#Season 1 timetable

[amirasainz]

Obsessed with your fics! Could you please do she’s sick and the drivers and wags fuss over her and acting like she’s gonna die when it’s just a cold?

Hi guys. Sorry for not posting anything for such a long time. I was so busy with school and travelling and didn't really have the motivation to write anything. Hope you all enjoy reading this and you can always send me some requests. -XoXo

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Flu-Season

Amira’s bout of the common flu had her feeling utterly miserable. Like any sick princess, she knew there was only one thing to do: call her brother.

Carlos wasted no time whisking her off to the doctor’s office. His nervous energy filled the waiting room, and if it weren’t for Rebecca holding Amira’s hand, she might have fainted from the dizzying pace of her older brother’s pacing.

The doctor’s diagnosis—common flu—elicited tears from Rebecca and a dramatic faint from Carlos. Back home at the Sainz-Donalds residence, Amira found herself cocooned in warmth. Five blankets enveloped her, a cute sea otter stuffed animal nestled beside her, and the couple—Carlos and Rebecca—lying on either side of her.

After an hour of sleep, Amira stirred to the gentle touch of someone stroking her hair. Opening her eyes, she met Carmen’s friendly gaze. “Hey, darling. How are you feeling?” Carmen whispered. “Why are we whispering?” Amira croaked. “We don’t want to wake the others,” Carmen replied.

Taking in her surroundings, Amira’s heart swelled. Kika and Rebecca laid at the foot of the bed, Kelly held her tightly from behind, and Leo and Roscoe each guarded near her head.

Emotions overwhelmed her, and tears welled up. “No, don’t cry, honey,” soothed Kelly, who had woken up as Amira shifted. Both Carmen and Kelly gently lulled the crying girl back to sleep. As Amira drifted off again, Carmen whispered to Kelly, “She truly is our brave girl.”

Meanwhile, in the living room:

“Gentlemen, pay very careful attention,” Carlos began. “Today, we’re gathered here to ensure that MY sister recovers faster than any Formula 1 car.”

Seated before him were Charles, Lando, Lewis, Pierre, Max, and George—each looking like picture-perfect soldiers. Carlos assumed the role of sergeant, addressing them with authority. A whiteboard displayed a timetable with different names and times.

“Max, you and Kelly will take Amira for a walk around 3 p.m. Charles and Lewis, dinner duty in 40 minutes. The rest of us will clean the bedroom. Carmen and Becca will assist with her shower, whil—”

“I can help her shower,” Lando interrupted. The room fell silent; all eyes turned to Lando, his hand raised. Carlos approached him, predator-like. “Lando Norris. Listen carefully, because I’ll say this only once. You’ll never come near my sister again if you keep talking like that. Do you hear me?” His final words were a whispered threat. Carlos waited for Lando’s nod of understanding.

“As I said before, Carmen and Rebecca…”

[loveinhawkins]

passing period

ao3 written for @steddiemicrofic May 2024 prompt, “top,” 510 words. Rated G, Missing Scene, post season 1, cw: brief mentions of nausea & vomiting.

The sleepless nights catch up with Steve eventually. He doesn’t know what pushes him over the edge exactly—whether it’s the brightness of the hallway, or even the movement of his bag, the strap rubbing against the bare skin of his shoulder—just knows that he’s tilting suddenly, mid-step.

Before he can slam against the lockers, he feels a hand around his forearm, a quiet, “Bathroom?”

Steve nods through clenched teeth.

He flings his bag off just in time as he’s steered into a stall—promptly throws up into the toilet.

It’s over in what feels like a blink; more time must’ve passed though, because the usual chatter in between classes has faded away.

Over the flush of the toilet, Steve hears a voice outside the stall, “You contagious, Harrington?”

Steve rubs one eye. “No,” he says curtly.

“Darn. Was hoping for a ticket outta class.”

Steve opens the door to find Eddie Munson leaning by the sinks. He’s got Steve’s bag slung over his shoulder, safe from the clinging damp of the tiles.

“Dude, you’re gonna be so late.”

Eddie checks his watch lazily. “Nah, I like a dramatic entrance. Always fun watching the light leave O’Donnell’s eyes.”

“Doesn’t she, like, take marks off for shit like that?” Steve says passively, washing his hands—it just seems like the kind of thing to ask, especially since most seniors have been hurrying around all December, faces pinched with stress.

Evidently not Eddie Munson.

“Yeah, don’t think that’d make a difference,” he says, and maybe the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. “Not exactly top of the class.”

Steve shrugs in vague acknowledgement. Briefly presses his palms to his eyes, blessedly cool from the water—doesn’t really think anything of it until he drops his hands, sees Eddie just looking at him, a slight crease to his forehead.

Steve feels far too drained to even try and figure out whatever he’s noticed.

“You okay?” Eddie asks quietly.

Steve doesn’t know what to do with the question, too bare in its sincerity; there’s no expected space for him to make a quip back, to play it off.

“Just tired,” he says, “that’s all.”

“Mm-hmm, that’ll kill ya in the end,” Eddie says, sing-song.

Freak, Steve thinks mildly.

“Hey, uh, who d’you have right now, Harrington?”

Steve has to think about it, his timetable hazy.

“Um… Mundy.”

Eddie makes a face. “My condolences.”

As Steve dries his hands, he hears the rustle of paper, a quick pen scrawl.

“Here,” Eddie says.

Steve turns. Eddie’s holding out his bag to him; Steve takes it, before being handed something else: a hall pass bearing a convincing copy of Mundy’s signature.

“In case anyone gives you shit. Folks are still kinda, y’know,” Eddie wiggles his hand back and forth, “since the whole Will Byers thing.”

“Yeah,” Steve says. “I know.” He folds the hall pass. “Um, thanks. How much—?”

But Eddie waves him off. “Nah, that’s your free sample.” He opens the bathroom door, glances back with parting words: “And I’d take full advantage, Harrington. Go home and sleep.”

[robinfrinjs]

2024 24H of Le Mans Masterpost

My 2024 Introduction to WEC, including a Le Mans Section

Spottersguide

Scratchpad

Entry List

Track Map

Shows all Marshall Posts (MP1, MP2, MP3 etc.) on live timing incidents will be located by the marshall posts. Shows all slowzones (SZ1, SZ2 etc.), to not fully neutralize the race race control can decide to implement a slowzone for an incident. Shows the sectors, marked by the two big black lines and the finish line. (S1 is from start finish to around tetre rouge, S2 is all of the mulsanne straight and S3 is from Mulsanne corner to start finish) Shows all SC deployment spots (indicated by SCA, SCB, SCC) Shows all/most corner names

Where to Watch (All Sessions broadcast cuz it's Le Mans)

Robin Frijns Server (I’m streaming)

complete broadcasting info

WEC TV Subscription (Le Mans Only: 17.99, Rest of Season 45.99 with promocode: LEMANS24

Eurosport/Discovery+ in many countries

Radio Le Mans (RS1) (Does commentary for all sessions, including practice)

Live Timing

FIAWEC.TV, when you log in you should be able to use live timing for free

live.fiawec.com

(Both live.fiawec and fiawec.tv can be used with Timing71)

Timing Results

Notice Board

Committee Decisions

2024 WEC Sporting Regs

2024 Le Mans Sporting Regs

Official Timetable

Wednesday 12 June

14:00 - Free Practice 1

19:00 - Qualifying

22:00 - Free Practice 2

Thursday 13 June

15:00 - Free Practice 3

20:00 - Hyperpole

22:00 - Free Practice 4

Saturday 15 June

12:00 - Warm-Up

16:00 - Race Start

[leounderthemoon]

A rant and theory

It’s really long, but I think I make some valid points.

Supernatural was on for 15 years. There have been interactions with the cast, some crew, some producers, directors, writers, etc. due to the ongoing conventions and the existence of social media. Writers will talk about changes to scripts, actors will talk about filming, directors will talk about why they chose a certain angle.

Given that most of the fans/stans do not personally know any of the people involved or personally know anything about the things that are/aren’t going on, it’s weird the way some fans/stans speak so confidently about what happened with SPN behind-the-scenes, production, writing, casting, you name it! 

Especially when it comes to PrequelGate. People will state with their whole chest, that their version of events is absolutely correct. One J is an asshole, and one J is an innocent baby. Which J is which depends on who is talking. It can be either or both. The only thing that all fans who have theories have in common is that there is a definite good guy and a bad guy.

But the Js are still friends. They say they got over it and forgave. Since no one has given any details, I thought I’d join the bandwagon and come up with a theory of my own. One where there is no good guy/bad guy. So here goes.

I fully believe that the story of The Winchesters was not meant to be an AU. It was supposed to take place between 15.19 and 15.20, with Dean and Sam finding out about their parents.  They had to switch it to the AU version because of the leak, a new timetable, and the fact that Jared was no longer available. There is also a recent podcast (I don't have a link) where a writer from The Winchesters said that Robbie Thompson, the writer and show runner for The Winchesters, kind of knew that they were only going to get 1 season because of all the mergers/sales of the networks and studios.

Robbie Thompson said in an interview (https://tvline.com/news/the-winchesters-recap-season-1-finale-dean-heaven-multiverse-jensen-ackles-1234942742/)  “There was the spot that takes place in between Episodes 19 and 20, when what happens to Dean happens to Dean… So there was an opportunity to tell stories there, but that just didn’t work for me because we wouldn’t have access to Sam in that way, in a way that we could easily explain or at least emotionally explain, and that just didn’t feel like it was a story that certainly I wanted to tell and none of us did.” (Underlining mine) They wouldn’t have access to Sam because Jared could not be involved. Not because no one wanted him, but because he just couldn’t.

The reason I believe this is because of the following.

It starts with Virtual Con (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYwrZ787a0) held in March 2021. In the video, the question about Chaos Machine projects starts at around 23 minutes. Watch Jared’s face throughout Jensen’s whole answer. He’s nodding along, looking at his screen, and not even showing the slightest surprise in what Jensen is saying. He doesn’t because he already knows. To me, that is the face of someone who already knows what the other person is talking about. Jared already knows which projects Jensen is working on. He knows which alum he is talking about. So he just sits there and lets Jensen answer.  His quip at the end that he will also be acting in it is just that, a quip for the fans.  Because (supposedly) he is bound by a 5-year contract to CBS. He can not legally get involved in Jensen’s project with WB. He can acknowledge that he knows about it, but he has to show that he is absolutely not involved. 

Next is the announcement of The Winchesters in June 2021 by Deadline. There were tweets by Jared that said he was upset that he didn’t know about it and that he wasn’t involved. There was also a tweet directed at Robbie Thompson calling him a back stabber that was later deleted. And, silence from Jensen, because he was unable to come online and address anything because he was on set in Canada. 

Things were set in motion that were not meant to be put in motion for a while. I don’t think Chaos Machine was ready to start casting/filming yet. I think Jensen and Jared were trying to make it work with CBS so that Jared could be involved in the prequel. But those talks weren’t finished, or possibly even started yet. But the leak by Deadline, the WB/Discovery merger, and Mark Pedowitz leaving, combined to put pressure to do the show sooner, while Pedowitz was still in charge. If they waited, then nothing might come of Chaos Machine’s deal with WB once the new owners came in. Maybe they were waiting for Jensen to finish shooting The Boys to get together and talk about all this, but they still hadn't.

And this is what Jared was upset about. He thought there was time before the show would start, so was surprised that it was announced without him knowing. It also explains why he thought Robbie Thompson back-stabbed him. Because he was going to be a part of this show, and now he couldn’t. He couldn’t even say he had been part of the development from the beginning because it would be against his contract with CBS. He can’t even say wants to be a part of it now, because again, it would be against his contract with CBS. He’s upset, because he hasn’t had any communication from Jensen about this going through, and Jensen was also unreachable. So he vented online a little.

Once this narrative that Jared was never involved, and would not appear in it, spread, all of them had to run with it. Jensen apologized for not telling Jared. He said he was superstitious. He wanted to tell Jared, but he didn’t have his phone. That he was on set. That Jared couldn’t participate because he was busy. Etc. etc.

But, when Jared spoke with Jensen, and was (possibly) made aware that the news came out because it was leaked, and that they didn’t have time to clue Jared in, and (possibly) they were thinking of doing the show sooner because of WB, Pedowitz, Zaslav, etc., and that they were still in a holding phase, Jared forgave Jensen.

All of the above explains the inconsistencies and “lies” and “tantrums” and finally the forgiveness, and moving on. 

I choose to believe that neither Jared nor Jensen are entitled assholes. They do not owe the fans any BTS details.

I’m sure people can tear this apart, but their theories don’t hold up either. 

[love3velyn]

♡ My revision tips ♡

Hi everyone! I've got my first A-level exams in the next couple weeks, so I've been focusing on revision and I wanted to share some of my revision tips! I used to find exams very stressful but I have some ways to make exam season a bit easier so I hope this can help •ᴗ•.

1. Create a good study environment

When you start a study session try to create a calm and focused environment. Try find a a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, if this is hard to find try using noise cancelling headphones. Make sure everything you need to study is within reach. I also like to light a candle to feel relaxed and I have a blanket to stay cosy! Creating a good environment can help you get in the mood to work and focus.

2. Plan your time effectively

Find a way to plan every topic you need to cover before your exam. Some people find revision timetables useful for this. I like to create a revision list based on my confidence levels with each topic and work my way through the list going from least confident to most confident. I will usually focus on one or two topics a day depending on how close I am to the exam. I will also write a few goals for the revision session in my Notion which helps me to stay on track.

Another tip to plan time effectively is to plan the how long you would like to revise each day. Don't feel pressured to work for hours straight! I know it is easy to compare yourself to others but find a balance that works for you. The goal is to work smarter not harder and revising for long periods of time can be damaging. As an A-level student I try to revise in one hour sessions with 15 minute breaks and I try and do 4 hours of work. I have found this is enough time to get what I want done without feeling burnt out. Remember it's a personal choice and you need to take care of yourself.

3. Use cute stationery!

I personally love cute stationary! I find it really helps me to keep motivated and excited to revise. It doesn't need to be expensive, just find some stationery that motivates you. Some of my current favourites are the Stabilo swing cool pastel highlighters and my Sumikko Gurashi mechanical pencil.

4. Try to avoid just taking notes

While note taking is effective in class and when first learning the content, I have found it less useful when it comes to revision. Re-reading notes or textbooks can be helpful to jog your memory but it can be boring after a while. One of the best ways to revise is through active recall. Active Recall is all about retrieving information to make it easier for your brain to make connections between things. This can be done by using revision cards to test your knowledge, or on websites such as Seneca or Quizlet that help you to learn content, then test you on it.

5. Treat yourself

Revising is difficult at times and it can be tiring. Be sure to look after yourself and treat yourself with kindness. If you are having a tough day it's okay to leave revision for that day. It is better to rest than push yourself too far. I like to treat myself by having self care baths, taking time for my hobbies like gaming and reading and by spending time with friends and family.

I hope these tips are helpful to someone and make revision a bit easier. Good luck to everyone taking exams, I believe in you! ♡

Love, Evelyn x

[thisisnotthenerd]

detailed level progressions

it's been a while since i did one of these; welcome back to thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats. this time, we're taking a deeper dive into level progressions.

i went into this a bit back in october, but the chart has been updated to reflect fantasy high junior year's level progression, as seen below.

we're going to focus on the seasons with level changes primarily, but a note on the non progression seasons--they tend to reflect a short timetable: events occurring over the course of a day/week. the non leveled seasons are not run in dnd and don't really have stat changes in that way, though they sometimes reflect changes in attributes, e.g. the wand evolution in misfits & magic or dan fucks getting the wealthy attribute in mentopolis.

before we get into the level progression, let's talk adventure level. this just describes the scale of adventure; tier 1 is levels 1-4, tier 2 is levels 5-10, tier 3 is levels 11-16, and tier 4 is levels 17-20.

the majority of d20 seasons fall into tier 1 or 2, with more in the latter category. this makes sense--it's easy to create interesting/potentially deadly encounters without risking character death every time. you may notice repetition of the major progression seasons (fantasy high, the unsleeping city, a crown of candy, a starstruck odyssey, neverafter)—this is because of their general progression, with leveling after battle episodes. they cannot be fully classified as one or the other, and are thus counted in both. the scale of combat significantly changes.

with the lower levels, they run the risk of pc death, as we saw in both fantasy high and neverafter, where the parties started at level 1. in starstruck the characters go down in combat often; with the exception of the ship combats and the finale, someone goes down in every starstruck battle; sometimes multiple characters. acoc was intentionally deadly, but once the party got a primary caster they were pretty much set. the point of all of this is to say that at a certain point dnd characters get hard to kill and you have to get creative to get them to feel the stakes.

as of now, dimension 20 does not have any tier 4 adventures. it's easy to understand why; the scale of adventure, once the party gets to that point, becomes difficult to balance and make interesting over time. the high levels can be fun for oneshots and potentially a mini campaign, but without previous emotional investment, they can be difficult to make interesting--if the party is level with gods, how can you effectively challenge them? the nature of the medium is that the storytelling arcs are tied to mechanical growth; the short-form structure of dimension 20 means that they don't have the time to get characters from 1 to 20, except in the case of sequel seasons.

fantasy high senior year might potentially be a tier 4 adventure because we've had time to see the bad kids grow and change and progress through the previous levels; any tier 4 adventure would be a simple escalation of the threats the party already faced.

anyway. let's take a look at some specifics of level progressions.

check them out in spreadsheet form here

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major level progressions

the organization will be slightly different here, to account for continual progressions in sequel seasons, so keep that in mind. this will also include individual commentary in some cases. fair warning: if you're looking for a specific character/season it's better to ctrl+F.

the intrepid heroes seasons are major progression of varying degrees. initially this meant the characters went up one level after each combat encounter. as the formats for seasons varied, this changed. for example, there is only one level jump in fantasy high sophomore year, and only two in chapter 2 of the unsleeping city. these season are included as part of their greater series such that we can track the characters' growth.

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fantasy high

the bad kids have had some major growth from their first appearance until now--they began with milestone growth, briefly switched to xp leveling (shh!) and then returned to milestone growth with their return to battlemaps.

in freshman year, they all went through linear milestone leveling, taking subclasses at third level. in sophomore year, some of them leaned into multiclassing and chose to switch subclasses for the sake of narrative growth. in junior year, we saw a continuation of the multiclassing and subclass switches.

fig faeth

freshman year: fig leveled exclusively in bard from levels 1 to 8, taking whispers bard as her subclass at level 3.

sophomore year: fig altered her build partially, to begin the season with 6 levels of whispers bard and 2 levels of hexblade warlock. at the mid-season level up, fig swapped to the bard college of lore and dropped one level of hexblade warlock in order to end the season with 8 levels of lore bard and 1 level of hexblade warlock.

junior year: fig started the season with 8 levels of lore bard and 2 levels of hexblade warlock that she affirmed with an ancestral pact in the first battle. after taking an additional level of bard, she made the decision to take on paladin levels, exchanging one of her hexblade warlock levels to take two levels of paladin at once. for the rest of the season she alternated between leveling in lore bard and devotion paladin, thus ending with 10 levels of lore bard, 3 levels of devotion paladin, and 1 level hexblade warlock.

overall level change:

initial level: bard 1

final level: lore bard 10 | devotion paladin 3 | hexblade warlock 1

gorgug thistlespring

freshman year: gorgug leveled exclusively in barbarian from levels 1 to 8, taking berserker barbarian as his subclass at level 3.

sophomore year: gorgug started the season as a level 8 berserker barbarian. at the mid-season level up, gorgug took his first level of artificer to end the season with 8 levels of berserker barbarian and 1 level of artificer.

junior year: gorgug started the season having redistributed his levels somewhat: 7 levels of berserker barbarian and 3 levels of artificer (subclass unconfirmed but expected to be alchemist). with each subsequent level up, he removed barbarian levels to replace them with higher artificer levels; he went from 7 | 3 -> 6 | 5 -> 6 | 6 -> 6 | 7 -> 5 | 9. furthermore, he swapped from the battlesmith subclass (declared at first level up) to the barbificer subclass (homebrew) to reflect his narrative growth. he ended the season with 5 levels of berserker barbarian and 9 levels of barbificer artificer.

overall level change:

initial level: barbarian 1

final level: berserker barbarian 5 | barbificer artificer 9

adaine abernant

freshman year: adaine leveled exclusively in wizard from levels 1 to 8, taking divination wizard as her subclass at level 3.

sophomore year: adaine started the season as a level 8 divination wizard. at the mid-season level up, she took another level of divination wizard.

junior year: adaine started the season with 10 levels of divination wizard; she continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of divination wizard. she was the only one of the bad kids to not change her subclass or multiclass in any season.

overall level change:

initial level: wizard 1

final level: divination wizard 14

fabian aramais seacaster

freshman year: fabian leveled exclusively in fighter from levels 1 to 8, taking champion fighter as his subclass at level 3.

sophomore year: fabian started the season as a level 8 champion fighter. after his catastrophic fall in leviathan, fabian lost the use of his class/subclass features. at the mid-season level up, he redistributed his build: he took 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 3 levels of swords bard.

junior year: fabian started the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 4 levels of swords bard; he exclusively leveled in swords bard for the rest of the season to end with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 8 levels of swords bard.

overall level change:

initial level: fighter 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swords bard 8

kristen applebees

freshman year: kristen leveled exclusively in life cleric from levels 1 to 8.

sophomore year: kristen started the season as a level 8 life cleric. at the mid-season level up, she took another level of life cleric. after her death and council of the gods, she swapped her subclass to twilight cleric to reflect her new deity.

junior year: kristen started the season with 10 levels of twilight cleric; she continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of twlight cleric.

overall level change:

initial level: life cleric 1

final level: twilight cleric 14

riz gukgak

freshman year: riz leveled exclusively in rogue from levels 1 to 8, taking inquisitive rogue as his subclass at level 3.

sophomore year: riz started the season as a level 8 inquisitive rogue. at the mid-season level up, he took another level of inquisitive rogue.

junior year: riz started the season with 10 levels of arcane trickster rogue, having switched his subclass to improve efficiency and reflect his work as an angelic agent; he continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of arcane trickster rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: arcane trickster rogue 14

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the unsleeping city

the dream team also experienced major growth, though they swapped from single battle-milestone to a more spread out approach from chapter i to chapter ii. there were notably fewer multiclasses and subclass swaps, though they were still present. given that the setting required engagement with the magical side of new york, all of the party members had some kind of magic and the party overall had a higher than average number of full casters (chapter i: 4, chapter 2: 4)

this is our first sequel season where new characters come in to play; the descriptions will reflect this change.

ricky matsui

chapter i: ricky leveled exclusively in devotion paladin from level 3 to level 10.

chapter ii: ricky started the season with a subclass change to redemption paladin, then continually leveled in it to finish the season at level 12.

overall level change:

initial level: devotion paladin 3

final level: redemption paladin 12

sofia lee

chapter i: sofia started the season as a level 3 drunken master monk--she leveled in it until mid-way through the season, when she made a pact with la gran gata and picked up two levels of hexblade warlock. she finished the season with 8 levels of drunken master monk and 2 levels of hexblade warlock.

chapter ii: sofia started the season with a subclass change to shadow monk, to symbolize her journey away from alcoholism, and then exclusively leveled in it to end the season with 10 levels of shadow monk and 2 levels of hexblade warlock. she utilized downtime addiction mechanics (progressive rolls on each die in the suite to symbolize her state; the highest roll on each given die would trigger a move to the next, e.g. a 4 on the d4 means she'd move to the d6, so on and so forth).

overall level change:

initial level: drunken master monk 3

final level: shadow monk 10 | hexblade warlock 2

kingston brown

chapter i: kingston leveled exclusively in city cleric from level 3 to level 10.

chapter ii: kingston leveled exclusively in city cleric from level 10 to level 12.

overall level change:

initial level: city cleric 3

final level: city cleric 12

misty moore/rowan berry

chapter i: misty leveled exclusively in lore bard from level 3 to level 10.

chapter ii: rowan presumably leveled up off-screen; we meet her with 12 levels of lore bard in chapter ii.

overall level change:

initial level: lore bard 3

final level: lore bard 12

iga lisowski

chapter i: iga was not present in chapter i; presumably she progressively leveled up throughout her lifetime.

chapter ii: iga started the season with 10 levels of genie warlock; after unlocking the secret of her ancestral chest, she took 2 levels of draconic sorcerer to finish the season.

overall level change:

initial level: genie warlock 10

final level: genie warlock 10 | draconic sorcerer 2

kugrash

chapter i: kugrash leveled exclusively in shepherd druid from level 3 to level 10.

chapter ii: kugrash was not present as a PC in chapter ii, but as an omnipotent spirit of the city of new york.

overall level change:

initial level: shepherd druid 3

final level: shepherd druid 10

cody walsh

chapter i: cody was not present in chapter i; presumably he leveled up throughout his lifetime.

chapter ii: cody leveled exclusively in oathbreaker paladin from level 10 to level 12.

overall level change:

initial level: oathbreaker paladin 10

final level: oathbreaker paladin 12

pete conlan

chapter i: pete leveled exclusively in wild magic sorcerer from level 3 to level 10. pete utilized a modified build to reflect his role as the vox phantasma and his background as an addict; instead of triggering wild magic surges solely on nat 1s, his magic increased the dc with each spell he used, thus increasing the probability of surges. he also received the 14th level subclass feature controlled chaos (advantage on d100 roll for wild magic) midway through the season.

chapter ii: pete leveled exclusively in wild magic sorcerer from level 10 to level 12. he retained his altered build features and utilized the addiction mechanics that he shared with sofia.

overall level change:

initial level: wild magic sorcerer 3

final level: wild magic sorcerer 12

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a crown of candy

the taste buds also saw major growth, though some saw different progressions; the pcs started the season at staggered levels. multiclassing and subclass switches were common in this season perhaps more than any other. maximization of the builds was a focus due to the deadly nature of the season.

liam wilhelmina

liam started the season with 2 levels of ranger and selected the beastmaster subclass after the ambush on sucrosi road. he continued to level in ranger, but after the death of his companion, he 'became a war guy' and took on the gloomstalker subclass. after the death of his cousin, liam restructured his build to include 5 levels of gloomstalker ranger and 2 levels of rogue. from there, he alternated between adding levels of rogue and levels of ranger. he finished the season with 6 levels of gloomstalker ranger and 4 levels of assassin rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: ranger 2

final level: gloomstalker ranger 6 | assassin rogue 4

theobald gumbar

theo leveled exclusively in eldritch knight fighter from level 3 to level 10.

overall level change:

initial level: eldritch knight fighter 3

final level: eldritch knight fighter 10

jet rocks

jet started the season with 1 level of rogue; she took 3 levels of battlemaster fighter in preparation for the grand tournament. jet continued to increase her fighter levels--she dropped her rogue level to prioritize her fighter levels just before her death, ending with 7 levels of battlemaster fighter.

overall level change:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 7

saccharina frostwhip

saccharina joined the party with 6 levels of storm sorcerer and 2 levels of tempest cleric; she prioritized her sorcerer levels and ended the season with 8 levels of storm sorcerer and 2 levels of tempest cleric. she was the party's only full caster and her build was optimized to reflect that.

overall level change:

initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | tempest cleric 2

final level: storm sorcerer 8 | tempest cleric 2

ruby rocks

ruby started the season with 1 level of rogue; she continued to level it, taking arcane trickster as her subclass in preparation for the grand tournament. she took 1 level of shadow sorcerer after communing with her aunt lazuli and the sugar plum fairy, but continued to level in rogue for the rest of the season, ending with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue and 1 level of shadow sorcerer

overall level change:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9 | shadow sorcerer 1

amethar rocks

amethar started the season with 3 levels of storm herald barbarian; he tok two further levels in it until the ambush at st. arugula's, when he started to level in fighter, selecting battlemaster as his subclass to match his daughter. he ended the season with 5 levels of storm herald barbarian and 5 levels of battlemaster fighter.

overall level change:

initial level: storm herald barbarian 3

final level: storm herald barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 5

lapin cadbury

lapin leveled exclusively in celestial warlock from level 3 to level 5. he passed away early in the campaign, thus precluding further level changes.

overall level change:

initial level: celestial warlock 3

final level: celestial warlock 5

cumulous rocks

cumulous leveled exclusively in long death monk from level 6 to level 10. he joined the party midway through the campaign as they returned to candia.

overall level change:

initial level: long death monk 6

final level: long death monk 10

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a starstruck odyssey

starstruck runs a little differently than previous seasons of dimension 20 by virtue of using sw5e--a dnd-influenced game system that utilizes aspects of the world of star wars to bring a sci-fi galaxy to life. you can check out sw5e here; i highly recommend it.

the major change is the inclusion of ship deployments as additional customization; this allows the characters to level up their proficiencies on the ship and provides additional abilities for use on space craft. ship deployment levels do not necessarily correlate to character class levels; characters technically start at level 0 and level up as they prove their mastery in ship combat. the gunner channel is technically a little overleveled in their ship deployment levels with respect to their character classes, if we assume the 5 levels of ship deployment are evenly spaced among the 20 character class levels.

this serves to balance the season, because the gunner channel ends the season at level 6 after fighting some enemies that were seriously above their weight class, though they had fewer battles in general. we saw some staggered starts again, though no subclass swaps or multiclassing. they leveled up after combats with battle boards; there were a few encounters that did not qualify (e.g. flee from fantanimalland).

gunnie miggles-rashbax

character class: gunnie leveled exclusively in engineer from level 1 to level 6, taking 3 levels and the gadgeteer subclass at the party's first level up. this class is comparable to artificer, with the full casting progression and inspiration from bard.

ship deployment: gunnie leveled exclusively in mechanic from level 1 to level 3.

overall level change:

initial level: engineer 1 [mechanic 1]

final level: gadgeteer engineer 6 [mechanic 3]

riva

character class: riva leveled exclusively in suggestion consular from level 3 to level 6. this class combines features of the cleric, wizard, and sorcerer, and utilizes metamagic as an additional feature.

ship deployment: riva leveled exclusively in coordinator from level 1 to level 3.

overall level change:

initial level: suggestion consular 3 [coordinator 1]

final level: suggestion consular 6 [coordinator 3]

norman 'skip' takamori

character class: skip leveled exclusively in operative from level 2 to level 6, taking 2 levels and the lethality subclass at the party's first level up. this class is primarily based on the rogue, but provides different uses of sneak attack and additional maneuvers.

ship deployment: skip leveled exclusively in pilot from level 1 to level 3

overall level change:

initial level: operative 2 [pilot 1]

final level: lethality operative 6 [pilot 3]

margaret encino

character class: margaret leveled exclusively in scholar from level 2 to level 6, taking 2 levels and the politician subclass at the party's first level up. this is a brand new class which incorporates maneuvers from the battlemaster fighter and new features knows as discoveries that serve to support the party in battle and provide expertise out of combat.

ship deployment: margaret leveled exclusively in operator from level 1 to level 3.

overall level change:

initial level: scholar 2 [operator 1]

final level: politician scholar 6 [operator 3]

sundry sidney

character class: sidney leveled exclusively in corsair sentinel from level 3 to level 6. this class uses a 2/3rds progression that supports combat support casting from the bard and an additional level of customization known as ideals

ship deployment: sidney leveled exclusively in gunner from level 1 to level 3

overall level change:

initial level: corsair sentinel 3 [gunner 1]

final level: corsair sentinel 6 [gunner 3]

big barry syx

character class: barry leveled exclusively in ballistic berserker from level 3 to level 6. this class is based on the barbarian, with the addition of instincts that provide unique abilities aside from subclass.

ship deployment: barry leveled exclusively in gunner from level 1 to level 3

overall level change:

initial level: ballistic berserker 3 [gunner 1]

final level: ballistic berserker 6 [gunner 3]

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neverafter

neverafter has the most traditional high fantasy dnd setting--the leveling of the party is relatively normal, with a couple of subclass swaps and multiclasses, but generally standard progression.

we saw a couple of narrative moments that signaled different level shifts: destiny's children had a notable level jump after their first battle because they committed to a darker universe after death. the party had symbolic changes after their encounter with the baba yaga as well, with a second level jump going into the finale.

rosamund du prix

rosamund started the season as a level 1 ranger. at the first major jump, she continued on the ranger track and took the swarmkeeper subclass. she maintained this progression until the second major jump, when she restructured her build to incorporate 5 levels of swarmkeeper ranger, 2 levels of stars druid, and 1 level of fighter, where she ended the season.

overall level change:

initial level: ranger 1

final level: swarmkeeper ranger 5 | stars druid 2 | fighter 1

mother timothy goose

timothy started the season as a level 1 bard. at the first major jump, he continued on the bard track and took the lore subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of lore bard.

overall level change:

initial level: bard 1

final level: lore bard 8

pinocchio

pinocchio started the season as a level 1 archfey warlock. at the first major jump, he continued on this track. after breaking his ties with the stepmother, he changed his subclass to destiny, a homebrew that allowed him to affect elements of fate relating to his own story. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of destiny warlock.

overall level change:

initial level: archfey warlock 1

final level: destiny warlock 8

puss in boots | pib

pib started the season as a level 1 rogue. at the first major jump, he continued on the rogue track and took the mastermind subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of mastermind rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: mastermind rogue 8

gerard of greenleigh

gerard started the season as a level 1 fighter. at the first major jump, he continued on the fighter track and took the battlemaster subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of battlemaster fighter.

overall level change:

initial level: fighter 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 8

ylfa snorgelsson

ylfa started the season as a level 1 barbarian. at the first major jump, she paused her barbarian progression for 2 levels of moon druid. she then returned to the barbarian progression, taking the bear totem subclass, and ended the season with 6 levels of bear totem barbarian and 2 levels of moon druid.

overall level change:

initial level: barbarian 1

final level: bear totem barbarian 6 | moon druid 2

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the ravening war

unlike the other seasons we've discussed so far, the ravening war has a time skip over wartime that constitutes a major level jump--almost doubling the previous builds. much like a crown of candy, this season involved lots of multiclasses and subclass swaps, with min-maxing for political intrigue as opposed to pure combat.

delissandro katzon

delissandro started the season with 5 levels of champion fighter. at the time skip he swapped his fighter subclass out and took a level of barbarian, to end the season with 8 levels of battlemaster fighter and 1 level of barbarian.

overall level change:

initial level: champion fighter 5

final level: battlemaster fighter 8 | barbarian 1

raphaniel charlock

raphaniel started the season with 4 levels of eloquence bard and 1 level of rogue. at the time skip he took two levels of each and the inquisitive rogue subclass, to end the season with 6 levels of eloquence bard and 3 levels of inquisitive rogue. his build included feats that allowed him the use of metamagic and telepathy, which heightened his use of magic and secretive nature.

overall level change:

initial level: eloquence bard 4 | rogue 1

final level: eloquence bard 6 | inquisitive rogue 3

karna solara

karna started the season with 3 levels of whispers bard and 2 levels of great old one warlock. at the time skip she took 4 levels of phantom rogue, to end the season with 4 levels of phantom rogue, 3 levels of whispers bard, and 2 levels of great old one warlock.

overall level change:

initial level: whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2

final level: phantom rogue 4 | whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2

colin provolone

colin started the season with 3 levels of battlemaster fighter and 2 levels of rogue. at the time skip he took 3 fighter levels and 1 rogue level, to end the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 3 levels of swashbuckler rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: battlemaster fighter 3 | rogue 2

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swashbuckler rogue 3

lady amangeaux epiceé du peche

amangeaux started the season with 4 levels of arcane trickster rogue, comparatively lower level than the rest of the party. at the time skip, she continued in the progression to end the season with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 4

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9

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burrow's end

burrow's end is the first true major progression sidequest, despite occurring on a compressed timespan. each level up is a double jump, signifying the party's exposure to the blue and the society of last bast. multiclassing, subclass swaps, and restructured builds were common in this season; all of the characters multiclass at least once.

tula

tula started the season with 4 levels of redemption paladin. at the first level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 7 levels of redemption paladin and 3 levels of life cleric.

overall level change:

initial level: redemption paladin 4

final level: redemption paladin 7 | life cleric 3

jaysohn

jaysohn started the season with 4 levels of astral self monk. at the first level jump he took 1 additional level as well as 1 level of rogue. at the second level jump he continued the rogue progression with two additional levels, taking the swashbuckler subclass. at the final level jump he took two additional levels of rogue to finish the season with 5 levels of astral self monk and 5 levels of swashbuckler rogue.

overall level change:

initial level: astral self monk 4

final level: astral self monk 5 | swashbuckler rogue 5

viola

viola started the season with 4 levels of devotion paladin. at the first level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 7 levels of devotion paladin and 3 levels of champion fighter.

overall level change:

initial level: devotion paladin 4

final level: devotion paladin 7 | champion fighter 3

thorn vale

thorn started the season with 4 levels of fey wanderer ranger. at the first level jump he continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump he took 1 additional level as well as 1 level of tempest cleric. at the final level jump he restructured his build to finish the season with 5 levels of fey wanderer ranger and 5 levels of tempest cleric.

overall level change:

initial level: fey wanderer ranger 4

final level: fey wanderer ranger 5 | tempest cleric 5

ava

ava started the season with 3 levels of ancestral guardians barbarian and 1 level of fighter. at the first level jump she continued the barbarian progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the fighter progression with two additional levels, taking the battlemaster subclass. at the final level jump she added two grave cleric levels to finish the season with 5 levels of ancestral guardians barbarian, 3 levels of battlemaster fighter, and 2 levels of grave cleric.

overall level change:

initial level: ancestral guardians barbarian 3 | fighter 1

final level: ancestral guardians barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 3 | life cleric 2

lila

lila started the season with 4 levels of inquisitive rogue. at the first level jump she continued the rogue progression with two additional levels, and swapped her subclass to arcane trickster. at the second level jump she took two levels of wizard. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 4 levels of arcane trickster rogue and 6 levels of bladesinger wizard.

overall level change:

initial level: inquisitive rogue 4

final level: arcane trickster rogue 4 | bladesinger wizard 6

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minor level progressions

these are the seasons with only one level jump--this reflects having narrative growth on a compressed timeline. if we include fhsy for the sake of argument, all of these seasons fall into tier 2--it makes sense that there's only a minor level change because the characters don't need to be significantly scaled up to face more powerful foes. it's also notable that these are 10 episode seasons, and the other 10-eps either have no level change or major level changes--the length has room for variance.

this section kind of restates the obvious, but it's interesting to see the difference in how much each season prioritizes optimization; for example, brennan gets got by a feat (alert) that antiope takes with her level up.

--------

the seven

not too many crazy changes, though we do see a few multiclasses/multiclass extensions. the notable changes really fall into the nitty-gritty, with class features, subclass features, and feats.

antiope jones

antiope started the season with 6 levels of arcane archer fighter and 3 levels of monster slayer ranger. at the mid-season level up, she took another ranger level and the alert feat.

overall level change:

initial level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 3

final level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 4

katja cleaver

katja started the season with 9 levels of battlemaster fighter. at the mid-season level up, she took 1 level of barbarian.

overall level change:

initial level: battlemaster fighter 9

final level: battlemaster fighter 9 | barbarian 1

penny luckstone

penny started the season with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue. at the mid-season level up, she took another rogue level.

overall level change:

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 9

final level: arcane trickster rogue 10

danielle barkstock

danielle started the season with 9 levels of shepherd druid. at the mid-season level up, she took another druid level.

overall level change:

initial level: shepherd druid 9

final level: shepherd druid 10

ostentatia wallace

ostentatia started the season with 9 levels of forge cleric. at the mid-season level up, she took another cleric level.

overall level change:

initial level: forge cleric 9

final level: forge cleric 10

sam nightingale

sam started the season with 6 levels of storm sorcerer and 3 levels of glamour bard. at the mid-season level up, she took another bard level, as well as a magic initiate: warlock to reflect her pact with talura.

overall level change:

initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 3

final level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 4

zelda donovan

zelda started the season with 8 levels of eagle totem barbarian and 1 level of fighter. at the mid-season level up, she took another fighter level.

overall level change:

initial level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 1

final level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 2

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a court of fey and flowers

another season without crazy changes--all of the characters continue their standard progression, no subclass changes or multiclasses, though hob continues a multiclass progression.

andhera

andhera started the season with 8 levels of devotion paladin. at the mid-season level up, he took another paladin level.

overall level change:

initial level: devotion paladin 8

final level: devotion paladin 9

k.p. hob

hob started the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter, 1 level of rogue, and 1 level of barbarian. at the mid-season level up, he took another rogue level to get cunning action.

overall level change:

initial level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 1 | barbarian 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 2 | barbarian 1

chirp featherfowl

chirp started the season with 8 levels of bladesinger wizard. at the mid-season level up, she took another wizard level.

overall level change:

initial level: bladesinger wizard 8

final level: bladesinger wizard 9

squak airavis

squak started the season with 8 levels of lore bard. at the mid-season level up, he took another bard level.

overall level change:

initial level: lore bard 8

final level: lore bard 9

delloso de la rue

rue started the season with 8 levels of bard, subclass unknown. at the mid-season level up, they took another bard level.

overall level change:

initial level: bard 8

final level: bard 9

binx choppley

binx started the season with 8 levels of arcane trickster rogue. at the mid-season level up, they took another rogue level.

overall level change:

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 8

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9

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nonprogression seasons

i really don't feel like writing all of these out individually, so reference the images for specifics of leveling. i do have some commentary on the tiering of these seasons and what it means for the scale of the adventure.

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escape from the bloodkeep

the vile villains are still tied for highest level party at level 14, though they have fewer multiclasses--thus the characters are running around with roughly the same amount in each of their toolkits. they're sturdy enough that battles can be in precarious environments and include multiple objectives, while leaving room for shenanigans. honestly, given the lava shenanigans in bloodkeep, you'd think brennan would have learned for fhjy.

--------

tiny heist

given the genre, it makes sense that the tiny thieves would be capped at level 4. getting them up into tier 2 would lead to shenanigans that would stretch the bounds of a heist movie. they tend to run low magic, and the few spells in use are explained by the presence of fairies, technology, or monastic tradition. that doesn't stop them from doing things like rolling on a roll of quarters like a circus bear, crushing a man in a transforming car, or blowing up a bomb with a flamethrower.

--------

pirates of leviathan

at level 5, the buccaneer buddies are securely beyond the abilities of the average person, and that's clear in their roles on leviathan. it means that the threats feel real and present and that the characters inhabit the world as protectors of their home. the entire party has some degree of magic/supernatural aid, which tracks for the people that end up facing a magical threat to leviathan.

--------

mice & murder

much like the tiny thieves, if the sylvan sleuths got too high level it would stretch the bounds of credulity for the mystery genre. the party is low magic; the vicar's magic is explained by blessings from the lord, though he is actually pretty bad at it. to even out the need for high rolls with the need for low leveling, all of the characters have a feat granting them skill expertise in one of the key skills of the mystery: history, insight, investigation, perception, and athletics for lars. this lets them work with the 15-20-25-nat 20 system for ability checks; all of them could theoretically find clues, but realistically they have different skillsets and would look for different things, which balances the info they find.

--------

coffin run

the fang gang has a mix of levels that reflects the amount of time each character has spent with dracula--may at level 6, aleksandr and wetzel at level 7, and squing at level 8. it affects their strategy in unusual ways: squing is the tank, wetzel and aleksandr fight on the front/midlines while running support, and may does crowd control. the party is fairly magic by nature, but leans more toward partial than full progressions.

--------

dungeons and drag queens

the questing queens are in much the same situation as the buccaneer buddies; powerful enough to start venturing out, but still low enough that the threats feel real and present. tier 2 is the bread and butter of 5e--fun abilities for the characters, enough that you have to think about what you're doing, but not too much for new players. this party leans a little bit harder to the martial side of things--with two long-ranged specialists they tend to space their fights out and take people out from afar, while staging princess as a shield and gertrude present for dps.

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and that's all for this time! i hope you enjoyed this installment--it's a long one (6.3k words!). kudos to you for making it this far.

obligatory spreadsheet link: thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats

[stereax]

Was Hakstol a bad coach or do you think there are just personality/coaching style differences that lead to him being canned (hahaha get it?). Obviously this is speculative.

Both.

It's simple, and it's both.

A shorter Stereanalysis for you, under the cut!

All stats, except where noted, are taken from MoneyPuck.

Dave Hakstol was a Jack Adams finalist last year. Generally, the Jack Adams and its finalist positions are given to those coaches who manage to engineer great one-year improvements in their team (see: Lindy Ruff [NJD 22-23], Darryl Sutter [CGY 21-22], Alain Vigeneault [PHI 19-20]). And often, these coaches cannot keep this level of success the next year and then summarily get canned (see: Lindy Ruff [NJD 22-23], Darryl Sutter [CGY 21-22], Alain Vigeneault [PHI 19-20]). (Trust me, half the Jack Adams candidates are out quick within 1-2 seasons after. These are just the more egregious.)

Seattle caught fire with an unsustainable 22-23 season. This is true. The 23-24 season was also slightly uncharacteristically bad regression from the team. It highlighted:

- They have one of the worst shooting% in the league. 7.68% 5 on 5 is fifth worst in the NHL, only above the actual bottom feeders (CHI, SJS, ANA) and, somehow, FLA. All situations, it's 9.11%, fourth worst (CHI, PHI, SJS are below SEA).

(Interestingly, they are the most blocked team in the NHL, with 30.82% of their shots being blocked in all situations. Additionally, 32.64% of their unblocked shots miss the net in all situations. This is fourth worst in the NHL, with only CAR, VAN, and SJS with more.)

- Tied into the last point, they cannot score. 2.57 goals for per 60 in all situations is fourth worst in the NHL (CHI, SJS, ANA are even worse). 5 on 5, this is 2.11 and fifth worst (SJS, CHI, ANA, WSH).

(Another thing that doesn't help is a 47.52% faceoff percentage. It's only eighth worst in the league, but winning faceoffs helps establish possession, leading to scoring chances.)

- They're also not generating high-danger or medium-danger chances. SEA is third worst in all situations high-danger shots for, at 252, tied with WSH (usual suspects CHI and SJS top the list). They're fourth worst in all situations medium-danger shots for, at 575, tied with DET (usual suspects CHI, ANA, SJS above). Sixth and eighth worst, respectively, at 5 on 5.

- Plus, they go on losing skids. A lot. I counted at least five separate 4+ game losing streaks. 2 were 8-game losing streaks. Outside of the 1 9-game winstreak, Seattle failed to string more than 2 wins in a row all season.

- Running Daccord dry does not help. 23 starts in 25 games is batshit.

There's a few other issues, too. Let's talk about those.

Seattle's success in 2022-23 was strongly due to their ability to "roll four lines". Generally, on a hockey team, your top two lines are offensive. Your third line is a "checking" line that shuts down other teams' top sixes while offering a few goals in a pinch. Your fourth line is an "energy" line that plays short sprint shifts to "disrupt" other teams.

Seattle had one of the best fourth lines last year with Donato-Geekie-Sprong, who were highly effective at their roles plus contributed meaningful offense (27, 29, 46 points, respectively). Seattle got rid of all three in the offseason last year (CHI-BOS-DET, respectively), which considerably thinned out their four-line assault. Replacements such as Yamamoto, Tatar, and Bellemare have struggled and been unable to find lasting success.

Additionally, Seattle's been having trouble developing its kids. When the entire team went through a points drought this year, its new-era star Beniers was hit severely, going from 57 points and a Calder last year to 37 this year. Wright, too, has not had meaningful NHL time yet, which is concerning for a former consensus 1OA. While Seattle's strategy was never to "contend now", and it did not anticipate looking like a solid contender in 22-23, it did not adjust to this newer timetable and thus took a massive step back. This is what got Hakstol canned.

Interestingly, the "character" remarks seem to be refuted by Ron Francis (the GM) as well as Eberle and McCann, all of whom went to bat for Hakstol and said nobody "threatened" not to play for Hakstol if he remained the coach of the Kraken. I'm sure there's some truth to it, but, at the end of the day, Hakstol just did a bad job coaching.

[what-the-flux]

Commander Week Day 1: Race

1324 AE, Season of the Zephyr, a year before Vireskk's krewe wins the Snaff Prize.

The machine shop was cast in the blues and purples of midnight save for a set of fulguroptic work lights at the far end. A lone asura sat there hunched over his work, his modest queue of hair tied up away from his face as he checks for flaws on a newly-machined gasket. Save for the softened noises of his late night industry, the only other sounds in the entire shop were strains of some music turned down low coming from an aged speaker at the far end of his workstation.

Vireskk had utterly lost track of time and if it wasn’t for the sudden burst of laughter and talking from the entryway into the lab, he would have continued to be oblivious to his surroundings. The brittle peace thus disturbed, he put down his tools and looked up to see some of his krewemates coming in, looking like they had just come from the college mixer that was going on that night. They were chattering and giggling among each other, Zotto the socialite naturally leading the conversation when the three came into the section of the workshop that Vireskk had situated himself. The jocular exchanges between the three trailed off as they noticed him. Kizzik, the tallest of the group made a snort of open amusement. It was obvious of all of them he had been the one that had partaken of the most complementary refreshments. Irkko shifted a look to Zotto as the latter decided to take it upon herself to dispel the awkwardness. “Hey Vir, we were searching all over for you at the dance floor earlier.” The other asura sat up straight and replied, “You know how much I hate dancing and making a spectacle of myself.” Vireskk winced inwardly at how flat he sounded. Kizzik muttered something about how he could use some loosening up but Irkko gave him one of their patented glares and he stopped, instead saying, “Cogs n’ spanners Vir, don’t you think you work a bit too hard sometimes?” Vireskk gave a soft chuckle as he got up and walked around the large work table to stand nearby, “Oh most certainly. But the Feasibility Exams wait for no one and I know we’ve been having trouble with the gaskets and couplings on our energy compressors so I decided to take on the extra work to make sure we don’t have a systems failure.” He yawned abruptly and smiled ruefully to himself, “You make a good point though. If it weren’t for you lot coming in I would have worked until morning, so I should probably go get some sleep.”

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

Some time later that night after they had all talked about their project, Vireskk stayed behind to lock up the shop, and left to make his way back to the student living quarters. He rounded the corner to one of the hallways linking the dorms and found Zotto having a frank exchange of words with the hall monitor. It was getting heated, and Vir knew that she had a bad track record with this particular faculty member. He walked over and casually inserted himself into the exchange, causing the monitor to stammer indignantly as he butted in politely, “Excuse me, my apologies. My colleague and I were triple-checking our safety protocols in the workshop for the exam next week and ran into a problem with our timetables. We were both just leaving to our dorms.” Before the livid older asura could even protest, Vireskk was covering Zotto’s retreat, ushering her further down the hallways and into the common room right before the dorms. Once they were in the clear, she whirled on him and said acidly, “You didn’t have to do that, you know.” He blinked in surprise, taken aback by her tone immediately but he took her temper in stride and said simply, “I’m sure you wouldn’t have wanted to deal with yet more disciplinary measures so close to finals.” Zotto took her spectacles off and rubbed her face, sighing as she put them back on before saying quickly, “Don’t. Just stop. Stop trying to be everyone’s shield. The self-righteous routine only goes so far,” Her words must have affected him outwardly more than he realized because she looked up and saw his face, smirked and added, “Aha! So there is a way to get that placid exterior to crack a little.” “I only ever wanted to help. It was the least I could do.” He said dryly. “Stop coming off as so humble, it’s infuriating. While I’m at it, stop trying to cover for us during what is supposed to be your off time.” She was looking squarely at him now. “I am not sure how you’d rather I respond,” He replied back, his sharp jawline working a little as he thought how to proceed, “I’m not going to apologize for acting on what I think is right. I will gladly sacrifice my time and energy for the good of the krewe, on the clock and off. I consider you all my friends.” Zotto gestured with her hands to give emphasis, her voice raising an octave, “That’s the thing! Sure, working as a team is integral to a lab running smoothly but you really need to start thinking about yourself more sometimes! You’re too soft! You have no ambition! You could easily be a krewe lead straight out of college but you’d rather just be content with busywork and exist as a—a---quiet little stooge!” These last words came like water out of an open floodgate and even she was taken aback the second she uttered them. Before she could even try to backpedal and apologize though, Vir’s reply came and cut her off decisively, “You think my selflessness and earnest desire to see everyone succeed as the mark of a stooge? If that is truly how you feel, then perhaps I’m in the wrong krewe and we have nothing more to discuss.” She had never heard his voice so cold or his expression so stony, the abrupt transformation was almost frightening and she took a step back, at a loss for words at how final his statement was. Vireskk did not even wait for a reply, quickly walking off to his dorm while leaving Zotto standing alone in the softly lit common room.

[mochademic]

100 Days of Productivity [Day: 52] || 100 Jours de Productivité [Jour: 52]

seeking out comfort food while trying not to let the season drown me. every day feels more tired than the last. 2 hours earlier to bed, 1 hour later to rise. the shortening days still feel as melancholic as they did last year.

today I've spent reviewing as much as possible before my last exam. this semester was really rewarding, but with market season upon us I have a lot more to divide my timetable with! good luck to all ye students!

currently listening // Concern by isaur

Je cherche des aliments réconfortants tout en essayant de ne pas me laisser noyer par la saison. Chaque jour me semble plus fatigué que le précédent. 2 heures plus tôt pour se coucher, 1 heure plus tard pour se lever. Les jours qui raccourcissent me semblent toujours aussi mélancoliques qu'ils l'étaient l'année dernière.

Aujourd'hui, j'ai révisé autant que possible avant mon dernier examen. ce semestre a été très enrichissant, mais avec la saison des marchés qui arrive, j'ai beaucoup plus de choses à faire pour diviser mon emploi du temps ! bonne chance à tous les étudiants !

chanson // Concern by isaur

[pfirsichspritzer]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

tagged by @menina89, thank you. Doing this required more introspection than I initially thought, but it was a lot of fun 💕

1 . How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I had my first encounter with fanfiction when I was around 12 or 13 and discovered the (no-longer online) site myfanfiction.de. Back then I was really into twilight and so I created an account and started writing (in German). My first story was like 200 - 400 words per chapter and I think I gave up after 5 - 6 chapters. I posted a few more one-shots but honestly, the site was terrible and overly moderated. Two of my stories got banned for apparently being wrongly rated G and that was pretty frustrating. I wrote a few more stories for myself, but during most of high school and university years I only wrote assignments and papers. I stopped reading fanfiction altogether too for a while and only came back to it when discovering fanfiction.net and then ao3. There were so many stories and so much more engagement on those English sites, which was amazing. I did think about writing a few times but I was intimidated by the thought of doing so in English, which is not my mother tongue, so for years I was simply lurking in the shadows.

Then came 2022, which was a very rough year for me and induced a lot of anxiety, so in autumn after a spontaneous idea for a fic, I just started writing again to cope with some of those feelings. I posted the first chapter for the hell of it, but the Rogue One fandom was so nice and encouraging, that I just kept writing. 

The idea for my first story in the Lockwood & Co. fandom was born because I was looking for a specific story I. When I could not find it, I simply wrote it myself. 

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Four fandoms I published something in. Probably one or two more, writing just for myself. 

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

The first fic on my ao3 account was posted October 2022. 

In my teenage years maybe another 4 years ?

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Definitely read. 

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Writing multi-chapters. I used to lose interest in them pretty quickly. But I’ve actually finished 2 in the last one-and-a-half years, which I am actually kind of proud of. 

Other than that, I like to think that my English has gotten better (I hope) and I am less critical of myself, actually enjoying reading my own stories once in a while. 

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I once went down a rabbit hole researching the Jacobite uprising and the Glencoe massacre, including watching a 1,5 h documentary (for a 1000 word case fic). That was probably the most niche topic. 

Other than that, I often research medical conditions, to not get them completely wrong. I did a lot of research on pregnancy and childbirth, including making a detailed calendar on gestational age and events that should take place. I generally like to make timetables for longer fics, to get the seasons and months right and to not give a month too many days. 😉

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

I love each and every comment. I maybe tend to reread comments more often of people pointing out things they liked, their favourite part, or swooning over characters. Also, when someone catches a hidden meaning or reference to another chapter, that is really amazing. But honestly, every comment makes my day and puts a huge smile on my face. 🥰

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

Probably struggles with fertility. Other than that I think I’m pretty mainstream.

Though, I wrote a Christmas market one-shot set in the city I live in once, which could be considered niche because of the non anglo-american or British setting. 

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

It takes me a long time to write descriptions. Often there is a scene in my head that I want to bring to paper (or computer screen). But then I realize that I lack the vocabulary to formulate the sentences as flowery and beautifully as I’d like. So, I end up googling words for hours. 

10. What is the easiest type?

Fluff. I love writing tender scenes between characters. 

But also Angst, I think. Probably because I am a very anxious person. 

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my computer. I write in MS word. Then I copy the whole text into google docs, and do the editing there. 

Most ideas come to me while commuting, going for a walk, or showering. So, I either take quick notes on my phone or actually sit down and type it into my laptop, if I have time. Mostly, I end up writing in the evening, but I am actually more productive in the morning (again if there is time) 

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

Smut. 

13. What made you choose your username?

I chose it, because I am a microbiologist at heart. It could be argued that Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as bakers’ yeast, is one of humanity's oldest production animals. It is also one of the first microorganisms I was able to observe under a microscope and I think the cells look adorable. Apparently, someone else thought so too, because the username was already taken. That’s why I chose Saccharomyces_97

Tagging: @alphacrone @woahpip @oceanspray5 @cate-deriana and @the-biscuit-agreement (I'm terribly late and don't know who has done this before. So sorry, in case of double tag 😉 )

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

what’s your opinion at the absolute batshit crazy fact that the NWR has nearly 80 engines, lol.

It is crazy when you first learn about it.

I think it makes sense, though. Thomas's line has four engines we know of, and that doesn't even include Mavis and Bloomer even though they both seem to pick up some slack. And this is probably the smallest branch line.

Not only do you have to staff the usual traffic, but if the majority of your fleet are steam engines you will have to have plenty of redundancy to cover maintenance and overhauls (and tours—I fancy some of them go on tour, tbh. You own Thomas THE Tank Engine and you never charge some American or Japanese railway six bajillion currency units to host him for a summer season? I don't think so.) Ditto for all these absences if they're really old steam engines. It seems reasonable to me that you'd probably have to have at least 1.5 engines on hand for each 1 that appears on any normal day's timetables.

So I'm not one of those people who ditch this factoid from personal canon, or whatever. Fair play if anyone else pulls a I-pretend-not-to-see-it, but I think this bit of canon is both plausible and cool.

[authorspirit]

Summer 1 recap.

previous season - next season

All households:

Aria and James Sapphire

Alexander Sapphire

Graham Lambert & Amy Ernest

Ito household

Stafford household

Lambert & Martinez households

Arthur Sapphire’s family

Syncretian summers always have a perpetual festive air to them. In addition to the numerous summer holidays, wedding planning and birthday parties rythmed this summer. All those celebrations served as excuses to gather all the different family members scattered around the simverse, especially Marina Sapphire’s grandchildren who all reach their elder years one by one. Their favorite discussion topics revolve around their children: wedding drama, university choices for their children, the joys of becoming a grandparent. Though on that latter, the talks are more about how the new parents struggle and call for help rather than just being happy of taking care of grandchildren sometimes.

The most expected summer wedding was Alexander Sapphire’s, announced last season to be engaged to Serenity Edmondson. However, the news was shocking to everyone, especially Alexander’s parents, Aria and James, who had yet to meet Serenity. After the first introduction of Serenity to Alexander’s immediate AND extended family at the national holiday, Aria and James met with their future daughter-in-law. But while getting to know Serenity, James started a verbal fight. He then sucessfully managed to persuade Serenity to leave his son who was actually miserable in this relationship. This failed engagement did not damp Alexander's enjoyment for the news of his cousin Emery’s wedding. While not announced as early as Alexander’s, the wedding would be grant, Rachel Ito can assure you. Keiko Nakagawa, the new addition to the family is a sweetheart and was ready to pause her snowboarding career to have a family of her own. A delightful idea for Rachel and Kiyoshi who would love to see grandchildren. Little did they know one is already born and it is none other than Emery’s… Before meeting Keiko, Emery may or may not have been kind of a player… Though he was always responsible, the news of being a father was not the most surprising to him. However, the timing was far from ideal as he had just proposed to Keiko… And he kept it a secret, coming to an arrangement with the baby mama. But for how long? Meanwhile, the happiest of the gen 4, Ericka Martinez, had finally moved out of her parents' home. It almost sparked the idea of having more children, but her husband Storm who was trying very hard not getting burnt out was not as inclined to expand the family. After all, they still heavily depended on Ericka's parents Kellen and Chelsea Lambert living two streets away. Kellen would probably be happy to babysit more grandchildren if asked though, as he is seriously considering retiring for good and his timetable is getting more free with Matthew leaving for university. Speaking of university, after a successful high school graduation, Leïla Stafford got accepted for a distinguished degree in biology at Foxbury Institute! Dreams smooth sail for the Stafford sisters as Sienna has her acting career flourishing as well. Milton no longer suffers from a midlife crisis and tries to do his best in PR but really, he is more of a business man. Yolanda is at the head of the most reknowned cooking club of Newcrest. Ambitions wise, everything is perfect for the Staffords. But what about the love interests of the two sisters? Sienna has spotted a DJ and might get closer to him with moving out, while Leïla has realized that maybe Mitchell, her highschool sweetheart, might not be the only one out there... And if there's one thing Graham Lambert and Amy Ernest can say about uni, it's that it comes with its lot of romance drama! Graham started uni and did not expect to find love after deciding to get more sociable. But it seems love found him in the form of Angela Pleasant. Amy was not so lucky and had a disastrous relationship with a certain Deacon - but we shall not talk about him ever again. Now graduated, Amy is ready to discover the savours of this world, fully applying her culinary arts degree. She can not wait for her move in autumn to San Myshuno! Not as ready to move was the lovely family of Arthur and Jillian Sapphire. With their two daughters Mila and Sara, they have decided to move back to Newcrest for autumn. Royal duties took over and it became harder for them to reconcile parenting and work. Jillian especially struggled even if she finally managed to finish the children's book she had been writing since Sara's infant days. But time flew by and soon enough, they had to get ready to move, but not after one last grand party in the Tartosan house: Mila's birthday!

[knightofsuperior]

The Holidays Are a Time of Togetherness and Giving but Sometimes People Can Take Both a Bit Too Far in the Service of Being Petty as All Hell

Fandom: The Legend of Heroes/Trails, Trails of Cold Steel

Summary:

Lechter Arundel has an idea, in the spirit of the season: host a homecoming party in Ymir for Erebonia's hero, Rean Schwarzer. Just some friends, family, and a few decorations. Nothing too bad! Things get a little out of hand.

Read the fic here and check out an excerpt/my thoughts below!

Excerpt:

Lechter Arundel wasn’t supposed to hear this conversation. He wasn’t even supposed to be in Ymir, frankly. There was an all-Ironbloods meeting occurring the next day at Valflame Palace, so he was supposed to be in Heimdallr at the least in the event of any unexpected circumstances. However, the weather was miserably cold, and he needed just a quick dip-what was the harm? He had the timetable all worked out too: 1. Get to Ymir the night before. 2. Hit the Phoenix Wings. 3. R&R 4. Snowboard? Snowboard. 5. Head back to Heimdallr, getting to the meeting either on time or (depending on if he felt like sleeping in) fashionably late. 6. Optional: Gloat to the others about how refreshed he was. He had his disguise all figured out too, a lesson he picked up from the Debaucherous Prince. His hair was covered in a toboggan hat, he was wearing a pair of colored contacts (he always wondered what it would be like to have blue eyes), and he dug out his old Crossbell tourist duds for the occasion (though with an extra layer or two to combat the cold). With a nice warm towel wrapped around his neck, and a cup of hot cocoa, he looked like any other nobody. Which is why neither of the Schwarzers recognized him (he hoped) when they sat at the bar in the Phoenix Wings, fresh from a bath of their own.

Author's Note: The second in the Kiseki In-Between-Iverse series, this one I especially had a blast with because for as much as I love the Sky cast, it's just so easy to slip into the voices of the Cold Steel characters. Being able to sort of bridge that gap between Sky and CS was also a treat, and seeing if I could top my previous over-stuffed cameo list with fun cross-sections of character interactions. Just a fun time all around.

[squtternutboshing]

Light spoilers!

So, the season 5 Ghosts summary, as well as hints in season 4, suggest that Alison and Mike are going to be thinking about/ taking steps towards having kids in season 5. I don't think we're likely to see a pregnancy announcement in episode 1 and a delivery in episode 6 because that seems off the pace of the show, but there's a lot of pre-baby fun that can be had with the Button House crew. My guesses:

- Alison is nervous about telling the ghosts that she and Mike and thinking of starting a family. The couple have lots of whispered conversations that they struggle to finish without a ghost walking in. Eventually, one of the ghosts - probably poor, forgotten Head!Humphrey - overhears and Alison is surprised to find that all of the ghosts are on board because of their ~emotional growth~

- This leads to Julian sharing optimum positions to conceive in, of course, whilst Fanny thinks a woman should lie back and think of England

- Captain learns there are timetables involved around ovulation and best times to conceive. He wants to be very involved in this because it's an organiser's dream, but he's also very awkward about it. Pat is less awkward and shares too many initmate details of Daley's conception, but through hard-to-understand and dated euphemisms

- Kitty wants to plan the nursery and the baby's wardrobe and have the nursery be nextdoor to her room. She's announces herself as the baby's godmother.

- Thomas sees this all as the final nail in the coffin for his hopes of ever being with Alison and is most reluctant to get involved, but will be absolutely smitten with the baby when they arrive

- Pat wants to share his 'Dad Survival Guide' tips with Mike, so Alison is forced to convey them

- Robin is pretty chill, as usual, and sees this as the start of a long line of children about to appear in the house. He still doesn't fully grasp monogamy

Any other predictions?

[corvid-language-library]

Did you go to school in England? I’ve never heard of a school day ending that late here (or on a Saturday?) that’s horrific I’m so sorry

Sure did! I went to a rather posh private school. Schools are required to teach a certain number of hours per academic year, and my school chose to give us more hours during the week so that we could have longer holidays and the boarders could have longer periods back home with their families (also meant all the posh folks could go on their annual ski trips/fancy vacations before tourist season hit properly and the plebs ruined their favourite vacay spots). My summer holidays were typically 9 weeks long and I'd get 4 weeks for Christmas and Easter too (pretty sure I got 2 weeks at half term during the autumn/winter term as well? Icr if that was a one-off or a frequent occurence though).

And yeah it sucked! We also got 2 hours of homework a night (from years 6-8 we got an hour during the day to get some of it done, but from year 9 onwards you we expected to do it during break time/after school). And we finished so late that we had a summer and winter timetable because in the summer it was "too hot" (in England lmao) to do sport at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, but in winter it was too dark to do sport outside later on. So in summer we finished the day with games, and in winter we did games in the middle of the day and then had to do fucking maths or some shit afterwards while it was dark outside after we'd been playing hockey in the freezing cold for 2 and a half hours.

(We did get afternoon tea on those days though. Not with nice sandwiches or little cakes, but you did get a cup of tea and some biscuits. Bourbons or custard creams if you arrived early enough, digestives or rich teas if you didn't)

It was also a Church of England school so I was forced to go to chapel twice a week, and if you were on a sports team you had to stay behind on Saturday afternoons for training or matches. Plus there were extracurriculars: band, choir, school plays etc. Money was everything of course and it was always obvious whose parents had paid to get their kid a spot on the team/cast (like fr these kids could NOT act or sing but would have the main part). I remember being sad at the time when I didn't make the cut for those things (mostly because I wanted to hang out with the popular kids who always made it into those extracurriculars... because their parents paid for it), but it was probably a blessing in disguise looking back on it.

So yeah there you have it, life at a reasonably posh English boarding school. It sucked, I hated it, I was so fucking depressed and I'm glad I never have to set foot there again.

[ladymisteria]

Diego done with Alejandro’s outings

*Don Alejandro paces back and forth behind Diego, who's writing something with a quill, sitting in at a desk.*

Don Alejandro: But I heard from others beside Arturo. Fernando Alvarez talked with his mother, and she's been dead for eighteen years. Enrique to his infant son, who told him when the books were to arrive he ordered from San Carlos.

*Diego make a little exasperated sigh.*

Diego, not looking up from his writing and a bit skeptically: I find it hard to believe that a two-year old would know the timetables of the Republic's postal system…

Season 1, Episode 22 - The Unhappy Medium