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#listen. I need to play dnd or I’ll die.
dogs2shouldvote · 8 months
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in contrast with my last post, in my latest relisten of taz balance i also recorded a bunch of quotes that felt like a punch to the gut (with zero context mostly). here’s some that made me a) cry or b) freak out because foreshadowing
MAJOR taz balance spoilers ahead; if you haven’t already listened to this amazing show, you should!
- “you can’t kill robbie, i have some big franchise plans for robbie”
- “you found her?“
- “one of you isn’t a lich, are you?”
- “tell julia i said i love her”
- “your staff, you lost control of it, and you blasted the letters L U P into the wall”
- “you look familiar too. have we met?” (this one i did put context for, it’s ren speaking to magnus in the eleventh hour during one of the early loops)
- “is there anything else you can edit in our past?” (this one also had context, magnus to istus i believe)
- “you’re going to be amazing”
- “there’s a long span of time that’s just not there” … “while you’re looking through these memories… there is something about the memory is a little bit off. there’s parts of it that are a little bit staticky.”
- “i named my fish after him”
- “he didn’t want to be a hero. it wasn’t his desire.”
- “Do you remember the last thing you said?”
“I said ‘I love you, Jules.’”
- “lup. they don’t trust me. i cant do it anymore, lup. i’m sorry”
- “the hunger is almost here. and when it arrives, the world will be lost.”
- “and it’s an incredibly familiar face, because it’s your face, magnus. this figure in the red robe is you.”
- “why are you doing this, taako?”
“because i’m worried no one else will have me”
- “you see this red robe put a single skeletal finger to its nonexistent lips”
- ”i’ll be having my body back you undead fuck”
- “trust barry. love barry. taako… it’s me… it’s *static*”
- “when there was trouble, you took the big hit. didn’t you, bud?”
- “and taako you remember lup now. how could you forget lup?”
- “are we just gonna burn every world that we can’t save just to keep the hunger from getting its hands on them? how does that make us any better than them?”
- “this is where we get to decide who we are”
- “show them the duck. it’s a good duck. i think they’ll like it!”
- “your journey could have ended anywhere… but it ended here. and you’re so grateful for that.”
- “sometimes there aren’t right decisions. sometimes there’s just decisions.”
- “back soon”
- “as his body falls further and further down, you realize you don’t know who that is.”
- “magnus. i’m going to find a place for you to be happy. it’ll just be for a little bit. i can do this. i love you magnus. i love all of you *fading into static*”
- “you *fucking took everything. from me*.”
- “i needed to say goodbye to someone
- “i don’t expect you all to forgive me…”
“i run over and hug her”
- “there’s magic in a bards song. they call it is inspiration and it tells the listener what they need to hear when they need to hear it… and you hear johann’s voice and it says: ‘you’re gonna have to fight… and *you’re gonna win!*’”
- “how does magnus die?”
- “and thus ends adventure zone balance. the story of four idiots who played dnd so hard they made themselves cry.”
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artiststarme · 1 year
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Steve’s No Good, Very Bad Day
This is something a little different from what I usually do so I hope you guys like it! Please leave your thoughts and title ideas in the comments!
~*~*~*~
Steve was just wrapping up at work one day, getting ready to run some errands when the kids stampeded through the door. He hardly even had time to sigh before Dustin was trying to negotiate for him to give them a ride to the community pool. 
“Steve, it’s eighty four degrees outside right now and the community pool is a mile away. If we bike there in these conditions, we could get heat stroke and die. What kind of friend would you be if you let us die when you could’ve prevented it? Since we all know you’re my best friend, you should give us a ride.”
“Dude, no. I have errands to run and I’m really not in the mood to babysit,” Steve said, shaking his head. He had better things to do than drive them around town all day. Like buying himself groceries and toilet paper, interesting stuff. 
“Please, Steve? We’re counting on you! Just give us a ride and we’ll leave you alone for the rest of the weekend!” Lucas bartered. 
“I’m hosting DnD at my house tomorrow,” Steve said, completely deadpan. 
“And we’ll leave you alone until then!” Dustin jumped in. “Please?”
“Son of a bitch, fine! Go wait by my car. Jesus Christ, you’re truly annoying. You know that, right?”
“Thanks Steve!” Dustin called and ran to wait by his car. 
Steve just sighed and shook his head. He didn’t sign up for this. He loves those kids but goddamn, he just wanted one day to himself after working customer service and faking smiles all morning. Nevertheless, he climbed into his car and cranked the AC before heading towards the pool. 
“So where’s Will, Max, and El? Are you guys hanging out with them today too?”
“Of course we are,” Dustin answered snootily. “They’re our friends.”
“They’re meeting us at the pool,” Lucas added. 
“Well, thank you Lucas for answering my question,” he turned to look at Dustin in the passenger seat. “You need to lose the ‘tude, Henderson. I’m doing you shitheads a favor. Tone it down.”
“Sorry,” Dustin muttered. 
They traveled the rest of the way in silence with only the soft tones of Simon and Garfunkel playing softly through the radio. When they turned into the pool’s parking lot, something felt off. Steve couldn’t put his finger on it. Nothing looked out of the blue but something was wrong, he was certain. 
“Stay in the car, I’ll be right back.” He opened his door and Henderson opened his as well. “Dustin, please. Just stay in the car for a minute.”
“Wha- but…”
“Dustin!” He gave him a confused look but shut the door regardless. 
Steve saw Max, Will, and El rounding the corner and ran up to them. They looked fine too but something still felt off. His stomach was twisting in warning and he didn’t know why. 
“Hey guys-”
“Steve? I didn’t know you’d be coming. We could’ve used the ride,” Max snarked.
“Listen, something feels off. Get in my car,” Steve told them. His heart started beating faster and he could feel sweat dripping on his forehead. His adrenaline was going crazy and he didn’t know why. 
“Steve, there isn’t enough room. We won’t fit-” Will tried to explain but he was cut off by the sound of gunfire. El threw up her hands to telekinetically redirect the bullets and Steve tackled Max and El to the ground. 
He lightly smacked his head on the cement but he picked himself up soon enough. When he looked around the parking lot, there were dozens of government agents facing El with their guns drawn. 
“Eleven. We are with a secret department of the United States government. If you come with us peacefully, we’ll let your friends live.” As the woman in charge was talking, Steve noticed a man standing behind El raise his gun to her head. 
“El!” He jumped up from the ground the pushed her away from the path of the gun as it fired. He felt a sharp, searing pain in his shoulder and then he was back on the ground. 
“Steve!” She looked over at him but he just shook his head with his teeth clenched. 
“Kill them!” He felt bad about ordering a kid to kill the fifteen agents, not for them but for her. She didn’t deserve to carry their deaths on her conscience. But as he saw all of their necks snap in unison, he couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. 
All of the kids surrounded him worriedly. The boys looked slightly nauseous while Max and El were looking at his shoulder in concern.
“Steve? Are you okay, buddy? I’m pretty sure you got shot.” Dustin told him gently, just as he had in Billy’s Camaro all those years ago. 
“El… you okay?” Steve asked her quietly. It was getting harder for him to speak. It felt like there was a fog over him that was pulling him under.
“Of course I am okay, Steve. You were the one that was shot,” she told him matter-of-factly. 
“Hmm, yeah makes sense. Fucking... figures,” and then he lost consciousness. 
~*~*~*~
When he woke up, it was to a bland hospital room. His head ached, his shoulder throbbed, and his throat was dry. As annoyed as he was with the situation, Steve was glad that he had been there for the kids. Who knew what would’ve happened if he hadn’t gotten there when he did. Would El have that man’s bullet in her head? Would Max and Will be dead due to a slew of bullets? He’s glad he would never have to find out. 
He was so lost in his thoughts of what could have happened that he didn’t notice Hopper stepping in until he spoke. 
“What the hell were you thinking?” Hopper hissed angrily. 
“What do you mean?” Steve asked in confusion. It almost seemed like Hopper was mad at him but he was pretty positive that he had no reason to be. 
“Why the hell were you taking the kids to the pool? You know that people are after her and you just took her out into the open? How could you do something so stupid?!”
Steve’s entire body flinched at his comment. “Hop, the kids were going anyway. The only reason I was there was to give Dustin, Lucas, and Mike a ride. The other kids were meeting them there. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You’re the adult, Harrington! You should’ve told them no and then none of us would be in this situation!” 
“Hop, I’m sorry. Next time I’ll be more careful. I know it must’ve been scary to see your kids like that…”
“You’re not my son!” He screamed at him in fury.
Steve’s blood turned cold. “Wh-what?”
“El is my daughter and your actions almost got her killed! And you put all the other kids in danger too. I don’t know if Joyce and I can forgive you for this, Harrington.”
Hopper shook his head derisively one last time and stalked out of the hospital room. Steve just laid there in shock. He didn’t know why Hopper was so mad at him or why he decided that Steve wasn’t worth any effort anymore. He didn’t know why he always pushed away his parental figures but this was three people now that he managed to disappoint so it had to be an issue with him. All he could do was close his eyes and cry at the unfairness of it all.
~*~*~*~
Between visits from Eddie and Robin, Steve was alone. The kids were banned from seeing him due to what Hopper had coined ‘reckless endangerment’ and it wasn’t like he had anyone else interested in visiting him. So it was a surprise when a chastened Hopper entered his room. 
“Hey kid, how are you doing?” He asked him softly. 
Steve just stared at him. He wasn’t sure where he and Hop stood after he screamed at him just a few days prior. 
“Look Steve, I want to apologize. I uh, I didn’t have all of the information and I blamed you when it wasn’t your fault. I know now that you were there to protect the kids and you did a great job other than getting shot and getting another concussion. I’m sorry.”
“I meant Will. When I said you were worried about your kids. I meant Will and El. I know you don’t consider me your son, why would you? Literally no one wants to be my parent so I get it-”
“Steve, I do consider you my kid. I shouldn’t have said that and I only did out of anger. You didn’t deserve that and I’ll make it up to you. You’re going to move into the house with us until you get better,” he promised him. 
Steve just shook his head though, “don’t worry about it. Eddie is going to stay at my house until I can use my arm. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Harrington, I don’t care if I have to kidnap your sorry ass. You’re staying with me, Joyce, and the kids until you’re better.”
“This is part of your apology, threats of kidnapping? What the fuck, Hop?” Steve exclaimed, absolutely perplexed. 
“Yeah, did it work?”
Steve huffed, “get me some orange Jello and I’ll consider it.”
They had a ways to go until they were back to where they were but they’d get there. Steve would forgive him in time and Hopper would forgive himself eventually too.
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rhapsodyred-writes · 10 months
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What DND classes would your Rent-Free's choose if they were to start a game together? How funny would them playing a tabletop RPG together be?
Sans - DM Red - Barbarian Violet - Druid Nyx -Rogue Ash - Cleric Nightmare - Warlock Fresh - Bard
Only chaos lives here now. (whoops my hand slipped)
“for the last time, it’s a reinforced steel door.” The sighs behind the DM’s screen were the only indication of Sans’s thoughts on the matter.
“no kinda reinforced steel is any match for me!” Red was all bravado.
“alright, roll to break down the door.”
The sound of a rolling die was immediately followed by silence.
“red, what’d you roll?” Sans asked, already smirking behind his screen.
“i don’t wanna talk about it.”
Chuckles broke out around the table and Sans peeked over his screen to see Red’s die displaying a proud 2.
“hmm, with your +2 strength modifier that’s a 4, so…” He trailed off teasingly and watched as Red’s eyelights flared before he settled back down in his seat.
“i don’t break the door.”
“you sure don’t.”
More laughter spread around the table as Red’s face turned, well, red.
“an impenetrable door, huh?” Nyx leaned back in his seat, looking awfully smug.
“yeah i’d like to see you break it down.” Red growled.
“oh no, this is a job for finesse.”
“guys seriously, this is a locked door.” Sans was beginning to sound tired behind his DM screen.
“yeah, and i have a lock picking set,” Nyx replied, leaning forward.
Sans sighed deeply and leaned his skull against one hand. “alright, roll to lock pick.”
The sound of a rolling die was followed by…
“are you funking kidding me?” Red sounded both surprised and outraged, but he was barely heard over the sounds of Nyx’s triumphant cackling.
“yes! nat 20!” Nyx slammed his hands down on the table, jostling everyone else's dice.
“i’m never dming a game for you guys again.”
“so you’re gonna need to ask the barkeep-”
“i wanna seduce them.”
“nyx, i swear to-”
“come on, it’s my stars-given right!”
Sans sighed, deep and long-suffering. 
“fine, role persuasion.”
The sound of a rolling die was followed shortly by-
“FUNK!”
Which was then followed by assorted laughter.
“before you stands a dire wolf.” 
“i cast animal friendship.” Violet didn’t hesitate a second before making his intentions clear.
“you-” Sans cut himself off. “alright, you’ve befriended the dire wolf. what now?”
Vi shrugged. “i just wanted to pet it.”
A snorted laugh was quickly covered up - so quickly that it was hard to tell who it was. Whoever it was though, knew well enough not to poke too much fun.
Red, however, was never prone to subtlety.
“and if any of you funkers hurts it, i’ll turn that back on ya!” He glowered evenly around the table, at five people who most likely had no intentions of hurting Vi’s temporary pet wolf.
“Bro, unrad.” Fresh was the only one who spoke. “Ain’t any of us gonna mess with his dog, no need for threats, yo.”
“red relax.” Vi sighed, rolling his eye. “fresh is right, we’re all on the same side here. and even if someone did want to hurt it, it’s a fictional wolf, it's not real.”
It was nearing the stage in a session when Red usually became belligerent and fighty, and by the looks on the faces around the table, no one really wanted to deal with it.
“i’m just sayin’ it’s a dumb rule, ok?!”
“no one’s fighting you on that, you don’t have to yell.” Ash’s voice was quiet, but his tone was tense. “you don’t like the rules, get creative.”
“yeah,” Nyx piped up. “i once heard of someone who used a summon water spell inside an enemy to basically blow them up."
It didn’t seem like Red was listening, and his chair was beginning to creak in his grasp.
“ok, if you can’t calm down, i’m gonna ask you to step away.” Sans didn’t want to issue these kinds of warnings, but with Red and his temper, it had become somewhat of a necessary measure.
“what?!” As usual, Red didn’t take it well.
“Broski chill, it’s just a game, yo!” 
Instead of having the calming effect he’d intended, Fresh’s words seemed to make Red burn even hotter, but he didn’t have a chance to interrupt.
“Besides, last I checked, I can put ya ta sleep in game. All I gotta do is say da word.” His grin had turned devilish at some point, and without realizing it, Red gave an inch. Fresh took a mile. “If ya can’t settle down, I could take ya outta da game, real easy-like.”
“wait, no, you can’t do that!” 
“Can’t I? Look around, broski - no one here wants ta deal with ya whinin’ anymore. If ya think one of ya teammates’d wake ya after da kinda behaviour ya showin’, ya gonna be real disappointed.”
Red glanced around at the others around the table. Vi was wincing, fidgeting with his hands in a way Red knew meant he was trying to keep from touching at his head injury.
“alright fine.” He deflated and sat back in his seat. “i’m not happy about it though.”
It was then that he noticed a flash of purple slip back behind Fresh’s shades as Fresh settled back into his own chair, every trace of a threat now gone from his demeanour.
“A’ight, so we good?”
Red nodded. Fresh grinned.
“See how nice it is when we all get along?”
Terrifying.
“I don’t suppose you could heal me properly?”
“nightmare, all due respect - shut the funk up.”
“ok,” Sans started, holding back a laugh. He’d never expected to have to ask this. “does anyone want to trade dice with ash?”
Nyx and Red broke into snickers that had the atmosphere in the room take a worryingly electrified turn.
“don’t say that like it’s my fault my dice are mutinying.” Ash grumbled, glaring at the die that had just barely healed Nightmare from the last battle. This wasn’t the first time any of his dice had screwed him though. The one he used to roll for healing was consistently giving him low rolls, often just enough to do some minor healing, and that was after adding the modifier.
“Might I suggest getting a new set of dice?” Nightmare asked.
Ash grumbled a few unintelligible swears. The only indication that they were swears at all was the unholy quacking sound that censored them.
“here.” Sans leaned over his screen and deposited a few replacement dice in front of Ash. “stars know this party needs a cleric who can heal.”
“i don’t funkin’ believe this.”
“Is something the matter?”
“well, not “the matter” per se, it’s more like-”
“how’re you acin’ all your damn rolls?!”
Nightmare glanced up to where Red was leaning over the table, glaring at his dice as though they’d somehow offended him. To Nightmare’s right, Ash was silently simmering, too proud to use the dice that Sans had supplied, and past Ash Sans was smiling somewhat apologetically. 
“it’s not bad, just…weird.” Sans said, his expression turning sheepish. “it’s, uh, a little uncanny actually.”
“i can’t even pass a seduction check, and he’s funking carrying this party single-handedly! sorry fresh.” 
Fresh accepted Nyx’s apology with a nod.
At last Ash spoke up.
“trade dice with me.”
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alphabetatoes · 2 years
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Roll for Action (e.m. x reader)
a.n.: had this idea for a fic and needed to write it. just a couple o nerds being geeks! not proofread- but when do i ever? also if anyone knows how to tab a paragraoh or a keyboard shortcut pls lmk bc every time i press the tab key it takes me to the tags of the posts ;-; anyways- enjoy!
It was the night before the final meeting for Eddie’s latest DnD campaign and you were at the trailer helping to proofread the final bits and pieces.
‘It’s gonna be a shit show, in the best way possible!” Edward “Cause All the Chaos” Munson grinned as he gave you a play-by-play of the final battle.
You adored seeing him get so excited about his passions. Seeing those pretty brown eyes light  up any time he spoke on his favorite topics absolutely melted your heart. 
It was almost inevitable for him to ask you to help with his campaigns after y’all started to hang out on a rather consistent basis. Since the both of you were invited to join Steve’s group of friends around the same time, y’all had the benefit of being on the same playing field friend & relationship wise. There was no denying  that you had developed feelings for him, but you weren’t too sure how he felt. The boy could write a flawless character study on his own DnD creations, but his inner thoughts and feelings were a mish mash of confusion. Sure, you’d caught him leering at you every once in a while, but was it a “I’ve been in love with you ever since we first met!” stare, or was it one saying “Dude, you have something on your face.” 
Ed’s voice snapped you back to reality.
“I was asking if you wanted to see how the final boss would meet their demise.”
He played it out for you. It was a masterpiece. Of course it was. You’d expect no less from him.
“I was thinking… what if I added something else?” Eddie couldn’t help but smirk when he asked you.
“I’m listening.” You had no idea where he could be going with this.
“What if I roll to take action?”HIs smirk grew to a grin.
“What type of action are we talking about, Munson?”
“A kiss.” He was nervous- testing the waters to see if he might’ve crit one’d himself before he even got the chance to roll.
“I’ll need you to roll a 20 on that.” The bar was set high, but you were bargaining with whatever higher power to guarantee the die land on the magic number.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” His face changed to one of pure concentration. This was probably the most important roll of his career. The die hit the table with a thud, and you awaited your fate.
“Alright Eddie, show me what you got.”
“Nat 20.”, he smirked. At this point, the both of you were filled with giddiness and struggling not to blush too much.
 “A deal’s a deal.”
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curlsandsnakes · 2 years
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Sleepover
I could not leave it like that with Eddie so I guess I’ll just write my own plot lines for him.
********************
“We just survived a whole fucking video game, apocalyptic, end of the world, shit your pants kind of night and you’re asking me for a snack?”
Eddie picked at a crusted spot of blood on the hem of his t shirt as he stared blankly at the younger curly haired boy in front of him. He’d just saved this boys life and he was asking him if he had a fucking granola bar in his back pocket.
“I didn’t mean now! I just meant eventually, you could have left like a packet of fruit snacks in your pocket or even like a few pieces of cereal. I’m starving Eddie!” Dustin moaned as they trudged back to Dustins house, the early morning sun just barely making an appearance through the woods.
“Oh I’m sorry. Was nearly losing my life to Demobats not enough for you? Do I need to turn myself into a portable vending machine for you too?” He glared teasingly, ruffling Dustins hair and rolling his eyes as the younger boy grabbed his stomach and moaned dramatically before turning to him for the fiftieth time since they started this walk,
“You know you really don’t have to walk me home, I know the way and it’s really not that far at all.”
Eddie shook his head
“Listen I just did the most heroic thing on the planet and offered myself up to save your skin. The last thing I need is for you to trip on a rock and hit your head and die and then all of that have been for nothing.”
Dustin laughed loud and bright before he stopped abruptly just a couple yards away from his house, sending Eddie stumbling right into his back.
“What the hell? Give me some warning before you…”
Dustin reached for eddies arm and swiveled them both around, dragging him the opposite way.
“Let’s go to your trailer instead! I don’t have to go to school so it’s no biggie if we just hang out and play DND!” He rushed out nervously.
Eddie pulled them both to a stop and stood in front of Dustin, arms crossed and waiting expectantly.
Dustins shoulders dropped and he chewed his lip
“My sister is going to kill me.” He moaned.
It was quiet for a moment before Eddie smiled
“You have a sister?”
Dustin huffed and turned back towards his house
“That’s not the point! You have no idea how stupidly protective she is and I didn’t tell her I wasn’t coming home last night she’s literally going to kill me.”
Eddie never had a sibling but he couldn’t quite understand how Dustin had just fought monsters in another dimension and yet was still afraid of his older sister.
“Oh come on dude, she’s not going too..”
“DUSTIN JOSEPH HENDERSON”
Both boys immediately turned to the booming voice heading directly towards him from a few houses down.
Eddie squinted to make out the figure, sandy blonde hair and sun touched olive skin, long toned legs tucked in denim shorts and flailing hands tipped with pretty pink painted nails. She was much more than attractive and he had to take a second glance at dustin to see if he could gather any similarities. Same lips and pretty similar nose.
“Oh god she’s still in her clothes from yesterday. I’m dead.” He looked over at Eddie then and whispered “we’re dead.”
“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m going to be kind and I’m going to believe, truly believe that you didn’t actively not call me. That you just got caught up and forgot to call me. That you didn’t think of how I would be waiting by the phone, waiting with my car keys in hand to pick you up. I’m going to believe that.” She propped her hands on her hips and spoke in such an even and collected, cool tone that it sent shivers down his own spine.
Dustin reached out hugged her tight practically squeezing the life out of her.
“I know your mad Lucy. And I’m so so so sorry , we got caught up playing DND. Just like you said. And I wasn’t thinking and totally forgot, we ended up crashing at Mikes house and I was so tired that I completely forgot! That’s why I’m home so early because I woke up and said “oh my gosh I have to get home! My gorgeous, talented, wonderful sister is going to be so worried.” He was really laying it on thick but it seemed to be working.
She pried herself out of her brothers grasp and sighed, she still looked angry but she seemed placated by his reasoning. She pulled back and put her hands on her brothers shoulders looking him up and down and taking in the state of him, dirt covered clothes and scratches and rips. Her eyes moved over to Eddie and she sighed
“I don’t understand why you guys have to play so rough like this. I’m never gonna get these stains out Dustin.” She pulled at the collar of his shirt.
“It’s just part of the game Lu. And no one got really hurt. No one died.” His eyes flicked to Eddie.
“Yeah alright, go in the house and get in the shower. And you may have think you’ve gotten away with this but no phone calls for a week.”
Dustins mouth dropped and Eddie had to physically stop himself from laughing at the scolded boy.
“A week! But I have to call Suzie!” He pleaded.
“Of course, you can call her and tell her you won’t be talking to her for a week.” Lucy smiled as she shuffled him on his way towards the house, rolling her eyes at all of his grumbling before he booked it to the front door.
Eddie had just turned around to make his way to his own place when her voice interrupted him mid step.
“Eddie right? Eddie Munson?”
He turned around to see her standing there in the middle of the street watching him.
“Yeah. Yeah I’m Eddie. And your Lucy although I can’t say I knew that before three minutes ago.”
She laughed and walked towards him
“Yeah well Dustin doesn’t talk about me a lot. Although he certainly talks about you. “Oh Eddie takes care of all of us, he’s the best. He’s so cool. I’m gonna be just like him.” She mimicked her brother and it made eddies heart swell, he knew he made the right choice saving that kid.
“Thanks for walking him home. I’m sure you’re exhausted from taking care of the little monsters all night.” She teased.
“God help me but they take care of me most of the time.” He wasn’t lying, those kids were fiercely loyal and stronger than any adult he’d ever known.
“Why don’t you come on in and rest in the guest room. You look dead on your feet and it’s only five in the morning, I’ve been waiting up all night on my front porch so I’m right there with you. You might wanna get some rest before you head all the way to the trailers. I couldn’t live with myself If you fell a sleep in the road and got run over.” She shrugged.
The offer was tempting, he was exhausted and sore beyond words. His head hurt and his feet were swollen and apparently shifting between two worlds also gave you an insane backache. Not to mention how could he turn down an offer like that from the prettiest girl he’d ever seen in his life.
“That would actually be awesome. I didn’t realize how early it actually is. If I’m not like.. imposing.” He winced.
She rolled her eyes again.
“It’s the least I can do. I’ve had so much more time to myself ever since Dustin joined your club at school. It’s free babysitting.” She nudged his shoulder with hers and he snorted.
“You have no idea.”
She led him through the front door and they both stopped at the living room where Dustin was sprawled on the couch passed out.
“Well” she started “I guess he never made it to the shower.” She tucked a blanket around him and dropped a kiss to his forehead before leading Eddie up the stairs into the guest room.
“Are your parents gonna be cool with this?” The bed looked plush and warm and soft and everything he’d ever wanted. He was practically drooling at the idea of a comfortable sleep.
“My parents?” She questioned.
He looked up “yeah, like mom or dad, or grandma. The usual kind.”
Her eyebrows were furrowed and he couldn’t understand why she was so confused.
“You don’t know? I really would have though Dustin would tell you.” She moved to the closet to grab extra pillows. “Our parents left us about three years ago. Im Dustins legal guardian now.”
Eddie snapped his head up, he had absolutely no idea. Dustin was such a sweet well rounded kid he’d just assumed he had a healthy normal home life.
“They left us the house though, like that would make them signing away their rights to him any better. Thank god I was eighteen and able to legally become his guardian. I had to drop out though, I got a job at a bakery and it’s enough to keep us afloat. But I’ve been able to pick up a good amount of extra hours thanks to Dustin being at school for extra hours thanks to your club.”
Eddie felt a little nauseous at the thought of both of them having to deal with that, it was sick for a parent to leave their children. He would know.
“My dad died when I was a kid and when I was five my mom finally had enough and dropped me off at my uncles, I haven’t seen her since. It’s not fair. I’m sorry.” He reached out and placed his fingers on top of hers gently.
She glanced down and looked back up, a soft smile on her perfect lips before she pat the bed.
“Well get some sleep, im sure Dustin will be in to wake you up in a few hours. He’s gonna love this.” She waved her hand.
“Thanks again!” He called out as she closed the door.
This had been the most insane night and morning of his life. Things were changing in Hawkins, he could feel it in the air. He glanced at the photo on the bedside table of Dustin and Lucy laughing, it was recent and he recognized the park they were at.
Things were changing.
But maybe not all of them were for the worst.
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squidproquoclarice · 2 years
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Yeehawgust Day 25: Sea of Dunes
Group chat between Arthur, Hosea, Sadie, Molly, Mary-Beth, Lenny, and Javier
AM: So I know we did one shots to help pass the time during the worst of the pandemic and had fun with it, and you all said you wanted to run an actual campaign.
LS: As long as it still fits with my classes, yeah.  Law school loves to try to kill you.
MG: So call it a brain break, Lenny.  You need them!
AM: You know how picky Hosea gets and says he won’t run a game unless it meets his standards.  
HM: The likes of “Hoard of the Bunny Revenant” was funny for a one-shot.  And what’s wrong with having standards?  Things go haywire if the plan’s terrible to begin with.  
SA: Oh God, is this going to turn into “Back in my day when DnD wasn’t cool…I have seen things you children can’t imagine”
JE: Careful, Sadie.  Your character might die in the first session.
HM: The horror is called 4th edition, and yes.
MO: I don’t know…
MG: Come on, Molly.  You never had time before for anything because of DUUUUUTCH.  
LS: What kind of guy calls himself Dutch anyway?  Was he even Dutch?
AM: He was Dutch.  Or at least, his last name was.  His ancestors were here for a while, since his great-whatever died at Gettysburg.  
SA: Which he always liked to remind us about.  
LS: But that’s like you calling yourself ‘Welsh’, Arthur.  
JE: Have to say it now that you kicked him to the curb, Molly.  He wore a *fedora* and called you ‘m’lady’.  That should have been a sign. 
MO: Ugh, if you’re all just going to make fun of me, you can bloody well find your own cleric this time!
MG: She’s right.  We’ve all made some terrible decisions in dating.
AM: So if anyone brings up Mary right now, I swear I’m leaving you a bag of flaming horse crap.  We broke up before we got married, all right?  I was twenty-one.  We haven’t gotten back together and we won’t.  Sue me.
HM: Children, children.  So about that.  I found a campaign.  It’s called “Sea of Dunes”.
LS: And it involves…spice and giant worms?
MG: I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for pumpkin spice season.
MO: Absolutely.  Fall is the best.
HM: It’s a 5e fantasy Western, set around the turn of the century.  There’s a ragtag gang of travelers, and the overarching story is about the march of progress and the rise of the new gods of technology and super-wealth.  But it’s a really open concept.  Depending on how you want to take it, I could write content for you to be a band of thieves in a world that clearly doesn’t want you.  Or for you to be bounty hunters trying to protect the innocent.  Or revolutionaries against the rise of the gods of so-called progress.
JE: Sounds cool.  Lots of possibilities.
HM: There really are.  I could do a lot with it.
LS: You sonuvabitch, I’m in
JE: Is Rick and Morty still cool?
LS: Is your mother still cool?
JE: (a string of emojis, including angry faces, table flip, knives, and a middle finger)
HM: SO AS I WAS SAYING
AM: Everyone shut up and listen to Hosea.  Can’t take you people anywhere.  Even online.
HM: I’ll run it.  But I want to challenge you all.  You can’t play your usual character type from our one-shots.  Arthur, you can’t be a barbarian, because I know you can do more than just hit things.  Molly, no cleric or bard.  Lenny, no wizard–in fact, no sorcerer or warlock either, because those are pure casters too.  Sadie, no ranger, but druid is OK, since yours died so unfortunately.  Javier, no fighter.  Mary-Beth is the only one of you with any character imagination, apparently, so she gets to play whatever she wants.
MG: Yay!
HM: Get in touch with me privately to discuss character concepts, and I want you to think about what kind of gang you want to be and discuss that here.  Let’s plan on trying to be ready to get the gang’s wagons rolling in two weeks.
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munvermaniac · 1 year
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Imagine Eddie finally dragging Jason into DnD and he finds out that the paladin class is a religious knight and gets surprisingly into it (Although he uses actual Bible verses in game play despite the others protests. Eddie allows it.)
Oh I just KNOW that conversation would go a little like this:
“So how does this work, I roll a die and then attack?”
“Well, kind of. You need a character first, someone to play as.”
“Can’t you just make one for me?”
“No. I’m forcing you to have fun with us for one session. You can make your own character.”
“Fine. How do I do that?”
“First you need to pick a race and a class. Race being what sort of creature you are and class being how you fight.”
“They have regular people, right? I’ll just be a person.”
“Oh, come on, that’s so boring!”
“What‘s wrong with being a person?!”
“It’s a fantasy game, Jayce, pick something cool!”
“Well, what do you think I should be, then?”
“You strike me as a half-orc; or maybe an elf?”
“I don’t know what a half-orc is.”
“It’s half orc half—you’re not listening, are you?”
“Hm?”
“Come on, Jason. It’s just one session, that’s all I’m asking for. Please?”
“I’m still not really sure about this.”
“I’m having Mike DM so I can play, you’re going to be fine. We’re a team.”
“...An elf sounds cool.”
“I knew it! Now you just need a class. There’s clerics, druids, paladins, rangers, illusionists, thiefs, assassins, monks, or you can just make your own.”
“That’s...a lot of options.”
“It’s not, really. I think you might like being a monk, they’re the martial arts fighters; or a paladin. They’re like...crusaders, I guess? Religious fighters.”
“That sounds good.”
“So you need a patron god to swear an oath to, and depending on which one you get different skills. There’s Chauntea, Bahamut, Azuth—”
“God.”
“I-what?”
“My patron god is God.”
“I—uhm, okay—I guess God works. So, paladins have spells based on the oath they make with their god, so we’ll just make a few spells from scratch—”
“I’ll use the Bible.”
"...O-kay.”
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runninguplenorahills · 10 months
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Hi!! I was wondering, if you could hang out with any Stranger Things character for a day who would it be and what would you do? I hope you have an awesome day!!!
Ohhh, thank you so much for this ask <3🌟
This is such a tricky question because:
Will
Will and I would probably paint together. It’d be all nice and quiet and relaxing because I literally cannot multitask hahah. I’m too distracted to talk. But we’d listen to music for sure! Anything Will likes because his taste in music is elite! And afterwards we’d tell each other more about our paintings, read comics, play a board game together and maybe also catch a movie.
Mike
Mike and I would definitely write something together! He loves writing fantastical dnd campaigns and I love to write silly fairytale parodies with my friends as the main characters so this is the perfect activity for us! We could maybe write two separate stories and read them to each other afterwards which will probably be hilarious! We’d have a sleepover so after our story writing session we would play super mario (I’m gonna lose so bad) together and watch Star Wars.
Dustin
Dustin and I would 100% go on a curiosity voyage together! We’d get hooked on a topic and race our bikes to the library to get all the books we need to learn absolutely everything about that topic! We’d also make a detour to the grocery store to buy anything nougat and then we’d literally spend the whole day researching stuff. As a reward for our hard work we’d go get ice cream afterwards.
Lucas
Lucas and I would without a doubt play basketball together! I always loved basketball and I’m pretty good at it too, still I wouldn’t stand a chance against Lucas hahaha. We’d also play different variations of the game and come up with our own games. Afterwards we’d go to the arcade together and basically spend all our money.
Max
Max and I would probably go to a skate park together. I’m really good on inline skates, good on roller skates and ok on the actual skateboard so I’d have some options to choose from haha. I’ll probably go with the inline skates. And we’d skate around Hawkins as if we’re going for a walk (only definitely faster) until we arrive at the skate park. Max would be doing some tricks while I’d almost die on the half pipe but yeah, it’ll be fun! And we can switch too so Max helps me with getting more confident on the skateboard and I help her with the inline skates. Afterwards we’d 100% have a sleepover together! Play boardgames, talk about comics and watch some movie that Max would never admit she likes.
El
El and I would have a self care day together. We’d make our hair, paint our nails, go shopping, pick out weird outfits for each other and have a blast bothering every other customer with being too loud, go get milkshakes, go get smoothies, go for a walk, rent a movie, eat triple decker eggo extravaganzas, watch tv, read magazines, take those quizzes in magazines, and that’d conclude the day.
I’m only putting the party as options for this one but even with only the six of them it’s difficult to decide!! I think I’ll choose Max or Mike though tbh!👀
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bakurapika · 2 years
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and now i’m copy/pasting my discord liveblogging below
i love how the yugioh manga goes like this:
yugioh: the fucked up horror anthology yugioh duelist: card games yugioh millennium world: the fucked up egypt part
so when i look up "yugioh manga" it sends me to the horror shit. which is exactly what i want. i love that they don't assume i want the card games. how many people have accidentally seen yami set a guy on fire because of this
man i forgot how straightforward this is
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[Image description: Yami Yugi points to the viewer as Bakura glares. Yugi says “Too bad for you... Bakura! If you can cheat... I can too!” End description]
godddd this manga fucking slaps. this is the best shit i've ever read. i'm not even reading it, just skimming for reference pics, and i still have to stop and show you all. takahashi really said this rpg nerd is going to be my final big bad. he was so fucking horny for ttrpgs that he said, "hi entire fanbase who follows me for my card games. i'll show you some 'card games' but ACTUALLY the final battle in yugioh will be a tabletop roleplaying game in which the rpg characters are the ones playing card games. fuck you and long live dungeons and dragons"
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[Image description: A page where Bakura takes out a case of gaming miniatures, thinking about how he has sealed stolen souls into them. End description]
fucking sobbing. bakura is the worst dm. he fundamentally misunderstands the point of rpgs and then bases his entire character around it. and then he does a tpk so like, okay, good job on being an evil guy who is bad at dming. AND THEN, my MAN who is AT LEAST 3000 YEARS OLD, arguably a fucking god of darkness, goes, "i recognize my limitations and will calculate the damage with a 1998 laptop" because yes this was published in 1998. bakura was on the cutting edge of dungeons and dragons tech. because HE NEEDED THE COMPUTER TO CHECK HIS MATH FOR ROCKS FALL EVERYONE DIES
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[Image description: A page of Bakura discovering that all players still have one hit point. He says in his narrator-voice, “Well, it’s probably pointless, but... I’ll calculate each character’s status on the computer. There are so many variables in this game, it’s safest to let the computer crunch all the data. (typing noises) I’ll input the data on Zorc’s attack power, the die roll, the characters’ defense, hit points, damage... The end result will be the number of hit points each character has remaining! Well, no matter what, it’ll be less than zero... Hm... WHAT?!!” End description]
and yes OBVIOUSLY the computer was tampered with. but that doesn't jgdfnjfjndfg fucking matter. bakura is bound to the calculations of this fucking dnd computer
but you know what? if i lived through 3000 years of inflation and then spent that kind of money? yeah i'd do the same thing
my goddamn meow meow. best villain of all time. 😭  i love him. he is so fucking stupid
yami yugi, also 3000 years old, also fucking stupid: "this doesn't seem right but I don't know enough about computers to dispute it"
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[Image description: Bakura shoves his laptop away from his left hand, apparently saying aloud, “If I do this... and place the computer where my left hand can’t reach, you’re powerless!! H-ha ha ha ha...” Yami Yugi watches in confusion, commenting about Bakura’s reaction when looking at the computer. End description.]
god you know what? fuck doing art. im just gonna read this arc and you all are going to listen
i've been thinking "this is a different translation than I grew up with" and considering the fact that "Satanist" is on this list. yeah. yeah
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[Image description: Bakura displays a list of RPG classes, including Satanist. End description]
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[Image description: A screencap displaying the large text “ZORK ZONE.” A screencap showing HP for various monsters, including Zork, which specifies “Needs to be placed in the Zork Zone.” End description]
places you in the Zork Zone
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thegreyreylo · 2 years
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Why I did NOT like Stranger Things 4  - SPOILERS AHEAD
Queer baiting - Do I need to explain? 
Lack of answers - With every single season of a show they need to start the show with questions and end the show with answers. This is what makes a season satisfying. It has resolution, a full and complete answer. Note: New questions for the next season can be brought up but the questions the season started with need to be answered. 
Examples of questions that were answered: Will Eleven get her powers back? Yes, she does. Does the death of Billy affect Max? Yes, it does she’s depressed. 
Examples of questions that were left unanswered: Nancy and Jonathon’s relationship destiny? Does Steve finally get a new romantic partner? Does Robin finally get a new romantic partner? Does anyone’s parents beside Hopper and Joy care where their kids are? How do gates open? 
Everyone is stupid - You are telling me an ENTIRE TOWN just totally accepts that there was an earthquake and some how this earthquake glows red and grows black vines? What? Are you serious? I get it - the writers want everyone to think you have to play DND to figure out if something supernatural is going on but come on. There is no way that town would be that calm. The constant assumption that everyone outside of the inner circle are dumb idiots is exhausting. 
Pace Issues - A movie lengthened finale that had virtually no real tension breaks. It was high intensity non-stop in the end with a 30 minute montage essentially of everyone being sad. It’s fatiguing as a viewer. 
Commitment Issues - COMMIT TO YOUR DECISIONS. My god, listen, we were given foreshadowing for an entire season that Max was going to die. I was completely ok with it until Eleven “revived” her. Writers, have the spine to kill the character. This is just one instance of them lacking the spine to follow through with the plot they set up. They preached and preached about a darker season - ok, give me dark. Don’t give me “loop holes.” I can barely talk about Eddie without wanting to throw things but what a waste they did bringing in such a great character only to dispose of him to traumatize Dustin.
Plot Holes Galore - Circling back to why Max had to die. She really didn’t. I get it, the writer’s dream is to have Hawkins get completely submerged with the upside down. We all got that. But One just needed to kill one more person. He had Nancy, and he could’ve killed her. In fact, that would’ve been a spectacular, jaw dropping plot twist that would’ve sent all the heroes reeling. But instead, we get coma Max and a twenty minute dying scene that was nothing short of traumatic for everyone involved. 
Don’t even get me started with how Will is “feeling” him again. I swear we didn’t watch them torture a dummy for nothing. 
Grief P*rn - I swear, if they had cut out 90% of the grief p*rn this season, it would’ve gotten rid of at least 3 hours worth of staring at the camera in grief. 
Weak Plot Lines - Mike, Will, Argyle and Jonathon got about 5 minutes of interesting plot line and 8 hours of sitting in a van. Their dialogue was by far the weakest outside of Jonathon being a great person to his little brother. They had no real job other than “find Eleven” and “drive Eleven”. Come on. 
I’ll get off my soapbox now, but this is the 24 hour reaction period and i’m just disappointed. NONE of this is the cast’s fault. 
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Hi could I get a matchup for The Hobbit please and a dialogue about the scenario?
I’m 5’8, and honestly built like a stick lmao, just long and skinny. I have a shaggy undercut and short straight hair, that’s almost usually dyed in some manner, and blue eyes. Moles are everywhere on my body, as well as some freckles. I’m also bisexual, and nonbinary, and just generally neurodivergent.
I’m a very creative person, so most of my free time revolves around that. Which means a lot of reading on fantasy books, singing/listening to music(said music is usually indiefolk or alternative but I kinda just listen to anything that vibes) and writing. I love writing little short stories, occasionally a poem or two, or if I don’t have the energy for that, coming up with neat little quotes. I also play dnd a fair bit, so more storytelling for me. When it’s warm enough, I like taking walks and just being in nature/in the woods. And during the summer time I like to go out and stargaze, maybe catch some fireflies with my hands if I can. And if I can spend time around animals? I’m there. I need animal serotonin, they’re adorable and I’m touch-starved and I will baby talk them especially if they’re babies.
My personality is generally pretty warm? I’m a friendly person if approached, I’m just also very introverted. Kind of against my will, I’m an introvert who’d like to be an extrovert but also people are scary and my social battery is short lol. And I can be very nervous at first, because I want to make a good impression and say the right things. And I ramble. Especially on anything that I like, get me started and I may never stop lol, though I sometimes prefer listening to people talk since people usually have good stories to tell. Idk, I’m a bit awkward overall, but I’m loyal and chaotic and will die for you once I know and like you. I’m protective of my loved ones, get on their case and I’ll knock you on your ass. And I have a strange sense of humor, like say anything in a weird way and I’ll just giggle and repeat it kind of humor. I have a lot of social anxiety too, and a tendency to feel lonely even among friends. I want so hard to connect to people and I try really hard but sometimes it feels like I fail and there’s just this pit of “oh no, I did the wrong thing. Are we really friends anymore? Have they decided they don’t like me?” Other than my anxiety blind-siding me though, I’m really intuitive and curious and I do really like learning new things. And I’m kinda low energy. Like I can do Three Major Things a day, but after that, I need to recharge in my little bubble where things are slowed down.
My sense of style is all over the place. Because I just ping-pong from place to place. On the gender stance, I switch from masculine to feminine to androgynous to somewhere between or outside the three. But my main aesthetics I think are cottagecore, punk, and like celestial. All varying I’m aware, but being indecisive and picking wildly different things is kind of what I do. And while I love those aesthetics, more than half the time I’m just wearing whatever’s comfortable which is usually either sweat pants or baggy, ripped jeans and a hoodie/t-shirt.
Thank you so much for your time! 💚
Hello dear💖, thanks for your request.
For the hobbit I ship you with:
Thorin oakensheild👑
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Thorin is a king and he met you when you were joining in on the quest.
You were a great warrior, your skills were one of the best.
You were quite introverted when you first met thorin but soon warmed up.
You were an elf, you were born in mirkwood and joined along with legalos and Bilbo.
Thorin never really was one for elves but your personality attracted him.
You were quite strong and independent but when it came to people they weren't your strongest.
Thorin protected you and took you out to the forest for dates.
You had your first kiss before he had to take on his own quest.
You were about to get ready for battle when he confessed.
Thorin: y/n I must tell you something.
You: sure but it'll have to be quick, we shall be heading into battle.
Thorin: over the past few days, I've come realise not many people made me feel...
You: feel what?
Thorin: y/n when I become king, will you live by my side.
You: of course *smiles and hugs him*
Thorin and you were inseperable however romance isn't really your thing.
It was awkward at first but sooner it became passionate.
You also had a slight thing for tauriel but she was more of a sister you.
You protected thorin from death and you both married as you were now royalty.
Anyways that's all I have for now:
Ta Ta ✨️
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asimovsideburns · 3 years
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juiceboxman · 3 years
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Advice for New DMs
I’ve been lucky enough to have DM’d a weekly game for over a year now and I’ve had conversation with people irl and online about how they think about DMing but aren’t necessarily too confident in their own ability or don’t even know where to start. So here’s some things I would suggest to get started, things to keep in mind and advice about general stuff. Here we go;
1) Familiarise Yourself with the Rules. You can read the DMs Manual or the Player’s Manual for rules. You can find rules explained everywhere online from Roll 20 to DND Beyond. But if you don’t like reading, and I get that cause the thought of reading a 200+ page instruction manual on how to play a game does sound daunting, I would suggest watching or listening to Actual Play Shows. If you watch like a few episodes of Critical Role or Dimension 20, you kind of get the basics of DnD. That’s really all you need to start DMing, just the basics like “what which Dice do”.
2) Know your Players. DnD is a collaborative game and all good collaboration necessitates some base understanding of who you’re collaborating with. You don’t necessarily need to know the people you’re playing with very well, but just enough to get where you can decide whether these people are chill to play with. So say if you’re gonna be playing a horror/scary campaign and you know one of the people in mind for playing isn’t too into horror- maybe don’t have them play cause it will make them uncomfortable. That example is perfectly fine but it delves into extremes when you’re dealing with people who are just difficult. You can look up online and find tons of stories relating to bad dnd experiences with just rude, shitty people. I would like to clarify that by saying that these experiences aren’t a DnD problem- it’s a social group problem. If you hang out wih a shitty person they will inevitably do shitty things, and honestly its better that a shitty outburst occurs at a controlled environment such as a DnD Game than say a house party where all sorts of shit could happen. So know your players. If they’re cool people, they’ll make cool players. If they’re kind of shit heads, they’re going to cause a lot of issues and not the fun kind. Know the difference between “shenanigans” and “open disrespect” because you as the DM put a lot of work into the game, if the players don’t respect that- maybe don’t play with them. No dnd is better than bad dnd 
3) Know Your Game. This rule helps a lot if you are familiar with lots of DnD shows, which gives you a frame of reference for the type of campaign you wanna run. If you wanna go big dramatic epics with a lot of strict survivalist rules, Critical Role is a good place to reference. If you wanna go for balls to the wall humour with a lot of heart and emotional moments, NADDPOD is a good place to reference. You want a proper scary campaign, watch Sophomore Year from Dimension 20- it is primarily a comedy show but when they do drama they do DRAMA. Knowing your players allows you to know the game better. It took me quite a while in my own campaign t realise “Oh I’m not running a CR game, I’m running a NADDPOD game” and ater I realised that I was able to play it better. Know the game, know the genre, know what you and your players like and enjoy and try to maximise that fun.
4) Preparation. DMs do a lot of preparation whenever they intend to run a game. I would argue that the amount of preparation you want to do should be equal to the amount of time you’re willing to spend. Sad fact of life is that DnD, and other activities with friends, are all dependant on IRL scheduling. A campaign can fizzle and die out at a moments notice, not all stories get finished and if you wanna start any creative process that’s a reality you have to accept. I’m a creative person, I do quite a lot of writing and stuff on the side so when I do prep for DnD I don’t want to spend too much of my creative juice on a project that only six people at a table will know about compared to one that would feature a larger audience. Also if you have a busy schedule you might not have time to worldbuild, so short cuts help. So in those respects I don’t see anything wrong with being lazy. There are plenty of websites online where you can randomly generate maps, towns, characters- you name it. You don’t need to spend hours on end developing streets of a city that no one will walk down or lore behind businesses no one will ask about. You just need to be familiar enough with the history or your world, its vibe and tone in which you can effectively improv the rest. I’ve been DMing a game now for well over a year, I spend less than an hour a week doing prep. I write a few bullet points for stuff to bring up in the session, I make a brief map for encounters, I’ll look up monster stats, maybe draw up some homebrew and heroforge pictures of the NPCs- that’s it
5) Improv. I think 90% of DMing is pure improv. Depending how well you know your players and their characters, you can predict certain behaviours. So if you have an NPC say or do something that you know will gaina certain reaction from a player, that’s something you are certain about. Everything else however can be improv based. Players will surprise you. They’ll do weird dumb shit and they will do really cool game breaking shit. You have an NPC who was supposed to be a big villain? Well the PCs all teamed up and with an effective strategy, that NPC is now dead. It’s the lay of the land. The goal with prep is to have enough prepared that you can effectively pull stuff out of your ass with no issue. Improv isn’t necessarly difficult, all you really need is to listen. When a player responds to something and you feel its worth rolling for, have them roll for it. If tey roll well, tell them they did the thing. If not, tell them they didn’t. If the thing they asked for is impossible, tell them it’s impossible. You can come up with all sorts on the fly
6) DND isn’t like TV/BOOKS/MOVIES. DND is a weird medium of entertainment. Its a collaberative game where you all make a narrative, but a lot of strange stuff happens in between. Like if youre watching a movie or a show or reading a book you might think to yourself “why is this character spending twenty minutes talking to this waiter that genuinely isn’t that interesting?” or something like “why did the main villain die five pages in?” DND doesn’t follow a beat structure or format. Plot armor doesn’t fit here, it’s all decisions and luck- that’s it. Don’t be dissapointed in your work in regards to storytelling. Don’t worry about plot holes or inconsistencies, just focus on player engagement. If the players are having fun, then you’re playing the game right. You as the DM have to make sure that everyone is playing fairly and having fun. Treat your players equally, don’t be a dick, don’t be a pushover. You have to know what your players want, but also know what they don’t want. If your players like a weird NPC, have that NPC show up more cause they enjoy it. If your players discover an ability ot a magic object that left untouched will alter game play (e.g. one of my PCs recently gained an ability in which they gained the breath weapon of an ancient red dragon) that if used effectively could elminate all threat from any boss fight ever- don’t be afraid to NERF that. You need to be considerate about your enjoyment and the players enjoyment, its all in the balance.
That’s the main six points I have so far. If I have anymre I’ll be sure to add them. If anyone has any advice, feel free to add below. Hope this helps! Also; Brennan Lee Mulligan has a good podcast giving DM advice called Adverturing Academy. Has a lot of cool guests. The episode featuring Carlos Luna from Roll 20 is actually good career advice and gets me motivated just thinking about it. Definitely worth checking out!
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a-tired-narwhal · 3 years
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Tell me more about your feelings about the details of Caleb's backstory!
Okay listen anon. LISTEN. This is going to be LONG. Did I immediately rewatch/go back through the entire wrap up to take notes? YES I DID. Anon I'm sorry this is so late, I didn't see your ask until after the stream. I hope this finds you (*^3^)/~♡
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Caleb fucking Widogast. Liam O'Brien always creates/portrays characters that CAPTURE ME. And it is purely the undertow of SUFFERING that I crave.
As a survivor of an abusive childhood, specifically with manipulation, neglect, and physical trauma, and having a controlling abuser in a position of power over you - I was surprised and delighted by Liam's playing of Caleb, and I'm sure that I'm probably not the only one, but Caleb's backstory just had me nodding along. Was not surprised at all by what was revealed about the blumentrio's relationship being trauma-bonding and probably why I'll never be an avid shipper of them. Nothing about Caleb's backstory left me gasping - because it's a relatively common abuse survivor story, except it's in the world of dungeons and dragons with high fantasy and magic and more common place murdering than today in places where most Critters presumably live.
Let's break it down.
Caleb was born as Bren to a less than well off family, who wanted their child to have a better life than them. Bren is a gifted child, and this will immediately put a bullseye's target on a child's back, make no mistake, for abusive persons. Now, I don't know if it's a pretty obvious that parents would trust in a teaching figure to take their child for that child's betterment, because I don't have parents who wish for my betterment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but I like to think that Bren's parents handed him off hoping for his brightest future.
Trent is basically the textbook example of a Cult Leader. Beyond the experimentation he did on his students; everything he put the Blumentrio through is how you beat down and brainwash people, especially children/adolescents. Textbook. TEXTBOOK. It was the dnd equivalent of the Hilter Youth. Now my personal experience featured the tool of isolation, so I didn't have two childhood friends to pour myself into and have threesome's with, but that's actually smart of Ickythong, because when you're left alone with your whirling brain for too long, and there's no one to hold over your head - we start thinking those rebellious thoughts, and at some point we decide we have nothing to lose, and we will do ANYTHING to shake that control. No, he left them in that abandoned tower together so they would be forced to bond with each other, as well as allowing them not to die of exposure alone.
Trauma-bonding CAN be a manipulation and used against you. Now. We have three adolescents trying not to freeze to death by being as close as physically possible. For those that don't know; sharing body heat works best skin to skin - ya get naked and THEN you wrap up together to stay insulated. Awkward groping is going to happen, and it's more than likely accidental. But when you add raging hormones to the mix, yo it's not going to stay accidental for very long (that in no way indicates non consent, it can be either way), and the feelings can catch hard when you're young and physical and EVERY HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP YOU HAD HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM YOU, IF YOU EVEN EVER HAD ONE. (I do not know Eadwulf or Astrid's home lives so your guess is as good as mine. We should probably ask Liam)
So you've got horny teenagers, with above average intelligence, being systematically abused... Bam. Trauma-bonded Blumentrio.
BUT HERE'S THE THING. Trauma-bonding can only get you so far. And they are children, actively being raised to NOT HAVE THEIR OWN THOUGHTS AND IDENTITIES. The relationship they built, the romantic and sexual, are based off of a shared hostile environment and survival needs. And when those circumstances are no longer there, the relationship tends to fall apart.
I love that Matt talked about Astrid for a bit, sad we didn't get more on Eadwulf - but Matt didn't really spend a lot of time roleplaying Wulf compared to Astrid, so he'd have more insight into her. I also find it interesting that the Blumentrio took 3 very different, but again SO COMMON, paths in dealing with their abuse. But that's a different rant.
Focus with me now on what Matt said about Astrid. She was actively seeking power throughout the campaign, looking always to climb that ladder to the top, for her own purposes which were not stated, and was willing to do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get that power. Was it a burden to her? Yeah I think so. Did it weigh on her? Again I personally think it did. But she was goal-oriented and she wasn't going to let anything stop her, not even herself, and she hated Trent. Matt implies that all three of the Blumentrio did/do. Astrid, Wulf, and Caleb were wildly different people - I don't think they would have stayed together even if Bren had stayed Bren instead of becoming Caleb.
I know A LOT of people were miffed over how Liam and Matt showed Caleb's and Essek's love for each other; and I am SO glad that Liam touched on this; Essek reminded Caleb too much of Astrid and Eadwulf. Now I know we love to joke that that Redhead Dirt Wizard has a Type (smart, ambitious, vaguely amoral), and believe me I LOVE THE JOKE, but Caleb pumping to brakes on Hot Boi makes THE MOST LOGICAL SENSE AND I WAS SO DELIGHTED WHEN LIAM PLAYED IT THAT WAY. Caleb was still trying to heal himself; WHY THE HELL WOULD HE JUMP INTO A MESS CALLED ESSEK? That's some mf UNHEALTHY, TOXIC romance trope ya got there. People fix themselves, not each other. THAT'S WHY CANON SHADOWGAST IS SO GOOD. THEY ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES FIRST. THAT'S SO HOT.
Ahem.
So the Blumentrio hangout in Astrid's room to sex and study, in threes and twos (I have weird polyam questions, Liam). Now, I'm foggy on the exact timeframe that was together at Academy > kill your parents > Bren is chucked into the Sanitarium; but it's clear that after the murdering of parents, Bren is tagged as the "weakest link" - maybe he broke because he actually loved his family/had a loving family, maybe the manipulation spell from Ickythong didn't sit on him as well as Astrid and Wulf, maybe boi wasn't made for killing (a lie, the boi is a total killer, you have to be in most dnd campaigns), who knows. But he broke, and Astrid and Wulf handed him over - it would be dangerous for them if they tried too hard to protect him.
Because in that environment, in those circumstances, in that set up; you do what you have to, to survive. You hurt people you love, you hurt people you don't know, you even hurt yourself if it means improving your own odds. It's instinct. It's not your fault. You are doing the best you can with what you have available.
I don't hate Astrid and Eadwulf; I just have more emotional attachment and investment in Caleb, and prefer the color purple on him.
Which is actually a great segue into THE WOMAN AT THE SANITARIUM WHO FREED HIS MIND; Matt Mercer you beautiful man, thank you for giving us a Moonweaver connection, my lil widomauk heart was sent aflutter! So, here's the thing. Places like that, sanitariums, psych wards, etc - if you are not certifiably insane before you go in, you will be eventually. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is not a fucking joke. But the thought of some forgotten Moonweaver Cleric recognizing Bren's torment and just, poof, dissolving that spell? *Chef's kiss* glorious, wonderful, everything I needed.
Anon, I don't know if this is what you wanted or expected - but here it is, my sincerest apologies 🐳
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eds-art-factory · 3 years
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What are some other supernatural romances that you like and recommend? They can be any media; books, films, tv-shows, anime and manga.
……. So maybe it’s because of my preferences but the romance aspect of a lot of these are subjective or minimal (They’re more plot focused and people just kind of fall in love along the way)
It is impossible to like, do a search on this because a million like YA novels pop up, and like, I’m not even looking for NOTHING BUT ROMANCE, I want a sick plot and ALSO romance
but off the top of my head this is the best I can do
Manga/Anime
Fruits basket: slaps obviously, I should not even have to mention it, textbook pure love and acceptance by the heroine ends up saving the monster boy from despair. Tohru is an incredible protagonist.
Noragami: Suffering heavy, all gods are real, read the manga, the art is beautiful and the anime has a tone problem where they try to make it more comedic like……………….Noragami is not a comedy, it has comedic moments and is very funny, but the story really dark in places. (Also it’s written by a woman so, even the like, token sexy character isn’t that bad fan service wise and also is a character outside of that)
BEASTARS: Uses animal nature as a metaphor for society, we’ve all seen zootopia and Robin Hood, we know how this goes. If you’re a sucker for size difference (and I am, note Sidon and 9 foot tall Vampire lady) you’ll probably get it. Zootopia’s success managed to normalize furries enough that Beastars was able to be made and honesty I’m proud. Season one is on Netflix, but you’re not going to want to watch it in any communal areas because there will be questions and scenes that you will not want to have to explain to your parents or housemates because….it’s spicy.
Frau Faust: like the Ancient Magus Bride but less problematic, can enjoy mostly guilt free
Mugen Spiral: It’s like a two volume manga, I’ll admit I have not read it since I was a teen, so maybe it has not aged gracefully shrugs
(Honorary mention but it’s not a romance)
Girl from the other side: I AM PRAYING THAT THIS WILL NOT BE A ROMANCE AND TURN INTO GROOMING, I JUST WANT THE MONSTER TO BE HER DAD, WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND SHE IS A CHILD. IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE ROMANCE AS A GENRE SO MY FEARS MAY BE UNWARRANTED I’VE JUST BEEN HURT TOO MANY TIMES BEFORE
Movies
Shape of Water: It’s literally a supernatural romance but also…textbook using the “falling in love with a monster“ as a metaphor for marginalized groups like, it’s set in the 60’s and the villain is a white guy trying to ruin the lives of the good guys; a mute woman, a gay man and a woman of color
:I
It’s very on the nose, and that can be…..a little upsetting, but the film is like……a masterpiece so I would recommend it anyway.
Beauty and the Beast: ………everyone agrees the beast becoming human was a downgrade and I’m not going to say any more on that.
….Venom: ….should not count but I feel like spiritually it SHOULD count……….Venom is so queer coded and yet not queer enough?? I think they are actually in love in one version but not in a lot of adaptations which bites.
Good Omens: I’ve always loved the book, but the miniseries adaptation is SO GOOD. Aziraphale and Crowley are like….queer coded but they are….IN LOVE AND YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE and the miniseries LEANS into that interpretation
Books
Naomi Novik’s novels: Uprooted and Spinning Silver were great although Uprooted didn’t really win me over in the romance department and I prefer Spinning Silver. I love fairytales so I’m always a sucker for fairytale retellings that….are not modernized in the wrong way.
Video games:
Undertale: …….. :I I’m not wrong.
Liar princess and the blind prince: …..I have not played this, so I can’t actually verify if it’s good or add any input…….but it seems like my aesthetic.
Podcasts are so gay:
Magnus Archives: Eldritch horror is scary, but also it’s canonically gay and kind of about how those two things kind of intermingle. Passes the “I listened to a lot of it, but I was still able to sleep peacefully afterward” test. The first….ten episodes rely too heavily on scary music, but they tone it down after a while thank god.
Welcome to night vale: Also gay and surreal horror, same deal but less scary.
The Adventure zone: DnD game by the three Mcleroy brothers and their dad. Started out as just a one off adventure but everyone accidentally got way too invested and it became AMAZING.
There’s this thing that happens in the princess Bride with the line “Hello my name is Anigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die” and it is set up in a way that is funny and a joke…………………….
And then 3/4 of the way through the film…it is not a joke anymore, and it HURTS YOU. That is one of my FAVORITE TROPES IN ANY MEDIA EVER and they fucking DID THAT AND IT HURTS.
If you’re not an artist and your job doesn’t mean that you need to listen to a constant stream of audio media while you work, you can read the graphic novel adaptation, but it won’t hit you the same way I think.
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harvestdew · 3 years
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Do you have any specific seb headcanons? I feel like most everyone has at least one or two about their sdv spouse; but if you're more interested in giving a kiki and seb character dynamic analysis like you did for haley, abigail, and shane I'd be SUPER into that too
I LOVE SEBASTIAN i’m glad you’re interested in hearing about their dynamic! i like when people talk or ask me about this stuff so i get irrationally happy when people are interested in my oc or my opinions of characters in the game. again i’ll put it under a read more since i don’t want to clog people’s dashboards up! also here’s a quick sketch of him i did as a little treat
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sebastian headcanons
i always thought and still think he’s asian (like me and kiki) because of his dark hair. i know people say he dyes it but whatever
he’d probably like sanrio even if not openly? i think he might be embarrassed since ppl assume sanrio’s for kids but he’d especially like keroppi because he likes frogs
he’s GOTH (and to some extent punk) not an e-boy people need to stop calling him an e-boy i’m begging you because if you saw e-boy culture on tiktok you know they’re the legit antithesis of him and he would probably hate/make fun of them with sam and abigail
my dude wears glasses but only when he’s alone in his room which is why if you took him out to get food he wouldn’t be able to read the menu at mcdonalds
he’s naturally good with cats in the same way he’s good with frogs. he’s one of those people who doesn’t even know but cats just seem to really like them for no explainable reason
definitely plays minecraft. no ifs ands or buts. he is not ashamed in it and neither should you
i don’t think his hair was intentionally supposed to be longer on one side.  i think he grew his hair out once in high school and then tried to cut it but cut off too much on one side but when he saw how edgy it looked he went idk this kinda looks nice and left it
i don’t know if anyone knows about the games yume nikki and ib but he’d like those types of games a lot. and in the context of him being a programmer, he’d probably code something similar to the premise of that game. very deep but also kinda confusing games
i don’t think he hates maru. she specializes in STEM just like he does and a lot of their interests align imo. i like to think sometimes they help each other out whether it be with maru’s robots or his own coding. at least once he matures out of the phase of feeling secondary to her and realizes she actually really loves her brother
kiki + sebastian relationship
i feel like the couple meme sheet i did embodies their dynamic pretty well but if it wasn’t obvious i like opposites attract and goth/prep dynamics
even if they don’t have the exact same interests, they strive for compromise. as in kiki giving him tulips since she likes tulips even though he hates flowers - he keeps them in a vase anyway. kiki doesn’t like horror, sebastian probably does, and she watches movies with him so he isn’t trapped watching awful romcoms with her. he also probably doesn’t love sweets but i think i established earlier kiki’s pretty good at baking so he tries to eat whatever she bakes anyway. and it’s not like those “the old ball and chain” relationships but more so done out of love so your partner doesn’t feel like they are losing parts of themselves dating you
not that they don’t have anything in common though b/c kiki liked the cave saga comics as a kids and would participate in dnd sessions with sebastian
they were definitely best friends before they went out and i don’t think it was love at first sight. he was probably thinking why the hell does this chick keep showing up in my room for the first few weeks of their friendship until she kinda grew on him once he realized she was there to stay and annoyingly persistent
i don’t really get the vibe sebastian is the type to give you advice when you’re upset but it’s not necessarily a bad thing for kiki. it’s better for her, as opposed to haley (who i DO think gives good advice), to sometimes have someone to listen to. imo he’s more observant so he is able to pick up on her being upset when someone like abigail might not notice
in general the same goes as what i’ve said about shane and haley - a lot of their dynamic is based on helping each other, especially helping each other grow
they definitely bicker but not in an overdramatic way? i feel like the only thing they’d fight about is something as dumb as robin and demetrius fighting over tomatoes being fruit - ultimately harmless (plus robin and demetrius have one of the healthiest relationships in game). maybe something like that one vid of the guys fighting over whether or not water is wet
kiki definitely gets on his ass about his health all the time. like i KNOW it’s annoying the way your mom might nag you but i am so bad at self-care myself that i’m 99% sure he probably forgets to eat sometimes after coding for hours which is why she drops food off for him constantly
sebastian is better at showing affection through his actions because saying stuff verbally is not his strong suit and embarrasses him, so usually he resorts to things
kiki is also so good at giving sebastian super well thought-out gifts (like bidding on a signed copy of the comics he likes) that he gets really nervous around holidays because he doesn’t want to give her something that she doesn’t like and disappoint her. gift giving is a competition at this point
pda is not really sebastian’s thing so kiki doesn’t indulge in it that much so he won’t die of embarrassment. but on occasion she does do some pda in front of everyone though to embarrass him b/c it is kinda funny to her
their dates tend to be really simple too? i don’t think either of them are big gesture types of people or they only do that type of stuff once in a while. i think he’s come to terms that kiki refuses to go back to the city for dates but is okay with date nights in. weirdly enough he plans them more knowing that she’s really busy with farm work
i feel like there’s more but i’m kinda forgetting i might add some more later if i think of some... thank you so much for the ask though!!!
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