#we got a statue made of us last week because epic showdown

[gin-draws]

i know you do hp but i saw your dnd post and i’m actually genuinely curious about your campaign lmao

omg I can absolutely talk about our campaign!

we’re planning on making a zine from all our sketchbooks and game notes for SPX in September, but I’ll give you a breakdown for now:

left ~ right: 

Reykja - me - wood elf arcane trickster -  elf mom

Demetria - @fayerogers - half dryad druid - tree mom

Daedric - @jimmyellerth - human cleric - the good son

li’l Cutie of Gobland - @thinkillustration - goblins arcane archer - the problem child

DM: @thinkillustrationpaige - constantly punishing us for trying to break the game.

(Not Pictured: Riff - Keenan - human warlock mushroom-lover - frequent guest)

We were a bunch of strangers traveling on a caravan through the giant desert that makes up the continent we are on. We’ve been through a handful of decent sized missions since our first goblin attack. 

Our party has been in the underdark for a while now. We were summoned by Svirfneblin named Pip to save the city of Gem Bright. We made it after several days (roll to see who you cuddle with), we ended up finding out that oozes have been murdering towns members and set off further into the caves, and found walls completely covered in runelike drawings of eyes. 

That led us to a drow who we ended up killing (she was a bitch) and found a freaky chamber with little oozes books and a bowl of eyes. So we used the drow’s eyes to accidentally summon a very bad Ooze. it  saw itself as the physical embodiment of Jubilex and, humble brag: I got to kill it.

…On occasion we remember we’re a band.

Reykja crossed the sea from her continent to look for her teacher who was taken by the drow. She’s a rogue who doesn’t like to steal (except for liquor) and normally ends up covered in something awful by the end of a boss fight.  Tries to keep lil cutie in line, and quite often fails. 

Demetria is spreading seeds from the dead wood she came from (with the ability to restore her spells by having sex with people, we get it Faye). Has a staff that can turn into a 60 foot tree. Her owl LaLuna is not a snowy owl despite the fact that we always forget. 

Daedric is our teenage cleric who is the only party member not in the chaotic alignment. He likes to protect others, and leaves a false gold token to honor the dead. Now has a tree mom and an elf mom, and can do no wrong in their eyes. He is a very kind and patient person, but does not put up with lil cutie’s shit.

Lil Cutie is a very intelligent, incredibly uncharismatic, 5 year old Goblin. She’s been traveling with Reykja for months before they met with the other two. Constantly devastated that we are often fighting ‘wee folk’, loves to loot immediately, hates to share. She left home because she sucks at quilting and her mother got pushed off a cliff.

[medea10]

My Review of One Punch Man 2

[junker-town]

Meet college football’s Team of 2017 for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

These are sort of like state championships.

College football doesn’t have state championships. That’s a pity for America’s most regional sport, even though plenty of rivalry games have a state-title feel.

Absent a state playoff system like in high school sports, it’s usually impossible to crown state champs in the college game. But that doesn’t mean we can’t award a Team of the Year title to some program in every state, regardless of level of competition.

So, let’s do that for some teams who had years worthy of celebration (or at least more worthy of it than any of their neighbors, in some cases).

The Teams of 2017, by state, mapped:

Here’s the full list of winners.

The rules, briefly: You don’t need to be an FBS team to be a state’s Team of 2017, because winning big at a lower level is more fun than losing big at a higher one. Head-to-head results matter, as do championships and a team’s overall success.

And a note: I made a couple of research and production errors in the initial publication of this list. My fault, and thanks for bearing with me.

Winners in bold below:

Alabama: Alabama. The Tide lost to Auburn, but a national championship — regardless of level — makes you the team of the year in a given state.

Alaska: There are no NCAA, junior college, or NAIA schools in the state. We thus award an actual state championship to Bartlett High School in Anchorage. The Golden Bears actually won the ASAA Division I Championship, so they are truly state champs.

Arizona: Arizona State, which was fun, made a bowl, and beat Arizona for the Territorial Cup, college football’s oldest rivalry trophy unless it’s not. The Sun Devils thus earned the title despite hiring Herm Edwards, also in the calendar year 2017.

Arkansas: Central Arkansas went 9-0 in conference to top the FCS Southland. Arkansas State was likely the best team in the state and would’ve whooped Arkansas if the Razorbacks didn’t have a policy against scheduling the Red Wolves. ASU’s coach burned the Razorbacks at a speaking engagement, though.

California: USC won the Pac-12 and did it by beating Stanford twice, including in the conference championship. Shoutout to the USD Toreros, however.

Colorado: Colorado wasn’t as good as Colorado State, probably, but did win head-to-head. The Buffs take the title.

Connecticut: Yale won an Ivy League championship. Central Connecticut State made the FCS playoffs and scored zero points once there.

Delaware: Wesley went 10-2 and made the Division III playoffs.

Florida: UCF.

Georgia: Georgia.

Hawaii: Hawaii, I guess, but feel free to consider San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny for that time he literally dragged a Hawaii guy across the turf.

Idaho: Boise State.

Illinois: Northwestern went 10-3 in a power conference, though NIU’s 8-5 and delightful win at Nebraska (featuring two pick-sixes) merited consideration.

Indiana: Purdue had a great year, but Saint Francis won the NAIA national championship. Apologies to the Boilermakers.

Iowa: Iowa beats Iowa State on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Kansas: Kansas State.

Kentucky: Louisville beat Kentucky head-to-head, and neither WKU nor any of the state’s lower-division programs had all that special a year.

Louisiana: LSU.

Maine: Husson went 10-2 and won a game in the DIII playoffs.

Maryland: Navy made and won another bowl game, in epic fashion against Virginia. Frostburg State won two games in the DIII playoffs and went 11-2. Kudos to the other other FSU.

Massachusetts: Boston College beat Louisville and Florida State, lol. Yale beat Harvard and deserves runner-up status for that achievement.

Michigan: Michigan State held off an upset bid by plucky upstart Michigan. The runner-up is Central Michigan, which beat both Western and Eastern Michigan.

Minnesota: St. Thomas won a pair of DIII playoff games, and I’m not in the mood to reward the flagship Gophers with a state title for falling from 9-4 to 5-7.

Mississippi: East Mississippi Community College, i.e. Last Chance U, won the junior college national title. Sorry about it, Egg Bowl.

Missouri: Missouri claims this year’s crown, but only because Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State fell off a little bit.

Montana: Montana State beat Montana to win the Great Divide Trophy. The Grizzlies had a better record (7-4 to 5-6), but that doesn’t concern us.

Nebraska: There’s no choice but to award a split title to Chadron State and Wayne State, who both went 6-5 in Division II.

Nevada: Nevada went 3-9 but gets the most underwhelming state title of any team here by virtue of the process of elimination and beating UNLV.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire made the FCS playoffs and won a couple of times once it got there.

New Jersey: Rather than giving Rutgers the nod at 4-8, let’s recognize the Monmouth Hawks for making the FCS playoffs and losing by 39 to UNI immediately.

New Mexico: New Mexico State made a bowl game for the first time since 1960, then won that bowl game. Go Aggies.

New York: Army, and it’s not much of a race.

North Carolina: North Carolina AT&T went 12-0 and won the HBCU national championship in the Celebration Bowl. These Aggies are clearly deserving.

North Dakota: North Dakota State won the FCS national championship.

Ohio: Mount Union won the Division III national title, no matter what would happen if it played Ohio State head-to-head.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma.

Oregon: Oregon.

Pennsylvania: Penn State.

Rhode Island: Bryant went 6-5, far better than lowly Brown and Rhode Island, who combined for five wins.

South Carolina: Clemson.

South Dakota: South Dakota State beat South Dakota in the South Dakota Showdown Series and also finished with a superior record.

Tennessee: Memphis wins here. (I’d foolishly awarded this to Vanderbilt at first, based on a head-to-head win against Tennessee. But the overall body of work makes it clear to me that the Tigers have earned it.)

Texas: Texas A&M Commerce won the Division II national title, and I can’t even begin to express how much I don’t feel bad about awarding the Lions this title.

Utah: Utah won seven games including a nice Power 5 bowl game, though if you think I should’ve put FCS playoff team Weber State here instead, you’ve got a strong case.

Vermont: Castleton beat Norwich in the year’s lone head-to-head meeting between any of the three Division III programs in the state. But Middlebury, with its state-best 7-2 record, is your Vermont winner.

Virginia: James Madison was awesome and almost won a second FCS title in a row, though North Dakota State beat the Dukes in the end.

Washington: Washington beat Washington State for the Apple Cup.

Washington, D.C.: Howard had a wonderful turnaround season and went 7-4, easily beating out 1-10 Georgetown. The Bison had the biggest upset in CFB history by point spread when they beat UNLV as 45-point underdogs in Week 1.

West Virginia: West Virginia.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin.

Wyoming: Wyoming, the only college program in the state, won a bowl.

Agree with this list?

Probably not! Let me know where you differ.

[junker-town]

The best and worst of everything from March Madness Day 4

The spotlight games of Sunday did not disappoint, but there were also a number of surprises on the final day of the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend.

Everyone had the first two games of the day circled heading into Sunday, and neither one disappointed. Both Michigan-Louisville and Wichita State-Kentucky gave us two hours of drama that lasted right until the final horn. Ultimately, one No. 2 seed from the Bluegrass State danced into the Sweet 16, while the other went home.

Later in the day, we were treated to a freshman showdown between Kansas’ Josh Jackson and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges. After that was much, much more nerve-wracking than expected win for North Carolina over Arkansas in a game the Heels trailed with just over a minute to play.

The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is now a thing of the past, but instead of being sad, let’s choose to remember the good times. That process begins with a complete recap of everything that took place on Sunday.

THE 2 BEST GAMES OF DAY FOUR

1. (7) Michigan 73, (2) Louisville 69 (Midwest)

After watching Michigan set a new school record for three-pointers on Friday, Rick Pitino knew he wasn’t going to let that be the way the Wolverines sent his team packing. Louisville forced Michigan’s best outside shooters off the line throughout Sunday’s tremendous second round game, resulting in John Beilein having to create new ways for his team to score. The great chess match continued in the second half with Beilein changing his team’s spacing in order to give big man Mo Wagner more room to operate. Wagner responded with the best half of his collegiate career, and the Wolverines turned an 8-point halftime deficit into a 4-point victory.

2. (2) Kentucky 65, (10) Wichita State 62 (South)

It shouldn’t have taken place this early (more on that later), but for the second time in four years, Kentucky and Wichita State gave us a second round game that will be remembered as one of the tournament’s top tilts. The game wasn’t a thing of beauty for long stretches, especially in the first half. In the end, though, the two teams delivered on the promise of drama. They traded haymakers in the game’s closing minutes, with a blocked shot at the buzzer proving to be Kentucky’s knockout blow.

THE TEAM THAT WON IT BEST

Kansas

No team has ever lost its first conference tournament game and gone on to win the national championship. On Sunday, Kansas looked like a team capable of destroying that factoid once and for all. The Jayhawks blasted a Michigan State team that had just wrapped up its own demolition of Miami two days prior. Josh Jackson, Frank Mason and Devonte Graham all scored 18 points or more, which is a recipe that would likely result in a victory over every team remaining in the tournament.

THE TEAM THAT WAS THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Louisville

The Cardinals didn’t play particularly poorly, and they were beaten by the hottest team in the country. But when you’re a No. 2 seed that goes down on a second round day where the other No. 1 and No. 2 seeds handle their business, you run the risk of finding yourself here.

THE ALL-DAY FOUR TEAM

Moritz Wagner, Michigan

With Louisville dedicating itself to taking away the ability of Michigan’s guards to light them up from the outside, it was on Mo Wagner to take advantage of the extra space that would be given to him. He did so in the form of 26 points and 11-of-14 shooting.

Josh Jackson, Kansas

The freshman’s absence was sorely missed in the team’s Big 12 tournament to loss to TCU, and his value was on full display once again on Sunday. Jackson scored 23 points including some ridiculous finishes at the rim to carry KU past Michigan State.

Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina

The big man came up with a 16-point, 11-rebound effort despite having to square off against Arkansas’ star center, Moses Kingsley. Meeks’ put-back in the final minute to give Carolina a three point lead may have been the biggest basket of the game.

Miles Bridges, Michigan State

The Michigan State freshman likely played his final college game on Sunday. Assuming that’s the case, Bridges went out with a bang, scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell, Louisville

The First Team All-ACC performer played like it on Sunday, scoring 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.

THREE DAY FOUR JEERS

1. Kentucky and Wichita State having to square off in round two

Look, it was great for all of us to have a second round game to watch featuring two teams that had no business meeting before the tournament’s second week. It was in 2014 too. In both those years, however, it was remarkably unfair to both of the actual teams involved. Especially the loser of both contests, Wichita State.

Here’s hoping that moving forward the introduction of more modern metrics into the Selection Committee’s process will lead to a more fair and accurate seeding of teams in Wichita’s position. That should start next season.

2. The missed dunk trend continuing for a fourth straight day

The latest players concerned about the status and durability of the rims at the NCAA tournament are ...

Anas Mahmoud from Louisville:

And Kansas’ Josh Jackson:

This remains both the troubling and most hilarious trend of the 2017 NCAA tournament so far.

3. North Carolina’s performance against Arkansas

The Tar Heels didn’t lose, so they avoid the “most disappointing team of the day” distinction. That doesn’t mean they should be free of at least some criticism.

Despite being a team that a large chunk of the population picked to cut down the nets at the beginning of this week, North Carolina seemed like it was going through the motions for long stretches of time against Arkansas on Sunday. The Razorbacks took full advantage, and led 65-60 with under three minutes to go. UNC would score the game’s final 12 points, but they also got some massive (and questionable) breaks along the way. It’s going to take a much more complete effort from Roy Williams’ team to win a pair of games next weekend.

THREE DAY FOUR CHEERS

1. John Beilein’s super-soaker celebration

Seriously, how great is this?

It’s not hard to see why Beilein’s players seem to enjoy playing for him so much.

2. The extension of Michigan’s unbelievable March story

On March 8, the Michigan basketball team’s plane slid off the runway as the Wolverines were attempting to travel to the Big Ten tournament. The incident was so terrifying that John Beilein gave his team the option of forfeiting instead of having to get on another plane. The team declined, traveled to Washington D.C., and became the first No. 8 season to ever win the Big Ten tournament.

Fast forward a week and the Wolverines are still the hottest team in the country after pulling out back-to-back nail-biters against 10th-seeded Oklahoma State and second-seeded Louisville. The second victory had to be especially sweet for Beilein, whose two toughest losses of his career -- an Elite 8 overtime loss in 2005 and a narrow defeat in the 2013 national championship game — had both come with Rick Pitino on the other bench.

It’s also worth noting that former player and current undergraduate assistant Austin Hatch is still a member of the basketball program. Before he graduated high school, Hatch was involved in two separate plane crashes in which members of his immediate family were killed. He had been committed to Michigan before the second crash, and Beilein honored his scholarship even after it was apparent that he would likely never be the player he was before. Hatch was not on the plane that slid off the runway on March 8.

We haven’t seen a March story like Michigan’s in a long time, and now it’s continuing.

3. Kentucky’s end of the game defense

While Sunday’s Kentucky-Wichita State game wasn’t quite the epic showdown we saw in 2014, the back and forth blows the two teams gave in the final minutes was eerily reminiscent of what we saw three years ago. The biggest difference in 2017 was that when the clock was running out and the Shockers needed a make to extend the game, they couldn’t even get an attempt to the rim.

First it was Kentucky’s Malik Monk who kept Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie from getting off a shot that could have put the Shockers ahead by one.

After a pair of made free-throws by Monk, the Shockers’ Landry Shamet was also denied on his final attempt to try and send the game to overtime.

For a team that struggled with defense at times during the early part of the season, that’s a heck of a way to end a game.

THE BEST DAY FOUR DUNK

Deng Adel, Louisville

Adel didn’t quite have the type of breakout sophomore season that many were predicting back in October. But he did end the campaign with a highlight that gave renewed enthusiasm to the thought of who he can be as a junior.

THE BEST DAY FOUR PICTURE

When you’re the best player in the country, but you can sit back and watch because your work for the possession is done.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

THE BEST DAY FOUR QUOTE

"How many years do we have to do this to make people respect our program? I don't know. I know that we have the heart of a champion."

—Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall