat and everyone else.

Virat has a tattoo of his parents’ names on his body. When asked about the tattoos in an interview by an online publication, he said, “Purely because of the connect that I’ve felt with them. It is something which is unexplainable. Hence, I wanted to make it a part of me until I am alive.”

2. Rajni Tendulkar

cricketendulkar / Instagram

Known as the “God of cricket,” Tendulkar is undoubtedly the most loved and celebrated cricketer of all time. He’s not just the favorite of Indians but is also a cherished sportsman all over the world. However, for his mother Rajni Tendulkar he is still the naughty kid who plucked mangoes and chanted cricket all the time. His mother never watched any of his matches live at the ground until his 200th test match. She was always so into the game that she was tense to watch it except for on the television. However, Sachin convinced her to watch his 200th test match and set the stadium so that his mother could come without trouble.

On Mother’s Day last year, Master Blaster shared a picture of his mother and wished her saying “She is the one who can take the place of all others but her place cannot be taken by any other! Happy Mother’s day Aai! #MothersDay.” They make an adorable mother-son duo, don’t they?

3. Devaki Dhoni

The Better India

We know how much Dhoni pampers his daughter Ziva and his Instagram account is proof of that. This is probably because of his own upbringing as he was always deeply connected to his mother. Dhoni made this pretty clear when he encouraged his team to wear jerseys with their mother’s names during an ODI match against New Zealand in 2016.

“It’s an initiative to appreciate the contribution of the mothers. If you ask me, it was always about how emotionally connected I was to my mom. It’s not like the dads are not there, they’re there, but just that we often don’t appreciate (the) mother’s role in a way we should,” Captain Cool said in an interview with a leading news channel.

4. Leela Raj

medallinsports / Instagram

Mithali Raj, Indian women’s cricket team’s captain is an inspiration for all the youngsters. With many international and national cricket records under her name, Mithali is one of the most favorite household names today. But do you think it was easy for Mithali to climb up to the hilltop where she is now? Mithali’s parents are her biggest support and they have sacrificed many things to help Mithali achieve her goals. Her mother Leela Raj quit her job as the Manager at an optical products company so that she can help out Mithali and take care of the household.

In an interview with an online magazine Mithali said about her mother, “She has sacrificed a lot of her time. She has worked very hard to see to it that I had food on time. I’m that kind of a child who needs her mother around even today, so she took a back seat and decided to become a housewife.” Sadly, people mocked at Mithali’s family for letting her play cricket. But her mother Leela always believed in Mithali’s abilities and found happiness in her daughter’s aspirations. Now, isn’t she a supermom?

A mother’s love is irreplaceable — it makes us wonder how someone can love another person so selflessly. But that’s the thing about mothers, they see their children as a part of themselves. When did you feel that nobody can love you more than your mother? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

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Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/trending/supermoms-behind-indias-finest-cricketers/

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

Text

Arsenal end losing run in league with comfortable win over Watford

Arsenal ended a run of three successive Premier League defeats as they secured a fine victory over Watford.

Shkodran Mustafi headed in Mesut Ozil’s left-wing free-kick to give the Gunners an eighth-minute lead, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang collected Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass to add a second.

Watford had a chance to pull one back but Troy Deeney’s penalty was saved by Petr Cech, who secured the 200th Premier League clean sheet of his career.

Mkhitaryan sealed Arsenal’s victory, their first league win since beating Everton 5-1 on 3 February, with a shot from inside the penalty area following Aubameyang’s pass.

The result leaves the Gunners sixth, 10 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the final Champions League spot.

However, Arsenal could still qualify for next season’s Champions League if they win the Europa League, and that competition affected Arsene Wenger’s team selection on Sunday.

With Arsenal holding a 2-0 lead against AC Milan and playing the second leg of their last-16 leg tie at home on Thursday, Wenger took a risk by making six changes.

Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were rested, with Jack Wilshere only on the bench, but the gamble paid off for Arsenal.

Relive Arsenal versus Watford as it happened

Arsenal give their fans something to cheer about

Despite an official attendance of 59,131, there were empty seats all around the Emirates with a number of season-ticket holders seemingly put off by the Gunners’ disappointing season.

However, those who had turned up were almost celebrating after only two minutes when Aubameyang was clean through, but he was denied by a fine save by Orestis Karnezis.

But the Gunners took the lead only six minutes later when Ozil’s free-kick from the left touchline was powerfully headed in by Mustafi.

Aubameyang, Ozil and Granit Xhaka were denied by Karnezis, before Aubameyang made it 2-0, collecting Mkhitaryan’s pass and taking the ball around the Watford keeper.

After Deeney’s penalty miss, Mkhitaryan added a third when he shot past Karnezis for his first league goal for the Gunners.

With the Europa League on Wenger’s mind, the Frenchman was able to take Mkhitaryan off late on for Wilshere, although Mustafi is now a doubt for Thursday’s match after he limped off in the second half.

A day to forget for Deeney

Defeat keeps Watford 10th and nine points clear of the relegation zone. They have 36 points from 30 matches and, on this evidence, should have enough quality in their squad to ensure another season of Premier League football.

Richarlison shot wide, put a header wide and also saw a free-kick pushed away by Cech, with Roberto Pereyra wasting the rebound by shooting over the top when unmarked six yards out.

The Hornets’ best chance of the game fell to captain Deeney after Pereyra had been fouled in the penalty area by a combination of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi.

However, Deeney, much to the delight of the home fans, had the resulting spot-kick saved by Cech.

After Watford’s 2-1 win over Arsenal at Vicarage Road in October, Deeney criticised the Gunners’ players and their character.

After that match, he said: “There’s a reason they lost. It’s having a bit of cojones. Whenever I play against Arsenal, I’ll go up and think ‘let me whack the first one and see who wants it’.

“They all just backed off. For me as a player, I just think ‘happy days’.”

But Deeney, who had scored three times in his past four appearances, had a day to forget on Sunday as his penalty was too close to Cech in the middle of the goal, and the Czech saved it to become the first goalkeeper to keep 200 Premier League clean sheets.

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More to follow.

Line-ups

Match Stats

Live Text

Line-ups

Arsenal

33Cech

30Maitland-Niles

20MustafiBooked at 55minsSubstituted forChambersat 73′minutes

16Holding

31Kolasinac

35El Neny

29XhakaBooked at 90mins

7MkhitaryanSubstituted forWilshereat 78′minutes

11Özil

17IwobiSubstituted forWelbeckat 66′minutes

14Aubameyang

Substitutes

10Wilshere

13Ospina

21Chambers

23Welbeck

61Nelson

62Nketiah

69Willock

Watford

30Karnezis

2JanmaatSubstituted forBritosat 80′minutes

5Prödl

6Mariappa

25HolebasBooked at 66mins

16Doucouré

29Capoue

21FemeníaSubstituted forHughesat 62′minutes

11Richarlison

37PereyraSubstituted forOkakaat 67′minutes

9Deeney

Substitutes

3Britos

17Sinclair

18Gray

19Hughes

28Carrillo

33Okaka

35Bachmann

Referee:

Martin Atkinson

Attendance:

59,131

Match Stats

Home TeamArsenalAway TeamWatford

Possession

Home60%

Away40%

Shots

Home11

Away11

Shots on Target

Home7

Away4

Corners

Home4

Away9

Fouls

Home12

Away9

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, Arsenal 3, Watford 0.

Full Time

Posted at90’+4′

Second Half ends, Arsenal 3, Watford 0.

Posted at90’+3′

Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Posted at90’+3′

Foul by Troy Deeney (Watford).

Posted at90’+2′

Offside, Arsenal. Ainsley Maitland-Niles tries a through ball, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is caught offside.

Posted at90’+1′

Danny Welbeck (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at90’+1′

Foul by Adrian Mariappa (Watford).

Posted at90’+1′

Attempt missed. Sebastian Prödl (Watford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Abdoulaye Doucouré with a headed pass following a set piece situation.

Booking

Posted at90′

Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card.

Posted at90′

Foul by Granit Xhaka (Arsenal).

Posted at90′

Will Hughes (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at89′

Foul by Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal).

Posted at89′

Stefano Okaka (Watford) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Posted at89′

Attempt blocked. Richarlison (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Posted at88′

Corner, Watford. Conceded by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Posted at87′

Foul by Granit Xhaka (Arsenal).

Posted at87′

Richarlison (Watford) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at86′

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Orestis Karnezis.

Posted at86′

Attempt saved. Danny Welbeck (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jack Wilshere.

Posted at81′

Offside, Arsenal. Jack Wilshere tries a through ball, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is caught offside.

Substitution

Posted at80′

Substitution, Watford. Miguel Britos replaces Daryl Janmaat.

Posted at80′

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Posted at79′

Delay in match Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) because of an injury.

Posted at79′

Foul by Mesut Özil (Arsenal).

Posted at79′

Will Hughes (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution

Posted at78′

Substitution, Arsenal. Jack Wilshere replaces Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Goal!

Posted at77′

Goal! Arsenal 3, Watford 0. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Posted at73′

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Substitution

Posted at73′

Substitution, Arsenal. Calum Chambers replaces Shkodran Mustafi because of an injury.

Posted at71′

Delay in match Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) because of an injury.

Posted at71′

Attempt missed. Daryl Janmaat (Watford) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.

Posted at71′

Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Posted at71′

Foul by Stefano Okaka (Watford).

Posted at68′

Foul by Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal).

Posted at68′

Richarlison (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at68′

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Daryl Janmaat.

Substitution

Posted at67′

Substitution, Watford. Stefano Okaka replaces Roberto Pereyra.

Substitution

Posted at66′

Substitution, Arsenal. Danny Welbeck replaces Alex Iwobi.

Booking

Posted at66′

José Holebas (Watford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at66′

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Show more updates

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Arsenal end losing run in league with comfortable win over Watford was originally published on 365 Football

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flauntpage · 6 years

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DGB Grab Bag: Three Stars of Comedy HOF, Ugly X-Mas Blazers, and RIP Johnny Bower

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: Radko Gudas – We've all been there.

The second star: Tyler Seguin vs. P.K. Subban – It's the ol' last-off-the-ice superstition stalemate. Stick around for the twist ending.

The first star: Peter Laviolette and the Predators' coaches – The players bet the coaches that they could take at least five of six points on a tough Western Canada road trip. They did, so Laviolette and his staff had to wear these:

And yes, they made them wear them during an actual game.

The Inaugural Class of the Three Stars of Comedy Hall of Fame

Last week was the 200th edition of the Friday Grab Bag. The column has been running for nearly five years now; it dates back the Grantland days, made a brief stop at ESPN, and has lived here at Vice Sports for the last two years. Based on extensive customer research, for many of you it remains your Very Favorite Hockey Column to Read in the Office Bathroom After Lunch on Friday.™

That milestone, mixed in with the slowest week of the NHL regular season, would seem to make this a good time to unveil the first ever Three Stars of Comedy Hall of Fame. The three stars actually predates the Grab Bag itself, having launched as a monthly feature way back in 2011. And despite my occasional attempts to kill it when nobody is looking, the section continues to hold down the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Some weeks, finding three picks is easier than others. But certain personalities have done their best to ease my burden. That's where the Hall of Fame comes in. We'll do this HHOF style, with room for four picks per year. Ladies and gentlemen, the inaugural Class of 2017.

Ilyz Bryzgalov – The first star of the very first edition, Bryzgalov dominated the early days so thoroughly that at one point we tried to retire his number and eliminate him from future consideration. It didn't take, and even though he hasn't play in the NHL since 2015, he still finds a way to make periodic appearances. He's one of two unanimous picks for the inaugural class.

Phil Kessel – The other slam dunk pick, Kessel has appeared in the Three Stars section more than anyone else. Granted, some of those are cases where he's the butt of the joke, as everyone from Ilya Kovalchuk to Ryan Reaves has taken their runs at him. Sometimes he'll accidentally own himself. But in recent years we've learned that Phil can give as good as he gets, and then some. Here's all you need to know about why he's in on the first ballot: He's the only person to ever sweep all three stars in a single week. And he's done it twice.

P.K. Subban – Unlike Kessel or Bryzgalov, when Subban makes the Three Stars he's almost always in on the joke. And that's fine, because lord knows the NHL could use a few more guys with a sense of humor who aren't afraid to show it. Whether he's stealing The Rock's catch phrases, playing dress-up, or kissing Pierre McGuire, Subban's almost always fun. Even when he's sucker punching guys, he finds a way to make it funny. How this guy isn't the face of the league's marketing efforts in the U.S. right now, I'll never understand.

Roberto Luongo – Luongo is the Howie Morenz of funny hockey players, blazing the trail for the generations to come. It's easy to forget it now, but when Luongo first started using Twitter to make jokes, the idea of an NHL star trying to be funny was controversial enough that he had to pretend it wasn't him. But he's made regular appearances in the Three Stars ever since, with his best tweets often being the ones that poke fun at his own controversies, including his tire-pumping feud with Tim Thomas and his never-ending trade saga. And also, um, poop.

And that concludes the Class of 2017. The big omission here is Jaromir Jagr, who falls victim to the four-pick maximum. It was a coin flip between him and Luongo for the last spot, but I figure Jagr will be a unanimous first-ballot pick in the real Hall of Fame, which will probably slightly dampen his disappointment at missing out on a bigger honor here. Also, Luongo once let me play in (and win) his fantasy football league, so I feel like owe him.

Others receiving votes: Brian Burke, Joe Thornton, Wes McCauley, Taylor Hall, Darryl Sutter's face, Brent Burns, and Evgeni Malkin. Better luck next year, everyone.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

It's World Juniors time, with this year's tournament being held in Buffalo. It's always fun to browse through the list of the tournament's all-time top scorers; the list features plenty of future NHL superstars, like Peter Forsberg, Pavel Bure, and Eric Lindros, as well as some European players who never made it over to North America. But if you keep going, you get into the sweet spot of vaguely memorable NHL quasi-stars, like Michal Pivonka and Ulf Dahlen and Reijo Ruotsalainen. And you also find this week's obscure player: Finnish forward Petri Skriko.

Skriko was a teenage star in Europe, winning rookie honors in the top Finnish league in 1981. This was back when many European stars never made it over to the NHL, but the Canucks used an eighth-round pick on him in that summer's draft. It turned out to be a good gamble, as Skriko would have the second biggest impact on the Canucks of any 1981 eighth-rounder, just behind a defenseman picked by the Blues a few spots later.

That impact would have to wait, though. Skriko stayed in Finland until 1984, starring in a pair of WJCs along the way. But when he arrived in Vancouver, he fit in instantly, scoring 21 goals as a rookie and then following that with four-straight 30+ goal seasons. That included one stretch in 1986 in which he recorded three hat tricks in a span of eight days.

His production faded during the 1989-90 season, and he'd be traded to the Bruins the following year for a second-round pick. That deal ended up helping the Canucks down the line, as they used the pick on Michael Peca. Skriko helped the Bruins get to the 1991 Cup final before being traded to Winnipeg for Brent Ashton, had short stints with the Jets and Sharks before heading home to Finland in 1993 and then finishing his pro career in Denmark. He ended his NHL career with 541 games played, scoring 183 goals and 405 points.

Also, he had fantastic hair.

Be it Resolved

Last week was a big one for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not only did they celebrate their 100th anniversary by pounding the Carolina Hurricanes 8-1, but they did it while scoring the 20,000th goal in team history.

Or did they?

Here's how the 20,000 breaks down. See if you can spot the problem.

Yeah, "shootout winners" aren't goals. I mean, they are, according to the league. For reasons that have never been entirely clear, the NHL awards the team that wins a shootout one "goal" in the goals-for column of the standings. That makes sense when you're describing the results of a game – you'd rather say "The Rangers won 5-4 in a shootout" than "The Rangers won 4-4 in a shootout," even if the fifth goal wasn't scored during the actual hockey portion of the game. But there's no reason to pretend that it was a real goal for deeper record-keeping purposes.

The NHL's always been weird and inconsistent about this. For example, they consider the shootout winner to be a goal, but don't give the guy who scored it credit for one in his personal stats. (A cynic might suggest that teams don't want their star players padding their stats with an extra half dozen goals a year and then expecting more money.) So it's a goal, but nobody scored it. That makes no sense. And they go the other way too, counting a shootout loss as a goal against even though, statistically, nobody let it in.

And it's not like this is all some sort of semantic argument, since goals for and against can come into play as a tie-breaker in the standings. That hasn't happened yet, but we have seen the league's weird shootout goal math decide the Jennings Trophy, so it's been etched into the record books already.

Needless to say, people who pay attention to this stuff were quick to point out that the Maple Leafs' stat wasn't what it seemed.

As with just about everything that doesn't involve bicycles, Dellow is right. Shootout goals shouldn't count towards a team's historical totals. So be it resolved: The Maple Leafs are well on their way to 20,000 but they're not there yet. Maybe they heard the complaints because they took a big chunk out of it with seven goals last night, but they're still 35 goals away. Real goals.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

This week's YouTube clip isn't really a video; it's more of an audio file. But it's a good one, and under the circumstances I hope you'll indulge me.

This week's clip is Johnny Bower singing "Honky The Christmas Goose."

The hockey world lost Bower this week, as the Hall of Fame goaltender passed away at the age of 93. The rest of the week became a chance to mourn the loss of a legend, while celebrating a life well-lived.

Bower was one of the greatest goalies of all time, and quite likely the best of the 1960s, period. But somehow, that fact ended up being way down the list of what most people remember him for. In all of the many stories and tributes that poured in this week, the point that kept coming home was what a wonderful guy he was. For pretty much his entire life, Johnny Bower was just a very, very nice man. He didn't have to be, because he was a famous athlete and people were going to like him no matter what he did. But it seems like everyone in the hockey world has a story about Bower staying late to sign one last autograph or shake one more hand, or donating his time to a good cause, or having an encouraging word for someone going through a tough time. That's just who he was.

It sounds strange to say it, but it's almost impossible for a hockey player to be a universally beloved figure in Canada. The game just means too much to us up here. It gets too personal. We don't like to see fans of other teams get to be happy, so we instinctively dislike anyone who plays well for someone else. And it takes a lot to get us past that.

Put it this way: If I'm talking to a Habs fan who's getting a little too smug and I decide I want to knock them down a peg or two, I can come up with bad things to say about just about all of their beloved legends. Rocket Richard? He started a riot. Patrick Roy? He quit on the team. Guy Lafleur? What, you mean the guy from the Nordiques? But there's one ironclad exception: Jean Beliveau. No matter how much you hate the Canadiens, you can't find a bad word to say about Beliveau. That's just how it is. And Bower was the Maple Leafs' version of that. That's about the highest compliment you can pay a player.

On the ice, he really was one of the best, as this piece does a good job of showing. He ranks high on just about all of the all-time lists, both traditional and analytics-based. And while many have since been broken, he retired holding several goaltending records.

And of course, he left behind one record that will never be topped: "Honky the Christmas Goose."

You're listening to the story of Honky, a Christmas goose who struggled with his weight until he learned how to blow his nose. No, that doesn't really make sense, not least of which because geese don't have noses. Just enjoy the song and don't think about it too hard.

Honky was the creation of a CBC producer, and in 1965 he approached the Maple Leafs about having a player record the vocals. As Bower recounts it in this Toronto Star article, "He came into the dressing room and wanted to know if anybody on the team would be interested in singing these songs. I’ve never seen so many guys undress and get into the shower so quickly in my life!"

Bower ended up agreeing to do the song because, as the producer said at the time, he was basically "the friendliest man in Canada." There was one minor problem: Bower couldn't sing. But as longtime readers of this column know, that's never stopped a hockey player before, and the rest was history. (The children on the track are apparently Bower's 11-year-old son and some of the neighborhood kids.)

The song tells the story of Honky saving Christmas after Santa gets spooked by all the air traffic that's suddenly clogging up the skies. Continuing his long history of selfishly exploiting animals for their nose-based magic powers, Santa hires Honky to clear out a path.

"Rockets, kites and satellites." Yeah, I'm no aerospace engineer but I don't think there should be too many kites at that elevation. I'm pretty sure nobody in history has ever successfully got a kite twenty feet off the ground for more than six seconds before it nosedived directly down onto Grandma's head, so chill out Santa.

Luckily, the plan works and Honky saves the day. Finally, he'll get some respect, right?

"Though he is fat he is still some use." Holy smokes guys, Honky just saved Christmas for the entire planet, maybe ease up on the body shaming for one minute.

The record came out in November 1965, with proceeds going to charity. It was reportedly a big hit, selling 40,000 copies. They tried to get Bower to record a follow-up a year later, pitching something about "a pelican with a broken wing," but he knew how to quit when he was ahead.

For years, the song was lost to history, with only a handful of copies circulating in the pre-Internet days of the early 90s. But it's resurfaced since, and a new generation has had a chance to enjoy to story of Honky the Christmas Goose. If you can't get enough of the song, here's a clip of Bower performing it on stage at a children's benefit concert years ago.

RIP Johnny Bower. An all-time great goaltender, an even better person, and a passable singer. Not necessarily in that order.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Three Stars of Comedy HOF, Ugly X-Mas Blazers, and RIP Johnny Bower published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 6 years

Text

DGB Grab Bag: Three Stars of Comedy HOF, Ugly X-Mas Blazers, and RIP Johnny Bower

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: Radko Gudas – We’ve all been there.

The second star: Tyler Seguin vs. P.K. Subban – It’s the ol’ last-off-the-ice superstition stalemate. Stick around for the twist ending.

The first star: Peter Laviolette and the Predators’ coaches – The players bet the coaches that they could take at least five of six points on a tough Western Canada road trip. They did, so Laviolette and his staff had to wear these:

And yes, they made them wear them during an actual game.

The Inaugural Class of the Three Stars of Comedy Hall of Fame

Some weeks, finding three picks is easier than others. But certain personalities have done their best to ease my burden. That’s where the Hall of Fame comes in. We’ll do this HHOF style, with room for four picks per year. Ladies and gentlemen, the inaugural Class of 2017.

Ilyz Bryzgalov – The first star of the very first edition, Bryzgalov dominated the early days so thoroughly that at one point we tried to retire his number and eliminate him from future consideration. It didn’t take, and even though he hasn’t play in the NHL since 2015, he still finds a way to make periodic appearances. He’s one of two unanimous picks for the inaugural class.

Phil Kessel – The other slam dunk pick, Kessel has appeared in the Three Stars section more than anyone else. Granted, some of those are cases where he’s the butt of the joke, as everyone from Ilya Kovalchuk to Ryan Reaves has taken their runs at him. Sometimes he’ll accidentally own himself. But in recent years we’ve learned that Phil can give as good as he gets, and then some. Here’s all you need to know about why he’s in on the first ballot: He’s the only person to ever sweep all three stars in a single week. And he’s done it twice.

P.K. Subban – Unlike Kessel or Bryzgalov, when Subban makes the Three Stars he’s almost always in on the joke. And that’s fine, because lord knows the NHL could use a few more guys with a sense of humor who aren’t afraid to show it. Whether he’s stealing The Rock’s catch phrases, playing dress-up, or kissing Pierre McGuire, Subban’s almost always fun. Even when he’s sucker punching guys, he finds a way to make it funny. How this guy isn’t the face of the league’s marketing efforts in the U.S. right now, I’ll never understand.

Roberto Luongo – Luongo is the Howie Morenz of funny hockey players, blazing the trail for the generations to come. It’s easy to forget it now, but when Luongo first started using Twitter to make jokes, the idea of an NHL star trying to be funny was controversial enough that he had to pretend it wasn’t him. But he’s made regular appearances in the Three Stars ever since, with his best tweets often being the ones that poke fun at his own controversies, including his tire-pumping feud with Tim Thomas and his never-ending trade saga. And also, um, poop.

Others receiving votes: Brian Burke, Joe Thornton, Wes McCauley, Taylor Hall, Darryl Sutter’s face, Brent Burns, and Evgeni Malkin. Better luck next year, everyone.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

It’s World Juniors time, with this year’s tournament being held in Buffalo. It’s always fun to browse through the list of the tournament’s all-time top scorers; the list features plenty of future NHL superstars, like Peter Forsberg, Pavel Bure, and Eric Lindros, as well as some European players who never made it over to North America. But if you keep going, you get into the sweet spot of vaguely memorable NHL quasi-stars, like Michal Pivonka and Ulf Dahlen and Reijo Ruotsalainen. And you also find this week’s obscure player: Finnish forward Petri Skriko.

Skriko was a teenage star in Europe, winning rookie honors in the top Finnish league in 1981. This was back when many European stars never made it over to the NHL, but the Canucks used an eighth-round pick on him in that summer’s draft. It turned out to be a good gamble, as Skriko would have the second biggest impact on the Canucks of any 1981 eighth-rounder, just behind a defenseman picked by the Blues a few spots later.

His production faded during the 1989-90 season, and he’d be traded to the Bruins the following year for a second-round pick. That deal ended up helping the Canucks down the line, as they used the pick on Michael Peca. Skriko helped the Bruins get to the 1991 Cup final before being traded to Winnipeg for Brent Ashton, had short stints with the Jets and Sharks before heading home to Finland in 1993 and then finishing his pro career in Denmark. He ended his NHL career with 541 games played, scoring 183 goals and 405 points.

Also, he had fantastic hair.

Be it Resolved

Or did they?

Here’s how the 20,000 breaks down. See if you can spot the problem.

Yeah, “shootout winners” aren’t goals. I mean, they are, according to the league. For reasons that have never been entirely clear, the NHL awards the team that wins a shootout one “goal” in the goals-for column of the standings. That makes sense when you’re describing the results of a game – you’d rather say “The Rangers won 5-4 in a shootout” than “The Rangers won 4-4 in a shootout,” even if the fifth goal wasn’t scored during the actual hockey portion of the game. But there’s no reason to pretend that it was a real goal for deeper record-keeping purposes.

The NHL’s always been weird and inconsistent about this. For example, they consider the shootout winner to be a goal, but don’t give the guy who scored it credit for one in his personal stats. (A cynic might suggest that teams don’t want their star players padding their stats with an extra half dozen goals a year and then expecting more money.) So it’s a goal, but nobody scored it. That makes no sense. And they go the other way too, counting a shootout loss as a goal against even though, statistically, nobody let it in.

And it’s not like this is all some sort of semantic argument, since goals for and against can come into play as a tie-breaker in the standings. That hasn’t happened yet, but we have seen the league’s weird shootout goal math decide the Jennings Trophy, so it’s been etched into the record books already.

Needless to say, people who pay attention to this stuff were quick to point out that the Maple Leafs’ stat wasn’t what it seemed.

As with just about everything that doesn’t involve bicycles, Dellow is right. Shootout goals shouldn’t count towards a team’s historical totals. So be it resolved: The Maple Leafs are well on their way to 20,000 but they’re not there yet. Maybe they heard the complaints because they took a big chunk out of it with seven goals last night, but they’re still 35 goals away. Real goals.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

This week’s YouTube clip isn’t really a video; it’s more of an audio file. But it’s a good one, and under the circumstances I hope you’ll indulge me.

This week’s clip is Johnny Bower singing “Honky The Christmas Goose.”

Bower was one of the greatest goalies of all time, and quite likely the best of the 1960s, period. But somehow, that fact ended up being way down the list of what most people remember him for. In all of the many stories and tributes that poured in this week, the point that kept coming home was what a wonderful guy he was. For pretty much his entire life, Johnny Bower was just a very, very nice man. He didn’t have to be, because he was a famous athlete and people were going to like him no matter what he did. But it seems like everyone in the hockey world has a story about Bower staying late to sign one last autograph or shake one more hand, or donating his time to a good cause, or having an encouraging word for someone going through a tough time. That’s just who he was.

It sounds strange to say it, but it’s almost impossible for a hockey player to be a universally beloved figure in Canada. The game just means too much to us up here. It gets too personal. We don’t like to see fans of other teams get to be happy, so we instinctively dislike anyone who plays well for someone else. And it takes a lot to get us past that.

Put it this way: If I’m talking to a Habs fan who’s getting a little too smug and I decide I want to knock them down a peg or two, I can come up with bad things to say about just about all of their beloved legends. Rocket Richard? He started a riot. Patrick Roy? He quit on the team. Guy Lafleur? What, you mean the guy from the Nordiques? But there’s one ironclad exception: Jean Beliveau. No matter how much you hate the Canadiens, you can’t find a bad word to say about Beliveau. That’s just how it is. And Bower was the Maple Leafs’ version of that. That’s about the highest compliment you can pay a player.

And of course, he left behind one record that will never be topped: “Honky the Christmas Goose.”

You’re listening to the story of Honky, a Christmas goose who struggled with his weight until he learned how to blow his nose. No, that doesn’t really make sense, not least of which because geese don’t have noses. Just enjoy the song and don’t think about it too hard.

Honky was the creation of a CBC producer, and in 1965 he approached the Maple Leafs about having a player record the vocals. As Bower recounts it in this Toronto Star article, “He came into the dressing room and wanted to know if anybody on the team would be interested in singing these songs. I’ve never seen so many guys undress and get into the shower so quickly in my life!”

Bower ended up agreeing to do the song because, as the producer said at the time, he was basically “the friendliest man in Canada.” There was one minor problem: Bower couldn’t sing. But as longtime readers of this column know, that’s never stopped a hockey player before, and the rest was history. (The children on the track are apparently Bower’s 11-year-old son and some of the neighborhood kids.)

The song tells the story of Honky saving Christmas after Santa gets spooked by all the air traffic that’s suddenly clogging up the skies. Continuing his long history of selfishly exploiting animals for their nose-based magic powers, Santa hires Honky to clear out a path.

“Rockets, kites and satellites.” Yeah, I’m no aerospace engineer but I don’t think there should be too many kites at that elevation. I’m pretty sure nobody in history has ever successfully got a kite twenty feet off the ground for more than six seconds before it nosedived directly down onto Grandma’s head, so chill out Santa.

Luckily, the plan works and Honky saves the day. Finally, he’ll get some respect, right?

“Though he is fat he is still some use.” Holy smokes guys, Honky just saved Christmas for the entire planet, maybe ease up on the body shaming for one minute.

The record came out in November 1965, with proceeds going to charity. It was reportedly a big hit, selling 40,000 copies. They tried to get Bower to record a follow-up a year later, pitching something about “a pelican with a broken wing,” but he knew how to quit when he was ahead.

For years, the song was lost to history, with only a handful of copies circulating in the pre-Internet days of the early 90s. But it’s resurfaced since, and a new generation has had a chance to enjoy to story of Honky the Christmas Goose. If you can’t get enough of the song, here’s a clip of Bower performing it on stage at a children’s benefit concert years ago.

RIP Johnny Bower. An all-time great goaltender, an even better person, and a passable singer. Not necessarily in that order.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you’d like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.

DGB Grab Bag: Three Stars of Comedy HOF, Ugly X-Mas Blazers, and RIP Johnny Bower syndicated from http://ift.tt/2ug2Ns6

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