#fantasy baseball stats

[roboromantic]

for art class I'm supposed to draw a character

Dodging an attack

Performing an attack or spell

Doing victory/defeat poses

and between that and the weapons UI thing we did for Photoshop it's just like. I'm not against violence/combat being in video games, I'd just rather do something more creative. fighting has been done to death, if you will.

I can and probably will reinterpret these into non-combat terms (dodging idk, a falling boulder, performing a spell doesn't necessarily mean it's a *combat* spell, victory/defeat can be success/failure) but the fact that it's the default is. well realistically it's preparing you for work in an industry where again, combat is a key component of most games, but I do think it's kinda depressing.

[datasportsgroup]

Every day something new is coming for the sports industries. For a live data provider, it is necessary to keep updated with the latest trends. It is not difficult to find a comprehensive real-time sports data provider. There are just a few things that need to be known.

[theminecraftbee]

actually, out of the tags and further explanation: so I actually REALLY LOVE that mcc is like, canonizing making predictions about game and event winners like this, as well as making stats more accessible and explicitly part of the game like this.

the thing is—okay so I know stats are blamed for a lot of what’s wrong with mcc fandom but stats are FUN. sports predictions are FUN. being kind of competitive about sports predictions is FUN. have you ever done an ncaa bracket with your family. or played fantasy baseball. or fantasy football. or hell, have you watched a jon bois video that’s actually some of his sports writing. FUN, RIGHT? and stats are a really common way for a sports/competition fan to engage with their hobby, so like, there is no avoiding “people will try to make mcc predictions” and “people will stat out the teams” and “people will be competitive about those predictions”, it’s one of the most common modes of the sports fan, it’s an accessible form of engagement even when the team you are personally a fan of isn’t in the game (because you can be temporarily a fan of the one you’ve decided to gamble on winning), and it’s not gonna go away.

(the actual stakes of gambling aren’t required and I actually do not recommend outside of like, you get a stupid gold plastic trophy from a friend, do not get involved in sports gambling it’s a predatory industry and there is basically no “safe” threshold there, I am talking more about the inherent fun of “getting competitive about your team winning”.)

the problem has in the past been that players see it and get placed under pressure/upset/etc about it, because unlike Sports, the mcc players have very direct lines of interaction with their fandom. it’s VERY EASY to take a prediction as an attack, especially when combined with competitiveness, which is why I think a lot of people suggest forbidding talking about stats or tiers, getting rid of stats, etc.

but the thing is that won’t work. for one, it’s removing one of the biggest sports fan modes of engagement and therefore removing your own fandom. but also people aren’t going to NOT do stats! like, even the players will probably start keeping track of stats if stats were removed! so the solution instead needs to be to make stats more individual, to remove some of the pressure of the stats, and to lean into the stuff about it that makes it FUN.

therefore: the kudos system and predictions. it’s not trying to get rid of the inevitable fandom interaction, it’s embracing it, but it’s doing it in a way that removes pressure from players.

for example, note that the kudos have a focus on personal bests! this encourages players to compete but means even “lower-tier” players will probably get them! at the same time, by globally sharing overall records, it continues to celebrate and encourage great performances! plus, by making some of the stats really stupid, it both gives statheads NEW things to focus on that aren’t coins—the punching statistic for example is gonna be so fun—removing some of the pure pressure to perform in score alone and the centralization of discussion around it—and also gives players silly records to aim for if they aren’t the kind of player who’d aim for a more “traditional” high score.

as for the predictions, they’re gonna do two things. first, it embraces “yeah the community loves doing predictions” by adding a competitive aspect to it—can you beat the odds and predict who will win everything? the wordle-like ability to copy/paste how you did at the end of the event is truly genius because it makes it SUPER EASY to share and discuss for even casual fans. it will increase engagement and discussion. it’ll ALSO help demonstrate to players, by showing the percentage of correct predictions on screen, how… inaccurate… predictions often are. sure, you can guess who the better players and teams will be, but as anyone who did sexyman knows, single-round games can have upsets. and it celebrates those upsets! it turns it from “no one believed in us” (sad) to “we were the underdogs hell yeah look at us go!”

anyway as someone who likes engaging with sports and competitions by being a little competitive and watching the stories the numbers tell: I adore these changes FANTASTIC changes they’re gonna be so fun day-of let’s go mcc,

[theresattrpgforthat]

I'm so giddy! I've been waiting impatiently for the askbox to open! Okay, okay, so... could you, please, recommend some free TTRPGS about vampires having fun and vampire adventures/shenanigans in general? VTM is the wrong kind of existential for me, so I need vampires being monsters and having a good time while at it. Also I have problems with purchasing things abroad (not from an English-speaking country), hence the "free" thing. I really love your blog and reading your recommendations, keep up the fantastic work! ❤🎃

THEME: Affordable Vampire Shenanigans.

Thank you so much for your kind words! Let’s see what kind of vampire games I can find for you.

All the Damn Vampires, by Ringo Stalin.

All the Damn Vampires is a TTRPG for vampires who just want to have fun, without the stress of being slain, or having to put on a masque.

This game is an unabashed power-fantasy for the disenfranchised, the marginalised, and the weird folks who always felt out of step with the rest of the world.

All the Damn Vampires uses four basic stats (Vigilance, Astronomy, Motion, and Presence), as well as a resource pool called Deadline to represent how much energy your Vampire has left. Your stats are better if they are lower, as you have to roll above your set number if you want to succeed.

Many typical vampire weaknesses aren’t built into your characters in this game; you can eat garlic and bathe in holy water, although you still can’t survive a wooden stake or a beheading. You also have a number of various vampire abilities available to you, some of which are ’nascent’, or “beginner” abilities, while others can be gained as you grow. If you want a power fantasy that lets your vampires go out and party with just the odd hunter or two trying to take you down, you might like this game.

All the Damn Vampires is currently pay-what-you-want, so you should be able to download it for free if you need to.

Vampire Friend-Group Needed, by SteelWhale.

In this party game, players will first create their very own vampire, and then try to convince the other players why their vampire is a perfect fit for this very exclusive vampire group. 

This game combines all kinds of vampires, from the cartoony Count Chocula to the original Count Dracula. You are all vying for a spot in a special vampire friend-group, and trying to impress your potential Vampire friends. There’s not much when it comes to playing this game, mostly role-playing through the initial conversation, and then voting on whose vampires are the coolest - or the un-coolest, if you want to play it that way. The designer recommends trying this game out as a prelude to another vampire game.

As with most of the games on this list, this is also pay-what-you-want!

VUMPIRE!, by dozens.

Play Baseball. Drink Blood.

You are umpiring the championship game and you are also an ancient undead vampire. You are here to steal some oxygen-rich, elite athlete blood. And also to enforce the rules of baseball and uphold the spirit of sportsmanship.

VUMPIRE is all about infiltrating a baseball game to get high-quality blood. It’s got plenty of roll-tables to make character creation interesting, as well as a few tips on setting up a baseball league of your own. Judging by the table of contents, it looks like you’ll mark some kind of progress over the game; probably both how well the teams are doing as well as how much blood you’re able to procure from your antics. If you want a combination sports-game and vampire game, this might be the game for you.

VUMPIRE isn’t free, but there are community copies at the time that I write this post, so you should be able to pick up a copy, or perhaps ask the creator for a copy if you can’t afford one.

Flesh + Fangs, by FrogmentSoul.

You are the followers of Count Dracula, and he has put you in charge of taking care of his castle while he takes a well-earned retirement. But it just happens that the day the Count is going to do his routine performance check, odd things begin to happen that make you look incompetent! It's time to right these wrongs before you lose Dracula’s respect!

Flesh + Fangs is a hack of John Harper's Lasers & Feelings based on the Dimension 20 season Coffin Run, serving as a way to further the story beyond its end. This is a game of undead havoc, macabre drama, and trying to make your boss proud for once.  

I’ve talked about Lasers and Feelings hacks a number of times before, but the basics is this: minimal character bookkeeping, little to no GM prep, and great for lighthearted, fun times. In this case, you’re all doing your darndest to impress Count Dracula, and failing horribly.

If you’re the one running this game, I recommend writing up a list of potential obstacles beforehand, maybe even writing up some possible room descriptions if you have enough time. These kinds of games are pretty heavy on improv, so having a few things to pull up when the players do something unexpected is a good idea.

Flesh + Fangs is pay-what-you-want, including if that payment is zero dollars.

Vikings vs. Vampires, by CartwrightShop.

Vikings Vs. Vampires is a rules-light role-playing game suitable for all ages created by Ben Cartwright and Jon Merrell. A big inspiration for Vikings Vs. Vampires was the wonderful game Honey Heist created by Grant Howitt.

Only half of the playgroup in this game are vampires, but the premise certainly feels goofy to me, and in a good way. I think it’s interesting that your Viking stats are different from your Vampire stats; the core of each of these character types are different, and therefore they act a little differently. Even though this game is goofy, keep in mind that the Vampires and the Vikings are at odds with each-other, and are designed to go head-to-head.

This is a very lovingly crafted game, and probably the most illustrated out of everything on this list. There’s plenty of backstory to set up the moment where your characters meet, although I don’t know how repayable the game is. It’s also pay-what-you-want: yay!

You Installed the Wrong DLC And Now You Must Fight Mathomagic Dracula, by kumada1.

For long ages, the arch-vampire has slumbered inside his geometric coffin. But now the seals are broken, the formulae are smudged, and Dracula is loose.

As a creature of muddled mytho-historical origin, Dracula is not confined to any one setting or story. He can leap from reality to reality, claiming victims where he will.

And as a creature loosely associated with a pun based on tallying up numbers, Dracula also wields fell power over the nature of mathematics.

Unless he is stopped, he will rain untold terrors down upon the multiverse. Which is where you come in.

This isn’t really a tabletop game on its own, but rather a funny way to warp another tabletop game that you are already playing. “Install” Dracula into another game system, and he will slowly skew the system’s math - you must defeat him before he renders your game entirely unplayable! If you want a goofy game where the fiction jumps past the fourth wall and generates havoc with your table, this might just get you there.

And of course, the game is pay-what-you-want.

Other Vampire Games

Step Into My Coffin, Babe, by Super Sardine Burial.

Bubblegum Vampires, by Gormengeist.

Bloodlite RPG, by HiddenSky Estùdio.

My Alternative Vampires Post.

Fangs, Fangs, Fangs Rec Post.

[piratekane]

june reading wrap up

it's that time of the month again, folks.

the mission: read only queer books the side mission: read more than just sapphic books the side-side mission: read something besides fantasy/romance mission status: sick

some stats for those following along at home:

- i read 19 books - i attempted one buddy read (but my wife quit on me, guys) - 100% OF MY BOOKS WERE QUEER - still no audiobooks but there's a freshly peeled month ahead of us

here's the reviews:

the bad: - Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, bisexual rep people in the circles i've been traveling lately love this book, but i just... didn't. the characters did a complete personality switch about three chapters in. one of them was a manic pixie dream girl. the other was so flat i dreaded reading her perspective. also the brother had NO boundaries and i hate third act breakups due to miscommunication. 1 star - Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly, achillean rep people also loved this one but my struggle is that i don't think gay men are it for me and also there were some things about Alexie that i just didn't jive with. there was, yet again, another third act breakup that felt contrived. the writing was good and it was clear Kelly knows hiking and they have a love for it. so i enjoyed that part! 2.5 stars - The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman, trans achillean rep everyone and their freaking mother LOVE this book but it just didn't have enough baseball. like, for a book about the first trans baseball player in the professional league, this book was about his love interest's anxiety. gimme baseball!!! and gene straight-up backstabbed luis, i stg if no one else thinks so. 2.5 stars

the great: - The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher, lesbian rep this is lit-fic and you should know that going into it. once i got used to the writing style, i was hooked on this book. it's an interesting POV and the love story is really the complex love between a daughter and her mother, and the daughter and get great-aunt. like, my brain is still bending around this one. 5 stars - The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller, queer rep this book emerged from a tumblr prompt and it's incredible. tons of rep (sword lesbian, motorcycle lesbian, drag queen, bisexual mess, nonbinary pizza delivery person) and just a fun fucking time. it's all centered around Pride weekend and begs the question: just what do you do when a zombie outbreak fucks up your festival? 5 stars - Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun, lesbian rep two teachers go on a road trip with their terminally ill mentor and gosh, this is a specific setup but it works. i cried at the end like a little baby. the characters were fantastic (my favorite was their mentor) and the writing was superb. there's also really great ADHD rep in this and the growth of each character felt natural instead of forced. 5 stars - The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, trans rep i knew this book existed and my cousin loves it but i never gave it a fair shake because i was like ONLY SAPPHIC NOVELS ONLY SAPPHIC NOVELS and was averse to reading anything but that but this one. this one is so good. the setting (a contemporary-fantasy latin america) is so lush and rich with detail. teo, the main character, had me rooting for him from the get-go. and the plot twist was so so good. i requested an advanced copy of the sequel through NetGalley and i'm hoping it'll come there. (i also bought Thomas' other novel, because now he is auto-buy author me) 5 stars.

honorable mentions: - A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty, bisexual rep also born from a tumblr prompt and just so much fun. i recommend purchasing this because it's just too good. time traveler meets and immortal (maybe you've seen the prompt). you won't regret it - Elatsoe by Darcy Little Badger, asexual rep an Indigenous girl who can see ghosts goes on a trip to hunt down her cousin's murderer. the writing is so punchy. i loved this one. - On the Same Page by Haley Cass, bisexual rep best friends become lovers through miscommunication. hilarious stuff. i will also read Haley Cass again because the characters were so funny and the plot was so good. - Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore, nonbinary rep this one was a mind bender in a good way. each of the characters were really fleshed out in a fun way. the timeline hopping was a little trippy, but i got my feet under me quick. - A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland, lesbian rep a selkie wife retelling. do i really need to say more?

okay this is long i am congratulating you if you got this far. now i need to go hibernate and slow down because i read too much and this month i want to write!

[videochess]

What are three (among your) favorite fantasy weapons/tools? If you fell into a Dive to the Heart, which one would you Wield to gain its Powers and which would you Sacrifice to augment your stats/build?

ohhh man this is a tough one. favoured Fantasy Weapon for me kinda depends on context… i love to be contrarian so in a game thats primarily melee i wanna do ranged and vice versa, for instance. in a game thats all swords, if theres One axe or mace or an option to use fists, thats the one im attracted to.

if i free myself from the chains of Context… ok i think im gonna have a REALLY hard time picking three so im just gonna list some weapons/tools used in fantasy stuff that i think are cool (not strictly Fantasy Weapons because some of this shit is real But Not How THEY Use It!)

shields: not a weapon but so cool. i love shields. you can use them to attack if you want and there's so many styles.

chakram: i didn't really think much about these until playing dancer in ffxiv and now i'm really chakram pilled. also if you play the xena: warrior princess game for psx you can throw a flying chakram that you then directly control in near-first-person and explore the entire level using it. which i think i would be able to do also

staves: magic ones. not a boring bo staff. but also i want to use it like a bo staff & not just as a Spell Focus. fact: i was really excited for palutena in smash 4 because the idea of a staff+shield moveset was REALLY exciting to me but she barely swings the staff around at all… wasteful!

maces, flails: i'm a cleric at heart so i always feel warmed to see one of these guys. it's unfair to bundle these together because they're vastly different technique wise but whatever

kanabo: this is like, a little bit from column Staff, a little bit from column Mace. (ok you dont use a staff like youd use one of these but maybe i would.) its like a giant baseball bat from demon's hell. awesome toy

katars: these are more of a childhood fav but my very first 2nd class in ragnarok online was Assassin because i was obsessed with those cool hand blades. when i was a kid i asked for a katar (real) for my birthday and got one. & it sucked ass

pickaxe: just a cool shape

Just Throwing Shit: im always enchanted by this option when it's present. i love the idea of specializing in just Throwing stuff. Any stuff. the little bouncy hammer you can throw around in destiny 2 as a solar titan is a favorite example of this but many rpgs have "thrown weapon" specializations that dont necessarily correspond to any one weapon Shape. its awesome.

bows: i think they are cool. not much else to say

OK and if i fell into a dive to the heart and i had like a whole armory waiting for me ummmmmm i would… probably pick Staff and sacrifice Sword. this Literally matches what i did in my kh playthru stream which makes it sound kind of boring but, whatever! if magic exists im gonna wanna use it!!! if it doesnt im still gonna have a cool long stick!!!! cant lose!!! actually though if magic DOESNT exist i want a kanabo or chakrams. Thank you!

Honourable Mention: in ultima online there's a weapon called "Hammer Pick" thats like a normal claw hammer with an inordinately long handle. i always thought this was cool. food for thought

[lenasai]

Hey! I've tried getting into blaseball before but could not understand it. Could you explain? 🥺

ID: The "Sickos" comic meme. End ID.

i will never pass up an opportunity to talk about blaseball!

i typed a lot, so the rest is under the cut for the sake of people who have me on their dash

unfortunately, i have bad news about getting into it as an active participant - the developers decided to end blaseball as an ongoing project in june for a number of reasons, one being that running it at the level they wanted to (and really, at any point in the game's history) has been unsustainable for the team.

however, i encourage you to look further into the fan creations because there is so much more than just the game!

to summarize what blaseball was: blaseball was a fantasy horror baseball simulator with an ongoing plot and a very creative fanbase. i would describe the relationship between the fans and the devs as a large-scale version of a tabletop roleplaying game, with the devs (and the simulation running the game) as the game masters. a lot of iconic moments in the discipline era in particular were a mix of the devs taking a "yes, and" approach to fan input and the number of ways in which the site broke.

the experience of watching games was very minimal and mostly text-based, so it wasn't too unlike watching real baseball updates online, except weird things happened sometimes. different weather conditions introduced a small chance of something happening to teams and players, or even tweaked the rules of play for that game. my favorite weather was sun .1, which added 0.1 points to each run scored per inning. it was also just an adorable tiny sun, which is the reason it's my favorite.

the players were all just names and stats, which enabled the fans to fill in the blanks and craft their own narratives around them.

aside from the teams and players, there were also a number of entities that performed different functions within the league. some had extended reach beyond the main site - for example, if you wanted to keep up on twitter, you could follow the commissioner and receive updates about events and other things that happened during the season.

optionally, a lot of fans also discussed games as they were happening on the official discord. most of the teams still have active discord servers, so if you find yourself attached to one, i'm sure you could find someone who could give you a link

i don't blame you for having a hard time getting into it because for a period of time, things were getting more and more complicated by design! the expansion era (season 12-24) was all about telling a story about the harm of endless growth. the big bad was literally the god of capitalism. this was quite the effective storytelling mechanism, but it also meant getting into blaseball was very difficult for new fans. i had a friend who tried getting into it around the time shit really hit the fan and they gave up 😭

thanks to the efforts of a very dedicated group of fans - the society for internet blaseball research in particular - it is possible to experience blaseball in some form, albeit not as an active, ongoing thing. before is a wonderful archive of the blaseball.com website that is mostly functional. you can type in which season/day you want to see or view a list of major events here. for less complicated games, i recommend the discipline era. for more chaos, late expansion era is where that's at.

for both official history/season explanations and team/player lore, check out the blaseball wiki! there's lots of cool stuff to check out there if you want to learn more about something.

i also recommend the blaseball roundup - an official recap of everything through season 22, starring quinns from people make games as the anchor! (for plot reasons, seasons 23 and 24 are not covered. unfortunately, given the state of the game, i don't think this will happen.)

quinns made his own video for people make games back in 2020, which is also a nice watch.

for a comprehensive list of all of the official videos, analysis from the blaseball news network, and more, this is an excellent fan project that puts everything in one place with links out to the internet archive.

finally, there is a metric fuckton of fan art and fanfic to check out! there isn't really one central location for most of the art, but you can find a lot of writing in the blaseball tag on ao3 and itch (which is being really slow for me at the time of writing, but you can search "blaseball" on itch and get some results 👍)

blaseball might be "over," but its fanbase is not going anywhere, and i can guarantee you there is no bad time to get into it. we are all love blaseball here ❤️⚾️🩸

[bandyriddles]

I finally got to play the Werewolf: The Apocalypse - The Book of Hungry Names demo by Kyle Marquis and it’s great.

Marquis' Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road is not only one of my favorite text games - it's one of my favorite games I've played in the last few years. The player character is a vampire courier in the American Southwest, and the vibes are Fallout: New Vegas meets Vampire: The Masquerade. Like D&D, World of Darkness is a system I'm more familiar with from video games than actual tabletop play, but Marquis really captures the tabletop experience through interesting combinations of character builds, stat checks, and branching narrative paths.

I was thrilled to learn he was working on a follow-up Werewolf: The Apocalypse game set in rural New England. I'm way more of a werewolf girlie than a vampire girlie (I nearly always play Gangrel when it's an option in VtM), and I was really interested in the character writing he would bring to a setting where pack dynamics are more important than being a lone predator.

It's fun. The Werewolf system, unlike VtM, is a much messier amalgamation of new age beliefs rather than traditional folklore and so it takes a little while to understand how things like moon auspice, pack, and spirit patrons interact in actual gameplay, but the game does provide very helpful in-game descriptions and glossaries. I went in completely blind, and ended up accidentally building a ragabash (new moon) werewolf with high dexterity, wits, and intelligence and pretty much zero strength, charisma, and endurance. 

While I initially thought that would make the game basically unplayable, I ended up with a fabulous upstate dirtbag who's great at sneaking, breaking and entering, stabbing, and analog library research. She almost never actually transforms into any wolf-forms, and in fact is so mild-mannered that she frequently loses the ability to transform at all because her rage stat is so low.

While you'd think being shitty at being a werewolf would be a problem in a werewolf game, she's actually been a stat-passing beast who can single-handedly take down powerful monsters because she is just that good at reading books and stabbing.

While the demo only lets you recruit three out of the four main pack companions, they all seem great so far. You've got Massachusetts' only black goth widower werewolf. You've got the wolf-born girl with communication issues who speaks partially via guitar riffs. You've got a crust punk camboy who shows up at one of your first encounters wearing a t-shirt, baseball hat, and booty shorts that all say "MASSHOLE". 

Marquis gets that urban fantasy needs both horror and humor, and I cannot wait for the full game to drop in late April.

[xoxobuckybarnes]

April 2023 Stucky Fics

Completed

rough edges (Rated: M, Words: 33K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & burning_brighter / @burning-brighter

Summary: Olympic ice dancers Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have never gotten along. Closeted Steve is in a showmance with his partner Maria as America’s sweethearts, while Bucky and Natasha are the lethal Russian pair whose technical mastery on ice is unrivaled. Now they will all be traveling around America on the Stars on Ice tour for the next two months, which sets Steve on edge in ways he didn’t quite expect.— A collaboration for Stucky Bang 2022

Chase the Lightning From the Sky (Rated: E, Words: 39K) by SilverSlashes / @silverslashes & art by TrishArgh / @frau-argh

Summary: If Bucky has to be stuck doing this ridiculous summer work program before his senior year of college, on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, then at least he’s got a hot as hell cowboy for a boss and host. Steve Rogers, owner of the Truth & Justice Ranch, is what Bucky’s completely theoretical but very imaginative bisexual fantasies are made of. Steve’s a widower though, and a nice guy in need of help, and no doubt 100% straight… so Bucky’s gonna work his ass off and keep his head down. But neither Bucky nor Steve are prepared for the friendship that forms between them as they work side by side. And they certainly aren’t expecting the budding feelings, confessions, and passions that summer heat and the loneliness of the great open plains stirs in each of them. What rages to life between them will shake each man to his core and will linger long after the storms and the summer have passed.

Love Is the Most Important Thing in the World (But Baseball is Pretty Good, Too) (Rated: E, Words: 6K) by Kellyscams / @thebestpersonherelovesbucky

Summary: Once upon a time ago, Steve Rogers was inseparable from his best friend and teammate James "Bucky" Barnes. All of that changed one eventful night near the end of their high school career when Steve kissed Bucky. Tonight, Steve must face Bucky in what just might be the turning point in his minor league career. Bucky's no doubt going to get his call up to the Majors. But if Steve can't face this one batter that's haunted him since high school... he might never catch his break. Does Steve have what it takes to strike his rival out? Or will he only ever see Bucky Barnes, the boy he's loved since high school, sixty-feet away from him?

We Kissed Back Then (Rated: T, Words: 5K) by vespertineflora

Summary: In recovering his past, Bucky stumbles upon certain memories he once thought he'd always leave buried: like the fact that Steve and he had kissed as children, as teens, as adults... They'd been in love far longer than he'd realized.  

Coming Out to the Ball Game (Rated: M, Words: 14K) by TheLostWeasley

Summary: Bucky is the new stat hitter on the Hydras. Steve is a seasoned pitcher on the Avengers. Naturally, they start having sex. The baseball au that literally nobody asked for.

On Thin Ice (Rated: E, Words: 36K) by wintersoldier1989

Summary: Steve Rogers is skilled on the ice but needs all the help he can get in the classroom. Bucky Barnes agrees to help his cousin’s friend get his grades up and in the end both guys get more than they bargained for.

Happy Accidents (Rated E, Words: 32K) by controlofwhatido / @controlofwhatido & art by auntiesuze 

Summary: Bucky sleeps with one superhero one time and now he’s pregnant. Fuck. Good going, James B. Barnes. One unmated omega father, coming right up. Top that off with his metal arm and he’s really going to be an outcast.

between everything, yourself, and home (Rated: E, words: 24K) by napricot

Summary: “This is your home?” asks Bucky at one point. “It’s where I’m living now, yeah.” Bucky comes home. Steve's a little slower on the uptake.

Knife Skills (Rated: 5, Words: 72K) by Hark_bananas / @harkbananas

Summary: The money he'd stolen from Hydra has almost run out when he finds a black piece of card stock with blocky capital letters stapled to a telephone pole: FUNNEL NO. 9 DO YOU HAVE KNIFE SKILLS? WE NEED YOU And then below, there's a phone number. Knife skills? I have knife skills, he thinks. That part is pretty self-explanatory, though he has no idea what Funnel No. 9 could mean. He doesn't really want to get back into the hitman business, but needs must, and Bucky Barnes is a practical man.

I’ll always find my way back (to you) (Rated: T, Words: 4K) by burning_brighter / @burning-brighter

Summary: When Steve reappears on the platform after returning the Stones, he can tell something went wrong. Not only is he alone in the woods, he's also back in his old body. He has many questions, but the only thing he really wants is to make his way back to Bucky.

just our hands clasped so tight (Rated: T, Words: 8K) by Stella959

Summary: The countdown has already begun, and there's less than thirty seconds before this year's Hunger Games begin. Steve has to decide quickly what, if anything, he’s going to grab before he makes a run for it. The tributes are spread out in a circle around the cornucopia, and he can just make out Bucky on the far side. They make eye contact briefly before his gaze returns to the arena. There. A circular metal shield, almost completely hidden in the tall grass maybe ten feet in, propped up on a backpack so that the curved edge just barely sticks up. Steve remembers picking up a similar shield in the Training Center on their first full day in the Capitol: lighter than he’d expected but with a sharpened edge, optimal for defense but not without offensive use. As the final seconds of the countdown pass, Steve thinks that if there can only be one victor, he'll do whatever he can to make sure it's Bucky. Across the field, Bucky's thinking the same thing. If there can only be one victor, he'll do whatever he can to make sure it's Steve.

5 times Bucky and Steve were Unnaturally Comfortable Around Each Other, and the 1 Time They Weren’t (Rated: M, Words: 5K) by  WhatTheBodyGraspsNot

Summary: "Steve gently tosses his book to the side and then places his hands on Bucky’s shoulders, kneading thoroughly against the impressively tense muscles. Bucky sighs, his eyes falling shut and mouth dropping open in a mixture of slight pain but mostly relief. “Oh fuck,” he groans, leaning into the touch. Clint snickers quietly, trying to busy himself with pouring milk into a bowl of cereal before one of his trademark sarcastic comments can escape him and make the situation more awkward than it’s already quickly becoming. "OR: Five times Steve and Bucky should have been uncomfortable but weren't, so Tony and Clint devise a plan to prove that they're sleeping together (even though they aren't, they're just really really oblivious).

A Higher Epsilon (Rated: E, Words: 91K) by  deadto27 / @deadto27

Summary: Bucky has always wanted a dog. Now finally he has one and it’s everything he wanted and more. It opens up his life in ways he never expected. He especially didn’t expect to meet Steve at the dog park. He didn’t expect they’d become friends. He really didn’t expect that they’d be dating. Unfortunately nobody’s clued Bucky in to that last part. ----- He feels frozen in panic. It’s their second day together and he’s lost her. He’s lost his dog. He’s spiraling until suddenly there’s a little yip noise and Bucky snaps his head up to see his dog in front of him, in the arms of someone else. “Ohmygod,” he hisses out in pure relief, breathing hard. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so relieved in all his life. “Is this your dog?” the owner of the arms asks.

WIP

a league of their own (Rated: E, Current Words: 18K) by burning_brighter / @burning-brighter

Summary: Steve’s sixteen-year-old son’s one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve’s high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn’t thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There’s really only one thing that can happen.

Treading Water (Rated: M, Current Words: 114K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & art by Dyslexic_Fetus / @reagy-jay

Summary: Olympic swimmer Bucky Barnes always believed that when the time came to retire, he would walk away with his medals and world records firmly in the history books and never look back. He never thought the water would leave him first.

***Part of the series Lane Lines: Lane Lines (Rated: M, Words: 132K), Lumière (Rated: M, Words: 5K), & New Traditions (Rated: M, Words: 6K)***

Rereads

Full Count (Rated: M, Words: 50K) by Ink_Dancer

Summary: Full Count: a baseball term referring to a situation during a player’s at bat where there are three balls and two strikes on him. As this is the maximum one can have without either walking (base on balls) or striking out, this is generally expected to be a very stressful situation for both the pitcher and the batter. The pitch that is then thrown on this count is expected to be the one that decides the batter’s fate, and carries with it a certain expectation of change. It’s known as the payoff pitch: it’s the payoff for a long wait. or: a stucky au that takes place in the world of Major League Baseball, in which Bucky is a catcher, Steve is a closing pitcher, and their lives are stuck in a perpetual full count—until life throws the payoff pitch and they end up on the same Dodgers team.

The Run and Go (Rated: E, Words: 14K) by  lupus (khaleeseas) / @biharley

Summary:  When Bucky Barnes first meets Steve Rogers, Bucky's standing half-naked in their apartment complex's laundry room. It's 2 a.m. on a Friday night (or is it considered a Saturday morning?) and for once Bucky is way too sober for all of this. The next thing Bucky knows, Steve is everywhere. Being hot and sarcastic and nice and overall perfect and Bucky is kind of totally and completely screwed.

[fantasyfantasygames]

Isekai Trucking Inc.

The Fabulous True Story of Isekai Trucking Inc., Kun Collections, 2020

No relationship to Fridge Hauler, one of my previous reviews.

For those who don't get the reference: "Isekai", sometimes called "portal fantasy", is where someone from our wold ends up in another one. They often get there in a way that leaves it ambiguous or heavily implied that they died in the process. The most common way this happens is when they're crossing the road and there's a truck headed right for them, and they wake up in this other world. Which is probably not a last-moments hallucination but maybe... So yeah. Isekai Trucking.

Villains have overrun your world. They have something that can stop your every efforts, thwart all your magic. Your world needs heroes. It's your job to go out and get them. As many as possible. Only the magical energy released by near-death experience can trigger planar travel, so here you are, causing as much near-death as you can as quickly as possible. With a giant truck.

You do need to balance hitting people with your truck (which thankfully leaves no evidence) with actually getting caught. Getting caught is likely to put you in a near-death experience, which sends you back to your world. That's no good. Getting thrown in our prisons with their iron bars and steel manacles, that's no good either. You need to be sneaky. And clever. And probably befriend some humans who can help cover for you. And then steal a truck and hit people with it.

This is complicated by the fact that you play "fey" monsters. The system doesn't do a whole lot to support that. It's assumed that you're wearing the traditional "Benjamin Grimm in a trenchcoat" level of disguise, that you have no special strength or powers beyond mild cartoon wackiness and the kind of extreme resiliency that comes with "Heal all damage every morning". It does make the art fun. A goblin made of pipe cleaners hanging off the side of a dump truck with a baseball bat. A crazed garbage can with eyes staring out, hands on the steering wheel. A giant fuzzball engulfing a screaming pedestrian. It's all black-and-white Palladium-level stuff, but that honestly fits pretty well.

Rules are a GURPS-inspired 3d6 roll-under, with the usual four stats, a handful of mostly psychological advantages/disadvantages, and maybe more skills than you need. There are only 20 of them, but I feel like Driving, Stealth, Menace, Explain, Wait Let Me Explain (a separate and amazing skill), and Cunning cover an awful lot of territory for this game. The game would benefit from some more modern design, and maybe even being transformed into a spinoff of Eat God.

Isekai Trucking was distributed in EPS format (why???). It was on Itch for a while, but in the process of moving it over to another distributor KunColl accidentally introduced a non-Unicode character string into the title and now they can't open the original any more. They've declared the original CC-BY 4.0. Version 1.02 is the latest one if you're lucky enough to find multiple versions.

[superchat]

actually as someone who cares soso little about sports and being an american, i wonder how insane our sports stuff gets or if its just generally that insane for national sports worldwide

like here, sports fans are constantly tracking which players are on what team and theres formulas and shit to determine effectivness (citation needed) and people running various statistics on players and debating what team has the best overall stats

like its some peoples entire hobbies, or jobs even, to track all this shit. like between idk how many teams with idk how many players who is playing for who and how long their contract is and what their performance has been the past 5 years, how many yards have they ran on average for each game, how many touchdowns they made. everything, its all tracked and analyzed

and then theres FANTASY FOOTBALL. where you make your own team of IRL players, and you track each of their performances each week. how much did they run and touchdowns and tackles did they get, and you use that to determine a score and you compare it with others, whoever has the most points wins (theres probably gambling involved for some, while others do it just for fun)

like this is all for american football, but i know ppl also track these stats really hard for baseball and basketball pretty hard too. is this just a normal sports thing to do? or is it like an american obsession to have individual fans follow this shit like its a parttime job?

[theaudientvoid]

Since doing "Value Over Replacement" posts seems to be all the rage, there's something I should say as the local baseball stats nerd. Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with how the term is used in handegg, but in baseball (which is where the concept originated), a replacement player is not, like, a random free agent player, as I have seen some explanations give. Having gotten to free agency necessarily means that you've managed to stick on a big league team's roster for a minimum of five years without being cut. Rather, a replacement player is a random minor league call-up. Every major league baseball team has a dozen or so of these players in the upper levels of their minor league systems available to fill temporary holes in the big-league club's roster. The vast majority of them get cut from the team the moment a better option becomes available. "Replacement", in this context, effectively means disposable.

In the past, I have described David Benioff and D.B. Weiss as "replacement-level" fantasy writers. What I meant by this is go to any Song of Ice and Fire convention, you're sure to find dozens of fic writers who would have done about as good a job as B&W at adapting Game of Thrones. (You might counter that an average fanfic writer/con-attendee would be utterly lost navigating the behind-the-scenes aspect of the TV industry, but so were Benioff and Weiss; neither of them had ever worked in the industry before, and their only qualification for the job was that Benioff's father was part the same country club as the head of HBO.)

Another thing to keep in mind is "value" to whom? To the team playing them, of course. Turning to the realm of national politics, you might think that Donald Trump was a disaster of a president for the country as a whole (and I would agree with you), but how did he do for specifically at enacting the Republican Party's agenda? Certainly he did worse than any of the 2016 GOP primary field would have done, but the 2016 GOP primary field was not made up of replacement players. The proper comparison would have been, like, some random Republican state senator, or maybe a very back-bench congressman. Would they have done a better job? Quite possibly. Trump couldn't even manage to strike a deal within his own party to repeal Obamacare, a thing that said party had been campaigning on for the past eight years.

[isolaradiale]

Apping Lahabrea from Final Fantasy xiv series , app under /ap and stats under /s

Welcome to spooky Isola Radiale, Lahabrea!

You will be housed in APARTMENT 301.

You’ll retain the use of your creation magic up to five times per day, but only to create small inanimate objects no bigger than a baseball.

– ⋆ solaris.

[krunnuy]

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Fantasy Sports App

Step 1: Studying the Market and Understanding the Audience

Doing comprehensive market research is essential before diving into particulars. The fantasy sports audience is growing, but the key to success lies in understanding who your intended audience is. Who are your users? What kind of sports do they follow? Are they casual players or competitive gamers? Gathering this information helps you create an app that addresses user needs. Also, take a close look at your competitors. Analyzing their apps will help you identify gaps in the market. Consider what features they lack, their strengths, and how you can differentiate your product. The basis for the balance of your fantasy sports app development procedure is laid in this step.

Step 2: Choose the Most Effective App Development Company for Fantasy Sports

Choosing a perfect development partner is probably the most critical option taken throughout the process. A reputable fantasy sports app development firm will have a track record to generate scalable, effortless, and engaging apps. Look for an organization that has a significant portfolio of related projects that specializes in creating fantasy sports applications. They should also be proficient in the process's technical and legal consequences. When making your choice, ensure the company offers:

A dedicated team with experience in sports app development

Real-time data integration for live updates

Post-launch maintenance and support

Choosing the right option in fantasy sports app development ensures that you steer free of common development process errors and sets a foundation for your app's success.

Step 3: Fundamental Components for Your Fantasy Sports App

A packed with features fantasy sports program is required to keep customers engaged and coming back. What follows are some features that your app has to have:

User-friendly registration: Confirm that registration via email or social network login is simple for your users.

Teamwork and management: Give consumers the capacity to construct, supervise, and manage their fantasy teams utilizing players from real life and match information.

Live score updates: Offering real-time updates keeps users engaged during live games.

Player statistics: Users should have access to updated player stats to make informed decisions about their fantasy teams.

Integration of many sports: To draw in more users, your software should support football, basketball, baseball, and cricket, among other sports.

Secure payment gateways: Make sure that in-app purchases and premium services are made safely by integrating payment gateways.

Push notifications: Inform users about forthcoming games, team performance, and other events to keep them interested.

Including these features in the construction of fantasy sports software will improve retention rates and user experience.

Step 4: Creating the UI/UX

An appealing and intuitive layout is very essential. There should be an effortless user experience (UX) and an attractive user interface (UI). Whether creating a team, watching match updates, or making in-app purchases, a well-designed app will make sure that users are able to navigate through different components.

For you to deliver an effortless user interface across all platforms and devices, your fantasy sports app development operations ought to focus on designing an intuitive design. The vast majority of customers access fantasy sports apps on their smartphones, consequently it is preferable to begin with your smartphone or tablet.

Step 5: Choosing the Technology Stack for the Development of Fantasy Sports Apps

The performance and scalability of your application are greatly influenced by the technology stack you choose. You should receive advice from your fantasy sports app development business while selecting the best technological mix for your project. The following technology stack is recommended for creating a fantasy sports app:

Frontend Development: To create a user interface that is both responsive and captivating, use HTML5, React Native, or Flutter.

Backend Development: Python and Node.js are well-liked options for creating scalable backends that support processing data in real time.

Database management: Effective data storage and retrieval can be achieved with the usage of MongoDB and MySQL.

Payment Integration: Safe payment gateways are provided for transactions by platforms such as PayPal and Stripe.

Your fantasy sports app development business can offer more information about the technologies that are most appropriate for your project.

Step 6: Examining Legal and Compliance Issues

The creation of apps for fantasy sports has a special set of legal difficulties. Your software needs to go by the many laws and regulations that apply to fantasy sports in different nations in order to stay out of trouble with the authorities. Consider the following:

Age restrictions: Users who are less than the legal age to engage in fantasy sports should not be allowed to access your app.

Gambling laws: Different jurisdictions have different categories for fantasy sports. They are categorized as skill-based games in specific regions and as gambling in others.

Data privacy: To protect user information, ensure your app conforms with global data privacy standards like GDPR.

By working with a professional fantasy sports app development company, you can be sure that you are abiding by every regulation and law that applies.

Step 7: Planning and Assessment

With the design and features finalized, your fantasy sports app development company can begin coding. This phase requires close collaboration between your team and the developers to ensure all functionalities work as expected. Testing is equally important. Your app should undergo rigorous testing across different devices and platforms to eliminate bugs and ensure smooth performance. Common types of testing include:

Unit testing: Verifies individual components of the app.

Integration testing: Verifies that the app's numerous parts work correctly together via integration testing.

Performance testing: Assesses the app's reliability, scalability, and speed in different situations.

You are able to move on to the following phase once the app has finished all tests.

Step 8: Launch and Marketing

Your app must be launched as the last step. Installing the app on stores like Google Play and the App Store will be made easier with the assistance of your fantasy sports app development business. For the approval process to go without interruption, make sure you adhere to the relevant platform guidelines.

Meanwhile, in order to draw in users, a strong marketing plan is necessary. To draw attention to your app, invest an excessive amount of work into SEO optimization, influencer connections, and social media marketing. In the initial stages, to encourage user sign-ups, consider offering discounts or promotions.

Conclusion

The process to generate a fantasy sports app includes multiple phases that have to be meticulously planned, carefully performed out, and jointly collaborated on with an accurate fantasy sports app development company. Each phase of the project, from collecting market information to releasing the application, contributes to its overall success. At AIS Technolabs, we may help you in realizing your fantasy sports app idea. With our years of expertise creating fantasy sports applications, we may assist you at any time. Call towards us at the moment to start.

FAQ

Q1: What constitutes the cost to create an app for fantasy sports?

Depending on the features, technology stack, and fantasy sports app development business you select, the cost of designing an app varies. The typical development cost is in the range of $20,000 to $100,000.

Q2: How long does the development of a fantasy sports app take?

Depending on the team's expertise level and the complexity of the game, developing a fantasy sports app usually takes three to six months.

Q3: Can my fantasy sports software support over 1 sport?

Yes, you can include multiple sports like football, basketball, cricket, and more in your fantasy sports app. Make sure your development team can handle the data integration for each sport.

Q4: When building a fantasy sports app, what legal obligations do I have to be aware of?

Age constraints, gambling laws, and data rules regarding privacy are only a few of the legal and regulatory limitations that pertain to fantasy sports apps. To ensure compliance, it's essential to work together with a fantasy sports app development firm with relevant work experience.

Blog Source: https://penzu.com/p/c18d7fdf0e5d1630

[vijay01]

https://fantasyappdeveloper.com/fantasy-baseball-app-development/

Fantasy Baseball App Development a highly engaging platform for sports.To create a successful fantasy baseball app, developers need to follow a structured development process and integrate essential features that offer an immersive experience 10 key steps and features to consider in the development of a fantasy baseball app.Like steps Market Research and Analysis,Backend development, Front-end Development, Real-Time Data Integration,Scoring System Development,Testing and Quality Assurance,Launch and Marketing Strategy,Post-launch Support and Updates.Best 10 Feature Of User Registration,Live and Team Management,Player Stats and Analysis,Multiple Game Modes,Real-time Score Updates,Chat and Social Features,Push Notifications ,Leaderboards ,In-app Purchases and Monetization, Multi-platform Compatibility etc

[watchpartygames]

Swing for the Fences: Play Baseball Card Games with Friends!

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of baseball—the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and the excitement of a close game. But what if you could capture that excitement and bring it to your next game night? That’s exactly what happens when you play baseball card games with friends. Whether you’re a die-hard baseball fan or just someone who enjoys a little friendly competition, baseball card games are the perfect way to combine strategy, fun, and America’s favorite pastime.

Here’s how you can organize the ultimate baseball card game night and swing for the fences with your friends!

1. Why Baseball Card Games Are a Home Run for Parties

Baseball card games are not only fun, but they also provide a great way to bond with friends, test your knowledge of the game, and dive into some healthy competition. With a deck of cards featuring real-life players, teams, and strategies, you can create your own mini ballpark right at the table.

Each player gets the chance to build their dream baseball team, simulate games, and score runs just like a real ballgame. It’s easy to learn, and with a few rule variations, you can make sure that everyone at your party—whether they’re seasoned baseball lovers or just getting started—can enjoy the game.

When you play baseball card games, it’s not just about winning; it’s about the shared experience of playing, strategizing, and cheering each other on, just like at a real baseball game!

2. How to Play Baseball Card Games

If you’re new to the world of baseball card games, don’t worry—they’re easy to learn and even easier to enjoy. The basic idea is that each player creates a team using cards that represent real baseball players. Each card has player stats like batting averages, home runs, and pitching skills, and your goal is to use your cards to simulate a real baseball game.

Here's how a typical baseball card game works:

Create Your Lineup: Each player draws cards to form their team, much like drafting players in fantasy baseball. You can choose your players based on their stats, positions, or favorite real-life players.

Simulate the Game: Once teams are set, players take turns "batting" by drawing action cards. These cards might allow players to hit singles, doubles, or home runs—or face strikes and outs if luck isn’t on their side. Pitchers also play a role, with certain cards allowing for strikeouts or defensive plays.

Score Runs: The game proceeds inning by inning, just like a real baseball game. The player with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

You can find a wide variety of game styles when you play baseball card games, from quick, light-hearted versions to more in-depth games that test your strategic thinking. No matter which one you choose, you’re sure to have a great time.

3. Top Baseball Card Games for Your Collection

Ready to get started? Here are some of the best baseball card games to add to your collection for the next game night:

MLB Showdown: This classic game lets players build teams using official MLB player cards and then compete in simulated games. With its simple rules and strategic elements, it’s perfect for any party.

Fantasy Baseball Cards: Similar to fantasy baseball leagues, this game focuses on drafting the best players and managing a team over the course of a simulated season.

Fast Action Baseball Card Game: For a quicker version, try fast-paced action card games that let you simulate an entire baseball game in just a few minutes. Perfect for those who want all the excitement without the time commitment.

When you play baseball card games with friends, you have the flexibility to choose a game that fits your group’s style and energy. Whether it’s an intense competition or a casual, laid-back experience, there’s a baseball card game for everyone.

4. Tips for Hosting a Baseball Card Game Night

Want to make your baseball card game night a grand slam? Here are a few tips to ensure your party is a hit:

Create a Baseball Atmosphere: Decorate your space with baseball-themed decorations, like mini pennants, team hats, or even a scoreboard to keep track of scores. Set the scene to make your guests feel like they’re at the ballpark.

Serve Game-Day Snacks: What’s a baseball game without snacks? Serve classic ballpark fare like hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, and peanuts to keep your friends fueled for the game.

Keep Score: Set up a leaderboard to track wins, losses, and MVPs throughout the night. You can even have a prize ready for the ultimate champion.

Teach the Rules: Make sure everyone is on the same page before starting the game, especially if some of your guests are new to baseball card games. A quick rule explanation will get everyone excited to play.

Stay Flexible: Feel free to adjust the rules based on your group’s preferences. You can speed up the game by shortening the number of innings or make things more challenging by introducing additional rules for pitchers and batters.

5. Why You Should Add Baseball Card Games to Your Game Night

There are so many reasons to play baseball card games at your next party. First, they’re a unique way to experience the excitement of baseball without leaving your home. They also provide the perfect balance of strategy and fun, making them engaging for both serious players and casual gamers alike.

Plus, baseball card games are easy to learn, quick to play, and ideal for groups of all sizes. Whether you’re hosting a small gathering or a large party, baseball card games can be the centerpiece of your night, creating memorable experiences and laughter for everyone.

Final Thoughts

Next time you’re planning a game night, swing for the fences by introducing your friends to baseball card games. With their blend of strategy, action, and sports-themed fun, these games are sure to hit a home run with your guests.

So what are you waiting for? Play baseball card games with friends and experience the joy of the game in a whole new way. Whether you’re building your dream team, competing inning by inning, or celebrating a grand slam, baseball card games are the perfect addition to any game night lineup!