LucyXpher

We believe in Babydeer! The scoring will come… very soon!

2nd Claim - 10/27/2024

I’d much rather win than score a million points! I think we’ll be in with a chance come playoffs and with the players we have, we could go on a run again!

Halifax circa 1930s (above) In the second game of the S96 VHLM season, rookie centerman Pelayo Bolivar scored his first career goal against the Philadelphia Reapers. As anyone would expect, the milestone puck was collected from the back of the net and returned to the bench where an equipment manager pocketed it-- presumably for safe keeping so it could be returned as a memento to Bolivar after the game. Mysteriously, the puck disappeared. Outraged, the team began seeking it out internally at first, checking with equipment staff to see if it had been misplaced. With no luck, the team turned to agents and others around the team to see if they could track down the apparently pilfered puck. Sure enough, within hours the puck was found on eBay by Petr Novak's player agent who purchased the puck for $200 so that it could be returned to the Halifax 21st Museum. The agent allegedly engaged in a bidding war with an unknown collector from Vegas who also had their sights set on acquiring the piece of Halifax history, though Novak's agent managed to snipe the puck before the auction closed. I guess it sounds like everything worked out in the end, no worries! Learning about what had happened, however, the players and management were understandably livid that someone would be so brazen as to steal from under their noses and that's when the Boat Gang likely took matters into their own hands. While the Halifax 21st may still be an upstart team with room to grow on the ice, they're led by some rather intimidating characters. This is not the BOAT GANG of seasons past. Nowadays, the Boat Gang, while markedly more subtle in approach, is more ruthless in carrying out justice against their opponents. There's some speculation that the Gang's culture shift began under the new management of Lexie Leitner in S93, the same season that Tommy Shelby came through Halifax. This more cunning and measured iteration of the Boat Gang won't lead with obnoxious taglines and chants that you can hear a mile away. Those who disrespect the Gang are dealt with quickly and decisively. Tommy Shelby (above) @Will Boasting the VHLM's biggest goon on the ice, Boris Bone-Breaker, whose birth name is perhaps even more intimidating than his nicknames, the 21st have muscle that can carry out the will of the team when push comes to shove. Known as Bone-Breaker to the hockey world, Boris also bears the epithets The Dentist or The Tooth Fairy after his penchant for extracting the teeth of his opposition either with a hockey stick or some other brutal implement. His right hand man, of course, is Novocaine, Petr Novak. Known more for his subtle work, Novak neutralizes opponents silently, numbing them into a false sense of security before delivering them to the Dentist for the ultimate punishment. It's cold and calculated work. And Bolivar, for his part, has come to be known as "El Sidrero". On the ice he's become one of the team's top set up men, dishing apples left and right. Off the ice, Bolivar hails from a part of Spain known for their cider making. What set ups or cider he might be cooking behind closed doors in Halifax is still a mystery, but the Boat Gang remains very tight-lipped about their off-ice endeavors. It must be said, however, that the equipment manager who first pocketed the Bolivar milestone puck has not been seen since the eBay sale took place. Some speculate he took his $200 spoil and rode off into the sunset, afraid of any backlash from the Gang. But we all know better than that. More than likely the thief was taken down to the docks to be... disposed of. Interestingly enough, Novak has connections to a waste management company in Czechia. It's possible he's in the business of ethical waste disposal for environmental purposes, or maybe those Czech ships in the Halifax harbor are carrying more than household garbage. At face value, it's a happy ending. The puck was recovered and has since been signed by Bolivar and remains in the Halifax 21st Museum. Uncovering the murky underbelly of the modern Boat Gang, however, is another thing entirely and extreme caution should be taken by anyone digging into the matter. Graphic by @SMYLS4 ༻❁༺ Lauren Lambert for Halfaxa Press 10/19/2024 700+ words

Very eloquently put!

First gens

With no cup in 33+ seasons Halifax would like a word! Also, nobody touches Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL as the biggest goon in the M!

1. @Tate F - Grimgor Ironhide F - Joshua Schwarzer F - Savaisk Tsezar D - Obuz Schneider Canet Du Bocage D - Guntis Gavrilovs G - Red Panda 2. @Dabnad F - David Rashford F - Jarmo Ruutu F - Raimo Tuominen D - Lucy Leitner D - Leif Reingaard G - Ryan Artyomov 3. @ScottyP F - Catia Goncalves F - Logan Ninefingers F - Owen Lazaro D - Bollos de Trueno D - Moritz Stauffer G - Herald Benson 4. @Hacob F - Harry Callahan F - Phillip Rave F - Thor Reingaard D - Jacob Stone D - Bobby Bob G - Merome Dilson 5. @LucyXpher (GM) F - Antonia Bucatini F - Axle Gunner F - Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish D - YaBoi Oven D - Fradin McGryer G - Jorgen Lovstrom 6. @Mysterious_Fish F - Severus Targaryen F - Gianfranco Del Rocco F - Riley Martin D - Callum Gary Yannick Janser D - Mark Calaway G - Dalkr Vidarsson

Great article! Not that I’ve ever known any different, but I think the M is in a pretty healthy place right now from what I can tell, and that both of you as commissioners have done and continue to do an exceptional job keeping it a great point of entry to the VHL

1 goal against in 3 games is pretty good for a zamboni driver... but yeah, I need Red Panda to come home

Xhektoe basically ^ What a speech! Who says a captain needs to be humble? Our captain is too ELITE to sell himself short! We don’t need a leader who waits for the game to come to them, our leader straight up CRUSHES the opposition and imposes his will on all of our weak willed opponents. And the best part is he’s only “mildly self obsessed”! How can you lead a team you love if you don’t love yourself first and foremost? This is a REAL captain and I’m here for it Amazing press conference! Seriously!

This is a fantastic scouting report on Tuomala so far! I can’t wait to see how far you can develop over the course of this season and into the future! Amazing work Now if only we could win when Tuomala scores…

Gritty gives his stamp of approval

Fish are friends... and sometimes food... but mostly friends

Great interview! I can't wait to see how our first games go tonight-- I'm super glad to have you on the 21st!

Of course! In the most respectful way possible!

No u!

Words

Glad you’re still around! I hope your health is okay though, the VHL is a better place with you here

When I learned to drive, I was always told to keep my eyes on the road and not to get caught taking in the view. I also get stressed out in traffic so I’d rather just wait at the destination than take my time getting there… but I’m still going to complain about waiting

That’s awesome! I’m glad you did, there’s not enough writing like this around here, so I love to see it!

This is beautiful

I need sims! At this point, I’ll take whatever STHS has to offer, this offseason felt way too long

October 14, 2024 - Riga, Latvia What's the opposite of nostalgia? The term "nostalgia" was first proposed in 1688 by Johannes Hofer to refer to the pain or longing associated with separation from family, home, and social environment. The term comes from two Greek words, "nostos" (return home) and "algos" (pain). In Homer's "Odyssey"-- and a lot of other ancient Greek literature-- two of the themes central to the story are those of "kleos" (renown or glory) and "nostos" (return home). As Odysseus sets out on his journey, he does so seeking kleos, glory, by accomplishing great deeds. By the end of the epic poem, however, Odysseus chooses to return to his family, setting glory and immortality aside for a simple life at home in Ithica. If nostalgia is the longing for home or for a return to familiarity, then perhaps it's opposite could be "kleosalgia", the longing for glory, that itch that impels anyone seeking greatness to leave the familiar behind, to subject themselves to discomfort for the chance of becoming immortalized. If nostalgia is a longing for a familiar place in time that has past, then perhaps kleosalgia might represent a longing for an unknown time yet to come. Yes, I'm trying to invent a word, and it is quite possible that I have lost my mind. When I chatted with Lucy Leitner a few season's ago, I asked her where she might be in five seasons' time. Her answer then as she was embarking on her first season in the VHLE was, "Raising the Continental Cup with Riga". If one can feel kleosalgia like they might feel nostalgia, then perhaps that was what Leitner felt as she left her home town of Houston to pursue hockey glory in Riga, Latvia. Though her future was unclear, the allure of kleos was too great. While I can't confirm yet that Leitner shares any kinship with Nostradamus, the prediction of a cup win with Riga in her near future was strikingly prescient. cosmic is a ringing row of payphones; dead channel doldrums and anachronistic prescience, Chiba city shrouded in a haze and shimmering, sodium-silver and almost painful In S95, the Riga Reign found themselves among the top teams in the European Conference for the second season in a row. Finishing 3rd in the conference behind rivals Malmo and Moscow, Riga racked up a 50-18-4 record with 104 points. That point total also granted the team the 3rd overall seed entering the playoffs, 3 points ahead of the NA leading Toronto Legion. Riga started the playoffs facing a tough Malmo team in the first round. Though Malmo has put together an impressive string of regular season performances, they have struggled in the playoffs in recent seasons-- a frankly unfortunate fate for such a strong regular season team. Indeed, they deserved better than to be swept by Riga after a competitive regular season series. In the second round, Riga would match up against HC Davos Dynamo who were coming off a shocking first round sweep of their own against the Victory Cup champion Moscow Menace. Through the first four games, Riga and Davos would battle to a draw at two games apiece, however Riga would find a way to win a tight game 5 by a 3-2 score. In game 6, the Reign would not be denied as they convincingly dispatched of the Dynamo by 6-0 score, punctuated by a Red Panda shutout. With the VHL's most coveted trophy on the line, Riga lined up against the Toronto Legion in the Continental Cup Finals. Red Panda would pitch a second consecutive shutout in a 5-0 game 1 win and Riga would go on to stake a 3-0 lead in the series. Toronto would storm back with wins of their own in games 4, 5, and 6, drawing even with the Reign and forcing an all or nothing game 7 for the Continental Cup. With everything on the line, the Reign once again jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game. The third goal by Axle Gunner, assisted by Lucy Leitner and Kimi Raikkonen, would hold up as the Cup winner with the Reign winning game 7 by a 5-2 score. cosmic is the flicker of a strobing pulsar; monochromatic animation and the white word Solitude throwing shapes against the grain of a real-to-reel; anthropomorphic geometry gorged on starlight, godspeed As they hoisted the trophy and fireworks exploded through the arena, the Riga Reign stamped their names in the record books once again, claiming their first Continental Cup since S72, snapping the 3rd longest active Cup drought in the VHL at 23 seasons. Lucy Leitner seemed to lack the words to describe her emotions as she sat before the press later that night. "I just-- this is not something I expected at all in my second VHL season! It's an incredible feeling, like... yeah, it's unbelievable. I love this team!" In the playoffs, the team was led by Daisuke Kanou and Scott Boulet Trophy winner, Axle Gunner @Steve, who had 12 goals and 29 total points through 17 games. Notably, Gunner won the playoff scoring race for the second season in a row and captured a second straight Continental Cup, each with different teams. Shubham Anand @Will3 also continued a dominant season with an exceptional playoff, potting 11 goals and notching 27 points, while Kimi Raikkonen @mattyIceman had 9 and 26 overall. On the blueline, after being outscored by the understudy, Leitner, in the regular season, Skor McFleury @Alex capped off a Hall of Fame worthy VHL career with 24 points in the playoffs and Leitner finished a few points back with 20 overall. In goal, Red Panda @Lemorse7 pitched a .923 SV%, 2.55 GAA, and 3 shutouts as the team's starter in every playoff game, only losing 5 contests in total. From top to bottom, this Riga team was built to win playoff games. With a +20 goal differential in the playoffs, the Reign were strong both offensively and defensively-- a real testament to the aggressive management of @Lemorse7 who did an incredible job over the past two seasons of turning the team into a perennial contender. cosmic is an aphoristic fantasy; kleosalgia telecast in technicolor; lo-fi loops leaking through synth swells and a beat while aberrated Andromeda outruns the open road Chasing glory as ever, Lucy Leitner left Riga shortly following the parade and team celebrations to compete in the Victory ProAm offseason tournament where she would claim victory once again as a member of the Flora Vista Foxes. I was able to catch up with Leitner for a short chat after this most recent tournament win to check in on how things are going leading up to S96. "Now that some time has passed, has it sunk in that you're a Continental Cup winner?" "Honestly, it really hasn't. I mean, I'm supposed to get my day with the Cup tomorrow so maybe it'll hit me then, but I feel like I'm still walking on clouds right now. Like, this league still feels new to me and we managed to go all the way... it's just surreal." "So do you have anything planned for your day with the Cup tomorrow? Anything special?" "Honestly, nothing crazy or over the top. I'm gonna spend the day with family and friends in Houston. It'll likely be pretty low key for a Cup celebration, but I'm looking forward to it." "Do you think coming off this win will make it hard to get ready for next season, or are you going to be ready to go when the season kicks off on Wednesday?" "Oh, I'm definitely ready! I've been training a lot this offseason and there's still parts of my game I want to improve. Winning the Cup doesn't take anything away from my motivation. I'm so ready to get back into games!" "Well, another big piece of news is that you signed an extension with Riga to stay with the team for another 3 seasons-- congratulations by the way! Was there ever any thought of forcing your way out and do you think the team can be competitive again next season?" "Thanks! I definitely had no intention of leaving. I've absolutely loved my time in Riga and, truthfully, I don't think I could see myself playing for any other team. I'm super excited to be here for the next three seasons and I think we actually have a real shot at going all the way again in S96. Management has done a fantastic job of bringing in amazing new players, even though we lost a couple from this past Cup run. We'll see what happens, but I'm optimistic!" "So when I talked to you a few seasons back, you predicted that you'd be holding the Continental Cup in 5 seasons time. Has that prediction changed?" "I mean, not really! I guess we kinda got it done ahead of schedule, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in S97 too. I want to win every season, so that's the goal at least." "Okay, last question for you: what motivates you to keep going on your VHL journey?" "Honestly, it's hard to put into words. I love the game, but lots of people love the game. I guess it comes down to wanting to leave my mark on the game, on my team, on the league-- just to be someone that makes the VHL world a better place, you know, for my teammates, friends on other teams, and anyone coming up through the ranks. I've been so lucky to get to this point and to have this success so early in my career. I guess we'll see how far we can go!" cosmic is the face of a hapless hero; the petrified complexion of a star-forged lumineer, stone-set and steely-eyed, staggered to the earth and dragged through holocene sands With S96 only days away, it will be fascinating to see if Riga has the roster to challenge for a second consecutive Cup and how their new additions will fit into the lineup. As for Leitner, heading into her third season now, the sky is truly the limit. Having already completed her ultimate objective to win a Continental Cup, it will be up to her how far she goes on this VHL journey and what new heights she can reach. (Right) Freedom Monument - Riga, Latvia ──•~❉᯽❉~•── Notes: So before anyone has a mental breakdown because I egregiously misspelled light in my title and even managed to make a graphic with the same error... it's not an error. No, actually, it's the most expensive word in history and also holds a Guinness World Record for being the shortest poem in existence. "Lighght" was written in 1965 by American poet, Aram Saroyan who was just 22 years old at the time and became well known for his minimal and experimental poetry. The poem received a $750 prize from the National Endowment for the Arts-- an award that quickly became the subject of controversy. As a publicly funded agency, the NEA received pushback from congress and taxpayers alike who viewed the award as a misappropriation of funds, deeming the one-word-poem unworthy of such a prize. One congressman was quoted saying, “If my kid came home from school spelling like that, I would have stood him in the corner with a dunce cap.” Over the years, the poem has gained notoriety for being a ground-breaking piece of literary wordplay, one that stirred up all kinds of reactions, positive and negative-- which, Saroyan would argue, was half the point. Saroyan took special interest in the look of words, highlighting in his work how even a simple misspelling could be enough imbue an otherwise ordinary word with additional meaning. The word "light", spelled correctly, is easily passed over in reading and one would scarcely give it a second thought. By doubling the "gh", Saroyan forces the observer to pause, to consider if the word's meaning changes, whether its pronunciation changes, and whether "lighght" is fundamentally any different than "light" as a signifier for the signified essence of light. In a way, it's really less of a poem than it is an image-- it's not really something that someone reads as there's no distinguished subject, object, or verb. Rather, it's something observed in totality, without a beginning, middle, or end. In a certain sense, one could read lighght to represent the precarious balance between existence and nothingness. On one hand, lighght (as an alteration of light) represents the beginning of existence-- the big bang, fiat lux. On the other hand, lighght is not a word that exists in the English language, at least not in that spelling, so it also represents nothing. cosmic is a compatibilist conundrum; a willful wednesday waltzing with the dimanche of a determinist demon; c'est la place, qu'est-ce que c'est la? Okay, something you should know about me is that I'm a bit of a poetry nerd and I'm genuinely fighting the urge to go deep into the weeds because interpreting the poem really wasn't what I set out to do with lighght. In truth, I hadn't planned to write a feature on Lucy Leitner this offseason. Riga winning the Continental Cup kind of forced my hand-- perhaps a little like that extra "gh" in Saroyan's poem. Too much of a stretch? Well, I'm gonna need you to bear with me here because I'm gonna be reaching for the stars with this next one. I write alot of poetry myself and I have a series of poems (about 70 of them) that I call "astro-gnomes". Gnomes in poetry are short little poems, somewhat like an aphorism or a proverb. My astro-gnomes are all four lines long and each one begins with the phrase, "cosmic is". Like a magician never reveals their secrets, I prefer when poets don't spoil their poems with detailed explanations so I'll just say that they're meant to explore the eclectic nature of the universe as we know it, including references to astronomy, astrology, science, nature, philosophy, art, pop-culture, mythology, literature, music, drugs even-- literally any aspect of existence was fair game. A few of those are featured in the article above, mostly because I've conjured some connection in my mind and felt like spicing things up to tie into the Lighght title. If they don't do anything for you, I will not be offended. ──•~❉᯽❉~•── LucyXpher October 14, 2024 2300 + words