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jq37 · 1 year

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The fact Gerard's vision of a better world is 'none of that 5am bullshit, we wake up at 8 to workout', just the best. I wonder if Ylfa's still got dawg in her, or if that's not a thing in her new reality. Anyway, another great finale for the books, wrapped more satisfyingly than I expected. There were so many threads, I didn't think they would have the time. I was expecting the Top Hat Fairy to do something to help like Turquina, but *shrug*. I suppose Ylfa having that hat for the rest battle was enough help and was definitely not a waste of precious resources. *sighs* So many 20's, so many stressful Box of Doom's, on the edge of my seat the whole time, satisfying conclusions to everyone's story arcs. You can't ask for better than that.

OK this has been sitting in my inbox for a bit for two reasons. The first is I've just been majorly busy with IRL stuff. The second is that I have...let's say mixed feelings about Neverafter as a whole having seen the finale.

Like, as a vehicle for comedy (which Dimension 20 largely is--makes sense considering the cast is all comedians who are friends. A recipe for shenanigans if I've ever heard one) the season absolutely succeeded. There were very few moments of this season where I wasn't entertained. Thinking about Ylfa saying the phrase, "honking big" will break me every time. Watching the cast lose their mind during adventuring party every week as they descended further into madness was fantastic. And Ylfa going in for the kiss w/ Pinnochio at the end had me dying.

But as a story? And specifically, as a story ABOUT stories?

Ehhhhhhhhhhh.

[To be clear, I am talking about MY opinions here. To everyone who really loved how this season wrapped up, that's fantastic! I'm just talking about me and my thoughts. Even when I'm making broad statements, I'm still just talking about me. Cool? Cool.]

Just to start with the broadest thing, it is *insane* to have a finale that is nigh incomprehensible without having watched some bonus content, and honestly, only slightly more comprehensible if you have watched that bonus content. Like, was it FUNNY to see the full cast practically melting as they went feral for the Orange Fairy? Yes, obviously. But it also undercut any sense of like real stakes or weight to the entire affair.

I'm not the biggest fan of final fights in general because it often feels like just drawn-out math, but I feel like, even factoring that in, the fight didn't feel as engaging as it could because by the second part of the fight, we were fighting characters we hadn't spent a lot of time with. Like, sure, I have thoughts about how the princesses were handled but we did spend time with them. Enough time to at least have some sort of opinion when they were taken down. And enough time for characters to have relationships with them that paid off during their fights--Red taking down La Bete for instance, or Pinnochio reaching out to Mira. With the fairies, we only really met three of them (Turq, The Evil One, and the Godmother), and we really only got a half-decent read on Turq. So it really wasn't that emotionally satisfying (outside of whatever emotion they were CLEARLY getting from their Orange Fairy Acid Trip).

And then the Authors we know the least about! There were all these meta elements that were introduced in this season that weren't really explored much at all. So that element felt really obligatory to me. It was like, the fighting of a vague concept. Which isn't to say that can't work. They fully fight the American Dream in Unsleeping City 1. But that worked for me because (1) they had the concrete villain of Robert Moses to fight as well and (2) there was a very clear thematic reason they were fighting the American Dream. Put a pin in that, I'm coming back to it.

The last two big elements in the fight are the Gander who didn't really do anything but by all accounts, SHOULD have been a bigger player and the Stepmother who ABSOLUTELY should have felt more satisfying to defeat because I actually think she has one of the more interesting stories in the story. Unlike the princesses (who struck me as shortsighted and selfish at worst and majorly misguided at best) and the PCs (who felt very rebel without a cause and a bit aimless for large parts of the season), I fully understand why a character who is always written to be evil would want to be like OK, screw it. Burn it all down. But then, at the last second, we get this, "No, wait, I actually wanted to free us all from the authors" thing and it just feels like it comes out of nowhere. Like, maybe giving her her name back gave her back her humanity or something, Fine. But it gave me so much whiplash. We did not spend enough time with her story threads for that to work imo.

Going back to the Authors thing now. I'm going to skip over a bunch of my logistical questions about them (Is that one ink hand speaking for all Authors? For only some? What even is an Author in the context of this world? Is the world that exists above the Never After even really our world? Fairy Tales don't even have set authors most of the time. They're oral tradition. What does killing an ink hand do mechanically in the actual world? Did they kill the entire concept of storytelling or just give one person bad writer's block? ) and go to my thematic question which is, what is the tone that was meant to be struck here? Or I guess rather, why was this the tone struck? The idea of Authors as a malevolent force and that never really being challenged is so bizarre to me. Because storytelling as a concept exists in their world. So why would they assume malevolence rather than people who just don't understand they're playing with the lives of sentient beings? Like, I get the concept of seeing something just beyond your meagre comprehension and cracking. I really do. But that really only happened when Tim saw the ink. Everyone seemed to just jump on the "Authors Evil" bandwagon and didn't examine that further. And I guess you're not obligated to look further into the people who are controlling your life against your will (though, I really don't understand to what degree the Authors were actually doing that--add that question to the pile) but that makes for a very unsatisfying story beat.

But even outside of that, it's a weird take on storytelling from a storyteller in a medium where you're seeing the storyteller on screen at all times along with the other six storytellers who are telling the story. It's like, an insane level of dissonance, watching someone narrate about how Authors are so cruel and uncaring while watching seven people who are so passionate about what they do, clearly having a great time in the world they created. It made that thread ring hollow to me. And I'm not trying to do some kind of pedantic gotcha like, "Oh ho. You said storytelling is bad and yet you are a storyteller. Interesting." That's not what I'm saying. If you want to tell a story about control and lack of control and agency and all that, then I can see having your players play characters who are being controlled by authors. But it wasn't explored in a way that made any kind of point other than, "Free will is good." Which...yeah. And I initially thought it was very cool that they were telling a story about character feeling like they didn't have agency in a medium where we literally have to watch the "extraplanar beings" controlling the characters' agency because I thought they were going to do something interesting with it but they never really did. Frustrating.

There were hella loose ends that were never tied (What actually caused the Neverafter to merge? What does the Auroratory actually do? What caused the times of shadow*? What was going on in the other worlds?) but lastly, I just want to touch on the loose ends that actually *were* tied. Specifically in the epilogue.

So the idea here is everyone gets to write their own stories. That sounds good in theory. But, in reality, people are gonna have wishes that contradict. And people are gonna have wishes that are bad. And people are gonna have wishes that control other people. Like, in this new reality Tom Thumb wakes up at 8. But that's what Ger wants. Is that what Tom wants? In this new reality Elody and Ger are divorced. Did they both want that? What if one of them didn't want that? What if multiple people want to be married to the same person? What if multiple people want to be royalty of the same place? What if multiple people want to be despotic dictators or the same place?

I'm not going to go through every epilogue, but Roz's in particular gave me pause. Not because she decided to not give herself a true love and in fact specify a cruddy dating life for herself--wouldn't have been my move but do you girl. No, it made me go "huh?" because Siobhan said that in this rewritten version, instead of avoiding spindles, she gets really good at handling spindles, and then when the witch shows up with a spindle, she knows how to handle herself. But that's just like...not how Sleeping Beauty works? Like, it's not that Auora's curse takes hold because she was bad at spindles. It happens because she was cursed to die (softened to sleep) when pricked by a spindle on that day and time! Michael Jordan could have been cursed to die via basketball on his 25th birthday and no amount of talent would have saved him because it's not about life experience. It's about magic. And like, I get that she wanted to have more agency in her story but that's just like...not Sleeping Beauty at that point. If she had been like, "So I spend my whole childhood preparing to face the evil fairy and defeat her in a battle of wits/magic/sword fighting/Uno/etc before my curse takes hold instead of letting people solve the problem for me" then that would have tracked for me. But as is? That was just bizarre.

And then also the fact that the Stepmother AND the Gander were just like, good in this world? The stepmother, I can maybe kinda sorta buy. Like, I have questions 100%. Was this what Cinderella wanted? For her abusive stepmother to just get a clean slate to be in her life again? We're not given any indication that the Stepmother is really a nice person who is being forced to play into the villain kayfabe by her puppet masters and really in her heart just wants to be good. But that COULD happen (and I wish it had) so sure. Fine. But the Gander? The Gander, this primal force, just wants to be good and wander? First off, not the main thing here, but if I was Tim and this dude made my son turn to bones I'd be like??? No??? But also, I thought the Gander was like, a force of the universe! The opposite of the Goose! Yin and Yang type stuff! He can just be good with no cosmological consequences???

(Also, as I said, it's really kind of jarring to watch these characters like struggle for control of their stories and then just, in real time, while 6 actors put words in their mouths about what their best life is. I know that's the nature of the game but it doesn't make it not weird to watch.)

In conclusion, I found this season exceptionally funny but also not very narratively cohesive. I really wish it had come together a bit better because I really love fairy tales. My thesis project right now (which I'll probably share on here when I'm done with it) is a fairy tale retelling and the last major writing project I worked on had a lot of fairy tale inspiration as well. I think there were a lot of potentially interesting ideas in this season! Pinocchio asking why other kids get to mess up but he can't is a great beat. Pib as an incarnation of an archetypical trickster spirit is inspired. The effects of a True Love's Kiss spell wearing off as your marriage crumbles has interesting implications. But it didn't coalesce in what I felt was a satisfying way. I admire the effort that went into this season and would love to see Brennan's notes because I'm sure there's a lot we never got to (some of which might answer some of my questions) but as is, it felt a bit overstuffed and underbaked.

*OK, we actually did get an answer to this question, but it was so tautological as to be basically meaningless and I would like a more in-depth answer.

PS: Oh! I got kind of carried away and didn't answer everything in your message. Let me fix that!

-I think Ylfa is just a normal girl now. I did think Roz taking her in once she was separated from the wolf was very sweet. I have some existential questions about the splitting situation but the moment was still sweet regardless. I do like that people still draw her with the wolf ears though. Wolf ears are always fun.

-It *is* very funny that Ger had a page to write literally whatever he wanted and that made the list.

-I am fascinated by what would have happened if they'd failed that roll. I know Brennan said they'd have time looped back to the start and ended on a bummer note, but I mean like, what would the table's energy have been like. They've never lost like that before. Still haven't. And I didn't really *want* them to but also...my fatal flaw is curiosity so you know...

-Them fighting fully corrupted Tim would have been interesting too. What a cool what could have been. I'm sure there are so many of those.

-That damn Top Hat. Do you think they're actually gonna sell that with the rest of the minis or keep it?

#asks #farmer 10 #dimension 20 spoilers #I'm not trying to start discourse or anything #i wanted to wait for everyone to enjoy the end of the season before I posted about it #and I still love d20 #I plan to watch the next full cast season #this season just never came together for me #which is a shame bc i love fairy tales so much!#I'm not even pressed about the horror tone not being consistent #I personally like horror-comedy more than straight up horror in general #there was just too much stuff and not enough shaping it for me #i would have cut some of the opposing forces to keep things more streamlined #and if you introduce meta stuff you REALLY have to keep a handle on it or it can get so wonky so fast #I think this could have worked in a game with all these elements but like in a home game with unlimited time not in a 20 ep show #with actors who will spend half that time riffing (which I love them for don't get me wrong)#neverafter spoilers #neverafter

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aq2003 · 1 year

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being a fan of both d20 and critrole is so fun because i can experience crazy dnd show takes from every possible angle

#matt mercer is simultaneously too woke and also a neoliberal god bless his heart.#d20 #cr #i do consider myself a d20 fan first because i got into dnd shows through fh and ive watched #every d20 season and i generally enjoy it more etc etc. however i believe everybody making #'d20 good cr/anything relating to it bad' takes is SO insane why are we not holding hands around a campfire #because CLEARLY that is what matt and brennan are doing already.#realized u cant tell im more of a d20 fan bc of my vm layout dont worry thats bc percy de rolo gives me brain illnesses. gbless

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theresattrpgforthat · 11 months

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I know you've done a game recommendations post about lighthearted solo games, but do you have any suggestions for someone's first solo ttrpg/journaling game?

THEME: First-Time Solo Games!

Hello friend! I sure do have some recommendations! Many of the games I present here are representative of a larger type, so you might be able to find other games within that category by browsing the related tags on itch.io. Most of the games require dice, and many of the games require decks of cards. Other than that, you shouldn’t need anything too fancy or elaborate to play these kinds of games!

The Sky City Charade, by Ashley Morgan’s Games.

Elysia. Midtown. Someone rich was murdered. And you, a private detective from the lowest reaches of Sky City, have been tasked to find out why.

This is a solo journalling game based on the Hints and Hijinx system from Pandion Games. Create a character and navigate through a cyberpunk city stretching into the heavens, dealing with whatever it throws at you.

Using polyhedral dice, a deck of cards, something to journal with, and your own imagination, see if you can bring this case to a satisfying close by actually solving it and finding out who is behind this mysterious crime, and why you were asked to solve it.

Hints and Hijinx games use a pack of cards and a deteriorating dice mechanic to generate a story. In The Sky City Charade, you’ll assign your two highest dice (a d10 and a d12) to two stats: Smarts & Tough. Every roll you make in an effort to find a clue has a chance of giving you what you’re looking for, but also a chance of making future rolls harder. The game is divided into three phases: Setup, Investigation, and Closure. You’ll spend most of your time in the Investigation phase, visiting locations and drawing cards to determine what kind of complications arise in your efforts to solve the mystery.

What I like about this kind of game is the structure. There’s clear instructions for each section of play, and the deteriorating dice mechanic ensures that you both think carefully about when to look for clues and also finish play within a reasonable time frame. I also enjoy the thoughtful world building that went into the location creation for this game; the author knows what kind of world they want to present you with, and they deliver.

If you want more games of this system, I’d recommend checking out the Hints and Hijinx Jam!

Beast at Bay, by Ive Sorocuk.

You arrive back in your hometown.The journey was long.You have little memory of it but you do recall being attacked by some form of beast. A beast you can still feel deep within you, wanting to get out.

Beast at Bay is a solo rpg/journaling game that uses the Second Guess System. It’s a pretty simple game, only one page long, with a Humanity tracker and a list of 20 prompts. You roll a d20 and answer a question from the prompt list, adjusting the Humanity tracker as needed.

The Second Guess System thrives on re-rolls, and frames rolling the same prompt twice as a chance to examine your character’s uncertainty - was their original answer truly what was going on, or is there something hidden, possibly even from themself? In Beast at Bay, every time you must re-examine a question, you will need to roll a d6 to determine whether you lose Humanity. The game ends when you either reach 6 or fall to 0. If you like quick-to-read games that can be played in approximately 30 minutes, then I’d recommend checking out this game.

You can find other Second Guess Games in the Second Guess Jam!

Weeds in the Waste, by Meghan Cross.

Weeds in the Waste is a solo storytelling game about tending a garden in a post apocalyptic wasteland.

Determine the state of your wasteland, create your gardener, plant your seeds, and tend your garden as you play through the seasons in the wastes. It is a narrative, storytelling game played using 2d6s and a 6x6 grid, as well as a series of prompts.

Grid-based games give you visual references that can help you visualize what is going on in your game world. They also give you a chance to strategize a little bit, especially if the dice you’re rolling will affect the map, like in this game. Despite the fact that this game happens in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I still feel like some part of it is a cozy game. You’re not saving the world or fighting your inner darkness in Weeds in the Waste; you’re growing plants and striving to make your garden a place of hope. Much of the prompts provided are aimed at building up the world around you, whether that be weather events, celebrations, or the kinds of plants you are attempting to grow.

If you like games with lower stakes and visual references, I recommend this game. If you want other grid-based games with different themes, I’d recommend Wonderfall, by Catscratcher Studio, and Exclusion Zone Botanist, by Exuent Press.

Anamnesis, by Sam Leigh, Blinking Birch Games.

Anamnesis is a 24-page solo journaling RPG about self-discovery, reflection, and identity.

You play as an individual who has woken up with memory loss. You do not remember who you are, where you are, or what you care about. As you draw tarot cards, you fill the blank spaces of your past and learn more about your present. All that is needed to play is a deck of tarot cards and a way to record your thoughts.

Explore your character’s backstory through five acts, divided up using the four suits and major arcana of a tarot deck. This game is highly interpretive, giving you prompts to answer but depending upon your interpretation of tarot cards in order to determine the kinds of details that you’ll end up filling out. The fact that it uses a tarot deck may be it’s biggest obstacle if you don’t already own a tarot deck, but if you do own a tarot deck you’ll likely already have some experience when it comes to interpreting the cards, and so I don’t know if the openness of interpretation is that much of a hurdle when it comes to playing this game.

What I do know is that Anamnesis has won several awards, and is pretty well-known in the gaming scene. There’s both digital and physical copies, and the creator offers both discounted damaged copies as well as community copies pretty regularly. There’s also an Anamnesis Jam with many other Anamnesis - inspired games for you to check out!

The Sealed Library, by Sealed Library.

The Sealed Library is a solo journaling RPG played with a deck of cards, a tumbling block tower and a notebook/scroll.

You are the sole surviving librarian of the greatest library in history. It sits in the centre of culture for an ancient land, now fallen to invaders. They pillage and raze.

The library has been barricaded and you are under siege. What important texts can you move down into the vaults and seal away forever before the barricade breaks? What will future generations discover inside the Sealed Library?

Wretched & Alone games such as this one usually recommend a Jenga tower but I’ve found them very playable without one. All you really need is a deck of cads, a six-sided dice, and some tokens, which can be anything (I use poker chips). Personally, I think the biggest con is the tone of the games - most Wretched & Alone games are meant to be tragic or horrific. For example, in The Sealed Library, you are a librarian trying to save as much of the library as possible before invaders knock down the doors and kill you, or before you die of starvation.

These games divide events in between four categories, to match the four suits of cards. In this game, these suits represent saved books, new discoveries, invader events and dwindling resources. If the tumbling tower falls, you die. If you draw all four Kings, you die. There are a few ways for your character to escape alive, but the chances of drawing the right cards in the right order are low. What I appreciate about this game is that it includes a debrief section, allowing you to process the story you have just told yourself. If you’re interested in playing out a story that may pull you into a tragedy however, games like this one may suit you.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Untitled Moth Game, by S. Kaiya J.

Osteozee, by Psychound.

Global Dragon Egg Conservation, by KuumatheBronze.

Games from the Solo But Not Alone Bundle.

#solo games #game recommendations #asks #dnd #indie ttrpgs #tabletop games #The Sealed Library is the first solo game I played

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supercantaloupe · 1 year

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What is the antisemitism in TUC season 1? Does it have to do with Wally the golem?/gen

[ID: an ask from an anonymous tumblr user that reads "would love to hear more about the antisemitism in unsleeping city! was a while ago that i watched it and can't remember what you might be referencing but definitely want to be aware of it.]

no, it's not about willy the golem -- i actually think willy is a great addition to the season (even if i wish we got to see more of him), and an indication to me that brennan/the showrunners were definitely trying to be sincere and inclusive. i want to make it clear that i don't think anything antisemitic in tuc is there intentionally; i think it's there out of simple ignorance, which is also why i think fans don't frequently see/comment on it either. but i don't think that's an excuse, either.

my grief with tuc1 is largely centered around its portrayal of robert moses as the villain. especially by making him a greedy, power-hungry lich working en league with bloodsucking vampires. (also his mini is literally a green skinned skull man in a suit. yikes.) here's the thing; i know robert moses was a real life horrible person, who actually was racist and powerhungry etc etc. and i know that robert moses, the real actual person, was jewish. my grief with tuc1 is not that they chose to use robert moses over literally any other person (real or fictional) to be their season villain (though i'd be really curious to know what tuc1 would have looked like with a different villain), but that they chose to take a real jewish person, turn them into an antisemitic caricature, and then only barely add other portrayals of judaism to balance that out.

like, tuc isn't completely devoid of other jewish representation. as you mention, there's willy the golem -- and again, i really like willy, and i love that it's a portrayal of a golem that's faithful to jewish folklore (ie as a benevolent, guardian construct rather than a mindless destructive monster. i am not a fan of how 'golem' is so frequently misused as a generic enemy creature in other fantasy and ttrpg spaces, including other seasons of d20). but as i said earlier, i wish we see more of him in the season, because he's not around very much, and feels a little more like worldbuilding than a full character to me. also, he's not human. jews are people.

the only other human jewish character in tuc1 is...stephen sondheim. which, again, yeah, that's a real person who really was jewish. but i really wouldn't blame you if you had no idea of that when watching tuc1. maybe from the name you could guess he might be jewish, but i don't think people ought to make a habit of trying to 'clock' someone being jewish by having a 'jewish-sounding' surname. as he's portrayed in tuc1, you'd never know he's jewish, unless you happen to already be pretty knowledgeable about the man in real life. it's far more likely you'll know him as a theater legend than anything else (may his memory be a blessing).

now i'm not saying that brennan or the showrunners should have played up the jewishness of Real Person Stephen Sondheim to counterbalance the depiction of robert moses; that just feels weird to me, especially considering that sondheim was literally alive when tuc1 was filmed and released. it's a tricky thing to portray real people in fiction alongside made up characters, especially when they are contemporaries, and i don't think 'outright caricature' is the way to go about that. nor do i think that moses' jewishness should have been played up at all, because again i don't think that would have been particularly true to the person/character, and also Fucking Yikes. but, c'mon, if you hear the names 'moses' and 'sondheim' next to each other, which one do you associate more with judaism?

and as it stands, these are the only representations of judaism in tuc1. one admittedly nice but very minor nonhuman character; one human character you'd never be able to tell was jewish; and a third human character who, while never explicitly referenced as jewish, plays into some really hurtful antisemitic stereotyping. and it was a choice to not include anything else. maybe not a deliberate one, probably more likely one made out of simple ignorance than anything else, but a choice nonetheless. in a city with one of the largest and most visibly jewish populations in the country, and a culture that is inextricably influenced by that jewish population. a jewish population which has been and continues the target of rising hate crimes for years. i know that nyc means different things to different people, and everyone's nyc is their own -- but my nyc is jewish, and it sucks that that its jewishness is referenced directly in only one very minor way, which is greatly overshadowed by its, in my view, really insidious indirect references.

i don't know exactly how to go about addressing this. obviously, the show can't be changed by now. even if it could, i think the final product would be very significantly different from what it is now if the villain was something/someone else. i think including more references to jews in new york, more (human) jewish characters, hell, even mentioning hanukkah celebrations and menorahs in windows (it takes place in late december, after all; depending on the year it's not at all out of place for hanukkah to coincide with xmas!) would help. having literally any more positive jewish representation in tuc1 would, i think, help balance the bad stuff that's there. because, yeah, robert moses was real and he was terrible and he was jewish. but he's one jewish guy in a city with over a million jews, the vast majority of whom are just normal people. i don't want him to be the only vision of us that people get, in tuc1 alone or in any media. i'm not saying that jews can't or shouldn't be villains in fiction; but especially if you are a goyische creator, you should be really careful in how you're portraying us, and if there are other contrasting depictions in your work, too, in order to not (even accidentally) demonize jewish people as a whole.

#sasha answers #anon #unsleeping city #the unsleeping city #long post #sorry for not putting this under a read more but i think people ought to see this. or at least #if two people felt the need to ask me about it then at least they would want to see the full thing uncovered #also fwiw i do think that they tried to address this to some extent when they made tuc2 #with more scenes with willy (and incorporating more golem folklore with the animating word in his mouth -- nice touch!)#the jewish immigrant family in the photo flashback encounter (even if the hanukkiah in the picture isn't exactly kosher lol)#and ESPECIALLY rabbi mike. i ADORE rabbi mike. i think he's a WONDERFUL addition #i do still wish he was a more important/prominent character. cause again he isn't in it all that much.#(and he's still like. the only new jewish human character in the campaign.)#but i recognize what he represents and i am happy about it #i do think brennan & the d20 crew tried to improve after tuc1. i do. i see their efforts and i applaud them for it #but still to my knowledge they haven't ever directly addressed the errors made in season 1 #and it's extremely rare that i even see other fans mention it #and like. sorry but i am tired. i am. we deserve better. we deserve portrayals in media that show us as People #not just as evil monsters #anyway you're welcome to rb this but be cool in the notes esp if you're a goy #other jews are welcome to (respectfully) disagree with me if they want #also if you so much as mention the word israel on this post you're getting blocked end of

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youreonlylow · 27 days

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I haven’t watched any critical role/dimension 20 stuff (I watched one ep of Vox Machina and do plan on watching more but haven’t gotten around to it yet) but fantasy high sounds fun. Do you think it’s a good entry point into their stuff or should I start with something else

Hey!

I do think fantasy high is a good starting point. Its high fantasy in the sense that its classic dnd but its set in a very “normal” setting i think they describe it as like an 80s high school but they have phones and stuff so its modern i think its more about like the stereotypical high school vibes where the 80s thing came from. i believe a lot of fantasy high is also available for free on youtube if you dont have a dropout subscription that also makes it a good starting point.

its currently on the 3rd season and was the first d20 show made but d20 is an anthology so most of their shows have like just the one campaign ranging from 4-20 episodes.

if you like the more classic political high fantasy stuff i think people generally recommend a crown of candy but i cant say much about it even though i watched bc i did so very casually and it is good but political/court stuff is just not my preference. it also has a 6 episode prequel show the ravening war which i enjoyed more than acoc.

i also highly recommend starstruck odyssey which is like a space setting and is just incredibly funny.

for something not d20 i just watched exandria: calamity which is actually dm’ed by brennan and is a prequel series as well but you dont need to know anything going in - i didnt. it was really great and a lot of people incl brennan say its some of the best dnd theyve played/watched

i also really enjoyed magic and misfits which is a d20 show and only 4 episodes ive seen that twice i think

tldr; yes fantasy high is a good starting point

#d20 #dimension 20 #ask

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reides · 2 months

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today is the FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the dnd campaign that i am a member of...!! so you know that a long rambling post is 100% in order.

five years ago, i played dnd for the very first time. (the date on that post says the 16th but that's because we played for like a billion hours and it went past midnight. because of course it did.) i remember being so, so nervous about it bc i seriously knew next to nothing about dnd. i had never watched any tabletop shows or anything and i was pretty much totally new to improv. i had no idea what a d20 was. i wish i was kidding. i truly just dived right in there. (fitting, i guess, since the character i play is a triton... LMFAO).

i'm so glad that decided to try it out regardless bc it has paid off in ways that i can't even begin to express fully... this campaign has accompanied me through so many life events - both the good and the bad - and i cherish each and every one of our Merry Band of Misfits' adventures. even when shit hit the fan and encounters got tense or chaotic in some form, it ended up making for some absolutely wonderful memories. i'm so glad that that reides - my lil blue fish lad!!! - is a member of the champions valoris.

reides is a character who is extremely near & dear to my heart and he has really awakened a creative side of me during these past five years. i always strive to be a player who can live up to him and do his character the justice that it deserves. even 'beyond' the campaign, i have so much fun writing stuff related to him, making crafts related to him, coming up with art ideas for him and getting comms of him... simply rotating him in my mind. you know how it is. really, i think it's impossible to sum up what reides means to me because he's just... REIDES!!! (also, peep the original token i had for him vs his current one... so cute. just so cute.) i seriously love all of the stuff that everyone else at the table makes for their own characters, too! playing pretend with your friends is fr one of the most healing experiences ever; we all gently feed off each other's creativity in such a lovely way. the passion we all have for our respective characters and the overall setting of the campaign is infectuous, and that passion - coupled with a whole lot of hard (yet fun!!!) work - has made for a story that is nothing short of legendary.

so i just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude and say that i am honored to share a table with these incredibly creative individuals who have saved me in so many ways!!! big shoutouts to my fellow player, @mintflavoredwindows, who plays kilwin, the EXTREMELY blessed (teehee cleric joke) blond lad standing next to reides in that little chibi line-up of our characters (and who also takes the time to write AMAZING!!!!!! session synopses which all of us read time and time again; they are fr a lifesaver not to mention an immortalization of everything we've been through), our dungeon master of legend, @killdragons, who puts a TON of effort into the campaign setting as a whole and was the person who offered me a position in the campaign to begin with, @brewswain who has accompanied us on tons of different arcs with his absolutely incredible array of characters AND @sangre who has guest starred with his lovely miré (AND WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE CAMPAIGN SOOO MUCH IN GENERAL i love talking abt alethustria with you bree)!!! nathan (who plays jorah) and cj (who plays ashara and played slumberjack during the first season of the campaign) aren't on tumblr dot com so i can't give their urls a little shout-out in this post, but i'm still going to restate that being able to share in this adventure with them - both in-character and out-of-character - has been fucking incredible. the adventurers formerly known as the pog champions are eternal. viva la champions valoris. etc etc etc.

i also want to thank everyone who's supported reides / the campaign as a whole on the sidelines, bc you guys are absolutely amazing. and i can't possibly post this without showing off our lovely campaign wiki. bc it's iconic.

thanks everyone :') so excited for future adventures!!!

#jamietxt

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olreid · 1 year

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it feels like this season would be a lot better if it was aimed snd described to be like. horror *themed* rather than actual horror. Like, D20 is at its core a comedy dnd show, and it's a tight line to walk to get all 3 of those to come together if you want something actually horrifying, but if they just went like. the Nightvale route where it's playing with horror stuff rather than attempting to be legitametly scary, it would work a lot better for their format. but alas :/

yeah i agree, a lot of my frustration comes from the fact that it was specifically billed as horror but isn't doing the work to deliver on that promise. although knowing what we know now, i honestly might still be having these issues if it was a horror comedy. one of my real problems with how the season has been handled is how this weird blend of horrific reality and comedic tone has served to reproduce hegemonic notions of the acceptable forms that bodies and persons can take. brennan introduces a monstrous npc and then makes them available to serve as a punchline, prompting players react to them dismissively and with disgust. there's not much critical interrogation of the circumstances which might produce nonnormative bodies and beings, nor much attempt to get to know these people as people rather than gimmicks and sideshows. rapunzel, for example, is not allowed the space to share her backstory in its full complexity, how the circumstances of her childhood led her to become what she is, because the party is too busy exclaiming at how icky it is that she can climb walls or listen with her hair or whatever. that ableism in horror post was going around again this week but truly one of the easiest shortcuts to take in horror is 'haha look how weird and different this is, isn't it gross and scary and bad?' this despite the fact that the season specifically set itself the task of troubling and critically interrogating the dichotomies of good/bad, hero/villain, monster/human set up in our cultural myths and fairytales.

when people try to emulate horror uncritically and without a working knowledge of generic history and conventions, i do think a lot of the time what happens is they end up just relying on the power of a series of horrific images rather than creating plots and structures that actually produce horror. they're literally supposed to be in a time loop but they're not being forced to repeat anything. instead of trapping the characters within structures social or philosophical, or turning them against each other, or making them question their reality, what happens in almost every episode is that the party encounters an npc they think is gross. they gag and shriek. they move on to the next. the party grows closer, having defined themselves by what they are not. their camaraderie, built on the backs of these people who have adapted to their circumstances in order to survive in ways that are not beautiful or easily understandable, is the force that will save the world, because that's how d&d works.

#asks #anon #neverafter

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chappelroan · 8 months

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𓆩🖤𓆪 mobile navigation 𓆩🖤𓆪

tracking #userreed — tag me in anything! <3

general about 🗡reed, she/her, 24, lesbian 🗡 find me at: twitter, resource blog, ao3, pinterest, d20 sideblog

🗡 previous url: ethelcainn

editing: 🗡all gifs and edits 🗡 get to know me meme 🗡destiel every season

interests & fandoms 🗡 supernatural*, taylor swift, renee rapp, chappell roan, olivia rodrigo, ethel cain, boygenius, lana del rey, new york rangers hockey, twilight, dimension 20, misc sitcoms and tv shows

*deancoded deangirl, dean is gay, cas is gay.

#pinned #*#gtkm #everydestiel

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remidyal · 7 months

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Remi's D20 Fic Masterpost (October 2023 version) and also a link to the D20 fanfic discord

The D20 fanfic discord server invite is available here

So I didn't update this for like ten months and it fell something like forty fics behind. Let's ignore that and redo it, huh? I'm going to try to limit how much I say about these (other than the long works) because there's a ton of them, and I'm grouping them roughly into categories.

Also, I'm putting it behind a read more because it's a long list.

Long Works:

These are multi-chapter stories, aiming for a longer narrative that is not necessarily fully satisfying on a chapter to chapter read.

Lunacy is probably the work most people know me for; this is a novel-length AU working off of Adaine failing her con save at the Black Pit and becoming a werewolf. It hews a lot closer to canon than most anything else here, with the divergences by and large being as logical as I can manage them. This one's going to be fully complete Before Junior Year, because otherwise half the assumptions I made (particularly about character ages, which get whiplashed wildly around from season to season anyway) will get blown up. It's basically as long as everything else on this list combined. Adaine centric, though Aelwyn is most definitely the second most important character and takes over protagonist duties at points where Adaine is indisposed.

Missing is a much more off the cuff piece, starting a little over two years pre-canon with Aelwyn, being a little braver, deciding to run away from her shitty parents and taking Adaine with her. She still has lousy judgement, so they get into a whole bunch of adventures and both of them end up in interesting multi-classes. Aelwyn's the main character in this one, with about one in four chapters being from Adaine's PoV instead and then some chapters being one-off interludes from others' PoVs.

Reversal of Fortune is a role swap AU, where Penny Luckstone is investigating the disappearance of her friend and babysit-ee Riz Gukgak and a series of other freshmen-to-be at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. Most chapters are Penny's PoV; the interludes feature other characters, generally characters about to have a really bad day.

Short Fic Series

These are series of related oneshots, often a sequence of stories set within the same canon-divergent AU. Links are to the first story in each series.

Poison follows a sequence of events from Penelope Everpetal's PoV at first and then Aelwyn's in which Penelope blackmails Aelwyn into a relationship and also kidnaps Adaine. Malignancy, the last of my stories in this AU, features a choice between two endings; stories in the less bad version of that ending have been written by Tangerine Blast and are incredible in their own right.

Pact follows an AU in which Fig is raised in hell by Gorthalax the Insatiable, and one Adaine Abernant accidentally summons her and sells her her soul at the age of eight. The series as a whole runs over the course of decades, with the characters being eight at the start and the last work in it set after Fig and Ayda are married. This one's largely comedic except for a lot of Aelwyn's bits which are quite sincere, and if you've read something of mine other than Lunacy already there's a really good chance it's this.

Care is the first of MY works in an AU of Tangerine's, following a Rogue Adaine. Tangerine wrote the AU originally off a prompt I gave of Riz going along with Biz's request to kidnap Adaine for some reason; in this case, the reason was to trick Biz into revealing enough to find everyone else. I have three pieces in this one, and Tangerine has another four; full links and suggested reading order are in the fic. (I am particularly fond of Camp, the Calethriel Tower fic in this AU, which I poured a lot of my soul into.)

Dominate is almost certainly my angstiest AU, in which Fabian gets mind controlled by Aelwyn who gives an order that he interprets in a way she wouldn't have entirely anticipated. Major temporary character death warning, here.

Foster is a two-shot of an AU in which Adaine and Aelwyn grew up in a series of foster homes after their parents got pursued for fiscal crimes and Solace wasn't quite willing to send children there to be punished for their parents' crimes. It's based on the premise that Aelwyn would be a very protective sister in most circumstances, even bad ones, so long as she wasn't being specifically turned against that.

What's In a Name? is a series of three fics focused on the premise that after Sophomore Year, Arianwen worked a bit of elven magic that wiped out her wayward children's names and much of their identities. Tangerine did a version of this based on a horror prompt I wrote of the idea that become Only Oracle; this version is much more fluffy.

Chill is an AU in which Angwyn is not biologically either Adaine or Aelwyn's father, which he knew and did not mind but which becomes too obvious for him to allow when it turns out that Aelwyn's father was a silver dragon in disguise and she starts showing draconic traits. He passes her off to a local family in a 'culteral exchange' and thus Aelwyn is adopted by Gilear.

As a fun treat, Adaine's father in this is Telemaine, making her Fabian's aunt.

Fantasy High Canon Compatible-ish One-shots

These are all either post-Sophomore year or are 'missing scenes' from within or pre-canon. Many of these are strictly comedic.

Waiting features the Bad Kids, plus Ayda and Aelwyn, getting a summer job at a waffle house equivalent the summer after FHSY. Combat skills ARE required.

Minutes from the July Mordred Manor Wizards' Council Meeting is a one-shot presented as minutes from a meeting of that esteemed council of wizards in Mordred Manor the summer after FHSY.

Childhood's End is a somewhat more serious piece, a missing scene of sorts of the first time Aelwyn snuck out of home and disobeyed her parents.

Cuddles is a post-FHSY piece focused on Ragh supporting Aelwyn after she and Fabian break up.

Bunk is technically a missing scene from the finale of Jawbone talking to this new elf wizard in his house who he watched on livestream watch her sister die.

Five Times Assassination Attempts were made on the Traitor Elven Oracle without a Death, and One Time With. is exactly what its title suggests, taking place during a Junior Year to come.

Locate Creatures is a cute little Riz-And-Penny summer investigation fic, featuring them looking for lost pets.

Past Performance does not Guarantee Future Results is an Arianwen-PoV fic from when she was pregnant with Adaine. She's a great person in it, really.

Coup takes place after Ayda sees Fig's grades for the year and decides it is a clear sign that her father is too senile to be in charge of her paramour's education.

Fantasy High AU Oneshots

Dreams is set in a world where Kalina and her master are much more morally grey, and follows a Riz being taught to be a cleric of the "Sleeping God".

Twelve Hours takes place during the Sisterly Showdown, except Adaine makes the choice to attack Aguefort's pocketwatch, trapping the Bad Kids + Aelwyn in a pocket of frozen time...

The Princess in a Tower is a class swap AU in which Adaine is a bard; she is captured and brought to Calethriel Tower not because she's the Oracle but rather because she's persuasively been telling the world how much her parents and Fallinel suck. Somewhat fairy tale inspired, the meat of this story is Adaine trying to bring her sister to some sort of sense which she waits to either lose her own mind or be rescued.

The Ghost of Me features a Fallinel that's a lot quicker to put Adaine on trial and have her executed, and the Bad Kids being just a bit slower to get to her... But she keeps her promises. Probably my own favorite one-shot of mine.

Dig Out takes place about a year after a tragic death among the bad kids, and features an accidental undead...

Flames of Passion is my infamous Gilear/Kalvaxus fic. I'm sure they're very happy together.

Thorns is a Never After fusion, featuring Adaine waking up the first day of High School with thorns and brambles growing under her skin...

Watcher features an Adaine who was lost in the Ethereal Plane as a child, and has grown up as a Paladin of the Oath of Watchers. I'll be following this one up sometime but it weirdly isn't very well liked from what I can tell.

Blueberry Pie is an Aelwyn PoV inspired by a tumblr prompt about an older sibling not particularly liking their younger sibling but going through hell to protect them anyway. It features both of them venturing forth unto the Faewild...

Blood is my infamous "accidental parody of a sold to one direction" fic, in which Adaine ends up a vampire.

Grape Escape is technically a two chapter fic but I'm counting it as a oneshot, in which Aelwyn got CAUGHT sneaking out and sent to Kei Lumenara, and then most of a year later when Adaine flunks the entrance exam she is sent to follow only to find that her sister has lost her mind in this place.

The Phoenix or the Egg features Ayda accidentally travelling back through time, and meeting a very interesting young wizard who could use some guidance...

Non-Fantasy High Dimension 20 Works

For now, all of these are oneshots.

Unending Summer features Iga's kids a few years after TUC2, with Nick about to start college soon.

Gallivant's End is a post-canon fic focused on Riva's choice in the finale and just what it is that they might be thinking about.

Sisters is similarly a post-canon fic, focused on Ruby handling certain intelligence work on behalf of her half sister, whether her half sister knows it or not.

Duty is a RueHob as a tragedy piece, set thirty years after the Bloom. Andhera, BINX, and Chirp all make important appearances, and are all rather happier than our PoV Hob...

Futures is a pre-canon Ruby and Jet piece I did for @wrenrix that definitely isn't at all a tragedy in disguise.

True Love is my post-canon aro Rosamund manifesto, done as a one-hour writing challenge.

Last, but certainly not least, Salsa Sacerdote was my piece for A Catalogue of Candy zine focused on a priest of the Bulb in a remote border village, with definite Wicker Man vibes.

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #fanfic

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kazoosandfannypacks · 8 months

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Critical Success by kazoosandfannypacks

Pairing: Cygnet Scholar, Violet Believer, Captain Swan Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1K words Summary: At most weddings, people will clink their glasses together to get the happy couple to kiss- but when Henry and Violet get married, they try something a little different- a twenty sided die. If you roll it and it lands on an 11-20, they kiss, and if it lands on a 2-10 they won't- but if it lands on a one, you have to kiss someone. Characters: Hope Swan-Jones, Henry Mills, Violet Morgan, Killian Jones, Emma Swan, Gideon Gold Author’s notes: The working title for this fic was "my little sister accidentally ruins my wedding by kissing a sworn enemy's son in front of my dad" but I felt that a bit wordy 😅 This is based off an idea I've seen on Pinterest a couple times, but thought would be fitting with the D&D elements in the season 7 au I'm working on. Much like potion commotion, this doesn't quite fit into the same timeline, but I had fun writing it regardless! Taglist: @accidental-spice, @kanerallels @saveme-storybrooke-potc @booksteaandtoomuchtv [let me know if you’d like to be added to the cygnet scholar taglist!]

also on ao3!

Weddings in Storybrooke were always a joyous occasion- as, of course, weddings were in all realms- but when the groom was a beloved town hero, and the bride his highschool sweetheart, it was an even more joyous affair. As such, most of town turned up on a sunny day in October to witness the union of Henry Mills and Violet Morgan.

But, while the story of how they found each other again after a decade's separation is exciting, our story takes place later, after the beautiful ceremony (officiated by Dr. Hopper, of course) ended, as the friends and family gathered in the town hall for a fabulous reception- and Henry's teenage half sister was enjoying her first time as a bridesmaid. After everything Hope had stood by her brother in, from D&D campaigns to real-life struggles, it was only fitting that she should stand by her brother and new sister-in-law at the start of this adventure.

And, of course, she and her friends had greatly enjoyed the honor of some harmless vandalism of the newlyweds' car.

"Getaway car's all set," Hope said, sitting in front of Henry at the head table while finishing off a slice of cake.

Henry scrunched his nose. "I thought we said that's a tradition we weren't going with."

"Did we?" Hope smiled.

"I certainly thought we did."

"If you thought I was gonna give up my last chance to pull the ol' wool over your eyes," Hope said, "then you haven't been paying attention the last sixteen years."

Henry sighed. "Just promise me there's no glitter this time."

Hope gave Henry no response, only a smug smile as she took another bite of cake.

"Hope…."

"No glitter," Hope rolled her eyes, "and you can thank my new sister for that."

"I made sure she didn't glitter bomb your car again," Violet patted Henry's hand.

"You've always had my back," Henry turned his hand to cup hers in it.

"And I always will," Violet smiled.

Hope shook her head and glanced away from them, trying to focus on anything other than the sickeningly adorable couple.

She looked over the decorations on the table- a candle stand shaped like a dragon, a little sign that said "happily ever after…," a bouquet of flowers, and one of the fanciest D20s from Henry's extensive dice collection. While most couples would settle for the traditional "clink your glasses together to make the couple kiss," they went for an idea they'd seen on Pinterest instead- go to the head table and roll the die; If it lands on an 11-19, the bride and groom will kiss, a 20 and they'll really kiss, 2-10 means nothing- and if you roll a one, you have to kiss someone.

Hope stood up straight when she saw her parents coming, already prepared for her mom to tell her to stop sitting on the table.

"There's that fabled die," her dad said, picking up the D20 and rereading the instructions next to it. With great panache, Killian rolled the die.

"Nat 1," Henry said, looking at the die, "critical fail."

"Critical fail?" Killian asked, glancing at his wife, "you mean to tell me I've now got an excuse to kiss my Emma, and that's supposed to be a 'critical fail?'"

Emma turned to Killian and smiled, "Sounds like a win if I've ever heard of one."

"Aye," Killian said, pulling Emma closer.

Hope looked away and set down her cake, having suddenly lost her appetite. A lot of people thought it was cute that her parents were still so in love after all these years, but that didn't mean Hope always appreciated it.

"That was a success indeed," Killian whispered when he and Emma pulled away from each other.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked, "You could always try again…."

Hope didn't want to run the risk of seeing that happen again, so she snatched the die away before her parents could grab it again.

"Let a pro show you how it's done," Hope said, "I've got the magic touch."

She rolled the die onto the table, and it landed with the number one plainly facing up once again.

"Critical fail," Henry smiled.

"I know," Hope snipped, annoyed and embarrassed about how false her confidence had proven. Not only did she now look like an idiot for flubbing up something she'd thought herself so skilled at, she now had to pay the consequences and kiss someone.

"Don't worry," her dad said, with a nervous chuckle, "we certainly won't hold you accountable to that."

"Relax, dad," Hope said, "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"That statement does little to put me at ease."

Hope looked up to see Gideon coming toward them, eating a slice of cake. He had been Hope's friend for a long time, but his dad had been her dad's nemesis for an even longer time. Seeing as she was still a little salty from the last minute's events, his presence gave Hope an evil idea.

"I'm not a little kid anymore," Hope thought, "I don't need to be protected from kissing, or guys, or kissing guys. Besides, I was raised not to back down from a challenge."

"I don't know where you guys got this cake from," Gideon said, "but it's wonderful."

Before Gideon had finished his sentence, Hope grabbed the collar of his button-up shirt and pulled his lips to hers, quickly, before anyone could stop her.

It took a moment for her to register what she was doing- she shared her first kiss, in front of her entire family, out of spite, with Gideon Gold.

And as wild as all of that sounded, something about it felt right.

When she pulled away from Gideon, she saw a surprised but very delighted expression on his face.

"Wow," Gideon said, blinking in surprise and looking back down at his plate, "I guess I should start complimenting cakes more often."

"Hope Alice Swan-Jones!" her dad called, in the you're-in-trouble tone she knew all too well, "what was that?"

"Can't argue with the dice," Hope said, "critical fail means you gotta kiss someone."

"Really?" Gideon asked. He reached past her and grabbed the die off the table, then rolled it.

His notoriety among their party for rolling natural ones didn't fail him this time, and the die landed, for the third time in a row, on the one.

"Critical fail," Henry repeated, with a smug shrug.

Hope looked up from the die to Gideon, then back to the die, then at her dad, then back at the die, then back at Gideon, who scratched the back of his neck.

"Hope…" Gideon said.

"You may as well," Hope shrugged.

Hope thought she heard her father say, "no, you 'may not as well,'" as she and Gideon leaned back towards each other, but she was lost in the moment, and in whatever feelings were beginning to stir inside of her. Her lips somehow found her way to Gid's once again, with a kiss that, despite her father's disapproval, could only be described as pure.

She opened her eyes as they leaned away from each other, smiling and seeing the same smile on Gideon's face.

"That's quite enough of that," Killian said, taking the die off the table before either of the teenagers could take it back again.

"I, uh," Gideon fumbled, "I take it I should probably get out of here?"

"And I take it I might be grounded for life?" Hope said, though her first kiss was totally worth whatever punishment followed.

"Probably a little longer than that," Emma nodded, though Hope could tell by her mom's smile that she wasn't really disappointed in her.

Killian didn't respond, however, bouncing the oversize die in his hand.

"Henry," Killian asked, setting down the die so his hand was free to pinch the bridge of his nose, "that wouldn't happen to be a loaded die, would it?"

Hope looked back at her brother to see a familiar smile on his face.

"You got me," Henry said, pulling an identical die out of his pocket, "this one's the real one."

Killian rolled the new die and it landed on a twelve- resulting in Henry and Violet giving each other a kiss.

"So you intentionally put out a die that would fail every time?" Killian asked, "Why would you do that?"

"Just to see what stories come up," Henry winked at Hope and Gideon, "and, besides, if you thought I was gonna 'give up my last chance to pull the ol' wool over my little sister's eyes,' then you haven't been paying attention the last sixteen years."

Killian sighed in response and gave both of his kids a we'll-talk-about-this-later glare, then gave Gideon an entirely different glare.

"I'm gonna, uh," Gideon said, "go, uh- grab another slice of cake."

He quickly left, and a moment later Killian and Emma moved onto whatever other parents-of-the-groom duties that they had to attend to.

Hope sat on the edge of the table again in front of her brother.

"Gotta hand it to you," Hope said, "you really had me going with that one."

"Scale of one to twenty," Henry said, "how'd you rate that prank?"

Hope chuckled a little, then looked up to see Gideon, heading back her way with a smile on his face and a plate of cake in each hand.

She smiled, "I'd call it a critical success."

#cygnet scholar #captain swan #violet believer #Hope Swan-Jones #Henry Mills #Violet Morgan #Killian Jones #Emma Swan #Gideon Gold #once upon a time #ouat #once upon a time season 7 #kazzy writes #kazzy writes fanfic #au #alternate universe #cw kissing #otp: maybe you need some normal friends

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tygergm · 11 days

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One Shot Recs

I've either run or played these all as one shots, and are ones I recommended to a friend recently. I also have links at the bottom to a bunch of free quickstarts for more games to look at that might be good for one shots too.

Blue Rose - AGE system from Green Ronin. Romantic fantasy where royalty is chosen by a magical stag and the rich are appropriately taxed. Cool Stunts mechanic to do extra abilities during a turn, easy system to get used to but has that crunchy feel too. Sentient animal race that forms bonds with people is an instant love every time. Free quickstart.

Heart: the City Beneath - Resistance system by Rowan Rook & Decard. A dungeon crawler where the dungeon is an NPC. Take stress until you can't, go out in a blaze of glory with one time Zenith abilities, such as summon a train to wipe out everything in its path - including you. Heart's the love of my life and the first RPG to make me cry(in a good way). It's earnest and grotesque and something about going in knowing you will End, and choosing it, does something to me. Also you can be full of bees(on purpose). Quickstart is PWYW($3ish suggested) but you should give them 1 million dollars actually.

Bones Deep - Troika! system based by @technicalgrimoire. The other love of my life. Be a skeleton on the ocean floor! What happened to your skin? Not important! Do jobs for witches, get credits from the crabs, join the cephalopods in their nefarious plans. The classes are fun(shapeshift your bones, or carve spells into them), and the mix of horror and humor is immaculately weird. Many random tables and a couple scenarios to make it easy to start swimming walking. Also not free($15 for digital), but worth every cent and then some(and the website is awesome resource!).

Index Card RPG - d20 system from Runehammer Games. It's 'simple enough to fit on index card'. There's actually lots of stuff, but it's easy to get a game rolling fast! Be a gerblin, get a bunch of loot. If you're a chronic low roller like me, a nice mechanic is when you fail you get to put points in a pool to use for later rolls. Probably the easiest one on this list to jump to from DnD. Free quickstart.

Wildsea - Wild Words system from Mythworks(took me awhile to find the name for it lol which isn't important just play it xD). You can be a mushroom person piloting a giant whale bone ship with a chainsaw on the front above a sea of trees. The world is so cool and unique. Health is measured in stuff to lose/break and there's a sliding success mechanic(you succeed, you succeed BUT- etc.). Free quickstart.

Tales from the Loop - Year Zero engine by Free League. Be kids in an alternate 80s-90s Scandinavia(or US) setting trying to navigate growing up alongside strange tech and apathetic adults. I really like how they tweaked the system to make it fun being kids for this, with iconic items and luck points, and it's very collab focused. I used this scenario as a one shot. There's a starter's set for $4.99.

Old Gods of Appalachia - Cypher system by Monte Cook. Face horrors man-made and monstrous in the haints and hollers of an alternate 1930ish Appalachia. Based on the podcast(don't know anything about the podcast? Even better imo). Cyphers are neat one-time use items you find during game to make you stronger/invisible/etc. Free quickstart.

Under Hill, By Water - OSR hack by Rise Up Comus. Hobbits! Okay, "halflings" for copyright but...it's hobbits. While some are off saving the world, your greatest worry is finding the lost pig before your wife realizes it's missing. It's not a boring life, just a quiet one. Random table generators for Events to happen each season make this easy to pick up, or come up with your own! $10. We loved this one so much we turned it into a mini campaign.

Mörk Borg - OSR-ish by Free League. Last but not least in the amount of shelf space in my room! The basic rules fit on one piece of paper, but the books are packed with amazing art and delicious disgustingness. It's easy, quick and deadly, with so many random tables for generating baddies, loot, etc., and usually each version of it has a doomsday countdown calendar with horrid new things to add, and then a final horrible event to end the game. It IS very dark and gloom, and I don't normally play it as rough as the OG, which works out fine! You can get a free version of the core book on the website linked, and tons of other free goodies there. My current fav hacks are Pirate Borg and Ork Borg.

List of free Quickstarts I found(and some I'll be playing soon!):

Coriolis

Dune

Fabula Ultima

City of Mist

Rapscallion

Fifth Season

Symbaroum

Dragonbane

SCP

Root

Fantasy AGE

Modern AGE

Myth-Stakes

Dead Air: Seasons

Broken Tales

Legacy: Life Among the Ruins

Heckin' Good Doggos

Star Trek Adventures

Flabbergasted!

Familiars of Terra

Daggerheart

Coyote & Crow

7th Sea

Candela Obscura

Fallout RPG

Happy Gaming!

#ttrpgs #technical grimoire #mythworks #rowan rook & decard #free league #game recs

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ah0yh0y · 8 months

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tagged by @ribcagelikepiano for the get to know you game!! thx friend !!!!!

questions: last song you listened to, currently watching, currently reading, current obsession

last song: Come Hang Out by AJR off the top of my head by my tabs say Providence by Poor Mans Poison . Come Hang Out feels so nostalgic to me even if i only listened to it recently reminds me of a graduation song (it came out 5 yrs ago so it makes sense. I just really love Poor Mans Poison's vibes generally great fuel for daydream and also matches well with the feeling of revolution (and seeing everything collapse i guess.) (ish) mentally listening to Your Love is All I Need by Sami Yusuf tho at all times lately, probs because i have been trying to wean myself off listening to music for like the 50th time. (its slow going but IM GONNA TRY inshaallah ill be able to do it) (he also took the old nasheed music video off his channel? sad its so good)

currently watching: does d20 mentopolis count? only watched one ep but its good. i havent watched anything regularly besides like school vids for a bit. tried watching the dragon prince s5 when it came out but buffering (the video player i mean) and dissatisfaction at the pacing and characterization kinda stopped me. ill back on it at the end of the yr when everything is settled. if we are talking about podcasts started relistening to wolf 359 and keeping up with the greater gatsby (the latter has SUBLIME noir vibes as it is a noir i bloody love shipwreck's work it scratches that itch in my brain so well) . i may have seen spoilers for wolf 359 so i am anxiously waiting to see if i am proved wrong but im on s4 so its soon prepare for a barrage of reblogs for it. watched s4 of malory towers it was very nice i cant wait for s5 - the pantomime hopefully we get new members for the older years next season i miss the larger cast

currently reading: not much really. fanfic alot. i guess. caught up to the end of the To Make a Legend series on ao3 (pjo) and other fics for a couple of other fandoms (in one false move by Kalidium is really good if your into murder most unladylike - spoilers for A Spoonful of Murder though) also been reading barbie 2023 fanfic? was bored and started hunting for good ones (slim picking at the moments but if you want character study and grief and some bloody good writing def read something in me in you by telm_393 i cant explain it its that good) also reread My Memories Came Back in the Form of Someone Else by Lucy_Luna yes its that really good spiderverse fanfic do check it out

BESIDES THAT THO in terms of actual books. have the audiobook saved for The Valley and The Flood so gonna listen to that later. Have to read The Hate Race for class (not my fave but i need for analysis ive read it like 3 times but I STILL DONT REMEMBER ANYTHING) .

started rereading The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes a couple of weeks ago ahead of the movie coming out at the end of this year but never got the chance to finish it so ill have to get on that too.

also dracula ive been reading as well but more on that the next section.

current obsession: re:dracula is the first that comes to mind im so bloody invested in jonathan's wellbeing and his relationship wiht mina and the whole story its insane . i should read more older books its good . re;dracula DOES SUCH A GOOD JOB AT SUCKING YOU INTO THE STORY THE VOICE ACTORS REALLY MADE IT FOR ME i just cant with ti it makes me so bloody happy!! Renfield's voice actor is a standout for me everytime he's there i just have to pause and stare at a wall. also jonathan's actor as well hes SO GOOD i was geniunly worried about jonathan not sending me voicemails into my phone i was THAT endeared to him

besides that PLAY IT BY EAR the musical improv show by dropout is also a obsession of mine i cannot with their talent. the MUSIC so good i want to play it all the bloody time . i am in absolute awe in the performers ability to create a story and TIE IT ALL TOGHETER SO WELL like every piece of information is used whether you expect it or not . DN THE BAND OH GOD I DONT KNOW HOW THEY SO IT THE MUSIC IS SO FUN AND CREATIVE AND FITS THE MOOD AND MADE UP ON THE SPOT???!!! HOW I DONT KNOW (if u ask me who my favourite guest star is at the moment its ross byant hes an absolute delight whenever he is on a d20 show- the improvised shakespear episode blew my mind)

anway THIS SI LONGGGGGGGG soz

no pressure tags: @filmloser04 @mistichallow @charlies-a-thief

@literallymahir @quotidian-oblivion @monochrome-anomaly @suksiili @miseria-fortes-viros and anyone else that wants to join!!!! (you dont have to do a brain dump like me i always go overboard)

#long post #ahoys thoughts #tag game #THIS IS LONG IM SORRY

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today-only-happens-once · 10 months

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tumblr slumber party?

heya gang!

I’m catching up on critical role (on the newest episode) and working on some art tonight. Feel free to drop by my ask box if you’re bored or have a question! I’m always down for:

Critical Role (any campaign, including Calamity)

D20 (Fantasy High Season 1, A Crown of Candy, A Court of Fey and Flowers)

general dungeons and dragons (tell me about your campaign/characters or ask me about mine!)

The Witcher (Netflix) (fully caught up. You can find my witcher blog at @when-a-humble-bard)

writing

anything else that is reasonable!

#asks are open #it'd be cool #critical role #d20 #dungeons and dragons #the witcher

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mollynoble · 3 months

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Get to Know Me

Tagged by @claraxbarton, thanks for the tag!

List 3 ships I like: WinterHawk, Brad/Ray (generation kill) and Roy Harper/Jason Todd

First ship ever: hmm, this first time I looked up fanfiction for a ship would be Stiles/Derek from teen wolf

Last Song I heard: I currently have the stardew valley soundtrack playing

Favorite Childhood Book: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Currently Reading Now: my textbooks lol i in theory have a few books on my nightstand and fic tabs open but really have no time right now

Currently Watching: rewatching old seasons of d20 in the background while i do my homework. don't have the brain space for anything new

Currently Consuming: on my desk i have my water bottle, an iced tea and a gatorade, yes i am drinking them all

Currently Craving: to play some bg3, but i will resist and do homework for a least another hour:(

Tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to you can say i tagged you:)

#thanks for the tag!#i am so busy these days i'm not here much but i love you guys!

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naazaif327 · 1 year

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I think so much about like the first five or six episodes of A Starstruck Odyssey when they were like “we’re not the heroes of the galaxy, we’re just people trying to scrape by and here are all the messy decisions that come with that” and just exploring how the desperation to turn a profit for some level of financial stability so easily slides into problems with addiction, gambling, and wealth hoarding.

It hit this exact perfect sweet spot of being zany and wacky and fun but still being deeply grounded in the exhaustion and desperation of living week-to-week in a system meant to grind you down, and how “tearing down the system” feels impossible on a macro scale.

And there’s all these little nudges towards a better path, joining a union, creating worker solidarity through trust and human decency to your fellow labourers, fighting for the rights of workers and robots, small bits of common good they could achieve without having to take on galaxy-wide megacorporations as 6 individuals. Its an enormous univers of trillions of lives and maybe it feels impossible to “save the world” in a classic sense, but there’s so much good that can be done both locally and generally.

But then here comes clippy and suddenly they ARE saving the galaxy but from a big slug instead of the corporations, right back to a classic “superheroes saving the galaxy from a great fantasy evil” storyline that ends up really undermining the bigger themes in (imo) an effort to remain within the safe bounds of happy lighthearted comedy heroes saving the day. I don’t think the season is bad or morally wrong in any way, but I really feel like the first third of Starstruck felt so amazingly revolutionary and fresh in a way that the end of the show isn’t really able to fully deliver on.

And this isn’t to say that they absolutely should’ve pulled back on the high fantasy scifi epic nature of the story with slug parasites and space battles either, just that the way they end up going about it could’ve more effectively run with the themes of the season more. Compare it to, say, the Ezri arc of Campaign 3 of Naddpod where the PCs end up also having a crazy scifi battle with a godlike AI and a corporation seeking to harness its power. By the end of that arc, the rebels quite literally seize the means of production of Ezri and overthrow the fascist propaganda-spewing government holding them down. The PCs are a small cog in a much larger community of common people fighting for the good of everyone, while still feeling epic and heroic, instead of being rugged individualists who save the world without changing much of anything.

All this to say, I’m tentatively very excited to see what the D20 crew can do with NeverAfter, specifically because with us all going in knowing that it is a full-on horror season, it gives them the wiggle room to actually go in on the themes and tropes of horror fiction without having to pull it all back to make sure that it ends with our plucky yet comedic heroes saving the day and living happily ever after exactly as previous seasons.

#A Starstruck Odyssey #ASO #Dimension 20 #D20 neverafter #neverafter #dimension 20 aso #d20 aso

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