#i thought i got 19 / 23 but i got 17.5 and I LOOKED AT THE ANSWERS AND I DONT UNDEDERSTAND | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inigofication · 3 years

Text

Soleil Masterpost, Sessions 17.5-24

An INCREDIBLY long and detailed catch-up post with how Soleil has been doing!

Session 17.5 (one shot with 2/3 party members)

In the midst of some chaos, Soleil is taking care of the group’s spaceship when a priestess of Erathis shows herself to Soleil, knocking her off her feet and tells her “Your brother still lives. Head to the Far Reaches.” Until now, Soleil thought her brother was dead- clings onto the idea that the Far Reaches is around Pluto (because of what she learned in school as a space pilot). Her and her gang are currently on Mars.

Soleil and fellow pc Hazel hang out at their ship together, Hazel accidentally sets off the hyperdrive and sends them to a magic school made at the beginning of time. Eventually discover that the place is being ran by someone named “The Master”, who is a passed out, scrawny, 19 year old kid that looks interestingly like one of our friend NPCS- possibly his son? Also, we accidentally take a cosmic being back to the present with us and we discover a message from the Master asking for Hazel’s dad.

Session 18

Soleil and Hazel use a scrying orb together to find out that Soleil’s uncle (who she recently learned is a alive) hired a succubus to find Soleil for him, and now said succubus is accompanied with a cultist and a vampire while they track us

Fellow pc Lorelle and Soleil have a shared gay moment over Hazel 👍

Session 19

Soleil discovers that she can’t use Message on her uncle because his appearance has changed so heavily from when she last saw him that it doesn’t work

Soleil tries contacting her brother for the first time. Hears back, “Move to the Eastern flank! All squadrons down! [+ continuous laser fire]” However, all she gets from him is that same message, looping over and over again until the spell ends. Weird, but not confusing; Soleil realizes they might be too far for their Message radio to properly reach him

Soleil full name reveal! A space station that they head for asks for her name, rank, and affiliation: Soleil Aimee Mercier, Rank Pathfinder, Project Neudon

After landing, the AI asks Soleil if she’s heard anything from the Far Reaches Movement; it’s purpose was to seek out exoplanets, train for eventual colonization, etc. The station was told to stay radio silent unless FRM reached out to them first- the AI sent us a distress call regardless because the station was losing power

The AI has Lucas’ (her brother’s) information in it’s database, but Soleil didn’t have high enough clearance to access it

We go to a city called Becon, meet Hazel’s father, and Soleil befriends one of his agents named Dahlia, a character I played in a one-shot previously! :)

Big combat time, the priestess of Erathis shows herself again, Soleil asks if she knows anything else about Lucas and the priestess states that she knows nothing else, only that Erathis herself asked for the message from prior to be passed on

Soleil and Lorelle later get the confirmation that their NPC friend Tomas is in fact a time traveler! Explains how his son(?) the Master may have been able to get to the start of time

Tomas reveals that he knows NOTHING about Soleil in his timeline, so he worries that he’s responsible for what happened to Soleil’s ship and for trapping her here in this timeline instead of hers.

Session 20

Hazel talks a plan with Soleil; instead of running from the succubus tracking them, we could let her find us because she would tell us where Soleil’s uncle is, and we could reunite with him

Soleil and Lorelle are roped into spying on a “not-date” that Hazel and Tomas go on, Lorelle interrogates Sol about maybe having a crush on Hazel

Since they’re at a tavern, Soleil spends the rest of that night drinking with Hazel’s dad’s agents (Dahlia & co). One of them, Eleven, propositions her and Soleil leaves in a very drunk and flustered state

Sol has never been to Becon and of course, in her drunken stupor, gets very lost in the city on her way to the spaceship. She wanders aimlessly before stopping on a bridge, and Sinnafex shows himself to Soleil to talk; he’s getting restless, wants to do some CRIME! Soleil blabbers on about how their relationship is a two-way street and she can’t do everything he says, and in her state, even goes to far as to call them friends (he begrudgingly agrees). He also agrees to be patient with her and Soleil sees something she hasn’t seen in awhile- the manifestations of butterflies that are on her arms.

She follows the trail of them to an alley way with a young lady crying at the end of it. Doesn’t get her name, but learns that she ran away from home, and didn’t like all the expectations put upon her, so Soleil saw herself in her. When the city guards showed up, Sol asks her if she still wants to leave- Sol’s identity gets obscured as Sinnafex covers her body in webs as she scoops up the woman to make a break for it

SOLEIL ACCIDENTALLY STOLE AWAY THE CROWN PRINCESS OF BECON (which Sol had no idea of until Hazel and Lorelle told her)

Session 21

Soleil has a dream, set in a dead world by every definition- broken skyscrapers, burnt fields, and everything is frozen in time as a cosmos storms above her, and eyes of radiant light shine down. They speak to her, calling her a Child of Tlachtli, and ask if she’s ready for the end. When Sol says no, they say to prepare for it or else she’ll end with it; this is the destiny of all living things. She is told she can only stop it by stopping the sun from rising; it’s impossible. She “cannot cheat destiny. [She] is not [her] mother.” Soleil wakes up after, taking it all in and wondering what her mom could have done

Surprise! The succubus and vampire get the jump on Lorelle and Soleil at the ship! Meanwhile, the cultist causes havoc at a temple of Pelor with Hazel

Soleil in her frustration accidentally kills the succubus, so resorts to keeping the vampire alive to get information from him instead

Session 22

Soleil realizes Lorelle left and meets both of them at the temple to be met with a horrible scene; Lorelle and Hazel’s families frozen in time by the now dead cultist. She comforts Lorelle while she cries.

A few days later, while Lorelle and Hazel are HEAVILY bickering, Soleil sees a sign of one of their acquaintances- a golden canary lands on her shoulder. She lets it guide her away from the other two until they reach the bottom of one of the city’s mountains, arrive at what looks like more of a fortress than a temple

More canaries appear and they let her into the space; it’s empty, full of blue fire torches and suits of armor. Soleil feels the thrumming presence of Sinnafex still in the Silken Spite. The canaries land on Sol’s head and shoulders, leading her to a room with a pool. The canaries leave and Soleil notices the design of a silver dragon carved into the pool, with a glowing orb in its mouth

(This was the Platinum Dragon, revealing she accidentally got into a temple; she didn’t know this because, as she’s from a different timeline, she doesn’t know a lot about the religion here.)

She wades into the pool, and the Silken Spite immediately reacts, moving up from her side to curl around her neck like a choker, away from the water. Soleil’s “demon arm” (the one she uses to wield Silken Spite) also burns when the water touches the spider marks on her arm. Soleil could use her non-dominant hand, but wouldn’t be as successful, so she throws a quick “SORRY!” to Sinnafex before diving her demon arm into the (definitely) holy water. ITS VERY VERY PAINFUL 😀

Soleil gets a vision; sees herself as a little girl in the Chun Dunes, a desert filled with huge rainbow crystalline chunks scattered across the area. A sword is stabbed into a red gemstone, its light bleeding, letting darkness fester. Soleil feels the need to help before the vision ends. She yanks her hand from the water; up to her elbow is completely burned and scarred. The butterfly mark on her palm is faded, can’t see the webs on her forearm. A woman from the temple finds Soleil, freaking out, and gets Soleil on bed rest despite Sol’s protests.

While sleeping, Soleil rolls over onto her scarred arm and is woken by the sound of the dead skin flaking off (GROSS). She goes to a basin of water to start to wash it all away… the spiderweb markings on her arm have completely disappeared, as well as the butterflies. Instead, they are now replaced with lineart of shimmering, silver scales, all the way up to her shoulder. The butterfly on her palm is now replaced with a silver dragon with butterfly wings.

While the butterflies are gone from Soleil’s arm, she can now summon them whenever she pleases, and make their colors whatever she’d like. She tries blue and pink, colors that remind her of her friends, and Sinnafex appears again to complain about the colors on the lining of his suit changing with it. He reveals that the spiders were less to do with him and more to do with the Spider Queen, and also that when Soleil goes to the dreamverse, her soul temporarily leaves her body for the duration- to him, she becomes an aurora of colors. He tells Soleil of an artifact of the Spider Queen they could retrieve for helping their situation.

When Sol is eventually back at the ship, the princess reveals that she practices conjuring magic, and that with her books, she could supposedly summon Soleil’s uncle, who is now more demon than person. Discuss plans.

Later, a black butterfly flies from Hazel to Soleil; a memory offering itself for her. Soleil looks- learns that both the Elven woman she saw in her dreams once and the princess are both tied to Hazel and her family.

Session 23

Fairly chill session, mostly just deciding plans for getting families back. Get invites to the Fall Festival, Soleil disguises herself to sneak into the princess’ chambers in the castle, retrieve her spell books and GET OUTTA THERE. Mostly an errands session.

Hazel calls Soleil “Soli” and she sufficiently has some gay panic 👍

Soleil talks to Lorelle to make sure she’s okay, talk about Soleil and Hazel maybe dating since Hazel keeps taking Soleil places in private?? Sol assures her nothing has happened with herself and Hazel

Soleil goes off on her own to buy potions and quickly realizes she’s being trailed by someone they saw months ago, someone who was aboard an imperial ship- somehow, they can see Sinnafex with Soleil, even when he doesn’t show himself on purpose

Soleil manages to hide from him for a bit, buys polymorph poison from the apothecary and arms herself- she’s immediately attacked when she leaves the room. She uses her hivemind to tell Hazel and Lorelle what’s happened. The man calls Soleil a heretic and tries to forcefully arrest her, leading to combat. Soleil eventually uses the poison and turns him into a rat, making a dead break for their ship to get away from public eyes and to trap him in one of their rooms.

Soleil gets to the ship before her friends in a frenzy, making a move for the captain’s quarters where Dalm (the vampire!) stays. She gives him her keen dagger, explaining that in 10 minutes the polymorph will wear off, and when it does, she needs his help holding the man here to tie him up.

Lots of talking with the man; he’s a Drow elf named Dimitri. As we tend to his wounds in the medbay, Soleil asks Sinnafex why Dimitri called her a heretic. Sinnafex shifts into a woman’s form and explains Dimitri’s history with the Drow empire. Dimitri says to be from the imperial guard, who have license to arrest anyone they deem is practicing witchcraft (which is why he went after Sol and Sinnafex).

In a moment of panic, Soleil CLOCKS Dimitri because she remembers she can go into his memories if he’s unconscious- plans to try and make him forget that their encounter ever happened. For the entire duration of the dreamscape, Sol’s body is externally covered in shimmering, purple electric static. In addition to checking on Dimitri, Sol also goes into her uncle’s memories. Her uncle is now a monster; a robotic centaur, twice his stature as before

(cw violence) Hazel, upon hearing about what Soleil’s uncle now looks like, has a horrible memory: one of Soleil’s uncle in that centaur form trying to OBLITERATE her family. He sends Hazel’s dad off the balcony and EXTREMELY harms the Elven woman from before. Soleil and Lorelle see the memory at the same time. Afterward, everyone takes a moment to process what they just saw. Hazel insists on leaving for the dinner she and Soleil have with her godfather, no matter how much we insist she needs bed rest.

Session 24 (this one was 12 hours long, BUCKLE UP)

Sol and Hazel go to the dinner with her godfather to get festival invites, he has a very nice mansion and lets them have their own rooms to stay the night.

Before the night is over, Hazel tells her godfather and Sol and Lorelle are interested in each other and wants them to spend more time together at the festival. Soleil FREAKS and finds out that Hazel is genuinely seriously about setting them up.

Soleil and Hazel have a spa day the next morning! Comfy beds, huge baths all to themselves in their rooms. The bath picks up on Soleil’s stress as she mulls over her probable feelings for Lorelle, and bath bombs are added to the bath, as well as the shower to mimic rain. First bath in who knows how long!! :) (also it casted Calm Emotions on her LOL)

Soleil and Hazel get tailored for festival dresses. We later meet Lorelle and the others back at the ship to explain why we were out all night. Whole gang spends hours talking about plans going forward. Afterward, Soleil seeks out Lorelle to check on her again

(tw abuse, scars) Lorelle opens up to Soleil about her abusive ex boyfriend who has been messaging her a lot as of late. Soleil makes sure Lorelle knows how toxic he was and how she didn’t do anything wrong, and herself and the others will always be there for her. She asks Lorelle if her burn scars are because of him, and it’s confirmed. Soleil holds her wrist, and the scale markings flash with the color of Lorelle’s skin. At one point, Dalm and Enu interrupt to ask if there’s “romance happening.” They shoo them off, Lorelle talks about Hazel liking Soleil, Soleil disagrees and tells Lorelle how much she cares about her, they talk about Soleil’s uncle, and she finally heads to her own room at around 4 am.

Upon leaving, Soleil see’s Hazel’s raven familiar in the hall and says goodnight to him- in response, she hears her dead father say goodnight back. She immediately freezes and crouches in front of the raven VERY confused, and gets her eyebrow pecked for it.

While Soleil sleeps in the morning, the Imperial Guard arrive to collect Dimitri (who was sedated and still passed out). It goes off without a hitch, but very quickly after he’s gone, the group needs to decide if they flee or stay, in case Dimitri turns them in when he inevitably wakes up. We get Dalm out and hide Princess Enu under the floor plating.

Guards arrive on the claim that we harbored a vampire, we let them search the ship thinking we’re fine, but they find evidence of things we forgot to clean up (whoops). While we’re manacled, Lorelle’s ex, Lindon, shows up with a group of cultists and start attacking the guards; he came here with the intent of saving Lorelle

SOLEIL GETS BADASS COMBAT TIME! Hazel goes down and Lorelle is on one hit point; Soleil scoops up Hazel and urges Lorelle onto the ship, still trying to keep her away from her Lindon. He insists he can take them to a hideout that’s away from imperial reach. Soleil is pissed and hates his guts, but doesn’t have time for bickering and wants to use him to keep the guards off of us for as long as possible. With Lorelle’s permission, he and his gang get on the ship with us as we leave.

Some party drama with Hazel, leaving Soleil to be incredibly pissed at her for quite awhile. Soleil sticks with Lorelle at all times so she can never be alone with Lindon. Soleil takes the ship to sub-orbital until they all decide what to do. She takes Lorelle to the medbay to help patch her up.

Sinnafex tells Soleil they could vent the cultists and Lindon from the ship if they really want to; Soleil considers it. Soleil leaves to go secretly move Enu back to her room without the new company seeing. She returns to the medbay while Hazel and Lorelle talk

Soleil gets the hideout from Lindon, and passes on the message that he wants to talk with Lorelle one on one. Soleil offers to go with and Lorelle accepts. The talk goes nowhere with Sol there; she argues with Lindon until Lorelle holds her wrist. Soleil squeezes her hand very hard. They leave, and Sol asks if she wants company for the night. Lorelle says yes

While Soleil gets things ready for bed, she realizes Lorelle has been gone for awhile and finds Lorelle and Hazel hugging, Hazel’s huge void of a scar transferred to Lorelle. Soleil waits a whole hour there for them before they leave the vision; they saw Lorelle’s mom (who we thought was dead) working with Soleil’s uncle

Hazel and Lorelle cry themselves to exhaustion, passing out, and Soleil hauls them to the bridge, asking Dalm if he can help grab pillows and blankets from everyone’s room for a huge comfy pile in the bridge where no one has to be alone. Since Dalm is a vampire, Soleil asks him if he could stay up the night while they sleep so that the cultists don’t do anything; he agrees

Dalm grabs Soleil’s hand and tells her that she’s doing a great job, and it’s okay if she needs to cry too; Soleil says “we’ll see.” He gives her a kiss on the forehead and brushes his hand through Soleil’s hair while she sleeps with the other two

LEVEL UP!!! Soleil multiclasses into Hexblade Warlock (5 rogue levels, 1 warlock level)! She takes Eldritch Blast, Sword Burst, Hellish Rebuke and Hex. Flavor text moment, Soleil learned all of her warlock abilities from Sinnafex

(cw light implied nsfw) The next morning, Soleil wakes up first and feels a weight lift off of her; Sinnafex was laying on top of her and he “wakes up”, claiming that “last night was so fun~” (even though nothing happened). Soleil tells him he’s very funny and sits there unamused while he moves to straddle her instead

He says Lorelle is cute, he doesn’t mind sharing. Since him and Soleil are the only ones up, he proposes that they could just go kill the cultists right now- throwing in a “You’re so pretty in the morning… can we go kill that guy now?” Soleil refuses, saying as much as she wants to, it’s not her decision alone. He dramatically falls back, exasperated, and calls Soleil boring

Lorelle wakes up next and tells Soleil about what her and Hazel saw. Hazel wakes up after, immediately leaving the pile.

The space station from before messages the ship again, offering a place to stay if our ship is currently too small.

Soleil goes to get breakfast from the kitchen, Dalm is there cooking, as well as Enu who excitedly tells Soleil that she found the CANNABIS OPTION ON THE FOOD REPLICATOR. Soleil and Enu have an interesting talk about how to limit those snacks as well as energy drinks

Soleil puts a hand on Dalm’s arm and thanks him sincerely for the night prior; he turns the move into a hug and says it’s okay. He asks Enu to go grab his dagger from his room since he forgot it. When she leaves, Dalm pulls away from the hug but still keeps close; “I don’t know what you’re doing to me. I was sent here to assassinate you and now I’m here cooking for you and- and I like it? Did you put a curse on me or something?”

Soleil laughs, telling him they’re all just becoming better friends, and maybe he likes some sort of domestic life more than he thought. She grabs breakfast for everyone and he gives her arm a squeeze as she leaves

Lorelle asks how Soleil slept, Sinnafex makes a comment to Sol about “sleeping between two beautiful women.” She wants to strangle him. She tells Lorelle and Hazel about her earlier visit from Sinnafex but nothing else

Hazel leaves to “give the lovebirds space,” Soleil and Lorelle talk and Sinnafex keeps butting in, telling Soleil to “cut the bedroom eyes.” He gradually makes more teasing and inappropriate comments and Soleil gets more and more flustered, busying herself with the controls on the board- Lorelle knows Soleil is talking to Sinnafex because Soleil stops to respond telepathically.

Lorelle asks Soleil to accompany her on trying to talk to Lindon again, Soleil agrees. Sol takes a moment at the bridge to mentally scream at Sinnafex while Lorelle grabs some things. Lindon agrees to only talk business while Soleil is present, no personal talks. We talk plans with Lindon and then talk about all of our options with everyone

Soleil accompanies Lorelle for her talk with Lindon one more time. Lorelle squeezes Soleil’s hand and says it’ll be okay if Soleil just waits in the doorway, per Lindon’s request. Soleil begrudgingly goes with it. She listens to them catch up and discuss their past, gradually getting more irritated but keeping to herself. Lindon eventually calls Soleil back in when they finish talking.

Soleil and Lorelle leave, talk about it a little before Dalm comes over with slices of cake. He advises Lorelle to go get some sleep, then waits until she’s left to ask Soleil if she listened in; “Of course I did.” “Of course you did. I’m almost disappointed in you.” Dalm says that some people need to figure things out on their own, without their friends with them. Soleil argues that Lorelle wanted her there and that Sol wanted to make sure Lorelle didn’t get hurt. Dalm asks if Soleil thinks she ever cares ä bit too much, Soleil says maybe, and Dalm makes an offhand comment about Soleil being in love with Lorelle- Soleil shuts it down very quickly, flustered; she says no, no, no, and Dalm asks if that means he has a chance. Soleil, assuming he’s joking around, gives him a laugh before parting

Sinnafex tells her “Oh my… this is going to get interesting.” Soleil asks what he means, but he refuses to tell her unless she lets him take control of her just once; Soleil quickly shoots it down

(META GAME MOMENT: WE HAVE CONFIRMED DALM DEFINITELY HAS A CRUSH ON SOLEIL)

The gang goes ahead and makes it to the space station. Dalm asks Soleil if he can go walk along the moon, she agrees to let him out and watch him from the airlock. Before they go, he says they need to have a talk about “romance”, not between Soleil and Lorelle but someone else… HEAVILY hints to Princess Enu having a crush on Soleil- she keeps her diary a secret around Dalm and he once saw her draw a heart with initials in it around some runes. Soleil is STUNNED and thinks he’s got it wrong

(tw nsfw implication, slight manipulation?) While Dalm is gone, Soleil asks Sinnafex if the reveal about Enu was his “surprise,” Sinnafex says OBVIOUSLY not and calls Soleil boring. He shows himself again, this time standing in front of her, hand against the wall behind her and leaning close. He suggests hooking up, Soleil declines while assuring him that she’s fine. He holds her chin getting closer, insisting that it would be good for Soleil to get some “practice” to no longer be a virgin. Soleil mentions being interested in someone else, and he bugs her about it until Soleil confirms that it’s Lorelle. He says again that he doesn’t mind sharing, and asks if he can at least get a kiss. Soleil huffs, frustrated, and only gives him a kiss on the cheek before focusing back on letting Dalm back into the station. Dalm says she should go out there with him sometime.

Next day, Soleil tries her hand at an old Ancient One RPG on a game console that’s aboard! swag

Third day, Sinnafex bugs Soleil while she tries to sleep; “I’m trying to fucking SLEEP!” “And I’m trying to FUCKING!” Soleil later accidentally walks in on Hazel letting Dalm have some of her blood while trying to find the bathroom because he had been growing weak.

Fourth day, Enu approaches Soleil and asks if she’ll go with her to see the station’s fire elemental; Enu wants to learn from it since it’s her specialty, and Soleil understands the whole conversation. It goes on for a few hours before Enu starts to get tired, yawning and exhausted. Soleil says they should get her to bed, and Enu asks “Would you carry me?” While Soleil’s caught off guard, Enu panics saying it was a dumb thing to ask, DEAD SPRINTS back to her room

Soleil and Lorelle meet up while Soleil is heading back from her time with Enu. Lorelle asks how Soleil is and talks about a random dating sim game that the AI recommended for her- Soleil finds it funny and admits to having played that game ages ago back in her timeline. They walk and talk about everything, ending up in a small lounge/sitting area.

Out of nowhere, Sinnafex takes control of Soleil (failed wisdom save), making her grab Lorelle’s hands and tell her how lonely they looked. Soleil gets control again and immediately panics. Sinnafex bugs her while Soleil becomes a bumbling mess of apologies for how sudden it was, getting more flustered by the second.

(cw nsfw implication, manipulation kinda from Sinnafex again) Lorelle tucks Soleil’s hair behind her ear, asking if she’s okay. Sinnafex keeps pushing her and Soleil finally says “This might be… very inappropriate of me to ask. But can I… kiss you…?” Lorelle says yes, and they kiss. Sinnafex takes control again, meaning more kisses, having Soleil put her hand on Lorelle’s thigh and asking if she wants to go further; Lorelle declines

Soleil gets control back and FREAKS out because that’s absolutely NOT WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO. Lorelle tucks Soleil’s hair again, gives her a kiss on the forehead, and tells Soleil she needs better control over Sinnafex; Soleil VERY MUCH agrees. Lorelle suggests getting food, Soleil says she’ll meet her at the cafeteria and goes to her room.

Soleil full on screams into her pillow for a good minute and yells at Sinnafex who shows himself again, with celebratory wine and his tie undone. Soleil argues with him incessantly, he makes fun of her for only just having her first kiss, and abruptly moves in front of Soleil to hold her chin again and kiss her this time, pulls back saying “That’s what a kiss should be.”

Soleil finally leaves, incredibly frustrated (more so when he slaps her ass on the way out JFC), and eventually meets back up with Lorelle. Soleil doesn’t know, but the kiss from Sinnafex created a charming effect on Lorelle, making her even more infatuated with Soleil. For the rest of the night, they get food, talk, and only share kisses before calling it a night at one of their rooms.

SOLEIL GOES TO THE DREAMVERSE! Sinnafex visits Lorelle’s mind while Soleil is gone, telling Lorelle about how Soleil’s soul just disappears sometimes. They talk, and when Lorelle asks Sinnafex to step off with the relationship stuff, Sinnafex explains that he is with Soleil for everything she does; their traits rub off on each other and some bit of him will always be present. He takes the form of a woman again and tries to seduce Lorelle but to no avail. Sinnafex also saves Lorelle from her own shadow demon.

DREAMVERSE TIME!! Soleil feels nostalgic with all the talk of families, so she visits her dad’s memories- but it’s more like visiting his own personal heaven since he’s dead. Soleil watches her dad push her and Lucas on swings at a park, Soleil was a toddler at the time while Lucas was slightly older. He pushes them high on the swings, saying he always knew Soleil and Lucas would fly high. Soleil sees her mom with her dad too.

As Sol leaves the space, she’s presented with the option to go deeper into it. She does, and this time she’s on the swing and not watching herself. Instead of flying off the swing into the air, Soleil lands with a thud into the sand, and her dad immediately becomes confused, thinking he somehow broke the space, saying this isn’t how the memory is supposed to happen. Soleil turns towards him; “…Dad?” “Soleil?” They both realize it’s real, they’re really together, and her dad scrambles over to bring her into a hug. Soleil immediately breaks down, and he tells her how much he’s missed her, how he doesn’t understand what’s happening, and doesn’t know if Soleil died or not. Soleil explains it’s just a thing she can do, and they move to the swings to talk. He asks her what it was like visiting a new galaxy, and reveals that while he’s here, he can view parts of Soleil’s life as they happen, but he’s behind and viewing them in random order. He asks if Soleil has gotten with Tomas yet, that’s what he was banking on, and Soleil admits to have kissing Lorelle that night. Soleil asks him if he knows where Lucas is, and he doesn’t, but he knows about what happened to Soleil’s uncle. While we talk, an older version of Hazel shows up, a version of her where she became a champion of the Raven Queen. She tells Soleil that she can’t be there, has to leave before the others find out. Soleil hugs her dad tight, tells him she loves him, and he loves her too, telling her that she’ll always fly so, so high. The space fades as the sand falls away.

Soleil tries checking on her mother next. Her father told her that she was currently doing something in the North Pole, but not sure what. Soleil tries to see, but not strong enough to get in.

Soleil tries checking on Lucas, hoping to pry her way in to figure out what happened to him. She’s not strong enough here, either, but instead gets tossed into someone else’s mind- her brother’s significant other. She’s with him on a beach, holding his hand, and she asks to hear about Soleil again. He replies “You mean that greedy, self important little trouble maker? … She did always have a sense of humor.” He starts to cry and she comforts him, telling him she understands.

Soleil gets pushed out of the memory, but once again gets the option to go deeper in. She follows the path, and ends up at not the beach but instead a firey battlefield, scattered with ships Soleil doesn’t recognize. Soleil stands on the bow of a starship with a sword pointed at her by the same person, demanding to know who Soleil is. Soleil is still crying from before, and desperately explains that she’s Lucas’ sister. The figure is confused at first but eventually comes around, asking Soleil what happened to the St. Marianne. Soleil explains that the ship was destroyed, and that she ended up here and was found. She starts to tell Soleil that the Order has invaded, they’re at the Gateway, and Soleil needs to bring reinforcements. She struggles to think of the word, then says in French, “the many is one” so that Soleil can understand. Soleil mentions having been in cryosleep for 3,000 years, so she doesn’t understand the war, and the figure is confused on how that can be because the battle has only gone on for 15 minutes. Before Soleil can say anything, the setting resets- the figure moves back to pointing the blade at Soleil, repeating herself in demanding to know who Soleil is. Soleil realizes that they’re stuck in a TIME LOOP.

The memory fades away, and instead, Soleil sees the universe in front of her like she has before, it speaks to her again; “This is what will happen if you free him. Your brother. Freeing him from the gateway will cause cataclysm. The Nine will stand. They will not fall to foreign invaders. Your destiny… the reason you were the one who survived the St. Marianne was to prevent ragnarok. You are a soldier. You are ours. Prepare yourself.”

Soleil suddenly wakes up, alone in her room, Lorelle missing from the bed- instead there is only a trail of black ichor leading out of the room. Soleil quickly gets up, following the trail all the way to the airlock- where she sees Lorelle passed out on the floor, surrounded by the ichor at the brink of life, and her shadow demon pinned to the wall by Sinnafex’s webs.

End of session! If anyone reads all this, I hope you enjoy this LENGTHY summary and feel free to hand over any questions about Soleil or the campaign :)

#oc: soleil #dungeons and dragons #d&d campaign #d&d character #dnd character #holy shit this took me hours to rewrite #hope u guys enjoy xoxo #trin talks #super long post

3 notes · View notes

secondgenerationnerd · 4 years

Note

wholesome Jon Kent headcanons if you can pls!

Ok, So I have a lot of life stages when I write Jon. I’m going to seperate them as best as I can. Also, my personal definition of “Wholesome” is “there’s no sex and no one is depressed.”

Kid

-Jon is the literal sweetest of all the kids. Like, people think that Irey’s that kid. Irey literally blows shit up for fun and calls it science.

-He knows all his friends’ birthdays. He always gets them a card and something small that makes him think about them -- Milagro gets a cool fabric he got from someplace new, Lian gets a new record for her collection, Colin gets some cool superhero stuff.

-He always gets them Valentine’s because...Yes.

-He actually likes working on the farm.

-He does have a bit of a temper, mostly if someone is a jerk to his friends.

- Jon has an unfortunate habit of tearing his clothes in a fight. Not in a weird way, they just get torn. Milagro teaches him to sew.

-Jon is the most obvious when he likes someone.

-He gets mostly B’s in school, but he really is smart.

-First kiss was with Milagro on a dare.

-Mar’i was his second kiss, but like end goals.

-Always hugs his mom before going on a mission.

-Perry White calls him “Mini Kent.” Jon calls him Uncle P.

-Damian is his best guy friend. Mar’i is his best girl friend.

-He hangs out around Wayne Manor enough that the Batbros joke Bruce must have adopted him.

-He and Jai race way more than they should. They aren’t that great at stopping.

Teen

-Jon volunteers at the local pet shelter on weekends. He likes being around the animals and talking to them.

-He’s actually the coolest when it comes to

-He’s the best cook overall. Milagro, Lian, and Irey tend to cook very spicy food, which a few of them cannot tolerate. Jai sustains himself on like snacks only. Damian’s vegetarian and makes his own food. Mar’i and Colin are not allowed to cook.

-He learned all Ma Kent’s recipes.

-He makes all their birthday cakes.

-Damian, age 19, asks Jon, age 17.5, to be his daughter’s godfather. Jon cries for like an hour afterward because he’s so freaking honored.

-Jon has a major growth spurt when he’s 15. He went from the third tallest to the tallest.

-Jon is the clumsiest of all of them, except maybe Irey.

-He, Colin, Jai, and Damian skateboard together on weekends. It’s another one of their ‘normal’ activities.

-He holds things out of people’s reach to be silly. He doesn’t do it to Lian after she elbowed him in his stomach.

-Really hates hair cuts and shaving. He’s not shaggy, but like, he only shaves his face when Mar’i refuses to kiss him anymore.

-Jon’s always ready to get a cat out a tree, no matter how much his friends tease him

-Likes to grow veggies and fruits at the tower. He makes the best jams.

Adult (Before Kids)

-He and Mar’i move to Metropolis for a few years after they graduated high school.

-He went to Metropolis University as a Public Relations major.

-He works as a freelance writer

-He lives in a studio apartment with Mar’i.

-He’s usually home before Mar’i is and will make dinner.

-A year before they adopt their kids, age 23 ish, they move just outside the city to a very small farm.

-Loves rainy days at home.

-Has a standing Boy’s night with Damian, Jai, and Colin. Literally they meet up and talk smack about each other.

-One of those nights ended with their girlfriends/wives/fiancees finding all four of them passed out in the tower with a goat, a laser blaster, and a Justice League pillowcase. The pillowcase is the only thing they couldn’t explain.

-Starts a very popular blog about what heroes are like behind the scenes. Nothing that like puts anyone in danger, but like, what’s Robin’s cool down routine.

-Loves listening to podcasts when he’s getting ready.

-Volunteers at a community center to help kids with anger issues. Damian was great training.

-Sees how long he can go without a hair cut. Apparently, after four months, he couldn’t stand it being in his face anymore.

-His one guilty pleasure song is “Body like a Backroad.” by Sam Hunt.

Adult (After Kids)

-Literally loves being a dad.

-Has joyfully attended his daughters’ tea parties.

-will randomly bring home flowers for Mar’i, just because he can.

-his son, Peter, loves going with Jon hikes.

-He called his oldest daughter, Charlie, cowgirl because she loves helping with the animals.

-On Sundays, Mar’i washes their younger daughter’s hair (Mary Margaret “M&M” Kent who’s black.) Jon takes Peter and Charlie to a farmer’s market or just out. When he gets home, Mar’i will do something with the older kids while he spends time with the baby.

-Jon still hates haircuts, but pretends to tolerate them after Peter refused because he wanted to look like Jon.

-Reads to his kids every night.

-Will randomly text his wife that he loves her.

-Continues to be Superman even though Mar’i leaves the life. It’s one of their few fight topics.

-He and his friends meet up one year at a Wayne Winter Cabin. While the dads’ played in the snow with the older kids, the moms were chilling on the porch with the little babies. It took about an hour before Jai, Colin, and Damian thought it would be funny to shove snow down Jon’s pants.

-Still meets up with his friends every month.

-Teaches all his kids how to skateboard

-Dances with Mar’i in their living room to make her laugh.

#jon kent #superboy

10 notes · View notes

travelswithzsubes · 5 years

Text

2:57:19

I kind of can’t believe I’m sitting here writing this race report.

The very idea of it felt like a pipe dream for so many years. I actually can’t really remember the exact moment when I decided I wanted to run a sub-3 hour marathon. Was it in 2009, when I decided, lying comfortably on a Seaman Street bed in New Brunswick, that my first marathon would be in Pittsburgh? (Spoiler alert: No.) Was it in 2011, when I really tried to qualify for Boston for the first time? (No - I was just trying to run below a 3:10:59 in Wilmington that day so I could make the minimum Boston qualifying time.) Was it in 2012? (Kind of - my first half of the Ocean Drive Marathon was sub 1:30. But, looking back, that first half was a little bit too good to be true, and I faded hard to my 3:03 with an asterisk.) The first real time I tried to go sub-3 was 2015, in Philly, when I had a real shot at it with a 1:27 first half, and then my legs died and I had nothing. I also had nothing in 2017 in Boston. So - another try, at age 33, without really knowing if my body was capable of doing such a thing.

I actually started training for this marathon back in April, when, during a normal 10 mile run, I felt positively like a doughball. I could barely crack a 7 minute pace during the run. Enough. Enough! Time to train for real.

And so I went on a diet and started attacking my workouts. I went to Crossfit. I began running 4-5 days a week - because of injury, that had been unheard of during my buildups in 2012, 2015, 2017. I linked up with RVRR buddies to do speed workouts on the track basically once a week. I did a few summer series 5Ks. I started feeling faster on the track, and I did an unmeasurable number of double digit runs in what felt like triple digit heat. (An endless supply of hot runs during training.) Most crucially - I avoided any major injury. My knee always gives me little problems here and there, and I had some foot concerns throughout, but unlike other years I didn’t develop some kind of exotic and fun new injury from this training. And once I did my 22 mile training run at a 7:23 per mile pace, I knew I at least had a shot at my goal.

Running the incredibly hot Newport Half in Jersey City, four weeks before the marathon. My 1:25:51 was solid, but it wasn’t fast enough to make me feel fully confident.

Yes, I had a small bout of mysterious stomach muscle discomfort when I pushed during my track workouts and during other runs, and that freaked me out a little bit, but I came to terms with the fact that there wasn’t much I could do about it. “Just know it’s going to hurt and accept it,” Matt said. And it was true.

October 13, and I showed up in Schenectady with that mentality. There’s nothing like a small race, the Mohawk Hudson Marathon, mostly along bike paths and the eponymous rivers (and through duly named towns like Watervliet and Colonie and Cohoes), with everyone congregated and shivering in a small parking lot as the mist rises off the dewy grass, to get you fired up. I stripped off my pants and hoodie, dutifully handed my bag drop to the volunteers, and waited for the gun to go off.

***

I had just bought a GPS watch for this race, and it was equal parts distracting and helpful. Knowing that I was running about a 6:35 pace from the start of the race was incredibly helpful, yes. But it also meant that I was checking my watch incessantly throughout the first mile, and, therefore, during the whole race. It definitely took some joy out of the running and unquestionably took me out of the moment.

But whatever. I wasn’t in this race to have a Zen kind of experience. I really only had one mission - to run a sub-3 time, really no matter what it took. And so I checked my watch at the expense of being a bit more in touch with my body (and certainly at the expense of looking at the fall colors all around me and observing the Mohawk River floating lazily to my left).

The beginning of the race felt fine. It wasn’t hard for me to start with a 6:37 mile. It didn’t even feel that fast at that point, and it’s all lost in a sea of adrenaline then anyways. My goal was to run 6:45s for the first half (to reach the 13.1 mile mark in about 1:28) and then try to stay consistent enough through the end to run a 2:59 or whatever it was. Even so, 6:37 felt OK. The stomach thing did seem to act up briefly, which was a little disconcerting. But it faded away early on, and even though pushing felt hard, it didn’t have a major say in how I performed throughout the race.

I saw a nice pack of 7 runners in front of me around Mile 2, and I put in a little burst of speed. It was a small race, and running with a little group to break the wind for me would be kind of nice, I figured. I kind of stuck with them. The next few miles: 6:31, 6:26, 6:22. Suffice it to say I was feeling good, and maybe a little too good. There was a bunch of downhill, and I’m pretty sure I hit a 6:00 pace at some point in there, which affected those paces for sure.

That’s when I caught a conversation between a couple of the guys I was running with. “We’re trying to hit the halfway point at 1:25,” one said to another. So - too fast for me! It wasn’t easy to do, but I immediately dropped back. I’ve made the mistake to stay with - or even pass - a group like that in previous marathons. You feel so good, and nothing can go wrong at that point, but it’ll never get you very far. At that point I basically decided to focus on running relatively comfortable, consistent miles. We were solidly on the bike path at that point, where we’d stay for the next 13 miles or so. Even though the path is relatively uninspiring, and doesn’t have a ton of crowd support, it’s beautiful, and it really lets you get into a legitimate rhythm. Plus the cheering at the water stops wasn’t bad. I tried to take Alexi Pappas’s advice: “When it hurts, just smile.” It actually kind of weirdly works.

6:41, 6:39, 6:40. Except for one outlier mile at 6:33, every mile up until 13 was between 6:39 and 6:44. That was pretty much what I was going for. I looked at my watch all the while and just tried to let myself settle. I’d call it defensive running. I was being conservative, running slower than I was capable of, just really trying to set the internal pace metronome and trying to stick right to it.

But I started to get scared around Mile 9. That was where I felt myself needing to put in a little more effort to maintain that pace. Oh, I thought. I have a very long way to go. If I can barely maintain it here…

…just get to Mile 13, I told my unsettled mind. Just get there, and then the race really begins. Then you can really start doing damage; then you can really see what you’re made of today.

But you can’t get to the real part of the race without the mise en place of those first 13 miles. And so they mess with your mind. They’re fake, a mirage before the stage play, but they stand in front of you like obstacles.

The last one was the hardest. Mile 13 had a little uphill, then a steep downhill, then a couple more uphills. I overcompensated on them a bit and found myself running a 6 minute pace. Up a hill. My legs didn’t feel great doing it. Easy, I thought. You’re going too fast.

Thankfully the half marathon mark beckoned, not too far ahead. I hit it in about 1:26:30 - well ahead of my goal. I had plenty of time in the bank now to make things happen, which was good, because I could tell I was weakening. Miles 13-18 are tough. They’re so far from the end, but so deep into the race. Try to just keep up that same pace, I thought. Just keep turning them over and here we go.

And I actually felt like I hit a second wind. Mile 14 was a little scary. At that point, you just know the wall is coming at some point, and you hope you don’t hit it too soon. I felt the death sneer of it all creep its fingers up my neck. But it wasn’t there yet, and even though it took more effort, I turned over a 6:41. Others started to catch up to me, and so then I tried to mostly keep their pace. I actually started to somehow feel strong. 6:39. 6:34 for Mile 16. I knew, for the second half, that I just had to average somewhere between 6:52 and 7 minute miles to achieve my goal. Every mile I ran faster than that I was putting time in the bank. Just keep putting doing that, I thought. Who knows how much longer you can go.

And yet, somehow, I actually felt fast.

I ate a GU at Mile 16. I immediately got a stomach cramp. I haven’t gotten one of those in a long time. GU is usually fine to me - thankfully, somehow, the cramp teetered on the edge before fading away. Maybe the thumb jammed into my insides actually worked.

And then I was at Mile 17 - where you get off the trail and on to the streets. At this point the haze started to kick in.

Life can be dark, and it’s especially grim at Mile 17 of a marathon. Your soul starts to struggle. Is this all there is? Black, joyless, never ending strides forward? Nothing in your body really wants to keep going; everything wants to be still. It’s a deep, desolate place. You feel like a baby; you want to cry every second. Here, running is an emotional experience much more than a physical one.

And yet you keep running. You have to.

There was a rail crossing at mile 17.5 in Cohoes on road that is open to trains. No matter, there was no train. I ran downhill afterward, feeling the small adrenaline rush from the lack of train traffic that would have derailed my Boston time. You take anything you can get at that moment. The crowd started to pick up at this point, and I just tried now to keep moving straight and try to keep turning over the same pace. Just. Keep. Running. The. Same. Pace. You’re okay. Sweetheart. Keep running at the same speed. Over. And. Over.

It mostly worked!

I got to Mile 20 feeling rough, but I passed it at about 2:12:30. That meant I could run the rest of the pace at close to 8 minute miles and still make 3 hours. At that point I wasn’t even close to that. I knew I had a real shot now.

And yet you never know. The last six miles…the wheels can just fall off.

So, again. Defensive running. Just try to keep up a solid pace, nothing fancy. Run your race. It’s OK to slow down to 7 minute miles now. That is more than OK. The crowd was nearby, cheering, but people simply look like apparitions at this point, scarecrows that you just have to pass on your way to the finish line.

When I started running Mile 22 and saw that I was hovering around a 7 minute pace, putting more than enough time in the bank, I actually briefly teared up. It was so close. And yet. NOT NOW! I thought. Anything can happen. NOT YET!

On cue, my left calf cramped up briefly. Is this how it ends? I thought. With me cramping on the side of the road, unable to run another step?

No. It wasn’t. Thankfully, I got on the last section of the path around Mile 22 and just…at this point, I was simply gutting it out. I didn’t have much left. I so badly wanted to stop. And yet…four more miles. That’s not nothing. Just maintain, I thought. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts now. Just maintain, and the glory will come.

Here and there my leg continued to cramp. Any one spasm could end me. It was terrifying. I ate another GU. Maintain, maintain, maintain.

Mile 23: 7:04. One more mile, I thought. Just one more mile, and you’ll have tons of time in the bank.

Mile 24: 7:08.

I now had about 20 minutes to run 2.2 miles. How many times have I done that in my life? So very many.

And yet.

Just NOW one more mile, I thought. If you get to 1.2 miles left, and you have more than 10 minutes to do that, there’s almost no way you’ll fail, unless the cramps get you.

I saw a bridge over the Hudson up ahead. Don’t look at your watch till you get there, I told myself. There’s a water stop there. Your legs are jelly; you can barely run. Just maintain.

I got to the bridge. I looked at my watch.

I was holding a 7:11 pace.

And when I got to Mile 25, with 13 minutes left to run 1.2 miles, I knew it was basically sealed.

I was too cracked out and dazed and tired to be in a celebratory mood. Just, please, someone, anyone, let it end. I knew I didn’t have to run fast, but I still tried to keep it up. I really couldn’t anymore, though. Maybe it’s because I knew I had it, but the thought of crushing a final mile in 6:30 seemed impossible. Someone passed me. “You’ve been pulling me for 10 miles,” he told me. I tried to stay with him. He wasn’t even running fast. I couldn’t.

And so the crowd numbers increased as I wound my way along the path to the finish line. A half mile to go. This was actually happening.

In the end I barely remember the finish line. My brain was fried, overfed on self-control and the metronomic pace of a 6:41 mile. It wasn’t some glorious Eliud Kipchoge-esque finish. But as I saw the finishing banner come into view, I smiled wide. (You can see this in the race photos.) I felt nothing more than a broad, deep sense of satisfaction. My smile that you can see in the photos reflects that.

Me on the right, with the weight off my shoulders

I guess I finished at some point. My watch read 2:57:19.

And I stood just past the chalk, holding the gate, trying to soak it all in, trying to understand what it means for a goal of 10 years to be finally realized.

The immensity of it is impossible to understand at that point. But as I stood there, I felt deep exhaustion. That much was unmistakable. But with deep exhaustion comes a deep sense of peace. I could rest now, bask in the literal and metaphorical 60 degree warm sun that shone above us. And I could drive home two hours later, high on chocolate milk and Ruffles potato chips, screaming uncontrollably with joy as I blazed down the highway, knowing that this was it. This was actually it.

***

I’m planning on running Boston in 2021. I know I’ll get in at this point. It feels amazing. It’s an incredible race and I’m so happy to be going back.

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that strip of bike path along the Hudson River where the race ended. I’m a sub-three hour marathoner now, no matter what. It’s mine, and I’m going to hold on to it like a grateful child.

I’m writing this a few days later. The run already feels like a long time ago. I can mostly walk normally again. Life moves on, and I’m already looking at half marathons I can do in November to capitalized on my in-shape status. I’ll run the Turkey Chase 10K on Thanksgiving Day. Work is heating up; the Jewish holidays are in full swing. It’s easy for all this to be in the rearview mirror.

But I’m trying to hold on to this as tightly as I can. For a brief time, as I sat on a grassy hill after the race, soaking in the adulation that comes with congratulatory text messages, on a perfect fall day, there was absolutely nothing more that I needed from my life. It’s rare that you get perfect moments. A moment where nothing is wrong, and you can’t imagine anything being wrong, and there’s nothing more the day demands of you.

If nothing else, having that made it all worth it.

0 notes

bunnyandbirb · 7 years

Text

Bunny & Birb’s Spiciness Ranking : League of Legends Men

We play a shameful amount of League of Legends, and after this you’ll get the idea that it’s for all the wrong reasons.

For this week’s collab post, we decided to make a combined ranking of League of Legends male champions based on their level of spiciness.

We each made an individual list with rationale, and then ranks were averaged out to generate the final list. We also tried to rationalized our picks somewhat, and choose the most attractive skin for each.

The scale ranges from 1 (the most attractive) to 26 (least attractive). Then the average is obviously the average rank based on our individual ranks.

1. Talon - Average rank: 2.5 bunny: 4

Maybe it’s cus we can’t see his whole face that I think he’s attractive? I also just love assassins. SSW is the most attractive. He looks the most normal. Gives off an Altair from Assassin’s Creed vibe.

birb: 1

So I thought this guy would have potential, but wasn’t totally sure. His SSW skin is what removes all doubt and carries this dude all the way to the top. Black-haired rogue dudes get a thumbs up from me. (I also ship him with ma girl Quinn, and she deserves only the best.)

2. Ezreal - Average rank: 3 bunny: 2

I mean, he’s the most pretty boy of any of them. Has those nice Aryan features. Ace of Spades Ezreal has the cockiness that makes him worth it.

birb: 4

A generic anime bishounen type. I don’t know, I guess he just looks a little young for me? I’m also not recruiting for Hitler Youth. He definitely is one of the more objectively cute ones, though, so I can’t deny him that. Best skin is Ace of Spades, bonus points because he’s not blonde in that one.

3. Kayne - Average rank: 4 bunny: 5

Gotta love this edgelord and all his emo hotness. It’s like my high school dream. He only has one skin but it’s damn attractive.

birb: 3

While he runs away with the title of Edgiest League character, it cannot be denied that he (particularly dat skin) is attractive. Probably because he looks less like Sasuke in the skin.

4. Three-way tie - Average rank: 5.5

Vladimir bunny: 1

Academy Vlad appeals to all my shitty anime fantasies and I love him. He’s got condescending down cold. I’d call him senpai.

birb: 10

The whole vampire image was never really my type, and Vlad’s not an exception. Count Vlad is probably the most attractive one to me (once again, the black hair bias)

Ekko bunny: 6

Ekko has that devious type of appeal. Like the type that would totally get in trouble but you dig it. Sandstorm is probably the most attractive, mostly cus his others just look bad.

birb: 5

Ekko has a decent voice on him (even if he doesn’t stfu when you play him) and I’d say he’s pretty cute. He would have success at a co-ed mixer. His (Darude) Sandstorm skin is far, far superior to his regular one.

Zed bunny: 9

I mean we can’t see his face, so like he could be really hot. It’s a 50/50 chance. Shockblade is the most attractive since it proves he has real skin.

birb: 2

This pick is based entirely on faith that someone this edgy must appear equally edgy (and attractive). Also his movements have POWER and GRACE thus he must have a nice FACE. Championship Zed is shiny as fuck so it’s obviously most attractive skin.

5. Twisted Fate - Average rank: 7 bunny: 3

I think I find him attractive mostly because of his voice, though he’s pretty cool too. I wanna say Pax is my favorite just cus it’s rare af.

birb: 11

I like his drawl, the facial hair knocks off some points. Most attractive skin is Cutpurse, since it gets rid of his beard.

6. Two-way tie: Average rank: 9

Jhin bunny: 12

I’m using his obsession with roses as the reason that he’s a little more attractive than some of the other guys. Also…. ITS HIIIIIIIIGHHHH NOOOOOOONNNNN

birb: 6

Despite the obvious V for Vendetta vibes, I do weirdly like Jhin’s voice. And his /joke is kinda cute so I’m taking that into account. He also has Very Good posture! He only has one skin aside from his normal one, but I do like that better.

Varus bunny: 10

I guess purple eyes are pretty cool and he does have an 8-pack going on, though I’m not sure what the front of his hair is doing. Heartseeker Varus got me falling in love.

birb: 8

His eyes are a little creepy but if you look past that he’s probably a nice guy. Gimme some of that Varus Swiftbolt action, though. I would probably romance him in a Dragon Age game.

7. Lucian - Average rank: 9.5 bunny: 7

His eyebrows are very nicely groomed and he has no weird facial hair. Striker Lucian is the most attractive just because I love soccer players.

birb: 12

I feel a little weird trying to figure out how spicy a guy raging around about his dead wife is, but whatever. He has some nice cheekbones. Hired Gun is probably my favorite skin, because I like his hair in that one.

8. Two-way tie - Average rank: 11.5

Yasuo bunny: 16

Uh, Yasuo really knows how to use a sword *wink wink*. Plus he has some very nice, flowy hair. I would like to date him to steal his shampoo. Project Yasuo looks pretty cool and you can’t see his face so it’s better.

birb: 7

Separating him from the people that play him, appearance-wise he’s alright. As long as he doesn’t windwall, I could stand to look at him for extended periods of time. I might be projecting my Rurouni Kenshin feels onto him, though. I’d maybe pick Blood Moon, for no real reason.

Jayce bunny: 14

If you’re really into dads, then I guess Jayce would be for you. But like, that’s not my thing and I will kink shame you for it. Debonair his the skin where he looks the most suave (but still very dad)

birb: 9

He really does just look like my friend’s dad or something. He’s just an average looking dude, which is somehow better than the majority of the people on this list. Debonair skins will always be attractive skins.

9. Darius - Average rank: 12.5 bunny: 8

I’m only putting Darius 8th for Academy Darius. He might look like the school bully, but he still looks pretty attractive in that skin. Normal Darius, not so much.

birb: 17

The only viable Darius skin is Academy, and he still just looks like that guy who beats people up just for an ego trip.

10. Garen - Average rank: 13.5 bunny: 13

His head is weird shape so he’s not higher but Garen does have a nice face. Rugged Garen is the most attractive because his head isn’t so tiny in that one (unlike Dreadknight)

birb: 14

So Garen might be a bit of a pimplehead, but I look at something like Rugged Garen and say okay, I can fux with this.

11. Pantheon - Average rank: 15.5 bunny: 18

He’s less hairy than everyone below this. We also can’t see his face so no negative points there. Mediocre at best. Baker Pantheon is the most attractive cus there’s food involved.

birb: 13

I’m basing this purely off the fact that he wants to be a baker, and that’s kind of adorable. Favorite skin is obvious.

12. Two-way tie - Average rank: 16.5

Draven bunny: 11

His confidence is attractive I guess? Gotta love a guy who knows he’s great? Also have you seen those legs in Pool Party????

birb: 22

He has the crazy eyes, which are very deterring. Favorite skin is Soul Reaver, because his face is less of a face.

Graves bunny: 15

Graves looks more normal than some of the other dudes but he has so much chest hair. Ew chest hair. Also I don’t like smokers. I guess he looks the best in Mafia Graves, the red really brings out the flames.

birb: 18

A regular lookin’ shmuck. I guess he’s manry and all that, but why that facial hair. Mafia Graves is best, because it’s hard not to look good in an outfit like that.

13. Two-way tie - Average rank: 17.5

Xin Zhao bunny: 20

I have less of an opinion about him than I do Jarvan, which is really saying something, so he gets stuck here at the bottom. His face is boring and he’s boring. In Warring Kingdoms he has a slightly edgy thing going so he’s not all bad

birb: 15

Forgettable as hell, but not exactly ugly. I hate his ponytail, though. Most attractive skin is either Dragonslayer or Winged Hussar, more for the armor than because he looks good.

Jarvan IV bunny: 19

Uh he has a face. So I guess that’s nice. I literally have like no opinion on him. I guess Warring Kingdoms is the most attractive cus it has a nice stoic vibe.

birb: 16

I feel like without his ridiculous armor he would look okay. Sort of like the all-American soldier type vibe? Darkforge is his best skin because his armor actually looks pretty cool.

14. Lee Sin - Average rank: 18 bunny: 17

Lee Sin can’t see so his other sense are probably heightened. Every girl wants a guy that’ll listen to her for once. Traditional Lee Sin is the most attractive because he actually has hair.

birb: 19

Does the blindfold add appeal? Maybe. Traditional Lee Sin is his best look because he has hair.

15. Two-way tie - Average rank: 21

Taric bunny: 22

It’s hard to be attracted to someone else’s man. I also don’t think I could make him swing my way. Armor of the Fifth Age has the best smirk going on, so it’s definitely my favorite.

birb: 20

Off limits, can’t compete with Ezreal. He definitely looks like Fabio, though, and he’s popular on romance novels. My pick is Pool Party Taric, because it looks like he’s starring in Baywatch.

Gangplank bunny: 21

He’s a pirate so maybe he would get some booty, but not this booty. Too much beard and too rugged. Probably has scurvy. At least in Special Forces he looks a little bit younger and more tame.

birb: 21

The edgy makeover definitely gave him some positive points as compared to his old goofy pirate character. Still, he looks kinda old. Captain Gangplank is my fave because it looks like he’ll kill me if I say otherwise.

16. Two-way tie - Average rank: 23.5

Tryndamere bunny: 24

He’s a little up from the very bottom because at least his hair is on his head and not his face. But his muscles are also scary. I like Viking Trynd just because he’s surrounded by money and I’m attracted to money.

birb: 23

A straight-up ragemonster. I’d classify this guy as more of a beast than a man. He’s most attractive as King Tryndamere, because I can actually look at him like a human bean.

Udyr bunny: 23

I’m not really that into hobos. Udyr is like that guy who spent too much time in the forest and now thinks he’s magic. Definitely Not Udyr is the most attractive cus it’s the closest to not Udyr.

birb: 24

I feel like I wouldn’t be surprised seeing Udyr walking out of a dumpster. Best skin is Spirit Guard because he actually looks respectable (and because that skin costs a lot of money.)

17. Olaf - Average rank: 25 bunny: 25

There’s just so much hair!!!! And his muscles are bulging in a weird way. Brolaf maybe is the most attractive? It has the least amount of hair and alcohol.

birb: 25

Olaf is like a hairier version of Tryndamere, except he doesn’t even have a single respectable skin. His one arm muscle is like bigger than my whole body. Butcher Olaf is the most attractive, because I like meat.

18. Gragas - Average rank: 26 bunny: 26

Uh yeah. He’s just not good looking. He has so much hair and his nose is so red. God I don’t know. Oktoberfest is the most attractive, if I have to pick?

birb: 26

Alcoholic and literally a circle with limbs. Judging by his VO, he wouldn’t even pay for drinks if you went out with him. Best skin is Scuba, because it’s the one where his face is the most covered and also there’s a possibility that he will drown.

And that’s the end of our petty list! We’ll probably rank the League girls sometime in the future, but that’s for another day.

~Stay tuned for nonsense~

- bunny & birb

#laughing so hard at some of the differences in the rankings #vlad will always be my number one #thisisbunnyinthetags #thursday #league of legends #spicy #ranking #bunny #birb #league champions #league men #male champions #talon #text post #long post #collaboration post #collab #hot league men #best champions

2 notes · View notes

jodyedgarus · 5 years

Text

Tacko Fall Is 7-Foot-6. And He’s Breaking Basketball.

If Dr. James Naismith had known that the sport he created would one day be dominated by Tacko Fall, he probably would have nailed his peach basket a bit higher than 10 feet.

The University of Central Florida center is listed at 7-foot-6, although Tacko and those around him will tell you that the senior has grown an inch taller. That makes him the tallest basketball player in college or the NBA. And it means Fall can dunk without his feet leaving the floor and play keep-away with the ball by merely raising his arms above his head. On defense, he’s at most a half-step away from the action, capable of plucking rebounds off the glass or stopping layup attempts by sending the ball crashing into spectators.

“He is one of the most talented kids I’ve ever seen,” said Justin Zormelo, a personal trainer who specializes in analytics and has trained Fall in recent years. “He can do things on the basketball court that have never been done before.”

Anecdotal evidence aside, Fall is in the final stretch of one of the most dominant and efficient careers in the history of college basketball.

For a guy who has been playing basketball half as long as many of his peers, Fall picked up the sport pretty quickly. Seven years ago, Fall, then 16, left his family in Senegal to move to the U.S. “Basketball and school, that was the plan,” said Fall, who had effectively never played the sport before his arrival. “I honestly can’t imagine doing that,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said.

By Fall’s senior year of high school, colleges from around the country had come calling. Even though he had received scholarship offers from established programs like Georgetown and Tennessee, Fall chose UCF, a relatively green program. (It has had four all-time appearances in the NCAA tournament, none of which went past the opening round.)

Four years later, Fall has arguably led the Knights to three of the five best seasons in the program’s history.1 This year will likely culminate in the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in 14 years. “I think he wanted to come here and leave this legacy,” Dawkins said. “He chose a place where he could really impact what was going on. He made that commitment. And look where he’s taken the program.”

Few if any have scored with more efficiency at the college level. “You’ve got to feature him as much as you possibly can,” Dawkins said, laughing. “And we do that.”

Although he has never been UCF’s leading scorer over a full season, Fall has made just under three-quarters of his career field-goal attempts. Oregon State’s Steve Johnson set the all-time career mark (67.8 percent) in the early 1980s, which means that Fall could shatter that record by more than 6 percentage points.

Fall is on pace to shatter the field-goal percentage record

NCAA men’s basketball players with the best career field-goal percentages, for players who attempted a minimum of 400 field goals and made a minimum of four per game

College career Player Team Height Final Season total Games career FG% Tacko Fall UCF 7’6″ 2018-19 110 74.0% Steve Johnson Oregon State 6’10” 1980-81 116 67.8 Michael Bradley Kentucky/Villanova 6’10” 2000-01 100 67.7 Murray Brown Florida State 6’8″ 1979-80 106 66.8 Evan Bradds Belmont 6’7″ 2016-17 129 66.7 Lee Campbell Middle Tenn./Missouri St. 6’7″ 1989-90 88 66.5 Warren Kidd Middle Tenn. 6’9″ 1992-93 83 66.4 Todd MacCulloch Washington 7’0″ 1998-99 115 66.4 Joe Senser West Chester 6’5″ 1978-79 96 66.2 Kevin Magee UC Irvine 6’8″ 1981-82 56 65.6 Orlando Phillips Pepperdine 6’7″ 1982-83 58 65.4

Through March 6, 2019

Sources: NCAA, Sports-Reference.com

This season, Fall’s effective field-goal percentage is 75.1 percent, the best mark by nearly 5 percentage points.2 If that number doesn’t change, Fall will finish in the top three for the second time in three seasons.

Synergy Sports Technology started tracking points per possession in the 2005-06 season. As of Tuesday, there were about 23,000 Division I player-seasons that accounted for at least 150 offensive possessions from 2005-06 through 2018-19. Of those, Fall’s four seasons at UCF ranked third, ninth, 23rd and 27th in adjusted field-goal percentages.

Although Zormelo said Fall’s jump shot is much improved, Fall hasn’t been asked to use it much in college. In fact, Fall has taken a whopping 11 total jump shots over his career, according to data from Synergy. “You always have to know where your bread is buttered,” Dawkins said. “And for him, his bread is buttered in the paint.”

UCF has the tallest front court in the nation, pairing Fall with 6-foot-11 Collin Smith. “On defense, he’s a monster,” said Smith, who admitted that he is rarely concerned if an opponent sprints past him toward the rim. “Just knowing that I have that 7-foot monster behind me is just amazing. I know he’s going to clean it up.”

Counting stats, especially on the defensive end, often fail to showcase Fall’s value. For example, despite having a huge impact on what happens in the paint, Fall has never ranked in the top five in blocks per game. But he has won an American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year award. As Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson told The Associated Press, Fall “takes away half of your playbook.”

And Fall’s presence on the court clearly makes his team better on both ends of the floor. His on-off court splits are jarring. According to Hoop Lens, UCF’s defense improves in nearly every facet when he’s playing. On offense, his team’s effective field-goal percentage is nearly 8 percentage points higher when Fall is manning the paint.

Fall’s impact on UCF has been huge on both ends

The on-court and off-court split for Tacko Fall and UCF in a variety of key offensive and defensive metrics in the 2018-19 season, through March 6

Offense Defense Without With Tacko diff. Without With Tacko diff. Points per poss. 1.00 1.08 +0.08 0.97 0.89 -0.08 eFG% 48.9 56.7 +7.8 47.3 45.5 -1.8 Turnover % 16.6 16.5 -0.1 16.6 17.5 +0.9 Off. reb % 27.0 33.1 +6.1 28.1 28.4 +0.3 FTA/FGA 0.523 0.525 +0.002 0.434 0.241 -0.193 2FG% 49.8 55.1 +5.3 48.1 45.1 -3.0 3FG% 31.7 39.6 +7.9 30.5 30.8 +0.3 FT% 72.2 61.9 -10.3 65.8 63.0 -2.8 3FGA/FGA 0.378 0.363 -0.015 0.365 0.395 +0.030

Source: Hooplens.com

In the two seasons before Fall’s arrival, UCF ranked outside the top 220 teams in Division I in points allowed per possession, according to data provided by Synergy Sports.3 The team made up substantial ground in Fall’s freshman year, and over the past three seasons, UCF has ranked in the top 10. The Knights held opponents to 36.5 percent shooting from the field in 2016-17, tying the 10th best mark nationally in field-goal percentage defense since 1978. This year would be the third consecutive season that the Knights ranked in the top 15 in effective field-goal percentage defense.

Individually, Fall has allowed 44 total points on 79 possessions against post-ups over his career. In isolation, he has allowed 25 points on 34 career possessions. Fall’s lateral quickness has also improved considerably, his coaches say, as has his ability to diagnose and thwart offensive schemes. “He’s guarding different actions that teams are throwing at him,” Dawkins said. “I can see his response time has gotten faster. He’s recognizing what’s going on at that end of the floor a lot quicker as well.”

There’s no shortage of reservations hanging over Fall as he heads toward the upcoming NBA draft. The age of the slow-footed big man is over and, increasingly, the league seems to have less room for guys who can’t get it done at the free-throw line. Fall is 23, and there’s a short shelf life for players who stand at least 7-foot-3: Only 25 have logged action in league history, and fewer than half played more than five seasons. Can someone lacking above-average end-to-end quickness and stamina flourish — or even function — in today’s NBA? And how honed is Fall’s jump shot, which hasn’t really been tested outside the paint? Is his skill set more Yao Ming or Hasheem Thabeet?

“I mean, there’s not a lot of guys like me,” Fall correctly noted.

Zormelo believes in his player, though. “The guy can move a ball wherever he wants. Everything he does is crazy.”

For the short term, UCF is enjoying its first appearance in The Associated Press poll in eight years and is coming off a weekend win over then-No. 8 Houston, snapping the Cougars’ 33-game home win streak, which had been the longest run in the country. On senior night Thursday, the Knights host No. 20 Cincinnati in the first top-25 home matchup in program history, with a chance to beat their second ranked opponent for the first time in a single season.

The Knights are hoping for a sellout for Fall’s final game at CFE Arena. But he’s most concerned about one fan who will be there: his mother, who has never seen her son play in person.

Seven years after he said goodbye to his old life, Fall entered an airport a few days ago and paced around the baggage claim. “All of a sudden, I see her head and we started running,” he said.

Onlookers saw a woman sobbing. Fall saw his mother.

“I have thought (about that moment) every day since I’ve been here,” Fall said. “I felt like I was dreaming. It was incredible.”

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/tacko-fall-is-7-foot-6-and-hes-breaking-basketball/

0 notes

c3pojones · 5 years

Text

Napa Valley Marathon 2019: Race Report

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” Well friends, welcome to the training cycle of my fifth marathon.

The Training

In the previous three marathon training cycles I ran 3-5 times a week with peak weeks of 50 miles and at least a 20-mile run (the minimum by most marathon training guides). This cycle? Not so much.

Most weeks saw me run one long run. Some weeks saw me run not at all. My best weeks were ones in which I got my long run plus a shorter easy run. I’m not sure I had a week with three runs in the entirety of my 16-week training cycle.

My longest training run? 17.4 miles.

I had no speed work at all. Overall, I probably put in 1/3 of the miles I had hoped to.

Trying a Few New Strategies

So when I started thinking about goal setting for this marathon, I was not overly ambitious. Finishing was all I could hope for. So I decided to figure out a few things along the way that weren’t training dependent, things I’ve struggled with in previous races.

I’ve always struggled to stay on pace, meaning I always run too fast. I run by feel more than anything, but this doesn’t always work in a marathon. You can feel fine in mile 14, pick up the pace and explode in mile 19. If you had dialed it back and kept on pace, you might not have exploded until 22 or maybe not at all. This is why a lot of people use fitness watches and a lot of marathons offer pace groups. I decided I should try out one of these pace groups.

My longest training run was done in about a 10:10 pace. This meant I could go with the 4:20 pace group (about 9:55 per mile) or the 4:35 pace group (about 10:30 per mile). I decided to go with the 4:20 group and just see how long I could hold on. I figured it would be somewhere between 16 and 18, but I was cautiously optimistic I could hold on until 20 or 21.

My previous marathon mistakes have been many and various. Food and fueling is often a concern for me. I’ve never had a race where I consumed enough calories. You can calculate this through various formulas. From what I can tell I should consume between 700 and 800 calories during a marathon given my weight, speed, and time on the course. Most people get these calories through sports drinks like Gatorade or condensed, sugary fuel such as Gu. I’m fine with the drinks, but Gu and anything like it (sports beans, chomps, pretty much anything I’ve tried) makes my stomach upset. In my fourth marathon I decided I would eat real food instead. I drank Powerade, ate two oranges and a banana on the course. This was maybe half of the calories I needed.

So this time, I developed a plan for Stephanie to meet me on the course at two different points with food that would hit my calorie count. She graciously met me at mile 9 and mile 16 with a banana and a quarter of a sandwich that I concocted with high-calorie bread, lots of peanut butter, chia seeds, and a touch of jelly. She also refilled my handheld water bottle with Powerade. She’s the best.

I tried two other new things for this race as well. I ran with a 1.5 liter reservoir on my back (for most of the race) and I took salt pills throughout the race. All four of these new endeavors worked out well enough.

The Race Itself

The Napa Valley Marathon is a point to point marathon starting at the north end of the valley in Calistoga and heading south to the town of Napa. It is a net downhill of about 250 feet with 23 of the 26.2 miles being on a single road. There were, by my count, 10-12 hills of any significance on the course, most in the first half of the race. In all reality, it’s a pretty easy course.

The one thing I did not expect was how slanted the road was in the first 8 miles or so. There are several sharp, winding curves in the first third of the race in which the road is at a sharp incline from shoulder to shoulder. This meant that my shin muscle (you know, that weird muscle that sticks out when you lift your toes up) was very tight early in the race. It calmed down once the curves stopped.

The 4:20 pace group was a little ambitious in the first half of the race. I probably started 15 seconds behind them (on purpose) and I was seeing mile splits of between 9:37 and 9:56 in the first eight miles and I barely caught up to them by that point when they were supposed to be dropping 9:55 mile after mile. I know I didn’t run the tangents perfectly on those curves...but neither did they.

Things were all fine up to my first pit stop with Stephanie. Nine miles, no problem. I was in a 9:55-pace groove. Heading into the second pit stop, mile 16 was the first where I was struggling to keep up with the pace group. I managed to keep the pace group within sight and striking distance through 18 miles, but mile 19 was not good.

It’s hard to explain or even remember what happens pain-wise during a race. I know my stomach was upset, but I didn’t know why. My quads were cramping a bit, especially on the inside, just above my knee (the typical spot for my worst cramps). Mostly, I was just fatigued. This was, without a doubt, the wall. My lungs were fine. My heart rate was fine. My mind was mostly fine. (I did have one stray thought of “Why are we doing this again?”) My legs were just fatigued. I hadn’t trained them enough. That’s all there was to it. I walked and ran slowly through 19 and 20 (both at 13:21 pace) and then fell back into a different groove in the 11:45 range. The 4:35 pace group caught me just before mile 22. I knew they would. It was fine. I didn’t walk very much at all. I probably ran more in this race than any previous marathon...I just ran slower.

At mile 24 I saw my watch say I was at 4 hours and 12 minutes. If I could manage 12-minute miles to the end, I could break 4:40. That seemed worth trying to do. So I kept my eye on my watch, making sure I didn’t fall below a 12-minute pace. Mile 24 is also where it started misting, but it was the type of misting that makes you soaked, like an irrigator mist. The wind picked up. Two paramedics on bicycles sauntered by and one said, “Well, it’s raining, it’s cold, it’s windy. They’ll be dropping like flies.” He’s lucky it was mile 24. I would have caught up to him and pushed him in the ditch if I weren’t a moment away from cramping every muscle in my body.

Magically, as I neared the 26 mile marker, the mist was done, the sun peeked out for the first time literally all day just in time for me to finish. I ran through a crowd of probably 15 other runners on the home stretch and finished with a 4:39:35. I’ll take it.

It’s my fourth best out of five marathons. Exactly what I expected.

What’s Next?

It’s hard to assess how I feel about this one. In all reality, it wasn’t that good because I didn’t train enough. Essentially I phoned this one in. But there’s this part of me that feels really good about being physically able to phone in a marathon.

My recovery has been good. I’m sore, but it’s not nearly as sore as previous races.

I’m not sure what’s next. I immediately began looking at my options. There is a semi-local marathon at the end of April I’m considering as well as a 17.5-mile trail race in mid-May. I probably can’t do both, but I’m not sure which is in the cards for me at this point.

I’d like to get a 50k under my belt at some point. There are two local possibilities in the Fall that aren’t too ridiculous. Truth be told, despite this being my worst marathon performance in the 30-34 year old male division, this race gave me more confidence for a 50k than any previous race. It might not be pretty. But I think I understand how to take care of my body during a race much better than I did five years ago. Another marathon finish simply gives confidence to the reality that I can still do this.

So, I’ll be hitting the trails and the hills with the goal of a Fall 50k and finally entering the world of Ultra Running.

#running #marathon running #marathon training #napa valley #napa valley marathon #50k #ultra running

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

S&P+ spread picks for every Week 11 college football game

With GameDay watching, can BC impede a pre-ordained Clemson CFP run? Picks for that and every other FBS game here.

Clemson’s got four remaining hurdles to get to the College Football Playoff, and the Tigers are likely to clear all of them. S&P+ gives them a 75 percent chance of winning their final three regular season games (they’re at least an 18-point favorite in each) and would deem them a 29-point favorite against Pitt in the ACC title game, a 27-point favorite against Virginia Tech, or a 25-point favorite against Virginia.

The next few games feel like they’re as much about staying healthy as conquering challenges, but if one game still has even slight uncertainty, it’s this battle with Boston College.

Clemson will probably win. But BC has proved a tricky out this season. The Eagles are 7-2 with a top-30 defense and an offense that alternates between constant explosions and steady implosions. They can make big plays from any situation but might not make any; they’re horrible on third-and-long but don’t face any. Opponents avoid their run defense, passing constantly, but they defend the pass better than the run.

With the way Clemson’s been playing of late, though, it might not matter. Since the Tigers narrowly survived Syracuse with their freshman backup quarterback (as opposed to their freshman starting quarterback), they’ve been as dominant as ever.

They beat Wake Forest, NC State, Florida State, and Louisville by an average of 60-9 (!!). On offense they’re in the top 10 in both Rushing S&P+ and Passing Downs S&P+, and their defense is dominant in all but a select few categories. They have for the last month dominated at an Alabama level, and they are only a little bit behind the Tide in overall S&P+. This is a machine, and if the Tigers survive strangeness in Chestnut Hill, they’re just about to the finish line.

Below are FBS picks and projections using the S&P+ projections, listed in full for all 130 FBS teams here.

See the bottom of the post for more detail about these.

The spread (listed in parentheses) is shown next to S&P+’s pick for each game. The team in bold is projected to beat the spread. (At most books, there is no listed spread for FCS games.) When S&P+ predicts a tie or a push (a tie with Vegas, basically), I list the pick on the side S&P+ would pick if teams could score in decimals.

This document breaks games (and S&P+’s season performance to date) out into their decimal glory. This year, I am including and monitoring total (over/under) picks as well.

Weeknight games

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Syracuse’s Alton Robinson

No. 13 Syracuse 38, Louisville (+21.5) 22 (Nov. 09, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN2)

No. 14 NC State 38, Wake Forest (+17.5) 24 (Nov. 08, 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)

No. 23 Fresno State (-3) 33, Boise State 24 (Nov. 09, 10:15 PM ET, ESPN2)

Buffalo (-20.5) 41, Kent State 17 — Buffalo won by 34 (W)

Northern Illinois 27, Toledo (+3) 27 — NIU won by 23 (L)

Ohio 33, Miami (Ohio) (+3.5) 32 — Miami won by 2 (W)

After drubbing Louisville appropriately, Syracuse gets a shot at Notre Dame next week in a strangely big game, one that could determine the Irish’s spot in the Playoff or the Orange’s spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.

Ranked vs. ranked

Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald

No. 1 Alabama 37, No. 16 Mississippi State (+24) 19 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)

No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 17 Boston College (+20.5) 17 (Nov. 10, 8:00 PM ET, ABC)

No. 5 Georgia 33, No. 24 Auburn (+14.5) 20 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN)

No. 10 Ohio State (-3.5) 30, No. 18 Michigan State 25 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, Fox)

I’m curious how long Mississippi State can make Alabama uncomfortable on Saturday. Going by S&P+, MSU is the best team the Crimson Tide have faced this season. They defend about as well as LSU, and they can run the ball as well as LSU wishes it could.

The Bulldogs could make things interesting if quarterback Nick Fitzgerald can hit a couple of deep shots, but, well, it is putting it kindly to say that Fitzgerald has struggled to hit the deep shots — the MSU offense is third in Rushing S&P+ but 87th in Passing S&P+. Maybe he’s been saving up all his good passes for this moment?

Other ranked teams in action

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery

No. 3 Notre Dame (-18) 36, Florida State 13 (Nov. 10, 7:30 PM ET, NBC)

No. 4 Michigan (-39.5) 44, Rutgers 2 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, BTN)

No. 6 Oklahoma 45, Oklahoma State (+20.5) 29 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, ABC)

No. 7 LSU 32, Arkansas (+14) 22 (Nov. 10, 7:30 PM ET, SECN)

No. 8 Washington State (-6.5) 36, Colorado 25 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN)

No. 9 West Virginia 34, TCU (+12) 24 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, FS1)

No. 11 Kentucky (-6.5) 29, Tennessee 22 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, SECN)

No. 12 UCF (-25.5) 50, Navy 17 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2)

No. 15 Florida (-6) 34, South Carolina 25 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN)

Texas Tech (+2) 35, No. 19 Texas 31 (Nov. 10, 7:30 PM ET, Fox)

No. 20 Penn State 31, Wisconsin (+9) 28 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ABC)

No. 21 Iowa (-10.5) 30, Northwestern 18 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, Fox)

No. 22 Iowa State 36, Baylor (+14.5) 23 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, FS1)

Florida State’s still got a decent defense (it’s been downgraded from “good” after a couple of bad weeks) and certainly has the athletes to scare Notre Dame, but any thoughts you have about an upset disappear when you think about Jerry Tillery, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, and the disruptive Notre Dame front taking on the sieve that is the FSU offensive line. That could be ugly.

Power 5 vs. Power 5

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Pitt’s Darrin Hall

Arizona State 37, UCLA (+13.5) 24 (Nov. 10, 2:00 PM ET, Pac-12)

Duke (-10) 36, North Carolina 20 (Nov. 10, 12:20 PM ET, ACCN)

Kansas State (-10.5) 33, Kansas 22 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, FSN)

Maryland (+1) 26, Indiana 26 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, BTN)

Miami (+3.5) 33, Georgia Tech 26 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN2)

Missouri 38, Vanderbilt (+17) 22 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, SECN)

Purdue 34, Minnesota (+12.5) 26 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN2)

Stanford (-24) 47, Oregon State 20 (Nov. 10, 9:00 PM ET, Pac-12)

Texas A&M 37, Ole Miss (+11.5) 30 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, CBS)

USC (-5.5) 28, California 20 (Nov. 10, 10:30 PM ET, ESPN)

Utah (-4) 35, Oregon 24 (Nov. 10, 5:30 PM ET, Pac-12)

Virginia (+3) Tech 31, Pittsburgh 31 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, ESPNU) (Actual projected score: VT 31.3, Pitt 31.0)

Pitt vs. Virginia Tech in a tossup game for potential control of the ACC Coastal division. That sounds exciting, at least until you think about the teams’ combined 9-8 record.

FBS vs. FBS

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois’ Reggie Corbin

Air Force 33, New Mexico (+13.5) 25 (Nov. 10, 3:30 PM ET, CBSSN)

Appalachian State (-21) 34, Texas State 13 (Nov. 10, 4:00 PM ET, ESPN3) (Actual projected score: App State 34.3, TXST 12.9)

Arkansas State (-6.5) 38, Coastal Carolina 28 (Nov. 10, 5:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

BYU 33, Massachusetts (+14) 26 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ELVN)

Central Michigan (-7.5) 32, Bowling Green 24 (Nov. 10, 3:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Cincinnati 31, USF (+14) 23 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, ESPNU)

Eastern Michigan (-12.5) 33, Akron 17 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN3)

Florida Atlantic 37, Western Kentucky (+20.5) 18 (Nov. 10, 5:00 PM ET, Facebook)

Florida International (-10.5) 32, UTSA 21 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Houston 32, Temple (+4.5) 29 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, CBSSN)

Louisiana Tech 40, Rice (+24.5) 17 (Nov. 10, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Marshall (-14.5) 32, Charlotte 10 (Nov. 10, 2:30 PM ET, ESPN+)

Memphis (-15.5) 39, Tulsa 23 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ESPNU)

Middle Tennessee 32, UTEP (+13.5) 19 (Nov. 10, 3:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Nebraska 40, Illinois (+17) 24 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, BTN)

Nevada (-14) 39, Colorado State 24 (Nov. 10, 10:30 PM ET, ESPNU)

North Texas (-14.5) 42, Old Dominion 21 (Nov. 10, 2:00 PM ET, ESPN3)

San Diego State (-22.5) 39, UNLV 15 (Nov. 10, 10:30 PM ET, ESPN2)

SMU (-19.5) 42, Connecticut 23 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN3) (actual projected score: SMU 42.2, UConn 22.7)

Troy (-1) 31, Georgia Southern 29 (Nov. 10, 1:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Tulane 31, East Carolina (+14) 19 (Nov. 10, 4:00 PM ET, ESPNN)

UAB 28, Southern Miss (+12) 16 (Nov. 10, 7:30 PM ET, beIN) (actual projected score: UAB 28.0, USM 16.1)

UL-Lafayette 42, Georgia State (+14) 30 (Nov. 10, 5:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

UL-Monroe 34, South Alabama (+6.5) 30 (Nov. 10, 5:00 PM ET, ESPN+)

Utah State (-31) 46, San Jose State 10 (Nov. 10, 4:00 PM ET, Facebook)

Virginia 41, Liberty (+23.5) 21 (Nov. 10, 3:00 PM ET, ACCN)

I can’t believe these words are leaving my keyboard, but you should try to watch some of the Nebraska-Illinois game. It will be much more fun than you expect. Nebraska has scored at least 31 points for four straight games and is up to 44th in Off. S&P+ after a tough start. Meanwhile, Illinois — Illinois! — has one of the most enjoyable run games in the country. The Illini are sixth in Rushing S&P+ and rushed for more than 400 yards against Minnesota last week. Granted, they fall apart as soon as they have to rely on anything other than the ground game, but it’s something!

At 4-5, the Illini still have, per S&P+, a 10 percent chance of reaching bowl eligibility. Those odds would improve to at least 35 percent with a win in Lincoln.

FBS vs. FCS

Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Army’s looking to move to 9-2.

Army 30, Lafayette 1 (Nov. 10, 12:00 PM ET, CBSSN)

I would pay a lot of money to see a team win by a 30-1 score.

Each year, I post weekly S&P+ picks as a way of affirming the ratings’ validity. I use my S&P+ system as a complement to most of my analysis, and the picks are a way of showing it generally knows what it’s talking about.

S&P+ tends to hit between 50 (meh) and 54 percent (great) against the spread from year to year. It isn’t always the single best performer, but it holds its own.

Beyond picks, though, it goes deeper than any other set of college football analytics on the market. You can go into granular detail regarding team strengths and weaknesses in a way that no other set of ratings allows. (See the annual team statistical profiles as proof.)

0 notes

buddyrabrahams · 6 years

Text

10 NBA players who could become first-time All-Stars

Last year’s NBA All-Star Game was the most competitive we’ve seen in years, as Team LeBron edged Team Stephen, 148-145. Something about having the two stars pick their squads, playground-style, got the competitive juices flowing.

The entertaining showdown featured five first-time All-Stars (including four from the East): Joel Embiid, Victor Oladipo, Bradley Beal, Goran Dragic, and Karl-Anthony Towns. So, which players could make their first All-Star Game appearance this year? Here are 10 to look out for.

10. Brandon Ingram, Lakers

The Lakers may not win the West, but adding the best player alive practically guarantees they’ll be a top-tier team. As L.A. jockeys with the Warriors, Jazz, Rockets, and company, someone is going to have to step up to complement LeBron James. Ingram is your best bet to fill that role. The lanky Duke product made a big leap from year one to two, significantly elevating his per-game averages in points (9.4 to 16.1), rebounds (4.0 to 5.3), assists (2.1 to 3.9), and blocks (0.5 to 0.7), as well as his three-point shooting percentage (29 percent to 39 percent). Though rumors are swirling that Kevin Durant may opt to join LeBron in Hollywood in 2019, Ingram has an opportunity this year to prove the Lakers already have a Durant-type star.

9. Tim Hardaway Jr., Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis is the Knicks’ star, but he’s out for the foreseeable future. There’s still no hard return date set, but it seems the Knicks will ease him into action, and it’d be a surprise if he played much before the All-Star break. Thus, the Knicks will be looking for a go-to scorer. Though Kevin Knox could emerge in that role, it’s likelier that the veteran Hardaway will do so. After receiving a hefty four-year, $71 million contract in the summer of 2017, Hardaway put up solid numbers for New York last season: 17.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, all career highs. Though his shot was inconsistent, he was still arguably the Knicks’ best weapon after Porzingis tore his ACL in February. With new coach David Fizdale in tow, look for Hardaway to crack 20 points per game early this season.

8. Aaron Gordon, Magic

Gordon was one of the guys who cashed out this summer. He signed a four-year, $84 million extension with Orlando. Gordon has a new contract and a new coach (Steve Clifford). Now it’s time for him to prove the Magic were wise for believing he could become a franchise player. Last season, he averaged career-highs in minutes (32.9), points (17.6), rebounds (7.9), assists (2.3), steals (1.0), and blocks (0.8) per game. No one has ever questioned Gordon’s athletic ability; he can get up with the best of them. It’s the rest of his game that needs development. Last season, he finally cracked the 30-percent mark from three-point range (33.6 percent). If he comes out of the gates hot, he could take LeBron’s vacant All-Star spot in the East.

7. Jaylen Brown, Celtics

Seemingly everyone favors the Celtics in the East this season – they have the second-best odds of winning the title – and with good reason. Boston has a great problem on its hands, though: it has too many good players. How can you find enough minutes to satisfy Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier? It seems inevitable that Danny Ainge will end up dealing one of the final two on that list. The Celtics’ top five, however, should all be All-Star candidates (though it’d be surprising if even four made it). Brown, like Ingram, made a massive jump from year one to two – his averages ascended in minutes (17.2 to 30.7), points (6.6 to 14.5), rebounds (2.8 to 4.9), steals (0.4 to 1.0), and assists (0.8 to 1.6), and his three-point shooting surged from 34.1 percent to 39.5 percent.

6. Myles Turner, Pacers

We thought Turner was poised for a big breakout campaign last season – but that didn’t really come to fruition. Though the Pacers surpassed expectations, Turner didn’t live up to the hype. His per-game averages dipped in points (14.5 to 12.7), rebounds (7.3 to 6.4), blocks (2.1 to 1.8) and steals (0.9 to 0.6). But his shot improved, and he took a backseat as Victor Oladipo, the season’s Most Improved Player, emerged as a star. Turner was the talk of the NBA blogosphere after he shared photos showing his body transformation in June. With Turner eligible for a contract extension next summer, and his improved diet and cardiovascular conditioning, this should be the season in which he truly breaks out.

5. Rudy Gobert, Jazz

Isn’t it crazy to think that the Stifle Tower hasn’t made an All-Star Game yet? Gobert, a two-time All-Defense first-teamer and last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, qualified for All-NBA second team in 2017-18 – but he didn’t make the All-Star Game. The reason? He missed significant time with knee injuries in the first half of the season. If he were healthy, he would’ve all but certainly been an All-Star. No one is sleeping on the Jazz this season – we saw just how dangerous Quinn Snyder’s squad can be down the stretch last year, when they finished the season 29-6 – and that’s largely because they boast the most dominant defensive presence in the game. If Gobert stays healthy, he’s a surefire first-time All-Star.

4. Jayson Tatum, Celtics

Tatum is only No. 4 on this list because he’ll jockey for numbers with Boston’s four other stars. In terms of ceiling, however, I think he could be the best player in the 2017 draft. The No. 3 pick out of Duke showed far-beyond-his-years maturity – both on and off the court – last season. He has an incredibly polished game. Though he went through a bit of a funk around the All-Star break, he snapped out of it and was ready to ball out in the playoffs. Tatum briefly but fearlessly went toe to toe with LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals. He worked on his off-the-dribble shooting this summer – teams won’t be leaving his open around the arc this season, that’s for sure – and he has the potential to one day be the best scoring forward in the league.

3. Donovan Mitchell, Jazz

Another pick from the Jazz. Mitchell was a stud from Day One last season. It’s rare for a rookie to immediately inherit the reins to a team’s offense, and even rarer for that to happen with a rookie selected outside of the top 10. Mitchell, the No. 13 pick in the 2017 draft, was an All-Rookie first-teamer last season, and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Ben Simmons. In terms of true rookies, he was the best, wire-to-wire. He averaged 20.4 points(!), 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, and he was even better in Utah’s 11 postseason games, averaging 24.4 points. No one will disagree with this: Mitchell is a star in the making.

2. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

In a recent podcast, former Cavs general manager David Griffin said Jokic is his sleeper MVP pick. That might sound absurd, but the gifted Nuggets big is poised for a big 2018-19. Joker is known as a defensive liability, and that label will probably always follow him (much like it has for James Harden), but he – at least marginally! – improved defensively down the stretch last season. His offensive talent is enrapturing; Jokic is the best passing big man in the game today, and he also has impressive handles. The 23-year-old has been somewhat unpredictable throughout his career, but look for this to be the season in which he consistently puts up big numbers.

1. Ben Simmons, 76ers

This pick won’t surprise anyone. Simmons is a generational talent. His court vision, his ball-handling, his passing – you don’t see guys like this come around very often. After missing his rookie season due to a right-foot injury, Vegas pegged him as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 – and he made that prediction come to fruition. Simmons filled the stat sheet, averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game – and appearing in 81/82 games, playing 33.7 minutes a night. With Philly poised for a long run of success, this triple-double machine is just getting started. It was surprising that he missed the All-Star Game last year. He won’t this season.

Aaron Mansfield is a freelance sports writer. His work has appeared in Complex, USA Today, and the New York Times. You can reach him via email at [email protected].

from Larry Brown Sports https://ift.tt/2EiJXL5

0 notes

party-hard-or-die · 6 years

Text

Embarrassed Celtics strive to bounce back against recharged Cavaliers

The Boston Celtics are embarrassed despite leading the Eastern Conference finals.

May 19, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives against Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier (12) in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers want to remain in desperation mode.

Cleveland will seek to tie the series on Monday when it hosts the Celtics. Boston leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.

The Cavaliers played by far their best contest of the series when they rolled to a 116-86 win in Game 3 on Saturday. As for Boston, the players were disturbed with their effort.

“I use (Game 3) as fuel. I thought it was embarrassing,” Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown told reporters on Sunday. “Thought we came out, the way I played, the way I performed, how not aggressive I was in the first half, I look at that as fuel to come out in Game 4 and be excited about it and be ready to play and ready to fight.

“As a mindset, the game is 90 percent mental, so everything that we do affects our mindset. We can’t look at the last game and get down on ourselves or think we’re out of the series because we lost one game. That’s what the world thinks, that’s what the world wants us to think, so we’re going to come out and play some basketball (in Game 4), regardless of what anybody got to say.”

Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t want his players going into relaxation mode after its Game 3 destruction of the Celtics.

Lue wants to see his players feeling the same sense of urgency that fueled the Game 3 win.

“We know what it takes,” Lue said Sunday after the Cavaliers held a film session. “We did it before. We’ve got a lot of veterans, a veteran crew and they know what it takes to win.

“We can’t get satisfied with just one win. It’s just one; we’ve got to come out (Monday) night and duplicate it again.”

Lue’s message during the film session was elementary in nature.

“Just remind them that this is the way we have to play,” Lue said.

Watching film of Game 3 wasn’t the least bit entertaining for Boston coach Brad Stevens.

Stevens doesn’t want his plays focusing on the mistakes and errors. He wants them to envision making the necessary improvements.

“I think, as coaches, you probably watch it over and over and over and over, and then you try to just trim it to what’s necessary,” Stevens said after the session. “This team is, again, prideful, competitive. They’ve been resilient. Nobody felt good leaving the gym (Saturday) night. Nobody felt good when they woke up this morning.

“And so I think that we have to look at what we can do better. There is a physical component to that, and we have to be honest and watch the film and see the things that we got outworked on and see the things that we can just execute better on both ends.”

One eye-opening component in Game 3 was that Boston center Al Horford took just four shots and was held to seven points. He averaged 17.5 points over the first two games.

“I just think that we were a little out of sync,” Horford said. “I think that (in Game 4) we’ll be better in making sure that we have better ball movement. I’m not worried about that. I know I’ll be able to get more shots (Monday).”

Cavaliers star LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists in Game and is averaging 32.9 points, 9.4 assists and 8.9 rebounds in 14 games this postseason.

—Field Level Media

The post Embarrassed Celtics strive to bounce back against recharged Cavaliers appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2ITLvwm via Breaking News

#News Headlines #News Update #Sports Update #Business Update #World The News

0 notes

cleopatrarps · 6 years