#'this isn't even my final form!!' and then I fear/knock them down and use skill 4 and kill them violently.

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

I'm so sorry in advance if you get paired up against me in PvP Rush because I have opted to play the single most annoying borderline unkillable auto-shroud fear-spamming necro-reaper build on the planet and it's actually almost made this mode fun, shockingly.

[doctorstrangereview]

Strange Tales #143

Cover Date: April 1966 On-Sale Date: January 11, 1966

So this is the conclusion of Doc vs. the Minions of Mordo. It's a like a little arc inside a big arc. This isn't quite a exciting as the last issue. Specifically, Doc doesn't do near the amount of punching as he did last issue. The mystical battles are improved, however. No firsts, but the yet-to-be-named Adria is an even bigger bitch! I get the impression she really doesn't like her teammates.

Doc is in a bind, both literally and physically. He is still bound in the magic kink gear that the terrible trio locked him in and still on the run from them. Fortunately he landed on a roof with a water tower on it. Doc has a brilliant idea! "I'll stash my body in this ice cold pool as ghost me goes adventuring with just my arm hooked to a metal bar as a safeguard from drowning!" Doc is former physician who was one of the world's greatest neurosurgeons. Surely he must see that this is a bad idea. But needs must, I guess.

Meanwhile, the Demon insults everyone who works form him as his corporate motivation method. Yes, calling the minions of minions creatures of little worth will really inspire them to do their best.

The Demon contacts Adria to update her. She seems to think of him what he thinks of his own underlings. At least she's being subtle about it!

Ghost Doc flies by the terrible trio's secret headquarters. He sees his cloak and uses it to overcome Kaecilius. Hey, this trick has worked in the past. Let's stick with the classics. Doc puts Kaecilius under his control much like he did to the Demon last issue.

Doc intends to have Kaecilius free his body from the kink gear. Uh oh! When he goes to check on his body slowly freezing to death in the water tower, it's not there! That's right. Adria has kidnapped it. She blathers about how Doc couldn't outwit a female as skilled in magic as she. Doc causes Kaecilius to use the cloak and fly into Adria's quarters, while Doc's ghost waits outside. Adria is incensed. It's a distraction and she grabs Doc's ghost in a spell.

She attempts to blackmail Doc to give up the secrets of the All-Purpose Amulet. Doc has one last trick up his ephemeral sleeve. He calls forth the eye from the amulet and entrances Adria. In yet another unlucky coincidence for Doc, the Demon stumbles into Adria's quarters and breaks Doc's spell. "Bloody hell! I almost had it!" laments Doc as he fears he may never escape the funky 1960s kink gear which surely don't meet the safety standards of 2020s kink gear. Adria is even smart enough to knock out Kaecilius so he can't be a threat to the other two. Doc uses his cloak and magic floating eye in an attempt to amplify his strength.

Finally, Doc manages to get his foes in the right position so they fire at each other.

The Demon is down and now it's a one on one fight. Adria appears to be the most competent member of the terrible trio. Has Doc gained anything? Yeah, he has. As Adria starts frothing at the mouth because she accidently knocked out her partner, Doc uses the cloak to entrap her hands and then completes the job of entrancing her. Adria frees Doc the kink gear and at last he can go home!

Doc non-consensually wipes the trio's minds of their magic knowledge. We know how well this has worked in the past. Doc is now free to search for Clea and perhaps confront Dormammu again.

This isn't as intense as the first installment. Doc isn't running from his foes, but rather he must find a way to escape them. There's a fair bit of suspense. Every time Doc seems to get the upper hand, his foes quash it. It happens enough to get a bit tiresome. It still speaks to Doc's intelligence that he's able to think of way after way to combat his foes. It's interesting that Lee and Ditko chose Adria as the leader and only truly capable member of the band. Especially when you consider how few women are even seen in a background role in the series. Fear not, the terrible trio will return eventually.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I the scholar interlude

💖 first time reader click here 💖

Bruce Banner angst (&POV). Because our boys are sad and writer has a saviour complex. That's about it.

For the longest time, Bruce Banner considered himself unwanted, unloveable, undesirable. He would've been just as happy to be ignored as he was content with existing only within the confines of his own lab, his presence on this planet only marked by the ever growing pile of projects and articles with his name on them.

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. He wanted nothing to do with his father's name so he dropped it years ago but one look at his government ID still made him sick deeply in the pit of his stomach. Sometimes, being the Hulk had it's advantages, and by that he meant, it was good that people mostly left him alone.

But his life was built on exceptions and he knew that sooner or later, the carefully maintained balance would tip one way or another. The exception came in a form of a fellow brilliant scientist and innovative engineer - just like multiple times before, he'd worked side by side with Tony without a second thought, not expecting much more than the feeble attempts to make friends and subsequent abandonment once Tony got what he wanted from him.

Bruce failed to take into account, perhaps, the most obvious thing: Tony was a man who had everything and nothing. Bruce didn't expect Tony's deeply rooted loneliness to affect him; after all, he was used to being alone himself, alone was safe, for everyone, not just him. But Tony's smile was a little wicked, and it knocked and knocked on his doors until he had no other option but to let Tony in.

"PUNY BANNER ALWAYS AFRAID," Hulk mocked him inside his head. Despite wanting to blow out his brains every single day, Bruce sighed and soldiered on, focusing on his research instead of answering to his green problem. It was all pointless anyway.

Days blended into one another like they tended to do when one had no destination; achievements and professional success stacked up on top of each other but it was all a tapestry, background noise to his ever-living cacophony of problems and struggles with fighting with himself. Every day, he wanted just to lay down and die.

In times like these, the Hulk took the wheel, dipping Banner nose-first, like a misbehaving pet, into the fact that he had nothing to live for. Nothing to look forward to. The meaninglessness of his life.

"Maybe, the destination isn't that important," She was a child, a girl little out of her teens, and it alarmed Bruce how much she seemed to agree with him sometimes. It seemed wrong for someone so young to be so disillusioned with life. "Maybe it was the shawarma we ate along the way," She shrugged, not noticing how those words seemed to affect Bruce at all. These days, it seemed, children crawled out of the womb already bitter and disappointed.

It went on like that for ages. She was a contradiction, very much like Tony, with a grin that was a little wicked and a mouth that was a little shameless. She bore no expectations towards him and seemed to be slightly afraid of herself; the longer he thought about it, the less sense it made. He was a logical man, left-brain-dominant, and he was entirely sure it should have been the other way around.

The Hulk, however, didn't seem to agree with him. As usual, he wanted to say, the green beast was just making his life difficult because he - he was the anger, the grief Banner himself hadn't been allowed to express - but the more he was forced to listen to the Hulk's ramblings, the more terrified he found himself. Because he agreed.

She'd smile at him over the top of the beaker and Bruce'd smile back before he could catch himself. The guilt always came and went. It was hard to feel guilty when she refused to. The carelessness that all young people possessed was blossoming in her; only later he found out how wrong he was - there was no carelessness, there was no youthful joy, she was just as afraid and confused as he was.

"Puny Banner afraid," Hulk remarked, thoughtfully.

Yes, yes, he was afraid. He was afraid he'd tainted her somehow, but Hulk violently rebuked the thought, refusing to let him out for several hours, taking control almost pleadingly as the green beast attempted to convince Banner befriend the girl. In the end, he gave in. He always gave in.

He was afraid many times after that one, but it was a different fear. Fear of loss wasn't anything either Banner or Hulk were familiar with so the learning process took even less time than they both predicted; somehow, the woes of figuring out a friendship with an outsider united the man and the beast more than any battle against a common enemy. It was puzzling but also incredibly rewarding; the joys of a common success elevating both persons stuck in a single body.

"Banner afraid?" The Hulk asked, seeing the Asgardian trickster himself enter the lab.

No, Bruce said, because Loki looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but in the green beast's lair; something important was on his mind and if they had to guess, it was their Princess.

"The Widow asked me a favour," Loki began, eyeing the various contraptions in the lab. "Although, I must admit, I have no idea why she thinks you can do serious damage. The beast is merely a beast and you, Banner, would rather shoot yourself in the foot than harm anyone but yourself," The man's tone was bored.

"I don't understand..?" Bruce was confused, temporarily losing the guarded attitude.

"I think you do. And it's about time you stop making other people save you from yourself," Loki's green eyes caught his own and Banner's breath got stuck in his throat; there was something intimate, a very familiar expression on Loki's face. It disappeared as soon as Bruce quietly acknowledged it. "I, for one, have no desire to lose this... Sense of companionship that has been cultivated recently." With that, the god turned around and promptly exited the space, taking any possibility of explanation with him.

"Banner afraid of himself," The Hulk concluded, uncharacteristically mellow in the back of his mind. Bruce cursed wordlessly, the green beast merely laughing in response. "Princess isn't afraid of Banner, isn't afraid of Hulk," The Jolly Green boasted, feeling way too satisfied for someone who'd made their first friend.

The childlike joy was infectious, it turned out, and day after day it became easier to breathe around here. Only his darker part wasn't as under control as it used to be and continuously craved more and more; as soon as Bruce acknowledged she was no child but rather a very capable, intelligent woman who's been forced to grow up sooner than strictly necessary, the desire consumed him, turned him careless and sloppy.

It didn't help that Tony had come to the same conclusion. Hulk all but forced Banner to go out and confess and clear his conscience; it seemed that lately, out of two of them, Hulk was the adult and Banner was the child being egged on to finally grow up by a persistent, supportive parent. Hulk and supportive? More likely that you'd think, especially when the green creature itself was interested in a positive outcome.

"Banner afraid?" Hulk's quiet words provided him with the strength he needed to meet her eyes, wide and round, as she wordlessly pleaded with him to help her. No, he was not afraid, not anymore. He believed her, he believed himself. For the first time in ages, he had a reason to be.

Banner wasn't afraid anymore. That said, it wasn't as if he suddenly became careless and sloppy - more like the opposite. Turned out, he was living his life without a care in the world but his paralyzing fear of himself. It was hard to be afraid under a thousand-watt smile, it was impossible to stay invisible seeing yourself reflect in eyes that shone brighter than the stars.

He'd always considered himself to be a hopeless romantic to the point of ridicule. He'd reached a point where love songs made sense and no poet was quite skilled enough to capture the sweet storms raging behind his ribs. If anything, she returned the sentiment tenfold, quietly and shyly.

Love didn't scream from the rooftops and didn't force him to fall head over heels only God knew where; it had been next to him the whole time, quiet and drowsy, waiting, expecting. Over dinner or under florescent lab lights, the Beast and his Beauty shared the conversations, ate the soul food.

"I think, if I had to ask for a portrait of Us, I would have to request the painting twice," She said, puzzling his mind (as usual). He remained quiet, expecting her to explain. "There are the public Us, the ones that wear their suits and smiles like warriors wear armour. That's the way I want the world to remember me, pretty and smiling. I don't want people to cry at my funeral, I want them to dance and be happy because I existed," She caught his stare, smile a little too teasing and eyes a little too serious. "And then there are Us that only we see. It's intimate and I don't think the whole world has earned the privilege to see me like that. I don't think some paper shark should have the honour to see the way Tony's eyes light up for you or the way Loki gets gentle around Wanda. Things like that are earned," It was bizarre, it was strange and it made all the sense.

Perhaps, it was the fact that his Princess was just as weird as the rest of them that made her fit in so quickly, so easily. And he was afraid - it was only a matter of time until the idyllic atmosphere would turn into something heavy and difficult.

It did, but not in the way he thought it would be. For the first time in years, Banner was angry. Not Hulk - Bruce was angry, and he allowed that anger to flow, to course through his veins like molten lava. He didn't fight it, he wasn't afraid of it. Not anymore.

She took it away, too. In the end, she was the bandaid to his bleeding wound, the lullaby to soothe his fear - Banner was angry but Hulk was afraid. They both knew they were helpless, having to rely on others to make sure they will never, ever feel that way again.

So when the female-looking symbiote landed on the patio of the residential floor, Bruce's heart skipped a single beat only. Tony's prone form raised a reasonable amount of concern, but their attention quickly turned to the girl-no, woman, standing still, both terrified and fearless at the same time, as she once again took his fear and anger away.

She was beautiful, like a goddess, like a Valkyrie from Thor's tales, dropping the enemy at their feet like a cat brought his prey to it's owner; her actions screamed "love me" but her words knew it might as well be the last time she'd see them be warm towards her. Much like Banner, she was afraid of herself. Of what she's capable of.

"Bruce, don't tell me you're okay with this," Tony pleaded. Banner knew Tony, he knew how sensitive was the engineer to his personal bubble being broken and he knew, she knew it, too. If she was willing to take the risk, they meant more than life to her. It was an honour, really.

"I'm not but I have to be," He removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes. "I can't risk it, Tony. If we reject her now, we'll never see her again. She's just as terrified as we are, if not more. We've been living like this, what, five, ten years? And it never gets easier. I know it, you know it." The more he spoke, the surer he became. "She accepted us, our shit and all. For once, I'll be the better person and do the same." With that, he departed for her, hugging her from behind as Natasha and Loki stood by her side with Wanda holding onto the Asgardian.

Bruce held his breath until Tony joined in, hiding his silent tears in his shirt. Neither of them could decide what hurt more - losing her or the potential of facing the very unforgiving reality of their life. Bruce had to trust Tony to pick the right option, to do the right thing and it was terrifying, it was skin-frightening but sometimes, there was just no other way.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95 @gladiosamicitias @warrior1-19 @toomanyrobins @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming

[megers67]

BNHA OC 2: Tanaka Rin

My second OC for BNHA. I came up with her second as a counterpart to Hibiki but I love her on her own as well.

Hibiki's Bio

Hero Profile

Once again, I'm so sorry there isn't a Read More. I'm on mobile and there's no damn way for me to do it.

APPEARANCE: Rin is pretty tall and of athletic build. She has bright blue hair (dyed from her natural darker blue) that, while the style changes fairly frequently, always stays short. It's never past her chin and is usually shorter than that. Because of her quirk, she is completely unaffected by the outside temperature. That means she can literally wear anything she wanted at any time, much to the annoyance of her friends. She has a decent fashion sense, but is literally blind and so can't see the colors for anything. Though even if she could, she has the confidence to wear crazy color combos. She likes people's reactions to her attire like a neon pink miniskirt in the dead of winter or a big fluffy coat in the summer heat or something. Rin does generally keep it seasonal for the most part though she still wears clashing colors. Doesn't help that Hibiki is usually the one to help Rin out in that department, and while SHE is sighted, she has absolutely no fashion sense herself. So Rin gets to enjoy walking around like a fucking disaster. For those who try to make negative comments, she cheerfully informs them that she's blind and that usually shuts them up. She also usually wears sunglasses because it's much easier to use her thermal vision when outside light is blocked out.

This doesn't really do it justice, but I'm limited to what Love Nikki is giving me. I could go more clashing, but most of that also involves clothes that don't line up (like shirts going outside the coat, etc) and I hate the look of that.

PERSONALITY: Rin is bright and cheerful and very outgoing. She is persistent in her desire to befriend most people she comes across, but knows when to tone things down or when someone needs space. Like Hibiki, she will also drop everything to help someone out, though it is far less draining on her than Hibiki. She's a fixer though so she's not great to go to if you just want to vent. If you do want to do something about something or help getting something done, then she is perfect for the job.

While Rin exudes positivity, she certainly has her own insecurities, mostly stemming from her fear that she isn't good enough to be a hero. She's not the strongest or the smartest, the fastest, most technically skilled, or have the best quirk. On top of that, she's blind. While her quirk goes a long way to make her independent, she still relies on others for a lot of things and suffers from imposter's syndrome. Being at UA has actually helped her a lot to combat these feelings, but they can still hit her pretty hard. Because she hides it behind a wall of positivity, it can be hard to spot when she's beating herself up over something. Hibiki seems to be one of, if not the, only one who can consistently read her and guide her through it. Rin isn't quick to anger unless it is on someone else's behalf in which case, she really lets it loose and will want to do something about it.

QUIRK: Her quirk is Heat. Specifically, she can make herself a heat sink or heat source and can use that to control the temperature of what she touches or the air immediately surrounding her. Her entire body is therefore unaffected by extreme temperatures (and she doesn't need to regulate a normal body temperature). This means that she doesn't get burned or frostbite so she can be standing in a raging inferno and only need to worry about getting enough air to breathe. She has yet to reach the temperature limits on her body so her intensity and range is largely limited by the amount of energy she has and any environmental constraints. Because her quirk uses her body's energy, she needs to eat a lot to keep up. Her range can increase with contact with a conductive material as it can help direct the flow of energy. Her quirk doesn't produce fire or ice and so can be difficult for an opponent to track if they're not aware of it. Rin also uses her quirk as a form of thermal imaging to navigate the world around her. This means that she has a lot of independence and doesn't need external aids for most situations. Additionally, she is completely at ease in the dark as there is little change to her.

There are, however, limitations. She can't sense through barriers such as walls, even those that sighted people can see through like glass. She can sense through barriers if a conductive material goes through it to the other side, but even then the clarity is greatly diminished. Though even that can be very useful. Another limitation is that she can't read anything printed or written on a page, screen, sign, etc. She just sees that there is a paper there. For school work, she is allowed a laptop that has a text-to-speech option so that she can hear back her notes after she types them. Rin will also have one of her classmates go over her notes to make sure she didn't miss anything, though usually her own notes tend to be better since it's faster to type than to physically write things down. For non-school work, ie. when she's out and about, she has Hibiki or someone else with her read something out to her. She would even ask strangers, but this usually only happens when she's out shopping and needs to know a price. The same goes for colors. Rin was previously sighted so she remembers colors and even processes her thermal vision via colors but she doesn't know something's real color. Hibiki has gotten pretty good at describing colors to her.

PAST: Not nearly as sordid (or detailed) as Hibiki's to be sure. She has a loving family and an older brother. Her childhood was fairly normal to be sure. Rin was always popular in school because everyone just liked her and she always made an effort for anyone to feel included. Especially the new girl, Hibiki, who keeps to herself in the corner. And she even succeeds in becoming her friend! Yay!

But her life changed forever when she turned 11. All she wanted was to figure out the limitations of her quirk. Naturally this meant trying to get her hand as hot as she could as fast as she could. Turns out that really hot things get really really bright and that prolonged exposure to bright light can permanently damage your eyes. After one too many times, her sight never returns. After that, Rin was a mess. Losing a sense was hard and it didn't help that everyone treated her like a fragile porcelain doll. Almost everyone. Hibiki didn't. In fact, she was the same calm voice of reason that she always was. In fact little had changed between them. Just the subject matter of their conversations. It was Hibiki who pointed out that maybe she could try using her quirk to sense things like the goggles police and heroes sometimes use. And like that, they went from friends to inseparable best friends.

They applied to UA together and while they both got in, Hibiki didn't make it to the hero course like she did. Initially Rin was nervous because Hibiki helped her out a lot over the last few years and now they could only be together during lunch or off hours (even though Hibiki was convinced that being in different classes mean they would drift apart, Rin insisted otherwise). She would have to face being blind alone for the first time. That anxiety didn't last very long because her class was pretty cool about it. Her teachers also made sure she had proper accommodations both in and out of class.

The sports festival was very exciting because she was able to see just how much she'd grown, but Hibiki as well. Rin made sure that they did their handshake in front of everyone to show both Hibiki and the world that whatever happened, they were still friends. And even as Rin finally knocked Hibiki out of the ring, both were smiling. Even though she didn't win, getting third was pretty damn cool.

Rin does her field training with Backdraft in the Musutafu fire department. She finds that she actually quite likes rescue work even though she still wants to fight villains. She continues to train, increasing her stamina to use her quirk more and in larger strength.

Even though she was sad that one of her classmates chose to drop the hero course, she was very happy that that meant that Hibiki was now joining the class. She was very active in getting Hibiki accepted into the group. Rin also worked hard to make sure that Hibiki was all caught up as far as the hero course was concerned. Rin got her provisional license and did her internship with a hero that was more villain-centric to get that kind of experience and was particularly useful for night missions because of her thermal vision, but it made her lose a lot of sleep. She started taking naps between classes and during lunch, relying on Hibiki to sneak her snacks during class to keep going.

OTHER SKILLS AND TIDBITS: Rin is the resident Hibiki whisperer. If you ever wanted Hibiki to do something, your best bet is to get Rin on it. Rin is down for pretty much anything and can talk Hibiki into pretty much anything even for a more passive role.

She has ADHD. She has it mostly under control, but when she doesn't, Hibiki knows how to pull her back together and get back to work.

Because Rin's body is resistant to extreme temperatures, when she thinks she is getting sick, she will "flash" to basically incinerate the pathogen. Unfortunately this also burns away any good bacteria she has in her gut as well as any non-digested food still in her system. The combo makes her nauseous anyway. She gets scolded for it every time but still insists she'll get it right some day.

She is the undisputed best cuddler because she can make her body temp juuuust the right level of warmth for whoever she's cuddling. This is especially popular during the winter.

By default, her body temperature is the normal and average level. But sometimes it will accidentally rise or lower itself without her noticing, usually due to emotions. She doesn't really notice until it's pointed out by someone that she accidentally burned or froze something.

Rin is really good to have in the kitchen because she can tell when things are cooked through to the exact temp it should be, make sure something is cooked evenly, or retrieve an ingredient that accidentally fell into boiling water too early, etc. Her favorite "party trick" is for when people are unfamiliar with her quirk, she will "accidentally" lean on a hot stove and freak them out.

She has a pretty mischievous streak in her. While she doesn't like initiating pranks, she loves being an accomplice in them. Rin is staunchly neutral during prank wars but is more than willing to lend her services to either side.

Rin likes "watching" movies even though she can't see the images on the screen. She enjoys making up her own as she hears the dialogue. The first question her friends usually have when the credits roll is "okay, what do you THINK just happened?" A lot of the time, the answer is a lot more fun than what actually happened because she has a really active imagination.

She can read Japanese braille, but it doesn't come up incredibly often. Rin is in the process of learning Japanese sign language because she wants to be good representation for disabilities and advocate for accessibility.

Rin doesn't like "turning off" her thermal vision very much, but it can get tiring after a while. She tends to do so during class since she doesn't really need it then. She'll only "turn off" outside of class if she's alone with Hibiki since she was around from the beginning. She's okay being vulnerable around her.

She doesn't like having long hair herself, but greatly enjoys playing with Hibiki's.

Rin is pansexual and has known since junior high. But she hasn't done a lot of dating since she only seems to have a consistent crush on a certain someone who just doesn't seem interested.

Rin doesn't like travelling very far by herself because she's afraid that she will suddenly get too tired to maintain her thermal vision, leaving her vulnerable, lost, and alone.

She really likes cats, but it's kind of a problem because Hibiki is allergic. Hibiki will still go with her to cat cafes to keep her company, but Rin usually feels really bad about it and so will usually ask other people to join her before resorting to asking Hibiki.

Just as Hibiki is the best hider in hide and seek, Rin is the best seeker because of her thermal vision. She is no longer allowed to be seeker.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

'Dungeons & Dragons' isn't just for the 'Stranger Things' kids — it's for you, too

This is a story about a dwarf barbarian with a beard to die for. Literally, he’s killed people over it. His name is Thorbjork and he is my Dungeons and Dragons character who almost never existed.

For those of you unfamiliar with the game Dungeons and Dragons, (D&D for short) allow me to elucidate. It is what is called a tabletop role-playing game. Basically you and your friends sit around telling a story where you each play as a character, except for the almighty Dungeon Master, who acts as the narrator of the story, describing the people you meet and the places you go. You tell the  Dungeon Master (DM) what you want to do, and then use dice throws to determine whether those actions are successful.

If you think this sounds a bit intense, don't worry — so did I. I'd been curious about playing for ages, but it wasn't until last year that I plucked up the nerve to actually do it. So what changed? How did I penetrate this upper echelon of geekdom?

Well, I did, I survived, and I'm here to tell you that you should try it too. Because once you've gotten past the stereotyped image D&D has garnered, there's a whole world of fun to be had.

The D&Dnaissance

Dungeons and Dragons was long resigned to the attic (or more likely the cellar) of too-nerdy-even-for-most-nerds. At worst D&D has been considered actual witchcraft (people really believed it may turn kids into satanists) and at best it has evoked images of players like the Comic Book Shop Guy — a snobby unapproachable nerd.

But Dungeons and Dragons is on the rise once again thanks to pop culture.

Shows like Stranger Things re-introduced the mainstream to Dungeons and Dragons in the form of adorkable children who apply their D&D knowledge to take down inter-dimensional horrors.

But for me, Stranger Things wasn't my portal into the D&D world. That honour goes to Dan Harmon.

Born of my love for Rick and Morty (of which Harmon is co-creator) I started watching Harmonquest. In it Harmon and his celebrity improv buddies are taken on a partially animated (and often deeply troubling) comedy adventure by game master Spencer Crittenden. 

For those of you who are yet to experience the glory that is Harmonquest, I strongly recommend you go watch it immediately if not sooner.

Getting over my 'D&D' hang-ups

A few things had held me back from trying D&D in the past. First, when I was 16 I discovered from my then-boyfriend that he and a few of our friends were playing D&D and I was keen to join in. Unfortunately we broke up before I got a chance to join their game.

More generally though I was nervous about my mental maths. I knew that some rudimentary adding and multiplying would be involved, and I was very self-conscious about my mathematical abilities, especially with people there to witness me struggling to do simple sums in my head. Conscious of the perceived flightiness of the "gamer girl" — an image of a girl who pretends to be into gaming just to get the attention of guys, and which I now realise is sexist nonsense —  I was anxious about getting in over my head and disappointing any fellow D&Ders.

These fears seem so silly now, but at the time they loomed large enough for me to write off D&D as simply too much for me. Watching Harmonquest remedied that fear — I thought look at these people, they're having so much fun, why shouldn't I?

HarmonQuest Tip: Never start a bit with Dwarf Ghosts. https://t.co/9HpWkT93Yy pic.twitter.com/XrwhuSdHWA

— HarmonQuest (@HarmonQuest) May 19, 2017

About a year ago I returned to university for my final year following a year abroad. It was a tricky transition, but luckily I still had a solid base of friends to help me through it. Then a few of them mentioned that they'd been playing D&D the previous year. Opportunity knocked.

Two of my more experienced mates set up a game for myself and two other novices who had been invited into the fold. 

But before we could start, we had to make our characters. 

Character creation

Under the guidance of my friends I started to craft the character I would inhabit within the game world. Slowly, like a lump of clay being moulded into a passable ash-tray, Thorbjork emerged.

Thorbjork is a dwarf barbarian. Standing proud at four feet tall, he wields a mighty battleaxe and is immensely strong for his size, especially when flies into a barbarian rage. Sadly he is rather lacking in social skills, as he is chronically uncharismatic. His crowning glory however is his beard —  a flowing waterfall of silky blonde hair that is the envy of all who gaze upon it.

BEHOLD!

Image: Vicky Leta/mashable

I Facebooked my brother later that night to tell him about my creation. "You should get a beard," he said. Haha, what a funny notion! An actual beard, fancy that. And look, it's only £10 on Amazon, how funny would it be if I bought it, just for a joke. Oh man what a funny and ridiculous notion...

The beard arrived the next day, and by some fluke it matched my hair colour perfectly. I slipped the strap over my head and looked in the mirror. "Good lord," I thought to myself "I look awesome."

This is the selfie I sent out the night I first donned the beard.

Image: isobel hamilton/mashable

Time for gameplay

Now it was time for Thorbjork to sally forth along with two other D&D virgins. Our more experienced friends had to give us some coaching, and it took us a little while to get the hang of the rules, but soon we were slaying orcs and giant spiders like nobody's business. And of course, we always made sure to bring plenty of snacks for the journey.

Thorbjork turned out not to be your typical fantasy hero; he had a tendency for violent outbursts, an obsession with collecting axes, and his go-to defence mechanism whenever he felt socially awkward was to do lunges.

If this all sounds dumb, it's because it is. The point of our D&D sessions wasn't to slay monsters or be heroes, it was to have a good time. I am supremely happy that I got over my hang-ups and just threw myself into the game. Apart from it just being fun, D&D afforded me a useful valve for my frustration and worries at a particularly stressful time. I could put reality on hold for a few hours and just have fun with my friends (not to mention Thorbjork the Uncharismatic).

Thorbjork contemplating his next move.

Image: beth jones

The beauty of the game is that it revolves around something we humans seem to naturally love doing — storytelling. Stories give us a playground, a laboratory in which to play with life and narrative. 

Now you try it

I would encourage anyone even remotely curious about D&D to go out and give it a go. Don't be daunted by the rules, or the dice, or the fear of some faceless nerd laughing cruelly at your ignorance. Everything you need to get started is here, and there's no end to online communities and boards that can help advise you in your questing. If there's a bunch of you even better, you can muddle your way through it until you become true D&D masters. Don't worry about getting it wrong, there aren't any D&D police that'll come and bust down your door. Not yet anyway.

If elves and goblins aren't your kind of thing then never fear, there are also similar games like Savage Worlds that give you different settings, like the Wild West or Pirates. Here's a fun webcomic that explains how one group created their own story. 

The moral of the story is, don't let self-doubt get in the way of what could be a really fun experience. Also my beard is the best, all hail the beard in its voluminous glory.

Thorbjork forever.

Image: Seana Moon-white

WATCH: 7 surprising discoveries about 'The Princess Bride' movie

Every editorial product is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our journalism.