#out it comes

[dragons-homebrew-hoard]

A general reminder to gms to never turn a recurring or tag along npc into a plot device as your players will notice and it will piss them off (rant incoming)

The last dnd game I was in as a player I wound up leaving due to this exact thing. My character’s whole deal was protecting and caring for a child npc that shared their tragic backstory. Unfortunately for me, this npc became the gm’s favorite new toy and not only did they make this npc more powerful than every one of the players and more intelligent than all of us, the dm used them to facilitate literally almost every plot point from the moment I joined the team.

I spent so much in game time dealing with this npc’s bullshit that I barely had any time to actually get to know the other characters or make any meaningful bonds with them. This npc was constantly dragging me away from them and derailing the story because the gm used them like a carrot on a string to create drama. I don’t even know what our goal as a party was other than collect the macguffin and take down the government because every plot after I joined revolved around finding this npc because they ran off or protecting them from their own idiocy or having a crisis because this npc wants to kill themself.

I cannot describe to you how annoying it was walking into every session expecting this npc to act in any consistent way. One session they would be moping about how they don’t belong in this world because they are too smart for their own good and the next they are being manipulated and kidnapped like a normal 5 year old by someone plot convenient so the party gains plot relevant information. One session they don’t want to use their insane power because it’s too much and the next they want to practice by torturing people and animals and the next they leave the fortified base to go flower picking to drag the party to learn more plot relevant information. Every single session I was dealing with an entirely different character whose levels of intelligence and emotional maturity changed on a dime to suite the gm’s needs. It was exhausting and this on top of a few other things made me leave the group.

If a player hands you something like this, show some restraint. Please. Especially right after they join the crew. I’d say restraint is one of the most important aspect of being a story teller in general.

I gave this gm two big red buttons with my character and they pushed both of them immediately. The dm brought in my characters personal antagonist session 2, before I had any kind of bond with the crew and was at the point where when I had the option to have my character lose their memories of this antagonist I took it just to remove that button because I could immediately tell this gm has zero restraint.

I talked with the dm out of session and asked them to tone it back because ever since I joined literally every single plot had my character at the center and she kept pushing me/my character to drastic measures that were preventing my from actually interacting with the rest of the crew or even learning what our goals were. For fuck sake I removed my character’s memories of their antagonist because they were nearing the point of saying fuck it and leaving the group just to escape this person.

Did the gm listen? No. Not only did they continue dragging my character’s antagonist into the plot, they kept using this npc to create drama and push the plot forwards in inorganic way.

If you have to use an npc as a plot device, then at least keep their characterization consistent. If story is the main focus of this campaign, it’s like watching the gm reach into the game and tell you directly: hey, hey, players, go here for plot. It breaks the immersion. If it happens on occasion, that’s fine it’s bound to happen eventually. But when it’s happening every session… oh boy is it extremely annoying and hits one of my biggest pet peeves in writing: seeing the hand of the author. There are a million ways to make a plot hook feel in congruence with the story and the world. If you need to take an npc out of character to make it happen, your players will notice.

Tldr. If you are running a long form campaign- use restraint. I promise you that holding back and waiting to push the big red buttons your players give you will be so much more rewarding for everyone if you wait. Don’t force the story. Let it breathe.

#thoughts I fall asleep to #it’s 5 am #I’ve been awake since 3 #I keep think about this so blah #out it comes #maybe I can get some sleep now

[thatrandomblogsays]

I’m so happy for them

[Image Description: Castiel from Supernatural is saying I love you, underneath is an image of Dean Winchester with the caption: “After four months of striking the WGA has a reached a tentative agreement & finalizing the contract. If all goes well writers will get to return to work with better pay and protections. They did it. Go unions”]

(Source)

#wga solidarity #wga strong #after months of watching union busting and anti union tactics #wga is coming out strong #hopefully sag is next! #writers strike #support unions #wga strike #sag strike #supernatural meme #destiel #destiel meme #workers rights #fuck the amptp #destiel news #mine #we’ve hit the note amount where people start fighting in the notes #stop fighting kids #but also the strike was absolutely necessary #withholding labor is how unions negotiate for better rights #the CEOs are multimillionaires who refused to pay proper wages #they needed to receive heavy losses so they’d actually come to the table listen to union demands

[cozylittleartblog]

cant tell you how bad it feels to constantly tell other artists to come to tumblr, because its the last good website that isn't fucked up by spoonfeeding algorithms and AI bullshit and isn't based around meaningless likes

just to watch that all fall apart in the last year or so and especially the last two weeks

there's nowhere good to go anymore for artists.

edit - a lot of people are saying the tags are important so actually, you'll look at my tags.

#please dont delete your accounts because of the AI crap. your art deserves more than being lost like that #if you have a good PC please glaze or nightshade it. if you dont or it doesnt work with your style (like mine) please start watermarking #use a plain-ish font. make it your username. if people can't google what your watermark says and find ur account its not a good watermark #it needs to be central in the image - NOT on the canvas edges - and put it in multiple places if you are compelled #please dont stop posting your art because of this shit. we just have to hope regulations will come slamming down on these shitheads#in the next year or two and you want to have accounts to come back to. the world Needs real art #if we all leave that just makes more room for these scam artists to fill in with their soulless recycled garbage #improvise adapt overcome. it sucks but it is what it is for the moment. safeguard yourself as best you can without making #years of art from thousands of artists lost media. the digital world and art is too temporary to hastily click a Delete button out of spite

#not art #but important #please dont delete your accounts because of the AI crap. your art deserves more than being lost like that #if you have a good PC please glaze or nightshade it. if you dont or it doesnt work with your style (like mine) please start watermarking #use a plain-ish font. make it your username. if people can't google what your watermark says and find ur account its not a good watermark #it needs to be central in the image - NOT on the canvas edges - and put it in multiple places if you are compelled #please dont stop posting your art because of this shit. we just have to hope regulations will come slamming down on these shitheads #in the next year or two and you want to have accounts to come back to. the world Needs real art #if we all leave that just makes more room for these scam artists to fill in with their soulless recycled garbage #improvise adapt overcome. it sucks but it is what it is for the moment. safeguard yourself as best you can without making #years of art from thousands of artists lost media. the digital world and art is too temporary to hastily click a Delete button out of spite

[stuckinapril]

Incredibly alarming that talks of “peace” in Gaza seem to extend no further than a ceasefire. How do you think they’re gonna start off where they left off themselves? Their houses are destroyed, so many have lost mothers and fathers and brothers and children, they still have no clean water and no food. Any area Israel withdraws out of is an area it already knows has been rendered inhospitable. There was even a direct quote by some IOF soldier gleefully stating how he “wasn’t sure Palestinians could go back to their homes.” So what happens when the US “succeeds at negotiating a ceasefire”? Who will be responsible for helping the Palestinians rebuild all that they’ve lost?

#Just so incredibly heartbreaking #Watching the footage that has come out of Khan Younis is a different kind of pain #It’s a whole city razed to the ground and people are #Trying to salvage what they could but their homes don’t even exist anymore

[indigonite]

There’s a lot you can learn about it, trust me

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic x shadow generations #sega trying to clean the sonic x shadow search of ship art #but just ended up validating all the sonadow shippers out there by naming a game after them #cant wait to play sonadow on my ps4 once it comes out #indigoniteart

[catskullery]

#posted on my uhhhh side art account on twitter and thought i should make it clear here too #since they've been coming out of the woodwork lately #carry on #the terfs are really in their feelings about this one <3 #really down in their hurt little ugly feefees <3 #my they pronoun scares them soooo bad too #awww it's okay little dumb dumb the pronoun can't hurt you here have a binkie

[suiheisen]

studio trigger understood the assignment. i would let her wreck me.

#i'm sorry but unnnnffffffffffff. Hot. my humongous chicken-lizard wife <33333333 #she's so majestic.... #like. i get it shuro and marcille. #also that is my favourite page of the manga #watch as tumblr tags this mature content for chimera boobs. i'm always getting kinkshamed on this site... #anyway. this too is yuri. climbing her like a tree. #this episode coming out on lesbian visibility week... the universe knows what i need #falin touden #marcille donato #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #anime #manga #spoilers #dungeon meshi spoilers #blood tw #long post #lesbian #dunmeshi spoilers

[spacedace]

What is it about laying on the floor when you're overwhelmed that makes everything feel so much better?

#like its better than laying on a bed when it comes to that very specific state of absolutely out of your gourd overwhelmed #it takes serious self control for me some days to just not lay on the floor if things are too much #floor time is best time

[littlemizzlinguistics]

Studying linguistics is actually so wonderful because when you explain youth slang to older professors, instead of complaining about how "your generation can't speak right/ you're butchering the language" they light up and go “really? That’s so wonderful! What an innovative construction! Isn't language wonderful?"

#linguistics #gen z slang #english #as people in the reblog pointed out! #most gen z slang comes from (or was appropriated from) aave #honestly I was just excited to talk about how people in my field actually get excited about non standard uses of English #instead of ridiculing speakers #and I tagged incorrectly and didn’t point out the very real issues of language and power and appropriation inherent in modern slang #in that much of it was appropriated #and even that which experiences language change in the wider culture still originated in aave #aave is just as linguistically valid as any other English dialect because it is a proper language #and the grammar is incredible!!! #habitual be is fantastic and an excellent example of how a richer case system or a certain case can render an adverb unnecessary #and the phonology is just beautiful #anyway I’m very sorry #I fucked up

[the-nefarious-vampire]

as an aroace, im particularly dangerous, because i wont fuck or marry. i only know how to kill.

#aroace #aromantic #asexual #asexuality #ace #aro #im so glad you guys are enjoying this stupid post i made at work #okay i wrote that at 3000 notes but what the FUCK is happening #10000 notes on this no effort fmk post and not one aspec i know irl #dgmw im still very happy that yall are enjoying this post but also like. come hang out with meeeeee :(

[maxthesillyy]

#so..many #life is strange #lis #max caulfield #chloe price #pricefield #im just gonna start spewing them out into the void soon #okay #😀 #anyways #one that my brain is stuck on that most people already know but still #between max and chloe #max is objectively the more bold one when it comes to touch or talking or shit like that #if max thinks smth wrong #she gon say it #aftr overthinking a bunch but still #between the two of them max is more likely to speak out #no offense to chloe or to say she doesnt at all #chloe just has a bit more issues when it comes to shit like that <3 #also #with touch #have you ever seen the game #max starts off almost all the contact they have in that game #NEXT #max is asexual NOT because she can be stereotyped into a quiet so much anxiety and has so personality girl or whateever the fuck #but because IM asexual #and IM projecting #which is also why i could not tell you what kind of asexual she is #but #one of them <3

[ratective]

i think they would’ve let simon crash for some time after the series finale only to be faced with the devastating consequences of that decision

#marceline get your deranged father out of the kitchen and into the bed!!! kiss him gnight #rat noises #adventure time #come along with me #adventure time fanart #marceline the vampire queen #bonnibel bubblegum #marceline and princess bubblegum #bubbeline #simon petrikov #ice king #comic #fionna and cake

[chimaeraonwards]

John Cusack, the voice actor for Dimitri in Anatasia (1997), shared his statement on Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

P.S. He has been a Palestinian supporter for years

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #west bank #free west bank #“if you're there - what choice do you have?” #john cusack #anastasia 1997 #israel #israel occupation #israel apartheid #anastasia #update to tags: yes i know he didnt just do anastasia but thats the one that stood out to me i love anastasia #the way everyone is like ok this is super serious topic but ANASTASIA??? is so amusing to me pls keep them coming #also please continue sharing about palestine!!!! FREE PALESTINE

[acepalindrome]

I genuinely hope American media sucks for a while! I hope the big companies keep trying to churn out shit and that it’s all embarrassing garbage! I want it to be extremely apparent to everyone how important the writers and actors are to create good media and that they deserve to be compensated appropriately!!!

#strikes are supposed to be disruptive #if business carries on as usual then nothing will be accomplished #i want to see a bunch of absolutely dogshit movies and tv shows coming out of all the media titans #sag strike #wga strike

[the-phantom-peach]

🗣️ huh?? what do you mean I haven’t posted any Link signing propaganda yet??

#doodled a little comic bc I think the link/korok relationship is adorable #this is also pro-korok propaganda #anyways um #I used to hc that link signed in botw (for obvious reasons) #but after the calamity he gained more confidence in speaking #so now he only signs when he’s uncomfortable speaking around someone or just not in the mood to talk #sometimes he signs while speaking out of habit #thank you for coming to my ted talk #im sorry hes just so important to me IM SAD #I used to learn asl but now I forgot please forgive my mistakes OTL #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda #loz #loz art #Zelda #loz tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom #breath of the wild #totk #botw #totk link #korok #Nintendo #art #my art

[talaricula]

Things I've seen tumblr memeing about James Somerton doing à la "How did no one see how bigoted he was!" as if those things haven't been a significant part of tumblr culture for over a decade :

Presenting untrue and bordering on conspiratorial versions of (queer or otherwise marginalised) history without any sources

Completely disregarding and disrespecting any expertise on socio-cultural topics/humanities and distrusting academics and historians (incl. acting as if no academics or historians could be queer or marginalised)

Downplaying the role misogyny played in the historical oppression of queer women and concluding that queer men must have been more oppressed than queer women

Bi women are, at best, not as queer as "real" queer ppl, and at worst, simply equivalent to straight women

Despite nominal trans inclusivity, transmasculine ppl are functionally women when convenient (combined with the above, bi transmascs are functionally straight women)

Despite nominal trans inclusivity (bis), shamelessly attacking, threatening and actively endangering any trans woman who questions them or smth they find important (often by unfairly presenting her as violent or as a threat)

Having absolutely fucking wild and reductive takes about ace ppl, the oppression they face and their place in the queer community

Stating that marriage equality is an assimilationist fight while completely ignoring its direct roots in the horrifying consequences of the AIDS crisis for partners of ppl who died of AIDS

Praising western media creators from the past for queer coding even under censure and in the same breath condemning current non western media creators for being homophobic bc their representation isn't explicit enough

Blaming China for all existing homophobic censoring in western media

Assuming all queer media would be better told by western creators and by western standards

Only out queer ppl get to tell queer stories

Heavily criticising almost all queer media created by women or ppl they see as such (see above points about trans ppl) or involving/starring a significant amount of women for any perceived or real amount of "problematicness", but fawning over and praising and negating criticism of queer media created by and starring mostly or even functionally exclusively men (even when it could be argued that, you know, not involving/seriously sidelining women is a pretty clear example of misogyny which should probably be considered "problematic")

And I'm probably forgetting stuff or there's stuff I have internalised myself and don't recognise as an issue

Like idk but I feel like the takeaway from Hbomberguy and Toddintheshadow's videos should maybe be "be aware of such patterns in your communities bc they definitely exist" and not "this guy is uniquely awful" and I feel like a lot of the discussion I've seen surrounding this has been severely failing at that. Most ppl who've spent any significant amount of time on tumblr prob either have internalised at least one of those thought patterns, have had to de-internalise them, or have had to be extremely vigilant to not internalise them (which is done by, you know, seeking out other sources, which also seemed like an important takeaway from the videos)

#Also I'm saying this as someone who actually watched quite a few of Somerton's videos #And noticed those patterns and stopped watching bc I recognised them from here #and had already learned to unlearn them after being so exposed to them here #And tbh I think anyone who hasn't had the luck or made the conscious choice to seek out ppl who pushed against those narratives #Would absolutely have fallen for this man's bullshit. Like let's not kid ourselves we see takes like this every day on this hellsite #2014 me would have. For sure. #This is next to the plagiarism issue which as Harris points out is an Internet wide issue and this includes tumblr #James Somerton #hbomberguy #todd in the shadows #This brought to you by a conversation with my wife yesterday #So many ppl on here don't deserve to meme or be this self absolvingly critical of this man #The call is coming from inside the house #The man has a tumblr it would legit not surprise me if some of the things he supposedly made up himself he did actually get from somewhere #And that somewhere was a tumblr post