#Buck Rogers Adventure Game

[30somethingautisticteacher]

Rewriting Their Stories

The 118 crew and their partners lounged around the fire pit in Bobby and Athena's backyard, the flames casting a warm glow on their faces. Buck nestled closer to Tommy on the small outdoor loveseat, a soft blanket draped over them. As he gazed around at his chosen family, a wave of gratitude washed over him.

Chimney's voice broke through the comfortable silence. "Alright, next question: first kisses. Who was yours and when?" He grinned mischievously. "Maddie, you're up."

Maddie groaned good-naturedly, rolling her eyes at her husband. "Fine. Jeremy Billings, sixth grade." She paused, scrunching her nose at the memory. "His lips were like sandpaper, and our braces nearly got stuck together. Not exactly the stuff of romance novels."

The group erupted in laughter, the sound mingling with the crackling fire.

Maddie, still chuckling at her own embarrassing memory, turned to Bobby. "Alright, Bobby, you're up next."

Bobby's eyes crinkled with amusement as he leaned back, one arm draped around Athena's shoulders. "Eileen Rogers, eighth grade," he said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "It was at my first co-ed party, during a rather intense game of spin the bottle."

Athena raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on her lips. "Spin the bottle, huh? Should I be jealous of this Eileen?"

Bobby chuckled, pulling his wife closer. "Trust me, it was about as awkward as Maddie's orthodontic adventure. We bumped noses before we even got to the kiss part."

The group dissolved into laughter once more, the camaraderie evident in their shared amusement.

As the laughter died down, Buck felt Tommy tense beside him. Glancing up, he noticed a shadow pass over his partner's face. Concern flickered in Buck's eyes as he leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "Hey, you okay?"

Tommy nodded, but the gesture lacked conviction. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, and his gaze seemed fixed on some distant point beyond the fire.

Buck's brow furrowed, his arm tightening protectively around Tommy's waist. He knew his boyfriend well enough to sense that something was off, but he also understood that now wasn't the time to press the issue. Instead, he simply intertwined their fingers under the blanket, offering a silent gesture of support.

"Tommy, you're up," Bobby said.

Tommy swallowed hard, his gaze distant. "Uh, Chad Miller," he began, his voice barely audible over the crackling fire. "I was... I was 14."

He paused, his grip tightening on Buck's hand beneath the blanket. "My dad walked in on us," Tommy added, his tone flat, devoid of the playful nostalgia that had colored the others' stories.

A heavy silence fell over the group, the jovial atmosphere dissipating like smoke in the night air. Buck instinctively pulled Tommy closer, his thumb tracing soothing circles on the back of his partner's hand.

Athena, ever perceptive, smoothly intervened. "How about we take a quick break? I think we could use some more snacks." Her suggestion was met with murmurs of agreement as the group began to stir, offering Tommy a moment to collect himself.

Later that night, in the quiet of their home, Buck finally broached the subject. They were curled up on the couch, the TV playing softly in the background, more for ambiance than entertainment.

"Hey," Buck said softly, his fingers gently combing through Tommy's hair. "You wanna talk about what happened earlier? About your first kiss?"

Tommy was silent for a long moment, his eyes fixed on some invisible point. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, tinged with old pain. "There's not much to say, really. My dad caught his son kissing another boy, and he... well, he reacted how you'd expect."

The words hung heavy in the air, laden with unspoken hurt. Buck's arm tightened around Tommy, offering silent support and protection against memories that couldn't be changed.

"I'm sorry you went through that," Buck murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to Tommy's temple. "You didn't deserve it."

Tommy let out a shaky breath, leaning into Buck's embrace. "I know that now. It's just... sometimes the memories catch me off guard, you know?"

Tommy's voice was barely above a whisper, each word heavy with long-buried pain. "I stayed in that house for another three years after that day. My dad... I don't think he ever looked me in the eye again. He was so ashamed."

He paused, his body tense against Buck's. Buck remained silent, offering a reassuring squeeze, encouraging Tommy to continue at his own pace.

"And Chad," Tommy's voice cracked slightly. "He was terrified. Threatened to kick my ass and out me to everyone if I breathed a word about what happened. So I didn't. I just... existed. Invisible and silent."

Buck felt a surge of protective anger, but he kept his voice soft. "That must have been incredibly lonely and scary for you. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, babe."

Tommy's voice trembled, raw emotion seeping through his carefully constructed walls. "For the longest time, I thought I was broken. Like God had made some terrible mistake when He made me."

Buck's heart clenched at the pain in Tommy's words. He cupped Tommy's face gently, his thumbs brushing away the tears that had started to fall.

"Listen to me," Buck said, his voice low and intense. "You are not broken. You are not a mistake. You're beautifully, perfectly you."

Tommy leaned into Buck's touch, his eyes closing as he fought to believe the words. "I know that now, mostly. But back then... it felt like the whole world was telling me I was wrong just for existing."

Buck pulled Tommy closer, wrapping him in a protective embrace. "I wish I could go back and protect that scared kid you were. Tell him that he's worthy of love and acceptance."

Tommy's arms tightened around Buck. "You're doing that now," he whispered. "Every day, you show me what real love and acceptance look like."

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of Tommy's revelation settling around them. Buck pressed a soft kiss to Tommy's forehead, a wordless promise of continued support and unconditional love.

Buck's voice was soft, his eyes meeting Tommy's with warmth. "Can I tell you about my first kiss with a guy?"

Tommy nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. He knew this story, but hearing Buck tell it always filled him with a mix of love and pride.

"It was the softest, most perfect kiss," Buck began, his voice tinged with reverence. "He lifted my chin with his fingers, so gently. When our lips met, everything changed. He rewrote my story."

Buck's hand found Tommy's, squeezing gently. "You rewrote my story, Tommy."

Tommy's eyes glistened with emotion. "I remember," he whispered. "I was so nervous, but you felt so right."

"You were perfect," Buck assured him. "Still are. That moment... it changed everything for me, in the best possible way."

Tommy leaned in, resting his forehead against Buck's. "For me too," he murmured. "You helped me rewrite my story too, you know. Showed me what love should really feel like."

Buck cupped Tommy's face, his thumb gently caressing his cheek. "We rewrote our stories together," he said softly. "And we're still writing, every day."

[marcmarcmomarc]

Once Upon a Lamp - list of characters

In honor of Once Upon a Studio turning one year old

EXT. THE STEVE JOBS BUILDING - EARLY EVENING

The Adventures of André and Wally B.

André

Wally B.

Luxo Jr.

Luxo Jr.

Luxo Sr.

Red’s Dream

Lumpy

Red

Tin Toy

Tinny

Gumbo

Flip ‘n Beth

Ace

Clocky

Spot

Zoo Train

Chrome Dome

Rallye Guy

Fire Hydrant

Helicopter Sheep

Toypot

Frodo

Bouncy

Eben’s Car

Les

RenderMan

Knick Knack

Knick

Sunny Miami

Sunny Florida

Sunny Egypt

Sunny Jamaica

Sunny Palm Springs

Sunny Israel

Surf Death Valley

Sunny Atlantis

Toy Story (Toys)

Woody

Buzz Lightyear

Jessie

Mr. Potato Head

Slinky Dog

Rex

Hamm

Bo Peep

Mrs. Potato Head

Bullseye

Mr. Pricklepants

Dolly

Trixie

Buttercup

Chuckles

Stinky Pete

Barbie

Ken

Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear

Big Baby

Twitch

Stretch

Chunk

Sparks

Chatter Telephone

Bookworm

Peas-in-a-Pod

Forky

Giggle McDimples

Ducky

Bunny

Duke Caboom

Gabby Gabby

The Dummies

Billy, Goat, and Gruff

Toy Story (Human side)

Andy Davis

Mrs. Davis

Molly Davis

Sid Phillips

Hannah Phillips

Bonnie Anderson

Bonnie’s Mom

Bonnie’s Dad

Buster

Scud

Geri’s Game

Geri

A Bug’s Life

Flik

Hopper

Princess Atta

Princess Dot

The Queen

Molt

Slim

Heimlich

Francis

Manny

Gypsy

Rosie

Tuck

Roll

P.T. Flea

Dim

Mr. Soil

Dr. Flora

Thorny

Cornelius

Thumper

Aphie

For the Birds

Bluebird Flock

Gawky Bird

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Commander Nebula

Mira Nova

XR

Booster

Warp Darkmatter

Gravitina

N0S-4-A2

XL

Monsters, Inc.

James P. Sullivan

Mike Wazowski

Boo

Celia Mae

Randall Boggs

Henry J. Waternoose

Johnny Worthington

Scott “Squishy” Squibbles

Don Carlton

Terri and Terry Perry

Art

Tylor Tuskman

Val Little

Fritz

Katherine “Cutter” Sterns

Duncan P. Anderson

Roz

Yeti

Jeff Fungus

Banana Bread

Roger Rogers

Suzy “Sunny” Sunshine

Finding Nemo

Marlin

Dory

Nemo

Hank

Boundin’

Jackalope

Lamb

The Incredibles

Bob Parr

Helen Parr

Violet Parr

Dashiell Parr

Jack-Jack Parr

Lucius Best

Edna Mode (E)

Buddy Pine

Winston Deavor

Evelyn Deavor

Mirage

Rick Dicker

Voyd

One Man Band

Bass

Treble

Tippy

THX

Tex

Cars

Lightning McQueen

Tow Mater

Cruz Ramirez

Lifted

Stu

Mr. B

Ratatouille

Remy

Alfredo Linguini

Chef Skinner

Colette Tatou

Django

Emile

Anton Ego

Presto

Presto DiGiotagione

Alec Azam

WALL-E

WALL-E

EVE

Captain B. McCrea

John

Mary

M-O

The Defective Robots

Hal the Cockroach

Partly Cloudy

Gus

Peck

Up

Carl Fredricksen

Russell

Dug

Charles Muntz

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Kevin

Kevin’s Babies

Day & Night

Day

Night

La Luna

Bambino

Papà

Nonno

Brave

Merida

Elinor

Fergus

Hamish

Hupert

Harris

Fergus’ Dogs

Angus

The Witch

Maudie

Lord MacGuffin

Lord Macintosh

Lord Dingwall

Young MacGuffin

Young Macintosh

Wee Dingwall

The Witch’s Crow

Conan the Clan Dingwall Hunk

The Blue Umbrella

Blue

Red

Lava

Uka

Lele

Inside Out (Mindscape)

Joy

Sadness

Anger

Fear

Disgust

Anxiety

Envy

Ennui

Embarrassment

Nostalgia

Inside Out (Humans)

Riley Andersen

Jill Andersen

Bill Andersen

Grace Hsieh

Bree Young

Valentina Ortiz

Dani

Ally

Sofia

Nour

Coach Roberts

Sanjay’s Super Team

Sanjay

Sanjay’s Father

Hanuman

Durga

Vishnu

The Good Dinosaur

Arlo

Spot

Henry

Ida

Buck

Libby

Nash

Ramsey

Butch

Thunderclap

Downpour

Coldfront

Frostbite

Windgust

Bubbha

Lurleane

Pervis

Earl

Forrest Woodbush

Fury

Destructor

Dream Crusher

Debbie

Piper

Piper

Lou

Lou

J.J.

Coco (Land of the Living)

Miguel Rivera

Dante

Abuelita Elena Rivera

Enrique Rivera (Papá)

Luisa Rivera (Mamá)

Tío Berto Rivera

Tía Carmen Rivera

Tía Gloria Rivera

Abuelito Franco Rivera

Abel Rivera

Rosa Rivera

Socorro Rivera

Benny Rivera

Manny Rivera

Coco (Land of the Dead)

Papá Héctor Rivera

Ernesto de la Cruz

Mamá Imelda Rivera

Pepita

Mamá Coco Rivera

Papá Julio Rivera

Tía Rosita Rivera

Tía Victoria Rivera

Tío Óscar Rivera

Tío Felipe Rivera

Bao

Mom

Son

Dad

Cindy

Purl

Purl

Lacy

Office Bros.

Office Ladies

Kitbull

Kitbull

Dog

Smash and Grab

Smash

Grab

Float

Father

Son

Wind

Ellis

Ellis’ Grandma

Onward

Ian Lightfoot

Barley Lightfoot

Laurel Lightfoot

Corey

Colt Bronco

Blazey

Soul (Living World)

Joe Gardener

Libba Gardener

Dez

Curley

Dorothea Williams

Connie

Soul (The Great Before)

22

Moonwind

Terry

Counselor Jerry A

Counselor Jerry B

Loop

Renee

Marcus

Out

Greg

Jim

Manuel

Greg’s Parents

Gigi

Luca

Luca Paguro

Alberto Scorfano

Giulia Marcovaldo

Ercole Visconti

Massimo Marcovaldo

Daniela Paguro

Lorenzo Paguro

Grandma Libera Paguro

Ciccio

Guido

Machiavelli

Nona

Nona

Renee

Twenty-Something

Gia

Nicole

Turning Red

Meilin Lee

Miriam Mendelsohn

Abby Park

Priya Mangal

Tyler Nguyen-Baker

Ming Lee

Jin Lee

Grandma Wu Lee

Auntie Chen

Lily

Helen

Auntie Ping

Mr. Gao

4*Town

Lightyear

Izzy Hawthorne

Sox

Mo Morrison

Darby Steel

Commander Burnside

Alisha Hawthorne

Kiko Hawthorne

Elemental

Ember Lumen

Wade Ripple

Bernie Lumen

Cinder Lumen

Gale Cumulus

Fern Grouchwood

Clod

Brook Ripple

Harold Ripple

Alan Ripple

Lake Ripple

Eddy Ripple

Marco Ripple

Polo Ripple

Ghibli

Flarrietta

Flarry

Self

Self

Win or Lose

Coach Dan

Vanessa

Rochelle

Elio

Elio Solis

Elio’s Aunt

Ambassador Questa

Ambassador Grigon

Hoppers

Mabel

King George

———————————————————————————-

Notes

Everybody is all smiles for the group picture, from heroes to villains and everything in-between. Even characters who were otherwise sticks in the mud like Hank genuinely smile for the picture. Villains such as Muntz, de la Cruz, Lotso, Thunderclap and his gang, Syndrome, Evelyn, Randall, Waternoose, Hopper, Skinner, and Ercole, as much of evil psychopaths they were, are seen tenderly and respectfully singing along. Even Sid, who was a massive bully to Hannah, is seen giving her a kind brotherly embrace. Also, most movies’ main cast seem to be cramped together. Even the villains stand near their respective heroes, everyone in a healthy relationship with their families and loved ones are tenderly holding each other close, and many of the larger characters offer their bodies for the smaller ones.

Forky, Heimlich, Dory, Jack-Jack, Mater, WALL-E, and one of the triplets wave at the camera.

Dim and Wee Dingwall give the camera dopey smiles.

The egg-shaped bluebirds and the gawky bird stand perched above the entrance. The bluebirds are happy to have the gawky bird with them, a far cry from how they treated him in their short.

Sulley carries Boo tenderly in his arms. Helen does the same to Jack-Jack, as do Presto with Alec, Carl and Russell with Kevin’s babies, Elinor and Fergus with their triplet sons, Embarrassment with Envy, Massimo with Machiavelli, and Izzy with Sox.

Terri attempts to dance before his other half stops him.

Hank carries Marlin, Dory, and Nemo in a coffee pot.

Voyd and Abby giddily bounce in place, clearly the most excited for the photo.

Linguini carries Remy while Colette holds Django and Emile.

WALL-E and EVE hold the umbrellas from The Blue Umbrella.

HAN-S still can’t stay still, shaking aggressively as the photo is taken.

Kevin and her babies take the time to mimic Carl once again.

Maudie and the Clan Dingwall hunk share a loving look.

Young Macintosh flexes his pecs while giving the camera a cocky smile, the same type of smile given by characters like Terry, Darby, and Clod.

The Witch has her Crow standing perched on her shoulder.

Being stationary volcanoes, Uka and Lele are unable to leave their photo. Thankfully, they have Thunderclap and his gang to hold it so they can be in the group picture.

Nostalgia sticks her head out from behind Embarrassment, clearly hiding from the other emotions.

Riley, Grace, and Bree all carry Knick together while Riley’s parents carry the Miami and Florida knick knacks, Val and the Fire Hawks carry the Egypt, Jamaica, Palm Springs, Israel, and Death Valley knick knacks, and Coach Roberts carries Sunny Atlantis in her fish bowl.

Cindy, Son’s fiancée, winks at the camera as the photo is taken.

Machiavelli gives the camera his standard bored look.

Mei has her red hair, panda ears, and panda tail, continuing to embrace her panda.

Aaron Z gives the camera a thumbs up while Tae Young makes a heart with his hands.

Izzy gives Sox a neck scratch.

Alisha and Kiko’s inclusion also counts due to their backlash following the movie’s release.

[vintagerpg]

No Humans Allowed (1992) is the genetic manipulation sourcebook for XXVc. The concept of genetically modified people and animals is introduced in the core rules, primarily in a mechanical sense. It’s pretty obvious that large scale genetic manipulation has made exploring and inhabiting space possible, but the core box doesn’t really dig into the greater moral and social conundrums that are introduced by creating new species of human (there is a passing mentions that bigots view gene-altered species as lesser than human, but that’s about it). This book acknowledges that those questions exist, but doesn’t attempt to answer them either. Rather, this is a mix between a powers book and a monster book.

A monster book? Yeaaaaah. See, advantageous genetic manipulation in humans is pretty commonplace in XXVc to allow, say, Martian humans to live comfortably in Mars’ less Earthly environment. They’re still recognizably human, though. More extreme modifications for more extreme environments or for particular tasks (like hard labor) tend to produce “monsters,” who are perfectly suited for the tasks they are designed for. Woof, not great! This sure sounds like boutique slave labor and, like Dark Sun’s slave races, rises from racist concepts of eugenics. Dark Sun at least confronts and attempts to break down those concepts. Here they are either glossed over or presented uncritically. You can kind of get the vibe from the cover — it should read as a Frankenstein-esque mad scientist tableau, but instead it has all the critique of a portrait of a former CEO hung in an office lobby.

This all seems like a missed opportunity: genetic manipulation is essentially identified as XXVc’s central question and then all the books I have seem to quietly avoid even attempted to answer it. Maybe this sort of stuff is tackled in the adventures or other sourcebooks (I’ll never know), but it seems a shame at best and (given the racism in the source material, which is also present in the Buck Rogers Adventure Game produced in 1993) sinister at worst.

[lillygwenstacy]

Do i hate you, Never biker dad bucky x mom reader

"Becca, do you think what we're doing is safe" Brooklyn Rogers turned to her best friend.

"Isok Brook, we're just gonna explore and have fun," Rebecca Barnes says stubbornly as she tries to reach the candy on the counter.

"But Dad and Uncle Bucky told us not to come here" as she tries to help Becca. "You wanted to come as well Brookie" Rebecca grabs the candies and shares them with Brooklyn.

"But Beccs....Uh oh Becca" she whispers to Becca. When Becca turns around she sees five teenage bad boys and they do not look happy. The two, four-year-olds left the house to have some adventure even though their dads asked them not to leave the house. So they snuck out and here they are standing alone in front of these rowdies who do not look happy.

"Well well well, look what we have here fellas, we have the infamous daughter of James Barnes along with the daughter of Steve Rogers alone". the boys snatch the candies from Brooklyn and pushed her as she landed on her butt. Brooklyn was never a cry baby but now she was on the verge of tears.

"Leave her alone" Rebecca shouts and the boys only laughed at her. "Ohhh what are you gonna do little girl you gonna call for your daddy"  the boys laughed as Becca tried to be strong for her friend. "I don't like bullies, and I'm not afraid of you" she tries to shout but came only as a small voice.

"What did you say, say that...." but the boy didn't finish the sentence. The boys looked terrified as they backed away from the two girls. Their gazes were no longer on the two girls but on what's behind them.

The two girls looked at each other confused when they hear a throat being cleared. Two fierce eyes settled on the boys. "You boys sure are brave enough to talk to my daughter" Bucky steps in front of the boys, while the rest of his gang waited for his signal. Brooklyn rushed towards her dad as Steve swiftly took her in his arms and hands her to her mother Peggy who was relieved to see her daughter ok.

"Mr. Barnes...we-we didn't know she was your daughter" the boys tried to reason, but Bucky wasn't taking anything a no for an answer. He was furious and scared. When you came in barging into the room with Peggy he knew something was wrong. He was relieved when Peter said they spot him near a shop. But when they reached the spot, he wasn't happy with what he saw. At first, he wanted to tear those boys apart, but he knew he should be calm and he doesn't want her girls to see him angry.

"Like hell, you know she's my daughter!!" his stiffness was melted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked he saw your face and Becca was in your arms, Buckys jacket wrapped around her as she was feeling cold.

"Come on Buck, let's go". your voice calmed him. He nodded as he gave a signal to Sam to deal with the boys. He wrapped his right arm around you as you two were walking towards his bike with Becca in your arms. He was never upset when it comes to his daughter. He knows she has wrapped him around with her pinky finger from the day she was born. Today however he was disappointed with her but doesn't want to show. His wife however was very disappointed.

"Rebecca Barnes, what were you thinking" you placed Becca on the bike seat and checked whether she hurt herself. "Is Brookie ok?" Becca said in a small voice. The thing about Rebbecca is that she cares too much about others that she won't take care of herself. You looked at your daughter, she has the same blue orbs which she got from her father and you let out a sigh.

"Yes, she is but you have to apologize to Uncle Steve and Aunt Peggy understood?" you cupped her face and gave her a forehead kiss. "I wanna go home" little Becca whimpered as she hugged her mom. "Yes, baby blue well go". You turn your head towards where Bucky is standing, he is good at hiding emotions. He jumped on the bike and gave you your helmet as well as Becca's.

On the way home, it was silent. No games, no laughs. But all you cared about was your daughter in your arms safe and sound. You already know that Bucky was gonna have a talk with Becca.

When they reached the clubhouse everyone was going in. You also knew that Brooklyn was gonna have a talk with Peggy. When you got off your seat. You gave a forehead kiss to Becca who was sitting in the front totally confused and you gave a kiss to Bucky. You could feel his stiffness melting. The effect you have on him. "Don't be too hard on her she's just a kid". you whispered to Bucky to which only he gave a small smile and a nod.

"Daddy, where are we going," Becca asked her dad. Bucky hadn't spoken to anyone after the incident. They came to a stop and he hopped off from his bike helping Becca to get down. Instead of walking Bucky took Becca into his arms. He just wants to hold her close and never let her go.

" Daddy where are we?" Becca was tired and laid her head on her father's shoulder.

"This is place means a lot to me Becca bear". They were sitting on a vast plain land under the night sky. Becca turned to her dad, still her head on his shoulder. "This is where I took your mom for our first date, where I asked her to marry me but you know what makes this place even more special?" he turned to his daughter who was watching him. "This is where your mom told me she was pregnant with you"

" I've been in the military before I even met your mom. I've seen many bad things that are scary. But you Rebecca Barnes gave me a fright of a lifetime. Do you know how scared I was? Anything could've happened to you. What if you get hurt or worse?".

"I'm sorry daddy"

"Becca bear you gotta understand that not all people are good people. There are bad people. And I can't even imagine what will happen to you if I hadn't reached  at the right time."

"Do you hate me, daddy?" Becca says in a small wobbly voice.

"Am I upset, yes. Do I hate you, never . I promised from the day you were born that ill protect you and your mom from anything. And ill always be there for my girls. You got it?"

"I love you dad" she hugged around his neck as he hugged her back. "I love you too Becca bear, so so much" giving her a kiss on her head.

"Dad, can we bring mum next time with us. I like this place" he chuckles "Of course baby anything to keep my girls safe."

[theabstruseone]

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Open Gaming License (OGL)

So this story has broken out of the tabletop roleplaying community and gotten into the mainstream and, due to outlets covering the story who aren't well-versed in the RPG industry, there's a LOT of misinformation going around. So I'm going to try to clear up what's going on. Short version: The new OGL is a shitshow, but people are treating speculation and rumor as fact and a lot of people are focusing on the wrong problems.

Oh, and if anyone wants to know why they should listen to me about this: I've been covering the tabletop roleplaying game industry for almost a decade and it's been my primary job for over six years. I've also done extensive research on the history of tabletop roleplaying and made several videos about small aspects of it.

First a bit of history.

Side note: Pretty much every sentence in this part is an entire whole-ass Story on its own, so I'm glossing over a lot of stuff to stay focused on the Open Gaming License.

In 1974, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson wrote a new game based on the Chainmail miniature wargame called Dungeons & Dragons. This is widely considered the start of the tabletop roleplaying game genre. The game was published by a company called TSR Inc., which was taken over by the heir to the Buck Rogers publishing fortune, Lorraine Williams. By the 1990s, TSR dug itself into a deep financial hole. It was on the verge of bankruptcy before being purchased by Wizards of the Coast, the makers of Magic: The Gathering.

Wizards of the Coast launched a new Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons in 2000 and, as part of the launch, released the Open Gaming License (OGL). This license allowed third-party publishers to create their own products based off of D&D 3rd Edition with some restrictions (they couldn't use specific intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast like the Forgotten Realms setting or some monsters created specifically for Dungeons & Dragons rather than based on myth or folklore). This launched a boom of third-party publishers creating their own products under the "D20 System" label.

The primary reason for creating the Open Gaming License was that we almost lost Dungeons & Dragons altogether. If TSR had fallen into bankruptcy, the assets of the company would be divvied up by creditors and likely auctioned off. Meaning the rights could be scattered to the wind or picked up by a company with no intention of developing a new game or keeping old material in print. Or worse, the rights could have been chopped up so that it became a confusing quagmire to figure out who owns what precisely. This actually has happened in many cases in tabletop roleplaying over the decades with several games currently (and likely permanently) out of print because nobody knows who owns the rights to them.

With the OGL, it was ensured that, at least in some capacity, Dungeons & Dragons would survive.

When Wizards of the Coast decided to update the game to the 4th Edition, they decided not to release 4th Edition rules under the OGL, but offered publishers an alternate but more restrictive license called the Game System License (GSL). This license was so unpopular it's difficult to even find a copy of the license online anymore.

As part of this move to 4th Edition, Wizards of the Coast canceled their contract with a company called Paizo to create the official D&D magazines Dragon and Dungeon. Paizo, who were also publishing campaign collections called Adventure Paths under the OGL, decided they wanted to keep making material for D&D 3rd Edition. So they created their own version of D&D called Pathfinder. Pathfinder became very popular in the gaming community as an alternative to D&D 4e. For modern fans, the home campaign that eventually became Critical Role started out as a Pathfinder campaign.

Due to a combination of factors, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition was not as successful as Wizards of the Coast's new owner, Hasbro, hoped it would be. It was not a "failure" in terms of a tabletop roleplaying game as it sold very well for a TTRPG and maintained its spot as the highest-selling RPG in the industry through mass-market channels throughout its lifetime (even if Pathfinder did spend a year out-selling it in hobby channels like comic book and game stores). But Hasbro is a multibillion-dollar corporation and they expected D&D to perform as well as their other large brands and it underperformed to that expectation.

So when Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition was in development in 2014 under the name "D&D Next", expectations from Hasbro were lowered and far more realistic. They were more hands-off and less focused on aggressive monetization of the brand. This meant that D&D 5e was released under the OGL. A new boom of third-party content resulted. Several companies ran Kickstarter campaigns for D&D 5e-compatible material, some raising hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars.

Then, thanks to huge gains in the audience from live streaming, YouTube, and podcasting, Dungeons & Dragons became a major hit again under 5e. The game experienced a revitalization and managed to meet the high expectations that Hasbro had for 4e.

The New Open Gaming License

In 2022, Wizards of the Coast announced they were "refreshing" D&D 5e with a new product codenamed "OneD&D". This would not be a new edition, just an update to the previous edition. All 5e material would still be compatible with the new "OneD&D".

In December of 2022, rumors started floating around that Wizards of the Coast was going to "abolish" the Open Gaming License. These rumors were based on pure speculation and "insider information" which turned out to be only partially accurate. Just before Christmas, Wizards of the Coast made a blog post on D&D Beyond (their online portal for D&D) explaining that OneD&D would still use the Open Gaming License, but an updated version of the license.

This new version of the license would function less like the GNU Public License for open-source software on which the OGL was based on, but more like the license that Epic uses for its Unreal Engine for video games. Companies could still use the OGL, but would have to register their sales if they make more than $50,000. If a company makes more than $750,000 a year in gross sales, it will have to pay a royalty to Wizards of the Coast.

In January, "leaks" of this new OGL appeared online via YouTube channels reading select pieces of it. Speculation and rumors ran rampant once again that Wizards of the Coast is "revoking" the OGL.

After almost a week of this, the actual Open Gaming License v1.1 document was also leaked. This was sent to some third-party publishers to get feedback and make them aware of the changes in advance of a public announcement under NDA. The document was split into two sections, the actual License itself which was written as a legal document and a commentary section that is not-legally-binding explanations of the intent of the legalese in that section.

Much of the speculation was based on early leaks, which focused on the not-legally-binding commentary section rather than the actual legal terms of the license. The one that caused the most concern was a statement "de-authorizing" all prior versions of the Open Gaming License.

This story broke out of the tabletop roleplaying news outlets and online community, who began to cover the story as well including outlets like Gizmodo, iO9, Polygon, and Forbes. In many cases, these outlets do not normally cover TTRPGs and Wizards of the Coast had yet to comment, so they ran the story with the version full of speculation and rumor framed by people who had a long history of criticizing Wizards of the Coast (for reasons justified and less so) because it was the only story they had.

Legal experts began to weigh in as well, with a decided split between those who believe that Wizards of the Coast COULD revoke the OGL and those who believe that Wizards of the Coast could only do so for those who agree to the new OGL v1.1 but NOT for people who did not agree to this license.

In the fallout of these events, several tabletop roleplaying companies began making announcements to stop producing third-party material for Dungeons & Dragons. Some announced a new focus on their own original systems, and others stated they planned to develop a version of D&D that they could legally publish without using the OGL.

And, as of January 11, 2023, this is where we're at. Wizards of the Coast only released a "We're working on a statement, please be patient" style statement only posted as a tweet, but no other comment since December.

So...CAN They Revoke the OGL? AKA I, Someone Who Is Not a Lawyer, Explains Legal Issues

When the rumors started in December, I spoke with a couple of lawyers I know, one of whom works in the TTRPG industry as a side-gig and one who works often with open software licenses. Other legal experts have weighed in as well. And the answer to that question is "...maybe?"

The entire case for revoking the OGL is based on a single clause in the original Open Gaming License that allows for the updating of the license. This cause states that, if the license is updated, creators may use any "authorized version" of the license.

However, the license itself does not state who authorizes the license or a process for making a different version of the license no longer authorized. Also, the OGL v1.0a (the older version) only has a process for revoking the license if one party violates the license. There are no other conditions for revoking the license listed in the OGL v1.0a. Also, case law exists for companies attempting to revoke rights under the GPL and other open-source software licenses where they were not legally allowed to.

However (again), the OGL states that the license is "perpetual", meaning it does not have an expiration date. It does NOT state that it is "irrevocable". Meaning that some legal experts believe that it CAN be revoked.

However (again again), when dealing with lawsuits over licenses and contracts, there are two things to keep in mind. In general (and varying on jurisdiction), ambiguity in a contract is generally interpreted as the fault of the side who drafted the contract and so, if the terms of a contract are unclear, the courts will generally side in favor of the one who did NOT write the contract. Yes, I said "generally" a lot because it all comes down to details and we won't know for sure how this will play out unless it goes to court.

Secondly, courts will examine things like industry standards when determining the validity of an interpretation of a contract, and the established industry standard within the TTRPG industry is that the OGL could not be revoked, a standard established by Wizards of the Coast themselves in 2006 when they stated so clearly in a FAQ about the license (formerly on their website, now only available via the Wayback machine...and this isn't because they're trying to hide it, but because they revamped their entire website several years ago and a whole lot of posts and documents from the 2000s were removed).

Finally, the Open Gaming License is used by companies beyond Wizards of the Coast. I don't even mean like Paizo (Pathfinder/Starfinder), Pelgrane Press (13th Age), and EN Publishing (Level Up) who made D&D derivative games, but systems like Basic Roleplay from Chaosium that powers Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest, FATE which powers the licensed Dresden Files RPG, D6 System used by West End Games before that company collapsed for Ghostbusters and Star Wars, and several others. The systems released by these companies have NOTHING to do with Wizards of the Coast or Dungeons & Dragons, so "revoking" the OGL would directly affect them despite not interacting with Wizards of the Coast's IP in any way.

So CAN Wizards of the Coast revoke the Open Gaming License? Maybe, but probably not. But the bigger question is...do they actually WANT to do it? I mean, yeah, they probably WANT to, but what I mean is do I think it is their actual plan to revoke the OGL?

What I Think Wizards of the Coast is Actually Doing AKA It's Bad in a Different Way

Wizards of the Coast purchased D&D Beyond, a website that acted as a character builder and digital storefront for official Dungeons & Dragons material, last year for several million dollars. They also announced their own virtual tabletop (VTT) is in the works, a system that allows people to play RPGs remotely by simulating the tabletop experience on a computer or tablet. They also have a licensing deal with OneBookShelf (the company that owns the VTT Roll20 and the digital storefront DriveThruRPG) for Dungeonmasters Guild, a site that allows community content creators to make their own D&D products under a license more permissive than the OGL in content (you can set your adventures in Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft and use characters like Drizzt and Raistlin) but that requires payment of royalties to Wizards of the Coast.

I believe that Wizards of the Coast wants to encourage third-parties to sign the OGL v1.1 in order to gain access to their walled garden digital storefronts. Because D&D Beyond and the VTT are first-party products and Wizards of the Coast has a far larger marketing budget, they can easily create an environment where the vast majority of the tabletop gaming customer base uses their marketplaces. Meaning if you want access to millions of customers, you HAVE to go through Wizards of the Coast and agree to their royalty terms.

After a few years, this would give Wizards of the Coast the same dominance in the online tabletop gaming space as they have in the mass market space through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and other mainstream retail stores. And when the eventual Sixth Edition is released that is no longer compatible with 5e, they can release that document under the OGL v1.1 and cut off anyone from creating products without agreeing to the terms.

However, I don't think they want to eliminate the OGL v1.0a for ALL creations. It would be an iffy legal case and, as you've likely seen, would be a public relations nightmare. It would also be a bad move for Wizards of the Coast as the company (like all TTRPG companies) relies heavily on freelancers. Freelancers who typically get experience by writing and publishing on OGL material. I'd be utterly shocked if there was anyone working at Wizards of the Coast right now in a game design capacity who did NOT, if not getting their start in OGL material, at least published something under the OGL for D&D 3rd Ed, 3.5, Pathfinder, or 5e.

Not only would revoking the OGL v1.0a entirely be a costly endeavor, it would be a fruitless one. You may have seen in the various discussions the phrase, "You can't copyright game rules". This is true - game mechanics are covered in intellectual property law by patents, not copyright. You cannot copyright a set of game rules, you can only copyright the expression of those rules.

Side note: This is also the reason why every online recipe starts with an overly-long blog post about the recipe's role in the author's life - they can't copyright the actual recipe because it's just a list of ingredients and a description of the steps. They CAN copyright the story surrounding the recipe though, so if some bot steals their blog post and reposts it, they'll know because the story that IS protected under copyright was likely stolen as well.

While it isn't necessarily an easy process because it requires interpreting what is and is not a "creative expression" of describing the rules, it IS possible to recreate pretty much any game's core system in a way that is perfectly legal under copyright law. Kit Walsh wrote about this for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (though I disagree with some of her other conclusions here, that part is a pretty accurate explanation).

Side note: The EFF formed thanks to tabletop roleplaying games. The US Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games, the publishers of GURPS who eventually went on to create the card game Munchkin. A group of lawyers represented SJG in their lawsuit against the government, and those lawyers decided to form the EFF as an organization to continue defending digital rights. I did a video about it a few years ago.

The OGL's primary value is that it addresses this hole in intellectual property law. While it's possible to publish compatible material for a game system without a license or even recreate the entire game system, it's not exactly easy. There are many ways that creators can accidentally violate copyright without realizing it.

For example, many Old School Rennaissance systems attempt to re-create the rules from older editions of Dungeons & Dragons which were NOT released under the OGL by using the material that IS in the OGL. However, they are limited in using some terms because they are too descriptive rather than functional, therefore falling under a creative expression. Like in previous editions, each level of a character class had its own title. Like Thieves in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition went from 1st level Rogue to 2nd level Footpad to 3rd level Cutpurse and so on. Those cannot be reproduced, but most other aspects of level advancement can.

The OGL solved the problem by giving clear guidance on what could and could not be used. Meaning Wizards of the Coast didn't have to worry about a dozen different versions of the 5th Edition of the D20 System popping up under different names -- completely bypassing their core rulebooks -- because it was unnecessary.

So I don't think Wizards of the Coast plans to announce a complete unilateral revoking of the OGL v1.0a nor never intended to do so. I think the plan was to introduce the royalty-based license first, using access to their walled garden as the benefit, then eventually switch entirely to the new license for Sixth Edition a few years down the line.

So What IS So Bad About the License?

The Unreal Engine license from Epic is a godsend for independent developers. The number of patents, copyrights, sublicenses, and so on involved in a video game engine make it necessary to obtain a license. A license with no up-front cost that only charges royalties after a certain level of gross sales is AMAZING for small developers because they can start working on a game and take risks because of lowered start-up costs of obtaining a license. It also means that, if the game isn't a big hit, the company isn't still on the hook for royalty payments off the paltry sum they make in sales.

None of that is the case in tabletop roleplaying games.

All this license does is allow Wizards of the Coast to start skimming profits off of other companies. If a creator's product makes more than $750,000 in gross sales, they have to start paying royalties on amounts over that. So say my Kickstarter takes off and funds for $800,000, I only owe royalties on $50,000 not the full $800,000.

However, part of the license makes clear that ALL FUNDS RAISED through a Kickstarter have the license applied. The thing is that most of the TTRPG Kickstarters that make over $750,000 do so through selling things other than the game product itself. Miniatures, sculptures, t-shirts, art books, personalized videos, creators running the game for backers, stuff like that which are products that ARE NOT licensed under the OGL. They don't include any material from the game so are not OGL material. BUT under this license, Wizards of the Coast gets to skim money off of those unrelated products.

On top of that, the license includes a sweetheart deal for Kickstarter. If you use Kickstarter to crowdfund your game, you only have to pay 20% royalties rather than the normal 25%. This comes on the heels of multiple competitors to Kickstarter gaining traction, such as BackerKit and GameFound. This is anti-competitive behavior.

Finally, if you don't pay royalties on time, you have to pay interest. Okay, sure...but the rate is 1.5% PER MONTH. That is a 19.56% per year interest rate which would be shitty for a credit card, let alone just for late fees on a royalty payment. If you screw up and underpay by 10% or more (easy to do when there's two royalty rates for different outlets between Kickstarter and all other sales), you're responsible for paying the costs of Wizards of the Coast auditing the account to determine the amount. How much these costs will be is not stated.

The OGL v1.1 also changes how material is used. While the OGL always had a share-a-like aspect to it so that, if you created an awesome class or feat or whatever, Wizards of the Coast could use it as well in their products...so could anyone else. For example, if I made a really cool Pirate class in my OGL book, you could use that Pirate class in your own book. Under the OGL v1.1, this is no longer the case. The flow of content is one-way ONLY to Wizards of the Coast. THEY can use any material created under the OGL, but no one else can.

This specific clause also causes problems for companies making licensed work. For example, Cubicle 7 released an OGL 5th Edition version of their Doctor Who roleplaying game, while Free League Publishing came out with a 5e Lord of the Rings RPG. Because of this clause in the license, those products would be impossible to make because Cubicle 7 doesn't own Doctor Who. The BBC does. Free League doesn't own Lord of the Rings, the Tolkien Estate does (technically, Embracer Group bought them, but that's a whole other mess). Cubicle 7 and Free League does not have the right to give Wizards of the Coast access to that intellectual property, but the OGL v1.1 REQUIRES that they do so.

OGL games using licensed properties have been a staple of the OGL since it came out. In the 3rd Ed era, there were D20 System RPGs for Babylon 5, Farscape, Warcraft, Stargate SG-1, Conan the Barbarian, and a lot more. It was a good way for smaller companies to grab licenses that weren't used and make a big splash as well as to allow customers access to games set in their favorite fictional settings without hoping Wizards of the Coast would show interest (as they did, making D20 versions of Wheel of Time, Star Wars, and a few other licensed properties during this era).

Further, there's a clause that allows Wizards of the Coast the right to revoke the OGL at their discretion. This is framed as allowing them to revoke the OGL from anyone publishing offensive material that's racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. but that is NOT spelled out in the legally-binding section of the document. Meaning that if someone at Wizards of the Coast doesn't like something a creator has posted on social media, they can pull the license. This clause also eliminates all rights to challenge this: You cannot sue and there is no arbitration. Wizards of the Coast decides what material is and is not offensive.

And even if it WAS enforced as stated, there have been recent controversies with "ethics clauses" like this being enforced against women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and other marginalized groups describing the bigotry, prejudice, and oppression they suffer under claims it violates the terms of the license. I'm not saying Wizards of the Coast WOULD do that, but at the same time, they don't have the best track record in these matters...

Then there's a new Indemnity clause. This means that if a creator publishes something under the OGL that gets them sued, Wizards of the Coast can decide the creator isn't defending the lawsuit well enough, take it over, and then bill the creator for all legal fees. It would be a rare situation (someone would have to work hard to get a claim that would involve the OGL itself in court), but the fact that Wizards reserves the right to take over a lawsuit and stick the creator with the bill isn't a good thing.

Then there's the "Other Products" section that expressly forbids the use of the OGL in the creation of any product other than a tabletop roleplaying game product. The comments section (the "not legally binding" bit) clarifies a list of products this covers including "videos, virtual tabletops or VTT campaigns, computer games, novels, apps, graphics novels, music, songs, dances, and pantomimes."

Of all of these, the only ones in which the OGL would even remotely apply would be virtual tabletops, apps, and computer games. And even that would be very specific cases where they recreate game rules from D&D. A novel doesn't include game rules. A video doesn't include game rules. A song doesn't include game rules. NONE of this stuff requires using the OGL in the first place so I have no idea why any of this is included (or rather, excluded) unless there are some further legal shenanigans planned for the future that affects Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok.

So yeah, this license is a garbage fire that's not good for creators and not good for the long-term health of Dungeons & Dragons as a game. Even if I don't believe that Wizards of the Coast plans to eliminate the OGL v1.0a and destroy a large portion of the tabletop roleplaying industry in the process, I do think their plan is detrimental to the hobby and reflects long-term plans for further anti-competitive behavior.

What Happens Now?

As of right now (early afternoon in North America on January 11, 2023), we're still waiting on an official statement from Wizards of the Coast. Until they make some official move, everyone in the industry is in a bit of a holding pattern or making plans for the worst.

For the vast majority of Dungeons & Dragons players, none of this means anything. There are millions of people who just play their regular game, use material from the core books, and that's it. They don't follow the industry, they likely don't even know that dedicated tabletop game stores exist let alone ever been to their local store because they bought their books from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and their dice from Target or Dollar General. They've never been on DriveThruRPG, aren't aware Pathfinder exists, and have put exactly as much consideration into following Wizards of the Coast accounts on social media as they have in following Starbucks.

However, the online tabletop RPG community has made a LOT of noise about this. Like I said earlier, more mainstream outlets have picked up this story. Hashtags related to it have been trending off and on all week on Twitter. People like @wilwheaton and Gail Simone are talking about the controversy. Some of these players, who make up the vast majority of the customer base for Dungeons & Dragons, might get curious. They won't understand what the OGL is or why it matters, but they'll come away with the impression that Wizards of the Coast did something that hurt small publishers and people don't like it.

Whatever happens, keep your friendly game designers in mind. Even the ones working for Wizards of the Coast. Many publishers have serious questions about their ability to continue as a business, and many creators are facing stress and burnout seeking off-ramps out of tabletop RPGs. Some other independent creators and their fans are taking the opportunity to be assholes by gloating over the situation, something which helps nobody. Designers who work for Wizards are being harassed even though this is very obviously a corporate-level decision that the people writing the game have absolutely no control over.

In short, the future is uncertain and it costs nothing to be kind to the people suffering right now.

Edit for a Post-Script: I've seen a post floating around Tumblr about this situation that tries to play off this situation as Good Ackshually because the OGL always involved signing away rights to gain access to something you already had. I want to reiterate a point I made above: "You can't copyright game mechanics" is far more complicated than a simple statement. Even the post itself explains all the legal pitfalls with that assumption by pointing out issues of mingling and other ways rules can be protected under copyright law. What the OGL did was allow independent creators with no budget - which is every single tabletop roleplaying game company outside of WotC, Paizo, and maybe a handful of others owned by large companies like Edge Studios (Azmodee/Embracer Group), White Wolf (Paradox Interactive), and a few others and even THOSE are tiny subsidiaries in a larger corporate umbrella. Pretty much every other roleplaying game company on the planet is under 10 total employees (often just one or two) and a bunch of freelancers.

This industry does not have the capital to hire a lawyer every time they want to release a new product to ensure the IP doesn't violate the law. The OGL allows those companies a clear framework to publish compatible material with the game system used by at LEAST 80% of the customer base of the industry without fear of legal threats. This is the difference between theory and practice. In theory, publishing without a license is better but in practice, it's a money sink and legal minefield. And telling publishers and professionals who have been working under the license for two decades now they should be thankful the entire industry is under threat of being upended is condescending at best.

Edit Part 2: I knew I'd forget some things that are terrible about the OGL v1.1

First, there are now two licenses, a Commercial and a Non-Commercial one. I still haven't figured out the purpose since it's the same license only the Commercial one has all the bits about royalties. It seems redundant because if someone's not making money, they wouldn't meet the threshold for reporting gross sales anyway since they don't make money.

Anyway, to the actual issue I forgot: Information gathering!

You have to register every single product you release under the OGL v1.1 with Wizards of the Coast. You must describe the product, state where you will offer it for sale, what price you will charge, provide contact information, and "filling out a form" (they don't state what other information will be on this form). There are no restrictions whatsoever placed on how Wizards of the Coast can use this information. Even the most benign version of how this information can be used is anti-competitive as it would give Wizards of the Coast free market research - if all products have to be registered but only products that make $50,000 in gross sales must have their sales reported, then Wizards of the Coast knows what products are selling and which ones are not.

The RPG industry has horrible market research information. There are only a handful of places to track what people are actually buying or playing. Few companies release sales information. All you can do is check Kickstarter yourself for what products are crowdfunding well, use ICv2's reporting which is limited to physical sales only at participating hobby game stores in North America (leaving out any store that doesn't participate, mass market outlets like Amazon, direct sales through a publisher's website, digital or print-on-demand sales from DriveThruRPG, etc.), and quarterly user reports from virtal tabletops Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds. That's ALL we have to judge where the market is. Having access to that kind of information would give Wizards of the Coast an even larger edge in the RPG market, which they already dominate.

And that's the benign reading. For example, there are no restrictions in the OGL v1.1 against selling that information to third parties. Granted, the European Union would have some things to say about that. Also, remember that the OGL v1.1 flows one-way. Wizards of the Coast can republish anything they like with no compensation or even credit provided to the previous author. If they see a particular product is selling well, they can just republish it themselves.

Edit 3: Wizards of the Coast FINALLY released a statement and...fuck me, I did NOT expect them to give up on the royalties. I figured that was the primary motivation for the license update. They're also changing the terms to make clear that Wizards of the Coast does not have the ability to publish material from third-parties (that part of the license was meant to protect them in case of convergent design, where somebody's third-party published adventure or sourcebook coincidentally has the same elements as a new sourcebook or one of the new big-budget TV/film/video game projects and just overreached according to the statement).

They still don't address the actual "open" part of the open license that would allow third-party publishers to share their material with other third-party publishers. There have also stated that content already released under the OGL v1.0a will not be affected by the change to a new OGL license (rumors are they're changing it from "OGL v1.1" to "OGL v2.0" but that's not in the statement), but have NOT stated whether they believe they have the right to unilaterally prevent anyone from continuing to use the OGL v1.0a if they do not agree to the new OGL. Both of these are major concerns with the new license.

However, we DO have a good update: Paizo is spearheading a new open license called the Open RPG Creative License or the ORC License. You can read about it in the link, but the primary points are that Paizo will NOT own this license nor will anyone else who makes money publishing RPGs - it will be managed by a non-profit to ensure that no company in the future can exact unilateral changes that affect the entire industry. The license will be perpetual and irrevocable. So far, major TTRPG companies participating include Paizo (Pathfinder, Starfinder), Chaosium (Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest), Kobold Press (prolific 5e OGL publisher), Green Ronin (Dragon Age, The Expanse, Modern AGE), Atlas Games (Ars Magica, Over the Edge), Legendary Games (third-party OGL publisher of 5e, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and Savage Worlds), Pinnacle Entertainment Group (Savage Worlds, Deadlands), Rogue Genius Games (Owen K.C. Stephens' company), and I don't know how many others since the announcement was made.

We won't know for sure how this will shake out for the industry until the terms of the new OGL and the terms of the ORC License are made public, but either way, a trust has been broken as a multibillion dollar corporation came after small publishers trying to scrape together enough to make any money at all off their games, and the industry won't forget that easily.

EDIT FINALE

It's now January 29, 2023, and there's been a huge update that should close out this entire saga.

A couple weeks ago, Wizards of the Coast released a draft of the OGL v1.2 along with a survey for public feedback. The new version dropped the royalties entirely along with any claims of ownership to content created under the license and the registration requirements. It did keep the "morality clause" that was vaguely worded and overly broad allowing them to revoke the license from any company producing a product they considered "harmful", "obscene", or "illegal" without defining those terms. Meaning they could revoke the license from a company if LGBTQ+ content is deemed as "obscene" (which has happened before with licensed D&D content), or "illegal" if it includes queer content in some countries or "Critical Race Theory" in some American states, or "harmful" as "this is harmful to our profits because it's selling too well". The new version of the OGL also maintained that the OGL v1.0a would be "de-authorized".

The other attempt to placate critics was releasing 58 pages of the SRD 5.1 (the document that outlines what parts of the rules for Dungeons & Dragons were considered Open Gaming Content under the OGL v1.0a) would be released under a Creative Commons license. The pages included rules for combat, ability checks, monster abilities, and a few other aspects of the game but would NOT include races/species, classes, backgrounds, spells, magic items, or monster stat blocks. Basically, these 58 pages were functionally useless on their own as they referenced rules that were not included in the CC-licensed content. It would be impossible to create adventures (no monsters or treasure) or sourcebooks (no classes, races/species, or spells) under this license, which makes up the vast majority of third-party OGL content for 5e. I should also note the SRD 5.1 is over 400 pages long, meaning they released just over 10% of the already-stripped-down rules.

The survey went out about a week ago and, on Thursday, D&D Beyond announced on Twitter the results were pretty obvious the OGL v1.2 wasn't helping matters. And on Friday, January 27, the company announced that the survey would be closed early (it was originally scheduled to run until February 7) because between 85% to over 90% of people participating responded negatively to the questions posed in the survey. In response, Wizards of the Coast stated:

The Open Gaming License v1.0a would be left in place completely untouched as it has been since 2000.

The SRD 5.1 would be released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

This is not a "we will do it at some point in the future pinkie swear" thing. As of that posting, the SRD 5.1 is now available under the Creative Commons license.

So the situation is resolved. Not only did Wizards of the Coast back down from their plans, they released more of the game to the public than was originally released.

This won't stop Wizards of the Coast from trying something similar in the future, but they'll have to do it with an entirely new and incompatible edition of the game. Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is now freed as the rules are permanently and irrevocably part of the Creative Commons with no legal method for Wizards of the Coast to take it back.

[stuckybingo]

Stucky Bingo Round-Up #23 (April 21st - May 11th)

Don’t forget to fill out the submission form to be a part of the round-ups and to get your bingo badges!

Easter Party by Buckys-Wintersoldier Square filled: O1 - Slow Dancing Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Farmer Bucky, fluff, Easter party, slow dancing Summary: Steve offers his crush — James Buchanan Barnes — to help with the decoration for the Easter party. Format: Medium oneshot (1000 - 5000 words)

something flickering in the night by aspen | blackwood4stucky Square filled: O1 - vision Ao3 rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: alternate universe, bucky barnes centric Summary: Go back to where you came from, sinner. Or die. — Bucky doesn’t understand why he’s being called a sinner, certain things just aren’t his fault. Format: Short oneshot (300 - 1000 words)

Summertime Dream by Astaraiche Square filled: B3 - Holiday Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: MerMay, Mermaid Steve, Actor Bucky Barnes, Moodboard Summary: Bucky, on a well-earned summer holiday after a whirlwind year of filming and press tours, settles into a summertime dream of sun, water, and a breezy romance with the man who owns and operates the cute little B&B that Bucky rented a room at for the whole summer. Format: Art

The prince's bride by Kalee60 Square filled: N3 - Free Space Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate universe - pirates, princess bride inspired, fluff and humour, light angst, memory loss Summary: As SHIELD and Hydra teeter on the edge of a faction war, a brainwashed Soldier, the Winter Prince is an unwitting pawn in a larger game and is forced into a betrothal to one Alexander Pierce. Kidnapped by mercenaries, then rescued by a pirate who is extremely familiar, the Winter Prince starts to regain his memories. In the course of his adventure’s, he’ll meet Brock - a master tactician who will do anything to get ahead in life; Hulk - a gentle giant; Natasha - the Russian who thirsts for revenge; and Gravik - the skrull mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Steve Rogers, the Soldier's one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate. Or the Princess Bride AU that literally no one wanted except me… (and maybe one other person…) Format: Part of a multichapter fic

A Filler Chapter by Astaraiche Square filled: O3 - AU: A/B/O Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: holiday fluff, alpha buck, omega steve, mating cycles/in heat Summary: Steve, Bucky, and Sasha prepare for the Christmas season. Steve and Bucky's relationship reaches an important milestone. Format: Medium oneshot (1000 - 5000 words)

Thrill of the Open Road by Astaraiche Square filled: I3 - Adrenaline Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Modern Bucky Barnes, Retired Steve Rogers, Road Trip, Canon Divergance Summary: Steve, newly retired Avenger, is not sure what to do next and is feeling restless with all this spare time he suddenly has on his hands. Format: Art

[my-job-is-a-series-of-sidequests]

As a certified Elder Geek, I have been exposed to gaming products over a lot of years. Many of them haven't aged well. But there is a special place in my heart for roasting things that someone, somewhere, should have asked some hard questions about before they ever saw print.

Welcome to the first installment of Elder Abominations, a look at old RPG books where they should have known better.

Our first contestant comes from fallen industry titan TSR, and comes with a little backstory. But first:. The cover!

Fuck yeah! Scary dude floating in space and smashing bubble helmets! And that other guy looks like a budget wolfman! I'm fuckin' sold!

So, the origins of the Buck Rogers XXVc roleplaying game are amazingly mercenary. To assist me, I shall call upon the credits to the book. Also, keep in mind that the people below worked on this book, and maybe could have thought things through. I'm not trying to divine their intentions behind the book, and make no claims about that. All I know is what's on the page.

That's 1990, which can only have been about fifteen years ago, right?

Oh, right, I forgot. Never do the math about how old you are.

In 1990, Gary Gygax had been forced out of TSR and Lorraine Williams was the new boss. There's a lot of backstory I'm eliding here because it's not germane to the issue at hand. (Also, there are books you can read! I'm currently reading The Game Wizards.)

Williams is relevant here because of something buried there in the credits. "Buck Rogers and XXVC are trademarks used under license from The Dille Family Trust." The Dille Family Trust owned the rights to Buck Rogers. And you know who one of the major beneficiaries of that trust was?

That's right, Lorraine Williams. She had TSR try to create a franchise so she could double dip on the profits. It was not a smashing success, but Younger Elder Geek me didn't know or care about any of that.

The franchise did spawn an RPG boxed set, a handful of sourcebooks and adventures, and a couple of Gold Box style computer games by SSI. Loved those.

I did (and still do, somewhere) have a copy of the box set, as well as today's victim. Pictures are from a PDF, because it's just easier.

The elevator pitch is great. "What if we did a kinda hard sci-fi version of Rayguns and Rocketships? The aesthetic is all fishbowl helmets and Cadillac fins on spaceships!" Fuckin' rad. And they just lifted the mechanics wholesale from AD&D, with THAC0, descending armor class and all.

But. This book.

Perhaps my fascist sense is a bit overdeveloped, but this book bothered even the Tiny Elder Geek. Let us just say that someone on the design team had opinions.

I will grab our examples from one small section of the book, because synecdoche. Here's a bunch of NPC groups your heroes can interact with!

Huh. The super-virtuous good guys are called the Libertarians. I'm sure that's just a bit of fluff. Let's take a look at this Green Earth group?

Oh, cool. Ecoterrorists. And, no. There is not a group of good guy environmentalists to work with. And these guys don't get along with...

Wait, what? The Sixth Fucking Reich? Okay, so they absolutely have to be bad guys, right? Everyone loves punching or shooting Nazis, right?

Um. "Realm of Earth to come?" They're... Space pirates? Known for... being good at pirating? No acknowledgement in any way that the name might raise eyebrows anywhere, ever? I am utterly baffled as to why anyone would choose to do that, ever, in a published product.

No, I'm sorry. That is a lie. I know pre-fucking-cisely why someone would choose to do that.

Also, behold the art. Good enough, except for the fact that it definitely previously appeared in the core set. You know, the books you would absolutely need to have in order to use this book for your game? And, also, definitely not in line with that raygun aesthetic.

Last picture, I promise. We need a moustache-twirling villain. Dude needs a name. I'm sure it's a very subtle reference that...

Oh.

All of that in a mere ten pages of this book. Commies and hippies bad, rugged Libertarians good, and Nazis? Meh, they're okay.

I highlight this because this shit is pernicious. Unlike RPGs of today, this shit was squarely aimed at kids. This is stuff that gets in your head to help form your politics before you have a grasp of what politics even is.

And, while it's among the worst I've seen from TSR, it's not the worst I've ever seen. Perhaps that will be another day.

[thevaudevilledemon]

1001 Comics Project

This is just gonna be a post that I keep making sporadic edits to to update my progress of the 1001 Comics project I'm working on, which is my attempt to read every comic in the book "1001 Comics you must read before you die".

I have over a thousand comics to read and I've not even scratched the surface.

PROGRESS

Mickey Mouse Meets the Air Pirates Funnies

Spy vs Spy

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

300

The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls

The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in Tibet

The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography

Maus

Donald Duck and the Gilded Man

Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown

Garfield

American Born Chinese

Laika

MAD

Squeak the Mouse

The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

The Adventures of Tintin: The Castafiore Emerald

Asterix the Gladiator

Lucky Luke: Tortillas for the Daltons

Popeye

Little Nemo in Slumberland

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend

Fritz the Cat

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Asterix in Britain

XIII: The Day of the Black Sun

The Fox and the Crow

The Yellow Kid

Max & Moritz

Mickey Mouse

Buck Rogers

Persepolis

Stuff and Nonsense

Uzumaki

Tales From the Crypt

Bogeyman Comics

The Tomb of Dracula

The Walking Dead

Dylan Dog

Creepy / Eerie

Frankenstein

Asterix and the Olympic Games

Astericx in Corsica

Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts

Destiny

Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man

Batman

[maddyaddy]

@unsaelig Expanding on my reply, which is reproduced here, in this post:

“To be a D&D snob, it is Forgotten Realms in 5E. Homogenized slop not meant to put across a certain vibe (as with the classic campaign settings or even Eberron), but to simply act as a corporate-pushed sandbox for any and all adventures, compatibility or vibes be damned.”

To put it in layman's terms, the setting of BG3 - the aforementioned Forgotten Realm - has increasingly been synonymous with D&D. Thus it has sort of overshadowed other settings on offer, and absorbed them sort of. That’s the TL;DR.

Originally, it was one of many campaign settings offered by TSR (the original owners of the IP) and, later, Hasbro. The only real ‘defaults’, in my opinion, before it were the rather medieval-inspired Greyhawk, and to a lesser extent, Krynn, the setting of the popular Dragonlance novels. However, Gary Gygax got expelled from the company he founded (by the granddaughter of the guy who made Buck Rogers into a comic strip, who is also the brother of the Transformers screenwriter Flint Dille). Greyhawk, as his personally created setting, was de-emphasized in favor of the Forgotten Realms.

None of this is to say Gygax was an angel or anything. I don’t want you, Gwen, to come away with a wholly positive impression of the man at all. He was a racist, who believed in the biological distinction between human races. I would argue that between Tolkien and Gygax, Gygax is the actual, avowed and active racist. Tolkien, in my opinion, was merely unconsciously drawing from a milieu of Christian racialization of evil and dehumanization dating back to at least Bernard de Clairvaux (with Bernard’s distinction between simple man-slaying and killing of ‘evil’ in his In Praise of the New Knighthood being particularly important to understanding the Orc problem). There is a difference in intent and presence of malicious action that make me far more comfortable with one than the other. So, returning to Forgotten Realms, its features have been progressively contorted and expanded by Hasbro to include popular stuff from other campaign settings like Warforged (robots, basically) and Vecna. However, these things are removed from their context and plopped into Forgotten Realms, in an almost postmodern sense. I.E Warforged, in their original context in another campaign setting called Eberron, were created to reinforce a kingdom’s armies in an apocalyptic war. In Forgotten Realms, this didn’t happen. 

When I called it “homogenized slop”, it’s because it kind of is. It has been made into the do-anything, be-anything setting. Obviously, plenty of people still make their own settings, but in the official media, Forgotten Realms has pride of place as “the D&D setting”. It is what video games like the Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter series take place in, and it is what people largely draw from for inspiration for homebrew. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[micoc84]

Comics America

Superman (1938) - J.Siegel, DC - Clark, Lois, Lex Luthor Archie Andrews (1941) - Goldwater, Pep - Betty, Veronica, Jughead Mickey Mouse (1928) - Disney, Min, Donald, Goof Charlie Brown (1948) - Schulz, Snoop, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint The Jetsons (1962) - Hanna, Barbera - George, Jane, Elroy, Judy X-Men (1963) - J.Kirby, Marvel - Xavier, Jean, Cyclops Wolverine Scooby- Doo (1969) - J.Ruby -Warner - Shaggy, Fred, Daphne Futurama (1999) - Groening - Fox, Phil Fry, Leela, Bender, Zoidberg Dick Tracy (1931) - C.Gould - Tribune, Tess Truheart, Junior GI Joe (1983) - D.Levine, Hasbro, Sg. Duke, Lt Falcon, Jinx Wizard Oz (1900), Buck Rogers (29), Looney Tunes (1930), Popeye Sailor (33), Casper Friendly (36), Batman (39), Tom & Jerry (40), Captain America (41), Wonder Woman (41), Muppets (55), Heckle Jeckle (55), Woody Woodpecker (57), Huckleberry Hound (58), Rocky Bullwinkle (1959), Flintstones (60), Yogi Bear (61), Spiderman (62), Jonny Quest (64), Space Ghost (66), Star Trek (66), Zap Comics (68), Pink Panther (69), Sesame Street (69)

Conan Barbarian (70), Heathcliff (73), Dungeons Dragons (74), Garfield (76), Star Wars (77), Picture Bible (78), Smurfs (81), Alvin Chipmunks (83), Inspector Gadget (83), He-Man Masters (83), Dungeons Dragons (83), Fraggle Rock (83), Transformers (84), Muppet Babies (84), Thundercats (85), Calvin and Hobbes (85), Jem (85), Dennis Menace (86), Care Bears (86), TMN Turtles (87), Duck Tales (87), Chip Dale Rangers (89), Simpsons (89) Talespin (90), Ren and Stimpy (91), Rugrats (91), Doug (91), Hellboy (93), Animaniacs (93), Rocko's Modern (93), Beavis Bhead (93), Toy Story (95), Arthur (96), Game of Thrones (96), South Park (97), Daria (97), Johnny Bravo (97), Powerpuff Girls (98), Family Guy (99), Spongebob Square (99), Kim Possible (02), Venture Bros (04), Avatar Airbend (05) -Nickel, Phineas Ferb (07), Adventure Time (10), Despicable Me (10), Gravity Falls (12), Rick & Morty (13), Stranger Things (2016)

[vintagegeekculture]

The oldest big fandom brawl I can clearly remember in the internet age would have to be in the alt.fan.dragonlance USENET group, in 1992, after the release of the Tales of the Lance boxed set. I don’t think people quite understand how ferociously passionate people used to get about their favorite AD&D settings. 

Some context: Dragonlance was unique in that it was an AD&D setting that never got an official boxed set where everything was all set down in a definitive fashion until a full decade after it started publication. Remember, the world was introduced through a series of adventure modules, followed by tie-in novels that were a hit. Tales of the Lance in 1992 was going to be the big setting box. There’s more, though. The Tales of the Lance boxed set was extra contentious because the original creators of Dragonlance (Hickman and Weis) were forced out because of all kinds of backstage machinations. In other worlds, there was an aura of cold, ruthless commerce and illegitimacy about it all, from an organization that already ousted Gary Gygax from his own company only a half decade before. TSR was also hyper invested into Buck Rogers XXVC, which nobody liked but which existed to be a borderline illegal money pipeline out of TSR (sufficed to say, we are leaving the world of fandom complaint, and entering the world of white collar crime). In other words, the fanbase had some trust issues with TSR. 

So, when Tales of the Lance came out in 1992, which not only set down in stone a world that already existed in everybody’s heads for a decade, but was also defined by a vision that wasn’t the original creators’, put out by a company the fandom didn’t trust...well, there were bound to be problems, and the reaction was disproportionate. Honestly, most of the critiques of Tales of the Lance sounded like the ultimate in nerd nitpicking, back when fandoms were way less concerned with ‘ships and way, way more right-brained (though even then, people loved to speculate if Tanis Half-Elf was gay or bisexual). An example of the kind of mistake they brought up was that the boxed set said all Silvanestri elves have hazel eyes, when probably the intent was that was just the line of Silvanost. Yeah, okay, that’s just the telephone game in operation, but...does it matter that much? But in 1992, AD&D fans were really willing to fight over very, very minor things like that, that’s how real all this was in people’s heads.

[annathesillyfriend]

Anna's April Fic Recs ✨

Hello everyone, wellcome to my April fic recommendations (part 1) masterpost! This is a new thing I want to try to do and create a list like that twice a month. It really pains me that the amazing authors out there don't get the recognition they dereserve so I'm gonna do what I can to spread my love for them. I also hope more people will get to experience the joy of reading all these wonderful works!

To all the writers - I love you and I appreciate you so much! To all the readers - please, share the fics you read and love. The reblog really makes the change! It's the least we could do to show our gratitude.

Without further ado, here are the fic I read this month and adored

MARVEL

Bucky Barnes

Take a chance on me by @jurassicbarnes

one-shot, single mum!au, fwb to lovers

Bucky's game nights by @eurynome827

series, slow burn, they're playing games with their hearts

Baby fever by @youlightmeupfinn

one-shot, who wouldn't want that man as their baby daddy?

All yours by @babyboibucky

one-shot, 18+, tfatws!Bucky

A single thread by @jobean12-blog

one-shot, coffeeshop with Buck

New adventures by @celestialbarnes

one-shot, best friends to lovers

Beautiful girl by @borkingbarnes

one-shot, a morning with Buck

Erase every trace by @angrythingstarlight

one-shot, 18+, tfatws!Bucky

What you need by @buckycuddlebuddy

one-shot, 18+, best friend and roommate!Bucky, a cam is involved 👀

Cookies, kisses and such by @sweetbucky

one-shot, friends to lovers

The Match by @/babyboibucky

series, ceo!bucky

Policework by @jurassicbarnes

one-shot, police detectives!au

Eyes on you by @kleohoneyao3

one-shot, 18+

Take me as I am, whoever I am by @/jurassicbarnes

one-shot, 18+

Greedy by @/babyboibucky

one-shot, 18+, hot hot hot!

Destructive by @buckybarnesdiaries

one-shot, Bucky's scared of his feelings

Sunday kinda' love by @msmarvelwrites

one-shot, 18+, some things are more important than breakfast

Separation, connection (part 2) by @firefly-in-darkness

two-shot, 18+, the angst is strong in this one

Angel on her knees by @/babyboibucky

one-shot, 18+, Bucky gets some love hehe

Feelings are fatal by @sunmoonandbucky

series, steve leaves to be with Peggy, reader deals with the loss

It's messy inside, let me take your coat by @/divine-mistake

one-shot, 18+, plus size!reader

Beautiful people by @nacho-bucky

series, plus size!reader, the most real, beautiful, human story

Sam Wilson

Dancing with Sam Wilson would include... by @certifiedskywalker

head cannon, the title says it all

Positions by @luciilferss

one-shot, 18+, Sam's a gem Monday through Sunday

Identity by @samwilsons-pillowpecs

series, Sam loses memory and they say he wanted to kill Bucky

Amartment 3C by @/bohemianpages

series, Sam comes back from the snap to find his flat occupied

Honest by @xbuchananbarnes

one-shot, tfatws!sam

The first time you realise you are in love by @barnesnroses

part of a mini series, the fluff 😫

Walk me home by @whisperlullaby

one-shot, Sam comes to the rescue

Memory loss by @/captain-kelli

series, Sam and reader are on a hunt for winter solider

SamBucky

Cratures of habit by @callitdreamland

miniseries, sambucky x reader

How sweet it is by @indyluckycharlie

series, sambucky modern!au

The therapist by @holylulusworld

mini series, y/n helps them with their problems

Steve Rogers

Glitter by @sarahwroteathing

one-shot, elementary teacher!Steve x single mom!reader

Error by @buckysknifecollection

one-shot, de-serumed!steve

Words whispered in the dark by @anika-ann

part of the Attached series or stand alone, modern-college-professor AU, 18+

Corrupting a good boy by @donutloverxo

series, ceo!steve x desi!reader

Cash rules everything around me by @/slyyywriting

series, stripper!steve

Where the love light gleams by @/sunmoonandbucky

series, social media!au

Sharon Carter

Permanent by @/samwilsons-pillowpecs

one-shot, tattoo artist!sharon

Loki Laufeyson

Steam by @the--sad--hatter

series, slowburn, enemies to frenemies to idiots in love

Peter Parker

Love sick and a little bit drunk by @spideyspeaches

one-shot, collage!peter

Invisible string by @peterbenjiparker

series, soulmate!au

Don't hold back by @hollandcrush

one-shot, 18+, college!peter

Dancing with our hand tied by @/justeclipseblogs

series, stark!reader, enemies to lovers

My medication by @/kelieah

one-shot, broken teens in love

HOLLAND & CO.

Tom Holland

Lockscreen by @cherrycheridarling

one-shot, famous!reader

Monday mornings by @blissfulparker

one-shot, professor!tom x professor!reader

Written in the stars by @ptersmj

one-shot, fuff!!!

Hooked on your feelings by @heyhihellowhatsup0

series, fwb!tom

Ski date by @tetralea

one-shot, 18+, idiots in love, friends to lovers

Take sugar? by @/hollandcrush

one-shot, carpenter!tom x ex-best friend!reader, 18+

I swear to God I never fall in love by @hazofmyheart

one-shot, fratboy!tom, 18+, spoiler alert: he does

Break up with your girlfriend by @rosyparkers

one-shot, 18+, frat football player!tom, cheerleader!y/n, fwb au

Perennial by @peeterparkr

series, sequel to Perdify, the biggest oof moment yet

All for her by @screamholland

series, single dad!tom

Royal convinience by @/poetrcy

series, royal!au

Kiss me slowly by @/storybookholland

one-shot, soft frat!tom

Harry Holland

Always by @/multiholland

series, best freind!harry

Sam Holland

'tis the damn season by @/unsaidholland

one-shot, ex boyfriend!sam

Our night by @/storybookholland

one-shot, jealous!sam

Harrison Osterfield

No way by @soft-haz

one-shot, friends to lovers

Second self by @/soft-haz

one-shot, 18+, reader gives Haz a hand wink wink

Harrison mastelist by @allegra-writes

lots of great Haz things!

Bet on it by @storybookholland

series, fwb

THE IRREGULARS

Whole masterlist by @uglypastels

these all wonderful!! you should also check out the amazing art works at the bottom of this masterlist

LEO

The Fountain of Ichor by @thegirlintheswivelchair

series, leo x lady-in-waiting!reader

OTHERS

Anthony Bridgerton

Sham, pride and illicit affairs by @/peeterparkr

series, quite possibly the most poetic fic ever written

Coming home again by @/misstonybridgerton

series, old friends reunite

Spencer Reid

An Interesting Electronic by @/homoose

one-shot, 18+

Frank Adler

I ruined our sweet tune by @/rodrikstark

one-shot, kinda professor!frank

Ransom Drysdale

The Five Times You Told Ransom Drysdale You Loved Him (And The One Time He Said It Back) by @just-one-ordinary-fangirl

one-shot, childhood friends to life gets in the way to lovers

Sacrilage by @the-iceni-bitch

one-shot, 18+, you'll have to shower in holy water after this

Okay, I might have gone a little overboard but hey, there's no such thing as too much good fanfiction!

Enjoy! 🥰

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Live Free or Die Standing” guest cast

Mercedes Mason as DEA Agent Talia Del Campo Welcome back Agent Campo after your time on AMC and ABC.   Talia was last seen in "The Guardian", part one of the three-part season 10 finale/season 11 premiere.  And since we're talking about the three-parter, who killed Ellie Simms?

Rick Pasqualone as Martin Henderson Does a lot of voices for animated series/films and video games.

Had guest roles in Weird Science, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kirk, Caroline in the City, Moloney, USA High, Vengeance Unlimited, Days of Our Lives, Love Boat: The Next Wave, Friends, Falcone, NYPD Blue, CSI, Charmed, Without a Trace, Blind Justice, CSI: NY, Shark, Crash, Desperate Housewives, All My Children, Glee, Children's Hospital, The Young and the Restless, Melissa & Joey, Guidance and General Hospital.  

Was Cpl. Paul Dafelmair in "Hung Out to Dry" the second ever episode of NCIS.  Appeared in three episode of JAG as two different characters, Lt. Kyle in both Smoked and Ares in season one and Capt. David White in season 10's "Fit for Duty".

Trailer/set/post-work photos. The LL CooJ photo is definitely back!

Goya Robles as Miguel Flores Plays Yago in Get Shorty and had guest roles in The Mentalist and Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

Did I mention the LL Cool J photo is back?

Dan Gauthier as Carlyle Huntington Played Lt. John McKay in Tour of Duty, Kyle Parks in Sisters, Kent Atkinson in Muscle, Jonathan Mitchell in Courthouse, Matt Liston in Ellen, Dick Harrison in Beverly Hills 90210, Jeff Baylor in Melrose Place, Kevin Buchanan in One Life to Live and Bruce Cooper in Faking It.

Guest roles include Married with Children, 21 Jump Street, Punky Brewster, Room for Romance, Who's the Boss, Life Goes On, Silk Stalkings, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Winnetka Road, The Cape, Sliders, Friends, Martial Law, Love Boat: The Next Wave, Rude Awakening, Cupid, Jesse, Nash Bridges, Nikki, Will & Grace, Charmed, Still Standing, Oliver Beene, Supernatural, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Lost, No Ordinary Family, Make It or Break It, Hot in Cleveland, The Mentalist and Criminal Minds.

Larry Herron as DEA Agent David Ramirez Had guest roles in episodes of ER, Lie To Me, Numb3rs, Medium, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: LA, Shameless, Modern Family, Adam Ruins Everything, The Brink, Insecure, Life in Pieces, Snowfall and Animal Kingdom.

Played Master Gunnery Sergeant Jason Kelly in the season 8 "Short Fuse" episode of NCIS

Carolina Gutierrez as Emma Ruiz Guest starred in episodes of Scorpion, Good Samaritans and The L Word: Generation Q.

Alicia Urizar as Isabella Cruz Played Amber in Welcome to My World.  Guest starred in episodes of Betty White's Off Their Rockers, Longmire, Code Black and For the People.

Was Gabriella in the season 14 finale "Rendezvous" NCIS episode.

The director's chair photo.

Pam Trotter as Loretta Dawson Guest appearances in episodes of Son of the Beach, All of Us, Boston Legal, My Name is earl, Everybody Hates Chris, Dollhouse, Chuck, HawthoRNe, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Austin & Ally, Happy Endings, Wendell and Vinnie, Kirstie, Melissa & Joey, Murder in the First, The Middle, Stitchers, Life in Pieces, The Goldbergs, One Day at a Time (2018), The Goldbergs, The Mick, Superstore, Good Girls, American Princess, Stumptown, Atypical, Good Trouble, General Hospital, Tacoma FD and As We See It.

Sheila Wills as Thelma Was Angie in B.J. and the Bear, Joan Hopkins in Days of Our Lives and Rita Barton in Generations.

Guest roles include Marcus Welby MD, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, What Really Happened to the Class of '65, Baretta, Switch, Battlestar Galactica (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Quincy, Galactica 1980, CHiPS, McClain's Law, The New Odd Couple (1982), The Jeffersons, The Powers of Matthew Star, Webster, Stir Crazy, The A-Team, The Bold and the Beautiful, Cagney & Lacey, Hunter, Family Medical Center, Knots Landing, Shannon's Deal, Swamp Thing, Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, Scrubs and All American.

Brian Leigh Smith as Bomb Tech Aaron Roberts Smith returns as Bomb Tech Aaron Roberts from "Mother" but also appeared as a police officer in "Overwatch" and was a wingman in "The Bear" season 12 premiere.

Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor Was in the first part of the Sunday, May 1 doubleheader.

Written by Eric Christian Olsen who also wrote "Mother" in season 11.

Directed by Daniela Ruah who also directed "Russia, Russia, Russia", "Lost Soldier Down" and "Pandora's Box".

Director's/Writer's chairs. Team In-Laws.

[vintagerpg]

I don’t honestly have much context for Buck Rogers. My experience with the property is primarily through the schlocky TV space opera and, dimly, the other TSR Buck Rogers RPG, both of which are set in the far future. This game, The Buck Rogers Adventure Game (1993) was born out of the ashes of the XXV Century RPG and returns to the pulp action of the original 1929 comic strip. This is a terrible mistake.

Let’s get the simple system out of the way. There are four abilities, each with a rating (OK, Good, Better and Best) which corresponds to the number of D6 in limited pools (2-5) you can roll to test. Rolls of sixes explode. Actions are determined by action points. This is less straightforward than it should be, as there are many actions that cost fractions of points. A neat thing: experience points are a metacurrency you can cash in to modify rolls or buy additional action points. A lot of the balance of the rules sort of frame the storytelling. I love the spendable experience points. Everything else can kind of get stuffed — it amounts to a game that is simple but not easy.

Which is fine, because holy crap is this game racist AF. I had no idea that the original Buck Rogers comic was basically the Yellow Peril in sequential art. The Han Empire has taken over America and it is down to Buck to take it back. The offensive stereotypes are all over this thing, but I’ve only included one image, of the emperor, to make my case. I think it is more than enough. Its a shame, because I really love the bi-planes and the retro-futuristic vibe. Denis Beauvais’s cover art is something special, too, evoking hazy pulp excitement. But no thanks to all that garbage inside.

The game was met with yawns, though, thankfully. Buck Rogers RPGs were never going to be massive hits, no matter what black magic Lorraine Williams called up. There was one expansion, then the version of Buck vanished into history.

[centrumlumina]

As part of the AO3 Ship Stats project, this list shows the 100 most-posted pairing tags on Archive Of Our Own in the period 24 July 2019 - 2 August 2020. This list was created by comparing the current number of fics with data gathered for the 2019 AO3 Ship Stats.

There are 71 M/M pairings on the list, 15 F/M, 3 F/F, 8 Gen and 3 Other. (Please note that on AO3, ‘Name & Name’ indicates platonic or familial ‘Gen’ relationships, while ‘Name/Name’ is used for romantic and sexual pairings.)

Of the 200 names on the list, 23 are women and 3 are characters of ambiguous gender, down from 28 and 3 in the 2019 list. 92 are POC, and 7 are racially ambiguous, compared with 64 and 11 two years ago.

For more information about the AO3 Ship Stats project, please check out the accompanying FAQs. You might also be interested in the All-Time Top 100 Pairings and the Femslash Top 100 list. These stats are also available on AO3.

ETA: Fixed the Change value for Merlin/Arthur Pendragon.

ETA 2: Fixed Race categorisation for Michael Guerin/Alex Manes.

A text-only version of this data is given below the cut.

Rank   Change   Pairing   Fandom   New Works   Total   Type   Race 1   15   Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   20298   28726   M/M   White 2   72   Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   10671   13130   M/M   POC 3   8   Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   9076   21306   F/M   White 4   28   Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   8441   12227   M/M   White 5   N   Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion   The Witcher (TV)   7573   7573   M/M   White 6   1   Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   7239   40312   M/M   White 7   5   Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   7070   16824   M/M   POC 8   0   Peter Parker & Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   6807   17366   Gen   White 9   -7   James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers   Captain America (Movies)   6262   49659   M/M   White 10   4   Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   6141   15375   M/M   POC 11   -5   Steve Rogers/Tony Stark   The Avengers (Marvel Movies)   5613   36264   M/M   White 12   68   Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   5503   7928   Gen   White 13   -8   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V   Bangtan Boys | BTS   5254   23339   M/M   POC 14   5   Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug   Miraculous Ladybug   5183   19631   F/M   Whi/POC 15   5   Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   5001   14073   M/M   POC 16   -13   Castiel/Dean Winchester   Supernatural   4927   84563   M/M   White 17   1   Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   4596   17867   M/M   POC 18   N   Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)   9-1-1 (TV)   3716   3716   M/M   Whi/POC 19   5   Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor   Supergirl (TV 2015)   3614   13048   F/F   White 20   -16   Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood   Shadowhunters (TV)   3599   24787   M/M   Whi/POC 21   2   Pepper Potts/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   3569   17384   F/M   White 22   14   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   3565   7325   M/M   POC 23   N   Adora/Catra (She-Ra)   She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)   3538   4919   F/F   Whi/POC 24   15   Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs)   文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs   3512   8768   M/M   POC 25   N   Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan   陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF   3446   3446   M/M   POC 26   -12   Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski   Teen Wolf (TV)   3249   59286   M/M   White 27   10   Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)   Merlin (TV)   3157   18688   M/M   White 28   -11   Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3155   16682   M/M   POC 29   66   Ayanga/Zhèng Yúnlóng   声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)   3111   5285   M/M   POC 30   -21   Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3026   19851   M/M   POC 31   -3   Sirius Black/Remus Lupin   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2958   17686   M/M   White 32   N   Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist   The Magnus Archives (Podcast)   2917   3367   M/M   Ambig 33   60   Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2672   5023   Gen   POC 34   12   Peter Parker/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   2623   6160   M/M   White 35   N   Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio   Haikyuu!!   2601   10485   M/M   POC 36   22   Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2583   10171   F/M   Whi/Amb 37   -8   Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2507   9891   M/M   POC 38   -37   Keith/Lance (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   2480   30317   M/M   Amb/POC 39   20   Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington   Stranger Things (TV 2016)   2438   5338   M/M   White 40   N   Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou   Haikyuu!!   2387   7629   M/M   POC 41   N   Patrick Brewer/David Rose   Schitt's Creek   2363   3150   M/M   White 42   5   Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee   NCT (Band)   2331   5854   M/M   POC 43   8   Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   2304   6506   Gen   White 44   N   Dabi/Takami Keigo | Hawks   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2294   2930   M/M   POC 45   N   Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru   Haikyuu!!   2272   11155   M/M   POC 46   -24   Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2259   12668   M/M   POC 47   N   Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   2218   2218   M/M   White 48   28   Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth   Game of Thrones (TV)   2186   7063   F/M   White 49   19   Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2169   4991   M/M   POC 50   N   Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   2163   3116   F/M   White 51   3   Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2128   11699   F/M   Whi/Amb 52   -31   Sherlock Holmes/John Watson   Sherlock (TV)   2121   61544   M/M   White 53   -5   James Potter/Lily Evans Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2110   10125   F/M   White 54   -28   Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2074   9498   M/M   POC 55   N   Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   2073   2494   M/M   POC 56   -25   Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter   Hannibal (TV)   2064   17257   M/M   White 57   N   Kakyoin Noriaki/Kujo Jotaro   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1964   3580   M/M   POC 58   N   Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1896   3983   F/M   POC 59   -46   Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov   Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)   1843   24332   M/M   Whi/POC 60   15   Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1838   9269   F/M   White 61   N   Poe Dameron/Finn   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   1806   7238   M/M   POC 62   N   Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1791   2732   M/M   POC 63   -38   Dan Howell/Phil Lester   Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)   1782   17316   M/M   White 64   -54   Keith/Shiro (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   1764   13925   M/M   Amb/POC 65   31   Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1720   3917   M/M   White 66   N   Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow   Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell   1707   4803   M/M   Whi/POC 67=   -33   Kim Taehyung | V/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1651   7176   M/M   POC 67=   N   Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1651   1651   Other   White 69   N   Michelle Jones/Peter Parker   Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)   1639   3692   F/M   Whi/POC 70   N   Michael Guerin/Alex Manes   Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)   1635   2746   M/M   Whi/POC 71   28   Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto   Naruto   1625   7705   M/M   POC 72   N   Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1617   3776   F/M   POC 73   -30   James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1559   7456   M/M   White 74   -39   James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1544   7724   Other   Whi/Amb 75   9   Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed   Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)   1534   3921   M/M   White 76   N   Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1511   6308   M/M   White 77   N   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Namjoon | RM   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1505   3911   M/M   POC 78   N   Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson   Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan   1501   6017   F/M   White 79   N   Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1495   1495   Other   White 80   N   Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1493   8791   Gen   White 81   N   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1487   2200   Gen   POC 82   -37   Tony Stark/Stephen Strange   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1460   4912   M/M   White 83   N   Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist   Persona 5   1447   3285   M/M   POC 84   N   Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou   Haikyuu!!   1444   4932   M/M   POC 85   N   Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know   Stray Kids (Band)   1440   3091   M/M   POC 86   -33   Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol   EXO (Band)   1431   6629   M/M   POC 87   -45   Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1416   27696   M/M   White 88   N   Leone Abbacchio/Bruno Buccellati   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1415   2237   M/M   White 89   N   Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar   Lucifer (TV)   1413   4165   F/M   White 90   N   Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier   IT - Stephen King   1396   2268   Gen   White 91   N   Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard   All For The Game - Nora Sakavic   1392   4681   M/M   White 92   N   Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long   RWBY   1390   4358   F/F   POC 93   N   Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1378   2887   Gen   POC 94   N   Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader   Star Wars - All Media Types   1369   4112   F/M   White 95=   -8   Kim Namjoon | RM/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1365   4728   M/M   POC 95=   N   Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)   Avatar: The Last Airbender   1365   1828   M/M   POC 97   N   Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin   NCT (Band)   1360   3266   M/M   POC 98   N   Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier   X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)   1333   14736   M/M   White 99   -72   Loki/Thor (Marvel)   Thor (Movies)   1330   12863   M/M   White 100   N   Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1327   3132   M/M   White

[cjsinkythoughts]

Birthday Memories

Word Count: 1591

Warnings: A little angst, a bit of fluff, some recovery Bucky

Summary: Bucky figures out why birthdays are so important.

A/N: This is just a little something I put together for one of my favorite characters of all time to celebrate his birthday. It hasn’t been beta’d and I wasn’t planning on writing it, but my finger slipped. Oops. 😇

He didn’t tell anyone. 

He didn’t want them to know. He didn’t want to be reminded that his life was taken away. He didn’t want to be reminded that he was over a century old. 

He didn’t want to remember that the last birthday he ever had was in the midst of a war he never wanted, among friends who became brothers, and whom he’d never see again. 

He didn’t want to remember the “party” he had with his family. How his sisters would give him something meaningful of theirs since they didn’t have money, usually a stuffie or a toy. How his mother would stay up all night decorating their small apartment with everything they could afford - streamers and a couple balloons, usually. How his father would work overtime to make him something at the shop; a small wagon he got for his eighth birthday, a wooden gun for his tenth, and a new baseball bat for his thirteenth after he broke the one he had for years. How his parents would scrape and save all year so that he could have that stupid chocolate brownie cake that he loved so much, but was extremely expensive, form the bakery down the street.

He didn’t want to remember how Sarah Rogers - one of the greatest women he’d ever met, a second mother to him - always came over early, dragging little Stevie along, to make those delicious blueberry pancakes she concocted, even though she was busy enough without stressing over him and his birthday breakfast. Even though she always had a new hat she made him every year and didn’t need to make food with a hard to come by fruit. Even though she was alone with her own sick son to worry about.

And Steve. He didn’t want to remember how he always stayed over for the night. How they would talk for hours about their dreams and aspirations. About where they were going to be by the time the next birthday hit. The blonde used to say that his birthday present from him was not having to bail him out of any fights. He always kept that promise; no fighting on Buck’s birthday. It wasn’t the only thing he got from his best pal, though. Steve always kept a sketchbook - a journal of sorts - illustrating their adventures throughout the year, starting the day after Bucky’s birthday when they always went to Coney Island, and ending on his birthday, whether it be a sketch of Bucky blowing out candles, or a drawing of the stars they looked at while talking later in the night.

He didn’t want to remember, because it hurt to do so.

Sometimes he wished he never remembered. It was a cruel thing. A life that he could never go back to. One that he wasn’t ready to leave, no matter how many times he told himself he was while sitting in muddy ditches with bullets flying over head.

Sometimes, on his bad days, he wished the experiments didn’t work. That Steve never came. That he was never “rescued” by that Soviet soldier. That he never survived the fall.

It just so happened that his birthday was one of those bad days.

He missed his life more than he let on. He missed his sisters. He missed his ma. He missed his pa. He missed when it was only him and tiny Stevie against the world. When they could do whatever they wanted, curious and innocent, exploring the big wide world as they knew it.

Turns out, the world is a lot bigger, and a lot scarier, than they thought.

He missed it, and he didn’t want to remember because it hurt, so he didn’t tell anyone, and he didn’t want anyone to find out. He stayed in his room all day, until he got too hungry to ignore around dinner time.

So he walked into the common room of the newly built Compound.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

He froze as confetti was shot out of those little hand-held cannons, balloons were dropped from the ceiling, and party horns were blown. His team - his friends and family, he had to remind himself - were beaming at him with party hats on their heads, frosting and flour on some of their cheeks. A banner reading, “HAPPY 107th BIRTHDAY, CYBORG!’ was hung up, no doubt courtesy of a certain birdbrain, along with streamers that looked like they were just thrown randomly.

He blinked, trying to process what was happening, before Sam had an arm over his shoulders, dragging him over to the table and sitting him down. Wanda set a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of him as Tony blasted music from the speakers overhead. A pile of gifts sat at the other end of the room, and the island counter was filled with all kinds of treats.

The team gathered around, laughing and teasing while eating the breakfast dinner that Bucky swore came straight from the 1920’s. Once they were done, a familiar chocolate brownie cake was placed in front of him, a gazillion candles on it, which he blew out in one breath to spite Sam, who said he couldn’t do it. Turns out, however, they were trick candles. Bucky rolled his eyes when Tony, Sam, Clint, and Pietro started laughing way too hard, but he couldn’t fight the small smile on his face.

He had yet to say more than a few words by the time they were done with the food and opening presents. He had gotten more books, a telescope, new boxing gloves, a teddy bear, a newsboy cap like the ones they used to have, and a wooden baseball bat along with a new glove (among other things). Tony even booked Coney Island the next day for the team to have it all to themselves. 

It was too much; his brain was still processing all that had happened so suddenly in the past hour or two.

They knew. About everything. They knew about his birthday. They knew about the blueberry pancakes. They knew about the brownie cake. They knew about the hat and the baseball bat and Coney Island. They knew it all.

He didn’t have to question how. He looked up from the bear in his hands when something was placed in front of him. He met the ocean blue eyes of his best pal, and instantly knew what he’d done. How could anyone else know? How else could Wanda make blueberry pancakes that tasted just like Ma Sarah’s? How else would they find a hat that looked just like the last one she gave him when he turned 19 in 1936? How else would they know he, one of the most deadly assassins in the world, would want a teddy bear? How else would they know how much the silly decorations and the simple brownie cake meant to him?

Steve gave him that mischievous smile that never ceased to make Bucky chuckle, pushing the book he set on the table in front of him closer. “It’s a little more than a year…”

His icy blue gaze fell to the table, jaw clenching as he realized what it was. A sketchbook. Bigger, better quality than the ones he used to get, but that was to be expected. It was still torn up a little bit, the edges fading, the pages separating.

With shaky hands, he tugged the book closer and flipped through the pages. The Potomac River in DC. His little apartment in Bucharest. The airport in Germany. The Citadel in Wakanda. His hut in Wakanda. Him with his goats. Him and his new arm. Him and the team this past Thanksgiving when everyone came back. Him ice skating at Rockefeller Center during Christmas. New Years. Valentine’s Day. Snow days. Training. Watching movies. Playing games. 

The very last couple pages were something he wasn’t expecting though; his family, new and old. Headshots of his smiling parents and sisters and Ma Sarah. The Commandos, laughing despite dirt on their cheeks and tears in their clothes. The Avengers doing signature poses with smirks and winks and cheeky grins. All perfectly drawn, safe in charcoal and ink, hidden protectively within the worn out sketchbooks covers.

“They’d want you to celebrate. So…happy birthday, jerk.”

Bucky’s eyes, prickling with unshed tears, making his vision slightly blurry, wandered up from the pages of black and white to the team, all smiling at him, before landing on Steve.

So maybe he missed the past. And maybe it hurt to remember. But he had Stevie with him, and he had his new team - his new family. And the blonde, as much as it hurt to admit it, was right. His old family would want him to celebrate. To remember them and, instead of getting upset and angry at the world for what it took away from him, would want them to cherish the memories he has. To be glad for what the world gave to him.

A few tears slipped down the curves of his cheeks, but he didn’t mind. They weren’t out of frustration and sorrow. They were good tears. Relieved tears.

“Thanks, punk.”

Maybe birthdays shouldn’t be about holding onto the past and wishing you were back. Maybe they’re about letting go and celebrating everything you’ve accomplished, how you’ve grown. Maybe they’re about being grateful for the people you’ve met, the places you’ve been, and where you end up.

And James Buchanan Barnes was glad to be who he was. A son, a brother, a friend, a teammate, a comrade…a hero.