#what did they do with all of the ‘subpar’ pitchers?
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Fourteen spent today making eight different pitchers of lemonade in an attempt to develop the perfect recipe
#doctor who#fourteenth doctor#what’s fourteen up to#what did they do with all of the ‘subpar’ pitchers?#several became strawberry/blackberry/blueberry etc#one gets frozen#one ends up spiked with vodka (Mel and Donna are pointing fingers at each other. turns out they both did it separately)#and some of them were just left as lemonade#after all#summer’s almost over
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Indie 5-0: 5 Questions with Hearsing
Hearsing, the groundbreaking musical project of Avery Murphy and Jordan Taylor, marks a new chapter in their storied careers with the release of "Silicon Prairie." This innovative single highlights their evolution from high school bandmates to professional musicians. Their journey began in high school with the surf punk band SUBPAR, which they co-founded alongside Lukas Henderson and Austin Corona. Over the years, they have garnered acclaim in various musical ventures, including LILACS, Jean Dawson, and Lizzy McAlpine.
SUBPAR achieved notable success, with their self-titled album surpassing 3.5 million streams on Spotify and maintaining a dedicated monthly listenership of over 21.5k. This early success set the stage for Hearsing, which blends their surf punk origins with nostalgic melodies and a wide range of influences to create a unique western music style.
Listen to “Silicon Prairie” here:
In March 2021, Hearsing debuted with a self-titled collection of home-recorded tracks, marking the start of their musical exploration. In 2024, they truly come into their own with the release of their first professional studio EP, "Pastoral." Recorded under the expert guidance of producer and singer-songwriter Henry Chadwick, known for his work with Jesse Daniel and Coffis Brothers, the EP showcases Hearsing's artistic growth. It also features the dynamic drumming of Ellington Peet, noted for his work with Runnner and Babehoven.
The lead single from "Pastoral," "Silicon Prairie," is accompanied by a visually stunning music video directed by Diego Diaz Lundquist. The video takes viewers on a cinematic journey through familiar and otherworldly landscapes, perfectly complementing the ethereal quality of the track. This immersive experience highlights Hearsing’s boundless creativity and artistic vision.
Below is an exclusive interview with Hearsing, where Avery Murphy and Jordan Taylor discuss the inspiration behind "Silicon Prairie" and their transition from high school friends to musical innovators. They provide insights into their creative process, the evolution of their sound, and what fans can anticipate from their upcoming performances.
In the interview, Avery and Jordan reveal how their shared history and diverse musical influences have shaped Hearsing's unique sound.
As Hearsing continues to carve out their place in the music world, their story serves as a testament to the power of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance. "Silicon Prairie" and the "Pastoral" EP mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Avery Murphy and Jordan Taylor, promising a bright future filled with innovative music and compelling narratives. Don't miss their latest release and the exclusive insights shared in the interview below.
What has been the most challenging part of the music industry, and how do you overcome those challenges?
There are a ton of barriers to entry, and barriers to success. It’s not as simple as writing and recording music that is good. These days you have to be a business person, be a PR person, be a social media manager, be a booking agent, be a videographer, be a creative director, be a copywriter, be a playlist pitcher, be so many things that for us feel so beyond what we originally set out to do – which is write, record, and perform music. So it’s really easy to get overwhelmed by all of that and for the music to get a bit lost in the process. It has definitely been a journey creating this EP, and even more of a journey getting it released – but in the end we’re really happy with what we’ve done and so excited for it to be out in the world.
As for overcoming those challenges, you have to take it one thing at a time, and at the end of the road you’ve got to just be confident that you did your best and your creation is going to resonate with the people it’s going to resonate with. Making peace with that is a constant practice, but when it’s all done and the project is out, we get to move on to the next thing and do it all again, and that can be a really reassuring aspect – that its this iterative process that we get to keep doing and bettering, because we love the act of making music.
Can you describe your songwriting process and how you collaborate as a duo in particular on your upcoming EP, Pastoral?
We have a very collaborative writing style. Sometimes one of us writes a demo of the song and brings it to the other, or one of us writes the lyrics and the other sings, or one of us writes the chords and the other writes the lead lines, or does the arrangement. In the end we always create the end-product together. Neither of us would take complete credit for any song, because it really does happen super collaboratively.
Before we recorded Pastoral, we were writing a ton of music together, so when the time came to get in the studio and record, we went through the 30+ demo songs we had and picked the ones that felt cohesive together as a project. Then we ended up cutting a couple more songs after recording – and what we were left with ultimately became ‘Pastoral’
How do you hope to contribute to the broader musical landscape and leave your mark?
We just want our music to mean something to people. Both of us really owe so much to music, it is such an important part of our daily lives and listening to our favorite artists' creations has kept us sane and made us feel seen and heard at times when that seemed impossible. So if we can do that for as many people as possible, that would be a contribution to the musical landscape and to the world that we would feel really proud of.
What are your goals or dreams for the future of Hearsing?
MSG baby!
Is there anything else you'd like to share with your fans or potential new listeners?
Hearsing is for everyone forever. We want our songs to soundtrack the good moments, the bad moments, and the ugly moments – we just want them to mean something to you!
This EP feels like the first real offering of our music, and we have a whole lot more coming, so strap in!
Our second single, Silicon Prairie will be our May 31st, and the whole Pastoral EP is out June 21st.
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Hunter’s first Father’s Day with Omega is a very special one.
Initially, Hunter is lost to the concept of “Father’s Day” - he doesn’t know what it means or that it’s even a thing until she comes along, until suddenly it applies to him. He didn’t think it’d ever be something that would.
He first learns about it from Cyare, who insists they make a big to-do because, Hunter is perpetually a father now. She gets together with Omega to help make something nice for him.
Hunter doesn’t understand why.
He’s baffled when he learns that it’s a day to remind him how wonderful he is, how much he’s appreciated, how important he is to this family and how much his ‘Mega loves him. A day to relax and be pampered a bit.
Hunter tries to protest, but ultimately complies with the heavy requests (bordering on demands) to stay in bed and not lift a finger. It’s a bit absurd.
They start out by making him a nice breakfast. Mom!Echo helps greatly with this portion because he’s somehow become the designated chef among the group and you can bet the resident ARC knows how to make a banging breakfast.
Omega dutifully balances the platter of food in her hands as she approaches Hunter’s room. It was a labor of love from start to finish, and her gut roils with exhilaration at the thought of finally presenting it to him. She opens the door, her trepidations immediately dissolving as she locks eyes with her Hunter, already fully roused and beaming at her from across the way. His smile compels her forward.
“Thought I’d have to go an entire day without seeing you. Wasn’t sure I was gonna make it.”
She can’t help the pep in her step as she approaches the bedside - she has to remind herself to rein it in - and carefully places the tray in his lap.
“Happy Father’s Day.”
It sounds so foreign to his ears. So lovely. It feels like a rite of passage somehow; like Hunter has ascended rank and is now among the elite. Fathers. His chest clenches, and Hunter decides he’ll have to unpack it later.
“What’s all this?” he asks instead.
Omega suppresses a giggle. “Breakfast!”
The answer seems simple enough. But Hunter’s question carries a bit more weight, for reasons he isn’t sure the young preteen would understand. Or maybe she would. At the very least, Omega knows how bashful her Buir is.
“And you made this?” Hunter pats the spot on the bed beside him, holding the tray steady as Omega clambers over top of him, nestling into his side with all haste.
“Well…” she meekly takes the strip of Nuna bacon he hands her. “I had help.”
Hunter isn’t sure what to pick on first. Between the stack of pancakes calling his name, the mouth-watering bacon, the fluff of eggs arranged in the center, the pitcher of syrup promising sticky goodness, Hunter is moved, and impressed.
“You did a good job,” he praises, ruffling her hair.
“You haven’t even tasted it yet,” she points out.
“Don’t need to,” he assures, though he begins to make headway with the eggs, “This is far better looking than anything I could make.”
Omega is inclined to agree. Her enhanced Buir more often than not made out with subpar culinary dishes. She grins through a mouthful of bacon. Echo had told her she was a natural, as she brought the strips to a nice sizzle. She’ll have to remember to thank him later.
Hunter devours the food and Omega watches him intently. So much so that she doesn’t even hear Mom’buir enter the room. When their eyes meet, Cyare gives her a knowing look. Omega’s pulse quickens. It’s time.
She slides off the bed, careful not to upset Hunter’s balanced breakfast, and sidles over. She can feel his curious eyes on her, as she extends her hands outward to receive his gift. Cyare transfers the item, and nods reassuringly. Omega’s palms suddenly feel clammy.
She turns to Hunter, but the words don’t come.
“I know you aren’t one for accolades, Sergeant,” Cyare supplies, grinning from ear to ear as she urges Omega forward, “But you’re gonna like this one.”
Hunter doesn’t know what to think when Omega shuffles up to him, and hands him a handcrafted medallion with the phrase “#1 Buir” written in Aurebesh.
“I… Meg…” Hunter runs his thumb along the crude design, made of different felts and gel fonts, better than any token he could ever receive. He moves the tray from his lap, his breakfast long forgotten as he slides off the bed and takes a knee in front of her, trying to find the words. “This… is for me?”
Omega nods timidly.
Hunter pulls her to him then, cradling her to his chest that absolutely swells for her. “Thank you,” he whispers reverently, squeezing her tight. She pulls away, her eyes a wondrous, earnest sparkle.
“I love you, Hunter.”
It flurries in his very soul.
“I love you too, ‘Mega.” He brings her to him again. “I’m happy to be your Buir.” He looks up and the look on Cyare’s face is priceless. Hunter thinks, he could get used to this.
He clears his throat as he studies the craft again, his attention drawn to a lone jewel on the outermost portion. It takes him a moment to recognize it as the same symbol on Omega’s headpiece, the one she wore when he first met her back on Kamino. He has to question it.
“What’s this bit for?”
Omega straightens. “It’s a piece of me, now a part of you.” She chews her lip. “The extra space around it are for other parts of you.”
It’s not the first time Omega has tactfully broached the topic of expanding their little family.
Hunter promises she’ll have siblings, one day. He proudly ties the twine around his neck, and kisses her forehead. His fingers curl proudly around the medal. He can’t wait to fill it with more precious gems. Right now he just wants to enjoy the one in front of him.
#tw father’s day#I love these two#Hunter and Omega#the dad batch#star wars#the bad batch#bad batch#clone force 99#sergeant hunter#hunter’buir#dad shaped hunter#Number One Buir#omega#omega bad batch#meg#meg bad batch#bad batch headcanons#it’s a lil thing
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Review: Tamayomi
[will contain spoilers]
Lately I have been pretty bored with the recent developments in Daiya no A and Oofuri. New Shonen anime stuff just don't appeal to me, so I bit the bullet and watched Tamayomi for at least one episode a day.
Like me, people would normally think "HOW TF ARE THEY GOING TO PLAY BASEBALL? AREN'T THEY WEARING SHORTS??? IS THIS JUST FANSERVICE?? OMYGOD"
But I did it. I watched the whole thing. 12 episodes.
And I enjoyed it.
THE SETUP/PLOT
pretty standard fare
Pitcher Yomi Takeda accidentally reunites with her childhood friend who's actually a nationals-level in middle school catcher when they both end up in the same highschool.
School: former powerhouse located in Saitama, now baseball club is almost non-existent. Yomi and a few other will try to revive the team from scratch.
Basically Shin Koshigaya is a brand new team where they struggle to look for new members and majority are first years.
They have to face other stronger teams even when they have a few members and some decent players.
Demographic is SEINEN (like oofuri, last inning, one outs, etc.)
CHARACTERS
Yomi Takeda as Main character and pitcher- skilled, resilient, funny, hardworking, does a lot of research which enabled her to perfect her form and hone her breaking ball. She keeps improving in a good pace too.
Tamaki Yamazaki former childhood friend of Yomi. Is a decent catcher in middle school. A bit well known. Good communicator.
Yoshino - team manager and coach. srsly she is a boss. She's not infallible but she tries her best.
and other decent players with adequate skill
For a sports anime they have decent cast. This is probably the closest we can currently get of a story where the girls are just focused on the sport, do their own strategizing/planning/training. All of them are cute but also serious about what they do.
There's no boys here so there's no talk about het-crushes and other distractions. It's a clamfest babyyyy.
I've seen a little of Major 2 (the one abt the son and his coed team) and I couldn't stand it because it was just slice of life in sportsy undertones.
There is also decent communication among all the players. It's pretty refreshing to watch. The catcher is well rounded and the pitcher is good. Everyone talk things out and there is not a lot of drama.
FANSERVICE
Wearing shorts to a sport that involves a lot of making contact with the ground is just illogical lmao.
Their school uniform skirt is pretty short
A little bit of their manager prodding the thighs of each person she meets but with good reason (she can tell how much muscle/exercise a person does just by a little prodding). It's a trope thing.
That's all. There are no panty shots, unnecessary locker room nudity, boob action, see through sweaty shirts. Most of the cringy things I've seen in other girls sports anime aren't present.
Eventually I even forget that they're wearing shorts or that it impedes their performance. It seems like it doesn't matter much to the characters so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't know if like the hugging or holding hands is considered fanservice. In my experiece we ladies just act like that irl. What they do is nothing out of the ordinary.
REALISM
3/5. They wear shorts and dont tie their hair up. The baseball part seem pretty decent though. The pacing of the story and matches was like watching IRL Koshien. It's all very clinical and straightforward.
Plus they include a lot of interesting baseball stuff which I haven't seen happen in early stages of other shonen anime like: specifically training the pitcher in other positions, showing what fielders yell to each other, letting other relievers start to reserve their ace (ppl can yell DnA did this but remember Tanba was injury boy throughout Act 1).
COMPARISON TO OTHER BASEBALL MANGA
based on technicality Tamayomi is prolly one of the top among baseball anime/manga I have seen.
Last Inning
Oofuri
Tamayomi
Daiya no A
Now don't chase me with pitchforks because of this ranking just yet. The fact that Shin Koshigaya coach's decisions and reasonings for plays and lineups are discussed makes the show at par with Last Inning and Oofuri. (we dont see DnA kataoka talk abt this sht like..ever)
Moreover Tamayomi has similar vibes to Oofuri/Big Windup but less dramatic. I do not think it's good for beginners too (especially with just 12 episodes). You need to have prior baseball knowledge to understand what the characters were doing.
However, this show is probably the most no-fuss baseball anime/manga I have watched. It does not rely on hype like DnA and it also don't have heavy topics like Oofuri and Last Inning. It's not wacky like One Outs and it's not uber slice of life like Cross Game. It's just baseball.
My minor complaint is that they don't give numbers when talking about things like pitching speed tho. It would've been more realistic if actual numbers were dropped XD
ART/ DESIGN/ANIMATION
A.k.a the thing most viewers complain about.
Character design is subpar. Everyone's faces are almost the same. You can tell who's the character not by face but by hair and height. Personally I don't mind this. I don't really look for realism in most things I watch. And I think the hair designs are cool.
Lots of people drop this show because of bad animation. There are shots/scenes where it's like I'm watching fanmade AMV's in nicovideo/youtube from the early 2000's. Pitching motions and Batting motions look like character movements in rpg games.
It's not really a problem for me though. I think it's charming for some reason. I don't mind it. A lot of people do but I'm not them.
CONCLUSION
NGL I wanted more. 12 episodes is too short. I hope a better animation company picks this up. I'm rewatching the whole thing because I enjoyed it a lot. I'll even check out the manga if I have time.
If anyone's interested here's my tamayomi livetweet thread
This is one of the closest thing I could get to what a decent girl sports anime looks like. If the character designs, art, animation and the uniforms were just better this show would have gone pretty far.
Compared to Shonen types of manga this was relaxing to watch, especially before bed. I'd honestly recommend it you wanna watch smth that doesnt involve a lot of feelings and drama but still feel like watching an actual sport.
Girls are fun. Finally.
[personal notes under the cut]
I get that people reading this would think I'm being too optimistic about a show they considered shtty but I kid you not, I dropped Bakuten (boys gymnastic's anime) coz even with it's wonderful animation i thought it was boring af.
I have dropped so many prettily animated shows coz i just cant get into the characters nor the story.
I've also said before in my Two Car review that I am actively avoiding shows with popular VA's. Idk much abt female VA's in anime, therefore watching Tamayomi was the perfect solution for me.
The reason I like tamayomi so much is that it gave me the same feeling of watching Summer Koshien 2021. I just think an anime that made me remember that kind of feeling was cool.
I'll rewatch hanebado next. wish me luck.
#tamayomi#sports anime#baseball anime#girls sports anime#this is prolly the only positive review abt this anime
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Temptation
AN: I... I don’t even know what to say except for I’m so sorry? We had some tech issues at work today and I had this idea while I waited and it didn’t fit with Slides so here’s some plot with porn at the end with Mat? I wrote this in first person narrative but there’s no name or description in it. Also this is my first time writing anything like this and I didn’t spend much time proof-reading so please don’t judge too harshly
AN 2: I wrote a sequel called No Control and you can find it here so please check it out!!
Word count: 7.4k (things escalated what can I say..)
Warnings: cursing and smut, like really explicit content
He was only wearing a towel. Again. Seeing him walking around in nothing but shorts was already bad enough but this was on a whole other level.
When Mat had first invited me to come with him to his lake house by Vancouver to wait this mess out I had been thrilled. Fancy lake house overlooking the water with my best friend definitely sounded better than stuffy Brooklyn apartment in a city crammed with thousands of people infected.
Thankfully my online classes made the journey across the country possible and I only had to fly back for a short while to take my final exams. This wasn’t really how I envisioned my summer after graduating college but it could be worse I guess.
As I took a look at him all glistening wet from his shower on his way over to me by the kitchen island, I felt like I was trapped in an episode of temptation island or something like that.
Neither of us had expected this lockdown to last this long and almost two months of being holed up together was starting to take its toll. I’d known for a fact that I’d go batshit crazy if I were to stay with my own family or my crazy roommate though so his offer had truly been godsend. With the fancy club I usually waitressed at closed there was no way I’d be able to pay for my rent either, so I’d given my landlord my notice, put everything that I wouldn’t take with me in storage and followed Mat across the country.
His family was supposed to be up here with us and that way I’d have his sister as a distraction, but they’d decided to stay in the city, meaning it was only Mat and I. And my sexual frustration.
It didn’t help that my quarantine buddy looked like a fucking Greek god either. Any nun would probably go for him as well, frustrated or not. And I was definitely not a nun.
“Do you want to go paddle boarding after breakfast? The water shouldn’t be too cold today with the sun out.”
I looked out through the large floor to ceiling windows at Mat’s question, I’d been so distracted by him running around practically naked that I hadn’t even noticed that for the first time in three days there were almost no clouds visible. With May well underway British Columbia was apparently finally getting ready for summer.
“Yeah let’s do it. I still have to respond to a couple of emails before we leave tho.”
He took a look over my shoulder at my laptop, water droplets from his hair falling down my neck making me squirm.
“You’re getting me all wet”, I huffed before giving him a shove. Not thinking about the way his muscular shoulders felt underneath my fingers at all. Definitely not thinking about that. Nope.
“You’re the first girl I’ve ever heard complain about that you know?” He winked at me before throwing his head back in laughter as I flipped him off. The flirty banter that had been going on between us ever since we met almost two years ago wasn’t really helping my case either.
I was convinced the only reason why we hadn’t hooked up yet was terrible timing. We’d met at a time when both of us were seeing others and by the time we both were single again the previous months of platonic friendship had set our relationship in stone, never allowing for anything more than playful flirting and teasing. I’d thought about it for a couple of times, because honestly who wouldn’t with the way he looked?
Mat filled a cup with coffee and grabbed some of the breakfast I’d prepared before pulling out the chair next to me, looking at me expectantly. I was still munching on the remainder of my overnight oats so it took me a couple of seconds to swallow before I could ask what the hell he was waiting for.
“For you to finish whatever it is that you need to do. I have nothing else to do”
“I can’t concentrate with you hovering over me like this. Go work out or something.”
Mat had a really nice gym set up in one of the rooms and let me tell you if I had to pick one place to plank for the rest of the life, it would definitely be in there so I could at least watch the calming water while I died such a slow painful death.
“I already worked out, that’s why I just got out of the shower.”
“Well then put some fucking clothes on, you’re not some cave man who can get away with only wearing a loincloth”, I exclaimed, slowly getting flustered with him in such close proximity while knowing that one tuck could expose him completely. He cackled but got up nevertheless, making his way back towards his bedroom.
“Me being naked is yet another thing no one has ever complained about either, you wound me.”
“I’m sure Tito would disagree!”, I yelled, desperate to have the last word so I could at least keep some semblance of control in this situation. I could hear him laugh all the way from the other end of the house and quickly shook my head so I could finally get some things sorted out before he got back.
With the way the sun was shining right now I could probably get away with wearing only a t shirt over my swimsuit, which was a lot better than the full-on wetsuit we’d donned whenever we’d spent our time doing any water activities over the past few weeks. Although Mat in a wetsuit was truly a sight to see, with the way the fabric clung to him so tight that you could see every ridge of his muscles underneath.
I hustled through my emails, ready to relax for the day. Perhaps I could even start on my summer tan already, being out on the water always sped things up. Thankfully I’d bothered to bring lots of clothes and a bit of online shopping had closed any gaps that I had in my wardrobe, this bikini being one of the new acquirements as well. It was super cute and my butt looked really good in it and it would look even better once I finally got my tan going.
Mat was already lounging on the couch in the living room, scrolling through his phone and looking annoyingly perfect as ever. I knew for a fact that he hadn’t done anything with his hair and it looked so soft that I just wanted to push my hands through it. And pull it until he groaned.
“That one’s new”, he immediately said once he lifted his gaze to look at me, pulling me out of my fantasies. I hadn’t put my shirt on yet so he was getting the full view of me in the bikini, which might have been on purpose. I knew that quarantine must be getting to him as well and he wasn’t the only one that could be a tease.
I nodded, biting my lip before twirling around so he could get all angles. “You like?”
This bikini was a little bit skimpier than the ones he’d seen me in before and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t as relaxed at the sight as he pretended to be. Finally.
We grabbed our paddles and boards and slowly made our way out on the water. It still took me a couple of minutes to find my balance, no matter how many times I’d done this before but eventually I managed, Mat now slightly ahead of me. If I had my phone with me I would definitely take pictures of him right now, they’d be outdoor magazine worthy.
“Come on slow poke, what’s keeping you?”, he yelled over his shoulder and I was tempted to splash him but I already knew that that would end up in a fight I couldn’t possibly win so I only stuck my tongue out before working to catch up.
At first we kept close to the shore but eventually we slowly made our way out farther onto the lake, laying down on our boards to enjoy the gentle up and down of the water. The sun was hotter than anticipated so both Mat and I ended up taking off our shirts and using them as pillows instead. I closed my eyes to keep me from staring at him, instead relishing in the way the sun warmed my face.
“This is what life should always be like”, Mat sighed contently, breaking the comfortable silence.
“You’d miss hockey eventually. You belong on the ice.”
“Probably. But right now I’m not missing a thing ‘cause I got everything I need right here.”
I didn’t want to look at him out of fear of what I might see on his face, only giving him an affirmative hum instead.
-
“You’re seriously the best”, Mat sighed after emptying his drink yet again. I had decided that tonight would be taco night and made some margaritas to accompany them, both of us a couple of glasses in by now. It honestly could be a Tuesday but who even knows anymore. I was convinced that at least part of the reason why Mat had asked me to come with him was because he liked my food so much, especially when I cooked Mexican.
The sun was setting over the lake and we were sitting outside on the porch so we could watch the sun set above the water, music playing quietly in the background. He reached for the pitcher and I grabbed the golf club leaning against the sofa we were currently sharing, even though there was lots of space to lounge elsewhere.
Now I didn’t really like golfing, in fact I thought it was among the most boring sports to watch and not much better to play, but I did like to swing at the ball as hard as I could. I’d found some golf balls that would dissolve into food for the fish so for the last couple of hours Mat and I had taken turns in trying to get the ball as far as possible, both of us with a subpar form that only got worse after every margarita.
“No you need to rotate your hips along with the swing”, Mat commented and I threw him a look over my shoulder.
“You’re not much better you know.”
“Yeah but I’m also stronger than you so I can hit harder.”
“I’m not sure if that’s how it works Matty.”
For my next swing I made sure to exaggeratedly turn my hips with the movement, causing me to lose balance of course. In a split second Mat was there, his big hands resting on either side of my hips so I wouldn’t fall.
“Good reflexes”, I giggled, letting my head drop back onto his shoulder so I could look up at him, our eyes locking in an intense stare. He was standing so close to me that I could feel his breath fan across my neck it was very tempting to take the little step that was needed for me to be pressed against him completely. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this, but the alcohol wasn’t exactly helping.
I could see him swallow hard, closing his eyes for a second before reluctantly letting go of me. “It’s what they pay me millions for you know.”
“Cocky little shit.” And just like that we fell back into our old rhythm again. I pushed any and all dirty thoughts out of my mind and instead focused back on my golf swing.
With every sip I felt myself relax more, the amount of alcohol in the second pitcher definitely stronger than in the first. I knew that Mat felt the effect of the alcohol as well by now, the way his gaze would turn unfocused from time to time giving him away.
I gave him a curious glance when he got up, knowing for a fact that him with a golf club would be a dangerous combination if he tried anything right now. To my surprise he walked over to the box where all the blankets were stashed, pulling out the fluffy grey one that I liked most before spreading it across both of our legs. He surprised me even further when he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close to his side so I could rest my head on his chest. While behavior like this wasn’t completely unusual for the two of us, it had been a while since we last cuddled. It was as if Mat had been careful to not get too close up until this point, his resolve now gone.
“You know, I really like knowing things and learning how stuff works, but sometimes I just wanna be a kid again who doesn’t have a clue. I remember how I used to think that every star was a little fairy like the ones in Tinkerbell or something, I don’t know. The world used to be so full of wonders and now it’s all science this psychology that, you get me?” I listened to him ramble, the alcohol making him stumble on his words a couple of times as he tried to figure out how to properly articulate himself. I’d listened to his drunk thoughts for years now, still amazed at his ability to get all philosophical out of apparently nowhere.
“Kinda yea, but I also think there’s still lots of wonders left, some of them having to do with science. Why do comatose patients wake up? What must it feel like as a surgeon to be able to give someone a new heart, a new life? How can we know so much and yet still be wrong so many times? So the way I see it there’s still wonders, you just got to know where to look”, I finished my rant, looking up only to see Mat intently staring down at me. This wasn’t our first drunk real talk, but the way I was wrapped in his arms somehow made it feel more personal.
“By the way, I think I got lucky because I wasn’t even looking and yet I still somehow ran into you”, I continued, needing him to understand his importance to me all of the sudden. He’d truly been my rock over the past few months, keeping me from going insane as I approached the final stretch of my senior year. He’d reminded me to take care of myself and practically forced me to whenever I didn’t.
I couldn’t even count the amount of times I’d crashed at his place because my roommate was having some kind of crazy rager in our apartment, effectively making it impossible to study. He’d even offered up his spare bedroom once he moved into his new apartment but I declined because I wouldn’t be able to afford the rent at this place and I wasn’t about to leech off of him when I had other options.
“You are my wonder too, you know. I couldn’t have wished for a more supportive friend.” I smiled up at him, drunk happiness mixed with genuine love for the guy that had slowly turned into the most important person in my life. We’d come quite far.
It didn’t take long until the both of us were yawning so frequently that it was impossible to keep up a conversation, quickly gathering everything so we could go back inside. I hadn’t even realized how cold it had gotten until Mat’s arm dropped from my shoulder and my legs were exposed again from underneath the blanket.
“You wanna have a sleepover?”, Mat asked grinning at me cheekily while walking across the living room. Never one to say no to cuddling with Mat, even before all this quarantine horniness, I nodded before dashing off to my room to get ready.
Mat was already snuggled under the covers and he lifted up one side as soon as he saw me getting closer. He liked to be the big spoon and because that was one of the best feelings in the world I basically let him do whatever until he deemed our sleeping position comfortable. He’d definitely pulled me a little tighter than he usually did, our bodies now practically touching from head to toe.
He’d tangled up one of his legs with mine and my back was flush to his chest, his face nuzzled into the back of my neck. He had wrapped one arm around my waist so even if I wanted to leave or move, I wouldn’t be able to. It was like a big perfect Mat cocoon.
As I laid there listening to his breathing slowing down I thought back to what Mat had said on the paddle board a couple of days ago, about how he had everything he needed right here with him. I knew that that wasn’t exactly true because he missed his family and even if he denied it I knew he missed hockey as well, but he’d also admitted to needing me with him and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel the same.
-
A few rays of sunshine had lit up Mat’s bedroom the next morning, but that wasn’t what had woken me up. Mat was calling for me from the ensuite bathroom and I could faintly make out the sound of water running.
“I need you to bring me your shampoo, I’m all out”, he yelled and I groaned before slowly rolling out of bed. In daylight I could make out the mess his room had become, clothes littering the floor and every other surface and I almost stumbled over a set of weights on my way out of the door.
I grabbed my shampoo out of my shower and even reached for the conditioner for good measure. His hair had gotten so long by now that it would surely appreciate the extra attention.
Making my way into the bathroom I was faced with a problem that I hadn’t thought of up until this point. The lake house was pretty new, meaning the interior design was cozy yet still modern. Meaning all bathrooms were equipped with big glass showers. Meaning that there was currently no shower curtain preventing me from seeing Mat fully naked in the shower.
I could close my eyes but I would 100% trip over his clothes that he’d strewn all across the bathroom floor so my only option was to try and keep my eyes up high. Keyword being ‘try’. At least he had his back turned to me but I was still mesmerized by the water running down his body and the way his back muscles rippled as he reached up to push his hair out of his face. And that ass..
I slowly approached the shower, praying that he wouldn’t turn around to face me but also kind of hoping he would. I opened the door a little bit so I could set the bottles down inside and thankfully he stayed put.
“Don’t put the conditioner on your roots or your hair will look greasy”, I said on my way out and even I could hear how breathless I sounded, the view having my thoughts run a mile a second.
As soon as I had the bathroom door closed I squeezed my eyes shut to try and regain my composure. The image of him in that shower was one I wouldn’t be able to get rid of for a long time. I couldn’t even take a cold shower to cool down because Mat had my stuff and he’d know something was up if I were to simply rinse myself off and I couldn’t exactly tell him that the sight of him naked had gotten me all hot and bothered.
So instead I decided to use all of my pent up energy to go on a run, hoping for the runner’s high to clear my thoughts. By the time I got back Mat was laying in the corner of the couch, an episode of The Office on the big flatscreen.
“We need to go to the store later”, I reminded him, knowing that I couldn’t walk in on him naked again without losing the little control I had left in my body. He nodded and then looked me up and down and for a second I was embarrassed. Even with only wearing running shorts and a sports bra I was still drenched in sweat, probably looking disgusting.
At least he’d put my stuff back so I could finally shower in peace, my thoughts still wandering back to earlier this morning. I wouldn’t have turned him down before all of this shit started but now that I only had my own hands and trusted toy to take care of myself, I was borderline desperate. Two months without sex was the longest dry spell I’d had in years and I couldn’t imagine Mat feeling any different. I knew from firsthand experience that he brought lots of girls home as well. Perhaps he needed something to happen as much as I did.
It was hard to believe that his shampoo had just been empty all of a sudden without him noticing first and then there was the fact that for the past few days he’d been parading around the house in only his boxers or towels.
Two can play this game, I thought to myself, pulling on a comfy shirt and some tight booty shorts, foregoing a bra which he was bound to notice because of how it stretched over my chest.
I pretended not to notice how Mat almost choked on the sip of water he’d just taken as I made my way into the living room, walking over to the kitchen to grab my own bottle. Even if I couldn’t see it to confirm, I was pretty sure that he was staring at my ass as soon as I turned away from him. For good measure I even made sure to lie down with my head in his lap, murmuring something about how he’d taken up the best spot so he really left me no other choice.
The first few minutes he didn’t move an inch, resembling a statue. I knew that he could feel my boobs pressed against his thigh and I made sure to shift a couple of times to make sure before placing one of my hands on his thigh. Eventually he relaxed and even went as far as to rest one of his hands on top of my hand, slowly moving his fingers through the tangles in my still wet hair. When he accidently pulled at a few strands I let out a content sigh while simultaneously digging my nails into his thigh out of habit. I pretended to not hear him groan lightly and instead gave him the most insincere apology of my life, thoughts now definitely elsewhere.
I was royally screwed. Or actually I wasn’t, and that was becoming a big problem.
-
I’d made it my personal mission to get a reaction out of him as much as I could. Mat was the same, I hadn’t seen him wearing a shirt in days. It was like this competition to see who could make the other one snap first. Currently I was making breakfast in nothing but a shirt and my panties. Granted, the shirt went to my mid-thighs because I’d stolen it from Mat a couple of months ago but still.
One of my upbeat playlists was playing over the speaker system and I was dancing around in front of the stove, careful to not let the our breakfast burn.
“What a sight to wake up to”, I heard Mat’s voice behind me and his hoarse morning voice did things to me I would never admit out loud. I gave him a cheeky grin over my shoulder and wiggled my butt for good measure as my favorite part of the song came on.
“Can you set the table? Breakfast is almost ready”, I asked and he nodded before moving to grab everything. We’d gotten our morning routine down to a t by now and I couldn’t help the warmth that spread in my chest at seeing him do something so domestic. Our friendship had certainly evolved since practically moving in here together. It would actually be weird to not have him around constantly once all of this was over.
The day continued like most of the days before, us lounging on the couch after working out together for a while. It was something we’d made a habit a while ago. His trainer knew that I was with him so he’d give Mat tandem exercises from time to time or he’d ask me to take videos so he could make sure that Mat’s form was okay. I certainly didn’t mind the view.
Mat was always hot of course but there was something to be said about the way he looked after a workout, all flushed and just downright delicious. It was definitely a great motivation to join him in the gym.
This time I had managed to snatch the corner seat and I was sprawled out on the couch, Mat’s head resting on my stomach. While I’d managed to put on some shorts he was of course still shirtless and I’d given in to temptation long ago, my fingers now slowly running across his back. He had one of his arms thrown across my stomach, hand resting on my hip and drawing slow circles on the little patch of skin that had been exposed when my shirt had ridden up. While cuddling wasn’t unusual between the two of us, this was certainly new territory, the show we’d been watching kind of forgotten by now.
“Use your nails”, Mat pleaded and his voice was so raw that I would’ve done anything he asked of me at this point. He let out a groan when I softly raked my nails across his back and I was glad that he couldn’t see my face right now. There was a spot on the left side of his back that would cause him to shudder slightly, goosebumps spreading quickly. I found myself watching him in awe, fascinated by the reaction I could get out of him by such a simple act.
I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what kind of damage I could do if I really worked for it.
-
It finally happened a couple of nights later after yet another day filled with sexual tension so thick that you could probably cut it with a knife.
Mat helped me clean up after dinner, music playing to help speed things up. I was in charge of taking care of the leftovers while he cleaned up everything else. Obviously I was done before him and since he refused to let me help him I hopped on top of the kitchen counter, making casual conversation while watching him put stuff in the dishwasher.
“This is my jam!”, he exclaimed, quickly wiping his hands clean before motioning for me to come dance with him. I shook my head while laughing, which only led to him grabbing me and lifting me off the counter so I would join him.
His moves were ridiculous, arms kind of just flapping around. I knew that he could dance if he wanted to, we’d been to our fair share of clubs together but right now he definitely wasn’t trying. He held his hand out for me and with a laugh I accepted, letting him spin me around as he wished. The third time while he was spinning me back towards him he pulled a little to hard though and whether it was on accident or not I ended up almost smacking into him, only stopping myself by placing my other hand on his chest.
Both of us were a little out of breath by now and any laughter died down as he wrapped both of his arms around me, pulling me even closer. I looked up at him, gripping onto his shoulder with the other hand. Mat looked down at me with an unreadable expression. We both stared at each other for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out what the other one was thinking at the moment. How had things gone from him twerking to Lizzo to this?
He gulped heavily before bringing one of his hands up to cup my face, ripping me out of my trance. His gaze was flickering between my lips and my eyes and he leaned in a little closer, yet still waiting for me to take the final step. Deciding to throw all caution to the wind I moved my hand to his neck, finally pulling him down to where I wanted him.
When our lips met it was as if everything was falling into place. The kiss started out slow, both of us still kind of figuring out what the hell was going on without scaring the other off. As soon as he realized that I wasn’t going to push him off of me he kissed me back with the determination that he showed in every other aspect of his life. His hands started wandering, first sliding down lower on my back before he moved them to my side, tightly gipping my hips.
I let out a light moan and he used the chance to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue inside my mouth. He tasted like home and I willingly let him walk me backwards until I could feel the kitchen counter behind me, grateful for the leverage it would give me. He surprised me by lifting me back up on it and then pushing himself between my legs, gripping my thighs.
Eventually I did have to come up for air but Mat apparently didn’t concur to the basic laws of biology because he moved straight to my neck, sucking and biting gently until I was sure that goosebumps covered every square inch of my body. I knew I should stop and think about what was going on right now but I really didn’t want to, so instead I just dove right back into another toe curling kiss. Kissing him had quickly become one of my favorite things and I wanted, no I needed more.
“Mat, wait…”, I murmured against his mouth and he immediately took a step back, looking up at me with an expectant look. I could tell that he thought he’d done something wrong, when in reality it was the exact opposite.
“I want you but I don’t know if the kitchen counter is the right place for that.”
As soon as my words registered with him he groaned, burying his face in my neck.
“Then let’s get you somewhere comfortable… for now”, he teased and the wink he gave me told me that we’d definitely continue this in here another time. I let him lift me down, following behind him as he pulled me towards his bedroom with an urgency that I had only seen in games so far. He was pretty laid-back usually but I could tell that I’d riled him up over the past few days or weeks really.
It seemed like Mat couldn’t hold out until he got me onto his bed though, instead pushing me against the door and leaning down to kiss me again, pushing one of his thighs in between my legs. He fumbled around for a while before finally hitting the right light switch, making the room glow in soft yellow lighting.
His lips were addicting and even when he moved back I didn’t let him, chasing after him for another kiss. Using one of his hands to brace himself the other was slowly pushing up the fabric of my shirt. That wasn’t enough for me so I quickly moved to pull it off. I wasn’t wearing a bra and he cursed as soon as he saw my exposed chest, taking his time to look me up and down.
“So beautiful”, he murmured in awe before moving in again, one of his hands cupping my breast. I let out a moan when he started playing with my nipple which only seemed to spur him on further. I was so turned on already and he hadn’t even done much yet.
Determined to change up the power dynamics I pushed at his chest and he took a step back with a confused look, probably wondering if he’d done something wrong. Confusion turned into amazement as he watched me kiss down his chest before finally sinking down to my knees in front of him.
I took my time kissing his abs and mouthing along the ‘V’ that disappeared into his pants. I could see him straining against his shorts, impressed by what I could make out through the fabric. When I licked along his waistline he let out a beautiful groan and I decided I’d had teased him enough, finally hooking my fingers into his shorts and pulling them down along with his boxers. Him being shirtless already certainly made it easier to get him naked.
I watched his dick spring free, bouncing against his abs and looking absolutely delicious. He was impressively long but it was the girth that truly wowed me, finally making me understand all of the girls that came back time after time.
I gripped his thigh with one hand and reached for his dick with the other, making him curse. When I gave the head a little kitten lick he threaded his hands into my hair, practically pushing me down on him so I’d give him more. I didn’t object, wrapping my mouth around him and taking as much of him as I could, my hand taking care of the rest. The filthy sounds he was letting out above me only making me more enthusiastic and I was pretty sure that he’d have little crescent marks on his thighs for the next few days from how I was digging my nails into his thigh. He didn’t seem to mind though, only moaning my name.
“Fuck, you look so good like that”, Mat murmured and I looked up to him watching me intently. I kept my gaze locked on his as I moved back to let him go, my hand continuing to stroke him but my mouth dropping down to suck at his balls. The moan he let out would have made any porn star jealous.
It didn’t take long for him to pull me off of him in a way that told me that he didn’t actually want to, both of us panting as if we’d just ran a marathon.
“You need to stop or I’m going to cum”, he let out, his hoarse voice turning me on so much that I was pretty sure I’d be dripping down my legs if it weren’t for the fact that I was still wearing some clothes.
“Would that be such a bad thing?”, I teased, grinning up at him, not being able to resist licking up the entire length of his shaft once more. He practically pulled me up to my feet after that, moving in for another searing kiss.
“I’ve wanted you for so long and there’s no way I’m gonna finish before we even started.” He started to push me back towards his bed, changing his mind halfway there as he bent down to pick me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. For the first time I was able to feel him press against me, the thin fabric of my shorts not really doing much and holy shit did he feel good. He sat down on the edge of his bed, me now straddling his lap and I couldn’t help but roll my hips against him, desperate for any friction at this point.
The both of us let out a simultaneous moan at that and Mat buried his face in my neck, slowly sucking along my collarbone. He gripped my waist, his big hands nearly encircling it entirely.
“You’re wearing too many clothes still”, he said with his lips moving against my skin, making me shudder yet again. I’d long lost count a long time ago.
“Then do something about it”, I responded, not really willing to move at this point. He quickly stood up with me still perched on top of him before turning the both of us around, dropping me down onto the middle of the mattress. Him throwing me around like I weighed nothing really did something to me and I looked up at him through hooded eyes, waiting for him to make the next move.
He didn’t disappoint, leaning down to trail kisses from my neck, mouthing along my boobs before finally moving to pull my shorts and panties off. He took his time, making sure to appreciate every new inch of skin that he’d just exposed on the way back up and the closer he got to my core the more I was squirming underneath him. I had been waiting for this for so long that I wasn’t sure if I could make it through another minute without him inside me.
“Mat please, I really need you”, I whined and I could see him smirk up at me from where he’d situated himself between my legs.
“Don’t worry I’ll make you feel so good baby.” Hearing him call me ‘baby’ only made things worse but he finally put me out of my misery when he ran one of his large beautiful fingers through my folds.
“Holy shit you’re so wet for me already”, he cursed and I was about to respond when he literally took my breath away by licking up my slit. I couldn’t help but arch off the bed, already so keyed up and he quickly threw one arm across me stomach, forcing me to stay still. He started out slow and I knew that he was only trying to egg me on further but his resolve didn’t last long and he soon dove in with a determination that had sounds coming out of my mouth that I’d never made before in my entire life.
He moved my legs to rest on his shoulders so he could have better access and because I really needed something to hold on to for dear life, I gripped his hair. He’d said a couple of times that it had gotten too long during this quarantine but I certainly wasn’t complaining now, using it as leverage. I could see him grind against the comforter, desperate for any kind of friction himself and it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen in my life.
He moved back a little and I was about to complain when he slowly pushed a finger inside of me, any words dying in my throat at the feeling. He lowered his mouth again, sucking hard on my clit and I moaned so loud that I was glad that we were alone in the house.
“More, Mat please”, I whispered and I almost couldn’t believe that he already had me begging. He groaned and the vibrations in combination of him pushing a second finger inside of me were almost too much. I was close and I knew that he could tell from the way my thighs were starting to shake, curling his fingers inside me until he finally found the spot that made me cum so hard with a scream that I could see stars. He brought me through it, still pushing in and out slowly when I finally returned back to earth, grinning up at me proudly after wiping his mouth on the inside of my thigh.
“That was so fucking hot”, he said and I laughed, throwing my arm over my eyes in embarrassment. I’d had my fair share of hookups as well but nobody had managed to make me feel this good. I could feel him move up my body, reaching for my arm so he could look me in the eyes again before leaning down for a kiss. I could taste myself on his lips and while kissing him was still amazing, it wasn’t enough anymore. Mat seemed to catch my drift because he rolled off of me, only to reach for his nightstand, feeling around for a bit before triumphantly holding up a foil packet.
Taking advantage of him on his back I moved to straddle his thighs, taking his cock in my hands once again. He bucked his hips involuntarily and I could tell that he needed this as much as I did at this point. I took the foil package from him, ripping it open with my teeth before rolling the condom down his shaft. He gripped my hips, helping me scoot up until I was positioned above him, holding him so I could slip the tip inside.
Both of us let out simultaneous groans when I finally sunk down on him, the stretch painful in the most delicious way. He gave me a couple of seconds to adjust but I wasn’t really willing to wait any longer, rolling my hips against him.
“Your pussy feels so good around me”, he panted as he helped guide me along with his hands while looking me deep in the eyes. His pupils were so blown at this point, his cheeks were flushed and he’d never looked better. I was a moaning mess above him and I wanted to remember the way his cock was dragging against my walls for the rest of my life. One of his hands still rested on my hip while his other grabbed my boob, twisting the nipple and making me moan even louder.
At one point he moved to sit up, our chests now pressed together. The new angle had my clit rub against his pelvic bone and I knew that I’d come again like this with no extra help needed. Mat moved to kiss my neck, sucking and biting so harshly that I was sure that there’d be marks there the next day, not that anybody besides us would be able to see them.
His groans had become more erratic as well and I knew that he probably wasn’t far behind me, my name constantly on his lips. One last drag against him had me arch into him with yet another earth-shattering orgasm, Mat doing his best to fuck me through it before turning us around so he was on top of me, using his hands to hold himself above me so he wouldn’t crush me.
He grabbed one of my legs and pushed it up to rest on his hip, thrusting into me with a force that had the headboard slam into the wall repeatedly. He felt so good that with every thrust I let out a little moan, still sensitive from my orgasm, which only seemed to spur Mat on even more. I was digging my nails into his back to the point where I was sure that there would be red streaks after but he didn’t seem to care at all, too lost in the moment. It didn’t take long before he threw his head back and I could feel him pulse inside me as he came, the most beautiful groan coming from his lips as he finally stilled inside me.
He crashed down on top of me, burying his face in my neck, both of us out of breath by now and covered in sweat. He was silent for a while until he caught me off guard when he started laughing.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just thinking.. we could’ve been doing that for weeks, I certainly wanted to.”
“I did too but I guess we’re both stupid.”
Now we were both laughing and Mat moved off of me so he could pull out, gripping the condom so it wouldn’t slip off. He threw it in the trash can in the corner before coming back, his hand outstretched for me to take.
“I guess we have some catching up to do then, starting right now with me and you in the shower”, he said with a wink and I couldn’t think of a time where I’d gotten out of bed faster.
#Mat Barzal#smut#nhl smut#hockey smut#Mat Barzal smut#mat barzal x reader#new york islanders#hockey writing#ice hockey#nhl#nhl imagine
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i’ve been working on the most self indulgent au for about a week now and I thought i’d share my thoughts. now presenting... my ace attorney blaseball au! including teams, positions, modifications and more about all the ace attorney characters i could think of and how they would play blaseball. you can also find it on ao3 here, but ive included all the information i have below the cut!
Blase Attorney (Blaseball Ace Attorney AU)
Phoenix-
Team: Yellowstone Magic
Position: Batter
Modifications: Seeker
Details: one of the first replacements in the game, he was originally just a blaseball fan who was following around miles edgeworth his childhood friend to his games (disguised as him going to see Larry play) and sort of wished that he could play so he could get closer to miles and is at a magic/steaks game that miles is pitching when someone gets incinerated and suddenly he’s on the field in a jersey with a glove and that really messes him up, he's a pretty good player not a star player but definitely a solid one, gets the seeker mod in the season 19 tarot reading
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: REALLY high martyrdom
Maya
Team: Yellowstone Magic
Position: Batter
Modifications: Haunted
Details: she replaced Mia when she was incinerated and isn’t a season 1 player but has been here so long that it FEELS like she is, isn’t great at the game and has like really bad forbidden knowledge stats but she occasionally hits a surprise dinger and the fans love her so they infuse her and she becomes a serviceable batter, is constantly filled with guilt and emotions about being the person who replaced her sister she gets the haunted mod in an election
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high base thirst, really good divinity that only gets better after her infuse
Edgeworth-
Team: Dallas Steaks
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: None
Details: season one player who didn’t really want to join blaseball but he took it in stride and he wasn’t very good at first but he got a blessing that MADE him good and he’s miraculously been on the team the whole time, originally placed in good league because Fran was in Evil and von Karma wanted them to dominate the game and become the best in their respective leagues, still one of the best players in the game, his dad still dies somehow, refuses to “buy into” the dad bit from the steaks and insists that he was just placed here
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: EXCEPTIONAL ruthlessness (one of the highest in the game), good other stats as well, just a really solid PITCHING statline, his other stuff isn’t good
Franziska-
Team: Hades Tigers
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: Friend of Crows
Details: season one player who fans LOVE even though she hates everything about the game and the circumstances in which she’s here, she’s a naturally good player but she lets up a lot of home runs, she receives the friend of crows modifier in season 10 much to her dismay, ALMOST pitched a perfect season and then absolutely RUINED it in the last game and it crushed her
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: higher highs than miles but also lower lows, in particular her overpowerment isn’t very good, she is also a more well rounded player and would also be a fine batter (solid thwack)
Gumshoe-
Team: Originally on the LA Unlimited Tacos, then feedbacked to the San Fransisco Lovers
Position: Batter
Modifications: Siphon, Attractor
Details: season one player that is beloved by the fans and he’s decent at the game but he always tries to steal bases but he is so bad at it, he’s the teams siphon but he NEVER drinks blood except to draw a walk, he ends up getting redacted because of consumer attacks and is probably one of the first to do so despite him having QUITE a bit of soul, he becomes Wyatt Gumshoe in the Wyatt Masoning
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: GREAT thwackability, bad everything else which makes for a really interesting player to say the least
Athena-
Team: Miami Dale
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: None
Details: POWERFUL ARMS also she is a replacement player she probably becomes a replacement after Simon does and she got into blaseball because of that cute flowers pitcher and now she’s here but she LOVES Miami and she LOVES being bad at the game, she leans really hard into the neon aesthetic
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: good unthwackability and ok ruthlessness, shakespeareanism is her highest stat, would also be a great batter and has really good thwackability and divinity, GREAT vibes
Apollo-
Team: Mexico City Wild Wings
Position: Batter
Modifications: None
Details: founding member of the wings legal team who’s another replacement player that FEELS like he’s a season 1 player, he isn’t very good in general but REALLY good for the wings and is probably the mvp at some point but like he’s a really inconsistent hitter but when he DOES hit its POWERFUL and he gets a lot of RBI’s
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: SHOCKINGLY good musclitude and ground friction, GOD awful moxie
Larry-
Team: Dallas Steaks
Position: Batter
Modifications: None
Details: season one player who is like the teams designated player we beat up on because they’re awful but we love them, gets shadowed in the expansion era because he just wasn’t good anymore and he REFUSED to leave, he is the definition of “YOU CANT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS,” would always party but his forbidden knowledge is TRASH so it was never worth anything because he’s top ten in the league for career strikeouts
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: REALLY HIGH PATHETICISM HOLY SHIT but good ground friction and like, ok musclitude
Ema-
Team: Kansas City Breath Mints
Position: Batter
Modifications: Fire Eater
Details: replaced the first player incinerated on the team so she has a lot of fans because she’s been here a while but like also her career is forever impacted by the fact that people mourned so deeply before really appreciating her and a lot of fans can never really love her in the same way, but she has fire eater now and WILL cut a bitch down to size, she’s also definitely been attacked by consumers though, she also parties a LOT
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: good defender, high omniscience and tenaciousness
Lang-
Team: Houston Spies
Position: Batter
Modifications: Maximalist, Siphon
Details: replaced a SUPER popular player who was REALLY good at the game and struggled with a lot of the implications of their legacy but he ALSO became really good and a really iconic player to the team and eventually became a fan favorite, LITERALLY cannot stop freaking drinking blood hes so fucking massive now holy shit but like only his baserunning
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: PHENOMENAL baserunning just in general but his base thirst is low so he doesn’t actually steal that much, SUPER high moxie and musclitude
Kristoph-
Team: Baltimore Crabs
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: Returned, Debt
Details: season 1 player who was a really aggressively middling player who had deceptively high stars and they could never get rid of him until he finally got incinerated in late season 6/early season 7 but he gets necromancy-d on accident and no one wanted this now he just haunts the league, he joined blaseball to get notoriety and some level of fame and convinced Klavier to join him
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high coldness and ok ruthlessness, unthwackability is fine, shakespeareanism is also good
Klavier-
Team: Originally on the Crabs, but feedbacked to the Seattle Garages
Position: Batter
Modifications: Spicy
Details: he signed up when Kristoph did. because he said that this would be something good to do as brothers and they even signed to the same team, carcinization really freaked him out but he was a season 1 crab and no one knew what would happen, he Feedbacked in like season 6 and kris got incinerated really shortly after he feedbacked which messed him up, he loves the garages vibes WAY more than he liked the crabs
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high moxie and indulgence
Kay-
Team: Charleston Shoe Thieves
Position: Batter
Modifications: Flippers
Details: shoe thieves, batter, she was originally a shadows player and just sat there doing great thief things until she got called up for having very sneaky good stats (rod.net style) where she singles a lot and then just steals her way to third/home, voted to trust her in season 11 and now she has cool flippers
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: really high basethirst and laserlikeness, also very high anticapitalism, good thwack subpar musclitude
Sebastian-
Team: New York Millennials, possible feedback to the Thieves?
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: None
Details: his dad was a famous blaseball player before the ILB so he signed him up to play and didn’t get on the roster until maybe like season 9, really dramatic arc where he starts out really bad but slowly through incremental stat increases becomes pretty ok but then has a devastating allergic reaction and ends up having to be shadowed because he’s just unsaveable at this point, but still a big fan fave and people still talk about them, he would’ve been a pretty ok batter with really high defense but peanut destroyed that too
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high highs and low lows and vibes are just… there
Juniper-
Team: Boston Flowers
Position: Originally a batter, but reverbs into Pitching
Modifications: None
Details: season 1 player who is really popular amongst the fans but isn’t well known outside of the fanbase she joined blaseball because she didn’t really have a choice and she was just working at the garden, she wasn’t a great batter but she’s a shockingly good pitcher, she had partied so much that she is now just undeniably good solely because she has partied THAT much
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: SHOCKINGLY good ruthlessness, its her only good stat though until parties make her good
Simon-
Team: Chicago Firefighters
Position: Batter
Modifications: Ego+
Details: another late season replacement that was made to be a edgelord with really good stat set up and he’s a super consistent batter who just also gets walked a lot and has a LOT of thirsty fans, REALLY good at dunking, one of the best idols for solo seeds but ONLY for a SINGLE season because he just underperforms his stars for NO reason and its infuriating, joined because he didn’t want athena to get recruited but she followed him anyways to find out what the hell happened to him and why he just vanished
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: HIGH musc/thwack/martyr with really low patheticism, absolutely ATROCIOUS vibes
Godot-
Team: Hellmouth Sunbeams, roams to the Tokyo Lift and then to the Canada Moist Talkers
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: Roamin’
Details: a season 1 player who would be a MUCH better batter but REFUSES to leave the rotation with deceptively high stars and one of the first players to get roamin’ and actually becomes good because of it infuriating LITERALLY everyone
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: have you seen bright zim? Yeah its just that. He has sixteen fingers for no reason
Trucy-
Team: Originally a Philadelphia Pies player, but feedbacks to the Yellowstone Magic
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: None
Details: Phoenix becomes her dad after she feedbacks, later season replacement probably surrounding the s7 instabilities and beanings and she got REALLY popular REALLY fast with the pies fans and over siesta but then she gets traded like the Monday after and it breaks the fans hearts, she’s not very good but she gets alternated into BEING good
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: moxie queen! Also chasiness and continuation, as well as good musclitude and vibes
Nahyuta-
Team: Originally on the Beams, but feedbacks to the Hawai’i Fridays
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: Attractor
Details: expansion era player who replaced an absolutely GARBAGE player so the fans are DELIGHTED by him, lets up a lot of walks but has shockingly pitched a no hitter despite only being here since season 13, was infused because of his good forbidden knowledge stats, still gets faxed out of the game because he has games where he just lets up a RIDICULOUS amount of runs, actually fit in really well with the Fridays, was observed (by Kristoph?) and then got redacted
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: uncle plasma… 2! Also REALLY big vibes range
Justine Courtney-
Team: New York Millennials, traded to the Breckenridge Jazz Hands
Position: Pitcher
Modifications: None
Details: joined the team before Sebastian probably around season 5, was pretty average at pitching but ate a peanut and had a yummy reaction which made her slightly above average but subpar ruthlessness made her still not great, traded away to the Jazz Hands after Sebastian was shadowed, really polarizing for fans there was a lot of fighting about whether or not to trade her from fans
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: ok ruthlessness
Mia-
Team: Yellowstone Magic
Position: Batter
Modifications: None
Details: was the season 1 stand out batter for the magic, she was a REALLY good season 1 player that fans STILL talk about even though she’s been dead since season 3, she was the person who was standing next to Phoenix when he appeared on the field and caught the ball that was flying towards him before it hit him in the face and she took it upon himself to get him acclimated to the game, she thought of him as a kid brother, she tried to keep Maya away from blaseball but couldn’t stop her from watching on TV, she originally joined to get away from the Fey clan and to try and do something with her life and also possibly find out what happened to her mother and she was promised social power and unlimited access to information
Notable Forbidden Knowledge: really solid statline for someone who never saw any improvements
Phoenix and Miles get together around season 6, right before the Jaylen stuff, then break up because they were both having a lot of emotions about the whole necromancy business and Miles was always on the idol board and there was a lot of uncertainty in their lives. I think a necromancy of Kristoph probably happens in the Expansion Era and he tries to get revenge on Phoenix for god knows what, and Miles ends up getting close with him again after a whole Grand Siesta of just being really emotionally charged friends and finally get together AGAIN in season 13 after a consumer attacks Phoenix, but this time they STAY together and probably get married because they're just so scared of losing each other.
Kay gets to fight god in season 9, no this probably wouldn't have been possible if she was a shadows player originally but uwu <3
Kay and Miles get to know each other because she tried to steal Miles shoes, but he caught her. He offered to make her dinner and they just had a good time, Kay hadn’t really been shown that kind of kindness in a WHILE and she... missed that sort of father figure in her life... so she just keeps trying to steal things from Miles and getting caught until he finally tells her that she can just... come over through the front door. He will never say that she is his daughter out loud, but the collective dadconcious Knows, and tells him that they are proud of him.
Maya and Franziska are rivals. They hate each other. When Maya gets 0 no it only makes it worse because it "ruins" Franziska's perfection as a pitcher and forces her to throw balls. They get to know each other over these pitch offs and start to realize that they actually aren't that different. Gay rights. They kiss. They have a great time over the Grand Siesta and make fun of their brothers, but they both have emergency bags in case the other one dies.
Dahlia Hawthrone would never get involved in Blaseball and everything she does is outside of the game but if she was she'd be on the Boston Flowers and she would be her team's Pudge. A god awful player who on occasion actually does something good and half the fans love her because of her character and half the fans hate her for the same reason and also she sucks at the game.
Most of them also still have their law degrees and also keep some semblance of what they do in the actual ace attorney games, except Ema who has of course factually failed the bar exam by nature of being on The Breath Mints.
#WOW ok this was super long but uwu *forces you all to see this*#anyways PLEASE ASK ME ABT THE ACE ATTORNEY BLASEBALL AU. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE#ace attorney#blaseball#roxy talks
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Boy in the Basement Pt. III
Warnings: swearing, evidence of drug use
***
It was strange to see him in such a different state. His skin was now a much more proper peach with a hint of rose in his cheeks, rather than the sickly gray from the first time you saw him. His eyes were no longer closed, showing off the brightest blue you had ever seen. Dark circles sat under his eyes, probably from recovering in the hospital and the lack of sleep. His lips were also chapped and cracked, a bit of a split lip from the lack of moisture. You didn't mind though.
He looked down at his feet before giving you a quick glance. It seemed almost out of embarrassment, like he assumed your dad had given you the full story of what had happened. Oh how you knew so much more than just a retelling from your dad. A small part of you wanted to jump into his arms and hug him, tell him how glad you were to see him alive and somewhat better. You refrained however, not wanting to freak him out or draw attention to yourself knowing what you knew.
“I’m Y/N.” You said finally, giving a small wave.
“This is the boy from that house on Bourne. Remember?’ Your dad asked.
“Oh right. How are you feeling?”. A super impersonal question but the right route to take considering the circumstances. You guys had technically just met for the first time and you wanted to treat it as such. A natural progression. There was no need to jump into the deep end so soon. You didn’t even know why he was here.
“Chris will be staying the night.” Your dad interjected, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Where were his parents? Weren’t they going to come get him once he was released from the hospital? Things didn’t seem right but of course they weren’t when they found him face down in the basement of a crack house, so you decided not to pry.
“That sounds great.” You say smiling towards him, giving as much warmth and comfort with your tone as humanly possible. This kid had been through hell and back. It was the least you could do. There was a silence amongst the four of you until your mum spoke up,
“Y/N, why don’t you show Chris where he will be sleeping.” You nod and direct him to follow you back up the staircase. You look back to see him staring at you. He quickly diverts his gaze the moment you catch him. He was honestly kind of cute, but that wasn’t the point of all this. He needed a place to crash, then he would be on his way.
It took you a second to ready yourself. It had been a while since you had been in James’s room. Your parents ended up not getting rid of any of his stuff. Almost as though they were hoping one day he would walk through the front door and yell out goodnight before crashing without taking his day clothes off like he used to.
At first your dad wanted to dump everything. Forgive and forget what had happened. Your mom on the other hand had the exact opposite response, wanting to leave everything immaculate and untouched. She would go in sometimes to feather up all the dust that had collected on the shelves due to the absence of a human soul. Your father avoided that door like it was possessed.
“You ok?” You heard Chris ask lightly behind you, as though not to overstep a boundary that, to you, didn't exist. It was the first time he had ever spoken. Now you wish he would do it again. You looked over your shoulder and gave him a small smile before nodding.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Anyways here is where you will be sleeping.” You stood to the side as he walked in, slightly in awe. Had this kid never seen a bedroom before?
“This is really cool.” It was his turn to look back at you with a slight blush. With a pack hanging off his shoulder and gripped in his right hand he walked further into the room, scoping out the rest of it. He dropped his pack on the floor and gently sat down at the foot of the bed. You didn’t really know what to do now.
“Well, I’ll let you get settled in, dinner will be ready in about 5.”
“Thanks.” he stared down at the bedding, grazing his hands over it. You could tell something was up with him. He seemed so lost and afraid. You wondered what his story was.
“No problem.”
You walked out of the room, and headed back downstairs where your parents were setting up the table.
“So are you going to explain to me what that's all about?” You were no longer thinking about ignoring your dad. This whole crazy situation was above it. He placed the salad at the centre of the dinner table and walked around you to get the dressing from the fridge.
“He’s in foster care. We were able to find the foster home he lived in and the conditions were subpar. We wanted to transfer him into a more adequate residence but it’s going to take awhile. Your mother and I have decided to let him stay with us until a more fit home can take him in.” You were shocked to hear this new information.
Because of your middle class status, it was hard for you to grasp the concept of foster care. How a kid could be moved around so much. The idea that a parent could just give up their child and leave never looking back. It broke your heart. But of course everyone had their reasons for doing so. Any kid who lived in those conditions went to Churchill school on the east side of Reading, Your school being on the west side. So it made sense why you had never seen Chris before Friday.
“I’ve been visiting him since Friday for a few hours each day so he should be fine here. He trusts me” You just nod, not really knowing what to say. You were still trying to absorb everything your dad was telling you.
You placed a pitcher of water on the table and sat at your usual spot.
“Did you know about this?” You looked at your mom with a ting of hurt. Once again, you were left out of the loop.
“He may have mentioned it a couple times.” her voice was small. You looked down at your lap.
“So, he’s probably going to be here more than just a night then.” You were making a statement rather than asking a question.
“We will take it day by day.” Says your dad avoiding eye contact, knowing he messed up by not telling you. This meant yes, this kid would be living with you until he was put into a new home. The whole family looks up to the stairs as Chris finally makes an appearance, clearly feeling awkward with having all of your guys’ eyes on him.
“Chris!” Your mum beams to the slightly scared boy.
“Come join us, dinner is hot and ready to eat.” He hesitantly walks over to the table and takes a seat across from you. The low lighting above the table really gave him a nice warm glow. You couldn’t help but stare, until you diverted your look to the oncoming bowl of tossed salad coming your way.
He seemed so closed off, and was clearly not used to being treated so well.
“So Chris, tell me a bit about yourself.” Your mum tries her best to get him talking but he’s too busy stuffing her pasta in his mouth. Wasn’t fed well.
“I’m from Reading. I go to Churchill school and I’m in year 10.” He then went back to twirling his fork into his meal. Simple answer. Your mum was clearly looking for a more in-depth response. Maybe she thought he would tell her why he ended up almost dead in that house on Bourne Avenue. No luck. He probably wouldn't budge. At least not right now. The wound was still too fresh.
The rest of dinner was somewhat quiet other than the small talk your parents shared which involved your dad's day patrolling the town and your mum’s day in an office cubicle. The usual mundane stuff. You couldn't help but steal glances with Chris as you both picked at your pasta. He was already on his second plate. It was quite cliche but every time he looked at you, you couldn’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach. Your cheeks and ears were hot and you were being a lot more careful, trying to eat nicely by keeping your mouth closed. You didn’t want to look like a slob in front of him. Not that he would care.
“Y/N, why don’t you and Chris go out in the back so your mother and I can discuss some things.” You took the hint, knowing what he was meaning so you got up and led Chris to the backyard. They were probably going to discuss what was going to happen until he would get sent to another home. Hanging from the large oak tree were a couple swings. One for you and one for James.
You both sat as the sun set. It was quite nice but there was also a sense of sadness. The last time you sat out here with someone was with your brother. You both gently rocked back and forth, not needing to say anything to one another. It was peaceful. Oh fuck it.
“I saw you that day. In the basement of that house.” He looked up at you, words caught in his throat. He pursed her lips and bowed his head in what looked like shame.
‘My dad wouldn’t let me visit you in the hospital.”
“You wanted to visit me?” His eyes brightened up, almost with hope and excitement as he looked up at you.
“He said your condition was something no young girl should see” You said it with a hint of venom. Still angry about being kept in the dark.
“I was really worried.” You continued.
“You didn’t even know me.”
“True, but you seemed so helpless. I just felt like helping you.”
“Well thanks, I guess.” He wasn’t used to this.
You lightly punched his arm, not really knowing what actions were appropriate. He lightly chuckles and lifts his arms to grab onto the ropes holding the swing in place. It was bit dark so you didn’t know if what you were seeing was real but you noticed tiny holes littering his forearm, bruised and fresh still. Those weren't from being in the hospital.
Your smile faded and so did his as he noticed your eyes on his skin. He quickly pushed the sleeves of his sweater over his arms.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry ‘bout it alright” He muttered. He swiftly got up and shoved his hand in his pockets, giving you one last glance before disappearing back into the house.
“Good night.” You mumbled to yourself.
#dean charles chapman#dean charles chapman x reader#dean-charles chapman#dean x reader#fanfiction#fanfic#1917#glue
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What Happens When You Don’t Listen
Characters: Gabriel, Sister!Winchester Reader, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel, Jack Kline, Balthazar, Gadreel :: Word Count: 1396 :: Warnings: Language, Nudity (Not Described), Not Listening To The Woman In Their Lives, Subpar Writing and No Beta - The Usual
@sdavid09‘s Daily Writing Challenge - Prompt #11: “I’m sorry,” They snickered, “You got attacked by what?” (Prompt is Bolded and Italicized)
Note: Do NOT repost, copy and paste, post or share my works on any other platform without my EXPRESS PERMISSION. -+- REBLOGGING is fine! -+-
When Dean, Gabriel and Sam went in before the rest of you to investigate what you thought was a succubus, you’d told them it was a bad idea.
Nearly a whole day had gone by without hearing from them, prompting you and the angels that were babysitting you to head down to Texas to see what the damn hold up was.
After flirting with the front desk clerk for the key and as much information as he could give you, which wasn’t a whole lot, you strut across the parking lot with a trail of angels flanking you.
“He said he saw them head out last night, around ten, just the three of them. But they came back almost two in the morning with several women.”
Balthazar and Cas exchanged a look over your head as you slide the key into Room 31.
Nothing prepared you for the sight inside though.
Sam’s long, lanky naked body was sprawled out on the closest bed to the door, with one foot brushing the floor.
Gabriel was lying stark naked and spread eagle on the floor, his left arm thrown over his eyes.
You could only see Dean from the nipple up, but he was grinning in his sleep.
You sucked your teeth as Jack stood at your right, face wrinkled in concentration.
“Why’re they naked?” He whispers, stepping a little further into the room.
“Probably because the succubus got to them. And from all the hickies and blood red lipstick covering all three of them, I guess they had a very good time. Lucky they didn’t get eaten.” You nudge Sam’s foot and when he doesn’t respond you make your way over to the kitchen sink. “Pitcher.”
“I don’t think that is the appropriate way to -” Cas begins, looking at his family spread around the room.
“Pitcher.” You repeat, Gadreel snapping to make one appear. You turn on the tap, thrumming your fingers against the cheap countertop as it fills. And once it’s full you head back to the door, standing over Big Brother #2 before thinking a second and setting the pitcher down and withdrawing your phone. After making your way around the room, making sure to get compromising pictures of all three, you return to your pitcher of water. You dump half onto Sam, watching him shoot up sputtering and reaching for a gun you knew wasn’t anywhere near before covering himself with his hands.
You carefully pick your way around Gabriel, heading for Dean who receives the other half of the pitcher of water.
“Sonofabitch!” Dean sputters, looking around wide-eyed until his green eyes fall on you. “Shit.”
“Uh-huh.” You reply before returning to stand in front of the door, arms crossed over your chest. “GABRIEL!” You shout the archangel’s name before tossing the empty pitcher at his feet. He pops up with a deep groan, holding his head.
“Well, now that everyone is awake and, ya know - alive, I think we should discuss the case.” A look at Sam has him easing across the room towards Dean and their duffles, as Gabriel snaps, but only manages to dress the top half of his body.
“Fuck!” He mutters loudly, snapping again which only added a Sheriff’s Deputy badge and a military style cap with the same type of badge. You sit on the end of the bed Sam had been sprawled across as your brothers tug on boxers and flannels, raising an eyebrow at his additions to his outfit. “Listen, gumdrop…”
“Nah. I want to talk about the case. How’d it go?”
“We, uh, we went to the bar where we knew most of the victims had been taken from.” Sam begins, looking to Dean. “And then we started trying to figure out who it was.” He shuffles from one foot to another, wrinkling his forehead after he finishes.
“And then you don’t remember?” You guessed as Cas rolled his eyes.
“You should have waited for our assistance.”
“Yeah, they should have, Cas. But, hey, if we did anything like that...we’d be idiots and subjected to mountains of strained silence and disappointed looks.” You’re more than a little perturbed and you don’t attempt to hide it like you usually would.
“Look, you’re pissed - we get that…” Dean starts, gesturing with his hand towards you.
“I passed pissed around the eighth phone call to Sam.” You lean forward, putting your elbows on your knees. “Now, back to the case.” Gabriel keeps attempting to snap himself something to cover himself before looking exasperatedly at Cas, who ignores his pissy older brother’s looks.
“Once we got to the bar and narrowed it down, it’s honestly kind of a blur.” Dean sits on his bed with a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead.
“Wait - wait I, uh, remember there was more than one?” Sam offers and even Jack is perplexed.
“But, Sam, all of the lipstick on your various bodies are the same shade.”
“Kid has a point.” You agree with a click of your tongue.
You think she’ll forgive me if I get her a puppy? Gabriel sends to all his brothers in the room.
Oh buddy, you are so, utterly, stupendously fucked. Balthazar answers with a chuckle.
I second that sentiment. Gadreel agrees, raising a doubtful eyebrow at Gabriel.
You’re an idiot, Gabriel.
“We were attacked!” Gabriel explained, covering his manhood once again with his hands.
“I’m sorry,” They snickered, “You got attacked by what?”
“Succubus triples.” Gabriel answers as Sam and Dean nod eagerly in agreement with him.
“Succubus. Triplets.” Gadreel repeats, looking over at Castiel doubtfully.
“Yes, Gadreel of the forever having a stick up your ass tribe, succubus triplets.” Gabe snaps out as you stand, holding your hand out to Cas who snaps a pair of boxers into your outstretched hand. You toss them at Gabriel, part of you gleeful you hit him in the face. He pulls them on quickly, since he can’t trust his grace fully before attempting his own puppy eyes.
“Seems like once you found that out, you should have called. Text. Angel radioed it in.” You pause, pursing your lips to think. “Emailed.”
“Smoke signals!” Jack adds as you nod approvingly.
“Jack.” Dean warns.
“I’m worried and I’m worrying them and you three are here getting laid!” Tears come to your eyes, out of anger rather than sadness. “Well,” You stand up, clenching your jaw to try to will away the tears. “I mostly just came to make sure you weren’t dead. And now you know what your up against, it should be easier to find them and deal with them.” Pulling three little hex bags out of your jacket pocket, you toss them onto the bed you’d just been sitting on. “I was up late after you left, digging up a spell with Balthazar’s help to keep you from suffering any effects of the succubus...But that was the call you ignored before you discovered the succubi, wasn’t it Dean? Oh well. I’m going home with Jack now, so be safe.” You slip your hand carefully into Jack’s and nod, disappearing from the room.
Gabriel groans, sliding his hand down his face.
“And I was so close to getting her to say yes to a date.” He slumps down into one of the rickety dinette table chairs, groaning again.
“Mmhmm. I would kiss that endeavor goodbye.” Cas observes before he bent down to pick up Sam’s cell. Eleven missed calls and twenty-eight texts. He tosses the cell to the younger Winchester, who looks down at it with a short huff.
“Dean.” Sam gives him the puppy eyes, Dean grabbing and tossing the cell into Sam’s duffle.
“We’ll apologize after we get the damn succubuses - succubi? - those three soul-sucking bitches.”
“You should apologize before.” Balthazar points out, picking up the badge Gabriel had snapped up and examining it. “Or don’t.” Gabriel glares at his little brother. “Since we’re all attempting to make our move -”
“Wait - all of you?”
“Your sister is very attractive, caring and seems to have gotten the better Winchester traits.” Gadreel answers, staring at Dean who is glaring back.
“That’s it.” Gabriel stands up with a shake of his head, “I’m getting her a puppy.”
“You’re still an idiot.” Cas mutters, Dean shouting “Oh hell no - there will be no puppy in the Bunker!” at Gabriel, before disappearing along with Balthazar and Gadreel.
“Corgi or Labrador?”
Yes, he got her a puppy...
Her name is Valkyrie, Val for short.
No, they’ve not been totally forgiven yet...
The Sequel: Clumsy
Tagging: @sdavid09 @thewhiterabbit42 @nobodys-baby-now @unleashthemidnight @sumara62 @clockworkmorningglory @lucis-unicorn @galaxiesinmymind @sakurablossom4 @chelsea072498 @keepingcalmisoverratedgoddamnit @ourloveisforthelovely
#gabriel#archangel gabriel#castiel angel of the lord#cas#sister!winchester#tale teller's daily writing challenge#authoressskr writes#dean winchester#sam winchester#gadreel#balthazar#jack kline#supernatural reader insert#sister!winchester reader
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Who should be the Cubs’ leadoff hitter in 2019?
For the third straight year, the Cubs enter the season without a clear leadoff hitter. Joe Maddon has shown the propensity to move guys around the lineup (and the diamond) based on matchups for each game, and that will happen again this year, particularly with the leadoff spot. That said, here are the guys you can expect to see leading off at some point during the 2019 season.
Perhaps the presumptive favorite to be the primary leadoff hitter for the Cubs this season, Zobrist is coming off a renaissance year in 2018, recording a slash line of .305/.378/.440 and a 123 wRC+. He performed well atop the order last year, too, with a .378 OBP and 121 wRC+ in 28 games. Zobrist’s switch-hitting ability and knack for getting on base makes him an attractive option for the top of the lineup, but entering his age-38 season, how well will he hold up?
After leading the Cactus League in home runs in 2018, Happ looked to be the combination of power and speed at the top of the lineup the Cubs had missed since the departure of Dexter Fowler. Happ had a tantalizing season last year, which was seen as a disappointment after coming off of a fantastic rookie performance in 2017. Among players with at least 450 plate appearances in 2018, Happ walked 15.1 percent of the time, good for 11th in all of baseball. That’s good! However, Happ struck out 36.1 percent of the time, second to only Chris Davis, a guy who had one of the worst seasons in baseball history. That’s bad. Happ’s power numbers dropped last year too, recording an ISO of .176 after posting an ISO of .261 in 2017. Even with all the strikeouts and a decrease in power, Happ was still an above average offensive player in 2018, posting a wRC+ of 106. Happ is arguably the fastest player on the roster too, which makes him a good fit to hit before Bryzzo. Maybe 2018 was a sophomore slump, or maybe that’s truly who Ian Happ is; a player who strikes out a ton, walks a fair bit, and can hit for some power. Long term, I still think Happ is the guy at the top of the lineup, but he’ll need to prove that he can put the ball in play more often in 2019.
I know a lot of people on this site clamored for Almora to be the leadoff man last year, but he’s the least likely Cub to be penciled in at the top of the order. Almora saw the most playing time of his young career in 2018, accruing more plate appearances than his 2016 and 2017 season combined. In return, Almora posted a .286/.323/.378 line, worth a wRC+ of 89. Almora has a knack for putting the ball in play, but he doesn’t walk very much because of it, drawing a free pass only five-percent of the time in 2018. He doesn’t hit for power either, posting an ISO of .092 last season. Against southpaws, the argument becomes a little more convincing, but even then, Almora only posted an sOPS+ of 102 last year, meaning he was only two-percent better than league average against lefties last year. Almora belongs in the eight hole, or the nine hole if the guy below is leading off...
I can hear you yelling at your computer already. “But Alex, Kyle is a POWER HITTER, not a LEADOFF HITTER!!!” And it’s true, he is a power hitter, but he’s also an on-base machine. In 2018, Schwarber ranked 8th in baseball with a walk percentage of 15.3. That’s elite. He also struck out 27.5 percent of the time, but that was the lowest mark of his career, albeit by only 0.7%. Schwarber actually grades as a slightly above average base runner too, having posted a BsR score of 1.1 in 2018. Even more, Schwarber ranked 16th in all of baseball last year in pitches per plate appearance with 4.19 PPA, easily leading the Cubs in that category. In 2018, the Cubs scored in the first inning just 26.2 percent of the time, ranking 22nd in baseball, and last among teams with a winning record. I lost count of how many times the Cubs found themselves in an early hole last year, and having your best hitters at the forefront of the lineup helps to mitigate that.
Maddon has tried this experiment before, and as I’m sure many of you remember, it did not turn out well. In 37 starts in the leadoff spot in 2017, Schwarber batted .190/.312/.381, worth a subpar 83 wRC+. With that being said, all but two of Schwarber’s plate appearances in the leadoff spot in 2017 occurred before he was sent back to Des Moines to work on his swing. Whether placing him in the leadoff spot is what caused his offensive slump, that’s up for debate. I’ll admit, Schwarber is my vote for being the leadoff hitter this year, as his on-base prowess is exactly what needs to be in front of Bryzzo. A Schwarber, Bryant, Rizzo, Baez 1-4 is about as scary as it comes, and it keeps the L/R/L/R that Maddon covets so much. I love Schwarber batting leadoff even more if the pitcher hits 8th, which is probably what would happen if Schwarber leads off.
The Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All Time. Joking aside, it won’t surprise me to see Rizzo atop the order at some point during the 2019 season. In 31 games in the leadoff spot last year, Rizzo hit .328/.428/.552, good for a wRC+ of 161. While Rizzo is undoubtedly entrenched in the middle of the lineup, if the offense is slumping at some point over the summer, expect to see Rizzo leading off.
So what do you think, who is your vote to be the leadoff hitter in 2019?
Poll
Who should be the Cubs leadoff hitter in 2019?
40%
Ben Zobrist
(197 votes)
13%
Ian Happ
(66 votes)
12%
Albert Almora Jr.
(59 votes)
17%
Kyle Schwarber
(85 votes)
8%
Anthony Rizzo
(40 votes)
7%
Other (leave in comments)
(35 votes)
482 votes total Vote Now
Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/2/26/18235282/cubs-leadoff-hitter-2019-ben-zobrist-albert-almora-ian-happ
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It feels weird to say happy eight months, like it’s been so much longer but so much shorter at the same time. Nothing ever necessarily happened on a normal timescale with us though, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
I met you in November, but truly met you in December. I wish I could remember absolutely every millisecond of that night. I remember that I had absolutely never felt the way I did that night. From the start, I knew in my heart that you would never go for me. How could you? I was me, nervous and boring, and you were you, the most charismatic, vibrant, hilarious person I had ever met. I sat on my bed, you in my chair, and I remember having the weirdest feeling in my stomach, this vivid thought of what we could be if you would give me a chance. I couldn’t shake it—not that night, not for days and days after; it would come to me in consciousness and in dreams. We kissed, and about everything else, that night and I was shocked, I kept wondering why me. Twelve hours and no sleep later and we were driving through the streets of Austin. I remember wanting to hold your hand so badly, but not bringing myself to—I couldn’t ruin it. The morning sky was bright with white clouds and you smiled so big and sang along to songs that had meant so much to me for so long. I stopped at the red lights and kept facing forward, wondering if one day I’d be able to turn to my right and kiss you at all of those stops. For the next three days, we barely left my apartment. We laid in bed and showed each other music that meant so much to us and told stories about things that had happened to us, crazy and sad and stupid. I felt absolutely insane when I found myself texting my best friend, 15 hours in, to tell her that I met a girl that I knew I was going to fall in love with.
Fast forward a few weeks and you’re sitting on my bed in my home in Dallas. I was so incredibly perplexed, wondering why the fuck you would be sitting there in my house, when you could’ve been doing absolutely anything else. But there you were, about to meet some of the most important people in my life, and I couldn’t stop hoping that maybe one day they would become important to you too. I kept having to stop and remind myself that there was no way, that I was just one of the thousands of people in your life and that I was incredibly temporary, incredibly replaceable. No word can describe how I felt the next day when you told me that you were in love with me. I couldn’t bring myself to believe it. The thing was, I could’ve easily said it back, but the problem was that I meant it with absolutely all of my heart. And a piece of me knew that in the morning, you would wake up wondering why the fuck you had said that, and why the fuck I had said it back. So I swallowed those words and waited for the morning. I assumed you would be embarrassed when you woke up in my bed, as sober as ever, that maybe you’d apologize for the night before and the things you had said, but instead you looked me in the eyes and said it again, this time louder and clearer. Of course, I said it back, because I had known it all along. That night, over a pitcher of skittles sangria, you asked me to be your girlfriend, and I felt like I was living in a dream, it was all so fucking surreal.
To my surprise, you came back to Dallas to see me, and I kept you secretly living in my bed for days and days on end. We would sleep intertwined and then I would sneak you out of my house before dawn broke, and we’d spend the rest of the days doing stupid shit, hanging out with people that we hated. I barely even noticed the subpar company, because all I could ever focus on was you. I remember waking up at 5 am one morning, in the exact same position we had fallen asleep in, and driving you to the airport to catch your flight to Iowa. When I got back home, I laid in bed and listened to Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby on repeat, just bawling because I couldn’t make sense of anything, of how I had fallen head over fucking heels for somebody in a matter of weeks.
On New Year’s Eve, we both came home to each other from Colorado. You surprised me again when you chose to spend that night with me. We both took a point and ended up at some ridiculous club, surrounded by some of my friends and some people that I hated. When we got there, everything else faded away altogether, and it was just you and me and that fucking couch and pure bliss when I kissed you at midnight.
I was scared shitless to go back to Austin; I knew that it would all be over, that you would realize you had wasted your time and that you could do exponentially better than me. Thank God that didn’t happen, because some of the happiest days of my life were in that month that we returned. We were pretty much inseparable; you drove me to most of my classes and I took you to yours. You would sleepover almost every night, and when we would wake up sometimes we’d shower and sometimes we’d lay in bed, probably hitting my bong, and spend the hours doing absolutely nothing but being in love. When I think back, I have no idea what we were doing for all of those hours; I just remember constantly smiling and laughing and wondering what the hell had brought you to me. Your green eyes and your laugh made me positive that there was a higher power, because all I could think was how you were all I ever wanted and so, so much more. I couldn’t even consciously organize the way that I felt until we were tripping together that night. The few times before that that I had done acid were happy and amazing, but I could’ve never expected what came that night. We never even left my room, we just sat there, tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard, talking about people we loved and once thought we loved. You understood every warped thought I had, and I felt so connected to the things that you said that I could feel them resonating in my bones, and it was then that I realized the true meaning of the word soul mate. That it wasn’t even about me consciously loving you as much as I did, but this inexplicable feeling that everything in my life had pieced me together into this precise shape that fit perfectly with you. That the sum of our experiences coalesced into this perfect total that was you and I and the absolute pinnacle of happiness and love and joy and elation.
After that night, I woke up every single day knowing that I loved you too much for me to love you anymore, but every single night, I challenged my assumptions—I fell asleep, loving you so much more than I had mere hours before. Things got hard come late January. I got deeply depressed and you got deeper and deeper into your addiction. Every single 11:11 I wished for the same thing: for me not to want to die anymore and for you to get to rehab and get sober. You seemingly merged into two different versions of yourself: the one that I would wake up next to in the mornings, sober and clear-eyed, the most beautiful person I had ever in my life seen, and the still beautiful yet incoherent you, who was far too numb to feel life for all of the beauty it could hold. I loved both of you, but knew that the second one was just lying in bed with her depression, mistaking pain and sadness for numbness. I grew to hate those white rectangles in a way I never thought I would, as night after night they took you away from yourself. I started falling so deep into my depression that I completely lost the future. I woke up each morning wondering how I could kill myself, and genuinely the only reason that I couldn’t follow through was because I would think of you, how just by putting you in my life, some higher power was showing me that there was beauty in this world, in this life.
I left for South America on February 12th. We spent the entire night before completely strung out, and I cried the duration of the day, feeling like I was getting repeatedly stabbed in the heart when it dawned on me that it was all real, that I was going to have to walk away from you and board a plane to Quito, Ecuador. I spent the five hour plane ride typing you a long letter about how I wanted you to consider rehab, and then deleted it, afraid of you absolutely despising me when I left.
I arrived in Quito in the dead of morning, tried calling you and texting you with no answer, and was so incredibly afraid when I heard that we would be in the middle of the jungle, where I would have absolutely no way to contact you. For 10 days, I lived in a malaria net in an open-aired hut, and there was not a night that I slept more than 3 hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, wondering where you were, what you were doing, if you had decided that you hated me for leaving. I wrote letter after arduous letter, hoping that you were okay, praying (for the first time in so many years) that your addiction wasn’t eating you alive. One morning, I woke up with this inexplicable feeling that everything was okay. I went into the town the next day and called you from this shitty Internet café. I remember sprinting out, bursting into tears and telling 13 of my new closest friends that my girlfriend was going to rehab. They asked me if I was okay, if that was a good thing, and I just bawled and said yes, yes, yes, that I was so fucking proud of you. I think that that was the happiest day of my life.
Three months passed quickly, and I found myself thinking of you every single day. Driving through the mountainous countryside of rural Ecuador, the unpaved roads of Peru where llamas walked through the pedestrian crosswalks, the cityscape of Cochabamba, Bolivia, and the white expanse of the salt flats—I looked out of the windows, playing Cigarette Daydreams and No Woman on a loop and wondering how it was possible that a person could be so remarkable. I was devastated to leave the amazing people I had met, but on the plane ride home, I did not stop smiling once, as all that I could think of was you, how soon, you would be back in my arms and the world would be restored to its beautiful balance.
When I first drove to Houston, I was beaming the entire time, and simultaneously so anxious—I didn’t know if I would be the same person that you had fallen in love with. My anxiety dissipated when I felt your arms around me again—I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, that everything was finally right. We talk about how seeing each other again felt like drugs but I don’t even know if that’s accurate—it felt like a happiness beyond anything I had ever felt in my life, drugs or sober. The thing is, that feeling has yet to subside. Each time that I see your beautiful green eyes and freckled cheeks I’m right back there, feeling like everything is beyond right again.
I love you with all of my heart. No love that I have ever felt, combined, can even come close to describing what I feel about you. You are the most beautiful thing in this world, and the fact that you have given me 8 months of your life is the single best thing that has ever happened to me. I have stopped wondering why you are spending your time with me, hoping that you feel the same about me as I do you, that we are meant to be together. I pray that there are many more eight months to come, that eight months from now we will be waking up next to each other. I will do anything to make that happen, and believe that you will too. Nothing’s gonna hurt you baby, as long as you’re with me you’ll be just fine. Nothing’s gonna hurt you baby, nothing’s gonna take you from my side.
@splendiferous-existence
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Should We Trust What Looks Like Maikel Franco’s Comeback Season?
There was a time not so long ago when I thought with absolute certainty that Maikel Franco was going to be a cornerstone player of the next great Phillies teams. As an ascending 22-year-old in 2015, Franco burst onto the scene with the Phillies by posting a .280/.343/.497 slashline over 335 plate appearances. “Schmidt. Rolen. Franco,” I thought to myself at the time. In hindsight, that was probably a bit aggressive and symptomatic of a depressed fan who was desperately grasping at straws during perhaps the bleakest year of the Phillies’ rebuild. Still, it seemed like a good bet that Franco would, at the very least, be able to replicate his successful rookie season and solidify himself as a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat. Surely, you remember this:
Crazy Stat of Day: Maikel Franco became 1st player in MLB history to record back-to-back 5-RBI games vs Yankees. pic.twitter.com/jiVA1zXHFZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 24, 2015
Franco made me feel, I don’t know, giddy. And safe. At the time, I considered purchasing a life-size Maikel Franco Fathead that I could plaster on my bedroom ceiling to watch over me as I slept at night. It seemed like a can’t-lose proposition. He would be there to greet me in the morning, someone to talk with about my day when I came home, and share all of my private moments with me. Ultimately, I was afraid of commitment and wanted to wait one more season before I took such a serious step forward in our relationship.
After watching a clueless Franco over-swing his way through a disappointing 2016 season without a plan or approach at the plate and then fail miserably to adapt a year later, my once high hopes for Franco had been replaced by disappointment, disgust, and skepticism. Every now and then, as he would be in the midst of another brutal stretch, he would launch a ball with his occasionally pretty swing, but I wouldn’t let myself be duped. I knew another rough stretch was right around the corner. I wasn’t wrong. By many metrics he was the worst offensive third baseman in baseball a season ago.
His inability to adapt to pitchers’ frequently utilized game plan of working him with off-speed stuff low, away, and often out of the strike zone earned him the reputation of an impatient and undisciplined hitter– one who either lacked the baseball intelligence to understand how he was being attacked, or perhaps worse, the concern.
I’ve been a vocal critic of Franco for those reasons, so you can probably guess that I have been reluctant to acknowledge his improved numbers so far this season, along with the increasing frequency of swings such as this one:
Pretty. pic.twitter.com/aowNHfU2zn
— BWanksCB (@BWCrossingBroad) May 6, 2018
Still, he enters Monday’s action with a .283/.321/.535 slashline and is on pace to swat 29 homers and to knock in 128 runs. That’s pretty damn good, so I figured now, with just over a fifth of the season complete, seems like a good time to go a bit deeper on his resurgence and see if this start can be trusted.
To begin, this graph provides a quality visual to illustrate: 1) His numbers have improved. 2) They are more in line with his 2015 performance.
I’m somewhat comforted by the fact that Franco has previously shown for an extended stretch the ability to be a productive Major League hitter. It’s not like this is completely foreign territory for the 25-year-old.
I began this exercise with the assumption that his statistical improvement was driven by a better plate approach, but he’s swinging at a similar percentage of pitches both inside and outside of the strike zone that he did over the previous two season, as you can see here:
But not every conclusion can be made solely relying upon graphs and numbers. Sometimes the eyes don’t lie, and it “seems” like Franco has improved in terms of approach and discipline this season. I will use his second inning at-bat yesterday against Max Scherzer to demonstrate this point. Franco had already fouled off a slider, four-seam fastball, and changeup prior to the taking this good 2-2 changeup that was low and out of the zone:
Here’s why Maikel Franco has been better this season. Look at this 2-2 take. There’s no way he spits on this before. pic.twitter.com/75nW3bF11q
— BWanksCB (@BWCrossingBroad) May 6, 2018
In the past, how many times have we seen Franco aimlessly and unsuccessfully flail at a pitch similar to this one? This time, Franco works the count full and the flips a 94.8 four-seam fastball that’s off the plate, but also too close to take, into right field for a base hit:
There’s absolutely no way Franco is working a full count, fouling off tough pitches, and flipping a 94.8mph fastball on the outer half into RF for a base hit last season. Impressive. pic.twitter.com/waow6F13RX
— BWanksCB (@BWCrossingBroad) May 6, 2018
This is a swing that shows progression in his approach. He didn’t try to do too much and took what Scherzer gave him to finish off an impressive nine-pitch at-bat. Truthfully, I was more excited by this than I was with his eighth inning homer.
What about his swing mechanics? It’s interesting to me that the Phillies felt Franco was hitting too many ground balls a year ago and that they are working to improve the launch angle of his swing. You can read about these changes in this Scott Lauber story, but here’s the gist:
Too many balls on the ground, regardless of how quickly they came off the bat, led to too many outs, which led to a disappointing .230 average and .409 slugging percentage from a player whose power should make him a middle-of-the-order force.
Here’s the thing, his launch angle has actually declined this season from 11.4% in 2017 to 10.41% this season, and his 43.7% ground ball percentage is similar to the 45.4% he posted a year ago, so whatever changes they have made haven’t made an impact on that front. In fact, when you look at most of his peripherals, his numbers from his down years mirror that of his resurgent 2018, so what gives? Well, it’s his ability to hit the fastball.
In 2017, Franco slashed an abysmal .233/.285/.456 against four-seam fastballs, whereas this season he’s posted a .371/.436/.686 line. His wFB (fastball runs above average) has also risen from -9.3 to 3.1 this season. What does that mean? Essentially, he’s gone from a subpar hitter against fastballs to an elite one so far this season. If it seems like he’s still terrible against the slider, well, that is because he is. Franco’s average actually is down from .186 in ’17 to .136 this year—but when he gets fastballs, he’s making it count.
So is this performance sustainable? Truthfully, it’s hard to say. I’m not planning to purchase his Fathead any time soon, and I don’t think he’s on the brink of blossoming into a perennial all-star, but at the very least, he’s giving us reason to believe that he can help this team win baseball games moving forward.
Should We Trust What Looks Like Maikel Franco’s Comeback Season? published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/
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The Nationals, Yankees, Dodgers And Cubs Can’t Possibly Be This Mediocre … Right?
The 2018 MLB season may not even be a month old, but it’s never too early to start overanalyzing how teams have looked so far. That’s especially true this season, when many of the clubs slated to be favorites going into the year have stumbled a bit coming out of the gate. Most of these teams will probably be fine in the end — seriously, it is still very early to know anything about how the season will play out — but just the same, it’s worth checking on which aspects of their struggles should disappear in due time and which might be cause for real anxiety.
Washington Nationals (10-12)
What’s gone wrong: For a team supposedly built around pitching, Washington currently ranks fifth-to-last in the National League in adjusted ERA — though it hasn’t been the fault of the Max Scherzer-led starting rotation. No, the blame rests with a bullpen that collectively boasts a 5.78 ERA and has performed even worse in clutch situations. (Witness the Nats’ epic meltdown against the Mets last Wednesday.) Some bad early-season defense isn’t helping either, and despite Bryce Harper’s raw feats of power, the offense isn’t hitting enough to make up for the 4.6 runs Washington is allowing per game.
Cause for concern? Maybe. The Nats’ bullpen and defense were nothing special last season, either — they ranked 19th and 17th, respectively, in wins above replacement.1 Closer Sean Doolittle has been fine so far, however, and setup men Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler are not as bad as they’ve looked in the early going. This lineup should get on track, too, when Daniel Murphy and Adam Eaton return from injury — or when Michael Taylor and Ryan Zimmerman break out of their April slumps. (We’ve seen Zimmerman hit poorly before, but he rebounded last season and has been hitting the ball hard in 2018, despite his bad results so far.)
New York Yankees (11-9)
What’s gone wrong: For all their immense hype going into the season, the Yankees have been pretty “meh” starting out, scoring only 13 more runs than they’ve allowed (113 vs. 100). Prized new left fielder Giancarlo Stanton is striking out constantly, particularly in front of the home fans at Yankee Stadium, while the team’s pitching has been average at best. They’re wasting a great start to the season by shortstop Didi Gregorius; he’s looked like an MVP over the past three weeks, but the Yankees barely have a .500 record to show for it.
Cause for concern? Probably not. Although Stanton is pressing at the plate like some batters have been known to do in the pressure-packed New York media market, swinging at more pitches overall and whiffing on fastballs over the plate especially, he’s simply too good a hitter to not adjust eventually. (The ball he smoked at home on Friday might be a sign of things to come.) Likewise, scuffling starters Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray should be better than the 7.22 ERA they’ve combined for so far, and a bullpen that ranked second in MLB in WAR last year is due for an improvement. Regression to the mean can work both ways, of course — Gregorius probably hasn’t fully made the leap to MVP level, for instance — but the Yankees should also benefit from better luck going forward: According to BaseRuns, which smooths out differences in the timing of offensive and defensive events, New York has been baseball’s fifth-best team so far, despite its record.
Los Angeles Dodgers (10-10)
What’s gone wrong: For one thing, Los Angeles’s offense is down this year, dropping from second in the NL last year to sixth in 2018, according to adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage. The Dodgers miss the production of third baseman Justin Turner, who fractured his wrist in spring training and has missed the entire season, and many of their other top hitters (Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, the now-injured Logan Forsythe, etc.) are off to subpar starts. But an even bigger problem has been L.A.’s bullpen, which ranks 22nd in WAR a year after finishing fifth. Closer Kenley Jansen, usually the best reliever on the planet, sports a 6.23 ERA, and he’s already blown twice as many saves this year as he did all of last season.2
Cause for concern? Sort of. The Dodgers’ hitting issues should sort themselves out eventually — they’re still projected by FanGraphs to score the fourth-most runs per game in the NL over the entire season, and they ought to be even better than that once Turner comes back in May. The bullpen question may be longer-lasting, however, given Jansen’s struggles. Although he brushed off early concerns about his performance (and he recorded a pair of scoreless innings over the weekend), there were questions about Jansen’s velocity in the spring, which have only amplified a month into the season. According to BrooksBaseball.com, Jansen’s sinker is averaging only 93.6 mph this April, compared with 95.7 mph last April and 94.9 two Aprils ago. We know that unexplained changes in velocity may indicate the kind of injury or mechanical problem that leads to cold streaks or prolonged absences, and we also know how important Jansen was to the Dodgers’ bullpen last year (he accounted for 48 percent of their relief WAR by himself). If Jansen suffers a down season, it would seriously affect L.A.’s chances of returning to the World Series.
Chicago Cubs (10-9)
What’s gone wrong: The Cubs are scoring plenty and they’ve already enjoyed a few memorable moments in 2018 so far, including this ridiculous eighth-inning comeback against the Braves the Saturday before last. But their starting pitching and defense — i.e., the twin cornerstones of Chicago’s 2016 World Series run — have been surprisingly mediocre thus far. Although veteran lefty Jon Lester has basically been his usual solid self, none of the other rotation members have lived up to their previous track records, from club mainstay Kyle Hendricks to newcomers Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood and second-year Cub Jose Quintana. And if Cub pitchers used to generate easily fieldable balls in play, that’s no longer the case: The team is below average in defensive efficiency and ordinary in various other fielding metrics. (When even Jason Heyward is showing up as a negative in the field, your defense has problems.)
Cause for concern? Defensively, not really. Heyward may have lost a step in the field — which is worth keeping an eye on — but Chicago started slow on defense last season, too. They eventually managed to finish near the top of the advanced-metric leaderboards when all was said and done. But there might be real cause for concern in the subpar performance of the Cubs’ rotation, even after taking defense out of the equation. Chicago’s starters rank seventh-worst in fielding-independent pitching so far this season, continuing a three-year slide from fourth-best in 2016 to 10th-best last year, and now 24th-best in 2018. The optimist’s case is that this group is too talented to keep pitching so poorly — and walking so many batters, specifically — but the Cubs will have a hard time fending off the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central (much less reclaiming their superteam status) if they don’t start getting a lot more out of their rotation soon.
from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-nationals-yankees-dodgers-and-cubs-cant-possibly-be-this-mediocre-right/
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Yu Darvish completes sturdy Cubs rotation after Arrieta, Lackey losses in offseason
Lastly, there was one other big-name signing this offseason. Saturday afternoon, the baseball world discovered that the Cubs had scooped up free agent beginning pitcher Yu Darvish on a six-year deal price a base of $126 million that would develop to $150M with incentives.
Now we will give attention to simply how good the Cubs’ newish rotation could be, provided that it is certainly rounded out now. In 2016, when the Cubs had been the most effective group in baseball and World Collection champions, that they had a Three.15 rotation ERA, which was far and away the most effective in baseball (the Nationals’ Three.51 was second). Final 12 months, the Cubs dipped to seventh within the majors at Three.95, although a few of that was the World Collection hangover of a primary half, as they pitched to a Three.78 ERA within the second half.
Nonetheless, there was regression. Now John Lackey and Jake Arrieta are out in favor of Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish.
Let’s check out the prospects for 2018, pitcher by pitcher:
Yu Darvish
He was inconsistent final season, but it surely was his first full season again from Tommy John surgical procedure. In all, he had a Three.86 ERA (118 ERA+) with 209 strikeouts in 186 2/Three innings. He battled inconsistency, however made some tweaks and was dominant down the stretch. He had a Zero.47 ERA with 21 strikeouts towards one stroll in 19 1/Three innings in his final three regular-season begins. In his first two postseason begins, he allowed simply two earned runs in 11 1/Three innings (1.59 ERA) with 14 strikeouts towards one stroll. He was terrible in two World Collection begins, however we have since discovered he was tipping his pitches.
There’s each motive to consider Darvish can be a frontline pitcher this coming season, even when some would not think about him no matter their definition of an “ace” is.
Jose Quintana
From 2014-16, Quintana pitched to a Three.29 ERA (118 ERA+) for the White Sox, averaging over 205 innings per season. He had a tough first half final season amid swirling commerce rumors. For the Cubs after the commerce, he was 7-Three with a Three.74 ERA (117 ERA+), holding opponents to a .228/.292/.367 slash. He had one terrible postseason begin, but it surely was preceded by two good begins. Most projection programs have him being the Cubs’ greatest starter.
Like Darvish, there’s each motive to consider Quintana is a frontline starter, even when not an “ace.”
Kyle Hendricks
On the shoulders of an MLB-best 2.13 ERA, Hendricks completed third in Cy Younger voting in 2016 and had postseason as properly. He was drained to begin 2017, although, having misplaced a minimum of three miles per hour off his pitches. After getting back from damage in late July, he was again in kind. In Hendricks’s final 13 begins, he had a 2.19 ERA. In these 13 begins, he allowed greater than two runs simply 3 times and he did not surrender greater than three runs as soon as. He was good in Recreation 1 of the NLDS, outdueling Stephen Strasburg, however had two subpar outings after that.
Hendricks was excellent in NLDS Recreation 1 in 2017. USATSI
Nonetheless, I count on Hendricks to be largely what we noticed in 2016 and the latter half of 2017 as we transfer into 2018. So long as his velocity stays up, there isn’t any motive to count on something in any other case.
That is three frontline starters. Get them organized nonetheless you would like.
Jon Lester
Lester is 34 years previous with 2,184 1/Three regular-season innings and 148 extra postseason innings of wear and tear and tear on his left arm. He has had and can proceed to have a wonderful profession, however I additionally suppose what we noticed final 12 months was the primary 12 months of his decline. No disgrace in that. It occurs to everybody.
After ending second in Cy Younger voting and pitching largely excellently within the 2016 championship run, he regressed to a four.33 ERA and 1.32 WHIP final season. His strikeout fee was nonetheless there (in reality, it rose), however he was being hit quite a bit tougher. Here is the opposing slash line towards him comparability:
2016: .211/.268/.334 2017: .259/.320/.430
Most projection programs have Lester within the vary of 200 innings however with an ERA getting near four.00. That is extra innings eater than frontline starter, however that is honest for this level in his profession, particularly since I count on him to be the Cubs’ No. four starter by way of efficiency.
He is 34-year-old Jon Lester, however you can do a lot worse than 34-year-old Jon Lester as your 4.
Tyler Chatwood
After lacking all of 2015 with Tommy John surgical procedure, Chatwood was good in 2016, going 12-9 with a Three.87 ERA (125 ERA+). Final 12 months, he regressed to Eight-15 with a four.69 ERA, however that is nonetheless a 107 ERA+, due to Chatwood having pitched for the Rockies in Coors Discipline. How a lot did Coors damage him? Chatwood had a 6.01 residence ERA in comparison with Three.49 on the street. The WHIP distinction (1.68 in Coors, 1.23 on the street) is simply as jarring.
We won’t count on that Chatwood’s 77 1/Three street innings final 12 months translate to how he’ll pitch in, say, 165 innings in 2018, however he has a profession Three.75 ERA in 393 2/Three innings exterior Coors.
It might be folly to recommend that Chatwood is near an ace or perhaps a frontline starter, however he is the 5 right here. He is greater than acceptable as a 5 on a contending group, particularly free of the clutches of Coors.
Bear in mind, the Cubs’ fifth starter in 2016 was Jason Hammel, and their 5 heading into final season was Brett Anderson.
Mike Montgomery stays the sixth man/lengthy reliever and he is nearly as good as you could find in baseball in that function.
On the entire, it is a superb rotation. It is seemingly sure to carry out higher than 2017 however worse than 2016. The bullpen has good upside and we all know concerning the offensive potential (here is who I feel ought to leadoff, however you may get a glimpse at a attainable batting order as properly).
Level clean, the two-time defending NL Central champions are prone to run their streak to 3, as issues at the moment stand. This superb rotation will seemingly be an enormous motive why.
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Get Some R & R, Pittsburgh Pirates
My Dearest Pittsburgh Pirates,
I guess that could have gone worse. The week started out brilliantly with you winning three of four games in Detroit against the Tigers. What more could I ask for? A sweep is too much especially on the road. If you could have taken two out of three from Toronto, the week would have been a major success. However, you didn’t do that. Instead you lost two out of three and are now four games back of the first place Cubs. It’s still hard to be too upset over a 4-3 road trip even if it is against two sub .500 teams. You resorted back to your early season problems and played some sloppy baseball. On Saturday, two errors cost you four runs. Chad Kuhl came back to Earth yesterday with a subpar performance that included five walks. That won’t do. The rest of your schedule is mostly filled with NL Central teams so you will have an opportunity to catch up. That opportunity won’t mean much if you play like you did these last two games. You can’t give up five runs in the first inning, you can’t have one hit over the final eight innings, and you can’t make defensive mistakes. Regroup and go into this week focused. Every game from here on out is vital. Take a breather today and get back on track tomorrow.
Seriously, Gregory Polanco?!? Saturday you came up limp after charging a fly ball and went down with your third hamstring injury of the season. We don’t know yet if this one will necessitate a DL stint but this is already getting old. This has been an issue for him throughout his career so far. That is why you still need to add a free agent outfielder this offseason. I love the addition of SRod and he could play outfield if you needed him to but, in case Polanco can’t stay healthy next year, you need another guy who can fill in on a more regular basis. Your bench of SRod, Osuna, Frazier, and either Stewart or Diaz as the backup catcher looks pretty good. You let Jaso leave in free agency because he doesn’t have a real position and you add another competent outfielder. It’s a no-brainer. If you sign someone up for a couple years, they could also help fill in the gap when Cutch leaves in case Austin Meadows isn’t ready. (Yes, I have accepted that Cutch won’t be resigned after next year.) This is a move you dragged your feet on far too long this season and, while the SRod trade helps a whole hell of a lot, I could argue that you should have added even another outfielder. Beggars can’t be choosers. Don’t get complacent. It’s a necessary piece you can add for a very reasonable price. Small market teams need to take advantage of those opportunities.
We saw the future. Andrew McCutchen tweaked his knee on Friday and had to leave the game. All Pirates’ fans collectively waited with bated breath to find out the diagnosis. It was a weird pain in his knee cap. Does Cutch have a chronic knee problem? I don’t know. If he does, it could be a contributing reason why he would take a more reasonable contract than he would get on the open market to stay or it could also be your excuse for not offering him a contract extension at all. It is telling that when he went down my first thought was that you have no chance without him. That’s true and that’s scary. There is not much that will change on this roster other than his departure come 2019. The starting pitching could be more mature but it’s a staff that will also lose Gerrit Cole after that year. The window is closing. Without Kang, Cutch, Cole, and Polanco never living up to his potential, this is a concerning situation. You have already had plenty of games this season where your offense is non-existent and that’s with Cutch in the lineup. What does it look like when he’s gone? It’s early to start worrying about this but it’s valid. Cutch is a generational player and once he’s gone we might not see another one like him for a long time. Enjoy him while you can!!
Cervelli is hurt now too? You have got to be kidding me. That’s not as devastating as losing Polanco or obviously Cutch but I don’t like what I’m hearing. This guy always seems to have some ailment that might not even keep him out of the lineup but it does affect his performance. That’s a killer. His offensive numbers this year are mediocre at best. He claims this hand injury has been bothering him for a while and it’s finally reached a breaking point. No one knows yet if this means a DL stint for him but the way he was talking it sounds very possible. I’m one of the few people who still likes the extension you gave him. Good catchers aren’t easy to come by. Most of them don’t provide much offense anyway and Cervelli has always been praised for calling good games and for his pitch framing (even though that’s way down this year.) We knew he had a history of odd, nagging injuries and it’s reared it’s ugly head again. He broke his hamate bone last year and missed about six weeks. Who knows how long this injury will keep him out. If he does go on the DL, Elias Diaz will surely be recalled. Between him and Chris Stewart, you have OK depth at that position so this shouldn’t make or break the season. It’s still frustrating having guys like Cervelli and Polanco, both recently given extensions, who can’t seem to stay on the field.
I know it seems like I say this a lot but this is a huge week. Enjoy the day off today because you will need it. Tuesday and Wednesday you will be in Milwaukee to take on the third place Brewers. They are currently two games out of first and two games ahead of you. They have stayed in it so they are obviously no slouch. They also added our old friend Neil Walker in a trade this weekend so we will get to play him as well. After Milwaukee, you will head home to start a very important, four game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. They have won eight of their last ten and are a game out of first place. They were tied for first before losing yesterday. They are the hottest team in the division right now so winning that series will be paramount. It’s unfortunate that Gerrit Cole will be the only starting pitcher not to pitch in that series but you need him against the Brewers just as much so no use complaining. This week is even more important because next Monday you begin a four game series with the super human Los Angeles Dodgers who basically don’t lose baseball games anymore. You play the next sixteen days in a row so use today’s day off wisely. This is the stretch of games that could make or break your season. No pressure. Good luck and don’t blow it. Love you!!!
Your Always Accepting Amour,
Brad
P.S. I assume you are strongly considering resigning Juan Nicasio after this year. He will be a free agent and he’s performed admirably in his eighth inning role this whole year. He has a 2.53 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings pitched. He doesn’t have the saves total to necessitate a huge contract on the open market. I imagine a 3 year, 15 million dollar contract would be enough to bring him back. You don’t really have another good eighth inning option behind Rivero so bringing him back makes a lot of sense. You already filled Watson’s spot with Kontos. You will need to replace Benoit so sign Nicasio so you don’t have to replace him too. Make it easy on yourself...
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When it comes to the world of sports, everyone is looking to gain a competitive advantage. Usually, it’s just a little thing here and there, like when Jason Kidd “accidentally” spilled water on the basketball court because he didn’t have any timeouts left, or a pitcher putting a little pine tar on the ball to ‘grip” it better. Of course, some people take these lies and cheats to the extreme, and at the end of the day we’re left with the realization that a lot of our heroes are really kind of jerks. Here are ten hilarious and ridiculous sports cheats that went way over the top.
#1 Boris Onischenko You may not have heard of Boris Onischenko, but as you can probably guess from his name he was a Soviet athlete competing in the Olympics in 1976 in the sport of fencing. And just like the clichéd Russian villain who shares his first name, he was a nefarious schemer, though in this case he wasn’t trying to keel moose and squirrel, but instead win himself a gold medal. He had won the silver at the 1972 Olympics, but that clearly wasn’t good enough, leading to him launching a plan worthy of the most over-the-top cartoon villains. His fellow fencers couldn’t help but notice that whenever they faced Boris, he would be credited with points despite seemingly never actually making contact. Was he just that quick with his foil? Of course not. Instead, he had rigged the scoring machine with a sort of electronic trigger. Whenever he decided he wanted to score a point, he’d simply hit the trigger and be credited with a point despite coming nowhere near actually touching his opponent. Eventually people caught on and he was disqualified, and people could get back to trusting the USSR like they always had before this embarrassing incident.
#2 David Robertson The game of golf, above just about every other sport in the world, has a certain sense of honor and a gentleman’s code of ethics. You keep your own score, you penalize yourself, and you do so while willingly wearing just the ugliest pants imaginable. So what David Robertson did during the Open Championship was obviously frowned upon. What did he do? Well, basically the same thing any of us duffers do when we’re on the link: he continued to give himself favorable lies when no one was looking. During the qualifying round of the 1985 Open, the Scottish golfer employed what amounts to little more than the old “foot wedge” to give himself a better chance. What would happen is that he would hit an approach shot onto the green, and then just about sprint up there before his playing partner or anyone else had a chance to arrive on the scene and see where his shot had settled. He would pretend to mark his ball so that he could clean it, but he never actually marked it at all. Instead, he simply picked up the ball, acted like he was cleaning it, and then place it closer to the pin before anyone realized what was happening. He tried this move five times before someone finally discovered the blatant cheating (on the 14th hole) and disqualified him.
#3 Danny Almonte Back in 2001, America got swept up by a youth baseball sensation named Danny Almonte. He was a pitcher for a team from New York, and was virtually unhittable. In fact, he actually threw a perfect game during the Little League World Series. He became the talk of every sports page and highlight show across the country, a bona fide superstar for that magical summer. And then, it was discovered that maybe he and his family hadn’t been entirely truthful about a thing or two — specifically, his age. See, there’s a reason Almonte was able to so thoroughly dominate his competition: he was actually 14 years old, a full two years older than any other player competing at the Little League World Series. Suddenly people looked at him from an entirely new perspective. This was no longer a promising young talent with Major League Baseball stardom written all over him. His fastball wasn’t quite as impressive with the revelation that he was more physically mature than the average 12-year-old, and he was followed by a cloud of shame for the next decade. The closest he’s ever come to pitching professionally was a brief stint in an Independent League in the Midwest, where his numbers proved that he was never really as good as his little scam made it seem. Oh, and just because it’s always fun to add a little more weird to things like this, when he was a senior in high school he got married to a 30-year-old woman. If it ever comes out that she was actually 20, then the two are officially made for each other.
#4 Diego Maradona Diego Maradona is one of the most famous soccer players in the history of the game, and he enjoyed a tremendous playing career as arguably the best player to ever come out of Argentina. Later, he saw some success as a coach, including guiding the Argentinian national club in the World Cup. However, what he is almost certainly the most famous for is an act that he claims was divine intervention and has become simply known as “The Hand of God.” The incident took place in the 1986 World Cup, when Maradona helped Argentina defeat England 2-1. The victory both eliminated England from the World Cup and kept Argentina alive, and they would eventually go on to capture the crown. The only problem was how Maradona blatantly used his fist to knock the ball out of the air just as it looked like the England goalkeeper was about to come away with it. Maradona would score on the play after what should have gotten him carded and probably sent off. After the game, Maradona denied touching the ball with his hand – which, if you’re keeping score at home, is a major no-no for soccer players – instead claiming that it had been the “hand of God” that led to the goal.
#5 Sylvester Carmouche It seems like it would be awfully difficult to cheat in a horse race, considering the horsies don’t actually know what “cheating” means. But Sylvester Carmouche pulled it off, at least until people realized how odd it was for a horse to make up so much ground without anyone, including the other jockeys, even noticing him. It’s amazing what a bit of fog can do, however, to enable a horse to go from first to last and suddenly win by 24 lengths. This hilariously short-sided solution by Carmouche happened a little over 20 years ago at a track in Louisiana, in front of only a smattering of fans and amidst a thick fog that covered most of the track and the infield. Riding a 23-to-1 longshot, suspicion was immediately aroused when it was pointed out that his horse had no mud spatters and was breathing easily, rather than the usual panting of a horse that, you know, just ran an entire freaking race. What is believed to have happened is that after the start of the race, Carmouche took his horse through the middle of the infield, waited for a few moments, and then popped out on the other side, racing to victory. Carmouche continued to deny cheating despite all evidence to the contrary, and earned the nickname “Phantom Rider”. Which, let’s be honest, makes the whole thing totally worth it because that’s one hell of a sweet nickname.
#6 Fred Lorz While it’s probably farfetched, it would be nice to imagine that Sylvester Carmouche was just a really big fan of Fred Lorz, because Lorz is perhaps the most classic example of just cutting out the middle of a race and popping up at the end to claim victory. The Olympic marathon runner, in a move straight out of a slapstick comedy, nearly pulled off a fraud that kind of makes us applaud him for his sheer audacity. The race in question was the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. Lorz was a bricklayer by day and not a particularly experienced long-distance runner, having earned a spot in the Olympics in a five-mile race. Yeah, Olympic qualifying standards were a little more loose back then. Lorz decided to more easily bring home the gold when he hopped in a car at the nine-mile mark and just rode for the next 11 miles. He didn’t even attempt to be discreet, instead waving to his fellow runners as he passed. Despite finishing first, Lorz didn’t actually get the gold once it was pointed out that he had hitched a ride. It didn’t seem to faze him, though, as he shrugged it off and said that he only did the whole thing as a joke.
#7 Donald Crowhurst You know what one of the easiest ways to accomplish something is? Just lie about it and hope no one ever finds out. At least that’s what Donald Crowhurst was hoping would happen when he attempted to compete in an around-the-world yacht race in a subpar boat. Upon realizing that continuing in the race would lead to almost certain drowning, he set up shop in South America and started radioing in updated positions that put him in the lead, despite not only being far behind the rest of the pack, but also, you know, not actually racing. Ultimately, Crowhurst found himself faced with a no-win situation: either own up to being a big fat liar with a crappy boat, or disappear for as long as possible and hope people would forget about him. He chose the latter. After three months had passed, he radioed in that he was too far behind another sailor named Nigel Tetley, and was about to just give up and go home when he learned that Tetley’s boat had sunk, meaning that Crowhurst was about to be the victor. Horrified by the fact that his competitor’s boat had sunk and the realization that his fraudulence would soon be discovered, Crowhurst put a final cap in the tragic story when he threw himself overboard, his boat found 12 days after he had killed himself.
#8 Ali Dia Imagine being plucked off of the street to become an overnight sporting hero. Ali Dia made this fantasy a reality, when the amateur soccer player conned his way onto a professional English soccer club, sight unseen. By the way, when we call him an amateur, it’s pretty much an insult to amateur soccer players everywhere. When he took the field for the first and only time, what resulted was comically poor play that made the folks in charge of his Southampton side rethink their decision to take him on literally out of the blue. So how does some average guy who has as about as much business on the pitch as just about any of us wind up with a professional contract? Easy: he lied about who he was. He and a friend concocted a scheme in which his buddy would phone up the folks at Southampton claiming to be famed soccer star George Weah, saying that he had a cousin named Ali Dia who was on the cusp of becoming a star in his own right. And the brilliant folks in the front office at Southampton bought the lie and offered Dia a contract solely on the word of some random guy they talked to on the phone. Dia was released shortly after his one 20-minute appearance, in which it became abundantly apparent that not only was he not the dynamic player he claimed to be, but a six-year-old probably could have played circles around him.
#9 Dora Ratjen And speaking of athletes who aren’t exactly who they claim to be, here’s an Olympian named Dora Ratjen. Dora was a high jumper who competed for Team Germany in the 1936 Olympic games — despite only finishing fourth, two years later she set a new women’s world record in the high jump. As it turns out, that record would not stand for some pretty dramatic reasons. Was this woman, Dora Ratjen, juicing before anyone really knew what that was? Did she wear spring loaded shoes out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon that vaulted her higher than normal? Nope. As it turns out, Dora Ratjen was hiding something else. Literally, as it turns out, since “she” competed with “her” distinctively male genitals strapped back like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. Dora Ratjen, as it happens, was really Horst Ratjen, meaning this was a real-life Juwanna Mann situation. Though maybe if the screenwriter had based his story on Dora’s and not whatever he actually concocted, he wouldn’t have crapped out one the worst movies ever made. So why did Horst compete as Dora? It had nothing to do with his gender identity. Rather, according to the man himself, he was forced into it by the Nazis, who weren’t confident in their female athletes’ abilities. Ratjen claims that they did not want embarrassment, so they recruited a guy and had him compete as a woman. Just another stupid Nazi idea, among many others.
#10 The Spanish “Paralympic” Team To top it all off, here’s the very definition of “low”. During the 2000 Paralympic Games, Spain took a page from The Ringer and sent entire teams of people who were not actually handicapped to compete. Most notable was the “intellectual disabled” men’s basketball team that won the gold with a team full of people who had absolutely zero disabilities, and instead thought it would be a good idea to pick on the mentally handicapped. One member of the team came forward later and said that he and his teammates had no disabilities, and the same was true for numerous members of the Spanish Paralympic team. It’s not a coincidence that, after the fallout of this scandal, intellectual disabled basketball was eliminated from the Paralympics. Years later, South Park filmed an episode where Cartman acted like a Special Olympian so he could win $1,000. When you inspire the actions of one of the biggest assholes in all of cartoon-dom, you know you failed at basic humanity.
Source: TopTenz
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Aneris Skit
(After make up with Faelian)
DM: As the night sky became gradually veiled in black, London walked through the quieting town’s streets with a lantern in hand. He had felt the presence of something that he assumed could only bring him answers, and followed it’s pull on his mind to an ordinary looking tavern. Lifting his lamp to the sign he could see the establishment was called “The Rose Chalice”. If there was any place he could find the information he was looking for, it was here. Probably.
London: He heads in figuring there was nothing to lose. Doing something might help put his mind to ease after all the recent drama anyway.
DM: Upon entering, London finds himself in a dimly lit room with wooden floors. Tables are arranged neatly around the center of the room and as well as alongside a long bar opposite him. A few shady looking characters, some cloaked, others not, glance at him as he enters and then return to their business. Notably there is also a bard playing a stringed instrument at the barside and a soft melancholic tune fills the room.
London: He is rather careless and walks up to the barkeeper, “Hey, is there a, um, Tears of Demiuras thing around here?”
DM: The barkeeper looks at London with lifeless eyes and he finishes wiping a glass before bothering to meet London’s eyes directly. Without a word he puts his hand on the bar counter and London can see a tattoo of a familiar symbol on his forearm.
London: That was probably meant to be reassuring, but London is very intimidated. He gives a nod, forcing a smile, and points at the shady guys in the corner. “Are they with the group, too?” For some reason, he has not even considered the bard.
DM: The barkeeper, a little unsure whether London is either incredibly carefree or an idiot, decides not to reply to that question and picks up another glass. He scans London over at a sideglance, his eyes traveling from his hands, to his arms, to his face. He appears unsatisfied with what he sees, or rather over what he doesn’t see.
London: London begrudgingly moves his scarf to reveal a similar mark. For such a nice entity, the group behind Demiuras sure seemed shady.
DM: Having confirmed this the man nods at London a little more warmly now. His suspicion is gone and he places a glass down in front of him, implying the question of whether or not he’d like something.
London: Somehow the man’s silence starts to seem endearing now. “Water, please. So is everyone else here, um, friendly?” He didn’t want to make the man say more than he had to, so it might be best to look to one of the others for conversation.
DM: The man pours water into London’s glass from a pitcher and sets it behind him with a shrug. He doesn’t give any sign that people might be as nice as London is hoping for.
London: “Hmm, I see…” He takes a sip and looks around once more. Those shady people did look quite menacing. Maybe he could settle just asking the barkeeper the questions. “Soo… I know this might be asking a lot, but..” He glances around and does a finger motion to prompt the man closer before continuing in whisper. “I saw this creepy tattooed necromancer guy in town yesterday, and I think he killed a kid. Do you know if there’s any way to bring her back?” It was a very loaded question, but he spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
DM: The man’s face doesn’t shift much as he listens to London, but it is clear he is eager to get back to his work. Deciding that London would leave once he was done with his questions he finally replied. “Dunno. That’s tricky.”
London: “Aw, I wonder if one of those other guys would know then.” Without wasting time he stood up and went over to ask. He already heard three words from the barkeeper. He didn’t want to hear more. The image was already ruined. It tore his heart knowing he made the silent man talk. So appearing in the middle of their conversation, he asked the scary dudes… “Hey would either of you know anything about necromancy? Or you know, how to bring someone back that a necromancer has killed, I guess?”
DM: As london approaches the group of three men the conversation quickly stops as they twist their heads in his direction. “D'ya mind, kid? We’re talking about something.” the first one asks, his scarred face looking rather intimidating. “Hey hold up, necromancy? You with that cult or something? They’re into some weird arcane stuff.” a second, hooded man follows up.
London: He immediately regrets his decision. London waves a hand with an awkward laugh. “Nah, I just saw one of those creeps yesterday.” He intentionally keeps his voice down so the barkeep doesn’t hear him.
DM: “You new or something here, kid? Watch what you say. They tend to frequent this place. They’re not pushovers either.” the second man warns London.
London: “Huh, I see. Do you know anything about what they can do?” Wow this group sounds a little more scary every day.
DM: “All kinda things. Mostly magical arts and arcane stuff.” the third man who had been quiet until now answers
London: “Wow, sounds menacing. I’ll be sure to watch my back. Thanks.” He wasn’t actually that impressed. That wasn’t the answer he wanted. But he wasn’t expecting much in the first place. Figuring he’d just wait and see if anyone noteworthy comes up, he just sat at a more isolated part of the room and drank his water.
Aneris: Aneris, who I guess might be noteworthy, walks into the bar, because I’m assuming this is a guild bar?
DM: neither of the two notice each other immediately
Aneris: Aneris approaches the bar and sits down “I was told I had to come here if I wanted to get paid, is that you?”
DM: The bard playing on the bar stool a ways down from aneris decides to reply. “That’d be me you’re looking for, dear” she stops her playing and turns to Aneris.
Aneris: “Nevermind then” Aneris nods to the barkeep before giving the bard her attention. “So I guess we have business then?”
DM: “You tell me, miss.” the woman sets down her instrument beside of glass of what appears to be alcohol. She offers a hand to Aneris
Aneris: Aneris offers her own hand to the woman “I’ll be honest with you, this is the first time I’ll be getting paid for this” From a third-party at least she thinks “Sorry if there’s some protocal I’m skipping”
DM: The woman glides her thumb over the back of Aneris’s glove a little roughly, and awkwardly at that, but confirms what she needs to and smiles at her. “New then? There’s not much protocol though nope, just need you to fill out a page in this journal of your report.” She instructs aneris as she hands a book to her from within her pouch. “Oh, you can read, right?” She asks after some consideration
Aneris: Aneris pauses for a second and then smiles as she flips open the book “I guess that’s a reasonable question, considering. But yeah, I can read at least a few languages”
DM: “Well, as impressive as that is common will do thank you.” Once Aneris finishes, the bard returns the book to her satchet and closes it with a strap. “I’m sure by now you’ve run into the boss’ familiars. He likes introducing them to you without much warning. They’ll bring you your pay once the records are set. Unless you need it right away, I can handle that.”
Aneris: “The bird” Aneris mutters to herself then sighs a little. “A bird dropping money out of the sky might be a tab inconvienent for me. I’d prefer it right away if it’s not an issue, even if it’s a reduced rate or something. But I can manage if would be an issue.”
DM: “Understandable. I can handle it now if you can wait here for a while.” she stands up as she says this.
Aneris: Aneris waits, wondering if she should go straight to the bard in the next bar she goes to.
DM: As the bard walks away Aneris surveys the room again with hopefully a little more attentiveness. L-london also looks! Hes bored and looking around covers eyes London, notices that the music has stopped playing in the room. He doesn’t notice Aneris at all and decides while he’s here he might as well try to get on the good side of some of the ruffians about. After all maybe someone sensible who appreciates his music would come talk to him, and he could ask them what he needed. As such, he decides to start playing his own music. Aneris, by some miracle of the gods, manages to subconsciously ignore london’s subpar performance. It doesnt take more than a minute of this for the audience to start getting fed up. The barkeeper places a hand on London’s shoulder implying that he really should stop.
London: London was so into it, he didn’t even realize everyone was glaring at him until the hand brought his attention to his surroundings. “He he..” He stops and brings his glass up in a weak effort to say “cheers…”
DM: This action is enough to convince the audience, without a roll, that the hat wearing man attempting to play instrument before them is unfathomably intoxicated. The barkeeper helps London down a little forceably because of his size. “Does anyone know him?” his voice commands attention throughout the bar.
Aneris: Aneris notices her second-most-loathed party member and stiffles another sigh but can’t fight off the glare. What’s this asshole doing here. She puts her hood up and continues to wait for the decent music player to return.
DM: When nobody comes fro London the barkeeper leads London to the barside again and has him sit down frightfully close to Aneris. “Don’t cause trouble.” He sighs and the bard woman returns to Aneris. “Hello, all taken care of!” She slides back into her seat beside Aneris and hands her a bag full of coin. “Good work, by the way.”
London: London made the man say six words now. It couldn’t get worse than this
Aneris: Aneris pockets the bag before getting up to get the fuck away from London. “Hmm? Oh, thanks. Bye then.” Aneris lowers her voice more than usual.
DM: London looks to the hooded figure that is Aneris, thinking that he recognized her voice for a second but doesn’t give it more thought as she walks away. The bard woman has her back to London as well and he doesn’t notice Aneris’ familiar height. He’s still a little preoccupied with the intimidating bartender. The woman thanks Aneris for her work and nods as she starts to head off.
Aneris: Aneris attempts to steathily get the fuck out of there.
London: London a minute later realized that person near him was an undeniably familiar height and hurried to follow her. “Aneris, is that you? What are you doing here?”
Aneris: Aneris resists the urge to cuss under her breath and instead quickly turns on London. “You really don’t know why people go to bars?” Aneris manages a condescending grin, hiding her frustration and her failed escape attempt.
London: “Oh yeah, go to the most out of the way bar in town just for a drink, right? You didn’t even order anything.” London was being scolded by the barkeeper. He’d know.
Aneris: Aneris looks him dead in the eyes “The music started getting really bad so I left before I had the chance.” She continues out the door.
London: “Wait up!” He followed. “Were you trying to get info on that asshole, too? What lead you here?”
Aneris: “Well I was hoping if I walked far enough the bar I went to would have zero chance of me running into any familiar faces, but we see how that went don’t we? Why are you even out this far then,” Aneris points an accusing finger at him as she, well, accuses him, under her breath “Don’t you have a bard you should be assaulting anyways?”
London: London grinned. “Trying to hide something?” Then he gave a half shrug and glanced back to the bar. “I already answered why I was here. If you’re here then I guess there’s more going on there than I assumed, hm.” He seems to have ignored that last comment.
Aneris: “Yes, I literally just said I was trying to hide you from you.” Aneris turns to walk away but only gets a couple of steps before turning back .“Plus if you really wanted info on the necromancer why are you investigating bottles and not where we fought him, wife-beater?” Aneris turns again and starts walking.
London: “ I actually had a good reason. ” He grumbled. “ But if it doesn’t concern you, I guess I can try to get the info myself. ”
Aneris: “Can’t think straight unless you’re a little tipsy? Besides the man’s already dead, what else could you possibly want? His name, his favourite color, want to send a heartfelt letter to his next of kin? We’ve already done what needed to be done regarding him.”
London: “ Well, I guess that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.. ” Maybe Aneris was following along more than he thought.
Aneris: “Then what you have possibly been looking for in a bar?”
London: “ It’s not something I’m going to call out to you across the street. If you want to know then I’ll tell you over a drink. ” If he was still welcome back in that is.
Aneris: Aneris sighs. “This better be interesting at least.”
London: He’s gonna go in the bar and try to redeem himself to the barkeeper. It was just too quiet without the music, and he is sorry. Also he wasn’t drunk, he got water from the guy. He should know! London opened the door and instanly saw he was not welcome. He closed the door. “Are you okay with talking without a drink?” He felt bad. That was probably the only thing baiting Aneris into the conversation.
Aneris: “You were the one who brought drinks up in the first place” Aneris mutters as she remembers Kimuri’s words about not threating and being nicer in general as she feels the regret kick in.
London: “If I get a drink from them now, they’ll poison it. Just remind me I owe you one later.” London stretched and leaned his back against a wall.“Anyway, I was lead here because I wanted to get info on that guy’s powers. It’s wishful thinking, but I guess I was hoping maybe someone similar might have an idea how to bring her back or something. It seems it really is just a lost cause. Even the barkeeper was part of a, um, similar group I think, and he had no idea. I guess now I’m just wondering if there are any other jerks like him around here. It doesn’t sound like any of them are that well-liked.”
Aneris: Aneris stares at him for a second “SO … . . . you decided to go waltzing into a necromancer bar to ask necromancers for help about a dead child instead of say … some kind of cleric bar?” Aneris sighs again then lowers her voice. “Are you trying to hunt necromancers or befriend them? I mean, I don’t think I actually want to know, but now I’ve been seen with you and if any weirdos come bother me I’m going to strangle you” Aneris breaks her promise to Kimuri about not threating people but Kimuri wasn’t here
London: He does an awkward whistle to buy time to think before answering. “ Well, actually I lied a little. It’s not just necromancers that go to the bar, which is why I’m guessing you’re there. With the priest dead, I thought the underground might be the next best place to find someone with the ability. ”
Aneris: “You can make all of the guesses you want, it still seems like a church would be a better place to find help than say, a bar.”
London: “ We already saw what help the church was, or did you already forget they couldn’t even save their main priest? ” He waved her off. “ Anyway, I already admitted it was a lost cause, so there’s no point arguing over how wrong I am. ”
Aneris: “There’s more than one church in the world and we’re already traveling, it doesn’t take that much effort to just pop in as we past by.” Aneris gets upset and his attempt to wave her of.
London: “ Heh, even so, I’m not really planning on carrying a dead body for the cause.. And I don’t think the others would appreciate it. ”
Aneris: “ Hello there, we noticed you have strong revival spells, that’s convienent for us since we know a dead girl, here is a stupid high amount of money can you go help her, here is an additional stupid high amount of money to cover your travel expenses and info on where they buried her. It’s about a week away , we’ll scry you in that time to check in on her, thank you” Aneris made some whimsical hand gestures that I’m too tired to narrate.
London: He brought his hand to his chin to consider the proposal. “ That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but I’m kind of broke, and I don’t think most of the team has that kind of money anymore.. ”
Aneris: Aneris sighs “I’ll do it if I have to, but it’s pointless to decide this now without even knowing how much it’ll cost”
London: London was planning to bait her into giving that answer just so he could tease her about how much more effort she was willing to give the girl, but her answer was a lot more honest than he planned. No one could laugh at that. He smiled and gave a nod. “ Then I’ll do my part, if you do yours. ” Then he moved to start making his way back to the inn. “ So what really brought you to the pub, I’m curious! I’ll tell my shady secret if you tell yours. No judging. ”
Aneris: Aneris squints at him “Because you’ve done nothing but prove to me how deserving of trust and sensitive matters you are. You already mentioned that I didn’t even order a drink at the bar so why would even fathom that I was anywhere near wasted enough to volunteer information information to you for the promise of ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’???”
London: “ Wow, your’s must be really bad. ” The tone of repressed laughter could be heard in his voice. “ If I really wanted to, I could probably just go back and get the info, myself, but for your sake, I’ll keep it a secret then. ”
Aneris: “You caught me, I kill orphans and replace their arms with swords, I was in the bar looking to see who told that guy my secrets so I could tell them to knock it off, you know I’ve got an image to maintain and these knock-off’s hurt it” Aneris sighs again “What the hell do you think I was doing?”
London: “ Yeah, yeah. I already told you I’d leave it, so you really don’t have to try so hard, you know. ” He was tempted to wave his hand again, but if he did that then he really might lose it
Aneris: “I guess neither or us are the type to answer questions then” Aneris mentally threw up drawing the comparison betweent he two of them.
London: “ Seems like it. ” He yawns
Aneris: “Why do you even want to know if not to judge or try to blackmail me?”
London: He scratches the side of his chin. How else does he admit he is really just honestly curious and has no hidden motives? “ Well, originally, I was just sort of trying to piece together what sort of place that was, so I’d know if the guy had any allies I guess? But I’m not as concerned about that now, I mean, his closest friend was a short-lived skeleton. Then, uh, I guess it was just to bond. Over, you know, the potential plan to revive a dead girl. I thought it’d be nice to get to know you better, or something.. It wouldn’t be blackmail if I was offering you a secret in return, would it? ” He shrugged. “ Not even Faelian knows about this. ”
Aneris: Aneris squints at the shifty little fucker. “You go first and swear to never lay a finger on my hair and I’ll probably tell you something. I don’t trust you enough to not say Oh well sometimes when it thunders I get scared and miss my mother, now we’re even.”
London: “ Maybe I will, actually… But how do I know you don’t want to know just to use it againt me then? “
Aneris: ”Because I take satisfaction in spilling blood rather than spreading rumours“ Aneris hopes the maybe I will was to the going first and not the hair.
London: ” Hehe, yeah, I figured as much. Okay then. " London glanced around to make sure it was clear and then pulled her into a nearby allyway to whisper. “ The reason I knew about that place was because I joined a group that receives an entity named Demiura’s blessing. Basically I can sense these spots that act as the source of its powers. As a result, or a side effect I guess, it left this weird shaped tattoo mark on my neck. ” He moves his scarf down to show.
London: “ So, as you can see, it’d be easy for you to out me if you wanted. ”
DM: Aneris feels like she may have heard the name before but can’t remember whether or not it was a god or some other higher being, or maybe seen as both to some. Other than that there’s not much that she can remember other than it having a strong magical connection based with natural magic
Aneris: “ … . and that bar was one of these sources of power? Why do you even need to be sneaky about being blessed?”
London: He pulled his scarf back up and held it over his mouth. “ Do I have to tell everything before I get something in return? ”
Aneris: Aneris doesn’t feel like she’s been told anything at all. She sighs and then in a matter-of-fact tone continues “I had what some might consider a 'violent upbringing’, it left my inter-personal skills wanting and I am aware of this. Somewhere along the lines I became very interested in seeing where this journey of ours will end, but I don’t think I’ll get to see that end if I end up stabbing one of you so the nice people at the bar offered me an outlet for the excess aggression so I obliged them.” Aneris dances around any real answer in a way that she hopes might be at least half-satisfactory
London: A job that lets her stab people? “ Aneris are you an ass- ” He covers his mouth to stop himself from finishing. Who knows if he purposefully did that slip-up just to purposefully cut himself off right there… He removed his hand with a composed smile. “ I can see you doing that. A job like that really does sound suiting for you. I’m kind of surprised you weren’t already one before we met, considering… ”
Aneris: “We’re both assholes, but at least I haven’t cut anyone’s hair.” Aneris stares London down, she really doesn’t trust him but in the worst-case scenario she just has to kill anyone in her way then dissappear "And who says I wasn’t?“
London: ” Well, you, from the sound of it. Didn’t you just say you took the job as a coping method? Though I don’t doubt you’ve killed plenty of people before now. “
Aneris: Aneris shrugs ”I didn’t say anything. Now why are you so ashamed of some blessing?“
London: The real shame was answering that question after all the buildup. ” Eh, I guess I don’t have a real reason. Maybe I’m just embarrassed I started using help for my powers. "
Aneris: Aneris just stares at the man “really”
London: Shrug. “ It’d be out of the way mentioning it at this point. Anyway, I promised not to do anything that could hurt you or your dragon, so I think that’s a fair trade. If you need any favors, don’t be afraid to ask anything. ” He hoped to use these as his parting words before she had the chance to call him out.
Aneris: “Still upset about that by the way” Aneris says as she leaves the probably dank alley
London: “ Oh, come on. He was totally fine. If anything, it was only a tickle to him. I’m sure. ”
Aneris: “Humans must have a different meaning for 'tickle’ ” Aneris continues her departure
London: London smiled. The care she gives the little guy is so different from her usual personality. it is kind of endearing. He hasn’t used the spell since that dungeon, and didn’t plan to use it again with Nicol around, but it was still fun to joke about. When they reached the inn he waved her off with a “goodnight,” before heading to his own place to sleep.
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