Thunfish

I actually recall her from the period she was in the SHL playing for Anaheim, happened to be there as well. Really cool user and person, damn shame cancer did her in. RIP for a stand-out person.

Ah, sorry. Ended up missing it because studies. Let's see. F - Isabella Campbell D - Kasper Kankkunen Also, heads up, Groovy Dude is a LW, so he's a F. Sorry 'bout that. @JardyB10

D - Groovy Dood @JardyB10

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. Red bold lines are from Sunrise's sister, Mooncalf. The clock moved towards two in the afternoon. Sunrise was sitting down in front of the airplane inside the busy Mexico City International Airport, counting the time as he prepared to move on to the next step of his career, the wilderness of the VHL's European league. While he still felt like he was missing a couple of things from his time in the juniors, he was proud to have at least made somewhat of a difference back in Mexico. Anything he was able to accomplish there was at least good enough. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure that he was a lock to the European league, calling it his own intuition but either way, off-season was a perfect time to go back to the Netherlands, bring his girlfriend to meet his family. Speaking of Luz, she was very much focused towards a translation book. Spanish to Dutch. The blond had already explained to his lover that the language barrier would be an issue for her but that, while he was around, surely he'd be able to translate anything she needed to say and that some of the kids of his family also spoke English. He wasn't too worried about how they'd react to her presence, his family was easy enough to hang around with. He was sure of that when he heard a familiar whistle from a distance. "Luz! Little brother!" The familiar voice yelled. Mooncalf ran towards them, striking a hug towards her little brother once he got up from his seat and she arrived. "I thought I was gonna miss you two leaving... Sorry for arriving this late!" Sunrise shook his head. "It's fine, the plane had a delay for fuel. How was class?" Mooncalf laughed a bit, sitting between them. "Oh, they said I'm pretty good but I still need to get better at crying. Crying is very important in soap operas, you know." Sunrise rose an eyebrow, looking at Luz, who merely nodded in response. "She's right, yeah. It's part of emoting, which our soap operas are all about." Luz noted, a little grin appearing on her face as she lowered the book. "You just have to think about something sad that happened to someone close, it'll work." Mooncalf nodded, sighing as she did so. "Yeah, that's what they told me as well but it's real hard work, you know? I can't just come up with any bad memory and work that out during acting. It's difficult." He smirked, crossing his arms. "I can think of a couple of moments..." Mooncalf blinked, staring daggers at her brother. "You. Would. Not. Dare." Sunrise got up from his seat, grinning. "Well... I dunno, I'm all about helping my sis to get her career going, you know and if it's material for crying..." Luz lowered her eyes back to the book she was reading once she saw Mooncalf darting after her brother, the two running in circles. She shook her head as she dove through the lines of grammar and other peculiarities from the Dutch language, merely commenting "They're like kids" in proper Dutch, which neither would hear.

Why do I keep imagining a bear saying that?

1. Malmo and Miami have won the cups, were they your favorites going into the playoffs? Or did you have another team in mind? Not really, I didn't pay much attention towards the majors given I'm not there. 2. The NFL season has started for anyone who watches football, who is your team? And after week one what are your thoughts on how this season will go for you? The Jets suck like usual, not looking forward to them but I imagine the football will be fine. 3. There is alot of great people and great GM's in this league, from your experience who is the best GM you've ever played under? This could be current or any GM's in the past. I'm familiar with Advantage from Mexico. Guy's cool. 4. If you don't watch the NFL or if you do, what sports do you watch and which one is your favorite? Well, as a Brazilian, I watch soccer rather often but I've been avoiding the local main league because I got fed up of their shenanigans. My local team got knocked out from the fourth tier, sadly. 5. What is your favorite board game and why? Risk. 6. What is your favorite restaurant? I dunno, Subway. 7. Do you play Fortnite? If you do what are your thoughts on the new season? Nah, hate it with a passion. 8. What is your favorite gaming system? PlayStation 2, helped me through some rougher patches. 9. This is my first time making a press conference. How did I do? Also give me some thoughts on what you would like me to make these more exciting so we aren't answering the same questions? I think it's good, don't worry 'bout it.

Aye.

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's girlfriend, Luz. His fingers clicked each button on a quick fashion as he clutched the controller in a tight manner. His eyes were entirely focused on the screen, which displayed a karateka squaring off against a Chinese girl that apparently fought kung-fu. He had to admit that it had been a while since he had been able to wind down a bit and rest, even if that came at the expense of a longer playoff run. The taste still reeked in his mouth, being so close yet so far from the latter steps. Their GM had moved up with the end of the season to Europe and he himself didn't know if he would be doing the same or not. In one hand, he didn't have a single problem with staying at Mexico City for another season, life was actually calming down in retrospect and he now had a proper grasp at the language, not to mention that this was Luz's hometown and his sister was staying here now, whether he remained in Mexico or not. On the other hand, Sunrise was an European citizen by birth and he didn't mind the idea of being closer to his family's home back in Zeeland. Before he could lose himself to his thoughts, he heard a triumphant jeer. "Another win for the almighty Luz!" He took a good look at the screen and realized his lapse of attention gave away his lead and he again had lost to her. Sunrise sighed, shaking his head. "Another match?" Luz feigned second thoughts before quickly accepting his wish for another attempt. Still, she couldn't help but notice he was rather off. "Anything you want to get off your chest? Are you still upset over the playoff loss?" He took a look at her and sighed. "Yes and no." The blond chuckled as he noticed her puzzled look. "It's just that I think this was my last chance at winning it. I keep hearing about this European league thing, I got an invite for the World Juniors... seems like I'm not going to be at the Minors for much longer. Seems like I won't be here much longer. And that kind of worries me a little bit because I feel like I haven't completed everything I wanted in my career yet." Luz laughed a bit, innocently. "You're still at the start of your career... You shouldn't let it get to your head that much, anyways. Step by step." "There is one problem though." He said as the fight started. Luz, unsurprisingly, shushed him right then and there, focusing on the game. The two went in a back and forth, Luz gaining ground straight away with Sunrise catching up with a series of well-timed strikes. Eventually, Sunrise is just too much and finally grabs his first win of the day. Luz sighs, looking at him. "Then, what is it?" The Dutch boy grinned, looking to the side before deciding to reply. "Well... if I have to move abroad. Are you gonna follow me?" Luz answered with a kiss, leaving the couch. "We'll see."

Let's do well, Europe.

1. With a 4-0 sweep we destroyed it in the first round. What do you think of our chances after an impressive showing? Think we can keep the hype train going. 2. Who was MVP of our first series? Greis, not a shocker. 3. Who needs to step it up to go all the way for us? I think we just need to keep doing our thing, to be honest. 4. Have you been paying attention to VHLE happenings, and if so, who do you think wins the tournament? Eh, whatever happens, I'm fine. 5. If you were a VHLE GM and had to pick anywhere from 1 to 6 in a snake draft, which pick would you want to have? 3, helps to have the middle ground. 6. How has the pandemic been for all of you of late? Rough but it helped me improve in several things, so I'm satisfied.

Claim for the week ending in September 5th.

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. Red bold lines are from Sunrise's sister, Mooncalf. Sunrise stared at the clock. A free day, one after quite a while in fact, and he was feeling tired. A feeling that usually didn't really hit him. Maybe, it was all from sleeping in the couch. He had yet to spring for buying a new bed ever since his old one had been taken by a certain girl. An invader to his home throne. Not like it mattered, Sunrise thought, sooner or later, he would have to go up to the next level and then, he was off to wherever they were gonna take him. He had no idea of what to make of the girl. Luz was definitively a pleasant person to be with, even if she seemed to lack a proper knowledge of what most people would call personal limits. Last week, he had to keep her from trying to shower with him, something that he was pretty sure would count as a crime in a couple of countries and the girl had even tried to drag him to bed once. Granted, it would've meant resting his body on somewhere less bumpy but still, a man had to keep his principles. Luz was a nice friend and he was fine with having her as a good friend but it seemed that recently, she had other thoughts. Still, life was fine and he was certain that things would remain fine as long as he was able to keep her presence in his house out of his family's knowledge. He heard a loud yawn from the other room. Luz had finally woke up, adjusting her make-shift pajamas (one of his hockey jerseys that she seemed to have taken a hold of under finders-keepers rule and a pair of comfy shorts) before flashing him a pearly smile. "You know you shouldn't sleep on the couch every night..." she noted, finger wagging. "Well, we only have one bed and I'm too nice to not let you have it." Luz giggled. "Well, silly, why don't you just sleep with me, then? I don't bite." Sunrise shook his head, to which she crossed her arms in response. "I'd rather not. We're friends..." The girl walked up to him, staring hard towards his eyes, to which he merely let out a little chuckle. "Uh... What is it?" Her face got ever closer towards him, the girl even stretching her hands towards the Dutch. The noises of a key shoving itself into the door could be heard, the door itself opening wide. A blonde stood, purse on hand. She was statuesque, taller than the boy and definitively taller than Luz. Her eyes widened and she let out a squeal. "Ahhh! My little brother is dating?" (...) "What do you mean, you're not?" The lady asked with a cross look on her face. "You're living together, you're sleeping near each other, you're fine that she's here and she wants to be here all the time, right?" Luz nodded while Sunrise remained without saying much. The girl was his older sister, Mooncalf. Technically, she was the only notorious person from the village before he was able to get a shot at playing hockey and with good reason, she worked as a model. Not a major model but she still seemed to have an easy time getting bookings here and there. She was also planning on acting, which leads to the reason she was there... "So, uh... why are you here, sis?" She grinned, a little chuckle leaving her mouth. "I'm gonna study to be an actress here in Mexico, little brother." Sunrise blinked, thinking about it. "Oh, I'm sure you'll do well, miss..." The model smiled. "Mooncalf. But you can call me sis. That's what you're going for, right?" Sunrise could only watch while his sister essentially did most of the work of getting each detail across with Luz, almost like a cardboard of himself. He felt tired. Soon, he got up from his seat on the table, collapsing onto his own bed, a groan leaving his mouth. "See, Luz, he likes you so much he's already gearing up for a night together." Sunrise could only raise a hand to protest before simply giving up. "Eh, sure. Let's give this dating thing a try." The room fell into silence. "Good by me" was all he heard before being tackled by Luz with a large grin on her face. (...) Sunrise woke up three hours later, noticing that he couldn't feel his left arm. As he motioned to try and get his arm out, he heard a little groan. He then noticed Luz's frame over his limb, realizing that it was going to be a bit hard to free himself from her. He sneaked his arm out carefully, avoiding any new reactions from her. Still, he couldn't help but realize that she was actually rather cute from that angle: a smile on her face, a strand of hair covering one of her eyes, her expression as she slept looked rather cute as well. He reached out for his cellphone once he heard it buzz. It was even a bigger alarm that something went up when he realized the apparel was basically shaking five times every minute. Something must have happened with his folks or something, Sunrise thought, because he couldn't see his relatives bothering him that much about any other possible thing. Then the realization hit it. His sister was there. His sister was a notorious phone user. And she was also pretty good at sharing secrets one would rather not have shared. He scrolled through his phone in a quick fashion, noticing the amount of messages received. His mother had been the most talkative of the bunch, essentially giving him guidelines on just about anything. His father was also very talkative, insisting that he should make her aware that "the control of the county was restricted to only male heirs" and his hometown friends all had essentially acknowledged the news and congratulated him. "God, did she tell we were engaged or dating?" "Hnnng... what's that about engaging?" (1008 words, claimable for the week ending August 29th and then September 8th)

1. Heading into the Playoffs, what do you think of our chances? Well, we've been on fire for most of the season, so I think we got a good chance if we keep our heads at it. 2. If you could add one player in the league to the team, who would it be? I dunno, thinking of adding people into the team makes it look like I don't trust the bunch we have. 3. What's the one area you want to improve as a player as you develop? Essentially, I want to be great at my major areas and then work on deficiencies. 4. Favourite pregame snack? A banana. 5. Best arena to play in for the VHLM? Here in Mexico. Home's the best, after all. 6. Any goals for this playoff run, besides winning the whole damn thing? MVP from overscoring.

Uh... do the winners pick first or the wooden-spoons pick first?

I wasn't aware that goals on the minors ever got that high, so it's good to learn something new every day. As is, it's a solid piece with such a subject and you get the point across pretty well overall. I think you might've forgotten one or two commas there though and I also think the title was supposed to be dominating instead of dominate. Still, not gonna lie, I dig it as is. 7.5/10.

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. Luz sat on a dark comfy couch, one of the latest additions she managed to sneak into Sunrise's place - to which he complained quite much about - while watching the sports news. She seemed ecstatic to see Sunrise on the news, given the Mexico City player had been on the race for the award of Most Goals Scored, named after Alexander Chershenko. While the portly man that did the talking about hockey blew through his lines with the speed of a freight train running over a doll filled with feathers, she could gather the most important bits about it: Sunrise was 5th, one goal behind Saskatoon's Kyle Peace and a mere six goals away from the minors' current leader, Bryn Yrwy out of Halifax. As the news then went on to talk about the latest soccer crisis - some scuffle in the Mexican Football Federation and businessmen from Veracruz - she rolled off the couch, landing near Sunrise, who was once again studying. "Hey, Sunrise! Did you hear the news?" She asked, a little smile opening on the corner of her mouth. Sunrise lowered the book he held, looking at her with curiosity. "Not really... I was more focused on this History book. What's going on?" He feigned innocence, something the girl easily caught him on, whacking him with a pillow. "Alright, alright, I give. I'm aware that I've been doing well, Luz..." he replied with peaceful eyes in spite of the hit before adding, "but my focus is really getting my team more wins, if I happen to be the top goalscorer of the minors, that's good too but not essential." "Aw, look at you. All mature and proud, eh?" Luz chuckled, sitting near him. "You should be pretty happy still, it's not every day the news talk about singular hockey players on that channel." The blonde let out a chuckle, his back lowered onto bed with a grin on his face. "Guess so. Man, can you imagine if I actually win the Chershenko after all? Schubbekuteveen's article on Wikipedia might actually get a second paragraph!" That made the girl raise an eyebrow, observing his silly smile. "...You know, that would also make you a more famous guy. That's usually pretty good, is it not?" That didn't seem to register with him. "...Perhaps so, aye." "Are you just... unselfish?" Luz asked with a serious look on her face, to which Sunrise only nodded before getting back his book. "I mean... awards are nice and fun but I think I prefer having the team win a prize instead. I dunno if I get anything besides a shiny plaque if I win an award, after all." Luz sighed, sitting on his bed, her feet waving back and forth while she remained somewhat frustrated from his reply. "Come on, Sunrise, can't you at least try to win the award? For me?" He tilted his head, a little blush on his face. "...Well, if the others stop scoring, sure." She facepalmed, grumbling heavily while Sunrise went back to his book, peaceful as usual.

I mean, I did get muted once over a single word.

1. Drop the no cursing thing from the general Discord. I know why you do it but I think it's a bit restrictive. 2. I'll echo the comments about areas for customization on the player profile. Little thing but it might help. 3. Get someone to run community stuff like gathering for music on a voice chat or something.

1. We're rolling with a 32-12-4 record, with 127 goals against, which is the 2nd lowest in the league. What do you think is the major factor giving our team such a low amount of goals against? Greiss, he's pretty good. 2. Which player do you think is the most offensively gifted on the team? Deke Rike and that's not my modesty speaking. 3. Which player do you think is the most defensively gifted on the team? Trenton and Remy have both done their part the best, I think. Wouldn't be fair to pick one out of the two. 4. Which goalie do you think is the best in the VHLM, and destined for VHL greatness? Greiss, just because it's fun to be biased. 5. What is one area that you think your player could improve right now? Score nine goals every game. 6. Which VHLM team would you be the most afraid of going against in the playoffs? Fear in the playoffs? Pffft. We gotta go head up and take it on the chin if we mess up.

This is an absolute banger. I really like the effects used here, they give the image a sort of motion-esque aura to it and that really helps the player stand out or just generate hype, I guess? My only complaint would be the font for the team name, which is a little bit hard to read, given the size of the image and whatnot. I'd avoid this sort of handwritten font because it's usually harder to sort out than some normal Arial-esque stuff. Still, great stuff in spite of that little bit. 10/10

I'll be a bit more generous than the rest because the idea of mixing and matching different sports is something I very much dig, namely because where I'm from, teams are usually "polidesportive" groups, therefore it's pretty normal for clubs to have teams in several disciplines and whatnot. I'm not really great with graphics when it comes to swapping images so I think the only real problem I can point out is that you can kinda see what I imagine is a blue sock on the feet there. Quality job nonetheless, not gonna lie. 7.75/10

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. His eyes sped through the lines, each one detailing a piece of information about each individual bit of the elemental table. To his credit, Sunrise van de Schubbekuteveen was probably one of the finest students from his little village back in Zeeland and the move to Mexico was not going to get in the way. He studied after training sessions and even games, if it meant it would keep his mind working, he was all for it. Of course, his grades were pretty good all across the board, with the obligatory exception of Spanish - he took all other exams in English, a language he was somewhat more familiar with but Spanish had been picked as a language for his time in Mexico and he also didn't mind the idea of getting acquainted with a new language. "Hey, Sunrise!" And then his eyes darted above from the book, looking at Luz, who was once again just crashing at his place. Wearing one of his hockey jerseys. Exactly the one he was supposed to wear for the game against Halifax at home. "I'll have you know I'll need that cleaned by tomorrow." He noted while she grumbled. "Come on, I want to be an example of a good captain. Kinda hard to do that when you're only 16." The Mexican girl grumbled more, sitting by his side before taking a peek at what he was reading. "Chemistry? You study that?" Sunrise reacted with a smile, nodding in silence. The girl laughed, which caused him to lower his book again. "What's funny? School is pretty important." His gentle note was answered to by even more laughter, Luz shooting back that "You're the first person I've ever seen that somehow still studies while playing for a living, you know." Sunrise nodded, a shrug following. "Well... I mean, it's a condition dad made, you remember. But then again, I guess I like it. I mean..." He closed the book, chuckling a little bit. "I wanted to be a chemist, if hockey didn't work out. In fact, I'm considering getting a degree while I'm playing for Chicago. Something to do when I'm retired from the sport." He then took a good look at Luz, a little smile on his face. "Are you this close to me just because the weather is a bit cold today or do you need to learn something for your own Chemistry classes?" The girl hid a bit of a blush on her face, grumbling more. "Maybe I do need some help with my exams, since I'm too busy making sure you do well on your Spanish ones and chill out every now and then." He seemed to be in thought for a second in response. "Well, if you need my help, I'll gladly assist you. It wouldn't be too much of an issue for me after all." And thus, the two spent the rest of the afternoon studying Chemistry. He obviously insisted in having his jersey back cleaned. A captain has to have his principles, after all.

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. Sunrise left the arena on his own pace, before being stopped right on his tracks from the yells of a familiar voice. "Hey, Sunrise!" The blonde turned around, finding his Spanish language teacher Luz, decked in proper Mexico City Kings' fan apparel with a large smile on her face. It helped the team had beaten the Ottawa Lynx by a large margin and he himself had a field day against the Canadian team. "Ah, Luz. Thought I'd find you at home again somehow." The Mexican girl grinned, nodding. "Had that in mind but since I've seen you already, think we could go together to your place, right?" By now, he was starting to get a tad curious as to why she was showing up that often on his place. "...Is your dad OK with that? I mean... you show up pretty often, next thing I know, you got a..." He noticed the girl carrying a suitcase, blinking. "...suitcase to bring your stuff in." He rose an eyebrow, examining it while the girl seemed a bit stressed. "F-Father says it's fine, come on." She walked past him, suitcase and all, towards the waiting car. "C'mon! I wanna talk about how you did tonight." Sunrise mulled over his thoughts before simply shrugging and following her, sitting by her side on the car that was to take them to his home. "Man, you played like crazy tonight!" Luz said with a large smile on her face, gesturing with her hands over every word that left her mouth. "You hit all sorts of shots, I'm amazed you only got like four goals in, you could totally get way more than that!" The Dutch one simply shrugged, letting out a chuckle or two as he formed his answer, "Might've scored more but their goalkeepers had other ideas, I guess. Can't really blame them, can you?" Luz only laughed more before looking him straight on his face. "Uh... may I ask? What's your secret? You've been having a really good time this season, what changed?" Sunrise looked a bit skeptically at her, a smirk forming on the corner of his mouth. "And here I thought you would claim it to be your influence." The two laughed. "Alright, I shall explain it. So, as you may remember, I lived in a farm when I was back home and that's where I stayed during vacations. Figured I'd get some practice in and then dad said he had a couple of cabbage heads that could use some smacking around." Silence. "...You practiced with cabbage?" The reply came with a chuckle. "Well, frozen lettuce heads. Dad forgot them on the washing pond and they froze up just before I arrived." The blonde sighed, shaking his head. "Hitting them about was a 'more fun' way to get out the ice bits and I guess using it for aim at the farm's old improvised soccer goal bars did the deed." Luz blinked while Sunrise proudly added, "And now you know how you score in hockey. Just pretend it's a cabbage."

1. With the VHLE GM announcement coming out, who should be the next GM of the Mexico City Kings? No idea, but as long as they're able to keep up the good job, we'll be fine. 2. With a record of 21-5-0 we currently have the best record in the league. What will we have to do to keep it up and stay in first? Keep working on it, I guess. Like any other team. 3. Sunrise and Rike are both in the top ten in league scoring. Where do you predict they finish at the end of the season? No bloody idea, but I wish to keep doing well. That's for sure. 4. Miami has had our number this season, contributing to three of our losses. What do we need to do to overcome them? Keep working on it. Hate to sound like an answering machine but it's true. 5. You can change any rule in the league...what would it be? Uh... I dunno... Can't think of anything right now. 6. You can GM any team in any of our three leagues...who is it? Any team in the European league because it sounds funny.

Guide: Black bold lines are from Sunrise. Green bold lines are from Sunrise's Spanish teacher and new friend, Luz. Sunrise couldn't even finish settling himself back home when he saw a piece of paper that had apparently travelled through the ocean, arriving just in time. The paper was being held by Luz who, once again, found her way into his house without any proper safe justification besides security allowing her in. It was a piece of a newspaper... and it was in Dutch. Very Dutch, in fact. His eyes scanned the words on it before staring at the Mexican girl. "How did you get in here, again? And why were you looking at my mail?" The reply he got to that question was a goofy smile from the girl, who merely handwaved the situation without much thought. "As your teacher, I have full rights to observe your letters, in order to properly figure out how to test your aptitude in the language of Spanish," dotting the answer with a tongue to the side, to which the Dutch one merely rolled his eyes, thinking on the best way to approach this situation. Obviously, the newspaper bit was from his homeland. He had observed the right side of the page, which featured a myriad of league tables - mostly soccer ones - that presented a picture of how things were at the time. The fact one of the tables there was of an amateur league with the Schubbekuteveen's local club performing as well as one would expect (10th out of 16), with their standing in a strong blue, made it obvious that the newspaper had to be the Zeelandia Turnip, the one that covered his little podunk of a hometown and a couple of others nearby. His eyes then darted to the center of the page, a picture of him raising his hockey stick in celebration and the large words above it stating Local Boy, Hockey Prodigy which... wait, he had to do a double take there. He was a prodigy now? Surely for his folks, he was a prodigy, but that was a bit of a bold proclamation from the Zeeland press. The realization came once he checked who wrote that media piece - his old aunt Nene. "That's family propaganda," Sunrise sighed as his shame subsided, "A tabloid from my hometown saying that I'm good, apparently... Guess dad sent it," he noted as he took the piece of paper out of her hands, causing Luz to be a bit startled as she tried to peek over his shoulder once he blocked her view of the paper with his back. Sure enough, there were bits and pieces about his career on the league so far and how he was currently the team's best scorer, while also attributing him a lot of the honor from their victories - something he was pretty sure had to be an exaggeration from his relatives, likely his aunt had his father on her ears for this - and mentioning that games of the VHLM would be broadcasted on the local public channel to celebrate their performance somehow. "Well, I guess this came from my folks. They're pretty happy about my season, I guess," he noted as he folded the piece of paper. Luz let out a little giggle, which caused Sunrise to raise an eyebrow at her, "And don't check my inbox without telling me again, please."