#might also change the rw to take place over 4 or 5 days instead of just 3 but idk yet

[raeygina-george]

I hate character design

[sneakydraws]

Well, here it is - a lengthy explanation of each card in my mdzs major arcana deck and what I meant to convey/what i would have changed in retrospect/what alternatives i considered! It’s a bit messy and my typing style is lazy but hopefully it will be an interesting read to some of you :)

And so you don’t say I didn’t warn you - jiang cheng’s section (11 justice) is absurdly long lmao

0 the fool  I elaborated on this in the post itself but yeah basically jin ling is kind of representative of all the damage and trauma caused by the past, and there’s a kind of danger there of him falling victim to the same vices as the older characters and repeating the same mistakes and perpetuating the cycle of war and misery (the cycle that we already see with how the jin sect became the new wen sect, and later with how jgy became the new wwx) and he has a lot of room to grow! He grows so much over the course of the novel, comes to realise the complexities of the past and gets a harsh life lesson in how nothing is as black and white as it seems. But ill save talking about his progress for the end, for now whats important is that he has room to grow and also a dog. I don’t really have a justification for the sun, i mostly just thought it looked sick? It made its way to the next card as well, where it makes a bit more sense, but then i realised it was a dumb motif to include 1 the magician I still very much like wwx for the role, and that illustration would have probably had him raising a corpse on his left and pointing threateningly to the sun on his right. I considered including the table as well, with some mdzs relevant items replacing the card suits. Anyway, like i said wwx got a few cards to himself already so i went with the alternative wq design, since i think she fits the card as well. Both she and wwx are highly skilled people, extremely driven once they set their mind to something. The card to me symbolises the creative mind as well as a general drive for action, which fits them both - wwx was famously a prolific inventor, and wq came up with a previously unheard of surgery, after all. This card strays pretty far from the rider-waite deck design, largely because i was still figuring out how i wanted to approach this series, but you can still see the influence. 2 the high priestess I was actually going to skip this card at first because I couldn’t think of a fitting character, but once i considered a qings character post death, it all fit pretty well. She was already a highly intuitive person in life, and in sharing her memories with wwx she is, in a way, relaying a kind of secret knowledge. Anyway she’s one of my fav characters so im glad i got a chance to include her. The coffins could be interpreted to be xxc and sl or xxc and xy 3 the empress Theres other mother figures in mdzs who got to be mothers for a longer time, but jyl definitely embodies the positive aspects of this card the best. She’s nurturing, kind, emotionally supportive, she already mothered wwx and jc quite a bit when she was young. Plus i liked that the rw card had both water and flowers, making an easy lotus connection. In retrospect the stars look kind of out of place and i should have replaced them with something more relevant... Also, i should have had her hold a lotus seed pod instead of a flower, haha 4 the emperor Like i said I considered jc for the role but hoching bullied me into admitting that nmj was better… they’re both more of an inverted emperor than an upright one but then again theres hardly any character in mdzs who would fit upright emperor so. Jgs was also considered but he’s even uglier than nmj so i couldn’t bear to draw him 5 the hierophant It was pointed out to me that lqr would have fit this card better and the truth if that statement haunts me to this day. Unfortunately I have no space in my brain for lqr so lxc got the role instead. My main reason was his role during the wen destruction of gusu lan, when he ran away with the contents of the library - this is why there’s bookshelves behind him. The keys, take, from the rider-waite deck, are meant to represent the gusu pendants that allow you to enter 6 the lovers Im sure many people would have chosen wangxian here but I uhh don’t really care abt wangxian personally? And also their love story is so convoluted that jyl and jzx seem idyllic by comparison lol. Also i didnt really have an idea for who to put in the angel’s place for wangxian… mme jin certainly did not get these two together in the end but undeniably she and mme yu did initially give them a chance to fall for each other so. Thats something i guess. Anyway the trees became their sects’ flowers and the mountain became the burial grounds - an omen of their tragic fate, basically 7 the chariot There might have been other characters who fit this card better but i couldn’t really think of another card for lwj and i thought it would be weird to not include him… anyway i don’t really care for current timeline lwj BUT i do like that he was clearly influenced by wwx to walk his own path in life based on his moral convictions rather than follow his sect’s rules blindly. The chariot is to me a card of self control, self determination and focused action, so it seemed fitting. The composition felt kind of empty without the actual chariot so i padded it out with the guqin, the cloud recess in the bg (it doesn’t look great but i tried to replicate the drama design….) and the bunnies which conveniently fit the colour scheme of the sphinxes in the rider-waite design 8 strength Like i said before, my interpretation of this card is more… morally ambiguous than the quote unquote official meaning, so i thought about manipulative or duplicitous characters more than kind characters whose strength is expressed through gentleness (though i did consider jyl briefly for the latter interpretation). As such, i considered both jgy and nhs, but ended up going with jgy largely because i couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put the nie sect’s beast as the lion. 9 the hermit My thoughts immediately went to bssr lol. It may be an overly literal interpretation but whatever, i like it just fine. And i like that i managed to echo the rider-waite silhouette in the mountain and the tree (and even in bssr herself) 10 wheel of fortune God i love the parallels between these 2… this card to me is about how you cant trust your current situation, good or bad, to last forever, and these 2 embody that perfectly imo. Wwx went from son of a well off servant and a powerful cultivator, to street rat orphan, to adopted son of sect leader jiang, to double orphan, to MIA, to terrifying but admired warrior, to terrifying and despised traitor, to dead, to, at the very end, suddenly respected and trusted again. The dishonesty and cheapness of whatever the public’s current opinion of him is is portrayed beautifully as far as im concerned. And jgy of course claws his way up to power only to instantaneously become public enemy number one, to the point that he’s probably blamed for stuff there’s no reason to believe he had a hand in. Wei wuxian’s silent astonishment at how quickly the cultivation world turns against jgy and towards him again is a delicious moment of thematic resonance.  11 justice I settled on this card for jc after he got booted from the emperor seat but i do think it fits, in a somewhat convoluted way. I turned both the sword and the scales into visual representations of the golden core transfer (can you tell im obsessed with it). According to biddy tarot, the justice card is partly about searching for the truth, and the scene where jc finds out about the transfer is of course a big deal. I was also very influenced by the reversed meaning again - which is about being reluctant or unwilling to face or accept the consequences of your actions. I feel on an intuitive level that this fits jc but I’m not sure how well i can explain it - it’s something about how he’s a little too comfortable scapegoating wwx for things that were also, if much less so, influenced by his actions, and also something about the way he keeps wwx at an arm’s length emotionally but still leans on him and accepts his support when he really needs it, and somewhat hypocritically expects wwx to put the needs of him and the jiang sect before the needs of others. And also something about the core exchange is the consequence and proof of wwx’s deep - terrifyingly deep, even - love and care for him, which is something jc doesn’t seem to let himself acknowledge. Maybe even something about how you could argue that the way all of the jiangs acted around wwx - jfm’s favouritism that left him with the feeling of a debt he needs to repay, mme yus insistence that he be a servant more than a brother to jc, prepared to give his life for jc, and jc’s own unwillingness - or inability, he was a child after all - to clearly acknowledge wwx as an equal to himself, enabling wwx’s self sacrificial and protective tendencies - that all of this was what caused wwx’s complete and unquestioning willingness to do whatever it took to protect jc, and therefore paved the way to the golden core transfer. And i don’t mean this to be scapegoating jc - especially considering how young he was when this all went down, it wouldn’t be fair to expect this level of emotional perceptiveness, awareness and maturity of him - but i think adult jc has to grapple with the fact that the chain of cause and effect was not as simple as wwx fucking everyone’s lives up to be a martyr, and that both jc and his parents had a role in that story as well. I don’t even necessarily think this is something that jc only realised in the current timeline - i think it’s something he felt on some level this whole time, and it probably led to a lot of feelings of guilt - but the suibian reveal definitely puts it in sharp focus, and i think he’s now better equipped to handle this introspection than he was as a recently orphaned, traumatised teenager, lol. ANYWAY the window with the fabric is both a nod to the rider-waite design and a reference to the destruction of lanling - i actually did some basic ass research for this, and it seems that in ancient china fabric would indeed be hanged in a window if the normally used paper was damaged. The design of the window, as well as the very idea to use it to imply the reconstruction of lanling, was taken from this great piece of jc angst by my pal moroll1! Oh yeah also the covered window kind of works as a denial of forgiveness for jc because it’s like a halo but covered up... Also I completely forgot to put a blindfold over his eyes which would be perfectttt because blind justice and the core exchange......... ok moving on 12 the hanged man I always have issues with this card because i cant find a satisfactory summary of what it’s really about. Best i can tell it symbolises a need to hit pause, surrender or let go of something… ive also seen it tied to sacrifice? So mo xuanyu doesn’t fit perfectly, but sacrifice is definitely there in a surface level reading kind of way, and the idea that you have to surrender or let go in order to achieve your goal does fit the whole deal of getting revenge but giving up your life in exchange and not being there to see it 13 death This is probably one of my favourite cards, definitely not because I have huge issues with change or anything…. I see this card as signalling the necessity of change or putting an end to something / leaving something in the past in order to start anew? At first i considered putting past wwx, mxy and current wwx here as a kind of transformation and one cycle flowing into the next... But firstly, I’d already used mxy in the very previous card, so putting him in again would feel like overkill, and secondly, the longer I thought about it the less convinced I was that this would even fit with the card’s meaning? Because coming back from the dead doesn’t like... trigger an internal transformation within wwx or anything? Anyway, fun fact: the design I ended up going with was actually originally intended for judgement! I thought I was being very clever with the whole “figure plays an instrument and the dead rise” parallel, but apparently I’d just completely forgotten that the judgement card had a completely different composition... Truly I was boo boo the fool... But yeah anyway at the end of the day I figured the design would kind of work for death as well, with Wen Ning and the theme of transformation, (since in his case coming back as a fierce corpse does actually mark a certain transformation in behaviour) and Wei Wuxian’s protection of the Wen people essentially signifying an attempt to break the cycle of oppression if that makes any sense? Like, wwx is trying to revolutionise the way the world works a bit, if you catch my drift 14 temperance  The centrist card! Again this is probably going off track from the “official” interpretation, but to me this card has a certain “don’t commit fully; do everything in moderation; don’t take either side” flavour to it that i personally find infuriating irl and that i very much assign to lxc. It’s entirely possible that I’m misinterpreting his character because i didn’t really pay him (and the 3zun in general) much mind while reading, but hell, I’m allowed to pick favourites and choose who i want to interpret deeply vs shallowly. Again, i wish id chosen lqr for hierophant because its so annoying for a character i don’t care about to get two cards…. But oh well 15 the devil My alternative idea for this was jgy as the devil and lxc plus nmj as the figures, but since all three had been featured already (multiple times, even!) i figured I’d go with xy instead, especially since he’s among my faves lol. I think the devil signifies something along the lines of unhealthy attachment, obsession or addiction, which isn’t 100% accurate in the case of xxc and a-qing, but if i stretch it a bit to cover toxic relationships in general, and especially manipulation or negative influence, i don’t think it’s half bad. My main struggle here was to choose who amongst the xxc/sl/aq trio to choose for the human figures. 16 the tower Arguably jin zixuans death and the following massacre of nightless city were the final and most direct reason for the siege of burial mounds, and the tiger seal is good shorthand for wwx’s loss of control over his powers, which led to the deaths of jzx and jyl. When reimagining major arcana i like to feature some kind of building in this card (spoilers for a possible future project but in my rose of versailles major arcana set the tower is bastille) and even if it’s not a tower, the image of wwx looming over the gathered crowd from atop a rooftop is so good i couldn’t resist 17 the star Struggled with this one - considered both jin ling and lsz for it, as symbolising a hope for the future, but that was kind of covered by the world so it wouldn’t make sense to include here as well... As usual when I struggle with interpreting a card (as opposed to understanding it but struggling with matching a character to it, like with death or moon) I went to biddy tarot and read all the details about its meaning. What i got was that this card signifies an incoming period of introspection and inner peace following a time of turmoil, as well as a general moving on into a new, better phase of one’s life or finding new meaning and purpose. The figure also suggests someone vulnerable, but possessing a keen sense of intuition as well as a good degree of practicality and common sense. Given all those, I settled for mianmian because IM LOVE HER..... I also kind of see her as a prelude to the “just one person is enough” theme present in tgcf!! And i think her decision to abandon her sect because she saw the toxicity and corruption in it is a very inspiring action - even if it didn’t make a large visible impact, i think the appearance of her and her idyllic family at the very end of the novel - paralleling and mirroring wangxian - implies that at the end of the day, it was a meaningful one 18 the moon Another card i ALWAYS fuxking struggle with - this time less because i can’t grasp its meaning and more because I can never find a character that fits it well. I usually get fixated on the “dreams and subconscious” part, but if i lean more on the “disguise, deceit, anxiety and fear” part, i eventually figured the whole yi city arc wouldn’t be a bad fit. I say the entire arc because it really does encompass all those themes if you include both the past and the present - xue yang’s disguise, his tricks with the villagers, a-qing’s lies and even xxc’s reluctance to talk about his past as well as xue yang pretending to be xxc all fit the disguise and deceit angle, and the general mystery and creepiness of the current timeline yi city work well with the anxiety and fear - the mist, the slow uncovering of the past, even a-qing being revealed to be an ally after scaring the shit out of the protags. I definitely struggled with including all the elements and characters, and even moreso with making them vaguely fit the rider-waite composition, but i think it ended up okay ish. OH and i completely forgot to draw mist swirling around them :( 19 the sun I was considering mianmian’s family for this one, but since I used her for star, I ended up with wwx and his parents instead. Once again I’m reinterpreting the card a bit - normally I think it symbolises incoming times of pure happiness and abundance, as well as a connection with the inner child, but I gave it more of a nostalgic or sentimental twist - wwx looking back at the brief glimpse of his happy childhood. 20 judgement another card that i struggle to interpret a bit... Here i actually used the tgcf tarot zine as a reference! In it judgement is summarised as “rebirth, following duty, absolution” SO i figured that nhs, mxy and wwx all together would fit pretty neatly... wwx achieving (public) absolution through clearing his own name after being reborn, and nhs sort of calling on wwx to expose jgy’s crimes... It’s a bit messy but not bad I think! 21 the world This ties very closely to my read on mdzs as a story - which is that it’s, at the end of the day, largely about cycles, and about how hard it is to break them, but how we gotta keep trying and have hope anyway. Or maybe more precisely, that the people directly involved with and influenced by the trauma of the past might not be able to get over said trauma and that the hope for healing from it will be shouldered by the new generation. Or something like that… Basically what i mean is that jc and wwx and lwj and lxc and nhs and jgy and all these people who were in the thick of the sunshot campaign and the siege are so profoundly affected by it that it genuinely feels by the end of the story like there is little hope for them to ever truly overcome that trauma and build a better future without repeating the same old mistakes - but there is a glimmer of hope in the new generation, specifically in jl and lsz. And it’s a bit paradoxical, because they have also been directly impacted by the past tragedies - lsz having his entire clan wiped out after wwx failed to protect them, jl losing both his parents to wwx’s mistakes - but despite that loss, and despite coming from arguably the two opposing sides of the past conflicts, they are both, in the end, capable of moving past that tragedy, of recognising the complicated nature of those conflicts (jl’s moment of clarity at the end is both heartbreaking and hopeful) and forging friendships between clans in the process. I honestly think that the extra where jl is struggling to assert his authority as sect leader, to treat his subjects well and to cooperate with other sects in a truly amicable way is the single hopeful ending note for the larger themes of the novel - it allows us to imagine that maybe these kids can learn from the mistakes of their elders rather than getting sucked in by resentment at those mistakes, and actually build a brighter future for the cultivation world. And sidenote, this is also why i have a soft spot for jin ling and lan sizhui as a ship... speaking of which their poses were directly referenced from the lovers card ehehe

Looking back, I’d like to add some symbol of jin ling’s trauma so that it mirrors baby wen yuan in the tree stump... maybe his father’s sword? 

[searchingforstillness]

A Year of runDisney

I started running in 2010, at 39yo. For inspiration, I started picking up a Runners World every now and then. While reading RW I discovered something that looked wonderful, some might even say “magical”, runDisney. But 9 years ago, we lived in Indiana, so a race in Florida was a bucket list item. Fast forward 5 years and we move to Florida.

I treated myself, and our son, to our first runDisney race in 2017, Star Wars Dark Side 5K. Then that fall I discovered our 2018 company trade show was to be at WDW starting the day after the WDW Marathon, runDisney race #2. And that got me hooked. I do the 52 Week money challenge each year ( https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/learn/52-week-money-challenge ), usually for Christmas shopping money and mad money for the following year. I had registered the son and I for the 2018 SWDS 5K & 10K, so I decided to use my mad money to cross off another bucket list item, become a WDW Annual Passholder. Then I decided that over that year I would run at each race weekend. So here is my summary of the 4 race weekends at WDW.

All Race Weekends and Distances

Pre-race - So runDisney always recommends that you are on a bus (if you are staying onsite) by 3:30am. You arrive at the starting area around 4am (if you’re lucky and have a bus driver that knows where he’s going). The races start at 5:30am. During the 1.5hr wait, you have time to check a bag, get coffee, hit the port-o-lets, and stand in line for character photos. There is a DJ and Emcee there keeping everyone awake pumped for the run. They open the corrals around 5am. You want to try to get to your corrals early so you can get close to the front. runDisney uses wave starts with each corral. The earlier you start, the more of a cushion you have on the “Balloon Ladies” and the more time you have for on course pictures, bathroom stops, and various shenanigans (especially during the Marathon).

Balloon Ladies - Ahhh, the dreaded/revered Balloon Ladies. runDisney has a 16mm course limit on all races except the 5K. That limit starts when the final starters cross the start line. The Balloon Ladies, with their balloons, have historically been the last starters, keeping the 16mm. They are not officially part of runDisney, but are a great visual for people that they need to step up their pace or risk getting swept.

Star Wars Dark Side 5K, 10K, & 1/2 Marathon

It all began with SWDS, so that’s where I will start. This will always be my favorite race weekend. No, I’m not a big Star Wars fan, but the son is. Because of that, he is willing to wake up at 3am to run with me. In 2017 we ran the 5K. 2018 we decided to up our game and do the 5K and 10K (the son’s first), then at the last minute I decided to add the 1/2 as well and get the challenge medal. 2019 we decided we enjoyed sleeping too much, so we just did the 10K. 5K - All of the runDisney 5Ks are family fun runs. There is no timing chip and no minimum pace requirements. You start and end in the EPCOT parking lot. The course takes you backstage and through World Showcase then past Spaceship Earth and out one of the side gates to the finish. Throughout the back stage area there are plenty of Star Wars character stops. This is an enjoyable, relaxing way to introduce children and new runners to runDisney. SWDS is the only 5K I have done at Disney, but the course for the other race weekends is the same (although I heard that the Wine & Dine 5K used to go through AK instead of EPCOT, which would have been fun).

10K - The 10K is a timed race with a 16mm minimum pace. It starts at the MK parking lot (actually the Travel and Transportation lot) and goes to HS, through EPCOT and finishes in the EPCOT lot. This is a good intermediate course, flat except for one exit ramp. The first 3.5 miles are on World Drive, you then enter HS through the backstage area by Tower of Terror and exit through the main entrance. After that you follow the walking path between HS and the Boardwalk, entering EPCOT through the World Showcase entrance. Then past the UK and Canada, up through Future World and out to the finish in the parking lot. Character stops and fuel/water are located along the road and in the backstage areas.

1/2 Marathon - The 1/2 is also a timed race with a 16mm minimum pace. It is a great course! Mostly flat with the exception of a couple of exit ramps. Starting in the MK parking lot, you then head along the side roads, past a golf course and through some wooded areas to AK. You enter AK through the backstage area by the Safari. WARNING: The restaurants will be fixing breakfast at this time, so be prepared for all kinds of delicious smells….really not fair 4.5 miles into a 1/2 marathon if you ask me ;). You will swing around through Pandora (if you’re fast enough, it will still be dark when you reach Pandora and all it’s glowing beauty) then up past the Tree Of Life and out through the main entrance. After AK you head to World Drive then to HS. Once again, you will enter HS through the backstage area by ToT then out through the main entrance (I don’t know if that will change for 2020 since Galaxy’s Edge will be open). Taking the walking path to the Boardwalk and EPCOT can sometimes be frustrating. It is a narrow pathway and occasionally walkers and runners can get into their own little world and forget there are people behind them who may want to go faster. So remember to be patient through here. You will enter EPCOT through the World Showcase entrance and this time go the long way around the world, up through Future World and out to the finish in the parking lot. Once again, there are plenty of character stops and fuel/water stops along the roads and backstage areas.

Wine & Dine 10K & 1/2 Marathon

This was my dream race. When I started running and reading RW, the idea of the Wine & Dine 1/2 seemed like the ultimate weekend. It takes place during the International Food & Wine Festival and they host a private after hours party for the runners and their guests. This sounded like my dream race! I decided to run the 10K & 1/2 Challenge (Yea!! Extra bling!!). Had I done the SWDS Challenge before I signed up for this, I would have only done the 1/2….if you didn’t know already, sleep is high on my list of favorite things.

10K - The W&D 10K differs from the SWDS 10K course in that it doesn’t include HS. You start at the MK lot, head up World Drive then enter EPCOT through the main entrance. Then you run through Future World, around the World Showcase, back through Future World and out to the finish in the parking lot. Another great flat course.

1/2 Marathon - This used to be a night race with the private party afterward. Not sure why they changed it. Everyone I’ve heard from who ran it then loved it. Now it’s a 2:30am wake up time just like the others. The course is the same a SWDS with the bonus of a ticket to the after party that night. I looked forward to the after party, napping that afternoon, not trying any goodies the day before when I was at EPCOT. saving the treats for the party. Well, mother nature had other plans. It poured down rain that night. The party takes place in the World Showcase. Well, I made it as far as Soarin’ and Spaceship Earth (where I nearly fell asleep) before I decided it was a lost cause. I splash my way back to the buses, soaked and dissappointed. Talking to other runners the next day, I didn’t miss anything. The party still went on, but sampling the food/drinks in the pouring rain was not very enjoyable. Oh well, maybe I can try it another year. The thing that saved my weekend (besides the bling) was signing up of some of the seminars. I did a wine tasting, a charcuterie class, and a wine pairing class. If you find yourself at Disney during the Food & Wine Festival, I highly recommend signing up for some of the seminars they offer.

WDW Marathon

I ran my first marathon in 2012, the Indy Monumental Marathon. If any of you ran IMM that year you’ll remember that it started off beautiful and ended up raining and sleeting….I swore I’d never do another marathon. 26.2 miles is just too far with no weather guarantees. But then runDisney happened and became my 2nd and 3rd marathons. So I now say that I’ll never do another marathon, unless it’s at Disney.

Marathon - This is the only race where you get to run through all 4 parks (and ESPN) and, depending on your pacing, have an opportunity to ride some rides DURING the race! Unlike the most of the other races this one starts and ends at EPCOT. From the EPCOT lot you head up World Drive to MK. There you enter through the main entrance and run up Main Street USA. Now this is a goosebumps, tear up moment. It’s still dark and Main Street is all lit up and is lined with Cast Member and family/friends cheering the runners toward the Castle. You turn to Tomorrowland and circle around to the back of the Castle. Then then highlight for many runners, you get to run through the Castle (photo op!). After that you exit through Adventure Land by Splash Mountain. From MK you take the back roads past the water treatment plant (belch) to AK entering backstage by the Safari and circle around to Expedition Everest. This is the halfway point of the marathon. Now here is where pace planning can come in handy. If you planned and executed correctly, you can arrive here at park opening time and thus catch a ride on EE. I did not plan properly and got the a half hour early, but lucky for me the bar next to EE was open…beer stop woohoo! After you finish your ride (or beer) you exit AK backstage by Dinosaur. From there you head for ESPN, the bane of everyone running the marathon.  You’re only there for 3 miles, but it feels like 30! After you finally exit ESPN you’re less than 6 miles to the finish (or as I like to look at it 3 miles from HS and a loooong walk to the buses ;))! You enter HS by ToT (another ride opportunity for that and RnR) and exit at the main entrance. Then the walking path to EPCOT, around the World Showcase (another beer opportunity along with turkey legs and margaritas!) to Future World and the FINISH! runDisney has so many photo stops and so much entertainment along the course...you almost (ALMOST) forget you’re running 26.2 (!) miles.

Princess 1/2 Marathon

This is probably the most hyped weekend by runDisney fans, but I’m not a princess girl so this was the race I looked forward to the least. Good news though, it was the weekend before the son’s 16th birthday, so I took him with me and we had some quality park time.

1/2 Marathon - This would have to be my least favorite course of all the races. That has nothing to do with me not being a princess fan, it’s just boring in my opinion. It starts and ends at EPCOT. You literally run from the EPCOT parking lot, to MK, through the Castle, and back to the EPCOT parking lot. You don’t even go through EPCOT. You’re in MK for about 1.5 miles, so the other 12 miles is road miles (this is also the same course as the 1/2 during Marathon Weekend). I run Disney so I can run in the parks (they frown on that during the normal course of the day). I can run on the road anytime. I know, many LOVE Princess Weekend, it’s just not for me.

runDisney has the best course support and most unique races. If you ever get the opportunity to run (or walk) one, do it. Even if you’re not a runner, do the 5K. Just pick a weekend who’s theme appeals to you and go for it! It’s an experience you’ll never forget!

[thrashermaxey]

Wild West Summer Series 2018: Nashville

  The Dobber Guide is out, Yahoo hockey (if you use that platform) is back and open for business, and we are getting close to the start of the 2018-19 season. The Wild West Summer series is still here to provide some insights into player performance and what it might mean for the 2018-19 season. We have a few more teams to get through this summer and this week we are featuring Nashville. Make sure you are hitting up Cam’s team breakdowns for the latest in the Eastern Edge Series as well.

  The idea for these columns to compare end of 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey Geek rankings for individual players with an expected ranking based on their average draft positions from the start of the year. This process does not necessarily identify who was the most important player to each team but gives us not only an idea of who was a steal/bust on draft day, but where each player was valued going into this season. I will also be adding some thoughts on whether or not that is the new normal for the player in question and if we should be adjusting our draft positions. For a deeper dive on each team plus full projections make sure to get your copy of Dobber’s Fantasy Guide, out now!

  And now for the technical details. We will be using the Fantasy Hockey Geek tool to get a ranking that combines all of a player’s stats for the searched categories. Like for the previous series, the ranks are based on a 12 team, head-to-head league, using the categories of goals, assists, power play points, shots, hits and blocks for forwards/defensemen and wins, saves, save percentage and goals against average for goalies. Player eligibility for this series is based on Yahoo, and draft ranks are based on average draft positions compiled from Yahoo, ESPN and CBS by FantasyPros.

  Nashville

  Recap:

Nashville came into 2017-18 with some high expectations. After making the Stanley Cup Final in 2016-17 they were a favorite of many to make another serious cup run. In the regular season they certainly delivered. They won the President’s Trophy for the league’s most winning team with 117 points. Unfortunately dreams were left unfulfilled as they met with a strong Winnipeg team in the second round. 

  Undervalued:

Craig Smith

Craig Smith had a bit of a resurgence in 20171-8. He finished as the 36th ranked winger (144th ranked overall).

  Jonathan Huberdeau

FLA

LW

Viktor Arvidsson

NSH

LW/RW

Tom Wilson

WSH

RW

Craig Smith

NSH

RW

David Perron

VGK

LW/RW

  The player comparisons above are pretty favorable. Keeping company with Jonathan Huberdeau and teammate Viktor Arvidsson is a pretty good place to be. Just to further prove the point, those scoring around him typically were taken around the 100 mark (minus Tom Wilson) whereas Smith was not drafted (meaning a rank of 350+)

  Games Played

Goals

Assists

Points

Points/ Game

Shots

Sht%

Hits

PPlay Points

Blocks

79

25

26

51

0.65

229

10.9

60

14

35

  No one was really expecting this from Smith. Back in 2013-14 he had a similar point pace, but the intervening years have not been kind to him with three consecutive declines, down to .37 in 2016-17. So what changed? Well Kyle Turris joined the team and the line with Turris and Kevin Fiala went on a several runs through the season. Smith’s usage was up a bit as well. His total ice time had been on the decline the previous two seasons, but 2017-18 saw him back up to about 15.5 minutes a game. He also saw a bump in power play time, which had similarly declined in 2016-17. Those two facts probably helped him to his highest shot on goal total since 2014-15.

  What can we expect for 2018-19? If he can keep similar linemates and deployment then he certainly stands to put up a better season than in 2016-17. After looking at some of his other numbers though I am not convinced his 2017-18 season is the new norm. He seems to have benefitted from a bit, though not necessarily a lot, of luck and it took that luck to get him to get close to match his career high. Knock a few points off his total from 2017-18 when drafting.

  Pekka Rinne

I couldn’t have a series on Nashville and not mention Rinne for 2017-18. The Vezina winner started the season with serious questions about whether or not this would be the year he lost the starting job to Juuse Saros. Instead he finished the year as our second ranked goalie and third player overall.

  Connor Hellebuyck

WPG

1

Pekka Rinne

NSH

3

Andrei Vasilevskiy

TBL

4

Marc-Andre Fleury

VGK

7

Sergei Bobrovsky

CBJ

10

  Pekka Rinne ended the season with 42 wins and a save percentage of .927. That is his highest win total since 2011-12 (though he had 41 in 2014-15) and his highest save percentage since 2010-11.

  Games Played

Wins

Saves

SV%

GAA

59

42

1706

0.927

2.31

  Obviously those factors played a part in Rinne being so valuable in 2017-18. But what we all really want to know is what is going to happen next year? Rinne does have a couple of things going for him. He plays for the Predators, who are a very strong defensive team, and he seems to be the number one going into the regular season.

  On the negative side, Rinne has not exactly been the picture of consistency, he is 35, and has a strong backup just waiting for him to falter (which has been known to happen). In 2011-12 he had 43 wins, and in the next season (2012-13) he had 15. The 2014-15 season saw his highest recent save percentage (.923), which then dropped to .910 in 2015-16.

  The moral of this story is that there seems no guarantee that Rinne will produce the same type of numbers that powered him to the Vezina in 2017-18. Oh and no one has won back to back Vezina’s since 2007-2008 and it was Martin Brodeur (who was not 35 at the time). Unfortunately at least one of the managers in your league is likely to value him as a top three goalie at least, which it makes it exceedingly unlikely that he will fall to a point where I would recommend drafting him.

  Overvalued:

Scott Hartnell

Hands up if Scott Hartnell was on your fantasy radar at the end of the season…I’ll wait. Honestly he should not have been.

  Scott Wilson

BUF

LW/RW

489

Zach Parise

MIN

LW

492

Scott Hartnell

NSH

LW

497

Jakub Vrana

WSH

LW

499

Brett Connolly

WSH

RW

500

  Hartnell played 62 games, but that is about the best that can be said of his season. The settings used for this article are actually likely the best case scenario for Hartnell as they include his 82 hits, and he still ranks 497th overall and the 141st best winger. Unfortunately Hartnell was drafted in many, many leagues. In fact he was take an average of 177th. Players drafted near Hartnell? Bo Horvat and Tyson Barrie. Players drafted after Hartnell? Matt Duchene, Ivan Provorov, Morgan Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Zucker and Gabriel Landeskog. Sure I cherry-picked some of those, there were also a few dubs drafted after Hartnell but the point is there is still fantasy gold left at that point in the draft and Hartnell is not.

  Games Played

Goals

Assists

Points

Points/ Game

Shots

Sht%

Hits

PPlay Points

Blocks

62

13

11

24

0.39

82

15.9

82

5

25

  Hartnell is 36, and ended the season on the fourth line with no power play time. His season averages show his lowest time on ice totals of his career. His shot totals have declined for five straight seasons and his career low goal pace of 13 goals saw him tie the highest shooting percentage of his career (not good). His 37 points and just over 12 minutes of ice time in 2016-17 should have been a clue not to draft him going into 2017-18. Apparently it wasn’t. Take a hint now though, don’t draft Hartnell.

  Thanks for reading

  Next week: San Jose

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    from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/the-wild-west/wild-west-summer-series-2018-nashville/